#(didn’t include everyone obviously but I had to include the side charas I do like a lot lol)

[chevelleneech]

Put me in the writer’s room, Tim!

Y’all know what would really spark Eddie’s feelings realization in s8?

Buck going missing.

Not injured, because he’s been physically hurt enough, but just missing. I don’t think we’ve seen him lost and the others having to find him, because the only time that would have been necessary was during the tsunami, and they didn’t know he was caught in it.

So I imagine it something like what the show Found did. They had a great episode where a couple went missing on a hike, and the woman got seriously injured, so the guy— a nurse— stayed with her to give her his blood until help came. Now, neither Buck nor Tommy are nurses, but I imagine Tim and co could figure out a way to have them go on a hiking date, then Tommy gets injured— solely because I do not want Buck injured again— and Buck secures him in one spot as he tries to find his way out of the ravine they fell down or something.

And because I’m not a BuckTommy hater as I’m sure some of their fans think, this would also serve as an episode that could open the door for us to learn what exactly Buck likes about Tommy. What is he seeking by dating Tommy, and whether or not in a moment of life and death, if Tommy is the person Buck wants to have a future with. An episode like this could easily be a “Buck Begins Again”, and focus on his sexuality and whether or not he truly never realized he likes men or was just suppressing it.

Now, imagine all of that happening on Buck’s day off around mid-day, then the next morning the 118 are starting their shift and everyone is confused as to why Buck isn’t at work. Gerard doesn’t give a fuck, obviously, and feels it’s an easy win to firing him, but Eddie is all… “No, something must be wrong. Buck is never not here..” So they call Tommy, but he of course doesn’t answer. Then they call Bobby, who talked to him the day before maybe, and says something like “He said he and Tommy were headed back. Maybe they got caught up or he’s just running late?”

So of course when Buck doesn’t answer anybody all morning, they all start to freak out because Buck doesn’t ghost people. He is the complete opposite of the type, but everyone is also still caught up at work and with Gerard and Councilwoman Ortiz breathing down their necks, they can’t jump to look for him. But you know who can? Maddie. And maaaaaayyyyybe we can wiggle it where Eddie had a scheduled trip to Texas to finally talk to Chris is person, but he’s conflicted about going now, because… it’s Buck. Chris would hate him even more if something happened to Buck, but he’s worried Chris will feel pushed aside again if he doesn’t go.

He ultimately decides to stay and help Maddie look for Buck though, because 1) if Gavin is really gone, obviously there’s no scenes to be had in Texas 2) he slowly realizes Buck means way more to him than he thought possible.

And because I am a Buddie prefer-er, Buck would also end the episode realizing dying on the side of a mountain as he grows increasingly dehydrated and tired, that the people he’d miss saying goodbye to the most does not include the man he walked up the mountain with. It’s Maddie; his sister and the woman who raised him to be the kind man he is today. Bobby; the man who took him under his wing and treated him the way a true father is supposed to. Christopher; the kid he didn’t know he wanted, but has given his heart to as a step-father-figure. And Eddie; the man he built a family unit with and whom he broke down over nearly losing more than once, whose home is a place of peace and comfort for him.

All of that said… am I looking forward to whatever s8 has in store? Not completely, and I already stated my piece on why. The way this season ended was pretty subpar, and because Tim and co refused to have Buck and/or Eddie so much as mention in passing the assumptions people have about them dating or any possible feelings for each other, I truly am not awaiting anyone’s future story arcs. I will still watch and care for the characters, hopefully, but putting thought into whatever eventually plays out on screen? I’m done. As of right now in canon, nothing is being resolved, everything is repetitive, and the actors are reaching a point of being like, “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m sure it’ll work out.” Which is a bad sign. So I’m in headcanon all the way territory, and will enjoy what the actors I support put out as objectively as I can.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

#5: The One With Astruc's Self-Insert

In my introductory post, I said the main inspiration for this blog was @hypocrisyofandrewdobson​. For those who don't know, Andrew Dobson is an infamous webcomic artist known for drawing webcomics that tend to demonize people he's come across in public or people who disagree with him online (either critical of his art or his political views), while portraying himself as the victim or wise man calling them out on their differing beliefs.

If you want to learn more about this guy who I consider to be far worse than Astruc, check out the blog in question. And no, I don't know why he draws himself as a blue bear.

Why am I talking about this? It's one thing for some schmuck on the internet to use his work to respond to criticism, but the creator of a popular animated series dedicating an entire episode to attacking his critics and trying to get others to feel bad for him is another story.

The second episode of Miraculous Ladybug's third season, “Animaestro” served as a wake-up call for fans (myself included) to make them realize how immature Astruc could be. The plot centers around the premiere of a movie about Ladybug and Cat Noir directed by Thomas Astruc, who voices himself in the original French dub.

And this isn't just a brief cameo like what Stan Lee did in the MCU. Astruc is the Akumatized person this episode, so there's naturally a lot of focus on him. Throughout the first half of the episode, Astruc portrays himself as this timid man who nobody recognizes or respects, like this idiot who doesn't know what animation is.

Doorman: This is a private event, sir.

Astruc: Huh? Excuse me? I'm Thomas Astruc, the movie director.

Doorman: You filmed Cat Noir and Ladybug? What are they like in real life?

Astruc: Er, it's an animated movie. It's all cartoon characters. We don't actually film anyone. See, there's this whole team that draw the chara—

Doorman: Whatever. Who would want to see Ladybug and Cat Noir as cartoon characters?

Get it? Wasn't that meta joke hilarious? This is how much I was laughing:

And Astruc continues to get about as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield when he interacts with other characters like Jagged Stone and Chloe.

Jagged Stone: Ladybug is one of my best buds! I can't wait to see her movie!

Astruc: Well I—I'm the director, so actually it's more my movie, so to speak.

Jagged Stone: Oh, so you're the one who created the story?

Astruc: Well, technically the screen writers wrote the story, inspired by Ladybug's exploits.

Jagged Stone: Oh, okay. So you did all the drawings?

Thomas: No, no. The animators do all the drawings.  

Jagged Stone: So what do you do then?

(Later on...)

Chloe: So you're the one responsible for this movie?

Astruc: Yes, yes! Exactly! That's me!

Chloe: Then you were the one who left Queen Bee out of the trailer. You're lame, utterly lame.

I can't believe Astruc had a scene where he interacted with Chloe and didn't insult her at all.

The episode is determined to make the audience feel bad for Astruc. Nobody respects him and what he does. Isn't that saaaaaad? Nobody cares about animated film directors like Walt Disney or Tex Avery anyway. Not even these stupid children understand how hard Astruc works.

Several Children: Ladybug! Where's Ladybug?

Astruc: Hey there, kids!

Teacher: Ladybug isn't here children. We came here to meet the director of the movie. Children: (frowning in disappointment) Aww.

(Astruc looks visibly disappointed.)

Way to insult your primary demographic, Astruc. I thought you said kids have a better understanding of these stories when people criticized the writing of a certain episode (It's that scene in “Puppeteer 2” if you're curious/don't value your sanity).

It's almost like you're using that as an excuse to half-ass your work while still getting to claim this show is so groundbreaking.

In case you can't tell, “Animaestro” is one of those episodes. The ones where the showrunners decide to dedicate an entire episode to attacking critics of the show in a blunt fashion. Whenever a show addresses criticism, they either create an obvious strawman character to parrot the opinions of fans who don't like their work, or have someone defend the show and insult the critics directly.

The problem isn't that they're ignoring criticism. It's their show, and they aren't obligated to listen to critics or fans who don't like the direction the show is taking. On the other hand, they aren't obligated to fight back like this and treat their audience like crap. Any show that does something like the three clips I showed you usually comes off as petty and immature because they dedicate so much time to insulting the critics. 

Even during the Akuma fight, Astruc has to call out Ladybug for having problems with his movie in-universe, obviously representing critics of the show Astruc claims have no right to criticize the show while it's still airing.

Ladybug: What's with that trailer too? I am not scared of cats, at all.

Astruc/Animaestro: You haven't even seen the movie and you're already slamming it?

Cat Noir: He does have a point, you know.

Ladybug: I wasn't slamming it. It's called constructive criticism!

Yeah, how dare Ladybug be angry that this movie is portraying her as a powerless coward dependent on Cat Noir as opposed to a confident and brave superhero. She just doesn't understand the genius of Thomas Astruc!

And of course the character Astruc claims is “perfect” is the one to take his side.

And that's another problem with this episode, the metatextual references. Before he gets akumatized, Astuc says he spent three years of his life working on his movie. I get that time in this show is weird (we somehow had episodes taking place on the first day of school, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and the first day of Summer), but how did Astruc's self-insert work on a movie based on a superhero who has only been active for a year? Meta-wise, it's an obvious reference to the scorn Astruc has gotten from fans after working so hard on his show, but the only people who would get that reference are the ones who are aware of Astruc's reputation online.

Self-Insert aside, I actually think the titular Animaestro is one of the more visually impressive Akumas featured on the show. Animaestro takes on several forms based off several different forms and eras of animation, like flash, anime, rubber hose, and they all stand out. Granted, some of them are obvious parodies of other characters like Goku or Sailor Moon, but the actual Akuma fight is fun to watch. According to the Mexican Miraculous Ladybug Twitter account, this episode took two and a half years to create, and it shows. It's too bad the story behind it is completely insufferable, almost like the cartoon equidistant to Pixels.

But then comes the part that honestly makes the episode worth it, mainly for how unintentionally hilarious it is. Do you want to know what Animaestro's weakness is? Do you really want to know?

Animaestro is physically incapable of moving unless someone is watching him. I am not making this up.

Ladybug and Cat Noir literally defeat Animaestro by getting everyone to stop paying attention to him.

I could make so many jokes with this, but I can guarantee you're already thinking of something just as good, if not better, than whatever I write.

And there's the end where Astruc gives Marinette his ticket to the movie, which prompts Marinette to kiss up to him for no real reason.

Astruc: Sorry, I guess you don't know who I am either.

Marinette: Of course do. You're Thomas Astruc, the movie director!

Astruc: She recognized me. Somebody actually recognized me!

Nothing happened to make her change her opinion on the Ladybug movie, she didn't really say anything to him earlier in the episode that connects to this exchange, and outside of a few lines Animaestro said, she doesn't even know why he got akumatized (even though ironically she and Chloe accidentally contributed to it because of the awful subplot involving Kagami I talked about last time). If anything, it comes off less like she actually appreciates Astruc's work, and more like she's stroking his ego just to keep him from getting akumatized again.

So yeah, this episode is awful, and the fact that it came out right after the controversial “Chameleon” only proved to show what kind of direction the show was taking this season.

But honestly, even if Astruc still wanted to make about how he doesn't get enough respect the episode could have potentially. All he had to do was make a simple change: Instead of making it about validation for Astruc as a creator, make it about validation for animation in general.

It's a common misconception that animation is only used for shows and movies aimed at children, so the episode could reflect it. Instead of the huge turnout where several celebrities appear at the premiere, instead, the turnout could be a lot smaller, with the media dismissing it as some stupid kiddie flick. Instead of getting akumatized because he gets humiliated in public/getting no respect from anyone else, Astruc gets akumatized because he sees the audience didn't go wild for the movie after the premiere. All he can hear them say is that it's just “kids stuff”.

So when Astruc is Animaestro, he goes on about how important animation is. How it's helped produce propaganda since World War II. How it helped improve special effects in big blockbusters. How the medium is used to create movies that simply can't be filmed on a physical set.

After defeating Animaestro, Ladybug shows up to talk to him. She had seen the movie earlier, and actually enjoyed it. She had a few problems with the story, but they were just minor nitpicks and inaccuracies Astruc wouldn't know about, and she was blown away by the animation. She tells Astruc not to be deterred by his critics, and continue to do what he does. As a designer in her civilian life, Ladybug knows the joy creating brings her, and both she and Astruc want to spread that joy through their work.

