“Wowie!”

Gonna be salty here but like. As I am currently having arguments with people in the comments sections of the two newest horrortale pages on DA for daring to suggest that Sans is an asshole I gotta say:

If Sans is being an asshole in a fanwork don’t try to justify what he’s doing.

Horror Sans is out here literally causing the famine because he’s a petty little bitch and people are still like “oh well that’s a little harsh” or “sucks for everyone else but Undyne and Alphys deserve it for BeTrAyInG SaNsY!!!” or trying to say his stupid eyeball malfunctioned And Sans Knew All Along that it would happen (which oh so conveniently also retroactively removes the guilt he has for being the key to fixing the core, but also the trivia the creator put in the description proves it was an intentional conscious choice he made) and like.

IF SANS IS BEING AN ASSHOLE, THEN HE’S AN ASSHOLE, THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR 99% OF THE THINGS FANON SANS DOES

Torture Flowey? Fucked up, he’s basically a kid mentally, and making it so Sans remembers resets (WHICH HE DOES NOT CANONICALLY) to justify the torture is also fucked up.

Literally beat anyone who ““““wrongs”””” Papyrus (either by being mean to him or just by saying a swear word around him) within an inch of their life? Fucked up, wrong, as an eldest sibling I think you must imagine Sans to snort bath salts for him to be this fucking aggressive.

Threatening the lives of everyone who meets Papyrus? OH GEE NO WONDER PAPYRUS DOESN’T HAVE ANY FRIENDS (even though, lbr, canon Sans wouldn’t fucking do this stupid shit, he’s not a rabid 12 year old who runs a serial killer appreciation blog)

Sans is not immediately absolved of guilt just because you’re drooling on his sock collection, and he should be held accountable more often when he does shitty things, because if Papyrus gets mad at Sans because Sans is out of character being a dick, then you shouldn’t go “Oh poor Sans! He’s gonna melt into a pile of Literal Depression because Papyrus isn’t literally worshipping the ground he walks on!” instead of “Get his ass Papyrus, he blinded someone because they called you a mean name, which is vile levels of escalation.”

A lot of people like swap aus where Sans is the one that dies and Papyrus is forced to shed his naivete and face you going all-out, which makes sense, but also, Papyrus is just so. Papyrus. I feel like if Papyrus had to be the final murder-run boss, it’d be more like, “After losing Sans, the world seems like a different place. I can’t imagine what you must’ve gone through for you to see the world the way you do.”

He only has one attack, but it’s a really long one and powerful one (kind of like Sans’ before his ‘special attack’), plus he talks during it, which would be pretty distracting. whenever he gets your hp down to 1, combat automatically stops and you’re ejected back into the judgement room. if you try to talk to him without healing, he’ll just say you’re too hurt - a gust of wind could knock you over! after you heal at the conveniently placed save point and go back to fight him, he has stuff to say about how you don’t have to be alone, you don’t have to do this, you might think there isn’t any good in you and it’s too late to change, but there is and it isn’t! After a few of those, he’ll talk about Undyne and Sans, and they always tried to help him, even when they thought he wouldn’t notice. He’s got a ton of stories about that. After he says his piece there’s an option to either fight or don’t fight, and every time you pick fight he looks disappointed, but he goes all out. He’s always able to be spared.

I think it’s notable that, while there’s plenty of neutral endings where Papyrus is worrying over various of his friends (or kept protectively oblivious), the only ending where he seems truly miserable is the one where he becomes king of the underground. 

He’s clearly overwhelmed and stressed and has so many new responsibilities and people depending on him and asking him to solve impossible problems.  And he’s still trying so. hard. 

Papyrus: [dropping his smile] Is Sans gone? Papyrus: You know… Papyrus: Don’t tell my brother, but… Papyrus: Despite the improvements we’ve made… Papryus: Sometimes this job is kind of hard.

Faced with ridiculous pressure he still chooses to judge the goodness or evillness of humans on a “case-by-case” basis (and still reaches the conclusion that all types should get puzzles, suggesting that Papyrus believes that all people have the potential to change and grow and deserve this opportunity.)

He still maintains his positivity and optimism, apparently through sheer stubborn willpower and a belief that this is the most important thing he can do.  

And in doing so he’s still a source of these things for other people.

