:/

Gordon Ramsey fursona reveal!

(i thought i posted this a while ago but hey sounds like Tumblr broke again or something ._.)

so: i know no one seemed to care about my last story. i'm just here to tell you that I DIDN'T STOP WRITING!!!!!!!!!!! A new tale isn't discontinued, i'm still working on it!!!!!!!!! i simply noticed nobody seemed to enjoy it and decided to take my time. when i'll have finished writing it all i'll post the chapters one by one once a week.

with that said, have a nice day :3

Nightmare!!

i made this for @westaysilly dtiys but idk why i feel like i got a little off track? maybe it's just the angle

thx for the tag!

1: Ship in a bottle - Fin Argus

2: Roundtable rival - Lindsey Stirling

3: Cradles - Sub Urban

4: This is the kingdom - Skillet

5: Somebody that I used to know - Gotye (ft. Kimbra)

6: Enemies - The Score

7: House of memeories - Panic! at the disco

8: My demons - Starset

9: Rolling in the deep - Adele

10: GRRRLS - AViVA

@angrytreemarten @apply-neo and whoever wants to join :3

Thanks for tagging me @unitchiefs-blackbirdphoenix

10 songs I've listened to recently! Deal!

10. Touch - Kehlani

9. Melt - Kehlani

8. Every Last One - Lily Rose

7. Cherry - Fletcher and Hayley Kiyoko

6. I Can Feel It - Kane Brown

5. From The Ashes - Illenium and Skylar Grey

4. Something's Goin' Down (Boom Boom) - Jamra and Jake Warren

3. Better Kind of Best Friend - Xana

2. Wildflowers and Wild Horses - Lainey Wilson

1. Hymn for Her - Ames

I think there was a theme to my listening today....

@ssgay-jareau @blackbird-brewster @jenny-from-the-bau @thewillowtree3 @girl4music @threehoursfromtroy and anyone else that wants to play, tag! You're it!!

ok so i usually don't do much stuff with sans and never had been too interested in sans ships (they're cute sometimes but i'm not obsessed with them like other people) but recently i made some researches and stuff and a silly thing got in my brain:

Horror x Reaper.

look at the possibilities: Horror remained for seven flipping years completely without food, watching as the other monsters either lost sanity or died (or both), being able to do nothing but try to keep at least Snowdin town somehow alive. one day, maybe because he was with someone who just died or because of who knows what other reason, meets Reaper. Reaper isn't a fan of his job, he said it many times, and also he noticed how so many tortured souls came from that specific universe. he sees how Horror sacrified his health and probably his mind for the other monsters, and feels pity for that poor soul and his damned world. he can't change any of it, but he decides to at least reassure Horror that the souls of the dead ones are safe with him. knowing Horror he probably wouldn't trust Reaper right away, maybe seeing him a little like someone to blame because- why couldn't a freaking god help them? why couldn't he just not take those souls away and let them live another while? after a while he realizes that Reaper is just doing what was needed to be done, and that keeping the souls there more than they should would only make their pain last longer. the two would almost surely end up meeting more than once, seeing how Horrortale is almost surely a place where, no matter what, people keeps dying of hunger. they could end up respecting each other, maybe even enjoying eachother's company after a while. they could talk about their brothers, and how life sucks for everyone in the end.

and here is where my imagination ends because i suck at writing romance. the concept is there, but idk how to write it down 👍

it's fun to mess around with picrew's without having a specific character in mind.

@angrytreemarten @apply-neo and whoever wants to join :3

I'm goning to attempt to start a picrew chain

Here is the link

Tagging: Tagging @red-lipstick-bisexual @between-2-and-20-characters @neo-lightchild-defenestrter @infinitevoidofnoodles @schrodingerschunkyboi @animeluvforlife @lobotomy-wife @shiploversworld646 @kiara-36 @22herondale @disnerdpotterheadmarvelgirl01 @dark-angel-queen

vikt3428

i may have got the last part wrong

@angrytreemarten @rurunyaa

i’m starting a game

Type your username with your eyes closed and tag 4 people

I’ll go first:

iparis-is-parjs

@warcrossheadcanons @tracywarcross @txal-sharky @that-one-goddy-trot

OK SO I was sketching out some sort of reference sheet/doodle dump for Duo bc yea he's a silly little guy and-

(aside from his smiling face and my dumb way to take proportions) THIS FLIPPING RIBCAGE. GODDAMMIT.

Chapter 5: family.

Alphys seemed concerningly nervous. She kept looking around for the Lab to see if everything was alright and fixing things that were already good, her small clawed feet rapidly tiptapping up and down. the moment she stopped anywhere she just quickly checked her cellphone, stood still a moment glancing around and then went back walking around. Duo tried to tell her a few times that everything was fine, but she almost ignored him every time. After a while the skeleton gave up and started reading a book. He didn’t have many other things he could do, so in those few days he just read books. They were interesting, and the skeleton could spend whole afternoons just reading. The only thing that he didn’t like about it was the fact that he knew that the books on the shelves weren’t infinite, and so one day he would need to find something else to do. Sure, Undyne started coming over from time to time, but he couldn’t count on her presence forever… 

Alphys was still walking up and down nervously.

