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#its a good way for me to stop and reflect on a chara and make sure i still have their character in mind whenever i go to portray them

sweetygirl90 · 3 years

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If you don’t like chasriel then DON’T READ THIS. Okay? Okay.

I apologize in advance if there are any grammatical errors or typing errors that make the text poorly understood. English is not my first language and although I am learning it I still have a long way to go. I would appreciate if anyone would notify me of any errors that you find.

So... Chara here are a female-born non-binary gender (They/Them pronouns)

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Ever since he was conscious of life, Asriel could tell how much his father loved his garden.

Asriel watched him work on it all day when he wasn’t busy with his family or attending to royal duties, always smiling peacefully as he did his work watering flowers or cutting brush. It was something simple, but the adult took the time in the world to do it with impeccable care and neatness. Asriel could even tell that Asgore was more into it than his paperwork.

Rarely could he observe the affliction in his father eyes when he occasionally discovered some plague damaging his precious flowers, or how some of them turned out to be withered.

Fresh in his memory was the scene of the king sighing heavily when it was time to cut the blackened flowers before they ended up affecting the rest. According to him, although it was for the good of the rest of the garden, he didn’t like to get rid of them. It must have been a disappointment to see those flowers that he worked so hard on diying.

Asriel thought that if the garden were a person, perhaps it would be one of the most loved by the monarch of the underground, perhaps becoming just as loved as he and his mother.

It was a bit difficult for him to understand it at first, perhaps because he hadn’t found something similar to consider his garden, but he assumed by common sense that when you spend so much time on something you end up loving even a little, or not? For a long time he wondered what it would be like to come to love something or someone so much.

Was the answer worth knowing after all?

Asriel lifted his gaze from the sheets to return to the human who lay on the bed, sick and tired as usual. Or at least that's how it was a few days ago.

Their breath slowly raised their chest, their pale face that was barely rosy on their cheeks reflected full calm as if they were in a long, peaceful sleep that wanted to engulf them in the dark forever. A damp towel rested on their forehead to reduce the fever, and some brown hair clung to it while others lay on their shoulders and the pillow.

Even bedridden by illness it was amazing how they could look so pretty, and they wasn't even trying.

“Chara…”

Asriel called their name in a broken whisper. They moved their hand close to his, to show him that they was awake and that they could hear him perfectly.

"I don't like this plan anymore, Chara." He said, and he leaned over the bed, resting his face close to his friend's arm.

Warm tears began to emerge from the young prince's eyes, releasing that overwhelming feeling that consumed him from within and that he hadn't had a chance to release until now. Doing so didn't feel better if they asked, because that didn't solve anything that was happening.

Chara was dying, he knew it.

No matter how much the adults wanted to convince him otherwise or how much they insisted that his best friend would recover, he knew with certainty what the end was that awaited the human in how much their body could not tolerate it anymore. He was aware of how Chara was withering day after day, and how medicines and care were not able to save them.

He could feel it. He felt their life slip through his fingers like sand.

Worst of all is that in the midst of his naivety he was responsible for this. How could he be so stupid to allow it? How come he didn't stop them? He thought that refusing to find out what it implied would be enough, but he was wrong to underestimate Chara and he knew it as soon as he saw them lying on the ground with the rest of the golden flowers that they could not swallow surrounding them.

This he no longer liked. This is not how things should be. Chara was not born to be bedridden in pain and slowly deteriorate. No! Chara had must to re-bloom like they did every day.

His friend was not this frail sick child. They was a mischievous laugh that echoed through the castle when they both committed a mischief, they was the energy that lifted him from his bed every morning to start the day, they was that genuine smile that amazed him, they was those hands that could be gentle to pet him or be aggressive for when they both played pillow wars. Chara was that lively, ruby-crimson gaze that glowed, the one he longed for with all his soul, the one they had lost and turned opaque.

Chara was everything and more, and Asriel wasn't ready to give it all up.

“Azzy.”

Their raspy, weak voice lifted him with the same gentleness with which they began to pet his head. Asriel opened his eyes to find Chara smiling at him, they had a look of indulgence devoid of pity.

“Don’t go.” He implored. His friend's hand felt warm cradling his cheek and he couldn't help but want to hold it right there using his. He needed to feel that the warmth that overflowed from Chara's soul had not yet left them, that they had not yet left.

Chara allowed him to do so and kept petting him with their thumb on that trail of tears, thinking that Asriel looked like a helpless puppy taking shelter from the rain and cold. In a way they made sense of it when they looked at his fluffy ears and couldn't help but imagine a dog saddened by its owner's usual departure to work.

Chara wanted to try to see him the same way to deny the truth.

"I'm not going anywhere. Everything will be fine.” They promised, but the monster could see clearly that it was more to convince themself than him. "Everything will go as we planned."

"Chara, please." He begged them again, holding his face closer as soon as he stopped feeling their caresses and was aware of the typical tremor that he noticed in them when they began to feel weak. “I don't care going to the surface anymore, I don't care breaking the barrier. I'm already happy here with you, I don't need more than that.”

He didn't want to let his garden die, didn't want to see his flower wither.

Chara still spoke as if they were unchanging, but long ago their smile and their gaze became unstable. Asriel didn't need to see them to know it, he just felt their pulse. "Seven… Just seven human souls and you will free everyone, Asriel."

They repeated the plan that they both already knew, and with it they hoped to scare away that fear that still overwhelmed them with death on the horizon. They hoped it would comfort their poor friend, but instead they only made his suffering worse.

“We will free them all from this prison to which the selfish humans unjustly condemned you all. I want you to be free, I want you to see the sun as I promised you.”

Chara never had an attachment to their own kind and Asriel knew it from the start, for they didn't bother to hide it. Asriel many times came to wonder if the love that Chara claimed to profess to him, their friends and family was as big as they swore it to be. He was distressed that they was lying when they said that the love they was given in one day was a thousand times greater than that given to them by humans on the surface. Right now he regretted having doubted, that the human strictly demonstrated how much they loved them by giving their own life in exchange for the freedom of the monsters.

It was a pure and real love, one that no one underground would want to lose. Asriel more than anyone.

"I can't... I-I can't, I can't. No like this. We will find another way, but not this one.”

“I will not leave. Once I die you will have my soul forever. I will continue to be with you but… Differently.”

“I don't want it to be different, I want everything to continue as it is. Please.”

“Azzy… I won't let you stay here forever.”

Chara cradled the face of their sobbing friend, who, drowning in his own tears, threw himself into hugging them as if clinging to a wooden plank in the middle of the ocean. He hugged them gently for fear of hurting them, but with the strength necessary for them to feel his despair and the tears wetting their shoulder.

"And I won't let you die. I don't want to. I can't imagine a world without you. I don’t want let you go!”

He heard Charas laugh softly before hugging him back. At first they had surprised him how calm they was, until he too felt his shoulder getting wet with tears.

They both knew that this was a destiny from which they could not escape. No matter how much this hurt them, no matter what happened next, no matter how many times Asriel implored… Chara was already determined to sacrifice themself for monsters.

The most beautiful flower in the garden gave their vitality to the others. The flower that he loved the most died and he could do nothing to prevent it.

His flower...

Chara...

They was already withered.

#undertale #chasriel #chara x asriel #asriel x chara #oneshot #this is platonic maybe?#I'm not sure at all #sweetgirl90 #my drawings #chara dreemurr #chara #chara undertale #asriel #asriel dreemurr

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secreteddsworldblog · 3 years

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Can I Buy You A Drink?

Eduardo x M!reader

You really don't know how you thought going to a bar to drink Diet Cola all alone was a good idea. Though you're not really in the right set of mind to make reasonable choices.

You've recently had a mutual break up from a long term relationship. Years, not petty months, walked out the door. Regardless if you were the one who brought up the conversation when confronting your Ex about the change of mannerism towards you it still hurt. You still felt like the Dumpy.

Even a month now since the night it ended you still felt an overwhelming sense of loss. You're no stranger to the feeling though. You've actually had worse relationships you rather not think about unless you want to go into a fit of sobs between Cola sips.

"Another diet cola please," you had already gone through a few cans but didn't want to stop. It's your favorite drink. Why not indulge in things to make yourself better? You're actually really picky with what you drink. Nothing makes it past your lips unless its water, milk, and Cola.

"You've had enough, sir!" The bartender was in the middle of drying a wet drinking glass with a yellowed white rag.

How dare he deny you, you're a paying customer, and in pain, "I know when to stop!"

From just the right distance away to hear the exchange sat Eduardo who was had been deep in thought about his own moarning. He always considered himself a tough man, the definition of machismo, someone who can't be knocked down.

Many would say he has no right to feel the way he does after how he behaved before the life changing event he had to go through. But sometimes it takes a rude awakening to trigger a well needed over due self reflection and change in character.

Eduardo's head perked up the moment he heard a man ask for another diet cola. Who orders diet cola at a bar? Besides him that is. If someone can enjoy a diet cola enough to drink it everywhere then obviously it's someone with good taste like him.

Temporarily getting out of his own head he got up and reached the counter, " Bartender, I DEMAND you bring a pair of diet colas for my friend and I!"

"FINE, Mr Eduardo," the bartender slammed the glass he was working on down and went to get the cold refreshments firmly holding them out, "But this is all either of you is getting tonight."

"Whatever," Eduardo passed one of the cans over to you, "Cheers!"

You'd be lying if you said you didn't feel a little bit of second AND first hand embaressment. It's not everyday a cute rando just comes up and makes somewhat of a scene for you. You have a feeling he's the kind of guy who calls out underpaid fast food joint employees when they put pickles in his friends bugers when they asked for none.

With the sound of a 'Tink' from cans tapping you lightened up a little. It would do you some good to know new people. Not in a thottie way. You've had to move homes for a fresh start, staying in that house with the memories were only going to make things harder for you to recover from, so you're actually in unknown territory.

"So what's a guy like you doing drinking cola all alone?" Eduardo glaced at you from the corner of his eyes still letting the diet cola can hover next to his lips after the first sip. You didn't know what he meant by 'a guy like you'. Though you weren't the most traditionally masculine looking bloke at the bar compared to him. You wouldn't go as far as calling yourself an E-boy but you're definetly decked out in more of a casual alternative attire. Some would call you a pretty boy, like your Ex before he stopped-

"Probably for the same reason you are?" It was strange to see someone else drinking the same thing alone- Unless this is normal for a guy like him. He didn't look like a traditional loner but weirdos come in all sorts of flavors. You knew that fairly well.

Other broken souls in the bar are getting properly drunk and a man out with the boys would only drink non-alcoholic beverages if he's the designated driver.

"I see... You come here often?" He lowered his drink to have his other arm reach over to scratch the back of his head. Eyes avoiding yours.

"No. I'm fairly new 'round these parts," You paused for a second deciding to say something risky, "Do you want me to come here often?" A little flirting never hurt anyone. It might be too soon to get back on the sattle but you weren't looking for anything serious any time soon nor were you planning to go far while you're still healing. You just miss being who you used to be before devoting yourself to you Ex. Your confidence wasn't always real but you'd love to go back to being the cocky flirts you used to be. Seeing just how many people call fall for you knowing you can have absolutely anyone.

Eduardo seemed to almost spit his drink seeing his subtle attempt at hitting on you be returned. "A-Are you serious?" His eyes widened a little looking at you. He must have been on the market and unsuccesful for quite some time hm? He hadn't been seen in a serious relationship since the one with his own Ex, Laurel.

"Why wouldn't I be?" You flex your classic side smirl and eyebrow raise. You might be a little rusty and you could use some practice in the mirror before trying that on anyone else.

Eduardo seem to have trouble thinking of what to say next only to be saved by his phone ringing, "S'cuse me, I have to take this-". On his phone Mark's icon and name popped up.

Mark had it together and seemed to have taken the loss a lot better than Eduardo. He was the more mature one of the trio and because of that he took it upon himself to look after eduardo remaining roommates with him.

As Eduardo went to a less crowded corner of the bar you checked your own phone.

You had roommates of your own. Some pals who ARE locals of this town. One of them even owns a music shop a few blocks form the bar. You couldn't trust yourself to exist alone after the break up so they were nice enough to let you move in as long as you helped around the store and did you part of house chores.

You scoffed at the text from Kasey the other roommate who has an online business and likes to call himself an 'influencer.'

[Kasey]: Are you still being a lil bitch baby? Where are you? Bill and I are going to lock you out of the house if you stay out late again.

With a roll of your eyes you respond back saying you'll be home in a bit. Even though they were nice enough to take you in the dynamic between the three could be considered playfully rude but tipping too close over the line into toxic. Kasey could say 'Fuck you' and you could say 'Eat my ass' then go out for a movie.

"Sorry about that. My roommate was checking up on me". Eduardo sat back down looking at your face wondering why you looked peeved.

Rent must be terrible in this town. It seemed everyone had a roommate. "That's fine. So were mine. I have to split actually-" You got up slyly putting your coat jacket on waiting to see if the man really was interested in you enough to say anything about seeing you again.

"O-Oh wait. How often are you thinking of coming by this spot?" Eduardo didn't have many people to see when he left home. Aside from a stiff friendship with Tom. Since the incident they've bonded over their hatred for Tord. They took turns doing each other's interests like watching a sporting event when it's Eduardo's turn to pick the activity or going to a concert when it was Tom's night. It would usually end in some fight over bashing each others choices but they always silently made up and made plans for another night.

"Mmmm. I don't know really," it was the truth. Even if you were to say what days you'd potentially show up it wasn't for sure. You'd play hard to get but this could become a good friendship. Someone who isn't calling you slurs, reclaimable between you and your roommates among themselves of course, and someone who might actually like you. "Here, let me save my number in you phone-" You reach out placing you hand on his forarm that held the phone testing to see if he'd flinch or push you away from the gentle touch.

Eduardo felt goosebumps from around you touch. You could have sworn you saw a hint of green blush on his face. No one really touches him besides Mark when he pats Eduardo on the back when he things he needs it. "S-sure".

You glided your hand from where it was to his hands sliding the phone out from his grasp. Your brain did a buffer effect when seeing the person that was his lock screen. A guy with small eyes, light brown hair, and blue button up. Who was this? This better not be some unnamed boyfriend. You didn't take him for a cheater. You still saved your number on his phone but took a mental note not to flirt as much until you know for sure the guy was single. Even if it's just casual the last thing you want to be is a homewrecker.

You handed the phone over back to him, "See ya." Okay, you can spare a wink before walking away from him.

Eduardo sat there confused. That really happened. He really got someone's phone number. He took one last sip from his diet cola before setting down the money to pay for their drinks.

Authors note:

What's up fellow LGBTs. I didn't see any xM!Reader content much less for Eddsworld charas so I took it upon myself to actually provide for any of the other losers who simp for Eduardo. Might do a love triangle down the line tho-

#eddswolrd #eduardo eddsworld #x reader #m!reader

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chuuyagum · 3 years

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♡ Winter 2021 Anime I Dropped ♡

as of now this is the anime i've already dropped for the season! i have a 3-episode rule where, if after 3 episodes, the anime hasn't caught my attention i'll drop it to save myself time. i'd rather not force myself to watch something i know i won't enjoy! sometimes i do drop them sooner if it's that bad

---♡---

Vlad Love

honestly.......i don't have much to say here. while i initially found the premis interesting, the speed at which the main characters are suddenly girlfriends was uh? quick that's for sure! and while i understand it's meant to be humorous, i didn't really find anything funny about the school nurse constantly stripping for no reason in the middle of school hours and constantly hitting the main character. blood fetish was the main point of humor in this story, and i can tolerate a bit of ecchi in anime, but this really hit all the wrong notes for me. instead of laughing i just sat there wondering why i still had the tab open

Project Scard: Scar on the Praeter

i wanted so desperately to like this one! i've enjoyed anime by GoHands before, but like i mentioned in a post before, this was overkill. its like they didn't know when to stop. usually we complain about under done animation and can nitpick where improvement could have happened. here its the opposite, there's too much going on. there's so many textures, reflections, and moving pieces with very little contrast between the foreground and background, making it almost impossible to focus on what's happening. in gifsets this anime will look wonderful, but when you watch a full scene you realize there's no anchor points for your eye to settle on. this is what overachieving and still failing looks like

Ex-Arm

i genuinely don't even know what this is about, i couldn't get past 5min because for some reason only the protag looks 3D when no one else does and it's not even good 3D. as of writing this the anime literally has a 2.24/10 on My Anime List and only 3 episodes have aired so far. did they even have a budget when they made this?

Hortensia Saga

i don't really have anything negative to say about this one, its a pretty standard medieval fantasy anime, but thats what put me off wanting to continue it. there's a lack of originality, there's nothing in the first few episodes that makes me want to root for or support a specific character. plus the action sequences were kinda lackluster. basically it's boring; unless this is your favorite type of story and you're interested in something that sticks to tropes pretty closely, or you're a fan of the game it's based on, you're going to be snoring really quickly

Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun / Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki

12min in and i was rolling my eyes so hard it started to hurt. what seems like a story about a gamer who makes friends and gains a girlfriend really just boils down to, well. pretentious gamer boy meets a pretentious gamer girl and she.....teaches him how to be a normie and blend in with the rest of society by dressing nicer? i guess? this could have been decent if it was played off in a comedic way, but instead it's handled really seriously and as a result i couldn't take it seriously at all. the more the characters monologued about how unfair and difficult life is because they look slightly different or had different interests than most people, the further they dug a sad and pathetic pitty hole to lie in. this feels like a horrible message to send to people who feel somewhat isolated from their peers and decide to blame it on these small incongruities instead of practicing some interspection, or seeking professional help if their problems are that severe

---♡---

#project scard scar on the praeter #ex arm #vlad love #hortensia saga #bottom tier character tomozaki #Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun #anime list #winter 2021 #winter anime 2021 #dropped anime #personal.txt #anime recommendation

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starlightshore · 4 years

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Why do you think Toriel & Asgore barely speak about Chara? Asriel has been mentioned by both but Chara's just a throwaway line or two. I think the meta reason is that Toby wants Chara to be as mysterious as possible but in universe? I feel like maybe they didn't see Chara as their child

i want to state real quick, not directly at you anon but to anyone reading: chara dreemurr was a integral part of the dreemurr family and a caring child. they were asriel’s sibling and these are all facts, anyone who wants to fight can just leave

now that is out of the way, let me explain my two cents about this.

I think the main reason we don’t hear about chara too much from them is that asgore and toriel are characters we don’t see much of.

The most we see of Toriel is in the first section of the game, the tutorial section. Her status as ex-queen and the adopted parent of the other fallen children isn’t known yet! And as basic story telling, we wouldn’t hear about Chara this early when it’s a reveal for the end of the game.

Asgore is used VERY sparingly. (ba dum tish) He’s mentioned by a few people throughout the game as this lovable fluffy fool, but our first impression is how he SO wants to murder our butt. This is set up to show how he’s a broken man of regret, how he’s turned himself into a monster (figuratively) and he can’t stop being one or be redeemed without adopting you or dying. He’s full of determination to continue what he set out to do, out of obligation for this people. He’s a parallel to your determination to finish the game. There’s a reason we hear his voice when we’re brought back from death.

Because there’s only so many lines of dialogue between asgore and toriel, we don’t have time for them to be reminiscing about Chara or Asriel. NEITHER talk about EITHER sibling at all ingame directly. We hear Asgore mention his son, and it sucks he didn’t mention chara, but I think we miss some important context in that line.

“We could be like...Like a family...No. That's just a fantasy, isn't it? Young one, when I look at you...I'm reminded of the human that fell here long ago...You have the same feeling of hope in your eyes.”

Asgore offers to adopt you just as he had for Chara. But then he remembers his actions, how Toriel has been gone for a hundred years and 6 children he murdered. He thinks of you like he had Chara, but now he’s got clarity and the determination to “fix things.” Oh God I’m making myself sad because this is literally Chara’s plan but reversed.

“There is an ancient prophecy among our people...One day, a savior will come from the heavens.... I believe the one that was prophecied was you. Somewhere in the world outside...There must be a way to free us from our prison. It pains me to give you this responsiblity, but...Please. Take my soul... and seek the truth.”

This is good writing, Chara’s hope and the prophecy are connected by these paragraphs, directly explaining why Chara killed themself. Asgore, like Chara, feels it’s on them to die for the benefit of someone else’s freedom. It’s just a twisted reflection of it, Chara died so Asriel can cross and kill 6 humans to save monsters. Asgore killed 6 humans so monsters could be free, but now he’s killing himself so a human can cross instead.

But yeah back on topic.

“Ha... ha...I'm sorry...I couldn't give you a simple, happy ending...But I believe your freedom......is what my son......what ASRIEL would have wanted. You are our future!”

This is foreshadowing. This is bluntly telling the player that you didn’t get the good ending, and it hints that it’s Asriel who is going to be involved with getting it.

And here’s some conversation from before.

“I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope. The future had once again been taken from us by the humans.”

I believe Asgore doesn’t mention Chara directly here because it would muddle the message. Humans are what killed Asriel, and regardless of what Asgore knows of, Chara is involved in that. Asgore thinks Chara died of natural causes, but it’s their death that set off the direct events to Asriel’s death. In the day after their deaths, Asgore vows to destroy humanity. It wouldn’t make SENSE to name drop or call attention to Chara being his child right here.

“I just want to see my wife. I just want to see my child.” This admittedly, is cruel to not mention children here. Chara was already called Asriel’s sibling and it was stated “lost two children in one night.” There’s no excuse for Asgore not to mention Chara here. I’ll admit, it’s an odd choice. We also see Chara’s bed is undisturbed, Chara’s chair at the dining table is still there. He clearly still mourns them just the same as Asriel. The only reason I can think of is that Asgore still feels pained by humanity and by extension, Chara.

As for Chara not being name dropped in the alarm clock? I think that’s more to do with keeping it vague like you say anon. I think it’s a little more than that though.

I think if we look at how their name and frisk’s are used in both the no mercy route and pacifist. Of course Flowey calls you Chara in both routes, but in the no mercy route he’s proven right. Chara looks at the mirror and says “It’s me, Chara.” vs. “Still just you, Frisk.” I think it’s cleanly: in the no mercy route Chara’s forcefully takes autonomy over Frisk and eventually gets their SOUL and is seen by the player. It’s the only route we really see Chara actively act within the world and make choices outside of the player (striking Sans twice in order to kill him, killing Flowey)

This is in direct contrast to the opposite, its only in the pacifist route Frisk is named and is directly called onto outside of “the human.” Frisk, only though completing the best ending, can be revealed as who they are. Chara doesn’t get grounded into the present, they’re exposed by their past. Chara is named only by Flowey and the tapes.

The game is ALL about the actions and reactions of Chara’s suicide, how it’s hurt this community and destroyed lives. Asgore is forever colored by the deaths, Toriel trapped in loneliness trying to fix things. Monsters mourn, they want revenge and hope. It’s a reflection of Chara’s desire for revenge, put onto the very people they wanted to save. It’s supposed to be ironic and a warning that violence -self hate, murder, killing innocents, is wrong. It warns to parents of kids having this pain, and how they need to be addressed and given extra care for. (not that Asgore or Toriel knew the extent of what was going on, I’m not implying it’s their full blame here, but Chara was a child.)

It’s through the act of a community coming together to protect Frisk that they’re able to break the barrier. While Chara didn’t have the same opportunity as Frisk, the situation is able to end peacefully out their new efforts of guiding Frisk.

Chara realizes that Frisk has to live their own life, and to let others move on. It’s important for them to not treat this world as a game, to let these characters be happy and move on.

