#undertronic fic

[yourlocalxbox]

Totality - Undertronic

Seth and Sine spend time admiring the eclipse. Written in one hour, 832 words.

“Do you know how beautiful your art is?”

Seth stared at the sky with clasped hands. A gentle breeze blew past - Zephyros’ sigh, he supposed. He couldn’t help but wonder who held that God Soul now. Seth had always wanted to meet the wind god; perhaps the two could make a good pair.

What a silly thought.

Golden hair fell into his eyes, yet he never moved. Never took his gaze off of his work. Not a second could be missed. He heard laughter behind him.

“What are you doing?” Sine reached from behind and brushed Seth’s hair out of his face. He couldn’t help but notice how his touch lingered longer than it had to. He couldn’t help but notice how he didn’t mind. “You can hardly see through all of that.”

“Like you would know,” Seth quipped. The skeleton behind him snorted.

“Hey, I can make some guesses.”

Sine crept into the corner of Seth’s vision. He pulled off his hood and craned his neck to match Seth. One hand rested in the pocket of his cloak; the other nearly startled Seth out of his trance when it grazed his fingers.

“I could get us something. Tea. Whiskey. Coffee, extra-strong. On the house. Off the rocks. I could go on.”

Seth grinned. “No, thank you. This is enough.”

“But you don’t have anything?”

Seth held his tongue. This was more than enough.

“Won’t it be too dark?”

Seth paused. The thought did cross his mind, but he was not one to be afraid of the dark. A bit of daytime nightfall wouldn’t bother him - he didn’t know what it would take to make him fear the dark, but this was not it. “Not with you around.” He made a vague gesture to the skeleton’s ears. Their calming light was sufficient to keep the growing shadows at bay. Sine gently scratched at one of Seth’s clasped hands, and he let it fall open. The two looked upwards to Seth’s work of art.

The eclipse neared its totality.

“Do you think,” Sine started, “Do you think…”

Seth cocked his head to the side.

“Nevermind.”

The remaining sunlight faded around them.

“No no, what were you saying? Please.”

The shadows cut deeper.

“It’s silly. It’s just a silly thought.”

Sine’s light danced across his face.

“You know those are my favourite.”

“Do you think we could stay like this forever?”

And the world fell yet darker.

“I don’t want this to end. It’s beautiful. Look at it,” Sine mused.

“There’s nothing to look at.”

“Exactly. You did this. You did this, Seth. Look at what you can do.”

Sine’s grip tightened around his hand. He felt dizzy from how his heart beat so unusually. They both knew it was a silly thought. The planets would pass, life would go on. Every couple decades or so, Seth would sit down and repeat the process, as this soul had done for hundreds of thousands of years. This was nothing special. This was just as the last ten thousand had been. It was the same one, the same sun that had people worshipped long before these souls reached their hosts. This couldn’t last forever. Their tails curled around each other. Maybe not forever.

“...I can make you a compromise.”

Seth couldn’t make it last forever. Not even a minute. The others would notice; planets were not something to be trifled with. The Death Well flashed in his mind. Yes, that was a fate he would prefer to avoid.

But a moment wouldn’t hurt.

He squeezed Sine’s hand back, flesh caressing bone. “I think…”

Sine smiled. “You sure about that one?”

“You- Come on, I lost my train of thought.”

“It’s alright,” said Sine. Seth tore his eyes away from his art to meet his. “I think that I think so too.”

The light began to fade back in around them. Seth quickly turned to hide the flush of his face. If anything, it only made Sine look at him more. “You’re kinda cute when you think you’re being slick, y’know.”

Seth exhaled sharply and turned away. “Come on. These always tire me out,” he lied. As much as he hoped Sine wouldn’t catch on, he knew it was a losing battle.

“Aah, so Mister Destruction needs a nap?”

“Shut-” His words were cut short by his own stammering. Sine cackled behind him. He sighed and made his way back inside.

“C’mon, you know you love me.” 

They both stopped mid-step. The daytime betrayed both of their expressions. They simply stared at each other in silence.

“I…” The words caught in Seth’s throat. He knew what he wanted to say. He knew what he needed to say.

I think…

No.

I know…

He put his hand back into Sine’s. His gaze softened. Perhaps not everything had to be said.

It didn’t matter how dark it had gotten; Seth could still see one thing clearly. His work could never compare to the art that had stood beside him.

[sortableroseanimations]

i just read the best fic in my life and i am SO distressed that it finished in 2009. Like yes it got a proper conclusion, no cliffhangers, i got my closure, but its SO GOOD i need more

[chronically-undertronic]

scuse my weirdass rambles, i swear i have just put this place under a microscope /j. so many observations to be made lmao

listen, i was just scrolling through the undertronic tags for nostalgia and some writing ideas (there was one (1) fic on ao3, yaboi wouldn't be takin that). i didnt actually know there was even anything on there, i had never checked before. and honestly, seeing everything that had been posted onto there was a trainwreck of emotion. it was like scrolling through messages of a group of friend's chat and reminiscing memories, except they're not mine and i was never there. it's such a vivid feeling of absolute belonging to a place i was never present in, yaknow?

