The Truth About Papyrus - A Character Analysis

A thorough look at Papyrus from Undertale, debunking fandom misconceptions. I hope to make more videos like this in the future! SUBSCRIBE for more and don't forget to check out my other content. :)
Papyrus Doesn't Play Dumb (nor is he stupid) - crystallized-rose-rebel.tumbl...
Mysterious Papyrus Things and Other Useful Posts: insanelyadd.tumblr.com/post/1...
The Complete Undertale Text Project: afewbitsandpieces.tumblr.com/...
Inverted Fate: invertedfate.com/chapters / / invertedfate
My Patreon: / dorked
My Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/invertedfate
#Undertale, #Papyrus, #Video Games, #Character Analysis

[@Dorked]

Funny story. I actually began work on this video before UT's third anniversary. Then I procrastinated like heck on the final portions of editing due to a number of reasons including other IF work, RL, and just... stuff. BUT! I'd like to do more videos like this! Terra from Kingdom Hearts is high up there on the list, but I'll definitely consider other Undertale characters as well! :) Maybe Ringabel from Bravely Default. In the mean time, I have lots of other projects you can check out! Inverted Fate, my Undertale comic: invertedfate.com/chapters Fireglobe Productions: kzbin.info/door/YB_GM3JnkSPiCT0_X__LWg Inverted Fate OST: soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/sets/inverted-fate-ost My Patreon: patreon.com/dorked My Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/invertedfate Antipode, my Kingdom Hearts fanfic series: archiveofourown.org/series/18376

[@megatronthedominator752]

Wow! I didn’t realize that Papyrus made 14 puns, while Sans only made six! I’m gonna have to edit my fanfic! While I knew Papyrus didn’t hate bad puns at all and that he made some himself, I always thought that he was annoyed when people spout them constantly because he believes that good bad puns must be timed carefully and used sparingly!

[@Meteor_Avenue]

Please try covering Asgore because I feel that he’s very overlooked and misinterpreted by a lot of the fandom (Also I love the way you write Frisk and Papyrus’ friendship in Inverted fate. Hope you’re having a nice day)

[@draconicrain7609]

While papyrus does turn your soul blue, if he had a human soul, I bet it would be green. The color of Kindness. Kindness is powerful. Although it normally isn't focused in a violent manner. Unless Justice is influencing it. Kindness is normally used to help others the best you can, in any way you can. For the benefit of others. Sans is Patience, yes, even though he is the Judge. Weird huh? Maybe that's because Undertale might be an au.

[@sergevictoryyt]

Since "Character Analysis Videos" has its own playlist, I'm guessing that there are going to be multiple of these kinds of videos. You should probably make ones on Frisk and Chara, (maybe in the same video) because Chara's always painted as the devil and Frisk as completely innocent. And their genders are constantly assumed.

[@cookimals]

Papyrus is also my favorite- *t h a n k - y o u*

[@matti.8465]

I always liked this idea that Papyrus is only annoyed at Sans' puns because he either does it at "innapropiate" moments or Papyrus just finds the puns to be bad and lazy. It's also worth nothing that Papyrus has this goofy smile on his face most of the time and in some moments you don't know if he's being sincere, sarcastic or passive agressive (which makes it funnier)

[@josephb.4640]

If you call Papyrus in the garbage dump, he makes his own pun. These generalizations of well-written characters are the things that push people away from the fandom.

[@jonathanhowells7864]

I always (maybe?) interpreted it as Sans just being annoying to Papyrus and the puns just contribute to it

[@nothere3982]

It's the first alternative. He enjoys all kind of puns, he's always smiling and sans points it out often enough for us to notice he's not laughing because it's inappropriate

[@yourlocalmoron153]

true. he makes way more puns than him and the only time he gets mad at them is when sans appears to be not getting his point that he shouldnt slack off. Papyrus is trying to get him to do something, while he continues to slack off and even jokes about it

[@dragonispurple6075]

@@josephb.4640 fun fact: Papyrus actually makes more puns than sans

[@jennifercorbett8640]

Canon: Papyrus makes more puns than his overrated brother, even having them be more clever and witty. Fanon: PUN BAD!!!!!!!!

[@notmyname80]

more like Fanon: sans: *pun* Papyrus: literally crushes sans's bones and stabs him over and over again so that he suffers and then sans dies

[@corndogskeleton4207]

Canon : sans : pun Papyrus : THIS IS AN INNAPROPRIATE MOMENT SANS

[@The_Casualest_of_Chaoses]

I always sorta thought that Papyrus does like puns, but sans tells so many of them, that it sorta got old. Or maybe he likes puns, but not the ones that sans tells. Idk, just a thought

[@chimanruler15]

@@The_Casualest_of_Chaoses Yes to both interpretations. After all, Undyne at one point made a pun, and Papyrus liked it.

[@The_Casualest_of_Chaoses]

@@chimanruler15 exactly!

[@JuanCarlosSanchez-oo3sz]

I feel like when it comes to Fanon undertale, it's more like "Sans and Friends" then "Undertale" because of how sans plays a major role of the strongest character in the game when in reality it is far from the case. Plus my Boi Napstablook is clearly the most important character in the game.

[@Dorked]

It's funny because Sans honestly is super skippable. You don't even have to do his hangouts to get pacifist, IIRC?

[@maggieent3215]

Sans and friends! Brought to you by Eskay~. (Old washington area puppet show)

[@maggieent3215]

@Alfonso Contreras they shut the blinds on the apocalypse situation, in fact!

[@JP-jk7qf]

Sans isn't even the strongest

[@familydogguy]

@@JP-jk7qf napstablook is the strongest boss and asgore/toriel are the strongest in stats without souls

[@spi231]

Always remember Papyrus's line "IS SANS PRANKING YOU THROUGH TIME AND SPACE AGAIN. I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT." Yea Sans and Flowey are the only ones who break the fourth wall.

[@wildfire9280]

“IS FANON REDUCING YOU TO FLANDERIZED CARDBOARD AGAIN. I HATE IT WHEN IT DOES THAT.”

[@captainmega6310]

​@wildfire9280 get over it. It's not like you HAVE to take seriously

[@goldenfred5815]

@@captainmega6310 Do you literally not see the quotemarks around their statement or do you take pride in being dense?

[@captainmega6310]

@@goldenfred5815 Ok?

[@captainmega6310]

@@goldenfred5815 Doesn't make what I said less true

[@Erolsaurus]

Fun fact: Just because Papyrus is the younger brother doesn't mean he isn't an adult.

[@kaloz429mobile9]

Human-monster age

[@sahilhossian8212]

Hmm yes very accurate

[@aykarain]

@@kaloz429mobile9 for all we know, papyrus could be like 100 years old or something

[@zapko4415]

Wasnt he "born" in 1995?

[@gabrielgaraterojas4060]

​@@zapko4415nope, chara fell into the underground in 201X, so his "95" in his internet account ccould be for 2095 or 2195

[@GamerB2022LikesTugs]

So Papyrus doesn’t hate puns. He just hates it when Sans ruins puns for him. Is that it?

[@chimanruler15]

@Luca-Robert Stewart Exactly. Papyrus loves jokes almost as much as his brother does. He just gets annoyed that Sans makes jokes when he should be getting stuff done. He has a silly side, just like his brother. Unlike Sans, he just expresses it at more appropriate moments.

[@user-sl6tq1if7v]

He's basically just "I wish you'd do something more productive" to Sans, he is fine with puns, he just wants his brother to do something useful for a change

[@chimanruler15]

@@user-sl6tq1if7v Exactly. Papyrus even smiled when Sans made his puns. Puns aren't the issue.

[@ey1139]

Thank yooouuuu for saying this

[@amiciyopre]

@the Jevil Doing more than twice as many puns as the game's main comedian does not seem "rarely" to me.

[@glitch-tv7504]

You know what I find suspicious, Undyne says that Papyrus can’t join the royal guard because he’s too “nice”, but the problem with that is that half of the royal guard is a bunch of friendly little doggie’s. So I feel like Undyne says that Papyrus can’t join the royal guard cause he’s too nice, might be a coverup for something else going on.

[@FaeSparrow]

THANK YOU! I had this theory for ages but everyone says I'm overthinking. How can you overthink anything in a Toby Fox game though?!?!

[@plasma2853]

I mean it also could be because the royal guard is full of dogs. And he’s a skeleton. So won’t end well

[@Data-Expungeded]

@@FaeSparrow There is no overthinking in this fandom. Only extremely well thought observations

[@rafsandomierz5313]

@@plasma2853 in lore Papyrus interacts with them on daily basis I remember doggo mentioning that Papyrus throws him bones or something for fun.

