I was going to put this in the end Author's Note but of course it didn't fit so here ya go lol.
For fun, click here to see some unused/scrapped concepts for FTFO.
The first time Aster met Shield in Markettale, the original draft had Ink accidentally be sent to the Omega Timeline with him. It wasn’t time for Ink to go there yet (not even as Shield) so it was changed.
Sci was going to receive a sample of Ink’s magic/blood from Nightmare only for it to vanish when he tried to test it, giving more hints to Nightmare that something was strange about his new recruit. Sci would then ask to see the owner of the blood, only for Nightmare to (rather possessively) refuse. The scene didn’t fit so it was scrapped.
Prism’s first iteration (who, for the sake of coherency/differentiation, I called "Solus") would still have been an Ink from another Multiverse. Instead of colors, he’d appear as a black-eyed, inky demon-smile form, which would be in sharp contrast to his gentleness as he helped Ink until he healed. Solus would’ve been more afraid/wary of the Gang because his Multiverse’s version was a lot crueler (with the worst kind of Badmare Gang you can think of). The idea for that Multiverse was that most of Solus’s intended allies had been killed by the Gang and many of his enemies were Corrupted before he even entered the Doodle Sphere. By the time he emerged into the Multiverse, Solus was alone and had to fend for himself with little to no allies. FTFO’s Gang calling Solus “some kind of demon” would not have helped him feel comfortable (and they would have been pretty hypocritical about being wary of Solus because of how he looked). While it would have been interesting to show an alternate Ink who went through absolute hell and still decided to help FTFO's Ink (and also the alternates of the monsters that killed everyone he loved) for nothing in return, I decided to go with a different version (Prism) that was partially raised by a version of Error and the Gang in order to show a kinder version of what could have been. (Things could be worse, but they could also be so much better. And it’s worth fighting to make things better).
Another unused idea for Prism was that he was a pacifist Ink with a soul and a world, working in a shop with his older brother. Dream and Core would track down the Protector and find him in his small AU, but Prism would think they were mistaken. He’d help in the fight anyway by acting as a shield and support unit. Eventually, his world was destroyed which pushed him to reluctantly accept his Role of Protector. Prism’s eventual capture (leading to his soullessness) would then occur. I didn’t like the idea of Ink actually getting a world and a family only for it to be destroyed because the Multiverse needed its Protector. So it was scrapped.
Prism being dead/a ghost the whole time. It'd be revealed that the views of his Multiverse were looks into its past and Prism sacrificed himself when he used up all his energy to destroy the Angel of Calamity by powering up the Doodle Sphere. That Prism would act as a spirit-advisor to Healer to make sure he didn’t suffer the same fate.
I considered having Swapster or even Aster actually be XGaster in disguise but decided against it early on (as in pre-Ch 1’s completion) because I wanted their friendships towards Blue and Ink to be genuine.
Nightmare locking Ink in the dungeon after he recovered from the injuries he got in Horrortale. They'd have an argument about Ink disobeying him and healing people outside of the Gang. When Ink stood his ground, Nightmare's Corruption got the best of him and he threw Ink in the dungeon as punishment. This would be another huge break in Horror's loyalty and respect for Nightmare (in part because Ink had gone against orders to heal Paprika). I decided against it because it made Nightmare feel too abusive.
Ink was going to end up in Undertale before Undertop just long enough to meet Papyrus, who’d encourage him not to lose hope or his trust in others. Arc’s easy “invasion” would be seen as a recon mission for Nightmare and Fell Gaster would go through with his threat to enforce a quarantine of UT “for its safety”, further emphasizing the OT was overstepping in its attempts to keep the Multiverse safe.
Cross ending up in the Save Screen and Omega Timeline with Ink. He’d change into his Guard attire while in the Save Screen and hide that Ink/Arc was Shield. When they got stuck, Cross would discover his portals weren’t working. Ink would have remained unconscious for longer, leaving “Guard” to interact much more with Blue and Dream before he eventually realized why his powers weren’t working and vanished due to XGaster taking full control of him again.
Another idea was to have Guard and Shield identified as Cross and Arc in Markettale. They’d be chased through the streets into a facility where Ink discovered that Markettale Frisk’s soul was attached to a machine and sealed in a vault. They were being used to give certain suppliers access to different Markettale timelines for their stock. An offhand comment would have revealed that Markettale got the special soul container and machine from a Scientist in the OT (XGaster), with the commentor acting “surprised” that Ink and Cross thought the OT wouldn’t experiment on souls. The two would be captured and taken to the OT. The bounty hunters wouldn’t have long to enjoy the Gold they got because Error or Killer and Horror (I didn't decide who before I scrapped the idea) would have hunted down and killed them.
In another scenario where Cross and Ink were captured, the codes suppressor would be much worse, making Ink violently ill and leaving him barely conscious. So they and the Stars would turn to Alphys for help in using the machine to try to contact Prism’s Multiverse for ideas on how to counter the tech and help Ink. Alphys would put together that Gaster was XGaster and Fell Gaster was working with him just too late. In this scenario, she was left alone with Ink and Cross, leaving her to fend Fell Gaster and XGaster-controlled Cross off as she called the others (who were distracted fighting the Gang) for help. Fell Gaster would threaten her to make Ink surrender even though she’s the original UT Alphys, further proving how far he was willing to go to get Ink.
Ignited was going to emerge during a battle in Underswap. Ink would be taken there for safety, Corrupted Nightmare would attack, the Gang would arrive to get him, and the OT would send assistance but Fell Gaster’s interference would make them focus more on attacking/capturing Arc than fighting Corrupted (even though Ink was focused on saving the lives of nearby civilians). As a result, a stray attack from an OT guard would hit Blue (it was meant for Ink) in front of Dream. This would cause Ignited’s emergence. I changed this because the OT was already on thin ice and I felt this would break any remaining trust people (in story and out) had in it.
Comment on For the Forgotten Ones
Im_Sorry_Buddy on Chapter 50 Tue 07 Nov 2023 01:18AM UTC
Last Edited Tue 14 Nov 2023 01:12AM UTC
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