#the idea was for frisk to keep coming back and fighting her then retreating to snowdin so they can do it again the next day

[synthient]

The Key to Understanding Deltarune: The Halloween Hack

So we’re currently in the middle of a 4000 year content hiatus

Which is unfortunate, because ever since the big iconic Halloween-day surprise demo drop, my brain has been rattling a baseball bat against the inside of my skull and chanting “CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT”

Undertale was like candy for the thematic analysis side of my brain. I still wake up in a cold sweat some nights going “fun value......he put a quantitative value on fun.....numbers going up.....”

I am desperate to know what kind of themes Deltarune is going to tackle. Can you effectively predict that from one (1) 3 hour demo? No. Does my brain care? No.

Which is what lead me to the wonderful world of intertextuality, or examining how a media text is shaped by other media texts

It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this with me doing a playthrough of EarthBound, the video game that Toby has cited as his biggest inspiration for Undertale

That was fun & interesting (the “throwing away an emotionally engaging experience to grimly make Numbers Go Up” thing feels a lot closer to home after trying and failing to get the sword of kings), but it didn’t provide much insight into Deltarune, specifically. It wasn’t enough. I needed more. I was willing to dig into literally any intertext (except Homestuck, which no force on this earth can compel me to read :) )

anyway thats how I ended up playing Toby Fox’s high school fangame

And somehow (sorry Toby) I walked out of there with an unironic theory (a game theory....if you will....): Deltarune is Toby’s adult reexamination of the Halloween Hack.

What is the Halloween Hack?

You know that thing where, like, people take the engine of a Pokemon game and edit it so there’s a new region and a bunch of new fakemon, and also There’s Swears Now

In 2008, Toby Fox entered a contest on an EarthBound fansite for the best Halloween-themed EarthBound hack

In one sense, reducing the Halloween Hack to a “bad romhack with swears” is a little bit of a disservice. There are some glimmers in there of a really affecting, thought-provoking game, and you can see some of the early blueprints of what would later become Undertale (“do video game ‘monsters’ really deserve to die” is a major theme, and the character of Dr. Andonuts was effectively split up into Alpyhs, Asgore, and Sans)

But it’s also. very much a fangame made by a 16-year-old.

You can read a basic summary of the Hack here. High school-age Toby wrote two pretty extensive analyses of his thought process behind the game. I’ll be referring back to them a lot, and I’d highly suggest giving them a read--Toby’s been so famously resistant to making any Word of God statements about Undertale that it’s kind of fascinating to see him being so candid

an extremely long and rambling examination of How This All Relates To Deltarune

The Halloween Hack opens in the town of Halloween Twoson. Twoson is one of the cites in EarthBound, and here it’s been painted orange. and there’s pumpkins now

See, high school Toby had...a bit of a chip on his shoulder. In the Making Of notes, he explains that he was frustrated that “most people generally thought I was just ‘another funny guy’”. So he designed the opening of the game to seem unoriginally close to the original EarthBound--like “a regular, funny, lazy hack”--to lull players into a false sense of security before the horror elements set in.

Two interesting things there:

“Lazily, unoriginally close to the source game” sounds an awful lot like the Dark World segment of Deltarune

Halloween Twoson looks very visually similar to Hometown

Toby’s description of Twoson also sounds pretty Hometown-esque:

The main impressions of Twoson that I wanted to give the player were: It's funny. It's a nice fall day outside. The person hacking this game is ridiculously lazy. It's a nice place to live. If you look at it a little closely, it's kind of claustrophobic.  

And when does the horror kick in? When the player descends into the underground tunnels beneath the city.

The “horror” in the Halloween Hack is, however, Pretty Not Good.

There’s a whole lot of the flavor text narrator (put a pin in that one) insisting “this is so scary. you’re so scared. your hands shake and your head throbs because you’re so scared.” There’s also a thing where the battle text keeps going “the shambling zombie BITES your HEAD OFF!!! (you lose 15 hp).”

I think the True Lab sequence in Undertale is a decent demonstration that Toby’s come a long way since then (and that Honey We’ve Got A Storm Coming :’) ). But you know what the Hack’s style of horror reminds me of?

My first thought when I beat the demo and saw this stinger was “this looks like an intentionally shitty creepypasta.” Now I wonder if it’s lowkey adult Toby poking a little fun at teenage Toby

The Halloween Hack is a game about railroading. It’s Spec Ops The Line before there was Spec Ops The Line.

According to Toby:

The main theme of this game is the lack of choice. There is really no choice in this game. From the moment you start to the moment you finish, you're destined to kill Dr. Andonuts. There are two endings, but they both eventually end up the same way. It's all a big joke on the player.

You know why there isn't a choice there? Because you already chose to make Varik go into the door. You already chose to go forward. The only real choice, as Varik realizes at the end of the game, is to stop or keep going. By "stop" he means "turn off the game," and that's all you can do. Anything you play is your own fault for playing, and that's the only real choice you can make.

Interesting? Yeah. A little obnoxious? Also yeah.

That’s one of the criticisms people had of Spec Ops. "The atrocities we commit when we feel like we don’t have a choice” is an intriguing theme, but “~the only way to win is not to play~ [the game I worked hard on for the express purpose of people playing it]” isn’t a very satisfying conclusion.

Undertale, in direct contrast to the Hack, is all about choice. It earns the right to guilt you for the No Mercy Run by giving you every opportunity not to go through with it.

But even Undertale plays a little with the concept of railroading--you can’t stay with Toriel; you can’t spare Asgore in any of the neutral runs; you can’t save Asriel.

Now Deltarune seems to be returning full-on to the Hack’s “your choices don’t matter” premise. But it’s going to need to find something more insightful and satisfying to say about it.

Which makes me really curious about this:

If the Hack has a secondary theme besides railroading/lack of choice, it’s The Soul-Crushing Impact Of Internalized Homophobia.

The tragic antagonist, Dr. Andonuts, destroys his own life trying to repress his gay desire. He retreats into a dream world made of his neuroses and trauma, and he’s inevitably Otherized and murdered by the player. He’s something of a dark version of Alphys, who “disappears” into her lab without ever meeting and getting support from Frisk, Papyrus, and Undyne.

Undertale takes an opposite approach to its lgbt themes--the Underground is a utopia where homophobia and transphobia don’t exist. Everyone respects Frisk’s and Chara’s pronouns. Alphys finds solace and healing in her relationship with Undyne.

It’s a heartwarming growth from the despair in the Halloween Hack. And it’s a vision that’s been deeply meaningful to a lot of people. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no value in exploring issues of homophobia. 16-year-old Toby tried to do that, but...wasn’t exactly at a point where he was equipped to handle it with a ton of sensitivity and nuance.

(There’s. There’s a boss battle where you fight the physical manifestation of Andonuts’ gay repression. It’s a crotch. You fight a crotch.)

Some of the hints in the Deltarune demo, however--the Toriel Has Become Catholic thing; the fact that Alphys and Undyne haven’t met and Mettaton hasn’t been able to transition; the potential trans implications of choosing a name only to have it discarded for an assigned one (“you can’t choose who you are in this world”)--make me suspect that’s one of the themes that Toby will try to revisit from an adult perspective.

The Hack is interested in the idea of the flavor text narrator as a distinct, intelligent entity, whose thoughts and goals don’t always align with those of the player character or the player. 

The Hack’s narrator makes a habit of dictating “your” emotions to you (you’re scared; you can sense ‘the monster’ and you want to kill it; etc). The narration starts to seem more and more unreliable, until, as Toby put it, “The narrator starts talking to you personally...rambling about incoherent things.”

At the game’s turning point, you’re given a yes/no choice to kill Dr. Andonuts. Choose yes, and the narrator (mockingly?) calls you a good person, describes the murder you commit, and then narrates what appears to be your (or their? or Varik’s?) psychological breakdown. Choose no, and the narrator tells you that’s not a real choice and redirects you back to the yes/no box. If you press the b-button to try and opt out of the choice (the game’s unofficial subtitle is “Press the B-Button Stupid,” and doing so allows you to follow Andonuts into his dream world), the narrator starts to panic, although the game ultimately ends the same way.

Not to NarraChara Real, but NarraChara Real 

The Hack is also interested in the idea of the player character as a possibly-unwilling puppet controlled by the player (who in turn is controlled by the railroading/their need to beat the game).

According to Toby:  

 As you approach someone you've never met that you're labeling as a monster, your body pushes you forward to kill him. What's funny is that it's not even uncontrolled, it's really just the force of the player's controller pushing that little bounty hunter into murdering Andonuts. You might not realize it, but Varik is almost dead, and yet he can't stop moving because you keep pushing those buttons. 

The Halloween Hack is, fundamentally, a nostalgic meditation on an existing game.

It’s a little obvious to say, but the Hack isn’t a standalone game. It’s a hack of EarthBound.

Toby writes:

EarthBound dominated my childhood, shaped my preteen years, and played a large role in molding me into the offbeat pseudohippie I am today. It gave me a sense of humor. It helped me learn how to read. Its lessons served as a basis for my sense of justice and courage.

But at age 16, Toby’s feeling about the game that had shaped him were a little mixed. He describes “the staleness of a fifteen-year-old video game” as one of his motivations for making the Hack.

In Deltarune, he (kind of hilariously) has Alphys parrot his teen-self’s “staleness” line:

(I could write a whole meta just on the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie vs Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 thing)

Still, Toby’s nostalgia for EarthBound is essential to how the Hack operates. Earlier, I said there were glimmers of an thoughtful, affecting game buried in the “bad romhack with swears.” The most genuinely moving moment in the Hack, in my opinion, is the Onett sequence. 

You wander though a faded, dream world version of Onett--the hometown from EarthBound--while a slowed down arrangement of the Onett music plays. Snatches of forgotten conversations appear on road signs. Various monsters from EarthBound follow slowly behind you, but don’t attack. The only battles are against creatures called “Remember Me?”

The EarthBound characters appear to recognize “Varik” as Ness, EarthBound’s protagonist--or are they recognizing you, the player, as the same person who played EarthBound once upon a time?

The one problem, of course, is that not everyone has played EarthBound. It’s a relatively niche game. The sense of remembrance and regret and loss in the Onett sequence is universal, but being shaped as a person by the specific video game EarthBound isn’t a universal experience.

But in the years since the Hack, Toby has created something with a wider reach than EarthBound. Something that can evoke that sense of memory and nostalgia in players. A familiar game that he can take apart, rearrange, and examine in an entirely different light.

He made Undertale.

And now he’s rearranging the pieces into Deltarune.

[hoodie-lover]

My Multiverse Ask Event! #5

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - First, Second

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Seventh

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Eighth, Ninth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Tenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Eleventh

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own -  Twelfth, Thirteenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Fourteenth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Fifteenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth 

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twentieth 

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Twenty-First

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twenty-Second

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Twenty-Third,

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twenty-Fourth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Twenty-Fifth, Twenty-Sixth, Twenty-Seventh, Twenty-Eighth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twenty-Ninth, Thirtieth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Thirty-First, Thirty-Second, Thirty-Third, Thirty-Fourth, Thirty-Fifth, Thirty-Sixth, Thirty-Seventh, Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, Fortieth, 

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Forty-First

“UT sans and paps what if i told you there was a timeline in where you took paps’ place in snowdin and then paps saw your dust and became depressed and attacked human at judgement hall and was actually hard to beat

PS it isn't a swap universe”

“Disbelief, yeah, we’ve seen it. I was shown it really early on into my adventures in the Multiverse.” Classic said, taking a deep breath as he lazed at his sentry station. 

“Sans has told me about Disbelief, that version of me is in therapy. And Sans helps him out every now and then, they’re nice.” Papyrus said, standing in the fog as he waited for Frisk. 

“frisk have you ever thought of sparing sans while he sleeps so he's alone there forever and goes mad”

“I have. But I can’t hold that much food in my inventory so I would starve and be forced to load my save before that happened.” Frisk said, sighing as they made their way through Snowdin, now a barren wasteland. 

“Hmm censoring any hints is gonna make this harder. Lets see if we can find a way around that. Nightmare you are a smart monster, take a long look at Error next chance you get and try to look past the color changes made by him becoming Error, make a mental checklist of what might be different and look at other sans in the multiverse for similarities. this is frustrating not being able to just tell you.”

“I assume you are talking about the outfit I first saw him in, he has a few different ones but he wears that one or similar outfits often. I’ll need to take a good look at what he wears, and I do appreciate you trying to help. It means a lot.” Nightmare said, thinking about Error’s outfit, though he still looked around and didn’t let his guard down.

“Maxie, do not trigger PTSD, I will fight you. As someone with her own issues I can tell you how bad it feels when people do that! Play nice or I will never let you sleep again.”

“I wasn’t planning anything too heinous. Just an illusion of Frisk or a dead Papyrus. I’m not that bad.” Maxie said, smiling as she got ready for her plan. 

She created illusory clones of the Star Sanses, minue Ink, she wasn’t that evil. It was in every arena she had set up, and she made sure they could think strategically and make their own choices, while not being sentient. She got some help from her friends and they counted down from five to release them. 

“Five, four,” they said, everyone getting tense and drawing their weapons. 

“Three, two,” Maxie said, grinning like a cheshire cat. 

“One!” She screamed and the Dark Sanses were thrown into a five on one each.  

 “Also Nightmare I can tell you Error is not from a neutral or pacifist run. Although since most universes can have any of the three not sure if that actually helps or not.”

“He was Geno, wasn’t he?” Nightmare said, dodging arrows and blasters like his life depended on it. 

“Error sorry I am embarrassing you so much, I just love you and want you to feel loved. You deserve to be fawned over.”

“Thanks.” Error said, retreating to his web of strings at the top of the cave to stalk how assaltantes. He was like a spider. 

“so how come it's mostly sanses that get involved in multidimensional stuff shouldn't it be the "judge" from each universe that gets involved?”

“They are, Ink just ran a very exclusive club.” Dream said, “All of them are involved to give us more diversity and even out the playing field, though the Sanses still outnumber them, it’s not as bad as it was.” Dream said, he was sipping some hot chocolate as he looked through paperwork. 

“Red how you planning on dealing with mister steal ya man?”

“I was thinking I could kill him. Maybe trap him in a jail cell, or just have him walk in on Blue and I fuckin’.” Red said, smiling evilly as his eye flashed. 

“Blue are you aware of the crush swapfell has on you?”

“Of course. Black isn’t exactly subtle about it. And I like Red being jealous, though I would never encourage Black, so I just act oblivious.” Blue said, taking a sip from a small flask as he patrolled Snowdin.

“error is it possible to ask the voices to see if they know about your universe”

“That was our plan. But we ended up here.” Error said, stringing up the clones and dusting them. “And I figured out they were clones since they don’t have souls or shadows.” Error said.

“I still like dusting a version of Dream though.” Error said as he finally dusted the last one and cleared the challenge. 

“hmm ok Stretch, you seem to be a good one. Some swap paps are uhh overly controlling jerks. They don't treat their brothers like adults and have others keep tabs on blue for them and it makes me a bit not trusting towards swap paps till I see what they are like. Sorry I uhh called you a tall orange jerk.”

“It’s ok. I’ve seen a few that the creators have made and, I am glad that Blue is a good brother and I’m glad I’m a good one as well.” Stretch said, smiling. 

“Wait, where is Blue’s flask?” Stretch said, seeing a very empty countertop. 

“Damn it Blue.” Stretch said, “And you say I’m the irresponsible one yet you drink on the job.” He said, face palming. 

“also why is the genocide run called a genocide run if you dont kill everything why not murder run instead”

“It’s the thought that counts!” Frisk said, looking at Papyrus. 

“HALT HUMAN!” 

“HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU!” 

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY.” 

“FIRST: YOU´RE A FREAKING WEIRDO!” 

“NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES.”

“BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE…” 

“THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER.” 

“IT FEELS…” 

“LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH.” 

“HOWEVER!”

“I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU!” 

“EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY JUST TRY!” 

“AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!!!” 

“NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” 

“HEY, QUIT MOVING!” 

“THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!” 

“HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE!” 

“SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW!” 

“BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS...” 

“WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR!” 

“I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!!” 

“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING.” 

“ARE YOU OFFERING A HUF OF ACCEPTANCE?” 

“WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!!” 

“I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!” He sounded close to tears as he screamed. 

Frisk gave Papyrus a large hug, nearly slicing his spine in half but leaving his ribs untouched. 

“What do you know about the multiverse?” Frisk asked, smiling evilly as Papyrus fell into Frisk’s arms. 

“W-what?” Papyrus said, shaking.

“I need to talk to Sans, and what better way to get him talking than to threaten you?” Frisk said, grabbing Papyrus by his neck and dragging him into his house and locking him in his room, where the window was boarded.

“Behave.” Frisk said, waving as they slammed the door and laughed. 

“the only reason frisk beats omega is because the souls revolt i'm sure they wont help a mass murderer”

“Maybe, but we don’t want them to know we can break the script. That would create too many problems.” Classic said, and Undyne sighed. 

“They’re coming. Hide.” Undyne said, and Sans jumped into the bushes as Frisk came into the scene. 

“well sci and alphys, if Frisk would stop resetting and give you guys freedom you could always get souls to help Asriel. I know that sounds wrong but what if you got volunteers from the terminal ward, a lot of sick humans who know they are just waiting for death just want the pain to be over.”

