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#it could entirely just be that noelle thinks susies cool and susie thinks noelle is nice and has a pretty smile
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Stupid Rambling/theory I guess
Kris and their Soul
Something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen discussed when analyzing Kris’ behavior in deltarune is that, when Kris removes their soul from their body, they gain full control of their body yes, but it might be at the expense of their compassion
What if, when Kris is soulless, we assume that they are similar to Flowey in Undertale. They are incapable of feeling (or find it extremely difficult to feel) compassion for others. The rules might work differently, but the soul is still referred to as “the font of our compassion” in Deltarune’s world (although in context this is just speculation, not a hard fact)
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That’s not to say Kris is a bad person, I think it’s the exact opposite. I think Kris is inherently good natured, but I think a lot of their more out there behavior might make more sense if you consider the idea that some of those decisions might have been made when they lacked their soul.
I think a good example is the intermission between Chapters 1 and 2
In between Chapters 1 and 2, Kris remorselessly eats the entire pie that Toriel left out to cool for them to share
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But then, not even ten seconds later, if you make Kris take five dollars out of Asriel’s dresser drawer, five dollars that have probably been sitting there for months and clearly doesn’t mean all that much, Kris feels so bad about it that the language makes explicit that they are reluctant to do this and intend to pay Asriel back
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But then, Kris later slashes the tires on Toriel’s car.
The key difference between these 3 actions though, is whether or not Kris is in possession of their soul
We don’t know why or how Kris knows what to do when they remove their soul, but a common theme is that the actions they take are actions that require a lack of compassion. Kris is not the kind of person who would slash their mother’s tires under normal circumstances, but if they are incapable of caring, that changes.
And I think this logic can apply to other strange things about Kris’ behavior.
My personal belief at current is that Kris, for some reason, has been living without a soul for a very long time. Maybe their entire life prior to Deltarune.
Noelle, despite being so close to Kris that they know each other better than anybody, repeatedly comments that she doesn’t even know if she and Kris are even friends.
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Kris has apparently never even said it out LOUD before
Without a soul, maybe Kris was just unable to understand why that would be important to mention. Maybe because of their lack of a soul, despite how close the two became, Kris could never truly connect with Noelle on an emotional level. They couldn’t FEEL for her, no matter how much they tried.
Kris is also repeatedly surprised whenever Susie assumes that they don’t like her.
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Kris is never scared of Susie’s threats, and might have just assumed they were playing around.
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Kris might have not even realized that Susie was trying to hurt them. If they’re the kind of person who has trouble feeling or understanding empathy (without their soul, I mean) Susie’s words might not have had any impact on them. They just. Didn’t understand. They COULDN’T understand.
At the end of chapter 2’s weird route, the thing that Noelle distinctly points out as the most abnormal thing about Kris’ behavior is that they keep visiting her dad in the hospital. Rudy himself is surprised that Kris came to visit him in the hospital.
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It’s not as if Kris never visits the hospital, they do, very often in fact, to play the shitty piano
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It is specifically going out of their way to see Rudy that’s strange. And I think it could be inferred that it’s strange for Kris to do this because that is an act of pure compassion.
Kris might just not have been able to understand why it would be important to visit Rudy in the hospital.
Before chapter 1, Kris seemingly doesn’t talk to anybody other than their mom, they don’t do much of anything except go to school and come back home, they don’t really have any friends, their side of the room is completely empty, not from neglect by their family but because Kris seemingly didn’t care to have anything at all.
A lot of people have wondered why Kris’ actions at the end of a normal and weird route are the same despite Kris clearly being horrified and afraid of the player’s actions, and I think the explanation is right there. They remove their soul before they take those actions. They have removed the part of themself that feels these things.
And I think Kris is slowly realizing that they don’t want to live this way anymore.
In Chapter 1, Kris is repeatedly described as looking bored, or like they don’t care. Their dialogue options are incredibly basic at best and distinctly annoyed sounding at worst. They give off the impression that they want all of this to be over as soon as possible.
But in Chapter 2, their responses are starting to become more playful, they’re becoming more personally expressive, they’re enjoying the time they’re spending with their friends.
And I don’t think Kris wants to have to choose between their compassion and their autonomy.
I think it’s important to remember that Flowey was initially so depressed from his inability to love or care about anybody that he tried to erase himself from the world.
I think this is one of the things that’s so scary for Kris. It’s not just about control, it’s about becoming whole again.
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im going to talk about ralsei for a second bare with me
out of all the main characters in deltarune he's my favorite little scrungly. when i first played the game i liked him because he looked cute and mysterious and was funny. but there is obviously more to this little guy...
so!! after waiting in castle town for who knows how long, probably (definitely) alone if not for, i don't know, gaster telling him things from behind trees (total crack theory), he doesn't have ANY social skills and zero empathy. this doesn't make him inherently evil, he just has a harder time relating to people and that makes it hard for him to be friends with people.
his "purpose" is to assist the lightners in sealing fountains and banishing angels and he also has to be friends with them. he assumes to make friends you just have to be nice, but to him being nice is just acting out a script. he's saying "the good sentences". so when he's in an uncomfortable situation (after the sneo fight) he just says whatever works best for him, "don't think about it". this obviously doesn't work and susie manages to atleast calm kris down because she's a level 100 emotional intelligence master but atleast he tried i guess.
you could read this as him trying to disregard kris's feelings so that the player is happy and i guess it could be true but uuuuuuuhhhhh ummmmmmmm i just don't like that theory
there's evidence that he could know kris and the soul are different entities but i don't think he has any malicious intent he's just serving the lighner. at some point he could have to choose whether to side with the cool entity from super heaven or his friend kris. and i hope he leaves us in a mud puddle
enough about the player let's talk about noelle
noelle is extremely good at casting spells, she can cast heal prayer which is just as good as ralsei's and sleep mist which is better than ralsei's pacify because it works on multiple enemies instead of just one. and of course she's better than him at attacking (...everyone is) but in a SCARY way. one day he's probably going to feel like his friends don't need him anymore because noelle can already heal and pacify and she's even better than him, and they can seal fountains just fine without his help, and noelle knows how to be friends with people, and she's nice, and she can bake, and
while i want them to be friends i know he's going to feel left out if she joins the party long-term. the three already know eachother, meanwhile he just popped into their lives a few days ago. and he's been a paperweight the entire time. he probably feels left out already, kris and susie are friendlier with eachother, susie still thought he was weird the other day, kris probably still does, as soon as they find a better healer they'll leave him and have every reason to do so
he's very against violence but will do everything kris (...the player) tells him and i think this absolute obedience is another reason why kris doesn't like him that much. i also think the fact that they met two days ago is another reason why they're not already best buds. maybe when ralsei finds out they opened a fountain he's going to finally get mad at them and kris will appreciate that they're not being treated like a god anymore
ralsei is especially friendly with kris and wants their approval in every situation (what happens if you say mean things to him in the acid tunnel of love??? well the results are shocking) and it would make sense if it was because he was kris's old pair of red horns they might have lost in the closet. some people think he's the missing crayon but there's no emotional connection to that crayon so it would be less shocking
i don't think he's asriel and i don't think he's related to kris in any way (it would make a lot of their interactions very weird), he's probably meant to represent what kris wants to be, or what kris feels they should be, or just their monstersona lol
his friendship with susie is the best thing on planet earth and they're so funny together. at first you could see susie as a bad influence on him but she's NOT!!!!!!!!!!! she's teaching him that there's more to friendship than just being nice and that he can't just be kind to everyone and it's very very important and without her he wouldn't be as cool. and he's teaching susie that people DO want to be friends with her, he thinks she's sooooo cool and just cause she's scary (just cause she's a monster) it doesn't mean people shouldn't like her.
another important thing to note is that nobody aside from the fun gang (and noelle, barely) has ever so much as acknowledged his existence. the other darkners respond to him but only if he speaks first, and queen didn't even know there was another guy. he is alone forever and always
let's go back to the prophecy, he could straight up just NOT be the prince of the dark. the drawing doesn't match him in the slightest, he did wear a hood at first, but those weird shoes are only seen in his mafia outfit. but it's definitely also not lancer. lancer is the jack of spades and has never been called a prince the prince of spades straight up does not exist it could be someone else but not lancer (and then in chapter 5 they're going to prove my theory wrong i bet)
also he seems to be the only one to know about the prophecy (queen didn't even know about the roaring smh my head) but he assumes everyone knows. he probably has some other arcane secret knowledge that he just assumes everyone knows
about the difference between lightner and darkner merch i think it's because lightners are meant to be real ass people and you just... can't buy merch of real ass people. ralsei has so much merch because he's literally made to be blorbo so that the lightners can like him. put him in a cute outfit and leave him on a shelf he was made for this he was made for you
aside from all this cool lore stuff HE'S JUST SILLY!!!!!! his glasses are silly his attempts at being hip with the lightnerz are silly the things he says are silly HE'S MY LITTLEGUY!!!!!!
and if he becomes evil I'LL GET OVER IT AND DRAW HIM BEING EVIL!!!!!!!
SEE YOU IN CHAPTER 3 WHERE MY ENTIRE ANALYSIS IS GOING TO BE PROVED WRONG!!!!!! BYE EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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debrisyume · 2 years
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Kris and Ralsei wrote The Legend
No this isn’t a “Ralsei and Kris are evil” theory, anyway—
I mentioned in my ‘Kris is the Knight’ theory post that I think the Legend isn’t real (please read that first), here’s a post going into more detail as to why. 
Chapter 1 and 2 made it clear that one of the themes about Deltarune is escapism. The Dark Worlds are a fantasy for the main characters, where they get to have cool powers and fun adventures. The Darkners are objects come to life, and each world seems to based on different forms of entertainment: cards and board games for chapter 1, the internet for chapter 2, and chapter 3 seems to be about the TV. We also see that the characters’ weapons and armor are based on mundane objects in the Light World, pencils turns into swords and watches turn into fancy pocket watches, etc.
There’s some question on how exactly the Dark Worlds work, when these characters exist for only a day yet have all these backstories and know residents of different Dark Worlds (Seam, Jevil, and King know Queen, Tasque Manager and Spamton know Jevil, etc). I’ve seen people suspect the fountains are actually a portal to these worlds, that have existed for longer than we think. Queen and a Swatchling, however, says that the Knight ‘created’ this world, and Seam calls the Lightners their ‘creators’ as well. I think it fits better with the escapism theme if the Dark Worlds’ backstories and characters are all creations of someone. I would compare the Knight to a writer, another person might have made the Jack of Spades and the King of Spades cards brothers, but the Knight decided they should be father and son. The Queen didn’t exist until a day later, but the Darkners in the Card Castle world were created to know her anyway, and vice versa.
Some of their memories could be based on things that happened in the Light World, like how Queen knows everyone’s search history, but I don’t think that’s the case for most of this stuff because it doesn’t really make sense for Queen the laptop to be in an elementary school classroom that hasn’t been used for years, yet Seam and Jevil talk about the Queen ‘returning’ and it’s clear her and King have some sort of relationship. So yeah, the Darkners are the Knight’s OCs! It’s essentially a case of last thursdayism, which if you don’t know, it’s the idea that the universe could have been created last Thursday, but we don’t know that because we all have fake memories of it existing for longer.
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I think this one line Ralsei says is referencing one of the main themes of the game. Here he’s talking about the made-up word, but meta-wise this is about how the whole Dark World is ‘fake’ the same way fictional stories are fake, and I think that includes the prophecy. It’s not real, but you can still find value in fiction, just like the DR characters can find value in the Darkners and their worlds.
Something interesting about the Computer lab Dark World is how it caters to Noelle. There are multiple medically related enemies (virovirokun makes sense because they’re a virus, but what’s up with ambyu-lance?), the characters wear hospital outfits to spare one of them (there’s a reason why we first thought the next world would be in the hospital), one of the puzzles spells “December”, Noelle talks about Dess taking her to a city and there’s a city in this Dark World even though nothing about a computer world requires a city to exist, especially with a queen around. Noelle and ONLY Noelle gets the flavor text of ‘pulling the plug’ of the Werewires, seemingly referencing her father :(
Queen is oddly focused on her, and seems to resemble Noelle’s actual mother who’s controlling and has high expectations of her. There’s an ENTIRE separate route that’s only possible with Noelle, and Noelle gets to go on a date with Susie. The entire sequence feels dream-like, Susie saves Noelle from some Darkners (who show up out of nowhere) and the Ferris Wheel... also kinda shows up out of nowhere? As if someone set it up? The Knight ships suselle?
We don’t know as much about Susie, but it’s possible the Card Castle Dark World is based on her too. Lancer is the main reason why she got to open up and learn that she could actually have friends like she’s always wanted (he’s the perfect friend for someone like her, someone who thinks her scariness is cool), the King repeats her whole speech about “quiet people” from the Light World, something only Kris heard. Card Castle is also structured quite strangely, we hear about how 4 kings ruled together, but there’s only one throne room and it’s only based on spades. When we fight King there’s a huge spade on the ground even though spade shouldn’t be any more important than the other suits. I suppose King might have done some redecorating before the heroes showed up, but I think because the Knight wanted King to be the sole ruler, that their thoughts influenced how the castle looks.
This is going to be rather speculative, but I think the supply closet world is for Kris. There’s obviously Ralsei, who resembles their older brother, but I think the papers on the ground are what make up his kingdom. The buildings look like paper cutouts, and I think that’s because the papers are drawings of his kingdom. I also think these are things Kris and Asriel drew when they were younger, probably making up some story about a lonely prince named Ralsei, and how a new person came to life that made him feel less alone: a human knight (basically Kris and Asriel are creating a story based around how Asriel felt before Kris became his sibling, and also a reference to their counterparts from Undertale). Kris’s side of their bedroom is also empty despite living there for years, so I think they got rid of their stuff recently (which would explain why Toriel seems concerned when she asks Alphys about them). Some of the books in their mother’s classroom belonged to them, so maybe they left some of their things in the closet too?
I think that’s the main point of these Dark Worlds, for these characters to have fun and grow as people. Susie gets her first ever friends, Noelle learns to stand up for herself, hang out with Susie and reconnects with Kris. Even Berdly is nicer now and starting to work on his insecurities.
Now, what does all that have to do with Ralsei lying about the authenticity of the Legend? Well first let’s talk about why I think it’s made up.
—Ralsei never elaborates about the Angel’s Heaven, and we get these entirely new villains, the Titans, in chapter 2, who he brings up at the last minute.
—Ralsei, at first, says that the three heroes are supposed to seal the fountains together. Except five minutes later he clarifies that only Kris can do it. We know this is true because we see Kris do it by themselves in the Weird Route. But why does he know this if the Legend contradicts this idea? We also never see him there at the sealing, there’s always a space meant there for him that hasn’t gotten filled yet. This contrasts with the title theme showing the trio together, and the picture during the Legend showing the three heroes sealing it together. I think he’s avoiding being there for some reason. 
—Ralsei talks a lot about ‘balance’ between light and dark. The balance shifted when the Knight made the second dark fountain. However, this implies that Ralsei’s own dark fountain needs to stay open, but that makes no sense. There’s no way the supply closet Dark World has existed for more than a couple of days, otherwise other characters would come across it, particularly Alphys and Toriel. Alphys even says there should be chalk in there. Ralsei is either misinformed or lying about this.
—If the way to stop the world from ending is to seal the Fountains, and only Kris can seal them, doesn’t that mean only Kris is needed, and Ralsei and Susie are... unnecessary? This legend kinda sucks lol
Ralsei lying initially only to tell the truth five minutes later about who seals the fountain is weird, but I think I know why he did it. The framing in the Legend makes it less obvious that the role of the prince and the monster are not needed. Ralsei only clarified when Susie refused to play along and just wanted to go home. If Kris is her ticket way home, she has to stay with them, which would make it more likely for them to become friends. And that’s what Ralsei wants, for Kris to be happier and have friends outside of Asriel.
The interesting thing about Susie being the ‘monster’ to me is that she, out of everyone in Kris’s class, is the least equipped to figure out the Ralsei-Asriel connection. She doesn’t know Kris has a brother, she thinks his name is spelled ‘Ralsay’, ruining the anagram. I don’t know how much Susie entering the Dark World was made deliberate by either Ralsei or Kris, it’s not like either of them could predict that Susie would be sent out with Kris to get chalk, but it doesn’t feel very coincidental when taking that into account. I think Ralsei might have wanted Susie to be the ‘monster’ specifically because he knows her reputation as a bully in Kris’s school and wants her to be friendlier to Kris. Probably Kris was interested in befriending her too, or at least didn’t hate the idea.
Ralsei talks about Darkners having to serve Lightners but really he mainly means Kris (notice how he barely talks to Noelle and Berdly, despite them both being Lightners he’s supposed to serve). They’re the one that he constantly praises and encourages. And he doesn’t even mind if Kris fights people, unlike with Susie, who he gets upset with and even lectures her about it. Ralsei thinks Kris should be the leader, and gets upset when Susie takes away Kris’s uniqueness by learning how to ACT. I think he makes them do the puzzles and puts the decisions on them (Kris can do this puzzle, Kris who you do want to go with, etc) because he wants them to become more independent. Kris seems very listless and lost after Asriel left for college, they kinda need this encouragement (it’s also interesting to me how Kris clearly dislikes the fact that they’re human, but in the Dark World they’re just a Lightner like Susie, Noelle, and Berdly. They’re not as othered there, just more ways it comes across as an escapist fantasy for them).
Some flavor text in the library implies that Kris doesn’t feel ready to grow up, when you check out the board it reads ‘The teenzone: Where Teen’s can be Kid’s. A feeling of immense relief washes over you.’. There’s also how they’re the only teenager who still wears a striped shirt, even though that’s supposed to be a thing only children wear. And then there’s Toriel holding their hand, which Kris clearly doesn’t enjoy, but they still don’t protest. There’s just a lot of little things like this indicating Kris isn’t as independent as most teenagers are, or want to be at this age. I think part of this comes from depression and the other part comes from being used to having Asriel there to help and accommodate for them (like the way he’d carry them to school as opposed to making them walk)
And the way Ralsei treats Kris... this is kinda subjective, but it almost comes across as he sees them as a little kid, or at least someone who needs their hand held. He acts like an older brother, you could say? Lots of things he praises them for are so mundane, like they’re a child who needs their confidence raised. The way he says “good job!” after Kris pushed the block into the switch on that one puzzle makes me laugh every time. It’d be patronizing if he didn’t sound so sincere when he does it.
The reason the Legend exists is so that the Lightners can get invested in the adventure. If they all knew everything was technically fake and that the Darkners are just objects come to life, that would make it less fun for them.
In the beginning of chapter 2, Ralsei singles out Kris to talk to them alone. He whispers to them to get the objects from the unused classroom, preventing Susie from learning that the Darkners are objects. Like I say in the post I linked, Ralsei also acts like Kris should already understand what’s going on. And I think they do, because they’re the Knight.
I know some people don’t like this theory, but I think it has a lot going for it thematically. Read my post linked at the top of this post for my reasons as to why I believe in it.
If I’m right about the Knight creating these characters, then characters who know each other from different Dark Worlds must be created by the same person. And Spamton keeps mentioning this Mike, and brings up TVs while talking about him, and Jevil referenced Queen back in chapter 1...
Also, if the Knight is basically the whole reason the heroes are needed at all, why aren’t they mentioned in the prophecy?
I take two things away from this— I think Ralsei actually doesn’t mind what the Knight is doing, he wants them to create more fountains because that also means more adventures for his friends, and that if the Knight is Kris, he could be working with them on this, as their “lackey” as Berdly puts it.
