#wooo a tad longer than usual

[come-down-that-tree]

Prologue Previous

Warning: Geno being loopy for a while and discutable editing choices

Come Down That Tree! (An aftermare story)

Chapter 15: Audio, sed terra cur non plana est?

Geno wakes up not feeling quite all there.

His arm didn’t hurt anymore and he felt rested.

Something is amiss but who cares? Life is fun!

He felt very giddy for no apparent reason. The air seemed to vibrate.

He sits. Oh, he sits alright. With his butt on the ground. His back against the bark. His hands politely wait on his legs.

Geno felt like the universe rewrote itself slightly to the left just to mess with him.

Something makes a soft noise right to his left and he is suddenly very aware of a weight loafed against him.

It was Nightmare who was still asleep.

He shakes his arm to remove the weight.

The other started to stir awake, sleepiness still very present in his gaze.

Why does he wear so much purple? Like his eyes? He wears them prettily.

He moved around and watched Nightmare’s mouth articulate.

“Are you feeling okay? Your eyelight is big…?”

It is? He needs to see that.

Geno tried to reach his eye socket with his left arm but Nightmare stopped him for some reason.

“I know it doesn’t feel painful right now but it is still injured so try to avoid using it?”

Nightmare is too long of a name and Geno says so to him. He thinks.

“Oh your enunciation… It’s alright, the bigger side effects should fade out soon! It did for me…even if you don’t seem to react quite like me then… If Nightmare is too hard to say, you can shorten it to “Night” or anything that you prefer?”

He gazed into the two pale purple moons and attempted to test his balance by standing up straight. He failed.

The ground is green and he is floating above it.

He fell on the other.

“AH! Try to stay still for a moment, will you?”

Moonlight is so loud.

“I’ll try to be more quiet… If I dare to point that out, “Moonlight” is in no way shorter than “Nightmare”...”

The sound he makes is funny.

Geno flayed a bit to get back to sit against the tree without crushing anyone.

Moon is there but where is the other?

“Dream is down the village, you slept for a while.”

Mind Reading, what a powerful and useful magic…

He stared at him and the way his hands were freezed in the air, as if hesitant -he glanced at his face- and lost.

“You’re not aware you’re talking out loud, are you?”

Aware is certainly not the word here.

“We should get you out of these clothes… Dream went to seek some for you, it must be uncomfortable for you… wearing something that wet and heavy…?”

His sleeves make satisfying sounds when shaken.

The monster was drenched. Unlike Nightmare who seemed already dry and back in his usual purple trousers.

Geno knows a funny way to get dry much faster.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

With a firm but clumsy hand, he carries out his plan.

And soon, one giant animalistic skull was floating in front of both of them.

“GENO, please tell me you know what you’re doing with that terrifying thing!”

Feeling like some marbles were back into place, he answered the question truthfully.

“I don’t know what I am doing but I am doing it.”

Somehow, it did not seem to reassure the other who looked ready to leap at the first sign of something going wrong. The monster couldn’t care less at the moment and gestured for his blaster to open its maw…and charge a blast.

Somehow, once again, it seemed to inflict more stress on his companion. He then ignored all the pleading babbles that were just plain grating.

The inside of the blaster started lighting up with a fierce heat and he carefully sat between two sharp teeth.

“The’e, I will b’ dry inno time”, he announced to his gobsmacked-looking spectator.

Nightmare stayed where he was -even after he patted the space beside him in a silent offer- therefore he elected to ignore him, focusing on the almost scaling heat against his back. Why did he never do that before? It was quite a great way to accelerate things.

“Are you sure this is safe? Have you done that before?”

“I have never been lass sure of anything in me life but it seems to work a’right!”

The other scrunched his face in an expression Geno couldn’t decipher, not like he was that interested in trying but still.

After a moment of silence, the not-monster scooted slightly closer. He remained fairly far however.

“What is it?”

“mmmh m’blaster.”

“What? Can you repeat that?”

He giggled at the other’s ignorance.

“Big thing thaaat shoots and.. and bites!”

“Very helpful, thanks.”

He bowed, almost fell out of his seat, then miraculously balanced himself back up.

“M’pleasure to help, aways.”

“I thought you were starting to sound cognizant again but I see I was wrong there.”

