#I expect Ralsei has to deal with this feeling a fair bit

[patchwork-crow-writes]

66 - So Small

Don't stand so close, my sweet, for the heat of your skin might cause me to catch and burn away to nothing. Oh, that I could stand to look upon you for just a moment longer, but you shine so bright that I cannot see clearly…! There is nowhere to hide from the merciless rays of your attention - the darkness melts at your approach and between your warming hands I feel so small.

Don't look to me, my dear - your gaze might pierce my frail veneer and you'll see the insufficiency I disguise. For what succour might a shadow such as I provide to the very sun which casts it? I have no gifts to lay at your feet - you already gifted them all to me. You have so much more than I could ever offer and in the shadow of your greatness I feel so small.

Don't leave me here, my love - for I'm nothing without you, don't you see? What is a moon without its sun, or a sky without its shining stars? Though I fear the feelings you inspire in me, to feel nothing at all is more terrifying still. So abide with me a moment in this lonely cosmos, my brilliant light, though you are so big and I am so small.

______________________________

The Dark Menagerie No. 66

<-<-First || <-Prev || Next-> || Index

[californiaispurple]

I'm sure someone on here has already said this but.

the thing that creeped me out the most about spamton's encounter was his active acknowledgment of Kris' soul.

Obviously, the absence of music leading up to the scene and glitchy-ish dialogue all add to the 'hm there's something a lil funky bout this guy and not in the good way' feeling-

But (and correct me if i'm wrong) the only time the soul was ever mentioned beforehand was during ralsei's tutorial, and then never again.

In Undertale, it was all about 'ohoho human i'm gonna steal your soul!' and 'i shall defeat you and absorb your soul!' all the time every second every major battle 24/7 steal ya kids.

In Deltarune? It's been 'kill the lightners' and 'lightners must pay for their sins' and 'perhaps turn them into my minions and maybe even Robotify Their Face'

It's always been as a collective that we were threatened, and it was threats to our party as a whole that we dealth with.

However, when we're [Alone on a Dark Night]? And this strange glitchy creature comes out with his weird spam-email-reminiscent dialogue, but little quirks like these are par for the course in Deltarune characters-

Until he mentions taking our soul. Something about freedom, something about the 'light'.

And we sit up because huh. That hasn't happened before. That hasn't happened for a long time.

And suddenly this battle feels a bit more real, a bit off, because he wants our soul. Specifically Kris' soul, and yes we've been through this song and dance before, but never here. Not in this game, not in this universe, not in this same-slightly-off life. We realize this only in the face of deviation.

It's not the same, of course. (Light? What is this light? Do you want power? Do you desire determination? Is light determination? Whom are you bound by? What level of meta are we dealing here?)

But it's close enough to tense, to jostle the edge of it all.

And you really, actually, crushingly start to wonder--

how different is it here?

(Annddd putting it under the cut since this got way too long.

Underneath: a short ramble/recounting about preconceived notions from Undertale that I subconsciously carried over to Deltarune, and trying to challenge them.

Or, I talk about things that people probably figured out a long time ago.

Or, the status of magic, the difference between humans and monsters, and Toilet Theory.)

(Fair warning, I didn't research about any of these topics before writing it down. There is probably a lot of information I'm missing/misremembering due to the fact I was just pulling it out of my brain as I went. This post is sponsored by the brainrot, so expect incoherentness here and there.)

SOULs & MAGIC

In Undertale, the concept of absorbing Human SOULs is introduced to the player in Waterfall, only mentioned briefly in passing before. The culmination of our being, persists after death, allegedly holds our compassion and hopes and dreams, the monster that arises from a being with both a human and monster soul, all that jazz.

The menu that Kris has in the town is the same as the normal Undertale menu, while the Dark World menu is completely different. Is this meant say that the Light World is more comparable to the Underground than the Dark World? Maybe.

The SOULs book in the town library spouts the same things as Ralsei in regards to the nature of the SOUL. It only notes that nobody really knows the true inner workings of the SOUL. Nothing about human souls, or if they're even stronger than monster souls.

Magic may not even be present in the Deltarune Light World. Toriel indicates, by both dialogue and flavor text, that she uses the oven to bake as opposed to fire magic. There aren't any nudge-and-wink allusions to bullet patterns or magical spears when you explore the town.

In the room that Kris is taken to after being captured by Queen, they have a 'how to do magic' book. When I first saw that scene, I thought it was cute that maybe Kris saw one of their family members doing magic and wanted to be just the same, but couldn't since they were human. Thinking about it more though, I couldn't recall any mentions of magic in the Light world before.

