"WHAT!? I'M THE VILLAIN!?" - A Knight Papyrus Alternative Perspective (And UT/DR Analysis)
= TABLE OF CONTENTS = 1°) Introduction 1.1°) What I Will Cover 1.2°) What I Won't Cover 1.3°) Forewords and Warnings 2°) "DO I KNOW WHO PAPYRUS IS!?" 2.1°) What We See At First Glance 2.2°) Not So Subtle 2.3°) Why Befriending Papyrus Matters 3°) Literal Godlike Connections 3.1°) How Their Dynamic Works 3.2°) And Why That Matters? 3.3°) Why Risk It? 4°) (PLEASE IMAGINE A DRUMROLL IN YOUR HEAD): He's Autistic As Fuck 4.1°) The DSM-5 Checklist 4.2°) Other Observational Traits 4.3°) How This Explains Things? 5°) But What If 5.1°) Who is The Roaring Knight? 5.2°) keeps calling it his "battle body" 5.3°) Deltarune, Undertale And Villany 6°) DARK, DARKER YET DARKER 6.1°) Some Weird Implications 6.2°) Some More Out-Of-Context Observations 6.3°) Personal Rant 7°) TL;DR 8°) References and Resources
1°) INTRODUCTION
Howdy! After Chapter 5 released, I noticed many people got on the fence again about the knight's identity, therefore, no better times than these to present a deep dive of my favorite character to the cyber-public! I know the general opinion of the fanbase on this "theory", but I've never seen this specific approach being covered in-depth anywhere else, so here's an overview about where I'm going with this: 1.1°) WHAT I WILL COVER (In no specific order)
-> One of the overall answers to the question: "Who is Papyrus?" -> Why he would fit the redeemed-villain archetipe. -> How that fits the story's thematic approach. -> How that could make him one of the strongest candidates to be the Roaring Knight. -> Further speculation on what this implies. -> Based on: Undertale's original eng. text; Deltarune's original eng. text; Alarm clock; Newsletters; Undertale 10th anniversary live; Papyrus QnA; Switch and Xbox versions's; Deltarune's steam description; 1 unused dialogue 1.2°) WHAT I WON'T COVER (But may mention)
-> Other 'Knight's Potential Identities' theories, either supporting or opposing to it. -> Ramifications of a subject that don't fit this essay's main theme. -> A Deltarune-centric point of view, since Papyrus barely appears in the game and I'm yet to dwelve more appropriately in the game's entrails. I'll try my best though. -> ALL of the examples/dialogue for when a specific descripted scenario happens (I'm, sadly, not omnipotent). -> Not based on: Japanese localization; Spamton Sweepstakes, ARG challenges, Undertale 5th anniversary concert; Toby's tweets or posts; Any other specific canonical material that doesn't get mentioned in the "What I Will Cover" section. (Ex: Undertale Demo, Kickstarter, Trailers, etc). 1.3°) FOREWORDS AND WARNINGS
-> I don't mean to stablish a perfectly set-in-stone scenario about what will happen in the game and you also shouldn't do that based on my analysis: Play the game yourself, connect with it using your own interpretation and reflections on the source material and be open to what the story has to offer in the future (That's what I'm most excited for, personally.) -> I'm an autistic person. This is an autistic rant. Please be clear and patient upon any demands. -> I'll also post this work in my native language (PT/BR) and, as you should expect, this version may have some silly grammar errors or unusual vocab. here and there. -> The references below any images or dialogue will only serve as a light context. Don't expect consistency, nor much detail/info on where they're specifically taken from. -> I'm not familiar with community interactions or posting online. If anyone talked about this subject already and wants credit or recognition for it, feel free to link and share your contribution. -> Images will generally be used when the dialogue itself conveys a whole different meaning to what the character is expressing through their body language or when words are insuficient to make the point.
And without further ado!
2°) "DO I KNOW WHO PAPYRUS IS!?"
2.1°) WHAT WE SEE AT FIRST GLANCE
Every boss we encounter in Undertale begins with an impression that later has it's expectations subverted, usually by themselves. Papyrus is no different, having Sans to back him up by not only scaring the shit out of us at first, but setting high standarts to his posture towards humans.
"i dont really care about capturing anybody. now my brother, papyrus… he's a human-hunting FANATIC." -Sans/First encounter
… Which soon, by the rule, get cracked by his funny personality.
"THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO, BE MY, 'FRIEND'? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING" -Papyrus/First impression.
Sans also helps in lightening the atmosphere and emphasize how, despite his task on capturing us, Papyrus won't do any actual harm. He spends the whole segment making a non-threatening image of his brother and giving clues on how to pass his battle more easily. That culminates in a warning telling us objectively not to fight him (Most likely in an attempt to protect Papyrus).
"don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be" -Sans/Post lamp segment
"here, i'll give you some advice about fighting my brother. don't. capiche?" -Sans/Post bridge segment
And he ends up being right. When we fight Papyrus, he's the only enemy that outright can't kill us, not even by accident (unlike Toriel of all people, as a comparative example). That sets another important trait that stablishes his character, alongside what we see in the puzzles segment: He's a pacifist. His utmost goal is to capture Frisk, not take their soul. He's even willing to help them finish their journey, giving instructions and protecting them (trying, at least) from his boss when they reach Waterfall.
And that's what mostly everyone, if the "Hang Out/Dating" and "CEL" options aren't attractive enough, will get from him at a first glance - A loud, flamboyant, egocentric wannabe soldier who's actually overjoyed to show us his traps and puzzles (even more so if we show interest in them) and will befriend us despite contradicting the instructions he received to achieve his "lifelong dream" (Unless you kill him).
But here's the thing.
2.2°) NOT SO SUBTLE
Besides being the second most talkative character in the game (Losing only to Chara/The Narrator), many players actually don't seem to know much about Papyrus. An enhancing factor is that both he and Sans share the trait of keeping a good amount of secrets from us (Frisk-Chara-Player), everyone else, and even each other. Sans tries to slip informations here and there by being as subtle as he's willing to be, but in stark contrast, Papyrus either blatantly lies/ommits information or acts brutally honest if we stick with him for long enough.
Now for the first part.
2.2.1°) The Lying - A few remarkable examples
-> What are humans like?
"i was thinking… my brother's been kind of down lately… he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day" -Sans/Post Lamp segment
"OH MY GOD!!! (IS… IS THAT A HUMAN)" "yes" "OH MY GOD!!!" -Papyrus and Sans/Second encounter
"ISN'T THAT FLAG NEATO? UNDYNE FOUND IT AT THE BAY… I THINK IT'S FROM THE HUMAN WORLD? NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. WHY WOULD A HUMAN FLAG… HAVE A COOL SKELETON ON IT? WELL… I HAVE A THEORY. I THINK HUMANS… MUST HAVE DESCENDED FROM SKELETONS!!!" -Papyrus/Checking the pirate flag in his room
"IF I EVER GET TO THE SURFACE… I'D LIKE TO DRIVE DOWN A LONG HIGHWAY. WIND IN MY HAIR… SUN ON MY SKIN…" -Papyrus/Checking his bed
"yeah, papyrus's been really into taking 'selfies' lately. he just can't wait for the, uh, 'results of his training'. so he's been editing them to, uh, make his muscles look bigger. it's not false, he says. it's just a glimpse of the future" -Sans/Casino on Xbox
-> What will happen to us?
"HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN!!! I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." -Papyrus/Second encounter
"YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN. I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE. CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN… WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT… … EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL. … LIKE YOU!!! THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN." -Papyrus/Post fight
-> What's a lab?
"HMMM… A MYSTERIOUS SCIENCE HOUSE." "the sign outside says 'lab'" "LAB?" "like… laboratory." "LABRADOR…Y?" -Call Papyrus/Outside Alphys lab
"I FEEL STRONGLY AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON. YOU SHOULD ALSO GO… THERE. TO HER. LAB… HOUSE." -Call Papyrus/Post Alphys date "A LAB??? MY BROTHER WOULD LOVE THAT! HE LOVES SCIENCE FICTION!! ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S REAL." -Call Papyrus/Inside Alphys lab
-> "Papyrus, what's your favorite food?"
"EASY! MY FAVORITE FOOD IS… I HAVE NO IDEA. SANS, IS THERE ANY FOOD I PARTICULARLY LIKE????" "beats me" -Papyrus/2016 QnA
"What? Papyrus's favorite food?" "It's that oatmeal with the dinosaur eggs, idiot" -Flowey/2016 QnA
I purposefully chose these examples to illustrate a pattern that brings us to the main point:
2.2.2°) Filters and Facets
Papyrus tends to hold different masks depending on who's around him at the moment.
Around Sans, for example, he often relies on him to provide information, even the ones he already knows/should know about:
-> Celestial bodies
"HEY SANS… WHAT'S THAT GIANT BALL?" "we call that "the sun," my friend." "THAT'S THE SUN!? WOWIE!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!!!" -Sans and Papyrus/Pacifist ending
"HUH? MY BROTHER? OF COURSE HE HAS A TELESCOPE. SANS LOVES OUTER SPACEY SCI-FI STUFF." -Call Papyrus/Telescope room (without Sans)
"WIND IN MY HAIR… SUN ON MY SKIN…" -Call Papyrus/Checking his bed
"PAPYRUS! HE SMELLS LIKE THE MOON." -Call Papyrus/Asking about our clothes.
-> Who he knows
"REALLY THOUGH!!! THAT HUMAN!!! DO I KNOW THAT PERSON???" "do you not know… who you know?" "PBPBPPBPT!! OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW!! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW… I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW! …YOU KNOW?" -Papyrus/Eletric maze room
-> Their policy on humans
"AS FOR OUR HUMAN POLICY… WE'VE DECIDED, UM SANS, WHAT WAS IT?" "we can't judge humans to be all good or all bad" "RIGHT! SO IT'S CASE-BY-CASE!" -Call Papyrus/King Papyrus ending
-> Their lives in the surface
"BEFORE SNOWDIN…? HMMM… WELL, THERE WAS GREEN GRASS, AND…" "hey, shower's free" "FINALLY! SANS, FINISH THE QUESTION FOR ME!" "sure" "(The question was finished…)" -Papyrus/1st Interview
With Undyne, he annoys her more often (Since Sans's nonchalant asf) and frequently uses sarcasm to play with her, either because she literally won't pick up if he's serious or not (unlike his brother may would) or because their communication styles conflict each other.
-> The sarcasm in question
"A hotel?? Cool!! I've never stayed at a fancy hotel!" "REALLY?? ME NEITHER." "Papyrus, we should go on vacation sometime!" "YEAH!! LET'S VACATION TO A HOTEL!!!"
