#which I really only think worked out in ralsei

[dawnthefluffyduck]

For your requests: How about your take(s) on the fun gang as adults?

Ooo this was fun. I have piles upon piles of headcanons, but for some reason putting them together and on paper (screen?) was a bit tough. The biggest thought of mine is that Kris would likely go to college to be with Asriel again; I like to imagine that they'd study music and then come back to teach at their old school back home, letting them (and, Susie by extension) continue to visit the Dark World :D

This was a nice challenge, thank you for the request! I might end up doing more of these later on haha

[reverssentiment]

What are the salient features of Asriel, post-canon, that keep us from "saving" him from life alone in the Underground?

He's soulless (a practical problem),

he'll soon return to being a flower (a practical problem) and would prefer that you think of him like this rather than Flowey (a personal and interpersonal problem), and

he's decided to stay and tend the grave of the fallen child (and this is not really a problem at all; rather, a decision, which the boundary conditions of Undertale require us to respect).

There is a lot of UT post-canon fic out there which treats all these as practical problems. Frisk can just get a soul from somewhere, throw Alphys technobabble or soul arcanobabble at the body issue; get Flowey in therapy; and... also get Flowey in therapy for that last one, because his decision isn't really legitimate, in save-the-goat stories. It's self-harm. Which, personally, is both understandable and missing the point of one of the game's core themes: no matter how many times you restart the story, there are things you can't do; you are not getting a 100% Complete Perfect Pacifist where even Asriel is saved, and it's okay to be wistful about it, but you still need to put down the controller eventually. Getting him to the surface happens a lot in fic, because we all want the goldenest ending, but it could never happen in canon and we just have to live with it. It's thematically potent and I'd lose a lot of respect for Undertale's commitment to its story if you could circumvent it.

(Incidentally, this feels to me like it stems from the same ideas as making "* I have places to be" the wrong answer, a giving-in to Frisk's self-sacrificing, self-disregarding nature which must be corrected. Sometimes, you have to let people live and make their own decisions, outside the boundaries of the story's frame. Your perspective only goes so far.)

...now, fluffier, more sympathetically-traumatized Asriel, on the other hand...!

Ralsei's woes in Deltarune are very visibly the same kind of isolation as what Asriel's dealing with at the end of Undertale, but a) it's worse (a whole lifetime of waiting in a very deliberately empty, lifeless, three-screen-long kingdom) and b) he's stuck there for purely practical reasons. Darkners can't enter the Light World without becoming objects. He never made a decision to be here.

It's not something we can technobabble our way out of right now, but we're only in Chapter 2, right? We can save him, in a way we can't save Asriel: the deadlock we can't resolve has been removed; we don't really have to think about his preferences any more, because the preferences that kept us from helping him and left him stuck in the Underground I mean Dark World are just gone.

His issues are also much more obvious from the get-go, and seem designed to be something we talk him out of – not Asriel's decision to stay by his lost friend's grave, with a weight of meaning and feeling behind it, but hero worship, subservience, religious dedication to the Prophecy and self-image issues, all clear and visible dysfunctions. Giving Asriel therapy has left the realm of fanfiction and wish fulfillment and become part of canon... and the real disagreements we had with UT!Asriel over what he was and meant and deserved have become simple roadblocks for DR!Asriel whoops I mean Ralsei, things we have to help him through. Practical problems where the solution is friendship speech + therapy.

To make a slightly heavy-handed comparison, Ralsei saying we exist to serve Lightners and gratefully referring to himself as Kris's lackey is Anthy saying I'm the Rose Bride because I like it. It's the kind of reason we're inclined to reflexively overrule without working to deal with it at its root. Ralsei is Asriel, minus the irreconcilable and bittersweet parts, someone whose objections to being helped have either been removed or simplified down until we can feel good about disabusing him of them. He's our wish fulfillment in the way that candy on trees might be Susie's and a city of shining lights might be Noelle's and Giant Arcade Consoles might be Berdly's: an Asriel you can help, who you can make go to therapy and deal with the problems that keep him from caring for himself; who'll shut up, comply and let himself be saved.

...so the fact that Kris – whose personal issues are opaque, complex, and frustrating; who appears to be actively hiding parts of their life and motives from us; who clearly doesn't want our help or an improved social life at the expense of their agency – finds him so distasteful might not just be because he's a parody of their brother or Secretly Evil or whatever. If Ralsei is "the kid they're supposed to be" it's not just his fluff and horns!

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Kralsei is Doomed (and that's why I love it)

To me, Kralsei is a commentary on the idea of being in love with the idea of being in love - that is to say, being enthralled with the anticipation of courtship and falling in love, without really taking into consideration how the ensuing relationship would... actually work.

The depth of longing that is evident in Ralsei towards Kris is indeed intoxicating, and as I've mentioned previously, the game itself seems to push this pairing in the way that certain events are made to happen - most notably the acid tunnel of love running parallel to Noelle and Susie's heart-covered ferris-wheel ride. And add to that the whole nature of dark worlds as synonymous with dreams, fantasy and imagination. From a narrative perspective, the relationship seems almost destined to occur.

But I think Ralsei might find himself a bit adrift if and/or when he actually succeeds in wooing Kris... or the player, or whoever is predominantly in charge by that point. Like a dog chasing a car, I'm not certain he'd know quite what to do if he got what he was after, because at that point it stops being a flight of fancy and becomes real... which is very much the domain of the light world, and outside the darkness's purview.

And when getting swept up in the thrill of romance stories, it's easy to forget that the "struggle" does not end just because the couple share a tender kiss or whatever. Reality can, and often does, quickly ensue, and questions of long-term compatibility in the face of waning desire can spell doom for any relationship, no matter how "destined" it might seem in the run up to it.

This does not even take into consideration the biggest obstacle to this relationship - to exist in a form that we as players might recognise as reciprocal, it'd have to either be entirely confined to the dark world, or there'd have to be some way to bend the rules of Deltarune's reality to allow Ralsei to manifest in the light world, which... presents entirely new problems, not least because of the whole "Roaring" shindig.

Indeed, the more likely scenario, aside from the whole thing fizzling out or otherwise coming to an unfortunate end, is that Kris begins wearing the horned headband that is supposed to represent Ralsei, which as romantic a gesture as that might be, does not exactly live up to the promise that the pairing hints at... although in a strange way, such an outcome might end up strengthening the fantasy element of Kralsei, as a nascent relationship brought to a tragic end by the unflinching and immutable rules of light and dark. Such relationship never has to be actually tested by reality, which allows it to exist in a sort of crystalised state, a seemingly-perfect snapshot of a love that can perpetually exist in an idealised form.

It might be worth watching in future chapters to see how Kris and Ralsei's friendship develops, as it might give hints as to how Deltarune itself might end. Should the above come to pass, and the two come together only to be tragically wrenched apart by outside forces, it will suggest that the dark worlds will not be completely closed off, as the fantasy of Kralsei will be allowed to persist unchallenged by reality. If, however, they drift apart, or decide to remain friends only, or perhaps even if they break up mid-game, it would allow for a cleaner break between light and dark, suggesting some sort of sundering of the bridge between the two.

This, of course, sidelines any other interpretations of their relationship, such as an extended metaphor for self-love and acceptance, or of a coming-to-terms with the past, though I don't see that these can't co-exist alongside the above.

One final note: much of my focus has been on Ralsei rather than Kris, and there are grounds to argue that Kris does not wish, nor will they ever wish, to pursue a relationship with Ralsei. However, the fantasy of Kralsei's potential that exists both in Ralsei's head, and in players receptive to the game's suggestions, almost renders Kris's feelings and opinions on the subject moot. In other words: the reality of what Kris might want, even if that DOES end up wanting to be with Ralsei, is supplanted by the fantasy of their potential thrilling romance story.

