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pjmparadise · 2 years ago

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3:23 am (don’t go, stay) Pt 1 || JJK

Pairing: jungkook x f! original character

Word count: 12.1k

Genre(s): fluff, romance, strangers to lovers, slight angst if you squint; neighbor au, pre-debut Jungkook au, pre-debut au, comic book artist Jungkook au, apartment au, neighbor au

Warnings: cursing, mentions of jungkook’s penis (yeah yeah... he sleeps naked ofc), brief injury (jk hurts himself bc he’s a dork); descriptions of anxiety and fear (jungkook is scared for a sec, oops); nudity mentions, jungkook is a little horny (what can I say....), jungkook gets a hard on lol; he’s also down bad pathetic crushing and is super clumsy, and brief mentions of home robberies (lol this feels random, but it isn’t I swear), very heavily dialogue based

Audience: 18+ (minors, DNI!)

Summary: Jungkook has had a couple of awkward run-ins with his pretty upstairs neighbor, who he may or may not be secretly pining over, and one night, she pays him an unexpected visit.

“My patio, though. Did you fall? I heard a thud.”

“Are you flirting with me? I’ve heard that pickup line before, but yours sounds a little different.”

He smiles. “I wouldn’t use pickup lines like those with you.”

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A/N: WOOO! my first jungkook fic!! We recently got his birth time, and thus this title was born lol! I’ve been working on this baby for a few months now, and it’s finally finished!! After a long time of contemplating, i decided to make our female character an original character, and i know it’s kind of a rare thing in the community, but i felt it worked best with my story. It’s been a bumpy ride with this one since it’s my first lengthy fic (over 12k words... sheesh!) that will be a part of a short series. I’m very excited and a little nervous, but if you’re here, I’m glad to have you here. Thank you for giving my work a shot <3 (ps. italics indicate jungkook’s inner thoughts as well as flashbacks)

a big thank you to my lovely beta’s: @cherrysoulth @the-boy-meets-evil and @jeonjcngkook you’ve all helped me shape my fic and have been so helpful, and I am so so grateful. truly. seriously. thank you for brainstorming with me, for reading my work, and for being so sweet and so supportive.

a special thank you to @itaeewon for the lovely banner! I love it so so much <3

Jungkook is awake to hear the sound of a muffled thud nearby.

His bedroom is dark and silent save for the alarm clock resting on a bedside table flashing bright red numbers at him. ‘It’s late, it’s late, you should be asleep,’ the time says. Jungkook shuts his eyes, groaning and rubbing a hand over his face. “I know, fuck, I know,” he mutters. He’s fully naked, lying on his back, eyes wide open and boring into the ceiling, blanket kicked off to the side, and arms folded behind his neck–still remembering a phone conversation with Namjoon earlier in the day.

“So she walked toward the elevator as it closed, and you didn’t open it for her?” Namjoon scoffs over the phone, shaking his head and clicking his tongue to show he’s disappointed. He knows Jungkook froze, Jungkook already told him he wanted to reach out and push the button for her, but Namjoon asked again anyway—he likes to give him a hard time. “Every time you see this girl, things just kind of go wrong. I’ve noticed.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says with a sigh. “I’ve noticed too. Is it a sign? Should I give up?” In his apartment, he sat curled up on his couch, his chin on his kneecaps. He’s fallen silent in thought.

“No, nothing like that. Maybe she didn’t get to see it was you, so she thinks it was someone else, or maybe she doesn't even think about it anymore. You know, like things that happen in your day you forget about later unless something reminds you of it?”

“Yes!” Jungkook relaxed, falling back against the couch with a hand over his forehead. “That probably is what’s going on. She went on with her day; other things have to happen, right?”

Namjoon was quiet. In his apartment, he was opening mail and reading over a proposal he was meant to sign soon. A project he hasn’t mentioned to anyone else, Namjoon folds the letter and sets it aside. “Sorry, yes. Yes, don’t worry too much. It will ruin your day. I mean that. Sorry for the pause. I just opened some mail.”

“Ah, okay. Well, you’re right.” Jungkook rose from his seat then. “Namjoon-hyung?”

Namjoon nodded even though he couldn’t be seen. “Yeah?”

“Thank you. I don’t know if I say that enough, but you’re always helping and guiding me when I don’t even realize I need it.”

“Thank you, Jungkook. Finish your comic tonight, and submit it tomorrow. I know you’ll place in the contest and do well. You haven’t scrapped it have you?”

Jungkook sighed. Rubbing his eyelids, walking distractedly around his living room, he spoke with his eyes closed. “I have it. I finished it; I just don’t feel too good about posting it, even with the pseudonym; it feels like too much. Too much with what we already have going on as a group even. We’re trying to do something together, and the comic stuff is just… I don’t know. I don’t want it to distract me.”

Namjoon was on his back patio, leaning over the railing and looking out at the park across from him. “Jungkook, I’m going to tell you something and think about it however you want to. I respect your life, but I think—and these are just my opinions. I think you doubt yourself too often and need to take some chances. Luck turns out; it does.” Namjoon folds his arms over the railing, leaning his body against it. “No rush, bro. At all. The music we’re trying to pursue, it’s not going anywhere, you know?”

Jungkook nodded from his living room.

“Like, okay, look.” Namjoon fixed his gaze on a flock of birds rising from the trees. “The guys, we all have our passions. Yoongi with his piano, Jimin is passionate about his dancing, Taehyung with his instruments, Jin and his gaming, and Hoseok he’s been designing his own clothes lately; with me, you know I like poetry and painting, but we all share music. That is for the team, for a part of us, but we each have so many parts. You like art and storytelling; your comics are so cool, bro. You love watching Taehyung practice the trumpet, and Jimin dance after practice. We like to see you pursue your other dreams too. Pursue it, and don't worry about the group, is all I ask.”

Jungkook almost cried. He stopped pacing. His heart was racing; it was all he had heard momentarily. If Namjoon were there in front of him, he’d hug him. Maybe he’d even cry. “Ah, Namjoon-hyung…” he swallowed hard at the saliva in his throat, blushing. ‘Namjoon always knows what to say,’ he thought. “I will think about it. I will set an alarm, just in case. I’ll decide in the morning, you know it’s my style to do that the day of. If I think about it now, it will be like this all day, and I’ll stress too much.”

“Good, then. Just think about it.” Namjoon smiled.

Jungkook lies motionless with his eyes shut, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, mouthing along to Namjoon’s words. “We like to see you pursue your other dreams too. Pursue it, and don't worry about the group, is all I ask.” He sighs. How could he not worry about the guys? He’s twenty-five. Most idols start out much younger, and the mandatory enlistment is already so near for his hyungs. It’s bad timing, is all. My comic book can wait.

He wants to sleep, so he turns over, laying flat on his stomach, facing his wall. Resting his full body weight on his flaccid penis is slightly uncomfortable, but he ignores it. It’s the type of restless night that he has no chance up against, and even with his eyes closed, he feels painfully awake. Jungkook is thinking of her again—her pretty smile, the pink sundress she wore in the elevator, her ability to look him in the eyes and not shy away—and it’s almost like she's here, in the same room with him. He pictures the sundress again, the way it clung to her frame, highlighting every curve. Man, I want her. He shifts his hips around, surprising himself with a massive erection.

The thud strikes again suddenly, and he sits up, alarmed. Shit, is that here? Like outside my apartment? Jungkook squints in the darkness, bringing a hand to the nightstand to fetch his glasses. Any sign of arousal is now extinguished.

“Bam?” He calls out in a sluggish voice. The clock beside him flashes bright red numbers at him. 3:23. “Ah, shit,” Jungkook mumbles, turning the clock away. A sound he can’t distinguish comes from his left, directly outside his bedroom. “It’s like home alone,” he says to no one.

Jungkook rests his head against the wall, the texture cold against his feverish face. He can hear the sound of a muffled conversation. “Shit, that’s right here, right outside,” he mumbles, stepping back. He reaches over mechanically to switch on the lamp beside him.

Now, Jungkook is painfully aware of his nakedness and frenetically searches for bottoms to change into. He’s thinking about how his legs don’t feel like his own as he walks to the chair by the door, where he sees basketball shorts. It’s like sleepwalking. Even though he’s awake, Jungkook feels as though he might’ve actually fallen asleep, and this is some strange anxiety dream he’s creating to cope with his qualms about submitting his comic. Still, he goes along with it, quietly changing into the shorts, walking out into his living room, and ducking his head when he passes the glass patio door.

Cursing under his breath, annoyed at himself for forgetting to throw on a shirt, Jungkook shakes his head at himself. I don't want to fight an intruder shirtless and commando in basketball shorts, damn... A part of him feels a rush of adrenaline as he crouches behind a potted plant and, chewing on his lower lip, fantasizes about a robbery gone wrong, one where he puts his boxing skills to the test—the other part of him wants this to be a dream, a sign from the universe that he ought to submit his comic. I’ll fucking do it if I survive this.

Jungkook stays like that for a while until he hears a sound again. Rising from his crouched position, he walks toward the back patio window, pulling back the curtain to peer out. He feels a tightness in his chest, and his hands tremble slightly. A shameful part of him is relieved that he’s alone and no one is around to see how shaken up he is.

He whistles quietly, calling to Bam, forgetting his brother is watching over him tonight. Craning his neck, he glances around his balcony patio and sees nothing. “Bam, come here,” his whispering is frantic. He whistles again, patting his leg lightly. Nothing. You’re okay. It’s nothing. It’s probably the cats again tipping over the plants. Just fix it tomorrow. Now, go back to bed. You need it. Jungkook is about to whistle once more when he remembers. His eyebrows knit together; shaking his head, he places his fingertips on his eyelids, murmuring a lamented, “Ah.”

Thinking better of it, he draws the curtain back again and sighs with relief before taking note of a figure crouched behind a chair with a hand shooting up to rub their head. Panic washes over him. His inner monologue consists of a string of every curse word he can think of as he ducks out of view. Fuck, fuck, fuck, that’s a person. If he’d been scared earlier, now he’s downright petrified.

Desperate, he begins to look around the room for a weapon. Anything. Jungkook stands still, breathing in heavy gulps of air, cradling his head as he adjusts his vision to the darkness of the living room. ‘Can’t even turn a fucking light on,’ he thinks as he drops to the ground and crawls around his living room. His home’s silence unsettles him. Jungkook can hear the nothingness aside from his ragged breathing, so he pinches the skin on his arm and hisses at the sharp pain. Okay, real life it is. His bare knees skid against the hard flooring, and his clammy palms slip beneath him; his heart is thudding hard and fast, the blood pooling between his ears. He’s scowling, chewing his lower lip, his chest heaving as he fumbles a hand under the couch; he fingers a cold object and remembers what it is. Aha! He comes up with a golf club Taehyung left behind a few nights ago. I love you, Taehyung!

Jungkook grips the golf club until his knuckles take on a pale color. Having a weapon gives him a newfound sense of security, and like before, he’s fantasizing about kicking someone’s ass. “You come to my house at three in the morning? My house?” he says as he walks through his living room, rolling his shoulders.

He draws the curtain again, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness; he sees the figure facing away from him and hunching over, a phone glowing against their face. He can call the police, and he almost wants to, but to avoid the drama of a police visit at three in the morning, he decides against it. Imagine the guys find out I called the police? He shudders at the thought. The stranger looks small anyway.

Jungkook reaches for the doorknob and pulls back the door. It’s a lot chillier than he’d anticipated. He folds his arms over his bare chest instantly, the skin covered in goosebumps—his teeth chatter of their own accord.

“Don't move!” He raises the golf club in a mid-swing position, ready to strike. The person shifts around, holding up the hand with the phone. “I said, ‘Don’t move’!” He sounds ridiculous, but he doesn't care. In the shadows, he watches the phone’s glow shut off. “I called the police, so don’t try anything. They’re on the way.” His voice doesn't even sound like his own. He takes a few steps toward the stranger, his grip tightening around the golf club. His heart feels heavy in his chest.

It’s hard to make out the features of this person, but they rise, walk toward the dim light spilling from the neighbor’s window, and he can see them now. The stranger looks straight at him, and he’s met with wide eyes staring at him. She’s standing, squinting at him with a hand on her hip, and she smiles wide. Damn! If this were an animation, she’d have a halo effect.

Jungkook has seen her a total of seven times—he can’t help it; he likes to keep track of these things. It’s his upstairs neighbor, their interactions before tonight being brief and in passing (the most recent engraved in his mind and tormenting him), and he’s thought of her tirelessly and has fantasized about a time they should meet, and things go well for a change.

Jungkook doesn't know her name, but he could recognize those beautiful dark eyes anywhere. He’s looking into them now, his body anchored, mouth turning into sawdust.

She’s talking to him; he’s just not listening. Not really. He can't grasp the reality that it’s actually her, and she’s standing on his patio, and she looks so beautiful. Should he be thinking that?

Her long black hair is in a loose ponytail, her eyebrows arch as her deep dark eyes blink at him, and her lips move. “Please tell me you didn't really call the cops,” she says, bursting through his trance.

Damn, I sounded so stupid! Jungkook blushes. He hopes she can’t tell from where she stands.

“I was trying to call my friend; I swear I was not snooping or breaking in.” She smiles, but her voice sounds worried. Her eyebrows furrow like she’s trying to read him. “Honest,” she says in a small voice as she leans on the railing and raises her hand with the cell phone for emphasis.

She’s wearing a dark gray sweatshirt twice her size and sandals with white socks, and he can’t tell if she’s wearing shorts or if the sweatshirt is all. He can feel his face reddening just from the possibility of her nakedness underneath the sweatshirt, so he decides not to focus on that.

Jungkook rubs the nape of his neck, abashed. The cold air surrounds him, and he folds his arms across his chest, remembering his exposed chest. His empty threat echoes and bounces around in his head, and he looks away from her. “I didn't call the cops, sorry. I didn't know what else to say. It’s what they say in movies.”

“You would be right anyway; this is your patio.” She laughs a little at that, and his heart rate picks up. She pushes herself away from the railing, smiling, and walks toward him with an outstretched hand. Her nail polish is glittery, and he doesn't notice, but this small detail makes him smile. “I’m Rei. I live upstairs. Maybe you’ve seen me before.” There’s a coy look on her face as she says this, and it makes him nervous.

So her name is Rei!!! Fireworks set off, exploding behind Jungkook’s wide eyes.

“Huh, maybe,” Jungkook lies. He shakes her hand slowly, his hand enveloping hers entirely, the contact sending a warm shock through his body.

“Maybe a few days ago,” she says, with a finger to her chin, like she’s thinking over something. “Oh, yes, have I seen you on the elevator?”

“The elevator?” He feigns innocence as he tongues his lip ring anxiously. “That’s strange. Every day is a blur for me.”

“For me, too,” she replies. She’s almost smirking, watching Jungkook lie. He can tell she’s caught him. “You just look sooo familiar.”

“That’s a first.” Still, he denies it.

“Maybe you just look like someone I’ve seen,” she says, looking into his eyes as if searching for something she placed there. “You have one of those faces, you know?”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows, lips parted to speak, but nothing comes out.

Is she flirting with me or giving me a hard time? DAMN!

“I have an ordinary face?” Jungkook wonders after a moment.

“Either that or my memory is failing me,” she says, sighing and shaking her head. “Which do you think it is?”

“I don't have an ordinary face,” Jungkook says in a small voice, “I have piercings on my face.”

“That’s true…” she’s watching the ground and suddenly looks into his eyes again. She holds his stare unblinking, and then her lips pull back into a big smile showing off cute bunny teeth. Just like me. “I’ve always had a good memory; I was just kidding.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says, blushing.

He can smell her perfume when a cold breeze blows past him, carrying her real-life presence and enveloping him in it. It’s sweet and mixed with a scent of detergent he recognizes, and he’s watching how strands of her hair float beside her face. She’s so cute. Damnnnn.

“You should open the door for the ladies,” Rei says, raising an eyebrow, and stepping closer, she says, “Just harmless advice. Stranger .”

“I will consider that,” he replies, avoiding her fixed stare, attempting to ignore how she’s riled him up with a loud clearing of his throat. But his chest is on fire, his heart thudding hard against his rib cage at her closeness. “My patio, though. Did you fall? I heard a thud.”

“Are you flirting with me? I’ve heard that pickup line before, but yours sounds a little different.”

He smiles. “I wouldn’t use pickup lines like those with you.”

She laughs, and he internally swoons. If he were a cartoon, his heart would burst out of his chest in comical dramatic thuds, his pupils heart-shaped.

“I’m kidding. I know I’m giving you a hard time when I’m on your patio at three in the morning, but I can explain why I’m here,” Rei mimics Jungkook’s movements by crossing her arms across her chest, her lower lip trembling, “but can I come in? It’s cold out, and I'm in the worst attire for this weather.” She gestures vaguely at her exposed legs, and Jungkook’s stare lingers before she notices—so he responds with a nod as he gestures for her to follow him inside. “Though you might have me beat. You came out here without a shirt, damn.”

Leading the way, he blushes at her comment and gives his head a light shake. She’s so talkative! Yoongi was right about her.

With a dreamy air about him, he remembers Namjoon’s words. Except now, all he remembers is: “You need to take some chances. Luck turns out; it does.”

Inside, Jungkook excuses himself to his room to change into a shirt. He reaches for his glasses beside his bed and goes to the closet. “Shirt, shirt, shirt,” he mutters as his hands sift through empty hangers. When was the last time he did laundry? He groans. “Shirt?” he reaches to pick up a heap of white clothing in the deep corner of the closet. He brings the shirt to his nose, sniffs, and walks back into the room, raising an eyebrow and nodding with approval. His hands are shaky as he maneuvers his head through a t-shirt sleeve in a panicked rush. He yanks the shirt off again, the t-shirt now inside out and knotted up in his grip; he groans as his fingers work the fabric. What if she’s gone when I go back out there? Agh, what if I’m dreaming all of this up, and lack of sleep is finally getting to me?

Rei’s voice comes through the walls, and though this is their first official meeting, he knows she’s smiling as she calls out to him. “You okay in there?”

Smoothing out the wrinkles on the shirt, he glances at his reflection behind the bedroom door before stepping out, his chest heaving and his nostrils flaring. “I’m okay; all is OK. Sorry.” He offers her a thumbs up and a big goofy grin that makes her laugh.

“Did you go on a hike without me?” She asks from her seat on his couch. She rests her face on her palm, looking up at him as he walks past toward the kitchen.

“Hike? I just put the shirt on; it was fighting me, though.”

“No, I meant,” she shakes her head, laughing. “I meant that as a while for changing into a shirt. Bad joke, sorry.”

“Ah,” Jungkook says.

“You’re wearing glasses,” she comments, her eyes looking over his face.

“I am,” he says, glancing her way.

It looks like she wants to say something else but doesn't.

He raises his eyebrows, nodding and tonguing the inside of his cheek. It doesn't happen often, but he doesn't know what to say. He walks into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets. “Do you drink tea?” He wonders as he fills a kettle with water and sets it to boil.

Rei nods, stretching her legs before her and craning her neck back to look up at the ceiling. “Chamomile or whatever you have, I’m not picky.” She points a finger above her head, motioning for him to look. “Those are stars. Is this wallpaper? It looks pretty. Is it glow-in-the-dark?”

Jungkook is in the kitchen, his eyes watching how her finger moves in a swift motion of the length of the ceiling. He thinks about how her hand felt in his grip and wishes he’d been more present. “It’s… I don’t know, actually. It’s not a wallpaper; it’s carved into the ceiling, and yes, it glows but not like the bright green; it’s softer.” He looks at her, and she scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. “Want to see?”

She twists her body to look at him, her smile so big he can’t help but return the affection. “Yes. Show me.”

“Grab the remote beside you; turn off the lights with it.”

She clicks the lights off, and the gasp she lets out makes his heart flutter in his chest. Aside from the hard thudding in his chest, the only sounds nearby are the buzzing of the refrigerator, the ice machine rolling out handfuls of freshly carved-out cubes, and the bubbling water in the kettle. Jungkook doesn't dare disturb the quiet; he’s leaning against the kitchen table, wanting her to stay. He looks for her in the dark, his eyes finding her silhouette on the couch, his lips pulling back into a smile. She’s better than in his daydreams; she smells sweet and of detergent, and she feels like a real person just like him, so near but out of his reach. And here, in the same room as him, so close to him, Jungkook realizes she could’ve left by now but hasn’t.

“I’d love it if I had this on my ceiling,” Rei pouts, “want to trade?” She clicks the lights back on, and Jungkook blinks, slowly adjusting to the brightness.

He pretends to mull it over, humming and tonguing his cheek. He puts on his best-thinking face. “No way, but you can come over and look at the stars when it's overcast or raining outside.” He walks toward the stove, where the water boils in the kettle. With his back turned to her, he’s hiding his blushing face as he sets two cups out before him.

“I think that sounds nice,” she replies, surprising him. “So what, I walk outside sometime, see a gray sky, and come downstairs to see you? ‘Hey, neighbor, can I see the stars?’ and you say, ‘Come in, I’ve just made cocoa, would you like some?’ and I say, ‘Thank you, are you sure?’ and then you say, ‘Sure’ except I never leave because I like the stars so much and you don’t know how to tell me I should go home.”

“Oh, that’s a good conversation. Is that what you’d like me to make? I like hot cocoa,” Jungkook says, brushing the hair out of his eyes. “You think I'd want you to leave?”

“Well, if I were here all the time….” she looks at him through her lashes, and he catches her eyes and raises an eyebrow at her, a playful smirk on his lips. And she shakes her head, laughing. “Do you mean it, though?”

“About you coming to see the stars whenever you’d like?” Jungkook asks, leaning against the kitchen island. She nods at him in two slow motions of her head. “Yes, I mean it.”

“The skies are unusually gray these days, aren’t they?”

“I’ve noticed that too,” he says, opening the fridge. He grabs a box of cherries and shuts the door with his elbow. “But no rain.”

“Exactly, I told my friend Kimi; she lives with me upstairs and is almost a sister to me, except we have different parents. Well, I told her, ‘Haven't you noticed how it looks like it’s going to rain every day, but it never does?’ and she says, ‘Rei, it rains. It just happens to be when you’re asleep,’ and can you believe it? I woke up yesterday, and it was early, not like tonight, but early for me, and I looked outside my window, and there was dew sticking to the glass, and it was all sweaty when I touched the windowpane, and I realized she was right, it rained during the night, and I just missed it. Isn't that something so lame?”

“Huh,” Jungkook says, chewing on a cherry and offering the box to her. She shakes her head no and mouths a ‘Thank you’ to him. “So we’re off asleep and just missing the rain, so it always works out that we’re missing out on something during the day. It’s always like that. Kimi sees the rain, and you’re off sleeping, but you probably get to see other things I miss when I’m taking a nap and on and on.”

“That’s true. But I thought about catching it tonight. When I went to bed hours ago, I kept thinking about the rain and wondering if I stayed up, I might see it, and it wouldn’t just feel like I kept missing it and living the same gray day.”

“It’s like Santa Claus,” Jungkook says, scrunching his nose as he tongues a cherry stem in his mouth, “waiting up all night for him to show up just for you to see your dad dressed up as Santa and realize he’s been putting the presents down there for years.”

Rei laughs at this and covers her face with her hands like she’s protecting her laugh from anything sharp. “Your dad did that? For real?”

Jungkook scrunches his eyebrows and pinches his nose bridge, and with a tone of feigned affliction, he says, “Yeah, he did. I knew the truth before a lot of my classmates.”

“How old were you? When he ruined Santa Claus. Do you remember a thing like that, like how old you were?” She rests her chin on her palm like she’s weighing her head. He thinks she looks cute like that but doesn’t say anything.

“I don't know exactly, but I was in the third year of school,” Jungkook says, suddenly thinking back on his infancy. He chews his lower lip when the answer suddenly comes to him, and he remembers the conversation he had with the guys a while back. They’d all taunted Seokjin when they found out Seokjin didn't know the truth about Santa until he was thirteen. “I was seven. I can't believe I remembered that. I was seven….” His mouth hangs open, and he remembers what he wore when he first saw his dad hunched over behind the tree with a gift in hand— a white flannel pajama set and his mother’s slippers. Where has this memory been hiding? “Damn.”

“I was six,” she says, smiling. “My childhood was ruined a year before yours. Or wait, are we the same age? I just assumed we were.” She laughs again, bringing a hand up to her face to hide her smile.

“I assumed the same thing,” Jungkook admits, feeling his cheeks redden. “I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh wow,” she says, almost to herself. “Me too.”

He doesn't know what else to do but clear his throat and nod. He never imagined getting this far (whatever that means). He’ll struggle to explain this later when Namjoon asks—Jungkook knows he’ll ask.

The kettle begins to whistle, and he’s reaching for the two coffee mugs as she says something behind him he doesn't catch. And he turns his head over his shoulder and nods at her. “What happened? Sorry, I didn't catch that.”

“I said, ‘You don't have to do that for me.’” She turns her head away as she says this, her long hair cascading along her profile, hiding her.

“I have a visitor,” he says, turning over to look at her with a grin. “I have good manners.”

“Oh, sure, manners,” she replies, rolling her eyes at him like a friend he’s known for years. “Is that my tea? It smells amazing.”

“It is, but it’s hot, so let’s leave it here.” Jungkook offers her a tight-lipped smile, shyly making his way toward her. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

“No, not at all; come, sit.” She pats the spot beside her and scoots over to make room for him. “Thank you for the tea and for letting me in. I know it’s late.”

Jungkook glances at the clock on the kitchen stove. 3:55. “It’s not that late. I was awake anyway, so I didn’t mind.” He’s toying with his lip ring again. “Why were you out there anyway?”

It’s been some time since Jungkook’s been this close to a girl. He feels his heart thudding away in his chest, her presence stirring up a desire that’s been dormant. Loose strands of hair frame her face, and his eyes follow her movements as she brushes the strands away. She looks embarrassed, her cheeks reddening. Still, he finds her so cute. “Truth?”

“Yes.” He scrunches his nose when he smiles at her.

