Carnage Cadaver

(As far as I know, Om exclusively uses it/its, so that's what I'll use.)

We're wrapping up a rework of the original document from pathB that parses all dialogues related to the Emperor from Baldur’s Gate 3.

All synopses and most devnotes from major files have been added. We're now looking for corrections, eventual better screen-shots to integrate, and scanning for any missing files/nodes.

Goal: Make it easier to find specific lines and their triggers to better understand the Emperor. Hopefully to help improve the accuracy and smooth the writing of fanfiction involving it.

We're also working in parallel on a big analysis with other fanatics. If you love the Emperor… or love to hate it, come join us!

His life and freedom rest in Tav's hands---the hands of someone who has made it clear they still don't trust him and aren't willing to work together amicably even after all these months, someone who might even want him dead. And he knows it.

He only uses threats as a last resort after spending months being amicable, politely putting up with any insults Tav and the party throw his way. And then Tav either calls him a freak or says he's not fooling them with his human impression. BG3 is a game, it can't account for everything, maybe Tav was nice until that moment, but it's likely that any Tav who responds like that has already been treating him like that.

The Emperor can't just give up on Tav, there's no time to put together and gain the trust of a new team (and players would hate him even more if he did that). He also can't keep protecting Tav and co. without getting any help in return because eventually the brain will get too strong if no one stops it. If that happens, the world will be taken over by the brain, and he'll either be trapped alone in the prism forever, or he'll be a mind-controlled slave until he dies. Those are terrible, terrifying options. So that leaves him with the option of still having to work with someone who hates him.

So him threatening Tav sounds like an overreaction without context, but the context is that nothing else has worked, he's desperate and scared and feels threatened himself, and he's fighting for his life and his freedom against the person who has the power to take that from him and has indicated, probably repeatedly, that they might want to. And this is the only idea he has left. Mind control is extreme, but it's really the only threat he has available, so of course that's what he's going to use.

I would also argue that because of this context, you can't even say this is "mask off" or how he truly feels. This is him trying to intimidate you. There is far more evidence in the game to suggest he wants to be genuine allies. He even tries to give you more power and help you find more allies.

As someone who did not grow up in a Western cultural context, there was a specific moment in Baldur’s Gate 3 that left me deeply uncomfortable. It wasn’t the fact that we had to kill Ansur, or even the tragic history he shared with the Emperor. It was the moment when Ansur fails to kill the Emperor in his sleep and then, incredibly, condemns him for the act of fighting back.

That reaction stayed with me because it reveals a moral logic the game seems willing to accept. It is the idea that some beings are not only killable, but actually blameworthy for refusing to die.

I can understand Ansur’s fear. I can understand his desperation and his grief. What I cannot accept is the judgment that follows. When Ansur attacks the Emperor, he is not responding to a crime. He is responding to a fear of what might happen in the future. Yet, when the Emperor chooses to survive, the narrative frames his self-defense as a betrayal. It becomes something that needs explanation or even forgiveness.

This framing matters. Being attacked and defending yourself should not require a moral justification. Survival is not a crime. When a story suggests otherwise, we have to ask a difficult question. Who is expected to accept death without resistance?

This is not a hypothetical. The game offers a clear point of comparison in Gale. When Mystra asks Gale to die so that a future catastrophe can be prevented, the players overwhelmingly criticize her. She is seen as cold, manipulative, and controlling. That reaction is important. It shows that players are not actually comfortable with the idea of one person dying for the greater good.

So why does that reaction change so dramatically for the Emperor?

The answer is uncomfortable but clear. Gale is treated as a person whose right to live is a given. Even after he makes catastrophic mistakes in his pursuit of power, and even when the magical artifacts he consumes to stabilize his condition start to fail, he is never treated as a mistake. He becomes a literal ticking time bomb, yet his existence is never something that should have been erased in advance. (For the record, I actually like Gale a lot. He is my favorite companion.)

But as a mind flayer, the Emperor’s existence is treated as a problem to be solved before he has even committed a single harmful act. His potential for harm alone justifies preemptive violence. More disturbingly, his refusal to die makes him look morally suspect.

The standard quietly shifts here. The question is no longer what he has done. It is simply what he is.

This leads to what I call the trap of retroactive justification. I often see players defend Ansur by pointing to the Emperor’s later actions. They mention his secrecy or his manipulations to excuse the original attempt on his life. But this move itself reveals the trap. Once a character is marked as part of an evil race, they are no longer judged by their actions at the moment of violence. Instead, they have to prove they deserve to survive at all. They have to be better than everyone else. They have to be more honest and more restrained just to earn the basic right of self-defense.

This is not how we judge characters like Gale. We don't retroactively decide Gale should have died because he is flawed. But for the Emperor, every imperfection is used as evidence that Ansur was right from the start. On the night Ansur tried to kill him, the judgment wasn't based on a crime. It was based on his tentacles.

