#This world needed a Red just as Undertale's needed a Frisk

[characteroulette]

Okay okay okay okay

I have to write it down because I keep composing it while I work

(Everhood spoilers below the cut)

So I've seen a few people misinterpret the point behind killing everyone that Everhood forces onto you in order to reach the end, and I think it might be due to getting too caught up in the parallels to Undertale that are there

They think that it's taking the murder run and being like "see? This is bad!!" which they respond like "no duh but uh Undertale did that better"

But!!

That's not the point.

The point isn't the same Undertale makes, but it's a companion:

Sometimes, Mercy isn't the answer.

Sometimes, Mercy is a cruelty.

These beings have been trapped in the Everhood for over six. Million. Years. Some far longer, maybe a few shorter. They're all intimately aware that the only way out is the Incinerator, but they cling to their lives as desperately as anything living would. They aren't even close to human anymore, even if they never started out as human to begin with. They are undying and have existed for longer than the mind can comprehend. They've become bored, cruel, despairing, and complacent.

They have stagnated.

They exist and that's all they can do.

What you offer them is Mercy, even if it takes such an ugly form. They fight back and struggle, as all living things are wont to do, but what you offer them is ultimately Mercy.

It's ugly and harrowing for you, (for Pink), because no matter how merciful, it is still murder. Even if you're helping their souls return to the cycle of life, even if you're releasing them from their stagnation and despair and cruelty, you're still taking their lives against their wills.

No one wants to die, no matter how cursed the existence.

There will be reconciliation, no matter how ugly.

Hard choices will be justified in the end.

The only possible Mercy you're able to offer is the cruelest upon your own soul. (Pink's soul).

anyway yeah Everhood is really good go play it

[riftfic]

17. Epilogue

The end is here.

Thank you, everyone, for staying with me till now. I've made two additional illustrations buried in the text below. :)

Happy Anniversary, Undertale. 💙

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An incandescent future unfolded over the course of that year. Though far too familiar events repeated with frustrating familiarity, they arrived in new packages: some in bright and colorful wrapping, some in grossly damaged bags. Even if confusing and often jarring, most monsters expressed gratitude to have familiar yet unfamiliar lives awaiting. The additional security and a world more accepting allowed them to press on with more comfort than expected. 

Not all were as fortunate. Several returned to lives in pieces. Lost relationships. Humans that knew them, loved them, and had aged beyond them. Photographs of small children they might never conceive. Tombstones engraved with names of the living . . . sometimes their own. 

At first, Asgore and Toriel tried to shield you from the responsibility. This level of accountability, they said, should not rest on a child’s small shoulders. No one needed to know about your hand in the broken clock. 

You didn’t see it that way. Not knowing why their lives had been stolen, left wondering if their relationships could be undone again, only festered the wound. So you explained to them what had happened and why, and swore that it would not and could not happen again. Amazing, how forgiving monsters could be—not that they all were. 

For three months, HEART continued its search for monsters left behind. The moment Sans had recovered, he had jumped at the chance to join Papyrus and Undyne among their ranks. His unique teleportation magic served them well once he had a feel for those snaking, unfamiliar shafts and pathways. Places once difficult to reach suddenly became accessible. Dozens of monsters and their families owed him thanks, especially those trapped deep in the Ruins. 

None of them were Wingdings.

With this and all else he had set in motion to free them, monsterkind quickly came to love and respect Sans in a way he had never truly experienced. Sure, he had been a recognizable face in the local comic scene, the friendly smile at Grillby’s every other night, the playful hotdog peddler in Hotland, sentry and judge for the royal family, but never . . . this. If the swath of gifts and well wishes in his hospital room hadn’t been enough proof, Asgor went far enough as publicly honoring him. He hadn’t knighted him, thankfully—a fact Sans could not celebrate more—but he did proclaim something more touching than that. 

He named a star.

As a human, the first mention of this honor had underwhelmed you. Humans named stars all the time for science, for romance, for shits and giggles. What you hadn���t understood was that, to monsters, this meant far more than looking up and picking a distant flicker. 

Their people had evolved from stardust. While humans had a touch of this magic in them, monsters churned with this fire as their lifeblood. The celestial bodies, their very beginnings, were esteemed with enough reverence to be gods. 

Their banishment to the Underground had been especially cruel for this fact, and after such a long separation from the sky, marking their reunion with a new light was more than fitting. After all, when someone’s name was thought with enough intent in so many hearts, a star wasn’t only named; it was born. 

It was bright and it was beautiful. When viewed through his telescope, it nestled in a pocket of blue and gold fringed in red, much like the Ring Nebula, only light years from a star they had once named after you. 

“i don’t get it,” he admitted to you after the fact. “all i did was make up for somethin’ i did wrong. my motivations weren’t exactly heroic either.”

“Not all knights wear armor, Sir Sans the Star.”

“heh . . . and just what’re you gettin’ at, fair frisk the fart?”

You laughed. “It doesn’t matter why you did it,” you said. “You still did it. You brought back the dead, Sans. You deserve to be thanked for that, don’t you?”

You knew Asriel hadn’t been the one he wanted to resurrect. Even after the members of HEART had disbanded, he delved into the dark in search of Wingdings until his phalanges bled and his magic ran dry. All of you had begged him to relent, Asgore more than anyone. Not until every inch of the Underground’s remains had been scoured did he finally lose hope.

At least now, his brother’s name did not wither from memory like a dream in the morning light. For the first time, he could mourn him freely. He could share memories with those who knew him, find understanding in kindred spirits, and heal.

As one year on the surface came to a close, he finally found the courage to destroy the machine.

The spring sun crisped dewdrops from dandelions as you and Sans strode across his overgrown lawn. The skeleton brothers’ house, a cozy little two story chalet, stood half embedded in the steep hillside behind you. Its stilted, elevated porch overlooked miles of green forest and a babbling river inlet at the knoll’s foot, just as he had remembered. A long road wound atop the hill’s peak, passing from driveway to driveway to outline a comfortably spaced neighborhood. In the distance, Mount Ebott reached among smaller peaks for white clouds in a gold and pink sky. 

Under your arms, you each carried a folded mesh lawn chair. Matte black aviator sunglasses masked Sans’ eyes, though a cyan glow smoked behind the left lens. A pair of bright purple shields blocked your own. Following behind in a cloud of blue magic, the rusty, tattered block of a machine he called a “temporal flux manipulator” hovered helplessly a meter off the ground.

A safe distance from the coyote bushes dotting the property line, Sans shook out his chair and tossed it down beside a patch of naked buckwheat. You followed suit and plopped into your seat.

“countdown?” Sans requested.

Before you could start, he had flung the machine unceremoniously upward, nearly thirty feet into the air. At its very peak, he voided his magic. It plummeted into a satisfying cacophonous crash of metal and glass, as if a double decker had smashed into a brick wall.

“Three,” you said.

Two Gaster Blasters materialized over his shoulders.

“Two.”

Their unhinged jaws pooled white-hot energy in their gullets.

“One.”

Those wild-eyed dragon skulls unleashed two furious jets of dangerous magic. The light reflected in your sunglasses. Screams of raging power overwhelmed the once peaceful ambiance of nature. You both watched impassively, but perhaps just a little smugly, as what had once been a marvel of science was pummeled down into a flaming mess. 

The blasters dissipated, appeased. Both natural and magical fire burned high like a bonfire in front of you. You popped open a bag of marshmallows. Sans, meanwhile, emptied an old yellow envelope into the flames, then shrugged and tossed in the sleeve as well. Blueprint after blueprint shriveled away to embers, never to be crafted again.

“erase that, ya fat gameboy,” he muttered. 

Just as he reclined in his chair, a sputter of laughter spooked him out of it again.

“That was five years of our lives and 20 million G in government funding you just blew up.”

Sans whipped around, eye sockets wide and empty. You followed his gaze. The uncooked marshmallow you had been too impatient to wait for fell from your lips.

A lanky skeleton stood somewhat removed behind your chairs, clinging to a small paper bag and his own wrist. An orange laminate wristband hung above his bony palm, rugged from wear, and another rested alongside it in white. The sleeves of his loose, plum colored button-up had been pushed up to his elbows; the buttons down his torso had been fastened incorrectly, off by one. Something like apprehension and hesitation lit the small lights of his eyes, so similar to Sans’ and yet worlds apart. 

Sans’ hand shook audibly as he peeled the sunglasses from his face.

Wingdings looked exactly the same as he had nearly a century ago—no longer melted, his body whole—even if those awful cracks still split his skull. They had been mended, only scars now behind a thin but large pair of lopsided circular glasses. Though he had seemed joyful a moment ago, his smile slowly slipped away. 

At his heels, a small white dog panted happily. Far behind, at a bend in the road, a black Lincoln idled in park. Asgore stood leaning on the car door, watching from afar.

“I guess,” Wingdings eased past the silence, “it worked. Kind of. In a roundabout way. Basically, I was right; you were wrong. Congrats to me.” A small smile split his face again and his shoulders twitched upward. “Hooray,” he lilted weakly.

Sans had been creeping cautiously nearer, trembling, tracing that silhouette with the star of his left eye. Only inches apart, he touched the wristbands. The white one listed his name, his species, a mental hospital, and an admittance date—almost nine months ago. The orange band simply stated, “SUPERVISION REQUIRED.” 

Sans’ face was wet before he realized why. Every thought and feeling had been swept away until now.

“did you really come all the way from the void,” he hardly breathed, “just to rub it in my face?”

Wingdings stared down at him a long moment before his eyelights circled up into a cinched brow. He shrugged again. “Yes?”

Sans bubbled with laughter then, and Dings bubbled back. Next thing you knew, they were piled in each other's bones on the ground, happy, relieved, home. The Annoying Dog danced joyful doggy circles around them with a wildly flapping tail. 

From his vantage point, Asgore smiled with relief and found the resolve to approach.

“Oh, hey,” Wingdings said brightly when he noticed you nearing. “One sec.” 

He opened the paper bag and rustled around inside. The sound of pill bottles jostling like rain sticks only distracted you a moment before he surfaced something both considerate and serendipitous. Chocolate. Your favorite. A big, thick bar of the good stuff, the kind that melted in the mouth and made for soft and perfect s’mores. Your mouth salivated as you took the brick into your hands. The two of you were going to get along fine.

“One square at a time,” Asgore instructed you firmly.

You nodded.

“nine months?” Sans lamented playfully, tugging at the band around his brother’s wrist. “i coulda given birth by now. what happened? where were you? why . . .” Joy siphoned out of him. “why didn’t i know?”

At this, the anxious guilt Wingdings had forgotten sprang to life again.

“I’ll explain.” Asgore’s broad shoulders blocked the sun like a monument. His large though gentle voice stilled them all. 

“Your majesty, I can . . .” 

“I am no longer ‘your majesty,’” the great boss monster interrupted Wingdings with a smile. “I am your friend.” 

Dings relented, then, even if he fidgeted with the tags wrapped around his ulna and radius. Sans took his hand hostage.

Shortly before Sans had joined HEART, a small team had discovered Wingdings deep in the remnants of Waterfall. They had nearly given up their search when an annoying white dog barked after them ceaselessly. It led them to a dark alcove behind watery curtains, where Wingdings lay huddled in a corner, confused and nearly starved. 

“I was all bone,” Wingdings interjected shyly, but no one smiled. 

When he received the call that yet another skeleton had been unearthed, Asgore had raced to meet them almost as fast as he had run to meet you—but what he found was not the reunion he had hoped for. His smart, clever friend had been whittled down to a frightened creature with an ever fracturing hold on reality. With the breaking of the barrier, more than his grip on the rift had slipped loose. His mind had lost its bearings into a whirlwind of relentless psychosis. Excluding his early years in the void, Wingdings could not remember enduring an episode darker than this. 

Though warned of Wingdings’ catatonia and incoherency, the king of the underground immediately requested to visit him. He was glad he did. Something about seeing Asgore snapped Wingdings out of his stupor and into a brief moment of clarity, long enough to ask for help . . . and beg for the news not to escape, not even to Sans. 

“I didn’t want to be seen like that, marbles all over the floor,” Dings said. “And if I couldn’t be helped, well . . . I thought it would be better to stay forgotten.”

‘i didn’t forget you.” Sans’ grip on his brother’s hand tightened. “i mourned you. i thought you were dead.” 

‘I’m sorry.”

“I should have told you, Sans,” said Asgore. “Right away. I was torn . . . and the longer I put it off, the harder it became.”

Sans took measure of his heartache and decided it wasn’t worthwhile to blame them, not now. He had learned to forgive Asriel; he could absolve his brother and Asgore of this one misstep. He let the warmth of that metal bonfire and the sight of Wingdings’ tired face smooth over his soul.

“you don’t gotta apologize,” he sighed. “it sounds . . . scary.”

Windings nodded meagerly, but did not elaborate.

Asgore had placed him in a special care ward under the brightest human and monster minds he could assemble. Thankfully, humans had already researched three years ahead on this front. With their combined understanding of monster and human anatomy, they found a combination of physical and magical treatment that worked enough to stabilize him. The rest relied on therapy. 

“I’ll have sessions twice a week,” said Dings. “Asgore already agreed to take me, so if you have reservations . . .”

“reserva—the hell are you talking about?” Sans said. He had gripped his little brother by the shoulders, then, harsh at first but quickly gentle. Tears beaded in his eyes. “you think a little hot water’s gonna scare me off? you’ll be lucky if you get me off your heels!”

“It’s not over,” Windings said shakily. “I’m not cured. Something like this doesn’t just go away. It . . . sleeps.”

Sans deflated, then softly clutched him to his chest. Dings lowered his eyes, melting touch-starved into arms he had once lost hope in feeling. 

“i know,” Sans answered calmly. “and when it wakes up you don’t gotta face it solo. you’re not alone in the dark anymore. you’re home.”

Sans inhaled deeply, mercifully, as if he hadn’t truly breathed since the day he lost him. Saying the words aloud had released something inside him like puncturing a balloon. Everything felt pure and new: the weight of his brother in his arms; the scent of him intermingled with the neighbor’s freshly-cut grass; the warmth of his breath amid the late summer sunlight bleaching his skull; the glow of his eyes against the bonfire flickering strange their shadows. Nothing would let him forget this, not even the stars that began to glimmer out of hiding. 

“you’re home,” he said again, and this time his voice rattled with joy.

Wingdings held him very tightly then, desperately, and with it Sans knew he shared the sentiment. He smiled truly, deeply, never more whole, and hid it for himself in folds of wine purple cloth. 

“you made it.”

The End

Hear me now, hope you're listening It's been centuries, least what it seems to me I've been on this road, my eyes glistenin' Our past don't matter, I'm much stronger And fly much farther, soar overseas Finally, see, I'll keep on climbing Ridin' the lightning and I am sure

At times, I really didn't show What was wrong with me, wrong with me I told myself I cannot grow Without lovin' me, lovin' me But this is just the hell that lives inside Tell me now, where to? Please be my guide

I've been goin', goin' in circles Reoccurring dreams, talkin' in my sleep Then I'm floatin' up to the surface I can finally breathe, I could do anything And I don't know why it's all right And it's not at the same time Then I look up at a blue sky And I know

At times, I really didn't show What was wrong with me, wrong with me I tell myself I cannot grow Without lovin' me, lovin' me This is just the hell that lives inside Tell me now, where to? Please be my guide

"Lovin' Me" - Kid Cudi feat. Phoebe Bridgers

That's it. That's the end. :')

This has been an amazing journey. Thank you, thank you so much for reading through to the end.

I've been considering starting a new fic, a part two so to speak, that follows Wingdings as he reconnects with family and friends and learns to navigate his new life. Plus healing, as well as his mental health and trauma from the void. Maybe romance??? idk. A wholesome slice-of-life thing, much lighter in tone. I have scenes in my head already.

Thank you again. I have a surprise in store, so please don't unsubscribe just yet. ;)

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[theabyssqueen]

Chara is our partner, not our victim (rant)

Warning: may sound like Chara hate to some, but Chara is actually one of my favorite characters in Undertale since childhood. I love them. Please keep this in mind while reading this.

Undertale fandom (especially on Youtube and ESPECIALLY Tiktok) try to use critical thought and realise after 8 years that Chara is just as responsible for the Genocide route and is a willing participant in it challenge (impossible)

Like how can you think that Chara is punishing you for your sins at the end of Genocide or is disgusted with you if they helped you throughout it all?

We do not corrupt them.

We do not manipulate them.

Chara is your partner on equal grounds. They make it very clear right at the end of Genocide that you were never in control.

I repeat: we are NEVER in control of Chara.

Treating them as a lost and confused baby without any freedom of choice or thought is a disservice to the character.

Proof under the cut.

The Genocide Run has strict requirements for it to be started. For red text to appear, you need to kill 20 monsters in the Ruins, fully clearing them out. Yet, if you kill the first Froggit you meet, AND 19 monsters, Genocide does not begin. Why is that? I thought Chara was corrupted by all the LV and EXP we are gaining!

It's because Chara doesn't care if the first Froggit is killed or not. Only the monsters after it count.

Additionally, the last chance that Genocide can be aborted is right before Mettaton NEO, at which point, you should be at LV 15. Thing is, this LV can be reached even during a Neutral Run, by grinding 39 Knight Knights in the CORE. Yet, red text still doesn't appear.

Sparing monsters in Genocide is possible and doesn't deter Chara from the Run (but only if it's a common encounter).

Chara berates you if Snowdrake gets away and Genocide is aborted immediately.

Chara keeps count of the monsters needed to be killed and will stop you from advancing further in some sections if there are still monsters left.

They could easily just not do all of that.

Frisk's independent actions out of the Player's control during Genocide are actually not theirs, but Chara's. Chara kills Flowey, Asgore, and Sans. And while an argument could be made for us influencing Chara into killing Sans, the same cannot be made for Asgore's and Flowey's deaths. There isn't even any FIGHT button for us to press. The only thing we are doing at this point is advancing dialogue.

And this is considering that Flowey and Asgore were/are both Chara's family, or at least akin to one.

Listen, I get it. I also hate when people put all the blame on Chara. I also dislike when people just stamp "evil" onto them and erase all possible nuance. But that doesn't mean that we should go right into the opposite direction and act as if they're innocent or righteous.

At the end of Genocide, no matter your input on the matter, Chara ends the world. Not just you, not just the monsters still left alive in the Underground, but the whole universe. That indescribably outweighs all the misdeeds we have done during the Run.

