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joeyglowy · 5 years

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Waiting.

My new obsession is Umbrella Academy and holy shit, I love it so much! Five and Angst go so well together, do they not? I hope you enjoy my reader insert, i’ll uh, come here every once in a while but I wrote this in the spur of the moment and I thought I’d post this SOMEWHERE. I might do more at a later time!

This is my first time posting so if anything’s up, feel free to tell me!

Pairing: Five Hargreeves x Fem! Reader

Warning: Angst

Word Count: 3072

Returning to the present—technically the past but he’s not up for nit-picking the technicalities—while reverting back into a pubescent thirteen year old and simultaneously being on the hunt for the manufacturer who created the prosthetic eye for the person that probably caused the Apocalypse. . . Is a much more taxing task than Number Five had initially anticipated.

Especially when he kept glancing at a house that was only a few blocks away from his objective.

His shoulders sagged, not averting his gaze from Meritech as he patiently waited in this shoddy truck for that damn manufacturer to come out. “No, I am not distracted Dolores. I’m just thinking.”

He took a quick glimpse of his beloved partner. Dolores. The only entity that managed to transcend the paradox of time and space. Never aging, but always beautiful. Despite the amputation of her lower body limbs and an arm (also being marginally bald), he didn’t mind at all. He loved her, nonetheless. She was timeless. Tentatively, he removed his hand from the wheel, gently taking hers in his.

It felt cold.

As always.

He reeled, retreating his hand back to its initial position on the wheel, swallowing hard. He tried to ignore her lifeless gaze. He turned his head to her before looking back at the white building.

“No, I’m not hiding anything from you Dolores,” Five reassured her once more, looking away almost irritably now. Squeezing the wheel a little harder, he softly relented, “well, they’re not a thing per say, but a person.” Five screwed his eyes shut, ignoring the cruel irony that ruthlessly scraped at his mind, demanding attention. His throat grew drier every time he tried to gulp down a feeling of nausea.

He looked back at Dolores, sighing. “She’s, an old friend. Before I met you Dolores, she was. . . amusing. Funny. Amicable and whatnot. She was a nice distraction from the insufferable mutations I call family. That’s all she was. . .” he trailed off, as did his mind. Klaus being the nosy druggie he is, had casually mentioned that his old friend had her own house now and slipped her address which just happened to be close to the workplace of the subject of his mission.

His head snapped up, looking at his partner, aghast by their accusation. “No. NO, I did not like them--” he retorted before looking back up at Meritech, seething. He shook his head, chuckling. “Dolores, I have you, I don’t need them. I--” Five tried again and yet, he found his tongue caught in his throat.

How. . . How much had you changed?

Did he even want to know?

He closed his eyes in defeat, pursing his lips as he surrendered the crown of his head to the rim of the wheel. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, we were barely friends. She was just, a distraction.” Listening attentively to the silence, Five found his will weakening with each passing second, growling as he threw up his hands angrily. “Fine! You win! I’ll go see her, but if we miss the guy who could potentially lead us to the asshole that started the Apocalypse, you’re in trouble,” Five berated his lifelong companion before he groaned, roughly running his hands through his hair before he shook his head.

Angrily, he threw open the door and shut it behind him. Hands in pockets, he shook his head sadly once more.

“This is a really bad idea. Dammit Dolores.”

Within another second, he found himself in front of a newly furbished doorstep. The vivacity and new paint infected the very air; it made him want to choke. How sickening, new beginnings. He smiled bitterly. Wow, he really is a spiteful old man. Yet, here he was, acting like a scared teenager, palms sweating, throat dry as if he’s anticipating having to meet the angry father of his date. He lifted his head, scolding his cowardice and rapped his knuckles on the door.

The silence was deafening before he heard the approach of heavy footsteps lugging themselves at a leisurely pace. Each step sounded like gunfire. Before he could will himself to use his spatial jump, the door clacked, the lock now free as the doorknob slowly turned and creaked open. He couldn’t stop the small smile that pulled at his lips, his eyes landing on a pair of white fluffy socks. Fighting the strange increase of gravity, he forced himself to look up and interlocked with a pair of shocked [Eye Colour] eyes.

His heart stopped.

His fingers twitched in his pockets, which suddenly felt a lot hotter and smaller, his hands getting sweatier. Is hand claustrophobia a thing?

He smiled casually.

“Hey [Name]. It’s been a while, hasn’t it.”

It was more of an acknowledgement to break the suffocating air around the two of you. The particles were interlaced with unsaid words, lost opportunities and broken wishes. He swallowed it all down, trying not to inhale the fumes of reminiscence that threatened to consume him.

You looked, cosy.

It made him want to smile.

Dishevelled hair that had centuries of knots in those [Hair Colour] strands, deep [Eye Colour] eyes that were still widened with inexplicable shock, lush lips that were opened in an ‘o’ shape. You had casual pyjama shorts and an oversized black top that said, ‘My life’s the joke. *Badum Tss*’ and he tried really hard not to grin as you still looked like you had just witness the dead rise.

Well technically, if you had come to that conclusion, it wouldn’t be completely implausible since he looked the exact same since you last saw him.

Of course, your features had sharpened while some of your other bustier assets had, rounded, but overall, you look older, prettier, mature and. . .

Dammit. Taller.

“Five. . .?”

For a moment, Five was certain he had blacked out at the sound of your voice before his vision completely cleared to see your frame getting bigger as you stepped out of the doorway and in front of him. You looked down, still in total disbelief, conflicted by what’s in front of you and years of what you had thought you’d known. Damn, he really wanted to laugh. You looked so goddamn stupid.

“Hey kid.”

You furrowed your brows; your head recoiling back as you looked down at him, clearly unimpressed. “Uh, funnily enough, I’m actually the adult here.”

He smirked. “You know what’s funny? The fact that I beat you by twenty years since I’m currently a fifty eight year old in the body of a thirteen year old.” At that, you frowned, squinting at him with a look of confusion and he felt like laughing. He settled for a little snicker. “Yeah, time travel’s a pain in the ass like that.”

You ran your hand through your hair, blinking excessively, trying to comprehend something he knew you could never wrap your head around. Still, it was funny watching you try. There was a certain beauty in how silly yet predictable you were.

“That’s, insane. Completely insane. So, what are you doing here then?”

That, admittedly, was a little less expected. He figured you’d try harder to understand, interrogate him, try and pry answers of your future. He shrugged, not thinking much of it.

“Well, that’s nothing I can tell you or, anything I’d expect you to understand but--”

“No, no! I mean, here.” Five snapped his head up and stared up at you in utter shock. You sheepishly smiled, nonchalantly leaning against the doorframe. “Sorry, should have been more specific, I meant here, at my doorstep.”

Five felt like he was going into cardiac arrest.

He couldn’t bring himself to utter a single word.

Sensing his perplexity, you giggled at his bewildered face. Guiltily, you sighed, your head leaning back and you closed your eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come out as, blunt, as it did. It’s just, I don’t know, you seemed so intent on acting like you know everything but the truth is, you don’t know anything about me now. Times have changed. I’m a different person Five.” You slowly opened your eyes, a glossy shine and a sad smile now equipped to your visage of sorrow.

“I don’t think I could ever know you, Number Five. But if there was anything I had picked up on, it was that you hate wasting time.”

Five felt the world burning around him. Smog clogged his airways as you smiled sweetly at him.

“I’m sure that, whatever you’re doing here and now is much more important than I could ever understand. There always was something more important you had to attend to. I accepted that a long time ago. Although I’m not going to lie, I’m ecstatic to see you again, honestly, just seeing you here, alive and well makes me want to cry because, I had no idea why you suddenly disappeared all those years ago.”

You let out a strangled laugh, a single tear falling down and you wiped it away, still offering your smile, wearing your heart on your sleeve. Five was still trying to recover from the shock and for once, he was at a loss. Speechless. He didn’t know what he should say. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, averting his gaze.

