#(this frisk uses he/she/they pronouns. not just because I like writing but also as a fuck you to his father)

[unma]

I think the best part of Heretics is that Frisk is just a regular person and Sans is a fucking demon from hell and yet at any point in the fic they are the scariest person in the room.

Sans just took down 6 people in mere seconds prior to this scene. Doesn't matter, Frisk is queen and they get their time to shine whenever they want to.

The second best part is that Frisk gets to kill their stupid father.

[thejesterconcept]

Headcanons For!!! Dream Sans!

Man is illiterate, he cannot read or write

Mainly because his brother would read to him, and he got too embarrassed to ask anyone else to teach him

They don’t get why people are queerphobic or why it matters.

He also cannot cook. He just lives off of instant food, food he is given, and food he makes with others. He only knows to make what he’s made with other people

He’s innocent. Like, really innocent

This is canon, but they are enby, and just use he/him pronouns as well

I do think Dream might also be alright with she/her

Dream is either pan or aroace/a-spec

They’ve got this accent, because you cannot change my mind about the AU he was in either speaking a whole different language, or at least a different version of English. It was over 500 years ago. Change my mind

They’ve also got a rasp in their voice, just because he didn’t speak for so long, being trapped in stone

He only has a house, because Core!Frisk found out they didn’t have one.

Core!Frisk also sets them up with people to make food together, using it as an excuse for Dream to learn to make food

Villagers probably manipulated him in some way. I am in no way trying to compare traumas with him and his brother, but if you expect me to believe those villagers didn’t when they literally ab__used a 6 year old, you’ve got another thing coming

Dream definitely has the mentality of putting his own needs back, and helping others to distract himself when the bad thoughts get to be too much

Some form of mental illness

She’s likely tried sm0k1ng or dr1nk!ing before, but only once

Just decided it wasn’t for her

Dream’s arrows of pure positivity? Yeah, they will k1ll you from positivity overload. He specifically only uses those on Nightmare, and a different weapon for others

She doesn’t know about Ink not having a soul, mainly due to Ink keeping up with the vials

Alignment: Lawful Good

They ended up learning, like a handful of ASL to communicate with deaf people in the Omega Timeline

They let Ink doodle on them sometimes

She will dress up fem, androgynous, or masc, screw gender norms

Has, can, and will swear, but only if he gets mad enough

[tigerbears]

Mk, as someone who’s writing a video on UT/DR’s trans/enby rep, this post reminds me why I need to make the video, as even people who want there to be an enby rep are being affected by the misinformation. I will be paraphrasing a part of that video.

The ambiguity argument only really works for Frisk because everyone they meet doesn’t know their gender and pronouns, so their they/thems can be explained as “defaulting to that pronoun because they don’t know Frisk’s actual pronouns.” A character that’s actually confirmed to be ambiguous (Niko from OneShot) fits this, too, because nobody can know their gender and pronouns because everyone's meeting them for the first time. (Like Frisk.) Their pronouns aren't even outside of the trailers and their profile in the World Machine edition. However, if Niko’s mom referred to Niko ever with “they,” then that would kill the ambiguity because it would be absurd to assume that Niko’s mom would somehow not know her child’s gender.

Meanwhile, we have Chara. Chara can’t be ambiguous because it would mean that Toriel and Asriel would somehow not know their gender or pronouns.

Kris VERY much can’t be gender ambiguous because that would mean that their mom Toriel, their childhood friend Noelle, Berdly, their high school teacher Alphys, AND Susie would somehow not know their gender.

Additionally, characters being non-binary and player surrogates aren’t mutually exclusive. In the Outer Wilds, the Harthians are genderless, but the reason this was done was so the protagonist wasn’t referred to with a gender identity that the player didn’t share, but canonically the Harthians are agender aliens without any gender.

Sure, the Doylist out-of-universe reason for Frisk’s and Chara’s they/thems could be so the audience could identify with them, but you still need the Watsonian in-universe reason to explain that. Frisk’s they/thems can be explained with “the monsters are just defaulting to they/them,” but you can’t pull that trick on Chara because how would Asriel and Toriel not know their gender?

Regarding the “cursed pants less tweet,” that tweet was deleted, and seeing as MK’s pronouns were corrected from he to them in later editions of the art book, I think it’s safe to assume that this usage of his for Frisk could also be explained as a mistake.

I have strong feelings regarding the “legends of localization” example, seeing as so many have misinterpreted/exaggerated its statements on those characters' genders (when I read through it, it mostly just danced around the characters' genders.)

Have not seen the example with “some girl” mentioned (guessing it’s from before the release but after the demo). Guess there’s something to be said about the “some girl” not being corrected by Toby but seeing as later versions of the artbook corrected MK’s pronouns and Toby corrected Kris’s pronouns on stream, I think it might just be a symptom of the earlier days being a little less careful with protecting these enby identities.

I don’t see how meta-concepts could make Kris ambiguous seeing as it would already contradict the previous evidence mentioned. (Please tell me how many mythical cisgender they/thems there are. There’s a difference between “they/thems because you don’t know their gender,” “someone using multiple pronouns,” and “someone who’s only referred to with they/them pronouns exclusively.” Even if you could find a cisgender person who doesn't want to be referred to with he/him or she/her that's just enby Kris with extra steps.)

This misinformation has already driven someone to leave because people kept paroting that "Legends of Localization confirms that there's no enby rep in Undertale" even though I actually read the book and saw it wasn't as damning as everyone says. It mostly just avoids the topic of these characters genders (the word "ambigious" isn't even used) and it drives me crazy that people act like it's a fact that Legends of Localization confirms these characters are ambigious because for that to be the case, Mettaton would have to not know their own cousins gender because he they/thems them! (Especially seeing as Legends of Localization describes Napstablook similarly to the other supposedly "ambiguous" characters.)

(Sorry if this reblog seems heated. Just really, really hate how far this misinformation has gotten that it's even affecting us folks. Hopefully this reblog can ease your mind and stuff when it comes to Kris's enby status.)

(Sources in order of use)

Kris Might Represent a Meta-Concept (And Why I Do Not Like This)

Now to start things off, this is just a theory or potential possibility for Kris' character. Deltarune is an incomplete story as of writing this, and it's unclear which kind of direction this story will take as of now. This could all very easily be disproven by later chapters. The reason I highlight this is because I genuinely want this to be proven wrong at some point (for reasons I will discuss later).

I believe that there is some reason to suspect that Kris might have some ties to the metanarrative of Deltarune, and might actually be a meta representation of the narrative itself, control over a narrative within the context of videogames or even the force that drives a narrative forward in a given direction, and that this is something that will become an important aspect of their character.

This has been on my mind for a while now, not specifically this idea, but more so "how will Kris, the protagonist, tie into the meta of Deltarune?" This has been a question I've had ever since seeing how many meta connections Noelle has with The Player and their search for Gaster (being mirrored by her search for Dess), as Noelle is very strongly linked to Kris; they form a sort of unique duo of sorts. At first, I assumed it would be in a way similar to her tendency to break games, until I started looking deeper into things.

My first piece of evidence that Kris might be a meta-character is what Ralsei tells us about Kris' Soul. Ralsei does seem to be quite aware of the nature of the world he lives in, possibly to the point of even being aware that it's a game.

The fact that he highlights that Kris' Soul specifically has some level of influence on the fate of the world is important here as it shows that Kris is, at least in some way, heavily tied to the world around them.

This also gives them some kind of connection to fate which could be an allegory for the narrative. The reason why I believe that this might be the case is because Toby makes frequent usage of allegory and metaphor to make his meta more diegetic (so instead of having The Player directly acknowledged as a video game player, it's likely that we have the role of The Angel, an otherworldly being separate from DR's reality. The power to SAVE and RESET is an actual logical mechanic part of both DR and UT that characters are aware of instead of something inherent to the player, etc). It would therefore not be too much of a stretch to assume another allegory is being used here, to have the characters acknowledge the "narrative" not as a story, but as "fate", something that would make logical sense within Deltarune's world as well as our own.

My second piece of evidence that suggests that Kris could be a meta-concept is their direct interference with the narrative.

Whenever Kris does this, what they are essentially doing, on a meta-level, is taking charge of the narrative and driving it forward in a specific direction of their own choosing, despite the "risK" associated with doing this. By creating the Fountain, for example, they force Chapter 3 to happen, and while it's possible for any Lightner to make a Fountain (according to our current knowledge), I think that it is still important and relevant that the only person who we've seen successfully create one on screen so far is Kris, as it ties in to this idea about them being the one to drive the narrative/plot forward, because Kris is that force, the one that causes the plot to march forwards.

I would argue that this can even occur while they're still possessed, as a lot of events only happen because Kris' actions and decisions make them happen, not only through acting independently of us by saving Susie and causing her to develop and change, but also by taking on the role of "Leader" and "Tactician", both of which are roles that require someone to take charge and orchestrate certain events to take place.

Another piece of evidence I would like to point towards is Side B/The Weird Route. We essentially use Kris to abuse what we currently have, in the pursuit of something greater (most likely Freedom). However, something that I feel is often overlooked is the reason why we are able to achieve all this in the first place. One of the main reasons it is possible is due to the amount of trust that Noelle has in Kris, but I don't think that's the only reason why. After all, Noelle even remarks that the voice she heard wasn't like Kris'.

Despite this however, she's still compelled to obey. And I think the this could be because what compels her to obey could go much deeper than just Kris being a childhood friend (although I do feel that was a contributing factor).

I think it could also be due in part to what Kris represents on a meta-level. Their control over the narrative and ability to drive it forward is twisted into something sinister by The Player (who is most likely to be inhabiting Kris' Soul), in order to try and change the narrative so they can get their Freedom via using Kris to give commands, utilizing Noelle's natural tendency to break games through glitches to achieve this goal.

I point out the "commands" status here as I think it is an interesting word choice, especially given its definitions. One in particular caught my eye.

"The ability to control something". In a literal sense, it could be describing how us using Kris enables us to control Noelle. But it is possible that it could also be describing how we're abusing what Kris represents (what pushes the narrative forward) in order to break the game itself by controlling the narrative, directing it down a different path (an alternate side even) when we shouldn't have been able to in the first place.

Another reason I believe there is evidence to suggest that Kris could be representative of the narrative is what happens when Kris dies.

I've always found it interesting that Kris' death is referred to as an "end", mainly due to the fact that we know Deltarune is only meant to have one ending. But it makes perfect sense if Kris is meant to be representative of a narrative, as if Kris dies, that would in turn mean the narrative has "died" and is therefore finished. The world becomes "covered in darkness" because the story has ended.