[@rafsandomierz5313]

Because he is, did you saw what he is doing? He is the only character in game that does not kill us when our HP reaches 1, instead he puts us in his shed with really wide bars that we can go through and spares us a fight if we fail to him 4 times. If he really wanted to kill any human he would do that but he doesn't.

[@noyz-anything]

*_Summary_* *Wrong:* Papyrus hates puns. *Right:* Papyrus is a pun connoisseur, and will accept, create, and distribute the finest of wordplay, though he has had his awful moments. *Wrong:* Papyrus is spaghetti-obsessed and doesn't know of other types of pasta. *Right:* Papyrus is an expert on the various uses of different types of pasta, including drinking sauce from a cup. Also, spaghetti isn't his favorite food after all, it's dinosaur-egg oatmeal, though he does seem interested in trying it. *Wrong:* Papyrus is an incompetent idiot. *Right:* He's anything but. _(Tangent: If Papyrus can heal without bullets, or "snap-heal" as I like to call it, can he also "snap-hurt"?)_ *Wrong:* Papyrus is a precious, oblivious cinnamon roll who doesn't know about death. *Right:* Papyrus knows about death, he just goes into a deep denial state during dusty neutral endings. He's also a master manipulator, as shown in the Undyne date _and the Genocide route, where he attacks the player psychologically rather than physically._ He even expresses that he was afraid that Frisk might not stop killing, showing that he knows they started. *Wrong:* (Never stated.) *Right:* Papyrus is insecure and is trying with all his might to make friends, even twisting his stated opinions to appease potential friends. *Wrong:* Papyrus is a pure pacifist and isn't good at fighting. *Right:* Even with his heart not fully in it, Papyrus presents a formidable challenge. Papyrus is also generally a warrior, which is possibly why he learned to snap-heal; so he could make a shishkabone out of anyone without any permanent damage. *Wrong:* Sans is the only one who holds (x ability). *Right:* Others demonstrate it as well, oftentimes with Papyrus being the one to exhibit it most largely. (X ability includes reset-memory, nightmares + insomnia, blue attacks) *Wrong:* Sans is protector of the Underground and his precious cinnamon roll brother. *Right:* Papyrus and Sans protect each other, and Papyrus is far more proactive when it comes to protection and may even be the whole reason you can win Undertale.

[@DJ_Raywave]

Thanks for this!

[@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494]

What do you mean snap healing..?

[@starpeep5769]

@@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494 Yeah I don't get that part.

[@potatopotato3284]

All the main characters have deja vu when it comes to resets

[@FelipeSouza-gb7yf]

@@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494 I think it's when monsters fully heal Frisk's HP, like when Toriel heals you when you meet her in front of her home, or when all the monsters heal you when Flowey captures everyone at the end of the pacifist run.

[@froakiejuju]

When Papyrus says that puzzle in Hotland is his 'least favorite nightmare', I never took it as an allusion to him having a lot of nightmares, I always took it as being an allusion to Omega Flowey.

[@amiciyopre]

Papyrus talks about his least favorite nightmare; but then the Fandom says that it is Sans who has them. In short, the subnormality of the people.

[@typo1345]

oh yeah cause OF's theme IS called Your Best Nightmare, isn't it?

[@froakiejuju]

@@typo1345 Exactly

[@PancakeFlowers]

That's strange since papyrus literally does not know what sleep is. So interesting.

[@dededesgustingtkemylife4825]

@@PancakeFlowers doesnt he say he "cruises while he snoozes" when you inspect his bed tho?

[@donpiper181]

The Papyrus and puns thing is actually pretty accurate lookin back. I thought back to the beginning of UT and remembered Paps's "backbone" pun. And its not the pun itself that's significant, its sans's reaction(or lack thereof), which meant he wasn't surprised at all, which meant it was and is a regular thing.

[@nananaomi]

Yeah, that kinda reaction was caught me by surprise just because of how accurate it is. Me and my brother _love_ joking around and making puns. We'd act all annoyed and stuff when the other makes makes a particularly painful pun, but we'll laugh afterwards anyways. It's a sibling thing (at least for the two of us anyway), and I'm glad some people also perceive it that way

[@donpiper181]

@@nananaomi Honestly, I want more comics where Papyrus uses puns when he thinks he's outsmarted someone. It totally fits his personality to think only his wordplay is clever.

[@C.L.G._Artisa]

@@nananaomi - My bro & I are kinda like that too, lol.

[@PancakeFlowers]

Also the fact that papyrus makes double the amount of puns sans makes.

[@crypt5129]

I always interpreted it as him poorly trying to join in the fun

[@TheAdvertisement]

16:35 There’s also the fact that he stood all night at Undyne’s door to ask if he could be in the royal guard. Sure this is probably partially out of naiveness for the fact that people are grumpy when woken up in the middle of the night, but it also shows how desperate he is on his quest to prove himself and be popular, that he disregards sleep to try and pursue it.

[@chrisgarrett6305]

Not only that but if I remember correctly, papyrus gets annoyed at sans ‘taking a nap all night’, which suggests papyrus thinks that sleep is not as important as achieving his ambitions.

[@TheAdvertisement]

@@chrisgarrett6305 Exactly. As a skeleton maybe he needs less of it, but it definitely hints that he's a bit _too_ productive.

[@kilderok]

Sounds like something Spongebob would do to Squidward. "Can I be--" "NO!!! *Door slam".

[@aleciosun1060]

I think the fan media that absolutely nailed Papyrus' personality was in Handplates. "He's not dumb, you just don't get how he thinks." Handplates literally just deepened every single canon aspect of Papyrus, down to the bone. And that just shows how much you can work with with his character.

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

i was thinking to see how much lined up with canon on this video and it nails EVERYTHING

[@unzorrocualquiera1156]

THANK YOU, I have always thought that the best version of Papyrus in the fandom is from The HandPlates, in the comic he tells everything he says in the video, that he is not stupid, that he has nightmares, I love Papyrus from the HandPlates, I love that in the comic he still sits in Papyrus and not in Sans like in all the comics, I feel that "Insomnia" fails when it comes to nightmares since it is as if only Sans had nightmares

[@xbirdshorts5075]

Down to the bone 💀

[@dededeclobberkirb8014]

Something big that I think you should have talked about is how much the dialogue in snowdin changes if you kill him in a natural run. After doing that it becomes instantly clear how much the town people cared about him and how much he contributed to the atmosphere. Also I want to add that it's pretty clear from the inverted fate comic that you have a much better understanding of papyrus then most other people that produce undertale related contact.

[@Dorked]

That might actually be something worth talking about if I ever have time for a follow up video! I think at one point I did plan to mention it but wasn't sure how I'd tie it into the fanon misconceptions about Papyus directly.

[@bobfat9458]

I hate killing him in a natural run

[@derp_4life623]

@@bobfat9458 I don't

[@Beau-Bo]

natural run

[@usermcskull4713]

@@bobfat9458 I think he has the funniest death of the game lol

[@SheetsAndStuff]

I find it neat how the intros to sans and papyrus battles are similar. Like having both characters in a narrow path with both characters shaded in darkness, starting with attacks that catch you off guard, and having special attacks that either are never used or do nothing and instead use a crazy “normal” attack. I really like that.

[@sahilhossain4518]

Hmm yes also maybe w.d. gaster also has a battle intro similar to the skelebros that will be revealed in either deltarune deltatraveler or Undertale bits and pieces

[@naolucillerandom5280]

Plot twist, Sans and Papyrus have the same special attack, except Papyrus was going to make it funnier somehow before the dog came and ruined it.

[@lime5247]

THIS i swear

[@moon4236]

Inb4 we battle Gaster in Deltarune and he also does this

[@allowcoy0413]

Funny enough, right after watching this, I read a part of Inverted Fate where Chara says "This feels like a shallow misrepresentation of something far more complex", which I imagine was referring to this topic.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

I like how fanon papyrus in inverted fate is just a robot replica. How perfect is that!

[@darkmodeenjoyer3367]

@@overthinkingintrovert budum ching

[@nicolewhite3157]

@@overthinkingintrovert what when did that happen?

[@overthinkingintrovert]

@@nicolewhite3157 It happens in Inverted Fate when they are traversing hotland.

[@robertlupa8273]

@@overthinkingintrovert I must've either forgot that over the many years or I never got to that part of Hotland.

[@TheAdvertisement]

3:30 “Just to get under Pap’s non-existent skin.” _Ah, I see you are one of culture as well._

[@aatreyeejana829]

I swear I see you in every inverted fate video

[@corndogskeleton4207]

@@aatreyeejana829 o course

[@honestyintegritytruth3863]

@@aatreyeejana829 ikr??