Back at the premiere, Astruc thinks about what Ladybug said to him when he sees some kids reenacting a scene from the movie. Astruc walks over to them and asks what they thought of the movie. They said they loved it and how energetic it was. When he tells them he is the director, the kids' faces light up and they say they want to do what he does when they grow up, bringing a smile to Astruc's face.

Isn't that a much more humble approach instead of what we got? It would have helped Astruc come across as more sympathetic, especially with animation fans. But instead, we got an entire episode of Astruc whining about how misunderstood he is.

And you know the footage used for the movie at the beginning? Remember that, because I have a huge rant about it saved for a later post.

For now, here’s an example of a creator appearing in his work done right.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome to Backwater ch.13 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Finally some answers! It's just a shame they aren't for the questions Stretch already had.

Read ‘Neverland’ on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

If he were asked, Stretch would be the first to admit he was probably not the greatest influence out there for anyone. When he was younger, he’d tried his best for Blue’s sake at least; he worked two jobs, he made sure the laundry was done so Blue could wear clean clothes for school and all that. But as Blue got older and more able to help out, a lot of that shit fell off to the wayside into apathy. Until they got to the surface, anyway, but whatever efforts he’d made to get his life on track in the Aboveground took a sad detour back to wallowing in misery a few months back.

That said, Stretch tried not to be a complete asshole at any given time, but damn if living in Backwater wasn’t putting his manners to the test, because the predominant phrase running through his mind right now as he stared at the older ‘Chara’ clone was, ‘what in the name of holy blue fuck?’.

At least he managed not to say it, but then, he also didn’t manage to say anything else. Instead of a ‘hi’ or a ‘how ya doin’ or even a ‘so, how about those dodgers’ for the smiling Human in front of him, all Stretch did was gape, his bike engine idling and his mouth hanging open in an invitation to any circling flies in search of a new home.

His luck was leaning towards good today, insect-wise, since none took the invite, and all the Human did was smile wider, their eyes crinkling as they held out their hand and said, with a certain slyness, “Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”

Stretch knew before he even shook their hand what was coming. Mostly, anyway, turned out to be a whoopie cushion hidden in the palm rather than the joy buzzer Stretch was so fond of. But he knew, this was his gag, and still he hastily switched off the engine and reached over. He took their hand in a daze and the rubbery wheeze of a fake fart as their palms met made the Human laugh in delight.

“Still works,” they said gleefully. The Human held up the little whoopie cushion before tucking it into their pocket, leaving aside humor for sincerity. “I have so wanted to meet you.”

“me?” Stretch said blankly. Not exactly showcasing his brilliance, there, but he couldn’t seem to stop staring. That familiar, cherubic smile was so strange when it was on another face. Of all the things he’d seen so far in Backwater, this was, by far, the last he’d ever expected, and that was including the damn corn.

“Oh, yes, Edge has told me all about you,” they said, rocking on their heels. From the neck down, the resemblance took a little detour. No striped shirt here and instead of the green Chara favored, they wore blue. A subtle difference, but one that Stretch latched onto gratefully, along with what they said next. “My name is Frisk.”

“frisk,” Stretch repeated. He felt like a living echo, but that name seemed somehow familiar, niggling at the back of his mind. Eh, didn’t matter, the important thing was that it wasn’t ‘Chara’, ‘cause his mental capacity for accepting the weird was teetering on the brink of overload.

Their mouth twitched again into a smile. "You're wearing my old helmet."

"oh. oh!” Stretch slapped a hand on top of his head and nearly impaled it on a cat ear. Hastily, he started working on the buckle. “uh. sorry about that.”

"No, it's cute,” Frisk said cheerfully. “Red wouldn’t let me ride my bike without it, either.” Stretch could only blink at them, still waiting on an internal reboot, here, and the Human’s mouth twisted wryly. "It’s okay. The resemblance is uncanny, I know. We saw it all on television when it happened a few years ago. Chara, the human who brought Monsters back to the surface. Red thought it was all very funny, but his sense of humor is rather questionable on a good day."

On television? But…how…? Weakly, Stretch said, "i don't understand."

“I know," Frisk said. Their eyes darkened with sympathy. "And I doubt very much that Edge or Red explained." They sighed with fond irritation, "All these years living here, and Edge still loves his puzzles. Never a straight answer if he can twist it around for someone to solve. Red is just a shit. Come on,” they jerked their chin towards the cabin. “Edge is around back.”

Frisk turned and started back up the winding path, bare feet light on the flat stones. Stretch realized he was still straddling his bike and hastily put down the kickstand before following. Okay, so, no Red Riding Hood today, he was more like a Lost Boy and if Peter Pan swooped down right now with Tinkerbell sparkling at his feet, he was gonna swat them both down.

“wait!” he called. Frisk paused and turned around, their expression questioning as Stretch jogged to catch up, trying not to stumble over his untied shoelaces. “you…you’re edge’s roommate, right?”

Frisk considered that and nodded. “That’s as good a word as any.”

“right.” Okay, yeah, he would have felt pretty damn guilty about his frequent admiration of Edge’s hips if it weren’t for Red assuring him Edge wasn’t in a relationship. Roommates, not ‘roommates’, finger quote-slash-finger quote. He was losing the thread, though, and he wanted to pick it back up before it unraveled completely. “look, i’m supposed to be here to ask you about edgar allen.”

“I know,” Frisk smiled again and a pair of dimples peeked out. Now that he was past the initial shock, he could see a splash of freckles on their nose, another little difference distancing them from Chara that was a relief to see. “I’ll explain everything in due time. Come on.” They dashed away again, and all Stretch could do was follow.

In due time, right, he’d been waiting for anyone around here to pay their dues for days, give him some straightforward answers, and it seemed like the only thing he ever got was another winding road.

He’d been doing pretty good about cutting back on the cigarettes, but today Stretch would have maimed someone’s uncle for a full pack and a half an hour to work his way through ‘em, one after another.

Frisk led the way behind the house and as Stretch stepped around the corner, he stopped to stare at the view. It opened up into a clearing that was filled with huge garden spreading out in a chaotic sort of order; beds of bright flowers, rows of different veggies and berries, baskets hanging between them with leafy tendrils spilling out. Parts of it already looked like they were winding down for the summer, like the rows of truly enormous sunflowers skirting the garden, their bright petals already withering and their broad faces gone to seed, heralds to the upcoming change of season.

It was incredible, it was insane, how…?

“how does all this grow in the woods?" Stretch asked wonderingly, to no one in particular. “how do you grow sunflowers without sun?” Some light filtered in through the heavy canopy of branches overhead, sure, but the overwhelming appearance was one of shade. Stretch didn’t know shit about gardening, but this wasn’t exactly his idea of a great place to set one up.

Obviously, someone forgot to tell these plants, it sure wasn’t stopping them.

“They aren’t sunflowers. Not exactly.”

It wasn’t Frisk’s voice and Stretch startled, turning to see Edge kneeling close by in the dirt by another row, briskly picking handfuls from the low plants. There was a basket next to him half-filled with green pods, beans or peas, he wasn’t sure which, and that was where it stayed because it wasn’t the gardening that Stretch was interested in anyway. He promptly forgot about sunflowers, beans, peas, Peter Pan, everything, and stood mutely watching Edge work.

Somehow, he always managed to forget in between seeing him how damned attractive Edge was. Even in shabby working clothes, the underarms of his t-shirt damp with sweat and wearing a pair of dirty flower-patterned garden gloves, he was a hell of a snack pack. All those baggy clothes did was cloak what he knew they concealed, hinting at what lay beneath with a suggestion that unwrapping would reveal delightful surprises and—

Yeah, okay, he was gonna stop that line of thought right there. He was here for a reason and it wasn’t to ogle at Red’s little bro.

Then all his good intentions took a spin down the drain as Edge looked up at him and smiled. Not a scowl, which wouldn’t have surprised him, not a smirk, which was to be expected, but an honest-to-angel smile. Like he was actually glad to see him and the little throb in Stretch’s battered soul didn’t hurt nearly as much as it should.

“So, you’ve finally arrived,” Edge said. He went back to his picking, didn’t seem to notice the way Stretch’s eye lights kept trying to drift down to where his shirt was riding up at the back.

“looks that way.” Stretch tore his gaze from Edge and took the safer route of glancing around at the garden again. “took longer than i thought it would. this place could use a yellow brick road.”

"That seems like it would invite tornados,” Edge said dryly, “and we see enough trouble."

Trouble? That didn’t seem right. How much trouble could show up on their doorstep out here in the boonies. Then again, probably better to just roll with it, for all he knew there were bears out here or monsters with a lowercase ‘m’. Fuck it, could even be monster bears, who knew? It would sure explain why everyone said to keep on the path.

So, Stretch let that be and asked instead, “your bro didn’t give you a heads up that i was coming?”

“No.” And there was a touch of the sourpuss he knew and lo—liked. Edge slithered on down the row and attacked the pods on those plants, adding them in to his basket. “While I at least attempt to keep my brother apprised of any situations in town, he tends to side with the element of surprise.”

From out of nowhere, the Human appeared. They marched right up to Edge and smacked him lightly on the back of the skull and Stretch nearly jumped himself; he’d just about forgotten about them completely despite them being the entire reason behind his visit. Yep, that was the only reason he was here, to ask about Edgar Allen, and he damn well needed to remember that.

“Oh, stop it!” Frisk scolded, “You and your brother, and your petty squabbles! You were just as bad yourself when we were still Underground, always had to play up the puzzles.”

Edge made a show of rubbing his skull, as if that little smack even hurt. His mouth twitched in an almost-smile, and it wasn’t as nice as the one earlier, but it still made Stretch melt a little inside. “That is possible,” he allowed.

“Good. You behave. Now,” Frisk turned back to Stretch and said brightly, “Come inside, we’ll talk over dinner.”

Uh.

Frisk started towards the house and Edge got to his feet, basket in hand, to follow them. Stretch hung back, suddenly wary of going into the gingerbread house. He knew all the stories about spiders and flies, and what happened in their parlors, thanks, and before Frisk could disappear inside, Stretch called, weakly, "i really only came out here to ask about edgar allen."

They hesitated at the open door and from the glint in their eyes, they had an inkling of what Stretch was thinking about. “I know. And Edge set you on a quest to find me so you can ask,” they laughed delightedly, “The phone book was a nice touch.”

"you know about that?” Stretch blurted, “so you’ve known i wanted to talk to you?”

They nodded. “Of course, Edge tells me everything.”

“so why didn't you come into town to see me?!"

Their sudden mischievous smile only made them look even more like Chara. "And spoil his fun?"

Frisk went inside, the door swinging shut behind them. Edge stayed outside, his basket of beans-or-peas balanced on his hip. He arched a browbone and asked, “Are you coming or not?”

Stretch wavered, scuffing his feet against the stone path, both tempted and wary, and before he could make a choice, his magic decided for him. They didn’t have stomachs, actually, but it didn’t stop their magic from imitating one for him, letting out a growl that was a reminder that the lunch Red packed him was still stashed away in his bag uneaten.

That earned him a low chuckle and the melted chocolate of Edge’s voice didn’t help his growling not-belly one damn bit. Edge tilted his head towards the door in invitation, “Come on, it’s dinner time and I can’t bear to let moronic creatures starve. You can help me cook.”

“uh.” Leaving aside the whole moronic thing (he’d probably earned it at some point, anyway), now might be the time to bring up an important fact. “i should warn you ahead of time, i’m not much of a chef.”

Edge only nodded, sighing deeply, “Of course. I should have suspected that looks aside, you were my brother’s doppelgänger rather than mine.”

