#'cause it's most likely gonna take us a year to get to napstablook's house.

[clevercatchphrase]

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Happy 9th birthday to Undertale today! Have a bonus page this week~

(Links coming in afternoon reblog!)

[spirit-shroud]

what are some roles that have been largely changed for cityrune? since you said queen was an influencer now :]

hi ty for asking me im vibrating. havent gotten to talk about this au now for three years and now that chapter 2 is like real and this time i can like........draw occasionally and i have more understanding of nuance...... [grips table] [screams]

this isnt quite what you asked but heres what's everyone from chapter 1 has been Up To with a little bit of context (and under a read more bc it got LENGTHY):

kris - professional stay at home teen (they live w/ asgore n help run the flower shop sometimes. this decision was entirely bc i dont like toriel). was wrongly diagnosed w Sudden Soul Rejection when they were incredibly young and given an experimental transplanted soul as a replacement. it works for them fine, give or take having to see gaster once a month for checkups. but sometimes the soul makes them skittish n decides they're going to sit in front of the pc and play 30 consecutive hours of a certain simulation game and not even let them drown people in the pool. if it were entirely up to them, they'd be like. passing out on the sofa to documentaries about bigfoot. or practicing cool knife tricks to impress their friends at their next tabletop meetup

- EDITED IN: the soul is kind of their friend. they are wearing a hypothetical get along shirt. most of the time, they agree on actions and things to do. tends to refer to themself + their soul as we/us which originally was just something they did in their head but they kept slipping in speech/text n just became a Thing of how they talk. switches to 'I/Me' whenever smth is wrong.

- also edited in: they believe the soul they have is their original soul bc nobody has told them otherwise. whenever theyre like 'oh yeah we think about our soul n view it as a separate entity to us like. all the time. it likes to hurt if we make too many choices it doesn't seem to like and kind of forces us to be a toned down version of what we want to be but thats just how souls are haha' and everyone is like.... 'Hey Kris That's Really Not How It Is.' theyre like. 'huh. gonna ignore that for now' - this was going to be a plot point

toriel - head of H0MEWOR1D (H01)'s department of education; kind of lost her roots as a simple math teacher as she was pushed into a lot of power she didn't even really seek out. divorced asgore over some miscommunications in their relationship; also loosely as a result of grief from asriel's death

asgore - the same. runs a lil flower/gift shop. people come in more to talk with him than to buy flowers most of the time, though

asriel Flowey - he's back in flower form, thanks to the government an accident. causes a lot of technology glitches wherever he goes, and wants revenge. isn't sure how to go about it. asriel "died" around 8 years before the story takes place and kris still misses him and refuses to even THINK about even the IDEA of calling someone their sibling after what happened, just in case it somehow happens a second time

susie - more of the same really. she spends most of her time either at grillby's (she's sort of become his assistant n helps with opening/closing. it just happened) or getting into low-stakes trouble w/ kris

noelle - she's in the city's equivalent of college and shes so tired. shes So Abysmally Tired n got kinda pushed 2 follow in her mom's footsteps. she's rarely around anymore except through text or on monsters & mages (dnd) night. (however.........she will come back w/ a long break n hang out w everyone again)

berdly - tbh i didnt even consider berdly when i made the au initially. idk what he's doing. probably in a similar situation to noelle??? canonically got kicked out of the M&M group due to clashes w/ other players but lurks in their group chat to posts memes sometimes

didnt rly think of any other of kris' classmates (+ their families) after ch1 and probably will continue to not, until chs 3-5 come out and i gotta whip up roles and histories for like. a lotta guys all of a sudden. i also forgot about noelle's parents

sans - runs a convenience store that everyone kind of thinks is a front, but also it has really cheap snacks and the local teens make a point of stopping there after school. so essentially, more of the same papyrus - similar to ut. is a very polite and sweet boy but you'll know when he's coming

grillby - he's back. he runs a bar like back in ut but the cozy vibes and weird-for-a-bar hours keep attracting kids who need parents, so half of his menu is comprised of overly sweet mocktails. usually only frequented by monsters

QC - same as usual. has a "rivalry" with grillbz but, theyre besties and have a book club

mettaton - he's real and he's back. he's similar to how he is back in ut w/ his EX body. likes to hang out at grillby's and talk to unsuspecting fans. has a show for everything

napstablook - similar to how they are in ut. helps mtt with making music sometimes. doesn't leave the house too often, but spends a lot of time posting on undernet

undyne - unfortunately. more of the same. she is a cop in the monster district. i am also upset by this but couldn't think of anything better for her

alphys - a doctor studying under dr. gaster in the hopes she'll one day take over his research. she spends most of her time as a nurse with a bigger title, though, and blocks out the weirdness of her job with anime.

