#undertale Au coming soon y’all

[cloverconsolass]

Average interaction between siblings:

Before:

I go to my sister’s room and sit on her when I’m bored too. She always kicks me out or actually kicks me in the end so 💀

[rremingtonreed]

Hi there, lol. So you might be wondering what this alt blog is all about..

Oh you aren’t? My bad. I’ll just say it anyway to the people who are wondering.

This is a blog where I don’t post Undertale, Deltarune, Undertale Yellow, or Undertale AU stuff. It’s where I post Roblox, Pressure, OC’s, Sky: COTL, and other stuff I like!

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Rules:

-Still no NSFW

-Asks are appreciated but please mainly ask my Main Blog https://www.tumblr.com/nyangamer27

-Yes you may ask about my OC’s

more rules may come soon

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If you’re feeling nice:

Please follow @nyangamer27 my main, @fry-the-earthling my best friend, @cara-the-yiga-footsoldier my best friend’s friend, @1soul-kim a follower who is really nice to me, and/or Nyancat71717 on Roblox

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Oh! And here’s a link to my oc(s) so far.

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That’s all, thank you so much for taking your time to read this and I hope I’ll see y’all when I post. <3

(PS: you do not have to read this, you are allowed to scroll past it if it’s on your for you page)

[iloyimagines]

Thoughts for the Future

Hey! Been a while. 

So, this blog has been...lacking content recently. And no, I’m not leaving. Been on this hellshite for 5 years, I think I’m on this dying ship till the bitter end. And Undertale is pretty much an obsession at this point, so my focus isn’t dying either. But I’ve been trying to make a post and figure out what I’m gonna do for a while and was never able to, at least until now. 

I think I figured out what’s been going on. Why I keep wanting to do things and don’t end up doing them, etc. I’ve been lacking focus, and motivation. College gave me more free time but I was never able to focus; and at home, I just lack all motivation, and the free time. And I think it’s because of how I work, I just gotta focus on one thing at a time, instead of juggling a lot of things at once (I have a hunch this is sooort of a mental health problem, so I’ll be looking into that soon). So, now that holiday break has begun, here is what I want to do. 

First: I’m going to be transferring/updating my imagines over to my AO3. What that means is that, starting from the oldest ones, I’ll be polishing up and updating my imagines and posting them over there. Half because I want a backup just in case this all comes crashing down, and half because, tbh I like to see how many people see my content and how many leave kudos. Gives me an idea of what people like to see, and leaving comments is always a plus! 

Next step: I’m going to start making imagines again. And pushing my Ko-Fi (more on the perks later), because as a broke college student any dollar helps tremendously. I’ll try to have at least 5 imagines per week or something, I don’t wanna overload myself trying to grind these out. I’ll have a queue posting and reblogging the ones I post all week, so y’all won’t miss em. Every single one will be on AO3 as well. 

Final step: Fics. I want to write so many more, and I have sooo many ideas for AUs (that @skeletorific has heard all about because I literally can’t shut up about the ideas I never follow through with) so here’s what I’m gonna do: polls! I’ll poll which ones you guys wanna see for, say, two weeks. Then, I’ll just go down in order, and to keep me in check I’ll post a sneak peak every once in a while. I’m talking multi chapter fics, so they’ll be going on for a while! Once I’m settled I’ll make a post about the different options. 

And that’s my plan! This post is mostly to lay out my plan for this blog and keep me up and moving, so I’ll try and see how this goes. I also have a secret santa gift and a holiday surprise in store for you guys, so that will come first before any of this comes into effect. If you guys have any suggestions, don’t hesitate to shoot me an ask or comment on this post!

 As always, I love and appreciate all of you, and I hope that I can continue to make content and improve my skills as a writer (ESPECIALLY SINCE I'M A CREATIVE WRITING MAJOR NOW LIKE I REALLY NEED TO IMPROVE-). 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

[ut-fragmented-au]

FRAGMENTED- Two Year Anniversary

So.

A whole lot of stuff has happened since the one year anniversary, huh?

