#i had an idea that gaster could be using the echo flowers to send messages to his boys. i think its a cool idea and will make people cry

[alpacacare-archive]

hey guys is anybody here. hello

@smarties-art

[sansybones]

Deltarune Reaction!!!

I finished Deltarune!!! My reactions/initial thoughts are UNDER THE CUT :))

S P O I L E R S

L    O    N   G lol

So!!!! THIS WAS A SURPRISE haha I think this caught us all unprepared but it’s the kind of surprise that I’m thrilled to encounter. I have been having fun reading other people’s reactions and theories, but I wanted to record my own ideas before they get mixed in with the ideas of others. 

These are my INITIAL impressions and theories, I’m VERY open to changing my mind and probably will. I like to sit for a long time and think about things before forming conclusions :) I don’t intend to stick to any of it really rigidly. Hopefully you find it fun to read!

OVERALL: oh my GOODNESS I am SO impressed with this game?? First of all -- it’s a whole game??? Toby????? It’s like 5 hours that was just snap-released for FREE? With a MUCH more robust battle system and some REMARKABLE improvements (like running! character creator! party system!!!) I’m *so* impressed. It was fun and funny and I was engaged and loving every minute of it. 

I LOVE the new characters, which blows me away. I honestly didn’t think I had space in my heart to love new characters but... oh my goodness... I love all of them??? I ADORE Susie, Raslei was super cute and fun to play as, Lancer was hilarious, I love the new monsters and I love??? Roulxs??? hahaha I think Toby was REALLY SMART to focus this game on an (almost) entirely new cast.

Some specific ideas...

I don’t exactly know what to make of Darkners and their world. The whole cave experience felt un-real. I mean to say that it never really felt very real to me playing as Kris. It always felt a bit through-the-looking-glass... like this isn’t a real thing that is happening and I was never very scared that “I will die”. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it’s just a thing I noticed that I’ve been thinking about a lot. My impression of the experience was that it was something Asriel conjured. Like he wanted to take Kris through this DnD-like experience because he... missed them? Needed to teach them something?? That’s very unclear to me right now. I want to believe that Lancer and the Darkner crew are “real”. But in a meta-context... they’ll never be more or less “real” than Asriel or Sans and maybe that’s the point.

ASRIEL was SUCH a mindblowing twist!! I’m so excited that FINALLY Asriel gets the narrative exploration he deserves :)) But what is he doing here??  Is the Darkner world... college....? hahaha

Susie’s comments on use of force really struck me. I don’t necessarily agree with them, but it’s something that I have been thinking a lot about and will need to think a whole lot more about. I think that discussion was a “gap” in the framework of Undertale and it’ll be interesting to see how it’s explored. (That being said I think Undertale is complete in its thesis, it’s just an element that left me wondering after that game.)

“Your choices don’t matter” was a pretty strong message in the early part of the game, but it’s one that I don’t think actually proves out throughout the game itself. There is already evidence of multiple endings (@withtheworms and I got slightly different endings, even though early evidence seems to point to the fact that a no-mercy run isn’t possible.) The Amalgamates in the graveyard and the existence(?) of Happsta -- due to Alphys never becoming royal scientist -- is a pretty strong signal to the contrary. It’s almost like “It’s a Wonderful Life” in its sentiment.

Seeing UT Characters in the overworld made me SO SAD. Asgore... you’re a mess... The soul-coloured flowers REALLY freaked me out. Echoes of the other world... you see a flower portrait in Asriel’s bedroom too. But, I’m happy because it fits with my idea of ToriGori ;) I was bummed out that Undyne and Alphys aren’t together and Bratti and Catty are enemies :(( I think the person in the curved house is Hapstablook (!!!) AND SANS??? W-...WHY DO YOU HAVE GRILLBY’S??? WHAT HAPPENED TO GRILLBY!? W-... WHAT??? (I will dedicate a LOT of thought to wtf is up with Sans in this hahaha)

Toby has confirmed that this is an AU and I consider that settled, but just because it’s an AU doesn’t mean it’s not a *connected* AU, and I’m really interested in exactly HOW it’s connected to Undertale. The big reason I think it must be a connected AU is ... well “why use UT chars at all, otherwise”? 

There’s so much space to make a “spiritual sequel” or a completely different game. If Toby really wanted a fresh start, he wouldn’t have kept so much from UT. 

This isn’t a “shared universe” kind of AU, because the existing characters/history is very different. The UT characters seem like much more than just cameos.  

This doesn’t seem to be a “Tenchi Muyo” style AU where they just use the same cast of characters and put them in a different context. The context isn’t that different! The characters do seem to be very deeply affected by some material change in the timeline.

This obviously isn’t a “reboot” type of AU like the Star Trek movies... the same story with some slight changes/updates. (Thank goodness for that)

I think it’s a “split timeline” AU. The rules of the world are similar, but some significant change in the timeline altered the course of history and the people within it.  

As for that change... did the monster war never happen? Did Kris fall instead of Chara? We’ll need to hunt for the evidence and think about that one.

That all being said, I LOVE that it’s an AU... that ties in very well with how fandom has chosen to interpret the game and expand on its universe.

Plus... A lot of our UT fanon (including Gasters) lives on ;;)))

I think, ultimately, Deltarune is exploring a similar “self-aware NPC in a game” idea that Undertale was exploring. I’m so excited to see more of it.

The ENDING - was CREEPY. I didn’t realize on my playthrough that you could MOVE the soul in the cage, which has some specific implications imo. The ending had me thinking a lot more about the very beginning (with the “character creator”.) Who is running THAT part of the game? How does that connect to DeltaRune? To Undertale? If it’s an “experiment”, what is the experiment trying to determine? 

In closing... I LOVED it. I can’t wait to think more about it and play with these new ideas. I hope Toby doesn’t stress out too much /:) I know he’s literally never going to read this but I still want to send positive vibes his way. Toby!! Don’t worry so much!! We love you!! I trust and believe in his ability to hire managers, programmers and artists to build the thing that speaks his vision as clearly as he desires. Follow your dreams, Toby, we support you!! Take as long as it takes just don’t get hurt <3 <3 <3