In this, the core themes of Deltarune are again reinforced - Kris's choices do not matter, even if their choice would align with the fantasy-romance being suggested. This is not to suggest that I do not care what happens to Kris, but it does highlight that there is a narrative reason for Kralsei, or at least the idea of Kralsei, to exist in the game, and lends further weight to the idea that it is ultimately doomed to failure, regardless of the wishes of its participants.

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS THE 3RD TIME I'M FUCKING UPLOADED THIS PIECE OF SHIT BECAUSE TUMBLR KEEPS FUCKING UP MY IMAGE LAYOUT WHENEVER I POST IT SO IF THIS SHIT DOES THAT AGAIN I'M NOT GONNA FUCKING FIX IT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO EMBED ALL THE LINKS TO THE BASES I USED AND WRITE DOWN ALL THE TAGS ALL OVER AGAIN

X / X / X / X / X / X

Ngl it was relatively easy to think of pony names for these characters since i've had the idea to make this for a while so i've had a lot of time to think about it lol

For yuriko: i chose the name "flawless lace" because in her regular form, i specifically chose the name "yuriko" for her because it means "perfect" so i wanted to try and include that aspect into her pony name. Some considered names for her were "perfect storm" and "lily lace" since the "yuri" part of her name means "lily" (though i decided against it bc i remembered that's the name of an actual pony in MLP...) the markings on her legs are meant to sorta mirror the stockings she wears in her usual form

For sprite: i chose the name "baby carrot" simply because that was a actual name i considered for her normal form before i decided on "sprite" (which is kinda funny since a big part of sprite's character is that she likes apples.....a food that is basically as different from carrots as it can get) she is a goat-alicorn hybrid because she's normally a deltarune OC, specifically a fankid of kris and ralsei; with the latter being a prince from the dark who is also a goat monster

For carrie: a big part of her backstory is that she named herself, she's literally a carrot that decided to be human one day (...or pony, in this case) and is trying to fit into civilsation as best she can; so i tried to give them a pony name that sorta fits that, and so i named them "carrot mulch" because i could totally imagine her trying to introduce themself to someone and doing that one trope in movies where the main character doesn't want to share their real name and just looks around the room for things to call themself lol. I also decided to make her a blank-flank since she probably hasn't spent that long a time as a pony and therefore wouldn't have a cutie mark despite appearing fully grown

For makeighlyn i feel like my choices are pretty straight forward, the character is a girls' flash game mascot created by a christian fundamentalist cult who somehow escaped into the real world and now works as a demon slayer so i decided to give her a name and cutie mark that reflects that. The only thing that i feel is worth mentioning is that i find it interest how the amount of pink in her design makes the blue in her hair look a lot darker...either that or i might've accidentally hue-shifted it or something

Choese is another pretty straightforward one, he's a flirty cheese-themed mouseboy so i gave him a heart-shaped cheese cutie mark and named him "gouda squeaks" because he's a fucking rodent. (Sidenote: i love smoked gouda so goddamn much omg)

Lastly for crystalline i decided to make her a breezie since she's normally a fairy and y'know....breezies are just the MLP equivalent to fairies....i also decided to name her "fee-fee breezie" since breezies usually have really cutesy names in the show (some of them straight up have references to their species in their names), the "fee-fee" part of her name is short for "feelings" since crystalline is an emotion fairy

Y'know when i first created crystalline back when i was like, 10 i was going through a phase where i just VIOLENTLY hated things for no reason (specifically things from MLP such as the vampire fruit bats, flurry heart and the manta hawk from the IDW comics) to the point that i would make them out of polymer clay JUST so i can make my pony toys kill them (i was a weird kid, needless to say) one of these things being the breezies....so ngl i feel like the fact that i made crystalline a breezie is really fucking ironic lol

[selfpositiveundertale]

Update

CW: discussion of trauma (the trauma was a bad car accident)

I was able to pay for my dog's vet appointment and her medicine thanks to the person who paypal'd me ❤️❤️❤️ She isn't happy about having to take medicine again but hopefully this will be the last round, it's pretty much just probiotics and something to settle her stomach because the antibiotics really did a number on her tummy.

My hands ache from the crash but it's no worse than the soreness after crocheting for several hours. I can do some crocheting but I find thicker yarn much easier and less painful to work with right now. That said, I got a bunch of chenille yarn a while back and I have some larger plush versions of my Ralsei amogus dolls in the works. The first one is almost done, I just have to assemble and attach the hat. Will post a pic when he's done. I want to have at least 2 each with and without squeakers made and then I might reopen my Etsy shop and list them. They will cost more due to the cost of materials, but I'll probably mostly have dolls made of the chenille yarn for a while, at least until I can work with normal yarn without pain within minutes again. I'm hoping to sell a couple by Tuesday because I have another chiropractic appointment that day I'll need to pay for and my husband doesn't get paid again until Friday.

I'm still trying to process what happened. I'm seeing my therapist tomorrow and I will be discussing it with her. This therapist is new to me, my previous one that I had for a few years left the place I'm with and is now working elsewhere. We've only had like 2 sessions but she seems nice. It's just a little frustrating having to break in a new therapist all over again but not really a problem so I'm not worried.

I drove today, to take my dog to the vet. It was scary. I didn't realize how paranoid I would be of other drivers, fully expecting anyone and everyone to whip out in front of me when they're waiting to exit a parking lot to the road or suddenly veer into my lane when they're right beside me and I panicked every time I saw them. It took a lot of self control to not slam on the brakes and to remind myself that other people are not going to do things like that. I have to remember I know how to drive safely and most people are not going to be so reckless as to do the dangerous things my brain is expecting them to do. My anxiety around driving is almost back to where it was while I was still very new at it, terrified to be on the road with other people and having no trust in them and even less trust in myself. I have to build up my confidence again and I have no idea how long it will take.

I have to say, getting hit by one huge trauma all at once sure feels different from the trauma I'm used to, which is the kind that builds up over many years in a toxic and dysfunctional family. It's kind of surreal, I find myself wondering if it was all a dream but then I see the bruises on my legs and feel the ache in my palms and how stiff and sore my body still is even after a chiropractic appointment and see the empty space where I would have parked my vehicle and I have to remember it really happened. I get this weird chill that seeps up the back of my head like cold water in my hair when I remember it. And yeah, I'm grateful I walked away with nothing worse than bruises and stuff my chiropractor fixes literally all the time anyway, but I wish it didn't happen.

It's all such a mess. Right now I'm just trying to focus on keeping myself fed with good food and busy with things that can make some money. I'm making chili tomorrow because it's one of the less expensive things I can make, and also I could use some comfort food after the week I've had. And maybe the familiar routine of cooking the beans will help soothe my brain. I only use dry beans as I can't stand the texture of canned beans. Cooking them isn't difficult or complicated, just time consuming and I think the 2 or 3 hours it'll take to cook them will do me some good.

It's after midnight and I'm exhausted, so I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Goodnight, and stay determined.

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

[aspisera]

Aspisera's Masterpost of the Deltarune Escapism Theory Character Connections!

Okay so before I start this, I am NOT good at writing.

This is my take on the connections in the Escapism Theory for Deltarune. I’m going to be naming off points on a descending scale with how outlandish the connection to characters are. 

It will descend like this:

Susie

Kris

Noelle

Berdly

(thank you @stunfiskz for humoring my take on Noelle when I first thought of it)

Here we go:

Susie - Jevil and King

To me (and others, I’m sure) King and Jevil have strong connections to Susie. King is basically how Susie confronts her abandonment issues. 

