Something I Found on Tumblr: Papyrus Never Moves

[@bryoncory7635]

Another thing to note: Undyne says that she won't let Papyrus into the Royal Guard because he's too kind and innocent, NOT because he's weak. In fact, he's "pretty freaking tough!"

[@UndudeFunny]

Nyeh

[@UndudeFunny]

Nyeh

[@spinz616]

Nyeh

[@PurpV12]

Nyeh

[@Andius_Augustus]

Nyeh

[@bowsersalternativeaccount5332]

My headcanon is that he's been trying his damnedest to make the perfect battle pose, and in this instance, he finds it so perfect that he doesn't ever want to make a single movement to ruin it.

[@chapteronefrog]

That is absolutely hilarious and is 100% something Papyrus would do omg

[@ijustexist3866]

That sound like a Papyrus thing to do

[@SleepiPotionsXD]

That sounds like papyrus. But I do want to think he's powerful as heck

[@perrykv7312]

Tbh, it makes sense

[@thisguyispeculiar]

Honestly, that sounds way more accurate.

[@jimstoesz3878]

I'm more attached to the "it actually *IS* a cardboard cut-out because the real Papyrus is madly running around setting up the attacks behind the scenes Wizard of Oz style" theory, but having Papyrus being easily more powerful than Sans is just such a juicy theory! Especially when paired with all the Gaster theories about the Skelebros...

[@unnamedaxolotl]

If Sans is that powerful being that lazy, I've got to see Papyrus' full power with his enthusiasm and all the training he's done.

[@HankJWimbledonNevada]

well it is implied in a line of text that papyrus has gbs because after an aborted geno route in papyrus fight, if you go into his room and interact with his box of bones he will say "HOW LUCKY OF YOU! HAD I ONLY USED MY SPECIAL ATTACK, YOU SURELY WOULDVE BEEN BLASTED TO..." this shows that papyrus has the same connections to gaster as sans, in another line of dialogue during his fight, "Papyrus prepares a non-bone attack then spends a minute fixing his mistake" so this would be the turn where he used them, but decided not to

[@adark1289]

I mean as much as I like that theory, how do you explain the fact that he can be dealt damage and die during the fight?

[@tformerdude6788]

@@adark1289 simple. He isn't paying attention to you all that much.

[@HankJWimbledonNevada]

@@adark1289 Papyrus Does Not Want To Kill You, No Matter What, So He Holds Back Until His Death

[@Maskman8547]

One thing I noticed is that everyone hypes up asgore as a big scary final boss except Papyrus, who calls him a "big fuzzy pushover"

[@ecw613]

Papyrus knows Asgore is NOTHING to him

[@_StarlightRose_]

Asgore would absolutely be scary if he wasnt hesitant to fight you

[@Maskman8547]

@@_StarlightRose_ Most certainly

[@saidblanco7696]

I mean, Papyrus, Asgore and Asriel are the only beings in the Underground that could one-shot you instantly if they wanted

[@_StarlightRose_]

@@saidblanco7696 Toriel too probably And maybe sans, but that one has a lot less evidence, since we don't know how much he actually wants to hurt us. I think it's not at all, as he already knows he wont win, so he has already given up

[@TheRPGNerd]

papyrus really decided a date required more of his energy and power than a life-or-death battle and im here for it

[@Accimperiu]

He's a whole silly goofy mood and we love him for it

[@PikaPenny17]

To be fair, its only life-or-death if the player chooses to kill them.

[@luzgameruwu1437]

he is just like me fr...

[@decades1912]

His logic is so backward it broke the logic meter, now Papyrus has infinite logic.

[@ACandCC]

@@decades1912 Take my like and go!

[@cramerfloro5936]

He's mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still that he becomes invisible to the eye

[@ChatterGaming]

Papyrus def been seeing marvel 💀💀💀

[@thewindwakinghero7423]

*You're moving . . . BUT MY MOVEMENTS ARE SO SLOW YOU CAN'T PERCEIVE THEM *I can still see you. . . NO YOU CAN'T *YOU'RE EATING PASTA!

[@acrosshorizons7666]

His experiences with Doggo

[@edrienmanzanero4081]

Maybe hes just moving so fast it looks like hes standing still

[@IrideaeSnowbloom]

I understood that reference

[@unnamedaxolotl]

I mean, Undyne does say Papyrus is super tough, but just doesn't have the heart to actually hurt somebody. I agree with this entirely.

[@ninjaexperto7217]

To be fair, Bones are kinda stronger than flesh (i know there is bone under flesh but come on) so he is kinda strong, also magic, is also strong. Also i always thought that if they REALLY wanted to kill you all they have to do is make a cage of blue attacks, and blast you away and there is nothing you can do? I´m not sure, i fell like there is kinda a "combar manual" you HAVE to follow or something because it´s a game, but outside that hypotetical Book of rules, one could play dirty, imagine undyne not giving you a spear to deflect her spears, or if you didn´t have the upgraded phone (the one alphys gives you) to do that yellow heart thing and shoot.... things. You would die whithout even a CHANCE.

[@tformerdude6788]

Admittedly, this is a fan animation, but if you look at the disbelief papyrus boss fight, you see EXACTLY this. Papyrus in that animation is bouncing around, BLOCKING YOUR ATTACKS, and even breaking The Box (something that I've only seen before with the Asriel boss fight)

[@1234andrewjacksmith]

What even funnier if the data stats for them is accurate then he has a higher attack and defence stat than Undyne and even his check stats put him above pretty much the entire caine unit and match Undyne and other royal guard defence even if his check Atk is lower than them Which kind of shows that both his data stats and Check stats puts him above some of the royal guard or at least matching them and this is without the will to fight which makes monster’s stronger

@@tformerdude6788 Or how he sways a bit in the 'Papyrus still believes in you' fan-fight.

[@pros_0143]

And as a monsters defense translates from their fighting will, papyrus dies in one hit because he doesn't have any.

[@kimberlyannekeegan2707]

I think the funnier option is that Toby just forgot to animate him and was like ‘fuck it whatever’

[@_StarlightRose_]

Considering how self aware undertale is, that is simultaneously the correct reason and completely incorrect for papyrus

[@zzstacy_flowerzz9288]

Shrödinger's Papyrus lore

[@kritikalmatix]

toby scraps things because it wasnt too “crappy” so thats probably way

[@lukef3284]

Lancer from Deltarune had a similar fate, while Toby did animate walking for him, he found 'twas much funnier if Lancer just slid across the ground like an air hockey puck.

[@ShowMeLoveFilms]

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!

[@hubrisnestoris1330]

I love how this implies that temmie is just absolutely bloodthirsty

[@GoodasGoose]

Temmie is in fact, bloodthirsty

[@izzqyhere]

To be fair, *If you don't pay her college funds...* *She'll want you DEAD.*

[@Crowned_Hearts]

Temmie cant stand still at all. If they were bloodthirsty they wouldnt even ne in the screen XD

[@Manzana1C]

Did you ever have any doubts?!

[@idontknow-48]

Considering their dialogues after they go to college most definetely yes XD They act surprisingly rude and easily angered by stupidity from what I remember XD

[@KC_Garcia]

Papyrus' pure chad energy is so powerful he has to not move while in battle to contain it

[@jollyimposter]

Best one yet, that is now canon to myself

[@Ezecool-3105]

What's said at the end is right Shaggy, Paps and Kirby, they can end you, but they'd rather have a nice time with ya

[@ULTRAtheCYBORG]

Ah, Yes SkeleChad

[@Thegreatpap917]

Thank you human

[@VendytheCatYT]

@@Thegreatpap917 hello my favorite cool skeleton spaghetti lover

[@transecho]

The same guy that can canonically just casually walk on air and no one questions it.

[@aboogala4678]

My guy just Yoshi jumped away and everyone acted like it's a daily occurrence

[@rawlicious3790]

It's another tuesday

[@CGFillertext]

he’s just built different

[@nightfallsongbird]

Don’t forget how the residents of Snowdin apparently watch the skeletons’ normal everyday antics for entertainment Papyrus regularly walks on air, and Sans regularly pranks people across time and space. So yeah, just another Tuesday in the underground

[@aboogala4678]

@@nightfallsongbird honestly considering some of the things that go on in the Underground (like the annoying dog), I'm not entirely shocked this is normal

[@-wingsofwasp-]

my headcanon is he doesn't move because he really wants you to pay attention to how cool his attacks are. also, this heavily implies neither of the skeleton brothers need to move to speak, and papyrus just does it to be polite, which is hilarious.

[@Arthyyyescritor]

No, I think Sans can't move your mouth at all

[@Arthyyyescritor]

@@kjbrn1867 No, he don't.

[@deri313]

𝐍𝐘𝐄𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐇

[@H-division]

the developers were probably just lazy

[@robloxplays4322]

@@H-divisiontwo things can be true at the same time

[@Clepto_and_Co]

I love how even the smallest details can have such huge implications. What really got me curious about papyrus is when sans gives you the key to his room papyrus says something like "is sans pranking you through time and space? I hate it when he does that!" He knows way more than people give him credit for and is also insanely powerful too

[@HoradeFidges]

My favorire moment of Papyrus not being as dumb as he seem is in one of the endings if you killed all major monsters except Papyrus and Sans. We are told that Sans lied to Papyrus and said that everyone went on a vacation, but when Papyrus speaks through the phone, you can tell that he knows whe was lied but is playing along

[@87crowhat54]

You can get the key to sans room?

[@ignaciopizarro97]

@@87crowhat54 Yes. Before sans' judgement You must save the game (pacifist/neutral route only) after sans judges You exit and load the game. You must do this 3 times (if i'm not mistaken) after that sans will give You the key to his room

[@rumpar77]

"Damn I hate it when Sans pranks someone through time and space"

[@teaerrorsss]

Hes been babyfied by the fandom for too long sadly

[@prediculous8059]

It's funny how the 2 Skeleton Brothers could simultaneously be the strongest and weakest monsters in the game (aside Goat God). The only thing stopping them from handing your ass in a platter are their personalities, one being too lazy and the other being too nice. It's been years since Undertale's release and we're still finding stuff out. Toby is a genius

[@davisdf3064]

Indeed, Skeletons are Overpowered in Undertale!

[@Parakeetlover3]

Love it

[@kitten.5906]

Either toby is a genius or the communiy is just overthinking stuff lol

[@sptflcrw8583]

Eh, they are other monsters stronger than you.

[@sptflcrw8583]

@@shai2222 asgore, undyne, toriel, mettaton

[@dr.funnybones]

"It's not that he's weak. He's actually super freakin' tough! It's just that, he's too nice to actually hurt anybody. He'd get torn into little smiling shreds."