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(why is this word of all things highlighted lol)
A lot of people don’t like this theory because they think it’s bad or weird writing to reveal the Knight so soon, I disagree. There’s so much more to this mystery than just the identity reveal. We still need to get into:
—Why Kris is doing this (and considering they’re a silent protagonist, this could take a while)
—How they figured out how to do this
—Everyone’s reactions to them being the Knight, both their friends and the main bosses who unknowingly became an obstacle towards someone they’re very loyal toward
—If Ralsei is involved/encouraging them on this
—If Gaster is involved/encouraging them about this (the Knight had a communion with him as Spamton puts it)
It’s possible that Toby just has different priorities about the story and there’s something else important about the Knight that doesn’t have to do with their identity. Twists can be really obvious yet still executed well (like the twist about the Masked Man from Mother 3, a game Toby is a fan of). Kris being the Knight makes sense to me from a narrative perspective because one of the strangest things about Deltarune is Kris. There’s so much we need to learn about them and we could do that through finding out what led them to being the Knight.
I keep talking about the Knight being the main writer here, but I think Ralsei also has the script, and is even making up his own things (he’s confused when things are off-kilter in Snowgrave), like the Titans. Kris’s save file in chapter 2 was saved in Castle Town for some reason, but their first save file that we overwritten didn’t have a location, I believe they met Ralsei last night to figure out how the next adventure should go. I think their secret conversations also have to do with this plan. Kris & Ralsei are collaborating and making up stories just like Kris & Asriel did as kids (I find it very hard to believe Asriel never roleplayed as the God of Hyperdeath before, especially after Deltarune makes it canon that it was his OC by showing us that it’s the final boss of his game WIP. In the DR universe he also had Ralsei to RP as). Also note how the Legend is framed like two different people are talking. ‘it was a legend of HOPES’ / ‘It was a legend of DREAMS’, what if that’s supposed to symbolize Kris and Ralsei writing the prophecy together?
Small tangent but if they are talking about their plan during their secret conversations, this could explain why Kris refused to have a private conversation with Ralsei during the Snowgrave route. Kris probably thinks there’s no point in discussing the next Dark World after we completely ruined their ideas on how Cyber World should go by pressuring them to manipulate Noelle.
It’s possible something like the Roaring is a thing but will come under different circumstances. Like maybe sealing too many fountains is what causes it, or that the fact that any fountains exist at all will lead to the Roaring happening (note: I don’t think Ralsei’s intention is for the world to end, he probably only knows as much about Dark Worlds as Kris does). The reason why Ralsei interrupted Berdly was not because he didn’t want him to make a fountain, but because he knew it wouldn’t work. And if it didn’t work, it would just make it easier for everyone to figure out that Kris is the Knight, and Ralsei can’t let that happen. He doesn’t want people to know what the Dark World really is so people can have fun together. 
I don’t think what Kris is doing is completely harmless, whether or not there’s actually a risk of an apocalypse. Kris’s soul gets used quite a bit in the Dark World, it connects the whole party together and shares damage between them. The soul flies over from Kris’s position to Susie when she’s fighting Lancer, and Kris uses the soul to seal fountains. They keep ripping their soul out harshly and throw it around like they want to hurt it. I think this is all putting a heavy strain on them and making them sick. I don’t think even walking around without a soul is good for their body.
We keep hearing in chapter one that Kris looks sick, and I think the strain put on their soul is the reason why. I’m thinking this could turn out really bad and make them bedridden in the hospital, especially with the pattern of hospital patients being different every day (It goes from ICE-E to Shyren in two days, and Berdly will need a room depending on your actions). I don’t think Ralsei is aware of any of this, otherwise he would tell Kris to stop for their own safety. I don’t think Kris completely understands the magic they’re messing with, which could lead to disastrous consequences for both themselves and Hometown.
Now I have a couple of predictions regarding the escapism theme. The first is that Kris, Susie, and Noelle will choose to forgo their real life responsibilities to live in the Dark World forever. I think Ralsei wants the Darkners recruited in preparation for something like this, because it’ll be less lonely with lots of friends around. Maybe it’ll be only one or two of them who decide on this, but all their lives are varying degrees of pretty terrible so I can see it happening with any of them. Ralsei will initially be pleased by them staying in his castle (especially Kris) but they all decide to leave eventually. While the Dark Worlds have been good for them, staying in one forever won’t be healthy. Ralsei will channel Flowey and force Kris to stay, leading to a boss fight. I’ve heard theories of him being a shadow crystal holder, so maybe his actions won’t be out of sheer entitlement but rather being influenced by Gaster like Jevil and Spamton were. Either way, Ralsei will eventually realize he’s in the wrong and let Kris go, cue crying hug. They may or may not seal the dark fountain after this, or just start wearing Ralsei’s headband again (yeah I think he’s the red horns), occasionally bringing him back to the Dark World so they can talk and hang out.
My other prediction is that choosing between living in the Dark World and living in the Light World will be framed as choosing between Ralsei and Asriel as well. Kris cares for Asriel deeply, and they clearly miss him, that’s why Ralsei exists in the first place, so Kris can have an Asriel around. But Ralsei, in many ways, is ‘easier’. He never gets tired of their antics, he’s always ready to encourage them, and Kris doesn’t have to worry about Ralsei leaving them, because his whole life’s purpose is dedicated to being their friend. But Asriel is growing up, ready to live his own life without Kris, and it’s been so long since they’ve been together in person. Not to mention how his break won’t last forever, he’s just going to back to college soon enough.
I think that’s making Kris very insecure, they’re probably super worried about drifting away from their brother, so they have Ralsei to fall back on. Ralsei is likely aware of this ‘purpose’ considering his line “I wonder what Ralsei-like even is...?”, which is significant enough that he says it no matter what Kris does. He’s uncertain about his own identity because he knows Kris wants him to be like Asriel. Whatever happens between Kris and Ralsei, I think it’s going to help Kris work through their unhealthy dependence on Asriel, and hopefully Ralsei will also realize how unhealthy his idolization of Kris is/the power dynamic between Lightners and Darkners is general.
Hmm, actually, if Ralsei does have a shadow crystal, maybe his battle will be optional like Spamton and Jevil. Like it only happens in you make certain decisions in a specific chapter (likely the final one), and his character arc goes in a different direction if you don’t take them, that could be cool. He’s one of the main characters so it’d also wouldn’t be that out of place for there to be different ‘routes’ for him.
I could be VERY off here (the Ralsei boss fight might be too similar to the Asriel fight from UT but I honestly wouldn’t mind lol), but the theme of unhealthy vs healthy escapism seems very obvious to me so I definitely think a plot point regarding the characters staying in the Dark Worlds forever will come up, or at least there be someone considering it, but it could be resolved in a different way!
Here’s another suggestion, the climax might be that Kris wants the Roaring to happening, except it’s not NEARLY as bad as Ralsei describes it. Darkners don’t turn to stone and the Titans don’t exist/are completely benevolent. The reason they haven’t caused it yet is because they want to wait until Asriel is home first, it’s why they’re making fountains only days before he’ll be back from college. Basically, their goal is to make him stay home forever. Yeah instead of Ralsei it’s KRIS pulling the Flowey now lol. 
Jokes aside, they’re also doing this because, like I’ve discussed before, they’re scared of growing up and don’t want to acknowledge their real world problems. I think they also want Darkners to live in the “real world” and for them to stop worshipping Lightners by doing this. I think part of the reason why Spamton made them so uncomfortable is because they feel guilty over the despair he feels by being his creator, and this could apply to Darkners in general. I don’t think they really like the dynamic between Lightners and Darkners, they might think King has a point about how Darkners need to be more independent. The way they play hot/cold with Ralsei could be because they feel responsible for his unhealthy attachment to them, and might want to deter that by being casually rude sometimes to put him off, but they still want to be friends which why we have all the hug options as well.
After everyone tells them they’re acting totally crazy/it’s revealed there actually is a negative consequence to the Roaring they admit they shouldn’t have done this and try to make it right by sealing the fountain(s). Since this would be getting rid of a huge Dark World this would probably have a huge negative effect on their health, maybe even killing them (I don’t want Kris to die but I keep seeing death flags...)
And that’s it! Sorry for how ramble-y this one is. I just wanted to get my thoughts out about the Dark World adventures being quite artificial because this doesn’t seem to be that popular of an idea...? (I’ve seen so many debates about if Ralsei is the real prince and my answer to that is, yes he is but it doesn’t matter because the prophecy is just there for roleplay purposes anyway haha). Obviously there’s other stuff going on like what’s up with Gaster and Kris’s soul and it’ll be interesting to see how everything ties together while likely being crazier than anything I could come up with. 
I realize both of these posts, especially when read together, are super long, so I appreciate anyone who took the time to read them (even if you just skimmed it), thank you!
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noelleai · 2 years
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The three of them were assigned to work together on a group project for one of their classes at school. They had to pick an animal from the African plains and create an entire diorama about it that would be displayed in the classroom until the end of the year. Susie had been dreading it since they started the year. She hates working with people - especially when she has to do so with someone as annoying as Berdly, who's always trying to act cool or make jokes even though he knows none of them are funny. It was also her least favorite subject, which just made things worse. Susie had always hated science, animals, and any of that crap. The only thing she liked about science was how she got to dissect rats and stuff like that whenever she could, but that didn't help much because she still had to put up with Berdly's stupid jokes and comments.
"I thought you said we were supposed to do the lion," Susie muttered. She was sitting at her desk, holding onto her head in frustration, while Berdly stood next to her, looking around the room. "You know, the big cat?"
Berdly shrugged. He took off his backpack and set it down on the floor next to him. Then he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Whatever works."
Susie rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You're not even going to try? You don't care what animal we picked, do you?"
Berdly smirked. "No, I don't. And neither does anyone else. We can do whatever we want." He looked over at Noelle and grinned. "Unless you have a problem with my ideas...?"
Noelle sighed and shook her head. She pulled out her phone and started scrolling through social media, hoping to avoid having to deal with anything related to the project. At least it was Friday, so she wouldn't have to worry about it until Monday. She glanced back at Berdly and noticed that he was staring at her, his grin widening. She turned away and stared at her phone again. "I really wish you'd stop doing that," she mumbled under her breath.
"Doing what?" Berdly asked. His voice was playful and cheerful, like always.
Susie groaned louder this time. "Focusing all your attention on her, that's what. Stop it."
Berdly laughed. "You think I'm focusing on her? What are you talking about?"
Susie rolled her eyes and continued ignoring Berdly. "Yeah, sure, whatever."
Berdly leaned forward. "What did I do?"
Noelle glanced up from her phone and glared at Berdly. "You're acting weird today, Berdly. Why are you so happy?"
"Oh, I dunno..." Berdly shrugged and smiled at her. "Maybe 'cause I get to hang out with two of my favorite people in the whole world!"
Noelle frowned. "Hang out? We're doing a group project together. I don't see how hanging out is a good idea right now."
Berdly chuckled. "Oh, come on. Don't act like it's a bad thing. You're lucky to have me in your life."
Susie sighed. "Whatever. Just try not to annoy us too much, yeah?"
Berdly nodded. "Sure! No problem!"
Noelle and Susie glare at Berdly.
Berdly smiled and hopped down off the desk, then stretched his arms above his head to stretch out his stiff muscles. "And it looks like we've got everything we need, huh?"
Nervously, Noelle nodded. "Y-yeah..."
"Good," Berdly said cheerfully. "Then let's get to work!"
With that, he walked over to the shelf near the window and grabbed a small plastic box. He set it down on the table and opened it up. Inside was a bunch of random objects that looked like they belonged somewhere else. Berdly took one of the objects and placed it on the table before them. "So, uh...what do you think?" he asked nervously.
Noelle narrowed her eyes. "What is this supposed to be? Some sort of-"
Berdly held up a finger. "Hold on. Let me explain first."
He went on to describe the object he'd picked up, explaining that it was supposedly from the African plains, where lions lived. After he finished, Noelle and Susie just stared at him. They had no idea what he was talking about.
"That's a stick," Susie said flatly.
Berdly frowned. "Huh? What's wrong with it?"
Susie pointed to the object he'd picked up. "This is a stick. A piece of wood. Nothing special."
"Well, yeah, but..." Berdly waved his hand dismissively. "They say that sticks can be used for hunting, and sometimes people carry them as a way to defend themselves. That's why I chose it."
Susie snorted. "Yeah, and if I wanted to hunt something, I'd bring a gun instead of a stick. And if I needed protection, I wouldn't use a stick to kill someone either. But hey, if you wanna go ahead and tell everyone that you're bringing a stick to class tomorrow, that's fine by me."
Berdly tilted his head and scratched his chin. "Okay, maybe I'll change it to something else. Maybe I can find something else that's better than a stick. Do you guys have any suggestions?"
Noelle shook her head. "Not really. If you don't care about what animal we choose, then what's the point of doing the project in the first place?"
"But that's exactly why I picked it!" Berdly protested. "It's an easy animal to draw, and-"
"An easy animal to draw...?"
Susie rolled her eyes. "That's what you've been spending all our time looking for? An easy animal to draw?"
Berdly sighed. "Look, it's not that big of a deal! I just thought we could start off with something simple and move on to something harder later, if we need to."
Noelle sighed. "I guess..." She glanced at Susie. "At least we can finally get some real work done."
"Great," Susie muttered sarcastically. "Now you sound like Berdly. Shouldn't you be in the library or something?"
Noelle glared at her friend. "What, is that a question or a statement?"
Susie laughed. "Just making conversation, nothing important."
Noelle sighed, looking away from her nervously. "Okay..."
She looked over at Berdly and he gave her a friendly smile. "Hey, Noelle! How about we go grab something to eat after this? I'm starving!"
"Uh..." Noelle began. "Yeah, sure. I guess that would be nice." She hesitated and bit her lip. "What about you, Susie? Would you like to join us?"
Susie glanced over at Berdly. "No thanks."
Noelle frowned. "Why not?"
"I'm good," Susie replied curtly. "I ate already."
"Are you sure?" Noelle asked. "If you don't feel like going out, maybe we could stay here and-"
Susie cut her off. "I don't want to eat with him. Not a big fan of him, actually. So no thank you."
Berdly frowned. "Huh? Why's that?"
"What?" Susie scoffed. "I told you. I'm not interested. And I don't have to give you a reason, do I?"
Berdly pouted. "But I thought we were friends."
Susie shrugged. "We are. But if you keep trying to force yourself on me, I might decide that I'm not really your friend anymore."
Berdly's expression fell. "I didn't mean to."
Susie rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Right." She shook her head and turned her attention back to Noelle. She was surprised to notice that Noelle seemed unusually upset. "What's wrong? Did I say something to make you angry?"
Noelle cleared her throat. "No, it's not that." She paused and averted her gaze. "It's...just..."
"Just what?" Susie pressed, her voice rising.
Noelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Nothing," she said quietly. "It's nothing."
"Is it because of me?" Berdly asked.
Noelle shook her head. "No, it's not you! It's just...it's not going well." She sighed, her ears drooping. "We're arguing and getting nowhere."
"Really?" Berdly frowned. "Because I was thinking it was going pretty good."
Noelle cocked her head. "Really? You sure?"
Berdly nodded. "Yeah, I guess it's just you two that seem to be having problems."
Susie growled and slammed the pencil onto the table. "Don't you dare say that! I'm working hard, too! You're the one that needs to-"
"Susie, stop!" Noelle cried. "You can't win every argument, okay?!"
Susie stopped short and lowered her hands. "I'm sorry."
"Okay," Noelle said softly. "Let's just calm down for a second."
The three friends sat silently for a moment, then Noelle glanced over at Berdly. "...Do you still want to go get something to eat?"
"Yeah, sure," Berdly said quickly. "Sounds great."
Susie rested her elbows on the table and folded her hands, exhaling loudly. This was going to be a long day. { TYPE: Long-form story * M2 }
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torchiiko · 2 years
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i wonder if noelles crush on susie is at least partially inspired from a desire to be more like her? prior to chapter 2, it seems like noelle couldnt stand up for herself at all. she backed down when berdly talked over her about having a group of 3, and it was only when her friends were in danger that she found the courage to tell queen she didnt want to go along with her plans
susie acts so unbothered by everything, shes blunt and speaks her mind more often than not, people are afraid to stand up to her! shes tough and rude (as a result of people stereotyping her as a bully and not giving her a chance to show her softer side, or as a defense mechanism to avoid being vulnerable, or a combination of both) and appears not to care how people think of her, a stark contrast to noelles timidity and the pressure she likely has from her mother
noelle might even be drawn to susie bc she feels like susie could stand up for noelle better than noelle could stand up for herself! and we know susie was never mean to noelle bc of the way she smiled at her when noelle lent her a pencil, and i wonder if maybe susie wishes she could be more like noelle too?
noelle is top of her class, shes the mayors only remaining daughter, shes overall quite warm and friendly and likely has lots of friends! shes probably viewed quite favorably by everyone in town regardless of how well they actually know her
meanwhile susie is an outcast and viewed fairly negatively, nearly all the kids in school and alphys are scared of her, and she even feels like people actively dont want her around based on her telling kris everyone wants her expelled, and telling lancer "why would anyone really wanna be my friend anyway?"
its possible susie secretly wishes she was as liked and approachable as noelle. she wants to be included in things!! theres no doubt monster kids story about her "creepily" watching them play kickball was actually about her feeling left out :( susie is lonely and doesnt know how to ask to be included, and/or feels like she cant bc shes treated as a bully despite monster kid even saying theyve never actually seen her bully anyone
either way i think theyre drawn to the traits that they feel they dont have and see in the other. noelle thinks susie is cool and tough, notably not mean! susie thinks noelle is kind, probably nicer than anyone shes ever met but before the events of the game nobody gives susie the chance to be nice. her best attempt is simply not being mean to noelle, who showed her kindness first. during the game, susies given that chance when despite everything, ralsei has faith that she can be a good person. lancer looks up to her and she cant bring herself to be mean to him either, and she starts learning how to be nicer and shows it her own way
in conclusion: i think they are very cute together and could be good influences on each other with susie helping noelle be more assertive and not letting people talk over her, and noelle helping susie be more open and making friends in the light world too
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lynxgriffin · 3 years
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DELTARUNE Chapter 2 Thoughts!!!
WOOO OKAY I stayed up WAY too late trying to finish Deltarune Chapter 2 last night!! It took me awhile because I suck at video games, but I finally did it!
While I normally type up commentary as I play first time, I didn’t get the chance to do that here, so I’ll get down all my general thoughts here!
Unspoilery thoughts: loved it, knew I would, will need to replay soon to see what all I missed, and am excited for whatever’s next!
SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 2 under the cut!!
(These are just as I think of them, not in any particular order!)
Okay overall I can see why this took two years and a much larger team to complete, the second chapter is SO much more expansive and heavy on scene-specific animations! It all looks SO GOOD
I already love Susie but now I love her even more, her expressions were SO GOOD
Susie has a (little nubby) tail confirmed?? That’s adorable
Okay this game is definitely reading the chapter 1 data, which I find interesting because I didn’t obtain it through Steam last time
But like, I gave the “Susie eats chalk” response to Noelle last time, and in chapter two she gave Susie the box of chalk, so awwww!
Also I missed Onionsan in my initial computer playthrough, so they didn’t show up this time, just got a moment of Susie and Kris sitting by the river together!
I find it REALLY interesting that while Ralsei is a Darkner, apparently he can jump around to other Dark Worlds whereas other Darkners like Lancer and Rouxls can’t so much…hmmm!
