#temmie was a hard character to write

[canvas-madness-txc]

CAUTION: Love Ahead

{Fellswap Gold Papyrus X Reader}

"People fall in love without a reason, without even wanting to. You can't predict it. That's love."

That is what the man behind the door had told him. Papyrus thought about those words. The more he thought, the more he despised what his SOUL made him feel. It's not like he was incapable of love. No, quite the opposite actually.

It was the Underground that was incapable of love. It was "Oppress or be oppressed" down here. Pacifist is Genocide. MERCY is FIGHT.

Love is Hate

He could not love. How could he in a place that will jail those who voice different opinions? Whatever becomes of those defiant people is never good. As much as he would like to confess, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

So he had locked himself in his room; supplied with only coffee, cream cans, black bread, angst superhero comics, his notepad and pencils.

Meanwhile, you sat in the kitchen as Sans was cooking Farfalle. You sat with your own thoughts. Thoughts of what will become of Temmie and yourself when you leave SNOWDIN. Thoughts of Asgore, who still waited in the RUINS, after losing you, as he lost every human he has encountered. Thoughts of the skeleton brothers. Sans had granted you mercy privately after nearly killing you and locking you in a shed. He had only done so because of your consistent pacifism and since Papyrus had grown fond of you. It took a long time, including Sans giving you a side- eye. He extremely was protective of his brother. You snapped back out of your thoughts when Sans had placed food in front of you. You began picking at it, as your thoughts wouldn't leave you alone. Specifically, those about Papyrus. Although, he never spoke, he did communicate with others through writing on a notepad. Still the silence worried you.

"Papyrus had been in his room for a long time," you said, trying to make it seem normal. You looked up and noticed Sans cross his arms in thought.

"yes. i know and it's making me worried." You both stayed silent for a few minutes.

"You otay," Temmie asked.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Tem does not belive hooman." You turned to your companion. Smiling slowly, you reassured them that you were fine. Sans left to do something else and you took a few bites of your food. It wasn't enough to block out your own worry. Eventually, you decided to see for yourself if Papyrus was okay. Climbing the stairs, you felt strange feelings in your SOUL. Trying to brush it off, you knocked on the door.

"Hey Papyrus. You okay in there," you asked. Sitting by the door, you heard the faint sound of pencil scratches. A note slipped through the door.

YEAH

"You haven't come out in a while. Is something bothering you?"

NO

You both sat in silence for a while. Then, another note slipped through the door.

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT LOVE?

You turned your head to the door. A strange question. A very strange question. Still, you told him what you knew.

You were met with silence.

"Why do you ask?" He slid another note.

JUST CURIOUS

"Okay," you replied. Silence again. A faint voice spoke in your head.

*You feel as if he is lying.

You lowered your eyes to the floor. They were right. That is what you felt. The voice pushed you to ask him. You couldn't. As worried as you were, something stopped you.

He probably wants to be left alone, you thought. Slowly, you get up and began to step away from Papyrus's room. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him slip another note. Bending down, you picked up the note.

HUMAN, I HAVE BEGUN TO FEEL STRANGE THINGS AROUND YOU.I THINK I LOVE LIKE YOU.

Your face got warm.

"You like me?" He slipped another note.

THE TRUTH IS THAT I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU. I JUST DIDNT REALIZE IT UNTIL NOW.

You stared at the door, processing the notes in your hand. The door began to open and Papyrus was standing in the doorway.

His notepad was open to a page that he faced towards you. On that page he had a quick sketch.

*It's you!

There was a note next to the sketch.

DATE?

Everything began falling into place. The feelings in your SOUL. There were not merely concern, worry or even LV.

It was love.

You agreed. Papyrus was taken by surprise and ran off to prepare. You wondered what surprises that could entail. Still, it would be a pleasant surprise.

Including the possibility of love.

[milkinthefreezer]

Skinny Dipping in the blank.

(Hurt/Comfort, No smut)

sexual tension??? ?? not really

Vivo (Oc) x AM (ihnmaims)

Top left to right

[raidenfanclub]

Here's a list of things I've been obsessed with at one point or another/still am obsessed with

inspired by a post made by my bitc*-as*s-sister @deargodhelpmeaaaaaaaaa

this is like in order of when I was obsessed, going from elementary school to today (late high school)

There's so many lmao- the ones showed above are like the most impactful interests I've had- I've liked other things, they just didn't rewrite my goofy brain like all these did

ok explanation time

Pokemon- absolutely loved these games as a kid. I gaslit my older sister into thinking pokemon were real when we were really young. Almost my entire elementary school life was defined by this series and I adore all my pokemon plushies.

FNAF- ok so my sister liked it, so then I liked it. Our neighborhood friend and us had a whole club centered around the characters and we kinned assigned ourselves with all the animatronics. I was Mangle/Foxy btw.

Zelda- Probably one of the most influential games of my entire life. I played through so many of them in the later part of my elementary school years and cherished my toon Link plushie. I literally considered myself ThE gIrL lInK and pretended I was him. Breath of the Wild came out when I was deeply obsessed with the games and also when I was having an extremely awful time in my life. Botw may have unironically saved me. This series is a cornerstone to my identity.

Undertale- My sister liked it, so then I did too. Me, her, and her best friend, kin assigned ourselves characters without knowing what kinning was. I was temmie and muffet btw. I loved this game- then hated it because thats what was considered cool. But nowadays I just love it because its truly an amazing game and I dont care about its fandom reputation anymore.

(ima mention mincraft- even tho its not listed- minecraft was another cornerstone of my happiness and identity)

Hatsune Miku (and just vocaloid in general)- another "my sister liked it, so then I did" i liked the characters and the music. Me and my sister went to an event for the Miku expo one time, and it was so much fun. (it was an event where everybody drew miku and itd be scanned for the "Blue Star" music video, i remember it vividly) was an amazing time. I still like some vocaloid songs and love miku. Some of my school friends say I'm the real hatsune miku because I own a miku cosplay lol.

Splatoon- Everybody in middle school knew me as the girl with the squid bag and zelda jacket. I adored splatoon with the release of splatoon 2. I played it with my friends, I played it on my own, I made big deals out of splatfest (to the point where my parents were like "oh its splatfest? that's ur favorite!!) this game also really pushed me into becoming an artist. I would spend hours trying to recreate the artstyle and for like 2 years, all i ever drew was splatoon art. Another cornerstone series like Zelda.

Persona- oh no another cornerstone of my identity series... I look back at these games very critically and nowadays am not a huge fan of the writing choices. But in middle school, when I first played these games- omg they made me a better person because of how much I wanted to be like the protagonists. I wanted to be a reliable friend like them, so I worked really hard to try and become a better person. Despite the problems in the writing, these games really did help me- also they were my introduction to shin megami tensei) I should also note, THE ART! Playing persona encouraged me to shift my cartoony splatoon style into a more semi-realistic anime style like persona. My art improved monumentally from how much I studied Soejima's illustrations. It really inspired me.

Evangelion- I actually read the manga first. I reread it a bunch because covid started up and I had it checked out from the library. We couldnt return them with covid restrictions so I just reread them a bunch. Then I eventually watched the show and just loved it. I got my sister into it a year after I did, and we made a tradition of watching End of Evangelion once a month. Also a major influence on how I view writing and my artstyle.

Shin Megami Tensei- OK ANOTHER CORNERSTONE BUT these games made me realize the depth video games can have. Even though some of the games are really on the noise with their themes- games like Nocturne and Strange Journey blew me away with their creativity. I have so much to say about this series but I will keep it concise and say that this may be my all time favorite series (though its a close contender with Metal Gear)

JoJo- First off, I adore the art so much. But my friend encouraged me and my sister to watch it, we really enjoyed binging the series- and then I read the rest of the manga (SBR MY BELOVED). But i think why i especially love jojo is the friends I made from it, I joined the Fandom wiki community (and although it had its toxicity) I met one of my best friends there and had so much fun drawing things for my online buddies and chatting. Im not on the wiki anymore, but i still talk to some friends from it- and I still really enjoy the series itself PART 9 IS SO FUN SO FAR!!

Monster Hunter- really mh rise, I havent gotten to playing the other games (YET) but me and my sister play thsi game together, its awesome, I love the monsters, I got really good at drawing dragons because I would constantly draw the creatures from this series. I own the mh world artbook and that thing has got to be the best artbook ever- its my bible.

NieR/Drakengard- the same friend who recommended jojo to me recommended nier to me (he's such a real one, absolute bestie) We were gonna play replicant together but he got grounded so he let me experience it on my own. And I adored replicant, it was so fun to play with zero expectation of what it was. the Nier games may have my favorite sort of aesthetic but also I love its characters and its writing. Of course, when I got into Nier I went and played Drakengard also!!! Me and my sister played all these games together (tho she didnt play replicant with me, she just walked in on the most crucial plot points) But we played Drakengard 3 together, (ultimate sister bonding experience) and even though drakengard 3 IS SO FLAWED, we had a lot of fun. The Final Boss (which took me 3 weeks to beat btw) was so much fun for us (i still refight it sometimes) ... We of course played Drakengard 1, we spent $130 to get it actually, played it all (i suffered thru obtaining ending E) and we though it was awesome. Still havent played Drakengard 2 yet, but one day. I love this series for its writing, characters, aesthetics, and being able to discuss it with my evil sister.

Genshin- i dont wanna talk about it. I played it with friends, made me happy to become closer to ppl by playing it. I like some of the characters. ok bye...

Metal Gear Solid- My sister says I had the ultimate character arc by going from being obsessed with Genshin to being a die-hard Metal Gear Fan. I played all the games in late 2022, and it's probably the most brainrot I have ever experienced for a series- absolutely a cornerstone series. Everything about it is just awesome. I could go on for hours. I HAVE GONE ON FOR HOURS (to my poor friends) I literally made my tumblr just to look at metal gear fanart. The games inspired me to finally get better at drawing realism, and some of my most iconic art has come from my fanart for the games. I love my friends in the fanbase too, its awesome. I think about Metal Gear every single day. Never missed a dose of my metal gear fangirlling pills.

