#papyrus kinda inspired underswap papyrus

[missowo]

"It's great to see you again."

"Yeah, it's really nice."

First - Previously - Next

[g0nefischin]

Been inspired by some of the scrapbook style stuff ive seen floating around

So I did a little thing with BHC Stretch :>

Inspired by @/calciumdreams, @/starryaike, and @/packet-of-staples

Bonely Hearts Club: @/bonelyheartsclub

[drawer-ghost]

I had a vision:

UT Papyrus: Milk and Milk (no cereal)

UF Papyrus: Milk then cereal

SF/FS Papyrus: Cereal then milk

US Papyrus: straight up pouring milk in the cereal box

OT Papyrus: Drinking/eating cereal with orange juice

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Hello, can I have a bed placement chart of your skeletons?

https://www.zupimages.net/viewer.php?id=24/30/r626.jpg

Undertale Sans - He's true neutral. He likes his bed in a corner so it takes less place to set his trash tornado. What? Priorities you know. He doesn't even sleep that much in his bed anyway, the couch is more comfortable.

Undertale Papyrus - Lawful good because that's how normal people are supposed to have a bed? He used Sans' way for the longest time, but then he grew up and realized Sans is actually wrong on a lot of things so why not the place of his bed. He feels such like a rebel now.

Underswap Sans - He's true neutral as well because he needs the rest of his room for his training machines. He doesn't sleep that much in his bed either, but just because he hates sleeping. He's barely ever in his room except to exercise.

Underswap Papyrus - Neutral evil. As an author, it's hard to focus sometimes and he found out that raising his legs against the wall is actually really helping to find inspiration (it's not a true story or something and I'm definitely not neutral evil myself, you have no proof).

Unferfell Sans - Chaotic good. So he was lazy when he moved in and kinda threw his bed with his blue magic, then got tired, then decided it was fine where it was and never touched it again.

Underfell Papyrus - Lawful good, and he's judging everyone who's not doing the same (right Red?). Alas, he has to be the role model in this house because how would anyone live without his guidance?

Horrortale Sans - He actually put his bed in a small alcove, between two walls. Since he moves a lot when he's sleeping, he doesn't risk falling off the bed. He feels safer too like this.

Horrortale Papyrus - Lawful evil, but not by choice. His medical bed has to stay away from the walls because of all the machines and to be able to lift and go down. His maniac mind doesn't like that too much but he got used to it.

Swapfell Sans - Lawful evil. He has a giant round King bed with curtains and he would kill anyone who tries to take it away from him. He looks ridiculously small when he sleeps in it, but Nox likes to have space when he sleeps.

Swapfell Papyrus - He glued his bed to the ceiling obviously. Where else? Ok, maybe it was supposed to be a joke at first and he kinda didn't find a way to put his bed down yet. He's sleeping in a hammock for now lol.

Fellswap Gold Sans - Chaotic good so he can have a good point of view on both the windows and the door. He's still getting attacked often at home, so he thought the bed placement like a soldier. Typic Wine.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - Chaotic good as well, but mainly because the spaces around his bed are so full of plushies that he actually doesn't have any other choice really.

Some other weirdos:

Outertale Sans - His bed is actually on the wall so he can sleep like an astronaut, standing up. He has straps and everything to not fall down.

Outertale Papyrus - Same as his brother, but on the ceiling because he prefers to feel like he's actually lying down, even though he's mostly sleeping on the straps like it's a hammock lol.

Dancefell Papyrus - Chaotic good, because he sleeps in a coffin and it's too large to fit against the wall. So he spent 24 hours in this thing for a Youtube video and he actually found it more comfortable than his bed, so now he's sleeping in the coffin. His brother is cringing so hard for his partners sometimes.

Dustale Sans - Chaotic good as well, but he doesn't have a bed. He has a human-size fluffy dog basket because he sleeps all curled up at night. It's surprising the first time you see it, but it actually makes sense after a while.

[drsoulblast-official]

The Fourth SoulBlast Newsletter is here!

What's new?

Our Team Members have recently been working on SoulBast's Intro Sequence (GONER_MAKER replacement) and its path chart, where each individual ending and choice has animations which are still being planned! How many choices/animations are there? Well...

Here are the references (provided by Terra and Alternimo) showing what's next to come!

The Cosmic Starplaza Update is Here!

We decided to replace DELTARUNE: CHAPTERS REATOMIZED with a WIP Shift AU that has a couple Deltarune characters in original roles. It has some SwapSpin inspiration and some StoryShift inspiration, specifically the roles papyrus and sans are in. What does that mean? You'll have to wait and see!

Yes, the songs ARE back! Maybe!

The SoulBlast composers are cooking once more! This time for something with a much different tone to what is often teased here, but we hope that you still like it!

There isn't a thumbnail made yet, but it may be done alongside some other songs, which have a chance of coming out this month!

What's Terra been up to?

“It’s Terra again! I’m on vacation right now, but we’ve got a decent amount of content done. We’ve had a couple songs finished in the last week, and Alter and I have been planning out the SoulBlast opening sequence. I might not make it the first thing we do dialogue-wise as it’s super ambitious and big, although I had a really cool idea as of how to “realize it”. I don’t know if I’ll go forward with this idea, but who knows. That’s all I have to say for now, peace!”

What's Alternimo been up to, too?

“Hey, I’m back with another newsletter section! I’ve decided to do one every other week (mostly because of my current work pace, and also because Alter doesn’t necessarily entirely equal SoulBlast), but here we are again! As for what I’ve been up to…well, not a whole lot, to be blunt. I’ve been away on vacation after vacation, trip after trip…kinda doing some small work off and on, but nothing too crazy, and likely not until mid-June or so, when I get back from this big trip I’m on now. Not too much has been going on in the SP!Deltaswap (AKA CandlelitSeal (if you’re interested, DM me for more info!)) field, though I’ve been putting together a few last minute ideas and laying everything out for myself to track my progress. Preparing for some dialogue revisions too, alongside the designs for the rest of the main cast. SoulBlast-wise…not much either, though I’ve been helping out a bit with the intro sequence (which may or may not been teased somewhere in this newsletter) and some tiny logo tweaks. With that, though, I’ll quit my yapping, as there’s plenty of other (probably more important) content to be getting to.”

