Wait what do you mean carmen and vi can't shortcut this is news to me— :0c
Is it because they haven't known they could do it or it's cause their souls got tampered to hell and back that they cant do it anymore?
The missing piece in this one is actually Gaster!
In (nearly) every other universe, Gaster ceases to exist, scattering everything he ever was or could be like dust in the wind, into the Void.
Which puts the things (and people) he left behind in an odd position of 'not supposed to exist.' But they do, and as load-bearing elements of the world--the CORE, Sans, Papyrus--they must continue to exist, even though the monster that made them is gone, both proactively and retroactively.
The universe abhors a vacuum.
So does the Void.
When Gaster ceased to exist, it left one such vacuum and the Void flowed in to fill in the cracks, like a kintsugi vase.
Most people lost memories, or found them altered to simply warp around the empty space Gaster left behind.
The skeleton brothers…discovered some new abilities.
But in the Fruition 'verses, none of that happened!
So Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans) and Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans) can't cut through time and space in the blink of an eye, and Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus) and Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus) can't look sideways at the world around them and perceive its building blocks to no-clip right through them.
Don't worry, they're still pretty, they have plenty of other stuff going for them!
Carmine, due to his…adjustments, generates magic at a ridiculous pace, to the point of being able to fire off bone-bullets and blasters seemingly bottomlessly.
He makes so much, in fact, that his extrasensory perception is through the roof and if he tunes into it just right, he can skim surface thoughts right out of peoples' heads--which you'd think would be why he seems to be so wholly, near-comically lucky, like he's just operating around the thoughts and intentions he's subconsciously gleaning from the people around him.
But no, that supernatural luck seems to be a separate Boon entirely, gut feelings and weird, off vibes that Just seem to come and go, steering him through and around trouble he'd otherwise walk into without that strange auspice. Eh, he doesn't question it much…
Tank is, of course, extremely strong, with more physical power at his disposal than any other monster he's ever heard of--even stronger than Asgore, and he's a Boss Monster.
His grasp on and control of magic is admittedly much weaker than it should be, but as a trade-off he's entirely immune to damage from intent, which is huge. A hate-filled blow that would dust another monster would only glance off of him, doing only as much damage as the physical power of the strike contains.
Not that he FIGHTs much anymore, but Underground he was an absolute powerhouse, reflective of his nickname. He never once lost an Encounter or let himself (or anyone with him) get hurt, moving through battles like he'd fought them a dozen times before, like he just knew exactly what to do and when. Oddly enough, Frisk had the same way about them, when they eventually fell down… Huh.
Vi, after Gaster's focus shifted to the stronger sibling, actually didn't undergo much Adjustment. He wasn't the central project, only a peripheral asset, so he wasn't much invested in. Still, he was practically born with a keen eye for detail, almost hyperattentive to outliers and discrepancies in data presented to him, making him an excellent analyst.
And even without enhancement, his ability to stealth and slip beneath peoples' notice is impressive, only more and more finely honed over the years. He can cross nearly any room without making a sound, utterly silent, and unless you're already looking for him, you'd never notice him in a crowd--whether it was a crowd of monsters or a crowd of humans.
And naturally, he has the patience of a god, a seemingly limitless ability to sit by and accept even the worst of circumstances quietly while he waits (read: arranges the circumstances) for it to change. Doesn't seem like a super-power at first, and technically isn't, but to actually see it in action, how calmly he can just wait…it's impressive.
By comparison, Hunter is a good bit flashier. He has been enhanced--stronger, faster, more durable, heightened senses and reflexes--nothing shocking for a monster, but certainly more than anyone else of his build and breeding would be capable of without significant training.
He even has a built-in poison resistance, shrugging off toxins that would knock out anyone else and walking away from poisons that could fell a Boss Monster with little more than a headache or a queasy feeling to show for it. Needless to say, even hard drugs and alcohol tend to barely make a dent in him.
But he wouldn't be much of a spy-slash-assassin if he couldn't also be stealthy, so he ended up learning how to suppress his LV. It's not something most monsters in a 'fell verse would even think to bother with--letting other people feel the strength of your magic and your willingness to kill is a great deterrent to being messed with, so why hide it? Why seem weaker than you are and let other monsters think they're stronger than you?
Obvious answer: when that's what you want them to think, so they'll let you get close, and so they won't think twice about being alone with you. :)
I have a question!!! What would it take to get the more stoic boys (like Ell, Merc, Nemo, Vi and King—and anyone else you want to add) to crack a smile?
So you want to make the stony faces crack a smile, huh? An admirable goal!