Just think about it. Is really killing EVERYONE in the world justifiable, if you do it to punish someone? Even a murderer? To make them "see the consequences of their actions"?

How does that make sense?

How does that elevate them from you in any capacity?

Is it because they talk of "perverted sentimentality", which evades even them? Chara only talks about it if you try to return to the world you had a part in destroying. Chara only talks about if on the 2nd+ Genocide Run you do not comply with erasing everything.

In fact, if you play along, they compliment you. And they don't say anything about your feelings on the matter.

Killing and erasing is encouraged. If you do so, in Chara's eyes, you are a beneficial and trustworthy partner.

And the photo. The photo that appears at the end of Soulless Pacifist if you leave Toriel. Instead of Frisk, Chara is shown, and everyone else's faces are crossed out, implying that they are dead.

Some argue that this is just Chara trying to scare you, or remind you of all the murder you've committed, keeping you responsible.

Alphys is scribbled out.

It is impossible to kill Alphys in Genocide.

It's possible she kills herself during some pretty bad Neutral Runs. Not to mention that, in general, a lot of Neutral Runs are just as, if not worse than Genocide.

Why won't Chara guilt trip you for having done them, then?

And I just can't wrap my mind around someone thinking that Chara is literally pulling a "just a prank bro" here. Especially considering that this is never shown or hinted at to be the case.

And as the icing on the cake, look at the text that appears after the end of Genocide in the Undertale Demo:

To me, at this point, thinking that Chara is innocent is just denial.

Yes, Chara offers trying out a different route next time. Yet they sure as hell won't stop encouraging it if it is started all over again. No matter if it's the 1st, 2nd, or 100th time you decide to kill everyone to wipe out the world, Chara will play along. This is considering the fact that their dialogue changes on the 2nd Genocide, and thus, proof that Chara's memory is unaffected by RESETs or ERASEs.

Yes, Chara says that YOU were the one who lead this world to ruin. But in my opinion, considering their offer for you to try out a different path, and their actions in Soulless Pacifist (which are, again, out of their own volition and unprompted), Chara's ultimate goal is to take over your/Frisk's soul. Which is why the point fingers and erase their contribution in all the murder, to try and make you feel guilty for it, seeing how you clearly do not wish to part with this world so easily.

Evidently, they've succeeded.

Chara would never get what they want at the end, if not for your help. And you wouldn't get what you want, if not for Chara's help.

The Player and Chara are partners. Let's never forget that.

Credit to the Undertale Text Project for the screenshots and to the nochocolate blog for opening my eyes all those years ago. I love you nochoco.

[glitch-the-artist]

Chara jevil theory

okay so, recently I been thinking about this theory that might explain a few things about jevil. I think that they are referencing chara, or hell maybe even frisk a little bit too. Here is my proof.

First off, jevil wants to kill the fun gang (of course), but not because he hates them. But because that he thinks the world is just a game. Like the player in the genocide route, killing everyone because why the hell not it’s fun.

It’s heavily implied that jevil may have gone quote on quote “absolutely bonkers” and started to do mass genocide on card kingdom. Which is what caused jevil to be locked up in the first place. And like I said, he probably literally did a “GENCODE ROUTE”, which clearly is a reference to chara.

When you defeat jevil, either by beating the shit out of him or making him tired, he just gives up and gives you an item. Kinda like how a player just gives up halfway though a genocide route and just spares the enemy. Like hell when you spare him, you need to get him tired. Like this is kinda speaking for itself tbh.

Okay lastly, if this theory is true, then it explains the entire red heart thing during his battle. Cuz well, your soul is mostly red during undertale. It’s basically the main color of frisk/chara’s soul. Which I consider to be evidence because of Spamton using the yellow soul while in mettaton’s suit, because that’s the same in undertale during mettaton ex’s battle.

ya this makes sense to me, if you have anything you wanna add on to this then go crazy ig

[anfie-in-the-box]

Dreamtale_Not_Found & Aftermare Week

Notes

Short but with with lots of Hurt/Comfort.

The main story here! If you'd like to read it chronologically, feel free to skip this one because there are minor spoilers here.

。。。

Discovery

For a second, Nightmare floats in nothingness. It's not disturbing anymore, not after years of experience. Then, when he has a body (although intangible) again, he opens his sockets. It's dark, except for two words hanging in nowhere and a small lawn in the middle. There are two figures there, sitting very close. Only Nightmare doesn't get to make a single step when he hears suppressed sobs. 

He runs. 

"Geno? Geno, what happened?" he asks while trying not to panic. "Does your socket hurt? Chest? Are there any more glitches?" 

Was your brother slaughtered again? Nightmare doesn't ask, too afraid to make it worse. He knows too well physical pain means nothing when compared to emotional anguish. 

Geno sobs again, hugging his Frisk closer, tighter. Nightmare still runs when suddenly he stumbles right into them, leaving them all on the invisible ground. 

Geno stares at him, tears still there but silent. Nightmare stares back. For a few long, long moments they stay like that, but then little Frisk wriggles out, and that's that. 

"you can touch us," Geno whispers reverently. 

Nightmare, not believing still, catches a red-ish tear.

"I can touch you," he repeats, then mutters, "You can see me. I'm not invisible. You can touch me. I'm not intangible. Not here. It's so… logical. I can't believe we've never tried it before. And now, when you need it the most…" 

Then Geno hugs him, desperately but with so much love Nightmare can breathe it in and never breathe it out, absorbing it into his body forever. He hugs Geno back, helping him sit. Geno hides his face in Nightmare's collar, trembling slightly but not crying anymore. The touch seems to ground him in the best way, and then Frisk starts humming a lullaby, and just for a moment, everything is alright in their little world. 

They'll pull through. Despite everything.

But for now, they caress each other's hands and faces, tickle playfully, laughing and asking to stop without meaning it, Geno snatches Nightmare's tiara, and Nightmare lets him, because they're in love.

Geno and his little Frisk are as much of a family as Dream is. 

Now that he thinks about it… 

"Come on, join us! I know you want to be a part of it." 

Frisk looks at them, shining with happiness of two touch-starved messes, smiles shyly, and yes, takes the first step to join them. If only Dream could be here… But that'd be perfect, and Nightmare knows perfection is a dangerous goal.

Together, the three of them fool around for what seems like eternity. For once the flow of time — or the lack of it, for they are still in the void of the screen — is kind to them.

But eventually, it ends. Nightmare feels the pull of nothingness settling in his bones. 

"I don't know how, but I'm happy and we'll repeat that and so much more. Love you two." 

Geno doesn't answer, but his shining eye-light tells it all. For a moment, he forgets his pain. That's all Nightmare wants.

Then Nightmare wakes up in his broken home that's only called home because his brother is there. If only there was a way to run away… 

。。。

Credits

Undertale © Toby Fox

Nightmare!Sans © jokublog

Aftertale © loverofpiggies

Aftermare Week © @bluepallilworld

[stainedglassthreads]

There are occasional edgy fringe theories about how Kris killed Asriel, and Ralsei’s Light World form is Kris’ headband covered in dust. And shortly after Chapter 2 dropped, before most of the fandom more or less agreed that Dess was lost but not confirmed dead, I do remember seeing one or two theories that  Kris killed Dess and Asgore lost his job by covering for them. 

I’m not really a fan of either of those theories. I feel like the Asriel one is just baseless speculation and shock value, while as for the Dess one, most have disregarded it and for good reason: there’s just a LOT more evidence for her being missing, even in a supernatural way, than being dead. 

But there is one character who might actually be dead who I’ve been disregarding for a while, and now want to give a second glance over. 

Kris Dreemurr. 

There were a few edgy theories in Undertale, of course, that Frisk was dead. Every seemingly lighthearted fandom has its bizarre ‘it was all a dream’ or ‘this character was in a coma’ or ‘they were in purgatory all along’ theory, Undertale was no exception. I feel like this theory doesn’t completely make sense in Undertale. While Frisk and Kris share certain parallels, the idea that Frisk cannot live or exist without the Red Soul is not explored or even brought up, and as we move on from the game, it’s made pretty implicit that Frisk does get to live their own life (presuming one does not reset.) Between the brief glimpses of after the game ends that we get, Flowey imploring us to ‘let Frisk live their life,’ and the soft implication that the monsters may be speaking with Frisk in the Alarm Clock Dialogue... Frisk suddenly dropping dead the moment they reach the surface would come kinda outta left field, especially when Toby took the care of setting up what they may be doing on the surface-- living with Toriel or serving as Ambassador of the Monsters or starting a new adventure. 

But for all their parallels with Frisk, Kris’ situation is different. It’s made clear that they struggle a lot with the Red Soul. A parallel between them and Spamton is made, and when Spamton cuts his strings, expecting to be a real boy, he falls to the ground and does not get back up, in a very downer moment. 

The implication, taken to its logical conclusion, implies that without the Red Soul being inside them for too long, Kris might actually die. But it does beg the question... Was the Red Soul always their Soul? And if not, where is their real Soul? What happened to it? 

There are a couple of theories about where Kris’ real Soul is. If it was left in the Bunker, or if Gaster took it in a deal of some sort. I do not have anywhere near enough evidence to say with certainty where Kris’ soul is, so any guesses of mine would be 100% speculation. But I have to wonder if Kris technically died some time ago, and has been limping along by ‘borrowing’ the souls of passing entities, or something similar. If perhaps, rather than killing Dess or Asriel in the Bunker... ‘Kris’ was the one killed, and only ‘survived’ by becoming a passenger in their own body. 

I don’t think I’m the only one who’s theorized Kris may be dead. I do recall one other theory post citing how Susie calls Kris ‘the class zombie’ as possible unwitting foreshadowing on Susie’s end. I think we need more information on whatever the Red Soul is, how long it’s been there, and if there were any prior possessions before we can make a certain ruling either way tho. We’re still in just Chapter 2 out of 7, and I’m sure there’s a lot of things we don’t know. 

tl;dr: Asriel is alive. Dess is yet to be seen but probably not dead dead. Frisk is probably not dead post-Undertale, and probably goes on to live a long and happy life, before you reset. Kris would be less fine if the game ended and they were still stuck with the Red Soul. 

[shywitchyfangirl]

hey!! so i am currently interested in undertale paganism a lot, and i was wondering if you have any tips for getting started?

and if you have the time, any chara correspondences? thanks!!

Hey, sorry for taking a bit to answer!

First off, if you haven't already, check out the pop culture paganism tag for some general ideas. This post is my favorite for explaining things. That being said, your starting point largely depends on what you're drawn to, what meaning you find in the game, and what you're hoping to become through it. For instance, are you hoping to grow into a more merciful person? More determined? Maybe you want to embody all seven soul traits? Or perhaps you just draw comfort from the characters themselves and want to have some sort of spiritual relationship with them? That's okay too!

Soul searching aside, I would suggest your first move be to pick just one character and try building a relationship with just them. Whichever one you're most drawn to, or whoever most embodies what you're looking for. Try to reach out to them, talk to them, give them offerings, and ask them for guidance. An important thing to keep in mind with pop culture entities, though, is that not all of them would be comfortable being worshipped or treated as a god. Depending on who you're working with, it might be a good idea to try just honoring them as a person and/or mentor until you get a better feel of their boundaries. Once you're comfortable with them and vice versa, you might find yourself drawn to another character, another character may reach out to you in some way, or your first character may introduce another character to you themselves. In my case, for my Deltarune practice, I started with Jevil, who might in Seam for me, who introduced Diamond King to me.

Aside from that, the wonderful thing about Undertale is that it has its virtues built right in. Focusing on mercy and the seven soul traits is a great way to practice Undertale paganism, and the souls/traits themselves could easily be revered in their own right (perhaps as something akin to angels?). For instance, your practice could include embodying one trait for each day of the week. Of course, the characters themselves will have their own lessons to teach you, and you could even call on them as guardian spirits if you need their specific skills.

As for Chara, they're a tricky character to nail down (just look at the fandom). Their associations really depend on how you see them, but in a sense, that could be a trait in and of itself. Chara is the one who calls out to their brother in the final battle and brings him peace, but they're also the one who, after being forced to kill everyone they love, decides that if they're going to do it, they at least want to do it by their own power, and you don't get to change your mind after they've lost everything. They were bitter enough to want to kill the humans who attacked them and Asriel, but they were also willing to sacrifice their life to save the monsters. They are, basically, the grey area between Frisk and Flowey, which is why the player is able to guide them one way or the other.

You can disagree or add your own, but this is a start for what I would give them:

-The colors red, green and gold, red heart shapes, smiley faces, as well as any yellow flowers

-Determination (duh)

-Survival in harsh/abusive situations (it's implied Chara had a very bad upbringing prior to their fall, and got through it by learning to laugh off the pain)

-Self-sacrifice (the whole buttercups thing)

-Doing what must be done (see previous)

-Family (they loved the Dreemurs enough to die for them, and they were the one who calmed Asriel)

-Gaining the upper hand on an abuser ("Since when were YOU the one in control?")

-Similarly, control/being controlled

-Gaining power ("Any time a number goes up, that feeling is me. Chara")

-Destruction and recreation (they do bring the world back if you beg)

-Deals with other entities (you giving them your soul in exchange)

-But relating to the above, inescapable consequences (Soulless pacifist)

-Also in those lines, cursing someone with exactly what they asked for

-Necromancy/ghosts/spirit work/death, because they are themself a ghost stuck to Frisk

-I would argue redemption, since what is the pacifist route if not teaching Chara a better way

-Anger and/or protecting others (them wanting to attack the humans who hurt Asriel)

Feel free to send another ask if you have further questions! I hope this can get you started!

[newverseam]

Newverse part 7

A unwanted reset part 7

Chara: What do I do now!!!!?

Random person: Hello there

Chara:.....Who or what are you, and where am I?

Random person: Well Chara, you are here in my place, in the dark Hell

Chara: And....where am I here?

Random person: I brought you here, as a promise making thing

Chara: Promise and what is that?

Random person: I need you to promise that you will kill all the people in that world the world where you were sent out

Chara: I was already going to do that

Random person: Heh....I need you to kill all the 12 DemiKings the King of the Multiverse and the Frisk

Chara: Ok =)

Random person: In return, I will grant you the ability to do whatever you want, you don't have to cause Genocides or you could do it, you could control the world of Undertale or just control the fate like Frisk did, or you could just stay here not do the deal and I would have to beat you down

Chara: I am going to do it, I will kill them all =)

Random person: O I forgot to tell you something, you fail to do this I will make you suffer in a hell you never image * Starts to have dark red eyes *

Chara: Ok....

Tartarian: My name is Tartarian and I am more powerful than you will ever be, now go and finish our promise * starts to grab Chara's body and puts his hands on Chara's soul * U N D E R S T O O D?

Chara:...Y-Yes

Tartarian: Now, GET OUT * Sends Chara away *

[rsraimurasaki]

Matrix CorridorTale

The AU series masterpost

📌Here's the official masterpost of the AU Matrix CorridorTale.

✍️ About this AU✍️

----

The AU'S description

MatrixCorridorTale

*An UnderTale AU by Raillison, which takes place in a post-pacifist timeline that happened after the True Pacifist ending in UnderTale, also entitled as UnderTale:The Derivation in its first season.

After the freedom of the monsters had finally taken over, years had passed due to the harmony they had with the humans on the surface. On the other hand, Frisk, the main protagonist takes a move after encountering a bizarre dream that they had,or much more as a nightmare. The salvation of everyone matters to them the most, so they knew they failed to save three people that needs it the most.

Since this au first takes place on the main universe, on the other hand, only Frisk and Sans knew the evolution of the Multiverse- infinite amount of different universes that evolved through the coexistences and ideas the creators have developed by knowing the main universe. Frisk knows there's something out there, waiting for them...

And deep in the "Multiversial Timeline Save Point",another person is operating and modifying the status and details of every universe.

Until...one time...

They noticed there's something wrong....

There's some kind of anomaly trying to intervene, and will be the reason why each and every other timeline began to shatter and be gone forever.

Frisk is convinced...

Will they save everything with that person?

Or will they let the whole Multiverse-including theirs, to collapse?

Different worlds...different timelines...different routes....

They're out there...no matter what kind of condition....

But still...

It's time to SAVE the Multiversial Worlds!

*******

📌Matrix CorridorTale's story started after a completed True Pacifist Route wherein Frisk get to free all the monsters on the underground, the goal of their freedom is finally achieved. As the story progresses, it will continue like a sequel on how the story of UnderTale will continue once the monsters are on the Human Surface,but in an altered and complex way.

📌In the story, if you already reached the early chapters including the au's prologue that I posted, it all started wherein Frisk is determined to set their goals for freedom...not just for the monsters, but also for all, including Chara and Asriel, although Chara already stated that they can no longer be saved since they were gone a long time ago.

📌 I haven't really put in the main story yet, in the future chapters, Frisk will be assigned to save their universe from its hidden anomalous facade, wherein not only them- but also everyone else get to have the memories of their other side, Devastated Timeline(which implies to as the Genocide Route), even though Frisk haven't done any before. That includes Flowey's intervention on how he sees Frisk, and later on after a peculiar encounter he became Asriel again.

📌On the other hand, there was also the "mystical person", which I haven't revealed yet in the chapters, but will be revealed for later. "She" have slept for a millennium on a secret corridor across time and space, on a different universe- "her" power is absolutely unknown yet since it will be revealed for later.

But "her" name will be Ambetty, and that isn't even "her real name". She the one whom states to Frisk about their timeline's current situation, and is willing to help them all she can. She also states about the Multiversial Worlds, in which Frisk is learning about.

The range of all the different universes were under Ambetty's operation and guidance, as much as she surveys and depicts the status and range of the Multiversial Timelines.

📌The power of the SOULs have played a specific role on how the characters will act, including Frisk's red soul that caused Ambetty to be awakened from her hibernation, and Asriel to be back as himself again.

❓Where can I find the AU story contents?

✍️The canon story of this AU will be found here in this link

📍Although the first season isn't finished yet, the story will be updated more as the story progresses on future chapters.

✍️YOU CAN ALSO READ THE SIDE AND EXTRA STORIES HERE

📌Since that is where I post mostly about my AU, you can check my Facebook Account for updates of the series.

–––––--------

✍️Since this masterpost is for the AU's first Season, I'm going to make another masterpost for Second Season once the first one is finished.

✍️I'll be posting arts about the characters here with the tag/s #matrix corridortale and #undertale:the derivation.

✍️I'll be updating this masterpost for later.

✍️ There will be other artist's/writers' OCS that will be included in the future chapters of the AU.

The AUs that will be featured.

