#underkeep muffet

The blue sweater wearing skeleton gave an exasperated sigh, ‘’Why can’t you just stop being so difficult? It’s going to be lots of fun, trust me’’. The spider watched Sci’s pleading smile with a look of pure annoyance and doubt, ‘’No, I sincerely wish no part of this silly farce that you call a celebration, who gives a damn if it’s a new year, it doesn’t mean anything. There is way, way more important things that can be done this night instead of what you plan.’’ She took an aggressive step towards Sci while crossing her arms, ‘’From what I can tell your plan includes, filthy dirt, cold biting wind and the only pay off will be some stupid explosives being chucked at the sky in a pointless fashion to give some dumb amusement when the money wasted on it could be well invested in something much more beneficial… you got any good reason in that skull that I should come along with this group of ours?’’ Sci furrowed his non-existent brow, ‘’Well when you put it like that, then it’s going to be quite tough… hmmm food will be there, as well as good company?’’ Unsurprisingly she looked unimpressed, ‘’All things I can get without going outside and that’s my final verdict.’’ Sci scratched the back of his head with a slight smile, a slight hint of amusment in his expression, ‘’Your final verdict? There’s no way you would change your mind? Anything I can do?’’ ‘’Give it up right now friend, stop wasting your time and leave if that’s all you’re here for.’’ Muffet shot a web from her wrist at the door handle behind Sci and with a twist and pull, the door opened, signalling the exit. Trying to ignore the questionable physics of the action, Sci started to head out the door, ‘’Well that’s a real shame, guess we’ll have to go without you, well I sincerely hope you have a good night’’ The last thing that the skeleton heard as he closed the door behind him was, ‘’Whatever, you too I guess’’. Sci let out a deep breath and headed into the next room with a mischievous grin on his face, rubbing his hands together, he sense of purpose as he went on his way. Leaning on a wall in the adjacent hall was Clover, as he approached she stopped scrolling on her phone, putting it in her right pocket as she stood up.  The way she had full attention on him made it obvious that had been waiting there for him, but Sci already knew that. ‘’How did it go Mr Minister, was it a success?’’ The monster sighed and shook his head, putting both of his arms behind his back in a dramatic fashion. ‘’No Private, unfortunately this operation will be marked down as an extreme failure, no recovery was possible for anyone, you know what this means right?’’ Clover stifled a laugh and failed to hide her own grin, her voice also betraying her as it was filled with amusement despite the mock horror she was attempting to do. ‘’My god, no, you can’t actually be talking about… using that can you?’’ Sci pulled down the brim of an imaginary cliché military general’s hat. ‘’I’m afraid so Private, it appears we have no choice but to use our weapon of mass destruction, to think we would be brought to use such desperate measures, I’ll feel sorry for our enemy once it’s over, nobody deserves to come face to face with such an almighty force’’.

‘’Hey Miss? Am I allowed to come in?’’, Asgore opened the door slightly and poked his head in. Muffet found some minor relief in that it was a fluffy head showing and not a skull coming through, ‘’Yes you can come in, but close the door behind you’’. The goat child didn’t really need to be told that, the drill was always the same. With a smile he walked in and did as he was told, walking through the sunless room over to Muffet, she was now just sitting at her mirror doing some sort of make up with a powder, things that he imagined would forever elude him. Knowing that the spider was waiting for him to explain his visit, he didn’t waste time before speaking, ‘’So ummm, I heard you weren’t coming with us for our New Year’s celebration, why’s that?’’ There was a groan, of course it was about that, why couldn’t these guys just leave her alone with this type of thing. ‘’Because it’s a waste of time, I mean if you want to celebrate, you can just do it in the comfort of your own abode.’’ ‘’But doesn’t it get boring staying at home all the time?’’ ‘’You should never complain about comfort dearie, you never know when it could be taken away from you’’. Asgore started to give a little bit of an annoyed pout as he walked over and sat on her bed, watching Muffet finish her make up and stand up, turning to now have all her eyes on the goat. ‘’Isn’t it good to have some form of variety… and fresh air?’’ ‘’Then I’ll open a window, might be nice to get a light breeze through. Variety is good when you’re bored, but child, I have yet to get bored.’’ ‘’We’ll bring some alcohol, you like that stuff.’’ The spider let out a loud, irritated groan, ‘’Stop listing things that I can do here, you’re trying my patience… if you don’t have anything else, leave or my children will come for you tonight’’. Asgore took a deep breath, a determined expression becoming dominant, despite her threats he wasn’t going to back down, she hated it when he got like that, why couldn’t just submit like a normal person. ‘’Well fine then. But we both know that I can promise you it’s going to be a good time, an even better time when you’re around’’. ‘’You bloody well can’t, don’t try that poppycock with me’’, her sneer towards him increased, but as expected it had no effect. ‘’We’ve been through this a bunch of times Muffet, every single time I’ve pulled through. You’ve always admitted to me that you’re glad you came to whatever event we ended up planning, it’s a song and dance that happens every time and ends the same… and uh well, it just feels like there’s a big part missing when you aren’t there, like we’re nowhere near complete without you, I really like it when you come’’. Muffet remained silent, still watching the boy’s face, an honest smile that didn’t appear to be holding any sort of deceit, the way his eyes went big as he talked about what he was feeling, it made her… ‘’Please, please, please? C’mon, please Muffet, just for tonight?’’ ‘’….Fine’’ ‘’Pardon?’’ The spider sounded like he had to force her words out with a groan, ‘’Fine, I’ll go alright? Just don’t make a big deal about it… and don’t hug me or I take it back’’. Asgore grinned excitedly, ‘’Yay, thank you so much, it’ll be the best, I promise. Also, don’t worry, I know the drill. Would you like me to let you get ready?’’ ‘’Yes please, I would like a little alone time before our outdoor venture’’. With a positive spring in his step he jumped off the bed and left the room quickly, although being extra careful not to slam the door behind him in case of invoking her wrath.