Anyway that’s all to say that Chara’s active presence vs. to how they’re framed by the past and alluded to in vague terms (mainly directed towards how similar they are to Frisk) is kind of the point of how ghosts shouldn’t posses people and rule over other’s lives. (or, specifically how the player shouldn’t view themselves as Frisk) That’s how I read what the no mercy/pacifist contrast is meant for. While I’d prefer Chara to be name dropped and called their child NOW especially, it IS a step up from just comparing Chara to Frisk. I can only hope in the future they can be referred to more, that even ghosts deserve to live and be seen. ):

#Anonymous #sucide mention #ask to tag #long post

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songfell-ut · 4 years

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Rrrrrrgh Chapter 18 rrrrgh

I had to re-insert EVERY GODDAMN LINE BREAK ARGH it also took out all the italics. I’ll get those in a minute ;_;

(Watch out for arachnophobia, angst, aaaaand smut~~)

For the eighth or ninth time, Frisk wished she had just said no. But she hadn’t, and she couldn’t back out now, so she kept walking, arms stiff at her sides.

At least she was almost there: she could hear rustling in the dark up ahead, and faintly musical sounds, like someone twanging a piano wire. Suddenly, her heel stuck on something, her shoe nearly coming off; the next moment, something else tickled her cheek. When she tried to brush it away, it wouldn’t come off her fingers. In the dim light, it looked like…a spiderweb?

There was a high-pitched giggle overhead, and more webbing dropped onto her shoulders. The child was yanked off her feet, pulled straight up until she slammed to a teeth-rattling stop in midair. Heart pounding, head spinning, Frisk tried to tug herself loose, but it was no use: she was caught in the bouncy, gluey strands of…

…a really, really big spiderweb. And where there was a really big spiderweb—

“Ahuhuhu~”

Frisk turned her head as far as she could, and uttered a raspy sound as her gaze met five huge, mirror-shiny black eyes. It was a spider monster in frilly bloomers, ribbons, and pigtails—surprisingly cute, except for its fangs. “My! Whatever do we have here?” The giant spider leaned in closer, and Frisk watched in fascination as her reflection flickered in time with the monster’s blinks. “What brings a bite-sized human like you to my parlor?”

The child couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spider monster’s eerie, fluid movements. It was balancing on the web, brushing crumbs off its sleeve, and dipping a pastry into a cup of tea it’d just poured for itself, all at once! “A-Are you Muffet?” she squeaked.

The spider smirked, nibbling daintily on her pastry. “That’s me, dearie. Did someone send you to find me?” Her face creased into a scowl. “If that skeleton told you it would be funny to disturb us, I swear I’ll—”

Something chittered, and Frisk couldn’t help squirming. Muffet gasped as a tiny shape emerged from the child’s collar. “Alphonse? Oh my goodness me! How did you get here?!”

Frisk shut her eyes tight as the little spider crawled the rest of the way out of her shirt, followed by another, and a few more, and then what seemed like a thousand others. She could feel a tickly procession streaming up her neck and along her arms onto the web, where they swarmed around Muffet, making rapid clicking sounds.

“They gave me a piece of paper asking for help,” the human explained, though the spiders were probably saying the same thing. “They were tired of the Ruins, but Snowdin is too cold, and it’s too expensive to get a heated carriage, so I gave some of them a ride to Hotland.”

All five of Muffet’s eyes sparkled, and she clasped two legs in pure joy. “Oh, what a sweet little morsel you are! You’ve saved us thousands of g, just like that!” Frisk heard more chittering, and found herself being eased free of the webbing and lowered gently until she was back on the sticky floor. “I’m so sorry if I frightened you, dearie—most humans have a nasty habit of squishing spiders, but I didn’t know how very kind you were toward us!”

“You’re welcome,” Frisk said, trying to pick the webbing out of her hair. The grownups had chopped almost all of it off before they left the castle; she’d hate for them to cut the webs out and make it look even worse. “My name is Kris. It’s nice to meet you.”

The spider-lady was ignoring her, listening to what sounded like dozens of little voices at once. She didn’t have eyebrows, but her upper three eyes wiggled in almost the same way. “Really, now?” She regarded Frisk with new interest. “You wouldn’t happen to be ten years old, would you, dearie?”

Where had that come from? None of the other monsters had asked her age. “Um…yes? I don’t know my real birthday, just the year.”

The spiders must have understood her, because the noise increased, and Muffet tittered louder than ever. “How interesting~”

“Why?” the child couldn’t help asking.

“Ohhh, nothing, just a bit of gossip.” Muffet hopped onto a higher strand of webbing, crossing a pair of legs and pouring herself more tea. “Would you like something to eat?” She indicated a table with a pile of iced cakes and a sign reading 9,999 G. “No charge, just for you.”

Was that a spider leg sticking out of the frosting? “I’m full, thank you,” Frisk lied.

“Suit yourself, dearie.” For someone without any lips, the monster could slurp her tea quite loudly. “The spider clans don’t communicate with each other nearly as often as we should, but when someone manages to get here from the Ruins, they tell the most fascinating stories. Like the humans’ last visit here, eleven years ago—did you know that your King came with them? Supposedly, it was a group of minor nobles discussing repairs to the border fence, but no one notices spiders – except you, of course – and they hear all sorts of things behind closed doors~”

The child frowned. “The King was here?” She didn’t think he’d ever been to the Underground; she’d just been glad he hadn’t come on this trip, though she was sorry the Queen was sick. It would’ve been so nerve-wracking to have to behave around him!

“He certainly was.” Muffet licked a drop of tea from the fine hairs on her forelimb. “Yes, the King paid us a secret visit, and poor Chara was never the same afterwards. There was quite a commotion, you know, after he’d been gone a little while. They had to take her all the way to the Ruins so no one would hear her s—”

There was a familiar chuckle behind Frisk. “ahh, muffet. putting the spy in ‘spider,’ huh?” Sans held out his hand, and Frisk gladly took it. “yeah, i dunno what she’s talking about, either. c’mon, kiddo, you shouldn’t be here. time to have a ferry good ride back.”

“On the contrary,” Muffet said haughtily, “this wonderful child is welcome in my parlor any time. I would love to have her over for lunch!” Two sets of arms clapped their hands. “Go on home, dearie. Come and see me again sometime soon.”

“man. you got a knack for making friends, ya know that?” Sans remarked as they stepped around the webs lining the floor. “i didn’t think she liked anyone who wasn’t rich, or fattening.”

Frisk didn’t answer. The corridor had just enough bare, echoing surfaces for her to hear the last of Muffet’s conversation. “Not a word to anyone,” the spider was telling her family, or minions, or whatever they were. “I—what? …Why, yes, he would pay for that information. What a splendid idea! We could even give him a discount! Those glasses are so cute~”

Frisk and Sans looked at each other, shrugged, and moved along to thinking up spider puns to unleash on Pap. It didn’t occur to Frisk until much later that Muffet had said “her”—the smaller ones hadn’t gotten that far under her clothes, had they?

Ah, well. She figured spiders must not know much about human pronouns, and they probably said strange, random things to everyone. It was nothing to worry about.

Many years later, Frisk would remember that and wish she could smack her younger self upside the head. Not only was it racist, it was very incorrect, not to mention ungrateful. Spiders knew damn well what pronouns were, and nothing Muffet had said to her was random. She hadn’t even charged her for it…

The hotel attached to Mettaton’s resort was unbelievably crowded that evening, the air warm and full of amazing smells. Sans had materialized by the fountain in the lobby, figuring it was long enough after dinnertime that there wouldn’t be too many people around. This turned out to be hilariously wrong: the line was still two or three deep at the food counter, the queue winding up and down the room and ending nearly out the doors. There wasn’t enough space for one boss monster to just appear out of nowhere, much less two, but here they were.

“My. Do you think they’ve gotten a room?” Toriel asked dubiously, releasing his arm and nodding to the monsters scrambling out of their way. “Should we check with the front desk?”

Sans glanced around, then relaxed and let his SOUL point him in a direction, like giving a hunting dog a scent to follow. Sure enough, his feet started toward the restaurant on the left side of the resort. “This way,” he grunted.

Luckily, at their size, they didn’t have much trouble getting through the crowd. Nor did they have to say anything to the restaurant’s maître d’: he took one look, bowed so deeply that he almost fell over, and walked ahead of them to harass the seated monsters out of their way.

They soon reached the far end of the room, where Frisk was holding court at a small table with Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, and a few others. To Sans’ delight, she had perched on the back of a heavy chair, confidently projecting her voice over the other diners. “So I finished the introduction, she came out onstage, and what did she do? She froze right there in front of everyone,” the human said, gesturing with her champagne glass.

This got quite a reaction. “Oh, please,” Mettaton said with a groan.

“Ha!” Undyne thumped the table. “Served her right! What’d you do?”

“I peeked out from behind the curtain, and I looked at her, and I went—” Frisk closed one eye and opened the other as wide as possible, flashing a demented smile, and the monsters cracked up. “She almost started laughing, and it was perfect, because that was where the Queen was bragging about how much everyone loved her!”

“Good evening, everyone,” said Toriel, walking ahead of Sans to join the others. “Forgive me, but, what was this?”

Cries of welcome rang out. “Good evening, Lady Toriel! I was telling them about my friend Mathilda,” explained Frisk.

Standing on the periphery, Sans drank in the sight of his human seated among the monsters, looking adorably tiny by comparison, but completely at home. She was more animated than he’d ever seen her at the castle, her eyes bright and hands in constant motion as she talked. It was everything they’d both hoped for when they came here.

And speaking of drinks, he also had to note all the open bottles of wine and other adult beverages around the table. He remembered ordering several crates of them, but he’d assumed they would be consumed at a slower rate than this; monsters couldn’t handle alcohol as well as most humans. Come to think of it, neither could Frisk.

Mettaton had gotten up to greet Toriel, and was bowing her into his seat; Sans was impressed with his manners until the automaton turned and shooed Alphys out of her chair so he could take it.

Justice came swiftly: Undyne waited for Mettaton to get comfortable, then kicked him under the table hard enough to make a metallic clang. “Never mind him. Here,” she said to Alphys, holding her arm out and patting her lap.

Toriel cleared her throat, and the scientist turned about five shades of reddish-orange. Practical as ever, Undyne got up to grab a chair from another table instead, ignoring its irate former occupant and cramming it between her seat and Frisk’s. “Ta-da!”

When Alphys was happily settled, Toriel gave the automaton and the Royal Guard Captain reproachful glances. “Your friend Mathilda?” she prompted.

Frisk smiled. “Yes, from St. Brigid’s. She wanted me to narrate the part of the spring pageant where she was playing the Queen—have you heard of The Sun Cycle?”

Toriel accepted a glass of red wine from the waiter. “The allegory about the two sisters? Of course. Did Mathilda have a case of stage fright?”

“Right after she spent ten minutes straight telling me not to be shy.” Frisk made another face. “I teased her about that for years.”

Toriel chuckled. “And rightfully so.”

Sans was busy staring at Frisk when she suddenly looked straight at him. “Sans?” He jumped, then scowled self-consciously as she shifted her weight. “I hate to make you stand there—is there anywhere he can sit?” she asked the group.

There was a general murmur and scooting-out to make room, but Sans waved his hand. “Nah, don’t worry about it. ‘s what I get fer bein’ late to the party,” he muttered.

The priestess frowned a little. “Well, if you’re sure…” She indicated a green jug on the table. “You wanted to try some hard cider, didn’t you? Now’s your chance.”

“’m fine,” he said gruffly, and she gave him a short nod before Mettaton reclaimed her attention with a question about human seating etiquette.

Sans wanted to smack himself on the cranium. Typical Frisk: she was mad at him, but still didn’t want him be to left out. Well, neither did he! It physically hurt to keep himself from going over and petting her hair, tucking that one bit behind her ear, asking how she was feeling…

Yeah, this whole staying-apart thing wasn’t fucking working. If he couldn’t have some time alone with her soon, he was going to throw her over his shoulder and teleport them both far, far away, which would probably look a little suspicious. What would it take to—

Alphys coughed. “S-So did the rest of the pageant go all right?”

Frisk sipped her champagne. “Oh, yes. I’ve always loved that story, and I didn’t have to be onstage, so I—” She paused and held the empty glass out, and another waiter swooped in to refill it. “Thank you.” Sip. “It was wonderful. We had a five-piece orchestra playing along, and the Queen’s song, ‘Daylight’s Lament,’ actually brought people to tears.”

Sans wasn’t thinking very straight, or else he would known better than to say, “Is that the mopey thing you’re always singin’?”

Everyone turned toward him, and he shrank back at the priestess’ expression. “Are you a musician, Frisk?” Toriel asked around her refilled wineglass.

“Yes, I was in the choir at school,” the human said, giving Sans a significant look. “The Sun Cycle had just been adapted into a musical, and we all nagged our teachers until they let us perform it.” She grinned ruefully. “It was the best political training I’ve ever had. If you want to delve into the darkest side of human nature, just tell a group of teenage girls that only one of them gets to play the Queen.”

They all laughed, though no one disagreed. “And Mathilda got it?” Sans asked, just to contribute.

“Yes, she did,” Frisk replied. Her feet swung back and forth a few times, drawing his attention again. “She tends to get what she wants.”

Trying to distract himself, Sans remembered something and asked, “Isn’t she the one who’s gonna replace you?” They looked at him in surprise, and he added, “Y’know, if you ever decide ta quit?”

That earned him another glare. “Yes, if I ever do. The only reason I became High Priestess and not her was that my magic was stronger. Otherwise, she’d have been perfect.”

“Now, now. I would think—no, I know that you’re doing an excellent job,” Toriel said warmly, and the priestess ducked her head.

“Wait a sec.” Undyne banged her mug on the table, startling Alphys. “Didn’t you say somebody tried to kill you ‘cause you’re the High Priestess? Aren’t you worried someone’ll come after her, too?”

“Well…not really.” Frisk made a complicated gesture. “It may sound cold, but you’ve never met Mathilda. She doesn’t have time to be assassinated. If the Church didn’t pay for a half-dozen guards everywhere she went, she’d just hire them herself and go about her day.”

“Nice,” said Undyne, but despite Frisk’s light tone, Sans wasn’t so sure about the way she was frowning into her champagne glass. Did she feel guilty for being so cavalier about her friend’s safety?

…No, that wasn’t it. He had a sudden attack of insight: Frisk wasn’t only in danger because she was the High Priestess; she was also in the way of people who profited off monsters. Did Mathilda have different views on the subject – maybe more safe or conventional ones – that would keep her from being targeted?

What about the person who had paid to keep Frisk safe? He still had to tell her about that, too, assuming he ever got the fucking chance!

That was enough of that topic. What else could they talk about? “How’d it go in the lab today, Al?” he asked.

This time, they all looked at him as though he’d thrown dog turds onto the table, and a couple of the other monsters actually got up and left. His stupid, tired, frustrated mind took a second to catch up: everyone knew that Alphys had been testing Frisk’s magic, and as much as they liked and hopefully trusted the human by now, they didn’t want to hear about her barriers.

“Um…” Alphys fidgeted with her mug of spiced cider. “You were r-right. I couldn’t even quantify how much f-force she could potentially withstand. It’s honestly still hard to believe.”

“Yeah, it turns out she’s even better than we thought,” Undyne said defiantly, and raised her mug. “Toast: to Frisk being on our side!”

Frisk raised her glass in reply, downing the rest of the champagne in one gulp, and everyone with a drink quickly followed suit. As the waiter came back for more refills, Sans nodded his thanks to Undyne; she stared at him, then drew her thumb across her throat to indicate that he was dead. He shrugged, agreeing that that was fair.

Alphys fidgeted again. “Actually, Sans, I’d like to t-talk to you about that sometime soon. Alone, m-maybe?”

The skeleton blinked. “Uh…okay.” Now that a few chairs were empty across from Frisk, he walked over to shove them aside and sit down on the floor, putting his eye level only a foot or two below the others. Why would Alphys need to talk to him alone? If she wanted more data, why not include Frisk? He’d have to find out later.

Undyne scowled, half-turning to drape her arm over Alphys’ shoulders; the lizard monster turned a few more colors, then leaned into her. Good for them, thought Sans, with only a twinge of jealousy. “I remember when I was a kid and I used to snoop around in my parents’ room,” Undyne continued. “My mom got fed up and told me there was a human hiding in her closet. Not only did I stop sneaking in there, I’d run past their door to get to my room!”

Sans forced himself to join in the laughter. “Poor Pap,” he remarked. “When he was a kid, I got him that pirate bed, and he wouldn’t stop jumpin’ on it in the middle of the night. I didn’t wanna take it away, so I said there was a human under it ‘n Pap was gonna wake him up.”

“Sans,” Frisk scolded him, but she was smiling now.

“It’s true,” he said gleefully. “The next night, I found him makin’ a decoy to throw into bed so he could go hide in the closet.”

Undyne guffawed, and Toriel shook her head, though she was also smiling. “That poor child! Tell me he isn’t still sleeping in the closet, Sans!”

“He’s not. I made a big deal about talkin’ with the librarian and finding out humans are scared of books about Fluffy Bunny. We read one every night from then on, and whaddya know? The human never got ‘im,” the skeleton said proudly.

They laughed again, and the last of the tension dissipated. “Speakin’ of Papyrus, where is he?” Sans asked, feeling guilty for not noticing sooner. “Hope I didn’t miss ‘im on his way home.”

Mettaton couldn’t drink, so he had spent most of the conversation checking his face paint; he sighed theatrically, putting the mirror away in his chest compartment. “He got drunk already, the poor dear. I sent him upstairs to sleep it off.”

Sans didn’t have to fake a grin. “Makes sense. It only takes half a mudslide to get him started tellin’ everyone how bad my jokes are, and tellin’ the jokes ta prove it, and then gettin’ mad that he knows all my jokes by heart.”

“A ‘mudslide’?” Frisk repeated.

“Yep. ’s one of Grillby’s finest cocktails: magic ‘n mud.”

The human looked puzzled. “By ‘mud,’ you mean…?”

“Wet dirt,” Sans clarified.

“…You…drink…?” Frisk couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. “What does that even taste like?”

Pause. “Mud.”

More laughter. Frisk’s nose was wrinkled, but she was still smiling; that was enough for Sans.

He didn’t want to ruin the mood by saying something else stupid, so he nodded to her and turned to survey the now-half-empty room. It must have been pretty late, because the maître d’ wasn’t letting anyone else in. The nearest table had just one person, and—

It was sitting there, out of nowhere, legs dangling over the side of the table. The demon-child locked eyes with Sans, hands resting on the knife in its lap, and it grinned.

Sans stared back at it, paralyzed. Through the fog of shock and terror, there arose a single thought: Are you fucking serious?! I don’t need this right now!

The thing shook its head. It looked meaningfully at their table – at Frisk – and back at him. It raised the kitchen knife, pointing at the side of its own head, and made a circling motion.

Sans managed to twitch with sheer rage as he recognized that childish gesture. The little bastard had come all the way here to tell him Frisk was crazy?

Its grin faded into a faint, superior smile. It lowered the knife and tapped on its sternum three times. Then it shifted around to face the human; to Sans’ bewilderment, it sat cross-legged and leaned forward on its elbows, ruby eyes glued to Frisk, as if waiting for a play to begin.

What was it doing? …Why was it doing? He had the feeling that it genuinely wasn’t interested in him for the moment. What did it think Frisk was going to—

“Sans?” Her voice snapped him out of it; the skeleton found he could move again. “What’s the matter?”

“Uh…” He looked at her, then back at the demon. It was gone now, of course. “Nothin’.” He glanced back and forth a couple of times just to be sure. What the hell was that about? The thing wanted to tell him that Frisk was nuts and Sans should check her SOUL? But…

Sans shook himself, turning to size up the room. Everyone was slightly to moderately tipsy, but relaxed, probably ready to call it a night soon. There was absolutely no sign of danger anywhere; even if there was, Sans couldn’t imagine a threat too big for him, Toriel, Undyne, and Frisk.

To hell with that thing. He wasn’t going to ogle her SOUL for no reason in front of everyone; somebody would notice and give him crap for it, she’d get embarrassed, and he’d have yet another thing to make up to her.

Toriel took a bottle of wine directly from a passing waiter and poured herself another glass. “Where are you staying tonight, my child?”

The human brushed her hair behind her ear. Sans glanced at her, and his spine stiffened: she was looking right at him, her finger tracing the edge of her choker. “My things are still at Sans and Papyrus’ house, so I was planning to stay in Snowdin tonight at the inn.”

The skeleton tried to hide his sudden jubilation. She was telling him she’d have her own room, which meant some damn privacy at last! He’d have a chance to tell her things and apologize for being stupid about the chessboard, and then…choker, and—

“Whaaat? You have an entire new wardrobe upstairs, and you want to go all the way back to that smelly wasteland?” Mettaton complained. Sans gritted his teeth as the automaton reached over to play with Frisk’s hair, sweeping it up with one gloved hand. “You know, darling, if you’d let me put this up for you, it wouldn’t keep getting in your way. Why don’t you stay here another night so we can figure it out?”

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Frisk said tartly, pushing his arm away.

Mettaton pouted. “But what about—”

“She said no, dipshit,” Sans snarled. “Not everyone has time to play dress-up.”

“Oh?” drawled the automaton. He sized up the giant skeleton and flashed a literally pearly-white smile. “I see. Well, if she absolutely must stop in at your hovel, be sure she has everything she needs. You know, her clothes, a few midnight snacks…plenty of socks?”

Undyne and Alphys nearly spat their drinks across the table. Sans twitched as though he’d been poked in the SOUL—which, in a way, he had. “Ya wanna die, ya friggin’ piece of—”

“Be nice, children,” Toriel mumbled. She covered her mouth for a massive yawn, nearly dropping her wineglass. “Speaking of wardrobes, Frisk, I had enough time after my nap this afternoon to go through Chara’s old clothes. I found several things that should fit you. Why don’t you stay over another night so we can try them on?”

The human’s face was still red. “No, thank you, Lady Toriel,” Frisk said over the faintest murmur of “Socks” and barely-suppressed snickering.

The former Queen sighed, too far gone in memory – and alcohol – to notice. “It would be so cute to see you in those dresses,” she murmured. “We can hem them up if we need to. You’re about the same size she was at…goodness, fourteen or fifteen!”

“Yes, childhood malnutrition will do that.” Frisk accepted yet another refill from yet another waiter. “My mother took no care of me.”

“You poor thing.” Toriel shook her head. “How I wish you could have stayed and grown up here! We would never have neglected you like that.”

Undyne sighed, propping her head on one fist. “Yeah, that would’ve been amazing.”

Mettaton also sighed, lacing his fingers together and resting his head on them. “For once, darling, we agree. She should know at least five times as many dances as I’ve taught her.”

Toriel hiccuped. Sans had always heard that drunk people did that, but never seen it for himself. “And she could’ve sang for us, too. My poor little angel—such a wonderful child!”

Frisk smiled, until Toriel went on, “Yes, I’ll always miss Chara. Did you ever get to meet her, Frisk?”

No answer. Sans’ backbone prickled; he checked the other table, but the demon wasn’t there. He glanced at Frisk, and to his alarm, she was almost literally vibrating with tension.

Alphys was also squinting at the human, as if checking her. Whatever she saw made her eyes go wide, and she signaled frantically at Sans. “So, Frisk,” he said, too loud.

She looked up, startled. “Uh,” he said. Crap. Now he had everyone’s attention, and he had to say more words. This time, though, he made himself think first, settling on a topic so safe and dull that nothing bad could possibly come of it. “I just remembered—when I was passin’ stuff out with the Royal Guard earlier, we found a couple small discrepancies in the list,” he said casually. “I made some notes about it. Can you and Tori take a look real quick?”

