So….u got any soriel thoughts queen
my fave part about soriel in both universes is the contrasts, contrasts everywhere!, things that are so different, so similar, familiar but opposite and then back around again.
An optimist and warm person beaten down by the world, and a nihilist that wanders around aimlessly, perhaps too aware of the futility of fighting a godlike anomaly. And yet somehow, despite the different origins, and the same situation, they pull each other out of the hole. Someone so maternal imbues some of her Care to someone who is so detached- but in his detached-ness still deeply cares about his brother... it's like two paths that go in wildly different directions but converge at similar points.
They are both so old- not just in literal age, but spiritually- yet have this almost fantastically romantic, shy, childlike romance. They have seen so much, yet they fluster each other with dumb puns.
I think sans and toriel both suffer over caring too much (sans to the point that he stops caring like some odd stack overflow, because not caring is easier than caring), and in having each other they get the rare, precious opportunity to stop caring, for a bit; the anomaly and the dead children aren't front and center for once. Something they can't usually afford. a brief respite. And in their being able to stop caring, soothing a heavy heart makes it so they end up caring even deeper.
Sans doesn't try to stop you at all even if you kill his brother- not until literally everyone else has also died and it's just you and him, and he's forced to stop avoiding the horror and confront them directly. The one reason he doesn't harm you, other than his nihilism, is his promise to Toriel- he doesn't care at all, but she made him care enough to watch for your well being. He did all that for what was effectively a voice behind a door. It is simultaneously so chaste, innocent, and so terribly romantic, almost soap opera-esque. I don't think Toriel and Papyrus, each on their own, could defeat Sans' lack of giving a fuck due to depression over giving too much of a fuck, but I think them together is exactly what sans needs to not really stop being lazy, but start actually enjoying life a little again. And someone who's also been so through the wringer being able to do that for him is sooooooooo...
Of course DR soriel is far less insane and more domestic- but i find it telling that toriel is willing to let loose, forget for a minute about her strained/dead friendship with carol, about asgore, the divorce, asriel, the suffering of her teen child she so desperately wants to understand and help but doesn't quite have the tools to do so. Toriel still cares too much- see susie and her checking in with alphys to make sure kris is ok- and yet one weekend she can throw everything to the wind and dance the jitter bug. For a moment she is young again. That's the magic of soriel, for a moment they're young again.
I know that kris is suffering, and I feel for them, I feel for susie, because the two were worried sick and I can't blame them, but man soriel is magical.
I definitely have a soft spot for people who make each other better in the direst of circumstances lol.