Alphys put down very cliché looking picnic basket and folded up chequered rug onto the grass, looking out over the view given to them by a green, grassy hill that was on the outskirts of the town which could still be seen in the distance. She took in one deep breath and let it out with a newfound feeling of relaxation, a feeling she wish she was more familiar with. ‘’S-so uh, wh-where d-did you guys find th-this place? Seems quite um o-out there?’’ Clover had been following just behind Alphys, being the guide of the duo, she started to unroll the rug. ‘’A school camp we went on around here, had some free time so a small group of us just decided to uh… wander off a little bit and we found this over the town look out thing. Remembered it Boxing Day and figured it ain’t to bad of a viewing spot for the show’’. She decided to ignore the blatant irresponsibility of the start of that statement and focus on the positives, ‘’And y-you’re sure th-that we’re g-going to be able t-to see the f-fireworks from h-here?’’ ‘’Don’t you stress, I assure you that we’ll have a perfect view, they fire off around this side of town. Don’t you trust us Al?’’ ‘’N-no, I t-trust y-you, I j-just wanted to ch-check that’s all. I b-believe you’ve done w-well… any i-idea how l-long the o-others are g-going to be?’’ Clover shrugged, ‘’Dunno, possibly another twenty minutes, Sci and Asgore just had to do something back home and then they planned on buying some other stuff possibly, I’m assuming they’ll be done soon.’’ Alphys nodded and smiled, sitting down on the rug that Clover had finished setting up, ‘’I w-was r-really surprised th-that this was y-your idea, Asgore or Sci would be understandable, b-but you? Is th-there a r-reason why?’’ Clover crossed her arms with a mildly annoyed look, ‘’What do ya mean why? Can’t I contribute or something? What’s the issue?’’ The lizard monster shook her head in a slight panic at the accusing tone the human was giving, ‘’N-n-no there’s n-no issue, j-just you’ve n-never really g-given s-suggestions l-like this… didn’t th-think it was your th-thing y-you know? Y-you don’t h-have tell me o-or anything l-like that’’. The cowgirl let out an almost inaudible laugh and uncrossed her arms, giving a smile that wasn’t exactly happy, some hesitance showing up in her voice, ‘’It’s fine Al, just… this was something I used to do on New Years Eve, before Mt Ebott, back when I was with…’’, she sighed and pulled the brim her hat up, looking at the cloudy sky, the yellows and oranges of dusk starting to take form although it would still be a while before night actually fell. ‘’… back then we just used to hang out and stay up until midnight out on the grass like this and we’d eat food, talk to each other and just… I-I guess just umm enjoy the night air, to celebrate another year alive and well, I just wanted to…’’, she stopped and appeared to be trying to form her thoughts and perhaps just regain her composure, Alphys could swear she looked down to hide her eyes for the moments of silence. ‘’It just means a lot to me and before I’ve always done it all by myself and well umm… I just really uh… I really wanted to share this with you all, I guess.’’ The monster could tell the difficulty of every word at the end, honestly it surprised her that she was telling her any of this in the first place. The amount of effort put into that answer couldn’t put anything other than a kind, heart warmed smile. ‘’Clover… I know th-that we all a-appreciate you sharing th-that, I think i-it’s a good idea.’’ While Clover started looking a little embarrassed, yet she still allowed herself hopeful smile, ‘’You really think so? Cause I mean, I’m sure you ain’t don’t any of that emotional crap for a simple celebration, don’t worry ‘bout it.’’ Alphys shook her head, ‘’No, I th-think it’s w-wonderful y-you know? I th-think it's g-great that y-you have something sp-special like that… I j-just hope we d-don’t disappoint y-you or r-ruin your e-expectations’’. The human walked over to the monster and sat down next to her, the both of them watching the town in the distance and all the nature in between them, taking in the calm and relaxing atmosphere, ‘’Don’t worry about a thing, I’m sure everything will be good, you guys don’t disappoint’’.

