#random undertale look alike

[soaked-ghost]

human designs + monster design for frisk :]

[queen-of-scissors]

Omg-- dude the undertale one gave me an idea.

If you could visit their worlds... whos to say that the guys in their world couldnt visit teyvat?

I mean-- they obvi cant normally but im thinking for the more "glitchy" games like Monika from DDLC affecting the code to visit you.

Or the more op characters or characters who have both the knowledge and ability to jump worlds like Sans-- mans both op af and smart af and has experience world hopping. Once he hears from froggy that you visited? Ohhhhhh bOY--

No but imagine-

İf Monika visited tevat İT WOULD BE SO CAOTİC??

ESPECİALLY İN YANDERE AU

Masterlist

Monica would know about all of the other games and casually go and tell everyone she met "im their girlfriend btw"

One day, you are in your teapot, doing paperwork and find a rather suspicious report about you.

One of your favorite items in your abode got stolen, just as the acolytes 'stoped' the said person they realise that they couldn't harm them.

They tought it was a monster that only you can handle so they asked you on guidance on how to beat it. Then they write the desctiption of the monster.

Wait a minute.

İs that Monika?!

Turns out she saw the food laying there and was like "oh their favorte food! Let me go bring them immediatly :D"

She is a sweetheart when she isn't deleting stuff isn't she.

Speaking of her coding powers, it didn't take long before she finds you instead of you finding her. And the dirst thing she was greeted with was... Another... Harem...

Welp time for a killing spree, you better stop her (and other yanderes from killing her)

And if you manage to calm everyone down, Monika would be upset, why did you cheat on her? She has godly powers too! She is even stronger than any of them combined!

everyone else calms her down and say that she will get used to it if she wants to date you, as if it was YOUR idea to go for a Harem and YOU are the toxic one??

.

Now about SANS the meme.

For some random ass reason, the first thing that came to my mind was "xiao and him are kind of alike"

They both traumatised, they both have a City to protect, they both can make stuff come out from the ground (xiao elemental burst, sans normal attack)

The only thing they wouldnt get along with is sans's lasyness. (Which we have a theory about that but i forgor)

OK BACK TO THE STORY

After being stuck in a timeline that the anomaly destroyed over and over again, he knew that all he could do to stop it is by meeting the anomaly personally, and kill it.

He went to alot of words, met alot of people, most of them saw you as a god. A god that created them. Even if it was true, it would only make him hate you more.

Did you create that world to torture them?!

He was in one of those realities, where you are loved beyond compare, and he was already thinking of giving up. But Heard one of them mention that they met you.

Now he couldn't go ahead and ask that person. He was a monster and they were a human, and they profably never saw a sentient monster in this world anyway. So he just followed the clues.

Which lead him to a... Teapot?

Well there was no ketchup in this universe and he didn't had a chance to eat anything since he came here, maybe some tea would help him with his hunger-

And thats the story on how he ended up in your teapot.

The people inside was actually nice, they gave him some food and drinks, without asking too much about how he looks, he just said he overworked himself down to the bone (badum tıssssss). He is almost sad that he is going to kill their god soon.

Almost.

After the meal he asked to see the god and they asked him "which one?"

???????????

What do you mean which one??

Theres more than one?????

Meanwhile, one your acolytes went up to you and told you that you have guests that is dead.

Ok its gonna be the first time a ghost wants to see you. What could go wrong.

" SANS?!???"

" Didn't think i would find you here, huh."

Of course there is fighting, But the thing is EVERYONE in your teapot has more experiance in fighting than him. And add that to being tired and having only 1 HP, He just gives up after the few attacks.

Don't worry, he has all the time in this world and other worlds, he can wait to get you all alone, and finish you once and for all.

He attempts to leave but guess what, now your acolytes are on the hunt for his head!

İts like imposter AU all over again, but with a skeleton that attemted to assasinate you.

İf you tell your acolytes the truth, they won't care at all. Yeah you killed people so what? You can do anything, they are your properties after all.

But they also understand his point of wiew as well.

.

Ok but what if sans is in a happy ending universe.

You played undertale, gave them an happy ending and left the game for good, didnt even delete it.

Then he would just want to meet you and be your friend personally, heck he even might bring other people around!

They still dont see you as a creator mind you, still an anomaly, But a cool one 😎.

İf he manages to find you in the teapot in that reality he goes

"Heya. You've been busy huh?"

"W H A T?! HOW ARE YOU HERE?!"

"Pretty good, thank you for asking."

Turns out he is pretty chill with others as well. ESPECİALLY CYNO -

"SANS PLEASE DONT TEACH HİM YOUR JOKES İ BEG OF YOU-"

"woah dude chill, im SANSing that you are mad at me."

[pyroraptordraws]

You know what: *Scugs your character*

Aka. my excuse to draw a bunch of random characters as Scugs because they’re fairly simple to draw (at least for me and in this simplistic style)

Explanations who’s who under the cut:

From left to right, top to bottom:

Sebastian-Stardew Valley: Figured to make him just the edgiest Scug on this page, he does have some orange fur patches from his mom.

Ienzo-Kingdom Hearts: The grey one. He has a dark line around his neck from Chain of Memories.

Even-Kingdom Hearts: The marshmallow. An old eepy boi. He’s got some burn scars under his fur.

Sam-Stardew Valley: He looks like Demyx. That’s why he’s here, because I thought it was funny

Demyx-Kingdom Hearts: Looks a lot like Sam. The difference between the two as scugs is that Demyx has gills and turquise markings.

Xion and Roxas-Kingdom Hearts: The black and the brown one with two spears, do not seperate them.

Axel-Kingdom Hearts: Ketchup coloured boi

Isa-Kingdom Hearts: is done with Axel’s ketchupness. He’s the boi with the light blue fur and x scar

Zenos-FFXIV: The blonde one with the grey tail, he’s on here twice because my partner really wanted me to draw him with their WoL. Eternally stuck at karma 1

Artem-OC: He’s the one next to the smaller Zenos looking up at him, the black and white one. My partner has made them a proper scug design by now.

Alphys-Undertale: the yellow orange one. I care her.

Undyne-Undertale: Probably spent too much time on her design, but you cant have alphys without her and vice versa. Do not seperate

Sakura-OC: My friend @lesbianvenat WoL. They’re Viera so bunny scug.

Alphinaud and Alisaie-FFXIV: They’re the two fluffy white ones with the braid. Twins. Do not seperate.

Zuko and Iroh-ATLA: Once again, do not seperate. Zuko would totally get adopted by Artificer, hands down.

Fandaniel-FFXIV: The dark green Scug on the very left. 100% responsible for everyone being Scugs

Peridot-SU: Angry triangle, smol but will bite

Haurchefant, Emmanellain and Artoirel-FFXIV: The silver, brown and black one below Alphinaud and Alisaie. The heartshaped mark on their forehead is absolutely their family mark and Artoirel is mad his has a crack in it.

Toph-ATLA: Angry, rond slugpup. I gave her a cinderblock

Katara-ATLA: She’s the slugcat next to Aang. Her and her brother look a lot alike

Aang-ATLA: Looks more like a mouse than a scug

Pearl, Steven, Amethyst and Garnet-SU: your welcome for the aneurysm as i listed them in the uncanny order. Amy is eating a plastic bag. A bad example to the bean

Lapis Lazuli-SU: Joins the group of waterscugs on the right, sees Moon and wants to leave i guess

Sokka-ATLA: Waterscug with a white tail, he’s the one swimming downward.

Jasper-SU: Angry, an absolute unit, will bite you. Angry cheetoh

Pebbles-RW: If you don’t know this one, you’re prbly on the wrong tag by accident

Suns-RW: He’s very tall, fluffy and yellow/orange

NSH-RW: Very green, I gave him his scarf since taking that away from him is illegal.

Moon-RW: I gave her some yellow because I love adding overseer colours in some capacity on their respective iterator. It makes sense and yellow actually suits her quite well!

Sliver of Straw: Pale-green one in the bottom right, one of her ears is missing because i like drawing her with only one antennae.

[spectascopes]

Without a Second Thought - Chapter 2

Undertale Fanfiction (Gen, SFW) No relationships or pairings Tags (from AO3): Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Trust Issues, Sans is a Mess, Good Parent Toriel, Toriel is Frisk’s Mom, Manipulation, Flowey isn’t a great friend, but nobody is surprised, Soriel Lightly Implied, Past Child Abuse, Narrator Chara, Major Character Injury, Injury Recovery, Crying, lots and lots of crying, Reader is Frisk Link to AO3 version

“You got through the Underground with the help of a ghostly companion nobody else could see, and you made a lot of friends along the way, but Chara didn’t come with you into the sunlight.

Now you have a new mom, and a new family, but no extra brain to help you make the right choices. It might have lasted, too, if you hadn’t messed it up.”

Chapter 1

“Which brand of biscuits would you like, my child?” Toriel asked.

You looked up at the store shelves. It was noon on a Saturday and the supermarket was bustling with humans and monsters alike. 

“THE RED BOX HAS A PUZZLE ON THE BACK!” Papyrus said. “I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT. EASY WORK FOR A MASTER OF MY CALIBER, AND HELPING THE MOUSE GET TO THE CHEESE IS EMOTIONALLY FULFILLING!”

“nah get the blue kind, they taste better,” Sans said from Papyrus’s cart. He was too big to fit in the seat for kids, so he was just sitting flat in the bottom of it with food piled on top of him, propped up enough against the front that he could get his arms out.

“YOU SHOULDN’T THINK WITH YOUR STOMACH, SANS! SOMEBODY PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO THAT PUZZLE!”

“it’s puzzling they didn’t put more effort into the crackers.”

“Maybe… both?” you suggested. Toriel, laughing at Sans’s silly pun, smiled and grabbed one of each box.

“huh. thats one way to do it.”

“I SUPPOSE IF YOU BUY TWO CAKES YOU CAN HAVE ONE AND EAT IT, TOO... THOUGH IT FEELS A LITTLE UNETHICAL.”

“I think that saying is just for things that you can’t buy more of,” you said as you all walked along. Papyrus’s shopping technique seemed to be grabbing random items and hoping for the best as he followed Toriel- list organized and ready- around the store. Sans made a game of putting things into the cart without his brother noticing, so he was covered in miscellaneous junk that would inevitably have to be returned to the right place.

