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dyed-red · 1 year

Note

What are your thoughts on how much time Sam’s soul spent in The Cage? If we go by established time lines in the show, 18 months = approx 180 years. But Lucifer is an arch angel and we know angels can manipulate time so I think it could have been longer, or least made to feel longer. I also believe that Sam would have been fluent in Enochian after spending that much time with Lucifer and Micheal. Thank you for answering if you have time! And I hope you enjoy and holiday time you have :)

welp - you did it.

you asked a question i’ve been thinking about for over a decade and unleashed the full fury of my brainworms in action. this is the type of meta i expect like 4 people total to be interested in, but i’m going to spend days working on because I Have Thoughts.

the short answer: somewhere between 180 - 5000 years, with my personal headcanon landing just over 700 years, or 1400 for maximum whump.

The behemoth long answer is under a cut because long and math and meta. Skip to the end if you just want the math. The tl;dr is that SPN canon implies that hell has layers and that time distorts more the deeper that you go, and we can build an equation for that distortion and get to basically whatever number suits our purposes depending on what assumptions we make going in.

Time Distortion in Hell

The length of time Sam’s soul felt/experienced the cage is a function of two factors: how long he spent there in earth terms, and the degree of temporal distortion hell creates.

The first piece is easy if we assume Sam’s soul spent 18 months in the cage* (footnotes at the end).

The second piece... Dean spent 4 months dead (time in earth terms) which was 40 years on the rack in terms of his experience/perception. If we take this assumption that 1 month = 1 decade, we get to use some very simple math to say that Sam spent 180 years in the cage.

But.

I’ve always personally interpreted Hell’s time distortion to run a bit different than a static 1 month = 1 decade. This headcanon derives from some hints in canon (or at least, this headcanon is not actively contradicted by moments in canon) and from other pieces of media.

I believe that the deeper you go into hell, the greater the temporal distortion is.

This is basically like the move Inception, I’m not even gonna try to pretend otherwise. There, the deeper you go into the dream within a dream, the more time dilation there is. It makes sense to me that SPN’s Hell canon works the same for several reasons.

For starters, when Sam's wall is breaking in s6, he has flashbacks where 2-3 minutes is equated with what feels like a week in the cage (episode 6x14). We can take this at perfect face value (meaning that Sam’s soul experienced about 5000 years in the Cage). Or we can interpret this to be a function of the episode he is experiencing, where temporal dilation is exaggerated because of the nature of his flashback, or we can say he is speaking in hyperbole.

I think it makes sense for the truth to be somewhere in the middle - Sam is speaking off the cuff, not entirely literal or exact about how long those 2-3 minutes felt like, but nonetheless honestly that they felt like days, felt much longer than our formula of 1 month = 1 decade allows. And I take that as a realistic reflection of his time spent in the pit.

Another, and far more overt piece of evidence comes in Season 11 when Sam visits ‘the Cage’. In 11x09 (O Brother Where Art Thou), we see Rowena, Crowley and Sam in Hell whereas Dean is on Earth, and there appears to be little to no temporal distortion occurring between the events below and the events above. This remains true in the following episode (11x10, the Devil in the Details) when Crowley phones Dean and when Dean comes down to join them in Hell (and Cas as well shortly after).

So - what gives? Is there temporal distortion occurring in Hell or not? Did they retcon that, forget about it, what?

Well, Crowley explicitly refers to this area of Hell as ‘Limbo’, which brings us to an understanding of Hell’s temporal distortion through the lens of the circles presented in Dante’s Inferno.

Circles of Hell

It’s fair and frustrating to say that canon doesn’t give us much in the way of understanding the structure and hierarchies of Hell. That gives us a lot of leeway, but I like to anchor my headcanons to canon if and when I can.

Thankfully, there is at least some reason to believe that Hell in this universe is structured at least somewhat similarly to Hell in other popular works of fiction that derive their conceptions of it from Dante’s Inferno (which itself is the popular mainstream view of hell that even a lot of Christian/Catholics have adopted, often without realizing at this point).

Dante’s Inferno provides a view of hell that has 9 circles, or layers, each one deeper into Hell than the last. SPN implies the same.

We get this from the use of Limbo, as stated above, since this is the term in the Inferno for the first circle. Crowley refers to Limbo as the “furthest reaches” of Hell, whereas in Dante’s Inferno, it’s the top layer. SPN plays fast and loose with what it takes vs. leaves from real-world mythos, but I take this to mean that “far” or “furthest” not in the sense of depth, but as a place which may be vast and largely empty, and which few demons can enter (since, as per the Inferno, it’s not a place where guilty souls actually end up, so possibly has quite restricted access to demons).

We also get evidence of these circles from Word of God through Sera Gamble, who has apparently said that the Cage is “At the bottom of the lowest depths of the ninth circle of the worst bit of Hell.” That’s pure Dante’s Inferno, ba-bey. (/mcelroy voice)

More evidence comes from Season 8 when Sam rescues Bobby’s soul from Hell, since he goes through Purgatory as a sort of back door to Hell, being told that Purgatory is “Hell adjacent”, which is true as well in the Inferno.

Another within-canon indirect hint of this is the association between Lucifer and ice. Dante’s Inferno keeps that the ninth circle of Hell, reserved for treachery, is a large frozen lake. And in the Inferno and in SPN canon, this is where the Devil is kept, in the Center of Hell, in the deepest frozen depths of the pit, the frozen lake in the ninth circle.

Also remembering that in early seasons, Lucifer and his Cage were buried so deep in Hell that most demons weren’t sure if he even existed. His existence was a matter of faith, no different than humans believing in God, according to 3x04 (Sin City).

Based on all this, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to surmise that Hell is vast, but potentially its vastness manifesting in the way in which it is layered, and that there are regions, planes, or depths that most demons do not or cannot tread to.

But okay, even if you’re on board so far, why do I believe that time works differently at different layers? And what circles have we seen in canon?

Situating Each Circle

My fundamental argument here is that temporal distortion in Hell is more extreme at the deeper depths, in a mathematically determinable way.

