#first time i find a figure speech with papyrus | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

popatochisssp · 3 years

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ok poppy i'm rereading some of your stuff and reading about proposals and my hopelessly romantic ass needs, NEEDS, to know how the new bois would propose to their s/o.

*cracks knuckles*

Romance ahoy!

Ash (Undergloom Sans): Pretty mundane, all things considered, he’s not really an over-the-top sorta guy. By the time he proposes, you’ve almost definitely had at least a handful casual conversations about getting hitched, just to make sure you’re on the same page about the idea. And then, you find the ring, hidden at the bottom of a basket of fries at Grillby’s (because of course it’s at Grillby’s) and the question in his eye-lights when you look back up at him. He won’t say it out loud, he wants you to have the out of shoving it back at him or maybe just quietly taking it if you’re not up for a scene--but if you lick the grease and salt off that puppy and slip it on your finger, you’re already in the best place to celebrate your engagement with all your friends and family!

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): Paralyzed by indecision on how to ask you, quite frankly. You’re his s/o, and very special and important to him, so he wants it to be perfect, exactly what you want... but how??? He spends months looking up proposal ideas, asking friends and family for advice, practically stressing himself to tears over how much he wants this to happen but just can’t decide on how to do it! You’re almost guaranteed to find out about it before he follows through on anything, and honestly, you should probably propose on his behalf. The tears will finally come then, but they’ll be happy ones, and hopefully the two of you can laugh about it later that it was his idea and he had everything ready, but you had to be the one to ask just to make it happen.

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): Once he’s decided that he really wants to be with you on a permanent basis, he’d like to make the proposal really special and memorable for you… but he doesn’t really have any ideas. He’s…not the most creative, or spontaneous, and everything he’s come up with feels boring or clichéd… In the end, the only thing he can think of is to just... rehearse and memorize a little speech-- the usual pre-proposal stuff, like what you mean to him, how much he loves you, the future he wants to have with you... He writes it all down, everything he wants to say to you, and drills it, over and over until he’s got every word down perfectly with no pauses or wrong signs or stand-in-words for what he actually means, like there usually are when you talk to him. When the time comes, it’s the skeleton-equivalent of muscle memory and he delivers his speech perfectly, flawlessly for you, ending on the classic ‘will you marry me?’ and watching carefully for your answer. (If it’s ‘yes,’ you can bet he’ll still remember the speech, word for word, years later and be able to repeat it to you whenever you ask-- your fifth, tenth, twentieth anniversary and beyond.)

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): Probably disappointing, honestly. He’s a very restrained and understated type of person, not the type to make a fuss, even about this. Honestly, you’ll be with him so long and so harmoniously that everyone you know will be assuming you’re already married before he’s ever said anything to you about it. And then, one day... he tells you that he’s looked into it and that it’d be relatively easy to make things official, he already knows the forms to fill out and the pieces of identification you’ll need, if that’s something you’d like to do. Not...very romantic...definitely not much of a wow factor... but you might feel at least a little flutter if you agree, because he’ll take your hand and press the back of it to his teeth and follow it up with, “GOOD. LET’S GET ON WITH FOREVER, THEN.” And he does mean that-- he only plans on marrying once, and you’re it for him.

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): You’ll find him in the kitchen, getting a little baking done. He’ll tell you, straight-faced and straight to your face, that he’s making a proposal cake...and ask if you’d like to help. You’ll probably assume it’s a paid project of his, for a client, and he’ll encourage your misunderstanding every step of the way. (Bonus points if you happen to have any comments--positive or negative--about the guy who’s proposing to his datemate with a cake!) The two of you will be flirting and cooperating and having a nice afternoon together making this cake--mixing the batter, putting on the frosting, carefully decorating it-- and it probably won’t occur to you that every part of it, from the flavors to the colors are exactly to your tastes... at least, not until he’s piping ‘Will You Marry Me’ on top and then spells out your name. The cheeky son of a bitch got you to help him bake your own proposal. He’ll slide the cake over to you with a patient smile while he waits for it to click, and to hear your answer to the question.

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): He’s definitely going to take a long time to get around to it, lots of hesitating and talking himself into and out of it. You’ll mostly likely be cuddled together, in the middle of the night, when he can’t wait anymore and nudges you awake to ask how you feel about doing something stupid. (It’s a prime opportunity for an ‘I’m doing you, aren’t I?’ joke, and honestly that might loosen a little bit of the tension for him if you’re quick enough on the draw to make it.) He’ll hem and haw and talk around it for awhile if you choose to probe into what he had in mind, but he’ll go for broke sooner or later and say that it’s marrying him, that he was thinking about. The stupid thing. That he...wondered if you would...do... He has a ring, which he fishes out from underneath the pillow, but the self-consciousness will start hitting him around then, and he probably won’t be able to look you in the eye as he sheepishly nudges it at you, waiting for your answer. If it just so happens to be ‘yes,’ well... he’ll probably be smiling into your shoulder all night and well into the morning.

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): He wants an organic moment and he’ll wait as long as he needs to for a natural, intimate moment where it just feels right to ask. It’ll probably be a morning, early but not so early that the sun isn’t coming through the windows and making everything feel warm and pleasant as you start the day. Domesticity in its purest form, he’d most like to catch you getting some chores done with a little music playing, the perfect excuse to sweep you into a playful, spontaneous waltz across the floor... And somewhere between the twirling and the laughter and the kisses ruined by smiling, there it is--“MARRY ME...” No ring, no collar, and no real plan for what you might say after, but you can figure that out together, can’t you?

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He pops the question as far from home as possible, out in the great big world. The specific location isn’t important to him, it could be anywhere as long as it’s beautiful and new to him and he’s all the way out there with you. He may not have intended to come on vacation just to do this, so he’s definitely not prepared, but it reminds him how far he’s come and how he never could’ve predicted he’d end up here, with all this, and that inspires him; giving him the confidence to propose without hesitation. He’ll take your hand in his, look you in the eye, and just ask: “will you marry me?” He just...knows that it’s something that he wants and he hopes that you feel the same way.

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): Guaranteed to be a spur of the moment thing, completely off-the-cuff. After you’ve been together awhile, after it’s clear that you two are a Serious Thing and probably in it for the long haul, it could happen pretty much anytime, anywhere... but probably on some adventure you’re on, whether that’s an aimless drive to nowhere, a ‘hey I’ve never done that before, let’s do it’ outing, or even just hitting up a convenience store for snacks in the middle of the night. You’ll just be laughing, having a good time together, living in the moment, and he’ll catch your eye and… “hey. let’s get married!” Spontaneous, but not thoughtless-- if he says it, he means it completely, so there’s no need to worry about him taking it back. He’s just too excited about the idea to not tell you about it immediately, as soon as it pops into his head. Still, he won’t be offended if you doubt the offer at first, and he’d be very happy to talk it out with you--where it came from, how he feels about you, why he wants it-- until you believe him and can maybe start thinking about an answer to give him. Take your time, he can wait, as long as it’s with you!

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): His is very much the Traditional Romantic Proposal-- a meaningful location for the both of you (where you met, first date, first said ‘I love you’, take your pick) where you can recreate that lovely evening with each other’s company and your fond nostalgia. You’ll probably have the sense that it’s coming long before he ever actually asks, but he won’t be hurried along for anything. You’re making memories here and everything in its own time! The biggest difference from his and the Traditional Romantic Proposal is that when it is finally time to pop the question, he won’t go down on one knee. He won’t do anything that might draw unnecessary attention to himself and to you, and won’t involve anyone else in this—no friends and family, no helpful waiters hiding rings, no spectators gawking at you in passing. This moment isn’t for sharing, it belongs to just the two of you: no pressure, no judgment, and no expectations, just a very simple, earnest question, asked with your hand in his. Before you’ve decided, he wants you to be comfortable enough to choose wholly without influence... and if your answer to the question is something to be celebrated, if your choice is him... Well, he’s happy to share that with anyone and everyone you please.

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skelebonecentral · 3 years

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Hothouse rose chapter 1

a reverse harem with the lust boys

first we gotta meet the basic skeles

words under cut

Frisk was your cousin.

They’d run away, a week after their mom passed away. Your aunt, their other mother, was frantic and your whole family had gone out searching, as well as most of the town. You’re so glad it was your dad’s oldest sister who first caught sight of the monsters and not the sheriff or someone not quite as sensible.

Frisk came back from the mountain that loomed above your town with a whole civilization behind them.

Yeah, they tried to hook their mom up with Toriel, the strong, kind, and welcoming goat woman who was the Queen of the monsters, but Frisk was just a very romantic kid in general. They flirted as a hobby, it was hilarious and you were so glad they were back and safe to continue cracking you up with it.

They hugged everyone and apologized for scaring them, that they figured out that just because they were hurting didn’t mean it was okay to hurt other people, when they finally got the chance to exit the monsters’ camp after the police and government and all kinds of things showed up.

Still, you had to admire them for how much they grew up if that was what they wanted to say right away. Well, sign. Frisk was mute, after all.

Having them home was so nice, and their new friends were awesome.

You met Toriel first, of course, and her ex-husband, Asgore. You felt sorry for the big fluffy guy, he looked so hopeless and sad when Toriel would glare at him. And Frisk called him Dad, that was so cute, cause he just lit up. It was weird, though, feeling so pitying toward a ten foot tall goat man with huge horns and a long golden beard who had been alive for centuries longer than you.

Still, you liked both the goat people, and Monster Kid, Frisk’s new bestie who ran around with them. He was…well, he was a monster kid. Lizardish, with a tail and yellow-orange scales, but no arms to speak of. It made him top heavy, since he was humanoid, so he fell over often. Frisk seemed very fond of him, and you were glad. They hadn’t had a lot of luck making friends with other human kids at school before all of this.

But Frisk, being the eternal matchmaker they were, decided YOU needed to get in on this whole monster friend business.

Of course, you didn’t realize it until Gyftmas. It was a monster holiday from Snowdin, a small town Underground, that centered around gift giving and involved Santa for some reason? Anyway, the monster community was holding a carnival inside the local event center (it was mid-September so there weren’t any OTHER holidays to do) and your little cousin, being the ambassador, was of course invited and they brought you as their plus one.

Did you forget to mention that Frisk was the ambassador for monsters? They are. Well, at least in name. That’s their official title, is Ambassador, but they’re more like a figurehead while Toriel and Asgore handle the actual statecraft. The adults do let them cut ribbons and make speeches, but they’re just not ready for something that complicated. They are only six, after all.

But back to the carnival, Frisk brought you, and took you to a particular booth.

The booth was decorated with several action figures from an old 80’s cartoon that you used to love watching reruns of, and the sign above said, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ TRIVIA BOOTH!”

Frisk beamed as they dragged you, and looking in the booth, there was a very tall soldier-looking fellow who seemed to be a skeleton.

“HELLO, DEAR FRISK! I SEE YOU BROUGHT A HUMAN WITH YOU!” he called exuberantly, waving with bright red mittens. He had a black something or other on under the white chest piece of…oh that’s not actually armor. As you got closer, you’re now aware its made of fabric and the lines and emblem on the front are felt pieces sewn to it. The big round shoulder pads are attached, too.

Frisk signs eagerly, “Hi Papyrus! This is my cousin, Y/N! I wanted them to try your trivia!” Their hands are going very fast, and they’re bouncing, so they’re very excited about this.

“OH!” the skeleton stands up, showing his very obvious spine in his black whateverthatis and the odd ultra-short shorts that match his chest piece. “HELLO, HUMAN Y/N! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET A RELATIVE OF MY DEAR FRIEND, FRISK!”

He holds out his hand, and you shake it, feeling the long fingerbones underneath and finding yourself grinning like an idiot. Holy heck, an actual skeleton was talking to you. Your inner child was screaming with joy in their Jack-skellington slippers. Frisk had to have known…well, how could they not, your room is covered in Halloween and skeleton themed knickknacks.

“H-hey, Papyrus, I’m super glad to meet you, too!” you didn’t mean to stammer but you’re trying not to freak out as your arm is nearly shaken from its socket. He’s so STRONG!

Frisk giggled and signed something too quick for you to parse, and Papyrus let you go, “OH, ALRIGHT! HAVE A GOOD TIME, FRISK! YOUR COUSIN AND I WILL HAVE A BATTLE OF WITS!”

They scampered away and left you with the skeleton, who pulled out a fold out chair, setting it in front of his booth and then sitting in his own behind the counter, “ALRIGHTIE THEN! HUMAN Y/N, YOUR CHALLENGE SHALL BE TO ANSWER TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT MONSTER CULTURE. THE MORE YOU GET CORRECT, THE BETTER YOUR PRIZE! BEING FRISK’S COUSIN, YOU SHOULD DO VERY WELL!”

“Don’t be so sure, Papyrus. I have some wicked test anxiety,” you joke, and he blinks his sockets at you.

“NO NEED TO BE NERVOUS!” His smile seems set in his long jawed skull, but it actually tilts up a bit more, “SOMEONE WHO LOVES OUR FRISK IS BOUND TO BE A GOOD LISTENER AND KIND SOUL, SO I HAVE FAITH IN YOU. FIRST QUESTION!” he whipped out a set of cards, “WHAT IS KING ASGORE’S FAVORITE DRINK?”

You smile, happy it’s one you know, “Golden Flower Tea. He likes tea in general but that’s his favorite.”

“CORRECT! WOWIE, AND SO CONFIDENT!” Papyrus seems just as pleased as you are, “NEXT ONE! WHAT WAS THE FIRST SECTION OF THE UNDERGROUND CALLED?”

“Ah,” you had to think a moment, then said cautiously, “I think it was the Ruins?”

“YOU’RE RIGHT.” Papyrus then set two further action figures from the same set as his decorations, “THESE WILL MARK YOUR SUCCESSES! ALRIGHT, NEXT!” He shifted his sockets in a comical manner that you had to fight your instinct to laugh at, “HOW MANY MOVIES HAS METTATON, OUR BELOVED STAR, PUT OUT AS OF TODAY?”

You blink…and you have to guess because you honestly don’t care for Mettaton’s version of movies, “28?”

Papyrus’ jaw just falls open, and he sets another figure on the counter, “I THOUGHT FOR SURE THAT WOULD STUMP YOU! I’M FLABBERGASTED. YOU MUST BE A VERY DEDICATED FAN OF METTATON, JUST LIKE MYSELF.”

You blush, “N-not really. His music and dancing are great, but the movies go over my head, I guess. I only watched one because Frisk wanted me to…”

He chuckles, “AT LEAST YOU ARE HONEST. I WATCH THEM FOR THE FUN OF SEEING EVERYONE ELSE’S REACTIONS, HONESTLY. AND THE SET DESIGNS! THEY’RE VERY WELL DONE, AFTER ALL.”

“Oh, yeah, I did notice that. I bet a lot of Broadway plays would love to get his input on that front.”

Papyrus perked up, “BROADWAY? I KNOW A STREET BY THAT NAME BUT I GET THE FEELING YOU’RE REFERRING TO A THEATER OR SOMETHING SIMILAR.”

“Kind of?” you quirk your mouth a bit, not really smiling but thinking about it, “It’s a street in New York City with lots of theaters on it that’s famous for having the best in plays and musicals in the country. It’s really a cool place, from what I hear.”

“OOH! I SHOULD LOOK UP MORE ABOUT THAT LATER. ANYWAY!” He gets out a set of note cards, “I WROTE ALL THE QUESTIONS DOWN SO I COULD HAVE LOTS OF CHOICES. YOU’RE DOING A LOT BETTER THAN SOME PEOPLE!”

You were getting excited now, wondering what he could ask.

“OKAY! WHAT WAS THE NAME OF OUR LOST PRINCE?”

You frown. That was a serious question, and you think back to Frisk’s descriptions they would give you now and then of their time under the mountain. “Asriel.” You remembered thinking his name sounded angelic.

“ANOTHER FIGURE FOR YOU!” Papyrus plops the next figure on the desk and…

“Is that the villain? I didn’t know they even made a figure for him.” You can’t help yourself, not when you’d loved his antics as a kid. “Lord Verminator, looking good.”

Papyrus gasped, “YOU LIKE ALIEN WARLORDS OF JUSTICE?! I THOUGHT HUMANITY HAD FORGOTTEN THIS CLASSIC SERIES! I HAVE EVERY FIGURE EVER MADE EXCEPT FOR THREE, AND EVERY EPISODE ON VARIOUS VHS TAPES. I WILL HAVE TO ASK FOR FRISK TO BRING YOU OVER AND HAVE A MARATHON!”

You nod eager, “I know I haven’t been able to see every episode. I only got a few episodes they put on an old cable channel but it was so good. I managed to salvage some merch from antique stores, but it’s never been enough.”

“THERE WAS MORE THAN ACTION FIGURES?!” Papyrus is awestruck, orange sparkles appearing around his skull. “OH THIS HAS TO BE FATE! MY FIRST HUMAN FRIEND HAS A GROWN-UP COUSIN WHO LOVES THE SAME SERIES AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS? SERENDIPITOUS!”

You finally laugh and nod, “You’re so peppy! How did Frisk manage to keep you a secret? I wish we’d met sooner now.”

His sparkles increased, and he began pumping his fists up and down eagerly, “DO YOU REALLY MEAN IT? BECAUSE IF SO, I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY! LET’S GET THIS QUIZ OVER WITH SO WE CAN GUSH ABOUT OUR FAVORITE THINGS INSTEAD!”

He takes a notecard and asks, “WHAT IS THE SYMBOL OF OUR KINGDOM CALLED?”

“The one Toriel wears, right? I think…it was the Delta Rune?”

“YES!” the card was set down, a figure was placed, and another card picked up, “WHO IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD?”

“Undyne.” You sigh, “She tried to suplex me the first time I had to go to Toriel’s to pick up Frisk.”

“OH, THAT WAS YOU?” Papyrus tilts his skull, and you notice his sockets are slightly uneven. You also notice you like hearing him talk, even though he’s very loud. “SHE TOLD ME SOME HUMAN CAME AND MANAGED TO DODGE HER GRAB. SHE’S BEEN TRYING TO GET FASTER AFTER THAT.”

You want to comment, but Papyrus gets another card, “WHO CREATED THE CORE?“ he stops, frowns, then tosses the cards behind him, “THAT ONE WAS ACTUALLY A TRICK QUESTION, BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS WHO DID IT! AND AS MUCH AS I LIKE TRIVIA, I’M MORE EXCITED ABOUT TALKING WITH YOU.”

Smiling, you take his elbow when he offers it, despite him being two feet taller than you, even in his flat bottomed red rain boots, “That’s pretty flattering. What was the prize for the quiz, though? I’m curious.”

“A DATE WITH YOURS TRULY!” Papyrus laughed, “NYEHEHEHE, BUT I HAVE A FEELING HUMANS WOULD BE RATHER INTIMIDATED BY SOMEONE AS HANDSOME AND CAPABLE AS MYSELF, SO GIVING YOU A TOUR SEEMS MUCH NICER.”

Papyrus led you around the event center, pointing at the various booths and explaining them, even sometimes introducing you to the monster manning it. You didn’t see hide nor hair of Frisk for the rest of the evening, but you didn’t really notice. Papyrus’ enthusiastic rambling and genuine glee at showing you around kept you glued to his side gladly.

When the crowds had thinned out considerably, you asked, “Papyrus, this has been the most fun I’ve had at a fair in years. I’d really like to do more cool stuff like this with you, so maybe we could exchange numbers?”

He froze, then turned, big sparkles appearing again, including inside his sockets, “WOWIE, REALLY?! OF COURSE WE CAN! I REALIZE IT IS LATE AND HUMAN BEINGS NEED PLENTY OF SLEEP TO BE HEALTHY, UNLIKE THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SO LET US HURRY!”

He shoved his phone into your hand and you gave him yours, typing in your number and naming yourself with a balloon emoji on the end to remind him of the fun fair you’d shared together. You get your phone back as you hold out his, and it says “THE GREAT PAPYRUS” with a skull emoji and a gold medal one on the end.

“Perfect! Feel free to text me whenever, but I might not answer if I’m busy or sleeping.”

He nodded, “I UNDERSTAND! I WILL PROBABLY BE TEXTING YOU QUITE OFTEN, BUT FEEL FREE TO TAKE YOUR TIME. UNDYNE SAYS I TEND TO RAMBLE WHEN I’M EXCITED. AND I’M ALWAYS EXCITED! ESPECIALLY WHEN I MAKE A NEW FRIEND.”

You nod and bid him goodbye, getting a back-cracking hug, before he rushes off into the fair and you head toward your car. Frisk had texted you earlier to say they were going home with Toriel, so you rode back alone, glad for the break so you could process your night with the personification of optimism that was Papyrus.

You got texts from Papyrus every day. Multiple texts in a row, about ten different times a day, and about just about any subject that was on his mind at the time.

“JUST GOT BACK FROM MY MORNING JOG! I HOPE YOU’VE HAD A GOOD MORNING SO FAR!” at 5:30 am.

“IF YOU NEED ANYTHING AT THE STORE TODAY, I WORK AT SMILE MART! MY SHIFT IS FROM SIX TO TWO, SO FEEL FREE TO SWING BY FOR A VISIT.”

“I LOOKED UP BROADWAY FINALLY! THERE’S SO MUCH TO LEARN! IT’S BEAUTIFUL!”

“UNDYNE IS STILL DOING SPEED TRAINING TO TRY AND OUTMATCH YOU. I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TWO TO OFFICIALLY MEET ON BETTER TERMS!”

That was the general gist of his messages, just little windows into his day and topics that related back to earlier conversations.

You would answer him between classes, since you were a freshman in the local college, and once you were off around noon, you’d head to Smile Mart and see Papyrus in action.