When a character is condemned before they act, the issue is no longer about individual morality. This is fictional racism, or perhaps lookism, though in this game they effectively function as the same thing. It is the kind of structural prejudice that makes entire groups disposable by default. If you are a mind flayer, your right to live is conditional. You may be tolerated, but you are never fully innocent and you are never fully entitled to fight back.

This logic is even harder to ignore in Act I. The game frames the safety of the tiefling refugees as a moral imperative and pushes players to eliminate the goblin camp to achieve it. Even though the story suggests only killing the leaders is necessary, the mechanics tell a different story. Once the leaders are dead, the entire camp becomes permanently hostile. There is no negotiation and no retreat. Success is defined as eradication.

Many players don't hesitate because the game rewards this path with experience and loot. Violence is not just permitted, it is structurally encouraged. What makes this troubling is that the game acknowledges both groups are capable of cruelty and kindness. Yet only the goblins are treated as collectively killable.

Averages are irrelevant here. Tieflings can be cruel and goblins can be peaceful. But when being born into a specific race functions as a death sentence before a crime is committed, we are no longer talking about ethics. We are talking about racialized moral superiority. It is a system where some characters are allowed complexity while others are expected to disappear quietly.

Because I did not grow up in a Western cultural context, this logic feels uncomfortably familiar. Not because it maps onto a single real-world group, but because the structure of the bias is so recognizable.

“Hope you’re a harvest god,” Arepo said, and set up an altar and burnt two stalks of wheat. “It’d be nice, you know.” He looked down at the ash smeared on the stone, the rocks all laid askew, and coughed and scratched his head. “I know it’s not much,” he said, his straw hat in his hands. “But - I’ll do what I can. It’d be nice to think there’s a god looking after me.”

The next day he left a pair of figs, the day after that he spent ten minutes of his morning seated by the temple in prayer. On the third day, the god spoke up.

“You should go to a temple in the city,” the god said. Its voice was like the rustling of the wheat, like the squeaks of fieldmice running through the grass. “A real temple. A good one. Get some real gods to bless you. I’m no one much myself, but I might be able to put in a good word?” It plucked a leaf from a tree and sighed. “I mean, not to be rude. I like this temple. It’s cozy enough. The worship’s been nice. But you can’t honestly believe that any of this is going to bring you anything.”

“This is more than I was expecting when I built it,” Arepo said, laying down his scythe and lowering himself to the ground. “Tell me, what sort of god are you anyway?”

“I’m of the fallen leaves,” it said. “The worms that churn beneath the earth. The boundary of forest and of field. The first hint of frost before the first snow falls. The skin of an apple as it yields beneath your teeth. I’m a god of a dozen different nothings, scraps that lead to rot, momentary glimpses. A change in the air, and then it’s gone.”

The god heaved another sigh. “There’s no point in worship in that, not like War, or the Harvest, or the Storm. Save your prayers for the things beyond your control, good farmer. You’re so tiny in the world. So vulnerable. Best to pray to a greater thing than me.”

Arepo plucked a stalk of wheat and flattened it between his teeth. “I like this sort of worship fine,” he said. “So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll continue.”

“Do what you will,” said the god, and withdrew deeper into the stones. “But don’t say I never warned you otherwise.”

Arepo would say a prayer before the morning’s work, and he and the god contemplated the trees in silence. Days passed like that, and weeks, and then the Storm rolled in, black and bold and blustering. It flooded Arepo’s fields, shook the tiles from his roof, smote his olive tree and set it to cinder. The next day, Arepo and his sons walked among the wheat, salvaging what they could. The little temple had been strewn across the field, and so when the work was done for the day, Arepo gathered the stones and pieced them back together.

“Useless work,” the god whispered, but came creeping back inside the temple regardless. “There wasn’t a thing I could do to spare you this.”

“We’ll be fine,” Arepo said. “The storm’s blown over. We’ll rebuild. Don’t have much of an offering for today,” he said, and laid down some ruined wheat, “but I think I’ll shore up this thing’s foundations tomorrow, how about that?” 

The god rattled around in the temple and sighed.

A year passed, and then another. The temple had layered walls of stones, a roof of woven twigs. Arepo’s neighbors chuckled as they passed it. Some of their children left fruit and flowers. And then the Harvest failed, the gods withdrew their bounty. In Arepo’s field the wheat sprouted thin and brittle. People wailed and tore their robes, slaughtered lambs and spilled their blood, looked upon the ground with haunted eyes and went to bed hungry. Arepo came and sat by the temple, the flowers wilted now, the fruit shriveled nubs, Arepo’s ribs showing through his chest, his hands still shaking, and murmured out a prayer. 

“There is nothing here for you,” said the god, hudding in the dark. “There is nothing I can do. There is nothing to be done.” It shivered, and spat out its words. “What is this temple but another burden to you?”