I rebooted the AU again, decided to redo the first 3 parts, got a new team member, and Undertale got a followup game…

...yeah, “a whole lot” is an understatement. And you guys stuck with us through all of it... you’re the best, and thanks for hanging on this long. It means a lot to me.

Anyway, me and Frog would like to tell you all some things- how Deltarune and its mechanics and implications will affect FRAGMENTED, and the future of the comic and what we have in store.

Deltarune

Deltarune won’t really affect that much of FRAGMENTED, but there is one important bit from it that you’ll actually be seeing relatively soon-

The overworld dodging mechanic! Come future parts, you’ll see Joseph in this situation, having to dodge bullets outside of battle… sucks for him.

As for the other aspects of the game, not much will be carrying over. Perhaps there’ll be some inspiration taken from the party system for ~~certain parts~~ of the comic, and a few minor Deltarune characters will probably be making appearances. There’s also most likely going to be a lot of little references to it. But that’s about it.

The Comic’s Future

Let me affirm that progress is still going pretty dang strong- the part 2 script is done and assets are being made on a daily basis. Anyway, there’s a subject I’ve wanted to touch on for a while. Music.

Just gonna say it- it’s not likely that FRAGMENTED will ever get a full soundtrack. I have some songs in mind, and a few of them might get made for certain bits in the story, but it’s quite unlikely that there’ll ever be a dedicated OST- after all, I don’t have any composers at the moment, and I can’t make music myself for shit, beans, or both. Keep in mind that any fansongs that fit the comic in my opinion might actually get added to an impromptu list of “official songs”, since both me and Frog welcome and love fan content! Please make fan content y’all,,,,, we need it tbh ngl,,,,,,,, we love it,,,,,, also theories we wanna hear your thoughts on shit

ANYWAY MOVING ON

Next up is uuuuhhhh asks. In the future, when character asks inevitably get too numerous, we’ll almost certainly be making a separate character askblog, akin to what @invertedfate does. Just wanted to clear that up.

Character bios will DEFINITELY be a thing that happens- I’ve been writing them up and Frog has been drawing them, and each one will be released whenever new characters are introduced. Keep this in mind, and avoid the eventual bio section around the release time of a new part if you don’t want spoilers.

And lastly, cameos! I’ve had plans (discussed somewhat with Leo @ut-sudden-changes) to include a certain greedy little insect monster in FRAGMENTED, where he’ll extort the crumbling Underground for what little money it contains. Keep an eye out for him.

Final Word

The upcoming part (s) will begin to explore character relationships and the dark depths of FRAGMENTED’s Underground.

Be warned… in this world, everyone is only their true self on the inside.

Thanks again for sticking around this long, and until next we meet,

Swords and Froggo

[thelazyhermits]

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

It’s finally time to post my present for the Undertale Secret Santa Summer event held by @undertalesecretsanta. Thank y’all for all your hard work! ^^

I got to be the Secret Santa for @instant-sunrise. Two of her prompts were anything with the babybones AU and Frisk playing in the snow with Sans and/or Papyrus. I decided to combine those two ideas into one fun plot XD 

This is my first time writing something for Undertale that’s not a reader insert. I really hope you enjoy it! ^-^ Also, in this, Frisk uses they/them pronouns.

Shout out to @disasterbisexual for beta-reading this for me. Thank you so much, you sweetheart! <3 <3

After falling Underground and discovering that monsters were real, Frisk thought that nothing could surprise them anymore, especially once they became the ambassador for the monster race after breaking the barrier. Nothing could be crazier than that adventure.

Of course, life had a way of proving them wrong.

The first Saturday of every month Frisk always went to Alphys and Undyne’s house to watch anime. The three would spend all day together. It was a tradition.

So, when Frisk arrived at the household, they were not expecting to see Sans and Papyrus there. Even more surprising was the fact that the two skeletons were now children.

Frisk tried to decipher what happened, but Alphys's nervous stutter only increased her panic, causing the explanation to come out in a jumbled mess of words they couldn't string together. Apparently, there was an accident in Alphys’ lab while the skeleton brothers were visiting that somehow turned the brothers into kids, and the anxious reptile has no idea how to fix them.