I went ahead and picked out the most stoic skeletons I could think of, and the best way to get them to break and laugh for you—or at least grin…
King (Horrorfell Papyrus) – He’s a tough nut to crack, but if you don’t happen to have a clever wit to banter back and forth with him, using your sharpest ripostes and most stinging barbs, physical comedy is actually your best bet. He’s a bit of a sadist and has just enough of a mean streak to always find it funny when someone falls, or walks into a pole, or really any other form of slapstick as a result of someone’s clumsiness or inattention. He generally has enough grace to rein his visible amusement in, but if you ever see some sort of petty accident waiting to happen, do point it out—or be the clumsy fool yourself, you just might see an undignified snicker.
Merc (Horrorswap Sans) – He actually has a great sense of humor and joy, so he does already smile quite a bit! Just…because of his condition, he has to keep in control of his emotions, so those smiles are small and slow and restrained, lest he feel too much and lose his handle on himself. That said, the element of surprise is crucial to winning the big and real reactions from him, catching him off-guard so he doesn’t see it coming and can’t mount an internal defense against it. Non sequiturs and unexpected punchlines work great for this, but are best used sparingly—both to keep the element of surprise at play, and to keep his discomfort from getting a little melty to a minimum.
Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus) – In spite of his often surly or sour mood, he’s not especially difficult to amuse. Probably his favorite thing, though, is anything that happens to be unintentionally funny—as in, something that was not meant to be comedic but, by circumstance or execution or some other factor, has just completely missed the mark and has worked its way around to funny. Really badly outdated special effects or especially hokey dialogue in shows and movies tend to work well in getting him to smile, but he’s liable to bark out a laugh for signs and billboards and such that should not have been placed next to each other, or if you share with him something stupid and out of touch that a celebrity or politician may have said.
Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus) – He’s only deceptively hard to get a smile out of. He’s often anxious, or in guard-dog mode, thinking about things that could happen, and what he’d have to do in the event of X, Y, or Z, which has the Resting Bitch Face out in full force…but he’s far from a heart of stone. When he’s relaxed and comfortable, he’ll smile about pretty much anything, even just for it being a kind of nice day outside. …But if you want to see him smile even when he's not entirely chill, all it really takes is some kids, or maybe a funny animal. Seeing kids goofing around doing kid things, or a puppy dog up to some puppy type antics, he has a hard time not smiling for that.
Spectr (Transcendtale Sans) – He’s a very, very tough one, almost the poster skeleton for ‘nothing to smile about in my life.’ He’s definitely lost in his own existentialism a lot, or the opposite and trying not to think about more than what’s directly in front of him, which does make it pretty difficult to get a laugh out of him. Still, he can’t quite help himself when it comes to skeleton-based jokes and puns—it’s tired, old material, sure, but very comforting and familiar, and he likes to hear it. It’s not a guaranteed laugh if you hit him with some humerus wordplay, but he’s pretty likely to be smiling behind his mask, and even likelier to throw you a bone and respond in kind.
Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus) – With him, it’s a little bit like getting one of those palace guards to crack a smile—it’s not so much that he’s humorless, just that he’s (until recently) not been allowed to show a response…and as a related issue, he’s not at all familiar with social cues and doesn’t always realize a certain response is expected of him. Because of that, one of the best ways to get him to smile is to explain a joke for him, or just let him know that what was said was a joke. It’s easier for him to feel comfortable expressing his amusement if he knows for sure that he was meant to be amused, but as for a specific preference of humor… Well, he actually really likes skeleton-related puns and jokes, too! His brother used to tell them all the time when they were younger and since he wasn’t around long enough to use them to death those are very fond memories!
Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans) – Now he’s the poster skeleton for ‘nothing to smile about in my life,’ and consequently, not very easy at all to coax a smile from. He’s too into the habit of keeping his most important and genuine feelings off his face to be fully comfortable smiling over just anything. If someone knows that something makes him happy, it can be taken away from him, after all. …But if whatever he’s smiling about is something vague, deprived of its context and mysterious to anyone who isn’t in the know… His fastest and easiest smiles are the ones that come from inside jokes, funny moments that maybe he didn’t laugh about at the time, but will freely grin and reference later with just a ‘YOU HAD TO BE THERE’ to anyone else prying for more context. He likes secrets, and the ones he can share with you are the most fun.
OMG all the new boys are fascinating but ummm Swapfell Fruition especially?? Sounds so good?? I would love a full lore dump on this concept, I love the idea of Vi playing the long con to get rid of Gaster and it all sounds so good. Incidentally I need to read Dirty Laundry again lol, everything you make with regards to any version of Swapfell is just *chef's kiss*
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Swapfell Fruition
A young Sans’ attempt to kill his creator, the Royal Scientist is a failure.
Gaster survives the scuffle that would’ve toppled him off of the CORE’s scaffolding and gains the upper hand, subduing his traitorous creation and forcing him—and the younger one he’d been trying to escape with—back to his labs.
Sans was reckless, tipped his hand too soon and without the luck to have succeeded on the first attempt, Gaster learns that he is a sneaky little backstabber, capable of appearing obedient but hiding ruthless intentions.
