#Should I be a pacifist?

[enemylasagnaaaaa]

bro

i hate art block

[stainedglassthreads]

One thing I think I just realized is, in addition to being dissatisfied with how stories deal with Toriel’s grief compared to Asgore’s and Asriel’s, and how I don’t see many instances of Toriel and Asgore’s quarrel being addressed in a way that satisfied me... I don’t think I see that many AUs that quite get the responsibility Asgore feels... right.

Yes, I’ve seen several that portray his grief, depression, and how badly he doesn’t want to be in this position well, even if it’s disappointing how not everyone seems to be aware of what you learn about him in a Neutral run where you’ve previously killed Flowey. A lot of people can get aspects of his characterization very well, the broken man, the goofy dad, the intimidating monarch. But I think the reason I don’t see people capture the weight of his responsibility quite as well in fanfics and comics is... well. Oddly enough it’s in the way the monsters treat him.

It’s not just the fandom that has issues with idolizing or demonizing characters. It’s also the Kingdom of Monsters themselves--and they all idolize Asgore. Yes, he’s a very grounded and compassionate individual who invites his subjects to share all their problems with him, and who Papyrus insists will just let you pass through the Barrier. But he’s also a bit of the subject of a cult of personality for his subjects. When they say he’ll absorb seven souls and become a GOD, it’s not an expression of his arrogance, but rather their own adoration. While out-of-universe the Angel is generally agreed to be either Asriel or Chara(or us), in-universe I wouldn’t be surprised if Asgore was considered the Angel.

It’s not long now. King Asgore will let us go. King Asgore will give us hope. King Asgore will save us all.

Yes, individual monsters may want to collect a human soul for their own individual wants and desires. But it’s only the capture of a human soul, or using a single soul for their own benefit, that they really aspire to. (With the exception of Toriel, who wants no souls, and Flowey, who is Flowey.) Of those area bosses who earnestly try to take just one soul, Papyrus and Undyne both want to hand you over to Asgore, and Mettaton wants to protect humanity FROM Asgore. Literally everyone in the Underground seems to fully believe that Asgore will be the one taking all the Souls and fulfilling his promises, and all are content. (Again, barring Toriel, MTT, Flowey.) No one seems to ever doubt he’ll do as he says, even his ex-wife, and no one’s greedy to take the power for themselves or take the burden of being a savior for themself, except his kid who has both a God Complex and a Savior Complex.

With Chara, and with Asgore. They take a person and turn them into a representation of something More than any singular person could ever be. And then in the worst route Chara does it again, to themself. Asgore is freedom and salvation and retribution itself, and everyone including the woman who was once married to him agrees and reinforces the role. Chara is the feeling of a number going up, and the fandom agrees and reinforces the role.

And I dunno. There are fics and AUs where Asgore never lost his kids and always remained an affable, friendly guy. There are AUs where Asgore is the main antagonist and an awful villain with few redeeming qualities. There are fics and AUs where Asgore gets to recover in a post-pacifist setting. But I’m not sure any fics or AUs have ever quite captured how everyone else just talks about the guy, for me. Toriel is simply ‘intimidating’. But Asgore is a GOD.

[reenaki]

Twitter trend(?)

[trek-tracks]

KIRK: Well, for a man who swore he'd never return to Starfleet...

McCOY: Just a moment, Captain, sir. I'll explain what happened. Your revered Admiral Nogura invoked a little known, and seldom used, reserve activation clause, ...in simpler language, Captain, they drafted me!

KIRK: They didn't.

McCOY: This was your idea! This was your idea, wasn't it?

Can we just reflect on the amount of sheer chutzpah it takes to not only draft one Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy back into Starfleet after he's comfortably retired, but also immediately, upon his return, sass him about it?

...it doesn't count as coming crawling back if you're drafted, Kirk

[nostalgia-tblr]

stopped reading a fic just there because it was insisting that thor & co went on many violent adventures pre-movies but of course left poor feeble loki behind cos he's a) feeble and b) blessed with a better understanding of imperialism than the rest, and there are a thousand other fics that also think this is obviously what happened but i think i may just have hit my limit on this one :\

[carlyraejepsans]

Yknow, you’re blog reminded me on how I need to watch a No Mercy playthrough because to this day, I’m not quite sure where [PLAYER NAME] ends and ‘Chara’ begins.

i think that's the point! there's a VERY blurry area where we begin, where our role within the story does, what chara is and what frisk does. an intentionally blurry one, at that. and i think no mercy is the one iteration of undertale's story that acts as the exception that makes the rule, neatly and irreparably dividing "us" from "chara".

it's no coincidence that we achieve it in the route where we stack up as much LV as is physically possible, a mechanic textually described as "distancing [you] from yourself".

[elbiotipo]

Perhaps it's the pacifist in me but even if I had to kill someone in 100% justified and ambiguous self-defense there was no other choice, I would be haunted forever by it. I would not desire to kill another person in almost any circumstances. Much less about a fucking TV. Yes, I would most probably grab a stick and kick someone's ass if they tried to harm me or steal from me. I wouldn't even CONCIEVE of killing them.