Silent Hill- My sister and I were playing sh2 together, then didnt play it for 6 months, and then I played the entire game without her (sorry maddy) Im still going through the 1st game and have the 3rd one in my backlog- but the atmosphere and psycological horror in these games is everything to me. The creature design and lighting choices have inspired my art, and I think about these games all the time. The latter half of sh2 actually terrified me a bit, and horror games dont really scare me.

Resident Evil- I have no idea how I got into the games but I played re4 over winter break this year, and realllly liked it- I adore Leon and I don't care what anybody else claims, HE IS MY MAN. But after re4 I played re2r and re7, and I just love the gameplay and the characters. Even if the games are really goofy and not really scary (I have balls of steel, re7 didnt scare me, but i loved the tension) But i love the goofiness and how campy they are. Me and my sister played re5 together and made a bunch of silly jokes- making resident evil multiplayer was the best decision ever. I can't wait to play the rest of the series.

Trigun- My most recent obsession (although it coincides with my silent hill and resident evil hyperfixations), I had first watched the show like 3 years ago- REALLLY LIKED IT- but didnt finish the anime. And then never touched it until I saw stampede's first episode. I went a watched the 1998 anime and read the manga. I can't describe how much this series has come to mean to me and it literally won't leave my head. I don't like stampede. I love the animation but I just can't. It's a-ok if your a fan, i genuinely see the appeal but you'll only catch me talking about it if its either about peak quality animation or a 3-hour rant about my problems with the writing. THE ORIGINAL SERIES HOWEVER! means the world to me. I reread volume 10 like 6 times and cried eachtime. My friend explains things to me in "trigun" terminology" as a joke when we have personal conversations. I love trigun so much.

Ok there's def more things I really enjoy, like Nijisanji, Ghost-n-pals, Chainsaw man, Death Stranding, Honkai Impact, Sailor Moon,,, the list goes on. But Everything I wrote essays about are my most physically obvious obsessions

Nijisanji actually deserves its own paragraph but im tired lol.

[smearkrann13]

Do you know how hard it is to write angsty convos with character ais when i listen to my playlist is on?

I've been trying to write a sad ass sentence but all i can hear is the undertale soundtrack then the funniest parody songs back to back

I CANT WRITE WHEN I HEAR TEMMIE VILLAGE THEN I HEAR LEMON DEMON BACK TO BACK

[ihatetaxes99]

In a previous post's comment section, I was asked by a kind follower (hi) if I would care to speak a little about my less than popular opinion on Undertale. And yes, without any strongs attached, I am not a fan of the game. For me, it comes down to pretentiousness. The actual battle system of Undertale is rather fun in my opinion, but it is the writing that destroys it all. Undertale has a fairly generic monster world populated by wacky and zany jokeboxes that rarely succeed in being funny, and a narrative that almost strives to demean a player for killing monsters.

Simply put, I don't find Mr. Fox's comedy funny; I find it very obnoxious. And the game's dialogue is 90% comedy, so that is really a big problem. I love the Ace Attorney series and those games have a lot of wacky comedy, but even there, it has genuinely intelligent writing beneath the surface. Manfred Von Karma is one of my favourite video game antagonists for how damned intimidating and hatable he is, while characters like Edgeworth and Blackquill's brand of aloof anti-heroism never fails to put a grin on my face. I was a tad sidetracked there, but in comparison to these characters, a lot of Undertale's cast has no greater depth. Alphys is a pathetic weeaboo nerd who pines for the fish lady. Yes, her more tragic elements are touched upon, but in a barely two hour game, she's hardly fleshed out. She in particular, alongside certain characters like Temmie and the funny skeleton man, feel in large part, crafted to appeal to the internet. They have this early 2010s Tumblr (or modern day Reddit) vibe to them, where they try far, far too hard to be funny without really succeeding. It doesn't help that I get the impression that Fox has somewhat bought into his own hype, although this is only from glancing at a few Twitter posts and little else, so I shall say no more on that matter. My final words on the game's comedy is that it would be like if Better Call Saul addressed the meme culture that has grown around Breaking Bad and became super self aware without much heart or character growth. It has that "Oh, we're too cool to take things seriously" vibe that I cannot stand. Yes, I'm a bit of a joker myself, but there's a time and a place to cut that crap out and actually reflect with some severity and Undertale does that for maybe abouyt five minutes total, outside of the Genocide Route.

Speaking of...

Of course, this is just my surface complaints and the main problem that I have with Undertale is undoubtedly how it handles its message. These monsters of the underground are deserving of respect, and the objectively correct choice is to spare them. That is the message that the game gives you. The problem is that nothing about the monsters indicates that killing them is a bad thing, either because they're annoying parasitical joke machines or because they're trying to bloody kill me first. I'm mostly referring to neutral runs here. It is incredibly douchy to treat the player like shit and emotionally manipulate them for killing the blue fish lady after she made the first blow. "Oh, these monsters have their own lives and desires." I'm sure the meth addict who ran at me with a knife in East Belfast had his own life and desires too, doesn't mean I had to stand still and let him stab me, while reasoning with him about the powers of friendship. It's just kind of shitty and the entire system feels to me like an attempt to subverse typical RPG tropes without giving it the full thought for the negative reprecussions it can have on the story, the tone or the message. Undertale's message is "killing is evil"; This is in spite of the monsters' own willingness to kill me. With these kinds of nature of violence games, I definitely prefer them to be more like Hotline Miami, where the narrative observes but does not directly judge. Jacket isn't called out explicitly by the game as some monster because he killed legions of Russian gangsters who were willing to shoot him on sight. I'm playing a game, not reading the Bible.

Anyway, my rant must surely have grown a tad long in the tooth. It's very much like Persona 5 to me, a fun game to play, but with themes and characters so repulsive to me that I can't in good faith see it as something I enjoy, considering that it as a game prides itself so much on its story and cast.

Also, I never once brought up the issue of the fandom here and that was deliberate. If I was going to hate something based off the toxicity of its fandom, I would enjoy nothing aside from Jeff the Cabbie from BCS. That is its own can of worms and I don't co sider the fandom all too relevant to my feelings on the game itself, only that the popularity does puzzle me somewhat. Then again, I'm an old, cynical bastard who sits around writing fanfic and listening to late twentieth century music, so what do I know?

[underswitch-official]

UnderSwitch Main Post

UnderSwitch is an UnderTale AU where Frisk is young and super smart for her age. She also has trauma and ptsd because of her parents. In Chapter 1, she wears an astronaut helmet because the air on the Surface is dirty and makes it really hard for her to breathe, but the air in the Underground is much cleaner.

SIDE NOTE: I'm writing this while playing a True Pacifist Run on Undertale, so when I don't update this for a while, that means i haven't had a chance to play Undertale in a while.

There are a small number of characters and other stuff that are switched with each other, hence the "Switch" part of the name. Here they are:

Chara <--> Asriel (Flowey Chara still has the pink spots on his cheeks)

Sans <--> Papyrus

Undyne <--> Alphys

Grillby <--> MTT (MTT doesn't have his robot body, and instead wears a bowtie and tophat)

Nice Cream <--> Burgerpants

The color orange <--> The color golden

orange (now golden) attacks <--> blue attacks

Gaster <--> Riverperson

Some characters have had their names changed. Here they are:

Asgore -> Ezraan

Toriel -> Hera

Mad Dummy -> Jerome

MTT -> Mettablook

Grillby -> Grillson

Gerson -> Gerald

Burgerpants -> Burgman

Bob (the temmie) -> Greg

Dummy in the RUINS -> Jeffery (He talks now)

Riverperson -> Dr. R.P. Guestor

Bunny at the Snowdin shop -> Sunny

Nice Cream Guy -> Dave

Ask Boxes that are currently open (If a name is crossed out, then their ask box is closed):

Frisk

Flowey

Hera

Papyrus the skeleton

The Excellent Sans

Burgman

Gaster

Asriel

Mettablook

Sunny

Jeffery

Napstablook

Alphys

Until further notice, all roleplay asks will not be answered.

[color-ns]

Happy birthday undertale!

Man, the 5 anniversary for undertale is already here! I feels like it’s been forever since last year. I mean, can you believe I started this blog a year ago? I can’t at all.

So, last year I personally thanked all of my favorite undertale artists, blogs, and writers for being here and making my day every time they post. So, I’d like to do this again, but maybe less people, because I follow a lot more people now, I want to give a longer thank you to them, and if I’d list them all this will be too long.

Let’s get to it!

————————————————————

First I’d like to start with Toby fox, (@fwugradiation) the genius, creative guy, how did you even come up with this idea you amazing guy. You changed so many people’s life, personality, and social life, and to shorten, people. Thank you, we will all be forever grateful for everything you, temmie and the rest of the team did for us.

@absolutedream-undertaleart over the void was one of the very first things that  caught my eye in the undertale community, and I was so excited about your idea, I had to see if there is more like this. Thank you!

@alainaprana , you make the best comics, I always enjoy them! You and @little-noko always make me smile, because your friendship is so real and you’re supporting each other’s content all the time.

Also if speaking of @little-noko, I ADORE your comics and I get my most of my inspiration, dedication, and growth out of paper crayon. Thank you! My comic exist because of you!

@kuttiesstuff dude, you’re so fricking funny, I love everything about your comic! You make me laugh so hard all the time, whether you post you comic, or answer questions.

@unu-nunu-art I first saw your art in @ask-glitch-and-squid blog, and IMMEDIATELY fell in love! You. Are. So. GOOD. You comics, art, and characters are so inspiring, funny and beautiful! keep creating!

@zu-is-here man, I discovered your blog only recently, but mannnnn do you make me happy. your art is so cool, and your so polite and sweet, no wonder everyone on your blog sends you love so much. You’re incredible!

@lynxgriffin bruh, dude, I LOVE YOUR COMIC. I don’t know what else to tell ya. I mean the fact that I get so excited to see you updated your comic I want to jump in place is kind of obvious right? Wait no? Then let me tell ya. THANKS FOR EXISTING.

@metakazkz you make your comics so simple, easy to read, and I love the fact you upload not once a year. Your dedication is so inspiring, and I don’t really care what version of abysstale is it, I love it, and I love you and your content.

@bettinalevyisdetermined your voice is so lively, and every undertale comic you dub, I enjoy it to the core. You make frisk sound so cute! Thanks!