“Yeah, we have talked about that. But Flowey isn’t sure he wants to become Asriel again, and we don’t trust him with the souls, and Asriel can’t say if he wants to get back.” Sci said, sighing. 

“Y-yeah, overall, t-that is a good i-idea. B-but we a-aren’t sure i-if we can t-trust Flowey.” Alphys said, looking at the cameras and gasping when she saw what happened to Papyrus.

Sci and Alphys got on their phones and told everyone what happened, and Sans teleported into the lab. 

“I’m getting him out, start evacuations early, this is the day we break script.” Classic said as he vanished. 

“frisk if you stop the resets you can get a new timeline!! pls stop reset”

“Nope. I want to know what’s going on.” Frisk said, slaughtering another monster as they stepped onto the dust and scattered it. 

“oh here is another one for the classic timeline to react to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qXFHtHR_Fs”

“Sans, I love you.” Papyrus said as Sans healed up Papyrus. 

“Me too.” Classic said, and Papyrus began to ugly cry as he flinched when Sans sent a burst of healing magic through Papyrus’ wounds. 

“We might need backup, Dream might need to help you with this, I’m not great at healing.” Classic said and he called Dream and explained the situation. 

 Hey Blueberry are you and Error any closer now?

“Yeah. Error helped me a lot with my glitching. It was very useful when Papy and I were trying to figure out how to cope. The rest of the Dark Sanses helped Papy learn how to handle my crashing and reboots.” Blue said, smiling as he pocketed the flask. 

“Frisk really it is time to stop, you need to let time move forward and change. You need to let your friends find happiness and you need to let yourself grow up and change, find a new adventure on the surface!”

“Humanity is cruel and evil, I prefer the Underground. And these guys are not my friends, not anymore.” Frisk said, winking as they trotted through Waterfall, humming His Theme as they went. 

“Fresh furby's were not cheap, you are telling me you have a small fortune in creepy robot gremlins? Clearly you have never had one with a broken voice box, that demon voice could give angry Nightmare a run for his money.”

“I do, and I can fix the voice boxes. Also so have scared people with a broken voice box. It was rad yo.” Fresh said, appearing back with his family. 

“sci and alphys can you get rid of frisks DT”

“It’s possible, but we’d have to basically drain them of all their blood and other things. Killing them, and keeping them restrained would be far too hard.” Alphys said, “Since they can load to a point where they weren’t in our grasp.” Alphys said, opening her doors and letting monsters inside. 

“Nightmare and Dream as mischievous fay.... I love it. Can I join you in messing with people?”

“We would love some Creator help! We have a few ideas but we’ve been hesitant to do a few of them, at least now we have a chance to get away with some of it.” Dream said, smiling a corny smile as he held up a black folder with red letters saying “Plans.”

Sans and Papyrus then came into his office and explained what happened. 

“ok so what happened with alt maybe he knows about the alt errors universe couldn't that help find our errors universe”

“You think this Error’s past is hard to find? Try mine. I literally know shit about his past, literally nothing. If I hadn’t heard about this multiverse’s Error, I wouldn’t know mine was, probably, tortured by Creators.” Alt said.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you more.” Alt said, blushing as he retreated into his sweater. 

“Ok I feel like I owe classic Paps some cute and wholesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPZyaNRiAg also would you like a hug paps?”

“Thank you, I would.” Papyrus said as he felt a warm and calming feeling on his injury as Dream worked his godly magic. 

“Who do you want to help you?” Dream asked and Sans thought about it for a while. 

“Dark Sanses. Specifically Killer, Dust, and Horror. This is the time for revenge and it’d be rude to leave them out.”  Classic said.

“Plus, they’re good at combat. It’d be helpful.” Papyrus said, as he wiped some tears from his sockets.

“I don’t like it either Paps, but at this point, I’m not tossing this opportunity away.” Classic said, sighing as Dream made a call. 

“so sanses do you always wear the same clothes?”

“Pretty much. We have an infinite amount of the same clothes. And it’s fun to do, people are always so confused.” Classic said and Papyrus face palmed. 

“Hey Cross, why are you such a sweetie?”

“Because I am!” Cross said, giving puppy eyes and smiling as he ran up to Nightmare and gave him a hug. 

“Horror you cute bean, what is the best dish you make?”

“Thank you. And my best dish is a casserole with chicken and peppers and five cheeses.” Horror said, mouth watering at the thought. 

“Error are you nervous about what these creator creeps have planned? I am worried about you guys.”

“So am I. The first was easy, but what else do you have planned?” Error said, glaring at Maxie. 

“I was going to throw each of you into a replica of the judgement hall and have you  fight with a version of Frisk, but Nightmare figured it out. He figured out who you were.” Maxie said.

“With some help.” Beatrice said, and Jana nodded. 

“Who?” Error asked, eyes shining. 

“G̵͕̲͆̑͑ę̶͈̭̎̍n̴̟̓̃͆͋̈͠o̴̧̬̞͉̠̐.” Nightmare said, but his words were jumbled and glitchy. 

“Like hell I’m letting you tell him. When this whole thing is over.” Maxie said, giggling. 

“What do you mean?” Killer asked and Maxie summoned a portal. 

“Classic, mind explaining what’s happening?” Maxie said, her grin getting bigger. 

“Frisk broke script. We’re going to try and drain them of their DT, but I thought you guys should come and help. You were wronged by them first.” Classic said, “Geno’s ready to help us by the way. We’re just waiting on you. Undyne managed to avoid death so far and save MK.” Classic said, and Killer, Horror, and Dust laughed. 

“Count us in.” They said, jumping through and landing in Snowdin.

“Good Noodle? *blushes* Flattered you think that about me. You are all cute little beans that deserve to be loved.”

“They sure do.” Nightmare said, remembering something. 

“Error is an alternate timeline! Let him go too!” Nightmare said and Classic shrugged. 

“More the merrier.” Classic said as the four Sanses entered the portal. 

“what if we ask chara to give 7 souls she took from genociders and give then to asriel?”

“Implying we talk to them. We only know the role they play because it was told to us by a third party.” Classic said, “We have no idea how they work or if we can talk to them at all.” 

“to frisk what does selling your soul feel like?”

“It feels like you’re having your organs ripped out of you, and then you feel nothing, and then content. It was the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life, but I feel good, I feel calm and clear headed.” Frisk said, walking up to the judgement hall, fingers itching.

The script was ash at this point, and Frisk knew Sans was to blame. They were excited as they walked up to him, standing at their usual spot.

“What does Chara think of Frisk anyway?”

“Ĩ̸͉͎̰̳ ̵̜͊h̸̨̼͉̰̦͌̔̐ȁ̵̢̖t̸̻̟̃̅͝ȇ̸̞͇̖̂̑͐̏ ̸͇͍̙͈̿̾͛̕ţ̴̒ḧ̷̺̝̖̳́̎͋͜e̵͎̺̠͂͝m̸̛̰̍́͠.̸̻͉͕̄̒ ̵̻̳̹͉͕̅̈́̾̈́͝T̶̡̖̟̘͐͜h̴̢̤̉e̴̦̠͈̿͜ͅy̷̩͈͓̏̐͒̓ ̵̛͈͉̹͉̇̾m̵̡̞̗͍̍u̷̬̲͆͋͂̈́͝r̵̢̩̬͎̬͐d̶̬̊̎ē̷̼̥̒͌͠͠r̵̠̯̦͗̈́̕͜͠ĕ̵̻̥̪̯̝̽̀d̵̛̼̜̼̈́ ̵͚͙̣̣̆m̶̭̒̇͂̊ẙ̵̪̜̌ ̶̧͐͑̈̓m̷̯̦̰̂ͅo̷̓ͅm̸͉̂́̌,̸̪̤̞̲̈́̃͊̂ ̵̧͚̭̫̠͋̔̈̒̈d̴̛͚̄ã̵͉̭̯̙̠ḏ̴͙̖͓͐,̷̛̤̈́͒ ̷̫̈́b̷̯̖͇̱͒̇r̶̖̖͙͂͝ǫ̸͖̹̬̋ͅţ̷̏ḩ̸̛̆̂e̴̢͕̣̎̂̀͠r̴̯͂̅̀̚ͅ,̸̫̙̪̃̌̾͑̒ ̷̛͇̹̜̉̕ạ̷̢̡̩̋̽̎̽̇ṋ̷̨̹̻̾͒͝͠d̵͓̙̦̈͐͊̄̕ ̷̫̠̯̋s̴̢̆̽̀ù̸͖̠̬̙͂͛̽͐b̵͍̐͆́̚ĵ̴͎̘̬̤̉ͅę̴͆́̐̽̇c̶̤̘̒͋t̴͙̪̭̔͗̋͐̋ş̵͍̣͂̃̃.̸̡͔̙͐̿ ̶̯͇̈́͗̚͝͝Î̵͉̘ ̶̮̺̖̪͆̋̾͛̒ḩ̴̛̤̹̪̔ō̶͙̽p̶̲̟̳͉̲̉͒ḛ̸͈͈̮͛ ̴̧̬̾̔t̵͈̐̈́̈͘ͅͅh̸̺̤̺͂ế̸͚͖̝͒̌̆ ̶̧̧̖̗͆ŕ̸̰̗͓͒͂͑͝o̶̝̪̪̰͔̒t̸̯̗̖̦͖̎̆ ̵̰͎̤͖́̉i̶̡̘̯͋͜n̵͍̝̤̥͊͜ ̴̨̳̜̈̇̓͊̕h̷̡͙̭͕̙̔̒̿̚é̷̡̻̩̼͐̑͠͝l̷̝̝̀l̶̥̞͍͖͋͝ ̴̥̯̦̹̲̽̂̚̚f̷̧̮̤͐̅̚o̸̻͔͊͝ͅr̵͖͓̣͗e̵̢̻̘̅͋v̶̨̯͂̆͜ͅe̶̩̊̎͋̏͐r̴̲͌̋̆̓ ̴̩̪͎̎͆̍̈́ẃ̷̘̞̬͓̎h̸̛̘̤̪̔͊e̷̪̣͊͗͆̈́ň̶̮̲̓̚ ̵̜͐̾̎͑̆t̴̨̞̦͕̉̎h̶̢̻͇͇̙͋̋̇i̷̻̐͛s̴͓͍̪̝͒̆̅̚͝ ̷͎̖͖̥̫͋ī̶̟̑s̸͖̪̣̱̽̆̈̏̀ ̴̮̳͛̄o̶͎̫̥͖̱͒v̶̹̲̭͙̫͛̄e̷͉̕r̷̬̔̍̉̈́.̷̼̮͐̊ͅ ̴̡̩̺̋̉̕͝͝Ì̴͇̈́̓̈́ ̴͖͕̼̈̾͛̈́h̶̥̿̓͂̓̒o̶̡̬̦̣͂p̷̍͘ͅe̵̮͕̹̼͍͋͌̋̈́͝ ̵̝̋t̶̯̃̈́ͅh̵̯̱̭͠ë̸̲͓̭͍͑͐y̴̯͒͛̐͝ ̵̨̖̥̹̯̐́͝g̵̟͋͂͝è̶̝̜̒̄͠t̷̡͍̩̞͌̓ ̴̰̩̭̠̄̒̅̿t̷̨̥͙͚̹͗o̴͓͛̿̅ ̶͍͔͇̞̎̇̔̐ŕ̶͎̙͠ë̶̹̻̣́̐̉̈́͠l̵͖͂̆i̸̩̩̟̓̈́v̴̯̞̞̓̇̀e̶̩̰̗͈̬̐́̚ ̵͔̜͇̃͋̎ę̵̮̈́̓̇̕͜͠v̶͓̑͐̅̑͗e̵̻̓̋͛̚͠ř̶̛̙̏̈͠y̵͎̌͋͗͗̂ ̸̧̺̃̈́̄̐s̵͇̙͈̓͋̂̑͒ę̵̗̱̿͋͊͒̊c̴̯̩͉̃̔̆̀̽ȍ̶͎̣̬n̷͙͈͎͊͛̈́͑͜ͅḋ̵̹̯̯ ̶̟̠̹̜͠ö̸̢̰͈̼͈́͝f̴̛̟̻̪̌ͅ ̶̯̍̈́̒̿͝p̸͖̲͖̜̥̚͝ạ̸͇̋ȉ̸̥̠̖͒̓͌ͅn̵͖̥̓ ̸͚̖̤͕͝t̵̘́̊h̵̉̎̾͑ͅe̶͕̫̭͎͛̇͘y̵͔̯̝̙̎͆́̆'̷̢̺̳͓̹́v̴̢͍̑̈́ĕ̴̗̦͇̥̭̐̓̄ ̵͔̘̏̿͗e̵̡͙̪͖̓̓͠ͅv̶̨͙̪̦̙̾̍͠e̸̦̗̩̮̍̃̑͘͘r̸̛̬͑̈́̍͂ ̴̠̭̤̘́͂f̴̗̬̀͛̉̑͝ē̴̙͖̖̠̈́͒l̵͙̼̜̈̈́́t̵̢̙͑͋̒̐̌!̸̞̜̏́̂̄” Chara’s words were shotty, but pain and rage, grief and regret, and sadism welled in their voice as they sobbed their words out on the judgement hall floor, though no one could hear them. 

“Ok time to make my boys cringe for a bit. Some fairly common ships include Error/ink, Cross/Nightmare, Cross/Dream, Dream/Nightmare, and of course Dust/Blueberry. Thoughts?”

“What the fuck?!” Killer said, whispering from his hiding spot, shuddering at the ships mentioned. 

Error was trembling at the mention of his and Ink’s ship. He had to mutter to himself that it was probably canon in an alternate multiverse, his Ink was gone, forever. 

Dust was sweating, “I will never fuck Blue. Red would kill me.” Dust said, peeking out from behind a pillar. 

“Dust, Killer, you do know you are adorable right?”

“No we’re not.” Dust said, rolling his eyes. Killer had a similar reaction. 

“so Queen Toriel, I tried to make a butterscotch cinnamon pie and failed badly. any uhh tips?”

“Well, I would need to know how you made yours. It would help me tell you what tips you need.” Toriel said, “But I can tell you practice makes perfect.” She said, clapping her hands together.

“Oh here is another ship, Error/Outer, now there is a pairing that is out of this world. Come on you two, don't you think you would be stellar together? The real star couple.”

Error had to stifle a laugh as he thought about Outer. “I guess so. Good puns by the way.” Error said, glaring at Frisk. 

“Nightmare why are you such a good dad? You should give parenting lessons.”

“W-what?” Nightmare sad, blushing as he turned away. 

“I-I’m not that good. I-I’m more of the dad-friend you have. Yeah, that.” Nightmare said, and Maxie rolled her eyes as she laughed. 

“Nightmare, someone made another version of you called strawberry milk Nightmare, he is pink and very kind. thoughts? Dream here is a pic to show others! https://glitchtale.fandom.com/f/p/3287430564151633045”

“I’m not meant to be the cute one!” Nightmare said, sitting on the ground and pouting like a toddler as the other creators laughed. 

“He is so pure!” Dream squealed, showing the outcodes on standby, the picture and explaining. 

“That is so cute!” Blue said, his eyes getting bigger as he looked at the picture.

“It’s literally just his colors inverted.” Red said, and Blue pouted. 

“I don’t care!” Blue said, sticking his tongue out. 

“and all is fair in sibling wars, Nightmare here is Shattered Dream. Yeah he is as big a prick as he looks. https://www.deviantart.com/gestaelita/art/I-m-sorry-Shattered-Dream-x-Young-Nightmare-812226735 “

“Nope!” Nightmare said, closing his eyes as he shook his head and covered his mouth. 

“I hate these alternate mutiverses! I hate them!” Nightmare cried out.

“Dream, Nightmare, done any glitter pranks yet? All I will say is Red's house and neon pink glitter. You know you wanna.”

“That was actually next on our list.” Nightmare said, still closing his eyes. 

“Error have you made any new dolls?”

“Yes. I’ve made some of the Sanses and Papyruses that we’ve saved as memoirs of those adventures.” Error said, smiling as he saw Classic begin the monologue. 

