#ended up as bit of a bigger hyperfixation than i had planned

[onemorestrangeronthestreet]

Someone tell me how a silly show about newsboys ended up being so damn important to me???

[lavender-butterfly-cookie]

Teddy anon and ok here I go then lol and got multiple and you can choose which ones you wanna do...but one at the bottom I think would progress the story more and definitely show the...butterfly in the web thing more:

Ok imagine they start to calm down with the gift gifting (unless that is the affection y/n likes the most) and instead start to be more caring and affectionate, doing stuff for y/n and giving them lots of the type of affection that y/n likes the most...ex. touch like hugs or words of affirmation...basically love language that y/n likes the most (yandere twist if you want, they are trying to make y/n dependent on them and get y/n wrapped around their fingers...helplessly in their web lol!) Personally, for me, it's physical affection like hugs but that's just me...

Y/n gets a visit from DE eventually but DE just wanted to deliver it herself...maybe it's y/n's favorite dessert that they eat happily to both build up a better bond aaaand have an excuse to show up to kingdom to talk to cookies about their...plan...this ties in with bottom lol

And now for the on at the bottom...one I can see the most...well actually multiple since I thought of them while typing this out! Brain is a FACTORY for ideas about hyperfixations lmao!:

Ok had ideas for this I can see are...those theories about where y/n comes from? They are a distraction for y/n so they don't know that the cookies know EVERYTHING since I know yanderes love to learn about everything about their love...also can see, to prove to y/n that they love y/n for y/n, not because they see em as a God or possibly have powers...AND to make sure y/n is cut off with no way back to the human world/home (cookies: ...your home is with us now~)...say, at some point, they steal y/n's phone and download the data onto a cookie phone so y/n doesn't lose their numbers and stuff knowing that y/n would be devastated if they lost all their phone stuff buuut can't use their device to go home aaaaand destroy the human phone so y/n ends up with a cookie phone...

Also to add context so the thing above makes more sense:

Y/n might think everyone is only treating them nicely and stuff because of thinking they are their God and stuff and is scared the moment they realize y/n ISN'T their creator or God or anything...it wouldn't end well for them-

Not knowing the cookies already know...and just want y/n for y/n's adorably normal self...no godly powers, no overpowered protagonist whos fated to save the world...just y/n being...y/n.

O-O... I'll figure some way to make 'em all correlate.- I shall deliver teddy anon! (First one is probably gonna be easier than the other two cuz I'm very touch starved)

Side note: Not doing any yandere topics. Refrain from it next time pls

Part 1 - Part 2

Showered with love and affection pt3

Staying in the world of cookie run kingdom had been a pleasant experience to say the least. I mean, how could it not be? You were showered with gifts. But at some point the amount of gifts simmered down and became more filled with affectionate gestures.

Cookies would hug you or simply be close to you and it felt comforting. You felt more affection in this world than in your own. The kids would play with you, the cakehounds would do the snuggling and then the other cookies did all the other gestures. Whether it be holding your hand on a nice walk or hugging you. Cookies of any species, size and background would give you all the love and attention you desired.

One day, in the quiet of the night, you heard something- or at least- someone, at your window. You were beyond surprised when you walked over and opened the curtains to see it was Dark Enchantress cookie herself. You would've called for help but she quickly shushed you.

DE: Shhh shhh shhh- hey, don't panic. I'm not here for any ill intent.

Y/N: then why are you here?!

DE: I... wanted to give you something...

She gave you a basket, similar to the one the cakehound delivered the other day. Only this one was a bit bigger and more... extravagant.

Y/N: What's this?

DE: Look inside.

You cautiously took a look inside.

Only to find that it was full of some of your most favorite treats and goodies. Your eyes widened a bit as you looked up at her.

Y/N: This... this isn't a trick, right?

DE: No tricks. I saw that the other members gave you a basket and I anted to give you my own separately

Y/N: And you came all the way here to do it?

DE: Hey! I can't have a mere basket of goods squander my reputation! Besides, better to do it myself and make sure the job is done than trust a mere cakehound to do it...

That just sounded like an excuse for her to give it to you in person, but you weren't gonna argue. This was very sweet, especially considering who it was coming from.

DE: Well this is my time to take my leave. Not a word about this to anyone, understood?

Y/N: Understood.

She gives a nod before leaving. Strange that even the most evil of cookies respected you this much. But you weren't truly complaining. In fact, you quite liked it.

As your weeks in this place dragged on to months you started to worry about something. How would the cookies react if they found out you were just some normal person and not the god/goddess they had been treating you like. What if they were infuriated that you weren't some kind of savior they assumed you were? Should you leave before they get too attached?

Believe it or not, the cookies already knew. From the moment they brought you here they knew you weren't some heavenly being. And they didn't care. Because they loved you for you. They loved every quality, every flaw, everything about you. To them you were the most treasured being to walk earthbread and they cared about you, regardless of what you were and what you weren't

Though, they were a bit iffy about allowing you to return home. The idea seemed more unappealing than crumbling. For this, they took your phone and copied all the data onto a cookie phone so it still had every quality your phone had, but couldn't give you access to your world.

However, they didn't completely destroy your phone, but rather locked it away. Although they never wanted you to ever leave, they knew they had no right to fully restrict your freedom. Despite how much the idea dreaded them, they couldn't force you to stay permanently against your will. If you truly wish to leave, they had to let you.

Besides, it's not like you could leave forever. They'd find a way to bring you back.

[rainestorm2556]

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted my writing which I promise I still do y’all so enjoy something I wrote in December when I was hyperfixating on AOT:

Levi sat. What more was there to do these days? He could sit. Or he could sit. Of course there was always the option to sit. Ot he could gasp sit! Needless to say the former scout was tired of sitting. He could stand and struggle to walk but with a toddler, two teens, and a wife who was with child that wouldn’t be the best idea. Falco and Gabi were excitable and got Heidi excited easily as well. He and Anselma agreed to take them in and they knew it meant changing the little life they’d grown accustomed to with just them and Heidi, but it was every bit worth it. She loved being a mother and he loved being a father. Their children were a handful and would continue to be a handful but it would be worth it. They knew what they were getting into when they opted to take Gabi and Falco in. That didn’t matter though; neither did the fact that he’d refused to give her a label for so long. Their story had been a tragic one with a happy ending.

They’d met because of Levi’s late friend who was something of a surrogate younger sister to him. Isabel Magnolia. She and Anselma were both bright and bubbly and they shared being skilled in omni directional mobility gear. They could not have grown up more differently. Isabel was abandoned in a dumpster in the Underground and she was left to fend for herself. She would beg, steal, borrow and barter. Anything it took to stay alive. Her only focus was living to see the next day. She had no family; only Levi and Furlan. She was rambunctious and stubborn to a fault. She never doubted herself and always remained self-assured.

Anselma on the other hand? She was born to the immensely wealthy Hart family in the safety of Wall Sina. She never wanted for anything. She had riches galore promised to her from birth and was expected to marry a rich suitor. Her parents were overly attentive and always showing her off to their slimy friends. The men were all a bunch of snobby pigs and the women criticized her every trait to no end. While her parents were attentive it was not because they cared. They just needed to make themselves look good. When she was 21 everything changed.

Enter: Oliver Klaus Hart.

Also known as her little brother. She’d been a scout for seven years at that point. She was already a member of the Special Operations Squad. Around that time Levi came into her life with Isabel and Furlan. They joined the scouts and after getting to know Anselma personally Levi decided to pursue a relationship with her. Isabel was even throwing them a small wedding and it nearly happened.

Then on an expedition Isabel Magnolia and Furlan Church were lost at the hands of the titans. Anselma and Isabel had been best friends so naturally the latter’s death was distressing for the former. She and Levi were both so grief stricken that they decided it would be best for them if instead of proceeding with the wedding as Isabel planned; they called it off and put their plans of marriage on hold for a while. At least until the deaths weren’t so fresh and didn’t hurt as much as they currently did.

Arguments soon arose between the couple due to Levi becoming more closed off than ever before and Anselma not knowing how to handle and interact with this ‘new’ Levi.

The engagement was broken off. They still slept together, went on very occasional dates, and did other couple-y stuff together but they had no label and most certainly did not live together. Anselma was accustomed to people picking up after her and therefore was not very good at cleaning and such whereas Levi was an absolute clean freak and germaphobe. Naturally this would only cause an even bigger rift in whatever it was that defined the sort of relationship the two scouts had.

Then came Eren. With him came lots of loss and hate to admit as hey may, Levi began to fear losing Anselma. She had been in his life for so long after all. The only remaining living person who had been in his life was Erwin. Erwin Smith. Commander of the Scout Regiment after the resignation of Keith Sadies.

There was also the death of Kenny who would turn out to be Levi’s uncle. Needless to say, finding out he was an Ackerman was a surprise. This made him and Mikasa cousins. Blood relatives. It was a weird but not unwelcome change.

After Eren would come his friends and comrades. They all made Levi Squad and he was beginning to grow fond of the little brats. War would follow and though it wouldn’t be easy everything would work out in the end. Levi became half blind and lost some fingers, Hange lost an eye, Erwin lost an arm, Sasha nearly lost her life, Ymir tried letting herself be eaten by Porco, and Levi injured his legs. That didn’t mean that it wasn’t worth it though. Marley, Eldia, and Paradis were all peaceful. The same went for other nations.

During the war came Heidi. A beacon of hope and light during one of the darkest times in Levi’s life. Sure she was a surprise but when Levi found out Anselma was carrying his child he knew he wanted to do right by her.

And so the two were married and shortly after welcomed their daughter: Heidi Kuchel Zoe Ackerman. Kuchel for Levi’s mother, Zoe for Hange who had helped Anselma fill Isabel’s void. He was now a husband and a father. He had a wife. It was strange to think about.

When Heidi was a year old Oliver, who had long since been nicknamed ‘Ollie’ by Anselma, joined the scouts and so he was put on Levi Squad at the request of the titular leader’s wife.

When she was two she traveled with them to Marley and would meet Eren. He grew to like the little girl. Heidi reminded him of an owl and henceforth she was nicknamed by even Levi ‘owlet’.

The war ended with no casualties on the side of those Levi cared about. He and his wife took in two orphaned kids: Falco Grice and Gabi Braun.

Now here they were. Sitting. Handing out candy to children. Anselma’s stomach swelling with an impending life. A son this time. Their second biological child together but fourth overall. Heidi got along well with her new brother and sister and the family of five was excited to soon be six. It would even everything out and after that their little family would be complete. Heidi would soon turn six and start proper schooling while Levi and Anselma ran their tea shop.

They had retired from the scouts just after the war. Luckily though, the regiment no longer had to rely on hefty donations from Anselma’s estranged father because Historia had given them more funding. Much more funding. Levi reached for his cane.

“Papa!” The raven-haired owlet cried out. Levi smiled and gently scooped up Heidi. Perhaps this was where he was always meant to be. He was at home and at peace with his wife and three, almost four, children. In the end everything had worked out.