“Always the bug words with you, eh”, he shrugged.

“Seriously, what is this thing? It was so impressive and -honestly- scary last time and now it just sits there, floating and warming your back without mauling you for sitting right next to its sharp and huge canine.”

Geno shook his head a few times to try once again to realign the realities. If the endeavor was any conclusive, he didn’t have a clue. He would have to continue riding the wave until it fully went away, he guessed.

“I use magic and fwoop big puppy here comes.”

He really couldn’t explain it any better.

“...Your magic seems far more powerful and advanced from anything I saw from monsters so far.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“What can you do besides turning into a nightlight at will?”

Nightmare grabbed his knees and started softly rocking back and forth.

“Not much… I can slightly worsen feelings on the bad side but I hate doing that. I’ve been told I turn the mood sour just by standing there so I might do it unconsciously sometimes.”

A frigid feeling finished chasing the daze away, leaving only a slight light-headedness and a dull pain in his left arm.

“Did the villagers tell you that?”

“Yes…”

“Then I wouldn’t trust that source.”

“Geno…They’re not all that bad.”

“Don’t give me that crap. It’s not about me there, they’re obviously mistreating you.”

The purple-clad skeleton hid his head in his knees and hummed, neither confirming or denying his accusation.

“Did you talk about that with Dream?”

Nightmare shook his head but stayed buried there.

“You don’t have to answer that but allow me to put an hypothesis out. The villagers don’t like you because they think your little guardianship here is neatly devised between “good and bad” and they’d be better off with only the positive and none of the negative emotions?”

A timid nod was all he got in exchange but it was enough for him to continue.

“1-I honestly don’t fully understand the whole tree and apples thing but aren’t you just a guardian and the sources of the feelings are the apples?

2-They’re plain stupid if they think they can live with only one side of their emotions. What are they, 5???”

To that, Nightmare lifted his head to look at him.

“Emotions are not a coin you can flip! They aren’t even always positive or negative? Some are neutral or mixed and why are they oversimplifying such a vague concept.”

“I don’t think I ever heard that way of thinking before.”

“You’re surrounded by idiots, no offense to Dream since I guess you didn’t broach the subject with him. Which is strange when you’re so fixated on “your duties as guardians of feelings”?”

“I’m starting to think I prefer you loopy.”

“How dare!??”

He let himself fall forwards, colliding with the other for the second time today but this time on his own volition. The blaster dissolved into the air as the air grew thick with shrieks and laughter as they play-fought on the ground. It ended very fast when something brushed weird against his arm and he all but hissed of pain.

“Oh no, did the pain come back? Are you feeling fine?”

The pain receded without fully vanishing so he answered it was alright enough.

They both laid down for a moment, looking at the clouds.

The faraway white puffs were a fascinating phenomenon to observe and he idly wondered if he would ever get used to it.

“I still think you should talk about it to your brother.”

“If I do that, he’s gonna want to help. We can’t just move the tree elsewhere if worse comes to worse. I don’t want them to hate him too.”

“You’re afraid he would get hurt for you? Or are you scared he wouldn’t do anything if he knew?”

“NO! I know he would- He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met. Of course, he would help or try to at least.”

“I see, you should still try to talk to him in my opinion.”

“...and what if you minded your own business?”

“Ha, I could.”

“Any particular reason you don’t?”

Geno sighed, a deep and heavy sigh that dragged for what seemed like an eternity.

“You somehow remind me of myself, just a bit, and a… situation… I went through. It’s a very, and I mean it, very different situation but I didn’t want to talk to my brother about it either. I did in the end, but let’s say it didn’t really stick, so just forget that.

Nightmare responded with a delay.

“You have a brother…”

“A little brother and despite everything, I’ll keep him close in my heart. Always...”

“Do you miss him?”

The answer was easy but somehow complicated.

“I do. Thankfully Papyrus does not.”

A long silence stretched after that.

A timid question stopped it just as steps approaching made their presence known.

“Would you mind talking to me about Papyrus more later?”

And strangely, Geno found he truly didn’t.

End of chapter 15! Go to chapter 16?