The SoulBast gets an update?

The SoulBlast Team has been working to improve the original logo! Here's what we've done so far, with different versions by Alternimo and SnowyBoi64

(Minor Logo Rework by Alternimo, although some color things would still be changed)

(Sprite Version by SnowyBoi64)

Speaking of SoulBlast Reworks...

The Character Guides are back, and are currently in a stage of early construction! Not much more is able to be said unfortunately, but we'll get updates to you whenever possible!

The SoulBlast Team has a New Member!

"Heya! I'm the I Man, and I recently joined the SB/NM team. I do some spritework, background music and maybe a bit of writing, if I'm feeling particularly wild. I've made a few works over the years and I have a few AUs of my own, (including two whole Underswap takes), but I figured I'd join this project because it seemed interesting (I was right). Anyways, I can only hope I live up to the expectations set for me, and I hope to see you in the future."

That's all!

Go check out our stuff below! The next newsletter will be posted in 2 weeks (since it’s biweekly)

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@soulblastau5574?si=fuh6MJy1Hgd4FVaT

SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/UVadRL6CSVdqxkRv9

Discord: https://discord.gg/3bAtNkxH2P

[icebitezart]

i may have. sent the underswap ask to the wrong person (i meant to send it to someone else who draws their own take of underswap). i may have been quite confused when i saw a response but with entirely different underswap art that i've never seen before. but SOMEHOW you not only happened to have underswap designs, but ones i really like too?? what the fuck. this is slightly disorientating i LOVE the direction you took with your designs, alphys and undyne in particular. you really leaned into making alphys' design look more like a lizard (i think a bearded dragon) and you popped off with that design decision. you did kinda a similar thing with undyne with her design looking more fish like and i really like that. i love when people lean into like the more non-human stuff the monsters are inspired by rather than like staying with their pretty humanoid designs (though i love those designs too!) the whole like polygonal (i think that's the right word) look for sans is clean too! and papyrus looks really cool and gosh they all look so cool your artstyle is awesome too. i looked at your caard website and browsed through and it's a delight to look at keep popping off dude, your stuff is awesome

Thank you!! I’ll try to make full designs for some at some point so.

But I’m really glad you like all my stuff!! I feel really welcome to be here.

[solusminds]

Ooooh you wanna tell me all about underfear sooooooo bad ooOoOOoh /nf /pos

(Underfear seems AWESOME by the way. Like, yooooooo??)

YOU ARE RIGHT. I DO WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT SO BAD.

So-

Underfear is an AU inspired by Underswap and Horrortale. Some characters(like Sans, Papyrus, Chara, Toriel, etc) are swapped while others(like Muffet, Mettaton, Mew Mew, etc) aren't. Underfear, as its name suggests, runs on fear, no matter what route you go with. Pacifist? The human is afraid. Neutral? The monsters/human are afraid. Genocide? The monsters & human are afraid. The AU wins no matter, it gets fear.

The human has a little looking glass(kinda like in Coraline) that let's them see the true forms of certain monsters(like Papyrus).

About some of the characters(not all) ->

(CW: injury)

Sans: Sans has a large hole in his skull. This is from a magic malfunction he suffered when he was younger, blowing out parts of his skull, leaving it like how it is now. Inside his skull is a giant spider like monster, though you'll never see it as it's sorta fused to the inside of Sans' skull, if you do see it, it'll just be its long legs poking out of his skull trying to grab something. Sans isn't entirely like Swap!Sans, yes, he does do the whole puzzle shenanigans and tries to capture the human, but the moment he gets home he just crashes(most of the time he doesn't make it to the couch and doesn't even attempt to get to his room).

Papyrus: Papyrus isn't actually a skeleton. He just looks like one (that's a post for another time). He almost NEVER sleeps. His hoodie has fox ears because he let Sans sew them on, and now he refuses to remove them. Sans & Undyne both know that he's not a skeleton, but they just don't care. The looking glass works on him to show what he actually is.

Gaster: Not a skeleton and is a female. She suffers from a mutation caused by an explosion. She adopted Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne. I'm still working on her, so there's not much here.

Toriel: The Queen of the Underground. She sewed her eyes shut because she didn't want to see herself kill another human child. She's a rather lonely woman, wandering around her castle or having tea in her throne room.

The Floweys: The Floweys can be found all over the Underground. They can be found in groups of three and want to play games(hide & seek, red light green light, I spy, etc) with the human. If the human wins, they get a reward. The rewards range from neat trash to healing items or other useful stuff.

[aus-from-undertale]

AUs that got some "Swapped" stuff

Differently from the Underfell list, this one is not focused solely on Underswap, cuz there's some more AUs that got a lil'swapping :)

Underswap- the classic, am I right

Fellswap- Underfell+ Underswap, it's a dictatorship around here

Fellswapx- another take on Fellswap:)

Swapfell- Underfell+ Underswap, it's very capitalist uhuu

Jumbletale- some role swapping here and Gaster is alive. Papyrus helps the human in their journey while Sans is scared and violent against humans

Inverted fate- more role swapping. After Asriel fucked up, the whole underground swapped their characters. Now frisk, flowey and Papyrus are on a journey :) MY FAVORITE AU

UT storyshift- a child falls to the underground and is found by the caretaker papyrus. I like this one, it's all in game sprites :D

Alterswap- Altertale + Underswap. In this one, Sans is a timid caretaker of the ruins while Toriel is a cutie pie who's very excited and lovely. (And I'm low-key in love with lazy ass asgore)

Eclipsetale- This AU is mix between Dreamtale and Underswap! I love the combo 💕

SwapOut- Papyrus literally swapped out with someone we all know :)

Kingdom of the Crystal sky- kinda inspired by storyshift 💕

The other puppet- a Deltarune where the main characters got role swapped with the secondary bosses.

Underforgotten- This AU is another take on the Underswap AU where everyone got killed but sans :0

Storyswap color- This AU is another take on storyshifted but with a mix of Underswap. Is cool :)

Pairswitch - An au where character pairs from Undertale switched with each other

Reversed Context - it's just the swapping of the freaking world building. Nothing to it.

