#and Toby Fox almost exclusively

[rexcanttietheirshoesright]

You guys I drew Mychael into a painting I did earlier

BUT THEN I PUT IT THROUGH A PIXEL FILTER

DOES THIS LOOK SICK OR AM I CRAZY

[pathetic-gamer]

inside you there are two wolves

[blueskittlesart]

I'm not very plugged into deltarune or undertale- why're people he/him-ing Kris?? (If you don't mind explaining, feel free to delete)

unfortunately this IS going to be a long answer because I kind of also have to talk about undertale to give you the full context here. Undertale, the predecessor game to deltarune, features a silent protagonist named Frisk. Frisk is a nonbinary character and uses exclusively they/them pronouns, but because they are a silent protagonist--i.e. a backstory-less, personality-less blank slate that the player can project themself onto--there were significant debates when undertale first came out about whether the they/them pronouns used in game dialog were frisk's canon pronouns or if they were placeholders and frisk's gender was intended to be up to player interpretation. (it's not uncommon in RPGs to have a genderless or gender-neutral silent protagonist--link legendofzelda for example was allegedly specifically designed to look more androgenous when the games made the switch to 3d so that female players could project onto him just as easily as male ones.) In response to those debates, Toby fox, the writer and developer of undertale, clarified multiple times that frisk's pronouns are NOT up for interpretation; they are nonbinary and use exclusively they/them.

And then there's deltarune. kris, the protagonist and player-character, is, like frisk, a specifically nonbinary character. But they're also kind of a bait-and-switch silent protagonist. for the majority of the first chapter of the game, kris is presented to you, similarly to frisk, as a silent protagonist--a player-insert character who can be projected onto. HOWEVER. arguably the central point of deltarune, which the game spends the next 3 chapters making INCREDIBLY clear to you, is that kris is NOT actually a silent protagonist. kris is a fully-fledged character with their own wants and feelings and relationships and an entire personality, but when you as the player take control of them, you are explicitly robbing them of all agency. they become that emotionless, silent blank slate AGAINST THEIR WILL because you are forcing yourself on them.

despite this literally being The Entire Point Of The Game, people with no reading comprehension whatsoever have decided that kris's pronouns are up to their personal interpretation. Again, i need to stress how much the literal entire point of the game is that absolutely nothing about kris is up to player interpretation and in fact kris actively resents and in some cases literally tries to physically hurt the player for attempting to force them to act according to the player's will. For some reason these people do not think this applies to their pronouns. even though we had the exact same debate almost ten years ago about frisk and toby told us MULTIPLE TIMES what the correct answer is.

tldr these guys can't read and/or hate nonbinary people. that's really the long and short of it. And it's specifically he/him and not she/her because kris is weird and at times openly violent whereas Frisk was constantly getting she/her-ed because their story was about nonviolence and love, which people assumed were feminine traits. tldr for the tldr it's good old fashioned transphobia and misogyny with a healthy dose of dogshit reading comprehension. what else is new

[tigerbears]

THE PRONOUNS ESSAY IS FINALLY OUT!

(Are they non-binary? — Analyzing Undertale/Deltarune's trans representation.)

The quint essential video on Undertale and Deltarune's trans and non-binary representation. If any video is going to end nearly a decade of discourse/arguing over if these games have non-binary characters or not, it's probably this one!

(Oh what am I kidding people are still going to scream about the gender and pronouns discourse but one can hope!)

Every argument is tackled!

Someone on Reddit claiming that Legends of Localization supposedly confirms that the character's genders are up for interpretation? We analyses what the book actually says!

Someone says that they/them pronouns aren't exclusive to enbys? We'll take every other logical explanation for they/them pronouns (besides an enby gender idendity), and analyses almost every single they/them character in UT/DR, to see if their pronouns can be explained without a non-binary gender identity!! (Spoiler alert, most can't be explained without an enby gender!!!)

If someone tries to argue why Kris is non-binary, this video likely debunks their argument! It's probably one of, if not the most extensive video analyzing, and arguing for Undertale and Deltarune's Transgender/Non-Binary Representation!

This is a video I've spent many long and hard months making so I hope it makes a difference!

Below is a list of all of the sources, videos, and music used in the essay.

Sources:

First, while I don’t use any of their content in the pronouns essay, I have to thank trans-utdr on Tumblr for cataloging most of the instances when characters are they/themed. Their blog was a great help in the creation of this video essay. https ://www.tumblr.com/trans-utdr

Also forgot to mention this, but Catticus helped out with the creation of the subtitles, so giving them credit for that.

[00] 00:12 "UNDERTALE Release Trailer" — FwugRadiation:

https://youtu.be/1Hojv0m3TqA

[01] 01:49 Archive of Toby Fox's Twitter:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150102011636/https://twitter.com/FwugRadiation

[02] 02:18 "Undertale - Mad Mew Mew (Full Boss Fight) - SPOILERS for Switch version" — Todd Christiansen:

https://youtu.be/h__y5gyJZKw

[03] 02:56 “Kris and I - Queer Joy in the Undertale and Deltarune Fandom” — Shadow of Roserade:

https://youtu.be/ykIiHLVbk5E

[04] 03:20 Archived Outer Wilds Fig page: Localization

https://www.mobiusdigitalgames.com/news/localization

https://web.archive.org/web/20200417195939/https://www.fig.co/campaigns/outer-wilds/updates/831

[05] 04:45 "Bridget Trans Real" — Guilty Gear Official: (I don't think this is the real official one btw just a fan channel)

https://youtu.be/1mJZR9MpIL8

[06] 05:16 "In Stars and Time - OUT NOW on PC, Switch, PS4, and PS5!" — Armor Games Studios:

https://youtu.be/Glec7uzohbg

[07] 05:22 In Stars and Time Steam Page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1677310/In_Stars_And_Time/

[08] 05:25 "Celeste Any% in 24:58.023" — secureaccount

https://youtu.be/jNE6lSSbYNM

[09] 05:28 "MaddyMakesGames Article 'Is Madeline Canonically Trans?'"

https://maddymakesgames.com/articles/is_maddy_trans/

[10] 05:32 (and 04:56 was when it was first used) "Guilty Gear -Strive- - Bridget Announcement Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games" — PlayStation:

https://youtu.be/3GYL5FVpjG4

[11] 05:35 "Guilty Gear Strive Developer: Bridget Identifies as a Woman"

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2022-09-14/guilty-gear-strive-developer-bridget-identifies-as-a-woman/.189673

[12] 05:35 "Guilty Gear -Strive- Developers: Bridget Was Always Meant to Be Transgender"

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2022-10-31/guilty-gear-strive-developers-bridget-was-always-meant-to-be-transgender/.191273

[13] 07:34 Legends of Localization Book 3 Undertale — Clyde Mandelin

https://www.fangamer.com/products/legends-of-localization-undertale

[14] 09:21 "OneShot: World Machine Edition - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch" — Nintendo of America:

https://youtu.be/8PaAA0GkSv4

[15] 09:30 "What is Niko's gender" An ask on Eliza's Tumblr:

https://elizavq.tumblr.com/post/113737817876/hello-i-really-like-this-game-but-one-question-I

[16] 09:33 "Is Niko a boy or a girl?" An ask on Nightmargin's Tumblr:

https://nightmargin.tumblr.com/post/140577597251/what-is-nikos-gender-if-they-have-one-i-heard

[17] 09:38 OneShot Fandom Wiki page for Niko:  

https://oneshot.fandom.com/wiki/Niko#Trivia

[18] 09:50 Singular they — Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they

[19] 10:47 (46) "Arthur. Season 9 Episode 2: Buster the Myth Maker" — Clip from Mr. Toydarian.

https://youtu.be/iHrZRJR4igQ

[20] 11:08 "UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary So We Play DELTARUNE Chapter 1 For Some Reason - LIVE!" — Fangamer: (01:26:04)

https://www.youtube.com/live/rksOYId-cNA?t=5164

[21] 11:15 "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams" — Clip from No Roof Access.

https://youtu.be/0RFwyobtnKA

[22] 11:24 Retrospective on UNDERTALE’s Popularity. — Toby Fox

https://undertale.tumblr.com/post/150397346860/retrospective-on-undertales-popularity

[23] 11:27 "Undertale Dev: “Every Monster Should Feel Like an Individual”" — The Escapist

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/undertale-dev-every-monster-should-feel-like-an-individual/

[24] 11:30 "INTERVIEW: TOBY FOX OF UNDERTALE" — The Existential Gamer

https://web.archive.org/web/20151009110646/https://existentialgamer.com/interview-toby-fox-of-undertale

[25] 11:34 Archive of Toby Fox's Twitter:  

https://web.archive.org/web/20190104182550/https://Twitter.com/tobyfox/status/1081239086847967232

