Intriguing Concepts
Something I love about fanfiction is how it calls to writers of every experience level, including complete beginners. People who have never written fiction before find themselves so inspired by their favourite characters that they just HAVE to put pen to paper! Isn't that amazing?! And if their ideas are compelling enough, then the things I'd normally nitpick won't really matter to me— I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride. We all start somewhere, you know?
In this section, the quality of the prose is not as important as the novelty of the idea. What I'm looking for is something that expands on Sans's character, the world of UNDERTALE, or UNDERTALE fandom trends in an appealing way.
- It's Just A Game. by Htsan
Efficacy ★★★★★ Character ★★★★☆ Prose ★★☆☆☆ This is one of the most popular works by Htsan, a pioneer of the Sansnomaly pairing and general advocate of Fourth-Wall-Breaking Sans x YOU fanworks. English is not this author's first language, so expect to see a lot of grammatical mistakes and awkward phrases. Sans's dialogue could use some work, too, but even when he doesn't sound like himself, he always acts like it, you know? So he's still pretty in character!
Even so, this fic made me laugh, cry, throw up, and pee my pants. It's just delightful. It reminds me of House of Leaves (one of my fave novels) with its medium subverisons, trope reversals, and homage-paying to game mechanics in UNDERTALE. Honestly, I can't recommend it enough. It was written by and for those of us who love, love, love Sans Undertale and will do anything to be with him. Even unpolished, I deeply appreciate IJAG for all that it is.
Here are some of my other favourites Htsan pieces: "Speedrun The Story." and "Are You a Firework?"
- "DEFORMOGRAPHY" by vidoxi
Efficacy ★★★★★ Character ★★★★☆ Prose ★★★★☆ When I first reunited with Sans, I was totally fixated on his boss battle. "What better place to fuck than the Last Corridor?" I thought, so obviously this story where you do exactly that became an instant favourite. It perfectly captures the obsession and bloodlust I feel for him, the sort of mindbreak to which I long to subject him. After reading it several times, I've come down from the initial excitement of discovering decently written Judgement Hall smut (seriously, it's the only one) and can give a more nuanced opinion. And the nuance is... well it's still awesome! Maybe the prose a bit lacking, and the sexual content was never quite my cup of tea, but the pacing is great, the tone just right, and I'll always, always treasure this story for filling the exact niche I needed filled.
There's another piece by vidoxi that I like almost as much as "DEFORMOGRAPHY." It's short, safe for work, lighthearted, hilarious, and lovingly titled: "What The Fuck Is A Halloween?" God, I love Sans so much....
- "Special Attack Side Effects" by Anonymous
Efficacy ★★★★★ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★☆☆ Here's another Judgement Hall goodie, once again featuring all my favourite things: Sans's boss battle, an unhinged player, and a tiny canon divergence that leads us right to a great, big heaping helping of psychological torment! This piece is just... haunting. And the ambiguous ending has my mind racing with possibilities for what might happen next. That's the best kind of fanfiction, I think— the kind that inspires another piece, like fanfiction2!!!!
- Mind Games by rehliamonster
Efficacy ★★★★☆ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★☆☆ This one is a doozy. It stands out from other XReader fiction due to its its unconventional (villain) protagonist, unsettling atmosphere, and committment to its themes. The author states outright that, unlike every other "Morally-Ambiguous-Sans abuses Enslaved-Human-Reader-Insert" story, Mind Games is "not a kink fic." It is explicit but it is incredibly unsexy— boner wilting, even— and turns its attention away from cheap gratification towards the thrill of psychological warfare that can only be waged between two highly perceptive individuals.
That's right! For once, Sans's scary-accurate face-reading skill is more than just a neat character quirk— it's plot relevant! And, get this... the heroine is just as good at it as he is!!! So even though she's a slave, honestly this story is a bit of power fantasy for me LOL, just because I really admire chessmaster manipulator type characters. Unfortunately, this fic hasn't updated in years and didn't get far enough to become the UNDERTALE X DEATH NOTE crossover it could have been, but I still love it for all that it is.
Just for the record, my favourite part of the entire thing is when Sans makes fun of his slave for pooping. I think his taste for toilet humour deserves some more time in the spotlight, too.