📌Ink Sans by @comyet / @myebi

📌CORE!Frisk by @dokudoki

📌X!Gaster and Cross!Chara/VI and Cross/XTale Sans by @jakei95

📌Dream! Sans by @jokublog

📌Finale! Chara, Finale! Frisk and Finale!Asriel by @larzzzyyy

📌NoonTale characters by @lance-16

📌BlackTale characters by @roease

📌UT!Rosalie by @rosy-posy-posts

📌CityVale characters by @devidevz

UnderTale by @Toby Fox

Matrix CorridorTale by me

{The mentioned AUs' characters will be featured in the AU's future chapters}.

-------------

[ant1quarian]

An Undertale Au I made

Hello. Welcome to the Undertale au I thought of last night at approximately 3am.

I’m calling it Undervoid, since Voidtale has been taken!

Undervoid is an AU where, after a series of genocide routes, something changes. The thing that changes is that the Core is now incredibly unstable and it officially blows up before Frisk (Who was running a Pacifist Route at the time) could do anything about it.

It decimates everything. Due to the volume of the explosion, it tears a rift in the void and the void literally swallows everything. 

Player resets.

But instead, a new person falls down.

Now they’re thrown into a world where they’re constantly on the run from Void monsters- Gaster Blasters, Dragons, Fucked up sludge-Goat monsters.

And they meet a new Sans (It’s all from Void!Sans perspective). He’s aloof, unlike the original Sans and holds a strong dislike for Frisk. He also has a long whip-like tail that he keeps coiled around his leg when he’s not attacking. He also has horns. The void has literally changed his appearance and he is extremely bitter towards Frisk, who tries her best to apologise.

He completely ignores her.

Frisk gets sad, dies, and tries to reset.

She finds that instead of ‘RESET’, it’s a button that simply says; ‘CONTINUE.’ 

When she touches it, she’s promptly dragged back into her body as her soul pieces itself back together.

Papyrus is still trying his best to be good and provide shelter and homes for everyone.

Undyne is still Captain of the royal guard, but she also takes on the responsibility of guarding the kingdom against the Void monsters.

Toriel has formed an uneasy alliance with Asgore, but she refuses to stay in the palace. Instead, she works on providing what food they can find in the void to feed to the people.

Asgore now needs fourteen human souls to ‘break the barrier’ of the void back to society.

They have thirteen souls so far.

Alphys is trying to find a way to break the barrier through science.

Mettaton is still no longer a star, but instead takes care of the wounded and sick.

There’s places where Sans travels where he can see the barrier thinning to the point where he can view outwards and towards society (Where the other Sanses are currently- the Surface, which they call ‘Reality’)

Void!Sans is capable of sending his consciousness out to the other AU’s, in which his physical body is ‘asleep’ in his AU. His consciousness is fully tangible but remains to have that samed dull look as he does in his au. Shadows and light also doesn’t work on him, and he can’t feel anything like water or sunlight, even if his body is manipulating the water to make it look as if he’s touching it. He also doesn’t have a shadow.

UV(Undervoid)!Sans

Void!Sans is a 193cm male Void-skeleton monster with two horns and a 2 metre, whip-like tail that is very similar to a spine in it’s looks. Both his horns and tail have a black gradient, which matches his hands (which are pure ebony) and lower arms (where it starts to fade.) Both of his irises as a norm are indigo-coloured. One disappears and the other iris flashes vibrant indigo and blood orange. (Courage and Animosity) He has a crack in his jaw that runs up to his nose bridge. He got this when some flying debris hit him when the Core exploded.

He’s an aloof version of Sans that generally keeps a very neutral expression on his face. His emotions are extremely hard to decipher as he’s become extremely guarded and he has no thoughts of self-preservation. He’s just… done.

However, once you know him, he also becomes extremely mischevious and a massive prankster.

UV!Papyrus

Void!Papyrus is easily still freakishly tall (Even taller than before). He wears actual armour now- Red, gold and black, as are the colours of the kingdom. His features are a bit sharper, yes, and his eyes are more tired, but he continues with his cheery disposition and tries to make everything lighter.

UV!Undyne

Void!Undyne is a bit more laid-back than she used to be. Or, rather, is more tired than she used to be. Her hair is a darker shade of red and her scales don’t carry the same vibrant colours. She, too, has void markings over her hands and ears.

UV!Frisk

Void!Frisk- a traumatised person that flinches away from any sort of contact. They’re covered in void markings- humans were never meant to survive in the void- and their soul is severely cracked from the amount of times they’ve ‘CONTINUED’ after dying.

UV!Alphys

Void!Alphys has a few void markings- along with quite a few more scars. She’s still shy, but again, is often quite exhausted. Her scales are duller, and she’s more focused on figuring out a way out of the barrier. She and Undyne are still in love.

UV!Asgore

Void!Asgore is an exhausted, kind man who is fighting to keep society running at all costs. He is less kind to humans and is very often on the verge of collapsing all together, scumbing to the void.

UV!Toriel

Void!Toriel is a tired but still very loving monster who has devoted her life to help and save the people. She’s quite strict when it comes down to rationing out food, but not unkind. She knows what everyone needs to survive, and will give them that amount.

UV!Mettaton

Void!Mettaton is less flashy, but still talks the same. He and Papyrus are the only two that try to keep things light. His body is well-oiled, but still quite a bit duller.

UV!Muffet

UV!Muffet is always trying to put smiles on people’s faces and goes around providing food for the rest of society. Like the others, her colour is dulled down a bit, but she’s always willing to help out. (It’s also Canon that she treats Void!Sans like a son because of how he cares for any spiders he finds.)

UV!Grillby

Void!Grillby is often scorned at by society. His flames tend to change colour every now and then, depending on his emotions. However, they’re dulled down a bit. But he still tries his best and is no longer running a bar, but battles and also takes care of food rations.

UV!Burgerpants

Void!Burgerpants is a heavily-traumatised character that still tries to look on the best side of things, despite the fact he’s been diagnosed with severe deppression. 

...

Yes, Void!Sans, which quite literally goes by Void, is a thing now.

Void!Papyrus goes by Umber, which was a nickname given to him by Stretch when Umber didn’t know what to call himself.

He’s very cool and funny in my opinion.

He also has a massive collection of spiders that chill on his roof in his room but are mostly venomous.

Yeah! So that’s Undervoid!

Random Canon stuff

- Void’s stomach is a literal pit of emptiness, so he can inhale proportionately impossible things because his mouth acts like a vaccum. Like houses. Or Cruise ships. He also doesn’t need to eat/inhale edible food, as his body sucks up the power of the people’s magic around him.

Sans ^^

[jmbringitonworld]

Unexpected Benefits of Becoming a Swamp Witch (1)

AO3 link for those who prefer to read fics there.

I've said in the past that I have absolutely no intention of ever pairing Sans with anyone but Frisk, and I firmly stand by that. BUT, Llamagoddess's Sans, Red and Skull are so different from canon Sans, and her many AUs are so far removed from classic Undertale, that I've always seen them as OCs, from unique worlds that have little to nothing to do with Undertale. And Skull in particular is my favourite. Big, scary boi who's somft for his little waifu? Loving cuddle bug who adores his precious mate to the point of obsession? Giant teddy bear who wants nothing more than to hold his beloved close to his soul forever and ever, and stars help anyone who tries to get in his way? Yes please!!

Also, for all those who've read my fic Good Girl Needs Kiss, well here's that reader MC's infamous mother! It won't have any bearing on the plot, though, and is honestly just my own personal headcanons for that reader MC's parents, but there will be some fun little easter eggs here and there, along with some shared worldbuilding. I've actually got a couple of different ideas for who that witch!reader's father is, so I left him ambiguous, but mama witch has always been fully fleshed-out in my head, and I've finally decided to write about one of my favourite versions of GGNK!Reader's parents, using one of my favourite AUs from Llamagoddess. (Fair warning, MamaWitch!Reader is… kinda bitchy? And I've never written a MC who isn't nice and kind before. It was… interesting)

Again, you can treat this as its own, completely separate story if you want. Totally up to you.

Skull and Forest God AU belong to @llamagoddessofficial

______________________________________________

Chapter 1: Making a Choice

There were three forests for me to choose from. Well, technically there were two forests and a wetland which used to be a forest, but the latter was guarded by an ancient and powerful Forest God, and had plenty of ambient magic for me to tap into, so it was functionally similar to the other forests and would suit my needs just as well. Now, the question was: which of these would be my new home?

I’d been pondering the matter for a few days now, and had yet to decide. All three seemed like viable options, so I would need to carefully examine each one, to determine which of them would be the most suitable home for me. To that end, I’d sent out my two familiars to go investigate each of the forests thoroughly, while I took to the air on my enchanted broomstick, flying over each of the woods, and observing them from above.

I needed to be absolutely sure that I was happy with my final choice, because I wanted this home to be my permanent one. I was tired of having to constantly move, each time I’d get overwhelmed by suitors and harassed by enamoured clients.

This was all Mother’s fault.

I shook off my familiar annoyance, returning my attention to the dense forest canopy beneath me, as I soared over the trees on my broom. Making sure to stay above the treeline, and out of range of the local Forest God’s magic, I peered closely at the landscape whizzing past me down below.

Acres upon acres of tall, leafy, centuries-old trees met my eye, the very vision of a healthy forest. While I couldn’t see below the thick foliage, I could nevertheless hear the wildlife – insects and mammals scurrying, scuttling, and running around, the birds singing and calling to each other, some occasionally flying past me as they travelled from tree to tree.

All signs pointed to this forest being healthy and full of life, clearly well-maintained by its guardian deity. And most importantly for me, well-protected. Exactly what I was looking for. I felt confident that no trespasser with ill intent would be able to reach me, should I decide to settle here. Forest Gods were incredibly protective of their territories, and those inhabiting them, after all. I would finally get some peace.

The forest adjacent to this one was much the same, save for the trees at the very heart being petrified, the air saturated with some of the oldest magic I’d ever come across. An interesting place, for sure, and one well worth studying, should I decide to live there. And should its protector deity grant me safe passage. Most Forest Gods were unwilling to allow mortals to wander too close to their nests, but maybe I’d be able to bargain with this one? It was something to consider, at least.

The final ��forest” was far different from the other two. I held a handkerchief over my nose as I flew above miles and miles of dark mud and peat, the horrid stench of death and rot permeating the entire area and practically assaulting my nostrils. It was certainly an unpleasant place, to say the least. I shuddered to imagine just how full of hatred and pain the resident God must be, for his territory to have ended up in such an abysmal state. There had to be a tragic story behind all this, and the dead husks of charred trees, barely visible through the ever-present thick fog, gave me an idea as to what it might be.

Against my will, I felt a pang of sympathy for the poor deity and his ruined home, before forcefully banishing such feelings. I had a mission to see through, and I couldn’t let myself get distracted by useless sentimentality. Life was harsh and cruel, for everyone, and mercy was for the foolish. I couldn’t afford to care about anyone but myself.

I was almost tempted to abandon my observation of the wetland, and give it up as a lost cause, when the land began to change. Dead bog eventually gave way to wet marsh, with cleaner water and richer soil, allowing for life to finally grow. A smile crept onto my face, as I saw plants covering the ground, and animals moving about the undergrowth. A flock of birds even joined me in the air after a while and called out to me, so I followed them deeper into the wetlands.

Finally, I reached the centre of the Wetland God’s domain – a swamp. The water was obviously very deep, but also clean, and full of aquatic life. Including alligators, I noted with interest. There were many fascinating potions I could brew with alligator teeth. Not to mention all of the incredibly rare and valuable swamp plants and herbs which grew in abundance here. My eyes practically sparkled, as I gazed around the misty swamp, my interest renewed.

There were also a great many trees, as expected of a Forest God’s domain – truly massive trees, their trunks thick and their branches wide, housing innumerable birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects. Something like hope sparked in my chest, but I was probably just imagining it. Still, it was very encouraging to see that the heart of this wetland was overflowing with life and magic, in spite of the desolate wasteland which surrounded it. A Forest God’s home should always be full of life.

As I was hovering beside the largest tree in the swamp, my eyes happened to spot a big, circular, red light shining in the mist. It almost resembled a giant eye, looking directly at me and seeming to stare straight into my soul. As if noticing my gaze, the eerie eye widened, its red light becoming brighter, and I felt the magic in the air shift. I took that as my cue to leave. I’d seen enough, anyway. No point lingering here and risk incurring the wrath of the Wetland God.

 But as I flew away, a loud, mournful cry rang out behind me, echoing through the air and shaking the leaves on the trees below. Startled, I urged my broom to fly faster, and the cry eventually faded away into the distance. However, the haunting sound still lingered in my mind, along with that glowing, red eyelight.

Was that the Wetland God?

~~~

The following day, I arrived at the nearby town. It was fairly average in both size and appearance, but was nonetheless bustling with activity, and travellers and residents alike were milling around, going about their busy lives. I drew my cloak tighter around myself, and quickly made my way to the nearest inn.

Upon reaching my destination, I was greeted by a young woman, probably the innkeeper’s daughter, judging by the family photo hanging on the wall behind her. Her face lit up when I removed my travelling cloak, revealing myself to her, and she gave me a wide, vapid smile she probably thought was charming, and asked me if I was looking to rent a room. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at her stupid question, because why else would I be here, I gave her a beguiling smile and seductively leaned in closer to her as I answered her.

“Why yes, I am. Would a sweet thing like you happen to have a room for a weary traveller such as myself? I’ve walked such a long way to get here, and I could really use a rest in a nice, comfy bed. I’d be so grateful to you if you could spare me a room, beautiful,” I’d lowered my voice to a smooth, silky drawl, and my honeyed words clearly had the effect I’d intended, given the way her eyes were glued to my lips, and how her breathing quickened.

She swallowed, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks, and smiled shyly at me. She then practically fell over herself to offer me one of the nicest rooms they had, at a generous discount. I held back a derisive snort. It was pathetic, really, how easily swayed she was by my supernaturally good looks and enchanting voice. This was nothing new, of course, but it still sickened me each time it happened. It was then just a simple matter of making tedious small talk with her for bit, before I finally steered the conversation towards the topic I’d been most interested in: the three magical forests.

For such an insipid creature, she was at the very least decently knowledgeable about the surrounding forests, and gave me all the information she had on them and their Gods. Much of it I’d already seen for myself, but it was useful to have confirmation from someone who’d actually lived in the area her whole life. She also confirmed my suspicions about the Wetland.

I didn’t have to feign genuine interest, as I listened to her tale of the God of the Black Wetland. Apparently, centuries ago, the Wetland used to be a beautiful forest, whose deity was relatively peaceful. But a group of humans from the nearby village wanted to clear it and weren’t happy with how he drove loggers away, so they took it upon themselves to burn the whole forest to the ground in one go. And they succeeded. In his rage, the Forest God killed the humans and flooded the entire area, including the village, transforming the landscape into an ugly, black bog.

From then on, he was known as the God of the Black Wetland, and had become a terrifying force of nature, who dragged anyone foolish enough to wander off the path, and into his domain, to a horrible, muddy and watery grave. The girl’s expression turned serious, as she warned me to avoid the Black Bog, and that if I absolutely had to go through there, that I should stick to the path at all costs. And should the fog begin to thicken, and I heard a bell ringing, then I needed to stay low, hold my breath, and pray that he didn’t see me.

I tried to look suitably fearful as I thanked her for her advice, while internally, I thought that anyone who was stupid enough to trespass on the territory of a Forest God whose home had been destroyed, deserved their fate. There was not a witch alive who would dare enter a God’s domain, without first being granted permission to do so. It was only common courtesy, after all. To disrespect a Forest God, was to invite calamity upon oneself, as my mother had once told me.

When I had gleaned all that I could from the girl, I thanked her with practised politeness, ignoring her flirting with the ease of habit, and made my way to my room. Upon reaching it, I went inside, locked the door behind me, and gave the place a casual glance. It was decently spacious, with a neatly-made bed, a desk, and a few shelves lining the walls. There was a window on one wall, which I went to open, casting a quick spell on the sill, to ensure that no one but myself and my familiars could enter through it.

That done, I tossed my bag on the desk, and collapsed onto the bed with a tired sigh. The bag landed with an inordinately loud * thump *, and the flap fell open, spilling several of my magical tools and arcane instruments across the desk, including a human skull. The skull rolled across the wooden surface, until it came to a stop by the edge, its dark, empty eye sockets staring right at me.

I glared at the skull. “This is all your fault, Mother.”

The skull didn’t answer me, of course. Not that I expected it to. I still had yet to perform the ancient ritual to bind Mother’s spirit to her skull, so that she could communicate with me from the afterlife. I just wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. I wasn’t sure I ever would be. I had a very... complicated relationship with her, after all.

My mother had been an incredibly powerful witch, supposedly the greatest mage of her generation. Her outstanding talents had won her the respect and admiration of her peers, few in number though they were, but had earned her the fear and hatred of the general populace. Not surprising, though, considering ordinary humans feared magic. Enough to have sealed away all of monsterkind underground, long ago. If mages, such as my mother, were not so useful to the common folk, perhaps we would’ve met the same fate as well. Perhaps one day we still might.

It was that very fear which had led my mother to cast numerous powerful enchantments on me, while I was still in her womb. All with the singular goal of making me as beautiful and desirable as possible. Mother had believed that if I were especially attractive, I would win the hearts of the non-magicals, and they would never turn on me or shun me as they had her.

And she’d succeeded. I was, by all accounts, visually stunning, with looks that turned heads wherever I went. Men and women from all around flocked to see me, showering me with gifts and compliments, in the hopes of earning my favour. There was not a single person who had anything but the most effervescent praise for my beauty.

And I hated it.

Because while I had indeed managed to catch the eye of every person I met, I despised such meaningless attention with a burning passion. Humans were nothing but shallow, despicable beings, and I very quickly grew to loathe their cloying desires and worthless, empty affections. None of these mindless fools truly cared about me, not a one bothered to see past my outward appearance, and look for the real me, inside.

And yet still they hounded me, harassed me, haunted me, begging for my attention like baying dogs. They kept insisting on throwing themselves at me, no matter how many times I threw them back out. It was tiresome. Tedious. I’d finally had enough of it, and decided to find a new home, in the territory of a protective Forest God, like many witches tended to do. Hopefully that would be enough to keep all of the nuisances away.

Perhaps I could’ve chosen to conceal my features, or disguised myself, maybe even tried to alter my appearance to something more ordinary. But I refused to hide or change myself. Why should I? I may not have chosen this body or this face, but they were nonetheless mine , and I would not hide them away just because of how other people reacted to them.

Besides, my mother had gone to a great deal of effort to give me these looks. And while I despised them, and resented her for what she’d done to me... I understood, at least on an intellectual level, why she’d done so. It would be unforgivably ungrateful of me to throw away all of her hard work. I was many things, but I wasn’t ungrateful. Not to my mother, the woman who’d given birth to me, raised me by herself, and taught me all she knew.

Therefore, instead of hiding my beauty, I chose to make use of it instead. If I were forced to suffer the consequences of my appearance, then I was determined to reap the benefits of it as well. And there certainly were many of those. People were such shallow, superficial creatures, after all. So easy to manipulate. It was child’s play, really.

But I wasn’t content to simply take advantage of my mother’s achievement. No, I had far grander ambitions than that.

Instead, I resolved to cultivate my own magical talents, and become a witch even greater than Mother, so that my powers and abilities would be my most notable trait, and all that anyone would talk about, rather than my physical appearance. I’d devoted myself to mastering witchcraft, and was proud to say that I was quite the accomplished mage and alchemist. I don’t know if I ever managed to surpass my mother, though. She died some years ago, all alone in her quiet little cottage in the woods.

I went back to my childhood home to give her a proper funeral, burying her in our ancestors’ sacred burial grounds, and taking her skull with me, as was tradition. I gathered all of her belongings, keeping those I found useful, disposing of or selling those I did not. A pitiful end for someone so infamous and talented.

Quietly, I rose from the bed and went over to the desk. With gentle hands, I picked up my mother’s skull and placed it on top of a nearby shelf, where those empty sockets could stare out at the entire room. My fingers lingered on the skull, tracing the edges of its mouth. Mother rarely ever smiled. I wondered if she’d ever known happiness, even once in her entire life...

I shook my head, dismissing such pointless thoughts. It was my own happiness I should focus on now. Which meant finding a suitable home. And to do that, I would need to find out more about all three forests. I looked towards the window. The sun was high in the sky; there was plenty of time to ask around and get the opinions of the locals who knew the forests the best. With that plan in mind, I left the room, locking the door behind me, and placing another spell on it to ward off intruders.