"Well, maybe we would go someplace besides the hotel, too…" "OH, I WAS BEING SARCASTIC. I WOULD NEVER TAKE A VACATION FOR ANY REASON -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Hotel lobby
"What!? Why'd I call Alphys about the weather? Who CARES!?!? Isn't it natural to love meteorology!?" "ZOINKS!! I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST AN EXCUSE TO TALK TO HER. I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A WEATHER DOWN HERE!!!" "YEAH!?!! THERE IS?!!?! And I'm forecasting an incoming front of SHUT UP!!!" "WOWIE!!! WILL I NEED AN UMBRELLA?" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/First hotland laser room
-> He still tries to appeal to her, though
"GRILLBY'S… IT'S DARK AND FULL OF GREASE. PURGATORY OF FRIES… HAMBURGER ABYSS… ANYWAY, MY BROTHER PRACTICALLY LIVES HERE." "I'M NOT COMING TO GRILLBY'S." -Call Papyrus/Grillbys
"GRILLBY'S? WE'RE TOO REFINED FOR THAT GREASEHOLE. "WOAH, if you go, you HAVE to try the cheese fries. They're AMAZINGLY bad for you!! Oh, sorry, Papyrus, were you saying something?" "JUST MONOLOGUING ABOUT MY LOVE FOR GREASE!!!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Grillbys
-> Yet still contradicts himself
"I JUST COOK SPAGHETTI. I'VE NEVER EATEN IT BEFORE" "Then why do you keep making it!?" "BECAUSE EVERYBODY ELSE LOVES IT!" -Papyrus/2016 QnA
"NO ONE'S EVER ENJOYED MY COOKING BEFORE…" -Papyrus/First XO puzzle
With Frisk, his secretive behavior and overall treatment changes in accord to their age (Like the rest of the cast). He knows they're just a kid, which is probably why he feels carefree enough to share otherwise suspicious things. The 9 year old he talks throughout the day probably won't know those are important clues to begin with, much less why he keeps some of them in secret.
-> He's caring and worries for them
"YEAH!!! I LOVE STANDING IN FOR THE QUEEN!!! I'VE BEEN PRACTICING FOR WHEN A HUMAN COMES. I'M GOING TO BE A GREAT MOM!!!" -Call Papyrus/Queen Toriel ending
"CAREFUL!! THE ICE IS SLIPPERY. BUT IF YOU SLIDE ON THE ICE, NO ONE WILL ATTACK YOU." -Call Papyrus/Ice pond room
"ROCKS? IT MUST BE ONE OF UNDYNE'S INGENIOUS PUZZLES. YOU'D BETTER BE CAREFUL!!!" -Call Papyrus/Waterfall rock room
-> He's sweet
"YOU'RE SUCH A SMART COOKIE!" -Call Papyrus/Asking about our clothes
"THE WISHING ROOM. DO YOU HAVE A WISH…? NYEH HEH HEH!! I HAVE ONE!!! I WISH I WAS TALKING TO MY COOL FRIEND!!! LOOK!!! IT'S COMING TRUE!" -Call Papyrus/Wishing room
"WOW!!! YOU SOLVED IT!! AND YOU DID IT ALL WITHOUT MY HELP… INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED!!" -Papyrus/Second XO puzzle
-> He doesn't want to hurt their feelings
"HUH? WHY WOULD YOU… BERATE YOURSELF SO LOUDLY??? IS IT BECAUSE… YOU DON'T THINK YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH TO BE MY FRIEND? NO!!! YOU'RE GREAT!!! I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND!" -Papyrus/Selecting "what a loser" post battle
"PAPYRUS? WHO IS THAT? THIS IS… COOLSKELETON95. SORRY. CAN'T TALK. I'M BUSY BEING POPULAR ON-LINE. NYEH HEH HEH! ONLY KIDDING! YOU HAVE BEEN HAD! IT WAS PAPYRUS PLAYING A SIMPLE GENTLEMAN'S RUSE! WINK! YOU CAN SEE ME WINKING RIGHT." -Call Papyrus/Online persona
"I DON'T LIKE YOU THE WAY YOU LIKE ME. ROMANTICALLY, I MEAN. I MEAN, I TRIED VERY HARD TO! I THOUGHT THAT BECAUSE YOU FLIRTED WITH ME… THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU." -Papyrus/Post date
All of this makes Papyrus more susceptible to sharing a vital take of the story with Frisk, therefore the player - Which we'll discuss in the next bit!
But considering this overall view…
2.2.3°) No one knows him, really? - A brief clarification
Yes, of course they do. Just not in the way we perceive and know him by what we experience in-game.
This main section covers how he's actually not very subtle in keeping his secrets, not because he doesn't succeed in selecting who hears them and what he discloses, but because watching his interactions from an outside standpoint makes it very clear that he has more than what meets the eye. The only people who bond enough with him to actually see some of his more complex sides are his brother and his boss, people with very different roles and places in his life. In one day, we get acess to tons of information about him that Sans and Undyne might not have, just as they know/are familiarized with events that look new to us because we don't live or interact on a daily basis with Papyrus.
Undertale's history happens mostly outside of the main game and pretty much everyone knows more than you do, so to put these pieces together, we must connect with the cast and see events from various perspectives.
And that's why…
2.3°) WHY BEFRIENDING PAPYRUS MATTERS - The Truths
Actually paying attention to what the guy has to say is crucial to comprehend and explain an even more underrated side of Papyrus, surprisingly one that he seems to actually be very open about:
2.3.1°) Why he makes spaghetti?
Papyrus relationship with pasta is a surprisingly fun way I found to illustrate the point.
-> He doesn't eat it
"HMM… MY FAVORITE FOOD…" "Isn't it spaghetti?" "WHAT? NO, NO. I JUST COOK SPAGHETTI. I'VE NEVER EATEN IT BEFORE" -Papyrus/2016 QnA
"(Half of the fridge is filled with containers all labelled "spaghetti.")" "AH-HA! INTERESTED IN MY FOOD MUSEUM? PLEASE. PERUSE MY CULINARY ARTSHOW." -Papyrus/Checking his fridge
-> People don't actually like it (And he knows it)
"since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot. i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible." -Sans/Crossword room
"(You take a small bite.) (Your face reflexively scrunches up.) (The taste is indescribable…)" -Papyrus/Date
"NO ONE'S EVER ENJOYED MY COOKING BEFORE…" -Papyrus/First XO puzzle
-> The process itself clearly doesn't work or seems to pay off
"Man, no wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking." -Undyne/Post Hangout
"That's my house. Or, it WAS my house, until we set it on fire. But hey, can't say I've never done that before!!" -Call Undyne/Her house post hangout
"AN APRON LYING IN HOTLAND? THAT MAKES SENSE." "Yeah, cooking is definitely fire-elemental!" "UNLESS YOU COOK A POPSICLE." "Would you really call it "cooking" a popsicle…?" "THAT'S WHAT YOU CALLED IT LAST TIME WE, UH…" "Oh MAN, I almost forgot about that! What a mess!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Apron room
-> And it's not like he couldn't do it
"I think I said in a recent interview but because undyne taught papyrus to cook you need to consider like maybe papyrus isn't bad at cooking inherently maybe he could be an amazing chef if somebody else was teaching him lol it's easy to imagine toriel teaching him how to do things properly and then he becomes great at it and then undyne ends up being taught by him somehow this is my fanfic I imagined right now" -Toby/10th anniversary stream (Undyne hangout)
What's the point, then? Or, most importantly, the appeal? If he doesn't actually improve his skills, if people don't like what he makes and he himself doesn't enjoy the food, what's the fun in doing that?
I have a few ideas.
-> He likes pasta
"BUT WHAT DOES THE L STAND FOR? LINGUINE? LINGUINE. THE FLAT PASTA."
"BUT WHAT DOES THE R STAND FOR? RAVIOLI? RAVIOLI… THE DUMPLING-TYPE PASTA."
"BUT WHAT DOES THE R STAND FOR? RIGATONI? THE TUBE-SHAPED PASTA."
"BUT WHAT DOES THE L STAND FOR? LASAGNA? I HOPE NOT. I DON'T MAKE LASAGNA ANYMORE."
"BUT WHAT DOES THE L STAND FOR? LUMACONI? THAT'S THE SNAIL-SHAPED PASTA!"
"BUT WHAT DOES THE R STAND FOR? ROTINI? THE SCREW-SHAPED PASTA." -Call Papyrus/Hotland elevators
He also proceeds to explain how to use each of them btw
-> He likes Undyne
"NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking!" -Undyne/Hangout
-> He likes fire
"AN APRON LYING IN HOTLAND? THAT MAKES SENSE. COOKING IS DEFINITELY FIRE-ELEMENTAL." -Call Papyrus/Apron room
"IF YOU SEE A SHOP, YOU SHOULD STOP… DROP, AND ROLL… INTO SOME GREAT DEALS!! BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING A FIRE SALE!! AT MY IMAGINARY STORE, WHICH SELLS FLAMES. YET ANOTHER DREAM OF MINE." -Call Papyrus/Gerson's shop
"A POSTER FOR METTATON'S SHOW? THAT'S NEATO. I WANT A POSTER FOR MY PUZZLES! "Oh! And I want a poster for all of my big fights!" "A REAL EVENT! WE COULD HAVE A LIVE BAND!" "And a barbeque!" "AND FIREWORKS!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Mettaton alleyway poster
"I JUST HAVE THE WRONG AUDIENCE! THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN UNDYNE WOULD HAVE HERE! FLAMES, VIOLENCE. IT'S RIGHT UP HER ALLEY! SO I WON'T WASTE THIS PUZZLE ON YOU. I JUST HAVE TO APPRECIATE… THE FRIEND I ALREADY HAVE!!!" -Papyrus/Bridge segment genocide ver.
"A WATER COOLER…? IN HOTLAND??? THAT'S WEIRD. SHOULDN'T IT BE A FIRE COOLER INSTEAD?" -Call Papyrus/Watercooler
The rug in his room is also just… full of flames…
-> …And spikes, too
"WHAT'S A WATER COOLER DO, ANYWAY? MAKE WATER… COOLER? SO IT GIVES IT SPIKES AND MAKES IT GLOW?" -Call Papyrus/Watercooler
"THIS ROOM IS NORMALLY BLOCKED BY THOSE SPIKES. BUT WE'RE THINKING OF GETTING RID OF THEM… THE KING RELEASED A MANDATE ON PUZZLES RECENTLY. HE THINKS SPIKES ARE INEFFECTIVE AND HAZARDOUS TO KIDS. BUT I THINK HE'S WRONG!!! KIDS LOVE DEADLY SPIKES!!!" -Call Papyrus/Snow map puzzle
"SPIKES. DANGER BRIDGES. THE PILLARS OF YOUTH." -Call Papyrus/Undyne's bridge
"WHAT!? YOU THREW AWAY MY DREAM LIFE!!! THE LIFE OF A SIMPLE SALARYMAN… COMMUTING EVERY DAY ON A TRAIN FULL OF SPIKES…" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Elder puzzler
"CONVEYOR BELTS EVERYWHERE?? ARE YOU SERIOUS? IMAGINE RIDING ONE TO GET TO WORK OR SCHOOL. RIDICULOUS. NOW ICE AND SPIKES, THERE'S CONVENIENCE!!!" -Call Papyrus/First conveyor room
-> And dangerous things in general.
