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daily affirmations:

i am kind

i am in control of my emotions

it does not bother me when someone is in the kitchen while i was planning to be in there alone

everyone in the house has the right to be in the kitchen

i am kind and in control of my emotions even when someone is in the kitchen while i was planning to be in there alone

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I was discussing the new Deltarune chapters with a friend yesterday, and in the wake of Chapter 4 and some of the foreshadowing surrounding Asgore, something struck us about him.

Asgore comes across as a goof, a complete wreck of a man who gives away his flowers instead of selling them, to the point where the Mayor Carol is apparently threatening to kick him out. His constant attempts to woo his former wife Toriel are as doomed as they are cringeworthy. He comes across as an all-around loser who can't get his act together, neither for love nor for money, who has to resort to eating free pickles from Sans, the man who we now know is cavorting with Toriel.

...and yet.

Asgore was the chief of police, before he was apparently forced to step down in disgrace (the details of which are unclear to us due to Kris's avoidance of the topic) - this is a role that would require a great deal of competence and expertise, not to mention strength and dedication. It's mentioned that Undyne, his successor, struggles to fill his boots in the position, which suggests that he was respected in his role, and supposedly did a satisfactory job in it.

Now, in Chapter 4, we see Asgore emerge from the bushes after church to try and gift Toriel yet another bouquet. She, of course, beats a hasty retreat, whereupon he gives Kris a single rose (remember this - this will be important later).

Then, at the Holiday Residence, while clambering through the air vents as the SOUL, we can find Asgore in the bathroom, apparently employed by Carol as a housekeeper, at which point he'll talk about settling something "once and for all" and that he's "got to look again". We can find him again in Carol's bedroom, mentioning something about showing Toriel "what really happened" and that she'll "have to believe me" that he was "just trying to protect everyone."

It's clear that Asgore is using his access to the Holiday household in order to find some sort of evidence that will shed light on an unspecified event... which we would assume to be Dess's disappearance, the event that would have seemingly resulted in his dismissal from the force. All of this to say that Asgore is not quite the complete failure of a person he's made out to be in prior chapters - he's looking for something, and he has a plan to set some kind of record straight and make it so that his family can be happy again.

Right, and what does any of this have to do with Kris, exactly? Why is the giving of a single rose to his child significant? Well, the short answer is - I think that Asgore knows, or has figured out, that Kris is being manipulated and coerced by Carol. It's not much of a stretch to assume this - Kris is his child who he loves dearly, enough to bearhug them when we first meet him in Chapter 1, and he could have deduced that something was amiss with them through his skills as a former police chief. But he wouldn't be able to act directly to help them, seeing how Carol has such a tight leash on the both of them. So they'd have to communicate in secret.

In code.

Look again at the screenshot at the top of this post. Look at how Asgore is winking, and how he says "Our secret." We didn't think about it before, because we just assumed Asgore was being his usual hopelessly Divorced self... but stop now and consider how ridiculous this premise is. It's NO secret whatsoever that Asgore gives his flowers away, and many of them to Toriel. On top of that, there's a decent chance he KNOWS she won't even look at them, even if Kris DID give them to her. Because they were never meant for Toriel in the first place.

Asgore is giving flowers to Kris as a coded form of communication - something that I expect he'd have good knowledge of as, again, a former chief of police. And it's not unreasonable, again, to assume that perhaps Kris might have picked up on some of this, growing up with their adoptive father being in the force. And Carol would have great difficulty detecting the code in the first place, because that's just what bumbling old Asgore does - he gives flowers away to EVERYBODY. And even if she thought something was up, surely he's not sending coded messages to everyone in Hometown, right? Of course not - they're chaff, noise to obscure the fact that he is communicating with Kris right under her nose.

We can skip the bouquet in chapter 1, but we cannot skip the rose in chapter 4. Whatever message he meant to impart to Kris, they WILL have picked up on it, and it's something that may become significant in Chapter 5, which is heavily implied to take place in Asgore's flower shop.

Has Asgore had us all fooled this entire time?

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A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.” 

“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

___

…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.

“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”

___

…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.

“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.

“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”

“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”

___

…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”

“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”

“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”

“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.

The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”

The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.

___

A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.

They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.

___

…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.

The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”

The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”

But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.

“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.

“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”

“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.” 

___

…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”

___

“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”

“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”

___

…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”

___

…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”

___

…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”

___

“I love you,” said the scorpion.

The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”

“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”

The frog swam on, the both of them silent.

___

“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”

“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”

The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”

“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.” 

“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?” 

“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”

“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”

“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”

___

“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”  

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

[stalking-fictional-characters]

The bad guys (some of which aren't that bad)! ♠️

This started out as a Jevil-only animation, but then I spontaneously decided to add Spamton, Lancer and Queen to the mix. Hope y'all dig it!

Music: The Big Heist by Geoff Harvey

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having audio processing issues is so humiliating like yeah i heard you and yeah i was actively listening but the problem is i dont know what the fuck you sayed

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I got a dog. I didn't expect to take him home the same day I met him so I'm kinda overwhelmed but he's so great and I was worried someone else would get him if I waited.

Probably going to be a chaotic few days.

Pics soon

[stalking-fictional-characters]

I got a dog. I didn't expect to take him home the same day I met him so I'm kinda overwhelmed but he's so great and I was worried someone else would get him if I waited.

Probably going to be a chaotic few days.

Pics soon

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if you voted by mail now is the time to make sure your ballot was accepted

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Check your ballots and tell your people to check theirs. There is a process to fix errors (usually signatures not matching; common with younger voters who tend to sign their ballots nicer than their driver’s license or whatever form they signed to register)

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Our dog Eevee has terminal cancer. I know no one really follows me but I can't post this info to Facebook cuz I don't think my mom is ready for that kind of attention. But I just had to post somewhere about it.

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Dear Undecided and Both Sides are Evil voters.

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I'm assuming this poll is about lights that are on but not necessarily ones that are on for actual light purposes. Like I have lights on my monitors that shows they are plugged in (but it's orange cuz their not turned on) same with my speakers. My air conditioner has a light too. However I selected some other amount cuz I put black out tape or if the light is on a button make a little tape flap so the I can't see those lights when I'm trying to sleep. So idk if they count anymore. If they do I got 5.

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I’ve had enough of these unprecedented events I’m a lawyer I need precedents

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The ‘you’re mature for your age’ to sleeping with a bed full of plushies in your mid twenties pipeline is real

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Convinced the husky that lives in the house behind us is just a sentient stuffed toy or the other way around