“what?” How was it this guy could be so unfairly hot and so damned confusing at the same time? “what does that even mean?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

Stretch only crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “ain’t gonna get easier if you don’t start.”

Edge made an impatient sound, “Come inside and we will. Stretch,” his voice went lower, gentle, “Backwater can be unnerving, I know this, but you’re safe here. I would never let anything hurt you in my home.”

Yeah, okay, that was seriously unfair, like Edge was speaking directly to his nerves, reassuring him with honeyed promises and damned if Stretch didn’t believe him. Worse, he wanted to believe him.

He still hung back uncertainly, and one corner of Edge’s mouth quirked up as he added, “Besides, my brother would never forgive me if I let anything happen to his best salesperson.”

That burst the tension hanging in the air and Stretch snorted loudly, “that ain’t saying much, I’ve seen firsthand how red runs the store.”

With a last nervous glance at the garden/woods behind him, Stretch finally followed. He hoped he at least lived to regret it.

~~*~~

An hour later, Stretch was feeling pretty stupid about his little moment of panic. For one, sitting in their kitchen peeling carrots was probably the most normal thing he’d done since he’d gotten here. No ghosts popping out from the walls, nothing coming alive that shouldn’t to say hi. The most complicated thing he had to do was make sure the peelings ended up in the trash bin rather than on the floor and even that he got right at least ninety percent of the time.

Stretch wasn’t entirely incapable of cooking. It was only that his bro enjoyed it so much more than him that he didn’t bother and when he did, the words ‘instant’ or ‘microwave’ were usually involved in some capacity.

He spent the rest of his focus on covertly watching his hosts. Frisk and Edge moved around the kitchen and each other easily, they’d obviously been roomies for some time. They laughed, they teased, made stupid in-jokes that Stretch longed to understand, and Stretch only sat back and watched them. To be honest, there was something a little unnerving about their homey domestication. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting, for sure.

Or maybe he was just a little homesick. In spite of Red’s mothering, he was starting to miss his brother’s care and concern, a little. Probably better to not think of that and Stretch swapped out his peeled carrots for the basket of what he was assured were definitely peas, working on shelling them into another bowl.

The outside of the house might be more wicked witch in the woods, but the inside was more traditional in an airy open floor plan. From his spot in the kitchen, he could see the living room with large, comfy sofas positioned in front of a pretty damn nice television.

There were also several crowded bookshelves and a few cabinets against the walls, each one filled with an impressive collection of action figures and the glass meticulously polished. Pictures on the wall, some of Edge and Frisk, a few more than included Red, along with artwork, pretty landscapes that might well be visible from their front door.

All it all it was simply…normal. Not a single cauldron or any eye of newt in sight, and Stretch could’ve been doing the same thing back in Ebott except for the fact that this Human wasn’t Chara and Edge wasn’t…yeah.

Once the prep was done, dinner didn’t take long to get on the table. Soon they were all sitting with a bowl and if Stretch was a little dubious about the unknown dish set in front of him, all his worries vanished with the first bite.

He was getting used to the tasty food that Edge brought to the shop a couple times a week; Red was always willing to share and now that he thought about it, either Edge always included extra for leftovers or he’d started packing more so that both of them could have enough tasty goodness. Stretch wasn’t sure which was true, but he knew which one he hoped it was.

This, though, this was something entirely else, so much more than simple, tasty nourishment. Cheesy grits with a vegetable medley and a poached egg on top, that’s what Frisk introduced the dish as, but that description couldn’t truly explain the taste. How the fresh peas were buttery sweet, the carrots sweet and crisp, the way the egg yolk burst open when his fork pierced it, the bright, rich yolk dripping down to coat everything in reach with deliciousness. Stretch had to resist the urge to shovel it into his mouth, forcing himself to chew it slowly and didn’t regret it, groaning aloud around his mouthful, it was so damned good. His brother wasn’t a bad cook, but it was like comparing a bowl of oatmeal to a full breakfast platter, there was no comparison.

Stretch took another huge bite, moaning again as he hit the creamy, cheesy goodness of the grits. He looked up and paused mid-chew, to see both Edge and Frisk staring at him.

“hrmmm?” Neither of them replied to his not-a-question and Stretch awkwardly swallowed down his too-large mouthful before trying again, “what?” He grabbed a napkin and wiped at his face, but it came away clean.

“Nothing,” Edge said finally. There was a faint flush of redness high on his cheekbones, for no good reason Stretch could figure, not with the way the air conditioning was blasting out. He cleared his throat and turned his attention to his own bowl. “It’s only nice to see someone enjoying my cooking so thoroughly.”

Frisk only offered a frustratingly Mona Lisa sort of smile and dug in, the three of them eating in silence, aside from Stretch’s occasional happy groans.

Once the bowls were scraped clean, Frisk pushed theirs aside and announced, “All right, then, if I’m going to explain, I think it’s best to start at the beginning.” Frisk slanted a questioning look at Edge. “If that’s all right?”

“Why are you asking me?” Edge stood to clear away the dishes, carrying the stack to the sink. “It’s your story.”

“Because you’re in it.”

Stretch could only sit there, trying not to squirm with impatience as Edge thought that over, rinsing the bowls before stacking them into the dishwasher. “Tell him,” he said. “Mysteries are one thing, but I don’t care for lies.”

Frisk smiled, their eyes gone memory-dark. “I know. All right, then!” They clapped their hands together lightly and Stretch settled in for what he hoped was a damned good story.

“I’m from Backwater originally,” Frisk began, “but I didn’t live here my entire life. When I was a child, my parents died. I ended up going to Ebott to live with relatives and it was—” They frowned, teeth grinding briefly as if they were chewing on the words, managing only a curt, “Unpleasant.” Frisk took a long, slow breath and went on, “One day I simply had enough and ran away. All the way up Mount Ebott and that is where I fell into the Underground.”

Stretch didn’t say anything, but his expression must’ve given him away, or maybe his hands, his joints nearly creaking as he clasped them tightly together. He knew this story, nearly this exact story, told to him by a child who right now should be safely living back in Ebott with their adopted father.

Frisk’s mouth twitched in an almost smile. “No, not your Underground. Theirs. Red and Edge’s.”

Stretch glanced at Edge. He was still washing the cooking pans, pink rubber gloves incongruous against the pale of his bones, but the tilt of his head indicated he was listening. Realization was dawning with glacial slowness; a pair of skeleton brothers in the Underground coming to the surface along with a Human child. He knew this story because it was his own, and more than that.

“you’re talking about the multiverse,” Stretch said slowly.

Of course. He could have slapped himself silly for his stupidity. He’d never even considered their situation might be similar; the age differences threw him off, far more than they should have. Sans was of an age with him, Papyrus a match to Blue. Red was so obviously much older than Stretch it hadn’t even clicked, seriously, was he that off his game? That should’ve been his first thought and instead, it never made it on his list.

But then, none of them really liked to talk about it much, either. Sans and Papyrus sure weren’t bringing up how they ended up here, didn’t take any kind of magic to see the shadows lurking in the depths of their eye lights even now. They’d just showed up one day in Snowdin right before Chara did, two skeletons from another world that seemed so hurt by their pasts that Stretch and Blue let them keep the names and took on nicknames of their own. Turned out it was easy to forget, somehow, that they hadn’t always been there, easy to let a sort of shroud fall over that knowledge. Not like Stretch wasn’t used to it when it came to his past.

Only now the veil was getting ripped away. Edge and Red weren’t only other Monsters, they were other Monsters, holy shit, and they’d been here for how long?

“Yes,” Frisk nodded as if reading his mind, and wasn’t that a terrifying thought. “And we’ve learned that time can flow differently beneath the mountain. It seems that I arrived in their Underground some years before your child fell.”

Their smile faltered, faded, the silence broken by the sound of running water and the soft clatter of dishes in the sink. “Their Underground was...well. It was a place of LV, not love. Their king was mad and when I came to the castle…well.” Frisk shuddered, looking away from Stretch’s numb gaze. A bony hand settled on their shoulder, sharpened fingertips cautious, and Frisk looked up at Edge with something like gratitude. “we were the only survivors. We took the Human souls that the King had collected and went past the barrier, the three of us. Only, we were afraid of the humans’ reactions, so we hid ourselves from the people in Ebott and I brought Edge and Red back here. Backwater has always been fairly openminded when it comes to unusual folk and I thought they might be accepted here. I was right.”

Frisk hesitated then, choosing their words with care, “Backwater is a town that attracts certain things. Good things and bad things. The people here weren’t surprised to meet us.” Their eyes took on a faraway look. “In fact, they were expecting us. As I said, the town attracts good and bad things, and it needs watching over. When we arrived, the current caretaker was old and weakening. They were calling for a suitable replacement and I suppose I was perfect for the job. Not only had I been touched by magic in the Underground, I was also once in the possession of six other Human souls, and that touched me. Changed me, in a way. And so, we took over as caretakers, Edge and I.” Frisk straightened their shoulders, lifting their chin as they said, firmly, “I am the keeper of the town’s soul.”

“And I am their protector,” Edge said. They were first words he’d spoken since Frisk began, each one resonating with strength far beyond the spoken, not a mere statement, he said it as something known. Then he offered a faint smile, almost sheepish, as he added, “I also make pies and pastries to sell in town.”

“And that’s my story,” Frisk finished. They seemed almost nervous, watching Stretch, perhaps waiting for a reaction.

Stretch didn’t know what was on his face, but he sure knew what was rattling around in his head and that was one simple, weak thought, I could really use a cigarette right about now.

He sagged back in his chair and let his head drop down into his hands. This was all…fuck. This wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting, well, mostly, anyway. He’d been more right than he knew about one thing; a witch did live here, sorta, cauldron or not.

“okay,” Stretch said, more to himself than the two people waiting on the other side of the table. “okay, that’s. yeah.”

A hand settled on his shoulder and Stretch yelped, nearly scrambling away from the unexpected touch. He fell off the other side of the chair with a painful thud, fighting to untangle his legs from the tablecloth. Still standing on the other side, Edge only held his hands up in a stick-‘em-up gesture and didn’t try to touch him again. “It’s a lot to take in, I know.”

“you think?” Stretch sputtered. He managed to get his feet loose but didn’t try to stand; the floor seemed a lot more secure right about now. “fuck, you guys should’ve put that in a damn book instead of all those addresses and gave me time to read the footnotes! wait,” Stretch rolled to his hands and knees, and crawled around the table to look at Frisk, “so what does that make red? why does red live in town and not out here?”

Edge answered him first, a touch sharply, “You’ll need to ask him that.”

Frisk only looked saddened, a shadow falling across their Chara-esque face. “Yes, that is his story to tell.”

Fair enough. Stretch sank back down, rubbing a knuckle between his aching sockets as he considered. “okay, hold up. what about edgar allen?”

“After all that, you’re still worried about the scarecrow?” Edge sounded torn between amusement and offense.

“yeah, i am!” Stretch retorted. He might be a moron on any given day, but he didn’t forget about pals in the face of earth-shattering revelations. “that explanation filled up a lot of the questions on the form, but how does any of it explain edgar allen?” He pointed a finger at Frisk. “edge said he’s gonna die in the fall and you’d know why!”

“Die?” Frisk considered that, nodding slowly, “I suppose that’s accurate, in a way, but it’s also not. Growing things have a power of their own, you know. The corn, the garden, they give life, and that is something the town needs.” Frisk spread their hands, their empty palms up. “But what they offer is without conscious. Townsfolk aren’t in any real danger, but strangers can be, and aside from the loss of life, which I don’t want, we also don’t need to draw the attention of outsiders. Since I came here, every year I call upon a harvest spirit to watch over the crops, to protect the corn and the people who might wander into it. Edgar Allen came to us in the spring and he’ll leave us in the fall, but he’ll return, next year, after a fashion. He always does.”