“We -” Arepo said, and his voice wavered. “So it’s a lean year,” he said. “We’ve gone through this before, we’ll get through this again. So we’re hungry,” he said. “We’ve still got each other, don’t we? And a lot of people prayed to other gods, but it didn’t protect them from this. No,” he said, and shook his head, and laid down some shriveled weeds on the altar. “No, I think I like our arrangement fine.”

“There will come worse,” said the god, from the hollows of the stone. “And there will be nothing I can do to save you.”

The years passed. Arepo rested a wrinkled hand upon the temple of stone and some days spent an hour there, lost in contemplation with the god.

And one fateful day, from across the wine-dark seas, came War.

Arepo came stumbling to his temple now, his hand pressed against his gut, anointing the holy site with his blood. Behind him, his wheat fields burned, and the bones burned black in them. He came crawling on his knees to a temple of hewed stone, and the god rushed out to meet him.

“I could not save them,” said the god, its voice a low wail. “I am sorry. I am sorry. I am so so sorry.” The leaves fell burning from the trees, a soft slow rain of ash. “I have done nothing! All these years, and I have done nothing for you!”

“Shush,” Arepo said, tasting his own blood, his vision blurring. He propped himself up against the temple, forehead pressed against the stone in prayer. “Tell me,” he mumbled. “Tell me again. What sort of god are you?”

“I -” said the god, and reached out, cradling Arepo’s head, and closed its eyes and spoke.

“I’m of the fallen leaves,” it said, and conjured up the image of them. “The worms that churn beneath the earth. The boundary of forest and of field. The first hint of frost before the first snow falls. The skin of an apple as it yields beneath your teeth.” Arepo’s lips parted in a smile.

“I am the god of a dozen different nothings,” it said. “The petals in bloom that lead to rot, the momentary glimpses. A change in the air -” Its voice broke, and it wept. “Before it’s gone.”

“Beautiful,” Arepo said, his blood staining the stones, seeping into the earth. “All of them. They were all so beautiful.”

“Oh, poor god,” she said, “With no-one to bury your last priest.” Then she paused, because she was from far away. “Or is this how the dead are honored here?” The god roused from its contemplation.

“His name was Arepo,” it said, “He was a sower.”

Sora startled, a little, because she had never before heard the voice of a god. “How can I honor him?” She asked.

“Bury him,” the god said, “Beneath my altar.”

“All right,” Sora said, and went to fetch her shovel.

“Wait,” the god said when she got back and began collecting the bones from among the broken twigs and fallen leaves. She laid them out on a roll of undyed wool, the only cloth she had. “Wait,” the god said, “I cannot do anything for you. I am not a god of anything useful.”

Sora sat back on her heels and looked at the altar to listen to the god.

“When the Storm came and destroyed his wheat, I could not save it,” the god said, “When the Harvest failed and he was hungry, I could not feed him. When War came,” the god’s voice faltered. “When War came, I could not protect him. He came bleeding from the battle to die in my arms.” Sora looked down again at the bones.

“I think you are the god of something very useful,” she said.

“What?” the god asked.

The god sat in his peaceful home, staring out at the distant road, to pedestrians, workhorses, and carriages, raining leaves that swirled around bustling feet. How long had it been? The world had progressed without him, for he knew there was no help to be given. The world must be a cruel place, that even the useful gods have abandoned, if farms can flood, harvests can run barren, and homes can burn, he thought.

He had come to understand that humans are senseless creatures, who would pray to a god that cannot grant wishes or bless upon them good fortune. Who would maintain a temple and bring offerings with nothing in return. Who would share their company and meditate with such a fruitless deity. Who would bury a stranger without the hope for profit. What bizarre, futile kindness they had wasted on him. What wonderful, foolish, virtuous, hopeless creatures, humans were.

So he painted the sunset with yellow leaves, enticed the worms to dance in their soil, flourished the boundary between forest and field with blossoms and berries, christened the air with a biting cold before winter came, ripened the apples with crisp, red freckles to break under sinking teeth, and a dozen other nothings, in memory of the man who once praised the god’s work on his dying breath.

“Hello, God of Every Humble Beauty in the World,” called a familiar voice.

The squinting corners of the god’s eyes wept down onto curled lips. “Arepo,” he whispered, for his voice was hoarse from its hundred-year mutism.

“I am the god of devotion, of small kindnesses, of unbreakable bonds. I am the god of selfless, unconditional love, of everlasting friendships, and trust,” Arepo avowed, soothing the other with every word.

“That’s wonderful, Arepo,” he responded between tears, “I’m so happy for you—such a powerful figure will certainly need a grand temple. Will you leave to the city to gather more worshippers? You’ll be adored by all.”

“No,” Arepo smiled.

“Farther than that, to the capitol, then? Thank you for visiting here before your departure.”

“No, I will not go there, either,” Arepo shook his head and chuckled.

“Farther still? What ambitious goals, you must have. There is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed, though,” the elder god continued.

“Actually,” interrupted Arepo, “I’d like to stay here, if you’ll have me.”