The first time you actually were able to see him at work, he was meticulously arranging the dairy section, making every gallon of milk have the handle facing the same direction in his white button up, black pants, and bright pink apron.

Hearing you approach, he snapped upward and his face lit up, “HUMAN Y/N! HELLO!” Standing to hi full height and brushing himself down, he posed like a soldier at parade rest, “HOW DO YOU LIKE MY DAPPER WORK ATTIRE?”

You smirk a bit, just in an effort not to laugh out loud at that pose and speech combined, but answer honestly, “You make it look good.”

“THANK YOU! I’M AWARE!” he grinned, then got back to his task, “THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TODAY?”

That sounded suspiciously like a work script rather than just Papyrus being himself, but you shrug it off, “I don’t need anything in particular at the dorm, so I’m just gonna grab one of those yogurt and fruit smoothie drinks over there when I head out. best breakfast treat.”

He looks at the items you’re pointing at, then nods in approval, “FRUIT AND YOGURT ARE GOOD CHOICES FOR A MORNING BEVERAGE. AND DORMS? ARE YOU PERHAPS A MEMBER OF THE CLERGY?”

You do laugh at that, “No! No, I’m a first semester freshman at the university. You have to spend your first semester on campus if you live more than a certain distance away and unfortunately, my house isn’t in the right range.”

“OH. THAT’S QUITE INTERESTING!” He rubs his chin, “I WAS ACTUALLY CONSIDERING GOING TO THE COLLEGE MYSELF, BUT SANS ISN’T EXACTLY A FAN OF IT.”

“Is that the brother you told me about at the fair? The one who sleeps?” Papyrus had mentioned he had a brother who was lazy and slept a lot, but not the name.

“YES. HE NAPS ALL NIGHT AND FREQUENTLY DURING THE DAY ALSO!”

You grin as he waggles his brows. He had noticed how you didn’t like his wording when he’d said the same line about “napping all night” at the fair, and now he teases you with it. “Still called sleeping, Pap.”

He chuckles good naturedly and shrugs, “WHATEVER IT’S CALLED, THAT’S WHAT SANS DOES. SLEEP, EAT, AND EMIT SLIME.”

“He emits slime?”

“SOMETIMES. FRISK SAYS THAT IS ACTUALLY CALLED DROOL UP HERE. NOW I’M WONDERING IF MY BROTHER IS RELATED TO DOGS BECAUSE THEY’RE THE ONLY ONES I’VE SEEN WHO DROOL QUITE AS MUCH AS HE DOES WHILE SNORING.”

The visits become routine after that first one. When you get a break during his shift, you just go to the store and buy some kind of single serving drink. Yeah, you wish they were in cardboard cartons or glass instead, but all your bottles do go into your recycling bucket at your dorm. It’s more an excuse to talk to Papyrus, anyway.

He asks more about the university, and when you ask him what he’d major in if he did attend, he has a very good answer already, “SPORTS MEDICINE! I’M A VERY GOOD HEALER NATURALLY, AND I LOVE ATHLETICS OF ALL SORTS, SO WHY NOT COMBINE MY TWO PROCLIVITIES INTO ONE CAREER PATH? UNDYNE DOESN’T NEED ME ANYONE ELSE IN THE GUARD NOW THAT WE’RE UP HERE, AND I WANT TO BE HELPFUL.” He scratched his chin a bit before adding to the end, “WELL, MORE HELPFUL THAN I AM CURRENTLY ANYWAY.”

That’s a great idea, you think, and you encourage him to go for it. After all, he’s got so much energy, you’re sure any course of study will be a breeze.

It’s kind of surprising when, a few weeks later, he texts you excitedly, “I GOT MY ACCEPTANCE LETTER! NEXT SEMESTER WE’RE GOING TO BE CLASSMATES! ONCE IT’S TIME, LET’S CHOOSE OUR SCHEDULES TOGETHER!”

Wow, he really does go for what he wants, doesn’t he?

Great was definitely the least you could say about Papyrus by the time you two were meeting up on the first day of the semester.

He had already invited you over to his house several times, Frisk had dragged you along on lots of outings with the skeleton, and you had braved a meeting with Undyne and her adorable wife, Alphys, as part of a celebration for Papyrus’ acceptance into college.

So when his unique figure came striding up the sidewalks on campus, you immediately ran to meet him and got scooped into a twirling hug with your mutual giggles echoing off the old gothic revival buildings around the ovular clearing.

“Papyrus!”

“Y/N!”

As you were set down, you beamed up at him, “I’m so glad I didn’t start my gen ed until now. We have all semester together.”

“I KNOW! SURE, I HAVE TO TAKE THAT ONE NUTRITION CLASS WHILE YOU’VE GOT CHEMISTRY, BUT OTHER THAN THAT!” He’s bouncing on his heels and utterly pleased, and noticing his bouncing is what draws your eyes to the shorter figure next to him.

Another skeleton, about your height and blinking at you with white lights in his large, round sockets, stood next to Papyrus and waved lazily at you, “heya.”

“Oh my gosh, you must be Sans!” you were excited to finally meet Papy’s brother. “I dunno how it took this long for us to end up in the same place but I’m so glad to meet you!” You offer your hand and it gets taken with a long “pffffffffffffffffft” sound.

“SANS! I TOLD YOU NOT TO BRING THAT TODAY!” Papyrus sounds equal parts furious and embarrassed, as the bright orange glowing on his cheekbones betrays.

“had to, bro. can’t skip the classic gags,” Sans takes his hand back, revealing a small red whoopie cushion in it.

You stare, surprised, “Oh my gosh? I didn’t know anybody even used oldies like that anymore. Or did actual harmless pranks like that. Consider me impressed; you’ve got better taste in humor than most of MeTube.”

That seems to shock the smaller skeleton before you, making him lower his hand slowly. He was wearing a blue hoodie jacket over a white shirt with small stains on the chest, and black basketball shorts with white socks and pink house shoes. “uh. thanks.”

“DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM,” Papyrus huffed, “HE’LL START PUNNING AND THEN WE’LL BE HERE ALL DAY.” He pulled you forward, away from Sans, and waved at his brother, “HAVE A GOOD DAY DOING WHATEVER ODD JOBS YOU HAVE TODAY, BROTHER! I WILL BE ENJOYING MY TIME LEARNING WITH MY BEST FRIEND!”

“I thought Undyne was your best friend?” you say as he speeds away from a perplexed looking Sans, who you wave to with a helpless expression.

“SHE’S MY BEST FRIEND, TOO. YOU CAN HAVE AS MANY BEST FRIENDS AS YOU LIKE!”

Classes go smoothly, but you begin to notice….

Well, you see Sans pretty much everywhere.

Leaving your one class you don’t have with Papyrus, you see him snoozing on a bench outside.

While leaving your part time job sorting all the incoming books for the library on campus, there he is again, at one of the computers looking up jokes.

Even while you’re out getting a haircut, you find him running a little hotdog cart. Finally, you have to ask him what he’s doing.

“Heya, Sans,” you go up to the stand, which is currently empty. “Been seeing you around a lot.”

“why didn’t ya say hi, then, kiddo? my brother sings your praises daily, wouldn’t have minded saying hello.” He’s just got a green apron on over his outfit from before, and you smile.

“I don’t wanna intrude. Just thought I’d ask what was up, y’know? Normally it’s just students at the library. How’d you even get in the computer without a student id?” That had been bothering you for a bit.

“oh, easy. I’m faculty.”

Your brain shorted for a moment, “You…are?”

“yep,” he chuckled, waving you to a seat next to his cart. “turns out a monster phd converts pretty well to a human one. Just consulting with the physics department right now, but once the political climate settles some more, who knows?”

Something bubbles up to the front of your mind, “Oh. Oh! Papyrus said you liked physics once. I guess it’s more of a passion for you than he let on.”

“heh, used to be. might be again. dunno yet.” He looks across the street, away from you. “anyhow, frisk and pap both seem to think you’re the bees’ knees.”

You tilt your head a bit, but then see the little buzzing insects around a flowerbox on the other side of the street. “Oh! hahah, good spot. Yeah, I’m pretty lucky two really cool people decided I’m interesting enough to look after.”

Sans hummed as you both watched the bees, “yeah, they’re both kinda neat folks. My bro’s the coolest though. biased, I know, but it’s true.”

“I can’t argue there,” you feel happy thinking about Papyrus, “He’s taken to school like a fish to water. I really love finally having a friend who’s so positive. Not that my roommate’s not cool, but she’s as tired as I am usually.”

“you got a roomie?” he hums, “then why spend time with my bro? surely you’ve got more in common with her?”

“Hah!” you actually laughed. “I’m a linguistics major, Sans. She’s a botanist. Her side of the room is covered in so many plants I have to take sinus medication 24/7. Nah, she’s a good person but we have nothing in common other than living space and shared love for cheesy family-friendly rom-coms.”

You had gotten so involved with watching a particular bee rolling around a tulip that you didn’t notice when Sans faced you again. “so if she decided to get into a fight, you wouldn’t back her up?”

“Oh, no, I’d pull her out and tell her off for fighting. But she’s always in the greenhouses or labs, so I doubt she’d find anybody to fight with even if she wanted to. More likely to squeak like a dog toy and hide, if we’re being totally honest,” you turn to Sans smiling, but his expression makes you freeze.

His lights were out and the haunting blankness of his huge sockets made you shudder.

“kid, you better be telling the truth. My brother’s the best, but people take advantage of his kindness. If you hurt him, you’re gonna have a bad time.”

Nope, you were not going to stand for that. Getting up, you bolted, and as soon as you made it back to your dorm, you texted Papyrus.

You: Papyrus, we need to talk about your brother.

Papy: WHAT HAS SANS DONE NOW? YOU TWO HAVE BARELY EVEN MET!

You: We talked today and he threatened me.

It takes more than two seconds for an answer. Clearly you’d managed to rattle Papyrus (heh).

Papy: TELL ME EVERYTHING.

You explain yourself, how you kept seeing Sans around when Papyrus wasn’t there, and the incident after your haircut today.

Papyrus doesn’t answer in text, and after a moment or two you get a call from him.

“Papyrus-“

“I AM MORE SORRY THAN WORDS CAN SAY FOR WHAT MY BROTHER DID TODAY.” His voice was hard and serious, something you’d never heard before. “I DON’T BLAME YOU IF YOU’D RATHER NOT TALK ANYMORE AFTER THIS, BUT I ASSURE YOU I WILL HAVE A SERIOUS DISCUSSION WITH HIM ABOUT WHAT HE DID. APPARENTLY, FROM WHAT I GATHER, HE DID THE SAME THING TO FRISK.”

He’d threatened a child?! Not just any child either, your COUSIN! Who saved his people from captivity! You were about to ask about that when Papyrus continued. “FRISK SAYS IT WAS JUSTIFIED, BUT I’M NOT SURE HOW. BUT YOU? YOU HAVE NEVER HARMED ME, NOR ANYONE ELSE, AND HAVE DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE IT. SO, NOW THAT I’VE SAID MY PIECE, WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

You have to turn your brain back on to think for a moment. Papyrus was very dear to you, he was sweet and lifted your spirits no matter what. Still, with a scary protective brother, you weren’t sure if you wanted to be near him anymore.

“Papyrus, I like you. You’re my best friend. But I can’t feel safe around Sans and I’m kind of scared to come to your house ever again. We still have classes together, but I think if we’re going to be friends still, we can only meet out in public or at my place.” Even saying that makes you nervous. Nobody’s ever done this before, threatening you just out of nowhere.

“THAT’S REASONABLE. I CAN HEAR HOW SCARED YOU ARE, Y/N, AND I’M….WELL, INCREDIBLY ASHAMED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF WHY YOU’RE FEELING THAT WAY. THIS WILL NOT GO UNSEEN TO, I SWEAR IT!”

Tears were starting to leak out of your eyes at this point, your adrenaline leaving you tired and scared, but you smile, “I have faith in you, Papyrus. Just…I’m just scared now. I’m gonna try to calm down and I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“YES, THAT IS A GOOD PLAN. TRY TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF UNTIL I CAN BE KIND TO YOU INSTEAD…” There was silence, and then a very soft, worried, “I love you.”

That was enough to get you sobbing, “I love you, too. Be safe.” You had to hang up now, and you curled up under your covers to hide from the world.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Papyrus quickly wiped his sockets. He, too, was crying at the thought of his dear friend, who he loved fiercely, being terrified and menaced by HIS BROTHER of all people. But he was going to fix this.

Yes, he’d been far too late to fix what happened with Frisk, and Frisk themselves didn’t seem too upset by it, but YOU certainly were. He could feel it in the way you’d spoken, how very close he’d been to losing his best friend. He still might lose them.

But he’s going to make the effort to try not to.

Taking several deep breaths, Papyrus left his room and went down the stairs. Sans was on the couch as he’d expected, flipping channels on their TV.

“hey bro, what’s up?” Sans had his normal expression, and it made Papyrus furious.

“BROTHER. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.”

Sitting up, Sans looks confused, “what do you mean?”

Papyrus took another breath, feeling his ribs fill to capacity with the cooling air that helped calm him, “SANS, I JUST GOT SEVERAL VERY FRIGHTENED TEXTS FROM Y/N, AND THEY WERE ABOUT YOU.”

Ah, there, the permanent smile on Sans’ face drooped significantly, “oh.”

“YES, OH.” Rubbing his sockets, as they had started burning like he was going to cry again, Papyrus asked, “DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS WOULD DO TO ME BEFORE YOU THREATENED THEM? DO YOU EVER CONSIDER HOW THIS COULD HAVE MADE THEM SO FRIGHTENED THAT THEY NEVER SPOKE TO ME AGAIN? OR IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? DO YOU WANT ME TO BE ALONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, SANS?”

“n-no, no that’s…I don’t want you lonely, paps, I just want you to be safe.” Sans’ voice and eyelights were both small and shaky. Good, he realized how serious this was.

“I KNOW YOU DID THIS TO FRISK, TOO, AND I’M JUST…SANS, YOU CAN’T THREATEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!” He wanted to move, to do something dramatic, but Papyrus just couldn’t with the weight of his frustration and disappointment. “I LOVE THEM BOTH, AND YOU…YOU DON’T SEEM TO CARE WHAT YOU BREAK ON YOUR WAY TO WHAT YOU CONSIDER MY SAFETY. I’M AN ADULT, SANS, NO STRIPES ANYWHERE, AND I’D LIKE YOU TO TREAT ME LIKE ONE. I KNOW I’M OPTIMISTIC, I KNOW I’M SILLY, BUT THAT’S HOW I LIKE TO BE. I LIKE BEING A GOOD INFLUENCE FOR PEOPLE, AND IF THAT MEANS SOMETIMES I GET MY HEART BROKEN, THEN I LEARN, DON’T I?”

Sans was just staring at him, but he finally found his voice, “but paps, they aren’t like other folks. They’re humans, they have a lot more power and-“

“I KNOW THAT.”

Closing his mouth that had opened to argue, Sans listened. “SANS, DO YOU THINK I WASN’T SCARED WHEN FRISK CAME? I WAS TERRIFIED! I KNEW THEY COULD DUST US BOTH WITH A MOVE, BUT I HAD TO AT LEAST MAKE THE EFFORT TO SHOW THEM THAT WASN’T WHAT HAD TO HAPPEN. I WANTED TO CAPTURE THEM, YES, BECAUSE THAT WOULD HAVE MADE UNDYNE AND EVERYONE ELSE SO PLEASED WITH ME, GIVEN ME MORE OPPORTUNITES TO MAKE THE FRIENDS I WANTED. BUT…THEY LIKED ME.” Papyrus was at a loss. “THEY PLAYED ALONG WITH MY ACT AND SEEMED HAPPY WITH IT. SO I CHANGED MY MIND. I DIDN’T FORGET WHAT THEY COULD DO, WHICH IS WHY I TRIED TO GET UNDYNE TO BE FRIENDS WITH THEM, TOO. I DIDN’T WANT HER TO GET HURT EITHER, OR FOR HER TO HURT FRISK.”

Oh the tears were back and Papyrus scrubbed them away angrily, “BUT NOW I’M WONDERING IF I SUCCEEDED IN SPITE OF YOU! I’M WONDERING IF YOU DIDN’T THREATEN EVERY PERSON I’VE EVER TRIED TO BEFRIEND JUST OUT OF SOME TWISTED SENSE OF PROTECTION!”

Sans just looked at his hands, bones looking ashen as Papyrus tried to hold back his sobs. Had…had he been hurting Papyrus more than helping him all this time? Yeah, Frisk had posed a threat but the kid had made good. Really good, if he had to be honest. And he had seen nothing to really make Y/n any more dangerous than they were. And now Papyrus was crying.

“SANS, I DON’T BLAME YOU FOR BEING AFRAID OF WHAT HUMANS CAN DO TO US, BUT I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU DON’T TRUST ME ENOUGH TO MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS ABOUT FRIENDS. IT HURTS, AND…AND EVEN THOUGH I’M SURE YOU DID IT OUT OF LOVE FOR ME I JUST CAN’T FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT RIGHT NOW,” sniffling a little, Papyrus couldn’t even look at his brother. “I’M GOING TO STAY WITH UNDYNE FOR A FEW DAYS. I HOPE YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO…WELL, NOT DO THIS AGAIN. THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES MORE. SOMETHING.”

Escaping back up the stairs, Papyrus quickly packed three days’ worth of clothes and essentials, then ran out the door. He just couldn’t believe his older brother had betrayed his trust like this.

It was pretty awkward with you and Papyrus after that.

You tried to talk like normal, but he was sad, and you were scared.

Two months after the incident, you got sick of it. “Papy, let’s go to Bungle Land.”

“OH?” he perked a little, “WE HAVEN’T BEEN FOR A LONG TIME. OKAY.”

Grinning, you took his hand and ran to your car, giving him the option to drive if he wanted. He had his license, but just hadn’t gotten around to buying the perfect car for him. But he refused, wanting to save driving for his own dream car, so you let him move the passenger seat back as far as he liked while you drove to the local theme park.

And you had fun. Papyrus was an adrenaline junkie and took you on every ride, while you were a game shark, trying your hand at the carnival games and loving the useless and low quality plushies you won from them. You both had a lovely collection of little birds, though Papyrus had exchanged five of his for a larger plush of a super hero, more to his tastes, from this trip alone. Thank stars for your yearly pass, and the lovely guest vouchers that came with it.

Finally, as the sun was going down and you were hungry, Papyrus guided you toward one of the stands before a familiar voice made your heart freeze, “hey you two. Pretzels and lemonade?”

Papyrus’ expression soured, “SANS, DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS THE TIME FOR ONE OF YOUR ODD JOBS? WE WERE HAVING FUN.” He’d gotten an apology from Sans a while back now, and a Promise not to repeat his blunder, but he still wasn’t sure of Sans’ intentions for Y/n.

“I really didn’t think you’d be here today, pap, swear on my bones,” Sans looked exhausted and held up his hands. “but tell me what you want and I’ll make it while I do something I’ve been meaning to.”

You just say you want a pepperoni pretzel and a cherry lemonade, and Papyrus goes for a normal pretzel with a blue raspberry lemonade, but you’re nervous. The skeleton had threatened you, after all, even if your fear of him had mostly shifted to annoyance at his cheek in doing so.

Getting your food, Sans said softly, “I know I’m nobody’s favorite person right now, so I’ll make it short. I realized I’ve been overbearing, stepped over a lot of lines, and need to work on myself. I’m really sorry, y/n, for acting like you were going to hurt papyrus when I don’t even know you. it was wrong, and I’m going to try and see a therapist to get a hold on my…paranoia.”

That…was honestly one of the best and most sincere apologies you’d ever had. You can’t help smiling, and you can almost feel the pride radiating off Papyrus for his brother. “Okay, Sans. That was a proper apology, and you haven’t done any stalking that I’ve noticed so…apology accepted. I hope your therapy goes well.”

He looks so relieved, shoulders sagging noticeably, but his smile turns more genuine and he nods, “okie dokie. Go have fun, and I’ll see you at home, paps.”

“YES YOU WILL! YOU’RE GETTING THE IMPROVED VERSION OF SPAGHETTI TONIGHT FOR THAT!” It’s heartwarming to hear the excitement in his voice, and the brighter smile on his face, “YOU DID A GOOD THING! BYE, SANS!”

“Bye, Sans,” you add, and he waves you both off. Even if he was the one who finally apologized, you felt a weight off of yourself as well, and his gaze no longer made you feel like demons were on your back.

#fic #reader x papyrus

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keelywolfe · 4 years

Text

FIC: Casting Its Shroud Over All We Have Known

Summary: It's daylight and Edge has no interest in dealing with the secrets of the night. He's got plenty enough on his mind.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Brotherly Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnancy, More Angst

Warnings: Implied underage pregnancy. Implied miscarriages. Past Trauma.

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Chapter List

What Will Be, Will Be

Something To Say, But Nothing Comes

Can’t Go On, Thinking Nothing’s Wrong

Seldom All They Seem

Voices Are Heard But Nothing Is Seen

Winter Makes You Laugh a Little Slower

That Place Where You Can’t Remember and You Can’t Forget

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

It was getting harder for Edge to get up in the mornings. Perhaps it was something to do with the differences in the universes that the mattresses were more comfortable. Or perhaps it was that the Swap brothers had a better furnace in their house and better blankets on their beds, keeping the space beneath the covers so toasty warm that it was difficult to leave it behind and head out into the cold Snowdin air in two difference Universes.

Or perhaps it was the fact that Rus was beneath those blankets with him and Edge was finding it more difficult by the day to leave Rus behind.