“I locked myself out of my apartment. Before bed, I stepped out into my patio for a smoke and to read more of my book. I was also trying to test my rain suspicions to see if I could catch it while it happened. So, I’m out there romanticizing my life, pretending I’m in a movie; you know how we act when we’re alone and suddenly want to be poetic?” She looks at Jungkook, and he nods lightly. “That was me, except I got cold right away and said, ‘Oh fuck this, I’m going to bed,’ and that’s when I realized I’d locked the back door, and I was so mad I almost cried.” She places her fingertips against her forehead, continuing her recounting. “So, of course, I get the idea of calling a locksmith, but they’re closed; I don’t know what people should do if they need help during the night.”

“Most people sleep, I think.”

She clicks her tongue. “Right, some people do, but you and I are not those people, right?” She draws an imaginary line with her forefinger from her chest toward him. He nods and feigns oblivious as his leg brushes against her bare thigh as she shifts in her seat. “So, not only is every locksmith not available, but my service is horrible, so I am standing on my tiptoes trying to get a bar, and my phone slips. My heart almost burst.” She brings a hand to her chest for visual effect, and his eyes watch her chest as it rises and falls with each breath. He’s smiling at her—a wide smile that hurts his cheeks. “If it weren’t for your patio, my phone would be shattered to hell on the ground. I look over my balcony, and for the first time, I notice how close our balconies are.” Rei presses her hands over her thighs, leaning forward in her seat and fixing her eyes on the glass patio door across from her. “I mean, I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I don’t go out there much. Anyway, I’m rambling. I noticed I could jump directly into your patio because there’s a mattress out there, and well….” She makes a motion with her hands that says: ‘ Ya know?’

“You weren’t scared of jumping? The balconies are close, but we’re still six stories up.” Jungkook rests his hands on his knees, fully invested in this story; his eyes never leave her. She forms a tight line with her lips and gives him a serious look that makes him laugh. “Ok, so you were scared.”

“I was scared! But there’s a mattress out there, you know,” she says in a small voice. She’s blushing and scratching at the side of her nose to avoid his eyes.

Jungkook notices this and clicks his tongue, leaning back in his seat. “So it was not an accident, then?” He raises an eyebrow at her, sucking his teeth in feigned disapproval.

The truth is, he’s not mad about it; he wants her here. He almost feels like he is in a dream.

“Not entirely. Don’t ask me how I thought about returning to my place after retrieving my phone because I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Oh, there’s a mattress out there. You could’ve just slept there; no big deal,” Jungkook says with a laugh. Rei brings a hand to her face to hide behind, making a groaning sound. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to laugh at you. I just don't know what to think— this has never happened before.”

“And it won’t happen again; let’s hope.” She laughs, and it’s different from before; it sounds deeper like she reached into herself and decided to really show him. And Jungkook likes the sound of her laugh but does not comment. She moves a few strands of hair from her face and rests her cheek on her hand, leaning on the couch's armrest. It’s slowly dawning on Jungkook how badly he wants her. What am I supposed to do with her this close to me? Damn. “So, what’s your name? You didn’t say when I told you mine.”

He rises from the couch, remembering their tea.

“Jeon Jungkook,” he says as he pours the tea, “I guess I forgot to introduce myself. Huh.”

Rei’s looking at him with her chin in her hand and a serious look on her face as he’s walking toward her with an outstretched hand in offering. “It’s chamomile,” Jungkook announces.

“Jeon Jungkook,” She repeats with a light smile. “I like it. I don’t know any other Jungkooks.”

“Yeah? I’ve had this name for a long time. I like it too.”

She takes the cup and brings it to her face, inhaling the scent and shivering, and says, “Thank you again. This tea smells sweet. It reminds me of this tea my grandmother used to make my sister and me when we were kids. She would put a little bit of honey, the real kind, and peppermint leaves; it was….” She sighs longingly. “I miss that tea; this smells like home.”

Sitting beside her, he takes a sip of tea, his gaze on her unmoving. Her lips part as she blows gently, the steam rising from the cup in lazy strokes. Jungkook’s heartbeat quickens when she matches his stare with her deep dark eyes that seem to look for something in his.

“This tea has honey, but I doubt it’s the real kind you mentioned, but I still think it’s good.” He clears his throat, looking away as he adjusts his glasses on his nose bridge.

“I like your glasses. I wanted to say that earlier,” Rei comments, taking a sip of her tea, “I don't know why I didn't say anything.” She moves around in her seat, tucking her legs beneath her, then asks, “Can I wear them? Are they prescription?”

“They’re just reading glasses. You can wear them. I put them on sometimes just because they suit me,” he pulls his glasses off, wipes the lenses on his shirt, and hands them over.

“Ah, so you like how they look on you,” she says, her eyes gleaming as she takes the glasses from him and sets them on her face. “How do they look?”

If he were a cartoon character from one of his comics, he’d have melted into a puddle, exploded like dynamite, turned into stardust, and returned to his original self. Except, she’s a real person just like he is, flesh and blood and so beautiful, and he’s off in space being reborn.

“Look at me,” he motions for her to turn his way. She looks straight at him, wearing his glasses and blushing at his attention. She begins to unfold in front of him, her playful demeanor softening. “You look pretty. If they weren't my prescription, I would give them to you.”

“Here, they’re hurting my eyes,” she says, laughing. She removes the glasses and starts rubbing her eyes with closed fists. “You’re sweet, though. I couldn't take a guy’s glasses. How will he go on drinking his tea and letting me in to watch the stars?”

Jungkook feels a warmth spread in his chest. God, how is she real? He runs his fingers through his long hair and coughs once, then again. His nerves are getting to him. She’s too close to him, her bare thigh soft against his leg. He begins to count backward in his head.

“Were you really awake already, or did I wake you?” She asks him all of a sudden. Her eyes stay on him as if waiting for him to say something else.

“You don’t believe me? I was awake. Swear.” He raises his free hand at his side.

She appears to mull that over for a bit, bringing her cup of tea to her lips but not taking a sip. “What were you doing?”

Jungkook is silent, and she sits unmoving until he speaks.

What was I doing? Besides dreading another deadline? Thinking about a comic I might not submit or thinking about not having a shot in hell with a girl like you? Images of the times they’ve run into each other flick by in his head like a slow PowerPoint slide. The registration office, desolate stairwells, crowded evacuations, elevators closing, Rei standing in front of him in a summer dress with a strange look on her face; Rei on his back patio, hunched over with a phone near her face; Rei in his apartment, on his couch, next to him. He feels the adam’s apple in his throat rising and falling. He’s been quiet for who knows how long.

“Thinking, I guess.” He breathes out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I don’t know why I took so long to say that. It sounded boring in my head, so I had to think if there was something else I forgot about.”

“That is pretty boring, just thinking. But that’s life, though, isn’t it? Kind of boring sometimes.”

Jungkook nods, blushing and avoiding looking at her. What if she can read minds? He straightens his posture and runs his fingers through his hair again, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of carved-out stars. It’s OK. It’s OK. She’s still here.

The living room is almost dead silent. Jungkook notices how Rei sips her tea and looks over the area. It’s neat, for the most part. Bam’s toys lay scattered near the laundry room entrance, along with some of Jungkook’s dirty socks the dog likes to chew on, and Bam’s food bowls are resting up against the wall beside his doghouse. The potted plants Namjoon gifted Jungkook are still alive and pop against the beige coloring of the walls in front of them. The TV is massive, his Playstation console resting on its side. Her eyes find the corner shelf where Jungkook’s Marvel figurines are on display behind glass doors, and she turns to look at him with a sparkle in her wide eyes. “Are those yours?” She gestures with her thumb. He nods, chewing his lower lip anxiously. “Can I look?” She rises from her seat when he motions for her to go on. Like standing in a museum, she silently peers into the display with her hands clasped behind her back.

“I just got that case a few days ago when I got that plant next to you,” Jungkook remarks, joining her.

“I remember,” she says distractedly.

“You remember?” His eyebrows raise, and he looks at her fixedly, bringing a fingernail to his mouth. He scrunches his eyebrows, rubbing at his forehead with his fingers; he remembers, too.

He’d bumped into Rei on his way upstairs, both arms holding the bonsai trees obstructing his view, taking long strides up the stairs, chanting to himself and grunting in rhythm. He was on the 50th stair.

“Hey!” A voice shouted at him. “What the hell?”

Jerking to the side of the staircase, flattening against it, Jungkook jumped at this voice. “Sorry! You’re okay?”

The voice struck him as familiar, but mostly, he was surprised he wasn't alone on the staircase. The person laughed a lively laugh, and he felt his chest tighten. He lowered the plants, meeting her eyes. “I’m okay,” she said, shaking her head. She grinned at him, and his heart gave a squeeze. “These things happen. I should take the elevator next time.”

“The plants, I mean. You walked past me going up the stairs and hit me on the head with it.” She glances to her right, catching his eyes briefly. He groans, nodding lightly. She continues, voicing their shared memory, “You were carrying two pots of plants that day and lost your balance or something like that.”

He nods with his eyes closed, his eyebrows drawn close together as he tongues his cheek. “I remember, too,” he opens his eyes to look over at her as he continues, “sorry again. My friend told me not to do that, and I didn’t listen.”

A Spiderman figurine holds her attention, and she’s smiling. He feels his cheeks burn at her sincere gesture. She pretends not to notice and says, “You like running into me like that, then?”

“Like how? It was an accident,” Jungkook says, standing beside her and stretching his arms behind his head.

“Riiiiight,” she says, smirking. “Accident.”

“I didn’t know you were in the stairwell. No one takes the stairs,” Jungkook counters, his voice taking on a defensive edge.

“I take the stairs, I like the exercise, and it’s less embarrassing for me,” She admits. “Running in front of people just looks so stupid. I get too worked up about it and think people are just laughing at me, and they might be, but this way, I can do it in private.”

“Running across the street when cars let you pass is very embarrassing for no reason,” Jungkook says with a laugh. “And okay, fair. I took the stairs that time just because the wait for the elevator was so long. I didn’t mean to hit you that time either.”

“Jungkook, we have to stop meeting like this.” She gives her head a light shake and looks down at her hands. She picks at the glitter on her nails distractedly. “So many accidents. We’re too clumsy.”

“I know what you mean. Namjoon told me to leave one of the plants in the lobby, but I was too impatient. I’m like that sometimes.” He can’t seem to stop blushing.

But Jungkook has to agree. There have been too many accidents in their run-ins with each other, and he remembers each encounter with extreme detail.

Jungkook saw her for the first time when he moved in and face-planted into her back as she stood by the entrance of the registration office. But it didn't happen right away, at least.

The office was big and bustling with sounds. Jungkook walked in, asked out loud if there was a line, and someone nearby replied that yes, there was a line, and he was right at the tail of it. He bounced on the heels of his feet, humming a melody to himself, tapping his fingers against the sides of his legs. A TV across from him played a K-Pop music video of a group he’d never heard of. Beneath the TV was a table with a Terra Kaffe espresso machine accompanied by a spread of dan-pat bbang, songpyeon, bingsu, and reusable cups. His stomach grumbled, but he kept still, willing himself to look away.

Rei stood in line, a foot or two in front of Jungkook, sporting her hair pulled back, secured neatly with a clip the shape of a butterfly. She wore casual clothing: a black long-sleeve sweatshirt, baggy pants, and white Nike shoes. She had earbuds in, and he could hear the muffled sounds of a guitar, and though he did not fully understand why, he smiled.

“Next in line, please,” a woman behind a glass window called out, taking an uninspired sip of her iced coffee as she waved a hand toward her. “Come on, next in line.”

Jungkook wore a black t-shirt, navy plaid bottoms, and socks with slides, though standing there, he began to regret his attire. His eyes looked over the office, and mentally, he tallied the number of girls he spotted. Nine. He felt his cheeks warming up, his neck growing hot, and when he looked over to his right, a girl waved at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He blushed, nodding at her. Why hadn’t he worn something nicer?

He was adjusting his sock, balancing on his right leg, when a dog ran past him, toppling him over. He hopped on his right leg, his arms flailing at his sides, and his face instantly smashed into Rei’s back. If he had a chance to do it over, he wouldn’t have cried out so loud. Even now, months later, he cringes at the memory. He’d turned away, cupping his aching nose after she whipped her head over her shoulder at the sudden impact. Their eyes met briefly, her pupils dark and wide; she mouthed something to him, his ears ringing, all of the sounds around him muddled into incoherence.

“I’m so sorry. Excuse me,” Jungkook mumbled, turning at his heel and speed-walking past a group of girls that giggled when he passed them.

Jungkook thought about her all day after that first day. While he unpacked, walked Bam, and cooked for himself later in the evening. She was pretty, sure, but there was something else. Something he couldn’t break apart and understand— it was new and brought on a strange sensation and desire to know her. He didn't know it then, but he’d see so much of her it would become nearly impossible not to think of her.

And here they are, five months later.

“You agree, don't you?” Rei prods. “Maybe you’re the clumsy one, Jungkook. I was just standing there.” She says that like she knows what he’s thinking. That first day they saw each other. She’s thought of it too.

He swoons at the sound of his name escaping her lips again. “Jungkook,” he mouths, taking it in—not wanting to forget how it sounds when she says it.

She turns on her heel, returning to the couch and fetching her phone from between the cushions. Her backside faces Jungkook, and he shyly lowers his gaze when he catches a glimpse of her ass in shorts that do a poor job of hiding anything. “I’m impatient too, as you know now,” she offers, looking down at her phone, her face illuminated with the screen's glow. She reads something and has a serious look on her face. “It’s getting late, isn’t it?”

He squints at the clock on the stove. 4:27. “Yeah, I guess so,” he replies, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Your figures are cool, by the way. They look like the real deal. Are they?”

He nods silently, tonguing his lip ring. Jungkook watches her with a gut-wrenching desire to step forward and take her face into his hands and kiss her.

“You’re a Marvel geek. I'm guessing,” she says, staring down at the ground. It’s like she’s suddenly shy. Her voice is quieter. “I like some of the movies. I saw the new Spider-man with my friends last week. I’m late, I know.”

“I have Disney plus,” Jungkook says, his eyes looking her over. “And I’m not trying to say anything like the ramen stuff, you know, all that stuff people say to each other recently to get together. It’s a real offer.”

Rei laughs, bringing a hand to cover her face. “So you don't want to get together?” She looks at him with a deep intensity in her eyes and smiles coyly, making Jungkook swallow hard.

“I said that, didn't I? That’s not what I meant. It’s just that nowadays, words have different meanings. Let me rephrase-”

She takes a step closer to him, and his chest feels ablaze. She’s so close he can smell the fragrance of her clothing much clearer than before. We use the same detergent.

“I’d like to come by sometime,” she says, her eyes lingering on his hands holding his cup, “for a movie, no ramen.” Now she smiles warmly and takes a step back.

She likes doing this to me. It’s torture.

“Really?”

“Yeah, why not? You seem nice. I don’t think you’d be a freak, right?”

“Right,” he says, nodding.

“I know we’re technically strangers, but you have a good vibe,” she says, shrugging. “I show up here so late, and you serve me tea. You’re a nice guy.”

“Am I?”

“I think so. Are you?” She quirks up an eyebrow, twitching her lips between a smile and a laugh.

Jungkook smiles at her. He feels his cheeks growing warm. “I am. I don’t know why I challenged you about it.”

“Because you like to flirt with me, I think,” she retorts, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I’m just a nice guy,” he says as he places his palms against the kitchen counter for balance, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” She glances at her phone screen, reading the time, and Jungkook does the same with the time on the kitchen stove. She's going to leave. I can feel it.

“I guess I should get going…”. Rei looks apologetic for some reason. A pink shade colors her cheeks, and she brings a hand to her forehead and lets out a deep breath as she says, “Kinda hot in here, no?”

Jungkook wants to tell her she doesn't have to go and that he doesn't want her to, but he only offers her a timid smile and looks away, nodding in agreement. “A little. I’ve been feeling it too,” he says, looking at her and catching her eyes.

Should I move now? Is it now? My move? Will she kiss me back?

Still, he brings his cup of tea to his lips as she stores her phone in the pocket of her hoodie, and she pauses as if remembering something. “And why is there a mattress outside?”

He’s drinking his tea and begins to choke. Coughing, his chest on fire, and his throat closing in, Jungkook rushes to double over his sink, and she’s standing behind him with a wrought-up look.

“Are you okay?” She steps closer to him, lightly touching his arm.

Jungkook coughs, clearing his throat; he can feel the blood rushing to his face as his eyes instinctively shed tears. The feeling of her touch on his arm feels like fire. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened. The uh, the mattress?” He looks toward his patio, a panicked look in his eyes behind the tear-stained glasses. He pauses, looking down at the floor. “I have them all over, so I can nap when I feel like it.”

She throws her head back and laughs, not taking him seriously until silence hangs between them. She raises an eyebrow. “Wait, really?” With that, her phone goes off in her pocket, and she reaches for it. “Sorry, one sec.”

He leaves her to talk on the phone with whoever and walks over to pick up Bam’s toys and dirty socks to throw in a hamper. Jungkook can hear the muffled phone conversation a room over, so he hums a song. She speaks in a hushed voice, but he hears his name mentioned.

He coughs before he reappears in the kitchen.

She’s humming to herself, lingering by the door, and his heart squeezes. ‘Don’t go,’ he wants to say. ‘Stay.’

“I should go…” she says, not budging from where she stands, chewing her lower lip, looking at Jungkook through full eyelashes. Almost as if waiting for him to interject, and him, not knowing how to.

“If you want,” Jungkook says. He swallows hard at a lump in his throat. The plead to have her stay pushed down into his chest.

DAMN!!

A look he can’t decipher takes over her face, and then the next moment, she’s smiling at him, reaching for the doorknob just as he does. They share an embarrassed exchange of looks when their hands touch, and he shakes his head, an anxious chuckle escaping him. His face feels warm as he pulls the door open for her. Rei steps out into the hallway, turns over her shoulder, and raises her hand to wave at him slowly.

Again, he yearns to kiss her and again lacks the courage.

“Bye, it was nice meeting you, Jungkook.”

“Goodnight, Rei,” he replies, leaning on the doorframe, his heart sinking into his stomach.

The next day, Jungkook is cooking for himself. He submitted his comic in the morning and has endlessly replayed last night’s events in his head.

“I should’ve kissed her,” he says to Bam.

Jungkook’s phone pings a few times and is followed by a call. He answers, distracted as he serves himself bibimmyeon and pork belly. He props the phone between his chin and ear, tilting his head comically as he walks back and forward to the table, setting down a steaming bowl of sticky rice. “‘Ey, Namjoon-hyung!…” He drags the chair out from underneath and settles in front of his plate. Jungkook reaches over the table, yanks a paper towel, grabs his chopsticks, and begins digging into the rice. “Wait,” he glances at the clock on the wall. 6:47. “It’s almost seven,” Jungkook says, confused. “Your meeting with the record executive started at six… it ended that quickly?”

Namjoon smiles. “The meeting was quick. I have really good news.” He pauses for effect. He’s in the studio, eyeing the email on screen. “Hold on,” he says, placing the phone on the desk and turning the speaker on.

Jungkook is chewing his cheek, the chopsticks loosening in his grip. He lets the silence exist for a few seconds, then he rubs the back of his hair, leaning back in his chair, his spare hand fisted over his mouth. “What?” He grumbles into his fist.

“He liked my demo. He had some comments about it but said it would do well. He said everyone else liked it; whatever that means, we’re in. He said we can come in for a group meeting where we introduce the guys, and that way, we can all talk about what we want to do going forward.”

Jungkook is speechless; they’re in. All seven of them. He can’t believe it. He stares wide-eyed at Bam, who tilts his head quizzically. “No way. No way. Is this for real?” Jungkook’s heart is thudding so hard he can see it beneath his shirt.

“I swear, Jungkook. It is.”

“Do the guys know?” Once more, Jungkook meets the eyes of his dog, and he’s smiling so hard he feels his nose scrunch.

“Some of them do, yeah. I was with Jimin earlier.”

“Yoongi,” Jungkook says, bringing his palm over his forehead. Smiling with his eyes crinkling, he feeds himself rice. “Yoongi will be so happy. We all are, you know but him .” Jungkook makes a sound with his teeth. “He’ll be so proud of all of us.”

“I know, I know. Yoongi hasn’t slept well since we first submitted our demos, and when I mentioned I had a meeting with an executive, he grabbed his jacket and took off to the studio. I don’t know what he’s been doing when he comes in, but I know he might cry.”

“I might cry too,” Jungkook admits in a hushed voice.

Namjoon wipes at his eyes, and a silence hangs between them. They’re both sniveling on the receiving end. After Jungkook clears his throat and allows himself another sniffle, he starts eating again.

“What did you make?”

“I have a lot of rice left. I made bibimmyeon and pork belly, but I have some noodles, too, if you want me to make them. Come and eat with me if you’re free. Let’s celebrate.”

“Can I leave my bike outside?” Namjoon asks. Namjoon shuts off the shared laptop in the studio, grabs his puffer jacket and the book he’s been reading, heads over, and flips off the light switch. His phone remains on speaker as he locks the door and shoots a glance down the hallway. From a distance, Yoongi does a quick two-finger salute in passing. Namjoon’s heart gives a squeeze.

Jungkook thinks it over. He’s never seen anyone leave a bike outside. “I don't know, honestly. Bring it to my apartment; it’ll be fine. I have something to tell you, by the way,” he says, referring to the previous night.

“Just saw Yoongi,” Namjoon says, jingling the keys on his finger and making his way out of the building. “I have to tell him, but I think he’s already in his studio locked up. You know how he gets.”

“He won’t let you in,” Jungkook says, scrunching his nose and stifling a laugh through a mouthful of steak.

“Exactly. And what is it? I’m bringing my bike, I thought about leaving it chained, but it’ll stress me out.”

“He’s almost done with his demos, Hobi said the other day,” Jungkook replies. “But it’s about her, bro. You won’t believe me.”

Namjoon laughs through the phone. “Mystery-neighbor-crush her, you mean?”

“Neighbor stuff, am I that annoying? Don't answer that. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you; just come in because I have to wash Bam.”

“All right, bro, give me twenty, and I’ll be there.”

Jungkook is sitting across from Namjoon, who raises an eyebrow at him as he chews on his steak. “So she came in here,” he swallows his bite and continues, “was on that couch?” he signals with his chopsticks, “and she went home after that?”

Jungkook nods. The moment he’s been dreading: admitting he chickened out. He’s not proud of himself and debates whether to omit a few things.

“Yeah, what else could’ve happened?” He takes a drink of his water, avoiding Namjoon’s gaze.

“So many things, bro. But, the very least that should have happened is that you got her number or something like that. Did you ask?”

Jungkook is quiet. His cheeks are flushing with heat. He’s chuckling at himself, remembering how he clammed up around her.

“You just let her leave, right? She walked out, thanked you, and you probably made her a tea she didn't drink.” Namjoon is laughing when Jungkook groans and shakes a fist above his head. “Ah, Jungkook!”

“I know!” Jungkook shakes his head. “But I got a name. I got a name; that’s something, isn't it?”

“Well?”

“It’s Rei. I don’t know where she’s from and all that, but that name just suits her, doesn't it?”

“It does, it does. But come on, bro! This girl lives so close! For starters, she stuck around. She could've just left after explaining herself. Instead, she sat down right where you’re sitting and stayed .” Namjoon feeds himself rice as he shakes his head and continues while he chews, “She looked at you the last time we evacuated; I saw her. And how many times have you bumped into her already? She probably thinks you’re out to get her.”

“I know. I kept thinking the same. I thought: ‘She could've left by now, but she hasn’t. I don’t know, hyung, I just froze. I just kept nodding; it was so stupid.” Jungkook closes his eyes and places his fingertips over his eyelids, shaking his head in lament.

“Not stupid, bro,” Namjoon offers, swallowing his bite. “I’ve seen her around too, and she’s really pretty, but it’s a weird sensation when she’s nearby; it’s like her beauty is different. I don't mean it like I want her now, nothing like that, but it sort of feels like I am stuck too. Like, what can I say right now?”

Jungkook nods, understanding the sentiment. “It knocks the wind out of me sometimes when I see her,” he says, reaching for a napkin. “I wanted to say so much more, but I couldn't. It was different being close to her like we were. This girl is killing me, Namjoon-hyung. You said she looked at me?”

Namjoon smiles warmly. “She did, at the evacuation a week ago. Was it a week now?” He wipes at his mouth and looks at Jungkook expectantly. Jungkook nods at him. “Well, a week ago, I went out last and caught her looking your way. She had her hand like this,” he brings his hand up to shield his eyes against nothing, “and she was smiling. She didn't see me noticing.”

Jungkook scoots closer. He rests his chin on Namjoon’s knee, looking straight at him until he’s cross-eyed. “At me?” he asks, loving that this happened.

Namjoon shakes his leg free and takes a sip of his water. “I think she likes you. She was looking at you the same way I’ve seen you look at her,” Namjoon reaches for his phone, checks a text, and continues, “so she would’ve been into you. Did she flirt with you?”

Jungkook mulls it over. He doesn't want to read too much into it, but he thinks she did flirt. “I could be wrong, and I’d hate to be wrong,” he says, “but I feel like she was into me, like, actually into me, and I thought about kissing her. Would that have been too forward?”

“Hmm,” Namjoon says as he chews his food. “Maybe. I have to see you two in action, to say. I think you can trust your gut, and if you felt that way, maybe she was giving you those vibes on purpose, you know? Sometimes girls are so forward that it's confusing. Like, ‘am I reading this wrong?’ When the whole time there was only one way to read it.” He gives his head a light shake.

“She was talkative like Yoongi predicted.”

“Oh, was she now?” Namjoon looks surprised. “I sided with Jimin when he said she seemed shy and kind of mean. Not mean, but you know the mean look girls have that makes them look kind of cool?”

Jungkook nods with a mouthful of steak.

“That’s actually interesting that she was talkative. That’s good. I think you’d do bad to get with a shy chick again.”

Jungkook once dated a girl in high school he didn't know how to talk to, and when he meant to break things off, he’d just ignored her for the entire year. She was too shy, too quiet, too reserved. He was everything else but.

“I agree with you on that,” Jungkook says honestly. “Back to Rei, she’s even prettier up close, hyung. I thought I was in a dream, that sounds so cheesy, but it’s true.”