@onebizarrekai for every single thing you made for the community! Dreamswap, Isaac Beamer, grayscale and so much more. Do you even take breaks bro? You made so much, it’s  incredible.

@dryemiddi your comic is so unique! your art style, story, and especially the fact you did a comic with sans OUT of the story. not every person on the community can think of such, well, unthinkable idea! You can make a horrified or angry face, and it would accidentally scare me! X’D your expressions are so detailed, you can see you worked years to get to that level. Thank you! I really look up to you!

@hiimtryingtounderfell I first saw your comic from a comic dub. maybe I didn’t follow you until a few months ago, but from the very start I fell in love with your comic and art. I’ve been a fan for about 3 years. 3 years! and You’re still one of my favorites. <3

@xxtc-96xx you probable already got something like this today already, and I know you’re taking a break from undertale, but thank you. even if you decide to move on from undertale, I’ll still follow you. You make such good content, and I don’t care that you’re taking a break, because that’s ok. So, thank you for making such good art and sharing it with the world.

@xx-avj-xx you’re so funny, you make me laugh every other comic! not that many people come up with so many jokes for comics so frequently too. You draw incredible, and your style fits your humour so perfectly! You have so many characters and storys, i doesn’t matter whether someone’s new or been your fan for years, there is still to discover about you! Thank you for making a lust error that nobody asked you to make, Because nobody even thought about it.

@mramazingva without your sans voice what would the community be without you? A sad and voiceless place that’s what! You make every comic more alive then it was before you voiced it, and you work every week to make people happy. What can be more inspiring then that?

@tatatale bruh, your art is so beautiful! (If you don’t consider olivetale lol) insans interactions with every character is so fricking hilarious, and no matter how many comics people will make about him, (and i’m sure there will be) you’ll be the only one that can make him like how he really is. I can babble about all your other characters and your story all day, but I’m afraid that will be too long. Love your stuff!

@askfallenroyalty your writing always hits you in the face, and before you can even get up, you get knocked down again. You make every characters feeling as much as important as the other, and you don’t forget anything important in your story. You combined deltarune and undertale so perfectly, how can you not read this? You don’t try to make every update perfect, but that’s what so good about it.

@shattereddreamsau I was sad when you said the comic was going down, because I would wait for every update, make an alarm and read it patiently, and now that it’s over I don’t know what to do. But I respect your reasons, and I will not remember it by the fact that it’s over, but by the fact that it’s here, and I enjoyed every second of reading it.

And @slylock-syl, I saved you for last. Why? Because I love you the most! The first I saw of you was on a comic dub, three years ago, and started following you only 2 years later. wait, that’s a year ago! Yes, you were the first blog I followed on tumblr, and not only that, you made me download the app looking for more content! That’s because your comic is addictive, with beautiful art, full of action, with so much imagination, full of love, dedication, eye catcher, and has the best love story ever. Your reply to what I said last year made me want to jump in place, because I caught your attention even for just a moment. You probably don’t remember, but i do. So thank you, for everything you gave me without you knowing. For everything you made me feel even if you didn’t know. For making a comic that someone out there loves, until this day.

also a big thank you for my friend @amemi0 that is supporting me from afar, and my friend @cheese-and-peppers that let me use his birthday present, to the anniversary out of burnout. You are the best guys. Also, thank you 48 followers! actually I look at every blogs content that follows me. Some I even followed back!

To sum up this very very very long post, good night everyone and happy birthday undertale! Let us grow bigger and weirder!

[akrona]

thoughts on deltarune chapter 2 (spoiler-free)

great things:

the writing is excellent as always. laughed out loud at many points, had Feelings at many points. but it's a toby fox game so that's par for the course.

ch1 and undertale had a problem where the overworld puzzles are just repetitive obstacles slapped on to make it feel more like a game and less like a walking sim. ch2's puzzles are more integrated into the setting, and more varied to keep it interesting.

fun battles. the s/r-action makes for more strategizing and the mercy/hp meters were a great addition. spare requirements are fun to figure out. great new bullet patterns, doing a lot of creative stuff. battles were more challenging. i am reasonably good at bullet hell but i actually lost a couple times (only time in ch1 that happened to me was against jevil).

game's a lot longer! love to have Content, babey

liking the plot so far, and the pace at which it is progressing. obviously there's a lot of unanswered questions, but that's good considering it's not close to finished. it can be very hard to get the pacing right for a work released in sections; you need to consider how it will come across both for people playing as they're released and waiting years for the next installment, as well as for later players who will experience it all at once. this is extra hard when the fandom is prone to analyzing and speculating on every little detail. how much do you reveal? what cliffhangers would be really awkward if you got the answer five minutes later? (i suspect it helped being involved in homestuck which had to thread this needle constantly)

the art is consistently good. temmie's stuff has always been solid but in the previous games it was obvious which bits got attention, and the rest was pretty lackluster. this one has so much stuff to look at, and it's all part of a cohesive whole. i absolutely loved the whole overworld and the enemy designs.

relatedly, there's a lot more sprite animation on the overworld which is nice. makes everyone seem like solid characters instead of just static walk cycles sliding around the map.

soundtrack is full of bangers but, again, it's a toby fox game so that's not surprising. i was head-bobbing for like half the game

that ending???? that particular reveal had not even occurred to me but it makes a lot of sense. i said 'oh dang' out loud

thank you for the disaster lesbians toby (does that count as a spoiler? i don't think so, it was obvious in ch1 that was going to be expanded on)

criticisms (these are all very minor):

the recruit mechanic is barely explained and i don't really get it. i have no idea what switching characters in the cafe is supposed to do. i assume this will be expanded on in later chapters, but some indication of the actual benefit of recruiting would have been nice.

i found the controls in the punchout sections hard to use. like, i couldn't tell when i was dodging, what counted as a hit, etc. maybe i'm just bad at punchout though

not enough lancer. give me the round boy. (i was hoping he'd function like the undertale cell phone, and he sort of does, but he has much less to say, and he barely interacts with susie)

there are a couple sections of auto-dialogue that i wish would slow down. i mean the one where [character] is monologuing at you in the middle of a difficult timed puzzle is obviously supposed to be annoying, but there's way too much expository dialogue in there for something you can't fully focus on. and there's no reason for the other one (the long hallway) not to wait for confirmation to continue, and i missed a few lines.

could have used a few more save points imo. in particular i would have liked to have one right before the bumper cars, as a warning that a big battle was coming. (i wasn't healed up so i lost first try and it would have been nice to respawn right in front of it)

i've had problems in all three games with navigation. despite the fact that "just go to the right to progress" remains generally true, backtracking can be hard because it's hard to remember where things are.

this is a problem with delatrune as a whole: i wish the keymapping options were at the very beginning, and globally applied. i find wasd much more comfortable but you have to get through the first chunk of the game before it even gives you the option to change it

conclusion:

it good.

it's literally free so you have absolutely no excuse to not play it. even if you haven't played undertale you can still understand it just fine.

toby put a warning not to play if you haven't gone through undertale, due to spoilers, but honestly given the weird AU relationship between the two i don't think that's a huge issue. there is admittedly one big spoiler in ch1 (without giving it away: your dad) and that might hurt the emotional impact of a late-game reveal, but if you've seen much fanart you probably already know about him. otherwise it's mostly like "oh hey it's that guy, i know them!"

i am going to replay it right now brb

[sorio99]

Deltarune Chapter 2: Analysis, Review, and Theorizing

Spoilers below the cut, as usual. For both Chapters of Deltarune, and for Undertale probably.

Part 1: 3 Years In The Making

Almost 3 years ago, on Halloween, 2018, Toby Fox released the first chapter of Deltarune, the sequel/successor/development predecessor to Undertale. It was, for all intents and purposes, a demo for the full game, encompassing the first of several chapters. While there was some discussion that the game might be released episodically, Fox stated that the plan was for all the future chapters to be released at the same time, when they were all complete. This, he stated, could take a long time, and possibly even a team to help him develop it.

Mainly because developing Undertale left him physically disabled, in a way that hinders his ability to make music, write, and program. You know, his main tasks to develop a video game. So, ultimately, it was time to settle in for a long wait for any more chapters.

Then 2020 and 2021 happened.

Yeah, so, the past year and a half have sucked, you know it, I know it, everyone knows it. For twice that time, Toby has been working hard on Chapters 2 through 5, and realized around Undertale's fifth anniversary that he was close to finished with Chapter 2, much closer than any of the later chapters. Understandable, given it's a linear story, but, I assume at this point, he realized, "Hey, you know what would be fun for the sixth anniversary?"

Yeah, so, Deltarune Chapter 2 is out, it and the first chapter are available on steam as a demo, and they are both completely free, because sometimes life is worth living.

So, what all has changed between these two chapters? And, more pressingly, what hasn't?

Part 2: The World(s) of Deltarune

Deltarune (and, to a lesser extent, Undertale), has always played with the ideas of different "worlds". From the Surface and the Underground, to the Light World and the Dark World, we've typically been asked to consider a duality between worlds, pairs in balance, as it were.

Chapter 2 says "Yeah, you know, it's a bit more complicated than that."

Chapter 2 introduces us to the new and improved Castle Town, filled with everyone you spared peacefully in Chapter 1, as well as brand new shops, locations, and mechanics. We also get a better sense of how the Dark World and Light World connect to each other (Spoiler: yes, Lancer, his dad, and his Lesser Dad are all literal cards in the Light World). The new town acts as something of a save haven for all the Darkners after you destroy their old home (which, I'll get into later, but it isn't actually as bad as it sounds).

We are also introduced to a brand new "Dark World", in the form of Cyber City, a world birthed from a Fountain of Darkness erupting in a computer lab. In case you thought the Card Kingdom was a bit on the shorter side (which you may or may not have), Cyber City and it's adjacent areas are even bigger, and might be just as big as Undertale's Underground (don't quote me on that).

As you might imagine, this new world takes on a technological theme, based around Computers, the Internet, and all sorts of technology, old and new. And trust me, they make the most of this theme.

Speaking of making the most...