With great reluctance, Edge forced himself to climb out of the embrace of covers and Rus’s arms, hissing at the chill against his bare bones as he skinned into his trousers. Still in the bed, Rus made a dissatisfied little sound as he rolled into the warm spot Edge left behind without even waking up. And no wonder, he’d been up far too late last night on his talk with Red, he needed his rest.

Edge refused to think too deeply about that particular conversation. Last night’s secrets were best left in the darkness they crept out in. That was a door his brother closed a very long time ago and Edge had no interest in forcing it open. Red was his brother, he would always be his brother, and soon, he would be an uncle. Edge could only hope that he was willing to step into that role when the time came.

By the time he was finished dressing, Rus managed to somehow swathe himself into a ball of blankets and sheets, the top of his skull barely visible above the tangle. Hopefully, he’d sleep for some time yet. The baby was growing in leaps and bounds, Blue had already let out Rus’s normal pants twice and now Rus stuck with a pair of pajama pants and a very oversized sweatshirt that still didn’t manage to hide his rounded belly. Carrying around that unaccustomed weight was visibly exhausting for him, along with the constant drain on his magic that no amount of rest or food seemed to fully replenish. Despite Blue and their Undyne’s assurances that Rus was healthy enough, seeing him so worn was disheartening, especially since there was little Edge could do to help.

Soon, Edge told himself, soon the baby would be here, and Rus would never need to endure this again.

As unlikely as it was that anything would wake Rus, Edge shut the door carefully and made his way downstairs. He stepped out into the bracing cold and started to walk around the house to the basement stairs, his mind on his patrol, his scheduled training with Undyne tomorrow, and not at all on the happenings of the night before. He did not want to think about crouching in the dark, listening as Red slurred out the answers to the rumors Edge heard whispered around New Home whenever he was forced to meet with Asgore, he didn’t, and—

Years of living on the streets in Underfell ingrained in him a sense of constant awareness and Edge turned instinctively towards the figure coming up behind him at the first crunch of a boot through the crust of snow.

“Hey!” He only caught a glimpse of hulking yellow shouting at him before it moved in a blur, hands lashing out as they hurled axes formed from magic at him. Edge knew a killing attack when one was coming and this one was not. He dodged the axes easily and they struck the house without so much as denting the siding, dissolving in a burst of lightning. Edge dove for cover behind a tall pine tree and crouched down in wait, his own burning magic pulled forth and ready to sally an attack of his own as he eyed his opponent warily.

Alphys.

But not any Alphys he’d ever known. Edge hadn’t met this world’s version, he’d only seen her picture in passing, but there was no mistaking her. The facial resemblance to his own was uncanny and that was where the similarities ended.

No thick-lensed glasses for this version of Alphys. She was taller, close to Edge’s height, but much broader, a massive, hulking size. The arms of the jacket she wore against the cold strained, bulging muscles concealed beneath the cloth and one of her eyes was scarred and unseeing, milky white in contrast the blue blaze of the other. The claws on her hands were longer, sharper, and so were her teeth, every inch the ferocious Monster of Human legends.

She drew closer and Edge watched calculatingly, noting that her size certainly did not inhibit her movements; she walked with the grace of a predator and had the intelligence to stay out of arm’s reach. This was a formidable foe and from the way she eyed him up and down, she did not return that sentiment, saying bluntly. “You must be the baby daddy. You look like someone Papyrus would hook up with.”

Well, then. Edge stood up and stepped out from behind the tree to glare at her, since the rule of the day seemed to be rudeness given and rudeness returned, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She ignored the question, stamping in closer to loom in front of him. “I got something to say, so listen up, deadbeat. Papyrus can be a shitty brother and he’s a worse sentry. But if you hurt him, I’ll twist you around so hard you’ll be able to see your tailbone by looking up, you get me?”

He supposed she expected him to be irritated, angry, perhaps even to attack her. The thrumming static of magic was heavy in the air, she was braced and ready to absorb anything he sent her way. But Edge was already letting his formed magic drain away, he wasn’t angry in the slightest. On the contrary, it was comforting to know there was at least one person in Underswap who dealt properly in threats.

He lowered his head in a slight bow, allowing a small concession. “That’s good to know,” Edge said honestly. “Thank you for looking out for him.”

That must not have been the reaction Alphys was expecting. She blinked and every emotion she felt was on display as it ran across her face, confusion, irritation, a bare hint of cautious respect. It was so like his Undyne that Edge fought against a smile; her inability to keep her emotions properly under wraps was at least one of the reasons Undyne’s helmet had a face shield. Edge’s ability to school his features to bland unreadability was impeccable and he did, meeting Alphys’s scowling glare with calm sincerity.

“Guess you must not be too bad,” Alphys conceded grudgingly. She gave him a hard poke in the sternum with a finger that protruded from a fist nearly the size of a canned ham, “I’m watching you, deadbeat.”

“I’m sure you—"

Alphys didn’t wait for him to finish. She spun on her heel and tromped away, tail dragging in the snow as she headed in the direction of Underswap’s Waterfall.

The childish temptation to send an attack between her shoulders to knock her face-first into the snow was nigh on overwhelming. Edge resisted it; to begin with, Rus would likely not appreciate him going to war with the captain of the Underswap guard over a simple shovel speech. He also didn’t have the time to deal with the inevitable aftermath right now and regretfully, he turned towards the back of the house and headed to the basement stairs. Perhaps he could ask Blue to bring him along on one of his training sessions, a chance to spar with an unknown Monster was tantalizing, he might even learn a new move or two to use against his Undyne—

He spun around, magic surging to the fore again as words came out of nowhere around him.

“good thing you didn’t kill her, woulda pissed the blueberry off something awful.”

The speech was echoing, directionless, and Edge turned slowly, searching, until he caught sight of crimson eye lights peered slyly around the side of the house, Red’s serrated teeth curved in an irritating smile.

Edge shook away the attack and lifted his chin, stalking past his brother to the door. “You’ve hardly spoken to me for weeks and you think now is the time to interject your opinions?”

Red only shrugged and fell into step behind him through the door, their boots plodding heavily on the stairs. “what’s it matter? ain’t like you listen either way. you headed back home?”

“I am headed back to Underfell, yes.”

“uh huh.” Red shoved his hands into his pockets, watching as Edge turned on the machine. It hummed obediently to life and he keyed in the coordinates for their universe. “so this’s what you’re planning’ on doing, then? keep hopping back and forth, hoping one day you don’t zig instead of zag and get your ass dusted?”

“I don’t have an expansive selection of choices.” The moment the whine of the machine hit its highest pitch, Edge stabbed the button to open the portal. Shimmering, silent blackness formed in the gateway and Edge stepped through it and into his own universe. Perhaps it was the lingering chill of the void but somehow their basement always seemed colder than the Swap brothers’.

Red was still following him, stomping his feet as if trying to knock off any lingering void as he trailed behind Edge up the stairs. His voice rose over their echoing steps. “maybe not, but you got at least two, all nice and simple; stay here in the dust or stay there with rus and the kid.”

Edge stopped at the top of the stairs, his gloved hand resting on the doorknob. On the other side of the door was Underfell, with its promise of death and dust. And other children, other Monsters who were too weak to defend themselves against the LV hunters. People who needed the guard to protect them and the guard needed a Captain. “We can’t abandon the people of Snowdin.”

“you can’t abandon them,” Red grumbled out. Behind him, Edge could hear the rustle of clothing, the creak of the stairs as Red shifted his weight. He sighed heavily. “but i can’t abandon you. whatever you decide, boss, i’m with you.”

Edge closed his sockets and let his head drop, his forehead resting on the cold steel of the door. Not that he ever thought Red would abandon him, he hadn’t, but the last few weeks had been…unsettling. His brother had never been so cold to him before, his anger so unyielding towards Edge even as he kept watch over Rus and their child. His brother.

kid was a pain in the ass, but he was mine

“Thank you, brother,” Edge said, softly, and he meant every single word.

Then he firmly turned the doorknob and stepped out into his world. Only to be immediately grabbed and slammed back into the side of his house, and the only thing that spared Undyne’s good eye from a bone spearing through it was Edge aborting it so quickly that he felt the burn of backlash in his soul. He fought off the pain, hissing out, “What the fuck are you doing!”

“Me?” she snarled back. She was breathing too hard, agitated and angry, her teeth clenched around a sneer. Her clawed hand was icy around Edge’s cervical vertebra, she hadn’t even bothered to put on a jacket or gloves against the cold. “What the fuck did your brother do to Alphys?”

Ah. That explained the anger. Edge didn’t struggle in her grip, relaxing against the side of the house as he asked calmly. “Is she hurt?”

In her good eye, a tinge of red light suffused her pupil, her voice a near subsonic growl. “Guess that depends on your definition of hurt.”

“Then I suppose she should have considered Sans before she offered me her ‘congratulations’ on my child and asked after my significant other.” Acid fairly dripped from the words, as poisonous as Alphys’s offering of tea.

It took a moment for that to pierce Undyne’s temper but when it did, the manic redness in her gaze faded. Her grip loosened, then she let go entirely, her head dropping down between her shoulders as she hunched down, muttering out a string of curses, each more vile than the last.

Edge straightened his shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles from her grip even as he discreetly dissolved the thin stiletto of a bone that had been concealed in his palm. One of her nails must have torn through the fabric and he scowled, poking a finger through the hole irritably, “I take it she didn’t mention that.”

“Nah, she didn’t.” Undyne offered him a thin, toothy smile. “But she wasn’t talking much, anyway. Don’t think you need to worry about her pestering your skitten.”

For now, Edge did not say. “You might consider going back to her, it could be she’d appreciate your specific brand of comfort.”

A blotchy, ruddy blush infused her cheeks and she barked out a laugh, “I can get laid on my own, I sure as fuck don’t need any favors from your brother or advice from you, nerd.” A certain gleam rose in her eye, the very opposite of her earlier anger, “’course, it’d be stupid not to take advantage of a mood, wouldn’t it.”

“Do enjoy and do not tell me anything about it,” Edge said, dryly.

She laughed again, raucously loud, but it faded into an unexpectedly sober look. She glanced around, belatedly lowering her voice as she murmured, “Papyrus? For what it’s worth, I didn’t tell her about the kid.”

“I know.” He hadn’t, but it was good to hear her say it.

“See you tomorrow, nerd.” She turned on her heel and walked away before he could say another word and it was a moment of mirrored déjà vu, watching as she tromped off in the direction of the Riverperson; Undyne giving Edge her back was a deliberate show of her trust, as opposed to Swap Alphys’s insult.

“you believe her?”

This time his brother’s voice coming from nowhere was not a surprise. “I do, which means you may need to check over the audio distorters.” He finally turned to look up at his brother, who was lounging on the snowy rooftop, his sneakers braced against the gutters and a slender sharpened bone dangling idly between his fingers. Trust him to always be able to find the high ground. He glared at Red sourly. “Care to explain what you did to Alphys?”

Red only shrugged, tossing the bone to dissolve in the air and sending a miniature avalanche of snow to the ground. “heard about your tea party with her. been a while since i saw alphy, thought it might be time we had a chat, reminisce about old times and all.”

“And where did you hear about it?”

His grin widened mockingly, “always tell you, little brother, around here, the walls ain’t the only thing with ears.”

“Nor are they the only things without them, unless you’ve grown a pair. Can you at least assure me that it was worth antagonizing our allies?”

“doubt it. but she ain’t gonna hurt your kid.”

“Did she tell you that?” Edge asked. Red’s confidence was about as trustworthy as his rare promises, honest only to a point. “And do you believe her?”

Red’s grin was a sharpened knife, his eye lights glittering with blood-red sparks. “i do now. better get goin’ on patrol, little brother, those fancy traps of yours won’t check themselves.”

“You—” Red was gone before Edge could remind him that he needed to get to his own damned sentry station.

He blew out an impatient breath and stalked up the barely cleared path from their basement to the walkways of Snowdin proper. None of the citizens greeted him, instead scurrying out of his path and that was as it should be. His duty to the people here was to protect him from the XP Hunters and the LV-maddened Monsters that haunted the depths of the woods. He was not here for friendship or any companions past those he commanded. He was the Great and Terrible Papyrus and they would do well to remember it.

He did not spare a thought towards Rus, hopefully still sleeping in the cozy warmth of the bed they’d been sharing, their child still cradled safely in his belly.

His patrol went as perfect as was possible, considering the events of the morning. All the traps were clear, the Dogs were at their stations. Red’s post was empty but there were fresh footprints in the snow so he’d at least gone there earlier and then vacated before Edge could gripe at him for sleeping on the job. There were only a couple traps left on the very outskirts and he was headed to them when his phone began to ring, a distinct ringtone meant for emergencies only.

Edge took the moment to check his surroundings, scanning the woods. As anxious as he was to know why Rus was calling, he couldn’t afford to allow himself to get sloppy, especially not when he was alone. Only then did he press the answer call button, lifting the phone to his auditory canal, “Rus? Are you all right?”

The voice on the line was staticky this far away from Snowdin proper, “do you have any pillows?”

Edge nearly asked Rus to repeat it, half convinced that he couldn’t have possibly heard that right. “Pillows?” he echoed doubtfully, fully expecting to be corrected.

“yes!” Rus snapped back testily and that in itself was strange. Even at his most aggravated, Rus kept a firm hold on his temper, offering insults with lazily brutal precision instead of shouts. Anger was effort and he’d always kept his expenditures low. Until now. “pillows! do you have them or not!”

“I…yes?”

“good.” The relief fairly dripped from Rus’s voice. “i need them.”

“You need…pillows?” Edge repeated.

“did i stutter?” Through the static on the line, he heard Rus suddenly heave in a clotted breath, so wretched and teary that Edge’s soul clenched in sympathy. “i need pillows!”

“Shh, calm down,” Edge soothed. All right, so it wasn’t a traditional emergency, but Rus’s distress was real enough. He gave his surrounds another glance and turned back to town, his long strides eating up the distance. “Pillows, I hear you, I understand, you need pillows. Yes, we have some, several.”

“can you bring them with you tonight?” Again, that unhappy, hitched breath. “please. i need them.”

“Of course,” Edge said, trying for reassuring even through his confusion. “They’re yours, any we have.”

Rus let out a shuddery breath, whispering gratefully, “thank you.”

This was passing strange on an already strange day. “Rus? Are you all right?”

“yeah, i’m fine,” Now that he had secured a promise of pillows, he sounded distracted. “i gotta go. stay safe, okay?”

“I wi—” The line went dead before he could finish. Under his breath he muttered again. “Pillows?”

There was really only one way he was going to get an explanation. Edge headed back towards Snowdin, making mental plans. He could send the Dogi to check the last traps; if he phrased it as a show of trust rather than asking a favor, they would do it eagerly, always prepared to demonstrate their loyalty.

The pillows themselves might prove to be another problem. Despite his assurances, he only had a single pillow on his own bed and he wasn’t about to subject Rus to any of Red’s without a chance to sterilize them. They did have a couple of throw pillows, but that meager offering didn’t seem like enough for Rus’s level of upset and Edge could only picture his expression if he brought a mere three pillows as a contribution. No, he’d need to secure extras from somewhere else and there was only one place Edge could reasonably consider.

He could only hope to survive unscathed.

~~*~~

“heya, edgelord,” Sans yawned out. He looked up at Edge from where he was leaning against the doorjamb with as much interest as he could muster. From the vague sleepiness lingering over him like a miasma, it wasn’t much.

“Hello,” Edge said curtly. “I’m sorry, I don’t have time for niceties. Do you have any extra pillows I can borrow?”

Truthfully, he had no idea how much time there was, though the chances of Rus dying for a lack of pillows did seem unlikely. What he did know was that speaking with Sans was always simultaneously better and worse than talking to his brother, each tipping to the furthest end of their scale. There might be very little that could work Sans up enough to put the effort into making someone bleed, but his stare was like Red’s, direct and unflinching, always seeing far too much.

There was nothing in him that Edge wouldn’t allow Red to see, no secrets to keep hidden from him. Sans might resemble his brother, but he wasn’t and Edge was always deeply uncomfortable beneath the endless depths of his gaze.

That gaze was settled on him firmly now, sleepiness vanishing as Sans’s brow bones climbed up his forehead. Wonderful, now he was intrigued. “pillows?” he echoed.

Suddenly, Rus’s earlier frustrations made much more sense. “Yes, pillows! Soft square things that people lay their heads on. Pillows!”

“yeah, yeah, i get you, don’t get your panties twisted, it’ll ruin the leather.” Sans left the door open and wandered back into the house, leaving it for Edge to close behind him. He was wearing one slipper and trying to slide his foot into the other, socks sagging down his ankles. “lookin’ to cosplay as the stay-puff marshmallow man?”

“They aren’t for me, they’re for Rus.”

That got him a shrewd glance, Sans’s teeth parted in a silent ‘ah’. “gotcha. welp, anything for the upcoming mama.”

“I don’t know why you and Red insist on calling him that,” Edge said irritably, “he doesn’t like it.”

Sans frowned slightly, as much as he could around the constraints of his skull. “no? sorry ‘bout that, he never said. i’ll stop, but i’d guess for your bro that’s the main reason he does it.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“how’s things goin’ with rus, anyway, haven’t seen him lately.”

Hardly a surprise. Rus wasn’t supposed to use the machine any more than he should be teleporting, and Sans never seemed particularly fond of it himself. He’d always been perfectly content to allow visitors to come to him and whether that was simple laziness or something else entirely, Edge did not know.

“well?” Sans prompted. “you two doing all right?” His eye lights were pale white, nothing at all like Red’s crimson and yet, somehow, they sent a tremor down Edge’s spine.

Enough of this. Perhaps Rus’s need for pillows wasn’t a fatal issue, but that didn’t mean Edge wanted to hold off getting them to him. “If you’re warming up for a lecture of some sort, I’ve already spoken to a version of Alphys, my Undyne, and my own brother today. I’m full up, so I’d appreciate it if you could save it for a day when my self-esteem is particularly high and might need taken down a peg or two.”

Sans only looked at him in mild surprise. “no lectures. not really seeing a need for it, seems to me you’re doing okay by rus. ‘course, i’m not privy to all the details, but i don’t really need ‘em. none of my business, unless you’re planning on knocking up my bro, too.” The way his eye lights flickered out was nothing close to mild, and the darkness in his sockets only resembled blackness. “don’t recommend that, by the way.”

As if the same trick his brother often pulled was anything close to a threat. “I’ll keep it in mind if I get any sudden urges to impregnate anyone else,” Edge said dryly.

“’preciate it. pillows,” Sans said decisively. Between one step and the next he disappeared and then returned only moments later, announcing. “help yourself.”

The mass of fluffiness was worth a brief stare, if only for the shock that the Tale brothers seemed to have an unexpected collection of pillows stowed away somewhere in their home. Edge took Sans at his word, piling in as many into his inventory as would fit. Sans’s easy expression never changed, even as Edge tried to force in yet another. “Won’t your brother mind?”

“paps?” Sans only gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “nah, not if i tell him they’re for rus. he’s pretty excited to meet the kiddo.”

“So am I,” Edge murmured. “Thank you.”

“sure. do us a favor and give ‘em a wash before you bring ‘em back? it’s gonna get a little messy when the baby finally decides to make an appearance, yeah?”

There was something peculiar in Sans’s voice, something that didn’t match his normal lazy ease. It gave Edge a pause and he hesitated, giving Sans a scrutinizing look. Without his hoodie, Sans looked smaller and that too was reminiscent of Red. Even Edge usually only saw his brother without a hoodie when he was too unconscious to prevent it. Sans met that gaze evenly, his smile never faltering. But then, it really couldn’t, could it.

“I’ll wash them myself,” Edge told him slowly.

Sans snorted and shook his head. “you know what, don’t make it a priority, you’re gonna be busier than one-armed shit-shoveler pretty damn soon. guess you better head out, if rus’s asking for pillows, he’s getting close.”

“What do you--?”

It was fascinating really, to be steadily herded towards the door by someone who never bothered to take his hands out of his pockets. Edge was standing on the porch with a pillow in his arms before he even noticed he was through the front door and Sans was on the other side of the threshold, offering him an easy little wave. “see you around, edgelord.”

“Thank you agai—” The door closed with a firm click. Edge sighed and said to no one at all, “It would be nice if someone let me finish a single sentence today.”

But as strange as Sans’s pronouncement was, Edge took him at his word. Rus needed pillows for something and if that something was the birth of their child, then time might be at a more of constraint than he suspected.

Edge headed back to the Tale brothers’ basement at a jog, pillow in hand and Rus was the only thing on his mind.

~~*~~

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #underfell sans #pregnancy fic

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undertalethingies · 4 years

Text

Judge and Jury

Set after a pacifist neutral ending. (Only Asgore is dead)

Not long after the queen returned, she called a meeting of all Asgore’s old employees. It made sense to, right? Gotta figure out who’s assigned to do what and who’s got tasks they weren’t supposed to chat about and all that jazz.

Sans very nearly didn’t come. But Tori knew he worked as a sentry, so if he didn’t show, she’d notice, and he really didn’t want them finally actually meeting to be marred by her disappointment at his work ethic.

...Or that was what he’d tell other people, if they asked. Truth was, Sans’ sense of duty ran a lot deeper than he let most people pick up on. He’d always cared deeply about the kingdom and the people in it. It was why he’d been chosen as Judge, actually. Because he had both the compassion to choose mercy when it was right and the resolve to fight when necessary.

He still didn’t know whether he’d made the right decision with the human, even though he knew both Asgore and Toriel would approve, if he explained.

Not that he could explain anything to Asgore, now.

...Dammit, he missed the big guy. And the human would still have kept going even if Sans had fought them, sure. They had too much DT to do otherwise, but it didn’t stop him from feeling like even more of a useless shit than usual.