“We haven’t picked out a name yet, y’know.” His wife smiled as she looked at her ever-swelling stomach.

“Well then let's get to work on naming him!” Gabi piped up.

“Yeah, I’m sure we could find something if we all put our heads together.” Falco added.

“Name!” Heidi cheered.

Levi was happy. He was at peace and content. He had a wife and children. That was something he would have called you crazy for saying he’d have just ten years ago. Now here he was. Everything finally made sense. This was where he was always meant to be. No one knew what would face the Ackerman-Hart-Grice-Baun family next but whatever happened they’d face it together. As a family. Levi was a husband and father and he was okay with that. It made him happy.

[raggaraddy]

Can you Taehyungs version of reader being shot cause of them?

I really like your Jimin and Namjoon Version that you’ve written🥰

Request from @dramaclub-thin: Mafia BTS where the reader is shot for/because of them.

A/N: It is so much longer than I meant for it to be. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading.

If anyone else wants to request, you can here.

Mafia Bangtan other parts:

Namjoon

Yoongi

Jimin

Jungkook

---------

Deception.

Summary: When you agreed to help Bangtan take down one of their enemies, you never imagined it could go so wrong.

Trigger warning: Smut, violence, blood, murder.

Taehyung

Mafia! Taehyung

"Are you ready?" Namjoon asks, shutting off the car's engine and turning around in his seat.

"Yeah," you nod back, hoping the rocking pit of nerves in your stomach isn't visible on your face. Scanning back and forth between him in the front and Jin sat beside you, you're checking to see if they are showing any signs of worry either. Finding a bit of solace in their surety.

"We're gonna lag behind about 20 minutes to be cautious and stay out of sight. But we'll be close. Just do everything like we said, and you'll be fine." Namjoon summarizes once again. Jin offering you a kind, reassuring smile to accompany the leader's words.

You nod again, sucking your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Running your fingers through your hair to fluff it for the 30th time. Hyperfixated on the time, you see the dashboard clock tick over. 20:21.

"Okay, let's go." You exhale deeply.

It was three weeks ago that Namjoon came to you with a problem that Bangtan was facing. Their weapons dealer was forcefully put out of business, which was Namjoons gentle way of saying he was killed, cutting off their supply to automatics and other bigger guns. Leaving them vulnerable. The man who took over their previous partners supply was known to be working with some of the other, smaller local crews. It was also known that he was a rival of Namjoon's and due to this tension refused to work with Bangtan. Normally, a problem like this would be something that they could handle. However, as Namjoon explained it, this guy was backed and protected by foreign money and was too hot to touch without starting a bloody war.

So the plan was simple. Risky, but simple. The supplier had to die. And it needed to appear to be from natural causes, so it could never fall back on Bangtan. No one directly affiliated could be involved. That meant none of the members could risk doing it. It also meant that it was too high a priority to trust an associate or hired gun with this information. Not with the reach and money the opposition had. No, it had to be someone within the family that could handle this, but someone the supplier would never know.

Opportunely, the supplier was known to have a weakness for women, hence the logical conclusion for Namjoon was one of the member's girls. Trustworthy enough not to turn or rat, not likely to be noticed among the myriad of other women, and except a few of them, all had no record linking them to Bangtan, so they would be complete unknowns.

Jin said it, but you already knew it. Out of all of the girls, you were the one who was the most capable. Your difficult past left you with many emotional scars but made you the best person to handle the responsibility. You're not susceptible to intimidation. Have very few moral hangups. And most importantly Namjoon knows how much you love Taehyung. How you would do anything for him. To keep him safe and happy. He knows he can trust you, and that when the time comes, you wouldn't hesitate to do what they needed you to.

As for you, you knew that Taehyung trusted Namjoon irrefutably and you had seen countless times that he was a good leader. Furthermore, you could appreciate the gravity of the situation. Because you're sure that if Bangtan's brain had any other choice, he would not have asked for your help. But since he had, you were going to do what was necessary to keep your family and Taehyung safe.

The problem was that Namjoon had insisted on secrecy. The only ones to know about his plan were you, him, and Jin. A few years ago, sure, lying would not have been a problem for you, you hardly ever told the truth to anyone. But this changed when you met Taehyung. He was the first person you could be honest with, the first person you ever let love you. And lying to him was something you were genuinely struggling with.

However, you knew Namjoon and Jin were right. There was no way Tae would have been okay with you being put in harm's way and he wouldn't be able to separate his feelings from the urgency of the task.

Although, that justification doesn't make you feel less guilty for deceiving him. And to make matters worse, you expected this to be over with last week already. But on your first date with the supplier, he had left the club early to deal with work suddenly. Giving you no time to spike his drink.

So here you were, attempt number two.

While you were meant to meet the supplier at a fancy restaurant first, Namjoon's plan was to skip that and get to his house as quickly as possible. Before the valet could open the supplier's car door, you leant through the open window, teasingly licking your lips. "I just realized," you purr, noting his eyes drop to your mouth and back. "I'm actually not that hungry. So how about we skip to the end of the night, and then you can take me out for breakfast tomorrow morning."

Your blatant offer works like a charm. 20 minutes and a car ride later, he's pulling you down onto his couch. Hardly able to keep his hands or lips off of you.

Tearing at your blouse he rips the buttons apart, his mouth sucking and licking at your neck. One of his hands roaming and grabbing at anything he can, while the other starts to hike up your pencil skirt. He removes his vest and buttoned shirt, not once parting his lips from yours. His large, hard chest muscles pressing against you as he pins you in between his arms and the couch. Spreading your legs apart, he grinds his crotch into your core and you can feel what effect this is having on him. And you have to admit, despite your mind being focused elsewhere, physically it's having the same kind of arousing results on you.

But this isn't what's supposed to happen. He's moving too fast and it's quickly getting away from you. You only want to get him comfortable and distracted enough that he completely lets his guard down. You're trying to poison him, not fuck him.

Pushing his chest lightly, you spring upright. Slightly out of breath you pull your hair over your shoulder covering up a little and running your fingers through it, trying to regain some composure.

"I could use a drink." You pant, batting your eyes up at him.

"Sounds good." He nods, his gaze dark and ravenous. Suddenly haulting he leans back down to kiss you. His hands gripping your hips as he kisses you back into the sofa. Abruptly leaving you flat on the couch with flushed cheeks.

This is better. One or two drinks from now, you should be able to slip him the ricin. He drinks it, you fake a headache, and skip home.  24 hours from now he has a heart attack and dies from natural causes. Nothing tied to you. Nothing connected to Bangtan.

"I hope you like-"  The supplier calls out, only to be interrupted by a grating smack at the front of the house. You startle upright, sitting alert watching the hall entrance. He comes from the other side, coming back from the kitchen, a curious look on his face. Both of you staring at the same doorway as Taehyung suddenly comes in.

Fuck.

Your eyes go wide, half not able to believe he is actually here. He wasn't supposed to be!  Namjoon had arranged for Jimin to take him out tonight. And you had told him you were going to meet some of the other girls.

The thing you didn't know; a week ago when you met the supplier at the club, you had also said you were out with a few girls, including Jimin's girlfriend. But she was with Jimin at that time. And Jimin was with Taehyung. And she knew nothing about any plans to go out.

So when you said there was a movie night tonight, he asked around and found out that was also a lie. He wanted to trust you. To trust that it wouldn't be as bad as his worst fear. Still, the more he thought over how you lied to him, the more he worked himself up, getting himself into a paranoid and anxious state. Until he found himself tracking your phone, following you to an unknown house.

Seeing you half undressed and with someone he considers an enemy, his anger and jealously turns to pure rage. It only taking a second for the scene in front of him to confirm his worst suspicions.

Unleashing his gun he shoots wildly at the supplier. Reason slipping from him completely.

Barley able to avoid being hit, the supplier dives behind one of the sofa chairs. Nearly being riddled with the showering of bullets.

Wrapping your hands over your head, you cover your ears from the explosive sounds. Still firing, and keeping the supplier pinned, Taehyung storms at you.

"Tae-" you start. The gun empties, but Taehyung couldn't care less, tossing it aside. All of his attention focused on you.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He growls through gritted teeth. His hand flying down smacking your cheek, slapping you back into the sofa. "How could you do this to me?!" He screams, his voice wavering from the emotion in his question.

"I can explain," You ignore the burn on your cheek, running your hands along your body, trying your best to cover and redress yourself.  You never wanted him to see you like this, and the look of betrayal in his eyes is stinging your heart more than any slap could.  "I-," you begin with no next word coming. There's nothing you can tell him. Not while the supplier is right here.

Taehyung's anger aside, you're terrified to think what him being here means. Namjoon's plan is completely derailed. And Taehyung attacked the supplier, creating an entirely new problem. You're not the smart one. You have no idea what to do or how to fix this.

Where the hell are Jin and Namjoon?

Taehyung is so fixated on you that he doesn't see the other man charging from the side.

"Look out!" You scream. Only it's a second too slow. Taehyung doesn't have time to react and the supplier swings a ceramic table ornament at his head. The shattered fragments raining over you, as your boyfriend is knocked to the ground. The shoe of the imposing man booting into Taehyung's torso.

You dive towards them, driving your body weight into the supplier to separate the two men. Pushing him away as his heel scarcely misses Taehyung's face.

He stumbles back a few steps and straightens up, nodding and pursing his lips with a look of revelation. Seeing you spring to Taehyungs defence revealed much more than you had intended.

While you're attempting to help Tae upright, he quickly shirks you off and lunges at the other man diving through him and dragging him to the floor. Fighting for dominance and survival, the two men break into a brutal fight trading blow after blow as they struggle to overpower the other.

While you're relieved to see that Taehyung is the more skilled of the two, and mostly has the upper hand, you're mainly sick with worry. The ramifications of this will play out beyond this simple fistfight.

All you can do is get Tae out of here for now, and hope that the supplier hasn't realised that this was an attempt to kill him. Maybe if you're really lucky he will only think of it at face value. A cheating girlfriend and her jealous boyfriend.

"Tae," you grab his arm, dragging him back with resistance. "We have to get out of here. Please,"

He drops the supplier's collar, who falls back limply. Turning to you he has blood pouring down his face from a cut on his cheek. Intensifying the cold look in his eye.

"We? What we? Don't you wanna stay here with this piece of shit." He snarls, standing up.

"I can explain after." You tug him again. He can hate you all he likes later. But first, you have to get out of here. "Please," you beg for his agreement.

Staring harshly, he retreats from you. A pained look in his eye that cuts you more than any blade could. Anger, hate, rage. You could handle all of it. But there's so much hurt and sadness on his face. It's nothing you ever wanted to be responsible for. It's more than you can bear.

"Tae," you hold your hand outreached, gingerly approaching him.  He doesn't withdraw further, allowing you to rest your hand on his cheek. Your heart breaking further as he leans into your touch. Resting in your palm for comfort like an injured puppy. "I promise, baby, this isn't what it looks like." you coo, "I love you so much,"

His eyes close, his face scrunching in anguish. He wants to believe you so badly. To forget everything he has seen. To take you home and never let you go. He may be the first person you let love you, but for him, you are the only person he ever let himself love.

