Papyrus

Papyrus (known as COOLSKELETON95 on UnderNet) is one of the two skeleton brothers, the other being Sans, and a major character in the story. Befriending him is necessary to finish the True Pacifist Route. He wants to catch a human, so that he can become a member of the Royal Guard.

His name refers to the font Papyrus, which is the font he speaks in as well as a reference to the webcomic Helvetica, which is a webcomic about a skeleton named after a font (acknowledged in the credits of the game, where his "special inspiration" is cited as J.N. Wiedle, the author of the comic).

Appearance
Papyrus is a tall, perhaps anatomically inaccurate skeleton with a skull shaped in a more straight and geometrical structure (in contrast to his brother's more rounded skull). His mouth is in a smile shape most of the time and his eyes are pupil-less, resembling vertical slits with his expressions being formed mostly by his skeletal pseudo-brows.

He wears a custom-made costume known as his "battle body", which is made up of a white torso piece with various golden trims (and embroidered with a symbol that very heavily resembles that of the Starman from the Mother series), a rough red scarf or cloth around his neck, red gloves (trimmed with gold), blue briefs with a golden belt, and long red boots.

Personality
Papyrus is a loud and flamboyant skeleton who presents a confident, charismatic image of himself. He tends to work hard, and despite his brash personality, he is a very kind skeleton at heart. He is extremely optimistic and innocent, as shown on a Genocide Run when he continues to believe the player is good at heart, even as the player attacks and ultimately kills him.

Papyrus is occasionally rather oblivious and nonobservant, such as when he tries to rub different kinds of creams and "sauces" behind his ears, only to realize that he doesn't have any ears. He can be witty at times, especially when he used reverse psychology to trick Undyne into making friends with the player.

For all of his skeleton faults, Papyrus seems to match this with how overwhelmingly determined he is, a feature that made Undyne take notice of him when he waited and begged her from midnight to morning for her to accept him into "royal guard training".

He really likes spaghetti and cooks it in his spare time, though many characters seem to think that he's really not very good at it (Frisk describing the taste as "indescribable"). Sans says that ever since he started taking lessons that his culinary talents have improved greatly, and that in a year, his food might even be "edible". He also has a love for puzzles, as shown in his dialogue and the numerous amount of puzzles he prepares whilst the player approaches Snowdin Town.

Pre-Game
Sometime before the events of Undertale, Papyrus and his brother showed up one day in Snowdin and asserted themselves. Sometime after that Papyrus became friends with Undyne and began training with her.

Neutral/Pacifist Route
Papyrus first appears to the player in the Snowdin Forest, where he proclaims that he will capture a human, unbeknownst to the player hiding behind a conveniently shaped lamp, and berates Sans for not putting in his full effort to prepare his puzzles. Papyrus then proceeds forwards and meets the player for the first time face-to-face further on into the forest, where he is at first distracted by a rock behind the human, but quickly notices the human standing right in front of him.

Papyrus continues to weakly antagonize the player with puzzle after puzzle, but very quickly begins to warm up to them, and almost refuses to fight them when they finally meet him alone at the end of Snowdin town. He shakes off the notion, however, and initiates an encounter. Papyrus never actually kills the player, and, if they are reduced to 1 HP, instead captures them and places them within his shed, from which they easily escape.

Ultimately deciding that this human is friendly, Papyrus lets them continue into Waterfall, giving them advice on how to exit the underground and also offering either a hangout or a date back at their house, depending on whether they insulted or flirted with him, respectively.

Returning to Papyrus' home after this will initiate the hangout or date, where Papyrus will dress in special cool guy clothing and hide a special gift of spaghetti under his hat for the player. Ultimately, however, Papyrus decides that the player cares too much about Papyrus for their own good, and sends them back on their way with his phone number, which can be called at any time later in the game to hear Papyrus' opinions and thoughts on various areas of the underground.

When the player continues on through Waterfall, Papyrus attempts to sway Undyne from killing them; however Undyne refuses to yield and Papyrus finds himself obligated to help her. He calls the player's cell phone by calling each number sequentially until he finds their's, and then asks the player what they are wearing in order to help Undyne identify them.

During the player's eventual fight with Undyne, Papyrus calls them yet again and suggests a hang out between the three of them; if the player gives Undyne water in Hotland, Papyrus will make good on this suggestion and be waiting at Undyne's home for the player to initiate a hangout. He flees from the premises early on, however, forcing Undyne and the player to become friends one on one. After this succeeds, Papyrus invites Undyne to stay at his house due to the tragic fire at her own.

Papyrus is present later on when Undyne gives you the letter that initiates Alphys's date, and appears finally during the ending of the Pacifist Route, where he is one of the monster friends whose souls Asriel Dreemurr captures, but is ultimately saved along with all monster kind.