Underrune-a swap between the characters from Deltarune and Undertale :)

Ghost switch- role swapping between Asriel and Chara :)

The old monster of the ruins- some old lil role swapping happened here

Alter heaven- role and personality shift on this deltarune au!!

Hopeless experiment-Lots of characters on different roles here on this deltarune au :0

Yeah I know, not thaaaat long of a list lol

But since I was noticing a pattern i just made this one on a whim :)

[wishingstarinajar]

Hey Wishing! I wondered about how many Undertale aus you have?

Hullo Anon, just call me Wish! Oh boy, I have a few so I hope you’re ready for a list!

(Credits to the original AU creators that inspired a few of my AUs will be listed at the bottom of this post!) ======================================

1. What Will You Do (Mafiafell) @mafiafellwwyd Mafiafell (particularly the Sooner Or Later You’re Gonna Be Mine rendition) dragged me into Undertale in late 2019 and it was also the first AU I poured my creativity into to create my own Mafiafell fanfic called “What Will You Do”.

The story revolves around Emily, a young human florist who is trying to survive in a corrupted and crime-ridden world and accidentally falls face-first in some nasty mafia business and the personal interest of a particular monster mobster.

=====

2. UndeRewind @underewind A more “original” AU concept I came up with after learning more about Undertale, the AUs concept and its Multiverse. This AU is Rewind’s original AU, a Genocide timeline that’s on the brink of falling apart due to a multitude of corrupted RESETs and SAVEs. This corruption caused the coding for magic to be altered, and monster and location data to be permanently deleted or corrupted, steadily stripping the AU's core coding away.

After suffering many losses and eliminating the culprit behind the corruption (the possessed fallen human Brat), Rewind finds a means to leave his AU and ventures into the Multiverse in the hopes to find a way to save his home and revive his dead brother (Rewind!Papyrus aka Ghost).

This AU/story eventually weaves together with @stankychee​’s HunterTales AU and Wizardtale AU.

=====

3. Fame & Magic A genderbend version of Underswap with a focus on popularity and mages. Diva (Swap!Papyrus) and Starlet (Swap!Sans) are both court mages, though Diva is a supermodel and Starlet an aspiring idol and actress.

The general gist of the AU is that human mages are sent down into the Underground to be tutored there as part of the truce between human and monsterkind. The barrier is still active and you can bet that a lot of monsters aren’t too happy about that.

=====

4. Underswap!COLOR @underswapcolor Home of Big Blue (my bara Swap!Sans) and Orange (Swap!Papyrus). Characters are named after colors in this AU.

This AU doesn’t have much development behind it because I mostly focus on these two characters rather than their surroundings.

=====

5. Swapfell!LIFE A ‘happy ending’ sort of AU where the monsters live happily on the Surface. The vague kinda non-existent plot inspired by Swapfell and Fellswap takes place a decade after Cedar (Chara) liberates the monsters. This AU focuses on life magic, slice of life moments and the skelebros Sedge and Cyperus.

This AU came into being because I wanted to try making a bara Papyrus (without an ecto body!) but Sedge eventually stole the limelight. The main color for this AU is green (and white).

=====

6. UnderRealm @underrealm I wanted to create a dungeon crawl/fantasy/adventure-inspired AU where a group of adventurers aid (princess) Frisk in saving the UnderRealm from the Dark King’s menace. Two of the characters in this group are Rook (ranger) and Birch (paladin). It’s still in development but I’ve used this AU for my gem skeleton concept (like my boy Shard) and other breeds of skeleton monsters that best suit a fantasy setting. I share this AU with @stankychee and her Omentale AU. My "Tipping Scales" characters (seen below) make several cameos in UnderRealm.

=====

7. Tipping Scales @tippingscales An AU I created after I made Ephialtes, a Nightmare-inspired character. Instead of goop, he consists of black smoke and is a rather regal sob who feeds off a mortal's negativity by giving them erotic nightmares or feeding them his corrupted essence (ebony apples) to increase their despair or fright. His opposite/twin is Oneiros, a positivity-corrupted Dream-inspired character who's all but generous. Just like his brother, he grants mortals his own corrupted essence (golden apples) and his radiance to increase their good feelings and feed off their positivity (Have I mentioned that Oneiros is an absolute selfish manipulative bastard?).

The AU itself (before it falls into ruin) is all about upholding the Balance and Oneiros abusing his position of power to entertain his own greed and indulge in the mortals' worship, not caring that his brother Ephialtes suffers the terrible consequences.

Other than UndeRewind (and maybe UnderRealm and Swapfell!Greed), this is my most thought-out AU as of yet.

=====

8. Outer!Swapfell The home AU of Stray. I wanted a Mutt/Doggy inspired OC but not a whole AU tied to him so I gave Stray the tragic backstory of his creator erasing the AU idea. Whoops. Stray now ventures the Multiverse with Dullahan (see below!).

=====

9. Leytale A fantasy and magic-heavy AU that’s the home of Dullahan (Swap!Sans) and his brother Zephyr. Dullahan is an arcane-focused mage (arcanist) and is able to travel between AUs by following the ley threads connecting them. During one of his travels, he lost his head and is in search of it alongside his friend Stray. His head is held for research by human scientists.

=====

10. Slice of Life An AU I heavily share with @stankychee. A very self-indulgent AU in which we threw most of our Undertale characters into a modern setting and made them either neighbors or roommates. A lot of crackshipping happens here! 

=====

11. Fellswap!Pastel A very unimaginative working title for an AU that’s still in development. It’s the home AU of Vienna (Fellswap!Papyrus) and the deceased Sangria (Fellswap!Sans).

Vienna is more active in the Slice of Life AU, one of the reasons as to why his AU is underdeveloped.

=====

12. Darkfell An Underfell and Demon/Dark Souls inspired AU in which a grown-up (male) Frisk tries to save the unforgiving Underground and its twisted inhabitants from themselves and an invading corruption. This AU is extremely new and still in development.