and then i saw y'all and couldn't stop thinking about it for days. the carrd caught my eye first because a) bro that's just a straight up sickass carrd holy shit and b) undertronic content?? in the wild?? lets go babey!! and then i looked into it more and just. man, i dont know what emotion it was, probably like all of the above. 'cause holy shit, i didn't know there were more people like me out there!! i thought we were the only system who had undertronic headmates that existed for years!! it didn't even cross my mind that it was possible for more to be out there. so reading through old pluralkit discord screenshots and posted conversations was like looking at something i had always longed for.

you guys looked like you were happy in those chats.

you didnt have to hide in those moments. i wanted to reach out and reply and laugh alongside the ghosts of these four year old conversations and say "i get it, i understand this, we've lived it too," because i've never talked with someone who had a chance of returning the sentiment to its full extent. man, it was like lookin in a mirror of what i wanted to see. and i know i'm crazy 'cause again, i wasn't there. you could argue i'm still not 'here', hiding behind signatures and pseudonym accounts.

i got what i came for, though. i have my never-ending nostalgia and a pile of fics to write. i just think that the inspiration doesn't come from the ideas i saw being laid out, but the people who did so and the inherent beauty of learning it the way i did.

anyway. again, pardon my over-analytical rambles. wanna go grab a cup of tea and bitch about life some time?

-💜💚

I feel the groupchat / belonging thing bcs that's how I feel when I look at old homestuck content (I didn't get into it until 2016, when it yk, ended)

Also oh my god *points* listen

Listen

We genuinely have like the whole cast of UT in our head because it's one of our spinterests (the other being aphmau ofc) so the fact that you also have UT headmates is so???? /pos I feel seen I feel less alone we get each other we shake hands

Ik it would take away the safeness of being anon but now I'm thinking of how fun it'd be to make a UT themed syscord server hrmm

Anyways I'm in tears anon /pos I would love to grab tea and bitch (as long as it's iced tea sorry im southern I don't drink it hot /j)

[thecasinowolf]

Growing Pains, Remastered: Chapter 3

You know the drill v

It felt weird to follow him outside. Seth wasn’t used to following anyone except for Zephyr, really. But after knowing that someone else was aware of his existence, he couldn’t just pass up the opportunity to confront him. Aaron hesitantly walked through the streets of the ghost planet. His own steps echoing through the town scared him. The only means of safety he had at the moment was the apple pie scented candle he was offered, though it was comforting, he was practically burning his hand trying to protect the flame from the cold night’s winds. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he didn’t want to choose a place too close to where he had just been. It seemed a bit stalkery to him. He turned a corner, and settled on a small two story building. It seemed to be one of the few places that wasn’t boarded up, so surely he could find a way inside. He gently placed the candle next to the door as he tried to break it open. At first, he just jiggled the knob, pushing and pulling at the door hard, turning the knob in different directions. When that didn’t work, he began ramming into the door. He was too focused on that to notice Seth was right beside him, watching him make a fool of himself. Seth put the candle out, which made Aaron flinch and cry out in surprise at the sudden darkness. Then he looked over to his new demon friend, and pulled his mask further over his face in embarrassment.     “Oh! Jesus! Hi,” Aaron greeted. “Um... Hi.”    “Having trouble?” Seth teased.    “No, no, I’ve totally got this,” Aaron rolled his eyes. Then, he took the candle he was lent, and chucked it through the window, shattering it quite easily.    “Hey, before you break into that abandoned house, do you have a second?” Seth asked.    “You can’t wait for me to break in?” Aaron leaned against the wall with his left shoulder, supporting his injured foot.    “It’ll just be a moment. What’s with the stupid glasses? That’s how you can see me, isn’t it? What’s the deal with that?” Seth asked.    “Oh, these, yeah... It’s a long story,” Aaron replied. Then, as if he had answered the question, he began to carefully crawl in through the broken glass. He had broken the candle in the process as well, but it was still lightable, if he could find something to light it with.    “I have all day,” Seth said, once again appearing next to him. Aaron placed the candle on the counter of what appeared to be a kitchen. Then, he looked around. This place must have been some retro style diner or something along those lines. He took a seat on a tattered barstool, and spun around a few times. Seth took a seat next to him, wishing he could push him off or something to get his attention. “Or all night, rather.”    “I don’t,” Aaron said bluntly, before stopping himself by leaning over the counter a bit, resting his head on his elbows. “I mean... I guess I do now. But...” He sighed glumly. “Where do I even start? My life’s BEEN a mess. Well... I guess we’ll start in the lab. I’m... I’m a science experiment. A freak of nature. Some mutated DNA squished together to form a new species. A species only mentioned in ancient folklore. A golden dragon. That’s... Me,” He recalled. Even in the dark, it was clear he had a sour, angered expression on his face. Seth nodded, listening intently. His interest had been piqued. “I was... Used to test all sorts of inventions. Whether it was a potion or a gadget. Since I was one of the failed experiments, being part of the first batch. When I was pretty young, I finally got the courage to speak up about how I couldn’t see. They gave me these. They’re kind of bound to me, I guess. Can’t see without them, and... they’re cursed anyhow. Even if I take them off, I have to put them back on soon. The longer I leave them off, the more distorted my vision gets. If I try to fight that, then somehow the rest of my senses get fucked. My hearing, my taste, my feeling. Everything. These are the only glasses I can use. I dunno how to break the curse. I don’t care to find out anymore. But since I acquired these, I’ve been able to see things no one else can. Ghosts, demons, invisible ink, lots of useful things. It’s not useful to me though, I see things I don’t wanna see. It’s...” He trailed off, his voice kept breaking as he spoke. Then he pressed his forehead to the cold, metallic counter, pursing his lips to stop himself from crying. He didn’t care to talk anymore.    “Damn,” Seth responded casually. “That sucks. Freak of nature. Wweeeelll,” He said, standing up and stretching. “That was a good story. I’m tired now, you seem tired. I’ll come visit you tomorrow or something, make sure you’re not dead. If you are dead, that sucks. Seeya.”    “Hey... Wait...” Aaron forced out. His voice was meek, but he sat up, and faced Seth. “Um... What’s your name?”    “I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Seth shook his head. “Give you somethin’ to look forward to. G’night,” Seth closed, before finally disappearing. Aaron nodded, and decided to head upstairs. If he was lucky, he could find something to sleep on up there. If he was even luckier, he��d find somewhere to sleep, and then pass away peacefully. Since there was no hope of getting out of here and having his last few days be exciting, then maybe they could at least be comfortable.