It was so nice to see everyone filling out the town now, though!
Noooo Susie probably doesn’t have her own room at home, awwww
Kris just casually jumping up to the classroom and bringing everyone back tho, perfect
Was right on there being multiple dark worlds in other locations, but honestly that part’s the least surprising to me, that always seemed like a pretty standard path to take!
The werewires were creepy and great; difficult to battle tho
QUEEN IS MY NEW FAVORITE
EVERY LINE OF HERS WAS A+
I’m so glad that I didn’t really go anywhere with Jevil’s line about the Queen in PT; nothing I came up with could’ve topped Queen being an absolute acid trip of an antagonist in this chapter
NOELLE SO SWEET
Her lil’ robot disguise! Her being afraid of mice at first!
I kinda wish we could have had her in the party more? She was super useful as a party member, honestly!
But sadly I guess we’re not gonna get more than the three-person party, awww
B E R D L Y
I cannot believe Berdly basically became incel Falco but also had a sympathetic backstory
Like I laughed a lot at all of Berdly’s expressions and dialogue while also going BERDLY YOU ARE THE WORST
Noelle’s WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? part = A+
I feel like Queen’s relationship with Noelle definitely had some uncomfy parallels with probably how she is dealing with her real mom
I AM NOT GOOD AT PUNCH-OUT AND THERE WAS A LOT OF THAT
I somehow missed the part where Susie is wearing Ralsei’s glasses??? Where is this
Also in general there was a LOT of puzzles and gameplay in the overworld map, which I was bad at but was also very cool
KRIS GET THE BANANA
The dolphin pop-up ads…
I DID NOT LIKE THE SPAMTON GUY
DISCOMFORT THE WHOLE TIME
Apparently he’s also the secret boss for this chapter?? That’s at least if the soundtrack is anything to go by. Maybe I’ll go back and try it on another playthrough, but aaaaagggghhhg
SO MANY GOOD SUSELLE MOMENTS
MY LIL SHIPPER HEART HAS A NICE SERVING AND WANTS MORE
The whole deal with the ferris wheel conversation and just awwwwuuuuuuh
Needs more Susiezilla now too (I picked the “something romantic” option because of course)
MORE PLZ, LET’S DIG DEEPER HERE
Also I cannot believe Susie has (at least) two people crushing on her and is just totally oblivious to it
There’s SO Many interesting HMM moments with Kris and that definitely included the entire acid tunnel of love scene with Kris and Ralsei
Interrupted of course by an appropriately silly Rouxls battle
But man the more we see (or often DON’T see) of Ralsei the more intriguing it gets
LET NOELLE RIDE IN THE TEACUP RIDE WITH SUSIE
I just knew going back to get that chest without Noelle would be something dumb
OKAY I ended up dying a lot to 1) the Mauswheel, and 2) the color-changing butlers?? So I ended up having to do the whole sequence with annoying dog blasting through everything in his path multiple times
I DID feel bad for Berdly during that boss battle where he was werewired; that was nice and body horror-ish
That said… “I NEED A KISS FROM A GAMER GIRL”
The giant mecha boss battle absolutely kicked my ass, though
Like it WAS badass but that took me a LOT of tries to get through
My thrash machine was very GUN’S
Overall the difficulty curve was definitely stepped up from chapter 1!
LOTS MORE DARK WORLD AND KNIGHT LORE FROM RALSEI HERE
And lots of talk about Noelle being pretty important to it, too!
I’m glad I got to bring Susie on the walkaround this time around town!
I AM GOING TO BE YOUR WACKY ROOMMATE NOW
King and Queen’s entire conversation was so hilarious
King just slides over to suck on that sweet, sweet giant hamster water bottle
BUNKER STILL BEIN SUSPICIOUS
Aww the pizzeria is not a creepy mascot Chuck-E-Cheese’s style, tho
Confirmation that Gerson was Alvin’s father! And I feel like there’s a lot we’re missing there, too
Still not allowed to see Papyrus…
Catti’s parents…
I wasn’t expecting this at all, but it feels like they may be introducing way more Lightners to the Dark World with each chapter, since both Noelle and Berdly ended up there?
And if that’s the case, I feel like it’s hinting that Catti and/or Jockington may be next
SUSIE STAYING AT KRIS’S PLACE FOR A SLEEPOVER WAS SO SWEET
IMMEDIATELY UNDERCUT BY KRIS GOING FERAL AGAIN
Like I dunno the whole scenario somehow managed to be both REALLY sinister and very funny at once??
Susie and Toriel are busy laughing and making a pie together, meanwhile Kris just sneaks the hell out and slashes Toriel’s tires because it’s KNIVES OUT TIME
Please let Susie watch more giant monster (and giant human) movies with her friends, she needs this
THAT SAID, THAT ENDING
HMM HMM HMMMMMMMMMM
SO THIS SEEMS TO BE INDICATING THAT KRIS IS THE KNIGHT
Which like…is in fact making SOME KIND OF SENSE in my head overall, but I definitely need more context to see how exactly
Like I’m all “THIS FEELS RIGHT BUT I DON’T KNOW WHY, I NEED MOOOORE”
Considering Ralsei’s reaction to Noelle and Berdly trying to make a new fountain, this definitely seems to be setting up some kind of future confrontation between Kris and Ralsei, which! HMMMM
I THINK IT’S TIME FOR THIS GIF AGAIN
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Basically I HAD A GRAND TIME, I NEED TO REPLAY, EXCITED FOR THE REST WHENEVER IT COMES
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amaranthineoceans · 3 years
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Everything Weird About Deltarune!
Spoiler Warning for Undertale and Both Chapters of Deltarune! Really! I Literally Go Through Everything I Can Remember About Them!
This is a long post so get comfortable. Also note that my brain doesn't process thoughts into words very well so some of these might not be worded in the best way. :)
Deltarune. The first teaser chapter was released on October 31, 2018, and it came out of nowhere. We've all gone through this, but I'll try and go through every single painstaking detail I can remember. Feel free to reblog and add/correct things.
The weirdness begins right off the bat. The title is an anagram of UNDERTALE. We all know Toby likes to use anagrams when he wants to indirectly tell us when things are related, so it's no surprise that when you go to download DELTARUNE, it warns you that the game is designed for people who have played UNDERTALE. You think, "Cool, so it's a sequel? Or maybe a prequel? A different perspective of UNDERTALE perhaps?" You were wrong; so terribly, terribly wrong! I'll elaborate on this later.
Before you download the application, the terms of service that you must agree to beforehand reads simply and plainly, "You accept everything that will happen from now on." This detail was kinda brushed off in the beginning, because, hey, it's Toby Fox. He does weird stuff all the time. But even in the first chapter, it's apparent that the concept of choice, or more accurately, the lack of it, is a very present theme in the game. I would like to remind you that Toby has announced that there will be one ending in the game. One. I'll elaborate on this later.
The program (as in, what the game is called in your files) is named SURVEY PROGRAM. Why not just call it Deltarune like it is when you download chapter two?
The game launches you, without a title screen, without any setting adjustment options, straight into a reference to the theme of the entire franchise: the lack of choice. A strange formless voice guides you through "making a vessel", with what we know now as a fountain in the background. You have the option to make some very disturbing choices in this character creator, such as making its favorite flavor "pain" or expressing your feelings about it with options such as "fear" and "disgust." You name your "creation," tell the formless voice your name (which is different from your vessel's name) and watch as said formless voice muses over your name at an agonizing pace. It thanks you for your time and tells you that your wonderful creation, (cue music cutout and background removal) will now be discarded. "No one can choose who they are in this world." The screen slowly turns white as the voice says, "Your... name... is..."
It gets weirder. The next scene appears from the whiteness and showcases Toriel calling "Kris" out of bed. Kris' area of the room is very bare in contrast to the other side, which we later discover is Asriel's.
It's Toriel. Why is Toriel here?
Kris is kind of an anagram of Frisk (the protagonist of UNDERTALE) but without the F. I highly doubt this is a coincidence.
Speaking with Noelle is the only reason you can proceed (see what i did there?) while finding a partner in the classroom. This means you can't go through the 1st chapter without knowing who she is. Is it because of the Snowgrave route?
Ralsei is just suspicious to me. There's no way he was just waiting in that castle his whole life alone without some mental toil. So either he's insane or he wasn't alone the whole time. What happened? Is it related to how he can close his eyes and see what Susie is going through when she's apart from the party? Was he just watching everything? Is he related to the formless voice?
Susie's icon is the only one without color in the Dark World.
Jevil's fight is more difficult than Sans'.
Your actions have little consequence in the first chapter. If you choose to go genocide, the only difference in the ending is being run out of the kingdom, and this doesn't carry over to the next chapter. Again, lack of choice, people.
If at the end of chapter one, you walk around town, it's mentioned (notably by Noelle) that you're usually not this talkative. If you go to the hospital and speak with the receptionist, they mention that you used to play the piano in the corner. If you decide to attempt to play the said piano, an out-of-key bash can be heard and the receptionist comments on how you used to play beautifully. If you try this in chapter two, the result is the same. All this is confirmation that Kris is acting noticeably weird.
When you leave the Dark World and walk around town, you can find Sans. He "pretends" to recognize you, and if you tell him you recognize him, he tells you it's funny, considering that you two have never met before. He winks. I'm pretty sure he knows that the player is there.
The mention of Papyrus in both games, but the purposeful lack of him. Like he's avoiding you.
If you go upstairs while inside Asgore's flower shop, there are flowers in glass cases resembling his SOUL collection in UNDERTALE. There's a red flower.
You can't enter the church.
The clock in the storage closet shows a different time than all the others in the school.
If you go all the way south in town and into the woods, the music stops and you come across a rusty, double door is in a hill covered in crass. It's locked. If you go this way in chapter two, however, you watch a cutscene where you and susie happen to find Monster Kid from UNDERTALE (or someone resembling them) and an owl kid in front of the door. The owl kid is pressuring Monster Kid to (presumably) break inside, telling them that they don't want to be a wimp like Kris. Does this imply that Kris is connected to this strange door somehow?
The ending. You know what I'm talking about.
Did Kris actually rip out the SOUL (I say "the" because I'm not entirely sure it's Kris') and knife because they wanted to eat the pie? Did they only eat the pie because Toriel caught them?
Why did they look at the player? Are they sick of being controlled? Is that why they freaked out after the Spamton fight? (later)
Anyway, now we're at chapter two.
DELTARUNE Chapter Two was released on September 17th, 2021. 17. Entry Number 17. Sound familiar?
Asriel's part of the room is different from the last chapter. I don't think this means anything sinister, but I think it means Kris notices different things about the room as the story progresses. My theory is that it will become more sinister in each chapter.
Ralsei getting super excited to see Susie and Kris after a day. As in he has separation anxiety and it breaks my heart. not anything suspicious but it makes me sad so it's on the list.
Kris and Susie's rooms. Ralsei REALLY doesn't want them to leave. Seriously get this boy a therapist. Or a stuffed animal. SOMETHING.
Kris having to gather everything from the storage closet so that people appear in the Dark World????? Why??????????????? They had to do the same thing for the computer lab too.
The golden door. I don't trust it.
How/why the heck did Noelle and Berdley go into the Computer Lab Dark World? I don't see either of them just walking into pulsing void doors without Susie.
Apparently the knight has been gone for a bit and can corrupt people's minds? The king in the first chapter doesn't seem like he can be redeemed but Queen just seems,,, not bad, but a little crazy. I wonder what happened.
Then again, name ONE person in this franchise without trauma.
Spamton.
Horror doesn't bother me. Spamton? Spamton bothers me.
SPAMTON. ENOUGH SAID.
A Kromer is a type of hat invented in the '70s. Nobody named Mike is associated with it, that I can find.
SPAMPTON. HOW DO I EVEN DESCRIBE IT.
HIS SONG IS THE ONLY ONE WITH WORDS.
The way he asks Kris is they want to be a heart on a chain their whole life. Like, dude, no wonder they were screaming after the fight.
WHERE DID THE YELLOW HEART COME FROM. YELLOW MEANS JUSTICE. WHY DOES JUSTICE APPLY.
Kris screaming after the fight and the player not being able to hear it. Don't you dare tell me that's just how the game is designed. There are sound effects characters make throughout the game. None that I can think of apply to Kris, apart from when they rip their soul out.
Ralsei brushing off the Spamton fight. Either that's his coping mechanism or he was trying to shut Susie and Kris up to protect them from... something. I'll touch on that in a minute.
According to Queen, DETERMINATION is a key factor in creating a fountain.
Also according to Queen, Kris, Noelle, and Susie all have DETERMINATION SOULS.
Ralsei freaking out about Berdley making a fountain implies that he may also have DETERMINATION. Why I'm bringing all this up will make sense soon.
How was Noelle able to cast Snowgrave... a spell that she, according to her, didn't know?
The Snowgrave route is so twisted.
You manipulate Noelle into killing Berdley and then, when you get back to the computer lab and investigate his corpse, the text box says that he doesn't seem to be awake. As if you're in denial?
Burgerpants recognizes you. Not Kris. As in the player.
The ending. I don't think I need to describe it. Kris is very methodical without the SOUL. (I say "the" because, again, I'm not 100% convinced it's theirs.) I'm saying this about how they left clues that someone broke into the This proves that they are NOT a mindless, vengeful husk.
HOW DID THEY MAKE THE FOUNTAIN WITHOUT THE SOUL INSIDE OF THEM. DID THEY FEED THE SOUL TO IT AFTERWARDS? IS THAT WHAT THAT WAS?
Another point I would like to make is my theory that Ralsei knows much more than he would have us believe. I might put this into a different post because I have yet to gather my points into a coherent bullet point list, so keep an eye out for that.
Anyway apart from Toriel and Susie being VERY heavy sleepers, I think I've gone through everything. I have a few theories.
1. Kris is possessed by the player and figured out that they could make a fountain from Queen and related to Spamton freaking out about freedom. They then decided to make a fountain going by the logic that "this would tick the player off." This is one of my top theories that assumes that the SOUL is theirs.
And 2. Kris is possessed by both the player and the knight. I think the formless voice at the very beginning of the game is the knight, and they somehow needed the player to possess someone with DETERMINATION. If so, then why Kris? We know from Queen that Noelle and Susie, and maybe even Berdley also have DETERMINATION. The most plausible thing I can think of is the fact that human souls are stronger than monster ones.
I do think that the popular theory (about the one that suggests that the Dark Word is nothing but a figment of a child's imagination, and the events that occur in said Dark World are simply children playing with toys) has been thoroughly dashed due to Berdley's murder in the genocide route of the second chapter. Unless he's not dead. Regardless, how the events (or lack thereof) that occur in the second chapter play through the next will be interesting, especially considering Toby's announcement about how there will be one ending to the game. So either Berdley isn't dead, or he will be.
Aaaand I think that's it! Sorry for the long post; let me know your thoughts and if I missed anything!
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kindestegg · 3 years
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Deltarune: On tea, relationships, and why people probably need to stop exaggerating
Alright, so ever since the introduction of the “character flavored” teas in chapter 2, there has been a lot of discussion about them. If you haven’t heard of it yet, in Deltarune Chapter 2, there’s an item that’s a tea that you can buy from an NPC and choose the flavor of, giving you a flavor that is named after a party member. So, Kris tea, Noelle Tea, Susie Tea, and Ralsei Tea.
The fun thing about this item is that it can more or less be used to “track” the relationships between the characters, so to speak. For example, if Noelle has the Susie tea, even if she’s not supposed to drink it due to normally leaving the party, she’ll still have a reaction to it, wondering if they would sell this in gallons and recovering an absurd amount of HP, 400 to be precise.
(this is long as hell, so please continue reading under the cut)
These teas are also actually a reference to a book series Toby is a fan of, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, which does have a chapter about students having ice cream flavored after their classmates. This is most evident when the characters drink their own tea, which tastes like nothing to them and recovers the least amount of HP: 10. In the books, the students also could not perceive the taste of their own flavor of ice cream.
So, the fandom gets ahold of this information and starts testing out the teas and how characters react to them, right? The thing is, I’ve seen people kind of exaggerate the importance of these items and even the meanings of them, and while I think everyone’s entitled to harmless headcanons speculating on the relationship of characters, the problem is people are using these teas as immutable proof and part of their theories.
One of such exaggerations comes mostly in the form of the infamous Ralsei Tea, as to which Kris apparently does not show much reaction, though curiously Ralsei is still happy to see Kris drinking it, and it only recovers 60 HP. For reference, the teas usually cap at a good 120 HP, which is when a character loves the flavor, Noelle being the outlier because she really is just that in love with Susie. For the most part the Fun Gang has pretty positive reactions to each other’s flavor of teas, recovering 120 HP… with the exception of Kris’ reaction towards Ralsei tea.
And the problem starts now: Due to this, people started using this little tidbit in their theories, claiming this was proof that Kris actually dislikes or even hates Ralsei, that we should be ashamed of ourselves for making Kris hug Ralsei, that it is torture for them that we choose nice dialogue options towards Ralsei, some going as far as to claim this is somehow tied to the infamous “Ralsei is secretly evil” theories.
But does this speculation hold any actual weight when analyzed more deeply?
… No. I’m sorry, it just does not, I’m not going to entertain this. In this post, I’m going to deconstruct how the teas really work, and exactly why claiming that this is good enough proof that Kris would dislike Ralsei is an exaggeration at best and downright false at worse.
To truly make a precise conclusion, we must first look at the full picture. We know that 10 HP means “tastes like nothing”, and we know that 120 HP means “tastes amazing”, but are there any other reactions that aren’t either 10 or 120, aside from the 60 HP we already know from Ralsei tea?
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Pictured: Noelle reacting to Kris tea.
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Pictured: Kris reacting to Noelle tea.
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Pictured: Ralsei reacting to Noelle tea.
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Pictured: Noelle reacting to Ralsei tea.
I think what people forget here is that you don’t have to really adore someone or outright hate them. Sometimes you’re more neutral on people. And I think that’s what happens here. As you can see here, Ralsei recovers 10 less HP for Noelle than Kris does for him, and still calls her flavor “soft and sweet”. Meanwhile, Noelle claims his tea has “nothing in it”, even though she still recovers 50 hp.
Does this somehow mean Ralsei hates Noelle, or she hates him, for that matter? … No, that wouldn’t make sense, they just met, they know nothing about each other. We do learn here one important thing though, flavor is not tied to HP recovery, as in, the flavor of each character’s tea will taste different to a different person based on what they perceive of them.
As a comparative example, while Kris tea tastes like apple juice to Susie due to her always smelling the apple shampoo they use, Kris tea tastes like blueberries, which is a reference to Kris’ appearance in the Dark World. So while Ralsei tea tastes like nothing to Noelle as she can’t perceive him well enough yet, it still heals 50 HP due to it not being her own tea, and Ralsei heals for the same amount, but he seems to perceive others based on appearance and wants to find something good to say, so he ends up tasting it as something “soft and sweet” because that’s what Noelle appears like.
We can also gain a new “base” HP recovery that is accounted for when characters drink tea that is not their own: 50 HP. And we know 50 HP means “I was literally just made aware of your existence and can’t comment much on you yet”. Now, if you look at Kris and Noelle, they recover 70 HP from each other’s tea. In Noelle’s words, they have been neighbors their entire lives, yet they still find it hard to call each other friends, necessarily. Although you can choose the prompt “we’re friends”, the reasoning still stands: Kris and Noelle just don’t have that much to say about each other. If you remember, when you visit Rudy at the hospital in chapter 1, then Noelle afterwards, they’ll comment on how Kris usually isn’t as involved or interested in their neighbor’s business, suggesting they really don’t hang out as much as you’d think.
