#like they made however many for kris and then just used them for everyone after him

[per-the-jellicle-magician]

Shout-out to Cats Warsaw costume department for trying so hard to make Alonzo and Michał's Munk look bigger than Kris' Misto, while at the same time trying to make Misto look smaller than them

All that while the 3 actors were the same built and around the same height

And for somehow somewhat succeeding

[guardian-of-fun-times]

Three Tips on Writing a Novel That Aren't Complete Bullshit

Today, I spent a good many hours scouring the internet for tips on improving my writing. You know, useful and practical suggestions for someone who has written a bit and wants hints on some of the finer points of writing—you know, as opposed to just wanting to learn how to get publishers interested in the latest Hunger Games or Twilight knock-off. Well, other than the two masters of storytelling—Stan Lee and Stephen King—I found nothing. I thought to myself, “Kris, even you could offer better writing advice than this!” And so I have. Here are three non-subjective tips for the beginning writer.

Tip 1: Pay Attention to “Point of View” (POV)

The first mistake I made in writing my novel, and one that I have seen in every single beginning writer's work that I have edited since, is that I did not really pay attention to POV and narration. When telling a story, it is important to remember two things. First, nobody wants God to tell the story. In a room filled with a dozen people, there is so much going on inside everyone's head and in their actions that it would fill a book in about an hour. And when there is simply too much going on, the reader ceases to care and is very confused. After all, if the reader was God, he or she would not spend their time listing every monotonous detail of what they were seeing, but instead finding something more interesting to watch—which brings me to point number two. Pick a focus character (or one at a time) and tell the story through that person's eyes. This way, readers will pick up on the important details, while also having a single-focus lens to look through. If this doesn't make sense, imagine how much better a movie is with just one camera's perspective used at a time, as opposed to the six of them all being played simultaneously.

Tip 2: Outline Your Story

I used to prefer just writing free-style, as most writers begin doing. But, when you do that, two major things happen. First, with the lack of direction, you stop caring where you are going with the story since there is no dramatic force that can force you along pointless meandering. Second, even if you do not lose interest, your plot will be a noodle-like mess with no structure, and your audience will lose interest—just like with a television series with no end or destination in sight. Even if you love the characters, you eventually just give up watching because it becomes a dull act of voyeurism where you are just watching a vignette of a life without any actual story. If a solid outline is too restricting, try using the 3-Act Story Structure en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-ac… and just write a paragraph describing each Act. This structure will turn the pasta into a carefully molded form until you find yourself eating a Lasagna instead of soggy, wet noodles.

Tip 3: Don't Overpower Your Characters

At the most basic level, reading a novel is an escape from the world around us. We want the worlds we create in our stories, as well as the characters, to be the embodiment of the ideals we wish were reality. We create flawless heroes or perfectly flawed heroes, and villains that embody all the evil we see around us, which we wish could be defeated. However, to do so turns your story into a poor sermon, and a badly biased one at that. Not only that, but the audience immediately begins to hate your characters, unless they are the brainwashed sort of readers who think that Dr. Manhattan was the hero of “Watchmen” or that being a hero when you are invulnerable and beloved by those around you means that you are “good” or have some sort of depth of character—as opposed to being a fascist with an old-fashioned set of principals that you impose on the world (any other Lex Luthor fans in the house?). Instead, you should seek to create characters that illustrate the complexities and flaws in everything, even and especially in your own moral code. You want to create real characters for your audience to believe in and empathize with. In practice, you should be able to name off three things that you genuinely admire your villains for, as well as three things you genuinely despise about your heroes—giving them flaws to overcome. And avoid the pseudo-flaws that plague literature (the hero who is just too kind for his own good, or the hero whose traumatic past had made her into a hardened bitch with a secret heart of gold). Doing this creates real characters that your audience can truly escape through and even learn genuine lessons from—making you, the writer, the real hero of the story.

[a-chaotically-small-lunta]

Alright so AU huh? Mmh well if you know me you know that I love Deltarune. Guess what AU the deltarune fan base hasn’t made yet, at least to my knowledge. The Borrower AU

SO, guess it’s my job huh? Alright, here it is the Borrower AU for Deltarune aka

Minirune

So the basis of this AU is quoted simple, the darkners and the dark worlds are the borrowers and the world of borrowers within the walls. Darkners are tiny about borrower size (around 4 inches on average but with such size variations it can vary haha!) anyway, the darkners used to help the giant Lightners in the light but one day something happened, and the darkners didn’t dare go back out to the light. Many believe the Lightners left them and Chose to ignore the darkners, others believe the Lightners did something to make darkners want to hide. Who knows the real reason.

The dark worlds mostly remain the same, being in the same buildings as they were in game, the only difference is that they are living in the walls, floors, and ceilings. Here’s the cool bit, the darkners still have their powers but they have one extra one, they can turn into the object that represents them. At least to a certain degree. For example Lancer would turn into his card, the Queen (while yes is probably the computer) would be able to shift into a microchip or even a small mainframe or flash drive. I haven’t really decided on that yet haha.

Anyway, the story would be quite similar with kris and susie discovering this hidden world and exploring it. How? Well of course they get shrunk! They have to travel through the dark world to find the fountain that shrunk them and close it in order to get back to their normal size. However even after the fountain is closed the darkners stay darkners, they just lose the ability to hide in plain sight. So susie and kris can let the darkners decide to stay in their current homes or come with them to a new home where they don’t have to worry about being seen by other Lightners.

Now what about our favorite two lads? I’m talking Jevil and Spamton of course? What makes them, them in this AU? Simple really, they talk to a lightner. They learn and got help from a lightner or the knight (since I’m still not 100% sure the knight is a lightner but eh) Both had contact with a lightner and got different things from them. Jevil learned more about how small he really is and how little of an effect he would have on the larger world around him, to which he responds that since his actions wouldn’t matter, that means he can do anything. He also plays with this lightner a lot and this made the kings upset because his interactions with the lightner was putting everyone in danger. So they locked him up. Meanwhile spamton meets mike (who I’m assuming is another darkner but I’m not 100% sure) and mike introduces him to a lightner who supplies him with all these items and trinkets. He becomes well known as one of the best borrowers in the walls, until the lightner and mike just disappear one day. Then everything goes downhill. He is forced to go borrowering after not actually doing it for awhile and often trips up. Lucky there is a robotic action figure hidden away somewhere that might help him escape this little nightmare he’s found himself in.

Anyway those are just some thoughts of mine about this lil AU haha. Also I tried to design some borrower versions of the lads, might redesign them but I honestly like how they look. I really like Jevil’s big bells lol.

If you have any thoughts, ideas, or even questions about this AU, let me know! I’d love to hear/answer them!

Also for anyone who wants to be a little self indulgent, imagine finding your favorite darkner as a borrower/tiny. Just a little version of them. Maybe they were taking something from you, or perhaps they got stuck and now need you help. Either way, enjoy the daydreams heehehhehehe!

[mrapplethorn]

Artificers that don’t use tech

One of the classes of which it doesn’t always feel like it belongs in your (or the adventure’s) world is the Artificer. Its name does not imply that though, we all know the Artificer in Dungeons and Dragons is a person that combines steampunk-esque contraptions with the magic found in most D&D worlds. An Artificer should be, according to the word’s description, a trickster or an immoral craftsman of clever devices. Confining this description to a person that uses metal contraptions to cast spells feels a bit shallow, so here are a few ideas you can use to build your next Artificer.

Art by Kris Theorin (left) and Lily Abdullina (right)

The Gingerbread Man’s Baker

Battle Smith Artificer – Cook’s Utensils

Delirious Barnsforth started out as a simple cook, working for a local noble family. Wanting more out of life, he accidently poisoned the lord and lady of the house. He fled into the forest where he met a benevolent Hag. She gave him shelter and taught him the basics of spellcasting. Delirious showed some affinity for the arcane arts, but he lacked in creativity.

Only after he discovered that there was a way to combine spellcasting with cooking did he really become a force to be reckoned with. His first ‘Steel Defender’ was a blob of dough that he somehow managed to trap a fey spirit in. These days he is known for bringing to life the famous Gingerbread Man.

How to play him

If you have spent one second on the internet, you know there are people on there that love to correct everyone that says Frankenstein when they mean Frankenstein’s Monster. Likewise, Delirious also corrects anyone that calls him anything but The Gingerbread Man’s Baker.

Every spell Baker Barnsforth casts is somehow shaped like a cook’s utensil, food, or other items you’d find in a kitchen.

Delirious, as an Artificer with the Battle Smith subclass, has a steel defender, although his is not made of steel but of dough, and in the shape of his oh-so-famous Gingerbread Man.

Art by Marcin Kulesza (left) and Dan Dossantos (right)

The Tatted Artificer

Armorer Artificer – Painter’s Supplies

Born without a shred of magic in her bones, Diana Jones studied to become an archeologist. Her interests also lied with art and painting, tattooing in particular. So, when she stumbled upon a mysterious dark fluid within a buried temple her first thought was to test it on her skin.

