metalcrusher | APPLICATION ☆ ACATALEPSY

OOC INFO;

NAME: Prince
AGE: 21+
CONTACT:

smaaaaash
CHARACTERS IN GAME: N/A

IC INFO;

CHARACTER NAME: Mettaton
AGE: Indeterminate, but for all intents and purposes, an adult.
CANON: Undertale
CANON POINT: Post-pacifist route, after the barrier's been opened but before the monsters make it to the Surface

HISTORY: Mettaton's wiki page on the Undertale wiki. Relevant portions would be the Neutral route, which is the basis for a Pacifist route. For people reading my app post-submission, here is a video of (most) all of his neutral/pacifist run appearances. I also have his entire script written up (in sentence case) here.

Mettaton's wiki pages cover in-game canon, but it doesn't explore pre-canon in a linear fashion, so I wrote up a brief list to make sense of it.

"Mettaton" was formerly a ghost living in Waterfall next door to his cousin, Napstablook. "Mettaton" dreamed of becoming a star and performing for humans, but as a ghost, he felt he had little chance. Resigned to the fact that he would never find a body that suited his mental image of himself, "Mettaton" reassured his cousin that he wouldn't leave them behind for corporeality. "Mettaton" hosted a Human Fanclub meet, where he met Alphys. When "Mettaton" and Alphys met again, she showed him designs of a humanoid body that she could create for him. Starstruck by what he saw, "Mettaton" secretly left his old life behind and assumed his identity as the robot named Mettaton.

Alphys showed Mettaton, a rectangular robot, to the King of Monsters, Asgore Dreemurr. Her pitch to him was that she had not only created a human eradication robot to deal with the dirty work of collecting human souls, but that this robot housed a monster's soul. Asgore appointed Alphys as the new royal scientist. With new resources, she would not only begin to investigate the transient nature of monster souls, but she would be able to create that elaborate human body Mettaton dreamed of.

In the meantime, Mettaton debuted as the Underground's star and idol in Hotland. He became a household name among monsterkind: not only as a TV star, but for his MTT-Brand products. Mettaton dominated TV.

As a product of her research into prolonging the duration of a monster's souls post-death, Alphys created an unholy accident called the Amalgamates: a fusion of near-dead monsters, warped beyond recognition. Discouraged by her horrific failure and Mettaton's increasing distance from her due to his busy life of self-obsession, she grew reluctant to work on and finish out his new body.

After some unknown duration of time, Frisk fell Underground. Once Alphys spotted them on her security cameras and determined that they weren't a threat, she enlisted Mettaton to participate in a script with her where he would act like a malfunctioning robot out for human blood, while she would come to Frisk's rescue each time. Her goal was to get some foothold on her self-esteem, and to befriend the human so that they wouldn't have to face Asgore. Mettaton agreed to her terms as a friendly gesture.

Once Frisk made it to Hotland, Alphys began her "good guy" schtick and alluded to her "malfunctioning" robot, who busted through the walls and instigated a deadly quiz show. Each wrong answer resulted in injury to Frisk, but with Alphys's help, they succeeded. Mettaton promised he would see them again and departed the scene like a cartoon antagonist.

Frisk met with Mettaton three more times in this fashion through their journey: a cooking show, a news broadcast, and a musical. This is covered in the neutral route section of MTT's wiki page. Each time, Alphys came to Frisk's aid and thwarted each of Mettaton's fake attempts at killing them.

Mettaton grew tired of following Alphys's script and realized that if the weak-appearing Frisk made it to Asgore, he would surely kill them, take their soul, shatter the barrier, and destroy humanity. Mettaton realized that in order to prevent humanity's destruction, he would need to take Frisk's soul for himself and pass the barrier on his own. Once he made it to the Surface, he could become a star among humanity while acting as their protector from Asgore's plan.

