 Content on this article may be incomplete or inaccurate. Reason being: History + Main Story need to be finished up |
 Content on this article may spoil current key events of the comic. |
| “ | IT'S NOT A MATTER OF EGO, HUMAN. IT'S BECAUSE IF I KEEP TELLING MYSELF THAT I'M GREAT, IF I KEEP BOASTING ABOUT MY TALENTS AND WITS... THEN PERHAPS I'LL START TO BELIEVE IT MYSELF... | ” |
— Papyrus, Part 21
|
Papyrus is the deuteragonist of Inverted Fate and the royal scientist's aide. He accompanies Frisk throughout their journey starting in Snowdin as both a close companion and party member.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Papyrus is a tall, slender skeleton clad in a bright red cape, matching mittens and boots, and a white lab coat over the top of his trusty "battle body." He always wears a pair of crimson goggles on his head- usually positioned on his forehead, regardless of outfit. Despite being a skeleton, his skull is highly expressive, capable of smiling and frowning. When especially excited, he sprouts BIG, GOOGLY EYES and is capable of sweating and blushing as well.
Personality[]
Loud, enthusiastic, cheerful, and eager; he’s Papyrus at his core. He can be rather boastful about his greatness, be it his inventions, his genius, his cooking, or puzzle knowledge, though despite all his bragging, he’s a kind monster at heart, eager to befriend others, always ready to lift their spirits.
He’s very persistent in his attempts to make life easier for the monsters in Snowdin through use of his technical wizardry, though while some inventions like his teleporters add a level of convenience, his ambition often leads to more… questionable results, like frustrating puzzles that make maneuvering the woods a chore or suspicious, glowing spaghetti with potentially unusual side effects.
…or exploding escalators, but the less said about that the better.
So, as you can probably guess, he’s quirky, eccentric, and has heaps of ambition. This is a skeleton who has created pocket dimensions specifically for sock disposal, a semi-functional portal between dimensions purely to meet other Papyruses, and got a patent for his flawless “COOLCULATIONS,” and puts flames and spikes and other “cool” attributes on his creations for added appeal. Sometimes he’ll work on inventions just to see how far he can push the boundaries of science and puzzlery. He likes to tinker, he likes to dream, and there are times where he’s motivated purely by a desire to create the next cool thing.
Pap is also kind of an oddball in that he’s still fairly naive and idealistic, but due to his academic background, he’s simultaneously more aware. He knows that it takes seven souls to break the barrier, knows that to get those souls, you have to kill humans, and is completely aware of the negative view toward humanity that has only grown in recent years...yet, his big heart and idealistic viewpoint prevent him from adopting those views. Anyone can be a good person, if they just try! Why should humans be judged before being given a chance?
This is just one of his many reasons for joining Frisk on their quest.
Sadly, for all his efforts, Papyrus carries some insecurities. He envies the way the monsters of Snowdin look up to his brother, wishes he could inspire monsterkind the way Undyne has with her bold promises to break the barrier and her incredible creations, including Mettaton and the holo-sky. While some monsters admire his efforts, Papyrus is a monster with very few genuine friends, leaving him with feelings of loneliness that he masks behind a smile. He’s also painfully eager to please, and will try his darnedest to make people happy, even if satisfying all parties seems nearly impossible due to conflicting morals and desires. This leads to a very stressed skeleton in turn, but while his past experiences, present risks, and the negativity surrounding him would break those with weaker spirits, Papyrus channels his fears and uncertainties into productivity, refusing to give up and refusing to lose hope.
He also knows significantly more than he lets on.
Abilities[]
Papyrus wields a strong mastery over bone magic, which he can use in a variety of ways. While possessing a strong offence in Inverted Fate, he uses his skills largely to support Frisk. For example, his Bone Barrier grants Frisk a temporary shield that can deflect two enemy bullets. Bone Barrage fills the battle box with small, moving bones that delete projectiles they contact but also risk damaging Frisk. Blue Attack allows him to place a small handful of blue bones in the battle box that will deflect projectiles they touch, and Concocterest yields a random effect. These range from status buffs and debuffs to changing enemy attack colors and even sometimes altering the background music.
Additionally, he operates on his own wacky brand of cartoon physics. He can run in the air, leap to incredible heights, and even breaks the dialogue box at one point. Lastly, he possesses a great deal of mad science skills, as he's able to create pocket dimensions, robotic exo-suits, hover boards, and has even modified Frisk's phone on three occasions to aid them on their quest.