=====

13. Swapfell!Greed @swapfellgreed Another one of those "I want another bara Sans character!" that sparked a whole AU concept, this time inspired by Swapfell (Purple).

Swapfell!Greed is a "Pay or Get Paid" world where money and greed rule. To provide for his sickly and bedridden brother (Haze) and his insanely expensive medications, Rum devotes his life to hunting down Fallen humans and taking their SOUL to sell it to the highest bidder. Unfortunately for him, Fallen humans are not exactly common...

=====

14. Falseswap Fake it till you make it, that's the motto of Falseswap. A Swapfell Red inspired AU, it's home to Faux and Scam(p), and not every monster is as genuine as they may come across.

This AU is more of a 'silly idea' based on the 'faux' wordplay as I made the character on a mere whim, and still in development.

=====

15. FS!Megalosomnia I joined the Megalosomnia madness and of course created my own Baggs variant for it. Since I am a sucker for bara skeletons, I created a bara Fellswap Gold Sans aka Wine variant of Baggs called Case. His little brother Cadet was created by @stankychee.

=====

16. Golden Crime @goldencrimeau A multiverse-centered AU that revolves around King's crime emporium. Created because I was in the mood for a bara bad guy crimelord wearing a nice sexy suit and did some world-building around him. Several of my out!codes characters play a significant role in this AU such as Slate, Pip, Silk and Bad Dog.

=====

17. SAVE Game (Tale) @savegametale An AU where a tormented skeleman adopts a tormented human child and sets out to save the multiverse by eradicating corrupted SAVE files. This is the AU (or verse, if you prefer) from which Slate and Pip came from.

=====

18. Chrysalis of Dreams @chrysalisofdreams The AU for my and @stankychee's variations of Shattered!Dream (Monarch) and Shattered!Nightmare (Emperor). AU and characters are still in development.

More AUs are bound to be created but this is it for now!

======================================

Credits:

Undertale: Toby Fox

Underfell: Underfella

Mafiafell's Sooner Or Later You're Gonna Be Mine: Staringback

Underswap: Undertale AU community

Swapfell (Purple): KH (Kkhoppang)

Swapfell Red: Undertale AU community

Fellswap Gold: Blackggggum

Outertale: Mimi Pippinsk (2mi127)

Dreamtale: Joku

Megalosomnia: Mmishame

ShatteredDreams AU: Galacii

HunterTales | Omentale | Cybertale: @stankychee

======================================

I also have several out!code characters like Indi (Swap!Ink @swap-ink), Razzle (Lust!Papyrus @razzledazzlebones), and a few others, but they won't be listed here because of the lack of an AU.

[capricioussun]

[ID: a comment from @thewanderersrespite that reads “I have a pretty big sweet tooth so I'll take a sweetswap explanation!” /End ID]

Sweetswap! It’s an aesthetic based Underswap AU that was actually kind of inspired by Heartfell, except instead of Lovecore, it’s cutecore or kawaiicore or whatever the term would be! It’s all pastels and softness, all of the characters are nicer and/or sillier, and that’s! Pretty much it agshsjdjfj

I really really want to get some ideas down for how I’m seeing it, the locations and especially the characters, because I’d really like to go into it with a lot of details and just have fun with it!! I think I have a note with some ideas written down, let me see if I can find it…

“Hmmmm thinkin about sweetswap and I think. Clover should have a bear honey bottle hoodie. Clover with a honey bear bottle hoodie that has little bumblebee tassels, the strings are braided, hood has little bear ears and visible thick stitch lines. And maybe green basketball shorts? But like, the shorter kind! And like, clover green, with white stripes on the side that have green accent stitching. A creme colored turtleneck sweater tank top under his hoodie, with little strawberries embroidered on it. Oh, and he wears tons of bracelets!! Bead ones, the little rubber ones, braided ones, literally just whatever ya give him, he’ll wear it! He uses them as fidget toys =<]

Always has lollipops ranging in type and flavor, sometimes even has one of those big swirly ones?? He also usually has a handheld gaming system in a pastel color. Loves letting Chara draw rainbows or stars or whatever on his face, usually cheeks, and he has freckles!! He’s a total sweetheart, but he does still have Depression™️ anxiety and memory issues, and he is still a judge!! A lot of people think he’s kinda weird because of this repressed darker side, and for his strange taste for spicy sweets, like gingerbread or chili pepper hot cocoa.

Berry’s design is still super up in the air, but his battle body could be light light pink with blue accents, matching blue shorts, and a pastel yellow undershirt, with pink and yellow sneakers that have rainbows on the heels and toes, perhaps… And blue socks with little yellow stars all over them, and light pink gloves with blue accents… Definitely has a tooth gap. He’s also an absolute sweet heart! Though he has a dastardly sense of humor most people don’t know about, barring of course Papyrus and Alphys.

He’s very active but he also loves baking, people often joke about him putting Muffet out of business because of how much he bakes when he isn’t training to be in the guard! Always has his notebook with him, and it’s usually covered in stickers from his brother and townsfolk

Aaaaand. I’m sure I’ll think of more. I have faint ideas for the others, and I’m thinking Chara (Caramel?) is like. This super soft spoken, shy, sad kid, who just. Doesnt. Know what to do??? They panic and are quick to cry, get easily overwhelmed =^( but with the help of the others, they come out of their shell a lot and become much much happier!!! They’re very sweet, they love to draw and write, maybe they’d love to be a teacher some day! Or maybe a publishing editor agsjsja”

Mostly just stuff about the brothers lol but you get the vibes!! I really want to draw them ;;;;;;

[rainbowsans]

I love your comics featuring Swap Papyrus, What inspired you to have his hoodie have words constantly changing with what's on his mind?

I thought it was cannon in the original underswap au! since he wears funny text hoodies that say random things on it, but I found out the hoodie doesn’t have the words changing in canon, whoops

I also kinda based it off of one character from o.k ko! named Brandon! his shirt changes text based off of how he feels and such!

I thought it was really funny and thought “haha swap papyrus would have something like that but with his hoodie” and my third eye woke up I guess

[madddrawsaus]

Hello! (^^)/

I’m kinda pretty new to this... tumblr and things...