Anyway, the meeting. He went.

Looking around, he could see that not everyone had. Two of the Hotland guards had skipped, along with the Temmies. The latter might be for the best, in all honesty. Even Sans, who was probably the most informed monster in the Underground even before Asgore kicked it, had never been made aware what exactly the Tems did. The few cryptic hints they’d given him over the years had only made him want to know less.

The attendees included all of the Snowdin Guard (including him and Papyrus, the sentries), Undyne, two guards from hotland who he didn’t know all that well, Alphys, and a couple monsters from New home who served in administrative capacities.

Toriel made a speech about how, while she would be dismantling the Royal Guard, she had plans to keep many of them on the payroll as a police force, which shouldn’t be too big a change from their previous duties. (While the Royal Guard ostensibly existed to capture humans, they fell far too rarely for an entire force dedicated solely to capturing them to make sense, so they also acted as a disciplinary force)

Sans made plans to talk with Undyne about letting Papyrus into the new force, since he doubted she’d realize that this removed any reason to keep him off. (Papyrus was pretty much the ideal cop, in Sans’ opinion. Hard to be a criminal when he was so freakin’ nice)

Undyne would be remaining the Captain, apparently. Despite her actions in attempting to capture the human, she’d been acting for the good of her people, and so long as she didn’t let “the ends justify the means” act as an excuse for cruelty again, Tori had no issue with her.

Or that’s what she said, at least. Sans suspected that it was more because Tori didn’t know anyone well enough to appoint a captain who’d be better than Undyne, so she just didn’t bother.

Then she went through the administrators, having them explain their roles and their duties. She didn’t immediately change much there, probably wanting to get a feel for how the kingdom had changed in her absence first, which seemed reasonable.

She had a brief discussion with Alphys as well, and he got the sense that there was definitely more of that to come later. Toriel seemed like the type to expect regular reports from her Royal Scientist, and Sans wondered how long she’d be able to keep the DT experiments a secret with actual oversight.

Then came the part he’d been dreading, where Toriel turned to him.

“Forgive me, old friend, but I do not actually know all of the jobs you worked for Asgore?” There was nothing but polite curiosity in her tone, and he knew she probably wasn’t expecting him to say much more than “sentry”. He’d hinted a few times that his real role is a bit more than that, which was probably the only reason she was asking at all, but he knew she’d probably never guess his real role in her wildest dreams.

“eh, fair. i kinda do a lot,” he was being deliberately vague, unable to resist delaying this revelation for just a few extra moments. Alphys met his gaze, and he could tell she understood.

“Yes, but what, precisely?” Toriel asked, getting that glint in her eye he recognized from every parent he’d ever spoken to. Say what you will about people with kids, but they knew when you dodged a question.

“well, i’m a sentry in snowdin, waterfall, and hotland,” He was, indeed, a sentry in all of those places. It wasn’t like he was lying, just… omitting a detail. Next to him, Papyrus narrowed his eyes slightly, because Papyrus could smell Sans fudging the truth from miles away at this point. He didn’t say anything, though, since he knew it was rude to talk out of turn in a meeting like this. (Sans had briefed him, beforehand, on the social niceties that would be involved)

Toriel just looked mildly startled, presumably thinking of the commute between regions, since he’d never really talked to her about his shortcuts. (He’d never really talked to anyone about his shortcuts, just used them and let them draw their own conclusions)

“You manned three stations? That seems like quite a lot,” Heh, she had no idea.

“eh, i manage,” He could see from Tori’s face that she doubted that, but she was polite and didn't say so.

“S-Sans,” Oh, great. Alphys was glaring at him the way she did when he was being an idiot, and he supposed that he kinda deserved it. No way Tori wasn’t gonna ask who the Judge was at some point, y’know? It wasn’t really a role the kingdom could do without.

“I-if. If you d-don’t tell her, she’ll, she’ll find it in the r-records and then it’ll b-be awkward,” Sans looked to the side.

“i mean, bold of you to assume i wouldn’t just doctor ‘em if i wanted it to be a secret,” Several people in the room looked mildly alarmed, and he wasn’t sure why. He was only implying he had the means to easily edit some of the most highly secured documents in the kingdom, after all. Lol.

“Sans,” Alphys hissed. He knew she was being serious because she didn’t stutter on his name at all, and she only tended to forget to when she was totally pissed. Apparently this actually mattered to her, then. Or maybe she just didn’t want him to get caught in a lie the way she had been, which was a nice sentiment, if misplaced.

“yeah, ok. so i’m not just a sentry,” He admitted. Toriel’s eyebrows drew together into a slightly concerned expression.

“Sans, exactly how many jobs do you work?”

“well, if the sentries are all separate, that’s three. then there’s the semi illegal hotdog stand, but i do that at the hotland station, so i’m not really sure if it counts as its own thing. i also do comedy gigs at mettaton’s hotel sometimes, and then there’s, uh, the one alph was talking about,” His expression slid into something vaguely sheepish and he rubbed at the back of his skull with a gloved hand. He really didn’t want to talk about this, necessary as it may be.

“And what job would that be, Sans?” Toriel asked politely. She was being nice about it, but he could tell she was getting a bit annoyed at his evasion.

Sans placed his hands in his lap, looking her straight in the eye with a serious expression. He kept his tone serious, too, so she’d know he was telling the truth.

“I’m the Judge.” He ended his sentence with a period, even though he knew it wasn’t strictly proper. He’d always liked the finalty a period conveys.

Toriel’s eyes widened, along with Undyne’s. Sans had been pretty surprised when Asgore had said he didn’t want to disclose Sans’ identity to the Captain, but the late King had explained that, while he trusted her unconditionally, he knew Sans wanted to keep his role on the downlow, and Undyne wasn’t exactly chosen for her skills at subtlety.

Sans didn’t see even a speck of surprise in his brother’s expression, which filled him with pride. He’d never outright told Pap about his job, but he’d always been more perceptive than he let on, and Sans had been pretty sure he’d known. This basically confirmed it.

“You never mentioned that,” Says Tori, looking like she felt a bit betrayed but was trying to hide it.

“nothing personal, tor. i just, uh, strongly dislike talking about it,” Sans said, attempting to reassure her. It was the truth. Sans had always loathed people who used high status positions like Judge to get extra privileges or whatever, and he disliked the fear the Judge was regarded with even more. (He’d known the old Judge, and he’d seen the way the guy got treated by those around him. It wasn’t anything he wanted for himself)

Toriel looked mollified by his admission, meanwhile Undyne was still gaping like a fish because she knew both his stats and the things he’d done during his tenure as Judge, and was probably having difficulty reconciling the two seemingly conflicting accounts in her mind.

“I see. Well, we will certainly need to discuss this later, but perhaps it might be better to do so in private,” Wonderful. At least then he’d only be revealing the extremely personal information that had to do with his job to one person, rather than literally everyone employed by Asgore.

On that note, he was pretty sure that the news of him being the Judge would be all over the underground within hours of this meeting’s conclusion, so that was fun.

Man could he not wait for the reset.

#undertale #undertale fanfic #undertale fanfiction #this is probably the most words i've ever typed in one sitting #i don't know how to write satisfying ending so i just don't write an ending at all #sans #toriel #alphys #undyne #vague angst is my jam #along with communication #i'm probably not going to follow this up #obligatory 'people find out sans is the judge' fic #i'm also working on the obligatory 'genocide run judgement hall' fic so look forward to that i guess #and i have a rant i need to edit #because i haven't been finishing anything lately at all #judge and jury

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kytea · 4 years

Text

The True Nature of Deltarune

Deltarune Chapter 1 has been out for over a year now, and being the big UT/DR fan that I am, I’ve been slowly mulling over both games, reading many fan theories and putting together my own interpretation of what I believe the nature and goal of Deltarune will be. This will be a long one so grab some popcorn, put on your matpat hats and click to keep reading!

So what is Deltarune? Is it a sequel to Undertale? Is it a prequel? Is it an alternate universe? Is it the coming of age story of a bunch of teens? Is it a complex meta-narrative on the nature of video games?

The answer is yes to all of the above. And to begin delving into this we must first understand the creator of this game: Toby Fox.

I won’t toot Toby’s Fox’s horn too much, we all know how talented and hardworking he is, but he’s also very emotionally perceptive and empathic. His general disposition is reminiscent of avant-garde artists that push the boundaries of artistic creation in a medium.

Toby loves mysteries, and in the early version of Undertale there was an included file that disparaged hackers and went on to say that it’s difficult to add mysteries in games these days due to data miners and such.

Thankfully, this did not stop Toby from lovingly adding quite a few big mysteries to Undertale that have yet to be resolved. Knowing Toby and his strong desire to share his story, a story that according to him, kept him awake at night:

“For the past 3 years I've been waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep because I've been thinking about the scenes that happen in the game. Even though so many details are still hazy, I really want to show you the things I've been thinking about.That's really my only reason for making this game. If I don't show you what I'm thinking, I'll lose my mind.“

I don’t believe Toby will let these mysteries go unanswered, and it is here that we can begin to understand what Deltarune is about.

The Mystery of W.D. Gaster

Truly, the biggest mystery of Undertale is that of W.D. Gaster: former royal scientist, creator of the CORE and the Determination Extraction machine.

A player can go through the entirety of Undertale multiple times and never even hear word of Gaster’s existence. This is because all the events that pertain to him are hidden behind a value in the game’s files known as the “FUN value”. Outside of actually manipulating this file manually yourself, it is, to the average player, random. The FUN value can trigger multiple different events throughout the game, some of which include running into “Followers of Gaster” or even Gaster himself.

While the latter has nothing to say before he “boings” out of existence, the former Followers all tell an eerie tale of a scientist who fell into his own creation and was scattered across time and space.

But hold on. Time and space? Why does that sound familiar?

Ah yes, during the Sans battle he speaks about an “massive anomaly in the timespace continuum”.

And during this battle Sans says a lot of other cryptic things without context, for example, he laments not being able to “go back” somewhere. But where or when is he referring to?

He mentions how he and others were monitoring time-lines and their readings showed them stopping and starting, jumping left and right, and eventually ending. Who was he monitoring these readings with? This all seems incredibly scientific and sci-fi, I thought Sans was just a silly skeleton, is he some kind of time cop? (he does have a “badge” in his workshop) He also uses skeletal weapons known as “Gaster Blasters”.

What…? Gaster Blaster?

Okay, now we KNOW Sans DEFINITELY has some connection to this mysterious scientist W.D. Gaster, but what? Well, for starters W.D. Gaster is short for Wing Dings Gaster, a type of font that he also speaks in.

Who else is named after and speaks in specific font types? Sans and Papyrus of course!

Furthermore, in the concept sketches for Papyrus, Toby wrote and redacted parts of a message that says: “has a brother named comic sans and a [BLANK] named [BLANK]”.

Who is this mysterious redacted person and what is their relationship to Sans and Papyrus? The easy money is on a family member, and for sake of argument lets use the prediction most of the fandom has already concluded and accepted: that Sans and Papyrus have a father named Gaster.

So Sans and Papyrus have a long lost father that was a scientist. This explanation would begin to explain why Sans has a weapon named after him, and why he wanted to “go back” to some place or time, perhaps in an effort to save him from his fate.

There’s a hidden event in Undertale where if you reset after listening to Sans speak about LOVE and EXP in a pacifist route, and initiate the conversion a couple of times in a row, he’ll catch on by the expression your face that you’ve heard it before and will surmise that you’re a time traveller and give you secret code words to tell his past self.

This will lead to him giving you the key to his room which ends up just being a prank at first.

But then you find a key to the secret workshop/basement hidden behind his house.

Once you enter the workshop, you’ll find some blueprints written in symbols you can’t read (wing dings?) and a curtain covering a machine that doesn’t seem to be working, among other things.

Toby Fox tweeted a message regarding this machine a few days after Undertale’s release around the time people were figuring out FUN values and the secrets surrounding Sans and Gaster.

“You’ve all seen the happiest outcome. Neither of them could fix the machine, no matter how hard they tried. No one can.”

This tweet seems to imply that if the machine could be fixed that Undertale could have a happier outcome.

And this my friends, is the gateway to the nature of Deltarune.

Deltarune, according to Toby Fox, is a game for players that have completed Undertale. But what does it mean to complete Undertale, and I mean, TRULY complete it? Toby often expressed that he wasn’t happy with how people told others how to play the game, that it is best played completely blind. Having played Undertale blind myself, and having watched others do the same, the natural way the game is meant to progress is that first players will experience the Neutral Ending, followed by the Pacifist Ending, and Finally the Genocide ending. This is because the game cruelly plays against your expectations of how an RPG should work and this almost guarantees that you will kill at least one monster your first play through. As if the fact that the fight button is always the default position in battle isn’t enough, in the early parts of the game you are told that you may need to weaken a monster before you can spare them. This naturally brings to mind the systems of Pokémon, where you have the best chance to catch a Pokémon if it’s at low health. Well, if you try this during the Toriel fight, as most do, you’ll find that as soon as you get close to critical health, you’ll instantly kill her.

Poor goat mama..

Difficulty-wise, the neutral route is the most easy, because you can level up a little and gain more HP. The Pacifist route is a bit harder because your HP is lower, but with the experience you gain from the previous route, it should prove no problem. Finally the Genocide route is the most difficult because it takes a concerted effort that implies knowledge of the previous routes to kill every single monster.

So an ideal Deltarune player has knowledge of all three main routes of Undertale, and may have experienced or heard of Gaster.

Is this player you? If so, ask yourself, what would a “happier outcome” look like to you? And be honest. Many fans in the Undertale community have already answered this question in the form of fanworks. Some of the most common elements among them are as follows:  

1) Frisk and all the monsters are free from the Underground and living on the surface with humans.

2) Asriel is revived.

3) Gaster is revived.

4 )Chara is revived.

The revival of Asriel, Chara, and Gaster are the undisputed holy grails in terms of happiest endings that the UT community dreams of and creates endless fan works to explore the possibilities. Toby knows this well.

Using a speech pattern attributed to Gaster, Toby teased the release of Deltarune Chapter 1

“I LOOK FORWARD TO CREATING A NEW FUTURE WITH YOU.” stands out quite a bit to me as the prospect of a “happier outcome” is already tied to Gaster and Sans, now a “new future” is connected.

And when Deltarune released, and fans had a chance to play it, they found:

1) All the monsters are free and living on the surface.

2) Asriel is alive and well and living his best life.

3) A voice with the same speech pattern as Gaster (based on Japanese text) brought you to this world and attempted to give your own vessel before…

4)…a voice with the same speech pattern as Chara (also based on Japanese text) discarded it.

Right off the bat Toby seems to have given fans what they wanted, a perfect future ending. But as you continue to play, you begin to realize that this may not be the world you dreamed of.

First, while all the monsters are living on the surface, they aren’t the same people from Undertale, for example: Undyne has never met Alphys, and the amalgamates that went to live with their families at the end of Undertale are deceased in this world. And while Asriel is alive, it’s not THE Asriel we were so determined to save in Undertale.

Gaster’s presence permeates Deltarune so thoroughly it would take awhile to point out every example, but it seems clear that he’s present in some form.

And Chara? You only need to see the ending cutscene of chapter 1 to know that they are around in a similar fashion as when they possess Frisk in the True Pacifist after a Genocide ending.

But their presence is also present in subtle ways. For example, if you attempt to play the piano in the hospital in Hometown and then speak to the receptionist, she comments that Kris’ playing isn’t the same as usual (Likely due to our control), but it seems that Chara may be good at piano. Interestingly, on the cover artwork for the official Undertale Piano Collection 2 book, Frisk can be seen holding a knife playing a key on a piano in the judgement hall filled with bones.

So for better or worse, what appears to be the original Chara and Gaster from Undertale are present in Deltarune, in some meta form or another. And maybe that’s the key: “Meta-characters”. After all, you yourself as a player are a “Meta-character”. You can ask the inhabitants of this new world questions that only someone with knowledge of a True Pacifist route would have, such as being able to ask Undyne about Alphys. Asking her this only makes sense if you yourself completed a True Pacifist route before playing Deltarune.

Ralsei, the lonely prince.

Toby being the trickster dog he is, he didn’t just give us 1 Asriel and call it a day, no he gave us 2.

Ralsei is quite clearly meant to be a version of Asriel because not only do they have similar or identical dialogues, but he was also was meant to look more like him before Toby decided to give him his Black Mage look.

There are even strong parallels obviously meant to create an emotional response and connect Ralsei to the feelings people had for Asriel in Undertale by giving the players the option to hug him.

Ralsei is quite the mystery on his own. And while he’s most certainly sweet and lovable, there’s undeniably some disconcerting things about him such as:

-Why does he know Kris and Susie’s names?

-Who did he learn the prophecy from? “Foretold by time and space” isn’t a good answer (or is it?).

-What did he say to Kris when the player SOUL wasn’t present in the prison?

-When he’s KO’d in battle, what does he become? Apparently he can still eat to regain HP when in this shrunken form.

Ralsei seemed to be under the impression that violence wasn’t needed in this world, but upon nearly being defeated by the King after mistakenly healing him, Ralsei says “This isn’t a world where kindness always wins, is it?”

The way he says this seems to imply he knows of other worlds and that they have different rules. Perhaps he comes from a world where someone being kind to everyone they met had great results?

There are definitely things that Ralsei is not telling us, whether this means he’s up to no good will remain to be seen, however, I would like to take this opportunity to make a prediction based on the previous understanding that the original Chara and Gaster are present in this new world in meta forms, and assert that Undertale Asriel, the final piece of the perfect ending puzzle is present in Deltarune in his own meta-character form of Ralsei. Perhaps the form he shrinks into when KO’d is one we know well...

There is that unused Flowey face...

Add glasses and a hat and...

but that’s just a game theory!

And I can't help but wonder about the dark heart on Ralsei's chest and this merchandise in the Deltarune section of fangamer that specifically features a quote from Undertale about the prophecy of Delta Rune (that turns out to be about Asriel in the TP ending, and Chara in the Genocide ending) "There is a prophecy. The Angel... The One Who Has Seen The Surface... They will return. And the underground will go empty."

It's also the Deltarune game logo

Because the merchandise is called Darkheart, it made me immediately think of the dark heart on Ralsei's chest, and having an Undertale quote about Asriel/Chara makes it all the more mysterious...

Regardless, in just the first chapter of Deltarune, the elements of the “happier outcome” connected to Sans’ machine are present. But how do they all connect? Well, let’s look at the other characters in Deltarune, starting with:

Lancer

Oh Baby Santa Claus, how we love you so. It’s hard to overlook how similar Lancer is to Sans. They’re both hilarious in their own way, both ride bikes, have similar color-schemes, both have a love for tomato-based products, and both have some scientific/engineering affinity (Sans and his workshop, Lancer and his “Lancer Industries”).

But that’s not all, the door to Sans’ room is identical to the warp doors found in the Dark World that Lancer hails from, and Sans’ warp ability also makes the same sound effect as these doors as well.

Lancer is a member of the FUN gang (remember the FUN value?), that, as far as we know currently, has 3 other members besides himself: Kris, Ralsei, and Susie (with the possibility of Noelle and others in the future).

Speaking of Susie, her name (or a version of it) popped up in Undertale prior to Deltarune’s release when the game was released on the Switch. By speaking to the Gaster Follower “Clamgirl”, you can learn of a girl named “Suzy”, that you will meet her soon, and that “in life’s grand scheme, she might be why you came here in the first place...”

Upon receiving this dialogue, checking the drawers in Sans workshop will reveal a card with a drawing of 3 people smiling and the words “don’t forget”.

“Don’t Forget” is the vocal theme of Deltarune sung by Laura Shigihara, and the melody from the ending verse,“Don’t forget, I’m with you in the dark.”, is leitmotifed throughout the entire Deltarune chapter 1 OST. The connections between Sans, the FUN gang, Gaster, and by extension Undertale and Deltarune are quite apparent. Perhaps the actions of the FUN gang in the Deltarune world will have an affect on the FUN value in Undertale.

Based on all the evidence we have now, I am going to make a bold prediction:

Lancer is literally a younger Sans.

That’s right, Toby Fox made Baby Sans before Disney and Sega made Baby Yoda and Baby Sonic.

Deltarune’s Dark World is the past from the perspective of Sans and Gaster (or a recreation of it). How Lancer becomes Sans will likely be a very large part of Deltarune’s narrative, and once he becomes Sans, he will exist as a separate meta entity that can traverse different worlds, even if versions of himself already exist in some form there (similar to Ralsei and Asriel).

We’ve seen that if characters are exposed to elements that make it clear they live in a video game world, whether this be Determination for humans and Flowey, a time-space accident for Gaster, or a strange man whispering to Jevil, these characters become something wholly different, more powerful, and begin to become more similar to players with the ability to SAVE, RESET, or use abilities that seem beyond the scope of the game (e.g. Photoshop Flowey, Jevil’s ability to speak, etc). Undertale and Deltarune are video games about video games.

So if it is to be believed that Gaster is Sans’ father, and that Lancer is a younger Sans, then it stands to logical reason that whoever Lancer’s father is, that they must be Gaster.

No, not the King, there is another. A “Lesser-dad”.

Yes, Rouxls Kaard.

“GOD DAMNIT”

Rouxls Kaard, or “Rules Card”, or if you rearrange his name “A Dark Soul Rx”, wait, Rx as in prescription? As in a doctor? Dark Soul as in Mr. Darkness Gaster himself? Too much of a stretch? Maybe. Although you can’t deny they have similar appearances.