“OH, LIKE FRIENDS! OR LOVE… OR A VINTAGE MTT FIGURINE THAT WAS RELEASED IN A LIMITED RUN BUT A FIRE AT THE WAREHOUSE SCORCHED ALL BUT A SINGLE, BEAUTIFUL RECTANGLE.” Papyrus made doe-eyes at nothing but quickly shook himself from his gay thoughts. “FRIENDS, THOUGH, I THINK THAT’S IT!”

“Yeah, like that,” you confirmed.

“why would you have a friend and wanna eat them, too? that’s pretty weird.” Sans reached over and plucked a package of tortillas from right under his brother’s metaphorical nose. “you don’t wanna eat us, pal… right?” Sans asked with a sly smile. “only monsters that ever wanted to do that were the dogs. they’d’ve done it without paws .”

You smiled as Papyrus groaned loudly. 

“WELL THEY HAD BAD TASTE IN CANNIBALISM CANDIDATES; SKELETONS JUST TASTE LIKE BONES! AND MAYBE SKINCARE PRODUCTS IF THEY ARE ME AND NOT YOU! BESIDES, FRISK LICKED MY FOREARM DURING A ROWDY TRUTH OR DARE AT UNDYNE’S HOUSE SO THEY KNOW BONES DON’T TASTE VERY GOOD!”

“Frisk did what?” Toriel asked. Sans stifled a laugh with a gloved hand while you blushed up at your mom’s piercing stare.

—

You waited until mom was in the living room and sleeping on her chair- it was just about a nightly occurrence and it made you happy to listen to her softly snoring in front of the fireplace.

Tonight you wouldn't get to, though, as you quietly opened the backdoor.

"Finally! Ugh! Is she asleep?" Flowey huffed at once, sticking up his stem as much as he could. It wasn't much. He came to about your thighs.

"She's on her chair, yeah," you said. You had a deep feeling of unease in your chest, but you'd already agreed and you'd be a filthy liar if you said you weren't a little curious. 

"Great! Where's my pot?"

"Uhm, most people call it weed I think-"

"HA HA HA!" he fake-laughed as you reached down beside the door and grabbed the ceramic flowerpot you used to bring him inside and save the floors from Flowey-holes. He paused, an idle smile on his face. "Okay, alright, I guess that was a little bit funny."

You snickered and squatted down- he uprooted himself as much as he could and you dug your hands into the now-soft dirt and scooped him up the rest of the way. 

"We have to be quiet, okay? She usually sleeps for a couple hours but it's only nine, she could get back up," you said as you deposited your seedy friend into his container.

"She's built like a truck, we'll hear her coming," Flowey dismissed.

"Hey-"

"Relax, relax! It's a neutral statement, I wish I was that big." He patted your hand and you picked him up, puffing your cheeks at his insulting statement. Then again, she was pretty large... better for hugs.

You crept back into your bedroom where you had your laptop charged and ready for whatever Flowey had planned. 

"Where's the stuff you said you were bringing?"

"I got it in my roots, it's just a flash drive with some data. As long as you can summon your SAVE we should be good."

Once you were inside with the door only cracked a little- so you could hear your truck mom coming- you sat your friend on the ground where he quickly produced a tiny metal stick, wrapped up in a couple leaves.

You looked at it and frowned. You were really, really not sure about this, and you were growing less sure by the minute. You looked towards the door.

"Hey, I can see those anxious little eyeballs, you can't back out now!" Flowey reprimanded with a leaf-slap to your leg. You sat down further, legs crossed, back against your bed. "You promised!"

"I mean- I explicitly didn’t? I don't think I-"

"Okay but I don't care, I'll be really sad if you do!"

You looked at him. He was pouting, and you could tell this was a little important to him, but he'd also genuinely tried to kill you, so you weren't super keen on indulging every last one of his whimsies. Still...

"I said I'd let you look. That's it," you said firmly. You held out your hands in front of you.

"And that's all we need, friend!" he chirped, vibrating in excitement. "Lemme see it!"

"Shh, it's hard to summon, give me a second," you said as you closed your eyes. Flowey remained quiet.

How to get your soul into the spirit of this... usually it wasn't hard to SAVE, but there was no real reason to now and that made it a little difficult to be determined...

"Your mom... back from dust..." he whispered dramatically.

"Okay, shush!"

-

The thought of having cool powers fills you with DETERMINATION .

-

You opened your eyes and saw the bright yellow light, same as always. You didn't immediately save- and you didn't think you wanted to. No point in it, you were not going to reset no matter what. Having up-to-date save states didn't matter.

"Oooooh," Flowey cooed, turning his head this way and that to look at it better. "Yours is a little different than mine was, it's way yellower. Mine was kinda more... spoiled-milk-colored."

"Ew," you said immediately. You looked down at the flower who was already using his vines to drag your laptop from its place against the side of your dresser.

"Okay, okay, so-" he said as he flipped open the top and fiddled with things, putting his tiny drive into the USB slot. "The game is made up of data, right?"

"Sure. I hate when you call it a game, but sure."

"Not the point," he said, continuing to type with his leaves and a couple little vine tendrils. The way he stuck his stupid little plant tongue out would have been cute if he wasn't being manipulative. "The point is that it's all numbers. Values. I've looked at some stuff I had from my last SAVE- I always kept track of it- and I know what numbers tie to which things."

"Does one of them tie to resetting?" you asked, watching your yellow star. You wanted Flowey to just get on with it.

"Nope, that's something you have to do manually. Just changing a value won't apply it, you have to reboot, essentially."

"I don't understand computer stuff that well."

"Neither do I, but I know what I need to know!" he said, and then he pushed the laptop out of the way enough to look back at the SAVE. "Can you see the numbers?"

"No..."

“Of course you can’t, you have pathetic human eyes," he said, closely observing the SAVE, very intent on it. "I guess magic comes a lot more naturally to monsters- but it’s probably cause I'm a freak abomination, honestly." 

"...okay?"

Flowey looked a moment longer before glancing at the screen. He kept looking back and forth, staring at something in your SAVE that you couldn't see. You were paying more attention to the sound of the fire and snoring and straining to hear absolutely anything else.

"Okay, gimme your finger. Let's alter some numbers."

"You didn't even say what they do?" you whispered. That noise was the fire, right?

"It would just go over your head- it's altering some of your data through the SAVE." He held out a thin vine to you. "I've seen Sans and Papyrus's data and I know how their weird powers tie into their values, so I think I can just poke at yours to give you some, too!"

"Is that safe?"

"They're both fine, aren't they?" Flowey asked. He rolled his eyes. "It's really nothing to worry about, just don't close the SAVE before I'm finished or something will get messed up. It'll only take a minute."

You chewed your lip, looking at the vine. "Flowey, I don't know-"

"Come on, the worst that'll happen is you can teleport like Sans when we're done! Or do that weird... air-walky thing Papyrus does sometimes. That I'm not even sure he knows he can do."

"Can you change it back if it messes anything up?" you asked. Even if Flowey was the monster-… flower you cared about disappointing the least, you still cared a little bit. To be honest, though, you really didn't want to do this.

"Yeah! As long as you don't close me out before I'm done, cause then I won't know exactly what I changed and I don't have the days it takes to copy down a whole SAVE!"

You listened again, but all you heard was the fireplace. The room was cast in a harsh yellow light- if anybody peeked in, they'd for sure know something was going on.

"Frisk, c’mon! This could be really really helpful, and you can't be a wimpy invertebrate your whole life!"

"Okay, fine, just- just do it fast," you said, and you put your hand down for his vine to guide.

You watched the hallway as he used your fingers to change numbers. The shadows fell in such a way that you wouldn't know somebody was out there until they were right outside- Toriel's footsteps were loud enough to hear as soon as she got up, so it was fine. Everything was fine! You felt like crying, but you felt like that half the time anyway. God, you didn't want to do this anymore.

"Okay, just a few more, your hand is sweaty," Flowey said.

You didn't listen to him, just the fireplace. 

Wait. You froze, Flowey no longer able to move your hand around.

Just the fireplace- why had mom stopped snoring?

"Frisk, what the hell-"

A shadow fell in front of the door and a familiar voice sent ice down your spine.

"yo, kiddo, surprise- left my spray cheese in your grocery bag- anyway your mom wants to know if-"

Sans pushed the door open to find you and Flowey cast in yellow, a deer caught in the headlights and a pissed off plant.

"Wh- hey! Ever heard of knocking, dude?" Flowey yelled.

Sans didn't say anything. He’d looked at Flowey for only a moment before-

He was looking at you. He was looking at you- right at you- expression starting on shock, to fear, to- to-

You burst into tears and shut your SAVE at once.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Flowey- he- I'm sorry, please-"

"FRISK! I told you not to close it, what- I didn't finish! Fuck, no, this isn't good-"

"were you gonna reset?"

The lights in his eyes were gone. You felt like your gut was collapsing in on itself- why was Sans here? Why him? Why him? You didn't care about Flowey or your SAVE.

"No! No, no I swear- he just- he wanted to look at it a-and try to change some- some data or-"

"just curious, huh?" he asked, the anger- the betrayal- so clear on his ever-smiling face. The nonchalance of the accusation only made it worse. "just kinda messin' around, hoping for the best?" You'd never seen him look like that and you thought it would kill you.

"Shut up, Trashbag, this is serious!"

"yeah. it is."

"I didn't- I didn't mean to-"

Sans closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. This was the one thing he was sensitive about- the one single thing you knew would make him genuinely upset-

"look, kid. you do you, break your promises, whatever, but. but keep me and my brother out of it, okay?" Sans turned around, his words harsh and his voice tight. "later."

"Wait!" you shouted as you lunged towards him, knowing what was about to happen, but he shortcutted away. No no no no- you somehow overshot the lunge and slammed your head into the wall, double-vision letting you see two empty spaces where your friend had just been. 

Where he'd just left you. No. No no. No-

"Shit- that's bad, that's real bad- Frisk, stop fucking crying, I have to try and-"

"GET OUT!" you screamed, putting your hands to your ringing ears. "I don't care, get out!"

"Your data is-"

"GO AWAY!" you sobbed. Flowey started to protest again, but then the sound of pounding feet down the hall started. He swore, and the next thing you knew Toriel was scooping you into her arms. She was talking to you, but your chest hurt. It hurt. Everything hurt so much and you couldn't get enough air into your lungs. It'd been so long since you'd had a panic attack that it felt like you were dying.