[26] 11:37 "What's NEXT For Theorist and GTLive... |  Goodbye Internet Meme Review 👏🖐" — GTLive (00:39:23)

https://youtu.be/ytiOWeRWTWc?t=2363

[27] 12:37 Undertale Goblin Finally Plays the Earthbound Halloween Hack: — Andrew Cunningham (03:48:53)

https://www.youtube.com/live/RkbhUqpAriw?t=13733

[28] 13:17 "Undertale, Deltarune, and Shattering The 4th Wall - Deep Dive & Analysis" — Pet Brick Productions (long video but the section used is early in the essay)

https://youtu.be/R_MPC6SF_-Q

[29] 13:43 Community post on the future of Underverse — Jael Peñaloza

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxA_OLCv2J__KjAS12U5y2uc13rRGW8_dZ

Update — Jael Peñaloza

https://youtu.be/OC9Ob7pHUlA

[30] 13:46 TC-96: — Endertale

https://xxtc-96xx.tumblr.com/post/152843470458/the-cover-page-to-endertale-da-da-daaaaaaaaa

[31] 13:43 "ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING! | Undertale LIVE - Part 1" — Mariplier (00:03:44)

https://www.youtube.com/live/9rvY7uvZhtw?t=224

[32] 13:48 "Game Theory: Who is W.D. Gaster? (Undertale)" — The Game Theorists

https://youtu.be/8wzxbR5vfjE

[33] 14:07 "OneShot Trailer" — KOMODO

https://youtu.be/ctYNBd6t4-g

[34] 14:21 “Watsonian versus Doylist” — TV Tropes:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WatsonianVersusDoylist

[35] 16:16 SPAMTON SWEEPSTAKES — Fangamer

https://deltarune.com/sweepstakes/

[36] 16:20 Twitter's Spamton Q&A — Fangamer

https://web.archive.org/web/20220919005433/https://twitter.com/Fangamer/status/1571363913543061505

[37] 17:23 Archive of Toby's old posts on starman.net:

https://web.archive.org/web/20151215011757/https://forum.starmen.net/forum/Community/PKHack/UnderBound/page/1#post1915463

[38] 18:04 Out of Context Toby Fox: Cursed bottomless Asriel retweet.

https://twitter.com/OutOfRadiation/status/1522037914565332992

[39] 18:15 "Non-binary characters in Undertale and Deltarune" — suzyundertale on Tumblr:

https://suzyundertale.tumblr.com/post/185072983702/non-binary-characters-in-undertale-and-deltarune

[40] 18:59 Undertale 5th anniversary alarm clock app —

https://undertale.com/alarmclock/flowey/

[41] 19:08 The 9th anniversary newsletter Chara 9 letter

https://toby.fangamer.com/interviews/letter/

[42] 19:14 "Soulless Genocide Ending (3 Geno Runs in a Row)" — Lucas

https://youtu.be/SUW7ZTr36QI

[43] 19:33 "English neutral pronouns" — nonbinary wiki

https://nonbinary.wiki/wiki/English_neutral_pronouns#It

[44] 20:06 "Responding to 1200 Comments on my Deltarune Video [Part 1]" — Andrew Cunningham (01:25:03)

https://www.youtube.com/live/vuP97sQGwy4?t=5103

[45] 20:25 "An Undertale Goblin's first Earthbound Playthrough [Part 5]" — Andrew Cunningham (02:59:26)

https://www.youtube.com/live/aE_ZS0HOUCE?t=10766

[46] 22:15 "Some comments on Deltarune’s official Japanese translation" — kazarinn on tumblr (Basically, these are some Japanese tweets translated into English.)

https://kazarinn.tumblr.com/post/179845924892/some-comments-on-deltarunes-official-japanese

[47] 24:22 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" S5: EP 17 —

Use a VPN to access it on Netflix if you're in a country where it's not on Netflix.

[48] 24:54 Catticus's neocities

https://catticus.neocities.org/

[49] 25:37 "Personal pronouns in Japanese." — Wa-pedia

https://www.wa-pedia.com/language/japanese_personal_pronouns.shtml

[50] 25:43 "自��� is a Japanese pronoun that means "self."" — tofugu

https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/jibun/

[51] 26:29 "Undertale - Nintendo Switch Release Trailer" — IGN:

https://youtu.be/SqjY_-beWi0

[52] 27:19 "Why Mad Mew Mew Matters | Undertale Character Analysis" — Dorked

https://youtu.be/Qld3inSZdjc

[53] 27:48 "Undertale Xbox One Dog Shrine Fuzz Dialogue" — Jacky720

https://youtu.be/0MhVfjqKbqw

[54] 31:39 Artwork of Felix (A Perseverance/Purple SOUL OC) by Venn November

https://vennnovember.tumblr.com/post/759592211087245312/my-perseverance-soul-interpretation-felix

[55] 31:39 Artwork of Clover from UTY's GameJolt Page. (Idk who made it)

https://gamejolt.com/games/UndertaleYellow/136925

[56] 33:37 "Deltarune Chapter 1 Demo Unused" Text — The Cutting Room Floor.

https://tcrf.net/Proto:Deltarune/Chapter_1_Demo_(2018)/Unused_Text#Glow_Tile_Puzzle_Hint

[57] Spamton Sweepstakes "the n3w3st g1rl g1rl" post from Noelle (the newest girl girl)

https://deltarune.com/the_n3w3st_g1rl_g1rl/

[58] 35:03 "UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary So We Play DELTARUNE Chapter 1 For Some Reason - LIVE!" — Fangamer (03:28:03)

https://www.youtube.com/live/rksOYId-cNA?t=12483

[59] 36:50 Azzypants artwork by sleepyfox on ACDS

https://sleepyfoxstudios.tumblr.com/post/755248104212709376/dumping-all-my-3-of-my-azzypants-here

https://discord.com/channels/919115374316908584/1105217442692735147/1202150731982049340

[60] 40:29 "UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary So We Play DELTARUNE Chapter 1 For Some Reason - LIVE!" — Fangamer (01:19:15)

https://www.youtube.com/live/rksOYId-cNA?t=4755

[61] 41:01 "The Japanese Version of Deltarune" — @guster-animations

https://guster-animations.tumblr.com/750855218738200576/the-japanese-version-of-deltarune

[62] 41:10 Rakugo NZ

https://rakugonz.com/2017/08/23/welcome/

https://rakugonz.com/2020/11/18/many-ways-to-say-i-in-japanese-explained/

[63] 41:22 "CHAPTER 2 CONCEPT ART!!!" — 9th-anniversary newsletter.

https://toby.fangamer.com/interviews/chapter2_concept/

[64] 41:34 "Artwork of Jevil from Temmie Chang" — Temmie's twitter.

https://web.archive.org/web/20181106165142/https://twitter.com/tuyoki/status/1059681874707144704

[65] 42:27 Valentine’s newsletter letters Archived by @obscuretobyfox

https://obscuretobyfox.tumblr.com/post/742265034465509376/tumblr-limits-30-images-to-a-post-so-these-three

[66] 42:34 "What are El Niño and La Niña?" — N.O.A.A

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html

[67] 42:38 El Niño–Southern Oscillation — Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o%E2%80%93Southern_Oscillation#Definition_and_terminology

[68] 42:42 "el & la" — spanishdict

https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/the?langFrom=en

[69] 42:52 "UT/DR Summer 2024 Newsletter" — fangamer

https://toby.fangamer.com/newsletters/summer24/

[70] 43:00 "QUESTS TO RELEASE CHAPTER 3&4!!" — fangamer

https://toby.fangamer.com/updates/quests/

[71] 44:19 Antlers — Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antler#Female_antlers_in_reindeer

[72] 44:24 “Role of gonadal hormones in the regulation of the seasonal antler cycle in female reindeer, Rangifer tarandus” In Reproduction

https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/101/1/jrf_101_1_019.xml?rskey=2YvrOn&result=1

Where to find music used:

UNDERTALE Soundtrack:

https://tobyfox.bandcamp.com/album/undertale-soundtrack

OneShot Soundtrack:

https://nightmargin.bandcamp.com/album/oneshot-soundtrack

Omori OST:

https://omori.bandcamp.com/album/omori-ost

Unused Music from the 9th-Anniversary UT/DR Newsletter

https://toby.fangamer.com/interviews/chapter2_music/

Outer Wilds - Original Soundtrack:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286760/Outer_Wilds__Original_Soundtrack/

Mother 3's Soundtrack:

You figure it out! You can't buy the game after all!