“[Name], listen, I--”

“Mommy!”

Five’s eyes widened and he watched a little monster, no older than heh, five, latch onto your side, giggling uncontrollably before she noticed him. He inhaled deeply, the world shattering around him, the splinters cutting him as she hid behind your pair of, rather nice legs.

“Who’s that Mommy?” she asked softly.

Your warm laugh permeated the air and like an infection, a smile lit up on the miniature version of you as you squatted down, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Hey Muffin. This is my friend.” You gestured to him, pausing for a moment with hesitance before you smiled contentedly. “Five Hargreeves.”

Her eyes lit up like diamonds and Five could see they were just like yours every time he used to use his spatial jumps to show off. Her ragged hair and brilliant grin was just like yours too. Yet, he could see the other components that were used to fill the equation to create the beautiful product that stood before him. His shoulders sagged as she beamed, as if the sun had donated its light to her so she could radiate with its warmth and shine.

He offered a rue smile in return. You noticed.

“Hey kid.”

A bittersweet smile formed on your lips as your daughter waved enthusiastically and introduced herself. She shyly turned to you and whispered something delicately in your ear. You felt the sting in your eyes but you giggled mischievously, cupping your mouth but whispering loud enough to be audible to Five’s ears.

“I think he’s handsome too.”

Five gulped, he felt his ears burn as you stood up straight, ruffling your daughter’s hair and booped her nose. “Alright honnie, I need to send him off so I can join you on our movie night!”

“It’s day time though,” he interjected unhelpfully and you shook your head, grinning cheekily.

“So~?”

He shrugged, smiling. “Fair enough.”

He looked at those smaller [Eye Colour] eyes who stared back at him curiously. She tilted her head. “Hey, Mr. Five, how come you’re named after a number? Do you have any brothers or sisters that are named numbers too?”

His lips twitched up insincerely. “Yeah, six really stupid ones.”

“He’s called Five because there’s five annoying things that I hate about him.” You harrumphed, opening an eye playfully, watching him scowl at you. Your daughter giggled, quickly saying her goodbyes before running off squealing.

He huffed, chortling as he glanced up at you. “She’s a cute kid.” He said honestly.

“I know.” You said wittingly.

Five felt helpless under your scrutinising gaze. So much for a nice nostalgic visit. He cleared his throat, saluting you mockingly.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave.”

Just as he turned away, he felt a strong grip freeze him solid on the spot. He was forcefully spun around and before he could protest, he was suddenly enveloped in the scent of lavender. It was intoxicating, he trembled, suddenly scared he might collapse under your bone crushing weight, every burden he’s ever caused you suddenly piling onto him. You squeezed him so tight; it made him feel small again, like a real thirteen year old. It felt just like your hugs all the way back then. Too tight.

Nevertheless, they felt warm.

As always.

Then, an icy waterfall thundered in his ears as a gushing ravine was placed between you. He still felt too hot though; he held the urge to pull at his collar and wanted an ice pack for his face. You offered a tired but friendly smile instead.

You were still the same.

But everything was different now.

With that all too familiar smile, you grasped the door like a lifeline, turning your back on him.

“It was wonderful seeing you again Five. Thank you, for making the time to visit me. I hope that, regardless of what time, space or universe you’re in, you’re happy.”

You slunk into your house and he just watched as you offered one last sign that made him realise, it was you, you had stolen all of the sun’s radiance first.

And you passed a bit of your light to everyone you touched.

“Goodbye Five.”

“See ya [Last Name].”

Your door closed with a resounding finality and he stared at the empty spot you had once occupied. Five felt a blistering cold wind in his veins, icing his blood over as he turned around.

What was he expecting? That you were going to stay stagnant?

He looked down. In hindsight, he supposed he was too dismissive of you at times. That’s just how he is. He was stupid to think that you wouldn’t do the same. Well, no, you weren’t dismissive of him.

You just moved on.

Something he can’t bring himself to do.

Extra.

Five sighed, making his way down the street. “Well, that went perfectly.”

“No kidding! I thought you were going to faint, it was a moving performance though.”

Five felt the urge to suddenly give up on this wretched world as he turned angrily to his brother who was probably high as balls.

“How long have you been there?” he spat out with acid in his tone and Klaus shrugged, coming out from behind a swan topiary from the neighbouring house and purred suggestively, several winks following. Five wanted to kill himself and he stalked angrily down the street.

“Oh hold up! It’s alright; no one should face a broken heart on their own!” Klaus paused shortly to see a glistening knife pointed between his eyes as Five glared, grinning so tightly that his lip split and bled.

“Drop it Klaus.”

“Oooh, how scary. You got any rope?” Klaus asked, smiling all the while.

Five stared at his brother in genuine awe before sighing and lowering the knife. He continued walking back to the truck and his brother followed eagerly in pursuit.

“You know, if it’s of any consolation, she would have never ended up with you anyway, so you didn’t miss out on anything.”

Five felt his smile stricken and he growled. “I didn’t ask for your consolation--”

“Hmm, her first reason could be. . . Ooh! I know! How you always think you’re better than everyone else.” Klaus shrugged, looking about with a carefree expression.

Five scowled. “I am.”

“Reason number two, probably the fact that you’re so arrogant, smug and cocky, ugh, but it’s just who you are, you can’t help it!” he says with passion, mocking him. Five then realised that Klaus had heard much more than he initially thought.

“Three, hmm, toughie. I’d have to say, it’s probably the fact that you proudly parade how everyone is unreliable, untrustworthy or just not worth your time.”

Five’s eyes widened, a searing guilt igniting in his stomach.

“Four. . . Hmm, my number! So that means, aha! You’re numb, emotionally constipated. You find more solace in plastic than people. You can never really be honest, can you? Maybe we’re both addicts, we keep coming back to pain. Or maybe that’s more so masochism then?”

Before Five could retort that he was nothing like Klaus and that he’d kill him if he mentioned Dolores again, his brother turned to him coyly.

“Darn, I can’t think of a last reason! Do you think it’s something adorable where, even in spite all of that, she still loves you anyway? Awwh, that’d be real sweet.”

Five stopped dead in his tracks. Klaus giggled in glee. “It’s alright Five, even if no one can love you, I have enough love for the both of us!”

Five was silent, letting his brother’s words stir in his mind.

“Say one more word and I will rip out your spinal cord so you can use it as a hookah because, of course, only you would do that.”

Five coldly brushed past Klaus who stood there, feigning his shock before shrugging, happily trotting behind. “Oooh~ sounds, inventive. You know, I’ve tried a lot of things but I have to say, marrow-juana would have to be a first for me.”

Five stopped to stare at his brother in a mixture of pity and amusement.

“You’re an idiot. Although I admit, I’m almost impressed you managed to come up with that on your own and while you’re high.”

“Aww, thanks! Although your girlfriend’s been waiting for you for a while now, you should be getting back to her shouldn’t you?”

Five immediately began scowling again before he trudged back to the truck, sour and bitter. Yet, something sad lingered in the air as he watched the asphalt, getting further and further away from your home. He knew who Klaus was really talking about and yet, something stung nonetheless.

Your home was a place filled with happiness. . . and rightfully, without him in it.

Life goes on, huh?

Unfortunately, so do people.

Damn, how much time did he lose in a wasteland with no one but moulded plastic by his side?

“Yeah, I know. She’s always waiting. That’s how I survived this whole time.”

#tua #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #number five #five hargreeves x reader #klaus hargreeves #x reader #five #number 5

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jamespeppersalt · 6 years

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Gaius/Lucina PC Support

Gaius would be such a good dad to Lucina. He’s such a... SWEET-heart

(Badum-tss)

Gaius/Lucina PC Support

C Support

Gaius: Lucina! I brought you some more cookies!

Lucina: Ah, thank you, Papa.