One final reason I believe Kris could potentially represent something meta is due to the fact that we specifically possess them, of all people. A lot of what happens in Deltarune would be for the most part impossible if it weren't for certain decisions that Kris needs to make, and given their soul contains "the fate of the world", it would only be befitting for a Player, who has been "connected" to this world, to therefore control such a person who is at the very heart of the narrative, who could potentially even represent the narrative.

This relationship we have with Kris could even tie directly to Deltarune's metanarrative about our relationship with fiction in general. Us, The Player, are strongly attached to the fictional worlds, characters and stories, almost parasitically, something mirrored by our mostly unnoticed possession of the protagonist. However, we can never truly be fully immersed in it, and ultimately someone unhealthily absorbed and attached to the characters is destructive, both to ourselves and the fictional world, as we endlessly consume until there is nothing left for the sake of our own pleasure.

This would be why we could never truly coexist indefinitely with the characters and Deltarune, because we're not supposed to be with them. We're a real person, and they're not. We just have to come to terms with that, and let go of them eventually, letting the story end, and letting them have their peace.

Now, to discuss the second half of the title, and why I specifically dislike this. There are two main reasons why the idea of Kris representing something "meta" is not really very appealing to me, personally.

The first is that I really don't like the idea of Kris' character taking this direction. I think Deltarune would work much better if Kris was just simply a human. Someone thrust into this new world and forced to take on an incredibly big role, with failure resulting in their entire world and everyone they love being doomed to an eternal night. That doesn't mean I dislike the idea of Deltarune having meta-elements or even a metanarrative. I just don't like the idea of Kris being a concept of sorts.

The very reason I grew to be attached to Kris in the first place was because they weren't a meta-character. They weren't special, they weren't some kind of abstract being. They were just themself.

I understand that Toby is willing to give his metacharacters personalities of their own and traits that are separate from what they represent, but I still am not very fond of Kris being one, because ultimately, for his metacharacters, their main role and function in the story is to represent that concept.

It's why Chara's only more physically present in the Geno Route; they represent the mindless consumption of content, watching the numbers increase, accruing more power.

On the flip-side, it's why we specifically only learn Frisk's name only in Pacifist, because ultimately you have to embody and channel what Frisk represents in order to complete that route; doing things because you enjoy them, not because it's right or wrong, but because you enjoy seeing the characters and because you love the game and its world. The mindful consumption of content.

For Kris, if this theory is true, it would ultimately mean that the only function their character would have narratively is to represent the narrative, so for a "Pacifist" route for Deltarune, our relationship with Kris would be far more courteous; we enjoy our time with the fictional world, cherish the story, and then let go once it's over and enjoy the memories and friendships we made.

In Side B our relationship with the narrative would be far more abusive, breaking the game to get more and more out of it, ultimately causing it to fall apart from the seams. I find this unsatisfying personally, as believe it or not the meta elements of Undertale and Deltarune are not actually my favourite part of the game. This might come as a major shock to a lot of you considering I often talk and bring up both games' meta but it's only out of necessity really (I prefer the regular narrative/characters over the meta. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate it of course, nor does it mean I actually hate it or anything, but I still will always prefer the more regular aspects of UTDR).

Now the second reason why I dislike this heavily is that it calls into question whether or not Kris is actually nonbinary. Now I made a promise not to go too in depth about this specific subject anymore so I'll try to keep things as brief as possible here (and relevant), but I don't like how Toby approaches writing nonbinary characters, simply because he makes everything about that aspect of them either incredibly obscure or really open to interpretation and non-definite.

Another issue I have is that Toby also uses they/them for characters who are likely to not be nonbinary (in addition to his nonbinary characters), which adds another layer of confusion on this matter. Examples of this are Frisk and Chara, where there are non-bad faith reasons to believe that the two aren't necessarily intended to be nonbinary. It's likely that, due to the fact they are meant to represent an aspect of the player, their gender is left ambiguous/unclear so that the audience can better understand what they represent and mean. Toby's even used masculine pronouns for Frisk in the past, which aligns pretty well with this interpretation; because Toby is male, it would logically make sense for Frisk to be a male specifically to him, because Frisk represents an aspect of himself (The Player).

It also accounts for all the other weird gender stuff about them (why he goes to such lengths to avoid mentioning their gender, why he's fine with people interpreting them as "some girl", why they're even listed as "androgynous", a term that can be used to refer to characters of any gender).

Now this all may seem unrelated at first but the reason I bring this all up is because one of the other reasons I like Kris is because they were probably one of Toby's most blatant examples of a nonbinary character and a sort of step in the right direction (for the most part, they're not as blatant of a trans character as DR!Mettaton for instance, who has his identity firmly tied to and undeniably shown in the narrative, but I do genuinely hope that Kris will become that way or at least similar in future. It would be nice to see).

(Just a quick comparison of the two, I didn't include Kris' nurse/doctor outfit here because context clues imply the outfits are more tied to the characters' personalities rather than gender. Susie being a more brash character has a doctor outfit while the kinder/softer Ralsei has a nurse's. Kris using both is just a sign that they can simultaneously be intimidating/scary and also soft-hearted at times too. It should also be noted that nurse and doctors aren't inherently gendered roles too, which is yet another reason why I didn't think it was worth mentioning in the image.)

However, if this theory is true, which isn't a 100% guarantee let me repeat myself here I cannot stress that enough, it suddenly calls into question whether or not Kris is actually nonbinary, as both Frisk and Chara lie in this weird ambiguous "it can be whatever" state as they both embody meta-concepts. If Kris also represents a meta-concept, would this logic also apply to them? Or is whatever Kris represents fundamentally different, which would allow them to be nonbinary and also be a meta-concept? Or is all of this just wrong and they are actually just a regular character after all?

Toby has corrected people on Kris' pronouns, but then also at the same time it doesn't necessarily prove that Kris is nonbinary, just that they use they/them, which again, when Toby writes a character doesn't automatically mean they're nonbinary (see Frisk and Chara, as while in their cases he doesn't correct others over pronoun-usage, I do think it's worth pointing out as within canon the only pronouns used for the two are they/them, which shows that when writing characters Toby doesn't consider a characters' pronouns indicative of gender). And given that it's not really possible to gender a narrative, it could be a case where Kris has to use they/them in order for the meta surrounding them to make sense. Or again, this could be all wrong and Kris will be proven to be nonbinary (the option which I hope is true).

All in all, my final thoughts on this is that while I do think there's a small chance that Kris could possibly represent something meta, ultimately I don't like it all that much, as I don't like what it means for the character in general. They'd feel sort of like an inferior version of Frisk in my personal opinion; incredibly passive in the way they portray their meta whilst not actually being capable on their own, relying on their influence over others instead, sacrificing what could have been an interesting character solely for the sake of the meta.

The main message their character would likely be portraying would also be mediocre in my opinion, as based on the current story beats and this theory, it'd most likely be something along the lines of "leaving behind the fictional world is the best option", which I don't think is 100% true. I think fiction in general is a good thing, it's an outlet for many different creative ideas, opinions, worldviews etc. I'm okay with Deltarune exploring the idea of a Player unhealthily attached to a fictional world, but if the final message the game had to say was that leaving said world completely is the right thing to do then I also think that too is wrong, as I personally think it's much better overall to find a healthy balance between consuming content and living in the real world, although these are just my personal opinions.

In all honesty I really hope I'm wrong here, as I don't like this theory at all. While writing this I was actually actively searching for ways to disprove it but couldn't find any myself. If there was anyway to disprove this, I would greatly appreciate it.

[a-snow-decahedron]

25!!!

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

I HAVE TOO MUCH ACTUALLY.

I'm gonna talk both about some hyper-specific UTDR headcanons and under the cut about some OCs I guess.

Frisk is the kind of kid who will tell a very morbid or dark thing they saw once without losing a bit. This is never relevant to the fics unless i choose to change my mind later.

Oh yeah also they live in Latin America but I only reference this in very vague ways because why not they're my fics.

Undyne also had a bunch of overpowered OCs as a kid. Must be the Asgore influence on his kids, her main ones are knight princesses. She hides old drawings in her piano music sheets.

Toriel is a very calm person and won't get sad easily but making her laugh is not difficult and she's LOUD. She'll be walking to a class and just burst out laughing on the hallway but is unable to explain the joke.

Papyrus is a fucking troll, actually this is canon. He is always expecting you to think he is about to talk shit about his brother and baits you because no he isn't. "I'm housemates with a bag of trash /trashy, in the kitchen!" (im rusty on memorizing dialogue sorry :c

Carmin (an OC from when I was 8) had red hair because i was obsessed with it and she's fucking named after a fancy shade of Red which makes it even funnier.

For that one HK fic:

The wanderer (1st narrator) would probably wear a beret if they knew about them just for the vibes. Their companion (who I call trihorn for short) doesn't know them enough to be able to tell if they're ironic or not about it. Oh yeah they also used to write poetry. It was not great but they tried.

Trihorn used to get drunk on honey-based alcohol on their younger days, so they can deal with hangover better. They're a decent singer too. I have more angst planned regarding them than the wanderer for some reason which is funny because i didn't intend for them to be relevant when I first wrote them Hmmmm

Remember what I said about Frisk casually saying really dark things?Harsata (whose name I keep misspelling with a J) is usually the recipient of stuff like that from whoever she's working with. She's the equivalent of those popular Tumblr blogs who get really weird anons and she's just like "ah yeah, we all know that." Oh she also makes lanterns with lumaflies.

There is this OC who I'm writing right now whose name spelling keeps changing a lot too (Tori, may change to Tor, Tory, Vico i have not settled). So do the character's pronouns. I think they're just gender fluid, honestly you ask them their gender and they just respond something like "helmet".

And uh that's it for now.

[bookof-xreaders]

Pinned Post!

Hi! This blog writes "x reader" stuff!

Mods

Mod Book (they/it) is the first mod on this blog.

* Here is their intro post.

Mod Clown (he/they/beep) is the second mod on this blog. He joined on July 19th, 2022.

* Here is their intro post.

If anyone's interested: Having more mods on this blog would be helpful! Please DM me (Book) for more info.

If you like the content, please reblog it! Likes don't do a lot, but reblogs do!

Masterlists

Kris Headcanon Masterlist: https://bookof-xreaders.tumblr.com/post/672151194679083008/kris-x-reader-masterlist

Ralsei Headcanon Masterlist: https://bookof-xreaders.tumblr.com/post/693219929847185408/ralsei-headcanon-masterlist

Susie Headcanon Masterlist: https://bookof-xreaders.tumblr.com/post/695784347535572992/susie-headcanon-masterlist

In General

This is a Deltarune blog, as of currently.

Please keep requests and asks SFW.

If multiple requests for a certain character are made, the finished requests will be scheduled to be weeks apart. If you sent an ask for a popular character and haven't gotten an answer, it's probably because of this.

You may ask if an ask was received, but please don't spam about it.