A harvest spirit. Right. Edge and Red were from another Universe, along with a kid who wasn’t Chara, the scarecrow was a harvest spirit, and Stretch was quietly going nuts inside his own head. Seriously, Stretch should’ve been taking notes, this info dump was gonna take a while to process.

He sat there a while on the floor, trying to gather up his scattered wits, and nope, it was not happening. This was a three-cigarette problem, and he was starting to get eager to get started on renewing his nicotine habit. A glance out the window confirmed that the light outside was going soft and golden, the sun low in the sky. “well. uh. thanks for dinner and all, but i better get going if i’m gonna get home before dark.” Not his best speech, but then, Stretch was definitely not at his best.

“Of course,” Frisk stood, and their smile was gentle. “Please, visit again, Stretch. It was lovely to meet you.”

Edge stepped up again and this time, Stretch didn’t flinch from him. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

He held out a hand and Stretch took it without thinking. It jolted him unexpectedly, a soft cry choked off before it could escape. That simple touch was strangely electric, warm, bare bones curling with such gentleness against his own. Absurdly, it settled him, helped eased the roiling confusion boiling in his mind.

It was in a near daze that he let Edge draw him silently to his feet, pulling him along like a puppet on a string. Stretch barely managed a vague wave in Frisk’s direction as he walked with Edge out the door, and if his gaze automatically fell downward to watch the sway of Edge’s hips as he walked, welp, it wasn’t like there was anyone else around to notice.

At least, Stretch didn’t think so, might be better not to ‘ass of u and me’ around this place, even if all he was doing was watching someone’s ass.

Better safe than sorry; going forward, that was gonna be his motto. Right after he got back to Red’s on his ramshackle motorized bike.

~~*~~

tbc

[yougainedlove]

I got another good imagine if youre up to write!! 👀 Asgore telling his S/O about his past (asriel dying, the six humans that fell down after, etc), and reacting to them giving him a tight hug and thanking him for telling them?? ❤️💞 I love him so much omfg

Sooooo I meant to keep this short and sweet but FUCK, uh...

anyway, I’ll be sobbing in the corner if you need me, feel free to join because I absolutely cried while writing this, mmmMMM,,,

-

                             when youlook, I’m afraid of what you see                                          but you say, “Show me”                                            yousay, “Show me.”

                                      ―IdinaMenzel, “Show Me”

When(Name)sitsdown with Asgore tonight, it’s different.

There’sa tense energy surrounding him, and by now theyknow him well enough to tell that he’s nervous. Hedoesn’t even let them cuddle up next to him like they do in theevenings. Instead, he goes stiff before pulling away, then says in anunbelievably somber tone that he wants to talk to them. He phrases itas a question, an, “Is it okay if we talk…?”, but they knowthat whatever he’s planning to talk about, it’s something heneedsto say.

Sothey put their hand over his paw ―even that earns a flinch ―and say yes.

Ofcourse, they couldn’t predict the heartbreaking tale that was tofollow.

It’ssomething he doesn’t truly drag out, yet he obviously wants to makesure he tells them everything about… everything.Itstarts with his ex-wife, Toriel, who (Name) has actually met, andAsgore living together, with their son Asriel. Although they knew hehad kids at one point, they didn’t know any real details until now.

Oneday, a human child fell, a child named Chara. Asriel brought themhome, Asgore and Toriel basically adopted them, and for a few shortyears, things were… good. Despitebeing trapped underground, everyone was actually full of love andhope.The wistful look on Asgore’s face when he talks about that time isalmost painful. It’s the expression of someone looking back on afond memory that happened before something went wrong.

Theway he talks about it makes it seem like that was the best time inhis life.

Whatfollows proves that as the truth.

Outof nowhere, Chara fell gravelyill. Asgore saysthat neither he nor Torielhaveanyidea what happened; only that suddenly theirchild was wailingbecause their stomach hurt so badly and there were blisters aroundtheir mouth. They screamed about wanting to go home ―that they were going to die, and they wanted to see the goldenflowers on the surface, in the village they came from, beforethey passed away.

Thetears in Asgore’s eyes start when he says that therewas nothing anyone could do.The barrier was still blocking any escape, and even though humanscould get in by falling into the mountain, nobody could get out. Theycouldn’t grant their child’s dying wish.

Hecan’t even look (Name) in the eyes as he says that while they weretrying to find some way to get Chara to the surface, they got rapidlysicker until they couldn’t keep any food or water down and the lifewas visibly draining from their body.

Theydied the next night.

Beingtheir brother and best friend, Asriel was distraught, and wanted tocarry them to the surface to make sure they were laid among thosegolden flowers. His nature allowed him to absorb Chara’s SOUL,creating an incredibly powerful being, and with both of themcombined, he could get through the barrier. And so he did.

Asgoresays tiredly that the next part is something he and Toriel had to befilled in on afterit happened.As it was told to them betweenweak breaths,Asriel carried their body there to the surface, placing them gentlyon a bed of the flowers when he arrived at their village. Hestayed for a moment to look at them, presumably paying his respectsto the sibling he loved so much, and then the human villagers sawhim.

Itwas all a horrible, tragic misunderstanding. When they saw him withChara’s body, a dead human child at the feet of a frighteningmonster, they assumed that Asriel had killed them. In revenge, inpursuit of justice for this poor child, they came at him with alltheir strength.

Asrieldidn’t fight back. As strong as he was in that form, with both hisSOUL and Chara’s, he could have ended the life of every singlehuman who was attacking him. But he didn’t.

Apparently,all he did was smile.

Finallyhe was able to get away, returning to the Underground. He draggedhimself into the throne room, where Asgore and Toriel were waitingfor him to come back.

Hestumbled into the flowers there, managed to whisper an explanation ofwhat had happened, and took his last breath.

Justlike that, Asgore and Toriel had lost their entire family in onenight.

Asother people have explained to (Name) before, they already know thatwhen monsters die, they turn to dust. And Chara’s body remained onthe surface.

Theking and queen didn’t even have a body to bury for the deaths oftwo children.

Bythis point Asgore is speaking through tears and sobs. He says he wassoangry… thatin the moment, he couldn’t feel anything else. That it wasn’tenough the humans had taken away their freedom, but now they hadstolen these two precious children and every shred of hope theUnderground had been clinging to.

Furiousenough was he to declare war on the whole of humanity, promising thatany human who fell down Mt. Ebott would be an enemy, that he wouldtake their SOULs, seven human SOULs, and break the barrier. Once itwas broken, they would show their true power to the humans and takeback the world that rightfully belonged to monsters.

Inthe aftermath of a devastating tragedy, it gave monsters hope. Itkept them going.

WhenAsgore explains that it isn’t what he really wanted, he looks ahundred years older, like the weight of the universe is precariouslyon his shoulders. He says quietly, with his face in his paws, thatshortly after he made that announcement, he regretted it. He doesn’twant to hurt anyone, he never did, and yet, his promise gave everyoneelse a reason to keep going. Something said in the heat of anger andraw grief that he didn’t mean, but felt like he had to stick to. Ifhe took it back, nobody would trust him, monsters would once againfall into despair, they would all die before ever seeing the sunlightagain.

Whathe said cost him Toriel. Immediately after that, she left him.

Asgorespent the years that followed alone in what used to be a happy home.Day in and day out, he waited ―“like a coward,” he makes a point of saying. Over time, six humanSOULs were brought to him, along with bodies. The SOULs he kept injars, ready to be used once he got seven of them, and the bodies heput in coffins, though there was nowhere to bury them. It was theonly thing he could do in an attempt to show respect to those deadhumans.

Noneof the humans who fell down died by Asgore’s hand, but by befallingother monsters and dangers in the Underground. Even so, he stillfeels guilt about every one of them, as well as the way his peoplesuffered. When a child known as Frisk made it to Asgore’s home,willing to fight for their chance to go home, it was the first timehe had to face one of the fallen humans in battle.

Hisshoulders shake with heavy sobs as he talks about not wanting tofight them at all. He didn’t want it, he never wanted it, and itwasn’t long into the fight that Frisk wore him down. Asgore gaveup, telling Frisk that they should take his SOUL and go home.

Friskrefused.

Hesays everything else after thatwas a blur. He says he remembers many people, Toriel included,showing up to stop themfrom fighting.He says he remembers everything going white, and Frisk being asleep,then suddenly the barrier was broken.

Afew more things are said, mumbles of self-hate and messy feelingsthat he probablyisn’tquite ready to talk about. Theway he moves to be farther from (Name) and the way he shrinks, tryingto make himself look smaller, make it clear that he expects them tojust leave him after knowing all this. Whowouldn’t? Who would stay with someone like him? He’s a monster inevery sense of the word.

Aftera long moment, (Name) scoots closer to make up the distance. Theirarms slowly reach up, snaking around Asgore’s neck, pulling himdown, down, down, as close against him as they can possibly get him.He tenses up beneath their touch. They curl their hand into a sort ofhalf-fist, stroking their fingertips and knuckles over the fur on theback of his neck.

They’reboth silent except for the soft gasps and sobs he makes as he triesto catch his breath. Thereare tears running down their face now too, their heart aching forhim. Wordlessly questioning how he’s still standing, how he stillmakes it through the day, how he practically fooled them intothinking he’s happy, after all this hellhe’s been through.

Atlast, they kiss the side of his ear, murmuring right against hisskin, “Thank you for telling me all of this, sweetheart. Thank you.I’m glad I know.”

Notonly are they truly relieved that he’s told them the truth, that hedoesn’t have to pretend around them anymore, this is all usefulinformation. Now that they know so much more about him and what hispast looks like, they know better how to take care of him. How betterto give him all the love he deserves so that he has the best chanceof recovering from everything and trulybeing happy.

Evenif he may never be rid of all that haunts him, they want that. Forhim to be happy and healthy. In any and every way he possibly can.

“Ilove you, Asgore.” It’s just loud enough for him to hear, as theylet their fingers tangle in his hair, continuing to caress him. “Ilove you.”

Andthat’s it. The realization that they still love him, that they’rehere, that they’re staying, that they aren’t going to leave, istoo much.

Thelast pin holding the king of monsters together snaps, and he allowshimself to break down in his lover’s arms.

[backroomblogs]

Bruins Comeback, Beat Carolina 6-4 - Jimmer

What a wild game, you can simply never ever count out this Bruins team. After a very lackluster first 50 minutes of play, the Bruins stormed back and scored 5 times in the last 10 minutes, and secured one of the more impressive victories by any NHL team this season. 

Returning to the lineup after missing a game, Brad Marchand scored his 30th goal on a beautiful no look pass from David Pastrnak to give the Bruins a lead after the first period. From that point on it was pretty much all Carolina. They netted 3 second period goals, and added a 4th unanswered goal less than a minute into the third. 

Things looked very bleak for Boston until Matt Grzelcyk sniped a snap shot (his third goal of the year) over the glove side of Cam Ward at 9:56 of the third period. This got the ball rolling on the comeback effort from the B’s. Just 56 seconds later it was David Pastrnak’s turn. The winger took a feed from Brad Marchand and absolutely roofed it (25th of the season) glove side on Cam Ward from the right side dot. Now with 9 minutes remaining, the Bruins trailed by only one, with all of the momentum.They needed only 21 seconds. David Krejci gloved down the puck and raced down the ice for a 2 on 1, feeding Danton Heinen with a cross ice feed that he buried (13th goal of the season) to knot it up at 4. 3 goals in 1:17.

But the B’s weren’t done yet. After Carolina captain Justin Faulk sent the puck to another planet and took of the delay of game penalty, everyone knew the Bruins were about to strike. Just 36 secondsi nto the power play, David Pastrnak took a perfect feed from Grzelcyk, and rifled a one timer (2nd of the game, 26th of season) top shelf on Ward. 4 goals in just 6:26, incredible. Pastrnak went on to score an empty netter to complete the hat trick and ice the victory for Boston. There’s a ton to unpack with this game so let’s jump in.