[sortableroseanimations]

OH BOY

when was the last time i drew THIS little goblin?

the answer is like 2016 or something. i have exactly two survivng drawings of her and thats because i got lucky.

i dont even remember drawing the first one but WE BALL

ANYHOW this is my goblin daughter her name is Chryssa and I love her with everything i have

[sortableroseanimations]

to be fair i think it's impossible to be basic when ur in a fandom with like 23 total fans /lhj

- yaboi 💜💚

u know what that is so true. i am going to rewrite the undertronic fic it is high time i showed myself how much my writing has improved

[sortableroseanimations]

hey guess what

so a new undertronic fic just dropped on ao3. giggles nefariously /j

-that one anon 💜💚

[sortableroseanimations]

DO IT. ACTIVATES UR FANFIC BUTTON

AOUIGH

[sortableroseanimations]

notes about the undertronic fic since I'm rewriting in bed instead of sleeping:

i have to rework just about everything, which i think ive mentioned before but there's really not a magic system now that im aware of? so like do i leave the main characters magic in or do i just make her highly proficient in a field or two to the point it feels like magic

to the point of the main character: it is an oc. she does have a name. if i post the fic do i replace her with yn, edit to keep her name from even being brought up, or do we ball and keep her as she is

(she used to be a vessel for myself in this world. we've grown up a bit, im sharing now. what do i do with her)

scouring my brain to get the utronic info bc yeah i have a doc (ty most beloved anon) but at the same time so much has changed!!!

also for some reason im dogshit at navigating the discord server!! so that does not benefit me unfortunately

[chronically-undertronic]

oh yeah, did i mention there's a new undertronic fic up on ao3? of ✨️your boy✨️, no less? tell me what you think :>

-💜💚

OH MY GOD MY BOY

Ee I will read and report back

[thecasinowolf]