It was an uneventful hour later before the other three arrived, arriving with another bag of supplies and Muffet who was carrying one bottle of liquor in each hand, it wasn’t certain how much she was planning on sharing. It wasn’t very long of waiting and setting up some of the biscuits and dip out before the kids got restless and started fighting a little bit further down the hill, some flashes of yellow and sounds of metal could be heard as bullets went flying and a trident kept trying to make contact. ‘’S-so uh Muffet, why d-did you decide t-to come down here in th-the end? I r-remember you saying that y-you weren’t going to b-be here.’’ The sudden question made Muffet look over with an expression of dismissal, ‘’I just chose of my very own accord that I shall be present at this event, does there need to be any other reason?’’ Sci gave Alphys a wink, ‘’Oh ho ho, I think I know the reason’’, his gaze turned to Muffet, his familiar mischievous grin returning to him, ‘’I reckon someone else convinced her’’. The spider growled, returning the skeleton’s gaze with her very own glare, ‘’You think you’re so damn clever don’t you? But I’ll have you know, he doesn’t have anything to do with it, I assure you, he never has and never will, every action I take is from my own free will’’. ‘’Oh, you don’t think so? You wouldn’t be lying would you?’’ Despite all the hints and suggestions Sci was making and the blunder Muffet had made, Alphys just looked confused, ‘’W-wait whose him? Y-you d-don’t have a g-guy in y-your life n-now d-do you?’’ ‘’What?! NO!’’ The female scientist seemed be slowly losing herself in her imagination, a dreamy smile appearing on her face to match her state. ‘’A g-guy who h-has made it h-his quest to b-break through y-your barriers and th-then while you’ll hate him at f-first, s-soon you’ll realise you’re falling f-for this idealistic man, s-someone who can sh-show you th-the light in y-your p-pessimistic w-world view’’. ‘’I swear to fucking god Alphys, if you don’t get those shipping ideas out of your head right now, I’m going to end your miserable existence!’’ Fury was written all over her eyes and face as she stared at Alphys with burning rage, which in response elicited a slightly nervous and possibly frightened laugh. ‘’Ummm Ch-charles?’’ ‘’If you’re seriously thinking that the me and Charles are together, then I think that you won’t be seeing next year… you want this to be your final resting place?’’ ‘’Oh g-osh, n-n-no, no, no, no, n-no p-please d-don’t…’’, her panic rose in a large jolt as slowly she could seen a small shine of a sharp, well-polished metal sliding out of the countess’ sleeve and into view, even Sci was starting to adopt a nervous smile as he watched the conversation unfold. ‘’… I j-just m-meant th-that maybe h-he was th-the one th-that convinced you, th-that’s all I swear… j-just d-don’t d-do anything please.’’ Muffet’s unfiltered rage was apparent as she looked over Alphys’ expression as she panicked about, looking for any sign the she may be lying, any shred of deceit in her movements and any excuse to cut her down, but the only thing she could comprehend was the face of a scared, foolish but honest girl. With a slight move of her arm, the blade slid back into her sleeve for no perceivable, physical reason. Instead now picking up a bottle of wine and opening it. ‘’I’m already regretting my decision to come here, you fools aren’t allowed this bottle anymore’’. She said right before taking a large gulp from the bottle itself. Alphys was now just trying to calm herself down, feeling as if though she had just barely survived that conversation with her life, struggling to slow down her breathing. After about another half a minute of waiting, she spoke up. ‘’Uh b-but Sci, w-were you t-trying to s-suggest something b-before wh-why did sh-‘’. ‘’I think it’s best if we leave it at that alright Al?’’, Sci shook his head, both giving a glance to Muffet who was shooting razor sharp daggers with her eyes. ‘’Y-yeah, I guess y-you might b-be right.’’