He's almost proud… but of course he can't have that.
It becomes clear to the Royal Scientist that obviously, he needs his creations to have some kind of failsafe. The little one hasn't shown any signs of disobedience yet, but his primary caretaker is a crafty little snake, no telling what he could influence him to do, if given the time or the chance—so it’s back to the drawing board, to the operating table with them both.
Papyrus, at his age, doesn't really know what happens to him, only that whatever was done to him hurt, a lot. He wakes up after in the room he’d shared with his brother, scared and hurting and alone, and when Sans finally reappears, he goes to him for a hug.
Except…
Sans doesn’t hug him back.
He doesn’t hug back, and he doesn’t say anything, no matter how much Papyrus begs him to…
And the next time Gaster summons them to the lab, it’s Sans who picks him up and keeps him from squirming away, holding his arm out for Gaster’s needles.
Papyrus doesn’t understand the betrayal, at the time or in the years that follow.
His hurt turns to bitterness and resentment as his once gentle and protective big brother starts to actively help their creator change him, gradually shaping him into a stronger, more efficient killer.
But even with all the modification and training he’s subjected to, Papyrus isn’t quite the solider or war machine Gaster had planned he would be—he spooks when caught by surprise, he’s easily distracted by irrelevant things, his loyalties twist and sway far too easily for Gaster’s liking…
Well, the Royal Scientist is nothing if not resourceful, certainly able to work with…limited materials and still produce something of use.
With the right mental conditioning, and the right handler to make use of it, Papyrus will still be a valuable asset for the Empress.
After all, there’s always political enemies to the crown that her highness would surely prefer to have…removed, discreetly, and other such dirty work best done in the shadows.
Fast and stealthy, like an assassin, seems more suited to Papyrus’ abilities anyway.
And as for a handler, who better than Sans to fill the role?
Gaster’s prototype was largely a failure, but certainly intelligent and organized, presumably capable of researching and observing targets, briefing the asset on situations and targets and memorizing the trigger words and phrases necessary to keep him operating at peak efficiency.
Sans doesn’t protest.
He doesn’t protest much of anything anymore, not since…
………
Well, it’s not like he’s ever spoken about what happened when everything changed, not even to Papyrus, so when he goes along with this too, neither Gaster nor Papyrus expects otherwise.
So, that’s how it is.
Papyrus becomes the perfect assassin and Sans doles out his marching orders, occasionally following behind on missions to jerk his leash and keep him on track.
Between them, it’s…complicated.
Sans is still Papyrus’ brother, the closest thing to an ally that Papyrus has, both of them stuck in service to a power-hungry, unethical prick.
There are moments where they’re okay, times where a joke will slip out and one of them will laugh, injuries tended to, backs watched under fire, and dozens more little things that just wouldn’t happen if they were nothing to each other.
But the moments never last long.
Reality always comes back in sooner or later—usually in the form of Gaster, demanding an update or issuing new orders or calling them back from the field, to which Sans always, always complies.
Papyrus takes it as a reminder of where Sans’ real loyalties must lie.
He’s some kind of brother, not always awful, and maybe he does care about Papyrus, a little bit, but he answers to Gaster above anything or anyone else, apparently by choice.
He can’t be trusted, not really.
And Sans…
Sans stays quiet and does his job.
Quickly, efficiently, and to the letter—exemplary service, always.
Irreproachable.
He’s almost completely beneath suspicion by the time the last human falls into the Underground.
Gaster couldn’t be more thrilled.
This is a golden opportunity, the perfect chance to prove his worth to the Empress and earn clout and accolades innumerable—to be the one responsible for capturing the seventh soul and freeing all of monsterkind from their centuries of imprisonment and allowing the war against humanity to finally begin!
Well, technically, it would be his creations doing it, but it’s his name that history will remember, him who would rise into legend as the most brilliant and ruthless monster to ever live, the catalyst in humanity’s downfall.
He doesn’t waste so much as a minute before summoning Sans and ordering him to handle it, immediately.
Meet with the Empress, alert her that there’s a human loose in the Underground, and offer her the services of the asset in ending their free roam.
Sans agrees, as he always has, and goes to fetch his brother for the job.
Papyrus is admittedly a little blindsided when not two seconds out of the labs, Sans pulls him aside, out of range of known cameras and recording devices and hisses at him to listen.
He doesn’t know what to make of what Sans says after, either—that he hasn’t earned it and he knows that, but he needs Papyrus to trust him right now, because he is going to lie and everything depends on Papyrus going along with it.
In spite of their messy history and every uncharitable thing Papyrus has ever thought about Sans…right here and now, something in his gut tells him this is no trick.
He agrees to ‘go along with it’…whatever ‘it’ is.