[@christophergyamfi7550]

This was a great analysis for Papyrus showing what really makes his character and how it contrasted from his rather flanderized/misinterpreted portrayals in fanworks. A lot of Undertale’s characters fall into the trap of mischaracterization especially sans. That’s why even to this day, when most can’t even stand the mention of “Undertale” or simply treat its existence as a joke (mainly focusing on sans memes), I still love this game because of its characters and the world they inhabit. I’d really love to see more videos like this when you talk about Undertale characters, like for Sans or Frisk.

[@Dorked]

I see it a lot with basically everyone. IT's not a problem exclusive to Undertale, but it's certainly prominent there. Frisk would be interesting just because they're a character who ultimately can take on many different personalities. A Pacifist Frisk can still be a jerk, for example. That's actually part of why Inverted Fate's Frisk is a bit scrappier than the typical saintly Frisks you see in other fanworks.

[@christophergyamfi7550]

What about Chara, they’re usually seen as the Big Bad because of supposedly possessing Frisk to kill everyone, like in the “It’s me, Chara” or “Since when were you the one in control”? Not to mention their misanthropy, how they may have treated Asriel and not being “the greatest person”. Usually Chara is made to be so awful and hard to forgive to make Frisk and Asriel as innocent as possible,Sans as the ultimate hero, and Papyrus dying as Sans’ motivator. I personally don’t think Chara really was the embodiment of evil, an absolutely insane, sadistic, manipulative sociopath with a bloodlust, alive or un-dead, I see them as a mixed moral grey, they wanted to kill humans because of what their unfortunate experiences on the surface and what they did to monsterkind, who they may have likely found empathy for. In addition rather than killing monsters for fun, Frisk/The Player were seen as a sort of guide to lost,confused reawakened Chara and saw seeking power in killing as their new purpose. But I have to ask how exactly does the “one in control” line make sense even when they acknowledge your involvement in the killing? Sorry this was too long, I just wanted to get my thoughts out.

[@reinefurnaceIII]

Some people see Alphys as the worst character, some other people see Alphys as one of the best. It's quite curious, her greatness depends of how bad the situation is. When she desperatly tried to help the Underground, she discovered the Determination, which is quite an achievement. When you play Genocide, she is the one who saved probably hundred of monsters to finally become the queen of them. And I seriously think she deserves a lot of respect for that. But on neutral, she's so trashy...

[@mevss]

@SANS RAPPER GAMING AND primpy .we are the player, think about it

[@typo1345]

@Dorked I'd like to see one on Alphys, because she just gets blind hate. Especially for her actions with the Amalgamate incident. She panicked and didn't know what to do after all, she didn't have a mentor to teach her how to handle those kinds of things because of Gaster's disappearance.

[@Bee-fu9uz]

This is the perfect moment to talk about how underswap sans has more of a fanbase than og papyrus because the fandom has yet to realise that size does not equal demeanour, and that they love to throw all of the good parts of papyrus's personality at sans because he looks cooler or something

[@Erolsaurus]

I think people love Underswap sans because he is small and they think that he is cute. They would go insane if they realized that in the original Underswap Sans is the same age as Undertale Sans.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

@@WackyWallytheStrawberrySquid I also hate how this is true. I once took a lot of pictures of different ways people draw papyrus, from crayon queen, to Camila Cuevas, to Jael Penaloza, it varies a lot. I think some people try to make his design more detailed, (which is probably not good since you are only hurting yourself) and it usually doesn't look that great in my opinion. I have also noticed that it is very often his face that is hard to draw, and no one can agree on what it really looks like. I guess you could say his anatomy is just as complex as his characterization! And that is probably why there are less important and powerful papyruses in the multiverse compared to sans, simply because he is easier to draw and is more popular. I mean, some sans aus are not even like sanses at all, they just LOOK like him!

[@overthinkingintrovert]

@@Erolsaurus I think if people gave underswap sans the same personality as undertale papyrus, he would be even more popular just because his design is more simple, and a lot of people would forget that his personality originally came from papyrus, yet sans still gets the spotlight anyway!

[@Erolsaurus]

@@overthinkingintrovert Underswap sans has effectively the same personality as Undertale papyrus already. People like sans because of the genocide battle.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

@@Erolsaurus He is supposed to have papyrus's personality, but due to even more flanderization he sometimes becomes something else. I meant if someone popular were to write him with exactly the same complexities as classic papyrus and do it well, it would take away from where those traits came from.

[@keiyakins]

Papyrus is absolutely a precious bean, but it's not because he's innocent and ignorant - it's because he knows full well how the world works, and chooses to be an optimistic guy who tries to help everyone around him anyway

[@cidevant002]

My only issue with your analysis is saying that Undyne finds Papyrus "unworthy" of joining the royal guard. It's more of a case that Undyne doesn't want to send someone that she sees as sweet as Papyrus to basically become a soldier. Papyrus as a fighter is quite strong when he wants to be, but he just can't bring himself to actually hurt anyone even when his own life depends on it. Undyne noticed this and realized that sending Papyrus to a fight would be the same as sending him to get killed.

[@greg-un7bk]

I thought she was concerned about adding a skeleton to a mostly dog army

[@Itariatan]

​@@greg-un7bkMan, why do we overthink everything, you're clearly right

[@Itariatan]

​@@greg-un7bkMan, why do we overthink everything, you're clearly right

[@DoodleZoo]

@@greg-un7bkthe dogs are friends with sans and papyrus

[@greg-un7bk]

@@DoodleZoo Idk, I'm not toby fox unfortunately

[@solairefan5420]

Sadly most of the characters in the fanon are victims of "flanderization", still even if I left the fandom years ago I really appreciate your work and focus to the characterization of the main cast in your AUs, keep it up!

[@thunder_heads]

Papyrus is autistic coded. Something that happens with autistics is infantilizing them and underestimating them I think that's why I like him so much

[@amiciyopre]

There's no confirmation that he's autistic, but it's a good headcanon considering his behavior.

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

@@amiciyopre also he might have predominantly hyperactive adhd, i have combined adhd and autism, he is as energetic as me but easier for him to focus. i think papyrus has predominantly hyperactive adhd and asd

[@bugcatx]

i agree, there are so many autistic or neurodivergent coded characters in media that are infantilized when yeah, they aren’t actually kids, they’re whole ass functioning adults and people forget that because.. they aren’t serious 24/7? idk, i’m autistic as well and seeing people dumb down the canon versions of characters like papyrus sucks because you know it’s for a reason like this; they see him as basically a kid and it’s kinda icky

[@Rodrius.]

He is probably not because he manage to manip undyne knowing how he is

[@Gamering22]

Man, there's a lot of really tiny things in this game I never put together. I understood Papyrus was more of a character than what you see in the two main runs, but I never saw things this deep.

[@Dorked]

I tend to over-analyze characters a lot. Probably my fanfic roots, tbh. Even before I got into UT, I'd been writing fanworks for ages.

[@mr.monotonyofdiversity2573]

Fun thing - his character, probably, even more deep.

[@starpeep5769]

Same

[@basemententity2088]

@@Dorked also on the playlist this is called : character analysis videos" with a S at the end. Does that mean there will be more videos like this?

[@somethingext]

That’s Toby fox for ya!

[@Charlotte-jv5tv]

I know I'm late to the party here, but to add on to Papyrus's intelligence, - I think it's fully possible he acknowledges death and actually knows what it is, but is simply in denial his friends are dead. If you look back at the dialogue in the king papyrus ending, you see HE was the one who suggested they seek revenge on you. But he quickly covers it up by trying to say he just wanted to see you again. This implies, like you said, he can be a little manipulative/has underlying motives. The suggestion of revenge contradicts his words, showing he actually knows everyone is dead, otherwise it wouldn't have ever crossed his mind. - Also, the fact he is made king shows he is more than fully competent to rule the underground. Granted, you have to kill a lot of people for it to happen, but there's still other monsters left over. Curious he is chosen to rule, is it not? - ONE MORE THING, that I didn't notice until looking at this video, and I went back and checked to see if this was in game, it is... Undertale has a thing where shaking (not gently swooping, shaking specifically) text implies nervousness, a moment of weakness (when you strike undyne down in genocide), evil intent (think Flowey), or, it seems to imply hidden knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes (again, Flowey). Looking back on this video, you know what I noticed? His text, in fights, subtly shakes and jitters. With how intricate Toby gets with the details, I fully think this is on purpose and might even be able to further serve as evidence that he really does know what's going on, or that it might make a further statement to his power. Papyrus is such a complex character and I wish people took more time to focus on him, he's fascinating and incredibly smart! I fully believe, with everything I am, if he wanted to be an evil character, he could've achieved it easily.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

And that's probably what canon underfell papyrus was going for.

