#Neither of them are like Alphys or Undyne personality wise

[dapperceature]

Man I miss my epic gay aunts

I haven't seen them since my conservative grandpa's funeral

[kytea]

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.”

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Beneath an Aurora Sky ch. 15

Summary: The South Pole Station is equipped for research and Edge has always made sure things run smoothly for the inhabitants. His charges are meant to follow his rules and regulations, and in turn, he makes sure they survive in the arctic temperatures. It takes plenty of hard work and determination and Edge, along with his crew, can handle both.

He wasn’t counting on one of the newest researchers. He wasn’t expecting Rus.

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Arctic AU, Hurt/Comfort

~~*~~

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve

Chapter 13 | Chapter 14

~~*~~

Read Chapter 15 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Edge spent the rest of the day in his quarters, not even venturing out for meals which would have earned anyone else a firm scolding. Perhaps it was childish of him, but right then he didn’t want to see Red or Undyne, and Rus didn’t deserve having to see him.

He settled for ration bars and followed his schedule as best he could, approving requests from the scientists to return to the outer research stations now that the storms had passed. He escaped briefly to work out in the greenhouse, striving for and failing the normal soothing that it brought, but otherwise remained in his quarters.

That day there wasn’t so much as a knock on his door. Red and Undyne knew him well enough to let him be and Alphys was certainly wise enough to know if she came, he’d end up comforting her.

The next morning, he forced himself to set aside his lingering resentment. He had a job to do and it wouldn’t be done by hiding away.

Rus wasn’t at breakfast. Edge wasn't surprised.

As an added bonus to his misery, no one else offered him a greeting as he sat at the table. That easy, unusual camaraderie between them and the scientists was gone, leaving only distance, and the span of the table between them may as well have been as wide as the continent. Despite whatever scorn Undyne often expressed about their common sense, none of them were fools. Gossip traveled fast and they’d obviously deduced something went wrong between him and Rus, and the researchers seemed to be standing by their own despite Rus being a Monster.

Edge didn’t blame them. No wonder he was only suited to live at the ends of the Earth. He couldn’t manage a normal relationship for two days.

He sat next to his brother and couldn’t help the bitterly amused thought that he had fallen from hero to outcast in the span of less than twenty-four hours. His own personal Paradise Lost. Red’s sockets were concealed by his sunglasses, but from his lowered head, his own guilt was still thoroughly consuming him. He would have to wade through on his own for now; Edge couldn’t blame him for his reaction, but forgiveness would have to be later.

Undyne was not present, likely taking her meals with Alphys, and their resident engineer was the one worthy of concern. None of this was her fault, but she’d surely been dragged in nonetheless. He made a mental note to check in with her, if only to reassure her that he didn’t blame her for any of this. The blame was his own and Edge would be keeping it.

Breakfast was already laid out, but before Edge could reach for any of the platters on the table, a plate landed in front of him with a clatter. Loaded with burnt toast and runny eggs, half of it falling off from the force of the throw.

Edge looked up to see Bonnie glaring down at him, her scarred face twisted with anger. Ah. It seemed that it wasn’t only the researchers who’d sided with Rus.

Next to him, Red started signing indignantly and Edge put out a hand, stopping him. "Don't."

He picked up the toast and bit into it, and the charred flavor on his tongue was like the taste of failure. He ate every bite methodically, scraping his plate for the last oversalted dregs. There were worse meals in his past and if Bonnie needed a target for her wrath, he would accept his due.

As he was carrying his cleaned plate to the dish rack, the kitchen door opened again, Bonnie carrying another tray out with the door swinging shut behind her. The meal on that was fit for a King of Monsters, fluffy pancakes drizzled with honey, Rus’s favorite, along with crisp bacon, golden yolks of eggs over easy, and a bowl of berries, fresh from the greenhouse.

None of the scientists still lingering offered a single indignant word about that indulgent feast and neither did Edge. Strictly speaking, meals weren’t supposed to be taken in private rooms unless there were extenuating circumstances. It seemed the entire station was deciding that this qualified. Edge only hoped Rus was in enough of an appetite to eat it.

Bonnie went through the hallway door with a bang and Edge turned back to the table to discover his brother vanished in the time it took him to wash his plate. He sighed and shook his head, heading back out.

Today seemed like a perfect day to work on repairs at one of the outskirt checkpoints, a never ending task, particularly after a storm. Edge logged himself at one that Rus never went to and headed out. It would be fair to Rus to try to avoid him, if that was what he wanted, and Edge would make sure his schedule was very visible. It wasn’t normal protocol, but if Rus didn’t want to see him until he left the station, Edge would make it easy for him and if he did…

Edge extinguished that hopeful thought before it could form.

The vehicle garage was empty, his brother nowhere in sight. If Edge was making himself scarce to Rus, then it seemed Red was doing the same to him. He sighed inwardly. This one rock thrown in their smooth pond was casting ripples that would last for some time yet. He’d give Red a few days and then corner him, if he had to.

There was no question he would forgive his brother. Edge couldn’t even be properly angry with him. He knew better than anyone what Red suffered through to earn his distrust of any of the Monster royalty, the cracks still littering his skull spoke volumes, and he could hardly blame Red when his reaction was no better. A piece of paper and a handful of questions was all it took for him to cast Rus into doubt.

Unbidden, memory came to him, of Rus’s smiles, that real smile he offered so shyly. Of the expression of purest wonder the first time he saw the aurora, of the way he cuddle in close as he slept, clinging with all his limbs as if afraid of being left alone—

Edge pushed that aside. He had work to do and that would last him far longer than any idle thoughts.

He gathered the equipment he would need and signed out a snowmobile, heading out to the furthest checkpoint.

It took him the better part of the day to clear the accumulated snow from the antennas, check over the solar cells and calibrate the equipment. By the time Edge headed back to the station, he was exhausted and bone-chilled despite his outdoor gear.