Maybe she needed a break? Sure, the King was going to be there that day but- geez, she sure was exaggeratingly nervous! The days before she seemed overly joyful about this meeting and now she seemed about to explode in anxiety. The skeleton had no idea why she was like that, but he didn’t like that. Before he could try again to talk to her though, someone knocked on the door. “Oh- I- uhm- I’m coming!!” the lizard nervously exclaimed as she almost ran down the escalator and went to the door. It wasn’t closed, but for some reason the person on the other side didn’t open. Duo decided to get up and reach her, just to make sure everything was fine. The door opened, and a tall goat came in. He wore a long purple cape that partially hid a metal armor, and had a fluffy yellow beard that seemed made of cotton. A small crown, symbol of his status as the King of the underground, was placed on top of his head between a pair of well-kept horns. The old man had a quiet and warm smile, and his eyes, one orange and one light blue, seemed the ones of someone who saw everything in his long life. His face didn't hide the concerns of someone with an important role as his own, but there was also the satisfaction of knowing his people were well and safe. He looked exactly like last time…

Wh- again?! What was that continuous feeling of knowing this and that despite never having seen any of it? Geez, it felt so bothering…

“Good afternoon, doctor. May I come in?” The goat asked despite it not being necessary, his voice low and gentle. Alphys nervously stuttered a quiet “of course” and moved aside to let him in. The King walked inside, and the door slid closed behind himself. The old man's eyes moved to the skeleton, that seemed almost short compared to him, and smiled warmly. “Howdy young one. You're Duo, right? Doctor Alphys told me many things about you”, he greeted, offering a handshake. Duo took the goat’s hand and shook it lightly, his thin skeletal fingers almost disappearing in the soft fur. “Yes, that is me. It is a pleasure to meet you, Asgore”, he replied, not remembering Alphys ever mentioning the King’s name. “The pleasure is mine, young one” the goat commented, releasing the skeleton's hand. “Now, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”.

The three monsters sat at Alphys’ table, ironically the only thing that actually remained quite messy, and Asgore started making him questions. He asked about general things: how he was doing, what he usually did during the day, if he liked staying at the lab. He never forced Duo to reply right away, and his tone was always warm and friendly. The skeleton most of the time, surprisingly, had a reply that was clear and defined. Even about preferences, he had clear tastes and opinions. This surprised mostly Duo himself, since he tried almost nothing of the things he said he liked or preferred. He felt as if those preferences got defined before he could experience them, or as if he did but then permanently forgot about it. It was such a weird feeling, Duo simply couldn't help wondering what that was from. Maybe those were caused by the “mistakes” Alphys made as he created him? But then what about all the things he felt he knew about people? So weird…

After a while, the King had to go back to the capital. He asked for Duo to accompany him outside for a moment, as he wished to talk to him in private. The skeleton never stepped out of the Lab, but he didn't get too surprised as he saw the astounding lava falls of Hotland and felt the immense heat of the place.

“You know”, Asgore started as the door slid close, glancing at Duo with a quiet smile and a thoughtful look. “Alphys is a brilliant mind, but her self confidence isn't really the highest. She once had an assistant that helped her with that, but after he passed away she almost completely closed herself. Not even Undyne, the Captain of the Royal guard, had been able to help her much…”. The skeleton frowned a little. She had an assistant? What happened to him? And most importantly- what happened to Alphys? Was she alright?

“she may not clearly show it, but from the way she spoke to me about you she seems to care for you dearly. I'd like you to understand it and to help her when you can. I know it may be a lot to ask from someone you barely know, but…”. Duo remained silent for a moment, but then smiled at the old goat. “Of course, I'd love to help her with what I can. It's not a problem”, he replied. The King smiled wider, taking one of the skeleton's hands in his paws and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you, young one. This means a lot to me”.

That evening, as usual, the flower popped out from the floor of Duo’s room. “Howdy there, friend! How was your day? I heard the King himself came by! Is that true?” he joyfully asked, climbing up a leg of the bed and placing himself in a sitting-like position next to the skeleton. “Yeah, he did. He's a really nice guy. Hey, uhm- you said you have known Alphys for a long while, right?” Duo quietly asked back. Flowey tilted his head, giving him a curious look. “Yes, I do. We have known each other since ages by now! Why do you ask?”. “You know, Asgore said something about an assistant she used to have. Do you know anything about this person?”. The flower frowned a little in a thoughtful expression, but then his face lit up. “Oh, I knew the guy! He was truly a nice person, you know? Smart, creative, supportive, patient… he was the best! Such a terrible loss… His name was-

Duo opened his eyes, quickly getting used to the dark of the room. Kate was still asleep, and the house was silent. Papyrus floated next to him, quietly murmuring a “good morning”. The skeleton silently got up and walked downstairs, the floating skull following him close. The clock in the kitchen read 6:15. Finally, a decent hour to wake up at. After a half hour he prepared breakfast for himself, Kate and Napstablook, making order in his papers (which remained scattered on the table until then) and placing the cups on the table. He almost automatically sat down with a cup of tea in his hand, taking with the other one of the papers and reading what was there all over again.

