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suwya · 3 years

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Till the Stars Had Run Away - Chapter 7

Summary: Killian Jones was a voyager. Actually, he was many things, or at least he had been - a lieutenant, a brother, a loving boyfriend - until everything had turned upside down and his life had hit an all time low. So, he gave up. Aboard his spaceship he abandoned Arcadia, his planet, navigating the stars and other solar systems in search of... well, he still didn't know what he was searching for, but his rule was "never remain in the same place longer than necessary."

Rating: M

Prologue; Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

AO3

A/N: Thank you @thisonesatellite for being the best beta reader I could ever ask for. And thank to all of you who are reading this.

Chapter 7

Everything exists,

everything is true

and the earth is just

a bit of dust beneath our feet.

(W. B. Yeats)

“Help yourself.” David had accompanied Killian to some sort of warehouse with various spare parts of spaceships piled up here and there on shelves. “Sorry, I don't understand much about mechanics.” He apologized.

Killian looked around him, some pieces appeared to be useful, others looked like half-broken remains from which perhaps a couple of bolts could be extracted but nothing more. “It seems more boneyard than storage.”

“Yeah, well, not everybody who landed here was lucky enough to tell the tale..” David sighed.

A look of understanding passed between them. Killian nodded and started to rummage through the pieces. They had just checked the Jolly Roger to assess the damages, passing through a hidden corridor that led directly to the hangar without having to go out into the open. If I had known this passage existed, I would have probably been spared my hospital stay, Killian had thought.

“What is like to grow up on this planet?” He asked nonchalantly, still trying to decipher the man next to him.

“Nobody is from Vernal-Den.”

Killian looked at him suspiciously “Then, how did you land here?”

“Probably, same as you did. We had entered the gravitational field without even realizing it. Sadly, we were less fortunate than you, our spaceship was destroyed. It’s a miracle we survived. And in no time we were trapped here.”

“And you built an underground city.” There was astonishment in his voice.

“It’s not that big, and the tunnels were already part of this planet, we just repurposed them for our convenience.”

“How many of you live here?”

David appeared lost in a faraway thought. “There were more than twenty of us in the original group. Some had already gone away, joining a fleeing ship. Some… well, let’s just say they had tried an escape route that did not turn out to be the best choice. There’s just a few of us left now.”

“Why didn’t you leave?” Killian was curious to know what kept the other man tied to this lost land.

“I contemplated the possibility a couple of times. But at the beginning it was chaos, people needed a leader. Someone who took responsibility for organizing things down here.”

“You?”

“I was their leader on our home planet.” David answered, and Killian studied the man in front of him, his stance, the way he always looked straight into the eyes of his interlocutor. He exuded confidence and Killian had no trouble imagining him as a charismatic manager or even a king. But when he was about to ask, the other man went on. “When things started to run by themselves, I considered going somewhere else, but well, you can imagine, we don’t receive many visitors.”

“So if the opportunity arises to leave now, you will take it on the fly?”

“I don't know,” David shook his head, “but I would certainly think about it.”

Killian spent some time choosing pieces from the shelves. When he felt satisfied with his choices, he said “I think I have everything I need.”

David nodded and they made their way back to the ship. Killian was eager to get started on the repairs, the other man said he had some tasks to do and would be back to pick him up in a few hours, so Killian found himself alone in the hangar. But that was no problem, he loved devoting sweat and tears to his ship, and fixing it was for him like healing the wounds of a close friend.

Time flew by when he was with his lady, and when David returned, Killian was covered in grease and oil stains. “I’ve just talked to Mary Margaret”, the blonde man stated, “dinner should be ready soon, we better go home.”

A few corridors and passages down, David stopped in front of a double door. He seemed to ponder something, but in the end, he said “Let me show you something.”

Behind that door there was one of the most amazing things Killian had ever seen. A greenhouse. The man remembered when Henry mentioned it. Now he understood why the boy was so enthusiastic about it.

The place was enormous. Plants and trees of all kinds and species grew in full bloom under an artificial source of bright light and the temperature in the room was slightly wet but pleasant. Scents of different flowers filled the air and Killian recognized some fruits that he had only seen in pictures. He was staring with awe. “Well, this is…”

“Outstanding? Extraordinary?” David finished his sentence. “Yeah. Exactly my thoughts when I found it.”

“What do you mean, found it? Was it already here when you arrived?”

David nodded.

“But how could it be? You said that nobody was living here when you landed. Who is in charge of this place?”

“The place runs all by itself.” Under the astonished look of the other man, David added “Many things are strange on this planet, and I don’t have all the answers.” He shook his head. “I wish I had.”

~·~·~·~

Back home Killian took a quick shower to get rid of all the grease of the engine and when he was redressing with clean clothes, Emma approached him and started to help him with the ointment and fresh bandages for his bruises. They were alone in the upper part of the loft. She was chewing her bottom lip, maybe because she was concentrating on the task, or so he thought, and that’s why he was surprised when she abruptly said “We need to talk.”

He arched a brow. “I’ve found that when a woman says that, I'm rarely in for a pleasant conversation.”

She rolled her eyes. “I want you to know what Sidney Glass told me about New-Tolemac.”

Emma had just finished fixing the last of the gauze, and Killian put a hand on hers stopping her movements. She lifted her gaze, staring into his eyes perplexedly. He nodded, trying to silently tell her that she could trust him with whatever she wanted to reveal.

But the closeness, her hand on his chest, the way she was looking at him, it was too much to bear for Killian. Intense and maybe inappropriate thoughts were forming in his head, and he needed to pay attention to what she was about to say. He took a step back and started to put on a shirt.

Emma sat down at the end of the bed. She was fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable and worried. “The King and Queen of New-Tolemac have joined forces with the Industry.” She blurted.

“Well, that’s a powerful partnership, indeed.” Killian conceded.

“But why? For years they have built and perfected a plan to defeat the Industry, they have been preparing for war. Now they want to be their ally. I don’t understand.” Emma shook her head.

“People often change sides according to their benefits.”

“Yeah. Mr. Glass said they have a common goal. But he didn’t know what that was. Or he didn’t want to reveal it to me.” Emma had been staring at her feet so far. But she frowned and raised her gaze to find his. “I don’t know what to think.”

Killian sat down next to her and covered her hand with his. “What is exactly troubling you?”

“If New-Tolemac doesn’t fear a possible attack of the Industry, maybe they won’t be needing Henry as their heir anymore. So I should be relieved. But if they still need Henry for their future business, they are more powerful now, and finding my son wouldn’t be much of a problem for them.” She shivered. “I’m terrified.” She admitted.

Killian looked sympathetically at her, then he opened his arms and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “We will protect Henry. Nothing bad will happen to the boy.” He tried to reassure her, and she mentally thanked him for his choice to use the word we.