Part 3: I Guess Since I'm Calling This A Review I Should Review It

TIn short, if you enjoyed Chapter 1, you'll love Chapter 2, because it's all that and more. In long, well, let's take this in steps:

Graphics: Absolutely amazing, as to be expected. Temmie Chang (the best V-tuber, don't @ me) returns as lead artist and animator, with Gigi DG, Tcheska Lynn B, and a ton of "Guest Character Designers" contributing to the look and feel of the game as well. We get a ton of new characters, all of whom look amazing, as well as new art, animations, and even designs for returning characters. The backgrounds are gorgeous, the UI is slick and clean, and literally everything in this game looks amazing.

Music and Sound Design: Look, Toby Fox is an amazing writer and game developer, but I will always say that he is, first and foremost, a musician, and a damn good one at that. All the tunes are bops, and there are even elements of rhythm games thrown in at times just to make the most of them. In terms of Sound Design, well, it's just about as good as ever, so, if you can handle a few quirky voice grunts, you should be good to go. No voiced lines from any characters as far as I could hear (unless you count the arc villain's laughter), but a couple songs have lyrics, so, that should make up for it.

Gameplay: Look, some people prefer Undertale's gameplay style to Deltarune's, and that's fine! You're allowed to be wrong! But over here, I enjoy the strategy and greater depth offered by Deltarune's system...but yeah, it's mostly the same as Chapter 1. There are some changes, of course: new items, new armors, and part way through, you even unlock the ability to act with Susie and Ralsei! It's not quite as robust as Kris's ACT ability (and they still can't Check, so my ass is covered in terms of headcanon and fan theories), but it once again adds a layer of depth to the combat, while also meaning a pacifist fight isn't instantly fucked the moment Kris gets KO'd. What's not to love?

Oh yeah also you may get a new party member at one point but we'll talk about that in a bit

Story: Yep, it's got that too!

...oh, fine, I'll go in depth.

Part 4: Second Verse, Moving On From The First

Note: This is where we get into serious spoiler territory, so, just know that the story is good if you haven't played the game yet, and go play it now.

Chapter 1 of Deltarune introduced us to a brand new world, established patterns, and gave us mysteries to solve. What Chapter 2 does best is build off of all of that, rather than stay in the same place.

It would have been very easy to just say "Okay, new world, let's throw the characters in, have Susie learn to open up more again, give a new villain who you have to stop, and focus the new stuff on the graphics, music, and enemies, because oh god is there a lot of that now." Hell, given there're eventually gonna be seven chapters of this game, you'd expect a holding pattern like that. They'd build up the mysteries, give us more of what working in Chapter 1, and maybe have some ship tease at a stretch.

But they grow. They develop the story. Characters aren't static unless that's specifically part of the joke. And it is incredible.

Susie keeps her character development, caring about people a lot more, and actively trying to be a hero. Ralsei grows from his experiences in the first chapter, not being anywhere near as much of a pushover (except to Kris, but, you know, that's to be expected). Even Kris has developed, if in, interesting ways.

Even more incredible? Most of the mysteries start being answered.

Why did Kris tear out their soul, and what did they do? Oh, they just ate pie, except nope, they really are up to shady shit, and they don't want the player seeing or interfering.

Who is the Knight, and what is their role in all this? They're a Lightner (possibly Kris themselves), and they open the Fountains of Darkness in order to expand and create new Dark Worlds.

Are all the people in the Dark World just toys, and is it all imaginary? Not exactly, but all the people in the Dark World from chapter 1 (except Ralsei) were toys, because they were toys brought to life by the Darkness. It's not all imaginary, and it does in fact have real world consequences.

Is Noelle Gay? Yes, and probably so is Susie.

Are Alphys and Undyne gonna be end-game again? Probably.

Did Sans fuck my mom? No, but he's working on it.

What the fuck is up with Jevil? Probably something like whatever the fuck is up with Spamton.

Why is there being multiple Fountains really a bad thing? Because it can bring about an apocalypse that will destroy all the worlds.

So why does Kris open one in the ending? Uh...

How can Ralsei go between the Dark Worlds as quickly as he can? Well...

Why does Ralsei not seem to want to acknowledge a lot of the more messed up stuff going on?

How can King and Queen know each other, if one is a computer and the other is a playing card, and the former wasn't alive until maybe last night?

How come the Darkners in the Cyber World reference events from before the Fountain appeared when that's supposed to be what gave them life?

What the hell is in the bunker that scared Kris of all people, that Snowy and MK don't necessarily believe them about?

How can Kris rip out the Soul in the first place, and is that really even Kris doing that?

What happened to Gerson, and why is he the only confirmed death without a related "falling down" in Undertale?

Why is HomeTown entirely cut off from the outside world during the game, with the one road out of town blocked by police tape despite the police mainly being ceremonial, and the internet apparently being down for days?

How does any of this connect to Undertale, if it even does at all?

And what the hell is actually up with Noelle?

See, here's the thing: Chapter 2 answers a lot of questions. It also raises just as many, if not more.

And that's what a good second chapter should do!

But, to go into that last question...

Part 5: Lost Girl

In Chapter 2, Kris and Susie aren't the only Lightners to cross over into the Dark World. Two more enter, and help/hinder you on your journey.

Berdly, is, interesting. He's mostly an antagonistic figure, actively and willingly helping the villain of the chapter, Queen (despite her not even wanting him to), and generally being obnoxious, arrogant, and a dick. However, he ultimately has some redeeming moments, and as hateable as he manages to be, he ultimately feels like a three-dimensional character, and not just the caricature he initially comes off as. Plus, he still manages to be funny, so it's all good.

Noelle, is, more.

Noelle got some more attention than some of your other classmates in Chapter 1. Berdly got some focus as a punchline, Jockington and Catti seem to be oddly important, and Temmie is Temmie, but Noelle gets several scenes that give her so much depth, pretty much everyone agreed she would be a major player later on. Sure enough, on only the second chapter, we get her as not only a new player character, but also arguably the main focus of the whole chapter.

Just as Susie had a character arc about learning to open up to other people and not be, you know, a violent prick in response to literally any negative stimuli, Noelle manages to become a lot braver, and a lot more dependable in Chapter Two. You learn about her fears, her hopes and dreams, and, possibly, her greatest regrets. All of this builds to the ending, which has her finally standing up for herself, and proving she really can be strong.

At least, in one route.

In terms of gameplay, Noelle manages to feel unique as a party member, while also filling the void that's created when Susie and Ralsei temporarily leave the party. She can heal and Pacify, like Ralsei, but her Pacifying is much more expensive, while also sparing any enemies that can be pacified at the moment. She can attack with Magic, like Susie, but the ice based attack feels a lot different...assuming you ever use it, which on a pacifist playthrough, you may never do.

Where she shines, of course, is in her actions and animations. This girl has so much characterization just in how she handles herself in battle, it makes you genuinely feel sorry for her. You want to help her, you want to keep her safe, and you want to make her stronger.

And, in one route, you can.

Part 66̶͉̺̣͉̦̦̙̦̜́̀̒͊̓͆͛̂̚6̸̝͇̝̮̂̉̈̊̔̆͐̄͛͆̋͝6̴̱͙̪̝̼͈̯͖͍̻̱̪̺̌̄́͋̎͜6̴̡̨̧̬̤͖̭̪͓̙̣̩̗̅̓͛̔͛̎̌̀͘͜6̷̛̺͌̍̆̅̊̋̓̈͐̽͂͂: Y̵̨̛̼͕̻̟̦̙̖̾̇̅͊̉̏̇͒̆̈̚͝͝͝o̸̥̭̱̝͈̩̰̤͕̝̳̓̑̓̑̽̂̾́͜ù̸̲̻̭̥̇̿͂͘̚r̶̡̨̛͈̥̻̠̬̻̹̲͚͂͗̀͊ ̶̡̺̩͎̠̯̥̩͌̈̅̈̐̆̾͒͌̒̽̚͘͜Ḉ̷̨̨͚̹̈́̾͑̏̓̋̆̅̓͜͝h̸̨̧̥͍͖̠̩̩̪̲̫̓ȱ̴̧̲̓͂̋͛̔͌͘ȉ̷̧̞̭̲͇̥̭͙̎̋͗̏̾̌̉̅͛̀͑͗c̴̢̧̳̻͎̓́̒̋̐̾͘e̴̙̫̝̰͚̝͖͐̊͌͆͐̚͝s̸̥͕͖̫͙͍͆͜ ̵̨̼̥̯͈̘̣̰̻̥͚̲͊̐͌̔̈́̏͊̆͜͜͝M̸̤̰̳̜̠̣̺̫̗͕̒̏̿̈́̓̆̈̆̒̒̽̈́͌͘ͅà̷̛̟̥͇̟͔̞̲͓͐͗̓̽͂̏͗͆̊̈͝t̷̨̩̫̖̅̅̍͑̐̀́̓͋̈́͘͠͝t̴̡̘̞̓̃̐̀̈́̋́͝e̶̦̼͇̟̹̝̬̠͙̺̟͖͑̓͌r̶̖̹̣̦̼̮̮̦͍͓̘̮̲̞̀́́͑̿̀͋͝ͅ

In Deltarune Chapter 1, a recurring sentiment was the idea that choices don't really matter. Indeed, the story was very linear, with the biggest branch being right at the end, and even that only has consequences for a few minutes.

Chapter 2 introduces new mechanics, which do encourage your choices a lot more. The recruitment system, for example, allows you to see the spared enemies from each chapter come to inhabit the Castle Town in the Dark World, and the optional bosses are revealed to offer a lot more content then just the initial puzzle and boss most players would miss.

But that's not the biggest change.

I won't go too in depth, but, there is another route one can take through Chapter 2. There are a few different ways to name or describe it, but the fandom as a whole has taken to calling it the "Snowgrave route", based on the biggest effect it has on gameplay. See, in Chapter 1, and a lot of Chapter 2, while you could fight enemies instead of sparing or pacifying them, they wouldn't, die, per se. They would simply run away, or be blown clear.

Noelle can change that.

If you have Noelle, and Noelle alone, attack all enemies as soon as she joins your party, you can eventually unlock, a very special item. Which gives her a very special spell.

A spell which you can use on your classmate, Berdly.

A spell whose effects have consequences, even in the Light World.

But thank god it's all just a dream, right?

Right?

