#in a game with such different endings/routes

[weirdmageddon]

why did that one NPC ask me if i knew what Hyperlink Blocked was? it was in chapter 4 i think. it caught me off guard. i said yes because i’m responding as myself, sara, the player. because i’ve heard of it. i’ve seen it around. i don’t know what it is exactly but i know it’s something. i wonder if that means anything for the snowgrave route.

i’m quite surprised at how many dialogue timeline intersections there are at certain moments.

like, the “noelle” responses have a completely different context in the snowgrave route. i’m not sure what the neutral branches of it look like.

meta-control

chapter 3 had deeper hints at meta-control, with the fun gang playing games, switching controllers. and kris and the mini-kris popping out of the screen that YOU 🫵 are clearly in control of.

could chapter 3 be foreshadowing this with the minigames around controlling other characters?

i don’t know about you guys but i’m still thinking about the ambience near the end in the green room when everything is muted, liminal, the soft nostalgic electric keyboard is droning, the screen is slightly fuzzing / “snowy”, darkners in that dark world are turning to stone, and you’re controlling kris all alone by themself in the abandoned S rank room to get the shadow mantle, while susie and ralsei are outside waiting for you to move on and seal the fountain already. there’s something so eerie and disquieting about it and i can’t get enough of it. it might be one of my favorite things in the game, because the energy is so potent to me.

but to get the shadow mantle, playing games in the S rank room, i was like “why is this so snowgrave”? this feels forbidden. why did tenna switch away so quickly during board 2 when rafting north? why snow? and the snowgrave downward jingle motif? the berdly-hexagonal frozen enemies?

even though you’re not playing on the snowgrave route, and it’s clear the arcade machine is a lower level of “control”, the themes transcend that. there’s definitely hints at snowgrave’s existence.

why snow? snow/ice/dark/cold conceptually is also opposite of warmth, which especially undertale had in the pacifist route, and what deltarune also likely has in store for pacifist players.

the holidays can be lit by a warm house, inside with family, hot chocolate, cozy fire. or isolated, cold, snowy, and dark. dark and cold.

also… ralsei is there for YOU 🫵

so we have ralsei dramatically break down at the end of chapter 4 because he knows how it all goes. so we know he’s basically omniscient.

pointing out the detail during the boat ride about the direction ralsei is facing genuinely spooked me?? like it made my heart drop for some reason. this is a video from before chapters 3 and 4, but i want to bring it back.

thing from chapter 3:

the snowgrave route is for completionists and the speedrunners. (it’s always going to be a thing, and toby of course knew this.) just maximum control for the heck of it, or morbid curiosity. you went our of your way to torture the characters, just like in undertale.

but also, think of how many neutral routes there must be too.

i’m truly answering choice-based prompts as sara, myself, not a specific sequence prescribed. how many other players are playing like me? one save file, no guides, just blind vibes and missing a bunch of stuff, but seeing what other people are running into to flesh out their understanding of the game’s situation up to this point and what it could mean?

i didn’t start the snowgrave route in chapter 2 because it’s so out of the way, too specific to follow, and my conscience is unlikely to permit it anyway. i’ll just watch other people do it.

but not the shadow mantle. the roaring knight is really hard, but if i can beat it i’d want to get its shadow crystal. why not? but i never did the snowgrave route. i must kill enemies in this arcade game to get the shadow mantle, but it’s understandably a game within a game. is it any different? what kind of ending would that leave you?

and do your choices even actually matter anyway? why is ralsei freaking out about us seeing the end, that the prophecy can’t be changed? toby said in an interview the ending of deltarune was based on a fever dream he had in 2011. the game was built around it.

I HAVE THINGS ON MY MIIIIIND

[emmaderanged]

DELTARUNE Chapter 3 and 4 spoilers

So, let’s talk about the weird route. I loved the weird route in chapter 4. Made me want to throw up, which was exactly what I was hoping for. But… what is UP with the weird route? What’s next? Where are we going with this?

A lot of this post is coming from an assumption I’m making that the secret game (the “sword route”) from chapter 3 is depicting the past and future of the weird route. In round 1, you slay creatures until you become strong enough to break out of the world bounds and retrieve the ice key. In round 2, you enlist Noelle (the “White Cloak”) to traverse the ice palace and retrieve the shelter key, freezing Berdly along the way. These are the past and present of the weird route: taking an alternate path to break out of the limitations of the world, enslaving Noelle to use until she is no longer useful.

A big question I had going into the new chapters about Kris is why don’t they ask for help from Susie or Ralsei (especially in the weird route)? Ralsei may or may not know about the soul’s control over Kris, but Susie definitely doesn’t. She’d be horrified and want to help! I think Chapter 4 answers that question by showing us that Kris has some motivation of their own to keeping the soul around. They don’t WANT to get rid of it, and they think they have control over it. They see themselves as a cage, yes, but an effective one.

At the end of Chapter 4 though, even in the normal route, I think Kris is starting to doubt their commitment to their previous motivations, and has to be reminded of their obligation by Carol (or whoever is on the phone in chapter 4 if it’s not Carol).

“…don’t forget, Kris… you promised.”

In the weird route though… I think they’re SERIOUSLY starting to doubt their commitment to this plan. I mean… just look at their face as they grab Noelle’s arm and flee the room during the couch scene.

Their ass is terrified of us (I mean… to be fair, they should be). Kris is just a kid, and they’re forcing themselves to act as a cage for an extra dimensional entity bent towards bringing harm to them for reasons that Kris cannot fathom.

After we put the thorn ring back on Noelle’s finger, Noelle’s will to resist us is shattered. She even thanks us for it, and can’t wait to go to the festival with us. It breaks Kris too, but in a different way. You’ve probably seen the most valid crash out of 2025. Their will to resist us grows even stronger. When we try to force them to say they’ll never again play piano, they viciously bite their own hand to stop the words from leaving their mouth.

They hate us, so so much.

Just as Kris has grown more determined to resist, we, too, have gotten more creative in our ability to control Kris. On the way to the church in the weird route, Susie asks us what we were talking about with Noelle and the world freezes. And a blank text box appears.

The way I interpret this is: we don’t even give Kris an option to respond.

