#lcitn lore

[snowfires]

What would the bad sanses do for Reader’s birthday? (I see a lack of the star sanses in the asks and wonder about them too)

And also:

The Star Sanses have always celebrated a kind of ‘found day’ for Reader. For the first five years, she’d celebrate it in UnderSwap—Blue picked her up from whatever AU she was staying in and brought her there. They’d pick out a cake at Grillby’s bakery and throw a big party, usually at the Dreemurr’s house. Dream and Ink joined as well.

For the last few years, Reader hasn’t celebrated in UnderSwap, or been back. Maybe it’s Blue’s brother’s obvious dislike of her to blame. Maybe it’s just too dangerous to go there, considering it’s no secret Blue is allied with Dream. Either way, the Stars come to her to celebrate, bringing dessert and dinner from faraway AUs (and gifts of course). But it’s not the same.

Killer is the biggest fan of birthdays. The first year Horror joined the team, Killer tried throwing a joint birthday party on his own birthday—only to find out Horror had a different one. Nowadays he throws everyone’s parties, including yours. Expect a full day of fun��an outing in an interesting AU, plenty of pampering back home, gifts, a banquet…. Killer always gets you a lot of presents, including a number of handmade items he carved.

Horror and Cross are the ones who actually make the food (unless you fancy eating charcoal for your birthday).

Horror makes all of your favourites, in excess. Partially so you have leftovers for the rest of the week, and partially because Nightmare enjoys having a full banquet table, even if there’s only seven of you. He’ll typically make flower arrangements for the rooms where you’ll be celebrating—in your quarters, the kitchen, the dining hall, and the large living room on the top floor.

Cross bakes you a cake from scratch. He’s an early riser, so by the time you get up it’s baking in the oven, and he’s beaten Horror to your chambers to wake you up. Which quickly turns into a cuddle session (only worsened when Horror catches up) until Killer comes and insists you get started on the festivities.

If you want your hair done fancy or help choosing something to wear… well, Cross would be more than happy to help.

Dust is much more talkative and forward on your birthday. He may even be inclined to nuzzle you while you’re on an outing in a rare display of public affection. Don’t get him wrong—Dust will still pull you into private before showering you with words of praise. He often has a general gift waiting for you to open in the living room, and will hand you something more personal in private.

Somehow, he always manages to be the first in the seat next to you or cuddled up in your arms for movie night.

Error tends to stay in the castle most around major holidays, your birthday included. While he finds much of the ceremony involved far too fussy—he would far prefer a quiet day in Nightmare’s realm’s beautiful forests than a day in some random AU—he participates in most of the festivities. He often gifts you an assortment of items he found in various AUs that he knows you’ll enjoy. Usually, he spends the morning setting up the living room for a proper movie night, setting his hammock up a little behind where your head will be in the massive blanket fort he weaves together.

Nightmare, naturally, is the most extravagant with his gifts. It would be improper, given his level of wealth, to not treat his Queen with something equally as lovely as her. As for the celebrations, he leaves those entirely up to his boys. No one ever celebrated his birthday before Killer came into his life, and he was certainly never invited to celebrate other’s, so he is unfamiliar in arranging the whole affair. Balls, festivals, dates… those are things he can plan for. These intimate, family gatherings meant simply to bask in each other’s company and express gratitude for their existence… they’re more complicated for him to understand. Or perhaps, more complicated for him to accept. This level of closeness is something he never thought he would share with another.

One gift Nightmare is always sure to give you, every year, is a customized edition of one of your favourite books, with hand-painted edges, a stunning rebinding, and endpaper art, all made by himself. It’s partially because of his love for books, and the extra gift acts as an apology—for though he would like to, Nightmare usually can’t participate in the outings arranged on your birthday, unless they are to an AU he’s already conquered (but those are all rather negative for a birthday party). He’s simply too recognizable if you want to go anywhere public in a peaceful AU. His being there may attract unwanted attention on your birthday. Even if he shapeshifts into another form, the presence of the rest of you would reveal his true identity.

No, he shall remain at home and look after any food Horror leaves cooking. The two of you can go on a date another day—somewhere private, or somewhere he can pay to keep people quiet.

[snowfires]

reactions to Reader making bracelets or necklaces for them? but they’re not very good 😭

Making jewellery for your partner is an important practice in monster courtship traditions; essentially, a marriage proposal. Even if they’re not very good, the act of creating and gifting them would earn a large response from the MTT, and it wouldn’t be unwelcomed by the others either.

Killer puts them on right away, ruffling your hair with a few amused chuckles. You’ve been given a lot of jewellery by them, but you must have misunderstood. They had that made for you. They didn’t make it themselves. He knows you don’t understand what you’re saying, though.