"PREPARE YOURSELF!! FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! DANGERS! PUZZLES! CAPERS! JAPERS! BEING CAPTURED!! AND OTHER SORTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES." -Papyrus/Second encounter
"IT'S IMPORTANT TO STAY IN SCHOOL. A REAL TEACHER… WOULD NEVER ACCEPT DEADLY LASERS AS AN EXCUSE!!" -Call Papyrus/Skipping school laser room
"EACH AREA HAS TO HAVE A PRECARIOUS BRIDGE. IT'S MANDATED BY THE GOVERNMENT. OF COURSE, KING FLUFFYBOY WANTS TO UNMANDATE IT SAFER. WHY!!? WON'T HE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?" -Call Papyrus/Undyne bridge
"SANS!" "what's up" "HOW TALL IS YOUR CANNON?" "isn't the cannon yours?" "FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS QUESTION, I AM…UGH, LENDING IT TO YOU!" -Papyrus/First interview
"OH HO! THE ELECTRIC MAZE! THAT SURE WAS FUN! EXCEPT FOR WHEN I GOT SHOCKED. DISAPPOINTING, BUT I TURNED OFF THE ELECTRICITY." -Call Papyrus/Eletric maze room
-> And… violence????
"BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR! WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!" -Papyrus/Bridge segment
"I'VE HEARD A SHY MONSTER LIVES AROUND HERE. WELL, IF YOU WANT TO GET SOMEONE TO OPEN UP… YOU SHOULD ENGAGE THEM IN COMBAT!!!" -Call Papyrus/Shyren's room
"READY FOR ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE PUNISHMENT SHACK?" "Oh my GOD, I don't even wanna KNOW." "DON'T BE SO JUDGMENTAL, UNDYNE. MY SHACK IS A FOUR STAR ESTABLISHMENT" "What, lemme guess. Sometimes you cut a hot dog into the dog food, right?" "WHAT!?!? HOW'D YOU KNOW?" "OH MY GOD! NO! I WAS JOKING!!! DON'T DO THIS!!!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Unused dialogue from when you'd call him and Undyne in front of the shed.
"AH, YES, ACTION FIGURES. A GREAT REFERENCE FOR THEORETICAL BATTLE SCENARIOS." -Papyrus/Checking his action figures
"I LOVE THE NEWS! IT'S SO INFORMATIVE… AND FULL OF CUT- THROAT, EXPLOSIVE ACTION!!! KA-WOWIE!" -Call Papyrus/News report segment
"I ASKED UNDYNE IF WE COULD ALL HANG… BUT SHE SAID SOMETHING WEIRD. SHE SAID SHE WON'T HANG OUT WITH A MURDERER. BUT… HMM… I DON'T REMEMBER MURDERERING ANYONE… THOUGH I AM A PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY." -Papyrus/Talking to him at Undyne's house if you killed anyone.
-> What happens in his cooking lessons
But what does all that have to do with cooking?? Well, both of them agree that-
"COOKING IS DEFINITELY FIRE-ELEMENTAL." -Call Papyrus/Apron room
"Yeah, cooking is definitely fire-elemental!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Apron room
And we learn first-hand how his cooking lessons usually tend to go.
"Envision these vegetables as your greatest enemy! Now!! Pound them to dust with your fists!! YEAH! YEAH! Our hearts are uniting against these healthy ingredients! NOW IT'S MY TURN! NGAHHH!"
"Alright! Now it's time to stir the pasta! As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir… THE BETTER IT IS!"
"Stir harder! HARDER! HARDER!!!!"
"TURN UP THE HEAT! Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn into burning fire! READY? Don't hold anything back!!!"
"Left? You fool! THIS BURNER ONLY GOES ONE WAY!!! Hotter! HOTTER, DARNIT! HOTTER!!!!!!!" -Undyne/Cooking lesson
And of course: He does the cooking lessons because…
"I could NEVER send him into battle! He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds. That's part of why… I started teaching him how to cook, you know? So, um, maybe he can do something else with his life." -Undyne/Hang out
Even if…
"I mean, it's not that he's weak. He's actually pretty freaking tough!" -Undyne/Hang out
Which leads to my next point
2.3.2°) 'He's actually pretty freaking tough!'
Papyrus holds back WAY more than Sans in-battle, given the obvious circunstances, but he frequently shows that they share similar habilities in and out of combat.
-> Time and Space manipulation
"(It's locked from the inside)" -Narrator/Checking the shed right after you get out
-Post fight; 10th anniversary live; When you use the Snowdin's tunnel "speaking of tall, my brother increased the height of the sink. the original height just wasn't challenging enough anymore. yep. he's not someone who takes shortcuts. … guess he wanted to show they aren't necessary. in his own, kind of, special, inconveniencing way." -Sans/Casino Xbox
"startin' something's half the deal. nothing happens if you don't reach for the stars. or, at least, that's what he's aways saying, constantly, trying to wash his hands in his giant sink." -Sans/Alarm Clock
-> Perhaps including some of the phone calls (Since he mostly listens Frisk's descriptions of the rooms)
"HEY… ISN'T THIS WHERE I CALLED YOU? I HAVE A PHOTO-GRAPHIC MEMORY FOR PHONE CALLS. … HEY, WHEN ARE WE GONNA HANG WITH UNDYNE?" -Call Papyrus/Hotland entrance
"WAIT, THAT BAG OF DOG FOOD LOOKS FAMILIAR… I REMEMBER SEEING IT… IN SANS'S ROOM?" -Call Papyrus/Inside Alphys lab
"HMMM… A CORRIDOR FILLED WITH WATER. THAT'S JUST A GUESS." -Call Papyrus/Water corridor room
"WHERE'D YOU GO!? I CAN'T SEE YOU!!! OH WAIT, THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE ON THE PHONE." -Call Papyrus/Tutu room
"SO THE ARROWS FLIP WHEN YOU DO WHAT? I CAN'T VISUALIZE THIS PUZZLE AT ALL. CAN YOU DRAW A PICTURE??? THEN HOLD IT UP TO THE RECEIVER??" -Call Papyrus/Steam arrows puzzle room
"SO, WHERE ARE YOU? … … YOU'RE STILL IN MY ROOM?? … HAVE YOU HEARD OF SOMETHING CALLED A… DOOR? WAIT! DON'T WORRY! I'LL DRAW A DIAGRAM FOR YOU!" "HOLD UP! I'M STILL DRAWING!" -Call Papyrus/His room (After getting his number)
-> The meta knowledge
"I'VE HEARD A SHY MONSTER LIVES AROUND HERE. WELL, IF YOU WANT TO GET SOMEONE TO OPEN UP… YOU SHOULD ENGAGE THEM IN COMBAT!!!" -Call Papyrus/Shyren's room
"HEY, YOU SHOULD COME TO SNOWDIN AND VISIT ME! I'VE BEEN WORKING ON A FEW THINGS. A FEW SENTENCES TO STAND AROUND AND REPEAT." "A FEW SENTENCES TO STAND AROUND AND REPEAT." -Call Papyrus/First and second time at Riverperson's dock in hotland
"IS SANS PRANKING YOU ACROSS TIME AND SPACE? I HATE WHEN HE DOES THAT!" -Sans/Sans's room
-> The attacks we didn't see
"Papyrus prepares a non-bone attack then spends a minute fixing his mistake." -Narrator/Battle
"HEY, THOSE ARE ALL THE ATTACKS I DIDN'T USE. HOW LUCKY OF YOU! HAD I ONLY USED MY SPECIAL ATTACK, YOU SURELY WOULD HAVE BEEN BLASTED TO…" -Papyrus/Checking his box of attacks in an aborted geno. route
-> The attacks we do see (Some of) (His are somehow even more ellaborate in bone-quantity aspects)
(They even make a combo attack to defend you in the pacifist ending!) -> A really good control of his magic
(He heals you before and after the battle)
-> An important role in his community
If Papyrus is killed, some of the residents in snowdin's main street will have a very specific reaction to his abscence - Vulnerability.
"I've sent the kids inside. It feels unsafe here today." -Rock Mustache
"Just now, I felt my smile falter for a moment. What's wrong?" -Nacarat Jester
"It just feels like… Like everything is getting worse and worse." -Scarf Mouse
"Hmmm, usually that skeleton goes to meet with Undyne about now. Where is he…? I can feel our political system crumbling apart…" -Politics Bear
…I hope this is enough to get the idea.
But if that's so, if he's absolutely capable of hurting people and seems rather enthusiastic by violent things, why hold back so much even when faced with a real threat?
2.3.3°) He strives to be like that
He answers that himself in this exact scenario.
"HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY. FIRST: YOU'RE A FREAKING WEIRDO! NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES. BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE… THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER. IT FEELS… LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH."
First, he calls you out on your obviously horrible deeds and on the worrying path you're choosing to take.
"HOWEVER! I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY! AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!"
Then, he stablishes that despite this fact, he still believes we - A barely recognizable human child who's shown to be weird, impatient, agressive and dangerous (in his eyes) - can opt to stop this path if we try to be better like him. Not because he 'doesn't have to try', but because he 'hardly has to'.
"HEY, QUIT MOVING! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW! BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS… WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!!" -Papyrus/Pre battle genocide ver.
He ends by stating that he will help us change our ways, guiding us as he aways does and being our friend.
And this strict volition to do the right thing is not something exclusive to the genocide run, either. Every neutral run can have this specific statement:
"WELL, WORRY NOT DEAR HUMAN! PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER BETRAY YOU! I AM NOT A CRUEL PERSON. I STRIVE TO BE COMFORTING AND PLEASANT." -Call Papyrus/Asking about our clothes
Here I need to emphasize the word he uses:
-> STRIVE: To try very hard to do something or to make something happen, especially for a long time or against difficulties. -Cambridge dictionary
In the pacifist ending as well, even when the situation is worrying enough so that he must protect his friends from an imminent fight, he resorts 'to ask Undyne for help' in the 'fighting' part, refusing to act by himself on that matter.
"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE…! THEN I'LL!!! BE FORCED!!! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!!!" -Papyrus/Pre pacifist ending final fight
Papyrus follows a strong and convicted pacifist ideology. Strong enough so that he confronts an active killer face-by-face and still has the guts to stick to this belief and offer his help to someone who clearly needs it. Strong enough so that he puts work into being 'comforting and pleasant' overall. And strong enough to make him refuse to fight when the situation gets more dire and out of his control (Unlike his battle).
And it's worth highlighting: He does that fully aware of the danger and confident that he can defend himself. It's clear he's capable of doing that, and probably already did this before in the past.
…Perhaps, just not in this timeline.
But I think there's another person who can exemplify that exceptionaly well.
3°) LITERAL GODLIKE CONNECTIONS
Beyond his meta knowledge, Papyrus also seems to create some really peculiar bonds to meta characters as well. An iconic example is the Annoying Dog - The representation of Toby himself inside the game's universe.