You're allowed to request character headcanons, not just "x reader" headcanons!

Headcanons will mainly be in second person, while written stories will be in third person (using they/them pronouns, unless specified otherwise). If you wish for headcanons to be in third person or stories to be in second person, please say so.

If a set of pronouns is specified (such as she/her, he/him, xe/xim, etc.), I will later post a gender neutral version of the headcanon/story.

Please don't use the submission box as a secondary ask box. The submission box is purely meant for submitted art, writing, etc NOT for making requests; the ask box is for making requests, and anon is on in the ask box.

For writing purposes

If we believe we can't write for something, we will try to send you in the direction of a blog that can.

If we ever decide to do match-ups, please don't be vague (anon is on, if you don't want your name attached to anything).

The above means that you can't request match-ups, and we'll delete the ask if you do!

Things that won't be written

We will not write anything related to y*ndere, which means no yan!characters or "reader had y*ndere friend/partner".

Adults and children in romantic relationships will be automatically denied. This also applies for older children and younger children in romantic relationships.

Note for Above: This means that any Lancer requests need to be strictly platonic. Any requests with Lancer will be tagged "deltarune & reader" and "lancer & reader".

People that are relatives in a romantic relationship will be automatically denied. This applies for biological, adoptive, step-relatives, etc. etc.

Tagging System

Tags will be at the end of posts.

"ask answered" is what will be used for answered asks.

"request granted" is what will be used for written requests.

"request denied" is what will be used for requests that we're not entirely sure about. We will also use this tag with anonymous requests we're denying to explain why we're denying the request.

Note for Above: If "for now" is tagged, that means we'll consider writing it if given more info.

"reblog" is what will be used for reblogged posts.

Please don't interact if...

You misgender any of the non-binary characters (Kris, Frisk, Chara, and Seam). We're aware that Frisk and Chara aren't in Deltarune, but we're counting them just in case.

Note for Above: Book made a post about Kris and Seam's pronouns, which are linked in their names, if you're wondering when they use they/them pronouns.

You fit the usual criteria (racist, queerphobic, "MAP"/p*do, pr*ship/"anti anti", etc. etc.)

You post NS/FW content and extreme violence (g*re, pictures of irl injuries, etc.). This mainly applies to those who don't tag those things, even if they're jokes.

[metalcd]

knowing your partner well makes writing together a lot easier. tag this with the people you enjoy roleplaying with but want to get to know better.

BASICS  :

name :  i have many names, one of them is “ven”. age :  21+. preferred pronouns :  they / she / he, pick whichever one u want. i usually refer to myself with “she”. sexuality :  lesbian. zodiac sign :  bastard sun, dumbass moon, and bitch rising. taken or single :  taken. three facts :  1. my gf and i met as kids about 13 years ago when i complimented them on their sonic oc recolors lmao. 2. writing’s not one of my main hobbies, but it’s fun to practice since i’m mostly a visual person. 3. i made this blog because i wanted to try portraying metal differently from what i usually see, i guess i’m succeeding?

EXPERIENCE  :

how long (months/years?) :  *it’s just a burning memory - the caretaker starts playing* how’d you start :  on tumblr i think i started with ask blogs before i moved to writing? some early muses i can recall are like, creepypastas ( sonic.exe, ben drowned, slenderman ), knuckles, frisk undertale, and a sonic oc i miss a lot lmao. platforms you’ve used :  tumblr & discord currently, deviantart & twitter in the past.

MUSE  PREFERENCES  :

female or male :  yes. favorite face :   no. least favorite face :   no.

WRITING  PREFERENCES  :

fluff, angst or smut :  fluff / angst, i don’t rp smut. plots or memes :  plots are preferred, i like bouncing ideas off of each other and just infodumping about our muses lolol. also helps with getting to know the mun better! i still love rp memes tho, to me they’re a good alternative to starter calls. are you like your muse(s) :  aren’t we all to some extent? sadly i am not a robot, but there’s definitely bits of myself in metal.

tagged by : @holdsfate! thank u <3 tagging : @madrcams​ @voltagecrow​ @lilsidemuses​ @voiicless @seaofserene @darkring everyone else steal it from me >:)

[friskundertaleisms]

* Hey, the name's Junie! I use she/her or he/him pronouns and I'm a minor of color!

* Don't be afraid to send an ask my way to talk about HCs!

* Certified Fallen Humans enjoyer

* By the way, doodle requests are open! shoot me an ask if you want something sketched out! But it has to be undertale related tho

* My main is @junereblogs

* stop spamliking me if you want to support my content please rb!!!! My art maybe???!!!!

Please don't hesitate to send me a DM or ask- whether it be for tagging purposes (i tag triggers with [BLANK] tw and content warnings with [BLANK] cw) or just you just want to talk with me!

This blog is filled with headcanons lol

my reblogging tag is #rb

my general content tag is #junieposts tho

I also use the #safeutdr tag!

Frisk is my favorite character. Funky little child

I also think about the human souls a lot.

I mostly do art, but maybe I'll write a snippet or two :}

I don't tolerate p3dophilic (ANY ship with Frisk and/or the adult main cast like frans or smthn of similar caliber) or 1ncestuous (fontcest/chasriel) ships because it personally makes me incredibly uncomfortable. If you don't like it just block me or unfollow me and move on.

Also. k!nk blogs DNI i am a minor

if you read all of these, please like this post so I know you read it!

[motivatedtale-blog]

About Motivatedtale

.:Contents:.

.:Author’s Note:.

.:Summary/Idea:.

.:Characters:.

Motive

Unmotivated

.:Stray Facts and Resources:.

FAQ

Rules

.:Inspiration:.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.:Author’s Note:.

   Hey, so I've noticed this a long time ago but I’m just now confronting it since I got my computer fixed- it seems pretty impossible to reach the “About Motivatedtale” on mobile, even with the literal LINK to the page (I could only sort of access it through some loopholes in a browser- and the link just took me to my Tumblr instead), so I wanted to compile the information that’s in there into a post for any mobile users who may follow this blog. I’ve got more followers here than my art blog-- so even if there’s not much interaction each post, I think there’s at least a few people who might not have access to an about page here. Changes are very likely to be made and things will be added occasionally :)

.:Summary/Idea:.

 “Have you ever wondered what happens to creations when a creator gives up?”

 Motivatedtale is essentially an abandoned AU with no finished story or a plot. Which, ironically, not having a story is the story itself. It’s a tale about how the lack of motivation (along with other things like self doubt and lack of interest) in a Creator leaves a story unfinished, and with no reason to exist, no story, the AU is crumbling into nothingness, as it is being forgotten by the only one who knows about its existence- the Creator. However, there’s two characters in it that have to deal with that burden of having no ending or reasons to exist. And they’re completely aware of what’s going on.

 At least, the first one that was created is aware, because they were made to be that way. They inform the only other character (Frisk/Motive) about all of this when they meet. They’re a Sans of course (which is sort of a self aware joke because a lot of people either start with the Sans of an AU when creating characters, subtly revolve around a Sans of an AU in a story, or the entire story literally and shamelessly revolves around a Sans. This is not an attack on anyone). This Sans goes by Unmotivated, and is quite bitter about existing.  These characters have no finished story, no destiny, and no purpose. Being self aware of this can be a great burden on hope and happiness; ignorance is bliss, after all.

 What the AU would’ve been if it was “completed” is unsure.

 How the story ends is not fully decided or meant to be disclosed (for now), but even if this AU is finished or not, it is already technically complete. It symbolizes a project that is given up on; a project that is abandoned, and what would happen if the characters in these types of projects were conscious about this- if our ideas existed somewhere out there, somewhere where our decisions, intentional and unintentional, have a serious affect.

 So, if this AU is abandoned, it’ll be quite ironic.

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.:Characters:.

Motive

    Motive is the Frisk of this AU, and one of only two characters that are in this AU. Motive was created after Unmotivated, but the coloring of their design was given up on towards the very end. Their sweater is unfinished because the creator gave up on them due to being overwhelmed with empty and destructive thoughts, but the outline/shape is still there. The sleeve usually is never shaded/effected by light.

  Motive is an optimist, and believes that their AU will one day be finished. They have the soul of motivation, which is outwardly visible and tied to the loose hanging strap of their overalls. They don’t have preferences in pronouns (though they/them is usually the default), and calling them by any pronoun is fine (she/he/they/it..it really doesn’t matter, honestly).  

  Motive acts impulsively a lot of times and does not think of the consequences of their actions…or, they do, but they choose to move forward with their actions anyways. Since optimism is one of their key traits and it’s exaggerated and simplified in their character and logic, it can result in some bad outcomes. The same goes for their impulsitivity. They’re not that serious natured, and act more like a child than a young adult (despite being 18). However, they do make a lot of (sometimes unnerving) jokes that could be considered uncomfortable, but they mean no harm. While Motive is quite intelligent and empathetic, they’re distracted quite easily and might say or do inappropriate things during certain situations.

  Since Motive is technically a new character and was not fully developed by their Creator (backstory, powers, etc), their underdevelopment as a character is actually a big part of their development as a character. 

(More is to be added later)

Unmotivated

 The Sans of the AU, and the first ever character created (which again is poking fun of the idea that people usually start with the Sans of the AU for characters). Unmotivated is bitter and cynical towards his existence and his Creator, and is completely aware of the multiverse and AU Creators. A big fourth wall breaker. He’s apathetic, bored and often paints himself as emotionless and uncaring to hide any hurt/feelings of helplessness. He bottled them away a long time ago.  At first, Unmotivated was hopeful about his AU, but he was alone for an unspecified but long amount of time in his AU, and was driven to toxicity and bitterness during that time. He’s seen his universe grow, halt, and then slowly deteriorate- he has seen new ideas come and go, and is helpless to stop the rampant decay of his universe- his home- his story. He’s overall a pretty lonely character. 

When or why he got the nickname “Unmotivated” is unclear- but it’s definitely supposed to be a pun. He hates the name but finds it funny and ironic at the same time. 

  Unmotivated’s soul is held by a string that is woven into his rain coat. He considers this to be poor design choice but doesn’t really do anything to fix it. He often keeps his soul in his pocket for safe keeping.  (More is to be added later)

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.:Stray Facts:.

• The AU resets (sort of like an update) each time a new idea is added. This is how Unmotivated is generally aware of Motive when they’re created. • The “Creator” resembles anyone who has abandoned or given up on their projects or ideas. This isn’t meant to put people that do this in a negative light.

•The white of Motive’s sleeve isn’t meant to be shaded since it’s “incomplete.”

FAQ (most are from amino since not many people ask here)

- What was the AU supposed to originally be before it was abandoned?

