#simon undertalks

[simonsoys]

What is your take on Sans’s “You’d be dead where you stand.” line? I know there are different takes on that, whether it’s an actual threat, or a warning not to push it (I personally like the theory that it’s him reading your expression because you haven’t died a single time, “what’s with that look. am i wrong?”)

What do you think was going through Sans’s head, what he was planning and what he’s goals where?

It's a weird line, and one that only keeps feeling more out of place the more we learn about Sans.

It's clear nowadays how hesitant Sans is to fight at all (especially after the UT anniversary stream) so it's incredibly unlikely that there was much weight behind the threat. Yes, he'll fight you under the most dire circumstances, but he already knows he's doomed if you don't just get bored or frustrated. I don't think he'd threaten/entice you into a fight he knows he can't win.

It was less clear at the time the game came out. How much did the promise change how he would've behaved? What are his real motivations? That sort of thing. Maybe adding to the mystery of Sans was also some of the "point" of the line being so intense. I've talked before about it being important for Sans to be a somewhat grey character for his judgment at the end to be effective.

So my guess for the context of that line now? He's not talking about himself, being eager to kill you or anything. He's saying that without Toriel caring about you first, he wouldn't have cared about you, and then maybe without Sans' slight encouragement Papyrus wouldn't have cared about you. Without Papyrus, you don't get the date with Undyne, and so on...

It's not "if I hadn't sworn otherwise, I would've killed you." It's "this world would've been crueler without someone caring." There's a Toby quote from the anniversary stream about "caring because someone I care about cares" being an important concept that I think ties in here.

The end of the Sans dinner date ends with the line "take care of yourself, kid, 'cause someone really cares about you".

It could be just Toriel he's talking about. Or-- depending on your run-- everyone in the chain, including himself.

So maybe it's a (spooky) reminder that one person being kind can cascade into many people being kind. Maybe he's trying to remind you not to take Toriel being the 1st person in the cascade for granted. He's hoping you'll keep caring, because a world where you don't-- a world where no one does-- is one that's bleak and ends in nothing.

[simonsoys]

This might be a stupid question, but if undyne taught papyrus how to cook and she burns down the house every time she cooks or at least implied to, why doesn’t papyrus?

I'm guessing you're referring to this:

I'd say that she doesn't burn the house down EVERY time, just that she's set it on fire before. Maybe it wasn't even while cooking last time, lol

This time she got carried away with enthusiasm and passion because you were a special guest! Normally just parts of the kitchen wall get burned, not the whole establishment.

But a little fire is a part of the process. Professional chefs do it all the time on TV!

The key to a good spaghetti is to flambé the noodles while they're fresh (uncooked). It ~*~*unlocks the flavor*~*~!

Papyrus works with fire in his trap and puzzle making, so he doesn't have issues in his kitchen when it comes to fire safety. My man is a professional.

[simonsoys]

I realize how frustrating bad fanon takes on the Undertale characters have always been, having been a fan since the game came out. I get it, I've felt it too.

But I also kind of feel bad because it takes so much effort to dig through all the dialogue. There's SO MUCH of it.

Especially for fan works being made between 2015 - 2018 because there was still new stuff being brought to light constantly that any normal single playthrough or "watched one playthrough on YT" wouldn't show you. There wasn't even a general consensus on Chara's role in the story for the first several years.

I feel like everyone goes through the "UT characters are funny and endearing!" >> "Wait, there's a lot of mysterious lore and implications here" >> "Actually, there's lore but it's still mostly funny" phases, but not everyone's at the same point in the ride.

I guess, I feel like as obsessed as I am in understanding the characters fully, I still think it's OK not to get them 100% right. People have been asking me questions about the game for 8 years like I'm an authority on the subject and I still don't have it all right.

(Honestly I think AUs that are totally and intentionally off base are OK too. Characters are toys, play how you want. Plz still tag them as their own thing though lol i beg you)

No purpose for this monologue, just to say writing the UT/DR characters in the perfect chef's-kiss sweet spot is actually really hard and don't feel too bad if you don't get it right lol

It's OK not to have Tolkien-scholar levels of knowledge on UT/DR, I still want to read your fanfics and see your art.

[simonsoys]

Do you think papyrus is a good liar or that he can keep a secret? I remember him using reverse psychology on undyne once but his lie to impress undyne was a bit obvious

(such a hard character to fit into a theory - because he doesn’t know what the sun is + remembers green grass before snowdin, but I’m still trying to figure out that mysterious skeleton!)