So, 50 HP, 70 HP. Where does that leave us for Ralsei’s 60 HP? Does it actually reveal evidence of hatred or at least dislike?
… The answer, if you’ve been paying any attention, is no, of course not. If 50 HP means “literally just learned the other exists” while 70 HP means “not exactly great friends but have known each other for a long time and shared memories”, then that puts Ralsei at a pretty advantageous spot all things considered. Even with him acting somewhat suspicious, even with him being a creature from an entirely new magical world Kris was made aware of literally a day ago, even with Ralsei’s clingy behavior, Kris considers him more than just some random person they just met, and almost a good acquaintance to the level of Noelle.
And sure, you could still bring up comparisons to the higher HP recoveries, like Susie recovering 120 HP from everyone despite also not really being exactly friends with any of these people for too long, and for that I will say…
That girl will eat anything and considering they are all flavors she enjoys she’ll obviously down it in a second, and
Susie is just… a more open person. Once you get her guard down and let her know you truly want to be her friend and think she is cool, she’ll immediately consider you a friend and part of her team. (It’s also kind of sad in a way because it shows she may be desperate for the feeling of belonging but let’s not get into that right now).
Kris, however, is a much more reserved person. Once again I must remind you how everyone in Hometown comments about Kris not usually being very outgoing or talkative. Hell, even when they drink Noelle tea, no one can tell whether they like it or not. Susie may be an exception to this rule, simply because they do have a lot in common, particularly to the fact she was also always an awkward quiet person that their classmates could never place and would often get in trouble. Even if she was mean to them and a downright bully in chapter 1, teens can still have some pretty weird appreciations, and you can tell they must have been wanting to befriend her from the start. It simply just is a better relationship to them. Otherwise, people they haven’t invested in knowing well will probably not cause the same reaction.
Bottom line is… why are we having this debate again? In the end, it feels rather silly. Yes, Kris doesn’t recover 120 HP from Ralsei tea. Big deal? That doesn’t mean they hate or even dislike him, that there’s a deep turmoil and conflict going on between the two already. Ralsei is just a new friend they are still getting used to, that’s it. Can’t blame the kid for having boundaries.
For further proof, if you learn more about the content that is being referenced here, you’ll learn that in the same chapter of the book, there is actually a way for one’s flavor to taste “horrible” due to a person being perceived that way, but at no point in these reactions it’s suggested anyone’s flavor tastes bad, that any of them are disgusted, so I doubt any of these reactions can be seen as dislike.
Dang… this got a little long… but I just felt like I had to make this post because, reiterating, I find myself a little irritated at the fact people will use the tea’s reactions as part of their theories, claiming it as actual proof, when it is far from proving anything.
And before someone brings it up, yes, Kris has been shown to prefer Susie over Ralsei, do I have to point out the flaw in that logic? Preferring someone doesn’t mean you outright dislike the other person.
Moral of the story is: Don’t take conclusions for your theories without good backing in canon, feel free to make your headcanons but don’t state it as proof, byeee.
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vgfm · 4 years
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Deltarune Theory: The True Identity and Importance of “Everyman”
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I’ve been away from the Undertale theory scene for a long time. It’s been so long that a whole new-fangled game got announced, and I’ve got some theories on it.
Are these theories about Gaster or Sans or whatever’s going on with Kris? Not exactly. At least, not yet. I’ve got a better character in mind.
Let’s start with Everyman: Undertale’s most obscure character and (I think) one of the most pivotal in Deltarune.
This is a two-part theory: the first part outlines who Everyman is and why I think he’ll be important in Deltarune. The second part? You’ll have to read and find out.
This is a long one and with loads of images, so strap yourselves in.
Sections
Part 1: Introduction to Everyman
Who is Everyman?
“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”
Everyman’s Importance
Why did Everyman appear in True Lab?
Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune
Part 2: Everyman is ???
What will Everyman’s role be?
Jevil’s Connection to Everyman
The Spade King’s clue
Additional Evidence
“Seriously?”
The Gaster connection
The “Strange Son”
Who made who?
“Seriously, who is Everyman?”
End
Closing Summary
Final Conclusions
Who is Everyman?
"Everyman” is a special attack that appears during the Reaper Bird amalgamate fight in True Lab.
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This same figure appears twice in Deltarune’s first chapter:
Once as graffiti in an alleyway in Hometown...
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...and again as a rare bullet attack during Jevil’s fight.
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The name “Everyman” only ever appears in-game next to his graffiti portrait in Hometown. Everyman’s sprites are simply titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s game files:
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[Image transcript: UTModTool is showing multiple highlighted sprite entries that begin with “spr_strangeman”. On the right is the file “spr_strangeman_walk” opened, showing a picture of Everyman. End image transcript]
Some time after Undertale’s release there was a since-deleted tweet from Toby with a picture of Reaper Bird’s attack that he titled “Everyman,” which is where fans first got the name.
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[Image transcript: A tweet from toby fox that says “Everyman”. The first reply says “Is that his name. please thell me thats his obj name.” Toby’s response repeats “Everyman.” The next reply says “everything i aspire to be.” Toby responds again with “’Everyman’ you aspire to be.” Toby then adds another tweet saying “Description. Just a good guy that shows up on occasion.” end image transcript.]
This is a web archive screenshot so the image of Everyman’s bullet sprite wasn’t preserved here. Special thanks to catcat for tracking this one down!
“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”
I don’t think so. I’d be more inclined to write off Everyman’s role in Deltarune as a mere cameo if he had only shown up once. But it’s odd that Toby felt the need to include Everyman twice in a single chapter. To me this seems less like a one-off cameo and more like foreshadowing for a greater role in the full game.
Let’s compare Everyman’s appearances to instances of character foreshadowing and one-off cameos from Undertale and Deltarune:
Mettaton
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[Image transcript: four Undertale screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, the narration text box reads “(the machine isn’t working.)” as Frisk stares at Mettaton in Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle room. In the top-right screenshot, the narration textbox is reading a TV announcement in Papyrus’ house: “(It says ‘STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM - MTT.’)”. In the bottom-left screenshot, Napstablook’s text box says “there’s a show i like to watch on it... sometimes...” as Frisk looks at their television. In the bottom-right screenshot, Undyne’s text box says “This oven is some top-of-the-line MTT thing.” as Frisk stares at her oven. End image transcript.]
Mettaton is foreshadowed multiple times before he makes his proper introduction in Alphys’ Lab. This includes a direct on-screen appearance of his rectangular form as part of Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle. What’s interesting is that half of these references (including the tile puzzle) only make sense in hindsight to a first-time player. For all we know there could be other, more-cryptic Everyman references already in Deltarune that we don’t have the full context to understand yet.
Rouxls Kaard
Despite his legendary introductory sequence catching many-a-player off-guard, Rouxls Kaard actually is foreshadowed a couple of times before his stunning debut.
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[Image transcript: four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, Ralsei is reading a message from Rouxls Kaard: “It says... ‘Thoust fools, thou will NEVER figure it out now!’. This is continued in the top-right screenshot: “Then it, um, says, ‘PS - I make my own Rules. - RK’”. In the bottom-left screenshot, a puzzle-master says “ROUXLS KAARD... Lord of the Puzzles... Be careful...!” In the bottom-right screenshot, one of Clover’s heads says “RK came by... What a hunk!” End image transcript.]
I’ve noticed from watching Let’s Plays that many people don’t even realize that these lines were meant to foreshadow him (and I’m pretty sure I didn’t realize it either on my first playthrough).
Ice-E
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Now here’s something that’s an example of both a one-off cameo and proper foreshadowing! In Undertale, Ice-E is referenced exactly once in the entire game—as part of Sans’ Monster Kidz Word Search puzzle. No other character mentions Ice-E, Ice-E does not appear in-person, nor does the Ice-E’s restaurant appear... in Undertale. Deltarune is a completely different story.
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[image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. in the left screenshot, Kris looks under their sink and the narration text box says: “A can of Ice-E’s Cool Boys Body Spray ‘Spray For The Boys,’ Flamin’ Hot Pizza Flavor.” In the right screenshot, Kris reads a chart in the hospital. The narration text box says: “(It’s a classic 1-to-10 pain scale, using ICE-E as a model.)” End image transcript.]
In Deltarune chapter 1 we find numerous references and bits of foreshadowing for Ice-E and, lo and behold, we see that Ice-E’s restaurant exists in Hometown at the end of chapter 1. And notice how it’s multiple references and not just a one-off like last time.
In every example of foreshadowing listed above we’re given more than one hint of a character’s presence, and so far Everyman fits this same pattern. This makes me feel safe in assuming he will have a bigger role in the full game.
Everyman’s Importance
What’s interesting is that in Chapter 1, Everyman appears in both the light and dark worlds. So far Deltarune has kept the light and dark worlds largely separate from one another, with only Kris and Susie traveling between them (as far as we know).
Everyman’s presence in both worlds implies that either he can travel between both worlds as well, or at least that lightners and darkners are both familiar with him.
Based on what we know, I’d wager that Everyman is a lightner—specifically, a monster.  I say this for two reasons: 1.) so far we’ve only seen lightners (Kris and Susie) travel between both worlds, and 2.) this would explain Everyman’s appearance as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks in Undertale’s True Lab.
Why did Everyman appear in the True Lab?
The worlds of Undertale and Deltarune are connected. Toby has all-but-confirmed this himself.
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[Image transcript: A screenshot from the official Deltarune website’s question-and-answer page. The question says “So there’s no connections between the two games?”. The answer says “It’s a different world that might even have different rules. That doesn’t mean there will be no connections at all though.” End image transcript.]
One major connection between Undertale and Deltarune is their largely-shared cast of characters. Many major characters from Undertale make an appearance in Deltarune’s first chapter, and Toby has shown that at least some characters from Deltarune’s universe have counterparts in the Undertale universe as well.
The Undertale Alarm Clock App makes reference to Rudolph Holiday living in the Underground some time prior to the events of Undertale.
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[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Asgore says “Rudy... loved the holidays, you know.” End image transcript.]
This dialogue also strongly implies that Undertale’s universe has a counterpart for Noelle.
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[Image transcript: Another dialogue box from Asgore. He says: “With a warm slice of fruitcake on the table. His youngest daughter peeking shyly from around the corner...” End image transcript]
Depending on how one interprets the Clamgirl NPC’s dialogue, there may or may not be an Undertale version of Susie (aka “Suzy”) too.
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[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Clamgirl tells Frisk: “Synchronicity...? My neighbor’s daughter looks about your age.” In the right screenshot her dialogue continues: “Her name is ‘Suzy.’ I feel like you two should be friends.” End image transcript.]
I’d argue that Everyman also had a “counterpart” in Undertale’s universe who lived as a monster in the Underground. Much like Rudy, the Underground’s Everyman likely grew old and eventually “fell down”. But unlike Rudy, Everyman was sent to the True Lab for the royal scientist’s soul experiments and became part of the Reaper Bird amalgamate.
This would fit with the pattern that we see with most other amalgamates, namely that they each seem to be made up of one named/noteworthy monster combined with several other generic monsters. The formula goes like this:
Lemon Bread = Shyra (Shyren’s Sister) + Aaron + Moldbygg
Endogeny = Muttler + various dog enemies
Snowdrake Mother = Crystal (Snowdrake’s Mom) + Vegetoids(?)
Reaper Bird = Everyman + Astigmatism + Whimsalot + Final Froggit
The Memoryheads seem to not “fit” with the other amalgamates, perhaps intentionally, so I’ll leave them out for now.
Long story short: Everyman was most likely a monster since he was part of an amalgamate and (as far as we know) amalgamates can only be made of monsters.
Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune
We see in Deltarune that three of the monsters who became amalgamates in Undertale have since passed away. This fits a trend I’ve noticed of Toby trying to “explain” the absence of characters who are prominent in one of his games but not the other.
The examples I cited above of Rudy, Noelle, and (possibly) Susie existing in Undertale’s universe also serve as “excuses” for where those characters were and why they were absent from the events of Undertale’s story. Rudy was dead and Noelle and “Suzy” were living with their families (presumably) in parts of the Underground where Frisk never ventured.
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Shyra, Muttler, and Crystal are similarly “excused” from Deltarune’s story when the graveyard informs the player of their passing. Gerson is likewise excluded from Deltarune due to having passed away before the events of the game.
Conveniently, Everyman is not listed among the amalgamate monsters who have passed away in Hometown, and the alleyway graffiti implies he’s alive and well.
We know that Deltarune’s timeline and character ages don’t match up perfectly with Undertale’s—Deltarune Asriel is still alive and slightly older than Kris, who’s roughly the same age as DR Monster Kid. Conversely, Undertale Asriel died long before Frisk entered the Underground, yet Frisk is still seemingly in the same age bracket as UT Monster Kid (who’s barely younger than Asriel in Deltarune). Like Rudy, we can assume that Deltarune’s Everyman is younger than the Everyman who “fell down” in the Underground.
What will Everyman’s role be?
Remember when I said this was a two-part theory? Well, here’s the second half of my theory: Everyman is the Knight.
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[Image transcript: A text box that says “Yes, you read that correctly.” End image transcript.]
Yes, the same Knight mentioned by Seam, Jevil, and the King of Spades. The same Knight who’s pulling new dark fountains out of the earth and who’s implied to be a major antagonist in the full game.
I could hedge my bets by saying Everyman is merely “connected” to the Knight, but if the Knight is a character we already know of then I think Everyman is the most likely candidate.
Let’s start with the name: Everyman’s sprites are titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s files. The very first mention we get of the Knight in Deltarune is Seam describing a “strange knight” who appeared, complete with red font for emphasis.
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[Image transcript: Seam speaking inside of a shop, saying: “But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away.” End image transcript.]
The word “strange” seems to be used selectively and very deliberately in Deltarune’s first chapter. Here’s a breakdown of all the times it’s used:
Seam referring to the knight
Seam referring to the Knight’s “strange son” (more on that later)
Telling Seam about Jevil (”Strange Prisoner”)
Seam referring to the “strange someone” that Jevil met
Seam mentioning the “strange words” Jevil said
Rouxls Kaard referring to Lancer (”a strange and irritating darling!”)
Narration before Kris seals the dark fountain (”You felt something strange.”)
Flavor text during the Jevil fight (”Kris gazed strangely”)
The Devilsknife/Jevilstail appearing in a “strange chest” outside of Jevil’s cell upon defeating him (this may be dummied out or only triggers if your inventory is full of weapons/armors and Jevil can’t give his item to you)
The description of the key to Jevil’s cell (”something feels strange about it”)
With the exception of the line from Rouxls Kaard, every instance of “strange” somehow connects to the Knight or Jevil. If the Knight is indeed the “strange someone” who Jevil met then the list tightens even further, to the point where all but one use of the word “strange” is associated with a single character and his handiwork—a very “strange man”, as it were. Speaking of Jevil...
Jevil’s connection to the Knight and Everyman
Jevil’s fight is one of two places where Everyman appears in Deltarune chapter 1. Not only that, but Everyman’s sprite only appears as a rare event during Jevil’s carousel attack, implying that his appearance is somehow significant.
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Interestingly enough, the other two sprites that appear during this attack are one with a head that vaguely resembles Mysteryman (believed to be Gaster) and another with the head of a horse, a.k.a. the same as a knight piece on a chess board. It’s also worth pointing out that it’s rarer for the Everyman sprite to appear than it is for either of the other two sprites to appear.
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We can also see the Everyman sprite represented in the official Chaos Revolving Keychain from Fangamer.
Jevil mentions the Knight once you defeat him, showing that he has knowledge of his existence.
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[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THE HAND OF THE KNIGHT IS DRIFTING FORWARD.” End image transcript.]
This is interesting since Seam’s dialogue implies that Jevil was imprisoned well before the Knight overthrew the three kings at Card Castle. I can think of three possible explanations for this seeming timeline discrepancy:
Jevil is somehow intrinsically “aware” of things that go on outside of his cell
The Knight or someone else visited Jevil in jail to tell him about what happened with the three kings
The Knight is the same “strange someone” that Jevil met before he was locked up
The first explanation is the least likely, imo, due to Jevil asking who Kris, Ralsei, and Susie are when he first meets them.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jevil is talking to the fun gang and he says: “BUT LO, THREE VISITORS STANDING INSIDE?” This continues in the right screenshot, where Jevil says: “WHO ARE YOU FEW?” End image transcript.]
If Jevil was aware of the outside world then he’d surely know of the fun gang’s antics by that point.
The second explanation doesn’t seem very likely either. Seam is the only character who acknowledges Jevil’s existence and we never see Seam visit Card Castle, even after the Spade King has been overthrown.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jack Person tells the fun gang: “By the by, I asked Seam to come here, but...” Continuing onto the right screenshot, where Jack Person finishes by saying “There wasn’t any interest.” End image transcript.]
Jevil’s cell doesn’t seem to have any guards and it’s kept on its own floor, so that would rule out Jevil hearing about the knight from other prisoners.
If someone in the castle brings food to Jevil then he may have overheard it from them, but even that is speculative. Does Jevil even need to eat? He says his body “cannot be killed,” after all.
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[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THIS BODY CANNOT BE KILLED!” End image transcript.]
And I’m not sure if the King of Spades would be so accommodating towards a dangerous prisoner.
That just leaves the third explanation, which seems the most likely to me. It’s also the tidiest explanation for how Jevil would be aware of both the Knight and Everyman—they’re the same person.
We can only speculate as to why the “strange someone” caused Jevil to run amok. If that strange someone was the Knight then I would assume that setting Jevil loose may have been his attempt to overthrow or destabilize Card Castle’s leadership. We know that the Knight eventually overthrew the three other kings himself, so that may have been his plan B after Jevil failed or he merely wished to remove Jevil as an obstacle. Either way, the Knight toppled the quadrumvirate and installed the Spade King as the protector of Card Castle’s dark fountain.
The Spade King’s clue
The Spade King is the closest ally of the Knight that we’ve seen so far. The exact nature of their relationship isn’t fully known, but the King’s words imply that he reveres and is loyal to the Knight.
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[Image description: Four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left, the King of Spades says “By the Knight’s will, I shall shatter your heart to pieces!”. In the top-right, the King says “For the KNIGHT has appeared.” In the bottom-left, the King says “The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth.” In the bottom-right, the King says “My KNIGHT... I shall not fail you...” End image transcript.]
Both characters share an interest in maintaining the existence of dark fountains, given that the Knight has been said to create new fountains by pulling them up from the Earth.
Unlike Jevil, the Spade King’s attacks never make explicit reference to Everyman’s visage, but he does give a possible nod that many players have overlooked. When the Spade King is defeated, he makes a curious gesture by letting his cloak fly away like a butterfly.
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While this may be a simple artistic flourish, I always found this moment to be odd and unfitting for a brutish character like the King. It’s also worth pointing out how the King’s cloak is clearly not a part of his body, unlike what’s implied with Lancer’s “clothes”.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the battle narration says: “You tell Lancer you can’t tell the difference between his clothes and his body.” The narration continues in the right screenshot, saying “He seems flattered... His ATTACK POWER went down!” End transcript.]
What if the King didn’t always have that butterfly-shaped cloak? Did someone give it to him? Think of where else we’ve seen butterfly motifs before.
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At first blush, this seems obvious—the Reaper Bird is clearly made from the Core mercenaries, including Whimsalot. Whimsalot attacks with butterfly bullets, so that’s where Reaper Bird got them from, right? Case closed. Well, not so fast.
