#asgore dreemurr/reader

[byrdiesong]

Tea?

(Asgore Dreemurr x GN!Reader)

Rating: Pure fluff

Summary: Im attempt to seek shelter from the rain, you find yourself in the ex-king of the underground's tea shop.

Word count: 900

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

It was a chilly day. Rain pelted against the shop's front windows. The wind chimes hanging outside the door sang lovingly to one another as the wind gently caressed each one of them. While Asgore preferred warm days where the sun shone, he did enjoy the idea of his outdoor plants getting watered for him.

A calming lull fell over the tea shop. The rain prevented customers from entering more than usual but he didn’t mind. It was nice to have a slow day every once in a while. He turned to set his jade kettle one on the mini stove behind the counter. He figured since it was a slow day there was no harm in making himself some tea.

That’s when you rushed in.

The little bell chimed as you hurried through the door, disheveled from the pouring rain outside. He silently observed you as you dropped your mesh bag to the floor, cursing under your breath. He watched as you awkwardly tried to rid yourself from your soaked sweater. After successfully getting your sweater over your head, you placed it on the small table closest to you and fixed your hair back into place. You bent down to retrieve your bag and tossed it on the table as well. Once you stood back up, you notice him.

“Oh, hey there.” You said, giving a genuine smile.

“Howdy.” He greeted you, “Quite the day, hm?”

You set your bag on the table next to your sweater and wandered towards the middle of the shop, “It is quite a day. The weather is lovely, yes?”

Raising a brow, Asgore glanced at the dreary weather outside, “I suppose so…”

“Thankfully you were open. I was getting absolutely drenched out there.” You said, idly looking around as your surroundings.

Asgore hummed in response. You seemed relaxed, obviously not truly bothered by the weather or anything for that matter. He felt the warmth and tranquility emanate from your soul. It made him feel somehow calmer than before.

His eyes drifted back to your wet sweater, “Would you like me to dry that?”

You quirked a brow and glanced behind you, “How so?”

“I live above the shop.” He pointed to the ceiling, “I could put your sweater in the dryer if you’d like.”

Your smile grew wider, “Only if it’s no trouble.”

You went back to retrieve your sweater but as you turned around, the two of you were nearly face to face. You now truly saw how large he was. The ceiling was taller than regular shops to accommodate his prominent horns and tall stature. You got a better look at what he was wearing: His pink sweater had a little yellow flower in the center of his chest. Golden Flower Tea was embroidered above it in fancy cursive. He looked so… non-threatening. Dare you say he looked huggable. Not to mention he was in the middle of a tea shop full of plants and vibrant colored flowers.

You realized you were staring and quickly apologized. Handing him your damp sweater you gave a sheepish grin, “Sorry, it’s just…”

“Never expected someone like me running a tea shop?”

You pursed your lips, “Honestly? Yes.”

He let out a deep chuckle. His voice was deep, and you felt it rumble in your chest. Gently, his large hand brushed over yours as he took the sweater from your grasp. Wow his hands were big.

“It always was a dream of mine to open my own tea shop. Never really got around to it in the Underground.” He mused, walking back behind the counter, “But once we were freed, I took advantage of it. Call it a new beginning if you will.”

He turned his head to you before stepping through the door with a warm smile, “I’ll be back in a minute. Feel free to look around!”

You nodded your head as the door closed behind him. Now completely alone in the shop, you decided to explore the small space. Blossoming orchids were perched on walls, various philodendrons hung from the ceiling in cute little planters, and various potted flowers scattered over every surface that wasn’t completely taken up by tea related goods. The air smelled crisp and fresh. The mixture of different teas and herbs was soothing to your senses. How is it you never noticed this shop before? You could see yourself becoming a regular heres. Perhaps to write, enjoy a cup of freshly brewed tea, and enjoy the quiet atmosphere the shop had to offer.

You walked around, peering at all the dainty teacups and tea sets. Some were made of stone, jade, or porcelain. The rose quartz tea set particularly caught your eye. You then moseyed back to the counter and looked at the quaint menu of different teas the shop served. There were quite a few: ranging from hot teas to even boba tea. Your curious eyes scanned the wall behind the counter. Various tea boxes sat neatly on shelves. Little labels were at the bottom of each shelf. Sleep, stress relief, extra caffeinated. You could tell Asgore had put his heart and soul into this shop.

As you were admiring the neatly organized teas, Asgore emerged from the door that lead to his home above the shop. Making his way to the stove, he twisted the knob beneath the kettle on high and turned to you.

“Tea?”

· · ─────── · ─────── · ·

[merlinmarvelandother-oneshots]

undertale characters reacting to reader saying they don't think theyre good enough

romantic or platonic

gender neutral reader

includes: Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton, Asgore

Toriel:

-"where on earth did you get that idea?"

-hugs you

-tells you your biggest accomplishments, and how youve grown even in the short time shes known you

-"my life has been changed for the better since i've known you"

Sans:

-"who told ya that?"

-from then on tells you "good job" and other affirming words more often

-tells you "not true" whenever you say anything negative about yourself

Papyrus:

-"that is UNTRUE, for I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, the embodiment of COOL, thinks you are MORE than good enough!"

-the next day comes back with a seven page list of EVERYTHING great about you

-it even goes into the tiniest of details

-like how your favorote colors is magificent!

Undyne:

-"WHAT?!?! WHO THE HELL TOLD YOU THAT!?"

-she is PISSED

-she prepared to beat whoever made you think that into a PULP

-but she pauses when you tell her that you told yourself

-then she gets quiet

-"thats just not true. and if you cant see that, then you bet your ass i'll make you see it!!"

-she affirms you SO aggressively

-"CMON, PUNK! YOU GOT THIS! DONT GIVE UP NOW, YA HEAR ME?"

Mettaton:

-"why, the underground doesn't seem to think so! my ratings have increased exponentially since you came onto the show!"

-little did you know... he was live.

-he had people call into the show to say nice things about you

Asgore:

-"would you like to tell me why you think that?"

-sits you down with a cup of tea to calm you down

-hes very patient

-he talks it through with you, to try to get to the root of the problem, so he can start making things better

-suggests starting therapy

[theres-a-body-here]

hey um trans dude here um looks at u w my big round eyes. could you do some characters of ur choice reacting to their trans male partner wanting to/getting a phalloplasty? im working to get one myself which inspired me to send this ask

I love my trans followers

TW: A homophobic slur, Mentions of surgery and Dysphoria/Dysmorphia

Characters: Ramattra, Asgore, Mohg, Wendell

Wendell is more of a crackpost

Ramattra

When you tell him, he'll be quiet as he thinks for a while

"I'll be back," he says as he abruptly stands and leaves the room

Your heart sinks as you fear the worst

He comes back within minutes and drops a book into your lap before sitting next to you

Confused, you flip it open only to yelp and drop it

It's a dick catalog

An Omnic dick catalog to be exact

He chuckles as he likes it back up

"There are a few exquisite models here, pet. Let's get you one."

He flips to a page and shows you

It's the model he has

Your face burns, hiding your face in your hands as you lean on him

"You're awful," you whine

You peak through your fingers

"Do they have glowing ones?"