How to play her

Every feature, feat, spell, and ability of the Tatted Artificer is represented by a tattoo on her body. As shown in the image the spell Shadow Blade could manifest as a set of removable scimitar tattoos on your characters back.

The armor she would need to wear to gain her subclass abilities has taken the form of tattoos also.

If you play in a campaign where money has a prominent place, You and your DM have to agree on some things. Armor is a big aspect of the Armorer Artificer. Something we just replaced with tattoos. The easiest step is to keep the cost of an armor improvement but let it technically be an added tattoo.

Art by Alejandro García

The Snake Oil Salesman

High Elf Alchemist Artificer

Smoke billows from their workshop. The Healer of Harkonen goes by many names. But most people know them as Dietrich the Knife-eared Snake oil Salesman. Tall tales of their past are whispered in taverns. They speak of an elf who brought down the destruction of an ancient city with their disease-spreading elixirs. What the stories leave out however is that this simple alchemist does not work alone. They and their twin have travelled the world, fought beasts, and harvested magical components. Now they run a shop that sells miracle potions, miracle in the fact that you will never truly know what happens when drinking them.

How to play them

Dietrich or their sibling do not contribute to a fight with their physical skills. Their spells take on the form of potions, salves, and other concoctions. A fireball for example could be akin to a Molotov Cocktail.

Art by Oleksandr Kozachenko (left) and Victor Titov (right)

The Woodsman

Plasmoid/Reborn Artillerist Artificer

Once a man, the creature now only known as the Woodsman, is a hulking green figure. Raised as an orphan in a Druid Circle, his past is not well documented. His abilities are druid-like but also very alien to them. The forest is his home and the object of his protection. When provoked he breaks of pieces of himself that can act on their own and can only be described as vinelike cannons.

How to play him

The Woodsman has a lot in common with the Oath of the Ancients Paladin, you could even use the tenets of this subclass to guide you in your actions.

The spells the Woodsman casts all thematically link back to his plant-based nature.

[zombvibes]

hey so TMS!berdly question, like.. i guess.. what's his relationship like with the other characters? mainly kris, not sure if you've posted anything about it, but i haven't sene much and im curios ^^ also i absloutley dispise his stupid [A$$] gamer tshirts. i'm gonna burn them.

I’ll be making a better post with a relationship chart (I made one before but it's a year old now...) BUT I’ll quickly talk about Berdly’s relationship with everyone here! I’ll will be talking about post chapter 2 btw!! (and a little bit of chap 2 & chap 1 if necessary)

KRIS

Kris is a little more neutral towards tms!Berdly compared to the original. This is mostly because (pretty much like everyone else) they don’t really see Berdly as a threat despite being the school’s bully. Though, again like everyone else, they think he’s annoying and weird. Berdly looks up to Kris (like how he looks up to Noelle) because they’re the 2nd smartest kid in class and is (somewhat) close to Noelle. Berdly, however, wasn’t really the nicest towards Kris and still insulted them and even attempted to bully them. Like I said before, Kris just brushes him off. Berdly, after being ignored so many times, stopped out of embarrassment. They just...kinda play games together and chill sometimes now.

SUSIE

Berdly and Susie don’t…particularly get along too well. They usually get into an argument or a yelling match with each other. Susie is also the only person Berdly could actually bully (and actually has bullied) because of how sensitive she is. Post chapter 2 Susie tries to extend an olive branch multiple times (despite the bullying, she never really hated him) and Berdly uh…kinda….reciprocates? (Barely). They’re currently in an actual “truce” with each other. (And Berdly does have a “crush” on Susie like in the original game but he still isn’t…TOO fond of her.)

NOELLE

Noelle tries to tutor/help anyone who needs it. And the person who needs it the most just so happens to be the person she finds the most annoying : Berdly. She doesn't really like him and finds him EXTREMELY annoying. She's only around him to help him with work (and also he just...follows her everywhere she goes. So she kinda doesn't have a choice.) She isn't (and...wasn't) really the nicest to Berdly. She mostly made snide comments under her breath about him. Now she just...does it out loud. To his face. (In her defense she does this with everybody...guess that doesn't change anything though huh.) She just...doesn't really...think highly of him. The same cannot be said for how Berdly feels about Noelle. He constantly praises her and tries to help whenever he can. (He does not help. He never helps.) (Berdly also had a crush on Noelle so there’s that too. It went away after chap 2 though.) He puts her on a higher pedestal compared to others and constantly compares other students to himself and her. (Which makes Noelle uncomfortable but it’s something she’s used to by now.)

TLDR : Literally everyone finds him annoying but harmless. (Despite trying to be the opposite.)

(Also don’t burn his shirts! It’s the only thing he has!! (along with his shirts that has bands on them he doesn’t listen to and like…1 or 2 “normal” shirts))

[zeciex]

The fact that this chapter made me ship Gwayne & Daenera😍😍😍

Aemond is just trying to hold himself together and not pull his hair out.

I cannot wait for their wedding night. Is there going to be a snippet of how their wedding night is going to be?

Im so anxious, but Aegon’s speech made me anxious. Dae better give him that laxative poison again because that was uncalled for.

Jaeherys being so adorable, crawling under the table. I used to do that when I was a kid😂😂 Dae is getting mommy training just with Jaeherys.

Otto being Kris Jenner of westoros is so demure😂

And Alicent being the annoying monster in law. Ugh

So many people are shipping her with Gwayne, and while I do think they'd have some very fun times, I fear Daenera would run him ragged 😂😂

Aemond was just fucking seething so you best believe that he has glared holes into Gwayne's soul lol

Yes, there will be a snippet of the wedding night, but there will be a few days before I can post it as I am literally currently writing it. There will, however, be a snippet out tomorrow!

Aegon is such a little shit-stirrer, but I love him for that. He's fun to write, and I really think that HE thinks it's just brotherly poking fun at one another and (lovingly and not so lovingly) bullying Aemond.

I love adding Jaehaera and Jaehaerys to scenes, even if its just small glimpses of them! They really give both Daenera and Aemond the opportunity for showing what they'd be like as parents. And I just think Jaehaerys takes a bit after his father being very energetic and boisterous.

Otto is TOTALLY Kris Jenner--oh my grandchild fucked around with Daenera and married her behind everyone's back, let me spin it real quick; They were soooo in love and her mommy forbade it so they married in secret which is romantic and now they're public because it was the kings final wish. How tragic her first husband died but how nice of Aemond to comfort her.

Otto was just grumbling in exasperation when Aegon decided to poke holes in his masterful PR speech lol 😂😂

I get Alicent's concern and desire for Aemond not to marry Daenera though. All she has seen is bad and the curse thing freaked her out, and she's afraid what it would mean if Daenera gets her way.

[goo-berz]

"Where is Gotye now?"

To many it seems like Gotye has dropped off the face of the Earth after his last album, Making Mirrors, released.. however, this is not true, I will tell you where he is now and what's happened since his last album released ..for those curious!!!

First though, I want to get into his background, because if I'm gonna talk about him why not just make a whole biography?

Early Gotye (1990-2000)

Wally De Backer (Gotye) was born in Belgium in 1980. When he was a young child he and his family moved over to Australia, which is where he would continue to grow up. He had always shown an interest in creating music, and as a teenager he was really able to experiment when he formed a band named "Downstares" - inspired by Depeche Mode -with 3 of his High School friends around 1993 ~ 1995. They would create their own music and play live, becoming well-known in their area. They had created a couple songs, however very little information about Downstares or their discography exists online, and only a few seconds of one of their songs, 1-900, is available to listen to. In the year 2000 they all graduated and eventually the band dissolved as everyone moved onto doing their own things. During this time Wally still wanted to create music, but was lost on what to do or where to start. He began taking samples and playing around with them, creating tracks with said samples. He would take these tracks and make a self-published album that he'd send out to radio stations to try to make a name for himself. One station, Triple J, took interest and decided to play it on their station. This caught the attention of a label named Lucky Numbers, who made a deal to publish his next album, Boardface. Boardface contained a couple of the original songs from the self-released album, but also had 6 brand new tracks. The album had good reception, but wasn't that successful and only sold 800 copies.

The Basics formation (2002)

In between the time of Downstares dissolving and Boardface being released, he met another aspiring musician named Kris Schroeder at a party. They would bond over their mutual love for The Beatles and decided to form a Beatles-inspired band named "The Basics" with another one of their friends, Michael. A month after Boardface was released The Basics released their first album "Get Back", heavily inspired by The Beatles. Michael would drop out of the band shortly after, which lead to them putting up flyers looking for another bass player to take his place - they only got one response from someone named Tim Heath, a man of the same age who also loved The Beatles as much as them. He would join the band, and as of 2024 he's still their bass player.