(The dog chewing his skateboarding video on the second round of the Papyrus Interview)
"HEY. WAIT. WHERE'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK? NO! I'VE BEEN DOGBURGLED BY THAT PERNICIOUS PUP! THAT LOATHESOME SCOUNDREL LOVES TO SNEAK INTO MY ROOM. SOMETIMES IT EVEN CRAWLS INTO MY BED WHILE I'M RESTING. IF THAT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH, IT HAS VERY COLD FEET." -Papyrus/Checking his box of attacks
"CAREFUL. LOTS OF HOTELS ARE INFESTED NOWADAYS. THEY CAN SLIDE UNDER CLOSED DOOR HOLES 1 INCH HIGH. WHAT DO I MEAN? YOU'LL KNOW IT IF YOU SEE IT." "(You hear a muffled bark behind one of the doors.)" -Call Papyrus/MTT Resort's corridor
"HMMM… THERE'S SOMETHING ANNOYING ABOUT THIS ROOM. BUT I CAN'T QUITE PLACE MY FINGER ON IT… THEN MY PLACE MY WHOLE HAND ON IT… THEN PET IT AFFECTIONATELY" -Call Papyrus/Artifact dog room
Their "rivaltry" is quite cute. But also-
"CAREFUL. I'VE HEARD THAT HOTEL HAS A DOG PROBLEM." "Oh? No pets allowed, huh?" "I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT PETS." "What's the problem?" "THE PROBLEM IS… DOG." "What's wrong with dogs!?" "NOT ALL DOGS. JUST THAT ONE" "What's WRONG with it!?" "EVERYTHING."
"So you hate this dog, but like weird talking flowers?" "THE FLOWER IS MY FRIEND!" "I mean, if having an imaginary friend makes you happy…" "OH MY GOD!! HE'S NOT IMAGINARY! HE HAS A NAME!" "What's his name." "FL… FLOWERY?" "Oh my GOD!!! You just made that up!!" "OK, I DID!! BUT HE'S REAL!!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/MTT Resort's corridor
A less cute connection he possesses is with the game's main villain himself: Flowey.
In fact, their friendship is actually one of the first things we can get aware of in the game, as Sans warns about the flower we must be wary of when we go out to lunch with him.
"well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day. sometimes, when no one else is around… a flower appears and whispers things to him. flattery… advice… encouragement… … predictions. weird, huh?" -Sans/Lunch
And that's enough to reveal some interesting things.
3.1°) HOW THEIR DYNAMIC WORKS
By the time Frisk falls in the Underground, Flowey has already given up on testing with the timeline. He's "done everything this world has to offer.", so there was no point in interfering anymore. No major events are drastically changed, no one is missing, and everything seems almost peaceful when we arrive. In fact, Flowey barely messes significantly with our own journey until the very end to execute his plan, since-
"But you… YOU'RE different. I never could predict YOU, Chara." -Flowey/Genocide monologue
He's mostly watching to see what we'll do. And with his determination being overriden, that's also the safest way to play.
Something that he did settle before our arrival, however, was his friendship with Papyrus - Even if he had also grown bored of that overtime, too.
"Are you trying to start the Flowey Fan Club? Because if you want to join THAT… You'll have to talk to Papyrus. Yeah, he started one. A few different times, anyway. I won't lie. He's one of the better characters to mess around with. Took me a long time to get bored of that one. … Yeah." -Flowey/Post neutral ending
And even if Papyrus himself doesn't seem that comfortable with the idea of having a "best friend".
-Call Papyrus/Dumps flower bed "HMM… WELL, I'M FLATTERED YOU CARE SO MUCH. BUT MAYBE COOL IT A LITTLE BIT…? YOU ARE A VERY NICE PERSON. I'M GLAD WE'RE FRIENDS. BUT, I THINK YOU CAN REACH YOUR MAX POTENTIAL,,, IF YOU LIVE MORE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, RATHER THAN JUST FOR MINE." -Papyrus/Hang out
Apart from this detail, he's still happy and talkative enough about his tiny friend that not only Undyne brings the topic herself, but Sans gets a pick up on how they usually interact (Or at least, how Flowey chose to keep their dynamic):
"flattery… advice… encouragement… … predictions."
Of course, as one of the time-anomaly researchers, he highlights the most troubling implication of their conversations: Flowey seems to know about things that didn't happen yet, and that's "weird, huh?". He also casually shares this things with his brother, by the way, among other friendly exchanges - Since Papyrus does foreshadows some events that only happen afterwards in our adventure (and even different timelines ??), like:
-> Mettaton's eyes - Before his new form's premiere
"I JUST WANT TO HAVE HANDSOME, BISHONEN EYES. LIKE METTATON… SIGH…" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/L2 elevator
-> Alphys's upgraded cellphone
"A BRIDGE GROWS IF YOU ALIGN FOUR BRIDGE SEEDS. BUT THAT'S SORT OF LIMITED IN USEFULNESS. WHY DON'T WE HAVE AIRPLANE SEEDS??? OR, PHONES THAT CAN TURN INTO JETPACKS???" -Call Papyrus/First seed puzzle
-> Sans's battle and death (??)
"NO ONE WANTS TO PRATFALL DURING A COOL TECHNIQUE." -Call Papyrus/Ice pond room
"LATELY HE'S BEEN NAPPING OVER 7 HOURS A NIGHT… HE'S NAPPING HIMSELF INTO AN EARLY GRAVE!!" -Call Papyrus/First hotland sentry station
It's ambiguous whether Flowey's the source of these notions or just a few of them (probably the latter), but one thing's certain - Papyrus seems a-ok on having all of these atemporal funfacts.
3.2°) AND WHY THAT MATTERS?
Flowey offers yet another unique point of view of Papyrus that we also don't have access to. They've been friends for a good while, at least in Flowey's perspective, and he had multiple oportunities to get close and learn more about him. This not only favored being the only one to know about his favorite food, the fan-club creation "a few different times", and Papyrus's eligibility as one of the two people he'd still interact with after everything grew tiring (The other being Toriel), but it also played a crucial role in Flowey's plan to take everyone's souls in the pacifist ending.
"HOWDY! IF IT ISN'T MY GOOD FRIEND, WHO TRUSTS ME. THIS IS PAPYRUS. YOUR ALSO MUTUAL FRIEND. ALPHYS AND I FINISHED OUR TRAINING EARLY. VERY EARLY. SO I SENT HER HOME. VERY HOME. UH… NOW. I FEEL STRONGLY AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON. YOU SHOULD ALSO GO… THERE. TO HER. LAB… HOUSE. I HAVE ONLY GOOD FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. GOODBYE." -Call Papyrus/Post Alphys date
"Papyrus… YOU called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway… If I got here before you… How did you know how to call everybody?" "LET'S JUST SAY… A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME." -Alphys and Papyrus/Pre Asriel fight
He needed someone friendly and relevant enough to the community to gather a large quantity of people in the same place while we (another key-participant of his plan) were distracted in Alphys's lab. Papyrus was extremelly fitting and susceptible for that role.
…Yet there was a slight safety measure he still made sure to take.
Out of all the other powerful monsters present, he guaranteed Papyrus would be the last person to retaliate his sudden attack by not only adding 2 more vines to his strain, but bending/breaking (?) his arm.
If the godlike time-anomaly worries that Papyrus might mess up his plans and overpower him next to Asgore, Sans and Undyne of all people, I personally wouldn't try messing with the guy either.
Which leads to this small pun/trick question:
3.3°) WHY RISK IT?
After our journey ends, monsters are set free and hope starts to spring above the surface, Flowey has decided for the best to not be present in Frisk's life anymore.
"Don't worry about me. Frisk, please leave me alone. I can't come back. I just can't, OK? I don't want to break their hearts all over again. It's better if they never see me."
"[…] Frisk, thank you for listening to me. You should really go be with your friends now, OK? Oh, and, please… In the future, if you uh, see me… Don't think of it as me, OK? I just want you to remember me like this. Someone that was your friend for a little while." -Asriel/First golden flower bed.
He says "I don't want to break their hearts all over again." and "It's better if they never see me.", not only considering the amount of damage he's done, but mindful that he'd go back to being a souless flower. He would not be able to reciprocate his parents's love or to be compassionate. Asriel's a deeply emotional person, so not only it would bring suffering and frustration again if he tried to connect with the others like nothing happened, but would further hurt all of them in the process as well.
Almost all of them, at least. "This... ribbon? Who cares who gave it to me? I haven't lost the right to be snug, have I!?" -Flowey/Alarm clock "LOOK, ASGORE!! MATCHING RED SCARVES!!!" "Matching? With who?" "ME AND MY...WHERE'D HE GO?" -Asgore and Papyrus/Alarm Clock
Toriel and Papyrus were and still are the only people Flowey allows himself to get near when he's pushed to accept his existence as a flower. He aways kept a respectful distance from Toriel in both situations, therefore it would be expected that after what he did to Papyrus, even if he didn't remember anything, he'd do the same, right?
Well,
-2024 Spring Newsletter
They look pretty chill, actually. Which probably means…
-> "Hey, why am I the only one who knows the answer to this stupid question!?"
Before we arrived, Flowey definitely wasn't keen of being discovered by the scientists investigating the anomaly. Or at least, by Sans specifically.
"If I have ONE piece of advice for you… DON'T. Let his brother. Find out ANYTHING about you. He'll… well… Let's just say. He's caused me more than my fair share of resets. Stay away from that guy." -Flowey/Post neutral ending
"our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting… until suddenly, everything ends. heh heh heh… that's your fault, isn't it?" -Sans/Sans battle
"that promise i made to her… you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything? … buddy. … you'd be dead where you stand." -Sans/Dinner
…For very justifiable reasons. And yet, he still put himself out there and contradicted his own advice by making friends with his brother. So much so that Sans ends up recognizing how odd his behavior is.
In the present moment, Flowey seems to have enough faith in Papyrus's worldview to go back to being his friend, not only trusting he'll accept his souless personality like before, but that he won't get hurt by it either.
He took both of this risks very confidently, and I don't think it's only because "he's one of the better characters to mess around with.".
Not when Papyrus showed how nuanced his relationship with violence can be. Not when he showed how much he's willing to forgive someone's evil actions. Not when he looked to a serial murderer (twice) and believed they could still be better if they tried - Like he tries.
It sounds too much like identification to me. And I guess you know where I'm finally going with this.
4°) (PLEASE IMAGINE A DRUMROLL IN YOUR HEAD): HE'S AUTISTIC AS FUCK
Ok. If you got this far, you're probably wondering why this section is here if this is a "Knight-Papyrus" theory analysis and you were probably expecting me to cover the according subject now.
If you're more interested in that: Good news! You can totally skip to the 5° point!
This 4° one is my humble treat to the skeptics out there who want to take Papyrus's character seriously, but don't really like the "ex-villain" proposal. I'm still fairly confident on everything I'm saying, don't worry, but since this is another important aspect of his character and everything beyond this horizon will be more speculative, I feel on duty to explore this possibility too.
Besides, it's not like it doesn't complement the 'knight's line of thinking, or adds to his character depth in general, but I did said I don't mean to get too far out ot the topic, so… Let's get this over with. 4.1°) THE DSM-5 CHECKLIST -> DO NOT take this segment as an informative or reliable source to understand the Autism Spectrum Disorder or the process of diagnosis. I'm not a professional and this is an informal character analysis post on the internet. Please be rational.
