#sorry for more out of context lore... one of these days I'll put it in a comprehensible format... maybe... sweats...

[cappycodeart]

"What's wrong? Is there... something on my face?"

Glitchy Simon learns the news about what his future is like. Unfortunately he's not aware of this tidbit of crucial information...

[marleyybluu]

Thinkin’ Bout You

Spooky Diaz x fem!reader

Word count: 1.2k

Content warning: 18+, gets a little hot at the end, overall fluff and mush, everyone’s in love and high, reader smokes weed, reader described to have thick thighs (of course tf), pretty sure I'm missing some sorry

A/N: I took a break from my break to post this lol I was gonna leave this as a stand-alone(it can still be read as such) but honestly? it’s giving two and counting lore… so I’ll put it as a part of that series.

(not mine, got it off pinterest but awooogaa!)

Friday. What a glorious day to be off work. You slept in, hell you'd say you deserved putting up all those work hours at the hospital, and after finally crawling out of bed you rolled a small joint for the morning, and smoked it on the balcony outside your bedroom. The neighbourhood was quiet, the air was crisp and a bit cold but it's nothing one of Spooky's sweaters couldn't fix. You wrap your arms around you, the sweater is warm and it smelt like his cologne, you close your eyes and smile at just the mere thought of him. You always think about him it was crazy how one man consumed your entire being but you were so glad it was him.

You wished he was home, wished he was here to smoke with you but he got called into work earlier than usual, you didn't even get a goodbye kiss which you were missing right now, the vacancy of those lips— soft as a cloud and always on top of yours so delicately— depending on the context of course.

Without him here the day seemed to pass on slower, you checked the time what seemed like every ten minutes which also didn't help. To distract yourself you clean and cook, call your mom until she is ready to, quote, "Go and do her own thing." And hung up on you.

You lay upside down on the couch, feet crossed as they hang over the back of the couch and your head hangs off the seat cushions, Living Single reruns consumed your screen. You were well distracted until you heard a car door slam and various keys jingling together, you sat up and gripped the back of the couch for dear life.

The lock turns. The door opens. And there he is. You scream with excitement. "Hi, babyyyyy."

He chuckles, not even ten seconds inside and you already had him smiling. "Hola mi corazón."

You roll off the sofa and run over to your man, leaping and wrapping your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist. He squeezes you so tightly you swear he'd crack a few bones but in the name of love, you wouldn't care. You pepper his face with kisses before you finally land on his lips and you mould into him, his hands firmly grasping your ass that barely fits in your shorts.

He smiles in the middle of your kiss and it's an instant chain reaction. "Missed me that much?"

"You have no idea."

He gives you another small kiss before he puts you down and you fight the urge to pout and demand to be picked back up, you just want to live in his skin 24/7, but you let him catch his breath. Let him put away his things, grab a Corona while you ogle him and the way his enormous arms flexed when he twisted the cap off and the foaming bubbles sliding their way to the top... almost spilling over... but then he saves it with tongue. You lick your bottom lip and zoom in on the involuntarily sexual act, oh, and the way his Adam's apple bobbed with every sip... fuck.

"Bebita," He calls. You slowly nod, still in your love-stricken daze. "You're droolin' a little bit ma."

You rub your chin and frown at him, there is no drool. He winks at you and you turn your face to the side to avoid any more butterflies in your stomach. "You smoke already?"

You nod. "Wanna smoke again or you good?" He sat his blunt, which magically appeared from his jeans, between his lips and nodded to the back door. "Nah, I'll smoke with you."

"Good, vamos."

••••• Your head lays in his lap, his hand cupped your cheek and his thumb caressed your skin. After you two smoked, you ate and had a blissfully shared shower, now you were sprawled out on the sofa still high as fuck watching Bridget Jones's Diary, he remembered you uttered something about wanting to watch a rom-com for once. You were in the mood to watch a love story, "or something."

But you were hardly paying attention to the screen, so lost in your own world of love, you pinch his chin aiming his at an angle so he'd look down at you. Make eye contact.

"Do you think about me?" A question asked so innocently. "Course I do, baby."

You run your finger down the column of his neck, over the lump of his Adam's apple. "What do you think about?"

He pauses the movie and focuses on you. "What's this about?"

"Nothing."

"You pregnant?"

You hit him. "Spooky! No!" He was obsessed with the idea of a baby. "Just answer my question."

He sighs, nostrils flair, he hated telling his deepest feelings but, "I think about you... and me, and what our life could be like. We could get married, could have a couple of kids. I always thought about gettin' like a summer house or something. Hit it every summer with them."

You smiled. "You think about all that?"

"Fuck yeah. I see us dropping them off on their tío, he watches them... we still get to have some us time, dates, trips...whatever you want."

You swear he makes you fall in love with him all over again at least once a week. "You think I haven't pictured the wedding? I know what I'll say in my vows already."

"Liar," You teased.

"Mi amor, the day I saw you-"

You quickly cover his mouth it'd be like spoiling a movie you hadn't seen yet. He licked your palm but you were quick to wipe it on his face. "Puta." He muttered. "Bastardo." You retaliated. "So how many kids do we have?" You sit up and adjust yourself so that you are now sitting with your back against the support of the couch and drape your legs over his thighs, the cold metal of his rings hits your hot skin when his hand contacts your leg. "Five."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" You exclaim. "I've seen childbirth live and I think we can have one and a dog." He rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

He leans over to kiss your forehead. "You think about me?"

"Once in a while." You joke, his jaw drops. "Once in a while!? That's how you feel? Ay, cariño, you're breaking mi corazón."

You place your hand over his and offer him a side smile before you kiss his cheek. "The way I jumped on you when you came home isn't proof enough."

He pulls you on top of him, your legs now sitting on each side of him with his hands gleefully squeezing every pound of flesh that makes up your thunder thighs that spread every time you sit and it makes him call them pancakes sometimes. "I might need a refresher."

"Oh, getting short-term memory already, Diaz?" You hum pressing your lips to his. "Just a little bit." He answers. Your hands fumble with the bottom of his shirt, he raises his arms and you break the kiss for just a second before you're back with tongues in each others throats and you're making out as if you're life depended on it, as if he's being shipped off to war and you don't know if he's coming back. Now it was your turn to pull back in need of some air. His smile is shaky, almost like a shy expression.

"Still kinda hazy."

You rid yourself of your top, with nothing under it.

"Oh don't worry," You lean in. "I'm about to make it real clear."

Not tagging anyone in this, I'm just testing something. if you liked this fic, feel free to like this fic, reblogs and comments are appreciated. peace and love, see you in the next one🤙🏾

[littlemissrobinblue]

To clarify about SunnyDayJack Art

Early Reminder: This is not hate or anything related, this is only about me and information I had heard on the subject.

So, I have been asked a couple times in messages if I will be making any more Sunny Day Jack art, and unfortunately, no not for right now. I don't have the full context of what all went down since I'm not on twitter anymore, but to be honest even though I had a lot of ideas I wanted to draw out, it is best that I don't continue especially while the art was still fresh.

