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#also people don’t talk about how asgore recognizes how many times he’s killed you nearly enough
autistic--cryptid · 3 years
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feel the need to put this out here so
i find it interesting that the only characters in undertale that have some kind of knowledge about the timeline and the resets and stuff are characters who have also, at some point and in some way, been in possession of a human soul
there’s your chatacter, of course, and chara, who are human and thus automatically have human souls. there’s also flowey, who, before his death as asriel, absorbed chara’s human soul which effectively gave him a human soul of his own until his death. finally, there’s asgore, who recognizes how many times he’s killed you when you come back from your save point, and he’s in possession of the 6 other human souls.
the only exception to this is sans, who isn’t shown to have a human soul in any way, but still has connection to the timelines.
idk i just think it’s interesting
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Scars Along My Heart (A Frisk, Gaster and Sans Love Triangle)
 Damn… That was faster than I thought; I actually didn’t expect anyone to give this post any mind. But the people have spoken so… On with the show!
Also since Tumblr won’t let me italicize or bold texts anymore this key will help you keep track of who is saying/thinking what.
Frisk: (F)
The voice (better know as Chara): (V)
Gaster: (G)
Anything without “” is the characters thoughts
Anything inside {} is said in sign language
~}{~
Frisk waved good-bye to Undyne as she dashed away, most likely heading back to Snowdin while Alphys and Papyrus trained. She chuckled at the thought; if she was honest it seemed like a pretty good fit to have the proud skeleton be her mentor. Being around someone so upbeat and hopeful even in the face of adversity was just the thing for such a shy little introvert like the royal scientist. The content smile on her face soon fell away though as she turned to face the road ahead, dread oozing and spilling over her soul like toxic sludge at the thought of facing Asgore. Again. Mechanically her feet brought her forward, each step dragging across the damp ground as the apprehension seemed to physically weigh her down the closer she got to the castle. It wasn’t even facing off against the king that made her feel this way, it was facing HIM and she’d have to be a real moron to think he wouldn’t have something else planned for her after she’d finished this little side quest he’d sent her on. God just thinking about going through all of that a second time made her feel exhausted. Physically, mentally, spiritually… Exhausted. Unconsciously her arms rose up to wrap themselves around her torso, her grip on her forearms tight as she hugged herself to have even the smallest form of comfort. Even if it was only from herself… (V) You know it doesn’t have to be this way. It whispered in the same way a snake would try to entice its next victim. (F) Oh god not you again. She thought back with a groan. (V) Oh you better believe it doll face. It giggled mockingly. The voice was back, the same voice that had been following her since the beginning of her journey in this strange subterranean world. At first the human hadn’t thought much of it, after all if she had landed in a hole inhabited by anthropomorphic goats with fire magic, little voices in her head that occasionally gave helpful advice was probably the most normal thing to happen in this particular situation. It was weird, but it was nice to have some company. That is until their suggestions started to take on a, darker tone. After exiting the Ruins and making their way to the inviting warmth that was Snowdin Town, the young woman had encountered several formidable enemies. Those battles had been difficult, testing her endurance and ability to think on her feet. More than once had her impatience and recklessness caused her to meet her end, it was only her strange ability to turn back the clock that allowed her to be where she was now. Each time it happened it felt like waking up from a bad dream, an experience she hated no matter how many times it happened. Despite this the girl still tried to end these battles peacefully, Toriel had showed her the kindness they were capable of and in turn she wished to return it and show monsters that she was not here to hurt them. Her companion on the other hand had seen things differently, growing more and more frustrated with each defeat. Insisting that taking a more aggressive approach was the best course of action and that a hardy swing of the toy knife she’d picked up would have been enough to scare her opponents away, or better yet getting rid of them altogether. It was then the human decided that she didn’t like this voice anymore. The monsters had hurt her yes, but unlike Flowey they were never malicious. They’d talked about taking her soul to the king and how it was the last one they needed to finally be free. At the time Frisk hadn’t fully understood what that meant, but she was