Why was the Barrier made like that? The human mages must have done it on purpose. He heard they were able to do anything, so why not make the Barrier with a regular thickness? Why make a space thin enough to let humans through?

...

Did they…

Nevermind. What mages from hundreds of decades ago wanted to do wasn't something he should care about.

With the new information he had, it was all different.

He lost so much time at New home when he could have just gone to the Ruins… 

A whole year wasted…

No, dammit- focus!

He had the data he got from New Home. He just needed to analyze them from another perspective. So maybe in a few months-

No. 

No no no. 

Not “a few months”. 

He had to go back to the Ruins and make a new analysis.

If it was as Paps said, Kate could go back home in less than a week.

In no time she could be again with her family.

“Paps, do you think I can reach the ceiling of the room with the flowers and take a look at the Barrier myself?” the skeleton asked the floating skull. Papyrus thought about it a moment. “Hmmm… I suppose you might be able, if you use a few bones as ladders or something like that”. Duo smiled, content with the answer. “Very well then. I know what we'll do today”.

The skeleton placed the paper back in the small pile as Kate sleepily walked downstairs. "Good morning buttercup”, he quietly said as he raised his gaze to hers. The small human walked to him with a small smile, sitting on a chair next to him and Papyrus. “ ‘Morning Duo… ‘morning Paps…”, she replied, taking a few cookies to eat with her cup of milk. “Hey, would you like to go to the Ruins again? Paps and I want to check a few things, and I thought you might want to come over”, the skeleton asked the little human as he stood up and went to the TV, opening the drawer under it. “Oh, of course! I'd love to!” Kate joyfully replied, completely waking up all of the sudden. The skeleton smiled a little more at her reply, taking out from the drawer some instruments and putting them in a backpack before closing the drawer again and looking at the human. “Very well then. This week we'll skip the visit to New Home”.

Soon enough, Blooky came by. This time he politely declined the offer, saying he had to keep an eye on his farm, but this didn't bother any of them.

Around 8:30 they started walking, and by 11:15 they were in the room again. Kate sat down in the middle of the flowers, curiously looking at the skeleton. Duo took a deep breath, then with a swift gesture he summoned a bone attack. It was long and thin, like a tibia, but as big as a human sword. It had been quite a while since he summoned one of those… he tightly held it with both hands, then made it move towards the top of the room. The attack lifted him without a problem, quickly bringing him higher and higher as Paps followed him close.

Duo lifted himself on the bone as soon as it reached the Barrier, sitting on it as he took a careful look at the magic shield. The Barrier here surely looked different from the area he used to see at New Home… it was completely transparent, and the skeleton could see a small cavern over the barrier. On one side, a hole showed the outside. He could see a glimpse of what seemed like a light blue ceiling (the sky, if he remembered correctly) and a bunch of… trees? Bushes? Something like that. And from that hole a pure, bright light illuminated the whole little cavern, resembling the light of New Home but with something that made it completely different. There were some noises from outside, partially muffled by the Barrier. He could hear the rustling of leaves in the wind, a sound he knew well from the forest that surrounded all Snowdin Town, and multiple curious sounds, composing what could be considered some sort of melody, but not made by instruments. Was it birds? He couldn't be sure. After all, all he knew about them was from old books.

The skeleton took out an electronic tool from his backpack, a small device  that resembled a voltmeter but with only one cable that ended with a small needle. He stuck a metallic ring on the needle and laid it flat on the Barrier, then turned on the device and changed the settings to “flow”. The device was made to detect the magic power of things and measure it, either by sensing the radiation of the thing or by measuring the flow of magic at the contact. The two methods were both valid, but depending on the situation one was better than the other. For example, detecting the magic radiation of a thing may be better than checking the flow itself if the object you're analyzing is rather small or if their magic quantitative is low, while the flow is easier to detect in big objects or things with a high amount of magic.

The device started beeping, a number on the small screen of it getting higher. After a while it made a loud noise, and the number ceased to grow. The magic power of the barrier, obviously, was higher than anything else in the whole Underground, but in that specific area it was lower than in New Home. He quickly put the device back in the bag and took a small notebook, then wrote down the numbers and confronted it to the others he had: a human soul (Kate lend her own to take the measurements), a monster soul (Napstablook and Papyrus' ones) and a theoretical being with both souls (estimated through the others’ souls and the magic of the Barrier at New home).

He remembered seeing Alphys working on the Barrier from time to time. She said that a soul could go through the Barrier if it had around 50% of its magic (see how a single human soul, which is around 14.3% of its magic, can't go through and how 7 human souls, the equivalent of 100% of its magic, can break it). Comparing the data he had with what Papyrus said, that theory could be confirmed, and this meant that he could actually find a way to go through himself… if he found a way to collect the equivalent of a whole human soul in there.

Now though, he had to actually try making a human soul go through.

