Random Undertale Pictures + Extra Things (Book 2)

A Thing for my Dreamtale au: EtherealDreamtale

I have fully realised that I have never posted anything about a Dreamtale au I made just over two years ago: EtherealDreamtale, so take this silly short story of EtherealDreamtale Dream and Nightmare meeting their Ink and Error for the first time that was made within these past two years (Morpheus and Epiales are EtherealDreamtale Dream and Nightmare's name respectively). If the story interests you feel free to see more info on EtherealDreamtale on my Tumblr; FictionalShippingBean
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Morpheus can feel no emotion coming from this being, but the being seems happy regardless. The being in question appears to be a small skeleton with mostly brown cloths, changing eyes that seem to be almost indecisive in how they look, and the biggest paint brush Morpheus has ever seen. The skeleton turns around from what he's doing and spots Morpheus. "HELLO TRAVELER, WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE!" The monster says, yelling in his excitement. Morpheus answers "I had a feeling I was needed here. Who are you?" "Ink, pleasure to meetcha traveler. What's your name?" "I go by Morpheus." "Why are you here, Morpheus?" Morpheus blinked in confusion at the question. "You already asked that." "Oh, I did?" "Yes" "Memory problems are the worst, you feel me?" "Actually no. Its what's so odd about you." The small skeleton, now known as 'Ink' looked confused for a moment before seemingly realizing something. "Oh! You're Dream, from Dreamtale, right?"

Morpheus paused, considering his answer, "I was Dream, but now I'm Morpheus. The past has passed, I am different now." Ink looked at him and then smiled, "fair enough". "You can't feel emotions from me because I have no soul." "I- What?" "You said before that you couldn't feel me, you are an empath, I have no soul. Simple enough, huh?" Ink turns away, wielding his paintbrush to continue with working on the unfinished au. Morpheus wasn't expecting an answer to his question, let alone one so obviously personal. "I didn't mean to-" "Don't worry about, it's not like I can really be sad about it," Ink said, still turned away from Morpheus. "I may not be able to feel them, but your emotions seem real enough to me" Morpheus replied, frowning. Ink turned back around to face Morpheus. "I-" Ink's voice broke slightly, and Ink seemed to remember that this was a stranger he was talking to, trying to recover some of his composure before speaking again.

"I can only pretend" Ink finally said, his voice still shaking a bit from his near miss at a breakdown. Morpheus frowned again, then asked "if you can only pretend, then why 'pretend' to be so affected?" Ink seemed to think about this question for a moment and then sat down, patting the ground next to him for Morpheus to come sit with him. Morpheus sat down. Ink sighed, the finally replied to Morpheus' question with a question "Do you see the inks on my chest? Each represents an emotion, I take all of them each day to feel. I can choose what I'm feeling at any time, but I usually let the emotions run their path all intermixed." "That doesn't sound fake at all" Morpheus said, grabbing Ink's hands and turning Ink to face him.

Ink looked surprised, his eye lights a purple sphere and a blue tear drop, and his mouth slightly opened in shock. "I don't understand why you're being so kind." Ink said turning his face back away from his new friend. "Why would I be anything but? I could choose to be cruel, or mean, or malice filled, but what's truly the point in that?" Ink hopped up and offered a hand to Morpheus "Thank you." Morpheus took the hand up. "Why do you create Ink?" "I don't really, I'm more to inspire, to help. I help create sure, but only at the direction of a creator or finishing unfinished aus, and I'm more a protector than a creator." "You protect AUs?" "I do, mainly from outcodes that want to destroy them and glitches in the code." "Outcodes?" "Characters that either don't belong to an au, don't stay in their au, or that have jobs or things they do outside of their au. For example, I am an outcode that doesn't have an au, you are an outcode that doesn't stay in their au, and Reaper, the god of death, reaps souls outside his au." "That's..." "crazy? Insane? Odd?" "...really cool" "Oh." Both burst out laughing, with Morpheus shaking so hard that you can hear his bones rattling. "Who do you mainly protect AUs from?" Ink stopped laughing, then sighed sadly...
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"Error, why don't you explain the balance to Ink?" Epiales asked. "...HIs mE-Me-MEmOry is bAD oN a gOod daY. He mAy R3Me-mE-mEmBer th3 plOts oF eNtIRe AUs, BuT eveRy tiM3 I've triEd t0 3xplain the balanc3 t0 hiM, it g03s in 0n3 3aR anD oUt th3 oTh3r." "Hmm... That does sound like an issue" Epiales said, frowning. Error laughed slightly, sounding annoyed, even with the glitches present in his laugh "Ya THinK?"

It was Epiales' turn to laugh at that. Epiales paused, then said, "What if we reminded him again, not when destroying an AU or causing destruction or negativity, but truly in a talk made for peace? Have everything written down too, so he can't claim he forgot in the middle of the conversation or something." "...thAt MIGht WoRk," Error whispered, sounding hopeful. Epiales smiled, a contrast to his earlier frown and then said, "C'mon, let's go get my brother, we've got some planning to do."