A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following: 1.) Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity
"WHAT??? ARE YOU LOST??? HMMM… YOU SHOULD TRY CALLING SOMEONE FOR HELP!" "HUH??? WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME??" -Call Papyrus/Snowdin first savepoint
"THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE- SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!! I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE." -Papyrus/Pre battle "I'LL HAVE TO TAKE YOU SOMEPLACE REALLY SPECIAL… A PLACE I LIKE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME!!! MY HOUSE!!!" -Papyrus/Hang out "SO, WHERE ARE YOU? … … YOU'RE STILL IN MY ROOM?? … HAVE YOU HEARD OF SOMETHING CALLED A… DOOR? -Call Papyrus/His room (After getting his number) "THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE HUMAN'S QUEST!? THEY JOURNEYED ALL THAT WAY… AND I'M STILL NOT A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!? TRULY, THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE ENDING. IT SEEMS LIKE YOU REALLY BOTCHED YOUR QUEST, FRISK. BUT, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND!!!" "no matter how hard you try to get rid of him" "HEY! THAT'S TRUE." -Papyrus/Pacifist ending
2.) Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction
"one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard… and begged her to let him be in it. of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight. but the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there." -Sans/Lunch
"That's where I first talked to you! Weren't you SUPER terrified? I practice that monologue ALL the time in the mirror!" "UNDYNE???" "I mean!!! Uh!!! No I don't!!!" "OH. I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK. DO YOU WANT TO PRACTICE MONOLOGUES TOGETHER…?!!" "UH!!! NO!!! I DON'T!!!!"
"ATTENTION EVERYONE! I AM GOING TO OPEN THE FRIDGE!" "Do you have a monologue for EVERYTHING?" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Water corridor room
"Well, it's not the tall skeleton… He's too loud." -Doggo/Ringing repeatedly at his station
3.) Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships "HERE WE ARE!! HANGING OUT!! I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. BUT DON'T WORRY!!! YOU CAN'T SPELL 'PREPARED' WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!!! I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL HANGOUT GUIDEBOOK FROM THE LIBRARY! WE'RE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!" -Papyrus/Hang out "HEY, UNDYNE. DO SPIDERS HAVE WEBBED FEET?" "No, ducks have webbed feet." "DUCKS CAN SPIN WEBS!?" "Yeah, haven't you seen a duck wrap up a loaf of bread? Then suck all of its guts out with its fangs?" "BREAD HAS GUTS?" "Yeah. They just take 'em all out before they sell it." "WOW!! YOU'RE REALLY SMART, UNDYNE!" "(I thought he knew I was joking…)" "Papyrus, wait, you know I'm joking, right…?" "OF COURSE! EVERYONE KNOWS SPIDERS HAVE WEBBED FEET." -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Pre Muffet savepoint
"WOW!!! I HAVE FRIENDS!!! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM… WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM??" -Papyrus/Post battle
"Q: Omg!!! Hiii! Ok, okay! So, I absolutely love Sans, and NEED to know like what is Sans canonical height, is he shorty short or a bean pole?? (Desperately)" "WHAT!? THESE QUESTIONS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR ME!! …FINE! YOU KNOW WHAT, I WILL INDULGE YOU!!! SANS!" "what's up." "HOW TALL IS YOUR CANNON?" […] OKAY, THERE YOU HAVE IT! NOW, REMEMBER, NEXT TIME ASK THE QUESTION TO ME, NOT THE CANNON!!!" -Papyrus/First Interview
"If you're going to Snowdin, I won't have much to say." "BUT I WILL!!" "There's the rub, right?" "WHAT!? THERE'S A RUB? WHERE!?!?" "In Snowdin, duh!!!" "I'LL DO MY BEST TO FIND THE RUB." "Hey, I think I found something!" "OOH, WHERE? AND WHAT'S THIS HORRIBLE NOOGIE?" "It's the rub!!!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Waterfall entrance corridor
B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following:
1.) Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech
(Valentines Newsletter; Game's credits) "PAPYRUS - ATK 20 DEF 20 He likes to say: "Nyeh heh heh!"" -Narrator/Battle stats
"Papyrus whispers "Nyeh heh heh!"" -Narrator/Battle
2.) Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior
"papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story." -Sans/Dinner
"by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since… keeps calling it his 'battle body.'" -Sans/Post electric maze segment
"of course he's cool. you'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. he'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to. oh well. at least he washes it. and by that i mean he wears it in the shower." -Sans/Lunch
"pizza toppings, huh? he really likes corn and mayonnaise." "WHAT THE --- THAT WAS MAYONNAISE!? YOU SAID IT WAS 'AWESOME SAUCE!'" "sometimes it takes a trick to get you to try new things" -Papyrus/First interview
"FOR ME, IT'S BETTER TO KNOW IF IT'S A DAY OFF FROM THE START! I WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED IF MY TRAINING WAS CANCELLED… UNLESS THERE WAS SOMETHING EVEN BETTER WAITING INSTEAD! SO, THE BEST THING OF ALL, WOULD BE A SURPRISE PARTY… WHERE I TRAIN WITH ALL OF MY FRIENDS!" -Papyrus/First interview
3.) Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
"THAT BOOK'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES. 'ADVANCED PUZZLE CONSTRUCTION FOR CRITICAL MINDS.'" -Papyrus/Checking his bookshelf
"oh yeah, he even made a, uh, a 'welcoming puzzle' for the party. a giant labyrinth made of ice, snow and musical ornaments 'to baffle and confound his friends with holiday cheer' you, uh, had to get trough it to get to the front door" -Sans/Alarm clock
"I do not know his FAVORITE food, but… Usually I pack him a cheese sandwich, an apple, and some milk." "don't forget to cut the sandwich diagonally" "Or into a maze." "with traps" -Sans and Toriel/2016 QnA
"OH-HO!!! THIS PUZZLE! YOU FIGURED IT OUT SO EASILY!! THAT WAS VERY PAPYRUS OF YOU." -Papyrus/First XO puzzle
"I HEARD YOU GOT TO MEET METTATON!! IS THAT TRUE!? CAN YOU GET ME AN AUTOGRAPH!? HE'S MY FAVORITE SEXY RECTANGLE!!" "I WISH I LIVED IN HOTLAND!!!" -Call Papyrus/Cooking show
"OOH, IT'S MY FAVORITE GAME-SHOW! WHAT!!! IT'S USUALLY BETTER THAN THIS! THIS IS JUST A BAD EPISODE!!! DON'T JUDGE ME!!!" -Papyrus/Checking his TV
"(Action figures of many sexy robots.)" -Narrator/Checking the action figures in his room
"ALSO, HAVE YOU SEEN MY ACTION FIGURES? WAIT! I KNOW WHERE TO LOOK!!! IN MY COLLECTION! NYEH HEH HEH!!!" -Papyrus/Sans room
"MUCH MERRIMENT WAS HAD, GATHERED AROUND THE TELEVISION… WATCHING SEASONAL SPECIALS, LIKE 'METTATON SAVES SANTA CLAUS' AND "METTATON-THE-RED-NOSED-REINDEER'" -Papyrus/Alarm clock
4.) Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment
"A field of echo flowers… They babble back and forth to each other… … until their words become meaningless noise. Creepy, huh?" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Post Gerson corridor
"WHAT'S THAT STRANGE WHISPER? I MIGHT HAVE TO HANG UP. PAPYRUS ISN'T HOME RIGHT NOW!!" -Call Papyrus/Post Gerson corridor
"GRILLBY'S… IT'S DARK AND FULL OF GREASE. PURGATORY OF FRIES… HAMBURGER ABYSS… ANYWAY, MY BROTHER PRACTICALLY LIVES HERE." "I'M NOT COMING TO GRILLBY'S." -Call Papyrus/Grillbys
"I rode on a conveyor belt once. I learned pretty fast that they make me sick." "DID YOU HURL??" "Yeah, like 9000 times!! It was awesome!!" "STOP CALLING AND MAKING HER SAY GROSS THINGS." -Call Papyrus and Undyne/First conveyor room
"THE ENTIRE ROOM IS COVERED IN STEAM THINGIES? OH MY GOD, CAN'T YOU JUST TAKE A BUS!?!? HOTLAND STINKS" "DON'T TELL ME MORE OF THIS GARBAGE." -Calling Papyrus/Steam arrows platforms
"A WHOLE ROOM COVERED IN VENTS? OH NO…" "Hey, did I ever tell you about my puzzle idea? It's a maze full of steam vents… But the steam vents are on conveyor belts, and…" "OH MY GOD!!! I HATE THIS!?!?" "ITS BEST IF YOU DON'T ENCOURAGE HER." -Calling Papyrus and Undyne/Steam arrows platforms
"HOTLAND, HUH… I KNOW IT LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND… WHICH, SINCE I'M ALWAYS WEARING GLOVES… I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT!!!" -Call Papyrus/After you exit Alphys's lab
"I want to knit something for all of my friends. […] Mittens for Papyrus… … that I suppose he can just… wear over his gloves…" -Toriel/Alarm clock dialogue
C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).
I'd be really surprised if he wasn't like this before tbh.
D. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.
"I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!! I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!" -Papyrus/Pre battle genocide ver.
"Oh, Papyrus. I can't stay mad at you." "IT'S OKAY, I FORGIVE YOU! (PSST, WHEN WAS SHE MAD AT ME?)" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/First hotland laser room
"thanks for saying "junior jumble" just to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to "solve" the horoscope. papyrus… … finds difficulty in interesting places." -Sans/Post word search segment