There will be more Pressure and Poppy Playtime coming out soon and some original animation, but no SunnyDayJack art coming from me. Here's why:

This is everything I have heard of what went down:

Snaccpop started falling apart because of lack of updates and the team having many disagreements and business issues. Jambeebot with everything going down was having depression, and honestly I understand why, and is in a way retiring and getting off the internet which I understand completely and hope they get better over time.

Since then, the fandom has been divided about the whole situation, those still in support of SunnyDayJack only, and those who have completely cut themselves off from it. Me personally as much as I'd love to still explore the ideas I had in mind, I don't want the trouble.

The demo was early beta for $12 dollars on their Patreon, in my mind I'm trying to understand why that would be the case since it's a demo and demo's should be free for the public or better yet they should have paid people instead, If the people were testing it early on, but not for the demo only for the main game. Now if it had to do with Jambeebot putting in as much work as they did for it, I can understand on that level, though I do feel that $12 is a bit much for the demo.

Then the release date for the demo is to this day still prolonged and there are no real updates on what's going on or why they won't release it. (Wanted to let you all know, someone on TikTok, I didn't catch their name, has been posting screenshots and edits of the new demo with new characters and spoiling it just a bit. I didn't take a screenshot because I didn't like their post and forgot to take one. I feel as though there will be more spoilers coming out before we actually see the demo.)

I'm sorry if that is the reason you followed me, so I wanted to clarify.

So, since I won't be drawing anything from SunnyDayJack, here was my idea for what I was going for:

I liked the whole mystery on what happened to Joseph and was going to go into that direction with it, and as I've said before I'm not a NSFW artist and don't ever plan to be, so there wasn't going to be any of that involved in the story, just mainly mystery and connections built. I'm also not a huge Yandere fan personally, as to why I didn't have an interest in other Yandere games, it was only mainly for the Lore of the game. If things get better for it, I'll consider going back to that Idea again if Jambeebot ever returns as well, but until then any drawings of Sunny Day Jack will be private or just not posted. Another thing is if I did ever draw it again, because it is a 18+ game, it won't be published on platforms where younger audiences could reach it easily, even though it will be completely SFW 100%. Meaning it would be on Blusky or here on Tumblr. The art I have posted was only early concepts, since then I'm trying to get better at anatomy and character design, so my OC you saw is getting a complete makeover.

I know this probably wasn't what some of you wanted to hear and I'm sorry for the news, I am as disappointed as much as you. But don't worry, there will still be more content just in different subjects, keep on moving forward! And this isn't a forever decision, but it will be a long time decision until things settle. Plus I don't always stay within one fandom, I go all over the place unless I really am invested. :D

[birdmenmanga]

Pleeease release your multiple vocaloid playlists to the public!! 🙏 I've made a friend recently who is super into vocaloid and I'm a zillennial so it's like, I saw the texts be written but I wasn't birthed With It like gen z was ykno. And I wanna understand him on a deeper level and what he likes but I don't really know where to start or what's good? I don't know the lore or what's a classic vs what's niche or what's revised to be popular...help meowt 😭💦

(If you make a doc with whole biased anecdotal rants and ancient lore, I'll read that too! He's a real vocaloid-head fr I need to step up my game to add gasoline to his fire. This is my autistic special interest, please enable me 🎀✨️)

Sorry it took me 3 days to get to this, I was committing to the bit of writing a doc LMAO. Obviously my experience is not anything holistic or special, since I'd say Vocaloid as a genre took off late 2007 and early 2008, and I only got into it around 2013 so take it with a grain of salt! I do not know what is popular to be totally honest. I just listen to what I listen to. And without further ado, my 5 playlists!

The first is a Vocaloid Classics playlist. Don't come after me for my song choices, there are hundreds and possibly thousands of songs you could count as "Vocaloid Classics". I limited myself to a very reasonable 15 songs per playlist so some things simply are not making the cut. I'm sad Shinkai Shoujo isn't on here, or Cantarella, or World's End Dancehall, or or or you get the idea. Melt. Odds and Ends. Freely Tomorrow. you know.

This next playlist spotlights some Vocaloid producers that make original English songs! I begrudgingly put KIRA on here even though I don't really like their songs (aside from Digital Girl) but having seen them go from completely nothingburger music to generically mid pop I have to respect their efforts. I understand that GHOST is big but their songs just do not do it for me so they are not in the playlist. And I do have a huge bias towards FLAVOR FOLEY and associated artists. I feel like English Vocaloid songs have a bad rep, but I'd love it if you could give this playlist a try!

haha okay this is the one you want. my 15 song playlist with an associate google doc linking you to 50 more songs and relevant cultural context. lmao

The fourth playlist is one featuring artists who are still actively making Vocaloid songs today! A lot of the artists in the Classics and Transformative Works playlists have moved on to non-Vocaloid music, gotten busy with real life, died, etc. so I figured I'd make a playlist of producers to keep an eye on. My personal favorites are wotaku, EN0N, Kashii Moimi, and R Sound Design!

The last playlist is 15 of my all-time favorite songs! Some of them are covers, but they're all Vocaloid songs. I had a hard time picking out my favorites... some that I thought were sure to make it didn't make it... I hope you at least like one of these songs. Just one would be enough lollll

I put a lot of time into curating the order of these playlists and I hope it will be an enjoyable experience listening to them!! The reason it took so long was because I was hemming and hawing over the order of songs in the playlists LMAO

[n0bluev]

Somehow, im inspired to write that 'revision fic'. === (EDIT : u can skip but heres another snippet for u (3 separate bits that fit together nicely, actually haha) cuz hihi. THE AU: As i said, its a failed "3"rd regression context, where yjh is now in his "4"th round. The last memory he has of kdj is him dying, and to make things worse "In this round, that guy doesn't exist." is a thing, so yjh freaks out a bit but hes totally normal about this whole ordeal & the fact that he doesnt even remembers kdj's face now. Wdym! Hes fiiiiiine!

sorry lol back to the actual post : (,hope u enjoyed that little treat tho^^)) ===

!!THAT [Somehow, im inspired to write [...]] HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE!!. I always like. do an outline for the overall story and vibe, then flesh out the start or something and cook up a little 500 (probably unsatisfying) words for fun kind of as a bonus. Keep it mostly for my private enjoyment and move on before the story comes to life. And that's okay... Yes, it would be cooler to actually write the AU ideas i get in novel or comic form instead of having them stay at just the 'sketch' & 'idea/brainstorm' phase before i get another idea and leave them to dust up in the pile,,

But yeah, its okay.

In the few years since ive started getting ideas for more elaborate aus/fics, ive noticed that my ideas improved with time. (no shit, i know, but it makes me happy! i grew up!!! i can see it.) My planning methods are better too. So all of that unfinished or abandoned stuff is not at all useless work in my eyes. And who knows, maybe one day i'll bring them back.

--> as a plus, all my fandom brainrot experiences even get transferred into my OC stuff, and frl whenever i read my notes these days (or listen to my voice memos lol) and im just like "HOW DID I THINK OF THIS WOW" or "WHEN DID I PUT THIS LIKE THIS? IT WORKS!" (not to brag or anything but my oc lore goes hard ☝️)

BUT. NOW THIS IS UNEXPECTED.