 This is undecided and left up for interpretation. However, based off of the design of the current characters, it can be safely assumed that the AU was supposed to be more lighthearted and cutesy. There are random bits and ideas spread throughout the AU that give glimpses to what it could’ve been.

- Can I draw fanart of these characters?

 Of course! I’d be honored to receive fanart and would love to see it! Just please keep things appropriate if you do.

- Is Ink Sans or Core Frisk going to be in the comic?

No.

 I’ve gotten asked this several times, and the answer is no. Doing this would completely ruin the theme and point I’m trying to get across with this comic. This story revolves around a Creator and their Creations, and there will be no other characters made by other people.

- Are Motive and Unmotivated shipped together?

NO.

 It’s fine as a joke but please realize they aren’t. This isn’t an AU centered around romance and would distract from the goal of the comic if I had that. While I’m not anti-frans in any sense, I still don’t want it in my comic.

- How often do you plan on updating the comic?

  Each page is published whenever I finish it nowadays due to stress of a schedule. I post them in bulks of 2-3 on amino and twitter, and whenever I finish the page on deviantart, instagram and here.

- Is the Creator a character?

 Yes, and no. The Creator represents not only myself, but any artist that has struggles putting their creations out there due to insecurities or other causes. They’re more symbolic and fluent rather than a structured and identified character. Of course though, if there is any introduction of the Creator, I would have to give them some sort of design- and I do have general ideas of what they’d look like. However, they’re still supposed to represent a broader group of people than just myself.

- What does Unmotivated think about other AUs/Sanses?

 Unmotivated has an apathetic mindset when it comes to AUs and other characters like him. He’s incredibly self aware and sees a much bigger picture. He knows characters are just pawns to their creator, and won’t get fazed by any story. Sort of like watching actors in a movie while constantly reminding yourself that they’re just actors. However, he is quite envious of anyone with a complete and happy storyline, since that’s something he lacks but yearns the most. That’s something he wish he had.

 Keep in mind Unmotivated and Motive cannot interact or travel outside of their AU, and no one can interact with their AU except the editor/creator.

Rules

• Please do not publicly RP with these characters unless given permission. This might be changed after more of the comic is complete, but I do not want these character’s personalities to be strewn.

•  Please do not draw or write NSFW with my characters– I am a minor, and a large part of my audience are also minors.

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.:Inspiration:.

  Alright, this part is going to be a lot less formal and more personal. The idea for this AU came from my own self doubt and self destructive attitude as a creator. Doubting my own works and ideas has seriously held me back for a long time, and it STILL holds me back as I’m sure it has for many, MANY other creators like me. Musicians, artists, writers.. Almost all of us have that fear of trying out a new idea or making something you usually wouldn’t. Almost all of us have felt that crushing self doubt when you see someone better than you, and you tell yourself you’ll never be like them, your art will never be that great, you’ll never get that far…so on, so on.

  So, while I was trying to come up with an idea for an AU (which I had actually been considering for well over a year), the thoughts crept in.

“no one will like this”

“there’s enough AU’s”

“you’re unoriginal”

“this is a waste of time”

“the fandom is dying”

“you have horrible character designs”

“AU’s are overrated”

“this doesn’t fit your audience”

“people will judge you”

“you never finish anything”

“this is stupid”

“your art isn’t good enough”

“you’re not good enough”

“someone probably already came up with this idea”

“no one cares about your idea”

“no one would bother with your art”

  And ironically, all these thoughts gave me this idea.

  Even so, these thoughts have still been nagging me every time I even try to work on this, and it’s been taking a lot of courage to take on the heap of anxiety I have over something so harmless. I didn’t join the Undertale fandom for over a year simply because I was afraid of being judged for my interests,, fun fact. Never thought I’d be able to make an AU. I’m still quite nervous posting art of anything that isn’t Mario related for some reason.

  Putting all this to side though, I find the concept of what happens to unfinished and/or abandoned stories and projects interesting, especially if there’s an alternate reality that’s actually effected by your decisions. Kinda like you’re a god. I mean, imagine what it would be like if you had a creator and they just gave up on you, and you’re left with no purpose. Seems like it would suck, haha.

  So that’s basically my AU, Motivatedtale. If you have any thoughts or questions, I’d love to hear them. Thanks for reading if you did!

[suzyundertale]

Non-binary characters in Undertale and Deltarune

A lot of people don’t notice this, but there are several major characters in Undertale that are referred to exclusively with they/them pronouns. In this post, I’ll go over them, and I’ll explain why so many non-binary people identify with them.

Napstablook and Monster Kid

Both Napstablook and Monster Kid are referred to only with they/them pronouns. This suggests that they are non-binary.

Of course, even with characters being exclusively referred to with they/them, there will be people who say it’s intentionally “ambiguous”, or an oversight, or what have you.

Fortunately, we have definitive evidence this isn’t the case.

In the first printing of the official Undertale art book, featuring commentary from Toby Fox himself, these two characters were mistakenly referred to with he/him pronouns.

However, when this was pointed out to Toby, he told me that it was a typo and it would be fixed in the next run - which it promptly was.

This serves as confirmation that referring to these two with he/him pronouns is incorrect, and they/them are the correct pronouns.

Frisk

Frisk is the protagonist and player character of Undertale. It’s worth noting that, for the majority of Undertale, you’re definitely supposed to think that Frisk is a player self-insert character, a blank slate for you to project yourself onto. You’re tricked into thinking you name them, and they have an ambiguous skin color and gender.

However, in the True Pacifist ending, it’s revealed that they have their own name: Frisk.

This reveal also serves as a reveal that Frisk isn’t you, or an in-game representation of you. They’re their own person. They’re a character that exists within this universe. It’s always been just them. Not you or anyone else.

I mean, why would a character who’s meant to be “you” have their own name? Toby never calls Frisk “Frisk” in merchandise or interviews, simply calling them “The Human”, because their name is a major spoiler for the True Pacifist ending. It’s quite easy to only call them “The Human”, he has no trouble doing it now, so if they’re meant to be “you”, there’s no reason to give them a name at all.

In the True Pacifist ending, after Asriel returns everyone’s SOULs, everyone magically learns Frisk’s name (except Napstablook, who closed their blinds upon seeing the flash of light.) Suddenly, everyone knows who Frisk is.

And… all of their friends still use they/them pronouns for them.

If they’re clearly meant to be not you, then surely it would be easier for Toby to hammer in that point by suddenly having everyone refer to Frisk with different pronouns. But he doesn’t, because Frisk isn’t a girl or a boy. Because the monsters were never wrong to use they/them for Frisk. Those were always their pronouns, and they still are.

Chara

Chara is the character we name at the beginning of Undertale. However, this doesn’t mean that they literally are you.

Chara has their own backstory - they had a family, they had likes and dislikes. They’re not meant to be an in-game representation of the player. If they were, there’s about a million better ways Toby could have done that. Like, you know, not giving them a clearly defined backstory and personality. Why would someone who’s supposed to be “the player” be so… different from so many people? A lot of people don’t like chocolate or flowers or knives. Actually, I’d guess that most people don’t like all of those things at once. But Chara does.

In any case, Chara is referred to exclusively with they/them or, occasionally, it/its pronouns. Their own brother, Asriel - their best friend and undoubtedly the person they were closest to -  uses only they/them pronouns when speaking of them.

Kris

From the very beginning of Deltarune, it’s made very clear that Kris is NOT a self-insert of any kind, even more clear than Frisk and Chara. Whether you believe the red SOUL is literally the player or not, Kris is clearly their own person fighting against someone for control of their body. They have their own clearly defined personality, likes and dislikes, etc. I really don’t think there’s any way to reasonably argue that Kris is meant to be a representation of the player. You don’t get to choose anything about them. Their personality, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, their past, all of that is set in stone.

So why, then, would their gender be up to player interpretation? Why would that be the one single thing we get to decide about Kris? It, quite simply, does not make any sense.

Seam

Seam is a lot less obvious than the other ones - but if you play through Deltarune, you might notice something about all the dialogue where people refer to Seam.

Seam is never referred to with any pronouns. The way it’s written seems very deliberate, in my opinion, so I don’t think that this is a coincidence. 

In the real world, some non-binary people elect to use no pronouns, as well, and ask to be only referred to by name. Seam may be representation for this. Honestly, I think it’s really great of Toby to include a character that doesn’t use pronouns. All the other non-binary characters in Undertale and Deltarune use they/them, but that’s not always the case for real non-binary people. In real life, non-binary people can use all sorts of pronouns, or no pronouns at all.

At first it may seem confusing or difficult to not use any pronouns to refer to someone. But if you reread this section, you’ll notice I’ve never used any third-person pronouns. It took a bit of thinking, but it’s actually quite easy once you get used to it!

--

Kris, Frisk, and Chara are never explicitly stated to be non-binary. That’s true. Some people make the argument that because it’s never explicitly stated, it can’t be canon. That is not true at all. To demonstrate this, I will use an example from Undertale.

Take Alphys. From the Mettaton Quiz Show segment of Undertale, we can learn that Alphys has a crush on both Undyne, a woman, and Asgore, a man. Therefore, Alphys is canonically bisexual. Alphys herself never states that she is bisexual. No one else ever says that Alphys is bisexual. In fact, the word “bisexual” is never used once in Undertale at all. But Alphys being bisexual is still canon.

Therefore, it’s possible for Kris, Frisk, and Chara to be canonically non-binary without it ever being outright stated.

But why? Wouldn’t it be easier for Toby to explicitly state it? Sure, maybe it would be easier to write - but that doesn’t mean it’s better writing. Finding a way to somehow mention a character’s gender would most likely come across as forced and unnatural. After all, most people don’t openly discuss their gender or sexuality in everyday situations.

So, Kris doesn’t need to explicitly say “I’m non-binary and use they/them pronouns” to be a character who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. They just… are. The same goes, of course, for Frisk and Chara.

They’re only ever referred to with they/them pronouns by close friends and family, and we’re given no reason to believe they’re anything other than non-binary. There’s absolutely no reason to use any pronouns other than they/them for these characters.

If you meet someone in real life, and notice that everyone around you is only using they/them pronouns for that person… well, it’s pretty safe to assume that person is non-binary. Even if you never hear anyone say “This Person Is Non-binary”, you don’t have an excuse to start calling them a he or a she. It’s the same with the kids.

The fact is that Frisk and Kris are no different than other video game protagonists. No one tries to argue that Ninten or Ness or Lucas are girls. No one tries to argue that Samus is a boy. It’s only when the protagonist is non-binary that people try to argue otherwise.

Why?

Some people may ask, well, why is this important? Why can’t I just headcanon them as whatever I want? They’re not even real!