Here's a photo of these creatures. Idk why Kris is doing a kissy face but he is (Left, Wally/Gotye. Middle, Tim. Right, Kris)

Mid-era Gotye (2003 - 2010)

Wally would work on solo music, as well as simultaneously work on music with The Basics. In 2006 he released his next solo album, "Like Drawing Blood", to extreme success. The album instantly became a hit in Australia, Belgium, Japan and more - however the western world was still oblivious to his music.

After this he'd take a few years break to work on his career with The Basics. They released 3 new albums and 3 new EPs to some success. To gain more attention for their work, they would go on tour & do interviews, which ended up working pretty well for them and they became a fairly popular band in Australia.

Gotye becomes famous (2011)

Wally would work on a music video for one of his new, upcoming songs, Somebody That I Used to Know. This song would essentially be used as an appetizer for Making Mirrors. The song would be released a month before the release of the full album to drum up hype for its release. In 2011 he would finally release the album, Making Mirrors. It was doing very well in Europe, however it wasn't an international success just yet. That was, until, out of nowhere, the music video began to spread around on the internet, alerting many more people about the album, especially those in the western world. It instantly became an international success overnight and became a pop culture phenomenon.

He wasn't used to this type of attention and never intended for it. He didn't like or want fame, he just wanted to experiment with music and sounds, and that's when his career blew up. He decided to go back to working with The Basics to get away from all the eyes on him, and that's where he'd continue to work for the next couple of years.

The Basics era (2011 - 2016)

The Basics would release more albums and EPs and go on another tour. At this point the band had long strayed away from being Beatles inspired and instead became a band trying to make a political statement, releasing music criticizing the Australian government and even going as far as making their own political party. For the time they essentially became a political icon for Australia.

Around 2014 ~ 2016 was their peak, but after this they began to slow down as they began to focus on their personal lives & careers. Kris was going to medical school to become a doctor, Tim had a business to run, and Wally began working on the restoration and preservation of an old rare instrument called an Ondioline. Wally had also moved from Australia to NYC, making working on albums much harder.

The Ondioline (Instrument)

The Ondioline is a small electronic instrument that's piano-like in appearance. It's regarded as one of the first synthesizers ever created, created by Georges Jenny around the 1940s. It looks like a small piano with knobs and buttons that can be pressed to create different unique sounds. It was marketed as an all-in-one instrument that could replicate other instruments.

Example of the Ondioline replicating a Saxophone, Banjo & Violin, played by Georges Jenny.

The Ondioline was constantly being tweaked during it's development. One would be created, Georges Jenny would tweak the design and create an even newer model of the Ondioline different from the last. No two Ondiolines are the same because of this. Georges Jenny would also sell Ondiolines to people as a kit - the Ondioline was a base for several unique attachments the owner could purchase and put on it. Because of these two factors, basically every single Ondioline is its own unique instrument. The Ondioline was introduced to a more broader audience by Jean-Jacques Perrey, a French music artist who created music using the Ondioline under the pseudonym "Mr. Ondioline".

The Ondioline was never mass manufactured, only around 1.2k were ever produced, each hand-crafted by Georges Jenny. Because of the Ondiolines age and most models being created with cheap materials, they're very likely to get damaged and fall into disrepair, reducing the original number of 1.2k Ondiolines massively. The instrument is very rare.

Ondioline Era (2016 - 2024)

Wally knew about the instrument for years and had fallen in love with it, however he was never able to find one or get his hands on one. He eventually flew to the Audities Foundation and wrote a song for Perrey on the working Ondioline they had in their archive. He'd email a video of him performing it on the Ondioline over to Perrey who'd reply with appreciation and invited him to come visit if he was ever in Switzerland. Wally took him up on this opportunity, he flew out to visit within 2 weeks of receiving the email and the two became friends. Perrey would die in 2016. To honor his legacy Wally would put on an "Ondioline Orchestra", an orchestra that performed Perrey's songs with an Ondioline at the main center of it Videos of the Orchestra can be watched below;

He'd create the non-profit organization "Forgotten Futures" that works on preserving the Ondioline. Their mission statement can be read below;

"Our mission is to revive lost and forgotten yet vital artifacts of electronic musical instrument history by collecting, faithfully restoring and preserving original instruments; researching and presenting the stories of their inventors; and bringing to light the cultural impact both from the time in which they were made, and more importantly, how they can make an impression on our current and future cultural moments."

He would also create a label under his organization with the same name, "Forgotten Futures", it released never before heard songs created by Jean-Jacques Perrey in memoriam.

Also, just adding this to show how awesome he is; His organization Forgotten Futures has a residency that focuses on empowering POC and LGBTQ+ people who have been disadvantaged in the recording industry. It's a 12 month program that gives members access to a recording studio and Forgotten Futures library of rare and unique instruments for them to experiment and record with. More information can be read here; https://forgottenfuturesmusic.org/

Only a handful of Ondiolines are known to exist today, 10 of which belong to Wally and only half of them have successfully been restored by him. He owns a website https://ondioline.com/ which provides more information about the instrument, models, and all things Ondioline

For even MORE!!! information, you can check out this interview he did with The New Yorker

Present Day (2016 ~ 2024)

In 2017 The Basics released a live album before going on a 3 year semi-hiatus. In 2019 they released their most recent album, B.A.S.I.C In 2021 The Basics announced that they'd be retiring from performing live In 2022 they released a rushed single to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band, "I Don't Understand People". As of writing, this has been the last thing they released.

In December 2022, Kris Schroeder graduated medical school and gained his doctors degree. He is now working as a doctor. Tim owns an entertainment establishment called Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, Australia. And, of course, Wally is working on preserving the Ondioline.

In these past few years Wally has welcomed the birth of two children, Kris has welcomed one and Tim has welcomed one.

Future (2024+)

Over the past couple years The Basics have released two short audio snippets previewing new tracks that are in production. No information is known about this new album they're working on, there's no release date set for when it's meant to come out and all that's been shared about it has been those two seconds-long snippets. Due to all of the members of The Basics living far away from each other & having their own lives, it's likely the album doesn't get worked on as much so whatever album is being worked on may take a long while to reach completion. This is all that's known about the future of The Basics as a band.

As for Wally's solo work as "Gotye", he has admitted to making experimental tracks these past few years, however he doesn't know if he wants to release the tracks / create a new album. He's stated that a new album may come out eventually, but It's possible a new album won't come out either. He's not necessarily certain on the future of Gotye as a project, but he has stated there is a possibility for the release of future music. He continues to work on preserving the Ondioline & other electronic instruments and that's where his main focus will be

You can check out more at https://ondioline.com/ and https://forgottenfuturesmusic.org/

Anyways... cool right?!

[boglarkarebay]

I have a Hollow Knight AU titled ‘Afterlife’. I don’t have as many artworks for it as I would like, but regardless I thought: what if the Deltarune characters were in it? It wouldn’t make sense for them to exist alongside the main characters, because one of them - >clears throat< Asriel to be exact - has an incredibly OP power that could mess up ALL the power dinamics of this universe, so, instead, they will be friends of a character who lives decades after the main story, sorta like a spinoff. So here they are. I’m sure Susie and Noelle are important characters too, but I don’t know about Berdly, since the bully’s role’s already taken.

Main character: Kris Dreemurr. The rules of this world are kinda complicated, but demons are the same species as angels and their physical traits depend on magical interactions caused by their genes but even more by their environment. So Kris having horns is normal since they were born in Hell, and no matter how much angel medicine is trying to supress their magic, hormones be hormones and do their thing. Kris’ deepest secret however is that sometimes… they feel like some things happen repeatedly. Not like dejavu, stronger. But there isn’t anyone who seems to notice this, so they just keep it to themselves, thinking it’s just their imagination or something.

Here he is. The reason I had to put this set of characters to live in the future. His save and load abilities grant endless opportunities for the King to kill and abuse the main characters of the earlier storyline, so there would be no reason for him not to use them there, so Asriel would be simply not in the picture to prevent this. He gets discovered at the age of 7 or 8, around the same time the King kidnaps Rin, the kid he will later claim to be his son. Rin was a demon originally, a spiderdemon even, but has been getting magic replacement therapy since he was a toddler, so unlike Kris he has wings and a haloo, making him believe he’s actually an angel, and his parents are the two biggest assholes in the world.

Quick note: Asriel’s been trying to hide his duties and relationship with the King from his family, especially from Kris. He hasn’t met them in a long time because of this, but ‘been sending them lots of letters. He just don’t want Kris to get involved in any of this, or to see what a monster he has become thanks all the horrible things he was forced to do, and getting disconnected from people’s emotions, yada-yada.