…but that’s not going to stop him from immediately finding Dust and Horror and showing it off. Yep. You hand made this for him. He’s going straight to the castle forge to figure out how to make you something, then you’re going to get married. Just the two of you.

He’s teasing… but the absolute devastation on Dust’s face is hilarious.

Dust can’t even think of the words to respond with. He hides his face under his scarf, purple blush barely visible under the scarlet fabric. You don’t know what you’re saying. Or do you? Except, you would give this to Killer first, right? Or Cross, Cross would make everything perfect for you…

He ends up thanking you, then moves on. Everything seems the same—Dust is his usual quiet, sarcastic self. Underneath his long sleeves, he keeps your bracelet on nearly all the time. Being as the three of you often sleep together, Horror notices within days, and seems almost… expectant, staring at you across the table or while you garden together.

Dust starts disappearing for days at a time, and after a few weeks he takes you out on a date (steals you from Cross mid-training via a shortcut). Wordlessly, he slips a silver bracelet inlaid with blue stones onto your wrist. The same stones that line the roof of the underground, glittering like stars against your skin.

“I made it,” he murmurs, barely able to meet your eyes.

It’s not until you get home, and Killer freaks out about ‘proposing all together’ that you realize Dust thought you’d asked to marry him.

Horror, like Killer, doesn’t think you understand what you’re proposing… at first. But you’ve been living with them for so long, and dating Killer even longer… surely he’s told you all about this by now? And in that case, then you’re…

He lifts you into his arms, buries his face in your hair, then sets you back on the floor. As though it pains him, he hands the gift back to you. “Can’t really marry you without Dust. Would break his heart,” he points out.

After your shocked response, Horror decides he’ll coach you on the more obscure monster traditions.

Cross accepts it like any other gift. It’s cool you can make things like this… and he doesn’t mind if it’s not perfect! In fact, he prefers it that way. It’s nice that you feel safe enough around him to not be perfect. And he… he feels the same.

What Cross doesn’t understand are the bizarre looks the MTT start levelling him when he shows up for lunch, still wearing your bracelet. Dust is seething, Horror looks perplexed, and Killer just bursts out laughing.

“If you planned to elope with my Queen, do you not believe some discretion necessary? To do so right before my eyes…” Nightmare laments (because if there is one person in the castle he enjoys teasing, it’s his most doting knight).

Cross spends the next few days sneaking around the castle, too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye outside of training. How was he supposed to know this was a monster engagement tradition?

Nightmare is not a monster, and holds no strong attachment to the custom of gifting hand-made jewellery as a marriage proposal. He is, however, very pleased that you still thought to make him jewellery, despite knowing he has hundreds of extravagant pieces in the treasury. Anything you gift him is deeply treasured.

The MTT keep it (mostly) together when they notice. Neither of you are monsters, so it probably means nothing. Even if it did, there is a clear hierarchy in the castle. No one would question it if Nightmare did want to marry you first.

Killer definitely flops dramatically onto Nightmare's desk and asks about it, though.

Error is happy enough to receive one. He sows it onto part of his scarf so it dangles off of it. It’s been a long time since he thought of himself as a monster, so it doesn’t hold the same meaning as it does to the others.

But, theoretically, if you did want to… get married… one day… well, he wouldn’t be opposed to it.

[snowfires]

If your Killer, Horror, Dust, and Cross, fought who would win? Like who’s the strongest among them?

Any one of them theoretically would have a chance of winning, especially if you tossed them into a room and just said “fight”. Battles are tapestries woven of moves and countermoves; a single action taken by one of the boys could unravel any chance of them winning, but the correct sequence of events could assure their victory.

Each of them do have their strengths and weaknesses, though, which make some outcomes more likely than others.

Killer could arguably be labelled the strongest. Give him a knife and he has the highest possible ATK out of the four, and his magical attacks are nothing to underestimate either. He is also the most versatile of the bunch. Typically, he prefers close-range combat with his knives, overwhelming opponents by shortcutting around them and slowly wearing them down. Battles are ridiculously fun for him; at times, he gets so lost in them he forgets everything else, including to utilize his other magical attacks. This may create a short opening to catch him off guard, but it also makes wearing Killer down a nonstarter.

When Killer does add his blasters and bone attacks, bolstered by his high LV and excess of magic, it becomes obvious why Nightmare refers to him as his General. 

Anyone fighting him can only hope he forgets to use them and slips up; otherwise, things won’t end well for them. Throw him into a room with the other three, and he’s most likely to win.