And throughout chapter 4, Kris is still freaking out about us. About Noelle. They have a panic attack after we force them to picture Noelle. I think that Kris is rapidly realizing this is too big for them to deal with on their own. It is spiraling out of their control. We’re making cracks in the cage and Kris knows it. I think that they’re very soon going to break their promise, come clean to Susie, and confess that they need help. That they can’t do this on their own.

And of course Susie will offer to help. She’ll respond how she always does: by offering empathy and kindness and love. She’ll understand that even though Kris has been puppeted by us, it’s not their fault. She’ll understand that even though Kris doesn’t have full control over their actions, they’re still her friend. She’ll understand that Kris loves her and Noelle, and that Kris doesn’t want to hurt them. She’ll offer to destroy the soul, or find another cage, or do anything she can to help. Of course she’ll try to help Kris. Of course she’ll try to help Noelle.

And we’ll force Kris to kill her.

Or… what I think is more likely… Susie and Ralsei are slain with a blade in the “sword route.” you know what will be available to craft after chapter 5…? The Twisted Sword. There is one character other than Kris that can technically equip swords in the game’s code. Noelle.

We’ll forge the Twisted Sword. Noelle will take up the Twisted Sword. Noelle will become strong.

And we’ll command Noelle to kill Susie.

[icanexplainwhythisnameisbad]

dumb deltarune rant

each deltarune secret boss (or shadow crystal character if you wanna nitpick ) demonstrates freedom in different ways

Jevil is freedom by isolation

he’s separated himself from the world now free in his own madness (I don’t mean he locked himself away before you start commenting )

Spamton is the pursuit of freedom

…I don’t think I need to explain this one as it’s his whole thing but he’s grasping at every opportunity in any route, weird or otherwise

BDPG (blue dog plug guy ) is freedom by escapism

as he offers kris an escape to the game with the shadow mantle

the roaring knight is freedom by nonconformity as they?/she? (Definitely isn’t a he) as they show up directly in the chapter at the very end nothing about them is effected by your choices (your survival on the other hand is)

Gerson is freedom from insanity itself (sure this could also be considered nonconformity but I’ll explain)

he has a shadow crystal but unlike the others he wasn’t interested and never went insane

He’s free.

and that concludes my rant

let me know what you think

[australet789]

Im not going to dunk on other's posts, but i dont agree with the idea that Kris hates us so much that they don't play the piano.

I think the game didnt allow them to

Because for that argument to be true, we shouldn't be able to do the minigames with all the pianos around Chapter 4. And us, the players, can goof around on all of them. If Kris hates us so much they will only "plink" the instrument, then the mechanic wouldnt exist.

Kris doesnt hates us, they hate that we need to play by certain rules to do what they want.

We can only play the piano right with a concert sheet. The big piano in fact, let's you play 3 notes before stopping because Susie has yet to find the music sheet. The game doesn't allow Kris nor the soul to play.

Only after Susie comes back we can mess up with the piano. And i think that's not only a moment to see Kris' autonomy but ours, too.

Because then, we would have needed the sheet

But the soul backed off. And Kris could play freely.

We are in the same dilemma Kris is. I dont agree with people saying they hate us but rather, that they use us as a scapegoat for all the shit they are living: their parents divorce, Asriel going away, Dess' disappearance, Susie's bullying (before the game), Carol and her bullshit, and the Knight. Kris' autonomy has been lost way before we ended up inside them, now they have someone to retaliate because of the decisions everyone around them are doing. And I think they are aware.

The piano is a good allegory for Kris because it's the only instrument you can make music with that require only one hand at minimum

You can play that way (the soul during the minigames) or allow both hands to work together (Kris playing by themselves)

P.S: The piano can also represent the Weird Route, because you can play the same melody but in a different tune and it changes everything, no matter what the paper says.

[tallsc]

Deltarune Chapter 3 and 4 main route ramblings below.

If you don't want to read the whole thing, please note I have only done the main (pacifist) route for both chapters so far, along with the chapter 4 secret boss and have started attempts on the chapter 3 secret boss (cause I missed it on my blind playthrough) so please do not spoil anything past that! Thanks.

Okay so just gonna start this off with. VERY good chapters. Was not expecting a lot of that but it was all wonderful. I played it blind and streamed it with a friend so some of these thoughts originated from her btw, we theorized a lot with each other so I can't recall who's ideas half of these started out being XD

Fascinating pacing though - I expected these two to follow the formula of "brief intro section, explore a dark world for most of it, then longer outro section where we explore town" like the first two chapters but neither of them really did that?

Like chapter 3, there was sort of a calmer intro section with the walk through the dark world but there was no time to explore the town at the end, and the dark world itself felt smaller almost? Like a lot of things happened, but we didn't explore much like we usually would, which was an interesting change of pace.

And chapter 4, we went through three whole dark worlds after an incredibly long introduction time, and the outro was significantly shorter than usual.

Also so many things were confirmed that I was not whatsoever expecting to be confirmed or shown this early on in the game. Seeing the Knight, and ESPECIALLY seeing the Titan, I thought that would all be chapter 6-7 stuff, maybe 5 or very end of 4 at the earliest, but nope we got them here and they scare me.

I might have gotten grazed by Apollo's Dodgeball a bit there though cause anyone remember my old cancelled Control Switch comic? Well now that it's cancelled I'm gonna give some spoilers to things I had planned for it, one main thing being, Dess was the Knight in that story and, when in the Dark World, she looked like a shadowy creature who could sometimes have white save-point eyes and a white outline. Her main goal was to resummon the Titans. Does that. Does that sound familiar perchance.

(Also that one frame of Susie's eyes turning red when she opened the fountain? Control Switch perhaps? :> I am fully aware it is not that but I find it funny we still got a red-eye-spark Susie in canon game)

I'm obviously not right about all of it cause Dess in Control Switch couldn't leave the Dark World and the canon one can, also my Dess was an actual deer while this one is some Gaster-looking-Dess-amalgamate who likely has very different goals but y'know just got a little grazed by the dodgeball of prophecy.