For reasons unknown to the monsters’ ambassador, Undyne and Alphys thought that leaving Frisk, an older child, but still a child nonetheless, in charge of looking after the baby bones, was a good idea. Once they arrived, the two adults headed straight for the lab to figure out how to turn Sans and Papyrus back to normal.

Apparently, Undyne wanted to keep an eye on Alphys to make sure she didn’t have a panic attack when left alone. Considering how much the anxious reptile had been sweating and trembling, Undyne’s worries were definitely warranted.

So now, Frisk had to figure out how exactly to handle this situation. Thankfully, Sans and Papyrus didn’t appear wary of them, possibly because the other monsters welcomed the human child so warmly and were obviously friends with Frisk.

Upon closer inspection, Frisk realized that the boys’ clothes looked very familiar. Apparently, whatever the skeletons were wearing beforehand didn’t shrink along with them, so the adults decided to lend the baby bones some of the clothes Frisk had left over at their house. 

Sans and Papyrus were just a few inches shorter than the human now. The sight of their big eyes and somehow chubby-looking cheekbones made Frisk’s heart melt.

Papyrus beamed as he stared at Frisk with wonder-filled eyes. “WOWIE! A HUMAN! I’VE NEVER SEEN A HUMAN BEFORE! HAVE YOU, SANS?”

His brother shook his head as he gave the human child a once over. “nope. this is a first for me too, pap. guess those ladies weren’t kid-ing around, huh?”

Frisk giggled while Papyrus groaned in displeasure. “THAT WAS AWFUL, SANS!”

Sans grinned at his brother. “really? judging from their expression, i’d say i really tickled their funny bone.”

“NOOOOOOOO!”

Little Papyrus’ melodramatic reaction only made Frisk’s laughter increase, and it was quickly joined by Sans’ amused chuckling. This went on for several minutes as the older brother continued to reel out more puns, much to the younger skeleton’s dismay.

After they all calmed down, Frisk decided to try and find a suitable distraction for the baby bones. “It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to go too far, but we can play outside in the snow if you want. Unless you want to watch some of Alphys’ anime?”

While Sans just shrugged at the question, his brother appeared to be considering his options. After a few seconds, Papyrus puffed out his chest eagerly as he announced his decision. “I THINK PLAYING OUTSIDE IS A GREAT IDEA, HUMAN! I CAN SHOW YOU MY SNOWBALL MAKING SKILLS AND SHOW YOU HOW TO MAKE A SNOW SKELETON!”

Of course, adult Papyrus had already shown them this, but Frisk decided to remain quiet, since they didn’t want to disappoint him. Dealing with a sad adult Papyrus is one thing, but there was no way Frisk would ever purposely upset kid Pap.

With that decided, the three headed for the door. Frisk made sure to find some winter wear for the boys before letting them set a foot outside in the cold. Even though they don’t have skin, the skeletons could still get cold if exposed to the snow long enough.

Once both young skeletons were equipped with mittens and thick wool scarves, they all went outside, Papyrus in the lead. He proceeded to explain to Frisk the do’s and don’ts of snowball crafting, and they nodded every so often to show they were paying attention.

Right as he finished his explanation, a snowball hit Frisk in the back of the head, making them squeal as the snow touched their skin. When they turned to look for the culprit, they saw Sans wearing his trademark, mischievous grin.

Before Frisk could retaliate, Papyrus threw a freshly made snowball at the attacker, hitting him square in the face. Sans hadn’t been expecting an attack from his brother, judging from his look of surprise.

“NYEH HEH HEH! DON’T WORRY, HUMAN! I KNOW ALL MY BROTHER’S TRICKS, SO WITH MY HELP, OUR VICTORY IS ASSURED!”

After wiping away the snow, Sans pretended to look offended. “aw, bro, you’re not gonna take my side? say it ain’t snow.”

Papyrus’s response was to throw another snowball at the older skeleton who easily evaded the attack.With a grin, Frisk balled up some snow and started hurling it at Sans who used his magic to return fire.

Once his brother started using magic, Papyrus felt it necessary to reciprocate. As they pelted each other with snow, Frisk decided making a wall to hide behind would be a good idea.

