h + rouxls and lancer for the prompts? or e + swatchkaard if you're wanting to write shippy stuff specifically lol
Ooh, I might do the swatchkaard promt at another time actually, saving that- right now, I'll write Lancer and Rouxls ^^
Lancer's Nightmare
!! TW for implied child abuse !!
Something was prodding his back
Annoyed and half asleep, Rouxls pushed it away, hoping it would leave him alone.
It was persistent. Rouxls tried to ignore it. Maybe it would get bored and go away.
"...Lesser Dad?"
He groaned, arm going over his face. Please leave him alone. He needed his beauty sleep!!
"Lesser Dad...? Can..."
"For God's sake, Lancer, it's the middle of the night! What?"
"Sorry, um...."
...Now that was concerning.
The boy was hardly ever this meek, unless...
He moved his hand away from his face, blinking away sleep as he looked at Lancer in the dark.
The young prince's face was downcast as he stood beside the bed, hands anxiously clasped together. He shuffled as Rouxls turned his face to him, lips thinning.
Rouxls sighed.
"Come now. Thou shouldst be in bed, yes? Why are thee awake at such an hour?" His voice was gentler, no longer showing the annoyance he felt
"Can... can I sleep with you tonight?"
"...how come?"
Rouxls felt he already knew the answer.
"...I had a nightmare,"
Rouxls was silent for a while.
"You'll just sleep outside my door if I try to put you back,"
Lancer made a small hum.
This boy... Rouxls shook his head, a small frown on his face as he lifted him up onto the bed.
"Now, thou muste sleepeth, yes? And do noteth disturb me!"
The boy was lucky Rouxls was fond of him and the small smile of relief on his face.
"Mhm! I won't! Thank you, Lesser Dad!"
Rouxls nodded, turning to the side, ignoring Lancer wrapping his stubby little arms around his torso.
...
"...Lesser Dad?"
"Mm?"
"Do you think... Do you think dad hates me?"
Rouxls felt a small lump in his throat.
"...No, of courseth not," He wasn't lying. "Thy father may have... difficulties... regulating his emotions sometimeseth, but he doesn't hate you. That I'm sureth of."
Lancer was silent for a moment.
"Do you hate me?"
He sighed, turning back to face Lancer, as he gently placed a hand on the boy's head.
"Certainlye not! Thou mayest pester me like the little water beetle thou arest, but I wouldst never hate thee, Lancer,"
"Promise?"
"Pinky promise,"
Lancer held onto Rouxls a little tighter. He could feel the smile on the boy's face.
"...Thank you, Lesser Dad,
"...I love you."
...
"...I love you too,"
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ok alphys was a character ahead of her time and too good for this damn fandom honestly. she isn't some evil gaslighting lying cringey manipulator who only exists as comic relief for the love of god look at her with eyes less poisoned by cynicism and irony. she is a love letter to... well, a lot of things. a love letter to "cringey" people, to video game fans, to people who try to drown their sadness in fiction. she's so achingly relatable to so many of us that it really feels like toby knows his demographic like the back of his hand. we've all met someone like alphys. maybe we are that someone- awkward, nerdy, can't get over their past mistakes, terrible at phone calls, far more eloquent online than in person, only wants to make people like them to distract them from the fact that they don't like themself. normally, this character archetype is the butt of a great deal of jokes- just a gross nerd who needs to touch grass. but alphys is different. she is, as i said, a love letter. she is one of the best-developed and most complex characters in the game. her nerdiness isn't "fixed" or mocked, it's celebrated. her unabashed love for her interests and her 100% attitude is a big reason why undyne loves her. games, especially in 2015 and before, are not often so genuinely kind to characters like alphys! and in deltarune, too- alphys is still a nerd, despite not being nearly as traumatized as her undertale counterpart. her rambling about shows she loves is a constant across all universes, a fundamental and important and good part of who she is.
and i just think that's very kind, and very important.
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At first, she's not sure she's even hearing the notes.
They're distant and quiet. Even with her earbuds out, she has to strain to hear anything at all. The notes keep faltering before she can be sure what she's listening to.
She sets aside her notebook and moves out into the hall.
As she starts the walk to the dining room, she can hear them more clearly. It's definitely the piano in the side room, she's sure on that now. But the song...
The song is just the first few notes and chords, again and again, played clumsily and haltingly. There's jarring dissonant edges, and the rhythm is unsteady.
If the tune weren't so familiar, she'd have no idea at all.
(In front of her, or with family, they'd play things she knew - classical music, adaptations of songs from video games or Asriel's anime, more than a few Rickrolls.)
(It was only when they were alone that they'd play the same few songs, simpler melodies that she never heard anywhere else before or after.)
She reaches the doorway, gazing in through the open door.
The room is dimly lit, the moonlight through the windows providing most of the illumination. They're framed against an open window, a silhouette bent over the piano. She watches, silent, as they drag their hand down the keys, press down too hard and get a jarring burst of sound.
She remembers how they used to play. Fluid, graceful. It was the only time she ever really saw them comfortable in their own skin.
That's gone, now.
"Kris...?" she asks softly, stepping through the door.
The next part, at least, is familiar. They stare at her, wide-eyed, looking half-panicked. Hands frozen.
Despite herself, she tries to smile, glancing at the open window. "You know, I'm pretty sure dad gave you a spare key."
They stare a moment more, then laugh, hoarse and tired. Some of the tension bleeds. "Yeah, but breaking in through the window is cooler."
"You're just lucky I forgot how to set up the alarm system..." She steps closer, hooves clicking on hardwood. "It's one AM, Kris. Why are you here? Not that, um, you can't visit, just--"
There's a long silence, where they just stare at their hands on the keys. They're shaking, she realizes.
"Sorry," they say finally. "It was a stupid idea. I just--miss it. And the hospital is closed to visitors. I just wanted to, to at least try... Even if I know I can't any more, not like this." Another ragged laugh. This one has less humor. "Sorry. I'll go."
She looks at them a few moments more.
Maybe she should push more. Ask them what they mean by "like this", demand explanations for why they've been so weird lately, reprimand them for breaking in. She remembers them nine years old and coughing without end, begging her not to tell their mom and dad. She remembers how they drew away in the days after the accident, and how quiet they've been ever since. She knows they shut down, hide, conceal themself. She knows.
But she's tired too, and if she pushes they'll run, and she's lost so much already.
"Can I listen?" she says instead.
They blink, once, then shrug. "Sure, yeah... You wanna sit outside like old times? Think I can handle an audience for the world's worst concert, but..."
"No, I'd rather stay." She goes to settle down in the corner, folding her legs. "I never got to see you play much back then."
"Well, you're not going to see much today," they say dryly.
Their fingers linger a moment more, shuffling uncertainly and stiffly, trying to find purchase--
And then they play.
It's still halting and awkward, marred by misplaced notes and stilted pauses. It's nothing like it was, back when they were something not quite like friends and not quite like family.
But still, still--
Still she closes her eyes, and she listens once again.
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Here's a silly idea I just thought of: wouldn't it be funny if in Deltarune, Susie learned a "provoke"-type skill, where she could divert enemy attacks towards her - ostensibly as an extension of her "tough bully" persona, but actually because she wants to protect her friends in the best way she can.
And then Kris develops a "cover" mechanic so that, instead of Susie taking all the hits, they keep jumping in front of her, so they can protect her while she tries to protect them.
And then they start bickering mid-fight while Ralsei looks on in bewilderment, frantically leafing through his Big Book on Friendship(TM) and muttering "no no, this can't be right..."
The player would get absolutely no control over this by the way.
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