Although speaking of which, what is with the amalgamate stuff? The amalgamates shouldn't even be in this game, the people who are part of them are dead and there's no determination here, yet they've been showing up more and more. We got Everyman, part of Reaper Bird's attacks, showing up in both the Light and Dark worlds in the form of graffiti and Jevil attacks, we knew about that since chapter 2. But Endogeny appearing as the main visual in seeing things in the dark that aren't real? Endogeny puppy what are you doing there??? And the graves of both Shyra and Crystal being given a bit of extra importance (Snowy and his dad visiting Crystal's grave, and the fact that Shyra's grave does not seem to be visible in Susie's flashback along with her giving dialogue to ONLY that grave up until after chapter 4) seems concerning with everything else being considered.

Also more on that point, the Knight looks like an amalgamate to me. Like an amalgamate of Dess and Gaster, if not more people - the horns and possible fur? of Dess and the skeletal shape and holes in the hands of Gaster, along with a lot of amalgamate-looking features. A face that can appear and disappear at will, turning from a smile to an eye and back into a smile and shifting positions on the face, able to rip their mouth open into a scream and open a visible ribcage, dripping in their introduction animation, potentially unable to speak or at least unable to speak properly (haven't finished the ch3 boss fight to see if they ever do talk). It feels very amalgamate-like.

The Ralsei lore was also very good, he's still not telling us everything but he's being more honest about what he can tell us. I will admit I was kinda mean to him at the start of ch4 after how he talked to Susie but I think he deserved that one. He still gets comfort in the end. He's trying to be more honest, and from what I can tell, Kris is starting to care about him more.

Also I cannot do a ramble without talking about Susie but I also have SO MUCH to say about Susie so that might warrant an entire other ramble later bc I loved the character development and am also incredibly afraid. So I'll just do some quick random points about her.

I loved how the Gerson fight had such a different vibe and how it was focused around Susie rather than Kris, unlike any of the other secret bosses. Having a secret boss who isn't creepy and horrifying, especially one who doesn't go for the kill when they win and who was totally willing to give up the rewards even when Susie lost - it was such a nice change of pace. And Susie getting to have that mentor figure was wonderful, really. Her character development throughout these chapters was amazing.

But also - Susie's basically self-sufficient in a fight now. Chapter 1 and the first part of 2, Susie was the worst party member for a pacifist playthrough, cause no battle required fighting and the only thing she was good at was fighting, tanking hits, and occasionally sparing. Now she can act - maybe not amazingly, but enough to win a fight by herself if she needed to. Now she can heal - maybe not as cheaply as Ralsei, but with the magic buffs I gave her she can heal more hp in one turn than Ralsei and it's implied her heal will continue to improve. She's still the tankiest member and the best at fighting when it's needed. Out of anyone - Kris being unable to heal and Ralsei being awful at tanking damage - Susie is the person most able to win a battle on her own, which is fascinating to me.

But the most pressing thing about Susie in these chapters is uh. She's. She's supposed to die at the end of this, right? Like that is 100% what I am gathering from the prophecy and symbolism here. I don't know that she actually will - "The girl" in the prophecy didn't totally look like Susie and there's a ton of theming about breaking fate anyway - but she's supposed to, narratively, it's what everything is hinting at. Ralsei repeating how nice she is, Gerson trying to encourage her breaking the plot of the story and continuing to see tomorrow, the prophecy itself seeming to get stuck on her and who she is, how one triangle of the Delta Rune - the same one that had Susie's color on Kris's carpet - was broken, Susie's blood on Ralsei's face as he tells Kris that fate is already decided, Susie's not supposed to survive here. Maybe she will anyway, but she's not supposed to.

Actually I'm gonna grab a screenshot of the Deltarune triangles cause I feel like that's one that would be most easily not noticed in people's playthroughs. Thank you to my friend who took so many screenshots of our playthrough and noticed the broken triangle.

Susie's triangle is broken and I am very scared for her safety. Why does she bleed by the way. The game made it very clear to us for the rest of the chapter that monsters are supposed to dust. We got a book about it and we had Gerson's dust and everything. Why does Susie bleed. Is she even a monster. Ralsei called her a monster in the prophecy but the actual prophecy never says the word "monster," just "girl."

One more thing about the books tho - the not-goner bird guy blocking off all the books scares me. So does Onionsan, Onionsan's missing and the library bird guy was where Onionsan should be and was freaking out over something and it so very much scares me, but ig we'll see when we get there.

I think that's it for now, I may post more coherent theories later - especially when I'm free of hiding from spoilers - but for now if you read all that good for you XD Hope you enjoyed!

As a treat here is a sketch of me suffering to the Shadow Mantle Knight fight on our experimental save. I still have yet to finish it there and I'm also gonna have to do it when I play with a different friend, when I do a completion route with the first friend in preparation for ch 5-7, and potentially in the Weird Route if that has relation to it. So gl to myself yaaay :D I beat Gerson in two tries why is this one so much harder

[taryn40k]

Thoughts on Primarchs as women, by a woman with sisters : oh-ho ho, Malcador darling. I appreciate the thought.

It would have been a disaster. XD

So the thought was to attempt to limitate dick-measuring contests, yes? Get things more "civilized", with enormous air quotes? Let's think about that for a second.

Firstly, there aren't that many differences between the two. You would still have the same traits of character between the Primarchs : Curze would not start combing her hair just because she is a girl. Angron would still punch anyone through a wall. Lion would have the exact same array of deadly forbidden weapons. Magnus would still think she knows better. Horus would still feel crushed and abandonned by her dad as a Warmaster. (Warmistress if we want to lean in further, but for now let's keep it as it is.)

Now when in comes to society, we could look at it from our current patriarchal lense and go ooooohh.... ouuuh they would not have had it easy... Perturabo has been disregarded and disrespected enough as is, man add to that being told she's be hood for political marriage and nothing more? YIKES. Others like Fulgrim or Angron, raised in worlds where it doesn't matter, would have it easier, but others like Lion?? In a world of knights? It's the Joan of Arc route or nothing! Would Lorgar even be able to serve in religious settings? And we are not even talking about potential abuse here. Over all, add that frustration to growing up, if the general 40k civilizations tends towards patriarchy.

And then the Great Crusade, and oh my god.

Horus already crumbled under the pressure of the expectations and the scrutiny. Can you IMAGINE having to care about your dress and every accessory too?? And who you talk to and who you are seen with and how every time you have a private conversation rumors sprout out??