Just as the human finished their project, they got bombarded from snow from above. Frisk emerged from the snow pile to see Sans laughing. Apparently, while they had been distracted, he had used his magic to drop snow on them.

“I’LL AVENGE YOU, HUMAN!”

With a mighty battle cry, Papyrus flung several snowballs at his brother using his magic. Because he was laughing so hard, Sans had been unable to dodge in time, earning him a face full of snow.

Frisk and Papyrus burst into hysterics when they saw that a snowball had gotten stuck in one of the older skeleton’s eye sockets. “NYEH HEH HEH! THAT’LL SNOW YOU, BROTHER!”

After Sans recovered and finally managed to dislodge the clump of snow, the other children took shelter behind the wall Frisk created and started pelting snowballs at the older skeleton, who crouched behind a nearby tree.

The battle went on for some time before Sans finally surrendered much to the others kids’ joy. They decided to celebrate by making a snow skeleton to look like Papyrus after he was declared the snowball fight’s MVP by Sans and Frisk.

Right after they finished making a very intricate snow Papyrus, both skeletons got engulfed in a cloud of blue smoke. Once it cleared, Frisk was surprised to see that their friends had returned to normal.

At that moment, Alphys darted out the front door. “G-Good news! It’s only temporary! So-”

The reptile froze as she laid eyes on the skeletons and immediately moved to cover her face with a scaly hand. “O-Oh dear.”

Undyne, who had followed Alphys outside, started rolling on the ground, letting out a sharp guffaw as she pounded the snow to a pulp with her fist.

Frisk’s giggles soon joined Undyne’s laughter as they took in the sight of the adult skeletons wearing the human’s extremely small clothes, which miraculously didn’t tear when the skeleton monsters returned to their normal size.

Papyrus raised his arms in a feeble attempt to cover his exposed rib cage while Sans just grinned casually, seemingly unconcerned about his current predicament.

“welp. can’t say i know what’s going on, but maybe the kid can tell us the bare bones of the situation so we won’t be left in the cold.”

“SANS!”

Yeah, this was just another day in the life of the young ambassador, and Frisk wouldn’t have it any other way.

[inktheblot]

30 Questions Meme

Tagged by @a-million-chromatic-dreams !!

Nicknames: Leelee, The Gay Uncle™, ya nerd, Inky, any and all situationally-appropriate puns on “Lee” as they’re thought of

Gender: nb/gq trans guy (still fumbling on exactly which labels I want to use)

Sign: Libra

Height: 5′5″

Time: 10:34 PM

Birthday: September 29th

Favorite Bands: Gin Blossoms, Semisonic, ABBA, Coldplay, Queen, Florence + the Machine, Sister Hazel, Rush, Lord Huron, The Beach Boys, The Cure, Daft Punk, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy, God Help the Girl, Green Day, Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Maroon 5, Mumford & Sons, R.E.M., U2…

Favorite Solo Artists: Jackie Greene, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Josh Kelley, Ben Taylor, Marina and the Diamonds, Elton John, Owl City, Ingrid Michaelson, Kelly Clarkson, KT Tunstall, Regina Spektor, Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow…

Song stuck in my head: Roll to Me - Del Amitri

Last Movie I watched: I think it was A Christmas Story with the fam over break, it’s been ages since I actually went out to the movies

Last show I watched: Steven Universe

When Did I Create My Blog?: August 2014

What do I post: fandom shenanigans of various descriptions, my own fanart/fic/videos/etc., memes/humor, queer experience related things, assorted aesthetically pleasing/inspiring images, my random thoughts, positive reminders, resources, anything else that happens to strike my interest or feel particularly relatable as I’m scrolling through my dash

Last Thing I Googled: “tm symbol” to paste it into this post, lmao

Do I have Any Other Blogs?: 

@universeportal : “maybe I’ll get into the RP scene again someday” turned into “Ford’s scrapbook: the blog”

@queerness-magnetism : hoard of assorted LGBTQ/Pride Gravity Falls content

@partners--in--crime : aesthetic/inspiration/dumping ground for the Partners In Crime AU developed by myself and @bananaquits / @standforford