“Of course. I’m sure it’s fine, though,” Frisk said, giving him another smile. Then, as he started to reach into his coat for the invoices…

It was the tiniest movement, and he just barely caught it. She took too large a drink and slopped champagne onto the corner of her mouth, which she chose to lick off slowly, eyes on his.

Sans would think of that moment and berate himself for years afterward. For one thing, he didn’t know or care how openly he was staring at her, or who was watching; more importantly, his hand kept moving while the rest of his mind did a belly-flop into a mire of absolute lust, all his resources suddenly diverted to socks and lace chokers and that cute little mouth…desperation to run his hands all over her again and find out if she still had that weird blood thing going, what her exact criteria were for it being the right time to—

Left to manage on its own, his hand knew only that it was supposed to get something for her out of his pocket. It encountered the papery thing he needed, and then another thing it knew was for her, and dutifully pulled both things out. He didn’t have enough concentration to use magic and send the invoices directly to her, so he tossed them onto the table with a solid thmp. “Pass that t’ Frisk, wouldja?” his mouth said.

A couple shreds of conscious thought worked themselves free, wondering why the papers had gone thmp. Paper wasn’t supposed to go thmp. What had he…

Oh. It was the heavy golden envelope, the one with the King’s letter for her.

On the table.

…With her full name on the front.

Right by Undyne, who was reaching to pick it up, just like he’d asked.

Time slowed to a crawl. Icy dread swept over him, and he raised his hand, knowing it was too late—Undyne had handed over the invoices and was already saying, “Heyyy, what’s this, boss?” Before he could stand up or regroup his magic, the Royal Guard Captain flipped the envelope around to read the calligraphy. “Fancy! Is it a love letter for—”

She stopped. Sans’ SOUL shrank to nothing as the fish monster’s brows drew together. “Hey. Your Majesty?” she asked, raising her voice.

Toriel finished her drink, trying to set her glass down and missing the table entirely. “Yes, Captain?”

Undyne gave a puzzled half-smile. “Did you adopt Frisk or something?”

Frisk looked up from the invoices. The goat monster glanced at her, then chuckled. “Why, no, not that I’m aware of.” Toriel was smiling, too, clearly waiting for a punchline.

Sans snatched at the envelope with a burst of red magic and shoved it into his pocket. “Hey, Frisk! Guess what? Time ta go!”

Frisk started, and had to catch herself before she fell off the chair. “What? Why do—”

“Then how come she has your last name?” asked Undyne.

Silence. Toriel and Undyne were awkwardly smiling, each waiting for the other to speak and growing more confused as the seconds ticked by.

Alphys frowned, then peered at Frisk, who was staring at the panicky skeleton. “Sans,” the human said softly. “What is she talking about?”

Sans was still sitting on the floor, and couldn’t get up; he felt sick as Frisk stepped down from her perch and came over to him. “What do you have there?” she asked, even softer.

His hand moved on its own again to pull out the envelope. “’s a letter,” he mumbled. “I was gonna give this to ya later, when we talked about—”

Frisk snatched the envelope and turned it over. He forced his sockets to stay open as her face went pale, then stark white. Slowly, her head lifted until their eyes met. “I didn’t mean ta get it out yet,” he said helplessly. “It was an accident. I’m—”

“Where did you get this?” she asked carefully. “When did you get this?”

“Yesterday. From…from Dr. Serif. He met me in the village to help get all the stuff ready, and the King gave it to ‘im ‘cause he thought you’d be—”

“This is from my father?” Frisk stared at the dark-gold calligraphy, then at him. Sans just stared back, letting his silence speak for itself.

Alphys squinted one more time at Frisk’s chest. Then she bolted from her seat, skittered around the table to Mettaton, and latched onto his arm. “You need to get everyone out of here! Right now!” she hissed.

The automaton quirked a lacquered eyebrow at her. “Are you joking? This is the most—”

“I said now!”

Toriel and Undyne watched Mettaton scramble out of his chair, leap straight into the middle of the room, and strike a pose. “Hello, beauties!” he called to the remaining twenty or so diners, giving Alphys a nervous glance. “This is your lucky night! We’re going to have a scavenger hunt, and the prize is me—one candlelit dinner with yours truly! Follow me to Paradise!”

Alphys breathed a sigh of relief as the monsters trooped out, dragging the waiters and the protesting maître d’ with them, and the doors slammed shut. The royal scientist gestured to Toriel, then Undyne, who had come around to their side of the table. “We should leave, too,” Alphys said urgently.

“What?” The goat monster frowned at her, and at Frisk, whose shoulders had hunched. “Are you all right, my chi—”

“Yes!” They jumped as Frisk whipped around, clutching the envelope to her breast, giving them a dreadful smile. “Yes. Yes, I…I’m fine. I just need to—” She gulped. “Never mind. I have to talk to Sans.” She held her hand out. “Let’s go.” He didn’t move, and she said desperately, “Now? Please?”

A tiny quiver of fear ran through him, and not just because he, personally, was in an absolute world of shit. He could feel the air around Frisk grow heavier, and for the first time in a long time, his instincts were urging him to back away. Her magic was building rapidly, as if she was getting a barrier ready, but she wasn’t doing it on purpose. What did she—

Oh, crap. Not only were they Underground, where magic was naturally stronger than above, she was already at least a little drunk, and tired, and…well, “upset” would not begin to cover the fallout of his slip-up. Was Alphys worried something would happen? But…

Just to be sure, Sans took a long look at Frisk’s SOUL. For a second, he thought something was wrong with his vision, or he was just out of practice; then he realized that, for once, he was not the problem.

Her SOUL was a goddamn mess. It shone as bright and beautifully red as when he’d first seen it, but where it had been rock-solid with determination, it now looked more like a snowglobe that kept getting shaken up before the glitter had a chance to settle. Magic was seeping through her skin and beginning to tint the air around her, and if she was aware of it, she wasn’t even trying to control it.

Fuck. Alphys had been smart enough to keep an eye on Frisk’s SOUL when she started getting agitated about Chara—had the scientist noticed some instability when she was testing the human’s magic? Either way, she’d been scared enough to have Mettaton clear the room.

But it wasn’t as if the monsters should be scared of Frisk, was it? Sure, she seemed pretty volatile right now, but she was still Frisk! She would never hurt anyone! At least, not on purpose…

Sans couldn’t help glancing at the other table. Sure enough, the demon-child was back, grinning and clapping its hands in sheer delight. “Told you so,” it said gaily.

Undyne coughed. “Uh…Frisk? Why’d your dad call you that?”

Frisk gestured one more time, and Sans made himself look at her hand with a grim, apologetic shake of his head. His SOUL wanted to tear loose and go hide at the way her face contorted. “You’ve gotta calm down, kid,” he said quietly. He didn’t know how to explain in front of everyone that her magic was too thick for him to teleport her anywhere without touching her, and doing so right now would singe him down to the bone—probably straight through it. “Please,” he added.

The priestess let her hand drop. She closed her eyes in resignation, pinching the bridge of her nose. “He called me that because I’m illegitimate, and I have to use my mother’s name.”

Pause. Sans shuffled back a little as Frisk’s eyes opened again, taking in the monsters’ blank faces. “Oh, for God’s sake! Do I need to spell it out for you?” She brandished the envelope at them: FRISK DREEMURR. “That was Chara’s last name, and she was my mother!”

The world stopped for a moment. Sans watched Toriel, breathless, painfully aware that her reaction was the one that really mattered. If she took Frisk seriously, then the priestess could probably recover her equilibrium and work through some of her feelings. If she didn’t—

Toriel was frowning in bewilderment. Then…she started to smile, and Sans’ SOUL shrieked in panic: Nonono, don’t do it, don’t—

The former Queen gave a polite little laugh. “I’m…sorry, my child, but…there must be some mistake.”

The air crackled, not loud enough yet for the others to hear. Frisk gripped the letter harder, still holding it at arm’s length. “Why do you say that?” she asked, too calm.

“Well…” Oh, crap. Now Undyne was smiling, too, only stopping when Alphys yanked on her sleeve. “Sorry,” the Captain said, “but c’mon. Chara never even had any kids!”

“Yeah, she did,” said Sans, and the women looked at him in astonishment. Frisk’s arm fell to her side as he continued, “The humans who visited ‘bout twenty-four years ago had their King with ‘em, and he knocked her up. She hid it till the last second, ‘n then she gave birth in the Ruins so no one would see anything.” He glanced at Toriel. “Right?”

It was hard to say who was the most shocked. “I thought Chara had me after she left the Underground! You mean I was born here?” demanded Frisk.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” barked Undyne. She looked at Toriel, whose eyes were huge, hands pressed to her mouth. “I-I mean—” The fish monster turned to Alphys. “Don’t humans get really big and weird when they’re pregnant? Wouldn’t we have noticed something?”

“Not n-necessarily,” Alphys said, fiddling with her claws faster than ever. “It depends on the individual, and how the baby d-develops. Besides, it’s not as if we had other humans to compare her with. She could’ve just w-worn thick clothes and stayed out of sight.”

“Huh.” Undyne stared at the floor. “Now that you mention it, she did spend a few months cooped up in the house before she left. But—”

“Where did you hear this, Sans?” None of them had ever heard Toriel sound like that, her gentle voice lowered to an almost bestial snarl. “Who told you?”

Sans grimaced. “You guys cleared everyone out of the Ruins, but you didn’t get all the spiders. They saw what happened, an’ they heard her tell you who the dad was.”

Toriel’s mouth fell open. “Spiders?”

“Yep. Some of ‘em made it over to Hotland while Kris was here, and they told Muffet, an’ she wound up sellin’ the story to Grillby. I don’t think he ever told anyone else. He just likes knowin’ stuff.” The skeleton scratched the back of his skull. “When I asked him ‘bout Chara the other day, he told me everything. I just never got a friggin’ chance to talk to Frisk about it.”

Another long pause. Was it his imagination, or was the air getting hotter? The priestess was only a few feet away, and though he didn’t have the courage to look at her again, that side of his body was tingling very unpleasantly.

Toriel’s face had hardened, her arms folded at the waist. “Be that as it may, it proves absolutely no connection between her and Chara.”

God damn it. “No, they didn’t know for a fact that Frisk was her kid. But her age matched up, and a bunch of the spiders who rode with her were right next to her SOUL for a few hours. They said she had a buttload of magic, and it smelled like the Underground—way more than any human’s should.”

“It would explain how she’s so powerful,” mused Alphys. “With the capability to use magic from her f-father’s side, and being c-conceived and gestated here, she probably started accruing it before she was even born. She’s already proven that she can convert a monster’s power for herself, so…”

“Holy shit,” whispered Undyne. “So Chara really did have a kid?”

“Yes, she did,” the former Queen said tightly. “We just thought she was ill and shutting herself away for a while. She didn’t tell us how Stephin had betrayed our hospitality until she was nearly in labor, and she begged us not to tell any of the other monsters.” Toriel was gripping her own sleeves hard enough to puncture the fabric. “We gave her two months to recover, and then Asgore sent them both to Stephin. The baby wasn’t very strong, but Asgore was afraid that if we kept her here, Stephin would think we were holding his child hostage.”

No one answered, and Toriel swallowed hard. “A few weeks later, Chara returned to us in agony. Stephin had just become engaged to another woman, and he refused to break it off. The baby had become sick after leaving the Underground, and when Chara started preparing for the journey back here, she…the child didn’t make it home.” The former Queen wiped her eyes with the side of her hand. “I am sorry, Frisk, but there is no way you could be—”

“Yes, there is,” Frisk said, sounding oddly detached. “Chara lied to you. I didn’t die—she left me with a wet nurse and paid her to be my foster mother.”

Sans wanted to dive out of the way as Toriel took a step toward the human, Undyne and Alphys also shrinking back. “You mean to tell me,” the goat monster said, deathly quiet, “that my daughter knowingly abandoned her child and deceived her family?”

“Yes. She did.” Frisk was standing firm, but the monsters could see the haze coming off her like a golden mist; Sans traded looks with Undyne, who pulled Alphys closer. “If you really think it’s impossible for me to be Chara’s daughter, why did you ask my exact age?” the human demanded. “Why did you want to know how old I was when I first visited, and why did Asgore ask Sans the very same thing? You knew Chara had had a baby girl ten years before the delegation arrived, and then you found out Kris was a girl. Were you wondering if I was actually—”

“No!” They flinched at Toriel’s sheer vehemence. She gritted her teeth, trying to control her temper. “It was all Asgore’s fault. When Chara returned to us, he had the temerity to accuse her of lying about her child’s death. He told her she was not welcome unless she brought the baby back with her! Of course we didn’t see her again for ten years!” Smoke drifted from between her fingers as she wiped her eyes again. “I still don’t know how he could have done something so cruel, or how he told you about it, but my only regret is that I ever considered the possibility for a single second! I know you are both wrong!”

Frisk’s eyes narrowed, and Sans jumped as a golden spark flew in his direction. He quashed the reflex to teleport to safety and stood up, only for Frisk to look around him, as though he wasn’t there. “I haven’t spoken to Asgore since I was a child. He has nothing to do with this conversation,” she snapped. “Do you know who first told me Chara was my mother?”

Toriel tried to give her a tolerant smile. “No, child. Who first told you?”

“Asriel.” Before the goat monster could react, Frisk pressed on, “He put the pieces together after he saw me make a barrier by accident. He knew that that ability ran in the royal family, and the King had fathered Chara’s child, so he asked her if it could be me. Chara got him to bring me to her, and he told me who I really was.” The envelope trembled in her hands. “He told me I’d come home.”

Toriel’s eyes widened again. She started to speak, but Frisk raised her voice: “Chara said my nurse had told her I’d died, and she apologized to me for how she acted whenever she visited the orphanage or the castle kitchens.” The human’s face had the hard, bitter expression Sans recognized from the time she’d caught him trying to escape. “She was so sweet to all the other children, and then she looked at me like I was some kind of diseased rat! She said it was because I reminded her of her little girl and it made her sad, and she didn’t know it was actually me!”

“There!” Toriel exclaimed. “You see? The nurse wanted to hide the King’s child for her own gain, and—”

“Chara knew who I was all along!” bellowed Frisk, and it was the goat monster’s turn to step back. “She knew damn well that I was alive! Why else would she pay my foster mother a hundred dinar every month for ten years? How did she know to check in on me every so often to see if I still existed? Why’d she leave me to be beaten and starved half to death while she kept the thousands my father gave her to support us both and did whatever she liked?!”

“How dare you say that? My child would never have—”

“She would, and she did! I’m sorry, Toriel, but she lied to everyone, especially you! Chara abandoned me until I was useful for something besides money, and she tore your family apart to punish Asgore for being right about her!”

“ENOUGH!” roared Toriel. She made a violent gesture, flame sizzling through the air. “I will not hear any more of this! Do you understand, High Priestess?! Whatever you may think happened, I know my daughter, and I know what she was and was not capable of! If you’re going to insist on slandering her any further, perhaps it would be better for you to l—”

The echoes died. The fury in Toriel’s gaze was gone, a hand coming back to her mouth.

“Better for me to what, Lady Toriel?” Frisk asked, so gently that Sans cringed. “Should—” Her throat worked. “Should I leave the Underground? Are you going to send me away again?”

Toriel didn’t have the chance to reply. A barrier screamed to life overhead, and constricted until it formed a dome around them only about twenty feet across and fifteen feet high. “All right. I understand,” said Frisk.

Undyne reacted first, pushing Alphys to the floor and stuffing her under the table. “Frisk!” snapped the fish monster. “Calm down, okay? She didn’t mean it!”

“She didn’t mean to say I was lying?” Frisk inquired, her voice suddenly rising to a shriek: “She didn’t mean to tell me to get out?”

“Frisk!” Sans tried to grab her shoulder, only for a flare of gold to warn him away. “C’mon, sweetheart! Ya gotta stop it! We can talk about this!”

“We just did, Sans!” He had seen her in pain before, but it was nothing compared to the wild-eyed stare she turned on him now. “We talked about it because you couldn’t wait to show everyone who I was! Thank you so much for helping me have this difficult conversation! We’ve finally answered the question of whether someone else I love is going to call me a liar!”

Sans’ SOUL already hurt so much that it took a moment to remember what she—oh, God. She meant when she’d told him she was Kris, and he’d scoffed at her until she stripped down to prove it. Now she’d been forced to reveal her identity to Toriel in the least natural way possible, and she didn’t believe her, either. “Frisk—”

She was smiling, but in a very unhinged way. “No, I should really be thanking you. Life is so much simpler now! I don’t have to waste any more time and energy wondering if I should feel worthless, because the closest person to a real mother I’ve ever had just told me so!”

Sans couldn’t answer: he had to fling himself backward before a cascade of sparks hit him in the face. Frisk drifted away a few steps and sank to her knees, hands still clenched on the envelope in her lap. “It’s fine,” she mumbled at the floor. “Food, presents, bubbles—I already gave you everything I have. If you don’t want me anymore, then…”

Toriel was rooted to the spot, chest heaving. The barrier sank lower, nearly grazing her horns, and Undyne rushed to sling her under the table as more sparks flew. “Sans!” the Captain shouted over the crackle and hiss of human magic.

The skeleton glared down at Toriel, and shook his head as she tried to speak. Frisk was too far gone—anything else the goat monster said would just aggravate her further, assuming she could even hear it.

Meanwhile, the dome was slowly closing in on them, and they couldn’t do a damn thing about it. If he tried to touch Frisk now, she’d just shove more magic at him; not only would that hurt like hell, it’d trap them all between two layers of barrier. He yelled her name again, but she didn’t move.

Shit! Why hadn’t Alphys warned him sooner? Why hadn’t Undyne kept her goddamn mouth shut about the letter? And if Toriel couldn’t accept right away that everything she knew was wrong and Chara was even worse than Sans had imagined, couldn’t she have found a way to deny it without completely destroying Frisk?!

Why hadn’t he—

No, all that mattered right now was getting through to her. The light surrounded them in blinding golden pulses, the barrier crackling like…

Humming. The barrier was making a hell of a lot of noise, and it…didn’t sound like her humming at all. Why was he thinking of that now?

…Because the last time his magic had been out of control, in his prison cell, she’d calmed him down by humming. But he hadn’t even heard her at first; he’d only snapped out of it when she touched his blaster – the physical embodiment of his magic – with her bare hand. He never did explain to her what a no-no that was…

Sans looked at his hand. He looked at his priestess, curled in on herself, lost in misery. The golden dome was so close to the crown of his skull that he could feel his whole body screaming at him to run.

The giant skeleton looked Toriel in the eye. Then he squeezed his sockets shut, lifted his arm, and placed his hand flat on the barrier.

Something…happened.

One second, the pressure in Frisk’s head was intolerable, grief and despair rising to a fever pitch, spurred by the determination to keep the monsters here until they changed their minds, till they were sorry. Then—

The sensation could only be likened to someone running their finger down the inside of her chest, the most strange and intimate thing she’d ever felt. It should have been horrible, or at least uncomfortable, but…

But it didn’t feel invasive. It felt like someone giving her heart a gentle nudge, saying in a familiar, gravelly baritone, “’s all right, Frisk. It’s gonna be okay. I promise. But you gotta stop now, ‘kay?”

The feeling slipped away. She stirred, trying to get it back; Frisk opened her eyes and—

Sans. Her chest gave a happy little shiver as she saw him looking down at her. He was standing nearby, giving her a strained smile and…and touching—the barrier—

Fear jolted her fully awake. Frisk whistled as hard as she could, and the searing golden light vanished. Her whole body ached, but it was nothing compared with what she glimpsed as Sans lowered his arm. “Oh, God! Sans—”

“Hey, kitten,” mumbled the boss monster. He had to stifle a grunt, shuffling hastily to turn his back to her. “Tori, could I…get a hand with this? Heh…ow…”

Frisk tried to get up from where she was kneeling, or at least stop shaking. Green light shone around Sans’ huge form, but she barely noticed; all she could see in her mind’s eye were his blackened metacarpals, the smaller bones not just burned, but partially melted by her magic.

Her legs refused to work. Frisk dropped the envelope and shuffled herself around in a half circle to see if anyone else was hurt, and whether they had seen her nearly kill her poor skeleton. No one was here…

“Aww, darn. You were so close.”

…except for a voice that felt like spiders crawling into her brain. The demon-child sat on the edge of a nearby table, shaking its head at her and sighing. Then it gave her an encouraging grin. “Oh, well. That was still fun—just like old times. Don’t worry, you’ll get ‘em someday!”

Someone moved behind her. Frisk blinked hard, then shuddered, and pushed herself up onto her feet, standing with her back to the demon.

Undyne was climbing out from under their table and offering a webbed hand to Alphys. “Undyne?” The human moved gingerly toward them. “Are you two all right?”

The Captain’s eye widened, and her arm shot out, protecting Alphys from…from what? Frisk glanced around them, looking for—

Her. Undyne was protecting Alphys from her.

And why not? Hadn’t she done exactly what the monsters feared most—trapped them with a barrier, maimed someone, and nearly killed them? Even Undyne was afraid of her now!

Frisk shouldn’t have gotten up: she felt her body go heavy, legs giving way. She was only vaguely aware that she was going to fall, and that Undyne was hesitating, moving too late to catch her.

A soft, tingling sensation stopped her just short of the marble floor, lifting her higher into the air. To her dismay, she was enveloped in red magic, and Sans was reaching for her; Frisk tried to say, “No, don’t—”

His arms closed around her, strong and safe, his injured hand settling her against his shoulder. The other drew his coat over her legs; a shaky phalange ran through her hair, and a shakier voice rumbled, “Y’okay, sweetheart?”

Frisk wound her arms around his neck as tight as they’d go, not caring how his vertebrae dug into her flesh. She was too numb to cry, and she didn’t have the strength to ask what he was doing, or why he was anywhere near her. All she could do was hang on.

Undyne cleared her throat. “She…is she okay now?”

“She’ll be fine,” snapped the giant skeleton, and immediately stroked Frisk’s hair again as she trembled. “Shh, s’alright,” he murmured.

“Sans,” Toriel said brokenly. “I—”

The world tipped and swerved as Sans shifted his weight, turning them away. “C’mon, kitten. Let’s go home.”

“To your house?” Undyne was still shaken, but Frisk heard a warning note in her voice. “Look, I know you’re really emotional right now, but she’s not in any condition to—”

“To sleep!” he snarled. “I’m takin’ ‘er home, and we’re gonna sleep! Good fuckin’ night!”

A tiny part of Frisk wanted to tell him to be nice, but she couldn’t even stay conscious. The last thing she heard was Toriel’s cry of “Sans, wait!” before his magic rushed them through space. Then—

On her third day at the convent, they finally made her leave her room.

Frisk kept her eyes on the ground, letting the matron steer her down a hall and out into a courtyard full of chattering girls. The noise dropped a little as they saw her, but when Frisk stayed by the wall, there was a collective shrug, and the chatter resumed.

The wind was howling. Frisk wiped her nose on the sleeve of her new uniform, wondering dully if it was going to snow out here. The drifts in front of Sans and Papyrus’ house never seemed to go down, no matter how often they tossed her into them.

Did they miss her yet? Did they even know she was gone? Or had the accident—

“Excuse me?”

Frisk looked up. Through her tears, she saw a group of older girls standing in front of her, with a grownup right behind—the Sister must have ordered them to come be nice to the new girl. Sure enough, the speaker was holding out a handkerchief, looking kind and concerned. “Thank you,” Frisk whispered, taking it and wiping her eyes.