I DID NO PLANNING. I just started writing for orv and its. Lowkey, good ???? Dont get me wrong i only have 1.5k right now and there are clear holes i have to fill and stuff but... CLEAR HOLES! CLEAR HOLES. Sure Im used to being like "something of the sort should go there..." BUT THIS TIME ITS "THIS SHOULD GO THERE, ILL WRITE IT LATER BUT THE IMAGE IS IN MY MIND, CLEAR AS WATER, AND ONCE I START PUTTING IT ON THE PAGE ISTG THOSE WORDS WILL STREAM OUT OF MY FINGERS AS IF IT WAS A NORMAL OCCURENCE FOR ME" ,,- !??? Yo!

Anyways. Point is that somehow theres interesting stuff going on in my gg doc and the more i write the more i know where i want to go, so that's cool, i feel all powerfull for once

idk if that ease is going to stay once im done with the first scenes (ughh!!! theres so much potential!!!!!!!!) but hopefully yes. either way ill probably post it so im not baiting yall with a "um actually im writing smt rn --- *never shares with the class*" --- either 1) things go well and i write a "real fic" (!? wtf that wasnt my plan!) --- or 2) i only post the finished version of what i have now (expect around 5k? (i have no idea actually)) and we wait together to see if i pick up the idea again haha. (i do wish to write it tho! im not a 'writer' writer but i want to be one, u get me?)

! thank u see u byebye

[lividria]

10 followers woohoo

i now have 10 followers that aren't whatever cheezbot is and my punching bag from discord, and i still find it funny i've interacted more with this one person who will just appear on my metroid posts sometimes usually to argue about lore and someone who i somehow see a new post from every time i check tumblr more than like all of my followers combined, whoops

i guess this is as good a time as any to talk about like my recurring post topics and give an update on all of those with where they're all that, i genuinely don't know if anyone cares about them but i'm going to pretend they do because it makes me feel nice, if you care about any of the following and want to provoke me into talking about them more send me an ask that'll probably do it

i know that in the grand scheme of things this number is meaningless but it means something to me okay let me have this

i'm working on Something Pretty Big for vivlore right now which is why i haven't been posting about it more i promise i'll get to it, it's just... there's a lot to cover which is a daunting task and i'm already trying to cover it all again with my S.P.B. i just mentioned which is a higher priority than tumblr posts

i'm more or less out of ideas for metroid posts besides following up on the metroid menace saga and posts about some joke ideas i've had for intentionally shitty sequel concepts, and it will probably stay this way until prime 4 or a prime 2 remaster drops or i go back and finish super/replay dread or prime 1, i feel kinda bad because i know metroid is why i got most of my followers but yea

i genuinely forgot to follow up on my big pikmin posts about Pikmin: Global Survey and the Sparkly Wraith theory, I still have so much more to say about GS and so much to say about my theories for what the apocalypse in the Pikmin world was (assuming it wasn't the Sparkly Wraith lol), I just haven't really felt like it since I think I'm out of my Pikmin hyperfixation for real now, but I plan on replaying 3DX & 4 soon and the creator of pikmin echo is seemingly back from a several month absence so that may reignite my interest enough to get the engine running on my shit

i have tons of story ideas, tons of game ideas, i just haven't really been in the mood to write them out yet but i promise i've got some really good shit, though don't expect me to follow them up with actually writing/making them, if i'm going to manifest an idea i have it'll be vivlore first, so to the hypothetical person who wanted me to write Alien Exorcist for real i'm sorry but you're out of luck write it yourself

i have a lot more Funny Stories i can tell, i just have to feel like it, or i'll just have to experience more, given that i'm still working through the new games i got for my birthday a month ago so those probably aren't going anywhere

there are a couple other one-offs i meant to make a recurring thing, like Midnight Deranged Thoughts and out of context discord screenshots of my friends and i, that i just didn't, i just need to feel like making follow-ups lol

and there's other stuff i plan on making a series, like talking about my dreams i have for example, i just need to figure stuff out for those and also be in the mood, like i'll have to re-type my notes from my dreams to fit my tumblr post style which will be a pain for the longer ones but the longer ones are the interesting ones i'd be talking about, and that kind of specific problem applies to a lot of my future post series ideas

so uh, yeah, that's all i think, i know that all of the posts i actually put effort into are the least popular ones i do but it's nice to get that stuff off my chest and into the void, i just like writing even if it's not writing writing, and maybe one day someone will find and appreciate my posts idk

tl:dr More Shit Soon I Promise Lol

[bbugyu]

of all the views you had seen, there was little that could compare to him.

6.2k | cavalry captain!jeonghan x gn pyro!reader, genshin impact au, fluff, adventure, drinking, so much flirting, mentions of trauma, honestly this is the sweetest i'm ever gonna write jeonghan

happy inazuma release day!!! it's your local kaeya trash, because i predictably fall for gay bastards that lie straight to my face (example: jeonghan), and i'm here to give you a fic i wrote AGES ago and just polished up a bit to celebrate the release of what is likely going to be my FAVORITE region in genshin impact. i'm japanese so 😅 i have a soft spot. if there's any other gaymer carats out there, enjoy this one. if not, sorry! you can actually probably still read this and understand it for the most part, though you might miss a bit of context of the landscape and the lore.

ps. go tell @babiemingoo that wonwoo xinqiu 🤭

~

your work with the adventurer's guild was always efficient. you received your commissions, you carried them out, then returned for your reward, usually before the sun had even peaked. the rest of your day was generally spent either basking in the eternal sun of mondstadt, feeding cats in inazuma, or enjoying a hard earned meal in liyue, depending on where you decided to stay that week, finding board and paying for it with the commission you had earned that day. your tendency to wander came less from choice and more from nature - you could call yourself a nomad, but generally, you just got bored, and preferred seeing everything teyvat had to offer rather than settling in one place. adventuring was simply what you were meant to do, your mother had told you at a young age.

she, too, had wandered for most of her youth, and didn't stop just because you had come into her life. you remembered getting scooped up because you had wandered off a bit too close to the railing at wangshu inn as a toddler, playing with dogs at the docks of liyue harbor. you remembered the ludi harpastum and the first time you had ever had a sweet honey roast, and the way it made your eyes grow ten times in size before you dug in for more.

when your vision was bestowed upon you, you already knew how to use a sword. it was important, your mother told you, that you knew how to protect yourself. she had a vision as well, younger even than you had, and you had come to recognize the static in the air as a sign that she was angry - whether it was because of an altercation with someone on your journey or because you had secretly eaten the last hashbrown without consulting her first.

she used her vision and a sturdy blade she had owned since before you were born to protect the two of you on the road, but when she felt you were old enough, she taught you how to weild. a two handed weapon that was far too big for you when you were only fourteen, but when your reckless abandon got paired with a spark, you suddenly became far more dangerous than even your own mother. she scolded you for nearly starting a forest fire when you tried to pair the two skills for the first time after receiving your vision, and you both agreed that training was a beach activity from then on.

your mother settled eventually, after you were old and skilled enough to take on the road alone, pulling the many favors she had gathered in her travels to build a home in a small neighborhood south of liyue harbor, nestled in the foothills of mount tianheng, where you visited as often as your wandering allowed.

you had become much better with your vision. more careful but just as hot. quick to scan situations and strategize in the moment, hardly taking a second before jumping into action, slaying hilichurls like you were getting paid. well, you were, you supposed, but you had been doing this long before you had discovered the benefit of joining the guild. you were good at it. you were built for adventure, but revelled in leisure. there was good reason you were able to take afternoons off, and you milked every last second of it.