@depressinggravityfallspics : I was recently added as a bonus mod here, but I haven’t done anything with it yet (whoops)

@anchored2gether : an Adventures of Tintin modern AU askblog I used to run with an old friend whose personal blog has since been deactivated; no longer updating but I don’t have the heart to delete it

Do I Get Asks: Every now and again, and every one appreciated (as long as they’re not hateful, which thankfully I don’t get very much of). I still wonder as to the true identity of the elusive Gaynon™…

Why Did I Choose My URL?: My online aliases have all been some variation of “inkblot” for a long time now. It’s meant to allude to how I revel in creative spontaneity but I’m still kind of a mess.

Following: 105

Followers: 933

Average Hours Of Sleep: whom even knows

Lucky Number: 9

Instruments I Can Play: Nothing at this very moment, but I have money saved up to buy me a ukulele and start learning that pretty soon!!

What I’m Wearing: Habitat for Humanity t-shirt and black PJ pants with little white and red hearts that I have lovingly dubbed my “Undertale pants” although I’ve had them a good while longer than the game has existed

Dream Job: it is a mystery

Dream Trip: anything, everything, anywhere, everywhere!! I’ve always wanted to explore and see all parts of the world…

a long road trip with a group of close friends, filled with exploring and scream-singing and diner food and inside jokes and dumb selfies sounds pretty ideal

Favorite Food: impossible to pick just one, I love far too many things. I’ll just say that I had this a-ma-zing crab bisque over break back home in B-More and I’ve been craving it hardcore ever since

Nationality: American

Favorite Song: again. impossible to pick. changes every other day.

Last Book I Read: oof my constantly declining attention span doesn’t let me read nearly as much as I used to…I honestly can’t remember off the top of my head

Top Three Fictional Universes I’d Want To Live In: Gravity Falls, Equestria, any Ghibli movie setting (runner-up: the Tri-State Area™)

Fever brain is too tired to pick out people to tag, but if you want to do this, go for it!! These are great questions and I’d love to see what y’all come up with :DD

[didsomebodysayspaghettimemes]

Idk if y’all coming back at all, but I hope you are doing good, I loved these comics. I plan on reading your scientist story soon! ❤️

Heyyyy….haha….well, I am doing good and thank you very much, I’m glad you liked my comics! And yay! I hope you enjoy it! I’ve nearly finished it!

At this point in my life, I don’t know if/when I’ll get back into Undertale comics. When I started, I didn’t think anyone would even care but then a lot of you did. I’m working on a lot of original stuff. Doing Undertale comics kinda revived my love of writing and the comics I did with Gaster and the skelebros sorta inspired The Subject and The Scientist (mostly the “morally questionable scientist accidentally creates a sentient child” premise).

I’m certainly not tired of Undertale, I still love it very much. I’d like to continue my comics but they’re very time-consuming and there’s always that fact that they’re not my characters hanging over me…

Maybe, someday, I’ll get back into it. I wouldn’t say that I’ll never do Undertale comics again…but for now, I’m focusing on my story with my characters. I’m absolutely in love with the Subject and the Scientist and their AU counterparts and I have Undertale to thank for inspiring to write something of my own!

Thank you for checking in on me haha. Means a lot! 

So yeah…I’m pretty active on my other blog, @thesubjectandthescientist, and I’ve nearly finished my story! 

[dex-ter-ous]

The Handheld Secret [Evil Drye AU fanfic #2]

Y’all who created the AU gave me such positive feedback on my last fic, which made me so happy that i decided to do more! in fact, now that i’m familiar with more characters and plots in the AU, i’m planning on making a small series of these fics. i hope you’ll continue to enjoy them!

For those of you who don’t know, this AU was created by @undertale-cat, and involves the contribution of his friends. Each friend has one (or two?) characters in the AU. (i’m not really part of that group idon’tthink, i just write fics for y’all XD)

But anyway -- this fic involves Lieutenant Cat by @undertale-cat, King Drye by @dryeguy, and YOU the reader! once you’re done enjoying this fic, i encourage you to go check out those blogs! they do lots of cool stuff that i’m sure you’ll like!

