#i NEED more people to play this game or at least watch a playthrough PLEASE

[scover-va]

I don’t go to Valkyrie Elysium but Valkyrie Hilde for the ask game? She looks cool as hell

Finally deciding to clear out my ask box (bored) so im finally getting to this. Hi Crow. Also ive been meaning to replay VE again so maybe this will help. Anyways. Here's a link to the ask for reference since its been like. 3-4 months. Ish

Sexuality Headcanon: Lesbian. And also ace! Probably. Not repulsed by it but also not really into it either. Pointing her halberd at someone's throat is a far greater way to express attraction towards someone in her mind

Gender Headcanon: She/Her for pronouns. Probably not cis but i also dont have anything strict on her gender. Once again its the identity issues thing

A ship I have with said character: Her and Valkyrie/Maria/Nora whatever. Thats my only ship with her tbh but also i think she should also be kissed by the other girls. As a treat

A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Armand :-) I'd imagine in a universe where everyone is happy and okay, Valkyrie is dating them both. Theyre on good terms w/ each other but also Hilde's gonna tell Armand to shove a marker up his urethra /ref

A NOTP I have with said character: I. Dont have anything. Because the VE fandom is smaller than the one for The Hex so i havent seen any real options shown to me. Odin and Fenrir ig? And also ofc any of the guys in general bc. Yknow. Lesbian hc

A random headcanon: She specifically watches over niflheim after fenrir's defeat in the true ending. Also picks up knitting and kickboxing as hobbies (also just sparring in general tbh) to try and cope with her severe anger issues. OH and i hc that every crow/raven (i cant tell which one it is since you cant get close to em) that sits on top of the save points but fly away as you approach are either all Hilde herself or some sort of minion of hers that shes using to kinda. Watch Valkyrie. Partially to keep the upper hand and partially to kinda like. Observe her, ig. Since Valkyrie is following Odin's bidding and Hilde's been in her shoes before

General Opinion over said character: I love her so much 10/10 antagonist i love whatever homoeroticism is goin on with her and Valkyrie throughout the game and also their parallels. And also very very hot the second she showed up i was on my knees. I say as if im not the same way with the other women but im choosing to ignore that. Also i love her anger towards odin and her sympathy yet hatred for Valkyrie due to Valkyrie following in Hilde's footsteps kinda thanks to Odin's manipulation and i love her faking her alliance with Fenrir and uh. Yeah :-)

[krystaldeath]

Cult of The Lamb hc’s (part of me feels like I should wait till I play the game myself - or watch a full playthrough at least - before I “solidify” these but meh. For now at least these are how I see things):

* Kinda typical hc I feel like but Leshy is the youngest, then it’s Heket, Narinder, Kallamar, and then Shamura is the oldest.

* Idk what their ages would be chronologically wise but my personal hc’s for “biological” age are: Leshy (21), Heket (25), Narinder (27), Kallamar (32), and Shamura (40). I think Lamb is about 200 years chronologically but 28 “biologically” (I think it’s funny if they’re “older” than Narinder)

* I don’t have a name for them yet but my version of the Yellow Cat is a little bit fucked up actually. Like they seem chill and they kinda are? But they’ve got a body count. And no not the sex kind. Think of that one audio where the guy answers the body count with 30 and when it’s clarified that it’s about sex he’s like “Oh well I haven’t done that yet!” And the other persons like “WHAT DOES 30 MEAN THEN???”

* I need y’all to know I project onto The Lamb HARD. So yeah, they always wanted to be kind and sorta made it a big part of their personality. Unfortunately their world and circumstances just doesn’t allow for their kindness. They still try to be as kind as they can be, but it’s hard when you’re slowly ascending to godhood, especially into the god of death.

* Also Agender Lamb. They/Them and ONLY They/Them Lamb all the way. Demi ro & sex & pan. They’re a?ab (assigned ??? At birth; bc I can’t decide but if you MUST know I think they can shapeshift a bit now so. Maybe they forgot themself lol). Presents androgynously, leaning either way whenever they feel like it. They have a more masc voice though I think, like the ones people use in comic dubs a lot.

* Once I figure out how to draw (could stop it there I am Rusty) anthropomorphic animals it’s over for y’all (Translation: I will draw my self insert and The Lamb being kinda fucked up Besties)

* ((PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT MY SELF INSERT AND OTHER OC INSERTS I HAVE FOR THIS THE BRAIN ROT IS SO REAL))

* The cotl fandom is filled with queer people who’ve got some level of religious trauma, let me recommend a recent song I’ve been looping and imagining a cotl/narilamb animatic to: Collared by Vane Lily (look it up on YouTube to watch the fun mv first!) WARNING IT IS HIGHLY SUGGESTIVE

* I’ve been flip flopping a bit on what species she’d be but I have ideas for a follower love interest for Heket! At first I thought a bunny, then a bee, and currently feeling like a bat would be cute. Idk but I do see her as a warrior type who also likes to bake and do cutesy things too

* I think once the bishops become followers their injuries are worse but they can still “work” around them: Leshy can kinda see things if they’re up close. Heket can sorta speak but not fast and she’s got. Well not a sore throat bc. She doesn’t have one of those anymore. But something akin to that constantly. Kallamar can only hear loud things or if someone spoke into his ear directly (he only allows those in his polycule and his siblings (minus Narinder) to get that close). Shamura does get a bit lost in their own mind, and even when they’re more conscious their memory is spotty.

* Back to my Yellow Cat being a bit fucked up: They actually really liked the idea of chaos (though they hardly show it) so when they find out Leshy was the bishop of chaos instead of being scared or unnerved they’re like “*twirls hair (fur??)* ha ha ha, omg, really~?”

* *slaps the top of The Lamb, Leshy, and probably so many others don’t underestimate me* these bitches can fit so much adhd (+ autism probably) in them

* Probably (geez I use that word a lot huh?) got more hc’s, especially for other characters, but this is already pretty long so I’ll leave it here for now

[bonetrousled]

can you talk about why you disliked undertale yellow? never played it or watched a playthrough but i’m very curious!

PREFACING THIS WITH A DISCLAIMER i know it is a passion project and it makes me Feel Bad that my feelings on it r this negative. i do not mean to discredit the years of work anybody put into it and i am So Happy that the general consensus is that people really liked it! i'm glad the team's work paid off. i am also going to be SUPER opinionated. undertale is my biggest interest of all time it has been my special interest for going on Nine Years . i am Wired to have very strong feelings on it . please do NOT take my opinion as a message to Not enjoy it if you do! play it and form an opinion on ur own time

also SPOILERS for the game!

that being said

i will first state the things i Enjoyed

music was phenomenal! it was very fun and atmospheric

artwork was very good! it makes me a little sad that the canon characters we see didn't really get the tlc/polish that all of the original content did, but that's ok!

i like how smarmy flowey was in the no mercy run. it was a little ooc at times but i had a blast (which will sadly become a negative) partly bc of his attitude

i love mo as a character. im going to rescue him from this game i just know it

ok. things that frustrate me from least to most (i will try to keep this brief bc i WILL go on a tangent if left unrestrained)

i wish the main cast had more variety in monster types. body shape, proportions, colors, etc! with how wide the array of the cast is in ut, it's just a little sad that the main cast here all roughly have the same build, height, and aren't really "monstery". lots of the non-main characters (i am including the feisty five in here) have more diverse and visually interesting designs to me and i wish there was just a bit more variety

add-on to the previous point: something abt the fact that dalv just kind of looks like a human Guy who is Purple with Horns makes me irrationally irritated. they could have put a little more of a bat motif in there or Something because the first time i saw him i genuinely didn't think he was supposed to be a monster

some of the fights are NONSENSE BULLSHIT HARD for no reason. some of these have been fixed since release but there were multiple segments that weren't even like. main story character fights that made me want to rip my hair out. additionally the shops are FEW and FAR between. it was a STRUGGLE to get enough healing items 90% of the time and i had to ration them out constantly

i know most were patched out and this is kind of a nitpick but the complete ABUNDANCE of grammatical and spelling errors on release took me out of the flow of things SO much. places that desperately needed a comma that had none, words completely misspelled (outside of punchlines for jokes), things like that. it wouldn't have been such a problem but it happened SO much and really got into the way of making sure dialogue progressed as normal. speaking of

i'm so sorry. half of the dialogue and jokes make me want to shriek and scream in agony. maybe it's just not my cup of tea and nobody is forcing you to have completely toby-fox-accurate jokes in your game but the majority of the jokes made in the pacifist/neutral runs fall completely flat for me. the general dialogue is very fanfic-esque to me in a way ? i do Not know how to describe it. it's not Good. along w that i'm sorry but in my opinion the way they wrote asgore in there is COMPLETELY out of character. i'm going to be so so honest mr king "fuzzy pushover" fluffybuns isn't going to go GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AND NEVER RETURN!!!!! the man got beat up by a child and took her in to train her. like yeah his garden is sentimental or whatever but like. he is such a Nice Guy. he would Not do that

the timeline does not make Any sense. if frisk is the first human to fall in YEARS to the point where everyone is losing hope of ever getting another soul for the barrier and most monsters don't recognize you as a human and let you interact w them freely why in the Fuck are undyne and alphys just like. alive and kicking here. why is alphys doing amalgamate shit already. what is going ON

and finally. the part that makes me the Most Irritated

i cannot fucking stand the story. I AM SORRY

i physically cannot expound on this as much as i want to bc the post is long enough as it is and i'll go on forever but generally speaking

i Do Not Like ceroba. i didn't really feel any connection or anything to any of the other characters in General but her entire deal and everything that surrounds it just makes me So Mad. like ok. i tried to get past the "oh my husband is a super important scientist (but not the royal scientist because that's alphys teehee but still REALLY important) and he's also secretly a boss monster (even though the only boss monsters we see are the Actual Fucking King and Queen of monsters and are the same monster subtype)" shit but like. THEN it's like. oh he's actually making a super secret magic serum that uses essence from a boss monster soul and a human soul (where did he get that. he made this after he was fired from his job. where did he get a human soul from) to give EVERY monster the power of a boss monster so that when we EVENTUALLY get enough souls to get to the surface (could literally be hundreds of years from now) we'll be strong enough to beat the humans (that's why asgore is collecting the souls in the first place. to shatter the barrier and become a god strong enough to beat the humans. that's the Point)

but WUH OH!!!! the serum is actually KILLING him!!!! and he never told his wife! so he leaves a series of tapes behind to tell her abt it after he dies and IN THESE TAPES he's like listen. here's this awesome potion im making. you need a BOSS MONSTER SOUL and a HUMAN SOUL to make it work. our daughter IS a boss monster. BUT. do NOT FUCKING use it on her. ok. DON'T. do that. ok love you (dies) AND FUCKING. her like 6 year old daughter walks in and speaks in a perfect eloquent sentence and says some shit like "we have to carry on daddy's legacy :(" and asks to be injected w the shit that we saw kill her dad SECONDS PRIOR and ceroba is virtually IMMEDIATELY like well ok if the kindergartner says it's fine. AND OF COURSE HER DAUGHTER IMMEDIATELY FALLS DOWN????

and when i tell u the like. WHOLE second half of the game is dedicated to this bullshit nonsense. ceroba has this whole thing where she's trying to kill you because you're pure of heart or whatever and it'll work for the serum or something and after a LONG ASS (stupid incredibly hard for no reason considering SHE IS NOT a boss monster) battle w her she's like ok i'm not gonna do that anymore i give up kill me etc. and in pacifist you're like nah i won't kill u i forgive you Hooray!

and so. right. youve been fighting the ENTIRE TIME. to find the missing kids. to get home. to leave the underground after figuring out what happened. there are only FIVE human souls at this point. having one more will NOT break the barrier. you've been fighting to LIVE this Entire Time. the story must end in clover's death SOMEHOW but literally the driving force here has been survival

clover is literally like ummmm ok well im gonna give up my soul right here right now to add it to the pile. *dies on rooftop ALONE* . the shriek i screamed when this happened was. Astronomical. like. oh yeah everybody let the 9 year old give their life for a civilization that has been trying to kill them this Entire Time. never mind the fact it makes all of the fighting and striving and grueling we did Worthless because clover decides to sacrifice themselves completely out of the player's control. this wouldn't make me AS mad if we had like. a choice like the forgive him/do not asriel thing where we could face asgore and be forced to lose OR sacrifice ourselves but even then it's just. SO silly to me.

i think i get the like. doomed parents sad child dreemurr parallels they were TRYING to go for but it is all so clunky and wonky and. just DOES not work narratively if you think about ANY aspect of it for too long

all of these factors combined made the game a complete and total Slog to get through . it is Not just me i streamed it to a few friends the whole time and the opinion was the Same

HOWEVER.

the no mercy run, completely against what it is MADE to do, was fucking awesome

the passive aggressive comments from flowey the entire time were hilarious. the power trip i got chasing axis was splendid. i didn't have to sit through pages of dialogue that made my eye twitch. i just got to Kill People.

i do Not like the fact that they seemed to think no mercy = Hard Bosses which. isn't really true for undertale ? out of the normal bosses only two are ramped up in difficulty and it thematically makes sense Why. in uty martlet gets multiple fights (including a Bullshit Insane Hard Final Fight), ceroba gets a Bullshit Insane Hard fight w a new mechanic that is introduced out of Nowhere and took me like 6 times to notice that it was even Implemented, and axis gets a tough fight. which is Fine but i do not think it really understood the message of like. the no mercy run is not supposed to be Fun. you are eviscerating this world and everything it has to offer. you're literally Killing the game. it's a tricky thing to balance but all in all No part of it made me feel bad. this could be due to me Already not really caring abt any of the characters but. sigh

also martlet gets really strong at the end bc she injects herself w dt but like. why does she know about that. she does guard stuff Near the Lab but why does she Know about the experiments. the whole point is that nobody Else Knows. where did she get that from. what the fuck

anyway. says that i won't go on for too long. proceeds to go on for too long like some kind of Liar

[monarch-boo]

Okay. Jesus christ.

Since I've been seeing some real bullshit scrolling through the tags sometimes:

Before you go uncritically spouting some weird claim you heard online somewhere, PLEASE ACTUALLY PLAY THE GAME or watch one of the multiple full playthroughs out there to make sure it's actually real and not shit some absolute weirdo made up wholecloth. I recommend watching Ecdycis's first [solo] stream of it if you want to watch a playthrough.