Just wanted to show you some people I’m inspired by!

And at least put something here heheh...

...andyesisimpforswappapyrus..

but yeah... here you go!

Underswap Papyrus: P0pc0rnpr1nce/the Undertale Au community

The first one: @rainbowsans

Second one: @kiokodoodles

And Me

Please take it easy ;^^

[washi-undertale]

Zero Redeeming Qualities

A couple years ago the Undertale, Underfell, Underswap, and Swapfell (Red) universes collided, merging into a single - peaceful - universe.

The skelebros have become friends in this universe, often hanging out and spending time together,

Except for Sans, who is distant with everyone and has a tense relationship with Papyrus.

After losing a drinking challenge, Red asked Sans on a date, where he found himself with more questions than answers. After a second date to the museum, Red and Sans exchanged numbers.

Inspired by: Lov Ya by sunblind_seabird

MASTER POST

FIRST CHAPTER

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

NEXT CHAPTER

Chapter Nine: Confounding

—Red—

Red snorted as he read Sans’ misspelled name on his cup of coffee.

“ ‘sands’, eh?”

They’d left The Parlor and were again walking the paths of the park, Red trying to make aimless conversation as he built up the nerve to break the question.

“it’s course, rough, and irritatin’,” Sans answered with a casual shrug. “guess the barista knows me.”

“y’ain't irritating’,” Red growled. “barista’s a beach if they think so.”

“i sea what you did there,” Sans responded, ducking his head and refusing to react to the first part of what Red said. “she made a mistake, s’not shrimportant.”

“yeh shore do like takin’ the piss outta yerself,” Red muttered, taking a sip of his drink.

He was irritated, and he was taking that out on Sans when the other had done nothing to deserve it.

 For some reason, Mutt’s teasing had gotten to him.

“you make it sound like i’m doin’ it on porpoise,” Sans said. He raised his coffee cup to his mouth, looking at it with an … almost wistful expression. “i just happen t’ be the biggest joke i know.”

Red frowned, watching the other from the corner of his eye socket. Annoyance gave way to concern as Sans took a sip of his drink, his smile wide and taut at the edges, only to rise again as Mutt’s words came to mind.

“don’t tell me you caught feelings for him!”

Red looked away, glaring at the concrete of the footpath.

It was a relief that his phone chimed at him at that moment, pulling him from his twisting thoughts.

“oh,” he said as he looked at the message. A reminder from a local astronomy group. “there’s a thing goin’ on this weekend, at the observatory. wanna go?”

“what kinda thing?” Sans asked, carefully treading a line between intrigue and disinterest. “i can’t pay for anythin’.”

“it’s a free event,” Red explained, holding out his phone so Sans could see the message. “they’re callin’ ‘em ‘star parties’. buncha people - mostly human, monsters ain’t really … interested in the stars - gettin’ t’gether t’ stargaze.” He felt the excitement building as he talked. He’d been wanting to go to one for … as long as he’d known about them.

No one else had wanted to go. Papyrus and Mutt weren’t interested at all, Black was too busy, and Blue didn’t have the patience to stargaze for hours. Edge would have gone, but Red had wanted to go with someone who would appreciate it.

Someone like Sans.

 “th’ observatory ain’t open yet, but the grounds are. they let anybody show up, set up their telescopes,” Red continued, trying to keep his excitement contained. He tossed his empty coffee cup into a nearby trash bin. “sometimes they got speakers and shit. this month is pretty laid back, though.”

“i don’t have a telescope,” Sans said as he handed back the phone.

“that’s part of the beauty of it,” Red said as he turned off the screen of his phone and slid it into his pocket. “y’don’t need one. people’ll let yeh use theirs.”

Red could see Sans’ excitement, feel it coming off of him in waves. His eyelights were wide and bright, and his smile was quirked into something real.

Like he’d looked in the planetarium.

“i … ”

For a moment Red let himself hope.

“… can’t.”

Sans looked at the ground, excitement snuffed like a candle without oxygen, eyelights dim and unfocused.

“sorry,” he appended. “i can’t take the time off work.”

“why the fuck not?” he demanded in a low growl, unable to keep his anger from his voice.

Red floundered in his own emotional whiplash, dashed optimism and unresolved irritation combining into red-hot rage. He knew he was overreacting, knew that the nascent hopes he’d placed in maybe going to the event weren’t worth this reaction, but he couldn’t stop.

“i told ya, money’s tight right now,” Sans said as he cowered away from Red without making it obvious what he was doing.

“ ‘money’s tight’,” Red mocked. “so tight yeh can’t take one night off’ve work - but not tight enough t’ get over whatever hangup yeh got about humans t’ ask fer help?”

“it’s … complicated,” Sans said.

Red ignored him.

“it’d be easy t’ get yeh hired at my store. all i’d need t’ do is put in a good word fer yeh. the managers all like me.”

“i can’t,” Sans said, voice taking on a desperate edge. He backed away as Red pushed forward.

“and if money’s that fuckin’ tight, why ain’t Papyrus workin’?! and not his volunteer bullshit, but a job that actually pays?”

“he’s busy with schoo- ”

“ ‘busy with school’ my ass. my entire nonexistent ass, sans,” Red shouted. “he was gettin’ coffee with the others. i ain’t never seen him pass the bill on t’ someone else, so he probably paid for himself and everythin’!”

“it’s - ”

“if yeh say ‘it’s complicated’ again … pap and the swap bros were goin’ to a movie. he talked about buy-in’ popcorn. that shit ain’t cheap. why’s he doin’ that shit if money is so damn ‘tight’ that you can’t take one night off?”

“he deserves - ”

“and you don’t?!”

“you don’t underst- ”

“then fuckin’ explain it, sans!” Red shouted.

Silence fell between them, Sans staring at Red, mouth agape and at a loss for words. Red’s chest heaved as a strange calm settled over him, in the eye of his emotional storm.

Sans looked away first, hand tight around his half-empty to-go cup.

“it’s just the way it is,” he said after a quiet moment, voice quiet and tinged with shame. Shame and a melancholy sort of resignation. “it’s my responsibility. i’m s’posed to look after him, y’know?”