~~~

For the next several hours, I walked through the town, questioning people here and there, and listening in on the local gossip. It was mostly about some unwary travellers getting lost in the Black Bog a couple of weeks ago. They’d still not found the bodies, and no one was willing to go further into the bog to look for them, for fear of encountering the God of the Wetlands. Cowards, the lot of them. But I supposed that I couldn’t really blame them. I wouldn’t risk my life either, to go looking for fools too stupid to live.

As I passed by the local tavern, I heard raucous laughter coming from inside. But that wasn’t what caught my attention. I lifted an eyebrow as I sensed ancient, wild magic coming from within the tavern, the kind of magic that definitely didn’t belong in the middle of a human settlement. The kind of magic I’d sensed just the other day. Curious, I opened the door and peeked inside.

The tavern was surprisingly busy for this time of day, and there was a large crowd by the bar, louder and rowdier than they had any right to be before sundown. I hovered by the door, hesitant to go in any further with so many noisy people inside. I hated crowds- well, I hated people , really, but crowds were a special kind of dreadful I tried my best to avoid. I pulled the cowl of my cloak lower on my head, as I discreetly looked around for the source of the forest magic.

My eyes soon met a pair of bright, red ones. I blinked, taken aback. The red eyes were set in a handsome, seemingly human face, but I wasn’t fooled by the illusion. Any witch worth her salt would be able to sense the aura of a Forest God from a mile away, and I’d already flown over the forest belonging to this one just yesterday. I recognised him for what he was instantly.

The disguised deity looked equally surprised to see me. His red eyes widened, with what I could almost assume was recognition, before they roved across my form, something disturbingly familiar flashing in them, as they traced along my face. I couldn’t hold back my sneer, revulsion bubbling up within me like molten magma. He was... interested in me! Not in exactly the same way humans were, perhaps, but close enough to make me want to hex him.

It was with no small amount of distaste that I noticed how he was the centre of attention, with all eyes turned towards him, and everyone smiling and laughing at his crude jokes, all of the patrons hanging onto his every word. Several pretty ladies were even pressed up against him, giggling like they hadn’t a thought in their heads but to share his bed, and the arms curled around them only seemed to encourage their pathetic simpering.

Bitter disappointment welled up within me. I had thought that Forest Gods were above such abhorrent behaviour. It seemed I was wrong. They were just as susceptible to human weaknesses and mortal failings, as any other miserable worm on this planet.

The disgrace of a Forest God shot me a roguish wink, which I returned with the most hateful glare I was capable of, endeavouring to put every ounce of disgust I felt for him into the look, and causing his grin to falter. Without hesitation, I turned my back to him and strode out of the tavern. I heard a deep, masculine voice call out to me, but I slammed the door on it, shutting out that nonsense forever.

~~~

When I returned to my room, I immediately took out the sheet of paper containing the information I’d gathered on the three forests, and furiously crossed out everything pertaining to the forest governed by the shameful wretch I’d seen in the tavern. I would never live in his domain, I vowed to myself.

Luckily, I still had two other forests to choose from. I desperately prayed that their Gods were more respectable than this one. But I would need to know more about them to ascertain that. Hopefully, my familiars had been able to properly explore both of the forests, and would be able to help me figure out which one would be the best choice for my new home.

As if on cue, a brown owl glided soundlessly through the open window, and landed on top of Mother’s skull, followed shortly by a black cat, padding her way through the shadows towards me, before stretching out her lithe body across my bed.

“Artemis,” the cat blinked her eyes slowly at me in greeting, “Hermes,” the owl bowed his head respectfully to me, “I’ve ruled out the forest of the Red God as a possibility. Forget about that one. So, what have you two found out about the other two?”

Artemis tossed her head back and yowled at me. All that time... wasted! Should’ve let me know... sooner... her voice echoed through my head.

I rolled my eyes, well used to her whining. Missy was such a diva. If I didn’t love her so much, I would’ve dispelled the enchantment allowing us to communicate telepathically, long ago.

Hermes, on the other hand, merely bowed his head to me once more, acknowledging my orders, before launching into his report. The Green Forest is full of life. Trees. Mushrooms. Moss. Prey. Not prey. Predators. Fae. Spirits. Magic. Lots of magic.

Artemis flicked her tail. Lots of... interesting smells... plenty of food... so many good places... to nap...

I snorted, shaking my head lightly. Of course Missy would only focus on the things she would enjoy. At least Hermes was more helpful.

“And what of its resident Forest God?” I asked them.

Hermes’s reply came swiftly. Always moving. Always roaming. Always protecting. Only still at the heart. Stone trees. Old magic. Soft moss. Cold. Quiet. Clear.

Hmm... So he too enjoyed his peace and quiet? Looks like we might actually be able to get along. I felt the spark of hope ignite in my chest at the thought.

Artemis stretched out her front paws, kneading the bed covers beneath her. He put colourful bottles... in the trees... they cast pretty shadows... for me to chase...

I hummed to myself, going over what they’d told me in my head and adding it to the information I’d already collected. So far, this forest seemed promising. But I couldn’t be too hasty with my decision. Besides, there was also the other one to consider.

I turned to my two familiars. “And what about the Black Wetlands?”

Surprisingly, Artemis was the first to answer me, as she let out an angry hiss, her tail flicking to and fro in agitation. Smells bad... So wet! *Hiss* The mud gets stuck... in my fur... on my paws... hate it...

I gave her a sympathetic look, going over to her to run my fingers through her silky, pitch-black fur in a comforting caress. She pressed her head into my hand and began purring.

Hermes clicked his beak in annoyance, but made no further protest. Instead, he drew himself up imperiously, and puffed out his chest feathers. On the edge there’s only Black bog. Burnt trees. Foul water. Dead. All dead. But closer to the heart there’s more life. More green. Less black. The heart is swamp. Tall trees. Deep water. Many animals. Lots of life. Lots of magic.

I nodded to myself. I’d observed much the same myself.

Artemis sneezed. Didn’t see... couldn’t get past... the nasty mud.. .

I smiled at her in reassurance. “That’s all right, Missy, I know you tried your best. I’m very proud of you.”

When Hermes clicked his beak again, I turned my smile towards him. “And thank you for your diligence, Hermes! I’m so glad I can always count on you.”

The tan owl puffed out his feathers again, preening at my praise. Always, Mistress .

Artemis gave him an unimpressed look, her ears twitching. Thankfully, she turned away from him without comment. I let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad that an argument hadn’t broken out between them. Again.

Wanting to get the conversation back on track, I cleared my throat. “So then, what’s the Forest- uh, the Wetland God like?”

Hermes tilted his head to the side. Angry.

He then tilted his head to the other side. Very angry .

I frowned. “I don’t blame him. His entire forest was burnt to the ground by humans centuries ago, after all. He pretty much lost everything. I’d be absolutely livid myself, if I were him.”

Artemis curled up once more on the bed, tucking her paws underneath her and wrapping her tail around herself. He’s not just angry... and vengeful... and full of hate... Birds came to me... and told me... he’s lonely... very lonely...

Her words made me recall the loud, mournful wail I’d heard that morning. That probably was him, then, calling out to me. I’d initially thought it was a warning, to chase away intruders, but now I suspected it might’ve been the opposite. Was the Wetland God actually... upset that I’d left? Was he, maybe, calling out for me, asking me to come back? It seemed ludicrous, honestly. He was an ancient and powerful Forest God, whose mind and heart were unknowable to mortals, whereas I was a mere human, albeit a magical one. And yet, now that I really thought about it, I realised that he’d actually sounded sad... really sad...

My thoughts were interrupted by Hermes’s voice ringing in my head. Which forest will you choose, Mistress?

“Hmm... Good question.” My brows furrowed as I paced back and forth across the small, rented room, my head bowed in deep thought as I mulled over both my options.

The Green Forest was the obvious choice. A lush, vibrant forest, teeming with life, and guarded by a fairly peaceful deity, who mostly kept to himself. The ideal home for a solitary witch seeking to hone her craft. Definitely more appealing than a misty swamp, surrounded by sickly, smelly bog, and patrolled by an unstable, vengeful Old God.

My decision should’ve been clear. And yet...

…  he’s lonely... very lonely...

Missy’s words wouldn’t leave my mind, despite my best efforts to chase them away. What should it matter to me if some Wetland God was lonely? His problems were not mine, his pain was not mine, his loneliness was not mine.

…  he’s lonely... very lonely...

Without conscious thought, my eyes found the hollow sockets of my mother’s skull. She’d been lonely as well, for most of her life. And she’d died lonely, too. Had she ever cried out for someone, anyone, to help her, only for nobody to come? Had she ever cried out for me?... Had the Wetland God?

…  he’s lonely... very lonely...

I went to my satchel, still splayed open across the desk, and took out a small, glass orb. It wasn’t anything special, had no magical properties whatsoever, and was nothing more than a cheap, simple ball made out of coloured glass, pretty, but ultimately useless. Something I was determined to never be. The only reason I even had this orb, was because it had once belonged to my mother.

She’d had many such trinkets, scattered throughout her house, but this one was her favourite. As a child, I’d often caught her gazing into the orb, lost in thought. I’d asked her why she did so, despite the orb having no practical use, and she’d told me that looking at it helped her to focus, as she pondered whatever problem occupied her mind at the time. I’d once jokingly called it her “Orb of Pondering”, and she’d given me one of her rare smiles. I guess it wasn’t so useless after all.

I now gazed into the orb myself, as I pondered my own current predicament. Which shouldn’t have even been a predicament in the first place. The choice should’ve been an easy one to make. The answer should’ve been plain for all to see. I should’ve just picked the Green Forest and been done with this deliberation. I would have an easier, simpler life there. My familiars would be happier there. It was beautiful. Untainted. Perfect.

…  he’s lonely... very lonely...

With a resigned sigh, I lowered Mother’s orb and turned towards my familiars, still patiently awaiting my final decision. Plastering my brightest smile on my face, I forced as much enthusiasm into my voice as I could, as I told them, “You know, I think becoming a swamp witch sounds like a lot of fun!”

Predictably, Artemis was none too happy with my answer, and yowled out her displeasure for all the world to hear. Hermes, however, merely bowed his head obediently, accepting my decision without complaint.

As I tried my best to appease my feline familiar with chin scratches, I silently wondered if I had made the right choice. I hoped that I would not come to regret it.

~~~

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to carry out my preparations for obtaining the Wetland God’s permission to reside in his domain. For starters, I wrote up a letter explaining my request, making sure to keep my tone and words as respectful and humble as possible, and providing many reassurances of good behaviour, all while avoiding making any outright promises. You could never be too careful with Old Gods. I then imbued the letter with my magic and my intent, so that the ancient deity would be able to sense my sincerity for himself, as well as get a feel for my character before we officially met.

Once I was satisfied that the letter was properly saturated in my magic, I handed it to Hermes, informing him of its contents, just in case the Wetland God was unable or unwilling to read it, and instructed the owl to deliver it directly to its intended recipient as swiftly as possible, and to return only once he’d received a definitive answer. Hermes dutifully bowed his head, took the letter very delicately in his beak, and flew off into the sky.

Afterwards, it was only too easy to charm the inn’s cook into letting me borrow his kitchen for a few hours. He’d tried to remain close to me, invading my personal space under the guise of “helping” me, but a threatening hiss and swipe of her paw from Artemis were enough to get the filth away from me. The black cat remained curled around my shoulders, fixing her large, golden eyes on the nuisance and occasionally flexing her sharp claws at him, to keep him a safe distance away from me as I worked.

I wasn’t sure what offerings the Wetland God would enjoy, but most Forest Gods were not averse to homecooked food, and most Fae had quite the sweet tooth, with a particular fondness for honey, so I decided to bake him a large honey cake, with buttercream icing and a honey drizzle. It was something my mother had often baked for the Forest God whose territory she resided in, and she’d taught me the recipe as a child. It was one of my happier memories with her.

The rich, sugary smell which soon filled the kitchen brought on a wave of nostalgia. Instead of quashing the feelings, as I normally did, I allowed myself to reminisce for a while. My childhood home was always filled with the most interesting aromas, whether it was food, potions, or magical residue from the spells Mother cast. She really was quite the talented witch. I’d learned so much from her.

When the cake was done, I wrapped it up neatly, placing an enchantment on it to keep it warm and fresh, and carefully packed it away in my carry bag. That done, I changed into formal sorcerer’s robes, and spent some time preening in front of the mirror, to ensure that I looked as presentable as possible. I wanted to make a good first impression, after all, and while it was unlikely that my human appearance would be able to sway a Forest God’s opinion, it didn’t hurt to look my best. Besides, old habits died hard.

Finally, all that was left to do was to pack up all of my belongings. Hermes returned as I was putting away Mother’s skull, and informed me that the Wetland God had accepted my request. Instantly. Gladly. Very gladly. In fact, he seemed positively giddy about me coming to live in his domain. Well, that was... a surprise. But a welcome one, to be sure. Better than the alternative, anyway. I guess he really must’ve been very lonely, for him to be so excited for some company. It gave me hope that the two of us might be able to have an amicable relationship.

My lips subconsciously tugged up into a smile, as I pet Hermes��s tan feathers, my mind on the Wetland God. I’d never had a friend before. My familiars didn’t count, they were bonded to me and my magic for the rest of our shared lives – they were practically an extension of myself. I looked forward to getting to know my new ‘landlord’. Quietly, privately, in the depths of my heart, I hoped that he would grow to like me. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was lonely...

When everything was packed up and put away, Artemis draped herself around my shoulders once more, her tail curling lightly around my neck, like a black, fluffy necklace. Hermes perched himself on the crooked tip of my tall, pointed, witch’s hat, his head constantly swivelling around to survey his surroundings, ever watchful, ever alert. I gave the room a once-over, checking that I’d gathered everything, and made my exit.

I didn’t check out of the inn just yet, however. I needed a safe place to return to, on the off chance that things turned sour with the Wetland God. You could never be too careful, after all, and it always paid to have contingency plans for every possibility. Better to be safe than sorry.