“It was, what, four in the morning?”

“Three. Close to four.”

“Exactly. I would think that's a dream too. Seems like it. Are you sure you’re not messing with me?” Namjoon elbows Jungkook lightly.

“I want her. Is that so pathetic?”

“A little bit,” Namjoon teases, bringing his thumb and pointer finger to a slight pinch. “Like this tiny little space right here is where you live.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes as he walks into the kitchen for a beer.

“Honestly, Jungkook, I think she likes you back. Pass me the rice. Want some of the steaks?” He shows Jungkook his bowl, and Jungkook accepts, opening his mouth to be fed. “You can feed yourself.”

“Ah,” Jungkook says, mouth agape. “Just one piece.”

Namjoon is feeding Jungkook rice when the doorbell rings. The two exchange bewildered looks, and Jungkook shuffles from the ground, sliding on the flooring with his socks as he peers through the peephole. He falls to the ground as if shot, crouching with a deathly look about him.

Namjoon shifts in his seat on the floor and, stretching his neck, asks Jungkook who it is. Over and over, quietly, he’s asking who’s at the door.

Jungkook doesn't answer until Namjoon stands. He shoots a hand up to grab Namjoon’s sleeve, motioning him to crouch beside him. Whispering, he says, “It’s Rei; what do I do?”

“Get up!”

“I can't. I can't. I don't know what she wants. What if she knows?”

“Knows what? Get up; I’m opening the door in 3, 2,...”

Jungkook stands. He can feel his heart beating viciously, and his hands are sweating. He glares at Namjoon, raising his hand and motioning for a cutthroat. “I’ll kill you,” he mouths as his friend walks away.

Jungkook peers into the peephole and sees her turning away. He pulls back the door quickly, causing her to turn around. She smiles, and he wants her all over again. His relaxed demeanor vanished. “Hey, what’s going on?” are his first words.

Rei laughs, and he can feel himself blushing. He drops his head when he remembers Namjoon is a witness.

“Hey, neighbor,” she says, smiling the same coy smile she lent him last night. She pulls a paper from her pocket, extends it to him, and says, “It’s an invite to my birthday party this weekend; if you don't have any plans, I thought it would be nice to hang out and see you again. I’ll have friends over, and of course, you can bring yours.”

A party? Wait, see me again?? “I will be there. This weekend. I’ll make an appearance.” He stops talking when she laughs. He can feel the blood boiling on his face. What the hell is going on with him? “Sorry, yes, I mean, thank you.” Jungkook can feel Namjoon’s burning gaze behind him—he can picture how his friend stifles a laugh into his fist.

“No problem. Who’s that?” She points inside the apartment.

Namjoon waves when Jungkook turns around to see him standing behind him, a smirk tugging at his lips. Jungkook widens his eyes at him, mouthing for him to stop laughing. Stepping aside for his friend’s introduction, Jungkook signals toward his friend with a swift movement of his hand. “Namjoon, this is Rei. Rei, this is Namjoon, a good friend and gifter of bonsai trees.”

“I’ve seen you, no?” she talks to Namjoon, who nods, flexing his pointer finger, indicating that she has. He’s chewing cheese puffs, and Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him, silently questioning him: ‘Where did you get those?’ His stare says.

“At the evacuation, I was there.”

“Ah, yes, you had bright green hair like a highlighter pen then.”

He laughs. “That was me, yeah! You were with that girl, the…one with the red hair in pigtails.”

“Ah. That’s right! You have a good memory.” She sounds impressed.

Jungkook tongues his cheek, shaking his head beside them unnoticed.

“You too, you too. Cheese puff?” Namjoon offers a bag of cheese puffs.

“You’re tempting me, but I will have to decline. I just had lunch.”

“Your friend, the one with the pigtails, will she be at this party?”

Namjoon is nervous, but he plays it off well. Only Jungkook can tell.

“I think she can be there,” Rei replies, her eyes shifty and full lips pursing. She seems to think it over, anxiously looking at Jungkook and chewing on her lower lip. It’s as though she’s waiting for Jungkook to glance her way. Only Namjoon is seeing this.

Jungkook is annoyed. They’re talking so easily. He shifts uncomfortably, his fingers gripping the door. He watches how Namjoon chuckles and how she timidly looks down at her hands. The glittery nail polish made his heart feel like a stone in his chest. He wants to interject. But how?

“I’m sure the guys will be free this weekend too; we might celebrate our little accomplishment here sometime soon, so Jungkook can tell you about that and invite you when the time comes, right, Jungkook?”

Jungkook only nods. That’s all he seems to be capable of when she’s around. He feels so strange around her. He feels the same way each time, like he’s coming down with something suddenly. Didn’t it just get so hot out here with the door open like this? He wonders. Is anyone else sweating?

Their voices continue around him. He nods a few times when the conversation shifts toward him, but he feels lightheaded. He wants her so badly.

He doesn’t mean to, but he clears his throat, turning the conversation around him to a simmer.

“So, Jungkook, Namjoon told me he’d come this weekend and bring your other friends. There’s a theme, by the way.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “It’s fairytale-themed!” She raises her arms above her head like a big reveal and holds her pose, awaiting their reaction.

Namjoon laughs, turning away; he says: “I’ll give it good thought! Thank you for the invite, Rei!”

“And you?” She looks at Jungkook.

“Me?” Jungkook swallows hard at a lump in his throat. His brain seems to forget how to form sentences when she’s around.

“Yes, you. Do you have any ideas, JK?” she smiles, lopsided.

Is she flirting with me? Here? Namjoon-hyung! Come back!

“I have to rewatch all of my favorite fairytale movies to have an idea,” he says, bringing a hand to his head. He feels the heat emitting from his forehead. “I’m kidding. I think something cool like Dracula.”

“Is that a fairytale?” She laughs.

“Define a fairytale. Isn’t it just make-believe?”

“You don’t think vampires are real?” She raises an eyebrow at him, but he can tell she’s intentionally giving him a hard time. Her smile is surfacing and betraying her.

“I do, actually. Ah, okay. Give me time. I’ll think of something. What about you? Who are you going as?”

She pretends to think it over even though she already has an idea. “I won’t say; you’ll have to see.”

He’s fully leaning against the doorframe, his foot slipping under him, and he almost falls over. He mutters something to himself, and she’s biting back a laugh. “You want tea or something before you go? If you’re not busy.”

“Ah, I want to say yes, but my friends are upstairs; I just stopped by real quick but thank you.”

He nods. “That’s okay, next time.”

“I’ll catch you two later,” she says, waving.

She turns to walk away, and Jungkook doesn't know what takes over him, but he shouts after her: “Thank you!”

He’s too embarrassed to see if she turns around. He closes the door immediately.

He doesn't even want to look at Namjoon. He stands facing the door for a while, his head hanging low, eyebrows scrunched up in physical anguish. He chews his lip and winces at himself, remembering.

“I said that out loud,” Jungkook says, incredulous with himself.

“You said that out loud,” Namjoon reiterates from somewhere in the room.

Sighing, Jungkook turns over, and flinches at a grape Namjoon tosses at him. His nose scrunching, he catches another grape mid-air and chews noisily. “She wants to know me properly,” he says, with a dreamy air.

“So be her prince charming,” Namjoon jokes, plopping down on his couch, busy on his phone.

“So I will be,” Jungkook says, tilting his head back to look up at his ceiling. She’s up there, walking around, talking to her friends, and he’s beneath her, dreaming of the weekend. “What day is it?”

“Wednesday.”

“Let’s go; I need an outfit.”

“Now?”

“Now, get up! Get up!”

“Let me finish my grapes; I just washed them,” Namjoon whines, still not glancing from his phone’s screen.

“Okay, but after, we’ll go.” Jungkook walks into his room, grabs his glasses, and steps back out.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Jungkook nods, biting the corner of his lip distractedly. “Oh, I’m serious.” He reaches for the car keys on the table beside him. “I’ve never been more serious.”

And he is. He’s never been more serious about anything else. He wants Rei, but he wants her to want him, too. He can’t help but feel as though his luck is turning out.

taglist: @vsualitae

A/N: thank you for being here! I hope those that looked forward to the full first chapter have enjoyed this! It's my first lengthy fic, as I've already stated, so any feedback is greatly appreciated! reblogs, comments, and anything that lets me know you've enjoyed this will make me the happiest writer :') I appreciate you for giving my work a shot <3 Let me know if you'd like a second part, what you liked, etc. I'd love to hear from you, reader >.< until next time!!

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babydollmarauders · 1 year ago

Text

LAST KISS — NICO HISCHIER

nico hischier x fem!reader

part of the Speak Now Fic List

summary: in which y/n reminisces on she and Nico’s relationship and wonders how it all came to an end when she still loves him so much

notes: lots of flashbacks, not a lot of dialogue

the carpeted floor does nothing to ease the numbness of my butt from sitting there for so long.

my back is pressed against the side of my bed, my head tilted back and my eyes glued to the ceiling, fighting back tears.

the alarm clock that sits on my nightstand, lights up the room; 1:58am displayed in bright red.

how is it that at this time, just three months ago, i was happy?

how is it that i remember that night so clearly?

*** 3 MONTHS AGO ***

my cheeks ache from smiling, my leg slung over my boyfriend’s as he holds me close. his arms are wrapped around my waist, one hand drawing shapes into my back.

our alarm clock reads 1:58am, but he only got back from his roadie about forty-five minutes ago.

“and then Dawson bet Jack fifty dollars that he could kick the ball into the rafters.” Nico whispers, his thick accent soothing my racing heart.

“did he?”

“no, he kicked it up high but it bounced off of one of the beams and ended up hitting him in the head.” i giggle, already imagining the scenario happening in my head. “i can laugh now, but i was worried he had a concussion.”

Nico joins me in laughter, tightening his grip on me. my hand lays flat across his chest, and i can feel his heartbeat pick up.

“i love you.” i whisper, craning my neck to nudge my nose against his.

“ich liebe dich mehr, schatzi.”

*** PRESENT ***

tears roll down my cheeks. my heart feels like it’s being torn, my chest constricting like someone is crumpling it like an old receipt.

how could he have told me he loved me, when he left so soon after?

how could he leave me so easily? like i was nothing to him.

why did he leave? i thought we were doing so well.

i thought the end of the hockey season would bring on new adventures, not the end of us.

now i’m left picking up the pieces of me that he carelessly threw down when he told me we were over. when he went back to Switzerland and told me not to bother visiting.

i thought we would have a repeat of last summer, the best summer i’ve ever had, but i guess that’s gone now.

*** JULY 9TH, 2022 ***

the plane bumps as it touches down, causing me to jolt in my seat.

eight hours on the plane, too excited and nervous to sleep a wink, and now i’m ready to be able to move and reunite with my boyfriend.

i sit idly in my seat, my carry-on backpack sitting in my lap, as i wait to be able to leave; and as soon as i can, i’m fast walking off the plane.

Nico said he would meet me at baggage claim, and with the unfamiliarity of a foreign airport, it takes me much longer than i had hoped to find baggage claim.

but as soon as i round the corner and spot my boyfriend, i take off running. my sneakers squeak against the tiled floors, and he looks up from his phone, quickly pocketing it and opening his arms to envelope me in a hug.

my head nestles on his chest, right against his pounding heart, and my arms wrap securely around his waist while his fold over my shoulders. i melt into his touch, savoring the feeling of being in his arms again. his heartbeat echoes through my ears, soothing me further.

“i missed you.” he mumbles into my hair, pressing his lips to my scalp.

“i missed you more.”

we stand there in silence, watching the bags go around the little carousel until mine finally comes into view. the black hard shell suitcase covered in stickers is hard to miss, and Nico finally lets me go in order to step forward and grab it for me.

“c’mon, i want you to meet my family.” his arm wraps around my shoulder, pulling me into his side as we exit the airport.

i can smell the rain that’s falling freshly on the pavement, taking in a deep breath, and Nico smiles down at me, his brows threaded together.

“i like the smell. it’s different here; smells cleaner.” he chuckles at my words, shaking his head. “or i’m just happier here, ‘cause i’m with you.”

his eyes scrunch as he grins widely, showing off his teeth.

“yeah, i’m happier with you too.”

*** PRESENT ***

i rock on the floor, tilting forward slightly with my legs criss-crossed. my arms are crossed over my chest in an ‘x’, my hands fisting the fabric of his forgotten soft black t-shirt that adorns my body.

the tears are falling harder now, my throat closing as my breaths catch, a broken sob of his name falling from my lips.

how could he do this to me?

i met his family.

he met mine. despite knowing how guarded i am with choosing who to introduce to them.

he convinced me we were forever.

*** MAY 2022 ***

“and you’re sure you’re okay with attending this?” i question for the millionth time, standing in front of the mirror as i put my earrings in.

“yes, schatzi. i’m sure.” Nico chuckles, wrapping his arms around my waist as he comes and stands behind me. “i want to meet your family. i want to meet the people who raised my beautiful, kindhearted girlfriend.”

i sigh, locking eyes with him in the mirror. a small smile dances upon my lips when he scrunches his nose at me through the reflection.

“i just don’t want them to scare you off.” i admit, my hands gently resting on his arms that encircle me. “they can be a lot, and ya know, they’re hockey fans so they’ll probably talk your ear off about this past season and i just- i love you, i don’t want them to run you away from me.”

Nico’s lips ghost against my neck, pressing featherlight kisses across my skin, before he rests his chin upon my shoulder. he looks at me softly in the mirror, but i avoid his gaze until he abruptly spins me around.

his hands cup my face, forcing me to look into his big brown eyes.

“they will not scare me off.” he assures me, leaning his forehead against mine. “i love you, and your family cannot change that. they can talk to me about hockey every time i see them for the rest of our lives, but they can’t run me off.”

for the rest of our lives.

“i love you so much.” i lean forward, standing on my tiptoes to lay a kiss on his lips.

my nerves are eased for most of the time until the reception. we arrive to my cousin, Lindsay’s wedding just before the ceremony begins, effectively avoiding my parents meeting Nico.

but once the reception begins, there’s no evading it any longer. my body tenses as my father walks over to Nico and i’s table.

“little bird!” my face flushes at the childhood nickname, allowing my father to wrap me up in a hug, my mother quickly taking his place once we part.

my dad’s eyes stray over to my boyfriend, widening slightly but keeping his cool. “and who’s this, little bird?”

“mom, dad; this is my boyfriend, Nico.” i introduce, watching with baited breath as my father shakes Nico’s hand.

“nice, firm grip ya got there, Nico.” my dad nods approvingly, “say, ya play hockey? ya look familiar.”

my mother and i share a glance at his unsubtle way of questioning, but whereas she wears a smile, my face is one of fear. but my fear melts away when my boyfriend just laughs.

“i’m just messing with you.” my dad slaps Nico on the back. “i’m a Devils fan, born and raised.”

he continues talking, but i can no longer hear their conversation as they walk away towards the open bar.

“i’d say that went well.” my mom sighs, turning back towards me. “what do you say we get some champagne. you look like you need it.”

it’s not even an hour later that Nico has become the life of the party. my rowdy, hockey invested family have all flocked to him. even Lindsay and her now husband, the one’s this day is supposed to be about, are stood around our table, listening intently to what my boyfriend has to say about playing in the NHL.

i’m stood beside Nico, as we had given up our seats to my younger cousins, just waiting for them all to stop questioning him.

“hey Nico, what’s it like being captain?” my little cousin asks, and i can’t help but roll my eyes as my boyfriend answers him. Nico catches my eye, smiling down at me and pulling me close into his side.

“i love it. it’s hard, you have to answer questions from interviewers after hard losses, but it can also be very fun. it’s very rewarding.” he explains.

i let out a sigh, my mood severely deflating, until Nico speaks up again.

“if you guys will excuse me, i wanna have a dance with my girlfriend before the night ends.” he winks at the table full of my family members before leading me to the dance floor.

he snakes his arms around my waist, pulling me flush against him as my arms lock around his neck, resting on his shoulders.

“i like your family.” he tells me.

“you do?”

he nods, beginning to sway us side to side. “yeah, they’re nice, and passionate about hockey. i see where you get it from now.”

i chuckle, nodding along. “that would be my dad’s doing.”

he laughs, as i close my eyes and lay my head upon his chest.

though i’m not usually one for dancing in public, i do it with him.

for him.

*** PRESENT ***

my heart aches, and in my mind, i beg for him to come home.

to tell me he was just joking.

that he loves me and still wants to spend the rest of our lives together.

i beg for him to come waltzing back towards me after a game, his hands in his pockets as he grins at me leaning against his car.

i beg for him to come back and spend another night listening to me rant, until he finally decides he’s had enough of my unimportant rambles and shuts me up with a kiss.

my phone dings upon my nightstand, right next to the alarm clock that now reads 2:34am, and i scramble for it, in hopes that it’s him.

and in a way, it is. an instagram notification is displayed across my screen, letting me know that Nico has posted a new post.

i click into it, ignoring the tears that now splatter upon my screen as i see how happy he looks.

how happy he looks without me.

i scroll through the photo carousel, staring at photos of Nico and his brother and sister, a wide smile on his face. a photo of him in front of a scenic mountain, his teeth shown off in a grin. a photo of him swimming.

i have to wonder how it got to this point.

how i went from waking up before the sun did, watching him sleep peacefully beside me; to watching his life in pictures. being delegated to asking our mutual friends how he is, because i can no longer just text him to ask.

how i went from laying almost entirely on top of him, feeling his chest rise and fall with his deep breaths; to feeling forgotten in his life. like the two years we were together meant nothing to him.

it’s as if i can feel myself being erased from his life; from his mind.

but the worst part of that i can’t hate him. i love him too much to hold any hate in my heart for him.

rather than wishing the worst upon him, i only hope that he has a wonderful life.

and that maybe, on a beautiful day, he’ll see something so small, so minuscule, like the sun shining through the clouds, or a pink sunset, which he knows i love so much, and that it’ll remind him of me. that he’ll realize how good i was to him. that he’ll regret leaving. that he’ll wish he had stayed with me.

#speak now fic list #nico hischier #nico hischier x reader #nico hischier imagine #nico hischier fic #nico hischier blurb #nj devils #nhl fic #nhl imagine #faithlynn’s writings <3

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kozumesphone · 7 months ago

Note

hi! your writing style is so cute!!! <3

could I request for a jason x sister!reader fluff? maybe a holiday theme oneshot at camp ft. leo's silly little dialogues of course 💞

masterlist

💌┊₊˚⊹꒷ LIKE WE JUST MET .ᐟ

�� platonic!multiple x daughter of zeus!reader ‧₊˚ ⋅

ᝰ. 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 . . . percy jackson and heroes of olympus

ᝰ. 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 . . . jason grace’s sister!reader and tooth rotting fluff ft. jason (ofc), leo and his adorable dialogues, just fluff basically, christmas party, and a fun day out for the demigods. ft. y/n saying a few words here and there in french, princess passenger!leo again <3, sugar crashed!leo, matching lightning mcqueen pjs for y/n & jace. alsoalso jason’s weatherman nickname inspired by this post.

ᝰ. 𝐤𝐞𝐲 . . . y/n — your name | n/n — nickname | r/n — random name | ‘merde’: shit | ‘mon amour’: my love

ᝰ. 𝐰𝐜 . . . 1.5k

ᝰ. 𝐚/𝐧 . . . uhajshwkjs this request is everything! tysm anon, bc I miss winter sm 😭 this was the perfect way to get over my summer depression fr <3 hope you like it!

“rise and shine, my lovely buffalos!” clarisse’s voice rang loudly.

“stop, no,” jason groaned from the opposite side of the room, grabbing a pillow to cover his ears.

“I love you, but it’s christmas eve. let us sleep in, clarisse! even jace wants to!” I yelled.

I cracked an eye open, and sunlight filtered through the now-open door as clarisse walked in, her hand intertwined with a sleepy chris’.

“oh, the light, i’m going to go blind, merde-” I rambled and picked up a pillow, throwing it in the general area of the cabin’s door. a thwap sounded as clarisse caught the pillow before it maimed chris.

“man, wake up, where’s the christmas cheer, yeah?” chris said, extremely unenthusiastically.

“you’re half asleep, dude. let me sleep,” jason mumbled.

“yeah, we all know clarisse dragged you here-” suddenly, my blanket was yanked off my body as I muttered a string of curse words. “nooooooo, my lovely and warm blanket-”

a squeal sounded from jason’s side of the room and I sat up on my bed to see him blanket-less as well. satisfied that I wasn’t the only one who was being annoyed by the two lovebirds, I grinned.

“you know, this is the first time you didn’t wake up the second your clock hit 5 in the morning,” I chuckled at jason.

before he could reply, clarisse started ordering us around. “get out of your pyjamas and come around to the dining pavillion for breakfast at 8.”

she glanced at jason’s and mine matching lightning mcqueen pyjamas, and grinned. chris and her walked out, leaving the door open.

“at least close the door,” I mumbled.

we disappeared into our sides of the room to get ready, and met up outside the cabin in 20 minutes.

it was absolutely serene to wake up to an almost-empty camp as it was snowing, with the harpies asleep. a butterfly landed on jason’s nose and I smiled. in that moment, it felt like nothing could disrupt the harmony of the world-

“HEY, WEATHERMAN! oh hello, lovely n/n,” leo skidded to a stop in front of us and grinned.

“morning, princess,” I said. leo and I did our handshake, as jason was still preoccupied with the butterfly.

“dude, how did you not wake up at 5? did your alarm malfunction? I can fix it for ya,” leo commented, looking at jason.

“what, i’m not allowed to wake up late?” he rolled his eyes, and started walking towards breakfast. leo and I followed him, talking about our prank war against the stoll twins and the general ongoings of camp half-blood.

we all take our seats at the hermes cabin’s table since chiron decided we should just sit at the same table because we’re only 40-ish campers, as compared to the usual 150 or more.

jason talks with clarisse for a while as leo and I engage in conversation with connor and travis, as we wait for the food. when everything we could ever want for breakfast turns up in our plates, we collectively get up and make a line to offer some food to the gods. I drop in a portion of my french fries and some vegetables I didn’t want.

“good luck receiving burnt vegetables, my dudes on olympus,” leo said, looking at me dropping some broccoli into the pyre, making me roll my eyes.

as we ate, chiron walked trotted in and took his seat at the head of the table, as mr. d echoed his actions on the other side.

“merry christmas eve, kids,” chiron said. “we have an announcement to make.”

we stopped talking between ourselves and turned towards chiron.

“as you all know, most of our campers have left camp to visit their families for the winter,” chiron said, as we all nodded along.

“and in lieu of the small number of you left in camp, we wanted to let you know that we are giving you pesky kids permission to have a ‘party’ for christmas.” mr. d continued. “and as a bonus, for gods know what reason, chiron asked to send any four of you to the mortal world to buy some decorations, or whatever, and anything else you might need.”

chatter broke out at the news of camp’s first ever christmas party.

“no alcoholic drinks will be permitted, unfortunately,” mr. d remarked sadly, which no one bothered to hear.

by the end of breakfast, we were all talking about the things we’d need for the party, and I began making a list. after an hour of begging, chiron decided that jason, leo, travis, and I (or as mr. d called us: “lee, jackson, tyler, and r/n”) could go to buy decorations and food ingredients. he gave us a few american dollars, and told us to eat something with any remaining money. he also pulled jason and me aside, asking us to look after the other two.

we piled into the camp car with travis driving, and leo beside him. ever the passenger princess, he put on his sunglasses, turned up the radio, and started singing to some pop music.

in about half an hour, we reached a store called 7-eleven (“but why would you name a shopping centre in numbers?” leo had asked us the last time we’d been there) and walked into the store, the sound of the bell resonating behind us.

we split into each of the four aisles for food, use-and-throw cutlery, decorations, and board & card games.

I finished picking out the decorations first and met up with jason, who got lots of food, near the cashier.

“ooh, percy, hazel and nico would’ve loved the cocoa and marshmallows,” I said to jason, peeping into his basket.

“yeah. and frank, will and annie would’ve loved to help you put up all those streamers and everything,” he said.

I realised that it was the first time we were spending christmas without them.

“why do you guys look like someone ran over your favourite stuffed toy? it’s christmas eve, guys! cheer up!” travis said, slapping jason’s back.

leo joined us too, suddenly smacking my shoulder as well, earning himself a glare from jason.

jason and I scanned travis and leo’s baskets to make sure they didn’t get anything extra. satisfied, jason grabbed all four baskets and made small talk with the cashier about a football game till the billing finished.

“shotgun!” leo called, as soon as we got our receipt, and he ran away along with travis to get into the car. I chuckled and took two of the four bags from jason.

from the store, we drove to a cafe for some coffee and bagels before getting back to camp.

timeskip

by half past 10, the hecate, tyche, hebe, hypnos, hera, poseidon, and hephaestus cabins had all the decorations set up, while the athena, demeter, nike, iris, and hades cabins whipped up the foods. the remaining cabins (ares, apollo, artemis, zeus, hermes, nemesis, aphrodite, and dionysus) set up the various games and logs for the campfire. chiron and mr. d chopped and dragged a tree from the woods to decorate.

we began settling down in a circle around the campfire with the decorated and well-lit christmas tree to one side. the apollo kids began singing, and the hermes kids put on their own version of a musical they called ‘hamilton’.

games were played and christmas carols were sung until we felt sleepy, and the chirping of the crickets increased. I was on my fourth cup of hot chocolate (jason said it wasn’t healthy, but whatever) and fifth packet of mini marshmallows, while leo was… passed out beside me from way more than just five cups of hot chocolate and lots of candy. typical leo valdez sugar crash.

“ay, mon amour,” I laughed at him.

beside me, jason was smiling warmly at the fire. his face was glowing in the harsh light of the campfire, making him look every part thalia’s brother.

I was a few months younger than jason, but I was at camp before he stumbled in. thalia was almost like my blood sister, always taking care of me. at this moment, everything about jason reminded me of the girl I once loved like a sister.

campers’ clocks struck 12, echoing wishes of ‘merry christmas’ throughout the camp.

“merry christmas, n/n,” jason smiled down at me.

“merry christmas, weatherman.”