Now that I think about it, Darkners having SOULs hasn't been implied in any way either. While we can assume Light World monsters have souls due to the town library having a book on it, nobody ever mentions anything in regards to a Darkner soul.

(... Ah. So, I just looked up No-Mercy runs of Deltarune, and like... I've only ever played pacifist routes before, right? They run away, huh. I was expecting dust... which I suppose is what this list is for.)

Kris' soul has the power to 'shine their light' on others, and their soul is what pops up when Susie fights Lancer. You can see it fly in from the upper right during battle. Kris also has the power to seal dark fountains-- and apparently only Kris can seal the dark fountains. Is it because they're human? Why can't Susie do it?

When Queen mentioned DETERMINATION, I was very, very interested. How it's used to make Dark Fountains, and how it appears that all Lightners can utilize the power of DETERMINATION. It takes DETERMINATION to make a dark fountain, I think, but does it take determination to close it? It can't just be about determination though-- it's something about Kris' soul specifically. Is it because they're human? Is it because of Player Intervention?

I cannot remember if, in Undertale, Undyne was able to get her DETERMINATION upgrade due to Alphys' help, but I think that's how it went?? You probably already know about UT DT and the goopy lil Amalgamates.

So, could you recreate Amalgamates within the parameters of the Deltarune universe? The monsters melt when injected with DT due to their body being made of magic and dust. Is Falling Down still a thing in Deltarune? Rudy fell down in the UT universe, I believe, so is the same thing happening here?

Monsters who fell down in Undertale can be found in the Deltarune cemetery.

(another thing: on the crystal's grave, there's something at the foot of it which I think is some kind of flower? The brown part looks vaguely stem-shaped. Suspect that either the Snowdrake in our class or his dad at the apartments left it there. Sad, but sweet.)

Right around here, I realized I've subconsciously accepted that monsters turn to dust in Deltarune as well. But, honestly, how do I know that?

Looking to these gravestones, though, that fact may still hold true for Deltarune.

From left to right, the inscriptions are:

GERSON, RENOWNED HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, AND TEACHER

CRYSTAL, A SNOWY GEMSTONE FOR A PROUD MOTHER

MUTTLER, A BIG BONE FOR THE LEADER OF THE PACK

SHYRA, A KARAOKE MICROPHONE FOR A BRAVE SINGER

With the exception of Gerson, each grave has a special item, including a corresponding image. As you may know, in Undertale there's a practice of spreading a monster's dust over their prized possession when they die.

"(It’s a school report about monster funerals.)

"Monster funerals, technically speaking, are cool as heck. When monsters get old and kick the bucket, they turn into dust. At funerals, we take that dust and spread it on that person’s favorite thing. Then their essence will live on in that thing... Uhhh, am I at the page minimum yet? I’m kinda sick of writing this.""

Taking that into consideration, it might be reasonable to infer that the same practice happens in Deltarune. Why else would they call special attention to these objects? As such, this would imply that Deltarune monsters dust when they die as well.

Of course, this could just be a cheeky wink alluding to the idea of that Undertale practice, but is not Actually A Thing in the Deltarune world.

Other misc. questions: Do human souls persist after death? Are boss monsters still a concept? If so, do their souls persist after death as well? Can you absorb souls in the Light World? Can you absorb souls in the Dark World? Do Humans, Monsters, and Darkners all have inherently different souls?

HUMANS & MONSTERS

Humans and Monsters living in harmony is another point of interest. That peace presumably extends further than HomeTown as the library possessing a published book on 'How to Take Care of Humans'. Kris seems to be discomforted by the sight or existence of other humans, closing the book once they glimpse photos of said subject.

As for humans' place in society, everyone seems to treat Kris pretty normally. There's not really any malice/fear being directed toward them on account of being human. And, obviously, no allusion to any the Great War Between Humans and Monsters.

There are still things like 'humans under the bed' (which is a riff off of the monster variation, but still is something) and that aforementioned book needing to exist in the first place. The young bunny in the window at the brick apartments saying we're the 'human who lives on the hill'.

There is a very, very slight sense of otherness on account of Kris' human status. However, that's largely eclipsed by them being excluded because they are, as once said by a Great skeleton, a Frickin Weirdo.

(I mean this with love, by the way, go steal that pie and terrorize your childhood friend, Kris. )

Anyhow, that means their behavior/demeanor is the main thing that makes them 'different'. They're called a weenie just as much as any monster. Having Toriel/Asgore as parents affect the way that other people interact with them more than being human. No 'human culture' vs 'monster culture' at all, perhaps because it's all one in the same. Not even any comments about a Weird Difference Between Human/Monster Biology.