"let's see"

Ramattra will be there throughout the surgery, making sure nothing goes wrong

If you ever feel dysphoric, he'll immediately start to comfort you

"Sweet, beautiful boy, I'm so proud of you"

Asgore Dreemurr

He's so happy for you

Be prepared to be pulled into a crushing bear hug

He's with you every step of the way

He'll sit down with you and plan out everything. From the days before the surgery to the aftermath and recovery

However, he'll be sure to mention any monster magic options for you to consider

Whatever you pick in the end, he'll support you

Plenty of kisses and cuddles throughout the process

He knows surgery is scary for humans, so he's sure to make you comfortable every chance he gets

Tea, snacks, and massages galore

After you get your surgery, Asgore will be a nervous wreck

Doting on you like a mother hen, he won't leave your side for a second

Mohg, Lord of Blood

The moment you tell him, he'll have his followers work on finding ways to give you a dick

Riiiighhttt after you give him a few heirs

Unless you don't want to

He'll be pouty but ultimately respects your decision

Him and Varre are your biggest support pillars before and after the process

Mohg literally doesn't let you do anything by yourself

He carries you around everywhere you need to be

"You shouldn't waste your energy, dearest"

Varre will be even worse

"What size would you prefer your phallus to be, lambkin?"

After the surgery, Mohg will keep you in his bed for a long time

Even when you're fully healed, he'll insist you stay resting

Cage his arms around you and nuzzle close like a clingy puppy

Wendell

He's a bit confused, but after explaining it to him, he'll definitely be your number one supporter

"Is there a dick store we go to or...?"

Yeah he's still a bit confused

He'll cling to you during matches and ask you tons of questions

Even during gunfire

"OMG, can we get matching dicks?"

Please be patient with him

If there's time between the storm moving, he'll be sure to give you lots of attention

"MY BOYFRIEND'S GETTING A DICK!"

He screams out in the empty building you two are stocking up in

Or so you thought

"You homos make me sick," a voice calls out, the clacking of heels hitting the floor echo through the area

You two turn to the voice

"INTERNATIONAL POP SENSATION ARIANA GRANDE?!?!?!?" You both exclaim in unison

"Yuh," she says, whipping her hair as she aims a bazooka at you two

[yasashii-leaf]

I loved reading this story! truly incredible! especially since several times, I found myself laughing! I imagined the scenes, the Tsundere reader blends so well into the world of Deltarune, and she makes me laugh, I found her endearing! In any case, I still have plenty of drawings in reserve, I will publish them over the next few days! I hope you like it Rose! With lots of love !

[petiterazu]

Doodle canvas

[cubu228]

😴

😴

[hotpinkboots]

HAPPY 8TH, UNDERTALE!!

Since it's Undertale's 8th birthday, feel free to spam in a bunch of Undertale requests!! (you're always welcome to spam UT requests at any time of the year, but today is just EXTRA special :D)

[thebelugawhalefriend]

Asgore x Reader Headcanons (Platonic)

CW: King Fluffybuns posting!

Note: Please remember to keep replies and reblogs kind! I find Asgore to be one of my favorite characters (behind Toriel) and I think he could use a few more fics about him ^^

Asgore is one of the best and kindest friends to have!

He'll keep in mind if you want to be touched or not. If you do, he'll cuddle and hug as long and as often as you want! That fuzzy tummy of his makes it all the more soft to hold him

Asgore to me doesn't come across as the "Where's my hug" kind of guy. He's very much tame in his affection

Unlike the skeleton brothers, Asgore is a VERY protective friend and won't hesitate to keep you behind him if someone is bothering you

You might think he'd try to flirt, but he really doesn't want to. He sees you as someone to protect and keep close rather than someone to date

Not to say he doesn't find you beautiful/handsome. Actually, he thinks you're great inside and out!

He will help you with the little things. Your hair, your tie/hair tie, your shirt- anything that you ask of him

He's the best man to lean on when you're going through a breakup. Asgore knows better than anyone else in the main cast how it feels, and empathizes with your pain

Garden with him! He loves a helping hand and someone to tell stories to

Now, Asgore regrets having to do what he did when he was king. He wanted to please his citizens, but that's no excuse to have slaughtered six children to keep their souls. He does appreciate it, however, that you don't hold it against him

You're SHOCKED to learn what happened, but given the war? Yeah, you would be a devastated ruler too if it happened. Ultimately, he's a better man and you find it in your heart to stay by his side

The kind of guy that isn't afraid to cry, but won't want to open up unless you actually want him to cry to you

Overall, he might be a little overbearing, but he's a genuine man who genuinely wants the best out of this friendship

[riuhere]

[tap on the picture for higher quality]

Yess!! I'm finally done!!!

This AU concept has been brain rotting my brain for the past few days and I finally had the courage to draw it hshshsh

Okay so before I start rambling. I just have to note to you that English isn't my first language so if my explanation ends up confusing you. You can just ask me in the ask box! It's open anytime! And If you're not into uh 'x reader's' then this is actually not for you :D

So before I start explaining I'm just gonna say that this version of reader is a completely different version of her from the original concept. In which in the original concept reader dissappears without a word after an incident had happen involving a prince and his bestfriend to which she views them as siblings of her own. Basically an AU from an original AU (?)

In this AU however, our reader went completely insane after the tragic lost leading her to her own demise (mentally and physically).

Btw trigger warning if you wanna keep reading!!

In summary, she basically started distancing herself from her family (Mom goat and Papa goat) by locking herself in the bedroom where their siblings used to reside.

Of course, none of her parents thought any of it being abnormal because that's what someone normally does when they grieve, they isolate themselves to give it time to take everything in. And after reality practically smacked them in the face that their siblings may be gone forever. That's where things started to get very interesting...

And by interesting, I mean she basically started illegally experimenting on monster souls in secret without her family knowing about it. The main reason for it is because her main goal is to find a way to revive her siblings even if the has to use her own soul to do it on way or another and to her the 'bonus' of it is by discovering something 'new' every single day and despite everything she continues to preservere to reach that said goal.

So yeah this AU overall is basically 'what if' reader stayed and went insane instead of dissappearing without a trace.

(side note: in this AU Toriel and Asgore are still together and that was practically only for the sake of their only child remaining from the incident. She's practically the only thing keeping the family from separating. And the fact that she may never be able to meet their love interest/SOULmate in a few years from now in this timeline. Another side note: not gonna lie @semisolidmind made me realise how I'm not that much of a self shipper either due to how I don't really see myself in most of my characters cause their all basically viewed as 'reader' or 'y/n' to me. Does that make sense?)