Genocide Route
In the Genocide Route, Papyrus pulls much of the same antics that he does in a Neutral/Pacifist route, except often cites the player's unwillingness to complete his puzzles, describing it as "weird" and rationalizing it as "culture shock". He remains oblivious to the player's actual personality until their battle, where he sees their killing intent and instantly spares them, wishing to guide the player on a better path and be friends.

Should the player choose to kill him, he still wants to believe in the player that they can be a better person. If they choose to spare him, then Papyrus is relieved that they "didn't do a violence", and says that he was secretly terrified of the player. From that point on, the player may choose to "hang out" with Papyrus, which acts similar to dating.

Frisk
Despite wanting to capture you, Papyrus still cares about you, and eventually ends up dating/hanging out with you if you pick the Pacifist Route. He eventually, however, turns you down, as he realizes he does not feel the same way about you.

He does genuinely care about you, though, as shown through keeping you out of danger, and worrying about your well-being when you escape his shed (if he captures you) because you didn't let him know that you were escaping. You remain friends throughout the game.

If you pursue the Genocide Route, in your battle with him, he instantly spares you and wishes to guide to on a better path and be friends. Even if you murder him in this route, he still believes that there is good in you and wants to be friends.

If you allow him to win in battle, he simply captures you and puts you in the shed, and asks you not to escape. Each time you escape (and allow him to win again) this escalates until Papyrus just gives you the option of not being captured at all.

Sans
Sans is Papyrus's brother, and though he often yells at Sans to stop being so lazy and he detests the many skeleton puns dropped throughout the game (especially Sans's), the two of them care about each other a lot. Sans refers to Papyrus as "cool". Papyrus often cleans up after Sans, and states that Sans is lucky to have such a cool guy taking care of him. He was also the one to convince Sans to get a job as a sentry.

Sans cares deeply for Papyrus, a fact made especially evident should the player decide to kill Papyrus. As the player is being judged at the end of the Neutral Route, Sans rationalizes that the player could easily have spared his brother, but chose not to. If the player insists to Sans that they are not his brother's keeper, Sans denounces them as a "dirty brother killer." In a Genocide run, should Sans be slayed by the player, he calls out to the long-dead Papyrus with his dying breath, masking his despair with his usual carefree persona.

Undyne
Papyrus and Undyne are good friends. Being the head of the Royal Guard, Undyne took Papyrus under her wing to train him, however instead of giving him fighting lessons, she gave him cooking lessons, because she believed he was too nice to join the royal guard. Still, Papyrus continues to try his best to capture a human so Undyne will let him join the royal guard. He believes that she and the player can truly get along, even offering to be their "wingman" for their friendship.

Flowey
In an optional conversation with Sans, it is implied that Papyrus has encountered Flowey, and that he receives flattery, advice, encouragement and predictions from Flowey, probably to Flowey's benefit. Flowey also told Papyrus to bring him and Undyne, Asgore, Sans, and Alphys, to bid the Player farewell. Flowey actually wanted them to gather in order to harvest their Souls and open the gate to the Surface.

Mettaton
Like most monsters in the Underground, Papyrus idolizes Mettaton as a popular celebrity. He own several MTT-Brand items, watches his shows, and calls him his " FAVORITE SEXY RECTANGLE " in a call with him in Hotland. Papyrus dubs the ghost who Mettaton once was " HAPPSTABLOOK, THE HAPPY GHOST ", which isn't wrong, it's just his headcanon. Otherwise, the two never officially meet in the main story.

Undyne and Toriel killed
After Mettaton takes over the underground, Papyrus becomes one of his agents, wearing a suit and "cool glasses". He expresses conflicted happiness over the new state of the underground but says to the player that he really misses Undyne, asking them to say hi from him if they see her.

True Pacifist
In the credits it appears many of Papyrus' dreams have come true; he is first shown driving a red car along a highway, something he has always wanted to do, and later on Asgore is shown trimming a hedge in the shape of Papyrus's face, something that Papyrus wished would happen once he became a famous royal guard.

Attacks

 * If the player ACTs to Papyrus, his bone attacks slowly scroll across the bottom, but are not high enough to hit the player. Papyrus will continue using this attack until Spare is chosen.
 * Papyrus' first attack is the "blue attack" that Sans warned the player about, causing blue colored bones scroll across the square. After all the blue colored bones have passed, however, Papyrus turns the player's soul blue for the rest of the battle, stating that that's his attack, revealing Sans was technically misleading the player about the nature of the attack.
 * Papyrus continues the battle by attacking the player with series after series of bones scrolling along the bottom of the square, which can be dodged by jumping. His blue colored bones are used far less often.
 * Papyrus eventually prepares a special attack; however a dog steals it and he continues the battle with an "absolutely normal attack", albeit more difficult. The attack includes appearances the dog, bones saying "Cool" and "Dude", a bone on a skateboard, and a large crowd of bones that can be jumped over far higher than normal use of the blue soul. After surviving this attack, Papyrus decides to spare the player.