@dragon-tamer-1 @shinechermont

Geno!Sans belongs to @/loverofpiggies

Nightmare and dreamtale belong to @/jokublog

[shankmeharder]

Daily Goodie Box(free and full of treats)

Daily Goodie Box is a lovely service that, once you sign up for it, awards free goodie boxes(a new box every month) to its subscribers. The best way to get picked for a free box is to be active on their social media and generally be very open with your opinions. After doing just that, I was awarded one for this month. Now one of the great things about this box, is that (as they love to remind you)  It's more than just Free Samples! The fullsize products they include(in addition to a couple sample size ones) allow you to make the fullest use of the product and really see if you like it, and want to add it to your routine,kitchen, or cleaning roster. I’ve decided to put my own assessment out there and after a week of testing, the reviews are in. The links for each product, or their brand website, are listed below their respective reviews.

Starting with the snacks.

First we have Sweet Potato Puffs by Spudsy in the Crunchy Cinnamon Variety.Now these I can see being a bit polarizing. First bite is not a great indicator for potential. You get a puff of cinnamon that slowly cedes the stage to the texture which is a bit like a rice puff but a tad less springy, not necessarily super appealing. However, in the spirit of giving it a fair shake, I gave it another go. By the fourth (tiny) puff, I was actually pretty delighted with them. They are not overly sweet, they don’t have any kind of unfortunate aftertaste, and it becomes easy to go through them.My daughter and  I finished the teeny sample bag before i knew it, and were a bit crestfallen when we realized it. I would definitely recommend these as a toddler or childrens’ snack, as they do remind me a bit of those other very popular puffs and may provide a similar and appealing texture to the young ones.I know my Bean was absolutely enamored of them. https://spudsy.com/collections/sweet-potato-puffs

Next, we have the Gluten-Free Granola by Bakery on Main. This is the Cranberry Almond Maple variety, and let me tell you, I did not have high hopes for this product. I am not a huge granola person, a lot of them are too sugary or too dry and they just don’t appeal. This blew me out of the water. The maple flavor is very present but it doesn’t overwhelm everything. The bean crisps were a wild card for me and I found them delightful, just enough crunch and chew, and they were complimented very well by the tart dried cranberries. The almonds and seeds are lovely, nothing to write home about, but exactly what you would hope for in the Granola/ Trail mix hybrid. My only fuss, I wouldn’t mind a slightly higher cranberry to bean crisp ratio. This is honestly delightful, and the 1.1 oz bag is actually the perfect size for a quick snack on the go, or a little workout energy boost. https://bakeryonmain.com/shop/cranberry-almond-maple-granola/

Now on to the tea

For our beverage offering we have Tipson tea in, Honey&Lemon Matcha Infusion. I will cop to the fact that I tend to be more of a coffee person, but lately I’ve been trying to cut back, drink more water, drink more tea. However, I am a sucker for homey and lemon, so this was providence. I’m not the biggest Matcha fan, but again, I give everything its fair trial before i pass a verdict. I brewed a cup to have with our previously mentioned snacks. The tea is definitely lemony, probably one of the most overtly fruit flavored teas, short of something pre-chilled and sold in a tall can, that I’ve ever had.The honey, however, loses its way and is hard to taste behind all that lemon. The matcha, being that this is a “matcha infusion” is also pretty hard to get, which is fine with me. I prefer subtle matcha. After my initial taste, I fixed it the way I normally fix my tea, with milk and (extra) honey, and it was lovely. I would recommend using honey if you want to taste it, but it is a lovely tea, nonetheless, and I’ll be enjoying each of my twenty-four remaining cups. https://www.amazon.com/tipson

First up in health and beauty is the face mask.

