#pre-incident!toriel

[procrastinatinglumi]

Pre-Incident Memory!Toriel

Lady Toriel Ewestace - A monster who lives around the outermost border that connects the human's and monster's territory.

Previously; Toriel Dreemurr, Queen of all monster. She divorced from the monster king at the time after the 14XX's peace treaty between the two races.

[invertedfate]

I don’t really understand the waterfall incident and Fort Aquarius + Forgespring as a whole. I thought the timeline wasn’t altered beyond changing around the lost souls’ destinies. Speaking of which, what motive does the Dark Blue soul have to help Papyrus? Wasn’t it the one behind the deaths of thirty-nine monsters?

In order for the characters to make sense in their new positions, events in the timeline changed as a result of natural cause and effect. Asgore still declared war, but was unable to commit to it after takign one soul, so he stepped down and Toriel was left in charge, tried to undo the war declaration, and backlash to this decision eventually pushed the blue souled human into a situation where she gained LV and eventually caused the waterfall incident.

My goal was to give every character change an in-universe explanation and have character choices in their new positions impact the rest of the world. That's how the best roleswap AUs pre-Undertale have always operated in my eyes, and it's a principle I wanted to use here to make a stronger and more interesting story.

Because, to me, simply changing their positions in the story and not accounting for their personal values and personalities reshaping those roles is a missed opportunity. Toriel would not act as Asgore did, etc, etc. And thus the choices would snowball and history would change in the aftermath of Chara and Asriel's deaths.

This is explained in the books in Fort Aquarius as well as the mage's journal. It also sounds like you didn't explore the interactive terminal, as the security tapes there reveal that Papyrus was kind to the human SOULs during the DT experiments. And keep in mind the souls were fully conscious even when contained in those jars- that's plenty of time to reflect on one's mistakes.

[undertsums]

Nuzzles for comfort

NOTE: This is mostly a pre fall into the void thing but I have two that are after and I'll let you know when that is. Also these are not skeleton kisses, nuzzles are a more platonic way to show affection and care for those you are closest to.

Roman sniffled as she cried, she asked just one simple question to Webdings. "Doc...Why don't you show me affection?" She asked because Shadow brought it up to her, he told her that affection was something everyone shows to those they care for. Roman never expected Webdings to freak out, she got yelled at for a pointless question, that she 'didn't need affection'.

Roman felt hurt...She thought maybe Webdings did care...But now she knew. "There there" said a familiar voice. Roman sniffled as she looked up to Shadow as he pulled her close "I did warn you...But it's okay, you don't need affection from her" he said. Roman tilted her head slightly "w-why not?" She asked, Shadow placed his nose on her forehead "because I'll give you all the affection you need" he answered.

Roman smiled and sniffled "m-me too" she said as she sat up slightly and nuzzled his forehead with her nose. Shadow smiled "that's right, just me and you" he whispered pulling her close in a hug.

*Scene shift to before the Gyftmas party incident in Season 1*

Roman was drawing with Joyce, Toriel came into the room and gave Joyce a forehead nuzzle with her nose. Roman stared as she felt her soul shift, when was the last time she gave a nuzzle to someone?

"Roman?" Joyce's voice pulled Roman from her thoughts, oh...Was she staring? Roman smiled and stood up giving Joyce a nuzzle who was a little shocked at first before smiling "have you nuzzled anyone else before?" She asked curious. "I think so...But I don't remember who" Roman said, Joyce frowned "do you ever worry why you can't remember your past?" She asked. Roman shook her head "not really, maybe it's for the best I don't remember, what if it was awful?" She suggested.

Joyce looked sad "I hope it wasn't...Your so sweet and nice, I don't know anyone who would treat you harshly" she replied, Roman sat down "I mean there's Error" she replied as Joyce giggled "he doesn't count, he hates everyone."

*Scene shift to Season 2*

Shadow was in the middle of a really good book, it was very late but sleep is not really something he needs. Well okay...He MIGHT need it but he just...Can't. He heard soft footsteps and looked up from his book to Neela standing in the doorway "oh...S-Sorry, I thought maybe you were mom" she said.

Shadow stared, Neela's body was shivering, she looked tired but also very much awake. Ah...Nightmares. He closed the book he was reading and laid it on the small desk "come here" he said patting the chair. Neela stared for a moment before joining Shadow on the chair, she wondered why he was up and was about to ask before Shadow placed his nose on her forehead. It was a nuzzle, it made Neela smile, Shadow felt comfortable enough and wanted to show Neela affection in a time she needed it.

"There there, nothing scary can hurt you now" Shadow said pulling away with a smile, "did you nuzzle Roman like this too?" Neela asked curiously. Shadow's memory flashed to that time...Comfort and affection, something he never got but saw many times. Anytime he had to pull away a parent from a loved one, they would quickly do a nuzzle of affection, a last goodbye.

Back then he didn't care, but now...He had those he wanted to comfort and cared for. "Yes...Many times when she needed comfort" he replied, Neela frowned "what about you?" She asked. Shadow smiled "once...I didn't need the comfort" he said, Neela stared and reached up and nuzzled his forehead before pulling back with a smile "you deserve it...Is that okay?" She asked.

Shadow smiled and pulled Neela close in a hug "more than okay...I guess I really did need that" he said, Neela giggled slightly.

After about an hour she would drift off into sleep, Shadow was careful in carrying her to the bedroom she was sharing with Joyce.

His memory would bring up times when he would forcefully drag kids to their doom, but now here he was, careful, gentle. He laid her down and tucked her in. Memories flashing of tying down innocent kids to a table, ready for experiments.

Shadow floated out and instead of going back to the chair decided to try to sleep. Maybe...Maybe the nightmares won't wake him up.

The screaming, the begging.

Maybe...Just maybe he'll have enough comfort...He could only hope.