“chara if you have near infinite souls how can you not have enough strength to revive yourself at the beginning of the run”

“Y̴̰̮̾̋͆̂͜ó̶̻̤̪̤̥u̵̢̝͂͊̈́̌̚ ̷͉̝̗̍̂ͅc̸̨̥̗̥̾͝ạ̵̏̆͑̿n̷̢͇̯̼̒̀͗̓ ̵̧̓̉õ̵̡̼̭ǹ̴̰̗͈͕̲͑l̵̞̭̲̀̀͝y̶͇̰͌ ̶̰̹̟͂̃s̷̺̈́̑̍̏̚͜ę̸͇̠͍̒̾͝l̷͎̗̝͔̗̽͊̓l̸̝͐ ̴̛̬̙͆̾̾y̴̙̞̬̬͋ͅǫ̶͍̹̪͗̐̀͛͠u̷̼̻̼̅̾͒̉͝r̷̡͝ ̶͖͎̩͆̇̅̃̑s̸̻̖͉͓̄̀̕̕ő̶̲u̷̞͐l̶͔͋̎͠ ̴̺͚̅̔o̴̧͔̲̤͑̿̔͛n̷̨̠̯͗̈c̶̛̟͉̘̺̖̀͝͝ė̴̔͜ ̸̰̝̦͖̎͊̂̌b̸̻̟̥͙̰̍̄̓̚͝u̵̱̟̾d̶̢̨̰̪̪̆̒͐̾͝d̶̳̝̬̏͆̏͂ͅy̷̛̲.̷̢̤͙̇̕ ̸̞̾̂̄̕S̵͜͝͝o̷̭̪̳̗̱̎̿͛̂̿ŕ̸͍͎̈͛͊̕ͅŗ̸̨̖̰̣͌̽ẏ̷͚̰̦̺͒̈ ̴̙̥̫͇̞͆͌̀͌t̵̗̑̾̿̌ô̷͕̦̦̻̹̅ ̸̟̙̅̓b̴͉͛̿r̸̨̙͔͊̓͜e̵̝̍͠a̸̻̩̹͊̌͂ḵ̴͝ ̷̧͙͉̲͂̒̑̋̕ȋ̷̱͖̻̗̻͘͝t̸͔̰̾͐̈ͅ ̸̧̪̤̈́̐̾t̵̮̊ȯ̷̟̬̆͋̚̕ ̶͚͌͂̋͝y̶͖̞͗͂͆͂̿͜o̴̝̯̲̮̅́ú̸̧̖̻̏̄̓͝ͅ.” Chara said, their voice a bit sarcastic and playful as they read off their lines like an automatic machine, the words ingrained into their memory by thousands of playthroughs. 

Next

Previous

[agreementtale]

Chapter 14: Mother Knows Best For You.

He didn’t feel anything.

For so long he just let the time pass, watching from the sidelines as the monsters dusted each other.

He had given up.

Weak monsters couldn’t be saved.

In this world only stronger monsters still had a chance.

Toriel.

She was never going to be killed, she was too strong, but sometimes he missed the times when she wasn’t.

When she was just his mother… not the ruthless queen of the ruins.

And he had that back!

Even if just for a few months…

Now she turned back to murderous, and it was all their fault.

Weren’t they happy living with her? It was all an act? He scoffed at that. They were too weird sometimes, but he knew when someone was emulating fake emotions. He was the master of it.

So he held their hand when she asked. Dying by fire was horrible, he had felt it in his own leaves a few times, no wonder they were so shaken.

But they were stupid enough to do it all over again, like nothing had happened…

He made a point to choose their pie instead of hers, just to prove them that things would change. That if they kept being so stupid, they would never eat her pie, ever again!

But they faked a smile to appease her and grabbed their things like it was nothing.

And if he was going to be honest, for a second he was a bit wary of the way they snatched that knife.

But he didn’t feet anything.

They could keep being stupid, and she could keep killing them as far as he was concerned.

And on the off chance they killed her, they would go crying back to him certainly, and he would teach them how to reset.

As long as he didn’t die he didn’t care.

They could try as many times they wanted.

They could repeat this same day for years and he wouldn’t give a damn!

…

Except that they didn’t repeat anything.

They fought and they won.

It took them two tries to defeat her.

Maybe he was wrong then…

When she hid her face and attacked everywhere he thought she was being strong, keeping her word of not letting them pass.

But maybe she was being weak? Maybe she was still too kind, even if they were leaving her?

“I’m going to be ok, mom” he heard their soft voice, almost drowned by her wails “I’m strong enough, see?” she in her knees, with her head held low, was about the same height of the human standing.

“Oh child, I’m so sorry” they hugged her neck and she held their back, as the fire died down.

It was moving.

If he had any emotions left he could shed a tear.

“Plus, I have Flowey to watch my back” she laughed a little, there wasn’t much he could do to protect someone so stubborn like them… but at least they were immortal, so they had enough time to learn how things worked out there.

She lifted her head, putting her chin on their shoulder “You will guide them, will you not?” it was the first time she acknowledged him since the start of the fight.

“I guess…” he used his vines to approach, she extended a hand to help him come closer, one that he gladly accepted, the ground was still hot from her magic, and she could easily lift him above their shoulder “Someone have to put some sense in this empty head” he gave a few knocks on their head making them giggle, now the three of them were a big hug pile “Besides…” like a real family “That’s what big brothers are for” he didn’t want to compare, but they–/

“I’m the big sibling!” they interrupted, he shoot them an offended look “You are the baby brother” they had to be kidding!

“I’m older!”

“Nope, I am”

“No you’re not!” he knew was older! For all the resets, he was way older than 14!

“And you are waaay smaller”

“That’s cause I’m a flower!”

“And I have to carry you, this earn you some baby points”

“No it doesn’t” How could they think for a single moment that they were older than him? And with that attitude! The gall of some people!

“The boot holding, does give you an infant look” No! not Mom too!

“I don’t need to be carried!” he trashed in their hold “This boot was your stupid idea”

“Don’t try to escape the truth” now they had that weird serious voice “It’s definitive, Flowey” he was the older one! “You are baby”

“Nooo” his frustration only made his mother laugh louder.

Her voice softened the sting of being declared the little brother, but just a bit.

He was not a baby!

The three of them stood like there for a couple of minutes, before she clean her throat, it was like dispelling an enchantment.

He got his vines fully inside the boot.

They tied their own shoes… weirdly… with a horrendous amount of socks, walking on it looked uncomfortable, how did they dodge at all?

“If you truly wish to leave the Ruins” her voice snapped his attention back to her, she was back to her full height, sullen with a sad smile on her face “I will not stop you anymore”

They breathed loudly on his petals, he shifted out of the way as best he could, but they were holding the boot firmly, so there was not much room for that.

“However, when you leave, please do not come back” Wait, was she serious? She was expulsing them forever? “Keep going forward, children, do not let anyone stop you” she looked him in the eyes “they will not be kind”.

Right… it was better if they didn’t waste any time getting to the barrier, every day they wasted would be one more monster trying to steal his sib – their soul, the human’s, Frisk’s, the idiot’s, whatever.

“I believe this is goodbye then” If they answered he didn’t hear it.

He was hating this.

He hated all of this.

His boot was lifted all of a sudden, he used his vines to balance himself, and then he realized her face was close “And you” way too close “I’m counting on you” she kissed him on the cheek.

“Mooom!” the moment he heard himself whine he hid his face on his leaves, it wasn’t enough she kissing him like she used to? Why did he had to make a fool of himself?

“I’ll miss you, my child” he could hear the mirth on her voice… And he had been so careful not to call her that until now…

Retreating totally to the boot, he refused to move “Whatever!” shouted angrily, as he avoided to think. By the way the boot shifted, they were holding him now.

“And you” her voice upwards, he should be near their chest, and she talking to their face “you… foolish one” her voice breaking with emotion made him curious enough to take a peek “do not get killed” she was smiling, it was forced, but no new tears “promise me”

They nodded.

“I mean it, child!”

Her desperate tone was more familiar to him than the sad one.

“Do whatever it takes”

On her sad days she used to be silent, while on some of the desperate days she was a lot more vocal.

“And listen to your brother!”

He wondered which of the two she would revert to once they left.

“If he tells you to run, hide or fight. You shall do it”

Part of him didn’t want to find out, but curiosity always won.

“And if you have to kill, do not hesitate. You can be sad about it later”

“I can’t promise that”

“You must!” She shook them, as if she could change the mind of that stubborn idiot “Please” she pressed her snout to their forehead “Have mercy on this old soul of mine”

They took a deep breath. Then hug her with all the strength their human arms could muster.

He would be complaining about being crushed in between them later, now he would let them have their goodbye.

“I promise you, Mom” they whispered in her ear “I’ll go all the way to the barrier, you’ll see” their voice was full of emotions, not the fake ones this time, he could tell “And I won’t let anything stop me, no matter what!” not promising not dying, they knew what they were doing… probably… “Mother” their voice broke, and he shivered a little, maybe it was all that emotion surrounding him, it should be messing with the environmental magic his roots fed on “I promise…” It had nothing to do with the way their voice clawed in their throat, as if it was painful for them to talk “I will bring you the stars”

Then ran to the door without looking back.

Not a chance to say another word.

It was kind of selfish of them.

What if he wanted to say something else?

Not that he had anything to say, but they could have asked…

He looked past their shoulder, and watched as she got smaller and smaller on the hall behind them. She gave them a last wave, he waved one of his leaves, but doubted she could see.

They shook him so much while were running, there was no way she saw his reply. They were stupid, it was like they weren’t looking where they stepped on and got all jumbly on the legs.

They ran like that until they got to the other door on the end of the corridor.

This time he was using his vines to hold into their torso and have a bit more of stability.

“Here it is” their voice was back to stupid happy “The exit of the Ruins”

“Why didn’t you run past it?” of course they had to stop now, that he was already secure with his vines... always giving him trouble.

“It’s cold outside” they put the boot on the ground

“It’s about to get a lot colder” he complained.

“That’s why” they took ball of sheets from their inventory “I’ll be prepared”. Two more stripped shirts.

They were already wearing the purple and white Mom had got them, and now they were holding two more… one was the same blue and pink they were wearing when he found them…

And the other…

They put the green and yellow shirt above their current one.

It would make them warmer.

But he didn’t know if he liked them wearing that.

“Why do you ask?” they extended a hand to him, and he pulled himself to place with his vines “did you think I was getting cold feet?”

Holding onto the old shirt was a bit odd, but not as bad or as good as he thought it would be anyway “I know you didn’t, you are too stupid for that” it was just a big nothing… a big boring nothing “I just…” they were looking at him with an expectant goofy smile…

Did they…

The smile only grew.

Definitely!

He wouldn’t go down to their level “I refuse to answer to that” they laughed anyway, grabbing the next shirt “What are you doing?” they didn’t stop, putting their arms in the shirt “Why did you tell me to climb you if you were still getting dressed?” he started to retract his roots, they were so annoying.

But they stopped his attempt with one hand “So you could stay below one of the shirts”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because two would be warmer, but too tight. One it’s safe and still warm” they finished putting the blue and pink sweater over his head “Don’t think I don’t know what cold do to flower’s petals” said holding the collar to look down at him.

“Whatever” His petals were bad, he knew that, but it was the best he could do, at least he had all of them, on one of the other timeline he didn’t had half of it.

They moved a bit more, he had no control over their actions in that position. Between the two pieces of clothing and with his vines tying the boot to their torso, he had no vision and no chance to move, if they at least were holding the boot he could… by the way…

“Why aren’t you holding the boot?” they always held him, no matter how many times he insisted he didn’t need their help.

“I thought you – how did you say?” they changed their voice to a higher pinch “Don’t need the help of a stupid human with stupid twigs for arms” they did a horrible imitation.

“And since when do you care about what I say?” he felt them tensing.

“I care, Flowey” by the way blue and pink illuminated his hiding place, and that the cold started to seep from the outside, he knew they had just stepped out of the ruins and into the forest “I do”

“Then equip the knife you stole” he adjusted himself to face forward, if he pressed face onto the fabric and squinted, he could see the outline of the Snowdin forest between the threads “So?”

“No” he almost missed their voice from the weakness of it, but was expecting the negative, anyway.

“See, you don’t care” he saw their hands clench and unclench, one of them seemed to be darker than usual, maybe ash from the fight... For someone so stubborn, they were incredibly easily to emotionally manipulate.

“I do” but guilt was an easy one to get from them, so was happiness and curiosity, he had yet to unlock their rage. He knew it was there, he had saw a few glimpses in their eyes “All I do is ‘cause I care, Flowey” Annoyance was an easy one too.

“Prove it” He challenged them.

After annoyance, the next one should be anger, but every time they were about to get angry, they got determined instead. It made a little sense, anger and determination were both shades of red, but at the same time it was weird seeing someone that never got enraged no matter how much he tried.

A blinding light shone through the fabric, that’s how he knew they had created a new save point.

“I’m going to break the barrier and set all the monsters free” every time with the same yada yada… “because I care” they were lucky he was helping them, if it didn’t occur to their narrow mind to make a save after a fight like that, they needed him, really needed him “Because that’s all that matters to me”.

“Whatever” They saved, everything after that was a waste of time “If you’re going unarmed we have to get out of here as fast as we can”

“I have my stick” despite the stupid comment, they started walking, he would glare at them, but they weren’t looking down, and he was already using his vines to support himself, since they decided not to hold the boot with their, probably injured, hand. Humans were weird, she had healed them to full HP, but their weird material body was still burned. Monsters were more transparent in that matter, HP only got full when their bodies were completely healed.

“If you will defend yourself using only plants” they snickered at that, at least the wound was small enough to ignore, he continued “at least use that one” he could see a piece of wood on the middle of the path.

Only after they approached it, he could see it was too big for them to carry, being inside the sweater was not good for his sight. Not that he cared so much, one thing they got right, it was warm.

They actually tried to pick it up, how stupid.

Making a displeased sign, they walked over it.

It didn’t even broke under their full weight.

Saying that he was completely against his lack of control over the situation was a lie.

He was going to visit Snowdin without freezing his roots, that was a new one. And that way his petals were safe from the wind too! And they were warm and soft, he was almost comfortable.

That until something broke. The loud sound echoing on the forest.

“Not a peep!” he commanded whispering. They walked faster, but were silent.

He was going to move his vines to get above the shirt and prepare a defense.

But he didn’t.

He couldn’t get out of the shirt.

He wasn’t moving, and neither were they.

He had felt this before in past resets.

The cold, calculating, intent was never followed by an easy encounter.

“human” And he knew that voice…

At least they had saved their progress.

______________________

First

Last

Next

[for-a-flower]

Daily Report

           When Frisk returned to the caverns of Waterfall, Sans was back behind the wooden stand as if he had never left.  He waved to Frisk so the child joined him.  "We should hang out again sometime," said Sans.

           Frisk nodded.  "We should."

           Sans winked.  “Alright, see ya, kid.”  Frisk sighed and continued deeper into the cave.  That young, dinosaur-like monster wasn’t near the drop off on the right anymore.

           "You lost your chance.”

           Frisk immediately stopped only a few steps around a corner.  He looked behind him again, but no one was there.  He had no idea why he kept hearing things.  Was he hearing his own, dark thoughts as if someone was silently speaking to him? ��Was this normal in the Underground?  Frisk thought about asking Sans about it but decided against it.  Telling someone he could hear a voice in his head was creepy . . . not to mention strange.  One thing was sure, he knew something more had to be going on.  His gut told him that much.

           While Frisk moved through the caves, he passed blue and pink crystalline formations in the rock.  They glinted and sparkled in the cave’s dim light.  This wasn't the first time Frisk had heard a voice since he arrived.  Now that he thought of it, he had heard a different voice before.  It had been much lower, clearly male.  He sounded like someone with wisdom and many years of experience.  He was calling the name Chara and said not to give up.  That had happened when Frisk’s life was fading.  Curiosity came over the child as questions poured into his mind again.  Who in the world was Chara?  Who was talking to them?  And why had Frisk heard the call?  Perhaps he would never know.  In any case, he had to keep going.  Frisk crossed a shallow stream that flowed over the path.  He glanced to his left toward the source of moving water.  It was flowing down the rock wall from a ledge above.  His gaze shifted to a higher ledge as he walked.  He could see more crystals and large stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling.  His eyes caught sight of a shadowed figure standing on a higher ledge in the dark.  Frisk froze.

           Someone was up there.  They stood between shadows of several large stalagmites in a full suit of armor.  A large plume of red hair came from the top of the helmet, flowing gently in a soft breeze.  They seemed to be facing away at the moment.  Obviously, Frisk hadn't been seen or heard yet.  The child’s eyes darted over the cavern area ahead, searching for a place to hide.  There was a patch of tall, thick grass across the path only a few yards away.  Frisk made a run for it, ducking down as he slipped between their long leaves.  Once he felt safe among bluish colored grass, Frisk peered up between the leaves to wait for the monster to leave.  Papyrus stepped from a tunnel on the left and approached the other.  Frisk watched in complete silence.

           "H . . . Hi, Undyne!" Papyrus said.  "I'm here with my daily report."  Frisk stared.  So this was Undyne.

           She replied in a low, serious tone of voice.  "What report?"

           "Uh . . . regarding that human I called you about earlier."

           Undyne turned to face him, her armor reflecting what little light there was in the cavern.  "Did you fight him?"

           Papyrus seemed surprised.  "Hu?  Yes, of course I did!"  He raised his head with a proud grin.  "I fought them valiantly!"

           Undyne glanced away.  "Did you capture him?"

           Papyrus paused nervously.  "W . . . well . . . no.  I tried very hard, Undyne, but in the end . . ."  He glanced down and frowned.  "I failed."

           Undyne sighed.  "You know, what?  It's okay.  I'm going to take the human's soul myself," she said.  Frisk subconsciously covered his chest with his right hand.

           Papyrus stared back with wide eyes.  "What?"  He moved closer.  "But Undyne, you don't have to destroy him!  You see . . . you see . . ."

           Undyne spun around to glare at the skeleton.  "Enough, Papyrus!  I will do what I must do!"  Papyrus stepped back, retreating from her as she spoke.  "Look.  We need that human's soul . . . and you know it."

           Papyrus sighed.  "I understand," he said.  "I'll help you in any way I can."  The skeleton turned and bolted back the way he had come.