Three streaks of yellow flew past the goat’s head as he sidestepped to the right, watching the barrel of the opponent’s gun to determine where to dodge. Bringing his trident back behind him, wasted no time after the dodge to close the distance on Clover, swiping with it left and then right, although only managing to tug at her clothes as she nimbly dodged his attacks, his trident only finding air to his immense annoyance. With a large grin, Asgore brought the trident above his head, feeling its weight before preparing to bring it down. Unfortunately for him, Clover found an opening, punishing him for his greedy extra attack, she quickly lifted the gun up to his face, sticking the barrel right on his nose and Asgore’s expression faltered as he could only watch as the gun quickly glowed yellow. The last thing the goat saw was the human’s own cocky grin and then suddenly his world flashed yellow along with the feeling of getting hit by a car. It took a good extra ten seconds before Asgore managed to feel like he could even move, the sky filling in the yellow sheet that had been his eyesight only moments previous. He tried to sit up but suddenly found a large weight on his chest, looking up to find Clover with one boot on him to pin him, watching her familiar victorious smile as she spun her gun around her finger. ‘’You alright there pardner? Couldn’t help but notice that you’ve seemed to have been caught in an accident of some kind’’, the gloating in her tone was clear as usual, always having to rub it in just a little bit, even if it was all fun and games. She lifted her foot off the goat and offered him help. The prince let out a sigh and then a chuckle as he took her hand, letting her assist him as he got off the ground, ‘’Yeah, I wonder how that happened, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?’’ ‘’I mean, I have heard my great humour, general charm and excellent wit has blown people away before, but I never realised my personality was so good it could do it to people literally’’ In his eyes, there was only one correct response to Clover’s rubbish more than the eye roll he’d given her. ‘’Ugh just shut up’’. ‘’Well that’s just mighty rude to be towards someone who helped you from a fall, maybe next time I’ll just have to leave you in the dust… like I do with everything else we compete on… Ow, you little shit.’’ Clover rubbed her arm after taking a whack from a trident, Asgore shrugged, ‘’Sorry, I couldn’t help myself, sometimes I feel like the only way to get some sense into you is to smack it in’’. The human grumbled a little as she gave a, admittedly weaker, punch to the other’s arm. ‘’Whatever, I’ll leave you in your denial’’ He found temptation to hit her again, but decided that was enough for now, plus he wanted to ask her a different question, ‘’So uh how’re you feeling?’’ ‘’Pretty good honestly, the swift winds of victory-‘’ ‘’No not that, about today and this whole thing?’’ Her smile fell a little, ‘’Oh, that… fine I think, it’s going to be good… I um told Alphys about the reason and all that, that was interesting I guess’’. Asgore smiled, noticing a form of uncertainty in her that he felt was his duty to dismantle. ‘’Well I think that’s good, nothing wrong with opening up to others a little more. Honestly I think it’s been quite brave of you to not only suggest this but also tell Al all that.’’ Clover shrugged and shook her head, ‘’Don’t give me all that complimenting crap, we both know this what you wanted, your suggestion and all that, maybe I should ask if this is what you wanted’’. He crossed his arms, his smile not leaving him despite the accusation, a small laugh leaving his lips that showed the only thing on his mind was positivity, ‘’I didn’t make this happen, I just thought that maybe it would be a fun time for the group and you’d maybe get to relive some of those memories you had back in the day. Sure, I gave you a slight push, but you wouldn’t have done it if you didn’t want it.’’ ‘’I mean, I guess you’re right, though still, stop calling me brave like you’re an adult talking to a kid or whatever, it’s fucking weird man.’’ ‘’Awww, but my Clover is just growing up so fast’’. Asgore managed to get a giggle out before he went wide eyed as around 10+ yellow bullets started floating up above Clover, barely a moment passed before they were pelted at him painfully, all of them disappearing in a small puff as they made contact. ‘’Aggh… heh ok yeah I guess I deserved that one’’ The Cowgirl’s annoyed expression turned to an amused one once her barrage was over, ‘’Really, what tipped you off?’’ ‘’Heh sorry… how about we head back to the others, I’m sure they’re just dying to see us’’. The goat turned to start doing just as he said when a small call out of his name made him turn his head to look back at Clover. ‘’Hey Asgore… thanks… for helping.’’, her words were quiet and soft as she watched him, her eyes only being barely visible beneath her hat. He responded with a shrug, ‘’Don’t mention it, what are friends for?’’ He waved his arm in a beckoning motion, ‘’Well come on, how about focus on some more positive stuff.’’ The five were sat down together having just eaten food, some candles were lit as night had fallen and midnight was approaching. After several discussions there fell a silence among the group and a certain kid decided that it was the perfect time to but in with his own proposition. ‘’Hey, have you all thought about what your new years resolutions are going to be? Got any planned changes you want to make for the coming year?’’ The silence and uncertainty among them put a slight dent in Asgore’s confidence, ‘’Really, none of you have?’’ ‘’Heh what about you kid? Can’t have bone to pick with us if you haven’t done anything yourself’’. ‘’Oh well of course I have, I simply have a resolution to keep on moving forwards and taking on every challenge that comes my way… guys what’s the matter? Why the look?’’ The other four had an almost scary synchronised look that conveyed their unimpressed feelings, Asgore could almost feel some cold sweat dropping down his head from just looking at them all. ‘’Uh A-Asgore, I’m n-not sure how to p-put this but umm… well…’’ ‘’It’s not a resolution at all dearie’’ Muffet’s pleasant tone with obvious venomous intent struck the goat with a confused tilt of the head, ‘’You really don’t think so? What’s the problem?’’ Clover sighed, ‘’To put it in a more kind way, what you just said isn’t a resolution because that’s just you anyway, that’s just normal passive Asgore, you need to give us some way you can change… also what you said was super damn vague, how the hell are we meant to measure that as a success or failure?’’ Sci watched the sky for a few moments as he pondered the different thoughts spinning around his head, soon enough he looked at Asgore, a small smile lighting up his skeletal features, ‘’I think maybe we should all just share a small thing we’re going to do differently, an actual goal, like for example me…’’, he paused as he brought his hand to his mouth in what appeared to be a thinking position, trying to think quickly of what he would do. ‘’I guess a part of me would probably think that… cutting down on work hours just a little bit could do me good, also leave the house just a bit outside of work, maybe something like one of those camping trips you keep talking about Asgore, I think I just probably need to get away from technology and society for a bit… my resolution will be to try and dedicate less of my life to work and more to just living I guess, is that ok?’’ The other scientist of the group nodded, returning a smile to the skeleton, ‘’I-I think th-that’s perfect Sci… th-though I d-doubt I could c-come up with anything l-like yours though.’’ ‘’Phew, was a little worried it was going to fall flat, but none of you have to come up with anything like that, just something small will suffice, who wants to go next? I’m sure someone has something’’. He couldn’t help but feel surprise at hearing someone step up so readily as he did expect at least a few moments of silence, but the spider’s throat clearing noise brought everyone to attention. ‘’Well I’m going to go now just to avoid the nagging and get this painful ordeal over and done with.’’ Muffet took a big gulp of her glass of wine that had been brought before explaining, ‘’Under the assumption that I’ll be attacked for saying something like maximising my profit margins or whatever other lingo I come up with, I suppose I’ll do something you call more… reasonable… like being more sociable? Is that what you want?’’ Clover quickly darted in with the questions, ‘’How do you plan on doing that? What actions do you plan to take?’’ A slight groan came before her next words, ‘’Well dearie, if you really must know, I’ll just join a Chess Club or something, that way I’ll get to talk to new people while at the same time I won’t have to team up with anyone, I can spend my attention on utterly destroying my enemies… does that please your inquiry little cowgirl?’’ The spite in her words and the condescending tone made the human really want to the throttle the spider, shooting her own glare at the other’s eyes, ‘’Yeah I guess that’ll do just fine, pompous lit-‘’ ‘’Uh h-how about w-we move on now?’’, a nervous small voice was the surprising factor that suddenly ended the fight for the time being, Alphys now looking uncertain as all gazes turned to her. ‘’Oh umm, I-I guess it’s m-my turn ummm… let me th-think.’’ The others watched the lizard mumble to herself as she tried to consider what she could do, but nothing she felt was super meaningful came to her head, just minor things, guess that’ll have to do. ‘’Umm w-well, it’s a little cliché and it’s probably uh not that s-significant to you guys, but uh maybe I c-could go to the gym or s-something? Since I sit d-down all the d-day and don’t r-really do anything at home and at w-work so I’m umm… I… guess I c-could probably lose a l-little weight maybe? Even if not th-that, it’s healthy to g-get exercise so starting once a w-week, I’ll go to the g-gym, maybe go for a walk o-or jog on o-other days too.’’ The first response she heard (which made her worry that she wasn’t being taken all that seriously) was loud laugh from Asgore who had the biggest grin on his face, ‘’Oh my goodness, that’s an amazing idea, I mean won’t it be like training those anime protagonists do for some great battle?’’ Some form of relief washed over her face and all worry was replaced with a nervous smile, closing her eyes as she scratched the back of her head, ‘’I m-mean, I guess th-that’s true… th-though I want to sign to the gym, not a g-great battle’’. ‘’Heh, well I think I might join you on some of those runs and stuff, I always feel doing something with someone else helps you stay on track, plus it makes things much less boring. Oh uh only if you want to of course, if you don’t want me to just let me know.’’ ‘’O-oh no, no, no, th-that’s perfectly fine Asgore, I um th-think I would g-greatly appreciate that, th-thank you.’’ Alphys’ expression became much calmer as she offered the kid her hand, him shaking it without any sort of hesitation. ‘’Alright now, I’m going next and you ain’t saying shit about it.’’ Clover crossed her arms, ‘’My resolution will be to start getting some cash.’’ ‘’Don’t give us that bullshit, I’m not allowed to say money how come you can’’. ‘’Because my dear spider, it’s all about fucking context, something I thought you’d be able to see with all those eyes of yours’’ Sci decided now was probably the time to bring in the voice of reason, ‘’Alright now, how about you tell us your plan.’’ The human let out a deep breath and went on to her explanation, ‘’Well since I’m getting to that sort of age, I figure that maybe I could get a job and start saving for some important stuff, like something to do after school and on weekends. A simple but effective resolution, will that suffice for my part of all this?’’ ‘’Yeah kid, I think that’s fine’’. The attention of the group now turned to Asgore, the prince was now thinking as he looked at the ground, as he tried to figure where he stood in this situation. ‘’All of you came up with positive changes you could make, but… I’m not exactly sure what I want to change, at least not right now.’’ He felt worry as nothing just popped into his head that he could tell the others. That was until his face changed to one that expressed realisation and a small smile appeared. ‘’Well I think, even if it isn’t necessarily something that’ll help me or change me, but I think that I want to get involved in some outside of school activities, maybe like charity work or something? Hey Muffet, you think Mary would like some help with the stuff she does?’’ Muffet rolled her eyes before giving the goat a confirming nod, ‘’Yes I’m sure she would love your help, especially from you, she’d probably adopt you kids on the spot if she could… she thinks you’re that cute… bloody weird honestly’’. Asgore played with some of the fur on his ear, ‘’Well with great fluff like this, it’s no wonder I charm everyone around me… but anyways, I think my New Years Resolution will be to help others, if I’ve yet to think of someway to improve myself, I’ll just improve everybody else’s day just a bit more, so I’ll help with charity work on weekends and stuff and generally when I’m available, I’m going to make that my new vow. Will you all allow me to use that as my resolution?’’ The rest of them thought for a few small moments before nodding or smiling, different signs of acceptance that gave the kid a little spark of hope that he’d needed to repair his hurt confidence. Muffet allowed herself a small smile as she took another sip of her drink, ‘’Well I personally think that’s… reasonable.’’ ‘’Y-yeah th-that sounds g-good. That’s e-everyone r-right? We all h-happy with th-that?’’, the nervous voice softly squeaked as the smaller scientist looked around at everyone. The skeleton let out a small chuckle to go along with his calm, lazy grin, ‘’Yeah I think that does it, sharing time is over I guess. Went a little better than expected honestly’’. Then finally, as if to complete the set, Clover piped in with a large sigh of relief, ‘’Oh thank god, can we please move on from this touchy feely stuff, I feel like I’ve hit my limit with it all, how about we move onto the cool, exciting stuff.’’