Here is the detoxifying peel mask by Que Bella. I’ve made it no secret that this is the item I was most excited to try. On opening the packet, it seemed there was not an overabundance of product, and I feared I might have to use both packets for one mask. My fears were mostly allayed, when one packet proved to be just enough for one layer. The smell of the mask is quite pleasant, not overwhelming, in fact you become used to it quite quickly. The consistency is a bit thinner than I was expecting, but I smeared it on and geared up for the slightly painful peeling to come. The mask started to tighten within about three minutes of finishing the application, and it was lovely to sit in front of the fan with it on, like sticking your face into a cool mountain spring. I opted to wait the twenty-five minutes it suggests on the package, as I am the type of person that will keep poking and prodding and checking to see if it’s dry, unless I rein myself in.The peeling was not nearly as painful as some of the others I have tried, but i attribute that in part to my artful avoidance of my hairline, and how very thin the mask was. It was also quite a quick ordeal, and none of my peach fuzz got yanked out, so I call that a win. Upon removal, my cheeks continued feeling the “mountain spring” sensation for quite a while, probably fifteen minutes or so. My cheeks were noticeably smoother, as was my nose. My skin didn’t redden excessively, or puff up like I’d  been stung, so on all accounts, I’d give this mask two thumbs up. https://www.quebellabeauty.com/product-page/que-bella-professional-detoxifying-intense-black-peel-off-mask

In our health selection, this month we were sent Napz, a drug free, non-habit forming, sleep aid. To preface this review, I am a nocturnal hermit gremlin and I almost never fall asleep before 3 a.m. In my (almost) week of usage, I found these were better for kicking my butt in the last hour before succumbing, than forcing myself into premature sleep. They do create a subtle drowsiness, but like most herbal remedies and aids, I think you must be very receptive to it, and do what you can to maximize its efficacy. The directions recommend taking an hour before desired bed time for best results. On the nights when i took it at midnight I did fall asleep 1 to 2 hours earlier. But taking it any earlier than that did me no good, as I just was not close enough to sleep. Would I recommend this to an insomniac, or someone with a preternaturally screwy circadian rhythms like me? Probably not, at least not in an attempt to “normalize” a sleep schedule. Would I recommend this to someone trying to get an extra hour before exams, or even just for relaxation? Hell yes! https://www.napz.com/

This month we were provided with QuickStop! bandages by Curad. Wooo bandages! No sarcasm, I go through these like no ones business. Between blood thinners, a compulsion to pick my fingers, and an adventurous toddler, I constantly have plasters on, and my daughter goes through a couple a week. They are usually some cute design that I either bleed through, or that falls off within an hour, so anything that claims to stop bleeding faster, and stay on my damn fingers/toes/elbow/daughters knees. is a beacon of hope for me and my blood-stained button-ups. Now these were a interesting test, as I literally had to wait for myself to bleed, and like a watched pot, my finger refused to boil-I mean- you know what I mean. Yesterday I finally had an excuse to use them, oddly enough on a paper cut, and a needle prick. Apparently my self control was great this week, probably because I was thinking about it so much. Now when one is on blood thinners, they bleed a bit longer and a bit more than usual. Typically we are just instructed to apply more pressure and be patient, but if I get cut while dealing with a crying toddler (as is my luck) I may not have a free hand to apply pressure while trying to prevent a nuclear meltdown. Indeed, I didn’t need one. It was story time before bed, she was fussing and fighting sleep with the best of them, and wouldn’t you know it, my finger slips and I get a massive, (honestly, a little scary) deep, paper cut on my thumb. The Bean sees this and starts to cry more because Baba/Mama is bleeding and oh my gosh this is terrible. I pull a bandage out of my stash in her dresser and pop it on. No bleeding through, no leakage, immediately my thumb is story ready and suddenly there is no more reason to cry because “ooo mommy, what’s this?”.Despite her best efforts she couldn’t tear it off, and I got a toddler to bed without getting blood all over the sheets. Win-Win. The needle prick was less dire, but it happened while sewing a teddy bear up last night, and it lasted through my tossing sleep, and all this typing, so, again, I’ll call it a win.  http://curad.com/quick-stop/

Pertaining to health and hygiene, the goodie box bestowed upon us...an oral rinse? I’m game, in fact I was sort of looking forward to this one, as I’ve just changed toothpastes and was considering adding another component to my routine. I don’t particularly care about the whitening aspect but on all other accounts I’d like to have a good rinse in my arsenal. This is unfortunately not it, at least not for me. It is described as “peppermint” but it more of a lemongrass/torture flavor. There is no tingle or sensation of freshness that comes with it, in fact it makes me want to rinse my mouth with something stronger. After a week of usage with my brushing routine(evenings only for this product) I did not notice a change in whiteness, and there seemed to be no breath freshening component, my toothpaste was pulling all the weight there. Maybe to someone who follows the “pristine protocol” with the recommended line of products, this would be useful. However, just throwing this into your routine, as far as I can tell, will not cause a noticeable change in dental hygiene or emotional fulfillment.  https://essentialoxygen.com/products/organic-brushing-rinse/

Last on our list of goodies we have our only household item.