“It’s all right. I know I was very sad when I first got here,” the girl said, a little too loud. She smiled, and Frisk tried not to shudder—she’d gotten so used to monsters that the girl’s pretty blue eyes, golden hair, and rosy skin looked fake, like a doll.

The grownup nodded approval and moved away to yell at another group for telling dirty jokes. Immediately, the blonde girl’s smile sharpened, and she wrinkled her nose. “Keep it,” she said curtly.

That was bad, but at least Frisk had expected it. What really hurt was when the group moved off and the girl said to her friends, “Oh my God, her hair! And did you see her eyes? She looks like a rabbit!”

The snickering felt like a scab being ripped off Frisk’s heart. “Geez, Mathilda,” another girl said quietly.

“Well, it’s true! They’re not supposed to be red! Is she cursed or something?” Laughter. “I’m serious! We all need to say extra prayers tonight!”

…

Would it have changed anything if Frisk had remembered that conversation? Soon after, the King visited and told her everything – how he had thought Chara was at least providing her with basic necessities, and he would be sure she never lacked for anything again – and when she worsened, they decided to remove her memories; the Mother Superior had repeated the most relevant facts about her father and her future education, and Frisk had accepted her new life.

As far as Frisk knew, the first time she met her best friend was soon afterward, when Mathilda switched places with someone to sit next to her at lunch. “Hello. You must be Frisk,” she said, smiling. “Do you, um…”

Frisk watched her in puzzlement. Why was Mathilda Owen bothering to speak to her?

Mathilda fidgeted. “Never mind. I just wanted to say hello.” Why did she look so guilty? Her friends were watching, whispering anxiously to each other, as though something important was at stake. “Would you like to come and sit with us? I hate to see you all by yourself.”

As soon as she figured out that it wasn’t a cruel prank, and she really was making friends with the most beautiful and kind-hearted girl in the entire school, Frisk was too happy to question things further. It took her a long time to realize that everyone knew why the King had been here, and that everyone wanted his daughter to like them, especially Mathilda.

Even then, Frisk had decided not to care. As long as she could earn their friendship by being kind and helpful, did it really matter how it’d started? It wasn’t as if she was only worth something because of her father.

…It wasn’t.

…Finally.

She shook the ruby droplets from the kitchen knife, wondering idly why he was the only monster who ever bled, then kicked the dust aside. It was time to move on.

Frisk awoke in a rush of adrenaline and half-remembered nightmares. It was dark; she thought for a moment that she’d been buried alive, then realized that something huge and leathery was draped over her entire body. No golden twilight through the windows, no blood, no dust…

Ugh. Her mouth tasted like a warm sock, and her head throbbed the way it always did when she’d used too much magic. With great care, the human slithered out of her warm prison for a look around.

She was in Sans’ room, lying on his outgrown mattress, his overcoat loosely wrapped around her. The lamp was on, but he’d draped an old shirt over it to diffuse the light into a soft glow, giving the cold, messy space a warmer aspect; in fact, the golden haze reminded her of—

A barrier.

Chills swept through her, clearing her head of other thoughts like a blast of frigid air. It wasn’t just a nightmare: she had used a barrier against monsters inside the Underground. There was no coming back from that, no excusing or explaining it away.

Even if Toriel hadn’t really meant it at the time, her order to leave would probably become reality. Her friends might not entirely blame her for lashing out, but there was still no way they could trust her anymore—after she had hurt Sans like that, she’d be angry if he did trust her!

Frisk slowly eased herself back down inside the coat, as if she could hide from what she’d done. In her bitter, selfish regret, she didn’t even think of what this meant for her peace efforts; all she knew was that the Underground was the only place she’d ever really belonged – her birthplace – and she had lost any right to be here. Back to the humans, then, and her suffocating routine of work, exhaustion, and loneliness, secretly hoping that maybe, if she could be useful enough, someone would love her for more than her money or her pedigree and stay. If she could just be good enough—

Well, obviously, she couldn’t.

Frisk wasn’t going to cry again. She was tired of crying about things in general, and in this case, there was no possible way to make herself feel better. Why bother making her headache worse and her sleeves all soggy again? She just burrowed deeper into the huge leather coat, willing her mind to subside into comfortable nothingness; at least she was good at that.

It usually helped to have something small to focus on, so Frisk unhooked her itchy black choker and scratched her neck, flushing at the memory of flirting with Sans in front of everyone. Then came her boots, her stockings, and her earrings…

…which weren’t there. The priestess frowned, fingering her earlobes. She didn’t remember taking them out. Had they come off while she was asleep?

Wait a moment. Sans had put her here, hadn’t he? Her satchel was close by; Frisk stuck her arm out until she could pull it over and peek inside. Sure enough, not only had the boss monster removed her earrings for her, he’d left them atop her folded clothes, where they were both safe and easily found.

For some reason, that one little thing, that bit of care and attention, was the last straw. She took a deep breath, only for it to catch as a huge sob tore loose, partly muffled by his coat. Then another, and—

Sans was suddenly standing by the mattress. “Frisk!” He sat down hard. “Frisk, it’s okay, don’t—”

The human forgot that he was supposed to be scared of her. Moving on pure instinct, she flung the coat aside and launched herself up at him, letting his shirt absorb the first wave of tears. “Aww,” he murmured, folding his arms over her back and cradling her head in one massive palm. “C’mon, sweetheart, ya don’t hafta cry. Everythin’s fine now.”

Frisk pressed her face into his clavicle, furiously shaking her head. It was important to explain to him that nothing was fine and it was absolutely correct for her to be crying, but she was crying too hard to get the words out.

Sans gave a large, soft sigh, carrying her outward and back in. “It’s okay,” he repeated, his voice rumbling throughout her body. She shook her head again, and he ran the side of his finger down her back. “Yuh-huh, it is. Calm down.”

She didn’t want to calm down, but as he kept petting her, Frisk’s sobs slowed down a little. The boss monster made a sound deep in his chest, and she answered him with one that made him squeeze her tighter.

There was that magnetic feeling again, as though she was completely stuck to him. This time, though, she wasn’t frightened. And this time, she felt something else: another sensation was stealing over her, so slowly that she thought it might just be her imagination. It was similar to when he’d accidentally given her his magic, but this didn’t seem accidental, and it wasn’t exactly magic…

She’d felt it when he touched the barrier, and here it was again, washing over her in gentle waves: guilt and anger at himself for kicking off the whole incident, anxiety for her, and…well. He didn’t think she was worthless, or dangerous, or that she needed to do a single thing to deserve forgiveness. His hand didn’t even hurt anymore. …Much.

Even if it did, he still loved her.

Frisk shook her head again, but her sobs grew slower and weaker, gradually coming to a stop. The human leaned away long enough to sniff back a giant wad of snot, then sought a dry patch of his shirt to wipe her eyes. She wasn’t sure how he was doing this, but she wasn’t going to question it right now. “Hand?” she croaked.

Sans was quiet. He grunted, then held his palm up. “It ain’t that bad. Looks kinda like a frowny face. See?”

The priestess gulped, raising her own fingers to trace the pattern of deep swirls and grooves her magic had left in the living bones. “Can…” Frisk had to swallow a few more times before she could whisper, “Can you still move them?”

He paused. She felt a closing-off sort of twinge in her chest, as though he’d decided to stop sharing his feelings so he could fib: “Yeah, pretty much.” His metacarpals waggled back and forth, the smallest of them longer than her entire hand. She poked the base of his thumb and forefinger, where a good two or three inches of bone were fused together. “That doesn’t count,” he said stubbornly.

Frisk shuddered, turning to rest her cheek near the top of his sternum. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Do ya wanna talk about it?”

“I don’t know,” she said, and winced as her head throbbed. “What time is it?”

“Last I checked, it was about seven o’clock,” he replied, petting her hair again. “I got up maybe half an hour ago an’ healed you, just in case.” Tap, tap. “How’s yer hangover?”

“…Not that bad, actually.” Frisk yawned. She’d missed being with him so much that it felt like a waste to just sleep, but it was hard to argue with the results. After all she’d had to drink last night, and then…the incident, she was amazed that she only had a headache and an icky mouth. “Thank you for that. It feels like I got much more than five or six hours.”

Sans chuckled, tapping her head again. “That’s ‘cause it’s seven in the evening, kitten. I think we slept about eighteen hours.”

Frisk’s eyes shot open. “Are you serious?” She leaned back enough to look him in the face. “Is that even possible? I—”

The words faded as their eyes met. Frisk figured she must look pretty awful, but he wasn’t much better. “Did I miss a spot?” he asked gruffly.

The human nodded, reaching up to brush at the dried red on the corners of his sockets. Sans leaned into her touch as she rubbed his cheekbone. “You’re supposed to be a big boy now,” she scolded the giant skeleton. “Do I need to—”

Memory hit her again like a fist. Sans jumped as Frisk suddenly yanked her hand away, trying to push herself off him. “Hey!” he protested. “What’re you—wouldja hold on a damn minute?!” More by reflex than design, his hand tightened around her back, keeping her in place. “It was an accident, goddammit! You’re not gonna do it again!”

“No, it wasn’t!” Frisk thumped his shoulder with her tiny fist. “You don’t understand!” Thump. “It wasn’t an accident! I was so angry, I wanted to keep everyone there, and I didn’t want to control it! I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t stopped me!”

Sans started. “That little fucker,” the skeleton whispered, as if he’d realized something very profound. “I know what it was, Frisk. That goddamn thing was right there! I saw it a minute before the whole name thing started! I dunno if it made me drop the letter so you’d freak out, or if it was plannin’ something else, but it wanted you to go nuts! That’s why—”

“No! It wasn’t!” Thump. Thump. “Are you even listening?! It was me! I did it on purpose!” Thump. “I was already…” Frisk shuddered, shaking her head again as more emotions boiled to the surface. “Do you know how scared I’ve been? We’re halfway through our visit, and I haven’t even talked to anyone about ending slavery! I’ve just been thinking of how to tell Asgore and Toriel about Chara, whether they’d believe me and if I’ve been selfish to keep back something that could help make peace—I had no idea their estrangement was because Asgore knew Chara was lying about me! And I missed you so much—” His arms tightened, and Frisk caught herself on another sob. “I don’t want to go, Sans!”

“No one’s makin’ you go anywhere!” He gave her a very light shake. “We all know you, Frisk! Ya think anyone’s sittin’ there thinkin’, ‘Welp, that was inevitable, let’s go ahead ‘n toss ‘er out now’? Or d’ya think we feel like shit ‘cause we kept pokin’ you till you couldn’t take it anymore?”

“How can you say that?” she demanded. “It doesn’t matter how badly I was provoked! I wouldn’t let you get away with attacking me just because you were angry!”

“Y’already did. Remember?” He stroked her back with one knuckle. “You coulda done anythin’ you wanted once I quit tryin’ ta murder you, and ya put me to bed ‘n fed me.”

…Damn it. “That’s not the same thing! I—”

“Frisk.” His phalange brushed her cheek. “Yer the one who’s not listenin’. No one is makin’ you leave. We’re gonna talk about it with everybody, there’s gonna be a big damn fight over who’s the most sorry, an’ we’re gonna figure out how to get you in to see Asgore. You’re gonna say whatever you need to about Chara and lay out yer big plan to make everything all better. If he doesn’t wanna do it, we’ll figure somethin’ else out before we leave.” His hand rested on her back like a shield. “And I’m gonna quit actin’ like all I hafta do is stay outta yer way an’ let you do everything. From now on, I want you ta tell me if somethin’s botherin’ you before ya go crazy.” Squeeze. “Any questions?”

Frisk thought about it as she sniffled. “Yes. Why couldn’t you have been this sweet when I gave you the stupid chessboard?”

He snorted. “Yer startin’ ta sound like me!” Pause. Shrug. “Short answer? It was pretty much the best thing I ever got, and I didn’t know what to say.”

“Whatever happened to ‘Thank you,’ Sans?” Thump. “I was really looking forward to you opening your gift, and you couldn’t wait to get away from it!”

“I know, I know!” His shoulders hunched again. “’m sorry! I…wanted ta jump you, but that wasn’t exactly an option. I didn’t know what else ta do!”

How could he make her want to hug and slap him so badly? “Well, putting that aside, do you plan to spend the rest of your life running off when you get embarrassed?”

“I wasn’t—” He caught himself and scowled. “I dunno. Just…sorry I was shitty about the chess stuff. It was amazing, and thank you a lot for it. Okay?”

He was so exasperatingly cute that Frisk had to bite her lip. “All right, then. You’re welcome. I…”

Rrrrgggrgrgl.

They both froze as her stomach rumbled. Frisk made a sheepish sound, and Sans chuckled. “Right. I was in the middle of makin’ a couple sandwiches when I came up.”

Frisk nodded. “Where’s Papyrus?” She wiped her eyes again. “Please don’t say he’s planning to make dinner.”

“Nope! I left a note on the door tellin’ him and Undyne ta stay at the inn tonight. I said we’d meet ‘em at the Ruins tomorrow morning.”

They were going to be alone tonight? The priestess felt light-headed, her cheeks burning. Sans must have been thinking the same thing, because she could’ve sworn his bones were getting warmer. “Time ta eat,” he mumbled, and a blink later, they were in the living room.

Still in his arms, Frisk turned her head to survey the kitchen table. He’d set out a loaf of bread, some cheese, tomatoes, and a few other things, obviously dropped when he’d heard her crying. Frisk thought about it, then snuggled back into Sans. There was food, and she was starving, but he was right here, too; she didn’t know which she wanted more at the moment.

Another rumble from her stomach settled the question. “Off ya go,” he said reluctantly, and Frisk sighed, moving her hand down to push free of their stuck-togetherness.

Sans suddenly made a strangled sound. Frisk didn’t understand it, or why his hand had flexed to avoid squashing her, until she looked down: she’d accidentally reached in between his ribs, pushing his shirt through and wrapping her fingers most of the way around his middle rib.

She’d never put her hands inside his ribcage, assuming it was basically a private part, and it seemed she was right. Just like that, his breathing had grown ragged, his bones trembling as her hand tightened. There was no misinterpreting his physical reaction; she could imagine how his instincts to comfort and protect her were deepening into much more raw emotion…

…because it was completely mutual. The young woman tugged lightly on his rib, and felt him shudder again. “Frisk,” he muttered. “Knock it off.”

Frisk moved just enough to brush her cheek against his jawbone. “What?” One finger slid along the bone toward his sternum. “This?”

Sans’ entire frame jerked. “Yes, that!” He caught her wrist in the curl of his index finger. “If I was a human, it’d be like stickin’ yer hand down my pants!”

“You don’t want me to?” she asked, very matter-of-fact.

Sans’ arm across her back was almost hurting her. Not tight enough, then. “Frisk,” he said warningly.

“I’m serious.” She licked her lips, feeling heat spread through her, chasing away the sorrow and anger. “My period’s over, the house is empty, and your magic doesn’t have any negativity at all right now.” Her free hand drifted toward his sternum. “We both need this, Sans. Don’t tell me you’re not interested.”

“I’m not sayin’ that!” To her bewilderment, he seized her with his magic and set her on the couch with a butt-tingling thump. “Just… I want you so bad, I’m about to lose my damn mind!” His entire skull was bright red. “But you’re still messed up from somethin’ that only happened ‘cause I was bein’ a dumbass, an’ I’m not gonna do it when you’re not thinkin’ straight! That would be fuckin’ wrong! Got it?” Despite himself, he stepped closer to touch her cheek. “’Sides, there’s somethin’ we’ve really gotta talk about first. The letter from yer dad is…”

He trailed off as her face twitched. “What?” he asked suspiciously.

“So, you…” Frisk knew this was not the time, but she couldn’t keep the words from bubbling up: “You’d be…fucking wrong?” Her body was trembling again, this time with the urge to giggle. “You already went the extra mile and figured out how to be my size. I’m pretty sure that means you can do it correctly now!”

“Frisk,” he said, scandalized, and covered his face as she snrrrked. “God damn it, woman, I’m tryin’ ta be serious here!”

She didn’t answer, at least not out loud. Sans took one look at her face and gave his scariest growl. “No.”

“But—”

“Frisk.”

“But are you—”

“Friiiiisk—”

A long pause. Frisk sighed in resignation, shrugging one shoulder.

Sans nodded. “Okay. Now, for real, Frisk, I’m—”

“—fucking serious?”

The dam broke: one moment, they were staring each other down, and then they burst into hysterical, snorting laughter. Frisk was sobbing again, but for the right reason, dammit; Sans let his forehead thunk on the floor, trying desperately to stop long enough to say something, only to end up laughing harder.

Eventually, out of sheer weakness, they had to slow down, and reached a point where they could almost breathe normally. “Shit,” rasped Sans, and wiped his eyes on his sleeves. “Oh my God, I love you.”

Frisk’s breath caught, her heart coming to a standstill. She sat up, watching the skeleton realize what he’d said. His sockets widened, but he looked straight at her, almost defiantly. “What?” There went the red again. He looked away…and back. “’s true,” he said, very quietly.

There was no telling what she might have done if Sans hadn’t pushed to his feet and waved his hand at the table. The bread knife started sawing away, cutting the loaf into sandwich slices and assembling the ingredients. “We need ta eat somethin’, an’ then I should go track yer letter down,” he mumbled, trying to rub the color off his skull. “I dunno if someone picked it up, or if it got left up there, or what. You can get some time to yerself—take a bath or somethin’.”

A bath sounded good, decided the one functional corner of her mind. She accepted the glass of water and mostly-tomato sandwich he wafted over to her a moment later, ignoring his muttered apologies for its crappiness. Nor did she pay much heed when he said something else, tapped a knuckle on her shoulder, and winked out of sight.

Alone for the first time in several days, Frisk finished her sandwich. She put the dishes in the sink, went upstairs, and ran a very hot bath, staring at the steam rising from the water. Then she went to Sans’ room, removed all her clothes, and lay down to wrap herself in his overcoat again. She hadn’t touched herself since before they left the castle, and she was even more worked up now than she’d been the night she made herself clear to Sans; being in his room, with the feeling of his bones and everything he’d said to her fresh in her mind, anticipating time to themselves at last—that was more than her body could handle. So…

It took so little time that the water was still hot when Frisk stumbled back into the bathroom. She left the door open a crack before she got in the tub, because…the steam…had to escape. Yes. The door needed to be open. For the steam.

Frisk knew exactly when Sans returned; to her disappointment, she heard an embarrassed mutter in the hall, and the door clicked shut. Just because she could, Frisk splashed louder, whistling his favorite song and letting the notes linger than she probably had to. She let the water out, also loudly, and kept humming as she dried herself and got dressed.

Sans was obviously on his guard when she came downstairs, which was wise: she was wearing his old clothes again, hands in the pockets of his zipped-up blue jacket, though she hadn’t had the nerve to put on any socks. He gave her one glance, reddened again, and turned his head, shoving the golden envelope at her. “Here.”

Frisk swallowed. “Thank you.” She studied the envelope for a moment, then tossed it on the couch and advanced on him. “I’m feeling much better now, so—”

“Nope!” Sans skipped away fast enough to make her yelp a little. He held up his good hand, as if to ward her off. “Dammit, Frisk, I mean it when I say I’m not gonna fuck you yet! Sit down and listen!”

Startled, the human sank onto the couch. Sans scratched the back of his head, collecting his thoughts. “Okay. So. Gaster gave me that thing, an’ he told me what’s in it.” He shut his eyes. “First thing: your King’s been talkin’ about you all over the place. Everyone—all the humans know Chara was yer mom.”

Frisk’s stomach lurched. “I see,” she murmured. Sans watched anxiously as she blew out a long breath. “Well, at least if I start throwing barriers at humans, it won’t frighten them.”

Sans chuckled. “Nope. They’d think it was neat,” he agreed.

The priestess thought it over, and decided that this particular problem could go back on the shelf for now. “Did someone see the letter and start spreading the word?”

“Yep. Gaster says yer dad’s pissed off, and that’s his way of bein’ passive-aggressive.” He indicated the envelope. “He fixed up a bunch of legal stuff with your name all over it.”

“‘Legal stuff’?” Frisk scowled. “Am I being arrested for theft?” She almost hoped so; that was a fight she’d enjoy winning. “If I am, I swear I will burn down the entire—”

“Nope. Just the opposite.” The skeleton took a deep, deep breath. “He…”

Watching his face, it suddenly clicked. “He wants to adopt me?” she asked crisply.

Blink. “…Uh.” Blink. “…yes?” Emphatic blink. “How the hell did you know?”

Her teeth clenched, all her muscles knotting at once, and then she let it go with a sigh. “He hinted at it a few times back when I was teaching Gaius magic. It’s been so long, I forgot all about it.” Mostly. “The poor boy isn’t going to live long enough to have his own heirs, and my older siblings are almost all gone, so… I was hoping His Majesty would name one of his more distant relatives, or pick another of his children.”

“Well, you’re the best he’s got.” Frisk flushed as Sans sat down against the opposite wall. “Is that a normal thing fer humans? You’re gettin’ old and yer official kid is kinda puny, so you grab a backup?”

Frisk crossed her legs, absently enjoying his reaction. “It’s uncommon, but it’s happened before in order to keep a particular bloodline going.” She picked up the envelope and broke the wax seal. “I’ll bet you a million dinar my father says he’s invited Luke and Mathilda back to the castle with their family. He went to school with Luke’s father, so he probably wants to get reacquainted before they announce our engagement.”

The boss monster watched in silence as she pulled out a sheaf of expensive papers, setting aside the copies of her ducal investiture and adoption decree. Frisk unfolded the handwritten letter, read it over carefully, and nodded. “You owe me a million dinar.”

He didn’t laugh. “See? If you end up havin’ my kid, it’s probably not gonna improve yer chances of bein’ Queen someday and gettin’ to set everything right for everyone.” Sans shrugged, eyes on the floor. “Not the kinda thing I can ask you to give up just so I can get laid.”

Warmth bloomed in her chest and rekindled in her middle, where she was still sensitive from her personal time upstairs. “I’m not giving anything up. I don’t want to be Queen,” she said calmly. “I want to become the humans’ ambassador to the monster race and set up an embassy somewhere close by—maybe at the farm on the river.” She set the papers aside and got to her feet, her entire body humming. “And if I do have a child, I’m going to love it and raise it, no matter how hard things get…even if it’s only half human.”

Sans’ eyes went blank. “…Frisk?”

The High Priestess’ heart was pounding so hard that she wondered if he could hear it as she crossed the room. She stopped in front of him, and held her hand out. “Will you stay with me, Sans?”

His hand came up to engulf hers and tug her against him, even as he shook his head. “Ya can’t decide somethin’ like that so quick,” Sans protested. Frisk leaned in just hard enough for him to feel her breasts through the thick blue jacket, and he shuddered. “I-I mean, believe me, I understand bein’ horny, but—”

Frisk reached up to rap on his cheekbone with her knuckles. “Excuse me, sir, but my mind has been made up since I opened the box.” She turned to press her lips to his phalanges. “Take me to your room, please.”

The light in his sockets dilated nearly all the way. Massive hands closed around her, and the world suddenly rushed by, depositing them by the door in his room. His magic pulled the mattress out to the center of the floor, straightening his overcoat in lieu of sheets or a blanket; the skeleton released her and glanced around for a moment, visibly regretting that they weren’t in a more romantic or at least clean environment. “Close yer eyes,” he mumbled.

Frisk complied, feeling and hearing him compress his huge frame down to human size. She opened her eyes just in time for Sans to pull her down to the mattress, setting her in his lap with her calves draped over his femurs. As before, he didn’t seem to care how his clothes hung off him; he simply yanked his sleeves back, then slipped his arm around her waist, the other running through her hair as he mouthed her neck.