Growing Pains, Remastered: Chapter 2

Below the cut, enjoy v

Cider entered the house, allowing Aaron to set himself down on the couch. He removed his shoe and took a look at the metal. He whimpered sadly. It was but a dull stinging at the moment, but the injury looked TERRIBLE. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk after this.    “Yeah, that looks bad,” Cider commented.    “Thank you, captain obvious,” Aaron growled.    “Hey, who helped you get over here?” Cider asked rhetorically, leaning over the table.    “So where’s your friend that can help me?” Aaron questioned. “This wasn’t a ploy or something, was it? If you’re gonna murder me or take my kidneys, do it quick...”    “I’m... Not interested in your kidneys,” Cider chuckled nervously. “He’s upstairs... But... He’s asleep. If I wake him up, I might raise hell.    “Oh you’ll raise hell, alright,” Cider heard an angered voice call from the top of the steps. He looked up and saw Chronos descending the stairs, clearly less than enthused about what he was seeing. “Cider, who the hell is this?”    “This is Aaron,” Cider said bluntly. “Found ‘im in the junkyard.”    “Hi...” Aaron muttered, Chronos’ icy cold glare could have pierced through him harder than the metal at that moment.    “He hurt his foot,” Cider explained. “I dunno where he came from but I mean, look at this kid. I couldn’t leave him there.”    “I’m not a kid...” Aaron defended. “I’m 17.”    “Like I said,” Cider snickered.    “Ugh...” Aaron grumbled. “Um, are you the guy that can help me?”    “I’m not so sure,” Chronos shook his head, kneeling next to Aaron, taking a look at his foot. “That looks pretty bad... But you aren’t bleeding. Which means by some miracle you didn’t hit any veins. But it pierced the bone it looks like. If I remove it, I might injure you worse. I’m not a doctor or anything, so I’m not suited for stuff like this.”    “Great, I’m stuck with some metal in my foot, I’m on the run from the police, AND I’m gonna die soon. I’m having a great time,” Aaron ranted.    “You’re gonna WHAT?” Cider gasped.    “I’m sure I could take it out...” Chronos muttered. “But if it went through the bone, I don’t think you could walk on it for a good while.”    “Can you... Try?” Aaron sighed. He didn’t want to agree to this, but he didn’t want to be stuck here, at least not for long.    “Alright. But don’t get upset if I end up taking your foot off,” Chronos said, before getting to work.    “Wait, if you what- OW! God... Damn it!” Aaron cried in pain as Chronos began his attempts to get it out. “Nevermindnevermindnevermindnevermind! Shit, shit, shit! Stop!”    “I can’t get it out any other way. Hold still,” Chronos scolded. “It’ll hurt more if you keep moving around.”    “It HURTS, damn it!”    “It’s GOING to hurt. Now be quiet, we have someone sleeping upstairs,” Chronos reprimanded him as he continued. Despite his commands, the damage had already been done. Upstairs, Zephyr pressed his ear to the door, listening to the commotion going on downstairs. What the hell was going on? Was someone else here?    “Sounds like a party,” Seth joked, appearing next to him. Startled, Zephyr jumped back, before seeing who it was.    “Yeah... I think I should go check it out,” Zephyr said.    “No way,” Seth scoffed. “I’ll do it. I wanna see what all the fuss it about. Besides, it might be serious, so you should stay up here and pretend you’re still asleep.”    “I... Guess...” Zephyr nodded. “If it’s serious, Chronos might get mad if I interrupt.” “Everyone’s always mad at you,” Seth jabbed a final time before heading downstairs. By the time he peeked his head downstairs, the commotion had stopped. Chronos set the bloodied piece of metal on the table, and watched as Aaron sobbed in pain as he laid down on the couch. He muttered several pearl-clutching not safe for church obscenities to himself as he held his foot.    “Now wait, I’m gonna see if we have anything to bandage it up. We don’t have anything to disinfect it, but I’m sure just bandaging it will work,” Chronos explained, heading to the boxes by the front door. “Cider, check upstairs.”    “You got it,” Cider agreed, walking upstairs. As he did so, he felt a chill pass through him. What on earth was that? Having no luck with his search, Chronos searched the boxes in the kitchen. Seth finally made his way into the living room. Huh. What do you know. Another person was here for once. Aaron wiped the tears from his face and sat up, he turned to face Seth and cried in surprise.    “Oh! Jeez, sorry... I didn’t hear you come in,” Aaron chuckled. Seth turned around, and looked around. Who was he talking to? Then, he noticed Aaron’s gaze was on him.    “I’m sorry, ME?” Seth questioned.    “Yeah, you surprised me is all...” Aaron sighed.    “No, no, I mean... How can you see me?” Seth prodded.    “Huh?” Aaron cocked his head. “Oh, wait!” Then, he lowered his visor. Taking it off his face, the green projections and holograms that previously swirled inside turned off, making it clear and empty. “Huh...” He said, as if he had confirmed something, before returning the glasses to his face. “That’s... That’s weird. This hasn’t happened before...”    “What are you-” Before Seth could continue, Chronos came back in, stepping right through him.     “Here, I found this,” He said, placing the small roll of white bandages on the table in front of Aaron. “It’s all we have, but surely you can make use of it.”     “Oh, thank you,” Aaron nodded, taking the bandage wrap and slowly wrapping it around his foot, wincing and breathing heavily as he did so. “I’m, uh, sorry about all this...”    “Don’t be,” Chronos shrugged. “You’d be surprised at how often Cider drags unwanted things in. Not to be offensive or anything.”    “Yeah...” Aaron sighed, placing the roll back on the table after he was done. All that was left was one short piece. “Jeez, it wasn’t bloody before, but it definitely was when you were through with it.”    “It’s not in your foot anymore though, now is it? Anyways, I’m hoping to wrap this up soon. Can you walk on it?”     “Uh... Guess I’ll try,” Aaron braced himself, gripping the edge of the couch. He slowly pushed himself forward, planting his right foot down, and then, ever so delicately, he pressed his injured foot to the floor. After a wobbly five seconds, he stood upright. “Th-There. It hurts a bit, but... I’ll find somewhere to stay and rest up a bit. I should feel better soon. But, um, I’d like to leave... A-As soon as possible.”    “That won’t happen,” Chronos began. “There’s no means of leaving. This planet is completely abandoned, we ourselves are only stuck here because our ship broke down, and we’ve been trying to fix it for a good while now.”    “You mean... I’m... Stuck here?” Aaron’s voice cracked. Seriously? He wasn’t going to spend his final days trapped on a ghost planet with some strangers and some... weird spirit thing. Whatever it was that he saw... That he talked to even. But he’d figure that out later. He sighed, and slumped back down on the couch.    “We’re all stuck here. But how about this? If we find a way to get out of here, we’ll take you with us. You can’t STAY with us, of course, but we’ll take you out of here and then take you somewhere else, alright?” Chronos offered.    “You’d do that?” Aaron asked, but his face bore no emotion. He stared at the table in front of him blankly, suddenly, nothing was on his mind. The world around him went out of focus. He really didn’t want to die in a place like this. How did he even survive the fall from the ship in the first place?    “Don’t look so sad,” Chronos muttered. “We’re gonna leave soon, I’m sure of it. Now go find somewhere to stay, there are about a thousand places here for you to raid like we did. If need be, I’m sure we could lend you some supplies. Don’t count on us giving you much, though. We’d like to keep them for ourselves.”    “Do you... Have any food? I haven’t eaten in a few days now...” Aaron asked. “If I could have something to eat then I’ll be on my way...”    “We don’t have anything. I apologize,” Chronos said. “Maybe you’ll find something. Now it’s late, so I’d suggest you get going.”    “Okay...” Aaron sighed. “Well, do you have flashlights or anything so I can see?”    “We don’t. Here, just use this,” Chronos handed him a candle, and lit it with a match in one swift and annoyed motion. It was clear he didn’t want him here any longer. And Aaron could definitely tell he was overstaying his welcome. So, without any further argument, he thanked Chronos once again and headed out to find somewhere to stay. Seth had gone upstairs once Chronos was finished playing doctor, and arrived as Zeph sat himself on a bed impatiently.    “Well, what was going on?” Zephyr asked.    “’Dunno,” Seth shrugged. “Chronos yelling at Cider or something.”    “Oh, yeah... ‘Guess I kinda figured,” Zephyr nodded.    “I think Crow’s coming. Better hurry up and pretend you’re asleep,” Seth lied, as he disappeared into nothing. Zephyr quickly covered himself up and closed his eyes. As if he was playing along, Chronos headed upstairs and opened the door just a crack to check on Zephyr. As he saw it, he was still asleep. Satisfied, he headed off to a separate room to take a nap himself.