The Good

- Obviously that comeback was absolutely incredible. Once Grzelcyk got the B’s going, there was no looking back. It was like they flipped the switch and realized they were in a hockey game that they should have been winning. Grzelcyk looked awesome in the last 1o minutes, as many did, but every time he had the puck I had confidence that he was going to make a play. This is the kind of stuff that great teams do. They never quit no matter the deficit, and all it takes is one turn in momentum for the game to take a complete 180 degree turn. The Bruins were sloppy all night, and yet when it came down to winning time they once again turned it up to 100 and put on a clinic. I love this team.

- Brad Marchand and David Backes both returned to the lineup. Backes didn’t play a massive role in tonight’s game, but having him there for depth and line balance was obviously valuable. Marchand came back after missing one game with an injury, and he looked just fine. Marchy scored a goal and assisted on 2 others, including the game winner. Marchand really has been incredible this season, and watching dominate every night is awesome for B’s fans.

- David Pastrnak have yourself a night. Not only did he provide a highlight real assist on the opening goal with a behind the back no look feed to Marchy, but then he decided to mess around and score a hat trick in less than 10 minutes. He finished it with an empty netter, but those first two goals were some of the best shots I’ve ever seen from Pasta, and that’s saying a lot. He stepped up big time in this one, and it appears as though he has really regained his goal scoring touch these last few games after a bit of a dry spell.

The Bad

- Penalties, penalties, and more penalties. The B’s took 5 penalties in this one, and allowed 2 PP goals to Carolina. This included the first 5 on 3 goal allowed by the B’s all year. It seems like the B’s have been taking a lot of penalties lately, but I wouldn’t look into it that much. Just can’t be taking 5 penalties a night under any circumstance.

- This was a sloppy game for 50 minutes. Sure the B’s pulled it out, as great teams do, but once again it was not a 60 minute effort. Specifically the second period, where the B’s were outscored 3-0. They spent 20 minutes chasing the puck and getting absolutely dominated by a Carolina team that is not nearly as talented as them. They also took a few penalties along the way. It was the single worst period I have seen from this team in a long time. Thankfully they were able to pull off the comeback, but I am still searching for a full hard nosed 60 minute effort from this team soon.

The Ugly

- There was a number of injuries in this one, and frankly it makes the comeback that much more impressive. The B’s were down two top defensemen, as Zdeno Chara (7-16-23) and Torey Krug (13-35-48) both exited with injuries. They were also without second line wing Jake DeBrusk (14-25-39)  who has looked great lately, and had a strong season overall. Losing these guys would usually mean a team trailing by a couple goals late would for sure accept defeat, but not this team. With Patrice Bergeron still out for a bit longer with his broken foot, and Charlie McAvoy still out with the sprained MCL, the Bruins can’t afford many more injuries. Per Bruce Cassidy, both Jake DeBrusk and Zdeno Chara will be out Thursday against Florida, as well as Saturday versus Tampa Bay. This news really sucks because the B’s will be without two huge players not only against FL, but against Tampa in massive game as they are battling for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with the The Lightning. Torey Krug is a game time decision for the Florida game, and both Paul Postma and Anton Bidh were recalled on an emergency basis to Boston. 

Overall, this was an amazing win for the Bruins. However, the injuries that came from it really really suck. Hopefully Krug will be good to go tonight, and Chara and DeBrusk will heal up quick. The Bruins will be on the road tonight in Florida against a Panthers team that has been playing good lately, so we should be in for another solid matchup.

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Feeling Better And Made A New Tumblr Avatar

I did a new drawing today and decide to use it as a tumblr avatar, but I may use it as a deviantart avatar too, and I might end up switching my tumble avatar again.

I will be posting the drawing that I am using as a avatar, over at deviantart maybe later today or tomorrow and or next month.

the drawing has each flags, one is ficto, the other is well technically a ficto but it has to do with being Teratoromantic.

it would seem that the word “Terato” is another word for “Monster”

so I guess in a way Monsters might be technically Teratoman or Teratofolk.

we could see the races in Undertale 

by these names, Teratokind and Humankind.

Teratomans can be like a counterpart to address Humans,

it still kind of bugs me that the whole “Mankind” is use to address all of humanity, but it would still be incorrect.

it only truly addresses HALF of humanity, it would be just as bad if “Womankind” was used in the same way to address all of humanity.

the correct name to address all of humanity, would be HUMANKIND.

not mankind.

even if the words man or even boy, can be used in a neutral way to express one’s joy or disgust, I don’t believe that using the name mankind to address all of humanity is the right thing.

not many have to agree about this, but I hope you respect my view on it even if you don’t agree with it.

also even though I did base some elements in a AU I had made, from the theory

I think that Asriel (at least in the Undertale) might truly be innocent.

I believe that the “Chara” that he had fused with, was not Chara and was just the Artificial Soul known as “Determination”

we know that the Red Soul, is NOT called Determination

as it’s true name is left Unknown. 

but I believe that it’s true name is “Compassion”

and the Red Soul, is actually the Player’s Soul, NOT Frisk’s Soul.

at first I was thinking that maybe in theory, that Gaster is the one who made this Artificial Soul that is Determination.

but what if he only drew up the plans for it, and then Alphys finds the blueprints at some point after she gets the job of royal scientist, then she works on making the Determination Soul.

this could be around the time when Asriel and Chara were still alive.

I don’t believe it was truly Chara (in the canon timeline)

that came up with the idea, I believe at some point Chara’s Red Soul The Compassion Trait (same Trait as the Player(s)  ) was taken out of their body and switched with the dangerous Artificial Determination Soul, that I believe could be a Dark Red Color.

there are suspects of this switch

and that is the Royal Scientist and The Followers of Gaster.

the followers of gaster might just of been people who worked along side of Gaster and were co-workers in his projects.

I don’t know how many fans might of noticed it or not, but that Red Heart Shape, that we see at the place where you can turn the power for the elevators back on.

is most defiantly Chara’s Soul.

I have new reason to believe the reason why Asriel didn’t use healing magic, when taking such a long walk back home even when losing so much HP with every step.

is because Asriel KNEW that the soul he was sharing a body with, was not Chara....and he knew of the danger if he heals his shared body with them.

they would just try to hurt those he love

and that would include the Real & True Chara.

both Asriel and The True Chara are both victims.

one became a Flower named Flowey,

and the other became a power source and is trapped in the True Lab.

it’s okay no one agrees about this, but I really believe now that the Asriel in Undertale, knew that the Soul sharing a body with him from a fusion.

was not the real Chara, and he didn’t use healing magic because he would sense danger, but when he died, he the memory of that truth was lost.

his memories might of been slightly Altered as well, it could be possible that magic spells could be in work.

if the Knight is Gaster, then it might be that Gaster knows how to cover his tracks when he moves to another Universe/Timeline.

he could of cast a spell to alter everyone’s memories of him before he jumped to the Deltarune’s Universe and he might be to  Ralsei, as Alphys is to Flowey.

Alphys used a flower that had Asriel’s dust, to created Flowey.

and I believe that that there is a possibility,

that Gaster used Asriel’s Soul (when the Prince died.)

to create Ralsei, who is technically his son.

both worlds have different timelines and some other differences, but what if they were still connected even if they are very different and are from two different worlds and universes, both alternate and different from each other.

I believe that If Gaster truly did move from the Undertale Universe to the Deltarune Universe, it might of been during when Asriel died.

but at that time when Asriel’s Soul was over the Flowerbed that now has his dust, Gaster might of used a spell to stop the young prince’s soul from disappearing, and might of infused it with Kindness Essence.

I think the monsters in the Deltarune, have Color Souls and so do the Humans.

I believe the reason why Susie doesn’t turn into dust (like Ralsei obviously does, I believe he does but we just can’t see it.)

is because Monsters (like Humans) take much longer and maybe even years to turn into dust after passing.

it takes time for humans to become “dust” when they are in a coffin and no longer alive.

in Fan AUs, fans can have the monsters souls have colors and not just be white like in the game.

but anyway Gaster could of been over to the Deltarune Timeline before, and he knew about the monsters with color souls, he might  infused himself, Papyrus and Sans with different types of soul essence with color in them.

we never really see Sans’s soul, this might hint to the fact that his soul has color and isn’t white.

we don’t really see Papyrus’s soul either, when he dies.

but we don’t with most of the monsters, we do see Asgore and Toriel’s Souls.

I will talk more about these theories later.

and again I am glad I feel better now, I still don’t like Facebook...

but I hope others can respect that. 

[janiedean]

(part 1) ur gonna roast me for this but im legit curious why mafia AUs are so bad? im asking in a non confrontational way, i get it romanticizing mafia is wrong, but i also believe that 1)most mafia AUs are a really toned down type of mafia;2)they do make for some interesting kinds of dynamics with fanart and with fics; 3)in a fic specifically u can create your own world and call something mafia and still make it so they don't kill innocent people but only idk members of other gangs or sth

(part 2) plus theyre a way to put ur charas in a completely diff context and see what theyll do. i mean i dont believe that writing ships in a certain context (like mafia) equals romanticizing that context. mafia AUs arent even my fav things to read (in fact i almost never do), im sure many ppl romanticize it and i obvs dont agree with that but im just trying to udnerstand bc i believe fandoms are a way to explore things that we normally wouldnt.

I’m not gonna roast you don’t worry xD okay wait let me check if I replied to this already if yes I’m gonna c/p because it’s half past midnight otherwise I’ll just go at it again wait *checks tags* fff obviously I don’t have a general post but anyway pls read this after you’ve done with my post and then this which is also choke-full of links. plus for a (not nice) laugh: here. AH WAIT I FOUND THE POST.

okay, so, let’s have it out of the way: I have nothing against mob aus or crime aus. I have a problem against calling them mafia AUs because in the US mafia = organized crime at large, in Italy mafia = ACTUAL EXISTING ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ACTIVELY HARMFUL. now that I introduced the topic I’ll c/p you the reply I gave to another anon who while discussing the issue pointed out that most writers don’t even know Italian mafia is a thing, which is pretty much on the same discourse so...

*The thing is - in the US it might not be enough of a deal anymore and I honestly do get why people make the mafia = regular mobsters, since the mafia was the first foreign organized crime being exported to the US via italian immigrants (sorry if this sounds horrible in English but I just woke up and I still didn’t have coffee) so I understand that mafia became the umbrella term.But the thing is that - as you said, these people don’t even know that there’s a mafia in Italy anymore or where the word comes from.

 I’m going to link to italiansreclaimingitaly’s tag about the mafia and its perception outside Italy because they posted about this extensively and it’s an excellent resource, but meanwhile I’m gonna do a very short bullet point list and about the topic:

Mafia might not be a big deal in the US, but it still is here. We have the beauty of four different mafias (Cosa Nostra - the Sicilian one, camorra which is the one in Campania but has tendrils spread everywhere, the 'ndrangheta which is in Calabria and the Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia) which are all active [especially camorra and 'ndrangheta] and whose actions have direct impact (negative) on our economy and on our society. Actually mafias are one of the main reasons we’re currently economically fucked up, and if I start talking about how mafia culture keeps some areas literally backwards I could talk about it for three months.

There are still people who are killed for standing up against them. These days the most prominent personality is Roberto Saviano who is a writer who dared to put together a book documenting minutely the way camorra works and he’s been living under protection for years by this point. Like, they want him dead because he wrote a book. And I’m sorta sure that he was talking about leaving Italy and going to the US after years of sticking with it here because he can’t take it anymore but I don’t know if it was a taken decision or if it’s still debating it.