~·~·~·~

When Emma and Killian went downstairs Henry was immersed in a story. Mary Margaret was putting some things in place on her shelves, which in Killian’s opinion was not at all necessary, as they already seemed in order; he noticed that the boy glanced confused towards the brunette woman but didn't give it too much weight.

David was in the kitchen, browning some vegetables. "You absolutely have to try these," he told his audience, "they don't have all the intense flavor they had on our planet, but, given that they are from a greenhouse, they are not bad at all."

“What was your home planet?” Killian inquired.

“One of the NTH-Confederates.” It was Mary Margaret who answered.

“No way!” Henry had stopped giving attention to his tablet.

“Yes, why? Do you know them?” Was David’s question, while his wife simultaneously asked: "Have you been there?"

“Everybody in the multiverse knows them.” Killian stated. “I traveled a lot, but I never went that far away. Those planets are surrounded by legends and myths.”

“Well, it’s a very tangible and existing myth.” The brunette said with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

“It’s so cool! It has to be a wondrous place.” Henry was as enthusiastic as usual.

“Yeah. Well… I’d like it to be as cool as it used to be.” There was a hint of sadness in David’s voice. Then he shook his head as if he didn't want to indulge in melancholic thoughts. “But, they still have the best fillglow team of the multiverse!”

“What are you talking about?” Killian rhetorically asked.

“Why, The Buttercups, of course!”

“No, no, no.” Killian accentuated it by swinging one finger. “I mean, they are some fine fellows, I won’t argue with that. But The Black Clippers? That’s a team as it ought to be!”

“Oh, come on! The Buttercups have won four major leagues. What did your team win?”

“It’s easy to have the most requested players on the market when you are loaded. My boys, they cut their teeth on the field, they fought to reach where they are. They were not a guaranteed winning team, and look at them now, top end of the MFC table this year. Plus, they play fair.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” David was staring back at the other man, chin raised, one hand on his hip. He might even have looked threatening, were it not for the fact that in his other hand he was brandishing a wooden spoon and wearing an apron that read "the most charming chef in the world".

“Easy guys.” His wife tried to make peace. “Dinner is almost ready, would you like to help set the table?”

They all ate quietly, the boys still talking about sports, but with Mary Margaret's gentle interjection now and then, and some glances at her husband, they didn’t argue much. Emma, instead, was delighted, looking at Killian talking about his favorite team as if he was defending his honor.

When they finished eating, the brunette stood up and said to her husband “David, you should go and do your patrol, while I check at the hospital if they need anything.” Something that Killian had already listened to the previous day, as well just after dinner.

Henry looked at the woman frowning. “Why do you always repeat the same actions, day after day?” He was perplexed.

Killian hummed as if he had the clues to the boy’s puzzle “This is a stuck-track planet, my lad.” he explained to a confused Henry. “I’ve been on some of them when I was young.”

“You say it as if you were an old fellow.” Emma snorted. “What are you, a million years old?”

“It’s more like two hundred.” Was his reply.

And to her surprise, she didn’t detect any hint of a lie. “Are you kidding me?”

Killian was about to reply, but Henry interrupted their banter “What’s a stuck-track planet?”

“It means that time runs differently here.” The man explained. “The days or even weeks we spend on this planet are probably just a couple of minutes back home.”

The boy seemed fascinated by the idea. “Wow! Now I understand why my watch gives almost the same hour, it's not broken, it just moves really slow!”

“Exactly. And it affects people, too.” Killian went on. “They don’t age, or at least not in the way you do on Althea-Seals.” Then he drew near Emma, whispering so that only she could hear him “Stuck-track planets may have given me experience, but as you can see I’ve retained my youthful glow.” He winked at her, who just rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a smile.

“This is why the days all look the same here.” Henry deduced, who was giving further thought to the subject.

“This is why we follow routines so strictly.” Mary Margaret chimed in. “It helps count the passing of time.”

“Does that mean that you and David aren’t the age you appear, either?” Emma questioned.

The other woman thought about it. “Add twenty years, give or take. But it’s hard to say exactly.”

The married couple excused themselves while heading out of the loft to carry out their duties. Killian and Emma started to put away the remains of the dinner. Henry was probably still eager to know as much as possible about this strange planet and its slow time, but when he stood up with his dirt plate in his hands he couldn’t suppress a yawn. His mother insisted on him going to bed.

~·~·~·~

“Where do those flying rocks around the planet come from?” Killian asked David after he had come back from his patrol.

Henry was already sleeping upstairs, and the three of them were sitting around the table.

“Ahm, it’s not so easy to explain.” The blond man answered.

“Give it a try.” Killian wanted to understand how Vernal-Den worked.

David shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, more than I don’t actually know about it.” He made a pause trying to find better words to explain his point of view. “I would say it’s remotely directed.”

“From where?” Emma asked curiously.

“We don’t know.” This time was Mary Margaret’s turn to answer, who had just entered the loft, back from the hospital, and joined the other adults at the table.

“But I assure you, there’s none else on this planet, apart from the people we know about. And I trust all of them.” David had the urge to defend his friends.

“A couple of people we knew had tried to go outside to search for other forms of life, enemies, whatever... to understand who or what supervises this planet’s activities.” Mary Margaret sighed. “Let’s just say it didn’t end well.”

“But there should be someone else on this planet, defending it.” Killian didn’t comprehend.

“There’s nobody else living here, apart from the people we already know.”

“How can you be so sure?” Emma asked.

“Nobody else uses the greenhouse and its products.” David explained. “Nobody else wastes the energy generated by the planet. It’s just us.”

“But it’s clear that someone really wants to protect this planet from intruders, therefore the rocks. For what purpose?” Killian’s attempt to solve this puzzle only created more questions and doubts.

“Well, the greenhouse could supply oxygen and food for an entire population. I think that someone is interested in keeping this planet as a possible lifeline.”

“A lifeline.” The dark man wondered about it. “Who’s behind this?”

“My theory is just as good as yours.” The blond man shook his head again.

“But you do have a theory.”

“Who’s playing with planets as pawns for his own benefits?” David grimaced.

“You think the Industry is behind this?” Emma almost whispered, as if she was worried that the Industry itself could hear her. She shivered, and Killian put his hand on hers resting on her knee under the table. He was willing to tell her that everything was going to be ok, but he didn’t want to generate indiscreet questions from his hosts.

David shrugged. “Any other ideas?”

“I don’t know. We haven't lived here for a long time. You tell me.” Killian teased.

David looked straight at his guests. “We did some research, with the limited resources we have here, but I assure you it’s nothing we had seen before. What generates all the power needed to maintain the greenhouse and the system that propels the rocks outside the atmosphere … it’s not material, if you understand what I mean.”