[thecasinowolf]

Growing Pains: Remastered, Chapter One

Below the cut, enjoy v

“Now that he’s home safe and sound...” Chronos grumbled in an upset tone. He sat cross legged in a recliner next to the sofa Cider was currently rested on. He pet his tail, glancing nervously at Chronos. He knew what was coming.    “Why don’t I just watch him a bit longer? He’s only been brought home safe and sound for like three days, and...” Cider excused, chuckling nervously. Chronos shook his head, unamused. The dark house dimly lit by sparsely placed lemon scented candles made for the ominous aura of, “yep, it’s lecture time.”    “He seems perfectly fine,” Chronos motioned upstairs, where Poker Goat was rested comfortably at the foot of Zephyr’s bed. Cider nodded, and looked down with a darkened expression, the flames reflecting on his face gave him a grim look.    “Okay... I’ll head to the scrap yard tomorrow. But like you said, there probably won’t be anything very useful,” Cider recalled.    “If anything happens to Poker Goat, I promise I’ll call you. Though, I don’t see what could happen,” Chronos assured. “Unless you’re worried some mice are gonna come out and nibble his toes.”    “What that a joke?” Cider smiled, raising an eyebrow. Pulling himself up from the chair, Chronos shook his head.    “Coulda been. I’m heading to bed now. It’s been about 36 hours since I last rested,” Chronos excused, stepping up the creaky wooden steps of the abandoned house.    “Okay, ‘night, Chronos,” Cider waved. Then, after a moment, he found himself tapping his feet, staring at the floor, thinking something outlandish. What if he found another goat? More goats? More animals? There could be a farm out there for all he knew. Yeah. A farm full of metal animals. No, that’s silly. Surely the officer from Emberguard would have checked for more abandoned tech... Wouldn’t they? Unable to shake the thought from his brain, he threw on a coat and silently creeped out the door. The night air outside was cool, but it was quite scary at night. Cider looked around, no sign of any creepy crawlies. Chronos was very particular about him being home before sunset, but he was all too curious about anything he could have overlooked. But being out late shouldn’t matter. No one’s here. With that, he headed off towards the scrap yard. On a shuttle, already miles and miles in the space sky, a wanted criminal picked desperately at a screw on the floor. It turned slowly, but he was determined, he had been trying to unscrew it for hours. It looked loose enough, he would have time. More focused than ever, he brushed aside his long raven hair, tucking it behind pristine golden dragon ears. The thoughts rang in his mind. You killed a hangu. You’re to be executed the second we arrive. You bastard. You monster. Scum. Criminal. But he knew none of it was true. He had been framed. Framed by someone he loved, trusted, cared about. Truly... Snap! Thud. He sucked in air, glancing around timidly. No one noticed he got the screw out. Carefully, he lifted up the floorboard, which took quite a bit of force. Seeing he was close enough to escaping, he no longer worried about being discreet. Instead, he tossed the removed tile at the wall, creating a loud vibrating metallic noise. The last noise he heard before jumping off of the ship was work boots running hurriedly down the corridor. They wouldn’t catch him though, he already found himself plummeting through the starry sky. He smiled. He said he would escape or die trying. At this point, the outcome was clear, but he didn’t mind too much. Cider stepped into the scrap yard, squinting. It was far too dark to see. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness a bit, but all that was visible were outlines. But if something were to move, surely he’d hear it. Metal and dirt crunched under his feet as he carefully felt his way around the junk yard. It was about three minutes into this endeavor that he realized how stupid it was. Looking for more abandoned scrap animals in the dark. What would his plan even be if he found one, or multiple? What would Chronos say? Then, from nearby, a loud thundering BANG of metal rang through the yard. Hell, it could probably be heard from the next planet over. Cider winced, covering his ears. Then, he realized he might find what he was looking for. But just in case, he felt behind himself for something he could use for defense. Then, he heard metal rustling, and he decided it was no use. He would face whatever he just heard head on. Readying his fists for some punching, Cider made his way towards the noise. As he approached, he could make out a heavily bruised figure crawling out of the pile. But it definitely wasn’t animal shaped, aside from sporting ears and a tail as most people do. The figure winced, holding its foot. Cider squinted, noticing there was a large piece of metal stabbing through it. Whoever it was was crying, because duh, that had to hurt,    “Hey... are you alr-”     “DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” The figure snapped. “Whoever you are... Don’t...” His voice was deep, and masculine. If it weren’t for the fact that he was crying, Cider would have been too scared to approach.    “I’m not gonna hurt you,” Cider assured, kneeling down, but not getting too close. “What’s your name?”    “A...Astraeus...Apollo... B-But, I prefer... I... I prefer Aaron,” He mumbled meekly. “I know, I know who I am... But don’t hurt me. I-I’m not actually a criminal.”    “Well, don’t worry. That name doesn’t ring any bells. I’m Ciderus Lycaon, but Cider is fine,” Cider hummed, bringing himself to his feet and extending a hand. “Can you walk?”    “I’m... Scared to try,” Aaron chuckled awkwardly. “Um... C-Can you help me, please?”    “What if I approach you and you attack me?” Cider asked cautiously, taking but a half step forward.    “Like I could...” Aaron grumbled, almost annoyed. “Please, mister Lycaon...”    “Hey, okay, I said Cider was fine,” He laughed. After walking to his side, he put an arm under his shoulder to support him. Aaron stood up carefully, and didn’t even try to put his left foot down. The metal going through it could be seen from both sides, despite him wearing very heavy boots. He winced at the thought of putting his foot down.     “I, uh... I don’t think...”    “Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’ll take you to my place. I have a friend who can help... Maybe,” Cider said unsurely.    “Great, so I’m in capable hands,” Aaron rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long night.