[@galaxytea1239]

thank you for this. it gets so annoying when people see him as an “uwu cinnamon roll” and constantly infantilize him. this video does him so much justice. hes a wonderful character and i love him a lot.

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

fanon papyrus personality: pun bad uwu canon papyrus personality: literally handplates papyrus, that comic got the canon characters perfect

[@AriaSerif]

I think that Papyrus' naivety is more act than fact. My first real clue to this - I admit since I was distracted by other elements of the game - was when Papyrus enters Sans' room after Frisk does and comments about Sans "pranking between time and space" ... if Papyrus was truly as naïve as it he seems to want others to believe he is, then he wouldn't have known that about his brother who barely even tells Frisk anything.

[@EspiritoDeDafne]

While Sans is my favorite, it gets tiring and annoying how much focus he gets compared to the other characters. While canon Papyrus is endearing, interesting and has a special place in my heart, 95% of time fanon Papyrus is just annoying and one dimensional. He deserves more love, like a lot of other characters from the game. Sans may be my favorite, but he's not the only character, neither is he the protagonist. Ironically, the focus the fandom gives him kinda ruins what made the character cool in the game. Most of time, he's just kinda of there, he's making puns, his interactions with Papyrus are priceless, and there's only subtle hints of having something more to this character. His past, knowledge and even the true extention of his powers are left really vague, and that creates a sense of mistery to the character. He's a mistery not only in the narrative, but in the world where he lives as well (No one i Snowdin knows where the brothers came from, Papyrus doesn't know where Sans gets the money to pay for the house...). Plus, he's really apathetic, that's one of his main traits. The reason of this apathy is very interesting in itself. He only acts when pushed to an extreme, what makes it more impactful when it happens. But in the fanon, people either ignores the mistery and lack of action or they try to answer basically everything. Sans, who works better as the character we see trough someone else's eyes, is put in the center of the spotlight and often forced to take action. Instead of his fighting skills being something impactful, it became just what you should expect in a fandom material. Almost all the characters in this game are misrepresented, what is a shame, because I love the characters of Undertale. I detailed more of Sans not only because he's my favorite, but because it's ironic that this character who seems to be so loved, chosen as the fandom's favorite, was so twisted from what he originally was.

[@clownworld3382]

Very good analysis

[@overthinkingintrovert]

I know I'm late but... I very much agree that sans is extremely misrepresented in fan content where he is the protagonist. He is not the type of character that should be put in that role. He even says at the last corridor in a pacifist timeline that if he was in your position, he would have thrown in the towel by now. I also agree that sans fighting you in undertale is very impactful, since before then, he doesn't take any action against your genocide, but only in the last corridor he decides to finally give you some retribution in the form of KR. And he is not fighting to win, because he knows that you can just come back, he is fighting to make you give up, to reset, and to stop your genocide route. It is so inspiring for a character who is know for loving doing absolutely nothing, finally be determined to do something in the face of danger, and not just sit by and watch the chaos unfold. ...Although since this part of the game was so cool everyone just made him do that all the time until it lost its initial impact and people forgot why it was so cool in the first place.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

It is also ironic that how in undertale, papyrus is so much more important to the pacifist timeline than sans, yet sans is the one who gets the spotlight in fan content anyway. This is also ironically how the other monsters may see sans and papyrus, because the monsters in snowdin all know sans, and he is popular (even if for different reasons). Meanwhile papyrus is lonely and wants to be popular but somehow his lazy unhelpful brother sans always takes the spotlight.

[@jem5636]

@@overthinkingintrovert I'm reading this and I'm just like... Man, Toby ended up predicting how the fanbase would see these characters, huh

[@kittenpaws8896]

@@overthinkingintrovert Bruh, Frisk takes it to a whole other level aside from Sans. Especially Undyne. Literally almost in very fanart. Yet people are still saying Sans takes the spotlight.

[@SollidnitrogeN]

Regarding the puns: I'm pretty sure the only reason papyrus gets upset when sans makes a joke is because he's actually upset at sans not taking anything seriously. The "skele-ton" pun is literally Sans shrugging off papyrus' complaints about laziness. And the whole scene is basically sans deflecting every bit of venting papyrus is trying to do.

[@joannamother2432]

I'd LOVE to see a video like this on Alphys, clearing up the air on why she's "annoying" and lovable, when compared to grosser characters of a similar nature. Otherwise, amazing video, I loved this alot.

[@maggieent3215]

I think I can help answer that! (I'd still like to hear Dorked's analysis, too) I'm a little obsessed with Undertale- like Alphys is with Mew Mew Kissie Cutie- and so I enjoy talking at length about the game. However, my brain is odd, and it perceives the prompt as too broad to answer: would you mind clarifying and rephrasing what you want explored a little more? Preferably with examples...

[@joannamother2432]

@@maggieent3215 basically, an "alphys isn't gross" thing, i see many people dog on her for being "adorkable" without deserving it, especially when compared to something like francis from paper mario. Though, alphys is definitely *not* gross and is a deserving character, I'd love to see someone go over it!

[@perifroglunderground6636]

When you think about it, Alphys also created flowey

[@zorubark]

I still don't like Alphy's personality, even if she's lovable, it's just not my type of character

[@jellybean5680]

@@zorubark Yeah

[@ItsMeCharkey]

Wow this really needed to be made

[@billciphergirl6049]

Ya and as much as I love sans he is a little bit overrated

[@trouslinabone]

EXPECTING WALUIGI TIME? TOO BAD. PAPYRUS TIME.

[@DrSuperLuigiSeth1]

Ya see, what separates Papyrus from the rest of the cast in my eyes is, he has absolutely nothing to hide. Sans, Asgore, Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Asriel/Flowey, they all have their own secrets, but not Papyrus. He’s straightforward, very easy to understand compared to everyone else.

[@sarafontanini7051]

he just wants friend and make spahghetti and in the end don't we ALL want that? also be a very famous royal guardsman, but that's a less common and relatable desire

[@theye29]

And he is literally one of the most powerfull (of not the most)monster in the game, there is a whole theory on it but resuming : he doesnt try to fight you in his battle, every monster atleast try to hurt you and can kill you, but papyrus? Nope, He stays Completely still without even focusing on you. Even undyne said that he IS strong but he cant hurt anyone

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

@@theye29 i learned movement theory or whatever its called from blink, motherfucker: an analysis of the papyrus battle

[@letsdance7774]

Finally, someone gets it! One thing that always annoys me about the Undertale fanon is that the way they view Sans and Papyrus' characters are so vastly different to the actual game. If it's not 'insanely powerful' Disbelief, it's pathetic 'Oh I'm so naive and weak help me' Papyrus. Ugh. I've always been a fan of yours because you've never fallen victim to the fanon views on the characters, and you're really well versed on the Undertale lore. I'd love to see a similar video on either Sans or Frisk, because they're also vastly misundestood by the fanbase. Keep up the good work with videos like this! --I would say more but I don't want to turn this into a fully-fledged rant about the fanbase oof--

[@orange0666]

I mean isn't Frisk just a blank slate who's identity is determined by the player?

[@DontChuckles]

@@orange0666 Yeah so it’s fine what personality frisk is but the fandom gets every other character in undertale personality’s wrong and mostly forgot what made them like these characters in the first place.

[@uncroppedsoop]

@@orange0666 not entirely, there are some scenes that show them acting of their own ovation that imply a few traits about them, but they're few and far between. It's about what you'd expect, I.E. it seems as though if you were to allow them to decide everything, they would do a true pacifist run

[@gamercentral2417]

Disbelief portrays papyrus perfectly. He still thinks you can do better but knows you ain’t gonna spare him so he fights you. He has a good sense of humor even when all hope is lost. He shows he CARES about both undyne and sans seeing as in phase 3 he summons both of them. Or technically dreams of them. Phase 4 is probably the best portrayal of NORMAL papyrus. It is all of his interest and normal attacks in one phase and when you spare him he actually spares you

[@PancakeFlowers]

@@gamercentral2417 I agree.

[@MesozoicAngel]

Maybe Papyrus doesn't want to kill any humans, so he just acts "dumb" and "funny" to not scare Frisk because they are just a child. The reason why he "tries" to capture you is to not be seeing as a traitor. That explains why he doesn't kill you or sends you directly to Undyne, because he knows Asgore is going to kill you and the last thing he wants to do is being involved in someones death.