Well, you see, non-binary characters are really rare in fiction. Especially as a protagonist, and especially a human protagonist. When you see a non-binary or genderless character in fiction, it’s usually going to be something non-human, like an alien, or otherwise non-sentient, like a robot. This happens a lot, and it dehumanizes actual non-binary people. Even worse, transgender characters in fiction in general are often treated like jokes, or something to make fun of. Like they’re not even a person.

So, to a non-binary person, to see a non-binary protagonist who’s a human being, like them, is.. very important. It’s something you might not understand if you’ve grown up seeing people like yourself on TV or in games or books all the time. It brings comfort to non-binary people to see someone like themself in such a popular video game. It gives them reassurance that “yes, we do exist”, as many people in the real world deny the existence of non-binary people. In both Undertale and Deltarune, no one makes a big deal of Frisk or Chara or Kris being non-binary. No one ever challenges it. No one ever misgenders them. And that’s incredibly comforting for so many non-binary people. For once, for once, they can be immersed in a world where people like them are unanimously accepted, and treated with respect.

That’s why so many non-binary people feel hurt when they see people in fandom misgendering the kids, as well. It’s a denial of their identities, it’s a denial that non-binary people exist in the Undertale and Deltarune universes. Even though it’s just a fictional character, it can still impact your view of actual non-binary people - if you can’t even respect a fictional character’s pronouns, what does that say about how you treat real people?

In addition, a lot of trans and non-binary people in the Undertale fandom are harassed over this. When they try to defend Kris, Frisk, and Chara’s pronouns, people will inevitably throw hate at them. People who identify with these characters are met with mockery and hostility. Unfortunately, there are transphobic people in the Undertale fandom. Misgendering the kids validates those people. It tells those people, “even if someone uses only they/them pronouns, it’s okay to call them a he or a she.” It tells them, “you’re right to think these people are unreasonable. you’re right to think these people don’t exist.” And that’s wrong. That’s not true at all.

[dream--sphere]

Howdy I uh. Wanted to explain one of my self ships as a start for this blog 👉👈

It's with me and Paperjam.

[Paperjam by @7goodangel ]

I was kind of afraid to do something like this for a minute because of the whole PaperFresh bullshit-

But upon looking at their blog they said any ship is okay as long as we're not being assholes 😂

I am a multishipper and I 100% Ship Omni x Paperjam. [Hell one day I might attempt a Poly self ship with us 3!] So this is just my own AU. Meaning none of that "Paperjam belongs to ____" Bullshit please. In Paperjams original Canon Omni and PJ are together and if PJ's creator [tagged above] wishes for me to take down my self ship art with Paperjam and myself in it I will respect their wishes.

Now without further ado some Introductions to my Self Insert made specifically for Undertale!

{Image above shows my Self Insert, Issa, hugging Paperjam's Arm}

Issa is assigned Female at Birth. She was a human even when she was born. However that will be explained later.

Issa's pronouns are she/they and she identifies as Non-Binary.

Her sexual orientation is Lesbian.

Her eyes are purple because mine IRL if in the right lighting can look purple and I didn't want the eyes to be blue with the hair.

Issa's Backstory. [TW: Violence/Gore??]

She grew up in an Underswap pacifist Timeline. However- This was the one Error destroyed. Issa somehow survived due to being Human at the time. She was taken by Core Frisk along with Swap Papyrus, who ended up kind of adopting her. An accident happened, making her skull bust open. Releasing her soul [which was kindness at the time] as a green goop which burned all of her skin off. This was due to the way she acted because of her major abandonment issues. She was manipulative and Toxic without meaning to. Upon being exposed for so long the soul cooled down and rotted because she was supposedly dead. Making it turn from the bright green color to the dark teal.

The "hair" she has now is cooled enough for a human to touch and not get burned. But if she gets a wild emotion [example: anxiety, excitement, panic, sadness] her hair will get hot and "bubble" which makes it kind of float. [Because it's kind of a liquid and evaporation and shit lmao]

[Lmao dats an edgy picture lol]

"You said Issa is a Lesbian but why is she dating Paperjam?"

PJ is Genderfluid with no birth Gender. So I feel like it still counts because they/them lesbians are a thing I support. And even Their creator said a reason PJ goes by he/him is for convenience. But they also said PJ goes by she/he/they pronouns meaning they don't care either 😂

Issa's battle shit lmao:

Usually she will Run away because she doesn't know how to fight. [She didn't want to learn due to her own mental instability] however if she has to she'll most likely use her legs to kick the attacker or go for the neck with her hands.

Magic-Wise:

She has basic Bone attacks that Papyrus taught her.

She's pretty fast. Not sonic speed fast. But faster than most people?

I haven't really gotten too far into story plot, But I'm maybe thinking a child in the future? I might write a silly Wattpad story or something lmao.

Other/Trivia

She has a pet crow named Tarot [like the cards]

She's around 1ft shorter than PJ in this universe

She's 5'6 tall

Loves Spicy food

Enjoys Drawing

Favorite Color is green

Asked PJ out first because PJ was too tsundere to do it themself r.i.p

Cusses way too much

Too chaotic for her own good 😂

[the-u-s-s-enterprise]

This is a long one, but I love Undertale.

Eighteen-years old, fresh out of their sheltered hometown and onto a liberal arts college with more diverse people than they had ever experienced in their life.  They’re nervous about school, the up in ante, the new lifestyle, the new freedom.  They found their place with some friends that they wouldn’t think about in a few years time, people that would come and go, and a couple that would stay, but the first step on their journey into adulthood.

This is fall of 2015.  Their parents dropped them off with a teary goodbye less than a month ago, and Undertale comes out today.  They don’t know about it.  At least not until Steam Train plays it not too long later.  They watch a cute game played and commentated by a duo from their favorite YouTube gaming channel.  It’s exactly their style, a cute, fun game with interesting and lovable characters.

The first episode doesn’t even span the tutorial, and the kid doesn’t bother waiting for the rest.  They load up steam and buy it, playing it well into the night, sobbing at the heartbreaking conclusion and not knowing that five years later they would break into tears over hearing “Home” for the first time in years.

I played Undertale because I thought it was cute, the designs were fun, the mechanics were interesting, the story was easy enough to follow.  I liked video games, but not enough to spend money on them only to get bored halfway through, so I watched a few Let’s Play YouTube channels to experience them without having to devote my constantly overstimulated brain to playing them.

Undertale was different.  I don’t choose the things I become obsessed with (do you think I would be thinking about It: Chapter 2 over a year later if I could?), but when I fall into something, I fall hard.

I played it through, and then I watched Steam Train, and then I watched Press Heart to Continue, and JackSepticEye, and Markiplier, and Dan and Phil, and streamers I don’t even remember the names of in order to see every single reaction and playthrough I could see.  Don’t get me wrong, I played again and again, too, even forcing my friends not to play it if I wasn’t there to watch.

In fact, I distinctly remember a friend, I was watching him play and telling him where the secrets were and the background for every little thing that wasn’t explicit in the game.  He loved it.  We played the entire game in three sessions, the first involved us going through the Ruins and saving after meeting Sans and Papyrus, the second going about halfway through Waterfall, and the third was the rest of the game in a six-hour session.

All in all, I can’t even count how many times I’ve witnessed the game, nor how many times I’ve read the Wiki pages, clicking “random page” over and over again until I had circled back around to the start.  If I had to guess, I’ve played the pacifist playthrough about ten times on my own, and watched it anywhere between 20 and 30 between different YouTubers and rewatches of the same playthroughs.  I’ve seen the genocide run a fair number of times, likely close to ten, and various neutral runs in the teens.

Not only that, I spent hours in the library with my headphones on doing homework, listening to not the OST, but the ten-hour extended versions of my favorite songs, “Bonetrousle”, “Hopes and Dreams”, “Death by Glamour”, and the ever so aptly named “NGAHHH!!” just to name a few.

And don’t get me started on the glitch characters.  The hours I spent looking up information on Gaster because I was too scared to mod my own game are endless.

So, I guess you could say I’m very familiar with the game.  It meant a lot to me as a young adult with fresh freedom, a story about a lost child finding a family of their own.  My first and only tattoo is of the delta rune (although people will try to tell me it’s from Legend of Zelda).

It’s hard to talk about, but I don’t have the best mental health, with constant long-running depression, social anxiety, and mild OCD, my brain tends to run a mile a minute, and I had a really hard time making friends in high school, which resulted in me not having any friends at all after my friends from middle school decided they were too good for me.

I spent the better part of my four years in high school eating lunch alone and not going out on the weekends because no one wanted me to.  In senior year, I managed to make friends with a few people, but nothing deep or long lasting.

Cue college, a fresh start where I could be exactly who I was supposed to be.  I came out as asexual on the second day there, not knowing that my involvement with the LGBT organization would lead me to realize that I was also nonbinary and a lesbian.  But needless to say, I was an outcast looking for a place to call home.

I found it at school, making a couple lifelong friends (I love you girls!) and finding a place in coming to my own leadership abilities and my desire to be a role model and resource for young LGBT people.  Always in the background was Undertale.

Here was this game, though with a few flaws, was the greatest game I had ever played, as I remarked on every little detail from the stunning backgrounds to the fun yet challenging fight mechanics to every little piece of witty dialogue.

I remarked on Toby Fox and his ability to create this game almost entirely on his own, coding and designing and writing music.  He didn’t do it alone, but so much of the game was him, and seeing someone accomplish something that meant so much to me was an inspiration.

I looked at this game and saw a breathtaking story, hints of the twist being woven into every pixel, parallels at every turn, tidbits that you had to play the game ten times (like I did) to catch pieces of backstory that were so vital to fully understanding a character.

Not only that, but I looked at this game and I saw me.  I saw the cute and honestly rather stupid love story between Alphys and Undyne, between a shy (presumably) bisexual lizard girl and a buff (presumably) lesbian fish lady.  They were awkward and uncomfortable and bashful and I loved every part of their interactions.  They cared for each other and their story being thrown in and accepted, not a word said about it except outside the game.  And don’t get me started on the guards.

But beyond that, I saw Frisk, a child without a denoted gender, which many people took to mean you could impose the gender you wanted, but to nonbinary people, to people like me, they saw a main character that used they/them pronouns without it being a joke, without it being asked about, without the characters ever slipping up or even having to guess.  They did it because that’s who Frisk is, and they love Frisk.

I see this game, this funny, heart-wrenching, sweet, and wonderful game, and I see found family.  I see a child who we know went up Mount Ebbott knowing that children who went up there didn’t come back find people (monsters) that loved them, cared about them, even after only knowing them for what we can assume is a day.

Frisk finds these monsters and they loved them for who they are.  The love these characters share meant more to me than I ever could have imagined they would, the background to my introduction to freedom, the meeting of my best friends, the discovery of myself, the growth of my leadership and motivation.  They were there.  They were always there for me, and now, today, on the day of the five year anniversary of my own self discovery, I listen to “Home” and I cry.