The way he'd looked at you- the anger- the hurt- you shut everything out because you didn't know how to deal with this. It couldn't happen here- it couldn't- where would you go? Sans- Papyrus- and then they'd tell- and-

You stayed curled up into a ball until you tired yourself to exhaustion. Mom held you the whole time, cooing, petting your hair. 

Nobody was here to make them like you anymore, and you'd finally messed it up bad enough for them to realize. 

[possumart]

[marigoldsandbuttercups]

How do the fellswap gold, undertale and underfell boys annoy their brothers? Every sibling has their petty moments ;)

SO

I went a little too far with this-

How Do They Annoy Each Other

Sans:

- Will go into Papyrus' room while he's there, looks around like he's some sort of inspector, only to push his brother down onto the bed (where he had placed a whoopee cushion prior) and book it, with his brother screaming in the background.

- Will mimic Papyrus in everything he does, all the way down to the way he speaks. He can do an insanely good impression of his brother but insteads just does the goofiest voice to annoy him instead.

- Will absolutely noogie him on the head, despite the height difference. Those shortcuts aren't left to be used for going to different places alone-

- You know that one meme, where the girl is followed by her bro playing the trumpet? That's exactly what Sans does to Papyrus whenever he hears Paps talking about him being lazy as ✨ 💕 payback 💕✨

- Also will low-key moves the objects when Papyrus is busy, but it's so subtle that Papyrus doesn't realize it until he's reaching for the marinara sauce for the sixth time in a row and he can hear Sans wheezing from the next room.

Papyrus:

- Likes to start random snowball fights and never fails to hit Sans straight in the face with one everytime. Little dude could be chilling at his sentry station and the last thing he'll hear is a distant "INCOMING" and WHACK his vision is clouded with snow.

- When Sans is being an ass, Papyrus plays the baby brother card. And by that, he will pull out the puppy eyes to have Sans do his bidding and Sans is annoyed that it works Every. Time.

- And of course, with only Sans raising him for most of his life, Papyrus is exposed to many embarrassing moments. And boy, does he like to recite the time Sans tried to goof around with some snowballs and got them stuck in his sockets because they were parts of the snowman word for word.

- Will deliberately write the most absurd stories and forces Sans to read it every time for him because Sans is his number one supporter, right? He knows what he's doing, and what's a good way to show brotherly love than to subject them to some story that doesn't even act like a story, more like an inner monologue of Papyrus and sans is concerned-

- Along with that, he also will make Sans his personal guinea pig for when he wants to try cooking something new. And oh boy, did he enjoy watching Sans eat up his ketchup and snow sundae and watch as his beloved older brother goes through the five stages of grief before telling Paps that he loves it.

Red:

- Any snarky comment that Edge has is instantly retaliated by Red. He can and will mess with his brother and make him even more annoyed when he wins the battle of wits that day.

- He's a bit of a bully. And by that, being a bully means he has absolutely no qualms about mimicking his brother when he gets on his nerves. Think of that one Spongebob meme and replace it with Red, it's Edge's worst nightmare because Red. Won't. Stop.

- He also likes to find the most cursed and obscure memes and send it to Edge with little to no explanation. You can imagine how great his annoyance was being called "Dababy" by Red for two weeks straight and being sent surprise messages that, upon opening it is that stupid, starsforsaken image!

- Though, they do have.... Brotherly wrestling to get all that anger out of their system. And when this happens, Red likes to do a wet willy and boy, he always sticks a mean one into Edges ear every damn time. Edge does try to prepare for this when they fight, but that bastard seems to have his ways. F in the chat for Edge-

- Red also likes to do that thing where, on occasion, he just flips off Edge for no reason at all with a "ya stink". Cue one angry skeleton and one that can teleport who, upon dodging everytime, says "Ya stanky ass" and proceeds to piss Edge off even more.

Edge:

- While he won't do this in public for obvious reasons, he will pick up Red and make fun of him for his height when man's just minding his own short business- it works everytime-

- Also has a huge amount of prime blackmail material just to bully Red into silence when he's being an ass. Just a casual mention of peeps (yes, the candy thing) and Red goes silent with an angry glare.

- While he doesn't pull dirty tricks like Red does, Edge will tug on the shorter monsters clothes if he was being rather annoying that day. It is the norm for them to roughhouse often so don't be surprised when one of them suddenly shoves the other and snickers loudly to rub it in their faces.

- Also has a tendency to noogie Red just for the sake of it.... Well, somewhat. He's gotten past the days of throwing monsters and people alike out the window. Usually, the noogies are what would prompt the wrestling matches cause Red can't let this slide by-

- Also, this is only when he's feeling ✨extra annoying ✨, he will send one of the hounds to hang out with Red. Hanging out is used very lightly when he throws a bone at the conveniently placed sentry station, almost always getting it into Reds clothes. Ah yes, watching the look of terror on his face as the massive hound rushes through the snow is delectable.

Wine:

- Can and will cry whenever Coffee is about to do something. He's usually Coffees biggest hypeman but stars, he can't help but embarrass his sweet baby brother as well and knows full well that the younger skeleton will take revenge on him-

- That one meme with the Kardashians and the mom going "You're doing great, sweetie"? That's Wine to a T, and he will do this sometimes ironically even when Coffee is eating or doing something with the other skeletons just to tease him and the rest of them.

- Oh, and if Coffee has a fit and talks back? Cue the dramatics as Wine falls to the ground, sobbing like he was in a telenovela and his rent was due tomorrow so he's doing his best. Holds a hand up to the sky, pulls it back and let's out a small, broken sigh. This is a weekly occurrence--

- If Coffee was being a butt that day, Wine would also bring out the baby pictures, saying that he could not believe this young skeleton would do him "so dirty" like this, and the way he says it makes Coffee cringe so bad like no pls stop-

- On top of that, he really, really likes misusing current slangs. If he hears Coffee using any of them within a five mile radius, you bet he's misusing the shit out of it for the next week or so just to mess with him.

Coffee:

- If Wine was being a bit too... Enthusiastic that day, Coffee is definitely hiding some of Wines things. And the man is incredibly good at stashing away things.

- Since he's the baby of the house, Wine, in a way, is not his only older brother anymore. And Coffee knows this irks Wine more than he'd like to admit. And it especially gets him when Coffee goes to Red for some brotherly bonding.

- If Wine or really, any of the more affectionate skeletons go in for a hug, they're gonna be greeted with a gross raspberry and trust me, they hate it so much-

- He also likes to trolls his brother with the ever sophisticated "jebaited". It occurs at random moments when Wine gets a text, thinking Coffee is going to be nice to him only to see that, cue a very frustrated screech.

- If Wine had been a little overbearing, Coffee will come home and head for his brothers bed first, sparing nothing, not even the pillows as he rolls around in them. This is because Wine is a bit of a neat freak and doesn't like it when people lay in his bed before changing their clothes. Oh, Coffee is already in glee at just hearing the tired sigh in his brothers voice.

[randomizertale]

Basic Undertale AU Info- RandomizerTale

                                                   The Story

With each reset everyone (other than frisk/chara, gaster, and maybe flowey) are randomized as different character roles. The characters still look the same and have the same names, but they act and talk as the characters they are playing as. They still have their same basic powers (except for sans who can't maintain his knowledge of resets outside his role), they just act different. 

Think of it as a randomizer mod. The same art and battle assets, just different dialogue. 

Sans gets nerfed for whoever he's playing as though. 

The only one who realizes is the character playing as sans. Since the sans has an unnatural ability to remember every resets, this ability is transferred to who is sans and gets multiplied as they'll remember not only the pov of every sans before, but of their own povs as other characters as well. This multiplication increases exponentially to the point that sans is basically an amalgamation of everyone's povs in the underground.

The Sanses are also proficient in all types of magic now (as the body allows of course [if in Sans bod he still tired with 1hp bro and Undyne sans is an absolute BEAST] and depending on who else has been sans before). This means that genocide fights get progressively harder and harder each time a reset happens and dialogue changes too depending on who is playing sans (pap genocides usually end pretty fast though [despite everything he thinks the human can do better]).

Eventually the randomization just so happens to land on the original configuration of monsters. Seeing his chance for it to go back to normal, Sans,  with everyone's pov of the resets, teleports to frisk at the beginning of the route and  confronts/begs frisk to stop the madness: pleading them to be better person (paps), to stop hurting the ones they love, to let them to finally live on the surface instead of just looking at it,  to just stop the resets altogether and to let this be their final reset.

After the final reset, Sans is still sans but he has EVERY monsters pov of past resets (boss and minor monster alike). Once the resets end, he isn't everyone shoved into one body, but sans with a recollection of everyone's pov of past resets. IT IS NOT D.I.D!!!! Of course he knows that he himself is sans, but he might have random episodes where he does/says things that other characters would say/like/do (ex: pose like mettaton, make a puzzle, gush like alphys over his interests, drink tea...you get the idea) due to him being forced to play as other characters in other resets. (Other chars in the au don't have this happen to them cause they don't remember previous resets)

When he is talking about past experiences during the resets, he flips between pronouns and from first/third person (I, we, she, he, they) in order to get some of feelings across (I as Sans, we as everyone's pov of resets, and others as specific people's povs).

                                                   “Episodes”:

His episodes can be broken by a) someone telling him that's not how he is,  b) physical interference (ex: slap, tripping, sleep), c) him having a dissociating moment where he's like “wait a minute...”, and d) he finishes the action the episodes requires of him. 

Some episodes are harder to recognize (specially ones with no final action/goal in mind. For example: getting anxious over social interaction like alphys vs making a butterscotch pie.) Episodes don't overlap each other, so he could be his sans personality while making a pie, making different jokes based on an interest change, or just extruding mettaton confidence/self-absorption). 

There are certain episodes that he doesn't mind very often and will actually complete it even after he breaks out of it, specifically the task episodes like making pie/spaghetti/tea. He's learned to really like that stuff.

 Some episodes that he particularly hates are when he acts/speaks like mettaton or temmie, nervously word vomits like alphys (cause there's no filter and he can say stuff he doesn't want to be said out loud [he a secretive guy]), and when he acts like Jerry because eewwwwww.

To apologize or explain his behavior after an episode he calls it the (insert character) in me or my inner (insert character).   "welp my inner toriel came out again..." "sorry, kiddo, that was just the undyne in me..."