[@febajoe2773]

i mean it's true in genocide but if paps see like everyone die, watching the camera's of the human killing everyone, then he would likely have the ability to kill you for real.

[@outspade]

@@febajoe2773 Papyrus is aware of what the human is doing (he says so if you spare him in genocide i think), but he suspends his disbelief just to give the human one last chance and not have to kill them he really is too nice to hurt anybody

[@febajoe2773]

​@@outspade kk

[@gameingtothemax6266]

@@outspade I'd wager after watching the undyne battle (or more specifically the beginning where you try to kill monster kid) he wouldn't be able to suspend his disbelief anymore

[@remuslebeau6570]

@@outspade I guess the disbelief papyrus is when he can't suspend it

[@greenmeowstic3017]

You're only ever able to kill him with betrayal kills, he CAN and DOES ALTER HIS DEFENSE, his body stays intact in separate pieces when we do kill him. Are we sure we ever really fought this guy?

[@Insertcoolusernam]

Wdym? You can kill him in the neutral route without a betrayl kill

[@greenmeowstic3017]

@@Insertcoolusernam Pretty sure that's not true since he always offers to spare you at a certain HP due to dialogue flow but if you have proof otherwise it sounds super interesting! I'd honestly love to see how it's possible.

[@Insertcoolusernam]

@@greenmeowstic3017 I'm really dumb, I don't know if you can but I couldve sworn I killed him without doing a betrayl kill in the neutral run, but due to my foggy memory I could be wrong, I'm gonna test it soon.

[@Insertcoolusernam]

@@greenmeowstic3017 but theoretically it could be possible if you kill enough monsters without enabling the genocide run then fight papyrus, it could cause him to die before he offers mercy to you

[@mousepotatoliteratureclub]

@@Insertcoolusernam you could spare one monster (stop before killing 20) in the Ruins to drop off the geno route early and then grind the hell out of Glyde. All of the genocide XP, none of the Chara. (Or you could stop at 1 in Snowdin if you can't do the first one. Or spare Snowdrake or Lesser Dog. Or any of the Notable Dogs, it seems. I took notes from the wiki to avoid accidentally falling off the geno route again.)

[@dekucake]

To further prove this point, during your date with Undyne when you two are talking about Papyrus, she mentions he isn't fit for the Royal Guards because he is too much of a pacifist, not because he's weak, claiming he is "really damn tough". This is the same monster who could suplex boulders with ease, throw hundreds of magic spears in an instant, pick up and dunk Alphy's like she's made of Styrofoam, and is one of the few monsters in the game with enough determination to cheat death. This same monster thinks Papyrus is "really damn tough".

[@dibs6462]

No comments?

[@TotallyNotPC]

I never really thought about that.. wonder what he is capable of..

[@realcupojoe]

@@TotallyNotPC He is capable of making lethal spaghetti

[@aconfusedlacroix3965]

@@realcupojoe yes

[@typo1345]

exactly. Everyone kinda skims over papyrus in comparison to sans, but they always forget about this. Undyne, leader of the royal guard, undyne, certified badass, undyne, the one who's determination equals a human's, claims innocent spaghetti loving papyrus is tough. You can bet your bones if he wanted to kill you he'd beat the shit out of you, but he's too nice. That's the funny thing, the skelebros are probably the most powerful beings in the underground, possibly moreso than the dreemurr family, but their personalities prevent them from actually using that power in full. sans is too lazy, papyrus is too kind.

[@volnartheunforgiving3952]

I always assumed him being a still image in the battle was supposed to convey just how uptight and serious he was trying to make himself for the big confrontation He's holding his "cool" pose perfectly, and basically talking through his teeth

[@sheshe6316]

I don't know what's more funny: Papyrus being an omnipontent deity or Papyrus trying so hard to look cool that he'll stay still even when talking just to hold a pose

[@charlizard3011]

That’s absolutely in-character for Papyrus

[@iamstarstreek]

or maybe toby fox forgot to add more sprites

[@see4881]

@@iamstarstreek he forgor 💀

[@BokuNoDensetsuNoHoshi]

​@@see4881 that emoji is fitting since we're talking about Papyrus

[@ARayV]

Papyrus is also one of the few people who get REALLY strong deja vu after a reset, stronger than Toriel's "wait, is it THIS flavor you like? ha, had a hunch" and Sans's ability to read expressions. "Sans, have I met this human before? They look REALLY familiar!"

[@ArtificialDjDAGX]

That gives Hard Mode very ominous vibes, because that means that it might only be possible to play the Full Hard Mode after a Genocide Run, and Papyrus actually remembers you from the previous run...

[@richardgibson8403]

@@ArtificialDjDAGX “HUAMN, THOUGH I DO NOT WANT TO… THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL DEFEND HIMSELF IF NEEDED!”

[@smugkid7209]

when I first wanted to completely replay undertale but didn't want to kill everyone I just straight up erased the save files, not even Toriel could remember my flavor and yet Papayrus did, it creeped me out but didn't think much of it, but now I realise how did he remember me

[@Broomer52]

Undyne herself also says that in terms of power Papyrus is VERY strong, he’s just also way too nice. His power is held back by his personality and that’s Undyne’s own words. She would even recruit him if it wasn’t for how kind he was. Everyone focuses on Sans just because of his observed power but Papyrus is equally mysterious we just notice it less because of how extroverted and kind he is. According to a few different towns people in Snowdin, no one remembers them moving in. They just showed up one day and “asserted themselves” Sans is a powerful monster with the ability to destroy you in seconds and remember every reset, Papyrus may not have Sans memory but it’s all but said Papyrus is a force to be feared if he ever got serious.

[@God_o_Fear]

Sans is, special in a sense. He knows everything that happened before

[@cosmicfails2053]

But have you considered, he's moving SO much that he is operating on a frame rate that is imperceptible to our eyes and so he gives off the illusion of stillness but is in fact hyper sonic speed

[@GV5]

Either that or his movement animation takes veeeeery long to reach frame 2

[@titocruz7905]

Funnily enough, he is actually animated during the fight, it's just that every frame is the exact same sprite, so you might actually be onto something

[@rienoko244]

On an additional note about Sans's fight sprites. He's *not* trying to have you gone for good. He is trying to **annoy** the life out of you so you would just gave up and, well, reset. Because he knows damn well he doesn't have the power needed to completely stop you. He is both putting in his all to end you, but also not, hence why he is not moving fiercely as seen with Undyne the Undying.

[@jotarosans7540]

To be fair, he knows you aren't gonna give up, and , as he says "after all, seeing what comes next, it's very hard to give it my all".

[@i8chocolatecake995]

^^^^^^ i dig this idea

[@iigukutaiyou6403]

Sans trying to give you up and let u down

[@dyphonix]

@@iigukutaiyou6403 did not expect to get rickrolled

[@beef3442]

Not to mention Sans probably has shit stamina so he’s trying to prolong the fight by not putting in his all. He tries to kill you immediately with one of his strongest attacks because he doesn’t really want to fight either, but when you survive he tries his best to prolong the fight (Just sans “special attack” is a perfect example of this)

[@jozajab6849]

Not to mention that it’s confirmed that papyrus has similar timeline abilities to sans as proven by the quote “IS SANS PRANKING YOU ACROSS TIME AND SPACE? I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT” And we literally see that he is capable of flying, or at least capable of literally walking on air. If you lose to him enough times.

[@pros_0143]

I feel like skeletons don't belong to undertale at all.

[@Th3DankestMemer]

Not to mention when you inspect the box of bones in his room, he mentions his unused "Special Attack," saying, "YOU SURELY WOULD'VE BEEN BLASTED TO-..." and then changes the subject. Key word: BLASTED. As in GASTER BLASTERS.

[@Th3DankestMemer]

@@pros_0143 well, the Snowdin shopkeeper says Sans and Papyrus "just showed up one day."

[@pros_0143]

@@Th3DankestMemer that and Ice-e appearing once in undertale but being a famous figure in deltarune makes me think that they came from deltarune.

[@danielgonzalez-vm5lj]

@@pros_0143 thats actually a good theory since the war never happened in deltarune and the humans and monsters were together for millions of years and how for example Susie can bully Kris.. and berdly can challenge 1 v 3 a human another monster and a darkner Or noelle can....proceed..... .... I think deltarune monsters are as strong as humans if not stronger And who are the only 2 monsters who put no efford on their fights and are either not trying to kill You or kill You with no efford ? Sans and papyrus

[@Just_a_Dragon69]

Almost every character's mind on the game during a battle: "i must kill them" Papyrus during a battle: "Loading 13%..."

[@timestopgaming2674]

More like 0.5% lol

[@heroyolkie]

More like 0%. He never moved, meaning he literally had NO urge to kill, and made it EASY for us to dodge his attacks. This information hurts me.

[@anonymous_idontreplylmaous72]

Average dragon maid fan

[@Just_a_Dragon69]

@@anonymous_idontreplylmaous72 More like: average Ilulu enjoyer

[@illogicalparadox]

@@Just_a_Dragon69 ah, yes, “enjoying” the child-coded character. Truly, the most gigachad of identifying features.

[@artisanmain]

personally, i feel like one of the points mentioned becomes a lot stronger when you notice that while flowey uses vines to grab people, two is the baseline. weaker monsters like alphys get the same vines as sans or asgore, but the fact flowey goes the extra mile of using 4 on papyrus speaks volumes. ontop of that everyone is normally grabbed by the torso to mostly just hold them, but flowey has a firm grip of papyruses legs and foot too. flowey actively restricts his movement more then the rest so he cant do anything.

[@josephkashompa2450]

The fact that Papyrus is STILL IN HIS ICONIC POSE TOO is crazy

[@fortniteblevins7058]

Yet ANOTHER reason for me to love Asgore, he only moves up and down as if he's breathing heavily, as he's crying during the fight

[@cidercake4373]

Bet he had to hold back a fresh wave of tears when I ate a slice of Butterscotch pie in front of him. Which lowered one of his things. Oof.