Strategy

 * Surviving all of Papyrus' attacks and finally sparing him will end the battle.
 * Being taken down to 1 HP will result in him ending the battle prematurely. If the player loses to him three times, Papyrus grows tired of capturing them and offers them to skip his battle and progress.

Pre-Battle

 * HUMAN.
 * ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS.
 * FEELINGS LIKE...
 * THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER.
 * THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS.
 * THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL.
 * THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!
 * I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY.
 * AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT.
 * I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE.
 * I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN...
 * WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!
 * I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR... ...
 * NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!
 * YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!
 * THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!!
 * POWER! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS!!!
 * 'THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD! 

Encounter

 * WHAT!? FL-FLIRTING!? SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS ! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!!!
 * OH NO!!! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!!! [I can make spaghetti]
 * OH NO!!! THAT HUMILITY... IT REMINDS ME OF, MYSELF!!! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!!! [I have zero redeeming qualities]
 * I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU...?LET'S DATE L-LATER!! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU! [Flirt]
 * OH NO!!! LET'S DATE L-LATER!! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU! [Flirt #2]
 * LET'S DATE L-LATER!! [Flirt #3+]
 * HOW SELFLESS... YOU WANT ME TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT FIGHTING YOU... I DON'T DESERVE SUCH HOSPITALITY FROM YOU... [Insult]
 * THERE'S NO NEED TO LIE TO YOURSELF!!! YOUR BARBS HIDE A HIDDEN AFFECTION! YOU EMOTIONAL CACTUS! [Insult #2]
 * DON'T...! DONT WASTE YOUR WORDS ON ME! [Insult #3]
 * DON'T WASTE YOUR WORDS ON ME! [Insult #4+]
 * SO YOU WON'T FIGHT... THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!' 
 * YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!
 * BEHOLD!
 * HMMM... I WONDER WHAT I SHOULD WEAR... [If the player flirted with him]
 * WHAT!? I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT DATE THING!! [If the player flirted with him]
 * TRY HOLDING THE 'UP' BUTTON TO JUMP!!! [If the player does not jump]
 * HOW HIGH CAN YOU JUMP? [If the player still does not jump]
 * HOLD 'UP' LONGER TO JUMP HIGHER! JEEZ!!! [If the player still does not jump]
 * YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK !
 * I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!!!
 * PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!
 * PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGETTORE!
 * UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!!
 * THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!!!
 * MY BROTHER WILL ... WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH.
 * I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS!! BUT...
 * WILL ANYONE LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU? [If flirted with]
 * HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SECRETLY LIKE ME? [If not flirted with]
 * SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE...
 * AND DATING MIGHT BE KIND OF HARD... [If flirted with]
 * I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU GO... [If not flirted with]
 * AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY.
 * URGH... WHO CARES! GIVE UP!!
 * GIVE UP OR FACE MY... SPECIAL ATTACK !!!
 * YEAH!!! VERY SOON I WILL USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK !
 * NOT TOO LONG AND I WILL USE THAT  SPECIAL ATTACK !!!
 * THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE... BEFORE MY SPECIAL ATTACK !!
 * BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK !
 * WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!!! HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!! ... OH WELL. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK.
 *  'SIGH' HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK.
 * WELL...! 'HUFF' IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T! 'HUFF' DEFEAT ME!!! YEAH!!! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!!! THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY!! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMAN!!! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY .
 * ALAS, POOR PAPYRUS! WELL, AT LEAST I STILL HAVE MY HEAD! [Kill]
 * W-WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED... BUT... ST... STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO! I... I PROMISE... [Kill in Genocide Route]
 * WOWIE! YOU DIDN'T DO A VIOLENCE! [Spare Papyrus in the Genocide Route]
 * OH, I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT ONE OF THOSE. [Use Stick]
 * YOU'RE TOO WEAK! I WAS EASILY ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU!!! I WILL NOW SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE!! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT... OUR GARAGE??? YOU'RE IN THE DOGHOUSE NOW! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!! [If player is at 1 HP]
 * WELL!!! YOU MAY HAVE CLEVERLY ESCAPED FROM JAIL BEFORE... BUT THIS TIME, I'VE UPGRADED THE FACILITIES. NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE TRAPPED... BUT YOU WON'T EVEN WANT TO LEAVE!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!! [Captured second time]
 * YOU ARE... PERSISTENT! BUT! IT JUST WON'T WORK ON ME! I AM THE PERSISTENTEST! AND IF YOU THINK YOU ARE PERSISTENESTER... THAT IS WRONG! GRAMATICALLY WRONG! BECAUSE THE CORRECT FORM WOULD BE... NOT AS PERSISTENTEST AS PAPYRUS, THE PERSISTENTESTEST! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS LESSON. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!! [Captured third time]