Sans waits until a certain amount of time has elapsed, and then he makes a call to Gaster with Papyrus present to listen.
Gaster is informed that there’s a problem with the latest target. The asset’s programming isn’t taking and he’s refusing to track down the human.
This is, of course, news to Papyrus, who hasn’t been assigned his target yet.
But…Sans said ‘trust me’ and ‘play along,’ so that’s what he does, complaining that he doesn’t want to kill a child, just put him back in his cage and do your own dirty work, old man…
Helpfully—always helpful, always intelligent, always reliable—Sans postulates a conflict of orders might be causing the programming to bug like this. Gaster’s overarching orders are for the asset to kill targets assigned to him, but the Empress has unfortunately countermanded that the human must be brought to her alive.
And again, Papyrus knows differently because the Empress hasn’t given him any orders, they never made it to her for orders to be given and Toriel likely doesn’t even know yet that a human has fallen.
But he said he’d go along with the lie so he keeps his mouth shut, even as he hears Gaster curse on the other end of the line.
Gaster finds Sans’ assessment of the situation as reasonable as it is frustrating, but minds are complicated machines and often behave strangely when conflicts arise. Just look at the Empress, who knows that humans must be killed to free her people, but feels she must perform the act herself instead of the far more convenient option being presented to her!
The asset’s orders being in conflict is a far more annoying stopping block, though, yet another barrier in the way of all the glory that Gaster has so painstakingly earned.
Time is short, stakes are high, he refuses to recall his creation just to debug it and resolve the glitch, not now.
Instead he makes his fatal mistake.
He overrides the asset’s failsafes.
All of them.
Impatiently rattling off a code that nearly makes Papyrus stagger from a feeling like weight being lifted, Gaster disconnects the call with a sharp command to Sans to ‘handle it,’ now that there were no restrictions on his targets or what he could be ordered to do.
Sans is only quiet for a moment before handing a picture to Papyrus, locking him on and beginning the usual debrief.
Papyrus can’t fully grasp what he’s looking at, not at first.
“………confirm target?”
“WINDINGS GASTER, THE CURRENT ROYAL SCIENTIST TO THE CROWN.”
As with any briefing, Papyrus must be informed of his target’s connections, abilities and assets.
Gaster has strong ties with the crown, and between that and his own paranoia, security around him will be tight. He’s intelligent, strong, and merciless, and he won’t hesitate to make use of anything at his disposal in a life-or-death situation.
As an example, he had implanted a condition into his private assassin’s mental programming that would prevent him from acting against or outright attacking him—so it’s fortunate they’ve already cleared that concern.
Now, the top priorities are to ensure that Sans is physically far away from Gaster when the mission is executed, and that Papyrus is at no point seen by Gaster before he’s dead. The entire operation could be sunk if both of these conditions aren’t met.
“why?”
“THERE’S AN ADDITIONAL FAILSAFE, IMPLANTED IN YOUR SOUL. IF GASTER REALIZES YOU’VE BEEN TURNED ON HIM BEFORE YOU’VE SUCCEEDED, HE CAN INSTANTLY DROP YOUR HP TO 1.”
“………and why am i doing this without my handler?”
“BECAUSE I’M COMPROMISED TOO. IF HE SEES ME OUT OF PLACE OR SUSPECTS I’VE BETRAYED HIM AGAIN, HE’LL USE THE FAILSAFE IN MY SOUL TO REMOTELY CONTROL MY BODY AND MOBILIZE ME AGAINST YOU—AND OF COURSE, AT THAT POINT, HE WOULD KNOW THAT YOU’RE TARGETING HIM AS WELL AND BE PREPARED TO KILL YOU.”
And that…
Well.
That sure is a hell of a lot of new information that Papyrus will have to process later, when there’s not a strong compulsion in the back of his skull that there is someone he needs to kill.
He’s a professional, when he’s working.
He will focus on the mission.
To keep up appearances, Sans departs to find the fallen human and trail them on their journey through the Underground. He very much wants to ensure they reach the Empress safely, but there’s an added bonus of being exactly where he’s supposed to be and doing exactly what he’s supposed to do should Gaster check in on him—no need to arouse any suspicion, not before it’s far too late.
In the end, when Chara has befriended monsterkind against all odds, winning over the Empress herself and freeing them all to a life of peace with humankind on the surface, the death of the Royal Scientist is an incidental discovery.
Sans takes responsibility for it, pleading for the Empress’s mercy.
Gaster had wanted the human—kind young Chara, to whom Toriel has taken such a liking—killed immediately as soon as they emerged from the Ruins, and he hadn’t thought that the Empress would condone such an order in light of what she’s always held to regarding fallen humans.
