#future toby. remember this

[imaginepostingonmain]

NO!!!! THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!!!!

WELL ITS A BIT TOO LATE NOW I SOLD HER TO TY BETTERIDGE TO PAY MY DEBTS OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT PEOPLE IN WBG DO THATS RIGHT BABY I REMEMBER THAT SPOILER MUAHAHAHHAA.

[crushedsweets]

CREEPED VISUAL NOVEL Link, tutorial, extra art, Q&A, some chatter

The CREEPED Prologue is completely free and browser-ready. Gameplay is about 10 minutes. Please read the "tutorial" and notes before playing!

Follow Y/N and their dog, Max, through their grandparents' farm and a mysterious forest filled with...less than fortunate people!

PLAY HERE; works best on PC

This visual novel is powered by GOOGLE SLIDES! It has 0 programming and was created by one person in a little over a month, so please bear with any "bugs" and clunkiness!

TUTORIAL

>Click using mouse/trackpad >Go slowly to not break game >Do not use arrow or space keys

EXTRA NOTES:

>Works best on PC/Browser, I haven't tested the full game on mobile yet >In general, clicking the PNGs on the textbox (Apple, Teddy Bear, Hatchet, etc) will lead you to the right page >If you land on a page that tells you to "go back," that's when you should click the back-arrow key. If your cursor disappears, it doesn't register the click correctly >I recommend moving your cursor periodically to avoid it disappearing and sending you to the wrong page

EXTRA ART

some WIPS and the original sprite-style i was gonna choose LOOOOOOOL

Q&A

Q: Is this an x reader? A: This is a reader-insert, but it's not romantic and I try to keep it as neutral and unidentifiable as possible! Q: What's the plot? A: GENERALLY AND WITHOUT SPOILERS, your dog gets you into trouble and you're just looking to help him!

Q: Who is in the prologue? A: Tim, Brian, Toby, and Kate! More will be added in future chapters.

Q: When will future chapters be posted? A: Not sure! This took me about a month to do, and half was spent over winter break. I will try to get chapter 1 posted before summer, but I am a full-time student, employed, have extracurriculars, etc etc

ok thats all i only remember 4 questions feel free to ask more LMAO

CHATTER(because you know i can talk forever)

ok i just wanted to be able to talk about how the process was with this and how i feel about the results and whatnot...

ive been wanting to make a google slides visual novel since i was like 13 LOL it hit the point where i was repeatedly told i should just learn to code but i was like NOOOOO ITS GOTTA BE GOOGLE SLIDESSSS which is totally stupid but hey. i think that gives it some sort of simple charm that reminds me of being 16 and doing little projects in my room LOL i like working with the easiest tools . my bad

anyway. im just very happy LOL. it's not perfect but i feel like i came full circle in a sense?!?! i've been into creepypasta since i was 9 and it comforted me when things were really hard, and when i was 18 i was going through a really hard time and got back into creepypasta as a way to distract myself. i've always had a habit of throwing myself into fiction for escapism when things suuucked.

i'm 20 now but i've met SO many amazing people, had so many fun awesome exciting projects with friends, created tons of stuff im proud of, felt more motivated to create since i was like 13, have been inspired by so many amazing artists/authors on here, etc. just so so so lucky to find community in such a tight-knit cute fandom that thrives off of creativity and playing around! i hope i can keep the momentum and make a couple more chapters this year, but im kinda busy with school and work...LOL . i'm just excited to have this posted so i can have more discussion about it T_T

anyway thank you if you read this far and thank you if you played etc etc yaahhhhhh omg ok BYE THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING im just so grateful to be in this fandom

[hellspawnmotel]

Any specific thoughts on Noelle’s seemingly one sided crush on Susie? Ur analysis are always real neat

hm! well I kinda already talked about this but only in a tag essay like 2 1/2 years ago (here) so I can get into it again.

I think noelle's crush on susie reveals a lot about noelle as a person, though the story and framing so far have kind of conditioned us to just look at it as a surface level "omg mean tough girl x sweet shy girl! lesbians!!" and maybe even subconsciously connect it to alphys/undyne and just brush it off as the type of wholesome relationship toby likes writing. I also don't think the crush is necessarily one-sided! you could argue that susie felt pressured into saying what she did on the ferris wheel, but susie is all about breaking the rules and doing whatever she wants so that wouldn't make much sense to me. her responses seemed very genuine. it could turn out to be a fleeting feeling or susie mistaking a desire to be friends as a desire for romance, but I don't really have enough information to speculate much on that yet.

back to noelle, pre-chapter 2 noelle's attraction to susie seems far more based in fantasy than anything, kind of objectifying susie's violence. which is fine, she's a teenager, it doesn't make noelle a bad person, it just indicates that the crush is very shallow to start off. susie is also a symbol to noelle, someone she definitely sees as representing freedom and defiance, which is something she craves. noelle does end up very open to the possibility of getting to know susie as a real person once she learns susie is "nice" but her priorities are still more with her own feelings than susie's.

this is tricky to talk about as an adult, so first I'd like to remind everyone that I have Been a teenage girl and I remember very clearly what it was like, haha. anyway I would argue that noelle's interest in susie is also undeniably sexual, even if she doesn't fully realize it. I think we all kind of know that but it's uncomfortable to just say in plain language. (this is an aside but I think the way toby implies this from noelle's dialogue and internal monologue is REALLY smart from a writing perspective, it leads the brain there without getting weird about it.) in addition to freedom, susie also represents adulthood to noelle in that way. she represents the future, one where noelle can fully express herself. at the same time, noelle associates the feeling of fear with being protected by somebody else in her childhood, the past. susie is "the good kind of scary", both sexually exciting, an "adult" feeling, and nostalgically comfortable, a "child" feeling. susie could be the bridge between past and future that noelle, who is notoriously frozen in her own childhood, needs to move forward. I think that could apply even if the two don't end up together, just from noelle working through her own feelings about it all.

I could also get into the implications of suselle being "the narrative's approved ship" or how noelle's relationship with susie contrasts her relationship with kris, or even how we're conditioned to see lesbian relationships as either inherently more "wholesome" or the taboo and exciting "toxic yuri", but this is getting really long already. idk where it all will end up going but I think theres already a lot to dive into if you look past the surface!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

You get/have to meet one Animorph at any point during the series. There is no risk to either of you. If you attempt to give them advice or warning about the future, they won’t remember it until too late- you cannot change the course of events in even the most trivial of fashions. Who do you choose, and why?

Bonus: Who do you choose from the series who *isn’t* an Animorph?

Me: Thanks for agreeing to meet. First and most importantly: did your parents remain married after the war?

Marco: Say what? That's a very personal question. I thought you were here to interview me about my acting career.

Me: Fine, at least tell me whether or not Nora was a controller the first time you met her.

Marco: What. What. Are you sure you don't want to talk about my TV show? Because I'd be happy to talk about the show.

Me: Actually I want to talk about your mom. If you could summarize her opinion on Jake having flushed the Pool ship in three sentences or less, then— 

Marco: It's a great show. You see, it's about this crime fighter whose sidekick turns into all these different animal shapes depending on the crime fighter's mood — very His Dark Materials — and I play Nick, the sexy shapeshifting sidekick.

Me: If Eva had the ability to morph, which of the following—

Marco: Is this literally all just questions about my parents?

Me: Well, if you have the time, I have an appendix each for Tom Berenson and Toby Hamee, and I'd love to get your unvarnished opinion of Erek King. But, yeah, about... [flipping through several pages] 45% of the questions are Eva-related.

Marco: SECURITY! We got another dimension-hopper here!

Me [as I'm being dragged away]: AT LEAST TELL ME YOUR LAST NAME! PLEASE!

[vio-marks]

i had a dream last night that i spent my entire day playing a game that toby fox worked on before undertale and deltarune that apparently foreshadowed future events. all i remember is that it was a 2d mario fangame and there were party members as well. the only ones i remember was an anthro reshiram named "neon" and a regular ass crab named "god". it sucked i didn't feel good at all.

[hopefulleafva]

Papyrus Wrote the UTDR Mystery Valentine

Okay so with a 2025 release for Deltarune chapters 3&4 confirmed I want to get this off my chest and document it for future me to either feel vindicated by or have a good laugh at how wrong it was. This has been eating me alive since the Valentine’s newsletter and I never said anything but I want this out there before anything new comes out.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is a theory other people have already made posts on or not because all I ever see is “it’s Gaster!” or “It’s not Gaster, it’s Dess/Egg Man/[Insert mysterious character here!]”. If someone has posted this theory before I missed it entirely. Not looking to steal anyone’s theory thunder here.

I’ve convinced myself this is Papyrus and just want to get my thoughts down here.

So. I see a lot of people talk about how the flippant and humorous way it’s written makes them think this isn’t Gaster. To get the Gaster stuff out of the way, my stance is that everyone has their own preferred idea of how they think Gaster acts and whether or not he could have a sense of humor, but we really have yet to learn a lot about him in canon. I don’t love us trying to make rules about what is and isn’t “in character” for him when we really haven’t met properly and have very little dialogue to go off of. I get a lot of people are basing their ideas of him being serious off Entry 17 and the popular assumption that the intro voice is Gaster. I think that’s fair and very understandable, but even still it’s only an extremely limited peek at what the guy is like. Point is, maybe he does have a silly sense of humor and maybe he doesn’t. I don’t want to entirely dismiss the idea that Gaster wrote this based on “it’s too silly, Gaster is serious!”. But I also think that the idea that because the speaker is a mysterious voice with meta knowledge of Deltarune that it MUST be Gaster is also a bit shaky.

Anyway.

Is it just me or does the bizarre roundabout way of phrasing things in the letter perfectly fall in line with how Papyrus speaks?