Turning, you use his softening demeanour to lead him towards the door. But the supplier pulls your attention. Neither of you were paying him any mind and standing in the corner of the room he's pulled his own gun from hiding.

Reacting without a thought you shove your back into Taehyung, covering him. Guarding him.

At the same time, a shot rings out and the bullet hits you. A painful, sharp sensation piercing through your torso that makes you stumble back. Losing your footing you fall into Taehyung, your body never hitting the ground. Taehyung catching your weight, lowering with you. Resting you on his legs.

Taehyung grimaces in pain, his hand wrapping his own side momentarily. The bullet went clean through you and cut his side before flying into the wall behind the both of you. Dismissing his own injury, he leans over your body, ripping off his shirt and pressing it and his palms into your entrance wound. Trying to slow the bleeding.

Looking up at Taehyung with tear-filled eyes, you're in shock. Every breath you take is sore but other than that, your body is numb. Your hands clinging to his, all you can think is that you wished you knew what to say or do to lessen his panic. The sweat on his forehead rolls into the cut on his cheek causing the blood to drip further down his neck and chest. The fear and worry in his eyes exposing what you can't see or feel. That you're losing a lot of blood.

The supplier comes over the top of you both. He presses the barrel of the gun into the back of Taehyungs head, forcing him to crouch lower over you.

"I was searching for a reason to annihilate Namjoon and his pathetic crew. Thank you for giving me one." He digs the gun down harder. Taehyung growls, baring his teeth in frustration. "Too bad we didn't get to finish what we started though, Y/n. Oh well." He smirks, cocking the gun for additional effect.

"I love you," Taehyung whispers, the finality in his voice breaking your restraint, tears gushing down your face.

"I-," you can only begin.

Another blast rings out that makes both you and Taehyung jump. The supplier's body goes heavy and plummets to the ground, smashing through the glass coffee table beside you. Glass shatters everywhere as he falls down dead, blood pouring out of his head, collecting into a pool.

"Fuck sakes." Namjoon sighs from the living room entrance. Standing with Jin, both looking over the destruction with disbelief.

"Hyung," Taehyung calls out, his voice raspy and on the verge of tears. "Help." He looks down at you, your face pale, your limps drooping as the blood loss is starting to make you dizzy.

Namjoon opens his mouth readying to scold his brother, but he quickly stops himself. His own faults glaringly obvious at this moment. Jin removes his belt, wrapping it around your waist he fixes it tightly, making you whine in pain, keeping Taehyungs shirt pressed to both sides of your wound.

"Can you carry her?" Jin asks his younger brother.

Namjoon passes all of you, walking toward the lifeless body of his enemy, shooting another round into the back of his head with a frustrated look in his eye.

Taehyung nods at Jin with wide, panicked eyes.

"Then bring her." Namjoon turns with a flick of his head gesturing to follow him.

Jin supports Taehyung as he struggles to get himself and you to a standing position. Finding more strength once he is upright, lifting you into his arms as you whimper and moan weakly.

"Taehyung-" you start, your words sounding breathless and weak. "I'm sorry," you whisper.

"Shh baby." He hushes you. "Don't worry about that now."

He gets you into Namjoons truck, laying you down the length of the seat. As Namjoon speeds to the hospital, Taehyung sits in the back, his legs under your head. Holding firm against your bullet wound while petting your head.

Jin takes Tae's keys and follows you in his car. Already calling a cleanup crew to get rid of the supplier's body. Trying to salvage what he can of the bad situation.

"Namjoon," you call out. Even as your mind is starting to slip into unconsciousness your worry over the family is consuming your focus. "the plan. Can you fix the-" you breathe heavily running out of air.

He looks over his shoulder, guilt overtaking his expression. Nodding with an affirming grunt.

"Plan? What plan?" Taehyung muses, the shock steadily drifting away. "What is she talking about, Hyung?" One look at the blame on Namjoon's face and it clicks into place. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this." Namjoon reasons.

"Are you kidding me? You organized this?!" He snaps, "How the fuck could you risk her like that?!"

"It was supposed to be easy. She wasn't meant to get hurt-"

"Well, clearly she did!" Taehyung roars, his hands bunching into fists.

"I'm sorry, Tae. I wanted to help." You whine, lifting your arm up to touch his chest, trying to soothe him in any way.

"It's okay, baby. I know you did." He coos kissing your forehead, Taehyung's rage immediately subsiding towards you. He takes your blood-drenched hands in his and kisses them lovingly. Kissing down your forearms, pressing your hands to his head in agony and want to have you closer. Wishing he could absorb your pain and suffering.

Returning his wrath to the leader his voice lowers, coming out like ice. "We're gonna talk about this once she's okay." He snarls, "And know, I hold you personally responsible for every second she's in pain."

Looking in the rearview mirror, Namjoon nods solemnly. "Yeah, I do too."

Luckily for you, you recover quickly, and no permanent physical damage was done. But the damage that was done to Namjoon and Taehyungs relationship, the repercussions caused for Bangtan, and the fall out from the supplier's death... well that's another story entirely.

[leo-interactive-fiction]

Something else I haven't seen before. What would the MC's parent from each background think of the ROs? Who would they approve of and who wouldn't they? I guess in the case of orphan MC, what would E's parents think? Since they kinda maybe vaguely adopted orphan MC?

Hmm, interesting! Since I did the opposite, I should have seen this one coming haha

-----------------------

Storm's comments:

E: "Rose has had that expectation for some time. This is preferable to the alternative. I know you will be in good hands. Rose raised them well."

R: Your father doesn't mince his words, a clear disdain evident, "Valleford. See that you don't take after your father, or there will be less than pleasantries next time we meet."

L: "Scio. I assume your father...?" Storm's lips pull in a small frown as L gives a small nod of confirmation, "I understand if you cannot forgive me. Your father is a significant asset to the Hospian war effort. If I find him, I will kill him."

V: "You've seen enough at your age," Storm says quietly, looking into the hollow glint in V's eyes, "I'm sorry. Those were battles that should have ended with my generation, not yours."

P: Storm's brow furrows as he makes a cordial greeting, "I assume your father is well? He does not speak of his second child often, but you seem more spirited than the other. That will make the greater difference when it matters."

M: Storm's brow furrows as he makes a cordial greeting, though there's little sentimentality in his voice, "I assume your father is well? He expresses confidence in your upbringing, but I can't say I share the sentiment. You lack something fundamental. Something to drive you to achieve more than what's expected of you."

Ra: Storm's eyes lock onto Raven with a harsh intensity, "Your eyes are filled with blood and you conceal weapons. Tell me your intentions or I will kill you right now."

S: "I admit I am unfamiliar with Orden. The conflict never reached that country, but I understand there are many hardships there already," Storm says, looking the brightly grinning student up and down before his lips pull back in small contentment, "You come out better than most. You have impressive strength."

F: Storm holds a frown as he takes in the vivid green hair, "Many allowed Frenza to claim their distance due to their significant contribution to Triaina's independence, but it doesn't absolve you of everything," he says in warning, "Don't step over the boundaries you've been afforded, or the military will have no choice but to respond."

------------------------------

Scurra's dialogue:

E: Scurra makes a grimace as he recognizes E, "Damnit, you've gone and done it now," he grumbles as he pulls out his wallet and hands a fold of bills to E, "Give that to your mom, will you? She's worse than a debt collector with bets..."

R: "Valleford! There's a name I haven't heard in a while. I knew they had a black sheep in the family, but I guess they couldn't take away the infamous good looks," Scurra chuckles, his eyes lightening reminiscently, "They've put me in a good bit of trouble on more than one occasion. I guess I should consider it a family curse now that MC is involved with you."

L: "Oh, I know those eyes," Scurra says wistfully, "Coming to find the world is a bigger place than you imagined, aren't you? It's even more expansive than that, too. I had that same look when I traveled overseas. I hope MC is being a good guide for you," he looks to you, and gives a knowing wink.

V: Scurra gives a meandering hum as he looks at V, "I've been all around, but I've only seen natural hair color like that a handful of times. They all had your same stare, too." He closes his eyes thoughtfully, "None as young as you though. I hope you're the last I have to see with those eyes. They're a bad omen."

P: "A fiery one, aren't you! Has no one ever told you not to say bad words in public?" Scurra laughs, "You should stop while you can. You're so transparent with your feelings that I almost mistook you for a window, so there's no point to pulling a tough act."

M: A small, genuine smile rises on Scurra's lips as he inspects M, "How interesting. You're so similar to your twin, but you're definitely the better actor. As I think about it, you remind me of MC's mother in many ways..."

Ra: "What are you doing here?" Scurra frowns, staring harshly at Raven. A silence passes and eventually he looks away, messaging his jaw, "Oops, guess I was mistaken. You looked a little like someone I know."

S: "You've got Orden written all over you, don't you?" Scurra says cheerily, "It's been a while since I've visited, but I have to say it gave me the most enjoyment. You all certainly know how to keep it lively."

F: "Your family has always been so hauty!" Scurra covers his mouth to suppress a chuckle, "But I think it would be a mistake to talk down to everyone you meet. I happen to be on great terms with your mother. If I took the opportunity, you two would have been siblings!"

------------------------

Xero's insight:

E: He smiles warmly to E, "It's good to see you again. I'm afraid there was little I could do for you: your mother has already found out about your relationship. I expect she'll make it as embarrassing for you as possible, if I know her well. I hope you're mentally prepared."

R: Xero studies R with a faint curiosity, "I'm afraid your father and I are on less than speaking terms due to some...past difficulties, but I understand you are more than simply your father's child. You may be villianized for your differing viewpoint, but aren't we all? I don't find it is so bad," Xero gives R a knowing small."

L: Xero's eyes widen upon seeing L, then falls into a soft smile, "To think history would repeat so aptly. To see you two now reminds me of my own school days," Xero closes his eyes and releases a light sigh, the smile still present, "I pray you'll also find the same happiness I did, and that it lasts longer."

V: Xero's grip tightens on an file in his hands as he sees V, his voice meticulous, "You are...Wolfe, correct? I'll admit the what I've heard and read of you is...less than appealing, but," he casts his gaze between you and the ex-Jagd member, a faint smile growing on his lips as V steps cautiously between you. "You seem to have a strong sense of duty. I hope you will be a good pillar for MC."

P: He looks disaprovingly, "In my field, words are paired with intention. To speak is to lay bare your thoughts. Why would you neglect your intent by forcing a negative connotation where it doesn't belong?"

M: He seems slightly more on edge than with P, "I don't believe I should offer my approval to someone unwilling to determine a focus. It's a testament to your negligence."

Ra: Xero crosses their arms, his face skeptical,"Marriage? Your lack of detailed forethought and hyperfixation gives me the impression of an unhealthy mind. As it stands now, I will refuse to give you my blessing."

