rosehippiefield

[rosehippiefield]

I find this moment where Rudy interrupts Toriel because it really adds an interesting layer to his relationship with Mayor Holiday, because it kinda communicates to us that Rudy is second-guessing his relationship with her to the point where he's not comfortable having her addressed as his spouse

When he speaks her name, his expression makes it as if he's saying it with a grudging and frustrated tone. And the fact that Rudy sharply interrupts her IMMEDIATELY after Toriel addresses Carol as that, and instead opts to call her by her first name indicates to me that Carol's neglect and toxic parenting are starting to test his patience, especially in the wake of Dess's disappearance.

Remember how when Kris asks them about Carol and Noelle when visiting the hospital in Chapter 1 he said "love her but... she's tough on her"? That could very well be a euphemism for how not-so-good things really are, and that Rudy's trying to quell Kris's worries by pretending that by pretending he loves her more than he actually does.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see what becomes of Rudy and Carol's marriage in the following chapters, especially as we learn about her role in the Dark World.

[rosehippiefield]

Someone MUST have said this already but what's crazy (and comforting) is that the deltarune prophecy has ALREADY been defied, and we know this for certain.

When Ralsei said that he hoped that if they were kind and spared everyone, there would be a different outcome, I don't even think he realized that he was right, even though the prophecy itself didn't change!

By sparing and recruiting the Pippins and Shadowguys in Chapter 3, they were LIKELY able to save Tenna from his fate in the prophecy, since he wasn't. yknow. completely cleaved I suppose. Regardless, he was never completely cleaved by blade.

Also, Queen's chariot IS STOPPED in chapter two's normal route

While The Fun Gang's (and the player's) pacifist choices have led to a similar outcome no matter what, they were able to change things that happen during the destination. There is absolutely hope after all that, in order to save both worlds, the final prophecy that Ralsei fears probably doesn't have to happen, or can be altered for the better.

[rosehippiefield]

Am I cooking or am I going insane

[rosehippiefield]

I've been reading way too much into everything about the Knight and one thing that immediately caught my attention was the way it poses. I think everybody agrees that its weapon is either Dess' bat or Carol's katana but both of those are supposed to be used with both hands so the poses don't match the way either of them are used. People are joking about auramaxxing but genuinely, it seems almost like it's a dance. And then it hit me. We know that Dess plays like. every sport. She's particularly associated with baseball and hockey (thanks Kris for beating me up with a hockey stick) and we know for a fact she has at least two pairs of ice skates - one in her closet and one under her bed.

So what if the skates aren't just for hockey. What if she also does figure skating? Look at the Knight's poses next to figure skaters.

And obviously ice skating is a winter sport so it really matches the Holiday theme.

[rosehippiefield]

"Wow I'm so excited to have a younger sibling!" I says excitedly.

That was until Mom brought home the evil baby.

[rosehippiefield]

does anyone know why youtube videos from 2020 have had that 5y on them lately

[rosehippiefield]

Right from the start, Deltarune has established itself as a “Game Where Choices Don’t Matter”. Only having one ending has been core to its narrative and theming since day one. But it’s important to remember that it’s a concept that Deltarune has explored through several different ways, with two broad ‘main’ angles.

First there is the obvious way. That “Your Choices Don’t Matter” feels restrictive, oppressive, foreboding. The railroading that makes everything ‘safe’ in a way that feels just slightly insincere, the idea that making a real change in this world is impossible, the Darkners doomed to their Purpose to 'serve' the Lightners, the Prophecy that cannot be changed.

It's about the feeling of powerlessness, a lack of control. It's kinda creepy even when you're forced into a 'good ending' (like the Card Castle Darkners joining Castle Town even if you've been nothing but an absolute menace to them), but especially so if you're marching towards some inevitable and terrible fate.

But on the other hand of that spectrum, there is the matter of Player Agency versus Character Agency. Sometimes in Deltarune, your Choices Don't Matter not because the Choice was taken away from you by some Great Unseen Force - but because you, the Player, are the Great Unseen Force and the characters are asserting their Agency against you.

The general point here is that the Player's Choice often stands at odds with the narrative agency of the characters. Ralsei is the most accommodating member of the main cast and the one most likely to ask Kris (or rather the Player) what to do, and… he's also unhealthily selfless doormat who literally does not believe he's allowed to have opinions of his own and is the most fatalistic about the Prophecy. The biggest example of actual Player Choice in the game so far is the Weird Route, which requires tearing away the agency of both Noelle and Kris until they are tools for the Player.

Kris themself is also a factor in this. Being Literally Possessed means that they're really the perfect example of lacking in freedom and lacking in choices… And when they are asserting their own Agency, it's usually by taking away a 'Choice' from the Player. They often try and rebel, resist or wise-ass their way out of doing or saying something that they don't truly want to say or do.

And their most important moments are, of course, the ones they do of their own will.

It is all 'railroading' from an out-of-universe perspective because it is just the Game stopping you from doing things that will cause the narrative of the story to diverge too much, but within the fiction that the game created, it is a bold act of free will.

The characters' relationships and arcs are 'set on a path' and unchanging because they are dependent on the characters' personalities and experiences and their choices, and there's very little the Player can do to override that. Like, being discouraging towards Ralsei's character arc in Chapter 4 is a huge dick move on the part of the Player, but I doubt it will actually stop him from his path to growth. Because with Susie's support (and Kris' attempt to also support him despite our Choices)

his development is not in our hands.