smart enough to conclude that the monsters were being “trapped” by something and they believed that she had what they needed to escape. They weren’t evil, just desperate. And that was enough to solidify her decision to keep showing them kindness, she couldn’t truly die anyway so she might as well put this “gift” to good use and see if she could help. At that the voice grew distant and cold, leaving her to fend for herself until she ended up in another taxing battle that had her struggling to stay alive. When this happened they always sounded delighted, as if they enjoyed her pain while they tried to persuade her into indulging in some “well deserved payback” as they put it. But she refused. She was not a killer and they did not deserve to die for wanting to be free. Reading the prophecy in Waterfall the first time had left her with a number of emotions to shift through; anger at the humans of the past for their actions came the quickest. Sadness soon followed at the realization of what they had done to monster kind set in and last was a peculiar happiness that she had followed her instincts and continued to spare those that tried to fight her. (F) What do you want? As if I didn’t know already. Rolling her eyes at her luck. (V) Oh, someone’s feeling snarky at the moment. The monsters giving you trouble? Are you finally beginning to see things my way? It honestly disgusted Frisk to notice how they didn’t even try to hide that sick, sadistic glee in their words. (F) Fat-chance Casper, now piss off! She shouted back. The sparks of anger igniting the fire in her soul and prompted her to release the hold on her upper arms, now swinging them as her stride grew longer, faster and with purpose. (V) Come now gumdrop you know as well as I do that this goody two-shoes act has only gotten you killed a dozen times over and steady migraine. If I were in charge we would have been at Asgore’s doorstep a long time ago. (F) Well then it’s a good thing your not then isn’t it? The human hissed back. (V) Such an idiotic, pathetic little thing you are. Too weak and stupid to comprehend that— Okay now that got the young woman’s attention, this pain in the ass poltergeist never passed up the opportunity to insult her and they never cut themselves off in the middle of one either. Halting her advance Frisk scoped out the immediate area, whatever had the voice on edge she needed to keep an eye out for it. At the moment the girl found herself in a deserted hallway, seeing nothing other than the same deep blue stone that made up this portion of the Underground. (F) Okay either the threat is invisible or this is your new way of fucking with me, she told them as she continued to search. (V) Get out of here. NOW. The demand was loud, reverberating in her mind and disorienting her to the point where she almost lost her footing. Shouting in pain she clutched at her head, screwing her eyes shut before taking a few deep breaths to help ride out the intense throbbing between her eyes. “I don’t understand what are you so…” Frisk trailed off. With her eyelids open just a crack she could see something shimmering on the on wall to her left. “What is—” (V) STAY AWAY FROM THAT! They screamed at her. “FUCKING HELL! Again!” The sheer force enough this time that she indeed fell to her knees in front of the shimmer. “Quit doing that!” Blood racing through her veins she waited until her pulse was calm before she rose to her feet. Blinking she looked for the shimmer, but was surprised to see that it had vanished. “What? But it was just here” gasped Frisk. (V) Well it’s not here any more. Let’s go. (F) I don’t think so. Narrowing her gaze in defiance the young woman scanned the wall for the telltale glimmer from before. (V) No I forbid it! The voice practically growled with anger. (F) Yeah well you can take your forbid and shove it up your—there! Quickly Frisk rushed forward to where she saw the shift in the light, keeping both eyes squinted to insure that the thing she now recognized as a grey door remain in her sights. (V) YOU IDIOT I SWEAR IF YOU OPEN THAT DOOR I’LL TEAR APART YOUR MIND UNTIL YOU DON’T HAVE EVEN A SHRED OF SANITY LEFT! This was practically a banshee’s screech within the confines of Frisk’s mind, one that should have left her a crumpled mess on the dirt floor had her determination to see what was in this new room not been so high. Whatever was in there scared no, terrified the voice and that meant one of two things. It was either an object, maybe an ally that could possibly help her get rid of them or it was a horrible monstrosity that would kill her and be able to make the death a permanent one. There was no way of knowing what the outcome would be, but anything was better then going on as she was. So with as much determination as she could the human grabbed the knob and twisted it open before propelling herself forward. She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground again but was able to catch herself at the last second. She prepared for the onslaught of the voice’s tirade but in the back of her head she could only hear a faint buzzing each time they tried to