The game has been out and basically everything important is on-video in at least one place, I don't think there's really much excuse to be spreading misinfo (and there is an absolute cesspool of misinfo out there for sure).

Even if you're waiting until sometime later to play for yourself and don't wanna spoil yourself that's just even more reason to not blindly believe *anyfuckingthing* until you actually see it yourself.

● Cliff is still a veteran (like his literal first line is still very much NAME AND RANK SOLDIER, I don't get why this even needs to be clarified), and anyone who actually thinks more than a moment about him can still deduce he's a 'nam Vet.

● A "mole" is a counterspy, someone pretending to be on your side to get in with you but is actually working for and feeding information to your enemies. It happens often in wars. Some people seem to genuinely not know what it means and I think that's weird.

● Two words were rephrased on Cliff, and Kent shows a funniest shot and asks for Outtake instead of a sexiest shot asking for Erotica now (and only really because Erotica points do not exist anymore). No other Psychopaths' scenes have been changed, I literally just rewatched the cutscenes now and did not identify any more changes.

And especially nothing of their scenes have been "removed" to anyone who actually played the game's knowledge.

There's actually been ADDED content to Psychopath characterization, in the form of a handful of new in-game fight quotes, as well as an addition, that I won't spoil here, to a Psychopath that wasn't actually fleshed out much in the OG 06 release. Adds so much more to them.

● Cheryl's dress was probably only changed because they liked the style better, not because cEnSoRsHiP (considering she used to have fishnets in the OG, they actually *removed* clothing).

Her request mission is identical (apart from Erotica points not existing anymore I guess) and with the addition of the voice acting it's actually even hornier than the original 06 game was, meaning there's especially no fucking reason to believe "desexualization" or anything like that was the motivation behind her dress change.

● There's actually additional sexual shit in the game now. Like off the top of my head Isabela believes Frank is staring at her ass during her fight and will call him on it. And during his fight Kent tells Frank he "should stick to shooting porn".

● Supposed removal of criticism of America and removal of Jo's sexually-charged insults are also false. Both of those things are intact. The "leak" post that claimed those were removed was all debunked, like, within the day they posted it.

● Larry is not white. They did not make Larry white. He does not need constantly squinting eyes and literally yellow-twinged skin to be recognized as Asian. This is one of the most annoying ones to me. Quit being stupid.

[something-tofightfor]

Ok, so after 3 hours to think about it:

First of all, we’ve got The Stance. 

More thoughts under the cut, because there are MANY.

The song choice: Alone and Forsaken has been a part of the TLOU story since August of 2012′s Gamescom trailer. To hear it now - and with the show adaptation gave me CHILLS. (It’s also in the Pittsburgh chapter of the actual game, so it’s carried over for a decade, which is INCREDIBLE. 

The trailer shows so much from the series without giving ANYTHING away. I’m pretty sure there’s something from each chapter and section featured - but only the people that have played the game or watched a playthrough/cutscenes will know. (The Sam and Henry inclusion is PERFECT, and so is when Joel looks at Ellie near the end because that’s from my FAVORITE scene in the game.) 

It’s interesting to see the subtle changes - Ellie and Joel being outside at Lakeside instead of surrounded by flames, Marlene not being alone when she’s featured, Tess being tied up / what looks like a ton of people running into the Capitol instead of it happening in a more controlled manner,  Ellie being chained, the PLANE CRASHES - I can’t wait to see how these things feature into the overall story. 

They don’t seem to be holding back with the violence here, and I’m glad. Joel’s physical strength is one of the reasons he’s survived for so long, and to get shots of him punching the guy in the FEDRA gear like that? Perfect. There are so many weapons available in the game that it would have been simple to decrease the hand to hand combat in favor of longer range attacks, but it doesn’t seem like they’ll be doing that. 

Three very important shots from the trailer: 

- I think that it’s Frank/Bill with the wine glass - and frank in the pit.

- I think Tess has the lighter

- Melanie Lynskey is the leader of the Hunters (or at least one group of them)

- I never thought Tess was *from* Boston, but she’s definitely been there a heck of a long time based on what we see in the trailer. 

- Henry and Sam running with Ellie is PERFECT. 

- I think the voiceover is Anna as Tess (thanks to some sleuthing with @felteppsters​ for this discussion). Save who you can save. 

- The landscape settings are BEAUTIFUL. The snow? The fields? the WATER? I can’t wait to see more of it. 

- The little Fireflies hints are great - the spray paint, the message on the wall, the soldiers watching the Boston QZ residents paint over it... I love seeing it so similarly to the way it was in the game. 

- Joel’s watch. WOW. 

- The attention to detail in the sets looks amazing - the museum, the QZ, the OUTFITS, the GREENERY. Wow. 

- If you have a pair of good headphones, listen to the trailer LOUD. The clicker noises are fucking terrifying. 

- I’m glad they didn’t show anyone in the main cast in a gas mask in this teaser - that’ll be a nice “surprise” when we get closer to the show and see how those are incorporated. 

- A peek at an actual runner? YES PLEASE.

- Seeing Riley and Ellie together hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. 

- The Hunters are going to be much scarier here than they are in the game, and they’re already pretty awful. 

- Ellie being CHAINED adds a whole new dimension to this and to what happens to her there. 

- My only complaint is the lack of Tommy. I love that character, and Gabriel Luna is so damn talented so to only get a few frames of him makes me sad. 

... I could keep going but I won’t. 

I’m very, very happy with what we were shown today. I’m even more excited about the show now. I’m hoping that even though no one directly spoke onscreen, the people that are worried about the casting are a little less skeptical. Pedro is perfect for Joel. Anna is perfect as Tess. Nick Offerman as Bill is the casting choice I didn’t know I needed. And Bella? I was very worried when she first got cast - but the more I see, the more certain I am that she’s going to nail it. 

This game means a lot to me, so the potential for the show to not meet expectations and land among the other failed live action game adaptations has been bouncing around in my head for a long time ... but the more we see? The more they let us into this world they’ve created? I’m not worried anymore. 

I bet we get a release date at The Game Awards - along with a much longer trailer / more information. 

AUGH! as I was typing this this happened:

DAY. MADE. 

[spacedlexi]

hbo tlou spoilers (and the game too) just rambling to myself bc i gotta get these thoughts out of my head

feeling.. conflicted about that episode still. wasnt gonna say anything but im a little bit nervous about how joel and ellie are being handled at this point just like overall

ellie to a lesser extent i just feel like shes a little.. one note almost (they gave her the joke book and she had some nice moments with sam at least). theyre just playing so hard into the spitfire side of her but game ellie was way sweeter and kinder than i think people remember? when i started my re-playthrough even i forgot how like.. chill she was honestly. a lot of her anger was reactionary/in defense and not always just immediately antagonistic. hbo ellie needs more softness to her its starting to annoy me a bit how just outright hostile she is to literally everyone

but in joels case.. the changes they made this episode honestly i feel were detrimental to his character development. they make it seem like joel asking tommy to take ellie is more about the fact that hes aging and hes afraid hes going to get ellie killed, so he needs tommy to take her because he has a greater chance of making it back. and they side step a bit the selfishness of joels request. when in the game it was SOLEY about joels selfishness and how he could tell he was starting to feel protective of/close to ellie and wanted to stop that shit immediately by passing her off to tommy so he could just wash his hands of the whole thing (which would also put tommy at risk and maria chews him out for it (which i wouldve liked to have seen in the show but alas...)). and the argument he and ellie get into (after she runs away!!) is supposed to be the culmination of those feelings and how hes pushing her away and hes afraid of being a dad again (im NOT your dad. and we are going our separate ways). but ultimately chooses to stay with ellie and that choice is SO IMPORTANT!! and now in the show its like... ok so... now youre Not afraid of.. getting her killed? because you STILL have a bad ear and ptsd? (that he wouldve had for a while anyway so honestly its a little funny theyre playing it up so hard all of a sudden him clutching at his chest all the time is just kinda funny to me again where is the subtlety i dont see it). and like with this change it makes their argument (and their reconciliation) less powerful honestly to me at least. that argument they have is seared into my brain its still one of my favorite scenes but i just wasnt feeling it as much with this different set up of events (and also imo the game still has the better actor performances PLEASE watch those scenes if you havent)

and this side stepping of joels selfishness as a character is honestly a problem for me. and im afraid what it might mean for future episodes. because joels selfishness is very integral to his character. knowing what i do about whats coming down the line, and how theyve been talking about the “cure” so far, im so 😬 just clenching my teeth so hard. because they just... keep saying every once in a while that “there can never be a cure making a cure would be hard how would you even manufacture and distribute it?” (squinting REAL HARD AT THAT LAST ONE!!) and im soooo nervous that they might downplay just how much of a selfish asshole joel is and how they might try to make his future actions less terrible.... or justify them in some way..... or something equivalent to downplaying what happens..... 

i mentioned it a while ago but these are arguments the fans have been having since summer 2013 but what annoys me about it is that none of it even matters!!! because the Only thing that matters is joels selfish choice. not whether hes right or wrong. the ambiguity is the whole point!! the selfishness is the whole point!! joel doesnt care and hes gonna do whatever he thinks is necessary regardless of the repercussions. and i am just so afraid theyre gonna undercut that. I HOPE THEY DONT IM CROSSING MY FINGERS SO HARD THAT THEY DONT WE CAN CELEBRATE IF THEY DONT but sometimes people are afraid to let their characters be shitty and have flaws and act selfishly and joel is a bit of a controversial character already. i hope they dont try to make him/his actions more “acceptable” somehow. i LIKE that hes like this it makes him INTERESTING

but yeah the rest of the episode was fine i guess. loved seeing jackson. oh but i will say that the end of the episode felt so uneventful to me which is hilarious based off of what happens, but the way things play out in the game is SO TENSE and drawn out that in comparison was just really weak in the show unfortunately. im sure it was a “for time” reason and like it still gets the idea across but again just more reason for me to stand by the game still being The True Last of Us Experience. looking forward to the left behind episode tho i am so excited to see my girl riley again 💔

[highlifeboat]

I love walking sims that make you think, and no nothing about Nevermind. Please tell me more, (if you're willing)

OKAY SO

Nevermind is a walking sim where you play as a Neuro Scientist (I think they actually call you a Neuro Prober) that goes through the brains of 4 trauma patients (+ an IntroSim). It's actually designed to have biofeedback so it can register your heart rate and change based on how scared it thinks you are, but you don't need that to play/get the whole experience.

The basic run down is you go through these patients memories to help them remember the cause/root of their trauma and help them find peace with what happened. To do this you go through their mind and collect memories in the form of pictures. There's ten pictures for each patient, half of them are real and half are the equivalent of trauma blocking/false memories. In order to help the patients you have to put the real memories in order of events that lead to the traumatic event you're helping them remember. (After you finish a patient you can go through it again to find little hidden memories. They aren't important over all but they're still neat and will just give the patient some extra personality)

You never actually see these people, but they'll give you a little summary that's always kind of like "This is how my past was. I don't think you'll really help, but it's worth a shot right?" They're also all pretty unique. The first is a woman who witnessed her father's death, the second a war veteran, the third is an older woman, and the last is a trans woman. All with completely different traumas.

This game is also incredibly beautiful. The visuals and scenery are all amazing, and the mind-scapes are so creative and fit their respective patients so well.

HOWEVER (and this is important) I ALSO CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT THIS GAME REQUIRES A HUGE TRIGGER WARNING. It does mention it at the start of the game with a big ass warning (that I will drop below), but I figure I would mention this because it's kind of really important for deciding if you want to watch/play it.

Because this game deals with various traumas that it visualizes in various ways, it won't be for everyone.

Nevermind contains various depictions of death (both human and one instance of animal death), suicide, PTSD/CPTSD, alzheimer disease, abuse, derealization/dissociation, blood, drug abuse, transphobia, and loud noises. A lot of which are graphic and will be disturbing to people and I understand is not for everyone. (There's one in particular, a War Vet, that's really fucking intense with gore specifically)

I will also stress it doesn't glorify these things, either. The entire point is to show how various types of trauma affect people and how it really screws with the brain.

I, personally, believe the game handles all the topics very well. But, y'know, if you're sensitive to any of that stuff you might not wanna play it. There's a lot of videos of the IntroSim,however, and DS Playthroughs has a playlist of all the Sims with No Commentary if you just wanna watch a playthrough. (Literally the only full walkthrough I can find of this game)

All in all, I think it's my favourite walking sim game and I highly recommend at least taking a look at the playthrough if you're interested in it.

[fragments-of-despair]

So now that the prologue has been released, I want to give my brief thoughts on Project: Eden’s Garden. I’ll try to avoid spoilers, but if you wanna go into this fully blind, now might be the time to check it out yourself. The prologue has been released for download, the playthroughs are up on the main channel, and SHSL Blaze has uploaded their playthrough of the prologue as well. Others will most likely be coming out fast as well. So get on the train while you can to avoid Spoilers. 

If you really don’t know if you should check it out or not before reading this, I urge you to please go and see the prologue through to its entirety. You will not be disappointed. 

With that, follow the Read More for my brief thoughts on this game so far. 

So to get the negative out of the way, I do think that the controls themselves need some work. Mostly I wish we had the option to adjust/toggle controls so that we can adjust it to our comfort, or at least perhaps something that could show us immediately what the basic controls were on the main menu when you first start the game. I struggled to get the controls working even with the download instructions and experimenting. In the end, I had to shut it down and opt for the let’s play instead, which is a rare issue I don’t often have with starting up a game I intended to play. I’ll try again on my next day off when I have more time to really devote to it, but if the problem persists, that might be an issue going forward. 

That being said, for a fangame with a very small team doing all this for free in their spare time? It’s honestly still an amazing feat and the team deserves a round of applause for all their hard work on getting the controls to work as well as they did based off what I saw in the let’s play. I think if they give themselves some more time in between the prologue and the first chapter to playtest things and maybe work out the kinks in how the controls are set up, we’ll have something really good in terms of playability.

