#Papyrus all but flat out saying they were in a different place than the Underground entirely before showing up in Snowdin

[illdothehotvoice]

It should be noted that whenever I'm like "Oh I like to think Sans and Papyrus hop universes trying to find Gaster or whatever" I'm not saying it to be like "I think they're so cool and edgy and-" (which is fine and valid) but more in th sense that it's about them finally settling in UT's universe and accepting whatever happened and moving on because they finally found a place where they belong and 😭

[gabriel-xander]

Don't Forget

Undertale Fanfiction

[Sans x Female!Reader]

3: House in (the) Ruins

A/N: There's not a single bathroom in Undertale! This is completely understandable since it was mentioned that monster food is magic so it does not spoil and does not pass through the body. Instead, it heals/recovers HP. So eating monster food is implied to disappear when you eat it since it turns into magic energy to heal you. There's no need to pee/shit it out.

So it's reasonable they don't have toilets in the underground.

But not even a shower room? They’ve mentioned showering and bathing before, and I’m sure this was just a design error at the time, or maybe it was purposely left out to save time and effort in creating the game. However, for the sake of storytelling and filling in minor plot holes provided by the game, I’m giving ALL the houses/inns at least a shower room.

Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

♪───✿⁠(⁠✧◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕✧⁠)✿⁠────♪

You open your eyes slowly, meeting a dark red ceiling though it only takes you a second to realize that it’s dark in this place you’re in. Memories flood your mind, and you’re slightly embarrassed about your behavior towards Flowey.

How shameful can you be… to only call him a cuck the whole time??? Were you really in such a blind panic that that was the only insult you could say??? You never learned how to handle serious situations growing up, and now it’s biting you in the ass because you almost died so many times yesterday…

AND YOUR WAY OF DEALING WITH IT WAS CALLING FLOWEY A CUCK?!

You’re starting to suspect that you aren’t in a coma and that you’ve just… somehow ended up in… ugh… In Undertale. Why don’t you want to admit it fully? Probably because shit like that is impossible. It feels like it was only yesterday when you were making a boner joke featuring Sans and Papyrus, and telling Elliot how you were thinking about revisiting it after two years.

Sitting up properly in the bed that you are noticing is smaller than for someone your size, you take a look around with a scrunched-up nose. You were obsessed with Undertale when you were younger, so even though you haven’t played the game in a while, you still remember this room very well. Two dressers, a lamp, and a few chests with different items. The lamp by the bed doesn’t appear to be working, so you’d have to turn on the light with the other.

You look down at yourself and notice that you’re not in pain anymore. You touch your thigh and run your hand down your leg. The wounds are gone, and the blood as well. You’re still wearing your dirty dress though.

You sigh.

Putting a hand on your chest, you think back to your soul.

Your Yellow Soul.

…Wait, or was it orange?

It looked too deep of a color to be that bright yellow but way too light to be orange. Maybe it IS yellow, and you’re just used to the souls being in plain, flat colors.

It’s yellow, but what does that mean for you?

You know a lot about Undertale, but not a lot about what soul colors mean. You know about the Red Souls: they contain Determination, and Determination can give you the power to Save and Reset (you think, you’re pretty sure you saw a theory once that Red itself is not Determination). You THINK you know that Cyan is associated with Patience, and Yellow is Justice, but only because of the Sans lore during a No Mercy run. That’s as far as your knowledge goes though. Maybe you can try asking someone when you can.

But… is that really your defining feature? You don’t know if you consider yourself to have a strong sense of Justice, Justice is something you associate with your buddy Elliot more than yourself. Unless your soul is more of a premonition of who you'll eventually become? But that doesn't really make sense either.

Ah, this is one of those moments where your intelligence is a little high on that roller coaster ride.

You’re not so idiotic that you’re going to escape the Ruins as soon as you can. Flowey no doubt wants you gone, and if running into monsters is how it is in the game, you’re not too eager for that, either. If Toriel also got a glimpse at your stats somehow, you have no idea how you would explain yourself that doesn’t make you come off as dangerous.

You would love to get back home and forget this all ever happened. But as it stands right now, you’re not in a hurry to get back. You don’t have a guarantee for your survival, and you don’t want to die. Until you can somehow think of a way to wake up from this dream (...It’s not a dream, you know that. But you have to cope somehow), or until you can find ANY hint as to how you got here so you could go back the same way, you’re content with staying in the Ruins.

You swing your legs over the bed, spotting both of your boots neatly on the floor. Your socks are gone though, that’s to be expected since one of them was soaked in blood. You’re about to get up when there’s a light knock at the door.

You furrow your brows, “Hello…?”

The door opens slowly, and a white, fluffy hand peaks onto the door to push it open. A very tall goat-woman enters through, being nearly the size of the entryway itself. Her purple dress doesn’t hide her feet, and her white sleeves hang low on her arms. Her brown eyes are kind, and so is her smile. Fulling coming into the room reveals she’s holding a glass of water.

Her size… intimidates you, somewhat. It must’ve shown on your face since the boss monster’s smile becomes more sheepish. Toriel stays close to the door as if to give you space. You appreciate the gesture, so you smile back.

“Um…” Wow, your voice was hoarse as hell, “Hi… Uh…”

“Ah, do not be afraid, my child,” Toriel greets softly, “I am Toriel, caretaker of these Ruins.”

“Toriel…” You nod, “I’m–You can call me [Y/n],” You find yourself frowning, “Sorry, I’m still kind of… This situation…”

“Yes, I understand. You were unconscious for a few hours after… that. I had healed you the best I could. I hope you are not in too much pain.”

You shake your head, “No, I’m okay. I am now, I mean.”

Toriel slowly steps forward, holding out the cup to you. You sigh in relief, taking the glass and drinking that water as if you were dehydrated for a while. You probably were; Toriel said you were out for hours, but who knows if she means three hours, or six. As you’re drinking up, the other woman takes this opportunity to clear some things up for you.

“You are the first human to come down here in a long time. I…” Guilt flashes in her brown eyes, “I am a little remorseful that I have not gotten to you sooner. I visit that place every day to see if someone has fallen down, but today I had taken some extra time so I was late to arrive.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault, you know. It was just a case of the wrong people at the wrong time,” You grin, “Thank you so much for helping me, by the way. I don’t know exactly how I got here (liar), so I appreciate your hospitality.”

“Oh, my. You are so polite and well-spoken for a child,” Toriel beams, “Though I suppose you are more of a late teen, aren’t you?”

…??? You don’t get it: why did two people already assume you’re younger than you are? Is it something you’re wearing?

“Ahh… Well… Not exactly…? I mean, I was a late teen… about… five years ago?” You laugh nervously, “Does… Does that bother you?”

“...Oh.” Toriel blinks in realization, “You… You are an adult.”

“…Yeah. I'm, like, twenty-three years old.”

“I see…” Toriel winces, looking away for a moment, “I haven’t encountered a human adult in a very, very long time.”

So it does bother her for some reason. Understandable, if you’re thinking about it. Frisk/Chara were just children, and they are capable of horrid things still. Imagine what a whole-ass grown-up could do?

You grin sheepishly, “I’m not as scary as I seem, I swear. Ah, that flower monster told me my stats were a little different than what he’s used to, but maybe it’s ‘cause none of you guys have seen an adult human in a while.”

“Your stats?”

Oh shit, is that not how they see it even though they know about LV, ExP, and HP? You suppose only someone like Flowey, Frisk, and probably Sans would consider it that way.

You wave a dismissive hand, “Never mind. I… Erm. I don’t really get it, but if me being in my twenties is a bother to you, I could… I guess I could go.”

Which would SUCK! You don’t want to go to Snowdin! Meeting Sans would be objectively worse than seeing Flowey! Actually no, they’re both equally horrible options. Sans is one of those characters that you adore in fiction, but you know that if you met him in real life, you might bump heads and have some friction with morals and ideology. Or worse, he might just hate you for simply knowing what's going on down here.

But you like Toriel a lot, she was one of your favorites so you don’t want to put her in a tough spot or stress her out too much.

Lucky for you, Lady Luck is favoring you just this once.

“No, no, that is not necessary,” Toriel chuckles, “You misunderstand my curiosity for hesitation, but I assure you that I have no issue with you. Though, I must say…” Toriel gestures to your body, “Your striped dress can give a lot of confusion to the other monsters.”

…OHHH!! Because only kids wear striped shirts!

You suppose your dress counts, but you remember Monster Kid throwing that out before when you first met him in the game. Oh God, was that enough for the monsters to automatically assume you’re a kid even if you look like you’ve lived over time? Even Flowey assumed you were younger and he’s supposed to be one of the more competent ones in the Underground. You suppose this is because of natural customs that are within the monster culture.

“Ah-ha ha! Well, that explains a few things! Unfortunately, this is all I have right now…”

“Yes, and it has gotten dirty and tattered. Why don’t you wash up? And in the meantime, I can provide you something to wear as I clean these up,” Toriel offers, gesturing to your clothes.

You falter for a moment, “Is that… really okay? Don’t get me wrong, Toriel. I am really grateful for your kindness, it’s just…”

Hmm… You–might be overthinking this. Other than accepting your situation for what it is, the only other thing you can do is be in denial and panic. There’s no use in stressing yourself out over what you should be doing, or what is okay to do. You think the best thing for you to do right now, is stay with Toriel for as long as she’ll have you.

You smile in defeat, “Sorry, this is still all confusing to me. I’ll take that shower, and afterward, can you explain some things to me?”

“Of course, my child. That was going to be my suggestion from the start.”

She still wants to refer to you as a child, huh? You guess it’s just part of who she is, and you don’t mind it either. You already have a decent mom, but you can have another just for the fun of it.

Toriel gets you situated with a few towels, and a spare dress of her’s that’s nearly identical to the one she’s already wearing. The only difference with the one she has given you is that it’s smaller and it looks like it’s going to huge your frame. As for the bathroom…

THERE IS NO BATHROOM!

Just kidding. Across the mirror at the end of the hallway is a door you never saw in-game. Opening it up only revealed a bath/shower, and a sink. You vaguely remember that monster food doesn’t spoil and pass through your body like human food, so it makes sense that there is no need for a toilet.

However… Oh God, what are you going to do on your period?!

Maybe you should find a way home soon…

────

Toriel is washing your clothes while you shower, using some magic as well to repair some tears or get rid of some stubborn stains. Her heart aches when there’s still blood that washes down the drain from your sock–the one that was attached to the leg that had been severely injured.

You… You do worry her, she’s not going to lie. You mentioned your stats, and while she doesn’t know what you mean by them, she assumes you were referring to your Soul’s Defining Features. Perhaps humans call those “stats” now; she wouldn’t know, it’s been far too long since she has seen the Sun.

0 ExP, yet your LV is at 10. You haven’t killed a single creature in your life, but if you so desired, the outbreak could be fatal. She’s lucky that you appear to have good morals since that strange flower monster didn’t look hurt. There was blood on its face, but she was certain it belonged to you. Still… She can’t say she’d blame you exactly if you decided to kill it if you would ever run into it again. Preferably Toriel wouldn’t want that, but even she understands that showing Mercy can’t solve every problem.

You being an adult human makes her nervous, she only lied to reassure you. She fought in wars and saw her people lose their lives to humans. Children might have some violent tendencies, but they are children and can be taught to be better before it's too late. The same can be said for adults, but some are irredeemable.

You don’t make Toriel nervous or scared. In fact, your aura is very welcoming and you’re so polite (Luckily, she didn’t hear you call Flowey a cuck). You’re also a little funny from that little part she heard of you taunting the flower. Toriel thinks she likes you already!

She just…

She just needs some time to get over her slight fear.

After your shower, you explored the house for a short time (not going inside Toriel’s room, though), getting a layout for how this place actually looks in person. There wasn’t much for you to really look at if you’re honest, so you met Toriel in the lounge area, smiling when you saw Toriel reading a book on the beloved chariel.

She looks up with a smile, “Hello, my child. I hope your shower was pleasant.”

“Oh, it was great. My shower back home is pretty old and the water setting is weird. This was a big improvement,” You laugh.

“Ha-ha, that is good to hear, then,” The goat mom puts a bookmark in place, and sets it aside. “Now, why don’t we sit down, and discuss a few things over a nice meal? You must be hungry after what happened.”

“Yeah, that sounds great!”

You don’t have to wait long since Toriel was cooking while you were in the shower (after cleaning your clothing). A simple, delicious lasagna made with love and magic, clearing up some fatigue in your body that you didn’t even know was there.

Toriel tells you basically everything you know already: Monsters and humans were at peace on the surface a LONG time ago until war broke out. They were sealed underground with a spell, trapping them for a long time. Toriel doesn’t know how long it’s been since then, only that it’s been at LEAST 500 years.

Monsters are made of magic and have very little physical constitution. It would take up to 100 monster souls to match the power of one human soul. Maybe that’s the Universe’s way of making up for the fact that a monster’s magical prowess is better than a human.

Toriel then hesitates, “And… before you, there had been… Seven children had fallen down here as well.”

“…Seven?”

But doesn’t Frisk make the seventh soul? Ah, wait! You’re forgetting about Chara. Actually, now that you’re thinking about it, where did Chara’s soul go?? Asriel had absorbed it, but after he dusted, did the soul disappear too?

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again,” Toriel looks down at her lap, sadness, and grief reflecting in her eyes, “They come. They leave. They die. Leaving the Ruins has always been their downfall. They… Asgore… has killed them.”

“But… that’s awful,” You frown, putting down the utensil.

You know this already, but as of right now… this isn’t just a video game anymore. Until you’re proven otherwise, this is real. This is a real world and these monsters have suffered through real tragedy and grief. You know how this story came to be, but the pain Toriel is feeling right now is real.

“Why would the monsters want to kill children? It can’t really just be because of their soul, right?” You ask her softly.

“The power of a human soul is strong. Strong enough to persist even after death.” Toriel explains, “You’ve heard of it before, yes? The enduring power of the indomitable human spirit.”

Ah, yeah. A classic in literature and a real motivator for those who take pleasure in being alive, such as yourself. In your more particularly dramatic and theatrical moments, you like thinking of similar quotes to pump yourself up.

“It rings a bell, yeah.”

“Even if the monsters were to not keep the souls to themselves, and instead give them to Asgore, that brief moment of holding such power can give a huge rush. Their magic will tenfold, their will to be stronger and better is a feeling hard to forget. And with the power of seven human souls, Asgore intends to break the barrier, free the monsters, and declare war on humanity.”

You scrunch up your nose, “Yikes. That’s uh… That’s a lot to take in…”

“Oh, I am sorry,” Toriel jerks up to sit straight, “That was a lot to load onto you so suddenly. I just–I cannot stress enough how-”

“-This place is pretty dangerous for someone like me,” You nod in understanding, “I get it. I almost got fucked up by a flower back there. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been in deeper shit. So it might be safer if I stay here for a while.”

Toriel’s cheeks, somehow, magically, get dusty with a pink blush. “Oh! You-You… You’re so casual with your…”

You wince, “Ooh, right. Yeah, I… S–It’s a habit, I’m afraid.”

You try not to apologize for being who you are anymore, especially when you swear. You’re too old for that crap, and if Toriel doesn’t like that you’re unwilling to keep clean, then… well… There’s not much either of you can do about it!!