speak. (F) Okay not sure what this place is, but I like it already, she mused taking in the light grey walls of the short hall she was in that lead to an equally small grey room. Then she spotted something strange, at the center of the grey room was a large mound of what could only be described as ink. And it was moving. (F) Who or what is that? The buzzing grew louder but she ignored it in favor of slowly making her way to the black mass, she stopped two feet away from it in case it decided to get violent and in a gentle voice she called to it. “Hey, excuse me who are you?” The black mass seemed to jump, not expecting someone to speak to it. As swiftly as its liquid form could manage it turned to face the human, revealing a white skull-like face that was cracked in two places. The first extended from its left eye to the corner of its open mouth, while the other stretch upwards from its half closed right eye to the back of its head. When it saw her Frisk could have sworn it let out a strangled gasp as it stared at her in shocked. Then the strangest of sounds like the kind a computer would make came tumbling out of its mouth, while two boney hands moved in tune with the sounds. “I’m sorry I don’t understand,” she told him sadly. Frantically they moved their hands faster, the noises they were making almost desperate as they tried to get her to understand. “I’m sorry, I really am but I can’t understand what you’re saying.” It was heartbreaking to see their face fall at her confession; they looked so hopeless and miserable. They stopped making the noises yet their hands continued to move, though now at a slower, more easy to follow pace. “Weird it’s almost like you’re… speaking in hands,” her realization ending in a whisper as she stared at the mysterious monster’s perpetually moving fingers. Let’s see if I still remember how to do this. Kneeling down before them Frisk slowly began to sign out letters. (F) {Hello my name is Frisk. Who are you?} When the monster caught sight of her message they froze, even their busy hands stilling at their surprise. After what felt like an eternity they responded in a similar fashion. (G) {Hello Frisk my name is Wing Dings Gaster.} The buzzing was getting worse now but that didn’t matter, they could communicate, she could talk to Gaster! Now she just had to find out what he was doing here. Giving him a warm smile she continued with her questions. (F) {Can you tell me what this place is? I’ve never seen it before.} (G) {It is part of a place known only as the void. A sort of parallel dimension that shadows this world.} (F) Well damn this is some real life science fiction now. The shock must have shown on her as Gaster’s cracked mouth rose into an amused smile. (F) {How did you get here?} And just like that the smile slipped away to be replaced by a troubled frown. (G) {A lab experiment gone wrong, it brought me here with no way to escape.} (F) {What about the door? Can’t you just go through?} (G) {Even if I did I no longer fully exist in their world. No one can see or hear me. Except you.} (F) {Is there anything I—} Frisk didn’t get to finish that question as the horrible buzzing struck her again, only this time she could hear the voice. (V) I WARNED YOU. The human screamed in pain, grabbing her head as wave after wave of agony came crashing down upon her. Somewhere among the torrent of suffering she registered the feeling of hands carefully clasping her shoulders. Forcing her hazel orbs to open she looked into the dark sockets of Gaster, his white pupils flying over her features as he tried to find what was causing her such distress. In numb awe she watched as he called her soul forward, the typically bright red heart now dim as another heart, this one tattered and as black as tar attempted to snuff out her lights. At the sight Gaster seemed to go through a thousand different emotions at once until his features settled into a look she knew all too well. The look of determination. Nodding to himself the strange goopy skeleton man summoned his own soul, the brilliance of the inverted heart shining proudly in its dull surroundings. Then without warning he sent it forward, crashing into Frisk like two colliding atoms and the room erupted into a blinding white light.
This literally took me all half of yesterday and all of today to finish. Also despite being a frans shipper and the nature of this situation I’m gunna put who Frisk actually ends up with up to you guys. I kinda wanna see if you guys will pick Gatser or not and I can maybe treat this like a reverse effect when people write soriel but still have Frisk wanting to be with him. I love Sans but some times that mother fucker needs a taste of his own medicine >:D Let me know what you guys think.
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pokemonfreak387 · 7 years
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Winter Break (Redone) Chapter 14 (Friskriel Fanfic)
Notes: I apologize again for the spoilers but someone nearly gets killed and experiences PTSD flashbacks again. Sorry, this is just a really angsty part of the story. Credit to @thunders29 for proofreading.