‘’Alrighty pardners, 20 seconds left, we’ve almost survived, just a little longer!’’, Clover yelled out as she held a phone out in front of her, watching the time tick down. ‘’It’s g-going to b-be coming from o-over there isn’t it? We’re going to b-be able to see it?’’ Alphys’ worry came through her voice as she looked around at the others who were gazing around the sky in the direction of the distant town downhill. ‘’Have no fear, I swear it on my honour that we’re going to be in the perfect position, have a little faith, ‘’Asgore exclaimed loudly! ‘’The kids won’t let us down, it’ll be fine’’. Sci calmly spoke. ‘10’ ‘9’ ‘8’ ‘7’ ‘6’ ‘’Ain’t no better way to end it but with a bang’’ ‘3’ ‘2’ ‘1’ ‘’HAPPY NEW YEAR’’ Finally with that yell, the sky was suddenly filled with bangs and colour as the fireworks in the distance were set off. An unbelievable amount of colours were used, starting off with Red and Green to then Blue and Yellow, mixing them all up in different patterns at a fast pace, one exploding after another to make sure your eyes didn’t find a lull in the light show. Purple and Orange were added to the list along with different shades of the previous colours to just add that bit more variety. The sky was the canvas and it was being painted on with brilliant lights and patterns, the fireworks bright enough to light up the around the observers in all the different colours. As it came near the end, Pink and White were added to the mix and the fireworks were starting to go off incredibly fast, a machine gun of these flammable rockets as if somebody had told them that it was ending and that they needed to fire off every single one they had right at this moment. One and then another, right with another one, Pink, Green, Red, Blue, Purple, Orange and then White before finally the sky returned fully to a Dark Blue and the sounds of the night returned to silence. ‘’I say that we toast for another great year for us all, one that will allow us to have plenty of opportunities to be the people we want to be’’. Asgore cheered out as he raised his cup. ‘’Puhuhuh~ I suppose that’s something I can raise a glass too’’, Muffet smiled as she raised her glass up. ‘’Heh not bad kid, I reckon we can make this the best year we’ve had if we try.’’ Sci looked at his empty glass and considered filling it before deciding not to both and raising it up. ‘’Yeah alright, ain’t that bad, just want to make sure this year doesn’t get boring, let’s make this the most interesting of years’’. Clover chuckled and grinned before finally joining the others with her cup. ‘’W-well, I h-have no idea wh-what I exactly w-want from the New Year, but I’m s-sure there’ll be ch-challenges and t-times where it’s tough, but I-I th-think that together, n-no matter what, we’ll be able t-to get through it… so h-here’s to being able to s-stick together for the good and th-the bad of the New Year.’’ After having spent the last little bit tapping her glass nervously, she finally raised it up. ‘’Well that wraps it all up, Happy New Year everyone, to having the best year ever.’’ Finally, with that they all drank whatever was left in their cup, unless you were Sci who just awkwardly looked at his own empty container, all of them finding solace in the night and company of the others.