Instead of crying about it, she gets angry and lashes out. In the fight she has with Lancer, she goes on the offensive instantly. Choosing to get aggressive about it because she’s tired of people leaving her behind; loyalty means a lot to her. King is the same way because of the Lightner’s abandoning his kingdom. He grows jaded and coarse while developing a vendetta. He does everything in his power to make the Lighteners leave, to trap them, or to kill them so they don’t cause more issues.

With Jevil it’s a bit different. Jevil is more related to Susie’s nihilism and cynicism (particularly being concerned with her own interest in Chapter 1). Susie and Jevil both subscribe to “Our actions hold no value so what’s the point in conformity?” as they both show how they can care less about the safety of others or the larger problem at hand (e.g. The Roaring). Towards the end of Chapter 1, we can see Susie start to care about other people a bit more. Thanking Kris and becoming their friend. She also warms up to Ralsei a bit. And when you defeat Jevil in both endings, he accepts your kinship and helps you in battle (Either as Jevilstail (Armor) or Devilsknife (Weapon)). Just like how Susie went into your part (with Lancer) after you defeated them.

Kris - Spamton and Lancer

I know what you’re thinking “What do you mean Lancer?” but stick with me, I promise.

Kris and Spamton may seem like a fairly obvious comparison… So why is it down here? Some may not have looked deep enough. It’s not just about puppets on strings, no, it’s about depression. 

From the beginning, we can tell Kris has low motivation, sleeps in, and ignores school responsibilities, and it’s probably because Kris is depressed. Their brother is away, they feel like an outcast, they’re being bullied in school by Susie (in the beginning), and their parent’s have a broken marriage (which doesn’t help). Spamton reflects this: Mike not returning the calls, being removed as an Addison and being laughed at because of his failures, and him being broken himself.

Both him and Kris want to change and go back to how things were but they’re both grasping at straws. Nothing seems to be working, especially for Spamton. To Kris, Spamton is what they could have been if the Soul didn’t step in. Kris relates to Spamton on such a high emotional level that they have a mental breakdown after the fight with NEO. It makes them reflect on what they have now and how they might’ve turned out. Same with how Spamton appreciated Mike being there for him… until he wasn’t.

Lancer and Kris are a bit harder to explain and also ties in with Noelle’s comparisons. Lancer is shown as a goofball, a silly guy, a child. Kris is a notorious prankster and is basically the town weirdo. They both have their victim of choice for most of their jokes and have obsessions with things people consider unorthodox (digging holes and knives). But Kris and Lancer are also connected in the sense that Kris is afraid of getting close to people just like how Lancer is. Lancer is scared of his dad finding out but Kris is worried about driving people away. Kris most definitely has a history of making people not like them and so does Lancer. Lancer admits himself that none of the basic enemies really listen to him and only do so because he’s the King’s son.

Noelle - Queen (obvs) and Rouxls Kaard

Told you it would tie in. Queen isn’t hard to understand when relating her to Noelle. Queen uses Noelle and likes her because she can manipulate her well as Noelle is a pushover and a people-pleaser. And, of course, that ties in with how Queen is like Noelle’s Mom. Always pushing her to do her best in school so she can keep up the image of their family. She can’t have Noelle flunking like she did on that spelling bee. 

Rouxls Kaard is fun to explain. Both Noelle and Kaard are looking for a greater purpose as they both feel like they have more meaning to themselves other than doing good in school or making puzzles. Noelle wants to do what she wants but feels pressured by her mom to keep going. Kaard wants to do his own thing, too. Making puzzles isn’t fun for him but he keeps doing it because he feels like he needs to. Though there’s greater purpose in sticking with Kris and Lancer. Kris can provide a journey and a possibility at finding something that means more than academics. Taking care of Lancer gives Kaard a HUGE purpose. He plays around with the idea of being a second father to Lancer but is scared of how to approach it, just like how Noelle is stuck thinking the trip to the Darkworld is all a dream.

Berdly - just Swatch (for now)

Berdly’s is gonna be short and sweet. I think Swatch is who Berdly wants to be. Berdly masks himself as acting smart, charming, and tough all at the same time. Swatch is pretty much all of those things. Swatch is smart but you don’t get upset because they don’t come off as condescending, not to mention him being fuckin’ BUILT.

That’s pretty much it. I doubt this thing is comprehensible in a literary sense but I don’t write often so I hope all of my points get across nonetheless. I decided to make this post to finally tie into Stunfiskz’s drawing of Noelle and Rouxls Kaard’s sprites making the same faces and not let people just sit in the dark.

[multiplicity-positivity]

hello! do you perhaps have any advice, or know of any resources for situations where the collective cannot agree on important decisions? like, say, some have come to absolutely hate a friend and want to cut off contact, some are still attached and would be very sad and griefing if the friendship is lost, some is thinking of compromising where only the ones who want to talk to that friend would do so (but will not work bc the ones who hate this person would still be exposed to them anyway bc of shared memory, when the healthiest thing to do for them is walk away. which also cannot work bc it will devastate the ones who want to stay friends with said person)

Hiya! Woof, our system really struggles with this ourselves! >_< and I don’t think we’re gonna have an easy, straightforward answer for you! We’re really sorry!! T_T But we can still try to share some stuff that our own system is working on when it comes to making decisions, if that’s okay!

Okay, so first off, communicate! >w<

It’s really important to keep up an open dialogue and communicate with each other, especially when it comes to making big decisions! If someone wants to do something, ask them why! And do the same for the headmates who don’t want to do something! And like, try not to make fun of, belittle, or lash out at headmates for being vulnerable and sharing their reasons for having a certain opinion! Not every headmate will think the same way or want the same things! So just talking to each other and trying to get everyone’s opinions can at least help y’all all get on the same page :33

Next, maybe try taking a vote!

Um, if the vast majority of the headmates in your system want something, and only a couple don’t maybe it would be worth it to do it anyway! But at the same time, keep in mind the feelings of the headmates who aren’t getting what they want or whose votes are being overruled. Maybe try explaining to them why the system as a collective is going to be making this choice in particular, and why those who voted for it believe it is the best choice!

But the biggest thing (at least for our sys!) is…

Compromising!!!

Making compromises is essential for every system. Yeah it sucks that not all headmates can always make their own choices or get what they want all the time, but compromising is a great way to help everyone feel seen, acknowledged, and find a path that more or less works for everyone! >w<

Okay, so let’s try and use your example (but keep in mind we don’t know you personally or your history, so please don’t take our potential compromise as the only solution here!)

You brought up a good compromise by saying that only the headmates who want to be in touch with this friend could do so, though it would impact the headmate who doesn’t want to be in touch because of shared memories. To further this compromise, maybe you could help this headmate access tools for proper emotional regulation and learning how to sit with, accept, and come to terms with painful memories and negative emotions. Everyone will form bad memories or experience bad emotions at some point or another in their lives! >_<” But equipping this headmate with the tools to manage their emotions in healthy ways might make it easier to live with the memories of other headmates interacting with this friend.

It’s impossible for anyone to live their whole lives without ever having to make a compromise… but for systems, we headmates may find that learning how to compromise is way more important than it is for singlets!!

I’ll be honest, many members of our system love wikihow and we (Ralsei and Margo) have personally gotten a lot of use out of wikihow over the years! We’re including a link to a wikihow article on compromising - maybe y’all could find some use in it!

Also, if your system is in therapy, this would be a perfect subject to talk through with your therapist! They might have some good ideas or suggestions tailored to your system’s needs specifically, and could probably help y’all in ways that we won’t be able to!! >w<

Good luck to y’all though with figuring this out!! Gosh, we know that trying to make group decisions is not easy, especially when it comes to big things that headmates have opposing views on. We really hope though that y’all will be able to find ways to communicate and compromise in the future!! :33

[lancerious]

Blab about Lancer

Ah yes, always a grand idea :D!