Papyrus is not Sans. They are very very different characters. Sans is nihilistic and believes that even if he murders a small child brutally it won’t really matter because you can just reload. His aim is to murder you so many times you give up on trying to come back. That’s pretty fucked up. Sans fails at being a pacifist. He fails at befriending you and fails at trying to reach out to Frisk inside Chara. He even fails at giving you your second chance and just uses it as blunt deception. When faced with a difficult situation where he has to confront himself and the fact that you killed his brother, he decides that the ONLY option available is to stop you with violence. It’s totally understandable given the context of his roll in the game as Naughty Children Judgement Skeleton, because he understands that this is his situation where fighting is the only available option if he wants to protect whats left. Because he understands he’s the last defense against you.

But Sans is the antithesis to a Pacifist run. He gives up on his morals and gives up on doing what the right thing might be. He tried really really hard and tries really really hard to do the peaceful thing in pacifist and neutral runs but he gives up in the end and chooses the quickest and easiest route out, just like how the player would in a neutral violent run or the genocide run after getting too frustrated with trying to reach a peaceful resolution to a fight.

You big hypocrite, Sans.

Another thing to note is that Sans, even in a pacifist run, has to try really hard to not murder you the moment he sees you. He basically tells you if it wasn’t for Toriel making him promise not to hurt you he would have killed you asap. He’s super blunt and intimidating about it as well. Does he know then that you have Determination and can reload? Pretty doubtful. He’s probably aware of humans having the potential to do it and may have gotten reports about reloaded timelines from his machine and chalked it up to you before meeting you but he really doesn’t have any proof before you enter outer Snowdin. It seems to be implied that he can be aware of timelines being reset and reloaded but he has no way to link this power to someone besides assuming the obvious when presented with proof. He might even believe that all of Floweys resets are your fault. He only ever acknowledges that you have the ability if you reload multiple times literally right in front of him (besides the genocide fight). He’s pragmatic enough to believe that you are a liability to the Underground from the very get go, unsure or unaware at that point that you could be a threat to the timeline itself, and it seems like he would have barely hesitated to do the dirty deed if not for Toriel begging him not to.

Papyrus on the other hand never fails in doing what is the right thing to do in his heart. He never doubts that you have the ability to change your fate in a neutral or genocide run. He’ll rough you up a bit when fighting him but he will never ever kill you. In any play through. EVEN AS HE IS IN THE PROCESS OF DYING he still believes that you have the courage to do the right thing. He goes down in a single hit because he has absolutely no will or determination to fight you, or defend against you, because he believes in you that strongly.

The neutral ending where Papyrus becomes king can only be met if the following main characters are killed: Toriel, Undyne, and Mettaton. Undyne is his closest friend. They’re almost inseparable. If you kill any character in the game you cannot befriend Undyne. If you kill Papyrus before meeting her you CERTAINTY cannot not befriend her. She’ll try as hard as she possibly can to kill you, always, even more if you’ve already killed. If you befriend her and THEN kill, she’ll either become overwhelming obsessed with destroying the entirety of human or will fall into intense depression.

So that’s how Undyne reacts to you killing Papyrus, or anyone for that matter. If you kill Undyne (and Mettaton) and Papyrus becomes king? He continues to believe that all humans have the capacity and intention for good. Granted, it seems he’s probably only vaguely away that Undyne may have been killed by you, but the point is that Papyrus is totally unable to muster up any intent to hurt you, anywhere, anytime. Papyrus is pacifist to a fault and dies believing in that absolutely. Papyrus might beat you up a little but he makes his attacks say COOL DUDE and then offers you a place to stay at their house because he’s upset that you might be scared and lonely. In the genocide run, he won’t ever attack you. Fight Sans once, and he tries as hard as he possibly can, immediately, to fuck you up and bloodily, violently destroy you.

the under tale.

(art by hyenafu)

So, I posted this on the Undertale subreddit, but I thought I’d post it here too. I’d like to reach out to the budding Undertale community and see if anyone would be interested in a collaborative project. I know a lot of you folks love to draw or write, but if you enjoy cooking or baking (you don’t even need to be particularly good at it!) you might enjoy this creative project as well.

What I’m thinking is an Undertale-themed cook book. There is so much cooking and wacky foods in this game, there would be ample fodder for it.

It’d be pretty cool if the recipes came from everyone in the community. Different folks could choose what they want to invent a recipe for and we could collect them all in a book. We might even be able to do illustrations for the book if somebody wanted to– or photos of the recipes in the very least. Eventually we could create a free ebook!