If Rouxls Kaard is Gaster, and therefore the father of Sans and Papyrus, then he’s undeniably similar to one of his sons. Rouxls Kaard seems to be quite passionate about puzzles, (despite not having a natural predilection to them). I could see Papyrus gaining an affinity for puzzles by being raised by such an individual, they both have quite flamboyant personalities. And let’s not forget that there are also hints that Rouxls Kaard may be inclined to creating scientific devices such as the “Control Crowne” he uses to control K.Round.

Hmm, controlling other people… sounds familiar to what we the player are doing to Kris… and who was it that was initially going to give us control of a vessel before we lost said control to Chara’s intervention? Control seems to play a big part in Deltarune doesn’t it?

Also, isn’t his manner of speech is reminiscent of a silly ye olde knight. Wait, wasn’t there a Knight causing trouble in the Dark World? Hm.

So something is going to turn Lancer and Rouxls Kaard into Sans and Gaster, respectively.

Now remember the CORE that Gaster built? This one?

It turns geothermal energy into magical electricity via an unknown means with one of the byproducts being ozone, which is corrosive and could potentially make someone very melty. This is what it looks like on the inside.

Lots of blues of varying hues with white accents. Kinda reminds me of Rouxls Kaard and the other “card” people’s color schemes.

What a coincidence! Oh and apparently the layout of the CORE can be re-arranged or something:

"I work at the CORE. The inside is a maze made of swappable parts... That means we can shuffle the layout at will." - Hotland NPC

Almost sounds like a sliding puzzle…

Finally, Gaster is referred to as “The man who speaks in hands”, likely due to his Wing Dings font that contains a lot of hand symbols, however, it isn’t a stretch to also apply that epithet to Rouxls Kaard, after all, the Rules Card speaks in hands as well. Hands of cards.

Susie

Can’t forget Susie. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can say about how her role in all this will play yet. If we are to believe that the “Suzy” that Clamgirl references is Susie, then it’s clear that she’ll be key, perhaps as a catalyst for all the big changes some characters will need to undergo...

I will say that I think it’s interesting that toby specifically has a character in Hometown comment that humans are made of blood (and implying the monsters are not),

and Susie says:

“Everybody bleeds, right?”

From our understanding of monsters in Undertale, monsters don’t bleed, they turn to dust. But, maybe Darkners can bleed. If we believe Sans is a Darkner, it may explain this:

It could be ketchup. It could be a Darkner thing. Lancer does mention blood casually. But if only humans and Darkners bleed, then why would a monster like Susie say “everybody bleeds”?

So what is Deltarune you ask? I think it’s:

1) A story about Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster’s past and future. We get to experience their past in the Dark World, and speak with their future selves in the Light World. But these future versions of Sans and Papyrus may not be as far into the future as the Sans and Papyrus we meet in Undertale. Remember, Sans had an Ice-E’s crossword in Undertale? Ice-E’s-P’E’zza is a restaurant in Hometown. Papyrus may also be younger than he was in Undertale because Sans, an adult who runs a grocery store, thinks a teen like Kris should hang with his little brother, and it would be “weird” if he were there with them.

2) A story about post-Undertale Asriel, Chara, and Gaster. Asriel/Flowey maintains his new form as Ralsei thanks to the power of the Dark Fountain. He now lives in what is/was Sans’ childhood home. Whether he knows this or remembers the events of Undertale is unknown, but it is my belief that he holds a deep connection to the Asriel we all wished to save. Chara resides within Kris in a similar manner as they did at the ending of a UT True Pacifist Ending after surrendering the red SOUL to them in a Genocide ending. Does this mean that Kris’s body or “vessel” is Frisk? This seems to be heavily implied by Kris’ outfit taking on the same color scheme as Frisk’s UT shirt while in the Dark World.

3) A coming of age story for a bunch of teens. Kris, Susie, Ralsei, Noelle, Lancer, and all the friends that may join on their adventures are still people regardless of what grand meta narrative is at play involving the nature of their reality. They still need to go to school, fall in love, and worry about growing up and going to university. Noelle will undoubtedly play a large role with Toby’s tease of her as “Lost Girl”, and considering how attached most of the community has already gotten to these characters, it hurts my heart to think about what may befall them as they try their best to live their lives. Does this mean Deltarune’s world is doomed? I hope not... but those save file screens sure are creepypasta...

“IT WAS AS IF IT WAS NEVER THERE AT ALL.”

4) A story about video games and the control (or lack thereof) we have over them. It’s quite clear that we, the player controlling the red soul, is able to influence this new world based on knowledge from Undertale that should have no barring. For example, we can name “Onionsan” who has forgot their own name. One of the options is “Onion”, but why? Is it because we know their name is Onionsan in Undertale? How do we even know if that is actually what this version of them is really named?

Deltarune is so close to the perfect Undertale ending we wanted, but it’s just a little bit wrong. Would it hurt to force Undyne and Alphys to meet and fall in love? To get Toriel and Asgore back together? To make Bratty and Catty friends? If you were given the option in game to do it, would you do it? What if it made their lives worse…? I believe that the fact we are able to influence inhabitants of Deltarune with our Undertale knowledge may have some unforeseen consequences, and perhaps, be what begins this whole situation in the first place. (Paradoxes are the best time travel stories!)

Toby Fox said that Deltarune was the game he originally wanted to make, but whether it was too ambitious or time consuming, his idea evolved into Undertale. Now that he’s creating the game he always wanted to, I believe that he will connect everything we know about them together and resolve the mysteries, after all, Gaster has been waiting for this chance.

And maybe, with a little luck and determination, we can create a new future with a happier outcome. If I’ve learned anything from Undertale, it’s that you must hold on to your hopes and dreams, because dreams are the goal of “Determination.”

#undertale #deltarune #spoilers #sans #papyrus #gaster #asriel #chara #frisk #kris #toriel #sans undertale #theory #the true nature of deltarune #noelle #fun gang #susie #toby fox

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yastaghr · 4 years

Text

Broken Things Shine Brighter 18

Here’s the next chapter of BTSB. The name thing was getting too hard, so I fixed it! Enjoy!

Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13431909/chapters/56179339

Blue didn’t know which felt weirder; the emotions rushing through him that weren’t his own, or the rubbing of the bandages on his newly injured chest. Neither hurt exactly, but Blue knew that was because of the pain medicine he was now on. Apparently enough time had passed for the monsters in Dr. Undyne’s care to mass produce the first aid supplies that had been so lacking when he first arrived.

And hadn’t that been a surprise to the rest of the Underground. Not only had most of those monsters survived, but they had formed a tight-knit community that actually cared about one another. They even cared about the rest of the Underground, and they were slowly teaching them how to love again.

Blue was doing that job, too. He’d been doing that before the Day of Freedom, but now it was much more organized. It had been a few days since then, and he was still working on Sans. The other had some… odd ideas about how this whole soulmate thing was supposed to work.

At first Blue had thought that these were just the standards of his world, but Muffet had set him straight. “I don’t know what he’s thinking,” she had said when Blue had asked her why Sans kept refusing his contact. “Soulmates are supposed to touch and care for one another, even outside the home.”

That had opened Blue up to the realization that Sans was uncomfortable. He’d tried to speak to him about it, but he hadn’t even been able to get past his name before Sans had winced. That had spun around inside of Blue’s head for hours, and he finally had his conclusion.

Blue sat up in his little cot, which Papyrus had helped him move into Sans’ room. He took in the room itself. It reminded him of his brother’s, but it also reminded him of his own. The walls were bare and the floor was strewn with socks, but there was a table with action figures, a computer, and a racecar bed. The bookcase that had been in his brother’s room was replaced with the chest of drawers from his. All in all, it looked lived in and loved.

Sans was currently laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling instead of sleeping despite the late hour. Blue crawled out of bed and over to his side, carefully not touching him. Sans shifted so he was looking down at him. Blue couldn’t read his expression, but he could feel his curiosity.

“YES? WHAT IS IT?” Sans asked as quietly as he could.

“i think i’ve realized something that could help you. you don’t like your name, do you? you’ve been flinching every time i say it ever since we were bonded.”

Sans froze, his soul radiating startlement and confusion. Blue could see and feel the wheels turning in his head. Then he felt the realization hit Sans. It felt like the truth. “I… I BELIEVE YOU’RE RIGHT. HOW STRANGE. I’VE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT BEFORE. WHY WOULD IT HURT ME NOW?”

Blue shrugged. “my guess is that all the times that she said it when she was hurting you have finally added up. and maybe there’s a little bit of… i don’t even know what to call it… but some kind of emotion about the fact that it’s my name, too.”

His soulmate considered this. Then he nodded. “I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES SENSE. AFTER EVERYTHING SHE DID EVEN THE MAGNIFICENT… ME… IS BOUND TO HAVE SOME… WHAT DO THE HUMANS CALL IT? AH, YES. TRIGGERS. HER DAMNED CONTRACT SUPPRESSED THEM UNTIL NOW. IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT ONE OF THEM HAS TURNED OUT TO BE MY OWN NAME.”

“yeah, but at least it’s an easy one to fix. all we need to do is find you a nickname, like mine. do you have any ideas?” Blue asked.

“HMM,” Sans considered this, “I DO NOT. MAYBE ANOTHER COLOUR? I’LL ADMIT I WOULD LIKE TO MATCH WITH YOU IN SOME WAY, AND THAT SEEMS THE EASIEST WAY TO DO SO. MAYBE SOMETHING BASED ON MY MAGIC?”

Blue hummed and pulled out his phone. “let me look up some better names than just reddish purple. you’re a magnificent monster. you deserve a magnificent name.”

Sans smiled at him, that giddy little smile that Blue was coming to love. It always accompanied a happy little surge… and a bit of humbleness, which was odd when you realized that the easiest way to make it happen was to compliment him. Blue wondered if his brother had felt the same way. Probably. He knew that both Sans and Blue’s Papyrus shared one thing; they were both autistic. There were a hundred little things that told him so, from their obsession with their favorite outfit to their speech patterns. Some people might read them as arrogant, but he knew better. They just were uncomfortable with their words and tried to hide that by being over the top confident. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. In fact, he thought it was cute.

Speaking of cute, Blue landed on the perfect site to supply him with names. It was a colour matcher from a paint salesman. He held it up triumphantly. “here! this site matches up your magic colour with the names of different paints in the same family. this will be perfect! summon something. uh, please?”

Sans laughed. His laugh was some weird mix of a giggle and a chuckle. It was cute and perfectly him. He summoned a little bone. It burned with raw magic, the kind that was inefficient on purpose to make the room warmer. “WILL THIS SUFFICE?”

Blue nodded and held up his phone, snapping a picture of Sans’ magic. The little wheel of doom spun, then a palette of colors popped up in front of him. He tried them out. “um… how about wine?”

Sans shook his head. “TOO FORMAL. BESIDES, DOCTOR WINE SOUNDS ABOUT AS FAKE AS YOU CAN GET.”

Blue moved on to the next one. “okay then. garnet, maybe?”

“NO,” Sans decided after a moment, “THAT FEELS A LITTLE TOO FEMININE FOR ME. WHAT’S NEXT?”

“raspberry?” Blue said hopefully.

Sans hesitated. He seemed to like it, but… “THAT IS TOO LONG. I’M USED TO JUST ONE SYLLABLE. WHAT IF WE SHORTENED IT TO RAZZ?”

Blue’s face lit up. “that sounds perfect! it’s got a nice ring to it and it matches your magic colour. plus, it’s such a luxury item. raspberries were super rare back home, and they were always expensive. that’s perfect for someone as majestic as you!”

“THE MAGNIFICENT RAZZ,” his soulmate said, “I LIKE IT… THANK YOU, BLUE. YOU SOLVED A PROBLEM I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I HAD BEFORE IT GOT TOO BIG TO DEAL WITH. FOR THAT, I AM GRATEFUL.”

Blue beamed at him. He knew he could do it. “of course, razz. now, let’s get some actual sleep before we tell everyone in the morning.”

=====

Razz couldn’t be nervous. He was a magnificent skeleton, truly smart, brave, and loyal. So there was no way that he was nervous about this. He was only going to talk to his brother! That wasn’t scary at all! RIght?

Blue sensed his internal conflict and stopped moving. Razz bumped into the back of him. He glared at Blue when the other turned to face him, but his heart wasn’t in it. He just wanted to see Blue’s cheeky smile again. He loved it. It made Blue’s whole face light up with hidden laughter. If there was any expression that Razz wanted to see on his face, it was that smile.

“heh. someone’s eager to get this going. what do you think your brother’s going to say?”

Razz straightened. “WELL, OBVIOUSLY HE IS GOING TO BE IMPRESSED WITH THE PERFECTION OF MY NEW NAME! IT IS TRULY MAGNIFICENT AND WORTHY OF SUCH A GREAT MONSTER AS MYSELF!”

The next voice that spoke wasn’t one he expected. “what kind of perfection? physical? auditory? emotional?”

Razz spun around. Coming down the stairs behind him with a very familiar grin on his skull was his brother, Papyrus. He looked unnaturally tense for someone who was usually so relaxed. Seeing his brother like that made Razz’s own defences rise. He swallowed his nerves and said, “HAVEN’T I TOLD YOU NOT TO SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT?”

Papyrus smiled cheekily at him. Razz couldn’t help but compare it to Blue’s smile. They were similar, yet oh so different. Blue’s smile had a softer edge to it, and his eyes looked so mischievous, like a little kid pulling a prank on an adult. Papyrus’ smile was harder, sharper, and much more cynical. It was more how Razz pictured a real imp or a demon would look when contemplating doing… something. Exactly what that was, Razz had never really understood.

That smile surrounded Razz on both sides. He ignored it, waiting for his brother’s response. “you never told me not to sneak up on you on the way down the stairs, sa-”

“don’t say it! please!” Blue almost screamed. Papyrus stared at him like he was crazy.

Razz quickly jumped to his soulmate’s defense. “HE’S RIGHT. MY NAME HAS… UNFORTUNATE EFFECTS ON ME, NOW. IT SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME A TRIGGER. BLUE NOTICED, AND HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF GOING BY A DIFFERENT NAME. I’VE SETTLED ON RAZZ, AS IN RASPBERRY. WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

The second smallest skeleton in the Underground wasn’t even aware how scared he was until Papyrus shrugged. Then a trainload of relief got dumped on his head. “sounds cool to me, bro. the name’s about razz good razz it gets.”

Razz glared at his brother. Really, puns? at a time like this?

Papyrus chuckled. “heh, yeah. no, but seriously, i don’t see a problem with it, s- razz. i know it’ll take a while to get everyone on board… say. how would you feel if i changed my name, too? then you could say you changed your name when i did and not have to tell people why. i don’t want anyone to deliberately try and trigger you because they’re an asshole.”

Surprise, respect, and pleasure came flooding down the bond Razz shared with Blue. He could feel it matched in his own face. “THANK YOU, BROTHER. THAT… WOULD BE APPRECIATED. WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON CALLING YOURSELF?”

Blue cleared his throat. “you could call yourself breaks. you know, like-”

He stopped when Papyrus burst into laughter. He doubled over with his arms wrapped around his lanky torso. Eventually he ended up sitting on the stairs. When he caught his breath, he said, “like what i wanted to name you? thanks, but no. i think i’ll go for my old nickname. muffler used to call me slim, cause i got so tall way faster than i got wide. hell, i’m still a beansprout. i already answer to it, so why not go with that?”

“It’s true,” Razz spun again to see Muffet, who was standing in the front door. “He’s always been the tall and thin type. Razz and Slim both have nice rings to them. I’ll send out a message so as few people have to be directly told as possible.”

Another boatload of relief filled Razz’s soul. He had not been looking forward to facing this same conversation hundreds of times over. It felt nice to know he wouldn’t have to. “THANK YOU, MUFFET. THAT MEANS A LOT.”

Her face softened. “You’re welcome, Razz. Now, I need to steal your new soulmate. You can come if you want, too. We’re going to dismantle those awful dresses of the Queen’s and make something new out of them. Maybe a wall quilt? Anything is better than rotting away and never being worn.”

=====

This time Slim was much closer when his phone’s alarm went off. He was actually sitting at his sentry station. The alarm was connected to the cameras he had placed along the path into Snowdin, so that meant something had triggered them. He pulled up the app he had built and stared at the image it had captured. A thrill shot through him as he realized what it was. It was a human.

Slim jumped up and ran towards the Ruins door. He didn’t get far. The human had made it further this time. She was shorter than the last one, with paler skin and golden hair. She was wearing a very pretty blue dress that was stained with mud. It looked like something a princess might wear., with ruffles, puffy sleeves, and a long train. The bottom was ripped enough that Slim could see her shoes - or, rather, her lack thereof. Muddy feet with a few bleeding cuts peeked out. When she saw him she stopped and waved. “Hello, monster! My name is Patience. What is yours?”

Slim stopped moving, a little bit shocked at the friendliness. “i’m, uh, papy- no. i’m slim now. slim.”

Patience tilted her head curiously. “Did you just change your name, Slim?”

Slim nodded slowly. He might as well tell her. It was good practice for talking with everyone else. “i did. my brother… had some really bad things happen to him, and his name turned out to be a trigger for the bad memories, so he changed his name to razz. i decided to change my name to make him feel like he wasn’t alone. that was this morning.”

The human smiled at him. “It’ll get better, I promise. I used to have a different name that hurt to hear, but the nice monster behind the door said I could change it. Now my name is Patience! He helped me get used to it, and now I am!”

Slim gulped. So she did know the monster behind the door. “if… if you were happy living with him, why’d you come out here? you’re… not going to last for very long.”

“I know,” Patience said with a smile. Seriously. A smile. What was with this kid? “That’s why I’m here. I didn’t know about you monsters, but the man behind the door told me how long you’ve been down here. You’ve been waiting patiently for so long to be free, and… I have no one waiting for me up there. I might as well help you achieve your goal, right?”

Slim summoned his weapon, sadness in his heart. Patience seemed like a cool kid. He wished he could get to know them more, but… he didn’t want to make Razz wait. “well… i guess i just have to say thanks, then, patience.”

Patience knelt down on the snowy ground with her hands in her lap. “You’re welcome, Slim. I hope you and your brother really get to enjoy seeing the stars.”

#rottenjoke #sanscest #swapfell sans #swapfell papyrus #sans #muffet #swapfell #broken things shine brighter #yastaghr

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hoodie-lover · 4 years

Text

King Papyrus

The people were waiting for Papyrus to walk out to the balcony, Sans was right beside him, holding his hand. The brothers were shaking as the two walked out to greet the saddened subjects of the Underground.

“PEOPLE OF THE UNDERGROUND, TODAY WE MOURN THE LOSS OF MANY GREAT, GREAT PEOPLE. HEROES, IDOLS, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY. BUT AS WE LOOK BACK ON THE HAPPY DAYS OF THE PAST, WE MUST ALSO WORK TOWARDS A BETTER FUTURE.” Papyrus said, his arms trembling as he looked out over the silent crowd.

“you can do it bro. i believe in you.” Sans said and Papyrus took a deep breath and resumed his speech.

“AS WE START OVER ON OUR QUEST FOR FREEDOM, I WANT YOU TO KNOW, I WILL NEVER GIVE UP. AND YOU SHOULDN’T EITHER. IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OUR IMPRISONMENT, MONSTERS WERE OVERCOME BY DESPAIR AND MISERY. PEOPLE WERE GIVING UP LEFT AND RIGHT. BUT A FEW GAVE UP, GIVING UP. AND WE STAND HERE TODAY. WE MUST BE THOSE PEOPLE WHO GIVE UP GIVING UP AND WORK TOWARDS OUR FUTURE.” Papyrus said, murmurs starting in the crowd.

No one made a sound as Papyrus had the crown placed on his head. Sans was standing by him as they walked back into the castle.

“you ok bro?” Sans asked as the two walked out to the coronation party.

“YEAH.” Papyrus said, his purple cape flowing behind him as he smiled.

“alright.” Sans said as the high class monsters greeted the duo.

They were kind and welcoming to Papyrus, though Sans was on guard and keeping his walls up.

“I am so glad you want to help monster-kind King Papyrus. What do you have planned?” A man asked, sipping some wine from a small glass.

“I DO NOT WANT TO KILL HUMANS. IT WILL HURT OUR TRANSITION TO THE SURFACE IF WE DO. AND IF POSSIBLE, I WANT TO KEEP THEM IN CONTACT WITH THE SURFACE OR MAKE CONTACT, THAT WAY OUR ESCAPE WON’T BE OUR FIRST TIME INTERACTING.” Papyrus said, and the monster was surprised.

“Naive, but possible.” They said, a puzzled expression on their face.

“WELL, PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE HOPE. AND I AM WILLING TO MAKE SMALL CHANGES IF NEED BE, BASED ON WHAT HAPPENS. WE CAN’T SEE THE FUTURE.” Papyrus said and the monster smiled.

“Well, I’m going to help in any way I can. I really don’t want another war.” He said and Papyrus thanked him and walked off.

Sans was being bothered by a random monster who was berating his lack of formality and small physical stature. He was tempted to grab a juicebox just to mess with them, but he decided against it.

“SANS! CAN YOU COME OVER HERE?” Papyrus called and Sans gave a sigh of relief.

“sure bro.” Sans said and he walked over to his brother.

“DO YOU THINK I’M DOING GOOD?” Papyrus asked, ringing his hands.

“yeah. you’re doing awesome.” Sans said and Papyrus gave his large smile.

“THANK YOU SANS. I’M REALLY NERVOUS ABOUT REPLACING ASGORE, HE HAD SUCH A GOOD REIGN, AND WAS SUCH A GOOD KING.” Papyrus said and Sans smiled.

“but you’ll be just as good if not better. trust me paps. you’ll be great at this.” Sans said and Papyrus wanted to believe him.

