Author Notes - Kruller is a fun one, as he's just about the only ghost who the game doesn't even try to present as scary. He's played for comic relief for pretty much his entire appearance, and his lovable coward personality makes him quite beloved as far as I can tell.

KRULLER, THE COWARDLY COP

FULL NAME - Paul Bernard Kruller

AGE - 35

GENDER - Male

CAUSE OF DEATH - Shot on the job

TIME OF DEATH - November 18, 1947 (according to the newspaper)

LIKES - Being a hero, donuts, 70's cop shows, My Little Yoshi: Magic of Friendship

DISLIKES - Firearms, being a failure, fighting (whether part of it or a bystander)

NOTABLE RELATIONSHIPS - Serpci (best friend), Johnny Deepend (biggest fan)

QUOTES

'Uh... I-I might need back-up. 10-75, 10-75! Over!'

'I t'ink we have a break-in here in da Hotel Shops. Dis is definitely a 4-9-5. Everyone must be on patrol at once!'

'D-Dat counts as destruction of property. At dis rate, your sentence will extend into da afterlife!'

'I will make youse proud, boss. I will help youse catch dis man.'

'I'm not brave like da others. I KNOW DAT, HELLEN! Just fire me already... I DON'T WANNA DO DIS ANYMORE!'

'Ooh, we're doin' dat? I'll start! I used to wonder what friendship could be...'

BIO

Officer Paul Kruller works as the Last Resort's security guard, but isn't especially good at it. He's a rather tragic case, as he is terrified of just about everything that can go bump in the night. What's even more tragic? He wasn't always like this.

If you asked his child self what he wanted to be when he grew up, he'd always answer 'policeman'. He wanted to bring justice and safety to those around him. He lived in New Donk City, as evidenced by his thick New Dork accent, which is a massive city full of crime. He ended up becoming a security guard for Rambi Mall, which most people would say is far less prestigious, but he loved it all the same.

He was beloved by just about every single person in the mall, for his heroic but friendly attitude. He was best friends with his team-mate 'Long John' Jonathan, and always did whatever he could to make sure people remained safe and that all crime was punished appropriately.

He had seen plenty of tragedy on this job. A stand-out example was when another one of his team-mates shot a man who was reaching for his wallet dead, after assuming in a panic that he was reaching for a gun. Said team-mate couldn't deal with their guilt over the death, and soon killed himself. Incidents like this – and another where a policeman in the city abused his power to kill an innocent, intentionally this time – leaves him feeling uncomfortable when discussing the topic of police brutality.

While everyone looked up to him, one little kid saw him as his hero. This child was a younger Johnny Deepend, who was inspired by Kruller to become a hero himself. But more on him later. While Kruller now is – how should I put this? – overweight thanks to letting himself so, he was much more fit back in the day. Granted, he was still a bit chubby, but fit enough for his risky job.

Alas, he could not be a friendly hero forever. One day, someone broke into the mall armed with a gun, intent on killing everyone and then themselves. Kruller succeeded in saving Johnny, but had to take the bullet to do so. The shooter was shot dead soon after, but not before three other lives had been taken. Everyone mourned their losses, including Kruller.

Not only did the incident scar Kruller for life, and afterlife, but he feels never-ending guilt for failing to save those three innocent people before his own death. Though he could not have done anything to save them, he constantly feels like he failed. That is why he keeps such a stressful job, despite the hell it puts on his psyche. He refuses to give up on his job until he makes up for those lives he believed he left to die, even if doing so is impossible.

EXTRA NOTES

-The closest thing to a firearm that he is comfortable with using is a water gun. Considering that he had used proper firearms for good back when he was still alive, and has also seen them kill innocents, he has no idea how he feels about the entire 'gun safety' debate. So please don't ask.

-He and Serpci being best friends is only weird to those who don't know Serpci's true nature. (Which you'll get to learn about later.)

-His favourite Little Yoshi is Fluttershy, obviously, though he is also quite fond of Pinkie Pie.

-If you're wondering how he feels about the topic of police brutality, he considers officers who abuse their power to injure or even kill people who don't deserve it to be much worse than those they hurt. When it's an accident, then he feels great sadness and sympathy towards both parties (seeing your team-mate commit suicide after killing an innocent by accident will do that to you). Please do not start fights about it - he hates fights.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The idea behind this interpretation of Kruller was to start off with him being the lovable cowardly goof that we see in the game, before delivering a much more serious take on his character later on. He acts just how he does in the game - I just pulled it apart at the seams and showed exactly why he acts like that.

Oh, and he's named 'Paul' for the exact reason you think. It just seemed like a fitting name to me.