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Sans: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 12:31, 1 October 2024

i'm sans. sans the skeleton.
~ Sans introducing himself to Frisk

if you keep going the way you are now... you're gonna have a bad time.
~ Sans to Frisk before they fight Papyrus in the Genocide Route

heya. you've been busy, huh? ... so, i've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try? heh heh heh heh... all right. well, here's a better question. do you wanna have a bad time? cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not going to like what happens next. welp. sorry, old lady. this is why i never make promises.
~ Sans warning Frisk in the Last Corridor in the Genocide Route

it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you... Should be burning in hell.
~ Sans' boss introduction

you can't understand how this feels. knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset. look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago. and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either. cause even if we do... we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right? to be blunt... it makes it kind of hard to give it my all. ...or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy...? hell if i know. all i know is... seeing what comes next... i can't afford not to care anymore.
~ Sans' battle dialogue

geeettttttt dunked on!!! if we're really friends... you won't come back.
~ Sans after Frisk spares them

welp. i'm going to grillby's. papyrus, do you want anything?
~ Sans' last words before his death

Undertale OST - sans.
Undertale OST - Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans
Undertale OST - Megalovania

Background

Sans is the brother of Papyrus and a major character in Undertale. He first appears in the forest after the protagonist exits the Ruins. He serves as a supporting character in the Neutral and True Pacifist routes and as the final boss and heroic antagonist in a Genocide Route.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Sans’ story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Appearance

Sans appears as a relatively short and paunchy skeleton, with mitten-like hands. Sans is always seen with a wide, toothy-grin on his face. Sans wears a blue hoodie, a white t-shirt underneath, black shorts with white stripes, and a pair of slippers. He has white dots in black eye sockets that disappear when he is serious or angered. When Sans uses telekinesis, his left eye flashes light blue and yellow (the colors for patience and justice) while his right pupil vanishes.

Personality

Sans is lazy, often sleeping on the job and taking breaks. His laziness is a combination of fatalism and apathy, as he is aware of timeline resets. Conversely, he suggests that this knowledge could be "a poor excuse for being lazy."

He enjoys being mischievous. Sans primarily acts this way towards those he is in good terms with. His antics range from an assortment of illogical, juvenile, and slightly inconvenient pranks. Examples include Sans "selling fried snow," using whoopee cushions, sharing an unscrewed ketchup bottle, and eye paint on a telescope. He is not above utilizing his teleporting or other magic for practical jokes either. Sans is also fond of making the occasional low-brow puns. He enjoys making others laugh in general, as he also performs at the MTT Resort as a comedian.

Despite Sans being apathetic towards his own life, he is considerate to those he cares for. For example, Sans is a regular at Grillby's, and the monsters and Royal Guard dogs treat him kindly. Sans has informed Big Mouth about "all kinds of incredible foods," yet Big Mouth comments that "he always orders the worst burger off the menu." Although Sans hates making promises, he respects Toriel's request to watch out for any humans. Even if the protagonist killed people that were close to him, Sans refrains from broaching the topic until the Last Corridor. In a Neutral Route ending where Papyrus or Toriel is alive, Sans omits the protagonist's slaughter to either of them.

He is also observant; Sans reads the protagonist's expressions and can often tell when they have already done certain tasks. Though Sans is usually agreeable, he can become eerily serious to emphasize a subject. Regardless of the human being partially or wholly merciful, Sans tells them that if "the old lady" had not made him promise to protect them, "(they'd) be dead where (they) stand." During the Genocide Route, he does everything in his power to kill the protagonist, even faking mercy.

Sans may have a scientific background. Evidence includes the quantum physics book, workshop, his relationship to Alphys, affinity for science, his inexplicable ability to teleport and his timeline research.

Sans has implied he once longed and searched for a life that he cannot go back to as he "gave up trying to go back a long time ago". As a Lost Soul, he tells the protagonist that "you'll never see 'em again." Although what Sans is trying to return to is vague.

Main Story

Neutral Route

Sans introduces himself to the protagonist in Snowdin Forest after he initially appears as a silhouette. He explains that he has no interest in capturing humans, but that his brother, Papyrus, does. Then, Sans hides the protagonist behind a lamp whose shape is identical to the protagonist's. Papyrus rushes onscreen, and the brothers discuss Sans's laziness and the importance of puzzle upkeep. Sans appears multiple times throughout Snowdin Forest, observing and commentating on the puzzles but not engaging in any japery, except for the word search.

Before Papyrus's battle, Sans is absent in Snowdin Town. He appears briefly to play trombone during the date/hangout with Papyrus but does not appear again until the Last Corridor if the protagonist kills Papyrus.