           "What?" said Frisk.  Undyne’s head turned to look in his direction.  She stomped to the edge, looked down at the grass, and scanned over it with a single, glowing eye which glinted under the darkness of her helmet.  Frisk closed sunk down further in the grass, hoping he wouldn’t be seen.  Undyne lifted her right hand.  The shape of a blue, glowing spear appeared in her grasp.  She pointed it down at the grass below as she continued to scan for movement.  The spear throbbed with magic energy in her grasp.  She knelt down, ready to throw it at any sign of movement.  Frisk sat quietly in the grass, holding his breath as his little body trembled in fear.  Seconds dragged by.

           Finally, Undyne stood and lowered her hand.  The spear vanished with a flicker of light.  She backed away from the edge and vanished within the shadows beyond.  Frisk waited quietly for a minute or two longer to be sure she had really gone.  He let out a relieved sigh.  He got to his feet and moved through long grass to a path on the other side.  He peeked out to make sure the coast was clear then stepped into the open.

           "Yo!" called a voice from behind.  Frisk turned around.  The little monster kid jumped from the grass.  He smiled at the human, bouncing up and down with excitement.  "She was looking right at you!  What did you do to get her attention?"

           "Uh, I guess she heard me talk," said Frisk.

           "That was cool!  I wish I was that lucky!  Come on!  Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!"  The kid took off before Frisk could respond.  He tripped and fell flat on his face a few feet ahead.  Frisk was going to offer help, but the little guy scrambled back to his feet and hurried off.  The child watched him go then paused to lean his back against the cave's rock wall.  He put a hand over his chest, remembering that glowing, red orb Flowey had showed him and had called his soul.  That orb . . . the essence of his being . . . that was what Undyne and the Royal Guard wanted from him.  Frisk knew they’d have to kill him to take that power.  And he didn’t want to die . . . not again.

           As the kid stood quietly in a dark cave leaning against the left wall, he began to dread what was to come.  Undyne was a full-fledged warrior . . . a fully armored knight . . . the leader of the monster's Royal Guard.  How would he, a young human with nothing but a toy knife, make it passed her?  Frisk sighed and closed his eyes a moment.  He could go back, couldn't he?  Eventually he'd make it.  All he had to do was keep trying.  A soft glow against his face caused him to open his eyes.  Frisk caught sight of a yellow spark before it faded.  He smiled and stepped away from the cave wall.  That was it . . . determination.  That's how he was marking the timeline.  That's how he had saved himself.  He hadn't been willing to give up.  He wanted to keep going and that will had brought him back.  It made a little more sense now.  But what did this mean?  Could he go back at any time?  Or did he have to die first?  And if he could, how exactly would he go back without being at the point of death?  Frisk started walking again.  He'd figure it out eventually and if he could . . . he'd go back and save Toriel.

<Previous  Next>

Full Chapter List

[driftertale]

As you all know, this is the end of Driftertale as you knew it. That doesn’t mean that it will die forever though. In this post i will describe everything i had planned for this AU and anyone who is interested, is free to use some or all of the ideas presented here or even continue the AU by themselves. As my Meme-self would say: It’s free real estate.

Also quick self-advertisemnt: If you’ve been following this blog and don’t know yet, i also have another AU called @charatale-au that i plan on finishing. You may also visit my personal blog @lizzy-mun where i post art and original comics in the future.

Driftertale Spoilers under the cut:

Mood Music for anyone feeling as melancholic as i

I guess it’s best to start with explaining what happened in the last few updates. Basically Frisk tried to reset but ended up in “the Void” where Gaster is too.  Gaster tried to use Frisks soul and DT to create a portal and use Frisks body as a vessel to return to his timeline, but since Frisks Soul is much more powerful than he anticipated, everything goes wrong. Frisks Soul and body become extremely unstable and briefly open a gateway through time and space that Frisk is thrown through.  Due to being exposed to the void and being thrown outside of any timeline and having an unstabel soul and lots of determination they end up shifting to a random timeline. And they keep shifting to new timelines every now and then, which is where their Nickname Drifter eventually comes from.

Drifter would then travel to a multitude of timelines and universes. I haven’t really decided what AUs i wanted to use but here are some things that would definitely happen at one point or another:

Drifter meets Error and they fight. That would happen pretty early on and Drifter would find out that they can use magic now, even tho they can’t really control it yet. But since they absorbed a boss monster soul, their magic is incredibly powerful

(Frisk uses Fire Magic)

Drifter befriends Papyrus and he gives them a red scarf as sign of their friendship.

They meet Core Frisk and visit the Omega Timeline

They meet Kara, the main antagonist. She’s a wizard-chara who can travel through time and space and uses shadow-magic. Her plan is to gather powerful souls that she can use to become god and create her own perfect universe.

Kara wants to get Drifter!chara’s soul and first tries to trick Frisk in giving it to her and later hires Crimson, a genocidal Frisk, to kill Drifter. Crimson actually succeeds in killing Drifter. But Kara appears and attacks him so he has to retreat. Kara makes Drifter!chara believe that she’s on their side and makes a deal with them. Kara uses her magic (which she gets from Gaster, by the way) to give D!chara a temporary magic body so they can avenge Frisk and Kara uses the deal to claim their soul later.

Once Kara got D!charas soul she absorbs all the souls she gathers and becomes like god and starts creating a chaotic amalgamation of timelines. (think Weirdmageddon)

(Kara normal and in their God-From)

Gaster would then bring back Drifter by creating a new body for them. (They actually created a spare magic vessel inside Drifters soul earlier. They talked about it in one of the last updates) Frisk tries to fight Kara but ultimately fails and is killed again. This time Kara absorbs their Soul and all hope is lost.

But of course Drifter has the power of love and anime on their side and they managed to call out to the other souls that Kara absorbed. Together they manage to overthrow Kara (like the souls in the Photoshop Flowey fight) and manage to RESET. With the power that Kara possessed at that time, all the timelines she destroyed where restored by that reset and Drifter was send back to their own timeline, where they do a pacifist run (except Toriel is still ded)

And that would be the End

I also had some ideas to continue the story after that as an ask blog, where Frisk saves Asriel by injecting themselves with DT from Alphys lab and splitting their soul in half so Asriel can have one part of it.

The story would continue on the surface and more stuff could happen but i haven’t really thought of much, except that Asriel would have PTSD from his time as Flowey and would actually sometimes see Flowey talking to him lure him into reseting once again.

Also Drifter would try to use their magic for justice by becoming a vigilante, much to the dismay of Asriel who of course doesn’t know at first that Frisk is that new Hero.

I think that is all that i can think of at the moment. As i said, all the ideas are free to use. You can use them in your own AU, try to make your own Driftertale or do whatever. Credit me or don’t, i don’t really mind.

[odderancyart]

Welcome Home

I presenteth to thee, a Hogwarts AU, because why the fuck not?

On AO3

No warnings

Word count: 4186

You can find the Hat’s song here

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home

Edge gazed out the window, placing his fingertips against the cold glass. Their father stood outside, wearing the elegant suit that unnerved Edge so much. It was a casual suit, so normal, and Dr Gaster never wore that kind of clothes unless they were going to London. Like now. He looked just like the other parents, except for the two cracks on his face and glowing red eyelights. It was odd. Far away from his usual domain, inconspicuous. Edge wasn’t sure whether he preferred this or the usual. This gives a sense of normalcy. A normalcy they’d never had, and it was a constant reminder of that they never would. There were no traces of the man who’d come home from work the same they were going to buy school supplies, blood splattered over his face.

Not his blood, of course. It never was.

Dr Gaster nodded at him as he caught his gaze, and Edge nodded back before sitting back down, tearing his eyes from the colourful platform. Platform 9 ¾. Feelings he couldn’t name coiled inside him. They were leaving home to go to a boarding school – a magical boarding school – and in all honesty, it was hard to swallow the guilt over how relieved he was over it. Their father was a good parent and had always done his best, but growing up in the middle of a gang war wasn’t easy. Particularly not when your parent was incredibly involved in it.

He ran his fingers over the carvings he’d found beneath the table between the seats. Four names. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter. And two words. Marauders Forever. Who they were, he had no idea, but they must’ve been friends. Friends going to magic school together. Edge glanced at his brother. Red lounged in the opposite, leaning against the wall with his nose in one of his physics-books. Another book laid on the table: The Wisdom of Stars: a ground course in astrology. Bullshit, of course. Astrology wasn’t a thing, everyone with a teaspoon of sense knew that. Why the fuck they taught in in a school, he didn’t know.

Oh Angel, magic school. When, on their eleventh birthday, that lady had shown up and claimed that all the weird shit happening around them was because they were wizards, Red had slammed the door in her face. But since father had insisted they hear her out, they had. He smiled faintly, pulling out the wand he’d bought two weeks ago from his backpack. Hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core, whatever that meant. Thank the Angel they had listened.

In all honesty, until now he’d been expecting to wake up and find it all to be a dream. But now, as the old train puffed and pulled away from the station, it actually felt real.

“Fuck,” he said, pulling at his leather jacket. “This is happening.” Red grunted noncommittally. The only time he had looked up since he pulled out his book was to growl at whoever tried to enter the compartment.

His biggest issue with this all, though, was that there was a school uniform. And those wizard robes were a far cry from the clothes he and his brother had always worn. Back in their town, there were basically two choices: suits or leather. And he was not comfortable surrendering his leatherjacket for that weird-ass uniform.

But it wasn’t like they lacked money. Maybe he could bribe the headmistress into letting them keep their own clothes.

He looked up as the door to their compartment slid open, revealing three older girls. The one at the front had blue skin and the reddest hair he’d ever seen. Behind her stood a lizard and a brown-haired human. Red looked up from his book, glaring at them and letting out a growl Usually, it made people retreat but the redhead only raised an eyebrow.

“First-years?” she asked. Her voice was dark and laced with amusement.

“What’s that to ya?” Red grunted. Edge could hear the defensiveness in his voice, though he doubted anyone else could.

“This is our compartment, punk. But since you’re first-years I’ll give you some slack. You didn’t know. Now get out of here.”

Stiffening in his seat, Edge glared at her. “No.”

“No?”

“No. We were here first, asshole. And we don’t take orders from anybody.” His soul pounded in his chest as he met her gaze unflinchingly. She was obviously older, and so likely knew magic already. And despite his knowledge about fighting, he couldn’t battle magic. Yet. But he’d never taken orders by anyone other than his father in his life, and he wasn’t about to start with some random teenager.

The girl guffawed. “I like your spirit, punk,” she exclaimed, seating herself next to him. Her friends stepped in after her. The human was smiling while the lizard’s eyes flickered between Edge and his brother. She held out her hand, and cautiously, he shook it. “I don’t usually talk with kids, but I’ll make an exception for you. I’m Undyne. They’re Alphys and Frisk.”

“How generous.” Edge’s voice dripped with sarcasm, even though he smiled. “I’m Edge. This is my brother Red.”

“Cool names!”

Was she sincere or mocking them? He narrowed his eyes. It was fifty/fifty. Edge quite liked his name, but many found them amusing. Particularly in combination with their edgy style and red magic. But there were no signs of mockery on her face. “Thank you,” he replied cautiously.

Undyne grinned sharply. “Any thoughts on which house you’re gonna be in, punk? Personally, I’m in the coolest of all the houses: Gryffindor!”

Edge shrugged. “No idea. I don’t know anything about them.”

“Oh, muggleborn, are you?”

In the corner of his eye, he could see Red peek up, glancing suspiciously on her. The witch lady had warned them there still were a few people who looked down upon ‘muggleborns’ even though they apparently were much fewer after the Second War – and Edge hadn’t the faintest idea what this war was.

She threw her arm over his shoulders, grinning down at him. “No worries, edgy lil’ pal. Aunt Undyne is gonna tell you everything you need to know.”

…

When the train arrived at the end stop, Edge had made a deal with himself regarding his uniform. The girls left for a while to let him and Red get changed before they afforded them the same courtesy, and now when he stepped off the train it was with the cape-like thing still stuffed into his bag and his leatherjacket over the rest of the black robes. Red had done the same. Neither of them was willing to give up either the pure aesthetics of it nor the safety the symbol on their jackets, the Delta Rune, had always granted them at home. No one at home would hurt a child wearing the Rune unless they wished for a painful death. Edge had never left their apartment without it.

The activity on the platform was frantic as students flooded out of the train. At least their stuff was still on the train: Frisk had said to leave it. Though the thought made him slightly nervous, he had listened. Except his backpack – he had the black leather bag slung over one of his shoulders. He wasn’t leaving his most precious belongings for some stranger to take.

Undyne grinned sharply at him as someone yelled from behind the crowd, “First-years over here! First-years!”

“Go over there, punk. I’ll be waiting after the Sorting ceremony. Can’t wait to have ya in my house.” Gryffindor, as earlier mentioned. Frisk was a Hufflepuff – “The only cool one in that bunch,” Undyne had said and then received hard poke that made her grin – and Alphys a Ravenclaw. According to Undyne, it went, Gryffindor – the cool house for the brave and daring ones, Hufflepuff – “They say they’re hard-working, but they don’t seem to do much, sorry Frisk but it’s true,” Ravenclaw – for the weird nerds, and Slytherin – the stuck-up kids. Edge had a feeling she was biased.

Nonetheless, he really hoped he’d go to Gryffindor like her. He’d only known her for a couple hours, but he really wanted to make her proud. It kind of worried him, that he already liked her so much. After all, he didn’t know her.

But Red grabbed his wrist before he could continue pondering and pulled him toward the crowd of their peers that had gathered around a man in a huge green witch hat with flowers in the hatband. He beamed at them. “Welcome to Hogwarts, children. I am the groundskeeper, Asgore Swapp – call me Asgore – and I am going to bring you to the castle. Come with me, please.”

Edge regarded the other new students as he and Red did as asked, following the crowd away from the platform. Surprisingly, there were quite a few skeletons in the group. Of course, they weren’t an uncommon species, but he still had never seen that many in the same place. The group was otherwise very mixed between monsters and humans.

“-older brother is starting second grade!” one of the skeletons said, and Edge listened intently, trying to gather what kind of people he would be attending school with. Hopefully, they weren’t like his old classmates. Especially since he would have to live with them. “He says the Sorting is super cool, though not as cool as me, of course!”

“-I’ve got no idea what house I’m going to be in-”

“-can’t wait! I’ve been looking forward to this all my life-”

“-I miss my baby sister already. What if she forgets me-”

As they stepped away from the lights of the platform, Red gasped. When he turned around, he found his brother staring up at the sky, eyelights glittering. Edge followed his gaze, and his eyes widened. Stars. Thousands of them, or millions. Twinkling up there, bright and gorgeous. His mouth fell open. He’d never seen anything like it.

“Holy shit,” Red whispered, awe shining on his face. Edge smiled. The view was beautiful, but he’d never heard his brother so enchanted before. It was nice.

Then a lake appeared in front of them, the stars glittering on its calm, dark surface, and Asgore started directing them into small boats with a single light in the front. And on the other side of the lake, a castle towered. Edge’s soul skipped a beat in his chest. Wow. It was enormous, lights shining in every window and tower, and the full moon was rising behind it.

He wasn’t certain how he ended up in a boat sitting next to Red, but somehow, he did. Two other students sat in the same boat: a skeleton who was even taller than him who beamed at them, and a human with blonde hair. The skeleton held out his hand, offering it to Red. He didn’t even seem to notice, too entranced by the stars. Shrugging, the skeleton gave it to Edge instead, who shook it.

“Hi!” he said, smiling widely. “I’m Papyrus Gaster! Who are you?”

“Edge Griffin.” He hesitated before giving the other a smile in return, regarding him. This skeleton looked very different from every skeleton he’d ever met. Softer. His teeth were even and his shapes round. How strange. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too! Any thoughts on which house you’re going to be in? My brother is in Ravenclaw, because he’s a huge nerd for the stars, and he says I’m probably a Hufflepuff because I’m so nice. Dad agrees.” The words were thrown at him so fast Edge almost couldn’t comprehend them at first.

He blinked. “No, I haven’t. I didn’t even know what the houses meant before I got them explained on the train.”

“Oh!” Papyrus leaned forward, grinning widely. “Well, Gryffindor is for the courageous and chivalrous, Hufflepuff is for the fair and loyal, Ravenclaw is for creative and passionate people, and Slytherin is for the shrewd and ambitious! Personally, I think I’d fit right into any of them!”

Edge couldn’t help but return his grin. “I’m sure. Well, Ravenclaw doesn’t really fit me then. I don’t claim to be particularly creative or passionate.” Except when it comes to fighting, maybe. His Krav Maga-teacher said he was quite creative. He didn’t tell the other that though. Didn’t know him anywhere near well enough to reveal that he was a trained fighter – he’d started classes at six.

“Well you’ll surely be placed in the house that’s perfect for you! Say have you ever played Quidditch?”

Obviously, he had not. But as he listened to Papyrus explain while regarding the castle, which grew bigger and bigger, he couldn’t help but smile. He had a good feeling about this.

…

The entrance hall of the castle was enormous. The ceiling was so high the crystal chandeliers almost looked tiny, and the staircase at its end was in marble, Edge could see that. On its lower steps, a yellow wyvern lady in a huge brown hat waited, smiling at them. “Welcome to Hogwarts,” she said as they all crowded in front of her. “I am Professor Dunbar, the deputy headmistress of this school. I will bring you to the Great Hall for the Sorting ceremony. Come with me.”