Basically the one time the Player can meaningfully affect another character's arc and relationship… is Noelle in the Weird Route. And again, this is portrayed as a very dark act of manipulation that robs her and Kris of their genuine choices and will.

And nowhere is this concept more clear than with Susie. The most rebellious character in the entire cast, the one most likely to chafe against the railroady nature of the world and the inevitability of the Prophecy and also against the Player. A lot of the plot in this game has been the same, regardless of our choices, regardless of the Weird Route… because Susie's will and choices has been such an overwhelming leading force in the narrative, that the Player can do very little to change it.

We know Deltarune only has one ending, but I don't think that means we are doomed to get whatever terrible fate has been promised in the Prophecy. I think maybe there's only one ending because there's hardly any Choice a Player can make that will slow down Susie's unbreakable, unwavering, unchangeable fate-defying spirit, we will not be able to Choose to hinder her sheer Determination to break the Prophecy and give herself and all of her friends a happy ending. Susie herself is the real inevitability in Deltarune.

At least, that's the best we can hope for.

[rosehippiefield]

I wonder if Kris purposefully "emptied" their room, just so that the SOUL wouldn't find out about the things they care about. Just to prevent us being too aware of their life, of their likes, so they couldn't be used against them.

Like. We didn't even know that Kris liked playing piano and was GOOD at it, until we asked around town and confirmed it in their room in cyberworld. Because when we DID find out we started forcing them to play the piano, and they kept refusing. We knew about pianos, so Kris started thinking about them, in Ch4 we had a CHOICE to make Kris say "I'll never play piano again" and, depending on the route, they try to stop us from saying it.

It's so dangerous to let a being like us know about Kris themself - we'll weaponize it against them immediately - oh, Kris likes someone? We'll talk to them immediately. Oh, Noelle and Kris were close once? Well...

Being known is being vulnerable. And by learning more about Kris we learn more about the ways we can make them miserable - intentionally or not.

And this is something that Kris and Carol share - Carol keeps everything important at her home, where nothing can harm it, can harm HER. She controls everything, just so she can't be made vulnerable and suffer because of it. But Kris? Kris doesn't have a luxury of privacy. The demon is inside of them, so they have to build a facade of emptiness, just so they can function long enough for The Plan (tm) to work.

[rosehippiefield]

it's crucial that you untie "special interest" from "expertise". "it's true just trust me bro" doesn't have any extra weight when you add "I know because it's my special interest". you are not immune from falling for misinformation, and you are not immune from sharing misinformation. not to mention the fact that "amount of knowledge" isn't even a requirement for something being classified as a special interest lol!

[rosehippiefield]

you're so pretty. like, you're absolutely gorgeous. have you thought about tidying your room slightly to temporarily but significantly increase your quality of life? you are so beautiful

[rosehippiefield]

Today I saw a leaf that looked like a frog and I was like haha nice and then it hopped because it WAS a frog and I started crying bc life is really full of everyday miracles including but not limited to experiencing frogs

[rosehippiefield]

Honestly being overworked makes people unobservant and passive and it literally kills people every day. People don’t seem to realize that an overworked nurse might not notice your sepsis symptoms and a tired truck driver might not notice your car when he’s merging into the lane. Failing to protect worker’s rights impacts nearly everyone

[rosehippiefield]

whoever came up with rhytmn games was a genius. what if we took music and gave it gameplay. no notes 10/10.

[rosehippiefield]

Really crazy how "writing" is not a universal skill and "fiction writing" vs "technical writing" vs "writing peer reviews for work" are somehow all different muscles

[rosehippiefield]

"New Yorkers bite more people than sharks annually" is an excellent example of how statistics can be misleading. Like yeah no shit, do you have any idea how rare it is to even encounter a shark in the wild? They're not exactly urban animals. I'm pretty damn sure that if sharks were living in big cities like pigeons, just strolling down the streets looking for food scraps, you'd see a lot more news stories about New Yorkers biting them.

[rosehippiefield]

i think we need new types of sprees. i'm tired of shopping and killing

[rosehippiefield]

A PSA about trucks from a truck driver

I and some colleagues were talking about how we wish everyone could see the safety videos that our company was showing us, because I don’t think most people understand how traffic works in a truck. So here’s some things we wish everyone on the road knew.

- we’re not kidding about tailgating. If you’re right behind us on a straight highway? Chances are we have NO IDEA you’re there, which means we can’t anticipate any of your movements. Plus slowing down takes multiple downshifts, so we might start decreasing speed way earlier than you expect.

- We’re not kidding about any of our blind spots. WE CAN’T SEE YOU, GUYS.

- That bit about slowing down taking a while? The same goes for when you’re in front of us. Don’t cut off a truck. Oh god, PLEASE don’t cut off a truck. If you cut me off, I’m not irritated, I’m terrified. For YOU. It can take 7 to 9 seconds for us to stop. DON’T CUT OFF TRUCKS.

- Before you get mad about how slow we’re going on the highway, keep in mind that many companies govern their vehicles so they literally CAN’T go over 60 or 65. This is a good thing, I promise. Because…

- Do you know what happens when a car meets a truck in an accident? The car gets totaled and the truck needs a new coat of paint. You will not win this fight. I know nobody likes getting stuck behind a big dumb truck, but it’s not worth your life.

We are trying our best to protect you from our 80,000 pound death machines. Please help us out.