Tales Of Divergence

Oh, you know. Things like how to make a shank, or that arson is okay under a multitude of circumstances. How to laugh maniacally, and yeah, I can definitely see evil puns happening.

Trying to undo it was literally the first thing he looked into when he found out. He was heartbroken honestly, and he felt even worse that Papyrus felt he had to hide it from him for all those years.

With as much of Gaster’s research was lost when he [REDACTED], Sans had to go to some great lengths to find anything relating to Papyrus in their stuff, and some of the stuff still hidden back at the labs. Nothing useful. And running his own tests did about. Nothing. Papyrus’s souls was literally. Part of the void now. He tried for months to figure out something, but only met walls and dead ends.

As far as relieving the symptoms, the only thing that really helps is utilizing his abilities frequently, ie “shortcuts”, traveling to other timelines, staying in his “void form”/shifting, incorporating “void magic” with his standard magic when sparring. Every once in a blue moon, or if he hasn’t been letting enough excess off recently, he has to...expel some of it rapidly which is. It’s not pretty. He basically has to succumb to the pressure and allow his body to...uh, open? Become the doorway by allowing the void, and it’s inhabitants, through. His body more or less...becomes pure void, and bleeds out the energy in a wave of creatures trapped in the void attempting to escape (limbs, parts of bodies, all sorts of things trying to escape. You ever see bendy and the ink machine? Like that, but also amalgamates and horrifying). Eventually he can get a grip, forcing it all back in, his body reforming, and shutting the door tight. But it usually leaves him pretty out of it for a few hours to a day or so. Real spacey, has a difficulty with spatial and reality awareness (don’t let him hold anything glass).

It helps to have someone to reel him in nearby, in case he has trouble resealing the door, so Sans, Undyne, or Toriel will usually be present, and Sans more often than the other two.

She hates it almost as much as Sans. But she also thinks it’s badass? She thinks the potential is badass, and hey, when life gives ya lemons, ya know?

But in all seriousness, yeah. She worries a lot more than she lets on. Especially over episodes and stuff, when it gets partnered with his ptsd? Yeah, not good. Her, Sans, Toriel, and Frisk are just about the only ones who know how sensitive Papyrus actually is, how stupidly big his heart is, and since Papyrus has decided to use these abilities to vigilante all over the fucking multiverse, she’s worried it’s gunna become too much for him, or he’ll bite off more than he can chew and get himself seriously hurt, or dusted. And none of them know what kind of effects his death could have on their timeline now that he’s a vessel so it’s just...a lot.

There’s a sort of....neutrality towards them? Initially, he’s pretty guarded, doesn’t trust easily, but as the acting ambassador, he has to be diplomatic. Which. Takes a lot...of time. Frisk and Toriel help him learn to be less straightforwardly suspicious and more. Political? First lesson is to not just refer to every stranger as ‘human’, because. That really doesn’t nurture unity ahfkahfk

But! With time he begins to view them more in line with other monsters. They’re...more open, yet they have more social rules, too. It can be...hard to understand them, at times, but he’s always willing to try!

Yes!!

“Powers”-wise, I’d stick a big No on that. Being a vessel....comes with a lot of nasty side effects. Sans/Red...definitely doesn’t envy it. Not to mention the responsibility... As a matter of fact, he really resents the parts of Papyrus that were caused by what their Gaster did to him. Not Papyrus himself, never Papyrus, it just...hurts. To see Papyrus struggle with things Red feels he let Gaster do to him. Wishes...he’d known better. To have stopped him.

It comes in very handy!! For a little while, it was hard to adjust, before he figured out how to manipulate clothes when he shifted, he had to actually alter a number of shirts to suit them. But after a while, shifting clothes became as natural as shifting his body itself!

So often I see him portrayed as an asshole, loudmouth, abusive jerk, and I kind of struggle to comprehend it. Especially in the context of his relationship with his brother.