Conclusion And Theories

Ignoring, whatever the hell that tangent was, let's talk about what exactly is going on. First off, a personal theory/headcanon, then, a refutation of others suspicion, and finally, an actually conclusion of whatever this post has been.

The theory: I don't think the symbolism in this chapter is an accident. And I don't think it's alone. See, in this chapter, an odd running theme is that Queen seems to view herself as a maternal figure for Noelle, trying to take care of her, in her own twisted way, even though Noelle herself is deeply hurt by what Queen does. Many have, rightly, pointed out the possible parallels with Noelle's actual mom, the Mayor of Hometown, who is stated to be, at best, a tough person to deal with. Now, we don't have, a lot of evidence to support this, but hear me out: considering how many parallels Chapter 1 draws between Susie and Lancer...what do we think the odds are that this is a running trend in this game? What do we think the odds are that Susie and at least one of her parents are, let's say, "dysfunctional", like Lancer and his father are.

The refutation: I've seen a lot of people calling Ralsei suspicious for things that happen in this game. Personally, while I kind of understand why, I think the truth isn't as nefarious as a lot of people seem to think it is. See, one thing that is firmly established is that Ralsei doesn't like to think about, darker subjects. So, he ignores it, pushes it out of the way, and tries to dismiss it. At least, until Berdly, Susie, and Noelle make it clear they're gonna try to create another Fountain. See, people have questioned why Ralsei had us destroy the Dark World from chapter 1, but, realistically, what he did was probably the best option, at least from his perspective. Too many dark fountains, everyone dies. Only one Dark World, and everyone from the ones you "destroyed" gets brought there? Well, nobody dies then, right? I'm not saying he's completely right, I'm just saying, he has better reasoning than some give him credit for.

The conclusion:

👎︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎✍︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎✍︎

☝︎⚐︎⚐︎👎︎📬︎

✋︎ ✌︎💣︎ ✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎

✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎

☜︎✠︎👍︎✋︎❄︎☜︎👎︎

☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎☜︎✠︎❄︎📬︎

[zarla-s]

Hey, uh, I was just wondering if you could give me the link to your ghosts? I have Gaster and Temmie but I'd like the others and its been a bit of a challenge trying to find them. It would, um, also be appreciated if you could link some other ghosts that your ghosts interact with... or just ones that you recommend. Thanks :-)

Ah yeah sure, I should just make a single post with them for the moment, why not. Some of them might have slipped through the cracks!

Hunter and Smoker were the first one I made, they have a lot of features like items and different modes and Charger, a third character they can also talk with and such. Also a cooking system! I’ve put a lot of work into them over the years.

Radic and Farnsworth are Pokemon OCs of mine. They’re a fairly lowkey ghost, they don’t have a relationship system or anything and you can’t hit them, just talk to them and pet them and listen to them talk to each other. I keep meaning to give them more dialogue at some point...

Gaster seems to have gotten around the most out of all of them, he has a lot of different features, hidden things, interactions, different paths you can go with him, and you can unlock the brothers as well over time. There’s a bunch of things I still want to add to him...

And there’s Temmie of course, haha.

I also did the coding for this Ralsei ghost, although the writing and art were done by cherry and riot, respectively. There’s also the Girl and Triangle ghost, but they’re basically a blank template for people to use to make their own ghosts, so I dunno if that counts.

I have a lot of ghost ideas, but they’re such massive projects that it’s hard to actually see one to completion. The fact I tend to overcomplicate them massively doesn’t help... who knows, maybe someday I’ll make that Edgar and Scriabin ghost I’ve been thinking about for years...

If you’re looking for other people’s ghosts, I try to reblog any ones I find to my ukagaka tag! They’re still very much a niche thing, but there’s been an uptick in English ghosts over the years, which pleases me greatly.

[juniperleafdelivery]

Undertale - Jobs and Personalities

* Part Two! Last seven UT characters

Muffet

Muffet has faced a lot of challenges with little to no support - many of which came from her being a spider. She doesn't trust easily and keeps her heart very carefully guarded. She also struggles with asking others for helping, constantly expecting rejection.

Muffet always acts very formal and distant. It will take a while before Muffet considers someone a friend, not a customer. By the way, if Muffet ever invites you to meet Cupcake, that's a major sign of trust and shows that she's starting to consider you a friend. (Cupcake is surprisingly docile when they aren't trying to kill you lol-) You'll find that she's very protective and will absolutely send Cupcake after anyone who hurts you.

She owns and runs a bakery! It has lots of spider themed food, like cider, donuts, cakes, and cupcakes.

Alphys

She's nerdy, smart, passionate about her work and a huge fan of anime. She's also socially awkward and tends to stutter when she's nervous. She hid a lot in the past to try and protect others, but realized that it wasn't right. She's a lot more honest and open now.

She has a soft spot for dogs, mainly because of Endogeny. Alphys currently lives by the beach with Undyne and a dog named Buddy.

At Ebott Public School, she's one of the science teachers. Alphys is good at teaching, but lets trouble slide too easily.

Undyne

Undyne is very, very intense. She's... kind of like Papyrus but angrier? Anyway, Undyne is also insanely strong and often does things just to show she can (like bench pressing several children. Or a piano. Or a car-)

There are very rare moments when Undyne calms down and you'll see her much softer side. She genuinely cares about her friends and family and will do anything to protect them. But she tends to jump to conclusions and act first, think later.

Undyne is coaches both the wrestling and swim teams! (At Ebott's school of course) She's super popular with students too.

Temmie

Temmie is always full of energy! She's also very social and extroverted. It's... kind of hard to understand Temmie, and near impossible when she's excited. Oh, well.

Temmie is a little sensitive and easy to offend. But she's also really good at getting revenge. (You may hurt Tem, but Tem will return with ten times the pain /hj)

She currently attends Ebbot University and is majoring in economics! Tem works part time at Tem Flakes Industry. (Info on what that is)

Monster Kid

Monster Kid is always cheerful and friendly. They're a bit of an optimist too. But when it comes to dangerous situations, they freeze up. MK isn't good at confrontations or under pressure either.

Everyone still calls them "kid," despite the fact that they're a teen now. They don't mind the nickname (but suspect the nickname is because of their height.)

They're still in school (Ebott Public School) so no job.

Mettaton

On stage, he's charismatic, dramatic, and extremely talented. He isn't so self centered anymore either and cares more about what he's doing than what it will give/the fame. Honestly, being on the Surface pushed Mettaton to explore different subjects and, well, not just make movies about himself.

Off stage, his whole demeanor changes. Mettaton really only acts charming around his fans, but he's still super sweet with his loved ones (and loves messing with them). At the end of the day, Mettaton just wants to relax. Being an actor demands a lot!

As mentioned above, Mettaton is an actor! He's really, really good, and many people are surprised to learn he's a robot.

Napstablook

Napstablook is very socially awkward and insecure. They worry a lot about saying the wrong thing, offending others, and just try to keep everyone happy. (Please just give them a hug. Or a ghost sandwich.)

Napstablook is very creative and loves writing music - mostly instrumentals, but occasionally songs with lyrics. They also like snails lol. Ever since they've reached the Surface, Napstablook has improved a ton (and started a garden for snails).

They write music for Mettaton's movies! They also do remixes and original songs.

[milkinthefreezer]

pellis sum, sic vivo

Top left to right

(I haven't made a design for her so hopefully I can soon, sorry if this is Out Of Character btw!!)

✦✦PROSHIPPERS/COMSHIPPERS DO NOT INTERACT.✦✦

[satoshi-mochida]

Tobyfox has provided a status update on the second chapter and beyond of Undertale sequel Deltarune in celebration of Undertale‘s fifth anniversary today.

First, here are the latest screenshots from Deltarune‘s second chapter:

Get the full update below.

Introduction

Hi everyone.

If you’re reading this, you must have been sticking around for about five years.*

I want to express my gratitude for everyone that has supported and encouraged me over this time.

Thank you.

I’ve said it many many times before, but I didn’t expect the simple game I made to receive so much attention. Because of that, many interesting things have happened, and now I can even spend my time making another game.

It seems both of us received a lot of happiness from this occurrence.

If it’s okay, I would like to keep striving to do things that make both of us happy.

Let me know what you think about that.

*Since the Undertale demo released in 2013, the game has really existed for 7 years. It’s already been more than 25% of my life…

Deltarune

I will make another.

I am making a game called “Deltarune.” It is the second game in the Undertale series.

The game will be released in many “Chapters,” the first of which I released two years ago on Halloween. Since that time, I’ve been working hard to figure out the rest of the game.

However, it’s a game that’s much harder to make than Undertale.

Graphics are more complicated and several times more involved.

Systems are more complicated.

Exposes the weak points of my creative and artistic ability.

Plot is much harder to tie together (more characters, more important locations).

Significantly more content than Undertale in one playthrough (especially cutscenes).

I have only made one game ever.

Unlike Undertale, this is the type of game that would normally have many designers working on each aspect of the game.

A story writer, a composer, an audio director, a map designer, a battle designer, a minigame designer, and an overall director. Instead, all of those roles end up handled by me.

The good news is that a few months ago, I completed a significant milestone regarding the game’s design. I completed readable outlines for every chapter in the game, including first-pass dialogue for almost all the cutscenes, examples of the music, etc.

Although certain details are still hazy, the flow of the game and all major events and battles that take place are now clear.

In summary, I largely spent the past two years writing, composing, designing, and drawing. However, that’s not the whole story.

We had actually attempted to develop the game since the time too. Development started around March 2019 and a 99% work was spent on investigating engines alternate to GameMaker, which I used for Chapter 1.

Without getting into the details, I decided a few months ago to go back to GameMaker after all. It still felt like the best fit for the project. So using Chapter 1 as a base, we’ve started creating Chapter 2 since May 2020.

A lot of progress has been made since that time. I believe we can complete this chapter, content-wise, before the end of the year (not accounting for translation, bugtesting, and porting).

I feel very confident. And the strange thing is, even though we ended up using the original engine, I don’t regret the lost time, either. Not only was I still busy designing the game, but during that long period, I was able to think of many ideas that make the game’s story and characters better.

I’m glad that I’m making the Deltarune that I have now and that we are making healthy progress.