‘’O-oh, Grillby’s sent a m-message for us all…’’, Alphys looked down at her phone as she walked, the group heading back to the cars with everything that they brought. ‘’So, what does it say?’’, the goat child questioned instantly. ‘’I-it says… ‘Happy New Year everyone, may all your dreams come true’… so I texted back, ‘Happy New Year, may your good times and happiness be plentiful’… s-sorry, I was j-just trying to m-match his uh positive tone’’ ‘’No Al that’s perfect, sounds real good’’ ‘’Oh dear, it appears I have messages on my side too’’, Muffet sighed as she looked over her phone with the purple, spider phone case, ‘’one from Charles saying, ‘wish you Madam an excellent and profitable New Year, also send best wishes to your associates over there’ and one from… Mary, ‘’Awww another great year darls, hope you’re all having the greatest night, wish you all the best and hope you all have a fabulous year. From Aunt Mary’… then she puts down an incredibly disgusting amount of heart emojis and peace signs.’’ Asgore couldn’t help but giggle loudly, ‘’Well make sure to send Aunt Mary something back’’. ‘’Huff… Ok fine, but only because you asked so nicely…, ‘’Thanks, hope you had a pretty good night yourself, hopefully maybe even your year won’t be to far from good yourself’’… I’ll send something similar to Charles’’. ‘’Hey, my bro has something to share…’’, Sci chuckled before reading it out, ‘’TO ALL YOU MONSTERS AND HUMAN OUT THERE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS DECIDED THAT YOU ALL RIGHTLY DESERVE JUST THE COOLEST NEW YEARS FROM ME, BUT NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU GUYS TRULY DESERVE HAVING ONE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME YEAR. SORRY YOU COULDN’T IMPROVE YOUR TIME WITH MY NEW YEARS SPAHGETTI, BUT MAYBE NEXT TIME. HAVE THE GREATEST TIME AND BEST WISHES FROM THE OTHER SKELEBRO’,… wow, isn’t he just the best?’’ The skeleton didn’t need anything said to already get on his response. ‘’Thanks bro, definitely the coolest best wishes we’ve received so far. Everyone wishes you to have coolest year right back at you…. Also everyone is very upset they couldn’t have your spaghetti’’. It was only seconds that Paps sent a picture of his spaghetti and a apologetic message sounding legitimately bad for them. ‘’Oh hey I actually got one, it’s from the kids, ‘Hey Gorey Fluffybuns we hope you’re having a good night out there and staying safe, better not be getting up to much trouble. Anyway all of us here wish you and Clover and whoever else in is around a great New Years and hope that over the course of the next year we’re all going to have more great times and memories to share. Well see you soon, lots of love…’, oh and they sent a selfie of the six of them, though they’re crowded around a sleeping Paps, guess the poor guy finally crashed.’’ ‘’Heh, maybe. Wonder how long the little guy lasted for, probably just had to hit midnight and then collapsed.’’, Clover looked over his shoulder and examined the picture. ‘’True, I imagine they had to avoid giving him any sort of candy, otherwise they probably would’ve been to busy dealing with a little monster to message us. I better write a message back… ‘Hey guys, looks like Paps was having a ball. Hope you’re all good and having a great night, wish you the best New Years, looking forward to spending another year with you all. See you soon, love you all.’… There we go. Think we’re all good now.’’   ‘’Yeah, the only thing left is to head home, getting real fucking exhausted’’, Clover yawned as she went on ahead.

Anyway, Christmas morning arrives and as it turns out, Asgore is the first one to wake up who then went onto wake-up Clover and then they woke up Sci then the chain reaction moved to Alphys until finally Muffet was awakened. Before moving on I would like to point out that for the first four, when they woke up they found a sort of web sac hanging from the roof which turned out to be Muffet’s presents, later it was found out she tried to give it early so she didn’t have to watch them open it and their reactions or thank you’s, Asgore ended up giving a lecture on doing such an ‘’unchristmas’’ action. None of them did open it in their room though, some figured out that it was presents and the others were just to scared to open it without context.

Alright, so next they all moved out to the living room, but before this there was a ring at the doorbell. For some background here, for newcomers and people from the RP for some of it. Twice we did a Christmas RP special and everyone got sweaters with their own puns (Actually I should also mention we basically did a CPAU with our characters, look it up if you haven’t it’s funny). For FH, I have made it canon that no matter where anybody is in the world on Christmas day, when they awoke, they would have a doorbell ring and when they went to check who rang the door, they found a Christmas sack which its contents included a sweater for the specific person. Nobody really knows the how or the why except that maybe Christmas magic actually exists. This does include other people as well unless you don’t want it to.  