The other god was struck speechless. “…. Why would you want to live here?”

It’s basically born of false assumptions; folks were trying to explain how a naturally solitary animal could form such complex social bonds with humans, and the explanation they settled on is “it’s a displaced parent/child bond”.

The trouble is, cats aren’t naturally solitary. We just assumed they were based on observations of European wildcats - but housecats aren’t descended from European wildcats. They’re descended from African wildcats, which are known to hunt in bonded pairs and family groupings, and that social tendency is even stronger in their domesticated relatives. The natural social unit of the housecat is a colony: a loose affiliation of cats centred around a shared territory held by alliance of dominant females, who raise all of the colony’s kittens communally.

It’s often remarked that dogs understand that humans are different, while cats just think humans are big, clumsy cats, and that’s totally true - but they regard us as adult colonymates, not as kittens, and all of their social behaviour toward us makes a lot more sense through that lens.

They like to cuddle because communal grooming is how cats bond with colonymates - it establishes a shared scent-identity for the colony and helps clean spots that they can’t easily reach on their own.

They bring us dead animals because cats transport surplus kills back to the colony’s shared territory for consumption by pregnant, nursing, or sick colonymates who can’t easily hunt on their own. Indeed, that’s why they kill so much more than they individually need - it’s not for fun, but to generate enough surplus kills to sustain the colony’s non-hunting members.

They’re okay with us messing with their kittens because communal parenting is the norm in a colony setting, and us being colonymates in their minds automatically makes us co-parents.

It’s even why many cats are so much more tolerant toward very small children, as long as those children are related to one of their regular humans: they can tell the difference between human adults and human “kittens”, and your kittens are their kittens.

I might've added the BG3 Art Book to my dnd assets stash

It' 100% does not have things like the 5e players' handbook + 5e’s character sheet, several gm guides, critical role's explorer's guide to wildmount, baldur's gate and waterdeep city encounters, 101 potions and their effects, volo's guide to monsters, both of xanathar's guides, a bunch of other encounters, one shots, and class builds

In no way are there any pdf’s relating to any wizard who may or may not be residing on any coast

but for actual real life, no one on tumblr has enough energy to get out of bed

also if you pierce the lungs the body wont float

and if youre gonna do anything else, take out the teeth and burn the tongue, fingertips, etc. this will prevent identification by dna

Ink!Sans is an out!code character who does not belong to any specific alternative universe (AU) of Undertale. He exists out of them but can interact with them. Ink!Sans supports the artists to keep contributing to the fandom and generally embodies an artistic aesthetic that even follows him in his combat abilities.

What is an AU? An AU (or alternative universe) is a spin-off of an official storyline/concept that explores the different possibilities of said concept by putting characters in a different setting, with different abilities, or in different social situations, etc. In this case, Undertale’s storylines and characters have AUs based on them. The entirety of the AUs is called the Multiverse.

The fandom’s production (mostly of those said AUs) are Ink’s essence of living; as long as it’s creative and productive, he’s healthy and energic.

Ink!Sans can appear everywhere in any AU of his liking from any kind of liquid. He uses them as portals.

His big brush gives him the ability to create anything he likes and make it come to life, with the exception of dead characters.

Regarding fights, Ink!Sans finds purpose in trying to limit the damage done by other out!code characters who wish to disrupt the original scripts of AUs. That includes people who wish to undo the consequences of genocide timelines. Ink!Sans prioritizes the respect of timelines’ scenarios over emotional conflicts.

Ink!Sans does not create AUs nor characters. He simply likes to think that he guards them from what he considers to be anomalies to the original scripts and intentions of the creators.

This is Ink!Sans’s official FAQ. Any other wiki or faq page about him with additional information is not verified.

—————————————————————————————————-

- OFFICIAL DESIGN -

Check out this post for notes about his outfit and additionnal doodles.

The following bits of information are based on Ink’s lore and backstory. You can read more in the backstory section.

Brown overwhelms the palette because it is often the color gotten when all paints are mixed together.

Yellow and green being the first colors Ink experienced, they both have a tribute in the outfit.

Ink tuck in his overalls and wears them as pants.

Lack of shoes translate his carefreeness and mobility.

The light green color on his gloves simulates the tablet glove digital artists use.

The white undershirt speaks of how Ink attempts to cover his lack of soul, but his emptiness sometimes shines through.

Ink!Sans often tries mixes of paints and scribbles notes on his scarf because of his bad memory.

His pupils change shape and color every time he blinks. It is speculated that they represent an AU with each shape and color combination, and each time they appear, it means Ink is watching the AU’s events unfurl through his eyes as if he was constantly observing. Ink claims that the shapes and colors are just random. They are never seen in white.

The rainbow vials on his stash belt are paint bottles with heart-shaped tops that cover the range of the rainbow.

His brush is most of the time carried on his back.

Under all the clothes, his bones are colored and marked by strange shapes.

♦ What are his heart-shaped vials for?

