AN- . . . And so my obsession with Earthbound begins. I've never played it, but I have watched a walkthrough of it, and ohmigoshitlooksAWESOME. So I ended whipping up some little drabbles for the chosen four. It was super fun, I'm totally gonna make more.

If you notice Poo getting a lot of attention . . . it's actually a coincidence, but he is my favorite out of the chosen four, so . . .

Enjoy~!

1: Rain

"You should have been there, it was awesome!"

Ness could tell by his tone that Poo was making a face. "So you mean to say . . . there was a well filled with milk?"

Ness grinned. "Yeah! It was totally fresh and everything!" The Milky Well was all too clear in his mind, just as all of his other sanctuaries. His eyes locked onto a particularly fluffy, white cloud, and instantly he could envision the cascading, pure white.

"You may continue."

Ness blushed, because he really hadn't been aware of how caught up in himself he had been. "Oh, right. Well, then in Winters there was the Rainy Circle."

"This is after Jeff joined, I assume?"

Ness nodded. "Yep! The rainy circle was so cool! There was one little cloud, and it was kinda near the ground, and it was raining in just this one spot!" He chuckled as memories coursed through him. "Jeff actually fell in the puddle. It was really funny, but we had to spend a while cleaning his glasses, 'cause they got super muddy."

From the corner of his eye, Ness saw Poo clutching at the grass.

"What's wrong?" he asked, turning over onto his side.

"I . . . don't enjoy rain . . . or, dirtying myself, to be more specific."

Ness blinked once. Then twice. A young boy who didn't enjoy jumping in puddles? Sure, Jeff hadn't been happy about falling in the mud; but Ness recalled him timidly telling stories about snowball fights and making snow-angels in Winters. The snow there wasn't the cleanest—Ness had seen—so surely Jeff had some appreciation for that sort of thing, right?

But Poo, on the other hand . . . Poo was a prince. Ness remembered visiting Dalaam. Sure, there were dirt roads, but they were smooth and neat and it was far too difficult to kick up dust. Ness skimmed his eyes over Poo's robe, which was just as white as the milk and the clouds.

"I . . . ," he said at last, "I've never heard any guy ever say that. But . . . ," he turned back up to stare at the clouds, trying to imagine them stained with mud, "something like that . . . would be kind of a shame."

2: Mirror

It was difficult for Poo to watch; and yet here we was, watching it. He was slightly relieved that Ness and Jeff were off looking for items, because they would have questioned his discomfort.

The Goddess Ribbon really was a lovely item; its sparkling gold fabric, accompanied by the small, dazzling ruby holding it together. It really did suit Paula.

Would have suited Paula.

Right now, Paula was awfully busy staring in a small compact mirror and trying to equip it. The problem was, the more Poo watched, the more it was slowly driving him insane. He wanted to walk over there, wanted to help Paula, wanted to show her that it was nothing more than a flip and a twist and a pull. And while goodwill towards others was definitely of value to him, Paula looked more than determined to do it herself. The glimmer of hope in her bright blue eyes was all too strong. Poo didn't want to make her feel like she needed help, because he was aware of her capability.

So Poo just swallowed the taste of words lingering in his mouth, and decided that Paula was better off with that mirror.

Besides, if he had taken away the glimmer in her eyes . . . If he had done something like that, he wasn't sure he'd be able to look at himself.

3: Beauty and the Beast

Jeff really wasn't a morning person. Most nights he stayed up past midnight, sleeping until noon the next morning. But unfortunately for him, time was of the virtue on this adventure, so sleeping in wasn't an option. Mornings were absolutely horrible.

After practically dragging himself out of bed, Jeff stared at his reflection in the inn's bathroom mirror. He took specific note of the dark circles forming under his eyes, as well as the way his hair had become an unruly hurricane of blond. He groaned, wanting to do nothing more than turn around and head back to the bed. He looked beastly.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Jeff flinched. That had woken him up. . . . Wait, no, still as tired as ever. Taking a quick look over his shoulder, he spotted Poo standing in the open doorway—fully dressed, dark hair neatly braided as usual.

Jeff was about to speak when his words sunk in. "S-sleeping beauty?"

Poo blinked, taking a step through the doorway. "The fairytale? Paula read me several of them last night."

It took Jeff a moment, but he did vaguely remember Paula sitting on the inn bed with a big book, Poo gazing over her shoulder . . .

"I-I remember . . . but 'sleeping beauty'?"

Poo gave him a quick look up and down, eyes narrowed as if he was contemplating Jeff's appearance. At last, he said, "If we fix your hair, it is likely."

Jeff gave him a timid smile. " Well . . . If there's one thing I'm good at, it's fixing."

4: Advertisement

Poo would never have the nerve to admit that being a prince was an awful burden. It had its advantages—respect, fortune, luxury . . . But it also had its downfalls.

Poo didn't want to say he disliked the girls in Dalaam, but it was a tricky subject matter. The girls loved him—adored him, even. And it was nice to know that there were those who cared about his well-being . . . But they didn't know him. All they saw was a pretty face; an honorable young boy who strived for perfection; a prince; a chosen one. But they never saw past that, never saw through the picture-perfect advertising, and maybe it was better that way.

Deep down, maybe Poo just wanted everyone to like him.

5: Loathing

Ness typically wasn't a hateful person. Usually he strived to see the good in everyone. But he couldn't forgive Pokey for what he had done. Not any time soon.

Ness had tried to be friends with him, he really had. Ever since he noticed the way Pokey tried to seclude himself from others, he took it upon himself to help the older boy. When Pokey attitude shined through, Ness tried. When Pokey came to his door at two in the morning, Ness tried. When Pokey proved to be of no help at all, Ness tried. When Pokey abandoned him, Ness tried. And when Pokey betrayed him . . . Ness stopped trying.

Ness never stopped trying. But Pokey wasn't worth it. He hated Pokey. He hated Pokey with every inch of his being. There was absolutely nothing left in the boy that Ness found redeemable.

He really, truly, deeply hated Pokey.

"Ness, you're so lucky . . . I envy you.

". . .

"But, Ness . . . well, okay . . . let's be friends forever, alright?"

But most of all, he hated himself for not trying hard enough.

AN-

1: Well, Poo wasn't around for like half of the game, and I really do see Ness as being kind of a chatterbox. Of course he'd be more than happy to tell Poo about all of the sanctuaries he missed out on.

2: To be clear about this, I imagine Poo and Paula being surprisingly good friends. Poo can be rather masculine, but wouldn't mind risking his masculinity if he gets to spend time with his friend.

3: . . . To be honest, the main reason I'm writing all of these drabbles is because the world needs more Poo/Jeff. Just sayin'.

4: I imagine Poo really does put a lot of pressure on himself, wanting to make everyone like him. He really has to come to terms with the fact that he can't please everyone.

5: Oh god . . . MAGICANT, YOU GUYS. ;A; I know Ness's feel.