[asgoreandbud]

Asgore

I...Love...Him uwu ':3 So nice to be back again ;u;

[awesomewithaustim]

Chapters: 15/? Fandom: Undertale (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Grillby (Undertale)/Reader Characters: Sans (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale), Frisk (Undertale), Toriel (Undertale), Undyne (Undertale), Alphys (Undertale), Chara (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr, Flowey (Undertale), Mettaton (Undertale), Grillby (Undertale) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Error Sans (Undertale) - Freeform Summary:

Have fun. If you’re interested in requesting, comment on this post or on the fic. @popatochisssp

[merlinmarvelandother-oneshots]

undertale characters seeing your underfell self

gn!reader

romantic or platonic

includes: Flowey, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Asgore

light cursing

Flowey:

-he laughs

-"you're less of an idiot than i gave you credit for! you finally accepted the rules of the world, kill, or B E K I L L E D"

-to your annoyance, started following you around

-he tries to give you fighting tips, but after you kick him in the face, he stops.

-he likes this new you

Toriel:

-"why, what a dreadful universe! it has brought hate into an innocent SOUL."

-tries to help you win fights with MERCY

-"listen, lady, I don't know who the hell you are, but you need to stay out of my god damn way."

-Shes NOT giving up on you

Sans:

-"well, shit, kid, what the hell happened to you?"

-watched in shock as you punch a monster for stepping on your foot

-he doesn't step in, though.

-he knows he can't change you.

-more importantly, he knows you aren't his.

Papyrus:

-"HUMAN, YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE SO HARSH!"

-his smile, while unmovable, its authenticity falters as he watches you stab a monster to 'teach her a lesson'.

-tries his damnest to get you to see the world positively again

-even after you hold a knife to his throat

-...you do realize he can't 'bleed out', right? he's a skeleton.

Undyne:

-when she sees you attack another monster, she fights you to teach you a lesson.

-you fight until you reach very low HP

-"THERE, NOW DO YOU GIVE UP?!"

-her jaw drops as you spit the blood out of your mouth and walk away.

-what happened to you?

Asgore:

-his eyes soften

-you don't want this, surely?

-it must be an act. to look strong. it had to be.

-if it wasn't for the pessimistic outlook on life and the willingness to attack at the drop of a pin, you were the exact same!

-but he knew he had to stay out of your way.

-unless, of course, he could figure out how to make you see the world well again.

[theres-a-body-here]

Scumtober- Day 11 (In Heat)

Asgore x Male!reader

You honestly blame the others for this.

How come no one warned you that Asgore was susceptible to going into heat? Looking back at it now, Undyne laughing at you, when you mentioned how extra touchy Asgore was acting this month, was probably your only heads-up.

You were hoping to get some practice baking in today, but you honestly suck ass at it. There was flour everywhere, some egg on the floor, and even some batter in your hair. So when Asgore walked in, you were hoping to get some help...not dick.

You guess seeing you bake really did it for him. He hugged you from behind as he muttered how cute you looked. You thought he was being his regular cute self until you felt him harden against your ass.

You swear you'll get the others for this. But for now, you have a large horny goat man to deal with.

"Hnnng!" You groaned softly, feeling the warmth of Asgore's body pressing against you. The goat man's hands moved over your shoulders, squeezing gently as he helped guide you through baking. His large furry hands were on yours as he helped you knead the dough.

"Mmm..." Asgore hummed lowly in agreement, leaning down to place a kiss on the base of your neck. His breath was hot against sensitive skin, causing goosebumps to rise along your flesh.

"Yes, yes," he murmured approvingly, "that's it. Just like that."

You tried to focus on the task at hand, but the sensation of being filled by Asgore's thick cock made it difficult to concentrate. Every time he shifted slightly, sending ripples of pleasure through your core.

Asgore leaned over you to pick up the bowl of chocolate chips, causing his cock to slide deeper inside you. You gasped at the sudden thrust, nearly losing your balance as your knees became jelly. His furry arm wrapped around your waist, holding you steady.

The goat man chuckled quietly, a low rumble in his throat that sent shivers down your spine. "Sorry," he murmured, leaning in closer to nuzzle your neck with his wet nose. "Didn't mean to surprise you like that."

You try to shake off your lightheadedness as you focus on the task. "It's okay," you managed to say between shallow breaths. You were determined to push through and make this damn choco-bread.

At some point, Asgore stopped helping.

Asgore's movements grew slower as he gave in to the heat. His heavy breathing mixed with yours, creating a steamy atmosphere around the both of you. With every lazy thrust, he pushed further inside, claiming your hole for himself.

You could feel yourself develop a new kink. Despite the mess, this was pretty fun. It was almost like a game to see if you could handle doing this mundane task while being fucked.

Asgoore's strong arms wrapped securely around your waist, holding onto you like you were his entire world. The goat man rested his chin on your head as his tongued lolled out of his mouth.

"Ahhhh...," he whimpered, thrusting harder yet again. "So good...my sweet boy..."

He moaned and grunted, his voice growing rougher with each passing moment. Tiny droplets of saliva dripped from his bottom lip, landing on your head.

He was definitely drunk off a mixture of his heat and your body.

"Please...," he pleaded desperately. "More...I need...more."

Tears welled up in his eyes as he buried his face in the back of your neck. He wrapped his arms around you as if he thought you would disappear if he stopped fucking you

"Pregnant..." he chanted hoarsely, each syllable punctuated by a lazy thrust. His hands gripped your hips possessively, leaving bruises in their wake. "Get pregnant...get pregnant...".

"Pregnant, please," he whispered hoarsely between ragged breaths. "Become pregnant...with my child...oh god..."

Each thrust drove the message home; he wanted you to give him a child despite you being male. But you couldn't help but wonder how flustered he'll be when you tell him about this once he's clear-headed. You groan and push the mixing bowl aside.

Baking can wait.

Scumtober 2023 Masterlist

[riftfic]

14. Human

Who will save you now?

Warnings: strong language, referenced suicide, violence

Featured Characters: Sans, Chara/Frisk (Reader), Flowey/Asriel, Wingdings Gaster, Asgore Dreemurr

Note: If you haven't read the previous chapters recently (maybe even if you have outside the past few days), I recommend giving it another read. It's definitely not a requirement, but I added some extra details throughout the story and a few more scenes, most notably in Chapters 3 & 9, that should help the ending feel even more satisfying.

Several years later . . . here's the next chapter.

< Load | RESET | Continue >

From a single strip at the Underground’s heart, Waterfall tunneled away into a boneyard mess of caves. In one direction, the passage to Hotland sprawled in mushroom-light mazes and a boulder choke disguising Tem Village. In the other, a quiet bubble harbored a simple mouse, neck deep in plans to retrieve a wedge of crystallized cheese. Between them, from a silver door that had only been there sometimes, Sans stepped out into a flood of bioluminescence.

Though a door latched shut behind him, dark, damp stone replaced the surface he reclined against now. Its cold, unyielding texture met his fingertips, a reminder that there would be no second visit. 

He clutched the spindly metal bars of that unnaturally gray birdcage. He tucked his chin over the iron rung at its peak, hardly dousing the light of the small monster soul trapped inside. 

The task set before him was unconscionable. Even if he managed to survive . . .

“i can’t do that,” he had resisted. “i can’t kill Frisk!”

“They shouldn’t even be alive,” said Wingdings.

The words took Sans by surprise. He set his heels despite the encroaching void and a minute hand nearing his final stroke of midnight.