There’s Dess too. She’s a very cool character alright. She was kidnapped as a child and had to live on her own, while gaining her own traumas of course. Ever since she and Asriel met again, she feels a very deep connection to him, like they understand each other more than anyone else could. Asriel is kind of his usual sociopath though, saying things like ‘What if I killed you several times before, and you just cannot remember?’ and ‘One day you’ll going to become boring too. A stat on a screen. Just like everyone else.’ Dess isn’t someone who can be scared off by these statements, nada. She believes that what matters is the current timeline, it’s the only one she can remember anyways. So if none of the terrible things happened this time, it woul surely mean it was the best course of action to not do them, right…?

And finally, Karla, my beloved Hornet x Quirrel fankid. Even though her childhood was scattered with all kinds of horrible experiences, she still loves her parents and everything they gave her… even if they’re gone now. Rin is her younger brother who was taken away by angels and was raised to be the King’s son. She feels guilty since, because she believes it was supposed to be her responsibility to protect him. Regardless, she is SO ready for revenge and to kill that disgusting Monarch. She can also detect loads, so with the King and Kris she is the third person to be capable of this. She is very close with Dess, dismissive of Asriel, friendly with Kris, and there is… someone else she made friends with, watching them from the shadows…

[gryphis-eyes]

⊙ What makes you different fantastic

⊙ Hello and welcome to this Fantastic Mr Fox themed reading ! It’s one of my favorite comfort movie so I felt like sharing this with you ! I hope this pac will remind you how fantastic you are because hey it’s always nice to read it especially in time of doubts.

⊙ How to pick a pile ? There are differents ways to do it, you can do a little meditation while thinking about the 3 images, you can also use a pendulum, remember to listen to your intuition while chosing and reading the messages those are general reading so not everything will be for you or it will ask you to interpret it based on your situation. Also I like making metaphor hehe

◇ Deck used : Gulliver Lenormand

♧ Paid reading

⊙ Pile 1, Kris

🦊 Clouds, Snake, Lily flower

You are fantastic because you are made of so many shades, what makes you fantastic is actually what ”society” view as bad/evil. You’re like a forest at night, it’s welcoming and mysterious going into it (your personnality) can be both scary and fantastic experience depending on who chose to walk into this forest. I can even say you’re both the day and night with your personnality and there might be a conflict between your ”two personnalities” just like the snake you can bite and maybe even use your venom against people but this poison is also capable of healing. The reason why this darker aspect of you is more present in front of your true self is probably because of a very rough past (or path ?). What is fantastic about this shadow is your relationship with it because it seems so peaceful yet dangerous, just like the night. After all people don’t like clouds and snakes, for the few who likes it they are viewed as unusual and even weird but there is so much beauty in them, behind those clouds and this snake lies a lily flower, its purity is equaled only by the ardor of the brambles that surround it. This flower will be forever your most precious gift just as much as the shadow who protect it, not everyone will be allowed to seek this treasure within you and it’s what’s makes you fantastic, you’re a beautiful treasure guarded by a majestic dragon.

♤ Your theme : Cosmo Sheldrake - Nightjar

⊙ Pile 2, Mr.Fox

🦊 Moon, Heart, Fox + bouquet and coffin

I can see behind your mask pile 2 the cards never lie 👁👁. Something funny happened while shuffling, I started the normal spread (so ask for 3 cards) the bouquet and coffin came first then 3 cards fell and when I looked at them I heard ”those are the real one”... so someone is acting like someone else here ? The coffin and bouquet togheter make it feel like this is a fake bouquet I would even say ”regress” because bouquet is card 9 and the coffin 8. What im sure about is that this little masquerade isn’t what makes you fantastic however I can see that the beautiful face behind this mask really worth it ! I heard ”such a gentle soul makes me wanna cry” while the lyrics of the song I listened to was ”gentle sound” but I felt like writing the one I heard. You look kinda nervous when people see you removing this mask ? The Moon on the card looks like she is shaking, the heart beating fast and the fox looks schocked but no need to react like that you seem to be a very gentle person (I would even say cute *wink wink*) for those of you who saw the movie Green Knight you really remind me of the fox in this movie, it follow the protagonist and then guide him in a mysterious territory full of magic and strange creatures. What makes you beautiful is both what’s inside and outside of you, your presence feels like a wild animal who looks beautiful but would probably run away if you approach it while actually if you truly want to approach it you have to be patient and gentle. You’re distant yet beautiful and tempting just like the Moon you might not make as much light as the sun but it makes it even more special and above everything, it’s what makes your world appear mysterious yet fantastic. Your heart seems so pure it might makes people jealous of it or wants to take it, just like every hunter who try to get the fox’s fur but of course the fox is too cunning for them and the fox will always laugh at the hunter who fail to catch him. You seem to have some vicious side but it’s a very fun side of you. You might try to be this pretty but fake flower bouquet while in reality you’re just like Mr.Fox no matter what you do you can’t escape your true self because in the end you’re a wild animal.

♤ Your theme : The Crane Wives - Curses

⊙ Pile 3, Ash

🦊 Ship, Knight, Coffin

You seem to be the perfect person to be the hero of a story about a long journey of hardship. You went through it all, storms, calm water, hell you might even went in the underworld and came back like if it was just an other journey and moved on for the next one. You are brave and adventurous even fear can’t keep you or if it does catch you it never last very long, you’re a knight in shining armor but what is special is that your armor isn’t white or gold but it’s a shining black metal because you aren’t afraid to show where you come from after all we all got our shadow aspects. It’s like you met death (from the Death card in the Rider waite) you both ride on a white horse and you both wear this black armor I could write a whole story about you pile 3 haha. You understand obscur secret you might be very fond of occult the theme of death doesn’t scare you at all if you’re into spirituality/occultism it might even be so natural for you to meet spirits, you greet them like someone would greet their neighbour. You’re independent your only companion is this horse who can represent a guardian spirit who was with you since the begining of your time down here, they guided and protected you during the whole journey and it will continue. You’re this mystic stranger who come out of nowhere and after doing what you have to do in one place you leave in silent ready to go to this next journey, people probably admire you a lot but also feel like they can’t reach you or keep you, your remind me of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke.

♤ Your theme : Florence and the machines - Which Witch

[agentravensong]

Why is Weird Route so Weird? (DeltaRune spoilers)

So here’s my thoughts on why Chapter 2's Weird / Snowgrave route exists (on a meta level) and why it in some ways feels even more upsetting than UT’s equivalent. Spoilers under the cut, obviously.

(For those who don't know what this route is, here's the breakdown. Yes it's all real, I've played through it myself.)

In UnderTale, there are little hints that suggest the player isn't Frisk, or Chara. Post-paci, Flowey tells you to let Frisk live their life. At the end of No Mercy run, Chara speaks to you, asking why you want to bring back the world after *you* destroyed it, and, if it's your second run of this type, why you'd then destroy it again. "I cannot understand these feelings anymore."

DeltaRune seems to be taking this idea of the player being a separate entity from the character you control and expanding it by making it the focus of Kris's story. Noelle at the end of Weird Route, in fact, makes it very clear that the voice Kris used to command her to do bad things didn't sound like their voice at all.

That's not my main point here, though. My main point is that, where DR as a whole is expanding on that aspect of UT, giving a different perspective that more so focuses on the horror of being controlled by an outside entity, and which clarifies that the human being controlled in these games is, in fact, their own person...

The Weird route is an expansion and alternate perspective on the No Mercy route, highlighting an aspect of it that many fans - Chara demonizers in particular - seem to miss: the corrupting effect we have on the character being controlled.

In UT's No Mercy route, we see Frisk/Chara become more aggressive, we hear from other characters that they're emoting even less than usual, and the narration becomes much more cynical, dry, and focused on the task at hand. We are teaching Chara that they were brought back for power's sake, that it has been kill or be killed all along, and that there's nothing in this world worth saving.

However, the route's focus is generally more on the destruction and hurt you're causing to the Underground. Frisk as a presence basically disappears, and Chara doesn't confront you about what you've done to them until the end - and by that point, they're fully on your side (as long as you agree to finish what you started). The main source of horror and angst is seeing the towns empty, the monsters' responses to this ongoing tragedy, their futile attempts to stop you, the "but nobody came"s. Hell, you literally get a counter for how many monsters you have left to kill in each area.

It's different in DeltaRune's Weird Route. There's still some of that brand of angst; enemies running away from you after a certain point, and their frozen bodies remaining on the map. But you're never made to kill any characters you're attached to in the same way as UT's bosses (unless you're a big Berdly fan, I guess, and that's still just 1), and you don't see any of the Darkners reacting to the loss of their friends and family. The cars in the streets disappear, but it's not quite the same as seeing Snowdin Town abandoned.

The focus has shifted, from the way you're ruining the world at large by killing, to the way you're corrupting, ruining, the character doing the killing.

But how do you make that focus clear, when Kris's emotions and will are already so suppressed by the player?

You bring in another character under your command, who's even more hesitant to fight than Ralsei. And you break her.