"you're back in town?"

you grinned, leaning your sword against the wall and dropping your bag off your shoulders before settling at the bar. "for now."

rubin often served you alcohol - when you were in mondstadt, at least, however often that may be - but never questioned you deeply. he would ask how your travels were, and listen to your stories from regions beyond his knowledge, of the cultures that he had only heard of from people like you. he enjoyed them just about as much as any, if not a little more, purely because your tenacious personality brought something more to the table. he wondered, though, how long you intended to keep living day by day, sleeping in different beds every week.

"what's wrong with sleeping in different beds?" you teased, laughing into your wine glass. "if i didn't know any better, i'd think you were shaming me, rube."

rubin simply laughed, knowing your tone by now. "i just wonder if you ever intend on digging in your roots, or if you'll continue travelling forever."

"if i dig roots, you may never see me again. is that what you want?"

"what," he said. "you don't like mondstadt?"

"i love monstadt," you assured him. "but i also love inazuma. and my mother is in liyue, though she might be upset with me if i try to settle too close to her. perhaps natlan would suit me more?" you shrugged finally, the door behind you opening as you finished with "i suppose i'll settle when i've found a reason to love one place more than the rest."

rubin shook his head, a chuckle falling from his lips. "a wanderer through and through." his attention was quickly drawn to the man entering the bar. "ah, captain! the usual?"

"please," the decorated man said, quickly taking a seat beside you despite the rest of the bar being available. "would you like another, wanderer?"

you eyed him cautiously, studying what you could see if his face around the black eyepatch, gaze skimming down his elaborate clothing before looking down at your emptied drink. "sure."

"another for your wandering friend, rubin, on my tab, please." your brain swirled, considering the brief information you had been given and wondered how you had never managed to meet this regular during your past visits. "are you just drinking dandelion wine, or something more fun?"

"more fun?" you asked. "what are you drinking, then?"

"well, a death after noon, of course," he stated. "don't tell me you haven't had one."

you blinked at him. "i haven't."

you turned towards rubin when he laughed at the back and forth. "shall i make two, then?"

"definitely," your new drinking buddy said, then gestured to you. "you trust my taste, right?"

you said nothing, but he accepted your silent smile as an agreeance. "captain," you said finally, thinking of how rubin had addressed him. "of?"

the man turned towards you, his elbow planted on the bar and his cheek on a fist. despite his get up, he had a playful smirk across his lips. "you mean, my reputation doesn't precede me? you really are a wanderer. everyone in mondstadt knows my name."

"everyone but me," you corrected. "as i'm currently in mondstadt."

his teeth shone behind his smirking lips before he sat up straight. "well, allow me to introduce myself." he saluted, his arm extending from his side at an angle - a salute you recognized from the guards around the city. "i am jeonghan, the cavalry captain of the knights of favonius."

"ah, the knights," you smiled briefly, before letting your eyes wander as you thought, crossing your arms over the bar. "i don't see much of a cavalry in the city, though."

he let out an amused exhale. "so i have a bit more free time these days."

"i'm sure the acting grand master is jealous of all your free time," you teased. "poor guy, looks like he's staving off a panic attack every time i see him. you should probably help him more."

"so," he sighed, leaning against the bar again. "you know of the acting grand master but not me?"

"jihoon?" you asked. "of course i know of him. he's all anyone ever talks about around here."

jeonghan nodded once, thanking rubin when he placed two drinks before you. "people talk about me, also, you know."

your lips stuck out in a pout. "jeonghan, you said? doesn't ring a bell."

he rolled his eyes and picked up his drink, holding it out for you to cheers against. you giggled, clinking your glass against his before taking a sip. the golden liquid was sweet, but not like the dandelion wine you had grown to love in this region. it had more depth, a subtle bitterness to it, and a refreshing bubble. you stared after the glass when it left your lips, then looked over to find jeonghan grinning at you.

"i see why it's your usual," you said, taking another sip before placing the glass on the bar. "i could drink too many."

"will you?" he asked.

"not tonight," you replied coolly. "i haven't asked sana to put me up at the guild yet, and if i get there too late, i'll get a cot instead of a bed. unless rubin finally wants to come clean about something?"

the bartender laughed. "how many times do i have to tell you? we don't even have rooms to board."

you squinted at him. "i know there's something upstairs. i'll learn your secrets one day, rube."

"i wouldn't be a very good bartender if i didn't know how to keep them."

"so you're in the guild?" jeonghan asked as rubin attended to another patron. "an adventuring wanderer."

you smiled vaguely at him. "i am. i have to pay for my travels somehow."

he shrugged. "there's other ways to make money. probably more profitable, too."

you eyed his teasing smirk. "i'm not sure i know what you're implying."

"as a captain of the knights of favonius, i assure you, i'm implying nothing at all," he said, exhaling sharply and adjusting on his stool. he leaned over towards you before speaking in a quieter tone. "but as jeonghan, i think you know exactly what i'm implying."

you only laughed, recognizing the thinly veiled attempt to worm a secret out of you. "i outgrew those means a long time ago. besides, when mora gets tight, i can always board up with my mother. i like liyue enough."

jeonghan studied you as you drank again. "liyue's home, is it?'

"for her, yes," you said, looking over to him, but you found yourself looking away again when his steely blue gaze met yours. you thought carefully about how much of yourself you were willing to reveal to this stranger, especially considering how important he was in the rule of the city. "she was a wanderer, too, and ended up falling in love with liyue harbor."

jeonghan made note of the way your face softened as you spoke about your mother. "and what about you?"

you met his intent look again, thinking about how his covered eye somehow made him even more intimidating. perhaps that was its purpose. "what about me?"

"what have you fallen in love with?"

a smile crept onto your lips as you processed his question. "oh, archons, what have i not fallen in love with? the smell of the open ocean in inazuma, the breathtaking temples in sumeru - have you ever been to waterfall city?"

jeonghan merely shook his head at you, the corners of his mouth turning upwards as he put his cheek on a fist again, leaning against the bar. "beautiful?"

you exhaled, eyes wide as you thought of the towering falls and the light mist that covered the city, trying to come up with an apt description. "humbling. there's nothing like it."

he watched your expression, head tilting further. "what a wonderful way to describe a place. tell me more."

your gaze went to him, then away briefly, feeling suddenly shy as you noticed his look. "about waterfall city?"

he shrugged a fur covered shoulder, shaking his head lightly. "about anywhere. describe your world, wanderer. i'd like to hear whatever you have to say."

you wondered if the heat that ran through you was because of the alcohol or the man, but you just took another drink and cleared your throat lightly, thinking of more places you had discovered in your travels. you thought of qingce village, one of your favorite places to visit, because the people are kind and welcoming and the fields are so beautiful. you told him about a tea shop owned by an old man - he insisted you call him pops so fiercely that you weren't even sure you had caught his given name - and it was probably the most relaxing cup of tea you ever had.