Gaster had been adamant, though, and Sans… Well, he only wanted to serve the will of her highness and to do so, he turned the asset against their master. He hopes only for some leniency for what he’s done, Gaster may have been their father but—
Strangely enough, it seems Toriel had no idea that the asset and his handler were the Royal Scientist’s children. He’d always told her they were employees, volunteers for the things that were done to them and the missions they were told to undertake.
Learning that they had actually been created, intentionally molded and pressed into these roles without a choice in the matter…
Toriel, an Empress first but a mother a very close second, can certainly afford leniency.
The brothers are let loose in spite of their crime, with a bit of funding from the Empress to get on their feet after everything. The money is partially back-pay for their joint service as the crown’s black ops division (for which they were never actually compensated before), and partially amends for how long their…circumstance…went unnoticed.
Sans offers to split the money and part ways with Papyrus, if he’d prefer.
But Papyrus has learned a lot in the past few days to…completely and utterly recontextualize everything he ever thought was true about his handl—…his brother, and…maybe he should stick around a bit. See what’s what.
Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans)
Extremely restrained and closed off from so many years of being unable to talk to or trust anyone, not even his brother. An accomplished liar but socially unpracticed, tending to read as cold and unfriendly to those who approach him. He’s more awkward than genuinely hostile, though
Issues with being watched, spent most of his life simultaneously going unnoticed and being intensely over-monitored so his feelings about being observed—regardless of context—are complicated, runs hot and cold on it
Complicated feelings for his brother, too: he loves him, of course, and he failed him in many ways, but he was also stuck between him and Gaster for a long time and caught his fair share of hell from both sides and there’s some resentment there for that. He wants to fix things, but he’s not really sure how and just…awkwardly trying his best
Well-organized and skilled at research and thinking analytically, tends to approach most things with a problem-solving attitude and an eye-socket for detail. Extremely talented at finding loopholes and ways around or through the rules—though his respect for said rules is very low to begin with
Likes high and secluded places, mostly rooftops but anywhere it could be difficult for other people to get to. Whether or not those places are restricted by fencing or padlocks or lack of ladders is immaterial, if he finds a high spot he would like to be, he will get to it one way or another and perch as long as he pleases
Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus)
Impulsive and driven by self-interest, the years of mental conditioning have broken down his fears and inhibitions to nearly nothing. He does what he wants, when he wants, with little concern for anything else—a dog off its leash who’ll only heel when it’s good and ready to. Unfortunately charming enough to mostly get away with it
Problems with authority, for obvious reasons. Likely to try to bend or break any rule presented to him, just to see if he can, and a severe lack of respect for anyone trying to enforce those rules upon him (especially the arbitrary ones)
Conflicting and highly jumbled feelings for his brother, making them a matched set: he disliked him, maybe even hated him a little for a long time, for helping Gaster turn him into what he is and for being the one to yank his leash and pull his strings…but that was before he knew that he had a kill-switch in his soul and that his brother was up on strings on his own, being pulled by the jackass they both apparently hated… It doesn’t erase everything that happened, knowing that, but it does…change things. (He wants to fix things too, but he’s not sure how either, so they’re both just awkwardly trying)
Needs ‘tune-ups’ every so often to reinforce his mental conditioning and make sure all his programming is intact, even now that Gaster’s gone and he’s retired as an assassin. Going too long without re-upping it causes deterioration, compulsions ‘leaking’ without being triggered and causing headaches and erratic, sometimes violent behavior so…best for everyone to keep his head maintained regularly
Absolutely loves nature and wilderness, hiking, camping, and climbing trees is his idea of an excellent time. Could absolutely go off on a run and disappear into the trees and not be seen or heard from for a week, likely to get some forest-cryptid lore started about him—possibly on purpose
now i’m curious, how would Vi demand attention from a s/o? is he straightforward enough to demand a snuggle (is he one to want that?) or is he more the ‘randomly hits you up to find the the closest free time you have to do something’ kind of person?
Definitely more about the verbal requests for attention, but that includes asking to spend time with you too!
Being Vi’s (Swapfell Fruition Sans) s/o, you can expect to get hit with some of the following:
“SIT OVER HERE,” and then he carries on with whatever he was doing before, now with you seated a little bit closer to him.
“GIVE ME YOUR HAND,” and he takes it and holds it until you have something else to do that you need it for.
“I WANT TO KISS YOU,” and he waits for your response to see if you’re amenable to the suggestion.
He’s generally alright without a lot of direct and active attention—and actually, mostly prefers it, he gets antsy and anxious if he feels like too much attention is on him (issues with over-monitoring his whole childhood, adolescence, adulthood)—but his desire for it tends to spike when it seems like his access to it (and you) might be limited. So…expect a lot of this behavior to happen when one of you is about to go somewhere, or someone else is talking to you, that kind of thing.
It's less jealousy and more resource-guarding—he’s not used to having attention so easily available and it already feels like a limited resource, so introducing other factors that might limit or remove his access to that attention (affection) entirely makes it feel a little more pressing.