gaster - weird guy. H01's top soul researcher and resident House wannabe. trying to manufacture the ultimate soul that can be controlled with simple internal switches, but so far he's only had 1 (very limited) success with a certain human. monsters just melt, and darkners just sorta......get weird... he's onto Something, though.

ralsei - lonely boy with some very strange hobbies. popular on UnderNet for poetry, baking videos, and general cryptid vibe. is the DM for the monsters & mages group (also seems to think everything is actually very fine in H01 when it is very much not)

lancer - about the same. professional Round Boy. lives w/ rouxls full time. follows susie around like a lost puppy and calls himself her "underling."

rouxls - runs a hotel/casino kind of deal where the objective Bad Guys hang out, and usually ends up doing any of the spade king's paperwork.

spade king - mafia godfather. kind of a dick. don't play cards with him

seam - works with the spade king as his right hand cat more or less because they have for a lot of years and are in that 'sunk cost fallacy' zone. thinks of retiring to a quiet life in the monster section of town like, daily

jevil - used to work with the spade king, but got imprisoned for Crimes. got weird after The Accident (separate from asriel's accident)

temmies (all) - dont really get mentioned except offhandedly but they run the monster space station. so far, are the only monsters who have ever been to space.

as far as chapter 2 goes:

yeah i dont have much so far for characters. in the original version of the au i accidentally made darkners as a whole just kinda..... not great? like all sorts of weird organized crime ties n sort of going out of their way to be A Problem to the city (not even in like. a revolution way. in a working against them but with the same goals kinda way). with the whole context it worked At The Time, bc i just had the spade king to look to as a villain, and also in this au the darkners are just trying to survive a world that ultimately was not built for them (that humans think they own, and monsters sort of... seeing this and wondering what it'll mean for them whichever one wins), but w/ new info abt how the dark world works n more guys to work with i want to kind of. edit the vibe a bit. like yea darkners will ultimately do whatever it takes to take over H01, but maybe in a better way than like. idk. all this. it doesnt have to be peaceful or anything it just has to be more adaptable as we meet more kinds of darkners

however yeah i thought up 'queen as some sort of childless mommy blogger/influencer' and that completely revived all memory i had of this au. she should be on mtt's talkshow. also she sells collectible wine glasses w/ her likeness

spamton is another one of gaster's failed soul experiments, but he hasn't melted yet, and seems............fine? sort of. so he hasn't gotten decommissioned yet. he does want to give you malware tho. hot monster singles in your area n all that

im blanking on the rest of the guys but i hope any of this was comprehensible

[cbindisguise]

Frisk Meets Their Father

Tw: Mentions of past abuse and abandonment.

   Once Frisk had destroyed the barrier, things had been rather peaceful, with all things considered. They lived in a house with Toriel, and Papyrus and Sans had decided on the first day, that that’s where they were going to stay. Frisk agreed to become the ambassador for the monsters, and ever since then, they had been overwhelmed with popularity and fame.

  They hadn’t risen to celebrity status like Mettaton and Napstablook did with their careers in acting and music, but it was still enough to get the child recognized on the street. Toriel did her best to try and calm Frisk’s nerves which popped up before a big conference meeting with the other humans. Toriel was very good at comforting them, and most of the time it worked. Most of the time…

  A lot of time had passed and Frisk was going to their next meeting. Asgore and Sans came along too to help them through their nerves. Asgore came for support and Sans came for an abundant supply of puns.

  “Don’t you think it’s rich that they’re practically paying us to attend to these dumb meetings?” Sans wondered while the three of them walked along the side walk.

  “It’s nice. I mean, a little extra change couldn’t hurt. Especially with the countless bills and taxes you guys have to pay off. It’s not fair that they pay you guys less because you’re monsters…” Frisk mumbled.

  “You’re right. But all we can do is stay determined, and hope that one day, that’ll change.” Asgore agreed.

  “The thing is, can we tell them to back off with the media stuff? It’s annoying to have a reporter there shoving a microphone down your throat twenty-four seven.” Sans questioned as he shoved his hands in his pockets. There was no need for him to have the jacket in the first place. It was relatively warm outside, but the blue jacket was what made Sans…Sans.

  Frisk sighed heavily.

  “I get what you mean.”

  “Well…Soon all the buzz will die down, and we’ll all be able to take it easy. Maybe then they’ll finally leave us alone.” Asgore said optimistically.

  “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

   ~---~

  As usual the questions came flooding in like a barrage of tidal waves on Frisk. It seemed to drag on for hours, but once it was over, they felt like they could finally breathe. There was a ten minute break in between for snacks and for mingling but with no other kids there, Frisk just lingered around Asgore and Sans.

  “Excuse me sir, but are you mister Asgore Dreemurr?” A geeky man in a vest questioned.