It turns out there are two different sets of butterfly bullets in Undertale’s game files, and Reaper Bird’s are different from Whimsalot’s.
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[Image transcript: Two groups of butterfly bullet sprites. The left group is labeled “Whimsun / Whimsalot.” The right group is labeled “Reaper Bird”. End image transcript.]
Notice how Reaper Bird’s butterflies are smaller and have pointier, more symmetrical wings? While those differences could be chalked up to limited pixel resolution, it’s interesting how Toby went out of his way to create an entirely unique set of butterfly bullets for Reaper Bird when it arguably would have made more sense for him to recycle the Whimsun butterflies like he did for Whimsalot.
If you want to compare the sprites for yourself I suggest either looking at the game files directly or looking at an actual playthrough of Undertale. I’ve noticed that Spriter’s Resource mistakenly has Reaper Bird’s butterflies listed under Whimsun’s sprite sheet (which is a completely understandable mix-up).
To drive the point home, notice the string names that are used for these butterflies:
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[Image transcript: An UTModTool window showing multiple named strings. Highlighted in red are six strings that each contain “obj_strangeman_butterfly” in their names. End image transcript.]
They’re “strangeman” butterflies. Not “amalgamate” or “Reaper Bird” butterflies (despite Reaper Bird having its own share of dedicated strings and named sprites), and they’re not “Whimsalot” butterflies either. Toby clearly delineates them as belonging to strangeman, a.k.a. Everyman, meaning that Everyman is specifically associated with butterfly imagery. The Spade King also makes use of butterfly imagery immediately after he mentions the Knight in his final turn.
Between the King and Jevil, this makes two characters that can be linked to both Everyman and the Knight.
Additional Evidence
Let’s circle back to Reaper Bird for a second. It’s commonly known that this amalgamate is made from Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot. To wit:
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These enemies are part of the mercenary group that Mettaton hires to attack you in the Core. Have you ever noticed how out-of-place they seem? Almost every other set of enemies in the game is somehow themed around their environment — Snowdin enemies are ice creatures, Hotland enemies are fire/lava-themed, etc. These mercenaries are themed around medieval warfare and yet they show up in the Core, the most high-tech area in the entire Underground.
What’s even stranger is that this medieval theme seems to come out of nowhere. Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot act as “upgraded” versions of Loox, Froggit, and Whimsun, respectively. And yet their Ruins counterparts don’t have any medieval theming whatsoever—it was added purely for the mercenaries. For whatever reason they’re all dressed like a bunch of wizards and... knights.
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[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “Why do I look like a black sausage and not a knight or a wizard?” This continues on the right, where it says “Well... Everyone has an angle they look best from.” End image transcript.]
That’s not my interpretation of their designs—the game outright calls them knights.
On the one hand, it’s true that Asgore’s royal guards also dress up like knights, but the Core mercenaries are explicitly not part of the royal guard—they’re mercenaries.
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[Image transcript: Battle flavor text that states “Mercenaries emerge from the shadows.” End image transcript.]
Assuming that Asgore has a dress code for his guards or is just old-fashioned in his sensibilities, there’s still no reason why fighters outside of the guard should follow their standard. Even some of the royal sentries don’t follow this theming, as seen with Doggo and Sans (who’s technically a sentry):
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With the abundance of knight-themed royal guard and sentry enemies that exist already, Toby could’ve easily designed the Core Mercenaries to more accurately fit with the Core’s futuristic theme. Doesn’t it seem a little too coincidental that Everyman would wind up as part of the same amalgamate as these otherwise out-of-place knights?
When we look at the other amalgamates, we can see that Lemon Bread (a.k.a. Shyren’s sister) is made up of Waterfall enemies. Endogeny is made up entirely of dog-based enemies. These two amalgamates each have a “theme” for their component monsters that fits the “main” named monster they’re each made of, and Reaper Bird has a clear theme of its own. Why would Everyman be paired with a bunch of knights if he was not connected to them in some way?
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Even the Undertale artbook groups Everyman’s concept art with the Core Mercenaries, specifically the ones that look the most like knights and wizards in-game. The book also repeats the name “Everyman” and Toby’s cryptic phrase of “Just a good guy who shows up on occasion.”
Perhaps Everyman knew the Core mercenaries when he was alive? Were they his fellow knights? Or did they work for him before he fell down and they had to then lend their services elsewhere?
“The Knight? Seriously?”
Some of you may be shaking your heads dismissively at the idea of Everyman being the Knight (or you more likely clicked over to another tab by now). I mean, just look at the guy:
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What part of this design makes you think “knight”, let alone THE Knight? Well, Seam does refer to the Knight as a “strange” knight, and Everyman certainly fits that bill. But more importantly, we haven’t seen an actual overworld sprite for Everyman yet—we’ve only seen some graffiti and a couple of magic bullet attacks, which are always abstract and simplified.
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Not pictured: Froggit, Migosp, Temmie, Moldbygg, Tsunderplane, Mettaton, or Endogeny.
Everyman’s “proper” design would almost certainly differ from his Pillsbury Doughboy-esque bullet sprite, especially if he’s wearing a cloak or a suit of armor. And even if his design doesn’t differ that much, so what? It’s not like this series has ever had an opponent that looks goofy or non-threatening, right?
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Another little tidbit I noticed: one of Reaper Bird’s attacks consists of Everyman repeatedly removing his own head.
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Or maybe it’s not his head? Perhaps it’s a helmet? Like one that a knight would wear? After all, it’s not unheard of for helmets to have beak-like protrusions.
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And this is a series where helmets can come in any shape or size to better fit the needs of the wearer.
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Just some food for thought.
The Gaster connection
It’s time to address the elephant in the room: “Isn’t Gaster supposed to be the Knight?” If you haven’t heard by now, this is one of the prevailing theories in the fandom. To be honest, if the Knight ends up not being Everyman then Gaster is the next-best candidate, imo, but these two theories don’t have to be mutually-exclusive. I think a case can be made that Everyman and Gaster are connected in some way.
Let me say up front that this section is highly speculative (unlike the previous sections, which clearly aren’t the least bit speculative). We’re dealing with two super-obscure characters who’ve yet to make a proper on-screen appearance in either game. It’s already hard enough to figure out how either of them connect to the broader Undertale universe, let alone to each other, but I’ll give it a shot.
For starters, we can affirm that both Gaster and Everyman are linked to the True Lab. There’s no shortage of fan theories and speculation on Gaster’s prior usage of the True Lab in his own experiments and I won’t get into all that here, but suffice it to say the True Lab has Gaster’s name written all over it.
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(Am I the only one who thinks the DT Extractor looks more like Everyman’s head than it does a Gaster Blaster? Forget I said anything.)
We’ve covered how Everyman appears as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks. Interestingly, the amalgamate Memoryhead has an attack that resembles the head of Mysteryman, the figure believed to be Gaster (which I’ll assume here for simplicity’s sake).
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If we follow the logic of my prior “Everyman is the named/important monster that makes up Reaper Bird, fitting the pattern of other amalgamates” argument, then Gaster (or pieces of him) could fill the same role for the Memoryheads.
Everyman and Gaster’s sprites both have the suffix of “man” in Undertale’s game files. Here are all the sprites that use this same naming scheme:
strangeman - Everyman
mysteryman - “Gaster”
snowman - gives you the snowman piece
riverman - a.k.a. River Person
darkman - the shadowy overworld sprites used for the Core Mercenaries
watchingman - The spoon-shaped amalgamate that tucks Frisk into bed
The snowman’s inclusion is a bit of a fluke, because what else would you call a snowman without using “man” in the name? If we exclude the snowman, each instance of “man” represents a mysterious figure that ties back to Everyman and/or Gaster.
We’ve already covered the connection between Everyman and the Core Mercenaries, and it’s easy to connect the “watchingman” amalgamate with the True Lab. River Person is also frequently linked to Gaster in fan theories (and they allude to “the man from the other world” and “the man who speaks in hands”), so what we’re left with is a close-knit community of strange, mysterious "man”s.
This naming scheme looks very intentional on Toby’s part, and he seems to be continuing it in Deltarune by referring to the secret unseen NPC who gives you the egg behind the tree in Scarlet Forest as simply “a man.”
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[Image transcript: Narration from the secret egg room. The text box states: “(Well, there is a man here.)” End image transcript]
The Knight’s “Strange Son”?
Remember when I said I’d get back to the Knight’s “strange son”? That’s now. I’m a little iffy on this topic because it involves stacking a whole ton of assumptions onto a single line of dialogue that’s phrased in an ambiguous way. But, if it means what I think it means, it could shed a ton of light on Everyman’s possible connection to Gaster and whether either of them are the Knight.
When you ask Seam about the “Kingdom”, Seam says this:
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[Image transcript: Three of Seam’s text boxes arranged vertically. In order, they read: “Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East. But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away. The remaining king put him and his strange son into power.” End image transcript]
Let’s focus on that last sentence. On my first playthrough I misread this line as “the knight put the king and his strange son into power” because that sounds a lot closer to the events that happened—the Spade King and his “strange son” Lancer are in power now because the three kings were locked away, presumably by the Knight.
But the actual text states the opposite—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his strange son (i.e., the Knight’s son) into power. Or does it? The line could also read as—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his (the King’s) strange son (Lancer) into power. The second way is  awkwardly-structured but technically valid. And this is assuming that Toby didn’t make any grammatical errors when he typed these lines, which he has done on occasion.
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[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Dr. Alphys says “I felt so guilty knowing I hadn’t do anything to stop you.” End image transcript.]
Not to be too hard on Toby, but even if Seam’s line is grammatically correct it’s still clunky and murky in its conception—at this point in the game we’ve only just been introduced to Lancer and the fact that his dad is the King, and now this line is potentially introducing yet another father/son duo that is closely connected with Lancer’s dad—is it any wonder that this line is often glossed over by fans?
The second reading, where Lancer is the “strange son,” is also awkward because the Spade King would have little need to put Lancer “into power”. Lancer was already a prince and, presumably, already wielded power in that role. Various NPCs make reference to Lancer bossing them around, and such a thing could’ve easily happened before the three kings were deposed.
If we take Seam’s line with the first reading (where the Knight has a “strange son”) and assume there were no grammatical errors, then this is the only time in chapter 1 that the Knight is ever referred to as having a son. It’s also the only time that the Knight is addressed with pronouns, implying that the Knight is male. If true, this would rule out the theory that Kris (or any potential alter ego that Kris has) is the knight, since Kris is neither male nor do they have a son. This would also rule out Susie, who’s never been a popular contender for being the Knight but is referred to as a “dark knight” on her stats page.
Who made who?
So then, who’s male, widely believed to be the Knight, and is often depicted as having one or more sons?
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This (alleged) guy!
“But wait,” you might ask, “isn’t your theory that Everyman is the Knight?” Well, the Knight and his “strange son” seem to be working as a duo in the scenario that Seam outlines, given that the Spade King put both of them “into power.”
Because of Everyman’s connections to the Knight that I’ve laid out, plus the more popular theory that Gaster is the Knight, it’s possible that one may be the Knight and the other may be the Knight’s “strange son.” The way I see it, it doesn’t make a huge difference which one is which.
Now, I don’t think that Gaster and Everyman would be father and son in the strict biological sense. There are a number of reasons for this, but for starters I’m not even sure if Everyman and Gaster are the same species. My inclination is that Everyman is a monster, while Gaster may be a darkner. The latter is mostly my own guess and springboards off of a popular theory that Sans is a darkner, but it’s a whole other can of worms that I won’t get into now.
More importantly, Gaster is strongly implied to have some sort of connection to Sans and Papyrus. All three of them are also connected with special fonts that they each use. As far as I can tell, there’s no widely-used font by the name of “Everyman”, so this would imply that Everyman is not a skeleton and therefore not biologically related to them. However, there’s more than one way to start a family.
Gaster was the royal scientist in Undertale’s universe and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he (or his potential Deltarune counterpart) could find the means to create life forms artificially.
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[Image transcript: The vessel creation scene from Deltarune. The on-screen text says “YOU HAVE CREATED A WONDERFUL FORM.” End image transcript.]
Everyman could be a creation of Gaster’s and thus he’d be Gaster’s “son”.
There’s also another possibility: Everyman is Gaster’s creator. We know that the Knight is pulling new dark fountains out of the Earth. I think the Knight, regardless of who they are, must be able to survive without a dark fountain to give their body form, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to venture into areas where new fountains have yet to be pulled up. The Knight is almost certainly a lightner, and I’ve already detailed why I think Everyman is a lightner as well.
We don’t fully understand how dark fountains interact with darkners, but it’s stated multiple times that dark fountains “give form” to the Dark World.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Today the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS-” and continues into the right screenshot, saying: “The geyser that gives this land form-” End image transcript.]
In the dummied-out manual pages, Ralsei also mentions how his dark fountain gives his body form.
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[Image transcript: Ralsei’s manual excerpt, whic says “Dedicated to The unending pillar of darkness that gives my body form.” End image transcript]
Darkners need dark fountains in order to maintain their forms. They may not even be able to survive at all without them. From this point of view, when the Knight creates new dark fountains he’s bringing new darkners to life. If Gaster is a darkner himself, then it’s not unthinkable to imagine that Everyman may have brought him to life in this way and could thus be called his “father”. Seam does refer to lightners as the “creators” of darkners, after all.
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[Image transcript: Seam’s dialogue box saying “They were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose...” End image transcript.]
Ultimately the question of who’s the father and who’s the son is purely speculative. We don’t even know for sure if the Knight has a son, let alone whether it’s Everyman, Gaster, or someone else entirely. It’s very much a “the chicken or the egg?” kind of question.
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[Image transcript: Two images. The right is a screenshot of the egg room with narration stating “(You received an Egg)”. End image transcript.]
Hmm...
“Seriously, who is Everyman?”
Let’s bring this home with the question we started with: Who is Everyman? I’ve gone into evidence that he existed as an actual person in Undertale and will likely play a role in Deltarune, but this doesn’t tell us much about the kind of character he is. We don’t even know if “Everyman” is his real name.
If Everyman is indeed a prominent character in Deltarune then there are two possibilities: 1.) he’s a brand new character we’ve never met before, or 2.) he’s someone that we have met before. The first option, while a strong possibility, doesn’t leave us with much to talk about, so let’s look at the second.
Right out the gate I can confidently say that Everyman is not a character that we talked to or had significant interaction with in Undertale. The obvious reason is that he was busy being stuck inside Reaper Bird and he couldn’t have been in two places at once (as far as we know). This means that Everyman would have to be a character introduced in Deltarune chapter 1.
I’ve said before that I believe Everyman is a lightner, so this would rule out any dark world characters. That leaves us with the residents of Hometown who didn’t have direct counterparts in Undertale’s story.
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After careful consideration I’ve narrowed the field to two suspects:
Father Alvin
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Father Alvin has always struck me as an oddity. He seems like an important member of Hometown’s community, and yet none of the other residents ever talk about him. He’s also conspicuously absent from Undertale’s universe.
The most notable thing about Father Alvin is that his church seems to worship “the Angel”.
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[Image transcript: Father Alvin saying “Let the Angel’s power light your way.” End image transcript.]
Ralsei’s prophecy states that the three heroes must seal the dark fountains in order to banish the “Angel’s Heaven.”
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[Image transcript: Two Deltaunre screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Only they can seal the fountains.” The right screenshot continues, saying: “And banish the ANGEL’S HEAVEN.” End image transcript.]
This would put the heroes at odds with both the Knight (who’s creating fountains) and whoever is serving this Angel. We can only speculate on the Knight’s motives, but what if he’s acting in service to the Angel?
Something that isn’t brought up much in the fandom is the religious reverence that darkners give to their fountains. The King of Spades refers to the fountains that the Knight creates as “holy” fountains.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the King of Spades says “Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world...” The right screenshot continues, saying “OUR world.” End image transcript.]
The soundtrack that plays at the Fountain is called “The Holy.” Dark fountains can seemingly create life, so it’s easy to imagine the Knight viewing his own mission as some sort of holy rite.
As far as evidence goes for Alvin being Everyman/the Knight, the biggest clue is the drawing signed by Alvin that shows up in the supply closet at the end of chapter 1.
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Every other object in the closet represents a part of the dark world that Kris and Susie visited, and yet at no point do they encounter a dark world manifestation of this drawing. We know that the Knight visited Card Castle previously, so this drawing could be meant to represent the Knight’s presence in that part of the dark world.
It’s also worth noting how most of the closet’s toys are arranged from left to right in the order that Kris and Susie encountered them on their journey. Alvin’s drawing is on the far right, just past the open cabinet drawer (i.e., Card Castle), implying that Alvin’s drawing was either at the fountain or that it was effectively the “next” thing that Kris and Susie would’ve encountered if they had stayed.
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It’s hard to make out what the drawing could be beyond being a “poorly-drawn picture of a green turtle”, as the flavor text explains. Could it be Everyman? Or is it just a reference to Bold and Brash? Both? Neither? The world may never know. Or it may know when the full game comes out.
Can I also add how strange it is that Alvin’s drawing is in the closet to begin with? Alvin looks to be a pretty old dude, so why would his drawing still be in a school that he no longer attends? I don’t have an answer, I just think it’s weird.
Other clues that could point to Alvin being Everyman are that he is, scientifically speaking, old-looking, which would line up with my hypothesis of Undertale’s Everyman being an older monster who fell down before becoming Reaper Bird.
Alvin also vaguely resembles Everyman as far as their proportions are concerned.
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It’s by no means a perfect match, especially if we factor in Alvin’s shell, but both characters possess a round head with some sort of beak or proboscis.
If Everyman actually is Father Alvin, then the title “Everyman” could be a reference to The Summoning of Everyman, a 15th-century religious morality play. I won’t get into the specifics here, but the play focuses on a character named Everyman who must prepare for his inevitable death and judgment for his deeds in life. I don’t really know how much that would tie into Deltarune’s themes or if it’s even a deliberate reference to begin with, so make of it what you will.
Father Alvin was the first character that I suspected of being Everyman when I started writing this theory, but there’s one major sticking point that prevents me from fully embracing the idea: the fact that he lacks a character portrait for his dialogue boxes.
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This may seem like a minor nitpick, but dialogue portraits indicate when a character is important to the story, and it would be a pretty big oversight on Toby’s part if a (presumably) recurring antagonist wasn’t given a portrait. Even a three-scene wonder like Rouxls Kaard was given a portrait.
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It’s true that recurring characters like Napstablook and Monster Kid weren’t given portraits in Undertale...
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But Deltarune has greatly expanded the number of characters with portraits this time around, and we can already infer that Noelle (who had a portrait in chapter 1) will be an important character going forward:
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Given Alvin’s limited dialogue in chapter 1 and his lack of a portrait, I’m more inclined to believe that he’ll end up being a minor character, in which case he’d almost certainly not be the Knight (and therefore not Everyman). But who knows, maybe Toby will give him a portrait in the full game.
Thankfully, we have another candidate who might be Everyman:
The Ice-E’s Employees
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You think I’m joking? Trust me, you’ll know when I’m joking.
I didn’t initially make the connection between Ice-E’s and Everyman until I saw a post from @curioscurio​ that pointed me in that direction.
Let’s go back to the Everyman graffiti that appears in Hometown.
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Notice how the drawing right next to it resembles Ice-E’s head? I can’t believe this was staring me in the face the whole time and I never realized the connection.