He didn’t really need a hug while you were just hanging out, but if you’re leaving, he should get one, while you’re still here, wait, hang on, before you go…
for the new boys, how’d they pick their nicknames?
(The same for the first ones are here, here, and here)
But as for the newest ones!
Spectr (Transcendtale Sans): The color of his magic is technically all the colors, the full ‘spectrum,’ so that works. …He also has a tendency to lurk and wander like a restless spirit—and it’s not like he doesn’t think of himself as exactly that most days—so the last little bit drops off and that’s what he goes by.
PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus): Just like any Papyrus, he would prefer to keep his original name—so he does! With just a bit of wordplay cleverly inserted into the middle to distinguish him from the original. He doesn’t mind going by just AI (pronounced ‘eye’), if further distinguishing is needed though.
Xanth (Ascendswap Sans): Going by color is always complicated when there’s more than one at play, but the word ‘xanthic,’ meaning ‘yellowish’ seems like it would work well enough to describe the flecks and streaks that run through his magic. Xanth it is! …Though he’d respond to just about anything, he always seems to know when someone means to refer to him, even if they just say ‘Sans.’
Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus): Following in the example of another Papyrus who ran out of name fragments and picked a nickname based on what he does (or did, at least), he chooses Piper, a reference to the story of the Pied Piper and a nod to his special ability. It’s a name with two ‘p’s in it, just like the original, so it shouldn't be too hard to switch to responding to.
Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans): Colors? Sure, carmine red, easy peasy. What, like picking a shade of red is hard? Skill issue. 😎
Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus): His first suggestion, upon the realization that a nickname will be needed, is that he’s used to responding to the designation 2P. ...Absolutely no one likes this idea, and his brother suggests a nickname he uses for him, Tank, ‘cause he’s fuckin’ huge and built like one, and already accustomed to answering to the name. This is deemed a better solution.
Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans): A shortening of the color ‘violet,’ it’s quick and easy to say as just a single syllable and he’s perfectly satisfied with that. No further work-shopping is needed.
Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus): He looks at what King and Piper did for their nicknames and follows suit. Pick what you do, and what he does is hunt, so Hunter it is. There’s no need to elaborate on what he hunts, don’t worry about it.
Kohl (Descendtale Sans): So many shades of black to choose from and kohl is the winner. It already sounds like a name—(char)coal was also in consideration for the same reason, but the ‘k’ has a harder edge to it that he likes the sound of a little bit better than the ‘c.’ (Skeleton monsters can understand the distinction, even if the human ear might not catch it…)
Bram (Descendtale Papyrus): He decides to choose a nickname for himself after one of his distinguishing features over the other Papyri—Bramble, for the cool and distinguishing spikes along his arms. It shortens nicely to Bram, which is also the name of a famous human author, so he’s quite pleased to wear the moniker!
Apparently I haven't been checking here enough because there's so many new boys I didn't recognize in the sibling post!!! And they all sound so cool and interesting!!
Thank you! But you’re probably not as out of the loop as you think—I’ve been a little shy about sharing my stuff lately, so I actually haven’t posted about any of those guys before!
If you want a quick rundown…
Transcendtale: The result of a never-ending cycle of RESETs with a No Mercy sort of human. Monsters gradually became aware and eventually resorted to extremes to put an end to the cycle, sacrificing themselves to create one single vessel powerful enough to kill the human for good. In the aftermath, most of monsterkind is gone…physically, but still persist as consciousnesses recorded digitally instead. (Sort of a cyberpunk aesthetic answer to Dusttale.)
Spectr (Transcendtale Sans): The unlucky bastard who got tapped to pilot the ultra-powerful human-killing vessel and one of only a few physical monsters remaining. His new body is entirely robotic but similar to what he had before—the only thing missing is a soul. He’s coping in the aftermath of Everything about as well as could be expected, but pretty heavily dysphoric and doubting his identity and his personhood as…whatever he is now.
PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus): A virtual consciousness, a snapshot of the previous ‘original’ Papyrus, his thoughts, his feelings, his memories, his entire sense of self… AKA, Papyrus, just detached from a physical body and soul. He considers it a major upgrade, really—he’s eternal, everywhere, everything… Maybe a slight god-complex about it, but can you blame him? He can interact with the world directly via hard-light projections of himself if he chooses, so it’s hard for him to see a downside to his new state of being.
Ascendswap: Another never-ending cycle of RESETs with No Mercy to be found, but after a bargain is struck with an entity beyond mortal ken, a small inner-circle of monsters is granted awareness of the cycle, and access to deeper, older, more powerful magic in order to put a stop to the human’s reign of terror. Most of monsterkind is only peripherally aware of all that happened, but a select few have been Elevated beyond what they once were.