“I LOVE YOU SANS.” Papyrus said and he gave Sans a large hug, lifting his brother off the ground.

When the party was over, they went to their new rooms. Sans had taken Toriel’s room and Papyrus had gotten Asgore’s. All of their old stuff was moved to the memorial for the King, and Toriel had her own grave as well, everyone knew that if she was alive, she would have come back.

Papyrus was a kind king. He could be found helping his subjects out with their problems, whether it be financial or social. One of the biggest changes he made was reforming the mental health industry. Since Sans had depression, and was unable to get proper help for it, Papyrus was quick to amend that mistake. Which was lucky for him, since it was next on Asgore’s to-do list. If you couldn’t find the king, chances were he was in the kitchen. With help from the chefs, he was actually good at cooking and often made his own meals or made meals for the royal staff and guard, mostly spaghetti but no one seemed to mind.

Sans was in charge of the paperwork. Something he never slacked at, anything he found to be problematic or suspicious was brought to his brother’s attention immediately. They weeded out a lot of corruption that way as Sans was merciless in his prosecution of the guilty. People who knew him were surprised at his effectiveness, not at what he was doing.

The biggest challenge however, came when a human did fall into the Underground. The royal guard wasted no time in finding them and whisking the child away to the capital.

“HELLO HUMAN! I AM THE GREAT KING PAPYRUS! MIGHT I ASK HOW YOU FELL DOWN?” Papyrus asked when the human was brought to him, they were small and fidgeting with anxiety.

“Some kids were being mean to me and pushed me down. I-I don’t want to die! Please don’t k-kill me!” They said and Papyrus smiled kindly.

“I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF THAT. YOU ARE CLEARLY NO THREAT TO US, SO WHY HARM YOU?” Papyrus said and the child burst into tears as they gave him a large hug.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY FAMILY? WE CAN HELP YOU, OUR ROYAL SCIENTIST CAN HELP YOU GET IN CONTACT WITH YOUR FAMILY. THOUGH IT NEVER HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE, WE CAN SURELY TRY!” Papyrus said and the child nodded.

The walk to the royal labs was short and brief, though the elevators were annoying and the heat unbearable. The royal scientist was tall and lean, they were a very kind man and were more than happy to help the child. While their predecessor, Alphys liked to focus on engineering and chemistry, Susan loved to study magic and how it reacts to human technology. They wrote their thesis paper on it and Papyrus had chosen them for this very purpose.

“Hello my king! Is this the human I heard about?” They asked and when Papyrus nodded they squealed in delight.

“It is so nice to meet you! I have always wanted to meet a human!” They said as they shook the human's hand.

“Hi. Can you help me find my mommy?” They asked, their dark hair falling over their dark eyes as they ringed their dark skinned hands with nervousness.

“I most certainly can! Do you have a cellphone on you by any chance?” Susan asked and the child nodded.

“Here you go.” They asked and Papyrus gasped in shock.

“I FORGOT TO ASK YOUR NAME! I AM SO SORRY! WHAT IS YOUR NAME YOUNG ONE?” Papyrus asked and the small child laughed at Papyrus’ mini freak out.

“Kate.” They said and Papyrus gave a large smile.

“Such a wonderful name.” He said and Susan’s machine started up.

“I just need to connect a monster phone, to Kate’s phone, and call the number, Kate what is your mom’s number?” Susan asked and Kate told her with no hesitation and a wide smile.

“Thank you dear!” Susan said and she held her breath as she dialed the number on the monster phone she connected to the human one. They had built a cell tower that reached the top of the mountain, and Susan showed it could carry a magical signal, convert it to a non-magical signal, and be received on non-magical tech.

“Hello?” A voice said, and Kate gasped as she ran up to the phone and cried out.

“Mommy!” The woman gasped as well, and could be heard sniffling.

“Kate? Are you ok? What happened?” She asked and Kate told her everything, about the barrier, the monsters, and how she couldn’t leave, but would be ok.

“You brave girl. Can I talk with the monsters?” She asked and Kate called over Papyrus.

“HELLO MS. KATE’S MOM! I AM THE GREAT KING PAPYRUS! WHAT DID YOU WISH TO TALK ABOUT?” He asked, and Kate’s mother began to cry.

“Call me Jane. I just want to thank you for keeping my daughter safe. We have heard so much about murderous monsters, it’s nice to know that someone who will keep the fallen children safe is on the throne.” Jane said and Papyrus blushed slightly.

“THANK YOU JANE. YOU CAN CALL YOUR CHILD ALMOST ANYTIME, WE JUST NEED TO WAIT UNTIL WE CAN MERGE HUMAN TECHNOLOGY WITH OUR OWN. UNTIL THEN WE CAN ONLY CALL YOU FROM THE ROYAL LABS.” Papyrus said and the woman was thankful.

“I WILL LEAVE YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER TO TALK FOR AS LONG AS YOU WISH, OR UNTIL NIGHT COMES. IT WAS WONDERFUL MEETING YOU, AND COULD YOU TELL THE REST OF HUMANITY WE MEAN NO HARM?” Papyrus asked and Jane was more than willing to honor his request.

When Papyrus left the labs and was back in the castle, he was shaking. And Sans was willing to help him calm down.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE WE MAY BE ABLE TO STOP A SECOND WAR BEFORE IT STARTS.” Papyrus said and Sans seemed happy for him.

“i knew you could bro. and isn’t there a face time thing humans can do? if we can figure that out, we can have the parents meet face to face with their kids, proof they’re ok and we truly mean no harm.” Sans said, smiling a genuine smile, a rare treat these days.

“I’M SCARED BROTHER. WHAT IF THE HUMANS DON’T BELIEVE US? WHAT IF ANOTHER BAD ONE COMES AND-” Papyrus said and Sans stopped him. ‘

“we’ll be ready. and if we can get in contact with human officials before or during the attack, we might be able to save ourselves. we need to be careful, but we have a genuine chance of getting out of here.” Sans said, praying Frisk wouldn’t come back.

#Post-Undertale Neutral Route - King Papyrus Ending #Worried Papyrus (Undertale)#give up giving up #new fallen human #human monster interactions #papyrus is a good king #Sans is scarily efficient at rooting out corruption #hopeful ending

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inkjackets · 5 years

Text

But Promises Are Made To Be Broken

Here is the fic I wrote based on @skesgo’s reset au!!!

Summary: Sans and Papyrus were used to resets, but then monsters started to vanish. The world reset again and again, the underground’s numbers grew fewer and fewer… until finally there were only two monsters left.

And then only one.

Disclaimer: Reset AU and Reset!Blue belong to @skesgo. The events in this fic are NOT canon to their au, just merely inspired by it. (Go check out their amazing au and art HERE if you haven’t already!!)

The excerpt that Sans reads is from The Universe in Your Hand by Christophe Galfard.

Warnings: Major Character Death, Angst (like, a lot of it. like oh my god i am so so sorry why would you read this why would i write this), Graphic Grieving i guess? and just one f-word.

Word Count: 6234

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18214481

uhhhh enjoy?

——————

The innkeeper’s daughter had been the first to vanish. Sans would never forget that terrible morning.

The bone-chilling screams that shattered the morning air.

The raw desperation in the mother’s eyes.

Her pleading, her begging, her clawing at Papyrus’ hoodie to please do something. Find her! Bring her back! PLEASE!

They had spent hours searching in the forest. Sans had done his best to keep up moral and positivity and hope, but he hadn’t been able to dislodge the despair in everyone’s eyes. They all knew the search was futile.

For the child was gone.

Despite the strange circumstances, despite the distinct lack of dust, they knew that the child wasn’t coming back. The empty pyjamas laid out under the duvet covers, sleeves wrapped around the little toy bunny, was proof of that.

But Sans had soldiered on. He had kept searching until he had been the only one left. And would have kept going if Papyrus hadn’t forced him back to town.

Sans had cried out in protest. They couldn’t just do nothing!

Papyrus had silenced him with a single look. Tears had risen in Sans’ eyes but he’d understood. The child was gone, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do something. Even if that something was incredibly painful. Even if that something was acceptance.

Sans had followed a pace behind Papyrus’ solemn figure back towards the inn. Papyrus paused outside the entrance. He laid a bony hand on the smooth wooden door before closing his eyes and taking a long drag from his cigarette. Sans took a moment to breathe as well. He inhaled deeply and let the icy air course through him, rinsing himself of unwanted emotion, before opening his eyes and bracing himself for what was to come.

Papyrus pushed the door open.

They found the mother crumpled next to the child’s bed. Hands clutching the duvet, damp from her tears. Sans’ heart fell as the flash of hope in her eyes faded when she saw their expressions. Papyrus knelt down next to her.

‘No, no, no.’ The mother shook her head. ‘She can’t be gone.’ Her voice grew hysterical. ‘There’s not even any dust! She can’t be gone! No, no…’ She collapsed onto Papyrus and burst into tears. Papyrus held her as she wailed into his shoulder. Sans tried his best to shove his emotions down but the mother’s grief was infectious. Within no time his cheeks were wet and shining with silent tears.

Eventually the mother’s sobs slowed. Papyrus helped her stand up.

‘Sans,’ Papyrus said without looking at him. Sans hastily wiped his eyes and gazed up at his brother. ‘Bring the child’s pyjamas and soft toy.’

Sans did as asked, gingerly gathering up the clothes and nestling the little bunny safely among them. Papyrus led them outside. There was a small crowd of concerned townsfolk standing in the snow. Papyrus spoke to them, but Sans didn’t hear what was said. He was too busy concentrating on holding the child’s belongings like they were the most delicate treasure in the world.

Because at that moment, they were.

The weeping mother clutched onto Papyrus as he traipsed into the forest. Sans followed. The villagers of Snowdin trailed behind. They walked and walked and walked. Sans lost track of time, focused on his task of holding the delicate treasure. He looked up only when Papyrus stopped. They had reached one of the most beautiful trees in the forest. It was more isolated than the others and stood in the middle of a small clearing. It was a magnificent thing. Its branches reached high and wide and glittered with ice and reflections from the cavern’s gemstones as its leaves hung gracefully down and fanned out over them, like it was protecting them from some hidden danger.

The crowd silently filtered out and around. It felt as if the whole underground were holding its breath. Sans felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up. His brother nodded and gave him a meaningful gaze. Sans knew what he had to do.

Sans walked forward, his lonely footsteps crunching in the snow, echoing. He knelt down and gently lay the child’s belongings at the foot of the tree. He stroked the bunny once before falling back to Papyrus’ side.

‘Now her essence will live on in the tree,’ Papyrus said softly.

The mother burst into tears.

Sans couldn’t remember how long they had all stood out in the silent snow, listening to the mother cry, praying that the bunny held enough of the child’s essence to allow her to live on.

~*~*~

The mother had vanished the following reset. Sans fell to his knees when he went to check on her. Papyrus closed his eyes and swore under his breath. Sans, apathy taking over his body, had gathered up the clothes and made his way out into the forest. Papyrus didn’t follow. Sans had lain the clothes next to the daughter’s and knelt in silence as the snow steadily soaked his trousers, numbing both his bones and his mind.

Three more piles of belongings had appeared that day.

Napstaton had started playing hopeful and uplifting speeches after the third reset. Sans had them all memorised by the ninth. Through his motivational music and inspiring sermons, Napstaton was successful at keeping up moral in the underground, however his demeanour suddenly changed after the eleventh reset. Sans couldn’t figure out why. Only two relatively unknown monsters had vanished that day: a monster known as Onion-san, and one called Mettablook.

The world reset again. And again. And again.

The little memorial site Papyrus had started grew. And grew. And grew.

Waterfall, Hotland, and New Home all started their own as numbers in the underground decreased.

Undyne had vanished on the twenty-third reset.

Papyrus had walked out the door under the pretence of buying cigarettes, but didn’t return. Sans spent hours searching for him all over the underground but hadn’t been able to find him. He eventually went home and sat on the couch, frozen stiff and wide-awake, until his brother came back. Papyrus finally returned a full twenty-four hours later, not smelling of cigarette smoke like usual, but of dog food. His eyes had been redder than usual, and the shadows under them deep.

On the twenty-fourth reset Alphys had vanished. Sans hadn’t believed it. Not Alphys. Not the strong fearless leader of the Royal Guard. No. She couldn’t… she can’t vanish.

‘Tell me it’s not true, Papyrus!’ He cried as both numbness and hysteria crawled through his bones. ‘PAPYRUS! PLEASE! Not Alphys!’ Tears streamed down his cheeks. ‘Not her! She can’t.’ He hadn’t been able to speak after that. The words got stuck in his throat as sobs wracked his body, wrought with pain. Papyrus held his brother tight. Neither of them had noticed the faint yellow glow in Sans’ eyes.

Three weeks into the thirty-ninth reset, Papyrus went missing. Sans knew he hadn’t vanished, but he still panicked as he ran all over the underground in search for him, terrible ‘what-if’ scenarios running riot in his head. Eventually Sans found him outside the entrance to the ruins, slumped against the wall and covered in dirt and brick-dust. The magnificent door had been reduced to rubble. There were damaged bones, both white and orange, half buried in the debris.

Sans ran up to his brother but halted when he saw the purple robe he held in his hands. Papyrus looked up at him, despair clouded his eyes and dirty tears streaked down his face. Sans sat next to his brother and embraced him. Papyrus had curled up and cried on his brother’s shoulder for what felt like an eternity.

The underground had fallen silent when Napstaton vanished. It was the fifty-first reset.

Sans had sat in front of the radio, just listening to the static on full blast.

‘You can’t sit there forever,’ Papyrus said.

Sans shook his head fervently. ‘He’ll be back. And I’ll be waiting for him.’

Silence. The sound of grief-stricken exhaustion. Then the slow thud of footsteps as Papyrus headed towards the door. A gust of cold wind washed over Sans as the door opened, momentarily filling the void within him, before gently clicking shut. Sans sat immobile and staring at the wall. His vision went blurry. His body grew numb. His head rang with the static’s anaesthetising buzz as he disassociated from reality. The blue in his eyes had faded as they gave way to yellow.

With every reset it was harder and harder to act like normal. But Sans tried, oh how he tried. He’d make breakfast every morning, chat happily with Papyrus, then go out and check his traps. But it was difficult when getting groceries meant raiding the ownerless store (though he always left gold on the counter, just in case). It was a struggle when Papyrus refused to get out of bed, and if he did he’d just sit on the front step and smoke the day away. It was impossible when checking the traps brought back memories of playing with Chara oh so many resets ago. Dreams of what could have been, what should have been, plaguing his mind as he sat huddled in the snow, gazing up at the caverns and imagining the stars.

The queen had vanished on the sixty-seventh reset.

‘Papyrus.’ Sans turned to face his brother, tears brimming in his eyes. ‘There must be a way to go back. To bring them all back.’

Papyrus held his brother’s gaze, unable to tell him the truth but not able to lie either. He said nothing.

‘I’ll bring them back! I’ll find a way!’ Sans cried in response to Papyrus’ silence, his voice taking on an edge of hysteria. ‘Even if I have to do it alone!’ Papyrus had pulled his distraught brother close and held him tight until both their shoulders were damp with each other’s tears.

The world reset relentlessly.

The underground’s numbers dwindled drastically.

Hope faded to a tenacious glimmer that existed solely in Sans’ yellow-blue eyes.

~*~*~

Sans slowly woke from his fitful sleep. He breathed a sigh of relief, the world hadn’t reset. Today was safe. He rolled out of bed and rearranged the sheets before throwing on some clothes and making his way downstairs to cook breakfast, just like normal.

It had been two months since the last reset, the ninety-second reset, and Sans still made every effort to act like he always had.

He hummed as he cooked. He ignored the lack of people outside and the silent radio, choosing instead to focus on enjoying the act of cooking: the whisking of fresh ingredients, the sizzle of oil in the pan, the buttery smell of pancakes.

Once he was done, Sans piled the pancakes high onto a plate and called Papyrus down, just like normal. For once, his brother actually responded. Sans smiled as Papyrus took a seat at the table.

‘So I’m thinking of going to check on the traps today!’ Sans said enthusiastically, just like normal. He placed two pancakes on Papyrus’ plate and three on his. ‘Would you like to join me?’ Papyrus said nothing as Sans piled cream and fruit onto his own plate, just like normal. Sans handed Papyrus the honey but frowned when his brother poured barely a drizzle over his pancakes. Sans reached over and turned the bottle back upside down so that the pancakes were drowning in the golden syrup. Just like normal.

‘I’m thinking about modifying the third one. You know the one with the switches? It could be better designed, what do you think?’ When Papyrus failed to reply he continued. ‘Also the fifth one gets covered in snow way too easily-‘

‘-Sans,’ Papyrus cut over him, but Sans ignored him and continued his normal conversation.

‘Maybe I should build a small snow wall to stop the snow drift? Or I could get some sort of cover I guess-

-Sans,’ Papyrus repeated, an edge of desperation in his voice.

Sans swallowed. ‘I think I’ll decide when I get there,’ his voice took on a forced tone, ‘after all I don’t want to waste time building a wall for noth-

‘-Sans, Sans stop.’ Papyrus pleaded, ‘We have to talk about this.’

Sans chewed slowly. His grip tightened on his knife and fork. ‘Talking doesn’t work, remember?’ he said, dropping all pretence of normalcy. ‘Or have you forgotten the last time we tried?’

Papyrus averted his gaze. He clenched his jaw. ‘I’m not talking about Chara,’ he said as he looked back at Sans, ‘I’m talking about you. I’m worried about you.’

‘Worried about me?’ Sans spluttered with disbelief, ‘At least I’m able to get up in the mornings!’

‘At least I’m not acting like everything’s normal when it so blatantly isn’t!’ Papyrus’ sharp voice cut into Sans.

Sans didn’t say anything as he stared down at his half-eaten breakfast, appetite gone. He couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now. Why couldn’t everything just go back to normal?

Papyrus groaned and ran his hands over his skull. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I didn’t mean to yell like that.’

‘Can we just enjoy the pancakes?’ Sans said quietly, ‘Please?’

Papyrus looked at his brother in dismay but then forced himself to smile. ‘Yeah, okay.’

The metallic clinks of cutlery were the only sounds that broke the solemn silence between the two brothers as they ate their breakfast.

It was anything but normal.

~*~*~

Sans trudged out into the forest by himself, making his way to the traps. Though he soon realised his feet were leading him somewhere else, leading him to the memorial tree. He didn’t object and eventually came upon the little clearing. At least a hundred piles of belongings were strung up on the lower branches of the tree and carefully placed about in the snow around the trunk. It was supposed to look beautiful and moving, but the only image it brought to Sans’ mind was of a dismal looking Christmas tree.

Sans let the cold air wash over him as he gazed out at the bundles of belongings, all of them frozen stiff. Snow drifts piled up against them while ice drew its patterns in the cloth. Two little bunny ears fluttering by the tree caught his eye. He wondered over and crouched in front of the very first bundle that had been placed here. He gently brushed away the snow that covered the little toy and gave it a little hug to warm away the ice particles. He gently placed it back down so it was resting comfortably against the tree. Sans closed his eyes. The trees whispered and the wind swirled and the gems in the caverns shone coldly down on him as he inhaled and clenched the fabric of his shorts. He was going to bring them all back. He was going to stop Chara. He didn’t know how, but he was going to do it. He had to. The alternative was too horrific to even contemplate.

Sans opened his eyes when he heard whimpering behind him. He turned to see a lonely whimsun hovering inches above the snow, clearly distressed.

Sans jumped up and ran over to it. ‘Are you okay? What are you doing out here?’ Concern laced his voice. ‘Are your family gone too?’ The whimsun nodded and started to cry. Sans wrapped his arms around it. ‘Don’t you worry, they’ll all come back, just you wait and see.’ He pulled back and wiped the whimsun’s tears away. ‘But in the meantime, would you like to stay with me and my brother?’ The whimsun nodded. ‘Come on then.’ Sans took its trembling hand, frozen with cold, and gently lead it back to Snowdin Town.

Papyrus was sitting on the front step of their house when Sans and the whimsun returned. Cigarette butts littered the snow around him and a freshly lit one was softly smoking in between his fingers. Papyrus’ questioning eyes flicked to the whimsun and then back at Sans.

‘It’s staying with us until everyone comes back,’ Sans said.

Papyrus gave his brother a measured look. ‘You still believe that, huh?’

Sans shot him a glare as tears rose in the whimsun’s eyes. He tightened his grip on the whimsun’s hand. ‘Of course I do.’

Papyrus flinched as regret sank into his features. 'Sans, I-'

Sans pushed past his brother and led the whimsun into the house.

By the time Papyrus came back inside, Sans had wrapped the whimsun in blankets, made it tea and food, and was now huddled up next to it on the couch, reading it his favourite book. Papyrus sat down at the table and listened in.

‘…you now gaze at the stars with the eyes of a child.

‘What is the universe made of? What lies in the vicinity of the Earth? And beyond? How far can one look? Is anything known about the universe’s history? Does it even have one?

‘As the waves gently wash over the shore, as you wonder if one will ever be able to probe these cosmic mysteries, the twinkling of the stars seems to lull your body into a half-conscious state. You can hear your approaching friends’ conversations, but, strangely, you already feel the world differently than you did a few minutes ago. Everything seems somehow richer, more profound, as if your mind and body were both part of something much, much, bigger than anything you had ever thought of before. Your hands, your legs, your skin…Matter…Time…Space…Intertwined fields of forces all around you…

‘A veil you didn’t even know was there has been lifted from the world to reveal a mysterious and unexpected reality. Your mind yearns to be back among the stars, and you have the feeling that some extraordinary journey is about to take you very far away from your home world.’