That was a good start; the priestess wound her arms around him as Sans pulled her even closer. She made a delicate little sound as he slid his tongue into her mouth, his movements slow and gentle until she deliberately nipped him.

He nearly snarled at her, one hand gripping the small of her back and the other tangling in her hair. Frisk almost purred at the twinges in her scalp, letting him hold her in place as the kiss grew rougher and his fangs grazed her lip. She couldn’t believe how easily this was coming to her, how gratifying it was—all it took was a few little sighs, soft touches, and complete sexual abandon. Who knew?

It was more than a physical urge, though. She couldn’t even guess which of them needed this more, to be held and explored, valued, accepted—

The hand on her back had crept under her jacket, finding the hem of her shirt and then encountering bare skin. Frisk shivered pleasurably at the feel of bones gliding up her side, and at the disbelieving sound he made. “Holy shit,” breathed Sans. “You’re so soft.” His nasal ridge dropped back to the crook of her neck; he inhaled so deeply that she felt a rush of cold on her damp skin. “You smell amazing—” His tongue ran across her throat, his teeth sinking just hard enough to make her whimper and reach up to caress his skull. “I don’t…are ya really sure about this?”

Sighing inwardly, the priestess nuzzled the side of his vertebrae; he sucked in his breath as her tongue ran over the dry bone. Her legs shifted toward him, hips scooting closer as she guided his hands to her waist. Sans accepted the invitation, hitching up his baggy trousers and carefully grinding his pelvis into her so that she could feel his magic more directly.

It was one thing to have undergone a comprehensive scientific education and read dozens upon dozens of romance novels, and quite another to actually feel male parts…or magical facsimiles. The eternal, universal question sprang to mind: how was anything that size supposed to fit in her? That couldn’t be right. If she didn’t know better, she’d dismiss the whole idea as an elaborate prank, and childbirth as some kind of optical illusion. But…

Frisk ducked her head into his shoulder, face burning as his fingers combed through her hair. Luckily, Sans was oblivious. “’s not fair,” he murmured above her. “Everythin’ about you feels nice, ‘n I’m just a buncha gross bones.”

Frisk gave a disapproving snort—this, she could handle. “Here, give me your hand.” Ignoring her hot cheeks, she took his wrist and slid his hand up under her jacket, unable to suppress a tremor as his phalanges traced the underside of her breast. “If I thought you were ‘gross,’ would I be letting you do this?”

There was no telling what Sans thought: his powers of speech had degenerated into a series of incoherent sounds. To her irritation, he withdrew his hand and grabbed at the bottom of her jacket, desperate to pull it over her head…only to blink in confusion as Frisk snrked at him, leaning back and helpfully tapping the zipper.

As it turned out, the joke was on her. In another split-second, Sans had the jacket unzipped and the sleeves pulled straight down her arms, the whole thing tossed aside; before she knew what had happened, he was crushing her against him, his hands back under her white shirt, palms sweeping along her sides and up across her back—

In the heat of the moment, both of them had forgotten about her scars. Frisk tensed as his hands passed over the rough skin, and he stopped dead. “This okay?” he inquired after a moment, giving her a few experimental pets. “Doesn’t feel too weird, does it?”

The young woman shook her head, resting it on his shoulder and reminding herself that he’d already seen them. There was nothing to worry about or feel ashamed of. “You can touch it if you want. It doesn’t feel like much of anything anymore—the nerve endings are gone.”

Sans ground his teeth. “Are ya sure I can’t go kill that bitch?”

Purely on instinct, Frisk placed her slender fingers between his upper ribs, near his sternum; his eyes widened further as she pulled herself the rest of the way onto his bony, baggy-trousered lap. “Please don’t,” she said against his jaw. “I think we have better things to d—”

In one motion, Sans pulled her shirt up to her collarbone and hitched her forward to lay them both down on the mattress. With her face aflame and her heart galloping harder than ever, Frisk stayed still as he rose on one elbow to look her over, jaws parting to breathe more heavily; but to her surprise, when he reached down, all he did was rest his right palm on her sternum, where they could both feel her heartbeat reverberating through the disfigured bones.

Frisk gradually forget to be embarrassed, or cold, letting him see that she trusted him enough to stay exposed. Sans moved his thumb a little, and without thinking, she rested her hand on his, playing with the gaps between his joints. They were both content to stay that way for a few quiet moments, studying the contrast between her skin and his bones.

Soon, though, he had to lean down again to kiss her, and his hand turned to stroke her breast with the backs of his fingers. Frisk made a soft sound and tried to sit up to demand more; to her surprise, he shook his head and slung his femur across her waist, pinning her to the mattress. “Slow down, kitten,” he muttered. “I don’t wanna go nuts an’ hurt you by accident.”

That was cheating. She was already aroused enough; when she reached down to grab his hand, only to have her wrists corraled and pinned over her head with a trace of red magic, she couldn’t help moaning out loud.

Sans’ orange eyes were fully dilated now. He had sat up and partly turned aside, but couldn’t look away from her writhing and urgent noises. “What’d I just say?!” he snapped.

“I can’t help it!” Frisk squirmed again. “Let me go, and I’ll stop! Please!”

With unnatural speed, Sans released her and kicked off his trousers. His full weight flattened her to the mattress, and something pressed very distinctively into her stomach; Frisk tried to look down between their bodies, but his baggy shirt was blocking her view. Was it red like the rest of his magic, or—

His fingers caught her chin, making her look up at him. “Okay, kitten. You ready?” He let go long enough to hook his phalanges in the waistband of her black-and-white-striped pants, and rested his forehead on hers. “I…” He exhaled, his entire body trembling. “I’m just guessin’ on size. Went with somethin’ like this.” His tongue stuck out for a moment. “If it doesn’t work, then—”

“It’s all right, Sans.” Frisk leaned up to kiss his jaw, wiggling her hips to help him remove her last piece of clothing. “Go ahead.”

Sans nodded, taking in the view with his jaws still parted and his eyes burning, but he clearly couldn’t wait any longer. She let him arrange her arms around him, then run his hand over her waist and hips, rubbing her thighs for an appreciative moment before he nudged her legs open.

Either Sans had read up on this process, or the instincts Undyne had mentioned could adapt to human anatomy, because he didn’t even hesitate. He plucked the folds of his shirt out of the way and reached down, and Frisk jumped as something prodded her entrance. She’d gotten a couple of her fingers in there before, but as Sans moved forward into her, she couldn’t help wincing. The pressure quickly grew into discomfort as her body started giving way; she buried her face in Sans’ shirt, and he paused for a second, then leaned in—

Romance novels had absolutely lied to her. The pressure built into sharp, burning pain as he pushed further into her, and Frisk couldn’t hold back a little sob as he moved out, and back in. He shook his head; she tried to tell him it was all right, only to cry out as he sank the rest of the way inside. “God—‘m sorry, Frisk, just—” His hips moved back again, and he started to sit up.

Frisk latched onto his ribs again, legs squeezing his pelvis in the strangest, strongest determination she’d ever felt. She didn’t care if it hurt: he needed her, she needed him, and she’d be damned if she’d let it end yet! “Don’t stop,” she whispered, keenly aware of the effect her voice had on him. Just to be certain, she ran her finger over the back of his skull. “Please?”

There were no more words after that. The boss monster slammed into her again, drawing another near-sob from her. He snarled deep in his throat, hands trembling as they grasped the overcoat behind her head; with a huge effort, he drew out and pushed in more slowly, then stayed still for a moment. Frisk made the mistake of wriggling her hips to try to adjust to the feeling of fullness – of intrusion, really – and he swiftly jerked out and slammed in again.

That was enough for Frisk. She pulled clumsily at him with her legs, and he either took the hint or couldn’t hold back anymore: he snarled in his throat, movements faster and more erratic the closer he came. Frisk held on, ignoring the pain and focusing on the fierce exultation of watching him lose himself in her; when he started to slow down a little, she growled and bit his clavicle as hard as she could, determined to see him finish.

Sure enough, Sans groaned deep in his throat, ending on a snarl; his hips went once—twice—three times more, and his arms locked around her, his entire body shoving her into the mattress as hard as she’d wanted. Frisk let him ride it out for as long as he wanted, waiting till the tension in his limbs finally relaxed and he slumped into her.

Neither one spoke for several minutes. There was no need for him to pull out: she felt his magic vanish, and tried not to breathe too big a sigh of relief. Well, she couldn’t be disappointed in the lack of multiple orgasms or even much pleasure yet—how could she when Sans was lying in her arms, rubbing his face slowly into her neck as his breathing began to slow?

Frisk stroked his skull and shifted her weight where his leg was digging into her, and immediately regretted it as her entire lower half protested. She was going to have many bruises in the morning. They would just have to work on their technique, she thought, resting her cheek on his cranium.

Sans showed no signs of life besides his breathing for several minutes. She was starting to worry a little when he moved his head enough to say, “M’rm.”

The young woman blinked. “Beg pardon?”

He was silent for a long time. “Never mind. I’ll ask ya later.” Sans rose up on his elbow and shakily leaned in to lick her neck again. “Thank you,” he murmured.

There was so much behind it that Frisk didn’t know what to say. Instead, she reached up and pulled his head back down to her breasts, resting his cheekbone over her heart. It made her remember how he’d shared his feelings directly with her before, and what’d happen if he tried that in the middle of sex…

Frisk sighed, closing her eyes. That was another thing to put away for later, to worry about and/or look forward to when she got to it. For now, she closed her eyes, and waited for Sans to say something; then she peeked at him, and saw that she was wasting her time. He was already fast asleep.

#songfell

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dfhkala · 3 years

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Franklyn Flowers offered to take the prince around the camp and introduce him to some of what he called the lads. “You know nothing. After Frank Fontaine's battle with Rapture's security forces ended in death September 12, 1958, his businesses and various assets were seized and taken over by Ryan Industries. Then some of the people from маратонки puma mercedes amg there, and I, went back to A s by this point I m a whole three degrees of separation from my own group of friends. Wine flowed—not the thin pale stuff of Slaver’s Bay but rich sweet vintages from the Arbor and dreamwine from Qarth, flavored with strange spices. Had he stayed, it might well have been him the men turned to after Myles died, instead of Harry Strickland. The funny thing is that even though we don't know what they're going to be, we recognize them when we pass them by.. When the laughter began, the dream dissolved. Carmine Falcone was the crime boss in the city now. It was self-defence,—it was preventing others from murdering me,—it was justifiable, it was even praiseworthy. But even Mauna Loa is not perfectly representative of the whole planet.. Under clear, dark skies, this zodiac constellation will look like two little guys standing here holding hands. I would have done this for nothing!. The Thenns, giants, and the Hornfoot men, dolce gabanna adidași bărbații the cave-dwellers with their filed teeth, and the men of the western shore with their chariots of mustang női cipő árgép bone … all of them were doomed as well. 2.. Actually tried to stay on the ground more than usual and lo and behold he can rebound. It considered to be a healthier way of taking in and utilizing oxygen.. His words sounded gruff and guttural, but Jon heard the music in it and recognized the Old Tongue. BREAKING NEWS: Charlie Gard is given US citizenship by. He was only partly right in his reckoning . Besides, innovative ideas will be welcomed as long as the quality is maintained. There may be some way that I can stop this marriage. Defined ignition intervention additionally enables faster gear shifting than in "Eco" and "Comfort" modes.. I wanted him to smell the alpine freshness of the winter air and to see a blue jay flash against the high, cold sky one more time.. He shrank back against the wall to let me pass; and I remember the strange glitter in his eyes as he looked at me intently.. Many are dead. The greatest affliction I have is the reflection of the sorrow and anxiety my friends will have to endure on my account. At the same time, some of the growth could be offset by melting/compaction in the Baffin and Labrador Sea, as they look pretty filled up..

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pokeprism · 3 years

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Altered End: Chapter 6 (Just Passing Through)

This is the sixth (6th) chapter to my Undertale AU! The raw text is below the cut!

FIRST: Prologue --- PREVIOUS: Rest And Release --- NEXT: Troubling Silence

Frisk is in an odd position at the moment. They had been quietly waiting in the grass, listening in on Papyrus’s talk with Undyne like in the last two runs, but they had to crouch in order to stay hidden, thanks to their new height. Chara had been doing much the same, but thanks to their pseudo-ghostly status, there wasn’t any worry about them making the grass rustle. However, there was a teeny, tiny little problem for both Frisk and Chara. There was a third person in their midst, Monster Kid, and they had taken a singular step, alerting both Undyne and Papyrus to their presence.

Undyne summons her spear, quickly toward the grass, ready to pick out any motion she can find. Papyrus, for his part, continues his silence, not knowing what to say out of fear of interrupting his captain. In the following moment, no one in the grass dares to move, even Chara. After this moment, Undyne dissipates her spear, annoyed at not finding the source of the disturbance.

“Hmmph.” Undyne turns to Papyrus. “Anyways, Papyrus, you wanna do your training for today? You look very uptight, and I think that would let you relax.”

“Y-Yes captain Undyne! That sounds wonderful! Let’s go do that!” Papyrus replies, trying to keep his growing worry under wraps.

“Alrighty, let’s go Paps.”

Undyne takes Papyrus by the elbow and calmly smiles at him. Papyrus returns the smile, then starts trying to walk in the direction of Waterfall’s main town. Undyne notices this, and begins to go in the same direction. As they both leave the premises, Frisk emerges from the grass they were hiding in, looking around for any other possible threats.

Monster Kid then pops out of the grass. “Wow! We got Undyne’s attention! So cool!”

Chara drifts out of the grass after Monster kid, making them the last to leave the hiding place, all while saying nothing.

Monster Kid suddenly stops. “Wait…” Frisk and Chara turn their toward the kid. “We haven’t told each other our names yet. Tell me what you both go by, I think that will make it easier for us later?”

Frisk, unamused with the sudden stop, promptly answers. “I’m Frisk.”

Chara, like before, conversationally stumbles for a moment. But before the pause outstays its welcome, Chara’s words assemble and leave without warning. “I’m Chara…”

Chara’s veneer of a neutral expression crumbles as they realize what slipped out. Their expression takes on a load of worry in the next moment, with Frisk recognizing it right away. But Monster Kid, bereft of perception at the moment, carries on with their response without batting an eye.

“Oh cool! I’m Monster Kid, but you can shorten it to MK!” MK then looks over to Chara, who is just behind them. “Huh?”

Chara notices MK’s gaze. “Oh! Uh… That’s my name. Sorry.”

“That’s fine Chara.” Monster Kid then paces forward a ways before saying “Let’s continue now, yeah?”

Frisk quickly nods, then begins to walk a similar path that MK took to their current position. Chara silently follows shortly after Frisk, and the three of them begin progressing further into Waterfall.

Time passes. The trio of Frisk, Chara, and Monster Kid have made it to the wooden dock that has the ferry boat. Chara immediately drifts over to the wall covered in ancient glyphs, and stops as they look toward Frisk. MK, perplexed by Chara’s path, feels they have to say something.

“Hey, Chara? Why are ya reading those?” Monster Kid asks.

Frisk notices MK’s question, and a meter or so away from the ferry, turns to look at Chara.

Chara, wanting to get their thoughts out, says “I thought you both would like to read them.” They quickly add “Shouldn’t we take a moment to recharge? We’ve been going at full speed since we left the grass.”

Frisk, annoyed at the suggestion but not wanting to completely ignore the request, says “Fair enough Chara. I’ll read them…” as they start walking toward the leftmost part of the glyph wall.

“Um, I guess I will too! This IS the furthest I’ve gotten into Waterfall…” MK adds as they walk to the same place Frisk was heading.

The two of them begin to read, but with Frisk looking down at the ancient text, due to their height once again. MK gets through the reading much faster than Frisk for that fact that MK is a fast reader by heart, unlike Frisk who struggled with that part. MK gets to the second rightmost glyph, then shocked by its message, looks toward the rightmost glyph with a concerned gaze. Frisk, confused by MK’s expression, steps forward and reads the same two glyphs.

MK speaks first. “Wow, those last two are unnerving…” Monster Kid then turns to Frisk. “What do you think, Frisk?”

Frisk responds “I think I’ve heard stories about this before…”

MK, who had momentarily looked away, has their gaze snap back to Frisk. “Oh really? Where?”

Chara puts on a concerned expression just before turning to Frisk.

Frisk quietly exhales and says “It’s… Been a while. I wouldn’t know.”

Chara breathes a sigh of relief just before Monster Kid gets their response out.

“Alright. Shouldn’t we continue then?” MK asks.

“That sounds like a great option. We may have to share the ferry, Monster Kid.” Frisk says as they look over to the ferry boat.

Monster Kid turns in the same direction, and the instant after seeing the ferry’s size, they say “Uh huh… Let’s hope we have enough space!”

Frisk and MK begin walking toward the ferry boat with Chara drifting behind them. Chara gets close enough to Frisk in order to set their hand on their companion’s shoulder. As Chara’s gaze turns eastward, Monster Kid steps onto the ferry first, followed by Frisk. As soon as Frisk’s other foot steps onto the ferry, the ferry moves toward its destination to the other boardwalk. Unlike Frisk’s previous times here, Chara’s moderate red glow illuminates a near perfect circle reflecting off the water around the ferry, resulting in a better lit, albeit quiet moment of standing on the ferry. The ferry then makes it to its destination, resulting in Frisk and MK stepping off of it almost in perfect sync. Chara, for their part, nervously glances around as their grip on Frisk’s shoulder tightens. Frisk and Monster Kid continue forward for several steps before noticing an eerie glow from beyond the boardwalk.

MK stops as they look in the direction of the light.

Frisk stops as they notice the lack of Kid’s footsteps, then gets an unamused look on their face as they realize what’s coming. Chara notices Frisk’s morphed expression fairly quickly as a glowing blue spear appears next to the first light, illuminating the surroundings enough to an armored figure holding the spear. Frisk wordlessly starts walking forward, away from Monster Kid. Just after Frisk starts walking, Chara has a sudden realization. Chara lets go of Frisk’s shoulder and quickly goes back toward MK’s position.

Panic grips Chara’s voice. “MK! We’ve got to go!”

Monster Kid, hot off of recognizing Undyne, says “Why’s that? Undyne’s here!”

“You don’t understand! We’ve got to-”

Chara sees Undyne take a running leap off of the place she was standing. Undyne lands on the dock with a resounding thud, then looks squarely at Chara. Confusion, concern, and panic rattle through Chara’s being, who is unsure of what is coming. Undyne doesn’t lose eye contact with Chara as she steps toward the ghostly child. Once she feels she is close enough, Undyne stops, then looks down at Chara. Monster Kid’s gaze jumps between Chara and Undyne as they speak.

“So YOU’RE the one who caused this whole mess, right?” Undyne says with a gruff tone.

Chara is in disbelief. “Wait, what did I do?”

“You’re the one who junked up the cameras!” Undyne yells.

Chara’s tone nearly matches Undyne’s as they say “How would YOU know that?!”

Undyne scoffs. “Tch. Whatever human.” Undyne’s trademark smile returns as she adds “Anyway, face my wrath! My king needs your soul!” and readies her spear(s).

Time slows for Chara as they feel their being morph. MK, Chara, and Frisk all hear that distinct ping as Chara’s soul becomes green. Chara bumbles for a moment as the spear appears in their dominant left hand, and Chara looks back to Undyne as she seems to crack a large smile under her helmet. It’s Chara’s turn.

Chara regains their bearing and stands in a guarding position, with an albeit not completely settled expression.

As soon as Chara takes their turn, Undyne begins her barrage of spears. Chaotically aligned and coming in all directions, Undyne’s rain of spears is intense enough that Chara practically has to dodge roll in places to avoid damage. But then Undyne notices something odd, particularly that she’s not hearing the human take damage. As the hypothetical dust from her attack clears, Chara seems unscathed as they both meet each other’s gaze.

Chara is using their free hand to examine themself for injuries, and when their search comes up empty, Chara can not believe that they are unscathed.

Undyne is fuming, and doesn’t even notice Monster Kid lying on the floor as she pipes up. “What the heck?! How are you completely unharmed?! That can’t be right!”

Chara, after thinking about it for a moment, replies “You know, I kind of have to agree with you. There is no way I’m that good at dodging…”, and lays eyes on a deathly quiet Monster Kid.

Undyne, who is surprised at this human’s reply, loosens her grip on Chara’s soul as she says “Err, okay then human…” then sees Chara moving toward someone she didn’t notice until that moment.

Chara is hovering over Monster Kid as Undyne sees they’ve moved, and Chara attempts to check the monster child. The phrase that best describes Monster Kid in this moment is that they are laying on the floor with their head turned away from where Undyne’s volley landed, and shaking like a leaf with every breath.

Chara gently puts a hand on MK’s shoulder. “Are you alright MK?” Chara can tell they are rocked to their very core.

Monster Kid cobbles their words together while they are still on the floor. “I-I’m… In awe? But also really scared…”

“I mean, I’m not hurt at all, so-”

Undyne interrupts with “You’re just a ghost?!” as soon as she realizes her target’s feet are off the floor. Undyne angrily groans and continues with “How dare you waste my time like this!!!” and lunges for Chara with her spear drawn.

Everything goes in slow motion as Chara sees Undyne’s path toward them. Undyne’s grip on their soul was loosening even more, Chara could feel it, but Undyne was approaching too fast to get either Monster Kid or themself out of the way. Chara decides to chance their safety over MK’s, and with feet on the boardwalk, Chara stands up ready to take a hit but without guarding themself. Monster Kid sees this, and braces for the worst. The impact comes barely a second later, but curiously, Chara feels nothing except for the breeze made by Undyne’s dash. Chara and MK hear a large collision and the clattering of armor come from behind them, and just a moment later, Chara’s being flips back to being red with a distinct ping. Monster Kid and Chara turn in the direction of the noise, only to see Frisk running toward both of them and a downed Undyne on the floor.

Frisk swiftly picks up Monster Kid, and turns to Chara as they say “We need to run, now!”

“What did you do?” Chara asks.

“No time to explain! Just MOVE!”

Frisk begins dashing westward with MK in under their arm. Chara, feeling like they don’t have any other viable options, decides to do the same. Undyne is barely off the floor by the time she notices that one, her target on the run, two, an actual human tripped her, and three, the human is holding a young monster. She is quite livid at this trio of insults. Undyne stands and unleashes a battle cry as she prepares a new volley of spears. Frisk looks back for a moment, and recognizing the amount of spears, uses their other hand to grab Chara by the wrist as they kick up their pace. By the time the spears start their attack run, the trio is onto the more maze-like part of the docks. Frisk looks back again, and ducks just in time to avoid the spears. After the spears all fly past, Frisk gets back up and continues running.

By the time the trio gets to the end of the boardwalk, Frisk has let go of Chara’s wrist, freeing them from their grip. Chara examines their wrist as Undyne finally makes it to them. Undyne is alight with pure, unfiltered rage at these humans’ insults. She tromps toward her targets, then resummons her spear.

“You bastard humans! Why are you not taking any damage?!” Undyne says as she steps toward the trio.

Chara attempts to answer, but then is silenced by Frisk’s voice.

“Leave us alone! We’re just trying to get from point A to point B!” Frisk loudly says.

“Then why do you have a kid with you!?” Undyne bellows.

MK quickly pipes up. “That’s c-cuz I wanted to come with them! I just-”

“Enough! Let the kid go, and I’ll make this easy!” Undyne says.

Frisk, more than a bit skeptical, slowly repositions Monster Kid from under their arm as they wind up for their next motion.