[paramar]

okay, so here’s my Gamer Theory *youtuber voice*: so i’m firmly a believer that ralsei is 100% related to kris, more specifically kris’s anxieties of being the only human in their family and wanting to fit in as a monster. other people have theorized that ralsei may be the green crayon, or the red headband. i personally think the last one is more likely, but ultimately may be a redherring, (i can easily see the headband appearing later on, “disproving” the theory). but imo both elements are connected: i think ralsei is a drawing.

first the crayon labels that "have long faded" and the "old papers" in the supply closet may be connected. i'm mostly shooting in the dark here, because, you know, two chapters out of seven, but the buildings of castle town seems a bit paper-like to me, my impression is that these papers are from the time kris was a small kid. ralsei being kris’ old OC monstersona where they projected their desire to be just like the other members of their family. 

color-wise: the reason the green crayon is missing is because kris used all of it to color ralsei's clothes. the reason that ralsei has pink horns unlike the "red headband", has eyes with the same pink unlike kris' red eyes, and has a "red scarf" despite being another shade of pink may have been simply artistic liberty or there just wasn't a red crayon available for some reason. how many times as a kid one had to do with just the materials available? something like that

the long-theorized anagram name: so in another post i not-so-seriously-maybe said that when noelle "recognized" ralsei in the dark world she didn't recognize asriel or toriel or asgore but rather, ralsei the monster oc that kris used to draw as a kid. with the over-present running gag of the dreemurs being bad at naming stuff, how does kris come up with the name? by mixing up their brother's name on one of ice-e junior jumbles.

some random miscellaneous thoughts that i don't know how to expand but i think are worth mentioning: - this could "explain" kris supposed ambivalence towards ralsei in the game: if they at some point accepted that they never could be a monster/they would never fit with their family in the way they wished, looking at him may not bring the best memories, especially if ralsei is from a pre-certain traumatic incident.

- but why do ralsei and kris uses different pronouns? this is when an already off-the-rails theory goes off-the-rails and if i may speculate, maybe all of this was done before kris figured out their gender. i don't know if mr toby fox has any plans of exploring kris' transness furthermore in the story, but the transgenderizer blue dress already made an appearance in deltarune alongside ralsei, so anything is possible.

- even if the dark world version of ralsei's change at the end of chapter 1 can be explained with his magic hat or so, that difference can also be explained in the light world version: what does a kid do to a drawing if they are angry at the results, didn't like it, etc? they scribble all over it. hence chapter 1 ralsei.

- similarly, what is under all the robes and scarf in ralsei's defeated sprite? maybe eraser dust

- a lot of people draw college asriel wearing these round nerd glasses, probably with the assumption that ralsei represents their brother but based on the aforementioned theory that he is instead an idealized version of younger kris: i think "wears embarrassing glasses and ditches them once they become a teen" fits kris' attitude much more.

- ralsei's manual shows various drawings that he made of himself, presumably. just thought that was funny.

- is not a secret that UT and DR borrow heavily from the MOTHER series and so far i believe the dark worlds are inspired by magicant from the first two games. in the first game magicant being a little escapist paradise that the party can travel and end up being a fabricated world in someone else's memories, and in the second game being a fabricated reality in ness' inner mind. on this one, there's a little bit where a younger ness meets his older counterpart and seems a bit disappointed by how more serious he seems, and that he doesn't have any time to play anymore. the theme of "more cheerful idealized version of the protagonist meets an older counterpart who seems a bit more jaded than before" can be at play here.

-you know how kris knows to play the piano, and "my castle town" seems a more piano-based song than the rest of the ost? yeah

- the last thing and if all this rambling turns out to be true, that could mean that the whole dark fountains adventure started with a drawing, so. thematically, that may resonate with how (if we go by the prequel interpretation) the last remnant of the deltarune universe as seen in sans undertale lab is a poorly drawn picture, but this time of three smiling people, instead of just one kid who just wants to fit in.

[starlightshore]

barring the no mercy route being an influence in this case, how would you describe chara's personality? I cannot describe them well at all despite them being my favorite character. they're too complex lol. all of the meta i can find at this time as them described at both extremes of innocent & evil but i don't think that's accurate

TW: discussions of canon dark topics such as abuse , death and suicide

i love talking about chara, i've talked about them at length before lmao. thank u for giving me a chance to talk about my beloved child.

you can actually read a character exploration i'm doing in a mini-arc for Askfallenroyalty. actually, if you want one condensed post, this comic sums up chara's motives

My interpretation:

chara is an abused kid and suicidal kid*(1) who ran to mount ebott to die.*(2) upon learning that monsters are made of love and humans aren't*(3), chara began to hate humanity. the deltarune prophecy*(4) makes them to be The Angel despite being a human. Feeling undeserving of this title and obligated to fulfill it, Chara wanted to be a good kid more than anything.

But then the buttercup pie incident happened. They've accidentally*(5) poisoned asgore and came up with a plan to ensure the prophecy could be fulfilled and take a hit against humanity. Two birds with one stone -who cares if it's also a personal win too? then obviously the plan goes up in flames and they and asriel are murdered. then asgore wants to kill of all humanity.

your influence*(6) gets Chara onto a path of redemption or a path of destruction, mirroring the deltarune prophecy's two main interpretations.*(7)

in summery: chara is a scared kid trying to fit into a world that demands violence by the past actions of the previous generations. The war massacred monsters and locked them up with a kill-solution -ensuring that further violence would be needed to be free, thus continuing the cycle of violence.

chara is just a kid. they knit, they make macaroni art, they loved their family and had a best friend forever.* (8) but they're also vengeful, they cared so deeply for monsterkind they were ready to die and had no idea they'd be awake as a soul, they were prepared for death. they're complicated, you can't have one side without the other. while i’ve never wanted to murder anyone, i can still relate deeply to chara and see myself in them a lot. the tragedy of them -the fact they never really got a “happy ending” like everyone else just haunts me and it’s why I spend so much time making AFR. I just... love this character so much, i want this kid to be happy. (not that it could ever be easy to get there, happy endings aren’t free.)