I'm gonna try and keep what I say here reasonably fresh as I don't feel like repeating what I've said about the bounciest boi in the past, though if anyone wants me to repeat myself lemme know because I'll definitely do it hehe :>.

I just wanna gush about Rouxls Kaard in terms of Lancer for a bit, firstly because I haven't done this much to begin with, and secondly because I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THESE TWO. Rouxls I don't care how much you complain about Lancer it's obvious you care for the kid's well being and you SHOULD because said kid is a pure precious cinnamon roll who couldn't hurt a mosquito. Every time I see fanart depicting Rouxls as being a parental guardian of sorts for Lancer it makes me melt because it's so PRECIOUS, honestly keeping an eye on Lancer is one of the only things Rouxls Kaard is good--or at least decent--at. And you can't tell me the "Lesser Dad" nickname isn't adorable, if you don't find that adorable then you have issues. I don't know if I've ever brought up this "surrogate guardian" sort of thing going on between these characters but I am now! 10/10, both Rouxls Kaard & Lancer are too beloved for this world, 'nuff said. (<- I still prefer Spade King as an overall parent/guardian don't worry lol.)

Speaking of Spade King though, I really like the situation he & Lancer are currently in father/son relationship-wise. It is pretty depressing at the moment, but that's honestly what makes it work. I love seeing new family dynamics in Deltarune, something fresh y'know? It's an entirely different scenario with more recent characters. I know how beloved the Dreemurr family are in the UT/DR community, and they're amazing characters for sure, but I really prefer Spade King & Lancer's dynamic. It feels more REAL. The events themselves aren't that realistic ofc, but the emotions & reactions both sides have feel more reasonable. I'm not sure if this is even making sense and I'm going on a tangent anyway.

But yeah, back to Spade King & Lancer. I love how we're actively going to SEE both characters (hopefully) work out their differences and begin to mend that relationship. And we also will likely see how each side's current situation affects them, likely in more ways than one. Sure, both Lancer & Spade King are mostly hiding such things behind a facade, but you KNOW it's there. And THAT is what makes it so impactful. You know both characters are going through such inner turmoil, especially Lancer. His father literally hates the only friends he's ever had, and that puts poor ol' Lancer smack in the middle of everything. It's like that feeling you get when two close friends are fighting and you're the mutual third party, but multiplied SO many times. Honestly, I've said it before, and I will say it again; a breakdown of SOME sort HAS to happen to Lancer at some point. I doubt Spade King will have such a moment because Spade King, but he'll still feel it inwardly I'm sure. There is no feasible way a literal CHILD can carry on the burden of so much without crumbling under the pressure.

Which brings me to something that I admittedly have mentioned before, but I just have to bring it up again. Lancer has gone through SO MUCH for a child his age. It's doesn't matter what age you headcannon Lancer as: What he has and is currently going through are things NO child should experience, EVER. I'm not even talking about only the Spade King situation anymore, I'm talking about EVERYTHING. What makes all Lancer has been through that much worse is the fact of him being AWARE of it all. He's not oblivious, and he's not clueless either. He's ASTONISHINGLY observant, ESPECIALLY for his age. I would even argue Lancer is one of the most observant Deltarune characters so far, even if he never announces it. He certainly hints at it here and there, like when he told Kris, Susie, & Ralsei that the other Darkners aren't major fans of him.

This entire thing makes me think of a line Lancer said during his battle alongside Susie with Kris & Ralsei. The first time you, as the player, tell Ralsei to "give the final blow of kindness" to Lancer, Susie blocks it off so Lancer can't hear. And Lancer says he's "blissfully ignorant". Call me crazy, but I don't think that specific phrase was an accident. Of course, Deltarune is only a game after all, so it was Toby Fox who put that line in. But if we think about this through the perspective of Lancer himself, I see him stating what he WISHES he was. He WISHES he was "blissfully ignorant" from everything around him: knowing the fact of the other Darkners not liking him to dealing with an impossibly complex parenting situation and everything in between.

See, I think there's a very unique tragedy with Lancer. One that most characters Toby Fox has created haven't been able to replicate. Think of Asriel from Undertale for a minute. Asriel had loving PARENTS, plural, and he even got a sibling in the form of Chara for a time. Asriel's entire family was well-respected and loved by the other monsters, and for the longest time, Asriel didn't have a lot of burdens to bear. It was only at the short time leading up to & including his own DEATH, & what came after, where things started to go downhill. Asriel essentially had it all while he was alive, then lost it upon death.

And now, think of Lancer. I would say Lancer is the exact opposite of Asriel in this way. First, Lancer's family is a crumbled mess. He barely knows his mother--Queen--has a biological father in the form of Spade King, who was (and certainly is) likely not a perfect parent, and that really only leaves Rouxls Kaard as a somewhat decent parental guardian. Already, we see a major difference. And once we broaden our view and see both kingdoms with their citizens, well, Asriel and Lancer could not possibly be more opposite. There was not ONE Darkner Lancer felt appreciated by, save for those above him in power & position, which is really only Spade King (ignoring the other Kings when they ruled). The ONLY time Lancer felt genuine connection with others was the day Kris & Susie first appeared in the Dark World. That is IT. Generally, in terms of how his current life has been so far, Lancer's is far from ideal. Hence, Lancer & Asriel are opposites in this case.

I think I've run out of things to say as far as this post goes lol, and it's already preeetty long. Though, let's end this post on a high note! Lancer has actual friends now, friends who will stand by for whatever support he may need. Heck, if Kris, Ralsei, & Susie--especially Susie--were all willing to respect Lancer's wishes and attempt to resolve everything peacefully with Spade King in Chapter 1, who KNOWS what's to come in future chapters! I for one can't wait to see where Lancer's story goes :)!

Anyway have a random Lancer fanart image :>.

[bluebirds-yellowflowers]

I had a pretty wild theory that Ralsei could be the second voice during the goner maker sequence here, here is what I came up with- I found a lot more connections between Ralsei and Gaster than I thought I would

1) while I was watching a playthrough of Chapter 1 earlier, I noticed something. Ralsei... speaks in a really interesting way when we first approach him. His text is centered at the top of the screen and is silent... just like the second voice. He is the only character other than the second voice to speak in this manner, if we exclude Gaster from the equation. 2) Ralsei can change the sound of his voice. While he has his hood up once we actually reach him, the centered text goes away and while he speaks under the hood, he has a different text sound than he does when he drops the hood. 3) Ralsei and Gaster clearly has some sort of connection. The Goner Maker seems to be at a dark fountain somewhere- and the grand fountain is apparently the original fountain according to Ralsei? What if like... the goner maker section actually took place in the heart of the grand fountain, and not in the bunker? 4) Ralsei seems. Pretty constricting in a subtle way. In Chapter 1 he specifically tries getting Susie to play the role of a hero and talks about how Susie is meant to be a hero. For somebody who is supportive of choices, he seems pretty convinced that Susie is supposed to follow the prophecy instead of going against it, but... doesn't really go against our choices. Probably because our choices don't matter, and we would fulfill the prophecy no matter what we do? The most concern he’s shown about things not happening the way they’re supposed to be happening in Chapter 2 is when Ralsei seems pretty confused about whatever was SUPPOSED to happen in Snowgrave after Susie comes OUT of the door, which he probably thought wasn’t supposed to happen. Ralsei seems to be following some kind of script, if his reaction to what was supposed to happen didn't happen in Snowgrave could be used as evidence.