Ones he hates or are improperly timed, he sometimes just insults the characters though. "f-ing mettaton..." "alphys I like you but whyyyyyy" "*gags* ...Jerry"

Types of episodes: social (acting or talking like someone), thoughts (interests or ideals) (he HATES this one the most as it makes him feel less like him), physical (task or long-lasting [long-lasting like dancing/ posing/working out]). (Keep in mind that social and physical episodes keep sans ideas/thoughts/interests intact, he just communicates them in a way another character would say them.) Specific social or physical episodes can be triggered with high emotions (though most of the time it's just random). Extreme anger can bring out the undyne in him, fear/nervousness alphys, adoration paps, depression nabstablook, worried for someone else toriel, and so on.

                                              Some Fun Facts:

Fun facts: Sans gets headaches after an episode where he acts/thinks like someone else. The severity usually depends on how long the episode is and how out of character is for him.

Fun facts 2: Following the logic of post reset sans, other characters playing as sans will think and act like the original char they are supposed to be but with sans personality. Unless episodes happen... (EX: Toriel goat jokes, undyne fish jokes.) So it leads to different character interactions where an undyne sans is more pissed off at frisk and more prone to violence. Paps sans more encouraging to be a better person. Other chars as sans also get episodes and headaches if they act like other chars other than themselves (disregarding sans cause they are supposed to be sans.).  Bruh does this get complicated...

Fun facts 3: The other char’s povs only start once frisk falls underground so sans doesn't know how toriel felt leaving ashore or pap waiting outside undyne’s house to join the royal guard. That means his episodes and knowledge of others chars reset feelings/actions during povs are strictly based upon the duration the timeframe that frisk is underground.

Fun facts.4: The sanses in all the reset always has a soft spot for paps. They know that he ain't their bro but the code just has that as a priority for the sans. (Paps as sans is like my bro loves me ;n;.)  They enjoy it when paps is playing alphys in genocide routes cause at least they know he won't die that route.

Fun facts 5: In an alternate version of this au when frisk ignores sans's plea for it to be their final route, sans would most likely snap and go crazy and just straight up try to murder the kid over and over again regardless if they were going to do a pacifist or geno route until they agree to his terms or until he dies (and he'll do it for all future resets [except for maybe pap sans???])  Who knows a Dusttale (see  @ask-dusttale ) might even happen but the version of sans would feel less guilty bout it cause most other char povs would only confirm that other characters would just want frisk to suffer.

Fun fact 6: In another happier alternate version of this au, a version of sans confronts frisk earlier on, making them feel bad early and just wants everyone to go back to normal. So they constantly reset until they find the normal config for the final reset. The Sanses  in this route are pretty chummy with frisk. They are very tired of the resets regardless though (as it takes forever to land on the normal configuration) and sometimes halfheartedly bets with frisk who the next sans is going to be. The resets where everything is normal except for one monster are especially soul crushing for both the Sanses and frisk. They were so close!!!!!

                                                    Designs:

For the design of another chars as sans they might go out of their way in the assets and wear sans classic jacket to showcase that they are a sans and are aware of what's going on. So their normal outfits but with sans jacket on top.

Interesting info of  probability of a normal config happening in the randomizer:

~58 enemy types so 3364 (0.000297265% of normal config)

Or

~322 monsters total so 103684 configurations (0.0000096446896% of normal config)

(let me know if I did the math incorrectly :) )

[haflip]

moon (1997): a Review

This year’s Nintendo Switch release of Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (listed on the eshop and other places simply as moon, all lowercase, e. e. cummings style) was a surprise to me. Although the PS1 original came out in 1997, gained a cult following and inspired mechanics and writing throughout countless games I love, I had never heard of this game until literally a couple of months ago. The new Switch release is a simple re-release with no differences from the original, except that it’s been localized in English for the first time. Now that I’ve played it, it’s clear to me that a lineage of games and their mechanics can be traced back to this one. I used to think the mechanics of Dead Rising (2006), for example, were action-based iterations on Capcom’s earlier game Gregory Horror Show (2003), which itself seems to be steeped in the mechanics of Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000). Now it seems that the development of Majora’s Mask itself, among others, may have been influenced by moon. Toby Fox has also told the creators themselves that Undertale was heavily inspired by the game. In fact, it was that very discussion that led to the creators finally localizing the game in English this year.

moon is consistently referred to as an “anti-RPG” by creators and fans alike. This makes the most sense when considering the developers are mostly former Square developers who previously worked on games like Super Mario RPG. The game opens with a young boy playing a video game which is itself called Moon. This game-within-a-game is a traditional RPG in which the protagonist is tasked with killing as many monsters as possible to gain enough levels necessary to kill the biggest monster, a dragon accused of eating the moon. The game expertly plays with classic RPG tropes and made me laugh a few times along the way. I got a big kick out of the way none of the character portraits seem to match up with the way a character looks from the top-down perspective, a trait I’ve seen of characters in a few of the RPGs I grew up with.

The game flashes forward a few times to save files with hours of progress on them, eventually leading to the final boss of the in-game game. During the climactic final encounter, our protagonist is reminded that he’s been staying up too late playing this game and is sent to bed. Our protagonist seemingly wakes back up and, while attempting to turn the TV back off, falls into the screen and is pulled into the world in which the majority of the game is spent. As a transparent ghost in this world, the young boy walks around listening to people’s conversations. The people of this world don’t seem too thrilled about the Hero’s task of killing as many things as possible. He’s usually considered arrogant, self-centered and dangerous to the people around him, with only a few people hoping for him to complete his dark task of finding and killing the dragon.

With the help of a generous old woman who seems to think he looks like her lost grandson, our protagonist is able to take physical form as a walking, hollow pile of clothes. This is when the game’s more unique mechanics kick in. At the top-left corner of the screen, there is a clock. This clock represents which day it is in a 7-day cycle, how much time is left in the day, whether it is day or night, and most importantly, how long the player has before they need to get back to bed and rest. If the player runs out of “action points,” the game is over and must be restarted from the last save, which is the last time the player slept in a bed. When the game begins, the timer is only half a day long but by leveling up, the timer is extended and the player can relax a little more.

With this in mind, the player is tasked with carrying out tasks in a similar fashion to classic adventure games. You can talk to characters to find out their interests, their habits, and what you can do to help them. You will also be building up a collection of random items which can be given or shown to characters in order to see different responses or solve puzzles. Some characters do different things on different days of the week and figuring out why something happened at a particular time can be interesting. Sometimes you will keep an item for hours without knowing who needs it or why, but by correctly finding what it is a character wants or needs, the player can earn “Love” points which are used for leveling up.

Love points can also be earned through “captures.” The so-called Hero has been murdering defenseless creatures throughout the land. You’ll find their corpses littering the ground in almost every area of the game. The goal of captures is to find their lost souls and return them to their bodies. Their souls will have habits hinted at by descriptions of what the creatures were like while still living and each one is a small puzzle of figuring out when and where to find the soul and grab it.

As with most games of its kind, I spent about 60-80% of it finding things on my own before I finally gave in and found a guide for the rest. The game carries the same flaws as most traditional adventure games. There are puzzles with easily miss-able hints, and other puzzles that are too demanding in arbitrary ways. Of note, the fishing contest and the in-world arcade game both took up huge chunks of time and were strong points of frustration for me, but neither are necessary to see the ending and I only did them for 100% completion’s sake. If finishing this game at 100% isn’t important to you, just skip the damn things. They are bad and 100% doesn’t lead to a better ending.

My only other gripe with this game is how certain characters are depicted. There are some really, really dated racial depictions that made me a bit uncomfortable. It’s a stain on an otherwise wholesome game. I also don’t like that there are certain minigames that are required to progress that require listening for specific sound cues. It means I can’t recommend this game for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing players who don’t want to guess their way through it.

That said, I can’t emphasize enough how great it is right now, this year, to have a game that’s largely about caring, kindness, and pacifism. There were a lot of things that made me laugh or smile throughout the game, and even a moment or two that were heartwarming enough to make me tear up. It’s a weird and wonderful adventure that I’m happy to have finished. I know I’ll likely play it again, too. I’m cheap when it comes to buying games, usually waiting for a sale before considering most, but at just under $20, I whole-heartedly recommend buying moon for the Nintendo Switch, even at full-price.

[janehaster]

About Susie

Just some random thoughts about her and what we may (or may not) see of her in Delta Rune:

1_Susie has an orange heart on her belt, the symbol of Bravery. We know Papyrus is still a child in DR. And in Undertale, the best trait associated to him is Bravery. He also has kindness, but that’s mostly a side trait.

As Susie becomes nicer under Kris’ and Ralsei’s influence, could it be she might influence Papyrus in some way? Maybe she might meet you and Papyrus and end up making an impression on the young skeleton, to the point he mirrors her daring behavior and ends up wanting to become a brave warrior like her someday? 

2_Susie overrides our choices twice in the game. That’s highly significant, since no monsters can do that to Frisk in Undertale. Frisk’s determination is so high it supersedes even Flowey’s, who can Reset and Load, remember?  I’ll say it plainly: for Susie to override our choices means her determination surpasses the player’s. And if DR gives further confirmation on this, then it means Susie may very likely be the ONLY character that can stop Kris/Chara from going full genocidal by the game’s end.

That is, if you don’t allow Kris to go full genocidal by wiping out the Darkners yourself.

3_Susie is as rebellious and as mysterious as Chara. She’s the one who goes full genocidal in DR. She threatens everything and everyone, is pretty much alone all the time, her mere presence intimidates people. Those are all traits shared by Kris/Chara. They’re more alike than we imagine. Therefore, their friendship may begin to change Chara and lead them to stop being genocidal.

Why do I say this? Simple. Two reasons: 

Kris’ brother, Asriel, is away at college. Kris is pretty much alone until he returns. They’re considered to be a quiet, mysterious kid by the neighborhood, with eerie pranks (pretending their arms are covered in blood, hiding under Noelle’s bed to scare her). Also, Asriel is the complete opposite of Kris, in the sense that he’s an achiever, full of trophies in his side of the bedroom, while Kris just doesn’t care about studying or striving to do their best.

So Kris is lonely, seen as a weirdo by all, much like Susie. And both are having to look after each other’s lives in the Dark World. When the Spades King attacks Susie, Kris shields her. She in turn warns the king not to harm her friend. We, the player, didn’t order Kris to do this. The character defended Susie of their own volition. 

Chara had no friends in Undertale other than Asriel. In this world, Asriel is gone (for now). And in his place is Susie, who is as much of a misfit as they are. In the end, the bond shared between Susie and Kris may stop the latter from going full genocidal, regardless of the player’s actions.

