metalcrusher | APPLICATION ☆ KARTERIA

OOC INFORMATION

Name: Prince
Permissions & opt-out: Permissions, Opt-out

IC INFORMATION

Name: Mettaton
Canon: UNDERTALE
Age: ??? He is a robot/ghost, he is an adult.
Gender: Male. Uses he/him/his.
Species: Robot/monster/ghost. He is a robot inhabited by a ghost, which is a type of monster where he's from.
Appearance: Mettaton classic. Mettaton EX. Mettaton NEO.
Canon point: Post-canon/pacifist epilogue/5th Anniversary Alarm Clock Dialogue. He is also CRAU, first from

aefenglom and then from

jikan_rpg.

History: Mettaton has a wiki page, but I prefer this bulleted write-up that extrapolates on his pre-canon history that I whipped up. Here.
CRAU details:

aefenglom was a setting that sorted all player characters (called Mirrorbound) into one of two classes: Witches and Monsters. Witches lost all of their canon powers, but gained magic belonging to the world; more can be read about them here. Mettaton was turned instead into a Monster: he lost all canon magic and powers and gradually turned into a Puca, which is a rabbit-monster that harnesses the powers of shapeshifting.
In Aefenglom, Witches and Monsters required Bonds with each other to remain stable, which tethered their souls to one another. Bonds were a huge invasion of privacy, and knowing that Bonding with a Witch could mean that they might gain access to his deepest secrets (such as: actually being a ghost), Mettaton resisted Bonding for a long time... until a group of human Witches captured and tortured many of the Mirrorbound due to an incubating prejudice against them and their disruption to the status quo. In a jail cell, he met Emet-Selch (FFXIV), who was clever enough to immediately guess at Mettaton's particular phrasing that he was: a ghost. Mettaton, too, learned that Emet-Selch was a sort of ghost, in a fashion... inhabiting a human body... which is pretty grotesque (if kind of amazing), but no judgement here. The two placed a bet about survival: if they made it out of their captivity alive, they would Bond, demanded MTT. (The other end of the bet was not negotiated.) Needless to say, they Bonded.
Finally Bonded with a Witch and on the mend from their mutual captivity, Mettaton and Emet-Selch gradually became closer with the aid of their Bond and their exploratory learning of each other, but not without plenty of clashing ideology along the way. Eventually a first kiss led to more, and the two gradually fell in love, all while they each explored what the setting gave them to work with: paltry magic (Emet-Selch was accustomed to much more power), and liberating shapeshifting. Mettaton had plenty of firsts (feeling temperature; breathing with lungs; shapeshifting into a whole ass human!!?), and Emet-Selch oversaw each one with a sort of contagious... affection, as far as he could be swayed.
Other notable CR developed included Mikasa Ackerman (AoT), Eren Jaeger (AoT), Soren (FE10), a Warrior of Light (FFXIV), Papyrus (UT), and some other characters. Mettaton developed a lot more in the ways of worldliness, given that Aefenglom was his first foray into a world under the sun, one with so many diverse races. He experienced countless instances of dehumanization; he experienced multiple instances of cruelty and violence. He killed; he died. Mettaton explored other people's worlds through their dreams, and experienced fear and destruction and loss like nothing else. He lost his friends as they disappeared before his eyes over time, and rather than him being the one to leave Napstablook, Mettaton experienced the disturbance of losing a loved one and being left behind. Twice he nearly lost even Emet-Selch, and each time they were returned to each other, they clung tight enough to break one another, but they never did. In truth, they'd really come to love each other, and eventually wedded at Mettaton's irritating behest.

After all, the thinning numbers of Mirrorbound in Aefenglom suggested that ~~the game was dying~~ they might not have much time left together. Best to seek some way to claw into time and space itself, monsters they both are.
Aefenglom's troubles met with some resolution when the various Cwyldhearts had been tended to, using the guidance of the Dragons. With the blight abated, the land could begin to heal once more... and the native Witches found a way to make it so that each remaining Mirrorbound could traverse through their mirrors, and the mirrors of other remaining Mirrorbound, at will. That would surely mean that Emet-Selch and Mettaton could remain together, AND return to their worlds, if they so pleased! Happy day!
-- In the land of Nippon was the realm of jikan_rpg, where souls were ushered in from terminal timeloops. There were no other options; characters had to figure out a solution to this, or remain stuck in an endless loop. Mettaton found himself here amidst a crowd of Refugees similarly snapped up from their unfortunate timeloops, told that in creating a Kizuna bond with these strangers, that power might aid in stabilizing the multiverse. ... A man stood out to him in the crowd, someone with a very massy soul. Mettaton had his powers again, of course: he was a monster, true and true, with a brittle soul and the same level of corporealization and sensation he'd ever had.

