#Susie Blank

[lilakartoffelbrei]

The day end with a big bowl of Mac and Cheese

[the-vandal-moon]

[yourfaveis-hyperose]

Susie Cambell/Twisted Alice from the Bendy and the Ink Machine Games is Hyperose!

[Hyperose is both Hypersexual and Hyperromantic]

Requested by no one

[abandoned-quiche]

seam ripper

[Image ID: A series of MS Paint style drawings on a blank white background.

Image 1: The Fun Gang from deltarune are about to fight Shawm. Shawm is drawn chubby with a brown cloak and wizard hat. Their clothing has various patches and stitches on it. Shawm says, "Let's see how you heroes fare against my..." The word heroes is in quotation marks.

Image 2: Shawm proudly holds out a seam ripper, saying, "SHAWM RIPPER-" but cuts themself off. The seam ripper does not have a red ball on it like most seam rippers would.

Image 3: Shawm looks at the seam ripper, scratching their chin, saying, "Oh, wait, it's missing..." Smaller parenthetical text nearby clarifies, "Referring to the ball"

Image 4: Shawm is bent over, digging through a treasure chest. They say, "Ha ha! Well, that's a bit anticlimactic, isn't it? Oh well! I'm sure there's something in my junk pile that can help me out here..."

Image 5: Shawm's paw holding a whistle. The whistle has the face and ears of the Annoying Dog from undertale. Shawm says, "Oh! A dog whistle! Perfect!"

Image 6: Shawm blowing into the dog whistle as multicolored lines come out. There is text that reads "Horrible piercing shriek" in all caps.

Image 7: Multicolored jagged lines, indicating a horrible sound, sit above the fun gang. Kris is grasping their head in pain, their hair over their face. Ralsei has rolled his goat ears up and is covering them with his hands. Susie is looking at them both in confusion, unbothered by the dog whistle.

Image 8: The metal part of Shawm's seam ripper. Shawm is saying, "Here, doggy!"

Image 9: The previous image, but with no text. The annoying dog from undertale is peeking in from the side of the screen.

Image 10: The previous image, but the dog has now reached the spot where the ball should be on the seam ripper.

Image 11: The previous image, but with the text "Dog vibration" in asterisks.

Image 12: The previous image, but the dog is now emitting an intense red glow.

Image 13: A plain white image with faint text that reads "Screen flashes white."

Image 14: The seam ripper. Its metal part is now glowing red, and the legendary artifact from undertale now resides where the ball is meant to be on the seam ripper. There is an arrow pointing to the orb that reads "legendary artifact."

Image 15: The first image again, of the fun gang and shawm about to do battle. Shawm is now holding their Shawm Ripper. They say, "Now...! Let the games begin!" At the bottom of the image is a deltarune-style text box that reads "Let the games begin!" Both instances of "Let the games begin" are in all caps.

End ID.]

[dearimasu]

me going insane about ponies again (but this time its deltarune)

kris lacking a cutiemark until the endgame when they (presumably) break free from the player would further reinforce their 'puppet' role in the fucking uhhhhhhhhhhh

either that or their cutiemark is piano related :3 which would also reinforce the puppetry stuff stripping them of free will and shit lol

ralsei's a normal goat

[akanemnon]

I'm trying to remember if Deltarune has any Flirt options and I'm coming up blank. Undertale: the game where no one has to die and you can flirt to your heart's content.

Toriel was right. Frisk is such an... interesting child. RIP Susie's patience, she'll probably get a front row seat to ♥FLIRT at some point.

I think it was in Chapter 1. There was specifically a scene with Susie and Ralsei while battling Hathy.

TR!Frisk got gaslit into thinking they got charisma. Even though the flirting options in Undertale never really worked (except for Papyrus, kinda)

[your-mums-nuts]

Something I don’t see anybody talking about is how Susie didn’t start applying pressure until her dad outright threatened Edward’s life.

It’s subtle, but in the episode 5 scene where she visits daddy glass in jail, she’s the one to say that Edward wants out and that they should start thinking about solution’s until he point blank tells her ‘no one walks away’ and ‘I’ll chop his head off.’

I only realised this on my second rewatch. On my first two watches, I always thought it was strange how much she pushed for Edward to stay in the business and get more involved. Like, I get it girly but it’s getting desperate.

But then I realised she is desperate, because she’s trying to save his life.

AND she was actually quite nice about it when you think of her circumstances. Yes, she was sneaky but she still managed to give him choice and agency, and giving him a lot more of her trust than he was probably entitied to.

The first two episodes of the gentlemen establishes her (mostly through the jethro reveal) as this give no fuck stone cold killer girl boss, and she is that. But she’s also protective and caring and impulsive and trying her very best to be taken seriously in her male-dominated world.

Anyways I love my girlboss who also sometimes girlfails but it’s okay because she girlpicks herself up everytime

[cialovesklopp]

chapter one — mercedes amg

summary — contract signed, license accepted and off we go — it should have been that easy but the transition wasn’t. and now all hopes were resting on her. she truly hopes she won’t disappoint.

song — dead man walking [ brent faiyaz ]

warnings — none ( however if there is something that should have been, pls tell me )

word counts — 3.1k

cia’s quick rambles — so sorry for the long wait, so many things were happening and i completely forgot it with all the exams also coming up. however I got ahead of myself and finished the first two chapters. hope i have part three finished by next week. enjoy, this is just the beginning 🫶🏾

( masterlist / navigation / previous / next )

— august 2023

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

princessaaliyah

liked by evamueller, mercedesamgf1 and 8.927 others

princessaaliyah first day of work, wish me luck

view all 1203 comments

username so she’s the girl toto appointed as new chief technical engineer? ⤷ username i really wanna know why her ⤷ username she doesn’t exactly seem like the normal appointment

username am i the only one surprised, how quick people found her account ⤷ username same, like they are actually scaring me

mercedesamgf1 welcome on board aaliyah, we’re already looking forward to our time together  ⤷ princessaaliyah me too, thanks admin 

username so happy to see more and more diversity here ⤷ username definitely, f1 is going to fall off so hard when lewis retires

username she is so pretty and sweet

evamueller already miss you so much, it’s so boring here ⤷ princessaaliyah now you know how i felt when you did a month in greece  ⤷ evamueller taking the family jet now to come see you ⤷ princessaaliyah letting you know now that i’m broke and can’t bail you out this time ⤷ evamueller 😕

username i already love her ⤷username fr she seems to funny and sarcastic

susiewolff excited to meet you aaliyah, always nice to see a new female face ⤷ princessaaliyah thx susie, i’ve also heard so much about you ⤷ princessaaliyah think i’m hyperventilating 

username predicting it now, she’s gonna build a rocket ship

username i really hope she’s gonna be the female adrian newey and have lewis win his eighth ⤷ username never with the way mercedes has been for the past two seasons

username there’s something promising about her

username am i the only one who finds it weird that she just appeared in the middle of the season ⤷ username it’s called silly season for a reason

f1 welcome to the sport aaliyah  princessaaliyah liked this comment

username but why is there nothing about her? like her wikipedia page is almost blank, as if it’s been created yesterday ⤷ username maybe because she likes her privacy like normal people? ⤷ username apparently she’s still a student  ⤷ username how do u know? ⤷ username my cousin used to go to the same university, she also has a phd in physics and a bachelor in engineering already ⤷ username and she’s only 26

username this is gonna be a funny second part of the season

username just begging that she can finally give lewis his eighth ⤷ username and george his second win 