Of course, we’ve only played Chapter 1, so this is all speculation.

Edit: Clamgirl suggests Susie (likely called Suzy in Undertale) was the one responsible for Kris to be sent to the world of Undertale:

This is highly significant. Clamgirl might be making some wild speculation, connecting two unrelated events, or she might actually be hinting that Susie is (one of) the reason(s) why Kris will somehow leave the world of Delta Rune and end up without memories in the world of Undertale. 

The second option reinforces the notion that Susie will have some MAJOR plot relevance in the upcoming chapters of Delta Rune. Her role might be so decisive it will affect Kris’ fate and cause them to fall into another world and lose their memories. 

This is highly relevant for a couple of reasons:

Kris/Frisk/Chara arrives in the Underground by FALLING, the same way we fall into the darkness and arrive at the Dark World. Could that mean we’ll be pushed by someone down Mt Ebott (by Susie)? Or fall after going after someone? Maybe Susie?

In Undertale, we are reminded we control a human being who already has a past history, one that they forgot about. After being attacked by Undine and falling down the trash heap, we recover some memories of Kris/Frisk/Chara with Asriel. Now comes the question: are those memories of our Vessel with Asriel in Undertale or are they from when they lived with Asriel back in the world of Delta Rune? Either way, that hints at Chara being the same person as Kris, hinting they are the same person. 

3_Kris/Frisk/Chara’s SOUL is the key to open the gate between worlds. Or rather, OUR SOUL. Only the RED SOUL, controlled by THE PLAYER, can access the Fountain. Now we know a second Fountain was created. Does that mean a gateway to A THIRD WORLD was created, and that it can only be opened by the player? Could that third world become the world of Undertale? 

All of this evidence reinforces Susie’s fate will be essential in understanding Kris’ fate and the fate of the world of Delta Rune. Her inexistence in Undertale might be connected to the Gaster followers and why there are ghosts appearing in Undertale (the grey people: Goner Kid, Goner Clamgirl, the Gaster followers) and speaking of characters who SHOULD exist in Undertale as well, but whose lives were either cut short or whom you never get to meet at all. 

Of course, another speculation is that it might not be Susie’s doing which causes all this, but the actions of the KNIGHT. Maybe the Knight will manipulate the three heroes - Kris, Ralsei and Susie. Maybe our confrontation with them might have irreversible consequences and cause Kris to fall down Mt Ebott and lose their memories, while causing Susie and other characters to disappear (Gaster and his followers). 

Either way, they key to understanding the connection between Delta Rune and Undertale lies so far in:

The second Fountain of Darkness

Susie’s absence in Undertale

Kris’ amnesia in Undertale

Gaster followers being alive in Delta Rune and gone in Undertale

And above all:

How the gate(s) between worlds cannot be accessed by Kris/Frisk/Chara, but ONLY by the PLAYER’S SOUL

[popatochisssp]

Fur a Good Time, Call... 13/15

Series: Undertale, Horrortale Relationship(s): HT!Sans/Reader, HT!Papyrus & Reader, HT!Sans & HT!Papyrus Chapter Warnings: discussion of past suicidal ideation

You work at an animal shelter. You love all your fuzzy buddies and can’t imagine a better job for yourself than looking after cats and dogs all day, even when the work is hard and often gross. What can you say? You’ve got a lot of love to give!

You’re just not quite sure yet how you feel about the new monster who’s been helping out these days, and this riddle wrapped up in an enigma is something you just can’t resist investigating…

AO3 Link

Heart

It’s far from the last time you go to Grillby’s.

Now that Sans has broken the metaphorical ice, he seems intent on keeping his promise to Grillby to do better. The cozy little monster pub quickly becomes a regular spot for you, lunch breaks and date-nights alike.

You meet the occasional human here and there, friends or dates of the regulars or just people lucky enough to have stopped in and gotten hooked on the fire elemental’s stellar cooking…but mostly you get to know the monsters.

Audrey’s fascinated by human cuisine and takes cooking classes with Burr every Thursday night. Apparently, it’s their designated couple’s activity, and they’re such a subtle pair you never would’ve guessed they were together until they told you.

Some weird cat guy whose real name you can’t get out of anyone for the life of you—surely he can’t actually be named Burgerpants?—loves coming in and getting really high in the corner booth. You’re not about to judge, though: he’s always wearing a retail uniform when you see him and however tense and stressed out he is on his way in, BP’s always chill and smiling on his way out, so whatever works for him!

The dogs are a hoot and a half, especially when they find out that you work with dogs for a living. They only get more excited to learn that you and Sans actually have a dog at home, which leads to Buddy coming to visit Grillby’s one night and…

Well…it’s a good thing that you’re already used to loud barking from your time at the shelter. Your ears didn’t stop ringing for hours after that night.

Dino gushes about his son, Franco loudly negotiates gigs over his bluetooth, and Grillby…

Grillby doesn’t say much, actually, but his warm and glowing presence behind the bar is steady and reassuring.

You love it.

You love Grillby’s, and you love all the incredibly sweet and fascinating people you meet there, but most of all, you love what going so often is doing for Sans.

He’s…lighter these days, a little more unburdened. He smiles easier, jokes quicker, laughs louder, and it’s delightfully different.

……No.

On second thought…it’s not different at all.

He’s still Sans—your Sans, all the way down to his marrow—but just…more.

It’s Sans the way he is when it’s just you and Papyrus around, but more often, even at work where he’s usually so closed off and shy, and it feels like the coolest damn thing to get to see other people finally getting to know the sweet and funny guy you care so much about.

Your relationship with Sans takes a nice, easy slide into the comfortable; so comfortable, in fact, that you manage to give poor Papyrus another conniption about it.

“What Do You Mean, You Don’t Have Anything Planned?!”

Silently, you and Sans share a look and shrug.

You know that you, at least, feel an awful lot like a kid being scolded by the teacher for not handing in an assignment. It’s hard not to feel that way with Papyrus looming over you, hands on his hips and impatiently tapping his foot.

“I Am So Disappointed,” he tsks, completing the illusion. “You’re Just Going To Sit Around The House Like Lumps—”

That had been your plan.

“—On Your Own Six-Monthiversary???”

“i don’t think that’s a thing.”

“Of Course It’s A Thing, Sans!” Papyrus snaps. “Human, Tell Him It’s A Thing!”

“……I…guess?”

“There, You See? They Agree With Me! You’re Being A Terrible Datemate!”

Okay, you can’t let that go unchallenged.

“I don’t think that, baby,” you say to Sans, quietly but Papyrus hears you anyway.

“Don’t Tell Him That! He’ll Never Learn Without Consequences!”

You raise your eyebrows. “He would learn with consequences?” you ask incredulously.

“………Stop Making Valid Points!” Papyrus demands in return.

“i feel so attacked right now,” Sans chimes in, but he’s laughing so you doubt his feelings are really hurt.

“Well, How Do You Think They Feel?! Look At Them!”

Sans looks at you and you smile up at him.

“yeah, cute as ever.”

“No! Heartbroken! Let Down! Devastated!”

You don’t really want to make Pap a liar… You frown, just a little bit, utterly fake and disingenuous.

“Yes, Perfect, Like That!”

It’s a struggle not to ruin the expression by laughing.

“Sans, Your Poor Human Naïvely Hoped Against All Logic And Reason That You Might Do Something Special For Them On This Most Important And Momentous Of Days! That You Would Go Against Your Very Nature And Find One Tiny Romantic Bone In Your Body— ”

“ouch, ‘tiny’?”

“—And Sh………You Are Vulgar, Oh My God! For Once In Your Life Of Laziness And Terrible Puns, Be Serious—And Don’t You Dare Say You Can’t Be ‘Serious’ If You’re ‘Sans,’ I Am All Too Aware That You Are Sans!”

You give up, you’re laughing.

Your boys are just too fucking funny, watching them argue is like watching the best improv sketch you’ve ever seen.

“Look, You’ve Made Them Hysterical!”

“oh no. i’m the worst.”

“No One Is Arguing That, And You Are So Lucky That I’m Here To Help You.”

You take a moment to try and get yourself together, deep breaths and not looking directly at either of these damn jokers.

“Oh, Good,” Papyrus grins at you. “You’re Coming Around To Acceptance! I Think You Skipped Over Anger And Bargaining Somewhere In There, But I Admire Your Efficiency!”

Pfft! “Thanks,” you eke out, just barely tamping down a giggle.

“Now, Then,” he says, very seriously, settling a comforting hand on your shoulder, “Sans Is Going To Make Up For His Grievous Oversight And Take You On A Lovely Six-Monthiversary Date.”

“i am? cool.” Sans slings an arm around you, gently pulling you out of his brother’s grip. “been dyin’ for some cheesy fries—”

“No!” Papyrus tugs you back, glaring at Sans. “No Grillby’s! It’s Bad Enough That That’s Your Usual, You Don’t Go To Your Usual For A Six-Monthiversary! It’s A Special Occasion!”

Sans frowns, but seems to take the proclamation in stride. “alright, so…what do ‘i’ have in mind?”

“That’s! ……” Papyrus squints down at you. “That Obviously Has To Be A Surprise.”

Without further ado, you’re nudged carefully yet forcefully to the stairs—shooed away like a too-curious cat from a museum.

“Wait, Pap, what—”

“Don’t Argue!” he chides, unmoved by your confusion. “Go Wait Upstairs For Awhile! Sans Will Get You When His Surprise Is Ready!”

You spare a last look at Sans, who seems only mildly amused by whatever is happening here. He gives you a little wave that makes you smile, and you willingly disappear up the steps.

Down below you, you can still hear a faint exchange, hissed whispers and murmuring, but you can’t make any of the words out, so you don’t bother to keep eavesdropping.

Besides, a romantic surprise sounds…kind of nice.

Whether it was actually Sans’ idea or not, a date with your funnybones was always something to look forward to.

-

You decide to go hang out in Sans’ room while you wait.

You suppose Papyrus’ room is also an option—you don’t think he’d necessarily mind you waiting there—but you feel a little more comfortable encroaching on your boyfriend’s space than on Papyrus’.

You hang out with him in there a lot, for naps and indoor tornado-watching and majorly nerdy (but interesting), casual geology lessons with his rock collection, so it seems like the best option for now.

The piney scent of air freshener tickles your nose when you walk in and you figure Sans must’ve cleaned sort of recently. He’s been pretty good about that lately, maybe especially because you’re in here more often, and it makes you happy that he has a mostly tidy area for himself.