[@SourGummi1118]

Damn I never thought of it that way. Wait why does he go on a date with the child though

[@doverboy1]

​@@SourGummi1118 Because its not a romantic date, its a friendly date, papyrus just wanted to know frisk better. And if we think about it, its frisk who romantizes the date, since all papyrus wants is to be frisk's friend.

[@pinkinkling1905]

And adding onto that, it's only called a date if you flirt with him at least once I assume? Otherwise, it's just a hangout. ​@@doverboy1

[@camillehessel7037]

THANK YOU. Papyrus is my favorite character for these reasons, and it makes me sad to see the fandom seems to present him as a comic relief character at best, and an incompetent fool at worst. I love finding people who think the same.

[@corndogskeleton4207]

Sans : on a scale of one to ten, how many jokes do you make? Papyrus : *NYEH*

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

papyrus:my entire body is my funny bone/10

[@thunder_heads]

Papyrus is infantilized so much like he's so smart and is really strong. He is also autistic coded! Which is why I get annoyed with him getting infantilized

[@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton]

as an autistic person i lost the "autistic coded" on the minute of "he picks up others emotions well" dunno why i said that but i felt like i needed to

[@DIGITULW0RLD]

@@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton i dont understand. you mean he isnt autistic bc he can pick up on others emotions well? i know autistic people who can do that

[@Barakon]

@@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton … Autistic people vary in terms of which autism specific struggles they might have.

[@onyxtheowl24]

@@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton I’m autistic and I am hyper aware of people’s emotions to the point where I am always afraid I did something wrong if I sense the slightest bit of uncertainty or annoyance in their voice. Autism is a spectrum. Not a set thing. No autistic person will experience the same thing and just because you don’t experience someone’s experience of being autistic doesn’t mean their not.

[@tylerr2016]

I just realized the reason Papyrus probably was upset with Sans not doing his job, but enjoyed his puns enough to smile.

[@CyanicCore]

This is a video that needs more recognition, for the fandom's sake. Even some of the best fan content doesn't do him justice. While he may be a little more childish than you decided (evidence is kinda stacked), his kindness is all that really shadows his immense personality and skillset.

[@8darchibaldmawuntu198]

Yea, tbh most fangames that ive seen and played or comics i read has done better than just the innocent and cute papyrus, stuff like unexpected guests, etc.

[@CyanicCore]

@@8darchibaldmawuntu198 Have you ever read Flowey is not a good life coach? Excellent example of that

[@8darchibaldmawuntu198]

@@CyanicCore hm, never read it but ill get into it

[@8darchibaldmawuntu198]

@@CyanicCore Yea, in terms of power im pretty sure sans wins, but that isnt an excuse to make papyrus look like a little kid owo bean, im watching it rn

[@PancakeFlowers]

@@8darchibaldmawuntu198 actually papyrus has higher stats than sans and more drive too. The only reason why sans is op in the geno route is because of karmic retribution and you LOVE level.

[@JasonParadoxProductions]

I hope you can do Undyne next, she’s also gotten a case of ‘overshadowed by Sans’ to a lesser extent then Papyrus for sure, but still Undyne being my favorite character and her not getting the attention she deserves is still something I’m shocked by. That and personally I’d love to see how you approach Undyne’s analysis as a whole, I feel like you’d have a lot to say.

[@diamondskull0739]

She said that she was probably gonna do Asgore and or frisk next

[@potatopotato3284]

Agreed

[@Nai-qk4vp]

@@diamondskull0739 Still waiting on that Asgore one. The level of flanderized , misinformed "HurR DuRR EvIl ChiLd KiLler" at worst or at best "huRR Durr He COuLd HaVe GotTen Just One SouL AnD CROssEd the BArrier tHereFore InCompEteNt" horseshit is through the fucking roof. Not once do we get to see his past discussed at the war , his internal conflict of honouring his word and his duty of always putting his people first and always serving them as best as he can , and his own morals and objections to it , the paralels between him and Toriel as well as her betrayal of her people and her equally shared guilt in this supposed """"""MuRDEr"""""" of innocent humans , his relationship with his pupil and good friend Undyne(very close in game , sometimes even portrayed as a father-daughter bond outside it. All far more interesting and compelling than this simplified fan-version drivel.

[@imjustgr8]

basically, fanon undyne "I LOVE BEING ANGRY AND STRESSED OUT!!!" canon undyne "I LOVE BEING ANGRY AND STRESSED OUT!!! Nah. I'm joking."

[@CyberDucke]

⁠@@imjustgr8 Fanon Undyne: I’m mean to everyone and I like being tough Cannon Undyne: I’m tough I like eating rocks

[@sine8796]

About the spaghetti thing, Papyrus’s favourite food is actually stated inside an official Tumblr askblog by Flowey. Flowey mentions that Papyrus’s favourite food is “that oatmeal with the dinosaur eggs”.

[@sine8796]

OverlyCynical Sorry, my bad.

[@ProctorDorkchop]

WAIT!!! Papyrus makes fun of Anime at one point!?!?!??! Well the more you know. But Thank you SO SO MUCH Dorked for taking the time out of your day to make a Super in depth analysis about my Favorite Character and teaching me stuff I didn't know about my favorite Bonehead. It's still weird how I am still learning more and more the guy. But yeah, thanks a million Dorked. Looking forward to more Inverted Fate stuff and the Papyrus Pokemon Rom Hack thing.

[@Dorked]

Papyrus is actually pretty darn sassy at points! There's this one phone call in the hotel with Undyne where he acts all hype about a vacation at first and then he's just, "OH, NO. I WOULD NEVER TAKE A VACATION. I WAS JUST BEING SARCASTIC." And just... man. There's so much focus on Pap's surface-level traits when there's really a lot going for the bonehead.

[@ProctorDorkchop]

@@Dorked And Papyrus is going to appear in Deltarune so that (Probably) means that we get to learn even more about Jim Carrey Jr... I mean Papyrus... (P.S. Thanks a million for responding.)

[@Traumerlin5724]

11:05 I always thought it was flowey who called you at that point in the game. Because, we know he can alter his voice and perhaps he discussed his voice to match papyrus. Plus, he’s the only character apart from asgore who greets you with a “howdy”.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

Wow that's a good observation, I never thought about that! He does seem to be very suspicious while making that call.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

It could still just be because flowey told him to say that though.

[@bumbabees]

​@@overthinkingintrovertyeah, i think this is more likely. to me, it always sounded like flowey told him what to say and papyrus was just recounting what he said almost verbatim. hence the uncharacteristic "howdy" and nervous demeanor. but since hes papyrus, he made it a bit more obvious something was up than he probably shouldve lol.

[@Derpyditto-2000]

Maybe Papyrus knows as much as Sans, he just doesn't choose to acknowledge it.

[@mettaton1669]

Papyrus is my second favorite character and I really never thought about this. This is actually bringing up so many things I never really noticed before. I think you should one of these for Mettaton I always felt people never understood him correctly, with his actual personality and his acting on TV persona (because so much of his time was in Undertale was on TV when he was going against what he actually wanted to do for Alphys' sake and most of his actual self is hidden very well), and his relationship with Napstablook

[@imjustgr8]

i remember when i was a younger ut fan, i geniunely believed the whole "killer robot gone rougue" thing alphys set up and never truly understood it. it had me hate mettaton for awhile sadly and the fanon surface-level intepretations didn't help with it either after a bit of maturing and actually bothering to further read into the game and it's characters, i now sympathize with the guy and i appreciate him much more 👌

[@uncroppedsoop]

Mettaton is a lovable asshole, if that makes any sense. He's kind of a dick, but when it counts he proves he's a good person

[@typo1345]

he loves his creator, but damn does he know how to embarrass her. During the gameshow, when he has Frisk guess Alphys's crush, and Mettaton then proceeds to go in-detail about the extent: her writing fanfiction, naming stuff after Undyne, calling Asgore Mr Dreamy, etc. That was all being broadcasted. One of the monsters you meet in hotland remark that they caught Mettaton's latest show, and that "the special effects were so good, the human looked lifelike" the only show you were in with mettaton as of that point was the quiz show. So he basically revealed her on live TV to the entire underground because she intervened the quiz show out of excitement.

[@chrisgarrett6305]

Mettaton really comes full circle in the genocide route. He realises he hasn’t been the best person, and despite him knowing he cannot beat you as you’re already too strong, he fights anyway and sacrifices himself in order to give alphys more time to evacuate the other monsters.