His vials keep paints of color that are adapted just for him, and each vial gives him a range of emotions. He fills them at his Doodlesphere regularly. Ink needs these since he doesn’t have a soul and can’t feel on his own. Drinking a bit of all of them regularly allows him to maintain a normal constitution. If anyone else tried drinking them, it would just taste like paint.

♦ Which emotions do they all represent then?

Red is wrath/aggressivity, and yellow/orange is euphoria. Between these two colors, there is a hue of emotions for all the other colors, and it is up to you to think of their meanings :-)

♦ Why do his eyes change shapes and colors?

Ink has the tendency to drink a bit of all the colors at once to be able to balance the feelings and act as close to a normal person who can control his emotions and react accordingly to most situations. Since all the colors are into his body at the same time, his eyes feature all of them.

♦ Do shapes have particular meanings too?

Not really, that’s pretty random. Two canon shapes do have meanings: his eyes are shaped like yellow stars when he’s excited or amazed, and one turns into a red target when he is fighting an enemy.

♦ Does Ink not having shoes hurt his feet?

Ink hardly feels physical pain like most skeleton characters. That’s what having bones for a body does! And being soulless plays a role in that too.

♦ Does Ink blush in rainbow?

Yes, he does! He also happens to grow momentaneous rainbow freckles when he is positively emotional.

♦ Does Ink have a rainbow tongue?

Yes, he does!

♦ Is there an official human design for Ink!Sans?

There currently isn’t an official human version of this design!

Ink used to have an older outfit:

This design was heavily inspired from CookieHana ( https://www.deviantart.com/cookiehana )’s Pokemon trainer character Pen. The issue is the reason why the outfit was changed. Read this post for the whole explanation!

♦ Will I still be able to use Ink’s main old design?

I would ask you to please prioritize Ink’s new design, given the circumstances. I know I cannot stop everyone from using this old design, and I will not come for you if you use it. I would simply want my wish to be respected given I allow people to use him for so many projects, professional ones included.

♦ Will I have to scrap the artworks I made of Ink in his old design but did not post yet? Will I have to change to Ink’s new design in my comics/animations immediately?

You don’t need to scrap your artwork of Ink’s older design! Please feel free to finish it and post it online, I will absolutely not hold it against you. You are also free to conclude your comics and animations with Ink’s old design if it was already started before the announcement and you can’t make the new design fit at all. I will only ask that if you can make the change of Ink’s design fit with your storylines and start using it from there, please do so as soon as you can. I would really appreciate it. <3

♦ Will the alternative versions of Ink (like Fresh!Ink) have to change designs too?

No, characters like Fresh!Ink or specific designs you made of Ink to fit in your AUs do not have to change!

♦ Will you revamp Fresh!Ink’s design?

At the moment, I don’t plan to! I would rather let the monstrosity be what it is! :-)

♦ Can we still draw the alternate outfits you made of Ink?

If you are talking about these two following designs, yes, you can absolutely continue using them! <3

♦ Will these two alternate outfits get revamped?

I’m not planning to currently!

♦ Will all of the Ink fusions/fan children have to change designs too?

No, they do not require a change either at all!

♦ Which outfit do you like more?

I’m happy with what I did for the 2020 design, but Ink is still Ink and I honestly love him regardless of what he wears! <3 On that note, people are totally free to create outfits for him as they have in the past!

—————————————————————————————————-

- PERSONALITY -

♦ What’s his character like? (personality, quirks…)

Ink!Sans has a tendency to get too excited about things. He also has very short memory and will forget about different things - sometimes stopping mid-sentence to try and remember what he just said a few seconds before.

He is very passionate about art and likes to motivate characters and creators. He’s able to change clothes on people just by a paint of his brush, and he loves to create the kind of outfit they like. Even though he uses art as a tool, no one really saw his drawings or paintings.

He’s a mischief-maker. Pranks are his guilty pleasure.

Ink in general acts wittily and provocatively.

With him hardly having a proper social understanding, he’s blunt in his teasing and mocking just like in his ability to give support and to be kind.

He’s really forgetful (which is why he takes notes on his scarf).

Ink approaches enemies carefully. He will never try to attack them first, but will mostly focus on trying to discover their motives and talk them through it. Although he does come off as a jerk in first impression, he does know what to analyze to understand the issue so he can brush people the right way and hopefully have them listen.

He loses his pencils all the time.

He happens to sometimes randomly vomit ink, mostly when he gets too emotionally shaken, whether from passion or shock.

Ink supports all kinds of art, like painting, literature, dance, music, etc.

He is afraid of whiteness, of absence of presences or shapes around him, loneliness, huge empty spaces…

Ink does not appear as a perfectly well-behaved character. He can sometimes be inconsiderate in his mocking and cruel in his opinions, and deep down he sees other characters as story characters and not as people like him like a proper story would. He has a very special morality that sometimes shows to be really separated from his emotions. He can be identified as chaotic neutral.