The expectations of kids! Some idiot suggesting you birthed all of your Astartes! I would go insane. Now granted, except for a few that do care strategically for their appearances (Guilliman for example, would be pragmatic in her choices, for branding. Fulgrim would dominate that scene!), it can be shrugged off... but well. The fascination for the female form is a bit of a clingy thing, and it tends to fester. :/

I also humbly raise periods. Not in a haha bleeding, in the emotional toll it inflicts on you. This sense that everything is crushing and hard and painful, that the world is against you, that all you can do in your hopeless situation is to lash out. Can you imagine the decisions this pressure you can't control would make them do? Ouch. :/ It's counted in numbers of nukes launched.

Now, would it ACTUALLY have made the Primarchs cooperate better between them? Uhhh... possibly. From what I have observed, women have a slight tendency towards the cerebral over the physical. Throwing pointless punches is rare... but I can assure you that I have hunted my sisters down and put the fear of death in them for relatively small things that mattered to me. XD So yes, less pointless physical confrontation... but a lot more measuring. And things would have gone VICIOUS. Leman and Lion dueling? First there would have been one dead, for real, and then the remaining legion would have been hunted down to extinction. If things come to blows, you better hope someone is there to pull two primarchs apart because it will not end before one is bleeding out! We are talking about demigods under additional pressure here.

When things explode, oh they explode HARD. We don't do fists here. We do fangs and claws. And that is past all the scheming and political games to even get there!

Malcador darling women are not always civil. Or kind and soft and agreeable. We suffer from the same flaws, expressed differently. But let me tell you... the Imperium would have gone WEIRD with female primarchs. The kill count would have been much higher, not that they didn’t give it a good try, but... sisterhood is either an unbreaking bond, or the fuel of hell itself between sisters.

Maybe it's better to have 20 sons. Not for the repairs around the house, but to at least have a house at all after someone snaps.

[space-mermaid-writing]

Expectations [Tony Stark / Stephen Strange]

Summary: Stephen asks Tony for a date. Tony knows he will screw this up. Whatever expectations Stephen has of him, Tony isn’t going to meet them. Good thing Stephen loves to prove people wrong.

Tags: first dates, established friendship, Tony Stark needs a hug, first kiss, communication, fluff, emotional comfort

Author's note: I wrote this a while ago and I finally remembered to post it. Beta by @kvjjjjjj

Ko-fi | Masterlist | Read it on AO3 | Word count: 1.9k

Expectations

“I don’t know why you would want that.” Tony looked down at his hands, still holding a screwdriver and some part of his amor that he had been tinkering with. He frowned, before he glanced back at Stephen who sat at the other side of the table.

The sorcerer had put aside the book he had been reading to focus on the conversation.

Tony didn’t know why they were having this conversation. “It’s a hopeless case,” he added.

“I beg to differ,” Stephen objected calmly. He had his hands folded in front of him on the table, looking very much like a teacher or a parent who answered all of their kids' questions patiently – no matter how ridiculous they seemed. “I know your self-esteem lacks in this department and I’m very willing to prove you wrong.”

Stephen always loved to prove Tony wrong. To be fair, Tony loved to prove Stephen wrong as well. That was kind of their thing.

But this was different.

“I don’t do relationships.” He had tried. By god, Tony really had tried.

His last breakup had ended with him having half of a broken shield in his chest and bleeding out in Siberia.

And Pepper… yeah, that was never gonna last anyway. She had never understood Iron Man.

Stephen did.

But so had Steve…

Tony shifted his focus back onto Friday’s readings of the piece of armor on a screen just to stop going down that route.

“I merely asked you to go out with me. Not to move in with me. We can take it as slow as you want to.”

“Why are you so persistent about this?” Tony asked, irritation seeping into his voice. It was easier to get annoyed or even angry at the sorcerer than to listen to his own heart, which actually supported the idea of getting closer to Stephen.

It wouldn’t work out. Tony would mess it up like he always did. Stephen would grow tired of him, of his antics. Tony had too many of those.

“You know my reputation.”

“I don’t care about what people say.” That wasn’t what Tony had meant, but before he could say that out loud, Stephen continued. “If you’re so sure about it, why don’t you prove me wrong?”

He was baiting him with a challenge, not even phased by Tony’s off-putting reaction.

Tony sighed. This was a mistake. He just knew it. It would ruin the perfectly good friendship they had. "Fine. One date."

In the end Tony agreed to the date. Of course he did. He was a hopeless romantic at heart. Or maybe he was a masochist because he would get hurt inevitably. Most likely when Stephen stopped talking to him because of something Tony had done. Or hadn’t done.

There were many ways to screw this up.

_____________________

The date went great.

They were at a small Greek restaurant in a booth at the back, away from prying eyes. The staff was attentive yet not annoyingly so. The food was amazing, and there was never an awkward silence between them. Tony and Stephen talked about everything and anything.

Yet, something felt off. Stephen couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Tony looked dashing. All dressed up from the usual band shirt he wore in the lab and to the Sanctum. His suit jacket currently hung over the back of his chair, revealing the crisp button-up under it.

Stephen’s outfit matched. Initially, he had dressed more casually but as soon as he had seen Tony in front of the restaurant, he had used magic to step up his game.

They told anecdotes they hadn’t shared yet with each other. Tony listened to the sorcerer intensively, asked follow up questions and laughed at the right places.

In return, he was attentive as Tony rambled about the progress of his latest project.

For a date it went fantastic.

And yet…

The waitress came to clear the empty plates and asked if they wanted dessert. Tony turned to face her to hear about their options – and that was when Stephen realized what was bothering him: Tony’s smile didn’t change. It was the same smile he had worn the whole night talking to the sorcerer. It was charming, easy and very much rehearsed.

Stephen didn’t object when Tony ordered for both of them, too busy watching him, trying to figure out how he had missed this. Because once noticed, it was rather obvious.

He had been dazzled by the charisma of Tony Stark.

Tony turned back to him, seeing him staring and he tilted his head, amused. Yet careful. “What?”

“You don’t have to do this,” Stephen said softly.

“What? Ordering chocolate fudge cake? I’m sorry to inform you, but I really had to do that.”