Gaius: Anything for my little girl. You were born with a sugar spoon in your mouth, and I’m here to see to it that it stays that way.

Lucina: You know, you always used to make these cookies for me when I was little.

Lucina: Anytime I was upset or sick, you’d make these for me to cheer me up.

Lucina: They did the trick every time.

Lucina: It’s embarrassing to admit, but I kind of have a soft spot for sweets…

Gaius: Aha, I see my daughter inherited my sweet tooth. Good to know it runs in the family!

Lucina: Hahaha, well, like you said— I was born with a sugar spoon in my mouth!

Gaius: Haha, well, just so you know, I don’t USUALLY share my candy… but if you ever need a sugar rush, just tell me, and I’ll sneak you some candy.

Lucina: Aww, really? Thank you so much, Papa!

Gaius: Anything for my little girl. Now hang tight— I think I’ve got some jelly candies around here somewhere.

Lucina: Ah, I’ll help you look!

B Support

Lucina: Hmmm…

Gaius: Thinking hard?

Lucina: Papa! I didn’t hear you approach.

Gaius: No one ever does.

Gaius: What’s bothering you, sweetheart? I saw you alone out here and figured something must be wrong.

Lucina: Oh, well. I was just… thinking.

Gaius: About?

Lucina: My life in the future.

Lucina: It was… a very bloody time and place. All I really knew was war.

Lucina: I know I shouldn’t dwell upon it, but sometimes… I can’t help it.

Lucina: I just think of the war, and all the things we’ve lost, and the thoughts flood into my mind.

Gaius: Lucina… is there anything I can do?

Lucina: No offense, Papa, but I don’t think this is something cookies can fix.

Gaius: That’s not what I meant!

Gaius: Lucina, if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, just tell me.

Gaius: Believe it or not, I know not everything’s sugar and rainbows.

Gaius: If you ever need a distraction— or just to talk— I’m always right here, alright?

Gaius: Even if all you need is cookies, I’m always here for you.

Lucina: Papa…

Gaius: Listen— I can tell you want your space right now, so I’ll leave you alone.

Gaius: BUT! Tomorrow, I’ve got something I know will cheer you up.

Lucina: You think so?

Gaius: I know so.

Gaius: Get some sleep, sugar. I’ll see you in the morning.

Lucina: Alright.

Lucina: ��Thank you, Papa.

A Support

Lucina: Papa? Are you in here?

Gaius: Yep! Come right on in.

Lucina: Whoa! Papa, this is—

Gaius: Surprise!

Gaius: I know you said cookies can’t fix your problems, and I know that’s true.

Gaius: But I’ve always found that, even in the midst of war, baking can be quite the therapeutic distraction.

Lucina: This is a lot of ingredients. Did you buy an entire grocery store?!

Gaius: Hey, being prince-consort has some sweet perks.

Lucina: Papa, you didn’t have to do this.

Gaius: I know I didn’t HAVE to.

Gaius: But seeing my little girl so down in the dumps… I couldn’t just do nothing.

Gaius: You’ve been through so, so much, Lucina. If I can even offer the smallest amount of solace…

Gaius: Then I’ve done my job as your father.

Lucina: Papa…

Lucina: You know, I don’t think I’ve actually baked since before you died in the future.

Lucina: I might be a little rusty.

Gaius: Heh, no worries. I’m more than willing to help you relearn the world’s most sacred art.

Lucina: Thank you, Papa.

Lucina: You used to do crazy stuff like this all the time… I never got the chance to say it much before, but…

Lucina: I love you, Papa.

Gaius: I love you too, Lucina. And I’ll always be here for you.

Gaius: Now, do you want to learn how to make the sweetest pie known in the history of humankind?

Lucina: I thought you’d never ask.

#fanmade support #lucina (fire emblem)#gaius (fire emblem)#parent-child support

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eroshiyda · 7 years

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Wild Theory

Today is Undertale's second anniversary. I love Undertale so much that it has been my hyperfixation ever since I played it at the beginning of 2016. I joined tumblr in May of 2016 because I saw that a lot of people were talking about Undertale on here. This is the origin of this particular blog. And now, I have planned a Special Post(TM) for this occasion.

(Warning: this post is extraordinarily long - as in, over five thousand words long - and contains many spoilers for the game. I have hidden it under a "Read More" so that it doesn't clog up people's dashboards.)

I. Preface and Special Thanks

First, though, I must tell you a story. It all started when I made my husband play Undertale, because it was so great when I played it, and I wanted to see how he would play the game. Which route would he take? (He ended up doing True Pacifist after killing the first Froggit and feeling so guilty about it that he reset). Once he finished, I asked him who his favorite character was.

His answer? Papyrus.

"Papyrus?" I thought. "But why?" I felt like he was probably the most forgettable character in the entire game, perhaps apart from Sans (note: I have never done a Bad Time route). What was it about this goofy skeleton that made my husband like him so much? Was it his malapropisms? Was it the fact that he can somehow shout in whispers? Was it his Ghost costume... er, "battle body?"

So, I decided to do some research. I started searching "Papyrus from Undertale" on Google, and most of the results I found came from the wonderful, well-functioning website which we all know and love as tumblr. He was buzzing, and it seemed a lot of people felt about Papyrus the same way my husband did.

I made an account, and the first thing I posted was a Very Profound Theory(TM) which was met with some disagreement. That "theory" is that Papyrus is Sans' older brother, and not the other way around. (Keep in mind that, at this point, I had not seen Toby Fox's tweet about Papyrus calling Sans the common word for "older brother" in Japanese, which was actually an allusion to the fact that he was translating Undertale into Japanese, but I digress.)

The reasons I posted were simple enough, and if you really want to, you can even go back and read it for yourself. I'll link to it here for you also:

https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com/post/144298607667/papyrus-is-the-older-brother [link to my first tumblr post, "Papyrus is the older brother."]

This just came from my personal experience as an older sibling, and a closer analysis of Papyrus' character during my second True Pacifist playthrough.

Through this "theory" post (and I really am hesitant to call it a "theory" now, because it's so mundane), I met a lot of friends who were also theorizing about Papyrus. However, this is not the theory that I wanted to talk about.

As I gained more and more tumblr friends who were also very interested in Undertale (mostly Papyrus in particular), I started seeing more posts about all of the weird things he does and says. Not "weird" in a derogatory way, I just mean weird as in "odd," "unusual," "eccentric," and sometimes "nonsensical" or "unpredictable."

@undertale-encyclopedia did a really good job of compiling each of the canon strings of text, so I will mainly be using that blog as a resource for my canon information (since I never played anything but True Pacifist, and therefore do not have my own screenshots of certain bits of dialogue from other routes).

https://undertale-encyclopedia.tumblr.com/ [link to undertale-encyclopedia's tumblr blog]

@jewels336 (now deactivated) also provided a masterpost for which I am eternally grateful, as even though I had seen all of the posts (and even participated in a lot of them) compiled within that master list, they were now in a very neat and accessible place. I will be referencing those posts as well, as they were a springboard for many parts of this theory, and utilize canon information. Here it is:

https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com/post/151713943787/compilation-of-mysterious-papyrus-things [link to jewels336's tumblr post, "Papyrus Masterpost!"]

@uselessundertalefacts (formerly @uselessshoelacefacts), @lefthanded-sans, and @papyrus-knows also indulged a lot of questions I originally had about Papyrus. They all made some really good analysis posts about the skelebros in general as well, so you should definitely go and check out their blogs, too.

I would also like to thank each and every one of my followers/mutuals/friends, who let me talk about Papyrus with them at some point or another. I am very much aware of how wild my theories are, so thank you for putting up with me.

Right. *deep breath* Now onto the theory.