[@flaco3462]

Ah, I'm annoyed at myself for not finding this video sooner... I really do love Papyrus and it pleases me to see him done justice here, and for him to have proper attention of course. It gives me joy.

[@M3WEM]

"Papyrus can not kill you" Lost Soul Papyrus ( Papyrus during Asriel's boss fight ) : Why hello there.

[@Dorked]

I'm aware of the Lost Soul. I was speaking strictly about his regular boss battle, where he is fully in control of his actions.

[@Derpinator01]

Ah, the classic problem of flanderization, named for the fit and kind Ned Flanders turning into a walking Christian joke. It happens at least a little to every character, with Toriel going from a queen with a fine-tuned BS detector and a tendency to end potential fights with a powerful fireball to everybody's mom, Undyne going from a soldier who tries to give her all for everything even if she has doubts while toning down her enthusiasm for serious situations or reassuring someone to a suplex machine that tries to fight everything, or even Sans going from a charismatic watcher who is able to connect with pretty much anyone to a punster with a laser gun, but Papyrus got hit the hardest. I'm guessing it's because people thought that him being willing to hang out right away was due to him being a soft boy that wants everyone to be friends instead of being a goal he has worked on for (probably) years.

[@ajarofworms7]

its like, comeone can like “childish” things without being childish Papyrus is such an amazing character

[@datguy4133]

I like how a lot of people forget he can fly

[@jaywarudo]

yeah.. undertale characters are weird. Undyne can slide.. Sans can teleport.. Flowey can magically make holes in the ground appear.. But i guess that's just because he's a flower. And papyrus has the ability to fling himself into the air.

[@mayabailes1653]

My favourite individual character is Flowey. I really enjoy his lore and find him both funny and terrifying. He's also the character that makes me feel the most emotional due to his tragic backstory. I can't decide who out of Sans and Papyrus I like better as individuals, but I love their paired dynamic more than Flowey as an individual - if that makes sense. I'm a sucker for sibling pairs/groups and I just love the way these two interact and how they support and are supported by each other.

[@bobfat9458]

15:55 i think that a reset doesnt erase their memories, i think it locks them up, and maybe seeing the human could be a trigger for some of the memories

[@nathan714]

Ive always thought that if papyrus fought you with the serious intent to kill... like sans does in genocide... that he would be much more difficult than Sans

[@zamirhussein9398]

Like Revenge: unseen ending

[@daviddow3705]

Cap

[@goobeeeer]

@@daviddow3705 old comment but uh. This isn't cap lmao-

[@Dorked]

Testing comments to see if KZbin has a thing against the word gay in comments. Which would be weird? Gay people exist. It is not inappropriate. KZbin, plz... And now that I know that it works, I just want to give a heads up that people shipping Papyrus with male characters is literally fine. :P This video isn't to attack shippers- it's to clarify the fanon misconceptions about Papyrus' character.

[@pppp9204]

You're making me feel accepted and nice, thank you.

[@ItsMeCharkey]

If only people actually *_saw_* this.

[@WolfyPlays07]

It is only wrong if you ship sans and papyrus, because they are brothers

[@SeBa-xb3jn]

@@WolfyPlays07 yes that is weird

[@FumanyuX]

Everyone is bi

[@boltindie9011]

Allow me to tell you the story about the Great Papyrus… *long ago, deep in the underground, there lived a skeleton, so tall when standing in place. Wearing a soldier’s uniform and a bright orange cape. The Great Papyrus is a champion of puzzles, a being with strength so great it could rival his own brother, the only thing that holds him back is his total compassion for all life. Don’t let yourself think that Papyrus is a slouch in battle because of his heart however, as he is strong enough and fine tuned enough with his magic to form words out of bones and has been suspected of being able to summon the infamous “Gaster Blaster” his attacks only grow more elaborate the more you do battle with him, similar to his puzzles. Even though Papyrus presents himself as a courageous individual with a talent for mechanics and artistic work as evidenced by his book collection, he is still aware of death, murder, and even has a multitude of nightmares, lasers are apparently his least favorite. Papyrus is the one thing that helps Sans keep waking up every morning, to keep doing his sentry job, by constantly nagging at him to clean up his socks or feed his pet rock. Papyrus is also in the know about Sans’ ability to manipulate space and the fact that he isn’t in the royal guard in the pacifist ending is what he regards as “the worst possible ending!”. Papyrus is also shown to have a dead silent social life, always going on about wanting to have friends, which makes him feel slightly insecure about himself. So the next time you see a tall skeleton in orange, know this, the Great Papyrus, is as great as he says he is…*

[@overthinkingintrovert]

Beautiful. 10/10 story. Amazing summary. Underrated comment.

[@Evan_S_601]

I think one of the reasons the fandom does this is mostly through first impressions, Sans being a big example, showing incredible power, making people assume he’s always that powerful, when in reality he would struggle against anyone that isn’t the human. Same goes for many other things. People only tend to remember the big flashy moments, not subtle dialogue or easily missed phone calls.

[@Aetherral_]

Papyrus is the one of the only reasons I can't do a genocide run, I can't bear to kill him he is a great character

[@tedtubegaming]

I have to disagree on the whole "they cant see through resets" thing due to a line that is actually from papyrus. "Is sans pranking people through time and space again?" would mean papyrus would remember the other instance of sans doing this through time and space and sans would have to as well to set it up.

[@potatopotato3284]

They don't remember resets, but I know that Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Toriel and Asgore (idk about Alphys) express after you completing the game that they have a sort of deja vu feel but brush it off

[@Theoncestsystem]

I mean, that _does_ make sense.

[@corndogskeleton4207]

They remember resets , they Just Dont remember TRUE resets

[@tedtubegaming]

@@corndogskeleton4207 Not even flowey remembers through true resets.

[@corndogskeleton4207]

@@tedtubegaming yeah Just the player remember TRUE resets

[@everythingilikerules]

This is excellent! I dunno if you've played OFF or not, it's a fantastic game, but I think it's common knowledge that Dedan was Papyrus's inspiration. Despite how different they've turned out to be, they still have very interesting things in common! They both have an interesting way of driving home the themes of their respective games. They both are also really short tempered, really competent fighters, and both want to drive people to action (though Dedan's way of doing that is fucked up, but that's part of his respective thematic impact). Where Dedan is jaded and cruel though, Papyrus tries staying optimistic. In fact, quite similarly, either of them dying bears a particular kind of weight in the world they live in. Sans is almost exactly the same character as The Judge except he's a skeleton, and there's more I want to say, but I wanna keep this as spoiler free as possible. I feel like the character Papyrus was inspired by is actually a very interesting aspect to analyze though!

[@Dorked]

Ah, yeah, I played OFF. It was an interesting game, but boy was that an emotional punch to the gut at the end. I'll never look at Somewhere Over the Rainbow the same way again.

[@EndertheDragon0922]

Loved your analysis. Pretty much every character in the game gets simplified so much, which is sad because they’re so nuanced, and the brothers are the best example of this. Paps may be a bit of a dumbass sometimes (but who isn’t), but he’s quite clever most of the time. On my first playthrough, I noticed his reverse psychology on Undyne during the hangout and I was impressed with him, because I probably wouldn’t have ever thought to do something like that. It goes to show his awareness of the people around him, since he knew it would work like a charm on Undyne. Regarding Sans, I have some major pet peeves when it comes to his fanon representations. He’s sometimes too serious. Either he’s burdened with the weight of his omniscience of every single timeline and he’s like this really gloomy guy who’s constantly having panic attacks whenever Frisk looks at him wrong or holds a knife or something, or he has anger issues and just murders Frisk for touching his ketchup. Like come on, he rarely gets serious, and won’t even bother to fight you unless you’ve really fucked up. And that brings me to the second pet peeve, the ketchup. How do people think he drinks that regularly, he was obviously doing that just to fuck with Frisk, because of course you’re not gonna expect someone to go “more for me” and just down a bottle of ketchup. It’s like the telescope paint prank, he’s just being silly. It’s like with Papyrus and his hatred of puns; they do something _once_ and people act like it’s their entire personality.

[@goldenfred5815]

Omg, that last line "they do something once and people act like it’s their entire personality" describes it perfectly. It's _exactly_ what people do with Sans and ketchup & Papyrus and spaghetti. Like ffs, Sans literally does the ketchup stunt once the entire game, it's not even like Papyrus where he at least shows a consistent liking to Spaghetti (even though fans take it to an obsessive level). So the fact that the fandom has made ketchup become such a big association to Sans' character is just absurd to me.