Ode to Clean cleansing wipes. These are billed as “all-purpose” wipes and claim to be skin safe and cruelty free, so what do i have to lose? Answer? Maybe my old wipes. I love these, I have finicky skin, I can’t get poison ivy, but i can get chemical burns from a couple drops of gasoline. So I never know what I’m in for with “skin safe” products. In this case, no reaction to be recorded. No welts, hives, rashes, etc. I tried them out on dried liquids, liquefied solids, and even some caked on semi-solids (I have a toddler, a lot of messes get made). They work like a dream. The scent is a bit citrus-y and a bit herbal, certainly not bad, but also not what you might be used to. They don’t leave behind too much of the scent, which is just fine with me, and they take all the mess with them, too. The only downside? I don’t have a full pack of them. 

https://odetoclean.com/products/ode-to-clean-wipes

Well there you have it, July’s Daily Goodie Box in a nutshell. If you would like the opportunity to to be awarded a future box with more full and sample size goodies, simply sign up at dailygoodiebox.com and start making yourself heard on their social media. They give out tons of boxes every day, you could get one next.

Have a great day, my little void children.

[mystic-muffin]

Green! <3

Today has been magnificent! Honestly, yesterday was the deepest of reds. I was running on minimal sleep, I had two exams back to back, one exam had a lab IMMEDIATELY followed after words, I was in class for over 6 hours..It was just super bad. I hit red around 3am or so, and boy did it stay that way all day. I also forgot to take my anxiety medication, and I completely failed my essay for English. Plus I had a migraine.

Yesterday was rough.

But today, I woke up in a wonderful mood, a full 9 hours of sleep, proper pronoun usage by a lot of people, did really, really well at work (a huge difference from the last time I worked), even got all my math done in time TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW NOW (WOOO!). I’m just generally happy. It was like my body was functioning as it was supposed to for once. I was like “neon green” today. My SO even noticed how happy I was and he was so thrilled that I had perked up. I mean yesterday I was a trembling mess of anxiety and then Bam! Good sleep! Meds taken! Homework done in time, no extension required! Snuggles! I was a brand new person when I woke up this morning.

I reaaallly should be working on my bio right now but I just wanted to post something positive today. I mean, it really has been a good day, even all the way up to the night. I had most of my dorm friends in my room and we laughed and ate pizza together and took these weird ass videos on snapchat and it was just so much fun. Even though I was a bit quiet at first (these four fuckwads followed me back all the way from the theatre to my god damn dorm so I was just a tad paranoid) my friends welcomed me with open arms. 

What a change. 

A year ago, I was pretty sure that I had maybe one or two friends. But now....I have more than what I can count on my fingers! And, one of my closest friends might be coming up sooner to visit me and I can’t wait! <3 <3 <3 

I’m becoming more comfortable with myself. I’ve let a few more people know that I no longer go by female pronouns (and they’ve been supportive for the most part) and I just feel really great. To my SO, I’m his companion/partner in crime <3 To my roomie, I’m “insert-name-here” and sometimes she says “Their” but usually it’s just my name. To my RA and my friends, I’m definitely “they/their” (except for the couple I haven’t told yet, one in particular....)

I’ve been following this one blog for a while now ( @trans-matters ) and the owner of said blog, Kyle, posts a lot of helpful advice. Literally, everything from packers to binders to “T” to coming out to be supportive, this guy has covered it 101%. Although I’m still confused as to what the difference between “pangender” and “non-binary” are, I’m like 99.2% sure that I’m NB. And I really like it that way. And kyle has posted so many resources and literally does anything for anyone so I recommend that everyone checks out his blog. #gokyle #fuckthehaters<3

I’m probably going to wrap it up here for the night. If anyone needs me, I’ll be lurking on the internet, attempting to do my bio. I love being a microbio major. not. really. but. okay. As usual, my ask is open on both this blog and my main blog (in the tags). 

Peace.

-Mystic Muffin <3