[@FluffyDragonDrawing]

Yeeessssss

[@fortniteblevins7058]

@@cidercake4373 Things like getting weaker from the pie or hitting weaker when you talk to him hits deep

[@Benreyholic]

He deserves more love 😭

[@HumorHouse42]

@@cidercake4373 I think his breath gets shaky after b.scotch pie

[@nicomation3334]

the fact that the known attack of Papyrus is the giant bone and all the other things was named by Papyrus like a "normal attack, but cooler" is something to think about

[@engifromtf2]

The God of the world literally stole his special attack

[@ElmoIsMySavior12]

​@@engifromtf2and said dog was afraid when papyrus yelled at him

[@engifromtf2]

@@ElmoIsMySavior12 holy crap Toby is afraid of Papyrus (real)

[@anotherdnb]

He was literally just going for style points

[@epicKerBallze]

@@anotherdnb papyrus certified DMC gamer

[@nobody_5982]

He’s the only boss who won’t kill you. Even Toriel will kill you, if by accident. This shows a much higher degree of control over his magic than other monsters; then again, this makes sense, considering how Sans’ fight is also tightly controlled. He’s absolutely tougher than he looks. Or maybe the real display of toughness is his kindness?

[@_aWiseMan]

Sans and papyrus are pretty much the strongest type of monsters, both with much stranger and unexplainable magic and awareness. Im guessing flowey coudnt get the souls because he was stopped by sans, but when he takes out sans, papyrus stops him instead, making it impossible

[@mokie7421]

​@@_aWiseMan and thats assuming Papyrus had no clue Flowey had the souls until after he became Omega Flowey. Just like in true pacifist, Flowey had the souls already before becoming Asriel. Papyrus couldn't have had any clue Flowey had them without telling him directly beforehand. So would that mean Papyrus has already defeated Omega Flowey in other timelines? So many possibilities.

[@ichiritos]

​@@_aWiseMan i am sure that they are NOT stronger than dreemurrs, none of them really wants to kill you in battle (only Asriel, but he has pretty much infinite Power)

[@gemeosnosgames]

I saw some time ago that Toriel battle is actual HARD to die on purpose, like you can have damage until 2 HP, and you will be still alive until she starts not attacking you.

[@CreamCakes420]

@@gemeosnosgames unless you play on hard mode

[@Boop__Doop]

Papyrus is the most overpowered character in gaming, and he chooses to make spaghetti. We can all learn a bit from papyrus that just because you can doesnt mean you should

[@tristankey]

This makes his death even sadder. He could've defended himself but he trusted you enough to not kill you

[@foxglove4814]

Tbf, his lines in the genocide run imply he was willing to fight back if he had to, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that even in his last moments, he uses his last seconds to encourage the player that they can be better and change

[@Star_Platinum_Za_Warudo]

@@foxglove4814 Papyrus be like: Please change and grow as a person

[@bill_cipher9861]

This just hurts me and my very soul so much! Like way more now then it did before i watched this video😭

[@lhaveasmuchpersonalityaswater]

I saw somewhere on another thread (probably by the same person who made this post) that Papyrus changes his stats for each run. I don't remember the exact numbers but in the genocide route he is fully aware of the human's murder streak, but he think they're doing it out of self defense. So, when he meets them, he makes himself as kind and approachable as possible. He lowers his stats to show he wants to solve things peacefully. He doesn't realize the power of the human. He was willing to fight but he didn't expect to die in ONE HIT. So, he spends his last moments trying his damn hardest to tell the human that they don't have to do this. That they can be forgiven for what they've done so far. That they can change. He does it both for the human and their safety but also for the safety of his brother, his friends, and everyone in the underground.

[@tristankey]

@@lhaveasmuchpersonalityaswater I could've lived my whole life peacefully without know this, now I might cry

[@Phrogman]

Y'know when he does all that cool stuff, it's not even his "special attack", it's just "a really cool normal attack."

[@coolestHurensohn195]

it's cause the annoying dog takes his special attack, remember?

[@Phrogman]

Yes, and if he didn't what would his special attack be, it would have to be better than his ther one. Though, sans' is what let the player kill sans so maybe not

[@seven_swords]

@@coolestHurensohn195 kinda like it took the artifact? Maybe annoying dog simply likes op stuff🤔

[@coolestHurensohn195]

@@seven_swords yeah, that makes sense

[@Phrogman]

@@seven_swords deltarune chapter 7 has the dog as the secret boss

[@damlatorun6756]

Papyrus: *literally walks on air without a problem* Theorists: I sleep Papyrus: *stands still* Theorists: REAL SH*T

[@xharerae]

comically enought standing still in battle is weirder for papyrus than floating in the air

[@alexviol1587]

​​@@xhareraetrue, because he can do magic like his brother. So it wouldn't be so insane to see that he can fly. But seeing him be able to defeat the player with 0% effort is straight up madness. I always liked to believe that Papyrus is not the weak guy who can't even use the ghaster blaster like his brother but rather somebody who, while incapable of using the ghaster blaster has such skill in the use of bones he could kill the player if he put 100% of his effort.

[@Jabba_the_pro_toad]

matpat will notice it and start ZOOMING to know why 😂

[@Sansational69Sansational-iz5dy]

Rip matpat...

[@DeviousDryad]

He just chill like that

[@monkeyBOIIImysingingmonsters]

3:15 you could argue sans doesn’t want to kill you over and over, he just wants you to ragequit and reset the run.

[@stevenarchey4196]

In case yall remember, papyrus is the only one to survive a one hit ko temporarily (aside from undyne) when he loses his body, and that was when he was completely vulnerable. So if papayrus was at 100%...

[@saleemsupreme7702]

bro survived a one hit ko that he wasn't even prepared for, i would've loved if they made the genocide Papyrus fight as difficult as the Asgore fight. that would've been so cool.

[@trakinasdelimao]

do u wanna have a *great* time, human?

[@mricecreamofficial]

​@@trakinasdelimao📸

[@anshsgh6092]

@@saleemsupreme7702*dodges the unexpected attack* "SO THAT'S HOW YOU'RE GONNA PLAY IT, HUMAN? WELL, THEN I'M JOINING IN" *launches the fucking most impossible to dodge, hardest attacks ever on you*

[@PotatoWyvern]

Undyne also dies in one hit, but she gets resurrected due to her determination

[@RexGaming107]

I love how everyone tends to forget he can just CANONICALLY WALK ON AIR, like that's just completely normal, if he can do that and based on the evidence from this video I WOULD NOT wanna see Papyrus truly angry and giving his all in a battle cuz that sounds like an even worse time than Sans.

[@ExDixionconderoga]

You mean him jumping up high?

[@RexGaming107]

@@ExDixionconderoga No, bro literally walks on air at one point through the game

[@getthedunkon9347]

He should be as strong as Sans is fast. Sans who is faster than Undyne who can get to Snowdin from Waterfall within seconds and implied to be faster than Asgore,the strongest monster in the underground. If Sans is faster then what is Papyrus?

[@multilk6399]

@@ExDixionconderoga he speeds up and slows down constantly and changes direction while doing that, so i dont think its just jumping

[@SomeoneThatExists-rj5oo]

@getthedunkon9347 Tbf he has the "shortcuts" but ye hes a fast boi

[@CaptainObliviousV]

On that cardboard cutout joke, considering he flies away at the end of the fight, imagine if it’s just because the real Papyrus is reeling the cutout up with a fishing pole😂

[@the_katss]

This is canon now and noone can tell me otherwise

[@ruchick6155]

Just a bit windy

[@BraidensWorldEntertainment]

He just hides for the rest of the game and sans is convinced he’s dead

[@audrey7003]

c a n o n

[@epicgamer-ny4fj]

"Nehehe human! You feel for my trick! That wasn't me you just attacked, that was my devilishly handsome cutout!"

[@cars0mega]

Toby, who didn’t even think about doing this: *to Temmie* Write that down, WRITE THAT DOWN!

[@Supershadow301]

My headcanon is that Papyrus doesn't move at all to ensure that the blue attacks are gentle enough. During Sans' fight, his left arm directs the gravity of the blue soul. Sans moves his arm quickly, so the soul is violently thrown across the fighting box. If we apply that logic to Papyrus' fight, not only does it explains why he always strikes his iconic but weird pose with his left arm down (to keep the blue soul's gravity stable), him standing perfectly still allows the soul to gently fall and jump as high as needed (including stretching the fighting box to go over a gigantic bone).

[@borabunny]

thats it, pack it up everyone. this is the best headcanon right here.

[@theirishboah8385]

Yeeeeeeep, this comment is now my headcanon too.

[@GmaerXQ]

Makes me think a bit of the old spongebob episode where patrick tried to help him pass his driving test. Sans is very "Floor it" with his attacks, just full force, 0 to 100 with each shot. Papyrus is very "Big Toe" with it. Soft, designed and controlled.

[@ChosenMango4233]

*frantically writing notes* -that's just 110% logical and I accept this as canon

[@TCStink3]

@@GmaerXQ that’s such a funny analogy

[@Hysterically_Accurate]

I also love the implication that he's not putting a ton of effort into his fight, but is going MAXIMUM EFFORT on his date What a swell guy

[@luiswaverly5632]

He definitely planned out the date more than the actual fight

[@blackrosejinx5563]

Truly a heart of gold

[@alonsans]

He’s not wanting to kill you, but it will date the fuck out of you

[@TheeJested]

doing better than most guys

[@RickCore0H]

He is giga

[@spooderman6312]

Saying Shaggy, Papyrus and Kirby all have unlimited power but just don't feel like using it that day just because they'd rather have lunch is probably my favorite comparison that I've ever heard

[@iconica9516]

Kirby does use it day to day though

[@Floralaie]

@@iconica9516 for lunch

[@jenniferdunstan5065]

True

[@GearTech147]

Also add Saitama. I mean. It is kinda his whole thing.

[@lapisangstylazuli]

@@GearTech147 and Mob

[@smashyboi6135]

i like to imagine that papyrus stays so still because he thinks the player is going to pull some human magic bullshit or something, so during the fight, he has his guard up 200%. this would explain why he's so much more active during the date, since, now that he knows you're not a threat, he doesnt have a reason to stay so vigilant anymore.

[@HunterIsRad]

I can imagine Papyrus being powerful as hell, but at the same time I also love the idea of Papyrus setting up a cardboard cutout of himself to look cool in the ominous fog that you fight him in, while the whole time he’s actually running around and setting up all of his attacks in a frenzied manner. I’d say he’s strong, but not the strongest, and still too goofy and kind to be a threat.

[@WatcherWithNoEyes]

if he setted a crdboard that would explain why head decipated, and It would mean paps alive in genocide route

[@dreemurrdelm7865]

What if.. it's not cardboard, but just a fake skeleton from like a Spirit Halloween because Spirit Halloween appears EVERYWHERE and it just has a microphone inside broadcasting his speech. That way it's much more convincing. And what if it's made of magic, which is how it turns to dust.