The sorcerer shook his head. “Putting up a front and playing perfect for this date.”

He saw the exact moment Tony became guarded, leaning back. The difference was minimal, the smile was still there – but definitely fake now. His eyes were more sharp and darted over Stephen, analyzing him. As if he was trying to figure out what had given him away. How he should react. How Tony could save the night.

His brain solved a hundred equations, processed all the data he had on hand, calculated probabilities. Everyone who claimed that JARVIS wasn’t a child of Tony, was wrong. Their brains worked in the same way. JARVIS’ was just bigger with more resources at hand.

“Are you complaining I put effort into this date with you,” he finally asked.

Stephen knew every word out of his mouth was carefully crafted together. He wanted to talk to the real Tony, not to this life decoy he put on as a front.

Instead of answering the engineer, he stopped a waitress walking by. “We’ll take the dessert to go. And will you bring the check, please?” And to Tony he simply said, “Let’s take a walk.”

Tony deflated visibly. What could Stephen possibly want to talk about outside that he could not say here? Unless he wanted to raise his voice, or walk out on him as fast as possible afterwards.

Tony had known that agreeing to go on this date had been a bad idea.

A few minutes later they were walking down the street. The lights of the shops and street lamps illuminated their path. The streets were busy with people they had to navigate around; this was still New York after all.

Tony carried the dessert in a plastic bag. He had barely said a word since they left the restaurant, waiting for Stephen to drop the shoe. He wished they would just get over with it.

“Why did you think you had to act a certain way tonight?” Stephen asked after a while.

Tony shrugged. “You wanted a date. People have certain expectations of dates.” There wasn’t anything wrong with that per se. Stephen was important enough to Tony that he had agreed to this in the first place so that the sorcerer could scratch the itch he apparently had. Why else would he have been so persistent?

“I’m not people,” Stephen reminded him.

“Exactly,” Tony agreed. “You deserve someone great. Who treats you well. Someone who isn’t a mess. Who remembers birthdays and anniversaries.”

“You remembered my birthday last year and even got me a watch.”

“Because I wanted to; not because I was expected to,” Tony clarified firmly.

Stephen sighed and stopped walking. They were on a bridge somewhere over the East River. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable with this whole date idea.” Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed for it. “I don’t want to pressure you into being someone you are not. I want you to feel like you can be yourself around me.”

“I felt comfortable around you before you brought this whole dating thing up,” Tony admitted. “I like your company.”

It was the most honest he had been this whole night.

Stephen nodded, not sure where this left them. Probably back at square one. Hopefully. If Tony didn’t retreat fully after this.

The engineer shuffled his feet, not sure either what to do at this point. At least this display of awkwardness was a sign Tony had let his guard down. And that was something.

“Just one question,” Stephen asked finally because he refused to let the night end like this. He wanted at least know if he had misread the signs before. Tony signaled him to go on. “Ignoring all expectations you might think I have; or the consequences for that matter – have you ever thought about kissing me?”

Tony seemed surprised and he eyed the sorcerer as if he was suspecting a trap. Yet he found nothing but curiosity.

“Yes, of course. You’re gorgeous. And I like what we have. Had.”

“We still have that, Tony,” Stephen reassured him before he admitted, “I guess you were right: going out wasn’t the best idea.”

Although Tony liked being right, he felt a pang in his heart hearing it. Apparently, he had had his hopes up after all.

“Yeah,” he muttered, glancing along the bridge. He was ready to leave. Stephen had said nothing would change between them, yet he couldn't help the disappointment he felt.

“Nevertheless, I want you to know that I also thought about it,” Stephen said.

Tony didn’t follow. “About what?”

“About kissing you.”

Tony’s breath hitched; he hadn’t expected that. “Yeah?”

“Repeatedly.”

They looked at each other. Stephen spoke casually like they were discussing the latest spell he had been researching. He was standing close to Tony but wasn’t crowding him.

“At least we are on the same page with something.”

“What are you trying to say?” Tony asked.

“Nothing. Just that we could do what we both apparently want to.

“We just talked about it, Stephen. Kisses come with expectations.”

“Not necessarily. It can be just that: a kiss. No dating, no follow ups, no arguments.”

Tony doubted the two of them could ever do without any argument. It was part of their dynamic. It was fun and all in good manners.

“Sounds too good to be true,” he muttered.

“I will happily prove you wrong.”

And somehow Tony wanted Stephen to be right. Just this once he would love to admit his own defeat willingly.

He liked the sorcerer; was always looking forward to their next meeting. Over time Tony had opened up to him, because it had been easy.

He knew, if he said the word, Stephen wouldn’t push it; they would go back and never speak of this again.

Tony didn’t want that.

Maybe it was really just about scratching the itch. Stephen had said, no expectations. And so far the sorcerer had always kept his word.

“I’m willing to see you try,” Tony finally conceded.

Neither of them was making a move.

“Come here then.” After everything, Stephen still gave him the option for a final back out.

But there was something in his voice that made Tony take a step forward. And that was all that was needed for him to be in Stephen’s personal space. The sorcerer met him halfway, leaning down. Tony’s eyes fell shut when his lips touched Stephen’s.

The kiss lingered and he was reluctant to withdraw. Their breath was warm in the cool night.

“I don’t think I will stop thinking about kissing you anytime soon,” Tony admitted quietly.

“Me neither. We should do this again sometime. No expectations.”

Tony huffed, amused. The weight on his chest felt suddenly ten times lighter. “No expectations.”

[atalana]

the different interpretations of these are also fascinating! bc i read the lake scene as them not wanting to say anything but we didn't give them a choice (both i think are super fun)

my other favourite moment of fighting us that wasn't mentioned here is also at the end of ch4 after you come back from the dark world, if you go explore the church there's that mysterious door at the back

which like the guitar the soul wants to explore, but whatever is in there kris knows and does not want us to know. the text choice you have to open the door says 'turn the doorknob', so kris turns the doorknob. and nothing else. (repeating that interaction is always the same)

it's so "i am following the LETTER of what you make me do, but you will not make me do anything more."