“oh, but ya want me to take this soul all the way back to asriel, huh?” he said. “make sure he survives? double standard, if y’ask me.”

"I didn't say it was fair,” Wingdings hardly breathed. His eyes gained urgency. “The human . . . might survive, if they're determined enough. But after you pull the lever . . .”

At that, Sans’ anger siphoned away, leaving behind a fear much broader than the fate of one human child. Their mistake had set so many events into motion. Lives had been built and destroyed, paths forged and buried. The machine could rewrite the course of everything as easily as it could leave the butterfly effect intact. They could remain here in the present or be sucked back to the day it all began. With a phenomenon this unpredictable, just about anything could happen . . . but whatever world they left behind, at least it might survive.

“if i do use their soul to run the machine,” Sans said more calmly, “what’ll happen to asriel, then? to me? to the underground? heck, what’ll happen to you?”

It was clear to Sans by the frown on Wingdings’ face that his brother had already considered this question. Despite his ingenuity, the once royal scientist only shook his head. 

“I don’t know,” he said, “but I do know what’ll happen if you don’t.”

In the present, Sans beat his fist against the rock behind him. Why did it have to be so fucking twisted? Why his Frisk? And why did he have to be the one to do it? Maybe it didn’t have to work out like this. Maybe there was more time than Dings thought. Maybe he could find another way. 

His phone buzzed rhythmically at his waist. He pulled it from his coat pocket and looked at the screen. The image of Papyrus illuminated those shadowy cavern walls below several missed call notifications. Sans took a deep, shaking breath, then another, and answered.

“pup . . .”

“SANS!” Papyrus shouted. “I’VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU FOR HOURS!”

“oh.”

“I’M NEARLY TO NEW HOME. A FRIEND HAS INFORMED ME THAT THE HUMAN IS IN TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE DANGER! IS THAT TRUE?!”

Sans nearly broke down then and there. Though seeing Wingdings again had restored many of the deeper cracks in his soul, it still felt fragile, even more when considering the path ahead of him. 

“more than true,” he whispered.

A patch of silence followed. Sans dropped his cheek to rest on birdcage bars. 

“tell me it’s gonna be all right,” he murmured into the receiver.

“Sans . . . where are you?” Papyrus asked, more gently than was typical. 

“just tell me, please.”

“It’s . . .” Papyrus sighed. “It is going to be all right. Now, WHERE ARE YOU?”

Hearing the words in his brother’s voice quelled Sans’ fear, enough to return strength to his limbs. He lingered on the phone a moment longer, as if the connection truly placed him at Papyrus’ side.

“meet you there,” he said.

You followed in Asgore’s shadow, watching the folds of his cape sway and collide like cattails in the wind. His silhouette consumed yours. He could hold all of you in one hand, let alone the tiny red soul he sought to claim.

Past the end of that long hallway mirror of the Ruins, the barrier undulated with powerful magic. Its waves of golden white licked the crackled stone as if in search of escapees. It contoured Asgore’s silhouette in a crisp white line as he turned to face you. 

That all-too-familiar smile prickled the fur along his muzzle. Looking up into his apologetic eyes, you remembered his hands on your shoulders, his all-encompassing embrace that threatened to lose you in his fur. The macaroni pictures, the crayon drawings, the sweaters . . . the buttercup pie. You shuddered. 

“Human,” said the king of all monsters. His powerful voice trembled, and the earth trembled with it. “It was nice meeting you. . . . Goodbye.” 

He held his trident firmly in both hands and lowered his head . . . but a stoplight glow kept his chin from falling too far. There you stood, hands outstretched, red soul hovering above your palms. 

“I’m the last one,” you said.

Asgore stared at the heart-shaped spirit as if entranced. Its warmth illuminated your fingers with ruby firelight. It was in the crimson glint of your eyes, however, that he became lost, captured in the clutch of a ghost from years long gone.

“Do I . . . know you?” he asked, bewildered both by the situation and the question itself. 

“Please, take it,” you said. Tears fell down your face. “It’s no good for anything else.”

Asgore’s eyes widened with recognition. “Chara . . . ?”

Intense heat flared in the hallway behind you. Before Asgore could say anything more, a brilliant ball of flame had launched him into the cavern wall. Flecks of gray stone spat out among a field of clouds. 

You swung to face the spellcaster. Toriel stood framed in the doorway, her face scrunched in a scowl like a snarling lion. One smoking arm remained outstretched, clenched in a fist. 

“What a miserable creature,” she growled, “torturing such a poor, innocent youth.”

You hadn’t known what path the timeline had taken or whether your friends would convene . . . yet Toriel had arrived, exactly the same as before. Though you may have jokingly called her “mom,” the name now rang through your head with the purity of a windchime in the breeze. 

Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus appeared after her, along with a swath of others you had met along the way. You wanted to tell them to turn back, that you did not deserve them, that if they had known the demon you truly were, they never would have wanted to be your friend. 

Your color drained. As they approached, a web of vines crawled after them along the dark ceiling and cavern floors. 

You ran to Asgore, who sat slumped amid rubble and a brand new hallway door in the shape of his back. He grumbled in discomfort. A layer of dust coated his royal robes and golden mane, which he shook like a dog. You slid to your knees beside him.

“Hurry, please!” you blubbered to the stunned monster king. You proffered your soul as if it were on fire. “There isn’t a lot of time . . . !”

Toriel snatched you back by the shoulders. 

“What has come over you, my child?” she demanded. “Do you not know what he means to do with it?” 

“Mom, I . . .” 

“Frisk.” Her eyes had begun scanning the room in fright. “Where is Sans?”

The path to the barrier gave Sans more difficulty than expected. The last time he had attempted these roads with fewer than two shortcuts, he had been a century younger and taking his time, mushroom hunting with young Papyrus. His limbs lagged behind his will. His breath rattled in his chest. Though his fingers slipped against that birdcage no one remembered, he refused to release its colorless patina bars. Everything depended on this.

He took what natural shortcuts he could—river ferries and elevators—but even then, the trip cost more time than he had bargained. At long last, he had reached the innards of Asgore’s home in the capital. He ran, huffing and puffing, down the golden tiles of the Last Hallway. 

Even as he sped past, his heart ached to remember your meeting here. The flare of sunlight on your head, the even brighter smile on your face, the secret passwords on your tongue. . . . The memory of that pure soul compared to the corrupted one he had read beside the rift overwhelmed him, and he paused. He touched a hand to the white pillar that once occluded him.

Who were you now? Frisk? Chara? Both? If Chara truly were your forgotten name, if everything he knew about the tragedy of Asgore’s children had happened to you, such terrible memories weighed down on your tiny shoulders. It did not surprise him, then, that your violence had escalated to remember those horrors. Ferocious thorns had been hiding in the soft petal corona of your soul, and neither of you had known it.

Clinging tightly to the forgotten prison in his hands, he buried his sentiments and tore through vine-swathed hallways into a dark passage. He skidded to a halt just past the silvery stone archway to the barrier, where his bones clattered with shock.

The cavern pulsed in radiant waves like the steady spin of a lighthouse beacon. Twisting, thorny roots filled the cavern like a briar patch, and their position changed with every flash of light. Among the vicious mess of chloroplast, monster figures had been tangled, their souls nearly devoured. 

