Papa Smurf (Empath stories)

"It's always good to see my little Smurfs working peacefully together. It makes me feel proud to be a Papa Smurf."

Papa Smurf is one of the main characters of Vic George's EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf series of fanfiction stories, who is identified as the biological father of Empath.

History
"You will endure great hardship as you grow into the name that will define your future. You will lose one son only to gain many, for that is what your prophetic name, Abraham Smurf, means...the father of many."

Those were the words of the wizard Palladore, whom the young Papa Smurf had met years ago and who trained him in the use of magic. The sorcerer had seen the Smurf's future and knew that he must be prepared for such a time. Unfortunately, because Palladore and his people were in a constant battle with druids that would soon consume them, most of Papa Smurf's training had to be done during his sleeping periods while he carried an amulet that allowed the Smurf to communicate with Palladore even as he would be trapped in rock as a result of the battle.

Up until 100 years prior to the present time established in the novel, Papa Smurf was known as Culliford and was married to a female Smurf named Lillithina, through whom he had fathered Empath; the name "Papa Smurf" at the time was simply a common name given by Smurf children to their fathers as "Mama Smurf" was for mothers. He had originally given his son the name of Empathy due to his innate empathetic behavior.

However, because Culliford feared that his own son would be ostracized by the other Smurfs due to his abilities, he took Empathy to Psychelia where the Psyche Master would agree to train him in the use of his powers, but Culliford had to leave his son behind in Psychelia for 150 years. Upon his departure from Psychelia, Culliford heard his own son scream, making him believe that the Psyche Master was killing him, but he was unable to prevent what appeared to be Empathy's death. His marriage to Lillithina had dissolved in separation when he told her the bad news, and very few of his fellow Smurfs wanted to talk to him afterward. Lillithina ended up living with Culliford's friend Aristotle, who gave her back what she had lost by fathering her second son Brainy.

About 50 years later, his fellow Smurfs were dying of an unknown disease for which there was no known cure, but to which he and all the young male Smurfs were immune. Even his own wife Lillithina had died, leaving Culliford with her second son Brainy to take care of as his own. Realizing that he now had 97 orphans to take care of by himself, he adopted the young male Smurfs as his "little Smurfs" and also became known as Papa Smurf from that time forward. Over time, the adopted young Smurfs had forgotten about their original parent Smurfs as they had accepted Papa Smurf as being their only parent Smurf.

When Papa Smurf found out that his son Empathy was alive and well in Psychelia (though now renamed Empath), he arranged with the Psyche Master to have Empath visit the village for one year every ten years so he could learn for himself how the Smurfs lived. However, Papa Smurf was not to tell Empath that he was his father during the time Empath was still living in Psychelia, which only helped to acclimate Empath into being united with his own Smurf brethren.

After Empath's final departure from Psychelia, though, Papa Smurf had disclosed to Empath the true nature of his relationship to him, which in turn caused all his other little Smurfs to remember their parent Smurfs -- a circumstance that Chlorhydris the evil witch had exploited in "Days Of Auld Lang Smurf" when she cast a spell on the Smurfs that made the parent Smurfs appear as if they had risen from the dead, but in reality were all just illusions. It was after most of the Smurfs had broken free of the spell that they had reforged their relationship with Papa Smurf as him being "the one and only Papa Smurf". The disclosure also became a painful shock to Empath, who for a time believed Papa Smurf really didn't want or love him at all because he was so different from all the other Smurfs, until he forced Papa Smurf to confess his guilt and to redeem himself for his failures before all the other Smurfs.

A year after Empath was released from Psychelia to live in the Smurf Village for good, Papa Smurf allowed Empath's friend Polaris Psyche to live in the village as well, despite his own personal prejudices regarding Psyches since the Psyche Master had forced him to leave Empath in Psychelia sometime after he was born.

Personality
The personality of Papa Smurf of these stories is similar to that of the cartoon show universe version of the same character. However, because of how the Psyche Master had treated Empath and raised him to see Smurfs initially as an emotionally savage tribe of beings, even to the point where Empath had seen Papa Smurf earlier on as some sort of predator, Papa Smurf has a dislike for Psyches. Empath helped Papa Smurf overcome his prejudices with Psyches when Polaris Psyche came to live in the Smurf Village. Papa Smurf also harbors a lifelong regret of ever sending Empath to Psychelia and leaving him there for 150 years, though he has come to the realization that it has all worked out for the best.

As in the cartoon show, he along with the other Smurfs had an amorous interest in Smurfette, which when Empath found out about it made him feel as if he was competing against his own father for her full affections. However, Smurfette couldn't reciprocate those kind of feelings from Papa Smurf, stating she could only love him as a father and nothing more. After Papa Smurf's brief transformation into a muscular love-crazed grotesquerie who was after Smurfette, when Papa Smurf was restored to normal and Smurfette made her own feelings toward him be known to him, Papa Smurf no longer pursued after Smurfette and treated her like a daughter.

As the sole member of his generation of Smurfs still living, Papa Smurf longs for their company as he has to raise 100 young Smurfs by himself -- particularly the company of his wife Lillithina, whom he misses dearly even after he broke her heart with taking Empath to Psychelia only to allegedly die at the hands of the Psyche Master. Chlorhydris also exploited this with the Auld Lang Syne Spell which supposedly brought Papa Smurf's wife back from the dead, but was exposed to be nothing more than an illusion intended to destroy Papa Smurf along with all the other Smurfs affected by the spell. The reappearance of his father Grandpa Smurf and his grandmother Nanny Smurf has alleviated some of this loneliness. Despite this, Papa Smurf's fatherly bond to his adopted little Smurfs remains strong.