In Stars and Time (a soundtrack)

https://thumpypuppy.bandcamp.com/album/in-stars-and-time-a-soundtrack

Celeste Original Soundtrack

https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/album/celeste-original-soundtrack

Chrono Trigger OST

Idk maybe spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/2kOD9QzcUkeT57RJkNvQpH

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Original Soundtrack

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1335140/Phoenix_Wright_Ace_Attorney_Original_Soundtrack/

Homestuck: Unreleased Tracks

https://youtu.be/sCFuOmInTxQ

Minecraft: Story Mode (Original Soundtrack)

https://antimo.bandcamp.com/album/minecraft-story-mode-original-soundtrack

Undertale: Your Best Companion Soundtrack

(Basically the tracks not in the UT soundtrack/more accurate to the in-game versions)

https://sanctferum.tumblr.com/post/139856660312/undertale-your-best-companion-soundtrack

Spamton Sweepstakes Music

Find Her

https://deltarune.com/dess/

Battle Vapor https://deltarune.com/shadowmen/

Star Trek: The Next Generation Soundtrack

Also "idk maybe spotify" https://open.spotify.com/track/5uVt4uR9bdqYnhcQ0IUhVc

Undertale (Switch)

Mad Mew Mew https://youtu.be/aeM0EVs1ON8 (Though I use the "Your Best Companion" version in the video)

Brandish SNES OST

Don't think it's been released officially so idk you figure it out.

Miscellaneous

Nightmare Knight https://fwugradiation.tumblr.com/post/94770096436/every-5000-years-the-terrible-nightmare-knight

Battle Vapor (extended) by Witherskull42: https://soundcloud.com/gaster-78444506/deltarune-battle-vapor-ogg

Music Used:

00:01 Undertale: Your Best Nightmare

00:12 Undertale: Snowdin Town

01:16 OneShot: Phosphor

01:56 Omori: Where we used to play 44

2:29 9th-Anniversary UTDR newsletter’s unused tracks: Spamton battle forgotten

2:40 Outer Wilds: Timber Hearth

4:11 Mother 3: Alec’s Log House

5:16 In Stars and Time: Title Theme

5:24 Celeste: Frist Steps

6:24 Chrono Trigger: Black Dream

7:22 Ace Attorney: Objection! 2001

8:41 HOMESTUCK: [S] Jane: Blast off.

8:46 Ace Attorney: Pursuit - Corner the Culprit

9:30 OneShot: On little Cat Feel

10:11 Ace Attorney: Pursuit - Corner the Culprit (Variation)

11:24 Minecraft: Story Mode: Ivor’s theme [101]

11:51 Deltarune: NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A

12:40 Oneshot: Geothermal

14:44 Deltarune: A Town Called Hometown

16:00 Deltarune: Hip Shop

16:58 Undertale: Another Medium

17:27 Undertale: Dog Song

17:40 Undertale Bonetrousle

18:14 Undertale: Snowey (well, used a version closer to the one used in ingame)

18:49 Undertale: Star (Unused)

19:38 Undertale: The Core (Geno version)

20:09 Mother 3: Sorrowful Tazmily

20:32 Spamton Sweepstakes (and maybe Deltarune in the future: Find Her.

21:20 Undertale: Waterfall

22:12 Deltarune: Vs. Susie

22:49 Deltarune: Chill Jailbreak Alarm to Study and Relax to

23:19 Undertale: Death By Glamor

24:22 Star Trek: The Next Generation: Main Theme.

24:46 Undertale: Metal Crusher

25:58 Undertale: The Core

26:29 Undertale Switch (From the "Your Best Companion" Collection): Mad Mew Mew

28:01 Undertale: Dummy!

29:57 Undertale: Hotel

31:19 Undertale: It’s Raining Somewhere Else

33:25 Deltarune: Quiet Autumn

23:02 Ace Attorney: Pursuit - Corner the Culprit (again)

35:38 Deltarune: Pandora Palace.

37:09 Deltarune: Another Him

38:00 Undertale Amalgam

39:35 9th Anniversary UTDR Newsletter: POWER OF NEO (Complete)

40:16 Deltarune: Lantern

40:50 Brandish SNES: Quiet Shop

41:17 Deltarune: Smart Race

41:55 Deltarune: The Chase

42:10 A Cucumber Quest fansong by Toby Fox: Nightmare Knight

42:15 Deltarune: The Door

42:23 Spamton Sweepstakes: Battle Vapor

42:25 Battle Vapor (extended) Witherskull42:

43:14 Deltarune: You Can Always Come Home

43:31 Deltarune: Girl Next Door

46:03 Undertale: Last Goodbye

[kirbylover34]

KRIS IS THE KNIGHT!! “SPOILERS” *Edited*

ok so for the longest time after Deltarunes chapter 2 ending. Kris uses a knife and opens a dark fountain. It would be obvious that Kris is the roaring knight. But many people refused to believe that was the case. And who could blame them. Why would Toby reveal a major relevant plot point so soon? Surely it’s a red herring. But then I did some digging recently and I just came to a shocking revelation!

(LIVE A LIVE SPOILERS)

ok so many people online have probably played or heard about Live A Live, a once Japanese exclusive rpg released for the famicom. With its unique gimmick that you play as multiple characters in chapters. The second to last chapter of the game is the Middle Ages, where basically you play as a knight by the name of oersted. Who wins the love of a princess who gets captured and like typical knights creates a party with his trusted wizard ally Streibough. As you play you eventually reach the dark lord that captured the princess.

You fight it and it turns out the dark lord was fake. Streibough and another party member die, you get manipulated and kill the king, and you become an outcast, well turns out your wizard friend was the real dark lord. You fight to the death, and it turns out the princes you went to rescue actually loved Streibough more. She kills herself. And then the game pulls a major plot twist…

Your main player character loses his mind and becomes the main antagonist of the game, where in the final chapter all your player characters fight him. But you may be asking why did I bring up an old square Enix Jrpg that has no correlation to deltarune.

during the release of the Live A Live remake. Toby fox hosted an interview with the composer of Live A Live, Yoka Shimomura. And this is what Toby had to say about the game.

Fox: “I first played LIVE A LIVE when I was around 8th or 9th grade. It was recommended to me by a friend who was a fan of it. Since I loved Square’s games and heard the music was by Shimomura-san, I thought, “Well, I definitely have to play this!” and gave it a shot.”

Fox: “Story-wise, my favorite part was the finale where all of the protagonists unite. I’m sure I’m not the only player that felt that way!”

“As far as individual chapters go, I really loved the “Middle Ages” chapter. After all the scenarios with atypical game protagonists, finally revealing a standard fantasy setting with a knight hero as one of the “final chapters” was such an excellent twist for a JRPG, and a perfect lead up to the actual last chapter itself. To think that our heroic knight of justice would end up like that… It’s the kind of wonderful betrayal of expectations that influenced me when I created UNDERTALE as well. You know, the thought process of, “to think the protagonist could actually...” Anyway, I don’t think I’m supposed to say any more about that.”

“To be honest, if anything this LIVE A LIVE influence is even stronger in my current work. DELTARUNE. Not only is the story separated into different chapters, but the player’s character is also a sword-wielding fantasy knight, who may play another role than just a simple “hero.”

so based on this information gave us, let’s compare the two characters real quick. Both Oersted and Kris are knights, both are the main protagonists of their story, on their journeys the both recruit, a character who grew bitter and resentful after a tragedy. A kind and caring priest who helps the party. And both of them had a tragedy befall them leading to a darker path. Now that’s stretching it a bit too far but there is other information that can help back this up. Need more proof?

when you play chapter 2 and interact with the tv and sink you get this specific text.

it’s almost as if the ending of chapter 2 was planned from the start. Why else would Toby leave this easy to miss dialouge for players to read?

Still need more proof?

at the end of chapters 1 ending. The knife kris pulls out is not the same as the knife kris used on the pie.

They’re completely different. Yet the knife kris uses in chapter is the EXACT SAME KNIFE used in chapter 1’s ending, since they pulled it out of his pocket like in chapter 1’s ending.

also in the cutscene where queen talks about determination the knife shown in the cutscene had a quill on while the knife on the pie is a kitchen knife.

Who else has a knife that has a quill?

I think Kris is the knight. But I don’t think Kris is truly evil nor wants to cause the roaring. Well why would Kris be opening these fountains? Well one theory is that it could be related to fate. Kris was originally supposed to be the main antagonist of the game! Considering that a major theme in deltarune is fate and our choices don’t really matter. Kris must’ve found about his fate and stole the Red soul that we use. Possibly because the Red Soul correlates with free will and to change fate. Why else would the chapter’s secret bosses want it? Everything in this world must be sealed by fate, but our choices can alter the outcome. Though that also brings up why Kris is even distraught with our control to begin with if they wanted us to control him? The other theory must be related to her.