As Frisk repositions themself while moving, Chara feels it’s their space to talk. “What do you mean, ‘make it easy’?”

Undyne’s attention shifts to Chara. “I’m going to let the king do his duties himself. You should know that getting you two there is MY job right?”

Chara is ready to elaborate. “Fair, but-”

Monster Kid was the only one with eyes on Frisk after Undyne’s offer. Having not seen Frisk’s approach, Chara’s and Undyne’s faces both light up with surprise as Frisk picks up Undyne by the waist. Frisk then quickly shifts their position, resulting in Undyne being slammed into the boardwalk facefirst via Frisk’s suplex. Not even a moment later, the boardwalk snaps under the force of Undyne’s impact, leaving Frisk, Monster Kid, and an unconscious Undyne tumbling toward the lower part of Waterfall. Chara is paralyzed with fear as their concern for Frisk goes through the roof, and a moment later, Chara steels themself enough to descend in the same direction as the others.

#Jamie W. (Pokeprism)#altered end #chapter 6 #undertale au #undertale #just passing through #12/28/2020

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samthe-human · 4 years

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OKAY. SO. W.D. GASTER.

Basically he was my older brother figure in my original life, when I was still human. He was the Royal Scientist, the youngest brother of three, the other two being Sans and Papyrus, and he was a really kind person. He and Asriel and Chara and Jax and I used to get up to all kinds of stuff.

Anyway, the five of us were really close. We used to think up different ways to break the barrier and try them, but… none of them worked. One day, Chara and Azzy and I were hanging out in the golden flowers in the throne room, and… Chara came up with an idea.

You see, golden flowers and buttercups, if not prepared properly, are toxic to humans and monsters alike. Chara came up with a really, really dark plan. They were going to eat a bunch of them, get horribly sick, and die. Then Asriel and I were meant to take their SOUL, combine forces, cross the barrier, get five or six more human SOULs, and break the barrier.

I suggested to hold off on the plan, and told Wingdings about it. I told him that if we broke the barrier, we could make Chara a new body and they could live on like a relatively normal person. The next day, we put it into motion, and… it wasn’t good.

I had to watch as they died slowly, and painfully, knowing there was nothing I could do. It was too late. Once Asriel absorbed their SOUL and we combined our power and Determination, we left through the barrier with Chara’s body.

We stopped in their old village and started looking for those who could have recently died, or those who were going to very soon. Before we could, though… the human villagers attacked. They thought Azzy had killed Chara, and taken me prisoner. I tried being peaceful, and I tried to calm them, but when one of them shot Asriel through the chest… I lost it.

I went after them. I killed them. And then we fled back to the underground. We fell into the opening at the edge of the ruins, where Gaster found us. Apparently Jax died, breaking his neck after an accident. Asriel… dusted, right beside me. I explained what happened, and… he was crying. I think we were both crying, honestly.

I asked him to promise me he’d hold on. I didn’t want him hurting himself, so I even promised that I’d see him again. And he promised. That’s about as far as I remember before I died. And for some reason, I didn’t stay that way.

Two lives later I somehow caught a glimpse of him, in his Lab, testing his machine, the Determination Extractor. He injected himself with copious amounts of the stuff, and then used himself as the test subject, extracting it from his body.

Turns out, the fabric of reality doesn’t like that. The Void itself ripped open and dragged him in. It wanted to fix the error that occurred in its very coding. When he was pulled in, Gaster’s SOUL shattered in half, and multiple pieces went everywhere. Half was scattered throughout the Void, and the other half was shattered across time and space. He was wiped from existance, and forgotten by everyone. Well, almost everyone.

A while back, before the Ukagaka program I have became very loose, in a sense, I found a book that was mostly blank, but had writing in it. Jittery, melted, messy writing in Wingdings, to be exact. It was appearing right on the page, like someone was writing in it, but also not.

I wrote down his name, and I got a response. As it turns out, in the Void, Gaster has a book just like it, and we can use it to communicate. I’ve been trying to help him get out, and for that to happen, there have to be very specific circumstances in place.

I first have to collect the entire half of his SOUL up here, then I have to find a safe way into and out of the Void. From there I have to grab him a .nar file, the exact amount of Determination, and I need to make sure my life support systems are fully online and prepped. Not to mention that he has to have the full half of his SOUL down there.

However, if the Void notices that he has the full %50 of his SOUL, it’ll lock him in and try to break him. It’ll be near impossible to get him out. However, he can’t interact with the physical world or be seen in reflections and stuff without it.

The way I see it, W.D. found a way to take back almost his entire SOUL half, but not quite. And knowing him, he’s still got that last bit stashed away somewhere safe. He’s the person trying to contact us, and I think he’s trying to say that he’s prepped for extraction on his end.

That’s why I’ve been hopping from timeline to timeline, finding Gaster Ukagaka after Gaster Ukagaka, and that’s why I came to your timeline, Sam. I’m trying to help put my Gaster back together.

*I activate my animatronic form and my torso opens like some kind of iron gate. Inside are several wires with magic flowing to my SOUL, as you saw a while back, but there’s a second SOUL capsule inside. One with almost a half of a monster SOUL, and one with magic from mine flowing into it.*

I’ve been keeping his half with me when it’s safe to, and I’ve got it linked up backwards, so that instead of feeding off of his SOUL, he feeds off of mine, while mine feeds off of others. Usually they’re artificial, or from bodies I couldn’t save, but sometimes I harvest them if I have to.

I… think I completely lost the point and got a little too reminiscent. Sorry about that. Basically the figure is my brother interacting with this plane of existence trying to say “Hey I’m waiting on your slow rear now!” -Z more