This game isn't about humans and monsters-- it's about Lightners and Darkners.

But the fact that Kris is a human while everyone else is a monster is a little strange. Why isn't Kris considered just another kind of monster? Why is 'human' an 'other'?

In Undertale, humans and monsters had both physical differences and a long, tension-filled history between them that would warrant such a degree of separation.

Monsters have weaker souls, wield magic, and are made of magic/dust. Humans are much stronger, made of water, and are much more similar to each other than the Monsters. The blue books in the Snowdin Libarby also imply that humans cannot use magic, "they will never know the joy of a bullet-pattern birthday card..".

(Frisk as a character may technically have 'magic', resets and saves and all that, but it's a little wobbly and you could consider that 'magic' just being the player's intervention. Stranger still is the fact that monsters were sealed by a 'magic spell', but who knows what's going on there.)

Aside from these physical differences, there also seems to be an equal amount of total monsters and to an equal amount of total humans in UT. All the Snowdrakes + Snowcaps + Vulcans + etc etc all add up to a group called 'Monsters' that equal the amount of 'Humans'. Or, that is how it seems to be portrayed, but still might yet be another assumption by me.

If it is true that there's an equal amount of monsters/humans, it does make sense for humans to want to stick to their own while monsters do the same. Because these humans stuck to people so like them, they might begin to fear the unpredictability of the monsters. Monsters have to get used to different types of monsters and attacks and patterns and quirks that I imagine they're pretty adaptable.

Back to Deltarune, what could be the reasons that separate 'Human' and 'Monster?'

It could go back to physical differences once again, and is likely the most prominent reason. As stated before though, the status of magic is ??? in the Lightworld. Monsters seem to still be made of dust, but is magic what's holding them together? Are Light World monsters still made of 'magic'? The concept of a SOUL is alive in Deltarune, which sorta leans into magic still being a thing in the Deltarune Light World. If so, then why does no one use magic? Are there laws on it or something? Have the Light World monsters forgotten how?

Could the separation between humans and monsters come from the 'there's an equal amount of total humans and equal amount of total monsters' theory? Since both groups form their own individuality over time, that may cause the distance between 'human' and 'monster'.

Or, was there a war to cause hosility between the two groups? A battle? Could this be a world where the war of Humans vs Monsters went differently? A different conflict entirely?

If so, do you think the Darkners were just watching from the back like <_< >_>

And don't get me started about Darkners, they are STRANGE they do not DUST (but do freeze) and run away. Would the Darkners play meditator to, at least what they perceive as, a Lightner civil war if they had to? Could the Darkners be the reason there isn't any war?

... What is up with Darkner magic??? What are darkners even made of?? Why do they turn into objects in the Light World?? Why is it their duty to 'serve'?? Why are Darkners aware of Lightners, but Lightners not aware of Darkners?? We know that Lightners aren't aware of Darkners, as Undyne seems be amused at the idea of a 'Dark World' in the school.

Speaking of differences. There's a toilet in Kris' house.

...I know, weird point of contention.

BUT OKAY YOU REMEMBER THIS RIGHT

TOILET THEORY & FOOD

(Do I just want an excuse to call something 'Toilet Theory'?

... Maybe.)

Now, I KNOW Monster Food has been heavily theorized in the past, though I don't remember any particular posters. As a result, my conceptualization of monster food and the lines of logic that I follow are a result of these half-buried, half-remembered 2016 memories. Highly recommend searching more through posts about it though!

In Undertale, a lot of monster food is most often assumed to be made of magic in lieu of the whole non-digesting thing and many monsters having food-based attacks (i.e vegetoid). I'm sure there are other reasons for this headcanon, and it could be directly confirmed for all I know. Aside from special cases, monsters cook/bake their food. Toriel baking the pie, Mettaton having a cooking show, Burgerpants flipping patties, etc.

It does make me wonder-- do the ingredients make a magical dissolving monster food? Or is it the act of cooking itself that makes it magical?

I also think? The garbage dump probably plays a role with the food in the Underground?? Food probably falls down from the surface? Isn't that where Alphys gets her Instant Noodles from?? Or are there wheat farms in the underground?? There IS flour though?? In Mettaton's show?? Where do the eggs come from??