Once I’d found a clear spot, I took out my broom, sat myself on it, and kicked off the ground, shooting through the sky like a comet. With the wind rushing past me, and my robes billowing behind me, I left the town and made my way towards my new home and the beginning of my new life.

~~~

I landed on the very edge of the bog. Getting off my broom, I kept it firmly in one hand, ready to get back on it and fly away at the first hint of danger. I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it, as a rotten stench assailed my nose. Coughing and spluttering, I retrieved my handkerchief and covered my nose as best as I could, trying to breathe through my mouth. Around my neck, Artemis grumbled irritably, her furry lips pulled back in a grimace at the foul smell in the air.

Not wanting to spend any longer here than necessary, I stepped foot inside the bog.

The place was even creepier from the ground than it was from the sky. Dark, viscous mud covered the ground, save for the patches of slimy, black water dotted here and there, with only the gnarled, dead trees managing to rise up from the sludge. Mosquitos seemed to be the only creatures living in the bog, their constant buzzing the only sound I could hear, apart from the squelching of my boots as I trudged through the mud. It was also difficult to see anything past the thick fog blanketing the entire area.

The whole place was like something straight out of a nightmare. It was a rather daunting experience, honestly. But I knew that it got better. I just needed to press on and stay determined.

And so, I kept walking, keeping to the well-trodden path and the narrow wooden walkways, all while keeping my eyes and ears open for any sign of the Wetland God. Occasionally, I flared out my magic, just to let any extramundane entities who might be nearby know that I was here. After a short while of doing so, I felt an answering burst of ancient, otherworldly magic, far, far in the distance, coming from the centre of the wetlands. I paused. Then it came again, slightly closer.

The God of the Black Wetland knew I was here. And he was coming towards me. Hopefully to give me a friendly greeting, and not to chase me away. Or worse.

I stayed still, drawing my cloak tighter around myself to ward off the chill in the air, and cast my eyes around warily, as I waited for the deity to arrive with bated breath. I didn’t have to wait long.

Soon, the fog began to thicken, until I could barely see past my own nose, and distantly, faintly, I could hear the gentle chiming of bells, steadily getting louder. I stood up straighter, my heart racing in anticipation, and gripped my broom tighter. Both of my familiars were equally on high alert, ready to react at a moment’s notice.

Suddenly, the shadows began to shift, something moving through the fog, something truly massive. I held my breath, my heart pounding in my ears, as the figure finally came into view, the fog parting around him.

It was, without doubt, a Forest God, although one unlike any I’d ever seen before. While the others I’d known had all had bodies more or less closely resembling various animals, this one had a gigantic, stocky body, with a solid, downward sloping spine with jagged vertebrae, and long, thick, straight legs like tree trunks, clearly designed for wading through mud and water. Its head was a huge dog skull, sporting enormous moose antlers, wider than I was tall.

What really caught my attention, though, was the large, red eye glowing in the skull’s left eye socket. It was the same eyelight I’d seen the other day, in the swamp. That red eyelight was now fixed unwaveringly on me.

I swallowed, gathered my courage and addressed the ancient and powerful deity staring right at me. “Greetings, oh Wetland God. I am the one who sent you the letter this morning – the witch seeking to make her home in your swamp, with your permission. It is an honour to meet you, Old One.”

That crimson stare intensified. “ i know you... ” I gave a start as a deep, rumbling voice issued forth from the Old God, harsh, halting, and seeming almost rusty from disuse. “ i saw you... before... but you left.. .” The red eyelight shook, shrinking, before expanding once more, to take up the entire socket. “ i was so... so happy... when i got your letter... i recognised... your magic... your scent... ” The red light got brighter, lighting up the entire area like a blazing fire. “ you will stay with me... your owl said... that you’ll stay with me... you WILL stay with me... right?... forever... right?... ”

I nodded hesitantly. “That’s the idea, yes. I hope to make this place my home. My forever home, if you will.”

The Wetland God made a low, bellowing sound, followed by a couple of sharp trills, his colossal body swaying slightly. Bygone magic filled the air, buzzing against my skin, and making the hairs on my arms and on the back of my neck stand on end. Small strands of green began sprouting up from the mud, and the murky water started to clear. A few tiny blossoms even popped up along the deity’s legs and antlers.

While I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of such a reaction, I took it as a good sign. I was at least confident that the God wasn’t displeased with my presence here. If anything, the magic saturating the air was tinged with what felt distinctly like excitement. Definitely a good sign.

I cleared my throat. “I take it that I am welcome here, then. If so, would you be so kind as to let me know where I am permitted to make my home?”

In response, the towering being lowered his head to the ground in front of me. “ i will... take you home... ”

I blinked, not certain if I’d heard him right, or if I was misunderstanding his intention. “Do you mean for me to... climb onto your head?”

“ yes... ” came his reply, not even a hint of hesitation in his voice. Unlike mine, which was filled with uncertainty, as I nodded to him, “As you... wish.”

I was far from comfortable getting so close to such an incredibly old and powerful deity, but I wasn’t about to refuse a direct order from him. With slow and tentative movements, I climbed on top of his massive skull and sat myself in between those wide and solid antlers.

When he was sure that I was securely sat on his head, the Wetland God very gently lifted his skull, seeming to take great care to not jostle me about, as he straightened up and carefully strode off through the bog. His gait was surprisingly steady, despite the deep mud he was wading through, and my ride was pleasantly smooth.

It was quite the novel experience. I’d never heard of a Forest God allowing a mere mortal to actually ride on them, like some common beast of burden. It was a great honour, honestly, and I made sure to savour every second of it. I’d likely never get another opportunity like this again, so I had to make the most of this one while it lasted.

Leaning forward slightly, I placed a hand on the surface of the skull, taking a brief moment to appreciate the cool and smooth bone-like texture of the God’s head, before addressing him. “Mighty Wetland God, I wish to thank you for allowing me to live in your domain. I will endeavour to never make you regret your decision. And I sincerely hope that the two of us will get along well.”

His crimson eyelight seemed to fuzz around the edges, and I watched in amazement as a soft, pink hue spread across his muzzle. Was... was he blushing ? He couldn’t be, surely. That was impossible... Right?

“ i would never regret... you living with me... ” he sounded completely sure of himself. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering where such confidence came from. “ and i promise... to make you happy... here... with me... ” I sucked in a sharp breath at his vow, feeling completely bewildered as to why a Forest God would make such a promise, and to a mortal, some human he’d only just met. What, by the stars , was this deity thinking?

I cleared my throat, trying to calm my racing thoughts and keep a cool head. “I’m, uh, incredibly flattered by your... kindness. Thank you, My Lord.”

“ ... skull... ”

My brows furrowed at the seemingly random word. “Skull?”

His definitely-not-a-blush darkened slightly, spreading further across his snout. “ yes... ” he told me, his voice deep and heavy, yet quiet and almost shy. “ that’s my... my name... ”

I exhaled heavily, something like awe flowing through me. I could hardly believe my ears. Had a Forest God really just given me his name? That was... that was... unexpected , to put it mildly. Old Gods did not give out their names lightly – it was a privilege, one which you had to earn. So for this one to simply volunteer his name, without my even having to ask it of him...

I stared at the top of his skull in disbelief. Why? Why would he do such a thing? I wasn’t anyone important. Not to an Old God, at least. So then, why would he give me his name so freely? What had I done to deserve such an honour?

As I puzzled over these questions, the scenery began to change, from bog to marsh. I frowned in confusion. Wasn’t the bog far wider than this? Why had we already reached the marsh? This was too soon. We should still have been wading through several more miles of barren wasteland.

And then my eyes fell upon an even more startling sight.

What had only recently been waterlogged soil, was now practically a flower garden. Thousands of tiny, colourful, low-lying marsh flowers spread out as far as the eye could see, interspersed with twisting, winding, glittering waterways.

As I watched in stunned silence, I noticed more and more flowers blossoming. I could also sense just how steeped in Life Magic the earth was, encouraging the growth of plants and causing flowers to bloom every second. Even the wildlife was benefitting from the ancient magics, as more and more birds flocked to the marsh, and more fish and amphibians swam in the crystal-clear waters.

Life was well and truly returning to the wetlands.

I was astonished at such a dramatic transformation, in such a short amount of time. “Skull... This is incredible... What happened here since I last saw it?”

Skull came to a stop, allowing me to admire the natural beauty surrounding us. Several birds flew closer, clearly with the intent of landing on the Wetland God’s antlers, but Hermes spread his wings wide and screeched threateningly at them, and they flew away in a hurry.

“ i wanted to... make our home nicer... for you... you deserve... a nice home... ” I wanted to gape at him, but managed to restrain myself. Then his voice lowered, a hint of shame leaking into it “ i’m sorry... you saw it... so ugly... so sick... i’m trying hard... to make it better... for you... ”

I was speechless for a while, as my brain struggled to process what I’d heard. Had Skull been terraforming his domain since he received my letter? Or maybe even, ever since he first saw me? That... that was... “Wow. I-I don’t know what to say... Thank you, Skull. You did an amazing job. The place looks beautiful. And very lively.”

Skull made a pleased sound, the ambient magic fairly thrumming with its Wetland God’s joy, and several more tiny flowers bloomed on the deity’s horns. Skull then resumed his walk, taking us further into the heart of his territory, until we eventually reached the very centre.

The swamp at the heart of the wetlands hadn’t changed since I was last here. Not surprising, considering it was likely a lot older than the rest of the wetlands, and would therefore take more time to change. But it was still an impressive sight.

Alligators swam alongside us, eyeing me curiously, and Skull rumbled something to them in a language I couldn’t understand. Whatever it was, it seemed to have made them happy, given their own, excited rumblings. More birds flew closer, and were again scared off by Hermes.

I rolled my eyes in fond exasperation at how territorial my owl familiar was of me. I was his home and his family, and he would allow no other bird near me. Artemis, meanwhile, remained curled around my neck and shoulders, glaring at the alien landscape, and grumbling about the humidity and the bizarre odours.

The sun was starting to set, tinting the enveloping mists in soft hues of pink and orange. Fireflies had also begun to appear, gradually filling the air with their tiny lights. I could hear the croaking of frogs, the buzzing of insects, and the singing of birds, all blending together with the sloshing of water, in a mesmerising harmony of sounds. I couldn’t help but sit back and listen to the song of the swamp.

It was all wonderfully atmospheric. Romantic, even. I snorted lightly, dismissing the ridiculous thought. Romance had no place in my life.

We finally came to a stop in front of what had to be the biggest tree in the whole swamp, standing at the very centre of the entire Wetland. It really was a giant among trees, taller and wider than any other I’d ever seen, stretching so high into the sky, I couldn’t see the top. A hollow had formed inside it, rising above the water level, and wide enough that I suspected even Skull might be able to fit inside, if he curled himself up.

There was a lip of wood at the entrance of the hollow, and it was to there that I hopped, when Skull lowered his head, a clear indication that I should disembark.

Inside the hollow, I found it lined with piles of pillows and blankets, and heaps of little trinkets. The entire alcove smelled of fur and incense, and even faintly of beeswax. It looked... cosy. Surprisingly cosy, and homey. Did someone live here?

I turned towards Skull, who was stood just outside the hollow, staring at me intently. “What is this place? Where did all this stuff come from?”

The corners of Skull’s jaws raised up in something resembling a smile. “ my nest... ” my eyebrows fairly flew into my hairline at that shocking revelation. I could never have guessed that the Wetland God would take me to his nest . But Skull wasn’t done blindsiding me yet. “ now OUR nest... i tried to make it better... for you... i added softer... and prettier blankets... and pillows... all for you... my lovely wife... ”

I choked on my spit at that last word. “W-Wife?!” my voice rang out in a strangled yell. My mind came crashing to a halt, because seriously... I must have misheard him. Surely he hadn’t meant to call me his wife .

But Skull only smiled wider, blushing once more, and nodded his massive head. “ yes... my wife... my lovely, little wife... my darling mate... ”

I thought my heart was about to stop. I could barely breath, as thoughts rushed through my head at breakneck speed, my brain desperately trying to come up with some kind of explanation for Skull’s inconceivable behaviour. Just how had he come to believe that I was his wife ? Had I done something, anything which could’ve led the Wetland God to think me his mate? I wracked my mind for any kind of plausible reason for this huge misunderstanding, but could find none.

“ so small... so soft... so pretty... such a sweet smell... such strong magic... ”

Had Hermes in any way intimated such a thing to Skull when they’d spoken? As soon as the thought came, I dismissed it. No, my loyal owl familiar would’ve followed my instructions to the letter. He was dutiful to a fault, and would never go against my orders, or do anything that wasn’t strictly in my best interests. And he rarely, if ever, acted on his own initiative, more content to await my commands. He would never have so much as implied, to the Wetland God, that I was interested in being anything more than a simple resident of his domain.

A noise rumbled from deep within Skull’s chest, one that sounded disturbingly like a purr. “ i’m so happy... you came... i’m so happy... you accepted me... i’m so... so happy... ”

And he sounded it, too. I glanced up at him, taking in his undeniably joyful countenance. He definitely looked happy, too. I bit my lip. This... this was a disaster. This unstable Forest God, whose home I was to live in, was woefully mistaken as to the nature of our relationship. As such, I would need to correct his misconception, immediately.

I braced myself and opened my mouth-

“ i knew... from the moment... our eyes met... that you were... the one... ” Skull’s voice rumbled like boulders tumbling down a mountain, and yet there was something... soft in the way he spoke to me. Something tender, and warm. Something I’d never heard from anyone else before.

“ the one... i’d been waiting for... all my life... ” The blood-red glow of his eyelight softened, the pupil at its centre becoming heart-shaped, as Skull’s gaze remained fixed on me, never wavering for even a second. It was a look I’d never seen before. One full of awe and adoration. Skull looked at me as if I was the most precious thing in his world. “ i was... so lonely... but not anymore... not now that... i have you... ”

He sighed, a warm gust of wind which rustled my robes and tousled my hair. “ i’m so happy... that you’re here... with me... ” He let out a sharp trill, ending in a deep purr. “ i promise... to make you... happy too... i want you... to love me... as much as... i love you... my mate... ”

I stared at Skull’s loving face, his gaze so full of affection, for me. My mouth was still open, ready to deny being his mate and clear up this whole mess. “I-I... can’t wait...!” was what came out instead. I winced, mentally kicking myself for saying something so stupid.

Skull’s expression brightened. His purring intensifying, he leaned his head close and pressed the end of his snout against me. “ my wife... my mate... so warm... so soft... i love you... so much... ”

And instead of doing anything even remotely sensible, such as telling this deranged deity that I was most certainly not his wife, I just lifted my hands up to his head, and ran my hands all along his hard muzzle, petting his skull as if he were an overgrown puppy.

As Skull continued to purr, making low, muffled sounds of contentment, the magic around him hummed and shuddered, causing tiny flowers to bloom all around us. I shivered, as the Wetland God’s ancient magic brushed up against me, like a cat demanding attention, and released my own magic into the air, allowing it to mingle with his. Skull purred louder, the vibrations sinking into my very bones. Admittedly, it was actually quite a pleasant sensation.

I sighed. Oh well... This wasn’t an entirely terrible situation. It could’ve been a lot worse, all things considered. Besides, Skull would probably snap out of whatever bout of insanity was currently consuming him, and return to his senses in no time.

His infatuation with me was only temporary, and would soon fade away.

…Right?

__________________________________________

This wasn't supposed to be this long. It was supposed to be a oneshot. But I just cannot seem to write a reader-insert without constantly adding more and more and more, until it balloons into several far-too-long chapters. But this will be a twoshot (with a short epilogue)! It WILL!! I REFUSE to let this drag on for more than two chapters! I have other things to do! Other WIPs that demand my attention! So there will be ONE more chapter, almost entirely comprised of fluff, with Skull being a soft boi, reader discovering her inner soft gurl, and her two familiars being literally soft. And then a short epilogue (which will basically just be a fun bonus for those who've read "Good Girl Needs Kiss").

See you guys for the second (and definitely last!) part.

Chapter 2

[frisiunia]

Trivia about me and Undermourning

Yep! This trivia will be about me too. There ya go!

My favorite character from Undertale is Undyne. I like her heroism, daring. I made Undyne from Undermourning a little less likeable for my standards. Oh welp.

My favorite Undertale ship is Toriel x Sans. Well... weeeeeeeeeeeeell wellllllllllll welly well... that is why I don’t ship them in Undermourning :) They’re just door-friends!

My second favorite ship from Undertale is Chara x Asriel. However I don’t ship them in Undermourning either. And no! I’m not homophobic! I actually could ship them with Chara being boy. The thing is... Chara hates Asriel in my AU. So that just won’t work!

Besides, how can I be homophobic while my third favorite Undertale ship is Undyne x Alphys? Well I can’t ship them in Undermourning either because Alphys doesn’t exists ._.

Instead in some timelines Bratty and Catty are girlfriends :D Well, honestly I like more lesbian ships than gay in stories, but that’s because I am girl and I can understand other girls better than I can understand boys.

Natalie and Sofia originally were my and my ex-friend’s OCs for Roblox RP. They had blue hairs and red eyes. That is why now they have amber eyes and their hairs is black with with blue-brightened ends. Did anyone notice ends of their hairs???

No, I didn’t stole Natalie (yes, Natalie was the one which my ex-friend created). I made this AU with my ex-friend. Maybe not in that form but who cares? Natalie isn’t the same character she was when my ex-friend created her. She has other appearance and personality. And this OC wouldn’t even exist if I haven’t created Sofia in the first place.

Originally my and my ex-friend’s inspiration to create this AU was Xtale and Underfell. We were just some edgy kids and we wanted to create some edgy story =w= Currently my inspiration for Undermourning is generally Steven Universe. Yes! As Undertale fan I’m also Steven Universe fan :D Also my inspiration are my own feelings.

I'm in autism spectrum... actually now I've noticed some resemblance between me and Sofia. Except Sofia isn't an introvert. A little sad... weirdly, I don’t feel sad about it. Well, good for me.

Which skele-bro do I prefer? Papyrus of course :) He’s energic, smart, clever, kind, a little childish (just a little) and great! I’m actually really, really tired of fandom favoring Sans. Maybe not that much now, but still! In Undermourning he is actually same skeleton like in Undertale, but he is less important and more lazy because he doesn’t see sense at doing anything. He is important only at No Mercy route.

I actually like showing Chara as the bad guy on fanarts and songs but not in a stories and AUs. So why is Chara from Undermourning evil? Well... IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON. I personally think about Chara from my AU as neutral character which is just morally broken. Actually he isn’t the only character morally broken in my AU. However ya can interpret this character any way you like!

I actually like Chara and Frisk more as a girls =w=

I present Frisk as a player. Everything Frisk does depends on a player but it’s hard to show player writing a story. The way I present Frisk make me identify with them. Probably that is why my nickname is Frisiunia. “Frisiunia” is diminutive, but based on my language. So if ya can’t read my nick properly ya can just say “Frisky”. No difference.

Frisk from Undermourning probably has fluffy hair because of Steven and Pink Diamond. 