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄

to say she was amazed was an understatement. standing in front of the official mercedes amg quarters had her star struck. even though it wasn’t her actual dream workplace, the place reeked of excellence. and it felt good to be part of that.  

just as expected it was raining in england which had her stepping out with an umbrella in her hand as she walked towards the modern complex. it was seven o’clock in the morning and the building's modern, metallic facade gleamed under the morning sun which had her breath hitch. it was beautiful and yet terrifying. 

she was doing this for him, she reminded herself. this was all for him— a gesture toward redemption, a way to ease the guilt that gnawed at her in the quiet of the night.

aaliyah smiled when she saw toto personally waiting for her at the entrance in a black team rain jacket. it fit his darth toto vibe perfectly. 

and how did she know about that? well, one good thing in her life was being an overachiever. she did not go anywhere unprepared and it was the same for her new job. between getting the offer and actually signing the work contract, she had done a full research into the world of f1 and all the lore that came with it. 

and how did she know about that? simple: overachievers like her never went anywhere unprepared. she had a knack for digging into the details, and when the job offer came, she didn't waste a second. between getting the call and signing the contract, she plunged into the world of F1, reading herself into all the lore that came with it.

she could call herself a brocedes expert now. 

“i’m happy to see that you made it.” he greeted her and the two walked inside. they passed teams of engineers and technicians moving with a synchronized efficiency that spoke volumes about their skill and dedication. 

the hum of activity, the whir of robotic arms, and the occasional rev of an engine being tested filled the air with an electric energy. he would have loved this, she thought and a small smile appeared on her face. 

this was her world, her area where she would excel. she had promised him that much and even though she was way out of her comfort zone, this was where everything came together and that created a new kind of comfort. the perfect mix of engineering and luxury cars. 

“this is bigger than i expected,” she mumbled, still feeling starstruck as they continued. many walls were decorated by massive tvs and pictures displaying the latest amg models in action, zooming through picturesque landscapes and roaring down racetracks.

toto laughed. “well, the best for the best right?”

“so what’s the plan for today? it’s seven thirty now and the only thing we’ve been doing is walk.”

“well the next race is soon so today, you’re going to see the car in its full glory for the first time. lewis and george should be arriving here soon so they can tell you a bit more about it.” 

of course, the two mercedes drivers she would meet for the first time today. she had read about them, instantly taking a liking to lewis. and she had found george to be very likable from what she had seen and heard of him. but meeting them in real life was always something else. 

it was crazy for her when she thought back that two months ago, she had just been aaliyah prince. engineering student at munich university. and now she could add the title of chef technical engineer to her resumé. her life had gone from zero to 180 in the span of a month and there was no going back. 

everything was already official, she had gotten her badge, she had signed her contract and the official f1 account had publicly announced the change. she was all in now. 

after a quick tour of the factory that had been specially arranged for her, she and toto entered a huge gallery where all of the previous race cars had been stored. she stopped in front of the famous w11, cautiously touching its rear wing while her heart started beating quicker. 

“impressive, huh?” 

she turned around and found toto smirking at her. 

“it’s definitely something. i think this was the most perfect car in f1 history, it did give lewis his seventh championship.”

there was something spark-like in toto’s eyes. “nice to know that you did your homework. and with you, i’m sure we’re going to get his eighth.”

she opened her mouth, wanting to say something before closing it again. she didn’t want it to sound wrong but she had to know. she needed assurance that her secret and past stayed hidden and buried six feet underground. 

“didn’t they ask questions? why you suddenly chose to recruit a twenty-something student from university?”

“i’m the boss, i get to do everything.” 

“i just mean, people will want to know where i am from, look me up. and that’s what scares me.”

“aaliyah, if this is about what I think it is — i’m the only person that knows about it and should know about it,” he began and closed the door to make sure no one could overhear them. “ we both talked about it, i handled it, don’t worry.”

“i just don’t want anything to come out,” said aaliyah, her voice much quieter. “and with me being a public person now—”

“you don’t want anyone to know that you have an iq of 171 and are a certified genius.”

she snorted sarcastically. “175 and believe me, my brain has been more of a curse than a gift to me.”

toto softly put a hand on her shoulder. “and i’m here for you now. i may be your boss but i’m also your friend. so if anything, and i really mean anything,” he emphasized, both knowing what they were referring to, “comes up, you tell me. call, or even come to my hotel room. there’s always a solution.”

the tour neared the end and toto led her to a special section with lots of computers and graphics. there were sketches and designs with specific attention to detail that amazed her in one way. aaliyah could feel a deep sense of admiration for the talent and dedication of her new colleagues.

and in the middle, in all its black beauty and glory stood two w14, one with a certain green-yellowish embroidering while the other had a blue one. she felt more than fascinated with them — this could become an obsession for her. staring at the car in front of her should have made her back out, maybe even run for the hills if the reports that she had read about mercedes and their w14 were true. 

but instead it sent her brain into overdrive. 

in her head she was already going over all the things she could experiment, of course under regulation of the other mechanics. this was the car she had to turn into a rocket ship and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited. 

maybe that's why she sometimes viewed her brain as a curse. it was a relentless force, endlessly questioning and analyzing, never quiet. it burdened her with insights and thoughts that felt overwhelming, leaving her longing for peace she rarely found.

she edged closer to the car, her fingers brushing against its surface, the sensation almost dreamlike. the touch brought back memories of those old sundays, when life felt simpler. she recalled sitting with her father on the couch, watching the races when the cable worked, and how he loved to point out the drivers to little aaliyah, who only understood the allure of the cars.

it made her miss her dad so much. 

the car itself was at first sight a masterpiece of combining aerodynamics and engineering with the law of physics. she could practically feel all the effort and research that had gone into developing it. her finger graciously traced the carbon fiber bodywork along, the coolness of the material sending a shiver down her spine.

her thoughts darted ahead, a whirlwind of possibilities for the car's transformation. she could already pinpoint some areas ready for modifications, envisioning tweaks and upgrades that might unlock new speeds, each idea a wave crashing against the limits of her own imagination.

aaliyah found herself so mesmerized by the car, she did not notice the two other persons enter the room. lewis and george were clearly surprised when instead of the expected elderly man, they found a young black woman standing in front of them, completely lost in her thoughts as she played with the car. they were clearly curious because except for her name, they didn’t know anything about her. 