Also, this might become a bit of an unpopular opinion going forward as more people play the game/watch let’s plays of it, and I do understand that this is just how he is now that the game has only just started and there’s the character development we have to wait for, but I really, really, REALLY do not like Damon as the protagonist as of the date of this post. I do like the idea of a character like Damon being the protagonist, and I have seen it be used effectively in other games and novels. But there were many times where his inner monologue and things he’d say to others made me dislike him more the further in we went, and I was half tempted to just close it out and wait until the first chapter was released (I pushed through because of the rest of the cast). By the end of the prologue, I began wishing that Wolfgang, Desmond, or Toshiko were the protagonist instead. Going forward, the writing for Damon is going to have a lot of work cut out for it to make me enjoy him as a protagonist. Or at least tolerate him as the player character.

And that’s all I really have to say by way of genuine negatives because this is all positive going forward. 

Starting with the art and UI because HOLY SHIT. If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was an actual, official Danganronpa game, and I honestly would not be surprised if someone at Spike eventually sees this and goes “hey, we need this team on our payroll”. The design of the characters are fantastic, all of the sprites are dynamic and expressive and on par with some of the best in the franchise. The backgrounds are GORGEOUS and the interface is sleek and clean and easy to look at. The colors are vibrant and it all is very beautiful. AND DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE MUSIC BECAUSE I WANT TO EAT IT. IT IS THAT GOOD. Honestly, the art, music, and design alone make this worth checking out. 

And don’t even get me started on the voice work because BY GOD. It’s absolute perfection. I don’t think there’s a single voice I don’t like. Mty favorites have to go to Eloise, Grace, Toshiko, Desmond, Wolfgang, Jett, Wenona, and of course, Tozu. 

SPOILER: As for the mechanics, they’re more or less your standard Danganronpa fair for the most part. You have the Climax Reasoning, the Nonstop Debates, and the parts where you answer questions via multiple choice. I do also really like that the team decided to do make the purple text something you can utilize as absorb statements. The Pathos Statement mechanic is a true gamechanger and I hope to see it implemented in future projects. 

Now, for my brief thoughts on the characters. I will go in the order of how they appear in the VA cast video. I have some thoughts that’ll be more elaborate later, but this is just a brief overview. 

Damon Maitsu: I already said it in the negatives section, but just a recap of it is “I hope his character development makes me hate him less”. Good for what he is, but will be a deal breaker character for some people. 

Eva Tsukuna: You are either going to become my best girl or my worst nightmare and I cannot wait to see where your character goes. There is something off about you and I need answers. I don’t like you, but I also don’t hate you. You’re in that weird grey area where I need more before I can really decide. 

Desmond Hall: We haven’t seen much yet, but from what little we got, I am excited to see how he interacts with the rest of the cast. Please survive at least past chapter 2. 

Eloise Taulner: I WANT YOU TO HAVE THE WORLD SWEETIE YOU’RE DOING AMAZING. She better survive or I will be very very very sad.

Toshiko Kayura: I was so, so prepared to list you as my least favorite character and right now I want you to survive to the end. Toshiko my dear, you’re phenomenal. 

Wenona: To quote John Mulaney, “MY WIFE IS A BITCH AND I LIKE HER SO DAMN MUCH!” Seriously, Wenona is so much fun as the antagonistic character so far. 

Ulysses Wilhelm: Someone get this man a lavender scented candle and a cozy blankie. He needs to SLEEP. I love him.

Mark Berskii: You are either going to be very very lowkey or you’ll make a massive splash. I hope you do a concert.

Diana Venicia: I will be so sad if you die. You are absolutely the definition of a cinnamon roll. 

Wolfgang Akire: Oh. Oh, there’s some TRAUMA here. I can sense it. So far, Wolfie is my favorite. I love him so much. I want him to have a big crying breakdown. 

Kai Monteago: “If you didn’t like me from the start, you’re never gonna like me-” HOLD IT! I like you. I didn’t expect it and honestly thought I’d hate you, but so far I do in fact like you. You pathetic little meow meow you. 

Jett Dawson: Jett, my dear, my darling. You are on par with Akane so far. I want to see more from you. 

Ingrid Grimwall: I don’t know if I want you to make me a sword or take my soul and make me into a sword. Your kind heart is as big as your arm muscles. I adore you.

Grace Madison: I expected to hate you, and yet, you are my favorite Asshole in this entire show. You’re the fun kind of Asshole. I love the fun ones. 

Jean Delamer: You’re like if Sakura, Nekomaru, and Kaito fused into a single person. You’re as amazing personality wise as your muscles are huge. I wanna see more. Gimme the FTEs now. 

Cassidy Amber: Oh, you and Wenona are gonna get along like water and oil and I am READY for it. 

Tozu: .....I feel like you’re about ready to jump to the top of my “favorite villains of all time” list and your voice is so..... I just.....I want Tozu to read audio books.

I’m honestly surprised because with ONE exception, I don’t dislike this cast. With the official games, I always have a total of three characters minimal I either absolutely dislike or am absolutely indifferent to. But I think this game has one of the strongest casts in any fangan project. Or hell, in any story I’ve come across as of late. 

And that’s about it that I really have to say at the moment. So far, Project: Eden’s Garden is shaping up to be one of the best Fangans in history, and I would honestly not be surprised if it got picked up to become and official Danganronpa title with its quality. 

If you haven’t checked it out yet, or you’re still debating on if you should, please do yourself a favor. 

GO INDULGE IN PROJECT EDEN’S GARDEN. 

You won’t regret it. 

[argentumcor]

Starting Phantom Liberty on replay. I was going to do it before the parade, but I felt it was a better fit if Johnny and V had done the Silverhand Farewell Tour. There's an understanding between them, and Johnny is more in line with his late game development, I think. Also I wanted to get to the party with a lot of side quests completed and Takemura alive after the parade (he was dead last time).

Songbird is definitely leaving things out to V from the start and she is desperately trying to gauge V from the start. I like to imagine Johnny is losing his shit the whole time she has him shut up, well aware of everything going on but unable to say anything about it. I wish that was played with a little bit more, because V would totally screw with him before it all goes nuts, knowing he can hear but not respond.

I talk a lot about Johnny, but V's characterization is excellent in general. The game really pushes for you to act like a decent person. Unlike a lot of action RPGs, V is in many ways a defined character. She is human, really just one of many scrambling in the dirt, not a chosen one of any kind (in a traditional sense). V has no illusions about being able to save the world. V likes nice cars. V is snarky and tells stupid jokes. V is capable but not hyper-capable. I know a lot of players- well, media, at least- were mad they didn't get this total blank slate of a character, but I think it's a strength.

Reed and Alex are great. The way they speak, move, how they handle situations...these are competent adults living in a world without clear-cut answers. I'd been sitting shotgun for my husband's playthrough of BG3 before playing PL the first time, and the quality of character writing in PL was such a shock compared to BG3's band of theater kids.

Johnny's angst is a nice use of him in this. I get it a lot being a veteran myself, though GWOT is a whole different flavor of issues for veterans than his (no matter what university activists like to yammer on about). The fact he's willing to bare this piece of himself to V is part of why I thought I needed to wait until they're closer. "I was fine with it until now"...right buddy. The way he curls around his cyberware shoulder at the tree...it's so unlike him and it speaks to the depth of what's going on in his mind. V still needles him in PL, even at that point, but she hits the target unlike the earlier insults. I'm really glad Johnny was not neglected in PL in favor of hanging out with Songbird the whole time.

What's particularly interesting to me- and another part of why I waited until after the Farewell Tour to do PL- is what the journal entries say about Johnny and V. Johnny by this point is being open about his sympathy towards people and knows V is just a good person who helps people out, and he likes that about her in his snarky way and also doesn't want her getting herself (and him, but he doesn't say us) killed.

Balls to the Wall:

Two BARGHEST pups're in way over their heads and, of course, who else but V to the rescue? I always had a soft spot for tragedies and this one's already got me hooked. You're taking this gig - end of discussion. Think you can pull them outta this shitshow? Got my fingers half-crossed.

No Easy Way Out (not finished this one yet):

Look, V. This Aaron choom is a big-handed bastard who knows how to handle himself in hot water. Sure, we gotta help each other out and all that, but watch your back. You're about to walk into the lion's den. I know you're all about helping lost souls and walking elderly ladies across the street, but please, PLEASE don't get killed assisting some lesser Dogtown boxer.

With Balls to the Wall, he does say "oh, V..." in that way of his when she takes the hallucinogen, which I think is more about the drugs then the helping given the journal entry, an interesting bit.

[lynxgriffin]

DELTARUNE Chapter 2 Thoughts!!!

WOOO OKAY I stayed up WAY too late trying to finish Deltarune Chapter 2 last night!! It took me awhile because I suck at video games, but I finally did it!

While I normally type up commentary as I play first time, I didn’t get the chance to do that here, so I’ll get down all my general thoughts here!

Unspoilery thoughts: loved it, knew I would, will need to replay soon to see what all I missed, and am excited for whatever’s next!

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 2 under the cut!!

(These are just as I think of them, not in any particular order!)

Okay overall I can see why this took two years and a much larger team to complete, the second chapter is SO much more expansive and heavy on scene-specific animations! It all looks SO GOOD

I already love Susie but now I love her even more, her expressions were SO GOOD

Susie has a (little nubby) tail confirmed?? That’s adorable

Okay this game is definitely reading the chapter 1 data, which I find interesting because I didn’t obtain it through Steam last time

But like, I gave the “Susie eats chalk” response to Noelle last time, and in chapter two she gave Susie the box of chalk, so awwww!

Also I missed Onionsan in my initial computer playthrough, so they didn’t show up this time, just got a moment of Susie and Kris sitting by the river together!

I find it REALLY interesting that while Ralsei is a Darkner, apparently he can jump around to other Dark Worlds whereas other Darkners like Lancer and Rouxls can’t so much…hmmm!

It was so nice to see everyone filling out the town now, though!

Noooo Susie probably doesn’t have her own room at home, awwww

Kris just casually jumping up to the classroom and bringing everyone back tho, perfect

Was right on there being multiple dark worlds in other locations, but honestly that part’s the least surprising to me, that always seemed like a pretty standard path to take!

The werewires were creepy and great; difficult to battle tho

QUEEN IS MY NEW FAVORITE

EVERY LINE OF HERS WAS A+

I’m so glad that I didn’t really go anywhere with Jevil’s line about the Queen in PT; nothing I came up with could’ve topped Queen being an absolute acid trip of an antagonist in this chapter

NOELLE SO SWEET

Her lil’ robot disguise! Her being afraid of mice at first!

I kinda wish we could have had her in the party more? She was super useful as a party member, honestly!

But sadly I guess we’re not gonna get more than the three-person party, awww

B E R D L Y

I cannot believe Berdly basically became incel Falco but also had a sympathetic backstory

Like I laughed a lot at all of Berdly’s expressions and dialogue while also going BERDLY YOU ARE THE WORST

Noelle’s WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? part = A+

I feel like Queen’s relationship with Noelle definitely had some uncomfy parallels with probably how she is dealing with her real mom

I AM NOT GOOD AT PUNCH-OUT AND THERE WAS A LOT OF THAT

I somehow missed the part where Susie is wearing Ralsei’s glasses??? Where is this

Also in general there was a LOT of puzzles and gameplay in the overworld map, which I was bad at but was also very cool

KRIS GET THE BANANA

The dolphin pop-up ads…

I DID NOT LIKE THE SPAMTON GUY

DISCOMFORT THE WHOLE TIME

Apparently he’s also the secret boss for this chapter?? That’s at least if the soundtrack is anything to go by. Maybe I’ll go back and try it on another playthrough, but aaaaagggghhhg

SO MANY GOOD SUSELLE MOMENTS

MY LIL SHIPPER HEART HAS A NICE SERVING AND WANTS MORE

The whole deal with the ferris wheel conversation and just awwwwuuuuuuh

Needs more Susiezilla now too (I picked the “something romantic” option because of course)

MORE PLZ, LET’S DIG DEEPER HERE

Also I cannot believe Susie has (at least) two people crushing on her and is just totally oblivious to it

There’s SO Many interesting HMM moments with Kris and that definitely included the entire acid tunnel of love scene with Kris and Ralsei

Interrupted of course by an appropriately silly Rouxls battle

But man the more we see (or often DON’T see) of Ralsei the more intriguing it gets

LET NOELLE RIDE IN THE TEACUP RIDE WITH SUSIE

I just knew going back to get that chest without Noelle would be something dumb

OKAY I ended up dying a lot to 1) the Mauswheel, and 2) the color-changing butlers?? So I ended up having to do the whole sequence with annoying dog blasting through everything in his path multiple times

I DID feel bad for Berdly during that boss battle where he was werewired; that was nice and body horror-ish

That said… “I NEED A KISS FROM A GAMER GIRL”

The giant mecha boss battle absolutely kicked my ass, though

Like it WAS badass but that took me a LOT of tries to get through

My thrash machine was very GUN’S

Overall the difficulty curve was definitely stepped up from chapter 1!

LOTS MORE DARK WORLD AND KNIGHT LORE FROM RALSEI HERE

And lots of talk about Noelle being pretty important to it, too!

I’m glad I got to bring Susie on the walkaround this time around town!

I AM GOING TO BE YOUR WACKY ROOMMATE NOW

King and Queen’s entire conversation was so hilarious

King just slides over to suck on that sweet, sweet giant hamster water bottle

BUNKER STILL BEIN SUSPICIOUS

Aww the pizzeria is not a creepy mascot Chuck-E-Cheese’s style, tho

Confirmation that Gerson was Alvin’s father! And I feel like there’s a lot we’re missing there, too

Still not allowed to see Papyrus…

Catti’s parents…

I wasn’t expecting this at all, but it feels like they may be introducing way more Lightners to the Dark World with each chapter, since both Noelle and Berdly ended up there?

And if that’s the case, I feel like it’s hinting that Catti and/or Jockington may be next

SUSIE STAYING AT KRIS’S PLACE FOR A SLEEPOVER WAS SO SWEET

IMMEDIATELY UNDERCUT BY KRIS GOING FERAL AGAIN

Like I dunno the whole scenario somehow managed to be both REALLY sinister and very funny at once??