And frankly, seeing this hurt kid get demonized just rubs me the wrong way, and it feels completely against the morals Undertale tries to tell with it’s story. I see it as a cautionary tale against violence and dehumanizing others for the sake of hate and violence. how kids can be influenced by the violence -or kindness around them. you don’t need to forgive the ones who hurt you, but killing them is not always the solution -though sometimes necessary as framed in the Undyne the Undying fight.

People get both Undertale’s themes and chara wrong the most, and for the game that’s meant the world to me it bothers me more than it should lol. It’s a Good Story, and I don’t mean to frame my interpretation of the character or themes as 100% canon and I know Mr.Fox’s brain to confirm it kinda deal, but with all the time I’ve spent analyzing and thinking it over I do think it’s not off in the general direction of it lol. And besides the author’s intent isn’t really the end-all-to-be-all. It’s what you get out of the story and the themes that matter and stick with you. No one can take that away from you.

Sources and evidence:

"* If you're cuter, monsters won't hit you as hard." -faded ribbion flavor text * "The ends of the tools have been filed down to make them safer." -gardening tools in New Home (and iirc Toriel's home as well, too lazy to double check rn) * Where are the knives. -no mercy chara (this and paired with the previous imply there are no sharp objects in reach of chara's home because chara can't be trusted with sharp objects out of self harm. This doesn't necessarily mean abuse but paired with them hating humanity so deeply, being suicidal and a child it paints a picture of abuse.

"* I know why (chara) climbed the mountain.* It wasn't for a very happy reason." -asriel post pacifist epilogue dialogue

"* Love, hope, compassion... * This is what people say monster SOULs are made of. * But the absolute nature of "SOUL" is unknown. * After all, humans have proven their SOULs don't need these things to exist." -Library book on monster souls)

* Legend has it, an 'angel' who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom. - gerson

"* It takes at least a human soul... * And a monster soul. * ...* If you want to go home... * You'll have to take his soul. * You'll have to kill ASGORE." -Alphys. Because boss monster souls are the exception and can persist after death for a short period of time, Chara could of killed any of the family members to escape the underground. this implies escaping wasn't the goal -it was to die (considering they already attempted suicide to fall underground the first time, this is explicitly suicide.) the plaque doesn't mention or speak like monster/human fusion's consumed soul would be aware. chara had no way of knowing they'd be awake. also the whole thing with the pie is a prank. cups of butter. -> buttercups. putting flowers in a pie is a joke to do, we see Chara is similar to Toriel (they mimic her speech in the no mercy monologue, they say “greetings” as she does like how Asriel says “howdy” like Flowey does. Chara makes puns and jokes in the flavor text all the time.

https://imgur.com/a/zP18P -dog food bag at different LV. "When the protagonist first encounters Mad Dummy, they are given the option to beat it up. Choosing to beat it up prompts one of three responses depending on the protagonist's LOVE." (source: undertale wiki)

If the protagonist’s LV is 1, the response becomes "(You tap the dummy with your fist.) (You feel bad.)"

If the protagonist's LV is between 2 and 4, the response becomes "(You hit the dummy lightly.) (You don't feel like you learned anything.)"

If the protagonist’s LV is between 5 and 7, the response becomes "(You sock the dummy.) (Who cares?)"

If the protagonist’s LV is 8 or higher, the response becomes "(You punch the dummy at full force.) (Feels good.)"" This implies Chara (who is the narrator) will feel different about the dog food -which references the classic phrase of "glass half empty/full" showing your out look in life. Then hitting the dummy show's Frisk's out look on violence depending on LV. Note that by the end of it, it's no longer "you feel..." but "feels good" This is Chara.

      7. “* Lately, the people have been  taking a bleaker outlook...* Callin' that winged circle the  'Angel of Death.' “ -gerson “* Only the fearless may proceed. * Brave ones, foolish ones. * Both walk not the middle road. “ -the first plaque in the first puzzle room with Toriel. The idea is to walk on both the left and right sides -you can’t go half way in the middle. this mirrors the “true” endings are only accomplished if you stick to no mercy or pacifist only.

     8. literally their home in New Home is a treasure trove of pre-game chara characterization.

[lucyhblack]

Summary: And so the Dragon Skull Flower Shop was born.

And so it was decided.

Blood moved on afterwards (after hiring a cleaning team and turning on the light).

After the conversation with Flowey he went down and explored the basement and discovered several gardening things there (he wondered what he would have thought if he saw all that apparatus before he knew the secret of the attic. Maybe it would be a bit of an exaggeration for just a few vases of plants, but knowing the old goat, maybe not).

This room and the “fourth sanctuary” he cleaned himself (he didn't want rumors to reach Toriel's ears, and since she was the one who arranged all the services... better to prevent) and, of course, kept the attic sealed until everyone left.

He had to dismantle Asgore's bed and leave it in the basement (since Toriel's only suggestion, when he finally asked, was to burn it), and tossed his old mattress on the floor, he would buy a bed when he had more time (which ended up not happening, since most of the time he ended up sleeping on the sofa or in the garden (the grass was incredibly soft there).

He visited Flowey almost every day, usually in the afternoon, when the sun didn't bother him so much and spent time with the flower.

But not everything was (heh, heh) flowers in his life. Now that Flowey had a helper (more or less willing) he was able to finally take care of the garden properly, and not just keep it alive like he had been doing.

He had Blood carry bags of soil and compost from the basement to the attic, weed out weeds (Blood had a vague thought if it was not considered a form of genocide, but he quickly dismissed the idea. It seemed kind of offensive to equate his new friend with plant forms inanimated), pruning trees and harvesting fruits (he liked this job a lot, despite ending up with a stomach ache, and a reminder on his cell phone to look for recipes for jam, pies, etc. It wasn’t worth trying to eat all the fruits of a time), among other tasks that often ended up with Blood passing out on the couch or on his mattress without even bothering to change.

He couldn’t complain much about the legwork, which was true left him tired, but it also helped him to sleep through the night (no need to resort to medicine or beers in the fridge) and Flowey’s endless conversation about plants filled his mind and allowed he not to focus on things he didn’t want to remember.

