Can you tell us about your horrorswap boys?? I'm always curious about how people would change horror to be swap
I. Completely missed the boys and wrote out an entire brief synopsis of horrorswap in general. Apologies. It took a good minute more to write out a new response aha.
Anyways! The boys! Rust and Coal! So, as per standard HT origins, things in their underground were as normal as any other US before the 7th child came and went and unintentionally left them in the lurch. Papyrus is still the one who winds up with more significant mutations, while Sans has...fewer.
Due to the events of everything that transpired underground, the brothers' relationship winds up very strained. Once Rust realized the extent of his brother's deceit, he was deeply upset. But by that point, things had worsened so much that, after the initial reaction, he found it...funny, in a way. He developed a distorted sense of reality from both the trauma, head injury, and, yk, everything going on, that left him a bit unpredictable and sometimes even violent. But with time, he levels out a bit into being incredibly cynical and bitter.
In the event of surfacing, he'd be...quiet. Avoidant of others. Not exactly hateful, but very distrusting. He'd be tired, and mostly just want to keep to himself. He'd have a hard time coming around to...surviving, basically. And it'd be difficult to trust the reality of the situation for a while. He'd struggle a lot with nightmares and probably have to take significant medication to help with insomnia and psychosis, but with time, I think he could come around to finding peace.
Despite everything he does forgive his brother, and looks out for him after he loses most of his vision.
As for Coal. He did what he had to to keep his brother alive and he'll never regret that, but after the betrayal of Alphys and being pushed to make terrible decisions, Coal's drive to survive strains his soul more than any mutations.
He experiences delusions sometimes, and his moral compass is more or less entirely dismantled to prioritize he and his brother's survival. If he wound up on the surface though, he'd...slowly begin to reestablish a more firm sense of reality and consequence.
He's spent so long forcing himself to behave a certain way for his brother's sake, and for other monsters who depend on thems' sakes, that it's very, very difficult for him to less himself experience and express emotions in a healthier, more varied way than manic cheer or frustration, but with medication and a very significant amount of therapy, he would likely become more like his old self.
Being fully honest with himself and others would be the biggest hurdle, but at the very least, he would eventually be able to have an actual conversation with his brother again, which would be a lot.
They're both super messed up! But they deserve a break, and if they ever did get to the surface, I'd think they'd get one.
Rust would likely become something of a handyman, though in whatever way warrants as little direct interaction as possible, and Coal might get into botany, honestly! They'd both likely prefer very tangible things that remind them of where they are and that they're in control of themselves.
Rust usually keeps his mouth entirely covered, and his right eye socket is always full of diffuse magic, while Coal is mostly blind and sometimes leaks excess magic from his teeth or eye sockets.
Have Dove, Rust, and Dusk discovered any new hobbies and interests now that they're on the surface?
Oh tons! Especially Dusk, since even before things took a turn into becoming a horror au, he was still a Fell Papyrus and didn't really have access, time, or resources for hobbies.
Edit, this got away from me so it's Long lol
Dove likes to read and write, and draw a little when he can predominantly! He had a lot of self image issues to work through after surfacing, but he was starved of interaction and communication and so desperately wanted to explore the world and meet others. Unfortunately between the mental hurdles and the also significant physical hurdles of now being physically disabled, too, it was hard to actually go out and participate in...the rest of the world.
And so he found a lot of comfort in reading. Learning about the world and others, and then eventually writing and illustrating and posting his work online led to finding a really good middle ground, where he could be a part of the world without needing to physically and mentally exhaust himself. He also likes bird watching :*)
Dusk also found an interest in reading, but not so much writing himself. Connection isn't something he craves the way Dove does, mostly, he needs to find personal connection with himself. He was a lot worse off mentally than Dove and Rust upon surfacing, and it took...a while, to start coming back to himself. And he’s still walking that path, especially as he tries to come to terms with everything that (he can remember of what) happened back underground.
Instead he returns to things he used to find comfort in, like cooking and house tending, as much as he can, but he gradually opens up to reading more often, fostering/adopting cats, and upcycling, I guess you could call it. Fixing things, or finding new uses for things that can't be used for their original purpose, it brings him a lot of mental peace to fix, refurbish, and repurpose things.
Gardening, too, to a lesser degree. He generally likes being outside often, it helps remind him of where and when he is.
As for Rust, he’s probably the most resistant to allowing himself to experience peace and joy, and spends a lot of the initial recovery period just sort of hovering around and making sure things don't blow up massively in his and his brothers faces.
He’s between Dusk and Dove with as bad off as he was mentally, thanks to also experiencing a significant head injury but having better access to care in the healing period afterwards. That being said, his memories not the best, and his motor functions can be unreliable, which makes it difficult to enjoy a lot of the things he used to, like repairing machines, painting miniatures, photography, etc., which then only serves to distance him further from trying to do things for his own enjoyment.
Over time though, he comes to find he can still do things with his hands if it's not too delicate a process and he takes his time, so he likes to do things like simple origami and finger knitting. Little, easily hidden things. And while he'd deny it as a hobby, he actually enjoys analyzing movies. The score, cinematography, acting, themes, etc etc. Since he’s so stubborn about doing things for himself, he winds up typically doing things that don't require travel or expense, so borrowing movies from the library or finding them online and watching each one a handful of times to really process everything is something that's very...accessible, I guess, for him. Of course this graduates to reading books and blogs and whatnot about all the technical aspects and becoming a total movie buff, but it's not something probably anyone besides maybe his brother would ever know about him lol
Rust and/or Dusk you say... I love the spooky boys so much 💕
Rust lore...I actually have two different versions of horrorswap I rotate, so I'll focus the one that's more similar to good ol' horrortale, in that the human fell and ultimately left, leaving Alphys to be queen. The core eventually stops working, etc etc etc, but the roles of the brothers are actually very similar to how I interpret HT, which is to say that Coal had actually taken advantage of his brother's injury to manipulate him into consuming human to stay alive.