Aefenglom? Never heard of her. Mettaton had no recollection of his time there.
He met a variety of new faces. A half-human named Glenn; another Warrior of Light. Satan! And a peculiar man named Emet-Selch, who guessed once more at Mettaton's ghastly nature. The Kizuna connection between them felt strong, and even though Mettaton's cheery nature was greeted callously, he couldn't help but feel drawn to Emet-Selch.
Ultimately, the two gradually regain their memories of each other from this realm called Aefenglom. It felt surreal at first, something worth denying... but the more they shared, the more they realized they were recalling the same place, the same situations. They were in love; they were married, and they'd had their memories tampered with, as they were drawn together from that strange realm and into a new one. It felt too good to be true, if a touch melancholy to know that they could be toyed with so easily, but they had each other again through thick and thin. Even as MTT gradually began to regain his powers from Aefenglom, body horrors included, he had Emet-Selch here—and both of them had their native powers, too.
On one fateful night where madness overtook the city, Mettaton instigated plays of devil-may-care recklessness with other characters, most that led to naught more than damage to the city. But when he came across Emet-Selch on that night, the two of them reaching for insanity, Mettaton finally did it: he reached for Emet-Selch's soul, and the Ascian willingly gave it, the two of them cooperating in his flesh's death. Mettaton obtained one (1) Ancient's soul, which was far more than the equivalent of seven (7) human ones—and he effectively became a god for the night, capable of reaching across time and space.

... Not that he did anything with it, too insane and hyperfocused to follow through with anything more than declaring that he and Emet-Selch would be wedded across every universe that existed. He created them wedding bands, and reclaimed the ones they had from across dimensions.
Once the night ended, they were forcibly separated somehow. Emet-Selch found himself a new body, and they were both a bit shocked that they'd done it—and that they were separated? (Game physics!) But Mettaton wasn't eager to do it again, since that would mean killing Emet-Selch, who he loves. During a trip to the northern reaches of Nippon, though, he would lose Emet-Selch again by gaining a younger iteration of him, who knew nothing of the Final Days or humans or Zodiark. Mettaton explored this facet of Emet-Selch and, coming to something of an impasse while similarly being in tense love with each other that was hard to navigate in the wake of Emet-Selch (older), this young version of Emet-Selch found a way to relinquish his form. But not before MTT pledged again that he'd see to it that he remained safe. Having attained godhood once, he knew that if he could do it again, he could help save at least one iteration of Etheirys...

Emet-Selch (older) returned to him, and they returned to their peace. But their time in Nippon was cut short, timeloops presumably healed.
In all, Mettaton's time in Jikan offers him two interesting developments aside from further passion for Emet-Selch. One: he understands better the notion of multiverses, and of being dragged from ~~games~~ world to world. Two: he actually ascended to godhood, as foretold on the walls of Waterfall. That's scary.

Personality answers:

Your character must live with only one sense for a year. They are allowed to choose. What do they pick? Mettaton would choose his sight, but it's a close contest between that and his hard-earned sense of touch. He is so vain! He NEEDS to see himself, and needs to see himself in his gorgeous body... which is also hard-earned. If he didn't have this sexy body the answer might be different, but he does, and he needs to see it.

In his CRAU, it's teetered even more toward touch. The reason: touch has become so valuable to him the more he's gained of it, and it's another hard-earned facet of corporeality. It's a love language of his and he gorges on it, particularly in the company of Emet-Selch. HOWEVER. Sight still wins in the end, and the reason is because he still needs to SEE himself?? It would be a source of frustration to be without his sense of touch in his private life, though.
What does your character think about physical appearances? Are they the sort to meticulously primp themselves, or could they not care less? Yes. Mettaton cares very much about his own physical appearance. He is enabled by being a sexy robot, and enabled even by having a physical form. Mettaton has a long history with physical appearances: he started life as a ghost, having no tangible form, and appeared as a sheet ghost.