The walk through the castle never seemed to end. Papyrus was still by his side, chatting about various subjects, and Edge did listen but there was so much to look at.

“I remember my first time coming here,” Papyrus said, startling him. The other was grinning at him, something knowing in his eyes. “I was nine, and dad was doing a guest lecture in Potions, and since he couldn’t find anyone to look after me and my brother we got to come too. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Edge only nodded. It really was.

Abruptly, the group stopped. His soul jumped up in his throat as he stopped, almost running straight into the student in front of him. Professor Dunbar gestured toward the huge door in front of them. In the back of his mind, Edge wondered if everything wizardly would be that enormous. Was he destined to feel small, despite his unusual height for his age, during the next seven years?

“On the other side of this door, we’ll find the Great Hall. This is where the Sorting ceremony will take place. There are four houses in this school: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. They will function as your family during the schoolyear, so do your best to get off with a good start. Now, let’s proceed.”

The doors opened, revealing yet another hall with supremely high ceiling. Candles floated mid-air, and even Red gawked at that. Four long tables filled with students were in there, two on each side of the pathway in the middle, and at a platform yet another table stood. Adults sat there – likely the teachers. In front of the table, there was a single stool with a huge, frayed hat on and-

“Red,” he whispered, blinking rapidly. “Is the hat singing?”

“One thousand years ago this story starts

There were four sorcerers with strong and wise hearts,” the hat sang.

“Fucking hell it is.” Shock was painted on Red’s face as they made their way along the path, up to the platform.

Papyrus giggled. “Yeah, that’s not that cool. Wait until you see what we’re doing in class!”

“Bold Gryffindor from wild moor

Fair Ravenclaw from glen

Sweet Hufflepuff from valley broad

Shrewd Slytherin from fen.

They had a dream to teach all that they knew

Witches and wizards came far and it grew

‘Til a castle stood tall by the shore of a lake

And a thousand years later, the magic remains.”

Once more, they all stopped, gathering into a crowd. Professor Dunbar stepped up by the stool, holding up the hat and a parchment. “When I call your name, you will come up here and the Sorting Hat will sort you into your houses.” Many of the students nodded. “Julia Clarke.”

The blonde kid who had been in the boat with them climbed the platform, sitting down on the chair. She hadn’t said a word during the entire trip. The Hat didn’t even have time to sit down completely on her head before it yelled, “RAVENCLAW!”

Edge twitches, staring at the Hat. His mouth fell open, and Papyrus giggled again. An applause broke out at one of the tables, and she walked over to them, sitting down.

“Papyrus Gaster.”

He squealed in excitement before half-running up to the stool, sitting down. The Hat’s face, because it had a face, turned contemplative. A few moments passed. A drop of wax fell from one of the candles, down on the small staircase before the platform. “SLYTHERIN!”

Papyrus’ mouth formed an O before he shrugged, beaming as he bounced over to the applauding table on the far left of the hall. He waved at his new housemates.

“Edge Griffin.”

He swallowed before straightening his back, marching up on the platform. He put a cocky grin onto his face, sweeping his gaze over the audience as he sat down. As he did, he swept a hand over the well-worn leather of his jacket, feeling his soul calm somewhat. The deputy headmistress eyed it but didn’t comment as she put the Hat down on his head.

“Oh, interesting.”

Edge twitched, breath hitching. What the hell?

“Language.” The voice sounded amused, and Edge’s eyes widened unnoticeably as he realized it must be the Hat. It was talking to him. Inside his head.

“Indeed I am.” It chuckled. “Now where to put you? You’re right that you’re not a Ravenclaw. The other three houses, though… you could fit into all of them. You’re as valiant and courageous as a true Gryffindor, but…” It hesitated. “No, maybe not. You’re either a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff. You’re cunning and ambitious, no denying that. Resourceful as well. But those aren’t your defining traits, no. Despite the hardships you’ve lived through already, the horrors you’ve seen, you’re kind at soul. Loyal almost to a fault. Hard-working and dedicated, for sure. And fair as well as patient, yes. Yes, I think I know where you belong, young warrior.”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

The table where everyone wore sunshine-yellow and black ties broke out in loud applauses, cheering as he slid off the stool and made his way over to them. He glanced toward the red table, anxiety coiling in his stomach as he searched for a certain redhead. Undyne looked surprised as she met his gaze but gave him the thumbs up and something loosened inside him as he slid into a seat next to a teenager. He smiled at him, offering his hand. A goat-monster with white fluffy fur. Edge took it.

“Hello, I’m Asriel Dreemurr, one of the prefects.” His voice and smile were gentle. “We’re so happy to have you here and if you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you.” Edge nodded. Just then, his brother’s name was called, and he twisted around to get a good look. Red sauntered up to the stool, hands shoved into his jacket pockets.

The Hat didn’t stay on his head for more than a second before it shouted, “SLYTHERIN!”

Grinning, Red went over to the Slytherin-table, sitting down next to Papyrus. Papyrus beamed at him.

Edge bit down on his tongue, balling the hand he had in his lap into a fist. His stomach squeezed. Oh Angel. Not being in the same house as his twin would be difficult. They’d never been away from each other for any longer while before.

The Sorting continued, and they were joined by more students, among others two more skeletons. One who, almost whispering, revealed his name as Slim Serif, and another who smiled lazily and said, “Rus Shacklebolt, as you heard. Yes, I’m related to Kingsley Shacklebolt, he’s my second cousin.” Edge immediately disliked him. He slouched worse than Red and anyone who introduced themselves that way was bound to be insufferable.

Once everyone was sorted, the headmistress, Professor Greengrass, told them, “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. And an extra welcome to our new students. I am certain you will feel at home in no time at all. I will waste no more time – bon appetite everyone!”

He stayed quiet most of the dinner, listening to the others and trying to gather what sort of company he’d ended up in. Everyone seemed to nice – well, except from Rus that is – and it was freaking him out a little. How the fuck did anyone dare to be so openly friendly, didn’t they know that was dangerous? Then again, so had Undyne. Neither Slim nor Rus spoke a lot either, though when Rus did speak, it was with a confidence that seemed almost exaggerated. It grated on Edge’s nerves, to say the least.

Frisk waved at him from down the table, smiling brightly.

Supper was delicious, he had to say that. He’d always eaten very well, seeing how his father was one of the more influential people at home, but never anything like this. There were roasted beef and chicken, and roasted potatoes and boiled potatoes and lamb and bacon and more food than Edge even knew the name off. And all of it was marvellous – except the roasted turnips. He’d always hated turnip.

Eventually, the dinner had to end, though. Asriel was showing them to the common room as they passed by a group of Gryffindors, among them Undyne. She grinned at him, and that anxiety returned as he freed himself from the group.

“Hufflepuff, eh, punk?” she said, eyeing him up and down. “Wouldn’t have pegged you like one.”

“Yes,” he replied. “So it seems.” Discomfort crept up his spine as he watched her, searching for a hint of disapproval. She seemed to think Hufflepuffs were kind or boring, even if she was friends with Frisk. Maybe she would think he was boring too now?

She guffawed, slapping his back. “Well I guess that bunch of duffers needs someone to spice things up a little! Seems that’s your job now. You’ll do great.”

Relief flooded him, though he hid it behind a smirk. “Of course. I always do.”

Snorting, she nodded. “Keep that attitude, punk.” She nodded toward the group who had stayed a distance away. “Don’t keep them waiting, or they might get tired of it. No one but the Puffs know how the hell to get into your common room, so you better not let that happen. It’s Hogwarts’ most well-guarded secret.” She tilted her head. “But maybe you’ll let me know, eh?”

“Hardly,” he snorted. If it was a secret, he wouldn’t reveal it. But he nodded, grinning as he made his way back to them. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was very happy she still seemed to be his friend. He didn’t have a lot of those – or any, if he was honest. Alliances, yes, but not friends. Asriel smiled at him as they made their way down, down in the castle, until they reached what Edge must assume to be the lowest level possible over the basement itself.

Asriel waved them closer as they gathered around a pile of barrels. He looked around to ensure no one else was there before he placed his hand over one of the barrels – the second from the floor, middle of the second row. “To open Hufflepuff basement,” he murmured, voice hushed so Edge had to lean forward to hear properly, “tap the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff on this barrel. If you forget which barrel it is, just wait for someone else to come. If you do it on the wrong one, you’ll get doused in vinegar, and that’s not fun.”

Edge couldn’t help but get the impression he was speaking from experience.

He demonstrated, and a secret passageway was revealed, much to the delight of multiple students. Even Edge watched in intrigue as they entered it. The passageway was sloping and earthy, and at its end, a warm light appeared.

When they stepped into the common room, multiple students were already there, lounging in the many light-yellow couches. The walls were made of dark yellow bricks, though honey-coloured wood made up a meter-high lath from the wooden floor of the same colour. A fire crackled in a fireplace on the opposite side of the circular room, and a portrait of a brown-haired woman in a yellow dress hung above it. She toasted them with the golden goblet she was holding, and Edge didn’t even twitch this time. It wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d seen today. Why the hell not have living paintings too?

“That’s our founder, Helga Hufflepuff,” Asriel let them know. “She’s amazing if you want help with homework or just talk with someone who isn’t a student or teacher.”

Plants filled the shelves and hung from the ceiling, and light washed in from the circular windows just beneath it. In all honesty, it was beautiful.

As Asriel let them know where the dormitories were, Edge couldn’t help but smile at the sunny room.

He thought he’d like it here.

[emberwolves69]

New Territory Ch 3: Relocation

Frisk could faintly hear the sounds of fighting going on somewhere in the city. Fights that she wished she was far enough to never have to hear. More than that she wished that she was far away from where she was at the moment since she was currently terrified of the large skeletons that were currently surrounding her. Especially the last one that had shown up. Something about him screamed that he was the most dangerous of the three and she didn’t understand that and didn’t know where the feeling came from.

 “Now then. What is your connection to the human mafia?” The last one asked his voice calm and relaxed as if there wasn’t anything going on around them, as if this was completely normal.

 “I don’t have any connections to…” Frisk was cut off as she was pulled away from the wall a bit before being slammed back into it, hard.

 “Now what did I just say about lying?” The skeleton asked as Frisk groaned in pain.

 “I didn’t…”

 SLAM!

 She hit the wall once more, harder this time causing her to cry out. ”You do have some kind of connection to them. After all it appears that you are close to one of their men who has a rather good position.”

 “C-Chara? I have known him since we were kids…”

 Frisk half expected to be slammed against the wall once more but it didn’t happen.

 “I don’t talk to Chara about anything to do with that horrible business that he is in. He knows how much I hate it.” Frisk continued quickly while she was able and while they were listening.

 The newest Skeleton let out a thoughtful hum as he took in Frisk’s words. “Then you are his woman?” He asked and Frisk was shaking her head instantly.

 Frisk was able to explain when there was the sound of a gunshot not that far away, probably an alley or two over if that. The newest skeleton frowned looking rather displeased with the interruption. “Sans I am not done talking to this human. Take her for further questioning.”

 “Sure thing Wings.” Sans said before grabbing Frisk. “Come on Dollface, time to go.”

 Frisk found herself clinging to the skeleton as the world quickly faded to black and the ground beneath her seemed to fall away once again.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Wingdings sighed as he straightened his suit and looked at his youngest brother. “Come Papyrus lets finish dealing with these humans.”

 Papyrus nodded before he looked around and said “OF COURSE…BROTHER WHY DID YOU NOT SIMPLY KILL THAT HUMAN WOMAN?”

 Wingdings looked up at his brother and sighed. “I know that she is going to be useful. If not for information then defiantly good leverage against Chara.”

 “THAT HUMAN MALE? WHY WOULD THAT BE NEEDED?”

 “Because I have seen what he can do. His LOVE is getting higher all the time which is dangerous. But you saw how he reacted when he saw this woman in Sans’ arms.”

“HE DID SEEM PRETTY ANGRY. LIKE HE WOULD DO SOMETHING THAT WASN’T NECESSARILY THE SMARTEST FOR HIM OR HIS MEN.”

 Wingdings nodded. “Exactly. With this woman we have the means to remove Chara from the equation completely. And that will make taking over the city all the easier.”

 Papyrus nodded and then followed as Wingdings moved past him towards the street where they had heard the gunshot. After all they still had a lot of fighting that would need to be done and until Sans returned it was going to take a little longer to get around to where they were needed since they would need to cover the ground he usually would have taken.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Frisk felt relieved when she felt solid ground beneath her feet again. Sans let go of her and stepped away allowing Frisk to see her new surroundings. For starters they were no longer outside. They were in what she assumed was a house, and more specifically a room. It was rather nice and wasn’t what she had been expecting at all.

“Now then Dollface. Time for some rules.” Sans said before she could really look around too much.

 “Rules?” She asked really confused but she was at least listening.

“That’s right. Now then. As ya can see this area is pretty nice. And so long as ya behave you can stay here and not somewhere less pleasant. But if ya break anythin, or try to use anything as a weapon against either one of my brothers well… Lets just say ya ain’t gonna like it.”

 Frisk stepped back in fear as the lights went out of the skeleton’s sockets completely and his voice darkened to the point that she felt chills running up her spine. But a second later the lights were back and he was in a normal relaxed position once more. ”Now I aint gonna say don’t try to escape because I already know ya can’t. Wings designed this room himself and if it can keep monsters in it can keep one human in. But try if ya like, who knows it might be intertainin’.” Sans said with a shrug before he took a step back. ”now then I best be getting back, don’t want to miss out on all the fun.” he said before he vanished completely in the blink of an eye.

 Frisk felt some relief at being left alone but it was short lived by the fact that she had no idea where she was. Frisk began looking around the room and found that it was more like a small apartment, still bigger than her own but nice. There was a little kitchen area and to no surprise there wasn’t anything in there that could be used as a weapon, not that she was looking for one.

 There was a living room with a radio and a bookshelf full of different books and taking a close look Frisk actually recognized a couple, at least if she was left alone for a while she would have something to do. The bedroom was simple with a bed, nightstand, and wardrobe. The nightstand and wardrobe were naturally empty which was fine with her. The last place was the bathroom which held all that one would need for an extended stay, something she hoped wasn’t going to happen.

 “At least my imprisonment will be comfortable.” Frisk said to herself with a shake of her head. As she looked around she found it strange that she hadnt noticed a door that would lead out of this area but after a bit of searching she found it.

 The door wasn’t something that Frisk would have thought was a door at first. Just a strange panel of the wall at most. After all this door didn’t have any doorknob. The only thing was a small strange box on the wall next to it. Frisk frowned as she spent some time examining it but in the end she was unable to figure out how it worked or even what the full purpose of it was.

 After a while she gave up with a sigh and moved back to the living room. There she looked over the books once more before picking one out and sitting down. There was no point in doing much else since she really had no idea how to get out and she had no idea how long it would be before the Skeletons returned for her.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The door to the little apartment area that Frisk was being kept in opened as Wingdings stepped inside and glanced around. It was later than he had planned but that was mostly due to the humans not retreating as fast as he had calculated them to. After all he and his men had wiped out over half of them rather fast and he had figured that they would take off running after that but no they had stayed and continued to fight for several more hours. It had been a bloody fight but one that had turned out well and one that had gotten him the land that he had been after so it was worth it.

 As Wingdings looked around he saw that most things had remained untouched it seemed but that wasn’t too shocking. What did surprise him was the fact that the human woman was asleep in the living room, with a book in her lap that told him she had been reading before she had fallen asleep. Curious he silently walked over and looked at the book. It was an old fairy tale. A book that Papyrus had loved in his younger years. He was surprised that she would be reading this book out of all the ones that were on the shelf.

 With a small shrug a floating hand appeared beside him and took the book back to its place on the bookshelf. He then summoned a few more that carefully lifted the sleeping human and carried her to the bedroom where she was placed down gently to rest.

 Any other time Wingdings might have woken her to continue his interrogation of her but for now he was tired as well from using as much magic as he had and would rather sleep and then deal with her in the morning.

 Once Frisk was covered with the blankets Wingdings left the apartment and let the door close behind him. Wingdings stretched allowing his back to pop a couple of times and then headed upstairs to the main part of his home, he was sure that Sans had passed out by now and Papyrus was likely cooking something. They were all tired the fight hadn’t been a necessarily easy one. Sure it had mostly gone to his calculations but on paper was different than in person. And at the end of a day a war like this took a lot of magic.

 Wingdings reached the top of the stairs and sure enough he was able to smell Papyrus’ cooking and could see Sans sleeping on the couch. He shook his head a bit and decided to start with Sans.

 Walking over the oldest Wingdings stood behind the back of the couch and summoned a floating hand to go over and flick Sans just hard enough to startle him awake. And as always it worked. Sans bolted up his socket flaring bright red as his magic summoned, ready for a fight. But it didn’t last long and soon he calmed down and blinked a couple times.

 “Ya know Wings, there are nicer ways to wake a skeleton.” Sans said looking like he would just fall over and pass out again any second.

 “Perhaps but I don’t want to have to deal with your attacks should I attempt any of those other ways. As it is this is the best way to wake you and not risk being stabbed for it.” Wingdings said though they both knew that Sans likely would never be able to actually hit him. Not that he wouldn’t try when just waking up and not knowing that it was Wingdings, no the oldest Wingdings was just rarely ever hit thanks to his almost being able to predict the future. Or at least that is how it often felt due to the fact his calculations and judgments almost never being wrong and he had years of practice dodging attacks.