S: "I'm afraid I'm ignorant to everything Orden related," Xero says sheepishly, "I am happy to learn all that I can, though. Perhaps you would like to bring your family at some point? I would be happy to host them here." Xero smiles warmly, clearly unknowing of the chaotic rabblerousing he's invited into his home.

F: "Ah, the royal line," Xero says in recognition of F, "Your own mother was a classmate of mine as well. To think one of her children would grow so closely with mine. Please give her my regards, would you? She has always kept herself closer than others, so I was happy when she took an interest in my friend. He's a lucky man."

---------------------

Mr. Razor's thoughts (if he was alive)

E: He bows his head gratefully, "Thank you for taking care of MC all this time. Your selflessness has saved me a lot of worry, and I doubt I'll have any more leaving them in your hands."

R: Razor's eyes bore a hole through R, "To defy your father was a considerable risk. And not knowing what the academy had planned for you, you still allowed yourself to be incarcerated for an indeterminate amount of time," Razor taps his fingers to his chin, a smile spreading over his lips, "I enjoy those that stick to their principles, but what say we work on your jailbreaking?"

L: "Your father's quite an important man. He's lucky I was never contracted to kill him," Razor says matter-of-factly. A chilling air of silence deafens the room until Razor holds up his palms, "Just kidding. I've never killed anyone. They all died mysteriously."

V: "How's Jagd doing?" Razor narrows his eyes keenly on V, "I'm surprised they were able to bounce back after what I did to them. I guess they filled the empty spaces with whoever was able...or moldable."

P: Razor smiles sadly, "It must be difficult to be given another person's expectations and do well with them. You're like a fish trying to climb a tree. But I enjoy how far up you've climbed despite that. Would you like a reward? I know, how about...your father's weakness?"

M: Razor seems disinterested, "You're not worth the words, Crater. You're nothing more than what your father made you to be: a simple shadow to live vicariously through."

Ra: Razor's eyes have an approving glint, "The one that slipped through the cracks. How very odd. MC's mother was quite odd too. It's an endearing quality, isn't it? Yes, I think you'll make a perfect companion for MC. You've already been looking over them all this time, haven't you?"

S: "Earnestness is one of the first qualities people tend to throw away when faced with hardship. It is impressive to see how you've progressed through your poverty and discrimination so aptly. Perhaps you have a hope that things will get better?" Razor's mouth spreads in a wicked smile, "I do enjoy seeing how people struggle for such a small glimmer of light. I think I'll offer my aid."

F: "Ah, it's always cute to see people play at royalty," Razor smiles at F's exasperated face, "Why do you seem so angry? Do you actually believe your position has meaning? I'll assure you it doesn't," Razor casts a darkening stare towards the royal, "To me, you're no harder to kill than a beggar on the street. The power you attempt to flaunt means nothing, because in the end it does nothing to elevate you beyond a simple street urchin."

----------------------

End

Thank ya for the ask!

[pen-emue]

I finally finished The Expanse. At 9 books I think it might be the longest thing I've read. Though I'm not completely sure.... not like I've calculated word count. I come out of it contented, with a hell of a book hangover, and incredibly happy with and impressed by the ending.

It's a true rarity to come out of an ending feeling like it was correct. Like there's nothing else I needed, nowhere else to go. That this was where the story was always building up to. In my opinion endings are the most difficult thing for an author to get right and the bigger the story the more difficult. Which is why this was so incredibly impressive.

A lot of other long stories feel like they're making it up as they go, and even when the new installment is good it feels like a separate thing invented later (less so in books than other media but still.) Even at a staggering 9 books the Expanse feels like a single, conclusive whole. Not something like Lost where the mysteries didn't even have answers at the beginning, it felt completely planned out (or convinced me it was which is the same). And not something like so many comics and manga where the next bad guy is constructed when they're needed, taking things one arc at a time.

In other cases, long stories have parts of them that feel unnecessary. Middle-book syndrome, side-plots and diatribes. But to me, at least, every single entry in the Expanse felt necessary, felt like it was leading up to this same ending. The size of things that can be explored and examined when dealing with such an epic scope is staggering. This story needed to be this big. It wasn't dragged out. We didn't just hang out in the universe for fun. We were always going somewhere, and that somewhere was here.

There have been other books series, Altered Carbon comes to mind, where the ending left me feeling like we didn't really explore the extent the setting. Like the author decided "welp we did the trilogy, we're done now." Where the story was set in its setting but it wasn't about its setting. Which is fine, but with epic sci-fi and fantasy specifically, this always leaves me a bit wanting. Which isn't to say The Expanse left no questions unanswered, but the amount it did answer felt correct to the story that had been told up to that point. Then there are things like Harry Potter that end exactly where they're supposed to (barring things we don't talk about) but where elements of the ending still left me feeling kind of ehh.... endings are so hard. Which is why I'm so impressed by the Expanse.

Not to get dramatic but it's a bit like you've lived a full, good life with these characters, this world, and you're on your death bed without regrets. That's how a truly good ending feels. You should see the ending coming, at least to a certain extent. Twist endings don't work for long stories.

This is the first series where I have put some but not all members of the series on my favourite/6-stars list. I wasn't frothing at the mouth hyperfixating on it the whole time like say Stormlight Archive or Kingkiller, but there were moments of that, and it was never a slog. It was a comfortable, pleasant ride. And looking back at it as a whole makes it retroactively better. Another indicator of a good ending. I'm really glad I consumed it.

Perfect example of hard sci-fi. Perfect example of a space opera. Though I admit I'm not as well read in the genre as I could be, I still believe I'm right on that.

[meepmorpperaltiago]

Slipping Through My Fingers All The Time

I started a marvel binge about a month ago and I’ve been hyperfixating on spideychelle for a while now – so I started this fic and then realised the last prompt of @mjweek fit perfectly! This is a crazy long fic by my standards but I hope you like it!

The first time May hears Michelle Jones’ name is after the Washington Incident. She doesn’t particularly register it, not with everything else happening in their lives at that point. She’s just another one of his classmates, only just edging into the category of “friend”, if something like that can even be categorised at all.

She doesn’t hear the girls’ nickname for a while either.

Until one day, when Peter casually asks: “Would you mind if MJ slept over along with Ned?”

“MJ?”, she questions, turning towards him with a puzzled look.

“Michelle Jones... you know, the new Academic Decathlon Captain? Her friends call her MJ and now I guess Ned and I allowed to call her that since we’re her friends”.

She seems to bond to their group increasingly after Homecoming and then after the Blip. She’s not rude by any means, but she doesn’t really say a lot in comparison to her friends, so May doesn’t ever particularly chat to her in any depth beyond polite greetings and queries about being picked up after late night study -sessions-turned-sleepovers.

But as a platonic trio, the three of them seem to be on good ground.

Looking back, she’s not sure she could pinpoint when exactly when the true shift happened.

Slowly but steadily, Peter mentions her more and more in a way he’s never talked about any other friend before, even more than he used to mention Liz. It reaches a point where she expects to hear about the latest “badass” thing that MJ did whenever she asks him how school was that day, right alongside tales of their gang’s usual exploits and the regular gossip of Midtown. It’s not to an unhealthy or obsessive extent, but it’s enough for her to realise that something must be going on between them, even if it’s just a spark.

Not wanting to put pressure on Peter to talk about it, she waits patiently for her suspicions to be confirmed, because she becomes more and more certain every day that there’s something there.

A few weeks before the big school trip to Europe and what they’re both hoping will be a much deserved break, she comes home to Peter furiously scribbling something onto a scrappy frayed bit of paper, his entire face scrunched into fierce concentration.

“Are you designing a new suit or something?”, she casually asks, that being the only thing she can think of in spite of her nephews’ lack of artistic talent.

“Oh no”, is his slightly shy response. “It’s just... a plan...”

That confuses her even more and she sits down beside him, finally looking at what he’s been writing down whilst asking him: “a plan for what? World domination? Have you decided to go all angsty hero turned supervillain on us?”

He laughs at that and then explains himself. “I really like MJ. I wanna tell her how I feel in Europe and I thought it would be better to just write it down rather than winging it. I tried to just be honest with her earlier today and after I said that I had something I wanted to tell her I kind of froze... and ran... very fast... and elephant like... a lot of people stared, it was very noisy and embarrassing.”

She sits with him for about an hour after that, helping him to develop his pretty loose plan into something more concrete. She also had the sad thought that if Tony was still around he would’ve been all over this situation, helping Peter. It’s yet another figure in his life who will never be there for the big moments, but all she can do is try her best for him, like she has done since he was 4 years old and they all realised his parents’ weren’t coming back from that damn plane crash.

In the end, the trip of course gets derailed by (what else?) more superhero stuff and even before what follows a few weeks later, she feels awful that he can’t take a pause from stress and danger for even two weeks, at the age of just 16. He’s still just a kid, but the weight of the world never seems to lift from his shoulders.

But the one positive is that it looks like he didn’t need the plan. When they’re driving home from the airport, the first thing he talks and talks and talks about is everything that happened with him and MJ. Apparently she loved the necklace even though it was broken, they kissed 3 times on Tower Bridge (and a few more times on the way home) and now they’re going on a date soon. She questions if swinging around New York might be a bit intense, but he shrugs her off, saying that it’ll be fine.

She finds out later that it wasn’t fine, but everything that follows after their date completely crashes into everything and makes that detail anecdotal.

Everything changes after Mysterio’s video – at first he runs for far too long and she’s so worried and it breaks her heart to read all the awful, untrue things that damn Daily Bugle keeps on pumping out. The physical copy would be better off used as toilet paper in her opinion (she can’t think of anything as witty for the more popular digital version, but she’s trying). They all meet with him undercover, sporadically, supporting him in whatever way they can.

After an adventure involving Dr Strange (she’s proud of the fact that learnt his name properly now) and weirdest of all several other Spider-Men, he finally comes home and even though everything is still completely uprooted and unstable, at least she has him back now.

For everything that still comes afterward, for every run in with photographers and crazed fans and every time the danger they’re all in now that the world knows becomes apparent, she’s there to pick him back up. And MJ and Ned are too.

She notices that he comes back from patrols even later and when she talks to him about it he admits with a shy blush that he’s been stopping by MJ’s room every night for weeks now. It all seems very Romeo and Juliet. She also chuckles when it’s brought up in conversation with MJ’s mother, because of course she knows he’s there when they think they’re being so sneaky and secretive. How he managed to keep his identity hidden for so long, she’ll never know.

Over time, she gets to know MJ pretty well too: she learns that she’s smart and fierce and sarcastic and cynical in a way that balances Peter’s eternal sunshine perfectly. They really do fit together like pieces of an extremely adorable puzzle.

Her usually mended heart breaks a little when she realises how well she would’ve gotten along with Ben. But eventually she puts that thought away in a precious mental box, carefully kept and full of now bittersweet memories. She simply allows herself to share in her nephews’ new found and long overdue joy.