“Ah-ha ha! There’s no need to worry,” Toriel waves her hand dismissively, “Since it’ll just be you and I for the time being, there’s no harm in… verbal freedom.”

You smile in gratitude. Toriel didn’t reject you staying here for a while either, even commenting on how it’ll just be you and her for now. You don’t know if she hopes that someone else will also fall here, but you know at least that you are welcome here.

And that’s all that matters somehow.

[the-river-person]

The Ancient Court

The day came. Monsters gathered from all over the Underground, and others came as well. The Human looked around as the courtyard filled up. Everyone they knew was here, everyone they had met. There were far more people in the Underground, hundreds and hundreds of Monsters. But these folk they knew best. When the figure appeared at the doors, dressed in the hood and cloaked, everyone was surprised. Asgore and Toriel had appeared among those waiting in the courtyard, as if they too were somehow were supplicants instead of the King and Queen. They did not look at one another, though they stood near enough, and in between them the Human waited quietly. Quietly the large figure reached to open the doors and they caught a glimpse of his claws and fur, which was dark. His arms were muscled beneath the thick fur, as if he were used to lifting a great weight. Yet he made no noise with his footsteps, nor when he pushed open the great doors. He gestured them in and one by one the crowd began to trickle into the corridors of the castle. It was very quiet. Few people were talking, and those that were kept it to a dull murmur. As they approached the place detailed in their letters, the Human saw a set of stone doors. Before this part of the wall had been covered in vines and moss, the doors must have been hidden behind them. Now somebody had cleared all of it away, leaving the entrance visible, as well as some ornate scroll of stonework carved above it with writing in some ancient Monster language. “It says ‘Heed my words Human or Monster. The Angel’s Eye shall gaze upon you and see the sins upon your shoulders, the death upon your face, and the path beneath your feet.’” Flowey had forced his way up through a broken floor tile. “I think it was supposed to rhyme in the original, but I couldn’t make that work in the translation. Huh, sounds familiar huh?” He smirked at them. Toriel had noticed Flowey as well and came over. “Did you also receive a letter?“ she asked him politely, though her expression was wary. “Yeah, I got one.” He pulled the crimson envelope from somewhere beneath the floor. “Besides, I’d come anyway. There’s no way I’m missing something as interesting as this.” Toriel’s expression was startled and Flowey gave a loud cackle. Before she could say anything another hooded and cloaked figure appeared. This one was far shorter and had a purple tail shaped rather like a capital letter J that poked out from beneath the back of his cloak. His face, which could be seen in the shadows of his hood, was the same purple grey of his tail, and strange jester like markings were made around his yellow eyes. The smile he gave them was not reassuring, but he snapped his fingers and the stone doors slowly opened by themselves, grinding loudly against the floor. The room beyond was huge. A vast space of stone walls and floor like a great amphitheater. The ceiling was lost in shadows, but was certainly very high. The floor was carved into huge steps with stone benches on each. At the bottom there was a flat area, somewhat like a stage, but home to a small pedestal for someone to stand on, and facing the rest of the room was a throne ornately carved from the stone of the wall behind it. Someone had dusted in here, possibly using magic, for it was totally clean. But they hadn’t moved any of the broken stone or replaced missing tiles. Not even broken stone benches or cracks in the walls had been repaired, and plant life grew everywhere as golden light filtered in through windows along the edge of the curved room, light from high in the cavern ceiling above New Home. The Ancient Court was colored in gold and red, and carved into the back of the throne was the Deltarune. People found places to sit. The Human spotted Papyrus, who waved excitedly at them, as well as Monster Kid. Undyne, Seamus, Napstablook, and many more were here. Bratty and Catty were, for the first time, lost for words as they clung to each other and looked around. More and more filed in, until there was no room left in the seats. Mettaton had set up a camera and had gone live to the slowly filling room, trying to get as much of it all into the recording as possible. When at last every person had entered, the two hooded figures appeared once more and closed the stone doors and stood beside them, waiting. For a long moment everything was still. Then came the noise. Tap tap tap. Someone was approaching. Yet where it was coming from nobody could tell, not from the doors they’d come through, but there was no other entrance into the room. Tap tap tap. The sound was louder, echoing through the chamber. And suddenly everyone noticed that though it was almost certain no one had been there moments before, a figure was sitting in the throne. They too had their face obscured, but their clothing was different than the cloaks the two by the door wore. This person wore robes of deep blue, somewhat like a monk of old times, both hands were tucked into the opposite sleeve, and they bent their head beneath the hood so no one could see their face. “YIP!!!” A sudden bark made everyone jump and Papyrus dove for the small white dog that had jumped from his bag while yelling “NO YOU STUPID DOG! GET BACK HERE!!!” The dog ignored him and ran straight to the figure on the throne and to everybody’s horror, jumped straight into their lap. The figure didn’t move for a few tense seconds, then they slowly pulled one skeletal hand from their sleeve and reached down to scratch the little dog behind the ears. Papyrus stared. “SANS?” he said disbelievingly. The figure lifted its head and a skeletal grin could be seen in the shadow of the hood, and Sans winked at him and put his finger to his mouth.

[starlightshore]

red souls aren’t determination souls

so we know the colors and souls traits are linked because of the ball game

but note, red doesn’t get listed as determination.

GOLD is what actually is the color for determination.

(ignore how things are orange tinted, i have flux on and its 2am) determination is listed in yellow text.

it flat out says you’re filled with determination every time you use it.

note there are no red flowers, but a very distinct golden flower instead.

and golden flowers are frequently connected with determination. flowey is one injected with dt, chara is buried under the patch of flowers, they’re here underground purely because of chara’s dying wish and desire to use their will past death. one could say it represents that will to live despite everything else, even death itself. which. again, is what determination is.  The will to keep living. The resolve to change fate.

more evidence DT is yellow:

selected text is yellow, not red

as is the SAVE point. hell, even frisk is yellow. the golden heart lockets are yellow. (though, how canon that is up to debate, as we only see it in the collector’s edition as a merchandise, not ingame. but alas.)

yellow/golden is frequently and constantly used to refer for determination. and again, there isn’t a red flower, but rather the golden flower taking it’s place.

now granted, chara does use red text in no mercy and has a red soul judging by their empty casket. but that just means chara had a red soul, not that they were a determined soul! remember, the other humans souls have determination.

“I've extracted it from the human SOULs.”

if you go back without using a true reset, toriel will comment this upon your butterscotch/cinnamon choice. that she feels deja vu with humans, as if shes met them before

RED souls can’t be determination, determination is a trait shared between different soul color humans. to further this, the red soul we control in deltarune is the one we use yes, but we don’t USE determination to save. we use the “power of” something else, like fluffy boys and mean girls. it’s distinctly not a yellow light, its distinctly not listed as the feeling of determination. now, if the red soul was determination, than shouldn’t the power/save be the same?

now, what is the trait or red souls? i speculate below because this post is already fricking so long. i don’t have a concrete answer, but at least i have something?

so again, we know chara and frisk have red souls. chara has red text in no mercy, (though, not solely red text through the whole run) other uses of red are with sans mentioning LV as Level of Violence and EXP as Execution points. (which matches how chara says they are the stats and numbers of the game, including GOLD and LV and such)

another mention is asgore, when toriel brings him up as the one who killed the other humans. (there are more uses of red text as listed on this awesome link, however, these seem to be the biggest standouts. not discounting them, but i don’t really feel the need to add the snail race end into this theory)

now that said i AIN’T saying chara is inherently evil or that red souls being linked to violence/warnings means evil either. afterall, we use a red soul in detarune too, and nothing about the player or kris (tho, kris isn’t likely to be the original owner of the soul) are inherently violent. (and honestly i’m not as well versed with dr as ut, idk if/when red text is ever shown to compare it to.) LV isn’t the ONLY thing chara says they are. 

"HP. ATK. DEF. GOLD. EXP. LV. Every time a number increases, that feeling...That's me."

so maybe less so LV and more so the game mechanics and gui??? they are the flavor text after all? that doesn’t seem right either.

so, no i don’t think red = wrath is fully accurate or necessarily bad. the game itself is about choice, defying the status quo and fate itself to get what you want. maybe the use of determination over coming your wrath/violence is the point? i mean, their wrath is what was their character flaw that got them into this in the first place. them overcoming their mistake and growing from that despite their wrath is their character arc!

and to be clear, chara’s anger is honestly valid because humanity has done inexcusable and horrible things to both them and monsterkind. i mean, no, murder wasn’t the solution obviously, but frankly they’re a kid and the mages designed the barrier with death-ultimatums. Also like, Undyne is TOTALLY framed as heroic and in the right for fighting the player in no mercy. you CAN do true pacifist and punch every monster you meet. violence isn’t inherently bad, and can be used for good. self defense is fine, fighting people who wish harm innocents is fine. ideally don’t kill or be killed.

anyway, back to the red soul thing equally danger/violence and such. the link i posted earlier mentions its also with undyne’s speech and theres the red “!” in battle to warn players of upcoming attacks. asgore is frequently used in red and his trident is also red. the color theming is clearly pointing to something here. even if its not necessarily LV, i think its within the ball park. again, it doesn’t fully match because as far as i’m aware DR doesn’t hint towards any of this and doesn’t fully explain everything. AND i think its dumb for chara and frisk’s soul trait to be violence. esp when every other trait got a virtue-like feeling to it. it doesn’t hold up.

perhaps... red could mean heroism?

granted, more of a stretch here, but heros are talked about A LOT in undertale. not so much in words, but thematically. papyrus is based off an obscure super hero, undyne has Battle Against a True Hero in her no mercy battle, mtt uses heroism in his dramas/acting. ect.

now, this one feels too vague and nonsuported but it feels REALLY meta and on point at the same time. i mean. the red soul being the hero, the protagonist? oh my god. thats frickin amazing. on-top of that, heros are brought up ALL the time with deltarune. the heroes of light, ralsei insisting they need to be heroic, augh. it fits!

and heroes are so known for their violence too! heroic violence, sure, but its such a more positive note of it when you think of heroes . and chara’s wrath is in part for a heroic reason! perhaps wrath is the sin of the heroic virtue!

i’m really curious to what other people think!

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Foreign Languages (standalone)

Summary: Rus always thought he was a pretty likable guy. Everyone in Underswap always thought so. So why was it Edge hated him so much?

Tags: Spicyhoney, Enemies to Lovers,Getting Together, Misunderstandings

Read it on AO3

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Read it here!

~~*~~

Rus took the wet dish from his brother’s hand and dried it carefully, making sure to get any damp places that would leave spots when they dried. On the counter in front of him were stacks of already dried plates sitting next to the glasses and Rus added the current one to join its brethren. Because despite what some people might think, and say, loudly and frequently, Rus could and did actually help out with the housework.

Okay, it was possible he played up the laziness whenever some people were here, come on, it was funny. That was the joke! And sure, he got some chuckles out of it, but in the end, the fact remained. He helped, thanks, he did have jobs, he put money towards the bills, and he wasn’t some lazy, good-for-nothing jackass sponging off his brother’s goodwill, he wasn’t—

“You can quit brooding about it now,” Blue told him. Rus looked down at him. The sink was at his bro’s level and unless Rus wanted to sit on the floor while he washed, they usually went with Rus at the drying end of the line. Blue rinsed another plate and handed it up. “They’re gone and they won’t be back for another week.”

“they may be physically gone, but i swear, their presence lingers like a rancid fart in an elevator,” Rus grumbled. He rubbed away the droplets of water with more energy than was probably necessary, but it was probably better the plates took the bulk of his irritation than where he really wanted to shove it. “the Fell brothers seemed to bring their version of trouble with them wherever they go.”

“What I don’t understand is why you let him get to you,” Blue sighed. He scrubbed at the casserole dish, attacking the dried-on bits and ugh, gross, there was another reason to be grateful he was tall. “I’m aware you two simply don’t get along, but you’re usually so much better than that! How can you ignore every other Monster in the Underground, all with a smile on your face, except him?”

Rus sighed, sagging against the counter. “bro, i dunno. he’s worse than the mating call of piece of styrofoam.”

That was a kind way of putting it as far as Rus was concerned. His undersized clone from murderworld was flat-out fucking obnoxious. Rus could handle insults, hell, when he was doing standup, Rus could handle any heckler from the stage with the finest level of panache. But somehow, that guy managed to find his very last nerve and pounced on it with the kind of accuracy that Robin Hood would envy.

Ignoring that shit was seriously above and beyond the call of duty. The only other option would be going out whenever they were over, but fuck that. This was his house, thanks, and Rus wasn’t getting chased out of it by some overblown copy of himself that needed heels to look him in the eye sockets.

Blue rinsed off a handful of silverware and handed it over. “Things are different in Underfell you know that.”

The forks jangled as Rus tossed them roughly on the counter, “so what, that gives him blanket permission to be an asshole?”

“No,” Blue pulled the plug and wiped his hands on his apron, “but it also doesn’t mean you have to rise to the bait every time.”

“why are you only bitching at me and not him?” Rus whined. Honestly, it was so unfair. Just because he was taller didn’t mean he always had to be the bigger skeleton. He tossed the rest of the mostly dried silverware in with the forks and flopped down to the floor, wrapping his arms around his bro from behind and hauling him in for a hug. Blue snuggled in obediently, but that wasn’t enough to save Rus from the scolding.

“Because he isn't my brother,” Blue said firmly. “You are. And if you're waiting on Red to reel him in, I'd suggest not holding your breath.” That was the fucking truth, Red never joined in on the fun, but he tended to sit back and watch the show with a smirk on his face. That was the Underfell brothers, wasn’t it, the asshole and the whole ass, and they shared the titles between them. “Now, promise me that you won't let him get to you this weekend.”

Rus grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?”

"I promise," he sighed. He really did hate letting his bro down. He let Blue go and sank back on his heels while he tried very hard not to sulk, because that only made his bro unhappy and didn’t solve a thing.

This wasn’t the first time Blue begged him to tone it down for a while, but fuck, it was like that asshole was deliberately needling him, seriously, he was begging for an insult. The real problem wasn’t that he couldn’t control himself, but the simple fact that Edge wasn’t gonna make it easy for him.

This past movie night was a case in point. Nothing but jibes, back and forth, from the second Edge walked through the door ‘till the moment he set those high heels of his back into the snow.

“Tell me, how many piles of filthy clothing did you need to wade through before you found that sweatshirt?”

“only two, edgelord, wanted to make a good impression. and how many emos did you have to kill to put together that outfit, good on you for getting all the dust out.”

“My apologies, I suppose having clothing that wasn’t scrounged from a vomit-inducing dumpster is offending your sensibilities. I’ll be sure to wade through some filth before our next visit.”

“shouldn’t be too hard in underfell, all you have to do is take a stroll outside.”

“Do you think so, I wasn’t sure you knew what a stroll was, considering that the couch cushions are sunken in your shape.”

And that was just what Rus remembered from the top of his head. If he could give Edge grudging credit for anything, it was that he was quick with a comeback. Too quick, and constant to boot. By the end of the night, Rus was seething and Blue was exhausted from playing monkey in the middle, trying feebly to keep the peace.