Susie and Toriel are busy laughing and making a pie together, meanwhile Kris just sneaks the hell out and slashes Toriel’s tires because it’s KNIVES OUT TIME

Please let Susie watch more giant monster (and giant human) movies with her friends, she needs this

THAT SAID, THAT ENDING

HMM HMM HMMMMMMMMMM

SO THIS SEEMS TO BE INDICATING THAT KRIS IS THE KNIGHT

Which like…is in fact making SOME KIND OF SENSE in my head overall, but I definitely need more context to see how exactly

Like I’m all “THIS FEELS RIGHT BUT I DON’T KNOW WHY, I NEED MOOOORE”

Considering Ralsei’s reaction to Noelle and Berdly trying to make a new fountain, this definitely seems to be setting up some kind of future confrontation between Kris and Ralsei, which! HMMMM

I THINK IT’S TIME FOR THIS GIF AGAIN

Basically I HAD A GRAND TIME, I NEED TO REPLAY, EXCITED FOR THE REST WHENEVER IT COMES

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || first meetings: liyue boys

series masterlist characters: chongyun, xingqiu genre: fluff summary: a game has been released entitled genshin impact, consisting of otherworldly abilities relying on the basic elements of nature. the game follows the story of an interdimensional traveling twin in search of their other half. along this journey, they meet different characters that live in this world. including you. notes: ahhh my boys <333 they're on my team rn and i love how well they work together. also, chongyun was kinda hard to write a meeting for because you don't really meet him??? we just recently got the hangout events so,,,

chongyun's playthrough -

chongyun tries to keep his love for supernatural things lowkey.

he does a terrible job at it, though.

his overlay is spirit themed so-- :)

his streams are very laid back.

when he first started, he didn't talk so much.

but then he started getting used to it and his viewers love how dorky he is.

he's very talkative once he's comfortable streaming :D

i'm not basing this on beau bridgland on zach's stream what are you talking about?

his chat makes fun of him sometimes because he can't stand the heat.

(they love his popsicle breaks during streams though--)

they've definitely tried to make him eat hot peppers, each one increasing in scoville units.

he fell for it once and is now very cautious about what his chat asks of him.

^^ what happened was they told him eating it with something else would make it less hot. it didn't.

the only requests he'll take now are game requests ://

anyway, a lot of people request for him to play genshin impact simply because of one character they want him to roll for.

unfortunately, he isn't able to find any trailers of this mystery character :((

he does see some things about your friend that likes to read, though!!

since he can't find anything about this character his chat is excited about without spoilers, he throws caution to the wind and uses all of his free rolls.

his luck must be god-tier at this point because he manages to get you in his first ten roll.

he will definitely pause everything he's doing just to look at your splash art.

you're so calm and poised but so forceful at the same time like?!?!??!

hOW?!?!?!?!?

you have all these floating charms around you and you're just so?!??! cool?!?!?

he hasn't even gotten to a fourth of this game and you're already one of his best characters.

he'll give the best weapons and artifacts, replacing them with better ones the more he plays.

during his popsicle breaks, he'd normally watch some videos or something while talking to chat.

until you came into his life :D

now all of his popsicle breaks include you in some way.

playing genshin? man he'll put you on his screen and just play some of your voicelines or let your idle animations play.

he's doing literally anything else??? too bad, you're right there in the form of fanart he's seen or videos of you.

if you have the same issue with heat that he has, he won't be using large scale pyro users.

characters similar to diluc or klee? nope. only small pyro users thank you very much.

and when that happens, he probably has them built up for physical damage instead of elemental.

his chat will beg him to build up the other pyro characters better please they're so good at elemental damage--

"no."

dang.

he knows for sure that it won't techinically affect you game wise.

but does he care? no.

at least 90% of the time you're paired up with a character that pairs up well with you, in both game mechanics and story.

(kinda like chongyun and xingqiu, you feel me?)

he just can't let you two part :((

he's one of the players that desperately want a story quest for you.

please he just wants to learn more about his favorite comfort character :((

xingqiu's playthrough -

xingqiu does a lot of reading streams.

he'll just sit there for hours and read books to his viewers.

they can span from children's books to full on novels.

he does requests too!!

like, if enough people request a book, he'll read it to them.

mainly streams at night so that people who need something to listen to while they sleep can listen.

(of course that only works if they're in similar time zones).

but he's a smart boy so he'll sometimes do streams in the middle of the day for people who are in different time zones.

sometimes he'll do analysis streams where everyone can discuss the book he read in the past stream.

he's another person who likes games with stories because, obviously, he likes reading.

when he's recommended to play genshin, he's a bit hesitant on it.

there isn't a whole lot of reading involved since it's voiced but then he learns about all of the books you can collect.

that's pretty much the main reason he plays the game.

he spends a lot of time in the mondstadt library.

he takes a while to actually get to liyue because he's reading all of the stories from mondstadt.

his chat is practically begging him to continue the story because... you know.

he finally gets to liyue after months of playing.

of course, he doesn't actually meet you in the main story.

he's very confused when his chat tells him to unlock one of the story quests.

honestly, he just wants to get back to reading the books in genshin.

but he unlocks it anyway.

of course, he's very excited to see that this quest takes him to liyue's bookhouse.

"did somebody say out-of-print books?"

softvoicesoftvoicesoftvoicesoftvoicesoftvoice

aND THEN THE PAN UP THAT HIDES YOUR FACE.

"is there a chance that volume six of legend of the shattered halberd is also in his collection?"

"who are they...?"

"apologies, my liege."

and he's down.

you're so soft and calm and adorable.

please you've snatched his heart in an instant.

he's on board once you invite him to qingce village.

and then you take the book and run.

when he finds you reading, he takes a hot minute before he actually talks to you.

the way you're standing is adorable please--

if you stand similar to how he does in the game, he's smitten.

you're so graceful and poised and just so,,, ADORABLE PLEASE

[vgfm]

Deltarune Theory: The True Identity and Importance of “Everyman”

I’ve been away from the Undertale theory scene for a long time. It’s been so long that a whole new-fangled game got announced, and I’ve got some theories on it.

Are these theories about Gaster or Sans or whatever’s going on with Kris? Not exactly. At least, not yet. I’ve got a better character in mind.

Let’s start with Everyman: Undertale’s most obscure character and (I think) one of the most pivotal in Deltarune.

This is a two-part theory: the first part outlines who Everyman is and why I think he’ll be important in Deltarune. The second part? You’ll have to read and find out.

This is a long one and with loads of images, so strap yourselves in.

Sections

Part 1: Introduction to Everyman

Who is Everyman?

“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”

Everyman’s Importance

Why did Everyman appear in True Lab?

Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune

Part 2: Everyman is ???

What will Everyman’s role be?

Jevil’s Connection to Everyman

The Spade King’s clue

Additional Evidence

“Seriously?”

The Gaster connection

The “Strange Son”

Who made who?

“Seriously, who is Everyman?”

End

Closing Summary

Final Conclusions

Who is Everyman?

"Everyman” is a special attack that appears during the Reaper Bird amalgamate fight in True Lab.

This same figure appears twice in Deltarune’s first chapter:

Once as graffiti in an alleyway in Hometown...

...and again as a rare bullet attack during Jevil’s fight.

The name “Everyman” only ever appears in-game next to his graffiti portrait in Hometown. Everyman’s sprites are simply titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s game files:

[Image transcript: UTModTool is showing multiple highlighted sprite entries that begin with “spr_strangeman”. On the right is the file “spr_strangeman_walk” opened, showing a picture of Everyman. End image transcript]

Some time after Undertale’s release there was a since-deleted tweet from Toby with a picture of Reaper Bird’s attack that he titled “Everyman,” which is where fans first got the name.

[Image transcript: A tweet from toby fox that says “Everyman”. The first reply says “Is that his name. please thell me thats his obj name.” Toby’s response repeats “Everyman.” The next reply says “everything i aspire to be.” Toby responds again with “’Everyman’ you aspire to be.” Toby then adds another tweet saying “Description. Just a good guy that shows up on occasion.” end image transcript.]

This is a web archive screenshot so the image of Everyman’s bullet sprite wasn’t preserved here. Special thanks to catcat for tracking this one down!

“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”

I don’t think so. I’d be more inclined to write off Everyman’s role in Deltarune as a mere cameo if he had only shown up once. But it’s odd that Toby felt the need to include Everyman twice in a single chapter. To me this seems less like a one-off cameo and more like foreshadowing for a greater role in the full game.

Let’s compare Everyman’s appearances to instances of character foreshadowing and one-off cameos from Undertale and Deltarune:

Mettaton

[Image transcript: four Undertale screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, the narration text box reads “(the machine isn’t working.)” as Frisk stares at Mettaton in Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle room. In the top-right screenshot, the narration textbox is reading a TV announcement in Papyrus’ house: “(It says ‘STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM - MTT.’)”. In the bottom-left screenshot, Napstablook’s text box says “there’s a show i like to watch on it... sometimes...” as Frisk looks at their television. In the bottom-right screenshot, Undyne’s text box says “This oven is some top-of-the-line MTT thing.” as Frisk stares at her oven. End image transcript.]

Mettaton is foreshadowed multiple times before he makes his proper introduction in Alphys’ Lab. This includes a direct on-screen appearance of his rectangular form as part of Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle. What’s interesting is that half of these references (including the tile puzzle) only make sense in hindsight to a first-time player. For all we know there could be other, more-cryptic Everyman references already in Deltarune that we don’t have the full context to understand yet.

Rouxls Kaard

Despite his legendary introductory sequence catching many-a-player off-guard, Rouxls Kaard actually is foreshadowed a couple of times before his stunning debut.

[Image transcript: four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, Ralsei is reading a message from Rouxls Kaard: “It says... ‘Thoust fools, thou will NEVER figure it out now!’. This is continued in the top-right screenshot: “Then it, um, says, ‘PS - I make my own Rules. - RK’”. In the bottom-left screenshot, a puzzle-master says “ROUXLS KAARD... Lord of the Puzzles... Be careful...!” In the bottom-right screenshot, one of Clover’s heads says “RK came by... What a hunk!” End image transcript.]

I’ve noticed from watching Let’s Plays that many people don’t even realize that these lines were meant to foreshadow him (and I’m pretty sure I didn’t realize it either on my first playthrough).

Ice-E

Now here’s something that’s an example of both a one-off cameo and proper foreshadowing! In Undertale, Ice-E is referenced exactly once in the entire game—as part of Sans’ Monster Kidz Word Search puzzle. No other character mentions Ice-E, Ice-E does not appear in-person, nor does the Ice-E’s restaurant appear... in Undertale. Deltarune is a completely different story.

[image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. in the left screenshot, Kris looks under their sink and the narration text box says: “A can of Ice-E’s Cool Boys Body Spray ‘Spray For The Boys,’ Flamin’ Hot Pizza Flavor.” In the right screenshot, Kris reads a chart in the hospital. The narration text box says: “(It’s a classic 1-to-10 pain scale, using ICE-E as a model.)” End image transcript.]

In Deltarune chapter 1 we find numerous references and bits of foreshadowing for Ice-E and, lo and behold, we see that Ice-E’s restaurant exists in Hometown at the end of chapter 1. And notice how it’s multiple references and not just a one-off like last time.

In every example of foreshadowing listed above we’re given more than one hint of a character’s presence, and so far Everyman fits this same pattern. This makes me feel safe in assuming he will have a bigger role in the full game.

Everyman’s Importance

What’s interesting is that in Chapter 1, Everyman appears in both the light and dark worlds. So far Deltarune has kept the light and dark worlds largely separate from one another, with only Kris and Susie traveling between them (as far as we know).

Everyman’s presence in both worlds implies that either he can travel between both worlds as well, or at least that lightners and darkners are both familiar with him.

Based on what we know, I’d wager that Everyman is a lightner—specifically, a monster. ��I say this for two reasons: 1.) so far we’ve only seen lightners (Kris and Susie) travel between both worlds, and 2.) this would explain Everyman’s appearance as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks in Undertale’s True Lab.

Why did Everyman appear in the True Lab?

The worlds of Undertale and Deltarune are connected. Toby has all-but-confirmed this himself.

[Image transcript: A screenshot from the official Deltarune website’s question-and-answer page. The question says “So there’s no connections between the two games?”. The answer says “It’s a different world that might even have different rules. That doesn’t mean there will be no connections at all though.” End image transcript.]

One major connection between Undertale and Deltarune is their largely-shared cast of characters. Many major characters from Undertale make an appearance in Deltarune’s first chapter, and Toby has shown that at least some characters from Deltarune’s universe have counterparts in the Undertale universe as well.

The Undertale Alarm Clock App makes reference to Rudolph Holiday living in the Underground some time prior to the events of Undertale.

[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Asgore says “Rudy... loved the holidays, you know.” End image transcript.]

This dialogue also strongly implies that Undertale’s universe has a counterpart for Noelle.

[Image transcript: Another dialogue box from Asgore. He says: “With a warm slice of fruitcake on the table. His youngest daughter peeking shyly from around the corner...” End image transcript]

Depending on how one interprets the Clamgirl NPC’s dialogue, there may or may not be an Undertale version of Susie (aka “Suzy”) too.

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Clamgirl tells Frisk: “Synchronicity...? My neighbor’s daughter looks about your age.” In the right screenshot her dialogue continues: “Her name is ‘Suzy.’ I feel like you two should be friends.” End image transcript.]

I’d argue that Everyman also had a “counterpart” in Undertale’s universe who lived as a monster in the Underground. Much like Rudy, the Underground’s Everyman likely grew old and eventually “fell down”. But unlike Rudy, Everyman was sent to the True Lab for the royal scientist’s soul experiments and became part of the Reaper Bird amalgamate.

This would fit with the pattern that we see with most other amalgamates, namely that they each seem to be made up of one named/noteworthy monster combined with several other generic monsters. The formula goes like this:

Lemon Bread = Shyra (Shyren’s Sister) + Aaron + Moldbygg

Endogeny = Muttler + various dog enemies

Snowdrake Mother = Crystal (Snowdrake’s Mom) + Vegetoids(?)

Reaper Bird = Everyman + Astigmatism + Whimsalot + Final Froggit

The Memoryheads seem to not “fit” with the other amalgamates, perhaps intentionally, so I’ll leave them out for now.