If we accept that Hell has nine circles (or planes or layers), then we can assume that we’ve seen three - probably five - of them. There is Limbo, as per season 11 and stated above, in which there seems to be little to no time dilation. This makes some sense if we accept that it’s the surface-most plane*, the first circle.

We have also established what’s in the ninth circle, titled Treachery, which is the Center of Hell and The Cage. Given its depth and the lines from season 3 Sin City, we can assume that, much like Limbo, this is an off-limits zone for most demons. If we accept my argument that times moves differently at the different layers, this is where time distortion - really, time dilation - should be the most extreme. It is the furthest removed from the material plane and the deepest well (do not call it a gravity well do not call it a gravity well do not call it a - )*, dilating time and everything around it at its depths.

In between, we have seen The Rack (where Dean was tortured), we have the Throne (where Rowena sat and kept court, since many of Crowley’s ruling scenes are implied to be on the surface rather than in Hell proper, although any of Crowley’s ruling scenes would be on this same level, I imagine), we have The Dungeon (from which Sam rescued Bobby’s soul as part of the Trials), and we have the glimpse we caught of how Crowley restructured the place into endless lines as a method of torment. There’s also the space where Lilith’s horn is kept, as per the Belphegor and Cas scenes in the early episodes of Season 15. I take that to be the same level as the Throne level, since it seems to be where ruling demons would both preside and reside.

Based on the seeming lack of time distortion we tend to see (in late seasons...) when we get scenes relating the Throne level, my headcanon is that this is the second circle of Hell (Lust). In the Inferno, incoming souls are judged here and then sent to which circle their sins have them belong, so I think it’s at least somewhat fitting for this to be where the Throne is. Keeping it closer to the surface world / material plane also has some advantages if doing so minimizes time distortion, since keeping closer time with Earth allows easier monitoring of Earth and tracking of things like deals etc. It also means that higher ranking aka more powerful demons who preside here are closer to Gates of Hell and therefore have less far to travel when slipping out and onto Earth.

In contrast, I think that The Rack is pretty damn deep. There is a lot of time distortion going on to get to 1 month = 1 decade (especially if we allow that a very small amount of dilation is happening at the topmost circles, even including Limbo). This makes sense to me in that The Rack is a place of exceeding misery and horror, literally the center of Hell’s most violent and excruciating tortures.

For that reason, I place The Rack as circle seven, aptly titled Violence. This is not to be confused with the sin of Wrath, which is actually the fifth circle. Rather, the seventh circle (to quote wikipedia at least), “houses the violent”. What better way to re-interpret that in the world of SPN than that circle hosting the torturers and their tortured? Within the seventh circle are those who committed violence against neighbors, against self, and against God. What better place for someone who sold his own soul (violence against self and against God), who killed?

Of course I don’t think it’s so straightforward that violent souls get sent to The Rack. I think any damned soul can be called there for a torture session. But Dean spent his entire time in Hell on The Rack, and that can’t be standard. Bobby spent plenty of his time in hell in a cell, as per 8x19 (Taxi Driver), and demons come here to torture him.

I don’t think it’s a huge leap for me to infer that Dean was special and spent his entire time on The Rack because they were so determined to use him to break the First Seal, and that most damned souls only do short stints on there, either due to limited real estate or so that souls don’t become numb to the violence (since let’s face it, most demonic torturers probably can’t keep them in anticipation of further horror as well as Alistair can, after a few days or months being cut into.) They’re probably returned to their cells to marinate in the memory and anticipation with only minor tortures until they’re brought down again. This is what we see with Bobby and probably with the endless lineups in Crowley’s redesigned Hell.

So - without too much to go on, I’m going to tentatively place the Dungeon with Bobby and other damned souls as being in the sixth circle, Heresy. It’s a circle described as hosting souls in flaming tombs, which I think fits this notion of a dungeon with cells holding on to souls, and keeps those souls close at hand and ready for another go in the seventh circle where The Rack is held.

And this allows me to place the endless line as actually being either in the fourth circle, Greed, or the fifth circle, Wrath. The fourth involves a nation of lost souls who, in this pit of hell, lose their individuality and become sort of empty, which fits what we see in that brief clip of the Hell line. The fifth includes a “savage self-frustration” that seems fitting of the concept of that awful endless line, with sullen and angry souls fighting each other in muck and slime.

Regardless of fourth or fifth (I have no strong sense of which fits better), I see that line as being meaningful outside (above) the sixth circle, in a torment that is less acute, as souls that are less unique and differentiated, less violent, less worthy of turning into black-eyed demons.

Because in the Inferno, there’s this critical division between the fifth vs. sixth circles as the transition between the two being the transition into “Lower Hell” and the sixth being behind guarded walls, with another steep drop from the sixth to the seventh, and so on. This makes sense to me as Lower Hell being a place where they keep the Dungeon and guard the doomed souls, whereas that place outside those walls hosting the damned but less special, less differentiated, the more generically doomed... yeah, it just makes sense to me (your mileage, as always, may vary).

This distinction is important also because of that drop down. If distance and depth are important to temporal distortion, then it matters if the first few circles of Hell involve less of a steep drop one to the next. Here we should note that the seventh circle involves three rings, and the eighth circle (Fraud, aka Malebolge, another very strong contender for the location of The Rack since it’s essentially an amphitheater for torture, so I’ll do the math both ways below)*, well the eighth is basically a funnel with 10 separate rings or steps downward.

Why does this matter? So glad you asked!

Increasing Temporal Distortion at Each Level

If you’re following the hints I’m dropping, what I’m implying about getting deeper into Hell and the further drops down at the later levels is that the time distortion in Hell does not increase linearly. It increases exponentially.

Limbo has temporal distortion that is so minor as to be barely perceptible, if perceptible at all. The Rack gives us an explicit (if fuzzy) estimate of 1 month = 1 decade in terms of perception. The Cage is implied to be much, much more than that, at the extreme end up to 2-3 minutes = 1 week in terms of perception.