“N/N!!! mErrY cHriStMaaaaaaaS!-“

“merry christmas, your honour, bad boy supreme,” I laughed at leo.

getting up from our spots on the mattresses around the campfire, everyone made their way into the hermes cabin. they had the biggest beds, and we’d all gotten our cabin’s heaters into one for more warmth.

the stolls fell onto the bed first, followed by around 10-12 campers, jason, leo and me. everyone readjusted themselves to comfort, and we were all falling asleep.

in the morning, I wouldn’t have anyone to share a miraculous christmas kiss with, but I will have many hugs to give to the boys I loved like my own brothers, and that would be enough for me any day.

bonus!

“i’m not crying, you are,” chiron said, wiping a stray tear away, looking at the huge cuddle pile in the hermes cabin. “my babies!”

mr. d scoffed at him.

taglist — @sunnitheapollokid @puffoz @canonfeminine @taytayluvr @urmomabby @cinemaconrad @aezuria @thetunnelunderoceanboulevard @jgracie @cherigall @percabethluvr @pjoverseluvr @maybxlle

kozumesphone © 2024 | don’t repost my works onto other platforms, or edit and post them even on tumblr, without asking me first • don’t steal my works, steal my heart instead • reblogs and comments are more than appreciated !

#skye's cafe ~ ⋆.˚#⭑𓂃 skye’s riordanverse !#skye.jpg🧸—#𝜗𝜚 skye's asks #jason grace x y/n #leo valdez x y/n #platonic fluff #daughter of zeus reader #fluff <3 #christmas fluff!#winter holidays >>#percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #pjo/hoo #hoo oneshots #requested oneshot!#anon ask #thanks anon!#anon <3 #requested!

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emoangel44 · 9 months ago

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What do you think Frisk's life was like before arriving in the underground? What do you think their life was like a few years after all that? What kind of person d'ya think they'd be?

this is a fairly hard question because for a long time frisk was effectively an enigma to me. i think frisk is one of the biggest writing weak points in the game and that their character suffers because toby only did the big reveal that theyre a separate person from you too late to do really anything with it, which is why hes focusing so hard on kris in deltarune.

however, i have been thinking more about them lately and trying to figure them out from the few canon details we have. here are some of the lines in the game that i think can give us a peak into frisks upbringing and personality:

these lines to me seem to imply frisk most likely grew up/lives in a neglectful environment where they dont feel loved or appreciated, whether in a home with parents or an orphanage or somewhere else. their caretakers are clearly absent enough that frisk managed to make it to mount ebott, for whatever reason it is they went. they do seem to at leastl partly want to go back home though, as they ask toriel when they can and you have the option to say they have somewhere else to go.

they seem very independent and used to doing things for themself. they prefer finding fun in things in their environment to entertain themself with (like playing in leaves or staring at mouse holes) and potentially arent actually used to having toys to play with. they dont like the idea of being trapped in the ruins with toriel and want to leave despite the promise of a loving home.

...however, they say this about asgore later. they seem to vastly prefer things like toriels homemade pie to making their own instant noodles. maybe theyd be willing to stay with someone on their own terms? you are given the option to stay with toriel or leave on your own at the end of the game. maybe frisk could be fine with either.

i also choose to believe the 'less grammatically correct' options in the role-play sequence are frisk. the only thing this really proves in that theyre kind of silly. but what undertale character isnt? things like them wiggling or copiously flirting or generally going along with shenanigans tell us they like having a good time like everyone else.

also, i dont have anything specific to say about the lines you get from running from a fight but i want to include them because theyre fun and some of the only 'probably frisk dialogue' we get that isnt just options.

as for post-mercy, i think the person everyone is talking to in the alarm clock dialogue is frisk. theyre just being told about events they werent there for, like the house party with alcohol they werent invited to for obvious reasons. i think both them having stayed with toriel or gone somewhere else are possible and there isnt strong evidence for either. theres even less evidence about whether they became the ambassador or not. maybe they werent there for some of the hangouts because they were busy with politics? i dont think toriel would let that happen but if any kid in the world could be a successful diplomat its absolutely frisk.

#undertale #frisk #analysis #raxz.ask

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writingsteph · 5 months ago

Text

Some dialogue is borrowed from the movie "Se Busca Papa" and I included the clip here as well!

OSI "School Sucks" Scene 3:

The Next Morning…

5:00 am. Brooke’s alarm clock wakes her up and almost instinctively her hand goes to shut the offending sound off.

Opening her eyes she dropped her phone back on the dresser and sat up a bit.

Deep breaths Brooke.

Wednesday. Shit has been hard this week. It’s Sammy’s ninth day at Tree Hill.

My baby hates it.

Are we even doing the right thing? Does she hate me?

One meeting at 10:30 am and an interview at 1pm. I should ask Millie to debrief me on those notes. Although work wasn’t fazing the woman, not in the way that motherhood currently was.

When will my baby’s sadness go away?

Great thoughts to start the day Brooke. Fuck!

It took all the will she could muster to get up from the covers and get ready for the day.

Brooke’s first stop: My baby’s room.

The woman lightly pushed the girl’s door open trying not to wake Sam. Brooke would take advantage of the fact that the child had no walls up in slumber. She just wanted to exist peacefully in her daughter’s orbit. She didn’t want to argue or scold. She wanted to love on her baby.

Brooke sat on the desk chair facing her snoozing child and let out a sigh, a soft smile played on her lips as she watched her little girl.

She couldn’t believe that she could finally be Sam’s mama. Even if the girl hated her currently, every day with Sam in her life was a blessing. Sometimes the woman fantasized about the day Sam would call her ‘mama,’ When talking to others Sam had described Brooke and Lucas as “my mom” and “my dad,” but still avoided addressing them as such.

But Brooke and Lucas did not feel slighted by it. Sam had come to them extremely traumatized. She was unlearing so much. Everything would come with time, and at least they knew that Sam was theirs. All three of them knew it. Felt it in their blood and bones.

Brooke’s eyes misted over watching the child. Sam’s thumb was set loosely in her mouth, and both her blanket and bear had found their way into her arms. Her baby was so small. Fourteen and still so emotionally young. I love you so much. I’m so sorry your life has been so hard. I’m so sorry I’ve made your life harder.

The small teen shifted a bit restlessy and the woman stilled her thoughts. Her hand moved to brush and sooth her daughter’s left arm. “Shhhhhh.” Brooke barely whispered, “Shhhhhh. Sleep peanut.”

And as if Sam had listened to her mama, she settled and began to softly suckle on her thumb once more. Brooke’s heart always melted at the sight.

All Brooke wanted was to do right by her precious baby girl. She waited until the girl fully stilled then stood from the chair and leaned in to kiss Sam’s hairline, “Mama loves you.” She cooed.

___________________________________________________________________________

7 am. Sam woke up with a groan and banged on the alarm clock.

“Shut the fuck up.” She muttered, dropping her head back onto the pillows. Maybe if she just rested her eyes for a few seconds… “Sammy! I hope you’re already up. We have to leave in 30 minutes!”

Fuck, I fell back asleep.

“Sam, if you are awake you gotta say something.” Brooke’s voice came from behind the door making Sam roll her eyes. God, I can handle getting up and ready on my own!

Sure you can Sam. You would’ve made it to school on time just fine without your mama’s help.

The girl dragged herself from the bed, “I’m up.” She said gruffly.

“28 minutes!”

Today is going to suck like every other day this week. Her stomach ached at the thought of being alone again today. God I hope Manny is at school today. God I hope dad doesn’t embarrass me with these check ins.

The 14 year old began to hastily get ready making it down the stairs with 8 minutes to spare. Brooke was finishing up her coffee when she saw the girl descend. Sam wore a black and grey baseball tee with dark wash jeans that Brooke had bought her last week.

Awww, they look good on her! My cute peanut!

The woman placed a piece of buttered toast and orange juice on the kitchen island, “Morning Sammy. Eat that quick, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Sam muttered falling onto the stool.

“Those jeans look really nice on you.” Brooke attempted to start a conversation but all Sam gave her was an uninterested nod and a ‘thanks.’

My baby is sad.

Brooke moved and placed a kiss on the top of Sam’s head, letting her lips linger for a moment. “Love you peanut.”

Sam hesitated, her pride and anger still simmering just beneath the surface. She didn't want to give in, to show that vulnerability, but as she looked into her mother's eyes, she saw the unwavering love and concern that just never seemed to leave. She took a deep breath, swallowing her pride for the moment.

Love you too mama. "Love you too." She spoke softly, her voice barely audible but sincere, and Brooke couldn’t help but smile. An olive branch perhaps?

The moment was short lived. It was soon time to go. Go straight to Tree Hill High. Sam’s personal hell. Suddenly the foul mood that the teen carried had returned.

Once in the car Brooke sat up front while Sam sat in the back not wanting to be near her mother, instead choosing to wallow in her angry thoughts. The teenager heard her phone ping, so she went fishing for it in her bag after sitting down.

“Seatbelt Sam.” Brooke reminded when she noticed Sam prioritizing her phone over safety.

Another eye roll. Yeah, I know!

At her mother’s behest she buckled in first then went back to grabbing her phone from her bag’s front pocket. It was a message from Tamara. A picture of her and Jack. She was blowing a kissy face with the peace sign while Jack was waving and smiling from ear to ear. The text read: Miss you!

Her heart tightened. My friends. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned her head on the seat of the car, looking out the window. I wanna be with my friends.

The teenager was absolutely silent for the rest of the ride, opting to put her headphones in even if no music came through. Meanwhile Brooke stole glances from the rearview mirror.

It seemed Sam’s scowl had returned. She yearned so deeply to just magically create friends and memories for Sam at Tree Hill, but she couldn’t be there to coddle Sam through school. Her baby had to do it alone, and that killed the mother.

“Sammy, you remember the plan, right?” Brooke’s voice broke through Sam’s brooding mental state as they pulled into the school.

Of course all she care’s about is whether or not I’m gonna fucking skip! It’s you and dad’s fault I can’t see my friends like I used to!

The car came to a stop at the front of the school. Brooke sighed when no answer came. Patience Brooke. Patience. “Alright, little miss silent treatment. Just remember to check in with your dad at lunch. and be on time to all of your classes. Okay?”

Sam made eye contact with her mother and narrowed her eyes. If looks could kill…

“Peanut, just give this place a chance. That’s all I’m asking.”

Sam wouldn’t respond, simply because she wanted to frustrate her mother. She wanted Brooke to feel how she felt. Mad. So she unbuckled her seatbelt and adjusted her bag to leave out. Sam opened the door with an eye roll to rival them all and slid out striding away, her backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Close the door.” Brooke muttered when the girl left out and looked as if she’d forgotten, but Brooke realized her daughter was doing it on purpose when Sam continued to walk away!”

“Sama-Samantha! Hey!” She couldn’t let this slide. Brooke unclicked her seatbelt to follow her daughter right out. Oh little girl you are out of your mind.

“Come here.” Brooke spoke gravely, “Right. Now.”

Heads turned. Students paused to watch the unfolding drama, Sam’s face flushing with embarrassment. Why did she think flat out defying her mother would work out for her in the end?

She could feel the eyes of her peers on her, the whispers already starting:

‘Is that Brooke Davis?’

‘Damn so that’s the new girl’s mom.’

‘Somebody’s in trouuubbllee.’

Sam finally turned around and walked towards her approaching mother, her head down and cheeks burning.

“You don’t want to talk to me, that’s perfectly fine,” Brooke was unflinchingly firm, but you will listen and do as I say."

Could the Earth just swallow Sam up right now? The molten center of Earth sounded better than this!

"Go and close that door. Now.”

Sam took in deep breaths while trying not to blow up or talk back. For a moment. she hesitated. Her pride warring with the urge to just keep walking. But the look in her mother's eyes told her that this wasn't a request.

Sam walked towards the door trying to block out everyone’s motherfucking stares and whispers. Brooke stood with her arms across her chest ensuring that Sam did as she was told “And don’t you dare slam it.” Brooke warned knowing her daughter’s next move.

Sam needed to evacuate this embarrassing as fuck situation. Brooke was scolding her as if they were in their kitchen! It felt so wrong to have their home dynamics played out to the whole fucking school! She lightly pushed the car door and pivoted to get the hell out of there.

“It didn’t close. Do it right.”

Eyes widening, the teenager stopped in her tracks once more. Are you fucking serious, mom!

“It didn’t close Sammy.” Brooke spoke, her expression softening slightly. She realized that it had now become a bit of a spectacle, and she hated to embarrass her daughter, but Sam needed to realize that Lucas and Brooke had boundaries and this was something they would not put up with.

Just because Sam was angry didn’t mean she could go around treating people (her parents) like shit. It was something Brooke and Lucas had been working on with their child for the past four months. They were working on a lot of emotional regulation with her. Things that most 14 years olds had down pat. But they didn’t mind it. They loved watching Sam progress, no…blossom. Their baby was getting better with their parental care and attention on her. Even Thrice, their social worker, had noted the change in Sam’s behavior.

“Whatever you two are doing-” Thrice began in a check-in visit three weeks ago.

Sam had gone to Lucas’s car to grab her phone. She wanted to show Thrice some pictures the family had taken on a beach trip, so the social worker took advantage of the alone time with the two parents, “She feels so much less guarded when I talk to her. It’s like the glint of childhood is finally back in her eyes.” The woman shook her head, as if she was trying to shake off the memory of Sam falling into this pit of melancholic darkness for so long, “I-I missed seeing that.”

Brooke and Lucas tightened the hold they had on each other’s hands.

“Please just continue what you are doing.”

It was then that Sam bolted back in, perching on the couch arm by her mother. She leaned into the woman and Thrice just smiled at the sight. “Okay hold on, let me find them. There's this hilarious picture of Luke that I took.”

Thrice leaned back onto the couch. Sam would be okay. Sam would thrive. A happy ending if there ever was one in foster care.

“Now I know where the new freshman got her smart mouth from,” came a sophomore girl’s whisper and both Brooke and Sam had heard it. Sam’s blood boiled.

Brooke saw the flash of emotion hit her peanut’s eyes and the woman’s primal focus darted to the blonde bimbo of a teen who had offended her little one.”Excuse me?” Brooke’s tone venomous. The blonde shrunk away at the fierce green eyes. “S-sorry.” The sophomore hurried away.

“Fuck this.” Sam muttered. She was going to find that dumb bitch and shove her words right up her ass! Sam rammed her shoulder into the door to close it all the way and moved with haste to follow the girl only to be stopped by her mother.

Brooke had seen the anger in her daughter’s expression and to de-escalate she pulled Sam into a quick hug and kissed the top of her head, “Thank you for closing the door honey.” Brooke whispered, “Forget what that girl said and try to have a nice day.”

Sam couldn’t help that for a micro moment her mother’s comfort felt nice but she did not lean into the feeling, instead she pulled out of the embrace quickly, “I wanna stay with Lucas for the rest of the week.’ She stalked off towards the school building, leaving a stunned Brooke. The mother watched Sam go with a mixture of sadness and a familiar guilt in her heart. I’m so sorry Samantha.

#brooke davis #one tree hill fanfiction #samantha walker #through thick and thin #original characters #family feels #angst

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jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka · 8 months ago

Text

Above Snakes

Part 6.1 and all I can say is I’m sorry…

Pairings: Sam Kiszka X Danny Wagner *slash

Warnings and tags: 18+ only!! Please no minors, adult content including suggestive dialogue, and mentions of death, angst, just some slight smut (just kissing), if I missed anything please let me know

Word count: 3.7

The smoothness of a woman’s legs never ceased to amaze him as he trailed his calloused fingertips along the curve of her thigh up to her bare hip.

“That tickles” she giggled, grabbing the sheet and covering herself while in the same motion rolling over and into his chest.

His hand fell into place on the small of her back as he held her close, kissing the top of her head as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck making herself extra comfy. Despite how badly he wanted to grip her tight and fall into a blissful sleep he knew it was getting late. “You’ll have to go soon” he whispered softly into the darkness of the motel room, hoping maybe she wouldn’t hear him and they could ignore everything and just be here right now together.

She did hear him though, and she stirred to sit up, clutching the sheet now to her bare chest “I wish I could stay with you longer” she sighed, her once joyful expression now filled with sorrow and torment.

“I know beautiful,” he attempted to calm her by sitting up as well and reaching over to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek. “I loved every second of being with you tonight. I don’t want you to go either, but we shouldn’t push it”.

She nodded, and leaned over to place one more soft kiss against his lips before getting up to get redressed.

“I saw a vending machine outside. Gonna to go get a water real quick. Do you want anything?” He asked after slipping a pair of pants and t-shirt on.

“I’ll take a water” she smiled, moving to the vanity at the other end of the room to check herself in the mirror.

Once outside he nervously checked his surroundings before proceeding. There would be no reason he would know they were here, but nonetheless he was always paranoid about getting caught. The parking lot was still just as empty as it was when he’d pulled in earlier, so he made his way a few doors down to where the vending machine lay waiting, feeding it a few bills and making his selections.

Over the whirring of the machine as the two bottles of water were dispensed he managed to hear the sound of tires on gravel as a car pulled in a few feet behind him. He turned around slowly, watching the small car park nearby his truck and to his surprise once the car stopped out stepped Danny from the drivers side.

Jake didn’t feel good about leaving Danny at that slummy bar, but he just didn’t want him around the motel when his visitor stopped by- Danny already had too many questions. Hopefully soon though he wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore, that was the point of this trip after all.

Curiously Jake watched as Danny made his way around to the passengers side of the car and opened the door to reveal a pretty young girl. He leaned over to say something to her, unbuckling her seatbelt and trying to help her out of the car before she leaned over and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the gravel.

God that girl must be wasted, Jake thought to himself as he watched Danny practically carry her into his hotel room. Part of him wanted to call out to him, make it known that he had seen this all go down, but then he heard the sound of another door opening and closing so he hurried back over to his room to say goodbye.

The sound of the alarm pounded through Danny’s head early in the morning, yanking him from his restless sleep. He heard the sheets rustling on the bed as the girl he’d rescued last night rolled over and silenced the clock on the bedside table with a crack of her palm against the snooze button, then let her arm fall limply back onto the mattress.

Danny waited patiently on the floor to see if she’d stir again, not wanting to surprise her by waking up to him looming over the bed- there was no telling if she even remembered coming with him last night. When she didn’t move he sighed, feeling his body stiff from laying on the ground for nearly six hours.

“Anna” he called out, remembering the name she’d given him when she approached him at the bar.

She groaned, her senses slowly coming to her as she tried to take in her unfamiliar surroundings. “Where am I?”

“At the motel off of 1st street. I tried to take you home last night but you couldn’t tell me your address” Danny answered her, sitting up slowly through the pain. From this position he was able to look onto the bed, coming into eye level with the tired girl. “Do you remember any of that?”

She furrowed her brow as she thought for a moment, trying to recall all the memories she could. “I remember talking to you at the bar, and getting in the car, but after that…” she groaned again and covered her face with her hands, obviously embarrassed. Hopefully that meant this wasn’t a common occurrence for her. She looked like a sweet girl; maybe she was just learning her limits.

“That’s okay. More importantly, are you alright?”

“My head is pounding” she replied, more than likely the beginnings of a hangover already rearing its ugly head.

Danny stood up now, and she followed by sitting up in the bed, watching closely as he made his way to the dresser across from the foot of the bed and retrieved the waters and the Advil he’d bought. He crossed back over to the side of the bed and raised his brows as he pointedly looked down at the edge. She nodded sheepishly, scooting over some to create more room for him to sit down and he handed her the unopened box and a bottle.

She was trepidatious with her acceptance of his offering, but the headache was strong enough to make her ultimately give in. As she unscrewed the cap of the bottle and tore into the box she started to really take things in, noticing that she was still fully clothed and of course it looked like he’d slept on the floor. Still, despite her embarrassment she had to ask him to make sure, “so, umm, we didn’t do anything did we? When you brought me here?”

Danny nearly choked on his water at her question, he thought he’d been careful enough to not raise any concerns, though he understood it was still valid for her to have some. “No, I wouldn’t take advantage of anyone like that”.

She looked mostly relieved, though her face did fall a bit when she looked over at Danny, this kind beautiful man sitting before her, and realized despite her drunken courage she must not have had a real chance with him “oh… okay”.

Danny noticed the slight chagrin in her voice and quickly tried to explain himself further. “I mean it’s not that I wouldn’t have wanted to, you’re beautiful, it’s just I’m kind of seeing someone already”.

“Oh” her voice turned up this time, and she suddenly was very aware of how out of place she was. “I’m really sorry, I think I should probably go”.

Danny stood up first and glanced over at the door, trying to hide his nervous energy. “Umm, do you mind if I just checked outside real quick?”

She gave him a puzzled look as she shuffled off the bed and found her shoes neatly placed alongside her purse.

“It’s just in here with my boss, and he happens to be my…” Danny trailed off when he realized he wasn’t quite sure what to call Sam yet. His boyfriend? His partner? It honestly didn’t matter to him, but this was a small town and he didn’t want to upset her any further. “He’s also the older brother of the person I’m seeing”.

Anna looked at Danny with curiosity now, a slight smile playing on her lips. Though she’d been the one embarrassed to have woken up in a strange room unsure of how exactly she had gotten here, she couldn’t help but find the awkward situation that put her savior in kind of funny. “Yeah, go ahead I’ll sneak out if the coast is clear”.

Danny cracked the door open to peek around, no sign of Jake even though his truck still sat parked in front of his room a few doors down. He gave her the go ahead and she thanked him for looking out for her.

Watching through the curtain of the window, Danny waited until he saw her headlights leave the parking lot and disappear down the road before he flopped back onto the bed and tried to get a bit more sleep before Jake was ready to head back.

He felt like he’d only just closed his eyes when he heard the knocks at the door. His stomach turned as he stood up, after everything that had happened he hadn’t had the chance to process how he was going to approach Jake after being left at the bar.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door and there stood Jake with his hands in his pockets and a melancholy look on his face.

“Hey” Jake spoke up when Danny just stood there, waiting hopefully for an explanation or an apology. “Listen, sorry about last night. Something came up and I-”

“Don’t worry about it” Danny interrupted him, noticing how Jake couldn’t even look him in the eye. He could tell he was genuinely regretful about what he’d done, but was struggling to find the right words now. “We headed out soon?”

“Yeah, whenever you’re ready”.

“Okay, give me like fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you at the office to check out”.

Danny changed back into his jeans, feeling even more tired now that he’d laid down for a bit than he did before when he’d first woken up. After brushing his teeth and knotting his hair into a low bun he hurried out the room and to the office to turn in his room key, ready to get back on the road and end this trip.

He made it first, approaching the elderly lady at the desk who stood up from her chair in the corner to help him. “Checking out” he told her as he slid the plastic across the laminate countertop.

“The girl you were with last night, is she alright?” The woman talked as she typed into her computer, pausing to look over her reader glasses when he didn’t respond. “The one who threw up in the parking lot”.

“Oh, yes she’s alright. She just had a little too much to drink so I drove her here to get some sleep” Danny replied, surprised that she had seen this happen. Then again now that he looked at her he did recognize her as the same front desk clerk who had helped him with the extra blankets and pillow.

“Mhmm,” she pursed her lips and turned back to her screen, typing away and muttering under her breath “this isn’t a brothel”.

The bell on the door to the office chimed as it was opened again and Danny turned to see Jake ready to check out as well. The woman gave him the same unamused look she had Danny when Jake turned in his key and shortly after they made their way to his truck, tossing their things in the backseat.

Danny tried to stay away for the drive home, but after his sleep last night- or lack thereof, he only managed to make it about forty-five minutes in before his head slumped against the headrest and he was out cold.

When Danny woke up it was because the truck hit a pothole, one at the entrance to the ranch he’d learned to avoid when driving- though Jake must not have known it was there.

Excitement began to bubble up in his chest as they made their way down the dirt road and all tiredness started to leave him at the thought of finally being back. Even after just one day away he was ready to get back to work, ready to get his hands dirty, and most of all ready to see Sam.

It wasn’t long after they pulled up to the office that Josh stepped out to greet them first. Soon after Sam came sauntering over from the barn, a huge smile stretching across his face as soon as he and Danny made eye contact.

“You guys had lunch yet?” Sam asked, coming to stand close to Danny which made Josh perk a brow.

“No, Danny boy here slept the whole day” Jake replied first, seemingly over his awkward attitude from this morning.

“I’ve got some leftovers from dinner back at my place”. Though Jake and Josh were technically still standing right there with them, it was obvious Danny was the one Sam was inviting over.

“What you cooked without me?” Danny joked, dramatically clutching his hand to his chest in faux hurt.

“What’d you expect me to do while you were gone? Starve?” Same shot back and pushed his shoulder, both of them chuckling and raising more suspicious looks from Sam’s brothers.

“Alright, take your lunch but then I need you both back here working” Josh added before taking his twin by the shoulder and dragging him off to his office. Danny watched them go, his smile fading as he wondered what kind of conversation they were about to have. Even worse, he worried when Josh was going to corner him again and start asking questions.

“How was the trip?” Sam asked as they made their way over to his house.

Danny watched his boots kick up the dirt as they walked, unsure of how honestly he should answer. “It was fine. Jake was a little weird though”.

“How so?” Sam pressed. He was only asking how it went to start a conversation, but now his interest really was piqued.

“I can’t really say, but I think you should try talking to him” Danny suggested just as they reached the front door.

Normally Sam wouldn’t be able to leave a conversation like that, especially when it came to his brothers being in question, but when they stepped inside his living room they both went quiet as they tried to gauge what the other was thinking.

Danny was thinking he wanted to wrap his arms around Sam and kiss him until Sam was a soft whimpering mess against his chest, but he knew he must really be hungry after all morning working alone. Sam of course was thinking along the same lines, though his thoughts did involve them continuing onto the bedroom.

“So, what did you make?” Danny finally broke the silence again and followed Sam into the kitchen.

“Some stir fry with stuff from the garden. It didn’t make much but I saved some for you to try”.

Danny sat down at the small table that barely fit in the space between the living room and the kitchen and watched as Sam pulled the leftovers out and began to reheat them on the gas stove. “Thanks, that’s really kind of you”.