Long story short: Everyman was most likely a monster since he was part of an amalgamate and (as far as we know) amalgamates can only be made of monsters.

Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune

We see in Deltarune that three of the monsters who became amalgamates in Undertale have since passed away. This fits a trend I’ve noticed of Toby trying to “explain” the absence of characters who are prominent in one of his games but not the other.

The examples I cited above of Rudy, Noelle, and (possibly) Susie existing in Undertale’s universe also serve as “excuses” for where those characters were and why they were absent from the events of Undertale’s story. Rudy was dead and Noelle and “Suzy” were living with their families (presumably) in parts of the Underground where Frisk never ventured.

Shyra, Muttler, and Crystal are similarly “excused” from Deltarune’s story when the graveyard informs the player of their passing. Gerson is likewise excluded from Deltarune due to having passed away before the events of the game.

Conveniently, Everyman is not listed among the amalgamate monsters who have passed away in Hometown, and the alleyway graffiti implies he’s alive and well.

We know that Deltarune’s timeline and character ages don’t match up perfectly with Undertale’s—Deltarune Asriel is still alive and slightly older than Kris, who’s roughly the same age as DR Monster Kid. Conversely, Undertale Asriel died long before Frisk entered the Underground, yet Frisk is still seemingly in the same age bracket as UT Monster Kid (who’s barely younger than Asriel in Deltarune). Like Rudy, we can assume that Deltarune’s Everyman is younger than the Everyman who “fell down” in the Underground.

What will Everyman’s role be?

Remember when I said this was a two-part theory? Well, here’s the second half of my theory: Everyman is the Knight.

[Image transcript: A text box that says “Yes, you read that correctly.” End image transcript.]

Yes, the same Knight mentioned by Seam, Jevil, and the King of Spades. The same Knight who’s pulling new dark fountains out of the earth and who’s implied to be a major antagonist in the full game.

I could hedge my bets by saying Everyman is merely “connected” to the Knight, but if the Knight is a character we already know of then I think Everyman is the most likely candidate.

Let’s start with the name: Everyman’s sprites are titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s files. The very first mention we get of the Knight in Deltarune is Seam describing a “strange knight” who appeared, complete with red font for emphasis.

[Image transcript: Seam speaking inside of a shop, saying: “But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away.” End image transcript.]

The word “strange” seems to be used selectively and very deliberately in Deltarune’s first chapter. Here’s a breakdown of all the times it’s used:

Seam referring to the knight

Seam referring to the Knight’s “strange son” (more on that later)

Telling Seam about Jevil (”Strange Prisoner”)

Seam referring to the “strange someone” that Jevil met

Seam mentioning the “strange words” Jevil said

Rouxls Kaard referring to Lancer (”a strange and irritating darling!”)

Narration before Kris seals the dark fountain (”You felt something strange.”)

Flavor text during the Jevil fight (”Kris gazed strangely”)

The Devilsknife/Jevilstail appearing in a “strange chest” outside of Jevil’s cell upon defeating him (this may be dummied out or only triggers if your inventory is full of weapons/armors and Jevil can’t give his item to you)

The description of the key to Jevil’s cell (”something feels strange about it”)

With the exception of the line from Rouxls Kaard, every instance of “strange” somehow connects to the Knight or Jevil. If the Knight is indeed the “strange someone” who Jevil met then the list tightens even further, to the point where all but one use of the word “strange” is associated with a single character and his handiwork—a very “strange man”, as it were. Speaking of Jevil...

Jevil’s connection to the Knight and Everyman

Jevil’s fight is one of two places where Everyman appears in Deltarune chapter 1. Not only that, but Everyman’s sprite only appears as a rare event during Jevil’s carousel attack, implying that his appearance is somehow significant.

Interestingly enough, the other two sprites that appear during this attack are one with a head that vaguely resembles Mysteryman (believed to be Gaster) and another with the head of a horse, a.k.a. the same as a knight piece on a chess board. It’s also worth pointing out that it’s rarer for the Everyman sprite to appear than it is for either of the other two sprites to appear.

We can also see the Everyman sprite represented in the official Chaos Revolving Keychain from Fangamer.

Jevil mentions the Knight once you defeat him, showing that he has knowledge of his existence.

[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THE HAND OF THE KNIGHT IS DRIFTING FORWARD.” End image transcript.]

This is interesting since Seam’s dialogue implies that Jevil was imprisoned well before the Knight overthrew the three kings at Card Castle. I can think of three possible explanations for this seeming timeline discrepancy:

Jevil is somehow intrinsically “aware” of things that go on outside of his cell

The Knight or someone else visited Jevil in jail to tell him about what happened with the three kings

The Knight is the same “strange someone” that Jevil met before he was locked up

The first explanation is the least likely, imo, due to Jevil asking who Kris, Ralsei, and Susie are when he first meets them.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jevil is talking to the fun gang and he says: “BUT LO, THREE VISITORS STANDING INSIDE?” This continues in the right screenshot, where Jevil says: “WHO ARE YOU FEW?” End image transcript.]

If Jevil was aware of the outside world then he’d surely know of the fun gang’s antics by that point.

The second explanation doesn’t seem very likely either. Seam is the only character who acknowledges Jevil’s existence and we never see Seam visit Card Castle, even after the Spade King has been overthrown.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jack Person tells the fun gang: “By the by, I asked Seam to come here, but...” Continuing onto the right screenshot, where Jack Person finishes by saying “There wasn’t any interest.” End image transcript.]

Jevil’s cell doesn’t seem to have any guards and it’s kept on its own floor, so that would rule out Jevil hearing about the knight from other prisoners.

If someone in the castle brings food to Jevil then he may have overheard it from them, but even that is speculative. Does Jevil even need to eat? He says his body “cannot be killed,” after all.

[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THIS BODY CANNOT BE KILLED!” End image transcript.]

And I’m not sure if the King of Spades would be so accommodating towards a dangerous prisoner.

That just leaves the third explanation, which seems the most likely to me. It’s also the tidiest explanation for how Jevil would be aware of both the Knight and Everyman—they’re the same person.

We can only speculate as to why the “strange someone” caused Jevil to run amok. If that strange someone was the Knight then I would assume that setting Jevil loose may have been his attempt to overthrow or destabilize Card Castle’s leadership. We know that the Knight eventually overthrew the three other kings himself, so that may have been his plan B after Jevil failed or he merely wished to remove Jevil as an obstacle. Either way, the Knight toppled the quadrumvirate and installed the Spade King as the protector of Card Castle’s dark fountain.

The Spade King’s clue

The Spade King is the closest ally of the Knight that we’ve seen so far. The exact nature of their relationship isn’t fully known, but the King’s words imply that he reveres and is loyal to the Knight.

[Image description: Four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left, the King of Spades says “By the Knight’s will, I shall shatter your heart to pieces!”. In the top-right, the King says “For the KNIGHT has appeared.” In the bottom-left, the King says “The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth.” In the bottom-right, the King says “My KNIGHT... I shall not fail you...” End image transcript.]

Both characters share an interest in maintaining the existence of dark fountains, given that the Knight has been said to create new fountains by pulling them up from the Earth.

Unlike Jevil, the Spade King’s attacks never make explicit reference to Everyman’s visage, but he does give a possible nod that many players have overlooked. When the Spade King is defeated, he makes a curious gesture by letting his cloak fly away like a butterfly.

While this may be a simple artistic flourish, I always found this moment to be odd and unfitting for a brutish character like the King. It’s also worth pointing out how the King’s cloak is clearly not a part of his body, unlike what’s implied with Lancer’s “clothes”.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the battle narration says: “You tell Lancer you can’t tell the difference between his clothes and his body.” The narration continues in the right screenshot, saying “He seems flattered... His ATTACK POWER went down!” End transcript.]

What if the King didn’t always have that butterfly-shaped cloak? Did someone give it to him? Think of where else we’ve seen butterfly motifs before.

At first blush, this seems obvious—the Reaper Bird is clearly made from the Core mercenaries, including Whimsalot. Whimsalot attacks with butterfly bullets, so that’s where Reaper Bird got them from, right? Case closed. Well, not so fast.

It turns out there are two different sets of butterfly bullets in Undertale’s game files, and Reaper Bird’s are different from Whimsalot’s.

[Image transcript: Two groups of butterfly bullet sprites. The left group is labeled “Whimsun / Whimsalot.” The right group is labeled “Reaper Bird”. End image transcript.]

Notice how Reaper Bird’s butterflies are smaller and have pointier, more symmetrical wings? While those differences could be chalked up to limited pixel resolution, it’s interesting how Toby went out of his way to create an entirely unique set of butterfly bullets for Reaper Bird when it arguably would have made more sense for him to recycle the Whimsun butterflies like he did for Whimsalot.

If you want to compare the sprites for yourself I suggest either looking at the game files directly or looking at an actual playthrough of Undertale. I’ve noticed that Spriter’s Resource mistakenly has Reaper Bird’s butterflies listed under Whimsun’s sprite sheet (which is a completely understandable mix-up).

To drive the point home, notice the string names that are used for these butterflies:

[Image transcript: An UTModTool window showing multiple named strings. Highlighted in red are six strings that each contain “obj_strangeman_butterfly” in their names. End image transcript.]

They’re “strangeman” butterflies. Not “amalgamate” or “Reaper Bird” butterflies (despite Reaper Bird having its own share of dedicated strings and named sprites), and they’re not “Whimsalot” butterflies either. Toby clearly delineates them as belonging to strangeman, a.k.a. Everyman, meaning that Everyman is specifically associated with butterfly imagery. The Spade King also makes use of butterfly imagery immediately after he mentions the Knight in his final turn.

Between the King and Jevil, this makes two characters that can be linked to both Everyman and the Knight.

Additional Evidence

Let’s circle back to Reaper Bird for a second. It’s commonly known that this amalgamate is made from Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot. To wit:

These enemies are part of the mercenary group that Mettaton hires to attack you in the Core. Have you ever noticed how out-of-place they seem? Almost every other set of enemies in the game is somehow themed around their environment — Snowdin enemies are ice creatures, Hotland enemies are fire/lava-themed, etc. These mercenaries are themed around medieval warfare and yet they show up in the Core, the most high-tech area in the entire Underground.

What’s even stranger is that this medieval theme seems to come out of nowhere. Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot act as “upgraded” versions of Loox, Froggit, and Whimsun, respectively. And yet their Ruins counterparts don’t have any medieval theming whatsoever—it was added purely for the mercenaries. For whatever reason they’re all dressed like a bunch of wizards and... knights.

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “Why do I look like a black sausage and not a knight or a wizard?” This continues on the right, where it says “Well... Everyone has an angle they look best from.” End image transcript.]

That’s not my interpretation of their designs—the game outright calls them knights.

On the one hand, it’s true that Asgore’s royal guards also dress up like knights, but the Core mercenaries are explicitly not part of the royal guard—they’re mercenaries.

[Image transcript: Battle flavor text that states “Mercenaries emerge from the shadows.” End image transcript.]

Assuming that Asgore has a dress code for his guards or is just old-fashioned in his sensibilities, there’s still no reason why fighters outside of the guard should follow their standard. Even some of the royal sentries don’t follow this theming, as seen with Doggo and Sans (who’s technically a sentry):

With the abundance of knight-themed royal guard and sentry enemies that exist already, Toby could’ve easily designed the Core Mercenaries to more accurately fit with the Core’s futuristic theme. Doesn’t it seem a little too coincidental that Everyman would wind up as part of the same amalgamate as these otherwise out-of-place knights?

When we look at the other amalgamates, we can see that Lemon Bread (a.k.a. Shyren’s sister) is made up of Waterfall enemies. Endogeny is made up entirely of dog-based enemies. These two amalgamates each have a “theme” for their component monsters that fits the “main” named monster they’re each made of, and Reaper Bird has a clear theme of its own. Why would Everyman be paired with a bunch of knights if he was not connected to them in some way?

Even the Undertale artbook groups Everyman’s concept art with the Core Mercenaries, specifically the ones that look the most like knights and wizards in-game. The book also repeats the name “Everyman” and Toby’s cryptic phrase of “Just a good guy who shows up on occasion.”

Perhaps Everyman knew the Core mercenaries when he was alive? Were they his fellow knights? Or did they work for him before he fell down and they had to then lend their services elsewhere?

“The Knight? Seriously?”

Some of you may be shaking your heads dismissively at the idea of Everyman being the Knight (or you more likely clicked over to another tab by now). I mean, just look at the guy:

What part of this design makes you think “knight”, let alone THE Knight? Well, Seam does refer to the Knight as a “strange” knight, and Everyman certainly fits that bill. But more importantly, we haven’t seen an actual overworld sprite for Everyman yet—we’ve only seen some graffiti and a couple of magic bullet attacks, which are always abstract and simplified.

Not pictured: Froggit, Migosp, Temmie, Moldbygg, Tsunderplane, Mettaton, or Endogeny.

Everyman’s “proper” design would almost certainly differ from his Pillsbury Doughboy-esque bullet sprite, especially if he’s wearing a cloak or a suit of armor. And even if his design doesn’t differ that much, so what? It’s not like this series has ever had an opponent that looks goofy or non-threatening, right?

Another little tidbit I noticed: one of Reaper Bird’s attacks consists of Everyman repeatedly removing his own head.

Or maybe it’s not his head? Perhaps it’s a helmet? Like one that a knight would wear? After all, it’s not unheard of for helmets to have beak-like protrusions.

And this is a series where helmets can come in any shape or size to better fit the needs of the wearer.

Just some food for thought.

The Gaster connection

It’s time to address the elephant in the room: “Isn’t Gaster supposed to be the Knight?” If you haven’t heard by now, this is one of the prevailing theories in the fandom. To be honest, if the Knight ends up not being Everyman then Gaster is the next-best candidate, imo, but these two theories don’t have to be mutually-exclusive. I think a case can be made that Everyman and Gaster are connected in some way.

Let me say up front that this section is highly speculative (unlike the previous sections, which clearly aren’t the least bit speculative). We’re dealing with two super-obscure characters who’ve yet to make a proper on-screen appearance in either game. It’s already hard enough to figure out how either of them connect to the broader Undertale universe, let alone to each other, but I’ll give it a shot.