If the time distortion was linear, meaning that from circle 1 to circle 2, and circle 2 to 3, and 3 to 4 and so on, we should expect that the amount of time distortion from Limbo (circle 1) to the Rack (circle 7 or 8) to be a much, much wider gap than the amount of time distortion from the Rack (circle 7 or 8) to the Cage (circle 9). Like... it should be 7-8x as much distortion.

And I mean, you could take a linear headcanon approach to it. If we accept that SPN Hell has circles or layers as is Word of God and overtly implied by the narrative time and again, you could say that there’s x amount of distortion at circle 1, and 2x at circle 2, and 3x at circle 3, etc, and this would works okay when we got the math right, but like... it’s not my preference given the way canon works.

What I mean (especially for those who hate math so might not be automatically sussing what I’m saying), is that, for example, if 10 seconds in Limbo = 1 second on Earth (sure why not) then if the time distortion increases the same way (”linearly”) at each new circle of hell, then on the Rack we get 70 seconds = 1 Earth second (or 80 seconds = 1 Earth second, if the Rack is in the eighth circle).

That specific math doesn’t check out (it equates to 23.3 years on the Rack instead of 40, or 26.7 if the Rack is the eighth circle instead of the seventh), but to figure this out we should of course work backwards starting from the 4 months = 40 years. Which tells us that each second on Earth feels like 120seconds (2 minutes) on The Rack. If that’s happening at the seventh circle, then a linear difference between each circle of hell means that the time distortion in Limbo is roughly 17 seconds for every Earth second. This math works out a little prettier if the Rack is the eighth circle because that’s an even 15 seconds for every Earth second.

To me, that’s stretching how much time distortion is implied to occur at Limbo and vastly exaggerating what we see with Sam rescuing Bobby from Hell. If Bobby is actually kept in the 6th circle, that’s 102 (7th circle) or 190 (8th circle) seconds in Hell for every second on Earth. It just didn’t seem that Sam was spending a minute and a half in Hell for every second that Dean was spending on the surface in Taxi Driver, but then again, I haven’t rewatched that episode so I’d have to double check to know for sure.

Between those implications about time distortion in Limbo and Bobby’s rescue and even the Throne room when they visit Rowena to the way Dante’s Inferno (which SPN canon clearly drew from) funnels more extremely downward the deeper you go in the circles, to what Sam’s episode of Hell memories could imply about his experience of time dilation in the Cage (assuming we accept his statement about his episode “feeling like a week” even if we don’t take that number at exactly face value)... an exponential increase just makes more sense, mathematically?

And again, for anyone who doesn’t like math or doesn’t know what that means and why I keep using this word “exponentially,” what it means is that the difference between the first circle and the second circle is not as big as the difference between the second circle and the third circle. At each depth, the intensity of the time dilation increases. So that you might not even notice the difference in time dilation between circle 1 and 2, but the difference between circle 5 and 6 is massively noticeable, and the difference between circle 8 and circle 9 is like several times even that big. Like Inception!

So let’s run some final calculations and get you your answer(s), Anon!

Some Final Math and Estimates*

Assumption 1: Equivalent Dilation

If we assume that there is no difference in time dilation from one region of Hell to another, then the ratio that Dean gives us in Season 4 is accurate for all of Hell, and 1 month (30 days) in the pit feels like 10 years. That’s 120 seconds below to every second above.

This would mean that in 18 months in the Cage, Sam experiences 180 years worth of torture.

Assumption 2: Linear Dilation Circle 7

Assuming The Rack is in the seventh circle, then a linear difference at each level means that 120 seconds on the Rack equates to 154 seconds in the Cage at the ninth level. That would mean that in 18 months topside, Sam’s soul spent 231.5 years in the Cage.

Assumption 3: Linear Dilation Circle 8

Assuming the Rack is in the eighth circle (which, tbh, I kind of thing makes more sense even though I argued differently above, but shhh let’s pretend otherwise), then a linear difference at each level means that 120 seconds there equates to only 202.5 years for Sam’s soul in the Cage. Slightly less awful!

Assumption 4: Exponential Dilation Circle 7

The simple way I’m doing this is that instead of taking the time distortion at Limbo and making it x2 at the second circle, x3 at the third, and so on, I’m taking the time distortion at Limbo and making it to the power of 2 at the second circle, to the power of 3 at the third, and so on. I still have to start with The Rack being 120seconds on Earth time and work backwards to get that initial Limbo starting point before I apply the exponent, but otherwise that’s all I’m doing. There are definitely more sophisticated ways we could approach it since that’s a pretty simple linear increase in the exponent, and we could instead make the exponent itself an equation we’d derive through more complex means but... I’m really not about to do that.

So.

If we start from The Rack = 120seconds (2mins), using the exponent assumptions above, then Limbo time dilation is roughly 2 seconds (actually 1.98167 or so) in Limbo for every Earth second (works beautifully for what we see in canon, basically imperceptible), and time dilation in the ninth circle is 471 seconds (7.85 mins) per Earth second. Yes, that big of a difference, because that’s how exponents work.

This would mean that Sam’s soul spent approximately 707 years in the Cage.

What a great number! What a reasonable number, and a pretty damn canon-compliant number to headcanon. I like this number.

Assumption 5: Exponential Dilation Circle 8

As above in terms of the exponent assumptions, if the Rack is actually in the 8th circle of Hell, that much closer to the Cage, then here the math works out so that 120 seconds on the 8th circle being... roughly 2 seconds in Limbo. Because that’s how exponential functions work. It’s actually 1.81928 in Limbo vs. the previous 1.98167, but that rounds to the same thing (2 seconds) in terms of human experience, even if it makes a big difference when we take it out to the difference it makes in months, years, etc.

(But like, this is why I think it’s exponential, because this works so much better for what canon implies about the time dilation there*.)

Anyway, here, this would mean that Sam’s soul spent roughly 327.5 years in the Cage instead of the 707 from above. That’s a big difference.