He glanced up at the sky, taking in the early twilight.

“i gotta get home, get ready for work,” he mumbled. “maybe we can do this again sometime?”

Sans looked around, orienting himself before figuring out the way to his apartment.

“sans wait, i - ” Red reached out and grabbed his arm, hand closing around his upper humerus.

His grip was tight, but he didn’t expect Sans to flinch away with a hiss, dropping his unfinished coffee on the ground. The lid fell off, splashing them both with mocha.

Red didn’t notice, letting go of Sans and holding his hands up defensively.

“shit i didn’t mean t’ … ”

He trailed off as realization set in.

He had hurt Sans, but he hadn’t injured him.

“yeh get that by ‘trippin’,’ too?” Red asked darkly.

Sans rubbed at his humerus, trying to ease the ache and refusing to look at Red.

“sans?”

“it’s nothin’,” Sans muttered. He closed his eyes, like he could click his heels three times and be back in Kansas. “it was an accident. i’m fine.”

“no y’ain’t,” Red said with a sigh. “but yeh ain’t gonna tell me what’s goin’ on. do yeh even tell papyrus what’s goin’ on, or do yeh leave him in the dark, too?”

Sans winced at his brother’s name, but didn’t defend himself. Didn’t do … anything but look at the slowly oozing puddle of coffee at his feet.

“is that why you an’ pap don’t get along?” Red asked. “is that why it seems like he can’t stand t’ be around you?”

He regretted the words immediately.

Sans crumbled, hugging himself with his arms and his carefully crafted facade collapsing into dust and ruin.

“i’m sorry,” he said in a whisper.

Like he had anything to apologize for.

“i didn’t mean … i … fuck,” Red said, fumbling as he watched his counterpart flounder, unable to take back what he’d said to cause it. “i … i gotta go.”

Without waiting for a response Red vanished, leaving Sans alone in the park.

Fuck.

—Sans—

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, unable to move or think or breathe, staring at the spilled coffee and replaying those final words in his head.

It was funny, in a way, how the sentiment wasn’t anything shocking. It wasn’t like it was a secret, how Papyrus felt about Sans. Everyone knew there was a rift between them. Everyone knew Papyrus didn’t like Sans.

If they didn’t, Papyrus made sure they found out.

And honestly, who could blame him? Sans was little more than a burden on his younger brother. Useless and lazy and unstable.

And Papyrus was … great. The greatest.

But somehow, hearing those words …

It broke something in Sans’ very Soul.

He can’t stand to be around you.

Sans picked up the discarded lid and cup, throwing both into the trash bin.

He wasn’t sure exactly how he’d fucked up this time, how he’d made Red so … angry. He’d never seen the other like that, all fury and spite.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and started his walk home.

It didn’t really matter how he’d fucked up. It was obvious that Red was done with him. He fought the urge to dig his beat up cellphone from his pocket, to text him an apology.

He couldn’t fix this with a “sorry” and a crying-face emoji, if his phone could even deal with those.

His one chance at a friend and he’d blown it by … being himself.

It’d be funny if it weren’t so fucking sad.

Sans sighed as he approached the apartment building. He tried the knob experimentally, uncertain if he’d locked it or not. He’d expected Papyrus to be home tonight, but if he was at a movie with Blue and Stretch …

Sans didn’t look forward to being locked out.

Luckily, he’d been too distracted to lock the door.

Without Papyrus around Sans felt like an intruder, the dark quiet of the apartment oppressive and stifling.

Sans wandered into the kitchen, pulling out a container of leftovers to heat up for himself. Spaghetti with meatballs, a classic Papyrus dish.

As the container spun on the microwave’s turntable, he realized he wouldn’t be able to eat it.

The smell of tomatoes and basil made his magic churn uncomfortably, a state that only worsened when he took the food out of the microwave.

“guess i’m not eatin’ tonight,” he muttered as he tried not to gag.

Fortunately, he knew someone who would gladly eat the pasta, so Papyrus would never know he’d skipped another meal.

Sans left the apartment, heading directly to the alleyway beside it, whistling through his teeth as he approached. He smiled when he saw who he was looking for.

“hey there, buddy,” Sans said softly as the small, white dog crawled out of the cardboard home Sans had built for him. “got some dinner for ya, if ya want it.”

He set the container down, taking a step back to let the dog investigate the food.

The dog had shown up months ago, starving and mangy. Sans wasn’t sure if it was the same “annoying hound” that had plagued Papyrus in the Underground, but he liked to imagine it was. He’d always liked the little beast and his antics, sneaking into their home and stealing bones when Paps wasn’t looking.

He’d been glad when he’d found the dog, even though he regretted that he couldn’t give him a better life. Sans had been very careful to keep the dog away from Papyrus, wary of his brother calling Animal Control.

The dog sniffed at the spaghetti before eagerly chowing down. Sans wasn’t sure pasta was necessarily good for dogs, but he hoped it wouldn’t hurt.

It was better than nothing, at least.

He made a mental note to stop at a butcher shop to ask for scraps sometime soon, and slumped against the wall.

“i fucked up again,” he told the dog as it ate. “red’s prob’ly never gonna talk to me again. i mean, it was only a matter of time, right? he asked me t’ go to this stargazing thing … honestly it sounded amazing. buncha people getting together to look at the stars’n’planets. too bad stars ain’t visible durin’ the day. i’d gladly give up a couple hours’ve sleep t’ see jupiter or saturn with my own eye socket.”

Sans sighed as the dog licked the container clean, then whined at him for more.

“sorry bud, that’s all i got,” he said with a sad shrug. He scratched the mutt’s head as it came over to him for a snuggle.

“i told red i couldn’t go,” he said with a dark chuckle. “he got angry. i don’t blame him … but it still hurts.”

The dog whined and lay down next to the skeleton, head on his lap. He yawned and closed his eyes, fed and safe.

“thanks bud,” Sans said with a small smile. “y’always know how to cheer a guy up.”

—Red—

Red sat at the table, looking at the notebook in front of him. The moment he’d gotten home he had started scribbling all the little observations he’d noticed about Sans.