“What can I say, I’m a kind person” Sam jested, getting a plate ready.

“Really, you are” Danny emphasized, “I missed you”.

“Shut up” Sam grumbled, his voice barely audible over the sound of the food frying in the pan. “Here, eat” he sat the plate down in front of Danny then took the other seat across from him.

“Aren’t you going to eat something too?” Danny questioned, though he looked at the food and his mouth was already starting to water- he couldn’t wait much longer to eat something.

“No, I ate a sandwich in the barn earlier before you guys got here. I lied so I could come watch you try this”.

Sam placed his chin in his hand and propped his arm up with his elbow on the table while Danny took his first bite. “This is delicious. You will have to make it again”.

“If you want, but one of these days you are going to have to cook for me”.

“I’m not as good at cooking food as I am eating it,” Danny admit between more fork fulls, “but for you I’ll try”.

Sam waited patiently as Danny finished eating, studying each bite he took and making mental notes of which veggies Danny seemed to prefer. He’d made it clear early on when they started having dinners together what his food preferences were and although Danny splurged on whatever he wanted when they would go to the diner in town, he never complained once about Sam’s cooking.

When the plate was clear Sam quietly stood up and pushed the porcelain saucer over to the side. Danny had to sit back in his chair to make room as Sam shimmied himself in front of him, sitting on the table now.

“I missed you too” he muttered just before leaning over and cupping Danny's face, taking his jaw into his hands and pulling him into a kiss.

The chair Danny was sitting in screeched across the floor as he stood up quickly, laying Sam across the table, long legs coming up to lock around his hips. Sam’s finger’s raked through Danny's hair, unintentionally pulling strands free from their tie that came to tickle across his cheek as Danny kissed him back with more fervor.

“I thought about that word while you were gone” Sam panted as Danny moved to place his kisses down his neck, his skin vibrating as Danny hummed. “You know, the safe word”.

“Oh?” Danny moved to look at him now, a smirk playing across his lips. “What is it?”

“I’m saving it for tonight”. Sam wrapped his legs tighter around Danny and pulled him close again, licking a hot stripe against the shell of his ear before whispering into it. “Save your strength, you’re going to need it”.

After a few more minutes of making out at the table Sam and Danny made their way back to the pins to start on the afternoon chores. The sun was high in the sky and it was finally starting to warm back up again, though a gentle breeze kept the skin cool.

Out of the corner of his eye Danny watched Josh’s office. Jake’s truck was still parked where it was when they pulled up, meaning he was probably still inside. It wasn’t uncommon for Jake to bring Josh something to eat, so he hoped maybe they were just taking a long lunch of their own.

“What the fuck does he want?”

Danny looked up, not having noticed the car coming up the drive until he followed Sam’s narrowed gaze and saw a sheriff's vehicle making its way toward them.

It stopped a few feet behind Jake’s truck, and out stepped two deputies from the front. Danny followed closely behind Sam as they closed all the gates behind them and met the two visitors in front of Josh’s office. Probably having seen them arrive from out his window, Josh and Jake came filling one after the other out to check and see what was going on.

Jake’s face was stone cold as he stared down the man who stepped out of the driver's side, and Danny suddenly remembered what Sam had told him about Suzy from the diner. Suzy was Jake’s sweetheart, but she’d married the sheriff's son while he was gone. Could this be him?

“Daniel Robert Wagner?” The man from the passengers side questioned, looking Danny down since he was the only one here he didn’t recognize as being from around here.

“Yes?” Danny spoke up, looking around Sam’s shoulder.

“We need you to come with us”.

“What for?” Sam replied this time, venom lacing his tone obviously not being intimidated by the two officers that he stood face to face with.

“We’re not at liberty to discu-”

“What for” Sam asks again, cutting him off.

The second deputy sighed, not wanting to make this a big deal “he needs to come down to the station for some questioning is all”.

“Are you arresting him?” Jake stepped up this time, getting in front of Sam and Danny to take the lead.

As soon as he moved the first man widened his stance and grabbed at his belt.

“Just some questions for the young man” the other spoke again, trying to keep the tension at bay.

“Well he’s one of my hard workin’ employees. Don’t think my business can afford him takin’ the afternoon off”.

“Well then we are arresting him” the man Jake was having a stare down with finally broke his silence, pulling a pair of handcuffs out of their holster.

The two deputies started to approach Danny quickly, but Sam wouldn’t get out of the way.

“What are the charges?!” Sam starts yelling as he gets shoved out of the way and all too quickly Danny is being turned around and his arms pulled behind his back.

“All you need to know is there was a murder last night, and Daniel here is a suspect”.

“What!” Sam is hysterical at this point as he’s watching them drag Danny off and throw him into the back of their vehicle. “Jake! Do something!” He pleads, tears of frustration starting to roll freely down his cheeks because he just doesn’t understand what’s going on and how this could be happening.

Jake doesn’t move at all though, he seems just as shocked about this as Sam was, but he also knew what he saw last night. Danny came back to the motel with someone. He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened from there, but he knew he needed to find out first exactly who had wound up dead.

“Sam, come with me” Josh tried to console his brother, but Sam only pushed him away.

“Jake!” He yelled again, his voice cracking. “Jake, what the fuck?”

“Come on,” Jake snapped out of his momentary daze and started back towards the office, “we need to talk”.

#greta van fic #Greta van fleet #danny wagner #sam kiszka #sanny gvf #gvf

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imptwins · 7 months ago

Text

Okay but all of this is entirely in line with the 'Deltarune is the playerbase's desires' theory/vibe/whatever.

OP pointed it out a bit but I wanna elaborate: the fandom's idea of Asriel does not exist. The fandom has this idea of him as this perfect golden boy, but it's never seen. The only pre-Flowey example of him we get are the tapes with Chara, and many argue the epilogue conversation at the flower bed reflects the 'real' him.

In the tapes, yeah yeah, playful kid. But we also see him trying to get back at Chara for pranks, we see him wishing that he could be more detached, that he could laugh off difficult situations like Chara does (despite the odds of that being a nervous habit or a trauma response, see: Snowy). Through other dialogue we know that Chara was Asriel's first and only real friend... Even though monsters are overwhelmingly friendly. Why did the beloved Prince of the beloved King and Queen, in an exceedingly friendly society, have zero friends?

Then, in the epilogue, a line that sticks with me deeply: despite the fact that Chara was likely pleading with Asriel to let them defend themselves, and that Asriel's refusal cost them both their lives, Asriel condemns Chara's efforts, says they were 'not the greatest person,' and then says that Frisk is the kind of friend they always wish they'd had... Despite knowing Frisk for no time at all, thinking they were Chara for the entire journey until that point. Frisk doesn't even say enough to tell him their name. They're as close to a blank slate as Toby gets in his writing. How quick an 'innocent, faultless cinnamon roll' spits on Chara's memory for this reflective surface of a person.

And, finally, again something the OP touched on: we have no confirmation that Flowey is incapable of love. But we can directly disprove his claim that he doesn't feel anything. Through the whole story he constantly demonstrates sadism which is plainly a form of joy. In the geno route he shows fear. He shows more genuine enjoyment in the epilogue, claiming that it's just something that will wear off, with no backing. As OP mentioned, the alarm clock stuff further supports this.

I could go on about this forever but I'll relent lol

We have zero proof that Asriel ever was, ever would be, ever could be the flawless golden child of fanon, and far more evidence that the manipulative, selfish, guilt-tripping, blame-shifting 'persona' of Flowey/The Absolute God of Hyperdeath, is 'just' a result of garden variety (heheh) trauma and nothing supernatural, or what he would have been like anyway.

I will also spare you a lecture about how 'manipulative, selfish, guilt-tripping, and blame-shifting' all perfectly sum up the worst aspects of both his parents, though it does add yet more fuel to the idea that that's just plain, genuine, pure, Asriel.

How does this relate to Ralsei? Well, he's a remix of Asriel in a shape that probably never existed. There's a lot of very credible theories as to 'what' he is: whether he comes from Kris' subconscious, as a reflection of either their or society's or their idea of society's wishes, expectations, or regrets. The simple and easy and Normal biological little brother instead of the complex and difficult and strange adopted little sibling. Or he could come from Asriel, something he left behind to keep Kris company, or maybe even what Asriel wishes he was.

But he is not Asriel. Just like in Undertale there's little scraps of hints about Asriel's imperfections. I'll spare you that one too, but even the most rose-tinted version of him is (still) a crybaby, unsure of himself, in deep need of constant reassurances and validation. Seems to have trouble making friends. Ralsei, meanwhile, is an absolutely endless fount of self-sacrificing assistance and help and service. At most, this might be someone's idea of Asriel, but it is not Asriel.

And that's just Ralsei. I could also rant about how Kris is a reflection of the fandom's desire for a blank-slate self-insert vessel (lol) to act through (lol x2), how Susie is a reflection of their desire for the impression of meanness with the absence of any actual mean acts. How Noelle is their desire for the Perfect Victim, in comparison to Chara's demonization, even though her role in the Weird Route is a near perfect replica of the way Chara is corrupted through the No Mercy route, just without the ambiguity.

I won't, but the threat is there.

I don't even necessarily believe the idea that Deltarune is primarily intended as an analysis/depiction/dramatization/etc of fandom-skewed interpretations, but it's sure as hell a super juicy analysis angle. Especially for UTDR where every single fanon interpretation seems to be the most poetically tragic one. Looking at you especially, 'child with a martyr/blame-nexus complex who, after taking just 3 lives at the tail-end of a genocide, tells the audience they are a demon and the audience pins the whole damn thing on them.'

On 'saving' Asriel

I think the thing that gets me the most about the 'ralsei and/or deltarune is a creation that comes from our (as players) desires to save asriel, based on what little we really know of him' theory is like... If we did true pacifist, we already saved Asriel.

Let's talk about the epilogue.

No matter how Asriel spun it at the end of true pacifist, turning back into a flower didn't magically take away everything he learned and felt. He tells us not to reset again and to let frisk live their life, he says he can't go through all of that again.

And last year, Toby gave us the alarm clock app dialogue, where it was confirmed that Flowey also got to go to the surface. Look at his cute lil bow! He likes it.

I recommend taking a look through all of his dialogue here, it really shines a light on what he's like on the surface in a way that I think proves something - even if he lost feelings when he originally became a flower, this Flowey? He cares. He doesn't wanna show it, of course. He has a reputation to uphold in this timeline.

But he daydreams about the shiny new bike he wishes he could have for Christmas. He sees his mother passed out in the garage, tuckered out after partying and gets her back home and tucked in, and leaves her a glass of water as overfilled as he and chara always used to do it as kids. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if that bow he's wearing is from papyrus.

Yeah, Flowey doesn't wanna show he cares and hides it behind acting edgy and mean spirited in an almost tsundere fashion, but... Realistically, would a 'saved' Asriel be much different? I think people forget sometimes that Asriel was an asshole for most of his fight - he didn't just magically regain the ability to love and become the Sweet Golden Child we see him as. He wanted to keep killing us, to keep resetting and continuing the 'game'.

What really gave him pause was being reminded of his past, of growing up with chara and the love and kindness of his family. And, after telling himself he didn't feel anything for so long, and that he just wanted chara back because they could 'understand' him like this... Of course it was enough to break the dam. He was overwhelmed - he's not felt like this in so long, and it's so, so much. His capability to love didn't magically return as soon as he became a goat, so I don't think it'd have to immediately fade just bc he became a flower again, either. It's never outright stated as fact that you can't love without a soul, it's just his assumption.

But no matter what - this is a part of him. He's reset countless times, done everything he could think of, became desensitised to anything people would do or say or feel... He's seen it hundreds of times before, and it lost its charm. Flowey was always Asriel, and when he first woke as a flower he was still this scared, crybaby child who wanted his parents.

So let's say we 'saved' him in the undertale universe and he miraculously became a goat again... Then what? You think the twisted sense of humour he's developed over time is vanishing because he's a goat again? That he's gonna instantly unlearn acting like he doesn't care, or easily getting fed up with people are talking? Nah, not when he see settles, and can just be himself. Flowey is Asriel.

Think of the amalgamates. They were all people who fell down, and became victims of a life saving experiment that went horribly, horribly wrong and put them through something truly horrible for who-knows-how-long. But at the end of true pacifist? We welcomed them anyway, and they were accepted by their families even with how much they'd changed. They died and yet they got a second chance with their loved ones. We considered that enough.

Flowey is no different. Asriel died and became an amalgamate (albeit in a different way), but he got his second chance with his family. Sure, he doesn't have arms or legs now and he can't ride that bike, but he's still himself. He's still the kid who overfilled that glass because he was copying his sibling and he's still that little boy who loves his mother very much.

We already saved Asriel, and in a post epilogue world, he's going forth without the threat of resets and time loops, only one life left to enjoy and make the most out of, dialogue and friendships and people being fresh and new and one time only. He's fed up of our influence and wants undertale's world to be left in peace, player-free. He can work through it in his own way, and he will still be who he is, who he's grown up to be.

But bringing this back to deltarune, to the idea of us trying to 'save' him even now, by wanting more... Whatever we'd get back wouldn't be him, not really. We rejected that in persuit of an idealised version of him who never existed. Anything we get back wouldn't truly be the same character we spent so much time with in undertale.

That in itself feels like a tragedy.

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sweeter-innocence-fics · 2 years ago

Text

Surviving Sokovia - Chapter Eleven

Pairing: Pietro Maximoff x Reader

Work Summary:

You were a Sokovian orphan living on the streets of Novi Grad, until Strucker offered you a choice.

Now you are a part of his human experimentation programme, trying to survive an entirely different world of horrors. The kind boy with the beautiful eyes is the only thing that keeps you going.

This story contains dark themes. Please read the notes on chapter one for more details. Dialogue in {these brackets} is in Sokovian.

Chapter Summary: The compound is under attack.

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 2334

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mcximffs @noz4a2 @xlucyintheskywithdiamondsx @lanemarvels @marrigold-2002 @kathrinchek @ifilwtmfc @officiallykuute @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info.

Previous Chapter

Notes:

it's plot time. warnings for mild physical injury, violence, poverty, homelessness, a dog in distress

---

You were dreading going back to your room. You dawdled as you walked down the corridor, staring at the tiny cuts that littered your arms.

It had been your own fault, really. You had tripped on a vine during training and fallen into a bramble patch of your own creation. A soldier had pulled you out, inadvertently tearing skin and shredding your shirt in the process.

Pietro was going to freak. As your baby bump grew, the more he hated being away from you, even for a moment. He never told you, but as your due date ticked closer, he had a deep, unshakeable fear that Hydra would whisk you away from him, never to be seen again.

Now that you were five months pregnant, he spent his training sessions watching the clock, counting down the seconds until he could get back to you. It would be awful for anyone, but with the distorted sense of time that came with Pietro’s abilities, it was torture.

You held your breath as the soldier unlocked the door to your quarters. It was almost dinnertime, so you knew that both the twins would be in.

Sure enough, they were sat at the table when you walked in. You watched Pietro’s smile turn to a frown and, in the blink of an eye, he was by your side, one hand on your belly.

“{What happened?}” he asked frantically, smoothing some hair out of your face. “{Did they hurt you?}”

“{No, no, I tripped and fell into some brambles. No one hurt me.}”

He took your arm into his hands and stared down at the tiny cuts and scratches there. Behind him, Wanda got to her feet as well.

After she had learnt that you were pregnant, Wanda refused to return to her previous quarters. Strucker had not been happy about it, but he acquiesced, because keeping Wanda onside was important. At her behest, the room was split into three: her bedroom, your shared bedroom with Pietro, and the communal living space. It kept her close without impinging on the small domestic world that you and Pietro had built together.

“{You shouldn’t be training this hard},” grumbled Pietro. “{What if you got seriously hurt?}”

“{I’m fine, my love},” you said, trying to reassure him, but he had one hand cupped possessively around your elbow, the other at your waist, and he was clearly agitated.

“{You’re fine this time}.”

You looked at Wanda for support, but she was biting her lip. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by an alarm blaring.

Instinctively, you covered your ears. It was so loud. You’d never heard anything like it. Pietro and Wanda were both tense, ready for a fight.

The door slammed open suddenly, revealing a small squadron of soldiers. They stepped into the room, and you tensed. This was your space. The soldiers weren’t supposed to come in here under normal circumstances. But evidently these were not normal circumstances.

“The base is being attacked,” said one of the soldiers. “The Avengers are here. We need you,” he pointed at Wanda, “and you,” Pietro. “You need to stay here,” he said, pointing at you now. “Strucker’s orders.”

“The Avengers?” said Pietro, at the same time as Wanda said, “Tony Stark?”

“Yes, Stark is here. Now let’s go.”

Pietro looked at you, anguished. “{Sweet girl, I-}”

“{It’s okay},” you interrupted. “{Do what you have to do}.”

Wanda grabbed your hand and squeezed it, while Pietro dropped a kiss on your forehead, and then they were both gone, leaving you and the soldiers reeling.

The soldiers turned to leave, but you hurried over to them. “Wait! I can help. I can fight from afar, I don’t even need-”

The soldier put his hand on your chest and pushed you back. “Strucker’s orders are for you to stay here.”

“But-” He tried to walk out the door, but you were in his way.

“I’m warning you, kid.” His voice was low. Dangerous.

“I can help. Please.” Your heart was thudding in your ears. What if something happened to Pietro? Or Wanda? You would be the last to know. “My family are out there. I need to keep them safe.”

Crack.

The soldier slapped you hard across the face, driving you backwards. In shock, you fell backwards onto your butt. He gave you one last pitying look, and then slammed the door.

Steve was on edge. The voices of his fellow Avengers were coming through his earpiece, rattling around in his head. There were SHIELD agents too, directing him down the labyrinthine halls of the compound. It made it hard to focus.

He missed the days when things were simple. He had done his level best to catch up with new technology, but everything changed so fast, and by the time he thought he was caught up, there were a hundred new gadgets he had to learn how to use.

“You’ve got four HYDRA agents up ahead, Cap. They’re coming your way,” came the voice in his earpiece. He readied his shield.

This, at least, was something he knew how to do. The agents had barely rounded the corner before Steve’s shield was bouncing off their skulls. Even four on one, they were no match for him.

“We’ve got enhanced on the field, watch yourselves,” said Clint. His voice crackled in Steve’s ear.

That was the last thing Steve heard before the ground started to shake. Cracks were appearing in the walls. Distantly, he heard a scream.

Instinct took over. He sprinted in the direction of the scream. A section of wall had come down, and a dust cloud filled the air. Covering his mouth with his arm, Steve stepped through the gap.

He could see nothing. The dust was obscuring his vision and making his eyes water. “Hello?” he called out, against his better judgment, and then began to cough.

“Hello?” came the response. It was a woman’s voice.

As the dust cleared, he saw her. She was barely a woman. She couldn’t have been much older than eighteen. And yet there she was, clutching the swell of her pregnant belly, covered in dust and debris. She stared at him with wide eyes.

“Hey, hey, come on, let’s get you out of here,” he said.

“You are Captain America,” she said. She had a strong accent; Sokovian, Steve assumed.

His eyes scanned her, assessing whether or not she was a threat. She didn’t appear to be armed. She was barely more than a child, and pregnant too. There was a dark bruise around her eye, and her clothes were torn and bloody. Threat or not, there was no way Steve was leaving her here.

“Yes, I’m Captain America. I’m here with the Avengers. Why don’t you come with me? I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

He watched her expression turn. Her eyebrows pulled together and her lips hardened into a straight line. “You are working with Tony Stark.”

“Yes, I-”

As Steve tried to speak, something wrapped around his ankle and he was suddenly pulled off his feet. He was dragged back, debris and broken glass cutting into him until he slammed against the wall.

“You should leave here, Captain America. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Steve sat up, staring at her. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched thick vines twisting their way towards him.

“You don’t have to do this, kid,” said Steve. “This place isn’t safe for you.”

The vines stopped moving. The one wrapped around his ankle loosened its grip. He saw the hesitation in her eyes. Slowly, so as not to spook her, he got to his feet. She didn’t stop him. He kept his hands raised, placatingly.

“I cannot go with you,” she said. “My family are here.”

“Where are they? We can find them,” he said, but she shook her head.

“Leave.” The vines began to move towards him again, not touching him, but creating a barrier between them.

Before he could say anything else, the world became a blur and he was slammed against the wall again.

There was a man – a boy – with white blond hair, his fingers curling into the front of Steve’s costume, pressing him against the wall. “Stay away from her,” he hissed.

“Pietro,” said the girl, reaching out. The boy continued to glare at Steve.

“Don’t try anything,” he muttered, and then released his grip on Steve. Before he could say anything, the boy became a blur again, and then they were both gone.

There was a distant buzzing. Steve found his earpiece on the ground; it must’ve come loose while he was being dragged across the floor. As he put it on, he heard a frantic voice of one of the SHIELD agents.

“Captain Rogers? Please report.”

“I found the enhanced,” he said. “Two of them. Teenagers. One of them was pregnant.”

“There are three of them,” said the agent. “We believe they’ve just left the compound. Stark has got the sceptre. You need to get out of there. The rest of the agents are gathering back at the jet.”

“On my way.”

Pietro’s arms were firm around your waist. The wind blew through your hair, bitingly cold. You clung to him, but the world kept spinning even when he stopped.

It was dark. It had been so long since you’d seen the sky that it almost distracted you from the way your stomach lurched. Your mind was spinning, an assortment of sensations gone too fast to ever become thoughts. Was this what Pietro felt like all the time?

cold snow darkness air cold grass snow cold cold cold

You pushed Pietro away and stumbled over to a bush, landing on your knees as you retched.

He put one hand on your back. “{My love},” he said, stroking your lower back. “{My sweet girl. I am so sorry. I will be right back}.”

You turned to look at him, but he was gone. Fear lanced through you. You looked around. Your surroundings were unfamiliar, all chain link fences and ramshackle houses. A layer of snow covered everything. Across the way, you saw people huddled together around fires burning in trashcans and barrels.

You had been like them once. Sokovian winters got very cold, and you’d spent half of your life on the street. Your hands trembled as you watched a mother pull her child to her chest and cradle him there, trying to keep him warm under a blanket.

Behind you, there was a quiet whine. You whipped around, almost losing your balance. Standing in the snow before you was a German Shepherd, painfully thin, coat ragged. Your heart ached.

“Hey…” You reached out a tentative hand towards the dog. It looked up at you with pleading eyes. In spite of yourself (and a little voice in your head that sounded suspiciously like Pietro telling you to conserve your energy) you found your mind casting back to your books on botany, trying to think of what plants were safe for dogs to eat.

You settled on a banana. You’d never heard of a dog getting sick from eating a banana. With all your strength, you grew a very stunted, sad-looking banana tree, cracking through a layer of ice and reaching desperately towards the sky.

It would die soon. It was far too cold. As you plucked the bunch of bananas from the tree, you started to feel dizzy.

“Here,” you said, peeling one and throwing it to the dog. It let out a grateful bark and began to devour the fruit.

You had got your feet under you now. You stumbled past the chain link fence and across the road to where the mother was huddled with her child.

“{Here},” you said, holding out the rest of the bananas to her. She eyed you with suspicion, holding the child close. “{You need it more than I do}.” Her eyes darted down to your pregnant belly and then up to your face again.

“{Are you sure?}” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“{Very sure. My husband will be back for me soon}.” The word had just slipped out. ‘Boyfriend’ felt too juvenile for what you and Pietro had. You were having his baby. And after all, hadn’t he asked you to marry him? It was only a matter of time.

From somewhere behind you, you heard your name being called. Pietro and Wanda were standing on the corner where he’d left you, looking around frantically. Both were dressed more warmly than you, and wearing backpacks.

“{There he is},” you said to the woman. “{I have to go}.”

She reached out and grabbed your hand, making you jump. Her skin was rough and warm against yours. “{Thank you}.”

As you crossed the street, Pietro’s eyes landed on you and before you knew what has happening, he had his arms wrapped firmly around you, almost lifting you off your feet.

“{You scared me},” he said, pressing his lips to your cheek. “{I thought you’d gone}.”

“{I’m here, my love},” you murmured.

“{We need to go},” said Wanda.

“{Where are we going?}”

“{I’ll explain on the way},” said Pietro. He opened up his backpack and pulled out a fleece, hat and scarf. “{Put these on}.”

“{Where are we?}” you asked, pulling the fleece on over your head.

“Novi Grad.”

You had suspected as much. You’d grown up in Novi Grad, after all. But the poorest districts of any Sokovian city all look the same.

The twins kept a brisk pace. With the snow crunching under your feet, and the weight of your bump in front of you, it was hard to keep up. Pietro kept an arm around you. He wouldn’t let you fall behind.

You ended up at a broken-down looking church. For the first time since you’d left the compound, both Wanda and Pietro hesitated. You were too busy trying to catch your breath to think about anything else. Wanda led the way into the building.

Next Chapter

#pietro maximoff x reader #pietro maximoff x you #pietro maximoff fanfiction

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stainedglassthreads · 2 years ago

Text

It used to be a pretty popular trope in fandom to give Flowey a soul, any soul, and have him suddenly pop back into existence as Asriel, both in body and mind.

But personally I wonder if it’d really be that simple? I have massive doubts that his soulless state is causing his perceived lack of love, compassion, and empathy rather than... y’know... immense trauma, as outlined in this thread, but right now I want to speculate the logistics of if giving him a soul really would grant him his fluffy goatboi form again.

Because, think about it. When is the ONLY time we see him resembling his old goat form? It’s when he has seven souls, which is described as ‘the power of a GOD.’ Shapeshifting is implied to be one of the powers he gains with seven souls, as he spends the entire Photoshop Flowey fight stuck in one singular form, but wantonly switches between Goatboi, Hypergoat, and Angel-esque forms in the True Pacifist Boss Fight.

Furthermore, everything Asriel does in the True Pacifist boss fight seems to be stuff that Asriel finds ‘cool.’ If he is purposefully choosing forms, then he deliberately takes a form with a striking resemblance to his mother. He wields cool swords with abnormal designs, shoots a huge rainbow gun, throws fire and lightning everywhere, and mimicks Sans’ Gaster Blaster with the Hyper Goner attack. Rainbows are everywhere, even in his Check summary. And doing all of this because he thinks it’s ‘cool’ matches with his personality in this fight, as supported by things like his ‘villain laugh’.

