#(cause otherwise we'd be like 'uhhh where are sans and papyrus why arent they in deltarune??')

[skellfamily]

A popular theory since Deltarune came out is that Deltarune is the skeleton brothers’ home universe. Sans and Papyrus seem to not originally be from the Undertale world; it’s one of the only things we are told about their backstory

I made this back in January 2017 (can’t believe it’s been 4 years!) so the implication has always been there, but many people didn’t take notice of it until Deltarune’s release. Another thing that could also go here is Riverperson’s line warning us about “the man who came from the other world”

I understand why them being from Deltarune is such a common theory. For one, Deltarune shows us an alternate universe - and the skelebros are apparently from an alternate universe. Not a huge leap to make that DR might be that place they’re from. Then you have stuff like the ‘dont forget’ drawing which shows up after Clamgirl talks about you meeting Suzy (Suzy being the UT version of Susie from DR, while ‘dont forget’ is associated with Deltarune)

However, I want to present some counterarguments to it: why I think the world presented in Deltarune might not be where Sans and Papyrus originate. This also goes hand in hand with another theory: that the Sans (and presumably Papyrus) we meet in Deltarune may have actually traveled from Undertale. so basically it’s a reversal - rather than them going from DR to UT, they’ve come from UT to DR

Let’s take a look at Sans first. There are several things about him that suggest something is up. The way he talks to Kris seems to indicate he knows more than he lets on - he winks when he says he’s never met you before, he makes a joke about how you shouldnt trust a total stranger if you answer ‘yes’ too quickly to coming over to his house, then a couple moments later asks you to hang out with his brother anyway. There’s a cheekiness to how he addresses the idea that we (ie the anomaly and him) already know each other. At the very least, he acts suspicious and seems aware that something weird is going on. It could just be his keen perception that let’s him figure it out...or maybe he really has met us before.

I also find it very strange how he insists Kris hangs out with Papyrus. why does he want a weird kid he met 20 seconds ago to befriend his brother? i feel there’s gotta be an ulterior motive there, though I’m not sure what it could be. actually, this brings me to a little theory I have: Sans doesnt tell us what his little brother’s name is. this is strange, since you’d think he’d mention something as basic as a name to the person who’s going to hang out with his brother. what if Sans doesnt say it because he knows we already know Papyrus? 

(note: some people worry that Sans not mentioning Papyrus by name means his little bro in DR isnt Papyrus. I really don’t think that will happen. Papyrus’s voice grunt is in Deltarune’s audio files; we hear the “distant trousling of bones” in the skelebros’ house; and I highly doubt Toby would tease at his future appearance, only to reveal that Papyrus has been entirely replaced by another character - that would be too cruel, even for Toby)

Then there’s ‘his’ ‘shop.’ It is Grillby’s bar. It is literally just Grillby’s bar, with the ‘Grillby’ part scratched out. even has the same flowers in the pot out front. Now you might think - oh Sans took over the building after the bar shut down! I would think that too, if not for these lines (from Fuku Fire, who is sitting in QC’s Diner)

* I like the vibe of the waitresses here. * Maybe I should sign up, too... * ... Nah, serving drinks wouldn't really suit a fire elemental. * If I got nervous, I'd just melt all the ice.

I believe this dialogue serves a specific purpose - that is, to hint at us that Grillby never owned a bar in the Deltarune verse. And when you think about it, him not having the same job would make sense since most everyone in DR has different occupations than their UT counterparts; Deltarune is a world where a lot of things are topsy-turvy after all. So if DR Grillby probably never owned a bar, that means Sans either straight up took the building from the Underground somehow, or intentionally made his shop look exactly like it (even down to including the name). Sans seemingly shows the ability to reuse his snow-covered sentry station from Snowdin all over the place in Undertale, so perhaps he can do the same thing with the bar?

Another contention I have surrounds the circumstances of the skelebros’ arrival in Hometown. apparently, they very recently moved into town. this is interesting to me for 2 reasons: first, just as in Undertale, Sans and Papyrus are not from the same place as the other monsters. the other denizens of Hometown seem to have been born and raised there; Sans and Papyrus were not. like in Undertale, where Sans and Papyrus are not from the Underground like all the rest of the monsters are, they’re from...somewhere else, retaining the outsider aspect of their UT backstory.

second, i find it awfully convenient that they rolled into town right in time for the ‘survey program’ to begin. from how Sans talks about it, it seems like they just arrived only a day or two ago. what if it’s not simply a coincidence? 

there’s also Sans’s photo album, which is part of the evidence pointing to Sans being from another universe (seen in the above image). pictures of Sans with a lot of people Frisk doesn’t recognize. people he laments he’ll never get to see again. 

the thing about Hometown, though, is that all the citizens there have Undertale equivalents. even characters who we don’t get to meet in UT should have versions existing in Undertale - we know that Susie and the Holiday family do. It would be rather odd if all these unrecognizable people who Sans misses just...live in the City or something. (it could make sense if Sans is a Darkner like some theorize, and the people in the pics are Darkners, since they presumably dont exist in UT. it’s not a bad theory, however I’m not quite convinced of it)

The final reason I think they might not from the DR verse is a meta argument. Sans and Papyrus have a lot of hanging plot threads in Undertale. their characters arent really delved into much and a large amount of the sequel hooks in Undertale connect to them (and Gaster, who is likely related to them and seems to have a major role in Deltarune). Thus, I feel it would make more narrative sense for the Sans and Papyrus we meet in Deltarune to actually be from Undertale, for the sake of their character development and so their arcs can truly be wrapped up properly.

Despite the above, I admit it’s very possible they will turn out to have come from Deltarune. or, maybe it’ll be something like the DR verse we see is based on the world they came from (if Deltarune is a simulation made by Gaster like I think it is). who knows what complicated alternate universe shenanigans could be going on with them, for all we know it could be something no one has predicted.