Something not about Undertale or Undermourning. My favorite character from Steven Universe is Lapis Lazuli. She’s too favored by the fandom but I think that there is reason for that. Maybe it’s just me but her character is easy to indentify with. I identify with her. Seeing how she could just repeat others while she was trapped in the mirror, her toxic relationship with Jasper, how she couldn’t find her place in the world, her fear, her loneliness, seeing this feels so familiar. No need to feel sorry about me and fact I feel this way. You have good heart if you do, but please don’t. You should care about yourself. It’s my conclusion. Ya know, I haven’t made Undermourning deppresive for controversies. My AU isn’t any popular anyway. I have made it because I like psychology. I'm not a psychologist. However I feel and see things. And I can show my observations and feelings in Undermourning. Some people I know needs mental help. My best friend needs mental help. I want to help them but I’m not psychologist. I can, I should be there for them and comfort them, but I can’t help them because I’m not psychologist. However there is one person I can help. Myself. Everyone has their problems. Minor or major, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you have things in your face you don’t like and can’t change or if you have suicide thought. It doesn’t have matter if people around you have worse problems. Your problems are important as well. You should be with your love ones when they’re having hard time, but you also should let them be with you when you’re having hard time too. You should love them but you can’t love them if you do not love yourself. I'm not saying you to be a narcissistic, but you are the most important person in your life. Others are important too, but not as important as you. Ya aren’t important for me but I’m not important for ya as well. Despite this I hope you know what I meant and you love yourself. Though I don’t know you, I’m sure you have things you can love yourself for.

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Undertale Theory: (Original) Frisk May Not Be As They Appear...(And Asgore x Toriel Pulling A Greg x Pink/Rose)

  we know the point of using The Playable Character, is to put their Player’s personality into Frisk, but if there was character who was a Player who plays both Undertale and Deltarune in another world that is inside the game universe but it is another dimension from those two worlds as well as their AUs...

then that Player would be called Parley, because well the name Parley is a anagram of Player....I did do a fan art that has the discard vessel being called Parley, also has Kris’s Brother from Deltarune, or what I think he might look like.

it also has Flowey from Undertale in the drawing as well.

I will post the drawing after this...

(I will talk about Frisk as well as Asgore and Toriel, after I say all that needs to be said, because the stuff I have to say will lead up to the talk about Frisk.)

anyway we know there are different AU and Timelines in the Fanon Multiverse, and some of those worlds would be born from the original world, but the original world would be born from the Prime World, like the Pilot or Demo World.

for video game worlds, it is the Demo World

and for show worlds, it is the Pilot World.

in the Demo World of Undertale, we can guess that Flowey wasn’t always gonna be a part of Asriel, and well in my fan headcanon and theory, I believe that after Toriel took Chara’s body that was still covered with Asriel’s dust (and that dust possibly hit their soul and causing a type of metamorphosis.) and sometime after that, The Royal Scientist took one of the golden flowers that had some of Asriel’s dust on it, and would then inject the flower that would become Flowey with determination...

but not long after those two events happen, I believe that The Original Prince Asriel’s body had reformed, the dust that was leftover and wasn’t accidentally taken by the run away Queen and Royal Scientist...

but when the dust that remained had reformed, because of the determination that was absorbed into their dust that came from Chara’s blood and soul...

the Asriel that had formed, was not the same Prince he was before....

he became a Monster that had a Hollow-Soul.

a hollow-soul, is a theory and fan headcanon, where a human or monster ends up with their soul missing from their body and the essence that is left behind becomes a heart shaped soul that mimics the original soul.

but it is a heart line that has no filling in the middle, making it have a heart shaped hole in the middle.

the hollow-soul can come in different colors depending on the trait of the individual.

it is possible in theory, for the hollow-soul and half a soul to co-habituate the same vessel, and while the red soul acts as the Player’s Proxy-Soul, Kris could still have a soul of their own, maybe in a turquoise-blue.

what pulls us out of Kris’s body, might not be Kris, but at the same time it is them, or rather the Hollow-Kris...

plus the whole HP bar being the same color as a Monster, Human/Lightners and Tulpa/Darkners...

could be the same color as their soul, meaning that the Frisk in the game, could have more than the Player’s Proxy-Soul in them.

and since the bar is yellow, we can guess that the yellow soul in them is justice, and who do we headcanon having a yellow soul and being the trait of justice...?

that would be Asriel, who’s soul might of ended up fused with the Proxy-Soul.

the Proxy-Soul might be a fusion soul of both Chara and Asriel, my theory is the reason why the fusion of their soul ended up going into Chara’s body and didn’t just split into the two monster and human soul halves, might be from Original Prince Asriel’s dust falling on (and not just the golden flowers) to Chara’s body and the dust also hit the still fused soul, causing a type of permanent fusion.

Frisk’s question to Gerson makes sense, when asking about the whole if King Asgore had a human for a child.

and since Prince Asriel and Princess/Prince/Prinx Chara’s original soul is fused together...cue the Steven Universe Song, Something Entirely New.

Chara might be a Hollow-Soul, they are alive and were possibly brought back to full health points or hope points thanks to sharing a body with Prince Asriel.

but their body went into a coma, and was buried by Toriel, who perhaps used magic bandages to preserve Chara’s body...

Chara was not the only one awoken by Frisk or the Player, they might of also awaken Prince Asriel, or at least the dust that was left over in the throne room that didn’t end up going with Chara’s body or the flower that would become Flowey.

that dust would then reform into a Hollow-Soul of Prince Asriel, it is him but at the same time, he is not the same Prince that everyone once knew.

Flowey might act like he doesn’t have feelings, but he possibly does, he just goes through a type of depression, and if it is really bad, it could possibly cause your emotions to be turned off fully or only a little bit, like you can feel but at the same time you can’t, it might be hard to explain or understand.

but it’s like a overwhelming feeling of darkness that is placing a lot of pressure inside you both physically and emotionally, and in Undertale and Deltarune, it could cause a type of Self-Harm LV to form...

a self-harm LV is a type of fan headcanon and theory I have....

the more you feel bad about yourself and the more you feel terrible, and it has to be a VERY strong type of feeling in order for it to cause damage, but anyway it will cause your LV to grow, but it will be a negative number.

it will be like LV -1 at first, but can grow over time the more pain you feel about yourself or what someone or some people have done to make your feel that way.

and depending how bad it is and how high the LV Negative is, the longer it will take to heal and get back to normal.

it could be equally harmful to both humans and monsters, and could effect them in different ways, causing emotional damage and it could take a lot of time to heal, but that doesn’t mean that the scars left behind will ever truly go away and will at times open...

it is possible that Kris has this type of LV, but it only appears when we go to the Dark World, but the negative part of it is secretly hidden away so no one sees it.

it could be possible that the soul that is in that generator in the True Lab, might be Kris’s Original Soul, and the True Lab is connected to both Deltarune and Undertale, the True Lab being underground of the Hometown in Deltarune, like it could turn out the Red Door in the woods, actually leads to the True Lab.

the elevator that we can use to go from Alphys’s Lab to the True Lab, doesn’t just take us to the basement, but also another world. 

if this is true, that would mean that the True Lab is in Deltarune, but it’s elevator that the Player/Frisk uses, only lets someone go from there and back up to where it leads, which is back to Undertale.

it’s like a dimensional travel, and possibly a sub-pocket dimension.

and the mirror that shows Frisk’s reflection in the true lab, might not really be a reflection at all, but might really be a Frisk from another world, or a clone or twin of Frisk, or like another version of them from another Route that takes place before the Player comes along.

we know that Frisk is seen as the savior of the underground (even if it was Flowey In His Asriel form that did all the work with the help of the human and monster souls...) but that is only when the Player has control of them.

the many different Fanon Versions of Frisk, who have a good heart and soul, but had made some mistakes that they regret, that is the good version them...

a counterpart born of our hopes and dreams, but the original Frisk might not be as good hearted as what we envision.

Frisk Prime, might of always been cold hearted and without the Player and The Proxy-Soul (that is possibly a fusion of The Original Prince Asriel & Prinx Chara’s Souls together....) then that Frisk’s original self would be in full control and would show their true colors, which might show in the Geno Timeline.

it is possible that the Geno Timeline in Undertale, could be the True Timeline...

and the Timelines we the Players make, are Alternate Timelines...

I also believe there is a reason why Frisk, ended up to get the ability to RESET.

it might of been Flowey’s ability at first, until Frisk fell into the underground...

the Frisk we see in the True Lab, that might not be a reflection in true lab but might not really be a reflection at all, might not be Kris, but the Frisk that came from Deltarune....like if this were true, they could be in Toriel’s class but they went missing and their picture is on a milk carton.

but anyway, the Frisk that is from Undertale, they are the one that the Player (and to some extent the fused soul of Prince Asriel & Prinx Chara.)

has control of, and if we choose the Geno Route, then their true colors start to show through....we at first believe it is Chara, but it could turn out that it is Frisk.

that version of Frisk, might of came from the original timeline, and had fallen down into the underground before Chara.

Asriel might of not of been alone when he met “Chara”, while there is that flash back of Chara and Asriel meeting for the first time...

we know that whenever Frisk is out cold or sleeping, they end up hearing or seeing memories that shouldn’t belong to them, and it could very well come from the red soul that is the fused soul of Asriel and Chara’s original soul.

we know that there can be a possibility that even choosing to name the Fallen Human “Frisk” does hint to Frisk’s True Colors, or rather that Original Version of them.

we love the version of Frisk we put a little bit of ourselves into, like a fragment part, and making them kind and loving or whatever...

but that might not be who they truly are, yes we are in control of them (unless in some moments in the game...) but Frisk could very well be someone with a dark personality, something that we the Players had placed upon Chara.

also if we the Players and even the fused soul of Asriel/Chara choose to become partners in crime with that Frisk...

we might go down the Geno Route, and if the Asriel half of the fused soul agrees to it, it might be for justice for the human children that fell into the underground but their lives were taken, or so it would seem.

I believe that Asgore didn’t really kill anyone, that could explain why we don’t really get any LV from him.

I did write down the calculation I made that had to do with the LV we start out with and how much LV we get, if we only kill the boss monsters and not other monsters....

Papyrus LV being the way it is, could be from a accident from his past, and could be linked to the monsters that had fallen down and were taken to the true lab to be used as experiments for the determination.

Papyrus could have hurt a human as well, but not on purpose, but both the human and the monster families were still struck and took a lot of damage.

Papyrus’s memory of that event was removed, and took the form of the Memoryhead, that looks like a part of it has a small and younger version of Papyrus in it, you would have to look very closely in order to see it I guess.

but if that theory were true, it could of happen some years ago when Papyrus was just a child, and Sans might of lied about Papyrus not meeting a human before, and the one he ended up meeting could of been the one with the Integrity Trait, Sans possibly hid the items that belong to that human in that place behind the waterfall and the seaweed bush, not wanting Papyrus to be triggered by those bad memories, the day he lost his first human friend as well as caused harm to some monsters.

anyway, we know that Frisk in any AU (expect for a few...) is sweet, kind and loyal, even if they may have made some bad mistakes that hurt a lot of monsters in the underground.

but even if it could be true that Frisk from the game, could secretly be not so nice and possibly was going to kill all of the monsters in the underground anyway, even without the Player or The Proxy-Soul that makes up Asriel/Chara’s original soul that is now fused together...

anyway I believe it could be possible that before the Player and before Asriel/Chara’s fused soul had woke up...

Frisk might of used a type of Thievery Ability that let them steal Flowey’s power to Reset as well as taking the buttons that let him reset the timeline.

 in the place where it list the many different super powers, it has the Thievery Empowerment, and has different names for it.

but it being called Plundering would work as a name to describe what Frisk did to Flowey before the Player came along and before Asriel/Chara’s fused soul ended up being placed in their body.

it could also be possible that Frisk uses this Plunder ability on the items that use to belong to the human children that fell to the underground before them.

the power and abilities ended up being imprinted on to the items, so Frisk will know how to use them.

it’s possible that after Frisk stole Flowey’s RESET button, they had used their plunder ability and when they did reset, it was around the same time the Player came, and took full control.

it is possible that many different versions of Frisk, including Underswap Chara, has the Plunder ability but don’t know it.....and they don’t need to know it, not unless someone like their Mom Toriel or someone else, sits them down and explains to them about the ability and how they have been accidentally stealing other monsters and humans own abilities.

while some Monsters in Undertale, believe humans can’t express themselves through magic, well tell that to my being able to move my pendulum with a thought, of course I had to make my bracelets act as sealing charms and limiters, because some other stuff I started to touch with my fingers and hold them, they would start to move the same way my pendulum does....

it was freaky, of course the program had to be re-done because I had one of the bracelets off for too long, and I had to, that one bracelet was becoming too snug, and it’s been a while since I had put it back on...

but anyway I made sure to re-do the program and prayer as well as the food salt on it, so I can go a little longer with one or more of the bracelets off, and they will still work even when I have them off for much longer than just a day.

if technology can advance, so can type of spiritual magic and prayer.

anyway my being able to do that, even the whole holding a bottle or pen or some other items start to move like my pendulum, which once again the program for the bracelets only broke and it started up again even when I was wearing the bracelets, was because I kept one of them off for too long, so I had to re-do the program, prayer as well as the food salt on all of them.

and I had to make sure they still work even if one or all of them are off for longer, so hopefully I wont have to re-do that program and prayer unless it is to add some other stuff on to it, like trying to block my energy from being read by Tarot Readers....I have my reasons.

 I think the whole pendulum unlocked it, might have to do with being RH Negative......I’m still procrastinating in that checking to see if it will come out the same for a third time....I guess I will get to it at some point, and there is no need to rush it.

plus it’s not like I can get any doctors to help with telling me my blood type, that is why I’m thankful someone made that home testing, where you can do the test at home to see what blood type you are.

I like to view the “D” in the blood type as Determination.

and to those who work on the game and put “D” as a blood type in Deltarune, and didn’t know it was part of a real blood type, it really is, so that is canon in real life. 

 right now I’m listening to On Your Knees, it’s a Red Vs Blue song...

it be interesting if there was a Parody of that song that could have to do with Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, but replace all the Agent names with the Royal Princes, Overlords and King of Hell....if there was a mischievous emoji I could use for this, I would use it....so this will have to do, >:)

like replacing the words “You Can Screw With Nevada” with “You Can Screw With Asmodeus.” and even the whole “mess with Maine” with “mess with Mammon.”

and instead of “leaving Hawaii in a puddle of pain.” it’s “leaving Vox in a puddle of pain.”                          

(feel free to skip down to where it goes back to talking about Undertale Theory)

and instead of Agent Virginia’s name, it is Velvet’s name...

so it comes out as “you can beat Velvet until she's down on the floor but if you f*** with a Grail Princess you'll be on your knees for sure.”

(as in a beat down type, where it’s either a kick or punch to the stomach.)

at first I was going to go with “Loona” being the Agent Tex, but I changed my mind...

and if Beelzebub is female in the series, she could be the “Agent Tennessee” in the song...                                                                                                                                 Charlie’s Mom Lilith would be Agent Louisiana, and Stella as Agent Maryland.

I guess it would make sense for Stella to be Agent Louisiana, but I have my reasons to thinking Lilith would be better suited as the Agent Louisiana...

because I mention some of that other stuff, of course I had to put the mature audience only and the not for kids tags for this....well I might had to do that anyway.

I’m weird and that kind of Crossover with the original song having a parody with those from the two shows, is just a what if type of thought.

I do like that song from Red Vs Blue.

also even if some place does say that Mary Magdalena and Jesus has descendants in the whole O RH D Negative or any part of the RH Negative that could make up the Grail Children, there would still have to be some form of evidence....I can believe about being distant cousins, but they can’t prove that Mary Magdalena or Jesus is my Ancestors, cause it would possibly be unlikely because of the whole O RH D Negative being around before those two were born into the mortal realm.

once again I don’t really see the whole curse on King Solomon as being a curse, because to me it is a freaking blessing.

though I still think King Solomon and King David, should get their butts kicked, for not only misuse of power, but also for King David not giving his sicko of a son the proper punishment after what happen to Tamar.

they both should go to a corner for a time out...

and yeah I guess if some myths are true, like the whole thing with Asmodeus throwing or spitting King Solomon very far away after tricking him, he would technically be responsible for my Ancestor and Ancestress hooking up, even if it was by accident....I mean if it is true.

I know I said this before, that I had found out that I am a Defective Earth Angel, you know like how Amethyst from Steven Universe is well, a Defective Amethyst but didn’t know this until Peridot pointed it out, even if she didn’t mean anything bad by it, it still ended up hurting Amethyst’s feelings.  

being a Defective Earth Angel might be a good thing for me, but I know it means I don’t work the same way as Other Earth Angels, who’s souls came out right, and mine just came into being well, slightly wrong but at the same time I’M okay being with a Defective Earth Angel, and I wouldn’t really be me if I was born like other Earth Angels...

there can be different reasons why some Earth Angels come out as Defective when their soul is born, that can have something to do with the soul’s genetics.

and it really isn’t okay for humans to force fragment, that is sick and wrong, even if some newborn souls can be born from a fragment of their soul-parent or parents if two different souls merge together to make newborn soul that will be half of their parents but be their own person...

trying to force the soul fragmenting is still wrong, and could possibly cause damage to the soul that it is happening to.

and yeah it could be possible for the fragment offspring to inherited a copy of the memories of their parent, like Steven Universe seeing the memories of his Mom when he sleeps.

seeing the memories of your soul-parents, even if it is just a small bit, can confused you into thinking that was your past life, but really it kinda isn’t, it was your soul-parent’s memories that are copied and are part of you, even if you aren’t them and your own person and can make new memories that are yours and yours alone.....unless you make those memories with others, like loved ones.

anyway back to the whole Undertale Theory,

we know that Frisk in some of the Fanon AU and Timelines is good, but made some mistakes out of fear and needing to survive the underground.

but this might not be the case for the Prime Frisk, who not only has a plunder ability and knows that they do, but had plan to kill all the monsters in the underground before the Player came along and before Chara/Asriel’s fused soul (which is the Player’s Red Proxy-Soul.) was placed into their body.

Frisk, or we can just call them “Geno-Frisk” might of became siblings with Chara and Asriel, and were the ones who came up with the plan in the first place on how to free the monsters.

Geno-Frisk tricked them, using Asriel’s trusting nature and even Chara’s dislike for humanity for their plan.

but the plan didn’t work as well as they had hope, and not wanting anyone to find out the truth that they were responsible, they headed to the true lab and jumped into that dark hole that was close to that Determination Extractor.

they ended up in the Dark World, and travel there for a while before ending up on the surface aka the Light World that is in Deltarune.

Geno-Frisk was able to find another way back to Undertale, and when they do, they use their plunder ability on Flowey, taking away his power to Reset.