I cry for Toriel, who lived alone in the Ruins for years, I cry for Sans and Papyrus who take care of each other in more way than they know, I cry for Undyne who’s desperate to prove herself and protect her people, I cry for Alphys who lived with the guilt of her mistakes and wanting nothing more than to make amends for the monster she thought she was, I cry for Asgore who was so overcome with grief he became the worst version of himself.

I cry for Asriel for obvious reasons.  And I cry for Frisk, a child that wanted love and found it in the journey, just like I did.

I listen to “Home” and I cry because it is home.  It’s a story about love in the time I needed it the most, shaping me into the person I am today, even five years later.

Because despite everything, it’s still me. 

[yastaghr]

True Line 8.1: Family

Summary: Introductions are in order when Cork finally shows up.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6658756/chapters/64752601

Cork paced back and forth across the snow-sprinkled front porch of the Dreemurr. He was not nervous. Hah. Of course he was nervous! He was going to talk to his new boss, his new boss’ girlfriend, the King, the Queen, and the Prince of Monsters, his sibling’s honorary Dunkle, the first monster friend he had ever made, and his sibling the freaking Ambassador of Monsterkind! He was probably forgetting someone or just plain didn’t know about them. It wouldn’t be the first time. Hopefully this time would go better than the last. He still felt sorry for the poor Temmie who was allergic to him. Poor monster.

The other reason, besides his nerves, that Cork was pacing back and forth on the front porch in his fatigues and boots was that he was waiting for the alarm on his phone to go off. The alarm was one he trusted more than anything else. It told him when it was socially acceptable to knock on people’s doors. He, much like his first monster friend, Papyrus, thought that sleep was a horrible thing that only happened to other people.

As it turned out Cork didn’t need to knock, because someone opened the door. It was a kid he recognized from pictures as Prinx Chara. Wasn’t they supposed to be dead? Then again, so was Asriel, so maybe he shouldn’t judge.

The Prinx blinked at him a few times, then let one of the craziest grins he’d ever seen cross their face. They turned back to the house and shouted, “Hey, Frisk! Silver! Your brother’s here!”

“Silver?” Cork said, “Who’s that? Also, how do you know who I am? And aren’t you dead?”

Chara turned back to face him and smiled even wider. Their smile split in a laugh that sounded so cynical for a child. He definitely needed to reread his history book. “Wow, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Mom’s in the kitchen. I’ve got to run down to Gerson’s to get Silver some crab apples. Don’t touch my knife and we’ll be fine.”

With that frightening comment the child skipped down the front path towards the main road. Cork tried to process their speech for a moment, reached the crab apples, and hollered after them, “Pick up an order of the apples for me, too!”

=====

Cork pulled his beanbag out of storage and carried it into the downstairs living room. Then he sat on it. It was still way too big for him. Toriel had bought way too much of the camo fabric for him and insisted on using it all. Then he stared at the child across from him. She was… small. Fragile. Distinctive. Just like Frisk, it looked like this sister was going to be easy to pick out of a crowd, provided the crowd was short enough. Next to them, Frisk and Asriel were sitting and holding hands. He wasn’t ready to process that yet. He was still working on Silver.

“So… my parents didn’t stop being the literal definition of people who shouldn’t have kids, got involved in a cult, and never told you your name so you had to pick your own?” Cork tried to summarize.

“Spatula,” Silver said tonelessly.

“What?”

“They named me Spatula. Everyone said I could pick a new name, so I did. I can show you the story I picked it from if you want? Mom had me write it down when she taught me to write,” Silver said, still toneless. He knew better than to hold that against them. Emotions were hard.

“Well, Silver’s definitely better than Spatula!  Was that all they did to you?” Cork asked without thinking his question through. Frisk and the Prince’s gasps warned him, but it was too late.

Silver described in detail what “the Keepers” had done to her. He felt himself getting more and more mad. Eventually he couldn’t handle it anymore. He reached into his inventory and pulled something out. It was a sheet of corkboard. Silver watched in fascinated silence as he tore it into tiny little shreds. Then he looked back up at her and smiled sadly. “Sorry. I was pi- mad at them for doing that to you. I needed to get it out of my system. Dunkle Sans suggested I use corkboard, once. I think the suggestion was a joke, but this actually works really well.”

Silver’s eyes went funny for a second, like a pair of black sockets were being overlaid on them. Before he could so much as wonder Silver smiled and said, “Consolas says you look healthier. Oh. He says I shouldn’t have said that. Now he’s doing the hand face thing. Now he’s saying to just say hi.”

Cork blinked. “Um… I think I need some more explanations now.”

Azzy took his turn at this. “You know how Frisk can manipulate time and you can manipulate space? Well, it seems that she can manipulate souls. Not as in control them, but as in absorb them and temporarily stop them from breaking. Or. Um, not so temporarily. She has five guest souls in with her. Consolas is a skeleton who worked with the Feds. Usik is a Knight Knight teenager with an authority problem, Nessa and Nyssa are twin cousins of Undyne, and the baby is a ghost that can only manage words sometimes. We’re not testing out the rest of her powers yet because they’re all mixed up in monster magic.”

Cork frowned slightly. “Consolas… wasn’t he that Agent who lost their partner in a mage kid blowup and went rogue?”

“Rogue is stretching it. Stupidly suicidal, yes. Rogue, no,” A different voice said, coming out of Cork’s sister. He jerked and stared into those black eye sockets again. One winked. “We met at that stupid trust building excercise in Fiji, didn’t we? That hike made me hurt worse than dying.”

Cork groaned, “I know, right? Who the he-ck came up with that one? And, uh… dying?”

“The Smiley Man who ran the compound beat me to a pulp. Silver pulled me inside her to keep me safe. He took my body to a different part of the compound and killed me. She thought I was being healed, poor kid,” Consolas explained.

“Shit, shit- sheesh, I need to stop swearing. Please don’t remember that word!” Cork pleaded.

“It is not the worst of words that Silver knows, Diplomat,” A new voice said behind him. He turned. There were three more kids he didn’t recognize standing behind him. One was wearing a blue trench coat that was way too big for them. Another had Native American features - Cherokee, maybe - and a cowboy hat. The last kid had glasses on that magnified their eyes so much that they looked like black orbs.

“O… kay. I take it this is more of the catching up I need to do?” Cork asked.

=====

Cork was laying on the floor of his new apartment surrounded by those little erasable whiteboards. He was scribbling on another one. Each board had the notes on one new person he had met. He’d take pictures of them on his phone later. It was the only system that actually worked for him.

“Okay, so Minori is Japanese-African American and escaped from a Japanese internment camp in the US during WWII. They/them pronouns. They promised Toriel snails and died trying to get them. 6th human to fall into the Underground,” He said to himself as he wrote.

He sat back and scratched his head, staring at the many boards in front of him. “Okay, I’ve got a lot of studying up to do.”

[puppyenergy]

every character in undertale that uses they/them is canonically nonbinary

and before you get mad, let’s take a look at what nonbinary means:

chara, frisk, kris and several other characters in undertale are never explicitly defined as male or female, instead, only ever referred to with gender neutral language and pronouns throughout the game. these characters would fall under the definition of nonbinary.

to nonbinary and trans people, these characters are representation. these characters are important to everyone, but the fact that they positively represent this part of us (being nonbinary) that is so often ignored, shamed, or inaccurately portrayed by other media is much more important to us. it’s very appropriate that the example sentence for the definition of nonbinary is “nonbinary people are vastly underrepresented in the media” because it’s true.

list how many nonbinary characters you know off the top of your head. now list how many characters you know that aren’t nonbinary. the lack of representation we get is astronomical.

it’s undeniable that these characters are canonically nonbinary. however, it appears that some people are holding on to the idea that they’re not. i’ve seen many, many excuses for why people can’t possibly see them as their canon gender or use their canon pronouns.

the thing is.

these excuses are often very poorly thought out. and they tend to disrespect the source material. so, if you’re going to come up with an excuse to misgender these characters, at least do a better job.

here’s all the excuses i’ve seen and why they make no sense.

#1: frisk/chara/kris are the player.

if they were the player they would not have their own names, backstories, personalities, relationship dynamics, motivations, & interests which lay outside the player’s influence. i’m inclined to believe people who claim this probably did not finish these games.

also just because the narrator says “you” does not mean they’re referring to you, the player. i’m guessing people who think this probably haven’t read homestuck and...actually, that’s valid tbh.

#2: frisk/chara/kris are meant to be projected on.

there’s a whole plot twist during the end of this game that these characters are separate from the player. (ie: frisk being revealed to have their own name and be their own person with their own life that flowey begs you to stop interfering with. chara being separate from both frisk and the player, having their own true name, family, backstory, personality, and morals.)

frisk and chara are written to be ambiguous at first, yes, but that’s because toby wants the player to project onto them because it makes the whole plot twist have actual meaning. frisk and chara being separate people and having their own names and backstories wouldn’t have any meaning if they were still supposed to be representations of the player.

this is amazing writing and it would make no sense for their genders to be the one thing that the player somehow still has control over when both undertale and deltarune keep reiterating time and time again that these characters are separate from the player.

#3: toby said frisk/chara/kris’s genders are up for interpretation.

he has never said this.

#4: toby made a tweet that said-

toby’s tweets are not canon.

#5: someone found a deleted tweet where toby called frisk a boy.

it was fake.

#6: frisk/chara/kris are only called they/them because the monsters don’t know their gender.

that’s never stated anywhere.

if monsters didn’t know their gender, toby would have written that into the narrative to show clearly what was going on, and we wouldn’t be having this whole nonbinary debate. but he didn’t. because this excuse doesn’t make sense.

chara & kris had been living with monsters for years. they were family. there’s no way the dreemurrs wouldn’t know what gender their fucking child (sibling & best friend, in asriel’s case) is, especially when they all have genders themselves. especially since, in undertale, the monsters weren’t living under a rock forever. they know what humans are like and have interacted with them before the war. even more so in deltarune, where everybody lives on the surface, so OF COURSE monsters would know what nonbinary is.

just maybe.....the monsters call frisk/chara/kris by they/them pronouns because they go by they/them pronouns

there are several monsters who go by they/them pronouns in the game as well. napstablook, monster kid, and ice wolf are just a few notable examples. the monsters do understand that these characters are nonbinary. i just wish some irl people could too!

#7: they/them is just another way of saying he or she.

usually you only call someone they/them in this way if you don’t know them. all the monsters know frisk/chara/kris. they’re family, class mates, friends, neighbors, etc. they know what gender these characters are and they know what pronouns they use.

there’s also already characters in these games who use multiple pronouns. there’s characters who use both he/him AND she/her pronouns. if frisk/chara/kris was like that then toby could’ve just done that as well. but he didn’t. they only ever uses they/them. it’s not that hard to respect that.