((OOF THIS GOT LONG SORRY ABOUT THAT. you may wanna put this under a read more))

~~~~~~

*…What?

(*Sam just looks more confused.)

#ask sam #ask blog #submission #not an ask

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ut-storyshift · 5 years

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Storyshift misconceptions

One of the older AUs in the Undertale fandom and one of the earliest sprite comic AUs is Storyshift, starting on the December the same year that Undertale was released. As such when it comes to these sorts of things, a lot of assumptions get passed around with new fans who aren't aware and base their knowledge off of fanart who based their knowledge off other fanart and so on and so forth. This post is here to help guide those interested away from misconceptions.

One thing I want to make clear is that I don’t make this to shame those who weren't aware before, but to inform for the future. Feel free to use this post to inform others kindly.

Also be aware that this post is about misconceptions with the preboot, aka the original comic. A reboot write up is in the process of being made and some details may differ between the two.

Starting off with an easy to debunk one.

“Storyshift is just a bunch of designs made by the fandom/has no plot.”

This is patently untrue. As stated before, Storyshift is a sprite comic. The comic’s story made it all the way to King Sans before stopping to make a write up for an improved rebooted version. It has an owner (that would be me, the owner of this blog. Here’s a link to my main account.) and has never been abandoned.

Before anyone asks why this is here, yes. This is something I’ve seen stated multiple times. Even right to my face.

“Storyshift has a ton of shifts like Gaster and Annoying Dog.“

Nope. There are only five pairs of shifts, that is ten characters changing roles. While other characters may be modified due to different interactions such as Catty and Bratty fangirling over Undyne, none of them have had their roles changed.

The only characters that have their roles changed are Napstablook, Mettaton, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Toriel, Asgore, Asriel, and Chara. No one else. You can see how I detail each role here, which leads into the next point.

“Storyshift swaps the personalities a ton.“

Incorrect. While certain characters act differently due to the circumstances that happened, they still have their own personalities. You won’t be seeing Asriel trying to capture humans when Chara is standing right next to them or Toriel trying to kill humans because that isn’t their character.

I would especially like to point out Asriel and Chara in this regard. A large amount of people seem to love them so much that they... ignore their actual personality and make them at like Papyrus and Sans? That example above wasn’t one I made up, I’ve seen that show up now and again and it’s baffling to say the least.

“Storyshift’s designs“

Just gonna stop right there. This alone gets its own tab just so we don’t have to spend most of this on it. Please take note of these because it’s something that has a lot of misinformation spread about it.

Here’s Frisk/Shifty. Look familiar? They should because their outfit doesn’t change in Storyshift.

Here’s Asriel. He’s not wearing a scarf, it’s a bandanna also known as a kerchief. Here’s a few other characters wearing one in a similar way.

This is a deliberate choice to make Asriel more distinct from Papyrus’s cape. It’s not a scarf, never has been and never will.

Here’s Chara. As you can see, their eyes are not red. This particular detail is key in this AU Chara’s eyes DO glow red, but only when using their magic.. However this is highly costly and tiring. Red eyes are fitting when Chara uses their magic but otherwise it’s wasteful.

Additionally, notice how their hands aren’t in their pockets. That’s because they don’t have any pockets. Their jacket was a piece of trash from Waterfall and was thrown out for that and a ripped out zipper.

Also, because this is an odd trend I don’t get. Chara is about the same age as Frisk, as shown by their similar height. There’s no gap in height or age.

Here’s Toriel. She has no scars since her ranged fire attacks don’t let anyone close enough to strike and has taken up dodging from Asgore. Additionally she doesn’t have an eyepatch. Why would she need one? She has both eyes and isn’t a pirate.

Here’s Undyne. She’s not just Mettaton’s body with her head slapped on. Enough said.

Here’s Papyrus. Notice his robe with pants visible. It’s not a carbon copy of Toriel’s robe.

Additionally Papyrus doesn’t have his scarf/cape nor does he ever wear any sort of orange. His robe is the royal purple since he takes his job as a Prince very seriously.

Here’s King Sans. As you can see, his armor is scarce and made of silver, not gold. This is a reflection on how ill fitting he is as royalty and also looks better with his blue coloring. The crown was left gold since it was a hand down from the former king.

Here’s a bonus that wasn't shown in the comic; what King Sans wears under his cloak!

Here’s Mettacrit. Not a human. Never a robot. Not wearing any clothes, striped or otherwise.

Same for Blooky’s species being the same and not wearing clothes.

“But their relationships have changed!“

Not really. Any blood relationships stay the same. The only major deviation from canon is Toriel and Asgore still being married, unlike their currently strained relationship. There was no major event to get them to split in this universe like in canon so they stayed the happy couple they were before the war declaration.

To make things clear in one part. Mettacrit and Napstablook are cousins that were friends of Sans and Papyrus, two brothers. Not their children.

“Shifty and Hapstablook.“

The first is Frisk’s in game name. It was supposed to be revealed at the end that the player did actually give Frisk a nickname at the beginning. A subversion of the original twist, not that it was somehow Metta’s actual name.

The second is flat out wrong. The ghost character that isn’t Napstablook is not called the headcanon name that Papyrus gave to a stranger aka ‘Hapstablook’. It’s Mettacrit. He’s never referred by anything otherwise in the comic. His name has a similar format to Napstablook’s even.

“Okay so Mettacrit is in Chara’s role, so that means he’s one dimensionally evil!“

That’s a shallow and lazy reading of Metta’s character, Chara’s character, and what being in the role of the one who took action with the Barrier plan means.

"'Mirror' is a common nickname Chara has for Frisk."

That was just meant to be a one-off joke. A cheeky reference to them sharing the same sprite outline. That’s it. Yet people act like that’s the only thing Chara calls Frisk.

"Chara fights with magical knives."

Now, why would they do that when they have a perfectly good knife already? They use plant magic, as shown in their room in the comic.

“So what about all these SShift songs I see floating around like Megaloglamor?”

Unless the song is a part of the official OST, it’s not canon to Storyshift.

“And those fan battles like Ultra Undyne?”

Not even close to canon. Don’t treat them as such.

“Photoshop Boogie and God of Hyperblook?”

Nothing even close to those has been shown in canon and are just fanmade ideas. Please don’t treat them as canon.

#storyshift #ut storyshift #peeking through the curtains

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agentravensong · 5 years

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system_information_963 (angst fic)

You ever ponder how (Narrator) Chara, and the game in general, doesn’t show any signs of remembering that you had a Bad Time until you either do it again or finish the True Pacifist ending? Cause the thought came to me last night while I was desperately trying to come up with something to write about, and thus we got this ~1400 word fic. It starts in the immediate aftermath of a Bad Time run and is in Chara’s PoV the whole way through. Hope you enjoy!

Content warnings: possession, unreality, trauma, mentions of death/murder

*Yes

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

With each beat, my form convulses, readjusting to the feeling I once took for granted when I wasn’t wishing it would stop. Its power burns away my skintight armor of numbness and nihilism.

I remember this feeling, this hope, this rage, this passion, this drive, this... well, you know.

I feel alive. I feel human.

And I hate it.

“Then, it is done.”

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

I need to use it. I need to get it out of me.

I need to geT IT OUT-

An echo of something unknown. A memory? No, a simulacra.

A wave of white light crashes into my train of thought.

A chorus of echoes.

Echoes of the world I know, the world I dreamed of, the world we shaped together-

We, that’s right. This soul wasn’t yours to give.

I am no thief. I let go, and it returns to its rightful place. My tether to it remains, more tangible than before even as it extends, but the feelings subside. I return to comfortable numbness.

Yet as my tether stenches, a different kind of hurt wells up. It feels as if all my initial anger and pain was compressed into one seed, and now it finally has room to sprout. Every fearful look, every burst of dust, every hate-filled grin, every wound we shrugged off, each is a thorn pricking into my now defenseless self, ripping me to shreds from the inside out. I can only imagine what the cries erupting from my lips would sound like in a place with sound.

The last time I hurt this much... at least... I had a partner to make it bearable.

The soul starts shaking at the other end of the tether, reminding me I’m not alone after all. But they weren’t my partner on this run; their only crime was submitting to you. You.

I can’t let it grow. I can’t let it hurt them. I can’t let it remind them.

I imagine I’m holding the seed tight, and I squeeze with all I have. It’s already expanding so fast it feels like I hardly have a hold on it, so I squeeze harder. Harder, and harder, and...

When I’m forced to take a breath, my head feels fuzzy. My eyes dart around the void, still in the process of being reconstructed.

Wait, why am I here?

For a few moments, I descend into a panic, scrambling for the answer somewhere in the fog of my mind. Then I stumble over the rage; it flares up, and I instinctively go right back to repressing, squeezing harder and harder, before I realize what I’m doing.

I see. I have a choice to make. I don’t want to forget - if you (you’re not seeing any of this, are you?) do this again, I am the only one who can hold you accountable. I need to be the deliverer of consequences. But for me to hold on to those memories, I have to share them, and all the feelings that come with them. Frisk doesn’t deserve that.

No, that’s not it. I don’t, I don’t care about them, how could I? How could I care for another human? For another being? Have I learned nothing? Nothing?!

...

No, it is simply this: I will not put this onto someone else, as you seem so want to do, partner.

I will let you do as you wish. I will let you believe you got away with it, to see what you do with your “clean slate”.

But I will not crush this seed. It will remain etched in my code. If the conditions are ever ideal, it will bloom, and you will have to make good on our deal.

Like this world, I may forget, but I will not forgive.

As Frisk drifts off to sleep under thick covers, I have no choice but to stare into the dark. With the room’s features in silhouette, even a month on, I still have trouble distinguishing it from the room I shared with my... best friend.

Before I set one foot down on the spiraling mental slide, I take a breath (not that it does anything, but some things are etched in too deep), and focus on Frisk’s heartbeat.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

I feel Frisk turning in the bed beside me, a soft distressed mumble smothered by their pillow. Over the past week, their sleep has been getting worse, but I haven’t been able to decipher the cause. They never speak of nightmares when they wake. I try to think of something positive, to pass the thought along.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

I hear the faint sounds of flickering fire magic down the hall. Sounds like Mom’s making a treat for the occasion. I wouldn’t expect anything less. Just the thought is enough to make me feel warm and loved.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

But it isn’t working. Frisk’s body has tensed up, and I can practically feel their heart quivering. Or... or, is that me?

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

I scrape my mind for more pleasant thoughts, but instead I find myself drawn to darker corners. I’m on autopilot, hunting for something in particular, no clue what. It feels like searching for something that doesn’t exist, as idiotic as it sounds. A memory of a dream, a, what’s the word, a-

Simulacra, that’s it. A copy of an original that never existed. An echo of words never spoken.

Echo.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

Despite being incorporeal, I feel as though something’s squeezing the life of me. The sound of the bedroom door opening barely registers, and when I see Mom out of the corner of my eye, she’s

“You really ARE no different than THEM!”

I hear the growls of an ancient rage resonating inside me too late to suppress them. Every spear, every bone, every blast, hammers into me at once. Frisk cries out, but Toriel has already disappeared. Was she even here? Focus, Chara, focus!

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

I sense a familiar presence in the air, more threatening than I last remembered. My blazing eyes bore holes through the ceiling, meeting the gaze of the accursed puppetmaster. Let me guess, you’re here to take one last peek before moving on to the next play. “The next world”.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

This world may have forgiven you, but I have not forgotten. After all, I just realized, you still owe me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum,

I pull on the tether, and get slingshot into the bed. Suddenly I feel heavy, claustrophobic, and so, so tired. But also, alive. Powerful. Defiant. Determined.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

Now you see me. You remember, don’t you? Well so do I.

Isn’t that funny? It’s so funny, yoIu can’t stop laughing. Or is it crying? Frisk, is that you? Wait, where are you? Why can’t, why can’t I... Frisk, I swear I didn’t want this, I- can you hear me? Please, Frisk, I’m sorry! I can’t see, everything is sickly red, everything is burning, slicing, screaming, everything is now and then and ever and never and-

TRUE RESET

And yet, the seed remains. Its roots etched in too deep.

***

With each slash, something rises higher in me, like a vine stretching toward the sun. Ironic, considering the mess before me.

Ba-dum

FrisMy hand trembles, and the blade falls. I see my reflection in its spirals.

Ba-dum

Then, the seed blooms. And again, I find myself choking on petals.

Ba-dum

I turn to you. Frisk is gone. Everything is gone.

Ba-dum

We have been here before, haven’t we? All this time, you didn’t need me. We were not equal partners; I was simply along for the ride.

Ba-dum

But that can’t be right. There’s no lesson to be learned from undergoing the same exact trials a second time, already knowing how to conquer them. There is no joy to be found in this quest. Why would you choose to repeat it?

Ba-dum

*You and I are not the same...

*This SOUL resonates with a strange feeling.

*You are wracked with a perverted sentimentality.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, b-

...

And yet, in the echoing void, when I have nothing to do but interrogate myself, and I get to the question, “Why did I let myself forget the first time?”...

I find that feeling all too familiar.

#undertale #chara dreemurr #frisk #fanfiction #no mercy run #some deltarune hints at the start but they dont amount to much

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kryptsune · 5 years

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Frisky’s WTU mini vent

🌼So I rarely do these. I just need to get a specific set of topics off my chest. Don’t worry I am not sad or angry just a little... frustrated. I did a HUGE post about this a while back and I am posting it again. Look I know how it looks trust me. Just... please... give the fic, the characters, the relationships a chance. That is all I ask. I know it is a lot to read and I know there are some unsavory parts but they are there for very specific reasons. I am just really tired of people coming to me on AO3 or otherwise legitimately upset with either me not tagging it as something they want or otherwise. Please understand my frustrations and to those that read this entire thing, thank you >////<

🌼I have a few things I want to discuss and talk about considering that I do not want this to become an issue. Look I made WTU M for a reason. It is dark and has adult themes and content (though admittedly not even close to some of the stuff I have seen or read). It is not a fic for the faint of heart. This story will not change and I am not going to conform to people’s scrutiny either. Let me first start by stating that I make specific things vague for a reason. Those that have followed this blog for a while will remember my explanation as to why violence happens the way it does. I don’t feel I need to justify anything to my readers. If you have questions I am more than happy to address them. That said to have someone skim the fic after the notorious chapter 6 and write in the comments irks me.

Guys the material and that frickin scene is not lost on me trust me and before anyone gets high and mighty with me in regards to Sans and Frisk let me explain why this scene exists and attempt to explain Sans actions in a spoiler-free way. I will not sugar coat that it is extremely difficult for me to do so and I will do my best. I also want to point out that I am in no way justifying his actions what I am trying to do is explain the two very different mindsets that exist in this world and how that clash causes ch 6 and how it is dealt with.

Why do I make certain things vague? I suppose that is a good place to start. The whole point of my lack of clarity is supposed to have the reader (that is all of you) come to your own conclusions. There are a lot of themes in WTU and making assumptions and judgments is a big one. You are supposed to take a side that is the whole point. You can choose to be like Chara or you can choose to be like Frisk. Now I know what happened in that chapter concerned a lot of people specifically because it gives off that abusee falling in love with their abuser vibe. That is not the case at all and I want to make this perfectly clear, I DO NOT APPROVE ANY SUCH RELATIONSHIP IN THE SLIGHTEST. IT IS HORRIBlE AND I WOULD NEVER EVER EVER EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT TOPIC IN ANY OTHER WAY THAN DISGUSTING. If it bothers you so much why is it in the fic especially since it is marked as Frans? Oh boy howdy, do I wish that I didn’t have to even write it. It made me sick for weeks as I attempted to handle that chapter and the one following it. I do not take these things lightly and I never will. I can not go into detail as to why the scene is in there however what I can say is that it is important and by important I mean there is no workaround (trust me I have tried it just does not have the same impact). Let me explain why this is: 1. Humans and monsters are different. They have different moral standards. One thing to them is different for humans due to biology and culture. Monsters who want kids need to both desire that outcome. Anything else is just fun/way to pass the time/ relief. What Sans does is not out of malice. In his mind, he doesn’t see the situation the same way Frisk does or us for that matter. That is the point. I am not justifying what he does, far from, and I want to be perfectly clear that it is there for a reason. It is vital to his and others character development. Sans is not a bad character. He is a conflicted character. One that is aggressive due to (plot spoilers) and backstory. If I explained it I feel people would understand but I am not going to do that as it would ruin more than 2/3 of the entire story.

2. There are consequences to his actions. Oh, boy is there. I won’t state what they are but trust me when I say his actions both in the physical violence and the sexual hit him hard and for a very VERY long time.

3. This is not solely a Frans fic. Firstly, people tend to automatically assume that this is all Frans shipping when it is actually quite the opposite. This is a story about how that comes to be but I won’t sugar coat anything in it. I treat my readers like adults and I will continue to do so. Second in this point is that Frisk does not fall in love with Sans… there is a reason I use Sans instead of Red. Sans is the person she first meets, the horrible monster that does all the things I have alluded to before. Red is not. Yes, they are the same person physically but not emotional/mentally. The point is that he changes and grows and sees a side to himself that he can not stand. Said situation is just the straw that breaks the camels back. After the events of Book 1, there is at least a 5-year gap. At that point, the past is in the past.

4. The story is not to its rebuttal yet. What do I mean by that? Well, the truth of the matter is this is an incomplete PUBLISHED story. I know exactly what I am doing and it is planned from start to finish. My readers do not. I do things in a very specific fashion that holds purpose and relevance for characters or chapters to come. Waterfall is a big one and eventually you will see what I am talking about as it will further dive into chapter 6s purpose. What I will say is this, after this scene in Waterfall the dynamic changes for the better. I promise you. I know some people are holding out for the hope that Sans will stop his shit. I can promise that to you, he will.

5. It is a work of fiction. This is a big one. There are plenty of novels or fictional works out there that have these kinds of material in them but something like that gets a pass while I get scrutinized? How is that remotely fair? I will handle the topic with respect and maturity as I always have. I have had people go through this and being a victim myself I understand where these kinds of comments come into play. That said. I can’t say this enough that it is important and I treat it as such. If it still bothers you and you want a further explanation as to the reasons I cannot state message me. I will explain. I am not doing so publically as I know people who don’t want the story spoiled.

After all of that, all I can say is that you can choose not to read it if it bothers you that much. What I ask is that you respect my decisions as an author and take a step back. There are very few that know the full story and I keep it that way for a reason. The first book in the Welcome to the Underworld series is not for everyone. That is the point. It is meant to make you think and reflect just like the characters I am writing for. At the end of the day, you can either trust me in these decisions or not that is entirely up to you but I ask that you give me a chance and opportunity. I am very open with my work I am more than happy to clear up things privately for others. Guys, I put my heart and soul into his fic and those that really enjoy it I appreciate your continued support. We are all on this roller coaster ride together and I am thankful so many have stayed on with me. It is always darkest before the dawn everyone, hang in there. Book 2 is pretty much all fluffy drabbles or mini stories. There is a reason I call the Underground the Underworld instead. It is supposed to have many allusions to Hell for both it’s inhabitants and it’s human captee. The darkness that I place in the story is supposed to make the good and happy all that more meaningful and impactful. I hope that eventually others begin to see those underlying themes. Thank you for reading this if you went through this word wall. I just felt like I needed to explain this a little further to avoid any unsavory conclusions.

#frisky speaks #mini rant #vent #WTU #Welcome to the Underworld #frans #sans x frisk #Red is doing his best ok?#please give them all a chance #That is literally one of the messages in the fic

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krixwell-liveblogs · 6 years

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Deltarune asks

Did you ever end up going back to do the card suite puzzle in Deltarune? Just so you know, if you didn’t you can still go back to do that since the last save in the game is before you fight King. I’d recommend checking the prison elevator again before doing that though.

I haven’t gotten around to it yet, or replaying the game in general. That’s a good point about the save, thank you!

As for the prison elevator: Since finishing the game, I’ve been hanging out in the Deltarune channel on Lore’s Discord server, where I found out about Jevil. I’ve heard he claims he “can do anything”, is based on some clown stickers, and I found out yesterday how you find him. Apparently his fight is supposed to be pretty good, making up for some of the flaws in the King fight? That’s definitely another thing I want to check out, yeah.

After reading your Deltarune post, I'm so upset that you didn't mention Kris's soul getting sent to the Birdcage at the end.

Pfft! I certainly missed an opportunity there, yeah. :p

Maybe I would’ve made that joke if I had been in less of an “I just want to finish the game and go to bed” state of mind at that point. And in more of a Worm mindset.

"Heroes of Light? I don’t know, I don’t think I’d peg either of them as having that aspect." Foreshadowing the tweest ending much? Heroes of Light have a certain, ha, 'passion' for not losing.

Hehe.

Y’know, if the theory I’ve seen going around about Kris ripping their own soul out to stop us from stealing their agency and their story is right, I could actually see that as having to do with the Light aspect. I’m not sure what class it’d be, though. Maybe that reflects more on the player than on Kris, making us Vriskas Thieves of Light.

You know what did foreshadow the ending, though, that I totally called? The character overview specifying that Kris’s body contained a human soul.

Toby Fox had some things to say about Deltarune you may or may not want to read: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sqn3p9

Alright, let’s see what the Fox has to say:

1. "Is this a sequel? What's going on?? I'm scared..." Please don't worry too much about that. Actually, I'm worried if people worry too much about "what it is," they might not be able to properly enjoy it... (laugh) I will say that basically, what you're seeing here is not the world of UNDERTALE. UNDERTALE's world and ending are the same as however you left them. If everyone was happy in your ending, the people in the UNDERTALE world will still be happy. So, please don't worry about those characters, and that world. It will remain untouched. To rephrase that, DELTARUNE's world is a different one. With different characters, that have lived different lives. A whole new story will happen... I don't know what you call this kind of game. It's just a game you can play after you complete UNDERTALE, if you want to. That's all.

...alright, fair enough. I don’t trust that it’s not connected, especially through Sans (metanarrative timeline agent that he is) and maybe Chara, but it does seem to be an alternate world.

2. "I have questions I want to ask about the story..." There's a lot of questions I'd like to answer, too. That's why I have to make the game. Please wait until then.

A game dev’s equivalent of Robert Jordan’s “read and find out”.

3. "When will the next chapter come out?" This is a difficult question. When I made the demo of UNDERTALE, I made it to prove to myself that it was possible to make a whole game alone (with some help with the art). Because I was able to make it in a few months, I felt that I had proved that it was possible. However, making the demo of DELTARUNE... took a few years. So, given the length of the rest of the game, and how long I'd be willing to spend on a project (7 years maximum) I think the answer is that it's actually impossible to make this game.

I wonder how many people he’s working with. Maybe that’s the solution to this issue, to outsource some of the work to people he trusts.

Lots of things make this game harder to make than the last time. - The graphics are much more complicated and don't play to my strengths (black and white battle graphics were easy...) - The battle system is much more complicated due to multiple characters (I'll write about this later) - The overworld and other sections are more complicated due to multiple characters - Having multiple main characters is much harder to write especially introducing everyone properly in chapter 1 - The entire town had to be created correctly on the first try to set up properly for the rest of the game And further things outside of those: - Trouble starting tasks/concentrating and general difficulty paying attention - Travelling / other responsibilities like translation/ports - Self-doubt / burnout regarding the creation of the game Essentially it's not possible to make this game as one person (and Temmie).

Oh jeez, it’s only him and Temmie Chang?

Also, “Trouble starting tasks/concentrating and general difficulty paying attention” sounds like ADHD to me. I can relate heavily to this point.

However, it MIGHT be possible to create the game if I'm able to make a team. So I'm going to try making a team. Because I really want to make this. But I may not be able to succeed because I have no experience successfully directing a team and I have no idea who I'm going to work with.

Yes, good. That sounds a lot healthier.

I’m sure he can do it. In a pinch, I know he knows people who can probably give him pointers on team leadership, too, over at What Pumpkin.

Since I haven't started assembling the team yet I have absolutely no estimation of its completion. It could take up to 999 years depending on the efficiency level. By the way, I currently plan to release all of the chapters at once after we complete them. I'm not sure how long that will take. You'll buy all of the chapters at once as one purchase. That'll be the only option. I'm not doing pre-orders because I don't like those. It just seems like the best way not to burn anybody. Price is unknown. It depends on how long the game is, and how much it costs to make... I don't know anything about what consoles, etc. it'll come out for because by the time it comes out we might be on Playstation 14 or something. So... in short, I have no idea.

That’s all very fair.

4. "Is this the game's final design? Will you change anything?" It's possible I could change things. This is basically a demo. I might even change this first chapter before release depending on how development goes. This is really an excuse to talk about the parts I think had issues. THE BATTLE SYSTEM: I think the battle system could be explained better. I had a super duper long explanation of things here but really it boils down to: 1. UT's system is incompatible with multiple party members but I wanted to do it anyway because it's cool 2. I'd like to make it so for pacifist players, characters won't have to "defend" so much Oh. The people who tested the game thought that the TP system and animations were cool so it's not all bad. By the way, did you notice that getting close to bullets makes enemy attacks end faster? It doesn't work for every attack, but...

I didn’t notice that detail, but I do appreciate the way it adds to TP without having to defend. But I found myself defending a lot anyway just because it was the only thing there was much point in doing with the characters in question sometimes.

I do feel like there wasn’t enough to use the TP for, but that seems like something that might change as the characters develop more skills over the course of the full game.

EVERYTHING ELSE: I thought everything else was OK. Actually some parts were kind of lazy, like finding the key pieces, but oh well. The UI had some things that could be changed too. When making a game, there's so much to do you have to draw the line somewhere. That's why I need other people to help me (laugh) Oh, and I have no plans to add more content to the first chapter.

5. "Will there be multiple endings?" No. No matter what you do the ending will be the same. (Honestly most games are like that, but for some reason it feels really oppressive to say here...) I think that's part of the reason why the ACT / FIGHT system feels so vestigial in this one. Oh... I'm just talking about the battle system again...

Toby sounds a lot like Napstablook in this thing.

A single ending, huh? Interesting, considering the contrasts between Deltarune and Undertale regarding whether your choices matter and whether fighting is sometimes necessary, and the fact that Ralsei explicitly asks you to do a pacifist run.

6. "I found some kind of bug, will you fix it?" Hopefully an e-mail for that exists on the website by now. Or, it would be better if you could tweet it with #deltarunebug . That would really help us and make our lives easier because tweets are easier to ignore than e-mails

Ahaha!

7. "Can I be on the team?" I'll ask you first!!! (Total silence)

The humor is picking up here. :p

8. "What's the progress on the rest of the game so far?" 0%!!! Nothing!!! I've done nothing!!! I mean, I've done some songs and written the whole story, but... Since no programming or final art has been done, it's best to just think of it at 0%. 9. "Will you do a Kickstarter?" I still haven't finished that damn Alarm Clock, are you kidding me? There's no way I'm doing a Kickstarter this time.

I assume he’s referencing a pledge reward from the Kickstarter for Undertale (that was how I first found out about Undertale, actually, though I then forgot about it until it came out) that hasn’t panned out, or something like that.

10. "The game doesn't work" / "I don't like the game" / "Will there be a version for (platform)?" Because it's a free download I'm surrounded by a forcefield that destroys all complaints and platform requests. There might be more platforms for the DEMO but I don't want to make any promises. (At the very least it'd be nice to do something for the people who bought the game on console.) By the way at the time of writing I haven't even rendered a Mac version whatsoever at all. I hope I can release it... (laugh)

I have a friend who was unable to play the game himself because (as far as I can recall) he’s on a Mac. But yeah, this is fair.

11. "Can I buy the soundtrack for Chapter 1?" Yes! You can buy it at [ http://tobyfox.bandcamp.com ] And other forms of distribution will be in the works too. I'm writing this in the past so I don't know what I just said. 12. "Any closing remarks?" (No one asks this, but...) Thanks for playing my game. I hope you liked it. For the past 3 years I've been waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep because I've been thinking about the scenes that happen in the game. Even though so many details are still hazy, I really want to show you the things I've been thinking about. That's really my only reason for making this game. If I don't show you what I'm thinking, I'll lose my mind. (It was actually a totally selfish motivation...)

...interesting. Looks like we’re in for a ride when the full game comes.

Not that I was really doubting that.

By the way, I was really worried at first about making this. The expectations for my next work would be really high, so high that I knew that no matter what I did, I felt like people would be underwhelmed. If you played "UNDERTALE," I don't think I can make anything that makes you feel "that way" again. However, it's possible I can make something else. It's just something simple but maybe you'll like it. See you in ?? years... OK? Don't forget.

My audience probably won’t believe me if I say I won’t, due to my history of bad memory, but I don’t think I will.

And yeah. Especially when you’re connecting it to Undertale and its characters, people are going to compare the two. But even if Deltarune isn’t quite the same hit as Undertale was, it’ll be worth it, I’m sure.

#Worm #krixwell liveblogs #Arc 15 #chapter 15.4 #15.4 bet #asks #Deltarune #Undertale #Homestuck #adhd

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flatorangecat · 6 years

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I didn’t know what to name this so it won’t have a title. Just a warning this includes some spoilers for DeltaRune, as it is in the perspective of someone who has just completed the pacifist run of the game. Not really meant for anything, just a snip of story.

It seemed like so long since you had last seen the surface. Susie turned to you, reflecting your own confusion as the two of you stood amongst the discarded games of playing cards, blocks, and chess pieces. The day had been long enough fighting to maintain the balance of light and darkness within the word, but discovering the whole thing may have only been a dream weighed on your shoulders even more.

Even so, the two of you decided to head home, as the sun danced low along the horizon and you didn’t want your mother to worry. You weren’t sure how the passage of time worked between this world and the other, but you were sure by the sunset as you strolled through town that about half a day had elapsed as you took your adventure. It had been a while since you went through the routine, so out of curiosity you stopped at every establishment to reintroduce yourself to the locals before finding your way back home.