“you must be aaliyah,” said lewis in a warm tone and she turned around, nearly jumping because of the two new presences in the room.

great, she had already ruined her first impression and and it was lewis hamilton standing in front of her. 

thank god she couldn’t spot a blush or else her face would have matched a ferrari car. “yes, that’s me, aaliyah. the new chief technical engineer. and for the record, in my head this went way better.”

they all laughed. 

george took a step forward and held out his hand. “george russell, a pleasure to work with you from now on.”

damn, he’s tall. was height a requirement to work here? 

lewis snorted. “believe me, i asked myself the same thing. 

again, thank the lord her skin was too dark to blush. “i didn’t mean to say that out loud.” 

she suddenly felt small, smaller than she already was in company of the three men. lewis hamilton was beautiful, ethereal even — his iconic dreadlocks were neatly styled in a typical bun, he had beige trousers matched with the black team merch on and his fingers were adorned with all types of rings. but it was his smile that made him probably the most beautiful man she had ever seen. 

in other words, lewis reminded her of him. 

then there was george, whose tall frame and youthful energy were equally compelling and kind of attractive. she knew they would get along well, his smile was warm and genuine as they shook hands. it really did feel as if she could find her place here. 

“i’ll start again and just say, it’s an honor to be here. i can’t wait to work with you,” said aaliyah, smiling. 

“it’s great to meet you too, aaliyah,” george said, his handshake firm. “toto didn’t tell us much but looking forward to working with you.”

“it’s always great to see another female face working in this environment,” added lewis, a warm smile on his face. “and your hair looks amazing by the way. i love the afro.”

was she about to cry because the lewis hamilton complimented her hair? never. but was she about to have an allergic reaction because of that? perhaps. 

she passed a hand through her hair, untangling a few curls. “thank you, lewis. i appreciate the compliment.”

“always here if you need one, sweetheart,” he winked at her which had her laugh. 

they continued their small get-to-know-each-other as they discussed various aspects of the car and how the last races had gone for each of them. some of them were good, others horrible and manageable. the two drivers told her where they thought was the most to work on and the challenges they encountered concerning the speed. 

but as hopeful as they sounded, aaliyah knew she had to set limits to their dreams before she gave them too much and they would fall flat down on their arses. 

“boys, let me just say something,” her tone became a bit more serious, “from what i heard about the rules concerning changes, certain can give you penalties. the current setup is good, i already see some things i can change but i can’t do much for now because i need to see it in action.”

lewis nodded. “you’ll travel with us for the next races, won’t you? or will you work from the factory?”

“i think both, like i said, i need to see the car in action. so the next race, i’ll be there,” she explained. “also, i need to note that there may be several areas i believe that need significant changes from the reports i’ve been able to read. and not only will this take time but there’s a high likelihood we might need to take some grid penalties for those changed. i just want to make sure you’re both on board with this before we go any further with this.”

they exchanged a glance, both drivers listening thoroughly to what she had to say. they were already struggling and in a hard battle with the ferraris concerning the second place in the constructor’s championship. but on second thought, a few grid places lower were definitely manageable if it meant fighting at the top again. 

lewis was the first to nod again, this time towards her. “we’ll handle a few grid places. at this point, it’s anything to give those red bulls in front a fight and show them they’re not invincible,” he said firmly, determination clear in his tone. “we’ve been struggling with this car for a while now, the bumping may be gone but it’s still so slow. if you believe these changes will help us get back to the front, then we’re with you.”

“yeah, i absolutely agree. not going to lie, it’s been horrible driving this thing as it is. we trust your expertise, aaliyah. and if you think we need to take a step back to move forward, then that’s what we’ll do.”

aaliyah clapped her hands together. “that’s brilliant to hear. i promise i’ll do my best to give those red bulls a fight and make sure we come back as the famous silver arrows.”

she knew she could fix it—find the mistake and redo the equation. and if not for herself, then for him. there was no question in her mind; she was determined. she had never backed down from a challenge before.

[unikhroma]

the big acid theory post

(i am sorry for how long this is)

couple weeks ago someone on discord asked if i could dm them my gripes about acid theory, since they hadn't seen any criticisms of it. i was very surprised to hear that so of course i did what any normal deltarune fan would do and wrote an essay (aka complained for several paragraphs). posting for reference sake so i have all my thoughts in one place and never make a post about this topic again

----------

basically my criticisms for acid theory are on all tiers/interpretations of it as an life-changing event where he ends up disfigured. i don't think it makes much sense to happen for multiple reasons

for it to happen from a narrative perspective i don't really buy it. spamton's downfall is already tragic in that he lost his friends, his fame and fortune, and got evicted. in regards to the mansion, the eviction itself is the tragedy, in particular that it's implied that it wasn't only him that got evicted that day. a swatchling says that the mansion used to be for high-class citizens. the rooms that were once for these citizens are now for lightners, so it wasn't just that he had no money, he was gonna get kicked out anyway.

i mention this cause a common interp of acid theory is that the mansion staff threw him in as punishment, and i think there's little evidence for that given the circumstances. a while ago i went on this whole spiel about how mischaracterizing queen and/or swatch to try and support the theory makes it weaker to me but that's additional stuff

and about the acid as a threat, it's hard to take it seriously when the majority of mentions of it are for gags or game design-related. for example, the gold berdly statue being dropped into the acid slowly dips in because if it just sank instantly, you could very easily miss it. the swatchling being stranded on the island is a goof with anticipating a battle the moment you set the bridge out for them.

for spamton falling into the acid as an explanation for whatever caused him to be a physical puppet (this is going off of taking the addisons' word that he was an addison too), it doesn't really line up. it doesn't make a lot of sense from a lore standpoint; there's no evidence to suggest that the addisons look like puppets underneath. i mean it's an interesting hc, but to assume it's canon that that's why spamton looks like a puppet now is kinda just filling in blanks.

that one q&a answer where spamton talks about there being some kind of "spamton method" he used every day and became "big" to me implies that it was some kind of slow transformation into a puppet. it's not much to go off of, but it's a lot more compelling than taking a tumble in acid. there's more mystery there and might even explain why spamton showed up to the mansion less over time

i think at this point it's clear that at some point he did get pushed in by someone, as stated in the spa attire from the sweepstakes and one of his valentine's cards, but to me it seems like it was an example of him being mistreated by the other rich residents in the mansion. before he talks about getting pushed in a pool, he mentions that he's gotten swirlies at the mansion, and to me it seems like he's still really bothered by his treatment there which is why he mopes about it.