During the Spamton sweepstakes you could acces a link that would take you to a guitar presumably belonging to Dess. With the song playing in the background called findher.ogg presumably something happened to dess, that lead to the events of deltarune. And I think I know what happened. it all comes back to entry number 17.

let’s look at the dialouge. “Dark Darker yet Darker” “the shadows cutting deeper” “what do you two think?”

if we examine the dialouge with the information we have now about deltarune. It’s very clear that gaster created a Dark Fountain. But one thing is still unclear, who are the two individuals gaster is referring to? Well isn’t it obvious. It’s Dess and Kris. We know something happened between the holidays and dremmurs. And if the theories are to be believed, Kris and Dess went to explore the underground bunker on the edge of town. And something happened. What if entry number 17 is that event that lead directly to the story of Deltarune?

Possibly a horrific accident that wounded Dess, Gaster made a deal with Kris to save her, told him about the future. And thus leading directly to Deltarune.

however there is still a lot that is unclear, and what I’m saying could be completely false and incorrect. We only have two chapters out of seven to speculate and theorize about. There is still some plot holes that it brings up, such as gaster etc. but I’m putting my foot down and standing by my belief that Kris is indeed the roaring knight

And if you think I’m a liar here’s the article where Toby discussed it.

Oh and if you want more proof, watch these videos made by Black Chesnut on YouTube. They were the exact main reason I made this post that inspired it in the first place. They make really good deltarune theories and I think they have it more on the money than other theorists currently. You should also be nice and watch their other videos and subscribe to them.

anyway later~

[runestonefox]

Rambling Deltarune Thoughts

Now that we're just a month away (yippe!), here's a bunch of loose thoughts I've had.

Ok ok ok, let me ramble for a minute. Chapter 3 is gonna take place with a main focus on television right? We know this (Tenna, the tv at the end of ch2, the green room, etc). So withing storytelling, there's the concept of breaking the fourth wall, where the characters address the audience or the like. Except, here in Deltarune, there's another layer of 'wall':

Us, the player.

I'd be buttered like a buiscut if Toby "The Fourth Wall Is More Like a Suggesstion" Fox doesn't play with fourth wall breaking in the TV chapter Deltarune:

-The secret boss addresses us as the audience of their canceled show (Spamton Neo vibes 'There is no audience')

-Gaster referenced as a director??? (*Yeah, the Director has been hard at work making their newest show for their favorite audience. *And you're the star! *How exciting!)

Some other thoughts on TV and the idea that the gang will be preforming as ~actors~:

-Ralsei 'Please Tell Me What To Do' Deltarune will be so diehard locked into following whatever script is given that he can't do anything else.

-Susie 'Screw Your Plan We Ball' Deltarune however will do everything to improvise during scenes, possibly to her detriment.

-Kris (and Us) will be somewhere in between perhaps. Or, maybe we're the director?? I dunno, I'm making this up as I go.

----

WHERE IS TORIEL??

She's almost for certain going to be here, right? She was in the living room during Kris's whole dark fountain incident. But in all the promotional stuff we've seen, she's nowhere? Of course, that's probably just Toby saving goat mom for the game but still.

That, and Berdly?? Where is da birb boy? His exclusion from any future stuff we know of is way more concerning, considering the...uh...

...incident.

We see Jockington, Catty, Noelle, all three of the Gang in ch4 screenshots, but nothing for Berdly. Hmm.

Anyway, thats my rambling brain for now, I'd love to hear thoughts and/or other rambling ideas!

[magicalgirlmascot]

So uh. I've been moving all my playlists off Spotify and onto YouTube (and downloading the songs ~totally legally~ to have on my computer as well), and largely they're private because they're all OC playlists. HOWEVER. I do have a playlist for KNPS which I felt like people might get a kick out of. So here it is. Several of these were added when I moved the playlist off Spotify since a lot of them aren't available on Spotify, particularly video game soundtracks.

Track list (and reasoning) below the cut.

Move Along by the All-American Rejects I don't think I need to explain this one, actually.

School by Toby Fox (from Deltarune) Also kind of self-explanatory. This is music that I associate with Gali and Lewa's class, specifically.

A New Hero by Nathan Furst (from Mask of Light) I love the MoL soundtrack best of all the Bionicle movie soundtracks, so I had to include some of the songs from it here.

Old Friends (Bookends Theme) by Simon and Garfunkel Technically a harp/violin cover but shhh. Old Friends is a Turaga Metru song if ever there was one. This version is just very pretty :3

Wonderland Round 3 by Griffin McElroy (from The Adventure Zone) I'm gonna be honest I don't have an excuse for this one it just slaps.

As Above, So Below by Essenger and Cryoshell A very recent addition to the playlist. I don't think I need to explain this one either, actually.

Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants Takua song. Could not explain why if I tried.

Dreamer by Supertramp Vakama song, also Takua song. It's about someone with their head in the clouds, which applies to both of them in different (and similar) ways.

Friday I'm in Love by The Cure Matau song. Less in that it represents who he is as a character and more in that he's a classic rock guy who loves wandering into the office singing and whistling incredibly on the nose rock tunes.

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel Nokama song. Also a Gali song. I mean listen to it, come on.

Rivers in the Desert by Lyn (from Persona 5) Boss music baby!!

Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush Music that Gali listens to when she's sad.

Toa Reunited and Death of Jaller by Nathan Furst (from Mask of Light) This is on here because of the "Toa Reunited" part I swear. Anyway one of my favourite songs on the MoL OST.

Samurai Heart (Some Like it Hot!!) by SPYAIR (from Gintama) Full disclosure I've never watched Gintama. However. Kohatu song.

Starlight Brigade by TWRP I mean. It's a song about saving the world. "I'd gladly give my life for one night as a justice acolyte" is also a banger line ngl

Supernatural Superserious by R.E.M. I associate this with Kopaka for some reason. Couldn't tell you why.

The Prophet's Song by Queen The most Vakama song ever. Written specifically for him everyone say thank you Freddie <3

The Touch by Stan Bush LISTEN.

The Last Desperate Struggle by Masakazu Sugimori (from Ghost Trick) This is the song I had on repeat while writing the "Lewa gets possessed" chapter.

Running in the 90s by Max Coveri Pohatu unironically listens almost exclusively to this kind of music. The man loves him some Eurobeat.

Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce Whenuju song. Was their first dance at their wedding. The lyrics are literally perfect for them. "I've looked around enough to know/you're the one I want to go through time with" IT'S THEM.

Unite (Redux) by Ron Wasserman (from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers) YEAH A POWER RANGERS SONG WHAT ABOUT IT. First of all it's literally called Unite. Secondly Power Rangers and Bionicle are like brothers to me. Third and most important it fucks.

A Town Called Hometown by Toby Fox (from Deltarune) Sweet, quaint small town vibes (which is the point lmao). Fitting given that KNPS takes place in a sweet, quaint small town.

Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There by Lyn (from Persona 5) I associate this with school because it used to be on the playlist I used when I got ready for work in the mornings. It's also a sentiment I can see Gali and Pohatu getting behind.

Wonder by Naughty Boy ft. Emelie Sande I think I first found this song on a Wonder Woman playlist lmao. It's basically about like, personal strength and stuff. Good song.

Working for the Weekend by Loverboy Another song Matau likes to whistle on Fridays.

Beach Chant by Justin Luchter (from MNOLG) Iconic early Bionicle music. Had to include it.

Lost One's Weeping by Afterglow Yes this is a cover of a Vocaloid song and yes it's from a fucking. Band anime or whatever. I like it. Also it's the school trauma song so on the school playlist it goes.

Lucretia by Griffin McElroy (from The Adventure Zone) Look, Lucretia and Nokama are very different people, but there's enough overlap (older female characters who struggle with keeping heavy secrets from the protagonists) that I feel pretty good putting her theme on here. Also Nokama would be the world's biggest Lucretia defender, we all know this in our hearts

SAVE the World by Toby Fox (from Undertale) YES another Toby Fox song. Anyway boss fight music hell yeah

The End by Justin Luchter (from MNOLG) Again, iconic early Bionicle music, really captures the feeling that some great victory has been achieved, at least for now.

Everytime We Touch by Cascada Tahu/Gali song. LOOK. It's a Tahu/Gali song okay

Village Bridge (with buildup) by Junichi Masuda (from Pokemon Black and White) Hands down one of the best tracks from the best Pokemon game. Again very small town vibes.

May add more to it, who knows.

[goldenflowers]

more deltarune chapter 4 reactions/thoughts. still not done with the chapter yet, and tomorrow is my dad's birthday so idk how much i'll be able to play then but hopefully i'll be able to get through it over the weekend!

i like that noelle's bedroom is decorated in the trans flag colors <3 and tbh i do NOT see how that could be a coincidence. trans girl noelle is just real.