She truly realises the depth of their feelings for each other in unfortunate to say the least circumstances. A hammering from the Green Goblin puts him in hospital unconscious for a week even with his advanced healing abilities and MJ won’t leave his side for a second, holding onto the broken black dahlia necklace like it’s the only thing anchoring her to reality even after Ned has finally been persuaded to go home to bed. They sleep in plasticky, slightly sticky and hard hospital chairs right next to each other and when Peter finally wakes up the next afternoon he looks so happy to see the 3 people he loves most in the world carefully watching him.

She’s never seen him more scared than the first time a bad guy kidnaps MJ. They were aware that something like this was likely, the girl even prepared herself with self defence classes and her boyfriend is a literal freakin’ superhero. But still, when he finds her, May can see through the security footage that her and Ned are nervously watching, that he holds her with such relief, like she’s the most precious thing in the world.

They of course go to senior prom together and take the classic photos before they go — it’s incredibly corny but their radiant smiles put a bright grin on her face too.

They go long distance for college and although they’re both worried about growing apart, they seem to just get closer, moving into a cramped apartment in their second year.

She comes over for dinner (Peter has always been a disaster in the kitchen, but MJ’s competent enough to keep them from completely living off take out) and the three of them chat and laugh together and they’re not even out of college yet but MJ already feels like family.

What she doesn’t expect is for him to call her at 2am, in floods of tears, barely able to explain to her what happened except “I’ve fucked everything up, oh my god, I’ve fucked everything up...”

Eventually May gets a bigger picture through his tears (“it’s so stupid”, he hiccups down the phone). Essentially it all boils down to a lack of communication and small things boiling over into a blow out fight. Now she’s walking out in sheer anger and he’s frozen in panic. May feels panicked too, feeling the pressure of giving Peter the right advice when she’s honestly not sure how she would handle the situation. He might be all grown up, at college with a long term living together relationship, but sometimes she’s reminded of how young he still is.

She ends up telling him to run after MJ and apparently he does just that, rushing out into the pouring rain and kissing her through tearful apologies from both of them in what sounds like something straight out of a rom com. After that, they get better at sharing how they’re feeling and their relationship seems all the better for it.

She gives him her old engagement ring just after their two year anniversary of living together, after he comes to her apartment with an excited grin, telling her that he wants to propose. An everlasting symbol of her old love, of the love her and Ben shared, that their child can now share with the love of his life.

“So what’s your big plan?” she asks him excitedly over coffee in the mug he bought her a few birthdays back.

“Well, she hates public proposals, so I can’t do that – I was thinking of doing something at home, something cosy...”

That’s exactly what he does.

May helps him with his plan, just as she did 5 years ago – except this time she’s a little bit more directly involved.

Luckily, May and MJ already have a regular rom com night every few weeks, so MJ isn’t too surprised or suspicious when she invites her ‘round for an afternoon of Bridget Jones. Just as the perpetually single heroine is giving birth to Colin Firth’s baby, she gets a thumbs up text from Peter, letting her know that he’s ready to go.

MJ took the bus here, so May suggests they go back to the apartment together, because she couldn’t bear the idea of not being around for what awaits MJ at home. MJ gives her a strange look but just rolls with it.

When MJ opens the apartment door after saying goodbye to May, the lights are dimmed, except for a glowing structure in the corner, which Peter comes out of grinning.

“I made you a fort!” he declares happily with his arms in the air. As MJ grins and laughs and kisses him as she jumps into his arms, she takes that as a cue to fully leave them alone.

She stands and waits and wonders what’s happening inside. She could see that he’d filled the inside of the fort with fairy lights and she knows that he was planning on ordering MJ’s favourite food (pepperoni pizza) and putting on a murder documentary she’d been talking about for weeks.

After what must’ve been the time for them to eat their pizza and watch the documentary, plus about 7 minutes give or take, they open the door. They both have tears in their eyes as MJ holds up her left hand to show May the newly placed ring on her finger.

They have placeholder seats in the ceremony, for everyone who’s not there, who would’ve been there. Who should’ve been there. Everyone lost isn’t forgotten and it’s as heartwarming as it is sad.

He goes back to May’s the night before the wedding out of superstition and tradition. She wakes him up pretty early and he complains until he realises what day it is. He shares a soft phone call with MJ as soon as he’s awake enough to hold a conversation, but May has no idea what’s being said, as she goes to the kitchen, wanting to give them both privacy.

She makes sure to tell Peter how proud she is of him when she’s helping him tie his tie like he’s back in high school and getting ready for Homecoming.

When he sees MJ walk down the aisle, they both look at each other like they’re being given the entire world.

Peter speaks first, nervously taking cue cards out of his pocket and saying: “MJ, I know that you hate clichés and corny lines, so I’m not going to use any. Instead, I’m just going to make a bunch of promises. I promise to support you and stand by your side, to have your back in the way that you always have mine. I promise to always be there to make you smile when you’re sad. I promise to watch scary horror movies with you, even if they really scare me. I promise not to spoil endings of things. I promise to love you forever.”

An already tearful MJ follows him with: “Peter, a long time ago, I told you that I don’t have much luck when it comes to getting close to people. But that’s not been true for a long time, thanks to you. Sorry to use clichés my vows after you cut them out of yours, but I feel so damn lucky to be marrying my best friend. I promise to stand by you and fight for you even when you’re being really stupid, I promise to support all of your nerdy stuff and most of all, I promise to always love you, dork”

May thinks back on everything her boy has suffered through, everything that has been put upon him for so long. Seeing him brimming with joy, gazing lovingly at his wife, surrounded by everyone who loves and supports them both, she bursts into tears herself.

It’s one of the happiest days of her life .It’s only matched by her both of her wedding days and the days that Benjamin Anthony Parker-Jones and Taylor-May Parker-Jones are born.

[rorykillmore]

what are your fave aspects of dark! tell me about ur hyperfixation and why it strikes such a chord

AAAAAAA okay i wanted to actually finish it before i answered this ask and i STILL sat here and stared at it for a while trying to grasp what i wanted to say about how i feel about dark

i still remember the reason i first checked it out! i was taking a tv pilot class at pittsburgh filmmakers and we were talking about pilot episodes we liked -- and this was back in 2017 when the first season had just come out, and one girl said “has anyone seen that new german show on netflix? it’s kind of like one of those ‘mysterious happenings in a small town’ shows except whatever you initially think is going on.... really, really isn’t.”  so that made me curious enough to see what she meant by that. 

and initially it did draw a lot of comparisons to stuff like stranger things and twin peaks, but i think it becomes apparent the more of it you watch that dark could not be more its own beast. it’s actually rarely derivative of american television and draws much more from german science and philosophy, and in fact hilariously if you do not have at least a passing familiarity with friedrich nietzsche you’re going to miss at least some of the reasoning behind the story’s themes kgshgdk. i LOVED season 1 when it came out and really was.... haunted by it for a while afterwards, but i haven’t watched the rest until now (season 3 came out in late june of this year, so pretty recent) because it’s such a complex and sometimes difficult to follow story that it was really motivating to be able to watch it all in one go. and i’m ultimately glad that i waited, but at the same time, MAN i was missing out because it’s really not until season 2 that you start to realize how.... hugely ambitious and impressive the show is.

but as far as specific stuff i love!!! the atmosphere, absolutely. dark is one of those shows that has a really specific mood and atmosphere, in large part credited to the brilliant cinematography and the use of it to make everything just kind of.... seep with dread, at times. i think in season 1 this was the most prominent, because that’s the point at which the audience has the least amount of understanding of what’s going on or how everything’s connected, and watching it just gives you this vague sense of terror that the characters (and even you as a viewer) are dealing with something much bigger and more daunting than they/you even understand.

i also love that dark is such an incredibly unique take on time travel as it’s typically used in fiction. so much of the western idea of fictional time travel relies on the presumption that we could change things if we wanted to with just the smallest action, and that there’s unforeseen danger in that, but dark is just kind of like.  “no, time is an absolute MONSTER, and presuming you have the agency to mess around and change things is a core failing of our linear thinking as human beings.” and that singular concept brings up so many questions and implications about like.... free will, and what that even means. and that’s just something i love in fiction in general!!! themes related to human agency and trying desperately to break cycles and realizing that we’re often the ones who create them in the first place. because you realize, as you get through the series, that it doesn’t believe in any kind of greater spiritual force like god or fate or destiny, and that what’s keeping these characters trapped is actually their own natures and desires and individual failings (this is where knowing some of the stuff nietzsche spouted about eternal reoccurence comes in handy.) and it’s both kind of bleak and daunting and incredibly humanizing, because the characters all really become so fully three dimensional (heh) and relatable when you realize the extent of how much the entire plot is  driven by their fear and grief and anger and love. 

and of course as an aspiring screenwriter, i absolutely cannot praise the WRITING enough!!! the writing and the characters. i mean, most shows do not... plan out every minute detail of their story from beginning to end the way dark did. that’s not a knock on other shows necessarily, that’s just how the american television industry works: you typically only break one season at a time, so most people kind of inherently expect there to be at least a little bit of variation in quality, or some plot holes or character inconsistencies from season to season. but dark really, truly feels like one cohesive whole, and again as a writer i cannot even IMAGINE ironing out such a complex story and pulling it off so smoothly and tying up all of the loose ends the way they did. everything is so deliberate, and after a while of watching you start to trust that everything is deliberate, which makes it really really engaging as you try to figure out everything that’s going on.  i’ve already talked about the characters some but just... i will also say that it’s amazing how - like i said - i’ve always loved season 1, but i always felt that it was something i loved more for its plot and concepts and atmosphere rather than being a particularly character driven story, and then BOY DID SEASONS 2 AND 3 PROVE ME WRONG.

i guess all of this to say that i find pretty much every aspect of dark to be in some way incredibly impressive, and that’s why it feels like it’s become one of my favorite shows of all time upon finishing it. it’s up there with stuff like the leftovers in terms of quality imo.

also one more thing before i sign off: the music. the fucking music. dark’s soundtrack is absolutely STELLAR and it is shamelessly unafraid of using that to its advantage.

[sepublic]

A Monsterverse Gigan Movie Proposal

           The movie opens up on a bit of a news-style documentary, discussing the cultural impact the Kaiju have had on us. We see various clips of the Kaijus’ impact; We have memes, plushies and toys designed after them. People have capitalized by selling merchandise and food themed after famous Kaiju. Cashiers get an extra tip by having boxes encouraging customers to vote with money who is better; Godzilla or Kong?

           There are talkshows, documentaries, conspiracies, all that jazz. High-end fashion is deliberately fashioned after Kaiju, with those designed after Kaiju such as Ghidorah or Hedorah being particularly controversial. There are even religious movements and straight-up cults that worship the Kaiju as gods.