[maulfucker]

If you look at my blog it might seem like I only care about Satine as an accessory to my pet toxic yaoi ship, but I do actually care about her as a character who could've been so much more interesting than the very basic characterization they gave her. I've said this before and I maintain it - she should've been a pacifist with a gun. defending that pacifism applies to institutions and governments not to individuals. she should've worn mandalorian armor and she should've kept her blasters eternally set to stun but still visibly carried blasters. she should've punched pre vizsla in the face. she should've punched maul in the face. she should've been padmé's idol, a role model for what she could've been. not impulsive and lovesick like padmé, not willing to risk her life or forgive anything for love like padmé, but a powerful politician who cared for her people and her culture and wouldn't hesitate to pick up a blaster if she had to.

[forestlovesyou]

I got hit by a huge wave of nostalgia and fell back into the Undertale rabbithole and I just couldn't resist the urge to make a Handplates skeleton lore accurate oc who I am pretty proud of ngl :] adawd

[feroluce]

Really loved this bit of Boothill characterization from the end of the Dreamjoy Memoir travel log quest after Penacony:

Because of course he would notice that. Of course it would resonate with him. The IPC used Penacony in much the same way they used Boothill's homeplanet, Aeragon-Epharshel. He can pick up on all of this because he's lived it. So of course it would speak to him.

It's such a shame he and Captain Revolver's inspiration, Tiernan, never got to meet. I think they would have really gotten along.

[essektheylyss]

I think it's important to note that I do believe Orym wasn't totally thinking straight when he nodded to Laudna. Because if he'd have been thinking straight, he'd have gotten in front of her and then very efficiently killed Bor'dor himself, and he'd have still been correct for it. Hope this helps. 😌

[silverware-is-interesting]

very minor no mercy run spoilers(?) under the cut maybe a little au of sorts?? idk and it's a bit long

honestly, i was happy at the time there wasn't a guardener fight (because i found her fight in the pacifist run kinda difficult) but now that i think about it could be quite... sad? if you know wat i mean?? maybe despite Axis's warning, and, y'know how he looked, she still did what she was programmed to do, which is protect the flowers & stuff like that. plus, she'd probably have much more defense in the geno run, so you'd just LOAD her with bullets, and maybe the backups too, not too sure

anyways, sorry for the block of text, i just think she had a lot of potential (not trying to seem like i don't like uty, of course!)

but basically, Clover would just shoot her with a fuckton of bullets as she slowly died, and some of her systems crash one at a time (idk 'bout that last part though, i'm not really clever when it comes to coding and that kinda stuff)

might make more about this concept, might not, idk

[floweyheadcanons]

randomly hits you with the flowey brainblast

Ok ok hear me out but!!! I think Flowey eventually becomes comfortable living with Toriel at first he just kinda. Sneaks around like a little creep... You know how stray cats will occasionally just hang out for a bit before leaving? I think that's what Flowey did, like he'd just watch Toriel while in little hiding spots because he hadn't really decided by that point if he was ready to go back to being a son along with the anxieties that she wouldn't think he's good enough the way he is and that she'd want Asriel and not him :Ccc... I think he'd occasionally get Toriel a glass of water and tuck her into bed when it gets late or she seems to be relapsing... He'd probably get a little frustrated with her and give her notes sometimes that lightly scold her with like a glass of water/little snack next to it...

At some point I think Toriel would catch the little home intruder and attempt to repay him by letting him stay with her, making him food cause she'd assume he has nowhere to go and that's why he keeps breaking in. Not that she's necessarily wrong about that but he TECHNICALLY has Papyrus to go to. After that he more openly comes and goes and will occasionally talk to her but still be too nervous,,, they chat every now and again about things, sometimes wacky and mundane and other times kind of deep. Toriel and Flowey grow close, and she'd eventually tell him he's like a son to her and he doesn't have to leave if he doesn't want to because she's more than ok with him being there. Flowey can't take it anymore so he admits it. He used to be Asriel. The reason he's like a son to her is because he is her son. Toriel just isn't sure how to process it at first. She tries to see any hints of him messing with her but she can tell this is the most genuine he's ever been in his life. They both cry a little cry a lot,,, Toriel tells him that for so long Asriel's birthday has been the hardest for her. She remembered it after all this time and marked it on the calendar. Flowey pretends to not know already because he likes the smile she gets on her face when she thinks he's learning she really cares about him.

[rebornofstars]

nobody fucking touch me rn i went to see tf one in the cinema and im shaking. they actually made a good transformers movie. what the fuck

[cherboxishere]

Tritober day?? I don’t remember the day but it was the blood prompt IM NOT IMMUNE TO VAMPIRE VASH PROPAGANDA

[organised-disaster]

I got bored during class and drew my favourite little loser