A METAL CD WITH A PHOTO OF NOELLE IN DARK MAKEUP???? oh noelle holiday i love you so much

"if you can get my mom to let me go grimdark" HOMESTUCK REFERENCE!!!!

i mean i know homestuck didn't invent the word grimdark but. this is toby fox we're talking about here.

OHHHH SHIT AM I IN DESS'S ROOM??

"tons of punk rock CDs and one still-sealed ska CD" oh i bet dess loves ska sucks by propagandhi

WH—KRIS IS TEARING THEIR HEART OUT AGAIN?!?!?!?

...what the fuck is happening

toby what the fuck

?????

sorry i truly don't know how else to react to some of this insanity other than going "what the fuck" or "???????" 😭😭

oh god what's going to happen when susie and noelle uncover the angel doll and see there's a fucking heart under there

OH I GUESS THEY DON'T GET TO UNCOVER IT. they were being sooo cute together just now though 🥺

waaaaa they're still being so cute with susie playing guitar for noelle and them inviting each other on a festival date i love them

OHHHH EVERYBODY WHO GUESSED CAROL HOLIDAY FOR HER MOM'S NAME WAS RIGHT!! also damn she's terrifying and i'm sad now

WHOOPS susie wanted us to go to the school to check on ralsei but i ended up going to the church and back into the dark world instead lol, oh well!

whatever's happening right now is sooooo fucking cool

LMAO OKAY SO LANCER IS PART OF THE PROPHECY. I GUESS.

omg wow i found the switch exclusive content!!

RALSEI. THERE'S A LITERAL ACTUAL STOOL WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING... i need ralsei to be mean and sarcastic. i need him to get angry. it'd be so good for him.

and it's almost 1 am, i got through the rooms with the piano puzzles, and i'm gonna quit for the night!

[newmusicradionetwork]

Chloe Temtchine "Holy Water"

Chlo Temtchine is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and speaker. After five years of misdiagnoses, Chlo was finally diagnosed in March 2013, with severe Pulmonary Hypertension and PVOD (Pulmonary Veno Occlusive Disease) and was given days to live. Seven years later, on August 5, 2020, after suffering a cardiac arrest, being in a coma for four days, and on life support (ECMO) for almost a month, Chlo received a life-saving, double-lung transplant. “Holy Water” is a brand new single from Chloe’s fifth album titled “Human,” which is currently in the works. Each song on the album is dedicated to the unknown person who gifted Chloe her lungs, giving her a second chance at life. Chloe has collaborated with Grammy-winning songwriters and has been acknowledged with numerous awards. Post-transplant, Chlo’s mission has expanded to promote organ donation awareness. She founded The Chloe Temtchine Foundation (CTF) a 501(c) 3, which supports those living with PAH and other serious conditions. Through the CTF, she spearheads initiatives like Super Brave Kids and The Smile Tour, uplifting pediatric patients and their families across the U.S. Highly respected in the music industry, Chloe has worked with notable talents like Toby Gad (John Legend, Beyonc), Guy Roche (Christina Aguilera), and Sasha Skarbek (James Blunt), to name a few. Her appearances include “Late Night with David Letterman,” “The Doctors,” Hallmark’s “Home & Family,” Fox 5 News, CNN, and KTLA, and her story has been spotlighted in renowned publications such as the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, LA Weekly, and New York Post, to name a few. Her original songs have been featured in films, TV shows, and commercials. Chloe is also trilingual; she speaks French, Spanish, and English fluently. As a speaker, Chlo’s mission is to inspire hope, emphasizing the power of perspective, gratitude, and resilience. Renowned globally, Chloe is engaged by top brands, and pharmaceutical giants such as Johnson & Johnson, and hired for exclusive events to share both her empowering story and her inspiring music. Additional Artist/Song Information: Artist Name: Chloe Temtchine Song Title: Holy Water Publishing: CQT Publishing Affiliation: ASCAP Album Title: Human Record Label: CQT Record Label: CQT 3236587449 masika@aol.com Radio Promotion: National Record Promotion 3236587449 larry_weir@sbcglobal.net Read the full article

[luciferstit]

Luciferstit Post Links

Since Tumblr wants to play games and shadowban my main so the search function doesn’t work anymore (¬_¬). This post will contain links to important posts on this blog (my main) and on my sideblog, @exilepurify (and my abandoned sideblog @exxaltioras) just for ease of access, because otherwise I’ll be scrolling forever trying to find stuff.

Examples of posts linked here are AMVs/edits, metanalyses, translations, my art, and reference posts.

Links under the cut!

Reference:

- MP100 Omake List (with Summaries)

- Omitted-from-anime omakes with pictures

- Mysterious, did-I-dream-this omake (found)

MP100 AMVs + edits:

- Super Freaky Reigen | Reigen AMV - Super Freaky Girl

- Flowers by the Street | MP100 tribute/Teru AMV - FULTON STREET 1 by La Dispute

- No! He shouldn’t be held down by trauma! | Mob trauma AMV - Sleep by My Chemical Romance

I don’t wanna die… | Shigeo AMV - Bohemian Rhapsody

- Even the iron still fears the rot | S3E10 AMV - Ptolomaea by Ethel Cain

- Flightless Birds/飛べない鳥 | TeruMob AMV - Flightless Bird, American Mouth

- S3E12 Reigen running sequence but with Exist instead of 99

- I’m losing myself… | Mob and Reigen S3E12 AMV - Remember You

If you care for that kid at all, call him back! | Reigen always saving Mob — Undertale by Toby Fox

MP100 Translation Posts:

- Shigeo and Mob Omitted Dialogue Translation

- “Shut Up and Eat” Omake Translation

- Reigen’s Confession Scene Translation

- Teru’s real text message

- Translating the first page of Emi’s short story

MP100 Manga vs Anime Scene Comparisons

- Season 3 Episode 9

- Season 3 Episode 11

- Season 3 Episode 12 (pt. 1)

- Season 3 Episode 12 (pt. 2)

MP100 Metas/Analyses:

- MP100’s three main themes and how they’re reflected in the final arc

- Shigeo’s ugly emotions and how glad I am that they’re here

- ???%/Shigeo and fear of rejection (originally by mob-choir.

- MP100 and platonic love

- ???% is Not A Villain!

- Mob already knew Reigen didn’t have powers

- Dimple’s last words to Mob

- Oldest trope in the book (Divine Tree arc Teru fight)

- The Obligatory Reigen’s Shoes Post

- Toichiro fight symbolism

- Shigeo Bad Taste Truthers Unite

- Reigen gives dad side-hugs almost exclusively

- Reason for 20,000 frames in S3E8

- Shigeo lovingly cradling Mob’s face in his hands subtext

- Subtext of Teru’s “Kageyama! Don’t leave me behind!”

My Art:

You poor thing… | Shigeo and ???% confession artwork (blood cw)

No one will save me… | Mob breaking apart panel redraw

I’ll never have to buy adjacent plots of earth | Reigen holding post-car accident Mob (blood cw)

Enigmatic… | Limp-wristed Shigeo Kageyama

[xx-skullheartz-xx]

What're some Brett HCs? :3

i'm the brett-meiser i see... like the snow meiser for brett hand

HEEHEEHOO <3 tw for food mentions??

- Brett can bake! when he moved off of his family's property in college, he had to learn to cook for himself (and his roomates) in a little rinky dink apartment off campus, and during that time, he learned how to make the most MOUTH WATERING chocolate chip cookies.

his secret? he paints melted butter onto them as soon as they're out of the oven. the cookies taste like heaven, and they always bring tears to anyone's eyes the first time they take a bite.

...he can also make a damn good lasagna. old recipe from the butlers and maids that raised him in the old hand manor.

- HE LOVESSS RPGs. especially ones where you can befriend the characters??? augh. lovely. perfect. his favorite in particular is the classic MOON RPG (y'know the one that toby fox got inspiration from when working on undertale? speaking of,)

he's also played the utdr games. he ABSOLUTELY cried at the true pacifist ending (i have a headcanon for andre that ties into this actually! he played ut bc of the sans memes back in 2016, then reccomended it to brett a couple years later.)

he's played deltarune OF COURSE. and his favorite characters were sweet cap'n cakes :-] (scc ties into my next thing heehee)

- H☆R fan!!! while he is- and always will be- a fan of almost exclusively 1980's media, he found joy in the homestar series back when it was in its early stages. his favorite character is strong bad! (and he really enjoyed scc in dr bc when they introduced themselves in game he was like "wow! just like homestar!" lol)

- OVERBITE!!! he has an overbite. he had to get braces to fix it in middle school, but it never fully went away.

- y'all've most likely heard his voice. he's got a bit of a southern twang to him (just like me a bit :3), and his parents made him go to speech therapy to get rid of it when it was a REALLY strong accent. but nothin' can keep a country boy down, amiright folks!?

