#she has a very clear pattern of inflating her symptoms

[enemy-to-the-state]

i am only slightly ashamed to admit that i borderline hate my dad’s gf

[starsgivemehp]

Magic/Worldbuilding Rulebook

This is basically a comprehensive list of how, technically and scientifically speaking, the worlds and monsters of my AUs work.

Under cut for length!

How does magic work for humans with magic?

Humans all have souls, and souls are all made up of magic. Thus, all humans have at least a little bit of magic within them. The amount of magic and the ability to wield it vary from person to person. ‘Most’ people are unaware of the magic in their bodies and are incapable of using it, but could, with a lot of time and effort, learn how to channel and use it but are never given the chance. A minority are completely unable to use it, and a minority have enough of it/enough of a natural talent/enough of a bloodline that they can use it without training or influence, and training will help them hone it. For example, someone like Psyche has enough natural magic in her that she can use it at will, though it took her some time to work out how and what her limits are. Someone like Naomi has a deeply magical bloodline that she, too, can use it with some effort, but does not have the discipline to hone it until underground/near enough magic for her body to get used to it.

How do monster bodies work?

Monsters have weaker, greyish souls, and their bodies are physical manifestations of those souls that are partially due to lineage and environment, and partially up to the individual monster’s decisions. For example, monsters will have characteristics of their parents, and will tend to have bodily functions appropriate for where they live (monsters who live in snowdin are resistant to cold, monsters who live in hotland are resistant to heat, monsters who live in waterfall can almost all swim and either love or need water, etc). However, other aspects of their bodies and magic are shaped due to conscious or subconscious actions and thoughts. For example, even though magical bodies don’t have real muscles or organs, an Undyne has shaped her body to look muscular due to rigorous training and intent to be strong. Her body is mimicking what organic bodies do when put under the same circumstances. This works the same way for skeleton ecto. A skeleton like Vex, who trains a lot, has very toned ecto that mimics muscle and is even a bit harder in firmness, whereas a skeleton like Red, who spends a lot of time laying around but is still fit enough to fight, has softer ecto with more rounded edges and volume to it. Essentially, monster bodies are only made up of magical manifestations and cannot bleed (only dust), but have the outward appearance of having all of the functions of any organic creature and can be modified in the same ways.

Monster bodies need certain amounts of ventilation throughout their lives. A monster that does not wield magic often enough can get ‘stuffed up’ and sick. This is rare for adults, who know how to properly vent and use magic but may rarely chose not to do so/be otherwise unable to do so (magic suppressors are an example), but common in children. who have not yet learned the intricacies of venting magic on a day-to-day basis. The symptoms of this monster sickness are similar to the common cold in humans: fever, stuffed up feeling, sneezing or runny nose if the monster has a nose, fatigue, and an achey feeling. It generally clears up in a few days, and there is medicine to help (which is black and tarry and children don’t tend to like it).

Generally speaking, gender is flexible for monsters. Certain species have concretely-defined genitalia (for example, dog monsters, bunny monsters, etc), certain species have no genitalia and reproduce solely through soul interaction (for example, moldsmal, other small fry, sometimes certain elementals), and yet others are somewhere in between and can go in either direction (for example, fire elementals and skeletons).

In the same vein, unless the monster is of the type that has concretely-set genitalia and does not use asexual/soul-based reproduction, monsters of any gender can conceive. The easiest example of this is the fluidity of skeleton genitalia, and whichever skeleton happened to have the female genitalia on during conception winds up being the ‘mother’ regardless of gender. In terms of soul-based reproduction, typically fire elementals, the partners make a conscious decision as to which soul receives the excess magic to become the mother. For example, Grillby and his wife connected via the soul and Grillby intentionally imparted enough of his own magic on hers to conceive. This process is not guaranteed, much like human pregnancies, but has a higher conception rate than using humanoid genitalia.

Monster bodies are also influenced by emotion and situation. The most obvious example is a monster’s stats. ATK and DEF can go up with training and certain mindsets for most monsters, although some are completely incapable of raising these stats (usually Sanses, and usually for emotional reasons. Red’s disabilities are an exception). Monsters like Vex and Legall have inflated their ATK and DEF to very impressive levels through a lot of effort and training. Other monsters, like boss monsters, have more naturally high ATK and DEF, but even they can build it up more with enough training and intent. This is why, for example, fell!Asgore is even stronger than classic!Asgore despite their bodies being otherwise very similar.