Another point in favor of the Ice-E’s workers is that we don’t even know what two of them look like. We know that Burgerpants is one, and another is implied to be the Nice Cream Bunny that we met in Undertale.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Ice-E’s employee says “Psst, can I tell you a mascot secret? I only started working here because...” The right screenshot continues, saying “The logo made me think it was an ice-cream shop...” End image transcript.]
But this still leaves the “purple guy” and “The Warrior”, who remain in full costume for chapter 1, meaning that one of them could resemble Everyman underneath their mask.
Speaking of The Warrior, he certainly fits the bill as being “strange.” His title wouldn’t be out of place among the likes of The Knight, and his dialogue refers to the hospital’s medical staff as “white wizards”, which fits with the medieval theming that’s associated with Everyman’s mercenary cohorts in Undertale.
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[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Warrior says “This castle’s WHITE WIZARDs relegated me to this HEALING CHAMBER...” The right screenshot continues, saying “But my BLOOD is BOILING FOR BATTLE!!!” End image transcript.]
Speaking of the Core Mercenaries, here’s an interesting tidbit:
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[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “As a youth, I would sneak out to play by this creepy flaming pit.” The right screenshot continues, saying “Since the CORE is always re-arranging, it was like a game trying to find it.” End image transcript.]
I used to assume that the Core Mercenaries were older monsters who fought in the human-monster war, which would explain their insistence on dressing up as old-timey knights and wizards. However, these lines of dialogue imply that the Mercenaries are far younger—young enough to visit the Core when they were kids.
So why would a bunch of younger monsters dress up like old-school knights and wizards? Simple: they’re LARPers. This would explain why their more casual overworld dialogue doesn’t match their overly-serious battle dialogue whatsoever—the battle is over and, thus, so is the act.
What does this have to do with Ice-E’s? Simple. The Warrior is also a LARPer. But he takes it a step further and never lets the act slip. According to Burgerpants, he terrorizes customers with war chants during his day job, and we see him keeping up the act while he’s injured in the hospital. It’s clear that he’s living in a fantasy world, and someone like that would have every reason to spend time in a strange dark world that “seems like” fantasy.
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[Image transcript: Lyrics from Deltarune’s credits theme. It says: “And the places that you know seem like fantasy”. End image transcript.]
Someone like him could grow attached to such a place and want to see it spread as far and wide as possible, with no regard for how it would affect the boring “real world”. All he’d need to do is create new dark fountains to sustain this fantasy world.
I also find it interesting that The Warrior is in the hospital during chapter 1. Burgerpants claims that this is the result of “pizza-related injuries.”
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[Image transcript: Two dialogue boxes from Burgerpants. Read from top to bottom, it says “The Warrior - Thankfully absent due to pizza-related injuries. Constantly terrorizing customers with war chants.” End image transcript.]
But what if there was another reason? We can see signs of “some kind of struggle” in the King of Spade’s throne room, complete with tattered wall banners.
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[Image transcript: Narration in the Spade King’s throne room. The text box says “(Wall banners. They seem to have been through some kind of struggle...)” End image transcript.]
What if the Knight sustained injuries when he overthrew the three kings and had to go to the hospital afterwards? A “struggle” implies that there was some resistance involved.
Another interesting coincidence is that the previews for Deltarune Chapter 2 strongly imply that it will take place in a dark world that forms in the hospital.
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Earlier previews have also implied that Noelle will have a larger role in Chapter 2, and she’d have every reason to be in the hospital visiting her father when things hit the fan.
It feels awfully convenient that a new dark world springs up right in the spot where the Warrior is. I wouldn’t be surprised if chapter 2 gives us our first glimpse of the Knight in person, and what better way than a surprise run-in with the Warrior?
Some of you may be asking why I’d suggest a minor character like The Warrior might be the Knight when he has a single line of dialogue and no dialogue portrait? Simple: characters tend not to have portraits when their face is hidden from view. We see this with Undyne in Undertale:
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She doesn’t gain a dialogue portrait until after she removes her helmet. This is also true of Burgerpants in Deltarune.
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So, unlike Father Alvin, The Warrior has an excuse for not having a dialogue portrait yet. While Father Alvin has some compelling evidence supporting him being the Knight/Everyman, The Warrior has no major counter-argument that I can think of (unlike Father “no portrait” Alvin), so I give The Warrior the edge as far as Everyman suspects go.
I’d also like point out that if Gaster ends up not being the Knight or the Knight’s “Strange Son,” then we could get a two-for-one deal of Father Alvin as the Knight and The Warrior as his strange son. Definitely not the most likely outcome, but technically possible! I’d imagine those two would have a hilariously awkward dynamic if they were related.
Closing Summary
Wow, this post went on for a while! Let’s summarize what we’ve learned today.
Everyman (in Undertale)
Was likely a monster who “fell down”
Became part of the Reaper Bird Amalgamate
Likely knew the Core Mercenaries
Is connected to butterfly imagery
Described as “strange”
May or may not have looked like his bullet sprite
May or may not have been connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster
May or may not have been connected to the River Person
Everyman (in Deltarune)
Is alive and active
Is known to both lightners and darkners
Can most likely travel between the light and dark worlds
Is known of by Jevil
May or may not resemble his Undertale bullet sprite
May or may not be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster
May or may not be Father Alvin
May or may not be an Ice-E’s employee
May or may not be the Knight or the Knight’s “strange son”
The Knight
Described as “strange”
Is pulling up new dark fountains from the Earth
Has been to the dark world
Is possibly a lightner/monster
Is connected to the Spade King, who uses butterfly imagery
Overthrew the other three kings at Card Castle
Is known of by Jevil and Seam
May or may not be Everyman
May or may not be “mysteryman”/Gaster
May or may not be the “strange someone” who changed Jevil
Likely male
Likely has a “strange son”
Everyman and the Knight (similarities)
Both are likely monsters
Both are alive and active in Deltarune’s world
Both are (presumably) male
Both have a presence in the dark world
Both are known by Jevil and may have met him previously
Both are associated with butterfly imagery to some degree
Both are connected to knight imagery
Both are described as “strange”
Both may be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster
Both are foreshadowed in Deltarune chapter 1
Final Conclusions
So what do I really think? I’m reminded of Undertale’s original Kickstarter demo and how much of the full game’s story was left out of it. Right now we’re in a similar situation with Deltarune. I can’t view any of my theories with certainty because at the end of the day I have no idea what Toby’s going to write for the full game, but I can guess.
If I had to put a number to it, I’d say the odds of Everyman making further appearances in Deltarune is 95% and the odds of him being the Knight is about 66%. There’s always the possibility that Gaster will usurp the title of Knight and leave Everyman as the Knight’s “strange son” or as the far less illustrious role of “no one particularly important”.
If Everyman is in the game, I’d give 50/50 odds that he’s one of the Ice-E’s employees, mainly due to the Warrior’s situation lining up well with Chapter 2′s (likely) setting. I’d then give a 25% chance it’s Father Alvin and the remaining 25% as “anyone else”.
Thanks for reading all of this (or skipping to the end). I’ve seen hardly anyone talk about our favorite strange little man and I just wanted to get the word about him out there. Even if you don’t agree with my conclusions, I’m happy to (hopefully) ignite further discussion over this often-overlooked character.
For now I’ve said all that I can say on the topic. All we can do is wait and see what happens. Fingers crossed.
Special thanks to @curioscurio​ for inspiring me to make this post in the first place.
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Date published: December 10th, 2020
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pt-disconnected · 2 years
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As the group returned to the surface, thanks to Lancer’s proficiency in hole-digging, there was some conversation. In front, of course, was Lancer, with Ralsei and Lairse lighting the path as they ascended the tunnel. While Kris and the Player still had minor tensions, Kris wasn’t intent on killing the Player now... partially due to being somewhat exhausted in the terms of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. As such, they were being carried up by Susie, and Noelle was in the back. Now that Kris and the Player were cooled- at least, cooled enough to where Kris wasn’t at the Player’s throat- the conversations were a lot less hostile, and despite Kris’ tensions with the Player, everyone was communicating peacefully. For the most part, it was all fine. And though the Player had taken quite a lot of hits, they had refused healing from Ralsei- much to both Kris and Ralsei’s surprise. “Some scars serve as reminders of the promises we need to keep,” they had said. And they showed that they could still walk, meaning that despite Ralsei continually asking if they needed healed, it wouldn’t have made any difference- although it was impressive that they had endured the beatdown and still remained mobile. Noelle brought up the Hot Seat- this time only mentioning Susie’s portion on the Seat, as the Player had taken over where Kris had been. However, the explanation had been done, and Kris was still in the same situation- hoisted by Susie and... not actually conversing much, saying about ten words and a mumble the entire way up. Lairse and Ralsei had their own conversation, but the Player was a bit too lost in their own mind to overhear it. Their ears were ringing and their body was sore all over, but nothing was broken and no blood was drawn. So they kept moving. Just bruised and battered, they told themselves. This world’s injuries worked different, they told themselves. So they pushed through it despite it all. As they finally reached the surface, they discovered the remaining Darkners enjoying hot cocoa and s'mores- much to everyone’s dismay. It had been a long day for just about everyone in the group, each for their own reasons, and to surface just to find out they had missed out on sweet treats like those... well, they were certainly salty about it. Despite that, they gathered up the Darkners and headed to the fountain... most everything seemed about the same as the first encounter, to the relief of the Player. Maybe they’d be able to keep things somewhat consistent. Though, it was... unlikely, with all the altercations that had been made. As the rest of the group got ready, Kris looked towards the Player, then towards where their SOUL would be... then back to the Player. “...You said you knew what happens in the future, right..?” The Player nodded. “...Well, yeah..? Sort of anyways... I think some stuff got messed up, but with any luck the events should stay mostly the same...” Kris nodded back. “If that’s the case... you’re going to be letting go of control over me then? I won’t be stuck without choice?” they asked, a tinge of hope in their voice. And again, the Player nodded with a light chuckle. “Yeah. I wouldn’t be here otherwise- it would have been you resetting back instead of me then.” Kris looked to the ground, then smiled- just a bit, but still visible. “...Thanks.” they said, quietly. The Player just nodded one more time. “Don’t mention it. It took me a while to realize that it... wasn’t just a game. You wouldn’t have looked at a deck of cards and seen the whole world with Lancer and everyone else before you had gone there yourself... I’m just glad I could at least change things.” Kris chuckled in turn. “...I guess you have a point. I take it once we seal this Dark Fountain you’ll be going back to... wherever you were?” This brought up a good point- one that the Player hadn’t thought about. “...I don’t know.”
And that concludes Part 9 of PT: Disconnected! Sorry this took such a long time- family stuff, Christmas, and a variety of other things took focus away from the story and I really feel bad about that. Thank you all so much for your patience, and hopefully this is worth the wait! I really enjoy being able to put my own spin on the open ending of Lynx’s series, and I further enjoy seeing others thinking so highly of it! It makes me feel more motivated really, and I’ll try and get maybe one more part done within hopefully a week of the new year! I will be likely inactive on the 12th next month- that’s actually my birthday so I’m probably gonna be quite distracted- but again, I will do my best to get these parts out consistently! Looking forward to seeing how you all think of this next part of the story, and I’ll see you all soon! Previous Part | First Part | Next Part LynxGriffin’s Paper Trail Comic (Check parts 61 and 62 for the main portions of Lynx’s comic which this part was based on! A bit of part 63 was in this part as well, though not much. Check it out anyways!)
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katyahina · 3 years
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Just a bit of theory about Kris
To be honest, I think that ultimate purpose of Deltarune as a game would be helping Kris to obtain their own SOUL... Once more. Basically, we might be up to make Kris trust us, the player.
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You see, Kris throws away red SOUL in the cage at the end of the game, and we control that red heart thing, suggesting that we (the Player) were possessing them. But I think this weird spot just near the cage suggests that SOUL has been thrown in the cage before...
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And just look at their side of the shelves in the room. Completely empthy. Of hobbies, of rewards. I think this might have been a parallel how we, the Player, have ability to destroy what they love (as indicated with throwing away a ball of junk), so they are afraid to have anything anymore. But... Them having a drawing tips book possessed over a few years yet clearly not making use of it? Asgore mentioning they hate uninvited hugs and Rudy recalling them as 'weird kid'? Them no longer playing piano as well as they used to? Paired with empthy shelves? And narration suggesting that Kris used to value some things - such as pranking Noelle, or loving taste of hot chocolate? And Noelle mentioning them needing help with homework 'again' as regular thing?
I think Kris might display mental illness blossoming upon puberty, after all.
See, I suppose SOUL is not as much 'magical' entity in UTDR universe, but moreso a clear identity to grasp upon. Therefore a SOUL-less human in the lore is less "hahaha souless = evil time for crimes!!!" thing and more loss of 'self'. I might be projecting personal experience here, but 'loss of a SOUL' might very well reflect that feeling when you just... one day realize that you are no longer 'yourself', and could never be again. That you lost that taste of life, that regular hobbies are no longer as joyful...
So like, being so lost makes them perfect target for otherwordly experiments, and it'd be cool if we could lead them to recollecting their own SOUL eventually? Or maybe getting new one (kinda metaphor for getting new semblance of self + life after mental illness took away your 'initial' self, I'd say). But if we keep making them do terrible things along the full game - they will snap from our control entirely, jumping into their own bad ending. So we need to work for their good so they can trust a Red Heart thing until they find something of their own in their adventure.
SOUL feels more like identity solidfied, I don't believe SOUL-less humans are evil - but they are ones completely lost themselves, for one tragic reason and another. Chara already canonically had to relay on player to recollect who they could be - even if it has little to nothing to do with their personality when they were alive.
The only drawback is that yes - in this case, Deltarune would slightly repeat Undertale, except instead of saving monsterkind, we now need to save just one person! Notice how Spade King gets overthrown and Susie has her character arc no matter how player acted. Our choices don't matter... for everyone BUT Kris! Events will take intended course, but we choose how Kris will feel.
Maybe Rudy will die either way, but we choose if he dies alone or upon pleasant conversation. Maybe Noelle will take her course to confess to Susie and suffer unrequited love - but we choose if Kris is there for her to support or not. Maybe Papyrus Deltarune will be a loser either way - but we decide if they're a lone loser or a loser with a friend!
And I think it might lead to recovery of 'SOUL-less' Kris. Establishment of trust between player and Kris. And it'd be beautiful. After all, our choices don't matter for overall events... But they matter for Kris.
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everysongineverykey · 2 years
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noelle!
noelle!!
favorite thing about them: god. there's so much. that's a tough question... i think one thing i've always really appreciated about her character (among yknow. all the other things) is the way she's... scared. she's really scared of the dark world and everything in it, which i find refresging because nobody else is! they all just go along with it! but noelle is a much closer representation to how i'd feel in that situation, and the wonderful part is she learns to be brave- she finds beauty in the flashing lights and deafening sounds of cyber city, like in the fireworks in the heights, and she harnesses that fear and turns it into a sense of adventure💙
least favorite thing about them: uhhh there is none really lmao. she's perfect <3 although her design could be a little more creative. like bigger more complex antlers instead of those sticks she was given. i don't CARE if it's "biologically inaccurate" or whatever GIVE HER COOL ANTLERS
favorite line: ough. there's so much to choose from... her entire december walk monologue is... whough. "when i said this city makes my head spin... i didn't mean it in a bad way. ...you know?" all that makes me feel things. OOH OR when susie asks her if she was scared of the fireworks and she says "i... guess? (maybe that's... why i couldn't stop watching...)" THAT ONE KILLS ME.
brotp: her and berdly <3 or maybe her and kris! all i know is both friendships are wonderful cause kris and berdly are both kind of insecure/bad at social stuff and noelle seems to gravitate towards people like that and that's so sweet...
otp: her and susie of course. is that even a question. the way she says susie's "the good kind of scary" implies that though she hasn't talked to susie much she knows susie isn't really a malicious bully. she knows instinctively that susie won't hurt her. and that's beautiful💙
notp: her and berdly lmao. cut that out she's a lesbian
random headcanon: she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the horror genre. really into it! she doesn't really infodump without prompting except to berdly but ask her about it and the floodgates burst open and you'll come away educated :)
unpopular opinion: uhhh i dunno if i have one for her lol. i guess that while snowgrave is a fascinating exploration of her and kris' characters, it's a little overrated and i don't think we should discount the character growth and development she goes through in the normal route? idk
song i associate with them: uh oh lol this one's gonna be tough. i don't really do the whole associating characters with songs thing but... hate myself by dodie? i dunno, it gives me a noelle sort of vibe- she takes all her loved ones' emotional turmoil and pressure and tries to put it in herself in tough times, so they won't have to suffer. when they go quiet, she hates herself.
favorite picture of them: the entirety of december walk. the atmosphere's so lovely. but since it has to be a picture...
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(i particularly adore the way her sprite momentarily gets tiny as she's talking about her childhood memories. it really throws you in)
thank you for the ask! i don't talk about noelle much but i adore the way she went from a background npc in chapter 1 to such a complex and meaningful character in ch2 and i hope we'll see more of her💙
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kraviolis · 3 years
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one of my favorite things about kris deltarune is how many ships they could feasibly be in that would 1) make sense and 2) be extremely fun to explore.
there’s obv kris/susie, the classic enemies to friends to lovers, and then kris/ralsei, which i find a bit weird but also like not weird enough to dismiss entirely bcus its still interesting to think about.
then kris/noelle which my GOD its so juicy and delicious i love love love kris/noelle. childhood best friends to lovers with a dark side (AND AN EVEN DARKER SIDE IF U CONSIDER SNOWGRAVE) ugh so good.
kris/berdly is a new one that i, at first, entirely dismissed as a joke but upon further consideration i’ve decided is also So Good. berdly underestimates kris so much (even if he’s always considered them the third smartest in the class) but i love the idea of kris constantly just accidentally casually impressing him and berdly just slowly developing a crush on them just because WOW theyre so cool and smart??!!!?! and they’re always so calm and collected and such a natural leader??!!? obviously this is post-character development for berdly.
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protectchara201x · 3 years
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(ignoring all the other juicy Deltarune 2 stuff to shove Chara Talks into it lololol)
I haven’t been super active on this blog because frankly I have like, three? looong analysis/theorycrafting posts I’ve been putting off working on and it fills me with shame to log in and see them waiting in my drafts.
But.
With the release of Deltarune Chapter 2, I wanted to talk kinda in general about how I thought it could impact the fandom’s perception of Everybody’s Favorite Demon Baby, and also point out something in specific about the Weird Route that might connect back to Undertale.
Putting it under the cut to avoid spoilers and long-winded ramblings for the unwilling. Includes spoilers for the Weird Route.
(NOTE: may update later if I notice more things for to put in section II. I’d like to make a full list of parallels if I can tidy them up.)
I. Pre- vs Post-Release Thoughts (you can skip down to II if you don’t care, it is genuinely Long and Pointless)
Okay, so first off. I got SO worried like, the day before the new chapter dropped? It hit me that whatever new stuff we got out of this, people would connect back to Undertale, and. Honestly, I really do hate connecting everything back to Chara, because I do think of Kris as their own character and I really like them and don’t want to ignore everything they got going on. But, I am first and foremost a shameless Chara stan and they’re very important to me, so I kinda... did spend a few minutes reeling from all the new DR stuff as its own stuff, and then immediately started thinking about how this would reflect back on Chara in Undertale lol.
But that’s ok for me to do here because this is my All Chara, Only Chara, All The Time blog, so I am gonna only really talk about Deltarune here to talk about them lol.