Careless of him, he knew better than to stay out too long. Monsters could handle the lower temperatures better than Humans, but eventually even they would succumb. The ride back only made it worse and he regretted not choosing a SnoCat for the journey, even if it would have taken twice as long. By the time he returned to the vehicle shed, he was shivering so hard he could hear the rattle of his bones over the roar of the engine.

Edge hastily signed the snowmobile back in and headed inside, clumsily stripping off his gear with numbed phalanges. The ache that came as they warmed was enough to make him hiss, but it was a pain was earned through stupidity, one he hadn’t felt since their first month here. Perhaps it was best things ended as they did, Edge thought sourly, he’d been off balance since Rus got off the ship. He needed to get his head on straight before someone got hurt.

He ignored the voice in the back of his skull slyly pointing out that someone was already hurt and headed towards his room to recklessly waste a shower token before dinner. The cold wouldn’t kill him, but a little comfort before facing those silent, accusing faces in the dining hall again would be a kindness.

As he went down the walkway to the living quarters, Edge heard raised voices from around the corner. The words themselves stilled him as much as his brother’s loud voice declaring, “look, i just want to talk, fashion victim.”

“my name is rus.” Edge closed his sockets, pained. Never had he sounded so cold, even that awkward moment they’d first met.

His brother went on, doggedly, “rus. you’re right, i get it. rus. i’m sorry, okay? i’m sorry. look, it’s not an excuse but we’ve had people here before who—“

Rus interrupted, his cool voice tight with underlying anger, “you’re right, it’s not an excuse. all you had to do was actually talk to me. woulda taken two minutes. thanks to you, i spent two hours straightening my notes after your little room search. i had to recalibrate all my equipment, since i guess none of my shit is important enough to worry about, not like yours is. you’ve all wasted enough of my time, now if you’ll excuse me...hey! let go!”

“that ain’t his fault, it was all me, all of it, wouldja just listen--”

Edge hurried around the corner to see Red gripping Rus’s wrist even as he struggled furiously to pull free.

“Red, let him go.”

They both jerked, two sets of eye lights flying over to him. It was his first sight of Rus since seeing him run away in tears and Edge’s soul lurched painfully. He was wearing the worn orange hoodie that hadn’t made an appearance since his first day here, the heavy sweatpants rather than the thermals Edge had given him. He looked tired, heavy shadows beneath his sockets, and Edge ached to think of the wasted energy, trying to catch up on his work. He hadn’t even considered what damage was done by going through his things, all the effort Rus would need to go through simply to continue his research. He couldn’t imagine how far behind Rus might be now, perhaps unable to complete in research in time.

If Rus needed to stay longer to finish, Edge would pay for it out of his own salary. Though he wasn’t sure Rus would welcome the chance, thesis or not. He might very well be the first person on the boat.

Red was still holding on, hard enough for bone to scrape. His sunglasses were on the floor, another pair broken, and his eye lights were blazing, flared crimson. That was a sight Edge hadn’t seen for a very long time and he held out his hands to his brother placatingly.

“That’s enough,” Edge told him, low. “Let him be.”

“no, it ain’t!” Red burst out, “it ain’t! it was my fault, all right?” He looked at Rus wildly, who only looked back stonily, still trying to twist away. “i put the bug in his head that you were up to something and i was wrong. i know my bro, i know he has trust issues! i shoulda checked more careful, i shoulda--”

“Red,” Edge broke in, gently. “Brother. Please. Let him go.”

The feral light in Red’s sockets dimmed, fading to their normal soft crimson glow. Slowly, reluctantly, his grip loosened, and the second he could, Rus wrenched away, stumbling back and clutching his wrist to his chest. His mouth worked, his eye lights darting between them, but finally Rus turned and walked quickly away. Edge watched him go until he turned a corner, out of sight.

Red only slumped back, sliding down the wall to the floor. He rested his forehead on his updrawn knees, wracked with brief, jolting quivers. Edge crouched next to him, not touching, only there if his brother needed him.

He waited until those intermittent shivers eased, then said, softly, “You need to leave him alone."

“i can’t.” Red’s voice was muffled into his knees, raw and cracked. “i can’t, boss. you were happy for the first time in ages and i ruined it."

“That’s not true,” Edge began. He might as well have saved his breath, Red only shuddered and went on.

“wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t! he don’t get it, he don’t know what you’ve been through, what we have!”

Edge laid a cautious hand on Red’s shoulder. His brother lifted his head, looking at him miserably. His knitted cap was askew, showing the first branching crack at the front of his skull and with gentle patience, Edge adjusted his hat to cover it again. Quietly, he asked, “And you know what he’s been through?”

Silence. He didn’t know what Red was thinking about, but Edge couldn’t help recalling Rus’s expression in the Rec room that night he watched Edge spar with Undyne. The sudden fear when she called for him to take her place.

Red looked away, eye lights on the floor as he swallowed heavily and whispered, “no.”

Edge nodded. “Neither do I. So, please, leave him alone. Let him do his work. He’ll be gone in a few weeks, anyway. Will you do that for me?”

The phrasing needed to be careful with Red, Edge knew, he excelled at crawling through loopholes to dig into whatever he found on the other side. This time Red only nodded, heaving himself to his feet.

“m’sorry, bro. fer everythin’” Red mumbled, shoes shuffling against the floor as he went the opposite way as Rus and rounded the corner.

Edge went to his room to take his own advice. Stood beneath the steaming hot water, letting it pour over him. There was nothing but his warming bones, the heavy patter of water against the walls of the shower stall. He very nearly used another token, forced himself not to be quite that wasteful as he’d regret it the next week, and stepped out into the cooler air to dry off.

He was barely dressed when there was a knock on his door. The temptation to ignore it was shameful. His duties to the other researchers had not lessened despite his personal issues. If they needed him enough to search him out, they deserved a chance to be heard out, even if it ended in a rebuke from him to submit all requests in writing.

When he opened the door, however, the last person he expected was standing there.

“Rus?” He didn’t dare hope and still, his soul sank a little when Rus only held out a sheaf of papers.