You still remember how cluttered it used to be, and even with a stray sock or discarded t-shirt on the floor here and there, it’s a major improvement.

(You are…a big enough person to admit to some envy over it. Your own room could certainly do with some attention and you make a mental note to take care of that soon.)

Sans’ desk is, naturally, the most organized: it’s where all his rocks are, meticulously sorted and catalogued by means that are…probably very scientific and make perfect sense.

To you, it seems totally random, but you still like to look at all of Sans’ cool specimens and see how many of them you can remember.

Tiger’s eye is easy and so is jade. You remember that the purpley-green one carved into an obelisk is fluorite because Sans made a hilariously terrible pun about it one time that apparently burned it into your brain.

The smooth whitish one in the middle of the desk is harder. It’s iridescent, which you’d think would make it easy to identify, but apparently you were really bad at telling the difference between moonstone and opal.

Sans, being your oh-so-hilarious funnybones, loved to swap them out on you and snicker when you got it wrong, so you pretty much give up on that one entirely.

The polished purple ball is definitely amethyst…ooh, or is it charoite? It looks kind of squiggly and you can’t remember if amethyst is ever that squiggly…

You need more light.

You flick on the desk lamp and the rocks illuminate, sheens and glitter galore that make you feel like some sort of goblin with a primal urge to hoard the shiny, sparkly things before you.

The purple is charoite for sure, and you’re…roughly eighty percent certain that the other one is an opal today, too many colors in it to be moonstone.

But you’re also a little distracted by the weird glint the extra light is causing down by the floor, behind the desk.

You bend down to investigate and find a stray rock, wedged between the desk-leg and the wall. It’s the work of seconds to get it free and when you’ve got it…

Huh.

It’s a decently-sized black rock, dusty where it had been face-up and shiny where it wasn’t. It must have been stuck down there a good long while.

You take your shirt to it, carefully wiping it off and making sure to be mindful the places where it sharply curves into peaked edges, and soon it’s shiny all over, gleaming almost mirror-like from your hand.

You’d never been quizzed on this one before, but obsidian was one of the more recognizable types of rocks out there.

Volcanic glass, your brain helpfully adds and you feel a burst of excitement at knowing a rock fact Sans didn’t have to tell you.

You wonder if he’d be proud of you for that and shake your head, feeling silly for the thought.

Of course he’d be proud of you, and then he’d probably immediately find a way to make a pun out of it. You weren’t sure how, ‘obsidian’ didn’t seem like a very punnable word, but if anyone could find a way, it would be Sans.

You smile and go to set the rock back on his desk where it belonged, but pretty quickly realize there’s a roadblock.

You don’t actually know where on the desk it belongs. There’s clearly some sort of system but you have no clue what it is.

Messing up one of the few things Sans has bothered to organize, even in a tiny way, feels…kinda rude…

You elect to hold onto it until Sans comes to get you.

Since you have no idea what the surprise is and what the wait time on it is, you also plop yourself onto the bed and get comfy.

No sense standing around forever for no reason, right?

You intend to take out your phone and start playing games to pass the time, but you end up playing with the little obsidian chunk in your hands instead. It’s enticingly smooth beneath your fingers, cool but rapidly warming to the heat of your body as you keep stroking your thumb over its surface without rhyme or reason.

Its edges are a little sharp and kind of jagged, but they’re pretty easy to avoid once you properly map them out and besides that, you like the way they look. It…it’s got character, like a lot of your favorite things in this life.

A lot of your favorite people.

You start to wonder if Sans would miss this particular little rock if you just went ahead and kept it, like that shiny-hoarding goblin you felt like a few minutes ago.

…Nah, that would be pretty uncool of you.

You’ll give it back when—

“hey, babe, y’ready for, heheheh, ‘my’ surprise?”

You sit up, grinning and chuckling a little yourself to see Sans holding a blanket and a picnic basket, of all things. “Oh boy, am I ever! Papyrus…does know it’s nighttime, right?”

“………”

You follow Sans’ gaze when he doesn’t answer you right away. He’s looking at the obsidian in your hands and you scoff.

“Oh, right, I, uh…I found this! I wasn’t sure where it was supposed to go, so I—”

“where?”

“What?”

“where…was that?” The tightness in Sans’ voice makes you frown. You’re suddenly extra glad you didn’t just steal it because it seems…important, somehow?

You can’t read it all, but there’s a lot of emotion on his skull right now, more than there should be for just some average, run of the mill rock.

You wonder what the story is, but ultimately, you don’t need to know.

“It was behind your desk. It must’ve fallen off or something,” you say. You hold it out to him, smiling gently. “Here, you can put it…wherever it’s supposed to be!”

Sans reaches for it. He’s unusually slow in taking it from you, his bony fingers just…hovering over your open palm for a long moment.

You look up at him in surprise when instead, he closes his hand around yours, the obsidian still inside.

“keep it,” he says.

“What…seriously?” Your eyebrows knit in something approaching concern. “But…”

“but nothin’. ya’ like it, don’tcha?”

Damn him and his ability to read you like a book sometimes. “Well…yeah, but…”

You weren’t sure how, but…it was an important rock to him, right? It had to be! Some…some sort of memento or…stars, maybe a family heirloom or something!

“i want you to have it,” Sans says simply.

His tone is surprisingly firm. You’re not sure you’ve ever heard him speak so matter-of-factly, so you know he means it, but still…

“It’s…it’s not important…?”

“nah.” That feels like a lie, but he immediately follows it with, “it was supposed to be away, i must’ve missed it in the great rock purge of 20XX. doesn’t belong on the desk, anyway, you’d be doin’ me a favor if ya’ just took it. really.”

“……You just don’t want to dig out the shoeboxes for it,” you accuse.

Sans laughs, deeply amused…and maybe just a little bit relieved.

“ya’ got me,” he admits. “s’a lotta work for one little stone and, uh, between you an’ me…i didn’t really get’cha anything for our six-monthiversary.”

You give him an exaggerated gasp of shock. “No!”

“i know, i know” he sighs, just as dramatically. “m’a cad. a scoundrel. a ne’er-do-well…whatever that is.”

“Harsh, but fair.” Sans releases your hand and you look at the…your obsidian. “Well…I’m honored by your thoughtless, last minute gift of rock.” You grin at him a little slyly. “Great minds think alike?”

Sans grins back. “you know it,” he says, and out comes the convenience store paperweight from his pocket, the one you’d bought him all those months ago back before you’d even been dating. “take it with me everywhere.”

You know he does and that makes you feel stupidly warm and gooey.

“I guess I can return the favor, now,” you say, slipping the obsidian into a pocket of your own. “Couples’ pocket-rocks: we’re gonna start a new trend.”

“heheheheheheh, trendsetters, that’s us.” Sans leans down to nuzzle the top of your head, gentle and sweet as always. “just be careful with it, yeah? s’a little sharp—you’re squishy.”

“I choose to take that as a compliment.”

“good, ‘cause it is one.” You get another gentle bump of teeth against your forehead and Sans pulls you to your feet. “c’mon, let’s go, i’ll tell ya’ all about your present on the way.”

Sans surprises you by actually walking all the way downstairs with you instead of just shortcutting you wherever it was you were going.

True to his word, he gives you a whole miniature lecture in the course of the trip about the care and keeping of your new obsidian—you learn that you can wash it with warm water and gentle soap, but not to use anything abrasive on it because that could damage the polished sheen.

You cut in when he starts to say it’s formed from molten rock to tell him that you know it’s volcanic glass, and just as you thought, he looks both surprised and proud of you for already knowing a rock thing.

He also says your observation was ‘ingenious’ but his inflection makes it sound an awful lot like the word ‘igneous,’ so you were right on both counts.

You sure know your big dork of a skeleton.

You notice the conspicuous lack of Papyrus and Buddy as you walk to your destination and figure Pap probably made the both of them scarce to give you and Sans a little privacy for your apparently very important milestone date and the consideration is appreciated.

So is the big, fluffy blanket that Sans slings around your shoulders as soon as you step out into the moderately chilly backyard.

Winter is on its slow way out still, but by now all the snow is melted and the air is what you’d describe as brisk instead of outright cold. With the blanket, it’s more than bearable, which is probably a good thing.

With the picnic basket and the telescope set up in the middle of the yard, you think you’re probably going to be out here awhile.

“Stargazing?” you ask, unable to disguise the excitement in your voice.

“heheheh, stargazing,” Sans agrees. He waggles the picnic basket enticingly. “plus snacks. Pap snuck a couple thermoses in there, could be soup, could be tea…”

“Could be cocoa.”

“endless possibilities.” The red of Sans’ eye-light looks pleasantly soft and warm beneath the cold, white moonlight and you find yourself instinctively leaning in. “happy six-monthiversary, babe.”

You kiss him. You don’t think there’s anything else you can do.

-

It takes…longer than you’re willing to admit to get to the actual date part of your date.

It’s hardly your fault that Sans’ nuzzling is addictive, or that his big hands stroking your back and shoulders through the blanket is something you never want to pull away from.

Eventually, though, you pick at the snacks while Sans fusses with the telescope a little, telling you how to use it while he picks a good spot in the mostly cloudless night to settle it on.

You’re surprised that Papyrus just had something like this lying around, and Sans surprises you even further by admitting it’s his—the same one he once told you he rented out Underground.

“could only look at a ceiling back then,” he says, distractedly. “view’s way better up here. c’mon, take a look.”

You get up and wander over to the telescope, hesitating a second because the last thing you want to do is damage one of Sans’ older possessions.

“don’t worry, i wiped the paint off the eye-piece,” Sans promises. “Pap made me, you’re safe.”

You laugh. “God, of course you pranked people with it, I should’ve known…”

Still, you trustingly look through the telescope, hoping Papyrus really did have your back on this one.

You forget all about it when you see the stars, closer and brighter than you’ve seen them in a long time—maybe ever.

“Wow…”

Sans comes up behind you, helping you adjust and move the telescope around here and there to different corners of the heavens. It really is a view that’s just…

“beautiful…”

You pull away, tilting your head back to find Sans observing the sky with just his own eye-sockets.

The dreamy awe on his skull makes you feel even cozier than your blanket and you gently nudge him in the ribs. “You want a turn on your own telescope, or…?”

Sans doesn’t even look at you as he says, “nah, m’good. this is plenty for now.”

You huff out a little laugh, leaning back against Sans and just looking up with him. “You really love the sky, huh?”