If Edge had ever pointed any of that shit on Blue’s direction, this wouldn’t even be an issue. Rus would’ve shoved their pointy asses back into the portal so fast, the void would be spinning. Whatever problem Edge had with him, though, it didn’t extend to Blue. They were chummy as hell, thick as thieves, whatever other fucking metaphor the undernet could spit out.

Seriously, though, if he’d been even the tiniest bit as rude to his bro, this whole movie night thing would’ve been dumpstered a long time ago.

Only he wasn’t. And he wasn’t to Papyrus either, or Sans, or any other fucking person he’d seen Edge interact with. Doc Jekyll was perfectly kind and polite to anyone else and only pulled a Monsieur Hyde whenever Rus was close by.

Seemed like Edge saved all his vitriol for him. Lucky lucky him.

Well, this movie night was gonna be different. This time Rus wasn’t letting that asshole get to him and that was final.

~~*~~

If Rus knew that ignoring Edge was going to be this amazing, he would have tried it months ago.

It started from the first moment they walked in the house, like it always did. Edge barely kicked off his boots when he called out, “Have you been wearing that same shirt all week, Swapshit? Are you experimenting on whether it’s actually possible to wear something to rags?”

“Guess so,” Rus said absently. He didn’t elaborate on it, didn’t ask whether Edge shook all the dust out of his ensemble before coming. He only stayed where he was, slumped on the sofa while Blue began the entire convoluted ritual of bringing out popcorn and drinks, chattering about what movies they were planning on watching today and what was for dinner.

Usually Edge would step in and help, but Rus’s lack of reply seemed to have thrown him for a loop. He wavered for a moment then rallied with, “Perhaps you let your brother wash it this week after all, since I doubt you’ve laid a hand on a washing machine in months.”

Rus only shrugged vaguely, and the look that flitted across Edge’s face, a weirdly twisted configuration of confusion, was some sweet shit.

He tried a couple more, adding to the clothes and lazy insults with a coupla digs about his intellect for seasoning and this time Rus didn’t even bother with the shrug. He was a tree in the wind, bending beneath the gales, and laughing it the fuck up on the inside. Now this was entertainment.

Sans seemed to have caught on to the deal and he only settled next to a scowling Red on one of the sofas, watching as Edge stood alone in the middle of their living room, fumbling for another insult for Rus to ignore.

Blue and Papyrus were always tall and smol balls of trying to get along, and when Blue gave him a look, Rus only looked back innocently. Hey, he was following his promise to the letter, not letting Edge get to him. If Edge was gonna get worked up into a froth about it, hey, wasn’t his fault.

Blue still looked like he wanted to give him a kick in the shin, but didn’t seem like he came up with a good excuse for it. He settled for accidentally/deliberately treading on Rus’s foot even as he said, brightly, “Here we go, popcorn and drinks!”

“thanks, bro,” Rus took his bowl and immediately started crunching the salty, buttery goodness.

That seemed to be the ammo Edge was looking for and he latched on quickly, snapping out, “Always have to be first in line, don’t you. Consider leaving some for the rest of us.”

Rus had to resist the urge to scoff, that wasn’t even a good one, boo, all the judges give ones, even the Russians.

“Here you are, Edge, popcorn,” Blue said with almost desperate cheer, thrusting a bowl at him.

That seemed to be enough to call for an intermission. Edge took his bowl of popcorn without so much as a thank you and went to sit between Sans and Red. The movie was an old one they’d all seen before and Rus snuck a couple discreet glances Edge’s way. He was glowering at the screen as if that laser gaze of his might kill all the actors and spare them this nonsense. Every once in a while, Edge sullenly ate a single kernel of popcorn and holy shit, this was the funniest thing Rus had ever seen, and if he laughed out loud now, he’d never get to see the end of the show.

He managed to jerk his eye lights back to the tv and kept the glances to a minimum, the better to savor it, hell, yes. Sipped on the Edgelord’s annoyance like the fine vinegary wine that it was.

Halfway through the movie, Blue paused it and picked up the half-full popcorn bowl, holding it up to ask cheerily, “Does anyone need a drink or refill?”

“I’ll take a glass,” Edge announced. Instead of waiting for Blue to bring it, he stalked over, arms crossed over his chest as he stood waiting, glowered at absolutely nothing.

That got some looks. Edge never drank soda, he always stuck with water. Hell, he’d sneered about the soda before, what was that one, something about Rus drinking so much soda that if he dared eat a Mento, he’d probably explode.

“Oh, uh, of course!” Blue recovered admirably. He poured out a cup and handed it up to Edge. Who took it with possibly the fakest looking fumble Rus ever saw, but there wasn’t time to even wonder what the fuck because the soda was less in the glass and more dumped directly on his head.

Stunned, Rus looked up at Edge through the sticky liquid dripping into his sockets.

“Oops,” he said, blandly. His eye lights were bright, a smirk curving up the side of his mouth. “My mistake.”

“you—” Rus bit off what he was going to say hard enough that his teeth clicked together painfully. He’d fucking promised, and he was keeping his promise, no cheap pleather knockoff clone was going to stop him. He stood up, slowly, and for one long moment he faced Edge. Without his boots on, Edge was inches shorter than him, staring up defiantly, daring Rus to say something, anything. Then Rus turned away and stalked towards the kitchen.

“Papy,” Blue called anxiously as he went through the door. Rus ignored it and went right to the drawer with the towels, wiping off as much of the sticky wetness as he could, ugh.

The door swung open behind him and Rus turned enough to catch a glimpse of black and crimson, too tall to be Red.

Rus wasn’t the fighter that Edge was, but he did have two things in his side. First, the element of surprise and second, he was pretty sure Edge wouldn’t actually hurt him. Blue probably wouldn’t be very happy about having to shake Rus out of the rugs.

That anger he’d kept banked all night under his sense of humor surged and Rus reached out and took hold of Edge’s soul with his magic, turned it blue with a cheery ting and shoving him back against the cupboards. Edge didn’t even struggle or try to fight back and somehow that was even more irritating, what the fuck was wrong with this guy?

Seemed like there was only one person to ask. Rus stalked over to Edge and stood in front of him, his soda-soaked sweatshirt clinging uncomfortably as he snarled out, “what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Edge had no right to look as furious as he did. “Me?” he spat, “What the fuck are you trying to pull?”

“i’m trying to end all this bullshit!” Rus snapped. His anger wasn’t sustainable, hell, Rus never liked being angry, and it drained away, leaving behind exhaustion. No one else ever got treated to the weekly roast, why the hell was Edge so damned focused on him. He didn’t know and couldn’t even care, let his magic recede so that Edge came down in a controlled slide, his feet back on the floor.

Only, Rus didn’t expect the way Edge’s expression changed along with it, from cold fury to…to…it almost looked like yearning, what the fuck--

“Finally,” Edge breathed, and Rus only stared dumbly as Edge stepped in close and kissed him.

Rus’d been kissed plenty of times before by other, fleshier Monsters and wasn’t that always a learning curve. Somehow this was even worse, mostly because he was cycling through various levels of shock, hands flailing as if he were trying to fly away from this whole awful night.

A skeletal mouth was something different, hard, sharp teeth pressed almost painfully to his own. Rus was pretty sure he only opened his mouth to ask Edge what the fuck he was doing, but the moment his teeth parted, he had an extra tongue inside, long and clever, curling around his own, and for one brief, baffling moment Rus found himself leaning into it. The mouth against his own knew what it was doing, tongue dipping inside, teeth nibbling teasingly, riding the tantalizing line of pain and pleasure.

It was the slightest prickle of those sharp teeth that reminded him of who exactly he was kissing, and Rus jerked away, stumbling back and covering his mouth with a humiliatingly shaky hand. “what the…why would you…what the fuck?!”

Looking to Edge for answers only got Rus more questions. He looked bewildered more than anything, maybe even a little hurt. He reached out, his hands settling on Rus’s shoulders. “But, you said—"

“let go!” Rus tried to lurch away from those grasping hands.

Edge did immediately and Rus scrambled away from him, not looking back as he fled out the kitchen door. The others were still on the sofas, but Red was sitting next to Blue now, of course he fucking was, probably kept his bro out here to let Edge chase after him for whatever the fuck that was.

His shoes were laying jumbled together by the front door and Rus stuffed his feet into them, ignoring the way his boney feet protested the rough treatment.

“Where are you going?” Blue called, distressed.

“someplace to get my dick sucked,” Rus snarled, ignoring the way his bro sputtered at his crudeness. He slammed the door shut behind him hard enough to shake clumps of snow loose from the gutters, the Gyftmas lights swaying as Rus started off towards Muffet’s, already reaching for a cigarette.

~~*~~

Hours later, Rus was still sitting at the bar, alone. Aside from a scattering of greetings when he’d come inside, everyone took one good look at him and let him be. The place was mostly empty by now, only a few regulars clinging on, most of them sitting alone, too, or may as well be, cause this wasn’t the hour for laughter and chatting. This was the time for drinking, and everyone here was getting to the task, tout suite.

Muffet was behind the bar, endlessly wiping the glasses. Aside from refilling his glass, she’d left him alone and that suited Rus’s mood just fine. He was engaging in a particularly useful coping mechanism known as ‘trying not to think about it’ and after three honey whiskeys, he was doing a pretty good job.

Behind him, Rus heard the door open, didn’t think much of it. Until the footsteps headed his way and the stool next to him got a new occupant. Red didn’t look at him, only gestured to Muffet and soon he had a drink of his own, something vile and sour, Rus would sure, to match his shitty personality.

Red looked down at his drink, tipping the glass this way and that in his hands. “i dunno what the fuck you’re trying to pull,” Red said, coolly, “but flaunting it when you’re fucking other people is over the line.”

“who i fuck is none of your business.” Rus drained his glass and held it out silently for Muffet to refill. He hadn’t actually intended to find someone to spend the night with, but the idea was getting more tempting by the second with someone trying to stuff up his ass what he should or shouldn’t do.

The entire bar winced as sharp fingertips scraped across glass, dark liquid slopping out over Red’s hand as his grip tightened. Red finally looked at him and his eye lights were burning like coals in his sockets. “it is when you’ve been leading my brother on for months!”

Rus choked on the mouthful of whiskey he’d taken, coughing it back out. “whoa, back that shit up, what?”

The heat of that glare didn’t drop a single digit, Red glowering as he snarled, “i’ve been keeping back. if you two want to play the long game, it’s no skin off my bones, but you’re playing a little too rough!”

Okay, maybe he’d had enough to drink for now. Rus set the glass carefully on the bar top and glanced at Muffet. Who was only polishing a glass and giving a great impression of someone who wasn’t hanging on to their every word. A quick glance around the rest of the bar got him a lot of matching nonchalant expressions and wasn’t that wonderful. Rus always loved being the best gossip on any given night. “red, i have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”

That fiery anger dimmed, morphing into the same bewilderment he’d seen in Edge. “but…come on, you’ve been insulting him for months.”

“So?” Rus said, defensively. “he’s been insulting me!”

“yeah, exactly!” When Rus only stared at him in confusion, Red looked even more agitated, shoving his drink away. “you’ve been getting in each other’s faces, arguing and…” He slowed and trailed off, leaning to peer disturbingly close into Rus’s face, his sockets narrowed. “you really got no idea what i’m talking about, do you.”

“no fucking clue,” His whiskey-clouded thoughts were slow to catch up, but when they did, it was like a slap across the face, sharp and stunning. “you think I’ve been flirting with him??”

Red threw up his hands, “yeah!”

Rus could only shake his head, torn between being amused and appalled. Amusement was currently in the lead, of course Underfell would do things with a weird, assholish tilt. “red, we don’t flirt like that here. ask anyone.”

Red turned to look around the bar where everyone immediately found something better to look at. But every one of them was sitting peacefully, sipping a drink and munching on pretzels.

It made Rus remember the time Red dragged him to Grillby’s in Underfell, where a fight seemed to start every two minutes, attacks constantly flying and Rus was so nervous, he barely finished a single drink. Red seemed unperturbed the whole time, slugging the shots back, business as usual for him. The next time he invited Rus out, Rus decided he had about a hundred other ways he’d rather die than sipping cheap booze in the murder café.

Red was starting to get the picture, too, in high-definition. He looked honestly upset which was probably the most real emotion he’d ever seen in Red, his sharp phalanges clattering against his skull as he scraped a hand over it, muttering out, “ah, fuck.”

“that pretty much sums it up,” Rus agreed. He took another swig of his drink, may as well not waste it, chuckling to himself, “fuck. you both thought i was flirting…and he was flirting…back.”

Oh.

That…was actually not funny. At all. If Edge thought he was flirting by insulting him and he’d been giving it right back hard, going all out until Rus had been in a goddamn rage and—

It turned everything he knew about Edge on its head, meant he hadn’t been an asshole, the exact opposite, actually, he…he’d been…

Yeah. Fuck seemed like a pretty good summation.

Processing all that through his whisky-soaked head wasn’t going so well. Rus sank down, resting his head on his folded arms and staring blurrily at the bottles lining the shelves behind the bar.

Next to him, Red shifted uncomfortably, slowly turning the glass in his hands. “look, i’ll talk to my bro about this,” Red said haltingly.

Rus nodded distractedly. “yeah, okay. that…that’d be good.” Suddenly the bar seemed too hot, claustrophobically so. “i need to go.” He dug a G out of his pocket and left in on the counter, ignoring the way the other patrons gasped in shock. To hell with them, he wasn’t about to let Red start using his tab.

He stumbled out the door, the cold stinging against his hot cheek bones. Wandered in the direction of their house and kept going, until snow faded to slush and dripping water. He was in Waterfall in the middle of the night, echo flowers everywhere ready to repeat his woes to the next person passing through.

Yeah, how about no.

Rus sidestepped into a shortcut and his head might not be on straight, but he could find that secret bench blindfolded and backwards. One of the quietest places Underground, only the soothing rush of water around him. Nice and quiet, too quiet, nothing to distract him from the tangle of his thoughts and Rus flopped down on the bench while his mind started picking at it.

Edge had given back every insult Rus had ever given him, in spades. Which run through an Underfell filter made it sound like Edge had been an adoring suitor, gah, Rus wasn’t even sure there was a name for what knowing that made him feel. A wild blender-drink of emotion turned into a smoothie of confusion.

But that was almost business as usual. He’d always been confused and maybe a little hurt by Edge’s attitude. Why was he so friendly with his brother and so cold to him? Sometimes after movie nights he’d be lying awake in bed, wondering what the fuck he’d done to make Edge hate him so much.

Only to find out now that Edge didn’t hate him. At all. Maybe even the opposite of that.

All that whiskey was settling into his magic sourly and Rus rolled to lay on his side, breathing through a wave of nausea. His thoughts seemed trapped in a circular haze, repeating over and over, worse than the most persistent echo flower, and finally, he fell asleep staring at the lapping water.

When he woke, the amount of artificial light trying to pry its way into his closed sockets told him it was morning. Rus groaned and slung an arm over his sockets, but before he could drift back off came a prickling sense of awareness.

Someone was close by.

