itsladykit:

Good question!!

Lotus actually does have some minor training in combative magic. Back when he was a child, Gaster did force him into various simulated combat situations…and Lotus always refused to fight. His Gaster made it very clear from the beginning that he was custom made for killing and combat. Lotus rejected that to the point that Gaster considered him useless and sold him to Mettaton to be trained as a sweet-piece.

So Lotus is really what I would consider a pacifist. More so than Papyrus or Blue most definitely—Papyrus not only knows how to fight; he enjoys it (because his people don’t put any emphasis on killing). Blue hasn’t really been formally trained since they left the labs, but he does a lot of practice on his own and with Papyrus.

Additionally, as a sweet-piece, any preservation instincts Lotus had have been largely trained out of him. He’s essentially been trained to accept whatever blows he’s been dealt and to roll with them, rather than trying to struggle or fight back. Side note: this training is pretty critical to his survival, actually. When dealing with monsters high on EXP or monsters losing themselves to their LV, the best way to stay alive is to stay still and placid. Any attempt to escape or defend himself would likely only aggravate the monster further.

So, by and large, Lotus has excellent control over his body and magic—he faces down monsters that are completely lost to their LV without flinching and calms them with projections of peace and joy and love—but he really wouldn’t be good in a combat situation. He doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t like fighting, and has been trained in other ways of settling matters.

…that might change on the surface. Humans aren’t like monsters—even monsters with high LV—and they don’t respond to projections. I think Edge and Felldyne probably work with a lot of former sweet-pieces on the surface, teaching them self-defense. Even then, though, Lotus would rather incapacitate someone and run away as soon as possible than try to take them down. (Papyrus, by contrast, would like to perform what is called a “citizen’s arrest”. Lol.)

Thank you for sharing! Every time I learn more about this boy, I grow to love him just that little bit more. He’s awesome.