So yeah, I started getting anxious beforehand worrying about how everyone would take any and all implications and apply it to mean “aha, Chara IS evil!” The fakeout with the pie reveal in the anniversary stream was a big relief, but I still got worried leading up to the release about what could be in it.
Because part of why I’ve always thought that “Chara was genuinely evil from the start” and even “ok maybe not TOTALLY evil, but Chara was still a kinda bad person” were unlikely was, even if you throw out all the other popular Chara-sympathetic theories. To me, both these takes just seemed too below TF’s talent and the way he wrote all his other characters with depth and love; a Chara like the one these theories propose just doesn’t belong in a world created by TF, and the way the Dreemurrs talk about them overall, the way TF made a point of having Chara say they were guided and repeatedly, correctly blame you the player for the destruction in Kill-All, I was sure that he never intended them to ever be as bad as the fandom sometimes tried to make them out to be.
... Like, mostly sure. Like, 80% sure? Because he never ever talks about them, so it’s impossible say for sure, and it is still theoretically possible that “Chara was and is bad” was the cold-ass take he’d intended all along. So yeah, leading up to the release, I started getting antsy that whatever new lore came out of it, either he’d directly confirm “Chara was a villain?” “*cocks gun* Always has been” or there’d be something that’d at least heavily implicate them, or could be twisted to implicate them, as a negative force. More ammo to be used against them in the Chara Debate Circles would be a drag, and outright confirmation of them as a villain would honestly break my heart and I’d be forced to disown Toby Fox, My Beloved Cool Dad.
And, right now? Tell the truth, I’m SO relieved and I am SO happy. And not just because of how much depth and characterization it seems Kris is getting! (imo, because rn I just headcanon them as an unhappy teen desperately trying to keep their new friends going on adventures with them and trying to fight back against the player’s control)
I love how this chapter seems to be TF doing course-correcting based on fandom interpretations. Because Kris just isn’t evil, even if they are a knife teen, even if they are the Knight, they’re just NOT evil and that’s canon, baybeeee; it’s made clear in this chapter and the previous one that they love their family even outside of the player’s control, they care about their new friends even outside of the player’s control, they’re established as a weird creepy kid but no one sees them as scary or evil, they’re just Kris, and even in the Weird Route, TF made a point of hammering in the differences between Kris and the player in the Weird Route: Susie and Ralsei notice how distressed Kris seemed after you have Noelle ice Berdly, Noelle heard a voice that she said wasn’t Kris telling her to kill, and the FUCKING Spamton fight: “Kris called for help... but nobody came” again and again, and then “You whispered Noelle’s name”... you, not Kris.
I know TF has never commented much on fans’ perceptions of Frisk and Chara, or who exactly is pulling strings in different routes. But after all this, and especially after seeing all the little winks and nods to fandom jokes in this chapter (what comes to mind: pulling everyone’s leg by seeming to have Kris attack Toriel with a knife only to reveal that pie theory was right, Susie not liking Ralsei’s real face as much as his shadowed one, Ralsei with a gun getting referenced with the ad, Kris getting a joke fixation with knives after the fans made Chara and Kris have knife obsessions as a joke), and seeing what looks like him try to correct some things (what stuck out to me was doubling down on showing that Kris is loved and valued in their family: lots of fans came away from Chapter 1 thinking that Kris was not valued as much as Asriel, but here we see that Toriel is supportive of Kris’ friendship with Susie, and it’s stated that Asriel is the one who used the crappy controller, not Kris) -
I think while he hasn’t commented directly, while he admitted to being overwhelmed by Undertale’s success, while he tends to be pretty tight-lipped about the lore (whether that’s because it’ll be addressed by future chapters or because he prefers to let fans sleuth it out), this chapter convinced me that Toby does keep tabs on fan reactions in Deltarune, so he probably does with Undertale too and would know about all The Discourse surrounding Little Mx Pink Cheeks (and in turn, popular theories like Narrator Chara... Toby if you integrate Narrator Chara into Deltarune being a borderline creepypasta and have the narrator start talking directly to the characters or to the player or the characters start talking to the narrator I will lose my damn B E A N S).
(Kris and Chara not being demonized and the narrator interacting directly with the characters were the only two things on my wishlist going in, I was fine with literally anything else happening lmao)
I even kinda think he’s going out of his way to separate Kris and the player because we didn’t get it before with Undertale, we still insisted that Frisk or Chara was the one doing it, and he’s even using Kris to show that even if this kid can be scary, maybe even mean, and maybe they’re even the Knight (with their reasons unknown), they’re still not a bad kid, they’re still funny and likable, and they still genuinely love their family and friends - which falls in line with Undertale’s cast of complex but likable people who can be antagonists and make mistakes but still aren’t truly bad people, and imo is a direct response to some people fixating on the idea that Chara was always evil because they seem scary/complicated.
... Which is a long way to say that I came out of Deltarune with my confidence fully restored about TF’s intentions with Chara and Kris. Even if he never comments on Chara directly, now I really don’t think TF thinks they’re evil or ever intended for them to be. Deltarune convinced me more than ever that Chara is meant to be complex, yes, and able to be influenced to do horrible things, but they were never intended to be as malicious or shallow as some fans insist.
TLDR:
Toby Fox read your mean fanfiction where Chara is a bad abusive serial killer no one likes, and he made Deltarune in revenge.
... Hm? Ah, you’d like me to get to the point! Right this way!
II. Undertale, Deltarune, and The Point
While no doubt some will still take the voice Noelle hears to be Chara influencing her to turn her into a murderer (I haven’t gone looking for it yet, but I’m sure it’s already a thing because I know this fandom), since it’s made too clear by the game that they can’t blame Kris for this one, I think at this point that’s just being too stubborn to consider other ideas.
If you believe in the totally made up idea used in so many fanfics that Chara is an evil spirit trying to whisper in Frisk’s ear to kill everyone, literally (for some reason) the embodiment of raising stats, and gets more control over people who have increased LV to take over their body... sure. Could be them, they did talk about moving on to the next world and all. I mean, that wouldn’t really make sense because it’s literally never implied in the actual game that Chara encourages you to kill outside of the Kill-All Run or even wants you to, certainly not as the narrator and we get no hint of them doing this as an unseen, unheard third-party either.
Not to mention they’re NOT literally possessing you because of increased LV; they don’t control you even with high LV in any Undertale route other than arguably the Kill-All, and if you fail the Kill-All and it turns into a high-body count Neutral, Chara suddenly stops using first-person narration and showing up in mirrors entirely even though they were showing themself before, the LV remains the same or even can get raised as high as LV 19, nor do they suddenly take over in any other Neutral runs. We can speculate on why (personally, I’d place this either on Chara’s mindset, such as them sinking into shock from the trauma or becoming more assertive as the player feeds their megalomania, or as a sign of Frisk’s withdrawal, leaving Chara alone in the body to take the reins and act out the player’s orders), but canonically, no, Chara does not take over due to high stats.
In fact, there’s even more evidence against this. First-person narration also exists for fleeing your battles in Undertale, even on Pacifist runs with base stats, 0 EXP, and an LV of 1. Since Chara is established to use first-person narration to refer to themself, is the only one who canonically does so, and is confirmed to be present even in all runs through their name and memories always showing up, it seems pretty likely that Chara can take control to flee battle. That means an increase in stats is not a sign of their presence or control, in Undertale or Deltarune.
The most damning blow to the idea that Chara is the voice corrupting Noelle are the lines in the fight with Spamton I mentioned. Kris called for help, but nobody came. You whispered Noelle’s name. Well hold on. If that’s Chara, shouldn’t it be “I whispered Noelle’s name”? As soon as you’ve officially started the Kill-All in Undertale, Chara starts up their “It’s me, Chara” schtick right away, right there in Toriel’s home in the first area, and if they weren’t the narrator before, they’re beginning to speak through the narration now. If the voice was Chara, surely Toby Fox knows it’d be a way bigger “oh shit” moment if the creepy scary hidden route once again switched into first-person, scaring us the same way he did before when we first saw “It’s me, Chara” and knew something was wrong; unfairly or not, their reputation as a villain is still well established and hinting to Chara’s presence with a simple “I” would drive the menace even further, if he intended for them to simply be a demon that possesses player characters when you grind enough. But it’s still just you. The player.
The Weird Route does even more to help Chara’s case than that. Not only is it made pretty clear that Kris and the player are separate, and the player is the one responsible for corrupting Noelle and making her kill... consider how similar Noelle and Chara are, in the Weird Route and the Kill-All Route.
This “voice” that “guides” them in growing strong, compelling them to kill everyone in order to fight for them, eventually driving them to murder people they know. Chara calls themself “the demon that comes when people call its name”, and you whisper Noelle’s name to have her appear to kill Spamton. Noelle’s conflicting emotions towards Kris and the voice as she is manipulated, as she becomes more violent and sadistic, as she goes into shock; does that not sound like Chara, who flipflops between holding you dear as their partner and wanting to move on to the next world together, to be together forever, and them being disgusted by your refusal to accept consequences and the perverse enjoyment you get in killing everyone again and again? Chara, who clings to their quirky narration for much of the Kill-All, but keeps slipping up, who becomes terrifyingly cold, aggressive, power-hungry, and even sadistic, yet still calls Undyne “the heroine”, still seems to still care about their locket, still has moments where they seem to falter?
Noelle does put up significantly more resistance to the voice’s commands than Chara does, and at least much more visibly shows distress and trauma. I don’t think this is a black mark on Chara’s chara-cter either, or an indication of them being more violent or cruel.
For one, while Noelle is still herself with her own soul, it is heavily implied by Chara, Flowey, and Undertale’s lore that Chara was reincarnated without their own soul, at best perhaps attached to Frisk’s (or yours): as I speculate in one of my currently unfinished theories, while monster souls are made up of love, compassion, and hope and thus Asriel was reincarnated without these qualities, it could well be that human souls are correspondingly made up of their own multiple traits, namely determination, patience, bravery, integrity, perseverance, kindness, and justice; if true, a soulless Chara would be lacking these qualities, which would make them less equipped to resist the player’s commands or to feel as torn up about it.
Also, the player has a hold on them both as “party members” to the player’s vessels, but it is also possible that the player naming Chara and having them directly attached to Frisk also gives them a stronger connection to Chara they can abuse, similar to how Kris and Frisk (as the player’s direct vessels) have much less autonomy than Kris’ party members.
(Fun observation: We know that when the thing controlling Kris forced Noelle into becoming a killer and using her to kill Berdly, Kris was horrified and shaken-up according to Susie and Ralsei. How do you think Frisk felt watching Chara be used to slaughter the Underground and then erasing the world when they’re totally corrupted?)
And lastly... look, Noelle and Chara are both minors, but Chara is significantly younger - a small child compared to Noelle’s teen. I know it’s fiction and strong wills and determination and anime is real and all, but a traumatized young child who died two violent and awful deaths back-to-back, may have literally experienced being a corpse in their own coffin/grave for who knows how long, and then came back ”confused” only to immediately start hearing a voice relentlessly commanding them to kill everyone?? I can absolutely see a traumatized kid shutting down and just going with it out of fear at first, before the LV sets in.
TLDR:
What you do to Noelle in the Weird Route is the same fucking thing you do to Chara in the Kill-All Route.
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i really, really wanna love berdly. i'm a socially oblivious burnout gifted kid, so i can sympathize with him hardcore, and i can definitely see him being one of if not my favourite character in the future. but i just cannot like him as he is right now.
i wanna clarify, it's not because he's annoying. if he was just annoying, i would love him to bits, and he'd probably even end up one of my favourites.
my initial problem with him was how he puts down others to make him feel better out himself. but that was resolved in chapter 2, and was even something i could sympathize with. however, immediately after that was handled, he got an entirely new character breaking flaw.
namely, he's a total incel. he thought noelle had a crush on him because she was friendly with him and helped him study. it's hard to tell if noelle even considered him a friend or just a study buddy, if i'm honest. and then, despite susie hating his guts moments before, he assumed she was into him because she wasn't actively mean to him.
this is really the only thing stopping me from liking him. he's a funny character who's even kind of relatable for me as a neurodivergent fan. i can definitely see how people love him, please don't take this personally if you're a berdly fan!
but until this is cleared up and he's just an 'annoying' chicken nugget man with no social awareness but a good heart and nothing but the best intentions, i can't like him. there's character flaws, and then there's 'wow what a dick i kinda don't like him', and berdly unfortunately crosses that line with me.
tl;dr: berdly has a lot of potential but until he learns that not every woman that can tolerate his presence wants to fuck him i just cannot like him
(by the way, i wanted to add that i actually do love him in the snowgrave route. the fact that he drops his boy genius persona the moment he notices something is wrong with noelle and his attacks are stronger than before is just... really cool of him, and it really shows how much he cares about noelle. while it's not enough for me to overlook my biggest issue with him, but i do think it's enough for me to say i really don't hate him. he just has more development to go through before i can really start to love him.)
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sorio99 · 3 years
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Deltarune Chapter 2: Live Thoughts
So, since the new chapter of Deltarune came out, I've played it all the way through, so, here are my thoughts as I had them. Basically a live-blog, but, not live anymore, I wrote these in my notes app before.
NOTE: Obviously there are going to be ALL THE SPOILERS for Deltarune Chapter 2 in this, as well as Chapter 1. Reader discretion is advised.
Wow, okay, so I was wrong about it being immediately explained.
Various descriptions have changed, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the change to a new game, or the one to a new chapter.
I feel like Berdly is definitely a m’lady guy.
Okay, so, we’re not skipping class this time.
I really wish we could call Toriel and tell her we’re gonna be late again, but I couldn’t see an option for that. Maybe Kris told her on the ride to school.
Okay, so, Noelle is definitely adorable, and a huge lesbian.
Susie seems lovestruck too, kinda.
SHE HAD CHALK, AND SHE DIDN’T TELL ALPHYS BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT SHE AND SUSIE COULD GO GET IT TOGETHER OH MY GOD
Okay, honestly wasn’t expecting the closet to work again.
Fricking LOVE the new transition.
Okay, so, Ralsei knows about, the real world? How, why, and what?
Oh, that, makes, a little sense? But also, if we hadn’t brought the toys over to the closet then, would they all be, dead?
AND WHAT IS RALSEI IN THIS CONTEXT?!?!
Okay, but I love the new town.
Holy shit, save points have storage, AND a spare list? Hell yeah.
So, we’re all level 2 now. I guess they moved from EXP based (or, execution point based?) to Milestone.
Love the basement for bad guys, with K. Round standing guard.
Bitch said “Child abusers live in Hamster Cage”.
Wait, he uses the hamster wheel?
I don’t know if I believe the king about his “bluff” or not. I think not, but, I don’t know.
I can see the “Susie moves to Ralsei’s castle to escape her abusive home” fic already.
RALSEI GAVE KRIS A TRASHCAN, AND SAID IT WAS FOR THE MANUAL IF HE GIVES US ANOTHER ONE OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY MY SWEET FLUFFY BOY
And of course, the moss call-back.
Oh god, Susie just said “My own room, huh.” and my heart is ready to shatter.
This girl has one actual food item in her fridge, and it’s just salsa
Oh, scratch that, there’s ice, crumbs, and jawbreakers in there too?
Oh, okay, Ralsei did give her actual food.
Entering Lancer’s room gives the cartoon Splat sound effect from Chapter 1, and his bedroom is identical to Chapter 1.
Perfect.
And the sound effect, plays in reverse when leaving? Okay.
So, explore until we’re ready to leave, huh? Seems, suspicious.
Oh my god, I just realized, the LightCandy is literally the chalk Noelle gave Susie. What the fuck.
So, for giving the Top back his cake, we get regenerating SpinCake that heals everyone for 140. Nice.
Battle challenges, huh? This should be interesting.
So, we can get a ClubsSandwich, $100, or…Jigsaw Joe’s entire life savings. Okay.
Aw, Clover has separate heads in their dialogue box!
Just realized this “dojo” also has their bed. Odd.
Alright, let’s take these challenges!
Oh, so if we act with Kris, than spare with Ralsei or Susie…got it!
He has a mercy meter. There’s a mercy meter now. I love this.
Oh, of course his life savings is exactly one dollar.
I can already tell the Graze challenges are gonna be the biggest bitches.
Okay, so, being able to rematch bosses, with different gimmicks and attacks, but based on the same logic? Always amazing.
I love the little cut-ins from the other characters with certain lines, like Susie and Lancer revealing “for a price” means zero dollars.
“Cookie and Wife”?
The Blacksmith runs a bakery where he can fuse items…okay.
Imma get a Silver Card.
What the fuck, Mr. Society?
Okay, so, we’re “leaving” through the way we came in, so “surely” we’re going back “home” to the “real world” and our “family”. Sure.
LANCER was added to your key items.
Oh was he now?
And so was Rouxls, “even though no one wanted that.”
Oh, we, actually went back to the light world. Huh. Actually wasn’t expecting that.
Jack of Spades, and the Rules Card. Makes sense.
Still LV 1 here, thankfully. No murder yet.
Okay, thankfully I can call Toriel now.
…Undyne, what the fuck?
Also? This, car horn music, I guess? Is, um…interesting.
Oh, the, computer lab. Where Toby was in Chapter 1. Okay. Makes sense.
“Guess this means we can’t start our project.” I’d say the biggest obstacle is more that we have no clue what the hell this project is supposed to be.
Hmm, we could use the computer at my house, or we could have a fun Toby Fox adventure…
My house!
I knew Susie wouldn’t allow it, also, you always wanna jump in big pits? That’s, worrying.
Computer lab time!
So, computer themed, maybe?
Rouxls jumped out, apparently. According to Lancer.
Okay, this build up is creepy, where’s the fluffy boy?!
Who is SHE?!
Was
Was that Noelle’s chatter sound?
Asking for help?
OH MY GOD
ITS THE REINDEER LESBIAN
SHES BEEN TAKEN
NOOOO
And, I suppose, this must be, our queen.
Q5U4EX7YY2E9N. Sure. I’ll stick with Queen, yeah.
Oh, she’s a computer! That…that’s probably not, great?
Oh, those plugs are bad, brainwashers. Okay.
Okay, they’re both tired…but Ralsei isn’t here. Fuck.
Aiming at moving targets is hard.
2 Werewires spared, only 4 to go, I guess!
RALSEI IS BACK, YAY!
Fun Gang, back together, working to save Susie’s soon-to-be-girlfriend!
Rhythm game to start a new bumping song. Nice.
Might live blog less from here, since, you know, the game is starting proper.
God, I love Deltarune’s look and sound, it’s so clean? And expressive, and AAAGH, I just love it!
I love angry Ralsei.
First lose control laughing moment: Kris and Susie squishing Ralsei like a toothpaste tube, to play an arcade game.
Did, did I just play Punch-Out inside an Undertale?
Curing computer viruses with Syringes…sure.
Sweet is the rhythm guy! Nice to meet you, Sweet! You and Toby are great at this music thing.
Hey, Susie can act now! Awesome!
Ralsei too, because of bullying! Yay!
Now the whole gang’s dancing!
(This is where I took my first real break, to process stuff and relax, and also to sleep)
In between thought: it’s kinda interesting that, in Chapter 1, Susie basically had to be forced to care about Kris, Ralsei, and Susie, but as soon as Noelle is in the slightest bit of danger, she’s immediately like, “We have to save her or die trying”, huh?
“Reverse diss-tracks, where the vocalist puts themselves down and praises Queen…or noise music.” That’s some, interesting taste in music.
“All our songs are only 4 seconds long!” Damn, so you’re, like, Vine musicians?