It wasn’t even thirty years ago that we had the stragi di mafia - in english it’d be something like the mafia slaughters, basically around the beginning of the nineties there were a number of bombs planted by the mafia targeting people who were trying to oppose it including judges Falcone and Borsellino, actually the anniversary of Falcone’s death is like... tomorrow. And they’ve killed people for way longer than that. Here is a list of only Cosa Nostra victims including the ones from the eighties/nineties. And people are still dying because of it. The slaughters I’m referring to are just the ones in the nineties which are enough of a number.

They also perpetuate a culture where if you testify against your mafia-employed relatives you’ll be shunned forever. There are women who testified against their families and couldn’t see their children anymore never mind that they weren’t automatically considered a relative anymore the moment they sided against the mafia. Some people have committed suicide after becoming witnesses also because our police force/justice system can be terribly non-supportive in this kind of situation so they got left on their own. Never mind that back in the day - it was the beginning of the nineties? - I recall at least a particular story of - I think, correct me if I remember wrong but I can’t remember the names for the life of me - where this guy testified against the local mafia when he either used to work for them or was forced to pay them the pizzo and in retaliation his six-year old (or five? Anyway he had a son younger than ten for sure) got kidnapped, killed and thrown into acid to dispose of the body. That happened in what, 1993? 1994? It’s pretty much yesterday. And now the camorra is doing the same - there’s a list here of camorra victims among which accidental passerbys that got killed because they were in the way which I can tell just by glancing is not complete. And I’m not even going into the 'ndrangheta. That is to say, here mafia still kills people and cripples our country.

Now, I get that it’s a word, but the point was: let’s say that instead of the Italians the Japanese came to the US first and the umbrella word for organized crime was yakuza rather than mafia and let’s say yakuza was still what it was originally in Japan while in the US it stopped being a big deal and people write yakuza!AU instead of mafia AU. Let’s say someone Japanese gets angry at that and goes like 'listen the yakuza is a real deal it does this this this and that and it’s a plague in our country so can you please at least look it up before writing your fanfic’, which is what had happened way back then when this whole mafia and fanfic thing blew up. A bunch of people told us to get over it because it’s just a word and if it’s a problem in Italy it’s not in the US so why should they care? Now, if we had been Japanese (or Chinese or Russian or Mexican) would they have said the same thing? Considering the general tumblr attitude I’m pretty sure they would have received either an apology or 'this is an important deal let’s keep that in mind’ with signal boost reblogs and stuff. 

It’s the fact that we should get over people not knowing that it’s still a real problem for us and that they can’t take five seconds to google it that is the problem imo. Especially when instead of mafia au you can just say mobsters au or tag it as organized crime and everyone is a lot happier, mostly because as the tag above explains romanticising the mafia is a good thing for them because it means they can act outside Italy with less stigma because everyone thinks that the mafia is dead or not relevant anymore, if I’m explaining myself. (And it’s active outside Italy - like, there was a mafia kill in Germany in 2007 where six people died (sorry the link is in Italian but there isn’t an English wiki page, if you look the city up you’ll find something probably) and it was because of the 'ndrangheta.

I’d really like to not get worked over it because it meant it was a thing of the past y'know, but the problem is that it isn’t and I’d rather spread some awareness in hope some of these writers look it up (because it’s a good thing that people know what mafia is since as stated they have tendrils everywhere - if you read Saviano’s book the entire first chapter is about how camorra regularly deals with Chinese import/export in Italy for one) than shrug and figure that since they’ll think everything is good for fanfic then it’s not even worth my time.*

Now, ^^^ that was the c/p-ed reply that should answer most of your doubts. What I didn’t address was:

im sure many ppl romanticize it and i obvs dont agree with that but im just trying to udnerstand bc i believe fandoms are a way to explore things that we normally wouldnt.

aaaand as we say here in Italy, this is where the donkey falls (sorry we have weird sayings), because in theory there’s nothing wrong with that... except that in 99% of the mafia aus I’ve seen around the thing is that they’re supposed to be cute.

like, I see a lot of shit with TINY MAFIA BOSS STEVE ROGERS with RUSSIAN ENFORCER BUCKY (????? bucky isn’t even russian???) and the yoi thing I saw before had the japanese character being the leader of a russian mafia gang which is... like... guys it doesn’t happen it really doesn’t, and a lot of them re-use wrongly terminology taken from the godfather without context or knowing what the hell it means, and it’s always from the criminals’ pov and they’re somehow seen as criminals doing justice where the police can’t (???) and like... no. mafia bosses/enforcers/employees are bad people period, and at least here if you try to leave or repent they kill your family in retribution. like, not even ten years ago there’s been a woman who used to belong to a mafia family (or one colluded with the mafia) who testified and her entire town/family shunned her and she couldn’t take it anymore and... killed herself drinking acid if I don’t recall wrong. it’s not even special cases. this shit is not funny, it’s not cute, it’s not adorable and it’s not good fodder for your imagine your otp scenario (srsly I saw one like.. let me find it,

LIKE. just look at this shit. in a regular context, the enforcer goes to the show owner to force them to pay a monthly sum to their boss lest they destroy their shop and their lives and their family’s life never mind that mafia culture is deeply homophobic so the mafia enforcer flirting with the shopkeeper is like completely fucking out of the question. I mean, people here like to shit on the sopranos but that show was actually excellent representation of Horrid Criminals Who Were Never Supposed To Be Good People and the small arc that happened when one of tony’s friends turned out to be gay (closeted) was REALLY well done. btw, it ended that when they found out he was gay most of the crowd rejected him and thought badly of him until I think they killed him also for other reasons, but that spiraled from finding out he liked dick. and that’s american mafia that they actually based on well-done research of the culture in Italy it came from, I assure you that here it doesn’t work that differently. like. the shit above is so inaccurate and frankly offensive, it’s like... I get people romanticizing problematic stuff but the thing is that when you tell them that it’s actually offensive you get brushed off as ‘ah well you’re being too sensitive it’s just a word u__u’. now, I’m all for exploring shit we wouldn’t be into, but not like THAT, because that’s like mafia romantic comedy and that’s not how it works. now, you wanna do a fic where the mafia characters are deeply flawed and bad people and the police tries to catch them? fine, great, go ahead. you wanna do a fic where the enforcer above deals with dunno an entire life of internalized homophobia when he finds the shopkeeper attractive and feels conflicted over having to con money out of him and doing horrible shit for a living and maybe understanding that crime isn’t worth it and then he actually collaborates with the police and gets shit from about everyone he knows and loves for that? okay, awesome, go ahead. nothing bad in that.

but the shit above is not exploring things we wouldn’t/writing darkfic, it’s THINKING THAT A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION WHICH IS STILL A THING IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD IS CUTE AND ADORABLE. and that only plays in their favor because it takes the bad aura out of the word and we really should not let that happen. like. that is what is bad about mafia aus and mafia discourse, that people don’t realize the mafia is alive and well and thriving and not a thing that doesn’t exist or a generic word for organized crime.

you wanna write the shit above? okay, CALL IT CRIME AU or mob au, not mafia au.

btw, add-on: idk if I mentioned it in the above post or not, but in case I didn’t, I said that people would balk at the idea of a mexican cartel au. sadly since then I’ve found out a fandom where not only there is one but it’s also extra cutesy and people apparently love it and it has a bunch of kudos/comments and idek I’m not even touching that with a ten foot pole but like... I’ve avoided it and everything that author wrote because to me it’s just... nope. like, nope. if you do mafia aus don’t make them fucking cute. (also: in the same fandom I had to mute a v. famous fanartist whose art I actually liked but did cutesy mafia aus and.. like... haahahhaahahahahaha nah sorry. can’t go there. nope.)

[bublp0pr]

UT Shower Thoughts (i.e. random questions/thoughts about life)

*What if the reason that Frisk find Papyrus’ mail box is empty is simply because he’s not lazy and actually bothers to check and empty it frequently?

*If so much fanfiction suggests that Sans treats ketchup like alcohol... then why is it ok for him to pour an entire bottle of the stuff over Frisk’s food?

*Maybe the reason that those flowers from the surface flourish in the throne room maybe because sunlight shines through the barrier and reaches it.

*...Am I the only one who find it strange that Asgore grows facial hair... over fur?

*Why is there weather Underground? Magic? If so... have you ever thought about the monsters whose magic made that possible? Because that’d be an awesome job. *In fact... if magic can control the snowfall in Snowdin, then why not just use that to cool the Core?

*If Asgore named Snowdin, does that mean that the Inn was likely the first building monsters set up there? (There! We just built an inn here. And it just snowed. Let’s call this place Snowed Inn! //Uhh, did you say Snowdin?// Sure! Let’s go with that!) *Hang on a sec. Even better idea: what if Snowdin was originally called Snowed Inn but the person who made the welcome sign was the same one who did the Librarby and the misspell just stuck? 

*Normally the way the ground works is that it gets hotter as you travel deeper into the earth. Was the trip from the Ruins to Hotland actually a decline with the elevators making up the difference at the end? ...Or is Mt Ebott a dormant volcano?

*Is Grillby made of the same sort of fire magic that Asgore and Toriel use?

*I wonder if Tsunderplane ever lands or if she just... hovers everywhere because she doesn’t have to worry about running out of fuel.

*Do more normal animals like snails and spiders technically not classify as monster citizens? Is that why it’s ok to eat them? Thats... well, that’s pretty messed up. No wonder Muffet has a vendetta.

*A lot of monsters were pretty chill to be hired to hunt someone down and kill them. In fact, Mettaton was able to get in touch with a lot of shady people at very short notice for this (literally shady lol) ...is there some sort of organised crime functioning within New Home we don’t know about?

*Does Asgore know about Temmie Village? Like, is it an acknowledged place under the rule and management of Asgore? Or is it... just... Tem thing.

*When they say that the products are “made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders”... how does that work? Because monsters turn to dust when they die... so something made of spiders would just have monster dust in it, right? Or do I have to fall back on spiders not counting as monsters.

(we interrupt your reading for an completely unnecessary tangent) Mannn. New headcanon: spiders existed under Mt Ebott BEFORE monsters were trapped there. Because you just do find spiders in caves and stuff. And Muffet befriended them at one point after that. Like, the whole concept of animals being a neutral party in the whole war. asdgjhjkl this makes the whole Muffet’s death in the genocide route worse for me because the spiders were people that she bonded with. People who understood her and she did everything in her power to manage their issues because of it. Forget monster-kind. She cares more about spider-kind. They’re her surrogate family ,;_,;

*How does Toriel use a phone if her ear flaps are actually covering the phone when she presses it to the side of her face?

*If Papyrus collected the bones from his fight with us - they didn’t just dissipate after the fight - does that mean that all those spears Undyne threw at us are all just lodged into the cavern walls of Waterfall somewhere?

*We don’t know how old Papyrus and Sans are obviously. Under this logic... technically Papyrus could actually be a teenager in the game. I mean, his behaviour and role in the plot would all still fit if he is. I... I’m seriously trying to contradict myself here but none of my arguments are holding ground... Papyrus could be a teenager.

WAIT. WHAT? NO... BUT... I’m not sure how i feel about this... I need to lie down. Has the fanbase been conditioning me to expect an adult Papyrus this whole time??? Have I assumed that since all the cast is older than Frisk, they must be under the role of adult and Frisk under the role as kid without considering that age is a lot more fluid than just child and adult???? My brain hurts. 

*How does the nice cream guy include messages on his nicecream? I always assumed it was like an icecream cone. But i guess it could just be more of a frozen treat in a wrapper situation.

*When a Loox closes their eye... does they blink or wink?

*What if Alphys only wears glasses to look smart like the anime stereotype? I wouldn’t put it past her...

*Do you ever wonder if Alphys has an additional surveillance system hooked up for the garbage dump to make sure that any anime trash that could possibly arrive doesn’t get lost in the streams of other garbage and fall into the abyss?