After entering Waterfall, Sans is found manning a sentry station and asks the protagonist if they want to take a break with him. If the protagonist agrees, he takes them to Grillby's via a "shortcut." The patrons warmly greet Sans, and he proceeds to treat the protagonist to a burger or fries. After some dialogue, a spotlight falls on him and the protagonist and time appears to stop as Sans tells the protagonist that a flower has been talking to Papyrus. Sans believes that someone is tricking Papyrus with an Echo Flower when the flower in question is Flowey. Sans can be seen again in Waterfall and pranks the protagonist with a red-eye telescope. Later, if Papyrus was killed, "a hooded figure" watches Shyren's battle. However, if Papyrus was spared, Sans sells concert tickets made of toilet paper, implying the other figure was Sans as well.

The protagonist passes him sleeping at a sentry post in Hotland if the protagonist flees from Undyne. Undyne notices him sleeping and berates him mid-chase. Sans does not appear in this spot if Undyne was killed, even if Papyrus was spared.

Later, Sans sells Hot Dogs in Hotland for 30 G. If the protagonist attempts to buy a Hot Dog when their inventory is full, he stacks a maximum of 30 Hot Dogs on their head for free.

Further on, Sans waits outside of the MTT Resort and asks the protagonist if they want to grab a bite to eat. He escorts the protagonist inside via "shortcut" and talks about a woman he has befriended that shares his affinity for puns. He tells the protagonist that this woman made him promise to protect any human that left the Ruins and that, if she had not said anything, the protagonist would be "dead where [they] stand." He dismisses this as a joke immediately and says that he has done a great job protecting the protagonist. If the protagonist has not died before, Sans takes credit for their success. If the protagonist has died, Sans questions the validity of his statement. Before leaving, he tells the protagonist to take care of themself because someone really cares about them.

Judgement

The protagonist encounters Sans for the last time in the Last Corridor. He explains that EXP and LOVE are acronyms - "EXecution Points" and "Level Of ViolencE and judges the protagonist for their current EXP.

If the protagonist gained no EXP, Sans skips his judgment, instead praising the protagonist for embracing compassion and actively choosing to be merciful to the monsters throughout their journey. He reinforces the idea that the protagonist's actions shall decide the fate of the world in one of two ways: the protagonist lets Asgore take their SOUL and allow the monsters to break the Barrier, or they take Asgore's SOUL to escape the Barrier themself. Sans concludes that the protagonist now has enough determination and believes that they can do the right thing before leaving.

If the protagonist has heard his speech before, Sans notices their bored expression and offers a secret codeword that he uses to prove that they are a time traveler. After the protagonist loads their SAVE a few times, Sans's suspicions are affirmed and he gives them a key to his room. Inside Sans's room is a key to his workshop.

If the protagonist gained EXP, Sans allows them a moment to think about their actions. He then emphasizes the importance of integrity and, if Papyrus is alive, concludes that whatever happens next is up to the protagonist. If the protagonist killed Papyrus, Sans expresses his suspicion that they have some special power. He then asks if the protagonist thinks it is their responsibility to do the right thing. Regardless of their answer, Sans reminds the protagonist of his fallen brother and leaves.

If the protagonist returns to the Last Corridor after loading a SAVE, Sans judges the protagonist on their earned LV. Subsequent attempts to talk to Sans after judgment prompts him to tell the protagonist to "consider [their] session over."

Endings

After the protagonist defeats Photoshop Flowey, Sans calls and informs them of the events that transpired after their departure. The content of this phone call varies depending on the protagonist's actions.

True Pacifist Route

Sans is absent from the Last Corridor in the True Pacifist Route. There is also no SAVE point upon entering the corridor. He appears during the pre-Asriel cutscene and meets Toriel face-to-face for the first time. Flowey binds Sans and the protagonist's other friends. However, the protagonist's friends protect them from Flowey's attacks before Flowey absorbs their SOULs.

During the battle against Asriel, Sans appears as one of the Lost Souls.

Epilogue

After defeating Asriel, Sans stands alongside the other main characters. If the protagonist talks to him, he says a certain remark depending on what, if anything, the protagonist said to Toriel in calls at the beginning of the game. Sans also uses Toriel's phone to text for her a few times because Toriel's thumbs are too big for the phone buttons. When the protagonist is ready to leave, Sans exits the Underground and heads to the Surface along with the other monsters.

When Papyrus runs off to introduce himself to the humans, Sans says that someone must keep him away from trouble and runs off in the opposite direction, presumably to use a "shortcut."