     Polite

    Shy

    Bruises - head and arm - won’t explain

    Speaks highly of Pap - doesn’t have a bad thing to say about anyone?

On the opposite page were things he’d noticed about Papyrus.

    Loud

    Kind

    Strong

    Fashionable - always wearing something new

As he detailed out both Tale brothers, a picture began to emerge.

A very concerning picture that he didn’t want to admit.

But he couldn’t think of any other explanation.

He’d fucked up. He’d fucked up bad.

—Edge—

Edge took comfort in routine. He felt most secure when things were in their proper place, when things happened at the appropriate time.

It made it easy. to tell when something was wrong.

What he expected when he came home from working nights was to find Red asleep on the couch, snoring and drooling, some gory slasher flick playing for no one. Every night Red tried to wait up for Edge.

Every night he failed.

Edge would turn off the TV, wake his brother enough to see him to bed, then shower to wash the smell of the kitchen from his bones. Then he could go to bed, resting easy knowing everything was where it should be.

“BROTHER?” he asked when he opened the door to the apartment.

Far from being asleep, Red was wide awake, pacing manically. At his brother’s voice, Red turned and Edge saw his eye sockets were wide, the eyelights nearly nonexistent.

Confusion, concern, and worry surrounded him in a near-tangible aura.

“boss,” he breathed out in a relieved sigh.

Edge waited, nervous, as Red collected his thoughts, uncertain what to expect.

He began wondering where best to hide a body.

Red looked at him, eye sockets full of uncertainty and concern.

“somebody’s hurtin’ sans,” he said in a quiet rush, like he was afraid someone might overhear. “… and i think I know who.”

Next Chapter

[popatochisssp]

I can’t sleep and I’m inspired, here’s a headcanon post, pro bono:

~Dream Honeymoons~

Sans (Undertale): He is a simple skeleton...and a lazy one...thus, he doesn’t really wanna go anywhere, at least nowhere involving a lot of travel plans and itineraries. He’d like to pick out a local hotel, get the two of you a room, and hole up there with you for a week or two. Since he’s going simple, he’ll at least opt not to cheap out, so you’ll get the works-- the honeymoon suite, room service, maybe one of those beds or hot-tubs shaped like a heart... It’ll be a very low-key and relaxing vacation.

Papyrus (Undertale): He’s not the type for a relaxing vacation. He’s not the type for any vacation at all, it seems so lazy! If he’s going to take time off from work, it’s going to be for a purpose, which means his dream honeymoon looks a little bit like an adventure tour. Exploration, rafting, zip-lines, activities galore that they two of you can do together! Your very first big adventure as a married couple... how exciting is that?!

Sky (Underswap Sans): He can’t deny that he’s enticed by the whole tourism thing...but he’s just as enticed by the idea of a whole lot of private, alone time with just the two of you... He’ll compromise: wherever you end up going, he’ll want to do a handful of touristy things, seeing the sights, taking some pictures, maybe a guided tour or activity or something, but the rest of the time... that’s just for you two to do whatever you want.

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): Y’know what he’d like to do? He’d like to rent one of those little overwater bungalows for you both. Your own private accommodations, tropical weather, and you can stay in to relax or go out and mingle at your own discretion-- the best of both worlds, really. You could read a book, watch movies, go look at the water, or try your hand at chatting with some of the locals, maybe find a nice restaurant or something... Who knows?

Jasper (Underfell Sans): He doesn’t really care where you go as long as it’s warm and beachy. He wants to split your time honeymooning either lounging by the pool or cuddling in the hotel room with you and he has no plans of leaving the resort for any reason. It’s got restaurants, snack-bars, actual bars, and if you do one of the all-inclusive deals (he’s gonna), there’s no limit to the fun-- why would you need to go anywhere else? Go get some towels, he’ll set you both up under a nice big umbrella and have a drink waiting for you...or an ice cream, they’re right next to each other by the pool and basically free, whatever floats your boat, baby!

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): His first thought is to book the two of you a cruise because in his mind, it’s got all the components for a perfect honeymoon. Small cabins for the intimacy, a pool and activities for fun, fine dining establishments for the free excuses to dress fancy and have a date-night, and of course the ultimate romance opportunity: just coming up to the deck to watch the waves, or the sunrise, or the sunset together in fond, loving silence... Don’t even try to tell anyone how incredibly, amazingly romantic he is, they’ll never believe you!

Mal (Swapfell Sans): How does a nice, secluded cabin in the woods strike you? Hopefully well, because that’s what he wants to do for your honeymoon. It can be hard for him to shut down for awhile, he definitely struggles with being a workaholic, so a rustic little place out in the forest where he probably isn’t gonna get cell-reception or wifi sounds like a great way to give himself no choice but to relax and focus on you and you alone. He’s actually really in love with the idea of sitting with you in front of the fireplace, trying out the hot-tub in back, just... being with you and breathing in that crisp woodsy air, early in the morning... It sounds peaceful.

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): It’s not all that often he voices his own wants instead of just...doing whatever you wanna do. Usually, he doesn’t have very strong wants and whatever you wanna do is totally fine by him! But in this one instance...he kinda...really wants to do an arctic honeymoon. Chiefly, he wants to go somewhere you can see the aurora borealis, that sounds incredible to him and sharing it with you seems like it’d have to be peak romance. But also, think of all the opportunities to cuddle in the cold...maybe you could even find one of those cool (pun not intended!) ice hotels? He’s flexible on that one, he is, whatever you feel, he’s just...just bouncing ideas around, y’know! Think about it!

Slate (Horrortale Sans): Now, here’s one who wants a full-on staycation-- he doesn’t wanna go anywhere, he doesn’t want there to be plans, he doesn’t even wanna leave the house. He just wants a nice, long, quiet week or two of you and him, with no responsibilities to take you away from each other. There is the question of his brother in this case, since they share a place, but... Well, his brother works long hours, sleeps like the dead, and will steer clear of you unless explicitly acknowledged (he respects the sanctity of your honeymoon, even if he thinks it’s incredibly lazy to have it here!), so he shouldn’t be too much of a concern for you and your new husband’s alone-time. Still, if it bugs you or you want a little extra privacy, Slate’s happy to put Papy up at a hotel or something for the duration so it really is just you in the house. Whatever you need to really enjoy that newlywed domestic bliss is fine by him.

