What is this AU?

Like it says on the tin, this is a humans AU for Deltarune, set in our late 90s without any real reference to the Light World of the game. Although I have outlines of what the rest of the AU is like outside of these two idiots, it is built around them and their dynamic.

The exact parallel year that Deltarune is set in is not clear, but what is is that all things associated with the past are usually tied to the late 90s through vibes or direct reference (ie. 1997 being implied to be the year of Spamton's big break), so I wanted to play around with that. I think it also works especially well for these characters because their dynamic so surrounds this new-vs-old, analog-vs-digital tension that was very much a big part of the identity of the 90s going into the new millennium.

What Happens in this AU?

Primarily following Spamton (Antonio G. Adison; Spamtonio), he's made it big in advertising in the heart of New York City, and is under contract with Queen (Crystal Queen) as sales and PR manager for her growing computer hardware empire. He's been placed in this position by his phone benefactor, Gaster (identity TBD), but only so he could attain the enterprise its status, now he plans on moving Spamtonio to something new: Working for Tenna (Anthony Tennebaum) -- a nostalgic old TV personality.

But despite still being at the peak of his success, Spamtonio is frustrated with being so reliant on others, and at first sees Tenna as a chance to break into a more autonomous kind of stardom - true entertainment stardom - instead of just being the guy who occasionally runs his mouth in a commercial. But alas, while Tenna at first comes off as a more lax and exploitable boss, he quickly learns the man's neuroticism and passions do not align with this plan. But just maybe, he finds something else more personally valuable in him? Who knows how it'll end (they're doomed).

What Are My Big Designs for This AU?

Right now, the story is very Tenna-centric even though it is from Spamtonio's perspective. I was just seeing it as a loose confederation of character moments at first, but I really like some ideas I have about Spamtonio's attitudes towards the tech he promotes, those around him, and how he and Tenna can begin to change each other for the better. And of course, most of all I just love them a lot and want to make a story about them that is as coherent as possible.

I have drafts for a proper narrative introduction to the story that focuses on Spamtonio's status and spends more time paralleling his life between Queen and Tenna's studio. As well as more stuff about Tenna that explores his deeper motivations for entering into this partnership and how this effects the crew. You'll find these works very dry of characters and context besides them.