Here’s a list of foods and some ideas (this list contains minor spoilers related to items/events/locations in the game):

–Ruins–

Toriel’s Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie - Done by  sabrepanther

Flowey’s Fire Magic-Infused ‘Friendliness Pellets’ - Done by bonfirepupkin

Spider Cider Doughnuts - Done by toxiccaves

Spider Cider - Done by jaybug-jimmies

Monster Candy - Done by lobstersandcoffeelids

Toriel’s Snail Pie Done by Blue Delliquanti

–Snowdin–

Nice Cream - Done by yfcnvwifeuv

Fried Snow - Done By Jezzy

The Great Papyrus’ Masterfully Crafted Spaghetti - Done by havokwreaker and yesteryears-killer-liner

Cinnamon Bunnies - Done by kov

Bicicles - Done by yfcnvwifeuv

Grillby’s Flaming Hot Burgers and Crispy Fries - Done by avainean

Snowman Pieces - Done by curiouschiroptera

Sans’ Ketchup Pick-Me-Ups -  Done by jaybug-jimmies

–Waterfall–

Sea Tea  - Done by cactustuck

Sea Tea - Alcoholic Version - Done by cactustuck

Baked Crab Apples - Done by jaybug-jimmies

Astronaut Food - Idea by yfcnvwifeuv

Temmie Treats -  Done By Frisk

Dog Salad - Done by pudd1npall3t

Undyne’s EXTREME PASTA - Done by fancifulpotato

Napstablook’s Ghost Sandwich - Done by wexeatxthexrude & chokedonhisrage

Abandoned Quiche - Done by fluffy-critter

Annoying Dog Residue - Done by Rotu1

–Hotland–

Sans’ Water Sausages - Done by wexeatxthexrude

Alphys’ Spicy Shrimp Ramen - Done by unfortunate-outcomes

Endogeny’s Popato Chisps - Done by  joysauceisnotarealsauce

Muffet’s Spider Tea and Cupcakes - Done by jaybug-jimmies

MTT-Brand Human Soul Cake - Done by driedblueberries

–Hotel–

MTT-Brand Glamburgers - Done by Scholomance

MTT-Brand Face Steaks - Done By pudd1npall3t 

MTT-Brand Starfait - Done by alizardnamedtopaz

MTT-Brand Legendary Hero - Done by ollydgaming

Bratty and Catty’s Junk Food Plate - Done by malintatherian

Slush Puppies - Done by orixhime

King Asgore’s Golden Flower Tea - Done by sketcheddd, Lee, and Anonymous

If anyone is possibly interested in this, drop me a note. 

Hey. What if Deltarune’s Papyrus is a shy, tabletop-obsessed dork who sculpts and paints his own miniatures? What if he writes elaborate, inventive campaigns, and voice acts each NPC with unexpected confidence and flourish? 

Based on this post because I as scrolling through my ‘silly’ tag, saw that post and immediately pictured this comic.

Bonus:

Random Strange Facts:

Papyrus is the only character to speak without an asterisk

Papyrus’s dialogue shakes on a consistent basis when no one else’s does

Papyrus is described as “forgettable,” something only mentioned elsewhere in context with Goner Kid and Gaster

Papyrus seems to be able to see what the player is looking at when he calls them (”THAT BAG OF DOG FOOD LOOKS FAMILIAR…”)

Papyrus seems to know that MTT has eyes before MTT becomes MTT Ex

Papyrus has a total of 2184 lines in the game—more than any other character, and almost as much as the narrator of the game, which is at 2418 lines. The next closest character is Undyne, with 1268 total lines.

Similar wording is used to describe Papyrus as it is to describe Gaster. (It’s rude to talk about someone who’s listening)

Papyrus’s theme, “Nyeh heh heh/Bonetrousle,” is used in all of the trailers of the game

Papyrus and Sans break the 4th wall in the stream greenlight trailer, which shocks Toriel

Papyrus flies/breaks the laws of physics casually and seemingly on a regular basis

Papyrus is one of the few characters that refers to gameplay mechanics (“PRESS [C] ON THE KEYBOARD FOR DATING HUD!” “HOLD UP LONGER TO JUMP HIGHER, JEEZ!”)

Papyrus says himself that he knows nothing about his hands because he always keeps his gloves on.

There is nothing, nothing known about his past before his showing up to Snowdin. By the end of the game and after some research, you can basically know more about Gaster and Sans than you do about Papyrus, despite him having the most dialogue in the game besides the narrator.

Papyrus has such control over his magic in his fight, that he can make his attacks do zero damage because he refuses to kill the human.

You are healed to full HP right before the Papyrus fight, as well as immediately after if you are captured.