Assumption 6: Off the Rails

We can also take Sam’s statement about 2-3 minutes on Earth (having a Hell flashback) feeling like a week in the pit. If we estimate conservatively and go with every 3 Earth minutes = 1 week in Hell, depending on how we approach it (depending on if you go with minutes in a week vs. a month and which way you get to a year), you get somewhere around 5000 years (in my present calculation it’s 4984, but I also calculated it another way to get to just over 5000).

Assumption 7: 9th Circle vs. The Cage

Dante’s Inferno distinguishes between the 9th Circle on its own vs. the Center of Hell as the place where Lucifer resides, right at the deepest depths. The Cage itself is remote in Hell, distant from all other demons, enough so as to be a matter of faith to many of them. If we allow the possibility that this all means that the Cage is deeper than the ninth circle itself*, we can add another linear layer or else another exponent (take our equation to the 10 instead of to the 9).

This works out to be:

Rack 7th Circle, Linear: 257 years

Rack 8th Circle, Linear: 225 years

Rack 7th Circle, Exponential: 1400 years

Rack 8th Circle, Exponential: 596 years

Meaning this is a good place to note that... depending on the final number you want to get to, you can use whichever assumptions you want to get there and justify it by math. Remember kids, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

TL;DR!!!!!

How much time did Sam’s soul spend in the Cage? My headcanon is that he spent probably either 600 or 700 years there, on the assumption that it was 18 months between Swan Song and Appointment in Samarra, and assuming time dilation gets more extreme the deeper that you go in Hell.

For people who want to make more conservative estimates but still embed some complexity to Hell’s time dilation and/or who be more canon-compliant to other glimpses we’ve seen of Hell’s time distortion (Limbo, etc), I think anywhere from about 200 years to 330 years is perfectly reasonable.

For people who want to go with maximum whump, the sky (5000) is the limit, but you can mathematically point to up to 1400 being pretty reasonable.

*Footnotes

1. Because canon plays fast and loose with how many months exactly have gone by, and some people headcanon that only about 4 months have passed in Season 6 before Appointment in Samarra when Death pulls his soul out. I personally read it as more like 6 months having gone by and think this is the more standard headcanon, so your 180 years is the most common interpretation, and definitely the most easy to defend. I also made calculations for Sam having spent 16 months in the Cage instead of 18 months there though, if anyone is interested.

2. There is also the Vestibule in the Inferno as the opening to Hell, before the first circle, and this requires passage from Charon to cross over and into Hell proper. This is where the quote “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here” is from at the Gate of Hell, which of course is evoked in season 5 as the episode in which Jo and Ellen die.

I like to think of the Vestibule in the world of SPN as being any and all of the many Hellgates implied by canon, including the one that opens in AHBL2. No time dilation occurs within the Vestibule(s), as a person has to enter into Hell’s circles to properly separate themselves from the material plane.

3. Not getting into it here but if I ever get around to writing an original piece of fiction about angels and demons etc like I kind of want to, some of my worldbuilding will explicitly connect/relate angels to celestial bodies, like literally to stars, with the depth of hell essentially being a black hole, hence why the closer one gets to it, the greater the time dilation there is. Gravity and heat increase near the center of hell in this unbearable way, and then at the very center, like within the black hole itself, it becomes unbearably incredibly cold, like that frozen lake in which Lucifer is half-submerged in Dante’s Inferno. Lucifer existing impossibly both within and outside the event horizon. But I digress.

4. When you think about how many angels are implied to have died in order to rescue Dean’s soul, compared to how simply Sam snuck into Hell to rescue Bobby, I think the circles of Hell interpretation becomes quite important. If Dean was in the seventh or eighth circle, like especially that eighth circle, that’s so much deeper in than the Dungeon. The angels also couldn’t infiltrate subtly, methinks, and had to storm the walled and heavily guarded gates at the sixth circle, through that dungeon, then fight their way down the three rings of the seventh circle and possibly down into the amphitheater of the eighth. We know that their powers alone can’t kill a demon as powerful as Alistair even on Earth, so on their home turf in Hell, it makes sense that demons would have put up a really solid fight against the angels. This helps resolve some of my own frustration at what seems to be discrepancies in the abilities of angels and how dangerous they are to demons in canon.

5. Please be aware that all maths above involve some rounding, since I didn’t think anyone wanted the detailed decimals. I also calculated months as being 30 days and for simplicity, calculated years as being 12 months. I could rework the math into weeks with 52 weeks being a year instead, which gives slightly different numbers, but it’s work so I’m just going to go with these approximations. Also noting that I used calculated everything using excel to save myself a headache. I’m sorry if there are any errors, especially when it comes to the exponents, my brain got very tired. Please let me know if you find any.

6. When it comes to the exponential ones, if The Rack is in the 7th circle of hell, then if the Dungeon where Bobby was kept was in the 6th circle, then each Earth second is 60 seconds (1 minute) in the Dungeon. That’s more time dilation than I think canon implies, because 60 minutes (1hr) in the Dungeon is only a minute on Earth? In contrast if The Rack is in the 8th circle, then 1 Earth second is 36 seconds in the Dungeon. I honestly think both of these are more extreme than canon implies, but again, it’s been a million years since I watched that episode because it’s written by Bucklemming and I cannot stand their writing. But as a count in favor of the exponential argument instead of linear, if time dilation increases the same amount at each circle then 1 Earth second translates to 103 seconds in the Dungeon (Rack in 7th) or 90 seconds (Rack in 8th), both of which are a lot more dilation than our exponential account.

7. For simplicity, I’ve also ignored the different rings which occur at the 7th and 8th circles. Those would, of course, change the math here as well, and we could add another linear or exponential step for each of those rings. That would lead to some crazy numbers because we’re talking about 13 additional steps. Linearly we’d add a few thousand years, but exponentially we’re starting to talk about a geological timescale. I don’t think it’s productive to make that extreme of an assumption about those rings, but I think we could comfortably stretch the distance between the 7th circle and the pit in which Lucifer’s cage sits at the deepest depths of hell if we wanted to, if you wanted to reasonably get closer to that 5000 years estimate.