Cautiously, Rus lifted his arm and squinted out into the day to see Edge standing in front of him. At least he thought it was Edge, Rus wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Edge in jeans and a plain t-shirt, and his boots were simple with a low heel. None of the elaborate wardrobe he usually showed up in. With a sickening jolt, Rus realized that every time Edge came over, he’d been dressing up to see him. How did that make his typical hoodie and track pants seem, was the insult of not dressing up part of the flirting? Who the fuck knew.

The clothes weren’t the only thing different about him. Gone was the arrogant Captain who marched into their house on movie nights. This skeleton’s hands were tucked into his pockets, his expression bleak, like there was a deciding battle lost and now he was trying to deal with the aftermath.

“hnng,” Rus managed, groaning as he sat up. He cleared his throat, trying to work a little moisture into his mouth as he mumbled, “um. hey.”

Edge looked past Rus at the stony wall behind him with determined focus and said stiffly, “I’ve been made aware that there has been a misunderstanding.”

“yeah, a little.” Only a fucking lot.

He nodded tiredly, “My apologies. I won’t trouble you any longer.” Edge started to turn away and that was abruptly the last thing Rus wanted.

“wait!” Rus blurted. He reached out weakly and wasn’t even sure why, but somehow seeing Edge, arrogant, asshole Edge, looking so downcast, so damned broken, it…it hurt, worse than the hangover throbbing in his skull.

He remembered Edge coming over a few weeks ago to work on cooking with his bro. So patient and understanding with Blue, who could be a little overzealous at times, okay, maybe even a lot and Edge was never anything but kind to him, as kind as he’d been vicious with Rus and if he could swap that around, change it, flip it on its head and why not, they were in Underswap.

Edge hesitated, some unnamed emotion flickering across his face, and Rus added, coaxingly, “please? sit down, okay? can we talk while we’re both on the same page?”

He looked like he was considering making a break for Underfell, even glanced in the direction of the path. But finally, he sighed heavily and sat on the opposite side of the bench, spine held so rigidly he looked like he might shatter with a single touch.

They sat there with the sound of falling water around them, Rus struggling with what to say, fuck, he didn’t even know how he felt. His head ached and Edge looked so damned sad, and he’d seen those smiles of his before, usually directed at Blue or Papyrus, but still, he knew they were in there somewhere.

Maybe…maybe Rus could find one?

“look,” Rus ran a hand over his skull, fingers clattering against the smooth bone. “um, we’ve been flirting your way for months. maybe we can try my way for a change.”

Edge jerked, his head turning Rus’s way and his sockets wide. Guess that wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. Haltingly, he said, “I’m not sure how but…I am willing to try.”

He sounded so damned hopeful. Rus’s soul twisted in his ribcage. He took a deep breath and reached over to take Edge’s hand in his, twining their fingers together. Edge’s phalanges were soothingly warm, slim and scarred.

“let’s start with this,” Rus said softly. The fingers around his own tightened cautiously, a thumb tracing down into Rus’s palm, making him shiver.

“This is nice,” Edge admitted. And there, there it was. He smiled, little more than a faint curve upward at the corners of his mouth that sent an unexpected flutter through Rus’s soul.

“yeah, it is,” Rus hesitated. Welp, in for a G, in for a bundle, “can i…?”

“Yes,” Edge said immediately. Probably didn’t even know what he was agreeing to and Rus smiled a little himself, helplessly.

They’d already had a first kiss, couldn’t get that back. Rus was hoping a second would be just as memorable, for a different reason.

He leaned in, carefully brushing his mouth over Edge’s. The teeth beneath his own parted in invitation and Rus took it, tongues gliding lightly together as Edge moaned shakily, his free hand coming up to clutch at the back of Rus’s neck, and yeah, okay. He could work with this.

One kiss became two, three, each one a little more desperate than the last and holy shit, he’d been cockteasing for months and hadn’t even known it. Or maybe some part of him had known, and Rus hated it for not cluing him in sooner because he wanted more of this, wanted to sink into Edge’s kisses, lose himself in this desperate eagerness, the urgent little noises that Edge was starting to utter.

Only, that would probably be a bad idea right out of the gate and Rus regretfully pulled away, shelved the temptation.

And almost snatched it right back up because Edge was unfairly enticing, teeth parted as he panted and a bright flush of crimson tinting his cheek bones.

Rus licked his teeth, watched as Edge’s eye lights followed that little movement. “i think, um. maybe we could go on a date. together.”

“If you can drag your lazy ass out of bed.” Slipped out, and Rus saw Edge wince, fumbling for a way to take it back. But hey, this was a language Rus thought he could learn. Maybe if they kept this up, they could both learn a thing or three.

“i can get moving when i’m properly motivated,” Rus smirked. “real question is can you get the stick out of your ass long enough to enjoy it.” Edge’s eye lights flared, nearly filling his sockets and by the Unnamed Angel, Rus must’ve been blind not to see that for what it was. Excitement, delight, eagerness, and shit, good or bad, this was going to be something, wasn’t it.

‘Enjoy it,’ Came from the solo echo flower sitting nearby, its ghostly voice encouraging.

Yeah, okay, Rus decided, cupping Edge’s face in his hands as he leaned in for another kiss. That seemed like a good enough place to start.

-fin-

[mika3451]

Macaroons and Babybones

Summary:

When monsters were freed from the underground there was a large backlash of magic that had been stored up for thousands of years, turning mages to monsters. These Changelings now live side by side with monster yet they are different.

Notes:

This idea has been bugging me ever since I saw Papyrus Enthusiast's comic on tumblr. Let me know what you think, I'm not really sure on the plot so any idea's would be great! Thanks for reading!!

Chapter one: Meeting

Annoyance that is the only thing that fills my soul at this point in time. That feeling that makes you regret climbing out of your cozy bed all because you woke up on a saturday with a craving for some Macarons. Oh but these aren't just any Macarons, these are made by that little spider monster that was freed with all the other undergrounders from Mount Ebott. And Damn if Echo flower Macarons and a cup of black tea wasn’t my souls weakness. Plus Muffet was one of the cutest damn things to walk this side of the city. It also helped that she had a one of us changelings working for her. ‘Changeling, I think snorting at the ridiculous name, what a way for humans to call us mages that suffered from the release of all that pent up magic when the undergrounders were set free. All mages were turned into monsters or gained some kind of monster aspect. Hell even that kid Frisk was changed. The kid now sports horns and looks more like their adopted mother and father. Yet out of all the Mages I knew none of their changes were as extreme as mine.’

Shaking those thoughts free I force my way through crowds of people, ignoring their loud voices, both human, and monster alike, as they swarm around me going on their merry way. The dark gray hood of my Sherpa Cloak covers my head keeping my face concealed. Scanning the room I find the giant plastic map, hurrying over to it I find the golden star that says ‘you are here’. A happy smile pulls at the corners of my mouth, looking over the list of shops I find Muffet’s.

“Aha!” I smile as my eyes find that the shop is not to far from where I stand, making a plan of action I turn only for a small body to run into my legs. A crimson red stocking hat tilts back away from my legs to reveal a small skeleton face. Their little Skull is round and chubby with holes where a humans cheeks would be, straight white teeth and large ovale sockets look up at me. A lime green and emerald striped shirt covers the baby bones small, so very small shoulders. I feel my eyes glow and widen, illuminating my face to the small child before the glow vanishes. The babybones looks away from my face over their shoulder, their fear covers their body in a way I am all too familiar with. The sound of hustling footsteps and cursing reach me through the sounds of the crowd.

The little one lets go of my pants, their body shifts in a way, signaling that they are going to run off. In an instant my black leather gloved covered hands land on their shoulders causing them to look up in confusion as two large humans come to a stop in front of me. The shadow formed by the hood of my cloak keeps my face hidden as my eyes run over the humans, disgusting creatures. They look like the stereotypical thugs in their torn jeans and dark shirts that cling to their bodies, old and beaten boats cover their feet. Both of them stand at around 5’10” to 6’ around my height of 5’8”. The one with the ugliest mug that Only a mother could love with a bald head and beady eyes glares at me then looks down to the babybones with a look that has my Soul rolling in an uncomfortable way.

‘Fucker one.’ I think glancing away from him to look at his friend. He looks close to the same only difference is if he didn't have a face so full of hate you could call him “attractive” by human standards with blonde hair and green eyes.

‘Dipshit’

“Hand over the brat!” Fucker one says in a voice that irritates my senses. Moving slightly forward I put the little one behind me as I keep one hand on their shoulder while the other rests at my hip ready to defend myself and the kid if need be.

“Yeah, Not Going to Happen.” I say as the little one grabs my pant leg, their sockets black as night look up at my shadowed face before looking back at the two thugs. A protectiveness that I haven't felt in so very, very long fills my entire being awakening parts of myself that I didn’t know fell asleep.

“You got some Major balls picking on a kid, let alone a monster one!” I chuckle out only for the ugly ones face to turn an interesting shade of red as he takes a step forward trying to be threatening.

“Listen girly, I can tell your not from around here-” Fucker one starts making my body tense up, ready for a fight.

“No shit, Sherlock.” I growl back unable to keep my teeth shut, only for Fucker one to grow redder. Dipshit reaches out and stops Fucker from taking another step forward, a smart move on his part.

“And in this city little freaks” Dipshit cuts in nodding his head in the kids direction, anger fills my chest as I feel their little body flench under my hand. Moving my hip and body just right I shield them from these disgusting creatures eyes. The humans look up from my waist to my shadowed face ignoring the signs of danger.

“Need to learn to stay out of our neighborhood and go back to that hole they crawled out of!” Fucker finishes for dipshit. Their rank breath fans across my face filling my sensitive nasal cavity as they take another step closer to me.

“Now I’ll just take-” Fucker starts to say reaching out to the babybones only for my free hand to lock around their wrist in a crushing grip that has him gasping in pain.

“Now see here is what I don’t understand.” I growl causing both humans to look up at my shadowed face.

“You obviously don’t know who you are fucking with.” I start holding fast as the man tries to pull his arm free of my hold.

“Because if you did you would have Fucked off the moment you had my attention. But I guess stupidity is to be expected from a couple of shitheads like yourselves.” Tugging on the man's arm fast and hard he crashes into my rib cage knocking my hood off of my skull exposing my scared face to the world. The two men flench back once they get a look at my face. My teeth are mostly flat except for my canines which are sharp enough to rind flesh from bone. My sockets are perfectly round almost cartoonish with wide white lights that float like lanterns in their black depths. My skull is a nice round shape with a large scar that runs from the left corner of my mouth to my jaw. I have four scars that run from the back of my skull down to the top of my right eye socket, with another one that runs across my nasal bone. All in all I looked like I’d seen some major shit, and survived.

“After all attacking a monster in such a crowded place, with all these people. You are REALLY special aren't cha.”

“Your a monster!!” The other human yells as I let go of his friend and push him away with one hand. Stumbling over his own feet, his ass falls with a heavy thud against the cold, hard, tile floor of the mall drawing the eyes and cell phone cameras of all the people around us.

“Oh sweetheart,” I say in a sickening sweet voice that has me cringing.

“You have no idea.” I laugh out only for fucker one to stand up and take a swing at me. Reacting faster than I have in years I give the kid a gentle push back before spinning around and smaking his right hand away with my open palm on my left. Spinning in a small half circle I get my right foot in behind his, with a sharp tug I knock his feet out from under him sending him onto the floor. Looking up my eye lights meet Dipshits own angry ones. With a yell he rushes me with his fist pulled back. Reaching out I grab his arm and pull, twisting my hips and sticking my thigh into his center of gravity, lifting my leg and pulling the man forward his chest twists over my back before his back lands on the floor next to his friend. Both with the air knocked out of their lungs.

“Next time you pick on a child, you better plan on someone betting your ass.” I growl as my eyes glow a deep violet. Standing up I walk over to the small child as security and other shoppers all surround the two thugs and yell at them for attacking a child. The child’s sockets are full of wide white lights that glow in their excitement.

“That was so cool!” They whisper in awe, a soft chuckle pushes out of my chest while my cheek bones light up in a soft glow of violet. Crouching down to their height in front of them a genuine smile pulls at my teeth.

“You think so huh?” I chuckle, reaching out I ruffle their crimson stocking cap. My eye lights brighten as they reach up and knock my hand away straightening their hat, a cute pouting face makes my non existent heart melt.

“Well, what do you say about finding your family?” I ask tilting my skull to the left keeping my smile in place only for their pout to fall as a sad look over takes their face.

“I’m with my nanny right now.” They whisper out looking away.

“And she didn’t notice you take off or the thugs chasing you?” I ask feeling something dark start to crawl through my chest. Shaking their head no they wipe at their eye sockets.

“Those guys had someone distract my nanny.” They whisper looking away from me, feeling my sockets narrow I reach out and pick them up by their waist. Placing them on my shoulder, I keep on hand around their Tibia and fibula to make sure they don’t fall. Looking up at their face I watch as a cute green blush covers their little cheek bones.

“Well sugar what do you say about finding your Nanny then we get some sweets huh?” I ask watching them decide before nodding in agreement. Pushing through the crowd that gathered I start to head in the direction the kid came running from. Feeling them shift their weight on my shoulder I look up at them to see that their smile pulled down in confusion.

“I noticed you ran from this direction so i figured that your Nanny was “lost” in this direction.” I answer their unspoken question.

“I’m gonna guess that they are human.” I state only for them to nod again.

“Can you tell me what they are wearing? It will make it easier for me to find them.” I state scanning the crowd looking anyone who looks like they misplaced a child.

“She is wearing a white button up shirt and a knee length yellow skirt.” The kid mumbles out.

“You don’t like them much do you?” I ask looking for this human while keeping a close eye on the little one.

“It’s not that I don’t like her, I just hate how she looks at my PaPa.” They mutter crossing their arms.

“That's normal sugar. No kid wants to share their parent.” I say looking up at them with a warm smile and a chuckle.

“Go ahead and ask sugar. I know you have a lot of questions.”

“What's your name?” They ask first, their Papa must have taught them some manners.

“Calibri, what’s yours?”

“Charakterny.” They say with pride.

“That's a cute name.  Espilly for such a cute babybones.” I chuckle

“I’m not a babybone!” They growl out crossing their arms in a pout, a full belly laugh bubbles out for my mouth as I reach up with a free hand to wipe away a tear.

“Sure you are sugar. At least to me, I’m around 35 years old by now.” I feel them shift on my shoulder as they look down at me.

“You don’t look that old. I bet my PaPa, uncle Sans, or the others are older than you.” They say causing me to smile.

“Doubt that. Is that your nanny over there?” I ask pointing to a young female human who is talking to a security guard frantically.

“Yeah that's her.” Charakterny says holding tightly to my cloaks shoulder.

“Well let's go calm her down before she has a heart attack or scares your PaPa.” I say in an easy voice walking closer catching the tail end of the conversation.

“Ma’am, I will try to help you find this monster kid but you have to understand-” The man says trying to calm the woman down, his hands rest on her arms only for her to smack them away.

“I’ll lose my job if we don’t find her!” The lady shreeks causing Charakterny to flench on my shoulder. Looking up at the kid I look back over to the two.

“Well let's get this over with.” walking over to the two I clear my non existent throat causing the two humans to look over my way.