The dimming pinpoints of Sans’ eyes could not peel away from your small form, crumpled on the floor before a yellow flower. Your red soul snapped among his vines, barely shimmering in a ruby remnant before splitting apart into nothing.

Sans could not stifle the horror that clawed its way out his mouth. He nearly dropped the cage. 

Flowey turned to grin at him. “Trash day already?” he asked, spinning his head in a full circle. 

Sans shook. No. This couldn’t have happened. You couldn’t have fallen to that little heathen daisy so quickly. You couldn’t have lost your determination. If only he hadn’t lingered in the hallway. If only he had kept running . . . !

You blinked at the human soul still hovering in your outstretched hands. It glowed red, though not as brightly as it once did. Still alive. Still yours to give. Not torn to bits by a nihilistic plant.

Only moments ago, you had fallen to a flower, the same flower weaving his way into this chamber of darkness and light. Toriel’s hands rested heavily on your shoulders. Papyrus chattered away, as Asgore pleaded with Toriel to give him a second chance. While they were distracted, Flowey dug his way out of the earth, grinning deviously, ready to spring all over again.

Confusion waltzed with your mind, spinning you gently. You had experienced this rush backward a thousand times before. Just a short step in reverse to let you continue after falling or if you disliked the outcome . . . but you did not have the determination to do it now. You had intended to die. You had meant for one of two creatures to take your power and be done with it. 

It hadn’t been you. 

The world shifted. Time rushed away like the tide, back into the ocean depths. Darkness bled away into golden sunlit tiles and stained glass windows. Birds chirped among a distant rustle of leaves. The air danced with prisms for a fleeting moment before the world reappeared as it had only moments before.

Sans realized suddenly that he stood in the Last Hallway all over again. A glittering pocket of magic danced like a handheld star beside him, where he had touched the pillar and remembered you. It had not been there before.

Air filled his ribcage in jagged gasps. His soul burned as it usually did when you reset time, though somewhat gentler. His hands shook around the bars of that monochrome birdcage with fear, confusion, and exhilaration. 

He had just turned back time. He could feel it. And if that were the case . . .

He ran. He sprinted faster than ever to reach you, but you lay still on the floor again. Though uncertain how, and though it hurt him, he turned back the clock a second time. Then a third. Then a fourth. Every time, the flower tore apart your soul like a horror movie on repeat, until finally, Sans arrived one split second earlier. Your soul spun a circle above you as if hanging from a string, and a ring of white pellets had only begun readying itself to deliver the killing blow.

Before Sans knew what he was doing, he was charging Flowey through a rough shortcut, foot extended to drop-kick the weed down into his roots. That cursed dandelion’s shriek had never sounded so satisfying. Sans’ dragon skulls had already manifested over his shoulders, jaws aflame—but when they blasted blue-hot magic out their mouths, Flowey had already disappeared into the earth.

A whip of green struck the ground where Sans had stood. He skipped out of the way in the nick of time, then again, and again, and again. He punched his free hand to the ground, and a wave of long, white magic bones crashed down through the air like meteorites. They speared into the cave floor with enough force to run cracks through the ceiling. Clouds of rock sprinkled down onto his shoulders. Flowey’s grip on his friends and family slackened just an inch.

Flowey surfaced again, undamaged beyond a few frayed petals. 

Sans panted, his adrenaline quickly plunging. His bones began aching again, though his raging soul burned brightly through its seams. Sweat slipped down his skull into the neck of his shirt. He didn’t know if he could withstand this much longer. He did not know if his soul could survive another time jump.

“Ha,” chirped the little flower. “Looking pretty rough, there, old pal." His eyes glinted red within the skull-like hollows of his face. "Poor, flimsy little monster souls. Why bother trying? Even Chara was no match for me, and they were a million times stronger than you’ll ever be!”

Sans knew he was right. He did not have the full resilience of a purebred human. Even you had to try several times before making it past this bitter herb. Who in their right mind would bet on him: half blind, right arm nearly useless, only one HP? Just like every moment in his life, he would find a way to fuck this up. Just like every other time before, he would be useless to help. 

His hope dwindled down, as did the fire in his soul. He could not find the strength to evade the string of bullets shooting toward him, but they were serendipitously blocked by a fence of small white bones.

“DON’T LISTEN TO HIM, SANS!” said Papyrus through clenched teeth. “YOU. CAN. WIN!”

“We are here to help you,” said Toriel. “No matter what happens.”

“Statistically it’s impossible,” said Alphys, “b-but you’ve beaten the odds before! I know you can do it!”

“Fuck you, Sans,” said Undyne. 

Everyone looked at her. She shrugged.

“Sans,” said Asgore. “Listen to me.”

Sans clung to the bars of the birdcage more tightly, eyes glued to the smirking flower afar. 

“You are not just your father’s son,” said the king of the Underground. “You have more than magic running through your veins. Remember that . . . and stay determined!”

Sans’ white pupils snapped to Asgore’s blue and brown at once. The statement had struck him somewhere deep beyond the monster white shell of his soul, and still more words passed between them unspoken. Sans then dragged his gaze across all his friends, who looked back with steadfast confidence, even Undyne.

Flowey coiled down on himself, pretending to be scared. “Urgh, no!” he whimpered. “Unbelievable! This can’t be happening! I can’t possibly withstand all of you . . . you . . . !” His face contorted into his evilest grin. “Idiots.”

His vines snapped taut around every monster, and yet another thorny coil snatched Sans from the ground as well. Through ropes of green and brown, Sans watched your red soul go down the flower’s throat, sealed behind hungry white fangs within a golden crown. Then, everything became lost in a flash of white. 

Clang.

Sans moaned. Between that blitz of light and now, he had dropped to his hands and knees. His palms felt scorched—and dreadfully empty. Ahead of him, the last withering wisp of gray silver bars dissipated into the air as if made of smoke. Seeing it clawed the magic away from his bones with every mounting breath. His eyes became hollow. 

The cage was gone—really, truly gone. Not even a step backward in time could bring it back, and with it, Asriel’s soul. Sans felt the world bottom out. Had he really failed, after everything?

A voice cackled overhead. “Finally,” it said. “I was so tired of being a flower.” 

Sans looked upward and blanched. Aside from a few drawings you had scribbled out as a child, he had never witnessed this ungodly creature of countless souls. Sans had only been consumed by him, a coal block among many to fuel his hate. Now, Asriel Dreemurr hovered overhead in all his glory, raging with deathly power in a kaleidoscope of energy. No wonder you had nightmares.

Past the wreckage of their earlier fight, your body still lay heaped on the floor among stone and dead vines, seemingly asleep. As Sans crawled close, tears threatened to form. 

He bit them back. No. He needed to hope. He needed to dream. He needed to be determined that he could call you out from the darkness, just as you had done for him a hundred times. It was his turn, now. Everyone would make it to the other side . . . including Asriel. 

“Huh?” Asriel grunted as he caught wind of Sans below. “What are you still doing here? I ate your soul, you dirty lawn bag!”