—————————————————————————————————-

- BACKSTORY -

Before asking any question related to this subject, please first check out the His Story comic which retraces Ink’s backstory.

♦ What is Ink’s original name?

The same name as his original AU.

♦ What is Ink’s original AU? Who made it?

_____tale. The owner does not have a proper identity, it could be anybody.

♦ Did Ink tear off his soul?

Yes, he did. He erased himself from his AU which had only one unfinished timeline with no possibility to reset.

♦ Where did he end up?

He ended up in what will become his Doodle sphere.

♦ What happened to his old AU?

It supposedly stayed exactly the same, unfinished and forgotten.

♦ Who is the artist that splashed him with colors?

It could be anyone in the fandom. You, your friend, or any artist ever!

♦ Where do those tattoos come from?

His tattoos are extremely tiny, nearly unreadable bits of binary. They are parts of the multiverse’s core code that stuck onto him and formed marks on him when he traveled from his AU to what will become his Doodle sphere. :-)

♦ If Ink runs out of those paints and is unable to refill them until the colors in him eventually fade, what would happen?

Ink would become a husk, like an empty shell. He will simply stop moving, responding, and will not have any of his senses working. Ink’s body can be completely controlled by someone else, but his ink abilities will not be available anymore until he is refilled with paints. Surprisingly enough, it’s very easy to defeat him! 

♦ Why doesn’t Ink just make himself/steal a soul?

His duty to protect the timelines forbids him to steal a soul for himself. He also cannot make himself a soul because he cannot revive what is dead. Although he knows his emotion vials have a weakness, he believes it is a better advantage than a soul that can be visible and destroyed. Let’s say it’s less expected. :-)

- THE STATE OF HIS STORY COMIC -

The narratory caption webcomic “His Story”, Ink’s backstory, has been officially marked as complete on the 5/23/2020. Although part 6 wasn’t planned to be the final part of the comic, it hasn’t been updated for 3 years and I honestly had already made the most important parts about his backstory already. I will gladly keep talking, drawing and reblogging art or content of him regardless! <3 Ink is an abandoned project who managed to pull himself out of his situation to turn into this grand, known figure of protection and creation, and all this journey comes with its consequences and traumas. He is an insecure, self-centered character with abandonment issues who has a hard time trusting his emotions. He is a paradoxical spin-off of the concept of Undertale’s original multiverse fandom! :-)

The comic stops on Ink discovering a portal between his Doodle Sphere and the multiverse, which is the beginning of his tale as a multiverse out!code character. He discovers the different AUs and believes that the strength and emotions he has been given were accidental gifts from the creators and, just as much as it is for selfish reasons (to stay alive and feel like his existence has purpose), he decides from there to claim himself as a guardian of these universes.

—————————————————————————————————-

- ADDITIONAL LORE AND FACTS -

♦ When was Ink created?

He was created in January 2016!

♦ How did you come up with the idea of Ink?

I was trying to find a new AU concept because I was very unsatisfied with my contributions to the fandom, and I really wanted to try my hand at an out!code character. I came across a picture of a brush made specifically for chinese and japanese ink, and it sort of clicked. I thought it would be fitting to have something that fit the incredible dynamic and power the newly AU Multiverse craze was starting to be, and that a version of Sans supporting the various creations that were appearing would be cute! :-)

♦ Why did you base yourself on Sans and not another character?

Sans was my favorite at the time, and the awareness he had on how he was part of a game that was bound to forever restart and trap him into silence was a groundbreaking character trait we had barely seen before, and it was what made him explode around the fandom.

♦ What is the Doodle sphere?

It’s basically Ink’s personal multiverse. If you know how HTML and CSS work, the multiverse’s core code is the HTML and his Doodle sphere is the CSS that goes with it (the core code is the mechanic and the Doodle sphere is the design that makes it pretty and possible to visit.)

The Doodle sphere is a colorful world where big-sized buckets float. Each bucket is an AU. The liquid in these buckets is a portal inside the AU.

Ink doesn’t exactly live to a designated area, he travels all the time. The Doodle sphere just happens to be his “base” to come back to.

♦  What are Ink’s weapons?

As written above, Ink is not one to attack first for two reasons: he would rather solve conflict rather than attack someone, and fighting uses a lot of ink out of him. The vials he drinks are not only used for emotions, they are also what enables him to manipulate ink and summon his various capacities. Although not necessary for him to manipulate ink, his big brush is a vessel to concentrate his powers and have more precision and range. This brush feels light to him, but is relatively heavy for anybody else.

Out of this ink stored inside him, he can create different moves, implying Sans-like attacks, like black colored bones and blasters. Those blasters shoot ink that can boil or solidify.

♦ What are Ink’s hobbies other than his role as a guardian?

He plays the flute! He also enjoys learning how to sew so he doesn’t always rely on his powers.

♦ What is Ink’s assigned font?