E. These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay.
I sure hope not
4.2°) OTHER OBSERVATIONAL TRAITS
Unrelated to the criteria, but also common in some autistic folks:
-> Attention to cleaning and organization aspects of the enviroment
"I LOVE THE LIBRARY. THE BOOKS ARE ALL ARRANGED BY COLOR. THIS SENSE OF ORDER!!! IT FILLS ME WITH POWER!" -Call Papyrus/Librarby
"SHE… LOOKED KIND OF BAD JUST LYING THERE, SO… I PUT A CLOTH OVER HER… AND SOME CANDELABRAS ON TOP, TO MAKE HER MATCH THE DECOR." -Papyrus/Alarm clock
"wow, look at all that fuzz. looks like our house after a certain dog comes by. then papyrus gets out his broom, stomps his feet, and goes… sans, you have got to stop shedding!" -Sans/Casino Xbox
"HIS ROOM IS… IT'S LIKE ANOTHER WORLD! A WORLD WHERE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO VACUUM." -Call Papyrus/His house
-> Memory problems, specially related to common social demands (Like names)
"OH, THAT'S THE HOUSE OF… UM… UNDYNE'S NEIGHBOR. WHAT WAS THEIR NAME AGAIN? SPOOKY BLOO BLOO?" "NAPPER HOG…?" -Call Papyrus/Front of Napstablook's house
"WHAT? You broke into Napstablook's cousin's house!? That's… That's…! Hey, what was their name, anyway?" "HAPPSTABLOOK, THE HAPPY GHOST." "Okay, that's DEFINITELY wrong." "IT'S NOT WRONG. IT'S JUST MY HEADCANON." -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Inside of Mettaton's House
"I mean, if having an imaginary friend makes you happy…" "OH MY GOD!! HE'S NOT IMAGINARY! HE HAS A NAME!" "What's his name." "FL… FLOWERY?" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/MTT Resort's corridor
-> Notable mindfulness of one's personal space/belongins
"HOW NICE OF YOU TO CHECK MY MAIL FOR ME. WAIT, NO. THAT'S VERY STRANGE." "STOP LOOKING IN MY EMPTY MAILBOX. THAT'S MY EMPTINESS, NOT YOURS." -Papyrus/Checking his mailbox
"SANS!" "what's up" "HOW TALL IS YOUR CANNON?" "isn't the cannon yours?" "FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS QUESTION, I AM…UGH, LENDING IT TO YOU!" -Papyrus/First interview
"YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE. GOOD CHOICE! THOUGH I GUESS IT'S TECHNICALLY SANS'S HOUSE TOO. BUT I PREFER NOT TO DISCUSS HIS PART OF IT." -Call Papyrus/His house
"YOU'RE IN HER ROOM, UNINVITED? WOWIE… THAT'S EXTREMELY CREEPY. MAYBE DON'T DO THAT" -Call Papyrus/Alphys's room
"WOW, YOU'RE SO EAGER TO HANG OUT… YOU'RE TRYING TO GO INTO MY HOUSE WITHOUT ME! THAT'S REALLY WEIRD!!!" -Papyrus/Checking his house door
"BY THE BY, BREAKING INTO A HOUSE… THAT'S ILLEGAL, RIGHT??? PLEASE STOP COMMITTING GHOST CRIMES." -Call Papyrus/Inside Mettaton's house
-> Odd sleeping habits (That Sans probably also used to have ?) - He just naps
"YOU'RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!" "i think that's called… sleeping." "EXCUSES, EXCUSES! -Papyrus/Electric maze segment
"I can't believe Papyrus's brother was sleeping!! I was counting on him to stop you!! UrrrrgHHHH!!!" "HE'S GOTTEN REALLY OUT OF SHAPE. HE TIRES EASILY. LATELY HE'S BEEN NAPPING OVER 7 HOURS A NIGHT… HE'S NAPPING HIMSELF INTO AN EARLY GRAVE!! "I agree!! Your brother needs to…! … wait, isn't that just called sleeping?" "UNDYNE!! NO!!! NOT YOU TOO!!!"
"Wait. Papyrus… When do YOU sleep?" "I'M USUALLY TOO BUSY TO SLEEP. WHY???" "Well, I was just thinking… If you're not using that cool car bed, can I have it!?" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/Hotland's first sentry station
"OF COURSE, THAT'S JUST A DREAM. SO INSTEAD I CRUISE WHILE I SNOOZE." -Papyrus/Checking his bed
"NO! I'VE BEEN DOGBURGLED BY THAT PERNICIOUS PUP! THAT LOATHESOME SCOUNDREL LOVES TO SNEAK INTO MY ROOM. SOMETIMES IT EVEN CRAWLS INTO MY BED WHILE I'M RESTING." -Papyrus/Checking his box of attacks
4.3°) HOW THIS EXPLAINS THINGS If you're looking for an explanation to why Papyrus commits himself so strictly to his beliefs and morals, even when that means the possibility of exposing him and his friends to serious danger (That he recognizes as such), cognitive rigidity might be a satisfying conclusion - If you're not open to consider the other possibility, of course. 5°) BUT WHAT IF What the title says. 5.1°) WHO IS THE ROARING KNIGHT? For such a mysterious figure, The Knight shows some interesting hints about their traits and how they operate. 5.1.1°) Their actions -> They (presumably) lock Kris and Susie inside the closet in chapter 1 * There was no one else around * Hence why they share "The Door" motif, but just a guess -> They're opening dark fountains (And perhaps wants more of them to be oppened by others?) "The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth" -King/Pre battle CH1 "It was he, the clown, that told me the Knight's brilliance... About the fountains' glory, and how I would rise to power." -King/King's prison CH4 "I've heard it's called 'The Birth of a Fountain.'" "What an elegant name." "How elegantly quixotic!" "The QUEEN has been very interested in this video recently. Where the KNIGHT creates the Fountain by its own hand..." -Swatchlings/Queen's mansion video room CH2 "It wasn't 'til that DARK FOUNTAIN showed up," "That she started going into overdrive." "'Knight' this, 'Knight' that, 'Fountain' that..." -Sweet and Cap'n/Their shop CH2 -> They're (probably) giving away/getting rid of the Shadow Crystals "He... was a funny little man. Once, the court jester. I, the court magician. A friend...? Could I consider him a friend...? Perhaps, perhaps not. But he was the only one who matched me in the games we used to play. One day, he met a strange someone... and since then, he began to change." -Seam/Talking about Jevil CH1 "Well, what have we here! You managed to find another Shadow Crystal... Oh, is that so? That salesman had found the crystal in the old machine...?" -Seam/Giving the second shadow crystal CH2 "For some reason, I found this weird piece-a glass in my desk. Felt like someone really wanted me to use this thing. But it didn't interest me, so you can take it" -Gerson/Winning Hammer of Justice fight CH4 "My body... she, forgot to give you something! I don't know why, but we've had THIS since we got here... And, uh... we don't need it. So YOU have it!" -Pink/Post battle CH5 -> They've made Tenna work for them "I've been all alone... Until now. When the KNIGHT appeared... The ROARING KNIGHT. And I was told that if I keep you three busy, I can have ALL the people watch me that I want." -Tenna/Pre battle (?) CH3 "K... KRIS! KRIS, I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE! I... I DID WHAT YOU SAID, KRIS! HA... JUST LIKE OUR DEAL! Y-YOU AREN'T GONNA TURN ME OFF AGAIN, ARE YOU...?" -Tenna/Sword game's love island CH3 -> Kris works for them
-Post Knight fight if you defeat them CH3 "Kris coughed. The enemy slowly tilted its head..." -Narrator/When the player does no-hit "Kris held their breath... Kris smiled. Nothing happened." -Narrator/When you hold your breath, wasting a turn -> But not necessarily >with< them. * Idk how to illustrate this, but Kris damage will increase if Susie and Ralsei get swooned in-battle. -> They're trying to abduct specific people to the shelter "She's got people that need her, too." "I... I understand! I know it's not what the KNIGHT wants, but..." -Susie and Tenna/Pre Knight battle CH3 "Undyne... and the mayor, huh. ... I guess if we think about the 3 symbols on the shelter... ... That pretty much tracks. One looked like the church symbol. Don't got that code yet, but it could be here. One looked like the badge the cops wear. ... So Undyne probably knew something, too One looked like a pine tree, and the mayor... Likes trees, right? I mean, there's one in City Hall." -Susie/First church segment CH4 -> They're not trying to end the world or hurt people right away "I don't sense any immediate danger. If the Knight's only goal was to hurt people... They would have acted sooner, right? For now, let's make sure no one else gets taken." -Ralsei/??? CH4 -> They're hiding their identity "We... have our own advantages, too! The Knight only seems to show its face in the Dark World." -Ralsei/??? CH4 "(You closed your eyes.) (The image of the Knight began to fade into your mind.) (The image changes... the helmet begins to come off.) (Suddenly, you tried extremely hard to picture Jockington.)" -Narrator/Prompting Kris to think about the Knight CH4 -> They (most likely) hide in the closets
"(The closet is spacious and full of old electronics.) (A large person could easily fit inside.)" -Narrator/Checking the library closet CH2
"(It's a door. A large person could fit inside.) (You turned the doorknob.) (...) (... You didn't do anything else.)" -Narrator/Checking the church's closet CH4 -> They've killed 3 darkners so far - Tenna: If you don't recruit enough people, his injuries are fatal. - Jackenstein: If any recruits were lost, he falls when the knight shatters the glass tower and presumably die. - Flowery: He's guaranteed to die when the knight's slices through his body. 5.1.2°) Their profile -> They're a Lightner
"That Is When I Realized This Power... This Power Of The Will This Power Of Determination... Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess...? If One Was Simply Determined Enough Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain?" -Queen/Pre final battle CH2
-> They're (most likely) a large person "(The closet is spacious and full of old electronics.) (A large person could easily fit inside.)" -Narrator/Checking the library closet CH2 "(It's a door. A large person could fit inside.)" -Narrator/Checking the church's closet in CH4 -> They're dripping from their helmet and their physical form is variable/unstable
-> Their visor can vary between a visor, a mouth and an eye
-> They do this shit
-> No matter the initial health, they leave Kris with 1HP after winning the battle
-> They can fly * I don't think an image is necessary and i've reached my limit so. -> They can create prison-bubbles of darkness (?)