One of my favorite notes in the Undertale Legends of Localization book (HIGHLY recommend by the way, a really fascinating read) was this:

While yes, it’s important to bear in mind that this was the quote of a localizer and not Toby directly, I think it still rings very true for Papyrus’s character. Don’t really think I need a laundry list of examples for this point, right? Papyrus’s fun and unique way of speaking is such a memorable part of his character that you encounter in all routes.

Which is why it’s so interesting to me that this mystery writer seems to have a highly similar way of phrasing things in a unique and playful way.

The first one that really sticks out to me is the “I never forget someone I don’t remember.”

Really reminded me of the little bit you get after a post neutral run reset.

While not something I originally weighed in to my theory, it is worth noting that this bit between Papyrus and Sans occurs immediately after Papyrus has recognized Frisk after seeing them for this “first” time. This makes the mystery valentine writer’s preceding comment that they will know the forgotten person they are looking for immediately upon seeing them extra interesting.

This bit also stood out to me:

Because it also felt like very familiar phrasing. It took me a while to realize what it was making me think of.

Down to the quotations around a common phrase like it’s an alleged thing not a very common thing??? Like MAN.

While these were the only two parts I felt directly and strongly paralleled specific phrasing Papyrus has used before in canon, there were a few other things that caught my eye.

A faith in the power of love, and the power of belief.

(Yes, I realize the “even if you don’t think so” appears to negate the idea of Frisk’s beliefs being an important part of their ability to change, but I’d say Papyrus is still emphasizing that his beliefs are significant in this.)

Very strange that the writer doesn’t dismiss the idea that the person they have forgotten they wanted to help could be themself. How could you forget yourself? But then again…

And while not really the same degree of strength in a parallel, I just want to bring up that the letter writer remarks that the reader is odd yet reliable for responding out loud to a piece of written communication.

It is strange that the author seems to have still heard the reader’s out-loud reply to the letter. A weird instance where a mode of communication that has limits on what SHOULD be able to be perceived by the other person somehow has those limits broken and allows that person to comment on something they shouldn’t be able to perceive.

Kind of like if you were having a phone call with someone far away from you but they still seemed to somehow be able to know exactly what you were looking at and where you were. Where have we heard that before…?

Also come on. You can’t tell me “PUT ON YOUR COAT AND WASH YOUR FACE! OR, PUT ON YOUR FACE AND WASH YOUR COAT. NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER. OR, IN ANY ORDER AT ALL.” doesn’t sound like a Papyrus-ism.

I know some people may point out that Papyrus already has Valentines that are very explicitly from him in the newsletter, so it would be weird to have three that are and one that wasn’t. But I don’t think that necessarily should refute this idea. It could be possible the “signed” valentines are from Undertale’s Papyrus, and this one is from Deltarune’s Papyrus. Even if you subscribe to the idea that UT Papyrus IS DR Papyrus, this could simply be a letter sent from a different point in time.

Anyway, this has been eating me alive since February so I wanted to get it off my chest. Maybe this is completely off base, but interesting to think about.

[sabianandocs]

DELTARUNE SPOILERS (kinda)

They make me sick /j

Toby converted me to soriel sorry guys (I'm (half) kidding but they are cute)

Genuinely though my personal take is that Soriel is super cute for Deltarune and Sansby is my fav for Undertale AND HERES WHY

In Undertale, Toriel and Asgore are OLD AS HELL. In the kindest way possible they've been around super long and seen so much. In my interpretation, Sans is like, 40? And Toriel is over 100. (He even calls her 'old lady', not that that means he can't like old ladies but still) That's still fine and shippable, for the record, and I don't have any gripes with people who ship it- I totally see it. But for me personally, I like to view her more as a mother figure to him & Papyrus (& everyone else really). Partly because I feel like non-romantic relationships don't get as much attention as they should so I project that onto Sans & Toriels relationship in Undertale and choose to interpret it differently.

I ship Sansby for shits and giggles tbh it started as a joke and then I got attached after seeing other people's fanart etc. I think it's a fun dynamic & could be plausible if you wanted to read into things

HOWEVER

In Deltarune, Toriel is aging at the same rate as the other monsters (because her son is alive, and if I'm remembering my Boss Monster lore correctly, that means she'll age as long as he does) so she's more on the same maturity level as Sans, in that she doesn't have literal decades of living over him. They're both middle aged people (I hc at least 40s, maybe 50s) just doing their best to keep their lives together & the people they love happy. They're at a much more similar place in their lives; they're both dealing with change (Sans moving to town, Toriel with the divorce and Asriel going to college) and they're both trying to keep a family afloat. It makes a lot of sense that they'd gravitate towards each other!

So yeah! I might draw more soriel in the future, but fear not my sansby lovers, those two aren't going anywhere either

EDIT:

I know literally no one is complaining about this but I did want to add that Soriel is NOT a perfect ship in DR either- the way that they're acting is super irresponsible for the actual situation that they're in (Toriel your child has been missing all night are you not concerned? & Sans being so dismissive of Susie is a red flag) I won't do a whole rant here but know that I am acknowledging that as cute as this scene is on a surface level the deeper implications kinda aren't great

[artistically-hershie]

So I see my drawing for the RusAme AUs got alot more love than I expected and I saw a few tags and a few friends asking what AU's are shown, and what is their plot.

I will say this, these are my AU's or an AU that I helped create. A lot of them are inspired by games or music, truthfully.

1. Monster Hunter

A big AU i am working in with @gremlins-hotel . We do plan to make a blog and reveal more of the AU eventually but with the new game coming out, we want to polish the plot a bit more before we post anything

Ivan being a Hunter from the New World and Alfred being a Rider, and his monstie Alti [a Tobi-Kadachi] being from a secluded tribe in the Old World.

2. Horizon x Hetalia

An AU based on the Horizon [ZeroDawn and ForbiddenWest] game series.

A post apocalyptic US setting where these guys made a clones of themselves along with their history to try and help aid the future generations.

But of course, time erodes everything. Even history and memories.

Alfred having his process to remember his history haunted due to a malfunction leaving him with broken memories and being in the hands of a very territorial tribe. He was raised a warrior struggling to remember this real name, all while Ivan is helping Matthew on the search to find Alfred .

3. Ersatz

One of my older but more proud AU's. A sci-fi, horror setting in the...strangely not so distant future with alot of drama between national embodiments and their yearn to be immortal through...experimental methods. Even if that means using an Alien for their own bodily needs.

Majorly inspired by the game Prey [2017]

4. Final Fantasy 14 x Hetalia

Astrologian Ivan and Red Mage Alfred, two Au Ruí from different tribes, grown in different ways, even told to hate one another. Yet they are somehow bound together...through time and soul.

5. XenoChronicles [name may change] *

Based on the multiple Mech Animes I've watched , (mainly) Xenoblade X and the few sci fi shows i grew up loving; these two are lost in space.

Alfred being a mechanic added onto the ship last minute, he is shown very little respect for being a cyborg. But Ivan being commander of a mech squadron who sees potential in the young man, even if he isn't completely human.

6. A Forgotten Story *

One of Two High Fantasy AUs where Alfred is the hier of a Dragon Goddess and has no clue of his heritage and Ivan being a Arch Mage of the Arcane. Some call the Mage a god but he is just highly skilled.

7. Godly Vessels *

Second of the two High Fantasy AUs where a cult tries to overthrow a kingdom by summoning a god using a peasants body for sacrifice. But instead the god shares the body with them (Alfred). Ivan being a unwanted Royal Guard from a neighboring kingdom (that was destroyed by these vessels) is to protect this entity.

Eventually his service will be a blessing.

8. Voodoo down Bourbon *

This isn't a official AU compared to the others rather a fun joke AU i couldn't help but include. Espically since Mardi Gras is just around the corner and I am from Louisiana.

Ivan based on drunken tourist gets a bit too cocky with a stranger, and Alfred being of course a voodoo artist takes advantage of the tourist.

Truthfully it was fun to throw my own speech and slang to Alfred, so to have him say cher is so fun.

Besides based on some local folk lore I'm sure he reminds you of a certain villain.

The ones with the stars after the name are ones that I posted maybe once or never posted because I was too embarrassed to share these ideas. I make quite a few AUs but sometimes it's just for comfort reasons or something just sparked a sudden idea and then actually thinking on the subject, it is scrapped.

Or even just for a quick doodle and the idea is gone

So to see you guys actually are interested makes me quite happy, espically since I've been very stressed.

If any peak your interest or you'd like to see more of these let me know!

[coolemmasulivan2]

Rewinding Us | 3

Pairing: Mason Mount x Reader

Summary: You and Mason built a love story over five years, but after an accident, your memories are wiped away, including any feelings for your constant bickering "rival". Can you remember your love story with Mason, or will you have to start all over?

Word count: 3826

You can read more chapters here.

I slip and wonder who I'd be If I never found you and you never found me Well, I don't wanna see

The hospital waiting room was a clean expanse of white, the walls gleaming as if freshly painted. Mason sat on the edge of a blue chair, his leg bouncing nervously. A heavy silence pressed down on him, broken only by the soft voices of nurses and a few others just like him, waiting for their loved ones.

He was alone. The others were already on the plane, on their way home. Charlotte had promised to catch the next flight out as soon as she landed in London, but until then, he was alone and in fear.

His mind raced back to the villa. He ran after you, but you'd always been surprisingly fast, a burst of unexpected energy that often caught him off guard. He remembered the times when you would run away from him, with laughter echoing through the house, often triggered by a harmless joke or the sudden appearance of an unwelcome spider.

The car had appeared out of nowhere. It was as if the world had slowed down. He remembered the shock that froze him in place, the desperate shout that tore from his throat.