“thought you might want to see this,” Rus said tersely. He stuck his hands into pockets the moment Edge took the papers.

They were still warm, fresh from the printer and Edge looked down at the pages in confusion, “What’s this?”

“my thesis, since you’re all so interested. but it doesn't even matter what it says, because what it tells you is i'm a fucking astronomer. which the information packet i submitted should’ve already told you."

“Observing the Progression of an Active Galaxy Nuclei Through Fiber-Optic Spectroscopy,“ Edge read slowly. Such a dry title, it didn’t feel like Rus. Or perhaps it did, his lack of knowledge about Rus was where their problems began. “You’re studying galaxies?”

Rus’s mouth twisted. “something like that. i’ve already taken readings from the equator. just needed to get them from one of the poles to finish up.”

“This was what you were keeping a secret.”

“i wasn’t keeping it a secret!” Rus snapped. “or yeah, okay, i was, but it was just a tease, for fuck’s sake! because you’d think i was so fucking interesting if you knew what i’m studying, right?”

“Rus-“ But Rus wasn’t finished.

"do you even know how hard it was for me to get here?” he asked, low, “i was trying for scott station before i realized there was no way they'd let me in. tried a few others, but it was always more of the same. plenty of excuses but none of them wanted to admit it was because i was a monster. i got tired of throwing away money that i don't have for rejections, so i came here even though it cost a shit-ton more and i’d have to bring my own equipment. thought maybe if it was run by monsters…” Rus shuddered, his shoulders hunching. “you want some truths? okay, here's one. red was right about one thing. my sponsor? it's toriel. yeah, the queen. she...she was kind to me and my brothers when we ended up here. got us jobs, gave us a start.

Edge only stood, cooling papers in hand, watching as Rus blinked too hard, almost choking on his words as he said, “when i realized i wasn't getting anywhere with my applications, i swallowed my fucking pride and asked her to help. she pulled some strings to get my application on the roster.”

Though no one else was around, Rus’s voice lowered into a fierce whisper, “and i get that all of you are bitter about what happened, but even you can't convince yourselves that things were better with asgore in charge. after everything, she let you guys go your own way, didn’t she? no one is coming after you, no one sent me up here to spy! tori told me that you were honorable and i trusted her on that."

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Edge couldn’t help saying. Oh, he knew why, look at the way they’d reacted to the mere suspicion that the Embassy was involved. But Rus’s answer was not quite the one he expected.

“i didn't want to tell you because...i’m nobody in this world, okay?” Rus burst out, heaving out a shuddery breath, “my own brothers told me i was wasting my time on this when i could be doing something useful, but this is what i love. i busted my ass working double shifts to get up here to finish, tori said i should warn you, but i couldn't risk it, not after everything.” He lifted his chin, his eye lights gleaming fiercely. “and i’m gonna to do it. i don't need this shit, any of it. you were always a distraction i didn’t need.”

Dimly, Edge wondered how he’d never known it was possible to bleed without ever taking a wound.

"I'm sorry,” he said, softly.

“save it. i told you, i get it, i get why you guys are suspicious but that doesn’t mean i don’t get to be hurt! it doesn’t mean I have to forgive you.”

"It doesn't," Edge agreed quietly. “But I am so very sorry, nonetheless. You never gave me a reason to doubt you.”

Rus's expression crumpled, all his anger like so much tissue, "don’t do that, you can't...just stay away from me.”

He turned, walking quickly away and Edge carefully closed the door, the pages of the thesis still in his hand. Hardly a moment passed before there was another knock on his door. Edge didn’t allow himself to hesitate. He opened it and Rus was there.

He shivered despite his bulky sweatshirt and the emotions fluttering across his face were too quick to interpret, “look...can i come in?”

Edge only held open the door, and when Rus stepped inside, he sighed deeply, nervous fingers clattering lightly against his skull as he swept a hand over his head. “this is all fucked up, i know, but...could you just hold me for a little while?”

Wordlessly, Edge sat on the bed, reaching out to pull Rus into his arms. The pain clenched in his soul from the moment Red came to them yesterday morning loosened, easing as Rus settled against him. It was easier to hold each one other if they lay back, so Edge did, pressing his face into the pale curve of Rus’s skull to breath in the honey-sweet scent he thought he’d lost.

Fear lanced through him as Rus shifted, sitting up, but it was only to pull that oversized sweatshirt over his head. Beneath it he was only wearing a thin thermal shirt, hardly a barrier at all as he settled back against Edge. One hand gripped the front of Edge’s shirt, so tightly he could hear the bone creaking. Edge settled his own hand overtop it, loosening the grip until he could entwine their fingers. They lay together in silence for some time, only their breathing breaking it, until Rus muttered out, “this doesn't mean i forgive you."

No. Broken trust was as difficult to heal as the cracks across his brother's skull.

But it was a start.

tbc

[tumblunni]

Randomly a list of ships i ships

Cos i dont think ive ever written it down? I've probably forgot some from older fandoms.

Jupiter x Looker or Jupiter x Mars (pokemon dppt) oddly she's the only one of team galactic i ship anyone with!

Dia and Pearl (dppt manga: pokemon adventures version)

Steven and wallace, maxie and archie (pokemon rse) these are my ships with the most canon evidence so far!

Lillie x protag (pokemon sun and moon)

Oikawa and Cody's dad (digimon season 2) ALSO CLOSE TO CANON YO! It makes his whole plot even sadder if you read him as he's in love with his best friend but never confessed and then had to watch him die shortly after marrying someone else...

Oh and also ken and davis from the same season because SERIOUSLY 'our hearts beat as one' when their digimon unlock a new rainbow sfx fusion transformation

Alphys and Undyne from undertale are EVERYTHING GOOD IN RELATIONSHIPS

Protag daughter x Cube (princess maker)

Protag x Yosuke (persona 4) FUN FACT in this case we have actual proof the creators copped out on making it canon, there's fully voiced dual language audio for a scrapped romance route. But instead they ditched it and then the next game in the series was somehow also empty of lgbt options and also regressively homophobic all over the place...