           Everyone’s talking about Godzilla, Mothra, or Rodan and whatnot. People make art, and photos taken by drones are all the craze by tabloids and news outlets. People tend to make protests about the Kaiju, either advocating their destruction, or further cooperation, such as by leaving them alone, or tending to them, etc. As a way to build funds and encourage societal awareness and acceptance of Kaiju, Monarch has even authorized little tours where people can get relatively close to friendlier Kaiju, such as Baragon or even Godzilla!

           Alas, it’s not all fun and games, as there are many illegal versions of these officially-santcioned tours. The government has designated ‘Kaiju Parks’, areas where Kaiju tend to roam that are cut off from the rest of humanity for obvious reasons. While there are official tours through these parks to observe friendlier Kaiju (from afar, of course), others are a lot less… legal.

           And we see this in the film, where a boat illegally takes some tourists up-close to a slumbring Kaiju on some rocks in the ocean. While the tourists take pictures and selfies, the boat-driver quietly tries to take skin samples of the Kaiju, hoping to make a profit, when people suddenly begin disappearing, because surprise- The remaining Kamacuras, now more grown, has upgraded their camouflage to full-on invisibility and is using humanity’s tendency to flock towards Kaiju to get some meals!

           Ultimately, the movie is meant to discuss theatrics, culture, and our relationship with Kaiju and how we interact with them, and vice-versa… Or more properly, how we REACT to them, because by the end of the day we’re just ants in their eyes. And while society’s acceptance and relationship with the Kaiju has begun to peak, there are still those who would sabotage it, for a wide variety of reasons.

           After this big reveal and discussion, we cut to our regular human protagonists, as well as two new faces. One of them is a struggling, online artist who regularly draws Kaiju and posts them online, although she is disappointed by her lack of reblogs and thus has to work at some low-end job to survive. This Artist (who will be called as such for now) is clearly based off of Gengo Kotaka, and is additionally a bit of a meta representation of artists who post their works online but unfortunately get little attention.

           Artist also has another friend who draws, who is not-so-subtly implied to be a bit of a Monsterfucker, especially with her fanart (which is straight-up images from that one Godzilla manga where the monsters are buff and humanoid). Artist goes through her usual routine, lamenting a lack of commissions or anyone else interested in her work, when she suddenly gets an email!

           It’s from World Children’s Land, a company dedicated to the construction of Theme Parks and other attractions! The email is sent by a Japanese entrepreneur, who explains how he has had plans to create a themepark centered around Kaiju, for all ages! His plans for it are big, too- He hopes that this park, named Monsterland/Kaijuland, will become big enough to rival attractions such as Six Flags, Legoland, and even Disney World!

           Anyhow, the Entrepeneur noticed Artist’s work online, and impressed, is hoping to hire her to work as a graphics designer and cartoonist for Monsterland. Artist, thrilled to not only get work but also a job centered around her passion and hyperfixation, gleefully accepts her participation in this ambitious project.

           We learn more about Monsterland, as we see it getting constructed. It’s huge, about the size of your typical Disneyland, maybe even bigger. It has many attractions, including a hotel for guests to stay at, multiple rides based off of various Kaiju, restauraunts and appropriately-themed food, etc. There’s even a section for particularly high-class adults to party and discuss their love for Kaiju.

           And Monsterland’s biggest attraction? Why, it’s none other than a giant statue of Godzilla himself, the biggest in existence! It’s not quite the Big G’s size, but it’s close to it, and most impressive! It even lights up to mimic his Atomic Breath!

           The project was started by our entrepreneur (dubbed C1 until I figure out an actual name) and his protégé of sorts, C2. Both are from Japan, and explain to various news outlets how their main motivation for creating Monsterland is to celebrate mutually with fans all over the world their love of Kaiju, as well as encouraging an appreciation and understanding of the creatures.

           And to do this, C1 reveals that the Grand Opening’s tickets will be set at a lower price than usual! Lo and behold, Monsterland’s reception is amazing as pre-orders and tickets are rapidly sold out in record time, with Monster fans of all ages and locales marking their calendars and plans to attend Monsterland.

           Amidst all of these reveals, we also see our typical Monarch protagonists and Zilla, who has grown since his debut (although he’s still pretty small compared to other Kaiju). Zilla ends up fighting Crustaceous Rex, a giant crustacean-cephalopod monster that emerges from the deep. Zilla manages to win and C-Rex slinks off, although it’s clear it’s formed a bit of a rivalry with Zilla now.

           Other characters include Cameron Winters- While based off of the character from the 1998 Animated series, the two are pretty different. For starters, Cameron is female, and a PoC (probably African-American). A wealthy entrepreneur, Cameron is known for her striking white hair and her cunning wit.

           Having found no one she can actually bear to marry and have children with, Cameron, feeling the desire for a protégé, has adopted a hapless orphan girl and begun to raise her as a successor of sorts. This successor (named S for now) seems reserved and well-off, but deep down she’s uncomfortable from all of the pressures placed on her and desires freedom to be herself.

           Cameron is involved with some operation of sorts that has something to do with Monsterland, and S is just there for the ride. Also introduced is a hippy-type character who wants humanity to leave the Kaiju alone and whatnot.

           As Monsterland begins to form, it becomes clear that C1 and C2 are a bit suspicious. Aside from the two tending to act very stilted and forced, Artist notices while wandering around a few weird things every now and then. At one point, she swears she hears a loud skittering noise, even as she observes other employees who are stiff like C1. She eavesdrops on large shipments of materials such as Lead, and is at one point caught sneaking by C2. She’s spared and let off, and C1 advises his protégé to leave her be, as she’s ‘just doing her job and being curious’.

           Likewise, Artist can’t complain because C1 is receptive to her art and encouraging, the first positive reception she’s gotten in a long while. Nevertheless, she takes note of what she’s noticed, even as the Hippy loudly protests outside.

           The audience soon discovers the shadiness of Monsterland. C1 is apparently buying nuclear materials, and is working with Cameron Winters (who is for the most part unknowing of his true intentions) and other compatriots such as Raul, the new leader of the Red Bamboo, to illegally capture and smuggle various Lesser Kaiju.

           Among these monsters are none other than Zilla, who gets kidnapped. Even as our Monarch protagonists try to find him, new incidents sprout up when Anguirus appears from the ocean and attacks a city!

           For some reason, Anguirus is on the attack, despite being a normally peaceful Kaiju. He rampages through the city, smashing buildings as he heads for the center… When all of a sudden, he begins moving away from the city, further in-land. Similar incidents soon sprout up, with none other than Godzilla himself appearing.

           In the wake of these attacks, everyone is talking and wondering why the two are acting strangely. Some at Monarch point out that the two Kaiju seem to be focused more on heading into the city and digging at various points, than they are at actually attacking things. Likewise, the two seem pretty careful, waiting for humans to get out of the way before moving in, and at one point Anguirus was even warded off by the military.

           We eventually get a reveal of C1 interacting with none other than Alan Jonah himself (with Artist potentially catching this). We don’t get any context to their conversation, but Jonah is apparently wary of sabotaging Humanity’s one good deed in accepting the Kaiju. However, C1 convinces him that what they’re doing will result in Humanity being properly put in its place, once and for all.

           Of course, Jonah is suspicious of C1, wondering if they have any other motives, but C1 remains adamant. He also notes that with Godzilla and Anguirus on his tail, Jonah doesn’t have much room nor time to think and be picky, and advises him to choose wisely. Jonah, weighing the situation, agrees to collaborate with C1 on his plan to ‘humble’ humanity. In return, he needs help from C1 in keeping Godzilla and Anguirus away while the plan unfolds, and C1 promises a potent ally…

           We eventually cut to Godzilla roaming the wilderness in hot-pursuit of something, apparently looking towards the sky- When all of a sudden, we hear screams. We cut to none other than a new monster- Gigan, our psycho cybernetic space-chicken!

           Gigan quickly proves his bloodlust in attacking hapless civilians, slicing apart buildings and reveling in the bloodshed. Godzilla, angered, challenges Gigan, but it doesn’t go well. Godzilla is caught off-guard by how incredibly sharp Gigan’s blades are, and the audience in-universe and out sees him bleed for the first time at Gigan’s hands.

           Gigan quickly wounds Godzilla with countless cuts, bleeding him out as he takes sadistic pleasure in the battle. Before Gigan can finish off a delirious Godzilla, however, Kong comes in and rescues him. Gigan is driven off, and the two head to the ocean. Following this, Kaiju activity spikes as other Titans begin roaming around, apparently on Kong’s orders, looking out for something…

           The film’s climax culminates when Monarch protagonists such as Mark, Madison, Nick, etc., are invited to the luxury, high-end party in Monsterland. Meanwhile, Artist notifies others in Monarch of what she’s seen and heard of, and Jonah begins coordinating his cargo towards Monsterland.

           Cue Opening Day, as lots of fun is had and so forth. Rides are ridden, games are played, toys and plushies are handed out as guests treat themselves and bond with each other over a mutual love for Kaiju. At the high-end part of Monsterland, Madison is walking around in the highly luxurious party, which is populated by typical upper-crust people. Monarch is sure this is a trap, but they have no choice if they want to know- Plus, Zilla tends to listen to Nick and Madison anyway.

           Eventually, Madison meets S, and as the two get to know each other, the big attraction for the luxury party is revealed. A giant, in-door dome opens up to reveal an arena, where captured monsters are forced to fight one another as the audience makes their bets!

           Those at Monarch are clearly revolted, watching in horror as attractions such as Queen Bee or Rhinosaurus are made to duel. Worst of all, Raul takes center-stage, revealing himself to the protagonists and happily explaining how he became the new leader of the Red Bamboo. The other party guests jeer as the protagonists are rounded up, to be thrown into the arena with one of the monsters and executed amidst a bloodthirsty audience.

           S, taking a liking to Madison, helps sneak her out of her confinement, explaining that she feels little love for Winters. Madison finds Zilla in his cage, and after comforting and calming him down, quickly notices Komodithrax, the monster who is supposed to kill her and the others.

           Komodithrax is hostile, but Zilla manages to put in a good word for his human friends with her. A bit of a plan is hatched- Meanwhile, Godzilla and Anguirus arrive to attack Jonah’s cargo. Godzilla’s nuclear breath strikes an invisible object in the sky, revealing a cloaked, giant carrier transporting something…

           The big death match between our human friends and Komodithrax arrives (after a cruel battle between Zilla and Rhinosaurus that the former wins). At first, Komodithrax seems ready to kill the protagonists as the audience jeers… But it’s just to stall and distract while S and a group of other protagonists, led by Artist, help free all of the monsters.

           The monsters break free of their captivity, causing havoc as Zilla and Komodithrax break through the dome. The party-goers scream and flee as quite a few are maimed pretty gruesomely at the hands of monsters such as Queen Bee, who is able to rapidly-fire stingers from her abdomen, or Komodithrax, who lays smokey-gas traps before lighting them into explosions with a spark of flame.

           It’s utter chaos, and as Madison and Nick direct Zilla, who helps guide the monsters to freedom with Komodithrax, the other protagonists storm the Tower of Operations, confronting C1 and C2.