queen mentioning that the acid can shrink people is also played for jokes, even susie in the ch3 video saying that they'll die if they drink the acid is played for jokes (also i think it would probably hurt them cause they're lightners and not cyber darkners)

anyway, if acid theory ends up being directly confirmed without any cryptic wording and all that i would still dislike it. i just don't think it fits with spamton or ch2's themes and it's randomly dark in a way that's not appealing to me. i like psychological horror more and the puppetfication thing already fits that. i know it's definitely appealing to others and i don't think people are bad for liking it per se, but it's not my kinda thing at all nor do i think it's canon, so i personally want nothing to do with it

[lilakartoffelbrei]

Birds, Bees, and Pickpockets

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

Better Off - Bernard DeMarco x OFC - Chapter 7

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |-| Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

AO3

Summary: On the day of Charlotte's wedding, Susie and DeMarco grow closer than ever

Warnings: Discussions of death, language

Word Count: 3.5k

Tags: @xxluckystrike @latibvles @footprintsinthesxnd @mads-weasley @joyfulbookreviewmarvelspy @justheretoreadthxxs

The scent of someone else's perfume filled the bathroom of the Thorpe Abbotts village hall as Susie stood in front of the mirror, craning her head forward to get a better look at herself and ensure not a single hair had managed to slip out of place. Usually, she couldn't have cared less about such a thing. But today was Charlotte's wedding, and the thought of embarrassing her in any way was mortifying, so today she would play any part that was required.

With a creak, the bathroom door was thrust open, and a pair of women hurried in together, chattering amongst themselves as they reapplied their lipstick in one of the other mirrors. Susie swore she recognised the pair, but out of uniform everyone looked so different. It seemed it should have been easier to pick faces apart when everyone wasn't dressed identically, but she found that her mind was drawing a blank.

Sneaking behind the women and out into the corridor, Susie let out a sigh, arms swinging at her sides as she impatiently awaited the moment that they could finally make their way to the chapel for the ceremony. She'd spent all morning hanging bunting and streamers in the main hall in preparation for the reception, but now it seemed there was nothing left to do but grind her teeth and wait for the time to pass.

"Oi!" A voice hissed from the other end of the corridor, and Susie frowned as she turned, finding Maeve staring at her from the furthest doorframe. Cropped, yellow hair curled beneath her ears, and a maroon dress falling past her knees, she looked wonderful, but her confusion-stricken face gave her pause.

"What?" Susie called.

"What're you doing? Get in here!"

Now it was her turn to frown in uncertainty, hesitantly accompanying her to the end of the hall and pausing in the doorway. Charlotte was stood over by the window, the morning sunlight shining against the silk of her dress, creating a glowing halo around her as if she were some heavenly vision. She turned as Susie entered, a sudden look of relief washing over her. "Oh, Susie, where have you been?"

"I dunno. Just sort of... wandering. Was I supposed to be in here?"

The two women stared at her for a moment, sharing the same slightly dumbfounded expression. "Well. Yeah. Your sisters are married, aren't they? You should be a pro at this by now."

Susie shrugged. "Oh, well, I didn't..."

"Hm?"

"I didn't do the whole bridesmaid thing. They all figured it wouldn't be my thing. I just... sort of went with it."

Neither seemed to quite know how to react to this, frowning sympathetically. Charlotte took a deep breath, crossing the room towards her and taking both of Susie's hands in her own. "Well, I want you here. After all the hours you spent helping me with this dress, don't think you're getting an easy out."

Letting out a chuckle, Susie finally smiled, a grin creasing her cheeks as they flushed a bright shade of pink. For a second she almost hugged her, the sudden urge unfamiliar, but she restrained herself for fear of messing up her hair.

"Alright. Tell me what to do."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DeMarco stood patiently outside the church, attempting to catch his reflection in one of the stained glass windows as he tugged at his jacket, trying to get it to sit right. He had begrudgingly accepted the nerves that fluttered in his chest, the realisation leaving an odd taste in his mouth as his gaze flitted from the church doors to the end of the path, squinting in the midday sun. A crowd of guests had gathered here, but he was yet to spot a familiar face, the men around him all friends of the groom from the RAF. For perhaps the first time since arriving at Thorpe Abbotts, Benny was alone. Susie couldn't have come fast enough.

"Psst!"

Tearing his eyes from his own reflection, he glanced towards the sound, a somewhat confused smile curling his lip as he spied Susie, carefully making her way towards him as she darted between gravestones, wobbling on her heels slightly in the uneven grass. Pinned back behind her ears, her curls rolled over her shoulders, seemingly redder than ever against the powder blue of her dress, which rippled and swayed with every movement. For a moment he was slack-jawed, unable to form a word of greeting to call out to her until she was standing right in front of him. Her shoulders were relaxed, jaw unclenched. She was smiling. DeMarco had gotten so used to having to coerce a smile out of her that it was almost jarring.

"Afternoon," Susie nodded, brushing something off his shoulder as she came to stand beside him. From the way her gaze lingered at the church door, he could tell they were about to head inside, but in that moment he couldn't quite bring himself to care about the wedding.

"You look... really pretty, Suze," He uttered. Her face reddened almost instantly, gnawing at the inside of her cheek. DeMarco could practically see her fighting the urge to tell him to shut up. But she didn't say it.

One of the groomsmen called from the doorway, and the guests that had been lingering on the grass began to file their way inside towards their seats, ready to finally begin. One by one, he watched them walk past and disappear into the old, stone building, but Susie didn't move an inch. Like the heels of her shoes had been nailed into the ground, she remained wholly still, almost as if she'd forgotten that she was even supposed to be there. He stayed firmly at her side, not saying a word until it became clear that she wasn't moving any time soon.

"... Susie?"

"Haven't been in a church since..." She breathed, so softly it was scarcely audible. DeMarco didn't need to ask what she meant. Feeling a sudden warmth against her palm, Susie glanced down to find he'd taken her hand in both of his, squeezing it with gentle reassurance. She looked back at him, and he swore he'd never seen such softness in her expression before, eyes welling with nothing but warmth, utterly without reserve for the first time.

"This'll be good," He promised. "Yeah?" A smile had begun to worm its way into her expression, the corner of her lip curling upward as she nodded, hand still in his as she turned towards the church door. As they crossed the threshold, he lifted her knuckles to his lips, briefly kissing the skin as a snort of laughter escaped her.

She'd elected to take a seat at the very back - he suspected the idea of being able to make a quick, quiet exit appealed to her. But once they'd sat down, it was only moments before Charlotte arrived, bracketed by her parents as they made their way to the altar, where a grinning RAF officer awaited her. She looked marvellous - the gown was truly a testament to her talent - but as the bride passed, Benny couldn't help but remember that night two weeks ago, when he'd seen Susie in that same dress. Eyes wide, hair wild, bumbling and clumsy beneath the folds of fabric - and yet it struck him then that she had looked infinitely more wonderful to him than anything else he could possibly recall.