HOPE is another stat that is influenced by surroundings and emotions. HP has a general minimum and maximum according to monster species, and falling below that minimum is an indicator of poor health, typically mental health. A monster who starts to suffer from depression may start to lose HOPE and become weaker. However, there are certain exceptions where poor physical health influences the HOPE stat as well (Red has a combination of both of these factors). When HOPE falls too low, a monster may begin the Falling Down process. Typically, the process first manifests in sluggishness, a bleaker outlook and maybe even sad or nihilistic talk. Following that, the affected monster will begin to cough. This is the most noticeable symptom, and the most cause for alarm. The monster will begin to cough up dust and become fatigued. They will be bedridden until they either recover (unlikely by this point) or complete the Falling Down process and dust.

Magic can be equated to heat, in most cases. Monsters’ bodies are generally hotter than human bodies by nature, especially if they have good magic control and/or depending on their type (fire elementals and dragons tend to be the hottest, lizards and water elementals tend to be cooler, etc). Poor magic control or poor conditions resulting in a lack of food can cause monster bodies to be unhealthy and cool/cold. For example, in Horrorfell, when the starvation is worse, Arum may feel ill and be cold to the touch.

Shielding the soul (as done in Lust verses) prevents most attacks from doing real damage and bringing down HP, most notably physical damage. An extreme amount and certain magical attacks can still cause damage, and severe duress can cause the monster in question to drop their shield.

How can monsters consciously wield magic?

Different types of monsters tend to use different types of magic, and this is based on lineage, environment, and personal preference. Intent is very important, but not everything. For example, although most monsters have the inherent ability to wield green magic (healing magic), their ability to wield it varies. My Papyri tend to be better at it than my Sanses, mainly due to empathy reasons (higher empathy makes for easier healing) and sometimes due to bodily reasons (Red has a combination of finding difficulty in truly empathizing, and also being stunted in specific magics for biological reasons, green magic included).

Colors match magic types in some cases, and sometimes correlate to soul colors, but not always.

Cyan magic (or blue attacks) correlate to patience and require patience to counter. Light blue attacks harm you if you move through them, and are harmless if you stay still. A monster can cast light blue magic on their soul to make all incoming attacks harmless while they are motionless, for a short period of time. Several types of monsters can use light blue attacks, generally skeletons and (??? I'll think of this later) can use cyan magic.

Orange magic (or attacks) correlate to bravery. Orange attacks harm you if you are still, and are harmless if you charge through them. Orange magic, on the other hand, turns a soul orange and causes the bearer of that soul to have increased inertia when moving. A monster can cast this on themself to move quickly, or an enemy to make it harder to turn and stop in a fight. Many types of monsters can use orange attacks. Generally, goats and sometimes fire elementals use orange magic.

Dark blue magic correlates to integrity (albeit in a roundabout way). Typically this magic is solely used by skeletons. Dark blue magic is cast on an enemy to increase the gravity on the enemy, making it difficult for them to move around and jump. The wielder can move the enemy around and throw them into traps and attacks. Monsters cannot use blue magic on themselves, only others.

Purple magic correlates to Perseverance in a roundabout way. It is sticky and can trap enemies in place or slow them down. Purple magic halfway functions as attacks, in that they are produced in the body and shot at someone, and halfway functions as as orange or blue magic, in that it doesn't directly deal damage, but instead causes an effect on the body and/or soul. Purple magic is generally used by spiders and (??? I'll think of this later).

Green magic correlates strongly with kindness. It is healing magic. It can be used either in the form of bullet patterns or by direct contact. The second method generally involves the healer placing their hands on the patient's chest and either at the forehead or near/hovering above the wound, for magic to reach both the physical damage and the soul. For this reason, green magic bullets do not heal much at a time, but green magic healing can heal as much at once as the wielder has energy for. Green magic is also cooked into monster food, for similar effects as healing (although eating does require consciousness, and being healed doesn't).

A different type of green magic, green soul magic, functions similarly to blue magic. When cast, it traps the enemy in place. This is a very rare and strong magic which requires years of intense training and practice to hold for even a short period of time. No monster species in particular wields this magic due to its difficulty. Currently, Undyne and Gerson are the only known wielders, and even Undyne cannot hold it for more than a few turns at a time.

Yellow magic correlates with justice. Generally, the wielder casts it on themself. This turns the soul to 'attack mode,’ allowing the wielder to use rapidfire bullet patterns aimed either straight ahead or straight at the enemy. This is a good strategy for monsters with slow-moving bullet patterns or questionable aim. Yellow magic can also be granted by a wielder to an ally to assist them in group battles. It is typically used by lizards, turtles, snails, and occasionally other slower-moving monsters as a balance to their typically lackluster movements which would otherwise put them at risk.

Not much is known about red magic.