5) Ralsei knew who Kris and Susie was before he ever encountered us, despite being "alone for so long". Either he's lying about being alone waiting for Kris and Susie to arrive for so long in some attempt to conceal his identity as the headband or another item Kris has,    OR   , Gaster told Ralsei all about Kris and Susie. He does think Kris and Susie are “wonderful people” after all- 6) Ralsei is one of the very few darkners who knows what the soul is. The soul was summoned in the Goner Maker segment. Gaster could've educated Ralsei about the Goner Maker. 7) Ralsei is literally the only darkner we know of who knows about SAVES. Gaster had control of the save files in Chapter 1. Ralsei probably has a good idea on how those "devices" work, and why we can SAVE and take as many breaks as we need. Its possible Ralsei took control of the SAVE FILES in Chapter 2.

This, this is everything that came to mind. Either Gaster is connected to both the second voice AND Ralsei, or Ralsei is actually the second voice and there is actually no mysterious unrevealed character.

[acaciapines]

hiiiiiii bestie hiiiii hiiiiiii hiiii <3

no one else is asking so I will take one for the team. well maybe someone has asked but I will ask again if not. can you please tell us abt how kris and noelle meet in the drk au, and noelle’s uh. reaction to seeing dess again when she thought dess was dead? and ig by extension, kris. not sure if this is getting into spoiler territory so feel free not to answer or be as vague as you want :p

am also interested in hearing more abt ralsei and susie in this au. Please

have we talked abt this a bit? definitely. but the ppl on tumblr should hear it also and I like hearing abt it smile

hii hi hi <3

i do not know how much of this will be new for you but it will be new for everyone else so LETS GO!!!

NOELLE AND KRIS

okay so. i think i've mentioned this in other posts before, but the whole event that starts off everyone finding out dess and kris arent actually dead is that kris dives into a dark world! theyre trying to close a dark world like dess does, because they think that maybe!! that way!! dess will come back and be proud of them and love them and then she wont leave so much! because kris can close dark worlds too, see? now they can go with her!

they tell this to frisk, swear frisk to secrecy, and then! vanish lol they're Gone. the way dark worlds work here also isnt fully solid but im treating them sort of like mystery dungeons in pmd, so they dont fully follow the laws of like, physics and the like which means that even tho where kris lives is Very Far from hometown, noelle, susie, and ralsei are still able to get to the same dark world from hometown!

do not ask me what this dark world is like. i have No Idea. probably somewhat inspired by kris's life but i have not gone so far as to plot it out lol. the important part is that susie and ralsei split off from noelle (like in cyber city) and so noelle ends up running into kris, who has not only gotten lost but is in WAY over their head lol, so she saves them and kris begrudgingly agrees to stick with her. they totally couldve done this on their own. theyre sticking with noelle for her own safety. and noelle is just like yeah sure lol.

while traveling through the dark world together, noelle and kris have no idea who the other is! not only do they not really remember each other (noelle has a few vague memories, kris was even younger when dess took them so they dont remember anything at all), but they've both grown up a lot and in kris's case are fully presenting as a monster. they bond a bit over both being deer-monsters!

they cant fully communicate, tho...kris would be nonverbal throughout this entire trip and since noelle never grew up with kris she doesnt know monster sign language. she might remember a few words from her childhood but not enough to understand kris and even if she did she is a stranger so kris wouldnt sign OR speak to her anyways lol. but they do help each other out and close the dark world together! they come out in hometown and noelle promises to help kris find their parent cause they did Not mean to come here lol, and that is when! she checks her phone and shes gotten a text from toriel about a missing kid, and she's like....hey so uh i think your parent might actually be at my house lol wanna come by.

(while kris was stuck in the dark world, frisk got Very Worried and did eventually spill everything to chara, and thats how chara and frisk end up in hometown desperately trying to find kris! they come across toriel who helps them out and thats why they're at the holiday-dreemurr house).

and so things are all fun and fine until noelle and kris get back to noelle's house, and go inside, and kris is reunited with chara, and when that happens toriel sees this child and is like. holy shit. is that my dead kid.

and the fic would end there lol! (in my head this is a series, so, it would span multiple fics) another fun thing is this is the moment where noelle learns kris's name--so it wont really be a surprise for the audience cause i feel like most people could catch on that this is kris (remember up til this point we only follow noelle and the hometown crew, so we think dess and kris are dead), but if you didnt...

NOELLE AND DESS

honestly i dont know how noelle would react... i feel like she wouldnt have as big a response as everyone else! to her dess is less a person and more like, the story she's told as to why she cant do all the same things her peers do, why her mom + stepmom are so overprotective, why asriel stayed behind instead of going to college...dess loves noelle but noelle is like literally who are you. so when dess tries to like, bond with noelle, noelle doesnt want this...she grew up without a sister and that bond isnt going to form again! she doesnt know who this woman is!

its. very hard for dess needless to say. and for kris who sees how much dess is investing in noelle and theyre just like. okay well why was she never like that with me. which then leads to tensions between noelle and kris, which pushes kris to make some Very Bad Choices, and and and. plot <3

RALSEI AND SUSIE

actually the relationship ive thought about the least if im being honest. but i was talking about them to you last night and i think that like...there IS a level of antagonism that doesnt exist in deltarune canon. ralsei is trying to hard to stick to the prophecy, and when susie in this story's version of chapter one ignores it to be a villain with lancer, that hits A LOT HARDER in a world where from the very start the prophecy is being broken (since its two monsters who fall lol)

plus ralsei is also dealing with a lot of feelings shes never felt before--jealously, envy, not being able to just ignore her dysphoria anymore...shes a lot more aware of her crush on noelle and so noelle having a crush on susie isnt helping...

LIKE THEY ARE FRIENDS i think ralsei feels a LOT of guilt about all of this, and when its just her and susie things are good! they make sense!!! susie makes her wanna BE things wanna feel like maybe these things she feels are okay...but then everything always comes crashing down and its. bad again.

annnnnd thats all i think!! as always anybody can ask for follow ups. i'll spoil this entire au lol im sure things will change as i write it and besides. this is gonna take A While so when i do post it in like 2026 yall wont remember what i said here lol.

[cloudyartboi]

now i know you like deltarune

favourite character ?

i personally like lancer and/or ralsei (( idk how to spell ))

Aaayyy first ask I’ve received! =D

I honestly don’t think I have a favorite character (or at least not one I’ve fully settled on yet.) Though I could bring up a couple ones that I really like:

Deltarune spoilers for those who haven’t played or seen the game:

Cyber Queen (Yes I like to call her that rather than just Queen, I just think it suits her):

I find her to be more interesting antagonist in Chapter 2 than the Chaos King in chapter 1. She has a well written goofy personality, yet she still works pretty well in the chapter. I usually prefer more serious and intimidating villains, but I still really like a few of them (Bill Cipher and Discord are examples of goofier villains that I still really like.) She also works well thematically as she plays a part in Noelle’s character arc in chapter 2.

Noelle:

Speaking of Noelle, she’s definitely one of my favorites. Not just cuz of her arc, but her likely connections to Deltarune’s themes seem to imply we’re far from done with her. (And Snowgrave was pretty dark- I like the whole idea that she ends up at the same point in her character arc as she did in the normal route, but the journey to get there was very different and gave them a different outlook on it.)