Now, alone in the white room, the weight of everything pressed down on him. He should have been faster. He should have protected you.

A voice cut through the room, bringing him back to the present. “Family of Miss Y/l/n?” The doctor, a man with tired eyes, stood in the doorway.

Mason jumped to his feet, his voice hoarse. “How is she? Is she okay?”

The doctor adjusted his glasses. “Miss Y/l/n has sustained multiple injuries, primarily to her leg and arm. She’s currently in surgery to stabilize her condition.”

Relief washed over Mason. “Will she be okay?” His voice trembled slightly.

The doctor nodded. “We’re optimistic about her recovery. The injuries are serious, but she’s young and strong.”

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Ahm-- Not long ago, she was involved in a car accident. A drunk driver hit her car and she lost her memory. Can this…?"

"We’ve conducted tests, and thankfully, this accident hasn’t caused any further brain damage.” Mason's heart pounded in his chest. A wave of gratitude washed over Mason. The doctor continued: “We’ll keep you updated on her condition. Someone will inform you as soon as she’s out of surgery.”

Mason nodded and managed a weak smile. “Thank you!”

It was a sunny afternoon, and the air was thick with the sweet scent of jasmine. You and Mason were attending a friend's wedding, and the sound of laughter and clinking glasses filled the air.

You never used to care about catching the bridal bouquet, but your friends teased you and something sparked inside you. With a burst of unexpected agility, you managed to catch the delicate bouquet of flowers. Cheers erupted from the crowd, but your eyes locked onto Mason's, his expression a mix of amusement as his friends made fun of him.

"Well, well, well!" His friend Toby teased him. "Looks like someone's future is looking bright."

Mason grinned, taking a sip of his champagne. You walked through him, the bouquet clutched triumphantly in your hands, a smirk playing on your lips.

"I think I need a ring on my finger, Mount!" You teased, leaning in to kiss his lips.

A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "About that…" he began, his voice trailing off as he reached into his pocket. Your heart pounded in anticipation. "I haven't picked out the perfect one yet." He pulled his hand and it was… empty. "But I promise, it's coming."

Relief washed over you, mixed with a touch of disappointment. You hit his chest playfully. "Don't tease me like that, you idiot!"

He laughed, wrapping an arm around your waist. "I couldn't resist." He said, his voice soft. "But seriously, I can't wait to make you my wife." He pecked. A blush crept up your cheeks. You'd talked about marriage before, but hearing him say it so openly, with such conviction, made your heart flutter. You leaned into his embrace, feeling safe and loved.

"Don't say that to our moms," you teased, burying your face in his neck to hide your blush. "They'll probably start organizing the wedding the next day."

He chuckled, tightening his arm around you. "Who do you think is helping me find the ring?" He murmured, his breath warm against your skin.

You pulled back to look at him, a playful glare in your eyes. "Stop it. You're trying to embarrass me."

"I'm always trying to embarrass you," he replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes. You playfully punched his arm, but couldn't hide the smile that spread across your face. "I can't wait to marry you."

Your eyes felt heavy, refusing to open against the bright light. Your body was a battlefield of pain, and every muscle hurt. A desperate need to call out, to reach for someone, filled you, but your throat was parched.

With a huge effort, you forced your eyelids open. The room was a blur of white, the silence broken only by the steady beep of a machine. Fear and cold ran through your consciousness. You wanted to sleep, to escape the pain and confusion, but a primal instinct to survive kept you tethered to the waking world.

Your eyelids grew heavy once more. With a resigned sigh, you surrendered to sleep, hoping to find peace in the silent depths of your unconsciousness.

"The guy wasn't being friendly with you. He wanted to get in your pants." Mason said, standing before you and Declan.

You were shaking, not from the cold but from anger. Declan sensed it and placed a comforting hand on your back.

"Mase, come on!" Declan said, giving him a warning look.

Mason ran a hand through his hair. "It's true. The guy had his hands practically inside her dress."

That was it. You stood up, your voice trembling. "And what does that matter to you? You're not my boyfriend, we're not even friends, so stop pretending and don't interfere in my life."

Declan gently pulled you away from his best friend. "We're just worried about you! The guy didn't look friendly and the bruise on your wrist confirms that."

You rolled your eyes. "I had everything under control until Mount decided to step in and ruin everything."

Mason let out a frustrated sigh. "I saved you!"

"I don't need you to save me." You retorted.

"Good!" Mason shouted, with his hands in the air. "I don't intend to do it again."

You slowly opened your eyes, and as your vision adjusted, you gazed through the window on your left, realizing it was dark outside. You could hear the soft murmur of voices from the hallway, however, what truly caught you off guard was the fact that you were no longer alone.

Mason was sound asleep in the cosy armchair beside your bed. His hand was propped against his head, holding it up, while his unkempt hair suggested that he had been running his hands through it too many times.

You took another sweeping glance around the room and spotted a plastic cup filled with water. Carefully, you reached out, stretching your arm to grasp it. As your fingers nearly touched the cup, it slipped and tumbled to the ground.

The noise woke Mason up from his nap, and his heart instantly started beating faster, afraid that something had happened. But when he saw that you were awake, he let out a sigh of relief. He stood up and approached your bed.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" You tried to speak, but your throat was too dry for the words to come out. Mason realised and picked up the cup from the floor, throwing it in the trash. "I'll get you another cup. I'll be right back."

He quickly exited the room, only to return a few minutes later with a cup of water in his hand and a doctor right behind him.

"Miss Y/l/n, good to see you awake." The doctor began, his voice laced with professional concern. "How are you feeling? Any pain?” With your throat dry, still no words seemed to want to escape.

Mason stepped in to help when he saw your silent plea. “Here!” He said softly, pressing the cup into your hands. With weak hands, you brought it to your lips and took small sips of the cool water.

After a brief but intense check-up by the doctor, you were left alone with Mason.

Being alone with Mason felt weird. A depth of unspoken words and unanswered questions hung heavy in the air. If only you hadn't run from him, from that kiss, you wouldn't be in the hospital. But it had all been too much.

Mason pulled the armchair closer and sat down. His hand found yours, and a gentle squeeze was all the comfort you needed. "The others landed in London, but Charlotte's already on her way back!" He said, his voice low. You nodded, taking another sip of water. His eyes held worry. "Are you really okay? Do you need anything?"

You shook your head. “I’m fine." You whispered. The moment your gazes met, the weight of his worry seemed to lift. Your eyes drifted to your intertwined hands, his long fingers tracing gentle patterns on your palm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

His eyes held yours. No more words were needed. “How could I?” He began. "You had no memory of us! Saw me as nothing more than the guy you despised." His gaze fell to the floor. “I thought maybe you’d be better off without me, without the chaos of my life. You never complained, but I could see the stress it had on you. Dealing with the media, the fans—it’s a heavy burden. I wanted to give you a chance at a normal life.”

You looked up at the ceiling, your voice rising slightly. “That was not your choice to make!”

"I know." He whispered, his voice barely audible. "I just wanted to protect you."

A heavy silence settled between you. You squeezed his hand back. "I appreciate it. Believe me, I do." You said softly. "But If I didn't like the life we had I would have told you."

Mason emerged from the kitchen, a saviour with a pizza box in one hand and a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "Pizza break?" He offered, his voice filled with amusement.

"What about your diet?"

Mason shrugged. "I will put in more effort during the next training session." You collapsed onto the sofa, relief washing over you. As you devoured your slice, the cheesy goodness melting in your mouth, Mason leaned in, brushing a stray piece of cheese from your lip with his thumb.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this!" He said, his voice soft.. You looked up at him, your heart full. The house, once empty, was slowly transforming into a home.

"Me neither." You replied, your voice filled with happiness. "It feels surreal."

Mason smiled. "Surreal in a good way, right?"

You nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely!" You took another bite of pizza, savouring the moment. As you finished the last slice, Mason stretched out beside you, his arm draped casually over your shoulder. "I can't wait to make more memories here." You said, your voice filled with joy.

Mason turned his head and looked at you, his eyes soft with affection. Slowly, he leaned in, his breath warm against your lips. You closed your eyes as his lips met yours, a gentle and sweet kiss.

Charlotte entered the room, her eyes red and swollen. Mason followed close behind. You were lost in a drugged sleep, oblivious to the storm of emotions in your best friend.

She sank into the chair beside your bed, her hand immediately reaching out to caress your hair. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, "Oh my God, why does this always happen to her?" She leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. "First the drunk driver, and now this!"

Mason leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "It's been a rough year, that's for sure!" He muttered, his voice barely audible.

Charlotte's gaze snapped to him. Her eyes, filled with concern, held him captive. "Are you okay?"

He offered a weak smile. "I'm fine. Just worried about her."

She knew him too well. "Don't lie to me, Mason." She said softly. "I can see right through you."

He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's been a hell of…" He admitted, his voice raw. "What time is it, anyway?"

Charlotte stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She's going to be okay, Mason. We'll wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her safe." A small smile tugged at her lips as she tried to lighten the mood.

Mason chuckled. He pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head. "I guess we have no choice!"

.

You finally returned to London after spending four days in the hospital. You flew back with Mason and Charlotte, and because your parents were worried about you, you spent the weekend with them.

"Are you going to fly back, or will you catch a ride with Mason?" Your Mom asked you.

Thinking it through, everything was clear now. Living in Manchester, having a big house you couldn't afford with your salary, the lifestyle, the constant attention from people on the street - it was all Mason's.

"Um, Mason said I could go with him." You replied your voice barely a whisper.

Your mom's face lit up with a delighted and conspiratorial grin. Since you told her what happened at the villa, she'd been on an overdrive of matchmaking, talking about how happy she was and about what a good couple you used to be.

"That means you're re-" She began, her voice dripping with excitement.