[@xxvery_original_namexx9677]

In his room,when you interact with his closet he says "there are no skeletons in my closet, except for me some times" which could indicate that he does own a cardboard cutout of himself, also i think that in geno run, instead of using the cardboard cutout he went to stop you himself

[@birdmcturd1626]

Idk. The fact he’s basically a statue could imply this is Paps on minimum effort. Full power could be more powerful than Sans,for all we know (with the advantage that he doesn’t rely on Karmic Retribution to be powerful)

[@mariotheundying]

@@xxvery_original_namexx9677 what about killing papyrus in neutral? Everyone in snowdin is saying that something feels wrong, and sans says you killed his brother, did papyrus take a vacation?

[@arsh9402]

Remember papyrus' final attack? The skateboarding bone, neatly arranged words made of bone and huge graveyard of bones with a humongous bone at the end that he calls one of his "normal attack"s? I believe him. That is his normal attack. The rest were just warm up.

[@pittagiiya]

but it's a really cool normal attack

[@iigukutaiyou6403]

Sadly Toby fox took his special attack bone

[@astrius22]

In an aborted genocide, he says that he had his special attack ready to kick your ass with if you attack. Well, if you go through he goes down in one hit, but imagine if he didn’t. Hell, he might be as powerful as sans for all i know. *typo edit

[@arsh9402]

@@astrius22 even more actually. There are hints that suggest that. Such as undyne calling him "freaking strong" or being the guy in the pacifist ending that flowey makes sure to restrain than everyone if i remember it right. Look at the scene again and you'll see he is restrained by multiple vines meaning flowey considers him dangerous and strong.

[@gojiboiyee2820]

@@arsh9402 nobody can even use a height thing for the multiple vines either lmao, since asgore is bigger than pap and even he only has 2 vines wrapped around him. though makes me wonder why sans only had 2 vines, but if even sans only had 2... papyrus having double the vines is fucking terrifying

[@Lampproductions8943]

Also, here's another weird thing. Think about the deaths of the monsters. Toriels? Slashed. Sans? Slashed. Basically every monster has at least a slash mark (except flowery in neutral if I'm remembering right) when they die, EXCEPT PAPYRUS. Papyrus gets decapitated, but a bit too cleanly, not to mention he still speaks a little while after his body disappears, leaving his head to soon turn to dust too. I'll leave you to the theories (Edit: auto correct turned toriels to tories, so I fixed it)

[@takenshota546]

Well, a human head CAN stay conscious for 20 seconds after being decapitated

[@eagletgriff]

@@takenshota546 interesting thing to mention...

[@Auriacularia]

@@takenshota546 w e l l t h e n

[@AndreLuiz-wh3qr]

Maybe papyrus did get a human soul, back then in the human vs monsters fight. But choose to no use it

[@justa_normalperson9412]

@@AndreLuiz-wh3qr no. Papryus dosnt have the heart to kill a human.

[@KalebTheDuck]

I love how the comments said "oh, he's concentrating on not killing you" to which bird replied "i actually think it's the opposite" and then proceeds to agree with others about how papyrus is indeed trying not to kill you, instead of giving his "opposite interpretation"

[@amandachristen3454]

I think the argument is meant to be that he's not putting in 100% effort into not killing you - he's putting 10% effort and still doing a better job than literally everyone else who wanted you to survive their battles (like Toriel and Asgore)

[@thegoldenblob69]

​@@amandachristen3454 yeah, it's not that he's purposely weakening his attacks in order to not kill you, but rather, he's literally not using his full power, barely using any real strength. And yet the boss fight is still pretty hard; not insanely hard, but hard. There's a difference between someone pretending to be weak and someone just holding back. Like throwing soft punches at someone vs. choreographing hard punches so that it's easier for the other person to dodge

[@NokoTheTaco]

The argument isn’t “He’s concentrating on not killing you,” but “He’s not concentrating on killing you.” They are opposite meanings to each other. One implies Papyrus is putting in effort, the other doesn’t.

[@anissans-zo1bc]

@@thegoldenblob69 papyrus.. is HARD FOR YOU? YOUR TELLING ME PAPYRUS IS HARD? BRO I CAN NOHIT PAPYRUS IN MY SLEEP. also even if he was using not alot of strenght hes still not strong enough to beat frisk.

[@thegoldenblob69]

@@anissans-zo1bc I don't mean Geometry Dash Tryhard level hard, but hard as in something you might mess up a few times. His attacks do throw you for a loop the first time or so.

[@icaro8264]

note: papyrus is one of the only enemies that has an unavoidable attack, even if you dodge his attack he still turns you blue

[@BluecoreG]

Don't you mean one of many? Every heart color is an 'unavoidable attack'. How is Papyrus turning you blue any more special than Muffet drowning you in purple tea or Undyne literally forcing you to stay and fight by turning you green. All unavoidable

[@Tokaha]

@@BluecoreG I fail to see how "one of the only enemies" doesn't count those in. They didn't say the only attack in the entire game...

[@woominator3]

flowey and sans have unavoidable attacks too

[@captainblastem9095]

@@BluecoreG hence why he said "ONE of the only enemies"

[@Zero_Shift]

@@BluecoreG Muffets is a bad example, you're caught in a web and thus cannot avoid it

[@aureliamastergoomba1278]

There is one key factor: Papyrus is canonically VERY STRONG! Undyne even says he’s pretty tough. The issue is he that he’s so kind that he doesn’t want to kill anyone! Heck, Papyrus is the ONLY one, who can’t or rather WON’T kill you! Toriel and Papyrus don’t want to kill you, Toriel wants to keep you away from the monsters, Papyrus just wants to “capture” you and make a friend. The difference is Papyrus has a lot of restraint, his attacks will not kill you even on accident, Toriel’s attacks CAN if she’s not careful, and Asgore and Sans also will only kill if you’re on 1 HP, Asgore is because he’s hesitating, Sans is because he has 1 Attack!

[@hntsanimated]

also abt sans he relays of karma without karma in that fight hed be abosutley fucking useless

[@lowresSandwich]

​@@hntsanimated This really does imply that Sans is a DoT build

[@theinternetpolice2078]

He doesn't kill you because he wants the Royal Guard to pick you up, unaware of what they do to captured humans. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand that the bars if your cage can't be several feet between each other.

[@realPurpleOrb]

Edit: to hntsanimated, don't know why youtube refused to reply to you for some reason ​That's why increasing items are so good in his fight, they allow you to not get hit immediately after you just got hit, which effectively raises your health by a lot

[@sillypinkmoth]

​@theinternetpolice2078 he Understands

[@justonyx6721]

I would like to add to this that the reason sans hardly moves despite trying so hard (other than just being a wild card) is because he’s trying his best to conceal his tiredness. He keeps cracking jokes and using extremely powerful attacks despite clearly not being able to handle it. You can see beads of sweat going down his face. He’s so exhausted by the end that he literally falls asleep standing up. Even when you kill him, he keeps acting nonchalant. He’s clearly actively putting in effort to appear unphased in front of the player.

[@on_the_inverse_5193]

Yeah, you can see that Sans sweats during his- wait, he SWEATS?! Skeleton sweats. Bahh, I guess the motherfucker can wink with his eye socket so I shouldn't be shocked

[@randomguy6415]

The part of him falling asleep is both true and not true at the same time depending on interpretation,sans can manipulate space and time casually so for him our fight could easily be hours of setting up attack's dodging and resting,in fact we only win against him when we finally break the rules of the game by attacking twice in a turn or essentially breaking space,and since space is directly connected with time,TO BEAT FUNNY SKELETON MAN WE HAD TO BREAK THE RULES OF SPACE AND TIME OF THE UNDERTALE WORLD...

[@neoideaxd]

@@randomguy6415we don’t exactly have an exact amount time that sans can manipulate time for, but we can guess judging by when the screen blinks black which is the supposed trigger. Judging by how long the flash lasts for, it’s about 1 second. However, we can assume that he can affect it for longer because of the talk he had with the player in grilbys, which lasts around a minute at the absolute slowest amount of time you advance the dialogue. We also know that he is able to affect an area with his time related abilities, and can affect certain objects within that area, which might explain why the attacks flung at you after the time manipulation activation appear all at once. This is speculation but I believe that this is the extent of his time related ability.

[@neoideaxd]

the reason why i believe it works in real time is because he’s able to control what is within his time manipulation, as we see in grilbys where he pauses everything but himself & the player.

[@neoideaxd]

this could also explain his shortcuts in a way, where he manipulates everything but himself & the place he wants to go, to sort of, alter his positioning to that location since he can manage what is and isn’t under his control? That doesn’t seem very accurate though

[@Kloggermeister]

4:26 I thought it would be my mom

[@mr.outlaw231]

You know who else thought it would be "my mom"? MY MOM!

[@jajajajajsiajeudnd5452]

The one thing that proves this whole theory is right and isn't just an animation mistake is that Papyrus doesn't even move his jaw when talking throughout the entire fight, but IMMEDIATELY when the fight is over, Papyrus talks and does in fact move his jaw

[@TJ-hg6op]

Even during the date things you can see him moving everywhere

[@ChrisHinners008]

I like to think that he doesn't move during the battle because he's focusing on WEAKENING you enough so that he can capture you. He's not trying to KILL you, simply weaken you.

[@destinypurpley]

Not only does papyrus use little to no effort to kill you, he uses that same little to no effort to make you BLUE and stay that way for THE WHOLE battle

[@juanlloveras5780]

@@Vestaaa480 Muffet never turns you red until the end of the battle.

[@lordofthechickens3627]

​@@juanlloveras5780 I think blue and green are magic, but purple just mean you are stuck the webs. this supported by your only action being struggle

[@juanlloveras5780]

@@lordofthechickens3627 That's a good theory, but Muffet saw Frisk's soul, and knew that it changed colors, meaning that it was a soul change.

[@HopE-xl5fh]

@@juanlloveras5780 but remember there are a hell of a lot of spiders so the spiders (that are monster) with their magic combined could be the ones keeping you while muffte does the attacks

[@templecatt]

0

[@ytuser4562]

Now I really want a boss fight with Papyrus where he’s finally standing for something he truly cares for, and he ain’t f**king around. I want to see a Papyrus who has nothing to lose.