I'm unsure if gaining HP is indicative of magic monster food, as I don't have anything to back up that assumption. If that assumption is correct, though, then the reasoning that cooking/baking itself makes monster food magical wouldn't hold up. Astronaut Food gives you HP, and you found that in the dump, presumably washed up from the surface. Perhaps entering the Underground itself makes a food item a monster food item?

Contrary to the conversation above, there does have to exist bathrooms of some variation within the Underground as Papyrus "showers in his battle body suit". Regardless, there'd be no wanting for a toilet with monster food apparently not going through the digestion process.

With the presence of a toilet in Deltarune, four possibilities come to mind:

a.) All Deltarune Light World Food DOES have the same properties as Undertale's monster food, monsters simply Do Not Poop, and that toilet is for Kris and Kris alone. Which, uh, they apparently choose to flush bath bombs down...?

b.) The toilet is E for Everyone and Deltarune, Light World food does not possess that non-digesting magical quality. Monsters poop.

c.) The Deltarune Light World has a combination of both monster food and human food, therefore the porcelain throne is a needed essential in any well-to-do house.

d.) Deltarune Light Word Food has some variations of properties that operate on another set of unrelated rules.

Or, at least, that's what I thought. However, in the case of option (a.), if this non-digesting Monster Food is the norm in the Deltarune Overworld, then Kris wouldn't really need a toilet either, would they? Maybe in the beginning of their assumed adoption, but definitely not now. So that makes option (a.) a little moot.

I cannot think of any alternatives that would pave the way for option (d.), so it's likely (c.) or (b.). I'm more inclined to lean towards (b.) just for the fact that there are not any present indicators that (c.) is true. Even something small would suffice, like a package saying 'magic-made' or something. If (b.) is true, then that raises the question of Where The Heck Is The Magic even more.

The hot chocolate doesn't show any HP healing when checked. Funnily enough, the box of chocolates does affect your health, dropping to a solid 19/20.

(If [b.] is true, the hot chocolate would lend credence to the idea that HP healing means magical food, and visa versa. The two points would feed on each other like a neverending worm eating worm.)

RELIGION

Christmas is a Thing. Wonder how that happened? Humans make it? monsters? Both?

Is DR Christmas related to religion? I gotta tell you I'm eating whatever DT religion world-building I can get. Seems monotheistic? Or is it more of a life-style dealio? Not of the confessional type, something something angel, the sick fruit juice, what is the Story There. Hymns?? I find it funny that presumably, the deltarune carpet Kris has in their room is equivalent to hanging a cross up. There's also the Deltarune on the school door so.

Imagine you fall inside a storage closet with your classmate-bully who eats chalk and all of a sudden you got your fancy new glowup and you've just been attacked for some reason and you meet this random cloaked figure in the castle. He starts telling you a story that boils down to 'ay yo secret world here you gotta save the Earth. If you don't do anything Jesus Christ is gonna come down here and wreck stuff' like huh??

(Emphasis on 'light' here??)

The angel seems to be a positive figure in Kris' religion, even maybe the central figure. It could be akin to a God or something like a prophet. It could be the one who spread the religion in the first place. But in the Dark World prophecy, we have to stop the 'Angel's Heaven'-- making the Angel our apparent opponent.

This could be calling back to UT Gerson's telling of the Deltarune. There, it was left up to interpretation whether the angel was gonna make the Underground 'go empty' in a good way or a bad way. It'll be interesting to find out more about it either way.

Other interesting things include the currency being actual dollars in the Light World. Dark World has dark dollars, obviously, but the money in Asriel's drawer is specifically referred to as 'dollars'. No gold here folks.

Anddd that's all the world differences that I can think of at the moment. This was supposed to be just about why the words [HeartShapedObject] sent a shiver down my spine when I first played the game. I haven't really written things like this before, but I suppose the brainrot needs to fester somewhere. I'm pretty sure I've seen videos floating around about SOULs and Deltarune DETERMINATION on YouTube already. This list is moreover for me to figure things out, so there's probably stuff that people have known for a while~

All in all, I want to continuously keep in mind that Undertale rules do not automatically apply to Deltarune rules. It's fascinating to see if/where they differ. While I'm pretty sure some rules of the Undertale world are supposed to carry over, I'll wait until those details have been confirmed within the game of Deltarune itself. Deltarune is its own world and I can't wait to see whatever the Light World has in store.

If anyone in the Deltarune fandom (who for some ungodly reason has read this far) knows any theories/facts that might answer some questions that popped up here, or if anything I've said so far is Blatantly Wrong, I'd love to know! (Nicely, please.)

Evidently, I might be into Deltarune again. Now excuse me while I replay Chapter Two...