Mettaton re-calibrated the internal layout of the CORE to stump Alphys and hired monsters to take Frisk's soul. When such obstructions didn't stop Frisk, he met them himself in the heart of the CORE and divulged Alphys's entire deceptive plan to Frisk before stating that he'd had a change of heart. He locked Alphys out of the room and declared his intent to kill Frisk.

Alphys called Frisk and told them that they could bypass Mettaton's invulnerable body by flipping a switch on his backside, which would leave him "vulnerable." Upon flipping this switch, Mettaton shifted into a beta version of Mettaton EX: it looked finished, but Alphys knew it was a work-in-progress.

Over the duration of their fight, Mettaton overheated and lost his limbs. Frisk waited Mettaton out and indulged his performance by posing, boasting, and turning heel to help him achieve an all-time record amount of viewers. At reaching this milestone, Mettaton declared that he would allow a call-in segment before he left the Underground forever. The caller was his cousin, Napstablook, who didn't recognize Mettaton as his cousin but lamented Mettaton's departure from the Underground, claiming that his show brought excitement to their boring life. They hung up before Mettaton could stop them. Impacted by this, Mettaton welcomed more callers until he had another change of heart: he would remain Underground. Not only would his fans miss him, but his body wasn't quite finished and he knew he would be running out of battery power shortly. He wished Frisk luck before powering off.

Alphys collected Mettaton's body, repaired it, and finished it.

From this point, the game enters the pacifist route section of his wiki. Frisk managed to spare Asgore with Toriel's help, but Flowey took the available six human souls before taking every monster's soul as well. With that much power, Flowey became Asriel Dreemurr: God of Hyperdeath, intent on erasing the timeline. Frisk pacified Asriel, who decided to use the last of his power to shatter the barrier. After that, Asriel returned the souls of all monsters to their rightful bodies.

While Frisk was still unconscious, Mettaton told Alphys that he had something to take care of before everybody went to the Surface. Mettaton traveled to Waterfall and asked Napstablook if they would be his sound-mixer on the Surface, which they agreed to eagerly. Before they could make it to the Surface, Mettaton will end up in Acatalepsy.

PERSONALITY:

＊ APPEARING FROM THE HEAVENS LIKE MANNA, SLAKING THE AUDIENCE'S HUNGER FOR GORGEOUS ROBOTS...
＊ OOH!
＊ THAT'S METTATON!
— Mettaton

Mettaton is an electric personality. Even prior to becoming the robotic star known as "Mettaton," the ghost with a forgettable name and presence was remembered as the "HAPPY GHOST" in contrast to his dour cousin, with what comes off as a magnetic, supportive bearing as recounted in the diaries left in his old house. Mettaton was convinced that he had everything it took to be a star save the right appearance, and he may have been onto something there. It's not Mettaton's fridge-shaped body that captivated his audience, but his innate showiness, drive, and charisma: the Mettaton who charms his way out of a mistake on-air, who instills in his audience a sense of alliance with him, whose flair for drama keeps his viewers on their toes in spite of the mundane and hopeless circumstances of living Underground. Mettaton is grandiose, enterprising, confident, and passionate – but his aura takes on different casts depending on his sphere of performance: his personal life, his live act, and for his various professional and interpersonal pursuits. The Mettaton the player is exposed to through Undertale are but two facets of a bigger picture, as expected of a performer.

During the events of Undertale, Mettaton plays the role of an artificial antagonist. Following a script he and Alphys came up with prior to Frisk's arrival in Hotland, Mettaton would pose as an obstacle for them to overcome while Alphys played the knowledgeable sidekick, portraying her as a helpful and friendly guide. In the eyes of the human, Mettaton is an impish, theatrical, and conceited robot who will try to burn them alive while preening himself on camera. The reality of this situation proves to be much different once they arrive to the heart of the Core, where Mettaton admits to his true thoughts on humanity. So for all of his "Killer Robot" shtick, the human is never in any real danger until the Core. But with all of his gusto and daring, it's easy to believe that Mettaton's really out for human blood when he televises the opportunity for human-killing, whether it's by baking a human-flavored cake or setting Frisk up in a room full of explosives. Mettaton's not against pulling all the stops to make a show but when doing so, he only goes as far as his intent: if it's all in the spirit of acting, that's as far as it goes, even if he has to improvise a way out of a situation rigged to be dangerous.