You cut her off, burying your face in your Dad's shoulder. "That doesn't mean anything!" You protested. Your Dad slyly winked at your Mom across the sofa. "It's just easier and cheaper to go with him. so stop organising our wedding in that little head of yours."

Your Mom's lips curved into a knowing smile. "That's already planned!" She muttered under her breath.

You raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Did you say something?"

She shook her head, a playful glint in her eye. "Me? No, not at all. Just focus on the show."

Monday morning had the sky in soft hues of pink and gold as Mason pulled up to your parents' house. The familiar sight of the old brick house brought him a wave of nostalgia. He stepped out of the car, a gentle breeze carrying the sweet scent of the morning.

Your mom was waiting for him at the door, her face lightened with a warm smile. "It's so good to see you, Mason!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a hug.

"It's great to see you too." He replied, returning the embrace. Their relationship had always been easy, even during the wild times of your on-and-off hating relationship. "It's good to be back."

Your mom led him inside, the house filled with the comforting aroma of coffee. In the kitchen, your dad was holding his special mug, the one you had made him when you were a kid. "I see some things never change." Mason commented, a smile playing on his lips.

Your dad looked up, his face breaking into a wide grin. "Mason!" He exclaimed, standing up to offer a hearty handshake. "Welcome back, boy."

"Did you have breakfast, Mason?" Your mom asked him.

"Yes, thanks!" He replied, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of you. It wasn't surprising when your mom told him that you were still in bed. You'd always been a non-moring person.

"Why don't you go wake her up?" Your mom suggested.

Mason's heart skipped a beat. "Me?" He stuttered, blushing. "I-I don't think that's a good idea."

Your mom chuckled. "Oh, come on! You've got to win her back, don't you?" She teased. With a gentle push, she directed him towards your room. "Go on, then. Start by waking her up."

"But that's a terrible first step!" He muttered.

Mason hesitated, his mind and heart racing. He knew the best way to wake you up was with soft kisses, but that seemed like a recipe for disaster at this early hour and he would surely get slapped.

The door was slightly open and the sunlight streamed through it. Mason's hand hovered over the handle, his heart pounding in his chest. Before he could knock, the door swung open, revealing you, already dressed and with the luggage in hand.

Surprise flickered across your face. "Mason? What are you doing here?"

He took a moment to drink in your appearance. He didn't know how, but every day you became more breathtaking. "Uh, your mom asked me to wake you up." He stammered, his voice catching in his throat. "But I see you're already awake."

You quickly shut the bedroom door, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah, I had… a nightmare." You explained, clearing your throat. The way you averted your eyes told him the nightmare was about him, but he chose to stay silent, afraid it would cause an argument.

"Let me help you with your suitcase." He offered, trying to change the subject.

"I don't ne--" You hesitated, torn between your pride and being grateful for his help. Finally, you gave in. "Thanks!" You mumbled, handing him the suitcase.

After having breakfast, you and Mason left for a four-hour drive back to Manchester. With the open road stretching before you, the quiet was overwhelming. Your heart was racing. What were you supposed to do for four hours trapped in a car with Mason, alone?

The radio was on and its soft hum filled the car. Traffic was surprisingly light for a Monday. Your eyes wandered around the spacious interior of the car. It was very clean but there were two Starbucks cups, that he had brought. One for you and one for him. A business card from a car dealership, house keys, and a pair of earrings.

Mason must have noticed your curious gaze. "You left those here last time you drove it." He explained.

"I drove this?" You asked him, astonishment filling your tone. The image of yourself behind the wheel of the gigantic car was absurd.

Mason chuckled. "A few times, actually." You stared at him, disbelief written all over my face. "Why so surprised?"

You tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear, feeling a blush creep up your cheeks. "I don't imagine myself driving a car like this." You confessed.

"Well, you weren't exactly a natural." He teased. "But hey, we all start somewhere."

Your mouth opened, pretending you were offended. "I'm an amazing driver, Mount!" Mason laughed and you couldn't help but smile. "I just… I like my mini Cooper."

"I know, I know."

An unexpected calm settled over the car. It was a surprisingly comfortable silence. Lost in the calm of the road and the melody of the radio, you found yourself enjoying the ride.

But the desire to break the silence surprised you. Five years was a long time, and curiosity was killing you. I wanted to know what his life had been like, to understand what kind of relationship we had.

"How's Manchester United treating you?" You asked, breaking the silence.

Mason glanced at you, his expression a mix of surprise and curiosity. He'd clearly been lost in his own thoughts, and your question seemed to jolt him back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, it's been amazing." He replied, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "They've welcomed me with open arms. It feels like a family." His eyes held a warmth that was unfamiliar yet comforting. "It was a big change, but everything fell into place. I'm very happy."

You nodded, your heart pounding. It was now or never. "And… I went with you?"

He placed his hand on his leg, resisting the urge to place it on yours, a habit of his. "Yeah." He said, his voice low. "You asked for a transfer and moved with me. Didn't even hesitate."

"So the house where I've been living is ours?" You asked. Mason nodded, his expression serious. "And where have you been living?" A wave of questions formed in your mind, each one more pressing than the last.

"I rented a place." Mason replied. "Luke and Anouska have two houses for rent, and one was empty."

"Oh." You murmured, still processing the information. "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize." he said quickly. "I chose not to tell you the truth, so it's my fault." A comfortable silence settled between you as Mason seemed to be waiting for you to continue. "We have a long drive ahead. Ask me whatever you want."

"Good, because I have a lot of questions." You admitted.

He chuckled. "Bring it on."

"How long have we been together?"

"Five years."

"Who made the first move?"

"You did!" His answer was quick.

You raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me, Mount! I remember the first kiss. The prank. I confronted you about it."

Mason burst out laughing, his laughter infectious. "Oh, shit, yeah!" He admitted between chuckles. "I forgot about that."

This felt right, natural. "Okay, so… how did you know you didn't hate me anymore?"

"I never hated you--" He began.

"You know what I mean."

Mason hesitated, his eyes darting away from you. "I think… I think I always had a crush on you." He finally managed to say. Your heart pounded in your chest as you tried to process his words. "When we first met, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. But you were with that guy, and… I didn't know how to approach you, so I acted like a jerk." You swallowed hard, trying to comprehend the man sitting beside you. "The prank… when they made me kiss you, something clicked. It wasn't just a crush anymore." You hadn't realised, but he had pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. His hand found yours, and his gentle touch sent shivers down your spine. "After that, I knew I had to make you fall for me. I couldn't let you slip away. I couldn't waste any more time when I had the love of my life right in front of me."

His eyes held a vulnerability you'd never seen before. Your heart was pounding so hard you thought it might burst. His gaze locked onto yours. Slowly, he leaned in, his breath warm against your lips.

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still. Then, his lips met yours in a soft, tender kiss. As your lips moved together, a wave of emotions washed over you. Love, hope, and a sense of coming home all at once.

[ashlynxsgravestone]

Something that really bugs me in the deltarune community (and deltarune as a whole) is how quickly we moved on from susie bullying kris.

Chapter 1 is incredibly short and feels underdeveloped honestly (something that i do hope toby adds onto ngl) so it leaves a lot to be desired with the characters. One of those things being kris and susie’s relationship.

Susie’s bullying was (as far as i remember i haven’t touched deltarune in a little while) pretty bad, like, threatening physical violence bad. Susie could’ve possibly been bullying kris for YEARS and it just gets resolved in one chapter and suddenly they’re friends? Nobody is really suspicious why they became friends either just mainly confused. Nobody seems concerned that kris is now suddenly best buddies with someone who consistently threatened to bite their face off.

I feel like kris and susie’s friendship was majorly rushed and i hope to god they have some sort of major conflict in the future chapters to actually make their relationship seem solid.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Hunter's Delight

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon, violence, blood, coercion, and other elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: A peaceful getaway turns to horror when you encounter a strange man in the woods.

Character: Kraven the Hunter

Note: So, this isn't what I was planning as my birthday fic but my other fic was just not happening lol.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me <3

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)

Love you all. Take care. 💖

The smell of cedar tinges the air. Birds wing across the pale blue sky and critters rustle in the twigs and leaves that trim the forest floor. Shadows nestle between the trunks and lend an ominous hue to any otherwise harmonious landscape.

It’s a long needed escape from urban crush. The fatigue of your nine to five recedes as your brief getaway frees you of the unseen cuffs of modern survival. There are no emails, no memos, or stuffy meetings. There is only you and naked outdoors.

Oh, and your friends.

You never traveled much. Most of the time you had off, you were too tired to do much more than the bare minimum. You hadn’t even thought of it until Larissa invited you. It just never occurred to you to spend the money or the energy. Now you’re more than happy you did.

You follow the snakish path that dips between valleys and over hills, up steep walkways and across sprawling plateaus. The lush green is endless, littered with patches of thick forest, and the occasion running river crested by an old wooden bridge. 

Larissa chatters loudly about your eventual return to the cottage. She dreams of kebabs cooked over the campfire and some fruity sangria. You trail the others, four of you in all. Jodi and Cameron ahead of you as your host leads the way. Work friends, but you suppose more now that you’re here.

The river water sends up a fresh scent from behind the looming trunks and you glance over at the gleaming ripples, almost twinkling as you admire them between the trees. You could do this every day. Just wander until you can’t move anymore.

“I can’t believe this is your first time up north,” Jodi says, drawing you from your mind.

“Uh, yeah, never did much exploring I guess,” you shrug.

“Even as a kid?”

“Nope. I think we had one family trip and we didn’t even make it to the amusement park,” you chuckle dryly, “ah well.”

“Ugh, I remember one time, when we were camping, my brother, Toby,” Cameron begins, “he put a frog in my bag. I screamed so loud. My mother didn’t even believe me.”