In the credits, Sans rides a tricycle on a highway, while his brother races alongside him in a car. Papyrus seems irritated when his brother overtakes him.

Genocide Route

Sans stalks and introduces himself to the protagonist as usual but requests that they continue pretending to be a human. He does not comment on the protagonist turning around before he asks them to. Sans goes along with Papyrus's japery and does not appear as an NPC as he does on other routes. After the protagonist crosses the bridge before Snowdin Town, Sans warns them not to fight his brother or else they will "have a bad time." He then disappears and is absent until the Last Corridor.

If the protagonist aborts the Genocide Route by sparing Papyrus, Sans reappears at the Waterfall sentry station and tells the protagonist he respects them for doing that. He continues to appear as he does on the Neutral Route but does not take the protagonist to Grillby's since there is no one left in Snowdin.

The protagonist encounters Sans in the Last Corridor for his battle.

After defeating Sans, the protagonist's EXP is set to 99999, granting them LV 20. Sans notices if the protagonist has killed him before and is re-fighting him.

Sans does not count as a kill in the Stats menu, and the game does not record whether or not he is killed.

Relationships

The Protagonist

Sans's attitude towards the protagonist depends on their actions, though he usually enjoys pranking them and occasionally hanging out with them unless they kill Papyrus. Near the end of a Neutral or Genocide Route, he judges them on their EXP. At the end of the True Pacifist Route, Sans considers them a good friend. If the protagonist killed Papyrus, Sans does not bother to encounter them until he judges them in the Last Corridor, where he reminds them that they killed his brother.

Sans initially considers the protagonist to be an "anomaly"; his intentions of befriending them were in hopes that they would stop resetting the timeline. However, he also says that the protagonist did not die after their initial encounter because of his promise to Toriel. This may imply he would have killed the protagonist, he protected them from life-threatening harm after their first encounter, or he was simply joking.

His awareness of time travel makes him scrupulous, and he recognizes when the protagonist is behaving unusually. Sans reads the protagonist's expression and determines if they have experienced events before and are repeating them. He also knows how much EXP the protagonist has and comments on it when judging them.

If the protagonist pursues pacifism, Sans begins to lose his previous apathy and comes to genuinely support the protagonist in their mission, as indicated in his MTT Resort date and Last Corridor judgement.

Papyrus

Sans deeply cares for and admires his brother. He keeps up with Papyrus's temper tantrums and he knows how to deal with Papyrus's childish outbursts. Sans also reads him bedtime stories and gives him presents under the identity of Santa. Nonetheless, Sans likes to mess with Papyrus, sending him bad puns on the UnderNet. He also leaves a dirty sock in their living room for Papyrus to fuss over.

Sans also worries about others hurting Papyrus or taking advantage of him. In the Papyrus ending of the Neutral Route, Papyrus states that Sans is handling the paperwork and puts in unusual amounts of effort compared to his usual lethargy. To avoid bothering Papyrus with other characters' deaths, Sans lies about them going on a vacation. He also conceals this to Papyrus in other Neutral Route endings where the latter is alive.

Toriel

Toriel and Sans share a love of bad jokes and are friends even though they never see each other face-to-face until the epilogue, the Family Ending, or the Exiled Queen Ending. Before the protagonist's arrival, Sans and Toriel shared jokes through the door to the Ruins.

In the Exiled Queen Ending, Sans becomes Toriel's roommate if Papyrus has been killed. In this route, he does not inform Toriel of the protagonist's slaughter to uphold his promise. If Papyrus is alive, the brothers visit Toriel often, play board games together, and sometimes convince Toriel to leave the Ruins.

As mentioned before, while not being one to make promises, Sans complies with Toriel's request to watch over and protect any human that exits the Ruins. Near the end of the Genocide Route, he indirectly apologizes to her, as he is forced to break his promise to stop the protagonist.

Sans and Toriel are only seen together on screen in the True Pacifist Ending. If the protagonist decides to go back through the Underground before going to the surface, Sans sends them texts for Toriel since her thumbs are too big for the buttons on the phone. It is implied that they soon fight for control of the phone when they begin to send embarrassing texts of each other.

Alphys

Though there is evidence that Sans and Alphys have a relationship, Sans only alludes to this in the epilogue.

It is also noteworthy that if Papyrus is called just before entering the Lab, Sans appears in the call and suggests that there may be dogs inside the lab. This hints that he may know about the True Lab since Endogeny, an Amalgamate composed of several dogs, can be found there. According to Alphys in an aborted Genocide Route, she is forced to rule the Underground and Sans helps her lead; she calls Sans "a good guy".