...right?

...tough crowd.

- GREATEST PERSON TO HUG EVERRRR. he's got a lot of lovin' in his heart and a lot of it is expressed through physical affection and words of affirmation, both things he excels at! brett can give the most comfortable hugs in the galaxy, from a quick squeeze around the shoulders to a literal pick me up!...and spin around. and nuzzling cheek... hehe. (he actually made reagan fall asleep in the middle of one of them, so he kinda just carried her to her lab to snooze <3.)

- uses fidgets quite frequently, especially those rings that you twist <3 he's got a glittery one that he wears on his right ring finger and it works well for him. he uses chewlery as well and both of these things help him focus quite better than without.

- hmmmm hmmm... he loves to hum. humming is good. nice noise. he's got a groovy tune in his head at all times and he ain't afraid to show it! well- hum it, in this case.

- i like to think that if you messed up his hair all the way, he'd have kind of longer hair. that's how he had his mullet in the brettfast club episode...!

- mr bisexual... probably bi ace or bi aro. either way he swings! (personally i think he's arospec AND aspec. maybe demiro and demisexual (TOTALLY not making all my faves aro/arospec WHATTT. nooo.))

- unlike what'd you expect, he actually doesn't like milk chocolate! he prefers dark chocolate. richer taste, y'know (smthn smthn uhhh run and tell that from hairspray)

- HE CAN SEWWWW HE CAN SEW HE CAN SEW HE CAN SEW HE C-

brett can sew!!!! he repairs his and his friends' clothes a lot AND makes stuff too (cough cough. hand puppets and such)

- can also do makeup SO WELL. his goth phase really had some results... the guy knows how to do eyeliner. it's basically second nature for him.

- STIMS!!!! HE STIMS!!!! HE STIMS BY BOUNCING HIS LEG AND VOCALLY STIMSSSS. I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT.

- sleeps with a teddy bear. the guy likes cuddling. probably has on o' those those special ones that you can easily heat up in the microwave or dryer!!

- paints his nails on the occasion :)

that's!!!! mostly it!!!!

OH AND @niceysboy since i screenshotted your ask!

[rikakowrites]

I've been playing Pokemon Violet and... So on one hand, I'm enjoying it.

On the other hand, I've been playing exclusively in docked mode and I'm constantly getting FPS drops and stutter. Every time the camera switches during a cutscene the scene freezes for a moment. The camera frequently clips out of bounds and is generally a mess. I had a pokemon with 1 HP get hit and it still had 1 HP? So even battling feels buggy at times. I had the game crash when I reached an area where there was a blizzard.

The pokemon graphics are good! They're utilizing normal and specular maps like in New Pokemon Snap and it's pretty! But it's clear the environment artists don't know what they're doing, everything feels bland. It's better than Sword and Shield but that bar is so low it's on the ground. Almost every bit of environment visibly tiles and the LOD is garbage and I know what garbage LOD looks like, I mod Bethesda games and have seen solid grey bricks for buildings. Anything that isn't a town looks like boring garbage and even the towns are kinda bland with repeating coffee shops. Oh and you have to look at the map and/or guess which storefronts are actually stores.

The pokemon distribution feels good! The shitty grey caves I'll find them in (there are very few "interiors" in this game) are bland and ugly and the only "good" bit is how the lighting adjusts so you can't see inside until you're in it. Which is boring that it's the best thing the caves have going for them.

The gym tests are fun and quirky! The characters are charming! The class gimmick is neat! There are loading screens to get into the tiny rooms that the classes take place in for some reason!

Following pokemon are good, they greatly improved on what was in Sword and Shield.

The raid battles seem the most polished, literally too. The sparkles, the reflections, the music by Toby Fox, it's all good. The placement of them on the overworld feels unnatural, especially with the complete lack of environment "clutter".

It's like they used some automatic landscape generation, slapped a couple trees and some random patches of grass onto it, added the pokemon onto the field, and even with the pokemon having LOD they realized the game was running at 15 FPS and thus they didn't add anything else.

The characters are good, the character animations are fun, it feels like they're carrying the entire game and they don't even show up outside of the gym, school, and the other challenges.

The frequency of releases can't keep going like this, this is unsustainable garbage.

[missholoska]

You do know Toby Fox said that Sans is canonically too lazy to care about anyone romantically right?

and you do know that’s neither what he actually said nor what the person he was replying to was asking, right?

I’ve seen that tweet thrown around so much in the fandom and it’s mildly infuriating how almost all of the people using it as an argument against ships aren’t even quoting Toby Fox’s words correctly, let alone using them in the intended context. the tweet may have been deleted years ago, but you can just google “toby fox sans is too lazy tweet” and find screencaps which include the question he was answering:

to paraphrase that, uh, specific wording: he said this in response to a question about characters’ interest in sexual activity. that context is important because people usually repeat this as “Toby said Sans is canonically aroace” or “Toby said Sans is too lazy to date anyone”, when the conversation had nothing to do with Sans’ sexuality, romantic orientation or interest in dating.

this tweet does not mean Sans is canonically aromantic, relationships can be romantic without being sexual and asexuality is not the same thing as aromanticism. it has never been said that Sans is too lazy for dating and romantic relationships just because he’s too lazy to do anything sexual.

this tweet also does not mean Sans is canonically asexual, because asexuality is just a lack of sexual attraction, not necessarily lack of interest in sexual things. not all asexuals are sex-repulsed and being sex-repulsed (or disinterested in this case) isn’t exclusive to asexuality either. (as a side note I actually do headcanon Sans as ace, but not because of this tweet and I don’t go around calling it canon when it isn’t)

I’d be annoyed by how widespread this misinterpretation is among the fandom and how often it’s used as a cheap ship hate device anyway, but I’m especially frustrated by it given that I’m aroace myself. if Toby ever reveals someday that actually yes, Sans is canonically aroace, then trust me, I’ll drop Soriel instantly. as happy as the ship makes me, I’m not about erasing representation of canon sexualities. but he has never stated that, outright, in clear terms, and until that day arrives I’m gonna keep drawing Sans being in love with a cute goat lady.

and actually if that tweet has any use in fandom slapfights it should really be to say that all ns//fw art of Sans is not true to his actual personality and therefore non-canon, but strangely I’ve not seen this argument used for anything other than harmless ship fluff ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[kimtanathegeek]

Two Brothers, Many Paths - Ch 12

A dozen chapters! Wha?! Thanks for reading! :D

Also, no one will ever be able to see this item the same way again! :D

—

Undertale copyright Toby Fox

Story and original characters by me, Kimtana

Please do not use without both permission and credit.  

Read below, or read it on AO3 here.

First

Previous

Next

Sans stared at the pantry contents sadly as he breathed a deep, heaving sigh. Half a carrot, two small apples, a handful of nuts, a few sugar snap peas, and one small potato were all that remained. There were a few handfuls of dried fruit left, stored in pouches that had originally had nuts in them since they were steadily eating though those now. Sans kept the dried fruit for emergency magic replenishment. However, he would start giving them to Papyrus if they ran out of the other food.

If. Sans scoffed. More like when we run out of food.

The last few days of foraging had resulted in no food. He was so desperate to stretch their food supplies that he started serving small lumps of packed snow at every meal. Papyrus thought they were amazing, thinking of them as more of a frozen treat than a desperate attempt to fill empty stomachs.

Sans exclusively ate snow now, giving Papyrus the last of their food. The hunger and malnutrition decreased his HP, but a good night’s sleep returned enough health to make up for it.

Sans prepared a few thin slices of carrot, a couple nuts and an apple wedge for Papyrus’ breakfast, along with some small snowballs he had flattened out. He then encased the rest of the carrot and apple with snow so that they didn’t dry out or brown.

“Here you go, Pap,” he said, placing the food in front of his brother. “Look, I made snow pancakes this morning!”

Papyrus dug into the food gratefully. Sans started his large stack of snow “pancakes” while voicing his thoughts.

“So, I was thinking, we haven’t been finding any food on that path recently, have we?”

Papyrus shook his head sadly, his mouth full of snow.

“What if we tried to explore further today?”

The little skeleton grinned, finding the idea of exploration adventurous and fun.

Sans grinned, glad that his brother was on board. “Yeah, there’s an area I want to check out. It might have some great stuff, and even food.”

Sans didn’t mention the real reason he wanted to venture somewhere else. He wanted to reach the edge of the valley he had seen the day before. He had no idea why it was filled with darkness, but he really needed to know where those blue lights were coming from. He couldn’t get them out of his mind—it was the same blue-white light of the blue bones only skeletons could create. He desperately had to see if their father was in that darkness.