Fire magic is typically used by fire elementals, dragons, and goats, but other types of monsters can learn it with practice. Fire magic is heavily tied to intent. It can be used as attacks with either bullet patterns or genuine burning fire, but it can also be used for simple warmth, or to cook. Food cooked with fire magic has an inherently comforting taste to all monsters and tends to be far more popular than other types of food.

Weapons can be either physical or manifested. Physical weapons are harmless to dummies and ghosts, and are exactly the same as human weapons. Manifested weapons are extensions of a monster's magic. Typically, monsters can only make one type of weapon, and the amount of said weapon depends on their energy levels (e.g. Undynes can chuck dozens of spears when fighting fit, but not nearly so many when exhausted). The type of weapon depends on various factors, and is generally chosen subconsciously. They can be inherited (for example, the Lava Trident Alka's brother has was inherited by his father when he dealt a killing blow, despite not being a physical weapon). The color of the manifested weapon tends to match the wielder's magic color (note that most monsters’ magic color is arbitrary and not connected to soul traits. Skeletons are the exception. Undyne's spears are cyan but she ain't no Patience soul, nor does she use cyan attacks in battle). Most monsters can only make one weapon at a time, though a fair number may dual-wield. Manifested weapons can either weigh next to nothing, or the same as a physical weapon of the same type. This is generally up to the wielder's preference. Rav is a pretty big exception to most of these limitations, as he has a special talent and trains in making several different types of manifested weapons, and has even gotten skilled enough to change their colors and intricately detail them.

Other types of magic vary by monster type and are too numerous to explain. They can be explained on request.

Explain skeletons?

Skeletons tend to have magic revolving around space (in the physics sense). Many skeletons are able to summon items from other areas, provided they are aware of said items and exactly where they are. For example, Red can summon a bottle of mustard from his stash, but when that stash runs out he has to put more mustard there to do so. Many skeletons also have the ability to teleport short distances, although this is a learned skill and generally those in the 'Sans’ role are more practiced in this for any number of reasons. Papyri are more than capable, they just typically don't know how. For example, Howl learned out of necessity after being separated from Daemon across the multiverse, and Vex is slowly but surely learning if only because he's tired of being left behind when Red wanders off. This ability requires both a knowledge of where one is and a knowledge of where one is going, generally meaning the wielder has to have been to an area at least once to later return there.

Note that depending on the verse, I like the idea of the shortcut ability requiring entering one doorway and leaving another, meaning someone locked in a room cannot leave because there is no doorway to leave through. This is verse-specific and will be noted when in use.

Due to the nature of ecto, certain skeletons are able to manifest extra body parts not connected to the body, in a similar way to summoning weapons. The best example of this is Gasters wielding extra hands. Red inherited this ability from his own Gaster, Erebus (though he's unaware that's the reason he's able to do this).

Speaking of ecto, the explanation is as follows: given that skeletons are biologically very humanoid and their bodies themselves use very little magic (the bare-bones, if you will), skeletons have a unique ability to shape and use extra magic as a vaguely jelly-like substance called ecto. Ghosts can also do this. Ecto is approximately as firm and smooth as flesh, although it is slightly less textured and weighs less. It has a bit of give, sort of like chub on humans, but maintains its shape better than flesh (e.g. ecto breasts remain shapely and don't sag like human breasts). Generally speaking, maintaining ecto for a short period of time is very easy and requires very little magic, but using it long-term can eat up magic quicker and require bigger or more frequent meals to maintain. In example, a skeleton wearing some ecto hair while out and about but releasing it at home or at night is not very magic-consuming, but a skeleton wearing full-body ecto almost 24/7 needs to eat and/or sleep a lot to maintain their ecto and still be able to use magic for other things. This is why, for example, Jazz is very fit and healthy but still naps a lot when they can, because they use full-body ecto every second of not being home. Ecto will be the same color as manifested weapons and other magic color, and in skeletons, it typically relates to the matching soul trait.

As a side note, skeletons are the most obvious example of magic having smells and tastes specific to the monster. Most types have similar tastes due to the more concrete bodies (e.g. dogs all taste the same, fire elementals mostly taste the same, etc), but skeletons, primarily using ecto which is more raw magic, have unique individual tastes and scents.

Limb detachment is a natural thing for skeletons, and is painless. Due to the nature of magic flow, however, detached limbs cannot move on their own or perform any magical functions. They can be damaged, and hurt the skeleton, and skeletons will be able to vaguely feel other sensations the limb is feeling. Skeletons regulate their body easily enough as older children, teens, and adults, but very young children are not able to do this. As such, babybones’ limbs may detach without warning and require a parent/adult to reattach them. Skeleton newborns need to constantly be touching or very physically close to a parent, because that parent gives off a steady sphere of magic to hold the baby bodies together. Being left alone for too long will result in the newborn's body falling apart entirely, and while it can be fixed of caught immediately, this can lead to death rather quickly.