The way he talks to Frisk through his appearances in Hotland is full of playful teasing, self-aggrandizing remarks, and abject fascination with the human's actions which are usually construed to be out of fascination for him. Mettaton is quite the actor in this segment, but he pulls it off with his natural charisma. With how he clearly tailors the situation to allow the human to emerge victorious and patches up Alphys's blunders through the performance, it's all clearly staged. It's through meeting him in the Core and through talking to Hotland NPCs that one can glean his personality separate from his custom-tailored theatrics.

＊ Mettaton usually shows up now to tell everyone they're doing a great job.
＊ Even if I was having a bad day, we'll always give each other a thumbs-up, and...
＊ ... oh, what am I doing? I'm not being very professional.

Outside of what the player is directly exposed to through the events of Undertale, Mettaton's average personality is similarly charismatic, but he takes on a kind, deliberate, and interesting shade. This side of Mettaton shows a sincere, supportive, and charming personality: if Mettaton is scrapped during a Neutral run, his employees reminisce on the encouragement and understanding he offered them, from telling them that they're doing great even on bad days, to offering opportunities to employees who otherwise struggled. He genuinely cares for his fans: he is swayed by their words during the call-in segment of his finale, and understands the positive impact he has on them as the Underground's only star. As a star and employer, he is generally a caring and generous character. Even in his past Mettaton wrote about reaching out to a neighbor who lost her sister and tried to cheer her up by including her in his and Napstablook's activities. He comes off as a character who tries to be the positive change for others and relishes the good he does for those he cares for, whether that's his fans or his loved ones.

Mettaton is a quirky, unpredictable character. There are exceptions to his kindness and at times they seem arbitrary. Mettaton treats his employees with respect and they are all upset by his loss if he's scrapped, all except for the single fast food worker who hates his guts. There are certain inclinations Mettaton has toward mistreating, using, and toying with others, and it all seems to be to a darkly humorous effect. The end goal is part of enforcing his "brand".

＊ This place is a labyrinth of bad choices.
＊ And every time we try to change something for the better, he vetoes it and says "that's not how they do it on the surface."
＊ Oh! Right!
＊ Humans are always eating hamburgers made of SEQUINS AND GLUE.
— "Burgerpants"

As a fan of humanity (enough to have previously hosted a Human Fanclub), Mettaton dedicates himself to portraying his idea of humanity's star in all aspects of his life: he's a glamorous, rich, self-promoting advertising monstrosity. He treats his career as a star the way he envisions being a star is among humanity and simulates the worst of human media, from excessive product placement to gaudy trademarked slogans. But most monsters eat it up and love him for his celebrity savviness and willingness to perform and market himself and his ideas. For as strange as they are, monsters welcome Mettaton's peculiarity boxed up and sold to them as a robot-monster's inclinations. His attitude about himself and his marketability is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy: without a doubt he only rose to stardom because he made it seem like he was made for it, end of story. Mettaton is outrageous, but he's authentic to his brand of outrageous, and that brand of outrageous is all about upholding the Human Experience™ he envisions.