But if Papyrus knew that’s why they were going, especially after yesterday, it would hurt him again. As Sans watched his little brother munching on his food happily, he was sad that his brother could ever think he hated him.

He sighed heavily. Of course he could. From Papyrus’ view, anytime Sans looked for their father, Papyrus was ignored, left behind, and distanced from emotionally. Sans hadn’t meant to—he didn’t want his little brother to see him upset—but Papyrus only saw his big brother being cold towards him or abandoning him. Papyrus was young, but he understood a lot more than Sans realized.

If we’re going to find Daddy, Sans resolved, we need to find him together. No more trying to find him on my own.

“Almost done?” he asked, grinning.

Papyrus popped the last carrot slice into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed, then jumped up, nodding. “Nyeh!”

“Great! I’m going to pack up a few things, then we’ll go.”

Sans shoved the last bit of snow into his mouth, then got up and grabbed the empty haversack. He needed to prepare for more than the usual foraging trip. They were going further than they had gone before, so along with the ropes and twines, he packed some of the larger pieces of fabric in case they needed to camp, some food, and a cloth pouch of dried fruit. He didn’t want to pack much more than that in case they found some useful items out there.

When he was ready, they left the shelter, sealed up the entrance, then headed off through the valley on their long journey.

 -

 The two brothers made excellent progress. Since they didn’t take the torch-lit path, they saved a lot of time and distance walking straight from their shelter. Their pace was steady, as opposed to their normal inch-by-inch progression as they foraged, and Sans hoped this meant they would arrive in the darkened place sooner than he imagined. Since the trail was so far away, Sans couldn’t tell how far along they were until he noticed a dark mass ahead through the white horizon.

That must be the edge, Sans thought to himself. Just a little further.

He looked down at Papyrus, clutching his hand.

“How are you doing?” Sans asked him.

Papyrus looked up at him and grinned. “Nyeh!”

“You tired? Need to rest?”

His brother adamantly shook his head. “Nyeh.”

“Good,” Sans grinned. “We’ll be there soon.”

 -

 The darkness loomed on the horizon, dotted by several blue lights. Sans fought every urge to run towards them. Both he and Papyrus were tired, having walked for at least a couple hours now, and needed to rest before proceeding any further.

Sans kept looking at the lights longingly as he sat in the snow beside Papyrus. He tore his eyes away to glance at his brother, and blinked in shock. Papyrus was staring at him with an extremely sad expression.

“What’s wrong?” Sans asked, worriedly.

Papyrus put his tiny hand on his arm, his voice a soft, pleading whisper. “Don leave me....”

Sans gasped, his eyes growing wide. Did he recognize the place?

No, Sans told himself, shaking his head. He sees the same look on my face he keeps seeing right before I hurt him....

Sans put his hand over Papyrus’ and smiled wide. “I’m not leaving you, Pap.”

The little skeleton didn’t seem convinced, so Sans patted on his lap, inviting his brother to sit. Papyrus crawled over his legs and Sans helped him sit so that they were both facing the edge. Sans leaned his head over Papyrus’ shoulder and stuck his arm out, pointing.

He whispered in his brother’s ear. “Pap, you see those blue lights there?”

His brother nodded.

“You know what they look like?”

Papyrus shook his head slowly.

Sans pulled his hands behind Papyrus momentarily, leaning back while his brother continued looking out at the darkened edge of the valley. Then he leaned back forward, putting his head over Papyrus’ shoulder again. He held up the glowing blue bone he created.

“This.”

Papyrus looked at the bone, then at the darkness. Then he jumped up, pointing from the blue bone in Sans’ hands to the darkness excitedly.

Sans grinned. “Yup. And you know who the only ones able to make these are, right?”

Papyrus pointed at his skull.

“That’s right. Skeletons.”

His brother gasped happily, pointing at the darkened edge of the valley.

“See?” Sans said gently. “That’s why I was so excited to see it yesterday. I wasn’t running away from you, Pap. I wanted to see what’s over there. That’s why I wanted to come here, with you, because I want you with me when we find out what those blue lights are.”

Papyrus was quiet a moment, his eyes slowly widening, realization dawning on him.

He pointed at the edge. “Dada?”

Sans’ eyebrows lifted sadly while he kept his grin on his face. “Maybe.”

Papyrus stared at the darkness for a moment, then sadly turned to his brother. “Sas leave Pa, fin Dada?”

Sans shook his head and waggled his hands urgently. “No! No, I’m not leaving you to find Daddy! I want you to help me find him, Pap.”

Papyrus’ eyes grew wide in awe. “Pa help Sas fin Dada?”

“Yeah!” Sans said, excitedly. “Do you want to help me find him?”

“Nyeh!” he answered, nodding his head happily.

“Yay!” Sans said, throwing his hands up in the air in exaggerated joy. “You’re going to help me! I’m so happy! Thank you!”

Papyrus rushed up to him, grabbed his hand, and pulled, urging him to get up. Sans complied, stood, and was dragged forward by his little brother. Sans sighed with relief, glad that his brother understood that he wasn’t going to abandon his little brother for the sake of their father.

They rushed forward towards the distant darkness with its glowing blue lights, Papyrus leading the way.

 -

 As they approached the edge of the valley, the two brothers walked slowly, staring around at the surroundings coming into view before them.

The wide, snowy valley emptied into several narrower pathways, leading to a maze of ledges and tall rocky outcrops. The white snow tapered off, the pathways dark without the reflective illumination of snow. The sounds of trickling water reached their ears, a sound they hadn’t heard in ages.

Sans came to a stop. He couldn’t keep the tears of utter disappointment from falling down his face. His mouth dropped, as did his soul.

The blue lights that he had been so eager to get to, the blue lights that had been foremost in his mind since he first saw them, the blue lights that he had been so absolutely sure were from skeleton bones...

...were bioluminescent mushrooms scattered along the ground and lucent gems studded in the walls.

Sans fell to his knees in tears, burying his face in the snow as he wept uncontrollably. Papyrus stood by him, his arms over Sans’ bent back to comfort him, unable to understand why his brother was so deeply heartbroken.

 -

 Sans laid in the snow for a while, his tears completely spent. Papyrus was sitting next to his head, rubbing his back gently. It took all the energy Sans had to rise to a sitting position.

Papyrus looked up at him sadly. “Fin Dada?”

“N-no, Pap,” Sans croaked as he wiped his eyes on his sleeves. “Daddy’s not here. There’re no bones here.”

Papyrus looked crestfallen. Sans put his hand on his shoulder and gave a weak grin.

“Hey, no, don’t be sad, Pap,” he whispered. “We don’t know that he’s not in there.”

Sans didn’t know who he was trying to convince more—his brother or himself.

Papyrus hugged his brother tightly.

“Aww, just what I needed,” Sans smiled weakly, returning the hug. “Thanks, Pap.”

He looked out into the new area, his soul throbbing when he looked at the blue light sources. He tried to distract himself from his pain by focusing on the glowing mushrooms. Something about them seemed achingly familiar.

“Hey, Pap, look,” he said, pointing them out. “I think we’ve had those before.”

Sans stood up slowly then walked with Papyrus onto the strange land. They crunched through the snow until their feet met with the soft squelch of dark blue hydric soil. The change in textures felt strange to walk on.

They approached a set of mushrooms that were clustered together. Their faces reflected the blue-white glow as they crouched to examine them.

“Let’s see if they’re what I think they are,” Sans whispered to Papyrus.

He reached out and touched the blue spotted cap of the white mushroom. He gave it a quick squeeze, causing the mushroom to emit a high-pitched squeaking sound, and the glow disappeared. They looked up at each other, grinning.

“It is!” Sans exclaimed. “It’s a mouseshroom nightlight!”

The mouseshroom nightlight was a type of mushroom their mother would get on rare occasions from a friend of hers who explored caves. Their mother told them that, according to skeletal legend, an ancient skeleton left one of his glowing blue bones behind in a cave, and, over time, it was buried in the ground. White mushrooms with blue markings—the two colors of skeleton bones—grew in that very spot and, just like the blue bones of a skeleton, were able to glow. Their spores spread through the cave and more grew until the cave was filled with them. They were discovered by other skeletons, who took them for food, allowing the spores to spread beyond that first cave.

They got their name from the sound they made when the cap was squeezed. The sound of forced air vibrating through the tough, rubbery gills made a sound similar to a mouse’s squeak, and since squeezing turned the glow on and off, it was given the name “mouseshroom nightlight.”

Of all the mushrooms in the world to come across, Sans couldn’t believe they had found these. They weren’t the skeleton bones he had hoped to find, but these were certainly close. Sans pushed away his painful disappointment, choosing to view the discovery of the mushrooms with their skeletal roots as a sign that their father had been through this area. Perhaps he had even spread their spores here as a sign for his sons to find, just as Sans had left him blue bones with their names on it. Why else would they be inside this mountain, of all places? Even though they didn’t find their father yet, Sans refused to give up hope, and put the heartbreaking setback aside in his mind.