SPEAKING OF WHICH yusuke and protag from persona 5. Srsly wtf why does this guy have such a similar name when theyre nothing alike? Aside from the fact poor yusuke is way more out about his sexuality and gets to be the butt of a million jokes...

Protag x ellen, protag x victoria, the hypothetical polyamourous triad of all the witch girls that exists within my heart (magical diary)

Maka x Crona, black star x soul (soul eater)

Chrom x specifically male protag (fire emblem awakening) female protag version is actually canon but i always HATED how her scenes with him are all cliche anime 'whoops fell into boobs' and 'nobody likes a woman who doesnt cook'. Male protag route is infinately more romantic just cos it actually shows their personalities! I mean if they both had the same dialogue just like most other scenes, i woulda been fine with the fem protag romance geez..

Virion x Panne (also fire emblem awakening) i have no idea why this obscure pairing grasped my heart and why more people dony like it! I like it cos panne snipes back at virion and takes none of his shit like sully, but without the whole 'girl who says she doesnt love him in the first scene eventually loves him if he keeps wearing her down' thing. And i like all the interesting cultural exchange that comes from a really pompous nobleman clashing with a rough and tumble stern fighter from an ancient lost lineage of lapinthropes. I dunno, his development into appreciating women just seems more genuine when you have this sort of auxilary sign that he's changed. He's willing to drop his pompousness and go on a big mountainclimbing adventure just to get her a traditional courtship flower amoungst her people! And its really adorable to see that like.. Its his first time ever getting nervous around a woman, cos this time the feelings are genuine instead of just lust and nothing else. And it was hilarious that he tried to get drunk to get over his fears, and then he fumbled the confession because of it! They have so many great sarcasm battle scenes, its hilarious AND adorable! Oh man and the scene where they actually got really emotional and panne talked about hoping her dead family is watching from the moon, and virion being vunerable about his past and just... AAA its such an unexpectedly good couple for such wildly different charries!!

Avery x Mason (hustle cat) mason is the most badass lady ever holy shit everyone should date her and she should lift them all over her head and maybe seven cars. She's a biker gang badass and a super cake chef and can turn into a cat and just EVERYTHING IS PERFECT ABOUT THIS CHARACTER THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK

Husky and Cooro (+anima) i know theyre just kids but i totally get a precocious crush vibe from cooro, and like it only ever seems that husky gets embarassed over 'but what will everyone think' rather than because he doesn't like him. And husky has a lot of issues with internalized 'i need to be super manly' type anxieties and all.

Quale and Quan (ff9) okay i guess not really a ship but a past ship? I kinda saw them as a toriel and asgore type divorced couple from how stuttery and awkward quale is about how quan left and betrayed qu society. Headcanon that really it was more like 'my boyfriend wants to go adventuring and i wanna stay and live in this safe town, and he decided that adventure was more inportant than me'. I prefer this headcanon cos really neither of them would be at fault here, yknow? Complexity! Also grandpas shipping! Both great things!

Cloud and barret (ff7) cmon yo they have a load of chemistry and have so much in common backstory wise and in terms of putting up a grumpy front and being scared of letting themselves ever love again. And barret is the handsomest character in the game! And he's super tormented and in need of love just ss much as vincent geez, even if he isnt a funky fashion vampire. But he's a BIG HUGS BEAR MAN!! And he has a sweet little daughter! And there's several opportunities for cloud to act nice to marlene and seriously imagine him as a dad!! And barret even does get a 'date' with cloud if you play the game super precisely to unlock that easter egg but its clearly meant to be a joke and all. I hope maybe they could make it more legit in the remake now we're in an era of more lgbt representation and all. Also i feel bad but i never felt any chemistry between cloud and any of the female characters? It seemed like tifa was intended to be his canon love interest and all but i never liked it, and i never felt anything more than bffs with him and aerith. Plus aerith and zack is classic sweet star torn lovers! And then literally no clue why people ship him with yuffie and elena from the turks (???) Try barret sometime. We need more barret fanart in general, even of nobody else likes this ship! Appreciate him!!

Bebop and Rocksteady (ninja turtles) look, 6 year old me wanted them to get married before i even learned that That Thing Is Supposed To Be A Man And A Woman Under God or whatever. Proof that lgbt headcanons of children's media arent just 'adults polluting innocent things'. (Srsly what is that logic? A man and a woman kissinh isnt too sexual for tv but a gay kiss is?) Anyway these weird trash mutants were good together, courtesy of the ancient small me of the past.

[the-lightest-shadow]

What's RWBYtale? It sounds cool!

Oh, wow. I’m gonna be honest, I wasn’t actually expecting anyone to ask. Especially about that one, but here goes {There will be a lot of typing because so far nothing about this has been shared, and I wanna see if maybe people will actually want to see things with it, y’know?}:

RWBYtale, as it’s name suggests, is a cross-over-esque AU with RoosterTeeth’s RWBY. As a result, there aren’t monsters, but each monster character is a fitting RWBY species {Which basically means most are Faunus}. The AU has almost become a collab piece between me and @marine-c-jones, who’s helped me think of a few things and come up with things themself.

While in the story, Frisk is not the main focus. They become prevalent, but our main focus is the main group of four: Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Toriel. We also see a decent amount of Alphys and Mettaton, with the other two of their team being Bratty and Catty.

How the cast is so far:

Sans: Human. Weapon Craftsman. Like in Undertale canon, Sans is more on the lazy side, but manages to always defeat Grimm with ease. He’s one of the older two in his team, and the one who had to remind the more hyperactive ones that a team needs 4. His main weapon is a dagger/laser gun combo. He also helped design Papyrus’ and Undyne’s weapon. And a run-on gag if the AU had a series. Semblance allows him to teleport, but only to somewhere he can see, and only once every 6 hours or so, so he doesn’t abuse this power.