#8: singular they/them is not grammatically correct.

tell that to shakespeare.

#9: they look like [x] gender stereotype.

start applying this logic to real life people and see how quickly you get punched in the face.

#10: they never explicitly state they are nonbinary. the words “i am nonbinary” never come out of their mouth.

alphys never explicitly states she’s a girl. the words “i alphys, the royal scientist, am a girl” never comes out of her mouth. and yet... do people think her gender is up for interpretation? no.

you don’t need someone to hold your hand for you and walk you through this shit.

#11: [literally any other excuse that involves kris.]

[lacrimosathedark]

Okay yall, look. I have an issue with members of the Undertale fandom that I want to discuss. 

Something that really bothers me is on Undertale videos and such where Chara and/or Frisk is referred to as “he” or “she”, if you make the slightest even non-accusational comment about being disappointed they aren’t referred to properly, someone will jump on you and go “Um actually they can be they or he or she cuz you’re supposed to project on themmm” and it’s just factually incorrect from just these two following points.  (quick aside, this is different from the uneducated and often transphobic troglodytes that think “they” is always plural when it has been singular since the 14th century)

One: Chara is referred to as “they” by Asriel, their best friend and adoptive brother. Frisk is referred to as “them” when Papyrus talks to Undyne, as well as Toriel using “them” when they wake up after the fight with Asriel. All stories about the Fallen Human refer to them neutrally as either “they” or “it”. And you can’t use them not really knowing each other as an excuse, because this continues even when characters start using the names “Frisk” and “[whatever the fuck you named Chara]”. These are their canonical pronouns.

Two: This is literally only “projectable” because they are gender-neutral characters, which is ignorant at best and transphobic at worst. That may sound harsh, but tell me, has anyone ever argued that Sora from Kingdom Hearts is a girl because they felt Sora was? Have people argued Lara Croft is a boy just because? You might argue “that’s not fair, those aren’t personalized characters, they have names!” and, okay, then how about this: Final Fantasy IX. The main character can be named anything you want, and the placeholder name is Zidane. I have never seen anyone say Zidane is a girl just because the player feels he is and named him “Lizzie” or something (I mean, he can be Lizzie if you want but it doesn’t make him a girl). And he is about as customizable as Chara, and Frisk is even less customizable. It’s not a tool for projection.

Genderbending is fine (even if it can be a bit cringe, especially when used for the purpose of making a ship specifically straight or gay rather than literally any other reason) and can be really fun and interesting. You wanna write Frisk as a booby murder-girl? Cool. Wanna write Chara as a soft-boy psycho-killer? Awesome. But neither of these characters are canonically male or female, there is no indication that they are meant to be “what you feel”, and they are given pronouns that you don’t choose. It’s more of an issue when those two aren’t the only explicitly they/them using characters. There’s also the Dummy, Mad Dummy (until they become Mad Mew Mew where she becomes she), Napstablook, ghost/pre-body Mettaton, Monster Kid, Gyftrot, and Lesser Dog. These are characters either exclusively referred to as “they”, or also referred to as “it”. There’s also Snowdrake and So Sorry who use all of “they”, “it”, and “he”.

And no one should get up in arms and making stupid “attack helicopter” jokes like dumbass bigots. Let’s remember that this is a game with the biggest romantic couple a bisexual lizard nerd and a badass butch fish lesbian, there’s a cross-dressing male lion npc, Mettaton was gender-neutral before his body, after his body wears dresses and EX is mostly pink and his legs are styled like high-heeled boots, Mad Mew Mew was neutral before her body and then she also had a huge crush on Undyne, and both Papyrus and Alphys go on a date with Frisk. This is not a game that shies away from queerness. Trans-ness isn’t out of the question or even unlikely.

Look, I honestly don’t usually get angry seeing Frisk and Chara referred to as “she” or “he”. I get sad or disappointed, and I’ll either say that or say nothing at all and then move on. But when people see my sadness/disappointment and immediately insist that he/she isn’t wrong, especially when I didn’t say it was, it’s defensive, stupid, and rude, and that is what pisses me off rather than the perceived misgendering of a fictional character. Tbh, you can call Frisk and Chara whatever you want, they’re fictional characters, it’s not the biggest deal, do what you please. But if you use non-canonical pronouns for them, don’t insist it’s canon or you’re correct in doing so. That’s all I ask.

[badgersgarbage]

Kris(py kreme lol)

eyy nice

This one’s gonna be a long one though, just to let you know.

Physical attributes:

In terms of height, I’d say they’d be 5'4 at the time of the game but probably grows up to be 5'9 or so.

They’re pretty thin in general, but not without a hint of muscle, mostly from school activities.

I, personally, envision Kris as being biologically male, but that’s just me. Not something I hold onto as a hard-and-fast rule, mind you, and not something I’ll chastise people over not following.

Not so much biological in this case, but I can see Kris identifying as agender.  Or is just apathetic to the whole gender thing entirely and doesn’t really care how people refer to them as.  I tend to write them with they/them pronouns but I can see them not caring if people use he/him or she/her when talking about them.

Abilities and skills:

Despite their generally reserved nature, Kris is remarkably good at negotiating and, in some cases, outright manipulation of others.  But they often choose not to do the latter, mainly because that usually just means more trouble than it’s worth.

Very good at being quiet and slinking around, given their propensity for pranking others.

On a similar note, they’re very good at planning things in advance and working out all manner of schemes well beforehand.

In terms of combat prowess, however, they’ve only learned stuff from the various books, video games and anime they’ve consumed.  They’re not a trained swordsman or anything, and tend towards flashy moves, but it’s not like they’re expecting to stab anybody for realsies.

Has a fair bit of determination they can call upon, but not nearly as much as, say, Frisk or Chara would in their own world.  Generally this only comes out when they feel invested in something (such as the Dark World), but otherwise it’s kind of just the same sort of background levels a human like them would have.  More on that below.

His life and personality:

Honestly, we already know a lot about Kris’ home-life:  grew up in a loving family, then the parents split none-too-happily, then their brother Asriel left for college and they’ve been kind of alone ever since.

Spent a lot of time with Asriel in school and, particularly during and after the divorce, relied on him the most for emotional support.  So when Asriel left, they felt like their only friend had left, and they withdrew quite significantly.

Adopted at a very young age, since they seemed unaware that humans don’t normally grow horns.  So probably barely knew their biological parents, if at all.

Likely has some form of depression, as well as some mild sociopathic and/or psychopathic tendencies.  Not enough to be a major worry, but enough for them to be seen as the ‘creepy kid’.

Almost everything they have is a hand-me-down from Asriel - given that Asriel was probably generally bigger than them, their clothes are often quite big on them.  And unfortunately remind them almost always of their brother.

On the neglected end of child favouritism, with Asriel being shown a lot of love by Toriel and… well, no shortage of love given to Kris, but perhaps not as many displays of it.  Generally grew up expecting not to have much stuff so doesn’t often ask for things from others.  Which is why they found the stuff from the Dark World so important to them, and they loathe the Player for dropping it.

When they were younger and less emotionally withdrawn they were, in short, a little shit.  Pulling pranks, tormenting Noelle, and generally having very little impulse control.  All relatively harmless, but still with almost no way to stop it unless someone basically took them by the hand and said ‘hey no don’t do that’.

Now, a good way to describe them would be ‘apathetic’.  They no longer have any real motivation, no desire to do much except sleep, and generally don’t care about anything, wandering through life as it happens around them.

Ironically, that’s what makes them perfect for a vessel for the Player’s SOUL - they feel pretty much empty and devoid of purpose.  However, the issue with that is that after some time, Kris reacted poorly to it, which is a theory/thoughtdump for later on.

Actually really enjoys playing the piano, particularly fairly slow and soulful tunes.

Now again, this might be my bias showing, but I can almost imagine them getting on better with Asgore than Toriel.  Difference in hugs aside, it’s pretty clear Kris cares about them (putting the danny devit-egg in the fridge without player input being the strongest of the possible evidence I can think of at this point).  I can at least see them being deeply embarrassed by how Toriel seems to treat them like a young child still, and perhaps even resents her for it in a pretty typical teenage way.

Really, really, really likes dragons.  Probably quite liked drawing them too.  might also be a strong point as to why I ship them with susie but shhhhh we can talk about ships later

Generally doesn’t like talking to people.  Not much of a conversationalist, or likes interacting with others in general.  Probably was like that even before Asriel left.

Doesn’t express themselves much.  Like, at all.  Their face is almost perpetually tired-looking and they only give small gestures for reaction.  This is slightly different in the Dark World, where they actually do move their face - their mouth remains fairly steady, but their eyes carry most of the emotion.

Has no interest in the whole religion that Toriel and Asriel (latter is a probability as opposed to a guarantee) subscribe to, which probably puts them at odds with their mother.

As a friend/romantic interest:

Being the withdrawn, socially-awkward mess they are, I can see them being particularly apprehensive about getting close to anyone in all respects; mentally, physically and emotionally.

Will let the other person take the ‘lead’ in their friendship, and will generally follow along with whatever they do.

After a while they might get comfortable enough to really, fully unload all manner of heartache and personal stuff onto you, more as a way to get it off their chest.  Then, they’d probably finally start to be expressive around you.

If romance becomes involved, it’d be pretty much the same, except then they’d also feel more comfortable with physical contact.  Almost to the point of never letting go, but almost.

Probably wouldn’t take any form of abandonment too well either, and might frequently try to seek attention just so they can feel some kind of validation.  After a while they’d probably chill in the latter regard, but the first would still be something they always fear.

Really though just give them lots of affection and love (platonic or otherwise), be prepared to have an emotional wreck on your hands, and you’ll end up with a steadfast friend/partner who might do the occasional bad thing but genuinely means well.

Oh yeah, and get ready to deal with weird stuff with SOULs.

And them getting up in the middle of the night for snacks

[kinosternon]

Equivalence: The Story So Far

So, one of the people who have stuck with Equivalence for a reeeally long time (it's almost 4 years old! How?) recommended that I write out chapter summaries to remind people of what happened in previous chapters.

The story's gotten really long and more than a little convoluted, so it helped me to write things out, too. (I tried to keep things short, but...well.)

So without further ado, here’s what’s happened!

 1. The monsters come to the surface, and start learning about what's different there—particularly, the cold and the sky. Grillby starts some bonfires and sets up a barbecue. Toriel steps in to keep things organized when Asgore isn't up to the task alone. Frisk enjoys an impromptu sleepover and cuddle party. 