At first he worried that the scent of earth would bring him back into the trenches, but the scent was something so alive, and linked to Flowey's captivating litany, it was as if they were two completely different elements from each other (and maybe it was really He had learned that there were various types of soil) and he had not had any panic attacks or nasty flashbacks.

In fact, since he started helping the flower he felt better (Toriel was right, he needed a hobby, he just wanted to see her face when he said it was gardening of all things).

But despite that, there were days he didn't want (or could, damn wound to the head!) to force himself to face the brightness of the garden, or Flowey's high-pitched voice.

In those days he would curl up on his mattress, cursing the world and trying to control himself not to stick his skull in the wall (and make the hole in it even bigger). And there were days when his “laziness” reigned and he just wanted to be left on the couch facing the TV with a can of cold beer in his hands and a packet of chips beside him.

In those days he felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Flowey alone. While he always assured him that it was okay to be alone (he had spent all this time like that, didn't he?) He imagined how boring it could be to be stuck in a single room (no matter how colorful and smelling that room was) even more when he knew there was someone who could keep him company (especially when he had spent so much time alone). This started to worry him. He knew that both were limited by the fact that the other was a flower, but he didn't like to leave him to his own devices.

(he could only imagine if something happened to him, how Flowey would feel, when he was abandoned again... and how long his new isolation would last. How scary it would be to notice the days passing and no one coming, and when the door opened again , if it would open up, what kind of person would enter? A new friend? Someone who would help and understand you or someone who would despise and abandon you again? Or even worse?)

He started to think about how he could make the flower more independent, at least to be distracted while he was not available (and also something he could do that didn't involve the garden).

When asked what he and Asgore were doing (besides looking after the garden) Flowey said that he and Asgore used to play checkers or that the older monster would read to him.

Blood volunteered to bring some books, but Flowey recalled that he had no members, which made it difficult to turn the pages, even though he learned to read.

The skeleton hesitated to offer to read to him. On the one hand, he feared that Flowey was only interested in botany (and while it was acceptable to listen to his speeches, Blood didn't think he could handle reading books about it). Furthermore, after his incident, reading became a difficult task, the fine print had a tendency to give him a headache and sometimes his mind could simply not assimilate what he read and he could forget things he had read 2 or 3 previous paragraphs. This frustrated him and made it difficult to keep reading.

(He made a note on his cell phone to try to track Alphys and see if the ex-military scientist had anything that could help. She was after all working with prostheses for wounded soldiers, he was sure she could indicate, or even create something that would help the little flower)

In the end he got some board games in which the Flowey could play alone and a radio so he could be distracted when he wasn't there (and he quickly discovered that Flowey was a good strategist, often beating him in checkers. He was going to dig up the chess game from your moving boxes any of these days to see how good Flowey was).

He then moved on to another topic, how to get it out of the garden.

Asgore had taken him there in a vase (Flowey did not know where the place where he was "born", only that it had been a long car journey), and that meant he could be transported. It was just a matter of discovering his limitations now. Blood then decided to bring one of the empty vases in the basement to test.

The first time he took Flowey out of his garden was a time of great tension.

Flowey made sure he could stay a few hours out of the ground, but it was weird to carry a contorting flower around (not to mention that just thinking about it reminded him of all the weeds he had pulled out of the ground, so even if it wasn't the same , he couldn't help thinking that "pulling" Flowey off the ground would be like he was killing him).

Flowey said it was a little awkward after so many years to have his roots confined in such a tight space, but it was nothing that would cause pain or be unbearable to deal with (like wearing tight shoes, Blood imagined) and the discomfort would worth it if he could a walk out of his sanctuary / prison (which proved to Blood, that despite saying he was fine, Flowey was eager to leave that place and be able to see the world. Even if the "world" was just the rest of the house for now).

Then after years, he finally left the garden (Blood descended the stairs all the time in a panic, so much so that the attic would collapse and bury them both, or that Flowey would start to wither. Fortunately the house remained standing as well as Flowey).

As they soon discovered, Flowey couldn’t stay in the pot for a long time (2, or 3 days at most before he started showing signs of wear) and was also kind of uncomfortable for him (although he tried to hide it), so normally Blood would catch him when he woke up (the hours varied a lot) and took him around the house.

Flowey was very interested in the kitchen, finding Blood's meager cooking skills very interesting and often giving suggestions, some very successful (like the suggestion of some spices), but others definitely not (no matter how much the flower guaranteed that carnations were a seasoning and could be used in a soup) and on television.

He often left Flowey in front of the TV while he had to go out and fix something, the TV was really great babysitter, although Flowey's taste could be a little peculiar to a child (but what did he know about children anyway? Perhaps serial killer programs and criminal investigations were popular with children). In addition, Flowey tapped that he was not a child, and as Blood had no benchmarks (he should calculate Flowey's age by the years he lived. or for the life span of a daisy?) he left it at that.

At night he would normally return him to the garden (normally, as he would sometimes fall asleep himself and Flowey would spend the night in the vase, adorning the table in front of the sofa).

So his days ended in a strange routine (which wasn’t exactly a routine), waking up, picking up Flowey, going down for breakfast (even though it was sometimes more lunchtime), usually bacon, eggs and coffee (bacon, the egg white and yolk for him and the bark and coffee grounds for Flowey), then they would go up to look after the garden, do some other housework or just sit together, play checkers, watch TV, or tell stories to each other.

They talked a lot about Asgore. Which made sense since he was the only person in common that they both knew. At first Blood had been concerned that Flowey would ask about the General's death and that remembering what had happened would make him have an episode, but Flowey never asked and Blood found that he had many stories from the pre-war time to tell.

It was in one of these conversations that the “seed” of his future enterprise emerged.

-We should open the store. - Flowey suddenly released.

Blood gave him an appraising look, wondering where it had come from.

-And sell what? The only thing I'm good at is fighting, and it doesn't sell in stores. - and he didn't want (couldn't) fight anymore. It was a big “no, no, no”, as Flowey himself said.

-We could sell tea ... as Asgore was. We have enough herbs...