-> They're strong enough in the light world to carry both Undyne and Asgore + Defeat the f### gang
"You can't beat us in the Light World, can you?! That's... why you keep running, isn't it? Hey... hey, what's so funny? Kris, why... are they laughing...? You're laughing 'cause you know I'm right, don't you!? You lose that Fountain, it's over!!" -Susie/Pre titan summoning CH4
-> They pursue meta-knowlege of some kind
"He... was a funny little man. Once, the court jester. I, the court magician. A friend...? Could I consider him a friend...? Perhaps, perhaps not. But he was the only one who matched me in the games we used to play. One day, he met a strange someone... and since then, he began to change. He started saying bizarre things that didn't completely make sense - But didn't completely not make sense, either. Soon, he began to see the world as a game, and everyone as its participants. As the court mage, and his only companion, I was forced to lock him away... Or, rather, lock US all away, in his own words. Since that time, the strange words he's said have stuck inside my cotton... And my view of this world has become darker, yet darker" -Seam/Talking about Jevil CH1
-> And meta habilities too
-> They're related to communion "SPEAKING OF [[Communion]] KRIS, DID YOU KNOW THAT THE KNIGHT..." -Spamton/Talking about the Knight CH2 "... police... sacrifice... next week..." -Carol (?)/Holidays kitchen phone call CH4 -> They display a violent, ruthless, arrogant and dramatic personality through their actions and body language 5.1.3°) Their gear -> They have a sword "BLACK SHARD - A dagger-like shard of the Black Knife. Strikes the weakness of dark-element enemies." -Narrator/Checking the black shard ...With some curious properties "You looked through the glass. For some strange reason, for just a brief moment... [First use] - You thought you saw through your hand." [Alone] - You thought you saw Susie glaring at you, coldly... [Followed by Susie] - You thought you saw Susie in a far-off window, unkempt and glaring. [After abandoning Weird route in Chapter 5] [...] But when you moved the glass away, You see her looking at you, smiling and making a rude gesture." - You thought you saw Noelle close against you, whispering. [Followed by Noelle] [...] You put the glass to your ear... ... of course, that didn't do anything..." - You thought you saw your mother holding someone else [Near Toriel]" -Narrator/Checking the black shard in the light world And that has been used before (Not necessarily by them, though) "Huh? What's a black shard? I... think it's... ... it's a piece of the Knight's... sword? Huh? It was left... at the... original scene... And... matched with... the... ...? And... computer lab?" -Susie/Reading Asgore's notes CH5 -> They have a morphable, removable armor "(You closed your eyes.) (The image of the Knight began to fade into your mind.) (The image changes... the helmet begins to come off.) (Suddenly, you tried extremely hard to picture Jockington.)" -Narrator/Prompting Kris to think about the Knight CH4 -> And they (probably) have Shadow Crystals
"The Shadow Crystals are far more than mere pieces of glass. In actuality, they contain a certain power. You could call this the power of "will". ... no, perhaps "will" isn't right. The power they contain is... "The power of lost dreams." When a strong attachment is formed... when a dream is gripped tightly... and then broken off. These... are the shards that remain. "Failed dreams"... of course, these things are useless to you, Kris. I, however, am aware of something interesting we can do with them. Something very, very, interesting" -Seam/Their shop CH5 ...With some also curious properties "You held the crystal up to your eye. For some strange reason, for just a brief moment... [First use] You thought you saw toys strewn on the floor. [Card Kingdom] You thought you saw the computer lab. [Cyber World] You thought you saw your television being smashed to bits. [TV World] You thought you saw the lobby of the church. [Dark Sanctuary] It looked like everyone else disappeared and you saw Noelle smiling at you, with arms full of flowers. [Flower Kingdom] ...but, it must've just been your imagination. [Follow-up, any]" -Narrator/Using the shadow crystal in the dark world Ok, so that's our fella. 5.2°) "keeps calling it his "battle body"" Could Papyrus fit in the armor, though? Literally and figuratively, of course! 5.2.1°) What we know of him in Deltarune * I'm not sure if i need to recall this, but both Sans and Papyrus come from Deltarune. Here we're not talking about an alternative version of them, but a past one. -> He's not home when the Knight is active "(Knock knock knock...) (...) (No response...) (... but the distant trousle of bones.)" -Narrator/Checking his door CH1 "(Knock knock knock.) (Faintly.... faintly, a trousle... growing further away...)" -Narrator/Checking his door CH2 "(Knock knock knock.) (You hear nary a bone... No rattle, nor trousle, nor xylophone tickle.)" -Narrator/Checking his door (hometown segment) CH4 -> He's "busy" with something "Meet new and endearing main characters, as well as familiar faces like Toriel, Sans, as more. Huh? Papyrus? No, he's busy. Sorry." -Steam's description of the game -> Enough to leave the house "a bit messy" "(... it's quiet inside. Peek in?) (Zig zag rug... flatscreen TV... regular-looking kitchen...) (... it's a bit messy, but nothing special.)" -Narrator/Checking his door (rain segment) CH4 -> And enough to miss on events that he'd really like to attend "yeah, my brother. he'd really like the Festival. ... too bad he couldn't make it this year." -Sans/Ask about Papyrus in the festival CH5 5.2.2°) He matches (Most of) the description -> He's a lightner -> He's a large person -> He could have an unstable physical form (We'll get to that) -> He has enough control to leave you at 1HP -> He can fly -> He could be stronger than Undyne and Asgore (By Flowey's judgement, at least) -> He has meta-knowledge and meta-habilities -> He could have a violent, ruthless, arrogant and dramatic personality in the past (Which still shows remnants)
5.2.3°) How would he be the villain? - The Number 9 interview Talking about the narrative itself, I think the Number 9 Interview says a lot on how he could fit this role in Deltarune. "nine's okay. but i kinda feel bad for how it ended up. y'know, seven ate it" "SEVEN ATE NINE!?" "yeah. at least that's what the theorists are saying." "I DON'T BELIEVE IT! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT SEVEN ATE NINE! SEVEN IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE COOL NUMBER! THEY WOULD NEVER DO THAT!!" -> '7' 'ate' (did something to) '9' according to 'what the theorists are saying'. -> But that would be unbelievable, since 7 is 'supposed to be the cool number' and 'they would never do that'. -> Idk about the 'what the theorists are saying' bit, but to my interpretation, the denial that 7 would do such thing could represent the denial that Papyrus could be an antagonist in the story. "Umm, it's just a pun, Papyrus... 7? 8? 9? Like... um, the real number series?" "AH! I SEE! A PUN. THAT EXPLAINS MY BIZARRE LACK OF AMUSEMENT. WELL!! WHAT ABOUT A COUNTERPUN!? FIVE SIX SEVEN... IF SEVEN IS SOME KIND OF COOL DOG-OR-WOLF... AND FIVE SICS SEVEN ON NINE... WOULDN'T THAT MEAN THAT FIVE IS THE REAL CULPRIT, AN IRRESPONSIBLE DOG OWNER, AND THAT SEVEN WAS JUST A MISLED ANTIHERO!?" -> Another character, '5', is introduced as the real culprit behind 7's actions, commanding 7 to attack 9. -> Refering to 7 as a "cool dog-or-wolf" could relate to the Knight's facade. -> Refering to 5 as an 'irresponsible dog owner' could be refering to their role as the Knight's superior, the one's they're working for. -> Refering to 7 as a misled antihero is probably how Papyrus would like to view himself, hence how he denied 7's role as the bad guy. "Umm...If Seven loved Five, maybe they were... ... just doing what they... felt like they had to..." "No. Seven was weak. Duty is no reason to harm another..." -> Here we get a proposal that maybe 7 was doing this because they loved 5, therefore feeling like it was their duty. -> I think the 'love' in question might have to do with family bonds, but I'll mention that in another section. "[...] "let's step back a sec. if seven is a misled antihero... is negative seven a villain who thinks he's good?" "NO! YOU'RE STARTING WITH THE WRONG PREMISE!! WE NEED TO GO FROM THE MOTIVATION!! COUNT!!" "so... negative nine negative eight negative seven." "HM... THIS TIME, NEGATIVE NINE NEGATIVE-ATE NEGATIVE SEVEN." [...] "Perhaps negative eating is cooking?" [...] "So, um, following this formula... Negative-Seven... Is Papyrus, who had Sans (negative-nine) cook for him?" "WHAT!? I'M THE VILLAIN!?" "hmm. maybe you seem like an enemy, but you're actually a good guy." "WHAT? WHY WOULD I EVER BE AN ENEMY?"
-> 'Stepping back a sec', Sans proposes that there's an alternative view to 7's character. That if a 'positive' take on him is a mislead anti-hero, a 'negative' take would be a villain who thinks he's good. -> This is further emphasized when Alphys realizes that Papyrus is -7 and Sans tries to make light of it by saying that 'maybe you seem like an enemy, but you're actually a good guy." 5.3°) UNDERTALE, DELTARUNE AND VILLANY When talking about the archetipe of a "Villain" in these stories, we must remember something very well-stablished: Everything falls into a morally gray area. There is no absolute evil nor absolute goodness in either narratives, since the labels used to determine who's 'good' and who's 'bad' are purely serving the 'epic journey' structure both tales provide us to experience. Toby's approach to morality, the limits of freedom, the search and conflicts for control, cycles of violence and the nuanced psychology behind 'evil' actions overall is brilliant and deserves a deep dive of it's own, but for now, let's take a brief, simplified look at the story-stablished roles. 5.3.1°) Villains in Undertale -> Monsters: A segregated race that's on the verge of freedom/most likely war after being imprisioned in an underground cavern for god knows how long. They kill children. -> Asriel: A traumatized, grieving and psychologically abused young-adult that after years of being literally dead, wakes up as a souless plant that lacks the capability to die. He's an egocentric, manipulative serial murderer. -> The Player: A regular player that can drastically vary their personal reason to play this role, but overall oversteps the boundaries of "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should". They partner up with and take advantage of a dead, traumatized child, using the body of another child to gain power. 5.3.2°) Villains in Deltarune -> Darkners: Otherwise inanimate objects with attributed consciousness, they serve the lightners and will only have a glimpse of existence before disappearing again. They trap and can presumably kill people in the dark worlds. -> King: A ripped card, imprisioned and abbandoned in a closet after being deemed useless and forgettable by the lightners. He's an egocentric, violent, tyrannical supremacist that traps and subjugates people. -> Queen: A computer that noticed how everyone is happier and seeks comfort from their problems on the internet. She's an egocentric, invasive, tyrannical ruler that traps and enslaves people. -> Tenna: A television with abandonment trauma that wishes to entertain and bring people together once more. He's an agocentric boss that exploits his workers and trapped people in exchange of fame and attention. -> Titan: The fear of dark itself. Can destroy the world. -> Flowery: A golden flower that wants to live a glimpse of human life and connections with his family while appeasing their caretaker. He's an egocentric, powerful figure that traps the latter, allienates him from his own family and endangers him. -> The Player: A regular player that can drastically vary their personal reason to play this role, but overall oversteps the boundaries of "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should". They partner up with and take advantage of a traumatized teen, using the body of another teen to gain power. I think I see a pattern here Not only someone appears to like egocentric characters that abduct and trap people, but everyone here has a really clear motive on why they do the things they do. A villain doesn't come only from someone who "just wanna to see everything burn", but most frequently they have a goal to accomplish. A motivation. Or at least, a reason. The knight seems very confident, even arrogant in the role they're playing, serving right the 'villain who thinks he's good' type. Considering most of the villains so far did what they did because they thought they were being righteous or fair in their actions, I wouldn't be surprised if Papyrus, the egotistical capturer we know since Undertale, followed the pattern.
And then there's the 'positive' take on his actions. 5.3.3°) Talking about Susie
In counterpart to the antagonists, we have one of the heros. Perhaps the most 'honorable' one, considering how the other two doesn't axactly seem to be on her side. She begins as a 'bad guy', not really a villain, but she does join the villain's side in order to prove her point and do things the way she wants. She's a violent bully, she bangs the protagonist against a (self-recognized) dented locker and doesn't hesitate in fighting anyone with all her might. Luckily, making connections proves itself righteous once again and that helps her realize that she doesn't have to keep this facade. She doesn't have to play the 'bad guy', and that's not all she needs to or deserves to be.