You teach her that it's okay to use whatever methods to get what you want. You teach her to see everyone else as just enemies to cut down. You teach her that getting stronger is the most important thing.

And Kris changes too in this run - you're only able to push Noelle so far (after the first few murders) because crueler dialogue options come up for them, and Susie can tell when they reunite that something's off. But the focus is on Noelle, because it's a lot easier to see how horrible it is when it happens to her. To a character you can't write off as just a mold for you to pour yourself into, or as the embodiment of your own desire for power.

TL:DR;

In UnderTale, you primarily feel bad for killing your friends, and for being a murderer.

In DeltaRune, you primarily feel bad for making someone else a worse person, and for using them (still to kill people).

And if you see how horrible it is to do that to a person - a kid ("teens are just bigger children") - who never asked for it in DeltaRune...

Consider turning that lens of analysis back on UnderTale proper.

Don't forget about Frisk and Chara. Don't forget what you did to them.

P.S. - Some more factors which don't really fit into the rest of this analysis:

UnderTale is a fantasy game through and through. DeltaRune has a clear divide between its fantasy world and the "normal" world. It's one thing to fight, even freeze, all these fantasy creatures. It's another thing when the consequences come home to roost in the real world.

Chapter 1 is set up to make us think a route like this wouldn't be possible. And even in Chapter 2, fighting enemies normally isn't enough to trigger a significantly worse ending. It can only happen because you go against the script (the whole thing starts with you backtracking to Spamton's shop, after all) and make both Kris and Noelle act so out of character.

and a few more points for good measure from @bananonbinary

[cheesey-rice]

Theory on the Soul in Deltarune. (Warning for spoilers on all routes.)

In case you didn't know already, there are two routes in the new Deltarune chapter. I think each one gives us a different perspective on Kris's motivations and their relationship with the soul that inhabits them.

I think the important thing that underpins my take on the game is assuming that the two other lighters who accompany you in the game, Noelle and Susie, are used to voice perspectives that Kris as a silent protagonist might share but be unable to express. This is a common tool used in silent protagonist RPGs, but if you don't agree with it my take might not hold much water for you.

I'll start out by talking about a fairly regular pacifist playthrough of this part. The main scene I'd like to discuss is the one at the end, where it is discussed that opening a dark fountain could bring about the Roaring.

Because it's pretty obvious that we are to think Kris is the "Knight" sneaking off to create these dark fountains with their knife, some people think that they intend to bring about the Roaring. I think their intentions are far less malicious than such a theory assumes.

Because the main thing is that we know that Kris as a character cares about the people in their life. They have a loving relationship with their family and take care of their friends automatically without us prompting them. When Susie consistently alludes to wanting to stay friends with Kris throughout the pacifist rounds, I assume these feelings are reciprocated. I also assume that most of the feelings Susie expresses about the dark world, that it's cool and fun and easier than the real world, are also feelings felt by Kris.

There's also another layer we can see to Kris's feelings about the dark world that comes from their own reactions. We know that Kris is a weird kid in real life, a lonely kid who looks up to their older brother and doesn't have any trophies on their wall like he does. In the dark world, Kris does get trophies on their wall in the room Ralsei makes for them. In the dark world, Kris is a confident, accomplished leader who can make as many friends as they want to thanks to help and guidance from a goat who is very similar to their older brother who they can't contact because of the internet currently.

It isn't really a ground breaking conclusion to say that Kris probably likes the dark world just as much as Susie does, as she talks only of how she wants to go back and have another adventure. Because Kris is the one making the dark fountains, one can see that the worlds are made for them. Made for their adventure with friends in a world makebelieved out of all their childhood toys and imaginings.

We also know that Kris has the ability to walk around, slash tires, eat pies, and make dark fountains without any input from us at all. They don't need us for that and have the ability to take us out whenever they want.

So if the theory that they resent the soul that controls their actions held true, why would we still be in control? Why would they choose to let us do that?

This is where it's important to consider Noelle in the alternate route, whose inner feelings we are often privy to due to Kris's strong understanding of her from childhood.

The alternate route is activated by forcing Noelle to kill people in the dark world. At one point, Noelle asks herself why she's following Kris's commands when they're asking her to do such awful things. The conclusion that she draws is, "but I keep getting stronger... They're just trying to make me stronger."

If this is the reason Noelle obeys Kris, then perhaps in turn we can extrapolate that this is the reason Kris obeys us.

Because we get results.

No matter which ending you get, Kris had an adventure, became stronger, defeated enemies it would have been impossible to go up against without us.

We also see that in scenes where we don't help Kris, where we aren't in control, they often suffer at the hands of these enemies. How Susie hit then against the locker in the first game, howthe King almost strikes them down after they help Susie, how Spamton would have killed them all alone in the basement if their friends hadn't interceded.

Kris wants to be cool and strong and have a fun adventure. For that reason, they are relying on another, external force to make their choices for them. To make choices that will matter.

In the Pacifist run, Kris gets their wish. A fun adventure with their friends where no one has to get hurt. Kris can just sit back and enjoy as a friendly dark power holds their hand through the whole thing.

In the alternate route, however, we see the start of a darker path. One where the dark power with hold over Kris makes malevolent choices that make them question themselves. Is this really the right thing?

We see this hesitation in how other characters react to Kris in this route. After Kris and Noelle kill Bertly, Susie notes that Kris's expression seems to be off some how. That something seems wrong with them, even offering to heal them because of it. Later on, Noelle notes that she sees some other voice coming out of Kris, something scary that she needs to investigate, foreshadowing a continuation of this plot in later chapters.

Kris experiences some amount of turmoil due to the actions of the player. But they still open the dark fountain and put the soul back into themselves later.

How do they justify that to themselves?

Think about Yoshi. If you talk to Garrison's descendent at his grave, they tell you that Kris drops Yoshi into the pit on purpose to complete a level in the video game. In video games Kris is already the kind of player that can distance themselves from necessary sacrifices.

Maybe they justify it to themselves the same way Noelle does at first. It's in the dark world, things are different there, it doesn't matter, it's not real. I'm still getting stronger. Isn't this what I wanted? Who cares if Berdley is dead, he sucked anyway, let's close our eyes and not even look so toby doesn't have to draw the sprite when we hide his body in the wire closet.

Perhaps the resign themselves to it, acclimate to it, become numb to the traumatic event in order to justify carrying on, like Flower or Chara in Undertale might be assumed to on a genocide run.

Because that's what having the soul allows them to do. It allows them to carry on.

On the notion of Noelle carrying on her investigation, it would be interesting to me if the endgame of deltarune turned out to be a fight where all the friends whose levels you raised by killing turn on you and try to either a) save Kris from you, or b) stop a Kris who is too far gone into apathy. That ending would seem sort of karmic to me so I would enjoy seeing it. I think a battle where you play as Kris but try to make them lose to their friends in a pacifist run ending might be interesting too seeing as they are the "knight" and all and are being set up as the big bad.

So basically my actual theorizing boils down to a) on pacifist run you're like Kris's replacement older sibling cajoling them into making friends on a little video game adventure and they're trying so hard to make you stay, or b) you take the alternate route and are just kind of traumatizing Kris into thinking murder is ok if they get to be cool and have fun adventures.

I also have some things to say about how Ralsei takes on Asriel's place of influencing Kris to experience empathy and when you follow those actions Kris is reminded of their big brother who they love and how the alternate route makes Kris cut themselves off from that empathetic power as part of maintaining their own self justifications but I should just make a different post if I'm gonna talk about that.

TLDR; Kris just wants to have a fun adventure like everyone else, I don't think they resent our control but are instead actively seeking it out to make their life easier.

[rayshippouuchiha]

*deep breath* OK SO-

An important aspect of Undertale that makes it so fascinating is the way it turns classic RPG mechanics on their head, and at times even uses them against the playe. It masterfully hands you little tidbits that help you figure out the truth very gradually, until you are hit in the face with the unavoidable truth only near the end.

Deltarune is much the same, but it targets a very specific aspect of RPG gameplay - the player's control of the main character. It's something we think about so little, since it's so ubiquitous to nearly any game, but in Deltarune it is made increasingly clear that something is... off about it. Initially, you set off on your adventure with someone you don't know very well and meet a bunch of new people and nothing seems strange there. However, once you make it back home, if you take the time to talk to your neighbors and friends, inconsistencies start to pile up.

People will start to mention how the main character, Kris, looks very pale or sick, is acting more extroverted/strange than usual, and other such things. At one point, you can try to play the piano and apparently their skill level has changed?

Then, at the very end of the 1st chapter, it is implied very strongly, in a rather dramatic fashion, that Kris and the player are two separate entities entirely, and Kris might be trying to shake off their control.

The differences are made even more stark in Chapter 2. When given dialogue options at certain points, sometimes the other characters will comment on how Kris' tone doesn't match their words, making it clear that some of the player's choices are made against Kris' will.