One last note: this fic is set in a time soon after the situation in this audio by DryeGuy, which i suggest you listen to before reading this. the first part of the fic is set in an earlier time (right after the first part of fic #1), but as you’ll see later on, it’s “the reader” having a flash back)

HOkay, here it is! enjoy!

The moment King Drye and I exit the dungeon cell, I notice several guards lined up along the dim hallway. One of them looks different from the rest, both because of his nobleman attire and the way he immediately begins walking alongside the King and I. As soon as he notices me, his hand darts for the sword he carries in a hip scabbard.

“That won’t be necessary, Cat.” the King quickly stops him, making the the guard reluctantly release his weapon. “Our... unexpected guest will be staying with us for a little while longer.”

Chills run up my spine as Cat quickly scans me with critical, disapproving eyes. The short man takes wide strides to keep up with his master, rapidly beginning to gesture with his hands. I, on the other hand, limp unsteadily behind them. I really wish the King wouldn’t expect me to walk right now; I still feel like a horse used me as a doormat.

Even though King Drye obviously tries to ignore him, Cat walks ahead of Drye and turns around to face him, moving his hands with agitated quickness. Is that sign language? I can’t understand it, but the movements appear too intricate to be simply emotive.

“Enough. I have made my final decision.” Drye says firmly, putting a hand up and making Cat rest his own. “Don’t think I didn’t consider that before I let them live… besides, just look at them.”

The King stops and grins at me over his shoulder, then says with a chuckle, “i don’t think they’ll be causing us any trouble.”

Wow. that’s got to be the nicest way I've ever been told that I look pitifully harmless.

Cat isn’t convinced, however, judging by the glare he gives me. I can see it in his eyes that he still wants to protest, but he knows better than to try his master’s patience.

“The poor fellow can hardly walk… Cat, help them.” King Drye commands, then faces forward and continues down the hall. I make one last attempt to walk competently, but Cat doesn’t care to wait and see if I succeed. I give an uncomfortable grunt of pain as he jams himself up under one of my arms. He proceeds to usher me instead of help me walk, forcing me to keep up with the King. he’s having none of my slow, crippled business.

“Uhm… sire?” I murmur, as soon as Cat pulls me up to the King’s side. I’m not sure how to say this, or even if I should. “If I may ask, who is…”

“This is Lieutenant Cat, my personal bodyguard and advisor.” Drye replies. “Well, I never gave him the latter job, but he seems to think I did. You’ll have to excuse him for not introducing himself. He cannot speak.”

That explains the sign language, I think to myself. I dare to glace at Cat out of the corner of my eye, and notice his ever-so-peeved expression. To be fair, if I were lugging a crippled criminal around, probably getting blood and dirt on my fancy clothes in the process, I think i’d be irritable too. It already seems like Cat and I aren’t exactly going to get along, but I suppose that’s nothing to worry about, as long as I stay on the king’s good side.

A loud THUMP echos through the library as my book falls out of my hands. I’ve just been daydreaming again, thinking back to my first day of living here in the palace. Cat turns to look at me as I pick my book up and sheepishly place it back on the shelf. Satisfied with that, Cat looks away and continues his search for a book of his own.

I remember thinking that Cat would always resent me, but our acquaintanceship has gotten better than I thought it would. At least he no longer stares at me any time that i’m not sitting still. He used to be so distrustful of me that I literally couldn’t sneeze without him analyzing my movement. I suppose that’s just part of his job; he’s unquestionably loyal to King Drye, and would like nothing more than to save his master’s life by sacrificing his own. That being said, it’s no wonder he used to keep such a sharp eye on me, the stranger at Drye’s heels. Now a days, he still checks on me every so often, but he’s no longer under the impression that i’m itching to slit the King’s throat.

It doesn’t really bother me that Cat doesn’t trust me; in all honesty, I don’t trust him either. And I don’t mean that as in I don’t tell him my true thoughts about being here, because I don’t reveal that to anyone as is. I mean that he does things that lead me to think that he’s hiding something from me… something that I need to know.