For starters, we can affirm that both Gaster and Everyman are linked to the True Lab. There’s no shortage of fan theories and speculation on Gaster’s prior usage of the True Lab in his own experiments and I won’t get into all that here, but suffice it to say the True Lab has Gaster’s name written all over it.

(Am I the only one who thinks the DT Extractor looks more like Everyman’s head than it does a Gaster Blaster? Forget I said anything.)

We’ve covered how Everyman appears as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks. Interestingly, the amalgamate Memoryhead has an attack that resembles the head of Mysteryman, the figure believed to be Gaster (which I’ll assume here for simplicity’s sake).

If we follow the logic of my prior “Everyman is the named/important monster that makes up Reaper Bird, fitting the pattern of other amalgamates” argument, then Gaster (or pieces of him) could fill the same role for the Memoryheads.

Everyman and Gaster’s sprites both have the suffix of “man” in Undertale’s game files. Here are all the sprites that use this same naming scheme:

strangeman - Everyman

mysteryman - “Gaster”

snowman - gives you the snowman piece

riverman - a.k.a. River Person

darkman - the shadowy overworld sprites used for the Core Mercenaries

watchingman - The spoon-shaped amalgamate that tucks Frisk into bed

The snowman’s inclusion is a bit of a fluke, because what else would you call a snowman without using “man” in the name? If we exclude the snowman, each instance of “man” represents a mysterious figure that ties back to Everyman and/or Gaster.

We’ve already covered the connection between Everyman and the Core Mercenaries, and it’s easy to connect the “watchingman” amalgamate with the True Lab. River Person is also frequently linked to Gaster in fan theories (and they allude to “the man from the other world” and “the man who speaks in hands”), so what we’re left with is a close-knit community of strange, mysterious "man”s.

This naming scheme looks very intentional on Toby’s part, and he seems to be continuing it in Deltarune by referring to the secret unseen NPC who gives you the egg behind the tree in Scarlet Forest as simply “a man.”

[Image transcript: Narration from the secret egg room. The text box states: “(Well, there is a man here.)” End image transcript]

The Knight’s “Strange Son”?

Remember when I said I’d get back to the Knight’s “strange son”? That’s now. I’m a little iffy on this topic because it involves stacking a whole ton of assumptions onto a single line of dialogue that’s phrased in an ambiguous way. But, if it means what I think it means, it could shed a ton of light on Everyman’s possible connection to Gaster and whether either of them are the Knight.

When you ask Seam about the “Kingdom”, Seam says this:

[Image transcript: Three of Seam’s text boxes arranged vertically. In order, they read: “Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East. But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away. The remaining king put him and his strange son into power.” End image transcript]

Let’s focus on that last sentence. On my first playthrough I misread this line as “the knight put the king and his strange son into power” because that sounds a lot closer to the events that happened—the Spade King and his “strange son” Lancer are in power now because the three kings were locked away, presumably by the Knight.

But the actual text states the opposite—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his strange son (i.e., the Knight’s son) into power. Or does it? The line could also read as—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his (the King’s) strange son (Lancer) into power. The second way is  awkwardly-structured but technically valid. And this is assuming that Toby didn’t make any grammatical errors when he typed these lines, which he has done on occasion.

[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Dr. Alphys says “I felt so guilty knowing I hadn’t do anything to stop you.” End image transcript.]

Not to be too hard on Toby, but even if Seam’s line is grammatically correct it’s still clunky and murky in its conception—at this point in the game we’ve only just been introduced to Lancer and the fact that his dad is the King, and now this line is potentially introducing yet another father/son duo that is closely connected with Lancer’s dad—is it any wonder that this line is often glossed over by fans?

The second reading, where Lancer is the “strange son,” is also awkward because the Spade King would have little need to put Lancer “into power”. Lancer was already a prince and, presumably, already wielded power in that role. Various NPCs make reference to Lancer bossing them around, and such a thing could’ve easily happened before the three kings were deposed.

If we take Seam’s line with the first reading (where the Knight has a “strange son”) and assume there were no grammatical errors, then this is the only time in chapter 1 that the Knight is ever referred to as having a son. It’s also the only time that the Knight is addressed with pronouns, implying that the Knight is male. If true, this would rule out the theory that Kris (or any potential alter ego that Kris has) is the knight, since Kris is neither male nor do they have a son. This would also rule out Susie, who’s never been a popular contender for being the Knight but is referred to as a “dark knight” on her stats page.

Who made who?

So then, who’s male, widely believed to be the Knight, and is often depicted as having one or more sons?

This (alleged) guy!

“But wait,” you might ask, “isn’t your theory that Everyman is the Knight?” Well, the Knight and his “strange son” seem to be working as a duo in the scenario that Seam outlines, given that the Spade King put both of them “into power.”

Because of Everyman’s connections to the Knight that I’ve laid out, plus the more popular theory that Gaster is the Knight, it’s possible that one may be the Knight and the other may be the Knight’s “strange son.” The way I see it, it doesn’t make a huge difference which one is which.

Now, I don’t think that Gaster and Everyman would be father and son in the strict biological sense. There are a number of reasons for this, but for starters I’m not even sure if Everyman and Gaster are the same species. My inclination is that Everyman is a monster, while Gaster may be a darkner. The latter is mostly my own guess and springboards off of a popular theory that Sans is a darkner, but it’s a whole other can of worms that I won’t get into now.

More importantly, Gaster is strongly implied to have some sort of connection to Sans and Papyrus. All three of them are also connected with special fonts that they each use. As far as I can tell, there’s no widely-used font by the name of “Everyman”, so this would imply that Everyman is not a skeleton and therefore not biologically related to them. However, there’s more than one way to start a family.

Gaster was the royal scientist in Undertale’s universe and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he (or his potential Deltarune counterpart) could find the means to create life forms artificially.

[Image transcript: The vessel creation scene from Deltarune. The on-screen text says “YOU HAVE CREATED A WONDERFUL FORM.” End image transcript.]

Everyman could be a creation of Gaster’s and thus he’d be Gaster’s “son”.

There’s also another possibility: Everyman is Gaster’s creator. We know that the Knight is pulling new dark fountains out of the Earth. I think the Knight, regardless of who they are, must be able to survive without a dark fountain to give their body form, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to venture into areas where new fountains have yet to be pulled up. The Knight is almost certainly a lightner, and I’ve already detailed why I think Everyman is a lightner as well.

We don’t fully understand how dark fountains interact with darkners, but it’s stated multiple times that dark fountains “give form” to the Dark World.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Today the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS-” and continues into the right screenshot, saying: “The geyser that gives this land form-” End image transcript.]

In the dummied-out manual pages, Ralsei also mentions how his dark fountain gives his body form.

[Image transcript: Ralsei’s manual excerpt, whic says “Dedicated to The unending pillar of darkness that gives my body form.” End image transcript]

Darkners need dark fountains in order to maintain their forms. They may not even be able to survive at all without them. From this point of view, when the Knight creates new dark fountains he’s bringing new darkners to life. If Gaster is a darkner himself, then it’s not unthinkable to imagine that Everyman may have brought him to life in this way and could thus be called his “father”. Seam does refer to lightners as the “creators” of darkners, after all.

[Image transcript: Seam’s dialogue box saying “They were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose...” End image transcript.]

Ultimately the question of who’s the father and who’s the son is purely speculative. We don’t even know for sure if the Knight has a son, let alone whether it’s Everyman, Gaster, or someone else entirely. It’s very much a “the chicken or the egg?” kind of question.

[Image transcript: Two images. The right is a screenshot of the egg room with narration stating “(You received an Egg)”. End image transcript.]

Hmm...

“Seriously, who is Everyman?”

Let’s bring this home with the question we started with: Who is Everyman? I’ve gone into evidence that he existed as an actual person in Undertale and will likely play a role in Deltarune, but this doesn’t tell us much about the kind of character he is. We don’t even know if “Everyman” is his real name.

If Everyman is indeed a prominent character in Deltarune then there are two possibilities: 1.) he’s a brand new character we’ve never met before, or 2.) he’s someone that we have met before. The first option, while a strong possibility, doesn’t leave us with much to talk about, so let’s look at the second.

Right out the gate I can confidently say that Everyman is not a character that we talked to or had significant interaction with in Undertale. The obvious reason is that he was busy being stuck inside Reaper Bird and he couldn’t have been in two places at once (as far as we know). This means that Everyman would have to be a character introduced in Deltarune chapter 1.

I’ve said before that I believe Everyman is a lightner, so this would rule out any dark world characters. That leaves us with the residents of Hometown who didn’t have direct counterparts in Undertale’s story.

After careful consideration I’ve narrowed the field to two suspects:

Father Alvin

Father Alvin has always struck me as an oddity. He seems like an important member of Hometown’s community, and yet none of the other residents ever talk about him. He’s also conspicuously absent from Undertale’s universe.

The most notable thing about Father Alvin is that his church seems to worship “the Angel”.

[Image transcript: Father Alvin saying “Let the Angel’s power light your way.” End image transcript.]

Ralsei’s prophecy states that the three heroes must seal the dark fountains in order to banish the “Angel’s Heaven.”

[Image transcript: Two Deltaunre screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Only they can seal the fountains.” The right screenshot continues, saying: “And banish the ANGEL’S HEAVEN.” End image transcript.]

This would put the heroes at odds with both the Knight (who’s creating fountains) and whoever is serving this Angel. We can only speculate on the Knight’s motives, but what if he’s acting in service to the Angel?

Something that isn’t brought up much in the fandom is the religious reverence that darkners give to their fountains. The King of Spades refers to the fountains that the Knight creates as “holy” fountains.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the King of Spades says “Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world...” The right screenshot continues, saying “OUR world.” End image transcript.]

The soundtrack that plays at the Fountain is called “The Holy.” Dark fountains can seemingly create life, so it’s easy to imagine the Knight viewing his own mission as some sort of holy rite.

As far as evidence goes for Alvin being Everyman/the Knight, the biggest clue is the drawing signed by Alvin that shows up in the supply closet at the end of chapter 1.

Every other object in the closet represents a part of the dark world that Kris and Susie visited, and yet at no point do they encounter a dark world manifestation of this drawing. We know that the Knight visited Card Castle previously, so this drawing could be meant to represent the Knight’s presence in that part of the dark world.

It’s also worth noting how most of the closet’s toys are arranged from left to right in the order that Kris and Susie encountered them on their journey. Alvin’s drawing is on the far right, just past the open cabinet drawer (i.e., Card Castle), implying that Alvin’s drawing was either at the fountain or that it was effectively the “next” thing that Kris and Susie would’ve encountered if they had stayed.

It’s hard to make out what the drawing could be beyond being a “poorly-drawn picture of a green turtle”, as the flavor text explains. Could it be Everyman? Or is it just a reference to Bold and Brash? Both? Neither? The world may never know. Or it may know when the full game comes out.

Can I also add how strange it is that Alvin’s drawing is in the closet to begin with? Alvin looks to be a pretty old dude, so why would his drawing still be in a school that he no longer attends? I don’t have an answer, I just think it’s weird.

Other clues that could point to Alvin being Everyman are that he is, scientifically speaking, old-looking, which would line up with my hypothesis of Undertale’s Everyman being an older monster who fell down before becoming Reaper Bird.

Alvin also vaguely resembles Everyman as far as their proportions are concerned.

It’s by no means a perfect match, especially if we factor in Alvin’s shell, but both characters possess a round head with some sort of beak or proboscis.

If Everyman actually is Father Alvin, then the title “Everyman” could be a reference to The Summoning of Everyman, a 15th-century religious morality play. I won’t get into the specifics here, but the play focuses on a character named Everyman who must prepare for his inevitable death and judgment for his deeds in life. I don’t really know how much that would tie into Deltarune’s themes or if it’s even a deliberate reference to begin with, so make of it what you will.

Father Alvin was the first character that I suspected of being Everyman when I started writing this theory, but there’s one major sticking point that prevents me from fully embracing the idea: the fact that he lacks a character portrait for his dialogue boxes.

This may seem like a minor nitpick, but dialogue portraits indicate when a character is important to the story, and it would be a pretty big oversight on Toby’s part if a (presumably) recurring antagonist wasn’t given a portrait. Even a three-scene wonder like Rouxls Kaard was given a portrait.

It’s true that recurring characters like Napstablook and Monster Kid weren’t given portraits in Undertale...

But Deltarune has greatly expanded the number of characters with portraits this time around, and we can already infer that Noelle (who had a portrait in chapter 1) will be an important character going forward:

Given Alvin’s limited dialogue in chapter 1 and his lack of a portrait, I’m more inclined to believe that he’ll end up being a minor character, in which case he’d almost certainly not be the Knight (and therefore not Everyman). But who knows, maybe Toby will give him a portrait in the full game.

Thankfully, we have another candidate who might be Everyman:

The Ice-E’s Employees

You think I’m joking? Trust me, you’ll know when I’m joking.

I didn’t initially make the connection between Ice-E’s and Everyman until I saw a post from @curioscurio​ that pointed me in that direction.

Let’s go back to the Everyman graffiti that appears in Hometown.

Notice how the drawing right next to it resembles Ice-E’s head? I can’t believe this was staring me in the face the whole time and I never realized the connection.

Another point in favor of the Ice-E’s workers is that we don’t even know what two of them look like. We know that Burgerpants is one, and another is implied to be the Nice Cream Bunny that we met in Undertale.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Ice-E’s employee says “Psst, can I tell you a mascot secret? I only started working here because...” The right screenshot continues, saying “The logo made me think it was an ice-cream shop...” End image transcript.]

But this still leaves the “purple guy” and “The Warrior”, who remain in full costume for chapter 1, meaning that one of them could resemble Everyman underneath their mask.

Speaking of The Warrior, he certainly fits the bill as being “strange.” His title wouldn’t be out of place among the likes of The Knight, and his dialogue refers to the hospital’s medical staff as “white wizards”, which fits with the medieval theming that’s associated with Everyman’s mercenary cohorts in Undertale.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Warrior says “This castle’s WHITE WIZARDs relegated me to this HEALING CHAMBER...” The right screenshot continues, saying “But my BLOOD is BOILING FOR BATTLE!!!” End image transcript.]

