Interesting idea. I’ve only ever seen a “handplates” backstory with Dust.

Color could even potentially work in a handplates or would’ve been handplates situation as well, given the talk about experiments in the experiment short and that’s how he got his eye and Gaster Blaster from Gaster. Not to mention Undyne being here as another of Gaster’s projects too.

I don’t know, maybe Othertale Gaster would be a reformed Handplates Gaster in that case or something.

Killer but he wants a new name and the Stages but they want their own names too. Probably wouldn't happen but there's always a slim chance they'd explore the notion far into the future of love and safety and where they learn to cut themselves some slack.

They probably would still collectively go by Killer, but have a list of names and nicknames along with it, like K, Kay, Kat, Strawberry, Krill, something related to a comfort of his or just a name he happens to like or finds funny.

But each Stage separately might still subscribe to the numbers pattern of names, particularly Stage 2 because that's my favorite motherfucker right now. Maybe he just likes being called Two in many languages, Dos being his most favorite.

Stage 3 I don't think would care about the names thing, but surprisingly Stage 4 is receptive to words in morse code in which it can communicate nonverbally and while it doesn't assign itself a name preference, perhaps it ends every message with a particular pattern or signal. It could be a vague sign it likes the look of or maybe a tune or specific sound.

Stage 1 would be the most indecisive of if they even want a name change or just another name seeing as they carry the bulk of the guilt for their past and have to fight themself to stop looking for punishments, death, or isolation. But if I look through this with the angelkin!Killer lens, perhaps he'd like something with a theme related to that (can't think of specific examples) or maybe a gemstone like Onyx or Ruby (playing off of dragonkin!Color's attachment to shiny priceless things)

if only because he thinks he won’t be able to feel anything without that version of himself, and so not only does he not get to feel, he doesn’t get anything new and he doesn’t get to feel that happiness or that hope that color gives stage 1.

As a system I am honestly kinda tired of people saying he has DID especially since alot of them can't even tell you what it means

Of course. I’ve heard from both singlets (people who aren’t systems) and systems both for and against the idea of Killer having DID/OSDD1/being a system/being plural, and as im not a system, im not gonna comment on or control how systems choose to interpret or headcanon Killer.

But I am of the belief that misinformation should avoid being spread—both of Killer’s canon (not only purely on the basis of not being true, but because if people start believing Killer is canonically a system/has DID/OSDD1 and also is a literal serial killer, that has an understandably bad rep but it may cause people to harass or spread rumors about rahafwabas that aren’t true), and of already misunderstood stigmatized disorders. It also has fantasy themes such as magic, souls, monsters, time travel, Resetting, coming back from the dead multiple times, etc.

Killer is a character involved in themes of heavy abuse (captivity, high control groups, kidnapping, labor trafficking, cult elements, organized crime, etc) and these are all elements that require nuance and care in depicting seriously and respectively—which can be hard to do while also having to keep in mind stigma surrounding the idea of “murderous” or “evil” alter(s)—because these types of abusive controlling environments very often require victims to partake in illegal or harmful acts and behaviors to survive. And this can also very easily to maladaptive coping mechanisms that aren’t easily understood or pretty.

So im of the opinion that if people want to write killer as if he is plural/system and aren’t one themselves, they should both do research and speak to any plurals/systems willing to help them out—and in the actual writing, avoid using terms associated with the actual disorders such as DID, OSDD1, alter, host, persecutor, etc.

Not only because 1. killer was an adult when the trauma and abuse happened, so therefore he’s unlikely to be professionally diagnosed with those disorders even if he shows symptoms and presentations similar to them, and 2. killer himself wouldn’t know what he has and wouldn’t use those terms in relation to himself and his experiences.

He is not in any position to seek diagnosis or treatment or support —under Nightmare and with Chara, he is surviving. He may have a chance of that with Color and the Chromatic Crew in the Omega Timeline, but again—unless this is deliberately an AU where all this trauma happened and stuff when he was an actual child—he likely wouldn’t be diagnosed with it.