II. Introduction

If you have not yet read @napstamuse's "Goner Theory Part III: Skeletons in the Closet," I very strongly urge you to do so right now. Here it is, for your convenience:

http://napstamuse.tumblr.com/post/139568679252/goner-theory-part-3-skeletons-in-the-closet [link to napstamuse's tumblr post, "Goner Theory Part III"]

This is the actual post which made me join tumblr, and ultimately it led me to make up this theory. In summary, it points out how little we know about Papyrus, despite his talking incessantly. In fact, it even mentions at the very end that there's only one other character in Undertale of whom we know about as little: Mystery Man.

[picture of Mystery Man sprite]

With a name like "Mystery Man," one would expect at least some intrigue surrounding such a character. We know what Mystery Man looks like:

[picture of Mystery Man, surprised]

We know what font he speaks in:

[picture of Entry 17 in capitalized Wing Dings font with no asterisks]

And are therefore able to conclude that he was a Royal Scientist, as the only other person to write "entries" is Doctor Alphys, the current Royal Scientist of the Underground:

[picture of Doctor Alphys' entries in normal font, with standard asterisks at the beginning]

and that his name was probably Wing Dings, or W. D. for short:

[picture of one of Gaster’s followers referring to him as “Doctor W. D. Gaster”]

But what does this have to do with Papyrus? Well, let's start with what we know about Papyrus.

We know that he looks like this:

[picture of Papyrus wearing a cape, battle body, and hotpants]

sometimes this:

[picture of Date Papyrus with MTT-brand Basketball Shoulder Pads, a shirt which says "Cool Dude" in all caps, shorts, and sneakers]

or even this:

[picture of Papyrus wearing a sweatband over his head and a shirt which says, "Jog Boy" on it]

We know that he likes puzzles:

[picture of Papyrus standing next to and talking about one of his puzzles]

We know that he's a good artist:

[picture of Papyrus talking about how he painted the Snowdin bridge over a rock formation]

We know that his name is Papyrus (obviously) because he is referred to as such, and talks in this font:

[picture of Papyrus saying "Nyeh heh heh!" in capitalized Papyrus font, also without the standard asterisks]

And... that's it.

The rest of this theory involves putting these clues together. Ready?

III. Appearance

Let's start with Papyrus' appearance. He's pretty tall, compared to his brother Sans. According to this chart by @kitty4915, he's approximately 6 feet and 8 inches tall:

https://kitty4915.tumblr.com/post/138141358237/yo-undertale-heights-go [link to kitty4915's tumblr post, "YO UNDERTALE HEIGHTS GO!!"]

[picture of Papyrus next to a door]

A bit strange for brothers, don't you think? One of them definitely got the short end of the stick. *badum-tss*

[picture of Sans Height Chart, 4'8"]

Anyway, I've seen it speculated that Papyrus and Sans are not "brothers" in a literal sense, but they are very close friends who sometimes call each other "brother." However, I do not think this is quite the case.

Sometimes I forget that half-siblings are a thing that exist. Half-siblings are siblings who share only one parent. How is this relevant to the skelebros? Well, @zarla-s has come up with an AU called Handplates which has one possible explanation for this: the skelebros technically share one parent, because they are both cloned from the same person. That person is, you guessed it: Royal Scientist Wing Dings Gaster.

http://zarla-s.tumblr.com/post/139516306171/okay-i-get-a-lot-of-questions-about-what-order-the [link to @zarla-s' "Handplates" AU Index post on tumblr]

Speaking of Mystery Man, we haven't analyzed his appearance next to Papyrus':

[pictures of Mystery Man sprite and Papyrus sprite next to each other]

It is said that the eyes are windows into the soul. Something people notice right away about Gaster's eyes are that they are extremely asymmetrical. His left eye is much bigger than his right.

Papyrus, on the other hand... well, both of his eyes are small, but if you look closely, you'll see that his left eye is smaller than his right, even when it is facing slightly away from view, like in his battle and date sprites. And it's more noticeable from the front, like in his overworld sprite, pictured above.

Ok, so they're kinda-sorta mirror images of each other, nothing too special. Could be a coincidence. Right? Well, sure, if this was the only thing they had in common, it could definitely be a coincidence. Never mind the fact that Papyrus seems to be raising his right eyebrow and squinting his left eye, almost as if he's compensating for them naturally being the other way around...

But why stop there? The other thing to note is that both of these skeletons are tall. Very, very tall. We already know how tall Papyrus is, but how big is Mystery Man?

[picture of Gaster Height Chart]

Wow, 7 feet and 6 inches! That is really tall. Even taller than Papyrus (by ten inches). Cool. So, if Papyrus somehow came from Gaster, then Papyrus' extreme height would make a little more sense. But again, where does that leave Sans?

[picture of Sans shrugging]

One could argue that Sans has inherited Gaster's, shall we say, roundness. That makes a little less sense, as we are not even sure exactly how "round" Gaster even is. His black "cloak" (not even sure if it's really a cloak canonically) does not necessarily represent Gaster's bodily shape - as it could be flowy, melted, or otherwise augmented by some magical law of physics. And besides, this theory doesn't really have anything to do with Sans.

IV. But Something's Missing...

However, even I must admit that something isn't quite right about the height discrepancy between Gaster and Papyrus, either. With Gaster being nearly a whole foot taller, it seems as though there's something... missing.

And, even if you take away that extra ten inches from Gaster's height, there's something else which Gaster has which Papyrus, at first glance, seems to not have.

Refer back to the pictures of Gaster and Papyrus next to each other. See the holes in Gaster's hands? And Papyrus'... well, they're covered in gloves, so I guess we'll never know. Darn.

[pictures of Papyrus saying “I know it like the back of my hand… which, since I’m always wearing gloves… I don’t know anything about!!”]

Thanks, Papyrus.

But, there is still something else missing, and this thing has nothing to do with appearances. Of course, I am referring to Wing Dings' experience as the Royal Scientist of the Underground.

Gaster even has "followers" who consider him to be important in the Underground's history long after he is gone. You can find them with certain Fun values:

[pictures of Gaster's three followers]

In contrast, Papyrus holds no important status in the Underground (unless all of the other boss monsters are killed, leaving Papyrus to take King Asgore's place in the end). But he *does* want to join the Royal Guard.

[pictures of Papyrus saying that his “lifelong dream” is joining the Royal Guard]

Why? Well, for starters, he is friends with the Royal Guard Dogs in Snowdin (which is his place of residence), as well as the Captain of the Royal Guard herself, Undyne.

[picture of Undyne]

Undyne got her job because she asked King Asgore "Fluffybuns" Dreemurr to train her in combat. They subsequently became close, and she was so well-trained that she was basically a shoo-in. (This is all canon information which you can obtain by going on the "friendship date" with Undyne in True Pacifist.) But this theory isn't about her, either.

So again, what is Papyrus' motivation for wanting to join the Royal Guard? He's not close with the King. In fact, Papyrus is never mentioned by anyone other than Flowey (who knows everything, but we'll get to that later), Undyne (arguably his only friend), and Sans (his own brother); and, at the very end of True Pacifist route, by both Toriel (who had only heard his name because of Sans) and Monster Kid. No one really knows who he is, so the reason for his wanting to join couldn't possibly be his connections.

Could it be that he wants to FIGHT? Considering that he can't even bring himself to hit Frisk in any run (regardless of how many monsters they have killed in the Underground upon meeting Papyrus), I would say that this is also rather unlikely.

Luckily for us, Papyrus hints at what it is he is really after:

[picture of Papyrus saying "Powerful, Popular, Prestigious!"]

He wants to be powerful, popular, and prestigious. Sounds fair enough, right?

Not so fast. Who in the Royal Guard is powerful, popular, and prestigious? Certainly the Royal Guard Dogs are not. And, while Undyne is undoubtedly powerful, I wouldn't really call her "popular," except with Monster Kid (and Doctor Alphys, but that is a whole other story). But Monster Kid is exactly that: a kid. A child.