Killian passed his bionic hand over his stubble thoughtfully. “Not material.” He repeated. “Antiparticles? But that’s preposterous! A fantasy! You can’t create energy from nothing.”

“Yeah. You would say so. But there’s no other explanation. It’s a power so strong that can create an entirely new world…” David made a pause, and then: “or destroy one.”

“Antiparticles,” Killian repeated, while all his theories were starting to fit in. “So that’s how that vile crocodile annihilates the planets he doesn't need anymore.”

The blond man nodded. “After looting everything the planet has to offer, the Industry injects some of those antiparticles underground. And they disintegrate every last molecular bond and electric impulse until the planet itself implodes.”

“Is that what happened to your planet?” Emma asked Killian even if she didn’t need an actual answer, and then she turned to the couple “Yours as well?”

“We’re not sure about that,” David answered. “From the sources we have, it appears that the NTH-Confederates planets are still alive and kicking, all of them. I think Mr. Gold has other intentions, some obscure interest in them. But I don’t know what it is.”

“Do you miss it? Your home.” Emma inquired. She didn’t miss hers. Life on New-Tolemac when she was a child had not been that bad, she couldn’t complain. But the lack of freedom and the memories of the last events there had left a sour taste and no desire of going back ever.

“Yes. We do.” There was sadness in David’s voice. “Most of the time. But we know that returning there doesn’t necessarily mean that we could go back to our lives. Many things have changed. And I’m not sure I’d like to see how our planet has become.”

“We had to make some difficult decisions before leaving our home. But it was for the best of all.” Mary Margaret sobbed. “It was a long time ago, but it still hurts like the first day.” David put his hand on hers, smiling faintly, trying to give her courage.

“What happened? If it’s not too much to ask.” Killian softly asked.

“We were under attack,” David explained. “We tried to defend ourselves, but the Industry’s power is difficult to overcome. We realized that the only way for us to survive was to abandon our land…”

Mary Margaret stepped in, “We believed that it was the end, that we wouldn’t be able to escape alive.” She sighed loudly “I had just had a baby, and we knew that taking her with us was too risky, it would have been her death sentence.”

“So we contacted a woman who promised us that our daughter would be taken care of, she knew that the King and Queen of a faraway planet were searching for an heir.” David went on telling the story, but his voice wasn’t as steady as he tried to make it. He was still affected by the sad memory as well as his wife. “We wrapped her in a white blanket with a purple ribbon and we gave her the best chance to be the princess she could have never been with us.”

“So you decided to sell her!” Emma shouted.

“What?” - “No!” David and Mary Margaret reacted simultaneously, shaking their heads in bewilderment.

“We never said anything about money.” David pointed out.

“We could have never done anything like that to our child.” Mary Margaret seemed shocked by her guest’s assumption and even a bit outraged.

Emma looked at them with an open mouth, but no sound came out. Then she abruptly stood up and rushed out of the house.

The married couple exchanged a questioning look. “Did I say something wrong?” Mary Margaret asked worriedly.

Killian shook his head. “I should apologize for her behavior. This is a sensitive matter for her. If you would excuse me.” He said standing up and heading to the door.

~·~·~·~

“Are you alright, love?” Killian found Emma sitting on the corridor floor, with her arms around her legs and her face buried in her knees.

He waited for a reply, but it didn’t come. So he sat down next to her. She was crying, her back shuddering.

“Swan…” he tried, but then... “Emma, talk to me.”

She raised her face to look straight at him. Tears rolling down her cheeks. “I have a white blanket with a purple ribbon from when I was a baby! I always had it!” And there was pain in her eyes, but also anger.

It was his time to keep silent. He didn’t know how to react to this new piece of information.

“It’s them!” She exclaimed between sobs. “Those people inside the house are my parents! How am I supposed to look at their faces?”

An immeasurable feeling of protection spread within Killian, but he had to swallow his urge to hug her as if their lives depended on it, because it wasn’t the right time. She was struggling against enough demons, he could not burden her with further emotional matters. “Well, love, if it were me finally finding my parents, I would be very pleased to spend as much time as possible with them, to get the chance to know them and understand who they really are.”

“They sold me! They didn’t want me!” Emma looked at him as if he were an alien. How he could not understand her point of view was beyond her comprehension.

But Killian did understand her, given that he had been sold as a child as well, he knew the feeling, he just didn’t think this was the same case he had lived through. “That’s not what they said in there. They were trying to protect their baby, to give her her best chance to live a life they couldn’t afford for her. And they didn’t seem happy about that decision. I saw regret and what-ifs in their eyes.”

He knew she too noticed the pain in David and Mary Margaret's strangled voices, but he also knew she wasn't ready to admit it. “They are lying.” She hissed.

“Are you sure about that? Henry once told me you have this superpower, that you can detect a lie when you hear it. I had the impression they were being honest while telling their story.”

“But I saw the contract!” She was grasping at straws.

Killian had to take her to a more practical level, something tangible that she could hold on to if she wanted to. “Aye, you saw it. And who exactly signed it?”

“I…” Emma tried to recall a ten-year-old memory, but it wasn’t easy. After all, she had been in shock when she had discovered she wasn't the real daughter of the King and Queen of New-Tolemac. “I don’t know… I mean, I’m pretty sure there were my adoptive parents’ names in the paper, but…”

And that was when Killian realized that he had bought her some time, at least. “So you are not completely sure that they are your parents.”

He saw how her shoulders hunched as she was looking at him with watering pleading eyes and he understood that part of her was yelling to run away from pain and old scars, but another part was whispering that maybe she could finally find that love that only parents can give and that she had never felt in her life.

“You know what? We’re going to go back, and we’re going to spend a few more days with those people. We could even ask them if they would like to come with us on our journey back.”

“But..” She started.

Killian stopped her with the raise of one finger. “If it turns out that they really are your parents, well, you’ll have more time to understand why they decided to abandon you when you were just a baby. And only after that, we’ll choose if we hate them or not. Sounds fair?”

She didn’t move for a few minutes, dwelling on his words, but then she put a hand on his bionic one, and even if she knew he couldn’t feel it, she squeezed it with gratitude. Thank you for bearing this weight with me. She would have liked to say the words, but they didn’t come. She didn’t have the strength to analyze why he was doing this for her. Too many feelings for one night, to face new and unfamiliar ones. “Okay.” was what she finally said.

#cs ff #cs au #Till the Stars Had Run Away #alternative universe - science fiction #space au #my writing

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butnobodycame627 · 3 years

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undertale rant plz i wanna hear

Alright so uh. This is just a rant about Flowey, let me know if you want me to rant about any other characters? This might not be the most entertaining thing to read, but uh here.

This is incredibly messy and poorly written so. Oops.