Kris:

I for some reason like shy quiet characters (especially protagonists-). I don’t know even why. Speaking of which, I get the feeling that there’s a 50% chance they’re the knight honestly. I know this theory is almost universally disregarded as debunked by the community, but I’d have to disagree. Most evidence that people use to say it’s impossible is weak and based off either false or only one interpretation of a scene or text that has multiple ways of being interpreted, and honestly I’d say you could argue that Kris being the knight would be more narratively powerful than baiting the audience twice in a row. (Some people probably just reject this idea simply because they don’t want to believe what they believe is bait in a giant who-dun-it mystery, even though you could argue that Kris’s motives as the knight is the actual mystery and not whether they are the knight or not (which would make sense given Deltarune’s protagonist vs player conflict that this scene could be trying to further establish, and cramming a whole who-is-the-knight mystery alongside that could probably result in both being weakened severely)) I could write an entire essay on this if I really wanted to, but I’ll leave it at this.

Berdly:

I had to remember and take another look at what this guy’s backstory was again, and honestly, I relate to this guy’s fear of the possibility of having to go somewhere without the help of Noelle, since I’m soon going to enter the adult world, and gonna have to learn how to do everything by myself without the help of people who I’ve relied on- (it was also cool to see him genuinely concerned about Noelle in the Snowgrave route before being turned into a frozen chicken nugget-)

Ralsei:

This guy’s cute and all. The suspicions that people have on him are a bit overblown in my eyes, but I can still see the possibility of something being wrong with him. (I honestly didn’t see much wrong with Ralsei supposedly talking to Kris off camera since I’m pretty sure I skipped the second one during my first playthrough cuz I didn’t know what it was when I first saw it- Nor did the whole titans and the roaring thing come across as withholding information to me since he still explained that the world would end in chapter 1. But he simply didn’t give the details for exactly HOW it would end, though you still could argue that itself was still extremely important) Still wouldn’t be too surprised if he turns out to be hiding something big though.

[officialralsei]

…that does make sense! It reminds me of shaping something out of the Grand Fountain. I’m more used to spellcasting mechanics, but harnessing intent like this is something I’m not too unfamiliar with! I’ll give it a try now.

…

…GOOD. I HEARD THE SOUND OF ITS SUMMONING. NOW, FOCUS YOUR MAGICAL INTENT. AND LET IT POOL WITHIN THE ORIGIN OF THE ATTACK. WHEN YOU CAN HOLD THE ENERGY NO LONGER. ALLOW IT TO COALESCE INTO A SINGLE BEAM. 

THINK OF IT LIKE DRAWING A BOW TO ANCHOR. AND RELEASING IT IN ONE MOTION. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HOLD THE ENERGY WITHIN PLACE. OR IT MAY RELEASE ITSELF OF ITS OWN ACCORD. IN A MUCH LESS… CONSTRUCTIVE. MANNER.

TRY IT NOW.

…

Hmm. Um, I’ll try that again. It fizzled out…

IT IS ALL RIGHT IF YOU CANNOT DO IT YET. IT IS A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF MAGIC. FROM WHAT YOU ARE LIKELY USED TO. TAKE YOUR TIME TO BECOME COMFORTABLE. WITH SIMPLY SUMMONING THE ATTACK. IT WILL NOT CONSUME YOUR MAGIC. UNTIL IT FIRES SUCCESSFULLY.

…SPEAKING OF WHICH. I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT ‘TENSION POINTS.’ THE “PLAYERS” TOLD ME OF HOW THEY ENABLE YOUR SPELLCASTING. BUT WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE GENERATION OF ‘TENSION POINTS.’ AND YOUR USAGE OF THE ‘PACIFY’ SPELL IN PARTICULAR. WAS… CONCERNING. 

…IS THERE… ARE YOU… ARE YOU OKAY, RALSEI?

Oh, I’m fine! I don’t use that spell as often as they implied I do, anyway. Usually I sleep pretty well! It’s only every once in a while that I end up using it.

BUT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ABLE. TO CAST IT AT ALL, EVEN OUTSIDE OF BATTLE… TO BE IN SUCH A STATE OF HEIGHTENED STRESS. THAT ITS EFFECTS ARE COMPARABLE TO BEING GRAZED BY A BULLET… THAT IS QUITE WORRISOME.

Oh? Is it?

…

…YES. ALL THE MORE SO FOR YOUR HAVING TO ASK THAT. 

…BUT THEN AGAIN. I SUPPOSE YOU WOULD NOT HAVE HAD ANY METRIC. BY WHICH TO HAVE KNOWN THAT, WOULD YOU…? I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT YOUR CREATOR DID NOT IMPART UPON YOU. MUCH KNOWLEDGE OF MENTAL HEALTH. 

…

BUT THAT IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. I… I DO NOT KNOW HOW I MAY HELP YOU. BUT IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT…

It’s fine. Spellcasters are meant to build up stress a little more easily than other classes, haha. It really isn’t that unusual to have a full TP bar after dealing with those above us, I think! Especially if they’re, um, being demanding.

YES, CERTAINLY, BUT…

…

…IS IT BECAUSE OF ME? I… I UNDERSTAND IF IT IS. I WILL NOT BE MAD, I JUST… WISH TO KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT IS CAUSING YOU DISTRESS. SO THAT I MAY FIX IT. 

It’s not your problem to worry about. Capische?

…Umm, but since you are worried… I don’t have quite as much TP lately as I used to. These days, um, it doesn’t build up as fast as it used to, either. So you don’t have to be concerned, okay? I really am doing fine.

…I UNDERSTAND. I APOLOGIZE FOR PRESSING YOU. I AM JUST… REMINDED OF MY SON. HE ALWAYS REFUSED TO ADMIT WHEN HE WAS STRUGGLING. EVEN WHEN THE EVIDENCE WAS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME. 

I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER HE WAS TOO PROUD TO ASK FOR HELP. OR SIMPLY DID NOT THINK I COULD HELP. BUT… IT WAS DIFFICULT TO WATCH. IF THERE IS ANYTHING AT ALL I CAN DO…

…BUT AS I SAID. I WILL NOT PRESS YOU FURTHER. I AM JUST GLAD THAT YOU ARE DOING BETTER THAN BEFORE. I… I HOPE THE TREND CONTINUES.

Thanks!

…Darn, that one didn’t work either. Umm… I guess this is more difficult than I thought, haha!

TRIAL AND ERROR. FAILURES PROVIDE MEANINGFUL DATA FOR NEXT TIME. JUST DO NOT FORCE IT IF IT IS NOT WORKING. YOU WILL ONLY HURT YOURSELF THAT WAY.

I think I almost got it! Just a little longer. Like you said, I'm learning a lot from trial and error! Your lessons always teach me a lot of new things, haha.

THAT IS WONDERFUL TO HEAR.

…

I, TOO, HAVE LEARNED FROM OUR LESSONS. THINGS THAT I DID NOT EXPECT. CONCERNING THE WAY YOUR WORLD FUNCTIONS. AND BY EXTENSION, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OUR OWN WORLDS. AND THAT OF THE “PLAYERS.” 

…THEY WERE CERTAINLY QUICK TO MAKE REFERENCE. TO OUR CONVERSATION DURING YOUR PIANO LESSON.

Haha. Like I said last time… it's very, very interesting, isn't it?

YES… IT IS A NEW UNKNOWN VARIABLE. A RARITY IN THIS EXISTENCE OF MINE, THOUGH AS OF LATE. THERE HAS BEEN MORE TO STUDY. THAN EVER.

…

I AM CERTAIN WE WILL LEARN MORE. OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS PHENOMENON–

I did it! I did it! Did you hear that? It was so loud!!

EXCELLENT, RALSEI. VERY GOOD. THE SOUND IS UNMISTAKABLE. 

DID YOU, AH… HIT YOUR MARK?

Umm…! I meant to fire it off into the emptiness beyond the cliffs, but, umm… it hit the ground. Haha. Umm… it's kind of a big crater…!

THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED. THE BEAMS LOOSE A LARGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY. WITHIN A VERY CONCENTRATED AREA. 

ARE YOU ALL RIGHT…?

I'm okay! Um, the ground shook a bit, but I'm not hurt at all! And I'm just on the cliffs, so it's okay if I mess up the terrain here a little bit, I think! Umm… I think a crater of this size would have been bad if I had done it in Castle Town, haha. Maybe I won't practice these in the training grounds until I have better control…

A PRUDENT CHOICE. 

TO BE CERTAIN THAT YOU UNDERSTAND. HOW TO CONTROL THE CONSEQUENCES OF AN ACTION. BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THAT ACTION. IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY WHO WIELD SUCH POWER.

I'm not sure I do understand how to control the consequences yet, haha. Certainly not as much as you think I do. Still… that's why I have these lessons with you, isn't it? To figure out what sort of control could be possible for me.

And, you know… maybe you could keep consequences in mind a bit more during our time together, too. Just a thought.

…

…DULY NOTED.

[darkhymns-fic]

The Strongest Card...Is Friendship?!

It was just an old deck of playing cards, the kind Susie carried around whenever she was bored or hungry. She hadn’t even known she’d brought it to the Dark World. But here it was, packed into a tattered-looking tuck box on the ground that Lancer eagerly picked up.

“Is this pocky? I like pocky! But I can’t have any before dinner.” He poked at the box opening, giggling. “Can I have one?”

Fandom: Deltarune Characters: Susie, Lancer, Ralsei Rating: G Word Count: 2568 Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Happy to finally share my fic I wrote for the Color Cafe Deltarune zine arranged by @scarletscarveszines! Thank you again for letting me participate alongside so many other great artists and writers. I've also included an extra scene in here that I originally couldn't fit into zine, so think of it as some extra flavor for it.

--

On one of her birthdays, Susie was given a set of playing cards.

They were the kind with the numbers on both the top and bottom, with weird shapes she didn’t learn the names of yet. They hadn’t even been new, the box they were in frayed from the card flap opening.

“Is this even for kids?” she had asked. 

“You just break everything you touch,” someone said. She didn’t know who. Didn’t matter anyway. “Even you can handle these.”

Years later, during recess, once she did learn the stupid names of those symbols or whatever, she’d try her hand at them. Leaning against the brick wall in a shadowy corner (it just happened to look that way), she’d pull them from jean pocket. Her claws would scrape against the surface, sometimes obliterating an entire number, or drawing a jagged line through a heart. 

Just cut the cards, shuffle them, maybe play a little Go Fish by herself – which was all kinds of stupid to begin with. When that didn’t work, she tried guessing what would come next when she’d pull a card from the top of the deck, and would always get it wrong. Not like there was any reason to get it right anyway, but it still kind of pissed her off.

She guessed 4 of clubs, she got 8 of spades instead. She guessed 7 of hearts, she got the joker card. Didn’t she pull that out of the deck??

With a snarl and a huff, Susie threw the joker to the ground, tempted to grind it down to the dirt with her sneaker before she stopped herself. No. She wasn’t going to keep breaking things. So she picked it up, and shuffled again.

The problem was she wasn’t the only one hanging out behind the school. By the bleachers that faced the field-and-track, where a blonde-haired reindeer jogged along and leaving hoofprints in the dirt, she heard the snickers. They traveled to her so easily.

“Yo, you think that’s her lunch?” Through her hair, she glanced up to see a spiked, yellow head. They balanced themselves on the bleachers with some difficulty, which made sense when one didn’t have arms. “Like…she eats cards now instead of that gross chalk?”

A chilly laugh followed soon afterwards. “Looks like she’s…not playing with a full deck! Ha!”

“Haha… Wait, I don’t get it???”

A pause – she had stopped in the middle of her shuffling. One of the cards had loosened from its hold, but she couldn’t really tell just which. The ace? Or maybe that stupid joker card again. After putting the cards back in her pocket, she straightened, cracked her neck to the right, bared her teeth; just part of those little things to make people notice.

“Hey.”

She turned to give a full glare to the two chucklers that were still standing on top of those bleachers. Their laughter stopped immediately; their smiles frozen in place on their faces.

“Do you losers know how to whisper?” She marched towards them, wrapped a hand around one of the cool, metal poles of the bleachers that made up its back, and shook. It rattled and swayed, like a skyscraper in one of those monster movies she binged the other night. With a menacing grin, she used her other hand to grab hold, then proceeded to lift. Metal screeched as the bleachers were separated from the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a few of those runners stop and stare. Yeah. They always stared. Like she cared. 

“Maybe I need to teach you a lesson!”

“R-Run away!” She couldn’t tell who said that, and she didn’t care anyway. Maybe it was the armless punk who knew how to use his legs to scram, or the snowdrake who flapped his little chicken wings and tried to fly. 

Until at some point, she was back to holding up an empty set of bleachers. It was heavy, ugly, and stupid. But at least they stopped laughing.

She dropped it to the ground with a clang, dug in her hands in her pockets, then fixed her glare at the runners across the field. She wasn’t sure how many. 

“WHAT YOU ALL STARING AT?!”

Her shout echoed across the field, and just like that, the rest ran away. Probably because they were track-and-fielders. But also because they were scared of her.

Everyone always ran from her, didn’t they?

--

In the red forest, the Bad Guys were working on their evil plans.

“Here’s one, just repeat after me.” Susie cleared her throat, propped her axe on her shoulder, and gave her best snarl. “Where you been, you slow-ass pack of losers?! Ready to die?!” She then placed her weapon on the ground, leaning on it. “Okay, now you try.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay!” With his tongue perpetually sticking out and a rotund belly one could bounce Hearts Donuts off of (which they had already done to pass the time), her new blue buddy wasn’t exactly the most menacing thing she had seen in the Dark World. Then again, most things here weren’t anyway.

Lancer bounced on his feet, pointed at Susie, and shouted, “Hey there! You guys are as slow as a pack of sweet and tangy sugarplums! Get ready to take a comfy nap! And don’t forget to drink plenty of milk!” He finished it off with a twirl. “How was that?”

“…Uh… You didn’t repeat what I said at all. You just made everything sound delicious?? But hey, we’ll work on it.” She lifted her weapon again, grinning like mad. “Let’s just spar instead. Ya wanna see my Purple Thrasher?!” This was a step above her Red Buster, because Thrasher sounded way more sick.

“Oh, you know how much I love thrashing!” Grabbing his motorcycle out of thin air, Lancer hopped in and honked his little horn. “Now let’s eat!”

“Stop making everything about food!” A powerful purple flash of light rushed out of her weapon, aiming for one of the weird red trees. She was gonna demolish it–

“Oh, you dropped something, Susie!! You dropped something!”

“Huh?” Susie missed, her attack skewing far off to the right where the Bake Sale was being held. There was a big crashing sound, followed by terrified screaming, but that wasn’t important right now. “You messed me up, Lancer!”

With all the grace of a very bouncy ball, Lancer jumped off his motorcycle, laughing his evil laughter that still wasn’t that evil to begin with, though at least he made the ‘Ho ho ho’ deeper this time. “But Susie!! Look!” He hopped again, making (gross) splort noises towards the dropped item. “Hehe, butt Susie…”

It was just an old deck of playing cards, the kind Susie carried around whenever she was bored or hungry. She hadn’t even known she’d brought it to the Dark World. But here it was, packed into a tattered-looking tuck box on the ground that Lancer eagerly picked up.

“Is this pocky? I like pocky! But I can’t have any before dinner.” He poked at the box opening, giggling. “Can I have one?”