W. D. Gaster

A few things hint at a connection between Sans and W. D. Gaster. Evidence includes the blueprints and veiled machine found in his workshop, the sprites used for his skull-like laser guns (labeled gasterblaster in the game files), and his unexplained scientific research on the "anomaly" and timelines. Sans and Papyrus are named after a font, which W. D. Gaster is assumed to also be, so it is believed they are related.

General Information

Name: Sans the Skeleton

Origin: Undertale, Deltarune

Sex: Male

Age: Unknown, older then Papyrus

Classification: Skeleton

Species: Monster

State of Being: Regular

Occupation: Sentry Station Watcher

Affiliations: Underground

Enemies: Humans (Formerly in True Pacifist Route)

Status: Alive in the True Pacifist Route and Neutral Routes, Deceased in the Genocide Route (Sans is eventually killed by Frisk after their long-winded fight)

Alignment: True Neutral (Sans ultimately believes all things are pointless, with him quitting, all of his actions during the game are due to a promise he made with it being his last spark of hope, with him not interfering even if Frisk kills his brother, and only ultimately interfering in the genocide route after he believes he needs to stop what will come next)

Codex Statistics

Tier: At least 10-A, possibly Higher

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: At least Peak Human level, possibly Higher (Could fight and harm Frisk, stated even in a pacifist route to be capable of killing Frisk. Frisk can harm enemies capable of harming them, where they are comparable to Chara, who survived a fall from the top of the mountain)

Durability: At least Peak Human level, possibly Higher

Striking Strength: At least Peak Human Class, possibly Higher

Lifting Strength: Above Average Human (Could easily break a branch that was regarded as tough-looking and too heavy for Frisk to pick up)

Travel Speed: Superhuman (Pedaled his tricycle so fast that he could keep up with Papyrus car), though ignores conventional traveling instead using Teleportation

Attack Speed: At least Transonic, likely Higher (Can tag Frisk)

Reaction Speed: At least Transonic (Is shown to be one of the fastest characters of the Undertale cast as they can repeatedly dodge any attacks that Frisk throws at them, including attacks from the empty gun, an antique revolver, which have a muzzle velocity of up to 1,150 ft/s), likely Higher (He could effortlessly dodge the same thing while asleep, he was only caught off-guard due to battle mechanics in Undertale not usually warranting a second hit on the same turn)

Stamina: Above Average (Despite being shown as lazy, Sans was able to keep up with Frisk for a while, battling them until the very end, going full on out and spammed his most powerful attacks until he passed out to give Frisk a bad time that no other monster in the genocide route had done)

Range: Standard Melee Range physically, Tens of Meters with Magic, Higher with Gaster Blasters, Kilometers with Teleportation (Has shown to be able to teleport throughout the underground and get to areas that are far ahead of where he originally was when talking to Frisk)

Intelligence: Supergenius (Is aware of the fact that the timeline has been reset repeatedly and that The Anomaly and Frisk are the cause of it. So aware of it to the point that he can tell from the look on one's face what they have done in a completely different timeline or an event that transpired in a different timeline)


Powers and Techniques

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Incoporeal Aspects (Monsters physiologies show they are mostly made of magic, noting that humans have a "physical form"[1], along with having their SOUL directly attuned to their body[2]), Magic (All monsters are made of magic, being able to do things like make "bullet-patter cards" with their magic[3]), Personal Domain & BFR (When one encounters a monster they get into a fight, a FIGHT is an encounter in a monster's personal domain allowing them to fight humans, this has various rules such as turn-based combat), Creation (Monsters can make weapons, clothes and even food from magic), Limited Spatial Manipulation (Monsters can at times influence the battle box), Transmutation & Healing (Monsters can turn their attacks into healing projectiles), Absorption (Monsters and humans can absorb the SOUL as long as the person isn’t the same species as them), Curtain Fire (Monsters are able to develop a large sum of magical attacks to overwhelm the opponent), Metaphysics Manipulation (Soul Manipulation & Essence Manipulation; All attacks in Undertale are to the SOUL).