[picture of Monster Kid]

Papyrus wants a child to look up to him. Part of the reason he dresses up and acts like a super hero is to appeal to children and give them a role model to emulate. This is also evident in the way he treats Frisk, who is also a child: with open, accepting arms, ready to embrace them and be their friend.

[picture of Papyrus saying "I, Papyrus, welcome you with open arms!"]

But let's tie this back into Mystery Man, shall we? The previous Royal Scientist definitely had a connection with the monarchy as well (which, as we've already established, Papyrus did not have). How else would he have gotten such an esteemed position? He may have also been extraordinarily intelligent, much like the current Royal Scientist, Doctor Alphys:

[picture of Papyrus explaining to Frisk that Doctor Alphys made an advanced puzzle]

[picture of Bratty & Catty telling Frisk that Doctor Alphys made Mettaton's robot body]

but, ultimately, W. D. Gaster met with an untimely death after having an accident of sorts:

[picture of one of Gaster's followers saying that "he fell into his creation"]

which implies that he was a savant, or someone who could be considered "book smart," but also absent-minded and accident prone. That sort of reminds me of someone else...

[pictures of Papyrus explaining Alphys' puzzle]

[picture of Papyrus getting shocked]

Anyway, there appears to be something *else* missing, on top of everything we've just covered.

V. Memories

Papyrus seems to have a... sketchy memory, to say the very least. At first glance, he appears to retain nothing:

[picture of Papyrus saying "Really though!!! That human!!! Do I know that person?” Hint: the answer is "yes."]

but, upon closer inspection, we learn that he retains quite a lot (as evidenced by his telling Frisk seemingly random trivia about nearly each and every room in the Underground over the phone):

[picture of Papyrus saying, "I have a photographic memory for phone calls!"]

and, upon even closer inspection, we see that he actually can't even remember commonly-used idioms:

[picture of Papyrus using the malapropism "smells like the moon" instead of "odor the moon," which comes from the idiom "over the moon," as pointed out by @eheufeles]

then, upon microscopic inspection, we see that there's something definitely off with Papyrus' memory. He literally remembers and even references things which do not exist (or have yet to happen) in current timelines:

[pictures of Papyrus alluding to Mettaton's EX forme – specifically, his “bishonen eyes” – while Mettaton is still in Box forme, and Undyne inadvertently confirming that his EX forme has not yet been revealed, by replying “He doesn’t even HAVE eyes!!!”]

[picture of Papyrus talking about a "Laborador... y?" which is a reference to both Endogeny and the True Lab, yet to be discovered]

[pictures of Papyrus telling Frisk that he will talk to them again, even though this has not yet been confirmed at this point in the True Pacifist route]

[picture of Papyrus telling Frisk that they "can do a little better!" even after killing every monster they have encountered up until this point]

So... what gives? How can he remember things that have not yet happened, unless he is, say, perhaps, a time traveler?

VI. Time-Space Shenanigans

Now, I know what you're thinking: "But, eroshiyda, Sans already told us that Flowey gives Papyrus predictions, so this discussion is all meaningless!"

Ok, but we also know that Sans has the ability to travel across time-space in strange ways; namely, he teleports. It's not exactly an easter egg or anything, as it's too extraordinary a phenomenon to ignore.

[pictures of Sans appearing in two places in the same room at the same time]

[picture of Papyrus asking Sans if he is, in fact, in two places at once; walking into the next room will prove that this conjecture is correct]

But the implication is that Papyrus has the same ability (because they are brothers), or at least a very similar one, as Sans' ability comes as no surprise to Papyrus.

[pictures of Papyrus asking Frisk, "Is Sans pranking you across time and space? I hate it when he does that!"]

And, in fact, there is alternate evidence of their similar abilities:

[picture of Papyrus battle in Pacifist or Neutral routes, showing blue-colored, bone-shaped magic]

[picture of Sans battle, exclusive to Bad Time route, also showing blue-colored, bone-shaped magic]

[picture of the narrator saying, “Papyrus prepares a non-bone attack, then spending a minute fixing his mistake"]

[picture of Papyrus telling Frisk "Had I only used my Special Attack, you surely would have been blasted to..." with a forlorn look on his face. This only happens when you abandon a Bad Time route by sparing Papyrus.]

[picture of Sans using Gaster Blasters during his battle with Frisk. This is only available during a Bad Time route, killing everyone else – Papyrus included.]

Of course, you cannot possibly see them both in action during the same route (Toby Fox, you clever dog), so it is difficult to compare the two without going back to play Undertale in an entirely different way than before. So, this may count as an easter egg.

What is, perhaps, a bit more of an easter egg (at least, according to my Papyrus-fixated tumblr friends), is the fact that Papyrus can - and does - manipulate time-space in his own ways:

[gif of Papyrus literally walking on air over Frisk]

[gif of Papyrus quickly transposing off of the screen without moving his body otherwise]

So, who's to say that he doesn't travel across time as well?

[picture of Gaster's first follower saying that "he shattered across time and space"]

VII. Memories, Revisited

Remember that "memory" thing I pointed out? Well, I'd like to come back to that for a bit.

There are two things which I have noticed, and I get why they've been met with resistance in the past when I brought them up. But, keep in mind all of the evidence listed above and the things we've talked about thus far. As I said, I know that these are wild theories, but please bear with me for just a little bit longer.

Ok, here's the first thing I've noticed:

[picture of Papyrus leaving Frisk with 1 HP so that he can capture them after battle; this happens no matter what, if you lose to him]

[pictures of Papyrus referring to the battle as “a terrible memory" over the phone]

[pictures describing the Bad Memory item, found in the True Lab; it depletes exactly 1 HP when consumed by Frisk]

And the second thing is this:

[pictures of Papyrus immediately recognizing Frisk as a human during a Bad Time route]

[picture of Papyrus not immediately recognizing Frisk as a human during a Pacifist route; he asks Sans if Frisk is human]

Something about HP, bad memories, and a human... Now, how could this possibly be connected?

Well, I'm afraid that I have no more canon evidence to support my theory, so now we are plunging deep into headcanon territory from here on out. If this upsets you, please just stop reading now. I'd rather you form your own headcanon, given the canon evidence so far. Perhaps yours will be more satisfying than mine is, because it's about to get kind of dark. In fact, I would hide it under another "Read More" if I could. But I can't, so I'll give you a break.

Last chance to turn back now.

By continuing to read this, you are submitting yourself to probably the most wild and ridiculous theory that has ever been made in the Undertale fandom.

VIII. Conclusion

If you're still reading this, I must confess that I do have one, tiny piece of canon information to support this theory, which has seemingly nothing to do with anything I just talked about. Here it is:

[picture of a silhouette of Toriel standing next to a human in the introduction to Undertale, with the caption "Long ago, humans and monsters lived in peace."]

[picture of a silhouette of Asgore fighting with a human in the introduction to Undertale, with the caption "They were at war."]

The king and queen were on the surface during the Monster and Human War. This implies that they knew humans at some point before they were sealed away Underground when the humans won.

So... what if Gaster, their Royal Scientist before Doctor Alphys, was a human?

A stretch, I know. But here is another tiny piece of evidence to consider:

[picture of Gaster's second follower saying, "I'm holding a piece of him right here." In their hand is what looks like a human face]

Our Mystery Man once had a face which looks strikingly human. Of course, by the time we see him, he looks more like a skeleton with two large fractures on either side of his skull. So, it makes sense that his face went missing.

Which reminds me of this:

[picture of Papyrus realizing that he doesn't have ears]

[pictures of Papyrus referencing his “hair” and “skin,” neither of which he has, since he is a skeleton]

The only reason that Papyrus could possibly "realize" that he has neither ears nor hair is if he had had them before, and only now realizes that they are gone. Remember: Papyrus has a sketchy memory. Something definitely messed with it at somewhere along the way. But what?