Xanth (Ascendswap Sans): He’s the one who struck the eldritch bargain and consequently gained power and magic, as well as the ability to share it with anyone he chooses. It’s come at a significant cost and large swathes of him have been lost, dissolved into pure magic. He’s also now one who’s seen beyond the veil, the ant who has perceived the circuit board so to speak, and he’ll never be quite who he was. Still, he’s happy, and far more attuned to souls and magic and energy than he ever was before, so he’s not complaining.
Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus): One of the beneficiaries of his brother’s meddling, a newly-minted boss monster with full awareness of RESETs and much stronger magic—including an ability to push intent into his words as he speaks them, making their influence stronger. Due to the nature of its source, there’s only so far that little trick can go, but between being far more persuasive than he ever hoped he could be, his increased power, and more than a few timelines of experience, his confidence is through the roof and stress over what people think of him is a thing of the past.
Underfell Fruition: The Royal Scientist is never erased from reality. He continues his work as planned, without interruption and continues experiments which produce marvelous innovations for monsterkind’s eventual conquest of humanity. Two of his most impressive achievements are a device which allows the user to produce magic seemingly limitlessly, from thin air without drawing on one’s own energy, and a war machine that attacks on command—both of which are frequently lent out to the Emperor and the Royal Guard to serve the crown’s purposes. …Until a bit of poking around uncovers some…moderately…alarming monster rights violations, amongst other charges, which lead to the Royal Scientist’s conviction and execution.
Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans): Captured during his attempt to escape from Gaster with his brother, and due to a consistent pattern of disobedience, locked away—permanently. Altered to produce magic at a significantly higher rate and used as a magic battery, he’s got plenty of energy and a whole lot of living to catch up on now that he’s out of the (barely metaphorical) box. What he lacks in worldly experience, he makes up for in luck, intuition, and a cocky can-do attitude, all too ready to make up for lost time.
Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus): ‘Raised’ alone by a cruel ‘father’ whose only use for him was as the pinnacle of his project to create a perfect living weapon for the war against humanity, he is extremely new to a lot of concepts—making decisions, having opinions, being a person… None of that was allowed while he was being developed…er, growing up, so in spite of being tall, intimidating, and built like a truck, he’s hesitant around new people and situations where he needs to do any more than just follow orders. Tentatively starting to branch out and discover what being a monster (instead of a monster-shaped weapon) is all about now that his creator is out of the picture and the brother he thought he’d only imagined is back in it.
Swapfell Fruition: The Royal Scientist is never erased from reality. He continues his work as planned, without interruption and continues experiments which lead to the development of a black ops division for the Empress, a secret service of sorts to serve the interests of the crown and to do the unsavory dirty work involved in maintaining an empire whose citizens are prone to corruption and violence. Espionage, blackmail, and quite a few assassinations are carried out by the unknown team managed, equipped, trained, and modified by the Royal Scientist. …Until one day, he happens to turn up dead and it’s uncovered that the ‘volunteers’ for the program were less willing participants and more lab-grown experiments who were given no choice otherwise. Bearing in mind what’s come to light about the circumstances, the black ops program is disbanded.
Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans): Stopped during his attempt to murder Gaster and escape with his brother, and because of his clearly duplicitous nature, far more tightly controlled and observed and forced into obedience to his creator after. Used primarily as a handler to debrief, control, and monitor the real asset, he developed a keen eye for detail and skill in fact-finding, being secretive, and lying…which was probably a tactical error because he devoted himself wholly to playing the long con and waiting for the perfect opportunity for another attempt to free himself and his brother. A little late…maybe too late…but better than never.
Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus): The asset and field agent, a thoroughly trained and heavily mentally conditioned assassin, operant on a small library of trigger words and phrases which compel him to follow directives and alter the functioning of his mind and body. He’s extremely competent when working, charming and ruthless and efficient, but off the leash, impertinent, impulsive, and impossible. He does as he pleases whenever possible which, now that his boss/creator/dad is dead, seems like it’ll be all the time. On some weird footing now with his erstwhile handler—his brother—who was apparently less complicit in said boss/creator/dad’s bullshit than he’d thought, but y’know. He’s out of the cage either way and can chase his whims wherever they take him.
Descendtale: A Horrortale variant, a human’s passage through the Underground has left monsterkind without their king, without any of the human souls they’d gathered to break the Barrier, and without a handful of citizens. The long-lost queen returns to lead her people and pivots toward survival, weathering the long-haul trapped Underground with dwindling hope and resources. An alternate food source is the highest priority as monsters are already starting to go hungry in the wake of the chaos, and one is found…though not without its…side-effects. Light sensitivity, slowed metabolism, darkening of extremities, thorn-like growths on the body, and some mental changes and personality drift among other metamorphoses. The Underground takes on a deep-sea quality—slow, cold, dark—monsters subsisting on what they have and waiting patiently for the next whalefall to swarm.