Chapter Summary: Frisk and Asriel try to give their speech to the town, but not everyone is there to listen to them. 2491 Words
Chapter 14: Showtime
Frisk peeked out from behind the curtain of the outdoor stage. In front of them stood a crowd of humans, monsters, and various little animals. Almost the entire town of Ebott was here, as well as a few people from Olympia who decided to attend the event. Frisk could feel themselves getting sick with stage fright, and they began to shake nervously until they felt someone tap their shoulder. Frisk whipped around to find Asriel standing behind them, a worried look on his face.
“Hey Frisky, you ok?” The boss monster asked. “You don’t look too excited. Stage fright?”
“Y-yeah…” Frisk admitted.
“Why’s that? Aren’t you used to publicly speaking in front of a crowd of people?”
Frisk sighed. “Yeah, I am, but it’s not that. I’m just… Worried that something will go wrong, I guess. Gillian’s words are still haunting me.”
Asriel wrapped his arms around Frisk, who leaned back in return. He held them tight as he gave a few kisses to the top of their head.
“Don’t you worry about it Frisk.” Asriel reassured. “We got the old Royal Guard here, including Sans and Papyrus. They’ll be scanning the entire area for anything suspicious or dangerous, you have nothing to worry about.”
Frisk wanted to believe their boyfriend, but the nagging words in the back of their head kept telling them otherwise. They were honestly surprised to see Asriel so confident. Usually it was Frisk reassuring him about events like speeches or performances, but they supposed he was trying to return the favor.
Frisk was also rather surprised with how dedicated Asriel was to actually doing this speech. When the two of them were writing the first few drafts of the speech, Asriel had been the first to write at least three drafts before Frisk could even write one. Each one he wrote had been well done, addressing both sides of the issue and explaining his side with all the rhetorical devices. However, something was just missing in each speech, and it wasn’t until Frisk finished their own first draft that Asriel figured it out: it didn’t have Frisk’s voice.
Once the couple realized what they were missing, the rest of the writing process went smoothly. They created only a few more drafts together before they finally decided on a single one. It brought out emotional, economical, and logical reasons to accept Human-Monster relationships, as well as addressing several counter-arguments. It didn’t sound like just Asriel or just Frisk, it sounded like an experienced politician instead of two teenagers in love. They ran it through with both Asgore and Toriel, and they agreed that it was the best speech they’ve heard in a long time.
Now it was time to actually put the speech to the test, and Frisk almost lost all their confidence. However, being in Asriel’s embrace reminded them that all the nerves will be worth it if they get to stay with him. They weren’t doing this just for the future of monsterkind, they were doing it for their future. Frisk was allowing themselves to be somewhat selfish for once, and a weight that had been pushing them down was slowly being finally lifted.
Frisk was brought out of their thoughts as they heard Mayor Downe begin talking. They quickly turned around and kissed Asriel, grabbing onto him for dear life during the kiss.
“Showtime.” Asriel whispered as the mayor announced their names.
This was it. This was the moment Frisk and Asriel had been waiting for. No turning back now. They stepped out from backstage and walked to the podium, greeted with applause from the crowd. They both waved, and once the crowd calmed down, Frisk cleared their throat and began speaking.
“Ladies, Gentlemen, and Non-Binaries, thank you for coming here today.” They began. “Today I would like to talk about the laws regarding relationships between monsters and humans. For over five years, monster-human relations have brought so many wonderful things to the entire world, however in spite of all this, tetraphobia continues to grow.”
The audience murmured a bit, some murmurs of approval, and others of disgust. When they settled down, Frisk continued.
“It is because of this that I wish to talk to you about passing and supporting another law to help bring more peace to this country. Granted, it will have to start here in Ebott and Olympia, but eventually we hope to make it a passed law in the entire United States, and eventually the world. That law I would like to talk to is one, once again, involving human-monster relations, specifically romantic and sexual relatio-”
A loud sound rang out and Asriel froze. He had been having this dreadful feeling of this entire scenario looking familiar, but he wasn’t sure why until now. It hit him like a hurricane, realizing that this was almost exactly like the nightmare he had after he had gotten drunk. Everything was the same, except the sound he heard.