Post-battle

 * NYOO HOO HOO...
 * I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE WAS WEAK AS YOU...
 * UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME.
 * I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND...
 * MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!
 * REALLY!? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME??? WELL THEN... I GUESS... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU! [Lets be friends]
 * HUH? WHY WOULD YOU... BERATE YOURSELF SO LOUDLY??? IS IT BECAUSE... YOU DON'T THINK YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH TO BE MY FRIEND? NO!!! YOU'RE GREAT!!! I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND! [What a loser]
 * WOW!!! I HAVE FRIENDS!!! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM... WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM?? YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN.
 * I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE. CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER . THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL. ... LIKE YOU!!! THAT'S WHY THE KING WANT TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!
 * OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU... TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS... THROUGH THE KING 'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... HE IS... ... WELL... HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!!! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY... "EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?" HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!
 * ANYWAY!!! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING!!! I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!

Flavor Text

 * He likes to say: "Nyeh heh heh!" [Check]
 * Papyrus blocks the way! [Encounter]
 * You're blue now. [After Papyrus' blue attack]
 * Papyrus is thinking about what to wear for his date. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus is thinking about what to cook for his date. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs some Bone Cologne behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs marinara sauce behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs MTT-Brand Bishie Cream behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs MTT-Brand Anime Powder behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs MTT-Brand Cute Juice behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs MTT-Brand Attraction Slime behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus dabs MTT-Brand Beauty Yogurt behind his ear. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus realizes he doesn't have ears. [If flirted with]
 * Papyrus is trying hard to play it cool. [Neutral]
 * Papyrus whispers "Nyeh heh heh!" [Neutral]
 * Papyrus is preparing a bone attack. [Neutral]
 * Papyrus is cackling. [Neutral]
 * Papyrus prepares a non-bone attack then spends a minute fixing his mistake. [Neutral]
 * Papyrus is rattling his bones. [Neutral]
 * Smells like bones. [Neutral]
 * Papyrus remembered a bad joke Sans told and is frowning. [Neutral]
 * You INSULT, but to no avail. Seems ACTing won't escalate this battle... [Insult #4+ before Papyrus turns you blue]
 * You FLIRT, but to no avail. Seems ACTing won't escalate this battle... [Insult #3+ before Papyrus turns you blue]
 * You throw the stick. Papyrus brings it back in his mouth. [Using Stick]
 * Papyrus is getting ready for a regular attack. [After a dog steals Papyrus's special attack]
 * Papyrus is sparing you. [After fight]

Trivia

 * He is the only character in the game whose dialogue doesn't start with an asterisk (*); instead, his dialogue begins without any precursor characters.
 * If you type "Papyru" for the character's name, the response becomes "I'LL ALLOW IT!!! ". This makes Papyrus the only boss character who lets their name be chosen at the beginning of the game (if only because the character limit prevents you from typing out the full name).
 * Following the convention of using one's birth year in their username, this puts him at 14 to 24 years old in the year 201X.
 * He is old enough to drive a car.
 * When you visit Papyrus' house for the first time, right before the date/hangout, continuously walking in and out of Papyrus' kitchen at a rapid pace causes him to dash quickly to the left and to the right (as Papyrus does follow you to the kitchen when you enter in, then goes back to where he originally was as you exit it). You will eventually hear a tinkling sound every time you switch rooms, eventually leading to a different 'completion' sound being heard. If you talk to Papyrus after that, he'll mention he can't feel his legs, which must mean he is a great host.
 * Attempting to walk back during the electricity maze will cause Papyrus to tell the player not to be rude, and that he made the puzzle just for them. Backing away again causes Papyrus to ask the player if they treat their mother this way when she makes them puzzles. Doing this again will only cause Papyrus to say " HUMANS... ".
 * Doing this again at the Junior Jumble puzzle will make Papyrus tell Sans that the human is escaping, and that the puzzle is too hard.
 * When encountering Papyrus after a normal reset, he will notice the human looks familiar to him before Sans says they look familiar because of the rock. At the electric maze, Papyrus asks Sans if he knows the human.