His assigned font is Note this! (https://www.dafont.com/note-this.font) but there’s absolutely no obligation to use it! <3

♦ When is Ink’s birthday?

It’s on April 15, World’s Art day! :-)

♦ What is Ink’s canon gender?

Ink is a male and uses he/him/they/them pronouns.

♦  What are Ink’s canon height and weight?

Ink is slightly shorter than original Sans (Comic Sans = 4 feet, so Ink Sans = 3.8 feet).

He doesn’t weigh much since he’s all bones and fabric, but he does look “big-boned” (meaning his bones are wide, literally lmao.)

♦ Is Ink ambidextrous (meaning he uses both hands to draw and write)?

Yes he is!

♦ What is Ink’s canon age?

Ink doesn’t really age, but the way he’s portrayed simulates an adult in his twenties.

♦ Is it okay if I draw him / RP him with another gender, age or height?

Of course, as long as you don’t force your opinion on others. If people blame you for not respecting his original gender, kindly link them to this FAQ to show them that I see no problem with my character being portrayed this way. <3

♦ What is Ink’s canon sexuality?

Ink is not interested in being in a romantic or sexual relationship with anyone.

♦ Is it okay if I draw him / RP him with another sexuality?

Of course, as long as you don’t force your opinion on others. If people blame you for not respecting his original sexuality, kindly link them to this FAQ to show them that I see no problem with my character being portrayed this way. <3

♦ Who is Ink canonly shipped with?

Ink isn’t and won’t be canonly paired with a partner.

♦ Is it okay if I draw him / RP him with a partner?

Of course, as long as you don’t force your opinion on others. If people blame you for not respecting his original situation, kindly link them to this FAQ to show them that I see no problem with my character being portrayed this way. <3

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- INK!SANS & OTHER AUS -

♦ What are the AUs he visited?

Possibly as much as he can!

♦ Are there any other Ink!Characters?

There are currently no other official characters related to Ink!Sans or what we could call the Inktale AU.

♦ Are you the one who designed Fresh!Ink?

I am! This is the post I made about his design!

♦ What are Ink’s relationships with Undertop!Gaster and Zephyrtale!Gaster?

Undertop Gaster ( @under-top ) is one of Ink’s father figures. They slowly bonded over the wisdom and experiences the reality of knowing of the out!code world gives. Although Gaster has two sons (Undertop Sans and Papyrus), he does consider Ink as part of his family. Gaster is a charismatic ringleader who plays pretend as an in!code, but he has a lot of insomnias, hallucinations and nightmares from his past as an out!code as well as the genocide timelines of Undertop following him. He often talks about it with Ink. Ink is very curious about Gaster’s unending desire to refuse to embrace his out!code state and purposefully blend in his AU, but he relates about the idea of wanting to have a concrete place in the world. They allow themselves to have cynical talks about the Multiverse quite often, but they also manage to nurture a tender familial friendship through it.

Zephyrtale Gaster (or Aster) is part of one of my first Undertale AUs, Zephyrtale! Aster has been an in!code all his life until he met Undertop Gaster, and a little while later, Ink!Sans. He has ever since slowly been confronted to the knowledge of learning about the Multiverse and all that it implies and develops a passion for studying it with Ink’s help. They progressively develop a friendship, and thanks to Aster, Ink grows fond of learning how to do things without relying on his creative powers, like building machinery, creating blueprints and studying astrophysics. Although they did not bond the same way, Aster, just like Gaster, sees Ink like family too.

♦ What are his relationships with Underswap!Sans, Error!Sans, Dream!Sans…

It’s up to you to decide which types of relationship you think fit the most! :-) As long as you don’t force your opinion on others or claim any of them to be canon.

Know that Ink is not canonly paired with anyone and that any couple including him is fan-made.

♦ What do you think about Error!Sans x Ink!Sans?

It’s cute! People are creative with their dynamic. I’m glad you guys are having fun, that’s the whole point! Any shipping is welcome!

♦ What are your thoughts on people using Ink for RPs / shippings / their own AUs / NSFW pieces / etc ?

I don’t mind, I’m glad people are having fun with him. It’s his purpose after all! :-) As long as no one feels harmed in the process then it’s fine with me. The only thing that wouldn’t be fine is using him without credit!

♦ I’ve been hearing about Ink and a Loveball event, what is that about?

Somewhere in 2016 if I recall correctly, I participated in an Undertale community roleplay event called the Loveball where I was invited to roleplay as Ink!Sans. It was basically a lot of multiverse characters grouped in a big mansion for one evening, dressed up for a fancy party. This event was very popular and marked a big step for the development of the Multiverse part of the fandom.

♦ Are there comics about Ink?

Ink in Underswap (canceled, it will not update anymore)

His Story (Ink’s backstory, completed)

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- INKTOBERTALE -

♦ What is Inktobertale?