Please know that throughout this post I will be calling the first fallen human "the first fallen human" or "the human" and not "Chara". I really like that you get to pick their name, I feel like that's a really important part of the game, so I'd rather not call them by any specific name here.

I have so much to say

This will mostly be an analysis because I love this character a lot

So let’s go over the backstory. (This is gonna be like. Most of the rant. Just me analyzing certain elements of the backstory.)

Asriel lives underground in New Home with his parents, Toriel and Asgore.

One day, he finds a human and takes them home with him. The two eventually become as close as siblings.

The first fallen human comes up with a plan to free monsterkind from the underground, destroying the barrier forever.

Their plan is:

- they will commit suicide by eating buttercups and getting sick

- Asriel will absorb their soul and cross through the barrier to the surface world

- Asriel will kill six humans and absorb their souls

- Asriel will destroy the barrier with the power of seven human souls

The plan goes wrong because of the following:

- the first fallen human picks up their own lifeless body

- they want to see the golden flowers from the surface world one last time

- they set down their body into the flowers

- the humans see this and believe that Asriel killed the first fallen human

- Asriel is killed by the humans and stumbles back home

- Asgore decides to start a war against humans

When Asriel set the first fallen human down into the flowers, the sticky seeds stuck to him. He died underground, and the seeds were scattered in his dust. These flowers grew in the throne room, and the seeds stuck to anyone that went in there, spreading the golden flowers across the underground. The first flower to grow became known as the “flower from the outside world”.

Alphys, the royal scientist, was doing an experiment with what she called “determination”. She wanted to see what would happen if a being without a soul gained the will to live. This resulted in the flower from the outside world coming to life.

At monster funerals, they spread the dust of a monster onto the thing that monster loved most. Their essence then lives on in that item.

Asriel’s dust was scattered across the garden, so his essence lived on in the flowers.

When Alphys gave life to a flower, the essence of Asriel made it so that the flower had all of Asriel’s memories. However, because the flower was soulless, he could not feel emotions very deeply. He no longer felt loved or respected, and he didn’t feel connected to the people around him.

Flowey also discovered the power to reset. This meant that he could restart the timeline from the day he first woke up in the garden. He discovered this power after trying to commit suicide. His death resulted in him respawning at the garden. He presumably got this power because of the determination Alphys had given him.

Flowey, despite being emotionless, tried to be nice in many timelines. He tried helping people, and being friends with people.

After his death as Asriel, Flowey blamed himself for his and the human’s death. He felt like if he had fought back against the humans, they would still be alive and free.

This eventually led to the decision of a terrible worldview: the idea that the world is “kill or be killed”.

After he had been through many timelines, Flowey realized that he had pretty much already tried everything. He had already made every decision. Already had every conversation. He thought of trying something new.

He decided he was done making friends.

As his LOVE increased, it became easier to hurt others. And since he did not have emotions, he didn’t feel very bad about it.

It’s Frisk’s decision whether or not to forgive him. I, personally, do. I especially think that his worldview changed at the end of the game, specifically because of Asriel’s line “don’t kill and don’t be killed”. While this was Asriel and not Flowey, I like to think that it stuck with him a little bit.

So I guess now I’m gonna talk more about like. My opinions and headcanons and stuff.

So I don’t think Flowey would ever want to be called “Asriel” again. He is a very different person than he used to be. He has been through so much and he can hardly be considered the same person, even if he has Asriel’s essence and memories. He also does not want to break anyone’s heart again, as he says.

It is an interesting discussion to be had, actually. What makes someone who they are? Like, is it their personality? Their memories? Their soul?

Flowey is not a monster and does not have Asriel’s soul. But he has Asriel’s essence and memories. His personality has changed a lot, but that was mostly over time. Idk.

I really wish we had known more about Flowey and Papyrus’ friendship. I find it weird that Papyrus doesn’t actually know his name? But maybe that’s just in this timeline, it’s possible that they were closer in some other timelines.

There’s a lot of fun dialogue about the two of them, especially in phone calls with Papyrus, but I feel like we still don’t know a lot. I wish we could have heard an actual conversation between them.

I do really feel like Flowey needs like. A therapist. He’s been through so much and he needs to like. Talk about it with someone.

He has seen his friend commit suicide, he has actually died, he has attempted suicide, he has become a soulless and emotionless flower, he has watched many people die multiple times- he just. Needs therapy I think.

I do really wonder what would happen if everyone else discovered that he was the prince. As I said, I think he’d be uncomfortable being called “Asriel”, but they’d probably be more likely to forgive him. I don’t think he’d want them to know, but if everyone else did actually find out, there’s a lot of possibilities for what could happen next.

In case anyone is wondering, I don’t think the first fallen human is a bad person, either. I don’t even think they’re to blame for the genocide route, Frisk (or the player) was the one killing people. They’ve been through pretty much the same things as Flowey and I think they deserve forgiveness too.

I agree with Asriel’s point that they may not have been the nicest person, but I don’t think that makes them horrible or undeserving of forgiveness and kindness.

Can I just say that. Asriel is so well-written. The entire plot twist that Flowey was Asriel all along blew my fucking mind. I love the videotapes and the fact that Asriel is the final boss and oh my god just everything about him.

So much thought went into this story. Toby really clearly wanted the player to care about these characters. And the player is not forced to forgive Flowey, the player doesn’t even need to like Flowey, but they’re supposed to notice that he is a complex character with a deep and important story. Flowey isn’t just some evil flower guy. There’s a reason behind everything he does. It’s amazing.

#sorry if this rant. is bad. lol.#but here #this is my flowey undertale rant #undertale #flowey the flower

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mahou-war · 4 years

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MagiTale - Chapter 1

“So, how’s it gonna be?” – the voice rose up, surging from the darkness. A white weasel cat like creature.

“Go away!” – another voice, female now, hissed back. The figure of this voice was hidden by the shadows of the collapsed walls around her – “I don’t want to have anything to do with you. You tricked all of them! Their innocent minds, into becoming something they’d rather not!”

“I really don’t understand.” – the cat spoke – “You might as well be labeled as a Human, your ideals and concepts are roughly the same. But I digress.” – it stopped momentarily – “My offer is still on the table. You know where to find me.”

The cat turned away, seamingly wanting to distance itself from the other individual. It felt as if its time was wasted, but that didn’t exactly matter at the moment, as it knew what the next actions would turn out to be.

“Wait!” – the other voice jumped from the darkness – “Can you.. Can you really make anything come true?” – she questioned.

“Yes. Of course, as you already know, the true effects and consequences depend from your Karmic Weight, but you shouldn’t have any kind of problem with that.”

The other being made a pause. Her voice was calm, motherly, but sprinkled with a dash of urgency. As if her worst nightmares could finally end. Now her dreams, her ideal life, her past, it would all come back to her.

“Okay then. I’ve decided.” – she replied.

