Falling Down - Blog Posts

Souls

Let's talk about souls. So I wanted to work on distinctions and really grasp how they're different and similar between Monsters and Humans. Below, I speak as if this is from like- a journal entry. These are all my personal headcanons really or interpretations, and I'd love commentary or your opinions on it as well!

One distinction is that the soul and the heart are different. One is physically visible to the human eye, it helps function the body and pumps blood. However, the soul rests around the heart and is practically invisible unless a Monster (and once before a human) pulls someone in for an encounter or if the soul is safe enough to decide to expose itself. Before, there used to be Mages, humans who possessed magic that was learned from the Monsters. But, as time has gone on, there have been no reports of humans being able to see their soul without the presence of a monster. Monsters, being made entirely of magic, are the only ones able to see a soul through encounters or through the consent of another. Showing a soul is very intimate, and is only ever exclusive for partners who share a very strong bond and are “mated.”

It is very important to state that Humans are the only ones with Soul Traits™ while Monsters mostly have no distinct reason why their magic is a certain color. There is suspicions that it may be due to a monster having something akin to following a soul trait, the amount of LV they have, or how their environment has influenced them. Of course, this would have to explored later on when reflecting on Undertale and all of its AU’s.

Now back to exploring Souls as a whole.

No matter if you are a human or a monster, If the body is sick, so is the soul. It's hardly ever severe, but there are ways to make the soul unhealthy at times without the body becoming sick. The differences between Monsters and Humans is that only Humans have soul traits and thus are the only ones able to make their soul sick in the way that it affects their personalities. Humans also can be physically sick without it being due to their soul, as their body is separate from their soul. If a monster is sick, they cannot alter their soul or personality, and this means that they are actually more vulnerable because their ailments are directly because of soul problems. Rarely does a monster get sick however, since they have been underground and thus have an environment that sustains them.

Every human has a little bit of every trait, but what makes one stand out is the amount of a trait being in a person's soul. At birth, a human soul is almost a milky white, much like a monster soul, but overtime colors will appear based on each child's experience. If a soul is already a full trait without other soul colors being visible, it is a rare condition and simply means that the child had this occur through a random selection of circumstances. There is no way for this soul to change unless something extreme happens, but that rarely occurs just as how full trait souls occur in children. Traits can be easily influenced within children, but it is harder to have this change into teen hood as it's normal for there to be two or three soul traits that mainly drive the teenager without excluding other traits that may be prevalent in general. When the human reaches adulthood, the most dominant trait ends up staying whether it later ends up corrupted, used in excess, or remains as it originally was. There may be evidence on the soul that can show that there is another trait that drives a human to behave a certain way, but there has not been enough study on the human soul beyond what monsters have studied and what humans have studied within restricted opportunities. After all, to expose a soul is not only a very private, intimate experience, but depending on the age and sensitivity of the patient, it can be easier to damage a soul through physical contact as the soul becomes more prone to its environment.

Now, what are the differences between too much of a trait, corruption, falling down, or going against a trait?

Excessive:

Too much of a trait will cause it to overflow like a liquid, often affecting the individual's personality. It's not as detrimental to the human as losing a soul trait or corrupting it, but it can lead to higher risks within the human. It is easier to reverse the effects, however, but it takes time. Depending on the soul trait, it can be harder to reverse the effects before the human may run the risks of endangering themselves. As times have changed, it is also reported to be a more rare occurrence for a soul to excessively overflow, and actually is more common for a soul to be corrupt or for a human to go against a soul trait

Resistance:

Going against the soul's trait will lead to discoloration of the soul until eventually, the soul will turn grey. If a soul is discolored but not grey, there is a higher chance of fixing things. But, the more discolored a soul is, an individual is more likely to be physically or mentally ill since the soul has a strong influence on a human's physical body. It is harder to heal from this, as often enough it can cause a human to be more stubborn about their ways and make it more challenging for the soul to recognize itself.

To Note: Through experience, a soul trait may be slightly discolored or brighter than usual, but it only minimally affects the human and can be repaired through other means. Both of these situations can be just as damaging as the other, but they can often lead to two options: Corruption or Falling Down

Corruption:

No one understands how this happens. It is when the soul starts to crack and often enough will lead to the human soul to be twisted into something else. This is the most rare ailment that will cause a human to become someone else, and change the soul permanently into what is known as the soul trait Hate. The soul starts to almost wither and crack, a black underneath that starts to almost paint the soul or chip it into a pitch black that is almost practically irreversible. Corruption leads to this soul trait and this has influenced a lot of mages when the war on Monsters caused it in the first place. It not only altered their personalities and interests, but even their magic. However, because recorded history of what happened has been lost to time, no one knows what exactly the abilities were that stemmed from Hatred. It is exclusive to Humans and thus is one of the reasons Monsters have such a fear of them, though more specific details of this sickness has blurred over the years until misinformation led to Monsters assuming that Humans in general are dangerous despite the state and conditions of their soul. Not quite Human and definitely not Monster, being corrupt has never been reported to occur in full within recent years. The only recorded time a Human was ever fully corrupt was when the War against Monsters occured. After all, Mages had magic and this is rumored to be why this was the only time Hate has ever become a Humans soul trait. Though, it is noted that Wars between Humans have been a result of political figures and civilizations being infected with the sickness that leads to the cracking of Humans within early stages of Corruption.

Falling Down:

Falling down is not exclusive, as it can affect humans and monsters alike. Falling down is entirely when the Soul starts to lose Hope. Whether it is through a monster or a human, what happens is that the soul will start to wither or “dust.” It starts to drain HP and the strength within the body, thus making the Monster or Human more vulnerable and weaker. It is suspected that it does not affect the use of Magic within a Monster, but HP and their Hope scale will decrease. A perfect example is Undyne vs Sans. Sans has 1 HP, and even if he's strong, in the Pacifist route he comments on just giving up. This leads to me concluding that this is why he not only is the only one to dodge attacks within the game (not including fandom interpretation), but he also seems to be a more depressing character who seems to be nihilistic/apathetic. He's more vulnerable to Falling Down, unlike Undyne. She quite literally forces herself to fight because her Hope for the underground and Determination to fight drives her. So, for Monsters, it's entirely based on their experiences. For Humans, it is also based on their experiences, but their Soul Trait has a huge play on how vulnerable the are to Falling Down. Kindness, Patience, and Integrity traits are the most prone to it, while Determination, Perseverance, and Justice are less likely to experience Falling Down.

Closing Notes: With my next post, we'll explore all the souls based on their rarity, their perks, and their risks. Again, this is all personal headcanons. Thank you for reading :-)