Later on, you can return to that piano from before with a friend in tow, and they will comment that Kris looks frustrated at their inability to play to their usual level of skill.

Then, most damning of all, Kris will freak the fuck out after they encounter a puppet-like character, who seemingly dies when we try to set them free.

I was left with so many freaking questions. Kris can seem mean at times, but their reactions when made to take actually "evil" actions make me doubt they are completely evil themself. They clearly want to be free, but then how did they become like this? Did someone FORCE our connection to them? Will we be split from Kris by the end of the game? Were they actually the villain all along? It's all so intriguing and exciting, and I can't wait to see where Toby Fox goes with it from here! There's ton of hypothesizing online, tons of people making theories about Kris' real personality based off of the little crumbs given to us by the dialogue options. It's a lot of fun.

I also love how the game makes me think about the implications of this for other RPGs. It may even be possible that the same is true of Undertale, but because the main character there is a complete stranger to everyone they encounter, no one was able to tell whether they were acting off or not.

In any case, while I initially thought Deltarune Chapter 1 was just "pretty good", Chapter 2 blew my entire mind. The visuals were upgraded to an outstanding degree, the plot Thickened(TM), the OST reached Undertale levels of Amazing, the battle mechanics were improved, and I fell in love with literally every single character new and old. There are other mysteries buried in there besides this one, as well as some of the best humor I've seen in a game for a very long time. It had me crying from laughter at least 4 separate times. I really recommend playing through it. Both chapters are available for free on Steam, give it a shot if you have the time I promise you won't regret it!

Btw, if you do play it would be good if you looked up Let's Plays of a certain... Weird... route afterwards. I don't know how he did it, but Toby Fox managed to inspire an even deeper level of emotion in me than in Undertale's no mercy route with that one.

Not gonna lie, I live for your enthusiasm

[lipstickchainsaw]

Kris...?

I finished Deltarune chapter 2 a couple of days ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since, so now you all get to share in some of those musings!

Spoilers for Deltarune chapter 2, naturally.

The situation surrounding Kris is a little complicated, because we, as the player, as explicitly possessing them against their will, which means most of the actions they take are not theirs, they are ours.

This dichotomy is present in each of the protagonists of this series, but Kris is most clearly unhappy with our presence. Frisk seems to have very little of an opinion on our actions (to the point where them not being us is a reveal), and Chara’s relationship with the player is too complicated to really delve into here, but there’s some mutual egging on happening in that relationship. (I doubt I will be able to avoid Chara as a subject entirely, given the similarities between them and Kris, but this isn’t primarily about them.)

But our control over Kris is not absolute. Kris is able to assert themselves in various ways, most prominently by literally ripping the player out of themselves, by ripping out the SOUL, but this is where the interesting things start:

For one, the battered birdcage suggests that Kris has ripped their SOUL many times already, which means they’ve done so before the player turned up to take possession of them. This would imply that someone else has take possession of Kris before. The first save we override when playing Chapter 1 is Kris’, which means that they resisted that possession and took control over themselves back before we showed up.

Secondly, Kris willingly puts the SOUL back in in chapter 2. This is either because Kris recognises that they need that SOUL, even if it comes with possession, or because it offers some other advantages that make the possession worth it in some sense, but we’ll get into that later.

 Who is Kris?

So, we know Kris does not like the possession (his response to the Spamton fight makes this exceedingly clear), but beyond that, there are a lot of details we can fill in about who they are.

For one, Kris has really grown to like Susie. They protect her entirely of their own volition when fighting the King, and the Susie Tea heals Kris the most (Ralsei Tea notably does not, but we’ll get to that). Maybe it’s because Susie gets to be as rebellious as she wants, and Kris appreciates having someone around to call out the bullshit they see around them that our control doesn’t let them comment on, maybe it’s something else. It’s hard to tell, because Kris’ relationship is filtered almost entirely through us, but their other relationships aren’t.

Berdly acknowledges that Kris is the third-smartest person in class (which means Kris is the second-smartest, depending on how much help they’ve received from Toriel), and we know from basically everyone that Kris has been a little creepy, unsettling and quiet for a good long while now. They used to do a lot of mean pranks (especially targeting Noelle). One could argue that these pranks went a little too far, but Noelle doesn’t seem to be that upset about those pranks anymore.

This is made more interesting when looking at that moment in chapter 2, where you, as the player, can prank Noelle on the forcefield puzzle, but then, when Noelle pranks Kris back, Kris looks very upset about this. This either means that Kris has gotten over their pranking days, or it’s the unfairness involved that makes this specific instance unpleasant.

We also know that Kris really, really loves Asriel, and wanted to hang out with Asriel and his friends a lot as a kid, even if that meant people like Catty and Bratty taking advantage of them, and we know Kris studied the occult with Catti at some point. Kris also likes to play the piano, and is very frustrated that we don’t know how to.

Oh, and there’s that weird (bomb?) shelter to the south of town that Kris apparently has a history with.

 What’s up with that?

The sound coming from that shelter is plenty ominous already, but Monster Kid and Snowy’s conversation in chapter 2 makes it very clear that Kris has gone in there, and the minor interaction with Susie afterwards indicates that this is not something that Kris likes to talk about.

Now, that shelter is pretty clearly associated with Gaster, and Gaster has been known to experiment with souls, so I do not think it’s much of a stretch to suggest that this is where Kris was first possessed, and things turned for the worse for them.

Kris and Noelle have also gone through something pretty traumatic, possibly involving Noelle’s sister Dess (likely short for December), and the location mentioned for this event makes it very likely that these are the same thing.

So Kris explored that shelter (with Noelle and December, perhaps), stumbled across something bad, and likely got possessed, which they struggled with for a while (turning quiet and strange in the meantime, and alienating the people around them), before fighting the possession off and being left depressed and exhausted, almost perpetually.

But then, there’s another side to Kris.

 The Knight

In chapter 2, we learn that Kris is the Knight, who has created at least two dark worlds, and creates a third at the end of chapter 2. Kris either cannot do this, or does not want to do this, while we’re possessing them, but what’s left of Kris after they rip their SOUL out is a shambling mess of a person, which goes some way to explaining why they accept the SOUL back after they’ve done their thing.

Now, we don’t know Kris also created the original dark world in the supply closet (and we know that one existed before the one in the abandoned classroom), since Ralsei never mentions the Knight creating that one, but, well, Ralsei has been keeping his information close to his chest.

It is interesting, however, that Kris created the dark world in the abandoned classroom before we showed up to possess them, so clearly we are not the (only) reason they’re doing this, but if we aren’t, then what is?

 Ralsei

Ralsei is always incredibly supportive of Kris, to the point of seemingly crushing on them over the course of the games, but Kris does not seem to quite return those affections (given the lukewarm response to the Ralsei Tea compared to the Susie Tea), regardless of whether we do.

Ralsei is also very mysterious, and has, so far, not shared everything he knows about what’s going on. There’s also some hints in the Snowgrave route that Ralsei knows the player and Kris are not the same person, and that he’s using our ability to switch perspectives to actually talk to Kris, which means he isn’t necessarily hiding things from Kris as he is hiding things from us. Just look at how quickly he tells Kris not to think about the Spamton fight, after Kris has their outburst (if you choose to let them say ‘no’).

So, I think Ralsei may be making plans with Kris behind our backs, which makes it very possible that Ralsei knows Kris is the Knight, and is creating these new dark worlds, which would seemingly contradict his desire not to blanket the world in darkness, but, well, there could be a lot he’s hiding from us still.

Does that mean we’re the bad guys? Does it mean Kris and Ralsei are the bad guys? Either is possible, I suppose, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable of Kris and Ralsei to keep information hidden from the powerful entity possessing Kris. We could be nice, sure, but at any point we have the power to do something awful (a fear the Snowgrave route proves to be very real), so I can hardly blame the two of them for not telling us everything immediately.

So maybe Ralsei’s relentless encouragement and pushing for pacifism is meant for us? To make sure our possession of Kris is as easy on them as possible? And on those occasions where our possession gets to be too much for Kris, they can rip their SOUL out and deal with all the bubbling anger and frustration by unleashing it on some tires, and creating a dark world, before putting the SOUL back and go on with whatever plan Kris and Ralsei have going on?

Do their choices matter, in the end? Do ours?

 I have another thing I want to write about that theme, but it’s not entirely related to this one, and this is long and rambling enough already, so let me know if that’s something you’re interested in and I might put it together.

[shazos]

Rouxls is Hiding Something Big: A Deltarune Theory

FORENOTE- For some needed context, it may help reading my previous Deltarune theory here for important details that I will cover in this post. (My previous theory provides notable evidence on why Gaster is indeed the “Knight” figure talked about by multiple characters in Deltarune.)