Resistance to Physical Attacks (All monsters bodies are attuned to their SOUL thus only attacks that can affect their SOUL can affect them[4]), Metaphysics Manipulation (Soul Manipulation & Essence Manipulation; Can take hits to the SOUL)

Genius Intelligence, Vehicular Mastery (Can ride a tricycle with one hand in his pocket), Instinctive Reaction (In the form of personal domain Sans can dodge any attack under the fight system, even if he's asleep while one is actively breaking the rules of the personal domain requiring one to completely go against the rules of the game to even hit him), Enhanced Spatial Manipulation (Can completely control the battle box, to the point where he can change it's size, move the player around in a falling action, and teleport around the areas and the type of battle box), Cartoon Physics & Air Manipulation (Low Potency. Could make a self-sustaining tornado out of trash), Breaking the Fourth Wall (Aware of when Anomaly attempts to hack, directly winks towards the audience), BFR (In the Dirty Hacker ending Sans removes you from the Undertale game making you unable to re-enter it), Clairvoyance & Information Analysis (Able to tell what Frisk's LOVE & EXP is at), Cosmic Awareness (Was aware of an anomaly messing with the time-space continuum, could tell how many times Frisk died, and if Frisk has spared him before by the expression on their face, could tell from the look on Frisk' face that he already heard his speech beforehand), Gravity Manipulation (Makes the SOUL unable to float and can only jump around), Glyph Creation (Can create miniature platforms), Energy Projection (With gaster blasters), Bone Manipulation (Has an assortment of bones in his attack), Telekinesis (Can throw your SOUL around), Teleportation (Has displayed it multiple times, can teleport during battle and the battle box along with your position), Karma Manipulation (Creates a status effect known as Karma that negates invincibility frames, and adds extra damage, based on your sins), Power Nullification (Able to lock his opponent in place so neither of them will be able to do anything).

Resistance to Extreme Colds (Lives in Snowdin), Extreme Heats (Casually sleeps while in Hotland)

Notable Techniques

  • Blue Mode: Sans turns his opponent's soul blue, giving it gravity and allowing him to more easily hit his foes. However, Sans appears to have a far greater mastery of this ability than Papyrus, allowing him to effortlessly fling his foe around by manipulating their soul, or effectively 'changing gravity' and forcing them to move along the walls or ceiling. He also does not need to hit them with a blue attack first to turn them blue.
  • Bone Attacks: Sans will send a massive amount of bones at his opponent. He will mix up his style, forcing his foes to jump through small gaps between bones, over pits full of dozens of bones, or even to rush the movement of the platforms so that they don't fall into a deadly trap composed of dozens upon dozens of bones. Sans will often throw in blue bones, which while they cannot be dodged, will only hurt his opponent if they attempt to move through them as opposed to allowing it to pass harmlessly through. While these attacks hardly seem to so any damage initially, the damage quickly racks up from remaining in contact with them, allowing this relatively weak opponent a way of bypassing the defenses of superior foes.
  • KARMA: When struck by one of Sans' attacks one will suffer from this condition, for a brief period. It essentially functions as poison damage for one's SOUL.
  • Gasterblasters: Strange devices in the shape of skulls which fire powerful lasers from their maws. Like Sans' bones, Gasterblasters will often be used in numbers and will deal KR damage.
  • Teleportation: Sans can teleport not only himself but objects and other people, as well. During a battle, Sans will often teleport his opponent, himself, and his attacks, not only moving out of harm's way but moving his foe into the path of a new attack. He has also shown the ability to restrain an enemy by repeatedly warping them back to their initial position.

Other

Standard Tactics: Sans is normalyl very lazy and will typically not get into a fight, though when he does he will immediately open up with going into his personal domain and using one of his strongest attacks in the game and proceed to use various teleportation and rule-breaking techniques during his fight.

Weaknesses: Sans is very lazy, usually making it harder for him to give it his all. All monsters are weak to an attack with killing intent behind it and if a monster doesn't want to fight, they are weakened greatly[5]. Sans has naturally lower health and stats than the rest of the cast.

Explanations

Why attacking the SOUL is essence manipulation.

Gallery

Battle Records

None.

None.

None.

References

  1. While monsters are mostly made of magic, human beings are mostly made of water.
    Humans, with their physical forms, are far stronger than us.
    But they will never know the joy of expressing themselves through magic.
    They’ll never get a bullet-pattern birthday card...
  2. Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL.
    If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defenses will weaken.
    And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us.
    Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill...
    Um, let’s end the chapter here...
  3. While monsters are mostly made of magic, human beings are mostly made of water.
    Humans, with their physical forms, are far stronger than us.
    But they will never know the joy of expressing themselves through magic.
    They’ll never get a bullet-pattern birthday card...
  4. Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL.
    If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defenses will weaken.
    And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us.
    Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill...
    Um, let’s end the chapter here...
  5. Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL.
    If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defenses will weaken.
    And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us.
    Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill...
    Um, let’s end the chapter here...