Even as the ceremony went on, Susie didn't seem quite capable of settling, drumming her fingers against her thigh and thumbing the pages of the Bible on the shelf in front of her, never once falling entirely still. She was certainly paying attention, but she could scarcely go a few minutes without letting her gaze wander towards the door, as if debating whether or not she could make a successful attempt at escape. Leaning back against the pew, DeMarco stretched his arm out along the back of her seat, softening the hard wood when she rested against it. Wordlessly, Susie leant sideways against him, the movement ceasing in her hands. He smiled, letting his head tilt to the side to briefly tap against hers in silent acknowledgement.

She could feel warmth filling her as she rested against him, and Susie wasn't quite certain if it was more from the press of his body against hers or the rush of blood rising to her cheeks, heart pumping harder, forcing it to move. It was a strange sensation, and one that caught her entirely off guard. How could the simplest of actions put one relationship so drastically apart from all the others? She'd known comfort - known contentment - with so many others before. With her brothers and sisters, with Charlotte and Maeve. Yet it had scarcely felt so simple, like something she didn't have to earn.

How many times had she let her mind wander back to the night of the bombing raid? The night she'd bitten the bullet and finally called her sister, the night he'd first seen her cry, the night he'd held her without ever having to ask. With it pushed back into the past, Susie could finally admit to herself that it had been the safest she'd felt in months - quite possibly years. She hadn't thanked him as well as she should've. She knew that.

When Charlotte kissed her new husband for the first time the guests around them erupted into applause, echoing against the arched stone ceiling above. For a split second, she hesitated, failing to join in until she felt DeMarco's arm retract from its place behind her, freeing up his hands to clap. Once she too joined in, she was as raucous as the best of them, and yet Susie was ashamed - ashamed to think that, if he had not moved, she might not have clapped at all, simply watched in silence as one of the only people to offer her friendship married the love of her life.

When had she become distractable?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The village hall boomed with the swing of the band, the boys who played the officers' club having kindly volunteered their services for the night as wedding guests paired off and danced across the polished floor. Susie's hands were folded behind her back as she stood before the makeshift bar, fingertip tapping out the song's rhythm against her palm as she waited for her turn to order. Next in the queue stood one of the women she'd passed in the bathroom that morning, hair falling in jet-black rolls, red lipstick stark against the paleness of her complexion. The woman seemed to recognise her, turning with a friendly smile, and Susie suddenly realised that she had been one of the ATS recruits from the hut next to hers - although her name still didn't come to her.

"This is great, huh?" She asked with a grin, gesturing across the room. "Charlotte's done such a great job."

Susie nodded along, realising she probably looked shell-shocked as she brought her eyebrows back down her forehead. "Yeah, yeah - it's really great. She's been so excited, I'm just glad it went well," Glancing over to the dancefloor, she spied her friend, swaying side to side in the arms of her beloved pilot. Susie had only met Freddy a handful of times, but he'd always seemed a decent bloke to her.

"Amazing what you can pull together in times like this. Y'know, I'd just love to have something like this someday. Bigger church, maybe, but... you just can't beat a good country wedding."

"Uh, yeah, hundred per cent. Me too, I think."

The other women raised a brow, shooting Susie a questioning look. "Really? I dunno - you never seemed like a marrying type person to me."

Something sank. The bartender handed the woman her wine, and for a moment Susie fought the urge to throw it in her face. She didn't even know her.

"Oh. Um. Well, I dunno - probably."

"That's so cute," The woman tilted her head to the side, and she swore she could've strangled her. "Well, I'll see you around!"

Forcing a strained smile, Susie offered a curt nod, scared to utter another word for fear she might say something regretful. Instead, she waited in pained silence until the woman was entirely out of sight, before stepping up to the bar and ordering two pints, jaw painfully clenched the entire time.

DeMarco was smoking a cigarette outside, the warm glow from inside the hall bathing his back in a yellow light as she approached the open door, a glass of beer in each hand. A puff of smoke escaped his mouth as he turned, expression lighting up as he noticed her arrival, holding out a hand to accept his glass.

"Oh, you're the best," He grinned, flicking his cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out, already moving back towards the door as he spoke again. "Let's head in."

"No-" Susie blurted, halting him in his tracks. "I mean, you can. I'm gonna stay out here for a bit."

"You okay?" He asked, frowning slightly. She nodded hurriedly.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, no - I'm fine. Just... yunno... loud in there, innit?"

Humming in agreement, still visibly sceptical, DeMarco took a sip of his beer, wandering a little further away from the hall and taking a seat in the grass where the sound from inside was muffled. Careful not to spill her drink, she joined him, feet tucked beneath her as she sat cross-legged on the ground.

She wanted to ask him then - do you think I could be the marrying type?

But he would have said yes regardless, just to make her feel better. That wasn't what she wanted.

Her siblings had all done it - had moved away into their happy homes with their husbands and wives and children. Even Ellie had had a boyfriend - and they'd always been suspicious of her brother Owen and his flatmate, John. There had to be a deficiency - nothing else could explain it. If they'd all come from the same place, all lived the same lives, then the only outlier was Susie herself.

The only problem was Susie.

DeMarco clicked his fingers in front of her face, snapping her back to the present. "-you do this thing where I can't tell if you're listening," He said.

"I'm listening," She assured him, although she had no idea what he'd been saying. He was leant back on one elbow, raising his beer to his lips between sentences, clearly in the middle of a story.

"Ok, so then I told Gale-..." He trailed off, eyes narrowing up at her. "You weren't really listening, were you?"

"I'm sorry," Susie admitted earnestly.

Benny shrugged casually. "Don't worry 'bout it, doll. Something on your mind?"

"Oh, no, it's not-"

"Nuh-uh, come on," He urged.

She sighed, before taking a long sip of her drink. "... We're friends, right?"

DeMarco almost choked on his beer, blinking rapidly as he cleared his throat. "Well... yeah. I mean, we're - we're... Yeah, I - I'm your friend, Suze. Course."

"I just... what do you actually like about me?"

He sat up straight, brow furrowed in concentration, taking her question with complete seriousness. "Well, you make me laugh - even when you're mean to me, 'cause I know you don't mean it. And you're smart, and you don't give a shit what anyone else thinks of you. You're brave - you stand up for people when they need it... and even though you're scared of caring about other people, you do it anyway, 'cause I don't think you can help it."

Susie took one long breath after another, fighting to keep her heart rate level and to stop the tears threatening to prick at her eyes. She hadn't noticed as it happened, but whilst he'd been talking DeMarco had absentmindedly reached for her, winding one of her curls around his finger, back and forth, over and over. It didn't seem that he had realised either, for once he finished speaking he dropped it, frowning slightly at himself.

"I do care," She breathed. "About what people think of me... Just not people I don't like."

"And there's a lotta people you don't like."

Susie cracked a smile, a huff of laughter escaping her. "Exactly."