 “Now then Sans head up to your room. You cant sleep on the couch.” Wingdings said before turning to go deal with Papyrus, and mostly make sure he didn’t catch the kitchen on fire. Not that he had done that in a long time but old habits were hard to kill, especially when it usually was the thing that kept their home from burning down constantly.

 Papyrus was standing over the stove and glanced back when Wingdings walked in. “OH BROTHER THERE YOU ARE? ARE YOU DON’T INTERROGATING THE HUMAN ALREADY?”

 Wingdings shook his head. “No she was already asleep when I got in and frankly I think it is best to wait until the morning when my magic has recharged to finish my questions.”

 Papyrus nodded and looked back to what he had been cooking. Wingdings moved over to the table and sat down since a meal wouldn’t hurt and if anything it would help. “WHERE IS SANS? STILL SLEEPING ON THE COUCH?” Papyrus asked as he began to transfer the food he had made to plates.

 Wingdings shook his head. “No I had already sent him up to his room. I don’t believe that he would stay awake through a meal at the moment.” Wingdings sat back as Papyrus set a plate in front of him. “Thank you Papyrus.” He said and began eating moments later Papyrus was seated beside him and they fell into a comfortable silence as they ate.

 Wingdings could tell that Papyrus was exhausted, after all he probably had the most ground to cover during the fighting, but even so to any that didn’t know him it would almost appear as if he was unfazed by the day’s events. Once they had finished eating Papyrus took the dishes and cleaned up. Wingdings simply wished him goodnight and headed to bed. He was feeling a bit better now that he had eaten but his magic was still a bit low for his liking.

 As soon as Wingdings got into his room he changed out of his nicer suit and got into bed. He heard the sound of Papyrus stomping through the house headed to his own room, most likely having finished cleaning up the kitchen, and soon he fell asleep already making plans for the morning.

[[First]] -- [[Previous]] -- [[Next]]

[scartale-an-undertale-au]

Papers of Homelessness - Chapter 26

(This banner had been made by the awesome and amazing artist @benteja​. i am so honored that she had drawn this banner for this story. please go and show her all the love in the world that she deserves!!! \[^o^]/)

BEFORE | NEXT

a/n: so we got into frisk’s arc *smirk* surprisingly, it’ll all settles in the next chapter which means an extremely long chapter. so this chapter is quite short, so sorry about that that, especially after the long delay. but as an apology, i’ll post the next chapter on Monday, which means less than a week to wait ^^

enjoy~

Only one person to know what the hell was going on – Sans.

Only one person to get you to said Sans – Grillby.

You were planning on the best way to confront those two as you entered your house, startling when a loud noise erupted and your mother appeared from around the corner, stomping to the entrance with fire in her eyes.

You took a step back on instinct, realizing that you had angered your mother somehow… again.

"Chara Dreemurr, this is already the second night in a week that you arrive much later than usual and don't inform me," She said harshly. You puffed air out and scratched the back of your head.

"I don't have a phone, remember?" You grumbled. "Besides, I'm an adult, I don't need a curfew."

Your mother folded her arms, not convinced. "Then take someone else's phone for a moment. That is not an excuse."

"Mom, relax," You sighed, not understanding why she was so angry, "Undyne had just dragged me to her house to play video games and have some information gathering... I think, since that went into a strange territory pretty quickly."

Your mother froze, her dark red eyes widening before her face contorted into an expression of shock. "What?"

You shrugged, feeling the tips of your ears burn a bit. "Undyne, the one who I had the fight with yesterday? Well, she dragged me to play video games with her fiancé."

"…She's your friend?"

"…I guess?"

You two stared at one another for a while before your mother suddenly squealed and pulled you into a bear hug, laughing happily as she rubbed cheeks with you.

You, on the other hand, was completely freaked out from the abrupt change of mood, and struggled. "Mom, what the hell?! Put me down!"

"My child has a friend! Finally, after all those years, you have someone to call a friend..." She was sobbing, her bear hug turning to a fierce embrace and her squeals turning to whispers. You awkwardly stood there, patting your mother's back and feeling like the scum of the earth for making her cry like this.

"I'm sorry…"

Your mother stopped sobbing for a moment. "Why?"

You shrugged half-heartedly, looking away in shame. "I always made you cry some way or another… first with the fights, then with dad and now this…"

"My child…" You mother withdrew and cupped your face, raising your gaze up to meet with hers. Her dark red orbs were hard. "Don't ever say that. It's my job as your mother to worry about you. I want you to be happy and content and it hurts when I realize that I am unable to provide you with that. I never wanted to push you to be friends with people you didn't feel comfortable with but at the same time you had to have interaction with society. I want to protect you yet I know you are an adult.

…

You have no idea how happy I felt when you told me about Frisk," She whispered, her eyes softening and she brushed your cheeks with her thumbs.

You fidgeted awkwardly, wanting to look away but unable for the firm grip on your face. "And how despite fighting, you befriended someone…"

She took a deep breath and released your face. You looked down and then jolted when a box was thrust into your hands. You glanced back up to her, seeing that even though tears were ruining her face, her expression was that of pure joy. The box was pressed to your hands and you gingerly took it and examined it.

It was a simple white box with a folded-in corner. You popped it out and opened the box, your eyes blinking at the device lying inside. You raised your gaze to see your mother beaming at you.

"Now you'll be able to let me know when something like tonight happens again, keep in touch with your friends and with Frisk and Grillby."

Your throat felt tight. You didn't want a phone, yet you did feel that you needed to have one. And your mother picked up on it. You slowly picked up the small square of metal and accepted your mother's help as she showed you what to touch and what to push. She added her number straight away and after a moment of consideration, she added your brother's and your father's numbers.

You took a deep breath and gave her a tight embrace, trying to ignore the burning in the back of your throat and behind your eyes. You whispered her a small thank you and she nodded, thanking you for being such a great son.

You weren't, but you let yourself be deluded to such a wish and withdrew, wishing a goodnight to your mother and retreating to your room, wanting to be left on your own for the moment.

When the door closed behind you, you clasped a hand over your lower face and took a deep breath, looking at your room for eleven years.

It was simple. Extremely simple. Just the bare minimum that a child needed at the time. A big closet to your right, a yellow covered bed before it and a window behind the bedpost, letting you see the inky night sky. A desk littered with scratches and doodles supporting books and knitting supplies. An office black chair that was growing older next to a garbage tin.

And that was it.

Nothing special yet all of your world. You had nothing more yet you didn't need more. You were happy with what you had.

And then you ruined everything…

You sighed and took off your clothing, pulling on a brown tunic and boxers and falling onto the bed. Something dug into your hand and you rolled onto your back, raising to see the moonlight be reflected on the small screen of the device.

What are you even supposed to do with this thing…

…

Should you?

Dread and anticipation filled your body and tightening your stomach as you opened the contact list, your thumb hovering over the name for a long moment before pressing on it.

A loud beep pierced through the silent room and you jolted, scrambling to turn off the device when the beeping stopped and a deep voice answered the call.

"Howdy, may I know who I have the honor to speak to?"

Your breath hitched, your heart skipped a beat and you tried to say a word to the voice you haven't heard in months, but your voice was stuck in your throat.

"Hello?"

He was going to hang up. You… you needed to say something to him. To apologize.

"…Gree…greetings, Dad…"

A sharp intake of breath was heard and then the voice came back, tight with tears. "Chara? Is that you, my rose?"

You released a soft snort at the nickname, remembering how your father always called you that because of your rosy cheeks. You cleared your voice. "It's me… I… mom got me a phone… so I thought… sorry I didn't call before."

"Never be sorry, Chara. I remember how your mother kept insisting you had a phone in case while you insisted that you were fine without one." A small chuckle. "I guess she won at the end, huh?"

You nodded, then remembered that your father couldn't see you and made a confirming hum. "She always gets her way…"

"That she does, that she does… Chara, how are you? Are you still working at Grillby's?"

"Yes, I do. We have a new worker… their name is Frisk."

"Your girlfriend?"

"D-dad!" Your sputtered, awkwardness replaced with embarrassment, "Why does mom keep telling this to everyone!?"

Your father released a deep laughter. "Your brother actually was the one to inform me when he came back. Your mother had just confirmed it for me."

"You talked to her."

It wasn't a question. And even if it was, you had witnessed it firsthand.

Silence.

Then a slow sigh. "I am trying to show her that I have changed. She's… very bitter over my actions.”

An understatement.

"I know that we had hurt you. I know that I haven't been the father that I should have been. But… but I am starting anew. I left the mayor position because I wanted to be better. For you. For Asriel. For your mother."

It was painful to hear it. Painful to hear your father talk himself down. Because it wasn’t his fault. It was your fault. It was your fault this entire mess happened.

You screwed your eyes shut tightly, rolling to your side and curling, your brand new phone pressed to your ear.

Why did you make this call? Why did you open this can of worms?

"Chara, my rose…" Your father's voice snapped you out of your self-loathing and you bit your lip, the tight feeling in your throat getting unbearable. "It wasn't your fault. It had been going on for years and I had failed to realize it. It was only because of you that your mother is even agreeing to talk to me. Please believe me."

You rubbed your throat, trying to breathe deeply. "I do… dad. I… I just miss you…"

"I miss you, too. But I've heard you are coming to my party, so we'll meet then, alright? And maybe… maybe we could then decide at a later date at which to meet. I remember that you liked the small library."

It has been a while since you had visited your safe haven. It has been a while since you knit something. A while since you've read something.

No wonder you were feeling the urge.

"Thank you, dad… I have to go."

"I understand, Chara. Have a goodnight and we'll… I think it's called ttyl?"

You raised a brow. "What're those letters?"

"Asriel told me it's texting language. It means 'talk to you later.'"

That caused you to snort. That brat. "Talk to you later, dad."

You hung up and stared at the phone, feeling your lips stretch up as you placed your device on the small shelf next to your bed and lied down to sleep.

It was such a strange day…

NEXT

[thewanderingamalgamate]

After the Lake ‘Incident’ in the Blue Cabin

More logs from Camp Undersoul.  After curfew an incident occurred at the lake, Wander was brooding over having lost most of a day. In an off state of mind, he dove into the lake and began swamming towards the last paper boat still afloat there (one of his daughter creations).  During this time, a group of curious campers broke curfew to investigate the mysterious happenings going on at the island, starting with the lake. Their presence stirred the parasite andcaused a tentacle to emerge from the lake. After the following fight, there was a bit of shouting from an angry and disappointed goopman as he sent the rule breakers straight back to their cabin.

Softy that he is, Wander went to check on the campers after he had calmed down, Alexis in particular who definitely got the worst of his scolding.

@buttonhats @overtaleblog  @integrity-dancer@

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:18 PM

...Piper's back in the cabin. And thinking about things in their nest-bed.

Cas (unseenintegrity) - Today at 9:26 PM

Cas slowly enters into the cabin silently, moving towards his bunker to sit upon and.. stare blankly of whatever's in front of him.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:27 PM

Adie enters behind him looking a little smug

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:27 PM

"Oh, Adie, are you sleeping in the blue cabin tonight?"

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:28 PM

"I'll probably check on green, but for now I need to make sure everyone's both here and ok"

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:28 PM

"Okay, you do that. I don't think Cas is okay though."

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:29 PM

They nod "Yeah"they go over to Cas

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:30 PM

Piper's calm. They had been through most of this little escapade. It's the closest thing that came to anything that goes on on their life out of camp for sure.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:31 PM

"Hey, tell me what's wrong Cas, I want to help"

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 9:31 PM

*(Alexis slowly trudges in, upset, and slumps into a chair.)

Cas (unseenintegrity) - Today at 9:32 PM

"...."Still no response to be said from Cas. None.

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:32 PM

Piper watches everyone silently from their lofty perch.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:33 PM

their eyes soften "Cas, we're back in the cabin, we're safe, and I'll make sure it stays that way, you can trust me""So please, tell me what's wrong"

Cas (unseenintegrity) - Today at 9:38 PM

"....." Another par of silence.. that is for a little while before.. ".... How can you be so sure..?" Cas' voice sound hush and more so croak, perhaps shaking even. He slowly eyes at Adie, his expression rather none.. besides fear..(edited)

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:40 PM

"Because my sibiling Al died, and as long as I'm around I won't let anyone get hurt ever again, even if it costs me my life." they pause "I will NEVER let anything hurt you, I'll keep you safe as long as I'm still breathing""That Cas, is a promise"

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 9:41 PM

* ...

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:42 PM

They're a little surprised, but decide to just let it go for now and crawl under the covers.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:42 PM

"And that goes for all of you"

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:43 PM

"...Right." They just go along with it. The voice is muffled from under all the blankets.

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 9:43 PM

* ...You can't do that alone though.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:46 PM

"Why not? I held off Frisk over 150 times in my timeline, compared to that protecting you all should be a snap" They seem confident, the slash in their apron, not as much(edited)

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:48 PM

"Every person is different..." They sigh. "And every situation is different, I guess. You don't need to... do that anyway. Put your life on the like for someone else."

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 9:50 PM

* ...Still. We can do...so much more if we work together, right?

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:51 PM

"I want to though, you're all precious to me, and I know my little sib Al wouldn't forgive me for letting my first friends get hurt" They consider what Alexis said "Well I suppose...""But I don't want you all to put your lives on the line if you don't feel up to it""You all still have so much to lose... I don't"

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 9:53 PM

* I'm sure it won't be that risky to us what's going on, though.

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 9:53 PM

Somebody politely knocks twice on the cabin door.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:54 PM

they know who it probably is but open the door and grin anyway "hello~!"(edited)

Piper (buttonhats) - Today at 9:55 PM

They peek out from under the covers. Oh it's the person that shouted at everyone. They retreat under the blankets again.

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 9:56 PM

Oh. Of course Adie opens it with that same grin plastered across their face...Wander keeps the irritation at bay though. Not the time for that. Too weary and dead tired for that. -Hey there Adie. Is everyone alright? Is Cas alright?-

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 9:57 PM

*(Alexis freezes as Wander comes in. It wasn't quite the reactions seen before from her...but she seemed very upset now.)

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 9:59 PM

they nod "taking care of it right now, I was given permission to be here specifically to help the blue campers when they're upset" they look over at Alexis "hey, hey, it'll be okay Alexis, I'll be over in a moment, ok?" they say gently

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 10:03 PM

He sees Alexis reaction and his (figurative) heart plummets. And was that another camper cowering under the blankets? May have been too harsh...he steps past Adie and towards Alexis. -Think I need to handle this one...'Lexis?- His voice is calm, no trace of either anger or icy rage in it.

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 10:04 PM

* Y...y..yes...?

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 10:05 PM

they nod and go back to Cas and sit quietly next to him, and wrapping a protective arm around his shoulders

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 10:05 PM

*(She seemed...upset with herself more then anything. She usually leaned towards not breaking the rules, and yet...she broke them, putting herself in danger, and lots of it at that.)

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 10:09 PM

The goop silently hugs the blue soul, gently wrapping his arms around the small one and pulling her close, wrapping his cloak around her. -...just tryin to help right?-

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 10:11 PM

*(She choked back a sob. Whatever issues plagued this Blue Soul were quite deep...and well hidden. She gave a meek nod in response.)

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 10:16 PM

He pats her back a few times. Can't really fault someone for trying to be a good person now can he? -Its alright. I'm not angry with you now. And I was just worried then. You were just trying to do the right thing, and thats commendable. Would hardly be disappointed in you for that.-

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 10:21 PM

*(She let out a few tears, but the pats reassured her, looking up towards the goopman.) * I...I'm sorry, Wander...you got enough on your mind already and I only added to it... (At least the more calm, fatherly method seemed to work to help her get calmed down again.)

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 10:28 PM

-Heh, yeah...was going to be some yellin' whether you were there or not, so don't take that to heart alright? ...and what I said after, that was unkind. Shouldn't have been surprised to see you there. You're a good kid, helps folk. But next time, keep in mind. Sometimes the best way to help is getting people away from the trouble, away from a possible fight, and not joining it. Let the people whose job it is to handle that unpleasant work do it, alright?-

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 10:36 PM

* I understand...I..think everyone was too scared to move, though. Somethings there...I...saw something, but it was a mess and I have no idea what it could be.

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 10:43 PM

-Right now, thats something for the Staff and Eimmet to worry about. If we need your help directly, we'll tell you okay? Until then, just keep being you heh.- He backs up a few steps, breaking the embrace...oddly enough, the cloak is still wrapped around her and off Wander completely. -By the end of tomorrow there won't be anything to be afraid of. Including grumpy goopmen with loud voices heheh-

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 10:52 PM

*(Alexis wiped away her tears, and smiled brightly. It was hard to get this kid down in the dumps for long, it seemed...unless it was Waterfall's dump, anyways.) *You got it, Wander. Sorry for worrying you... (She suddenly yawned, though. It was quite late!) * I better get some sleep...or you might not even be able to ask me for help if needed!

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 10:57 PM

they tuck Cas into bed and then check on Piper to find her asleep as well, they then move over to their bunk and let Wander handle Alexis, which they're pretty impressed by

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 10:59 PM

-Hah, good idea. Get some sleep Kamu. Goes for the rest of you too. Will try to speak to Piper tomorrow. Good night everyone.-

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 11:00 PM

they give him an honest smile "Good night Wander, thanks for looking after them"

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 11:02 PM

* ...Kamu? What does that mean?