[@stlae]

AKA disbelief papyrus

[@_aWiseMan]

Im guessing that is why flowey is interested im him, its because he had been in that fight before. I mean what would stop you from killing sans before he has karmatic retribution over you. Flowey tried everything to get the six souls, why wouldn't he try killing sans first in genocide, so he could get lv

[@voltydragon6140]

​@@stlae I feel like he is kinda nerfed in disbelief compared to what he could be as shown in this video

[@RedDemomanMedic]

@@stlae He still holds back though because he still believes you can change over the course of his phases

[@the_plushie_doctor]

I wanna see an au where it's normal papyrus taking over the sans fight and watch the people playing *Suffer*

[@Rainbowplayz-ix5ix]

*You kill sans in front of papyrus. Megalovania, hopes and dreams, and finale start playing at the same time.*

[@MarksmanRevolver]

and kids, that's how disbelief papyrus began. (i love how in character papyrus is in disbelief)

[@cybergreen6226]

Remember what Undyne said about Papyrus visiting her for the first time ? He spent an ENTIRE NIGHT standing still in front of her door He's just built different

[@SpillyWilly_]

"To step on the mat, one must become the mat."

[@WatcherWithNoEyes]

Papyrus is the one who going to call everyone underground only find your number after 10-20 minutes after talking to him

[@dustorm5012]

Remember, Papyrus not only survived, but didn't even get harmed from jumping out a *WINDOW* and maybe even having shards of glass attack him.

[@MailMainbutnot]

to be fair, what skin and flesh is there for the glass to pierce

[@Lunarcreeper]

he's... a skeleton..?

[@iigukutaiyou6403]

Skeleton cant pierced, even if the glass scratch his bone, it couldnt cause he use his homemade battle armor Damn typo

[@user-pu6pn8vt5d]

*can't be pierced

[@user-pu6pn8vt5d]

In the Undertale world, if a window breaks next to you, you enter a little mini game where you have to dodge shards of glass with your soul.

[@BlazeNStar]

Putting way more energy into social interactions than you do into kicking someone's ass is a big mood.

[@Introbulus]

Papyrus: I'VE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO HONING MY BODY TO BE A FIGHTING MACHINE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS MEANS I HAVE VERY LITTLE TIME TO HONE IT INTO A SOCIALIZING MACHINE.

[@sircuffington]

I always took the pose into account. His hand is pushing you downward, since he has the same gravity control that sans does. He could just be controlling himself to look cool and majestic.

[@LethalTicTac]

I love how this went from a simple question of why doesn’t papyrus move in battle to PAPYRUS IS AN OMNIPOTENT BEING💀

[@xavierjohnson2321]

Well Undyne DOES say he's tough, so he might be restraining himself to use 1% of his power.

[@LethalTicTac]

@@xavierjohnson2321 nah he’s only using .000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%

[@Wooorbie]

@@LethalTicTac people commenting abt shaggy be like:

[@LethalTicTac]

@@Wooorbie lol true

[@dymaz_azure]

I MEAN, sans figth is literally there Bro does nothing in any route but whoops you ass in geno

[@JohnSmith-qk4sy]

Papyrus has practiced his battle pose so well he doesn’t need to move when attacking.

[@MatoranLoreMaster]

Yeah, my first thought when the video started was "HE'S PUTTING HIS ALL INTO THAT POSE"

[@holaiamdevil]

putting his all into servingggg

[@keepyourshoesathedoor]

He kinda fresh tho 👀

[@Flip-Flop1209]

If toriel accidentally kills you, there's about a single frame where she's absolutely horrified about what she's done.

[@jasongusta7419]

ye

[@versilver]

Yeah, but like, its still small amount of moving

[@spoookley]

i wonder if toriel kills you by accident, would she use your soul to break the barrier? i feel like that could lead to an interesting au lol

[@versilver]

@@spoookley Uhhh probably she will suffer from sadness

[@vencedor1774]

@@versilver but a human soul persists upon death. Permanently. And she is inmortal.

[@MattyMatthew-m4o]

This, plus the fact he's mysteriously missing from Deltarune, suggests to me that Toby if cooking something up with him. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him again, but at full power. Hell, he could be that "Knight" for all we know.

[@spindash64]

And what’s even more interesting to me is that not in spite of his refusal to go full bore on fighting, but BECAUSE of it, he is the closest thing Undertale has to a “Big Good”. While Sans makes a promise to keep you safe, he keeps it because it’s a promise, not because he considers it a good or bad thing to do so. Papyrus? Papyrus is ACTIVELY trying to steer you on the right path throughout the entire game, on every route: Genocide: Papyrus trying to spare a mass murderer could be him just being oblivious, but if you spare him, his dialogue makes it clear that he WAS prepared to attack if you fought back, he just wasn’t prepared for how much damage you did with that hit. And even if you DO kill him, his last words are not of shock, horror, hatred, or defiance. They are words of _encouragement._ He refuses to give up on you, that you’re better than you think you are. Neutral: while Papyrus can’t necessarily do much to contact you if you don’t get his phone number, he still gives you the option to hang with him at any time, if you DO want to get to know him better. And if you do, and get his number, he has multiple lines for EVERY ROOM with a clear phone connection. And many of these lines are just him talking about the monsters and the underground, driving it home that these are enemies, _these are people._ And if you kill him in Neutral, what you find is that the next boss of the game is a no nonsense nemesis, and when you finally face her… she makes it clear that she KNOWS that you did something to Papyrus, and she intends to make you _suffer_ for it. She lists his vices, but makes it absolutely clear that he means the world to her, and she could NEVER forgive you for killing him… nor could she forgive herself… Pacifist: Papyrus is the only reason you can actually manage to get everyone to the barrier together, and even if Flowey weren’t around, he’d be the only reason that Asgore could be convinced to surrender peacefully, and spare both peoples from War. Despite his clear admiration for Undyne, Papyrus actively tips you off that she is looking for you and trying to kill you. Even though the game is scripted so it ends up in an “oops” either way, the fact that he is even willing to TRY shows how much faith he has in you, and how much he cares about both you and Undyne, to try and keep you from fighting eachother. Afterwards, Papyrus will not only bring you to befriend Undyne, but deliberately Egg her on by suggesting she’s “not up to the challenge” of befriending a human, even one that has been an actual saint, which convinces her to Buck up and play ball And after fighting Asgore for the first time, while Papyryus DOES get the idea from Flowey to send you to the Lab, he’s not completely naive about it. You can tell from the way he says it that you should be very cautious, but it’s still important that you go check on Alphys. Papyrus does all of this not out of some Oath he swore, nor because it fulfills some grander dream. He helps you because _it’s the right thing to do._ he is the mirror as to what we, the player, should genuinely strive to be like in some way, in recognizing that to be Meek is NOT to be weak. To be meek is to be _strong_

[@allovertheplacecreations2787]

This is actually the sweetest thing I’ve read about undertale 🥺 And honestly, I agree that he’s much brighter and emotionally cognizant than most give him credit for. Sure, he acts like a doof, but his genuine love and appreciation for everyone is what makes him an excellent character (and mentor figure, as he becomes someone subtly driving the plot to the best ending)

[@thebigtoad]

Well this makes things clear that sans is not the cmhb of undertale, papyrus is

[@therabbidt]

@@allovertheplacecreations2787 holy fuck that was so well written

[@Elliachu]

can I have a TLDR please

[@therabbidt]

@@Elliachu papy have big heart and wishes us the best no matter the path we choose or wehter he is on le brink of death

[@MrBlorp-sf9ye]

I... I think I now understand why Papyrus has so many things that he likes to do Fighting, even killing, might be something that he can just do so effortlessly that he actively avoids it and pursues other fields Like cooking, puzzles, making friends and finding romance Standard OP character trait

[@iantaakalla8180]

When Papyrus is the main protagonist of underground Mob Psycho 100

[@brujobr1688]

I think its more like he doesn't want to kill any human nor monster(excepting that DOG), and thats why he doesn't try to kill you, he's just like a pasifist

[@moselzag5451]

Fucking, One Bone Papyrus

[@felipe9187]

@@iantaakalla8180 SO TRUEEEE

[@levievil9220]

He probably knows he could be more powerful than asgore bout he chooses not to why it’s simply because he chose to be friends with everyone and tries his Brest undyne thinks he isn’t powerful but has potential but judging by the fact his brother is sans aka one of the strongest boss monsters yeah if papyrus wanted to he could be powerful but hey he doesn’t want that life he just wants to be cool and popular also tobey just makes op characters for fun sans flowey the player characters and papyrus for starters

[@4Bakers]

I believe that it's one of the many shortcomings of Undertale's graphics. Plus, he doesn't want to kill you, he wants to get your health low so he can capture you- WAIT HE TREATS HIS FIGHT LIKE A WILD POKEMON ENCOUNTER

[@J4CKS0N_D34R3ST]

Okay joke theory but what if every monster sees the world like a fan AU? Papyrus seeing the world as Poketale?

[@Happy_doggo]

"poketale"... you know, I shouldn't be surprised 😅

[@J4CKS0N_D34R3ST]

@@Happy_doggo it admittedly was never a popular one and for good reason imo, it never had a clear or good story but it existed.

[@HalfBreadOrder]

@@J4CKS0N_D34R3ST that makes me curious about other monsters .... what if those brothers actually came from those ?

[@J4CKS0N_D34R3ST]

@@HalfBreadOrder I didn't think that far into the theory since it was a joke but there are probably AUs that fit each monster's personality, fighting style and design like Papyrus and Poketale

[@KrispyKremeDeltarune]

Papyrus is strong enough to destroy the world, he just put all his skill points on charisma

[@makiroll3986]

Fun fact: If you go into the game's files and edit them to have max DEF, every monster will deal 1HP of damage, while Papyrus will be the only one who'll deal 2HP of damage

[@LoserLoiue2009]

😨

[@gamerits]

Oh god

[@egg23335]

papyrus is the strongest

[@cartellaio6955]

no matter the damage reduction or amplification(also) he will always do 2dmg, the guy has so much control that he litterally just set his damage low by himself

[@Introbulus]

@@cartellaio6955 Papyrus: MY BROTHER SAYS YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT IN BATTLE. SO I ALWAYS DO THE SAME DAMAGE WITH ALL OF MY MOVES. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE EVERY MOVE DO ONE DAMAGE EACH. BUT I'M STILL WORKING ON IT.

[@theyun-kinator3036]

The thing I like most about this theory is the implications that it makes for Sans. Sans starts out the fight not incredibly mobile, and yet his first attack is infamously just a taste of what he's capable of. As the fight progresses, he starts moving MORE and MORE (waving his hands in whatever direction he's gonna shove you, teleporting all over the place, actively altering your battlefield all in the same phase,), which means he is exerting himself further and further as it carries on.