Their roles are almost like a 50/50 split between Dove and Patch's, in what they did and their relationship with each other, but unknowingly to either, Rust learning the truth (and specifically, that his brother had lied to him) is what eventually sets him on a downward spiral to becoming as entirely paranoid and harsh as he winds up by the events of the main story. He may always be smiling, but he is very, very far from happy.
~
Dusk lore!! Since Rust's lore was a bit heavy, I'll provide something lighter. After Undyne became queen and Papyrus became the sole captain of the guard (as well as he primary advisor), the brief period of time before the core shut down was actually not so bad.
Things still weren't great, and the human leaving along with killing the king had certainly left a lot of monsters in the throes of grief, but the impact the human had still leaned relatively positive. That, on top of Undyne doing her damndest to get things to some level of stable led to a lull of something almost like peace, for the first time in a long time.
Calm before the storm perhaps, but for a moment, things were...alright. A little better. And some of those memories were amongst the few that Dusk retained at times after his head injury.
papy request! choose for every diff pap a different fanfic trope <3
Oh boy fanfic tropes uhhh okay okay I will do my best! I’m not super well versed in fic and tropes so bear w/ me here lol
.
Rus (undertale) - devoted knight. Not to one person, rather a cause. His friends and loved ones, protecting them, taking care of them, by whatever means he has.
Edge (underfell) - collapse. He works himself so hard, it was bound to happen eventually. He’s not going to learn his lesson.
Stretch (underswap) - overheard at the worst possible time. Whether it was his secret spilled or he found something out he wasn’t meant to, I feel like Stretch is very good at finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time without fail.
Copper (swapfell metal) - (platonic) slow burn. He’s a stubborn asshole but with enough goofing off and late night talks, he might open up a little, and be better off for it.
Ghost (fellswap glass) - framed. Uh oh! Looks like you’ve been framed for a crime you didn’t commit, and now it’s up to you and you alone to find a way out of this. Good luck!
The rest under the cut!
Uno (glitchedswap) - disappearance. It’s been many years since the sudden unexpected disappearance of Papyrus Gaster, but the hole his absence left still seems to be growing.
Heartfell Papyrus - soulmate birthmarks with a twist. That twist being that…he doesn’t seem to have a mark. Oh dear.
Lace (lovefell) - heartbreak in the rain. Self explanatory.
Rosewood (mafialovefell) - curse. He’s had a curse put on him, and only true loves kiss can break it...
Boss (mafiafell) - isekai. I would love to put his ass in a situation. /j but seriously. “Medical malpractice”. He is subject to experiments beyond his control. It does not end well.
Luck (mafiaswap) - lost the bet. Like rags to riches but in reverse. Will he be able to climb back to the position he once had?
Hawk (mafiatale) - poison. Uh oh! You’ve been poisoned. Is this gunna end at the hospital or the morgue?
Dove (horrortale) - second chances. He deserves a new lease on life, after everything…right?
Rust (horrorswap) - memory loss. He loses his memory in a terrible accident…but maybe that’s for the best.
Dusk (horrorfell) - life candles. And his has almost run out…
Ice (invertedfell) - (platonic) forced confessions. Trapped with a friend in dire circumstances and after a point, all they have left to pass the time is talking.
Clover (sweetswap) - flower shop. He’s always loved how colorful flowers are, even if he’s been partially colorblind since his accident.
Pictoris (outertale) - arranged marriage. But maybe it won’t be so bad after all..?
Aurigae - (platonic) slow dance. He gets pulled into dancing by a friend. He was having a terrible day, but…that helped. Maybe more than he’s even willing to admit.
Antares (outerfell) - space pirate. Is this a trope? I honestly don’t know but I love the concept and am standing by this.
Elester (demonfell) - absurd meet cute. He’s a demon, he needs to be placed in the story by extreme means, right?
Dos (glitchfell) - ghosts of the past. Something from his past is haunting him, and he can’t outrun it forever.
Void (vesselfell) - [redacted] coffee shop. He likes coffee :*)
"""Realistically""" I don't think there'd be too many opportunities for Dove and Dusk to interact, and I've only thought a little abt Dusk and Rust interacting, but it's weird, because my initial instinct is to say they'd be able to bond over such similar experiences, and yet...
I can't help but feel Dusk would have strong reservations about interacting with any of the other horrors. He doesn't trust himself or his memory anymore after what happened, and I think facing alternate versions of yourself, especially knowing they'd been subjected to similar fates, would just make him...anxious. And uncomfortable. It may even tread dangerously close to triggering.
For Dove, I could certainly imagine him being happy to extend an olive branch...but I think he'd deal with similar discomfort. Not that he'd think their actions any worse than his own, but he can barely tolerate introspection. I can't imagine the mental toll having to see these distorted mirror images of his own trauma reflected back at him.
And Rust is just entirely antisocial to begin with. In some ways I think his extreme sort of...denial? Or repression..? I can't think of the right word, but sort of rejection of everything that happened might actually serve to make him...less? Off put by the other two. Not that he’d wanna socialize anyways, but he'd probably have the easiest time...not caring so much.
That being said, I think it'd probably be significantly different if they'd known each other as Rus Edge and Stretch in the past.