Dust has a high ATK, purely based on his magic. He has a larger reservoir of magic to work with than Killer, and far more control, able to use more simultaneously and send them further. For that reason, he typically acts as the long-range fighter of the group, watching from the sidelines of the battle or a high vantage point and meticulously cutting down enemies. When the enemies he’s facing are weaker, he enters the thick of the battle, but he rarely gets too close unless it’s to land a killing blow. His DEF is simply too low to risk it with stronger enemies.

The exception is when he’s having a LV rush—his judgement is impaired, replaced by an overwhelming desire to kill. In those times, Dust is far more likely to put his own life at risk.

Dust would have a fair chance of winning, provided he can catch Killer off guard or stay far enough away to overwhelm him.

Horror has the lowest ATK in the team; however, his short-range attacks with his axe are heavy. He may not kill them, but he can incapacitate most enemies, whether by breaking something critical or knocking them out, opening up the opportunity to finish them if needed; though nowadays, he often avoids combat. Between Killer, Dust, and Cross, that area is solidly covered. He much prefers supply runs and diplomacy missions—and Nightmare appreciates he won’t run his mouth or instigate fights on said missions. Still, Horror does engage in combat more than the average person and keeps up with his training.

He is less likely to be able to win against Killer or Dust due to his low levels of magic placing him at a disadvantage; though, if he got lucky and could land a hit on them, he’d be able to knock them down long enough to win (not that he would ever raise his axe against Dust). 

It’s a similar situation with Cross, though Cross is far newer to the team. Horror had already swapped to doing fewer combat-based missions by the time Cross joined, so Cross doesn’t know all of his strategies or typical moves; therefore, his chance of catching Cross off guard and hitting him is significantly higher.

Cross is the youngest of the bunch. His LV isn’t as high as Killer and Dust, nor does he have the insane number of experiences the MTT have had in combat. However, he is the only one with formal training in both combat and strategy. If the MTT’s attacks are wild and undisciplined, Cross’ are elegant and precise, amplified by his keen eye for predicting and dodging attacks. 

While in his day-to-day life he struggles with anxiety, he finds a certain clarity of mind on the field. Perhaps it’s just the familiarity of it—a reminder of happy times in Xtale, training with the royal guard.

Without even shortcutting, he can seamlessly avoid blow after blow, moving so naturally it’s like he’s dancing. He slips in quick cuts with his twin daggers and blows with his blasters that, while not as powerful as Killer and Dust’s, are less haphazardly used, landing precisely where he wants them to at the most optimal time to maximize impact.

Unfortunately, that same discipline would make him predictable to the MTT. He may mix things up against the Stars, but they’re his family—they’ve watched him in near every battle, and Killer is often the one encouraging any updates to his combat style. It’s not impossible—especially if he could get in close to Dust or stay out of Horror’s range; however, it’s unlikely he’d beat Killer one-on-one.

[snowfires]

So since Cross speaks spanish, can Killer speak arabic? And can Dust speak korean? Like their creators 👀

Yes, they can! Dream and Nightmare can also speak Spanish.

[snowfires]

since most of them can speak different languages, do any of them have accents?

Technically all of us have accents... so the boys would inevitably have them too. (I joke, but yes, I think they'd vary depending on their AUs native language, as well as the amount of time they've been away from their AU and out in the multiverse/in the team, considering accents can change overtime.)

The way Horror speaks is what I've picked up over the years reading fics in this fandom. Are we trying to give him a southern USA accent? A Scottish accent?

I assume a lot of the fandom are probably Americans, so it's likely meant to be a southern accent.... but as a Canadian I propose: Newfoundland accent.

Nightmare would have an accent different from everyone else no matter the language he was speaking. Little ways he says certain words and strings them together that make it obvious he was born in a time long past.

[snowfires]

Horror’s been with Nightmare for decades? I’m a little curious on how old everyone is then cause DAMN. I know Horror is older than the rest of the MTT and Cross in canon Horrortale but that’s it.

There are a few aspects to consider when thinking about the boys’ ages:

1. How old they are physically. Aging is different for monsters than it is for humans. Many monsters can live extremely long lives already, but the boys are all boss monsters, which makes them essentially immortal. They don’t have parents or children of their own, so they don’t physically age. Only one of them did, but Nightmare dealt with that “problem” quickly.

2. How old they are actually.

3. How long they’ve been alive for if you also consider resets. For Dust, Killer, and Cross this is difficult to answer because their lives kept resetting/getting overwritten. Dust and Killer lived the same days/couple of weeks hundreds of times never aging until the resets stopped.

Killer has been with Nightmare for 3 quarters of a century. He was picked up after around a year of no resets occurring, and has been with Nightmare ever since. Physically, he’s in his mid 30s. Whatever that means for a skeleton 😆

Horror has been with Nightmare for half a century. The MTT all stopped physically aging in their mid-late 30s, but Horror appears slightly older due to the physical strain he put on himself in Horrortale and his injuries. Since Horrortale as a timeline was allowed to keep going past the “ending” of Undertale, he’s older than Killer in a literal sense as well despite joining Nightmare later.