The loud sound that rang out was not the gunshot of a bullet aiming to hit Frisk nor Asriel. It was a howl, a deep but very loud howl that belonged only to Doggo, signaling an alarm for the rest of the Royal Dogs. Soon, the crowd began to spread outward, revealing exactly what was going on to Asriel and Frisk’s eyes. Within the now open space was Doggo, flanked by Greater Dog and the Dogi, restraining another human. Within the human’s hand was a shiny desert eagle pistol, and it wasn’t until the hood the human was wearing was taken off that anyone recognized them. Once they did, Asriel and Frisk both gasped.
“G-Gillian!?”
Sure enough, the girl’s red hair and round glasses were exactly those of Frisk’s ex-friend. The rest of the Royal Dogs now surrounded her, as well as Sans and Undyne. Sans restrained her soul, same as he did a couple days prior, and the Dogi took the gun from her hands. Everyone else in the crowd kept murmuring stuff, some running away from the scene, others jeering either Gillian or the monsters. Surprisingly, there was no panic and no fights, everyone just seemed to be in shock, but no one was more shocked than Asriel.
Frisk looked over at their boyfriend, and their heart skipped a beat when they saw the look on his face. They’ve been told stories of how it looked whenever Asriel was having a really bad flashback from their parents, but they never wanted to actually see it. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the look Frisk saw. Asriel’s eyes were dilated, the pupils small, and his breathing was rapid and growing increasingly faster as sweat began to pour down his face. Greater Dog and Lesser Dog came up to the couple to escort them out, but Frisk acted quickly and stopped both of them from touching Asriel.
“Wait!” They warned. “Don’t touch him, you’ll make him freak out more.”
Thankfully, both the dogs listened and stopped. Frisk tried to think fast to get Asriel back to normal, but their own shock and adrenaline was keeping them from thinking straight. Out of options, they walked up to Asriel and hugged him gently but tightly. This had worked back in Hot Topic with Frisk, so they hoped it worked just as well with Asriel.
Once Gillian had been properly restrained, Undyne began watching the spectacle that was happening back on the stage. She was relieved to see that the couple were safe and being guarded by the two dogs, but annoyed that they haven’t already left the scene to real safety. She then looked over to the side, noticing one of the various cameras around the area was pointed directly towards them. That annoyed her even more, so she summoned one of her spears and flung it directly towards the camera, thankfully hitting the off switch instead of the camera itself. The cameraman looked over to her in disbelief, and Undyne replied with a head shake and a snarl.
“The world doesn’t need to see that.” She mumbled to herself.
Thankfully, no one had to see the couple in such a vulnerable state much longer. Slowly, Frisk’s hug took effect, and Asriel began to regain a grasp on reality. His pupils returned to normal as he frantically began looking around. Once he spotted Frisk hugging him, Asriel’s breathing slowed down. He wrapped his arms around Frisk tightly. This time it was his turn to hold onto them for dear life as he began to sob into their shoulder.
“O-oh Frisk!” He cried. “Oh my g-gods, I-I can’t believe y-you almost died ag-gain I-I’m so s-sorry I’m s-such a bad-”
“Sh, Asriel.” Frisk cooed softly. “It’s alright. It wasn’t your fault.”
Frisk looked around. Anyone who wasn’t looking at Gillian was looking at the couple, and Frisk decided they made enough of a scene. They tapped on the crying teen’s shoulder to get his attention.
“Let’s go home.” They offered, to which Asriel nodded quickly.
Ten minutes after the attempted murder, both the Ebott and Tumwater police force arrived to take Gillian. She didn’t go without a fight, nearly biting off the hands of one of the officers and breaking the wrist of another. Sans decided he would go with them in order to make sure Gillian didn’t try anything else.
