Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26006155-20181123023529/@comment-26006155-20181210124003

--

(continued, Chapter 6 "The Secret of Sans"

.....

Because to reason Sans the “skeleton” is stronger than any monster, darker than any monster, and unwilling to take the crown of the monsters.. Is because Sans isn’t a monster. He’s a human.

Just like Frisk.

How do we know this for sure? The best way is to compare Sans to Papyrus.

Papyrus is definitely a real monster. We can see his fleshless bones clearly, and according to the post-Papyrus Grillby’s dialog, all he ever orders there is milk. Which makes sense, since as a skeleton, Papyrus is literally made of calcium. Undyne might have given him cooking lessons to keep him occupied, but Papyrus never eats his own spaghetti, letting his side of the fridge fill with the stuff.

But Sans eats a lot more than Papyrus. In fact, he’s Grillby’s best customer, and the bar residents almost tell time by Sans’ childish pranks on each of his regular visits. Besides the ketchup we actually see Sans drink, the only thing remaining on Sans’ side of the refrigerator is a single back of chips. The Abandoned Quiche, an egg pie, was cooked by Sans and stored in a secret place that would normally require teleporting to get to. Sans sets up a hot dog/cat stand in Hotland, right at a point where Frisk needed to restock his food supplies. It seems that both Frisk and Sans eat a lot of monster food on their adventures.

Then there’s the matter of sleep. Papyrus, as a deathless skeleton, never truly sleeps. Undyne knows Papyrus is dead when she confronts Frisk, because she can always call Papyrus at any time, morning, noon, or night, and he always answers within 2 rings. Papyrus berates Sans for his constant napping while waiting for Frisk, and Sans corrects him with the word “sleeping”, which Papyrus does not consider an excuse. In a phone call, Papyrus again marvels at how Sans can nap for seven hours at a stretch, and Undyne asking if a better word might be “sleeping” instead? The end of the Megalovania fight forces you to wait for Sans to fall asleep before creeping towards the Fight button. Sans and his sleeping is definitely an important lore clue.

Then you can see a different right on Sans and Papyrus’ faces. Papyrus’s expressions are animated and expressive, with his whole face constantly moving, jaw flapping as he speaks. Sans, meanwhile, always keeps his big, goofy, unmoving grin. Even when he’s feeling dark. Even when he’s feeling sad. Even when he’s surprised by Chara’s sudden attack and knocked backwards by a super-powered knife stab to the gut. Sans must express all of his emotions with only his eyes, because the rest of his face never moves.. No matter what happens.

And again, Papyrus is a purely innocent monster, while Sans has darkness in his soul. A soul that has a power level many orders of magnitude higher than Asgore, the King of All Monsters. Something that should be impossible for any other monsters to match, let alone beat.

The more you look at Sans, the less he looks like a skeleton, and more he looks like a kid with a childish sense of humor wearing a big goofy mask. A disguise that would certainly be smart in a land where monsters are hunting human souls.

Sans may have a tiny, skeletal neck when you look at him from the back at Grillby’s, but so does Frisk, an almost identical one, in fact. Sans scratches himself a bit while talking to Frisk, as if nervous for some reason, and feeling an itch on his head that shouldn’t exist on a fleshless skeletal frame.

And then Sans is always the instigator of The Skeleton Puns, which serve as both comic relief.. And a constant reminder to anyone listening that Sans is totally a skeleton exactly like this brother. A reminder that seems odd, if the truth was so readily apparent. The Lost Souls encounter shows Sans likes the skeleton puns, while Papyrus really doesn’t. Which makes sense, since as a real skeleton, Papyrus probably finds them a little racist.

Sans and Papyrus may call themselves brothers, but there’s no way they have the same mother.

(to be continued)