8. Since your ask mentioned it, Anon, I realize I don’t touch on Enochian in this post but I have two tag-rambles about my thoughts on enochian and I thought I had a proper post on it somewhere but can’t find it. I could/should probably make a post with a tumblr ficlet about that, since I started drafting a canon-divergent post-Hell fic with Sam and Enochian and there’s like... no chance I’ll ever finish it. But anyway.

Thanks for reading this far, to anyone who did.

#spn meta #my meta #hell meta #time dilation #temporal distortion #time distortion #headcanons #dante's inferno #this meta is 5200 words that's longer than many fics wtf #there is a tl;dr though you don't have to read the whole thing #what did you do this week phyn? oh y'know just wrote 4k words of meta to make a hell time distortion equation #that literally no one asked for (except they kinda did but i'm sure not like this)#i get one (1) day off and this is what happens #did i read the thesis chapter one of my grad students is waiting for feedback on?#nope! i wrote a time distortion equation instead #if you can't tell from these tags i'm going a little feral over here #okay whew i'm calm i'm good #i'm not proofreading this so if there are typos or issues or my math is off we're just gonna deal with that reality #probably gonna rb later for timezones because i can

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hopelessromance21 · 4 months

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𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬/𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: sʟɪᴄᴇ ᴏғ ʟɪғᴇ,

ᴇxᴘʟɪᴄɪᴛ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ, ᴀᴡᴋᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ,

ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴏᴄ ᴄᴀᴍᴇᴏ, ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɪᴍᴘᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴘᴏʀɴ,

ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟʟʏ ᴄᴏɴsᴛɪᴘᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ

[ᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴛᴀʟᴇ ᴏᴄ] 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

“𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙓𝙄𝙏𝙃𝙔𝙈𝙄𝘼” (1/3)

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4,093

╚═══════════════╝

so, uh. some context? this is a fic i wrote for christmas for my bestie. 11k words of purely self-indulgent simping for her own character :) annnd yea, i got her permission to post it here as well.

(Ialsomightveprintedandbookbounditsoshehasaphysicalcopybutthatdoesntmatterhaha)

June, Lune, and Ruebris belong to @simpymf

Sorel and Ange belong to me :)

Enjoy part one~

THE SURFACE

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘

[𝟐𝟒 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇

𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐓. 𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐓]

21XX

[ᴘ ᴀ ᴄ ɪ ғ ɪ s ᴛ]

You met Lune at the same time that monsters joined the world. Well, correction: you met June. Lune you met a few nights later, as you ran up, expecting to be greeted by the bubbly, cheerful demeanor of June and instead met by a sour face and look of indifference.

As first impressions go, Lune never made good ones. When you asked her, mistaking her still for June, why she looked so sour, you got a snappy remark and scowl. The next day June called you in a panic, and explained everything at lunch later that day.

But you got over it, introduced yourself properly next time you encountered Lune and invited her to get coffee with you, at whatever time she liked.

She scoffed at you with this look of disbelief, taking your kindness as something degrading and demeaning. A form of pity and attempted inclusion. It took her a while to get used to the idea that your kindness was only that; kindness.

Five dates in, she still met your interest with doubt and pessimistic dread.

Standing in front of the mirror, Lune hated that you made her dress up nice for dinner. Nice for Lune was a short black skirt and a small black shirt with some lace on the shoulders— not that anyone would see with the leather jacket dwarfing her top.

She kicked on her platform boots reluctantly, scowling as her pink hair got in the way of her vision.

‘Quit acting all grumpy! We’re going to see her tonight!’

June, as peppy as ever, scolded Lune within her mind. Her tone dripped with a sappy puppy love that made Lune grimace.

“Ugh- can’t believe you’re making me do this…”

‘Wh-! You like seeing her too! I know you do!’

If she could stand in front of her right now, Lune knew that June would poke at her chest indignantly, her cheeks puffed with insistence. Lune would roll her eyes and shove her away.

Instead, Lune just struggled to tune her out as she left her apartment, June yapping incessantly about how Lune should be lucky that she keeps getting dates with you.

It was late in the evening as Lune walked down the street, knowing the way to this classy, upscale restaurant that you didn’t ask, but told her to meet you at. You learned to give her no choice in the matter, only telling her where and when she had to be there.

Even if you had given her the choice to say no, June would bitch in Lune’s mind until she had to say yes, for her own sanity’s sake.

Though there was a bit of chill in the air, Lune’s jacket shielded her from it, and her black tights kept her legs warm. She knew how to dress for the weather, unlike some people…

‘Why are you walking?? Get a cab, or an uber!’

‘It’s a seven minute walk. And it’s cheaper, since we’re dining so extra tonight.’

Lune barely felt the tickle of impatience that ebbed from her shared SOUL with June. She ignored it, rolling her eyes at how hopeless her alter was.

June’s chattering seemed to die down as they grew closer to the restaurant. The glow of the neon lights could be seen on the street, a bright orange-red spelling out MTT RESORT II. Lune scoffed.

From afar Lune could see you standing outside the front doors, looking around expectantly. She had a thought to ditch you, as much as June would bitch about it later. But you looked down the street and saw her, your face brightening so obviously. Lune sighed as she continued forward.

“… hi,” she greeted you flatly.

“Hi,” you replied with a smile, stepping closer.

Lune saw your silent offer for a hug, and permitted one, though stiff and from the side.

“I’m so glad you could make it! I had to make this reservation a week in advance. I guess it’s pretty popular.”

“Mm.”

Sensing that the outside conversation was hitting a dead end, you flashed another smile as you let your jacket slip off your shoulders and stepped towards the door.

“Let’s head in.”

As you stepped away, Lune looked you over, her eyes devoid of obvious interest. You wore baggy whitewashed jeans and a pink shirt with a strawberry print scattered across. The neckline was low, accentuating your chest.. Your coat was unimportant; a cream white and long, reaching your knees.