During that time, Frisk and Asriel made their way back home, escorted by Greater and Lesser Dog. Asriel kept on crying in relief, grasping Frisk’s hand tightly the entire way. Both the dog monsters kept a good eye on the couple, their normal canine instincts seemingly forgotten. Frisk was surprised to see them so serious, but they assumed Mettaton or Undyne had trained them well enough. Since the walk was long and quiet save for Asriel’s sniveling, Frisk took a moment to assess what just happened.
Assassination attempts were surprisingly rare when it came to Frisk. There was maybe one or two, but most of the time, people were too afraid of Sans to even attempt at anything. He made a good bodyguard, and with the increased security during the speech, no one should have even thought about trying to kill Frisk. It just didn’t make sense to them, so why would Gillian do it?
Frisk sighed. They supposed there was something deep within Gillian that they didn’t know about that made them end up like this. They missed those days the first year they came back, meeting Gillian for the first time in the elementary school. Frisk already sensed that they weren’t normal, but then again neither were they, so they took it as a good sign, and the two became friends quickly. Now that Frisk thought back, there were signs of Gillian’s psychotic nature, with constant twitching, staring off into space with creepy faces plastered on her, and sometimes whispering something indecipherable. Gillian was also very nervous whenever she talked to a lot of people, but she was never quite so nervous with Frisk for some reason. It just made absolutely no sense.
Frisk began to get frustrated at solving this trivial puzzle, so they shook their head and instead focused on Asriel. At this point, they couldn’t really feel their hand, so they leaned against him in hopes of him loosening his grip. He looked down at Frisk and smiled, planting a kiss on the top of their head as a few more tears fell down. He wasn’t sobbing quite as harshly now thankfully.
The small group arrived at the Dreemurr’s home quickly afterwards. Frisk opened it with their free hand, and they were almost immediately greeted with hugs from their parents. Toriel and Asgore both surrounded their children, hugging them like they were about to disappear from their lives. Their tears mimicked those of Asriel’s, and the young teens couldn’t help but cry alongside their parents. It was a huge relief to see both of them physically unharmed.
“O-oh my children!” Toriel cried. “Thank gods you’re safe.”
“We’re sorry, we should’ve been there.” Asgore apologized. “We just saw the news. Neither of you are hurt, are you?”
“N-no, we’re fine.” Frisk explained, feeling themselves being strangled. “M-mom, please, can’t breathe.”
Toriel listened to them and loosened her grip, but she continued to hug Frisk for a little while longer. Once the hug fests were over, Toriel and Asgore both thanked the dogs and gave them some bacon as a reward. Once they were gone, Asriel and Frisk made their way onto one of the living room’s couches as Toriel and Asgore shuffled into the kitchen. The couple got comfortable under one of the blankets as the parents brought in both slices of pie and some tea. The teens took the refreshments gratefully, glad to still be around to even eat them. As they ate, Toriel and Asgore took spots on the adjacent couch so they could talk.
“So what exactly happened?” Asgore asked. “W-we had only just heard about someone trying to… K-kill you two when we got home.”
Asriel swallowed his bite before talking, Frisk still taking their time chewing.
“W-well, everything was going fine.” He explained. “Frisk gave the speech elegantly, and everything was going well, until…”
“Gillian tried to shoot us.” Frisk finished in a whisper. Asriel looked at them surprised, but he nodded in agreement. Hearing Gillian was the cause of their troubles again infuriated Toriel.
“Where is that bitch now?” Toriel cursed, surprising the other three.
“The police took her,” Asriel explained. “And Sans went with them to keep her restrained. Hopefully, she gets what she deserves for causing this much trouble.”
Frisk tried to agree with him, but they just couldn’t let go of their past memories with Gillian. It was just like them to be so willing to give mercy to someone who tried to kill them, but they kept these thoughts to themselves. They took a swig of their tea before placing both it and the rest of their pie down.
“I-I think I’m gonna go take a nap.” Frisk announced.
“Sleep here, with your brother.” Toriel said.
“We’ll put the leftovers in the fridge.” Offered Asgore. “If you need us, we’ll be in our room. Do you two need anything else before we go?”
“No thanks. Thank you both for everything you’ve done.” Asriel replied. The parents nodded and made their way out of the living room. Once the couple was alone, Frisk curled up into a hug-cuddle with Asriel. Suddenly, they began to cry, and Asriel slowly began to rub their back as they did.