  “Why, yes. I am.” Asgore answered modestly.

  The lanky man began to ramble on and on to Asgore about how interested he is in monster culture. Asgore nodded and listened and hummed throughout the whole conversation to show he was listening. Sans and Frisk stepped back a bit and let the king talk to the man.

  “Welp, I gotta go check if those brownies at the table are any good. You want?” Sans asked while using his thumb to point behind him.

  “No thanks. I’m good.” Frisk declined.

  Sans shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

   That left Frisk standing there, staring off into their styrofoam cup. It was filled to the brim with ice cold water, but they drank it up in seconds to help their dry mouth and scratchy throat. It was most likely because of their nerves.

  They noticed a man had entered the building because of the sound the door made when it was pushed open. The man practically stormed in and made immediate eye contact with them. He was tall, but a little on the pudgy side. He had a stained shirt on with a gray sweatshirt thrown on top of it. He had bloodshot eyes and it looked like he just rolled out of bed. He smelled like booze and old cigarettes.  Making his way past a crowd of people, he approached Frisk.

  “Frisk?” He asked, his voice gravely.

  “Yes…?”

  His eyes lit up.

  “I’ve been looking for you, all this time. Do you…remember me?” He asked hopeful.

  “…Um..No. I don’t recognize you…Sorry.” Frisk replied honestly. Were they supposed to recognize him? Frisk didn’t have many human friends and they would have definitely remembered a guy like him.

  The mystery man reached for his wallet and pulled out a photo. He unfolded it and showed the image to Frisk. It was a picture of a family. Frisk almost dismissed it completely, until they saw the person standing by the left.

  Their mom.

  Frisk looked at the man with questioning eyes.

  “I’m your father.”

  Frisk didn’t know how to react. This was their father? Was that baby in the picture, in their mother’s arms…them? Was this real?

  “I’ve been looking for you for so long. I just recently heard that a child named Frisk was representing all of monster kind, and was coming to these meetings. I just can’t believe I found you!” He said growing more excited. He reached out to hug them, but Frisk retracted.

  This was all happening too fast. This guy was just lying. How could Frisk tell that this man was really their father?

  “...Frisk…Come now. I miss you. Please.”

  “W-what’s my mother’s name, then?” Frisk questioned still staying out of his reach.

  “Veronica…It was Veronica.”

  He was right.

  This man really was their father.

  Frisk felt something deep inside them bubble up. It wasn’t determination…

  It was anger.

  When the man tried to pull Frisk into an embrace, they immediately pushed him away.

  “Don’t…touch me!” They shouted, causing the noise around them to lower.

   “Frisk…come on…I’m your dad. You can trust me.” The man assured nervously glancing around the people who were now staring.

  “You’re not my dad!” Frisk hissed, creating a scene. “You’ll never be my dad!”

  “Woah, hey...Kid, what’s going on here?” Sans said as he walked over to Frisk’s side.

  Frisk gritted their teeth, as tears began to fall from their eyes.

  “Where were you?! Where were you for all these years?! Why are you coming back now?!” They snapped.

  “I was trying to find you. All this time, I was-“

  “You…LIAR! I bet you weren’t trying to find me. I bet you gave up, and the only reason you came back was because I had money!” They argued. Asgore stood by Frisk and placed a gentle hand on their shoulder.

  “Frisk. Please…let’s take a deep breath.” Asgore coached. Frisk reluctantly obeyed and took a few shaky breaths, but the tears did not stop.

  “Frisk, don’t make this into a scene. I finally found you, so let’s go home and talk stuff out.” The man said while reaching out to grab Frisk yet again.

  “No, no, no…Uh, that’s not gonna fly.” Sans intervened as he stepped in between Frisk and the man to protect them from being grabbed. Asgore also pushed Frisk behind him in a protective manor.

  “Frisk is my child.” The man said, suddenly getting angry.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m not about to let you take Frisk. I don’t trust them with a dad who lets their kid go missing for years, without even batting an eye.”

  All of the parents and representatives in the meeting had gone completely silent.

  “Give my child back. Right. Now. I do not have the patience for this shit.” The man cursed under his breath. He suddenly changed into a lighter mood. “Frisk, hon. Come on. Let’s go. You don’t want to stay with them, right?”

  “I do. I don’t want to go with you. I want to live with them. I trust them.” Frisk refused. Sans smirked.

  “Hear that? Now get outta here before I have to call the cops.” He threatened.

  “You don’t scare me, bone man.”

   “Oh, you should be.”

  “Sans. Calm yourself.” Asgore warned from behind him. Sans shut his mouth and cooled down before he had the chance to deck the man in the face.

  Sans turned his back towards Frisk’s father.

  “Tsk. You aren’t worth my time.” Sans muttered as he wrapped his arm around Frisk. They willingly melted into his touch.