History[]
Papyrus grew up in the Capital alongside his brother and father. At a very young age, tragedy struck. His father was killed, leaving Sans as his sole guardian. For about a year, Sans took up their father's position as Royal Scientist, attempting to pick up where he left off. After about a year, Sans resigned from the role. The brothers packed their bags and moved to Snowdin; a transition that Papyrus found disorienting.
One day, when Sans was preoccupied, Papyrus ventured out into Snowdin Forest, getting lost deep in the woods. He would soon grow to regret his decision, as it was cold, confusing, slippery and he was out of his element. Just as things seemed hopeless and he began to cry, a large figure dressed in vibrant red and carrying a hefty sack approached. It was Asgore Dreemurr, dressed as Santa Claus, and he asked the young Papyrus, with a smile on his face what he was doing out there all alone. At first, Papyrus simply stared in shock, but he managed to answer his questions. After learning he had ventured out all alone, ‘Santa’ told him to more careful in the future, and offered to let him join in on his delivery at Snowdin Town. Moved to tears from being offered to become “Santa’s helper”, Papyrus was ecstatic. Together, the two of them ventured into town, sharing presents with the ‘little monster folk’. It was a day he would never forget.
Since then, Papyrus made routine visits to the Ruins Door and began to confide in ‘Santa’ throughout the years. It was him who pushed Papyrus to evaluate his views on humanity, and him who asked Papyrus to protect Frisk. He had become a father figure of sorts to him, even having gotten Papyrus interested in botany.
Some time after Papyrus’ first encounter with Asgore, Sans went off to pursue Royal Guard training, and it was around that time Undyne became his babysitter. The two of them formed a fast friendship, Papyrus being impressed by Undyne’s over-the-top behaviour. Over time, Undyne’s genius creations and ambition to improve the lives of her fellow monsters inspired the skeleton, allowing science to become more than nerdy nonsense to him. Undyne would later go on to build the Holo-Sky over Snowdin Town, an impressive feat that convinced Toriel to appoint her as the new Royal Scientist.
Over the years, Undyne changed many lives and fulfilled many dreams, and even promised to break the Barrier herself. This inspired Papyrus to take up science, camping outside her lab until she appointed him as her assistant. Around this time, he also became friends with Mettaton, the rising star of the underground. Papyrus and Undyne would soon embark on various experiments to discover the secrets of the human souls, seeking a peaceful path to freedom. While Undyne created a “deadly mecha” as a vessel for the souls, Papyrus experimented on golden flowers instead. One of them included the single golden flower that sprouted in the throne room, the “flower born from the ashes”, which would become this timeline’s version of Flowey. Despite the flower’s intitial lack of life and sentience, he cared for it, talking to it and eventually gave it to Asgore, who planted the flower in the Ruins. Meanwhile, the two of them injected monsters who had “fallen down” in hopes that they would either awaken or have their souls persist. However, Undyne messed with DT to a greater extent than injecting the comatose bodies.
Main Story[]
Ruins Arc[]
Papyrus is mentioned in passing by Asgore, as he sends puzzles to the Ruins sometimes.
Snowdin Arc[]
Papyrus is first seen in the shadows stalking Frisk. He then indroduces himself at the gate as a "perfectly normal human being." They cross into the next room where Frisk hides before Sans appears
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Unlike his canon self, this Papyrus is actually a competent cook, thanks to Toriel's additional guidance.
- He has also tasted his own spaghetti as a result of this and actually does enjoy pasta, even if dinosaur oatmeal is still his favorite food.
- He has an inter-dimensional transporter, that has allowed him to make contact with the Sans from Altered Destiny[citation needed].
- Before Sudzy was officially cast as the voice actor for Papyrus, he did fan-dubs (that only came in the form of audio) of the webcomic, which can be found on his Tumblr blog here.
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Main Cast | Flowey • Frisk • Chara • PAPYRUS • Asgore Dreemurr • Napstablook • Sans • Alphys • Mad Mew Mew • Mettaton • Undyne • Toriel |
| Ruins | Froggit • Dummy • Ruins Bullies |
| Snowdin | Dogamy and Dogaressa • Doggo • Lesser Dog • Greater Dog • Snowdin Trio • Snowman • Jerry • Monster Kid |
| Waterfall | Bassiere von Dohj III • Knight Knight • Madjick • RG 01 and RG 02 • Gerson • Masa • Spout Wassar • Bratty and Catty |
| Hotland | RG 03 and RG 04 • Glyde • So Sorry • Parsnik • Astigmatism • Migospel • Misyrm • Muffet • Burgerpants |
| The CORE | Robot 98 • Robot 100 • The Season Dudes |
| True Lab | Mechamalgamates • Memoryheads |
| NULL | Spamton • Lilac |
| Other Characters | Fallen humans (The Mage) • W.D. Gaster |