[@supermaximglitchy1]

he also starts to sweat halfway through the fight

[@zhiracs]

@@supermaximglitchy1 Almost all the other characters mentioned in the video have a consistent difficulty/damage output to their fight (excepting Undyne if you kill her in a neutral route, and Asriel once you wear him down emotionally), and they don't seem to break a sweat. Sans, though, tires out. He tries to get you to "make his job easier" midway through his fight and is completely exhausted by the end. Sans' energy reserves are much, much lower than anybody else's. In an endurance match with the skelebros, Papyrus would be consistently trousling bones long after Sans had passed out.

[@nameless......................]

​@@zhiracsnote:stay the fuck away from the reset button in disbelief

[@zhiracs]

@@morgannull4685 I dunno about that. Just taking the canon material into account: He's lazy, sedentary, out of practice. He avoids fighting until he has literally no other option, and when he does, he's obligated to throw everything he has at his opponent. Imagine if you suddenly had to run a marathon or get through a military obstacle course tomorrow, and you had to drop everything you were doing and finish it. Even a reasonably fit person would be winded by the end. Someone with a sedentary lifestyle would probably keel over. That's what going up against the player is to Sans, plus what I would postulate is the added adrenaline from a fight-or-flight response.

[@fluidsxul]

It honestly does make you wonder: What if he actually went to try to be more PRIME for fighting? Canon Underswap Sans just became 90 times more terrifying.

[@hihi-nm3uy]

I think this is a symptom of Toby Fox’s visual storytelling. I don’t think he actually thought of this, but I think this is the result of what sprites and movements make sense in the context of each battle. It’s like - you don’t mean to draw a rectangle, but you do draw a square. It came naturally to his storytelling to depict Asriel and Undyne as super bouncy, and Toriel & Napstablook as very still and static. The fact this pattern exists at all is just impressive in the first place.

[@xxvery_original_namexx9677]

It's just Toby fox being really good at what he does, basically just a normal Tuesday

[@Kyumifun]

It could be also a small gag (intentional or not) Where it's supposed to show that he's so goofy he has comedically lazly made battle sprite. Papyrus is unique and sometimes breaks the laws of physics for no reason and turns it into comedy

[@MackenziiRivers]

the characters with the most agency moving the most is just a good visual story telling thing. it's genious. I like how Muffet just sway her arms more than anything. like she's vibing, she kinda wants you dead but she's probably just dancing along like all the other spiders as that seems to be their thing.

[@foldervtolvr]

I always though Undyne remarking that Papyrus was “Pretty freakin’ tough” was her talking about Papyrus’ raw physical durability. Papyrus is extremely good at taking hits, and even uses it to do dumb things. But him being powerful in attacks is also possible, and that makes me think that even UNDYNE has no idea his strong he truly is either

[@SpiritOfSpite]

Sans has 1 attack and 1 defence and 1 HP and he still kicks our asses, Papyrus meanwhile has 20 attack 20 defence and 680 HP if he were to go all out with karma damage and dodging like Sans the hypothetical fight would be virtually impossible, every graze would practically be an insta kill and the not dying in one hit + dodging would make the fight at least twenty minutes longer

[@LiMe251]

Most of the damage from sans isn't his KR, it's mostly how you don't get invincibility frames in his fight

[@Xman34washere]

@@LiMe251 *imagine not getting invincibility for papyrus.*

[@SpiritOfSpite]

@@LiMe251 That's what Karma damage is

[@ARandomEliatrope]

@@LiMe251 thats literally what his KR does...

[@cantmakeacreativename2072]

Assuming this is the pacifist route, I’m pretty sure even if we assume Papyrus has the ability to use KR, it wouldn’t affect Frisk as they at this point would be completely innocent. Heck, if anything, activating KR might just make Papyrus’s attacks HEAL instead of damage.

[@JodanTheHero]

This made me realize something: *What's the chances that Papyrus doesn't actually know his real strength?* I remember how Undyne admits Papyrus is really tough. Has she seen him fight before?? Does _she_ know how strong he is?? Perhaps this might be another reason as to why Undyne doesn't train Papyrus to be a soldier, as is his want. If Papyrus is actually as strong as the video suggests, then Undyne _really_ wouldn't want that. If his fight-or-flight response suddenly kicked in and chose "fight", he would _SERIOUSLY_ do some damage, possibly without even meaning to. Papyrus has no clue what his real power is because no one has told him or showed him. He doesn't have the fortitude to find it out on his own either. What he uses to attack you in his boss fight might be what he (in his mind) considers to be "everything". The only way the fight ends (in Pacifist) is because the Dog steals his special attack, forcing him to do a "cool normal attack" instead as his final move. The battle ends as soon as Papyrus declares that "he's run out of attacks". *He believes this is all he's capable of and can't fight any further!* Now look at Sans by comparison. He's the lazy brother, yet his fight is the HARDEST in the game. Why? Because I believe Sans *has mastered his abilities.* There's nothing left for Sans to actually learn about himself, so therefore he can afford to be lazy and use his power as he sees fit. What if Sans *actually knows* what Papyrus is capable of based on what he _himself_ is capable of? Chances are, they're the only two skeletons in the underground. *They're alike.* Sans doesn't want to tell Papyrus his real power. He's either too lazy to bother, or too afraid of what may happen if he did.

[@mariotheundying]

Undyne says that she doesn't let him in the army because he doesn't want to fight and would just be killed in battle inmediately, which definitely happened in genocide

[@rainydayarts6323]

While that is a good theory, the fact that he has an amazing amount of control with his attacks in game and even can do practically no damage or a good amount of damage, means he knows that he has to have some sort of limit or people could get hurt.

[@dyingofdioxide]

nah, I think Paps is well aware of his abilities, that's why he can control himself and purposely doesn't go all out. Compared to someone that doesn't know they have an ability of sorts, when in a high risk situation like getting killed in the genocide route, they would probably unleash that power unknowingly out of fear, doesn't matter how much of a nice person they are. If he didn't know his strengths, an emotional outburst out of fear is to be expected, but he keeps his calm and doesn't use an attack. He _knows_ his capabilities, that's why he can control them. That might also be why he decided to wanna join the royal guard. He knows he's strong, so he wants to use that power to protect other monsters. Notice how he accepts Undyne's cooking lessons even though they aren't teaching him anything about battling or fighting; you might say "oh he's naive" but he's not a CHILD. It's alluded to that sans is about middle-aged, which would place Papyrus around the 20 year old mark, meaning he is an adult and definitely knows things. This also implies that he already mastered battles, he and sans can fight very well; but perhaps due to how their race (skeleton monsters) were near completely eradicated during the war, they might've learned to not fight. To just let things pass, you know. Maybe Papyrus didn't remember too much about the war, okay, understandable. But sans probably influenced him, in a way. To not care about fights and killing, added with his personality, it makes him seem more childish than mature. So that's why Undyne doesn't wanna let him in the royal guard. She knows how strong he is, and knows he has no problem taking care of himself; but he doesn't want to kill. Monsters need that desire to channel their magic. Papyrus doesn't want to fight, so compared to a monster with killer intent, his attacks do lesser damage and thanks to his optimism, makes him vulnerable. He always wants to believe a person can change. Maybe the past skeleton race was like that too, and sans just grew to become "different", (since as he states he "doesn't care" anymore) which is why Papyrus is always frustrated with him, it goes against their nature. Unfortunately, it made them easier to kill, and that might be why there's only two skeleton monsters left.

[@duckcatthequrugosk5504]

That's the problem being parts of W.D Gaster (not sons)

[@okboomerbutitsacat8050]

@@mariotheundying because he doesn't want to fight, again, papyrus isn't putting in practically anything into the battle, that's why you can kill him.

[@raulstopspam1791]

Papyrus is so focused on the fight, capturing the human, and thinking about all of his fans that he forgot he had to move during the battle.

[@elliemayo]

I think one of the reasons Flowey likes Papyrus is not just because of his immense strength, otherwise, he'd admire Sans as well instead of hating him, but rather the way Papyrus reminds Flowey of his old self. Asriel, who had absorbed a human soul, had the power to destroy the humans who were attacking him, as they thought he had killed Chara. Asriel- who was supposed to carry out the plan he and Chara had to kill the humans, break the barrier, and free monsterkind- didn't land a single blow on them, despite having the ability to. Even as he was dying, he didn't defend himself, he just walked away with a smile. He couldn't fight back, not because he lacked the competence to, but because it isn't who he is at his core, it's against his beliefs. And the same goes for Papyrus.

[@DoctorTex]

Never saw Asgore's movements as "bouncing". I just thought it was labored breathing, wether because he's worn down by your attacks, or just worn down by the weight of the Underground on his shoulders.

[@sirchristian104]

Bouncy hehe

[@WingMaster562]

In animation it can count as bouncing

[@cookiesnqueen2625]

If the "Papyrus is the Knight" theory is correct, then we are doomed. Utterly DOOMED.

[@melissatroubls9967]

It's ok. At least, it's not like a doomed timeline in HS

[@alizacelemcentauri986]

You FOOL. Clearly Nubert is the knight 🙄

[@radioactivepower600nanaspersec]

I shudder just thinking about that

[@truetimewatcher]

@@melissatroubls9967 on the contrary. it might be, considering if you give up on the game over in chapter 1, gaster says "THEN THE WORLD WAS COVERED IN DARKNESS" so yes, it is like a doomed timeline.

[@elizathegamer413]

@@melissatroubls9967 how do you know? I mean, there are multiple possible timelines! One of em could be a doomed timeline who knows

[@oliviawallace3636]

This combined with Papyrus' awareness of alternate timelines/resets ("is Sans pranking people across time and space again?" from getting the key to Sans' room and going into his bedroom and "Truly this is the worst ending." from true pacifist dialogue) proves there's a HELL of a lot to Papyrus that we don't know about. Also just in writing this, I clocked that since Papyrus can enter Sans' bedroom freely he must also know about Sans' room in the back of the house!

[@JesterAkiz]

He knows but he probably doesn't pay much attention to it

[@plague_doctor0237]

Probably Papyrus KNOWS everything, but he acts differently than Sans, because the two are opposites, he's always trying to act and stay positive, even in the worst scenarios, even when he gets murdered, because, unlike Sans, he is entirely pure of heart, even if he sees evil he can't think evil, he always sees the good in people, despite their actions saying otherwise, because of his mentality, he tries to think about good things, so that the bad things don't overshadow them

[@amog8202]

@@plague_doctor0237 good idea honestly. "If they really knew we were real, almost no one would do this" or something like that

[@JaxontheOkay]

one of his lines of dialogue from the phone goes along these lines "Yes of course Sans has a telescope! He loves spacey, sci-fi stuff. He never told you? Yeah. Sans never tells anybody anything..." which is interesting but i'm not 100% what to make of it

[@tracey8121]

Is most likely that Skelebros are actually know about timelines due of Sans's past (presumably scientific). Guess Alphys wasn't the first one to create Artificial DT or do research about Determination in first place..

