So, everyone talks about Frans as this perfect, healing romance, and I just... don't see it. The dynamic is built on a staggering power imbalance from the start. Frisk literally holds Sans's brother's soul in their pocket, and the entire Underground's fate in their hands. That's not a meet-cute; it's a hostage situation with extra steps. The appeal, I think, lies in the subversion of Sans's apathy. His 'dozen donuts' line isn't just flirty—it's the most effort he's shown toward anyone who isn't Papyrus. Exploring that shift from detached observer to someone who cares enough to try, despite the cosmic weirdness of a time-traveling human, is the core tension. It's less about fluffy dates and more about two broken, weary people finding a strange, quiet understanding in the ruins of a saved world.
I've read fics that nail this—where their conversations are full of loaded silences and half-finished jokes because they both know too much. The good ones don't ignore the LV or the resets; they make it the central conflict. Can you build something real when one of you remembers every mistake? That's the question that keeps me coming back, not the shipping art, though some of it is admittedly very cute.