Cat has always communicated with King Drye through sign language, and Drye’s response is almost always vocal. Cat isn’t deaf, after all, so there’s no reason not to speak to him. However, i’ve noticed that on occasion, Drye will reply to Cat using signs as well. His hands aren’t quite as fast as Cat’s, but he appears to have a firm enough grasp on the language. I’ve counted since it first happened, and since then, he’s done it three more times. The reason for it could be that Drye doesn’t want any staff in the vicinity to eavesdrop on him and Cat’s conversation. But no matter how many times I tell myself that, for the sake of putting my mind at ease, I can’t get myself to believe it. My relentless anxiety insists that whatever the King and Cat sign to each other involves me in some way; a way that they don’t want me to be aware of. What might that be?

Well… honestly, I can’t accept that King Drye welcomed me into his home out of nothing more than fondness and generosity. Don’t get me wrong, I do think kindly of myself, but I doubt there’s anything about me that’s special enough to capture the King’s attention. The fact that he even let me live that day, even though I had so little to offer him, is a marvel all on its own. What’s even more bizarre is the fact that he believed me, when my words were simple enough for any desperate prisoner to say. If the King were really that gullible, the resistance would have overthrown him long before now. When I consider all of this at once, it just doesn’t make enough sense. There must be a hidden motive in Drye’s mind, which I believe he shares with Cat when they speak in hands.

What they don’t seem to know is that I am no longer deaf to them. I taught myself how to read sign language.

About three weeks ago, King Drye took me to the library for what I think was the fifth time. Our visits there are very frequent, since i’ve been blowing through my novels so quickly. While no one was watching me, I took advantage of the opportunity and retrieved a textbook for sign language. It was a rather slim book, so I managed to hide it beneath my shirt until we made it back home. I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing, especially not Cat or Drye. Every day, I kept it hidden in my room until I could study in the late hours of the night. I was desperate to learn the language as soon as possible, lest I miss my next chance to translate their conversation. This made me stay up terribly late and gave me an obviously exhausted countenance during the day. The King noticed this, and told me he would only take me to the library again if I learned to get to bed earlier. That’s actually why i’m here today. I finished learning sign language and then followed the King’s instructions, just in time to come and see the new shipment of books.

“Lieutenant Cat?” I call softly off to my side, catching the bodyguard’s attention. “Do you happen to recognize any of these novels?”

Cat makes his way to me and looks over the new selection of books, while I wait patiently for him to pick one of them for me. Our similar taste in literature makes him helpful for telling me which books I ought to read. He’s done this a few times in the past, which I appreciate.

He finally takes a book off the shelf and hands it to me, tapping it and nodding as I take it in my own hands.

“The scarlet letter? I suppose I already know what this will be about…” I murmur, cracking the book open and glancing at a few pages. “Did you enjoy reading this?”

Cat replies with a small nod. I hold the book to my chest and give him a warm smile.

“Then i’m sure I will as well. Thank you, Lieutenant.” I say in a kind tone. Much to my surprise, he reflects my smile back at me. That’s such a rare sight, but a pleasant one nonetheless.

Never being one to forget his duty, Cat leaves me almost as quickly as he came, off to check on the King again. He finds his master busily inspecting the latest additions of maps, which he has spread out over a long library counter. I wave shyly to him when he looks up, meeting eyes with Cat and I.

“Are you two enjoying yourselves?” Drye asks us with a light grin.

I nod politely and watch as Cat signs, “yes, thank you” to the King. I easily understood that gesture, but then again, it’s one of the most simple in all of the language. I can only hope that i’ll remember the more complex signs if and when they are needed.

Before the sun sets behind the west forest, the King, Cat, and I arrive back home for supper. I’m delighted to have a few new books to keep me company, including the one that Cat picked out for me. I think i’ll be reading that one first, since the thought of Cat’s smile has given it a sort of allure.

It’s evenings like this that I feel more accepting of my predicament. The weather is warm and calm, the castle is looking as lovely as ever, and both the King and Cat are in good spirits. Those small but prominent details give me a sense of peace and contentment. As long as I just ignore my many troubling thoughts, I can spend the rest of this day enjoying myself.