Sadly, he knew Kate wasn't the kind of person to take such an important decision all of the sudden. The human was smart and brave, but to make choices she always needed a little while. Not only that, but Duo was pretty sure she wouldn't leave the Underground all of the sudden.

“What now?” Papyrus asked all of the sudden, taking the skeleton by surprise. “Now… Now we gotta hope Kate won't do anything dumb when we'll tell her we might have a way to send her home”.

With a quiet sigh, the skeleton went back down to the floor of the room. The young human was drawing things on her little notebook, a focused frown on her face. As soon as he stepped down the attack, Kate stood up and went to him with a big smile. “What have you found? Anything new?” she asked with a curious look. Before Duo could reply, the floating skull turned himself into letters that said “we found a way out for you”. The skeleton didn't want to be so direct… the little human, as Duo expected, made a little confused frown. “... For me? Like- only for me? Why can't you and Blooky come?” she asked, a hint of concern in her voice. “Because of the Barrier, buttercup”, Duo started to explain. “If monsters could go through it, we would have got out long ago. Apparently humans are able to pass through it in this area, but only humans”. “But why is the Barrier there? Monsters are nice, why did they close you down here? You did nothing wrong!” The young human exclaimed, starting to get bothered. The skeleton sighed quietly, feeling that the discussion would end up getting pretty long. He crouched in front of her, directly looking at her big orange eyes. “I thought I already explained this to you… more than once… Long ago, Monsters and Humans fought against each other, and after a terrible war the Humans won and banished the Monsters because they didn't like what was different from them. They put the Barrier all around the Underground so that Monsters couldn't escape. Dozens, maybe hundreds of expert  Monster magicians and scientists worked on it, trust me, but they simply didn't find a way to take it down or to escape from it”.  “But then how did all the other monsters go away? You said they went away but we've seen all the Underground and didn't find anyone else! A-and then! I never saw a monster on the surface? Where did they actually go?” The girl stubbornly continued.

Well shit.

“... I…”

That wasn't a subject the skeleton wanted to deal with.

She was so small, so young, so innocent…

“I don't know. I really don't know”, the skeleton quietly lied. He simply couldn't bring himself to explain to her what actually happened.

“Then there MUST be a way out! A secret passage or something like that for a place with all the other monsters! And I'm not gonna leave any of you until we find it!” Kate declared, an almost stern look on her face.

…

“... Sure thing kid. We just gotta find it”.

START PREVIOUS NEXT

Me: Trying to focus on my duties as second-hand writer part 2.

Also me: OH LOOK ALASTOR IS HAVING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN-

Me: Trying to focus on my duties as second-hand writer.

Also me: OH LOOK A YIPPIE MAKER-

Here's the link if you wanna mess around with it as well.

past me, working on Sam (Someone back then): hmmmmm, Someone might be a cool name but why on earth would a person call themselves like that?

Past me: IT'S AN ACRONYM

Past me: THE ACRONYM FOR A NAME UNDERNOVELA PAPYRUS THOUGHT FOR THEM

Past me: Sam Orvez Manuel d'Envira Outiero Nando Enrique

What if someone threw a party with all Toriels of the multiverse a bit in a CPAU style.

IMAGINE.

It would be a huge reunion of tall goat ladies exchanging recipes and talking about children.

Chapter 4: guardians.

Duo was helping Alphys make order in the lab. She rarely had visits and so she almost never tidied up the place, but this time she had a more than good reason to do so. She said the king was planning to come visit her work and see Duo. The skeleton felt slightly excited. He never met the king, but he was 100% sure he was a very kind and friendly guy. Alphys seemed to confirm it as she spoke about him as the two fixed things around, describing him as a “goofy guy” and a few times calling him “mr. fluffybuns” with a quiet chuckle. The only thing that kinda concerned the skeleton were the few times she stopped briefly at the mention of showing her work to the king. He never saw her so excited and nervous at the same time. The two worked the whole morning to clean up the place. Now that he was making order, Duo noticed how awfully messy the place was. He mentally wrote down to start doing some weekly cleaning up if Alphys ever forgot again to make order.

Suddenly, the door of the lab slid open. The skeleton turned around, completely not expecting anyone to come in. Yeah, Alphys said the king was gonna come but- straight the next day? That didn’t sound like- oh wait that isn’t the king. A tall fish lady with shining blue scales and long red hair wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top came in. Duo felt a sudden joy, an incredible urge to go to her and hug her tight. what- why on earth would he do that?! She’s a complete stranger! What if she doesn’t like being touched? Alphys seemed to simultaneously die of embarrassment and in anxiety as soon as she saw the person. “O-oh! Good morning, Undyne! I wasn’t expecting you to-” “Alphy. we need to talk. NOW”, the fish lady immediately cut her off. The stranger didn’t seem mad, but she was clearly tense. her only visible eye (the other one was covered by a bandaid) was open wide, a frown underlining her distress and her stretched smile making her look nearly desperate. 

this isn’t her.

Normally she would look more tough, and her smile would be joyful, her eye would shine in determination, she wouldn’t look this nervous and her voice wouldn’t be this strained, she would-

What was going on??? Why was he thinking that??? Duo had no idea of who that person was, and yet he knew how that person was normally- no, he didn’t know, he was making a hypothesis over someone who saw for the first time literally now. Why was he doing that???