[@Exp1r3d_milk]

Papyrus COULD kill you. He’s just too much of a cinnamon roll. (He’s also one of my favorite comfort characters)

[@SimonClarkstone]

I wonder if it's a bug, but that argument about him wanting the least to kill you is compelling.

[@qwertyuiop.lkjhgfdsa]

I think he's just 1 png, I'd check but I dont have my laptop

[@LittleDevilAkuma]

There was some information that Papyrus's battle theme was supposed to be originally the defalut theme instead of "Enemy Approaching" and it is used for all the Undertale trailers, it is possible his boss battle was one of the first ones Toby Fox made. So maybe not a bug, but just made before they thought about moving sprites

[@HalfBreadOrder]

@@LittleDevilAkuma but in his battle he uses "Nyeh Heh Heh" and "Bonetrousle"

[@HalfBreadOrder]

also , toby fox NEVER leaves in such an obvious bug , NEVER , knowing him I'm pretty sure he might have somehow did this on purpose

[@LittleDevilAkuma]

@@HalfBreadOrder Okay, good argument

[@puffyhowler615]

I prefer the take that he looks like a cardboard cutout in his fight not because he's not putting in energy, but just because he actually genuinely put up a cardboard cutout cause he didn't want to fight you

[@derekstryder2281]

That would imply Papyrus being one of the two sole survivors of the genocide route (the other being Alphys).

[@kuroyami9757]

​@@derekstryder2281 so why sans is so mad at the point to stalk you

[@drog9235]

@@kuroyami9757 bc he thinks papyrus is dead

[@shrimpaerospace]

​@@derekstryder2281what about napstablook

[@JosoezinduASMRpog]

​@@kuroyami9757Because the player did still kill like EVERYONE ELSE, i thought that was obvious enough

[@Troy_The_Boi]

I mean Papyrus is the literal embodiment of a pure-hearted soul. If he gets mad, YOU KNOW YOU FUCKED UP BIG TIME. It’s like when when the quite kid at school finally stands up for himself

[@Adachi69420]

Hes the not quiet quiet kid

[@CloudMouth27]

​​@@Adachi69420 that's called a simile, buddy. It's when you compare two things that aren't alike.

[@badbloodkiller3471]

Papyrus one the the things a wise man fears. To elaborate. A wise man fear three thins; The sea in a storm, a night with no moon and the anger of a gentle man.

[@sugomasugoma8935]

@@CloudMouth27 your profile matches your comment

[@gnonj0654]

More like, when polite and kind kid who never swears at you, says fuck you to you

[@Biscotum]

"Oh, wait, Papyrus' sprite doesn't move in his battle? But he has sprite animations... oh. Oh, right. They didn't import properly and I meant to fix that and then... didn't. Huh. How'd nobody notice that?" - Toby Fox in a later interview, probably

[@Hex.A.Decimal]

It's possible. I also recall Papyrus having an action figure collection so I just imagined he was imitating those 'cool hero dudes'. Though now that it's pointed out that not even his cape moves.... I'm a bit perplexed at that. Edit: Upon reviewing Papy's sprite set, I am convinced he can control the wind in his cape. Which seems like a very Papyrus thing imo.

[@basteala525]

Papyrus is probably the most conflicted about fighting you. Everyone else can draw on *something* compelling to drive them into the battle. Toriel wants to protect you, Asgore by duty, most of Napstablook's animations aren't intentional attacks, and could even be construed as some *very* minor enthusiasm at the positive feedback (the tear hat comes to mind). Papyrus on the other hand doesn't have any of that. His motivation is to be popular. Or more specifically, he wants lots of friends. He considers *you* to be a friend at that point, and he's having to hurt you and ship you away for a gamble at more friendship...but you also, by existing, have given him what he so badly wants. It's natural he can't work up the motivation. The one thing that brings him into conflict with you is also at odds simply by fighting you.

[@StoppedwithnoS]

This is beautiful man

[@yamahoestella3118]

It should be mentioned that when Sans uses his blue attack, he moves his hand to the direction he's throwing you in. Papyrus' hand NEVER moves, and its going STRAIGHT down, which implies that if he DID move his hand, you'd go in that direction, but he chose to keep his hand down.

[@ZacharypjgStudios]

Amazing

[@trulyplasmatic]

doesn't that mean papyrus can't move in order to abuse his gimmick in the least harmful way

[@yamahoestella3118]

@@trulyplasmatic Which would imply that not only is he not using his full power to fight you, but he's actively hindering an ability that would have WRECKED you.

[@getthedunkon9347]

@@yamahoestella3118 Yeah, And his arm is LONGER than Sans'. If Sans is the faster brother... Papyrus must be just as strong as Sans is fast... And Sans is FASTER than UNDYNE who can literally get from her house to Papyrus' house in a matter of 2 seconds.

[@Sov_spoiled]

Papyrus can grab from off stage

[@TheDark4light]

Do you know how many times I've watched this? I just LOVE your voice as you read this out. The emphasis you put on words is just amazing

[@mistertwister2000]

This is basically the skeletal equivalent to Doc Ock finding out that Spider-Man is literally always holding back and if he really wanted to he could easily murder his entire rogues gallery.

[@narrativeless404]

Spider man can be squished just like any human-sized spider Just throw a car at it and it's done

[@SomeRandomDude821]

This has to be a joke that I'm missing, because throwing cars is like, THE gold standard for superhero fighting. If you threw a car at him, he'd make like the Peter A./MJ date scene at the beginning of Spiderverse and one-hand punch it back at you. Squishing him is gonna take far, FAR more weight.

[@Malenrick]

​@@narrativeless404 spiderman has super strength and can lift cars. Not without effort, he's no Hulk but he's definitely really strong and multiple people have thrown cars at him and failed. People tend to forget how strong spiderman is, but he doesn't just make web and climb walls. Hell, half the time he's using his web he's also using his super strength to throw things around with it.

[@narrativeless404]

@@Malenrick Ok, but it's still possible to beat him anyways Just his opponents aren't strong enough

[@Malenrick]

@@narrativeless404 I mean that logic is true for literally any character.

[@alejjtheninja5803]

Y'know, with how secretly powerful Sans is, it actually would make a lot of sense for Paps to also be capable of much more. Something I've never considered before now.

[@Du_misani]

yh cause considering sans can do all that with 1 atk and 1df it makes u wonder what paps can do

[@jonathanluk7]

@@Du_misani especially when you consider papyrus actually exercise and sans is just lazy, what can an exercised sans do? What can a sans with more hp and atk do?

[@Yegros1972]

@@jonathanluk7 hp don't make difference, as a whole screen out of nines is more hp than I think any monster other than Omega Flowey and Asriel would have, but thinking about his damage and the godamn karma together is making me shake

[@jonathanluk7]

@@Yegros1972 he still exercise tho

[@o_ya_su_mi]

Actually Sans isn't secretly strong, he just don't want to fight us in neutral/pacifist rote

[@godsplayingfield]

remember, Undyne describes him as crazy strong, even by her standards. he's just too damn nice and a fcking goofball. note, he actively fcks with your UI during the date, adding all manners of things like a radar and shit. similar to how Sans messes with your UI with the bones covering it for damage. not to mention walking on air and going out of bounds of the screen like Sans. this is an interesting aspect honestly and worth exploring.

[@TechBlade9000]

BONELY POWER

[@ohdeerheavens]

Papyrus is a sleeper agent, may we never know his trigger word

[@cheesedoodle7]

Me: “it’s been such a long day, but at least I can finally eat my spaghetti” Papyrus: “did somebody say spaghetti Nyeh heh heh!”

[@Missingno_Miner]

Undyne is pretty clear that Papyrus is pretty powerful. The only reason that Papyrus isn't a member of the royal guard is because, as she puts it, he's too nice to be sent into serious combat, and would get "ripped into little smiling shreds". Genocide reinforces this fact: Papyrus knows what Frisk is doing, as he expresses relief if he is spared, yet he still attempts to befriend them and steer them down a better path. Even as he dies, he doesn't do the Hamlet reference he does in his neutral death, and instead reasserts his belief that they can change for the better. He's an inherently good person, often too kind for his own good which makes him an easy target for manipulation by Flowey and free EXP for a genocidal human. Unfortunately, the Flowey thing fails because Flowey admits that he has never gotten past Asgore. Never managed to kill him, never managed to convince him to give him the souls, never managed to steal them from him. And he notes that he takes special care not to let Sans find out about him because he's killed him quite a few times. Yet he treats Sans and Asgore as on par with Alphys, who he doesn't seem to have interacted with much. Ultimately, Flowey's treatment of Papyrus is just because, as I've already noted, he's an inherently nice person and easy to manipulate. The guy has started a flowey fan club on a few occasions. But yeah, I really would not want to be on the bad side of a version of Papyrus without that inherent nice side.

[@Freedmoon44]

Alphys is a threat because even if she cant kill you, she can discover the truth ahout Flowey, whose entire existance is possible due to his own self being made by DT. Information is its own fight and if Sans knows the consequences and Asgore knows the line not to cross Alphys represent the knowledge of the cause of Flowey messiing with time

[@Missingno_Miner]

@@Freedmoon44 Alphys doesn't need to discover the truth about Flowey: She already knows. You see how she reacts to Papyrus' mention of a "little flower" helping him, she immediately realized what Papyrus meant. And why on earth would Flowey care if people know how he came to be? He can always reset to reverse that knowledge. Not to mention, why would this translate to him restraining Alphys as much as Sans and Asgore, both of whom are people he knows are direct, physical threats?