*Shopkeep jobs are like the safest position you can be in the game. If Sans and Papyrus had spent more time at their stations rather than facing the human in the open, they would have interacted like shopkeep NPCs and they’d have been safe. Take your own advice Pap lol.

*Toriel gets stuff for her butterscotch cinnamon pie from those buildings at the dead end you find the toy knife... wait. Does that mean are there people there?

*I wish I actually got to see New Home. Instead I just followed some grey express route path through it to Asgore’s castle. Lame.

*What if dinosaur fossils are monster corpses from the war? They’re not extinct. Just trapped under Mt Ebott...

*Toriel and Asgore are both boss monsters, which means they don’t really grow old ever. But never anywhere does it say they were born around the same time. Asgore could be 200 years older than Toriel and it’d make no difference. Creepy.

*What if Temmie’s instincts to think muscles r gross is an evolutionary thing and at one point in their deep history of Tem they learnt not to trust them.

*Never anywhere does it say that Papyrus’ spaghetti tastes bad. The only description given is ‘indescribable’. People just assume that if he learnt from Undyne then it must taste bad.

*Do you reckon the ruins were always purple? Or do you think Toriel painted it that way?

*Getting all your entertainment from the dump must suck. Spoilers everywhere you look when editions come down out of order would kill Alphys.

*Everyone always brings up conspiracy theories for how Sans and Papyrus could have been born like skeletons are an irregular form of monster and maybe even have connections to dead humans... but ghosts being related to eachother brings up no questions whatsoever?

*If monster food can’t expire... then why are there so many fridges in the game?

*It was never really made clear to me if it’s the home in the Ruins or the home in New Home the one that Chara and Asriel lived in before they died. I’m pretty sure it’s the one in New Home? If that’s the case... Toriel make an exact replica of it in the ruins for some twisted reason. That or maybe they just templated the one in New Home based off the one they must have built when monsters were originally cast underground. That’s a story I’d like to hear

*Do other monsters hear their themes playing when they battle? Or is it all in Frisk’s head?

*Am I the only one who sees eternally waiting in the room Toriel told you to stay in an ending to the game? Like, if you quit right there the game would technically satisfy enough to be over. The human dies of old age waiting for Toriel or she eventually returns and they live happily ever after. The end.

*Mettaton really lucked out with what he chose to become fully corporeal with. If he ever regretted his decision, he can just completely re-customise himself to be whatever he wants. Kinda hard to do that as a dummy.

[gdnbyg]

Much needed Parent’s A.U. context.

The a.u. follows most of the Danganronpa events and is set after DR3:Future. (For little note : I refuse to acknowledge almost 80% of the anime anyways.)

About the deaths : For me the games are canon but not the anime. So only game’s deaths are valid in this a.u. (ex: Juzo is alive, not Leon.) Chiaki and Alter Ego will be present as programs/softwares.

(I’m sorry to the two people who sent me these asks -i didn’t forget about these- but as i’m saying it now : Celeste and Sakura are dead in this a.u. so they cannot be parents. Though they can be mentioned, no problem.) I made this BIG exception of Junko being alive so maybe some dead characters will re-surface if I find good ideas for them !

Context : The Remnants of Despair built their own lives & with their talents, they helped Naegi and the other members of the organisation put the “world back together”. As a way to atone for their sins. They live as members of the society now not letting anyone who they truly are (or were).  Due to the disaster caused by Junko the world is bearing a lot of orphans. Some of the dr1-2 guys took some with them (Sonia /Kiyoko), others found them (Komahina) ..ect. They’re not blood related but feel responsible for them. (Naegi even built a daycare for all the orphans). (The context will TRY to include as much of the ndrv3 plot when i’ll play the game)

More about a few charas : (if you want to know more about a certain character do not hesitate to ask me)

Hajime Hinata. Has all of the talents now. He’s cohabiting with Izuru who’s still inside of him but no one can directly communicate with the later. (Only Kiibo seems to sense that all these talents come from something more than Hajime and is curious about it). Hinata is the ceo of a company/organisation he started. It’s focused on helping “normal” people who used to live in a world in which talent was everything. He gives them a job & purpose. On the side he’s also helping Naegi with many missions that requires his talents. Busy. Exercice with Nidai.

Komaeda Nagito. He was asked to stay away from everything due to his ability to be a walking disaster. Also because “luck” wasn’t a talent as useful as his classmate’s when it came to rebuild society. Basically he stopped doing anything and Hinata took him with him. As Rantarou came along, he literally became a committed dad yet Hajime convinced him that he should find something to do that would get him outside. He’s a part-time librarian. He gets along with the people there but stays not that much of a social butterfly.

Rantarou Amami. He was an abandoned baby & found by Komaeda. Probably had an Oedipus complex on 91cm chest. Is closer to Komaeda when it comes to activities and doing things together but feels more at ease talking about his issues with Hinata. Childhood friends with Shuichi & Ouma, he has the whole dr2 class as uncle/aunts. He got his piercings/jewelry obsession from Ibuki. His favorite uncle/aunt are Sonia and Gundham. 

Junko Enoshima. Was (somehow) operated and brought back to life by Izuru but with amnesia, she was kept in the organisation for a while as she was the mastermind behind all the terrible events that occurred. Due to her amnesie she was released after one year thanks to Tsumiki and Hinats’s evaluation. She was put in Tsumiki’s charge so she’d always been watched. Obviously she’s hated by everyone and doesn’t know why. Tsumiki keeps her from learning the truth. It secretly upsets her but she stays pretty eccentric as usual. Hinata is the only one making an effort around her and not being bothered by her presence. She’s forbidden to go too far away from her place so she’s wearing an house arrest bracelet as a precaution. Tsumiki Mikan. She focused on Junko as soon as she was brought back to life. Even after the tragedy, the nurse kept conflicting feelings for the woman and took care of her, hoping they could be more. She is hiding from Junko the atrocities she did before in order to let her have a new, clean life. They’re not officially dating & Tsumiki definitely likes more Junko than Junko likes her. Though now that Ouma is around the two women indeed have a stronger dating vibe to their relationship. There is SO many more dgr characters to this a.u. I can’t do them all here. Please if you want some informations or to ask a question about a character, ask away !

[cold-b-writing]