"it's been a while since i've gone," you sighed. "i think i'm overdue for a chat with pops and his tea."

jeonghan was smiling when you looked at him again. "the tea in liyue is unmatched," he said, reaching for his drink. before taking another sip, he gestured for you to continue.

so you did. you told him about sakura pond, about celestia city, about the volcanic black beaches. you told him liyue had your favorite people, but inazuma had your favorite food. he clicked his tongue at you.

"what about mondstadt? do we have one of your favorites?"

you smiled, genuinely. "sunsets. the night sky is different here than it is anywhere else. i think mondstadt is the closest we can get to the stars without joining the archons."

jeonghan studied you briefly, his blue eye flicking over your face as you finished your drink. "i think that's an apt observation. it seems your eyes are always wide."

"i travel for the views," you exhaled. "i don't plan on missing any."

he thought a second. "have you been to starsnatch cliff?"

your eyes lit up. "not in years," you said, in complete shock that you could have forgotten such a place. you pushed from the bar slightly, turning towards him, and he noticed the flash of a red gem strapped to your right thigh for the first time. "my mother took me there when i was a kid, but i haven't gone since."

"it never gets old," he said, sipping at the end of his drink. "i've yet to see that view and not be in awe."

"i'll go before i leave mondstadt again," you decided.

he looked to you. "when will that be?"

you sighed. "not sure, yet."

he just chuckled. "would you like another drink?"

"oh, no," you said, standing and stretching your spine. "i should make my leave. i don't like sleeping on cots. i just came by to let my ol' pal rube know i was in town again."

jeonghan watched you pull your pack onto your back, grabbing the handle of your sheathed claymore from where it was leaning against the wall next to the bar. "perhaps i'll see you again tomorrow?"

you looked at him, a vague smile on your lips as you strapped your sword back on. "perhaps you will, captain."

"jeonghan," he corrected. "but i don't believe you ever shared your name?"

"that was by design, captain," you said, and he swore he caught a glint in your eye as you bid rubin a farewell and stepped out of the angel's share.

jeonghan spun back around on his stool, immediately looking to rubin. "do you know their name?"

"no, sir," he said, looking at the closed door. "they've never said."

jeonghan's gaze went to the empty glass you had left behind, thinking about your stories, your sword, and the signifier of your vision on your thigh. "fascinating."

you got lucky - sana had a private room for you, and said you were welcome to rent it for your stay. she said not many people were travelling to mondstadt these days, and that more often than not, the adventurer's barracks in headquarters went unused. ever since the fatui had holed up in the grand goth hotel, it had been harder for you to make extended stays in mondstadt, but it seemed that something was telling you to stick around longer than usual. you laid on the hard mattress - a feeling that was more comforting than most, thanks to your continuous travels - and thought of the charming captain that had made a night of questioning you. you wondered if he really had any interest in anything you had to say, or if he had been hoping for details about something pertinent to an investigation.

you packed a lighter bag in the morning, only bringing along the essentials as you set out for your commissions for the day. that afternoon, you wandered around mondstadt and asked questions. questions about the simultaneously well-discussed and mysterious cavalry captain that had listened to your tales of travel, and answers came easier than expected, though they didn't contain all the details you were looking for. that night, you waited up at the angel's share to brag about your newfound knowledge to the captain that never showed, and you did your best to not let that hurt your ego.

the next day, you made a detour on your way back to the city after completing your commissions, stopping by springvale to enjoy a well deserved lunch and catch up with some locals. you sat in the grass with a skewer of grilled meat, watching the windmills of mondstadt steadily spin in the distance as time passed, thinking about how rubin had asked you if you didn't like it here.

you did, you decided. mondstadt felt different than anywhere else you had been. untouched, almost. wilder. freer. despite being born in inazuma, your first memories being in celestia, or your mother being in liyue, mondstadt felt comfortable. felt like a home. you wondered to yourself what that might mean.

sana greeted you happily when you returned much later than you normally did. she told you to go ahead to the guild and come back, filing away your reports and retrieving your rewards. you dropped off your things in your rented room, quickly, practically galloping back down the steps towards the entrance of the city to continue your conversation with the adventurer guilds' mighty receptionist without your sword weighing you down. you crossed your arms on the counter, comfortably lounging as you chatted with her, having always enjoyed her conversations more than most. like rubin, she was a reason mondstadt always felt comfortable.

"fancy meeting you here," an all too familiar voice said, and you pulled your eyes from sana to find jeonghan leaning his side against the counter next to you.

"good evening, cavalry captain!" sana chirped, placing your reward - your room free already removed - on the counter and bowing politely. "can i help you with anything today?"

his icy gaze flickered from your lightly curved lips towards sana. "oh, no, my dear. i'm just coming back from an investigation near springvale"

"interesting," you said, eyeing him. "i was just there and didn't see you."

"i wouldn't be very good at my job if you did, wanderer," he grinned. "knight business, you wouldn't understand. got the assignment yesterday."

"ah," you shifted to your side to face him, making him eye the vision on your thigh. "is that why you never showed? rubin was worried."

he looked you up and down. "rubin was, huh?"

you rolled your eyes and adjusted your posture to face away from his smirk. sana looked between the two of you twice before clearing her throat as quietly as possible, making jeonghan let out a chuckle before he directed his attention to the guild's receptionist.

"how goes holding the post, sana?"

she looked almost frightened when the attention was directed back to her. "good, captain! in fact, one of our most capable adventurers-" she gestured to you, "-just returned from taking care of some of our more difficult commissions - no one else would take them."

jeonghan looked at you. "why did sana have to tell your secret?"

your eyebrows quirked upwards. "what secret?"

"that you're good at this. shouldn't you be bragging?"

a chuckle spilled from your lips, and jeonghan watched you as you looked away. "i'm not the bragging type."

he studied you a moment. "what type are you, then?"

you considered the question, wondering exactly how to answer. what type were you? if not a teller, than surely you must be a shower, but that didn't seem right either. you exhaled. "the quiet type. see you later, sana."

he laughed, pushing off the counter as you tucked your mora into your waist bag, wishing sana a good evening and following you towards the fountain. "you sure talk a lot for being the quiet type."

a smirk landed itself on your lips as he fell into step beside you. "maybe private is a better description."

"that one i can see," jeonghan said, looking over to you. he thought of how you had spent nearly an hour telling him about the best views in teyvat, yet he still didn't know the most basic information about you. "do you share your name with anyone?"

you thought. "my mother."

he scoffed. "anyone else?"

you looked to the sky. "rubin."

"wrong," he retorted. "he doesn't know your name, either."

you laughed, looking over to him as you came up to the fountain, spinning and sitting back on the ledge. "you asked?"

"of course i asked," he said, planting one foot on the ledge beside you and placing his arms on his knee. "i asked other people, too. almost everyone knows you, but they don't know anything about you. bits and pieces, but never the full picture."

you just smiled up at him from your relaxed posture on the concrete. "what's wrong with a little intrigue?"

he just smiled back at you. "nothing. i tend to keep a bit myself. did you know there's a large number of people in this city that were shocked when i said you wield a claymore?"

you hummed, dipping the tips of your fingers into the fountain. "did you know there's a large number of people in this city that consider you the most eligible bachelor in not only mondstadt, but in all of teyvat?"

his lips parted slightly as you spoke. "so you snooped, too."