[thecasinowolf]

Sensory Overload

It wasn’t often that Chronos, Zephyr, Cider, Seth, and Cas would head out to go shopping. There wasn’t a lot of time, constantly being in hiding. But they were running low on supplies, and because of the location they moved to just recently: the only store nearby was a grocery store, a dangerous place to be for criminals. But they had to. So, to avoid suspicion, they all decided to go. They’d all head in, collect and buy supplies separately, and head out. Very simple. Chronos told the group that they would most easily go unnoticed if they went when it was most busy, something they all agreed to. Something... one reluctantly agreed to. About five minutes in to this mission, Seth was taking a look at candles. They ran out of the ones Seris brought over, and it would be wrong if they just kept asking him for candles: so Seth was in charge of buying more. As he entered the isle, he felt a nose butt at his leg. Groaning, he looked over and saw Cas’ stylist, Garnet.

  “Jesus, wha-wha-what do you-” He was about to scold the dog for being annoying, but noticed she was unaccompanied. Uh oh. “Where i-i-is he?” Seth muttered, a bit of worry in his voice.   “He told me to go get you, follow me!” The german shepard said playfully, before taking off with Seth following. He thought about what could have happened. He was supposed to be getting tools for any sticky situations they might end up in, did he get recognized? But when Garnet led him to the tool isle, he noticed his dragon boyfriend seeming a bit... panicked. Cautiously, Seth approached him.   “Hey, hey, hey, woah, what’s go-...ing o-on?” Seth asked. Cas shook his head, he was covering his ears and whimpering. He didn’t meet the coyote’s golden eyes, he just shook his head and whimpered.   “It’s too loud,” Garnet said, taking a seat next to Seth. “And too bright. At least, that’s what he said.” Seth nodded, and just kind of... looked at him. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? What was wrong?   “Are y-...ou okay?” Seth asked, giving Cas a small pat of assurance, but he shook his head again.   “It’s loud...there’s too much going on,” He muttered, shuffling in place nervously. Seth looked around, no one seemed to be looking at them; which was good. He didn’t want to cause a scene.    “I... see. I’m so-s-so-s-sorry,” Seth said, petting his head softly. “Um...can I do-do-do-do something to help you?” Seth asked softly.   “No... I dunno... I haven’t been out in a while... I... I forgot that this was something that affected me,” Cas grumbled, pressing his wrists harder against his fins.   “Wha-wha-what’s affe-...cting you?” Seth questioned. He was shitty at handling these kinds of things. If only Chronos were here... well, knowing Chronos: he’d probably make things worse. He’s all knowledge but no help.   “Everything...! It’s loud! I hear footsteps, and the lights, and the carts, a-and talking and, and, and!” Cas bit the collar of his shirt, muffling his words. Seth turned to Garnet, but she just sat there, pawing nervously at the ground. No help. Thanks, Gar.   “We-we-well... uh... you-you-you could step outside for a second. I’ll gra-...ab the stuff real quick and I’ll meet you out there, aight? I’ll grab the shit for bo-bo-both of us. If Chronos has a problem with that he can ki-ki-kiss my ass, he coulda done this himself,” Seth said, half joking. Cas giggled a bit and nodded, before grabbing Garnet by the leash and quickly heading out. Seth looked around, grabbed some shit he thought they could use. Wire cutters and pocket knives. Sure, they had enough tools, this was fine. Then he began walking to the candles, on the way there he saw Zephyr. He rolled his eyes before trying to continue.   “What’re those for?” Zephyr asked, noticing the tools in his hand.   “Chronos didn’t spe-...cify what we nee-needed,” Seth scoffed.   “Weren’t you on candle duty-”   “Goddamnit Zeph, mind your own bu-bu-business,” Seth groaned. “I’m going to the candles. What duty were YOU on, I do-...on’t see anything in your hands,” Seth commented.   “Ah-! Well, I was on tech duty,” Zeph began, before getting cut off by Seth snickering.   “Gross, Zeph, you sa-sa-said duty,” Seth laughed, Zephyr sighed. Jesus. He always made a joke about everything.   “ANYWAYS. I wasn’t sure WHAT parts I was getting, because Cider and Chronos were getting stuff for Poker Goat, so THAT’s not for me to do. So I was just going to check. But like I was going to ask, weren’t you on candle duty? Cas was supposed to get tools, what happened to him?” Zephyr pressed, Seth started walking away but Zeph followed him in to the candle isle.   “He had to... do something. Right quick. So I to-to-to-took his place,” Seth shrugged, and nabbed a few candles before beginning to leave again.   “He had to DO something? What could he have-”   “Good talk, Zeph, see you later. Tell apple bitch and Chro that I’m heading out,” Seth gave him a quick peace sign before heading to check out, Zephyr sighed. He never explained anything. But being vague was his specialty or whatever. Once Seth had checked out, he quickly made his way outside the store, where Cas was sitting on a bench near the carts; listening to music, with his head in his knees. Seth slowly made his way over and sat next to him, when Cas looked up, he looked... exhausted. “Damn. Must hate sho-...opping as much as I do,” Seth teased. Cas nodded, and stared off in to the distance. Seth glanced around and squeezed his wrist gently. “Hey, what ha-...ppened in there?” Cas sighed and put his head on Seth’s shoulder.   “I’m sorry for embarrassing you like that. But it was noisy. I couldn’t handle it. I hate crowds. They make me feel overwhelmed. Well... I mean... I guess it’s not JUST crowds. You know how I cover my ears all the time, even when we’re just at home?” Cas asked, taking his earbuds out.   “Yeah, whenever Chro starts fussing about something with someone, and I tell him to shu-...ut up because he’s scaring you,” Seth grumbles.   “Yeah...” Cas smiles a bit, “But also... when Cider drops something, or Zeph walks a little too loud, or a wack fighty action scene is going on on TV,” he lists. “I dunno... noises in general. I hate them. No one understands when I talk about it. I mean, isn’t it kinda RUDE to just go ‘stop talking, and walking, and breathing, and chewing because I hate you and you make me want to put my eardrums through a wood chipper’?” “Huh... yeah... I ge-ge-get it, kinda...” Seth nods. They both sat in silence for a bit, before Cas started crying. Startled, Seth quickly pulled him off the bench, in to a tight hug. “Woah! Hey! Do-...on’t do that! What’s wrong??”   “I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I wish I was normal. I looked so stupid having a meltdown in there. I wanted to do more than cover my ears I wanted to flap and and and and scream and and and and and cry and and and-”   “Shhh shhh shhh... shhh, hey. No you were fine, you were okay. God, no one’s nor-nor-nor-...mal. Don’t pu-pu-put yourself down ov-ov-over it. You did your best to stay calm and I respect that,” Seth whispered, patting him on the back.   “I’m so childish. I wish I could just deal with it but... I can’t. I just can’t. I didn’t do what Chronos asked and now I’m sobbing like a fucking toddler and-”   “Shhhhh. If you’re wo-wo-worried about ginger fucking Elsa ge-ge-getting after you for not getting a few tools I’ll yell at him before he yells at you. And if anyone judges you for crying I’ll bite their eyes out. They can’t watch if they can’t see,” Seth grins. Cas buried his face further into Seth’s chest, mumbling and sobbing.   “I’m such an idiot. I can be better than this. I cry and the stupidest shit.”   “You’re fine, Cas,” Seth grumbled, running his hands through his lover’s hair. He knew he had seen glimpses of his mental health issues before but... this was the first time he’d seen it get this bad. Maybe this meant he finally trusted him enough to let him see this side of him. That thought made him smile a bit. Cas trusted him. He was trustworthy. Fuck all that other noise, SOMEONE trusted him. “Hey, since those assholes are gonna be a while,” Seth said, breaking the silence, and slowly pushing Cas’ head away. “Why don’t we just head home? If we forgot some shit I’ll come back and get it. Tell me if Chro yells at you, I’ll beat his ass.”   “Yeah, okay,” Cas smiled nervously. “Okay.” With that, they started to head home. “I’m really sorry about all of that...” Cas whispered. “I swear I’m not usually this bad, I-”   “Didn’t I te-te-tell you to shu-...ut up?” Seth growled, grabbing his hand. “You are FI-...INE. Come on,” Seth said, pulling him along. Even if he didn’t really understand, he would do anything he could to help Cas feel safe wherever they were. He was his top priority, aside from world domination and snacks. He would keep him safe. He would protect him.

[thecasinowolf]

I Miss You.

I miss you. I wish I was with you, I whispered to no one.

No one, the phone in my hand; the image on my screen. Fuck, here I am, locked in the bathroom at midnight. I’m crying over my parents arguing. I’ve been in here for hours; I’m tired, I’m hungry. When are they gonna give up? What do they argue about for hours on end everyday? I shouldn’t be stuck in this house with parents who are at each other’s throats. Hell, I should be with you. That’s ridiculous though, you’re not real. You’d probably kill me if you were. I’ll have to stop cosplaying you for now; I can already feel my binder starting to break my ribs. Seriously it... hurts bad.

After getting out of Seth cosplay, and sneaking across the hallway I lay in bed: blasting music in to my ears so I don’t have to listen to what’s outside them. It’s almost three in the morning... please, I’m so tired. I wish my dad would just go, my mom and I could be so happy. My mom and I would be happy, and I could finally smile towards you. But that’s ridiculous, you’re not real. I slowly drift to sleep, imagining a life where it’s just me and my mom, no abusive loud mouth dads. A life full of happy moms, happy sons, and... maybe you could be happy too. But that’s ridiculous because you’re not... ... real. Where the hell am I?