Susie's arc happens very early in the story, and even if she's the picture of hopes and dreams throughout the rest of our journey, she's still trying very had. Trying to learn healing magic, to allow herself to be vulnerable, to be good and receptive, to trust others and to find her place in the world. Considering all that's been stablished, it's not uncommon and it wouldn't be surprising for the protagonist's arc to parallel one of the antagonists's of the story. An 'antihero' would be an extremely generous description to the Knight (As he might've chosen it himself) considering what they've done, but the 'mislead' part really puts into perspective how grand the scheme of things actually is. Which is why-- 6°) DARK, DARKER YET DARKER You see, I've already made my point very clear: Papyrus has a grand potential to be the Knight, if not one of the antagonists of the story. That's basically it. Here I'll just ramble on weird constatations and personal theories in "a bit messy" way - Not unrelated to the main topic nonetheless. I won't be using super precise references because each of these also deserve their own proper studies on the matter. Feel free to skip this part if you don't want to dwelve any more into the speculation ground. 6.1°) SOME WEIRD IMPLICATIONS -> The Shadow Crystals "The Shadow Crystals are far more than mere pieces of glass. In actuality, they contain a certain power. You could call this the power of "will". ... no, perhaps "will" isn't right. The power they contain is... "The power of lost dreams." When a strong attachment is formed... when a dream is gripped tightly... and then broken off. These... are the shards that remain. "Failed dreams"... of course, these things are useless to you, Kris. I, however, am aware of something interesting we can do with them. Something very, very, interesting" -Seam/Their shop CH5 "You held the crystal up to your eye. For some strange reason, for just a brief moment... [First use] You thought you saw toys strewn on the floor. [Card Kingdom] You thought you saw the computer lab. [Cyber World] You thought you saw your television being smashed to bits. [TV World] You thought you saw the lobby of the church. [Dark Sanctuary] It looked like everyone else disappeared and you saw Noelle smiling at you, with arms full of flowers. [Flower Kingdom] ...but, it must've just been your imagination. [Follow-up, any]" -Narrator/Using the shadow crystal in the dark world Considering Seam's and Gerson's dialogue, the Knight is probably the one lefting pieces of "lost dreams" throughout the dark worlds, for some reason. These lost dreams have the properties you would've expected from them: They give you a look into reality. Out of the fantasy, out of the dark world, out of the dream. What's interesting here is how they're obtained - You follow that dream, you believe and grip onto it until suddenly - "Failed dreams". You fail. You can't hold onto it anymore. You give up, and so the bond is shattered. What gets me is the association between this concept and "the power of will" - Determination. Determination is a property found in every human soul - The power to de-terminate, to defy death, to change fate. When you're not determinated enough, when you give up 'on your dream' - You die. Your soul is shattered. And if you don't try again, it truly is the end. What if the shadow crystals are pieces of a shattered soul? We're familiar with a human whose soul doesn't really seem to belong to them, after all. And the choice of words here is very clear, too: "Failed dreams"... of course, these things are useless to you, Kris." Seam says "failed dreams" are useless to Kris, specifically. "I, however, am aware of something interesting we can do with them. Something very, very, interesting" But that they could do something Very, very, interesting With them. ...But why does the knight have then, after all?
-> Unfathomable power "A monster with a human SOUL... A horrible beast with unfathomable power." -Waterfall's plaques A monster with a human soul... we've seen how that goes before. Asriel showed us 3 variations of that, in fact One human soul Seven of them Seven of them plus nearly every soul in the underground The Knight doesn't seem to have absorbed a human soul, but it is carrying pieces of what might be one. Perhaps you don't need a whole soul to make a monster powerful, you could use only a piece of it. Or even - One of it's properties. -> The unstable form The 'glitchy' and metamorph quality of the knight's body is already very interesting, but something that's easier to imagine on why and how it happens is the drip from their helmet: "I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination."" -Alphys lab entries "monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans' can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down." -Alphys lab entries "That Is When I Realized This Power... This Power Of The Will This Power Of Determination... Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess...? If One Was Simply Determined Enough Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain?" -Queen/Pre final battle "Using the blueprints". Someone was already testing with souls in the past, specifically finding a way to extract it's properties. Properties that could've been tested before, just in different ways. Or even, with different vessels. "THESE SNAILS ARE JUST LIKE MY BROTHER. ROUND, SLOW... AND CONSTANTLY EMITTING SLIME??? EMITTING SLIME... THAT'S JUST WHAT BROTHERS DO." -Call Papyrus/Napstablook's snail farm "THE ELEVATOR SAYS L3. BUT WHAT DOES THE L STAND FOR? LUMACONI? THAT'S THE SNAIL- SHAPED PASTA! SANS BOUGHT SOME RECENTLY. HE'LL PROBABLY FILL THEM WITH HOTDOGS AND SLIME." -Call Papyrus/L3 elevator I'll just... leave this here. And ponder about one more thing. If Kris's soul (us) doesn't belong to them and they can remove us from their body for extended periods without dying, - although getting very weak from doing so - how does it work for them to keep living? And where did they get another soul to compensate for that? For the first question, we have already have a hint on souless existences: "I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?" -Alphys lab entries "But as I left this mortal coil... I started to feel apprehensive. If you don't have a SOUL, what happens when you...? Something primal started to burn inside me. No, I thought. "I don't want to die!" Then I woke up. Like it was all just a bad dream." -Flowey/Genocide route ending monologue They persevere through determination. The artificial kind, extracted from human souls. Perhaps there could be a way humans used determination without it coming from their souls. Just the sufficient amount to live, but still damaging their health either way. As for the second question: "... Kris... dark world... no soul... can't..." -Carol (???)/Holiday's kitchen call CH4 "(I admit. I was weak. The fear took me.) (... I left you. To complete. The summoning alone.)" -Catti/Church booth CH5
I think it might have something to do with this. But in summary. Perhaps Kris conceded their soul for whatever's plan Carol, The Knight, and the rest of the Bad Guys groupchat might have, and in exchange, they summoned us to still have access to the dark worlds and serve as a vessel for the angel of the prophecy (again, us). As for the plan in question -> The motherfucking skeleton mafia Ok, hear me out There's a guy running a casino He's the number 1 client at the local bar He's got a lot of jobs and side gigs. Some of them illegal. He tries to scam you (and other people) throughout the entire game. He "never tells anyone anything" according to his brother. He's helping people in power with secret tasks (The whole 'bag of dog food' thing, the time-anomaly research, etc). His brother is weirdly secretive about his knowlege on where said tasks take place. I'd be really fucking suspicious of that ngl. This and the brother's connections to Gaster, wtf they're doing, etc - I won't elaborate into that. I'm tired as fuck. I'll just say: Pirates are super cool and stuff, but either add Sans and Papyrus to the crew or make another mob au. 6.2°) SOME MORE OUT-OF-CONTEXT OBSERVATIONS Even more random things that may or may not add to this whole line of thinking -> This specific text parallel "The Roaring Knight... Whatever they are, they're making these fountains... But... is that really a bad thing...? Since they started showing up, Everything's gotten a lot more interesting, hasn't it...?" -Susie/First dark fountain "There's two of 'em... Brothers, I think. They just showed up one day and... ... asserted themselves. The town has gotten a lot more interesting since then." -QC/Snowdin's shop -> The LOST SOUL's dialogue They seem both like an internal monologue as well as a back and forth conversation "I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN!" (just give up, i did) "AND THEN EVERYONE WILL," (why even try) "…" (you’ll never see 'em again) -Papyrus and Sans lost souls; Dialogue side by side -> Papyrus is not unfamiliar with a certain 'Flowery' "OH MY GOD!! HE'S NOT IMAGINARY! HE HAS A NAME!" "What's his name." "FL… FLOWERY?" "Oh my GOD!!! You just made that up!!" "OK, I DID!! BUT HE'S REAL!!" -Call Papyrus and Undyne/MTT Resort's corridor
"OH, MY TINY FRIEND FLOWERY!!!" "It's FloweY. No R." "YES! MY TINY AND SMALL FRIEND FLOWY" -Papyrus and Flowey/Papyrus Second Interview (And Spring 2024 Newsletter...) -> Papyrus action figures could more closely mimick the battlefield view of Deltarune in his 'theoretical battle scenarios'. -> Why tf is his skeleton black ?? -> The fountains match their creator. * Talking about how a dark fountain shows it's creator's personality, worldview, and most importantly: their intent, would also need an analysis of it's own. That being said, here's some loose yet interesting coinciding details:
"THIS IS WHERE ELDER PUZZLER LIKES TO STAND. BLOCK-PUSHING. KEY-GATHERING. TEDIOUS AGONY. IT'S IMPORTANT TO RESPECT OUR ROOTS!" -Call Papyrus/Elder puzzler "Bah! Today's monsters don't appreciate what makes puzzles great! Nowadays "puzzles" are nothing but lasers and moving rocks... Bahh!!! There's no ART in that actiony, mindless schlock! It's just timing-based drivel!" -Elder Puzzler "WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION... JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST." -Papyrus/Junior Jumble vs Crossword convo Most of chapter's 1 and 2 puzzles seem to align with Papyrus's 'new-age' taste, since he admits his puzzles in Undertale are "awful" and he probably would've done something more elaborate if given the chance (Perhaps something more deltarune-like?) We have: - Electricity barriers, like in Mettaton's show and like his eletric maze - Scrambled-Words puzzles, like a junior jumble (With ICE-E present, also) - Lots of 'Timing-based drivel' And one of the bad guys is literally an embodiment of old-age puzzlemaking. Like, please. Oh and there's trashy too. "GARBAGE, HUH? BOY, DO I KNOW GARBAGE!! AFTER ALL, I'M HOUSEMATES WITH A LAZY BAG OF TRASH! HIS NAME'S TRASHY. HE LIVES IN THE GARBAGE CAN. YOU DIDN'T THINK I DIDN'T NAME MY GARBAGE, DID YOU?" -Call Papyrus/Dump save
6.3°) PERSONAL RANT That's all, I think. -> Why I wrote this Papyrus is a very dear character to me and I'd really apreciate if more people saw the macro of what he says while taking him and the writing seriously. Seeing the main community discussions on his character is quite disappointing, since he's got a huge potential outside of his 'fanon' interpretation. I hope this analysis can help people connect better with the overall source-material and with Papyrus as well. -> Obvious statements I'm not attacking, criticizing or inferiorizing anyone who has different interpretations or viewings of the character. I get that the general public won't go past the story's surface knowledge, and that's not my target audience for sure. I'm don't mean to dictate how people should connect with a piece of media. I'm just having fun and hoping I can make other people have fun too. -> An also personal opinion People should respect the game's writing more often, not as some mastermind, mind-blowing thing with huge plot twists, but as an actual cohesive and structured piece with intent in it's words. The wiki's unreliability is a huge example, since it should be an accessible way to quickly getting the game's info but it barely has any citations or expositive language at all. Fandom/Community spaces are great, but using them as your only source of connection to the original piece might compromise the individual experience of interpreting the history and what it's trying to say. 7°) TL;DR Like the rest of the UT/DR cast, Papyrus is a complex and nuanced character that, upon further aproximation and interpretation of his dialogue and behavior, one could conclude that he might fit the "redeemed villain" archetipe. Analysing him through these lens while considering he's a character whose past (and absent presence) resides in Deltarune, I try to explain how he'd most likely be among the main cast of villains - As The Roaring Knight, specifically. 8°) REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
-> Overall image resource: @undertale-encyclopedia -> Overall text resource: https://hushbugger.github.io/
-> https://docs.google.com/document/d/13wW8lpyb2AoiCaYUq73KzQFrKVvMF627fCv8EaZt7vA/edit?tab=t.0 The code print was taken from this doc by @insanelyadd (Didn't knew if I should, so I credited either way)
-> Other gifs, images and structured content came from different places of the internet. They're still in-game content, but If anyone wishes to claim the disponibilization and be credited for it, just say so and I'll put it here.