2. The monsters see their first sunrise. Asgore asks Frisk to be an ambassador, and then Toriel asks if they want to leave. They aren't sure about Asgore's request, but they decide to stay. Some monsters are discovered to be slightly translucent aboveground, at least temporarily. Frisk helps Napstablook find Mettaton so he doesn't get walked through. Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus try to introduce the monsters to the nearby town's city hall. Frisk goes shopping with Toriel in the human town, and decides to make spaghetti for Papyrus. 

3. A town has popped up out of nowhere by the time Frisk returns—though they're just magic houses, and will need to be rebuilt if they're going to last for very long. Toriel confesses to keeping Frisk out of the way during the construction for their own safety. Frisk makes spaghetti, but unfortunately it's too solid to agree with Papyrus, or most of the rest of the monsters for that matter. Toriel makes them monster pie in consolation. 

4. Time passes, and the monsters rebuild the city the real way this time. Toriel starts doing PR for the human town. Alphys confesses her involvement in Mettaton's rise to stardom, and accompanying secret confinement. She explains that he's planning to live more openly. Undyne comes home upset, and explains that some secret sect of monsters want to ban humans from entering the city. Frisk becomes worried that they'll be seen as a kidnapping victim, or else be forced to leave their friends. 

5. Asgore offers Frisk formal Ebott Town citizenship, and Frisk immediately accepts. Asgore hires Toriel for her services after she delivers an ultimatum. Frisk accompanies Asgore and some of their other friends to the underground to do some monster-based PR work. Parts of the underground are falling into disrepair with so many of their inhabitants gone. Frisk has an odd conversation with the River Person steering their ferry, and receives some magic mushrooms and some odd advice. 

6. Frisk offers the Snowman Piece back to the Snowman, but they ask them to keep it with them until they're safely moved to the surface. The plight of monsters who don't want to move to the surface right away, or who can't, is discussed. Frisk finds the Nacarat Jester fallen down in the abandoned Snowdin Town, and calls in Sans as backup. Papyrus and Asgore (and, a little bit, Sans) take the lead in getting Frisk home. Between the abandoned regions and what happened to Nacarat, Frisk starts to regret the damage they've done to the monster community by breaking the barrier. 

7. Toriel bakes with Frisk to cheer them up, but Frisk starts having nightmares and questioning their right to stay in the monster town. Frisk refuses Toriel's offer to stay home with them, and decides to visit Napstablook instead.

8. Frisk hangs out with Napstablook and learns about the latest developments in his music. Mettaton comes, and the three of them have a conversation about pronouns. Mettaton takes Frisk away to his mansion and engages in some aggressive comforting measures, and he makes Frisk promise to tell him if they ever decide to leave the ones they love behind. 

9. Undyne POV chapter. Asgore negotiates with "Mr. J," who's been put in the role of a kind of monster liaison; they prepare for an oncoming blizzard and compare notes on magical knowledge, anime, and the Internet. Undyne meets Mr. J's ward (Nat), who is afraid of the snow. 

10. Back to Frisk, whose mental health (anxiety in particular) has picked up in light of recent events. Toriel sends them out after the blizzard to play in an attempt to cheer them up. Frisk scopes out the snowman's future home...and sees a human (Nat) climbing the mountain, not so far from where they themselves fell. Frisk chases him, but they're abducted by a River Person before they can reach him. Frisk tries to follow, but collapses instead. 

11. Sans POV. While on patrol, Sans runs into Monster Kid (or technically the other way around), who spotted Frisk while sledding. He uses his shortcuts to teleport over and saves them, but takes them back to Asgore instead of Toriel by mistake. Kid gathers the others, and they try to help Frisk. Word comes in to Asgore that another human child was found on the edge of town. 

12. The other child (Nat) is taken to Grillby's and fed and warmed up. Frisk wakes up, and explains what they saw. They wants on going down to talk with the River People, to get to the bottom of things, but most of their friends, and especially Toriel and Asgore, argue they should stay put. Frisk tells Mettaton that they're going to leave that night anyway. 

13. Frisk sneaks out of Toriel's house and into the Underground. They convince the River Person steering the ferry to take them to their hometown. They meet a River Person who claims that she was once a human and Frisk that their death is imminent...at least, if they continue living on the surface. 

14. The River Person explains the history of the humans who were never found and killed by monsters. Over the years, they were found by the River People, and kept in hiding in their town. However, monster food can't sustain humans' physical bodies, only heal them. Some eventually died, unable to come to terms with the loss of a living body; others survived, but were forever changed, like this River Person herself. Every human who's fallen into the Underground has ultimately grown dependent on the magic there to stay alive. She also explains that this is why the River People have been anonymously petitioning to keep all humans out of the city; they can't explain why without revealing the existence of undead refugees, and fear the deaths of humans after visiting will begin the war once again. Frisk agrees to explain to Asgore the importance of keeping humans outside Ebott Town for as long as possible. The River Person gives Frisk another ration of mushrooms, some frank advice, and a bit of comfort in her own way, before seeing them off back home. Sans catches them on their way back and takes them home. 

15. Aboveground, Frisk almost convinces Sans to take them straight to Asgore, but Undyne finds them first and insists on taking them straight to Toriel. Frisk asks if the human child is okay, and Undyne agrees to check in on them. Toriel is very upset with Frisk, and assigns Sans as a bodyguard/babysitter for them. When she tries to ask where Frisk went, Frisk panics and starts a battle with her, but ends it when Toriel refuses to fight. They break down and promise to take Sans with them if they have to go somewhere else again. 

16. Frisk takes a long nap and starts figuring out what they can say to who to keep both the humans and the monsters safe, and they and Sans go to visit Alphys. They spend the day watching anime, but Undyne doesn't come home, and Alphys hadn't heard about Frisk running off, so Frisk just asks her to analyze one of their mushrooms. Undyne comes back while Alphys is getting actual work done, and reports to Frisk (and, incidentally, Sans) that the human child was hospitalized the night before. She demands more information, and Frisk explains that they heard rumors that visiting monsters kills humans, and Sans connects the dots. 

17.  Asgore's POV, slight step backwards in timeline. Asgore leaves for the human village without Undyne (who's out looking for Frisk), and finds out that the human child was hospitalized the night before for hypothermia—a mysteriously delayed reaction from his time on the mountain. Undyne rejoins him in time for them to talk with Mr. J and his ward, and apologize. The child forgives them immediately, but the incident raises questions about Frisk's presence—and their safety—in Ebott Town. 

18. Back to Frisk. Sans begins babysitting, and Asgore comes by to tell them they're to stay in hiding until he can straighten things out with the humans...unless they want to go back. When he suggests that it might be a good idea, for Frisk's own safety and the sake of diplomacy, Frisk panics and starts having physical symptoms as well. Sans protects Frisk from Asgore using magic, and calms them down. Frisk then explains why leaving is a terrible idea, and the story they heard from the River People. They tell Toriel as well. 

19. Frisk moves back into the Underground ruins with Toriel (and Sans), and starts deteriorating anyway. They have a number of visitors. Sans brings by decorations in preparation for the holidays, as well as some food for Frisk. They're disappointed when they discover that it's human food; their body is craving the magic of monster food. They discuss the future of monsters and humans, and Sans agrees to smuggle Frisk monster food every once in a while. 

20. Frisk continues to get worse, and starts having nightmares regularly. They overhear Asgore and Toriel arguing over what to do about Frisk and the humans. Frisk gets a letter from the human child. When Undyne comes to visit, and after Frisk explains some things about Christmas, she discovers that not only is Frisk becoming emaciated, scars from their past battles with monsters are appearing all over their body. 

21. Undyne, Toriel, Asgore, and Alphys start intense research to save Frisk. Frisk asks Alphys to stop, because it's having a negative effect on her mental health and Frisk is worried for her safety. They explain to the others what they've asked of her, but falls ill shortly thereafter, and doesn't recover. They're worried about upsetting their friends, but Sans asks them to look after themself instead. 

22. Toriel's POV. Gerson determines that the problem is that Frisk's body is slowly dying in its delayed attempts to recover from Frisk's starvation and injuries in the Underground. Toriel and the others do their best to take it well. Sans takes her out to Grillby's in the evening, and tries to convince her that what's happening to Frisk isn't her fault. Sans has his own take on the situation, and admits that he thinks Frisk's fate might be inevitable. 

23. Frisk becomes bedridden. Mettaton comes to visit with a plethora of (early) Christmas gifts. Frisk apologizes for the fact that they're dying, and says that they don't blame everyone any more than anyone blames them. After Mettaton leaves, Frisk finds a recording of his latest concert; he dedicated the last song of his set to Frisk. Sans asks Frisk to reset the timeline and try to do a speed-run through the Underground, so they don't have time to starve before leaving. Frisk doesn't want to lose the friendships they've made and the monsters' happiness, so they refuse. 

24. Sans POV. Frisk falls down. Sans calls in everyone to try to save them, and is about to use a defibrillator that he and Alphys built when Alphys stops him, because she notices that Frisk is still breathing normally, despite heart failure. She argues that the best thing to do is wait for Frisk to wake up, and Sans turns on her, bringing up her past to use against her before Papyrus finally stops him. Alphys breaks down and Sans leaves, and Papyrus goes out to collect him, bring him home, and tell him off, and offer his own words of comfort. 

25. Slight jump back in time, Undyne's point of view. Sans leaves Frisk's room, and Papyrus apologizes on Sans's behalf and goes after him. Asgore considers going to meet with the humans, and Toriel tells him he's in no condition to do so (and also to get out of her house). Toriel thanks a tearful Alphys for her help, and then Undyne carries her home, makes her tea, and shouts her into feeling better about things as best she can. 

26. Mettaton POV. Late in the day of Frisk's collapse, he (finally) gets word of Frisk's state from Asgore, and is asked to attend a meeting with some of the monsters in charge of human research and negotiations. Frisk's state (basically, magically-extended refeeding syndrome and physical trauma, ending in coma and heart failure) is explained by Gerson and the scientists. The River Person Frisk spoke to explains what she knows about the extended effects of the monster lifestyle on (once-)living humans. The conversation comes around to the point that without doing tests, it's impossible to know the degree to which monster food is (indirectly) dangerous to humans. Sans points out that all they can do is share their knowledge with the humans, and Mettaton volunteers to do some online PR work, and asks about Frisk after the meeting. 

27. Alphys POV, a week or two after Frisk's collapse. Alphys prepares to attend an unofficial test that Mr. J has volunteered for, to determine the extent of monster food's healing power and what happens afterwards. Undyne gives her a bit of a pep talk before she goes, and she meets the human child (Nat) and explains what the monster scientists are doing. Undyne introduces her to Mr. J and Nat as her girlfriend, and they chat until the tests start showing solid results. Alphys is spooked by being the one to spot Mr. J's returning (very mild) injury, and leaves the lab, only to be confronted by Sans, who surprisingly enough gives her a pretty satisfactory apology and promises to give her space unless and until she's comfortable being around him again.