rules: go to pinterest, search "[your name] core aesthetic" and create a moodboard from the first nine images. no need to mention your name!
thanks for the tag @tyfinn (and @cha-melodius omg I'm so sorry ajdgsjsh I HAVE THE WORST MEMORY)
okay i want to first say that i did this a little bit wrong because i forgot 'core' BUT the first line is extremely accurate as is the last line. i am almost always crouching down in photos because i don't know how to take a normal one, the middle picture is me hitting my head against my laptop when i can't find the words (although i can play the piano, coincidentally) and travel is my lifeblood.
also, the top line. yes. i'm a party princess and i'm not ashamed of it.
tagging @goodways because i feel you are on my level, @carlos-in-glasses @heartstringsduet @reyesstrand @birdclowns @guardian-angle22 @strandnreyes @chicgeekgirl89 @pragmatic-optimist @lemonlyman-dotcom @inflarescent @chaotictarlos @lutavero @mikibwrites @tailoredshirt @fckingyrs @celeritas2997 @decafdino @cha-melodius and open tag for anyone else that wants to find out what pinterest has in store for them!
( Drabble about the sash that Swap wears around his waist. It’s a little blast from the past about a year in a half to two years from the Swap we know now. I find his character interesting at this point. You also get a glimpse as Alphys and her relationship with him. )
5 months. Sans had trained 5 whole months with the head of the royal guard, and he was still worthless.
His magic was weak and what he could do was sloppy and unfocused. He was slower than a snail and his dodging often ended with him running INTO the path of attacks instead of away.
He had once been a scientist in not one but TWO highly prestigious laboratories. Working both for and under the nose of the Queen for the betterment of monsterkind. Top of the class in magic, packed with natural skill and ease. A scholar of the highest degree. The first to study both human and monster souls in depth.
And now where was he?
Stuck with a broken soul, self caused. Barely able to lift a pen off a desk with his magic, HP lower than low, jobless, motherless, and trying to become a royal guard to make up for his crimes.
This wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t what he trained his whole life for. He was a scientist, not some brutish soldier in an army of dumb dogs led by a yellow lizard with anger management issues.
He’d be better off dead. He knew that. He tried to end it. But that crummy old riverman came and stopped him. ‘Saved’ him from making a ‘terrible mistake.’ Hah, good one. That would have been the one thing that he ever did that WASN’T a mistake.
Sans would try it again but he promised he wouldn’t. Promised he would keep going. He hated it. He hated that he made that promise. Even the release of death was denied him now. His ‘father ‘ caught him at a moment of weakness, said some pretty words and tricked him into all of this.
Stupid stupid stupid!
And here he stood, in front of the head of the royal guard whom he had pleaded with months prior to train him, crying. Again.
Everything hurt. He was sore and tired and dripping wet after falling in ANOTHER puddle trying to dodge those DAMN spears. She was always careful with her attacks as not to damage him much. But they still hurt like HELL. He wished she’d go too far one day and just end it.
And now she was giving him a speech that was suppose to be ‘encouraging’ to help him to toughen up or something. Honestly he stopped listening to those long ago. They were always just cheap rip offs from movies or such anyway.
She finished her speech and grinned that god awful smile. To him it looked mocking and smug, just rubbing in the fact of his failure.
He was too ashamed to even look her in the eyes.
“i give up. it’s not like i’m ever gonna get to join the guard. all this time and i haven’t improved one bit! i’m just a weak link. i’m sorry for wasting your time…”
Sans didn’t even bother to walk away. He just collapsed, curled into a ball, and cried.
Alphys was silent. He thought that maybe she finally did the wise thing and gave up on him. Her footsteps growing more and more distant seemed to imply so.
Good. He didn’t deserve a second chance. He didn’t deserve friends or family. He should be locked away to rot, alone in the dark. Someplace darker than the sunless hellhole they were all trapped in.
He didn’t know how long he sat there crying. He didn’t even know what was tears and what was water even more. He couldn’t feel physically cold, but emotionally he was frozen to the bone.
She really left. She gave up on him. He was alone. His one chance to make up for things gone.
Footsteps. Splash, splash, splash, stop.
Something was shoved in his face. He flinched and looked with confusion at the strip of blue cloth that was offered(?) to him by a familiar yellow claw.
Sans peered up at the guard for some form of explanation. Her expression was sheepish, lacking her normal confidence.
“Whether you see it or not, you have improved. Quite a lot actually. And uh, in human culture when a student has made it to a high level in their training, their um, trainer is suppose to present them with a belt of sorts to…celebrate.”
Karate. She was referencing karate and she obviously didn’t know much about it.
“I’ve been too hard on you lately. I kept pushing you because i thought that was what you needed. I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
A small smile returned to her face, it held none of her normal gusto or harshness.
“I-if you still want me a your trainer. I promise that I won’t be so hard on you. We can figure out a better training method. You’re a smart guy, I’m sure you know lots of techniques. More than me…Just, don’t give up ok, buddy? You’re better than you think. I know you can do it.”
She didn’t give up on him. She didn’t leave him alone. She complemented him. She apologized. She was.....
He suddenly realized something about this Royal Guard. Underneath that proud exterior was someone very afraid. Someone as nervous as himself. Someone that was honestly trying to help. Someone putting on an act to try to look stronger than she was. Someone who cared about him. She believed in him.
Sans returned his gaze to the ‘belt,’ staring at it for a long moment. And for the first time in a what seemed like an eternity, he smiled. Not the awkward half smile he gave to his coworkers, not the forced smile he gave to his family, but a genuine smile.
It was like this whole time he was in the dark and someone just stuck a match.
He beamed up at her with new resolve. He stood up, straightening to his full height which was still shorter than her and puffing out his chest.
“i’d be honored to be your student.”
“I didn’t know your eye things could change to stars! Thats AWESOME! It’s just like in anime- uh- em, I mean-”
She stumbled over her words getting more and more frustrated at making a fool of herself. Eventually she just shoved the belt at him mumbled something about seeing him tomorrow and stormed off all flustered. Sans couldn’t stop smiling as he watched her go.
He tied the fabric around his waist. It kinda looked cool, like a ninja or something. He thought about making himself a cool outfit to go with. Maybe with a bandanna, a blue one to match the sash.
Well whatever he did next, He would stay determined.
Keep Going. Keep Moving. Don’t Give Up.
Someone believed in him now, he wasn’t gonna let her down. He could do this. He could be a better person, and one day he would join the royal guard and make Alphys proud.