(also bc im currently going through the ch3 sword route and having a great time, spoilers for that particular route under the cut)

so in this route ramb gives kris (and only kris, susie and ralsei aren't here) access to the original un-tenna'd version of the video game (this is on my weird route continuous save file so mine is a kris that's already done snowgrave)

the way that game goes is the maps for each board are the same as the version you played with tenna, but getting rid of all mechanics and filling the map with various monsters. in turn you get a sword, and you have to completely clear the map of monsters to get enough xp to progress

the last board as we saw briefly with tenna is the city board. except there's no monsters here, or anything else, the map is completely deserted. unlike the other two boards however where the kris sprite is alone, here the susie and ralsei sprites are also following you around. the only way to complete this board, is to kill susie and ralsei

and if you do you end up in a video game version of the overworld (you already got access earlier to the shelter key, though i didn't piece together until this moment it was the key to THAT shelter)

kris will not fight you even when you kill their friends. but the second you get close to shelter that everyone but kris wants to get into, they start DESPERATELY trying to get you to leave. it's a battle between you who are trying to press down to get to the shelter, and kris who is pressing up with everything they have to get you to walk away.

you are stronger than them. if you don't press any key they will make the kris sprite leave that map. but if you actually try to get to the shelter, you can.

inside it's very dark, it's where you gain access to the shadow mantle as armor (if you can beat the boss, i'm still working on that bit), it's also a fun detail that once you're in the shelter, the kris sprite's hp becomes intrinsically linked with actual kris' hp, every hit you take from the boss damages kris in real life, and a game over in the video game actually game overs you, instead of just having to restart the level like dying in the earlier boards does (i also just for fun tried modifying the save file to give kris more health and see what happens, it does not matter, you can't modify the game's health, and once the video game kris dies the real kris dies)

but to my actual point and the reason why doing this on a snowgrave file was relevant, there's a bit before the actual fight where the boss monologues at you. and they start talking about kris' hunt for the shadow crystals (which you get from defeating the bonus bosses like jevil, spamton, etc). and i screenshotted the next bit so i can give you the whole thing word for word, they then say

"Do you honestly think [that search] will get you what you want? No. Part of you is enjoying this, isn't it? The same part of you that enjoyed yesterday. Knowing you could say it wasn't really you. Oh, don't make that sour face. I can see in the dark, you know! The question is... Can you?"

and that's such a fascinating line bc there are so many ways to interpret it! i thought for the first half that it was talking about us, the player, pushing the characters into these terrible places to see what happens. but "knowing you could say it wasn't really you", followed by "don't make that sour face" does largely imply they're talking to kris the whole time! and like whether they're right about kris or not it does cast kris' agency in this whole thing in an interesting light

both bc if it is kris that wants the shadow crystals, why? and also, if they are clinging to the knowledge that they're not in control here, when they have more control than they think they do, is that about justifying it to themselves, or justifying it to other people?

and if the latter, is that why they're so interested in keeping everyone from finding out about what's really going on with them? the lengths they go to hide stuff, seems at first because their friends would stop whatever plan they have in motion. but what if it's not just that? what if the reason they are so determined to keep susie out of the shelter isn't just because it would interfere with the knight's plans, but because susie would never look at kris the same way again?

Something I really, REALLY appreciated with these last two chapters of Deltarune is just how much we get to see Kris fighting to act autonomously. We even get extended scenes of us completely removed from Kris and seeing how they act separate from our influence (though perhaps not the influence of others...) There have been glimpses of moments like these, such as when Kris acts on their own behalf during cutscenes. However, those are instances where we obviously wouldn't have much input beyond prompts for dialogue responses for necessary actions.

Something small but really impactful that happens multiple times between both chapters 3 and 4 is just how often Kris fights to control what we make them say to other characters. They'll cover their mouth, speak with their mouth closed, even bite their own hand very hard just to keep us from saying mean, misleading, or untrue things about themself or their friends.

I feel like in the past, we've had some indication that Kris says (most of, but maybe not all) of what we make them say, with the only indication of their feelings on the matter being how they say it. They'll mumble or say it creepily, or shout, or grumble, prompting responses from others (usually Susie) to comment on how they said the thing but Weirdly. This time, there's way more emphasis on Kris outright refusing to say things.

I'm particularly interested in a moment between Kris and Susie near the end of Chapter 4. If you go to the lake spot where you usually see Onion-san (who does not appear this time), if you wait for a while, both Kris and Susie will sit down together. If you wait for a fairly long time (I tend to wait until the game itself tells me there's no more dialogue to be earned with my persistence), a prompt will show up. It gives you the option of saying nothing or telling Susie what is on your (Kris') mind. If you choose that option, Susie asks Kris why they're talking with their mouth closed.

That's such an interesting moment to me, because I think it's an example of Kris wanting to tell Susie something, but not us. Kris wants to say it, but not let us hear it. This idea is also brought up in a delightfully awful scene with Noelle, if you did Snowgrave route.

I'm just... really, really glad we got to see more of Kris. The one and only thing I truly hope to see before this story is ends is that we get to see Kris act totally autonomously, without the threat of us or others influencing their behavior. I want to know who Kris is, how they feel about things, how they'd act if they could act as themself. I'm glad these last two chapters gave us a glimpse of that... I really, really want to see it!

[mortal-ethos]

One of the things I love about Slay The Princess, is that even with the many many many videos I've seen: reviews, essays, analyses... There are still ones I've seen where even when people try to do a complete summary of all the routes, I still find myself saying,

"But I got to that ending a different way."

As well as,

"I've done what you're saying, and still got a different route."

This game is fucking phenomenal and feels like a shifting mound itself, never wanting you to know what to expect, full of possibilities based on things beyond your knowledge.

[taffy-glitch]

Ok I finished chapter 4 last night and I had some thoughts about the Aesthetic Catholicism of it all (under the cut if you don't want to read All That)

So, from a Doylist perspective, giving the Delta Rune religion a lot of Catholic imagery makes sense- it gives the viewer/the player something familiar to relate it to, which gives an idea of what the cultural place of this religion is in the world (or at least in the town). It also grounds the setting in an interesting way- another writer might use the surface aesthetics of stained glass and Gothic architecture and leave the rest up to vibes, but Toby is very specific about it- the prayer candles, the little wells of holy water, the way that one of the dark world enemies is a freaking censer named for Balthazar- it points to a lot of thought put into this choice (and, for me, who was raised catholic, it made it all feel almost. uncomfortably familiar...)