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 11:03 PM

-...same to you Adie, you do good work here.- He opens the door and steps out though just before closing it, he pokes his head in for one last bit. -It means 'Pal' Alexis heh, good night!-

Alexis (integrity-dancer) - Today at 11:05 PM

* Good night!*(Alexis seemed far more happier now...and while sometimes it was clear she was masking her issues, this time seemed quite legit. Yawning again, she crawled into her bunk for a nice rousing session of having good dreams.)

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 11:08 PM

He quietly closes the door and leaves the area, feeling a lot less weary and troubled now.

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 11:09 PM

they smile and decide to stay up a little longer watching the kids sleep

Adie (overtaleblog) - Today at 11:17 PM

They eventually fall asleep sitting up

[bublp0pr]

I started a fanfic idea, which quickly expanded out of hand into more full-length fanfiction level. Then i get interrupted by things like ‘not starving to death’ so i have to prepare and eat dinner and whatever. By the time i get back to it, momentum is lost ;_; 

It’s not complete, fleshed out or edited. But it’s half interesting so i wanted to post it somewhere.

Stalemate

Frisk won’t back down. Neither will Undyne. Both are too stubborn for their own good, stuck in a stalemate with Undyne attacking and Frisk sparing.

Frisk is instinctually a natural at Undyne’s form of sparring and flourishes in the battle. This only annoys her more. Another rally of spear shaped bullets shoot at them. Another rally of spear shaped bullets are perfectly dodged. Frisk grins as the small 20HP value at the corner of their vision. Both are secretly enjoying this.

“Just fight me already you punk!” “Ohhhhh no!!! I’m not giving you the satisfaction, you fish!” “I can do this all day!” “Then keep ‘em coming lady!” “You’ll NEVER spare me!!!” “Trust me, when this is over I’m going to spare you so hard, you’ll be grateful to me for the rest of your life!” “Ngggggahhhhh!” “Rraaaarrgghhh!

~3 1/2 hours later~

Frisk is leaning against their spear, swaying side to side to avoid the bullets, now only moving at the speed of a leisurely stroll. Undyne’s armour is covered in sweat, moving up and down with her ragged panting. She’s taken off the arm guards and other unessentials, with only a chest plate remaining for real defence.

“Surrender *huff* your soul *huff* to me, human... This is *huff* your last chance.” She croaks. “*huff huff* Never!!” Frisk barks with short breath.

She holds back her next attack.

“What... *huff* What’s WRONG with you?” “What’s wrong with *huff* YOU??”

“Just DIE already!!”

A spear flies at them with an unexpected startling speed. Frisk parries it with their own stick without even turning around.

“Just accept my MERCY already!”

“Hell no!” “Same to you pal!”

Undyne lowers her weapon, walking closer to them. She looks down solemnly for a moment. Frisk leans back in relief. Finally! They spare her again. When I’m done with this, forget testing to find a better ending, i’m overwriting my save file. Undyne closes her eyes and clenches her fists.

The battlefield is quiet.

“You’re standing in the way of everyone’s hopes and dreams...” She whispers, a blue light slowly emerging from her. “I don’t CARE if you want to fight me or not.” The wind starts howling. “For the sake of monster kind...” The light grows brighter as dozens of spears conjure behind her. “I WILL NOT GIVE UP!!!”

Frisk sighs, weakly standing up straight again. They eat a Nice Cream while she powers up. It’s unnecessary as they’re at 20HP but the sugar helps wake them up atleast.

“Here we go again...”

Despite the revival, both sides are still obviously exhausted.

“YOU’LL... *huff* NEVER... *huff* ESCAPE.... *huff* ME!!!” She screams, her voice cracking at points from over-exertion.

Frisk glares at the warrior in a weary daze. They wobble in place and laugh with a minor hysteria, a crazy idea forming. “Yeah?!” The place a hand on their hip and tilt in place. “Just WATCH ME!”

With blatant disregard for the spears Undyne throws at her, they strut off the battle field in the direction of Snowdin.

“Get... Get BACK HERE! You little...” But Undyne is too tired to chase after them and trips over her boots.

“…Don’t think I’m not sparing you! You ginger devil-eyed freak of nature! When I come back, I’m going to spare you into next week!!! You won’t know what hit you!” Frisk calls behind their shoulder, meandering away like a drunk zombie.

They pause. 

“And... make sure to take care of yourself, okay?”

A crab apple and a bottle of slightly warm sea tea is tossed to next to Undyne. She rolls over on the ground and stares at the food in disbelief. Even running away, they’re STILL going on with that goody two shoes schtick?!

She spits at their direction.

...then takes the bottle and apple quickly. She’s stubborn, yes, but she’d rather get stabbed a thousand times in the chest than die such a pathetic death as drying out on a piece of rock.

“Stupid human.” She grunts.

Frisk takes periodic breaks to catch their breath as they hike back through Waterfall.

By the time they reach Sans sentry post it’s all they can do not to collapse right there and slip unconscious.

“woah. hey, are you o-” They spoke too soon.

There’s a thump as Sans hauls himself over the sentry counter and catches Frisk before they hit the ground. “kid...?” Frisk can’t hear them. They mumble some nonsense softly with a small wave of their arms and then drift into sleep.

They wake up in a dog bed. It’s too small for them, yet somehow they’ve positioned themselves so that they can fit on the round cushiony platform. Tossing aside surprisingly soft and warm layers of blankets, they look around. I’m in Papyrus’ shed. They realise in shock.

“No... no no no NO… I haven’t reloaded have i?” Frisk moans, stretching out. Unfolding their legs ruins the delicate balance of the resting pose and they fall out of the bed in a heap.

There’s a note on the floor. Face still pressed against the ground, Frisk stretches an arm to reach it.

hey, kid.

you uh, really rattled me there. collapsing like that. don’t tell me you’re falling for me so soon after my bro dumped ya? heheh.

tibia honest, just glad you both made it outa there in one piece. if y’know what i mean.

spaghetti’s in the kitchen with your name on it. (pap used the sauce to spell ‘hu nan’ on it. we ran outa sauce)

sans.

Well, atleast their fight hasn’t been undone. That’s a relief.

They stand up. To one side of the room, a pile of pillar-like logs are stacked hastily as though removed for their arrival. Weird.

With a yawn, they stroll out of the shed and towards the skeleton’s flashy ornamented door. Frisk takes a quick sniff under their arm and recoils. Ughhh. Sweat stains. They’ll need to take a shower in Waterfall or something.

The open the unlocked door and walk over to the kitchen. Can skeletons even smell though? They have... nose holes, Frisk supposes. Their mental dialogue is interrupted by a shrill yell as they turn a corner.

“HUMAN!”

Bones suddenly wrap themselves around Frisk and they’re hauled into the air. They pat the tall skeleton’s back and hug him in return. The grip gets tighter. Frisk’s face starts to turn red. “Papyrus... I can’t... breathe…” They gasp.

Suddenly they’re dropped to the ground. “OH! SORRY HUMAN! I FORGOT HOW FRAGILE YOU ARE.”

Frisk pulls themself up and coughs. “It’s fine Papyru-” A fork is shoved into their mouth.

“SUPER SPECIAL SPAGHETTI HAND-CRAFTED BY THE GREAT SPAGHETTORE PAPYRUS WILL SURELY MAKE YOU STRONGER!!! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Frisk fights the impulse to gag at the invasion to their mouth and swallows. They feel the slimy noodles sliding down their throat and shudder.

“Th-THANK you Papyrus,” they say, taking a step back when he moves in to give another forkful of pasta. “But I’m full now.”

The skeleton frowns. “AH. I SEE...” His grin returns. “I UNDERSTAND. MY SPAGHETTI IS QUITE FILLING!!” He starts laughing and Frisk slowly joins in, calming down. This is just what they needed. A break from all that chaotic action.

“WHEN YOU DIDN’T ANSWER MY PHONE CALL, I WAS QUITE BONETROUSLED. BUT WHEN SANS SHOWED UP WITH YOU IN HIS ARMS I COULDN’T STAY MAD AT YOU! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus confesses, joining Frisk on the couch.

“ITS A SHAME TOO! I HAD THE BRILLIANT IDEA THAT YOU, UNDYNE AND I SHOULD HANG OUT SOMETIME!”

Frisk turns away awkwardly. “About that Papyrus...”

“WHAT WERE YOU DOING ANYWAY?” He continues, looking over at them.

They blink. “Well... you see... Undyne and I were actually, um, we were actually, err, sparring.” Papyrus tilts his head.  “And we got so into it that we fought until we couldn’t stand?” They finish, raising their voice slightly on the last syllable.

“...” “...”

“WOWIE!!! THIS IS PERFECT. THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS RIGHT! YOU ARE ALREADY BECOMING FRIENDS BEFORE I EVEN HAVE THE CHANCE TO ARRANGE IT!”

Papyrus reaches out to give Frisk another hug so they brace themselves. It’s more gentle this time though. Papyrus may be odd but he never makes the same mistake twice.

“FIGHTING IS A GREAT ACTIVITY TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. I SHOULD KNOW! UNDYNE AND I DO IT ALL THE TIME!!”

Frisk squirms so that they can look Papyrus in the eye.

“But, um. Papyrus, you see... Undyne... the way we were fighting... it was kind of, err, competitive. And… well, we both don’t want to lose. So we’re kind of enemies right now.”

Frisk shuffles out of the hug and repositions themself to come across as more serious. Papyrus takes a moment to consider Frisk’s predicament. It’s not the whole truth, but enough of it to get the message across.

“OH.”

He pauses long enough for the silence to become awkward.

“NYOO HOH HOH! THIS MEANS I’LL NEED TO TAKE SIDES BETWEEN MY FRIENDS AGAIN. WHAT WILL I DO? HOW COULD I POSSIBLY LET ONE OF MY FRIENDS GET REJECTED BY ME? IT WOULD BREAK THEIR HEART.”

Frisk holds back a smile. Typical Papyrus. He always has his priorities in order. (Which is to say the morally correct use of Papyrus’ unquestionable greatness always comes first)

“I know I’m placing you in a difficult position… But it’s ok! I’ve already decided I’m fine with you siding with Undyne, so there’s no problem!”

They know they can sway Undyne. Even if they have to die and reload a thousand times Frisk WILL spare her. In the scheme of things, Papyrus will be better off not feeling conflicted about Undyne hunting them.

It won’t be forever. Putting their friendship with Papyrus on hold is worth peaceful resolution.

“BUT… BUT…” He stammers.

“Undyne probably won’t be happy with me living here with you, so I’ll stay at the inn for now, ok?” Frisk suggests before he can argue his way out of it.

They walk to the door, when suddenly it opens. Standing only inches away from them, Sans faces Frisk.

“oh. hey kid.” He yawns, pleasantly surprised. “how was the nap? everything you dreamed it would be?”

“Haha, yeah. Thanks for helping me out back there. Aaanyway…” A gloved hand takes hold of their shoulder before they can slip past Sans. They scowl. Dammit Papyrus, not now.

“HUMAN, I… I THINK I SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN WHOSE SIDE I TAKE IN ALL THIS TOO. AFTER ALL, WHO KNOWS THE GREAT PAPYRUS BETTER THAN PAPYRUS HIMSELF?”

“the very skeleton in the bone.” Sans winks, pointing finger guns at his brother.

“SANNSSSS!! I WAS TRYING TO HAVE A MOMENT WITH THE HUMAN.”

The smaller skeleton just shrugs and grins.

“so what’s all this about taking sides?” He turns back to look at Frisk. It is physically impossible for a skull to raise an eyebrow, but somehow Sans manages it anyway.

“I was explaining to him about-“ “UNDYNE AND THE HUMAN ARE IN A COMPETITION WITH EACHOTHER. AND THEY SELFLESSLY WANT ME TO SUPPORT UNDYNE INSTEAD OF THEM IN THIS HULLABALLOO.”

Sans twists his face into the permanently smiling skull’s equivalent of a light frown. He gives Frisk a look(TM) then turns back to Papyrus.  “hmm. why do you need to pick a side at all bro?”

“EXACTLY!!! HUMAN, I CAN SUPPORT BOTH YOU AND UNDYNE DURING THIS TIME OF NEED. THERE IS ENOUGH PAPYRUS TO GO AROUND!”

And then the concept died when i ate a piece of cooked fish. rip in pepperoni my fanfic idea. Maybe one day, the inspiration shall return and you will be edited, fleshed out and completed (but probably not)

[nanostuffs]

Quotes 3/12/17 - 3/18/17

Be warned: Only the first quote is undertale fanficiton, and there’s a lot of alien shit in this one.

3/12/17 - True Courage Is Knowing... When To Spare A Life (Undertale Fanfiction)

Frisks favorite book in the whole world (and believe them, there were a lot of books) was The Hobbit. And sure, it was a very violent book, with a surprising amount of death for something considered a children’s novel, but there were some better points to it. Frisk loved that Bilbo learnt new things about himself, and yet at the end of the day was still the slightly fussy, and well put together hobbit he started as. Frisk liked that Bilbo didn’t know how to fight at the start of the journey, and used his wits to keep himself safe. Frisk saw a lot of themselves in Bilbo.

Gandalf said to Bilbo, true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one. Frisk took that to heart, even when they ended up all the way down in the pit of monsters known as The Underground.

3/13/17 - It is Possible to Commit no Mistakes and Still Lose. That is Life.

I’mork watched the dark haired human curse and pull on the yarn she was working with, before reinserting her hook and fiddling with the yarn once again.

“Is it possible to not make a mistake?” the blue blob asked.

“Mistakes are a human thing,” Jane half shrugged, focusing on looping yarn around hook and pulling it though stitches to make more stitches.

“I meant more would it be possible to make a machine that does the same thing you do, and not have to worry about there being errors?” the blob slid in front of the couch where Jane was crocheting, leaving it’s slime trail behind it.

“Perhaps,” Jane replied, “But you realize it’s possible to end up with a bad product even if the designer made absolutely no mistakes, right? That’s just how life is sometimes.”

“Are you trying to be philosophical?” I’mork asked, “I don’t appreciate your attempts to dodge the question.”

“Well, I actually wasn’t,” the brunette shook her head, “But I guess that did sound kind of deeper than I meant it to. To answer your question, probably, but one would still need to know the basics of crochet in order to use it and have a nice result.”

3/14/17 - I’m a Doctor, not A…

“Khrelen, something’s wrong with the human!” I’mork shouted at the giant doctor.

“What’s the matter? Is she bleeding?” Krelen was quick to put their book down and stand.

“She’s crying, but shows no physical reason for it,” I’mork stayed close to the door, knowing better than to trail slime into the medical ward.

“Did she complain about being in pain?” Khrelen reached into a cabnet filled with vials of liquids.

“She said it’s not a physical pain like cramps,” I’mork said, “She said it’s psychological.”

“Well I don’t think there’s anything I can do then,” Khrelen shrugged and returned to her book.

“But you’re a doctor! You have to help!” I’mork cried.

“I’m a doctor, not a psychologist,” Khrelen glared at I’mork, “Now stop wasting my time and make sure the human doesn’t act out.”

“Her name’s Jane,” I’mork’s tentacles began to flail, “She’s 25  human years old. She likes  to read, write, crochet, and watch movies. She plays human video games and has a soft spot for Boxe because he is reminiscent of a furry mammal.”

“So?” Khrelen asked, “These are all facts about her. Another fact is that she is in emotional pain, and I do not know how to treat that. Now go cheer her up or something.”

“Fine!” I’mork left an extra large puddle of slime behind them.

3/15/17 - We Successfully Rescued You. You are Refusing to be Rescued. I Wanna Make That Clear.

“Hey, wait,” Jane dragged her feet as one of the three men dragged her towards the air lock.

“No time for waiting sweetheart,” the guy dragging her said, “If we don’t move quickly your captors are gonna wake up and we really don’t want that.”

“And I don’t think I want to go anywhere with you,” Jane attempted to free her arm from the man’s gasp by punching his hand, be he refused to release her. Thankfully her being dragged along was ended by the leader of the group stopping.

“Let me get this straight, you don’t want to leave?” He asked.

“They might have ‘captured’ me, but I feel safe here,” Jane growled, “Thank you for trying to rescue me, but it’s not needed.”

“We successfully rescued you! You are refusing to be rescued. I wanna make that clear.” The leader glared back at her.

“Well then we’re all clear,” Jane shrugged, “Tell whoever you report to that Jane Crow is happier in the company of aliens than humans.”

Her am was immediately released, and she was pushed away from the group of three. She watched as they escaped the ship through the air lock. She knew she’d have to get back to the room her aliens had kept her locked in, but for now she could watch her last thought of returning to humanity drift away from the ship.

3/16/17 - Maybe you've heard of it: Foodfight! is the worst movie ever made! (The Flop House, Episode 138)

Jane found that she had a soft spot for listening to podcasts while crocheting. It was soothing to listen to two guys make fun of a bad movie while she did her own thing. It reminded her of home, and while it did make her feel more homesick, it also made the pain of not being able to go home dissipate.

3/17/18 - “... They Lost My Luggage, It’s the One Thing I Lost on This Trip!”