Papyrus: Human. Papyrus is capable of a quick-time strategy and dodges with relative ease. The only type of enemy he has no issue attacking is Grimm, because they run on instinct alone, and you can’t get through to them. He’s tried in the past. His weapon of choice is dual swords, that also have the ability to turn into lasers, he just uses his lasers much, much more scarcely than Sans. His Semblance remains unknown.

Undyne: Fish Faunus. Visible fins. Despite being besties with Papyrus, she has a habit of saying some pretty bigotry things about pretty much anything that isn’t a Faunus. Strong in battle and fast, she only really needs to work on her people skills. She also is begging for a long-ranged weapon but no one will give her one. Her weapon’s a spear/taser combo that has a non-conducting chain on it, and has been proven to be effective and destructive enough. Her Semblance seems to have something to do with increasing her already high level power, but no one’s seen it in action.

Toriel: Goat Faunus. Goat-like ears. The team member they managed to find last-minute, she’s surprisingly kind and wise. The other one who’s older, she has managed to get her way in as the much-needed strategist. Her weapon’s only known function is a flamethrower {meaning neither of us two have thought of what else it can be} Her Semblance

Frisk: Human. Just a child. They somehow managed to make it through a forest to the Hunter’s School by themself. They seem pretty dead-set on staying in the school and have been forced to be watched by our main team. They’re weapon’s a battle baton that they’ve made look like a stick that open’s up into a gun. Their Semblance remains unseen, but they can heal any of their wounds, as long as they remain still.

Alphys: Lizard Faunus. Visible tail. She’s also a bit of a weapon’s craftsman herself, with her weapons being a little less straight-forward with their design. Very much has a thing for Undyne, but isn’t sure if she’s allowed to date someone from another team or not. Weapon and Semblance remain unknown.

Mettaton: Robot. Appears human. Created by Alphys as a much-needed fourth team member, Mettaton has a personality and intelligence similar to what Penny’s was, except more-so. He is currently #1 target to Undyne’s bigotry. No weapon needed because he is one {gun arm} and it’s unknown if robots even get Semblances in RWBY, so that remains non existent.

All I’ve decided on Bratty and Catty is they’re Faunus of their creatures: Gator for Bratty {I’m thinking scale patches} and Cat for Catty {Ears, definitely}

This ended up being long, but if you have any more questions on either this AU or the others on my list, feel free to ask. :>

[underimagines]

romance headcanons for main 4 + goatparents+ mtt learning that their s/o is poly and which would try to set their s/o up with someone they'll both like?

Sans:

- Hey, he’s chill. For the most part. Listen, he never thought he’d be able to have a singular successful relationship, so to add another partner to the mix is…well, a little bit stressful. He’s pretty cool about it, though.

- He’s gotta know how any potential partners you bring up sit with Papyrus. If they don’t get along with his brother he’s not gonna be very apt on giving them a chance.

- He might be okay with trying to set you guy’s up on a triple-date or whatever, though getting a three people booth at Grillby’s might be kinda hard. Don’t let him set up a date at Grillby’s. You’re trying to get this person to like you & having your boyfriend guzzle ketchup straight from the bottle on the first date might not be a real clincher.

Papyrus:

- He’s confused at first, but definitely into it. More date-mates just means more love to share & take part in!! He’d be the one to try & set you up with another/more partners. Of course he has no worries that you’ll all get along in the long run, after all–he has good taste, & you have good taste (because you’re dating him, aren’t you?), so if this person is into your or him (or both) obviously they’ll have good taste too! & ultimately date you both!! Because you’re both good things…to taste?? You know what he means.

- He pulls the same moves on them that he used on you when he was first trying to figure out basic courtship rituals. Chocolates, bouquets of fancy roses, maybe a love poem or two. A lotta cheesy, silly stuff to try & test the waters/ease them into the idea of joining your relationship as another partner.

- He insists that the first date you all have together take place at home, where he can cook them a fancy dinner. He’s convinced that having a familiar setting around would ultimately increase his chances of a successful date, as he’d be used to the terrain & could use it to his advantage. He could show them his collection of MTT-Brand action figures!! Everyone loves sexy robots!!!

Undyne:

- She’s a little bit iffy about it. She was so pumped to be the one dating you, that having to share makes it feel like a competition. Not that she doesn’t love the chance to show chumps just how quickly she can kick their asses–but when it comes to dating, it’s just…different.

- If she met someone she thought you’d both like, she’d definitely try to introduce you all to each other. She’d go through all this trouble to pre-plan a surprise date for all three of you, but that fact that neither of you know each other would probably make the whole thing blow up in her face. It was a nice thought, though.

- After she gets more comfortable with the idea, she’s all for it. More than one date-mate means more people she can carry around & show off to! Don’t be surprised if she throws you onto her back for a piggy-ride, then sweeps your other partner into her arms before taking off at the speed of light. Her carrying you both around becomes the new norm pretty fast.

Alphys:

- The idea is kind of nerve-wracking for her. Finding out that you like her enough to date her was a definite plus, but finding out that you want to add another partner to your relationship makes her really nervous. What if they don’t like her? What if she doesn’t like them? What if you like them more than her? There’s a lot that she’s worried about.

- She’d offer to try to find a suitable partner for you both, but her way of “meeting” someone would probably be by putting up a profile on one of the UnderNet’s dating sites. It uh…doesn’t go well, to put it lightly. Think of a romcom montage where you go through a series of bad dates. Finally, she just gives up & leaves it all to you.

- Having more than one partner is actually really nice for her confidence. She adores having group anime nights with you both, having long, thought out talks about your interests & hopes for the future, going out on group dates–it all makes her feel like she really is worth having something good in her life, especially if you both like her as much as she likes you.

Toriel:

- It certainly is a new prospect for her. She’s very old-fashioned, but loves exploring new ideas & options, so she’s not opposed to it in the slightest. Besides, there are many new people that you could meet, surely there’s someone out there that you’d both like!