I look around, I’m not in my own bed. As I come to, I look around the room. My God. There’s no way. I remember this scene vividly. I had just written this scene a week ago. Where I last left off in the story, you attacked me last night and if I’m correct... you’re about to come in and apologize, because that’s where I left off. Blinking hurts though, ouch. Why do I do this crap to my own-self insert? I touch the bandages on my face. You scratched my eye up pretty bad. I hear some arguing in the hall and on instinct go to cover my ears, and I QUICKLY reel back. Gross! I don’t have ears, they’re weird dragon fins... whatever they’re called. Eugh, they’re a totally different texture than my skin. What the hell did I get myself in to? I realize there’s still arguing going on, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s not my parents, it’s...

You.

I almost can’t believe what I’m seeing. You’re real... Fuck. I might start crying.

Seth shoves past Chronos and comes in to the room.   “Seth, he can’t even LOOK at you right now. I’m sure he’s traumatized,” Chronos argues.   “You’re awake!” Seth cries, completely ignoring Chronos. He comes running over, and kneels besides the bed. “Hi...” He whispers. I can’t hold it in, I start crying. I’m safe. I’m here, you’re here.   “See? Look-” Chronos begins. I cut him off. This is my moment, I’ve waited SO fucking long for this.   “Chronos. Give us a second.” I say with a shaky voice. I can barely speak, I can’t believe I’m finally here, I finally escaped. I don’t pay attention to the short conversation Seth and Chronos have before he leaves. I don’t remember what I wrote them saying, I just know that I’m in my own story and I’m protected by plot armor. No amount of parents with a broken marriage can harm me now.   “I’m sorry you had to intervene in my fight with Hex,” Seth sighs. “I didn’t want to hurt you, I didn’t... God, your eye...” He says, putting a hand on my face. I cry harder, I grip his hand. I’m not letting him go, and I’m not staying on script. Story me has been with Seth for years, he was unphased. But now I’m here, this is my first time meeting him, and I’m so relieved.    “It’s fine, I’m fine. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m not mad at you: I never could be. I’m just... relieved.”   “Relieved?? I’M relieved! You know Hex wouldn’t fuck me up too bad but I... I scratched you. You didn’t even do anything I was just so angry-”    “Shh, I don’t care,” I whisper, pulling him closer. “I said I’m not mad, okay? But there’s something I really need to hear right now.”    “Of course...” He breathes. This doesn’t phase him, I’ve been writing romantic scenes like this for years to cope. God, it’s a good thing I ended up here and not the Undertronic canon.    “Tell me... that... you love me. Please,” I squeak. I can barely get the words out. It feels awkward to say, but I need it. He hesitates for a second, and fully emerges himself into our embrace.    “I love you,” he whispers. For a second... I forget everything. I forget... everything. I couldn’t say anything back, I just sobbed in to his shoulder.

This was a scene straight out a cringy self insert fic, and I knew I would wake up soon. It didn’t hit me until now, but this was obviously a dream. Putting two and two together, I had just got out of Seth cosplay and I was imagining a better life before going to bed. I never want to wake up, I can’t go back to the real world. I embraced it while it lasted though. I’m broken out of my heavy tears by him slowly pulling back.    “Hey... what’s gotten in to you? You said your not mad but you seem really distressed,” Seth says, running a thumb over the bandages. I look down,    “I... am. It’s not because of any of this though. I can’t tell you why. You wouldn’t understand... I mean- you WOULD, but you wouldn’t believe me,” I explain.    “Try me. I bet I will,” He challenges, giving me a stupid smirk. Well, he’s my comfort character but I still wrote him to be a little bit of an ass. I sigh,    “Okay. I... I just woke up here. HERE, in this universe. At first I was still me, still Cas but, from a different universe, I guess. But I just woke up here, and became this Cas, the Cas from your universe... if... that makes sense,” I explain. He looks kinda puzzled, and sits back, thinking for a second. Then he looks back up at me.    “So you’re... not technically... MY Cas then. What happened to him?”    “I... I don’t know. I’m... sorry,” I mutter. “I can try to bring him back if you want me to go-”    “No, no. I’m sure you’re still the same. Well, I mean you ARE. Right? It’s not a me situation where you replaced him, you’re still him, aren’t you? Just... from somewhere else?” Seth says, almost confused.    “Yeah! It’s not like a you situation. At least I don’t think... oh... wait! Oh no!” I look down, piecing it together. “Maybe I didn’t replace him but maybe... we swapped. He must be so confused! What if he’s in my situation right now?! I don’t wish that on anybody, I...” I start panicking. Fuck! I didn’t want to be in my situation... but now someone ELSE is? That’s not any better!    “It’s okay!” Seth tries comforting me. “You’re still... he’s still... you’re the same person. So it doesn’t matter, right? You have all of the same memories and everything, so... it’s not... bad, right?” Seth says, but, he still looks troubled.    “I... don’t know. I don’t know if this is right. I never thought about the moral codes of swapping with yourself from another universe...” I respond. This isn’t as favorable of a situation as I wanted. But as long as I’m happy, then... I guess... that’s all that matters right now. I missed you. I’m home.