Dust has been with Nightmare for around 37 years. He’d spent a few years in his empty AU before they found him, and it took another year of convincing before he went with Horror.

Cross is 29 years old, close to 30, same as canon. However, in LCITN, he was only 24 when XTale was destroyed and spent a year in the void before being found by Nightmare at 25. He’s been with him for nearly five years. Physically, he’s around 26.5 years old, which will forever annoy him as he’s now stuck as the youngest.

Error has zero idea how old he is. He’s been around in the multiverse less time than Nightmare, but longer than Dream’s been free of stone. Several hundred years probably? Does it matter, when his ultimate goal is to destroy all anomalies in the multiverse, including himself eventually?

Nightmare is 1008 years old in LCITN (the apple incident happened when he was 8 in LCITN’s version).

[snowfires]

HI!! How would your bad sanses react if they met the canon versions of their gang? I love how they’re like a family in your fic so I wonder how they’d react to seeing them not so… loving towards each other.

It would not go great for everyone except Error (who is mostly his canon self).

(For context: In Lcitn there is only one multiverse, not multiple, so this is just a what-if. Cross, Nightmare, and Error each only have one version of themself within the multiverse).

Killer would be disturbed, because the person he meets isn’t him. He—the first Killer Nightmare encountered—ended up killed and replaced. The thought of Nightmare, his closest friend, his boss, his saviour manipulating and using him the same way the player did would send Killer straight to stage 4. Especially if he found out about the cat thing (seriously Killer’s canon lore it so sad????).

LCITN Killer also wouldn’t be very fond of the idea of living in the Omega Timeline with Colour in his good outcome. The gang are not fond of the Omega Timeline’s residents, mostly because of their automatic assumptions that Nightmare forces them to work for him and the rampant rumours about each of them (partially thanks to Ink). Killer especially isn’t fond of anyone who spends time with Epic, because every time they run into that guy, he freaks out Cross. So he must have done something to upset him.

What could an Omega TImeline resident know about the life he’s lived? They’d never be able to relate to his meltdowns or dissociation. And Killer despises the thought of not having his family to go to on a bad day. Or they not to have him.

Fuck that. The only multiverse that matters is his one, where he’s surrounded by people who truly get him. And… not dead.

Horror would feel sick. There’s a version of him that spent a whole extra year in the underground? A version whose brother spent another year starving?

How many in Snowdin died during that extra year? Does this version of him even regret what he did? Does he even make sure everyone is fed now that it’s over? And what about Dust in that world? Is he still in his AU, slowly starving to death?

He wouldn’t want to know. He’d rush straight home to the castle, start packing a massive amount of food, and go to visit the safe haven Nightmare granted his Snowdin residents. He needs to see everyone alive and fed to calm down, but even then, Horror would struggle to eat for months afterwards.

Dust doesn’t like this version of himself. It’s just… him… but without Horror and the others. Completely lost. Violent. Drunk out of his mind. A Dust that has never seen the stars or curled up in Nightmare’s tentacles or nuzzled Reader in the observatory. A Dust that refuses to leave home even though there’s nothing left there.

The sight would bring on a fresh wave of guilt about his universe’s fate, but LCITN Dust wouldn’t regret his choice to go live with his new family.

Cross: Hearing there’s a universe where his brother and friends are alive ignites an ache in Cross’ soul. Could he have done things differently and saved them? But that’s also a world where XGaster is alive. Where he can be puppeteered.

Seeing another version of him would also rekindle his existentialism over just being an idea, a tweaked version of someone he’s not. He’s able to ignore it because he’s the only Cross. But if there are other Cross’, if he’s not a unique person… then is he really just a copy like everyone else?

Error wouldn't particularly care about meeting another version of himself. It's no different than meeting any Sans in the multiverse. This thing is a mistake he will wipe out. Same for all of the other alternates. It is strange, though, to think of a world where he and Nightmare are not even allies.

Nightmare would despise his canon self. After everything he endured, this version of him died as a mere child and was replaced by some mindless corruption? Nightmare doesn't even exist anymore. This creature exists only to torment Dream, to endlessly gather negativity beyond reason, to harm the very person who made Nightmare realize what love felt like...

He knows full well how dark the pasts of many in the multiverse are. The famines, the genocides... but if he will never have a completely happy ending, is he not at least deserving of keeping his mind? Of having a small group who care for him? Perhaps it was more interesting, for the bullied child to die in tragedy, than for him to ever know the warmth of a hearth or the sound of laughter at a dinner table full of people he can trust. People who would not abandon him.

This version is not him.