“CHARA!” The woman shouts running over to us she reaches up to take the child off my shoulder only for my hand to wrap around her wrist. Her honey brown eyes look over to my dark sockets. I watch as her face darkens from joyful to something that reminds me of times I’d like to forget.

“And who is this? Why are you keeping me from taking my charge.” She huffs in anger.

“Didn’t look like you where watching your charge very well to me, Friend .” I growl out feeling Charakterny shift on my shoulder.

“Sounds like you were more worried about your job then the kid to me. Plus I promised to buy them some sweets at Muffets.” I shrug bouncing the kid around on my shoulder causing them to giggle.

“Well you can’t! We don’t even know you. Besides Chara is my-” They start only for me to cut her off by looking up at the kid.

“We know each other don’t we Charakterny?” They node their little skull up and down with a wide smile, looking back at the woman I see her eye twitch in irritation only for her to try to jerk her arm out of my hold.

“Let go of me and Put her down now!” She all but screams, releasing her wrist like it burn me I look up at Chara.

“Do you want down, Charakterny? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t mind.” I watch closely to every little twitch of their body, the fading of their eyelights gives me my answer. Sighing heavily I reach up and grab them around the waist before sitting them on their feet on the tile floor. Huffing the Nanny steps forward and grabs the kids hand roughly.

“Lets go Chara.” They say pulling them away from me.

“But I wanted to get some sweets with Calibri.” Charakterny says pulling on the Nannies hand with a cute pout on their face. Seeing the exasperated look on the Nannies face I decide to be the bigger person and take pity on her. Walking forward I squatted down in front of Charakterny, tapping them on the shoulder I wait as they turn their skull to face me.

“Listen Charakterny, you need to Listen to your Nanny. She’s had a very rough day with you disappearing and a strange monster that looks like they just came from a bar fight showing back up with you in tow.” I say watching as their smile falls.

“Tell you what how about I give you my number and next time you, your Nanny and I can get some sweets and drinks. Does that sound good to you?” I ask watching as they nod their skull.

“Can we get sweets with my PaPa?” They ask with such a cute face I can’t help the light blush of color to my cheek bones or the loud laugh that bursts past my teeth. Reaching out I rest my hand on top of their hat.

“Of course sweetheart.” My eyelights soften pulling my hand back I Pull out a piece of paper and a pin out of thin air and write my name and number on it. Handing it over I don’t miss how they cradle it in their little hand before tucking it away in their own pocket. Standing up my eyelights meet the grateful eyes of the Nanny.

“Thank you Miss Calibri.” She says with a tilt of her head. Reaching up and rubbing the back of my skull I smile fighting the blush on my cheek bones.

“N-no problem Miss-”

“Ava” The nanny cutes in with a soft smile and a light pink blush on her cheeks.

“Miss Ava, Have a nice day.” I say with a nod to her and a wave goodbye to the babybones. I watch their backs as they disappear into the crowd, lingering their after they are well and gone. I snap out of my daze my phone chirps at me, grabbing it and looking down I see a question mark from Sparrow.

“Right, gotta go to Muffets. Get my tea and sweets, and maybe I can get a flight.” I chuckled to myself as I turn and head back the way I came.

[not-a-feron]

Buckle up here are my thoughts on Deltarune

I’ve been seeing a lot of ppl here and videos on YouTube talking abt theories and stuff so I thought I’d make my own megapost to surmise my thoughts and my own theory on wtf is going on in this game Part of this was @brigadeinvader​ and me talking over discord and discussing the game, I don’t think either of us would’ve come up with this on our own

Timeline Placement & Stuff

As Toby stated, Deltarune is neither a sequel nor a prequel because it’s not the same world as Undertale, and this is important. You can call it an AU if you want, it’s not far from what I believe it is. However, somethig doesn’t have to be a prequel or sequel to happen before or after something else. Lemme explain.

I personaly stand for the idea that Deltarune is an alternative wolrd to Undertale, hence why the same characters are there, only different. It being an alternative world means it’s still somehow connected to Undertale. If you know anything about the multiple worlds hypothesis, then you should know Undertale and Deltarune’s timelines would run parallel to each other without interfering (they might’ve been one and the same at some point, but not anymore. And timelines cannot merge back). This still means the events of one can take place after or before the other, just in different worlds.

Not necessarily in that order, but like so. We have two dates to go by, and those are the begining narration of Undertale and Ralsei’s cut manual for Deltarune. Undertale’s is 201X, while Deltarune’s is 202X. This would normally mean Deltarune goes around a decade after. However, the date at the beginning of Undertale is not the date the events of the game take place on, but the date the Fallen Human (I’ll refer to them as Chara) ends up in the underground. The game asks us to name the human from the beginning narration, which isn’t Frisk, so we don’t know exactly how much time passed between Chara’s arrival and Frisk’s. It has to be a lot of time, though, seeing as six other humans fell down in that time and most of the monsters underground don’t remember/flat out haven’t seen the surface or the humans by the time Frisk arrives. And if we take Asriel’s transformation at face value, then enough time has passed for a Dreemurr to age from a kid to a... young man, I guess. Which is certainly more than a decade.

Arsiel being in university in Deltarune doesn’t put it after Undertale, because I’m pretty sure Asriel would also be around that age, if not older, by the time Frisk comes around if he hadn’t died.

If you don’t want to take Toby’s declaration too seriously, since he doesn’t outright say anything but Deltarune being a different world from Undertale with different characters that lived different lives; then Chapter 1 still has some evidence that points towards this. None of the characters you meet that were also in Undertale are exactly the same. Not even their sprites. Everyone has at least something different in their designs when compared to the ones seein at the ending credits of the Pacifist run in Undertale. Asgore doesn’t have a crown, Undyne doesn’t wear an eyepatch, Alphys doesn’t have her labcoat and was probably never a scientist, Mettaton never became a star, Toriel has a darker shirt underneath her purple sweater (check it, I’m serious), Bratty and Catty hate each other, and so on. Sadly we don’t get to see Papyrus, The only one who’s exactly the same is Sans.

Sans

There’s a post by @napstamuse (idk about putting links bc of tumblr’s recent algorithm, sorry) comparing all the main sprites of the characters in both Undertale and Deltarune, and Sans’ jacket is has the same color, even down to the hex value of the blue. Not only that, but his personality remains untouched. He still has some sort of attraction (I don’t mean romantic necessarily) to Toriel, still fond of puns, etc. He’s the only one of those we see that’s exactly the same in Deltarune as in Undertale.

He’s more than probably even the exact same Sans from Undertale. As in, he somehow moved from one timeline to the other, unlike the rest who aren’t the same characters per se. We all know by now Sans wasn’t from Undertale, not really. His Genocide fight convo states “I gave up trying to go back a long time ago.” and “getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either”. This means 1) he’s not from there, from Undertale’s world/timeline and 2) whatever place he’s from isn’t the surface. That’s important. Because a lot of details point towards Sans being originally from Deltarune’s world, then for some reason moving to Undertale’s sometime before Frisk arrives. But when we find him in Deltarune, what does he say?

And when you ask about “Friends”.

Meaning he also came from somewhere else. Considering Deltarune’s town is in, apparently, the surface; then it makes sense why Sans didn’t originate from there, since he didn’t come from the surface. And he knows the surface, as evidenced by him telling Papyrus what the Sun is (though that could also be bc of Alphys’ anime).

But if he doesn’t come from Deltarune’s town, and he also deosn’t come from Undertale’s world; then where does he come from?

I propose Sans is a Darkner. I don’t know if someone has already made this point in a video or post, but hear me out.

Unless Sans is from a different world altogether, then the only place in Deltarune that isn’t the surface (that we know of) is the Dark World. Not only that, but we know thanks to this infamous scene:

... that Darkners bleed.  Monsters do not bleed. Susie right there more than probably doesn’t bleed either, and yet Lancer assumes everyone in the Fun Gang does. That can only be because his species, the Darkners, all bleed. You know who else bleeds?

Sans does. And yes, I’m aware there have been ppl saying the red thing coming from him is actually ketchup from a bottle inside his jacket (which, knowing sans, wouldn’t surprise me tbh), but that wouldn’t explain why it comes out of his mouth as well. Hence it must be blood. Monsters from the underground all turn to dust upon defeat, yet Sans is the only one in the game who doesn’t. It doesn’t help the fact that we never see him die on screen and the sound effect that plays when the battle ends isn’t the one of a moster being defeated, but of one being spared. We also never really see Darkners bleed, that’s true, since they all flee from battle and you can’t kill anyone in Chapter 1; but Lancer’s bucket scene tells us that yes, blood is a thing in the Dark World that does come out of bodies when they are beaten.

There’s also another thing that might be minor, but all Darkners get tired after enough time in a battle. It’s the way you defeat the Chaos King and it’s the easiest way to spare enemies in Chapter 1. They all fall asleep. After enough time in a battle, Sans also falls asleep. It’s also the only way to defeat him in Genocide.

So Sans might be a Darkner. Why he left the Dark World (what is the Dark World) and why he then left the world of Deltarune to arrive at Undertale... we don’t know. It could have something to do with Undertale’s Gaster (or maybe Deltarune’s), but again, we don’t know. We’ll have to wait for the rest of Deltarune to come out to have more material to go on, I suppose.

Also the stuff about the “don’t forget” picture with the three smiling people on it. The song at the end credits states “don’t forget, I’m with you in the dark”, and the Fun Gang is comprised of three people. But we have no definitive evidence on that either.

More on the Timeline Placement

I personally believe Deltarune takes place before Undertale, though I suppose a better term would be “earlier” than Undertale in the split worlds. By no means whatever happens in Deltarune affects Undertale, we know that thanks to Toby’s tweet. But Sans being there means something happened that made him leave and enter Undertale, so in some ways it is before that game.

I also know there are some things that make this difficult. I still believe Deltarune comes before, but untill we see Asriel or have any definitive dates we cannot be sure as to which one is earlier in the timeline. Gerson being dead complicates things even more, unless you want to tell me monsters age slower in the underground.

Jevil & Seam

Seam’s line if you speak to him after defeating Jevil, the “darker, yet darker one”, is too specific not to be deliberate. We know Jevil spoke to someone that broke him, and we also know said someone was not the Knight. Not only that, but Jevil uses sprites way too similar to the Everyman to also be a coincidense, when using his carousel attack. We also see the Everyman in the wall of the alley Alphys is at the end of Chapter 1. So something is going on there.

Gaster

I think by now we’ve all somewhat accepted the idea that Gaster is more present in Deltarune than he is in Undertale. The same sound that plays during Entry 17 can be heard if you try to use your phone in the Dark World, and it’s also the noise that sounds near the red doors in the woods of town, only slowed down by a crap ton. The tweets before Deltarune was launched are also more than probably written by Gaster, considering the name of the account was changed to black bars and every tweet was in his text style.  During the survey part of Chapter 1 it’s also very probable the one conducting the survey is him, judging by the text style and all the weird choices (like blood types C and D, or the PAIN flavor). That is, of course, until someone else interrupts them. The text stopps being all in uppercase and the speech pattern changes, which is even more evident in the Japanese version as it starts using the correct form of speech (kanji + hiragana) instead of the weird one from before (katakana + hiragana). Coincidentally enough, the only character we know of that speaks in a textbook example of correct speech (thanks to the Japanese version of Undertale), is Chara.

And before anyone starts saying Gaster isn’t there; he is.  We just don’t know where. He has to be there, with no Core to build and no accident to happen that means the Gaster of Deltarune is 1) untouched, probably the same he was before everything went down in Undertale and 2) not a scientist, by that matter. Alphys is a teacher, so Gaster has to be around somewhere (more than probably behind the red doors south of the church, but who knows). We can say, though, that there might be more than one Gaster there. Since Undertale’s was “shattered across time and space” because of the accident, and Deltarune’s never had said accident, then both could be around during Chapter 1.

Also the game continues to crash/restart if you try to name either creator or vessel after him.

Dark World

It exists, lets get that out of the way. I highly doubt it was a dream or an hallucination or something, and there’s some evidence pointing to that. 

It is very probable, though, that it doesn just... exist. How do I even began to explain this.

It might have been created by some otherworldly power influenced by what was present in the abandoned classroom when Kris and Susie return to town. There was a chess board, chess pieces, a deck of cards, a stuffed toy that looked like Seam, etc.  But it did certainly happen. They entered the supply closet. If everything had been a dream or a game, then 1) Susie wouldn’t be surprised and confused (in the case of a game) and 2) they would still be in the supply closet by the time they return. But they were not.

Also, the pencil Kris carries changes if you defeat Jevil before coming back. Not only that, but there’s an item that carries over into your inventory from the Dark World. The egg.

If you are given the egg behind that tree by... whoever that was, it will still be in your inventory when you return to town. You can leave it in Asgore’s fridge and it will multiply, much like the Dog Residue of Undertale. What is up with the egg, we don’t know. Who even gave Kris the egg is also unknown, but for every character we don’t know we could simply answer “Gaster” so we don’t have any clues either.

Kris

Some random thoughts before I close this off.

So Kris. Great adittion to our sweater wearing protagonists, now we can call them the kfc gang.

Seriously, though, Kris. I don’t even know where to begin here.

You can still move their soul when they trap you in the cage.  I think this points to the idea that we control Kris by their soul. It’s what appears on the map when we avoid attacks and what, just like in Undertale, we take control of during battles.

It’s also Kris’ file the one we overwrite at the beginning of the Dark World. It’s pretty obvious that we are taking control over them by taking control over their soul. It might just be a bad case of silent protagonist, but Kris never reacts to anything, even when those around them are shocked. He never tries to do anything on their own, except for that one time they chose to protect either Susie or Ralsei (I don’t remember). Also the “your choices don’t matter” theme going on in Chapter 1.

Us being in control instead of them is even more evident when you try to drop the Ball of Junk once you return to town. Kris doesn’t want to, and is upset when we force them to, but they still throw it away; because they have no control over their body. They’re even relieved if you decide not to after the first question.

We can also suppose this control we haver over them isn’t a first time thing, though maybe not necessarily our control. The only objects they posses are the Ball of Junk and the cage over the red... wagon? (I forget what that is called). The rest of their side of the room is empty, as if they were afraid of having anything the ones controlling could simply toss away.

That explains perfectly why they rip their soul out at the ending of Chapter 1, though not the knife and the smile. Though that’s the most speculation in this rant. 

Anyway, congrats if you read through all that lol Feel free to add your theories/thoughts and help me correct stuff if there’s anythign contradictory in either games that could debunk anything here.

