sans Undertale

sentry, illigal hot-dog vendor, part time comedian, past scientist

the elder brother to Papyrus. spends most of his time at Grillby’s or at home. lazy, but active when he wants to be. loves making shitty puns. loves ketchup. like 4 feet tall. skeleton. obviously. very nonchalant. rarely ever angry, only when Papyrus’ life is threatened.

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.[10] Then, Sans hides the protagonist behind a lamp whose shape is very conveniently identical to the protagonist's. Papyrus rushes onscreen, and the brothers discuss Sans's laziness and the importance of puzzle upkeep.[11][12] 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.[13] Sans believes that someone is tricking Papyrus with an Echo Flower when the flower in question is Flowey.[14] 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 30G.

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.[16][17] He tells the protagonist that this woman (implied, and later confirmed to be Toriel) 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.[18][19] Before leaving, he tells the protagonist to take care of themself because someone really cares about them. 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"[20] and judges the protagonist for their current EXP.[21]

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.[22] Impressed by their feat, Sans concludes that the protagonist now has enough determination and believes that they can do the right thing before leaving.[23] 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.[24]

After the protagonist loads their SAVE a few times, Sans's suspicions are affirmed and he gives them a key to his room.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] 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."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.Sans is absent from the Last Corridor in the True Pacifist Route. However, he does appear during the pre-Asriel cutscene and meets Toriel face-to-face for the first time. Flowey binds Sans and the protagonist's other friends, then eventually absorbs their SOULs after they defend the protagonist from Flowey.

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

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.[28] 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."

Sans overworld tricycle In the credits, Sans rides a tricycle on a highway and overtakes Papyrus's sports car, much to his brother's annoyance.Sans stalks and introduces himself to the protagonist as usual but requests that they continue pretending to be a human.[29] 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 expresses his respect for their mercy to Papyrus.[30] He continues to appear as he does on the Neutral Route but does not take the protagonist to Grillby's since Snowdin has been evacuated.After killing Papyrus, the protagonist continues to kill all the monsters in the Underground. Sans watches them secretly without confronting them directly, hoping they would heed his friendly advice and stop. Eventually, he decides to stop them himself no matter what.

Sans confronts the protagonist in the Last Corridor but does not judge, instead claiming they must have been busy. He starts off by paraphrasing one of Papyrus' statements. Instead of answering, the protagonist takes a step forward.

Next Sans laughs and asks "do you wanna have a bad time?", threatening them with force should they proceed. When the protagonist dismisses his warnings and continue to advance, he fights them.

Before the battle begins, Sans apologizes to the late Toriel for breaking his promise to her.

Sans repeatedly dodges the protagonist's attempts to hit him and retaliates with his relentless attacks, doing his best to stop them. When he approaches exhaustion, he decides to stall forever by doing nothing, and refuses to let the protagonist have their turn, hoping they will eventually quit of boredom. Sans however falls asleep, giving the protagonist a window of opportunity without his interference. When they manage to attack again, Sans dodges once more, but fails to avoid the second, and takes a whopping 9999999 damage.

Recognizing his failure, Sans makes one desperate attempt to deter the protagonist, and slowly walks out of the screen while joking that he is going to Grillby's. He then speaks to his dead brother, asking him if he wants anything, and disintegrates shortly after.

For further information, see Sans/In Battle. After defeating Sans, the protagonist's EXP is set to 99999, and their LV reaches 20. Sans will make certain remarks if he notices the protagonist has defeated him before and is fighting him again by resetting or through loading a SAVE.[31]

Sans does not count as a kill in the Stats menu.

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[36] and gives him presents under the identity of Santa.[37] Nonetheless, Sans likes to mess with Papyrus, sending him bad puns on the UnderNet.[38] 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.[39] He also conceals this to Papyrus in other Neutral Route endings where the latter is alive.

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.[32] 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.[33] 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[34] and Last Corridor judgement.[35]

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.[40]

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.

It is implied Sans is friends with Alphys, as he sends her dog food to help her feed Endogeny.[41] However, he does not inform anyone of his actions. Their friendship is emphasized in the True Pacifist Route epilogue, where Alphys preemptively responds with a joke before Sans does.[42]

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.[43] 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".[44]

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.