"i was bored yesterday. it wasn't hard," you exhaled. you flicked a drop of water towards his foot. "jeonghan yoon, the cavalry captain of the knights of favonius since he was only nineteen. who loves wine and whose adopted brother runs the biggest winery in teyvat, yet they're hardly ever seen speaking. who comes from a far off land on a different continent, but has come to love mondstadt like it was his home. who wears an eyepatch but has never told anyone why."

he chuckled at the assessment and pulled his foot off the ledge to sit beside you. "so when do i get to learn about you?"

"i told you about me yesterday," you said.

"you told me about teyvat," he corrected. "and while i was able to infer some things about your character, i still know close to nothing about you."

you thought for a moment, realizing no one had ever noticed how little you truly shared despite always being willing to tell stories. "sometimes it feels like i am teyvat. it's hard to think of things that are just about me."

"you could start with that vision," he said, nodding at the strap across your thigh. you looked down at it, exhaling.

"what's there to tell? you know what it means, and that's more teyvat than me, too."

he leaned back on a hand, looking you up and down in curiosity. "how old were you."

you chewed your cheek. "fourteen. you?"

his lip quirked upwards. "sixteen."

you bumped his shoulder with yours playfully. "beat you."

he laughed. "how'd it happen?"

you paused. "you go first."

he just chuckled and looked away, watching a dog wander past the general store. "another day, then."

"no fun," you sighed, brushing your hands together as you leaned forward. "what about the eyepatch?"

he met your eyes, mouth slanted in a smirk. "another day."

you clicked your tongue. "if you wanna learn about me, you have to be willing to give up some details, too. i value a fair trade."

"then stop asking questions that you know i won't share the answer to." jeonghan noticed the color of the sky, then suddenly pulled a pocket watch out, checking it quickly to confirm that there was enough time and stood. "come with me?"

you stared up at him. "where?"

he grinned, extending a hand to help you to your feet. "you said mondstadt's sunsets were your favorite, correct?"

you generally weren't prone to following mysterious men into back corridors, but jeonghan easily convinced you with no words at all that sneaking around the sight line of the acting grand master was completely normal behavior, sushing you with a grin as you giggled, taking refuge around a corner after the two of you made it up to the second floor of the favonius headquarters. he tugged your hand with his, pulling you into a steep maintenance staircase behind a door.

"this feels like it's against some rules," you said, climbing the stairs behind him.

"nonsense," he said, looking back at you and grinning. "are you suggesting that a knight of favonius would break rules just to impress a mysterious traveler?"

you laughed quietly, wondering if he really meant that he wanted to impress you. "not most, but maybe this one."

he only thought for a split second. "if anyone asks, we're on official knight business."

he opened the door and you found the sky again, beginning to glow orange as the edge of the sun began to hide behind the cliffs. you stared in awe at the way the few fluffy clouds reflected pink and gold, then readjusted your focus when jeonghan spoke again.

"i hope you aren't afraid of heights," he said, walking over to the parapets that surrounded you. "the best view requires a bit of a climb."

you looked up at the tower, and while it wasn't much higher than where you stood, you also recognized that you were well above most of mondstadt already. "you climb up there?"

he paused, studying you. "we don't have to, we can just sit on a merlon-"

"no, we can climb," you said, walking over to where he was and eyeing the small gap between the parapet and the adjacent roof. "hop over?"

he laughed, stepping over the gap and holding a hand out for you. "watch your step."

and though you didn't need it, you accepted the hand anyways, and it stayed on yours as you walked over the roof to the tower, as if making sure you didn't misstep several stories in the air.

"would you like to go first?" he asked. "i'll catch you if you fall."

you rolled your eyes at him, dropping your hand from his grip. "you go first. i want to see where the handholds are."

he just grinned at you. "very well," he said, tugging on the wrists of his fingerless gloves to make sure they were taught against his skin before taking hold of a brick. you watched him as he took foothold after foothold, and he resisted the urge to show off by speedily scaling the wall in favor of making sure you had the chance to see where he gripped. when he reached the opening in the tower, he pulled himself up and spun around, exhaling with a grin as he seated himself at the ledge with his legs dangling above you.

"your turn."

you adjusted your waist bag as you sighed in amused annoyance, spinning it to be behind you and out of your hips' way to climb the wall. it wasn't much - a couple meters, maybe - and you had definitely climbed further, but jeonghan's presence made you slightly nervous. that nervousness, however, just fueled you to prove yourself.

you scaled the wall easily, making jeonghan whistle and jokingly call you some kind of adventurer, and your only hesitation came when his hand was in your face. despite your initial inclination to ignore it, you put your left hand in his, allowing him to help you pull yourself up on the ledge and sit beside him.

"impressive," he commented.

you laughed, brushing off your hands. "you, too."

"c'mon," he said, gesturing his head over his shoulder before making moves to stand. "the view's on the other side."

you sighed, looking over the view of mondstadt shrouded in golden light as he stood and walked to the other ledge. "never a moment of rest with you."

"if you want to miss the sunset, be my guest."

you leaned back on your hands and laughed, pulling your gaze away from the city to look at where jeonghan had seated himself on the other end of the tower, and subsequently the view of the rolling hills beyond him that were glowing golden in the evening sun. you blinked for a second, realizing you hadn't seen the sunset the night before, and quickly got to your feet to join him before you missed this one, too.

he gave you a soft smile when you sat beside him, and you briefly wondered how many he had in his repertoire. the wind was stronger higher, whipping gently through his hair and alleviating any uncomfortable warmth you may have had from exerting yourself on the way up. you watched the dregs of sunlight skip across the grassy hills and the sky turn deep orange and bright pink, feet swinging lightly over the edge of the tower.

"i was fighting with my brother," he said suddenly, causing you to look at him with a start before you realized he was telling you about his vision. there was a slight smile on his face as he looked out on the fields. "hyungwon. it was bad. he already had his - he's a pyro, like you - and we were both young and stupid and just lost our dad. we were sword fighting and it came to me when i needed it. it probably saved my life, honestly."

you blinked at him. "you think he would have killed you?'

he exhaled, leaning back on his hands. "i think if the roles had been reversed, i would have tried to kill him, too. i'm grateful it didn't go that way, though." he coughed abruptly, clearing his throat. "we're on speaking terms, and i do love him as a brother, but i generally avoid him."

you let that thought ruminate as you watched the sun sink, halfway beyond the horizon. "my father was in a gang in inazuma, but my mom ran away when she found out she was pregnant. didn't want to raise a kid in that world, i guess? we ran into him when i got older and he wasn't very understanding." you paused, remembering the detail too well. "they were going to take her vision. that's what they did to traitors. probably take me, too. they weren't expecting me to start setting fires."

jeonghan's gaze was on you as yours was on the horizon. "just a couple of survivors."

you looked over at him, a smirk on your lips. "a couple?"

he laughed waving at your implication, thinking he would have said the same thing in an attempt to fluster you just as you were to him. "like, more than one and less than four."

you only laughed back. "fortune favors the weak, i suppose. the archons saw we needed help and extended a fig branch."