  The bystanders around them had begun to step in before the situation escalated.

  “Sir? We’re going to have to ask you to leave.” One person said to the man.

  He became so furious his blood began to boil.

  “I am not going anywhere…without..my KID!” He shouted as he leaned in to throw a punch towards Sans. It all happened in bullet time.

  “Sans, behind you!”

  Frisk didn’t have to tell him twice. He instinctively zipped out of there with Frisk teleporting away with him. When the man’s fist met only air, he lost his balance for a brief moment. He became confused as he searched for the two of them.

  “Over here.”

  The man spun his neck behind him when he heard Sans’ voice call out to him. There he was, a few feet behind him with a cocky look on his face.

  “And for the record, nobody calls them kid, except me. I don’t care if you’re Frisk’s father. They don’t deserve a dad like you. And you know what? You don’t deserve to call them kid. Now…Asgore? If you’d please.” Sans motioned. The goat king nodded and placed a firm hand over the man. He didn’t say anything as Asgore showed him the door.

  When the man finally left, the entire room applauded.

   ~---~

  That night, after they had come home and told everyone about the events that happened earlier that day, they all chattered about it over dinner. Sans had noticed that Frisk was noticeably quiet the entire time, and decided to talk to them privately after dinner.

  “Hey, Frisk…can we talk?” Sans asked, stopping them on their way to their room.

  Frisk shrugged but nodded.

  Sans lead Frisk into his own room so that no one could hear them. He closed the door behind him and they both sat on the bed.

  “So kid? You doing alright?” Sans started off. Frisk sighed in reply.

  “I’m still a little shaken up over that whole incident.” They admitted.

   “Yeah, I don’t blame you. It was pretty crazy.” He agreed. He looked up at Frisk when he had noticed the bed was shaking.

  Well...more so that it was Frisk who was shaking, and causing the bed to vibrate with them.

  “…Kid…? What’s wrong?”

  Fat hot tears were making their way down Frisk’s face now. They tried to stop them but it was futile.

  “I can’t believe he came back…and he fought you.” They explained, voice wavering. “And he almost punched you. And y-you only h-have one HP so…I w-was scared.”

  Sans brought Frisk into a tight hug, and let them cry on his shoulder.

  “Hey…shhh…it’s alright…We’re okay….I’m okay…” He hushed them. “You don’t have to worry about that okay? He missed, and I’m alright. Besides. Give me some credit here, I’m not that out of shape yet. I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself. So, no worries alright?”

  Sans let Frisk get the light sobs out of their system as he collected his thoughts. If he were honest, he wasn’t expecting Frisk to be upset over that.

  Frisk finally detached themselves from Sans and wiped their tears on their sleeve.

  “So…how do you feel about your dad in general. I mean, you never mentioned your parents before, so I just kinda let it go.” Sans spoke.

  “I’m not upset over him. I’m more upset over what he’s done. I just…I really can’t believe I saw my dad.”

  “Yeah. Neither can I…” Sans said. Suddenly, panic was filling his entire being. What would happen now? If Frisk’s father found them, then would that mean Frisk’s mother would want them back?

  “What about your mother? Do you know where she is?”

  “I don’t like talking about her…she was very mean to me.” Frisk admitted.

  “Mean? Mean how?” Sans asked with concern.

  “Uh…just…” Frisk’s face looked troubled as they struggled to phrase their next sentence carefully. “She liked to say and do a lot of mean things.”

  “Like what?” Sans prodded. Frisk shifted uncomfortably in their seat.

  “Like…saying I’m worthless…and… and doing stuff I don’t want to talk about.”

  Sans stiffened as he put two and two together. Frisk was mostly nice to everyone and was a pacifist but their parents seemed like the complete opposite.

  “Did your mother ever hit-“

  “Yes. I don’t like talking about it.” Frisk cut off, as they quickly shut their eyes to prevent any tears from coming out. Sans’ heart was crushed into pieces. How could anyone do this to a kid? Especially to sweet old Frisk?

  Sans found himself hugging Frisk again, but not for their sake. It was mostly for himself.

  “I’m so sorry.” He whispered, visibly shaken up.

  “It’s okay…It’s over. I have you guys now.” They said. Sans nodded, and then stood up.

  “You’re absolutely right Frisk. You’re so smart, and strong, and brave, and kind. You’re the best kid anyone could ever ask for.”

  The sudden shower of praise made Frisk feel something warm resonate inside them.

  “So…dry those tears. You don’t have to talk about it anymore. Now let’s go see if Toriel will make us some butterscotch-cinnamon pie.” Sans said with an outstretched hand. Frisk grabbed onto it.

  “Okay.” They replied while smiling. Their entire body was filled with warmth, and love.

  They were filled with Determination.