#utdr thoughts

[im-not-here-im-dead]

don’t fucking talk to me i’m crying over undyne right now

[despite-everything-im-not-here]

Opinion on FINAGLC

i assume you are talking about Flowey Is Not A Good Life Coach. correct me if i am wrong.

opinion under the cut.

it has been a while since i last read it, but i have read it three times in the past. each time, i was struck with how much papyrus’ story resonated with me. it was such a heart-wrenchingly real depiction of someone going through that kind of abuse, and there were moments where i saw myself in him. this fic helped me start to recognize the ways i was being abused. and for that, i am grateful.

that being said, i absolutely despise this fic for its portrayal of flowey. others have said it better, but this author seems to misunderstand flowey on a fundamental level. in this fic, flowey is portrayed as an emotionless husk who is cruel and sadistic for the sake of it and cannot be changed because he is incapable of real emotion or caring about others in any meaningful way, so it’s in his nature. apparently. besides being yet another iteration of a deeply ableist trope, this portrayal of flowey completely contradicts what he is actually like in the game.

firstly, flowey is not cruel ‘by nature’. he CHOSE to be cruel when he didn’t have to. and he was never cruel for the sake of it. he did awful things to stave off unbearable boredom and sate his curiosity. i do not say this to ‘justify’ his actions. quite the opposite. if flowey really was cruel and sadistic because of his ‘nature’, something he CANNOT CONTROL, how could he possibly be held responsible for his actions? he made the CHOICE to torture and kill people COMPLETELY of his own volition, and he is not proud of his actions. he’s so ashamed of himself that he condemns himself to the fate of staying alone in the underground for the rest of his life, tending to his lost sibling’s grave.

secondly, flowey isn’t emotionless either. in fact, he is the MOST emotional character in undertale. he even cries on screen at least three times, which is more than any other character (asgore and napstablook only do this twice). he seems to deal with emotional numbness, but he never says that he can’t feel anything AT ALL, just that he can’t feel anything FOR ANYONE. he also says that he can’t truly care about anyone, but he has been proven to care about others many times (ie; the true route when he begs ‘chara’ not to reset and to let everyone live their lives, the times he took care of toriel, the fact he never has anything bad to say about papyrus, his secret admiration for sans). it’s not that he doesn’t care about anyone, it’s just that he conflates not feeling love and empathy for someone with not truly caring about them.

lastly, but not leastly, flowey IS asriel. i don’t really feel like explaining why right now, so for now i’ll just let this post do it for me.

another thing that really bothers me about this fic is that it’s just not a good or accurate rendition of papyrus and flowey’s relationship. in undertale, flowey seems to think very highly of papyrus and i think a lot of it has to do with his of unwavering belief that everyone can choose to do the right thing and make a change for the better. because it challenges his beliefs that the world is kill or be killed and that he is beyond redemption. papyrus challenges him to think critically about how he views the world and himself.

they have a lot in common too. they both put up a front all the time, they both feel like no one really understands them, they’re both painfully lonely, they both have a sibling they would do anything for. i think because they had so much in common, flowey felt closer to papyrus than anyone since chara was alive.

i think what finally made flowey go from considering papyrus as his friend to considering him as just another character was when he realized that he was getting predictable and boring just like everyone else. his words of encouragement and admonishment started to ring hollow. it became just lines of dialogue to him. i think that flowey thinking of the world as a game is his way of coping with derealization rather than just plain disregard for the people who live in it. it gives him a sense of control and comfort.

but i digress. all this to say that papyrus is really important to flowey and the significance of their friendship cannot be understated.

in this fic however, papyrus is flowey’s favorite because he just can’t quite figure out what makes him tick. he is oh so fascinated by his staunch pacifism because it makes no sense to him. he wants to figure out what would break his will and get him to murder. he has no real respect or admiration for papyrus. he just sees him as a toy.

in conclusion, Flowey Is Not A Good Life Coach, while a moving story and an excellent depiction of the effects that extreme abuse can have on someone, is also an abominable portrayal of flowey and his relationship with papyrus.

verdict: i really don’t like this fic and i never want to read it again.

[thornrings]

mostly coherent deltarune water theory stuff... been pondering this a lot recently. any questions go to my askbox pwease :3c (the water theory master doc is a good read if you haven't seen it yet)

[paintedcrows]

Nooo little Stanley watch out! Your striped shirt, bandage, and sad backstory are too Fallen Human Coded!! The Undertale narrative is going to get you!!!

[frigidfries]

happy birthday deltarune. happy late birthday undertale. here's a comic!

cheers to best friends forever & ever & ever & ever & ev

[akanemnon]

THAT'S A LOTTA DAMAGE (emotional damage that is)

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[sanaefum0]

NOEEYYYYY <333

[everysongineverykey]

ok alphys was a character ahead of her time and too good for this damn fandom honestly. she isn't some evil gaslighting lying cringey manipulator who only exists as comic relief for the love of god look at her with eyes less poisoned by cynicism and irony. she is a love letter to... well, a lot of things. a love letter to "cringey" people, to video game fans, to people who try to drown their sadness in fiction. she's so achingly relatable to so many of us that it really feels like toby knows his demographic like the back of his hand. we've all met someone like alphys. maybe we are that someone- awkward, nerdy, can't get over their past mistakes, terrible at phone calls, far more eloquent online than in person, only wants to make people like them to distract them from the fact that they don't like themself. normally, this character archetype is the butt of a great deal of jokes- just a gross nerd who needs to touch grass. but alphys is different. she is, as i said, a love letter. she is one of the best-developed and most complex characters in the game. her nerdiness isn't "fixed" or mocked, it's celebrated. her unabashed love for her interests and her 100% attitude is a big reason why undyne loves her. games, especially in 2015 and before, are not often so genuinely kind to characters like alphys! and in deltarune, too- alphys is still a nerd, despite not being nearly as traumatized as her undertale counterpart. her rambling about shows she loves is a constant across all universes, a fundamental and important and good part of who she is.

and i just think that's very kind, and very important.

[squidpedia]

FALLEN KIDS REF SHEET

Thank you for waiting! They’re all incredibly dear to me. Small note, I did fudge the order of when they fell a little bit, perserverance and integrity switched places in my personal timeline. Uh sorry if that bothers you!

*Aimee was not the sibling

Total roundup:

[angelbitezzz]

Boy i sure hope this partnership ends well

[im-not-here-im-dead]

i am sooo mad right now

okay. look at his armor

still don’t see it ?

here

…it’s the delta rune……

i’m probably not the first one to point this out, but oh well. i’m sure there are things to be said about the symbolism and whatever, but alas i am. unable to form coherent thoughts at the moment

[linterteatime]

Noelle in some holiday Barbie's fit's

[thornrings]

youever think about how umm

asriel in undertale: only monster who didn't leave the underground

asriel in deltarune: only monster who left hometown

[em7raen]

i started this ages ago when the newsletter came out , but i never finished it and i dont think i ever will . SO INSTEAD OF EVER TRYING TO FINISH IT , ILL JUST POST IT AS IS a whole month later + some doodles :3

[lilybug-02]

Wow. That could not have turned out worse.

Part 23 || First || Previous || Next

--Full Series--

This comic will be on Holiday Hiatus this December and January! While on a cliffhanger? What a scam! >:/

[mumblejar]

hello gender euphoria king