Chapter Text
Alphys sorts through her extensive anime collection, looking for something her new friend will like. She's a little nervous about it, but she has all week to plan. Still, she's not going to sleep until she finds the perfect show!
They claim they don't like anime, but she's pretty sure anyone who says that just hasn't found the right anime! That's the amazing thing about anime: there are so many different kinds! And that's just the ones that have made their way from the surface! Who knows what kinds they have up there that just haven't fallen down yet?!
Thank God for pirates though. Humans bootlegging anime discs are her godsend!!! She guesses they copy the files off the discs, then throw them away to avoid getting caught. Or… or maybe they just forget to label them and their turn away because of that! And of course sometimes they throw down original boxes and boxsets but those aren't unlabeled but they also aren't pirated so she's not sure either theory holds up but she swears they are really good! And after seeing the originals she's started making her own boxes and box sets to loan to people and she designs the covers herself and she's not a very good artist but she thinks she's getting better and she's really good with fonts because she has another friend who… who….
Rambling in her own head! An Alphys classic! (Or… would “An Alphys Original” be funnier?)
She doesn't think anyone could blame her for trying to plan out her future conversations with the ghost from the fanclub. They're… a little chilly. In more ways than one. And it's… it's been a while. Since she had a friend. Or… well… it's…um. It’s not really what she needs to be focusing on! Heh… heh.
She can't find a suitable series. She's not sure what they would like, but whatever it is she ends up showing them, it needs to be good!! So she heads to the dump, and that is where she finds it.
Like a holy grail amongst the rubbish, if the holy grail was pink and box-shaped.
Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2!!!!!!!!!
She screams.
She didn't know there was a sequel, and she snatches it up and runs back to Hotland faster than her two legs have ever taken her before. She doesn't stay at the dump. There can be no find better than this!
And it is intact. Every disc is pristine. One disc is barely scratched, the others are in mint condition, and she has to wonder what kind of a human would throw this away. Didn't they realize what a treasure they held in their foolish human claws? Was it a mistake? Was it fate???
It’s their loss, and her gain. She burns 4 copies and gets to work on a custom cover, smiling like a madwoman the entire time.
-
She arrives at the club house a few days later, and it has taken all her willpower not to break down and give the show a watch alone.
The building is abandoned, like it always is, and she's been starting to wonder if they're actually allowed to be here and if someone owns the place. It's pretty close to that side of the CORE soooo… she guesses maybe it doesn't matter. She can imagine a low rumble of a voice saying “those haunts are meant to be haunted” and she chuckles at the joke she just made up, and doesn't let herself get sad about the fact that after all this time, she still imagines really bad puns in his voice.
But she doesn't linger much on any of those thoughts now, focused single-mindedly on the approach of the best anime viewing party ever.
She rushes into the room Hapstablook set aside for their meetings. It's a musty, echo-y kind of old office, but the banners they put up are bright and covered in glitter and she's secretly never felt as welcome outside her own home as she is here.
They stare at her when she barrels in, and when she arrives she has no idea what to say. She's smiling and grinning and her palms are sweating and her hands are shaking and she's holding the boxset as tightly as she can without harming it. And for a moment she forgets that words can possibly exist and that they have absolutely no idea what she's so excited for (and their face says exactly that. They have no idea what she's so excited for.)
Finally she announces at the top of her lungs “MEWMEWKISSYCUTIE2LETSWATCHITITSSATURDAYMEWMEWTWOLETSGO!!!!!!!!”
Somewhere, a window shatters.
“a-alphys, darling……. are you alright…..?”
In response, she screams, and half-waddles, half-runs over to the television they had set up in the corner. She turns on the DVD player, and screams again when that doesn't work. She presses the button a second time, and screams again when it doesn't work again. She stares at the screen, at the DVD player, at the DVD, and back at the TV.
She screams.
“ALPHYS!!” Happy raises their voice for once and floats over to her, putting themself between her and the television, breaking her line of sight. It calms her down enough for her to focus, enough to realize she just ran in, screamed a bunch of times, and probably looked really dumb while doing it.
Her friend's face confirms that suspicion. She did indeed look really dumb.
She breathes, deeply, and explains, “I brought an anime for us to watch! I-I know you said you don't like them, b-but! This is the sequel to my favorite anime of all time! It's so good! And I think you'd really like it if you have it a chance because it's about this girl and she has cat ears and when she kisses someone she gets to control them and she tries to make their lives better but you see, she learns, well she learns-- uhhh that's a spoiler but I mean… we are going to watch the sequel so i guess it doesn't really matter but i want to make sure you're okay with that and also this has to be about something different right because she already learned that lesson and I don't want to bog you down with too much extra info so you'll be trying to remember everything I said instead of watching because it you do that you won't enjoy the showandidonthaveanyonetowatchwithandshoutingintothevoidonlineisfunbutitslonelyandyourethefirstrealfriendivemadeinalongtimeandidontwantyoutothinkthatimahugedorksoijustwantedtohangoutandwatchandivebeenramblingforeverandyouREPROBABLYSICKOFMETALKINGANDICANTBELIEVEIJUSTS---”
“alphys i have absolutely no idea what you are even trying to say…”
“I…”
Happy floats through and behind her, leaving her with a chill down her spine that, while far from calming, does break her out of the cycle of self doubts she had started down. She turns to see the little ghost drift back, then dive into an old office chair all at once, disappearing from view. The chair moves on its own towards her, and her friend's disembodied voice fills the room.
“Darling, darling, darling… You need to relax…….” and as she hears the words, she does feel a little better. Just a bit. The chair pushes into her from behind, gently, then lowers the seat to allow her easier access. Once on it, she and the chair spin slowly, calmingly, and finally stood, facing away from the television set.
Hapsta leaves the chair and rematerializes in front of her. “if you're worried I'll think you're a dork…… that ship has sailed, my friend. You are the biggest dork I have ever met in all my life.” They smile. “It's part of why I like you so much.”