If the quote above doesn't spell out how bad of an endeavor that is and how skewed his perception of human culture is, let's examine its origins. It's likely a conglomeration of habits he picked up from human trash. Since monsters have access to human culture only through the products they discard, Mettaton's entire understanding of humans is likely based on dime-a-dozen VCRs, unwanted tabloids and books, over-produced excess, gaudy merchandising, discarded (read: bad) media, and other forms of actual garbage. The allure of the human figure drew him to want a body in the shape of one, and the unreality of human media is what shaped his persona: he is the glamorous and handsome star, the plucky and romantic business owner, and the hellish and unforgiving fast food chain boss, all at once. They're all acts, facets, but Mettaton acting is Mettaton being himself. He is enamored by the bad tropes seen in trashy pop culture and reflects them in his behavior in order to simulate what the Surface looks like to him. To actually live among and perform for humanity is one of his dreams, and no doubt he'll be fascinated by humans upon finally getting the chance to observe their actual routines. (Even if he'll assert that his knowledge of them is correct.)

＊ now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore.
＊ ... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body.
— Alphys

Those who first get to know Mettaton on a personal level are treated to his varied personas depending on circumstance, but really getting close to him reveals a troubling aspect of his character: neglectfulness. The two characters closest to Mettaton have both been shafted in favor of his celebrity status: Napstablook, who was left behind without any note of their cousin's whereabouts, and Alphys, who was visited less and less as Mettaton became more engrossed in his work. His lack of communication on both parts demonstrates his lack of tact, thoughtlessness, and self-importance. It's a flaw he never outright addresses in game – post-pacifist he at least reaches out to Napstablook for the first time since his departure and seems to have spoken with Alphys some, and in an ending where Mettaton rules the Underground, he admits he was "NOT THE GREATEST" to Alphys. It's not enough to suggest that he's overcome this flaw. His vanity contributes to this behavior; post-pacifist, he confesses to the human that he'd "forgotten how fun it was to perform with others," indicating a self-obsession with hogging the spotlight and preening himself over his fame. This, on the other hand, is a trait of his that seems realized and addressed: while his self-absorption isn't likely to go down, his regard for others and desire to share what he has is improving.

Conceitedness is definitely one of his flaws when it's dialed up to the extremes. Interacting with others, Mettaton has an enthusiastic and positive bearing to him, but what happens when he associates with people who disagree with his ideals, his fame, or his walk of life? Burgerpants is only one example, and Mettaton's treatment of him is motivated only in part by BP's disenchantment with Mettaton. In a neutral ending where Mettaton is the monster most qualified to rule the Underground, we see a dystopian MTT-Brand world where the Underground's shaped around fanaticism for Mettaton. Papyrus claims that those who don't want to "join Mettaton's fan club" tend to just disappear – and perhaps that's the best way of framing the most extreme outcome to going against Mettaton's grain, so to speak. Any moment the human tries to insult Mettaton, for example, he turns it around on them and denies any criticism of his character, both appearance- and personality-wise. Mettaton firmly believes he's right about lots of things, particularly his vision of himself and his MTT-Brand culture. While he never gets incensed about opposing viewpoints, he rarely takes them to heart, and at his worst he's willing to do away with opinions he doesn't favor – and the people who hold them.

SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!
— Mettaton

Another of his flaws is his aggressiveness in his pursuits. While this can be a positive trait, Mettaton can be blinded by the fervor with which he aims to meet his goals. This is exemplified by the way he leaves his loved ones by the wayside while he operates on a nearly 24/7 basis as a TV personality which, while admirable in its extremeness, is also pretty awful of him to do to Alphys. His "grand finale" involves taking the human's SOUL so that he can keep Asgore from destroying humanity while rising to stardom among humankind, but there is no justice in trying to kill a human so that he can cross the border. The morality of this action isn't very commendable, and certainly not just. For a character who adores humans as much as he claims to, he was willing to kill one if it meant he could pass the barrier and be with humanity as its protector and star.