“Damn,” you remark. Cam tends to do that. Everything in some way relates back to one of her stories.

“Oh, I have an idea,” Larissa stops and faces you, “we have to decide who’s cooking.”

“It’s fine, I said I would–�� You begin.

“Boo, that’s no fun,” she snips, “we used to play this game when I was a kid. I always won. Whoever collects the least acorns in ten minutes cooks.”

“Acorns?” You look around nervously. “Where?”

“You shouldn’t get lost. If you go too far, just stay still and we’ll find you,” she brushes off your concern, “it’ll be fun. And I know all the best spots!”

“That’s no fair,” Jodie pouts.

“How about I start after you. I’ll only do five minutes,” she barters.

“How do we know time’s up?” Cam picks a fingernail.

“Like I said, if you don’t show up, we’ll come find you.”

“I guess…”

“Alright, how about, whoever collects the most gets princess treatment for the night. The rest of us will have to serve you drinks and get you whatever you want,” she offers with a smug grin.

You bite your lip but don’t argue. It’s obvious she’s going to win but you wouldn’t mind the chance to explore a bit more. Besides, you never complain about time alone. It’s so peaceful here, that might just be a reward of its own.

“Come on!” Larissa claps, “bragging rights are included.”

“Fine,” Cameron sighs, “I guess it’s not completely stupid.” 

“It’ll be fun just to wipe that look off your face, Lar,” Jodi snorts.

You shrug and give a nod. You have little faith in your foraging skills but you don’t mind running to the cooler a few extra times that night. Besides, the cottage did get a bit suffocating with all of you there. This might be your only chance for alone time.

“Alright, on three,” Larissa declares, “one, two–” Jodi sprints off and Larissa holler, “I didn’t say three!”

Cameron runs after her and Larissa scowls. She puts her hands on her hips and drags her foot over the grass. You give a sheepish smile and awkwardly sway.

“Guess they won’t know if I start early,” she says and sets off in the opposite direction.

You slowly putter away as you head for the river. You have no intent of gathering acorns, you just want to watch the water. You weave between the trees and come out to the shore along the winding river. You watch the lazy flow and the little minnows flitting beneath the clear ripples.

You get closer and sit on your knees in the dirt. You drag your hands through the water and push your fingers into the silt. You bend slightly and look at your reflection. You're almost hypnotised by the ambiance. 

You close your eyes and pull your hands from the water. You place them on your shorts and take a deep breath. You want to hold onto this moment, to remember it once you're stuck back behind a keyboard.

You smile and your lashes flutter open. You see your reflection again, then it suddenly darkens as a shadow comes up behind you. At first, you’re confused, but you assume it’s one of the girls trying to scare you.

“Very funny–”

You fly forward into the water, arms flailing out as you splash into the shallow depth. Your head is pushed down to the riverbed as a foot crush your skull. You cough and gag, gulping down water as your breath bubbles out of your nose. Your head begins to thrum as you choke until at last, the weight relents and you rip your head from beneath the surface.

A sharp boot cracks into your ribs and sends you onto your back. You heave as you land flat, keeping your head just above the water. A man stands above you, crystal blue eyes boring into you as a growl creases in his forehead. He squats and grabs your chin, unsheathing a large knife from his belt.

“Scream and I’ll cut your throat out,” he warns as he pokes the knife tip along your lip, hushing you as he turns it slowly.

You shut your mouth, eyes rounding in terror as you watch him. Who is he? What does he want? You can’t let him know about the other girls. At least, you hope he doesn’t already.

“Listen to me,” he traces along your jaw and down to your throat, “you will do exactly as I say.”

You blink, saying nothing. His voice is gristly and unbending. His dark hair curls behind his head and he wears a thick beard that thins to coarse stubble. Around his neck is a thick cord with a single fang hanging from it.

Your eyes nearly cross as you try to see the knife in his hand..

“Gold locket. Pearl set in the middle. Bring it to me.”

You stare at him searchingly. It’s like he’s speaking another language. Or your brain just won’t hear them as fear courses through your veins. 

“She wears it around her neck.”

You see the golden chain around Larissa’s neck. You noticed it once or twice, never really thinking much of it. You just thought it must be sentimental. Your lip trembles as the man clutches the back of your neck and leans into the blade.

“Why?”

He chuckles, “you want to live. I can feel it. So no more questions and I might let you. The locket, midnight. I will wait here. If you do not come, I will come to you. And you can weep with their heads in your bed.”

You gulp as he smirks at you. You nod slowly as he loosens his grip. He releases you. You almost sink back under the water as he stands and you push yourself up. He swirls the thick knife then holds it up to reflect the sunlight.

“Such a beautiful day, it would be a pity if it were to end in blood.”

“I will bring you the locket. I promise.”

“I know you will,” he says as he struts towards the trees, “it is why I chose you.”

You sit dumbfounded, staring after him until you can see nothing but the trees. You shiver as the water stirs calmly around you, soaking you through to the point of discomfort. You climb out of the river and wrings out the fabric of your shirt.

As you look around at the serenity of the pastoral bliss, you can’t fathom that the man had ever truly been there. The tenderness in your neck assures you otherwise. He was and he will be back.

☀️

“What happened to you?” Cameron giggles as you appear from the trees. 

“No acorns, huh?” Jodi boasts.

“I uh… dropped them in the river. Tripped,” you lie. You’re too stunned to explain further.

“You okay?” Larissa asks.

“Yep, fine,” you utter.

“Well, Jodi got eleven and Cameron got eight, and I… got twelve.”

“Cheater,” Jodi mutters under her breath.

You’re thankful they’re too distracted by their child’s game to be very concerned. You throw up your hands. “Looks like I’m cooking,” you resign dully.

“And I get to be pampered,” Larissa trills tauntingly.

“Whatever. You’ll be lucky if I don’t dump the sangria on you,” Cameron warns.

Larissa laughs. The girls might play up their cattiness but it’s just friendly competition. Another thing you never really had growing up. Friends.

They leave the acorns in the grass. You’re quiet as you follow them onwards. You look back just before you’re out of sight of the river. You don’t see the man but you have no doubt he meant what he said. He knew about Larissa and the necklace, that’s enough for you.

🌄

As a gracious loser, and a terrified individual, you volunteer to make a pitcher of sangria for the other girls. They happily accept the offer and go out to get the fire started. The night is quickly setting in as you watch the time on your phone. As there is only one solar charger amongst the bunch of you, your battery stays at fifty percent. Without reception, it isn’t of much use anyhow.

You mix the wine, brandy, lemonade and fruit together with a wooden spoon. You hear Larissa giving orders outside over the crackle of the fire. The locket with the pearl. You know she’s still wearing it, you looked for it and there it was, around her neck. What use is jewelry all the way up here.

Your thoughts are split by the snap of the spring door. Jodi tramps inside and huffs.

“Is the wine ready yet? She’s driving me nuts.”

“I’ll bring it out,” you assure her, “why don’t you grab the kebabs, they’re ready to go.”

You nod to the pan of skewers and she lets out a disappointed grumble. She takes the pan and leaves you again to ponder your impromptu mission. You’re not stupid enough to ask for the locket. You watch the oranges swirl in the wine mixture…

You can’t. Can you? You peek over your shoulder and peek through the window. They wouldn’t notice. You could say you used more wine than you thought.

You turn your back to the window. The girls can survive a few bendaryls, they won’t survive that man and his knife. You can deal with hating yourself. That’s never been hard.

You tiptoe across the kitchen. You don’t know why you think they’ll hear you, your guilt just makes you paranoid. You go down to the room and search in the lower bunk for your bag. You take out your box of emergency benadryl and slide out a full insert. Just enough for an edge, nothing deadly.

You sneak back out and drop the pills one by one into the sangria. You stir and you stir and you stir. Finally, you’re content that your potion is complete. Your curse is pharmaceutical allergy relief with a side of drowsiness. The girls are probably too thirsty to notice you’re not sharing.

🌙

Jodi stumbles back from the outhouse. You watch her cautiously, ready to hop up and catch her. She manages to make her way back to the fire and falls into the folding chair with a burp.

“Damn, that sangria is strong,” Cameron chimes.

“And it’s going right through me,” Jodi slurs into a giggle.

“Me too,” Larissa stands up and puts her hands in front of her shorts, “my turn.”

You listen to her go around the side of the cottage, her sandals scraping and scuffling. Jodi leans her head back and snorts, waking herself and lurching forward. You get up and keep her from falling out of her chair.

“Hey, you should lay down,” you say.

“Lightweight,” Cameron teases and gulps down a mouthful. You try not to cringe.

“Whatever, I’m fine,” Jodi babbles.

“Come on,” you get her up, letting her lean on you heavily.

She’s dragging her feet as you get her across the yard and to the steps of the deck. You haul her up and through the back door. Inside, you feel her slacken on your arm until you're pretty much carrying her. You get her into her bed and roll her onto her stomach, already snoring.

You check the time. It’s late. Just after eleven.

You go back out, the blaze of the fire obscuring your view of the yard.

“Not you too,” Cameron chortles as Larissa falls past the chair trying to sit.

“I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“Bleh, listen to the office administrator, she never gives it up,” Larissa sneers, “isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” you agree softly. You want all the abuse she has to offer you. You deserve it.

“You wanted to be princess for the night,” Cameron calls over, “let her carry you to bed.”

You ignore Cameron as you steady Larissa and direct her around the fire. You take the same path with the same end, dumping her in the singular queen she claimed for herself in the main bedroom. You make sure she’s on her stomach and shake out your nerves. 

You flip on the flashlight built into your phone and shine it over her. You apologise before you unclasp the necklace. It’s heavier than you expect. You tuck it in your pocket and leave her.

One more.

