#mettalphys

first drawing on this account!! made this in two days because i got crazy abt mettaton and alphys deltarune. THEY DONT EVEN KNOW EACHOTHER. O.O

it's the 15th in my timezone so here we are! my nice project :3 my naice project four months in the making. its finally real!! i can finally rest...

(mettaton may 2024, day 15: love)

They both only tolerate each other for Alphys' sake, that much is obvious.

Undyn and Alphys are soulmates, of course. They relish each other's passion, they cover each other's weaknesses. Undyne fills a void in Alphys' heart at a very vulnerable time of her life, meeting her when she's literally about to kill herself. She never directly addresses that fact because she's not that type of person, but she shows up for her. She treats her well. She wants Alphys to know her value–she wants Alphys to love herself. Because she believes in her, she respects her, even if she thinks everything Alphys is into is just “nerdy crap.” In turn, Undyne becomes a beacon of courage for Alphys at a time when she seems to be completely alone.

Mettaton, meanwhile, owes everything to Alphys. His transition, his career, his hopes and dreams. Without her encouragement, he'd never have the courage or chance to pursue any of it. These two are soulmates also, platonic if we may. They understand each other–and even when Mettaton doesn't agree with her, even when he is actively furious at her, he humours her plan. He helps her. But then comes the baggage–and it's heavy. Mettaton's entangled in her lies. He's cut off his family. He lives with the knowledge that the sister of a good friend has turned into an amalgamate, amongst others, and Alphys is to blame. Even when he betrays her, he doesn't expose nearly as much as he could.

Undyne doesn't particularly like Mettaton because of how he treats Alphys at that particular time period in which she meets them. She lacks tons of context. To her, he's a superficial asshole who actively mistreats the woman who “made him.” Partially, she's correct. Fame did go to his head.

I think that, in truth, Mettaton respects her. He respects and resents her at the same time, for being there for Alphys when he wasn't. For being an actual, important symbol of hope. He himself is important, he IS a symbol of hope for monsters–he brings joy to their lives. But Undyne shoulders her position like a responsibility, a duty, while he lets his get to his head. For Undyne, it is always about the people and never about herself. Mettaton often forgets to prioritize his audience, because all he's ever wanted was to express himself. To be loved for being himself, which Undyne has always unashamedly and unabashedly been.

If Undyne knew Mettaton is Blooky's cousin, I think she'd find him to be a coward who ran, at least at first. But Mettaton is not a coward for choosing to be himself. He isn't a coward at all, judging by the genocide route. Look at Mettaton and Undyne's devastating musical mush-up eith power of neo and battle against a true hero sharing a leitmotif because now that Undyne is gone, mettaton wishes to be the hope alphys and the underground desperately need, even though he's nothing like undyne. even if he's never been that brave, that strong, even if his being "human eradication robot" is just a performance. even if, unlike undyne, he isn't a true hero, not in the typical sense–because he's nowhere near as clear headed and he falls in one hit.

Yet he tries to be Undyne. He tries. To be. Undyne. He tries to be the epitome of courage and bravey and determination, to protect all those he loves.

AND THEY DON'T EVEN LIKE EACH OTHER.

I said it, they tolerate each other. They share leitmotifs, they most love the same person, they're both admired symbols of hope in the underground, they both owe their confidence and abilities to someone else, (asgore+gerson, alphys) and use it to guide others/be idolized by them, (papyrus+monster kid, hotland lioness, shyren, many many others technically) (speaking of shyren both of them try to reach out to shyren when they see her struggling. yet another parallel!)

AND. THEY. ANNOY EACH OTHER--

The piano / grape-eating scene in undyne's house already says much about their dybamic. (mind you, I hc that he went to waterfall in a moment of weakness to come clean to blooky but he just couldn't do that to Alphys so he instead changed courses to undyne's house and put on his most obnoxious persona-) then the alarm clock dialogue, all with Undyne calling him a space heater (which was tbf a running gag) and him constantly fucking with her, like during the team ice hockey game when mtt played referee and chose the dog as the winner soley to annoy undyne. They are passive-aggressive to each other–and Mettaton is as jealous of her, because she is what Alphys needs and deserves. He is not so much jealous for her romantic relationship with alphys, like how Mew Mew is jealous because she has feelings for Undyne. No, Mettaton has show continuous encouragement for these two together. (will you two just smooch already etc etc) He is proud of Alphys for finally finding someone who brings out the best in her and treats her right. Even though he finds this woman insufferable and lives to torment her–and even if the opposite also applies.

Every interaction we know they've shared is hilarious and every narrative parallel is devastating. Why are there not a million more character studies/fics/comics that explore their co-existance even slightLy.