“Very well. Then what is the wish you’re willing to sacrifice your Soul for, your highness?”

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Chapter 1: Fallen Down

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

Dark. Darker. Yet darker. I don’t even know if my eyes are open or not, but all I can see is darkness. Well, that and a distant voice echoes, as if I was deep underwater. A cold shiver envelops my whole body. But within that darkness, the voice gets louder. It’s lifting me up. With that, the darkness gets a bit more clearer. I open my eyes, slowly, and everything starts coming to me, bit by bit.

“Frisk! Oh, please tell me that you’re okay!”

I avert my gaze to the point of origin of the voice. A girl sitting on the same bed of flowers as I am looks at me, worried. Her hair is dark brown, just like me, and her eyes are a striking, vibrant red, just like my own. Except mine are usually closed. The girl is slightly see through. I can look at her and see the wall behind her at the same time. I know this girl. Yes, she’s important to me.

I was roughly 5 when I started noticing her presence. Everyone treated her as an imaginary friend, but I knew more. She was real. She IS real. She has a real story, and a real life. But now she’s a ghost that got stuck me. I don’t exactly know why though. She told me about Humans and Monsters. About Souls and Soul Gems. About Magical Girls and Witches. She told me everything. Even her name.

“Chara. Yes, yes, I’m okay.” – I managed to reply back at her.

“Oh, thank God! That fall was sure to put in you in a coma for at least half a year! I’m so sorry I’ve put you through this…” – she replied back at me, a clear worry in her voice.

“Don’t worry Chara. I signed up for this. I want to do this.” – it’s funny. My brain knows what to say, but it can’t remember why it’s saying what it is. I look around myself. I’m now sitting on a bed of flowers, golden buttercups. Giant walls of stone surround us, with vines covering them. The light above shines on us, warming our bodies. And just like that, more pieces of the puzzle fall back into my mind.

“Now that everything’s cleared up, what is your wish?”

“Frisk, you don’t have to do this, for real.”

“No, I have to. You’re stuck to me. You can’t exactly walk around and go back to the Underground. I’m going to help you. We’re gonna save them Chara.” – my voice fills my brain, alongside Chara’s and… his.

“Incubator. I wish for the power of salvation.”

“Can you specify that please?”

Yes, that’s it. I remember now. I get up, and see a small corridor, leading to a huge gateway entrance. Sparkles of light come out from it. There’s some kind of light source coming from it. We decide to move towards it.

As we reach it, we look inwards and find a single golden flower, similar to those earlier. We step into the wide area, and suddenly, the flower jumps to life.

“Howdy there! I’m Flowey – Flowey the Flower!” – it said happily. Chara warned me about how sudden Monsters could be, but I wasn’t expecting something like this.

“Say, you’re new around here, aren’t ya? You need someone to guide you through the Underground!” – it said happily.

“Well, actually--” – I tried to object, as I had Chara right next to me, but the flower just interrupted me.

“I guess little ol’ me will have to do it!” – it winked.

Suddenly, I felt a huge wave crushing my chest, as my surroundings lose its color. It becomes a mash-up of black and white. And just as it came, it left.

“Huh?” – the happy flower looked at me with very confused eyes – “Let’s try that again!” – he said cheerfully, as the feeling came back, pushing me downwards once more, but suddenly stopping. I wasn’t hurt, nor exhausted. It’s as if I just sneezed, for no apparent reason.

“Heh, hehe.. Okay…” – it continued, clearly starting to get annoyed – “Let’s try that one more time!” – I felt that energy again, but it no longer phased me. It’s now a very uninteresting movie for me.

“Hey, hey.. What’s going on, huh?!” – the tone of Flowey changed drastically. From a very friendly one to a tone filled with a thousand year anger – “You’re a Human, aren’t you? Where the hell is your Soul?!” – it hissed.

“Oh!” – I was taken by surprise, with such a direct approach, but I tried my best to befriend the friendly monster – “That’s right…” – I extend my hand, as the ring in my left middle finger glows and morphs into an egg shaped Gem, resting on my palm – “Here!”

There was a small pause. The flower starred in disbelief at my Soul Gem. It was a vibrant red, the same color as my eyes. Right at the top of it, was a heart symbol, and at the bottom, surrounded by a small circle, a four pointed star. The flower suddenly smirked, and was emitting an uneasy light cackle.

“Frisk, I don’t really trust this guy… he’s giving me really weird vibes….” – Chara spoke to me. Good thing only I can see and hear her, makes some of her comments easier to bear with. But still, now I’m worried. Chara lived quite some time with Monsters. For even her to be set back.. This “flower” must be something she has never seen.

Flowey’s laughter grew louder and louder, as vines erupt from the ground below him into the air, keen to claws of a starving wolf. He sprung his head upwards and looked straight into my eyes. His face was contorted. He no longer had his friendly smile, it was a monstrous look. His eyes void of life.

“WELL, THEN YOU’RE COMPLETELY USELESS TO ME, AREN’T YOU?! THIS WILL BE FAR TOO EASY FOR ME.” – a wall of bullets surround me in a perfect sphere – “D I E.”

I can see his vines lunging towards me, and the bullets dashing into me. I have my Soul Gem in my hand. Transforming takes only a second, I can protect myself from this. But I can’t. I froze in place, clinging to my own life, as the last bits of my life flash through my mind.

“I wish to have the power to save the Monsters. To save them from the Barrier and their thousand year prison. That’s what I want. The power of salvation.”

“I see. I don’t know why, but your Karmic Weight is quite heavy on you. Frisk, your wish will most certainly come true, but in order for it to come into fruition, you must go break the Barrier yourself.”

“That’s something I’m willing to do unconditionally. Nothing will stop me.”

‘Nothing’. Yet here I am, praying for someone to come help me. Please, anyone.

…

But… Someone did come.

As I waited for the impact of Flowey’s bullets and thorned vines, I suddenly hear a scorching sound and warmth, followed by Flowey’s screams. I open my eyes to find the unscrupulous flower burning in flames, and the bullets are now cinders slowly dancing and falling to the ground, as the flower retreats to whatever hellish hole it came from. From the other side of the room, a figure approaches.

She’s tall, and covered in white fur. She has small horns on her head and floppy ears at the side of her head. She’s wearing a dressing gown, purple with a crest on her chest – a circle with wings, and three triangles right under it. I can feel Chara’s intense gaze at her as she whispers – “Mom..”

“Oh, what a horrible creature torturing such a poor and innocent youth.” – she spoke to me, her voice calm, motherly, tender. Happy – “My name is Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. Come my darling, let me guide you through them.”