the “reflection” of Frisk in the True Lab, which I still believe isn’t a reflection, the glass is really see through and only tricks the Player into believing it’s a mirror.

is really from Deltarune and they might of been missing for a few years, but in the true lab, time might work differently, or the glass that the Frisk from Deltarune is behind, keeps them in a temporal barrier.

Geno-Frisk, might had to pretend to be that Frisk when they ended up on the surface of Deltarune.

but at some point, Geno-Frisk found a way back to their home world, and decided to just kill all of the monsters in the underground, and once again ends up manipulating Chara and Asriel, or at least the Red Soul that makes up the Player’s Proxy-Soul.

yes we the Players end up letting it happen, because of our need for the LV and to get stronger in the video game.

the reason why Flowey even in his Asriel’s form, mistakes Frisk or Geno-Frisk as Chara, is because his memories are possibly jumbled up and there is a reason why he doesn’t remember Frisk being their second adoptive human sibling.

if any version of Frisk who is truly good, had to fight that Original Frisk, they might need some words of encouragement and have some other good versions of themself, to help in the fight against that Frisk.

if that theory and fan headcanon were true, that would be a very big plot twist.

now as for King Asgore and Queen Toriel, as well as the Deltarune versions of them.

we know they can be loving and caring parents, and well they do try their best.

but thanks to a theory video I watched, I know now for certain that it was their neglect that caused what happen to their children.

Toriel and Asgore in Deltarune, might not even know what Kris is going through or that they were being bullied and even feeling like they can’t live up to Asriel’s perfect image, those who brag about Asriel might not realize that it might give Kris mix feelings of missing him and hating the fact that everyone seems to love him more than them.

we might not being able to fully understand what Kris is going through, but it is possible that they are going through a depression.

and if Noelle, Susie and Berdly spend enough time with Kris, they might start to slowly notice that Kris is going through depression.

also while really re-watching one of the Futurma episodes, where Bender becomes a Fem-bot and can be seen as Transgender, even if it is only temporary....and even watching the episode where everyone’s genders get switched, but the men seem to be upset at that Rock Alien for being a type of neutral, I forgot the name of the Rock Alien...

but I kind of wish I could punch the men who tried to attack that Rock Alien, as well as wanting to slap and or punch Leela and Amy on how they acted when Bender became Coilette.

yeah one can be mad at Bender for only becoming a Transgender, just to enter a computation, but Leela and Amy should get punched or slap for the other stuff and being insensitive to women who are transgender.

I guess it can take a while to really notice it, even if the show and episodes are still good, and well maybe if there will be a new seasons or reboot of the show, maybe Leela and Amy as well as others, might be told off by anyone who is Transgender either they be human or robot or other.

also the whole South Park, could make sure to include nonbinary kids into the show, and into the school that Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and Stan go to.

maybe having a Enby punch Wendy in the face if they find out what she did just to prove a point to Cartman, but she was only acting like she was a Wendel.

what she did in a episode where Cartman fakes identifying as a girl, and gets back at him by pretending to identify as a boy...

(feel free to skip down to where it goes back to talking about Undertale...in case you just want to go back to reading about the theory.)

it reminds me of something, something I did try to talk about but my words kept getting misinterpret so I had to give it up, because no one was really listening or getting what I was trying to say, like trying to point out that those who truly feel trapped in the wrong body, might also be harmed by the very thing I tried to talk about but once again when I tried to talk about it, it didn’t go through very well, so I had to give it up, because of the misinterpreting and it just seem like no one was really getting what I was trying to say.

and yeah, I believe that because of what some humans end up doing, it can end up causing harm to those who truly feel like they were born in the wrong body and well, trying to talk about it and trying to get people not to misinterpret, well I could of did a better job before trying to explain...

anyway after talking about a little bit of what happens in the Future Episodes, made me think of what went on in one of the episodes of South Park.

and yeah the episode of Futurama where Bender becomes Coilette was on today...

and I still feel like slapping Leela and Amy, but maybe Leela the most because of the whole comment she makes when Coilette in her guilt, decides to become Bender again.

even if the episode is still good, we could learn from the stupidity that Leela and Amy show in it, and not just Bender only becoming Coilette just to enter a contest...

even if Leela and Amy can still be disgusted on Bender only becoming Coilette for a contest, and if they felt it was offensive to those who truly feel like they were born in the wrong body, but I don’t think those two were thinking about those who are Transgender.

I hope my trying to explain this, doesn’t get misinterpreted.

anyway I guess if the episode wasn’t on just then, it wouldn’t end up having me talk about it while this is suppose to talk about Undertale theory...

but I’m going to go back to talking about the theory...

anyway King Asgore and Queen Toriel, aren’t perfect parents, and it might be weird for me to view it this way, but their actions are them pulling a Greg Universe and Rose Quartz.

just like Greg and Rose, they have good qualities to them, but also have not so good qualities that can be harmful to those around them.

 King Asgore’s whole kill any human that falls into the underground, had caused his people to take it to heart, and not caring if it is a human child or not.

Queen Toriel isn’t without guilt, if she had let some of those human children go if they wanted to, despite the dangers, she is just as guilty as King Asgore.

even if King Asgore didn’t kill any of the human children, I believe he didn’t do this, at least in the canon, in the fanon some of the versions of him has done so.

but if he really killed any of the human children, then why after the barrier is open and when you can go down to the basement where the coffins are, where the human children’s should be....why are the coffins open...?

it’s because after freeing all the monsters, the human souls end up going back into their bodies and they ended up coming back to life.

it is possible that both Asgore and Toriel, were not the best of parents, but they could still try to be even if they might not notice that their children try to do something really harmful on purpose just to free monsters.

or that their human child, Kris, is going through a type of depression.

Catti (I’m still gonna pronounce her name as “Katie” so not to confuse her with her older sister Catty.) might of been the first to notice Kris was going through depression and she let them do a occult stuff with her, and hang out.

Catti could care about both Kris, Noelle and Jockington.

and one of the theories I have is that Catti might have feelings for Noelle.

but not everyone has to agree about that theory.

I think it is possible that more fans of Undertale and Deltarune, are starting to see both Asgore and Toriel being a mix between being good and bad parents.

they aren’t perfect, but it is possible some of the stuff they said or actions they had displayed, might of been harmful to Asriel, Chara and Kris.

Asriel (the one from Undertale) might of went through neglect and loneliness until Chara came into his life.

even if Asriel’s parents might not of neglected him all the time, they could of still ended up doing so during most of Asriel’s childhood.

it could be possible he didn’t have many friends, and if not many years has past since Asriel’s death, then he could of became friends with Burgerpants, Catty and Bratty, like their counterparts from Deltarune.

the reason why Asriel might of not met his world’s version of Burgerpants, Catty and Bratty, is because he was possibly always kept in the castle and wasn’t allowed out alone without a bodyguard.

Asriel from Deltarune, got to go to school with other monster children and even became close friends with Burgerpants, and even became friends with Catty and Bratty.

the lives between those two versions of Asriel, had different experiences in their life, but only one of them ended up making friends with Burgerpants.

over time, those who didn’t live in the capital, might of forgot about Prince Asriel and Chara.

this could explain the disrespect that Mettaton shows, when they replace the statue on the memorial fountain with a statue of themself instead.

the statue figure that we can put a umbrella over, might turn out to be part of that memorial fountain.

but I think a lot of fans have already figured that out already.

some fans might have mix feeling about Asgore and Toriel, some believing they aren’t bad at parenting at all and never did any form of bad parenting, while others might disagree and know they have did some bad parenting, and the versions of them in Undertale took it to a extreme.

there can be some good and bad sides to Asgore and Toriel, but they aren’t perfect and they can still be seen as good parents but they can also be shown at their bad parent moments.

they might want to try to act like nothing is wrong and everything is fine, which even shows in King Asgore’s journal.

Toriel might blame King Asgore for the death of the human children, but she really needs to stop scapegoating, when she is just as responsible as him for what happen to those human children.

and if it is true that in the True Pacifist Ending, those human children come back to life after everyone is free, maybe that would mean a bigger family for Frisk, having new siblings.

or those human children could decide to stay with Flowey so he wont be lonely.

makes me think of that song “everything stays” from adventure time and “drift away” from the steven universe movie.

anyway I don’t really have much to say about the theory that has to do with Frisk and The Goat Papa & Goat Mom.

and sorry I got off track in this, and I hope you understand why I had to edit in the whole choice to skip back to the talk about the Undertale theory.

but I still am gonna view Asgore and Toriel’s actions as “pulling a Greg & Rose.”

and it’s okay if I’m the only one who views it that way.                                                    

[goldenplaceholder]

Undertale HARD MODE

Gold’s Take

Undertale Golden HARD MODE

•World lore: it’s the same

•Character appearances:

Frisk: frisk but with some holes in their clothes

Flowey: no changes, prob has some new expressions

Toriel: same

Napstablook: has some headphones on

Sans: mostly the same as ut sans; but he wears some slacks instead of shorts, and some velcrow shoes. His bad time eye now also flashes purple

Papyrus: mostly same as ut; wears a red cape, his battle body is actual armor, and he has a helmet though he doesn’t really like it

Gaster: he is a bit shorter than papyrus, he wears a black turtle neck, black pants, and a gray lab coat over them with a few coffee stains. His expression is basically always tired

Undyne: her armor is a bit more spikey; her regular outfit has her

Mettaton: he is never in his box form, he also always has a different haircut the next time you see him

Alphys: she isn’t as nervous, and she wears some goggles

Asgore: his armor looks different

•Character lore:

Frisk: same

Flowey: he actually guides you through the underground, but he is still evil and is just waiting to steal the souls, though he actually teams with you on genocide

Toriel: same

Napstablook: he is a bit less sad and actually makes music, though his music isn’t that well known

Sans: he acts the same as sans, but he’s a bit more relaxed and easygoing

Papyrus: he was actually able to join the royal guard and is the guard captain’s right hand

Gaster: he was the old royal scientist before being fired due to an experiment he wanted to try, he is also sans and papyrus’ cousin

Undyne: she is still the royal guard captain, and for some reason is asgore’s left hand person

Mettaton: his robot body is a genuinely sentient robot, but mettaton came to an agreement and now inhabits the robot (they share control)

Alphys: she is smarter and less nervous, though the amalgamates still happened and more of them at that

Asgore: he got more confidence to get out of the underground

•characters powers:

Frisk: save load fr

Flowey: he makes vines and pellets, along with healing pellets

Toriel: same

Napstablook: same, now with some music based attacks

Sans: same magic, but he is actually easier having 0atk and 0def: he has basically master telekinesis being the best in the underground; sans doesn’t have kr and instead has jt (justice) which increases his dmg by 1 per someone’s lv (aka lv20 takes 19dmg), he can also toggle jt on and off of someone

Papyrus: he is a lot more difficult often using his floating ability to dodge attacks, and even when he is hit his armor nullifies a good amount of dmg; he also has tennis balls which he tosses at people and shortly after the ball gets swarmed by annoying dogs

Gaster: he can summon bones, use blue magic, and can summon a variety of blasters

Undyne: she can now summon orange spears that bounce off a shield once, and blue spears that need to not be blocked

Mettaton: same

Alphys: same (lightning)

Asgore: same

•Extra Lore:

Flowey:

-He has done basically everything possible due to resets

-His nice facade never wavers in pacifist, though it does whenever you do genocide

-He doesn’t know about sans jt since he can’t gain lv

-He actually makes the elevators work in genocide

-He absorbs all the human souls once at the barrier

Napstablook:

-He still lives in waterfall

-Some people occasionally come by to buy some of his music

-He still runs the snail farm

Toriel:

-She is actually kinder to monsters

-She actually lets you try and fight the first froggit, though she prevents you from killing them

-She makes snail pies

Sans:

-Has job at grillbys

-Asgore’s right hand man

-He often refers to gaster as aster or cousin ast

-Sans and Alphys worked with Ast before

-Sans told Asgore about a dangerous experiment Ast was going to do, Asgore told Ast to stop, Ast continued anyways, Sans then told Asgore to fire Ast so he’d stop, Ast was fired

-Brother is The Perfect Papyrus, part of the royal guard and often trains in Snowdin’s forest for days

-Is the judge (main job) {will actually fight you on neutrals if you have 10lv}

-He took the judge job after it being vacant for a while, he usually just dozed off in the corridor

-Grillbys has vending carts and sans often sells food (locations are old sentry spots)

-He met Goner Kid, Goner Kid told Sans about the future though Sans just tells himself that its all a coincidence that it actually happens

-Sans has never used jt in public (not like he could) so many think he is weak; though asgore and gaster know about it

-Sans is an actual good worker

-In the neutral and genocide routes sans’ fight is actually easier than papyrus’s (papyrus would get you to 1 hp on neutrals, but will off you on genocide routes)

-Sans actually helps alphys out when asked

-Sans gives 0exp when killed

-His full name is Sans The Skeleton

-Sans can deal dmg without jt by hitting them with physical attacks, though he only does 1dmg

Papyrus:

-He is often referred to as the perfect papyrus

-He does get paid for being a royal guard

-He does taxes

-His laugh is ‘NYEH HE HE HA’

-He actually does learn what you do in genocide

-He is always spareable in his genocide fight

-His full name is Papyrus The Skeleton

-He often makes new recipes up with varying levels of edibility

Gaster:

-He lives in that one house in the bottom of the woods

-He usually just goes to snowdin town to get groceries

-He drinks coffee a lot

-He swears that his experiment would have worked and been able to break the barrier, even though the success chance was 5%

-He sometimes goes to grillbys to drink

-He only uses magic he has created because he thinks his magic is the best there is

-He didn’t create blue magic but in his words ‘it’s such a great tool that only the most talented can use, so of course I use it’

-His full name is Gaster Wingdings

-He rarely sleeps and often just works on random stuff

Grillby:

-He can talk, but is a man of few words

-His place sells burgers, fries, hotdogs, and a variety of different drinks

-He actually takes vacation days from time to time

-When he isn’t at work he wears sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt

-He actually has a family he spends the holidays with, and sometimes is too ‘sick’ to go to work so he hangs out with family

Undyne:

-She is asgore’s left hand person

-Still has a crush on Alphys and has made a few attempts at asking her out but chickend out

-She accepted papyrus into the royal guard due to him almost beating her in a fight

-She can actually cook, and taught papyrus how to make food well

-She often says she’s the right hand of asgore in public since no one really knows it’s sans

Mad Mew Mew:

-They never actually possessed the dummy

-They did become Undyne’s training dummy

-They did ask Undyne out but was rejected because Undyne still loves Alphys

-Mad Mew Mew now tries being Undyne’s wingman, though it doesn’t really help too often

-They live with Undyne

-They actually work at Gerson’s shop to help pay rent

Bob:

-Bob the Temmie

-He works at Gerson’s and often sleeps there since he really hates how noisy temmie village is

-He is probably the most normal monster in contrast to the rest

Alphys:

-She has a home but often falls asleep while working at the lab

-She mainly works on how to break the barrier, though her second most important project is trying to revert the amalgamates

-She is a lot better at hiding how anxious she is rarely stuttering and sweating

-She actually is a great nuisance in genocide

-She is never seen in genocide but she often activates traps and puzzles whenever frisk gets close to any

-She also manages to lock up most of hotlands doors and stuff

-She became royal scientist after gaster was fired since sans got bored of the whole science thing and also quite

-She periodically gets help from sans

Mettaton:

-He often carries Alphys home when she falls asleep at the lab

-His body never explodes during his fight and instead acts like he’s defeated you by hovering a fake soul in his hand as your body is pulled away by some mtt workers

-After his fight you get to chat with him backstage

-Mtt resort is a direct competitor to grillbys and often works with Muffet to get more customers (muffet actually not overselling)

-In genocide he fights in his neo form and only loses since it’s a 2v1

Asgore:

-His flower garden is more diverse

-He is one of the hardest fights

-He often funds events throughout the underground

-He is the most aware of resets out of all monsters, though he doesn’t remember them well (Flowey doesn’t count as monster)

-He nickname isn’t king fluffybuns and is instead king buffybuns

Frisk:

-After Flowey absorbs the human souls in genocide they leave with him to now also destroy all of humanity

This take mainly started due to the fact that people always made sans stronger in hard mode takes, which I get but personally don’t like that they make him serious too

[stainedglassthreads]

Question

If I were to open commissions of some sort, would anyone be interested, and what sort (or sorts) of commissions would people be most interested by? The following are options I’ve considered, and would feel comfortable and confident doing-- 

(Side-note, assume that I’m unwilling to do anything involving romance, suggestive art, or smut, just in general. Also generally willing to draw/write characters from any fandom, so long as you’re willing to field a bunch of questions about them.)

-Digital art commissions. I’d be down to do sketches, lineart, and lineless, with or without backgrounds. Probably offer image descriptions as a free bonus. Examples of the work I’m proudest of below the cut. 

-Written fic/short story commissions. I’d need to research how to price these more, but I’d be willing to write and edit a one-shot or a chapter of a fic. 

-Beta-read and suggest feedback on written fiction. Probably priced based on length, or on a per-chapter basis. I read your fiction, I give my general reactions and impressions, offer spelling and grammatical corrections, discuss what you do well and what you could perhaps do better (Again, I don’t know squat about romance, so. Maybe find someone else for your shipfics.) 

Examples of my art can be found below the cut. Warning for some blood. 

Image Description: First image is a sketch I’ve done, lightly shaded in a warm orange color. It’s of a boy with a pudgy face and wavy hair, smiling warmly and holding out his hand. There’s a bloody cut across his left cheek, and his fingertips are bloody too. 

Below that is another sketch of a different boy, this one mostly done in shades of dark grey and blue. It’s of a boy with long black hair and very pale skin, looking a bit bored or apathetic. Bright red blood spattered across him is the only color in the picture. 

Below that are two images of Undertale AUs-- one of Frisk and Papyrus of Inverted Fate flying through the skies, one of the Underfell cast, reminiscent of the True Pacifistic photograph in Undertale. Funny antics can be found in the picture, such as Asgore being completely out of frame, or Mettaton sticking his leg in the shot. 

Below are two comic pages I’ve done, both with completely lineless art. One depicts an inhuman woman with dark hair, pointed ears, and pale skin killing two dragons on the upper half of the page, and he grinning while covered in blood on the lower half. At the bottom of the text are the words ‘she brings naught but destruction in her wake.’ 

The next page begins with two panels of the same woman. It starts as a shot from her bust up with her face in shadow, then zooms in on her pinprick eyes as she says ‘...I can’t help it. Humans are... so fascinating.’ The rest of the page is dominated by an image of a young man floating in a river of magma. His skin is light, his hair wavy and brown, his ears are pointed like the woman’s. He is fat but muscular, clad in only a tattered red cloth, red markings across his body. He seems to be asleep or unconscious. 

The woman continues to speak, ‘They’re unlike any other species I’ve seen...’ 

A different voice interrupts her. ‘No. They’re just like any other species which evolved on this world. And they’ll die out someday, too.’ 

End ID

[entryno17]

SPAMTON & GASTER, PUPPETS & PUPPETEERS, AND THE LINES BETWEEN FANTASY & REALITY