“I- uh- Of course- uhm- Duo, wait here a second, alright?”, Alphys nervously said as she quickly walked to Undyne. The fish lady gave him a glance and seemed to petrify, concerning becoming even more evident in her face. She stared at him for a few seconds, before silently walking away with Alphys out of the laboratory. What was that for? Did she know- no, Alphys created him, she didn’t know him at all. It simply wasn’t possible. Maybe she knew about what Alphys was doing and was surprised by the outcome? That didn’t seem like a positively surprised face though… Maybe he could ask for- nope. It wasn’t his business. Not only that, but Alphys seemed somehow unsettled by Undyne’s presence. He could end up making her feel worse by asking her questions about the matter… whatever the matter was…

The moment the skeleton decided it was a good idea to go back working, the door slid open again and the two monsters walked back inside. Alphys seemed more in distress than before, and with a slight hint of sadness in her eyes. Undyne seemed still in distress, but now with a more positive face. This wasn’t a sight Duo liked. “… are you ok there Alphys?” the skeleton quietly asked as he walked to her with a worried frown. “o-oh, don’t bother. It’s just… nevermind. Uhh- Duo, this is Undyne. She’s the captain of the Royal guard”, the lizard explained. The fish lady offered a handshake, making a small smile. “Nice to meet you! Alphy told me some stuff about you”, she commented with a more joyful tone than earlier.

There, that was more like her. Still not quite, but- goddammit stop thinking and just reply!

Duo took her hand and shook it lightly. “The pleasure is mine. What brings you here? I think I never saw anyone aside Alphys in here”, he told her with a small smile. “Eeh, I had stuff to discuss with Alphy. N-nothing to bother about, of course”, Undyne replied. The skeleton gave a quick glance at Alphys, just to make sure she was ok. The lizard seemed to feel a little better, and now had again her usual nervous and not terrified look. “I’m glad to hear that”, he simply replied to the fish, raising his eyes to her again. Alphys spoke up then, looking up at Undyne with a nervous smile. “H-hey, do you wanna sit down for a moment? I-I should have some instant noodles in the fridge if you want”, she offered.

The three ended up chatting joyfully around Alphys’ working table, not taking the noodles but still enjoying each other’s company. Duo discovered many things- and similarly to what happened with the books, he already knew part of what Undyne told him. Undyne operated mainly around Waterfall, an area of the Underground between Snowdin and Hotland where all the humidity collected and where most of the water flooded after going through the rest of the cavern. She often went also to Snowdin, the coldest place in the Underground where usually the Canine unit operated. Duo couldn’t help asking how Greater Dog and the others were doing, despite having no idea of who they were. Undyne seemed to remain surprised by his question, but didn’t comment on it and simply replied they were fine. There then was Hotland: “the worst place of all”, as the fish described it. It was always hot since the whole city was built over a giant lava lake, and Undyne simply couldn’t even get near the place in armor without turning completely dry. Duo initially didn’t think he was in Hotland right now: he felt at a decent temperature, not too hot and not too cold- oh wait Alphys had air conditioners, of course it was nice in there.

The skeleton really enjoyed the chat. Undyne felt- and spoke- like an old friend, someone he had known for a long time. Of course it was impossible since he never met her before, but the feeling was still there. It was similar to what he felt when he first saw Alphys, but not quite the same. There was a slight difference, though the skeleton couldn’t understand what that was. For some weird reason after the chat Undyne offered herself to help finishing to make order. There was nearly nothing to do at that point (Alphys and Duo did almost all the work before), but they appreciated it anyway. They took almost twice the needed time since she and Alphys often goofed around (those two were truly lovely), but they had fun.

In the end, Undyne went away. Alphys said she would probably come over more often by now, mainly since Duo didn’t couldn’t leave the lab and the fish was sure he would end up getting bored there. In the evening the skeleton went back to his room, not feeling tired but knowing that Alphys would get concerned if he didn’t try to keep a decent sleeping schedule. He sat on his bed and took a deep breath, feeling particularly satisfied with how the day went.

“Howdy! How was your day, friend?”

The skeleton sat up straight, barely keeping himself from shouting in surprise. Kate jumped backwards with a startled shout, tripping and falling on the flowers. Where were they? What was that place- oh right. The Ruins. The room with the flowers. “oh… did I startle you?” Napstablook asked quietly as he looked down with a sad frown. “what- uhm- don’t worry Blooky, i-it wasn’t your fault! I mean, you did startle me but- I mean- uh- n-nevermind” the skeleton quickly replied, getting concerned himself. He didn’t like when his friends were feeling bad.

How much did he sleep? Did the others fall asleep as well or they remained up the whole time? Where did Papyrus go? The skeleton couldn’t feel his presence nearby, and he didn’t like it. 