- Of course she’d love to try to introduce you to someone, but sometimes she accidentally jumps the gun & doesn’t think all of her options through. Plus, she can be really stubborn, so if you don’t like the person, or you two just don’t click, you’ll have to keep reminding her to get it through her thick skull. She keeps trying, though, which is the thing that counts the most.

- After you’ve found a partner suitable for the both of you, she does whatever she can to include you both in your day-to-day activities. Cooking, bug hunting, exploring, reading together, whatever you can imagine, she’ll find a way to get you both into it.

Asgore:

- Oh! He’s...unsure of how to handle it. He’s even more old-fashioned than Toriel, so having more than one partner is definitely an exciting experience for him. He’d need a lot of teaching & explanation on how to handle the relationship before you actually bring in a new partner, it’s just all so new to him.

- Even with his inexperience, he’s willing to give it a try. He’ll try to find you both a partner at least once or twice, though it’s not a very subtle tactic, as he’ll just point at someone fairly attractive & say “How about them?” Real smooth, Asgore. After a while, he just gives up & leaves it all to you.

- Dating you both is actually very nice for him. Having company is good for his lonely SOUL, so he tends to stick around at least one of you for most of the time. Sometimes he can get a little bit overworked nerve-wise though, as he’s spent so much time alone previously, so that’s when he needs some solitude. But other than those brief moments, he’ll keep you both as close as possible.

Mettaton:

- It’s absolutely no problem for him. He’s got hoards of fans, darling, you really think having more than one partner would be a challenge for him? Nonsense, he’s all for it! He uh...kind of sees having more than one partner like having “groupies” hang around him while keeping one primary partner, so that’s something you’ll definitely have to explain.

- After he finally actually gets it, he’s very excited to try to find you both a partner or two to bring into the mix. He’d love to find someone you’d like too, so he actually sends out a call to all his fans to interview them. It’s...it’s a really bad, humiliating experience, & it’s not until you finally have to confront him & explain that what he’s doing is wrong & manipulative that he finally gives in & leaves it all to you. He just gets in over his head sometimes.

- Actually meeting & talking with the partner you introduce to him finally helps him understand what a poly relationship really is. He settles into it nicely, drowning you both in gifts & constant praise to show his appreciation for you both. Showing both of you off as his partners is his pride & joy, & it’s overall a very happy, loving relationship, despite the rocky start.

[jkdreams]

Papaya and Berry- Notes and HCs

Because it’s 2 in the morning and I can’t stop thinking about this.

Papyrus:

-still hates puns, but is a pun master

-was a researcher of the nature of SOULs, but was more like a naturalist than anything else

-(i don’t know enough about science, but i think he’d be more interested in how they were without interference than with. i think he’d like anthropology (monsterpology?) quite a bit!)

-still sucks at cooking, but at least the kitchen’s neat

-his stuff is always neat, actually, he still likes to clean

-likes to bake more than cook, though

-still likes collecting action figures and is good at improvising stories

-doesn’t read to Sans at night; rather he makes up tales right on the spot

-went to anime nights with Undyne before she got together with Alphys

-liked Full Metal Alchemist among other series

-still has no social skills

-super pleasant to be around, but doesn’t know how to start any type of relationship, and everyone ends up being kept at arms length

-especially after the Accident, the only ones he’d talk to were Sans, Undyne, and Muffet, and Muffet only because he would hang out at her cafe for way too long and babble

-he gave up a while ago, but despite being Tired he hangs in there and helps Sans when he can, even if at first it’s just keeping house

Sans:

-dreams of being admired one day!

-he’s a superhero, and if he’s not now, then he will be!

-really likes anime, especially Shounen like One Piece and Naruto (he was so disappointed with Naruto’s ending)

-likes science and dabbles, but he hasn’t studied past high school level physics

-he really likes physics and astronomy, though

-actually an excellent cook, but his, er, technique leaves quite a mess

-what would he do without his brother? leave his socks everywhere like a goblin, that’s what

-absolutely admires and loves his brother LOUDLY (whereas Pap is incessantly if less vocally saying the same through little things)

-his absolute BESTY Alphys and him hung out a lot!

-but he absolutely also understood when she was having a down day and needed time to recharge!

-which also helped him take care of Papyrus when he started getting his down days

-had a million jobs and is super popular, but isn’t sure if anyone cares for him besides Pap and Al (did the thought even cross his mind?)

-absolutely loves puns and crams a million of them into every conversation

(-is actually the one that remembers RESETS and what their Fallen has done)

(-is a bit guilty about taking away his brother’s future because he was involved in the CORE’s failure and the erasure of Papyrus’s involvement in Hotland)

Other HCs for this Underswap Universe:

-Gaster and the Riverperson are swapped: Dings manned the ferry (and has many wise things to say but no one can understand him) and the lead scientist River has disappeared through a mysterious accident involving the CORE

-Sans still uses the shed in the back to hide things! Including things he doesn’t want to forget and things Papyrus wanted to get rid of but that Sans couldn’t yet let go of

-Papyrus used to use the doghouse/jail cell for work purposes, but nowadays he’s retooled it to help with Sans’s wishes of capturing a human

-The Annoying Dog and Temmie switched places, now the Annoying Tem and the Foxes… which are not Foxes but dogs…? Or maybe the Tobes, idk.

-Asriel and Chara switched places, with Chara becoming the soulless flower and Asriel possessing the Fallen (still working out how that happens- is Asriel still a monster?)

-Alphys still suffers from anxiety and feelings of inadequacy which she expresses through lashing out

-Undyne ran the experiments in the True Lab and falls ill trying to fix it because she was so Determined to help she started melting

(-sidenote: i imagine Undyne’s personality to be like Marinette from Miraculous Ladybug- with support and love (and her crush not entirely on her mind) she’s confident and ready to help people)

-Alphys damn near had a heart attack and started crying and on a Pacifist route it would be up to the Fallen to resolve things before it gets that bad

-Probably by getting Undyne to admit that sometimes it’s better to call for help than to struggle alone

-Sans and Toriel probably still met the same way, except he was doing Royal Guard training and was on break and started knocking on the garden door not realising the Queen was listening

OC Things:

-Ai is their boss, technically. Picked them up from an empty timeline that their Fallen would definitely not RESET.