- "Support Character" by Taliax
Efficacy ★★★★☆ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★☆☆ Sans and Alphys shenanigans!!! I love these two together, their friendship is simultaneously cute and complex, and the concept behind this fic is perhaps one of my favourite (crackshot) UNDERTALE theories of all time. While Alphys is routinely overlooked by the fandom, Sans is hyped to death and back even by people who don't care for the game, so I love the idea that Alphys is driving force behind all those cool, epic things we love about Sans.
More by Taliax: "Is conman really short for condiment man?" • "I can do the easy part (you only have to do the hard part)" • "Pro Gamer Move" • "Rock Bottom" • "it's your best life (if it's the life that you're living right now)"
- "place in my heart" by anonymous
Efficacy ★★★★☆ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★☆☆ This is one of the very first Sans-fucking fanfictions on AO3— the best of that early crop, if I do say so myself. It's a little unpolished, but the author claims this was the first fanfic she'd written in a decade and I doubt she had a beta reader, so I'm not mad at her. Despite its minor flaws, it's still very high up on the list because her Sans voice is impeccable! He's so funny! He's acting like such a silly little guy even as he's getting his brains fucked out!!!
More than that, I like how this author explores Sans's emotional expression (or lack thereof) and how he builds walls between himself and his loved ones. As someone who's equally desperate to see his poker face slip, it's not hard to imagine myself in the heroine's role, doggedly doing her best to open him up both emotionally and sexually. The, uh, major difference being that I want to destroy his whole fucking life, so the bondage I've got in mind is tighter, hotter, and more psycho-existential than some silky red ropes.... But this is a cute read to pass the time!
- The Fame Monster by Yoshichao
Efficacy ★★★★☆ Character ★★★★☆ Prose ★★☆☆☆ This series is very, very funny, which saves it from the fact that it is basically crackfic— crack treated seriously, though... very seriously. Yoshichao's earnestness works in her favour, bringing us a Fame Monster ripe with both levity and wit, and captivating character studies on the UNDERTALE fandom's communal OCs. I love these stories mainly because they make me laugh, but I also recognise their value to fandom as a whole. It was written by and for fangirls as a cheeky analysis of our Sans-loving psychosis, and what our desperation for him and his recoloured selves might do to his psyche. All in all a compelling read, a great way to spend an afternoon!
My favourites in the series: "Celebrity Status" and "Feeding On The Sun," the latter of which made me fall so hard for Horrortale Sans... (dreamy sigh).
- "Stay for Dessert?" by RubyDracoGirl
Efficacy ★★★★★ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★★☆ After "Feeding on the Sun" got me interested in Horrortale Sans, I decided to see what else his ~fans~ had written about him. My favourite so far is this Kinktober fill called "Stay for Dessert?" As one might guess, it is incredibly explicit and thankfully delivers some quality smut, but this story's true value is its psychological horror. The "penny drop" moment sticks so clearly in my mind, it's just perfect! What I wouldn't give to read it for the first time all over again....
- "Midnight Snack" by popatochisp
Efficacy ★★★★★ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★★★ Where HT!Sans is concerned, I'm also a big fan of this other Kinktober fill, this time by the world-renowned popatochisp. At one point, she was a huge name in the Sansfucking community, she had a Discord server and everything, where allegedly they'd all get together and write porn. (Sounds like paradise...)
Anyways, this piece is a lot less explicit than the other. It focuses more on Sans's state of mind, namely his recovery from Horrortale trauma and how loved he feels in his interspecies relationship with the heroine. And he's just so... happy.... It's so cute, he's content!!! As much as I want to destroy Sans, I also want to see him thrive, and this is the most convincing picture of "Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing" Sans that I've ever seen.
- "Heart's Ease" by Golbez
Efficacy ★★★★☆ Character ★★★★★ Prose ★★★☆☆ Alright, now back to Undertale proper! This might actually be my favourite Flowey & Sans goodie, just because their uncanny alliance puts a huge smile on my face. Golbez has come up with an amazing interpretation of the self-sustaining trash tornado in Sans's room, too. It's somehow simulataneously practical and ridiculous, which is so in-character for Sans that I'll never, ever forget it. I love this story so much, and I really wish it was longer, or that there were more like it out there. I just might need to become the change that I want to see.