DeMarco grinned. The moonlight bathed him in a blue-tinted glow, his eyes darker than ever and yet still so very gentle. This wasn't the same man his friends seemed to know - not the 'Benny' they yelled for across the pub in the middle of a game of darts, not the daring pilot with his wise-cracking charm.

There were so many ways in which he could hurt her.

And so many reasons why he wouldn’t.

"I like you."

I care what you think.

"I know."

She tilted her glass to her lips, feeling the last few drops of beer slide smoothly down her throat. These weren't their first drinks of the night, and she could feel a distinct sense of fuzziness creeping in, blurring her thoughts together.

"I didn't thank you properly - for the other week. After the raid."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Nah. You don't gotta thank me. I wanted to do that."

"... Yeah?"

"I waited for you, didn't I?"

The corner of her lip curled upwards in a soft, melancholy smile. They hung in silence for a while, a thousand unsaid implications stewing in the air before Susie could think of something to say.

"I, uh. I had to go through my sister's stuff after she died - figure out what to do with it all, y'know. And I found this old diary - I had no idea she kept one, and I still dunno how she kept it a secret when we were all in together like sardines. But there were these pages in the back, all these sums, and - she was shit at maths, right? Just so shit at it, I had to help her with all her homework, she never got it. But she'd done all these calculations, and I was trying to figure it out, and I realised it was all the money she was making from working at the paper shop - she was trying to figure out how long it would take, how much money she'd need to move out and go live somewhere else.

"Except there were all these other numbers that I couldn't understand - and it didn't make sense to me until I found one of my old payslips from working at the cinema. And then I realised... she'd been doing the maths for us both. She always wanted me to come too - she didn't want to leave me behind."

Susie couldn't quite fathom why she was telling him all this - what it meant, what she expected him of all people to take from it. But DeMarco listened nonetheless, a look of utter focus creasing his expression as she took in every word.

"I think when she died it felt like I lost my future too. Like, I didn't even know she'd been planning it, but it always made sense. She was the only person who I always felt like was looking out for me, like I wasn't an afterthought to. And... I'm not mean because I want to be. I'm just angry. All the time. Because she should've been the safest you can get and she still died, and I guess I just didn't see much point afterwards. So I found other stuff to be angry at - stuff I could actually do something about."

He said nothing, just stared up at her, something indiscernible to her in his eyes.

"... Shit, do I sound like an insane person now?"

"No!" DeMarco bolted upright from where he had been reclined slightly against the grass. "No - no, not at all, Suze," Lifting a hand to her face, he swept her hair to the side, fingers combing through her curls as he leant forward to press his lips to her temple.

Susie wasn't quite certain what had come over her, but the moment he was close enough she reached out, wrapping her arms around him and collapsing against his chest, chin tucked into the crook of his neck. He returned the embrace without a word, sucking in a long breath as he stretched his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight.

"Sorry, I'm like a... fucking basket case who's not very fun to hang out with," She joked, voice muffled against his collar. As she let out a slight huff of laughter, he felt the warmth of her breath against his neck, his body momentarily tensing.

"Susie. I am so uninterested in hanging out with anyone who isn't you."

[lowrezbonuslevel]

oooh! how about susie for the ‘saw something extremely cute’ prompt?

Sure!

Here's the updated chart (blank boxes haven't been requested yet):

(Nice, the second row is finished!)

[pap03]

Okay so I originally wrote this on Discord so apologies for any jank

But I need to get out my mega LOVE theory for Deltarune somehow, and Discord is the only place I've wrote it down lol

Anyways what got me going was this here difference in stats

Both being a post-Snowgrave Kris, just one from the Light World and the other from the Dark World

And this discrepancy would be strange right? If both LV's stood for the same thing

Which I'd why I claim that they do not

Rather that the LV in the Light World still refers to the LOVE of UT

While the LV in the Dark Worlds stands more properly for a "Level" a way of gauging the amount of Experience the Fun Gang have

Doubly true as the Dark World stats measure nowhere "EXP" aka "Execution Points"

From what I can tell Level only goes up upon reaching certain HP values, as Noelle goes from Level 1 to Level 2 in the Dark World

Since Noelle "Levels up" upon finishing just one act of violence in the Dark World

So I think it'll be possible later on to Level up early if you're violent enough

Sorta opposite of how it worked in UT, where you needed to LOVE up to get HP

In Dark Worlds you need to get your HP up to Level up

But that’s a bit of a tangent; continuing on

With the ground rules laid out that LV and LV can exist synchronously the next thought in my ramblings was that I need some proof that Noelle will continue to be our main Puppet, to explain why this LV theory should be relevant

And on that front, I got several bits

Easiest for me to lay out here is that the Survey taker at the beginning of ch 1 has special dialogue if you name yourself after a majority of the party members

This includes: Kris, Susie, and Noelle

All 4 share the same reaction

Secondarily Noelle lays out herself in the hospital that she's gonna figure out what's going on with Kris, which means to me that she'll keep coming around Kris, even despite the coercion into murder

And lastly, Noelle’s crush on Susie has so much unmissable screentime that Chekov would shit his grave if there were no resolution to it

This established leaves the first 2 core tenents of my theory

1. LOVE exists

2. Noelle will be the sole Snowgraver as the game progresses

For the sake of it, let's tackle the ramifications of both of these in order, as 1 heavily leans into 2

1. LOVE as we know it in Undertale exists in some way form or fashion in Deltarune

Natural questions that raises

- Do Darkners count for EXP? Yes, I'd say so, given the inverse effect on how Levels contribute to HP compared to how Undertale's LOVE and HP work, and the fact Noelle gains HP faster than the rest of the Party when they commit violence I'd argue there's a secondary element increasing her vitality, that being her LOVE increasing

- If LOVE exists why isn't Noelle a complete psycho killer in the Light World? Because that's not how LOVE works, by sans's admission LV contributes to making it easier to hurt others, and easier to distance yourself, but never expresses that it creates a want to kill, although that does seem to be a side effect which I'll get into next section

Mechanics of LOVE across Undertale and Deltarune:

For most people who've played a neutral run of Undertale, you'll be remiss to note anything going on as you gain LV. As much as I love Frisk as the blank slate of a protagonist that they are, their lack of emotions makes it hard to tell what exact the differences are between an LV 3 individual and an LV 7 one, differences sans can tell, but we can't really

So then we have to look elsewhere, mainly the Genocide run and comparing characters who may have killed in UT to their murderless counterparts in Deltarune

- Early LV's 1-6

At this point a person has killed a bit, but is also where the effects of each individual LV is the most noticeable, as sans has unique dialog for every LV here

What this tells me is that your first kills change you the most compared to later kills

Also during this LV range we see Frisk start their way through Snowdin in a Geno run, where they skip puzzles without our input, and are generally quieter than even before

I call this part of the LV grind "Getting Colder" for many reasons, partially for the pun, but also how we see Frisk act much more distant, aka cold, towards their surroundings and walk through situations, giving of an energy of "I don't care, let me through"

