viostormcaller:

isa-ghost:

a-septic-mind:

rogue-of-broken-time:

Okay, so, I’m not an Undertale blog, but ever since I started listening to the UT soundtrack just on my own, I’ve had this… idea– well, it’s probably more of a headcanon, actually– about the bosses’ themes in particular.

I started wondering if maybe the leitmotifs, dynamics, or other elements in their combat music correlated with the bosses’ thoughts during their respective battles.

Hear me out:

Heartache (Toriel’s battle theme) starts off quiet, then quickly swells into a bold and distinct pattern– but later in the song it becomes shifted, almost dissonant in the harmonies and not making a ton of rhythmic sense. In comparison, she starts off wanting to hold back from fighting Frisk (the soft intro), then reassuring herself (the swelling melody), and then questions herself again as the battle goes on, not sure if what she’s doing is good (the dissonance).

Bonetrousle is just Papyrus’s main theme sped up and with more actual instruments. Drums are even added, pounding along with the beat. Some little patterns and harmonies are added along with the original melodies, and a lot of notes have a single extremely short trill effect or accent note before them to add to the sense of quickness. In comparison, when he faces Frisk in battle, he’s getting so excited because finally capturing a human means that he’s going to impress Undyne and get all the recognition he’s dreamed of. He can barely contain himself, and the music reflects that.

Spear Of Justice blasts you in the face with a bold and heroic melody, much like the way Undyne presents herself to Frisk. After a thorough enough introduction, the key shifts higher, the pattern swells in triplets on top of itself, and then– we’re presented with the melody from the Ruins, which might seem odd until you take into consideration what exactly she’s fighting you for. She is fighting on behalf of the underground, being a warrior for all those smaller monsters not smart or strong enough to resist Frisk’s kindness. Undyne is standing up for the little guys… just like the ones back in the Ruins. And, conversely– Battle Against A True Hero has a very similar tune to the main theme of Waterfall. In a Genocide run, she’s not fighting for the monsters who came before her– she’s fighting to protect those who will come after her.

Death by Glamour is a pretty easy one to figure out in my opinion; it starts off smaller, then gradually swells and swells until there’s just *tons* of fabulousness piling up on top of itself, making more pressure– which fits, considering the battle is supposedly being watched by Mettaton’s fans. You have to do well for the camera and the ratings.

Asgore is a cool one to think about. It starts off with the main theme from Bergentrückung, then gradually builds and builds in intensity, until… Toriel’s theme from Heartache slips in there, and then everything starts building on top of that instead. He’s thinking about his wife, what she would think if she saw him now, attacking such a poor innocent youth for its soul. His doubt is building and building– then a softer new piano melody comes in and takes over, starting the cycle of fitting all the instruments around the same tune all over again. By the end of it, Asgore is just repeating the same patterns over and over, because he can’t get his guilt quite fully out of his mind. It’s like an invasive thought that won’t leave him alone.

Hopes and Dreams is another fun one to dissect, too. Immediately, the main theme of the entire game presents itself as the basis, suggesting that Asriel is fully aware of the game he’s become by absorbing every soul in the underground. As such, the most common recurring melodies in his music come from the roots of Undertale itself– the main menu, the background tune of the original legend, a small bit from Snowdin Town. Every now and then, Flowey’s theme peeks back in and takes over, as if it’s the kill-or-be-killed side of him reminding himself what he needs to do and why he’s doing it: to reset the game, to erase the timeline he’s seen quite enough of, to go back to a point where he doesn’t have to deal with the things he deals with anymore.

Now… you know what’s really an interesting boss theme to look at in this context?

Megalovania.

It has literally zero connection to any other track in the entire game, and there aren’t even fragments of it found in any other place.

What makes this one so fascinating?

Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans never actually plays in his battle.

And what tunes are intertwined in that track?

Papyrus’s theme. Gaster’s theme.

The fact that their melodies never get to emerge while Sans is fighting you would mean that Sans isn’t letting himself think about his dead brother or the shattered scientist. He’d lose his concentration in grief if he did, and he’d slip up and let himself get hurt.

All of his effort in this battle is 100% focused on destroying you. There is room for absolutely nothing else in his mind.

… holy jeez this is an essay, I apologize for rambling, I’ve just really wanted to share these thoughts for a while now

Fun fact: Megalovania sounds like megalomania, which is basically delusions of grandeur.

But Sans doesn’t have such delusions does he?

So who does?

None other than Chara themself, the player, who wants to wipe out an entire civilization just for the fun of it…for the power.

So Megalovania isn’t Sans’ battle theme.

It’s yours.

O H

OHMYGOD