Skeleton children develop language faster than other young children, which makes up for their weaker physical states. This is the basis behind typeface names. Skeletons have official names reflecting the handwriting and speech they learn from a young age. Type is determined by the skeleton's vocal range, intensity of speech (or how much conviction their voice holds, in other words), handwriting, formality, and even, to a much lesser extent, general body shape. The parents choose the typeface their child is, hold a naming ceremony, and thereafter teach the child to perfectly hone their handwriting to the exact correct typeface. Namedays are substituted for birthdays.

Skeletons don't need to breathe necessarily, but it helps ventilate magic and most are used to doing it anyway. Thus, the sensation of being unable to breathe typically causes a skeleton to pass out after approximately the same amount of time it takes for a human to pass out, but with no lasting ill effects. This can be subverted with the right mindset, i.e. coaching oneself on it while swimming.

How does magic dilute over time?

Assume a pureblood human and a pureblood monster mate and have a child. That child will, usually, have an appearance that is pretty evenly half-monster, half-human. This may, however, manifest in one of two ways. The more common way is a natural blend of both features. A mostly humanoid body with accents of the monster species. A half dog monster may have ears, a tail, paws, and fur, or a half bird monster may have talons for feet and wings for arms, and so on. The less common way is a child that can switch between two forms at will (or unintentionally while young). This has only been observed with half skeletons, but by no means is it common (in other words I like this idea and may use it for specific verses but generally don't). In both cases, the soul is shaped like a monster's but colored like a human's.

With the first instance, assume the half-human half-monster child then mates with another human. Their child is more humanoid with less monster traits. Long-term exposure to magic will encourage the child's monster traits to be prominent even so, but lack of exposure will make these traits lessen. This child's soul functions and looks completely human. This continues down the generations, assuming no monsters are reintroduced to the line. After enough generations (maybe five or six), the monster part of the heritage essentially becomes dormant without magic practice, but not gone. A distant descendant may naturally become a mage, or may be unable to perform magic (or know their heritage) without being exposed to it much like regular humans.

Assuming the half-human half-monster child goes on to mate a monster, the grandchild retains a vaguely humanoid body and soul color, while keeping a monster soul shape and with monster features winning out over human ones. Assuming the generations continue to only mate with monsters, humanoid traits become less and less frequent. Soul color will continue to be human for up to about a dozen generations, well past all human bodily features being erased.

Continued mixed heritage, with humans and monsters both adding in to the family line, will result in children who remain roughly the same as half children, give or take depending on the specifics.

What other magic varieties are present?

Aside from the color magic, fire magic, and skeleton magic previously covered, magic tends to either be element-based (water, fire, electricity, air, etc) or attribute-based (increase of strength, speed, flexibility, enhancement of weapons, etc). Rarely, there are special types of magic connected to certain actions or mindsets that are vaguely extrasensory in nature, such as increased empathy, telepathy or telekinesis, prophetic abilities, etc. These are very rare and typically occur due to extenuating circumstances (i.e. Prise's piano-accented seer powers are due to a mild void connection).

How is intent involved with magic?

In most cases, intent is very important (but not everything). A complete lack of intent to hurt generally renders attacks harmless, but even the faintest hint of irritation or frustration can be read as intent and wind up hurting someone despite more conscious thought. Very, very few monsters have the ability to confidently spar and know no hits will land (Vex is the only known one at the moment). Likewise, intent to heal does not always mean one can efficiently use healing magic (as observed in Red's case). But in more general terms, intent can mean the difference between, for example, a fire meant to hurt, and cooking fire that is harmless. Fire elementals generally practice this with their own bodies. Intent to defend or harm can make their entire body burning to the touch, in stark contrast to how intent to comfort makes the entire body seeming only as warm as standing nearby a pleasant hearth fire, even if the other person is cuddled close or even being intimate.

Intent is also the means to control other types of magic, and how they affect the other person. For example, when a skeleton uses blue magic on someone's soul, intent can decide whether the grip is just a small presence, even comforting, or the grip is tight to the point of pain. This is similar to how Dox’s strings can wrap around a soul and yank painfully, or can be a comforting weight to someone like his Dove.

In the same vein, for another example, Prise can use his intent to decide what his seer powers provide him when he sits down at the piano. Initial observation of this power was simply sitting to play while wondering what type of run his human would do, and he would get a matching 'hunch.’ Later, he uses the same power with a completely different intent to tap into the void and help his Dove sleep, and even later, a new intent to communicate with Dove from a different timeline in their sleep. These all stem from the same general type of magic, and are based on intent and skill level.