“Are you sure? you seemed terrified when you sat up!”, Kate exclaimed as she stood back up. The skeleton took a few deep breaths. Yeah, he really got startled. He had never been this jumpy. Well, maybe he did, but it had been a long time ago. “... Yes, I’m sure. It probably was just a side effect of sleeping on the floor”, he told the girl. Duo raised his gaze to the hole that gave to the surface, feeling Paps again. “Duo!!! I found something amazing!!!” he shouted joyfully, floating down at a concerning speed. He almost crashed on the floor as he reached the others, but his smile didn’t fade at all. “The barrier! We were all wrong about how it works!! It seems thinner here than at New Home!! That is probably why humans always come from here and not from there!! They can’t go through the Barrier at New Home because it’s too thick, but here it is way thinner! Probably thin enough to let a human soul alone go through!!”.

… What?

The barrier… It’s not a one way gate…

Duo never considered that possibility.

If it really was as Paps said… Probably if a human wanted to come in from the side of the Barrier at New home, they would need a monster soul the same way.

If Paps was correct…

Different thickness of the Barrier… Why? Maybe the Barrier had a beginning and an end? But technically the Ruins were the place where the Barrier got summoned, so if there was a place where it should be thinner that was New Home.

Maybe they did it on purpose? But for what reason?

If it wasn’t for the flowers, people would die from such a high fall…

was that-

He needed to see it by himself. It wasn’t a good idea to start overthinking something like that. not now.

“... sounds… wonderful. We should start giving a look at this part of the Barrier. Maybe we can find something interesting. Now though it is better if we go home”, Duo said quietly, sounding more thoughtful than he would have wanted.

Kate may be able to go home…

The four went back to Snowdin. After a quick stop at their house, Napstablook went back to his farm in Snowdin. Kate decided to take all the little drawings she made those two days and put them together in a single big drawing, so she took her pencil and sat at the table with a big smile and started working almost immediately. Duo was terribly tempted to start working again on the Barrier now with this new information he had, but a stern glare by Paps clearly stated also today he had to not touch that stuff. He ended up drawing with Kate for a long while, the comfortable silence broken only from time to time by a quick exchange of words between the two and Paps, floating near there with a satisfied smile.

Time flew surprisingly quickly. in the blink of an eye, it was already evening. The three had dinner, Duo read a bedtime story for Kate, and then he went downstairs… to do what? Paps seemed terribly hostile to work until the next day. The skeleton made himself a cup of tea, not used anymore to go to sleep at an early hour. Paps floated next to him, looking at him skeptically. Duo took a sip of his tea and gave the skull a fed-up glare. “c’mon, seriously? You give me an absurd piece of information and then you don’t let me work?” he asked with an annoyed frown. Paps sighed, a certain seriousness in his look. “Duo, you know we both want to send Kate back to her family and everything but- I do not want you to end up overworking yourself, ok? You can start working again- I cannot stop you from doing that- but don’t exaggerate. today you go to sleep straight and tomorrow you can start again”. The skeleton huffed, but didn’t talk back. The two remained in silence for a little while, Duo just sipping his tea and Paps floating next to him. After a while, the skull spoke again. “... What will we do later?” he asked quietly. The skeleton looked at him with a slightly confused look, but then understood what he meant. “... I guess we’ll search a way out for ourselves or… I dunno, just live? Even if being just the three of us down here could get pretty boring after a while”, he commented quietly. “Now though I think we should focus on finding a way to get Kate out of here”.

The two after some time walked back upstairs and went to sleep, the skeleton’s mind filled with new questions and, most importantly, Determination.

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idk if someone else did it but-

idk who she might be, but she's adorable so HAVE THE BABY-

summoning @rurunyaa and @iamsofuckinggay HAVE FUN

[I was lurking and found a picrew, my head is filled with nothing but Mimu so have human Mimu]

@baby_carrot_art

Tags:

@sharkyy599 @essentially-a-worm-on-a-string @wheredidmybooksgo @the-squishy-scrimblo @invisible-hidden

can I ramble about The Magnum Opus with someone? yk like- that small nice book by Christopher & Christine Kezelos about living puppets playing instruments to save the world? Does anyone knows this book?

Chapter 3: your best friend

It had been a few days. Alphys tried to explain to him what happened back when he first woke up. She said he was the result of an experiment of hers: she was trying to create a monster from scratch and that she decided to make a skeleton because it was all just bones and so simpler than other monsters, but she remained pretty vague about how she did that or any other detail. She said he felt weird because she probably messed up something, but she didn’t specify what she may have messed up. Alphys did her best to help him heal up that huge hole he had in his chest, but sadly she hadn’t been able to completely close it. She also kept calling him Duo: he didn’t feel like it was actually his name, but since he couldn’t think of anything better he simply decided to go with that one. “Duo”. A short and simple name. He remembered perfectly, the day when he woke up, hearing Alphys calling him “D-1”. Maybe she just misspelled it out of nervousness. Alphys constantly seemed nervous. Almost anxious. Especially when Duo was around. Maybe she was like this with everyone, but the skeleton never saw anyone else in the laboratory and therefore had no idea. Yes, laboratory. Duo spent the last 4 long days in the laboratory. Aside from the “surface lab”, there was an underground area which was huge, with many rooms (some of them open and some others locked) and interesting things in nearly each of them. Alphys gave him a small spare room with a table and a bed she brought in (it looked kinda like a hospital bed, but he didn’t mind). Somehow, the skeleton found all that place and the machinery terribly familiar. He had no idea why, but it was interesting and unsettling at the same time. Maybe also that was just a “mistake” made by Alphys while creating him? he didn’t know, and he was pretty sure if he asked her he would just get a vague reply without clear explanation.