Inside the restaurant, it was warm and bright. Basically the same layout and colors as the first one. Lune found it even uglier than she remembered.

A human stood at the hostess podium and quickly found the reservation under your name. She gathered two menus and utensils before leading you and Lune into the dining room. You reached behind and grabbed Lune’s hand, walking in with her.

Lune stiffened as your hand gripped hers with certainty. She stared at your back as she followed you, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

The hostess brought you to an intimate table for two, set with a tablecloth, dishes, and a centerpiece of candles. Faint jazzy music played, filling the dimly lit room with a cozy aura. Lune grimaced.

‘Smile!!’

‘No one likes my smile and you know it.’

‘Th-that’s not true! People just need to… t-to get used to it!’

Lune rolled her eyes, taking her seat unceremoniously. You seated yourself across from her, shrugging your jacket off completely and letting it drape over the back of your chair.

Lune slouched back into her seat, letting her eyes wander around the room. Other tables around them were occupied by two or three, and across the room was a loudly chatting party of five people. A bunch of monsters listening to a tall skeleton tell an animated story. Lune subtly tugged her jacket collar up.

“So, what have you been up to this week?” You asked, opening your menu and passively looking over the options. What in the world was a Glamburger?

Lune avoided looking at you, studying her menu as well. Her eyes glanced over the listed options, nothing looking appetizing in the slightest.

“Uh… worked. That’s it.”

She could see from her peripheral that you smiled and looked at her over your menu.

“Oh yeah, June told me you started a new night job. How’s that going?”

Lune grit her teeth, overcome with irritation that the little blabber-mouth told you about her new position as a dressed-up cocktail waitress. It was not a job she wanted to brag about, and she explicitly told June not to say anything.

“Yeah. It’s fan-fucking-tastic. I get groped every night for tips.”

Your expression wilted noticeably, and for some unknown reason it brought Lune’s gaze to flicker upward.

“Really? It’s that bad?” You asked, your concern weighing on your face with your frown.

Lune sighs, sensing June’s inner urging to console you.

“No, it’s not that bad. I give off enough of a vibe to keep the creeps off of me. It’s just a seedy joint. Not a place you’d be into.”

At this, you perked up, grinning in a way that Lune still couldn’t decipher in the few times she’d seen it.

“Oh really? You don’t think I’m the type to go there?”

“Pffft,” Lune snorted, taking a drink of her curiously bedazzled water. “No way.”

You kept your next thought to yourself, keeping control of your smile as you looked back down at the menu.

Lune had no appetite for any of the listed items on the menu, but she obliged with a Glamburger while you ordered The Show Stopper Salmon.

The idle minutes spent waiting for your meals were spent with you doing most of the talking. You told her about your job and how it was going, some of the annoying customers you handled in the past week, your excitement for the first Monster Comedy Special premiering soon; every mundane detail you shared was something Lune couldn’t care less about, but sat there and listened with brief head nods or gruff “mhm… uh-huh…”s.

‘Don’t act like you’re bored!! You’re not doing anything for this conversation! You’re making her do all the work!’

‘Well she seems to be doing just fine! All she’s doing is talking about herself!’

‘Because you barely answered any of her questions!!’

Lune grimaced at June’s accuracy, though you read it as dread for this ongoing conversation— promptly alerting you to how much you talked about yourself.

“Oh- I’m sorry, I’ve been talking too much-!” you laughed at yourself and waved your hands.

Lune’s eyes passed to glare at a corner of the room, her lips pursed in reluctance.

“Nah, it’s fine. You’ve got a nice voice.”

‘!!!’

Your eyes grew wide, face flushing a noticeable shade as you stared at Lune.

“O-Oh-! Uh- th-thank you!”

“Mhm..”

Seconds ticked by in silence, punctuated as the waiter arrived with your plates. You thanked them politely as your meal was set before you, readying your utensils to dig in.

Lune unfolded her napkin slowly, watching you begin to cut into your dish.

“… I wouldn’t mind seeing that Monster Comedy,” she spoke up, taking a bite out of her burger immediately after.

You paused mid-slice with your steak knife, looking up at Lune in momentary shock. If you were reading into it right, and you hoped you were, Lune was proposing a future date…

Your eyes lit up with anticipation, watching her chew her burger with an expression of bewilderment directed to her meal.

“Yeah? I think the local theater is showing the premier next Tuesday. Do you wanna. . .”

You trailed off in the hopes that Lune would ask you outright, a clear sign that there was something here, some progress being made and some effort being put in by her.

“Yeah, sure. I can come get you at six.”

Her tone was only apathetic, borderline disinterested in the notion of another date. But watching her, you could swear you saw her blushing.

Your smile reappeared as you cut into your fish and took a bite, ignoring the odd, tingly sensation that spread across your tongue from the edible glitter, and the fluttering in your stomach from the woman across from you.

“So, tell me about your first day at work…”

𝐓𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘

‘I’m so proud of you!!’

“Shut up,” Lune muttered between her teeth.

“Hm?” You asked, walking down the street on Lune’s arm.

“Just talking to June.”

Lune caught the slight surprise that crossed your face, not expecting her to admit to speaking to her other half.

You knew she did, and that June did the same when she was out. But Lune never admitted it or outright ignored you in the past when you caught her mumbling. You took to assuming her irritated expressions were directed internally about 50% of the time.

“Oh, okay,” you laughed sheepishly and tucked yourself closer into Lune’s side.

Lune grimaced as she looked down at you, her face turning a slight red.

“What are you doing?”

You looked up at her, feigning innocence only to give yourself away with your flustered smile.

“I’m cold,” you answered and shrugged your shoulders underneath an obviously warm coat.

Lune scoffed in dismissal, clearly seeing through your ruse. You had appeared warm and comfortable enough when she arrived to pick you up, greeting her at the door in a cozy sweater (that June had lent you and then forgot about-) and form-fitting leggings.

However, she put her arm around your body, pulling you close as you walked along.

“Should’ve layered up.”

You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, I should’ve.”