[@EndertheDragon0922]

@@goldenfred5815 Adding onto the liking of spaghetti and the fans taking it to an obsessive level- how often do you see fans acknowledge that Papyrus likes pasta in general, not just spaghetti? It’s really rare! He has lines referencing other types of pasta. One that comes to mind is the call dialogue for the Hotland elevators, where he offers suggestions on what L and R stand for, such as linguini, ravioli, rigatoni, and other pastas- he mentions that he’s made lasagna in the past. To be fair, his love of spaghetti is _way_ more prominent in the game. His half of the fridge is filled with exclusively spaghetti. But still, he does make other things!

[@zachcrawford5]

I actually built functioning versions of all of Papyrus' O to X puzzles out of redstone in Minecraft, some were actually pretty complicated to build. Papyrus might be amazingly nieve at times, but he is definitely not an idiot.

[@Nai-qk4vp]

Anyone know where to find more of these more in-depth character analyses? Far too much of this fandom is nothing more but "le epic funny skeleoton man" and It would be very good to find more content like this.

[@coffee_l0ver]

One thing that breaks my heart about Papyrus is the fact that the only time he's acknowledged/popular is during the genocide route after the player killed him. 😕

[@bumbabees]

I say this all the time, but one of my favorite comics of all time is handplates. This is partly because the portrayal of papyrus specifically is more accurate than any comic or fanfiction I've ever read. The main thing with papyrus, in that comic, is that he shows a lot of vulnerability and he's very sensitive. He's very black and white morally, and that's where he clashes with Sans. Because sans is able to see both the good and the bad while papyrus can't. He's also very, very insecure. And he holds on to the "I am very great" thing as a front. Thinking that if he believes it hard enough, it will become true. Sans enables him and actually came up with it because he believes it protects him. It all just feels very real and accurate to me. And I know not everyone believes in the whole gaster thing and him being related to the two...but within that fanon idea it makes sense and explains a lot of canon behaviors that the two have, and share. (Oh, another important thing! It also does not portray papyrus as stupid or incompetent. In fact, when gaster calls him so, sans says "he's not dumb. You just don't understand the way he thinks." And following it up at some point with; "He's more observant than you think, too." Which makes a lot of sense. People mistake his naivety for stupidity.)

[@overthinkingintrovert]

I strongly agree. Handplates is a really good undertale comic (even though gaster may not be necessarily canon)

[@Barakon]

“I like I’m the worst so I always act like I’m the best.”

[@greentwo6845]

Maybe I just suck at the timing in his fight but...Papyrus has defeated me the most, even more than the king himself. Undyne was right in saying that, "hes actually pretty tough!"

[@wrenbeck3370]

At some point, I will re-watch this and take notes for my comic. I love the video!

[@Dorked]

Thanks! :D I just feel bad that it took so long. I actually started this video over a year ago, but just kinda... got sidetracked in the final editing. Hopefully my next big character analysis video won't take too long comparatively.

[@starpeep5769]

@@Dorked Are you working on it, or you have too much to do? Take a break, it's important for your mental health

[@corndogskeleton4207]

@@starpeep5769 yes

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

did you write handplates, by any chance

[@wrenbeck3370]

@@nameless...................... No, and since writing this comment I have, for the most part, left the Undertale fandom (though I am still excited for Deltarune and keep meaning to play UTY)

[@ramennoodles4605]

I like this, but what makes me really sad is the fact that i think paps had one of the worsts deaths, i mean no one else got beheaded, and its not very fun. Also, he cares for everyone around him and makes sure there okay when they usually give him nothing in return, and i dont think anyone ever asked if he was okay either, and papryus is one of the characters that are least detailed, thats just sad...

[@KwikBR]

a skeleton being beheaded is like a human grazing their knee

[@Yuti640]

Nice to see someone REALLY looking into his character

[@hemmoseta7935]

every Other Undertale Characters Always got overshadowed Because sans... Even alphys :(

[@Dorked]

Oh god. Alphys gets WAY too much flak, and I hate that people try to take away her accomplishments and give them to Gaster and Sans. :|

[@hemmoseta7935]

@@Dorked Ok

[@Welcometotheslam5424]

AGREED! I want more AUs based on characters like Frisk, Undyne, or Mettaton!!

[@demi172]

@@Welcometotheslam5424 I mean Frisk is literally supposed to be US in undertale...

[@wynignatius9289]

@@Welcometotheslam5424 I have plans to make Nicepants AU

[@somewhatstressed469]

god i hate the infantilisation of papyrus because of his autistic coding. it happens to lots of characters and it drives me crazy as an autistic person. love the video, keep it up (also love the inclusion of the phone calls, one of my favorite parts of the game and i think it adds a lot to papy's character)

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

i think papyrus has autism and predominantly hyperactive adhd, i have combined adhd and autism but recognie the different types of adhd. he has predominantly hyperactive adhd, i am almost certain

[@runes7057]

Ah yes, Papyrus, the only character I cried to (except the dogs) when i was playing the genocide route. I think I have always seen papyrus like this. for just because there was hints of these in the game. sure I saw this oblivious "pwecious cinnamon roll" first, but I thought that this isn't him.. Plus, when I got to see a bunch of sans I was like "yeah well.. some of that makes sense" because, I mean.. yeah.. sans, sure, would have those feelings maybe from the fanon but I totally agree that they completely unbalance papyrus and sans when in fact they DO balance each other! Papyrus is a indeed loving brother who acts optimistic and tried to always see the good in people in order to hide the fact he is hurting from knowing he can never join the royal guard, or knowing his cooking sucks. Sans, on the other hand, is this lazy supportive brother on the side. not the main character, that's frisk.. Sans and Papyrus, we have to remember, are characters that add the story, not cause it. but if the fanon add any more onto sans I swear to god we just get another GOSH DARN SWAP SA-

[@Erolsaurus]

IsNt BLuEBerRy sUcH a MuFfIN?

[@teehee9675]

Yes! Finally someone knows the truth about him! He is a really cool character. I hate when people a naive, helpless, fool.

[@gemraldkid6304]

Oh my. While my view of Papyrus was already rather close to what you suggested, it’s certainly enlightening to hear it all laid out in detail like this. Even I learned some stuff. The bridge was a rock formation that he painted? What?! Good eye on the machinery skills as well. That went over my head.

[@skulltothebone5003]

To be fair, I like all undertale characters and I think they all deserve to be loved equally (even sans for the one who thinks he is overrated and the minor bosses too)

[@Erolsaurus]

sans is overrated

[@8darchibaldmawuntu198]

@@Erolsaurus Kinda is, but i do understand why alot of people like it, its not just fangirls who think " oh haha sans seggsy" alot of them are "Oh, sans has a deeper meaning than just being a funny character, he cares deeply about the people around him, sans doesnt seem to be your typical lazy bones, he's just depressed on how he cant do anything if the player does a genocide, he holds back from killing the child instantly because he cares about toriel's feelings, he seems so sad about papyrus dying because its one of his only friends."

[@garlicamvs6235]

@@Erolsaurus yep he is I think the only reason he’s actually liked is cause of the boss fight i mean without it no one would care

[@Erolsaurus]

@@garlicamvs6235 Changed my mind a while ago, Sans is not overrated. I just hadn't fought him yet.

[@balgamlikedi]

Canon: Papyrus has some secrets, made by toby and contains a good story (he even makes more puns than sans.) Fanon: AAAAAHHHHH MY EYE IS SO STRONG IT GLOWS ALL THE TIME AND I HATE SANS’ PUNS THEY DISGUST ME, I BELIEVE IN HUMAN BUT THERE IS SOMEONE BEHIND THEM AND THEY PRESS FIGHT

[@dripmysticgohan2466]

­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­

[@corndogskeleton4207]

@@dripmysticgohan2466 How

[@RalseiDRsocoolWOW]

@@dripmysticgohan2466 understandable, have a nice day

[@OrphanedBee]

@@corndogskeleton4207 ­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­­­‌‌­

[@inkbanditt501]

Papyrus is by *far* the better skeleton brother! He’s *way* more interesting than Sans! You heard me, Sans fangirls! Try to change my mind! *you can’t!*

[@hemmoseta7935]

Agreed.

[@ncthingtosee3077]

This isn’t an option, it’s a straight up fact

[@exsisii3912]

I think theyre both equally interesting >;D

[@maggieent3215]

Even Sans agrees Papyrus is cooler.

[@sergevictoryyt]

SANS IS MINE!!!!!!!!

[@SBtorms]

No one: Papyrus: DON'T TELL ME MORE OF THIS GARBAGE.