The suggestion did not surprise him, it was normal to want to honor his father and being a flower his options were somewhat limited. Honestly, he thought that just keeping the garden alive (and himself) was paying enough homage to the old goat.

-Friend, you only say that because there is not much comparison to judge my food!

Not that he was that awful in the kitchen, but preparing eggs with bacon or macaroni and cheese didn't need much experience. Not, the problem was the intention.

He had never been very good and transmitting it correctly for food preparation (sure, he had sold some hot dogs in his youth, but again preparing sausages and putting them in rolls was not the same as cooking a pie), imagine now he was all broken! He will able to end up sending someone to the hospital. Better not take any chances.

-I could sell the tea in bags, but I would still have to dry them, manipulate them... - and that also required a dose of intention, especially if they were “medicinal” teas - Nah! Much work. - he dismissed the idea.

Flowey seemed to want to complain, but was silent, seeming to give up. Blood would not be fooled, he knew Flowey was not going to give up (if anything, the little thing was stubborn. A real weed!) And okay, he would be ready for the next crazy ideas that were sure to come.

The days passed and one day he went up the stairs and when he opened the door he was greeted with an explosion of colors and shapes. He blinked in shock at how many flowers had emerged overnight.

Flowey was more than excited to show him everything. They roamed the garden again and as he looked at the small bouquets in vibrant tones or the long stems, bowing by the weight of the flower at its tip he felt a feeling that he had long forgotten.

Proud.

Proud to do something with your own hands, and to see it blossom (literally). He had forgotten what it was like to be proud of his work, his actions... himself.

Of course, that was only possible due to Flowey's instructions, but the flower admitted that it was only possible because Blood helped (and wanted to do it). That even though he only did what Flowey told him, Blood had done it with the right intention.

That night he was slow to sleep,, feeling energized, his bones a little sore, but almost vibrating with satisfaction and still smelling slightly of the flowers in the garden.

Days later he was not so happy.

Although beautiful, the plants were giving as much, if not more work than before. Yes they had flowered at last, which was the goal (or so he thought) but the work did not end there.

As most of the flowers were of the common type, there was a lot of waste, most were reused, but not all. Flowey (the little general) was happy instructing which ones to cut, which ones to change into pots, or vice versa... soon he was putting bunches of flowers in buckets, pans and any containers that contained them.

He separated the edible ones and took them to the kitchen so that he could later clean and store them properly. Some were taken to the basement, where they would be made into compost (this gave him a pause and made him wonder if Flowey perceived the irony that he fed, in a way, on his “companions.” Could this be considered cannibalism?).

There came a point that he was putting buckets on any available surface (it was lucky that there were a good number of them in the basement. He wondered vaguely what Asgore was going to use them for, had he already predicted that he would need them when the garden ready, as he needed it himself now? It seemed likely knowing how much the old man knew about gardening).

There were a lot of flowers and Flowey advised him to cut some after the lingering smell of mixing some gave him a sneeze (and consequently, a headache).

So he put an end to the work of collecting the leftovers from Flowey's “massacre”. He picked them up first with his hands, but soon realized that instead of taking shortcuts from side to side (and exhausting himself as much as going up and down the stairs would do) it was better to just put them together in containers and reduce the number of trips.

Unfortunately, he soon realized that, however good his idea was, he would have to restrict his shortcuts (his magic was not yet fully recovered and after almost leaving at the edge of the basement stairs, instead of in front of the door, he thought it best to use your legs and avoid breaking your skull further by failing on a shortcut) he then ended up having to make the trips via the cinnamon road.

Blood chose to first collect all the plants cut into buckets and then lower them to the first floor (He would have to stop this soon. Just because Flowey could leave the garden now, it does not mean that the garden could also spread throughout the house !).

He was going down several buckets (it doesn't matter that the blaster was not made for that. If they could be used as freestanding, floating handcarts this is how he would use them) and dropping them anywhere in the front room and then thinking about the that he would do with them. It would probably set aside a handful for composting basins, but most would probably go to waste.

He had just come down another bucket (the last of the day, he wouldn’t make another trip even under the threat of torture!) And dismissed the blaster (he saw one trying to chew a handful of lilies, but he pretended he didn’t see, it wasn’t as if they might have indigestion or something) when a nervous rabbit monster burst through the front door.

Blood turned around, still with a bucket of flowers in his hand, cursing himself for having forgotten to lock the door (how could he have forgotten ?! How ?!) and ready to scream at the invading monster (and stick a bone in nothing friendly) when the monster grabbed a handful of flowers from a bucket he had dropped in front of the window and went towards him talking at a mile an hour.

-Oh for the stars, thank you! I didn't know what to do, thanks to the Angel that you are still open! - he pushed a handful of gold in Blood's hand - Here! Here, no need to wrap. Oh, thank you, thank you very much, sir! You don't know how you just saved my skin! Thank you very, very much!

And he left as soon as he entered, without even giving Blood a chance to react. The skeleton was planted there in the place surrounded by buckets of flowers, one still in one hand and a handful of gold in the other.

-Oh! We can sell the flowers! - Flowey exclaimed in his pitcher on the counter.

Blood almost jumped in fright, he had even forgotten that he had brought him down (even though he would soon have to climb him up again so he could go to sleep) to help him sort out the flowers and decide his final destinations.

-Hmm??? - He articulated still confused.

-The flowers! Let's sell the flowers! - The yellow petals vibrated with joy and contentment at his brilliant idea.

Heavens, he had even forgotten about the idea of opening the store (since he made the first suggestion, Flowey hadn’t touched on the subject anymore and Blood forgot about it completely).

Blood looked around and cannot deny that, in a very sloppy and confused way (for a delusional or endorphin mind full) the room could be mistaken for a flower shop.

Well ... why not? He had a lot of raw materials and if nobody wanted them there would be no damage to him. He was really going to throw them away, if someone was going to buy them then it would be his profit (and if not, they would already go to waste, no damage done).

He needed no intention or more than some paper to wrap them up, and sell them. He would have to do a price research (which he could do online), some documentation (that his lawyer could handle) and voia-lá!