Cameron meets you at the door to your surprise. She’s yawning and staggering. You let her pass as she mutters about the fire. You follow her, making sure she gets to her bed before you go outside to kill the fire.

When all is dark and still, you look up at the moon and measure the journey ahead of you. What if you get lost? What if you can’t remember the way back? You think you do. Doesn’t matter. It’s almost half past and you need to get going.

You grip your phone as you come out around the front of the cottage. You remember that you came from the right… didn’t you? You turn on your flashlight again as the darkness consumes you. You tremble at the sheer endlessness of the night.

As you set off, you hear every twig snap, every branch sway, every bat squeaking from some hidden nook. You are exposed to the unseen. Easy prey.

You hear the low trickle of water, louder in the dearth of night. You use it to guide you, flinching as leaves brush against you. You shine the light around you, trying to get a glimpse of your surroundings. It only illuminates the shadows and adds to the depths of the blackness.

A noise rolls in the darkness. Thunderous as it grows louder, footsteps making themselves heard, a beast closing in. His laughter comes from all around you, dizzying you as you spin and try to find him.

At once, he quiets and you hear nothing but the stirring of the breeze. No footsteps, not laughter, only the frantic beat of your heart. You stop and squint as you shakily raise your phone, making out the thick trunk of a tree.

There is a sudden warmth behind you. His hand is on yours, squeezing before he rips away your cell. You hear it land in the grass. His other arm hooks around your middle. His breath seeps through your hair and across your scalp.

“Give it.”

You reach into your pocket, squirming as you dig out the necklace. You hold it up with a whimper and he wraps your hand up in his again. His rough skin sends a shiver through you. He hums above the soft tinkle of the chain.

“Very good,” he keeps you close, “you are an obedient little pet, aren’t you?”

You don’t move, you don’t speak. He has what he wants. Now you want to go.

“I’ve decided,” he says bluntly. You hold your breath, trying to decipher his meaning. You try to pull away and his arm hooks tighter around you. “I will take you too.”

“What?” You quiver and grasp his arm, shoving on it without result, “no, let me go–”

“You can scream for me,” he walks you forward until you collide with a tree, putting your hands out to keep from being crushed against the bark, “the louder, the better.”

Your fingertips curl painfully against the tree. He traps you against the tree as he lets out a grow, the heat of his breath and body enshrines you. You shake and whine as panic sinks into your chest.

“Please, let me go. Please, I did what you asked–”

“I’m not asking,” he snarls and grabs your shoulder.

He spins you so violenly you can’t help but fall back against the tree. The subtle friction of metal on leather cools your blood as a sliver of moonlight gleans off the knife’s edge. You brace the tree as you babble dumbly. You don’t want to die.

He brings the curve tip of the knife to the hem of your shirt and yanks up, shearing open the front so that it falls open, revealing the bralette beneath. He makes as quick work as that, slicing up the middle and exposing you to the night chill.

He stands over you, bearing in on you as he bends slowly. You gasp as he clutches a handful of your hair and pulls your head to the side. He leans in and grazes your throat with his teeth. You writhe, caught in the arrest of his gruff touch.

He bits down, pinching your flesh until you cry out. He snickers and unclenches his teeth, trailing further down, teasing along your collarbone and over the tender flesh of your shoulder, once more nipping into you. He tortures your flesh, sucking it until it throbs.

He goes lower, tracing his path first with the metallic cold of the blade, then piercing with his teeth. He bites into the curve of your tit, he leaves sore marks blazing all around, at last taking a nipple in his mouth. His tongue swirls around your hard bud, toying with it, sucking, flicking, until finally he bites again.

You sob as he sinks his teeth in. You feel the flesh break and the warmth trickles from you into his mouth. He hums as he drinks it in, unlatching to let your rough skin turn fiery in the open air. He tends to the next, just as cruelly, as your body wracks in shock and agony.

How can this be happening? It can’t be real. You don’t understand. Who is this man? Where did he come from? You close your eyes, trying to hide from reality as it nips at your flesh.

You drone as he leaves a trail of spit and blood down your stomach, biting again and again, a tortured trail down to the top of your denim shorts. Your legs shake, threatening to give out.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he tisks and pinches your thigh, “you are weak but you will not give up, pet.”

He cuts along the seams of your shorts, left then right. You tremble with bubbling, teary gulps. The denim falls to your feet and he uses the end of his knife to play with the cotton elastic of your panties. He clicks his tongue but does not voice his amusement further.

He drops to his knees, a hand framing your hip as your legs quake. He squeezes, his thumb jabbing into your pelvis. He drags his knife down the front of your panties and hooks the fabric along the tip. He tugs until they rip, breaking through the fabric, cutting a line along your cunt. 

He turns the flat of the blade against your flesh, grazing the folds before pulling it away. You bat your lashes as terror overflows. Your head lolls as your muscles twitch. You see the man’s faint shadow in the slats of moonlight breaking between the cedar trunks, you hear him lick the blade with a purr.

A silver shine reflects the eerie night glow as he raises his knife. You scream as he aims it toward you, stabbing into the wood just beside you. Your heart hammers to cacophony as he laughs at your fright.

He pushes his hand up your thigh, his calloused fingers mean against your soft skin. He feels along the shorn cotton and dips two fingers into the opening. He delves between your lips, flicking his fingers up and down your cunt. Your legs quiver and you clutch onto the divots in the bark, fighting not to fold into a heap.

He slides his fingers back and forth, feeling every part of you, doting on your clit, only to trail back to your entrance. You suck in air sharply and sob. Please just do it. Just let it be over with.

He pushes into you. Slowly, Deliberately. He leans forward and nuzzles the soft vee of hair along your cunt and sighs into you as he wiggles his fingers deeper and deeper. You groan as he stretches you. Even as your body reacts, even as the slickness welcomes the intrusion, it hurts.

He growls as he meets some resistance. You clench around his knuckles and he rams his fingers into you, to their limit. You shriek and your sandals slip in the dirt. Your nail catches in the veins of the tree and snaps.

The coolness of his tongue frightens you as it pokes out and slides along your lips. He tilts his head and glides between your folds, doting on your clit with furious flutters. You gulp and gasp, panting as a new heat blooms inside of you. Your pulse races with more than adrenaline.

He eases his fingers back then in again. Your cunt clenches around him, constricting as his tongue toys with you, flurries your nerves to an unbearable storm. Your insides clutch as rivulets of hot and cold gather in your core, mingling to a fiery roil.

You spasm, stunned by your own body. You stand on your toes as your muscles tauten and your nerves ping off each other. You cum with a raspy whine, forced over the edge by the battle of his thrusting fingers and diligent tongue.

His laughter rumbles through you as he indulges in your dissemblance. He slows as you heave helplessly. He slides his fingers out of you, leaving an emptiness there, and wipes your cum down your leg. He parts from your cunt entirely, a rocky snarl as he stands.

You smell yourself on his breath as he comes close again. He grabs the back of your neck and draws you away from the tree. Your legs tingle and shake beneath you. He turns and hurls you down to the ground. You land on your knees, hitting your elbows in the dirt.

He grabs your hips, keeping them up. He kneels behind you, one hand brushing up your back and forcing your chest down to the ground. You don’t fight him, you have nothing left.

He feels along your panties, hooking his fingers in the rent of the fabric and tears it further up your ass. He gropes you roughly, digging his nails into your skin and dragging them up, leaving hot scratches along your ass. He runs his hand from your shoulders to your hip, gripping you as his other hand retreats from your ass.

The air stills and your ears ring as each breath scalds in your chest. You stare into the deep void of the forest as his zipper splits through the silence. Time slows as dread suffocates you. This is it. This is really happening.

His fingers tickle along your ass and you twitch. He reaches your cunt, rubbing and spreading your lips, taunting you as he curves his fingers along it. He edges closer on your knees, pushing yours wider, and he pulls his hand away.

He prods you with his tip, making a slow path down to your entrance. He circles it as he groans, basking in the tension of that moment. He leans against you until his tip slips into you. You strain around him, heaving into a horrifying wail as he pushes deeper.

He reaches to your neck, pinning your face in the dirt as he jerks his hip, filling you with the single, agonizing motion. You cry out louder, your horror echoing into the sky. Your head quakes and your ears vibrate with the volume of your own grief, rising from you without restraint.

He slides back and snaps into you again. The slap of flesh underlines your breathy weeps. His weight puts an ache in your neck and down your spine. Your fingers dip into the dirt as you clutch at handfuls of dirt. He bucks again, again, again, each time growling with delight.

His palm cracks against the side of your ass, a new pain radiating through your hips. With each thrust, he smacks you, curling his nails into you, pinching, only to do it again. You whimper and wail, trapped in his fervour as you taste soil and the salt of your tears.

He bends over you, hooking his arm around your middle and the other around your neck. He sits up with you against him. His hand brushes up your side and kneads your chest as he rocks you in his lap. Your head lolls as you hiccup through your tears.

He ruts from below, splitting you in two as his muscle bulges around your neck. You wheeze as he squeezes tighter and tighter, until the world speckles to grey and black. You feel his final, jarring rams as they throb in your core, and the sudden burst of heat inside you. Almost soothing as it assures you of the end.

But it is not. He puts you on your back. Senseless, dazed, he’s on top of you, crawling over you like an animal. He fucking you against the ground, holding your leg bent against him, biting into the flesh along your shoulder. Torturing you from the inside until he’s spent again.

Not spent, not done. You’re on your side, the world flickering beneath teared-webbed lashes, each ruts shaking you. Legs together, he claps against your thighs until again he empties into you with a raucous roar.

Again, again, again. Until you’re smeared with dirt, grass, sweat, and cum. Until you’re left an empty husk across the forest floor. 