[iamjjmmma]

“Number All My Bones: There and Back and There Again” Part 1, Chapter 4

Beginning: https://bit.ly/2NtGPgu

Previous: https://bit.ly/2H5dDej

Next: https://bit.ly/2tD9Q03

It’s only a taser; I know. I know the basics about these types of guns, although violence isn’t my main research preference. Still, I duck inside, my heartbeat still somewhat yelling at me, my head definitely yelling at me to get back to my work, that it’s probably just some sort of census. But the doorbell rang, and Papyrus immediately sprang out of his seat, with that golly-gee smile impressioned all over his face, and sprinted towards the door. Sans sprinted after him, and I after Sans, all of us except Papyrus seeming to remember the rule that no one was supposed to answer the door except for me. But the door opened before I could say anything, and there stood the one woman I would cry over just a few weeks later. Her name tag read “Ica Grey, Head of the Anti-Monster Department”, the “Jess” part obscured by a shadow for a little while, but I knew who she was. The streak of grey hair, the crossed arms, the badges on her blue dress told me everything. She was the one who had started the “MF” tag, the one who had started the monsters coming home without any sort of occupation, the one who had started the monster children not allowed to take the same classes as humans, the monsters being denied from the hospitals. The dehumanization process didn’t need to be done; it simply was, and it was since when we were born. My smile stretches until it turns taut. “Hello, Miss.” Her hand settles on her taser for a moment, but it stutters just before it settles by her side. “Hello, Doctor. I’ve heard a lot about you.” I nod. “I can say the same. Especially with your ‘MF’ endeavors. What does it stand for, though? I’ll take a wild guess. ‘Monsters Forbidden.’” She nods back, although I can practically see her teeth gritting. Her hand moves closer to the gun. Betty whimpers a little, and Sans and Papyrus hush the other children away before they get embroiled in the grown-up soup of politics and science. In another world, maybe I would have gone with them. But that world is faraway, much too far from now to even think of existing. Miss Grey put her hand by her hip. “Are we conducting the meeting or not?” I nodded, although I didn’t even think about giving her any more than that. I was prepared to send all of the children upstairs, thinking they went into the living room, but it was only Betty, reading a history book for her tutoring program, no doubt. I was about to say something, but one look at the scary lady behind me all in blue sent her tiptoeing away and making her way up the stairs. As we sat on the couches, the coffee in the pot cold by now after my morning cup, I made my move, even though I knew it wouldn’t work by a long shot. “Do you mind putting the gun away? I have four little kids here, and I don’t want them getting-” She laughed, ran her long fingernails through her hair once or twice. “Of course not. You’re the scientist, aren’t you? You should know by now that it’s only a safety precaution. Not that I’d willy-nilly fire at one of your kiddos, right?” I sighed, went into a conversation about geothermics I wouldn’t give to my students until it was May and the graduation caps were being shipped. I counted myself using the words “entropy”, “enthalpy,” “quasistatic”, “Carnot cycle”, and “calorimetry” at least twice each before she started to nod off before nearly bumping her nose on the edge of the couch. Science that would have gone over her head even if she had a fifty-foot mitt to catch it. She jerked herself up so quickly that she started falling forwards, and I almost stretched out my hands to catch her before she could regain her composure.“Well, Dr. Gaster, this was all very, very informative, but can you please focus on the effectiveness of your project?” I went into a slight smile. Finally. “Alright, Miss. The expansion of the Core will help to power our city by-” She put a hand over her mouth in mock shock, but I knew she was yawning underneath. A professor tends to notice these things easier. “So it basically makes our gas bills cheaper?” I laughed, and I almost put a hand over my own mouth. I shifted into a different language, one that politicians love to speak. “What-?! No. No, not at all. If the expansion is complete, you won’t even have to pay for electricity at all. Ever. And thanks to it, we’re starting to see a big change. Not only in the bills-” I stopped. I was getting a little preachy. I laughed again. Even if I was preachy, it wouldn’t ever stop me from loving the feeling. So I gave in when she asked how the Core worked. Just this once. “Well, it converts geothermal energy from the mountain to-” I couldn’t say “magical”, but there was another word for that. A word I could use. “-idiopathic energy by using the underground chambers. These chambers have magnets with turbines that allow the electricity to be transformed from idiopathic to-” She put her hand over her eyes, although I know they were closed underneath. “It converts electricity to heat.” “Oh, I see.” Huh. So she wasn’t asleep after all. “A non-polluting, unlimited, self-sustaining power source. Of course…” I stand up, and she puts her weight on her toes as if she’ll follow, but she stays right there where she is. People say I’m a good judge, even though I’m a better scientist, but in cases such as this, I can’t always pull out a clear verdict about someone. “...none of this would happen if you don’t sign the agreement tomorrow.” She nods, but puts her hand closer to her taser just in case. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean anything.” “What do you mean that doesn’t mean anything? I’ve just explained an energy agenda that I doubt you’ll find anywhere else, and-” “That still doesn’t explain the rest of your kind.” “Are you-?!” “Yes, Doctor. I am. You think that just because you’ve made energy out of the dirt means that you haven’t come from it. You come up here and steal our jobs, steal our money, all because you think you’re better than the rest of us. You-” I stretched out my hand, reach for anything looking vaguely like a door handle to push. “Miss Grey, I didn’t say any of that-” “Oh, just because you didn’t say it doesn’t mean it isn’t-” I saw her in the corner before I heard her. Betty had come back from upstairs, probably because of all the fuss we made down here, and was looking at me with some of the most terrified two eyes I’ve ever seen. “Excuse me, ma’am.” She didn’t bother me as I went over and patted Betty’s shoulder. Poor girl. Only a few minutes here, and already we’ve escalated beyond what I would ever think of doing if Jessica wasn’t… Jessica. “Betty, it’s alright. The both of us were just having a discussion, alright? It’s very important. So what I need for you to do is to go back upstairs and-” “Doctor.” “Just a minute. What I need for you to do is go back upstairs and tell the others that everything is fine. And even if it does escalate, I’m stronger than I look, huh?” I patted her shoulder again for good measure. “Doctor, please. You’re not talking to anyone.” “Miss, what do you mean I’m not talking to anyone? Betty’s right here, isn’t she?” Chara and Asriel have come back down, too. I suppose the conversation died just enough. “Isn’t she?” Chara shakes his head, while Asriel shrugs his shoulders. “She’s still upstairs playing puzzles with Papyrus. An’ I think she’s learning how to play chess, too.” I look to my right, and Betty’s gone. Anxiety can do more than you could ever imagine, I suppose. If it can keep me staying awake at night after a dream that only mildly alarmed me, it can do what it just did. Anxiety also kept me heading towards my room after Jessica left, after calling down the kids and getting Papyrus to help me fix a pizza and some chicken, telling them that dinner was probably right around the corner. And just as anxiety foretold, something’s wrong. One of my books on human-monster history has fallen on the floor, but even without any sort of education in physics, I can tell it doesn’t fall like that. It’s at least halfway across the room, my bookshelf still in place right next to the door, and when I picked it up, another eerie fact sent a chill down my spine, and I almost felt my coat shaking along with it. It was open only a few pages in towards the end. Experience has taught me otherwise. If books don’t fall flat on the covers, front or backs, it normally falls with the middle pages open and spread out. Meaning if it didn’t fall, someone had to have taken it. Was it Sans or Asriel or Betty or anyone being tutored by him, forgetting to pick it up after they’d left? Or was it Papyrus, who was trying to get his own little revenge for me not getting him the book at the library? Alright. Focus. It’s probably one of them. I put back the book, and I sighed, going out to fix myself another cup of coffee. Anxiety can do everything, I suppose.

[undertale-rho]

Underearth: Book 5 - Chapter 2

Calibri's eyes slid open; a bitter-cold wind wailing against the sides of the house as snow fell from the chimney. Calibri let his eyes slide closed again, though shot them open upon remembering the events of the last World.

Immediately, he shot upwards, focusing magical energy into his hand as his feet touched the wooden floor of the cabin. In the center of his palm, a small glowing white orb appeared. Calibri then closed his eyes again, though the room around him was still in his sights, albeit monochromatic, his vision now heavily obscured by his hand and his face.

Rising upwards, the orb began to fly around the room, Calibri's vision keeping pace. As it continued to fly, he opened his eyes; his vision now mixed with what lay in front of him, and what the orb obtained. Once calibrations were complete, the orb shot up the chimney and towards the Citadel, specifically the closest tower.

With the orb away, Calibri pulled a diaphone stone—a small ornamented rock attached to a string—from his pocket and poured more magical energy into it. Receiving the energy, it began to glow light blue. A few seconds later, the blue darkened to a more modest blue.

"Sans." Calibri said.

"What? What's going on?" a voice came from the stone.

"I need to talk to you, in person. It shouldn't take long."

The stone went dark.

"What is it?" Sans asked after appearing in the center of the cabin.

"A RESET has just happened."

"A RESET!? But I still remember everything you told me last time."

"That's because the power to RESET has moved on to somebody else, setting a new point as its basis. Everything I told you a couple weeks ago still holds true, except for the part regarding Flowey and time of RESET."

Sans sat down at a nearby table, pulling a hotdog out of his pocket. "Alright, so who has it now?" he asked, taking a bite.

"A Human."

Sans choked upon hearing these words. "A Human? Here?"

"Yup. Don't rush yourself too hard, I'm currently searching the Royal Watchtower for them now."

Sans swallowed, then looked down at the ground. "How long have they been here?" he asked. "What have they done? Are they... as bad as Flowey?"

Calibri took a deep, thoughtful breath. "No." he said. "No, they're alright. As for how long they've been here, I wanna say... seven Runs, maybe. This one would probably make the eighth and, hopefully, final."

"Sounds like you two got to know each-other in one of the previous Runs. Anything I should know?"

Calibri gave Sans a reprehensive look. "No, nothing too important." he said. "You two did become close friends in a previous Run, though."

Sans chuckled at that statement.

"I'm serious." Calibri reinforced. "This Human even went out of their way to befriend our brother, Papyrus, and even Undyne."

"They befriended Undyne? No, that's impossible. Undyne hates Humans more than anything else in this world. I can't think of a single thing that could possibly change this."

"What about Papyrus establishing the befriending of a Human as a great challenge?"

Sans looked back at Calibri. "You're kidding."

"Nope. It was actually quite entertaining to watch. Especially when Undyne actually took him up on that challenge and ended up blowing her house up again."

Sans began laughing. "Wow, that definitely sounds like Undyne."

"Indeed." Calibri said, his smile dropping as soon as an anthropomorphic goat climbed through an opening in a purple wall. "I've found them." he said, shifting the tone of the room again. Flying through the hole, Calibri found a Human standing distracted, staring at a nearby wall. He was unarmed, even lacking the leather gauntlets Calibri had last seen him in. Shooting past his face, the Human began looking around for the orb of light that had passed but moved on when nothing came from his brief search.

"Alright, it looks like we may be in the clear." Calibri said, his vision orb keeping close watch from a distance on the Human.

Calibri, focusing back on where he was, looked over to Sans. "While we wait for more information, could you tell me the story of the Prince and the Human? It's been some time since I last heard it."

Sans was taken aback by this strange request. Despite not knowing his brother's mind, he didn't raise question.

"A long time ago," Sans began, "a Human fell into the Citadel. Injured by its fall, the Human called out for help. Asriel, the King's son, heard the Human's call. He brought the Human back to the castle. Over time, Asriel and the Human became like siblings. The King and Queen treated the Human child as their own. The Underground was full of hope. Then... One day... The Human became very ill. The sick Human had only one request. To see the flowers from Ochyro, their village. But there was nothing we could do. The next day, the Human died. Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the Human's SOUL. He transformed into a being with incredible power. With the Human SOUL, Asriel crossed through the Barrier. He carried the Human's body into the sunset, back to Ochyro. Asriel reached the center of the village. There, he found a bed of golden flowers. He carried the Human onto it. Suddenly, screams rang out. The townspeople saw Asriel holding the Human's body. They thought that he had killed the child. The Humans attacked him with everything they had. He was struck with blow after blow. Asriel had the power to destroy them all. But... Asriel did not fight back. Clutching the Human... Asriel smiled and walked away. Wounded, Asriel stumbled home. He entered the palace and collapsed. His dust spread across the garden. The Kingdom fell into despair. The King and Queen had lost two children in one night. The Humans had once again taken everything from us. The King decided it was time to end our suffering. Every Human who falls down here must die. With enough SOULs, we can shatter the Barrier forever."

"I see..." Calibri said, a hand stroking his chin. "Thank you..."

Sans watched Calibri with interest throughout the story. "You look troubled." he said.

"Yeah... just a little bit."

Calibri then stood up, approaching a bookcase in the corner. From the bookcase, he pulled out an old patchwork book and brought it over to the table which Sans sat at, and sat down himself, opening it up.

"Anything you wanna tell me about? Maybe I could help."

"Gimme a few seconds, Sans." Calibri flipped through the pages.

The two sat in silence for a time, the only sounds were that of the wind outside, and the flipping of paper. After a bit, Calibri closed the book and placed it flat against the table.

"Do you know when that story was written, and by who?" Calibri asked.

"Uh... sometime after the heirs died, by Asgore I think."

"Right. So then that begs the question; how trustworthy is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"According to this personal account of those times," Calibri pointed to the old book, "things don't exactly add up all that well. Simply thinking about it brings up some holes as well. Firstly, how the use of 'castle' and 'palace' are used as they are, though this could just be the difference in timeframe between when Chara fell and when she died. Another problem that arises from this, though, is the fact that the Palace wasn't right next to the exit at this time. It was where the Oldtown Palace is right now, which is far from any exit, or entrance for that matter."

"You're saying that people should have seen Asriel leaving and returning, right? What makes you so sure they didn't?"

"The journals from the time only mention Asriel leaving, but not returning. This one," Calibri pointed at the old book again, "is from... Wing."

Sans twitched at the mention of that name. Calibri, understanding why, simply continued.

"Seeing as he was alive at the time, and even helped Asriel leave in the first place—according to his own account, it's a good resource to work from. Asriel just left one day, and next thing everyone knew, Asgore was saying that he too was dead. Being close friends with the King, Wing even got to visit where Asriel died, though the descriptions he gives are more poetic than helpful—as though he could actually feel sorrow. All I can tell is that it's most definitely not in the palace. My best guess is somewhere in Waterfall, but those caves are dark, and most haven't even been explored."

"Shame." Sans said, the lights in his eyes gone.

Calibri delved back deep into thought.

"Wait a second..." he eventually said.

"Figure something out?"

"Maybe... Do you remember the rainy area in Waterfall?"

"Kinda hard to forget. The area around Asriel Lake, right?"

"Yup." Calibri stood up. "Let's go there."

"What? Now?"

"Yeah now."

"What about the Human?"

Calibri closed his eyes. The purple hallways of the Citadel came back into focus. The Human was talking peacefully with a Froggit.

"They're good, don't worry about them." Calibri said, stretching his hand out to Sans.

Sighing, Sans took Calibri's hand and focused on Asriel Lake within Waterfall. Like the opening of a door, he sent himself through, pulling Calibri along with. Once on the other side, they both found themselves in the last bit of shelter from the rain surrounding and feeding the lake.

"Excellent!" Calibri said as he turned around and started making his way towards a rain-drenched statue. Sans simply followed after.

Once in front of the statue, Calibri kneeled down and stared at it. The upper surfaces of the statue had weathered away from centuries of rainfall.

"You don't think—" Sans started saying before Calibri shushed him.

Still staring at the statue, Calibri slowly brought his hand up over its chest, his eyes glowing red soon after. The statue, Calibri felt, was not regular stone. It felt as though it had been alive at some point before, though the only life within now seemed to be... asleep.

Calibri pulled his hand away.

"So... this was your fate, huh..." Calibri mumbled to the statue. "But what of Chara...?"