Stepping into the theater that was several degrees warmer than outside, Lune removed her arm around you to pay for the tickets. You busied yourself with buying popcorn and two drinks, feeling Lune step up behind you after her transaction was finished.

You turned to her and handed her one drink with a smile.

“Ready?”

“Yep,” she answered, handing you your ticket stub.

You took the paper from her, before taking her hand in yours to hold as you both found your theater room.

‘You’re blushinggg~’

‘Shut the fuck up.’

You both walked into your theater room, up the carpeted walkways until you reached your seats. You sat down and settled in, waiting for the rest of the theater to settle and the show to start. Around you people whispered in conversations of excitement as they took their seats.

“NYAH-HA-HA! I CANNOT WAIT!”

‘Oh my God-’

“I know Papy, but we have to be quiet! We don’t want to be kicked out, hehe-!”

“Do you want some

popcorn, Rueb?”

“Oh… sure…”

“‘scuse me, don’t mean to make a production over here- ererer…”

“Oh my God-”

You were about to ask Lune about the mutter of dread you just heard from her, but were interrupted by a shrill gasp before you could speak a word.

“Oh, Lune!!”

“Shhhh-!”

“SHH-!”

“Shhh!!”

“Shh!” “Shhh!”

Grimacing in her seat, Lune attempted to slump lower to hide herself. But even in a dark theater, her bubblegum-pink hair was unmistakable.

“Lune!! What a small world, hehe-!”

You turned in your seat, viewing a familiar mossy green monster looming over Lune’s seat. Coils of her willow-branch hair dangled over Lune’s sour expression, the monster’s bright yellow eyes glowing in the dark as she stared down at your date.

“… hhey, Ange,” Lune greeted her begrudgingly. You saw the monster’s elf-like ears begin to flutter.

“It’s so nice to see you out! I didn’t know you enjoyed comedies!”

Lune stared forward with a look of regret, her face blooming with a red hue. You couldn’t help but grin at how helpless and disgruntled she looked.

“Yeah… trying something new,” Lune muttered through her teeth.

“How wonderful! It’s always good to broaden your horizons! Even if you don’t enjoy it, you still tried it!!”

“That’s true!” You chimed in. The moment your voice met her fluttering ears, Ange turned her head to stare at you. Her eyes widened and grew brighter in recognition, her ears turning to green blurs on either side of her head.

“Oh!! Lune, I didn’t know you were on a date!”

You laughed at Ange’s sudden shift in attention and smiled up at her. Lune stared into the middle distance with an expression of wishing she was anywhere else other than here.

“What a coincidence, we’re on a date too!”

“Oh God…” Lune groaned. You smiled at her with sympathy.

“We’re on a double date with Sorel and Rueby!”

“… mhm…” Lune mumbled in hesitant acknowledgement.

“What if we made it a triple date?!”

“That sounds like fun!” You answered, holding Lune’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Ange kicked her feet excitedly, bounding back to her seat where Papyrus, who you had met briefly in the past, sat. She leaned close to whisper to the flustered skeleton. In reply he bellowed, in what you could only assume was his lowest voice, “WHY, THAT IS WONDERFUL ANGE! WE WILL SOON HAVE A COUPLE ARMY!”

“ey, i don’t mean to make a scene over ‘ere…”

“Oh my fucking God-”

Craning her neck to see the short, pudgy skeleton that continued to crack movie-themed puns, Lune glared venomously at Sans, who only grinned back smugly.

“but the show is starting so… we need quiet on the set…”

“Fucking die.”

“Lune!” You laughed, pulling her back into her seat. You curled your arm around hers, feeling her reluctantly settle down beside you.

“Tch- he’s so fucking annoying…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll fend him off,” you joked. Lune only rolled her eyes, the theater falling into silence as the show began to play…

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫…

As the comedy show concluded, you laughed along and grinned at the jokes sprinkled into the ending. Occasionally you turned to glance at Lune, viewing her either stone-faced or allowing the occasional chuckle or huff of amusement.

Once the lights brightened the room, everyone stood and began collecting their things. You gathered your bag and trash, Lune standing behind you and watching you collect yourself. Once you stepped out into the aisle, Ange rushed up to Lune, leaping up to hug her tightly.

“Hi Lune!”

“Eh… hi…”

“I’m so glad you enjoyed the comedy show! I heard you laugh three times!”

You caught the way Lune’s face flushed with shame, her eyes looking left and right to see if anyone else saw this embarrassing display.

“Yeah… wasn’t horrible.”

“YES, I BELIEVE MOST OF THE JOKES WERE TOLERABLE. FAR BETTER THAN MY BONE-HEADED BROTHER’S!” Papyrus chimed in, stepping into the conversation as Ange released Lune from her hug.

“ey, c’mon now bro, i think i’m pretty.. humerus.”

You snorted at the play on words and heard Lune scoff at the same time.

“AHEM- ANYHOW… SINCE YOU ARE A PART OF OUR COUPLE ARMY, YOU MUST JOIN US FOR SOME ICE CREAM!”

“Oh yes!” Ange squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. “Please join us, Lune!”

Lune made no reaction as all eyes landed on her, only turning to glance back at you. You smiled at her and shrugged; willing to join them or to leave if Lune wanted.

She sighed, turning back to the eagerly awaiting monsters.

“… okay, fine.”

“Oh goodie!” Ange cheered, hugging Lune once more.

Now absorbed into the party of monsters, you and Lune walked out with them into the lobby of the movie theater. Ange chatted excitedly with everyone, asking their opinions on the jokes since she didn’t understand any of them. You made friendly small-talk with Sorel, you and him seeming to mirror each other as you both had stoically silent partners on your arm.

Lune cast her eyes out on the collection of monsters surrounding her, all the while feeling the warmth of your touch around her arm. Everyone’s voices clamored around her in a jumble of irritating noise as the group traveled down the street.

“OH YES, MY SWEET ANGE, THAT WAS A VERY FUNNY JOKE—”

“Ohh, so that’s what it meant??”