[@amiciyopre]

The Virgin Fanon Papyrus: I can't and don't want to say anything unpleasant. The Chad Canon Papyrus:

[@Nai-qk4vp]

@@amiciyopre The way I see it , the Gigachad Canon Papyrus would not be very foul-mouthed , far from it-that distiction would easily belong to Undyne- but he would not be above letting a 'fuck' or 'shit' slip every once in a while.

[@amiciyopre]

​@@Nai-qk4vp I mean that while Canon Papyrus calls you "Damn weirdo", Fanon Papyrus almost wouldn't even say "Silly".

[@Erolsaurus]

@@amiciyopre fanon papyrus: i am very slightly disappointed in you for killing everyone in the underground and in every timeline but i still believe heavily you can change canon papyrus: you will fucking die you little shit

[@Poyostar]

Papyrus is easily my favorite character in UNDERTALE, but while I'm not too active in the game's fanbase, the mischaracterization of the game's cast can get quite tiresome at times. I really hope this video gains more attention in the future, 'cause this was a pretty great watch!

[@danthespaceman9747]

Moral of the story: Papyrus gave you his phone number for a reason.

[@FireyDeath4]

WE MUST SHOW EVERY CREATIVE MEMBER IN THE WHOLE BLOODY FANDOM. I tire of people getting things SO WRONG ALL THE TIME

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

handplates:

[@jlco]

One of the biggest things that bothers me about how people treat Sans is that they seem to think he's omniscient. He's not. He gets the same deja vu as everyone else- he just has a sharp wit cut out to be part of the SCP Antimemetics division. Personally, I think that's cooler- he doesn't have any special power, but he still manages to pose a huge threat to the player in a genocide run because he's really quick to catch on. He literally counts the number of times he's killed you _based on your facial expressions_ rather than _actually_ knowing.

[@mevss]

Today, undertale its just: sans fanclub or AU's and genocide run, that's sad

[@Dorked]

I mean, not all AUs are low-effort. There are plenty that stay true to the spirit of UT. That's definitely my goal with Inverted Fate.

[@mevss]

@@Dorked I meant that people forgot about it, and the undertale aus is based on sanssest ships

[@grimsluvr]

UGH IKR

[@parsifalkitty5109]

It took yt 2 years to recoemend this absolute master piece of a character analysis. I had my initiial thoughts of pap from the fandom. When I got the chance to play Undertale I wanted to be the best of friends with Napstablook for how relatable he is to me. Seeing pap in this light seems wayy more positive than what I got from the fandom. Mainly that he was weak and needed people to speak for him when he very well can carry the convo by himself and then some. Undertale has a way of showing the real human elements of being alive and all that. So to see different parts of myself in different characters really hits home.

[@padawanmoses]

I like the theory about Papyrus actually being absurdly OP when it comes to fighting just for the fact his combat sprite doesn't move at all while he is able to control his attacks at a scale no other monster seems capable of. Edit: also the fact Papyrus is, after Undyne and Sans, the monster who lasts longer before turning into dust, which suggests at least some sort of Determination in his head.

[@Barakon]

It’s the power of autism!

[@SOFTBUDZZZ]

0:44 - 0:50 finally someone who gets it like it's not bad to call a character that has a personality of an 8 year old child "precious" or "cinnamon roll" a few times, but then everyone's gonna call them that

[@hexsiongaming4462]

If you think about it, maybe Papyrus never sleeps because he always has nightmares.

[@amiciyopre]

Nah. It's just that he works too hard to get a lot of sleep. He does sleep, but for him, 7 hours is a lot of sleep.

[@overthinkingintrovert]

Maybe he does, and it is just one of the reasons why, along with him being busy.

[@jellyyy318]

Huh now I see why pap has such a big role in inverted fate. Good vid! I think you should do more of these character breakdowns

[@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard]

After this video, i cant belp but imagine that he would pursue a career as an Engineer or something of the sort as his perosnal profession, fitting for someone so knwoeldga le on mechabisms and puzzles and with so much understanding and control on his magic, i could totally see him making fun parks with puzzles or even go crazy and randomly make a mecha that looks like him just for the funsies, myabe with some help from Alphys, either as direct help or some sort of giving respurces he can use

[@gyvn1505]

i started playing undertale because of the sans genocide boss. i ended up being charmed by papyrus because of the date segment. what a cool character

[@dewybmt]

I'd like to pose, on top of this long-needed analysis, that we should consider the possibility that the only reason Sans' fight is so unique and difficult is because he is literally the only character in the game who actually tries to just kill you. Asgore is extremely hesitant about simply killing you, even being unable to kill you unless you are at 1 HP. Undyne, even in the evil route, is more concerned about a willful and righteous battle than actually killing you outright. Papyrus is eager to fight but will go so far to avoid killing you that he will eventually let you pass just because he sort of takes pity on you. Even Flowey's photoshop form only wants to torment you and toy with you over and over. No one actually seeks to genuinely kill you, they don't have the courage to do that (or it would just be boring to them). They don't have "LoVE". So, then, it makes sense that they would play by the rules and do things by the book when it comes to battles. Except for Sans who finds himself in the literal last opportunity he has to save himself. So it would bring into question if any other monster could bend the rules or fight like he does. Papyrus can clearly turn you blue in battle or just ignore the laws of physics in the overworld just fine. Maybe when Sans claims Papyrus is really cool to him, he means it. He thinks Papyrus is genuinely strong and impressive like Undyne does. Keep in mind; Sans does not try to kill you if you kill his brother. He does not even fight you if you kill ALMOST everyone else. He will just give up and let you walk right past him as freely and easily as you like no matter what you do UNLESS you kill literally every possible standard enemy. It's only then that he takes action because he knows if he doesn't then you will likely destroy everything, including him. He's clearly severely depressed and has a selfish side to him, too. He loves his brother dearly and will hold a grudge on you for being evil, he tells you to never come back after you have a bad neutral ending and he calls you a Dirty Brother Killer. Obviously Killing Papyrus pisses him off and hurts him but he's so lazy/hopeless that he won't so much as lift a finger against you unless you genuinely leave him no other options. It's only when his life is confirmed at risk that he chooses to attack. Then, and only then, do you get the hardest fight in the game and it is quite literally against someone who has nothing to lose. Of course he would only fight you if he really intended to stop you, even if it means killing you without a second thought. That is to say that Sans' only looks powerful because he's the only one trying to do everything in his power to kill you. So it stands to reason that when the game calls him the weakest monster that it might not be lying. If Papyrus really wanted to kill you, it's possible he would be able to do whatever Sans can do, too. It's not magic 4th wall powers but instead just desperately doing whatever it takes to win. What does all of this have to do with this video, though? What I mean to say is that everything that founds Sans' popularity with the fandom for his supposed mystery and intrigue could very well be wrong and baseless, owing to the fact that people probably don't see Papyrus' kindheartedness to be an interesting enough trait to pay attention to him despite likely being much stronger than Sans is and clearly having a much greater sense of right and wrong. I think this is partly what causes Papyrus to fall into the background. To have so many misconceptions and lazy interpretations. People attribute so much more to Sans than is what is really there simply because of the situations he is in, regardless of context. Which would show that people are very easily swayed by opportunities to invent characters that are more broken than they seem. Papyrus is just...literally too good and too reliable of a person for the fandom to want to invest their focus on him. It's tragically ironic but then again maybe this is all just me.

[@dasirrlicht5415]

A thing about Papyrus: Even Toriel can kill the Player on accident. He can not. He has so much control of himself and his attacks that he can beat the Player to a brink, and then stop. The closest I can think of another character doing that is Flowey toying with them at the start. Papyrus has a incredible sense for the limits of others without a doubt.

[@oolooo]

snas and Papirus are like the videogame version of Virgin vs Chad .

[@MysteryKar]

doomer vs bloomer

[@kechupp6965]

this character analysis is criminally underrated :00

[@cool4nikola124]

Fun fact: papyrus is the only character who dosent have asterisks in his dialogue

[@ApathyLogos]

Papyrus IS a precious smol bean. However, I call all characters I like a smol bean when they have angst, and it is not really an aspect of their personality.

[@cosmicspacething3474]

I always knew Papyrus was a lot more capable and less naive than the fandom said he was, but after this video I realized he’s even more nuanced than I thought myself

[@rainydeestar4806]

Makes me sad the two first links are dead. Great analysis , I learned things about Papyrus I didn't know

[@dera-]

This is way too underrated

[@diamondskull0732]

I hope you ever come around some other of UT characters.

[@Smergal]

I like this. Like, when Pap's is shipped with someone Sans will always interfere, which well is not the good thing to do unless the ship is displayed as toxic.