Well, remember the aforementioned "accident" which Royal Scientist W. D. Gaster had? I would think that being spread across time-space would be... disorienting, if you will. Parts could go missing. Pieces. Memories, physicalities, any of it.

"Wait," I hear you thinking. "Surely you're not trying to suggest that Papyrus is Gaster! That would be ludicrous!"

Wouldn't it?

"They have such different personalities!"

Don't they?

"Papyrus could never be the Royal Scientist!"

Are you sure about that?

Let me explain to you how I think it happened.

(This is the dark part. I decided not to dive right into it because I wanted to give you time to adjust to my wild theory. Once you are comfortable with the headcanon of Papyrus being Gaster, please proceed. If this is against your sensibilities, I won't hold it against you at all. You are free to stop reading this post at any time.)

Gaster was a human who lived on the surface like everyone else. He was a friend to monsters before the war. He even knew Asgore and Toriel, although Toriel took to him a bit better. Once the war broke out, everyone had to choose a side. The line was drawn between monsters and humans. Only W. D. Gaster decided to cross that line.

When the monsters were sealed Underground by a magical barrier after the humans won the war, Gaster ended up being sealed with them. Asgore and Toriel were elected the King and Queen of the Underground, and they elected Gaster to be Royal Scientist.

The magical barrier transformed Gaster as time passed. He became immortal, like a monster. He started to adopt their mannerisms, and even started to look like a monster. As his body aged, soon all that was left of him was his skeleton. Without vocal cords, he could only speak in a strange font: Wing Dings. This earned him his nickname.

Then, "The Accident" happened. I don't know exactly how, or when, but we all know that it happened. Gaster "fell into his creation," and "was shattered across time and space," according to his followers. A new Royal Scientist was needed.

In the meantime, two skeleton brothers randomly showed up in Snowdin. We get this information from an NPC in Snowdin:

[pictures of the Snowdin Shopkeeper telling Frisk that Sans and Papyrus "just showed up one day"]

Interesting.

IX. Supporting Evidence/More Headcanons

But how did the Royal Scientist Wing Dings Gaster become the Papyrus we all know and love?

(trigger warnings: mentions of violence and child death)

Let's go back to canon evidence, shall we? We are far enough into the headcanon realm that I do think it's time for some canon reminders:

[Papyrus, looking slightly worried as he says "LOVE." in all capital letters, which holds a very different meaning than lowercase "love" in the game of Undertale]

I know that Papyrus speaks in all caps all of the time, but notice how the word is separated from the rest of the sentence (even though there was definitely room to fit it in with the rest), as if to draw your attention to the word. Also, look at the expression on his face. Doesn't that look like someone who knows what LOVE stands for "Level Of ViolencE," as Sans points out to us in Judgment Hall? Because it sure does to me. Also, remember how Papyrus definitely knows that Frisk is a human during the Bad Time route, but not during a Pacifist route? Why would Papyrus make the connection between humans and violence?

There are two explanations for this.

The first is that a few sub-conscious memories of his time as Gaster were somehow retained; that is, he remembers the war between humans and monsters, much like how he remembers having hair and ears. So that is one possible explanation.

The second is perhaps the wildest headcanon you will ever hear about Papyrus.

Ready?

Ok.

*sighs*

Papyrus... has killed before.

"WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY? HOW?" you ask. Well, here's my theory.

Papyrus, being newly incarnated from Gaster (alongside his brother, Sans), doesn't really know much about the world around him. He has memories missing. Which ones, we're not sure of, but he's definitely... not all there, if you get me.

Now is a good time for to mention Papyrus' stats versus Sans' before I continue with this story. Have you ever noticed how Papyrus is up to twenty times stronger than Sans?

[picture of Papyrus' Pacifist stats: 20 Attack, 20 Defense]

[picture of Sans' stats: 1 Attack, 1 Defense, with the caption "*The easiest enemy."]

But Papyrus and Sans are brothers, so we would expect that they would have the same stats, which clearly isn't so.

Tying this back into what we know about LOVE, we know that with every increase of LOVE, one receives an increase in stats as well:

[pictures showing LV 1 stats, and then saying, "Your LOVE increased!” to LV 2, and the HP stat going up.]

So, the only logical explanation is that Papyrus received an increase in stats because he received an increase in LOVE. And how did this happen?

Think about the Items which Frisk finds in Snowdin: the Tough Glove and the Manly Bandanna.

[pictures of Frisk acquiring Tough Glove and Manly Bandanna in Snowdin]

To which child did they belong? The Orange SOUL.

[picture of the Photoshop Flowey battle, depicting the Orange SOUL in the box and the Tough Glove being used as a weapon against Frisk]

Which trait is attributed with Orange? Bravery.

[picture of the Ball Game in Snowdin showing the word "bravery" in orange]

What happens when an attack is Orange? You have to keep moving.

[picture of Doctor Alphys explaining how orange lasers work in Hotland]

From this canon evidence, what can we infer the Orange SOUL kid's gimmick was, if they were "brave?"

I'll tell you: they kept moving forward, no matter what.

Now, what color magic does Papyrus have?

[picture of Papyrus using blue-colored bones in battle]

What does Blue magic do? It requires you to *stand still,* or else you will get hurt.

[picture of Doggo using blue magic on Frisk's motionless, red SOUL and doing no damage]

Tell me, how is a kid who is incapable of standing still going to survive Blue magic? Simple: they won't.

I even wrote a short ficlet about it here:

https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com/post/152526581522/orange-soul-headcanon [link to my tumblr post, "Orange SOUL headcanon"]

Of course, I'd like to think that it was just an accident. But, accident or not, Papyrus killed a human child, which was enough to raise his stats to twenty times higher than what they were originally. (Remember that humans are far more powerful than monsters, so they would be worth a lot of EXecution Points.)

This is why Papyrus knows exactly how much to lower his stats during the Bad Time route. He's not trying to kill Frisk, and he knows how much force is needed for that.

[picture of Papyrus lowering his stats to 5 ATK, 5 DEF in a Bad Time route]

That's also how he knows that Frisk is going down the "wrong path" by moving closer to Papyrus in a threatening way.

[pictures of Papyrus lecturing Frisk to stop moving before battling them during a Bad Time route]

Papyrus has experience battling at least one human child. And Papyrus didn't lose, either; otherwise, he wouldn't be around anymore by the time Frisk arrives, right?

But this is why his character development is so important to the story of Undertale. This is why he's (arguably) Flowey's favorite monster in the whole Underground, long after Flowey grew tired of torturing everyone else:

[picture of Flowey at the end of a Neutral route saying, "Took me a long time to get bored of that one." Yes, he is referring to Papyrus.]

Because even after Papyrus committed the most heinous atrocity any monster could ever think of, he changed. He resolved to never FIGHT again. He solemnly swore to only use MERCY, no matter how dire the circumstances got. Even after all he had been through, he proved that people can change their ways.

[picture of Papyrus saying, "Everyone can be a great person if they try!"]

It's all about the choices you make. Because accidents happen, everyone makes mistakes, but ultimately you have a choice; do you keep going down the path of least resistance, or do you learn and grow from it enough to do the right thing, no matter how hard it gets?

X. Afterword

Thanks for reading this theory all the way through! You're a real trooper!

I know that this is a topic that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, and I probably left out a lot of discrepancies, but I really did have fun working on this for the past year and a half. I hope you had fun reading it, too.

As I was finishing up this project, the Japanese version of Undertale came out. Some of the information gathered from gleaning nuances in the Japanese text conflicts with this theory, while some supports it; but I just didn’t get a chance to include any of it, to my dismay.

By the time you see this post, I most likely will have left tumblr. So, I cannot accept any of your thoughts about it, unfortunately.