So, what can we take away from this? Let’s move away from his seven-souls form for now, which may possess the godlike power to freely change shape at will, and look at another incredibly powerful form which still isn’t quite ‘godlike.’ The form he takes with six souls-- Photoshop Flowey.

A form that quite distinctly has HEAVY influence from flowers, humans, and machinery... but absolutely no goatlike traits.

I will admit that perhaps Toby Fox did this deliberately, to prevent it being too obvious too early that Flowey is Asriel. But the point remains, that this form is canonically the form Flowey takes when he has NEAR godlike power, and NOT the ability to freely determine his own shape. And it has no goat-traits, more strongly resembling... well. His form as Flowey, albeit much larger, and with added human and machinery-based influences.

So why would a seventh of the power that restores Flowey’s old form be enough to magically return his goat form, when not even a trace of it is present in the form closest to reaching that sort of power? When traits of his flower form ARE present and in the forefront?

It wouldn’t.

A single soul, not even his own soul, will never be enough to bring the old Asriel back. Not even physically. His body is long dusted, and his new form is not a monster’s malleable, magical form. It’s a normal, completely physical flower. It requires the power of a god to be reshaped completely to his liking, and additional souls can only enhance and add to it.

Asriel’s old personality AND old life are gone forever, as a result of his trauma and death-- unless you’re willing to hunt down and give him SEVEN human souls to ‘save’ him. For better or for worse, he will probably remain a little golden flower. But looking at the Post-Pacifist speech and Winter Alarm Clock dialogue... he’s probably doing better as Flowey than the the early fandom gave him credit for.

#undertale #undertale meta #undertale theory #asriel #asriel dreemurr #flowey

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dustofthedailylife · 2 years ago

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It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn

Chapter 2 - Close Call

→ All Chapters || → Next Chapter → Main Masterlist

Summary: You’re a Fatui Agent, tasked with assassinating the one man who three years ago had almost suceeded to shatter the entire organization out of sheer hatred and thirst for vengeance. The best way to get close to someone? You make them fall in love with you - only that you didn’t plan on catching feelings yourself.

Pairing: Diluc x Fatui! Reader (gn)

Chapter Warnings: Not much I think - Mild swearing, Reader thinks about some graphic stuff but it's not really described just mentioned

A/N: Back with the next Chapter! This will be the last one before I write my exams. The entire plot and story is already fully planned out but I won't be able to continue writing until after my exams. Enjoy! Reblog or leave a comment if you did, I would greatly appreciate any feedback :3

Also please check out this [fanart] @polalcee made for this fic. I'm stil not over it ;_;

After you went back to your inn room that night, you didn’t get a single minute of sleep. Your thoughts just circled around your mission and you already preemptively went over all possible outcomes and dialogue options for the coming day. The day you were finally going to meet your target for the first time.

The very man you had to kill to get what you wanted.

You didn’t even care about him as a person but just the thought of taking someone else’s life, even if that person had done horrible things to the Fatui and arguably deserves punishment for it, made your blood run cold and your hands tremble uncontrollably. You tried to imagine what it would feel like and thought about it to mentally prepare yourself for the task you had been given, by going through it over and over in your head. This was the first time, since being tasked by Pierro, that the realization of what you really had to do - what you truly were about to do - finally started to seep in. Were you cut out for this job?

What does it feel like to see the light fade out of someone’s eyes?

No… No, you had to stop. You needed to stop yourself thinking about it, because the more you thought about it, the more you felt like you were being suffocated. You needed to disconnect yourself from this job - he wasn’t innocent and he deserved this, you knew what he did, it’s in these documents on your desk in black and white. You scolded yourself and kept repeating it like a mantra in your head all night to keep your imagination from showing you images you didn’t want to see.

By the time you felt like you were finally able to drift off to sleep and felt your eyes fall shut from exhaustion, the alarm clock you had set began ringing. Letting out a big groan and you tried to come to terms with the fact that you had to get dressed and leave your room now. Curse this godforsaken town.

As soon as you had dragged yourself out of bed, you quickly showered and got ready before heading to the Tavern once again. Charles was already there and busy with setting up the tables outside when he saw you and lifted his arm to greet you.

"There you are, good morning! You still look a bit tired, dear. Nervous about your interview, I presume?"

"Had a rough night. It's not easy adapting to a new country.", you played off your inner turmoil that had been cooking inside of your head all night. If you were honest, you assumed it wouldn't go away any time soon either.

"Ah yes, I can imagine. Now then, no need to get too much in your head about it, we're going to make you feel at home here with us as fast as possible! Alright, shall we head inside then? Master Diluc is already waiting, too. I told him you would come today."

Charles flung the cloth he had been cleaning the tables with over his shoulder and guided you inside where you could immediately spot the redheaded man behind the bar. You felt like you had just walked straight into the enemy's lair and you could feel how your heart began to violently thump in your chest, even though it technically shouldn’t be you who should be nervous here given the circumstances.

"Master Diluc, they're here!", Charles introduced you. Diluc looked up from the notebook he had been scribbling in on the counter and right at you. At that moment any ability to form a coherent sentence left your brain and your mind was just a hazy mess.

You were standing in front of your target for the first time, it was him, Diluc Ragnvindr in the flesh. His hair was tied into a high ponytail and he was wearing a white dress shirt with short sleeves. The black coat, you'd always seen him wear in the pictures the Fatui had provided, was lazily thrown over the bar stool beside him. He also certainly looked more attractive in person than in the pictures, surprisingly. Certainly would make it less uncomfortable to fake having feelings for him sometime in the future. Was thinking that superficial? Most likely, but it didn’t really matter anyway, he was a dead man walking.

You violently shook your head and closed your eyes for a brief second to ban the intruding thoughts out of your head. The lack of sleep was really taking a toll on you.

"Is everything alright?", Diluc asked, raising an eyebrow, coming over to you.

"Y-yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I… I just had a rough night, that's all.", you stammered.

"Let me offer you something to drink while we sit down. We are still able to talk then."

You nodded and followed him over to the bar, taking a seat on one of the bar stools. If only he knew who he'd just let into his business, it would've been amusing to you if it wouldn't literally mean the death of the very man in front of you. This was no game.

"So, Charles mentioned you're new around here?", Diluc questioned, sliding a glass of water over the counter.

"I am, I just arrived here a bit more than a week ago. Still trying to get used to everything, the people here are quite… different from back home!"

And not in a good way. You looked over at Charles again who had that same sweet-like-honey smile on his face that you dishonestly faked in return, when he looked at you.

"Mhm.", Diluc nodded before turning to his notes again, not even trying to properly make a conversation. Diluc was quite the stark contrast to the rest of the Mondstadters you had met thus far. While Charles had borderline interrogated and almost bullied you into this job interview, Diluc was extremely reserved and almost seemed cold and mistrusting towards you. I mean, it was needless to say, he was right to not trust you right away, you were here to kill him after all, even if it surely would make your job harder for you. Or did he perhaps have you figured out already? Certainly couldn't be. You remembered the gossip you had heard from citizens that he had changed quite a lot after the passing of his father, this must be what they meant. He sure would be tough nut to crack.

"Just escaped from the Land of Eternity, ain't that right, dear?", Charles chuckled.

"What?", you asked confused before being able to collect your thoughts properly.

"Inazuma? Didn't you mention you were from there last night?"

Fuck. You did mention that. You needed to concentrate, even if your sleep deprived brain made things way harder for you. You couldn't get caught in your own web of lies, it would rouse suspicion faster than lightning and given your intel on Diluc, he would be the first one who would be able to see right through it.

"Oh yeah, right, sorry. I’m still a bit out of it.", you laughed.

You noticed from the corner of your eyes that Diluc had his eyes trained on you again, looking up from the stack of notes and you prayed to the Tsaritsa that you didn't seem suspicious right now.

"Have you ever worked at a Tavern before?", he inquired, causing you to silently exhale in relief.

"No… not really, unfortunately. But I can mix drinks!"

“Alright. Show me!”, he said with a rather indifferent tone in his voice. Certainly wouldn’t hurt him to be more expressive, you thought to yourself.

He put a cocktail shaker and several bottles with various juices and alcoholic beverages in front of you on the counter, before looking at you expectantly with his dark red irises. You couldn’t help but feel really intimidated by his presence for some reason, although thinking about it, you had felt like this the entire time you had been here. Was it due to the intel and background knowledge you had on him? The fact you wouldn’t be able to beat him in combat? Or was it just your sleep deprivation? You couldn’t exactly tell, but you knew, this mission of trying to get him to fall in love with you would be a bit harder than you had originally anticipated. That certainly explained why executing this mission successfully, would grant you the status of a Harbinger.

With the little basic knowledge you had on mixing drinks, you hesitantly began mixing all sorts of ingredients together, until you had three glasses with different drinks mixed, pushing them softly in Diluc's direction.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, lifting one of his hands to his chin, examining the glasses closely. He grabbed one of them and took a big sip out of it, tilting the glass around in his hand a bit before putting it back on the counter without uttering a word after and moved to the next glass doing the same thing all over until he had tried them all with a face that he would win every poker game with. Was it that bad?

His eyes shot back up to meet yours and you could feel your cheeks warm up under his gaze.

"Impressive.", he remarked and nodded. "A bit too much alcohol here and there but nothing you couldn't still learn. You can start tomorrow."

You could feel a wave of relief wash over you at his words - step one was done.

"Charles can show you around a bit before we open today and I'll teach you how to mix some more drinks tomorrow.", he explained, picking up his coat and putting it back on before turning back to you and reaching his hand out for a handshake.

"Alright then, I still have to take care of some things. I will see you tomorrow, welcome to the Angels Share!"

"The pleasure is mine!", you exclaimed with an honest smile, shaking his hand in return, without failing to notice how soft his hands felt against yours. Diluc certainly was an interesting man and you could feel that this mission, although it wouldl be hard, will not be boring.

"Well that went incredibly well!", Charles cheered as soon as Diluc had left.

"It did?", you asked in disbelief, unsure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Yes! Master Diluc is someone who is hard to impress and you should've seen the first drinks I made for him when I started working here. He didn't even like one of them. I think you made an impression on him!"

Huh, was that so?

"Well, I'm not too sure about that.", you huffed.

"Ah, don't let his demeanor fool you! He is an admirable and cheerful young man below the walls he has built around himself after his father passed. I count myself lucky to work with him. You'll grow to like him, you'll see what I mean soon enough!"

Well, you sure didn't plan to like him at any point so it didn’t really matter either way, but for now that was one point off your to-do list and you could move on to the next steps.

"Come on, I'll teach you some basics of the job."

Charles waved for you to follow him, showing you around, introducing you to the menu, where everything stood and general things to keep in mind. Several hours passed and you felt like you would pass out any second, both from the information overload and your lack of sleep, that still stuck to every fiber of your being.

“That about sums it up, I suppose! Go back home and get some rest for tomorrow, we don’t want you passing out from exhaustion”, Charles said, patting you on your shoulder and donning an honest smile.

"Good idea, I think I might finally be able to sleep now."

As you headed back to the inn, you were still baffled how smooth this interview went. Charles was rather naive and you were surprised how easily he seemed to trust people because of it. To some extent you were thankful for Charles because he was the only reason you got this job in the first place and he was so chatty he spilled some private details on your target without even knowing who he revealed them to - maybe you could use these character traits of him to your advantage. As a barkeeper you’d think he’d have better ability to judge a character - or you were just doing your job very believably, which would be perfect. But his usefulness aside, his cheerful attitude really grinded your gears for reasons you couldn’t quite comprehend, or maybe it was just this city as a whole that you couldn’t stand.

When you walked to work the next day you felt as refreshed as you hadn't felt in weeks. You had instantly passed out the minute your head had hit the pillow when you got back from the Tavern yesterday and you had slept like a baby. No nightmares, no overthinking and no images that haunted your mind and it genuinely put you in such a good mood not even being trapped in this city could taint that today.

"Good Morning!", you cheered as you entered the Tavern.

Diluc and Charles were both there already, wiping the tables, refilling the stocks and getting everything ready for the day.

"Ah, look who it is! You seem to be in a good mood! I take it you slept better than yesterday?", Charles replied with an ecstatic smile.

"I did! Passed right out yesterday and slept like a newborn baby."

"Ha, that's what I like to hear!"

"Could you come over here? I'd like to show you some things.", an indifferent voice interrupted your friendly banter with Charles. Well, the Master of the house certainly didn't seem to have the best mood again, if you had to guess.

"Of course.", You complied and trudged over to him behind the bar. He had set aside a bunch of ingredients and several beverages alongside the menu of the Tavern.

"I'll show you how to mix the drinks we have on our menu here. Most of them are fairly easy to make so you should be able to memorize them quickly."

He started going over the menu with you and noted down some of the ingredients for the most popular ones on a piece of paper for you that he stuck behind the counter of the bar for you to refer to at any point later on.

“Death After Noon is probably our most popular drink. For it you simply have to mix sparkling white wine with dandelion wine, so it is pretty straightforward.”

You watched as he quickly grabbed the bottles with one hand and expertly poured liquids into the glass in front of him with two smooth swings. You were surprised at how fluid his movements were. And despite not wanting to, you had to admit, it was quite satisfying to watch him work.

“Here. Try it.”, he remarked as he slid the glass over to you.

You could make out a light yellow, slightly cloudy drink with a faint fruity smell. You did have this yesterday already and overall you had to admit it actually looked a bit unspectacular and that feeling stayed when you tried it again. It wasn’t bad but it was also nothing that would knock you off your chair, all in all it was rather boring and lacked a bit of character. If this was the best Mondstadt had to offer then you didn’t know why their alcohol industry had such a high reputation.

“It’s a bit bland.”, you admitted.

If you could’ve snapped a pic of Diluc’s face and framed it right at this moment, you definitely would have. It was just a barely noticeable change of emotions on his face but that made it all the more amusing. His indifferent expression changed to a baffled one in the blink of an eye, his eyes grew slightly wider and he lifted one of his eyebrows ever so slightly. You could tell he had great confidence in his abilities as a bartender and your comment had scratched his ego a little bit, despite all the efforts he made to hide it.

“Have you tried adding something that gives it more of a – BOOM, you know?”

“A… boom?”, he asked confusedly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Yeah! You know like… maybe try this!” He looked at your process critically as you grabbed a lemon from the counter, grated some zest and squeezed some juice before putting both into the glass, much to the dismay of Diluc. You slid the glass back to him, prompting him to try it, which he hesitantly complied to. He eyed the liquid with disapproval on his face - that was until he took the first sip and his expression changed from disapproval to astonishment.

Before Diluc could say anything you heard a bellowing laughter from across the room. Charles was holding his stomach with one hand while wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye with the other.

“Master Diluc, I think I’ve never seen this look on your face. It seems like we got ourselves a good new bartender here, hm?”

Diluc looked over to Charles, his eyes still widened in surprise before looking over to you from the corner of his eye, the corner of his mouth twitching up ever so slightly into a barely noticeable smile.

“Charles, we shall alter the recipe of Death After Noon, please note that down on the menu later.”

The following weeks went by without any big occurrences - which also meant you hadn't gotten closer to your objective of assassinating Diluc yet. If he had been around the Tavern at all, he had mostly been busy with entertaining the patrons himself or he wasn’t even present in the first place and the closest you had achieved to getting some sort of positive reaction out of him, was when you had pepped up his cocktail recipe a couple of weeks ago. Charles still grinded your gears and Diluc was still rather reserved towards you, even though you think he was slowly easing up around you. So all in all, no progress.

You came to the conclusion that just working here alongside Diluc definitely wouldn't cut it to grab his attention, so you had to come up with another plan. You really would think that someone who owns a Tavern, is the leader of the nationwide alcohol industry and would have hordes of ladies around town basically kiss the ground he walked on if he asked them to, would be better at communicating and would be easy to at least become friends with, but as you had suspected when you first met him - he was a tough nut to crack. But nothing was impossible for you, you would find a way somehow.

When it became a bit less busy at the Tavern that night, you decided to approach Diluc and attempted some smalltalk with him. He was standing behind the bar, silently sipping on his drink and leaning on the counter.

Surely it couldn't be that hard to strike a conversation with him, right?

"Soooo, Master Diluc, what kind of wine are you drinking tonight? Any recommendations?"

He slowly set down his cup before turning around to face you as you heaved yourself up to sit on the counter, throwing a fake smile in his direction.

"Grape juice."

"Grape juice?", you replied slightly startled before starting to chuckle. “The renowned Owner of the Dawn Winery is drinking grape juice?”

“May come as a surprise, but I actually do not like alcohol. I like to keep a clear head at work as well as in general.”

Huh, well that was indeed surprising, especially since he did seem to have some kind of taste or feeling for it since he did think the drink you had mixed tasted good. On top of that, this had been the most you had ever talked to him outside of any work related things. Maybe it wasn’t entirely impossible to strike a conversation with Mr. Unapproachable after all.

“Hey! Could you go over to table four over there? They look like they’ve almost finished their drinks. See if they need anything else.”, Charles interrupted your chat with Diluc as he put several empty mugs on the counter. That guy really always managed to have the worst timing.

“Sure.”

You jumped off the counter and grabbed your notepad and pencil before walking over to the patrons.

“Good evening, gentlemen, can I get you anything else?”, you asked politely before stopping dead in your tracks as soon as you had scanned the faces of the men sitting at the table more closely. Four Fatui agents were looking back at you, all piercing their gaze into you.

The man to the left of where you were standing donned a sly smile as he scanned your face and you immediately recognized him. Viktor was one of the diplomat assistants working directly under Signora and that meant he had a higher rank than you - and the worst of all, he could never stand you and vice versa. You trained with him for a while when you joined the Fatui and all you knew from that was that he was one conceited and bigheaded fool. You tried to swallow the anger that was already building in the pit of your stomach and kept up your polite smile, acting as if you had never seen them in your entire life.

“My, look at you! Seems like things have gone quite downhill for you if you’re working here now.”, he mocked and you wanted nothing more than to wipe that arrogant smile off his stupid face and tell him why exactly you were here but that would be too risky.

“I’d advise you to stay quiet or you’re going to blow my cover, idiot.”, you grumbled silently.

“Cover? What, are you tasked to steal some dandelion wine?”, he snickered, elbowing the agent next to him who then mirrored his amusement.

“Shut. The fuck. Up.”, you warned, your voice barely above a whisper.

He jumped up from his chair at your words, strongly yanked your wrist down causing a sharp pain to shoot through your arm up to your shoulder.

“I’d advise you to watch your mouth!”, he seethed.

“And I’d advise you to stop threatening my staff and leave.”

Diluc had suddenly appeared behind you, arms crossed over his chest and staring at Viktor with a dangerous glint in his eyes, the vision on his hip emitting a deep red glow, causing the flames of the candles on the table to flicker about wildly.

One of the other agents had gotten up from his chair as well and patted Viktor on his shoulder, signaling him to drop it and leave the Tavern. He hesitated, looking back and forth between you and Diluc but soon obliged and let go of your wrist while pinning you down with a furious gaze and followed the other agents outside.

That was close.

You shakingly sunk down on the chair in front of you and exhaled heavily - not because you were shaken up due to the aggression Viktor had shown towards you but rather because that idiot had almost ratted you out in front of everyone here.

“Hey, are you alright?”, Diluc put his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly and it would have been a sweet gesture if this whole situation wouldn’t have been so goddamn ironic. The man you were tasked to assassinate was consoling you because you were upset that your plan to kill him had almost been revealed to him and everyone else here.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just shaken up.”

“I’m sorry about that. It can sometimes happen when some have had too much to drink for their own good. Go home for today, Charles and I can handle the rest. The busiest time is over now anyway.”

It was well past midnight already as you stepped out of the Tavern and walked back to your room through the empty and dimly lit streets of Mondstadt. You exhaled in relief once again and rubbed your temples with your index fingers. This could have ended so much worse but it seemed like Lady Luck was smiling on you so far.

“Well, well, well. Who would have thought we would meet again so soon.”, a familiar voice appeared behind you, the mocking tone evident in his voice once again.

“What do you want, Viktor?”

“Bratty as ever, huh?”

He suddenly grabbed you by the shoulder and slammed you against the wall and trapped you there, forcefully pressing his forearm against your shoulders.

“Tell me, what are you doing here, did you finally desert us? Would be fitting.”

“Pft, you really do not have the faintest idea what exactly I’m here for, do you?”, you huffed in a disrespectful tone, smirking at him sadistically. You could see Viktor visibly clenching his jaw, signaling that he truly did not have a clue.

“I will personally see to it that you will lose your rank and position once I am done here, just you wait.”, you threatened.

In the blind of an eye Viktor had taken out a pocket knife, holding it to your throat in a threatful manner.

“Careful now, who says–”

“Hey! Get off!”, another familiar voice cut through the night. Looking over to the side you could see Diluc charging towards you, materializing a sword in his hand. Viktor was quick to let go of you before running off faster than your eyes could see.

“You alright?”, Diluc asked you for the second time tonight to which you just replied with a nod.

You truly hated how close these run-ins with him had been today, this had been the second time he had almost found out about your ties with the Fatui. Goddamn, Viktor – you didn’t have the time to deal with him as well now, he was a risk to your operation with that careless mouth of his. It was no surprise he was just stationed here doing basically nothing the entire time.

“Mhm, I’m fine.”

“Good thing I followed you. I only did because you forgot the keys to your room at the Tavern.”, he explained as he took them out of his pocket before handing them back to you. His gaze lingered on you for a while as you both stood in front of each other in silence and you prayed to the Tsaritsa that he didn’t hear anything from your conversation with Viktor.

“Say, I wouldn’t feel at ease leaving you alone tonight, after everything that happened. Would you consider staying at the Dawn Winery tonight? I’ll have Adelinde prepare the guest room for you.”

You stared at him in surprise, unable to find the proper words right away.

“I don’t mean to force you. Merely see it as an offer to–”

“Thank you… I think that would also make me feel safer.”, you cut him off, lightly touching his arm and smiling shyly at him.

Once this was over, maybe you had to thank Viktor for something after all.

Taglist

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#genshin impact #genshin fanfic #diluc x reader #diluc x you #diluc x y/n #diluc ragnvindr #genshin diluc #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin x y/n #genshin x gn reader #genshin x female reader #genshin fluff #genshin angst #genshin fanfiction #genshin imagines #genshin reader insert #fatui harbingers #🍁 dust writes

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mrs-gauche · 2 years ago

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So BioWare posted a tweet today on Father's Day and clearly the devs seem to be also full on board with the DAD jokes, and I love it, but it also prompted me to write this open letter lol:

Dear people who are convinced by the theory that Solas is Shartan,

I just have three quick questions for you guys, without wanting to disprove you or anything, because even though I personally might not be fully in that camp, I totally see where you're coming from and I actually think there are almost way too many uncanny parallels between those two (and Mythal/Andraste/Flemeth of course) to be coincidental (you know, aside from the fact that they're both bald elves lol)... BUT I keep thinking about it and I do have to ask...

1.) So this has been asked a lot already, but how do you think that would have worked exactly? Do you think Solas' alarm clock was still set on "rebellion time" when he woke up from Uthenera, just in time to quickly team up with Andraste, start yet another following/religion and liberate the slaves of Tevinter, only to then immediately go back to sleep again? lol

(I mean, literally Varric's comment in Trespasser when he hears about Fen'Harel's story: "Ordinary guy saves people, accidentally founds religion... Sounds a lot like the Chant actually." Then you have Shartan being entirely scratched out of the Chant and Solas being essentially "cancelled" by elven mythology as well.)

Then there's also that other theory about Andraste being Mythal's previous host, which makes me think that Mythal just really loves to continuously wake up her favorite wolf throughout the ages whenever it's time to rebel? lol The question is though, did Flemythal even have a hand in Solas' awakening (not like she has a hand in basically everything else in this story)...? 👀 I always wondered what even made Solas wake up *now* of all times and why is no one talking about that, anyway? 😂

2.) Solas, Mr "There’s a hint in basically every single dialogue", never once talks about Andraste in a way that indicates any connection or deeper relationship there? 🤔 I’ve seen people argue that it’s more likely that Solas, rather than being Shartan himself, was actually just influencing Shartan through the Fade, like an advisor?

3.) Are we on the same page that there's like a 99.9% chance that Shartan was the real father of Andraste's daughters (of which the youngest, Vivial, had children who apparently carried on that lineage, so it's possible that there are still descendants of Andraste living in the present day 👀), which is why all these Dreadwolf/Solas DAD jokes keep reminding me of the Solas/Shartan theory now and maybe you guys are really onto something here?? 😂

Sincerely,

A genuinely curious fan

And Happy Father's Day lol <3

#solas andraste called she's still missing that child support from 1000 years ago #I still have to chuckle every single time I see that acronym #solas' first advice to shartan when he spoke to him through the fade 'you know what you should do? Shave your head. That'll look rad.'#lmao #solas #shartan #andraste

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thepilotdogee · 2 years ago

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On Saving Asriel

NOTE: This is a repost of a blog by tumblr user acerikus, whose blog seems to have been deleted for some reason. Acerikus written this blog post in which i frequently refer to in regards to Asriel and Flowey being one and the same. For the purposes of preservation I am pasting the contents of said blog here. (Unfortunately I didn’t save the pictures from the original blog so I’m just uploading my own to help illustrate the point)

UPDATE: The original blog is back up. Go see and like that one instead if you havent already!

Link: https://acerikus.tumblr.com/post/665286668828508160/on-saving-asriel

Let's talk about the epilogue.

And last year, Toby gave us the alarm clock app dialogue, where it was confirmed that Flowey also got to go to the surface. Look at his cute lil bow! He likes it.

That in itself feels like a tragedy.

#asriel #asriel dreemurr #flowey #flowey the flower #undertale #repost #good thing i saved the contents of the original post. i really think this blog is worth a read when analysing asriel/flowey's character.