“Goddamnit!” They squeaked. “W-we were s-so close! W-why did she have to b-be such a… A… J-just why?”
“I don’t know, Frisky.” Asriel responded. “But as long as you’re still alive, that’s all that matters to me right now. C’mon, we had a rough time, let’s try to get some sleep.”
“Y-yeah, ok. Hey Azzy?”
“Yes, dear?”
“I love you.”
Asriel smirked and kiss their forehead. “Love you too. Sweet dreams.”
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Stars in the Deep Extras: Rebuttal
The road to coexistence between humans and monsters had a few speed bumps.  Frisk is very good at smoothing them.
A supplemental story for Stars in the Deep.
Next: Stars in the Deep Extras: Awake
Frisk stared at the woman in front of her.  “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
“I asked why you’re so concerned with monsters?  You’re human.  They’re not.  It’s just...weird, right?  There are so many human problems.  Why not look after your own?”
She cleared her throat.  “I could, yes, and I support people who do, but I believe this is where I’m needed.  These are my friends, and like anyone else, I want to help them.”
“But they’re monsters.  They even call themselves monsters.  You...you know what they’ve done.  How can you support that?  How can you call yourself their friend?”
“What do you mean?  Why shouldn’t I?”
“That...Asgore admitted what he did to all those children who fell.  He killed them just because they were human.  How can you support him when he did something like that?  And what about all the monsters who were excited about the destruction of humanity?  Even after they were living in our cities being helped by our charities, there were still monsters talking about how much they wanted all humans dead.  How can you call them your friends?”
Frisk took a deep breath.  “First, thank you.”
“What?”  The woman’s eyes went wide.
“It’s rare that someone has the courage to be honest.  Most people tiptoe around the issues, putting on pretty smiles and saying that they think we want to hear.  Nothing gets resolved that way.  So...thanks for actually asking the questions you wanted to have answered.  What’s your name, by the way?”
“Oh.  Um, Melanie Rogers.”
Frisk recognized that name.  Melanie was a relative of two of the fallen children, and her daughter had been injured in a confrontation that broke out when some humans had approached a hostile monster.  It had been a miracle that everyone, human and monster, had walked away from that in one piece.  “Well, Melanie, it’s nice to meet you.  I’m not saying that monsters are perfect.  I never have.  Monsters done some terrible things, both in the Underground and here on the surface.  The problem I have with some people - including the monsters you described - is that they judge others as groups.  Sure, it’s natural for us to group people together; certain groups have similar characteristics, and neither humans nor monsters are capable of uniquely identifying every single person we come across.  When we pass judgement on a group because of the actions of a few, though, it becomes a problem.
“Many monsters have judged humans for centuries because of the actions of a few humans around Mt. Ebott who drove them under the mountain and erected the barrier.  All those people are long dead.  So yes, it was morally despicable that Asgore decided to kill the human children who fell based on old grudges those children had nothing to do with.  It was a bad decision, made in anger for bad reasons, and it’s something he regrets.
“Humans who judge monsters as a whole are going down the same track.  They’re grouping all monsters together under the same banner based on the actions or reactions of a few.  One of the strangest things for me to accept when I first got to know them was how similar humans and monsters really are.  We often react the same way.  Your daughter was injured in the Division Street Incident a few months back, right?”
“Um...yes.”  Melanie was looking very uncomfortable.  “How...did you know?”
Frisk smiled.  “You met with my parents afterwards, when they were apologizing to the families.  I had a Math test that day or I would have been there as well.  I recognized your name, though.  You made quite an impression on my mother.  She can be very protective as well, and she recognized that your primary concern was for your daughter’s safety.  She respects you for your dedication.
“The monster who smashed into that building was a mother too, actually, and she thought someone was trying to hurt her son.  It was a misunderstanding, and it doesn’t excuse her actions, but she was trying to do the best for her child, just like any good mother would.”
“She was trying to protect her child?  She nearly brought a building down with over a hundred people inside!  That wasn’t protecting anyone!”