However, if you would like to do even further research of your own, I have left behind this blog as an archive, along with another, super-secret blog I used to reblog my sources. The url is @papyrus-is-gaster. Here’s the link to it:

https://papyrus-is-gaster.tumblr.com/ [link to one of my sideblogs, called papyrus-is-gaster]

I'd like to think of this as my sort of "tumblr dissertation," and I've officially graduated and am ready to move on to other things. Undertale was a fun phase in my life, but all phases come to an end.

And, with that, this post has also (finally) come to an end as well.

Just remember,

[picture of Papyrus saying "Still! I believe in you!"]

The Great Papyrus believes in you, and so do I.

#undertale #spoilers #the great papyrus #w. d. gaster

88 notes · View notes

papyrus-is-gaster-blog · 7 years

Text

wild theory

(Note: this version is cross-posted from my main blog, @eroshiyda [link: https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com], so please reblog it from there, if you can.]

I. Preface and Special Thanks

His answer? Papyrus.

The reasons I posted were simple enough, and if you really want to, you can even go back and read it for yourself. I'll link to it here for you also:

https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com/post/144298607667/papyrus-is-the-older-brother [link to my first tumblr post, "Papyrus is the older brother."]

This just came from my personal experience as an older sibling, and a closer analysis of Papyrus' character during my second True Pacifist playthrough.

https://undertale-encyclopedia.tumblr.com/ [link to undertale-encyclopedia's tumblr blog]

https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com/post/151713943787/compilation-of-mysterious-papyrus-things [link to @jewels336's tumblr post, "Papyrus Masterpost!"]

Right. *deep breath* Now onto the theory.

II. Introduction

If you have not yet read @napstamuse's "Goner Theory Part III: Skeletons in the Closet," I very strongly urge you to do so right now. Here it is, for your convenience:

http://napstamuse.tumblr.com/post/139568679252/goner-theory-part-3-skeletons-in-the-closet [link to @napstamuse's tumblr post, "Goner Theory Part III"]

With a name like "Mystery Man," one would expect at least some intrigue surrounding such a character. We know what Mystery Man looks like:

[picture of Mystery Man, surprised]

We know what font he speaks in:

[picture of Entry 17 in capitalized Wing Dings font with no asterisks]

And are therefore able to conclude that he was a Royal Scientist, as the only other person to write "entries" is Doctor Alphys, the current Royal Scientist of the Underground:

[picture of one of Doctor Alphys' entries in normal font, with standard asterisk at the beginning]

and that his name was probably Wing Dings, or W. D. for short:

[picture of one of Gaster’s followers referring to him as “Doctor W. D. Gaster”]

But what does this have to do with Papyrus? Well, let's start with what we know about Papyrus.

We know that he looks like this:

[picture of Papyrus wearing a cape, battle body, and hotpants]

sometimes this:

[picture of Date Papyrus with MTT-brand Basketball Shoulder Pads, a shirt which says "Cool Dude" in all caps, shorts, and sneakers]

or even this:

[picture of Papyrus wearing a sweatband over his head and a shirt which says, "Jog Boy" on it]

We know that he likes puzzles:

[picture of Papyrus standing next to and talking about one of his puzzles]

We know that he's a good artist:

[picture of Papyrus talking about how he painted Snowdin’s bridge over a rock formation]

We know that his name is Papyrus (obviously) because he is referred to as such, and talks in this font:

[picture of Papyrus saying "Nyeh heh heh!" in capitalized Papyrus font, also without the standard asterisks]

And... that's it.

The rest of this theory involves putting these clues together. Ready?

III. Appearance

Let's start with Papyrus' appearance. He's pretty tall, compared to his brother Sans. According to this chart by @kitty4915, he's approximately 6 feet and 8 inches tall:

https://kitty4915.tumblr.com/post/138141358237/yo-undertale-heights-go [link to @kitty4915's tumblr post, "YO UNDERTALE HEIGHTS GO!!"]

[picture of Papyrus next to a door]

A bit strange for brothers, don't you think? One of them definitely got the short end of the stick. *badum-tss*

[picture of Sans Height Chart, 4'8"]

http://zarla-s.tumblr.com/post/139516306171/okay-i-get-a-lot-of-questions-about-what-order-the [link to @zarla-s' "Handplates" AU Index post on tumblr]

Speaking of Mystery Man, we haven't analyzed his appearance next to Papyrus':

[pictures of Mystery Man sprite and Papyrus sprite next to each other]

It is said that the eyes are windows into the soul. Something people notice right away about Gaster's eyes are that they are extremely asymmetrical. His left eye is much bigger than his right.

But why stop there? The other thing to note is that both of these skeletons are tall. Very, very tall. We already know how tall Papyrus is, but how big is Mystery Man?

[picture of Gaster Height Chart]

[picture of Sans shrugging]

IV. But Something's Missing...

And, even if you take away that extra ten inches from Gaster's height, there's something else which Gaster has which Papyrus, at first glance, seems to not have.

Refer back to the pictures of Gaster and Papyrus next to each other. See the holes in Gaster's hands? And Papyrus'... well, they're covered in gloves, so I guess we'll never know. Darn.

[pictures of Papyrus saying “I know it like the back of my hand… which, since I’m always wearing gloves… I don’t know anything about!!”]

Thanks, Papyrus.

But, there is still something else missing, and this thing has nothing to do with appearances. Of course, I am referring to Wing Dings' experience as the Royal Scientist of the Underground.

Gaster even has "followers" who consider him to be important in the Underground's history long after he is gone. You can find them with certain Fun values:

[pictures of Gaster's three followers]

[pictures of Papyrus saying that his “lifelong dream” is joining the Royal Guard]

Why? Well, for starters, he is friends with the Royal Guard Dogs in Snowdin (which is his place of residence), as well as the Captain of the Royal Guard herself, Undyne.

[picture of Undyne]

Luckily for us, Papyrus hints at what it is he is really after:

[picture of Papyrus saying "Powerful, Popular, Prestigious!"]

He wants to be powerful, popular, and prestigious. Sounds fair enough, right?

[picture of Monster Kid]

[picture of Papyrus saying "I, Papyrus, welcome you with open arms!"]

[picture of Papyrus explaining to Frisk that Doctor Alphys made an advanced puzzle]

[picture of Bratty & Catty telling Frisk that Doctor Alphys made Mettaton's robot body]

but, ultimately, W. D. Gaster met with an untimely death after having an accident of sorts:

[picture of one of Gaster's followers saying that "he fell into his creation"]

which implies that he was a savant, or someone who could be considered "book smart," but also absent-minded and accident prone. That sort of reminds me of someone else...

[pictures of Papyrus explaining Alphys' puzzle]

[picture of Papyrus getting shocked]

Anyway, there appears to be something *else* missing, on top of everything we've just covered.

V. Memories

Papyrus seems to have a... sketchy memory, to say the very least. At first glance, he appears to retain nothing:

[picture of Papyrus saying "Really though!!! That human!!! Do I know that person?” Hint: the answer is "yes."]

but, upon closer inspection, we learn that he retains quite a lot (as evidenced by his telling Frisk seemingly random trivia about nearly each and every room in the Underground over the phone):

[picture of Papyrus saying, "I have a photographic memory for phone calls!"]

and, upon even closer inspection, we see that he actually can't even remember commonly-used idioms:

[picture of Papyrus using the malapropism "smells like the moon" instead of "odor the moon," which comes from the idiom "over the moon"]

[picture of Papyrus talking about a "Laborador... y?" which is a reference to both Endogeny and the True Lab, yet to be discovered]

[picture of Papyrus telling Frisk that he will talk to them again, even though this has not yet been confirmed at this point in the True Pacifist route]

[picture of Papyrus telling Frisk that they "can do a little better!" even after killing every monster they have encountered up until this point]

So... what gives? How can he remember things that have not yet happened, unless he is, say, perhaps, a time traveler?

VI. Time-Space Shenanigans

Now, I know what you're thinking: "But, eroshiyda, Sans already told us that Flowey gives Papyrus predictions, so this discussion is all meaningless!"