SO CHAPTER 2 WAS PRETTY AMAZING HUH. as a certified gaster enjoyer i feel i have the duty to over-analyze some nonsense, as is tradition. so here we are! on the surface, it may seem like this chapter didn't offer much in the realm of lore related to gaster, but there's actually QUITE a bit of information we can extrapolate from all that we've seen... and a lot of it comes from our favorite [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]]!

of course, please note that this post is obviously only my own interpretation, so your ideas may largely differ from mine. regardless, i hope you'll find the information presented in this post interesting, and i hope you'll enjoy reading my scattered little thoughts!

PART 1: SPAMTON G. SPAMTON

we've known for a while now that jevil and gaster came into contact at some point—a meeting which ultimately ended with jevil losing his mind and being locked away. here's a refresher on jevil's backstory from seam, if you need it. it seems that spamton met with a similar strange someone, and met with a similar fate. you can get extra dialogue from some npcs in the trash zone after defeating spamton neo, as seen here:

both spamton and jevil are ridiculously overpowered secret bosses who suffered a decline after they came into contact with a mysterious stranger—or in spamton's case, after he lost contact. spamton is even implied to have known jevil directly, tying them together even further. if jevil met with gaster, it's safe to assume that spamton did as well... but the connections don't end there!

gaster has a strange association with phones. when in the room with the gaster followers, frisk's phone won't turn on when used. there's also the wrong number song fun event, the memoryheads (amalgamations that communicate via frisk's phone and may be connected to gaster), and, of course, there's kris's phone in deltarune. while in the dark world, the phone cannot be used. if you try to use it, you'll be met with a certain piece of audio: smile.ogg. this audio is also what plays in the background of entry number seventeen in undertale. in fact, in chapter 2, the text that appears when you attempt to use the phone has curiously been altered. it used to just say "it doesn't seem to be working". in this chapter, however, it was changed to say...

... which is exactly how the trash zone npcs describe the noise coming from spamton's receiver.

finally: the gaster followers, the door to mystery man's room, goner characters, and the vessel—all directly associated with gaster—are all grayscale versions of other characters/sprites, and whaddya know, after spamton transfers himself into the emptydisk the screen goes gray.

the connection between spamton and gaster is pretty clear to me. somehow, gaster found spamton at his lowest and decided to help him become a [big shot]. but what exactly is gaster trying to achieve here? and why did he seek out spamton in particular?

i think gaster is looking for vessels.

PART 2: I'M NOT A FAN OF PUPPETEERS, BUT

jevil is a joker card: when played, a joker can be used to represent any other card. spamton is a puppet, something literally designed to be controlled—to carry out the will of its puppeteer. the very first thing we saw in deltarune was the gonermaker sequence, where gaster instructs the player to create a vessel. it seems to me that gaster requires 'vessels' like jevil and spamton for a currently unknown reason.

the concept of people being 'vessels' is ever-present throughout deltarune, as is the the idea of 'control', or lack thereof. the red soul inhabiting kris's body controls them, and we experience first-hand the impact this has on both kris and the people around them. the snowgrave route is all about the loss of self agency. noelle acts as a vector to carry out the player's actions, and is unable to deny their control as she's compelled to carry out their malicious whims. the player commands her just as they command kris—however, through noelle, they are able to cause actual harm to the world around them. your own choices may not matter in deltarune, but the choices you make for the people in its world do matter. there's a LOT more to be said on this topic, but since i'm trying to keep this post at least vaguely on topic, let's just go over how this theme applies to spamton.

spamton's story is about trying to regain control, and trying to attain freedom. after being abandoned by his 'puppeteer', he was forced to try and get by on his own.

* IF YOU'VE [[Lost Control Of Your Life]] * THEN YOU JUST GOTTA GRAB IT BY THE [[Silly Strings]]

spamton directly parallels kris's own lack of control. after fighting him, kris appears to be visibly shaken based on susie and ralsei's reactions. everything spamton talks about—being a puppet, fighting for self-agency—strongly resonates with kris.

DO YOU WANNA BE A [Heart] ON A [Chain] YOUR WHOLE LIFE!?

spamton's dialogue in the snowgrave route drives this connection even further, where he explicitly connects his own story to kris's. spamton has a tendency to project his own thoughts onto others. he does it a lot to kris specifically (and the irony is not lost on me here).

GO AHEAD, [Kid]... CALL ALL YOU WANT! NO ONE WILL EVER PICK UP THE [Voice] RUNS OUT EVENTUALLY YOUR [Voice] THEIR [Voice] UNTIL YOU REALIZE YOU ARE ALL ALONE MUTTERING YOUR [Lost Friends] NAMES AT THE BOTTOM OF A [Dumpster]! NO ONE'S GONNA HELP YOU!!!

speaking of spamton's tendency to project, i feel like i should point out these lines:

WELL, YOU'RE [$!$!] RIGHT! BUT DON'T BLAME ME WHEN YOU'RE [Crying] IN A [Broken Home] WISHING YOU LET YOUR OLD PAL SPAMTON [Kill You]

still assuming he's using kris as a vector to vent his own thoughts... these lines are kind of harrowing. whatever happened to spamton made him wish he was dead. it's worth wondering... what exactly happened to spamton? and is it the same thing that happened to kris?

whenever he offers kris a deal, spamton's wording is very intense, and very deliberate. he won't force them—he can't force them, because he knows he's not in control. it's like he knows that not even kris is in control of themself.

another oddity: spamton is seemingly puppeteered by multiple mysterious forces. when talking to him in his shop, spamton occasionally slips out of character, and in one instance, says this:

you may recognize that first piece of dialogue as being nearly a direct quote from the "UNUSED" portion of deltarune's files. (i don't have confirmation on hand, but i've heard that the japanese translation of this dialogue matches up as well.)

spamton's speech itself may be being actively censored, too. if you talk to him about the knight, spamton will attempt to tell kris something about them, before...

... that happens. spamton's dialogue in general is littered with cuts between random nonsense and it's anyone's guess as to why, but it's possible that some of these 'cuts' are deliberate.

spamton mentions that his entire reason for wanting to become a [big shot] was attaining freedom. however, his concept of freedom appears to have changed somewhere along the way.

I WAS ONLY EVER IN IT FOR THE [Freedom]. TO MAKE YOUR OWN [Deals] TO CALL YOUR OWN [Shots]

at first, he seemed to be satisfied with his life of luxury. he was a [big shot], with big cars, big commercials... and freedom. though his actions were guided by the hands above him, spamton felt free. he relied on his puppeteer for everything, but in a way, he may have found freedom in accepting that control. somewhere along the way, spamton's idea of freedom shifted, however. whether or not if it was when things started to go downhill is unclear. either way, at some point spamton grew to recognize that he could become even bigger—and when he lost everything, the idea of attaining freedom was his only hope. he just needed to take control of himself—and he found just the thing he needed in the castle basement.

mettaton is heavily implied to be the source of the body spamton eventually inhabits. when talking to swatch after defeating spamton neo, they mention that the body he took was once the dream of a lightner. (seam says the same thing when you bring spamton's shadow crystal to them, too!)

* That robot was the embodiment of a Lightner's dream. A dream I helped create... once. * Splashing color from the motion of their hand. The Lightner filled it with their own hope, giving it an incredible power... but, in the end, nothing ever came of it. * And it was left in the basement with the rest of the corrupted data. ... But that crooked salesman! Somehow, he learned about the robot, and thought he could use its power to fulfill his own twisted dreams.

the hopes and dreams of lightners have power, enough to manifest as powerful artifacts within dark worlds.

* Spamton? This used to be his room... Though it's not like he used it, after a while. * Eventually, he just spent all his time in the basement... praying. * When things went downhill, he became obsessed with that artifact. Maybe he thought it would give him another big break?

spamton seemed to think that by taking a vessel formed by a lighter, he would be able to achieve regain control of his life. but was he really just looking for another 'big break'...?

(p.s. this isn't relevant to the point i'm trying to make at all but since swatch is the representation of an art program, it's possible that the body spamton took is literally an ms paint doodle by mettaton. i just need everyone to know that.)

PART 3: [[H E A V E N]]

spamton is the only darkner who recognizes kris's soul as a source of power, separate from that of the power of other lightners. in fact, he's the only character that seems to desire our protagonist's soul in particular. it's almost nostalgic, because it's something we haven't seen since undertale. notably, whenever spamton talks to kris, he tries to talk to them alone. there's something about kris that spamton recognizes as being key to his 'freedom', and he wants it for himself.

it's worth pointing out that kris, a human, has been the only character seen to both create and seal fountains. ralsei's prophecy states that only the heroes of light can seal fountains, though the wording is ambiguous as to how these fountains are sealed. taken literally, this statement doesn't seem to add up (not unlike many other things ralsei says), since, in the snowgrave route, kris is seen to seal the fountain entirely by themself. a human soul must possess certain properties that other lightner souls do not. the exact nature of the power lightners hold is currently unknown; even the queen, who seeks to open another fountain, doesn't seem to know exactly how fountains are created. she assumes that lightners are able to open fountains through a power exclusive to only them: sheer will—in other words, determination.

* The Roaring Knight... Today, It Deigned To Create This World * Reaching Its Long Hand To The Sky * It Coursed Its Will Into Its Blade * And Made * Thrusting The Fountain From The Earth * Unfortunately The World They Created Is Trapped Within The Confines Of The Library * If Only We Had A Way To Make More Darkness * We Might Be Able To Cover The Whole World * That Is When I Realized * This Power... This Power Of The Will * This Power Of Determination... * Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess...? * If One Was Simply Determined Enough * Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain?

but... monsters don't have determination in either undertale or deltarune, as far as we know. so how is spamton of all people aware of determination and human souls? it could have something to do with his connection to gaster. we know that gaster was the one who created the blueprints for the DT extraction machine, and his ability to persist while being shattered across time and space may have something to do with the power of determination. not only that, but determination seems to have a secondary ability—an ability that's a bit hard to describe. it's something like an power to exist out of the bounds of reality; to persist removed from time and space.

every character that has been seen to possess determination (with the possible exception of undyne?) has, in some way, gone 'out of bounds'. flowey is aware of saving and loading and many other game mechanics, and his knowledge of different timelines is shown to persist through resets. frisk is directly controlled by the player, who certainly doesn't exist in the bounds of the game. even the amalgamates seem to break the world around them with their glitchy effects. gaster is effectively an 'out of bounds' character too. information about him is almost exclusive to datamining and hacking, and in deltarune, gaster is intrinsically tied to the game's code. here's a post i made regarding that, go check it out!

so does spamton have this same power? well, no... but he seems to know of it, and tries to attain it through a few different means. spamton's 'out of bounds' areas are different than that of others, however. as a darkner, the light world is 'out of bounds' for spamton. it should be impossible for him to exist there. searching for a way to go beyond the dark world, he turns to the body created by mettaton first, but after kris helps him enter the body, he finds out inhabiting a vessel created by a lightner isn't enough.

* HA HA HA ... THIS POWER IS FREEDOM. * I WON'T HAVE TO BE JUST A PUPPET ANY MORE!!!! * OR... so... I... thought. * WHAT ARE THESE STRINGS!? * WHY AM I NOT [BIG] ENOUGH!? * It's still DARK... SO DARK!

he needs more than just a body. spamton needs a soul. without one, he's unable to see past the 'dark'. he is unable to enter the light world—to enter reality. interestingly, spamton seems to refer to the light world as 'heaven', which appears to be in direct reference to "the angel's heaven" referred to in ralsei's prophecy... but i won't even get into that, seriously, this post is long enough.

* KRIS. * THAT'S RIGHT. * YOU. I NEED YOU. TO BE BIG. WITH ME. * VERY VERY BIG * SO BIG WE'LL STAND UP TALL AND SEE PAST THE DARK * STAND UP WITH OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUDS AND LOOK INTO * H E A V E N

spamton realized that the world around him isn't real—spamton realized that he isn't real. like jevil, spamton recognizes that this is all just a 'game'. he's trapped in the dark, and he wants to be free.

KRIS!!! MY DAYS AS A [Long-Nosed Doll] ARE OVER!!! CUT THAT [Wire] AND MAKE ME A [Real Boy]!! ARE YOU WATCHING, [Heaven]!? IT'S TIME FOR SPAMTON'S [Comeback Special]! AND THIS TIME... I LIVE FOR MYSELF!!! NO... MYSELF AND MY [Friend(s)]!!!

spamton even references pinocchio multiple times, regarding his desire to become a 'real boy'. you can try to help him by having kris's party snap his wires, but as soon as the last wire snaps...

he breaks.

spamton can't live for himself, because he wasn't designed to. he's a puppet who tried to grab its own strings, to gain control, and to become something more than he was; spamton tried to see past the dark and into reality, and he broke.

after defeating him, his tone becomes much more somber. no one can choose who they are in his world, and spamton recognizes this; he resigns himself as nothing but a simple puppet. he still has hope for the heroes of light, however, because spamton offers his power to kris's party. spamton is once again allowing himself to be controlled, but this time, he wants to be used for good—he wants the heroes of light to truly break their own strings, and to succeed where he failed. though kris is particularly shaken up by this encounter, susie and ralsei are also a bit uneasy.

* Hey so... are we seriously... * NOT gonna talk about any of that? * That was god damn weird. * Puppets... strings... hands... * What the hell does any of that mean? * And the way he just... broke.

(i think susie specifically singling out 'hands' here is interesting)

* I... don't think it meant anything, Susie. * It seems like it was just a corrupted program. * He turned into our ally, so let's just accept it.

spamton is perceived to be fundamentally broken; he's "just a corrupted program". though ralsei denies any significance to the battle, he's clearly unsure—something much deeper is happening here, and it's something ralsei doesn't want to dwell on.

PART 4: AND THE PLACES THAT YOU KNOW...

let's shift gears for a moment. despite the distinct separation between light and dark, it's clear that the dark worlds are more than just fantasy. the line between fantasy and reality is a concept that deltarune plays with a lot. how real are the characters within the dark worlds? how real are the things that happen within them? the dark worlds are real to their inhabitants, and they're real to the lightners who explore them. this is exemplified in the snowgrave route, where berdly like, literally dies. while these worlds may just be creations of the knight, they aren't meaningless. they have power, and so do the darkners within them.

but who is 'the knight', anyway? and why are they creating these worlds at all? it's obviously way too soon to make any concrete guesses as to their identity, so i'll posit my own theory: the knight is not just one individual, and "the knight" is not an immutable identity. "the knight" is a concept, simply used to describe anyone who creates dark worlds. we know that kris is able to form their own fountain, but it's unlikely that they're the only one with this ability. while i won't outright reject any theory that states kris alone is the knight, it seems improbable to me. the queen states that her dark world was formed "today", meaning kris would've needed to sneak into the computer lab at some point to create it. this isn't technically impossible... but i think there's more to it than that.

i'm not entirely convinced that gaster is the knight, either—though i certainly don't deny it. it's mostly because i believe gaster is creating much more than dark worlds. remember when deltarune was first released? it was a 'SURVEY_PROGRAM', and it was brought to us by a certain mysterious someone, who also guided us in the creation of a vessel. based on the introduction to the game, it's assumed that deltarune's world was created in some sort of partnership between gaster and chara, as both are present during the gonermaker sequence (and a few other areas).

deltarune is not an alternate timeline, nor is it completely removed from the universe of undertale—it's an alternate world based on undertale's world, created by characters who existed in it. just like the dark worlds, the light world itself was a work of creation, as is the very program we're using to interact with it. these are all old theories, however; i thought i'd bring it up as a quick refresher for anyone who doesn't remember. let's move on to some new stuff!

there's some new dialogue which indirectly implies gaster's involvement in the creation of the light world, and it comes from an unexpected source: alvin boom, the son of gerson boom. first and most notably, when talking about the death of his father, alvin directly parallels the dialogue of the gaster followers.

in deltarune, alphys is once again hired as a successor after the death of a well-respected figure in her field. it seems sort of strange for this to be paralleled here... until you read the rest of what alvin has to say about gerson.

* Originally a smith by trade, he began writing history... * And made a turn into telling stories, as a means to entertain his children. * That such a story, created for a such a simple purpose, could blossom into such a large, wonderful, world-changing thing... * That is the majesty of words, Kris.

gerson was a famous author, and from his hand, wondrous worlds of fantasy were born. sounds familiar! i definitely don't think this is a coincidence—i think this is further proof of gaster's involvement in creating deltarune's world.

but all of this comes back to our biggest question: what is gaster trying to achieve? if he did indeed create the light world and the survey program, why? and why is he interacting with darkners in the way he is? gaster certainly seems villainous in the context of his vessels' stories... but i DEFINITELY don't think it's that simple. with what we have, i can't think of any reason besides pointless villainy for gaster to leave spamton and jevil as they are, and since that's the most boring explanation available, i believe there's far more to this story that we're not yet aware of. there is still a lot of information we're missing. five whole chapters of it, in fact. it's WAY too soon to decide what gaster's motivations are here. i have my own ideas, but they're all pure conjecture at this stage. still, i want to bring up one of these ideas, because at the very least, i think it's an interesting concept...

what if what happened to gaster was the same thing that happened to the card kingdom?

gaster was forgotten. it’s never stated directly, but it’s heavily implied. between goner kid’s weird spiel about non-existence and the fact that gaster barely seems to exist at all to anyone but his followers, it’s safe to assume that gaster being shattered across time and space effectively erased him from reality, thus causing him to be 'forgotten’. gaster is a representation of unused content in video games. he represents abandoned ideas, cut concepts; creations that never saw the light of day. similarly, the denizens of the card kingdom were left abandoned—in reality, they were toys left in an unused classroom... they were forgotten about.

it's important to remember what the relationship between lightners and darkners entails. seam explains it here:

* Long ago, the Darkners lived in harmony with the Lightners. * They were like Gods to us. * Our protectors. Our creators. * Those who gave us purpose... * Then, one day we were all locked away in this prison... * And the Lightners never returned.

and ralsei has this to say:

* Our purpose - Darkners' purpose - is to assist [Lightners]. * It's the only way we can feel truly fulfilled.

to have meaning, darkners must be 'used'. but what happens when darkners reject their purpose? what happens if they refuse to serve lightners—when they live for themselves? this is exactly what spade king hoped to accomplish.

How dare you come here, Lightners...? You, that left us in the shadows, stripped of meaning... You DARE return to torment us once again? Begone! We have found fresh purpose. For the KNIGHT has appeared. The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth. Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world... OUR world.

guided by the knight, the spade king wants to create a new world for darkners: a world where they rule. it all sounds familiar, right? trying to create a new purpose for yourself, trying to find meaning rather than accept it... trying to rise above the ones who control you.

basically, i think gaster, kris, and spamton are thematically tied for a very important reason that we'll be learning more about soon. but for the rest of this, i'll let you make of it what you will, because i know i can't conclude anything definitively. the parallels between all of these characters are hard to ignore, however, and i'm certain this is leading up to something big. there are still many, many questions left unanswered. particularly, i really want to know what exactly gaster wants from these vessels... but since we're missing so much of the story, i feel satisfied with the conclusions i've drawn so far, because i think they tell an interesting story—and i REALLY can't wait to see where that story goes.

that being said. there's only one question that i truly, desperately need an answer to.

... what the hell is a pipis??????????