Undertale  Commentary

Canon Events

  1. What's your favourite quote from your husbando?

    "Count for me, ok?"

    Further down this document, I'll surely gush at length about his boss fight, so it seems fitting to start with what he says before the battle even begins. This particular portion exemplifies the traits I most adore in Sans.

    Contrary to fanon assumptions, while Sans is eerily knowledgeable about the time break, he doesn't actually remember any of it. Though he experiences the usual deja-vu, compared to other characters, he remarks on it the least. Instead, Sans susses out your time travelling ability with code words and educated guesses— the majority of which he makes by analysing your expression.

    His amazing intuition, observational skills, and high empathy come together to make him a highly accurate mind-reader. Even more impressive is the effortlessness with which he does it. I assume he's been doing it for a long time. Most likely, it's just the way his mind works: he's the kind of guy who is always paying attention. To me, there is nothing cooler, sexier, or more admirable.

    I also appreciate how fearlessly he shares his observations. People tend to think of their thoughts as private and unknowable, so when this funny little skeleton suddenly parrots back at you something you never said out loud, that's sure to cause a shock! And Sans loves to surprise people— for better and for worse. In the context of his boss battle, it is most definitely for the worst.

    Heh, right, the battle. So, based on the look on your face when you approach him in the corridor, Sans estimates the number of times he's killed you. From his perspective, this is your first meeting since he threatened you in Snowdin, and he has not had any opportunity to study you up close. Despite the fact that you're a genocidal stranger he met only this morning, his accuracy is as sharp as ever. This demonstrates a quickness of wit that most people can only dream of— further compounded by the mean-spirited joke that immediately follows the count.

    (Ugh, I love it when he's hostile!!!)

    After eleven deaths, Sans admits that it's getting harder to count— "there's nuance to this stuff"— and henceforth doesn't bother to try. He asks you to take up the count for him, and to "start with twelve."

    There's something else that I only noticed just now as I was scanning through the embedded video above. There's a brief pause between "count for me," and "ok?" It feels to me like a direct order with a little politeness tacked on the end, like an afterthought, which is insulting in more ways than one. I 👏 love 👏 it 👏 when 👏 he's 👏 hostile. That said, Sans uses question tags quite often, and I'd have to study more to learn the frequency of these pauses, too. Most likely, it's just standard English to take a breath at that point in the sentence. In the end, it might not be anything special, but I love to find deep meaning where there is none.

    Anyways, I love this quote because his entire battle feels like a well-deserved spanking, and being made to count the blows only reinforces that image. I doubt Toby had that at all in mind when he wrote this specific line, so on one level I feel compelled to apologise. At the same time, I'm sure by now he's forgiven me and all my contemporaries of our trespasses. It's like that Nietzsche quote. What we've done to Sans is out of love, and therefore beyond good and evil.

  2. Funniest moment with your husbando.

    In DELTARUNE chapter one, you can ask for Sans's phone number...

    embed the video!!! it's too funny aughg i love him. also i can list my other fave moments like:

    "Light sea foam green" and other Papyrus phonecalls, his introduction, secret codewords + "it's time you learned the truth," etc.

  3. Saddest moment?

    "Sorry, old lady."

    HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HER NAME.

  4. Coolest moment?

    Discreetly following you through the Underground!!!

  5. Cutest thing he has ever done?

    HE'S SO CUTE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO JUST CHOOSE ONE!!!!

    • Keeping the myth of Santa Claus alive and well in the Skelebro's houshould.
  6. Are there any scenes you would change?

    Literally none. UNDERTALE is perfect as it is.

    talk about the grillby's date tho, "i had something to say but i forgot" earthbound reference. wouldn't change it, but it's an example of extremely niche humour that is 100% in character for sans, hinting at his meta knowledge (player compulsion to reset and see if sans ever remembers what he was going to say), enjoyable even when you dont get it

  7. What scene from before or after canon would you like to see?

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Relationship Dynamics

  1. Who does your husbando get along with?

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  2. Does he have any enemies?

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  3. Does he have a canon love interest? How do you compare?

    Soriel has the most canon support. Even though Toriel and I are nothing alike, I definitely ship it!

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  4. Do you ship your husbando with anyone?

    Yes. In fact, I ship Sans with everyone.

    I want to talk about how he's so wonderful and kind to everybody... I'd also like to show my support for both Frans and Soriel because I think they are genuinely good pairings, Salphys too, though the REAL OTP is Sansnomaly....

  5. What's your husbando NOTP?

    I don't feel strongly enough about any pairing in any fandom to call it a NOTP.

    I guess, of all the Sans ships I'm aware of, I care the least for Sans x Doggo because Doggo is kinda ugly and I'm just not a furry. They have a pretty funny dynamic, though. Doggo doesn't like Sans because he "always appears with moving," which I can imagine Sans doing to fuck with him on purpose. I love, love, love it when Sans acts like a bully, so it would be fun to watch them interact just for that!

    Really though, I tend to like all art involving Sans, the pairing doesn't matter as long as he looks cute/cool/sexy. I'm pickier when it comes to fanfiction simply because of the effort required to consume it— artwork can be looked over and appreciated very quickly, meanwhile the written word requires more dedication and attention. For that reason, I only seek out stories of the ships that I really, really like: Frans, Sanschara, and X Reader.

  6. Are you envious of any of his canon relationships?

    Yep. Sans's closest relation is Papyrus, and for me there are a lot of things to envy there.

    And then I want to say how the relationship I envy most would be Papyrus, simply because they love each other so much and I would want to be his priority.

Character Analysis

  1. How do you feel about your husbando's character arc?

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  2. What are some of his strengths and weaknesses?

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  3. What's a question you want answered about him?

    Why the FUCK can he see my stats and kill count?!?!!

    SANS IS SO FREAKING WEIRD. HE IS A VERY STRANGE CHARACTER. I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY OR HOW HE CAN DO THE THINGS HE CAN DO....

    ... but can he actually? i want to look back at his judgements— I think the only thing he can see is your LV. And it makes sense he could see your stats, right?? Anybody can check anybody else during a battle, surely. (put aside the fact that youre not being judged during battle lol) And the time he remarks "you went to kill someone just to see what i would say" that's just based on your expression, isn't it??? idk, i'll have to research

  4. Share an interesting canon fact or detail.

    When I first replayed UNDERTALE after falling for Sans, I made a whole list of fun facts!

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  5. What is the most important part of his characterization?

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  6. What are some common misconceptions about your husbando?

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  7. How would you describe his outlook on life/personal philosophy?

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  8. If he was real, is your husbando the kind of guy you could get along with?

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Official Appearances

  1. Which official artwork is your favourite?

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  2. What do you think of his theme music?

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  3. Which husbando outfit/form do you like best?

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  4. Has your husbando appeared in crossovers?

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  5. Does he have merchandise? Do you own any?

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Beyond Canon

  1. What's a little known secret about your husbando?

    I just need somewhere to gush about Tall Sans. Oh my God.

    embed the video, share my autistic sprite recreations... AUGHG!!!!

  2. Which fan theories about your husbando seem most likely to be true?

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  3. If you could make one headcanon into canon, what would it be?

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  4. Do you have any wishes for your husbando's character or source material?

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