[pictures of Sans appearing in two places in the same room at the same time]

[picture of Papyrus asking Sans if he is, in fact, in two places at once; walking into the next room will prove that this conjecture is correct]

But the implication is that Papyrus has the same ability (because they are brothers), or at least a very similar one, as Sans' ability comes as no surprise to Papyrus.

[pictures of Papyrus asking Frisk, "Is Sans pranking you across time and space? I hate it when he does that!"]

And, in fact, there is alternate evidence of their similar abilities:

[picture of Papyrus battle in Pacifist or Neutral routes, showing blue-colored, bone-shaped magic]

[picture of Sans battle, exclusive to Bad Time route, also showing blue-colored, bone-shaped magic]

[picture of Papyrus "preparing a non-bone attack, then spending a minute fixing his mistake"]

[picture of Sans using Gaster Blasters during his battle with Frisk. This is only available during a Bad Time route, killing everyone else – Papyrus included.]

What is, perhaps, a bit more of an easter egg (at least, according to my Papyrus-fixated tumblr friends), is the fact that Papyrus can - and does - manipulate time-space in his own ways:

[gif of Papyrus literally walking on air over Frisk]

[gif of Papyrus quickly transposing across the screen without moving his body otherwise]

So, who's to say that he doesn't travel across time as well?

[picture of Gaster's first follower saying that "he was shattered across time and space"]

VII. Memories, Revisited

Remember that "memory" thing I pointed out? Well, I'd like to come back to that for a bit.

Ok, here's the first thing I've noticed:

[picture of Papyrus leaving Frisk with 1 HP so that he can capture them after battle; this happens no matter what, if you lose to him]

[pictures of Papyrus referring to the battle as “a terrible memory" over the phone]

[pictures describing the Bad Memory item, found in the True Lab; it depletes exactly 1 HP when consumed by Frisk]

And the second thing is this:

[pictures of Papyrus immediately recognizing Frisk as a human during a Bad Time route]

[pictures of Papyrus not recognizing Frisk as a human during a Pacifist route]

Something about HP, bad memories, and a human... Now, how could this possibly be connected?

Last chance to turn back now.

By continuing to read this, you are submitting yourself to probably the most wild and ridiculous theory that has ever been made in the Undertale fandom.

VIII. Conclusion

[picture of a sillhouette of Toriel standing next to a human in the introduction to Undertale, with the caption "Long ago, humans and monsters lived in peace."]

[picture of a sillhouette of Asgore fighting with a human in the introduction to Undertale, with the caption "They were at war."]

The king and queen were on the surface during the Monster and Human War. This implies that they knew humans at some point before they were sealed away Underground when the humans won.

So... what if Gaster, their Royal Scientist before Doctor Alphys, was a human?

A stretch, I know. But here is another tiny piece of evidence to consider:

[picture of Gaster's second follower saying, "I'm holding a piece of him right here." In their hand is what looks like a human face]

Which reminds me of this:

[picture of Papyrus realizing that he doesn't have ears]

[pictures of Papyrus referencing his “hair” and “skin,” neither of which he has, since he is a skeleton]

"Wait," I hear you thinking. "Surely you're not trying to suggest that Papyrus is Gaster! That would be ludicrous!"

Wouldn't it?

"They have such different personalities!"

Don't they?

"Papyrus could never be the Royal Scientist!"

Are you sure about that?

Let me explain to you how I think it happened.

In the meantime, two skeleton brothers randomly showed up in Snowdin. We get this information from an NPC in Snowdin:

[pictures of the Snowdin Shopkeeper telling Frisk that Sans and Papyrus "just showed up one day"]

Interesting.

IX. Supporting Evidence/More Headcanons

But how did the Royal Scientist Wing Dings Gaster become the Papyrus we all know and love?

(trigger warnings: mentions of violence and child death)

Let's go back to canon evidence, shall we? We are far enough into the headcanon realm that I do think it's time for some canon reminders:

[Papyrus, looking slightly worried as he says "LOVE." in all capital letters, which holds a very different meaning than lowercase "love" in the game of Undertale]

I know that Papyrus speaks in all caps all of the time, but look at the expression on his face. Doesn't that look like someone who knows what LOVE stands for "Level Of ViolencE," as Sans points out to us in Judgment Hall? Because it sure does to me. Also, remember how Papyrus definitely knows that Frisk is a human during the Bad Time route, but not during a Pacifist route? Why would Papyrus make the connection between humans and violence?

There are two explanations for this.

The second is perhaps the wildest headcanon you will ever hear about Papyrus.

Ready?

Ok.

*sighs*

Papyrus... has killed before.

"WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY? HOW?" you ask. Well, here's my theory.

Now is a good time for to mention Papyrus' stats versus Sans' before I continue with this story. Have you ever noticed how Papyrus is up to twenty times stronger than Sans?

[picture of Papyrus' Pacifist stats: 20 Attack, 20 Defense]

[picture of Sans' stats: 1 Attack, 1 Defense, with the caption "*The easiest enemy."]

But Papyrus and Sans are brothers, so we would expect that they would have the same stats, which clearly isn't so.

Tying this back into what we know about LOVE, we know that with every increase of LOVE, one receives an increase in stats as well:

[pictures showing LV 1 stats, and then saying, "Your LOVE increased!” and the HP stat going up.]

So, the only logical explanation is that Papyrus received an increase in stats because he received an increase in LOVE. And how did this happen?

Think about the Items which Frisk finds in Snowdin: the Tough Glove and the Manly Bandanna.

[pictures of Frisk acquiring Tough Glove and Manly Bandanna in Snowdin]

To which child did they belong? The Orange SOUL.

[picture of the Photoshop Flowey battle, depicting the Orange SOUL in the box and the Tough Glove being used as a weapon against Frisk]

Which trait is attributed with Orange? Bravery.

[picture of the Ball Game in Snowdin showing the word "bravery" in orange]

What happens when an attack is Orange? You have to keep moving.

[pictures of Doctor Alphys explaining how orange lasers work in Hotland]

From this canon evidence, what can we infer the Orange SOUL kid's gimmick was, if they were "brave?"

I'll tell you: they kept moving forward, no matter what.

Now, what color magic does Papyrus have?

[picture of Papyrus using blue-colored bones in battle]

What does Blue magic do? It requires you to *stand still,* or else you will get hurt.

[picture of Doggo using blue magic on Frisk's motionless, red SOUL and doing no damage]

Tell me, how is a kid who is incapable of standing still going to survive Blue magic? Simple: they won't.

I even wrote a short ficlet about it here:

https://eroshiyda.tumblr.com/post/152526581522/orange-soul-headcanon [link to my tumblr post, "Orange SOUL headcanon"]

This is why Papyrus knows exactly how much to lower his stats during the Bad Time route. He's not trying to kill Frisk, and he knows how much force is needed for that.

[picture of Papyrus lowering his stats to 5 ATK, 5 DEF in a Bad Time route]

That's also how he knows that Frisk is going down the "wrong path" by moving closer to Papyrus in a threatening way.

[pictures of Papyrus lecturing Frisk to stop moving before battling them during a Bad Time route]

Papyrus has experience battling at least one human child. And Papyrus didn't lose, either; otherwise, he wouldn't be around anymore by the time Frisk arrives, right?

[picture of Flowey at the end of a Neutral route saying, "Took me a long time to get bored of that one."]

[picture of Papyrus saying, "Everyone can be a great person if they try!"]

X. Afterword

Thanks for reading this theory all the way through! You're a real trooper!

By the time you see this post, I most likely will have left tumblr. So, I cannot accept any of your thoughts about it, unfortunately.

And, with that, this post has also (finally) come to an end as well.

Just remember,

[picture of Papyrus saying "Still! I believe in you!"]

The Great Papyrus believes in you, and so do I.

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