Now, this is going to sound crazy. But after much time of poring over and analyzing Deltarune, I have come to a conclusion. One that I’ve been convinced of for awhile now. Something that’s been lying right under all of our noses without many of us even realizing it. We have all been bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Tricked. Why, you may ask?

Because the comically stupid and inept Duke of Puzzles is actually... not an idiot. No, he’s the complete opposite. He is a downright mastermind.

As collective players, we are all falling into the same trap once again. Putting faith into a character’s preconceived personality !

When their true personality turns out the complete opposite of what we expected...

It is here, my evidence for this claim begins—and we delve into the true identity of Rouxls Kaard. Buckle up everyone, cause this one’s gonna be a fun ride. 👀

So, to spill the beans up front, and get it over with. I believe Rouxls Kaards identity... is none other than W.D. Gaster in disguise.

Now. I didn’t immediately become invested in this theory—I was skeptical at first like everyone else. But, once I began examining Deltarune and all of its characters a bit closer...things weren’t exactly adding up about the Duke of Puzzles.

Point #1: Anagrams

I initially began to become suspicious of Rouxls Kaard because of his odd name. Sure, it is a play on the words of the term, “Rules card”. But it is spelt in such a peculiar way. If it were just simply a play on words, I think that there would be a much better way of going about spelling it rather than just jumbling a bunch of random letters together. There is a very intriguing reddit post found here that goes more into depth about his name that ties well into my theory. The thing that stood out to me in particular, is that Rouxls’s name is actually also an anagram for “A Dark Soul RX”, (with the left over RX typically being used in terms relating to doctors/medicine.) Not only is Gaster a Doctor, but he’s also always associated with darkness and the research of souls. Toby loves his anagrams—so I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if this was intentional. But it doesn’t end there.

I’ve noticed that Toby Fox has a tendency to tease certain things about his games through merch. And wouldn’t you know it—he has in fact, a particular item on fangamer of a “dark heart.” One which description describes the Angel’s Prophecy. Hm...

But let’s back on track onto my second observation, shall we?

Point #2: The Physical Resemblance to Gaster

Now, there seems to be some interesting foreshadowing related to inverted colors in Deltarune. Before Ralsei takes his hat off, he appears black. But once he takes his hat off, voila, his colors are inverted, and he is revealed to actually be a white goat highly resembling Asriel.

In addition, the entire Dark World is literally just. An inverted version of a normal world.

The Dark World could have hypothetically been the created world/experiment that Gaster had fallen into in the first place. After all, his experiment had to do with “darkness”, and “negative” photons--AKA the Dark Fountains, and the negatively/inverted landscapes of the Dark World.

And how does Rouxls Kaard appear inverted anyways? Well, he looks like THIS.

He even has the strange dangling lip thing—which another character said to directly resemble Gaster, Seam, has as well:

In addition, if you look at Rouxls’ text-box profile very closely, his eye colors are actually mismatched which is a rather interesting detail!

Point # 3: His Accent is Extremely put on.

I think anybody that has read any sort of Shakespearean/Old English writing, can instantly realize that Rouxls is as bad as imitating an Old English accent as a high-schooler reading Hamlet for the first time. Rouxls absolutely butchers it. He practically adds eth, and est at the end of any word he chooses, and calls the job done. What is even more interesting though, is when he gets nervous or panicked, he drops the act all together and talks normally.

Point #4: He is Pretending to be Dumb; His Puzzles are Actually Impressive!

I found it intriguing how there are countless puzzle traps in all the forest areas and in the Card Castle prison that were actually very well done. You have to flip the spades, diamonds, hearts, etc to unlock doors, and open secret chests. They require a decent amount of thinking skills, and are actually competent. But who made them?? Oddly enough if you observe one of them in the forest areas, it appears that Rouxls Kaard vandalized one of the puzzles to make it harder for the player to beat it—which further implies that he actually indeed made those puzzles himself. This shows that Rouxls is much more competent than only being able to make a single box shove puzzle that is comically easy. Where else do we see a place full of plenty of rather well made puzzles + traps seen? All throughout the Core in Undertale—a place which Gaster himself created!

Point #5: Rouxls IS Aware the World is a Game--AKA DON’T FORGET TO READ NPC DIALOGUE FOLKS!

I think it is well aware by now that Rouxls likely wants us as the players to underestimate him--and deem him a fool so we wouldn’t bat an eye at what he’s actually up to. But the most biggest give away to this is something that I have surprisingly seen no one mention at all. And oh boy, it is the most damning evidence that Rouxls is no idiot to be trifled with.

To the left of Seam’s shop, there can be found a little group of former puzzle-makers that used to live at Card Castle, until they were fired and replaced with Rouxls Kaard. They are now all out of a job, and are just barely scraping by since the Spade King didn’t give them any severance pay. However, Rouxls Kaard offered them a way to get money--by selling the tutorials he made.

These tutorials go over TP, stats, information about Susie, Ralsei,  and Kris. Rouxls Kaard has never once met any of the players yet--and he knows everything about them. He knows about stats. He knows the world is a game.

HOW??

In addition, when you talk to Rouxls in his shop, he calls you three the Heroes of Legend. He is well aware of the Angel’s Prophecy. He knows.

Whenever any character in the world of Undertale & Deltarune knows that the world is a game, it is an instant red-flag. It goes to show that they know much more than they let on. Flowey and Sans are big examples of this in Undertale. Pure hearted, dorky idiots that we trust earlier in the game--but wind up seeing the real side of them later on.

...So why should we treat Rouxls any differently?

Point #6: The “Control Crown”

Something that I immediately thought was kind of weird, was the fact that Rouxls Kaard was able to control the K. Round with a “Control Crown” device. If he is so stupid, how was he able to create a full on mechanical device that can brainwash a life-form into being violent/cause it to triple in size?! That is genius material right there!

But things start to take on a much darker side when you begin to look at the subtext of this realization, which I will get to in a moment...

First of all, Seam claimed these exact words.

The remaining king was the Spade King-- as the King of Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs are seen to be locked up in the Dungeon. Therefore, the Spade King put the Knight, and his strange son into power. IF it were the Spade King in power, the dialogue box WOULD have said “himself”. Therefore, the Knight, and his strange son were put in place to control the kingdom. And who are they?

Gaster/Rouxls Kaard, and Lancer.

Evidence to back this up:

Lancer calls Rouxls his “Lesser Dad”. And Rouxls calls Lancer, his Strange little darling/son.

The Spade King is not in charge. During his boss-fight, he states that he obeys the word of the Knight.

If you observe more of Lancer’s dialogue in the scene right before the gang enters Card Castle, he states that his dad, (Spade King), recently forced his troops to listen to Lancer instead. Therefore, Lancer is by all respects actually second in command to the Knight.

One of Rouxls main interests is...Lawmaking. Even though he is just supposedly an innocent Duke of Puzzles.

Another one of Rouxls main interests is...Cages, and long strolls in the dungeon... 

There are innocent puzzle-makers locked up in the Prison who are terrified--they were arrested for the simple act of making a puzzle without a license. HM, I wonder who could have possibly locked them up? *Wink wink nudge nudge*

And what ties this all together, is perhaps the most obscure, tiniest detail that no one would have likely observed on a first play-through. If you go to the first floor of Card Castle and click the description tablet next to the elevator to the Prison, it claims that the Prison used to just be a Basement Which Just Happened to Have a Lot of Cages. This is backed up by the caged animals in the basement, who say that they miss the “good old days” when they used to be the only ones there in cages, and not a bunch of people behind bars.

In summary, Rouxls is locking up a bunch of innocent people, and playing nice to our faces. He IS the knight. And he is not to be underestimated.

Point #7: Rouxls’ Plan is Already Set in Place

The part where this theory gets a little dark, ties back to my mentioning of the control crown earlier.

If you observe the throne room, it looks like it was recently torn apart in a sort of...conflict.

Why was the Spade King the only king left un-caged to begin with? Why wasn’t he locked up too?

Well...Rouxls Kaard needed someone to put him in charge. But not only that—he needed a scapegoat. Someone to blame. Someone to be “The Bad Guy” for the Heroes to fight.

The Spade King...is actually innocent. He is obeying the Knight, because he is being controlled by a Control Crown. The throne room is in ruins because the Spade King likely fought against this at first, but Rouxls won and successfully put the Spade King under his command. I thought it was strange how the King was so...violent. So irredeemably evil, and even murderous toward his own son Lancer. Yes, it could be argued that this is indeed his true personality, that he is a complete, abusive jerk. But, the whole ending battle of Deltarune chapter 1 feels so...set up in a way? It feels so starkly good vs evil, black and white. Almost like a play.

And oh boy. I think I was onto something.

If you pay close attention to the fight with the Spade King, there is a brief moment at the beginning where he is completely shrouded in shadow. Except. For. His. Crown. It glows stark white in comparison to himself. Like a Chekov’s Gun if you will.