“grass not,” said Sans as he stood, dusting the dirt from his jacket with his left hand.

“Ugh.” Asriel pinched his muzzle exasperatedly. “So annoying. How many times have you died now? Thirty-five? Thirty-six?” He thrust a rocket’s flare at Sans with a wicked smile. “Thirty-seven?!”

Sans gathered your body into his arms and stepped into a last-minute shortcut, safely away from that raw magical surge. After hiding your figure inside an Asgore-shaped wall hole, he flitted through the blue light of a portal once again. He reappeared in the air, directly in Hyperdeath’s path, only inches from his head. 

“bone apétit, fucker,” he said and threw a handful of small bones at Asriel’s face. Though they caused no significant damage, they certainly got his attention.

Sans landed on all fours and scrambled. Bullets, fireballs, shooting stars, and lightning strikes raged after him. They left craters in the ground and drove deeper cracks into the ceiling overhead. Stalactites fell and shattered. Sans dodged every one of them. His body thoughtlessly followed the part of him that knew how to survive but had no time to ask permission, so begged forgiveness instead. 

As Asriel Dreemurr took a moment to lift his hands, Sans struggled to catch his breath. His hood smelled of smoldering keratin. Holes had been burned through his sleeves. His body felt slick and ashen against his jacket’s cotton interior. The bones he had tossed like a scoop of dog biscuits into Asriel’s face had been the last magic he could muster. Whatever great power the prince of the Underground gathered now, Sans doubted he could survive it.

The world darkened. Sans could no longer see Asriel or the barrier, not even his hands if he raised them. Everything had become silent except the paddle of his own breath. 

A skull three times his size suddenly materialized from the shadow. In appearance, it reminded him of those he and his siblings had mastered, though its horns and features mirrored Asriel instead. It laughed in his face—a grim, bone-chilling sound like grating rocks—but Sans stood firm. Brilliant red rage and determination surfaced among the cracks of his soul. How dare Asriel steal from Papyrus? How dare he turn Sans’ own family magic against him?

Waves of light drew into the open bowels of its snakelike gullet. Debris ran past his ankles, recalling images of a lab in shambles, a brother consumed by a beast of timeless indifference. He braced himself, ready to dive into the darkness as he did then and save the ones that mattered most.

A flash of brightness burst over him once more. This time, it ripped the soul from inside him and shattered it into pieces.

His mind floated through an abyss, bursting with the fireworks of everything at stake. He thought of Papyrus, never seeing sunrise; Toriel, never knowing the love of a new family; Alphys, never seeing the true greatness inside herself; Undyne, never free to explore the world; Asgore, failing his people. He thought of you, swallowed in the belly of the very thing you had sought to save. He thought of the entire world, destroyed by the god of hyperdeath, eaten alive by a hungry rift in time. The pieces of his soul quivered in a glow of crimson, ready to disperse. 

*But it refused.

The shards sewed back together. A burst of bright red coursed through him like a new flame that had waited a lifetime to be struck. He had to live. He needed to live. He wanted to live! The darkness faded away, and soon the pulsing light of the barrier greeted his eyes once again.

He gaped at his shaking hands, eye sockets wide with confusion and amazement and, more than anything, determination. His soul felt aflame with a ruby-red blaze that forged the bleeding cracks of every pain, every hardship, and every sorrow into an armor stronger than the thickest alloy.

Asriel’s final form hovered ahead of him. Giant wings had sprouted from his back, flaring with blues, reds, greens, and purples. His teeth bared in needle points to rival Undyne’s, seething with fury and frustration. 

“YOU . . . GARBAGE BIN SKELETAL FREAK!” he screamed. “WHY? WHY CAN’T YOU DIE?!”

Sans realized very suddenly he couldn’t move. Asriel’s true power had run rampant through the air, cocooning him in a chrysalis of magic he could not escape. He struggled with no result. With no way to resist, Asriel’s attacks barreled into him again, and again, and again. Every time his brightly burning soul rebuilt itself, a little was lost along the way. 

“I can feel it,” Asriel growled with relish. “Every time you die, your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you.”

Sans thought of Windings, lost in a hell of the same description. He recalled how determined his brother had been to hold that same world together in one piece, forgotten or not. Sans could not fail him again, not here, not now, not after how hard Dings had tried, not when all his hopes were so invested in his success. His brother’s words rang through Sans' head, the last he would speak before the ghost of a gray door had separated them.

“I want you to know,” Wingdings had said, “I believe in you more than I believe in anyone else.”

“heh, yer jus’ tuggin’ my tibia . . .”

“For Tesla’s sake, Sans,” Dings snipped. “Can you just, for a second, let me spoon-feed your imperceptibly minuscule single-cell petri dish of a trait you call your self-esteem?” He took a deep breath and steadied. “I know it might seem like you’re my only option,” he said, “but you’re the best option I could have ever hoped for. My big brother. The one who sticks it out through thick and thin. The one I could always rely on to come through for me. You can do this. You can save everyone. I know you can. So, please . . . 

“. . . don’t give up.”

Sans closed his eyes and reached his heart out to Asriel’s amalgamation of souls. His friends and family were there somewhere. He could save them. They believed in him. Dings believed in him. His determination to save everyone bled through the confines of Asriel’s magic, and deep inside that monstrosity, something began to stir.

Darkness closed in and images of his friends materialized, though their faces could not be seen behind swimming, fragmented blurs of pitch. Toriel, Papyrus, Asgore, Alphys, and Undyne stood like statues in a ring around him. Under their breaths, they mumbled their deepest wounds aloud: loss, rejection, loneliness, guilt, and captivity. 

Sans stared up at his little brother’s towering silhouette, shaken to see him so reduced. 

“hey, puppy . . .” he began. He inched nearer. “‘member me?”

Papyrus did not acknowledge him beyond summoning a few bones, which promptly flew in his direction. They were nothing compared to what Asriel had been punting his way. Sans stood perfectly still to allow a large blue femur to pass harmlessly through his forehead, then teleported behind him. He wrapped his arms around his waist until his face lay cradled in the lower curve of his spine, as if it were fashioned to hold his head.

“is that any way to treat your big bro?” he asked quietly. He searched his head for his worst possible joke and turned to the remaining souls. “uh . . . w-whatcha all starin’ at?”  He whipped out a finger gun as nonchalantly as possible. “never metacarpal of skeletons before?”

A long, silent moment passed. Then, Papyrus groaned. So did Undyne. Toriel giggled alongside Alphys with a snort. Asgore only sighed. 

Sans beamed, then dodged what he saw as a well-deserved barrage of attacks from all five of his monster friends.

“hey, undies,” he said to Undyne past the quick flash of a blue spear. “i liked the tuna your piano. think you can teach me some scales?”

A similar response. Another wave of dangerous magic. 

“knock, knock,” Sans said to Toriel. A hand of fire tried and failed to snatch him off the ground. He brushed off the heat. “i’ll take that as a ‘who’s there’. it’s yer local sentry, sans gaster!”

Toriel mumbled incoherently, but her last words sounded clear: “. . . Sans Gaster who?”