-Sans knew that the Fallen Child would attempt to murder everyone so he took Papyrus out for a game of hide and seek (he wishes that he tried harder to convince Alphys and Undyne to play, too, but Alphys was the Royal Guard and Undyne was ever loyal and neither of them would have forgiven him for helping them and no one else escape)

-After finding nothing but dust and empty SOUL jars, the two monsters thought they’d live out their days in that emptiness until Ai and Ex passed by looking for something

-Ai and Ex couldn’t just leave them, so they (much to Ex’s chagrin) brought them along

-Ai claimed to need a groundskeeper; so they were named groundskeepers of land Ai had acquired during a different venture

-Now they manage that, except the actual parametres of the job Ai assigned them led to them founding a town. Oops. 

-Sans becomes Mayor of Echo Town like that, with Paya, Ai, and Ex as his main assistants

-in the Shop itself Sans gets along great with Moru and Maru. 

-Papyrus gets along better with Mokona for whatever reason

-Ai and Mokona call Papyrus “Pyrus”, or “Pie” for short

-which leads Ai to make a ridiculous lie to Nanami that he’s called “Papaya… Papaya Honeypie.” (makes more sense in context)

-and his brother was dubbed “Berryblue” (Mayor Berry Blue, officially) after some food related  jokes and puns.

-Ex and Sans joke that Ai was just hungry when they made that up though-

-so everyone while on work things will call the skelebros “Papaya and Berry” 

[lliinnkk]

Love And Laughter - Dinner With A Skeleton

"Wow! Amazing! I-I wish I could d-draw like you!" Alphys exclaimed, staring in awe at the sight. "If you stick around long enough, you may even get to see the finished product as it's being made!" beamed Kirsty. "As much as I'd love Alphys to stay, she better not be too long; me and Kirsty are going-" Frisk said. Kirsty intervened at once, informing her that "it's not 'me and Kirsty'. It's Kirsty and I." "... Yeah. Right. Kirsty and I are going for dinner at the MTT Resort." "Yeah, I'm gettin' kinda bored, sitting around, watching Mettaton. Let's go home, Alphys. I'm gettin' hungry!" Undyne moaned, pulling her lizard lover out of the house. "Oh. I guess I don't really have a choice. B-bye, Kirsty! I hope I s-see you again soon!" Alphys yelled. "Bye, Alphys! Bye, Undyne!" shouted Kirsty, waving goodbye as the door closed with a bang.

"Alright, Ms Kirsty Poppy, we better get ready, 'cause we're not just going for dinner at the Mettaton Resort; we're going with Papyrus and Sans." said Frisk, pulling Kirsty onto her feet. "Oh, cool. I like Papyrus. He's really nice." smiled the girl, letting down her hair and brushing it thoroughly. "I'm glad you like him. You'll probably like Sans, too. He's real funny." the almost teen grinned. "Really? Cool! I like funny people." Kirsty commented. "Well, in that case, let's not waste time talking!"

Soon enough, the humans were in a more formal state, ready for dinner with skeletons. They smelled like lovely lavender, owned two sets each of pearly white gnashers and and had low, tied-back, brown hair.

Frisk took Kirsty through the snow, past several houses, to a nearby river. Hovering on the water was a small boat, just big enough for five people, and on it sat a hooded figure, who spoke, "Tralala. Where to today, humans?" "Hotlands, please." Frisk said, sitting on the boat with Kirsty. "Tralala. Hotlands it is then." the figure replied. The boat took off at a satisfactory speed, right away. "Hotlands?" asked Kirsty. "Yeah. There's the Ruins (where humans fall), Snowdin (where we live), Waterfall (where Undyne lives), Hotlands (where the MTT Resort is) and Tori's Castle (where the queen lives, of course). Hotlands is, obviously, very hot - so you might wanna take off that massive coat - and there lava - try not to fall in." Frisk explained, taking off Kirsty's winter coat. "Alright. Sounds fun."

Soft, tepid waves slowed to a stop as the boat ride shortly ended. Frisk and Kirsty climbed out and thanked the figure kindly. The abrupt change in atmosphere caught Kirsty off guard. She had gone from being so cold that her breath came out in great clouds of smoke like a dragon, shivering as she took each step and watching as she turned into Kirsty The Red-nosed Human to being so hot that she had the sudden urge to strip off completely - which she would have, had there not've been people strolling along the sweltering streets. Kirsty now started to sweat and she took off her GEEK jacket, tying it around her waist.

"Haha!" laughed Frisk. "I told you it was hot!" "I don't think I like this heat." the teen chuckled. "I hope it's not this hot in the resort." "Oh, nah. They're kind enough to have air conditioning." Frisk clarified, giggling happily as her friend breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them walked along the rocky path, chatting about people and places, dodging the bursts and bubbles of lava that the pools shot at them, making their way towards the hotel - a large, blue building, which read 'MTT' above the glass door. Unprecedented changes in the air became frequent to Kirsty; she made a mental not to always expect the unexpected. The cool breeze from Snowdin had followed her to the resort like a dog to it's caring owner and this fact lifted their spirits (and their coats onto the trustworthy coat hanger near the entrance). Wet from the overflowing Mettaton fountain, the floor they danced over was a perfect, brilliant gold. The only thing terrible about the place was the staff; an orange cat cashier could be seen stealing money from the till, not even trying to be subtle or secretive about it.

Frisk took Kirsty to him, asking if he'd seen two skeletons pass through. He replied with, "Yeah. A tall one and a short one. You with them, little buddy?" "Yeah, we are. Thanks, BP." said Frisk, dragging Kirsty away. "Any time, little buddy." he nodded. "'BP'?" asked the teen. "It stands for Burger Pants. That's what everybody calls 'im. Don't ask why." Frisk chortled. "Well, what's his real name?" "Er... Dunno."