She quickly grabbed my hand. I can feel her warmth warming me up from the inside out. Her aura, her presence. I enjoy being next to her. I feel like wanting to be with her forever. I can see Chara crying. This must be a hard moment for her. We make haste for the next room, where I can see red rose petals scattered around the floor. I catch a glimpse of a yellow shine, but it quickly disappeared.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Hey there! Author here, you may call me Mahou! :)

This is the very first Chapter of MagiTale, a Crossover AU/Fanfic that puts the characters and events of Undertale into the World and Lore of the Madoka Magica series. This is also the very first time I temper with Tumblr, so do offer some tips pls :')

Anyways, this is only a "preview" Chapter, a Demo almost, as the full story is currently in progression. I intend to post the entire thing once it's completed, so please do look forward to it! I'll also keep updating this page with content, related (or not) to MagiTale.

Well, I'll be going now, really hope you enjoyed it! :D

Cya~✨

#Madoka Magica #Undertale #AU #Crossover #Fanfic #Puella Magi #Magia Record #Undertale AU #MagiTale

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sage-nebula · 5 years

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DELTARUNE

So I’ve finished one (1) playthrough of Deltarune, and as a result I figured I’d go ahead and write up my thoughts. Note that I’m actually writing this at 11:53pm on Wednesday, October 31st; I’ve just queued it to post now. This is because I’m both respectful of Toby’s wishes to wait 24 hours, but also because I want to write up my thoughts before I forget them. (And it’s already been a few hours, so I REALLY hope I don’t forget anything . . .

So! Deltarune spoilers below the cut! You’ve been warned!

First, just to get this out of the way: I firmly believe this to be an alternate universe to Undertale, rather than a prequel or a sequel. Specifically, I believe it’s an alternate universe where the monsters were never sealed underground to begin with. I have a few reasons for this line of thought:

Asriel is still alive, and seems to have grown up healthily and happily. This is the biggest reason why I believe Deltarune can’t be a prequel or a sequel to Undertale. If it were a prequel that took place before the monsters were sealed, Asriel wouldn’t have been born yet. If it was a sequel, he’d be stuck underground as Flowey. While there is a version of Asriel underground(?), we know that Toriel and Asgore’s Asriel is off at university (. . . supposedly). He grew up happy and healthy, meaning that he never died and was turned into a flower. This could only happen in an alternate universe / timeline.

If this was an alternate history where they were still sealed but Asriel grew up underground, Undyne and Alphys would know each other (and be in love), but they don’t. If you talk to Undyne about Alphys, she makes it clear that she and Alphys have never met, asking who Alphys is and then assuming that she’s committed some sort of crime. While this is setting up for a Meet Cute™ between them, it more importantly tells us that nothing that happened in Undertale happened in this universe, which is why they don’t know each other. Along those lines . . .

Sans and Papyrus have only just moved in, and have only just met the other characters. Specifically, Sans has only just met Toriel and Alphys within the past day or so (if he is telling the truth), and Papyrus has apparently never met anyone (we don’t even get to have Kris meet him :’( a tragedy). If the events of Undertale had happened, they would all already be acquainted. Since they’re not, we can assume that this is not a sequel. Moreover, it also can’t be a prequel because we know that Sans and Papyrus “just appeared one day” in Snowdin; they didn’t settle there with the other monsters, meaning that this can’t be a situation where Sans and Papyrus went with the others to be sealed underground. They came later. So, not a sequel, and not a prequel.

Snowy’s mother, Shyren’s sister, and the leader of the dog pack are all just dead, rather than amalgamates. In Undertale, monsters who had “fallen down” (i.e. were dying) were taken to Alphys, who experimented on them with Determination. This resulted in them becoming amalgamates; they survived, but melted together and became deformed. But in Deltarune, if you visit the graveyard to the southwest of town, you discover graves for these monsters (and Gerson, RIP). It appears that while they were taken to Alphys for Determination experiments in the Undertale universe, they simply died in the Deltarune one, presumably because there was no Royal Scientist to take them to this time around (given that, instead of becoming the Royal Scientist, Alphys became a teacher here instead).

Toriel and Asgore are divorced. This cannot be a prequel, because while Toriel and Asgore did separate prior to Undertale, they separated after the banishment in Undertale’s canon. However, it also cannot be a sequel, because Asriel is alive and well. Therefore, for the two of them to still be divorced and Asriel to be alive, this has to be an alternate universe. What drove them apart this time one can only wonder, but this does tell us one thing: it wasn’t just the death of their child(ren) and their reactions thereof that drove Toriel and Asgore apart. Their marriage was never meant to last.

There are probably more things that point to this being an alternate universe rather than a prequel or a sequel, but those are the things that come to mind immediately. While I might not be exactly right about what specifically makes this an alternate universe (that it’s a world where the monsters were never banished, but instead continued to live on the surface), I still think that’s the case, and will continue to think so until proven otherwise. And honestly, I think this is the best thing Toby could have done. A prequel would have ended sadly no matter what Toby did, because the monsters would have ended up sealed underground and we’d likely have to witness the deaths of two children thanks to buttercup poisoning and awful humans. That’s a pretty downer note to end a game on, but Toby would have to if he wanted to make this a prequel. At the same time, while I’m sure there’s story potential in a sequel because I can’t imagine humanity will take the sudden freedom of monsters very well (it’s implied in Undertale’s prologue that it’s been long enough that most humans have forgotten monsters even exist, so to suddenly see a bunch of monsters running around would no doubt freak them out), a game that’s nothing but politics and peace treaties created by a child wouldn’t be very much fun to play. But an alternate universe gives Toby tons of creative freedom to make a new story, even if some of the characters are familiar because they’re alternate universe versions of themselves. This was a really brilliant move on his part (though that shouldn’t be surprising, because this is Toby Fox we’re talking about).

Anyway, enough about that. On to other thoughts!

I still think the mysterious being that talks to us in the beginning is Gaster. It has to be Gaster. First of all, we’ve always had reason to think of Gaster as a potentially dangerous person; that he was lost to his experiment and shattered across time and space aside---that he was a brilliant scientist, and the Royal Scientist before Alphys aside---the Riverperson tells us to “beware the man who speaks in hands.” That’s not specifically about Gaster, but I seem to remember something in the game’s code that suggests it’s probably a reference to him. The Riverperson told us to beware Gaster, and we should have listened, but our curiosity got the better of us. Curiosity killed the cat? No. Curiosity killed the humans. That said, we don’t have proof that it was Gaster yet, but I . . . I still believe . . . (Plus, the original pallet for our vessel was the Gaster Follower pallet, wasn’t it? HMMM . . .)