#inktobertale is a spin-off from the very famous Inktober challenge. During the month of October, a list of prompts for drawings about Ink!Sans will be released: each day will have an assigned prompt people can interpret and draw out! The challenge will continue every day until the 31st of the month. The point is to come up with creative ways to respond to the prompts using Ink!Sans and to manage to draw something every day until the end of the month!

♦ Is it only about Ink!Sans?

This theme was created and voted as an Ink!Sans challenge, since there are a lot of other Undertale Inktober challenges. Inktobertale will focus on the character of Ink!Sans. However, you can include other characters to interact with him!

♦ Does it only have to be traditional and inked?

No, you can work with any medium you want, even digitally! :-)

♦ Am I obligated to do all the days / do the days in the right order?

You are free to skip, swap or alternate days as you like. Feel free to even swap between different Inktober challenges! The point is to have fun and experiment this month, so make this challenge a fun experience! <3

♦ How many Inktobertale challenges have been organized so far?

Inktobertale has been organized every year since 2017. The next Inktobertale challenge will be organized in the upcoming October of 2021! 

♦ What are the tags for Inktobertale?

#inktobertale

#inktobertale(insertyear)

#inktobertaleasks (this is the tag I use when answering questions about inktobertale)

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- INK & THE PRISM COLLECTION -

♦  What is the Prism Collection?

The Prism Collection was the name of an Undertale/Ink merch line I made for Ink’s fifth birthday in 2021. It was a 5-item sale that took place two times, first as a preorder sale from April to May and second as an extra-sale in late October.

It included an Undertale double-sided acrylic charm, an Ink holographic glitter sticker, an Ink 5 sticker-pack, an Ink wooden charm and an Ink print set of two exclusive artworks.

♦  Will you sell these products / products including Ink, UT or your other AUs again?

It’s the only merch project including Ink I’ve planned to do and these products are not available for purchase anymore. My future merch will focus on personal themes and projects.

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- INK!SANS TAGS -

♦ What are the tags for Ink!Sans?

I will always use either all or some of those tags on my posts:

ink!sans

ink sans

inktale

ink fanart

inkechos (this tag is for any post related to Ink that isn’t official or fan work)

/!\ #inkechos contains mostly secondary headcanons about Ink. If you have time to spare and want to know more about him and his interactions with other characters, I’d recommend you check out this tag on my blog!

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- CONTACT & PERMISSION TO USE INK!SANS -



 ♦ I want to send you an ask, where do I do that?

You can do it here!

♦ This link shows “not found” / this link doesn’t exist!

If it does show you “not found”, it means the asks are closed. Please wait until they open again! :-)

♦ I want to send you a submission, where do I do that?

I’m not really comfortable with submissions, so I rarely open them. However, I will inform whenever I do!

♦ I sent an ask, but you didn’t reply…

I can’t reply to all the asks I receive, I apologize. I either don’t have the time and/or will, or the answers are already there in the FAQ! 


♦ I want you to reblog [something]!

I appreciate the gesture and especially the hard work and kindness if it’s fan art or something along those lines, but I reblog what I want to reblog. <3 I hope you understand!

♦ Can I represent you through your persona in my projects?


Please do not make me a direct character of your comics, animations, etc. I do not feel comfortable being portrayed and characterized by people who do not me personally.

♦ Can I repost your work if it’s with credit?


No. If you respect my work, do not repost it. Please share it instead! You can find my social medias here:

Tumblr ( @myebi art blog/ @comyet side blog )

Instagram ( mye_bi ) 

Twitter ( Mye_Bi ) 

Please be sure to have read the “Official design” section before reading this.

♦ Do I have to tag you for credit every time I make Ink content somewhere?

Yes! Please tag @comyet​ !

♦ Can I use him for projects that are not related to Undertale?

Please do not use Ink for projects not related to Undertale. Outside of Undertale, he is my OC, and therefore my property.

♦ Can I draw/write fan art of him?

Of course! Feel free to do so as long as credit is given as shown above!

♦ Can I add him in my comic / Make him interact with my characters?

Same thing!

♦ Can I add him to an Undertale fan game?

Same thing!

♦ Can I pair my OCs with him (romantically or not)?

Same thing!

♦ Can I design Inktale characters on my own, canon or OC?

Same thing!

♦ Can I roleplay as him?

Same thing! It’s okay to make a RP blog for him as well!

♦ If I make merch (plush, bookmark, keychain, poster…) of him, am I allowed to sell?

For now, I am okay with people selling art of him for conventions or for online stores as long as:

the merch does not go beyond A3 format

the merch is not produced massively by your company

the merch is sold for the personal use of the clients only

the merch only includes artworks you made or have the authorization to sell

I might stop allowing the sale of products including him in the future!

Feel free to send me an ask as non-anonymous (I will not reply to anonymous asks when it comes to selling merch) if you would like to get a private answer on your specific situation.

♦ Can I commission other people to draw him / Can I accept commission orders including him?

Of course! :-)

Last update: November 13, 2021

This might be the calmest tune I’ve heard from this game

Composed by toby fox