           The two reveal their plans, even as the scene cuts to showing the carrier, downed by Godzilla. The two head towards it… when it breaks opens, and out comes Ghidorah himself!

           But he’s bit smaller, and weaker- He only has two heads and one tail, and can’t even generate storms! Luckily for him, he’s got back-up in the form of Gigan, who helps him fend off the duo as they head towards Monsterland.

           The visitors panic as the two monsters get closer, and automated turrets rise from the walls of the park, keeping them confined. C1, with Jonah nearby, explains how Ghidorah needs to draw from huge sources of energy to regenerate- Like a volcano, for example.

           Jonah has been slowly nursing Ghidorah back to health, but the process is taking a while and is imperfect. Thus, in comes C1, who reveals that they’ve built an incredibly powerful energy-generator at the center of the park, hidden by lead walls, right beneath the giant Godzilla statue.

           C1 explains his plan- He allegedly feels that humanity has gotten too arrogant, too buddy-buddy with the Kaiju and need to remember their place. By creating Monsterland, the ultimately symbol of humanity’s love of Kaiju, he’s gathered Monsters’ biggest fans from all across the globe… Just so they can be slaughtered by the creatures they loved- In the case of the rich people, by the Lesser Kaiju (their release was actually planned by C2 and S was acting on his orders the whole time), or by King Ghidorah himself!

           The plan is to have Gigan protect and lead Ghidorah to the energy generator in the park. Ghidorah, feeding off of the generator, will be able to fully regenerate back to his full-strength, and with Gigan’s help, he’ll slaughter all of the visitors and defeat Godzilla and eventually Kong, reclaiming his title as King of the Monsters.

           His kingship regained, Ghidorah will resume his hunt and terraforming of the planet. Humanity will fear and hate the Kaiju, with the monsters’ biggest advocates having been slaughtered in one fell-swoop by the creatures they love in a symbolic act, while the rest are hunted down. An irreversible rift will be torn between Humans and Monster, as the former’s numbers are dwindled down. Due to their newfound hatred of Monsters, humans will refuse to rely on friendlier ones like Mothra, attacking them and sealing their doom in the process.

           The protagonists are horrified, but eventually Mark calls out C1 on his alleged worship of the Kaiju, wondering if he has ulterior motives. C1 admits to this, nodding at Jonah and telling him that his use is served, and he is now free to do as he pleases. For a moment, things are at a stand-off, when one of the protagonists manages to shoot C1.

           At first, they seem fazed… But then they quickly recover. More shots are fired but C1 keeps trudging onward, unaffected. Addressing Mark, C1 offers a hint to his true motives… Even as his body violently contorts, and out sprouts a hideous, cockroach-like monster, all Nosk from Hollow Knight-style!

           C2 joins C1 as they attack the protagonists. Jonah realizes he’s made a mistake (big surprise there) and he flees with his group as they try to recoup and recover from the revelations. The protagonists try to survive, avoiding their attackers (dubbed Hunters), as other employees reveal their true natures as well.

           S is surprised by this as well, and in the chaos she groups with Winters, who isn’t aware of her involvement. Meanwhile, Zilla arrives with his little army of monsters to destroy the armed turrets, briefly finding opposition from C-Rex, who arrives from the ocean for a rematch. C-Rex and Zilla clash, even as the visitors flee just in time to avoid Ghidorah and Gigan.

           The two head straight for the Energy-generator, only for Kong to appear as Godzilla and Anguirus catch up. Cue a huge Monster battle as Monster Land is utterly destroyed. Gigan continues to show his bloodthirstiness, even as Ghidorah tries to make contact with the generator. Anguirus gets his face slashed, but Godzilla quickly shows he’s wizened up to Gigan’s act.

           Amidst it all, the human protagonists desperately try to not die as the Hunters pursue them. Zilla comes to rescue them, his battle with C-Rex inadvertently taking down a few Hunters in the process. Winters even rallies some terrified rich people into helping her take down a Hunter using an axe and a chandelier.

           The big Monster Battle with Ghidorah and Gigan VS Godzilla, Kong, and Anguirus culminates at the center of Monsterland, with the giant Godzilla statue and the Tower of Operations. The statue is utterly thrashed, thrown to the side as it slams into the Tower, and the chaos causes it to further topple.

           Back on the ground-level, C1 and C2 are caught beneath the falling debris, mortally wounded and bleeding to death. Mark explains to a dying C1 that his plan has failed; Ghidorah won’t regenerate and will be defeated before he can. Humanity will continue to love Kaiju (er, probably) due to Godzilla and others saving them to begin with. Likewise, the visitors at the Theme Park were saved, so no tragedy there!

           C1 is angry and lashes out for Mark, but he steps back as he and the others retreat, riding on Zilla’s back. C-Rex, defeated, stumbles back into the ocean, even as the other freed monsters watch the main battle at the center.

           The battle reaches a climax when the energy generator opens up, now-activated with Ghidorah’s presence. Ghidorah briefly bites onto it, drawing energy as Ichi begins to grow from between Ni and Kevin… But luckily, the other Monsters pull him away. The battle ends when Kong uses Gigan’s own buzzsaw against himself, pushing Gigan’s left-arm into his chest and severing it at the elbow.

           Wielding Gigan’s arm like a sword, Kong mortally wounds Gigan, briefly abandoning him to help the others keep away Ghidorah. Even as Gigan flees, flying into the atmosphere, Kong uses his blade to slice off Ghidorah’s legs at the kneecaps, and eventually his tail and wings. Ghidorah, immobilized, is finished off when Kong repeatedly stabs him in the back with Gigan’s blade.

           Too wounded, Ghidorah falls unconscious, and the three Kaiju celebrate their victory. The human protagonists arrive alongside Monarch reinforcements, who begin to secure Ghidorah’s unconscious body. Military reinforcements fly after Gigan, attempting to shoot him down, when a giant golden object appears in space orbiting the planet. The craft beams up Gigan and disappears, to the shock of the protagonists.

Following this, a triumphant Kong splits off from Godzilla and Anguirus, leading some of the monsters to freedom, while the rest swim with Godzilla and Anguirus out into the ocean amidst the sunrise.

           In the aftermath of it all, humanity still appreciates the Kaiju as the reasons for Godzilla and Anguirus’ attacks are explained. Winters and S settle down, evading imprisonment through a bunch of legal loopholes, as Raul escapes into the night. The remaining Hunters escape, receiving assistance from none other than Jonah and his group. The protagonists are glad humans can still co-exist with Monsters, just as Serizawa wished, and Artist gets a new job working with Monarch and its Public Relations branch.

           This is revealed at the end of the film, in news headlines credits, post-credits scenes, etc. The final post-credits scene reveals a strange, armored being sitting in a golden command-center, surrounded by some Hunters as she observes the news. Frustrated at C1 and C2’s dumb idea, noting the Controller never should’ve listened to them, she decides to take command and send in someone named Mugalu.

Additional Notes:

-Prior to the big corrupt Monster-fighting party, we see a random rich dude getting ready to go as his wife criticizes his love of Monsters, citing that it’ll get him killed or something like that. This is foreshadowing to how the upper-crust elites invited by C1 are victims themselves, with their wealthy loved ones and friends seeing their deaths and being horrified, using their influence to spread Anti-Kaiju sentiment.

-C1 briefly talks on a device with someone named ‘Zaguries’, reassuring her that the Controller’s faith in him is well-founded. The being at the end of the movie is implied to be Zaguries, who had doubts over C1’s plan.

-During the chaos when the Lesser Kaiju are released at the Monster-Fighting ring, Raul manages to survive and escape by revealing another orb-like device in his eye socket. It acts as a flashbang/grenade/smokebomb, helping cover his retreat as he escapes.

-On Gigan’s character;

           Gigan is very clearly a cruel and sadistic Kaiju, reveling in the bloodshed as he attacks cities and takes glee from mass deaths. At times, the M-Hunters have to rein him in, as he gets distracted attacking people instead of doing his actual orders. Gigan quickly proves himself a brutal fighter, being the first to make Godzilla bleed. He repeatedly attacks Godzilla up-close, using his blades to hook onto Godzilla, and not giving him time to use his nuclear breath as he tears up his enemy.

           Gigan also has the ability to fly- Thanks to his cybernetic enhancements, he can turn off his gravity, enabling him to float and fly through the sky like an eel swimming through water. Gigan still needs to have time to lift off with a running start, though.

           Ultimately, Gigan is proven to be the quintessential bully, and he flees into space after getting his butt kicked brutally by Godzilla, Kong, and Anguirus in the final battle- As a bully, he’s inherently a coward. The Earth Defense Force tries to give chase, but ultimately Gigan escapes with his tail between his legs, leaving Ghidorah behind.

[dontcallmecarrie]

You guys know the drill. Some spoilers for Chapter 20 in TWiFFON, [plus some themes that get touched on in the next arc,] because of obvious reasons. 

The what-if I’m playing with this round, under the cut because it grew on me and now wants to be its own spinoff oneshot of TWiFFON:

What if Ultron had managed to kidnap Tony?

I wasn’t very subtle about Ultron’s obsession with stealing Tony away, and it’s pretty obvious what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been stopped. Vision got to him before he got a chance to do so, but if he hadn’t been assimilated, Ultron would had most definitely stolen Tony away. 

As for exactly what happens...It depends a bit, actually. In Chapter 20, Vision was lucky; Ultron hadn’t expected him to be that strong, and managed to win the fight. 

But maybe, in another universe, Ultron won, because Vision powerful but young, whereas Ultron knows his limits, and has been sitting for years with little more to do than wait and plan. 

If Vision had lost the battle, Ultron would’ve possessed the Mind Stone, and been amused by Vision enough to transfer him to the now-mostly-defunct Legionnaire while keeping the shiny new vibranium body for himself. 

...or perhaps he does something else, but there’s only so many what-ifs I’m willing to keep track of during a shatterpoint, so just roll with him ditching Vision, all right? 

And, with it, Ultron would have been unstoppable. 

Tony, of course, would’ve known right away that something was wrong, but he’s busy fighting a huge horde of Chitauri on his own lonesome, cut off from everyone else, and would not have been able to take Ultron on as well. The Iron Legion’s good, but their numbers are being decimated because Ultron’s got his main objective [the Mind Stone back] and he wants to take Tony with him when he goes to report to Thanos, so subtlety isn’t a concern anymore. 

The Avengers realize they’ve been played, pretty damn fast. 

Because it’s pretty hard not to notice, when the Chitauri aren't working as a distraction anymore, just focused on overwhelming Iron Man, and Tony’s very clearly trying not to lose it over the comms and the portal’s acting up but they don’t have Loki’s Scepter, don’t know how to influence it. 

The battle’s almost entirely shifted to the air so the team can only watch while Tony Stark’s finally overwhelmed by the entirety of the Chitauri army, and swept away into the portal, and it closing almost immediately after. 