Sans’s words faded into silence. The whimsun had fallen asleep. Sans closed the book and sat up, however as soon as he moved the whimsun started to whimper and tremble as nightmares plagued its mind. Sans placed a hand on the monster’s head and gently stroked it while murmuring words of comfort. It immediately relaxed. It nestled into Sans side and breathed easier. Sans continued to stroke it. Papyrus simply watched from his seat at the table, slouched on his side with his head in his hand.

For a moment the only sounds where the gentle snores of the whimsun and Sans’ soft strokes on its head. The two brothers couldn’t help but feel at peace.

‘Do you know how many times Chara has reset the world?’ Sans asked quietly, breaking the silence.

Papyrus gave a tired shrug, ‘At least fifty since that kid vanished so… a couple hundred since the beginning? Why?’

Sans’ hand stilled on the whimsun. ‘Four hundred and eighty-three,’ he said softly.

Papyrus lifted his head. ‘…What?’ Disbelief clear in his voice.

Sans raised his listless eyes, they bored into Papyrus’ unusually wide ones. ‘Ninety-two since the inn-keeper’s daughter vanished, but four-hundred and eighty-three times since Chara fell. I’ve been keeping count.

‘What? Why? How?’ Papyrus shook his head. ‘That doesn’t matter, you shouldn’t have kept count, it’s not good for your sanity!’ The air grew cold as Papyrus’ words gave way to silence. Sans resumed his stroking of the whimsun.

‘It’s four hundred and eighty-three times I’ve not given in,’ he said, a sliver of optimism ringing through his words. His eyes grew piercing as he held his brother’s gaze. ‘You want to know why I’m trying to act like normal? It’s because if I don’t, it means the others aren’t coming back. It means we’ll never get to the surface and it means Chara’s won. But worst of all, it means I’ve given up.’ His blue eyes shone yellow with grim determination. ‘And I won’t let that happen.’ His blazing words hung there, glistening, in front of Papyrus’ solemn face.

A peal of laughter rang out.

Sans’ eyes widened as Papyrus leant back in his chair and laughed; the soft sound shattered the tense air.

Sans was nonplussed. ‘I’m being serious!’ he exclaimed.

‘Oh I don’t doubt it,’ Papyrus said, grinning. In an uncharacteristic display of energy, he ran over to his brother and leapt on him, giving him a bone crushing hug.

‘Papyrus!’ Sans squealed as he was squashed beneath his giant brother. ‘You’ll wake the whimsun!’

‘Oops, sorry.’ But Papyrus sounded anything but apologetic as he lazily rolled over and sat up next to Sans, a glimmer of laughter still in his eye.

‘What was that all about?’ Sans asked, but he was smiling. He felt warmth growing within him as he looked at his happy brother.

‘I’m sorry for doubting you,’ Papyrus said. ‘You are the magnificent Sans after all.’ He wrapped his arms around Sans and pulled him close. ‘I love you so so much,’ he said quietly. ‘Please don’t ever change.’

Sans returned the hug. ‘I’ll do my best. I love you too.’

They stayed like that all evening, entwined together on the couch. They were happy, actually happy, something they hadn’t felt in a very long time and they held onto it dearly. Sans wished he could have frozen the moment and just stayed there forever. He didn’t want this happiness to disappear. But time is cruel.

Especially when controlled by a malevolent demon.

~*~*~

Sans rolled over in his bed. He froze. No. He clenched his eyes shut. No, no, no. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the couch next to his brother, the little whimsun huddled between them. So the fact that he was back in bed…

He burst out his room and slammed his hands to his mouth when he laid eyes on the sofa, empty apart from a little whimsun robe bundled in the middle. ‘No, no, no,’ he mumbled through his hands as he shook his head in denial.

Papyrus came out of his own room. He paled when he saw the empty whimsun robe. His body swayed. He muttered something about being right back before running down the stairs and flying out the door.

‘Papyrus, wait!’ Sans cried, confused, and ran out after him, but he had already gone. Sans stood still in the silent snow. His body slowly turned numb with cold. Only when he started shivering did he go back inside and face the vanished whimsun. He sat on the couch and laid the robe in his lap. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He sat there for hours, staring down at the robe, unmoving, as his glowing blue eyes flickered yellow.

Eventually Papyrus returned. Sans’ head shot up as the door slammed shut. He looked into Papyrus’ dark eyes. His brother didn’t even need to speak, his expression said it all.

They were the only ones left.

Papyrus staggered and collapsed onto the dining chair as anxiety and dread took over him. Tears shone in his terrified eyes. Sans jumped off the couch when he realised his brother wasn’t coping. He gently took Papyrus’ hand.

‘Come on Papy, let’s go put the whimsun with the others.’

Papyrus stared at him in disbelief, but he let Sans lead him out the house and into the forest.

Sans tried not to think about the empty houses they passed, lights still on and clocks still ticking, as if everyone had just popped out for a minute, all at the same time.

He tried not to think about how painfully loud their footsteps were as they trudged through the silent underground. Each crunch a reminder that they were the only living beings left.

He forced himself not to think about what would happen if the world reset again.

They eventually made it to the memorial tree. Sans knelt down in the snow pulled his brother down next to him. Together they laid the little robe in the snow.

Neither of them moved as the trees sighed around them, as if they too mourned. The caverns glittered down upon them, bathing the world in a soft silver and a gentle breeze wrapped itself around them, comforting them in their sorrow.

‘Don’t worry, Papyrus,’ Sans eventually broke the silence. His voice was soft but gritty with determination. ‘I’ll find a way to bring them all back.’

‘I know you will.’ Papyrus’ voice was a mere whisper on the wind.

Sans clenched his fists as the weight of the mountain suddenly pressed in around him. ‘And then we’ll get to the surface and we’ll have our happy ending, just you wait and see!’

There was silence. Papyrus sniffed and wiped his eyes. ‘I wish I could have your hope,’ his voice cracked. Sans turned and hugged his brother. Tears started flowing down Papyrus’ cheeks and soaked into Sans’ shoulder.

‘How can you still believe that?’ Papyrus sobbed, ‘After everything that’s happened?’

Sans tightened his grip on his brother. He clenched his teeth and buried his head into Papyrus’ shoulder. ‘I have to,’ he said as he forced his tears down. ‘If I don’t have hope, then I have nothing.’

Papyrus sucked in his breath. Sans gasped as his brother squeeze him tight. ‘Don’t say that,’ pain was clear in Papyrus’ voice. ‘You have me. We have each other.’

Sans hugged his brother so hard it hurt. Heat rose behind his eyes as tears spilt. Sans bit down hard on his tongue to stop the unspoken question from slipping through his teeth…

But for how long?

~*~*~

Sans woke suddenly from his sleep. He kept his eyes shut. He didn’t move a muscle. He barely even breathed.

He knew it. He didn’t need to hear, he didn’t need to move, he didn’t even need to see, and he knew it.

He curled over and dug his fingers into his skull as he gritted his teeth and forced himself not to cry. He slammed his hands over his mouth as a wail escaped.

He forced himself to breathe. In and out. In. And out.

He tried to reason with himself. Just because the world has reset, doesn’t mean everyone is gone. There have been resets before where no monster vanished. This is probably just one of them. He felt sick.

Still, with that thought at the front of his mind, he managed to get out of bed. Getting out his room was another matter though. Ever since the whimsun vanished, he and Papyrus had slept together on the couch. So this door was the only thing between him and the possibility of his worst nightmare. He forced his dark thoughts down. He placed his hand on the handle and took a deep, shuddering breath before pushing the door wide.

His mind went numb. His vision swam. His breath stuck in his throat.

No.

He shortcut down the stairs and appeared in front of the couch.

No.

He raised a trembling hand and reached towards Papyrus’ empty jeans and hoodie lying haphazardly on the couch. One arm was flung over the back of the sofa and the other tucked in the pockets. The exact same position he’d been in last night.

Sans tried to cry. He tried to scream. He tried to raise his emotions and destroy the world with its sadistic ways.

But all he could do was stand there in horror.

He couldn’t feel anything. Not the worn softness of Papyrus’ hoodie as he gently picked it up. Not the bite of icy air as he stepped outside. Not the snow flattening beneath his feet as he made his way out into the forest.

Was it hours or seconds that passed? All Sans knew was that he was at the memorial tree. He gazed out unseeing at the hundreds of piles of belongings.

He fell to his knees.

He stared at the blinding white snow. It contrasted sickeningly with the orange of Papyrus’ hoodie in his hands.

Numbness mercilessly pricked his body. All he could feel was a mounting pressure behind his eyes and a ringing in his ears and a wetness on his cheeks.

The memory of the last time he and Papyrus had come here rose foggily to mind, when they had said farewell to the last whimsun - to the last monster.

A bubble of hysterical laughter welled within him. Turns out the answer was twenty-six days. Twenty-six fucking days. Not even a month.

A small breeze weaved around him, making the sleeves of Papyrus’ hoodie flutter. He tried to lower it onto the snow but his hands started violently trembling. They wouldn’t let him put it down. They wouldn’t let him accept that Papyrus was gone. They shook and shook as tears flowed down his cheeks and pressure pounded in his head and they shook.

His breathing quickened.

Papyrus was gone.

Sans choked.

Papyrus was gone.

Sans doubled over. His breathing grew shallower and shallower until it stuck in his throat. His eyes grew hot. Sickness churned inside him. Tightness spread across his chest and his throat closed up as his vision swam in front of him. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He clawed at his throat but his bony phalanges slid uselessly over his vertebrae as panic and horror flared in his gut. He fell onto all fours and retched into the snow, his body spasming as it denied reality and its horrible truth. Unwanted magic surged within him. It was angry and burnt his insides. Gaster Blasters appeared in the air above him. He groaned as the pressure grated on his soul. His skull throbbed, it pounded, as blaster after blaster filled the space above him. Sans clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth and gave a wordless cry of pain as reality’s horrors started to sink in. He gasped. He retched. He sobbed.

Papyrus was gone.

Sans screamed as raw emotion slammed back into his being. Blasters roared; bones crashed; trees uprooted as misery and magic poured out of him, all added to the terrible noise ripping itself from Sans. It was a cacophony of agony, despair and grief. It was the sound of a world being torn to shreds. It was the sound of sanity shattering.

It filled the entire underground.

~*~*~

Sans trembled alone in the snow. He was knelt curled in a ball, head in the snow by his knees, hugging Papyrus’ hoodie. He shivered and shook as tears poured silently down his cheeks, steaming slightly as they hit the snow. Ash and leaves and dirty flecks of snow fluttered and settled around him. The forest around him had been decimated. Every tree was either burnt or damaged or entirely non-existent. All except for the memorial tree. Somehow, it had managed to survive completely unscathed. It stood still and silent as it watched over the lonely figure huddled at its feet.

Sans’ mind was empty as he lay there. The darkness was warm and his breathing comforting. He would have lain like that forever, unmoving in the snow, if it hadn’t been for the laughter.

Sans froze when he heard it ring out, terrified for a moment that the maniacal sound came from himself. But no, he knew that laugh. He sat up. His eyes were orange and flickered like flames in the night.

It was the laugh of a demon.

Sans looked out across the memorial site. Chara stepped out from behind the tree, their blood red eyes glittered dangerously. Sans, shoving his grief aside, jumped to his feet and summoned a bone. He gritted his teeth. He stood his ground. Chara leant against the tree and lazily toyed with a knife. They tossed it into the air. Sans’ eyes followed it as it slowly spun, the metal glinting threateningly, before falling back down and landing in Chara’s outstretched hand.

Sans turned cold as those demonic eyes turned onto him. Chara grinned.

Ẁ͈̆̾͒ẹ̲̺̈́̆l̜̻̳̬̉l̪̙̺̩̟̦̳̅͌̒ ̦̯̦͢ì̼̝̺͒̐̉ŝ̢̘͉n̑'̹̻͉͔̼͇̆̽͗̏̑͠t͔̩̹̆ͩ͆ ̢͖͖͇̼̠ͫͣ̎͆ͦ́t̛̿̊͆͊ͪͧh̻̹̪͙̥̺ͮ͂̓͆i̊̆ͯ͊̏̃͑š̆̅ͬ̚ ͈͍̥͉͎̓͋̇̍̃͘ȉ̺̬̮̅̆̊ͣͬn͖͖͎̯̮̓ͮt̰̘̮̙̤͇̑́ͨͥͅe̹̦͎ṙ͍̟̦̪̭̜͎̆́̄ë̞͚̭͖̻͉̺́͌͂͒ŝ̳̩͙̥̭̗̔͝t̙͓ͩ̈́̅i̒͆̍ͤ̾͋͏͖̮̥̲͈̝̣n̗ͭ͗ͥ͑̚͘g̴͉̥̜̩.͎̟̱ͮ͐̒̽͞ ̨̤̯̰̺̼̲̻͋̅ͥ̽̄

Sans snapped.

His eyes blazed as rage exploded within him and waves of bones poured from his outstretched arms. First white. Then blue. And then orange.

He cried with fury as blasters fired a thousand beams of light towards the demon and blinded the world.

Tears poured down his cheeks and blurred his vision as he focused on destroying those laughing red eyes belonging to the being who had taken everything from him.

He didn’t see the memorial tree get torn up.

He didn’t see the piles of belongings go up in smoke.

He didn’t see Papyrus’ hoodie flutter dangerously close to his wrath.

All he saw was those mocking red eyes as laughter danced around him

Sans’ chest heaved as his attack faded and the fire in his eyes dulled. Flakes of fabric and snow drifted around him. The world slowly came back into focus.

Sans’ eyes widened as he took in the carnage around him.

No, no, no.

He took a step back. Horrified. He shook his head. What had he done.

He raised his hands to his mouth, but that was when he saw the ruined piece of cloth tangling from his fingers.

He choked.

The hoodie was singed and torn beyond repair. Sans swayed as dizziness clouded his vision.

Laughter rang out around him once more.

Sans wailed. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t cope.

Sans ran. He ran and ran and tried to outrun the grief clipping his heels; the pain squeezing his soul; the demonic laughter burning his mind. The torn orange hoodie streamed from his hands and flared out behind him.

He ran through the forest, branches scraping and scratching his bones as he barely bothered to dodge them.

He ran through the empty town and tried not to scream.

The snow turned to slush as he ran into Waterfall, mud splattering his trousers and rain soaking him to the core.

He ran through the glittering caverns, the gemstones shining down on him with indifferent brilliance.

He ran into a field of echo flowers. His foot snagged on a hidden root. He cried out as he tripped and landed face first in the dirt.

The grief caught up with him.

Sans cried out in pain as sobs wracked his body and anguish filled his mind. His tears sank into the earth as he weeped into the cold soil. He cried his heart out as he mourned the lost souls of the underground, mourned his lost brother, mourned his lost hope.

Sans didn’t know how long he lay there for on the cold wet ground. Eventually his sobs lessoned as he started to shiver, but he was beyond getting up. As the silence grew around him he started to become aware of whispering around him. He froze with horror, but relaxed when he realised the whisperings were of a peaceful nature.

It was the echo flowers.

He closed his eyes and let the murmurings wash over him.

*I want Dad to come back. That’s my wish.

*Despite everything that’s happened, I’d still like to climb this mountain we're all buried under.

*Please, I just want my sister back. Is that too much to ask?

*Let’s not think about the future. Right now, we still have each other.

His breathing deepened and his tears slowed as the echo flowers calmed and comforted him. With a groan he managed to roll himself onto his back. He opened his eyes. He gazed up at the icy blue flowers leaning over him.

*Do you really think they are all gone? Truly?

*No, I believe that they’ll come back one day.

*But so many people have vanished. How can you believe that?

*If something can vanish, why can’t it reappear?

Slowly, ever so slowly, Sans started to sit up. The effort was almost beyond him and he started crying again as he forced himself upright. His bones screamed at him in protest. His vision doubled. His chest tightened.

*Someday we’ll look at the stars for real. You, me, and everyone that vanished.

Sans took a shuddering breath. As the echo flowers whispered their words, he felt something alight inside of him.

*Someone will save us. I know it.

Hope.

Sans lifted his head. The people of the underground hadn’t been erased, not completely. Even if they didn’t physically exist, their hopes and dreams still did. Sans gave the barest of smiles. He wasn’t alone.

Orange caught the corner of his eye. His smile dropped. He picked up the ruined cloth and hugged it. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered, ‘I lost my hope for a second there.’ He laid the torn hoodie out in front of him and ripped off a bit of fabric. He tied it around his leg. ‘But I won’t ever let that happen again,’ he said with a quiet intensity. He then started to dig a small hole in front of one of the echo flowers. He inhaled. The smell of fresh flowers and soil cleansed him from the inside. He laid the hoodie in the hole and covered it with earth. He summoned a small blue-orange bone and stuck it half in the dirt, marking the little grave. The echo flower leant over protectively. Its petals were wide and expectant, waiting for Sans’ words.

Sans spoke. His words were soft yet determined to the core. The echo flower soaked them up and sung them back at him, adding his voice to the chorus of hopes and dreams in the underground.

‘I’ll bring you back, Papyrus. I’ll bring you all back.’

‘I promise.’

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myownpersonaldemons · 5 years

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Self-Tober Prompt 7

Flowers

UF!Papyrus/Reader

To say your past dating experience had sucked was fairly accurate. The longest relationship you had had was two years, but even then it was off and on again. You always felt like you were giving so much to the relationships you were in but receiving only the bare minimum in return. Or they didn’t have the same view on PDA as you. Or they would brush off your emotional down days but then be upset when you couldn’t be there 100% with them on their emotional down days, which you always tried to.

At this point, you were fairly certain that you just weren’t going to find anyone who was as committed to you as you were to them.

Yet, even though you were fairly content to spend the rest of your days alone with only your cat to keep you company, all your family was not. Every time you saw distant relatives they’d ask you ‘oh! Are you dating anyone? When are you going to settle down?’ and your parents would complement your sister loudly about her moving in with her boyfriend, all the while shooting glances your way. As if not being in a relationship at your age meant you were going to be a spinster.

Though, you were completely fine with being a spinster.

The sad thing was...you were lonely. Your friends were getting a move on in their life, settling down and finding someone to spend the rest of their days with. You went to weddings, alone and if you were a drinker you would’ve drunk away that feeling of loneliness. There was nothing worse than being at a wedding alone while fending off drunken advances of men who were also as lonely as you were.

So, you had downloaded one of those stupid relationship apps...and subsequently uninstalled it a week later when you got more invitations for sex than anyone truly looking for a partner. Plus, there was nothing less sexy than getting a dick pic.

It was just another reconfirmation that you wouldn’t find a relationship, and just reaffirmed that your efforts were better spent elsewhere.

Work, friends, family, and your sweet kitten.

You figured out quickly that you didn’t need someone else to make your life feel complete. It was hard work but you slowly found ways to make yourself feel better. Hobbies to fill empty time. Shows and activities you enjoyed. Of course, that didn’t mean you always filled every moment of your time. You enjoyed having a hot beverage while sitting on your balcony and just watching the world. Time to just be in the present.

If any of that didn’t help lift your spirits? There was one thing that always did.

Buying yourself a bouquet of flowers to fresh up your apartment.

There was a store near your work that you went to nearly weekly now to pick up a new bouquet, and the owner had even begun to give you a discount just because of the sheer amount of them that you bought. They said the only people who bought flowers more frequently were funeral homes or wedding planners. You had gotten a touch embarrassed at that but it was a pleasing embarrassment.

However, a few months after your new routine, the owner had informed you that you had competition. Someone else was buying as many flowers as you were. When you jokingly said you’d have to fight for the position of the best customer, the owner had teasingly pointed out the skeleton in the store and said ‘have fun fighting him.’

Monsters weren’t a new thing, they’d been out of the Underground for years, so your gaze stopped lingering on them. So, it was honestly not the biggest surprise to you that you hadn’t really taken notice of him. However, now? You really took notice of him. After all, he was the Captain of the Royal Guard. You had seen his photos while scrolling through the news, and he was always present along with that Undyne woman during King Asgore’s speeches.

He was tall and as intimidating as you had thought he would be in real life. The only difference between the photos and newscast versions of him and the monster standing across the small flower shop was that he was slightly less military looking.

As if he felt your eyes on him, he glanced over at you and scowled. A blush darkened your cheeks immediately, you hadn’t meant to stare and turned back to the owner.

“I was expecting more ‘old lady’ and not ‘military man’ when I said I’d fight,” you mumbled to the immediate delight of the florist who cackled at you before ringing up your bouquet. You turned and nearly bumped directly into the skeleton monster, who scowled again. You mumbled an apology, face blushing madly, and you darted away before he could even say a word.

A small part of you had hoped that that was a one-time thing, but when you went in the next time your bouquet had started to wilt, you had spotted him once again. You kept to yourself, but you couldn’t help but steal small glimpses of him. He was impressive, after all.

It kept on this way as spring burst into summer. Every couple weeks or so you’d see him in the flower shop and you’d shyly keep to yourself, but then one visit you broke the non-existent script. You were examining some bouquets when he stepped up beside you and thumbed one of the flowers. Neither of you spoke for a while, just silently stood next to each other until you hesitantly pointed at a bouquet in front of him and shyly asked him if he’d pass you it.

It took him a moment as if he was stunned that you had asked him or even spoken to him before he lifted it up and handed it over delicately. You had smiled warmly, ignoring the blush on your cheeks, and thanked him before turning and hurrying away.

That begun to happen more and more often. You’d be examining some flowers and he’d stand beside you and you’d point out a bouquet you wanted and he’d pass it to you. No more words than ‘excuse me, but can you pass me that bouquet?’, ‘OF COURSE,’ and ‘thank you very much!’ were exchanged.