Bound Together: Part 18

Skywardsister: Eventually, Frisk woke up late in the day, and woke up Toriel as well. "Oh my goodness! It's late!" She whispered, looking at a digital clock on the bedside table. The goat mom tip-toed over the carpet and quietly woke up Habriel and Marion, telling them the time. Utadukeeus: "Oh..." Habriel said getting up. He felt his shirt slide a little and he immediately stopped stretching to make sure it wouldn't fall off. He turned around, just in case if anyone was watching. Luckily, Toriel was talking to Marion as she slowly got up and stretched her arms. Skywardsister: Once again, Habriel thought about why they had to go through all that stuff... 'Could it be spawned all by Chara? Could she have instigated Iredox to attack us?' Utadukeeus: He thought about it for a second but deemed it unlikely. 'She could probably kill us all right now if she wanted...' he thought. On their way down to the MTT restaurant, everyone saw Sans and Papyrus getting seated. Skywardsister: Frisk ran over to their table as they took their seats to greet them, and Papyrus smiled brightly. "I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU'RE OKAY, FRISK!" He greeted them by hugging them. He was relieved to see them in one piece, as he heard what events transpired the day before. Sans agreed. "Yeah, kiddo. That was pretty brave of ya." Toriel called Frisk over to join her and the others for breakfast, and they complied, waving to the skeletons and returning to their original table. Utadukeeus: Habriel and Marion saw a couple dogs yelling at their waiter for taking a long time to get their order. The waiter apologized and rushed back into the kitchen to get the food. "Wow." Habriel said. "Looks like they're having a ruff time..." "Of course." Marion said. "One might even call it wolven...." "It's a dog's life..." Habriel said. "Yeah and..." Marion paused. "Darn it, you win this time." "Ha!" Habriel exclaimed. Skywardsister: Frisk laid their head on the table beside their silverware, too tired to listen to countless more puns by the dorky couple across from them. They just wanted food. "Hello," The waiter arrived at their table, and Frisk lifted their head and straightened up, embarrassed. "May I take your order?" Utadukeeus: The waiter turned to Frisk. "Oh, ummm." Frisk looked at the menu for a second. "I'll take a short stack of pancakes with a cup of water." The waiter wrote it down and turned to Habriel. "I'll take some scrambled eggs with a coffee." he said. "How would you like it?" the waiter asked. "Black, please." Habriel said. The waiter wrote it down and turned to Marion. "I'll have the same thing." she said. "But I prefer my coffee to have cream and sugar, please." The waiter turned to Toriel. "I'll have a small order of snails, if you don't mind." she said. "With a water." The waiter read everything to everyone to confirm that everything was correct and he disappeared to the kitchen. Skywardsister: Frisk glanced around the room and placed their head back on the tablecloth. "My child, what is wrong?" Toriel turned to them, questioning the motives to act so odd in public. They knew better than this, but the combination of Habriel and Marion's jokes with their troubled sleeping made them want to close their eyes and drift. Utadukeeus: "Sorry about that..." Frisk said, lifting their head up. "I'm just a little tired, still." Toriel stared at Frisk with a worried expression. Even with all that sleep, they're still tired. "Maybe we should take you to see Dr. Alphys." Toriel suggested. "It might have to do with your head injury." Skywardsister: "I dunno..." They sat back in their chair, slumping. They closed their eyes. "Maybe..." Utadukeeus: Habriel got up and rested a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "C'mon." he said. "I'll take you there." Skywardsister: "Wait, but we need to get breakfast-" They stammered, looking up at Habriel who had stood up and was standing beside their chair, ready to leave the restaurant with them. "You're too tired, Frisk," Habriel told them. He wanted to get them help. Utadukeeus: "How about this." Habriel said. "I take you there now, come back and bring your food to you. Will that make you feel better?" Skywardsister: Toriel watched, suppressing a laugh. She appreciated that her children took care of each other; if she was gone, she knew she could trust them to care and watch out for each other. "But... you shouldn't have to do that," Frisk protested. Utadukeeus: "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't willing." Habriel said. Skywardsister: Frisk sighed deeply and turned their body, setting their feet on the floor next to their chair and finally standing up. "Alright, fine," They complied, and Habriel took them outside and they began to walk to the lab. Utadukeeus: Habriel and Frisk used the elevators to get the Dr/ Alphys' lab faster. Habriel knocked on the door and explained to Alphys about the situation. "I'll be back with your breakfast." he said to Frisk before thanking Alphys for her time and returning to the MTT Resort. **************************************************************************************************** Toriel and Marion had all the food put into boxes when he returned, including their own. "You wanna come with?" Habriel asked. "Of course, child." Toriel said. "I'm not just gonna leave you and Frisk at the lab." On their way back to the elevator, a dog monster came out of the elevator and scoffed when he saw Habriel. "Problem?" Habriel asked. "The King might be so gullible as to let you humans roam free." the dog said. "But I'm not so foolish. Try anything, anything at all, and it's off with your head." Habriel shot the dog a death stare. "Go ahead and take it." Habriel said. "Not look you're using yours." The dog growled and pulled out his knife. "You're really making this easy!" the dog snapped as he clumsily swung the knife. Habriel grabbed the hand and squeezed the wrist so hard, the dog had to let go of the knife. "Don't get cocky..." Habriel growled as he punched the dog in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Habriel caught the knife in his other hand and threw it. It landed right next to the dog's face, scaring it completely. The dog looked up to see a rather intimidating death stare by Habriel. The dog whimpered, grabbed the knife and ran off. Skywardsister: Toriel let out a long breath with her eyes closed. "Child, next time, perhaps just don't listen to what people may say about you. I understand that it's terrible to talk to people like that, but it's safer to just let it go," She warned him. It was lucky that the dog didn't pursue them any longer and continue the fight. If it escalated, Toriel would obviously have to get involved and protect them. Alphys sat on the foot of her bed with Frisk laying behind her; she made them lay down since they seemed to need the rest. Habriel had told her that they'd bring back Frisk's breakfast, so she didn't interfere in that respect. The scientist sat quietly watching anime on her television, which was hooked up with headphones so the sound wouldn't disturb Frisk's slumber. Every now and then Alphys looked behind her to check on them, and they remained sleeping for a while. Utadukeeus: Habriel sighed. "You're right." he said. "It's just that I know that one day humans and monsters will meet up. Just when I think that it might end up well. Humans and monsters like that fellow show up and remind me that there's been too much conflict and bitterness. I don't know if humans and monsters could ever co-exist again...." Skywardsister: "They may, my child, they may. You just have to stay hopeful." Toriel said. They entered the elevator and waited inside to reach the level with Dr. Alphys' lab. Alphys continued to watch her show with Frisk behind her. 'I wonder when they'll wake up,' She thought, pausing her episode and turning to look at the child. 'I won't wake them until the others come. Then they can wake them up if they choose.' Utadukeeus: "Hey, Marion." Habriel said in the middle of the elevator ride. "Yes, dear?" she asked. "When Frisk feels better, do you wanna go out on a date?" he asked. Skywardsister: Toriel gave them space, pretending to mind her own business, blushing and chuckling. "Sure!" Marion smiled at him, nodding. The elevator stopped, the doors slid open, and the three walked out. Utadukeeus: "Great!' Habriel smiled. "Do you wanna go around the Underground or..." "I was actually thinking...." Marion thought for a second. "The surface!" They were almost at Dr. Alphys' lab. Skywardsister: "Just be careful when leaving and coming back," Toriel told them, and they agreed. "Don't want to run into that dog again," Marion laughed and so did Habriel. "Yeah." They were walking around and up to the front of the lab, now. Utadukeeus: Habriel knocked and the door which instantly flew open with Alphys on the other side. "H-hey guys..." Alphys said. "Frisk is waiting for you in the bed, right over there." Alphys pointed the room out to the group. They thanked her and slowly made their way into the room. Toriel placed the bag down and pulled out the box of food labeled 'Frisk.' there was already a tiny table with a plate and silverware prepared for Toriel. Toriel silently thanked Alphys again before putting Frisk's breakfast on the platter. She turned around and saw Habriel gently waking the little kid up. "Wake up, sleepy head." Habriel said. "As fun as going out to eat is...breakfast in bed is just better. Don't you think?" Skywardsister: Frisk groaned and flipped over onto their back, barely opening their eyes. They sat up gradually, holding their head. "Head hurts," They murmured, squinting as they finally sat up fully. "Had a nightmare about Iredox." Utadukeeus: "I'm sorry." Habriel muttered. "Would you like some water?" he asked. "I'll be happy to get some for you." Skywardsister: "Okay," They said groggily. They needed to truly wake up, but their head just hurt. It was hard to remember what the nightmare with Iredox was about, but they knew this confirmed their fears of him. Habriel went and retrieved the glass of water and handed it to Frisk, who drank it eventually. Utadukeeus: "Would you like to talk about your dream?" Habriel asked. Skywardsister: They made of face of contempt. "Sure, I guess..." Toriel listened in, sitting at her table eating breakfast near Marion. Habriel sat down on the bed beside them to listen to the nightmare. "Well, I can only remember some parts. I remember running- and when I looked to my right and left, I saw you guys. We were all running together from something. Then, I heard Iredox's voice. I could hear the metallic sounds his footsteps make from his armor. That's a major part that I remember. Then one of you guys were pulled backwards out of view..." Toriel set Frisk's breakfast on a folding table before them as they told Habriel the nightmare. They began to eat the food gratefully. Utadukeeus: "That sounds scary." Habriel said. "Who was it?" Skywardsister: "Well Iredox was the one who pulled them back. Do you mean which one of us was taken? Because I think more than one person would have been taken, but I woke up too fast." Utadukeeus: "Oh." Habriel said. "That sounds bad. Well, if he ever comes after us like that. I know we'll be more than ready. With all of us together, nothing can stand in our way." Habriel started giggling. "Who knows, maybe we can just get mom to give him one of her death glares." Skywardsister: Frisk laughed. "Yeah, and she packs a punch, too." Toriel stared at them from across the way, making them shrink back and chuckle. "Sorry. It was just scary to me. My head pounded in the dream, too. It was really weird." They continued to eat the eggs on their plate energetically. Utadukeeus: Alphys came into the room. "B...before you all came here..." Alphys said. "I uh, took the liberty to check what was going on with Frisk's head. I just got the results." "Okay." Habriel said. "What's going on with them?" Skywardsister: Toriel looked away from her children and directed her attention to the lizard. "Yes? What are the results? I hope they don't affect them too much." Utadukeeus: "There's a bit of a fracture around the scalp area of Frisk's skull. A head injury." she said. "They may be a little more sleepy than usual, some swelling of some bruises, their nose may bleed and they could have a stiff neck. All side effects of this kind of injury." she said. Skywardsister: Frisk finished their breakfast. Toriel's face became less hopeful. "Well, at least it's not detrimental. You'll be alright, my child. Thank you for everything, Alphys." Alphys nodded solemnly in response. "So how will they heal? Will they heal on their own, or will they need something like a catalyst to drive the healing process?" She asked the scientist. Utadukeeus: "I think it's best if Frisk stays here for a few days." Alphys said. "It's probably a minor injury, but it's better to be safe than sorry." she chuckled to herself. "Have you had trouble breathing, Frisk?" she asked. "Have you felt nauseous?" Skywardsister: "I can breathe fine," They said, finishing their meal. "But I have felt sort of nauseous and dizzy lately. Like my brain moves a little bit after my actual head does." They tried to make sense of the sensation and explain it in an understandable manner, and Alphys understood. Toriel cleaned up all their plates and sat back down. Utadukeeus: "Alright." Alphys said. "Well, since you're staying with me. I'll get you a can with a trash bag in it. Every so often, I'll check up on you. I already have a few exercises planned to help get you better. It'll be a few days, though." Skywardsister: "O-oh okay," Frisk stammered. Toriel motioned to Habriel and Marion to get ready to go. "I trust Alphys; you'll be fine, my child," Toriel reassured them as she sat beside them for a bit. "It'll only be a few days. It won't be too long." She kissed and hugged them goodbye, and she and the other kids left the lab to return to the MTT Resort. "What's the trash can for?" Frisk asked as Alphys came around and set the can down beside the bed. Utadukeeus: "In case if you do get nauseous." Alphys said. "Trust me, if you do, you'll thank me for this." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well..." Habriel sighed. "Darn.... I hope Frisk gets better soon." Skywardsister: "To tell you both the truth," Toriel said while they walked outside the lab, "I'm furious with Iredox and want to make sure that he cannot harm any of you again. There's simply no way for me to ensure that, though." Utadukeeus: "Oh, believe me." Habriel said. "You aren't alone there." He looked down and clenched his fist. "A part of me wants to subject him to the horrendous pain he's dealt out to others, and send him howling down the abyss." Skywardsister: "If only I could have prevented what's happened to Frisk," Toriel said, almost stopping in her tracks. She continued forward, but her thoughts wouldn't leave her alone. Habriel, Marion, and Toriel reentered the hotel entrance. "Wait, weren't you two going to go on a date? No one's stopping you," the mother recalled what they had said previously in the elevator on the way to the lab. Utadukeeus: "I mean, it was supposed to be when Frisk felt better...." Habriel said. "But I guess this'll have to do, for now." "I feel a little bad about them, though." Marion said. "But I guess it'll make the waiting easier..." "So where on the surface did you wanna go?" Habriel asked. "I was thinking the top of Mt. Ebott." she said. "It has a beautiful view that I wanna share with you." Skywardsister: "Just be careful," Toriel laughed nervously. Utadukeeus: "We should probably get something more to wear than this." Habriel said. "It'll probably be a little cold up there." "I think we can find something back at the resort." Marion said. Skywardsister: So they went to find something more to wear so that they were comfortable. Toriel wondered what it would be like to be at the top of Mt. Ebott, like the children were going to do, but she resigned herself to the idea of merely returning to the hotel room to relax for a while. Utadukeeus: Habriel walked out of the store with a hooded black cloak to wear over everything in case if it gets windy. Marion walked out with a similar cloak but her's was red. They both presented themselves to Toriel. "What do you think?" they both asked, smiling. Skywardsister: "They're nice, and what's best is that you'll stay warm," Toriel gave her approval of their new jackets, and her approval to go out. It wasn't just a big deal that they were going out on a date; it was a huge deal that it was going to be on the surface, nonetheless on the mountain summit. Utadukeeus: "We should be back by Frisk's bedtime." Habriel said. "Now, how'll we get out there?" Marion asked. "I think you already know the answer to that, dear." Habriel said. "The same way you came in, Asgore's castle." Skywardsister: "Alright," Marion took Habriel's hand. "We're going now, Mom," Habriel said. "Okay, be back tonight," Toriel waved to them and they began to leave for Asgore's castle. Utadukeeus: After quickly explaining their plans to Asgore, the King led them over to the barrier and out to the surface. "Enjoy your night together!" the King waved as they made their way up the path. "Thanks!" Habriel shouted back. "You have a good night, too!" Marion grabbed his hand and rushed further up the path with her. The cliff side was a little steep, but nothing that they couldn't handle. They climbed a cliff and started running through the woods, further up the mountain. Laughing and giggling the whole time they were making their way up the mountain. Habriel quickly climbed up a short ledge, turned around and offered a hand to help Marion up. She jumped up and grabbed onto his hand, he then pulled her up and they continued running. What seemed like a long hike was nothing, as these two lovers were enjoying every moment of it. For the first time, they both felt like they were free. It was as if they could do whatever they want in a long time. Marion ran ahead of Habriel over to a steep cliff and sat down. Habriel caught up to her and saw that the view she was talking about was absolutely breathtaking. Through the trees and over the cliff. The mountain was overlooking a small bay with seagulls flying towards the sunset. It had parts of land, seeming to surround the bay, as if preventing it from being with the ocean. There was a tiny opening all the way on the other side that met with it though. The water making a near perfect reflection of the sunset. The sunlight rays beamed onto Marion, making her gleam. Habriel sat down next to her and enjoyed the view with her. "What do you think?" she asked. "It's beautiful." Habriel said. "But I think I know how to get a better view." he looked down at her with a piercing hypnotic gaze. It made her gasp and blush. They kissed for a brief moment. "Better than this?" she asked. "How?"He stood up and motioned for her to do the same. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and locked hands. "You're gonna have to trust me on this one." he said. "And you're gonna have to hold on tight." "What are you thinking?" Marion asked. His eyes started to glow and violet tentacles wrapped around both of them tightly. "Do you trust me?" he asked. She nodded her head. "Then hold on tight, because here...we...go." Violet wings appeared on his back and he took off into the air, lifting her with him. She started screaming, but then it quickly turned into laughter as she realized that the magic had her perfectly secure. Habriel spun around in the air and flew over the bay, towards the sunset. "Better?" he whispered in her ear. "Absolutely." she said. She looked up at him and they kissed as he continued to fly over the bay. Skywardsister: Toriel retired to the MTT resort and ate dinner alone in the first floor restaurant. Then she returned to the hotel room upstairs, deciding that she'd stay awake until she saw or heard from her children. Utadukeeus: Alphys was getting ready to go to bed, moving Frisk and herself down to the true lab was not something she planned. But she figured that it was better for Frisk to be down there. Suddenly, shs heard loud banging from outside. She looked over to the moniters and saw Iredox with his gang.