Deltarune Status Estimate

■ Chapter 2 (04.15.20 – 08.13.20)

Phase 1: Design

Main Design: 100% (dialogue, etc.)

Initial Setup: 100% (stuff involved setting up people to make the game, adding debug tools, documentation, etc.)

Phase 2: Implementation (05.01.20 ~ 08.13.20)

Art: 90%

Cutscenes: 80% (90% are started, needs 2nd pass)

Bullet Patterns: 70% (enemies are mostly completed, bosses are about 40% done, needs 2nd pass)

Non-Bullet Battle Elements: 30% (Some ACTs are done and enemies are fightable, but interactive ACTs need to be completed and polished and the bosses aren’t programmed outside of bullet patterns)

Audio: 80%

Maps: ??% most are started or placeholder, most need 2nd pass. NPC interactions are completed in all spots where written.

Other: 65%

Phase 3: Finishing

Balancing: 0%

Bugfixing: 0%

Translation: 0%

Porting: 0%

(Honestly, a lot of stuff FEELS like 80% to me, but the truth is that what’s there is quite rough now. Polish ends up taking a lot of time, so the real actual time value may be around 50% done…? We’ll see what happens. It’ll be a lesson for everybody.)

■ Chapters 3 and Beyond

Phase 1: Design

Story and General Game Progression (first-pass): 100%

Cutscene Dialogue (first-pass, lacking cutscene instructions): 95%

Map Design (textual): 70% (varies per chapter, earlier chapters totally completed)

Map Design (drawn): 0% (this takes a lot of wrist energy so I don’t do it until we start programming)

Enemy Design (conceptual): 90% (all bosses are known)

Enemy Design (bullets / visual): 80% (varies per chapter, earlier chapters totally completed)

Music (concept): 95%

Music (completed): 50%

Visual Design:BG Concept (first-pass): 75%, Important Character, Bosses (first-pass): 100%

Phase 2

Sprite Art: 20%?

Other Content Creation: 0%

Phase 3

Release Readiness: 0%

(These numbers can be somewhat deceptive though. My true design style is to reach the moment where we have to make something, then suddenly think of something different at the last minute. This is always how it’s been with me and my work. It feels like no matter how much I plan, everything comes down to what I think of at the last second…)

Team and Disability

You may have noticed from my phrasing, but yes, there is a team helping me create the game. Other than me, there are about three active team members working day-to-day, with a few other people pitching in from time to time.

Their roles of the main members are overall content implementation and organization, bullet pattern implementation (part-time), and art (Temmie). Other than designing, I still have the role of system programmer.

I’m extremely grateful to have a team helping me carry out my design especially because of my disabilities, which have also made development more difficult.

Although I have long suffered from wrist and hand pain, about five months ago my wrist was the worst it’s ever been. I could not play the piano, use the mouse, and barely could use the keyboard. I navigated everything through voice to text.

Through weightlifting, exercise, and various equipment I have been able to somewhat increase the stamina of my wrist to an extent. Various solutions have included trackball mice for each hand, using voice to text whenever possible, using a foot pedal to click the mouse, etc.

Now I can use the mouse and keyboard for a certain amount each day provided I take frequent breaks. I wish I could work without stopping. Once the world situation improves I would really like to take physical therapy again and/or investigate surgery to repair my wrist.

Future Plans

Once we finish Chapter 2, I would like to use it as the base to create future chapters from. After gaining experience from this chapter, I think making future chapters will be easier.

Part of me wonders if we could make the game faster if we increased the size of the team and did something insane like create multiple chapters in parallel. However, another part of me understands that, adding more people doesn’t guarantee that the game will be created faster if it’s not done properly. I’m already just barely avoiding becoming a bottleneck on development even with a team of this size, due to my physical limitations.

To that end, I am interested in making a list of people that could potentially help me make the game. I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to ask anyone to help, but I think if I could find just 1 person that works well with me, it’s worth asking.

Chapter 2 is proceeding at a good pace, so if we do take anyone on, it will probably only be for Chapter 3 onward. So please understand that anything you send in may not have an immediate result.

People I Am Looking For

Feel free to send in your portfolio if you have the following qualifications:

Worked in the game industry before

Worked under NDA before

Have professional references

A degree of creativity while also being okay with just following directions

Fluent in English

People I Might Actually Use

Music Transcription / Basic Arrangement (Part-Time)

I usually start making songs by playing the piano and singing. An important step after this is to take this basic outline and transcribe it into melodies and chords. Though there are not too many remaining songs to transcribe, it would still help my wrist to have someone else start this process for me. Although I know many musicians, I’m sheepish to ask for help to them, because the main role is actually just to help me compose my own music…

Helpful qualities:

Good at transcription.

Can stand listening to me sing.

Optional: can use an old version of Fruity Loops.

Bullet Pattern Programming (Part-Time)

I’m looking for someone to help me program bullet patterns into the game. These people will work from text and visual designs to create fun battles that match the feeling of the game. I already have one person helping with this, but I think a second person would help a lot. You have to be able to use Gamemaker Studio 2 to manipulate objects on the screen / okay with using pre-existing scripts to accomplish this.

Helpful qualities:

Sense of fun and understanding of player perspective and gameplay balance. This aspect is [many times] more important than programming ability.

Reliable.

Able to make patterns based off of visual/text instructions.

Fine working with a poorly made battle system.

Able to sprite bullets.

Good visual / timing sense.

Minigame Programming (Part-Time)

There are a few minigames and small interactive events in the game, which appear in and outside of battles. These could take any kind of form… who knows what I’m thinking! Have you made a game before?

Helpful qualities:

Same sense of humor as me.

Some level of spriting ability is useful.

You have to have made a game that is fun.

Ability to work together with me.

Unlikely to Hire, But Send Me Your Information Just In Case

Cutscene Programming (Part-Time)

Besides the battles, the largest amount of content in the game is definitely the cut scenes. You will have to understand Gamemaker Studio 2, but the majority of the work is simply using a scripting system that I created to make characters move around the screen. The most important quality you can have here is not programming ability but the ability to efficiently use the system in order to create scenes with a good sense of humor, timing, and emotion.

I’d strongly prefer to hire someone I know to do this because it involves the story. So I most likely won’t hire anyone else.

Helpful qualities:

Can take text instructions and impart a proper sense of timing, humor, and weight to them.

Fine working with a custom scripting system (or smart enough to make something better that makes the game easier to make).

Art (Part-Time)

Sprite art—Temmie has already drawn a massive amount of art for the game, and continues to do so. And I actually already have a few other artists that have helped me that I’m more than happy to keep working with if things become more overwhelming. So currently I actually don’t need any more artists.

However, personally, I’d really like to build up a portfolio of available pixel artists and even concept artists. It’s not as if this is the only game I will make during my life. Anyone chosen for this game needs to be able to match the style of the game, but I’m interested in seeing people with different styles as well. Knowing that I have different options can open my mind up to different creative pathways.

Helpful qualities:

Can take bad looking sketches and turn them into art that looks good (magic).

Don’t mind if your work gets completely drawn over or thrown out.

Anyone that can draw cute or cool poses is good.

Uninterested in seeing people that have an art style outside of the scope of the game.

Write (Full-Time)

Someone needs to transform into a new wrist for me.

Helpful qualities:

Flexible.

Doesn’t hurt.

Musical sense.

That’s everyone I’m looking for. The only other kind of person I might hire would be a single jack-of-all-trades type that can do any sort of things such as cutscenes, bullets, or even system programming, with a good degree of visual flair. (But if you can do those sorts of things, aren’t you busy making your own game already!?)

Anyway, I’ll show you the e-mail now. Just make sure you read these rules first:

Don’t send in e-mails about anything else!

Don’t send to other team members, Fangamer, etc. about helping out!

Got it? Then please send your information to this e-mail address:

deltarunejobs@fangamer.com

Since Fangamer will be sorting through the e-mails for me, we’ll stop taking e-mails at the end of September so they don’t get overwhelmed. Ultimately, I’m only looking for one or two people, and to make a list of the rest of the potentially helpful people in the world.

Undertale is available now for PlayStation 4, Switch, PS Vita, and PC via Steam and GOG. Deltarune Chapter 1 is availble for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Deltarune.com.

[squeiky]

Honestly papyrus and sans are the #1 deltarune teasers.

From the door... To papyruses little Easter "egg". Tp the gaster connections :/

(ps: papyrus is way more connected to gaster than sans is. )

Then the "dont forget" <- take it literally friends you seriously want to remember small tib bits in both games.

The sans wink in deltarune.. The fact that they seem...wary of the player. In fact, they talk directly to us. And even add sound effects! How kind.

Reminds me of lancers mp3. Its a cute sound effect.

Tbh, they remind me of those kids tv shows.

You know? Where they are talking someone and look directly at YOU, and go "can you find this?" Or "what should i do?" Or "what do you think?"

Like.. Elmo, or dora the exlporer. Or something.

I could go off on papyruses flying ability, or sans timestopping, time manipulating.. Just a bunch of things about time tbh. Or papyruses... Strange music in his room, or his apperent blasters, pr the fact that he looks similar to gaster....

(i messed with both gaster/mysteryman and papyruses sprite a bit. I just flipped papyrus's default face, ontop of gasters. I guess they are just 2 eggs. Beacuse they seriously have that egg shape apperance. So we have 2 eggy bois and i love it.)

Okay i dont want to go to much on papyruses frequent wall breaking which is like 24/7 and how he knows about alphys... Or the fact that she works in a laboratory... Or how the bone brothers barely know anything about the other, and how it was pointed out by the shopkeeper that she cant tell if they are related or not..

( someone said the shopkeeper has a sister soo..)

Or how similar sans is to lancer... Or how similar he is to literally everything in deltarune. Actually he's so connected to deltarune, you cant even see him die. He supposedly gets "tired" and runs away, exactly how with the nightners.

(Personally i dont think he died. He has an arrange of sound effects,( papyrus included) such as drums and what not.)