Well 100% he's a liar. See below:

I'm trying to draw more and talk less

I don't know if you've addressed this, but doesn't it seem weird that sans would act like papyrus is a goof when gaster trusted his opinions

I'm trying to draw more and talk less

People in the fandom seem to think that Papyrys is so baive he has no idea what death is. It's mostly due to that King Papyrus neutral end w

It seems to me he's a great liar in most conditions. He definitely knows what the sun is, and he even references it when he's talking to you privately. It's only at the end when he's standing next to Sans and the other characters that he pretends not to know what the sun is. In the King Papryus ending he literally waits until Sans has left to break down and complain about the job.

He lies about how clueless he is in front of Sans A LOT. Like A LOT A LOT.

In the grease example, I think he's doing a worse job because he's quickly back-tracking. IIRC he says he hates grease, Undyne says she likes Grillby's, and now he doesn't want Undyne to think he's uncool so he fibs and changes his mind.

There must be something very important about lying to Sans, because he does it so flawlessly compared to things like fibbing to Undyne.

[simonsoys]

Out of curiosity, how do you think sans would react if frisk flirted with them? Or someone he isn’t really interested in vs someone he IS interested in?

(I’ve honestly started wondering about this when I realised you legit could flirt with half of the undertale mains Expect for sans! Like undyne with the spear at her house, or Alphys’s reaction when she mistakenly thinks the human is hitting on her (the letter) or papyrus on that date, or toriel with the phone)

I feel like no matter what the player says to Sans, he plays it cool like he expected you to say it and you're super predictable. He's unflappable. The man cannot be flapped.

Regardless of the angle of the flirt, the result would be a disappointing non-reaction and a verbal Uno reverse card. If you already went on a date with Papyrus he'd probably roast you about needing a rebound.

You also get most characters' phone numbers/contact info except his in one way or another, so maybe if you asked him for his digits, he'd play it up like you're trying to be flirty, then give you a bogus number that dials the Super Weenie Hut membership application desk.

Alternatively, dialing the number only reaches his "answering machine", that seems to be a machine except on specifically the 19th time you call, it remarks on you being kind of desperate. On the 20th and following calls it goes back to being the regular message. (Can you program a machine to do that? Is he actually just answering the phone each time to say the same thing and prank you?)

He would have 0 reaction to you flirting with other people, even if internally, he'd think you're weird and hilarious.

That's the thing with Sans: externally he's got a dry and controlled wit, regardless if on the inside he's angry with you, curious about you, or thinks you're peak comedy.

[simonsoys]

Randumb but Ive seen ur sans humanisation fanart on Pinterest (the hotdogs one) and I just wanna say to this day it is the only sans humanisation I wholeheartedly and completely accept.. peak

Thanks!

I still like my human UT Sans design, he's shaped like a friend

but in retrospect I think I'd give him more of a receding hairline

[simonsoys]

How do you think Toriel would react if she knew sans told frisk “you’d be dead where you stand” conversation threatening them and all that?

Sorry if this was asked before x

Since everything worked out in the end and he's done nothing else to ever hurt Frisk, I don't think she'd worry too much about it as a one time comment. She'd write it off as being his weird sense of humor.

You know that bit in the game where you can insult Papyrus and Sans flatly says "sarcasm isn't cool". Like that, except Toriel flatly saying "edgelord humor is uncool, Sans".

To use a word Alphys taught her, she'd say that Sans was being ''''cringe''''

[simonsoys]

how do you think papyrus will react if he found out sans was a smoker for a while and it clicked to him he's been doing it for years?

I feel like you'd be able to smell it on him, but maybe Sans could use the excuse that it's the smell of the bar(tender).

Probably just extra disgust-- it's gross, even by Sans standards. Would that account for Sans being slimy? (Would it even be harmful to skeletons??)

I think he'd assume Sans picked it up from some of his acquaintances at first, and wheel in the local school's TV to show a MTT-brand "say NO! to peer pressure" video. With a sad sigh, he'd have to ask you to be a good example for his brother, since Sans is more vulnerable to social influence.

Real talk though I don't think there's much Papyrus would do except nag. He already nags Sans for the other unhealthy habits he's got going on and hasn't seemed to push deeper into the "why" behind any of it at the time of the game's story. As much as he complains, he lets Sans make adult decisions-- and for what it's worth, Sans does do the same for Papyrus.