Alphys went to the door and brought inside a sack which to everyone (except Clover) expected since it’d happened for the last two years. Sci got his green sweater where it said ‘Merry Mathsmas’ and around the sleeves there were strips that were embroided with maths symbols. Asgore got a crimson sweater that said, ‘Hope Christmas won’t be a Reigny Day in gold lettering’, the sweater also had a golden crown under the writing around where his belly is (Honestly thinking on it, it has very similar colours to Gryffindor merch in Harry Potter). Muffet had a sweater that was grey and purple, the clothing article was made of webs and according to her, was mostly made by her ‘children’, with the simple phrase ‘I am to fancy for my sweater’, which while it did have the slight chance it was mocking her, it amused her all the same and she was relieved she didn’t have to advertise Christmas puns. Alphys got a sweater that was a strange and not quite even mix of black and white that was in all these different curvy lines and stuff. People found it strange that hers wasn’t exactly Christmas related and while it was a pun, it made some of the people she showed a little weirded out or react strangely, nobody quite understood why besides that it looked strange, Alphys herself always preferred everybody else’s. On hers, in green lettering said ‘Math Puns are the first Sine of Madness’, except the word madness was in blood red, the main saving grace that gave it any sign of normalcy was the cute little Sine graph on the chest area that looked like it was ripped straight from a graphics calculator, people just brushed it off as being a weird one. However, what nobody had expected was that there was a fifth sweater, a new one for the girl who had not been related to any of the RP characters during Christmas so now it was her turn to receive a brand new, never before seen sweater. What Clover ended up unfolding was a yellow sweater, on the front and back of it was a what looked like the reticule and lines from a sniper optical sight made of dark brown (I’ll have a picture to show what I meant). On the back in the middle of the target was what appeared to be her cowboy hat and, on the front, just like the others, there was writing. On the front written in a silvery grey was ‘I Beretta not get coal for Christmas’. While she did her best to hide it and would never admit it, she was actually pretty happy to get her own sweater and was feeling a little left out at first.

Now onto the exciting part, them presents. I’m going to split each person into a hopefully small paragraph for what they got starting with Muffet. Also I need you to realise that Sci was giving out the presents in a Santa hat and Asgore was wearing reindeer antlers while also helping Sci with the handing out.

Muffet: Muffet specifically got two presents, one from Sci and one from the others. Since Clover and Asgore don’t have jobs at the moment and they don’t really have much of an allowance or anything, at the same time Alphys really doesn’t make all that much money herself (a topic for another time, AKA just ask I guess) so to help each other out, the three of them teamed up for Sci and Muffet. The team of three struggled for quite a while since the only thing they could really think of was a tea set, but they were sure she had a bunch of those, until they remembered another hobby of hers and with a little help from Sci’s suggestions, they figured it out. Muffet ended up opening the Christmas wrapping of a small wooden, suitcase shaped thing that opened up into a chess set, they figured out she could use one after they remembered she used to complain a little bit that her only chess set was left back home, and she didn’t want to risk bringing her glass one. Sci went on solo and with much less hassle than the others. The second gift the spider ended up gaining was a pair of very good quality headphones, ones that would help her listen to her music when she was working, something that only Sci really knew she loved. After opening the two of her presents, she did her best to act all cool about it and while she mostly succeeded, she did end up giving one of her rare, genuine friendly smiles, that show up every once a while, to everyone.

Sci: The skeleton also got two presents since it was from the trio and Muffet. The trio took a little time with him as well and probably struggled a bit and pretty much ended up looking stuff up online for ideas, in the end they just figured they could give him something amusing that he would use in a helpful way. So what they ended up finding and using was a Darth Vader toaster that made Star Wars toast, also they found him a Binary tie on the internet to add on the side. In Muffet’s web sac which was quite heavy, he found two things that were related, one was just a much better, higher end coffee machine than the small time one they already had, this one had a bunch of buttons and settings he was certain he would never use. On the side of that was also a small handheld expresso maker that could basically make coffee on the go. Although Muffet did warn him that if he ever overdoses on caffeine or she sees him sneaking in some Red Bull somewhere to use in combination, she wouldn’t hesitate to confiscate them off him. Sci found the toaster and an incredibly amusing present, one that really helped put him in a fun mood, the coffee gear was also very welcome, and he knew for certain there was going to be a heck of a lot of use out of it all. Sci thanked everyone happily and was itching to test out the new machines for breakfast.

Alphys: So, for Alphys, Clover and Asgore couldn’t rely on her, so they decided to try and get Muffet to help them a little, what she ended up doing was giving them a freaking $100 bill and saying just use that. Asgore refused to take so much so she ended up forcing them to take $75 instead. They did realise they probably didn’t need to work with Alphys after that, but they felt to guilty to ditch or anything, plus they wanted to help her too. Anyway, the two kids ended up giving her an incense holder along with a large collection of different incenses that were said to promote relaxation and sleep, Lavender being a big part of it. The logic of it was that since Al seemed so tired all the time, incense might be able to help her sleep. Muffet’s present for her was a few anime posters she could put up in her room, from ‘Mew Mew’, ‘Cells at Work’, ‘Violet Evergarden’ to finally the movie ‘Your Name’. Muffet did also grumble afterwards that ads had started thinking that she was into anime. Sci’s present was simple in that it was a gift card to a science supply place, some place where she could buy whatever she wanted for her basement lab. The only way I can describe Al after that was gleeful, she was super happy, all the gifts to her were perfect and thoughtful, although she needn’t worry that her presents weren’t good enough compared to those. (I’m onto you Al -_- )

Clover: Muffet straight up got her a gun range membership so she could go out and shoot stuff, although she did require adult supervision. Al and Sci were pretty clueless about what to get her to the point that they straight up asked her, hoping it was something reasonable. She did end up giving them a small list, Sci ended up giving her a small pocket knife that he made very clear to be only used responsibly. Alphys ended up giving her some gun cleaning and maintenance supplies she found on eBay, just so Clover wouldn’t have to buy new ones for a little while longer. Asgore ended up getting her six different old, classic western movies and straight up challenged her to a marathon to see who would last the longest. Clover is someone who values practicality and the use of the present rather than the large amount of effort, that and she appreciated someone getting her anything at all in the first place, so even if Sci and Al had to ask her or even if she was sure Asgore managed to find those movies in a cheap bargain bin somewhere, she was very happy thankful for what she got, giving everyone a respectful hat tip and a thank you.