So, the Knight is opening alternate fountains, that create dark worlds out of, more mundane places? Interesting…
So, someone new is leading the rebels. This, can’t go well.
Smorgasbord 2.
Oooh, a TP raising Item! Nice!
Oh, the guy who was already working for Queen is a Werewire now. Okay.
66 up arrows. Hmmm, I wonder if I can retry at some point…
Oh boy. Here’s the queens…wait what?
Oh my god.
Go kart time.
Noelle, you traitor! How could you!
Oh, okay. Berdly I believe more.
Also, “beloved”.
I love how Queen apparently didn’t even ask him.
“Light Nerds” Good one, Queen.
That’s one weird Check for Berdly.
Berdly, for God’s sakes, Noelle is a lesbian, you idiot.
You know, given this villain rant, I think I hate Berdly more than I do King. And I’ve dealt with both bullies AND abusive dads.
Oh god, Roller Coaster Tycoon murder (also Berdly is dead)
Garbage! Saved by it again.
Oh, this place looks glitchy.
Also, Susie, you’re not the king of the trash pile. You’re QUEEN of the trash pile.
Oh god, please don’t tell me she’s dying.
Okay, good, she just needed fluffy boy hug.
Fork in the path, advantageous to split up, huh? But there’s three of us, and, two paths probably.
Okay, I can either go with the Fluffy boy who might secretly be evil, or the mean girl who might get lesbian scenes…hmmm…
I’m flipping a coin.
Okay, Ralsei it is!
Oh, Susie is upset at me getting to pick.
Oh, they’re going together.
Oh, this can’t be good.
If I had a nickel for every indie game with a cat themed metropolis on my pc, I’d have two nickels. You can finish the meme.
I swear I just saw Noelle on the right. Something big in the streets, hmmmm…
Okay, definitely saw Noelle that time. Shame the Poppups, popped up.
…I get it, Toby, but I’m still mad.
Blocked 10 ads…okay, I still love this game.
God, I’m already missing my party members.
Okay, so I still have Lancer, but, I’m really hoping Noelle listens to reason, because Lancer is, not.
Oh god no, don’t fight me now Queen. And please don’t join me.
Alright, nobody likes Berdly. Figured.
God they’re so dumb.
“G-got any room for another truce?” Noelle, I would do a No Mercy run for you, of course I’m going to help you.
I can’t believe “No Triple Trucies” is even an option.
Yay! Noelle in party!
“LV1 Snowcaster. Might be able to use some cool moves.” She’s got Heal Prayer, a more powerful (but more expensive) Pacify, and a damaging Ice move for only 16% TP.
I love her.
I don’t know what a sugarplum is myself, actually.
Noelle, you have a one track mind, and I like it.
Lancer, she’s not a cream, and we’re not making her a bad guy.
Oh, and she’s scared of mice, I love it!
Ah, she’s never been in battle before, let’s see how this goes.
See? That wasn’t so bad, Noelle.
Oh, she’s a natural!
“Needles aren’t scary…” Tell that to anyone under 20, Noelle.
Also, “subtle” pro-Vax message?
Oh my god, I just love her animations.
So, the virus and the syringe are fighting…hm…
Okay, so, first, Noelle’s defend animation, also perfect.
Second, so Ambyu-lance’s bullets block and destroy Virovirokun’s…hmm…
Have I mentioned how much I love Noelle? This funky little Christmas Lesbian can do no wrong.
Oh my god, she can’t even confidently say we’re friends, and hearing Kris say it makes her happy, I love her so much.
Okay, so, Queen drinks Battery Acid. Makes sense for a computer.
Kris is so done with this shit, I can tell.
I am both scared of and loving Queen.
Oh Jesus Christ Berdly what the fuck is that.
That is not greatness that is…I don’t know. I’m pretty sure even tumblr isn’t horny for you, Berdly.
Christ, he’s gonna break Queen by being an idiot and then he’ll be the Chapter boss.
Her eyes say lying. Of course.
“I Did Not Know You Had… Nipples” that’s, a good point.
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…Berdly, you disturb me.
Second lost control laughing moment: Noelle’s cardboard robot face, and Queen just saying “Wow Cool Face”
Lancer, what is the “illusory nipple technique”?
Oh, of course the music bots built the statue. Berdly would never do manual labor.
Oh, and, they built the next “big” thing…hmmmm…
Why are we, flavors of tea???
Okay, that should be all the werewires for now.
The, clothing store, sold me, a useless mannequin, for $300. Of course.
I am going to touch the cheese.
Maus!
Cheese maze, purposely ruined to spare more Mices.
Hmm, Berdly talks about Noelle’s crush. $20 says he actually thinks it’s him, or maybe Kris at a stretch.
Noelle is now immune to mice! Yay!
Oh, CD Bagel, Seedy Bagel, just got that.
Okay, sacrifice pacifist run to kill Berdly…I’m tempted.
Uh, Berdly, Noelle just one shot both your allies. I’m not alone, you are.
Jokes on you, buddy, I’ve been dodging A+ for years!
“(He hit me in the face with a tornado…)” Yes, Noelle, and I have papercuts on my eyelids. He do be an asshole.
Oh good, they both made Battery Acid Pies. Now we’re in a car together. Perfect. This is exactly how I wanted things to go.
Potassium
Who is this trash man?
Spamton, huh. Oh boy.
Oh god, this song has lyrics.
Oh joy, a mini boss on my own. Just what I wanted.
Oh, new game over screen! Nice.
Anyways, I hate this guy.
Okay, just one more deal, I think. I wonder what’s next.
I’m not giving you my credit card info, dude.
Oh damnit, 1% more.
Okay, I’m very scared now.
Oh, I lost $51. That’s, fair.
Okay, back in the car.
Oh my god, Queen loves Noelle too. Perfect.
Lancer took the mixtape! Nice!
Oh, he ate it…nice!
DECEMB…
Oh god she’s a little kid.
December.
I’m so sorry, Noelle. I really hope you’re going to be okay. We’ll figure out what to do.
Queen, why does everything you have explode?
Now the prize is on my head.
Susie and Ralsei! You’re back!
She can slightly heal me now…cool!
And she taught him Sarcasm. I love them all so much.
Uh, Susie! You can have it!
Okay, so, now Susie is both gay for Noelle, and suspicious of her. Amazing.
And Noelle is turned on by the threat of being killed. Have I mentioned I love these dorks?
The gang’s all here!
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Uh, just got past fireworks, and, where’s Noelle?
Oh, okay. She was just watching Fireworks.
Oooo, catching mice minigame!
Oooo, more elaborate but simpler to control mice minigame!
Oooo, bucket hole!
Also, nice gay Noelle moment noted.
Oh no, please don’t take the perfect girl away from us!
Okay, so, I don’t like Berdly, but, Acid river? Bit much…
Oh, okay. He was never in danger. I hate both of you. GIVE US BACK NOELLE
GOD DAMNIT NOT THE CAGE AGAIN.
Oh, great, now we’re captured too. Except possibly Ralsei.
She only plays mobile games. Burn her.
For once Berdly is correct.
Queen, you are dumb.
Is that the super Mario world fade?
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I don’t, next question.
No looking at my Search history!
Oh, hey, we can chat in here.
LANCER TIME!
YES I MISSED YOU YOU DOPE
Lancer, never say Pants hole again, and never say you were inside it either.
Lancer, do you still not know our name?!
So this is how they lampshade the tutorial-Toriel thing, huh?
Oh no, Lancer, please don’t die in here.
Um, are there rooms for all the kids at school?
Asriel…
Puzzle time!
Plot twist: Susie is not Susan.
Berdly is dumb.
Admittedly, I did brute force that second one a bit…
Okay, now Susie has outsmarted both me AND Berdly. This is sad.
Oh god, he’s gonna cry now.
Oh, my god, that’s what December meant. That’s why Berdly cares about Noelle. That’s why…oh god.
Oh wow, Susie’s a gamer. This is incredible Lore.
Oh wow, first Lancer’s face returns, now Berdly is Anime. I love this game.
Oh my god, Ralsei in a tux. I love him.
Alright, so, Lancer needs to go back to Castle Town, and we need to get the heck to Noelle. I hope Berdly’s plan actually works…
Aw, I wanted him to stay tuxedo…
Color Cafe, huh?
Oh god, Rouxls came here. I am terrified.
I love this hype manor song!
Toby Fox, why is there so much 3D Shenanigans in this 2D Top Down RPG???
Note: from here, I end up going to the secret of this chapter. Do not read if you don’t want to be spoiled on that plotline. Skip to where I say Pancake Batter.
Okay, I’m going back, and I’m gonna find this third blue check mark.
Okay, found it, now to get back to the guy…
Yay, fireworks, again!
East treasure’s hallway leading to Basement on 1F…
Oh dear.
So there’s a secret here after all…where is…
Found it!
Okay, how to open this lock, now…hm.
Well, one thing was in the field, so, maybe in the city?
Oh Jesus it’s Spamton.
$28, not a penny more.
KeyGen, huh…
If this is as hard as Jevil, I’m gonna be pissed.
Oh, great, just Kris going in. Again. Fantastic.
Oh what the fuck.
Oh Jesus Christ I hate this build up.
Oh, and I died on the elevator. That’s fun.
Okay, so I hate this elevator. A lot.
Okay! Took like six tries, but I made it past the elevator! Now, let’s see what’s waiting for me…
EmptyDisk…hmmmmmmmm…
Maybe take that back to Scamton or whoever?
…Ralsei, Susie, what are you two doing?
Okay, trash man, you better like this.
Oh Jesus Christ.
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Okay, this is not what I expected to follow Jevil’s lead. But, let’s see what happens when I turn this disk in.
Oh, nothing happened. Sure it did. Just gonna walk away then…
Oh, wouldn’t you know it, something happened!
Okay, so big puppet robot man. This is terrifying.
THANK YOU SUSIE!
Roller coaster boss! Again! Oh good!
YELLOW SOUL!
Can’t write notes, gotta kill.
Spamton, oh my god. And it’s Neo’s outfit. How the fuck did I not realize before?
Im terrified, let’s GOOOOOO!
Holy shit is that the Undertale Game Over message??????
Many tries later
Okay, I think it’s actually Ralsei and Susie talking…
Quitting the game so they can get their healing items out of storage and buy some good ones extra later
Okay, third turn, and I’ve only been hit once! Granted, it did almost 50 damage to Susie, but, still, doing better this time!
Even more death later
Did he just, attack himself?
Is he surrendering?
I…I did it! I did it in one sitting! Minus quitting so I could grab healing items that did more than 40 HP!
Oh, he killed him by freeing him…….okay.
Dealmaker, huh? Let’s see what this bad boy is…
+4 defense, +5 magic (even on Kris?), and $+30%…”and…?”
Okay, Ralsei, you get that, Susie get’s Jevilstail, and I get many questions.
Alright, now back to the actual plot!
Oh…Kris has goosebumps, and Susie’s asking if they’re okay…no. I’m saying no.
I love these two so much. Now let’s save the adorable lesbian.
Pancake Batter. Alright, we’re good.
Sorry, Noelle, got distracted.
Mouse wheel!
Tasque manager helped!
Man, this room is big and empty, with an odd exit door and screens on the north wall. Hmmmm…
Toby!
Thank you annoying dog!
Okay, I still love this music. Just wanted to say that. Anyways, PROGRESS!
We’re tea covered now. Except Susie. She’s tea filled.
Oh god, I don’t trust Berdly with Susie.
God, Knight teased.
Duck ride with Fluffy Boy.
Okay, so, puzzle time, methonk.
High Five!
More duck ride!
Ralsei, do you wanna do the kissy?
Oh boy.
Oh jeez.
Oh damn.
Rouxls.
Ralsei, you read my mind.
Oh Jesus it’s the tank from the first game.
Okay, so, we, take houses? Okay.
I can’t believe some people thought this dork was Gaster.
Wow, I beat him in like 3 and a half turns because I blocked him in.
Another God Dammit because SOMEONE didn’t pay attention to what happened to Lancer.
His head is still blue…
Hey, Camera! Peace signs and hugs!
Mostly hugs.
Yay, more Susie and Noelle time!
Oh my god, my heart is breaking.
Okay, I love these adorable girls.
Oh boy, this is, weird.
“Point and hearts come out” or “Eat moss”. The choice of a generation.
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Fair point, Susie.
She likes scary things, huh.
Kinky
Have I mentioned how much I love these two? Because I do.
Susie and Noelle are best girls ever, no objections.
Oh good, Berdly, don’t ruin this completely, okay?
I fucking knew it.
Noelle, you’re going to kill him, and that’s okay with me.
Susie, stop squishing him like toothpaste!
Oh boy, I get big “final boss” energy right now…
Werewerewire?!
Okay, so I just stole from Noelle’s room.
Okay, boss time.
Shit, I should’ve healed up.
Okay, so, I died, but, I can fix that!
So, this boss is calling back to how the town’s internet has gone out, a fact I didn’t even learn until watching other content last night when I should have been sleeping, because I forgot to talk to Alphys during the brief chance I had.
Also, now both she and Ralsei have made reference to the real world outside…hmmmm…
So I guess the plot is about Google search being evil…yeah that checks out.
Bitch, did you just funny runny way?
Hmm, I’d say 50/50 odds of him being a drama Queen vs. him trying to trick Susie into caring about him.
Yep, he’s trying to score a kiss. Berdly…get a job.
Alright, let’s save Noelle, and possibly the whole town.
The “Roaring” Knight?
Oh god, the determination…who is this Knight, what is going on, and how involved are we?
Wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT
When she described the Knight making more darkness, she said they took their blade, and showed an image of a knife. Was…was this…
HOLY SHIT IS KRIS’S NIGHT SELF THE KNIGHT?!?!
Oh. It was a giant robot. Not a statue.
Susie’s dancing!
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Oh yeah, he can fly.
Resistance! Yay!
Okay, so, we sentai up in this bitch.
I wonder how the hell this story would go if we didn’t go pacifist then? Because in Chapter 1, all that really changed was how the boss was defeated in the cutscene, and like a couple details later. This is, a lot more than that.
Okay, so, three rounds of HP, punch out for her turns, just keep attacking. Got it.
Two rounds down, one to go!
Yes, eat your own Baseball, bitch!
Oh, suicide attack. Well it was just a robot.
Oh. She still has us.
Oh fuck the robot is Noelle’s mom. Fuck.
Okay, so, Queen is dead.
Oh fuck, don’t take over the world with darkness all of you, please.
The Roaring?
Oh fuck, new legend lore.
Titans, Fountains, enveloping the land in devastation. Oh jeez.
Lost eternally in an endless night…that’s not paradise. That’s hell.
QUEEN IS ALIVE?!?! AND DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF THAT?!?!
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Thank you, Susie!
Okay, that’s a good ending for a second chapter, it’s dark fountain time!
Susie, please don’t turn evil.
And, we’re in the computer lab!
Wait, Ms. Boom? Does, does Gerson have a daughter, or wife?
Lost control laughing #3: this
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I love this game so much. Time to explore town again.
Okay, Alphys does crush on Undyne still, at least.
Oops, I just let all the prisoner dogs out.
Awww, Undyne likes Alphys too!
Napstablook, I love you.
Oh shit, Asgore used to be a pig?
Oh god, this Rudy storyline is gonna be depressing all the way through, huh?
Susie, can we steal the tower of the gods?
Hey, we can actually go back to Ralsei’s dark world?!
Okay, this is gonna be interesting.
Oh thank god, we can save in the epilogue now, cool.
Oh cool, King and Queen together.
Oh my god he calls her Queenie Beanie. I love this.
So, a card and a computer fucked to make Lancer, who is a card. Okay.
Okay, so Lancer DOES know Kris’s name! Just not Ralsei’s!
New battle challenges! Yes!
Might save “Ch. 2 All-stars” for another time, though…
Perfection is the mannequin reaction.
Oh my god there’s a dedicated room for listening to music I love this
Alright, time to skedaddle back to the real world.
Okay, so Alvin is Gerson’s son, and he’s depressed. Fun.
Oh, MK and Snowy are by the creepy bunker. That’s…fun.
Okay, so, Susie scared them off after they insulted Kris, because Kris said something about the bunker…hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Hey, Nice Cream Guy is one of the Ice-E’s employees! Nice!
Ah, PizzaPants. Never change.
Oh hey, it’s the little guy, who’s clone is a Gaster follower. And the bird guy’s still in the library, and the donut guy is still in his car…
Hey, Catty and Bratty are becoming friends again! Cool!
Omg, Sans’s store is open. Do I…go in?
Hell yes I do!
Okay, so, Grillby’s music still, but, different interior. Interesting…
Sans, a day and 2 years in this game are not equivalent. It’s a day and 3 years.
The trousle grows further away.
Oh jeez Susie’s been drinking the milk. Oh god.
Cool, Susie’s seeing Onion too!
Oh, never mind.
A song is coming from deep under the water…either Shyren is involved, or this is gonna take a turn.
See you, Su-
Oh! Hey mom! Meet Susie!
Pie for all!
Oh my god, Susie, my heart is breaking.
Okay, so Alphys and Toriel know about the chalk. That, kinda makes Susie thinking she’d get expelled for it, really depressing.
Okay, so, Toriel and Susie are gonna make Pie together, that’s cool. Still, pretty worried about, Kris.
Uh, I just ran the sink, and, uh…
WHAT THE FUCK
OKAY SO MY SOUL IS UNDER THE SINK, KRIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY IS IT BLACK OUT THE WINDOW WHERE ARE YOU GOING
WHAT THE FUCK
…so we get a cute scene with Susie and Toriel, then Susie asks where Kris is and…they do this sometimes?
I’m very concerned.
Okay, Toriel is concerned too, enough to say “hell”. Even Susie is shocked.
Okay, so, they’re coming back, uh, okay, this isn’t good, right?
Stopped the faucet, opened the drawer, and…we’re back?!
Kris what the fuck are you doing
And why couldn’t we find Asgore in the town?
Okay, so, we’re all sleeping in the living room. I, guess tomorrow’s the weekend, probably? I don’t know?
Susie, doesn’t have caring parents, I guess?
Oh god, Susie wants them to come to our world, but, Lancer is a playing card, he can’t…I don’t know. I’ll say it’s “far-fetched”.
There’s a festival, apparently. This seems…suspicious.
I’d take Ralsei, so you could take Noelle.
She’s asleep.
That, might not be good, in this context.
Okay, so, we’re asleep too, I think?
Oh god, Toriel’s tires are slashed, that can not be good, in any way.
Okay, night time, Toriel and Susie are asleep…now what are you doing, Kris?
That, knife…
Okay, so, yep, they’re the Knight, and they just opened Darkness in their living room. This is, not, good. And, the tv’s on, and the door’s unlocked…
What the fuck is happening?
Ending credits song sounds, techno? Is this more of Don’t Forget? Or a remix? I hear the lyrics at least.
“To be continued in Chapter 3” OH IT BETTER BE, TOBY
So, yeah, that's Deltarune Chapter 2. In conclusion: this explains nothing, raises 120% more questions, and overall is still an incredible, wonderful game. I also like how each Chapter so far has been almost as long as a full play through of Undertale, and yet we're still somehow only 2 sevenths of the way through. Oh yeah, did I not mention? After completing it, it brought me to a chapter select with SEVEN DIFFERENT CHAPTERS, only two of which were available. So, you know. THAT'S FUN!
In actual conclusion, please play this game, it's free, it's amazing, and also buy the soundtrack on Bandcamp so Toby can make some kinda living.
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