A snowball fight has gone awry outside of a lively village on a chilly Saturday afternoon. From a distance, the sound of two brothers arguing amongst each other resonated through the air. Of course, the resident monsters of Snowdin knew a loud one-sided argument when they heard one. The shorter and eldest of the two (with a permanently affixed impish grin upon their face), Sans the Skeleton, revels in the reactions of others. A natural comedian (one can catch him performing stand-up comedy at the MTT Resort in the Underground's Hotland), Sans always responds with pithy remarks and speaks concisely—a monster of short words with an affinity for deadpan humor and bad puns with slapstick on the side. Sans also does not aspire for much of anything, lazing about the house and not picking up after himself, always wearing the same blue unzipped hoodie, white t-shirt, black gym shorts and fluffy pink slippers. Very unlike the younger, flamboyant Papyrus the Skeleton, who changes outfits more than daily; with a tendency to be rather loud and artless, Papyrus has but one close friend, who can be just as loud as he.
A warrior and Head of the Royal Guard, Undyne is a fierce fish-monster with a temper to boot. Papyrus had not the temperament of a brute, but the enthusiasm and bravery of a noble soldier—childish and naive, Royal Guard material Papyrus was not. His over-reactions echoing through the woods did not serve to show the makings of a great warrior. So Papyrus cooks over-cooked spaghetti at Undyne's place as part of their 'training regimen' to keep him busy (perhaps to someday forget his Royal Guard aspirations). In the meantime, Papyrus strategizes. He builds puzzles, draws blueprints and makes traps in hopes of capturing a human so that his dream of getting an induction into the Royal Guard finally comes true. Yet, secretly, Papyrus does it in hopes that he may make friends, even if they are human—oh, but how he yearns for friendship, the popularity... The power and prestige!
Papyrus and Sans are so unlike each other, yet Sans admires the brother he has. Steadfast to his ideals and beliefs, Sans, firm in his integrity, finds something to be loved about Papyrus—no one can veer him away from his aspirations. That is something to be valued and revered, so Sans thought.
And so Sans does, reminding Papyrus how 'cool' he is frequently. And Papyrus believes it wholeheartedly, to the point of getting a shirt printed 'COOL DUDE', front and center.
Papyrus—going by the moniker 'The Great Papyrus'—seeks greatness above all.
Sans thinks he is already great.
And so our story begins in an expanse of snow, in the middle of a snowball fight.