He opened his hand and took a look. Not bad for a handful of half-dead plants... not that he needed the money, but...

He looked at Flowey who looked at him expectantly, his petals almost seemed to shine and he didn't even need to approach to feel the excitement and hope flowing from him.

Hell!

And so the Dragon Skull Flower Shop was born.

[izabellwit]

continuing the “varian and frisk as friends” idea from this post, because @shuuos awesome art has given me IDEAS and now i can’t leave this au alone---

i still have no idea on the context of how they even meet (time travel trouble?? multiverse shenanigans? maybe the ol’ kingdom hearts excuse???) but i love just considering how these two kids interact

they get into a fight and varian’s all hyped up with chemicals and possibly a bit of an angry gleam in his eyes because this kid never passes up the chance to show the merits of alchemy, harmful or otherwise-- but suddenly frisk just steps up and fingerguns and the next thing he knows instead of a boss battle he’s just?? watching frisk?? charm this person into letting them go??????

(frisk is like “new friend!!! score!!!” meanwhile varian is in the bg like ????? wait what just happened)

varian’s working in the lab and frisk of course has no clue what any of this stuff is, but they run around acting like varian’s assistant. they hand him the wrong tools by “accident” sometimes just to see him wrinkle his nose and complain about it, but at the end of the day there’s always some breakthrough, which calls for celebratory leftover toriel pie

varian is constantly nervous all the time and frisk meanwhile strikes me as the type to just. GO FOR IT. what im saying is they’ve definitely had a conversation along the lines of varian going “frisk, no, please,” and frisk just barreling forward like “frisk YES”

depending on if varian is pre or post amber incident, and depending on if he’s pre or post-redemption... i propose: either snark, sad times, or frisk desperately trying not to lose another friend

[nochocolate]

Settlement of the Underground

(undertale spoilers)

It’s well established that the humans sealed the monsters underground. But through which entrance were the monsters corralled into, and when and how did they proceed to settle the rest of the underground? Evidence suggests that the monsters were forced into Mt. Ebott through the opening they eventually leave through. From there, they retreated all the way to “Home,” which later became the Ruins.

Entrapment & Settling in Home

In New Home, the barrier that traps the monsters underground can be seen. This barrier blocks the exit out of the mountain, likely through a cave. Being the clearest entrance/exit from the underground, it’s possible that this where the humans corralled the monsters after the monsters lost the war. However, the monsters did not settle down here. Instead, they traveled deep within the mountain.

Since “anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful SOUL can leave,” the monsters were rightfully afraid that the humans would come after them to finish them off. Therefore, it stands to reason the monsters traveled through the underground until they were as far away as possible from the exit. When they reached the end of the cavern, they settled the city of Home.

On the Eastern end of Home, the large door between Home and the rest of the Underground was likely created to barricade them from possible human attacks. Interestingly, the Dreemurrs’ house in Home was the first line of defense against humans, should they try to come through the door. On the Western end is the large hole that later Frisk and Chara fall into. It is possible that the monsters saw this hole as another potential vulnerability, so they created the traps and puzzles to keep humans out.

Leaving Home & the Founding of New Home

It is never mentioned how long the monsters lived in Home, but eventually, the monsters moved out.

The monsters traveled all the way back through the underground, reclaiming the first area they were in upon entrapment. The New Home climate may be similar to Home’s temperate and more appropriate for building a city. Even though the monsters do not fear the humans any longer, the Dreemurrs’ house in New Home was built right against the barrier, once again being the first line of defense (or diplomacy) in case humans came through.

Settlement of Snowdin, Waterfall, & Hotland

Although the monsters’ goal was to travel through the entire underground, some folks settled in the harsher environments along the way.

Perhaps during this journey, the ancient plaques were mounted on the walls of Waterfall. 

This would make sense, considering the plaques’ retelling of history begins on the west side of Waterfall and ends on the east side. However, towards the end, the waterfall writings mention that there are “no entrances or exits.”

WATERFALL WRITINGS: But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever.

This is certainly wrong because there is the exit in Asgore’s castle and the hole in the Ruins. It’s possible that after so many years of being in the Ruins without incident, the monster who wrote these plaques lost all hope of any human (and their soul) finding their way into the underground. It is certainly written to sound fatalistic.

Additionally, the false claim that there are no entrances and exits may support the waterfall writings being written on the journey from the Ruins to New Home. After all, if the wall writings were written shortly after the monsters had just been forced into the entrance of the underground, it would be illogical to claim there are no entrances. Instead, it makes more sense that the wall writings were written long after the entrapment, when the record keepers were too hopeless to consider the entry point as an “entrance.”

The Core & Powering the Underground

Thankfully, the boiling heat of Hotland came into use. 

By harnessing the geothermal energy, the underground is powered with magical electricity. While there is no information about how long it took to build the Core, it appears to be situated below New Home, with elevators from the Core leading directly to the castle. This may indicate that the Core was built first and aided in the development of the capital.

The Dreemurrs’ Move

While many monsters left Home to settle the rest of the underground, many stayed behind in the Ruins. It’s unknown exactly when the monsters left Home to settle the rest of the underground, but there is evidence that implies the Dreemurr family moved out of Home at the start of 201X.

This seemingly unimportant calendar was likely left behind when the Dreemurrs moved from Home to New Home. After all, there would be no reason for Toriel to bring an old calendar back with her when she left Asgore. By the end of 201X, the Dreemurrs were living in New Home when Chara fell down. Incidentally, the calendar that marks Chara’s arrival is located in New Home.

It’s hard to imagine that the settlement of the underground and the creation of the Core took place in less than a year. However long the settlement and building took, the Dreemurrs remained in Home during this time, presumably until New Home was completely built. It’s also possible that the Dreemurrs’ move from Home to New Home and the change in capitals were the reasons for building the Royal Memorial Fountain in 201X.

No More Fear

It’s a popular idea that Chara was the reason the monsters no longer feared humans and left the Ruins. However, while Asgore did refer to Chara as the future of humans and monsters, there is no evidence of Chara ever living in Home.