That day, Duo was alone. Alphys went out to meet the king and talk about some things, so the skeleton was free to do nearly whatever he wanted without her getting concerned because he moved too quickly. In the previous days he explored all the available rooms and all the interesting machines, so it was time to take a look at that big bookshelf on the upper area of the surface lab. At first sight the bookshelf was split in two: the left side had human comics and DVD’s of cartoons, divided by series and in alphabetical order, and the right side had books of many other things: anatomy, mechanics, chemistry, magic, history, electronics… all of them neatly organized in alphabetical order by author and by subject. Duo took a book from the right side and read the title. “Robotics- book 2”. Oh, he knew that book! He read it so many times when-

wait what.

The skeleton sat at a working table nearby, reading the first page of the book. Then the second. Then the third.

He knew that book. He couldn't remember it, but when he read the pages he felt as if it wasn't the first time. Even more interesting was the fact that, despite this book explaining very complex and advanced concepts, the moment he read those he realized he already knew them. He kept reading, trying in the meanwhile to understand why. Alphys said she created him, so maybe she programmed his mind to know that stuff?

Duo got so lost in the reading he didn’t notice the completely out of place golden flower looking at him. “Why, howdy!” the flower exclaimed, taking the skeleton completely by surprise as he shouted. He looked down at the flower, his eyes wide in surprise. “wha- I- who are you?!” he exclaimed, confused and surprised. Another monster? Here? wait- monsters usually don’t look like plants- he didn’t even finish formulating his thought the flower spoke again. “Golly, I’m sorry friend! I didn’t mean to startle you!” he explained, frowning a little. Duo took a few breaths, calming down again. “... n-no worries. I just… really wasn’t expecting it”, he replied. The flower huffed in relief. “oh, thankfully. I thought you were scared of me! I don’t even know why I thought so, but for some curious reason it still concerned me”. The skeleton frowned, then shook his head. “no, no, I wasn’t scared of you. Though you still scared the hell out of me…”. The flower chuckled, then climbed up the table and got a little close to the skeleton. “Alright, then let’s do this all over: Howdy, I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flower!”, the flower exclaimed. He seemed like a pretty cheerful guy. Flowey extended a leaf as if he was offering it for a handshake, looking at the skeleton with a friendly smile. “... I am Duo, nice to meet you”, the skeleton simply introduced himself, taking the leaf and shaking it gently. “Duo, huh? Nice name! Are you new around here? I never saw you, and trust me when I say I know everyone”, Flowey asked. Duo was about to explain to the flower what Alphys told him, but then thought that before spreading an information it was better to make sure it was correct. “well- uhm- I honestly don’t know. I probably- uhm- hit my head and… yeah, I just don’t remember”. Geez, that sure was a bad lie. He was a terrible liar. The flower remained silent for a moment, frowning, but then unexpectedly said: “I’m terribly sorry to hear that, friend. I’m sure you’ll remember one day”. Was that guy serious or was he just making fun of the skeleton? How on earth could he believe such a bad lie?? Duo decided to not question himself any further and hope this guy actually believed him. “... so, what are you reading? looks like a nice book”, Flowey asked. The two ended up spending a lot of time chatting. Flowey was a surprisingly good listener, and also one of a nerd. He knew almost more stuff than Duo! and sure that wasn’t a simple task since every time the flower mentioned a concept Duo almost always remembered what that was. He seemed like a friendly guy. a bit childish from time to time, but still a nice person to be around. After a while he went away, saying that he had stuff to do “stay safe young man! I'll be watching you”, he added before disappearing into the ground. Nearly at the same moment, the door of the lab opened and Alphys came back. “H-hi Duo!” the lizard started as she quickly came to him. “T-the king was so happy to know you’re-

Duo opened his eyes, feeling slightly tense. He sat up and looked around, feeling like someone was watching him. 

Just a dream. It was just a dream. Just another damn dream.

He didn't like the fact that he was dreaming so much lately. Usually he had blank nights where he dreamt nothing. This sequence of dreams was starting to concern him. Those weren't even casual dreams like- I dunno- whatever a normal person would dream. Those were memories from the lab. He hated that place. People died there. Dozens of innocent monsters. He just couldn't figure out why on earth he would dream about-

Focus. He had better things to do than to bother because of some old memories. He got up and noticed Kate wasn't sleeping. Did he wake up late again? He walked downstairs and saw her sitting on the couch with  Paps as the two chatted quietly. “Oh- Duo! Good morning! I'm sorry if I woke you up, but- I was having hard times sleeping. I'm so excited for today's second trip!” The human exclaimed the second she saw Duo coming in. Trip? What was she- oh right. The Ruins. The skeleton felt a little nervous at the idea of going there again, the simple thought of that creepy pile of dust laying straight at the entrance giving him goosebumps. He gave a glance to the clock: 6:32. He woke up at a decent time today. Still too soon, but better than the day before. “I'm happy to know you're excited buttercup, but next time try to sleep a bit more. It's not healthy to sleep too little”. Paps glanced at Duo with a severe frown. “says the one who woke up at nearly 5 am and didn’t even think about going back to sleep”, he commented. Kate gave him a curious look, hearing nothing but garbage noise, but Papyrus didn’t translate.