Your eyelids part as he pulls the blade from the tree, a softer light emanating from the sky as the dawn approaches. He sheathes the knife as he marches around you, poking you with the dirt of his boot. He stops and squats at your side, a crooked smile on his lips.

“This hunt is not over, pet,” he reaches to brush a roughened thumb across your cheek, “I know you are stronger than this.”

He stands again and rolls his shoulders as he shakes out his mussed curls. He takes a step forward, then another, and another, striding into the sunrise without a look back. You lay prone across the lumpy ground, trying to untangle his words. They are more than a warning, they are a promise.

[loathemetc]

Deltarune Theory: What is "Canon" anyway?

Let's just rip the band-aid off.

The Sweepstakes pages "aren't canon," But what does that actually mean? Does none of it actually matter?

Well uh, yeah.

First of all, most of the stuff on the site is just teases for the events of future chapters. Not keys to the story, just stuff we're gonna be seeing later. This is pretty obvious with stuff like the Weather Duo, Shadowmen, Tenna whatever. Stuff like the gumball machine might be vague, but it'll make sense when we get there, and new players won't have to have had looked at a gumball machine a few years ago to know what's going on.

That leaves us with the Noelle blogs, which are actual stories. How can those events not matter?

Well simply put, they're all mostly just stuff we've already seen?

Noelle receives a bad deal from Spamton. We went through that in Chapter 2.

Noelle receives a mysterious egg. That's happened to us in both chapters now.

Noelle finds a door that wasn't there before, and disappears soon after. Undertale, Waterfall, Gaster.

Susie is a bully and there's something wrong with Kris. Yeah, we knew that.

They're parallels to the game's events, interspersed with teases for future content. Like maybe we will go through a big maze at some point. Noelle can't remember the egg's name, which was followed up with the Valentine who can't remember their name, and that's not gonna be key info we needed from the ARG because obviously when we inevitably meet the guy who can't remember his name, he's not gonna know his name.

That's why I can't believe that Noelle's game created FRIEND. He might have interfaced with it like Spamton did, but Toby wouldn't just give us an entire character's backstory in an ARG that doesn't matter to the plot. It's teasing him as a character, but Cat Petterz is just a framing device, and probably won't actually be that important. It is totally telling us that FRIEND is a cat though check out my other theory bla bla bla.

The events don't matter too much, it's the things we can gleam about the characters from them. We're not gonna see an Ice-E's Pizza buried in the graveyard secret boss because the ARG said so, the story is meant to tell us about the kind of relationship Noelle and Dess had, that Dess would be there for her sister and entertain her childlike perspective on the world.

Noelle's new blog entry about a cave game and secret cats is certainly a tease for things to come in some regard, but it's not going to happen in Cat Petterz. It's going to happen in Deltarune.

[dyke-dreemurr]

my personal theory regarding the ending of the prophecy: ralsei is going to absorb kris’s soul.

i think a lot of us have agreed that ralsei is this sort of idealized figure that kris wished they could be, a persona they made up to cope with the fact that they didn’t fit in with the rest of their family- or hometown as a whole, for that matter.

the idea that kris might want to fuse with ralsei in some form or another has been stuck in the back of my mind for a while now, but i didn’t have an explanation as to how that would work until now.

a friend and i were talking about deltarune’s narrative/general worldbuilding, and she speculated that there would likely be some sort of mechanic introduced in the future that allows darkners to enter the real world- at a cost. i was thinking about how this might work, and remembered spamton’s boss fight dialogue. his constant fixation on ascension- and kris’s soul in particular.

all this to say- i believe that the absorption of a human soul is what might allow a darkner to become “real” and exist beyond the confines of the dark world(s), to split control over one body- similarly to how soul absorption worked between humans and monsters in undertale. toby has made quite an emphasis on deltarune being undertale’s parallel story- and i think that to some extent, kris and ralsei are fulfilling the same roles that chara and asriel did in undertale.

i’d be very curious to see how a scenario like this played out- i imagine that susie would feel particularly betrayed if this plan were to play out as intended- she clearly loves kris and ralsei for who they are as individuals, and no matter how much she wishes ralsei could enter the light world, i can only imagine her being against the idea if it meant giving up kris and/or ralsei's individuality.

what are y'all's thoughts?

[hisosisu]

okay here it is

Unofficial Rouxls Kaard Dialogue Guide

disclaimer: i am very much not a scholar of old/medieval/shakesperian english and can't say that i know much of the actual grammatical rules (haha) of it, beyond the difference between thy/thine or you/thou etc. luckily, neither does rouxls. i do not believe you need any prior knowledge of proper old english to effectively imitate toby's style in writing his dialogue, but i invite anyone with relevant knowledge to let me know if there's any hidden patterns/jokes that you can only understand if you do study that field :) i'm simply an autistic with a fascination for analyzing and replicating speech patterns, and a major rouxls fan.

#1: Balance is Key

if you take nothing else from this guide, let it be this! the number one most common mistake i see in fanworks involving rouxls is to go much heavier on the "medieval" dialect than is necessary, which often creates something unwieldy, difficult to understand, and frankly unfunny. when creating dialogue for rouxls, it is tantamount to keep moderation and variety in mind, to create a balanced and somewhat correct-sounding sentence, that flows well and doesn't fall into repetitive consonance (aka using -eth or -est sounds too many times in a row). a handy way to check yourself for this is to say it aloud and check the rhythm. it may be easier in some cases to reword the "base" idea of what you're trying to say, but there is a way to rouxls-ify any sentence, i think.

Example (Base sentence): You worms haven't seen the last of me! Prepare for battle!

Example (Too heavy): Thou wormeths haven'st seeneth yon lastest of me! Prepareth fore battlest!

Example (Just right): Thoust worms haven't seen the laste of me! Prepareth thou for battle!

if all else fails, err on the side of less "medieval" speech rather than more, especially for shorter lines, and feel free to throw in an extra word or two (such as the "thou" added above) to improve the flow if necessary.

#2: Rouxls-Specific Quirks

here is a list of common words or word-modifiers that rouxls commonly uses in canon, feel free to mix and match these and remember that rouxls is very inconsistent with his speech quirks. he does not, for example, use the word "thine" every time he says "your", nor is he consistent about which words he decides to append an "eth" to. it's all done based on vibes and flow, and he would likely say the exact same sentence in a different way on different occasions. these are just suggestions, not any sort of grammatical rule (ha) or language!

"thou"- very common, used in place of "you". similarly, "thy" and "thine", meaning "your" or "yours", though "thine" is used much more often than "thy", disregarding the actual grammatical cases of the words. goes along with using "mine" instead of "my".

"hath"- very common, used in place of "have", though not completely exclusively. in some cases, he will use "have" or "haveth" instead, usually for rhythm reasons. not often used in contractions ("hathn't" is usually just "hath not")

"-eth" as a suffix- very common. this has no meaning on its own, it's just a somewhat common sound in medieval english that he enjoys appending to random words to make himself seem more competent. most often used on command- or future-tense verbs ("prepareth", "solveth", "planeth", "bringeth", etc), or past-tense verbs with no "ed" ("sprungeth", "casteth", etc) but can also be seen much less commonly on past-tense verbs either before or after the "ed" ("appointethed", "checkethed", "kickedth", "wanderedeth", etc). using it with nouns or adjectives most often sounds janky and weird, and isn't recommended.

"art"- very common, used in place of "are" or "is", again not exclusively, but slightly more common than "hath". not often used in contractions ("artn't" is usually just "art not")

"doth"- somewhat common, used in place of "did", "does", "do", or sometimes "is"/"are". sometimes inserted into a sentence when you wouldn't normally use one of the other words (ie "you doth expecte me to complye?"). typically not used in negative form at all, but if it is, never in contractions.

"-est" or "-st" as a suffix- very common. this, along with "-eth", makes up the main meat of his dialect. like "-eth", it has no real meaning, but it is much more flexible in its usage. "-est" or "-st" can be appended to verbs as well ("likest", "completest", "readst", etc), but can also in some cases be used for nouns ("roomst", "fieldst", etc). it's important to use it sparingly with nouns at risk of confusing the plurals, and use it carefully with only certain adjectives so you don't just accidentally use the "most" form of the adjective (for example, if you're just trying to say "small", you don't want to say "smallest", meaning The Most Small). however, one of rouxls's favorite, and possibly most common, usages of "-st" is to append it to "thou" to make "thoust", or to add it to conjunctions/prepositions and contractions ("hadn'st", "won'st", "couldst", "didst", "uponst" "behindst", etc).

"-e" as a suffix, very common. can also be used along with doubling an ending vowel such as n or t if applicable. extremely versatile and perfect for adding a bit of frivolity in more dead parts of a sentence. often used for nouns, both singular ("moone", "kinge", "opinionne", "lettere", "internette", "thise", etc) and plural ("loverse", "puzzlese", "handse", "guyse", etc), but also handy for adjectives ("difficulte", "magnificente", "yellowe", "freakinge" etc), verbs ("defeatte", "carrye", "witnesse" etc) and sometimes even conjunctions/prepositions ("howe", "perhapse", "atoppe", etc). since the game has no voiced dialogue, it's up to you if this change is only for visual spelling or if it carries its own auditory accent.

capital letters in the middle of a sentence- somewhat common, often used for emphasis. most tumblr users probably understand how to employ that effectively and comedically, it's very similar in his speech.

"yon"- not as common, used in place of "the" or sometimes "a". this word is best used in moderation for best comedic effect, as my favorite canonical usages of it are randomly thrown in where you wouldn't even use an article anyway, ie "yon crud" or "yon losers". "ye" is sometimes also used in place of an article, but not as often as "yon".