Mettaton's dream has always been to perform, especially as a star. But before getting his robotic bodies, he writes in a diary, "There's no way I can be a star the way I am now." For some reason, Mettaton is stifled by his lack of his ideal body, as it's not as though he's without talent: not only did he perform with Napstablook and Shyren back then, but in the AU game Deltarune Mettaton's singing is described as beautiful by a Froggit outside. But when Alphys showed him his dream body? Oh boy. "In a form like that, I could finally feel like... 'myself,'" writes Mettaton—and the rest is history.

In summary, Mettaton's appearance and physicality itself is very important to him. He also loves to primp himself and take care of his body, and flaunts it, talks affectionately about it, and seems to have an unshakeable level of self-confidence, even veering into vanity...
What would be your character's lowest, darkest moment they've lived through? How did they respond to their troubles and face their demons? Piggybacking upon the previous answer, Mettaton's lowest moments in his life are definitely his years spent prior to obtaining the body of his dreams. The Mettaton we see in canon is absurdly confident, unapologetically himself to the point of it being mesmerizing. He was always himself, but he wasn't fully realized prior to getting the body he wanted.

A great example of the could-have-been is found in the canon AU game, Deltarune. The game isn't complete, so we don't know all of Mettaton's appearances in that game. But what we have seen is sad. Mettaton refers to himself as a "nobody," which seems to be a consistent feeling between the games and his pre-corporealized self. Mettaton's old neighbor, Undyne, describes the ghost he used to be as "cheerful," and says she'd spot them staging pretend performances... But Mettaton's perception of himself was very poor: he didn't think it'd be possible to do what he wanted most in life.

That said, what did Mettaton do during his darkest times? He mourned what he didn't have. He didn't try at all; he didn't feel capable of it. Given the opportunity, he abandoned his life to pursue it. It's a mixed bag of an individual who suffers severe self-confidence issues, but who is so desperate to achieve his dreams that he'd do anything for them, even leaving his family behind.
What would your character say is their best trait? What is truly their best trait? Mettaton would say his best trait is his legs. yes...

Humorous (yet real) answer aside, Mettaton has a segment in canon where he lets the player write an "essay" about what they love most about Mettaton. Compliments net positive scores. He has no shame in embracing any positive trait and saying that yes, he has it. His personality is charming, he agrees. But his best trait are his good looks and charm. He couldn't flatter himself enough.

Mettaton's best trait? It's a difficult one. But his persistent cheeriness is something that has always been with him, even when he was still a ghost. Even during his darkest moments when he dreamed of everything he didn't have, Mettaton comported himself in a way that he was still perceived as cheery. When Mettaton loses to the human, even if this means he can't take the next step to realize his dreams, he sees them off with a grin. I would wager that it's impossible to shake Mettaton so far that he loses that spark.

Inventory:

Hades' Auracite. This was given to him by Emet-Selch in Aefenglom. This is a piece of crystal that contains a fragment of the Ascian Emet-Selch's soul, an ancient being from the canon FFXIV, who couldn't be killed via traditional means. Though this is something the Warrior of Light can get in FFXIV, one such WoL regained the Auracite in Aefenglom. When he dropped, the Auracite was entrusted to Emet-Selch, who ended up giving it to Mettaton as evidence of his death. Despite it being a morbid gift, Mettaton cherished it. This is a magical item, but it has no powers. It is sentimental.
Two wedding rings:
1. One of them has a red-gold band with a scattering of inset diamonds, crowned by a much showier, larger diamond in its center. It's vaguely Edwardian in design. There is nothing special about this ring.
2. The other one is made up of white-gold. Its central gem is lavender, and the accents are deep amethyst and brilliant white. Oddly, there is no name for this gemstone, nor the metal; it's made by a god, pure intent made manifest into a wedding ring. The magical signature of divinity is present. (While fused into a single godly entity, Emet-Selch made this for Mettaton by relying upon their mutual powers.) This is a magical item, but only because it was made of magic. It has no powers.
A poster featuring a star-crossed couple against a pink backdrop. I don't know what this poster says. It's a poster for a performance, movie, or some form of entertainment that MTT has up on his wall at his home in Waterfall. Nothing magical here.