“You’ve been doing pretty well,” Thalia watched as her much shorter friend slice a sword through a dummy.

“I should hope so,” Canica stabbed the dummy again, “I placed first in every event here. I placed first in that sprinting session, first in the eating contest, first in the singing contest, and first in the spell casting contest.”

“Is there anything you haven’t won?” Camila asked her teammate.

“The carriage with my luggage got lost on the way up here. They lost my luggage; it’s the one thing I lost on this trip.”

3/18/17 - “Does Anyone Know A Good Plumber?” (Inspired by the Creepy Pasta)

Does anyone know a good plumber? Inspection’s tomorrow and I, like,  have a leaky tub from a fucked up ritual, and like, several dead things scattered around the house, and I think the washer machine is, like, trying to eat me.

It all started a few days ago. I was chatting to this super hot guy on tinder (at least I think it was a guy) and he, like,  asked me if I could like, do a ritual to summon a demon/ghost/demi-god thing. And I was all like, sure I can bby. And then he was like, try to summon a water spirit thing for me and then I’ll come over to your house, exorcise it for you, and then we can fuck. That was, like, his actual message.

I decided that, like,  it sounded like a fantastic idea, so long as he also brought drugs. Cause, ya know, if I’m gonna, like,  do a shitty ritual for sex, there better also be drugs. Also my dealer’s in a holding cell for buying a whore. Like, I know sex is fun and all, but like, how the hell did you not get caught for drugs?

Anyway, he agreed to bring drugs, but like, it’d have to wait a couple of days for him to get the drugs. We decided that like, we should do this on a wednesday, cuase apparently  that’s when drugs from his “hommie” are like, super cheap or something. So I set my alarm to go off at like, midnight on Wednesday so that, like, I could get the ritual done before having to go to work and some fun that night.

My alarm didn’t go off until 1 in the morning because I’m an idiot. So like, I had to do everything super quickly. I didn’t bother getting dressed, and just went into my bathroom, to like, do the ritual. So I went into bathroom, and lit, like five candles and arranged them in a pentagon. I then used some string to like, outline the pentagon and make some, like, super special runes to keep me from summoning something that would, like, actually kill me. I was supposed to do a, like, hour long chant at half-past midnight, but since I was late anyway, I just did a quick little, please come forth deadly water thingie so that I can like, get a good dicking.

It sort of worked? A pipe burst through my bathroom wall. I like, realized at that moment that inspections is supposed to be on Sunday. Fuck. So I packed everything up and got dressed, since I was up anyway, I may as well have like, started early. I found out that all of my business clothes were, like, dirty and shit. So I picked everything up and walked my bra and underwear clad ass to the laundry room to do laundry.

There was this, like, super creepy dude in there though. He was, white, lacked a face, and was super twiggy. He was also in a, like, tux or some shit. He just calmly waved a hand at me. I guess that slut in 4b has a goddamn gentleman as a booty call now. Anyway, I waved back and tried to flirt with the guy. He like, beat a hasty retreat from the room. Actually, now that I think about it, he like, didn’t have a face. Fuckin’ weirdo.

So, like, I started to put my laundry into the washing machine, but like, I thought I heard screaming from inisde the machine. I took a look, but there was nothing in there. So I just put in my load and set the machine to delicate so it wouldn’t rip any of my nice shirts. When I turned around, the pipes seemed to slither across the floor and were starting to take up the room. I booked it for the door and didn’t pass go.

Long story short, I’m locked up in my apartment with a pipe hanging out of the wall and leaking water into the tub. Also there’s some dead things around the apartment, mostly rodents because mouse traps. Does anyone know a good plumber in Maricopa County who won’t ask any questions?

[7thdeterminedkid-blog]

“I see.. I don’t know if I’d leave too, but really, I wouldn’t like it if my partner came up with such a bad plan.”

“In fact, Asgore probably didn’t come up with the plan of hiding their sinister nature either! How could he come up with it, if he missed something so obvious! Bad namer, bad planner. But, Queen Toriel.. Well.. SHE’s a MUCH better planner than Asgore. Toriel’s the one who came up with the plan of making monsters appear as innocent creatures who would do no evil!”

“Alright, so here’s what happened. Helvetica tries to unlock the power od the human SOUL for monsters, so that they could use our own power against us. Combining that with their amazing magic capabilities, and they gain unfathomable power. But he wasn’t sure if this was even possible. He eventually figured out how to fuse the SOULS, and had a monster test things out FOR-He didn’t want to be the one to die if things failed, after all. Plus, it’d be pretty suspicious if us humans saw the monster scientist himself with one of our SOULS.”

“We notice the monster wirh a human SOUL, but not who made it so. We kill the monster-We were able to because the human fought back, but everybody thought it was because he didn’t want to fight the humans-Humans fighting back at the time was unheard of. Queen Toriel decides not to speak of this event again-And to make monsters look like pure goodness-That way, nobody will suspect them when they eventually attack and destroy all of humanity. However, we knew something was going on just by the monster with a human SOUL happening at all-We just didn’t know WHAT. …We declared war.”

“After a long battle, we were victorious. Helvetica died at this point, and we sealed the monsters underground. However, we made one mistake that could have been fatal when making this spell. We only made the barrier one-way. …We never fixed that. Humans could fall underground! The monsters even knew of this mistake! Light was already coming from the Surface to the Underground, meaning the barrier was not blocking it out. So, they decided to continue the plan of making monsters look like pure goodness, but for a different reason. If they could aquire some human SOULS, they could gain the power required to cross the barrier, destroy all of humanity, and… break the barrier.”

“Then, Chara fell underground. Now, we don’t know too much about what exactly happened there. Here’s what we do know. Firstly, Chara was sucessfully tricked into believing monsters are good, and not to destroy. We know this because Chara wasn’t determined to fight them, and was eventually killed by the prince-That’s the second thing we know. The prince gained unfathomable power-Enough to destroy the entire village around Mt. Ebott. But, Chara, knowing the evil of monsters, woukdn’t let that happen. They fought back. They wouldn’t let Asriel kill everyone! We then suceeded in forcing the prince to retreat underground. He never returned.. So he’s more than likely dead from that. But, everybody thought it was simply that Asriel refused to fight! The idea of a human SOUL fighting back when absorbed was unheard of at the time!”

“After the monsters found out about this power, Toriel knew she only needed ONE soul. That one soul could be used to cross the barrier, kill more humans in the village, cross the barrier, and everybody could destroy humanity. But, she never told Asgore, because she thought Asgore would be smart enough to at least figure that out! He the monster king-If he couldn’t even figure THAT out.. Later, Asgore announced they’d wait until SEVEN humans fell down. He didn’t figure it out! This.. was the last straw for Toriel. First, he named everything badly, he spelled "Library” wrong for the monsters’ OFFICIAL library, meaning monsters were stuck with a misspelled name for the rest of their time underground, and now this? He couldn’t even figure out that if one SOUL could give you the power to destroy an entire village, they could do just that with the next SOUL?! She left in anger, and didn’t speak of her plan.“

"But, the plan of conspiracy had already began. The plan would just continue, as Toriel had it. And Toriel may have moved to the entrance to the Underground! If she did, it would be strategic! She’d help the humans whi fell from danger, convince them not to fight the monsters-That monsters are good, and everything can be resolved just through talking it out. This would make Asgore’s job much easier, when the humans try to talk things out with Asgore and refuse to fight him.. Same thing for the Royal Guard.”

“You see? That explains all the evidence we have found! You see now why they call themselves pure? It helps their REAL plan in the end. Like I said, very clever-I’d do the same as Toriel:Except I’m a human too, and my plan isn’t genocide. But you get the point, right? Now you even know how Helvetica and Toriel fit into all of this! That is the story of the battle of humans versus monsters.. Except humans aren’t actually fighting the monsters, so the monsters will probably win.”

((A lot of story.. There’s probably a flaw or two in there SOMEWHERE.. :3)) (( Hopefully I can pick out those flaws. )) Frisk listened carefully to the Human Ambassador. She had to make a good rebuttal for all this. “The King and Queen had talked about the plans,” she began to explain. “Asgore choosing to wait while Toriel said once a human falls, they can use it to cross first, then collect the other SOULS to help break it. Both were in disagreement and Toriel moved to the Ruins, where the entrance was. “Soon, she believed things can be solved without violence. Those who fell would learn how the Ruins worked and teach them not to harm others. My mother also doesn’t wish to be let humans out of the Ruins, fearing the other monsters would take them away. Why would someone who tries to trick them to give up their SOULs, wants them to be confined in a place that no Royal Guards or the King would reach?” she asks. “Even contemplating about destroying the exit to the Ruins in hopes that no one would escape and no human would be harmed. Though there are monsters in the Ruins, Toriel would still keep a watch on them to make sure they won’t harm humans.”

[for-a-flower]

Caretaker of the Ruins

          Toriel and Frisk continued into the next area then down a wide hallway.  There were three evenly spaced drainage canals across the path.  Wooden bridges had been constructed over them to allow safe crossing.  While Toriel led the child across the bridges, Flowey emerged from the ground behind them.  "Who is this human?" he mumbled.  "How come their determination is stronger than mine?  I couldn't even fight them.  Are they really just that determined, or is there something else going on here?"  Flowey's little eyes grew wider.  "Wait . . . could it be . . . Chara?"  He observed the human for a few more seconds.  "The hair is similar, but that's about it," he said.

           Flowey glanced away thoughtfully.  "Either way, whoever the human is, they're stronger than me.  I can't stop them at the moment, but maybe I can change things to my advantage instead," he said.  Flowey smirked.  He glanced on down the hall again.  Toriel and Frisk had already moved on.  Flowey scowled.  "Slow down, will you?"  He sunk into the ground to follow.

           In the next room, Toriel slowed near a dummy by the far wall then faced Frisk.  There was a worried look in her red eyes.  She glanced away.  "As a human living in the underground, monsters may attack you.  I will tell you how to handle these situations," she said.  "The process is simple.  When you encounter a monster, they might want to fight you.  But try to strike up a friendly conversation instead.  Stall for time, and I will come to resolve the conflict."  Toriel motioned toward the dummy beside her.  "Here.  Practice with the dummy."

           Frisk looked puzzled.  He stepped up to the object and stared at its dull colored, wooden head.  He glanced at Toriel.  "You want me to talk to it?" he asked.

           She nodded.  "Go on.  Do not be shy."

           The child paused as he searched for the right words.  "Hi," he said.  "How are you?"

           A proud smile came to Toriel's face.  "Ah, very good!  You did very well."  She led the human to the next area.  "There is another puzzle ahead," she said as she walked.  "I wonder if you can solve it on your own."

           "Maybe," said the child.  "I'd like to try."  Toriel's pace increased and Frisk had to nearly jog in order to keep up with her.  She turned a corner.  The child rounded the corner a few seconds after, just as a large frog creature jumped at him.  It tackled the human, slamming him to the ground under four, wide frog feet.  Frisk gasped.  The frog let out a deep croak as several glowing objects appeared over its head.  Frisk squirmed nervously yet quickly tried to think of a way to implement Toriel's suggestion.  "Hey um . . . you have . . . nice eyes," he said.  The Froggit paused a moment.  It didn't seem to understand but looked flattered anyway.  The magic around it vanished.

           Toriel spoke with a stern voice as she rushed back to Frisk's side.  “Whatever do you think you are doing?!”  She gave the creature an angry glare.  The Froggit's eyes widened in fear.  Toriel pointed a finger down the path.  “Leave at once!”  It leaped off the young human and hopped away as fast as it could.  Toriel stared in its direction with a look of death until the Froggit had left their sight.  She smiled and returned her gaze to Frisk.  The child was staring up at her from the ground where he lay.  “Here, get up.”  She offered him a hand with a kind smile.  “I will not let anything harm you, young one.”

           Frisk took her hand and stood.  “Thank you.”  Toriel continued down the path with a smile as if the encounter had never taken place.  After crossing through another entrance, she stopped at a wide bridge that lead over a pool of water.  The bridge was covered in spikes from one end to the other.

          "Well, this is the puzzle, but . . ."  Toriel sighed.  "Um . . . here."  She held out a hand.  "Take my hand for a moment," she said.  Frisk reached to take her hand again.  “Do . . . you trust me?” she asked.  Frisk nodded.  Toriel managed a smile then started leading the way forward.  Spikes retracted in front of her as she walked only to spring back only inches behind Frisk.  The child nervously glanced over his shoulder.  None of them hit him but they were plenty close enough to be frightening.  Once safely on the other side, Toriel let go of Frisk's small hand.  "The puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now," she said.  "I . . . do not want you to get hurt."  Toriel continued into a long, narrow hallway then slowed and glanced down at dry soil.

           Frisk stopped beside her.  "Toriel?"

           When she spoke this time, Toriel's tone was more serious.  "You have done excellent so far, my child," she said.  "However . . . I have a difficult request to ask of you."

           Frisk was puzzled.  "What is it?"

           Toriel made eye contact with him then continued her thought.  "I would like you to walk to the end of this hall by yourself."  She glanced away.  "Forgive me for this."  She broke into a full run away from Frisk.

           For a second the child stood there with confusion and surprise.  A dreadful feeling came over him as soon as Toriel had gone from sight.  That sense that he was being watched had returned.  Frisk suddenly spun around and caught just a glimpse of a yellow flower sinking into the ground.  He stared then nervously glanced around the hall.  He was becoming paranoid of that flower now.  If there was one thing he didn't want, it was being alone with that thing again.  Frisk frowned then bolted down the hall in fear.  "Toriel!" he called.  He tripped over a crack on the path and fell.  Frisk got back to his feet and continued down the empty hall as quickly as he could.  He passed between tall, brick walls on either side.  Frisk hurried to the end, but as he approached all he could see was a doorway to another room and a pillar to the left.  Frisk stopped to catch his breath.  To his relief, Toriel stepped from behind the pillar with a smile.  Frisk sighed, all his worry immediately gone.

           "Greetings, my child," said Toriel.  "Do not worry.  I did not leave you.  I was merely behind this pillar the whole time."

           "I'm just glad to see you," said Frisk.

           "Thank you for trusting me."  Toriel paused, her smile fading.  "However, there was an important reason for this exercise.  To test your independence."

           "Why?"

           Toriel didn’t seem surprised by the child’s question.  She answered him calmly.  "I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.  Please remain here, by this pillar.  It is dangerous to explore by yourself."

           Frisk glanced at the tall, stone pillar.  "Uh . . . okay."  He still didn’t like the idea of being alone while Flowey might be around.  "But what if-"

           Toriel's face lit up.  "Wait.  I have an idea.  I will give you a cell phone."

           Now he was interested.  "Really?  I've never had one before."

           Toriel nodded.  "And if you have a need for anything, just call."  She took a small device from a pocket in her robe and handed it to Frisk.

           He took it with a smile like most kids would when given something.  He felt so special.  "Thank you!"

           "Be good, alright?" said Toriel.  Frisk nodded.  She turned and ran up ahead.  Frisk paused then quickly glanced behind him.  Nothing was there.  Either Flowey had gone elsewhere or had managed to move fast enough so as to not be seen this time.  Frisk sighed and stepped up to the corner on the pillar's opposite side.  He reluctantly sat down against the wall, setting the phone and stick on his lap.  He stared down the hall for a while.  If the flower was going to come back, he wanted to see it first.

           Flowey pushed up from the ground behind the pillar.  He peeked around it to catch a glance of the child before retreating again.  After a second, the flower peeked around the pillar once more.  The human was tapping on the screen of his new cellphone.  A few moments passed before he lifted the object to his ear.  Frisk waited as the phone rang.

           Toriel answered with a pleasant greeting.  "This is Toriel," she said.

           "Uh, I just want to say hi," said Frisk.

           Toriel laughed.  "You only wanted to say hello?  Well then . . . hello!  I hope that suffices.  Hee hee."  She hung up.

           Frisk paused.  "That was fast," he whispered.  She must be busy if she hardly had time to chat on the phone.  Frisk caught himself thinking of his own mom.  It kind of was odd.  Toriel reminded him of Anna.  Frisk sighed.  He already missed his parents and his home.  He wanted to know more about Toriel too, so he called her again.

           "This is Toriel," she answered.

           "Can you . . . tell me about yourself?" said Frisk.

           "Oh . . . well, I'm afraid there is not much to say.  I am just a silly little lady who worries too much."

           "Don't worry, mom.  I'm alright," said Frisk.  He cringed a little.  That had slipped out by complete mistake.  A pause followed.

           "Huh?” said Toriel.  “Did you just call me, mom?"

           An embarrassed grin came across Frisk's face.  "Uh . . . yeah."

           "Well . . . I suppose . . . Would that make you happy?  To call me . . . mother?"

           "You kinda make me think of my mom . . . because you said you worry too much."  Frisk glanced down.  He poked at the dirt with the stick in his other hand.  "She's probably worried too much about me right now.”

           "Well then, call me whatever you like," said Toriel.  "I do not mind.  Goodbye."  She hung up.  Frisk sighed and put the phone in his pocket.  There was no point waiting here.  He might as well try to find his way to Toriel.  Frisk stood up and kept moving.

           Flowey watched from behind the pillar as Frisk left.  "Finally got bored of waiting, hm?" he said to himself.  Flowey snickered then added in a whisper.  "I know how you feel."  He burrowed.

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