Emptiness
An awesome person on Reddit posted a prompt to challenge people to fight writer's block. The prompt was "As night became day, he started to understand the truth." The prompt immediately interested me, and it made me think of Flowey, so I decided to write this small character study of him. While Flowey isn't my favorite character, the one thing I love about him was how hard he tried to feel, even without a soul. Even though he couldn't feel love, how hard he tried was, in my eyes, a form of love in itself. So I just had to explore his feelings in those moments. I posted it on the thread, and people enjoyed it with the OP saying I should post it, so I decided to post it on FF and AO3. I hope you guys enjoy too!
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When Asriel woke in that garden with no arms and no legs, only golden petals and a green stem, he was terrified. He cried out for help until his father finally came running. And as he cried and told his dad what happened, he expected to feel relieved.
But he didn't. All he felt was numb.
When he told his father, his dad reassured him that it was just shock. He made him tea and read him his favorite stories. Asriel expected to feel comforted.
But he didn't. He couldn't feel anything at all.
Asgore was as loving and kind as he always was, making sure Asriel had everything he wanted or needed. He talked to him and played his favorite games. When Asriel asked his dad if he still loved him, Asgore gave him a huge hug, and told him that he did, and that he always will.
The words would have normally warmed Asriel's soul. But they didn't.
His dad loved him. But for some reason, where Asriel once felt love, all there was now was emptiness.
He left that night.
...
He searched and searched until he found his mother, hiding in the Ruins. He called out to her. She came rushing to him, and when he told her his story, she hugged him and cried, and told him everything would be okay.
He wanted to believe her. But he didn't. Even with his mother there, holding him in her arms, the emptiness refused to go away.
She made him his favorite butterscotch cinnamon pie, but there was something off about it. It tasted the way it always had, but it no longer brought him warmth. He remembered all the times he had baked pie with his mom, laughing in the kitchen, and tried to bring back the cozy, happy feeling of the memories.
But they only made him feel even more empty. He could remember every event as clear as day, and he remembered that he had once felt joy, but the one thing he couldn't remember was how to feel it again.
She tucked him into bed among all the stuffed animals he had once loved and kissed his forehead.
He felt nothing. The cozy atmosphere of his room and his mother's loving touch couldn't bring back his happiness. He was beginning to think nothing could.
He asked his mother if she loved him. She gave him a huge hug and told him that she did, and that she always will.
But still, despite everything, he couldn't love her back.
He couldn't sleep that night. He tried to feel something, anything. He thought of every happy memory he could think of, but nothing brought even a trace of positive emotion. So he tried to at least bring back his negative ones. Even that was better than nothing at all, and maybe if he could feel sad or angry, it would help him get through it and learn to feel happy again. He thought of the moments that made him angry, but everything that once had invoked that only seemed ridiculous in the face of what he was going through now.
He even thought of the moment Chara had died, trying to see if he could at least feel grief.
But no matter what he tried, he couldn't feel anything. It was like all that was inside him was an empty void.
And as night became day, he started to understand the truth.
His consciousness and memories might have come back to life, but his soul was truly gone.
And without it... he wasn't Asriel any more.
...
"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"
...
Please let me know what you think and if you enjoyed my take on Flowey! If you have any questions or concerns, let me know, either through review or PM, whatever you're comfortable with!