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): He doesn’t really want to take a vacation... It feels...unproductive. But obviously! This is a very important human custom and the last thing he’d want to do was deprive you of it, so... maybe you could go on a road trip? He’d like to take advantage of a long weekend and maybe some days he’s not scheduled to work so that he doesn’t have to put in for a whole lot of vacation time, but it’s not the end of the world if you want him off a little longer. He’s actually...actually kind of excited about the prospect of driving around with you, listening to the radio, seeing some local sights that you never bothered to go see before... It sounds a little like an adventure--maybe not the most exciting or glamorous adventure, but...isn’t it exciting and glamorous enough just to be having it with you?

[abel-draws]

I finally get to answer some asks! It was fun trying to figure out how to answer them and playing with the expressions<3 and you sure loved kid!fellby (this guy is lovable in every form, what can we do).

I gotta say, the third answer isn’t exactly what you asked for buuut the cuteness of it all makes it up for it (?)

About the last one, I actually started a digital drawing long ago with Grillby and Fellby at the bar but... I couldn’t manage to make it look right, I may finish it someday but who knows.

TrioBlasterSets AU by @namekian-maoh and @antarestyl !

[invertedfate]

Here's the thing: The only after-effect of Asriel committing a true reset is that he also switched the six souls, establishing that every change made from UT to IF has to rely on the swaps and their wants of a nail. It's a take.

No. If Inverted Fate is a “take” on anything, it’s just the role swap genre, which again, exists independently of Underswap.To make another example:My KH fic series, Antipode, takes a common what-if of Riku being the protagonist. It is NOT the first fic to explore this concept. That does not make it a “take” on other fics with that premise- because I deliberately avoided reading those fics so that I could do my own thing and develop my own ideas without being influenced by what came before. If it’s a take on anything, it’s a take on the general idea of the Keybearer Riku what-if.IF shares a small portion of Underswap’s placements... but they aren’t even placements that Underswap invented or has sole ownership to. When UT was new, I saw tons of fanworks swapping Sans and Papyrus, and sometimes Undyne and Alphys and Toriel and Asgore. And that’s just it- the most blatant pair dynamics in a fandom are always gonna be ripe for the picking. For instance: Lillie and Gladion swap AUs, Sonic and Shadow swapping, Aang and Zuko, Seven and Garnet/Amethyst/Pearl with Connie and Jasper/Peridot/Lapis. I’ve seen multiple interpretations of these ideas independent from each other.But Underswap is a swap of as many characters as possible. Temmie and Flowey, Grillby and Muffet, BP and Nice Cream, and MTT and Blook are all front and center in the official art for the AU. Frisk and Chara, Asriel and MK, and Bratty and Catty are still known and popular swaps, too. All of which are iconic to Underswap and present in nearly every Underswap take. Some of which are super bizarre, like Tem and Flowey, and thus unique to that AU and deliberately absent from IF- because I didn’t want it to be Underswap. I started work on IF because I thought it’d be fun to have a mad scientist Undyne bounce off of Mettaton and have Papyrus as her lab assistant, while simultaneously helping Frisk and the conflict that would entail. Then the idea developed from there, with me wanting to include the failed pacifist elements SUPER early on into the AU’s development as well as the Frisk and Papyrus friendship. Having six “swaps” was deliberate due to that- six swaps, six Lost Souls. I was aware of Underswap’s existence, but I specifically wanted to avoid doing what Uswap did because I felt it was antithetical to building a story-based AU that has swaps in it. Because the more pieces you move around, the more you have to justify and explain as well as take into account the effects of that character being there. For a story-driven fanwork, you can get away with even a single swap and have everything else change as a result. Storyshift had ten. I went with six. And the lack of personality swapping was due to my dislike of personality swaps in role swapping even before UT- like, when I started planning Antipode in 2007, I specifically wanted to keep Riku true to his KH1 personality.And the thing is, IF owes way more to Storyshift and my previous work on Antipode than it does Underswap. Storyshift was what inspired me to take the sprite comic format it started and give it my own spin. I started developing IF as a concept in October 2015, but other than some story ideas and character sketches, I wasn’t sure how I was gonna tell that story until I saw Storyshift’s approach.

There were a handful of other sprite comics starting up then- but one thing I noticed is that a lot of the maps were unchanged, things like the long hallway and training dummy were basically unchanged. A lot of this was due to it being a fledgling form of storytelling in the comic as well as the amount of work it takes to make those kinda changes, but I wanted to have fun with it, which is why I made changes like all the map edits in the Ruins, the comic pages, Frisk talking, a party member... These were all me just doing things I wanted to do that would make the comic fun and help put my own personal stamp on this type of AU.So when people declare that my work is a take and disregard the months of planning and care that went into the project, it’s extremely disrespectful. Doubly so when they drag my friends and their project through the mud. And this has been a recurring problem with Team Switched, ever since the freakin’ #NotMySwapSans drama years ago.It’s toxic. It’s rude. It does not show support of either project. Never mind that it becomes a pretty slippery slope when you look at other projects.I have seen other AUs that have a few character positions in common with other AUs- for instance, Undermyth and Jumbletale both had Papyrus in the “Sans” role. Undermyth and Sudden changes both had Asriel in the “Toriel” role. I know of at least two AUs with Muffet as Toriel and two with Alphys as Toriel. Taleshift had Asgore and Toriel as Papyrus and Sans, as do Altered Destiny and Altertale.That does not make these AUs “takes” of each other. Roleswap is just a broad genre you can do a lot with. In my fifteen years of being in fandoms, it has always been one of THE most popular genres. By that logic, Underswap is a “take” on the droves of Bloodswap AUs in the Homestuck fandom... when I highly doubt that was the direct inspiration.Anyway, to my followers- sorry about this rant. This has been going on for a VERY long time, with multiple people hounding myself and TS about our works.Any further asks like this will just get deleted- I just wanted to go into more detail on the thought processes that went into planning the AU and my own experiences in fandom leading up to it.