Sans simply watched with interest, making sure to not distract.

Calibri clapped his hands together, a red pulse of energy erupting from his compressed palms out into the surrounding caves. After a few seconds, he felt a presence—familiar, yet novel. Standing up, Calibri followed the thread of familiarity, which led him to a dead-end room with a piano in the corner.

"Sans." Calibri said. "What's beyond here?"

"A 'treasure room' for a puzzle Undyne set up, I think."

"Where'd she find the treasure?"

Sans shrugged his shoulders. "Nearby? She's not really the type to put a lot of effort into puzzles or their rewards."

"I see..." Calibri turned to face Sans again. "We need to go to the primary access corridor of the Royal Watchtower."

"Inside the Citadel? Why?"

"To pick up the Human, of course."

"Wha! Seriously?"

"Don't really have much time, Sans. He's getting ready to move on."

Sans grabbed Calibri's outstretched hand and opened a tunnel to within the Citadel, exiting into a long hallway with many pale-grey pillars lining the walls.

Once within, Calibri saw a rather unremarkable Human standing nearby—one who wore a blue sweater with two pink stripes running around its middle, and dark blue jeans.

Immediately, Calibri brought his white orb into the Human's view, summoning more to accompany the first. Once his attention had been captured, Calibri drew the orbs back to him, having them circle around Sans before dispelling them near his own hand.

Emergence : Inquisitor

Previous First posting First of this book Next

[formdrop]

Leather and feathers

Reborntale belongs to @reborntale 18+ and @skellyhell​ the original creator. Warning: may have gore and sexual themes.

Main Reborntale fanfic by @purrfecktlysinful called ‘sunlight and shadow’. Recommended read.

Chapter 4: The angels and the core

Sans was paralysed. He hadn't expected this. Not with his new friend.  He had no idea why the demons were acting like this. As the head one, the one he thought was his friend, started to reach towards him at their close proximity, an axe sliced down with precision between them and made it flinch back and back away as Sans gave a sigh in relief. There, on top of the building, was Alphys. Sans smiled to see her again but then saw this other angel which Sans figured was her friend. She jumped down and stood in front of Sans, “alright ya mother f#ckers. Who wants to get sliced to little bits?” the demons hissed at her and backed away some more the other angel landed beside her. This one was a little taller than Alphys, that had skin; A purple two striped robes, small horns on top, large glowing purple wings, short brown hair, and from where Sans was looking at towards the angel; yellow skin, squinting eyes where it looked like they were closed, a straight mouth and the look of determination. Sans looked up to see a very bright glowing ring above their head. brighter than Alphys that’s for sure.

They stood their ground and brought out a long knife from what seemed like thin air and leaned forward as if to charge. The demons flinched and started to scramble away. Sans watched amazed as the demons retreated. The large angel turned and smiled, “greetings. My name is Frisk. I’m unsure what type of angel I am since I appear to be way too different for the usual angel. But aside from that. I have to ask, are you alright?” as they said that, more different angels appeared. One was a goat man with blond looking wings like his hair and beard, and a slightly brighter ring than Alphys above his head. another was a dog smoking a dog treat and holding two axes with holes that looked like eyes, his ring dimmer than the old mans but brighter than Alphys. There were soo many as more appeared. It was hard to describe them all and they all seemed ready for a big battle.

Frisk seemed to notice Sans staring at the other angels and smiled kindly, “ah. I see. These are other angels. There are many more as there are also many demons as you saw. They were just trying to get close to do their twisted bidding to others, including angels. They like to have their ‘fun time’ witch are activities such as picking out our feathers, messing with our halo, the ring, and even doing the unspeakable.” Sans gave a confused look and Frisk gave a sigh. Alphys had gone off and started to talk to the other angels.

Sans looked behind to the still sleeping Papyrus. He gave a sigh as it seemed nothing had woken him. Sans was sure he needed the rest. He turned back to Frisk as they gave a patient smile; curiosity nagged at him as he wanted to know as much as he can before Papyrus wakes up and leaves. Sans doesn’t want to leave him for one second more than he has to, which Sans hopes is none, “could you tell me more about angels. Please?” Sans gave his best begging face which resulted in his eyes turning to stars.

Frisk gave a laugh, “you don’t have to beg. The more you know, the less likely those demons will get to you. You see, since this killer has been going through this place the grounders call the 'underground’ there has been a lot more of both angels and demons popping up. It appears that the demons have a natural instinct while angels are too pure to start with and they get taken away quickly if we do not get there in time. You were lucky as not many of them go near the grounders. You see, we have witness a 'monster’ being reborn into an angel or demon. A monster is a type of grounder, we are unsure about this 'human’ species. We are unsure as to how it is decided which one they will become, but we know the origin. We have many angels trying to find out more in hopes of making sure balance stays in this world. It was usually one would pop up every now and then but with soo many deaths of grounders, there has been an increase and everyone is working hard to make sure there is balance.”

This put Sans to thought as he started to take all of this in. he felt a hand on his shoulder as found Frisk smiling at them, “it is alright. there is a bit more. I am sure you have noticed the halos. The brighter the halo is, the stronger the angel is. It tends to change from time to time, depending on an angels’ mood or determination. The smoother and shinier it is, the older the angel is. Please take note so you can tell who is more knowledgeable. Now, come. Lets go to the angel headquarters and we can fill you in.” Frisk started to reach to place a hand on Sans shoulder which Sans ducked from under frisks grab.

Sans furrowed his eye brow bone while he shook his head violently, “no! I want to stay with my person, my grounder. He needs help and I want to be there to help him.” Sans furrowed his eyebrows more and gave a large frown. Frisk seemed shocked as they retracted their hand with wide eyes and a lightly open gaped mouth but recovered and gave a patient smile.

They stepped back as their mighty wings stretch to their full length and raised slightly to show their power, almost filling up the entire large alleyway., “as you wish young angel. Take care. If you change your mind, just find a passing angel and they will lead you to our base. Just one thing, never take a demon with you. That is all we ask. Now, farewell.” And they took off, the others not far behind when they realize the lead angel had started to fly, Alphys giving a smile then taking off at a high speed, as if she thought it was a competition. Sans looked at their halos and saw how the others were rough but frisks was smooth and shiny. They must be very old.

Sans figured he had one as he reached up in an attempt to grab it. He waved his hand above his head in hopes of being able to take hold but he met with empty air. He tried harder as he sat down cross legged and frantically waved his arms and hands waving above his head as he tried to find where it was, his wings puffing up out of anger in the process. He waved his hands above his head in an even more frantic motion where they even become a blur to anyone watching. The halo had in fact risen when he had lifted his arms. It seems that he would need someone to grab it and bring it down. After an hour of a fruitless attempt, Papyrus started to groan. Sans froze with his arms raised high and looked back as Papyrus started to open his eye sockets. He looked up and Sans followed suit to see tiny twinkling lights. They look pretty as Sans lowered his arms and stared in awe.

Sans was hypnotised staring upwards before Papyrus walked straight through him. Sans jumped up in surprise at first with his wings puffing up but calmed down, chased after the slow papyrus and began to walk beside him as he watched his face relax into the emotionless look again. His eye sockets un-focused. Mouth tight in what looked like a grin for others. This worried Sans a great deal, he had hoped Papyrus would be better after the… sleep but he seemed worse now, almost like he was crying but with no tears to be seen, like a mask being worn to hide himself away from the world. They walked through the glass doors and for once, Sans could see what the inside looked like. It has plush light blue carpet with a darker blue walk paths to the different areas. There was yellow writing sowed into the carpet. 'dining’ 'rooms’ 'reception’ 'elevator’ 'core entrance’ 'nice-cream shop’. Papyrus seems to heading towards the 'core entrance’ one. In the middle was a stature of a square robot that had turn tables connected and little water jets squirting from the middle of the disks of the turntable and it went down into the crystal-clear water below with an almost neon blue walls to keep the water in, coins and small trinkets at the bottom as if people throw things in there.

Sans took a little bit of time to look around a bit more, to the left was, from the small glance, a dark room with tables, a dance floor and speakers. The right has a hallway with different doors that have sparking rocks decorating them. Straight ahead was a door with the words 'CORE’ over the top. To the left of the CORE door is a desk built into the wall and a space behind with keys and paper. To the right of the CORE door way is a set of foggy glass doors and then even further was elevator doors but there was a red light to indicate that it was in use.

Sans had started lagged behind too much, Papyrus had already passed under the core door way. Sans rushed and even flapped his wings enough to get him air born as he raced after Papyrus. As Sans landed beside him he found that if he didn’t over think with flying, he could do it well. He started to think that Alphys was right with just going into it. It still scared him though…. In a very cool and manly way. Papyrus had already started to walk over a bridge that had no rails. Sans took a little moment to look down and saw it was a bottomless pit. He didn’t fancy finding out what’s down there or how far down it goes. Sans looked at the approaching building and saw dark purple metal over the flat wall that covered the entire opposite wall. There was a large glowing red sign that says 'CORE’ and the rest was bare. The other platform in front of the door had a few occasional plants that looked a bit sick.

Sans didn't feel safe going the platform or on the rail-less bridge so he kept extremely close to Papyrus which Papyrus in turn seemed conflicted between a pleasant feeling and a scared feeling. As soon as Sans noticed this he calmed down and Papyrus leaned towards the positive feeling. He guessed that his emotions can also effect those around him. He had to keep that in mind to give Papy less worry. Sans almost missed a step when he realized he nicknamed Papyrus Papy. He has no idea why though. He decided to shrug it off and make sure he followed Papy as he finished going across the bridge. Sans felt relief as they arrived on the other platform. Sans glanced back and saw the nice outside of the resort. He wished he could have spent longer there but he didn't want to lose Papy. Maybe he can go back once Papy was better. Sans kept close to Papy which he started to match Papy for strides as he navigated through the core.

He made many turns and the scene changed a few times. First it was incomplete corridors then a maze and finally he was going across another bridge that had swirling mist. That was terrifying Sans. He shuddered as he walked a bit away from Papy as not to affect him. He heard a hiss from the mist which Sans froze up. He looked down to see something almost oozing just through the mist. He didn’t leave it to chance and ran across to the other side and leaned against his knees as he caught his breath. He would wait for Papyrus. He watched carefully at his grounder as he made his way across slowly. This was when Sans wished he would move faster. Like he was for that person in the lizard head house. He also kept an eye on the goo thing as it just stayed there. Sans felt like it was watching him with some sort of hidden eyes.

Not soon enough, Papy made it across and Sans was quick to follow him as he continued on, unknowing to the creature below. He wanted to be away from that thing. He didn’t like it. But as Papy entered the building that involved the open doorway since the elevator had a red light for 'out of use' as Sans was glad to find that he was finally out of sight of the thing. But it had gone down back into the swirling mist by then. There was a figure up ahead. As Papy got close Sans saw it was a blue….. robot with….. DJ boards that had disks already on top, it was different from the statue in the hotel place. Papy smiled, “Hey Blook. Fighting the human thing?” he seemed to actually show care for this robot, like he did with Undyne.

The robot, Blook, snapped its head to Papy and smiled, “Yeah skeledude. Its real close too. Killing everyone in their path. Best to hide skeledude.” Papy shook his head with a large sigh escaping through his teeth.

He took a moment before he spoke again, “You can’t win. The human has dusted over half the population in the entire underground, excluding the capital since that is out of the way to the queen, they evacuated and the human hasn’t gone there yet. They are way too powerful for you. You will get killed and you will leave Mettaton alone” Papy went up and placed a hand on Blooks’ metal shoulder, Sans moving to get a good look at the exchange.

Blook looked at Papy with sympathy in his robot eyes, “I know. He came to me in tears. The human had tried to attack him and that human had dusted dummy. We both knew they got to happy dummy in the ruins where he was happy and sweet. I want revenge on that brat. I want to avenge Alphys for Undyne. And I want to avenge my number one fan, your brother. He didn’t deserve that. He was sweet and kind to others. I was there watching the feed as it cut him. He didn’t deserve that. He was showing kindness. He was showing MERCY. And that thing cut through him like it was nothing. I won’t let him die in vain. I know I won’t win but I will try dying. Please. Get away if you can and warn the queen. Maybe she is strong enough to defeat it. Or tell the judge. Whoever it is. They might be the one to stop it. We can only hope.” And Blook went back to checking his equipment. Sans wondered how that Alphys was, if they were like the Alphys he knew.

Papy shrugged with sadness over his face and kept walking, placing his hands in his pockets. Sans felt that Papy did that when he knew something big would happen and would be happening soon. Both the skeletons passed through the next doorway before it closed behind Papyrus. Papy taking a deep breath, continuing on with his journey. It was near the end. They had passed the core, onwards to the unknown.

{1} {2} {3} ]4[ {5} {6} {7} {8}

[ihaveatheoryonthat]

Been rethinking my Skele-Frisk revamp, and decided that, if I do ever tackle it in full, I want to approach from a different angle. That being said, I had a little bit of an intro chapter written out back in 2017, and I’m digging some of the characterization notes, so if anyone’s interested, here it is:

It was the throbbing behind their eyes that woke Frisk.

It was darker atop the mountain than it had been when they’d stopped to rest; well past the sunset that greeted monsterkind.

They remembered Undyne running off to rein Papyrus back in, and Toriel taking it upon herself to find and retrieve Sans from wherever he’d wandered off to, but that couldn’t have taken long—not at the speeds Undyne was capable of, or the lack of distance Sans would have been willing to cover. Hopefully, their friends had found a way to keep themselves entertained as Frisk slept.

Their spine cracked unpleasantly as they pushed themself onto their knees.

Even at nightfall, this side of Mt. Ebott had nothing on the darkness they’d stared into at its peak. It was almost cozy; now that the sun had set, they could see the lights of a city in the distance.

That struck them as odd, if only for a second. Frisk didn’t remember there being such a big city so close to the mountain. They pushed the thought aside, got back to their feet, and twisted so their back would stop complaining; in the process of doing so, they found at least two out of six friends.

It had been nice to let them sleep, but they felt bad for making Papyrus wait—doubly so when they remembered that he… didn’t really sleep. At all. They would have to make it up to him, somehow. As they made their way over to where he was standing, they tried to figure out what he might like, but it was a frustrating task. Maybe… they could help him make something that people would actually eat?

Maybe not. They weren’t exactly the best chef themself.

The headache behind their eyes pulsed again, and they ran a sleeve-covered hand over their right eye.

Papyrus still hadn’t noticed them, preoccupied with something on the ground, so they leaned against his leg and mumbled something that could have been, “Thanks for waiting.”

He squawked and hopped away on his opposite leg, balanced precariously. Frisk wobbled a little, but knew that none of their limbs were under attack, so they didn’t have quite the same trouble.

“Oh!” Awkwardly, he went back to making full use of his legs and then puffed himself up to make up for the scene he’d caused. “That was a… a traditional greeting. Hello!”

Without a second’s hesitation, Frisk mimicked his jump. “Hello.”

“Did you just sass me?”

They set their foot back down. “Yeah.”

He grumbled something about Sans, but refrained from further incurring his brother’s sense of humor and knelt at their level. “Are you just leaving the Underground?”

Uh.

