#that doesn't stop him from feeling guilty towards frisk for worrying about it. or feeling worried at all

[carlyraejepsans]

hibiscia!!! Sorry if youve explained before but is there something specific about reset-remember fics that you hate? I don't really like them either but for me it's just because I feel like a lot of authors type sans in very ooc ways

They're completely antithetical to Sans' character arc for the sake of cheap and easy angst. The nature of his brand of cosmic horror isn't in reliving his life again and again, that's Flowey's. Sans knows OF the anomaly, knows that it's manipulating time and knows it's a threat to the entire universe, but he doesn't know how or why, because he doesn't remember.

And that's crucial! him being mostly in the dark in spite of the MANY warning signs about us... because it's in that doubt that he remains hopeful. YES we could potentially end the world... but what if we don't? yes we have unimaginable power over everyone else and we can bring back time, but what if we're just.... sad? he needs that gap in his knowledge so he can take a leap of faith across it, it's his entire character arc in the pacifist run. sans THINKS he's given up, he wants to have given up, he chose to do it because there's a comfort in that. in contenting yourself with good food and bad laughs. there's peace. but he hasn't given up, not really. on himself? maybe. but not in us.

there's no way to have that arc if he remembers resets.

#this is also why i don't like post pacifist sans angst where he worries about resets. unless there's like a Reason for frisk to reset #kinda like sam did in UG with the incident with the blasters #because ppl take his lines during the NM fight as a given without considering that... it's the fucking NM run? lol #he's talking about reaching the surface from the point of view of a sans who's only ever been antagonized by the anomaly #ie reaching the surface meant through asgore's plan being successful #pacifist achieves that in a scenario where he actively befriends and loves and cares about the anomaly. he trusts us!! #it would feel unfair to his friend if he were convinced they were going to shit on their happy ending. that's a really shitty thing to thin #it's actually sth i wanted to handle in dv. having a kid REALLY fucks with his paranoia. it's irrational but understandable #that doesn't stop him from feeling guilty towards frisk for worrying about it. or feeling worried at all #undertale #sans #answered asks #metanalysis