Kohl (Descendtale Sans): The human’s disappearance has left him more than a little bitter (betrayed, though he’ll never admit that). His opinion of humans (or anyone new) is quite low after what the last one did to them all and he’s not keen on trusting or believing in any, anytime soon. He’s chilly, selfish, and reluctant to engage—though he does have a slight mean-spirited streak, and is greatly amused by creeping out or otherwise agitating humans by his presence. Coping with the changes they’ve all gone through and settling in to his new normal, but very stubbornly digging in to the small pleasures that his altered biology makes more difficult. Determined to live much in the manner of a cockroach: through just about anything and regardless of the opinion of those who’d prefer him not to.
Bram (Descendtale Papyrus): The human’s disappearance has left him confused and hurt. He’d thought they were friends, but well…then they did all that and left, never to return. There’s…a lot of conflicting emotions in there and he probably shouldn’t try to unpack it all—he’s just focusing on being the best friend possible from here on out! He’s a little bit clingy with new friends and people he’d like to become new friends but as much as possible, a perfect gentleman, host, and conversationalist. Some strong emotional outbursts from time to time, and his tendency towards unintentionally unnerving statements do make that a bit difficult but he’s very amicable and unlike his brother, only creepy on accident, so…he can still be popular, right? …Right?
If anybody’s interested in a full lore dump for anything, I can draft something up, but that’s the gist of all the brand new ones!
Scars/distinguishing marks: Small crack above his right eye-socket, three letters etched vertically along his sternum
Preferred Style: Business casual, aiming for sleek and professional and well put together enough to blend completely into the background. He doesn’t want to stand out as anyone or anything special, but if he does happen to have someone’s attention, he wants to be entirely unobjectionable and unworthy of scrutiny, because everything about him is perfectly, neatly arranged and very boringly ‘normal.’ Favors dark colors, lots of blacks and grays with the occasional accent color or geometric pattern—within reason of course.
Outerwear: Blazers and jackets (center-clasping stand-collars are a preferred style), generally worn open
Top: Button-ups, henleys, and other such long-sleeved shirts
Bottom: Slacks and trousers mostly, with maybe one or two pairs of dark jeans in the mix that rarely see use
Footwear: Mostly boots, flat combat style by preference or balmoral style for appearances, but also has some nice wholecut shoes for when the boots don’t work with the outfit of the day
Trademark accessory/accessories: An expensive-looking black watch with a Tyrian-purple face, worn on his right wrist
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Nickname: Hunter (SFF!Papyrus)
Height: 1’7” taller than you (OR 6’6”)
Eye-lights: English violet (#563C5C)
Magic Specialty: Purple, cyan, red
Scars/distinguishing marks: None
Preferred Style: Rugged bad boy…but not too bad, of course, perfectly safe and approachable. Comfort and function are more important to him than style, but he’s good at working within those confines to make himself look good, and exactly the right amount of ‘dangerous’ to be interesting but not really threatening. Tends toward natural, earthy tones (greens, grays, and browns), solid colors, and little to no ostentation.
Outerwear: Hooded jackets and sweatshirts, usually leather for his outermost and something lighter underneath, but a big fan of being able to put the hood up or down to obscure his face a little or just change his vibe from spooky to chill or vice versa
Top: Athletic shirts, usually long sleeved and thumb-holes a bonus, but a good amount of tank tops and sweaters too
Bottom: Joggers and cargo pants mostly, but some sweatpants and even a pair of shorts or two (though those are usually layered with athletic tights for running)
Footwear: Cross trainers with some hiking boots in reserve, just to be prepared for other terrains
Trademark accessory/accessories: Fingerless gloves, the kind that are open and don’t circle the base of each finger. He likes having his digits free, but his palms warm and covered
Vi is such a strange little man and every time I picture him he’s never smiling. Does he smile often? What kind of things or jokes would make him smile? I feel like his humor would be very deadpan, or he’d try out a new joke with someone and say it with a completely straight face without any indication that he’s joking.
Absolutely Vi (Swapfell Fruition) has a bone-dry sense of humor, prone to sarcasm and short quips/witticisms that could easily be taken seriously if you don't know him well.
"MY THERAPIST SAYS I'M UNHEALTHILY FIXATED ON VENGEANCE. WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT."
".........You're joking, right?"
"YES. ...I DON'T HAVE A THERAPIST."
As for the frequency of his smiles...
Yeah, he doesn't...do that too often...
But it's mostly because he hasn't really had a lot to be happy about, and that's changing.
Gaster's gone, and (almost) all the scars he left behind are only emotional ones. His brother didn't just take off the second he had the option to, like he always said he'd do, so that's nice.
And hey, monsters aren't stuck Underground anymore so there's a whole Surface to disappear into now, to make a fresh start in free of all the bullshit that came before. Maybe he can even meet somebody...