As soon as King Drye steps into the Foyer, one of his staff approaches him with a small package in his hands. Drye’s voice takes on a delighted tone as he accepts the item and excuses the staff.

“Wait, before we go any further…” he says, turning around and looking at me, “i have something for you.”

“F-for me…?” I stutter, taken aback. Cat looks rather surprised as well. My cheeks turn red as Drye hands me a small jewelry box, fastened shut with a satin ribbon. I nervously untie it and open the box, gasping when I see what’s inside.

A familiar piece of fine jewelry lays under the lid. It’s a broach, but not just any broach. it’s almost identical to the amber heart on Drye’s chest, except for the color; deep crimson red. Its lustrous charm leaves me at a brief loss for words.

“Oh, sire, it… it’s beautiful!” I gush, looking up at him with a genuine smile of awe and gratefulness. Drye chuckles with delight as he carefully takes it out of the box and pins it to the left breast of my suit.

“You see, I was just so proud of you for your show of obedience last week, though I know it was hard for you. So, I thought… perhaps you deserve a reward for such good behavior. I ordered this to be made special for you, in the color I noticed you’re most fond of.” Drye explains.

Last week… no, I don’t want to remember that dreadful occurrence. I force the thought out of my mind and focus on the King’s thoughtful present.

“I make it a point to wear my heart every single day. It’s become part of me.” he says, stepping back and admiring the sight of his gift adorning me. “Would you do the same?”

“If it would please you, my King.” I reply, bowing my head to him.

Drye smiles and lifts my chin in his hand, gazing into my eyes with a look of adulation. I try not to shiver as my cheeks burn warm with blush. Even in this dazed and bashful state, I notice Cat tensing beside me.

“Excellent… now, come along. Our dinner awaits.” Drye finally says, releasing me and turning away.

Cat and I take our places at the King’s sides as we make our way toward the dining room. Curious about his reaction to all of this, I glance to the side at Cat. His expression is nakedly grim. Perhaps he’s envious of the King and I?

Before I can analyze Cat’s expression any further, I see him raise his hands in preparation to speak. Though I try not to make it obvious, I watch his hands very closely.

“Why would you do that?” his hands say, moving harshly as if to physically emote a firm tone. “What if someone saw what you just did? Your guest is merely a commoner. Forgive me sire, but… I must inform you that allowing yourself to have feelings for the likes of them is most inappropriate for a King.”

I can’t say I disagree with that… i’m equally surprised that Drye would show me affection, especially in such an open way. But more importantly, i’m understanding Cat’s signals very well. This could be the moment i’ve been waiting for.

As soon as I see the King’s head turning toward me, I avert my eyes back to my broach and feign disinterest. His gaze lingers on me for a moment before he looks back to Cat, raising his own hands now.

Yes, this is it. I keep my eyes glued to his hands as he signs his reply.

“Do not mistake my strategic flattery for infatuation. This is all meant to prepare them for the important role they’re going to play.”

… what?

My heart sinks into my boots as the realization hits me.

He’s not showing me affection or generosity… he’s just blandishing me! But for what?! What role could he possibly need me to fill?!

I can’t even stop to question that as my spark of shock quickly fans into a furious fire. I have to clench my fists firmly at my sides, just to avoid the overwhelming temptation to rip the broach off my chest and smash it on the floor. My blood boils as I come to grips with the fact that every kind gesture the King has given me has all been part of a clever ruse. The only thing I feel besides anger is shame, for i’ve been falling for his tricks. I let his flattery persuade me to accept betraying my alliance and being here at his side. But I never should have stopped resenting him! The King made me execute a man only a week ago, and i’ve already forgiven him for it! This is wrong!

But no more… now that I know it was all a lie, I won’t be won over again. I have to remember where I am, and stay determined to make it out alive. There’s so much I can tell the leaders of the resistance, just as soon as I escape.

I close my eyes and breathe deeply as I promise myself that I won’t let the bliss of my new life distract me ever again. For now, I have to feign respect and obedience, but I won’t let him take control of my mind.

Whatever “role” he has for me, I swear I won’t play it!

to be continued...