Considering this is also the LV's you'd end the game at for killing just Toriel or Undyne (two impassable bosses without killing or their special sparing method) that general sentiment persists

For the sake of it, I also reference Gerson and Asgore, Gerson was in the War of Humans and Monsters and has intimate knowledge about human combat and abilities, and while it's canon that no human casualties were suffered through the whole War, I would not be surprised if Gerson had to put down a fellow monster or two during the chaos after the Barrier was first erected. Yet despite that idea, Gerson is still just a bubbly, slightly traumatized, old man in Waterfall telling me that you can work past Early LVs. Yet there's also Asgore, as of the time of me writing this the only character who has canonically (and confirmed to) taken the life of anything, and as of our time encountering him, he's distantly removed from the act he's doing, which is another murder. However I must mention that there's a lot of shit there for Asgore compared to Deltarune's Asgore that could lead to the state he's in beyond LOVE so take that with a grain of salt

- Middle LV's 7-14

This is where an interesting switch occurs, specifically at LV 9 but the larger grouping together sorta encompasses it all. This is where Frisk (yes Frisk I'll elaborate if I have to) begins to enjoy the act of killing, smiling before every encounter, and even reveling in the fear of others, such as when Frisk intimidates Monster Kid just before the Undying fight

Now above I talk about how wanting to kill isn't a symptom of LV, and I still believe that

While this seems to be contradicting evidence to that claim I don't think so, as I think it's around this point that one becomes so distant that the act of killing someone else doesn't invoke any feeling of remorse anymore

Where Frisk's enjoyment is derived from is their "Determination" as at the point they're smiling they've killed every monster they could find up to this point, so they're happy to "finish what they started" and also why the Smile goes away if you abort Geno at this point forward as that goal of eradication is gone

- High LV's 15-19

This is the grouping we know the least about, as the majority of these are Geno exclusive, CORE/Hotland exclusives no less which at this point the whole Underground is on lockdown so any unique traits from here are lost in translation, from best we can tell, anything shy of all kills isn't labeled as "True Evil" by MTT and LV 17 is labeled as "Bad at being evil" by sans

So perhaps there's some room for redemption at this point? Idk, sans doesn't think so at LV 19, but it's an interesting thought

- LV 20

This one gets a special mention just because of how everything goes down

The Mercy Button is gone

Frisk is able to make inputs without Player input

And at this LV it's possible to summon the Demon, a manifestation of the evils you caused and power you gained by pushing this world to its limits that quite literally has the power to attack the game box Undertale is played in

This demon is the single most powerful being we've encountered inside of UT/DR outside of maybe Asriel

Now, with everything LOVE-related established we can also use it as a symptom list to diagnose Noelle at where she's at and take a rough estimate as to how much LOVE a single Snowgrave run would allow for

And well, I won't run yall through the numbers so to speak but she's solidly in the Early LV's

She still has remorse for the deaths she did cause

But she's also able to distance herself from her actions there, could be grief but her interactions with her father on Snowgrave compared to a Main Route shows to me that she's a little more reserved, which also falls in line with Early LV symptoms

So what does that leave?

Well, as someone pointed out to me before, Noelle has some violent tendencies

They're reserved, but come out when say, Berdly also has a crush on Susie, or if it's encouraged (see what this whole post is about lol)

See also the theory that the damage at the beginning of the Cyber World was caused by Noelle, not Queen, and there's reason to see where things may go as Noelle breaches into the Middle LV's

I see her, like Frisk, enjoying the slaughter as things continue on

So to conclude my little LOVE Theory I see the rest of Deltarune going as such

1 more route of us manipulating Noelle into killing, she'll be far more resistive, but I know we'll break through, with the boss of that area that she kills (secret boss or another Lightner) the last we'll see of Noelle she'll have cracked a smile

Then from there on she'll easy, fights will break out just from her instigation, or from others more heroic trying to get in her way

By the end I think we'll have to fight her, and she'll kick our asses

Or we'll have to fight Kris

It's hard to know that far ahead

But using LOVE alone, that's how I see things going

Thanks for reading if you did! Feel free to comment and discuss or ask me questions through my ask box. Hope you enjoyed my transcribed madness lol

[a-whispering-echo]

oh yeah, i was having a though last night about like, a silly kinda rpg game where you pick either Dream, Nightmare, Ink or Error at the start, and you work on collecting other sanses for your group by traveling the map and either converting them or taking them and brainwashing them or winning a fight against them, and once they agree to join, you can either change them to be a supernatural creature of leave them as a blank

If you play as dream you play as a Fairy, Nightmare a Vamp, Ink a Mer and Error as a Werewolf and obviously, you come with the ability to change your followers to your creature type, or you can sometimes find potions for other types and try those

Some monsters already come as specific types already, like, Lust is a demon, for example.

All types have positive and negative traits to them, like Vampires dont need to eat and are faster in speed, but cant go out during the day; obviously theyre all different depending on their type - base monsters have no change to them, just normal needs

ANYWAY, the main thing i actually wanted to talk about, was how the high LV monsters in your team sometimes refuse to do the thing you want them to do, and instead attack the enemy - think Susie in deltarune, for example, but you get to pick what they do, sometimes they just DONT - I.E, you have Dust on your team, and you told him to heal, but instead he attacked the enemy

It seemed like a really cool idea in my head at the time, and i just kinda wanted to get it out there

whish i could code to make my silly little idea sometimes,

[townbully-hatzroy]

“ Arcade it is! “ Susie said, putting her hands into her pocket and taking her phone out, “ I’ll tell my grandpa real quick..I’m sure he won’t mind, “

She smiled, sending the message before putting her hands back into her pockets..then tilting her head,

“ ..your cheeks are blushing, “ She teased lightheartedly

— @artistwonder

Roy simply nodded at everything she said, barely paying attention to anything as he's simply staring at the floor with a blank expression.

He only payed attention again once his dark cheeks were mentioned.

"Huh? What? What are you talking about?"