“yeesh,” Sans said, tugging at the neck of his shirt. “and i thought we were friends!”

Toriel laughed, then, revealing her face in a glorious burst of joy. Papyrus groaned more loudly than ever into existence. 

“THAT’S ENOUGH BOONDOGGLING, SANS!” he shouted.

“i think you mean bone-doggling.”

“I DO NOT!” Papyrus stomped his foot.

With that, the rest of his friends returned to themselves, holding their stomachs or their heads in laughter. Sans wiped a joyful tear from his eye. By then, Papyrus had swept him off his feet into the tightest hug he could muster, which might have broken a rib were they more than specters. The remaining crew piled in: Toriel, Alphys, Asgore, even Undyne. In that one gesture, Sans’ soul swelled with hopes and dreams and burned brighter than ever.

“You’re d-d-doing great!”

“We’ve got your back, punk.”

“We believe in you.”

“heh . . . i’m rootin’ for me too, i guess,” Sans agreed bashfully.

“THAT’S THE SPIRIT,” Papyrus said, then lifted his eyes over Sans’ shoulder. “ONLY ONE MORE TO GO.”

As he said it, their images dissipated. Sans turned to follow Papyrus’ gaze. Another figure stepped from the shadow, eyes burning red through a shifting black cloud. A blood-red knife glinted in your hand. Your ruby soul quivered in the pit of your chest, a beacon through the dark. 

“kiddo,” Sans breathed.

You shambled forward and blindly slashed for his neck. He side-stepped the sloppy cut. Your blade lodged into the unseen ground, so deeply it took a few tries to pry it out. Like a marionette, you lolled about to face him.

“It’s all my fault,” you murmured. “All my fault.”

“that ain’t true,” said Sans. He grimaced and ducked another swing. “you’re a good kid. you’ve always been a good kid.”

“I'm sorry,” you mumbled.

“why?” he asked. “you saved us. you saved me. you gave up your resets for it!”

Your razor-edged swipes and stabs began to falter. “My fault . . .”

“the only thing you’re at fault for is trying too bleedin’ hard.”

Though shaking, you continued to jab and swing your dagger with reckless abandon, and he continued to evade its path with infuriating precision. Whipping air and shuffling feet echoed through the dark as if you fought in an empty chapel.

“c’mon, bud!” Sans panted. Sweat had begun to gather on his forehead. “it’s me, sans!”

“Sans?” you replied in a fog. “Sans is dead. I killed him. It’s my fault.”

“i’m not dead. i’m right here.” 

He came close, a breath away. Your knife grazed his cheekbone, revealing a stripe of red that trickled down into his shirt collar. As your arm passed his shoulder, he caught you around the chest and held on tight. He buried his face into your neck. 

“i’m right here.”

At this, you froze. You held your knife shakily over his head, prepared to strike down into his back—but you didn’t. Though the black, jagged strokes of paint shifting about your head did not cease, the red of your eyes had dimmed. 

“frisk. chara.” 

He cradled your hiding face between his hands and looked into your eyes a long, long time. You could feel him reaching through your soul, judging you, reading you from cover to cover like an unlocked diary.

“it’s not your fault.”

As the words sank in, tears sprinkled down from that stormcloud between you, raining over your shoes and his. That dreadful, bloody knife clattered to the ground, and soon you followed. You sat seiza at his feet and clung to his coat, your face no longer shrouded. You sobbed into his t-shirt, broken, yet overjoyed to see him alive. 

He hesitated, then slipped his fingers down into the deep brown thatches of your hair.

“You’re really here,” you said, looking up into his face. 

Sans crouched down to your level and shrugged. “think so.”

“Am I dead?”

“uh.” He scratched the back of his skull and winced. “ya ain’t in yer body, that much is for sure. hopin’ you might join me on the way back, though . . . if you’d do me the honor.”

You hugged him again, even more tightly than before. Conflicted by memories old and new, shame hooked onto your soul with claws sharper than the dagger at his feet. His hand in your hair was all that kept you solid.

“I’m sorry.” Your tears fell faster as you considered the road leading you here. “I made you fall into the rift . . .”

“that one’s on me,” Sans said. “i knew what i might find down there.”

Your face sombered. “Did you find . . . him?”

Newfound brightness ignited his eyesockets. “he’s . . . alive,” he said quietly. He could scarcely believe the words. “trapped between time and space. it’s just like i thought.”

You were never more relieved to be proven wrong. Still, questions encircled your head like stars. Where was his brother, now? If Sans had gone to that place, how had he returned? How had he survived the rift, and Flowey no less? Was he the one turning back the clock? That should have been impossible. 

As you extended a hand to smear the streak of red you had carved into his face, a terrifying thought occurred to you. 

“Determination,” you breathed. “Sans, you didn’t—!”

“no,” he said.

“Monsters don’t bleed,” you said firmly in an attempt to call out his bullshit.

“not full-blooded monsters, no,” he agreed.

Several moments passed in which you digested these words, and what they implied. 

His smile slowly fell into a grimace, a mix of regret and weary sadness. He sat down in the darkness across you. Here, the two of you were truly alone. He breathed in, breathed out. 

“skeletons are kinda hard to come by,” he began hesitantly, “if ya hadn’t noticed. we’re only born under certain circumstances . . . with . . . certain parents.”

He lifted his head to the darkness above as if he might see the sky. A piece of him drifted away into nostalgia on Noctis wings. Bittersweet was the only word you could surface for his expression now.

“hardly look nothing like dad,” he began with a half-hearted shrug. “he was like . . . a dragon made of blue stars, a constellation in a nebula. huge, bigger than asgore. gast clan always was, compared to the dreems. i see him in my magic, though, sometimes. his face in my blasters, even if just the skull.”

You couldn’t find words. Surely he didn’t mean what you thought.

“don’ hardly look like mom, neither,” he said with a partial smile, “but we got her bones. we got her structure. i got some of her determination.”

“You’re half human.”

“i’m all me, thanks,” Sans snipped. Talking about it seemed to crawl over his bones like a spider bake sale. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked, genuinely hurt.

He paused and picked at the healing cut on his cheek. He rubbed the red fluid pensively between his thumb and forefingers. “everyone down here knows what it means to be a skeleton,” he said quietly. “i thought you knew too, at first. we all did. a lot of folks thought it was why you shacked up with us instead of tori.”

Your shoulders relaxed.

“by the time i realized it . . . honestly, i didn’t know how to tell ya, kid. it's a sensitive subject.” He drew his coat around himself more tightly. “we’re the only ones left, y’know; me and puppy-dog. and dings. when the war started, humans went for families like ours first. papyrus was a bean, dings was just the right age for it to hit him later, and i . . . i remember everything, as always.” 

Your guilt ascended all over again. 

“we were just kids," he went on, "but nothin’ scared those purist humans more than a fuckin’ mule.”

“i’m sorry,” you said.

“don’t be,” he murmured. “not your fault.”

“But it is,” you insisted. Your tears began rising again. "I’m human. I’m responsible. After everything humans have done—after everything I’ve done—I don’t deserve any of you. I don’t deserve to be here. You shouldn’t have saved me . . .”