Let’s back it up a step and look at Undertale Papyrus as a character. He’s goofy, excitable, braggadocios, chaotic, and very very kind. He cares about his friends, encourages them, lies to protect their view on him, remembers things about them even when he seems to barely remember things about himself. It’s obvious Papyrus lies and hides things from...pretty much everyone. And the more of his dialogue you look at, the more you see hints of how...unhappy, Papyrus really might be. He harshly criticizes the things he supposedly likes, makes several comments about changing his own appearance, and talks about how he desires to be liked by others when...pretty much Undyne and Sans are the only ones who give him the time of day. And let’s not even get into the straight up just weird and cryptic things he does.

So you take that character, and you subject him to a world that’s rough ‘n tough. There’s infighting, potentially killing, its cold, despondent, and harsh. And you expect me to believe the monster who’s whole deal is believing in others is going to just turn into an abusive bitch because....well, that’s edgy, right? Maybe. But it’s...pretty out of character in my opinion.

If anything, and it’s something I try to portray in my own versions of Underfell Papyrus, I think he’d do exactly what he does in Undertale, and put up an act. Be what he needs to be to survive and protect the ones he cares about. Sure, he might be Tired™️ and angry, but in a world like that, he has even more reason to be protective and harsh. I can definitely see him as abrasive, much like Papyrus’s bluntness, I can see him as loud, that’s just a kind of Papyrus thing, and I can see him as being intense, like I said, what he needs to be to survive and protect. But that’s the key here. To survive. And protect.

I think he’d have to find a whole new method for taking care of the people he loves because normal shows are frowned upon in UF. Pushing Sans to do better for his own sake, so he doesn’t get himself dusted, so he doesn’t Fall Down, taking care of him and the house and the both of them trying to take care of each other in broken ways that only pushes them apart...but at least they’re still alive. Constantly chasing Undyne’s coattails to keep her level, sparring things out, acting all haughty and wanting to prove he can be stronger than her when “they both know he’s not” for the sole purpose of staying close with her, giving her a challenge that isn’t a threat for once. He wants to beat her not kill her and hell, she might even take him under her wing a bit. Friends might not really be a thing in UF but what they have is close, and maybe he even becomes someone she can talk to, outside of guard things, he can be there for her by being an “annoyance”.

I just truly believe in my heart that, at his core, Underfell Papyrus still holds the same hope in his soul as UT Papyus. Anyone can do better. Anything can be better. He’d just have to find different ways of going about it in a world so opposite to his beliefs.

TLDR Underfell Papyrus is still a Papyrus and I believe he’s a good boy who just wants things to be okay

Hello, dear! No worries, I love talking about these boys any time!!

5) A cherished personal belonging. 

Definitely his scarf. Clips got him a new one after coming to the surface and Dusk had settled enough to not tear it to shreds. He likes to feel totally covered at all times, so having a nice, soft, weighty scarf at all times helps keep him calm, and despite the color association, the dark, semi-desaturated crimson reminds him of his old scarf, the beloved rag he’d worn through childhood.

12) How they sleep. 

Not well. Most of the time. But he has meds that help! As for the literal how, on a big made up nest of pillows! Clips sewed together some refurbished mattresses and basically made half the floor of Dusk’s room a bed. A solid layer of cushions and pillows were added for softness since stars does that boy need some serious tlc.

13) What kind of parent they would be.

Well, to be honest, not. Great. With as delicate as he is, him and Clips really spend most of their time and energy taking care of themselves and each other. Taking on a child, be it monster or human, would be. Very hard. Plus any episodes of ptsd or panic attacks or bad chronic pain days would certainly strain his ability to be a solid foundation in their life. However! He’s a very good pet parent!! Since cats don’t care if you need to put yourself first, as long as you feed them, they’re happy just to snuggle and be there for you, they’re the perfect compromise of needing care and providing it! Therapy cats therapy cats therapy cats therapy cats 💙💙💙

I know it’s been theorized a lot that Chara and Frisk fell into the Underground for “unhappy reasons” but I just realized. The theme. The theme of the children falling into the ruins is Fallen Down. Just like what happens to monsters when they lose hope and ultimately dust.