[smile-files]

kris - headcanons, theories, and analysis (a jumbled mess from yours truly)

kris has selective mutism and is semi-verbal: they have the capability of speech, but the extent to which they are willing and eager to speak at any given moment is highly dependent on their current mental state as well as the people around them. generally speaking, kris is not very talkative and infrequently starts or participates in conversation, even when in the presence of people they are comfortable with and when feeling fine; it is noted, though, that kris only ever actively wants to speak and is eager to do so in such situations -- when uncomfortable, kris will not speak unless direly necessary (and even then, their ability to speak is not guaranteed). also worthy of note is how unexpressive kris's face tends to be; they rarely wear anything other than a blank expression. exceptions only occur under extreme, catastrophic distress, or when around friends and family -- kris has been known to laugh, especially since they would like making mischief.

in kris's youth, they had close, warm relationships with their adoptive mother, toriel, their adoptive father, asgore, their adoptive brother, asriel, their next-door neighbor and friend, noelle, and, to a slightly lesser extent, noelle's sister, dess, and father, rudy. while still quiet most of the time, kris would actively want to speak to them on some occasions, and would often be happy to point out things to them (kris is a very observant person, noticing small details in their environment) and play games that had some minor speaking component (such as playing a video game in which comments are often exchanged between players). given their emotional proximity to kris, these individuals knew kris well enough to have a general sense of how they were feeling, even in moments when kris wasn't in the mindspace to speak; asriel and noelle could tell what kris was feeling better than anyone else, asriel especially understanding why kris felt what they did (noelle always knew what kris felt, but often didn't understand why they were feeling it and required an explanation kris wasn't able to provide), and so kris was very attached to them. however, this attachment was wrought with insecurity: asriel was growing up, soon to leave for college, and a well-beloved golden boy; noelle was always leagues better than kris in school, and a darling, endearing girl; kris couldn't help but fixate on asriel and noelle leaving them someday.

unfortunately, a cascade of events eventually pulled the majority of kris's loved ones away from them, including azzy and noelle. dess disappeared, splintering the relationship between kris's family, the dreemurrs, and noelle's family, the holidays; kris and noelle began to grow apart as their families lost touch; asgore was fired from his position as police chief, and toriel divorced him; finally, asriel went off to college. the only close connection kris maintained from their childhood was toriel -- and even if toriel never understood them quite as thoroughly as azzy or noelle, kris was still strongly attached to her and her ability to understand them at all, to the point that, in the absence of anyone else to connect with, kris became very clingy to her. kris has been massively lonely and depressed, fixated on the great time asriel must be having in college and how happy and beloved noelle seemed to be -- while they've been alone, with nobody to truly know how they feel when they're uncomfortable. oh, and how often kris is uncomfortable! basically friendless, constantly sleep-deprived, and harboring a hidden self-loathing stewing in their soul since their childhood… since asriel moved away, kris has been quieter than ever, unable to express the pain festering within. they were never that expressive, but that seemed to have come to a head, with kris becoming almost completely unresponsive to any emotional stimuli. kris seemed completely unfazed by susie's cruel bullying when she joined the class… however, her words seemed to strike a chord deep, deep within them, and they couldn't help but laugh.

since the player has taken control over kris's soul near the beginning of the game, however, kris's verbal "self"-expression has increased. the player can compel kris to speak -- not only in moments where kris would choose to speak themselves, in which the player just directs what it is they are to say (possibly contradicting what kris wants to say), but also in moments where kris would be uncomfortable and wouldn't even be willing to speak at all. the player seems to not have control over kris's facial expression, however -- so, despite having suppressed most show of emotion in recent months, kris now has the chance to take advantage of their ability to communicate their true feelings through their face, and might well seize it… though, why would kris not take the player's manipulation as another sign from above that they will never be understood? why even try? regardless what they think, though, a certain primal desire to be understood overrides any logic or loss of hope: like always, if disturbed enough, kris's face will show it; likewise, if something strikes their funny bone -- or if it strikes a chord deep, deep within them -- kris will laugh.

kris, no matter what, does not like being suppressed, and even if the player isn't hurting them (which can certainly, certainly happen), kris will have some negative opinion of them. they want to be loved and understood for who they truly are, more than anything else in the world, and the player, even if unintentionally, is actively undermining that. if we imagine some alternate timeline, where kris made friends with ralsei and susie all on their own, that friendship having formed at all would imply that kris believes that ralsei and susie either do or will love and understand kris for who they truly are; why would kris become friends with them otherwise? in this hypothetical, kris would learn that they aren't truly alone, and that there are always people to connect and relate to, if they believe they're capable of being understood -- that they don't have to wait forever for people like asriel. however, as the "friendship" kris has with ralsei and susie is entirely manufactured by the player and the game, it is little more than a distant dream. as we control kris's body and words, it's as if kris's self is watching what "they" do from within themselves, looking at the friendships "they" have and wishing they were truly theirs: it is dissociation, a feeling that these relationships aren't real.

at the same time, though, kris desires these relationships as they currently are, even in their apparently empty state, or wants to desire them; kris desires a world in which they aren't constantly craving understanding, in which closeness was taken for granted, in which they were open and talkative, in which, perhaps, they were a different person who isn't such a weird, quiet loser. this is what the player provides; this is what the dark world provides; this is what the game provides. the dark world is a game that kris is playing: it is doubtful that kris summoned the player to control them, but the player's control is what gives kris these relationships, and so, in some strange way, kris might desire the player as much as they hate the player. kris has never been good with people, but now they can be piloted by someone who, via the game (which, notably, is a path ralsei sets for us: the prophecy), follows a relatively stable path in which they must be good with people. chapter 1 always ends with kris being "friends" with ralsei and susie, with kris doing the "right thing", with kris being "happy". perhaps kris can come out of chapter 1, half-satisfied with having lived vicariously through themselves. chapter 2 is largely the same for basically every player, and would perhaps result in noelle genuinely, earnestly reconnecting with kris (kris themselves) through their adventure in the dark world; however, if the player tries hard enough to defy the game's path, they can force kris to do terrible things to people: to emotionally abuse noelle right as she was about to rekindle something with kris, manipulating her into killing someone. this, obviously, would f*ck kris up, the main reason for which need not even be spoken. but there is something more subtly tragic about it all: that the one genuine, non-vicarious, non-player relationship kris might foster through the game -- their faded friendship with noelle -- was forcibly dashed on the rocks with kris's own, puppeted hands. is that not horrible?

no matter what path the player makes kris take in either chapter, kris removes their soul each night (twice during chapter 2) and, shambling like a silent zombie, performs some impulsive, violent act with their knife -- cutting a pie, slashing toriel's car tires, or opening a dark fountain. worthy of note is that the soul the player controls is still kris's soul, and yet they are willing to literally remove their soul, the culmination of their being, to be free of us from a little while. in two of three cases, kris clearly returns the soul to their body; in the third at the end of chapter 2, they hold it up as their handmade dark fountain billows smoke, and it is ambiguous what they do with it. are they gazing at it in awe, or glaring at it in disgust? how much do they need the soul, and how much can they act without it? will they return it to their body? the player, the dark world, and the game are what allow kris to reconnect with noelle -- or break her. in the former case, kris might be opening a dark fountain in the hopes that perhaps more good will come out of this strange system of control at which they are centered; in the latter, they might be opening it to spite the player's attempts at closing dark fountains, in accordance to ralsei and the game's will. true, the path that leads kris to manipulate noelle is one that defies the game's central intent -- but the game still allowed it to happen, tantalizing the observant player with a secret route. or, in both cases, kris just might want to create a dark world where their mother is present, given that the dark world has either brought people closer to them, or left them completely alone…