Sans looked up into Papyrus’ face, who was smiling happily. Sans grinned while he squeezed the mushroom continuously, causing it to squeak over and over rapidly, the glow flashing on and off. Papyrus giggled uncontrollably at the funny sounds and light show. Sans, himself, started laughing at the squeals both the mushroom and his brother were making.

At last, Sans stopped and they both struggled to catch their breath from laughing so hard.

“Well, Pap,” Sans said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. “Looks like we found some food.”

They went around collecting mouseshroom nightlights, giggling every time they heard a squeak when they picked them up.

 -

 After the two brothers stuffed their bags full with the mushrooms, they made the long trek back to their shelter. They stopped to rest only once, eager to get back to prepare the mushrooms for dinner.

When they arrived a few hours later, Sans helped Papyrus roast them over the magical flame, and they were soon enjoying a delicious dinner of roasted mouseshroom nightlights, carrot slices, and a few mixed nuts, with snowballs for desert—at Papyrus’ request. It was their first proper meal in a long time, and they savored every bite of the meaty delicacy and crunchy side dishes.

Sans filled the pantry shelf with the white and blue mushrooms—turning their glow off—and sighed happily at the sight of a stocked pantry again.

They got ready for bed, deciding to have an early night since they were exhausted after all the walking they did. They climbed into bed with heavy eyelids and full tummies as Sans pulled up the fabrics to cover them. They said their goodnights to each other, then Sans reached over and squeezed the mouseshroom nightlight by the bed that was lighting the room. The glow turned off with a squeak, sending Sans and Papyrus into a fit of giggles as they fell asleep.

[samantha-is-blogging]

My Top 10 Games of the Decade

10. The Walking Dead (2012)

The first season of the Walking Dead was the highlight not only of its own franchise, but of all of Telltale’s works. The most emotionally touching game I’ve ever played, with final moments that still hurt to think about today. It will remain a classic among point and click games, despite the slumber the genre has entered.

9. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

The best stealth game ever made, surrounded by the most slapped together incomplete story ever written. This combination of factors led to a game I put hundreds of hours into across 3 platforms, despite spending most of it harassing the same 3 outposts in Afghanistan and Africa for most of it. A loving send off to the series it bares the name of, despite the difficulties Hideo Kojima was put under by Konami.

8. Hotline Miami (2012)

Blood. Bashing. Bops. Hotline Miami is one of the best stealth/strategy games ever made, all presented as a top-down beat’em up with a confusing story, which leads to one of my favourite endings to any game ever produced. Hotline Miami is an art game from gameplay to sound to its repulsive character illustrations.

7. Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)

I brought myself to nearly 100% only two games in the entirety of this decade, one of them was Spider-Man. Insomniac created a world which feels vivid and alive, wrote new iterations on existing characters, and designed the best exclusive for the Playstation 4. With the acquisition of Insomniac by Sony almost guarantees a sequel in my eyes, and I am waiting patiently for it.

6. Hearts of Iron IV (2016)

Hearts of Iron IV provides an accessible, yet complex, introduction to the formula at the heart of most of Paradox’s games. A military system which is understandable, focus trees for dozens of countries which make most of Europe and much of Asia and the Americas worth playing, updates and DLCs which constantly add more features to the already feature rich game, these factors all make up the a strategy game that has taken more hours from me than any other game I’ve played in my life.

5. Undertale (2015)

Beautiful, friendly, chilling, Undertale tailors itself to your approach. A true choose-your-own-adventure game, one not afraid to tell you what you did was wrong. Moral systems have had a rocky history throughout gaming’s history, but Toby Fox presented an optimal implementation which none have done as well since. Add to that the best original soundtrack in gaming history, and there is grounds for the best RPG of the 2010s.

4. Portal 2 (2011)

Valve’s last single player game for nearly a decade, an incredible sequel to the short and sweet Portal from the Orange Box. Portal 2 is grand, hilarious, and puzzling, with a multiplayer worth coming back to again and again. Hopefully Half-Life: Alyx will be worth the wait.

3. Doom (2016)

Id is back, at a height not seen since the end of the numbered Quakes during the early 2000s, with the best shooter of the decade, potentially the last 3 decades. The guts and gore, Mick Gordon’s music, and the blast of the super shotgun all create an atmosphere of chaos in a shooter enjoyable both on consoles and PC. Rip and Tear.

2. Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

A return to form for Mario, a 3D open world packed with collectibles to find and enemies to stomp, but this time the experience has been refined. Mario Odyssey is a game I had no trouble beating, but I’ve put many hours in trying to get it completed. A perfect camera and tight, accurate controls synthesize to create my favourite platformer of all time.

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

I don’t think there are enough characters in Tumblr’s letter limit to really describe all there is to love about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A cast of characters leaving little to be desired, quicker battles than Smash 4, a proper adventure mode, online tournaments, amiibos galore, etc., etc. What was meant to be a celebration of gaming has become one of the most celebrated games of all time, a fitting outcome for a project with so much passion and fervor behind its development by all involved.

[ohandcounting]

Final playtime after finishing Ch4 below and some ending thoughts that are. Not entirely coherent.

HEY WAIT STOP READING!!! If you think you're done, you're NOT!!!! Go load that save file you finished Chapter 4 with.

Bro how can I be THIS thorough (it was at like 20 hours from Ch1&2 replays but those includes bathroom breaks I left the game open, these 14.5 hours do not) and STILL MISS BOTH EGGS I'm so glad that the game isn't going to take as long anymore between chapters

and

that ending

I mean we know we all know we will we'll all know we all WILL know exactly what but we already can like know but we know and ALSO

I WAS FREAKING RIGHT THIS WHOLE TIME ABOUT THE THINGY WITH THE DUST AND THE AND SANS AND PROBABLY PAPYRUS IT'S ALL LOOKING UP THEORY BABY LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BUT ALSO

JARU????? BEING HALF-RIGHT...ABOUT LIKE ONE THING.

I knew this would happen. I knew he would be right about one REALLY BIG thing and it's going to make it really annoying to discuss things with people who've only ever watched theory videos and haven't studied the ancient scrolls thoroughly like I have! Which doubley sucks because it's like the one thing I thought was the coolest so I can't even be mad about! (I haven't seen any of his latest videos tbh...)

Mike is the funniest thing in the whole world, but only if you were there. It's insane. I'm insane. Toby might as well have come out into the streets and shot someone to death I'm not normal. I know who it was too like man. He's dead now. I think I would die if this happened to me. Imagine getting called out for being a total dumb dumb idiot theorist directly by Toby Fox looking into the camera and saying "that was wrong" like in real life world wide everyone who owns Deltarune gets to see you getting made fun of now.

Anyways...Guess I'll do the "Weird" stuff tomorrow.

WAIT BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW WHO WAS FRIEND????

AND THEY SHOWED UP LIKE. AGAIN????

I'm just happy Kris finally got to play the piano. For real.

I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep. But I still need to. I have to try and rest. What what WHAT!!!!

AUFGAGUAF

I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO FEEL YET. I FEEL LIKE ALL I DID WAS ABSORB TOO MUCH INFORMATION AT ONCE. Ch3 was so cool I didn't I don't know I'm. Man that's gonna go down in history as one of the coolest chapters man. Ch4 almost feels less cool. I mean it is? kind of. Like, it isn't. It's cooler. But like, it feels less cool to do for me I mean. I think it's just because it was easier. BUT WAIT NO IT. It was. It freaking was. Also all the weird choices you can make and???? How are some of these not going to matter?????????????????? You can just, REALLY skip some Susie character development apparently????? I Haven't tested it. I need to. I can't. I h. I'm going to sleep. I think it's the best idea.

I'M GONNA LIEDOWN FACE UP WITH MY EYES CLOSED AND THINK TO MYSELF THAT "DAMN. WHAT A GOOD GAME TOBY. CAN'T WAIT TO ENJOY IT A NORMAL AMOUNT AFTER RESTING." AND THEN STAY AWAKE FOR ANOTHER 18 HOURS????

I did get the Ch4 Shadow Crystal though. First try this time...

Also does anyone who's done the weird know if I can if I can listen to the soundtrack now. It's on bandcamp. Just "yes or no" are there any Weird Route exclusive songs on that bandcamp I don't want to hear them early..

Just got through Ch3, been playing since minute one release.

If you're SUUUPER thorough, like me, that's how long it'll take! Like 7 hours! What the heck! (personal thoughts below the read more)

I got the Shadow Crystal in this chapter.

ALSO WHAT THE HELL THAT ENDING?????