Powers/Abilities:

Robot physiology, which is a broad term for being a man made of metal. He doesn't get sick in the traditional way, has no lungs, no vascular system, etc. He has some bits and bobs that robots can have, such as remote controlling capabilities (can activate devices remotely from his body), jet-powered flight, and he's even been upgraded to function as a heater (for a kotatsu). Mettaton also has three total forms that he can mechanically transform into: his classic rectangular build, his Mettaton EX build (the humanoid one linked above), and a special one called Mettaton NEO.
Monster physiology. Being a monster is what gives Mettaton his magical powers (will describe those below), but it's also what constitutes his entire being. Monsters are made up almost entirely of their magical soul, which is highly sensitive and attuned to intent and emotion. Here is a digest I wrote up on monsters to try to simplify the complexities of them, but they were widely feared by humans long ago and sealed beneath the earth because of one power they possess. Monster souls are weak: it takes almost the entire Underground to equal a single human soul in strength. However, they're highly reactive to adamant souls: a monster who obtains a human soul gains "unfathomable" power, and one who somehow gets a minimum of seven human souls is demonstrated to ascend to a sort of godhood that transcends timespace and even the fourth wall.

This ability to "augment" himself (ha ha) is something only one character does in Undertale, but Mettaton did this in another game and has incentive to want to do it again. Power is certainly a thing (but second only to horniness.........). I think it should be nerfed to prevent him from doing it again. In addition, he obviously won't fuse to the Natural Soul that gets implanted in his body via a sort of barrier established by the existence of the Augmenter, or some other kind of barrier that keeps his soul from doing its monster duties.
Magic. A monster power. Monster magic is like... magical bullets, but made up of a monster's 'heart'. To humans, a monster's attack smarts. (To monsters the implication is that it does not.) A monster can only hurt a human who isn't battle-hardened or callous, and monsters similarly stop having any potency if they lose the will to fight. Mettaton's magical projectiles often take on the form of explosives, little mini-Mettatons, his own legs, lightning, and hearts. These are merely temporary conjurations of an attack, and they simply do damage.

All monsters appear to be capable of healing via 'caring' for them, or rallying them, as per the ending of the pacifist run. It's a minor heal: we're talking like, mere HP over time. A lot of monsters can do a lot of healing together, but a single monster can only do a bit.
Invulnerability, but not quite. Mettaton's original rectangular form is listed as invulnerable to attack. My take is that it's sturdy, especially against a child brandishing a frying pan, but it's not totally immune. A hydraulic press or a good explosion might be able to total him, but he can resist things most humans cannot, like immensely high temperatures (molten lava even! looks at Hotland), blunt force trauma, bullets from a gun, and so forth.
"Human Eradication Robot." This is Mettaton's NEO form. There's said to be some kind of anti-human weaponry stowed in there, but even in a route where the player character faces off against him, MTT can't live for long enough to demonstrate it. It might be effective stuff, if he weren't such a glass cannon!

Samples: Dialogue & Introspection
Goals: I am apping Mettaton (CRAU) alongside his husband, Emet-Selch (CRAU). I am not a believer in "marriage is endgame" BS. They have so much development potential and when games come to an end or otherwise don't work out for them I still want to explore their relationship, especially around a network of other people who MTT can come to love and care for! That, plus some of the additional experiences Mettaton has had from his CRAU experiences that left him with Trauma and Insight, motivate me to want to continue playing him with most of his CRAU memories.

I am eager to have Mettaton foster new connections with characters in this game, and to see how they reflect upon his choices. He is a lover of humanity, and even after what he endured in Aefenglom his love for them remains. Surrounded by so many human characters, I enjoy seeing MTT grow and tweak his views: humans are maybe a bit more complicated than Loves Glitter and Hollywood, it turns out, but I love the complexity in exploring this.

Soul Choice: Glire. I'll be taking a page out of his experience in Aefenglom and making him a Black-tailed Jackrabbit once more. 🐇