Speaking of the Core Mercenaries, here’s an interesting tidbit:

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “As a youth, I would sneak out to play by this creepy flaming pit.” The right screenshot continues, saying “Since the CORE is always re-arranging, it was like a game trying to find it.” End image transcript.]

I used to assume that the Core Mercenaries were older monsters who fought in the human-monster war, which would explain their insistence on dressing up as old-timey knights and wizards. However, these lines of dialogue imply that the Mercenaries are far younger—young enough to visit the Core when they were kids.

So why would a bunch of younger monsters dress up like old-school knights and wizards? Simple: they’re LARPers. This would explain why their more casual overworld dialogue doesn’t match their overly-serious battle dialogue whatsoever—the battle is over and, thus, so is the act.

What does this have to do with Ice-E’s? Simple. The Warrior is also a LARPer. But he takes it a step further and never lets the act slip. According to Burgerpants, he terrorizes customers with war chants during his day job, and we see him keeping up the act while he’s injured in the hospital. It’s clear that he’s living in a fantasy world, and someone like that would have every reason to spend time in a strange dark world that “seems like” fantasy.

[Image transcript: Lyrics from Deltarune’s credits theme. It says: “And the places that you know seem like fantasy”. End image transcript.]

Someone like him could grow attached to such a place and want to see it spread as far and wide as possible, with no regard for how it would affect the boring “real world”. All he’d need to do is create new dark fountains to sustain this fantasy world.

I also find it interesting that The Warrior is in the hospital during chapter 1. Burgerpants claims that this is the result of “pizza-related injuries.”

[Image transcript: Two dialogue boxes from Burgerpants. Read from top to bottom, it says “The Warrior - Thankfully absent due to pizza-related injuries. Constantly terrorizing customers with war chants.” End image transcript.]

But what if there was another reason? We can see signs of “some kind of struggle” in the King of Spade’s throne room, complete with tattered wall banners.

[Image transcript: Narration in the Spade King’s throne room. The text box says “(Wall banners. They seem to have been through some kind of struggle...)” End image transcript.]

What if the Knight sustained injuries when he overthrew the three kings and had to go to the hospital afterwards? A “struggle” implies that there was some resistance involved.

Another interesting coincidence is that the previews for Deltarune Chapter 2 strongly imply that it will take place in a dark world that forms in the hospital.

Earlier previews have also implied that Noelle will have a larger role in Chapter 2, and she’d have every reason to be in the hospital visiting her father when things hit the fan.

It feels awfully convenient that a new dark world springs up right in the spot where the Warrior is. I wouldn’t be surprised if chapter 2 gives us our first glimpse of the Knight in person, and what better way than a surprise run-in with the Warrior?

Some of you may be asking why I’d suggest a minor character like The Warrior might be the Knight when he has a single line of dialogue and no dialogue portrait? Simple: characters tend not to have portraits when their face is hidden from view. We see this with Undyne in Undertale:

She doesn’t gain a dialogue portrait until after she removes her helmet. This is also true of Burgerpants in Deltarune.

So, unlike Father Alvin, The Warrior has an excuse for not having a dialogue portrait yet. While Father Alvin has some compelling evidence supporting him being the Knight/Everyman, The Warrior has no major counter-argument that I can think of (unlike Father “no portrait” Alvin), so I give The Warrior the edge as far as Everyman suspects go.

I’d also like point out that if Gaster ends up not being the Knight or the Knight’s “Strange Son,” then we could get a two-for-one deal of Father Alvin as the Knight and The Warrior as his strange son. Definitely not the most likely outcome, but technically possible! I’d imagine those two would have a hilariously awkward dynamic if they were related.

Closing Summary

Wow, this post went on for a while! Let’s summarize what we’ve learned today.

Everyman (in Undertale)

Was likely a monster who “fell down”

Became part of the Reaper Bird Amalgamate

Likely knew the Core Mercenaries

Is connected to butterfly imagery

Described as “strange”

May or may not have looked like his bullet sprite

May or may not have been connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not have been connected to the River Person

Everyman (in Deltarune)

Is alive and active

Is known to both lightners and darkners

Can most likely travel between the light and dark worlds

Is known of by Jevil

May or may not resemble his Undertale bullet sprite

May or may not be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not be Father Alvin

May or may not be an Ice-E’s employee

May or may not be the Knight or the Knight’s “strange son”

The Knight

Described as “strange”

Is pulling up new dark fountains from the Earth

Has been to the dark world

Is possibly a lightner/monster

Is connected to the Spade King, who uses butterfly imagery

Overthrew the other three kings at Card Castle

Is known of by Jevil and Seam

May or may not be Everyman

May or may not be “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not be the “strange someone” who changed Jevil

Likely male

Likely has a “strange son”

Everyman and the Knight (similarities)

Both are likely monsters

Both are alive and active in Deltarune’s world

Both are (presumably) male

Both have a presence in the dark world

Both are known by Jevil and may have met him previously

Both are associated with butterfly imagery to some degree

Both are connected to knight imagery

Both are described as “strange”

Both may be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

Both are foreshadowed in Deltarune chapter 1

Final Conclusions

So what do I really think? I’m reminded of Undertale’s original Kickstarter demo and how much of the full game’s story was left out of it. Right now we’re in a similar situation with Deltarune. I can’t view any of my theories with certainty because at the end of the day I have no idea what Toby’s going to write for the full game, but I can guess.

If I had to put a number to it, I’d say the odds of Everyman making further appearances in Deltarune is 95% and the odds of him being the Knight is about 66%. There’s always the possibility that Gaster will usurp the title of Knight and leave Everyman as the Knight’s “strange son” or as the far less illustrious role of “no one particularly important”.

If Everyman is in the game, I’d give 50/50 odds that he’s one of the Ice-E’s employees, mainly due to the Warrior’s situation lining up well with Chapter 2′s (likely) setting. I’d then give a 25% chance it’s Father Alvin and the remaining 25% as “anyone else”.

Thanks for reading all of this (or skipping to the end). I’ve seen hardly anyone talk about our favorite strange little man and I just wanted to get the word about him out there. Even if you don’t agree with my conclusions, I’m happy to (hopefully) ignite further discussion over this often-overlooked character.

For now I’ve said all that I can say on the topic. All we can do is wait and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

Special thanks to @curioscurio​ for inspiring me to make this post in the first place.

Date published: December 10th, 2020

[newtgati]

Digimon Survive Spoilers please do not read any of this if you have not beaten the game these are my personal thoughts! This is my opinion incoming ⚠️⚠️⚠️

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

I’m gonna be perfectly honest and say that I really didn’t enjoy this game as much as I would have liked. And I do want to clarify that yes I did know it was a visual novel and only 30 percent combat, I bought this knowing exactly what it was marketed as. What I have gripes about is not the format, it is the story and characters. If you enjoyed this game all the power to you! These are just my silly little ramblings and feelings and I don’t expect anyone to agree with me!

There is a lot of recycled dialogue, and it didn’t feel like a lot of the characters had development. Rather most of it fell down to them having doubts about the situation, their Digimon partners telling them to cheer up and believe in themselves, and then realising that they can get through this and feel better. This isn’t bad...

...Until you realise that you have heard this conversation about 50 times over through the course of the story.

It gives the illusion of depth, of course I’d understand if this sort of thing is done after a character death. In fact one of the better parts of the story in my opinion was chapter 6 after the death of Shuuji, where Minoru and some others started to feel scared of their Digimon since they had the potential to turn bad and dark digivolve. After Minoru’s fight with Falcomon they do feel like a unit and their development does feel earned. This cannot be said for most of the other characters however. I understand that they are all children in a dreadful situation but I felt we barely got to know most of them, even when going out of my way to try and raise affinity with everyone that I could. I wasn’t expecting the deepest or complex characters but with the amount of dialogue written I felt there was enough space for some sort of character development. But instead many felt flat to me. There were many instances of repeating the same thing with everyone as well, like in the sewers or in exploration segments where you’d have to fight or do the same action in each area, just because it worked once for one character, doesn’t mean I need to see the same thing happen with another with slightly altered dialogue to accommodate.

Also this was my first playthrough and I got the moral ending, which was probably the most neutral. I know the game is intended to be played multiple times and you need new game plus to get the truthful ending which has everyone alive and is the best one. But after the first I don’t feel too motivated to do this. Having to play a forced flawed run in order to play the everything again for the best outcome I really don’t like.

My main gripe however and was the actual deal breaker is how the game handles choice. Having there be 2 scripted deaths really bugs me, especially since the game hammers it in that you could have prevented them when you cannot. I feel that instead it would have been better to have a more fluid story where any characters could have died, had their affinity not have been enough, to be locked out of saving people by default I feel is a bad design decision in my opinion. Maybe there should have been a hard limit the first time through that made you really think hard about who to spend time with, so you would still have some deaths on your hands, but at least they would have made sense and up to you. You made the choice. I know this would have been much more tedious to implement and write but I was kinda hoping for more choice. As for the deaths themselves, they were interesting but the fact that Ryo and Shuuji can’t be saved anyway the first time makes them much cheaper all around. You just kinda watch it happen while the game makes you feel like a jerk for letting them get this bad. The post credits “If Ryo’s affinity was higher maybe everyone could have survived” was more of a punch in the gut rather than a way to spur me on to start the truthful route and save everyone. I don’t know if I was the only one who felt this way about that in particular.

I enjoyed the gameplay, it was mainly easy throughout but a swift difficulty curve toward the last through fights. It’s also great that we have an origin story about how the Digimon world came to be as well as prequel to Adventure.

I’m not gonna leave a bad review don’t worry, this game just didn’t do it for me personally, and I don’t want to add to the unjust review bombing that some people are doing. It didn’t make its mark on me and that’s ok. But for anyone who may have disliked it I’d thought I’d voice what I didn’t like in case anyone agreed. I still want this game to do well so Bandai know we care about getting Digimon games in the west! Poor Yokai watch 4 never even got an English release :(

[monarch-boo]

Wheee rant time I'll write a calmer more condensed version of this later since its gonna be real important to get in people's heads before / by the time DRDR is out, but this keeps making me upset to think about so I'm gonna be a little bitchy first.

Anyway jesus fucking christ Paul is NOT a fucking incel it's so STUPID that people somehow interpret that.

I fucking hate how the interpretation came about to because its LITERALLY just

"hurr dhburr metalhead stereotype nerd stereotype and the people he snapped at happen to be women (and also Frank but let's just totally ignore that he thinks Frank is there to bully him too ehhh WHATEVER)"

That's literally it. Like what else is there for that assumption to work? And like I emphasized, it completely ignores Frank's role in the whole situation.

I don't even get why it happens either! Lots of the other bosses throughout the game have basically everybody fully understanding the stories and nuances of who they are and why they behave how they do, I've even seen some people do analysis videos and posts, like ___ Explained shit.

Why not Paul? Do I have to make one? I almost wanna make one, I'll fucking pore through everything of him in the game, hold people's hands through the opening cutscene and play all the voice clips that demonstrate further what's actually happening and read out like a whole fucking essay with fucking Speakonia because I don't wanna record my actual voice, maybe I WILL fucking do it one day but I'll at least wait until DRDR incase there's new lines (there is the random dialogue drops survivors can give during escorts, we saw in that one Natalie screenshot- I wonder if there's anything besides prestige point hints and if so if there's anything interesting Paul will say).

Like I'm genuinely fucking scared of how many brand new players coming in for DRDR are gonna get him wrong because of some surface level kneejerk reaction shit nobody will actually think and listen to the things he says or bother to do any real character analysis. I might actually stick to No Commentary playthroughs for a while if I wanna watch other people play because the commentated ones make me nervous now.

PAUL IS NOT A FUCKING INCEL HE IS A BULLYING VICTIM TAKING RETALIATION TOO FAR (or at least he would have if Frank hadn't intervened), IT'S ALSO HEAVILY IMPLIED HE IS JUST COMPLETELY DELUSIONAL IN THE MOMENT, DEBBIE AND MINDY ARENT GETTING TARGETED FOR BEING WOMEN THEY ARE COMPLETELY RANDOM WRONG-PLACE-WRONG-TIME BYSTANDERS OF SOME SORT OF PSYCHOTIC BREAK. THAT'S WHY THEYRE SO CONFUSED WHAT THEY DID, WHY HE ACTS AS IF FRANK IS IN ON IT, AND WHY HE IS SO CONFUSED AND REGRETFUL OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE SNAPS OUT OF IT. LIKE ACTUALLY WATCH THE CUTSCENES AND DIALOGUE AND ENGAGE WITH IT ALL FOR MORE THAN TWO SECONDS.

Please Capcom I am on my knees begging DRDR to make this somehow even more obvious and harder to misinterpret by adding new ingame boss/escort lines or making the existing ones more frequent because almost nobody hears the other lines that convey his character more because the game barely ever fucking plays them.

His existing OG DR1 voice lines have some absolute gold in them characterization wise but OG DR1 largely shunts them in favor of HERE'S A PRESENT FOR YA, YOU GO BOOM NOW times infinity. The fact that they often go so unheard that they don't quell the surface level conclusions sucks so much, make the other ones play more in DRDR and maybe even record some whole new ones that are even more obvious.

I mean, jeez, to people who actually pay attention and think for more than a second just that opening cutscene gives you all the info you really need to interpret him and his whole deal correctly, but APPARENTLY that isn't enough for like 80-90% of the playerbase so I hope DRDR has something, anything, to drive the point home even further, y'know?

I'm so tired. I hate how one of my biggest comfort characters is also like one of the most misunderstood and incorrectly-interpreted characters of the whole fucking franchise.

[ahwait-no-yes]

Let’s talk about if Saihara hated Ouma

So lately I’ve actually seen a bit more comments on how Saihara doesn’t actually like Ouma and people have gone as far as saying he hates him and idk why people genuinely believe it so here I am about to refute that (I’ve been waiting ages to make this post just so you know so this came out as a horribly unstructured ramble more than anything oops)

some notes beforehand:

I have an obvious bias as I do ship saiouma. although i’ll try to be neutral on what I say here, I can’t hide my bias. I have tried to include what people that hate this ship believe to counter them though, also if you ship other things that’s totally fine?? don’t think of any of this as an attack at your ship and I’m not saying Saihara loved Ouma, I’m just tired of people saying Saihara hated him.