He bleeds like the nightners. According to lancer they have a blood bucket, and someone to clean up the "blood" (i think they do, i forgot their name) and how apperently know about blood to the extent of how it works, and know how to use it as a joke and not freak out. (I.e. That one kid and noelle) to the loint of having a janitor to clean it up. And sans is the only undertale character to bleed, and walk away. Seeing as monsters IMMEDIATELY dust after being brought to 0 hp. And not bleed to death, as sans does. Which sucks alot but oh well. the ICE-E crossword, that only exists in deltarune.. That sans has in undertale.

And the connects with papyrus is more undertale related/ gaster related than deltarune related.

So mabye i was wrong and sans is more of a hint for deltarune + lancer (from his bike, to prankster personailty, to clothes, to his ENTIRE HOME.)

(the castle is filled with those forever smiles that sans has. Which is funny cause that castle is in shambles and is obviously has a terrible king in charge, and its really depressing how lancer's dad was nice, but not anymore. But yeah KEEP SMILING YA SACK O POTATOES.)

(To the benches that sans has in the fundraiser)

OH OH OH ! AND THE FACT THAT PAPYRUS REFERS TO UNDERTALE AS "HIS GAME!" AND CONNECTION WITH TOBY FOX (and possibly the temmies) AND WITH GASTER POSSIBLY BEING APPART IN DELTARUNE THATS VERY VERY INTRESTING IS IT NOT?

I mean what do you think?

Though i dont understand the "you hear a trousle of bones" in deltarune. And sans says "my little brother"..

Like how old are you sans that it conerns me. You even befriended toriel, which personally sounds awsome.

(People draw kris as if he would hate that, but kris is such a prankster, he and sans would be besties like-)

Also how young exactly is papyrus here? Asriel is obviously younger than papyrus in undertale, by using him as a ruler, papyrus and sans shouldn't be so..... Young? Adult age atleast not..babybones.

Unless papyrus indeed does the trick that goner kid did, and just doesn't exist in deltarune, due to his connection with gaster and his connection to undertale.

Unless im wrong, and asriel was just born before papyrus and sans came to snowdin, which might mean he would be older but... UGH THIS IS CONFUSING BUT THERE SHOULDN'T BE BABYBONES PAPYRUS ANYWHERE BEACUSE EVERYONE IS THE RESPECTIVE AGE OF UNDERTALE, INCLUDING ASRIEL AS DUE TO HIS CONSTANT RESETS HE'S PROBABLY ALOT OLDER THAN WE REALISE!!!!!!!!

And that papyrus cannot be connected to sans, unless toby says so.

Otherwise papyrus cant exist in deltarune, and sans has another brother or something.

Also undertale papyrus and sans are alot.more diffrent than you realise.

Actually their roles where reversed at a time! Cool huh?

Papyrus is seen being pretty depressed, while somewhere, i cant remeber where, but it is said that sans wans't always this lazy.

Which means....

ROLE REVERSION!!! Cool right?

Before you OFFICALLY MEET papyrus and sans, sans is constantly trying to cheer papyrus up with jokes

(terrible pun are normally a thing of inexperience. Unless on purpose. But he has a joke book. Most likely papyrus's book beacuse of the constant puns papyrus makes, that are really good! Papyrus is the only one who has a book shelf, so probably the quatum physics is his too. As he needs SOMETHING FOR THAT FREAKING BRIDGE. And why would you need a book if you already know all the jokes? :/ also im pretty sure either he recites it for toriel (which hes not aware is toriel) or its for papyrus. Either one makes sense. Even both)

Anyways sans was alot more hopeful and papyrus was a lot LESS hopefull. Only by meeting you, the PLAYER err... Human! He regains his hope back!

Sans is also homesick. Undertale isn't his home, he doesn't feel happy with going to the surface either.

Deltarune is the only place he truely seems at home, happy, joyfull. And even owns a...

Bar!! :DDD probably got handed it thx to grillby!

And has a freind named alphys who is just as nerdy as she was before. But now a nerdy teacher~

(WHICH CAN RELATE! I HAVE SO MANY NERDY TEACHERS IN MY SCHOOL LMAO ITS AWSOME, I GET TO TALK ABOUT ANIME LIKE-)

And not some depressed scientist with an anxiety and peer pressure.

Like no wonder he's homesick.

No wonder papyrus feels a bit "down lately." He gets the sucky version.

I guess when your suck in a strange place, a different home you lose alot of hope, rather than gain some.

Or hp. What ever you want to say. Hp= HoPe ? Sure why not i guess.

I mean, im trying to write my goddamn comic, and its gonna be hard to keep all my notes conistent.

Cause just rewatched their whole introduction and im like-

GODDAMIT PAPYRUS DO YOU NEED A HUG? FRISK MOVE, MAKE THIS GUY HAPPY. YES! THAT CONVERSATION ALSO FILLS ME WITH DETERMINATIOM! I CANT BELIEVE ITS CALLED THE "BOX ROAD" THANKS TO 1 FRICKING BOX.

YES SANS CHEER UP YOUR SUPPOSED BROTHER WITH DESPERATE JOKES AND FUNNY COMEDY AND POSSIBLE SOUND EFFECTS.

YES PAPYRUS SMILE, YES PAPYRUS GET MAD AND MARCH OFF LAUGHING HAPPILY WITH THAT ONE BACKBONE PUN.

PAPYRUS NO DONT GO BACK TO BEING Sad- goddammit he left my screen AND HES BAck... Aww... :(

What? Yes sans? He's been feeling down lately? Seeing me could cheer him up?

AWWWWwWwWWWwWwww thats so SWEEETTTTT

THANK YOU FOR TALKING TO ME DIRECTLY LIKE YOU SHOULD BTW. AS IM NOT FRISK, I AM A REAL HUMAN, USING FRISK AS A VESSEL AS I TOWER FROM ABOVE. AND YES I DO SEE YOUR FACE PAPYRUS FROM THE DIALOUGE BOX AND YOU LOOK AMAZING.

*Papyrus realises he doesn't have ears

[Facepalms]

*theres.just a bunch of makeup and sludge on the floor.

[Covers face]

*why does he even carry that?

[Peaks a little and whispers]

"Its always important to carry makeup on. You never know when you need it. Like now."

*papyrus nods his head thoughfully.

[redeyedryu]

Cross Dimensional Problems

Chapter 3 - Uh... | [Ao3]  | 1 | « | x | » |

Have some more of whatever this is, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Summary: Mmm, popato chisps~!

Popato chisps, as it turns out to your complete and utter disappointment, do not taste all that different from regular potato chips. The weird fizzy, pop-rock like sensation and the way they kind of just… disappear when you swallow is pretty neat, though. A monster food thing, no doubt. Still, talk about a letdown. Doesn't mean you're gonna stop eating them though, as you proceed to stuff yet another into your mouth. They even crunch like a regular potato chip.

“YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THIS? THAT THIS… THIS HUMAN IS FROM SOME PLANE OF EXISTENCE WHERE THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE ME IS NOTHING MORE THAN FICTION? SOMETHING CREATED BY SUCH A WEAK AND FEEBLE RACE?!”

You talk around the chisp you just shoved into your mouth and bring a hand to your chest, a mockery of being flattered. “Aw, love you too, boss,” you say in an overly sweet voice and as the very tall, very loud, very edgy skeleton proceeds to sputter and cough and choke at your words, you simply shove another two chisps into your mouth. He’s shouting, boots stomping against the linoleum of the kitchen floor, but you’re already toning him out.

Sans and the Underswap Papyrus had shuffled you up the basement stairs and into the kitchen, talking amongst themselves about needing to call a house meeting. As it just so happened, your additional company had already been present, apparently preparing some meal or another. It didn't smell like burnt rubber or vinegar so you’re hoping this is one of those takes where the Papyruses and Swap Sans aren't absolutely terrible when it comes to cooking, that they've had enough time to improve and learn that no, glitter is not a key ingredient.

Underfell Papyrus, Swapfell Sans, and regular ol’ Papyrus had been the lucky ones to welcome the newest party crasher (that's you, by the way) to the house. Papyrus had given a rather enthusiastic welcome, complete with bone-crushing (heh) hug. The Fell variants, being not so touchy feely, had merely scowled at you and turned up their skulls in that pretentious manner they’re often presented as being.

Goodness, it was all just so surreal.

You had to tell yourself not to stare because that's rude. Play it off, act as cool as the coolest cucumber. And so you had walked over to the nearby table sat in the middle of the large kitchen and plopped into a seat. Breezily, yet politely because you're no mannerless heathen, you had asked for a bag of popato chisps and Papyrus had all but gasped, affronted that you would choose to eat something so unhealthy—and so soon before dinner! But Sans had shot him some kind of look and the skeleton had ultimately acquiesced. He hadn't done so happily, of course, as he had none too quietly muttered this and that about poor eating habits as he fished a bag from the pantry.

You thanked him when he begrudgingly handed the snack bag to you and had proceeded to munch away while Sans and the Swap Papyrus set about explaining just why exactly a human had trudged up from their basement—and in such lazy attire, no less!

So that leads us back to the present. Underfell Papyrus appears to be taking the news the worst so far, you think. You're not sure, though, he's a hard one to read. Too tsun, too soon.

“SO, HUMAN,” another voice speaks up just as you toss the last popato chisp into your mouth. Judging by the deep, rough rumble not unlike Underfell Sans’s, loud though it may be, you guess it's the only other Sans in the kitchen that is addressing you. When you direct your attention to the source, you are proud to say your deductive skills aren't complete crap.

The Swapfell Sans variant has taken to standing at the table across from you, arms folded over his chest. His sockets are squinted and he's taking advantage of the fact you are sitting down, giving him the height advantage to sneer down at you. Pretentious prick.

Stop being so hot.

“Yes, skeleton,” you reply. His face scrunches up like he smelled something bad and you just smile. 

“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS MATTER?” You're not sure how to interpret his tone, nor that question. It sounds like an accusation? Almost as if you're being scolded.

“Uh… Not exactly sure what you mean by that, but uhm… hmm.” You fuss with the popato chisps bag, neatly folding it in on itself--in half, a quarter, an eighth, a sixteenth. “Whether or not you believe me, it's the truth. Where I'm from y’all’re nothing more than fiction and fantasy.” You’re not avoiding meeting their eyes, you're just very interested in this folded up popato chisps bag. It's just so cool. Yup.