Then, in early fall, it was his turn to break the script. He stepped up beside you, introduced himself (properly, and loudly you might add) and you shyly introduced yourself. You weren’t a normally extroverted person, and so you were nervous talking to someone you didn’t know at all. However, he on the other hand seemed to have no qualms about it. He was quite abrasive in his wording, but you quickly discovered that if you didn’t take the words at face value he wasn’t being as big of a dick as you had originally thought. Eventually, you figured out that he bought flowers for his brother's room to try to mask the stench as the artificial sprays did nothing and smelt awful to him. You had giggled at that and had told him that he was a good brother giving his brother flowers, to which he had blushed and declared that he ‘WASN’T GIVING THEM TO THAT IDIOT. IT IS SOLELY FOR MY BENEFIT!’

He had then asked you about why you bought flowers so frequently and you had shyly admitted that it made you happy every time you saw the bouquet when you got home and smelt the fresh flowers. His face had softened ever so slightly before the look disappeared and he asked why your significant other didn’t buy you bouquets if they made you so happy.

Your face had twisted into an awkward grimace and you had told him, without looking at him, that someone would have to put up with you for longer than three months. Then, feeling overly embarrassed by the turn of the conversation, you had chosen a bouquet at random and then said goodbye and practically fled the store.

Snow fell in a big clump before fall had even begun, the roads became so bad that there were travel advisory warnings against travelling for nearly a week. That week, you weren’t able to replace the flowers by your door as they wilted, and you found your mood souring. Your work had phoned you to tell you not to bother risking your life to come into work until the travel advisory was cleared. So, you were stuck inside for a week, and plus you missed your conversations with Papyrus.

You hadn’t been able to gather enough courage to ask him for his number, and he hadn’t asked you for yours either. So, you pouted.

Then, because you had missed a week of work, you couldn’t justify buying a bouquet of flowers until your next paycheck so you had to wait two additional weeks before you budgeted and found out that you could splurge on bouquets again. It was a happy, happy time when you got off work and went straight to the flower shop.

You were crouched in front of two Halloween themed flower baskets debating between them when two black boots came into view. You glanced up and smiled up at Papyrus, “hey!”

He didn’t say anything at first, just held out a single red rose towards you. You tilted your head slightly, and you felt your eyebrows drawing together in confusion. Your eyes flicked back up to his and he looked...nervous, but in a way that he was clearly trying to mask it.

“IT IS NORMALLY VERY HARD TO CAPTURE MY INTEREST, HUMAN, BUT YOU HAVE SOMEHOW DONE SO,” he announced, quite loudly and you were glad that it was only you two and the owner in the store at the moment. You flushed brightly and glanced down at the rose to avoid looking him in the eyes.

“I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE YOU ON A DATE.”

Your heart skipped a beat and you looked up at him in surprise. “What?” you asked, dumbly.

“A DATE,” he repeated, a bit slower. You could see the nervousness increasing as he presented the rose to you again.

“A-A date?” you stammered out, looking back at the rose. Then you glanced up at him shyly, “why me?”

That seemed to give him pause, as he stared down at you in almost shock. He cleared his throat (how did he do that when he didn’t have one?) and straightened up slightly. “YOU MEET ALL MY STANDARDS. YOU CAN HOLD A CONVERSATION, YOU ARE WITTY, FUNNY, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, AND YOU HAVE MENTIONED YOUR LOVE OF LASAGNA.”

You honestly had to bite back a giggle at the last point, before you slowly got to your feet (wincing only slightly at your stiff knees from crouching for so long), and hesitantly reached out to take the rose. Your face was darkly blushing, you could feel the warmth in your cheeks as you replayed his words in your head. (He thought you were beautiful!!) Your fingers brushed against his bones, and you saw the soft red-tinted blush on his cheeks.

“I...I’d like that,” you said softly.

“OF COURSE!” he said, clearly flustered that you accepted but trying hard to deny it. “ARE YOU BUSY TONIGHT?”

You glanced up at him in surprise, “Tonight?”

He nodded and looked down at you expectantly. Normally the idea of doing anything last minute was nerve-wracking, but...with him? You nodded, “I don’t have anything else planned.”

“EXCELLENT!”

You had spent years thinking you’d never find anyone who would be as involved in the relationship as you were...but you had finally found someone to prove you wrong. Papyrus was as devoted to you as you were to him, and the two of you had the same ideas of PDA. You didn’t like anything more than hand-holding, the occasional smooch or hug, and neither did he. Yet, the moment you two were alone you were cuddle fiends which surprised you.

However, what surprised you the most was four months after you two had started dating he brought you a bouquet out of the blue. When you had asked what'st the occasion, he merely smiled, tucked a piece of your hair behind you ears and said, “I HAD NEVER SEEN YOU AS SAD AS WHEN I ASKED WHY YOUR DATEMATE DIDN’T BUY YOU FLOWERS. YOUR PAST LOVERS WERE UNWORTHY OF EACH MINUTE THEY SPENT WITH YOU IF THEY COULD NOT SEE HOW LUCKY THEY WERE THAT YOU EVEN GAVE THEM A SECOND.”

It was so unexpected you had blushed and had to hide your face as he cackled and teased you for being so easily flustered. To which you had looked up at him, with the softest look you could muster and told him you loved him.

After all...

Two blushing idiots were better than one.

#edge/reader #papyrus/reader #underfell #undertale fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #myfanfics #my fanfics #selftober #self insert #reader insert

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catsitta · 5 years

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A Selection of Previews

[Previews of fics I have been working on, I'd love some feedback on what folks would like to see next! Keep in mind that these samples may be pulled from the start...or from the middle. ;)]

Goodbye Morning You’re dead. At least, you’re pretty sure the car crash killed you. You just never imagined Death would be a giant skeleton in a lab coat and taped on glasses. A divergent path from Hello Sunshine, wherein you’re a human bittie accidentally created by Sans, the elder son of the infamous W. D. Gaster.

It is dark.

That is the first thought born in the weightless void that is your burgeoning awareness. Like an abandoned computer left to decay, suddenly plugged back in, electricity sparking through wasted circuits and crumbling wires, you FEEL. There is a lurch and surge after the first, distant glimmer of sensation, followed by the hum and a whirl of a thing you know as noise.

What happened?

Your second thought is accompanied by a thing you name memory. It’s a hazy, disjointed flash that sputters through the dark nothing. The screech of tires. The loss of control. Impact. Blackness. A moment captured by a flashbulb and set on loop. What existed before a haze, and the end as abrupt as a newborn’s first breath. The thing named memory blurs and blots, the darkness filling in the cracks until once more all you know is a vast nothing. And then, not even that.

Awareness retreats until all that remains of you is the singular idea of you. Of existing. You might have stopped Being if not for a pull. A fine thread in the darkness that is not you. That what remains of you is caught by, anchored like a fly stuck in a spider’s web. Once more it tugs and it is enough to bring about a third thought.

Hello?

And that is enough.

You breathe

No+Esc You’re a fledgeling website designer with a nightmare client that is driving you to wits end. Sans is the well-dressed skeleton that makes the wrong offer at the wrong time. Your answer isn’t what he expected.

Reader Insert | Female Reader | Mobtale!Sans/Reader

Third installment of Caramel Macchiatos

Ready to shank any moron that might dare poke fun at your situation, your expression blackened, the desire to curl up in bed for a week almost too tempting to resist. You're about to pick up and start packing when you notice how…quiet the shop had become. A hush having fallen that made the skin prickle and the throat dry. You glance around in time to see the exact cause of the sudden silence stop at your table. Two cups of coffee in either hand was a skeleton monster.

Shit.

He wasn't very large, maybe your height if that, with an oddly stocky build for a bag of bones. But it was the fine, blue suit with a gleaming silver pin on the matching tie, that told anyone and everyone to be wary. The fancy dressed monsters were dangerous. Humans that crossed them wrong had a bad habit of unfortunate things happening to them. Not that humans gave monsters many options in terms of justice, for worse or not.

When monsters emerged from Mt. Ebott, everything seemed to go well…at first. Then the riots started. The violent protests. Despite extensive attempts at peace, the monsters found themselves on the bad side of bigotry, and suffered terrible casualties. At the end of it all, when they finally clawed out a place amongst humanity, they had hardly any protections. Police didn't follow up on murders for monsters. It was near impossible for them to find honest work. Landlords denied them all but the worst of accommodations. And yet the monsters endured. They endured and endured and endured...until their king and queen were murdered, assassinated in front of their people during a speech on Freedom Day.

Monsters scattered after that. But not without a purpose. Without a means to fight back. If they couldn't make an honest living, then they'd make one any way they could. They took their gold, their magic and their community and select factions rose up. Became untouchable. Just like the crime families of new and old. Some had more influence than others, peddling powerful healing items or drugs that affected the very soul for a high unlike any other.

Even now, as more and more businesses and people opened up to monsters, there remained the knowledge that a well-dressed monster could mean trouble if you crossed them. And it was humanity's own fault that things turned out like this.

Oathbound Sans is sworn to the obey the crown. The very one that now rests on his brother’s head. They’ve made it work—Sans continuing his work as Advisor and Judge in this dark, fragile timeline, and Papyrus acting the role of king. But it all falls apart when invaders from an alternate timeline cross the boundary between their worlds and threaten war. The Underground cannot survive further casualties and in both good faith and desperation, Papyrus does what any ruler would do to save his people.

He signs a treaty.

UT!Sans x UF!Sans x UF!Papyrus | King Papyrus Ending | No More Resets

Sans knew something was amiss the moment Papyrus entered his room.

The hours passed by in pained silence, the elder brother unable to sleep, waiting for that moment when the bond shattered and he was freed from his orders. But it never came. He wasn’t sure if his brother being alive was a good sign or not (what a horrible little monster he was, considering that a better outcome might be his brother’s death). He scanned Papyrus’ skull, cutting a pale figure in the haggard dark, searching for an answer. All he found was regret. Guilt. Shame.

“what did you do, bro?”

Papyrus gripped the doorframe, nudging an abandoned sock with the toe of his boot, “N-nothing yet.” But he was considering something. What kind of terrible, wretched thing did his dark reflection ask of him? If he demanded the crown, he doubted Papyrus would be looking at him this way, like a lost little boy. Sans sighed, and shifted so that he sat on the edge of the bed, arms held open. Papyrus rushed into his embrace and for long, countless minutes, they simply clung to one another. “They explained how they came here, brother. It...none of it made much sense. It was all kinds of time-space shenanigans that you would have understood better. Something about...collapsing the boundary between our universes in a search for...resources.”

He shifted, “They never said it outright, but...I think they’re looking for human souls.”

“why do you think that?” Sans cursed his brother’s impulsiveness, but his already aching Soul couldn’t muster the energy required to be angry.

“...just...a feeling.”

A Skeleton's Bride

One might call selling yourself to the highest bidder giving up. Maybe it is. But when living is a burden plagued by monsters no one else seems to see, is it so wrong to hand over control to someone else? You don't care what happens to you...as long as someone else gives you a reason to live.

When a cloaked figure walks into the auction hall and throws a ridiculous sum of money onto the stage, you are thrust into a strange new life of magic and mages.

And for some reason, all his friends keeps asking when the wedding will take place!

Sans/Reader | Female!Reader | Ancient Magus Bride Inspired

“Are you certain this is what you wish?”

The lights are blinding. It is nigh impossible to see through the dazzling glow pouring down upon the stage, illuminating the merchandise. A centuries old painting doesn’t care. Nor does any of the typical faire have reason or means to complain how they are displayed for the bidders. You drop your gaze to your bare feet, body heavy. It would be so easy to just close your eyes, take a step forward and—

“Very well, if you are sure. Just sign here…”

—you draw in a ragged breath. Somewhere, you hear a male voice ‘selling’ you to the crowd. “A Red Soul”, he explained, “Sighted.” As if those were things of value. All those two traits gained you were grief and hardship. Normal girls didn’t see monsters. They weren’t cursed. Most of the time all the monsters mentioned was your soul, whispering amongst each other as if it were a treasure they wished to devour, and you pretended you could neither see nor hear them. Because when they learned of your Sight, some became relentless and hostile, as if wanting to drive you mad for daring to look upon them.

“As of now, you are item nine at the next auction.”

#undertale #fanfic #Fanfic ideas #preview #sans #undertale sans #underfell sans #Underfell Papyrus #papyrus #Hello Sunshine #caramel macchiato #reader insert #spicy kedgeup #mobtale #mobtale sans #i have all these half finished fics and i need direction in my life

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argentdandelion · 5 years

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Cross-Fandom Analysis: “I’m Bad, and That’s Good”

Or, “How to Not Die by Falling into Not-Lava”.

Thesis: Ralph’s speech of “I’m bad, and that’s good. I will never be good, and that’s not bad. There’s no one I’d rather be...than me.” also applies to W.D. Gaster of Handplates, but in an opposite moral direction.

(For simplicity’s sake, this article will not be considering the sequel Ralph Wrecks the Internet)

Ralph Context

Ralph: “Sure must be nice, being the good guy.” Ralph: “Here’s the thing. I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore.” Clyde (the orange ghost in Pac-Man): “Ralph, Ralph. We get it. But we can’t change who we are. The sooner you accept that, the better off your game and your life will be.”

History

In the film Wreck-it Ralph, Ralph, who's been the "bad guy" of a Donkey Kong-esque arcade game for decades, doesn't want to be the "bad guy" any more. He's tired of getting defeated by his game's protagonist, Fix-it Felix, over and over and being excluded and not appreciated by everyone in his game. He doesn’t seem to have any friends; when he shows up to Bad Anon at the film’s beginning, it’s his first time.

In his game, Felix gets a medal for his heroism after defeating Ralph; to prove he can be a good guy, Ralph ventures to another game to get himself a medal. In the process, he accidentally brings a mindless killer robot to the helpless game Sugar Rush. Though thought destroyed, the robot actually survived and multiplied underground. He also loses his newfound medal, and in his quest to get it back, he befriends one of Sugar Rush's characters: Vanellope.

Motives

Ralph’s bad-guy status was externally-imposed: he was created for the role of being the bad guy in an arcade game, and the game literally puts words in his mouth to accomplish this. Refusing to play out his role or even just leaving his game for too long comes with the risk of making the arcade game seem broken, and if people think it's broken, it will be unplugged and its characters will become homeless; therefore it is selfish.

Ralph’s initial motives are selfish. The other characters in the game Wreck-it Ralph don’t believe he can ever get a medal because he’ll never be any more than a bad guy. When he gets a medal (by basically cheating rather than earning it), he figures he’ll come back to the admiration of the other game characters.

Execution of Motives

While Ralph’s initial motives for helping Vanellope are selfish, (he wants his hero’s medal back and helping Vanellope win a race will do it) he nonetheless does some kind, altruistic (arguably heroic) things to help Vanellope even before he gets his medal back.

When the other Sugar Rush characters harass Vanellope and tear apart her homemade cart, Ralph (who doesn’t even like her, at this point) charges down and scares the other racers off. He’ll get the medal back if Vanellope wins a race, but Vanellope doesn’t have a car or some place to practice. So he uses his super-strength to break into a car-making minigame facility and help Vanellope make a car, and also creates a racetrack for her to practice on.

Later, he unexpectedly gets his medal back before Vanellope races. the film’s antagonist also tricks him into believing that if Vanellope does win a race, Sugar Rush’s plug will be pulled, causing everyone to flee the game and become homeless game characters. Yet, Vanellope, as a glitch, cannot escape her game: she’ll die.

Ralph thus wrecks Vanellope’s cart so she can’t race, avoiding the outcome that will result in her death. (The scene is emotionally devastating; the author still always fast-forwards through that scene.) Later on, he breaks into prison to rescue Felix, the hero of the game Wreck-it Ralph, for Felix’s magic hammer can fix anything and thus can reassemble the remains of Vanellope’s car.

Speech Interpretation

At the film’s climax, Ralph learns a mindless killer robot (a Cy-Bug) he accidentally brought in from another game survived the crash of the escape pod that brought him to Sugar Rush. Not only that, but it multiplied into a massive army, in a game where there are no built-in controls to its spread. Vanellope, as a glitch character, cannot escape Sugar Rush. The film’s villain holds Ralph high in the air, trying to get him to watch Vanellope die. That’s when Ralph realizes he’s above a mountain of Mentos and lava-like diet cola. He escapes the villain’s clutches, intending to punch the entire layer of Mentos in the mountain into the boiling diet cola: the eruption would draw the Cy-Bugs in like moths to a flame and destroy them.

When Ralph is falling to his (presumed) death, it’s likely he believes he’s brought a lot of suffering onto Vanellope, such as bringing a Cy-Bug in (accidentally) and breaking her cart to start with. It’s likely he believes his sacrifice is the only way to save her.

Therefore, Ralph’s interpretation of the Bad Guy Affirmation would be: “I’ve messed up, and I’m doomed to be a villain. I accept that. At least Vanellope cares about me [he looks at his candy medal during this line], and this is the only thing I can do to save her.”

Handplates Context

Gaster: “It does not matter if they [the test subjects] can understand. It does not matter what they look like, or if they can think, or what they feel.” Gaster: “To even consider...[abandoning the experiment and raising the test subjects more-or-less normally]...such selfish sentimentality gets people killed. There is only one choice.”

History

In the Undertale fan comic Handplates (by Zarla-s), monsters were sealed underground with a magical barrier after losing a war millennia ago. When his son was killed by humans, Asgore, king of the monsters, declared war on humanity. He declared that any humans who fell into monsters’ underground realm would be killed, and their souls used to break the magical barrier keeping them all underground. However, Asgore is a kind pushover of a king, who once adopted human child himself. Going through with his declaration causes him a lot of emotional suffering. To ease his pain, the royal scientist W.D. Gaster tries to find some way to break or bypass the barrier without having the king kill any humans.

To this end, he cut out disks of bone from his hands to grow into “living tools” for his experiments. Yet, they unexpectedly became sentient monster children, causing some ethical problems.

W.D. Gaster, in some ways, is the opposite of Ralph. Though his whole family (and all other skeletons) were killed off in the war, he was de facto adopted by King Asgore and Queen Toriel, who loved him very much. He grew up to be a scientist, and helped the whole Underground with his inventions. Indeed, he gained the singularly esteemed position of royal scientist, with immense resources for whatever project he needed.

However, like Ralph, W.D. Gaster has very few friends. While he’s been alive for thousands of years (Ralph’s been alive for 30), he seems close to only three people: Alphys, Asgore, and Toriel. (and for most of the comic, he believes Toriel is dead)

Motives

W.D. Gaster’s bad-guy status was internally-imposed. Nobody is making him do cruel things. In fact, nobody other than himself and his test subjects even know he’s doing cruel things. He believes he is the only person who can do what he thinks must be done, for the greater good, so his motives are initially altruistic. While his devotion to Asgore and willingness to suffer for monsterkind’s sake is admirable, the way he goes about it is definitely a bad guy thing.

In contrast to Ralph, W.D. Gaster’s initial motives weren’t selfish. He wanted to free all monsters from their underground realm and soothe Asgore’s suffering however he could. Nobody considered him a “bad guy”: he was already admired and had people who cared about him.

Execution of Motives

After a brief period of a more-or-less happy childhood/toddler-hood (Gaster was emotionally unavailable, but not hostile), Gaster believed his “objectivity” was “at risk of being compromised”. He drilled in metal plates into the test subjects’ hands, starting a long chain of very painful experiments. Sometimes, he would perform these experiments not to serve his greater, ostensibly noble goal, but for no other reason than his own curiosity. (e.g., breaking one of Papyrus’s bones to see how long it would take to heal) Indeed, while he told himself he would do what he needed to do (including very painful experiments), sometimes his cruelty (e.g., not giving anesthesia) just isn’t pragmatic.

Speech Interpretation

Therefore, Gaster’s interpretation of the Bad Guy Affirmation would be: “I am, and am doomed to be, callous, unloving, and unworthy of love in turn, but that is good: it means I am able to do whatever is necessary to remove Asgore's need to kill again, and free monsterkind. My actions are unforgivable, but I have no choice to turn away from this course: in the end monsters will be freed, and I am willing to accept any punishment afterward for that goal. I do what I must, because I am the only one who can.”

Final Comparison and Results

(Ralph gets cake. Gaster not only does not get cake, but is erased from reality and forgotten by everyone.)

Both have an extended falling sequence into not-lava: lava-like boiling diet cola for Ralph, and magic “lava” (it’s unclear) in a power plant for Gaster. Both have someone who knows them well trying to save them during this sequence; for Ralph, it’s Vanellope, and for Gaster, it’s one of his test subjects, Papyrus (2-P).

Vanellope uses her glitch powers to glitch through the walls of the mountain on her cart, saving Ralph. (Incidentally, Ralph helped her with her glitch powers and cart driving.) Papyrus (called 2-P) tries to save Gaster from falling into the not-lava using gravity-altering blue magic. However, Gaster told him earlier that if he and his brother ever tried to use blue magic on him, they’d be severely punished, and Gaster proceeds to “demonstrate” by breaking quite a lot of Papyrus’s bones. This experience makes Papyrus hesitate, and so he’s too late to save Gaster.

Yet, despite sharing these similarities, their motives, character development, and actions are almost the opposite of each other. Ralph fell to begin with out of a heroic sacrifice to save Vanellope, while Gaster fell because one of his test subjects, Sans (1-S), who resented him for his cruelty, shoved him off a catwalk in the power plant. This, while the Bad Guy affirmation applies to both of them equally, one shows the descent of a “good guy” into villainy, and another shows the ascent of a “bad guy” into heroism.

#Undertale #Handplates #W.D. Gaster #Gaster #Wreck-it Ralph #Handplates Gaster #Zarla #Ralph (Wreck-it Ralph)

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