You’re allowed to respectfully disagree as long as you don’t berate me or say I don’t know the game when the majority of the screenshots in this are from my own gameplay, lmao. 

and massive whole-game spoilers! Don’t read this if you’ve not finished DRV3!

Glad to know you made it under the cut! now I can begin with where I think people got this idea that Saihara hates him from- the infamous “You’re alone Kokichi and you always will be” line.

I admit this was very cold and still breaks my fragile saiou heart, but to base Saihara’s entire perspective of Ouma on this one line he said while he wasn’t thinking straight is just.. no.. It’s unrealistic. we’ve seen how Saihara is able to adapt his views and grow (I’ll come back to this later), he’s not stubborn in this regard like Momota or even Ouma is, so even if he did mean it 100% (which I doubt because when *anybody* is angry they will say or do things they may regret had they been calmer), it’s not like his view on Ouma from chapter 4 was his final view on him. And that’s what people fail to realise. 

So, how does Saihara view Ouma then?

well, I’d say he’s been interested in Ouma as a detective from the moment he met him with his curiosity piqued at Ouma’s claims of leading a secret organisation.

and he remains curious about Ouma throughout, always questioning why Ouma says certain things, what Ouma is lying for, he just wants to figure him out- and this doesn’t just apply to free time events either

I think you get my point there, now, I think if I didn’t ship saiou and read this, I’d argue these are all pre-chapter 5 and before the breaking line so he may have been curious before but not after- that then brings me to my next point

Saihara was confident- dare I say believed- in Ouma, especially after Chapter 5.

how bold of me to say ikr, but this ties in to Saihara’s ability to adapt his views. He’s sort of like a mixture of both Kaito and Ouma honestly, because naturally as a detective he has to be suspicious and think logically as Ouma does, while at the same time Kaito taught him to believe in his friends which has also helped him to advance in trials. I think he might have extended this belief to Ouma, because he trusts that Ouma is doing what he does for a reason.

In fact, I’d argue he’s the only one of the remaining group who wouldn’t readily accept pinning Ouma down as a villain. If anything, it’s the opposite- Saihara fought to clear Ouma’s name, and never stopped trying to understand whether or not his intentions were true or false

i’ll just drop this screenshot here (that i named THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY.png in case you were wondering)

this is what I mean when I say he wouldn’t accept it as fast as the others and would second-guess it, bear in mind this is the moment Ouma “admitted” to being the mastermind. and it’s not like this doubt was sudden or anything, cause I can recall this moment (that I actually didn’t catch on to on my first playthrough)

which gives me the idea that hadn’t Ouma purposefully messed with everyone and built up his bad reputation, it would’ve been so much easier for Saihara to disprove him being the mastermind at the point he said it. 

Anyway, going back to my point- excluding Kaito (cause Ouma directly told him), Saihara is the first to bring up Ouma’s innocence, and this is what I mean when I say Saihara believed in Ouma

note that I say believed in. believing Ouma and believing in Ouma are different, it’s like how loving someone and being in love with someone are two different things, so don’t argue that by saying “he didn’t trust him” because ik that and that’s not what I’m trying to say.

but he did believe that Ouma had his reasons, and he tried to discover and understand them. I mean, take this for example

he’s already on board lool look at him go, but no really look at the confidence

he’s both confident in himself and in Ouma not lying here, then goes back to being curious about his intentions

oh and let’s not forget who it was that searched Ouma’s lab to find clues to prove he is a remnant of despair. Why do you need to search for evidence for something you (and the others even more) think is irrefutably true? the answer is obvious- he was doubtful of it from the start, and needed evidence to convince himself it was true, but then as he found nothing to prove it (and even evidence against it), he had to convince the others of it too- and prove Ouma’s innocence

(the last screenshot was from Hikkie’s playthrough on Youtube) 

But as you can see, he’s clearing Ouma’s name as the leader of the Remnants of Despair. 

Now, I bet someone would argue that this only proves Saihara was determined to find the truth in general, because he’s mister detective, so I’ll raise you the fact that Saihara didn’t need to try figuring why Ouma does the things he does- he could leave it at just knowing the truth and if he really didn’t like Ouma like people say then there’s not much merit to it. 

“So what if I know this now? I didn’t care about him, it’s pointless” he could’ve thought something like that, but no

(I also think the “you’re lying again kokichi, there’s a method to your madness” moment fits here too)

Not only this, but there’s also how Saihara learnt from him.

honestly im still kinda mindblown from this ever since I first realised it, but when you think about it, Ouma hinted to Saihara in his FTEs how to win the game.

(those 3 screenshots are from justonegamr’s kokichi’s FTE video; random fun fact this was the playthrough that i watched while first getting into drv3)

But if you think about it, Ouma tried this again in his own trial in his attempt at ending the killing game and then Saihara also used this to actually end it

Not only that (which personally i think is pretty powerful in itself), but Saihara also tries to take Ouma seriously and picks up hints he leaves and uses them later

as well as

et

(and generally just)

generally, Ouma will hint and then Saihara will pick it up. it’s been like that for the whole game- why should Saihara give any extra thought to what Ouma hints if he dislikes him?? really, he could’ve just ignored him the same way he did at the end of chapter 4- but again, he didn’t “”hate”” Ouma enough to keep ignoring him, he considered him a friend in the end anyway.

and the end is what I’ll talk about now, too.

first- can we just acknowledge this?

he doesn’t ignore Ouma at all here. even though he didn’t trust him, he was sad to have lost him. 

Not to mention the way he thinks about lying at the end of Chapter 6. (like, please this is just-  *chefs kiss*)

IMAGINE Ouma was alive to hear him say that omg but Saihara could (and probably would) extend what he says here to Ouma himself- y’know, the ‘embodiment of lies’

by thinking about lies in a different angle instead of at face value like this, he gets a more neutral view on them rather than just thinking “they’re bad!!”, why wouldn’t he be able to do the same for Ouma? especially now that he knows Ouma was innocent and actually hated the game as much as they all did. I mean hey, even after chapter 5′s trial he sort of already thinks about lies differently

and throughout this post, I’ve tried to avoid talking about his free time events or his salmon mode ending because people always say “well they’re not canon” and to that I say not canon to the plot, yes, but still canon to the characters. so yeah, I don’t disregard any of them.

from this point onwards these all technically happen before chapter 5, so it’s not entirely relevant to my point that saihara still liked ouma even after the end of chapter 4, but it’s still something that shows he liked him beforehand at least. I mainly just wanna ramble though haha

one thing I’ve always thought was interesting was how Saihara easily lashed out at Kaito in his own free time event

and Kaito is undeniably Saihara’s best friend who he holds in high regard. If Saihara having backbone means he doesn’t like someone then damn bye bye momota have a nice trip in space

in terms of ouma and saihara though 

how about the fact that Saihara willingly sat there and played rock paper scissors (janken pon!) with Ouma 100 times?? bruh I got bored playing that with my brother after 8 rounds yesterday how would Saihara manage 100?? would you really have the patience for that when you don’t even like the person you’re playing with?

how about his third free time event too?

(from justonegamr’s kokichi fte video)

Saihara wanted to spend some time with Ouma, that’s- its literally written there I don’t know what you want from me the guy wanted a nice time with someone he supposedly doesnt like

what I love about this is how “reaching out” could be taken both literally and figuratively. Wanting to understand someone and trying to find a way to but them being too unwilling to trust anyone.. damn 😔👊 also shuuichi either wanted to handshake or hold hands, what else do you do when you reach for someone’s hand come on

oh yes and how about that he’s content with the refusal because it allowed him to figure out a small thing about Ouma? understanding that Ouma has a different way of being reached out to? mhm please think about that for a bit

that parallel in the salmon ending too...

he considered how it’ll be like with him after they get out and how he’ll learn about him, then ultimately decided when ouma reached out to him that he does want this, and even comments on the warmth of his hand... afhskfdlj

his blush when ouma mentions how his lies didn’t bore saihara was also a very cute moment

ooh and what about the love hotel???

there’s that one line “I know i’m meant to be Kokichi’s ideal in this fantasy but when he tells me he loves me I feel like he means the opposite” or something like that- i’d argue it’s because he’s cautious of Ouma for one but also am I getting something wrong here or is he talking about how he, Shuuichi, thinks Ouma doesn’t like him?  because I see people argue this is proof saihara doesn’t like ouma but all he’s really doing is just doubting ouma loves him

well in any case

WHY would he want him to stay in a love hotel of all places if he disliked him?! I know I’m just a broken record at this point but I can’t think of anything logical for it. they didnt even need to include that line in the scene at all but they did like they could’ve easily said something to do with realising where he was instead but nah. even after the event’s over, he says to himself

doesn’t he sound disappointed by it? and the fact that he even questions if it was a dream- okay  

ooh, something i’ve realised while writing this as well: it kind of seems like Saihara might not want to like him but does anyway; he quickly ‘smothered the thought’ of staying with Kokichi, didn’t want to admit that Ouma’s lies never bored him, and I also thought about how in one of Kaito’s free time events he says to himself “I shouldn’t be talking about another boy like that”- well, maybe it’s similar for how he thinks of ouma? it’s not like Saihara didn’t care for the others’ opinion on him (probably the opposite ngl if you mess up in class trials he says something along the lines of“Ah I screwed up! They probably think I’m a fraud”) and considering nobody else liked ouma (except for maybe gonta) I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt shame for liking him, thus repressing that feeling (especially around the others, there’s that part in trial 4 where he’s trying to convince kaito he isn’t siding with ouma cause he knows by doing that could damage his friendship with his bro)

I mean this is something I only thought of just now, but it could be plausible (i hope?)

One last thing- I find it incredibly funny how in chapter 2 when ouma is literally on top of saihara he doesn’t freak out or scream and everyone else in the room is also completely chill with it and unquestioning. no really they’re just standing there.. and how long was ouma even in that position for??

Now, I think that’s all. So to finish off, I’ll just say

People get the idea that saiouma is bad because some don’t realise Saihara can still like a person without idolising or putting them on a pedestal. Idk if this is gonna sound controversial or not, but I honestly do think he did exactly that to Kaito and Kaede- which doesn’t make what they have with him toxic or bad at all, I just think his view on Ouma is a lot more realistic and less clouded. Heck, if Saihara canonically liked Ouma as much as he does with the other two I don’t know if I’d ship saiouma as hard as I do (it is fun to imagine though).

If you actually read through this then.. wow? I’m surprised you got through this unstructured mess? I hope you can agree with me for some of my points at least but I’m not here to convince you or anything, this has just been on my mind for weeks now I needed to get it out somehow.

I said it at the start and i’ll say it again now too- i didn’t intend on attacking or comparing saiou to any other ships so I do apologise if I seem like it, i’m just terrible with my wording (lmk if something genuinely offended you, i’ll probably change it) but you’re free to ship whatever you like cause at the end of the day it’s just a bit of fun. that being said, I don’t want to actually argue on this so please don’t haha, i’ve contemplated just deleting this but I’ve put a lot of effort into this post even though i cant analyse for 💩

I hope you can enjoy the rest of your day!

have the kokichi gaygun as a farewell present

[little-lucky-angel]

We all know that Genshin Impact is a gacha game and as such it is predatory and dangerous, it's a form of gambling and it seeks out vulnerable people with no self control.

But... there is also this part of the game that is actualy pretty damn amazing, at least while you have things to do and quests to do. I found out from lategame players that there isn't a lot of endgame content so you end up not having to do much, so I decided to pace myself a bit more.

What ended up happening is that I spent hours upon hours just roaming the world and doing odd things. Resin system is shit, but as the low spender (welkin and bp), it made me get creative and find fun in just existing in the game and appreaciating the art.

It's a truly beautiful game and my gremlin brain finds a lot of enjoyment in just collecting things and I always have a lot of non-resin locked bosses to fight and I will often leave the game for the night and remember I was meant to farm something for my characters, but ended up going on a wild goose chase for something completely irrelevant to it. So I come back the other day and do little bit of this and that. There is always something little to do and if you aren't rushing it will always be something little to do until the next update that provides even more content.

Idk, it seems to me that mostly content creators are the ones that got the short end of the stick here because they need to provide content constantly and there is only so much you can do in the game that isn't fully released and has a resin system that even when refilled can be topped for the day.

But for regular people that play this as a past time? Getting a couple of nice characters, spending time with them, playing with them, discovering new and creative ways of using their abilities, farming for their talents and artifacts, their weapons etc., it can be such a fullfilling experience.

I got Itto and I love him so dearly and I'm putting a lot of work into making him my champion and I sometimes just spend some time looking at his idle animations, listening to his long voicelines and idk... I just love him very much. I also adore that sometimes when I leave my game and go to take a nap or do something else, I can hear Kaeya telling me that he didn't know I am such a slacker, Beidou becoming an alcoholic, Gorou getting ready to pounce on his butterfly.

The music, the scenery, NPCs ( "Cheap and taaasty choooop sueeeyyy"), there is so much I love about this game and when it becomes boring a bit, I do a quest or two and further my storyline.

Just... if you never played this game or you are just starting, don't rush your experience. Take your time and pace yourself, you are gonna love it all that more and the gacha part of the game won't impact you as much. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, it's a good game with a lot to offer, just don't grab all of it at once because you will then be stuck waiting for new content.

I felt compeled to write this because I discovered a youtube channel MurderOfBirds that focuses mostly on the questlines and thorough exploration, it made me realise that my approach to the game was way too grind-y and I was enjoying it less and less. Hare is a link to his playthrough. He has been playing the game since it's release and recently started posting summarised streams from the moment he first played it. He's also a very wholesome guy and will bring a smile to your face.

There is also this almost two hours long video essay on Genshin Impact by NeverKnowsBest that is very well put together. I strongly recommend it because it doesn't just focus on Genshin, but on the gacha gaming industry as a whole and he carefully takes into consideration the area of origin of gacha genre, aka Asia. I can't recommend it enough, please watch it if you are interested in the topic! It influenced my opinion a lot and also gave words to the ones I already held on gacha.