Mettaton is motivated most by his craving for stardom. This comes before all else. Second to this is his care for his audience - his fans. Third of all is humanity, then monsters. It's important to note where Mettaton's priorities lie and in what order because of what he's willing to sacrifice for what. If it means pursuing greater and greater heights of fame and glamor, Mettaton's demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice any of his values in order to obtain that possibility. His audience goes hand-in-hand with stardom, making it a value second only to his fame. Humanity, a fixation of his, follows after: if Mettaton is killed, he expresses gratitude to have at least been able to perform for a single human in his lifetime, even if it means he's to die for that opportunity and otherwise end his career as a star for monsters. In a No Mercy run, Mettaton also suggests that he draws the line not at the slaughter of monsterkind, but the possibility that humankind is in danger at the player's hands. Thus, a hierarchy of his priorities becomes evident.

AT LEAST NOW, I CAN REST EASY. KNOWING ALPHYS AND THE HUMANS WILL LIVE ON...!
— Mettaton

It would be unfair not to mention how Mettaton also suggested that "THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE" he wished to protect while declaring that he would stop the player in a No Mercy run. Napstablook, as a ghost, cannot be killed, but Alphys and other monsters can. For all he neglects his loved once, Mettaton will throw down for them when it matters most. In his hierarchy of priorities, then, his loved ones rise to the top when they are directly endangered, and he doesn't shrink in the face of his own inevitable demise when he needs to buy time for Alphys to hide with the remainder of monsterkind. Here he is depicted as a courageous character who takes action even when faced with futility, which ties in nicely with his most positive attribute: Mettaton takes action when he wants to make a difference, whether that's to cheer someone up, to spare humanity of Asgore's plan, or to stand in the way of somebody who may have the intent to harm.

Mettaton is a humorous character with the way he flirts with meta and suggestion. He's an ostentatious character with a loud presence, and his unique robotic appearance, fascination with upholding "human" culture, and thirst for stardom shape him. With his charisma, there hardly seems to be a way to needle him: even if you insult him brutally in the essay portion of his fight, he'll dismiss every attempt like water off his back. There seems to be no way to shake his gargantuan confidence. Interestingly enough, Mettaton's greatest insecurity can only be discovered by diving into his history, which he actively doesn't acknowledge. Mettaton will ignore Frisk's attempts to remind him of what he's left behind by averting his gaze if they show him the key to his old home on Blook Acres, and doesn't appear to have explicitly come clean with Napstablook post-game that he's their missing cousin. Reading his diaries, it's obvious that Mettaton's discomfort with his form as a ghost prevented him from feeling like he could be anything worthwhile. In the released chapter 1 of Deltarune, Mettaton can be found hiding in a house and insisting to the player that "nobody" is home, since that's what he's convinced he is. Remaining a ghost forever was his greatest resignation, and being given a robotic body was the most significant moment of change for him as the outgoing, proud, and ambitious star he envisioned himself as.

CANON POWERS:

What are robots made of?
METAL ⛧ Mettaton's rectangular form is described as "invulnerable to attack" with an astronomical defense stat. The player cannot inflict damage upon him in this form. His humanoid form, however, is vulnerable to attack just like most physical beings might be. Here's a fun, easy way to make sense of his defense depending on what form he's in.
MAGIC ⛧ At his core, Mettaton is a ghost possessing a robot. Ghosts are a type of monster. Crash course on monsters incoming: monsters differ from humans in that their entire being is made up primarily of magic and very little physical substance. There are a lot of physiological differences that set monsters apart from humans, such as the inability to fight when they don't really want to and the lack of a need to eat human food, among other things. Physically speaking, most monsters are incredibly weak compared to humans and can usually be destroyed instantly by the hand of a human determined to see them killed; upon death, a monster's SOUL cannot persist the way a human's SOUL can, and perishes instantly. However, a monster is capable of absorbing a human's SOUL after a human dies, which is said to create "a horrible beast with unfathomable power." The reverse is "extremely difficult," as a human would have a hard time trying to absorb a monster's short-lived SOUL.

