so i think i may know why we don’t see papyrus in deltarune
we all know by now that papyrus, at least physically, is mysteriously missing from anywhere in deltarune despite having being a key player in undertale. everyone else that was a main character is there and introduced as early as the first chapter. so where is he, exactly?
well, going by what sans says, he’s just “busy”. he still exists, he’s not dead or missing. he didn’t run away. he’s just at home busy, that’s all. but that begs the question. what is he busy doing? and why is sans so avoidant about the topic?
jumping away for a sec, throughout undertale we get hints that papyrus is more powerful than he lets on. like sans, papyrus has a lot of power, it’s just that he doesn’t show it in the same ways. undyne, the most powerful soldier, admits that he’s “pretty freakin’ tough”, and remember, this is coming from her. papyrus also has several anomalies going on with him - keep in mind, this guy has the power to levitate off the ground for seemingly no reason, so it’s safe to assume he possesses more abilities than the other monsters. during our fights with him, he appears weak because he doesn’t intent to hurt us - he just wants to capture us, so he holds back. and given the context that this is just a minuscule amount of what he’s capable of…what is the full scope of papyrus’ power? why doesn’t he move in his battle sprite, being the only enemy in undertale to do that? why does flowey need four vines to restrain him when the rest only need 2? why does he have little to no backstory when the rest have exposition in spades? what can he do, or more relevantly, what has he done that we’re incapable of knowing?
going back to deltarune and papyrus’ role in it - obviously things with the cast of undertale are shifted around, alphys is a teacher, there is no royal family, mettaton isnt a star, etc. but they all retain the same personality/character elements. there are no drastic changes in terms of their core beings, so naturally papyrus would be relatively the same - maybe he’s just an eccentric funny guy who likes to hang out at home. but papyrus is known to be very outgoing and extroverted and would drop anything to hang out with his friends - so him just staying at home and being an unknown to kris is really, REALLY weird. like, beyond weird. it just wouldn’t make sense for him to be so distant.
unless…what if he’s not actually at home?
what if he’s somewhere else?
what if he’s been going to the dark world?
PART 2: WHERE SHIT REALLY GETS CRAZY. LIKE REALLY FUCKING INSANE. LIKE HOLY SHIT
ok so: papyrus being in the dark world may sound like a stretch at first. of all places, why would he be there? he’s just an overworld npc. why him?
consider this. papyrus is a very aspirational character. he’s curious, and he has big dreams of becoming someone important. he wants his name to be known by everyone, and he makes that clear the second we meet him
we also know that papyrus’ ways of achieving his dreams are. incompetent at best. his desires of reaching success are way, way bigger than what he can realistically achieve. his plans blow up in his face, his puzzles don’t work, the like.
now, the dark world is a place where lightners are turned into their idealized selves. they have cool weapons, they have cool clothes, they get to be heroes - it’d be perfect for someone like papyrus, whose dreams of being a widely known savior likely wouldn’t be realized on the light world. but moreover, in the dark world, lightners can become who they’ve always wanted to be.
here’s the catch that really sells me on what i’m about to say.
in undertale, what is papyrus’ biggest dream? what is his ultimate goal? what does he want, more than anything else in the world, to have happen to him?
well, he wants to be in the royal guard. that’s the entire reason why he captures you, or tries to, in the first place. being in the royal guard would give papyrus everything he wants, adoration, the respect of others, the thrill of combat.
and what kind of soldiers does a royal guard have? what would papyrus be if he joined the royal guard?
royal guards have knights. so. papyrus would be a knight.
and in what other narrative has there been a lone knight with great importance, whose name is known by everyone, for better or worse?
the dark world. everyone in the dark world knows about the knight.
so going by that logic, if papyrus were to go in the dark world and have an established presence there - a place where you can become your ideal self - what would he become?
i’m sure you’re catching on to what i’m putting down by now.
and you may be wondering - if papyrus is the knight, why would papyrus do what the knight does? papyrus is a nice guy. papyrus cares for other people. papyrus wouldn’t just cause harm to others just to see what would happen, right?
well, there’s someone else in the dark world worth noting. someone that papyrus is implied to be affiliated with and know, or have known. someone who went missing. someone that papyrus is likely down there to find.
someone who could easily lead him into the dark.
and i just wanna say, now with this in mind, all that stuff about papyrus only reaching a fraction of his potential in undertale….sure does makes a lot more sense.
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