“understatement,” he murmurs. “it’s wild that ya’ just…have this, all the time.”

You can’t imagine what living your entire life in a cave must’ve been like. You don’t care to, it can’t have been good, even before it got a million times worse with the famine and everything attached to it.

“What’s your favorite kind of sky?” you ask him, curious.

“what, ever?” You make a noise of agreement and Sans pauses to consider it. “sunrise, probably. all the colors…an’ the sun, that was a hell of a thing, that first time…”

Sounds right. You’d seen some truly incredible sunrises in your time on this planet and even when you took them for granted, you still always thought they were pretty.

“even…even this, though,” Sans says. “even when it’s night an’ the sun is gone, ya’ still get this. the moon, an’ clouds, an’…an’ stars, damn…there’s so many, i never…i never thought…”

He trails off and you let him. You can guess the ways he may have finished it and you don’t need him to say any of them.

Instead, you say, “There’s a million constellations, too. You know any? I can pretty much just point out the dippers, and that’s on a good day. Well, night.”

“heheheheh…funny you ask, i, uh…” he sounds a little shy as he admits, “i used to wanna learn about that stuff…constellations, y’know. …never got around to it.”

“How come?”

“……”

You can’t look up anymore when Sans settles his chin atop your head, hugging you closer to him.

“…never had much hope,” he says eventually. “lot of us did, i guess. even after the…the human.” He chuckles a little and it sounds tired. “Pap always believed…that we’d get up here one day, see the stars for real. but i…i dunno, it was harder for me to…to think that way. it didn’t seem like a thing that’d ever happen.”

“It did though,” you’re quick to remind him. “You’re here. You’re out.”

You get a grateful little squeeze for that. “yeah, i know. just…wasn’t always that way. didn’t see much point learnin’ stuff i was never gonna get to use.”

You reach up, idly petting at one of the arms Sans had wrapped around your midsection. The worn, blue fabric of his hoodie is much softer than the sturdy bones beneath it, but you find you love them both in equal measure.

“i, uh…actually, for awhile there…” Sans speaks haltingly, carefully weighing each of his words, and you keep quiet and let him. “when we…started collecting souls again…and seeing the surface seemed like it was actually gonna happen…i…i kinda hoped i…wouldn’t see it?”

“…What do you mean, baby?”

Sans takes a breath from behind you, holding it before letting it out in a whoosh.

“i…i used to hope i’d dust before we ever got up here.”

A bolt of fearful grief strikes through you, robbing you of speech.

Sans keeps talking, though.

“thought it’d be hunger,” he says, too casually for the subject matter. “always…i always felt it the most in between humans…hoped i would……an’ then i wouldn’t have to…to do it again. or maybe karma’d get me, one of ‘em would…would see me comin’ an’ fight back, dust me then.”

This wasn’t…entirely new to you. Sans had talked about this once before, briefly, telling you in passing about feelings like these.

It had come on the heels of so much other shocking information and it had been painful to hear then, but it feels so much worse now to hear Sans talk about dying.

You think you hadn’t loved him then, not the way you do now, and stars above, you do love him now.

The very thought of Sans not being around wouldn’t feel so much like losing a limb if you didn’t.

You’re not sure if you make a sound or if he can just feel that you’re upset, but Sans nuzzles at you, making hushing noises of comfort.

“s’okay, baby, s’okay, i’m not…you don’t gotta worry about me, i never… made an attempt or anything, i don’t…i don’t got that in me. s’just how i felt sometimes, on the bad days. i wanted…to punish myself, i think. for doin’ the stuff i did.”

His arms uncurl from your body and his hands are held out just in front of you. By the moonlight, you see the pale bones of his metacarpals, scraped and rough, and you don’t hesitate a second to fill them with your own hands.

“You don’t…” You bite your lip. “Do you…still think that way…?”

You’re a little afraid of the answer, but you need to hear it.

Sans spins you around to face him, your arms briefly tangling in your urge to not let go of Sans, but when you get it all sorted out…

He’s smiling at you, warm and real.

“no,” he says. “i don’t. not really.”

Your relief is so strong that for a moment, you feel weightless.

“got my bad days. happens, but…not bein’ around doesn’t really appeal the way it used to, y’know? got more stuff i wanna stick around for.”

There aren’t words for how happy you are to hear that.

“i got Pap, the guys at grillby’s, all those fluffy idiots at the shelter…” He chuckles a little and adds, “the fluffy idiot back in the house.”

“Hey,” you manage to say sternly, “that’s no way to talk about our son.”

One of his hands leaves yours, coming up to cradle your cheek.

“i got you, too,” he says softly, looking down at you with lidded eye-sockets.

For a second, you’re sure your heart is about to beat out of your chest, but he breaks your gaze to look up again.

“an’ i got the sky. there’s a whole lot of stuff for me to hope about these days, and...” Sans smiles just a little bit wider. “hell, i think i’d even say i’m…happy.”

Stars, you’re happy, too.

Here, in the arms of the strongest, most wonderful man you know, you don’t think you could be any happier.

You really do love him.

You press your face into his hand, turning just enough to be able to kiss it.

“Hey,” you say against his palm, “let’s learn constellation stuff.”

Sans snorts, building into a not-entirely-dismissive laugh.

“what, for real?” he says, like he can’t quite believe you said it. “you don’t think it’s, uh…heheheh, a little late for me to be learnin’ new stuff?”

He raps his knuckles against his skull with a hollow ‘tok-tok,’ but you don’t let it deter you.

“That’s why I wanna do it together!” you explain. “We can help each other out, it could be fun. Couples’ astrology!”

You see him trying and failing to hold back another laugh. “astronomy,” he corrects you. “unless you’re askin’ me what my sign is. real roundabout way of doin’ this, you’re supposed to ask my sign an’ then date me, what if we’re not compatible?”

“Pffff, shut up, we’re compatible,” you insist. “You know the right kind of star-charts to google, and me…” You smirk at him, a crafty glint behind your eyes. “I make some killer flashcards.”

Sans stares at you for a few seconds, processing.

You go on high-alert when his eye-light starts doing that shivering thing again, but this time… This time, it doesn’t stabilize into its normal, perfectly round shape.

Your mouth drops open when you see it.

“Sans,” you breathe, your eyes going wide. “That’s adorable, I didn’t know you could do that!”

“………do what?”

“…Oh my god.” Your hand comes up to cover your mouth. “You don’t even know you’re doing it…?”

Sans frowns a little, starting to look concerned. “doing what?”

It’s so, so hard not to squeal, but… “Your eye is a heart, baby.”

The big, red heart-shape taking up Sans’ eye-socket is the cutest, sweetest thing you’ve ever seen. You love it, almost as much as you love Sanswhich, as you’re starting to realize, is a hell of a lot.

Sans is maybe not quite as thrilled about his eye-light’s new trick as you are.

As soon as he realizes what you’ve told him, he’s practically blushing his skull off, hurriedly covering his face and whirling away from you like you hadn’t seen what you’d just seen.

Unfortunately for his pride or his ego or whatever was bruised right now, you aren’t exactly prepared to let it go.

You chase after him, trying to tug his arm away. “Come ooooon,” you whine playfully, “that was cute, I wanna see it!”

“no, nuh-uh,” Sans grumbles, trying to be gruff to scare you off, but he can’t fool you after that affectionate display.

He’s a softie, through and through, and you can’t get enough of it.

“Saaaaaans…!”

“no! quit it! it’s not, don’t!”

There’s a bit of a scuffle that’s about as one-sided as you could imagine: you’re a wily little human and he’s a gentle giant of a skeleton who’d never lay a hand on you.

Even when your blanket falls off and you both hit the ground on top of it, Sans manages to roll so that he takes most of the impact and you end up…well, exactly where you want to be—on top of him, bracing yourself against his rib-cage while he lies on his back beneath the moon and the stars.

You take a moment to catch your breath, winded from the little play-fight and your laughter. It’s a little disappointing to see that his eye-light is back to its normal shape, but you try not to get too down about it.

If you got him to do it once, you could get him to do it again. You’d just have to try harder from now on.

Sans is…very handsome from this angle, in this lighting. You think he’s handsome pretty much all the time, but right now especially…

You wonder if now would be a good time to tell him that thing you just realized, with that four-letter word that so many people were scared to say.

You open your mouth, ready to tell him.

“I—”

“y’shouldn’t play rough like that, that’s grounds for a break-up.”

“…snrk!”

So like Sans to break the tension with a shitty joke.

It’s part of the many, many reasons you love him.

You laugh and he grins proudly, his embarrassment easily forgotten and you’re happy to help it along by leaning down for a kiss.

“Stop trying to distract me,” you say against his teeth. “Let’s talk about those flashcards. Four-by-six?”

“ya’ gotta be kiddin’, with the size of my hands?” They land on your hips, holding your much smaller self steady with ease. “five-by-eight is barely good enough. lined or unlined?”

“Lined,” you say forcefully. “Don’t you ever suggest unlined to me again, I’m offended.”

Sans laughs. “offended over note-cards, an’ you call me a nerd?”

You hit him with the flattest look you can manage.

“Sans, you gave me a lecture on the care and keeping and properties of obsidian on the fly. No prior notice. Yeah, you’re a nerd!”

“that’s in these days, though, right? nerds are hot?”

Yours sure was.

“Eh, you’ll do,” is what you say.

It seems to be the right thing because Sans happily pulls you down for another nuzzle that you enthusiastically return.

All things considered, it’s probably the best six-monthiversary date you’ve ever had.