Monsters use their magic to interact SOUL to SOUL, and this includes their method of combat. When a monster is fighting, their magical attacks, a manifestation of the power of their SOUL, directly attack the SOUL of another being. Their attacks take on a wide range of expressive shapes, types, and effects. While one monster may attack using fire magic, another's might manifest as soap and suds. Mettaton attacks with an inclination toward lightning, blockades, bombs, hearts, mini-Mettatons, disco balls, and... his legs. Here's an example of a round of attacks from Mettaton.
LASERS ⛧ Mettaton uses lasers during his quiz show when the player answers a question incorrectly. Probably a robot thing.
ROCKETS ⛧ He has the ability to deploy rockets while in his rectangular form that can be used to fly and hover. What would a robot be without that function? A lousy robot, that's what.
EX ⛧ Mettaton's secondary form, Mettaton EX, is the body he had been eagerly waiting for until its reveal. It's humanoid in figure, but as far as powers go, it doesn't bring anything new to the table. However, it doesn't offer the same level of defense as the bulky, rectangular form does. In addition, Mettaton expends more energy operating this body than he does in his regular body. In this form, Mettaton has a heart-shaped core that is his SOUL, and it's described as his weakness in the flavor text. He can open the chamber at his waist to release it.
NEO ⛧ Mettaton has a third form built by Dr. Alphys. Constructed as a human eradication robot, this form was made with the intent to destroy a human. Its build, however, doesn't lend well to this function: Mettaton NEO's attack potential is incredible, but his defenses are so low that his battle is rigged to make it so that the human only has to hit him once before he's destroyed. In this form, Mettaton will be utterly destroyed as long as his opponent has killing intent. Talk about a glass cannon. We don't even get a chance to see Dr. Alphys's "greatest invention" in action, making it impossible to say what sort of features he supposedly has.

OTHER: With regards to the robot-based mechanics he possesses while in Acata, Mettaton can still change forms. Because he's made of metal, he still retains a level of hardiness— let's face it, metal withstands impact a lot better than the human body does. His level of defense is only within reason of something made of durable metal, however, and he can be busted up if the proper methods are exacted upon him. He's not invulnerable and can sustain damage in either form, but his two humanoid forms are a lot more susceptible to damage. Mettaton also cannot perform magic, and lacks his nonessential robotic features, such as lasers or rockets.

Mettaton does not need to sleep or eat, nor does he experience pain in the way most creatures do (and actually seems to like it). There's a trade-in for these non-human "perks". Mettaton can still be damaged, and while most humans heal on their own, Mettaton requires assistance from somebody with mechanical know-how to repair him. If he can't find somebody who can do this, he's out of luck. In addition, Mettaton requires electricity to recharge energy, and his humanoid form drains his battery faster than his rectangular form, even after the upgrade to his energy efficiency. THAT BEING SAID... is recharging doable within the setting? I'm more than okay with keeping his need to recharge because it can lead to Good Threads, even if resources to recharge are scarce.

I use a second account to differentiate between Mettaton's forms.

metalcrusher is for his classic rectangular form.

glitzandglamour is for his EX form.

GAME INFO;

CRAU INFO: N/A

MAGIC ABILITY: Invisibility. All visual evidence and presence of him is gone, but characters who have an ability to perceive things beyond the naked eye can see him, whether that's infrared vision, paranormal perception, or anything like that. He can still be perceived by every other sense other than vision.

This power is at-will. It can only affect him, not other people. The limitation is that Mettaton doesn't want this power, so he'll pretend he doesn't have it and won't use it. ...Jokes aside, if Mettaton were to use it he would find that using it for extended periods of time makes him overheat: if he were to use it for 15 minutes at a time, he runs the risk of blowing off a limb. 15 more and he might lose another. Using it intermittently allows his body to cool down.

ANY WEAPONS/MAGICAL ITEMS?: A deadly chainsaw, which he brandishes in case he needs to bake a cake. (This is a joke, I don't actually care to bring the chainsaw.)
ANY PETS?: N/A

SAMPLE;

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