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sorry-i-ship-drarry · 3 years ago

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Da Capo

Dialogue Prompt 16- " because I love you, is that what you wanted to hear " requested by @sunflowerishdolphin ( your last remaining request ) | TW- NONE |

Da Capo-(Italian: from the beginning); at the end of a piece of music or a section of it, means that it should be played or sung again from the beginning.

He shut the door behind him, locking immediately, putting those grocery bags on the counter and turned on the voice Machine , picking up the mails from the corner table reading who addressed them as he simultaneously heard the voice messages like his usual evening, a routine that had became a practice.

" you have 2 new messages "

" hey harry, this is Clint. Send me those pictures via e-mail, could you ? Call me when you get back "

Harry subconsciously nodded as he read the next mail addressed from the burrow.

" harry "

He stopped dead in his movements as he stared at the tiles on the floor, hearing that very familiar voice.

" I- I know I should not- you know- never mind. Uh, call me or not, whatever. Just- how do you end this-" the voice message echoed with rustling until it ended with a beep and harry couldn't bring himself to stop the beeping.

When one of the apple fell down over the ground creating a thud, harry broke free from his locked moment of strangeness and shut off the beep. He stared at the number long enough to remember his past, the horrors, the pain, the anguish, the agony of it all but he couldn't resist himself from Noting down the number on the notepad and just staring at it.

He had called, 1 year and 6 months later, he had called.

Harry left the notepad like it had been resting on the counter and went out to the garden to water his plants and get some peace from the quick Sand of the emotions that had started overwhelming in the presence of the noted down number. But it didn't help the rail of his thoughts that resulted in overflowing of the pots.

The evening had turned into a chilly night yet without a care he kept staring at the TV screen blankly, finding it hard to forget that voice message. That familiarity in the voice had almost Haunted harry every night in dreams and that un-advanced way of not knowing still how to end a voice message made harry smile if only for a moment but he was strongly reminded of how had things ended, in fights, In rush, in sadness, in heart break.

He wanted to call back and ask him why had he called, he even stood before the phone, dialing almost the entire number but could never gather the entire courage to actually call him back. How could he ? After everything that had happened, how could he?

It had been almost 1 and half year since harry moved to a small town in Paris living in a muggle suburb and still learning French but he had sat in his balcony drowning in rain, yet he never felt at home. He never wanted to leave Britain, London but what choice did he had but to leave everything behind and start new, a fresh start and yet all he felt was moving backwards. He loved it here, the neighborhood, the children on the streets, the grocery man, Adrian's little shop around the corner yet the smell of the Rain, the smell of laundry, the Blooming garden, the sunlight, nothing felt the same, not like how it was when he was with him. Nothing ever felt the same anymore .

Somewhere around blankly staring at the TV, the screen had Turned grey with no more left to watch when harry forcibly picked himself up and put himself to bed, relentlessly tossing and turning until sleep had returned to him like previous night's.

You can't stop thinking about me .

That's not true.

Do you really think so? Then why am I here ?

You tell me.

He sighed, his voice flourishing and sounding like the softest of breeze, you can feel it too, can't you, you know I will be there with you..

I can't feel anything. A pause.

You're coming?

Do you want me to ?

Harry tossed one last time, slowly opening his eyes in the silence of the night and the street light outside flickering with yellow and black. He sighed to himself as he sat right up and followed the line of sight to where the phone was kept.

" hi, draco, hi- uh, you called. I- didn't know about it- just got your message- I wanted to check what you called for so leave me a message or call me in the mor-"

" harry?"

Harry stilled with the phone pressed against his ear, his breathing sounding very clear like he had held the phone very close to himself as if holding it too close would make the conversation more real.

He stared at his feets on the ground comprehending how to respond, he had not expected draco to pick up-

" harry, you there ?"

" yeah, yeah. Uh sorry- I just- " he breathed " isn't it late ?"

" sort of yeah. I just- I came from a run "

" this late at night ?"

" yeah " he breathed.

Harry breathed.

" you called earlier ?"

" yeah " a long pause before he released a rolling breath and spoke again " I'm visiting Paris and I- I know you're there, so I was just wondering if you'd like to meet sometime if you're free of course ?"

Harry's fingers coiled to the telephone loop, a little smile forming over his lips as he whispered " Sure. When ?"

" this weekend "

" I'll pick you up ?"

" that'd be- nice " he breathed.

" okay "

They breathed.

" I'll send the details via mail " he added

" okay "

And they finally cut the call but all harry did was stare at his feets on the ground crossed together as if it offered any peace.

_______________________________

The sun had rose like usual with the birds chirping just outside Harry's balcony, the usual ringing of his alarm clock went unnoticed as harry stepped out of the long shower. He padded across the room water dripping down his neck due to his washed hair, finally shutting off the Alarm. He stared at the watch as minutes stroke by, his mind lost in the moving of the minute hands until a shiver has ran down his spine and he dropped the clock on the bed and fetched the shirt and the pants he has decided to worn a day before. The same blue flowy shirt and the same Khaki pants.

Anxiety was not a surprise visitor anymore as harry fidgeted wearing his watch over his rest and tying his shoe laces that at some point, harry left them be thinking that if he'd fall, he'd fall. He ran all around the apartment going from one room to another to living room because his things were scattered all across until finally the clock stroke 12 and harry left the apartment in his second hand ford from 1985.

Harry leaned against his car in front of the France ministry of magic building waiting for draco to come with sun bouncing over his soft brunette hair, checking his watch every minute or two.

And there he was, the same boy walking through the door carrying 2 bags in a soft cotton red faded shirt and washed blue jeans.

" waited for long ?"he asked awkwardly.

Harry shook his head as he took his bags and dropped them in back seat.

" I- harry- I just wanted to ask something "

Harry frowned but nodded as he opened the car door for draco.

" this isn't awkward, is it ?"

Harry huffed out a breath, glancing behind draco for a moment. Was it awkward,of course but he Wanted to settle through the awkwardness and not be like one of those people who can't visit their ex.

" it is a bit but we'll settle in. After all we're friends, right ?"

Draco chuckled softly before he nodded " we can be "

Harry smiled before he stepped away and let draco take the passenger seat and settled into his driver's seat as well.

" Hungry ?" Harry asked as the ignition roared.

Draco nodded " very "

" I know just the place " harry smiled putting on his sunglasses and drove to exactly where he needed to.

________________________________

Things remained a bit awkward with draco as harry adjusted to all new information and forgot thinking of draco as an ex he scrambled away from and reminded himself more to treat him like the way he used to before the relationship happened.

But despite that the wicked angels that remained on Harry's shoulder reminded him to be careful this time and even if he harry heard them, he ignored as he served draco the croissant he has freshly picked up from the bakery around the corner.

" what about the eiffel tower ?" Draco asked as he sipped his lemon tea, taking the plate of croissant away from harry.

" it's overrated but worth it. It's better in the evening, I'll take you there " harry replied as he ate his own.

" oh shit- I forgot. I had to be at work 15 minutes ago. I'll see you later yeah " draco hurried with his baked food and picked up his bag he has came with and disapparated from within the apartment.

Harry collapsed down on the chair thinking to himself what was he doing. How could he just forget everything and move on and pretend like nothing happened like he had been doing for days. He hated the pretending, the " I'm doing fine without you " act or we're better as friends act, he hated it but as draco would come from the hotel every afternoon and sometimes stay by till the evening, harry would allow himself to relish in those moments and let be.

"the real question is do you really want to be friends or not ?" Jade asks as she dressed the mannequin with new shirt introduced in this work fashion line.

" i- i don't know jade. Do I want to forget everything and move forward, yes but I can't just look at him pretend we don't have a past " harry kicked the ground as he was leaned against the wall in the cubicle with jade and the white mannequin for display.

" Harry, the past is the past. It doesn't matter anymore. And you know the whole thing about ex's can't be friends,it's shit, I'm friends with my first boyfriend " jade replied with the pin between her lips as he tucked the buttons together.

" your first boyfriend is gay now. You're not helping jade-"

" look harry. Is it worth it ? Is it worth spending time with him? Is it worth meeting him again everyday ? Is it worth being friends with him again ? Those are the real questions " She asked with her head titled for emphasis, her hands in the air waiting for his response.

Harry sighed closing his eyes, opening them again and spoke " I think. He's changed a lot and he's different now"

" well there you go and you know what, even if you don't want to be friends or anything, he's just visiting. He's not going to stay here forever you know and you barely visit home, so friends or no friends, it won't matter much" jade shrugged as she put the mannequin the hat and stretched her neck backwards to check the entire look before nodding to herself and stepping out of the cubicle, harry following him.

" I guess you're right " harry mumbled. Jade nodded and they departed to their response departments of work.

When the evening arrived he met draco Outside his work building and strolled off to where they could disapparate from without being noticed.

" it's a beautiful place " draco suddenly said as they were walking down the streets.

" it is " harry hummed nodding, pocketing his hand.

" don't you ever-" Breath " like miss home ? Everyone else?" He asked

Harry thought for a moment before he replied with all he could think of " it's a part of starting fresh. I miss people back home but I love it here too, everyone's nice "

" but doesn't it ever get lonely ?" Draco asked as he now walked right by Harry's side.

" sometimes but other times I just forget " harry shrugged looking forward before crossing the road.

" forget what ?" Draco asked as he ran to maintain his pace with harry.

" forget that I'm lonely. The best way to not get lonely is just not to think of being lonely " harry shrugged as he for a moment looked at Draco before he entered the dark Empty alley.

" is it easy ?" Draco asked as he stood before harry taking his hand for side along disapparation.

Harry gazed at draco, allowing the free sensation of holding his hand making him feel closer to home before he took a step forward towards draco.

" no "

And disapparated.

Part 2 & 3

might turn into a series fiction. @drarrywords thanks for beta reading this..

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vgfm · 4 years ago

Text

Deltarune Theory: The True Identity and Importance of “Everyman”

I’ve been away from the Undertale theory scene for a long time. It’s been so long that a whole new-fangled game got announced, and I’ve got some theories on it.

Are these theories about Gaster or Sans or whatever’s going on with Kris? Not exactly. At least, not yet. I’ve got a better character in mind.

Let’s start with Everyman: Undertale’s most obscure character and (I think) one of the most pivotal in Deltarune.

This is a two-part theory: the first part outlines who Everyman is and why I think he’ll be important in Deltarune. The second part? You’ll have to read and find out.

This is a long one and with loads of images, so strap yourselves in.

Sections

Part 1: Introduction to Everyman

Who is Everyman?

“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”

Everyman’s Importance

Why did Everyman appear in True Lab?

Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune

Part 2: Everyman is ???

What will Everyman’s role be?

Jevil’s Connection to Everyman

The Spade King’s clue

Additional Evidence

“Seriously?”

The Gaster connection

The “Strange Son”

Who made who?

“Seriously, who is Everyman?”

End

Closing Summary

Final Conclusions

Who is Everyman?

"Everyman” is a special attack that appears during the Reaper Bird amalgamate fight in True Lab.

This same figure appears twice in Deltarune’s first chapter:

Once as graffiti in an alleyway in Hometown...

...and again as a rare bullet attack during Jevil’s fight.

The name “Everyman” only ever appears in-game next to his graffiti portrait in Hometown. Everyman’s sprites are simply titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s game files:

[Image transcript: UTModTool is showing multiple highlighted sprite entries that begin with “spr_strangeman”. On the right is the file “spr_strangeman_walk” opened, showing a picture of Everyman. End image transcript]

Some time after Undertale’s release there was a since-deleted tweet from Toby with a picture of Reaper Bird’s attack that he titled “Everyman,” which is where fans first got the name.

[Image transcript: A tweet from toby fox that says “Everyman”. The first reply says “Is that his name. please thell me thats his obj name.” Toby’s response repeats “Everyman.” The next reply says “everything i aspire to be.” Toby responds again with “’Everyman’ you aspire to be.” Toby then adds another tweet saying “Description. Just a good guy that shows up on occasion.” end image transcript.]

This is a web archive screenshot so the image of Everyman’s bullet sprite wasn’t preserved here. Special thanks to catcat for tracking this one down!

“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”

I don’t think so. I’d be more inclined to write off Everyman’s role in Deltarune as a mere cameo if he had only shown up once. But it’s odd that Toby felt the need to include Everyman twice in a single chapter. To me this seems less like a one-off cameo and more like foreshadowing for a greater role in the full game.

Let’s compare Everyman’s appearances to instances of character foreshadowing and one-off cameos from Undertale and Deltarune:

Mettaton

[Image transcript: four Undertale screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, the narration text box reads “(the machine isn’t working.)” as Frisk stares at Mettaton in Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle room. In the top-right screenshot, the narration textbox is reading a TV announcement in Papyrus’ house: “(It says ‘STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM - MTT.’)”. In the bottom-left screenshot, Napstablook’s text box says “there’s a show i like to watch on it... sometimes...” as Frisk looks at their television. In the bottom-right screenshot, Undyne’s text box says “This oven is some top-of-the-line MTT thing.” as Frisk stares at her oven. End image transcript.]

Mettaton is foreshadowed multiple times before he makes his proper introduction in Alphys’ Lab. This includes a direct on-screen appearance of his rectangular form as part of Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle. What’s interesting is that half of these references (including the tile puzzle) only make sense in hindsight to a first-time player. For all we know there could be other, more-cryptic Everyman references already in Deltarune that we don’t have the full context to understand yet.

Rouxls Kaard

Despite his legendary introductory sequence catching many-a-player off-guard, Rouxls Kaard actually is foreshadowed a couple of times before his stunning debut.

[Image transcript: four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, Ralsei is reading a message from Rouxls Kaard: “It says... ‘Thoust fools, thou will NEVER figure it out now!’. This is continued in the top-right screenshot: “Then it, um, says, ‘PS - I make my own Rules. - RK’”. In the bottom-left screenshot, a puzzle-master says “ROUXLS KAARD... Lord of the Puzzles... Be careful...!” In the bottom-right screenshot, one of Clover’s heads says “RK came by... What a hunk!” End image transcript.]

I’ve noticed from watching Let’s Plays that many people don’t even realize that these lines were meant to foreshadow him (and I’m pretty sure I didn’t realize it either on my first playthrough).

Ice-E

Now here’s something that’s an example of both a one-off cameo and proper foreshadowing! In Undertale, Ice-E is referenced exactly once in the entire game—as part of Sans’ Monster Kidz Word Search puzzle. No other character mentions Ice-E, Ice-E does not appear in-person, nor does the Ice-E’s restaurant appear... in Undertale. Deltarune is a completely different story.

[image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. in the left screenshot, Kris looks under their sink and the narration text box says: “A can of Ice-E’s Cool Boys Body Spray ‘Spray For The Boys,’ Flamin’ Hot Pizza Flavor.” In the right screenshot, Kris reads a chart in the hospital. The narration text box says: “(It’s a classic 1-to-10 pain scale, using ICE-E as a model.)” End image transcript.]

In Deltarune chapter 1 we find numerous references and bits of foreshadowing for Ice-E and, lo and behold, we see that Ice-E’s restaurant exists in Hometown at the end of chapter 1. And notice how it’s multiple references and not just a one-off like last time.

In every example of foreshadowing listed above we’re given more than one hint of a character’s presence, and so far Everyman fits this same pattern. This makes me feel safe in assuming he will have a bigger role in the full game.

Everyman’s Importance

What’s interesting is that in Chapter 1, Everyman appears in both the light and dark worlds. So far Deltarune has kept the light and dark worlds largely separate from one another, with only Kris and Susie traveling between them (as far as we know).

Everyman’s presence in both worlds implies that either he can travel between both worlds as well, or at least that lightners and darkners are both familiar with him.

Based on what we know, I’d wager that Everyman is a lightner—specifically, a monster. I say this for two reasons: 1.) so far we’ve only seen lightners (Kris and Susie) travel between both worlds, and 2.) this would explain Everyman’s appearance as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks in Undertale’s True Lab.

Why did Everyman appear in the True Lab?

The worlds of Undertale and Deltarune are connected. Toby has all-but-confirmed this himself.

[Image transcript: A screenshot from the official Deltarune website’s question-and-answer page. The question says “So there’s no connections between the two games?”. The answer says “It’s a different world that might even have different rules. That doesn’t mean there will be no connections at all though.” End image transcript.]

One major connection between Undertale and Deltarune is their largely-shared cast of characters. Many major characters from Undertale make an appearance in Deltarune’s first chapter, and Toby has shown that at least some characters from Deltarune’s universe have counterparts in the Undertale universe as well.

The Undertale Alarm Clock App makes reference to Rudolph Holiday living in the Underground some time prior to the events of Undertale.

[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Asgore says “Rudy... loved the holidays, you know.” End image transcript.]

This dialogue also strongly implies that Undertale’s universe has a counterpart for Noelle.

[Image transcript: Another dialogue box from Asgore. He says: “With a warm slice of fruitcake on the table. His youngest daughter peeking shyly from around the corner...” End image transcript]

Depending on how one interprets the Clamgirl NPC’s dialogue, there may or may not be an Undertale version of Susie (aka “Suzy”) too.

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Clamgirl tells Frisk: “Synchronicity...? My neighbor’s daughter looks about your age.” In the right screenshot her dialogue continues: “Her name is ‘Suzy.’ I feel like you two should be friends.” End image transcript.]

I’d argue that Everyman also had a “counterpart” in Undertale’s universe who lived as a monster in the Underground. Much like Rudy, the Underground’s Everyman likely grew old and eventually “fell down”. But unlike Rudy, Everyman was sent to the True Lab for the royal scientist’s soul experiments and became part of the Reaper Bird amalgamate.

This would fit with the pattern that we see with most other amalgamates, namely that they each seem to be made up of one named/noteworthy monster combined with several other generic monsters. The formula goes like this:

Lemon Bread = Shyra (Shyren’s Sister) + Aaron + Moldbygg

Endogeny = Muttler + various dog enemies

Snowdrake Mother = Crystal (Snowdrake’s Mom) + Vegetoids(?)

Reaper Bird = Everyman + Astigmatism + Whimsalot + Final Froggit

The Memoryheads seem to not “fit” with the other amalgamates, perhaps intentionally, so I’ll leave them out for now.

Long story short: Everyman was most likely a monster since he was part of an amalgamate and (as far as we know) amalgamates can only be made of monsters.

Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune

We see in Deltarune that three of the monsters who became amalgamates in Undertale have since passed away. This fits a trend I’ve noticed of Toby trying to “explain” the absence of characters who are prominent in one of his games but not the other.

The examples I cited above of Rudy, Noelle, and (possibly) Susie existing in Undertale’s universe also serve as “excuses” for where those characters were and why they were absent from the events of Undertale’s story. Rudy was dead and Noelle and “Suzy” were living with their families (presumably) in parts of the Underground where Frisk never ventured.

Shyra, Muttler, and Crystal are similarly “excused” from Deltarune’s story when the graveyard informs the player of their passing. Gerson is likewise excluded from Deltarune due to having passed away before the events of the game.

Conveniently, Everyman is not listed among the amalgamate monsters who have passed away in Hometown, and the alleyway graffiti implies he’s alive and well.

We know that Deltarune’s timeline and character ages don’t match up perfectly with Undertale’s—Deltarune Asriel is still alive and slightly older than Kris, who’s roughly the same age as DR Monster Kid. Conversely, Undertale Asriel died long before Frisk entered the Underground, yet Frisk is still seemingly in the same age bracket as UT Monster Kid (who’s barely younger than Asriel in Deltarune). Like Rudy, we can assume that Deltarune’s Everyman is younger than the Everyman who “fell down” in the Underground.

What will Everyman’s role be?

Remember when I said this was a two-part theory? Well, here’s the second half of my theory: Everyman is the Knight.

[Image transcript: A text box that says “Yes, you read that correctly.” End image transcript.]

Yes, the same Knight mentioned by Seam, Jevil, and the King of Spades. The same Knight who’s pulling new dark fountains out of the earth and who’s implied to be a major antagonist in the full game.

I could hedge my bets by saying Everyman is merely “connected” to the Knight, but if the Knight is a character we already know of then I think Everyman is the most likely candidate.

Let’s start with the name: Everyman’s sprites are titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s files. The very first mention we get of the Knight in Deltarune is Seam describing a “strange knight” who appeared, complete with red font for emphasis.

[Image transcript: Seam speaking inside of a shop, saying: “But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away.” End image transcript.]

The word “strange” seems to be used selectively and very deliberately in Deltarune’s first chapter. Here’s a breakdown of all the times it’s used:

Seam referring to the knight

Seam referring to the Knight’s “strange son” (more on that later)

Telling Seam about Jevil (”Strange Prisoner”)

Seam referring to the “strange someone” that Jevil met

Seam mentioning the “strange words” Jevil said

Rouxls Kaard referring to Lancer (”a strange and irritating darling!”)

Narration before Kris seals the dark fountain (”You felt something strange.”)

Flavor text during the Jevil fight (”Kris gazed strangely”)

The Devilsknife/Jevilstail appearing in a “strange chest” outside of Jevil’s cell upon defeating him (this may be dummied out or only triggers if your inventory is full of weapons/armors and Jevil can’t give his item to you)

The description of the key to Jevil’s cell (”something feels strange about it”)

With the exception of the line from Rouxls Kaard, every instance of “strange” somehow connects to the Knight or Jevil. If the Knight is indeed the “strange someone” who Jevil met then the list tightens even further, to the point where all but one use of the word “strange” is associated with a single character and his handiwork—a very “strange man”, as it were. Speaking of Jevil...

Jevil’s connection to the Knight and Everyman

Jevil’s fight is one of two places where Everyman appears in Deltarune chapter 1. Not only that, but Everyman’s sprite only appears as a rare event during Jevil’s carousel attack, implying that his appearance is somehow significant.

Interestingly enough, the other two sprites that appear during this attack are one with a head that vaguely resembles Mysteryman (believed to be Gaster) and another with the head of a horse, a.k.a. the same as a knight piece on a chess board. It’s also worth pointing out that it’s rarer for the Everyman sprite to appear than it is for either of the other two sprites to appear.

We can also see the Everyman sprite represented in the official Chaos Revolving Keychain from Fangamer.

Jevil mentions the Knight once you defeat him, showing that he has knowledge of his existence.

[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THE HAND OF THE KNIGHT IS DRIFTING FORWARD.” End image transcript.]

This is interesting since Seam’s dialogue implies that Jevil was imprisoned well before the Knight overthrew the three kings at Card Castle. I can think of three possible explanations for this seeming timeline discrepancy:

Jevil is somehow intrinsically “aware” of things that go on outside of his cell

The Knight or someone else visited Jevil in jail to tell him about what happened with the three kings

The Knight is the same “strange someone” that Jevil met before he was locked up

The first explanation is the least likely, imo, due to Jevil asking who Kris, Ralsei, and Susie are when he first meets them.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jevil is talking to the fun gang and he says: “BUT LO, THREE VISITORS STANDING INSIDE?” This continues in the right screenshot, where Jevil says: “WHO ARE YOU FEW?” End image transcript.]

If Jevil was aware of the outside world then he’d surely know of the fun gang’s antics by that point.

The second explanation doesn’t seem very likely either. Seam is the only character who acknowledges Jevil’s existence and we never see Seam visit Card Castle, even after the Spade King has been overthrown.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jack Person tells the fun gang: “By the by, I asked Seam to come here, but...” Continuing onto the right screenshot, where Jack Person finishes by saying “There wasn’t any interest.” End image transcript.]

Jevil’s cell doesn’t seem to have any guards and it’s kept on its own floor, so that would rule out Jevil hearing about the knight from other prisoners.

If someone in the castle brings food to Jevil then he may have overheard it from them, but even that is speculative. Does Jevil even need to eat? He says his body “cannot be killed,” after all.

[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THIS BODY CANNOT BE KILLED!” End image transcript.]

And I’m not sure if the King of Spades would be so accommodating towards a dangerous prisoner.

That just leaves the third explanation, which seems the most likely to me. It’s also the tidiest explanation for how Jevil would be aware of both the Knight and Everyman—they’re the same person.

We can only speculate as to why the “strange someone” caused Jevil to run amok. If that strange someone was the Knight then I would assume that setting Jevil loose may have been his attempt to overthrow or destabilize Card Castle’s leadership. We know that the Knight eventually overthrew the three other kings himself, so that may have been his plan B after Jevil failed or he merely wished to remove Jevil as an obstacle. Either way, the Knight toppled the quadrumvirate and installed the Spade King as the protector of Card Castle’s dark fountain.

The Spade King’s clue

The Spade King is the closest ally of the Knight that we’ve seen so far. The exact nature of their relationship isn’t fully known, but the King’s words imply that he reveres and is loyal to the Knight.

[Image description: Four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left, the King of Spades says “By the Knight’s will, I shall shatter your heart to pieces!”. In the top-right, the King says “For the KNIGHT has appeared.” In the bottom-left, the King says “The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth.” In the bottom-right, the King says “My KNIGHT... I shall not fail you...” End image transcript.]

Both characters share an interest in maintaining the existence of dark fountains, given that the Knight has been said to create new fountains by pulling them up from the Earth.

Unlike Jevil, the Spade King’s attacks never make explicit reference to Everyman’s visage, but he does give a possible nod that many players have overlooked. When the Spade King is defeated, he makes a curious gesture by letting his cloak fly away like a butterfly.

While this may be a simple artistic flourish, I always found this moment to be odd and unfitting for a brutish character like the King. It’s also worth pointing out how the King’s cloak is clearly not a part of his body, unlike what’s implied with Lancer’s “clothes”.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the battle narration says: “You tell Lancer you can’t tell the difference between his clothes and his body.” The narration continues in the right screenshot, saying “He seems flattered... His ATTACK POWER went down!” End transcript.]

What if the King didn’t always have that butterfly-shaped cloak? Did someone give it to him? Think of where else we’ve seen butterfly motifs before.

At first blush, this seems obvious—the Reaper Bird is clearly made from the Core mercenaries, including Whimsalot. Whimsalot attacks with butterfly bullets, so that’s where Reaper Bird got them from, right? Case closed. Well, not so fast.

It turns out there are two different sets of butterfly bullets in Undertale’s game files, and Reaper Bird’s are different from Whimsalot’s.