That said, the being that possesses Kris at the end is very obviously Chara. The red eyes, the smile, the knife . . . all of those things point to Chara. And it’s not that much of a surprise, in a way, because the shirt that Kris wears has the same colors as Chara’s shirt (and their hair is the same, et cetera), but I also have to wonder why. Why did this happen? I’m assuming it happened when Kris noticed their SOUL behaving strangely at the end, while standing in front of the fountain, but I don’t get why. I’m wondering if maybe I made something wrong, if I made a wrong decision, if I made this happen somehow despite that I didn’t kill any monsters (Susie did, once, but not by my will), and I never did a genocide run in Undertale at all, much less on this computer where I don’t even have the game downloaded . . . except . . .

Thinking about it, I don’t think this is something I (or anyone else) did wrong---I think that we were all headed toward this ending, provided all endings lead back to the town and Toriel’s house in the end. And the reason why I think this is that we were told twice that our choices don’t matter. We were told this by Susie when she stopped Kris from answering at the start, but we were also told this by the mysterious being at the very start of the game when he discarded the options we made previously. The only one who seemed to counter the idea that our choices don’t matter is Ralsei, but while I haven’t done multiple playthroughs to confirm, I think that might only impact what happens during the showdown with the king. If you’re kind to all the monsters, they come and save you, and if you’re not, they . . . don’t? I’m not sure, I’ve only done one playthrough. But it might be that your choices only have impact in the dark kingdom; in the surface world, your choices don’t. So while you can effect how your last moments in the dark kingdom turn out, you can’t affect the ultimate ending where Chara takes over Kris’ body and rips out their soul to stuff it in the birdcage. I still want to know why that happened, though, even if it wasn’t through any fault of mine.

On that note, the anagrams. “Delta Rune” is an anagram of “Undertale” and we been knew about that for years now. Ralsei is an anagram of Asriel, and my friend SB pointed this out to me because I didn’t notice it at first (and she was RIGHT ON THE MONEY HOLY SHIT). But Kris . . . it looks like an anagram of “Frisk”, but it’s missing the F, and while “Frisk” does have more consonants than it’s easy to make an anagram from, I don’t think Toby simply tossed the F off without thought. I think he did it because while “Kris” can be an anagram of “Frisk” without the “f,” it’s also an anagram of “Risk”, meaning danger. There’s a risk of danger with Kris, and we encounter that danger at the very end, when Chara takes over. But why? Why did Chara take over? I need answers, Toby!

Speaking of answers that I need, I need to know what’s going on with Asriel. Asriel was supposedly off at university, yet he’s also very clearly Ralsei. Yet although she appears shocked, Susie doesn’t call him out on this, and you’d think she’d know given that she knows Kris’ mother, and therefore she has to be at least familiar with the sight of Asriel. Moreover, there’s no indication that Kris reacts at all, which is particularly strange since, although Kris is mute, Susie could have noticed Kris’ surprise. But there is none---there isn’t any reaction at all. So what’s going on there? Why is Asriel in the dark kingdom if he’s also off at university? What---what is going on??

Back on the Chara topic for a moment: I checked the mirror both at the start of the game and at the end. The flavor text was “it’s just you” both times. Nothing changed. So why did Chara take over Kris??

I love Susie. Really, all the characters ended up endearing (I would die for Ralsei / Asriel), but I loved Susie’s development. Toby does such a wonderful job of creating characters, and he really knocked it out of the park with Susie. I really love how it wasn’t spelled out that the reason she behaves so aggressively is because she’s lonely and no one wants to befriend her, so she pushes them away so she can act like it doesn’t hurt her, but rather shown with how she reacted to befriending Lancer, and how she felt when he wanted to be like her, and how hurt she was by his seeming betrayal. That we even got to see her development by her eyes becoming visible in the end was icing on the cake. Susie was a brilliant character, and I loved every bit of her development. Even in a game as short as this one, she really shined. ♥

Burgerpants continues to be an absolute fucking delight, and I love that he was apparently best friends with Asriel before Asriel went off to college. If there isn’t tons of fanart of the driving around town “picking up chicks” I’m going to be sorely disappointed.

Both of Lancer’s dads suck ass and I’m so glad that one is in permanent time out and the other is going to shape up his behavior (albeit for the wrong reasons, but we’ll take what we can get.

The gameplay is FANTASTIC. I love, love, love that it’s still recognizably Undertale, but that Toby has also made enough changes to it that it feels like a new experience. Because you know, that’s a problem with some game series: Either the gameplay is too samey and it feels boring, or it’s so radically different that fans of the original can’t enjoy it. But I feel that Toby struck the perfect balance with Deltarune, and I really love it.

The music is fantastic as well. I love the remixes of certain songs (THE UNDERTALE LEITMOTIF IN THE SAVE SCREEN MUSIC, HHHHHH), but the original songs are also great. From the battle theme, which is a bop, to that end credits music . . . is that Temmie singing? If so, her voice is BEAUTIFUL. And if not, whoever the singer is has a beautiful voice. I need to watch the credits again, both to hear the lyrics again (there’s something really soul chilling about the song ending on something akin to “I’m here with you” after seeing Chara take over Kris, gotta say), but also to pay actual attention to the credits this time, and just to hear the music again.

ALL OF THE CAMEOS HAD ME SO HHHHHHH IN THE BEST WAY!!! And the things that we learned about them! Actual, English language confirmation that Sans is the older brother! In-game confirmation that “Azzy” is in fact Asriel’s canonical nickname! SEEING MONSTER KID HAVING GROWN UP TO BE MONSTER TEEN!! All these things are so freaking great. But also, where is Napstablook? Because that was clearly Mettaton in the ghost house. If that’s Mettaton . . . where is Napstablook? Where are they, Toby??

I made this and everyone was wrong about it, it’s beautiful:

There’s so much more I feel like I should say, but my mind is still buzzing and jumping all over the place. All I have to say is this: When I learned it was a demo, I expected it to take me thirty minutes, tops. But even allowing for the fact that I had to take a thirty minute break and also pause periodically to do work things, Deltarune took me my entire eight hour shift at work. Toby was right to call this “chapter one” at the end; even if it’s not completely polished yet, it already feels like a full (albeit short and with a cliffhanger) game. That Toby blessed us with this for free when there are plenty of indie developers that would have charged at least five bucks for this just goes to show how generous and kind he is to his fans. I mean, to be fair, the man has made a boatload of money off Undertale, to the point where he probably doesn’t have to make another game if he doesn’t want to (which might also be why this is so goddamn good; he didn’t make it because he needs the money, he made it because he wants to make it), so it’s not like he necessarily needs us to pony up the cash. I won’t be surprised if there’s not a Kickstarter for Deltarune (but maybe there still will be, idk). But he still could have charged, and we still would have paid, but he didn’t and so we didn’t have to. He did that because he genuinely wants us to play this game, and he really appreciates us as his fans. I mean, I’ve never spoken to him, so maybe I’m reading way too much into his actions, but this, combined with the fact that he’s never shamed or acted embarrassed of the fandom, leads me to believe that Toby Fox truly respects, cares about, and appreciates his fanbase, and that makes me even happier to support him as a creator.