Papa Smurf's favorite food is chanterelle mushrooms, which only grow in the Smurf Forest once every year around his birthday.

Relationships

 * Empath is Papa Smurf's only begotten son and is sometimes given preferential treatment above his brethren.
 * Lillithina was his wife, and though he broke her heart when he sent Empath to Psychelia only to "die" at the hands of the Psyche Master, he never hated her for leaving him and having another child through his friend Aristotle.
 * Smurfette is considered his daughter and is treated the same way as one.
 * Sassette is also treated as a daughter.
 * Brainy was the first son Papa Smurf had adopted from among his fellow Smurfs, and along with Empath was given preferential treatment, since he was the last son of his wife Lillithina and the only son of his friend Aristotle.
 * Baby Smurf is treated more like a grandson, although Papa Smurf does admit that raising Baby allows him to experience the part of infancy he had missed out on when Empath was taken to Psychelia.
 * Polaris Psyche is treated like a son despite Papa Smurf's general animosity toward Psyches.
 * "His little Smurfs" in general are considered his children and are treated as such.
 * Homnibus is his friend who teaches Papa Smurf things about humans.
 * Malchior is usually considered his friend.
 * Sir Johan and Peewit are also friends of Papa Smurf. Their first encounter with him was when they were looking for the magic flute.
 * Selwyn and Tallulah are also friends of Papa Smurf.
 * King Gerard is considered a friend of Papa Smurf, whom he hopes would grow wise and strong and benevolent as king.
 * Flowerbell is a woodnymph whom Papa Smurf briefly fell in love with until it was revealed she was just luring him to have Lord Balthazar capture him in exchange for her freedom, although her feelings for Papa Smurf are genuine. His second dealing with Flowerbell was met with suspicion and animosity, as she was trying to avoid being married to Avarice, the treasure hunting imp.
 * Grandpa Smurf is his father who gives advice whenever Papa Smurf needs it from an older Smurf with more experience in the world beyond the Smurf Forest.
 * Nanny is his grandmother who also offers a bit of her advice whenever it is necessary from her unique perspective as an elderly female Smurf.

Role
Papa Smurf normally plays the role of the village leader and father figure to all the other Smurfs. Because he was the only parent Smurf left that was still living at the time the other young Smurfs had lost their parents, he had to rely on the skills of the few proficient Smurfs such as Hefty, Handy, and Greedy to get the other Smurfs to perform vital village tasks that the adult Smurfs were accustomed to doing.

Over time, though, he grew into the role of the village leader and trusted that his little Smurfs would be able to handle things with little supervision and mediation from him, freeing him to be able to continue his studies and experiments. It is only during vital emergencies that Papa Smurf would exert his authority for the greater good of the village.

His role in the Empath stories was to initially guide his son Empath into the ways of the Smurf; even though that role was diminished somewhat with Smurfette taking over in teaching things about Smurfs that Papa Smurf himself cannot, he still provides counseling to Empath in the areas that he knows best. Papa Smurf has given Empath authority to act as the village leader in times when he himself is unable or unfit to do so.

Abilities

 * Master Sorcerer
 * Master Alchemist
 * Great Knowledge and Wisdom
 * Great Leadership Skills - Mostly acquired through time and experience, both with his fellow Smurfs and then later with his adopted little Smurfs.
 * Omniglot - Papa Smurf is an expert speaker of many different languages, including the lost languages of the Smurfs such as Schtroumpf, which Empath, Painter, Scribbler, and Brainy also know. As he knows that humans and Psyches cannot fully understand Smurf language, he speaks to them in pretty much the same language that they generally speak and sometimes acts as an interpreter for whatever a Smurf says to him in Smurf that may contain vital information for his human allies. During Empath's first visit to the Smurf Village, Papa Smurf tried to be very careful in his use of Smurf language until Empath was fully able to understand it.
 * Telepathic Bond With Empath - Due to his biological relationship with his son Empath, Papa Smurf has a bond with Empath that allows the two of them to communicate through telepathy, although usually Empath has to initiate the conversation since Papa Smurf is a non-telepath.

Clothing And Appearance
Papa Smurf wears a red hat and pants in pretty much all the stories that he appears in. The origin of the suit, according to the EMPATH story series, is that it's an artifact of when grown-up male Smurfs would wear different colors to indicate themselves as heads of separate families. With the death of Papa Smurf's fellow Smurfs, the red suit eventually became a symbol of leader status, with the young Smurfs remaining in white (with the exception of Sweepy) until sometime after Empath's 150th birthday. A white shirt is added to his wardrobe about 10 years after Empath's final return from Psychelia. At Empath and Smurfette's wedding, Papa Smurf wore a white minister's gown with a red shawl draped around his neck.

Also in most of his appearances, Papa Smurf wears a white beard and moustache, except in flashbacks and in particular scenes involving the Imaginarium, where he would appear with a brown beard and moustache. Around the time of Empath's wedding, Papa Smurf is clean-shaven except for a white moustache that he wears.

Alternate Identities
Papa Smurf had assumed some alternate identities, such as
 * Sorcerer Smurf, when he and his little Smurfs were deceived by Gargamel who originally was posing as Sorcerer Smurf.
 * Grandpa Swoof, when he and his little Smurfs made it appear as though Dreamy had traveled to another world.
 * A nameless ordinary Smurf during a costume party where every male Smurf inexplicably dressed up as Papa Smurf.

Possible Voice Actor
Papa Smurf would probably be voiced by Ethan Philips, who played Neelix in Star Trek: Voyager, or by voice actor veteran John O'Hurley.