» read more: chara never lived in home

It’s possible that simply enough time had passed that the monsters no longer feared humans coming after them. While Catty and Bratty could have been exaggerating, the monsters may have been trapped for millennia. 

Overcrowding and limited resources could have spurred monsters to seek more outside the Ruins. After so many years without an attack from humans, the monsters would feel safe enough to explore the rest of the underground.

» read more: the pre-undertale timeline

Conclusion

Based on what is provided in the game, the monsters were likely corralled into Mt. Ebott where the barrier is visible at the end of Undertale. From there, the monsters followed the cavern all the way to where Frisk would one day fall, settling in Home and fortifying their small city with traps. After a long stretch of time, the monsters left Home and settled the rest of the underground, ending in New Home. Asgore, Toriel, and Asriel moved from Home to New Home around the beginning of 201X, and Chara fell at the end of 201X.

[thegrinningkitten]

Do ya ship anyone?

With Undertale I pretty much just go with canon ships — Alphys/Undyne, pre-incident!Asgore/Toriel,minor character ships.

With AUs that I get to develop myself — like Underfell, Underswap and, apparently, Swapfell as well now — I pretty much just project the canon ships onto them. Like Alphyne, for example:

As for the other AUs — and non-UT things I’m into right now — I just roll with whatever the creators consider canon.

I’m not much of a romantic shipper, I guess. BroTPs, however...

Also, queerplatonic relationships are my jam! :D

[scrollingdown]

Alphys Meta

Iirc the commonly accepted reason as to why Alphys took so long to finish Mettaton’s body was that because if she did, he’d leave, and some details have me thinking that while this was true, and Mettaton definitely picked up on it, it wasn’t the whole story. First some odd details. This isn’t required for the upcoming theory to work, but it lays a good groundwork for it. Warning: long and image heavy, also blatant metaphysicsery.

This is shortly before Frisk’s soul inverts in orientation, from that of human souls to that of monster ones (as exemplified by Asgore and Toriel’s) and becomes able to shoot bullets. It’s obvious the phone is responsible for this but- Resonating with Mettaton’s presence? What? Okay so the phone is designed to work in the presence of Mettaton, that’s fair.

Or… not? There is no indication the phone is used here. There’s no indication it isn’t, either, but it’s odd that no text or option for it pops up if it is. Frisk’s soul seems to be turned yellow as part of the initiation of the encounter. And yet the phone was definitely doing something last battle. A lot of Alphys’s “rescues” were shams, but it seems to be genuine, like the jetpack. It’s weird. Here’s more weird – it doesn’t happen in the battle with NEO.

(We’re assuming there’s no retroactive change in history between genocide and the other timelines here for the sake of avoiding a headache.)

Dialling back a bit, resonating is mentioned again in Undertale. From the rawr:

10754: * You feel something slightly&  resonating within ASRIEL.

10755: * You feel something weakly&  resonating within ASRIEL.

10756: * Strangely^1, as your friends&  remembered you.../

10757: * Something else began resonating&  within the SOUL^1, stronger&  and stronger./

-

10818: * You called out to your&  friends with all your&  heart./

10819: * From somewhere^1, you felt&  their support.../^

10820: * You reached out to ASRIEL's&  SOUL and called out to your&  friends./

10821: * They're in there somewhere^1,&  aren't they?/

10822: * Within the depths of ASRIEL's&  SOUL^1, something's resonating..!/%%

These are the only other places resonating is mentioned, and it’s in the context of SOULs. It seems like Alphys’s phone set up a resonance between Frisk and Mettaton’s SOULS, and that later this resonance happened without it’s assistance. A boss battle is supposed to be an exam of everything you’ve learned so far and Undertale’s not one to shy from mixing meta in-universe - for Frisk do these events act as the training wheels for this aspect of the Asriel fight? But that’s getting into conjecture.

The resonance with Mettaton (temporarily) changed the orientation and colour of Frisk’s SOUL. Could it have had a similar effect on Mettaton’s? The NEO form has something that appears to be a SOUL in it, in monster orientation. In the same area on the EX form, it’s in the human orientation. If Alphys built the containers for the six human souls (a big if, as we have no evidence of this) or had access to the requisite knowledge, then it’s highly likely this is Mettaton’s, safely contained.

And then he un-contains it, the numpty, but it can leave that form and survive in open air, just like a human soul can. And while monster battle sprites are monochromised:

ZOOM, ENHANCE.

It’s pink. (Red + White, but that might be reading too much into it). Not monster-white. There’s an assumption made here – that in NEO form the monster orientation also means monster colour. So a little grain of salt for that particular property is required.

Interestingly, while Frisk’s soul changes back after, this change (of orientation at least) seems to be more lingering for Mettaton. How come? This is the return trip towards the headcanon-country Alphys bit.

These are the blueprints that concern Mettaton, esp considering his presence on them post-pacifist. An injector of some kind lies next to an illustration of a monster soul being being inverted before being placed into a lying form. Alphys is in one person very reminiscent of the multiple times in history that, on discovery of a new wonder-substance, people started using it in absolutely e v e r y t h i n g, it being so new that the dangers haven’t been determined yet (i.e., asbestos, radiation).

I’m not the only person to have thought along these lines.

The blueprint is dusty, meaning she hasn’t touched it in some time. If NEO’s soul is any indication, she never put it into practice.

She was going to inject Determination into Mettaton.

There was nothing to indicate it wasn’t safe. The legend of Asriel absorbing a human soul was well known, and it wasn’t that which killed him by the account – and it was known that monsters that did this became stronger. With what was known at the time, taking the substance that made a human soul strong and using it to make a monster soul strong was a reasonable hypothesis.

ENTRY 3: If only I could make a monster's SOUL last... ENTRY 4: I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. (…) Let's call this power... "Determination." ENTRY 6: Soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then...

What’s interesting is why she thought injecting determination into a flower might make it a suitable vessel for souls. The entries don’t show her thought process as clearly on this one. ENTRY 7: We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. (…) What about something that's neither human nor monster? ENTRY 8: What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?