The restaurant had a stage at one wall and a multitude of round tables in a range of sizes. Neat tablecloths were thrown onto them, cutlery set out tidily, chairs tucked in, a single candle on every surface - 'This is certainly a place worth admiring.' thought Kirsty. "There they are!" Frisk pointed out. What with there being only a few people in the room and the monsters in question were having trouble with not standing out, there was really no need to point them out, 'but, whatever floats your boat, I guess.' shrugged Kirsty. "Hey, Papyrus! Hey, Sans!" There, right in front of the stage, sitting next to each other at a table for four, was Papyrus and his brother, Sans.

Papyrus was still in his 'battle body' - a red scarf, red gloves and red boots - a kind of formal outfit. His brother, on the other hand, was quite the opposite - everything-wise, apart from the fact that they're both skeletons, of course. Sans was short and wore a blue hoodie, a white sweater, a pair of black and white, striped shorts and sneakers. He leaned back in his chair, half-asleep, while Papyrus sat politely upright.

When they heard the humans coming, Papyrus waved excitedly. Sans lifted an eyelid, then the other. His eyes - if he had any - widened. "Papyrus," he whispered. "you said she was pretty, but I had no idea she was this...beautiful." "She is, isn't she? Quite a pretty picture." Papyrus nodded in agreement.

The humans took their seats at the table, Kirsty shuffling the cutlery about until she saw it fit her liking. She looked Sans up and down, deciding that he was just another person to add to the Crowd Of Gawping People. "Hello, humans!" grinned Papyrus. "I was wondering when you were going to come." "Sorry if we were late." Frisk apologised. "Actually, I think it was just that they were a bit early." explained Kirsty. "Ah." said Frisk. "Well, in that case, not sorry." "Oh... Um... I didn't... Okay." Kirsty stammered. "Hehe. It's okay. It was a joke, yeah?" said Frisk. "Uh... Yeah." replied Kirsty.

"So, anyway, Kirsty, this is Sans. Sans, this is Kirsty. She's the newest human, but you probably already knew that. Go ahead, Kirsty, shake his hand." urged Frisk, grinning at the skeleton. Sans offered the girl his hand, but she was quick enough to uncover the prank, pointing out a hidden whoopie cushion. "Heh. You're pretty observant, huh?" he laughed, stuffing the failed joke in his pocket and properly shaking her hand, forgetting to let go. "Thanks... Can I have my hand back now?" asked Kirsty, shyly. His grip was firm, yet kind. She almost enjoyed it. "What...? Er... Oh. Yeah, sure." Sans let go, faintly blushing. "Sans!" Papyrus hissed. "Don't embarrass yourself in front of the human! At least try to make a good first impression!" Sans shrugged, staring at his hand.

"Yeah, Sans is pretty good at the jokes. Do you know any good ones?" asked Frisk. "Um... Knock knock." said Kirsty. "Oh, God! Please, don't!" cried Papyrus. "Who's there?" Sans asked, ignoring Papyrus' begging. "To." Kirsty replied. "To who?" "No, it's 'to whom', actually." Frisk and Sans chuckled; Papyrus rolled his eyes, scowling. "That was a good one!" Frisk cheered. "I'm not as good at telling jokes as Sans is. Why don't you tell one?" "Uh... Erm... I..." stuttered Sans, at a loss for words.

However, before he could say anything, his younger brother called to a waiter and ordered the staff to surprise them. He said, crossing his arms, that he "just had to put an end to the disgusting topic", as it was making him more and more uncomfortable.

Papyrus and Frisk then began talking non-stop about food and the cooking lessons with Undyne. Apparently, Undyne and Frisk - but mostly Undyne - had set her whole house ablaze when they were cooking spaghetti together (turns out, the final product wasn't actually half bad). She then had to live with Papyrus and Sans until her house was put back together again. They had a lot of fun. At this point, Kirsty chose to switch off again. She allowed herself to daydream as she waited for an MTT Meal. The imaginative cogs in her brain whirred into motion, running as quick as a nice cube in Hell.

The images of future sleepovers with her future besties, Alphys and Frisk, roamed the vast complexity of her mind. They attacked each other with playful pillow fights, toyed with subjects not to be messed about with, roasted marshmallows over the fire in the lounge, played truth or dare, and talked about cute boys (or girls) they took an interest in, all whilst having a whale of a time - and whales do make some noise, so, of course, they did too. Bang! Slam! Boom! Clap! No one got rest on the nights they spent together (not even them). Was there any better way to have a sleepover with your possible BFFs? Ah, yes! Movies! Now this was a practically perfect party. And, if it wasn't, Kirsty was filled with perseverance to make sure it was.

As her mind wandered, so did her eyes - they, themselves, seemed to have a mind of their own. They drifted about the room, travelling from the ceiling to the floor, from the cutlery to the door, and from one person to the other. Soon, Kirsty found herself staring blankly at Sans, who sat opposite her, staring back. It felt as if they were having a staring contest, but neither really cared for winning. They stayed like this for almost a minute, before Kirsty managed to shake herself out of the magic spell, without stopping to wonder if their moment meant anything.

Frisk found Kirsty sitting on the cream sofa, looking into the fire in her pyjamas. The evening had gone smoothly. The food was delicious and she hadn't spoken much, but how could she when others kept babbling about somewhat unrelated subjects? Sans held her hand on the way to Snowdin, but she no one ever thought anything of it. Papyrus and Frisk held hands, so why couldn't they? Her hair was freely falling down her shoulders, her fringe persistent to veil her sleepy, emerald green eyes. She hugged her knees, mesmerised by the dancing flames, letting out a tired yawn as Frisk sat beside her.

"So, what do you think?" asked the twelve year old. "Of the Underground, I mean." "Good." Kirsty replied. "I'll explore it tomorrow. It seems interesting, all these different places. I bet there'll be different people there... They're all really different...really confident...not afraid to be who they are... That's my favourite part..."

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