I have no doubt Toby could have created a whole unique set of religious traditions for this fictional world, but the fact that so much of it *is* familiar allows the viewer/player to focus on what *is* unique about the religion, the really important parts- the prophecy, the knight, the angel... the lack of a concept of sin.

This is a bit less solid, but I also think it's interesting to think of the Watsonian implications as well. Alvin mentions that Asriel tried to confess to him to absolve himself (and Kris) of their sins as a child, despite there being no sin in their religion, which implies that there *does* exist a concept of sin in the wider world, which Asriel would know about from outside his immediate community.

I'd also like to point out that the Delta Rune and the prophecy existed in Undertale as well (albeit with a different prophecy), which characters clearly held some reverence to but without the churchy vibe

Considering humans and monsters have, presumably, had at least *some* more cultural exchange in this universe as opposed to the Undertale universe, could it be that they absorbed some Catholic aesthetics that way?

Anyway. I doubt this'll really be important to the narrative but it IS interesting to think about

[bunnieswithknives]

Oh I have to ask. In your Things That Crawl AU, what does Lyle think. I could see him having similar reactions to Hellen's. We know that even if it wasn't healthy, Lyle was the one who knew Sam the most, longer then anyone else, his constant stalking means he knew what Sam was like and they may have even actually worked together. I personally just can't see Lyle accepting this "New" Sam but I could be totally wrong, I'd love to here about Lyle in your au.

Oh yeah Lyle absolutely does not accept the new Sam

My first thought was that Lyle does what he always does when the going gets tough, and that's try to steal Sam's soul. I don't really like that idea though... cause either it works as both a cop-out and definitive answer to Sam's state of mind, or it doesn't and that's still an answer of some kind, which I don't want.

The alternative is really dependent on the extent of the powers I wanna give Visitor!Sam(? Idk if this is what I wanna call it but we're going with it for now) and how fucked up I want that to go.

POV: The benevolent god has an audio processing disorder and no idea what a human looks like

[indiiglow]

My thoughts on the Roaring Knight

(they're probably not gonna be very coherent)

First of all, people so confidently pointing at Carol being the Knight are wildin'

It's Dess. But not literally. I think... The Knight was made. Possibly to carry out the prophecy, but the prophecy is at least in part bullshit. I think there is a goal, and how it gets accomplished is less important - therefore making the Knight a tool that can be thrown away if absolute need be. It's about the red soul.

As for proof? Beyond the obvious antlers/summoning a bat that turns into a sword? (Carol uses a katana while the Knight's sword is shaped like a falchion. I doubt this is a pixel restriction issue, it's like that on purpose.) In chapter 4 when the gang is chasing them they act flippant. Childish. Zooming up the stairs while grinning with their hands crossed. Can you picture The Serious Mayor doing that? Or that animalistic, beastly introduction? I can't.

I think they are made from some sort of an essence? Darkness? Of a titan and a part of Dess. I hesitate to throw around any soul ideas because the whole monster soul situation in this game is already so gooddamn weird it warrants a post of it's own. Whether that means Dess herself is somewhere else or.. merged? with it I don't know.

And finally:

(that was the first thing I got when I interacted with the computer on the same route but not sure if intentional tbh bc I didn't interact with it on the prev one. but helluva coincidence ISN'T IT)

[moeblob]

Kara and Nines In their own colors but the other's style.

[adastra121]

Luneth the Reluctant Unnamed

I redesigned my Unnamed!MC, Luneth.

Pronouns: She/Her Birthday: October 24 Height: 5’4 (163 cm) Personality: Monotonous Mystic Likes: Swimming, summer rain, sunrises, dancing, playing the lyre, warm bread with honey, nature walks Dislikes: Dishonesty, the sound of an untuned instrument, crowded spaces, chalk, heights Fatal Flaw: Would go to any length to fulfill her destiny Other: She is a vegetarian. She doesn’t eat meat, but she does eat animal products like cheese and milk. Quote: “This path was never meant for me.”

More about her below:

Luneth is reserved, diligent, tenacious, seemingly unfazed and emotionless (but there is a great depth hiding under her icy surface).

She is very socially awkward, will probably make many social blunders throughout the game, but she does not care much about how others might perceive her. What matters most to her is her objective — why would she concern herself with the judgement of others?

Has a sharp, cold gaze that others may find intimidating, but that’s really just her neutral expression.

She tends to be straightforward and rather blunt with her words. She isn’t a very good liar and she knows that, so if she wants to keep a secret, she usually chooses not to speak on it.

She’s slow to warm up to others but she is fiercely loyal, protective, and devoted to those who have earned her trust.

She regards carrying out one’s duty with great importance. She would go to any lengths to fulfill her purpose, even to others' and her own detriment. She would destroy the world if she believed this was her destiny. Her own desires are nothing of importance — they are not meant to exist.

Despite appearing rather serious from her monotonous demeanour, Luneth can be quite playful. She enjoys utilizing her sense of humour when she wants to invoke joy in those she considers to be her friends. Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell when she is joking so her jokes rarely land. This is much to her disappointment.

She loves dance and music, as they offered a space for her to be herself. With her abilities, her hands, and her identity promised to serving the temple and the destiny they followed, she had very little ownership over her own person. Through her dance and her music, for a short moment in time, her body and her emotions are hers.

Luneth can play the lyre and the harp. She will probably learn the piano later on — I imagine she will continue learning new dances and instruments throughout the story and afterward.

She mainly dances contemporary. I'm debating on having her do aerial silks as well, mostly for the aesthetic parallel between the silks and her bandages, winding around her limbs. But where one represents a barrier, the other sets her free.

Luneth has a fear of heights, but she's also very disciplined, so every sunrise, she would practice her lyre or harp playing on the temple's platform overlooking the waterfall.

She is not a very empathetic person, mostly because of her sheltered and isolated upbringing under the Temple of Myst. But she does lend aid where she can. She may never understand why the traveller beside her in the caravan is crying — their tears serve them no purpose now, especially out in the Wastes — but she will share bread and water with them because an emotional outburst like that drains you of liquids and nutrients.

She’s a very practical prophet.