And even more interesting, in the supposed good/pacifist ending, the Spade King is locked up in Prison, the other three kings are still locked up in cages, everyone else is freed, and Rouxls and Lancer now have full control of the kingdom...

Guys. We just played right into Gaster’s hands.

Point #8: Seam Knows that Rouxls is the Knight...

The final observation that genuinely makes me convinced in this theory, is a small detail I noticed at the end of the Pacifist run of Deltarune. Once you have beaten the game, and all of the prisoners are freed, everyone comes to celebrate at Card Castle for your victory. Everyone, except for Seam. That is because Seam knows what the “Strange Knight” did to Jevil. He knows who the Strange Knight is. And he knows what the Knight’s true intentions are.

Point #9: Extra Tidbits I noticed:

When compared to the other denizens of card castle, Rouxls seems out of place. He is the one vaguely humanoid character among a bunch of card and chess themed Darkners. 

His puzzle is... too easy.

Rouxls is oddly excited about overthrowing the king/taking his place. 

Rouxls is well versed in calligraphy of all things. (Relation to fonts + letters.)

Rouxls “sparkles” have an odd resemblance to the shining save states...?

He makes pop culture references, such as ones seen here and here. Could just be random throwaway jokes, but often times more “aware” characters such as Sans and Papyrus are keen on breaking the fourth wall at times/making references to relate with the audience.

His hair looks strangely out of place. Especially the hairline which is really receded to an unnatural degree on the left side. It’s a wig guys...

He gets a suspiciously new position for no reason at all. In any normal situation, he would be extremely unqualified for it if he were as stupid as he makes himself out to be.

Rouxls is literally wearing armor, akin to a medieval knights.

If you pay close attention, Rouxls has a few very subtle similar speech patterns to Gaster. They both occasionally repeat words twice. They both use the words wonderful and truly a lot, etc.

When Kris and the gang beat the K. Round, Rouxls said it was just to test their abilities.

Rouxls theme has leitmotifs from Gaster’s theme.

End of discussion. Deltarune’s finale is legit going to be Gaster getting his wig snatched.

[naomithespirit]

Puppet Waltz - Deltarune AU Idea (Cont.)

MORE AU THOUGHTS TIME SINCE I'M AWAKE NOW AND HAVE MORE TIME. ...Hopefully. I'm starting at like 3:30 PM Sept. 29th. And this is probably going to be a bit more rambly. SO. Some thoughts about Cyber City. Well. In the past, I imagine before things really started upgrading and improving, it wasn't exactly a city just yet. It was originally called Cyber Town with Queen originally being known as Lady. Swatch, the head butler, was still one of the people that Lady trusted the most. Seriously, she relied on him for a lot of things. Especially getting her a very specific supply of battery acid. He....doesn't really question it. If she wants it, Swatch will get it for her. Oh, you know the Addisons? Yeah, I've done stuff with them too and added some new ones. So lemme share them all! In the base game we have Pink, Orange, Blue and two Yellows. They're the actual existing ones so I may as well list what I've done with them. Pink:

Pink's name in this is Addy and uses he/him pronouns. Of the Addisons, Pink was the first one to appear in Cyber Town among the Addisons. He advertises often for different fashion-related things. The main products being for shoes and the very expensive FreezeRing! Oh, and he also sells tea as well, but this is a newer thing. After Spamton became famous and he was ultimately left behind, Addy tried to keep the friends together and to not forget him but...things just didn't work out. So he was left with no choice but to move on. Blue: Blue's name in this is Adelina and uses she/her pronouns. She was the second Addison to join Cyber Town and felt the most distraught and betrayed by Spamton getting bigger than the rest of his friends and becoming too busy for them. Addy and Adelina often got into many fights over whether or not they should forgive Spamton. Now she doesn't like to talk about him. But after the Spamton NEO encounter that Kris has...she regrets being so harsh to him. She advertises for ad placements and sometimes different shoes. Orange: Orange's name in this is Adael and uses she/her pronouns. The third Addison to appear in Cyber Town, she advertises different flavored juices. She was mostly on Addy's side in regards to wanting to still be friends with Spamton but because everyone became so divided about it, she came to a similar conclusion and felt they had no choice but to move on. She never talks about him unless he's brought up in conversation. Deep down, she wishes she went to visit him before he crashed. Twin Yellows: The two yellows that are seen are named Adam and Adis. Adam uses he/him pronouns and Adis uses she/they pronouns. The fourth and fifth Addisons to appear in Cyber Town. They appeared not too long before Spamton did and their advertisements typically involved various art supplies. However, after the whole Spamton incident made everyone fall apart, the twins ended up withdrawing and mostly avoiding conversations with the others. They were still friends with them, but they also refused to stop being Spamton's friend. Eventually, both of them stopped leaving their homes. They stayed in contact with people but didn't want to leave the house. After the Spamton NEO encounter, they came out of hiding in the shared sadness of their friend group. So those are among the ones that were shown in the game that I decided to do somethin' with. I'll share other Addisons that I made in the future. Also, before I end this little post, I will say that in Puppet Waltz, part of what made Spamton slowly lose it was discovering his real name was Spamton G. Spamton. Further making him panic, his "Ad Speech" got progressively more frequent the more famous he got. Something he didn't realize was happening until it was already too late. And at that point, his real voice was drowned out, only occasionally slipping in various ads as a cry for help. Hell, he'd sometimes just brute force his original manner of speaking out just so he could have his real voice back. Think of this quote: '....can anyone hear me...? Help....' Alrighty, I'm done now. And it is now Oct. 1st, 2:45 AM. At least I finished it.

[spitefulcrepechan]

Could you give a small description of each Au of yours from your lastest drawing please? I especially want to hear abt Love butterflies and Touhourune!

Do not give me this much power DO NOT-

❤ LOVE BUTTERFLIES 🦋

A love pandemic surges through the Dark World, which is slowly starting to affect the Lightners too. An illness known as Eros Lepidoptera Syndrome, or simply Love Butterflies, where those with unfortunate or incomplete love slowly turn into lovesick butterfly-hybrids desperate for attention, the only cure being rejection, reciprocation, or euthanization.

🍃 INSECTRUNE 🐝

Everything's the same except everyone (except Kris) is based around bugs. Hell even your soul takes the form of a butterfly. Weapons are themed around tools used to take care of bugs, dark money is replaced with Grub, food is usually stuff like plants, nonsentient bugs(wow cannibalism), and little bits of food, and the worlds appear like entire ant colonies, beehives, wasp nest, and humongous rainforests.

☯️TOUHOURUNE☯️

The Dark World is the remains of Gensokyo, and the Light World is modern day japan. After spending over billenium of isolation in Gensokyo, humanity has finally accepted the existence of mythological creatures, and thus the Great Hakurei Barrier was broken, allowing human and spirit to coexist finally. However, the remnants of Gensokyo still linger across japan, and are currently being used to create "Dark Fountains", so its up to 3 Heroes to find and destroy these Dark Fountains before they bring about The Roaring.

🔪 GORE NEO🩸

This one's a bit too complicated to put as a simple description, plus ive explained this AU multiple times, so imma just link you to the blog I made dedicated to it @goreneoau

🍪 COOKIERUNE🍬

Everyone is themed around a specific cookie from Cookie Run. Kris Choco, Ralmilk, Susie Obe, and Lancernut to name a few. This one's still a work in progress but what I thought of is that Kris, Ralmilk, Susie Ube, and Lancernut are trying to find a place to call paradise after escaping the Witch's house. Other than that its just Deltarune but cookies and sweets djdjjd

🛐RADVÍ ANTHROPIA💠

This one's not really an AU more so just an OC x Canon storyline ig djdjjd. Sort of an AU to the Gore Neo AU-

Three entities from a locked-away world known as Radví Anthropia enter the Cyber World for a vacation. One of them, Cyber, ends up stumbling upon Spamton and the two start to form a relationship together. Later down the line, when Spamton's NEO body is defeated, he decides to come with Cyber and her two friends to Anthropia, wishing to start a new life. There, he meets some new friends, gains a new body, learns the new magic there, and discovers dark secrets that Anthropia have been trying to keep locked tight for years.

⚠️???🚫

Who is this mysterious entity? No one knows, not even the God who made it, Natas Liah, knows why she made this chained up Spamton. One thing's for certain though, it should never be let out.

❄ SNOWBLOOM🌼

At the end of Snowgrave, Kris uses Noelle one last time to finish off Spamton NEO. However, Spamton has suffered this route way too many times, and quickly yoinks back the Freeze Ring and Thorn Ring. Using the powers gained from them, he kills Kris and Noelle, then proceeds to do the same to the other Lightners and Queen. He continues to rule over Cyber World, but now with a half-frozen, half-blooming form, and a hole in his chest as he's constantly being tormented by his mistakes, just waiting for a Reset.

AAAAND THERE YOU HAVE IT. Holy fuck.