“and then i said to him, i said, ‘that ain’t a scientific prop, that's my mom!’ ereererer—”

“Heh… that is

very funny, Sans….”

“So, are you and Lune having a good night?”

“Oh yeah, I think so!”

Hearing your voice ring out with tentative hope, Lune glanced down at you as you continued conversing with the Screenface.

“Last week we went to the MTT Resort. It was pretty nice despite the wait and all…”

“Oh! That-that’s really nice!”

“Mhm!”

“… D-Did you enjoy the Resort, Lune?”

Lune stiffened as she was caught by Sorel, who didn’t spare her for eavesdropping on their conversation and instead invited her input.

Lune frowned as both he and you turned to look at her. She looked away, searching for her opinion of last week’s date.

‘Tch- I didn’t really care either way—’

‘It seemed like a shitty restaurant, especially with those insane prices—’

‘I dunno why she insists on dragging me out every weekend or whatever—’

“It was fine, I guess. They fucked up hamburgers, which I thought would be impossible.”

You and Sorel laughed at Lune’s dry and genuine criticism of the restaurant, Lune looking at you both with a blank face.

Sorel sighed, leaning into Ruebris’ arm. “Yeah, I never did get the Resort’s food. Whatever sells I guess…”

Ruebris’ brows knitted together as he thought back to a memory. Through his mandibles he muttered; “there was even glitter in the water…”

You laughed as you slipped your hand down to hold Lune’s hand. “Yeah.. I still had a good time, though.”

Lune felt your eyes settle on her, staring in apparent admiration. Though she kept her gaze fixated ahead, her features unmoving, her cheeks did glow with a subtle pink. She blamed June… somehow.

“Ooh! We’re here!” Ange exclaimed, clapping her hands.

The party stopped in front of an idyllic ice cream shop, looking warm and cozy inside while it remained frosty and cold outside. No one wasted any time stepping in, the party of seven filling the somewhat small store.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE, MY DEAR SWEET ANGE?” Papyrus asked the short Moss Maiden with tender sweetness, leaning down to meet her face. Lune grimaced as the two brushed noses in affection.

“Mint chocolate chip, please!”

“ONE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP FOR MY LOVELY MOSS MAID!”

Queuing up in the line, Papyrus stood with his brother to make his order. Ruebris and Sorel stood together behind them, with Sorel reading the menu that hung above the cashier while Ruebris squinted blindly.

You parted from Lune’s side, taking out your wallet with one hand.

“What would you like?” You asked her.

Lune stood in silence, considering refusing to let you buy her ice cream— but she wouldn’t buy herself any either, and she figured the group would complain about her lack of participation.

“Hh… whatever’s cheap.”

You blinked in surprise, the questioning clear in your eyes. But you just smiled and nodded, stepping into the line behind the other monsters.

Lune expected to just stand around in wait, boredly watching the line shuffle along. However, her mundane plans were ruined with Ange pulling her to a table in the corner. Lune found herself sitting across from the energetic and always-cheery monster, and already felt like she fell into a trap.

Her ears fluttered softly as Ange stared with bright yellow eyes. Lune’s sour gaze stared back, blank and dull.

“I’m so happy to see you out, Lune! Normally we only see you if you’re spending time with us!”

Lune glanced left and right, shifting in discomfort in her seat.

“Yeah…”

“And it’s so nice that you’re going on dates with _______! It seems like you’re having a good time with her!”

Lune blinked, struck with slight surprise at Ange’s words. She almost didn’t believe her— how could she look like she was having a good time?

“I-… I do?”

“Mhm! Well- I mean, obviously you can’t very obviously show that you’re enjoying yourself, but you are acting warmly towards her! Letting her hold your hand or lean on you! I see that as you enjoying yourself— otherwise you would just leave!”

Lune shifted again, her discomfort growing as she found herself stuck in one of those introspective, emotional talks with Ange.

“Mm… I guess…”

Ange tilted her head at Lune, propping her head in her hands. “What, is that not the case?”

Lune glanced from Ange to you still waiting in line. She frowned in thought, always finding it difficult to be introspective about her entirely absent feelings.

“I guess I just feel obligated to stay… if I ditch, it’ll make her upset.”

Looking back at Ange, Lune’s frown worsened as she read that Ange was delighted by her words.

“Oh Lune, that’s wonderful! That means you care about her feelings! I’m so happy for you!”

“Wh- I… no I don’t— tch-”

Ange giggled softly, shaking her head and making her willow locks shuffle around her shoulders.

“Well, you care about my feelings, don’t you? Or- you’re aware of them. Isn’t that why you agreed to join us here, even though it wasn’t in your plans? And I’m just your friend!”

Lune stared pensively at a spot on the table, her gaze so intense it almost appeared she was trying to burn a hole into the patterned surface.

“… yeah, I guess.”

“All I’m saying is I’m happy to see you doing things without us. I want you to have a life and interests outside of me and Sorel and Papy and Sans! It’s good for you!”

“— ONE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP FOR MY LOVELY ANGE!”

Arriving at their table suddenly, Papyrus swooped to Ange’s side with a waffle cone topped with bright green ice cream speckled with chocolate. Ange gasped in surprise and took the treat, her ears fluttering happily as she kissed Papyrus’ cheek.

“Oh thank you, my sweet Papy!”

“Ugh-” Lune groaned, rolling her eyes to the right. As she did, you fell into her view, walking up with two separate cups of ice cream.

“I got you vanilla,” you said, taking the seat beside her and passing her the ice cream.

Lune looked down at it in contemplation, a mound of creamy white with a spoon stuck into it. She glanced at you as you ate a spoonful of ice cream— also a cream white, but blemished with frozen mounds of edible cookie dough.

She huffed as she draped her arm around the back of your seat, taking a spoonful of her ice cream. From the corner of her eye, she saw you smile.

“Thanks…”

#undertale #undertale fic #discord rp origins #discord rp oc #undertale oc x reader #x reader #this is entirely for simpy #4k words #part 1 #alexithymia #no one perceive me #simpy finally wins

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