[@genuinearity8790]

Considering what happened to Asriel, a literal god who was killed due to his unwillingness to harm, yeah this actually makes a lot of sense

[@sapphichoe]

I mean take Sans as the guy who’s like… “Not nice Papyrus” but like… Neutral. You get on the terrible side of Sans and he’ll just tear you to shreds like he’s done to Flowey couple of times and Flowey had to reset so many times… Papyrus is definitely… just as strong as Sans… but he refuses to be “Neutral” like Sans and he’s TOOO nice to show that side of him… definitely why I love the Skelebros so much because… yeah.. they’re both cool and chill… yet.. as Sans demonstrates his power in the Genocide run… and per say… if Papyrus DID have a heart to actually kill you and was in Sans’ place… he’d definitely be as tough as Sans…. And that’s a given fact considering that… well they’re brothers and well yeah.. they’re both probably the toughest monsters in the Underground like Asgore and Asriel… but like they refuse to utilize abilities when they don’t have to…. In the Pacifist run… Sans could have probably stopped Flowey as Flowey said before but in front of too many people and due to his laziness… he didn’t… others literally help you… but Sans doesn’t even battle you nor help you in the pacifist run… EVEN ALPHYS DOES HELP YOU… someone we never get to battle in any runs… yet what baffles me is definitely why Sans didn’t stop Flowey… the answer is simple… it was because Papyrus was there and he doesn’t seem to like the idea of destroying a soulless flower that was once a prince… and probably because Sans knew that Flowey befriended Papyrus and that… Sans couldn’t come to kill Flowey in front of Papyrus and he refuses to show any of his attacks in the Pacifist run… in the end even Sans is affected by emotions… but not as much as Papyrus who’d never want to kill you but will always believe that even serial killers can change… Sans on the other hand… doesn’t seem to go by what Papyrus goes by… but what limits Sans seem to be promises and killing Papyrus’ friend in front of him… because sure as hell if Flowey confronted Sans and Papyrus wasn’t there…. Oh yeah Flowey’d have to bail… or kick the bucket since they can’t reset anymore once the human arrives in the underground.

[@Missingno_Miner]

@@sapphichoe Yes and no. Papyrus is presumably much stronger than Sans, since his stats are much higher. Sans just cheats to make up for it. Also, Sans didn't stop Flowey because he didn't know what Flowey even was until it was too late. Flowey states outright that he is careful not to let Sans find out too much about him, which implies that in some resets Sans was outright taking initiative and attacking Flowey on sight upon learning what he was. During the events of Frisk's journey, all Sans knew was that Papyrus had told him about a flower that would give him advice, flattery, predictions, etc. He was under the impression that someone was pranking Papyrus using an echo flower, as he tells Frisk while at Grillby's with them.

[@dottyspot]

you know, it always bothered me that Paps didn't move in his fight. but this theory is absolute GENIUS! and the fact that Flowey feels the need to wrap double the amount of vines around Papyrus makes me feel like he's incredibly terrified of Paps bc of his power, which begs the question... what did Flowey do to anger Papyrus so much??

[@FungusAmanita]

He turned his brother into an NFT

[@dottyspot]

@@FungusAmanita if someone did that to my siblings i would probably destroy them too. they may be annoying most days, but only hellspawn deserve that kind of treatment.

[@thecelesteial5918]

Papyrus would be prepared to protect everybody he knew, especially sans and the human, so that was probably it, flowey knowing that paps is prepared to do what is necessary (as he does with capturing you, still harms ya), and it could very well be that paps would be at that level because he hasn't given up. Think back to sans, he tells you he knows it's useless to fight, the only reason he's doing it is in hopes of you getting annoyed, he knows ya can't die, and he knows it could all just repeat. Paps on the other hand believes even in the genocide player until the very end, believing everybody can change and even risking his life to help people. If paps actually had a good reason to kill, I'd say that he'd definitely be able to hold his own, potentially even against the six and the prince. So TLDR: My theory is that Flowey knows papyrus can and will fight at some point, and he can't risk dying, since he doesn't have control over the timeline anymore.

[@gameingtothemax6266]

probably killed sans

[@Lampproductions8943]

Killed everyone he loved but made them suffer slow and painful deaths. Papyrus must’ve went from 0.00000000000001% of his power to 0.0000000000001% of his power

[@downbeatdialga1341]

5:23 holy cow I never noticed that. Asgore and Undyne even only had 2 tendrils around them, and they’re 2 of the strongest monsters in the underground. Yet Papyrus was a bigger threat to Flowey to keep in check.

[@ElianChispy]

Also keep in mind that flowey mentions that he was beat by sans multiple times and even then he had only 2 vines wrapped around him so just imagine how much of a threath papyrus is

[@AmazinEarth]

Its even the fact that its not because Papyrus is tall of large, because so are Asgore and Undyne.

[@shadowryft]

I bet flowey has done the disbelief timeline, thats probably why he restrains papyrus the most

[@buttnuggetsauce7666]

He wraps his FUCKING BOOT. I shudder to imagine what that boot did to

[@oatmealman1586]

​@@buttnuggetsauce7666 started the first ever monster space program by kicking that dandelion into orbit at mach jesus

[@nikolamatejic7596]

It's crazy how many people tend to underestimate Papyrus due to the genocide run and a funny bone man,but it kinda makes sense that they are maybe BOTH incredibly powerful monster's but are hiding it because they dont like fighting like,say,undyne, I've once heard he can control not only his attacks but the stats aswell

[@aithrasherboi]

Well ofcourse, have you SEEN Disbelief Papayrus in his 2nd phase, HOLY SHIT!

[@yuji5134]

In genocide run the guy talks to you as a fucking severed head. How can people underestimate him is beyond me lol

[@methane5211]

@@aithrasherboi that's a fan game, not canon

[@methane5211]

Would've been interesting if Papyrus wasn't killed in one hit, like Mettaton NEO. Imagine just how much of a hard battle he would do if he was there at 1 HP or something. I imagine that if Papyrus truly went full on, he would literally come from the dead and beat the player up in genocide

[@jenniferdunstan5065]

@@methane5211 it should be cannon since it's an au and space time stuff is an undertale side piece

[@MSCDonkeyKong]

hes simply putting all 1010% of his energy into holding that pose

[@Yegros1972]

Is a cool pose

[@nicholasblewett3945]

Yes

[@cactusgamingyt9960]

"NYEH HEH HEH I AM THE STAR MAN!!" "nice, bro."

[@papillon-dm8et]

up to the physics of his fucking cape. which mind you is impressive but also what the fuck

[@adamcatlin2853]

"Can I destroy you in an instant? Yes! Would I rather just have lunch? Also Yes!" This hit me harder than it should have

[@Xahnel]

I want to offer a separate interpretation: Papyrus is striking a heroic pose. He isn't out to kill you, but he does want to catch you, because that coincides with his goals in life. Considering the image he tries so desperately to project, I believe Papyrus has practiced his "hero" pose so thoroughly that he can fight at full capacity and still be absolutely motionless. Because he's a hero, he's a cool dude, and cool hero dudes have cool poses.

[@CalvinNoire]

Is this a Jojo reference?

[@thethumbisafinger]

Undyne - “He’s actually pretty freaking tough” Undyne has a much harder battle and she, as stated, is very much putting her all into it. Some flavour text reads, “Undyne suplexes a giant boulder just because she can”. If SHE thinks he’s strong, he is STRONG.

[@Kris_deltarune-69]

Undyne did what the hell now?

[@thethumbisafinger]

@@Kris_deltarune-69 it’s flavour text for her battle

[@charlesn.750]

Minor correction: Undyne said "tough", not "strong"

[@thethumbisafinger]

@@charlesn.750 thanks so much

[@famouzlj25]

She also says 'he has greater control of magic', as well

[@TheOneSapCan]

What’s scary is that Toby doesn’t overlook shit. This is 100% intentional, and I love it

[@BluecoreG]

Would you mind explaining how this is intentional? After watching the video I'm still confused

[@TheOneSapCan]

@@BluecoreG Toby always has a reason to make things the way they are. He wouldn’t just forget to add animations to papyrus, since he obviously cared a lot about putting life into him. It’s less of “This is why it’s intentional” and more of “This is why it wasn’t accidental”

[@Stick_and_stone]

​@@TheOneSapCan he *could* have forgottem the animations. Toby Fox is not some sort of superhuman who never makes a mistake.

[@5252coolguy]

@@Stick_and_stone you don't just casually forget to add animations to one of the bigger fights in the game, and then never change it in an update.

[@BasilTheSh33p]

I just thought it was a coding error and that the battle sprites were somewhere in the game-

[@jureigeeksoutoccasionally]

The amount of story telling thats done in the battles is so crazy. Like, Sans isn’t some secretly crazy strong guy. He’s still super weak, he can only do one damage, but he’s also *really smart*

[@supermaximglitchy1]

he relies on multi-hits and karma to make the fight this hard

[@jureigeeksoutoccasionally]

@@supermaximglitchy1 exactly. He knows his weaknesses, and he uses them to his advantage, uses them against the player. It’s so cool!

[@number3766]

Sans technically doesn't do anything for extra damage. Technically, the sins crawling on your back, your karma is what damages you the most. Pap is San's brother, much like him, if he wanted to kill you, you would be dead where you stand. Keep in mind, his brother has basically no stats, 1 in each. He presumably taught Pap how to fight at least in self defense. Pap has ACTUAL stats. Imagine how powerful he would be if he was trying! Not even mentioning the Gaster speculations. Hell, he is one of the few monsters that can persist even after losing all their hp, as just a head, in genocide. The others that don't immediately turn to dust? Neo Mettaton, DT Undyne and Sans. That should tell you how powerful he is, and also, how kind he is.

[@sptflcrw8583]

@@number3766 why would sans bother teaching papyrus how to fight

[@aanakk]

@@sptflcrw8583 he's still his brother. Sans is lazy, but cares *deeply* about Papyrus, although it may not seem like it. They probably trained at least a little bit before Papyrus tried to get into the Royal Guard for that reason precisely.

[@paperalizado8493]

His costume is so old that it prevents him from bouncing, so when he changes it, he's able to bounce around

[@ashurean]

I still enjoy the headcanon that BOTH of the skelebros are just absurd powerhouses, monsters among monsters. But neither of them really care to actually USE their power. Sans is lazy and Papyrus just isn't particularly interested in real fights, I mean, his self-professed reason for joining the Royal Guard is entirely to make friends and mess around with traps. Also, he's in the class of monster who doesn't die immediately when his hp drops to zero, meaning he's comparable to a hyped-up undyne, the only two remaining boss monsters (toriel and asgore), and sans. In the genocide run he lingers even when his head is cut off, which is far more severe an injury than any of the other characters take before dying. Toby Fox really just threw in lines like "they just showed up one day" and gave hints that they were abnormal and left it at that, leaving it up to the fanbase to come up with their own explanations. And personally I think that's really cool.

[@ElderFlock]

"and mess around with traps" 💀💀💀

[@Nechrome9]

​@@ElderFlockHe just like me fr

[@goddessdeedeebubblesofimag7789]

"They just showed up one day." Who's willing to bet the fact they look like human skeletons has to do with it!!