“No,”  Frisk said, wincing, “It wasn’t.  Her intentions certainly didn’t match up with her actions.  She recognized that, and she apologized.  When she realized what she’d done, she helped rescue people trying to escape the building.  She even volunteered to help clean up the area, and she did such a good job that she works part-time at the donut shop next door now.  She made a mistake and worked to fix it.  Does that sound like your idea of a ‘monster?’”
A sigh.  “No, but...she still lost control.  She could easily lose control again.  On top of that, it’s hard to forgive someone who’s hurt your family.”
“I know.  Believe me, I know.  I get pretty angry sometimes when people hurt my family, and that’s something I need to work on.  For me, though, it’s mostly humans who hurt my monster family.”
“But...they aren’t really your-”
Frisk took a deep, calming breath.  “They are.  I was legally adopted; to say they aren’t my family is an insult not just to me, but to every adopted child in the world.  Sometimes family is the people who care about you, not the people you’re related to.  And they do care about me, Melanie.  My mother loves me just as much as any human mother could.  Could she hurt me?  Yeah, of course.  And I could hurt her.”  She willed away the half-remembered dreams that crowded into her mind, trying not to shudder.  “It’s no different from living with, say, a martial arts expert or a military veteran or an experienced hunter.  Having the power to hurt each other doesn’t mean we will.
“And sure, we don’t always understand each other.  Species differences aside, we come from very different cultures.  It’s hard sometimes, but it would have been equally hard - if not harder! - if I’d been adopted by someone on the other side of the world.  At least we speak the same language and believe in pretty much the same values.”
“But you are from different species.  How does that even work?”
“My mother has raised human children before, at least temporarily; she knows the basics.  For everything else?  I do see a human doctor and therapist.  My parents insist on that.  They want me to be healthy.  If I have any questions they can’t answer, they find someone who can.”  She chuckled.  “There was an incident last month when I was interested in a particular meme.  I didn’t get it - it was a reference to a movie I hadn’t seen - and my parents had no idea what to make of it either.  I forgot about it, but they didn’t.  A week later I came down to breakfast to find a ten-page report on this...this meme, its evolution, and its derivatives - with examples - written by volunteers from the Royal Science team.”  And Sans, apparently.  Some of the puns were surprisingly topical, showing a far greater understanding of the material than Frisk would’ve expected.
“I...see.  Well, I’m glad they’re treating you well, at least.”
“They are.  Well.  Um.  Do you have any other questions for me?”
Melanie looked her over, face blank.  “Why did you tell me all of this?”
“Well, for one thing, that’s my job.  The monsters call me their ambassador, but it’s unofficial for now.  I do what I can to improve the relationships between humans and monsters where I’m able.”
“You’re very well-spoken for someone so young.”  Ordinarily that would have been almost insulting, but Frisk could hear the wistfulness in her tone.
“Thank you.  I’ve had a lot of practice.”
Melanie nodded.  “Well, Frisk, you’ve given me a lot to think about.  I don’t know if I’m ready to change my mind on monsters just yet, but...I certainly wish you well.  I would be heartbroken if my daughter had gone through some of the things you’ve experienced, but it looks like you can handle yourself.”
“Thank you.  I wish you well, also.”
She smiled.  “I’ll see you around, I suppose, Ambassador Dreemurr.”
A few months later, Frisk saw Melanie at a charity dinner for a local orphanage.  She was on her knees in front of a tiny little monster girl with fins like Undyne’s and shockingly green hair.  For one moment, Frisk’s heart stopped - what was Melanie doing? - but a moment later they shifted.  The woman stood, pocketing a wet wipe, and took the little girl’s hand.
“That’s Melanie Rogers,” said an older woman over Frisk’s shoulder.  “She came to us a few weeks ago to volunteer at our orphanage.  She was so nervous around monsters at first, but she kept coming back.  Calypso was what brought her out of her shell, I think.  She’s such a sweet child, and follows Melanie around like a baby duckling!  She’s still nervous around grown monsters, but then, she’s come a long way already.”
“Yes,”  Frisk said, watching the pair as they raided the horderves table, “She really has.”
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