Your mad scientist is showing there, Alphys.

ENTRY 10: experiments on the vessel are a failure

This is where the shaky parts of this theory start happening but – I believe she made some connection between Determination and human physicality (or physicality in general) at some point during this process. Judging from NEO, she could have made Mettaton his body just fine without it, so what problem was she trying to solve by involving determination?

They were both fans of humans – making him more human? I think, however, it was about helping him to bond to his body (although it probably wouldn’t have worked if he didn’t already have an attachment). Either way, it doesn’t matter; she was planning it.

ENTRY 11 (in its entirety): now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore. ... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again. ... not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i just get really sweaty... ENTRY 12 (in its entirety): nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work.

Her procrastination probably saved Mettaton’s life, because…

ENTRY 16: no No NO NO NO NO

If it’s on her workbench when Frisk finds it, that means it was the last thing she was working on before that happened, because after the amalgamation incident, its dust and the dust on the labcoats speak very much to an Alphys that didn’t do much science after (beyond messing around with seagrass).

Both Alphys and Mettaton know about the EX form prior to Frisk’s arrival (which means Alphys did complete it at some point), but Mettaton doesn’t use it, at the very least in public. Why? Stigma against humans? NEO seems to be either a prototype or a hasty upgrade.

Was whatever Alphys planned to inject determination for, the final hurdle? Grain of salt again, because there other possible in character explanations for this.

But it is very in-character for Alphys to promise someone something, only for something to go horribly wrong which makes it impossible, and then for her to lie and avoid telling the promised about it out of fear of what they’d think or do. The still-strained friendship Frisk arrives to see does fit in with something like that happening. Tl;dr; The resonance performed the final step the blueprint depicted. Determination was safely transferred, like it is in a human-monster fusion, and then being the persistent thing it is, stuck around.

But this is just a theory.

[EDIT: Senshi76 just pointed out to me that this may be at least part of why the EX form is so much stronger than NEO, as well as why Mettaton can briefly  rewind time in the EX battle!]

 (Where I Got Things:

Resonance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3lH_jRkQ9o

EX Battle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbVBzyZk75k

NEO Battle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axZ1r_duW0w

Fuzzy Mettaton EX Overworld Sprite - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogNHObCZjwU

Mettaton EX Overworld Sprites - http://undertale-resources.tumblr.com/post/136160533443/mettaton-ex-overworld-sprites

Pre-pacifist Alphys Desk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wXK2q5lug

Post-pacifist Alphys Desk - https://www.reddit.com/r/Undertale/comments/4jyn77/monster_souls_human_souls/

Entry Excerpts - http://undertale.wikia.com/wiki/True_Lab)

[ayatomi99]

Hey.

You know what would be awesome? Underworld Capital Incident AU of Undertale. I kinda wanna see that…I’m not that advanced of an artist, but I can try and draw some of the characters…And not all of the characters would be perfect matches…Like Rokkaku and Kirishima, maybe Tanizaki for example. And none of the Undertale characters are as dark as the characters in Underworld Capital Incident either. Anywho…Here’s the chart:

Maki ((changed to become adopted))-Chara ((Pre-Undertale/Genocide))

Yu ((Changed to become family))-Asriel

Maki and Yu’s Parents ((changed to fit above))-Asgore (Dad), Toriel (Mother)

Kirishima-Frisk ((Neutral Run))

Tanizaki-Undyne

Saeki-Grillby

Hirahara-Papyrus

Tagami-Sans

Rokkaku-Gerson

Kinoshita-Mettaton EX

Kirika-Muffet

Ayako-Monster Kid

Mirror Creature-Frisk ((Neutral Run))

Hanako-Flowey

Eye Monster- Amalgamate Memory Head

What do you guys think? Papyrus’ personality will be altered a bit, since Hirahara’s a bit more violent than Papyrus. Though their mentality is the same, meaning I just have to pretty much tone down the undertale characters a bit.

Frisk is not pacifist as you’ve noticed. pacifist Frisk has no place here in this AU. This is built around a neutral Frisk, who I believe is pretty aloof, and will also be aged up a bit.

Sans and Tagami pretty much have the lazy part down pat, but Sans won’t be as protective. Undyne....I don’t think I’ll have to do much with Undyne. I couldn’t find a place for Alphys unfortunately.

Mettaton will definitely be much more toned down. He’ll still be a melodramatic character, but more along the lines of a slacker/drinker. Now that I think of it, Sans would be a better role for this, but then Tagami I feel like has that nihilism part which is something I want to highlight. Plus he’s always sleeping.

I hope you guys find this interesting! I can’t draw something as intricate as this, but if you guys want, feel free to draw fanart/write fanfic of it as long as you credit the idea to me.

[invertedfate]

Great, so now I am expecting a huge problem where it would take at least 10 thousands worth of human psychological treatment just to get Toriel to move on from her quite frankly "silly" grudge.

Honestly, she did okay for a while... at least pre-Incident. And even post-Incident she kept it together to an extent, with a gradual decline. It’s when the tapes leak happened that she really reached a breaking point. I think the best way for her to move on would just be to have the space she needs and give her time to just... live a life without so many burdens and responsibilities. I DO think she and Asgore need to talk, but in the long run, I think it’d be better for both of them to just... give each other space. (This isn’t to knock any Asgoriel shippers in the audience! While I personally don’t ship it in IF, you’re chill. I just personally don’t see it happening again.)

[invertedfate]

A while back you said the Mage/green soul RESET several times and lived through the Waterfall Incident a couple times because of it. Had a thought about that: were they experimenting with their DETERMINATION like Flowey did in canon UT or trying to prevent the Waterfall Incident/lessen the death toll? Or am I just massively overthinking an offhand comment related to the pre-story events of a fanwork of a video game?

Trying to prevent the Inicident. Trying to keep Toriel and Gerson alive. Trying to at least find some non-lethal solution with the child. But they couldn’t go too far back- the thing with two humans in the Underground is that who can control the SAVE fluctuates based on determination of each human, so that complicated matters.