I can’t wait for chapter two (or the full game), whenever it comes out. I expect it’ll be a while from now, but who knows; maybe Toby is farther along on the project than we know, and we’ll see it around Christmas time. Either way, this is the best Halloween present I could have gotten, and I’m so grateful. Toby Fox is brilliant, and I’m so happy that I decided to pick up Undertale three years ago (and that I purchased the collector’s edition for Switch despite already having it on Steam, and that I dressed as Chara for Halloween today---something which, mind you, I’d been planning for over a month, ever since the CE for Switch was announced and I preordered it, knowing I’d be getting the locket; truly, it was fate that caused Toby to release Deltarune on a day I was already cosplaying as Chara).

I love this series, I love Toby Fox’s creations, and I knew I was right to be impatient for the day Toby would announce he was working on a new project. I knew he wouldn’t disappoint, and I’m so, so happy I was right about that. ♥

#deltarune #undertale #deltarune spoilers #delta rune spoilers #gotta queue 'em all

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noplotnostory · 5 years

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Flowey in UnderSwap

I consider Flowey a sort of linchpin for the events of UnderTale and pretty much every AU involving a similar backstory. So this post will discuss Asriel and Chara’s personalities in UnderSwap and the effects their deaths had on their parents as well as the rest of the Underground.

First things first, this is my interpretation of the UnderSwap AU, and therefore not all of the Swaps are widely-accepted Fanon.

For example:

In my headcanons, Asriel is Swapped with Chara.

I’m not really a fan of Swaps affecting when individuals are born, and the timeline of UnderTale indicates that Chara might have Fallen about a century before Frisk did, so they don’t Swap. Same goes for Monster Kid and Asriel (although we have no definite proof on the rate of growth for monsters, Monster Kid can be easily Swapped with Rabbit Kid or Cinnamon, the bunny child being walked on a leash).

(And no, Flowey doesn’t Swap with Temmie. Temmie’s a Creator-Avatar, like Annoying Dog, so they Swap, instead.)

From what we learn of the Fallen GoatChildren of UnderTale, Asriel was a kind and gentle individual who wanted to please the people around him--especially his adopted sibling--while Chara could be assertive and harsh to the point of emotional abuse, but still had some genuine affection for Asriel and monsters in general. We also learn that Chara was suicidal and hated humanity--two facts that Asriel knew about them, but was never told the reasons for.

So, let’s go ahead and Swap their characteristics--keeping in mind their different backgrounds and SOUL traits (even if we don’t know either of their dominant traits, we do know that Asriel is predisposed towards compassion and mercy by his nature as a monster).

Asriel takes after both of his parents in looks and personality. In the world of UnderTale, he clearly as soft-hearted as his father (to the point of being a “fluffy pushover” himself) and as staunchly pacifistic as his mother (I can only assume that Chara had convinced him that they’d only harvest the SOULs of the dying or irredeemable). So let’s switch them out for some other familial traits! UT!Asgore declared war in a fit of rage and grief and UT!Toriel is intently protective of those she takes in. ...Well, damn, now that I write it out, that sounds like a potentially volatile mix.

Excellent.

So, if Chara was more passive and open with Asriel about their past and Asriel was...well, as described above and emotionally clinging to the small human he had saved and grown a familial attachment to. Then naturally, Asriel would have a distinct distaste for the humans residing in the immediate vicinity of Mt. Ebott--if not humanity in general--right?

Maybe the plan is still formed in some way reminiscent of UnderTale or maybe Chara commits suicide because they’ve already tried that and now they’re surrounded by loved ones who could benefit from having a spare human SOUL around and Asriel absorbs their SOUL in a desperate panic to not loose them. Either way, the fused GoatChild passes through the barrier and is attacked by frightened humans. Asriel’s angry, but Chara refuses to let him destroy the possibility of a peaceful resolution between the species--the resolution that everyone Underground was hoping against hope for--and the hesitation is just enough for the humans to land a fatal blow.

They return Underground to dust in their parents’ arms.

Asgore decides that monsterkind is better off remaining Underground and away from significant populations of humans (an opinion UT!Asgore held before this point alongside Gerson) while Toriel realizes both how cramped the Underground might be in a few generations and that their people have just lost a tremendous source of hope, which might prove fatal for many. Toriel demands that the next human SOUL be brought to her and Asgore retreats to the Ruins to keep any fallen humans from meeting such a fate.

(In @rehliadeerling‘s version of UnderSwap on AO3, Asgore accidentally kills most of the humans that fall, but I’m trying to stick with the timeline in this post and if Flowey doesn’t exist yet, then the humans should have the highest levels of Determination and therefore have control of the RESETs. So instead, Toriel just sends out scouts with the first few SOULs and interrogates the ones that fall afterwards. They aren’t allowed to leave.)

Queen Toriel is a considerably more resolute and pragmatic ruler than King Fluffybuns, but she isn’t as good a gardener. Sure, she kept that one bed of golden flowers alive as a tribute to Chara in UnderTale, but she’s got more important things to focus on in UnderSwap. So even though Golden Flower seeds ended up on the monsters side of the barrier, they didn’t really thrive enough for Golden Flower Tea to be a thing. Or for it to be the selected flower in the DT Experiments. Instead, it was a flower that was already very prevalent in the Underground.

A buttercup.

(I briefly considered Chara being Flowey--and probably coming up with a less redundant name for themself, like Phoenix or something--but Asriel’s rebirth as Flowey really isn’t the same as Chara’s possession of Frisk and I’m inclined to believe that his magic-based biology has something to do with that. His “essence” is not the same as their “spirit”, even though they are both SOULless children in need of guidance to achieve any personal satisfaction.)

Unlike in UnderTale, the Flowey of UnderSwap probably isn’t feeling guilty for doubting Chara or ruining the plan. He might feel guilty for not protecting Chara (either from the humans or their suicidal tendencies), but more than anything Flowey’s angry. Angry at humans for killing him, angry at Chara for stopping him from fighting back, angry at his parents for not eliciting the same emotions in him that he remembers from when he was alive, angry at himself (for the aforementioned guilt) and angry because he’s a flower with a face and wow, that’s going to take some getting used to.

If you subscribe to the NarraChara Theory, then Chara’s pretty at the same stage of their afterlife immediately after being awakened as they are in UnderTale. That is to say, curious about what Frisk is up to and internally debating whether or not Asriel was right after all. They are more docile and patient with the constant checking of snow poffs and garbage piles, though.

#TW: Suicide #CW: Suicide #TW: Possessiveness #CW: Possessiveness #Food for Thought #UnderTale Fandom #UnderSwap #The Fallen GoatChild #Reader is River Person AU

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