[Image transcript: Two groups of butterfly bullet sprites. The left group is labeled “Whimsun / Whimsalot.” The right group is labeled “Reaper Bird”. End image transcript.]

Notice how Reaper Bird’s butterflies are smaller and have pointier, more symmetrical wings? While those differences could be chalked up to limited pixel resolution, it’s interesting how Toby went out of his way to create an entirely unique set of butterfly bullets for Reaper Bird when it arguably would have made more sense for him to recycle the Whimsun butterflies like he did for Whimsalot.

If you want to compare the sprites for yourself I suggest either looking at the game files directly or looking at an actual playthrough of Undertale. I’ve noticed that Spriter’s Resource mistakenly has Reaper Bird’s butterflies listed under Whimsun’s sprite sheet (which is a completely understandable mix-up).

To drive the point home, notice the string names that are used for these butterflies:

[Image transcript: An UTModTool window showing multiple named strings. Highlighted in red are six strings that each contain “obj_strangeman_butterfly” in their names. End image transcript.]

They’re “strangeman” butterflies. Not “amalgamate” or “Reaper Bird” butterflies (despite Reaper Bird having its own share of dedicated strings and named sprites), and they’re not “Whimsalot” butterflies either. Toby clearly delineates them as belonging to strangeman, a.k.a. Everyman, meaning that Everyman is specifically associated with butterfly imagery. The Spade King also makes use of butterfly imagery immediately after he mentions the Knight in his final turn.

Between the King and Jevil, this makes two characters that can be linked to both Everyman and the Knight.

Additional Evidence

Let’s circle back to Reaper Bird for a second. It’s commonly known that this amalgamate is made from Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot. To wit:

These enemies are part of the mercenary group that Mettaton hires to attack you in the Core. Have you ever noticed how out-of-place they seem? Almost every other set of enemies in the game is somehow themed around their environment — Snowdin enemies are ice creatures, Hotland enemies are fire/lava-themed, etc. These mercenaries are themed around medieval warfare and yet they show up in the Core, the most high-tech area in the entire Underground.

What’s even stranger is that this medieval theme seems to come out of nowhere. Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot act as “upgraded” versions of Loox, Froggit, and Whimsun, respectively. And yet their Ruins counterparts don’t have any medieval theming whatsoever—it was added purely for the mercenaries. For whatever reason they’re all dressed like a bunch of wizards and... knights.

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “Why do I look like a black sausage and not a knight or a wizard?” This continues on the right, where it says “Well... Everyone has an angle they look best from.” End image transcript.]

That’s not my interpretation of their designs—the game outright calls them knights.

On the one hand, it’s true that Asgore’s royal guards also dress up like knights, but the Core mercenaries are explicitly not part of the royal guard—they’re mercenaries.

[Image transcript: Battle flavor text that states “Mercenaries emerge from the shadows.” End image transcript.]

Assuming that Asgore has a dress code for his guards or is just old-fashioned in his sensibilities, there’s still no reason why fighters outside of the guard should follow their standard. Even some of the royal sentries don’t follow this theming, as seen with Doggo and Sans (who’s technically a sentry):

With the abundance of knight-themed royal guard and sentry enemies that exist already, Toby could’ve easily designed the Core Mercenaries to more accurately fit with the Core’s futuristic theme. Doesn’t it seem a little too coincidental that Everyman would wind up as part of the same amalgamate as these otherwise out-of-place knights?

When we look at the other amalgamates, we can see that Lemon Bread (a.k.a. Shyren’s sister) is made up of Waterfall enemies. Endogeny is made up entirely of dog-based enemies. These two amalgamates each have a “theme” for their component monsters that fits the “main” named monster they’re each made of, and Reaper Bird has a clear theme of its own. Why would Everyman be paired with a bunch of knights if he was not connected to them in some way?

Even the Undertale artbook groups Everyman’s concept art with the Core Mercenaries, specifically the ones that look the most like knights and wizards in-game. The book also repeats the name “Everyman” and Toby’s cryptic phrase of “Just a good guy who shows up on occasion.”

Perhaps Everyman knew the Core mercenaries when he was alive? Were they his fellow knights? Or did they work for him before he fell down and they had to then lend their services elsewhere?

“The Knight? Seriously?”

Some of you may be shaking your heads dismissively at the idea of Everyman being the Knight (or you more likely clicked over to another tab by now). I mean, just look at the guy:

What part of this design makes you think “knight”, let alone THE Knight? Well, Seam does refer to the Knight as a “strange” knight, and Everyman certainly fits that bill. But more importantly, we haven’t seen an actual overworld sprite for Everyman yet—we’ve only seen some graffiti and a couple of magic bullet attacks, which are always abstract and simplified.

Not pictured: Froggit, Migosp, Temmie, Moldbygg, Tsunderplane, Mettaton, or Endogeny.

Everyman’s “proper” design would almost certainly differ from his Pillsbury Doughboy-esque bullet sprite, especially if he’s wearing a cloak or a suit of armor. And even if his design doesn’t differ that much, so what? It’s not like this series has ever had an opponent that looks goofy or non-threatening, right?

Another little tidbit I noticed: one of Reaper Bird’s attacks consists of Everyman repeatedly removing his own head.

Or maybe it’s not his head? Perhaps it’s a helmet? Like one that a knight would wear? After all, it’s not unheard of for helmets to have beak-like protrusions.

And this is a series where helmets can come in any shape or size to better fit the needs of the wearer.

Just some food for thought.

The Gaster connection

It’s time to address the elephant in the room: “Isn’t Gaster supposed to be the Knight?” If you haven’t heard by now, this is one of the prevailing theories in the fandom. To be honest, if the Knight ends up not being Everyman then Gaster is the next-best candidate, imo, but these two theories don’t have to be mutually-exclusive. I think a case can be made that Everyman and Gaster are connected in some way.

Let me say up front that this section is highly speculative (unlike the previous sections, which clearly aren’t the least bit speculative). We’re dealing with two super-obscure characters who’ve yet to make a proper on-screen appearance in either game. It’s already hard enough to figure out how either of them connect to the broader Undertale universe, let alone to each other, but I’ll give it a shot.

For starters, we can affirm that both Gaster and Everyman are linked to the True Lab. There’s no shortage of fan theories and speculation on Gaster’s prior usage of the True Lab in his own experiments and I won’t get into all that here, but suffice it to say the True Lab has Gaster’s name written all over it.

(Am I the only one who thinks the DT Extractor looks more like Everyman’s head than it does a Gaster Blaster? Forget I said anything.)

We’ve covered how Everyman appears as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks. Interestingly, the amalgamate Memoryhead has an attack that resembles the head of Mysteryman, the figure believed to be Gaster (which I’ll assume here for simplicity’s sake).

If we follow the logic of my prior “Everyman is the named/important monster that makes up Reaper Bird, fitting the pattern of other amalgamates” argument, then Gaster (or pieces of him) could fill the same role for the Memoryheads.

Everyman and Gaster’s sprites both have the suffix of “man” in Undertale’s game files. Here are all the sprites that use this same naming scheme:

strangeman - Everyman

mysteryman - “Gaster”

snowman - gives you the snowman piece

riverman - a.k.a. River Person

darkman - the shadowy overworld sprites used for the Core Mercenaries

watchingman - The spoon-shaped amalgamate that tucks Frisk into bed

The snowman’s inclusion is a bit of a fluke, because what else would you call a snowman without using “man” in the name? If we exclude the snowman, each instance of “man” represents a mysterious figure that ties back to Everyman and/or Gaster.

We’ve already covered the connection between Everyman and the Core Mercenaries, and it’s easy to connect the “watchingman” amalgamate with the True Lab. River Person is also frequently linked to Gaster in fan theories (and they allude to “the man from the other world” and “the man who speaks in hands”), so what we’re left with is a close-knit community of strange, mysterious "man”s.

This naming scheme looks very intentional on Toby’s part, and he seems to be continuing it in Deltarune by referring to the secret unseen NPC who gives you the egg behind the tree in Scarlet Forest as simply “a man.”

[Image transcript: Narration from the secret egg room. The text box states: “(Well, there is a man here.)” End image transcript]

The Knight’s “Strange Son”?

Remember when I said I’d get back to the Knight’s “strange son”? That’s now. I’m a little iffy on this topic because it involves stacking a whole ton of assumptions onto a single line of dialogue that’s phrased in an ambiguous way. But, if it means what I think it means, it could shed a ton of light on Everyman’s possible connection to Gaster and whether either of them are the Knight.

When you ask Seam about the “Kingdom”, Seam says this:

[Image transcript: Three of Seam’s text boxes arranged vertically. In order, they read: “Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East. But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away. The remaining king put him and his strange son into power.” End image transcript]

Let’s focus on that last sentence. On my first playthrough I misread this line as “the knight put the king and his strange son into power” because that sounds a lot closer to the events that happened—the Spade King and his “strange son” Lancer are in power now because the three kings were locked away, presumably by the Knight.

But the actual text states the opposite—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his strange son (i.e., the Knight’s son) into power. Or does it? The line could also read as—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his (the King’s) strange son (Lancer) into power. The second way is awkwardly-structured but technically valid. And this is assuming that Toby didn’t make any grammatical errors when he typed these lines, which he has done on occasion.

[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Dr. Alphys says “I felt so guilty knowing I hadn’t do anything to stop you.” End image transcript.]

Not to be too hard on Toby, but even if Seam’s line is grammatically correct it’s still clunky and murky in its conception—at this point in the game we’ve only just been introduced to Lancer and the fact that his dad is the King, and now this line is potentially introducing yet another father/son duo that is closely connected with Lancer’s dad—is it any wonder that this line is often glossed over by fans?

The second reading, where Lancer is the “strange son,” is also awkward because the Spade King would have little need to put Lancer “into power”. Lancer was already a prince and, presumably, already wielded power in that role. Various NPCs make reference to Lancer bossing them around, and such a thing could’ve easily happened before the three kings were deposed.

If we take Seam’s line with the first reading (where the Knight has a “strange son”) and assume there were no grammatical errors, then this is the only time in chapter 1 that the Knight is ever referred to as having a son. It’s also the only time that the Knight is addressed with pronouns, implying that the Knight is male. If true, this would rule out the theory that Kris (or any potential alter ego that Kris has) is the knight, since Kris is neither male nor do they have a son. This would also rule out Susie, who’s never been a popular contender for being the Knight but is referred to as a “dark knight” on her stats page.

Who made who?

So then, who’s male, widely believed to be the Knight, and is often depicted as having one or more sons?

This (alleged) guy!

“But wait,” you might ask, “isn’t your theory that Everyman is the Knight?” Well, the Knight and his “strange son” seem to be working as a duo in the scenario that Seam outlines, given that the Spade King put both of them “into power.”

Because of Everyman’s connections to the Knight that I’ve laid out, plus the more popular theory that Gaster is the Knight, it’s possible that one may be the Knight and the other may be the Knight’s “strange son.” The way I see it, it doesn’t make a huge difference which one is which.

Now, I don’t think that Gaster and Everyman would be father and son in the strict biological sense. There are a number of reasons for this, but for starters I’m not even sure if Everyman and Gaster are the same species. My inclination is that Everyman is a monster, while Gaster may be a darkner. The latter is mostly my own guess and springboards off of a popular theory that Sans is a darkner, but it’s a whole other can of worms that I won’t get into now.

More importantly, Gaster is strongly implied to have some sort of connection to Sans and Papyrus. All three of them are also connected with special fonts that they each use. As far as I can tell, there’s no widely-used font by the name of “Everyman”, so this would imply that Everyman is not a skeleton and therefore not biologically related to them. However, there’s more than one way to start a family.

Gaster was the royal scientist in Undertale’s universe and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he (or his potential Deltarune counterpart) could find the means to create life forms artificially.

[Image transcript: The vessel creation scene from Deltarune. The on-screen text says “YOU HAVE CREATED A WONDERFUL FORM.” End image transcript.]

Everyman could be a creation of Gaster’s and thus he’d be Gaster’s “son”.

There’s also another possibility: Everyman is Gaster’s creator. We know that the Knight is pulling new dark fountains out of the Earth. I think the Knight, regardless of who they are, must be able to survive without a dark fountain to give their body form, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to venture into areas where new fountains have yet to be pulled up. The Knight is almost certainly a lightner, and I’ve already detailed why I think Everyman is a lightner as well.

We don’t fully understand how dark fountains interact with darkners, but it’s stated multiple times that dark fountains “give form” to the Dark World.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Today the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS-” and continues into the right screenshot, saying: “The geyser that gives this land form-” End image transcript.]

In the dummied-out manual pages, Ralsei also mentions how his dark fountain gives his body form.

[Image transcript: Ralsei’s manual excerpt, whic says “Dedicated to The unending pillar of darkness that gives my body form.” End image transcript]

Darkners need dark fountains in order to maintain their forms. They may not even be able to survive at all without them. From this point of view, when the Knight creates new dark fountains he’s bringing new darkners to life. If Gaster is a darkner himself, then it’s not unthinkable to imagine that Everyman may have brought him to life in this way and could thus be called his “father”. Seam does refer to lightners as the “creators” of darkners, after all.

[Image transcript: Seam’s dialogue box saying “They were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose...” End image transcript.]

Ultimately the question of who’s the father and who’s the son is purely speculative. We don’t even know for sure if the Knight has a son, let alone whether it’s Everyman, Gaster, or someone else entirely. It’s very much a “the chicken or the egg?” kind of question.

[Image transcript: Two images. The right is a screenshot of the egg room with narration stating “(You received an Egg)”. End image transcript.]

Hmm...

“Seriously, who is Everyman?”

Let’s bring this home with the question we started with: Who is Everyman? I’ve gone into evidence that he existed as an actual person in Undertale and will likely play a role in Deltarune, but this doesn’t tell us much about the kind of character he is. We don’t even know if “Everyman” is his real name.

If Everyman is indeed a prominent character in Deltarune then there are two possibilities: 1.) he’s a brand new character we’ve never met before, or 2.) he’s someone that we have met before. The first option, while a strong possibility, doesn’t leave us with much to talk about, so let’s look at the second.

Right out the gate I can confidently say that Everyman is not a character that we talked to or had significant interaction with in Undertale. The obvious reason is that he was busy being stuck inside Reaper Bird and he couldn’t have been in two places at once (as far as we know). This means that Everyman would have to be a character introduced in Deltarune chapter 1.

I’ve said before that I believe Everyman is a lightner, so this would rule out any dark world characters. That leaves us with the residents of Hometown who didn’t have direct counterparts in Undertale’s story.

After careful consideration I’ve narrowed the field to two suspects:

Father Alvin

Father Alvin has always struck me as an oddity. He seems like an important member of Hometown’s community, and yet none of the other residents ever talk about him. He’s also conspicuously absent from Undertale’s universe.

The most notable thing about Father Alvin is that his church seems to worship “the Angel”.

[Image transcript: Father Alvin saying “Let the Angel’s power light your way.” End image transcript.]

Ralsei’s prophecy states that the three heroes must seal the dark fountains in order to banish the “Angel’s Heaven.”

[Image transcript: Two Deltaunre screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Only they can seal the fountains.” The right screenshot continues, saying: “And banish the ANGEL’S HEAVEN.” End image transcript.]

This would put the heroes at odds with both the Knight (who’s creating fountains) and whoever is serving this Angel. We can only speculate on the Knight’s motives, but what if he’s acting in service to the Angel?

Something that isn’t brought up much in the fandom is the religious reverence that darkners give to their fountains. The King of Spades refers to the fountains that the Knight creates as “holy” fountains.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the King of Spades says “Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world...” The right screenshot continues, saying “OUR world.” End image transcript.]

The soundtrack that plays at the Fountain is called “The Holy.” Dark fountains can seemingly create life, so it’s easy to imagine the Knight viewing his own mission as some sort of holy rite.

As far as evidence goes for Alvin being Everyman/the Knight, the biggest clue is the drawing signed by Alvin that shows up in the supply closet at the end of chapter 1.

Every other object in the closet represents a part of the dark world that Kris and Susie visited, and yet at no point do they encounter a dark world manifestation of this drawing. We know that the Knight visited Card Castle previously, so this drawing could be meant to represent the Knight’s presence in that part of the dark world.

It’s also worth noting how most of the closet’s toys are arranged from left to right in the order that Kris and Susie encountered them on their journey. Alvin’s drawing is on the far right, just past the open cabinet drawer (i.e., Card Castle), implying that Alvin’s drawing was either at the fountain or that it was effectively the “next” thing that Kris and Susie would’ve encountered if they had stayed.

It’s hard to make out what the drawing could be beyond being a “poorly-drawn picture of a green turtle”, as the flavor text explains. Could it be Everyman? Or is it just a reference to Bold and Brash? Both? Neither? The world may never know. Or it may know when the full game comes out.

Can I also add how strange it is that Alvin’s drawing is in the closet to begin with? Alvin looks to be a pretty old dude, so why would his drawing still be in a school that he no longer attends? I don’t have an answer, I just think it’s weird.

Other clues that could point to Alvin being Everyman are that he is, scientifically speaking, old-looking, which would line up with my hypothesis of Undertale’s Everyman being an older monster who fell down before becoming Reaper Bird.

Alvin also vaguely resembles Everyman as far as their proportions are concerned.

It’s by no means a perfect match, especially if we factor in Alvin’s shell, but both characters possess a round head with some sort of beak or proboscis.

If Everyman actually is Father Alvin, then the title “Everyman” could be a reference to The Summoning of Everyman, a 15th-century religious morality play. I won’t get into the specifics here, but the play focuses on a character named Everyman who must prepare for his inevitable death and judgment for his deeds in life. I don’t really know how much that would tie into Deltarune’s themes or if it’s even a deliberate reference to begin with, so make of it what you will.

Father Alvin was the first character that I suspected of being Everyman when I started writing this theory, but there’s one major sticking point that prevents me from fully embracing the idea: the fact that he lacks a character portrait for his dialogue boxes.

This may seem like a minor nitpick, but dialogue portraits indicate when a character is important to the story, and it would be a pretty big oversight on Toby’s part if a (presumably) recurring antagonist wasn’t given a portrait. Even a three-scene wonder like Rouxls Kaard was given a portrait.

It’s true that recurring characters like Napstablook and Monster Kid weren’t given portraits in Undertale...

But Deltarune has greatly expanded the number of characters with portraits this time around, and we can already infer that Noelle (who had a portrait in chapter 1) will be an important character going forward:

Given Alvin’s limited dialogue in chapter 1 and his lack of a portrait, I’m more inclined to believe that he’ll end up being a minor character, in which case he’d almost certainly not be the Knight (and therefore not Everyman). But who knows, maybe Toby will give him a portrait in the full game.

Thankfully, we have another candidate who might be Everyman:

The Ice-E’s Employees

You think I’m joking? Trust me, you’ll know when I’m joking.

I didn’t initially make the connection between Ice-E’s and Everyman until I saw a post from @curioscurio that pointed me in that direction.

Let’s go back to the Everyman graffiti that appears in Hometown.

Notice how the drawing right next to it resembles Ice-E’s head? I can’t believe this was staring me in the face the whole time and I never realized the connection.

Another point in favor of the Ice-E’s workers is that we don’t even know what two of them look like. We know that Burgerpants is one, and another is implied to be the Nice Cream Bunny that we met in Undertale.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Ice-E’s employee says “Psst, can I tell you a mascot secret? I only started working here because...” The right screenshot continues, saying “The logo made me think it was an ice-cream shop...” End image transcript.]

But this still leaves the “purple guy” and “The Warrior”, who remain in full costume for chapter 1, meaning that one of them could resemble Everyman underneath their mask.

Speaking of The Warrior, he certainly fits the bill as being “strange.” His title wouldn’t be out of place among the likes of The Knight, and his dialogue refers to the hospital’s medical staff as “white wizards”, which fits with the medieval theming that’s associated with Everyman’s mercenary cohorts in Undertale.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Warrior says “This castle’s WHITE WIZARDs relegated me to this HEALING CHAMBER...” The right screenshot continues, saying “But my BLOOD is BOILING FOR BATTLE!!!” End image transcript.]

Speaking of the Core Mercenaries, here’s an interesting tidbit:

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “As a youth, I would sneak out to play by this creepy flaming pit.” The right screenshot continues, saying “Since the CORE is always re-arranging, it was like a game trying to find it.” End image transcript.]

I used to assume that the Core Mercenaries were older monsters who fought in the human-monster war, which would explain their insistence on dressing up as old-timey knights and wizards. However, these lines of dialogue imply that the Mercenaries are far younger—young enough to visit the Core when they were kids.

So why would a bunch of younger monsters dress up like old-school knights and wizards? Simple: they’re LARPers. This would explain why their more casual overworld dialogue doesn’t match their overly-serious battle dialogue whatsoever—the battle is over and, thus, so is the act.

What does this have to do with Ice-E’s? Simple. The Warrior is also a LARPer. But he takes it a step further and never lets the act slip. According to Burgerpants, he terrorizes customers with war chants during his day job, and we see him keeping up the act while he’s injured in the hospital. It’s clear that he’s living in a fantasy world, and someone like that would have every reason to spend time in a strange dark world that “seems like” fantasy.

[Image transcript: Lyrics from Deltarune’s credits theme. It says: “And the places that you know seem like fantasy”. End image transcript.]

Someone like him could grow attached to such a place and want to see it spread as far and wide as possible, with no regard for how it would affect the boring “real world”. All he’d need to do is create new dark fountains to sustain this fantasy world.

I also find it interesting that The Warrior is in the hospital during chapter 1. Burgerpants claims that this is the result of “pizza-related injuries.”

[Image transcript: Two dialogue boxes from Burgerpants. Read from top to bottom, it says “The Warrior - Thankfully absent due to pizza-related injuries. Constantly terrorizing customers with war chants.” End image transcript.]

But what if there was another reason? We can see signs of “some kind of struggle” in the King of Spade’s throne room, complete with tattered wall banners.

[Image transcript: Narration in the Spade King’s throne room. The text box says “(Wall banners. They seem to have been through some kind of struggle...)” End image transcript.]

What if the Knight sustained injuries when he overthrew the three kings and had to go to the hospital afterwards? A “struggle” implies that there was some resistance involved.

Another interesting coincidence is that the previews for Deltarune Chapter 2 strongly imply that it will take place in a dark world that forms in the hospital.

Earlier previews have also implied that Noelle will have a larger role in Chapter 2, and she’d have every reason to be in the hospital visiting her father when things hit the fan.

It feels awfully convenient that a new dark world springs up right in the spot where the Warrior is. I wouldn’t be surprised if chapter 2 gives us our first glimpse of the Knight in person, and what better way than a surprise run-in with the Warrior?

Some of you may be asking why I’d suggest a minor character like The Warrior might be the Knight when he has a single line of dialogue and no dialogue portrait? Simple: characters tend not to have portraits when their face is hidden from view. We see this with Undyne in Undertale:

She doesn’t gain a dialogue portrait until after she removes her helmet. This is also true of Burgerpants in Deltarune.

So, unlike Father Alvin, The Warrior has an excuse for not having a dialogue portrait yet. While Father Alvin has some compelling evidence supporting him being the Knight/Everyman, The Warrior has no major counter-argument that I can think of (unlike Father “no portrait” Alvin), so I give The Warrior the edge as far as Everyman suspects go.

I’d also like point out that if Gaster ends up not being the Knight or the Knight’s “Strange Son,” then we could get a two-for-one deal of Father Alvin as the Knight and The Warrior as his strange son. Definitely not the most likely outcome, but technically possible! I’d imagine those two would have a hilariously awkward dynamic if they were related.

Closing Summary

Wow, this post went on for a while! Let’s summarize what we’ve learned today.

Everyman (in Undertale)

Was likely a monster who “fell down”

Became part of the Reaper Bird Amalgamate

Likely knew the Core Mercenaries

Is connected to butterfly imagery

Described as “strange”

May or may not have looked like his bullet sprite

May or may not have been connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not have been connected to the River Person

Everyman (in Deltarune)

Is alive and active

Is known to both lightners and darkners

Can most likely travel between the light and dark worlds

Is known of by Jevil

May or may not resemble his Undertale bullet sprite

May or may not be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not be Father Alvin

May or may not be an Ice-E’s employee

May or may not be the Knight or the Knight’s “strange son”

The Knight

Described as “strange”

Is pulling up new dark fountains from the Earth

Has been to the dark world

Is possibly a lightner/monster

Is connected to the Spade King, who uses butterfly imagery

Overthrew the other three kings at Card Castle

Is known of by Jevil and Seam

May or may not be Everyman

May or may not be “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not be the “strange someone” who changed Jevil

Likely male

Likely has a “strange son”

Everyman and the Knight (similarities)

Both are likely monsters

Both are alive and active in Deltarune’s world

Both are (presumably) male

Both have a presence in the dark world

Both are known by Jevil and may have met him previously

Both are associated with butterfly imagery to some degree

Both are connected to knight imagery

Both are described as “strange”

Both may be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

Both are foreshadowed in Deltarune chapter 1

Final Conclusions

So what do I really think? I’m reminded of Undertale’s original Kickstarter demo and how much of the full game’s story was left out of it. Right now we’re in a similar situation with Deltarune. I can’t view any of my theories with certainty because at the end of the day I have no idea what Toby’s going to write for the full game, but I can guess.

If I had to put a number to it, I’d say the odds of Everyman making further appearances in Deltarune is 95% and the odds of him being the Knight is about 66%. There’s always the possibility that Gaster will usurp the title of Knight and leave Everyman as the Knight’s “strange son” or as the far less illustrious role of “no one particularly important”.

If Everyman is in the game, I’d give 50/50 odds that he’s one of the Ice-E’s employees, mainly due to the Warrior’s situation lining up well with Chapter 2′s (likely) setting. I’d then give a 25% chance it’s Father Alvin and the remaining 25% as “anyone else”.

Thanks for reading all of this (or skipping to the end). I’ve seen hardly anyone talk about our favorite strange little man and I just wanted to get the word about him out there. Even if you don’t agree with my conclusions, I’m happy to (hopefully) ignite further discussion over this often-overlooked character.

For now I’ve said all that I can say on the topic. All we can do is wait and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

Special thanks to @curioscurio for inspiring me to make this post in the first place.