Prev Chapter | Next Chapter

[ikkan]

stuff i remember that happened on this trash site for the past 6 (almost 7) years i’ve been here

tumblr prom

dashcon

homestuck cosplayers having new cosplay done seconds after a new update

dashcon 2 (or at least an attempt?? could’ve been false rumors)

airhorn covers of songs

that post about beauty standards for men that people kept changing the images 

the one video for mystery skulls 

reblog this with your [number] gif in your folder, that’s [whatever the topic was for the post]

that one photoshopped watermelon post 

actual cannibal shia labeouf song

lots of gangnam style mashups

2014 you we either into off or danganronpa

superwholock

posts that were “[name] fandom grab your [whatever item that went with the fandom]” or “don’t mess with the [name] fandom”

ke$hastuck

broadwaystuck

transparent images 

bluespace images 

mrs. officer and mr truffles

don’t hug me im scared fandom

people calling david carp daddy 

people freaking out over yahoo buying tumblr

some combo of andrew hussie and david carp because they looked a like

certain blogs randomly turning into boy band blogs???

before discord there was pesterchum

reblog this and you’ll get a [insert whatever] in your inbox

hipster blogs vs fandom blogs??? 

all or nothing 

some fancy color changing pen that ended up being turn into a skinny white dude being shipped with someone or something like that

the once-ler fandom

character cosplay ask blogs

tumblr user pizza 

blood orange 

fanpro (which was like two girls trying to prove to their teacher they can create a fandom or something?? but i think turned out fake)

a bunch of fake tumblr stories ending with “and then everyone clapped”

cole sprouse joined tumblr for some social experiment

reblog for good luck or money posts 

the long post about hats 

the post about bra straps showing and op kept finding their look alikes

tons of drama with fan artists (mostly su fandom)

some people from the su fandom wrote negative reviews on an actual motel’s website after keystone motel aired 

space jam remixes 

tons of different audio posts of “stronger than you” 

audio post with “nice legs, daisy dukes, makes you go [insert different sound]”

crave that mineral meme

people in england thinking that american’s didn’t have certain foods or whatever when they did, but just had a different names for it

that image of a traffic light on fire and then an audio post for it

that post of someone who brought a george foreman grill to school

posts that said “only 90′s kids remember”

that very unnecessary long pineapple pizza post

that post about a kid who brought an inflatable pink dolphin to school and they made a shirt for him

everyone flipping out about the reblog button being moved

humanization of characters that are just skinny white dudes

other girls vs me (which turned into some ship)

mishapocalypse 

one of the april fools joke was just mini top hats added to our icons

the infinite chocolate post  

the post of “do you like the color of the sky?”

the tumblr virus

the one band that had their music video promo’d in our inboxes

that one person who’s pic got stolen and had people spam a bunch of people’s inbox about some game

someone took their amputated toe and had someone made into a necklace

the whole sixpenceee blog trying to get people to pay them for therapy sessions? (idk if that was fake or???) and something about their family owning a child slave??? 

some person lied about their life and identity for some hamilton fic?? or something (i actually don’t know the backstory or details of that one)

“let me tell you about homestuck”

that post of people randomly stealing traffic signs and lights??

the whole drama about tumblr user memeufacturing

undertale randomly came out of nowhere (at least on my dash at the time)

the random start of “tag yourself memes”

mbti and astrology posts

userboxes 

coppy from tumblr’s april fools joke of 2015

some person was stealing bones from like a graveyard or somethin’???

tons of kin drama

those mods from like some sonic blog or something having drama

we are number one videos 

tumblr user constablefrozen

posts of “what if there was a timer on your wrist of when you’ll meet your soulmate??” or “what if the first words your soulmates were tattooed on you??”

the post of “reblog if you can remove your bra without taking off your shirt” that had it’s notes number disappear 

lots of art hate blogs in 2012-2013 (y’all can perish)

lots discourse blogs (still around till this day)

memes anytime a hurricane was coming 

the thwomp meme that randomly showed up and then vanished the next day

the hold my flower post

having a post limit 

before instant messaging there was fan mail 

nigel thornberry memes

weird stockphotos everywhere

[inksandpensblog]

My introduction to Markiplier

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and with school started up again I’m gonna need all the brain-space I have, so I’m gonna get this out here. A lot of people remember which video of Mark’s was their first, and that’s kind of what I’m talking about, but also not. Because there are several Markiplier videos or video series’ that I could consider my “introduction” to his content, but only one series that I really consider my introduction to Mark as a content creator. And it’s not the first video of his that I saw. 

So, every Markiplite who also enjoys Fullmetal Alchemist has noted at least once that he and Maes Hughes look alike. Well, the first time I ever read the word “Markiplier” was when I was in the middle of an FMA fan-content binge. I had no idea who he was, and at the time I didn’t care to find out because I was there for the FMA stuff. So I moved along. 

The second time I heard about him was when Undertale was taking over the internet; it seemed like every other person was imagining Mettaton with Mark’s voice. I may have looked up one of his videos for comparison’s sake, but he must have been speaking normally because the voice everyone was mimicking sounded way more exaggerated and I didn’t make the connection. Once again, I moved along. 

The first video that I actually remember watching was his playthrough of Bendy and the Ink Machine’s first chapter. I’d learned of the game through an artist I followed, and the concept was very intriguing to me but I had no means to play myself. So I was looking up any let’splays I could find, and his was one of the ones I saw. Around the same time I heard about Little Nightmares, so I watched his playthough of that game, too. (Actually, the first video of his I left a comment on was one of his Little Nightmares videos. Technically it was a reply to someone else’s comment, but whatever.) Again, though, I didn’t really bother to look up more of his content outside of my current interests at the time. His let’splays weren’t the only ones I saw, for either game. 

The next “introduction” was...actually kind of off-putting. One day, a DMD classmate came dancing into the computer lab, happily proclaiming that Markiplier was going on tour. After absorbing the revelation that YouTubers can go on tours, I joined half the class in looking over her shoulder as she played the You’re Welcome video. 

In my defense, I went into that with no context. The two let’splays that I had seen were fairly normal, so I didn't know about his scary edits, nor had I had any exposure to the macabre side of his sense of humor. That sketch actually put me off. I just...couldn’t get over the talking head in the box. After watching it I decided that maybe Markiplier’s content wasn’t for me. 

So why am I here? Because of three other things. One, because now I knew whose videos said classmate was listening to every time she giggled out of nowhere in the middle of lab. 

Two, a different friend from college asked me if I’d heard of this great new show called Villainous. She showed me all the shorts that were out at the time, and it did look genuinely interesting, so I looked it up on my own time. Guess whose name I saw in the voice cast list? (Also, others interested in the show mentioned that some people were upset over Mark voicing 5.0.5., and I remember being confused as to why that’d be something to get upset over.)

The third thing happened because a blog I was following for Ink Machine theories was also heavily laden with FNAF theories. I’d known about FNAF for a long time, but it was regular exposure from this blog that caused me to finally develop enough of an interest to look it up myself. Of course, whenever one tries to look up discussion on FNAF, Mark’s association with the game will inevitably be brought up. That led to me watching his compilations of the series, as well as the musical he worked with Random Encounters on. 

At some point all of this came together and I finally decided to see what Mark was all about for his own sake. So of course, I looked to TvTropes instead of YouTube. I don't remember what I read on that page, but whatever it was made “A Date With Markiplier” seem like a great place to start, content-wise. So that’s what I did. 

That’s why I consider ADWM to be my true introduction. Because it’s the first video of his I saw with the mindset of “I’m watching this for the content creator, not just the content itself.” And from that perspective, it was a fantastic note to start out on.

[noplotnostory]

Monsters in Mythology

Are Monsters a Species?

Apparently scientists define species two different ways. The first--and most popular--is the Biological Species Concept, which defines a species by its genetic isolation. Basically, a member of any species should only be able to reproduce with members of its own species. The other way is the Lineage-Based Species Concept, which focuses on long-term evolution. It does this by establishing different “branches” of Evolutionary Trees (Family Trees, except for entire species instead of individual bloodlines) and is usually pretty good at helping to define certain species when the BSC just can’t do the job--like with organisms that reproduce asexually.

Considering the fact that there isn’t much talk of reproductive practices in UnderTale--aside from some explanation on how Boss monsters age--the BSC can’t really do much with the information from the game. We can look to stories from various cultures for additional evidence...but even if we assume such stories persisted in human culture in the world of UnderTale, they tend to raise more questions than they answer.

Many mythologies all around the world contain stories of fae, giants and whatever-other-legendary-creatures-were-supposed-to-inhabit-that-culture’s-perception-of-the-world interbreeding amongst themselves, each other and even with humans and animals. These “hybrid” children were often said to go on and have more children of their own with as many options to progenerate with as their parents had.

Of course, since we see a lot of animal-based monsters in UnderTale, it is possible that monsters just reproduce with each other and--if we can assume the legends would be even partially accurate--humans. The idea of animal-based monsters being confused for regular animals in human retellings over the generations also help explain stories of different animal species--including humans, sometimes--having children together. Disregarding the part where they mate with humans for a moment, the part where any type of monster can reproduce with every other type offers three possibilities:

Monsters are all one species. While there is a startling amount of variation in the appearances of monsters, that alone is not enough to define a species. The ability to interbreed is considered stronger evidence.

Monsters are only partially speciated. This one actually dips a little into the LBSC way of defining species as well and would mean that distantly-related monsters are juuuuuust reaching that threshold where they are genetically different enough to not interbreed, but still biologically close enough that some individuals with just the right random combination of genes could potentially reproduce with members of the other almost-species.

Due to a lack of physical matter (and unknown reproductive methods), monster biology is currently undefinable by modern standards. The previous two are based on scientific definitions regarding life forms that we know exist--with anatomical components that fit together like puzzle pieces and are made of identifiable physical matter--and therefore may or may not be necessarily applicable to “alien” or “magical” lifeforms, such as the monsters of UnderTale.

Again, this is assuming that we can take what generations of humans have said in the absence of monsters as fact about what monsters are and how they behave. Since there was a war and all, this is probably not a good idea.

So the BSC answers nothing in this situation. And the LBSC? It doesn’t really do much good without extensive historical data, samples of various genetic material or actual semi-permanent physical remains to examine. Even if monsters tended to look alike, it’s not unusual for multiple genetically distinct species from different continents to evolve to the point where they physically resemble each other due to similar geographical conditions or environmental roles.

Papyrus thinks that humans are descended from skeletons because of their/our internal structure...but aside from that (which isn’t really much to begin with, considering the significant differences in human and monster anatomy), we don’t know anything about the biological evolution of monsters. There are legends that do try and touch on the subject, but it’s kind of all over the place. Some mythological creatures can have two or more vastly different origin stories while others are just...there. Don’t know where they came from, but *poof* here they are!

The fact is that we do not have enough data to draw any conclusions through either method. It’s a little annoying. And a lot fascinating.

[zarkyus]

Random dragon draw (from drawing practice) It can be a new OC for my dragon comic Their name is.. Xkrillar They are a gender neutral dragon (im clearly not inspired by undertale frisk :3)

Time: around 1h

I wanted to draw my dragon oc Shiro (a black dragon with very bad luck) to send the pic bc i win the art raffle and can have my ocs drawed. But it was needed a pic. Which i didnt have of him. So i try drawing shiro but ended up drawing another character that doesnt look alike xD