"lo"- not as common, honestly often used correctly, as an exclamation similar in meaning to "behold", or "alas" (both of which rouxls also employs semi-frequently). almost always placed in front of a sentence (ie "lo, medieval L upon mine forehead") either followed by an exclamation point or a comma.

"medieval"- uncommon, randomly inserted as an adjective when the sentence doesn't feel olden enough, see above for canonical use case ^.

using a colon for a single list item- uncommon. this is a trait most often exhibited by queen, but rouxls uses it infrequently, like in the case of "no, i think: Freakinge Not". most often should be reserved for extreme emphasis, unlike queen, who uses it liberally.

i'm sure this is not an exhaustive list of all phrases and quirks he uses, but it covers the majority of his chosen speech, and mixing and matching these can create very effective canon-like dialogue on its own.

#3: Dropping the Act

while it's very important to not overuse the sudden drops in dialect, aka when rouxls speaks normally for a line or two (ie "GOD. DAMMIT." or "don't worry guys i'll get a refund for that one"), they do happen, mostly when he is overwhelmed, emotional, or embarrassed. all in all, his speech patterns are merely a facade to try and make himself... cooler? more appealing to evil monarchs...? if he's not paying total attention to it, he loses it for a moment and goes back to normal, which shows it is not how he naturally speaks, but while he doesn't often correct himself afterwards, he is quick to get back on the ball again. it might be interesting to explore how he speaks to himself while alone.

similar to the total drops, rouxls does often work modern slang and speech patterns into his fancier sentences too. he uses non-swears like "freaking" and "crud", adds in filler words such as "like" and "um", and exhibits a knowledge of internet slang and meme culture as well. he's just an insufferable weirdo that lives in the modern age, certainly not a genuine olden english citizen, if his complete butchering of the language itself isn't enough to prove that.

Conclusion?

perhapseth this isn't the most in-depth or completely accurate guide i could write, but most of this comes completely intuitively to me, so unraveling it into explainable guidelines was a challenge in of itself! i hope at least this helps some fanartists/writers in the fandom who struggle with his dialogue, as it can be somewhat hard to get a total grasp on. the problem with a character like rouxls is that it's nearly impossible to put solid rules (...ha) on his dialect, since the vast majority of it is based on vibes and sentence flow, instead of anything consistent or correct, and is executed most effectively when it comes naturally. toby is clearly a master of comedic dialogue writing, as evidenced not just by rouxls but many other characters in both games, and it can be borderline impossible to tap into his exact style of humor and flow for fanworks, but there's a rhythm and a pattern you can imitate nonetheless.

the bottom line for writing rouxls is to lean into silliness and comedy wherever possible, which is elevated by moderation and balance, and hindered by overuse and strict consistency. rouxls himself prioritizes melodic flow and sounding correct-ish over anything else, and is just as unlikely to say a butchered, ungraceful jumble of "eth"s and "st"s as he is to speak in fluent shakesperian english, and any actual rules (....) he may assign to himself are just as easily forgotten or overwritten when they're not convenient.

play around with his dialogue, practice by "translating" a line in multiple different ways, and most of all, have fun! even if you make mistakes, im sure toby would be proud of you for trying at all :)

[ghnosis]

i asked my homie to help me suss out the influences in SKELETA

when i first listened to SKELETA I heard a lot of Def Leppard, a little bit of Rush (I see you Marks of the Evil One) and a lot of Iron Maiden again and I thought I was going crazy and only knew 3 bands in the world.

so I asked my homie who plays the kind of doofus ass metal Tobias Forge listens to (affectionate) to help me corroborate and this is what he sent back (under the cut).**

**Doofus Metal missed the Rush but I asked Drummer Bestie, who loves Rush to an almost unhealthy degree and *he* said "I DEFINITELY think ol’ Toby was listening to 2112/Farewell To Kings-era Rush with Marks of the Evil One, you absoLUTELY called that one!!"

Peacefield

Opening very imogen heap (very cool)

First verse very 80 glam

prechorus is very journey (triumph)

Chorus similar

post-chorus very iron maiden harmonic themes

2nd verse has the driving frontman heavy Judas priest style

prechorus still very triumph, the tagline pushing major is very uplifting

Chorus similar to prechorus

bridge is very eurometal, "odd" (read as: not boring and generic) vocal lines

outro is almost very Def Leppard-ish

Lachryma

Opening is very 90s sludge thrash

Prechorus is very priest

chorus very gothic def leppard

this riff is insane, almost proto-megadeth circa Peace Sells

"and I cannot hide" is such an interesting cadence, it communicates a cool vibe before the chorus

post-chorus is very iron maiden, especially him bringing the harmonies up (iron maiden doesn't usually cadence on emotive lines so it's a bit more refreshing lol)

Satanized

Verse is extremely 80s power metal but with interesting vocal lines (no shade to 80s power metal)

Chorus is very Blind Guardian/Gamma ray (depending on how old you are)

IS THIS LATIN IN MY POWER METAL

2nd Verse feels so uplifting and hits that 80s power metal vibe so good

these "Save Me"s hit real good

This solo is a Glenn Tipton solo if he could play guitar

The thematics feel very Judas Priest, but they're more accessible (said with love, The Ripper sometimes turns people away)

Guiding Lights

This is so incredibly Manowar power metal but nobody has said "Abs" or "sword" yet so we're in uncharted territory

Super ballady solo rips, I am a huge simp for ballads, especially when they're doing the "I'm a soldier on the path to my death" lament style

De Profundis Borealis

Intro is very proggy, the guitar players really have a good ear for weird cool riffs

Verse seems like peak Ghost, I'd basically call this their "style" they should be remembered for, like the slightly uncomfortable enigmatic dissident vocalist over very "pump your fist" riffing, so it makes you very motivated but you're being motivated under the guise of a concerning dark leader (?)

Pretty banger chorus, hard to tease out an influence

Post-chorus feels like it could be iron maiden but they're a bit more interesting than the normal 16th note grind of your typical maiden, almost seems closer to Super NES boss battle music than maiden

Cenotaph

This guitar tone is such an enigma to me with how well it works but if I just focus on it my brain explodes.

This gothic billy joel verse is killing it

This verse is very early priest, very NWOBHM especially if they open up the chorus to be very Definitely Hetero(tm)

in the heat of the MOEMEANT

This solo section is pure European power metal, Sonata Arctica big vibes (or maybe bodom? I feel like they never have the emotive qualities this does)

big chorus feels great, and the vocal riffing after feels great

Missillia Armori

Intro is very Rock of Ages def leppard but using interesting notes and diction

Chorus feels big time Iron maiden but without the incel edge on their early albums

This bridge fucks

The solos on this album rip wtf(1)

Marks Of the Evil One

This one I'm having a hard time placing. It feels like peak Ghost, between both the verses and

the chorus, this is exactly what I'd say future bands will pull influence when I say "these guys

wrote a Ghost song"

Chorus rips

awesome drop into the solo, also see: (1)the solos on this album fucking rip wtf

DID HE JUST SAY "FUCKIN"

Umbra (what a fucking cool name would be a shame if some nobody band wanted to use this name for a song ;_;)

Intro is neo-horror Journey/Triumph (Triumph is better)

Okay hold on what's going on

I have no words for influences on this one, it's so sick

chorus fucking rips. These dudes are so good at writing big choruses it's becoming uncanny

trying to disentangle what's going on in these verses, it's got such a great upbeat 80s power metal beat plus a chuggy 90s midtempo thrash guitar but the cowbell keeps scrambling my brain and his verse is just so mismatched that it creates a tangible feeling of discomfort in me but that meshes with the song perfectly

oh shit we playing 16th notes, and this 70s acid rock middle section is wild cause those 70s players could never touch these solos lol (no disrespect Iron Butterfly)

I am feeling very uncomfortable but that is the intention

Aw fuck yeah, this is the release I needed. if he drops out the instruments under IN THE TEMPLE OF THE- I'm gonna blam

I KNEW I was gonna blam

on first listen, this one is my favorite by a huge margin

Excelsis

This is very Judas Preist meets The Beatles, but honestly Tobias has such a unique voice that he kinda slays it outside of those two

OH MAN IT'S ANOTHER POWER METAL BALLAD HELLLLLLLL YEAH

This terrifying sing-song verse cap is giving me tummy feelings

Great 2nd verse, the dancing organ in the background adds a WILD tambre that undermines the JP/Beatles vibe

chorus rips, adding that verse cap ("you will too") does such a good job at making it uncomfortable

really good last song on the album, feels great to be left on this when the CD ends

CONCLUSION:

This was my basic knee-jerk referential ideas on “This sounds similar to X’s style” but I really can’t underline enough that most of the time I’m comparing them to Triumph or Def Leppard, it’s REALLY hard to disambiguate because they’re so unique compared to both those bands AND it’s hard to say that Triumph and Def Leppard can take claim to “Arena Rock” sound- meaning like the Rock of Ages vibe that the main drive is “This is played in a big arena full of people” because (afaik, no qualifications) Ghost’s whole thing is the idea of the “Megachurch Vibe” being like the penultimate arena rock sound, they differentiate themselves from those “roots” (if they would even agree that’s their influence) because there is simply a psychology to the “Arena Rock” feel that a ton of big bands have figured out, and it’s kinda core to Ghost’s identity (imo) while I think their writing identity is definitely more of Mark of the Evil One, because I would say that checks all the boxes for Ghost’s style, so much so that I had a hard time even figuring out how to categorize their influences on that, “it just sounds like Ghost”

[pallisia]

hi gigi! i just remembered a question i wanted to ask. you and toby worked together on soulsov's soundtrack but... have you collabed on any future deltarune tracks in turn? because i was listening to the new song snippets shared in the sweepstakes and i couldn't shake off the feeling that they sounded like something straight out of soulsov

no, i do not make any contributions other than concept art to deltarune.