So instead it’d be best to focus on his lived experiences regardless of what dissociative disorder one decides to write him with—and use the terms he applies to himself or ones he may apply to himself, such as his numbered hierarchical understanding of his SOUL and its Stages (either something he came up with to make sense of his own experiences, or something that was decided for him by external forces such as Chara or Nightmare.) and perhaps use words like “my stage(s),” “my other,” “my other half,” “when I’m like that,” etc.

And if the topic of Killer having DID ever comes up in the story, such as another character asking him or another Stage if he has it, dont feel the need to confirm it. Not only because Killer himself likely wouldn’t know, but also because he likely doesn’t exactly fit the full criteria for a diagnosis in a canon adjacent story where he was an adult when it all happened.

Sincerely, a killer sans fictive

I personally feel like a system color is a lot more likely than a system killer but yay!! 👍 /gen

Two system skeles partying:

I don’t personally think Killer does have a version of DID. Or if he does, I think it presents more along the lines of UDD (Unspecified Dissociative Disorder) or OSDD-1A.

There’s amnesia, particularly with Stage 4, but none of them are significantly different from the other—especially the Stages. They all identify as Killer, really, just Killer in different modes—or Stages, what have you.

Considering Sans’ canonical reprogramming of his code and his undeniable conditioning by the Player, which is definitely wasn’t aware of for quite some time canonically and genuinely believed it was a choice he was making freely—even when it deeply confused and distressed him, hearing these thoughts in his head as if they aren’t his own—they’d likely be similar to a “programmed” or created system in this case.

If we go off the lens of Killer being a system and approach what we have in his canon material, I think Stage 1 is pushing for Final Fusion. Or something like it—all he wants is the life he had before he became..this, before he did all this. Before the Deal. Before Nightmare.

He wants his home, his life. He wants his brother back. He wants to be Sans again.

In his eyes, he can’t do that unless his SOUL—the Stages—are and is “fixed.” He very clearly is terrified of himself in his higher Stages—he deems himself in Stage 2 as completely untrustworthy, himself in Stage 3 a “crazy” lunatic worthy of being slain and murdered and killed.

What he becomes in Stage 4 is something he can’t even bring himself to talk about or tell anyone—not even Color. Stage 4 isn’t worthy of being acknowledged, shouldn’t even exist, in his eyes.

It comes from a place of feeling completely helpless, out of control, deep self hatred, overwhelming guilt and fear of himself and his own mind and body, and just wanting to die. Existence is almost painful for him.

I’d say for the longest, until Color joined his reasons, his cats and the slim hope of going back to “normal” is what carried him and kept him going on under Nightmare—even if he has to convince himself it’s his own choice to continue on, instead of just someone else’s Determination and will not allowing him to die.

The other Stages may very likely have very different opinions or just straight up visceral reactions to the idea of Final Fusion (Stage 3 in particular.)

I believe that Color and the souls may actually be able to help them come to a decision or an agreement on this, actually. I do truly believe that Color would never want to be rid of the souls—and their particular case, they all truly believe they’d be worse off for it.

Ignoring how Color may not physically literally survive if the souls were to ever leave or separate from him, i think he wouldn’t mentally or emotional survive it either. He’s relied on them for years, even if he wasn’t always aware of that fact.

They keep him calm, they keep kind, they help keep him stable and remind him of who he said he wanted to be, they help him maintain relationships when his own fears and emotional instability would’ve otherwise torn those all apart.

They remind him who he is, they’re there for him—without them, he’d be alone. Again. He doesn’t know who he is without them. They ensure he’s never alone, or forgotten—they never abandon him.

But more than, he loves them. And they love him. Even if some of them didn’t always.

Killer hasn’t reached what Color and the souls have, how could they? All they know is how to fear and blame and death and kill. That’s what most of them were made to do.