Napstablook came by around 8:30, and the four ended up reaching the Ruins’ entrance around 10 am, Kate continuously talking about this awesome place in there without describing it, saying she wanted to keep it a surprise. Duo took a deep breath before walking in the long corridor that led to the house, but when he opened the door… the dust was gone? There wasn’t even a grain of it, as if it was never there. Did he imagine it- yeah no, he wouldn’t imagine seeing a corpse laying on the ground. Where did it go? Not that he wanted to go look for it now, but he seriously felt concerned. Duo ended up letting aside that unsettling thought and kept going, not wanting to let Kate get lost in there. The place was as beautiful as the day before, with its ancient walls and breathtaking views of Home. This time the group didn’t linger around as much as the day before, mainly because of Kate’s energical walking- almost running- to this mysterious awesome place. She didn’t slow down a single time, but this didn’t bother the three monsters- two of them floated and the third had a good physical resistance. After some time, the human girl started walking even faster. She turned around to the others for a second, smiling widely. “I know this place, we’re close! c’mon Duo, walk faster! You won’t regret it, I promise!!” she exclaimed. The skeleton raised a brow, but did as she told him to not lose her in that labyrinth of corridors. Then…

A huge, circular room. The walls were made of pure gray stone differently to the ones in the rest of the Ruins, and some old pillars stood straight under the delightful sunlight that came down from a hole hundreds of meters higher. And straight under the light… Golden flowers. Big, soft, slightly cartoonish and yet real flowers, their petals colored in a bright yellow shining under the sunlight. Truly beautiful flowers… and yet, with a taste of bittersweet. Golden flowers were the King’s favorite flowers, a symbol of rebirth and hope, and a Golden flower was the one and only talking flower the skeleton knew and hated. What an ironic coincidence, right? Duo sighed quietly, looking at those wonderful plants gently swinging in the delicate wind present in that room only with a slight frown. Suddenly someone pulled his sleeve, forcing him to walk closer. “Look Duo- look! I fell on these from up there, and they were still perfectly intact! And I didn’t get a single scratch, you know? every one of these flowers feels like a huge pillow!” Kate eagerly exclaimed, looking at the skeleton with a bright smile and an excited look. Duo took a few seconds to get what she said, but then smiled gently at the girl and crouched next to her, taking in his hands one of those flowers without ripping it from the ground. “Of course. It is because Golden flowers are made of 50% magic, and so they feel way softer than normal flowers. Not only that, but Golden flowers’ petals are this soft also to better absorb the Barrier’s magic radiations in order to live for centuries”. Kate sat on Duo’s leg, listening to him with eyes wide in wonder. She loved every time someone explained her things, either them being things about science, magic, mechanics- everything was fine. She said it was because a lot of things worked differently on the surface. Because on the surface there was no magic. Of course, when humans locked the monsters away all the magic got locked with them. Human wizards casted spells thanks to wands and scepters that stole magic from other beings. Without monsters and their magic auras, magic plants soon stopped growing up there and magic stones lost their enchantments. The girl once told them how humans started hunting down other humans that still had magic powers, either out of fear of those almost rare people or out of hate towards what others didn’t have anymore. They burned their bodies and left the ashes to the wind, uncaring if these people tried to help others with their powers or if they kept them for themselves. The surface this little human knew was truly different to the one described in monsters’ history books, and even more different to the Underground. That was also the reason why Duo liked listening to Kate. It was difficult for a mind like his to reason without applying the magic factor to things, and there were so many things that humans discovered in the past decades that seemed like coming out from a fantasy book.

The four hung out in that little corner of the world for a few hours, either chatting about whatever went through their mind or simply enjoying the place. For a little while they laid down with Blooky to do what they called “feeling like garbage”. Duo wasn’t sure why they called it that since it was nice laying down with friends, but he didn’t bother asking them. They said it was a family tradition, so maybe the reason got lost with time or never existed. The skeleton, most of the time, looked up to the source of the light. It was so high he couldn’t see the top of it, but Kate said that hole was inside of a little cavern close to the top of Mount Ebott. but if it was inside of a cavern, how did the light reach them? Did the cavern have another hole that went to the surface? And even so, wasn’t the huge hole too deep to let the light reach the room? Was the sun really that bright? The skeleton kept making himself questions, sometimes asking them to Kate out loud, and he was so taken by the nice environment that he didn’t even notice time passing. After some time he fell asleep, the warm light feeling comforting and the sound of the flowers to the breeze soothing.

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