Papyrus doesn’t seem to realize that Frisk is a kid, despite Frisk wearing a striped shirt, which is a common indicator for childhood in monster society. (is he unfamiliar with common monster culture, for some reason?)

Sans reads Papyrus bed time stories on a regular basis, but Papyrus himself never seems to sleep

The Undertale Q&A that Toby Fox did for Undertale’s anniversary revolves around Papyrus

His defense raises in the spare phase of his fight, unlike every other monster. He seems to be able to manipulate his own stats.

Relationships:

The two 4th wall breaking characters (Flowey and the Annoying Dog) seem to have a special interest in Papyrus

Annoying Dog:

Steals bone attacks on two separate occasions (Papyrus fight and aborted Genocide hangout, in which the “special attack” is hinted to be Gaster Blasters)

Steals bones in general on two occasions (Under Papyrus’s sink and during the hangout with Undyne)

Eats Papyrus’s lasagna

Snuggles with Papyrus

Flowey:

Says Papyrus started a “Flowey Fan Club”

Says Papyrus took a long time to get boring on his repeated runs

Asks Papyrus to call Frisk before the True lab, gather everyone together before the True Ending, and probably leave a note in Alphys’ trash can

Flowey is the only one who knows Papyrus’s favorite food, which is dinosaur oatmeal (no, it’s not spaghetti. Papyrus has never eaten it.)

When Flowey attacks the group during the True Pacifist fight, he binds everyone with two vines, except Papyrus–who he binds with four.

Sans (overlooking the bounteous brotherly goodness of the two):

Papyrus lies to him on a consistent basis

This is to probably humor Sans about his level of knowledge?

Papyrus still expects Sans to know more about Papyrus than Papyrus does himself?

Papyrus acts negatively towards Sans’s puns, but then turns around and makes the most (and arguably best) puns in the game out of anyone

Personality:

Doesn’t outwardly acknowledge criticism

According to Sans, he is trash-talked a lot

May have self-worth issues

Extremely blasé about his own death

Doesn’t seem to have friends, despite working very hard to get them

He phrases things in really strange ways. (”UNMANDATE IT SAFER”)

Papyrus staunchly refuses to really hurt people, despite it being very likely that he could be just as hard or harder of a fight than Sans

He has a strong and unshakeable belief that people can change (does he know this from personal experience?)

He hates Grillby’s and Hotland

He is an amazing artist

He considers himself a great chef, even if he doesn’t necessarily eat what he cooks

Quotes:

“DEADLY SPIKES, PRECARIOUS BRIDGES! TRULY THE PILLARS OF YOUTH!”

[when dying] “ALAS, POOR PAPYRUS. [this is quoting Shakespeare while he’s dying] WELL, AT LEAST I HAVE MY HEAD!”

“I WOULD NEVER TAKE A VACATION FOR ANY REASON!”

Undyne: “Papyrus… doesn’t know how to sleep??”

“I WANT TO MEET DEATH!”

“YOU CAN SEE YOUR REFLECTION IN A PUDDLE, BUT… DON’T LET A BODY OF WATER DETERMINE YOUR SELF WORTH!”

“IT’S MY LEAST FAVORITE NIGHTMARE!” – referring to Hotland lasers and conveyors

“A MYSTERIOUS SCIENCE HOUSE. […] LABORADOR-Y?” When talking about Alphys’s lab with Sans present.

“A LAB?? MY BROTHER WOULD LOVE THAT!” –when talking about Alphys’s lab without Sans present.

“ICE CREAM? THANKS, BUT I LIVE IN SNOWDIN! THERE’S ICE CREAM ALL OVER THE GROUND!” –when talking about ice cream when Sans is present.

“I TRIED TO CAPTURE YOU… WHERE’S MY ICE CREAM.” –when talking about ice cream without Sans present.

“STOP LOOKING IN MY EMPTY MAIL BOX. THAT’S MY EMPTINESS, NOT YOURS.”

“I AM A PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY.”

“HOTLAND! I KNOW IT LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. WHICH, SINCE I’M ALWAYS WEARING GLOVES… I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT!”

“WELL, IF YOU WANT TO GET SOMEONE TO OPEN UP, YOU SHOULD ENGAGE THEM IN COMBAT! HUM HUM HUM…” – before the Shyren encounter. This is one of the few times where Papyrus actually gives you something helpful, but how does he know?

AU where Papyrus slowly gains awareness of Chara after he’s repeatedly killed and revived through reloads and resets. Pap’s soul keeps drifting between the worlds of the living and the dead, anyone in his position would notice the things caught in limbo.