“Yeah?”

“Alone? That’s a sad way to go!”

They squinted at him, utterly confused. “Papyrus?”

“You’ve heard of me!”

“Uh. Yeah? Obviously?”

“Sans, this monster knows who I am!” He half-turned to look behind him, preening under some kind of praise that Frisk didn’t quite understand yet.

In the hopes that there was some manner of explanation forthcoming, they followed Papyrus’ gaze to Sans, who was idling behind his brother and giving them a critical look. “Yeah? Then they’re better for it, bro.”

What had they been thinking? Of course there wouldn’t be any answers there.

He sidled up next to Papyrus and offered a hand, angled so that they couldn’t see his palm. For just a second, Frisk was torn between the preexisting alarm and exasperation. Did he really think that would work again?

“What’sa matter, kid? Don’t you know—”

“How to greet a new friend. Yeah.” There was a stabbing pain behind their right eye; they took a deep breath and prayed it would pass. “I don’t like this joke.”

“Ooh, you sound laughing mad, bud. What’s wrong, someone already getcha with that one?”

They hissed through their teeth at the echo of “Whoa. You look REALLY pissed off.” that bounced around in their skull, compounding the problem, and turned back to Papyrus.

“This is… really mean.”

Papyrus, for his part, seemed equally baffled. “Mean? Sans, did you steal the joybuzzer that dog stole? We agreed that electrical nodes are only to be used in puzzles.”

Maybe it was the lingering headache or the fear that something had gone wrong, exacerbated by the ringing memory of a dead timeline, but they whirled back around and hiked the sleeve of their sweatshirt up, panicked and furious.

“Not this dumb joke.” Something like a sob bubbled up in their throat and they tried to swallow it, focusing on turning Sans’ hand so the whoopee cushion was out of the shadows. And there it sat, just as terrible a joke as it had been the first time. Despite their best efforts, the sob escaped. “Y—you know me, right?”

Sans raised his hands in surrender and backed up a step. Desperate, they turned to Papyrus.

“I… I don’t remember meeting any other skeletons.”

Frisk would have asked what that was supposed to mean, but the sight of their still-outstretched hand blindsided them. They curled their fingers into a fist and faintly recalled that Papyrus had mistaken them for a monster just a few minutes prior; their bare knuckles trembled.

At least it hadn’t been a mean spirited joke. That was the only silver lining they could find.

Dimly, they were aware of Papyrus turning for his brother’s input, but didn’t process the resultant, “Other than the obvious? Nah.”

Frisk pulled the sleeves of their sweatshirt back over their hand—careful to keep the first covered—and stuffed them both into their front pocket. That was a problem they didn’t want to tackle right now. With everything that had already happened and was still happening, they just weren’t up to it.

Belatedly, they realized that Papyrus’ attention was back on them. Whatever he’d said, they hadn’t heard it, but they recognized the expression he wore from the first time they’d walked out of his shed.

That helped calm them down, just a tiny bit. He still cared about them enough to be worried on their behalf, even if he didn’t know who they were.

“Are you okay?”

No. Absolutely not. But what they actually found themself saying was, “Dunno.”

Papyrus hummed doubtfully, but didn’t call them on it.

“Wanna take this somewhere else?”/”Just doesn’t seem like the right place. I mean, I know it was their shtick and all, but…”

Puzzled, they looked to Sans, then followed his gaze elsewhere.

“A grave?” Their grave if the headstone had anything to say about it. But that was absolutely impossible, for a number of reasons—the first and foremost being that they’d already died dozens of times, and yet they were still alive.

‘Friend to monsters’, the headstone read. They crept closer, squinting at it.

Out of all the emotionally confusing things they’d been dealing with, this was one they could handle.

“Who thinks…?” Frisk paused, remembered where the information had come from, and turned to give Sans a flat look. Out of everyone, really? What a one-eighty. “I thought I ‘hadn’t died a single time’.”

A less kind part of them had rallied for “What happened to ‘you’d be dead where you stand’?” instead, but was quickly shot down. Mildly ashamed of even thinking it, they went back to looking at the grave.

That was absolutely a box of Tem flakes on the ground in front of it.

The hands stuffed in their pocket tangled together and they absently worked a fingertip in between the exposed bones. They didn’t allow the implications of doing so reach them.

The stony silence lasted for several seconds, broken eventually by a terse, “Run that by me again?”

But, curiously, the box was soaking wet, falling apart in places.

“I don’t get it.” They said aloud. About the flakes, about the grave, about their tangled, bony hands.

“That makes at least two of us.”

Tiredly, Frisk raised their head to acknowledge him. If they had to guess—“Hmm. That expression…”—he was about two steps away from trying to intimidate them. The grudge vying for dominance pounced on that, but dozens of positive memories drowned it out; they made the executive decision to drop the thought entirely and tried to focus on what was happening in this timeline right now.

”I’m not kidding around. Where’d you hear that?”

At that point, three things happened in very quick succession. The most pressing was the sudden lack of ground beneath Frisk’s worn boots, but chronologically, the first was a sharp “Sans!”

The last, and least important, was another sharp pang in their skull, lost between the more attention-grabbing factors that accompanied it.

It took them a second to blink past the ache and realize that they’d been scooped up off the ground—that it wasn’t a blue attack dangling them in the air—by which point they’d instinctively reached for the nearest solid anything they could find. Wits back about them, they recognized that they were clinging to Papyrus’ shoulder guard. They let go and clenched their fists, conflicted between the desire to stabilize themself, just in case, and the comfort of hiding reality under the sleeves of a sweatshirt.

The choice was made for them as Papyrus (???), and their bleached-white-knuckled grip found its way back to his makeshift armor.

“Allow me to handle this.” He said shortly, whirled the both of them around, and wandered—at best—fifteen feet away. Frisk wasn’t entirely sure that would help, but was willing to see what he had in mind.

In one fluid motion, he knelt down and set them back on the ground, unbothered by their reluctance to let go. “I’m unsure what you meant, but it’s not your fault—you couldn’t have known! My brother is still very sensitive about what happened. He made a promise to Lady Toriel, so now he thinks that…”

It was impossible to tell why, exactly, Papyrus trailed off there.

“But! That isn’t the point!”/”I’m sure you’re very confused. So am I!”///”In light of recent events, I think the best place to start is by asking ‘Do you know who you are’.”

Wow. Way to cut to the heart of one of the problems. He couldn’t even know he’d done it.

Sure, they knew who they were, but they also had hundreds of scattered memories that didn’t belong to them. They weren’t sure whose memories those had been, but now they belonged to them.

Frisk nodded.

There was something shrewd in Papyrus’ expression as he leaned forward, scrutinizing them.

“Do I know who you are?”

They wanted to toss their hands up in frustration, but bit down on the urge and shrugged instead.

“I think I do. I do know who I know, you know.”

They wanted to laugh as a similar turn of phrase reverberated through their head, but they didn’t.

“Are you okay?”

They wanted to cry, but that was the one thing they wouldn’t let themself do anymore.

“Frisk? Are you okay?”

They wanted to hurl themself at him.

They did hurl themself at him.

Fingers knotted in his scarf, head tucked securely under his chin, Frisk realized that Papyrus was holding them just as desperately as they clutched at him. Their throat constricted, too tight to get a single word out.

“I still don’t understand,” He said, uncharacteristically quiet, “But that’s okay. Just this once, I’ll allow it.”

--

Papyrus didn’t wait for them to detangle themself from his person, or even seem to expect it; that was probably a good thing, because they were having trouble convincing their extremities to let go. He simply lifted them up and made to close the unimpressive gap he’d put between the pair of them and the headstone.

Frisk braced themself—they still had to deal with Sans, and didn’t see that being an easy task.

Fine. They’d just have to roll their sleeves up extra far and figure out what aspect of that puzzle to tackle.

The answer was an underwhelming ‘none’.

He’d fallen asleep leaning against the mountain.

Papyrus seemed unsurprised. “That… happens. You’ll get used to it.”

Well there was no arguing with that—logically or physically, since their voice rebelled when they tried to offer a response.

“It’s very late.” Papyrus’ voice was conversational as he went about collecting his brother and hoisting him up over his unoccupied shoulder. He clearly was used to it happening. Very used to it.  “It seems unwise to walk all the way back home, so as long as you don’t tell Sans, we can take a shortcut.”

Gravely, Frisk pressed a bony index finger to their mouth.

His expression softened and he leaned forward to bump their skull with his own. Frisk might have been worried about overbalancing if it hadn’t been for the counterweight that Sans provided.

Then, as it had always worked before, Papyrus took a handful of steps, reality blinked, and they were somewhere else entirely.

[bublp0pr]

I get these ideas for stories that sound great in my head but would take ages to make properly. *shrug* let’s just dump one here with every else and see what happens.

One of my fav His Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI3T3G9GJRw

So Frisk gets to listen to the same soundtrack we do when they enter fights right? Let’s say that the reason they keep resetting is so that they can hear the songs because let’s face it, they’re awesome. But it’s not enough for them. Having to go through hours of gameplay for the particular song they feel like is frustrating. They’re stuck in this loop where they don’t want the nostalgia to end - ever.

One day they’re having the date with Undyne and they notice her piano. They know that she plays, but they had never really asked her more than that. It’s such a pretty looking instrument. So they get her to play for them. And she looks a little startled like, why would they want to listen to her play?

So she sits on the stool and starts fingering a bit of His Theme casually, first with one or two fingers, looking up at Frisk  and then slowly easing into proper form. “I heard this playing from a statue one day, coming back from Alphys’ lab.” She says distantly, becoming lost in the sound. The music is flowing quite prettily and peacefully i’m imagining. It’s not complicated, just a very simple piece, but she slowly builds it with harmony.

Tears fall down Frisk’s face. Undyne stops mid-note when she hears the quiet sobs and looks up. Frisk is smiling through the small drops and tells them to continue. She pauses though, a little awkward.

“Uhhh. How about i play a different one?” Then she turns back and suddenly starts playing the powerhouse of Ngahhhh! When all else fails, Undyne always falls back on her passion haha. The atmosphere changes again. It’s a wonder the keys aren’t flying off the piano with how hard she presses them.

Rubbing away their tears Frisk thinks about the implications of this. Being able to play the songs from battles whenever they like, however they want.  After the song is done, they silently ask “Can you teach me?”

^Woah that sounds like a really poetic place to end it. But i’ve still got more to the story... sigh. I don’t have any sense of story writing lol

Undyne sees this as her chance to reach Papyrus’ challenge and become besties with Frisk. So she starts teaching them. And when she stops and starts making pasta instead, Frisk waits out the timeline until she sets fire to the house (and that poor grand piano) then reloads. They repeat the process, tweaking variables to get to the piano teaching faster. (There’s a similar thing that happens in Groundhog day which is where i got the idea from lol)

But learning piano isn’t enough. Once they get the hang of it they need to figure out playing by ear. They become obsessive over it, playing keys again and again until sound can instinctively be translated into the language of music. They figure out the timeline that gives them the most access to Undyne’s piano and play anything and everything they can recall hearing from the surface. 

Then it’s finally time to learn the music of the Underground. Each soundtrack becomes it’s own project. One by one Frisk chooses a battle to learn and then repeats this process:  saving next to Undyne’s house, walking all the way to the encounter and then quitting halfway through the battle to practice the section of music until they can play the whole thing through. Then they play the song over and over again until it becomes long term memory (because sheet music doesn’t last between timelines) and the method is repeated with another monster. 

Once they finish all the pacifist music they of course have to complete genocide. In my headcanon this Frisk did genocide, refused to delete the world and doesn’t trust themselves to be able to make the same choice twice and fight off Chara. So instead they always quit just after judgement hall (I mean, there isn’t much music after that point anyway). The good thing about genocide is that no one gets suspicious of you going to Undyne’s house and playing her piano for hours on end because they’re all dead haha. 

--- --- ---

So finally they do it. They learn every song in the game, and they’re so proud of themselves. A sentimental part of them drives them to go through a true pacifist run and go back to the date with Undyne.

They walk up to the piano slowly, a small smile on their face and press the old familiar keys of His Theme once again. It starts so softly, it takes Undyne a few seconds to recognise the tune, the memory returning like an old friend. Once she realises what it is she walks up to the kid but whatever she has to say gets trapped in her tongue when she looks at them. Their eyes are closed, with this absolute look of peace on their face as they play. Without a word from either of them, she takes a seat next to Frisk and joins the sound, forming a duet. 

With Undyne taking over the main melody, Frisk slowly starts adding in the other monsters’ themes, naturally melding them into the flow of chords. This confuses Undyne at first, she lifts up her head, but when she hears soft bonetrousle and spears of justice, she realises what they’re doing and just goes with it. The whole song becomes this epic medley summarising everything that still means something to Frisk about their journey- all their friends, all their memories, all the things that even after hundreds of resets are still precious to them 

and... and... ahhhhh it’s all just so beautiful! I don’t know what to write! Even now i think i’m being too flowery v.v

this is where i’d end it if i wanted to be nice, Frisk and Undyne in this unbroken melody of beautifulness... but of course i have extra because i don’t know when to stop lol

Without even thinking about it, at one point Frisk shifts into Battle Against a True Hero. The presence next to them stiffens and suddenly the lower parts of Undyne fade out. They keep playing for a bit after, not realising at first. It gets slower the more confused they become and they look up. Undyne is staring at the piano trembling, gripping the piano seat. 

“Where... where did you hear that punk?” they whisper. Frisk looks back down at the piano in silence. The lack of noise in the room becomes palpable. In a pathetic attempt to ease the tension, Frisk lightly fingers Dating Tension to give their hands something to do. 

“Frisk.” This makes them look up. No one ever says their name. There is a sharpness to Undyne’s tone, it makes them nervous. She starts talking louder a quiver in her voice. “I-I have never played that song in front of anyone ever.” 

“Just, just who are you?” There’s small tears in her eyes that she’s trying very hard to blink away. 

... 

“WHY WON’T YOU ANSWER ME!” Undyne is standing up now, clenching her fists. Frisk looks scrunches their eyes shut. Glowing flashes of spears light up their memory. Echoes of Undyne’s voice, the anger, the sorrow, the desperation, the conviction. Her figure slowly melting in front of them burns behind their eye lids. Undyne can’t take this... this... flat face from the human any longer. “LOOK AT ME!” The words are screeched with emotion. Frisk too starts trembling. She can’t hold the tough act anymore, it’s becoming too much. The next words are s plea. “Kid... please... look at me.” 

Frisk lifts up their head in one sharp motion, looking directly at Undyne. The look on their face says a thousand words. Guilt. Sadness. Pity. Emptiness. Rage. Fear. Desperation. Shame. Resignation. They look like someone that has accepted they are, in the true sick human interpretation of the word that insults this race, a monster.

It’s enough to deter even Undyne from her focus. She forgets for a moment what she was even going to say, looking at that face in fear, disgust, shock, horror... whatever word you could think of she was looking at Frisk with it.

aaaand that’s all i’ve got. Bet you were expecting resolution? Pfft hahah nope. If i could come up with that this’d be a proper fanfic. Maybe one day i will figure that out. Then i’d upload it to AO3 [insert self promo to my fics, bubbLp0ppR :P]