The Temple of Myst trained her to become the perfect vessel for her gift. She’s been raised to keep her emotions in check because they can affect her power, which needs to remain pure. Untainted.

Additionally, the priests told her she was to be an instrument of destiny. She must remain neutral, detached to carry out this duty. She is not a person, she must be more than that. She is more than that. She is the hand of enlightenment.

Actually, all the difficult training paid off, because now she can sense happenings in the present and the immediate future as effortlessly as blinking. 

Like, you can be conversing with and walking beside her in a hallway and she’ll suddenly hold a hand out to catch a falling vase and set it back in place without missing a beat. Or if there’s a tripping hazard, she’ll smoothly navigate you around it.

I imagine a scenario where she and one of the LIs get into a fight with a bunch of enemies and she calmly says: “One behind the crates, two on the roof.” or “Duck.” or “Block left.”

She is not much of a fighter, but she’d be a perfect lookout or…what is the word for someone who has eyes on everything? Guide? Anyway, if she can communicate telepathically, she’ll be the voice in your head letting you know what to watch out for.

Some abilities she might have, depending on how the Unnamed origin plays out (I've played around with them because I thought they would be interesting): Clairvoyance, psychometry, spirit mediumship, telepathy.

Luneth is oblivious when it comes to innuendo. So yeah…none of Vere’s jokes landed. She just wanted her room key back.

Vere: “Don't tell me Leander already snuck out to get his knob slobbered out back.” Luneth: “Kuras is a doctor. He would not put his mouth on an unclean doorknob, it would be unhygienic.” Ais: “…I see you’ve got no comment on the dove.”

Does not understand why Leander blushes so often — is he sick? That would explain the dark circles. He should not offer to allow people to touch him if he's sick. Or perhaps he just needs to keep off the ale for a while.

She genuinely considered tying Leander up for their safety, completely unaware of the sexual connotations around it. Did not know why he was so flustered about it.

She gets frustrated sometimes. Things would be easier if people just said what they mean — but here she is, in the city of secrets.

Her entire life, she has trained for one purpose — to serve the Myst with her gift and bring enlightenment to the lost. Her path has always been clear. Now, understanding that it had all been a lie, she is thrown into the unknown.

She must discover the truth of who she is, where these destructive powers came from. And perhaps she’ll find out who she is outside of the temple.

Her MBTI is ISTJ

Her zodiac sign is Scorpio

Her enneagram is 1w9

Here is her full new design:

Woohoo! She is the MC of mine who's free of the waist sash! XD I took some loose inspiration from art nouveau architecture for her design — I felt that the flowy, but structured, designs suited her character. I was considering giving her more of a gown silhouette, but I thought this would allow her more movement for her dance style, which is mostly contemporary. And Kuras probably wanted to give her something a bit more practical to navigate the city. I might draw her in the gown version later, though! I would like to draw her in more gowns in general — I think she looks very beautiful and elegant in them.

Some songs I associate with her:

"Daughter of the Moon" by Adriana Figueroa This is the song I think of as her backstory theme. I attribute it to the creation of Luneth's character. Her backstory came clear to mind when listening to this song. A lone temple atop a waterfall, an isolated priestess among the blue waterlilies. It's an original song based off of a character who ends up sacrificing her life for others, but with Luneth, I imagined someone — the visiting mage — that refused to let her make that sacrifice and, instead, destroyed themself so that she would finally be free. So, instead of her life being the sacrifice sung about at the end, it is her love.

"All the King's Horses" by Karmina Her character theme. Could probably be a direct continuation of the previous song. Right after the visiting mage destroys her temple.

"notre dame" by Paris Paloma A bit of insight into her experience in the temple, forged into an instrument of destiny. She may be held with great importance as the hand of enlightenment, but the pedestal can be as lonely as the high bell tower.

"Journey" by Aphrodite Patoulidou and Theodore Koumartzis Lyre playing and singing voice reference.

"The Calling" by The Amazing Devil Her story theme. I imagine you can hear the echoes of the visiting mage, encouraging her to be more than what everyone has insisted was her destiny. She can be more than destiny. She can be a person.

“Manike” by Jubin Nautiyal, Surya Ragunaathan, and Yohani Her love theme. I can imagine her dancing a duet to this song.

“Quixotic” by Seo Jayeong Her battle theme. Most of the songs I associate with her build up, like the music is rising with her.

[natasha-in-space]

So I'm replaying Ray's After ending rn, and it got me thinking that what I adore so much about Rika as an antagonist is just how damn scary she can be. I always found those who cause harm with good intentions (at least in their point of view) much scarier than those who hurt you with pure intention on hurting you. I think the best example of it is this CG in particular:

Look at that. Such a loving, gentle expression on her face. Probably kissing his forehead. Because she loves him. Heck, without any context, this CG looks even sweet, if you think about it. And yet, all that is while Saeyoung is forcefully sedated on a powerful concoction of drugs even a trained agent like him can't do anything about (and Saeyoung WAS definitely trained to deal with this sort of thing, hence it's mentioned that this is a 'special' kind of drugs). He looks miserable. Bags under his eyes, his expression pained and troubled, even his hair is paler than usual. All that as a direct result of her actions. But she's utterly blind to it. What's scarier, is that she knowingly shuts off her understanding of what's really happening. She's not oblivious to it at all. She just chooses not to see it that way. Simply because she doesn't want to.

Rika is the type of antagonist that will cup your cheek into her warm hand with the most loving of smiles on her face, all while you are getting elixir poured down your throat. Even whispering to you that you're doing great, that the pain will soon pass, and that she can't wait to see you reach the happiness she knows you deserve. I won't be surprised if she even cried genuine tears of compassion during some ceremonies for her believers. All while being the sole reason behind their suffering.

And that's... God, that's terrifying to me. I love that about her.

Rika Kim, they could never make me hate you

[fungus-no69]

DOL: The Visual Novel

aka. I Need to Nuke This Town!

Including many pcs from the pcverse!! (that i didn't draw.) Here you can interact with, potentially fight and get insane mental damage from desperate orphans in your area!

Coming out never

Inspired by this post!!!

Ummmm pcs included

Cain and Will: me

Yunie: @wreckowafer

Angel: @ladyofalabyrinth

Nico: @psychophanticpervert