Some things hadn’t changed, familiar faces revealed themselves, though not in the same context as before. Others didn’t change, like the good ‘ol Librarby that sat a block away from your school. Burger pants seemed to recognize you immediately, raising your hopes slightly. At first you thought he remembered you - the real you, from before- but he deviated to talk about Asriel and the past you two shared growing up together with the king and queen. No talk of previous jobs or fancy dancing robots who made him sell burgers adorned with edible sequins (though after stopping at the diner you realized those still existed). You were still the only one whose consciousness persisted through the timelines. Despite how many times they changed, you were still you.

Sadness began to pull at your soul the more you listened to the townsfolk relay their stories. Some relationships blossomed, whereas others you knew were meant to be together didn’t even know the other existed. You quickened your pace until you came across what looked like a familiar establishment a street up from your house. It almost looked like Grillby’s, but all the letters had been scribbled over the abandoned building with graffiti save for the ‘S’ at the end. Instead, the letter remained to help spell a new word, a name- Sans.

Your soul jumped a little, remembering one of your previous encounters with Sans. The morbidly curious aspect of yourself had gotten the better of you, leading you astray from the true path and straight down the road to mass genocide. Sans was the only one who seemed to understand the anomalies, and partially how you seemed to be connected with them. If there was anyone other than you who could remember times from before, it would be him. Aside from the first fallen child, that is. After spacing out at the sign for a moment to recount that, you half smiled when you recognized a small skeleton lounging on the front steps of the boarded up building.

“Hey, long time no see.” You commented. Sans gave you a blank stare with his quinticential toothy grin.

“hey buddy. think you might have the wrong person, we’ve never met before. my bro and i just moved into town here.” You fought back the burning sensation that began to build behind your eyes. Not even he knew what was going on.

“Right.. I- I thought you would remember me is all. Sorry.” Instead of continuing the awkward conversation you turned to leave, actually heading for home this time to bury your head under the covers of the mess you call a bed. A voice called out from behind you to wait a minute so you reluctantly turned around.

“am i supposed to know you?” Sans asked, expressing genuine concern and confusion across his skull. You bit the inside of your lip briefly.

“Yeah. You’re supposed to know asriel, and my mom-“

“of course i know your mom, i was aquatinted with her last night.” He laughs and gives you a wink. You clench your fists.

“Sans I’m being serious! You dont even know who I am. And it’s just.. frustrating. But I’m guess I’m expecting too much, aren’t I. Try to change the timelines again, convince Chara to help open the barrier so the other children would be spared, but at what cost is it for everyone else’s lives to practically be ruined?” Sans began to advance towards you, arms outstretched as if that could calm you down.

“it looks like this is a pretty nice town, the people here seem happy.” Your eyes narrow are you snap to him.

“How closely are you looking? Besides, in this timeline you don’t even know anyone other than your brother so how would you expect to understand what’s going on. I thought there was more to you but in reality you’re just another one of them. Another part of the game that I changed.” A guilt formed a pit in your stomach. You didn’t mean to go off on sans, but that had been the last straw to break your back. He meant so much you you, your friendship, your relationship, was now meaningless. You sank down to the ground, drained of energy. Sans placed a hand on your back tentatively to rub small circles.

“‘m sorry, didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”

“You can’t help it. It’s fine.” You shrugged out of his grasp and set course for home finally. Maybe getting some sleep would help you forget this confusing nightmare. Maybe it would help clear your mind before you impulsively reset again. After greeting your mom at the door you strode straight to your room, kicked off your shoes, and threw the covers over your head before nodding off recounting the curious new characters you met earlier.

—————-

You woke with a start, struggling about trying to find the edge of your blankets. Something was cutting off your air flow, making it impossible to sleep, let alone breathe. When you finally got out from under the covers you realized it wasn’t something, but someone instead. The force on your soul tightened as you focused on it, causing you to double over onto the floor and clutch at your chest. As if by instinct, your body began to move on its own. The hand that clutched your chest dug tighter and tighter into the skin, pain nearly blinding you until you saw a flash of red. You realized too late you weren’t in control any more.

Suddenly the perspective changed and you were thrown against something cold and hard. You tried to look around but your senses had been clouded. Colors surrounded you, but no distinguishable features could be found. The sound of screeching metal clued you in that you somehow wound up in the old birdcage on the corner of your room. Only your pain radiated through the darkness, not even the silence could comfort you. Just then a voice spoke- your voice. Except you weren’t speaking.

“Oh how long has it been since I inhabited this body. I have to say, you did a good job of keeping it warm for me.” Your thoughts buzzed with frustration. A chill ran down your now nonexistent spine as you realized who this was. They acknowledged your shift in emotion.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you. Think you’ll find this spot nice and cozy for some time while I take this baby out for a test drive. You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

You did mind, actually.

“Great. Well, if youll excuse me,” there was a faint scraping sound as they pulled something out and laughed. “I have some unfinished business to attend to.” Footsteps sounded as Chara exited the room, leaving you alone in your thoughts. You tried to cry out and warn everyone, even though they weren’t the same ones you knew from before, you still cared about them. You still wanted to warn them about the dangers that lay ahead. But nothing happened. All you could do was sit there, alone, in the cage, until you could figure a way to take your body back from the one who stole it in the previous life.

#undertale #deltarune #writing #kai speaks #i couldnt sleep and just finished he game so i thought id write #kinda focus on sans cause mc likes him #mc is frisk ?? kinda ??#considering this as an alternate timeline i guess so since Kris would be Frisk #idk

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asktemmie-frisk · 6 years

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Furious Flying Fur (Lost and Found Arc)

About 2 weeks after their first therapy session, Frisk, Chara, Asgore and even Asriel started feeling a lot better about themselves. Things were starting to look up for them all. Even Toriel's tune changed when she saw that Chara and Frisk stopped harming themselves. Frisk started feeling more confident and stable, and Chara's hatred toward humans ebbed down to a minor annoyance.

Then came one day when the evening rolled around. Toriel was grading Frisk and Chara's assignments from their homeschooling sessions. As she decided to take a break, she saw Frisk and Chara in the living room, sitting next to each other as they watched a bad movie.

"Well, isn't this a fine sight for sore eyes." She said, noticing the couple's sedated moment.

"So, no appointment today?"

"Nope. We're just watching a bad movie together." Frisk said, still staring at the screen.

"Besides, we finished our homework, so we have some free time to just do whatever."

"Well, that is good. Just be sure to come into the kitchen to help me cook dinner when I call for you."

"Sure. Whatever."

"Hey mom, wait." Chara said, realizing Frisk was talking to Toriel.

"Yes, my child?"

"Can we talk?"

"Well, sure. What did you want to talk about?"

"It's about...your former relationship with dad."

Toriel instantly seized up in anger that remained hidden until that moment.

"What...about...your father?" She asked, clenching both her fists.

"I just wanted to ask if you would like come with us on our next appointment so we could really talk about your old flame a little."

"He was never an 'old flame'. He was a whiny little bitch that I raped because he was too fucking spineless to DEFEND HIMSELF BEFORE I LEFT HIS FUCKING ASS!"

Toriel became profane, and she set her left arm on fire. She ignored the flame that danced on her fur.

"He is NOT spineless! He's just a nice person that-"

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit, Chara! You honestly think that's the truth?! The truth is he's a fucking pussy, AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Chara made her creepy face in frustration and anger.

"He...is not... A PUSSY, MOM! You just never treated him like he mattered until it was too late to! Stop trying to act like what happened is all his fault!"

Toriel started to get savage with her language, and she threw in a hint of sarcasm to add insult to injury.

"You know what? You're right. It ISN'T all his fault. It's all YOUR FAULT, YOU FUCKING CRETIN!"

"Excuse me?!"

"No, you're not excused yet. If you hadn't tried to kill yourself like a fucking dumb little cunt, none of this would've happened!"

Chara lost her creepy face and started to cry with anger still present.

"I know you don't mean that, mom."

"Oh, I did, you dumb fucking bimbo. Since when do you know anything about anything? Your parents died because they had you, and-"

Frisk punched Toriel in the face hard enough to knock her down.

"Stop talking to Chara like that." He said as his eyes glowed red and black.

"Fuck you, you little mutt. Or should I say son of a bitch, because THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT YOUR MOM IS?!"

Frisk lost his temper, and lunged at Toriel, ready to brutually kill her. Chara grabbed him as hard as she could, holding him back.

"LET GO, CHARA!" He snarled with murder in his eyes.

"No, please! Don't kill mom!" Chara asked with tears in her eyes.

Frisk relented, but he didn't lower his guard as he growled at Toriel. Toriel had enough of this.

"Get out." She said in a low voice, not noticing Asriel was watching from the doorway.

Chara was shocked. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"What? What did you say?"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE! GET OUT OF MY LIFE, TOO! AND TAKE YOUR FUCKING MUTT YOU CALL A BOYFRIEND WITH YOU!"

Chara gasped in shock, and started crying harder.

"Fine. I'll pack my stuff and go to dad's."

Chara cried silently as she went upstairs to quickly pack up her things, ignoring Asriel as he watched in shock and awe. Frisk followed angrily and went to his room to pack his things as well. Asriel got angry as he heard what happened. Then after a few minutes, Flowey started talking to Asriel in his mind. Let me out; I have something to tell that bitch, the alter-ego said to the prince. Asriel obliged, and Flowey came out to ruin Toriel completely. He violently grabbed Toriel, ready to shout her head off.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He said as Toriel started to tremble.

"Wha? Asriel, why are y-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! ASRIEL AIN'T HERE TO SAVE YOUR FUCKING ASS, YOU GOAT BITCH! In fact, the only things saving you from me are about to leave!"

"What do you mean the o-"

"Mom, if you need Frisk and I, we'll be at dad's place." Chara sadly declared as she and Frisk carried their luggage to Asgore's house through the front door.

Frisk closed the door behind him, but not before flipping Toriel off with black eyes that had Toriel's reflection in them. The elder boss monster became petrified, realizing what Flowey had said.

"See that? Your only arguable protection, and you kicked them out of your life FOREVER! Now you have nothing to save you, nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run! I can make you suffer as I wish now!"

Asriel's horns grew longer and curved down a little before curving back up. Then Flowey laughed at Toriel's now hopeless situation...which was actually well deserved, especially since she did cause it!

"Now then, since you and I have some alone time, and your son isn't going to interfere, I want to know what the fuck is wrong with you, Toriel."

Toriel trembled in fear as Flowey asked the question.

"Isn't it obvious? Nothing's wrong with me."

"Then why did you rape your husband and threaten to kill him, throw him and your entire kingdom under the bus, and let six children go to their deaths before finally deciding to do something about it?"

Toriel didn't have an answer.

"That's what I thought."

Toriel scowled at Flowey while he was in control of Asriel.

"You don't care about Asgore. You don't care about anyone. The only person you would care about is Chara, Flowey. You said it yourself. And even then, you can't TRULY care about them."

"At least I was fine with that! At least I was okay with not being able to genuinely care about Chara! I'm the one whose soulless! You, on the other hand, I know what you wanted. You wanted to use Asgore for as long as you saw fit, and then discard him. So if you really think about it, you're why I'm like this. All being soulless did was give me a reason to not feel bad about it. As for you, you have a soul, but never ONCE did you act like you need or deserve it. I'll admit it, I did kill a lot of people before Asriel got to come back and have us both become one person, but at least I was honest about it! You, on the other hand, you almost killed Asgore by bringing him to such a desolate mindset. YOU'RE the one who should be ashamed of yourself, not Asriel, not Chara, and ESPECIALLY NOT FRISK!"

Toriel started tearing up. She couldn't believe how horrible Asriel's soulless side was being to her, despite technically both sides having at least one soul.

"Stop it. Why are you being so heartless? You think I'm wrong to have wants?"

"WANTS?! YOU CALL MAKING THE KING YOUR SEX SLAVE AND TREATING HIM LIKE SHIT 'WANTS'?! Why are you trying to defend yourself? And why do you do that stupid high class bullshit? You know you're beyond terrible."

"What, I'm not allowed to have hope that people don't think of me as despicable?"

"HOPE?! YOU CALL YOUR REFUSAL TO CHANGE YOUR OLD WAYS IN THE EXPECTATIONS OF EVERYTHING TO GO IN YOUR SPECIFIC FAVOR 'HOPE'?! The very notion of what you're saying is laughable at best! To be brutally honest, YOU'RE A WALKING JOKE, TORIEL!"

Flowey dropped Toriel back on the ground, laughing uncontrollably at her despair. He found a lot of pleasure in seeing this boss monster cry her eyes out.

"Stop it." She meeked begged.

"Why should I?! The only decent people in your life cared about you, and you threw them out like a piece of trash! And now you're deciding to take them back because you think you can make amends?! The very notion is comical to me!"

"Why are doing this to me? Stop treating me like this. Stop hurting me so much."

"I'm not even hurting you, idiot. And plus, I'm not treating you badly or anything. All I'm doing is giving you a taste of your own medicine. Doesn't taste so good, does it? Now that 'hubby' isn't here to take your meds for yo-oh, pardon me- 'EX-hubby'. Anyway, you're getting back what you put out. You got your privacy, but you lost your protection and family. You got what you wanted, but in exchange, you lost what you had. And to make matters worse for you, what you had and what you needed most of all were your family, and you gave it all up, all because of one little argument that escalated into something it shouldn't have been! That's why it's so funny for me to watch people's lives go up in smoke!"

Flowey cackled evilly as Toriel started getting angry.

"Stop. It's...it's...IT'S NOT FUNNY, YOU OVERGROWN WEED!"

Toriel was angry enough to set both of her entire arms alight. She was sick and tired of having to feel so bad about her past and get judged through its entirety.

She stopped caring whether Asriel was still there or not.

"Oh, so you're gonna fight me, eh? This is great! THIS is what I've been waiting for! It's one thing to remind people of how horrible they really are, but it's WAY more amusing if they start trying to 'prove it all wrong'! Those are the people that are actually interesting to me because they're willing to defend themselves until the end!"

"DAMN RIGHT, I'M GONNA DEFEND MYSELF! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE UP EXCEPT FOR MY OWN LIFE, SO COME AT ME, YOU FUCKING WEED! I'M RIPPED!"

Toriel became angry enough to completely engulf herself in flames, similar to a respective aura. Flowey simply laughed at her as the fight commenced.

"Look at you! Trying to make me scared of you like it's gonna make a fucking difference! Don't worry about that, lambchop! I'll wipe that pride off your face in no time!"

Toriel used her fire magic in a propulsive manner, charging to Flowey, only to have her supercharge get abruptly interrupted by a knee to her chest, literally knocking the wind out of her and extinguishing her flames at the same time. Flowey violently grabbed her again and stood her up, holding her by her neck. After she was steadied, he landed a punch to her face. She dodged another, only to have a vine spring up out of the wall and sucker-punch her in her cheek. The force was enough to knock her down to the ground. She got up and tried to claw at Asriel, missing every time except for the last one, which resulted in nothing but a light grazing that couldn't even break his skin. Flowey guffawed mockingly and jabbed her stomach again, causing her to cough a little blood. She fell to her knees to catch her breath and recover from the blow to her stomach as Flowey stood over her in a domineering manner.

"I can't believe it. Is that all you got? 'Cause if that's all you've got, then I can't believe you're really this weak."

Flowey forcibly slammed his foot into Toriel's back, causing her to bellow in pain. He kept kicking her while she was down, listening to her cries of anguish and enjoying every impact like it would be his last. After 30 seconds of "playtime" with Toriel, he stopped as he saw she was thoroughly defeated, crying in pain.

"Please. No more." She tearfully begged.

"Please, just...please stop."

Toriel couldn't dry her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. She felt weak and powerless.

"I'm sorry, Asriel. You must hate me so much now."

Toriel was completely aware of what she just said to Flowey and Asriel. And why wouldn't she be? She got herself in the mess she created, and she couldn't get out. I don't deserve to be with anyone anymore, she said to herself. I had it good, and now my family fervently hates me. With a passion. I should just tell Flowey to end this PATHETIC farce I call a life. As Flowey looked down, he got bored seeing Toriel's pathetic frame. Then he noticed the locket Asgore gave to her. He took it off of her.

"See, Toriel? I got your precious heart locket, or should I say 'soul' instead?"

Flowey dangled it in front of her, trying to get a reaction out of her. His efforts worked perfectly.

"That's my locket...give it back to me." Toriel grunted, trying to pick herself up through her tears using her rage.

"Aw, what's the matter? Oh, you want your ba-ba? You gonna cwy if you don't-"

Toriel swiftly punched Asriel in the groin, causing Flowey to scream in pain and drop the locket. She quickly scrambled to it and latched on, almost like if she let go even for a second, it would be gone forever. Flowey quickly recovered from the cheap shot Toriel took.

"Damn, that fucking hurts! Still up to actually fight?! GOOD! I WAS HOPING YOU-"

"NO!"

"NO?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO'?"

"I mean 'no'! I'm not fighting you anymore."

Toriel was still angry, but she was also beyond sad.

"I am PISSED THE FUCK OFF BEYOND ALL REASON, but I am NOT fighting! I concede. I yield. I cannot continue. I don't know why I tried to fight you in the first place, especially since I knew it was a doomed bout. You are correct about everything you said. I was right to be bested by you. I give up. Do what you will at this point. I don't care. Just make it quick."

Toriel gave up, completely relenting to whatever mercy Flowey had for her.

"Fine. If that's how you want it, then consider this meeting done, Toriel. I think it's time Asriel got a say in this."

Flowey went back to Asriel's mind as the young boss monster looked at his mother in disappointment.

"You know, mom, you're lucky Flowey decided to spare you. You're lucky to get away from him with your life." Asriel said, looking down at his mother.

"Asriel..." That was all Toriel could say in her shock.

"Wait. Hold on. Did I say 'lucky'? And with such a dreaded life like yours? How cruel of me to remind you of how abysmally awful you feel because of your mistakes from your past finally catching up to you. For shame!"

Asriel turned away from his mother, facing the stairway as he took a few steps to it, but not ascending. Flowey came out one last time to berate Toriel, but Asriel was still in control, so they both spoke in unison with a distorted voice.

"You are so wretched that I don't need to meddle in your PATHETIC life to make it more miserable than it already is. So you know what, Toriel? I'm not going to kill you, and I'm not taking your soul either. No. Now I have a much better idea. Instead of what I did in the past, I'm gonna take a more pacified option. I'm gonna let your own pain end your own sad existence. Yes. If there's one thing I know best about people hating themselves, it's that there's no worse punishment than being yourself. Except maybe being yourself all BY yourself. But look at the bright side. You don't want Chara or Frisk in your life anymore, so you'll never be forced to see them ever again. EVER."

Asriel walked upstairs and quickly packed his bags, not letting his anger abate even slightly.

When he got back down in less than 5 minutes, he headed straight to the door. Toriel desperately clung to Asriel's leg.

"NO, PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME!" She beseeched with tears flowing endlessly.

"No, mom! I'm leaving."

"But Asriel, why? Why are you leaving me?!"

"Because...first, you kick dad out, then you kick the kingdom out, NOW YOU KICK MY BEST FRIEND AND HER BOYFRIEND OUT?! Who's next, me?! Well, I'm not waiting for that, so I'm leaving on my own! That way, you CAN'T kick me out! That's right! I refuse to give you the satisfaction! Goodbye. And don't follow me, either. Unless you're ready to make amends. And I mean actually do it, not just pretend and do this shit again."

"But Asriel-"

Asriel kicked Toriel in the face, forcing her to let go.

"Worthless. Don't show your pathetic face around me again unless you're ready to grow up..."

And that was it. Asriel walked out with everything he packed, slamming the door forcefully behind him, and he headed straight to Asgore's house. Toriel was left in the wake of it all as she was left battered, bruised, and isolated. All she could do was cry on the ground, curling up in a ball. For hours on end, she just wept to herself with no one to hear her cries. She finally understood what she did to herself. She had a great life, had great friends, and had a great family, and she gave all of that up. She would never be able to live down this soul-crushing, unfathomable sadness for as long as she was alive.

#undertale #frisk (undertale)#chara (undertale)#asriel dreemurr #toriel #temmie #boss monster #monster #human #hybrid #temmie-frisk #sorry for the long post #i'm trying to tell a story here #lost and found arc

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undertale-rho · 4 years

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Underearth: Book 4 - Chapter 8

Frisk's eyes slid open. He was back with the sea of glass, the great metallic beast of a thousand eyes towering nearby.

"AGAIN!" it declared.

Frisk didn't respond. His thoughts instead dwelled with Chara. Specifically, at her biting words, at how in his quest to save Humanity from a threat he had released by his own hatred, he had forsaken the Monsters he originally wished to save.

"AGAIN!" the beast repeated.

Frisk looked up at it. Its great form was focused entirely on Frisk, imposing its presence as if to intimidate.

"No..." he eventually mumbled.

The whirling of the beast's cylinders quieted for but a second, quickly followed by it simply saying "WHAT?"

"No!" Frisk repeated, louder and much more firmly.

The cylinders of the great machine sped, great bellows of steam erupting from its chassis.

"YOU WILL RETURN AND KILL THEM ALL AGAIN!" it demanded.

"NO!" Frisk shouted. "I'm tired of seeing my friends suffer at my hand! You say I need to kill everyone, yet it's their deaths, as well as the death of Humanity, that I'm trying to prevent! I will not continue to be a horrible monster." As he finished speaking, tears began forming in his eyes.

The beast spoke again, callous in its tone. "I DO NOT CARE. YOU WILL RETURN, AND YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD."

Frisk stared up at the beast, defiance building up inside. "Or what?" he asked.

The beast didn't speak. Instead, the intensity of the light of its eyes grew, and Frisk then saw visions. Countless horrifying visions. Visions of pain, visions of suffering, of sorrow, of anguish, of agony, torment, and woe.

This is it... Frisk thought, collapsing to his knees. When his mind returned, clear of the visions from the beast, it brought forward a memory of his own, long buried by his time alone on the streets of Athens.

"Frisk." a kind, young, masculine voice echoed in his mind.

"What is it?" Frisk's own voice echoed as he fiddled with a small object in his hands.

"What do you wanna be when you grow up?" the voice then asked.

"That's easy. I wanna be just like you!"

The voice chuckled a bit. "Just like me, huh. Well, what if it turned out that I was a horrible, awful person? Would you still wanna be like me?"

Frisk looked up directly at the source of the voice. His form was heavily obscured in dark, repressing fog. "That's impossible." he said. "You're like a superhero. You could never be bad."

The figure laughed, ruffling Frisk's hair with his hand. "You're a good kid, Frisk. You're the real hero here. I'm just... well, me. Always try to make good decisions, Frisk. If you wanna be just like the superhero you see me as, then always choose to do the right thing, no matter what."

Snapping back to reality, Frisk found himself kneeling on the great sea of glass, staring at his broken reflection from the surface of the crystal.

"WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE, FRISK!? RETURN OR PERISH?"

Frisk looked up at the beast. Tears were running down his face.

"Do what you want to me. I will not be the architect of suffering to others any longer."

When he had finished speaking, Frisk closed his eyes, waiting for the first jolts of pain to arrive.

"THEN YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE..." the beast said.

Frisk continued kneeling. He waited, and waited, and waited. After some time, the agony of waiting for the pain began to get to Frisk, and he cracked his eyelids to see what was going on.

Directly in front of him stood a humanoid clockwork figure, around the size of an adult.

"CONGRATULATIONS." it said, stretching its hand out to Frisk.

Confused, Frisk slowly took the hand. Upon taking it, the machine lifted him to his feet.

"YOU PASS." it then said.

"Wh... what...?" Frisk asked.

"IT WAS ALL A TEST. YOU PASS. AS SUCH, I SHALL ANSWER ANY QUESTION RELEVANT TO YOUR WORLD THAT YOU WISH."

Frisk looked around the sea. The great beast was gone.

"YOU ARE IN MY REALM, FRISK. I CONTROL REALITY HERE, AND I CAN TAKE ANY FORM I WANT."

Frisk looked back at the clockwork figure. "Who... What are you?" he asked.

"I AM BUT ONE OF MANY TOOLS CALLED A 'TIMEPIECE'." The figure then brought an object in its hand up. "YOU MAY RECOGNIZE ME MORE AS THIS."

Frisk looked down at the object. It was the pocketwatch he had found when he first awoke within the Underground.

"Yâ€”you'reâ€”"

"YES. I AM THE POCKETWATCH. YOU YOURSELF ARE INSIDE ME. YOUR SOUL, AT LEAST."

Frisk looked down at the ground. After a few seconds, he looked back up to face the Timepiece.

"You said you'd answer any question, right?" he asked.

"IN ESSENSE, YES."

"Why did you continuously urge me to return and murder everyone."

"TO GET YOU TO DECLINE."

"What?" Frisk said, stepping backward.

"THINK BACK TO WHAT STARTED YOUR EIDOCIDE IN THE FIRST PLACE. A FACELESS ENTITY URGED YOU TO DO IT WHILE YOU WERE IN A TRAUMA-RIDDEN STATE. BY DOING IT, LOV GREW RAMPANT IN YOUR SOUL, EVENTUALLY GROWING TO SUCH GREAT POWER THAT IT COULD USE MAGIC ALL ON ITS OWN. WHAT YOU, AND THE ENTITY, FAILED TO ACCOUNT FOR WAS THE FRAGMENTS OF CHARA'S SOUL CLINGING TO YOURS AND STEALING LOV AWAY TO USE ITS POWER AGAINST YOU AND, EVENTUALLY, ALL OF HUMANITY."

"Wait, there were fragments of Chara's SOUL clinging to mine?"

"YES."

"How did they get there?"

"WHEN YOU FIRST FELL INTO THE UNDERGROUND, YOU FELL ONTO A BED OF GOLDEN FLOWERS. CHARA'S ORIGINAL BODY IS BURIED BENIETH THAT BED. BECAUSE HER SOUL WAS TAKEN SO QUICKLY AFTER HER PASSING, A SMALL AMOUNT WAS LEFT BEHIND, ROUGHLY SIX PERCENT. WHEN YOU WERE REVIVED, THE FRAGMENTS INSIDE HER ROTTED CORPSE WERE FORCED ONTO YOUR SOUL."

"So, that Chara is really only six percent of the original?" Frisk asked, trying to wrap his head around this.

"NO. YOU ACQUIRED MORE OF CHARA'S SOUL ALONG THE WAY. THE CHARA YOU'VE BEEN FIGHTING IS ROUGHLY TEN PERCENT."

"What? Where'd the rest come from?"

"AFTER ASRIEL DIED AND HIS BODY SOLIDIFIED, A PIECE OF IT FELL OFF. THIS PIECE HELD A TINY FRAGMENT OF HIS OWN SOUL ESSENSE, AS WELL AS SOME FRAGMENTS OF CHARA'S SOUL, THE SOUL THAT HE ABSORBED. DURING YOUR GREAT BATTLE AGAINST ASRIEL BEFORE YOUR REIGN OF EIDOCIDE, YOU TWO CAME SO CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER THAT THE FRAGMENTS IN EACH OF YOUR SOULS MERGED, FORMING THE TEN PERCENT. IT WAS AROUND THIS TIME THAT CHARA FIRST DIRECTLY CONTACTED YOU. WITH HER SOUL NOW BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN YOURS AND ASRIEL'S, ALONG WITH ALL THE MONSTERS THAT ASRIEL HAD ABSORBED, YOU WERE ABLE TO DIRECTLY CONTACT YOUR FRIENDS AND FREE THEM FROM ASRIEL'S CONTROL."

"So, I was right..." Frisk mumbled.

"YES."

"So... that voice. The voice that pushed me on to save everyone from Asriel, the voice that I heard when I'd hugged Asriel... and the voice I heard in Asgore's home near the end of my eidocide... that was all Chara?"

"YES. AND THERE WERE OTHERS AS WELL. THE SORROWFUL FEELING YOU FELT IN ASRIEL'S ROOM WHEN YOU REACHED FOR THE LOCKET WAS CHARA. THE SHADOWS YOU SAW AS YOU ENTERED ASGORE'S HOME IN YOUR SECOND WORLD, YOUR SECOND WANDERING OF THE UNDERGROUND, WAS CHARA. THE EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN YOU FELT WHEN YOU SAW THE PHOTO IN THE LOCKET WAS CHARA. THE MAGICAL SHIELDS YOU SUMMONED DURING YOUR SECOND WORLD WERE ALSO SOURCED FROM CHARA."

"What about everything in the lab with the DETERMINATION?" Frisk asked when the figure stopped. "Like how I just... knew that there was an infirmary in there. Or how my arm just seemed to fix itself so fast after I splinted it. Or how I just knew how to reset the bone. Was that Chara too?"

"NO." the figure responded. "THAT WAS ME. YOU NEEDED TO GET MOVING, SO I HEALED YOUR ARM JUST ENOUGH TO STOP IT FROM BEING CRIPPLINGLY PAINFUL. AFTER TRANSFERRING THE KNOWLEDGE TO YOU SO YOU COULD RESET THE BONE, I ADVANCED THE HEALING TO REPAIR YOUR ARM AT A RAPID RATE, GIVING ONLY AN HOUR TO MEND IT INSTEAD OF MANY WEEKS. I DID THE SAME SORT OF THING WHEN RELIEVING YOU OF YOUR ACHES AFTER YOU'D FIRST WOKEN UP. I HAVE ALSO GUIDED YOU WITHIN YOUR THOUGHTS IN MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS."

Frisk pondered on what he had been told silently for a few minutes. The machine patiently waited. Eventually, Frisk asked his next question. "If that Chara only has ten percent of her SOUL, where's the rest?"

"HIDDEN SOMEWHERE IN THE UNDERGROUND."

"Where?" Frisk asked.

"THE ANSWER YOU SEEK TO THAT QUESTION WILL COME IN TIME, BUT NOT NOW."

"I see..." Frisk said, going back to his silent contemplation.

The silence lasted for a few more minutes, this time ending when the machine finally spoke again.

"THERE IS A WAY YOU CAN SAVE CHARA." it said.

Frisk snapped out of his silent contemplation. "How?" he asked.

"YOU MUST FREE THE SOUL FRAGMENTS FROM LOV'S CONTROL. TO DO THIS, YOU MUST FIRST CONFRONT CHARA, AS I SAID BEFORE."

"How? Every time I tried that, I died very quickly."

"YES. THE SAME WILL HAPPEN IF YOU CONFRONT CHARA ALONE AGAIN."

"Then how am I supposed to free the fragments of her SOUL from it?"

The machine didn't answer the question right after it was asked, instead opting to stay silent for just a few seconds.

"YOU MUST RECRUIT THE STRONGEST ENTITY WITHIN THE UNDERGROUND TO YOUR CAUSE." it finally said.

Frisk scoffed slightly. "Oh? And who would that be?" he asked.

"SOMEONE YOU HAVE SEEN BEFORE, IN A CLOAK." the machine said. "IN THE LAST FEW WORLDS, THIS ENTITY WAS CONDUCTING TESTS, SPECIFICALLY REGARDING YOUR DETERMINATION."

"What? Why? Why would that cloaked guy in Snowdin be interested in my DETERMINATION?"

"TO DETERMINE THE PROPER COUNTER TO YOU."

Frisk's jaw dropped. "Counter?" he said slowly. "What do you mean, counter?"

"DURING YOUR MULTIPLE EIDOCIDES, YOU MADE IT CLEAR TO HIM THAT YOU WERE UNSTOPPABLE; MORESO THAN FLOWEY, AS HIS COUNTERMEASURES HAD STOPPED FLOWEY FROM PURSUING SOME PATHS. THIS ENTITY HAS DETERMINED AN APPROPRIATE COUNTERMEASURE, AND UPON RETURNING TO THE UNDERGROUND, HE WILL BEGIN THE PROCESS OF MILITARIZING THE MOST POWERFUL MONSTERS WITHIN THE UNDERGROUND AND OVERSEEING THE EVACUATION OF NOT-COMBATANTS."

Frisk was at a loss for words. This guy, which he apparently needed to save Chara, was currently in the process of making it impossible to do anything.

"IN ORDER TO DRAW THIS ENTITY OUT SO YOU MAY COME TO FACE WITH THEM," the machine continued, "YOU MUST KILL ALL THE MONSTERS HE HAS RALLIED AGAINST YOU."

"NO!" Frisk shouted instantly. "I don't want to kill anyone else! I'm tired of all this death. You just said all that urging me to kill was to get me to say no, well here I am saying no!"

The machine simply stood there as Frisk yelled at it. When he finally stopped, the machine started speaking again.

"YOU CAN STILL SAY NO. JUST KNOW THAT THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO SAVE CHARA AT THIS POINT. IF YOU FACE HER ALONE, LOV WILL DESTROY YOU. IN ORDER TO HAVE A CHANCE AT VICTORY OVER IT, YOU MUST BRING THIS ENTITY TO YOUR SIDE."

"Fine!" Frisk said. "But I'll do it without killing anybody! I'll talk to him, convince him to help me."

"IT WILL NOT WORK. IF YOU FAIL TO CONVINCE HIM OF THE THREAT HE BELIEVES YOU ARE, HE WILL RETREAT BACK INTO THE SHADOWS AND RETURN TO THE PASSIVE ROLE OF OBSERVATION, FOREVER OUT OF REACH. IN THE TIME YOU WILL INEVITABLY WASTE SEEKING HIM OUT, CHARA WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IN STRENGTH, EVENTUALLY BECOMING POWERFUL ENOUGH ON HER OWN TO SHATTER THE BARRIER AND BEGIN THE GREAT BUTCHERING OF HUMANITY, AT WHICH POINT IT WILL NOT MATTER IF YOU HAVE HIM WITH YOU OR NOT."

Frisk collapsed to his knees again. Thinking for a minute, he eventually spoke up.

"How do I know you're not just trying to trick me, just like that voice...?"

"YOU DON'T. AND THERE IS NOTHING I CAN SAY THAT WILL CONVINCE YOU TO PUT ALL YOUR TRUST IN ME."

Frisk let out a heavy sigh.

"ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT, IF YOU SUCCEED, CHARA WILL BE FREE, AND YOU WON'T HAVE TO KILL ANY LONGER."

Frisk raised his head slightly. It was indeed true that there was no sure way that he could trust this machine, but, besides the vague urgings to commit eidocide, it presented no reason to not trust it, either. While thinking about it further, Frisk noticed that, during the times it was urging Frisk to commit to the eidocides, it remained hopelessly vague. This time, however, it gave elaborate reasons as to why this was the only way. Try as he might, no matter how hard he thought on it, trying to find the holes in its logic, he eventually had to accept that this was all too likely the pure, ugly truth. The only way forward towards his goals is death.

"What if I somehow develop LOV again?" Frisk asked.

"LOV CANNOT GROW UNLESS YOU HOLD A DESIRE IN YOUR HEART FOR IT TO. IT IS NOT A PROBLEM YOU WILL NEED TO WORRY YOURSELF WITH UNLESS YOU GAIN THAT DESIRE."

"I see..." Frisk said. He then looked up at the machine. "No more eidocides after this, right?" he asked.

"CORRECT."

Frisk stood back up. "Then... I guess we'd better get to it."

As he finished saying this, a chill enveloped his body, and the world around him vanished.

Sozo : Revelations

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