"is that what it was?" he asked, a laugh on his lips. "we were both fighting people. that's hardly an offer of peace."

"look for the deeper meaning, jeonghan. we were fighting for our lives," you pointed out, and he realized it was the first time you had addressed him by his name rather than his title. "i was fighting for family. for freedom. is that not the greatest pursuit of peace?"

he watched you as you pulled your knees to your chest, putting your feet on the edge of the stonework surface you sat on. he studied the way the golden rays lit your skin and made your eyes sparkle. "i suppose so."

you paused in that moment for a long while, and jeonghan allowed the comfortable silence as the two of you watched the sun disappear beyond the cliffs of mondstadt. the sky was turning a deep shade of purple when you told him your name, and jeonghan thought that it was quite possibly the best news he had ever received, but he kept that joy to himself as he confirmed your name, and you rolled your eyes.

"are you gonna answer my other question now?"

he scoffed. "about the eyepatch? is it really that interesting?"

"not any more interesting than my name," you retorted.

"completely untrue," jeonghan insisted. "i've never been so excited to be told a secret, and i get told a lot of secrets."

you eyed his smile warily. "my name may be unknown, but it's no secret."

he sighed and shook his head lightly. "you really wanna know the reason i wear it? it's probably not as dramatic as you're hoping."

"yet you hide it?"

he laughed. "what's wrong with a little intrigue?"

you looked away, recognizing the parrot of your own words. "whatever you say, captain."

"no!" he whined and grabbed your arm, making you start and look at him with big eyes. "you just started calling me jeonghan, don't go back to captain."

you stared at him, only breaking to laugh, dropping your legs over the edge again. "you won't show me what's under the eyepatch, so i thought we weren't on first name basis."

his hand on your bicep was warm and gentle, but his gaze was piercing as he thought it over for a bit longer. you did your best to hold it, but you felt yourself shrinking when he quietly muttered, "go on, then."

it took you a second to register what he meant, and you reached out slowly, fingers hesitating before they brushed upon his cheekbone. jeonghan closed his eyes, resigning to your touch as you gently lifted the eyepatch. his eyes opened again, slowly, and you thought your heart might have skipped a beat.

"like chocolate," you commented, and a smile spread across his lips.

"that's the kindest reaction i've gotten."

your fingers fell upon his temple, brushing down gently as you inspected his singular brown eye. "since birth?"

he nodded, his eyes flicking down to your lips briefly before he spoke. "heterochromia. it's a characteristic of my family."

you studied his face. "not the one here?"

he sighed. "not the one here."

the icy blue of jeonghan's eye had always struck something in you. it made him mysterious. commanding. it felt like he saw more than you despite having one eye covered. but now, you felt warm. you felt his gentleness. there was comfort hidden away behind that black patch, and you told him that you understood why the cavalry captain had chosen to hide the eye he did.

but to you, he was willing to show anything that would keep you around longer, he said.

"why me?" you asked, studying his expression when he looked away. the sun had retreated behind the hills, leaving the sky a deep blue.

jeonghan didn't respond right away, and you wondered if he himself even knew the answer. "we're birds of a feather, you and i."

you looked out to the view again, watching the subtle movements of the wild hills. "did you travel much before you came here?"

"it was all i knew," he told you. "i was thirteen when my father left me here."

your neck snapped, your eyes on his profile when he leaned back on his hands. "left you?"

he almost laughed, a smile on his lips when his eyes met yours. "i was slowing him down, i suppose. hyungwon's father found me and took me in."

"so you stayed?"

"i didn't always want to," he assured you. "i had the itch to leave for years. as soon as i was able, i always told myself." he paused, eyes dropping. "then father died. then hyungwon turned down his position with the knights. and i was their second choice."

you pursed your lips. "you stayed for a job."

he laughed. "it's not that simple."

you smiled at him, enjoying the warmth of his eyes on yours as the sky cooled. "are you sure we're birds of a feather?"

"listen," he said, getting off his hands and brushing them off on his thighs. "i accepted the job so that i could set the story straight. i didn't want to run from the people that believed that hyungwon tried to kill me to avenge our father."

you studied him. "i'm sorry."

"don't be," he said, nudging your shoulder. "i was still planning on leaving, but then i fell in love."

you looked away, trying to sort out the way your stomach flipped. "are they still around?"

"not with a person," he laughed, then nodded towards the now dark hills. "with the views. besides, i get free reign whenever i leave for missions. i have fun adventuring, and come home to the best sunsets in teyvat. there are worse places to call home."

your eyes scanned the horizon, remembering the brilliant rays of sun you had just seen skip across it. "that is tempting."

"how tempting?" he asked.

you thought on that for a moment. "almost as much as a death after noon right now."

jeonghan laughed, slightly proud that he had hooked you on his favorite drink. "shall we go see rubin, then?"

you hummed, smiling at the captain. "as long as i don't have to sit alone again."

"that's a promise," he told you as he stood, holding out a hand that you took without hesitation, though he withheld his intention to make sure you were never alone again.

[silverskye13]

OH, and while I'm here I wanted to mention how much I love Casting Rain, as you can probably tell from my trail of comments lol. I started seeing your Gaster/Grillby art on DA a while back, but put off reading the story because frankly getting into long pre-existing stories scares me a bit, lol. But now I'm in and it's totally worth it, and I'm only afraid I'll catch up far too soon and want MORE. You make a great story and great characters <3

(Sorry for responding to this so late holy heck)

I have seen your comments and you flatter me to no end! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the story so far and hope it continues to please! It… get’s kinda intense and I worry about it sometimes. But like seriously reading some of the stuff you’ve written has really brightened my day! Makes me feel like I’m doing something right maybe? Hopefully? Ahaha. Anyway! Thank you!

Also I’m gonna take this time over here to answer a question you asked on Archive. I didn’t want to answer over there because in the chapter you asked, those were still spoilers? I think? Kind of?

It’s mostly world-building lore and out of context quotes - does that count as spoilers?

//Makes shooing motion with hands//

It has to do with the history of the Casting Rain world. If you haven’t read to Chapter 35-36 (and a snippet of Chapter 59), then you might consider this spoilers. Large amounts of information under the cut!

Okay so the question was:

“Oh and one thing I’ve been meaning to ask about this story, if you’re still reading all the dozen or so comments I’ve made in the last few days, lol. So Gaster shattered that human’s soul, killed them. And other humans have died in the war, too. So, if humans are dying in this war, why aren’t the monsters absorbing their souls to gain power? Like I understand they don’t have the fancy soul containers Undertale has, but there on the battlefield when a human soul is persisting after death, couldn’t they or a boss monster absorb it? Is there a reason they aren’t doing this? If a single monster got just seven, they’d have the power of a god and be able to end the war instantly. Other wartime fics and theories I’ve read have no human casualties, so there are no souls to absorb anyway, which is why monsters got trapped so easily.”