The skeleton clicks his tongue and you think you hear the sound of boots tapping out an impatient rhythm.

“PROVE IT,” he says.

That succeeds in drawing your attention.

“Uh…?”

“UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU ARE LYING?” Ah, there's that smug, condescending leer again. You squint at him.

“I'm not lying.”

He waves a hand at you, a signal to, “GO ON, THEN. PROVE IT.”

Your face creases in a rather extreme pout, a breathy exhale forced through your nose. Fine, be that way you pretentious, sexy piece of shit.

You cross your arms and lean back in your chair.

“Well. That’s… there is… there are so many different takes on the AUs that there’s no guarantee anything I say will necessarily add up.” You cast a glance towards Sans, noting he and the rest of the ensemble have paused in whatever bickering they had been involved with with Underfell Papyrus, to listen to you speak. You take that as your cue. “I guess I'll start with the source material. Though bear in mind it's been at least a year or so since I've last played…”

You close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath. You exhale just as slowly, attention once more returned to the folded up popato chisps bag as your fingers itch for something to keep busy with.

Whelp. Here goes.

“Undertale is a pixel RPG style game. Its premise being that you don't have to fight. It's a game where your choices matter, and you can choose whether to fight and kill monsters or show them nothing but mercy.” From your peripheral, you don't miss the way Swapfell Sans’s face tightens, nor the way Sans’s posture seems to tense. “You play as a kid whose name you set in the beginning but eventually learn to be named Frisk, who is their own person separate from you, the player. They essentially act as your vessel.

“They fell into the Unground and start in the Ruins, in a bed of golden flowers. You proceed a room over and are introduced to Flowey. In Swapped universes it's often a toss-up between it still being Flowey, a Temmie, or even Monster Kid. Just depends on who’s writing the story.

“So anyway, you proceed through the Ruins. You meet Toriel, who bakes you a butterscotch cinnamon pie in most routes. When you try to leave she tells you about Asgore and how he’ll kill you if you go through the doors leading to the rest of the Underground. He's done so to all those that preceded you, afterall. So you fight Toriel and then trek towards Snowdin from there.” You pointedly don't look at Sans when you say, “You meet Sans just before a bridge and the whole thing is built up to unsettle you. You cross a stick in the middle of the path that winds up cracking behind you, you hear footsteps in the snow but no one’s there, and when you get to the bridge he’s all,” and here you do a poor imitation of Sans’s deep voice, “ ‘H u m a n. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.’ It's a cutscene so your character does that and then a rather long, drawn out whoopie cushion fart sound clip plays.” You hear a couple chuckles off to the side. “Things happen, you hide behind a conveniently shaped lamp, you meet Papyrus, you go through Snowdin. You fight Papyrus, get locked in a shed, then proceed through Waterfall and are dogged by Undyne the entire time… you fight her then you go on to Hotland and all its conveyor belts, steam vents, and lasers. Talk to Alphys and fight Mettaton on his ridiculous show… several times. Then it's what… onto the CORE? The soundtrack there’s really neat. So you make your way through the CORE and you wind up fighting Mettaton Ex and the fight's broadcast throughout the entire Underground? So you beat him and then you're in New Home and you wind up getting the tragic backstory for the King and Queen’s kids. Then you fight Asgore… and after that you fight Flowey. And once that's done you've beaten the game. The ending varies depending on what route you're on and the choices you made.” You decide not to say it also depends on which monsters are still left alive.

You’re bending and twisting the piece of garbage in your hands, a bit nervous for whatever reason to meet anyone’s eyes. Honestly, what are you afraid of?

The room is utterly silent--so quiet, in fact, that you would undoubtedly be able to hear the proverbial pin drop. You take a hesitant peek up at your company and your cheeks heat up and there’s a tingling sensation that crawls down your back as you catch the voided stare of the skeletons around you.

You don't know why but you feel compelled to rush out that, “I only ever managed to do neutral pacifist and true pacifist runs…” before quickly averting your gaze back to the mutilated snack bag. Heck. Why aren't they saying anything? They're the ones who asked! And it's not like you did anything! You didn't bring yourself here, didn't put yourself into this impossible scenario!

Someone say something already!

There's a loud clap and you're ashamed to admit that you very nearly jump out of your seat at the abrupt noise.

“WELL!” Papyrus speaks up, drawing your attention. “I BELIEVE THE HUMAN! THEIR STORY CERTAINLY DOES ADD UP WITH WHAT TRANSPIRED HERE, WITH OUR HUMAN FRIEND. DOESN’T IT, BROTHER?”

Oh bless your beautiful, sweet bones, Papyrus!

All eyes turn to Sans and oh boy. He's doing that blank eye socket thing and he’s sweating.

“y-yeah,” he eventually manages as he brings a bony palm to scrape across the top of his skull. “yeah, paps is right, it checks out.”

Your shoulders slump as tension leaves you. Man, you're going to wind up with all kinds of knots at this rate. The errant thought of whether or not skeletons would be good at giving massages crosses your mind but you stuff it down. Now’s not the time. Maybe later. …maybe.

“WELL. BE THAT AS IT MAY,” Swapfell Sans begins, “THAT DOES NOT EXPLAIN HER APPEARANCE HERE, NOR WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH HER.”

A cold chill rushes down your spine and your stomach flips. They're not going to throw you out, are they?

Op. There's that tension again.

You shift your gaze to Papyrus, eyes pleading.

“WELL OF COURSE SHE WILL STAY HERE, WITH US!”

Oh sweet baby Jesus, Papyrus you are a saint. That's it, he is absolutely your new favorite.

Underfell Papyrus, on the other hand… he sputters. “I SHOULD THINK NOT!” he protests, gloved hands slamming onto the table. You don't jolt at that, you don't. “WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS HUMAN AND YOU WOULD SUGGEST WE KEEP IT HERE? WHERE WE ARE MOST VULNERABLE? PREPOSTEROUS!”

Your brows furrow.

“What?” It's not like you're going to try and dust them in their sleep or anything, what the heck, man.

“OH YOU HEARD ME, HUMAN. I AM WELL AWARE OF YOUR KIND, HOW CONNIVING YOU CAN BE.”

You mouth a silent, “what?” Because… what?

“Uh… I mean. Not that I'm… not uh… flattered? That you’re apparently so intimidated by me but… I wouldn't… I uh… I'm not an asshole.”

Oh dang. Are his cheeks turning red?

… 

Holy shit???

They are!

“I AM NOT INTIMIDATED BY SOMEONE AS WEAK AND PATHETIC AS YOU!” he denies, booted foot slamming against the linoleum as he stands straight, arms crossing over his chest. “I AM MERELY BEING CAUTIONS, WHICH IS MORE THAN I CAN SAY FOR THESE GULLIBLE, IDIOTIC CREAMPUFFS!” 

There’s a chuckle, low and deep and sexy. Your eyes flit to Swapfell Sans. There’s an amused air about him, his sharp-toothed grin more relaxed than before.

“I AM NOT AGAINST THE HUMAN STAYING HERE. OF COURSE WE WOULD NEED THE REST OF THE HOUSE TO WEIGH IN ON THE DECISION, BUT SHE IS CLEARLY NO THREAT. SHOULD SHE TRY ANYTHING, SHE WOULD BE EASY ENOUGH TO DISPATCH.”

“Uh… thanks? …I think??” You're a bit on the fence with that reasoning. Also isn't that kind of a threat?

“TCH. SUIT YOURSELVES,” Underfell Papyrus sneers. “BUT DO NOT COME CRYING TO ME WHEN IT ATTEMPTS TO DUST YOU IN YOUR SLEEP.” And much like his brother had in the basement, the edgy skeleton makes an abrupt exit.

Funny how he had voiced your thought, though.

“Should… I be worried about him?” you ask the room.

You're a bit surprised when Underswap Papyrus speaks up, as he had been rather quiet since coming up from the basement. “nah, he’s just a worrywart.”

“I… if you say so…” You're not entirely convinced but, well. Your options are kind of limited.

You're about to ask something else when a rather shrill BEEEEEP cuts through the kitchen.

“AH. THAT WOULD BE DINNER.” Swapfell Sans announces. He turns away from the table and all of you grouped there, to attend to the oven.

And it's only after he says something that you finally register the rather pleasant scent wafting through the air. It entices your hunger, your mouth watering as your stomach grumbles quietly. Popato chisps aren't very filling, after all.

[fridgewheatfield]

Remember in undertale when you cover the statue with the umbrella and the music box starts playing?

Remember walking through the cave with monster kid and seeing the castle in the distance? And how monster kid runs ahead of you a bit to get a good look? That gave his character so much life.

Remember the unparalled world building around undyne and how she is played up to be a hero to the people, all while you know shes going to be an antagonist to you? And how undyne is the protagonist from literally every other perspective?

Speaking of world building, remember all the signs that gave you the lore of the world, and how that all hyped up asgore?

And then remember how you confront him and he literally stabs and destroys the most crucial part of your battle ui, followed by the best (the best) battle theme in the game? How fucking hype was that?

Remember burgerpants?

Remember the intro cutscene that was very reminiscent of wind waker's?

Remember the hall you fight sans in, and how that place looked?

Remember this song and how it literally makes me cry?

Remember "depsite everything, its still you?" JESUS.

Remember how its 3 games in one?

Remember when you have to frantically play the tile puzzle with mettaton while hes fuckin singing in the foreground like a goddamn anime intro? Nothing will ever be that funny.

Remember how there are still secrets being found, 3 years later?

Remember how sans is the comic relief until the 11th hour when he delivers some of the most raw emotional dialogue ever written?

Remember the combat system that broke down the walls of what turn based battles are capable of?

Remember how toby redefined the modern rpg?

Remember how he did everything by himself with only some help from temmie on some art stuff?

Remember when not only did toby write one of the best stories of the 2010s, but also composed one of the best soundtracks of all time, simultaneously?

Remember when you couldnt sell things at any store? Amazing.

Remember how the genocide story progresses without you, and you only learn whats going on from sans cuz hes the only one who hasnt fled? And how everyone else is evacuating to escape you? Its so powerful how you dont see that happening, its just happening without you. Amazing world building.

Toby didn't have to go that hard, but he created the greatest game of the 2010s for us.