Sans gently wiped your face with his sleeve. “lemme finish, kid,” he said quietly. He heaved a long, drawn-out sigh, as if releasing a toxin trapped inside his ribcage. “i got a reason to hate humans, sure. they drove us down here. they blocked us in. hell, even monsters gave us a hard time for that half of us. papyrus was so bent on catching a human just to prove what side he was on. thought people might like him more.”

You felt sick.

“but,” Sans said, forcing you to meet his eyes, “my human parent sacrificed everything to save us. she stayed behind so we could get away. so many of us are alive because of her. you wanna tell me that was wrong? you wanna tell me she was responsible for everything that happened to us, just for being human?”

Your tears continued to fall. 

“you can’t help where ya came from,” said Sans, “but you can choose where ya go. and boy have you gone to some good places.” 

“Like the dump,” you quipped with a faint smile.

“heh, yeah,” he said. “like the dump.” He hung an arm over your shoulder. “so maybe you’ve made some big mistakes . . . but your heart was never in the wrong place. you want to make up for it. you want to be good. that’s what really matters, right?”

You sniffled and nodded. You had said the same to Alphys. Were you really beneath your own advice?

He gathered you into his arms again. After a long time kneeling there, faces in shoulders, he helped you back to your feet. 

“gonna need you to step in from here on out,” said Sans. “the chances hyperdoofus listens to me are about a million to negative one.” He smirked. “think you can handle it?” 

You took his hand and squeezed. 

“Only if you stand there with me,” you said.

His heart swelled in his chest. “i can do that."

Holding onto one another tightly, you stepped out from the darkness into a rainbow of light.

Notes:

And thus we have arrived at my third and final head-cannon: skeletons are what happen when a monster loves a human. I think my nervousness about dropping that bomb contributed to the delay in a latent sense, haha. Sorry for that again.

The idea of skeleton monsters always puzzled me, because in most folklore and fantasy contexts they have a direct tie to humans. Undead, more specifically. But in the context of the Undertale universe, undead didn't sit right with me. Skeleton monsters that conveniently mimic human anatomy didn't either. Then I had this thought. It explained several things for me: the blood from Sans' cut in the no mercy run, the reason he's so powerful, that "fourth wall" breaking tendency he and Papyrus both share... I massaged things some for the narrative here, but yeah.

I had been building to this a little bit as a possible reveal, then considered sidestepping it, but then as I really hammered out my ending it became an essential fact. I added more scenes and details in earlier chapters to get a little more traction on it, hence why I recommended rereading. :) Either way, I hope you find it at least interesting.

Thank you again to everyone who held on until now. Only three chapters left!

Next Up! Chapter 15: Determination.

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[petiterazu]

According to my calculations

This is the conclusion I’ve come to

[dumbass-duo-showdown]

ROUND 2

So I’m back! Bracket time!

Reminder the time zone being used is CET

APPLE BRACKET

Aka Cartoons, Anime, and games associated with such (fire emblem and ace attorney)

Day 1 22/4, finished

Part 1: 5pm

Reigen Arakata (mob psycho 100) vs Corazon (one piece), finished

Lord Garmadon (Lego ninjago) vs Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb), finished

Iroh (avatar: the last airbender) vs Bob Blecher (bob’s burgers), finished

Iruka Umino (naruto) vs Darkwing Duck (darkwing Duck), finished

Part 2: 8pm

Hakoda (avatar; the last airbender) vs Ice King (adventure time), finished

Greg Universe (Steven universe, he won an extra battle because I forgot him at first) vs Splinter (teenage mutant ninja turtles), finished

Bruno Bucciarati (JoJo’s bizarre adventure) vs Greil (fire emblem: path or radiance), finished

Professor Kukui (Pokémon) vs Phoenix Wright (ace attorney), finished

Day 2: 24/4, finished

Part 1: 5pm

David Evans (Inazuma 11) vs Loid Forger (spy x family), finished

Tim Lockwood (cloudy with a chance of meatballs) vs Oscar Proud (the proud family), finished

Shouta Aizawa (my hero academia) vs Donald Duck (ducktales), finished

Sailor Uranus (sailor moon) vs Skipper (penguins of Madagascar), finished

Part 2: 8pm

Sully (monsters ink) vs Kouhei Inuzuka (sweetness and lighting), finished

Alibert (wakfu) vs Meta Knight (Kirby), finsihed

Gru (despicable me) vs Zenkichi Hasegawa (persona), finished

Kanan Jarrus (Star Wars: rebels) vs Mr Ping (kung fu panda), finished

BAPELSIN BRACKET

Aka live action media, books, and video games & graphic novels not associated with anime (so no light novels or tie ins)

Day 1: 26/4 5pm, finished

Bobby Nash (9 1 1 on fox) vs Benjamin Sisko (Star Trek, deep Space 9), finished

Subject Delta (bioshock) vs Atticus Finch (how to kill a mockingbird), finished

Paul Blofis (Percy Jackson) vs Gomez Addams (the Addams family), finished

Lee Everett (telltale’s the walking dead) vs Waymond Wang (everywhere everything all at once), finished

Part 2: 8pm

Joel Miller (the last of us) vs Calvin’s dad (Calvin and Hobbes), finished

Pyrrha Dve (the locked tomb) vs Common Wubbox (my singing monsters), finished

Doc Louis (punch out!!) vs Riki (xenoblade), finished

Bob Cratchit (a Christmas carol) vs Mo Folchart (inkheart), finished

Day 2, 28/4

Part 1: 5pm

Alfred Pennyworth (Batman) vs Asgore Dreemurr (undertale), finished

Dave Seville (Alvin and the chipmunks) vs Chimney Han (9 1 1), finished

Glamrock Freddy (fnaf: security breach) vs Bail Organa (Star wars) , finished

Kim Dokja (omniscient Reader’s viewpoint) vs Hal Wilkerson (Malcom in the middle), finished

Part 2: 8pm

Lee Scoresby (his dark materials) vs Dream (sandman) , finished

Thrushpelt (warrior cats) vs Barret Wallace (final fantasy 7), finished

Domingo Montoya (the princess bride) vs Terry Jeffords (Brooklyn 99), finished

Rupert Giles (Buffy) vs Pollination Tech 9 Smith (the sims 2: strangetown), finished

QUICK QUESTIONS

WHY THIS PAIR UP? I’m a bringer if chaos, also it was random

What time zone? CET!

How do I do propaganda? Well first you reblog with a text post, don’t put the propaganda in the tags. Or send me an ask! I will make sure to reblog it with the right tags

Hey I saw you made a mistake, what should i do? First, don’t use anon asks to correct my spelling and if I misuse slang. Just tell me directly. If it is 2 hours after a poll has launched, I will redo it immediately. But I will write down the mistakes I make and correct them later on

CODE OF CONDUCT

Previous battles

Main Rounds

ROUND 1

Second chance/dad mansion break in

ROUND 1

The only way to show how the battles (second chance) will happen cuz it’s random AN EXTRA NON DAD BATTTLE?!?!?!?!?!?