Now, since I’m fighting off plot bunnies already, I won’t go into what would’ve happened if Ultron had left the portal open, because that’s pretty self-explanatory and any alternatives would require their own post for me to go into specifics.

Tony’s very obviously freaking out, and this is literally his worst nightmare, cut off from JARVIS, and the rest and he’s seeing the alien army he’s been trying to get the Earth ready for and...welp. 

That he’s being dragged and ‘presented’ to Thanos, is only the goddamn cherry on top.

He doesn’t know what happened to Vision, but Ultron’s wearing his body and that’s not exactly helping either. The only silver lining to being around Ultron is his tendency to monologue, and that’s how Tony gets an idea of what’s going on. 

Thanos is looking at him like he’s an insect, and oh, that’s where Loki got some of his crazy from, makes sense. [He’s so, so screwed, isn't he?]

...oh, wait, they want to recruit Tony? And have him make them an army, because they’re curious as to what he’s capable of? This, he can work with.

...it’s been a few years since the debut of Iron Man, and Tony never really advertised what went down in Afghanistan. Plus, these aliens have different priorities, and really it’s not their fault they’re making the same mistake the Ten Rings did. 

Except for the way it really, really is. 

Add in Tony’s resistance to the Mind Stone [Loki tried it on him in the Avengers and failed, remember? Plus with humanity’s surprise tolerance for items of infinite cosmic power that I mentioned in another post] and you get Tony with highly advanced alien tech, being forced to supply an army for the enemy. 

Because that’s ended so well for his captors before, right?

Meanwhile, back on Earth...

...hmm. I can’t decide. Because the Avengers are reeling, are going ‘oh shit’ and ‘looks like Tony wasn’t as crazy as we thought, oops’, while JARVIS...

Umm. Well, obviously he’s not going to take it well. 

And I can’t honestly say how that’ll go down. Because JARVIS, at this point, is traumatized and has been hyperfixating on Tony’s safety to cope. His morality’s never been much to write home about and Tony was what was keeping him reigned in. He has a robot army at hand, doesn’t believe in overkill, and his morality chain’s gone, there’s no way this can go wrong, right?

He was already borderline Skynet in some ways, but seeing Tony get kidnapped [and hearing him, and feeling the connection become static]...well. I’ll leave that up to your imagination.

It depends, really.

If he goes the subtle route:

 JARVIS would regroup the Iron Legion, collect Vision and any alien artifacts, and book it home. He wouldn’t care about what happens to the Avengers, except to run a subroutine to monitor them [because he’d deemed them a potential threat before but now Tony got captured on their watch—] and mobilizing as many researchers to get on the case as he possibly can. Dr. Foster’s data gets copied to his private servers, SWORD and R&D are on it, and it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.

Vision gives him the data, and got moved to an Iron Man suit [because the body he’s in was mostly running on willpower], while they’re working on making him a newer and better body. [And if the Iron Legion’s also growing exponentially...well, that’s no one’s business, now, is it?]

Rhodey immediately gets brought in, and is kept in the loop the entire time. 

This isn’t his normal field of study, and the only words he recognizes are the ones that also pertained to aviation engineering, but he does his best to not get lost.

He’s seething, and only part of it’s guilt [he’d been less than 500 meters away, again, just like last time—], and JARVIS clued him in as to how the team had treated Tony [he’d punched Thor while still in the suit, when they’d first met. Thor had let him, and didn’t lift a hand to fight back]. 

But things are going slower now, because Resident Genius 1′s the guy who got kidnapped, while Genius 2′s MIA [...or not? Maybe he sticks around? Hmm...] and Dr. Foster and Selvig’re doing quite a bit of heavy lifting. Not to say SWORD and SI aren’t, but their specialties are in ways to make things explode better other fields, so progress isn’t what it used to be.

The Avengers, meanwhile...well, they get shafted, simply put. Tony was the one doing all the work, and now that he’s gone and SI’s devoted its spare resources to finding him, they’re facing the scrutiny of the world and don't have any good answers to their tough questions.

 Turns out losing billionaire philanthropists was a bigger deal than they’d thought, and now that Tony’s gone it’s Steve that’s getting called by the World Security Council, except this time it’s about reconstruction efforts in Johannesburg and questioning his recruitment choices and what was being done to secure the planet and he doesn’t know what to say. 

...that might’ve been a bit harsh, actually.

 I’d like to think that Tony’s loss would’ve been the wake-up call the Avengers never had, the likes of Phil Coulson’s death in the first Avengers movie, because I’m a sucker for good team dynamics and even if it won't go this way in TWiFFON, if I can fix it even a little, I will. 

Just...umm. 

Please ignore Wanda’s absence, or pretend that the Chitauri took out both twins instead of just Pietro in this one, because of reasons.

Thor’s taking it the hardest, and Vision’s mention of Thanos [one of the things he’d managed to get from Ultron’s mind during the fight] makes his blood run cold as he remember’s Loki’s Scepter [and the gleam of madness in his eyes], the similarities between him and Tony, and goes back to Asgard as soon as possible because—no, please no. Hopefully Heimdall had something, please, don’t let this happen again—

Steve’s the team leader, and he’s taking it pretty damn hard, too. He’s looking back, and remembering what happened last time, and wants to punch himself in the face. How had he not seen this? Why hadn’t he— just— how could he have been so stupid? [And what could they do now?] 

His nightmares had featured Bucky falling for years now. Seeing Tony getting swept up and up and up is not much better. 

Natasha’s calling in as many favors as she can, and between her and Maria Hill, a good chunk of SHIELD’s scientists are also working on it. Relations between SWORD and SHIELD improve, because they’re collaborating more, and working towards the same goal. 

Clint’s retirement either gets moved up from ‘after this mission’ to ‘right fucking now, go to ground and lay low stat’, or he stays with team, since half the roster’s MIA and the other half isn’t doing so hot. He’s also calling in every favor he’s got, and the scientists who were working on the Tesseract and weren’t in Natasha’s debt tended to owe him one. [Or two.] 

Bruce’s situation I already covered. Either MIA or hard at work.

They’re doing what they can with what they have, and maybe it’s not enough right now, but they’ll get there. 

[Aka the cast of TWiFFON assembles to rescue Tony.]

Of course, that’s assuming JARVIS has a modicum of self-restraint and subtlety, when Tony’s been kidnapped on his watch. [He doesn't believe in overkill, after all.]

If JARVIS had decided to go forego subtlety, though...

He can make Skynet look like a toddler, his morals are now officially compromised, and Tony did his level best to keep him safe.

You do the math.

He may or may not have kidnapped every scientist who hadn’t replied favorably to his request within 72 hours, is what I’m saying. 

He may or may not have stolen all data from multiple nations without making any bones about it, and scared the crap out of the planet while at it. 

Ditto as to what the Iron Legion’s up to. Or Stark Industries. 

Tony would gladly raise hell for those he cares about, and some things run in the family. 

Either way, at some point another wormhole’s made, or opens up.

Everyone’s gearing for battle and panicking and the Iron Legion’s assembled, when a single figure in slim black-and-gold armor slowly exits and the portal starts to close behind him.

“This the right place? Terra—Earth, I mean, Earth! Damn I’ve really spent too much time abroad. Hey, JARVIS, miss me—oooh boy. You’ve been busy, haven't you?”

[eroshiyda]

Wild Theory

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

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

I. Preface and Special Thanks

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

His answer? Papyrus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right. *deep breath* Now onto the theory.

 II. Introduction

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

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

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

[picture of Mystery Man sprite]

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

[picture of Mystery Man, surprised]

We know what font he speaks in:

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

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

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

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

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

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

We know that he looks like this:

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

sometimes this:

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

or even this:

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

We know that he likes puzzles:

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

We know that he's a good artist:

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

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

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

And... that's it.

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

 III. Appearance

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

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

[picture of Papyrus next to a door]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[picture of Gaster Height Chart]

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

[picture of Sans shrugging]

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

 IV. But Something's Missing...

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

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

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

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

Thanks, Papyrus.

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

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

[pictures of Gaster's three followers]

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

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

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

[picture of Undyne]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[picture of Monster Kid]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[pictures of Papyrus explaining Alphys' puzzle]

[picture of Papyrus getting shocked]

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

 V. Memories

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 VI. Time-Space Shenanigans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[gif of Papyrus literally walking on air over Frisk]

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

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

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

 VII. Memories, Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the second thing is this:

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

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

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

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

Last chance to turn back now.

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

 VIII. Conclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which reminds me of this:

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

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

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

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

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

Wouldn't it?

"They have such different personalities!"

Don't they?

"Papyrus could never be the Royal Scientist!"

Are you sure about that?

Let me explain to you how I think it happened.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interesting.

 IX. Supporting Evidence/More Headcanons

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

(trigger warnings: mentions of violence and child death)

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

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

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

There are two explanations for this.

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

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

Ready?

Ok.

*sighs*

Papyrus... has killed before.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To which child did they belong? The Orange SOUL.

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

Which trait is attributed with Orange? Bravery.

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

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

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

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

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

Now, what color magic does Papyrus have?

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

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

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

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

I even wrote a short ficlet about it here:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 X. Afterword

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just remember,

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

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

[papyrus-is-gaster-blog]

wild theory

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

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

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

I. Preface and Special Thanks

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

His answer? Papyrus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right. *deep breath* Now onto the theory.

 II. Introduction

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

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

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

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

[picture of Mystery Man, surprised]

We know what font he speaks in:

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

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

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

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

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

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

We know that he looks like this:

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

sometimes this:

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

or even this:

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

We know that he likes puzzles:

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

We know that he's a good artist:

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

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

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

And... that's it.

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

 III. Appearance

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

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

[picture of Papyrus next to a door]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[picture of Gaster Height Chart]

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

[picture of Sans shrugging]

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

 IV. But Something's Missing...

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

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

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

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

Thanks, Papyrus.

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

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

[pictures of Gaster's three followers]

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

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

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

[picture of Undyne]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[picture of Monster Kid]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[pictures of Papyrus explaining Alphys' puzzle]

[picture of Papyrus getting shocked]

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

 V. Memories

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 VI. Time-Space Shenanigans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[gif of Papyrus literally walking on air over Frisk]

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

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

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

 VII. Memories, Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the second thing is this:

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

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

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

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

Last chance to turn back now.

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

 VIII. Conclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which reminds me of this:

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

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

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

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

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

Wouldn't it?

"They have such different personalities!"

Don't they?

"Papyrus could never be the Royal Scientist!"

Are you sure about that?

Let me explain to you how I think it happened.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interesting.

 IX. Supporting Evidence/More Headcanons

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

(trigger warnings: mentions of violence and child death)

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

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

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

There are two explanations for this.

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

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

Ready?

Ok.

*sighs*

Papyrus... has killed before.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To which child did they belong? The Orange SOUL.

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

Which trait is attributed with Orange? Bravery.

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

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

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

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

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

Now, what color magic does Papyrus have?

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

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

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

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

I even wrote a short ficlet about it here:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 X. Afterword

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just remember,

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

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