Good lord I don’t even know where to start with this ahaha, my thoughts keep scattering in every direction when I think about it. There’s a couple or reasons? But I guess they all basically boil down to a simple answer:

The monsters don’t want to absorb a human soul. This, to them, is a worse-case scenario of the same magnitude as detonating a nuclear weapon would be today. And now for why!

Firstly: Only a boss monster can absorb a human soul withoutlosing control.

I based this idea loosely on the story of Asriel and Chara whenthey cross the barrier into the human world. In case you (or anyone else)doesn’t know the story: Minor deity Asriel rises from the Underground withChara’s body and lays it in the flowers in Chara’s hometown. The humans freakout and start attacking. It’s at that point that Asriel figures out aboutChara’s plan to destroy all humans. Upon realizing this, Asriel keeps theirbody from moving, and only manages to retreat after they’re dealt a fatal blow.

The way I chose to interpret this was that a boss monster,being nearly as strong as a human soul, has almost as much control over theircombined bodies as the human does but notquite as much. Asriel wasn’t able to wrestle control away from his siblingand then flee, he was just able to hold Chara back from attacking outright.

So then what happens if a regular, non-boss monster absorbs ahuman soul? Well best-case scenario is you’ve made a super, powerful being that’smostly controlled by a human, with some influence from the monster. Worst case scenario?Congratulations! You’ve just made a mindless beast! Gaster talks a little bit about this in Chapter 59:

“I didn’t want their soul,” Gaster said finally, trying to sound like he meant it, because he did. Stealing the kid’s soul hadn’t crossed his mind for an instant.

“Why not?”

Gaster piped a laugh that was a little more genuine, “Why would I? I’m not a boss monster. That kind of power is completely lost on me.”

And that was completely true - Gaster wouldn’t know what to do with that kind of power if he had it. He probably couldn’t even control it. Just touching human souls made him feel like he was dropping through the deepest part of an ocean. Having something like that be a part of him forever… he’d be completely consumed by it. He’d probably turn into one of those grotesque boss monsters from the old days, just devouring everything he saw with no way to stop himself.

Which brings is to reason number two!

History.

Thereactually did used to be a time when in the Casting Rain universe, monsters ran around willy-nilly with god-like powers. This was the dark ages, before the war began, and it sucked.But don’t just take my word for it (even though all of this is technically my word forit). Take the story’s word for it!

Chapter 36:

“…But years ago before wewere even thought of? The world was a little darker even than it is now.Famines, plagues, forces of nature, wars - it was all pushing monsters andhumans alike to be a bit more cruel. And monsters were starting to kill becausethey thought they had to, and then because they liked the feeling of beingstrong, and then because they’d killed too much and they were starting to turninto something a little less like a monster and a little more like a demon.”

…………

“We had legends up north aboutthem - dragons like Brigg who turned into boss monsters, and suddenly they weretaller than trees and spitting poison and smoke that could dust an army. Therewere ghosts who could steal your soul while you slept and turn the air likeice, who’d call out their victims by screamin’. Terrible monsters, that didterrible things. They didn’t think they were monsters anymore. They thoughtthey were gods.”

These guys were terrible. Whole armies were dispatched to takethem down. Mixed armies of both humans and monsters, before the war hadstarted. There were crusades based on these things. Everyone wanted to get ridof them, and get rid of them fast. Out of the ashes of this nightmarishnessthough rose a good bit of learning for the monsters, which then leaks into the next reasonmonsters don’t wanna steal human souls.

Third Reason: LV corrupts

This is an idea I’ve loved playing with ever since Undertalecame out - a large bit of Phantom Pains, my first big fic, was based on thispremise as well. And that premise is that the more you kill, the less you careabout the fact that you’ve been killing.

In the Casting Rain universe, that translates prettydramatically into my idea of boss monsters that weren’t born boss monsters, butare instead made by collecting too much LV. The idea is the more you kill, themore LV you gain. The more LV you gain, the harder it is to resist doingbloodthirsty things, even if you’re given the option to not do bloodthirstythings. It’s like taking the easy way out of a situation. Until eventually itsmurder doing anything but the easy way. It’s something that Amatheahas already fallen into actually.

Chapter 35:

“We’d go out of our way toattack things just for the EXP. Humans. Monsters. If it moved it was fair game.We were really terrors before we stumbled into this mess down south. I’ll behonest with you, if Ghirdam hadn’t died when he did, he probably would’ve madeit to boss monster LV. He was mighty close, and hungry after it like no oneelse I’d ever met.”

…………….

“…I am still merciless. I amstill intent. I want to fight, I’m willing to kill. I’m still hungry for afight I might lose.” Her ear frills twitched thoughtfully as she said,“There’s a thrill to a fight that I can’t live without now. It’s written intomy soul. I have long lost that part of myself that can look at my enemies andhave empathy, see mercy. And I doubt I’ll ever get it back again.”

Translated loosely into the game’s actual mechanics,Amathea’s “mercy” button is broken. She’s not a boss monster yet, butshe’s getting close, and getting close in all the wrong ways.Imagine the Fallen Child at the end of the No Mercy run, how their movementsstart being dictated for you. That’s Ammy. That’s what happens when regularmonsters start collecting LOVE with the same religiosity that the Fallen Humanin the No Mercy run does.

And the monsters don’t want that. They learned from their DarkAges that these boss monsters they warp into when they do terrible things can’tbe controlled. Giving something like that the power of a human soul would be disastrous. Somethinglike that would be insatiable, destroying everything, humans and monstersalike. They wouldn’t care to differentiate - or possibly couldn’t even if theywanted to.

I mean, that’s why they’re summoning elementals after all, right? They need strong monsters. More than that, they need boss monsters. But they can’t make them. And honestly the amount of killing a monster would have to do to get to that level would be immense anyway. It’s much less morally compromising to summon a couple beasties from the void than it is to, say, throw some strong monsters at a couple of towns and hope they make something big and bad.

As for regular Boss Monsters, the ones that are born that way like Asgore and Toriel? Ehhh……. honestly I never took the time to figure out why they don’t grab some souls. I never developed any Boss Monster characters outside of those already within some sort of canon (i.e. the royal family).

Perhaps the King is against it for diplomatic reasons? Or holding on to the hope that this can be settled in a way that won’t put a permanent divide between their races? If this really is a war and not an extermination, then stealing a human soul to end it would only add more fuel to the fire, make more humans determined to rid the world of monsters.

//shrug shrug//

Who knows?

So! The long and short of it is this:

Could a monster absorb a human soul and win this thing? Technically yes! You’re exactly right that if someone kind of just snagged one,they could do a lot of damage. A single monster wouldn’t have godlike power yet (after all, Asriel/Chara could still be killed),so they’d have their work cut out for them on a battlefield still. But if they cankill one human they can kill another, right? Which means more souls? So feasiblysnapping up 7 and just calling the whole war bogus could happen.

The problem is (for this world at least, and possibly forthe canonical Undertale world as well) no regular monster soul is stronger thana human soul - ergo, no regular monster could ever productively use a humansoul. Of those boss monsters that could probably wouldn’t use it well.

I can guarantee you that Amathea wouldn’t use it well, and she’s the most sensible one out of all of us, right?