Asgore: Finally, the prince’s turn to get presents. Muffet ended up getting him a large supply of Golden Flower tea bags despite their rivalry when it came to making tea, along with that she also got him his own ornate, fancy looking tea set, one that was coloured in gold and red, real royal looking. Muffet made her own fun little comment that ‘’it was only fair that her greatest rival has the equipment to pose a challenge’’. Sci got him a book that was about rare, obscure and in some of the weird cases, mythical plants from legends, for the most part though it was a botany book. Alphys also had a similar idea to the skeleton and got him his very own tools to work on the garden, newer ones that he could keep in the shed to replace the older and crap ones she had from the beginning. Clover had actually originally planned to go the botany route, except she found out both Al and Sci were doing the same thing, so she made it her vow to do something at least a little different. So, what she ended up doing was getting a small tent that could only fit about two to three people in it and offered to take him on a camping trip in the woods. Asgore had always loved the idea of spending at least a few days in nature just for the hell of it, for fun and relaxation, so she figured this was the perfect opportunity. Asgore as expected was really happy about all of this, every single time he opened a new present he gave them his most sincere thanks and most appreciative smile. He gave everyone a hug… or well he offered one to Muffet and she threatened to stab him (Although he did give her one later in the day and managed to escape her wrath).

(Left one for Clover’s Sweater)

(Sci’s presents, because I could and because I had to look them up)

Drawing Scene pictured from the mind of a Fox.

 A Sunny day outside the Fox household. Although most of the residents were inside, the positivity could be felt by each and everyone of them, no misgivings to be had, nor any complaint to be made. Sat on each side of the kitchen bench was Alphys and Sci, the nervous reptile sitting on a stool, scratching the back of her head, her expression showing some small shred of pride only barely visible through the fluster and humble words she tried to throw out to stop feeling as embarrassed. The skeleton was on the kitchen side of the bench, holding a bottle of ketchup, his usual calm grin had been replaced a while ago, with an enthusiastic smile to show how fired up he was about whatever their subject was. The bench was free from food and the usual things that you would expect to find on a bench, however the bench was not clear, instead replacing all the normal things with lots and lots of papers, and on these papers, were diagrams and writings, lines depicting amazing machines and words that spoke of grand designs, things a common man would think impossible. If anybody were to pass by, they would notice there were two distinct colours, making arrows, pictures and notes over the black diagrams. There was the yellow pen, the drawings and writings a messy scrawl along the pages, whole paragraphs turning at the edge of a paper, as it was obvious that the writer was running out of room. Though a positive note was that while the yellow writer was messy, there was a ton of serious detail in their drawings, small things that probably weren’t necessary, and writing was also massively detailed, to the point of full scale rambling in written form, which alas is why they struggled to find room to write their large thoughts and ideas. Weirdly enough the blue writer seemed to be the exact opposite, writing was neat and great in form, no one on earth would struggle to read with such a clear rounded font. On the other hand, it was also the opposite in the effort department, everything was straight to the point, and any drawings done were very simplistic and almost childish. If anyone were to enter their rambles and theories in the middle of their discussions, it would take a scientist half a day to just work out the mix of blue and yellow excuse they called science, but no matter what was said about their quality, readability or even effort, there was no denying the two were having a hell of a time.

Moving on from the bench and towards the lounge room, which is connected to the kitchen, was simply a rug, a TV and a long comfy couch. In this current moment the couch was occupied by the elegant, pink dress wearing spider, Muffet, who was simply laying down on it. The Royal Baker had come quite accustomed to tuning out the scientific ramblings of the lab dwellers and the loud noises that could be heard from the kids in the backyard using the great technique known as music and putting all her focus onto her phone in one hand, and the laptop on her torso. It wasn’t uncommon to see Ms Muffet multitasking on her tech and keeping to herself. On her laptop she always had music playing from the service UnderJam going through her purple, web decorated headphones, while back at her home she enjoyed old style music, she has found a liking to modern music and her music has quite a variety usually depending on her mood. Slow classical music usually meant she was taking something very seriously, Jazz was always good for a relaxing (and sometimes happy) time, soft melodies with depressing lyrics were appropriate for the sad times. However, at this moment she was listening to some electronic pop type music, which generally meant a happy, confident hybrid, and the reason for this was because of good fortune with the current second use of the computer. On another tab, Muffet was on the home page for her website that was dedicated to her own private business, selling pastries and other baked goods to her loyal customers, and one of the reasons she had a smile and was feeling positive, was because a recent new advertising campaign had increased her customer base, and of course most importantly, the profits went through the roof unlike to the previous few weeks, which had been quite slow. While two of her arms were occupied by her laptop, another one was occupied by her pink smart phone, the cover of which as usual, followed her spider themed gear. On this phone she was busy chatting to multiple people usually on UnderNet, being the busy socialite she constantly was. Some were friends, some were contacts and others were customers, which to anyone who knew her, hoped and prayed that on the other end it was a unsatisfied customer, you don’t want to be an unsatisfied customer with a business like Muffet’s. It was usually hard for the others to figure out if Muffet was legitimately happy or putting on a mask, however there were a few signs the other residents had slowly learnt over time. One was that she was typing fast and excitedly, as if she couldn’t wait to get every word out of her head. Another one noticeable was that she was getting into her music, slightly moving, bobbing or even swaying to it, and lastly when she was resting, there was this specific smile, didn’t look arrogant, eyes weren’t hunting for a weakness in someone else’s words, she just looked happy and relaxed, like she was in pure, calm bliss, almost like someone smiling while meditating. Although all these symptoms only really occurred when she was oblivious to the world around her, she doesn’t even notice it herself, except for one time. The one time, whether through bravery or foolishness, Asgore once brought it up to the spider, and well, she didn’t respond for a few seconds before Muffet stormed off to her lair, a vibe of embarrassment coming off the Royal as she disappeared, leaving an awkward Asgore to wonder what was going on. So there Muffet lay, happy on this such day, in her own little world, one in her control, one where nothing would leave her shocked, embarrassed or speechless, her little mental serene web.