“Those are just some lame cards!” She quickly snatched it from Lancer’s hands, already halfway to shoving it back in her pocket. “Don’t touch my stuff!”

“O-Oh, I’m sorry.” Lancer suddenly deflated. “I guess that wasn’t a very Bad Guy thing for me to do…”

That instantly made her feel like trash.

Careful to first put her axe away, Susie took out the deck of cards from its place – looking even rattier than the box they’d been in. Some of the numbers had been scratched off by her claws, with the symbols all cracked and faded. The four of clubs was just a plain old club that looked wrecked, and the six of hearts was nearly broken in half.

“Yo, Lancer,” she called out, then proceeded to sit on the leaf-covered ground, leaning her arm on one knee. “Wanna check out some cool tricks I can do?”

At that, Lancer’s little sad face flipped; in fact, his whole bouncy body flipped, excited. “Oh, I love tricks! I used to know some guys who did that! I think they’re dead.” He sat across from her, his legs jittering and crushing the red leaves beneath them.

“Well this trick is gonna knock YOU dead!” she promised. Lancer gasped at the threat to his life, eager for more!

Susie gripped the pack of cards in her hands. She was going to do shuffle tricks. The kind that she saw on TV and looked rad as hell. All she had to do was not mess up. Easy. First, there was the riffle cut. It wasn’t as cool as the others, but the simple flipping of the cards in the middle gave that satisfying sound. It also got Lancer watching quietly. She did let a few cards slip free to fall to the ground, but those ones had been loose!  “T-That’s part of the trick!”

“Oh, okay!” Lancer instantly believed.

Then, she tried one of the butterfly cuts, separating a dozen cards at a time from each other, tilting them around. She tried to do it one-handed, but the balance was difficult, and, uh, maybe one or two more cards dropped to the ground. Lancer was still watching, even though she had fewer than 30 cards in her deck right about now.

But who cared about those baby shuffles? It was time for The Ultimate Shuffle. She’d been practicing this one! The waterfall cut was one of the coolest shuffles, and all she had to do was let each card fall from one hand into the other! She couldn’t mess this up!

“One, two, thre-!” And then the last of her cards flew all around herself, like leaves carried off in the wind. Oh. Oh, she had looked so lame there.

Susie waited for the laughter. She waited to feel stupid for ever trying something like this – but instead she heard… more splorts? (Still gross).. She raised her head, watching as Lancer went to pick up one card in particular. He looked… surprised? “Uh, Lancer?”

That was when he rushed to her, his smile wide, showing off his incredibly white teeth. The leaves kicked up in the air in his dash. “Hey! Why is there a mini-me in there? Susie! Do you carry pictures of me wherever you go?”

“No?? Why would I?” What was he even talking about??

Then she saw the ace of spades in his hand. It was just a simple, unimportant spade card. Oddly enough, this one wasn’t as messed up as the others. She supposed she had always liked the looks of this one for some reason…

Lancer clutched the card in his hand with glee. “Can I keep it? Can I? That’s so cool your trick could make a card of me! You’re so cool, Susie!”

Susie paused. “…You still think I’m cool?” she asked. Lancer nodded ecstatically.

Her lips tugged into a smile, one that didn’t show too many teeth or was the result of manic glee. She patted Lancer’s head roughly. The boy sort of squished underneath her strength, but didn’t seem to mind. “Sure. Take good care of it, ok?”

--

Within Ralsei’s giant castle, Susie only had eyes for the giant cauldron in the middle. Her hands were placed against the rim, staring down into its depths hungrily. “Susie,” Ralsei said with a gentle and only slightly chiding tone. “I told you: I’m not making you any more cakes!”

“Oh, come on! Just one more! I wanna catch it a second time!”

“But Susie!” shouted a familiar voice that made her turn towards the entrance with a smile. “You won’t have any room for my famous Lancer cookies, trademark pending!”

Lancer rolled in – literally, with his body on its side to gain maximum speed. He barreled into Susie, who took his impact right in the stomach. The force of the tackle made her hit the cauldron, dangerously tilting it to the side while Ralsei frantically went to right it up again. She gave her blue bestie a noogie, and Lancer tried to do the same, but couldn’t due to his incredibly short arms.

“Oh, Susie! Susie!” he yelled. “Look what I got! Can you show me more tricks?”

From a very hidden pocket, Lancer took out the ace of spades card, looking just as new as when she gave it to him – which hadn’t been very long ago at all. She grinned, taking out her deck of cards, full except for the special Lancer one. “Got all sorts of tricks up my sleeve!”

“Are you going to play a card game? I know quite a bit myself!” Ralsei clasped his hands together. “Is it blackjack? Crazy eights? Oh, or maybe Go Fish?”

Susie had to pause in her shuffling. “I’ve never heard of any of those games.”

“That’s so silly!” Lancer said. “There’s no fish in these cards!”

Susie ignored Ralsei’s nonsense, too busy finally perfecting her waterfall shuffle! Just as she was lifting up her hand and letting the cards fall, Lancer jumped up frantically with a very loud, “Wait!!!”

She flinched – and all the cards fluttered from her hands to drift to the floor. “H-Hey! I was just about to get it!”

“But you’re missing the most important card!”

Susie considered. “Is it yours?”

“Nope!” He turned to a politely-waiting Ralsei. “Fluffy boy! Can I have some paper and crayons please?”

“Well, that’s very sudden. But I just so happen to always carry some around!” Ralsei bewilderingly produced some sheets of paper and a crayon pack from his robes, happily handing it to an eager Lancer. Immediately, Lancer then began drawing furiously, head bent over the paper as he painstakingly outlined the most minute detail, even going so far as to shade – all with a purple crayon.

“Ta-da! Feast your silky smoothie eyes on this!” Lancer held up what could only be described as a very, very kick-ass drawing of Susie. It captured all her favorite features; namely her teeth and her giant muscles. Lancer also employed his stylistic choice of using jagged lines to show how rough and rugged she was. “Every card deck needs a Purple Thrasher, the most powerful card in existence!” With that, he handed it to Susie, along with his ace of spades – which she now realized had a drawn-on grinning face inside the symbol, complete with lolling tongue. “Next to mine, of course!”

“Lancer…” There was only one way she could repay such a kind and genuine act by her friend.

Clutching the two cards he gave her in her right hand, she then reached down to grab the other cards, and proceeded to devour them, tearing them to shreds with her teeth, one by one!!

Ralsei was the first to react. “S-Susie! You’re not supposed to eat those!”

But Lancer immediately caught on. “Oh, I get it! This is a new trick, isn’t it?”

“That’s right!” she said, her mouth full. “With these two cards, I don’t need the others anymore! Not unless they survive through all the carnage!”

“Can I play? I wanna play!” Lancer jumped up and down, his spade magic already materializing behind him, aiming for those same cards.

Susie grinned through the shreds of paper still clinging to her teeth, the happiest she ever felt in a long, long time. “Hell yeah!!”

[lowkey-loki245]

Okay, I'm rewriting this AU I made. Why? It's kinda bad and really just needs a rewrite. Anyways, here we go, Susie Snowgrave Route, aka.

Too Weak Route

When you are about to split up with the crew, you have to convince Susie to stay with you instead of going off with Ralsei. You get three options, but the only one that works is "I want to get strong with you." This throws both Ralsei and Susie off guard, but it works cause Susie thinks of it as "I want to be strong like you." You now have Susie on the team.

Since you can't kill anyone yet since you don't have something like Iceshock, you play normally up until when you meet with Noelle, which plays out differently. Noelle (being the woman lover she is) is too flustered to realize the queen is coming until its too late. The Queen takes Noelle and runs off, leaving Susie very pissed off.

This is when you get to your first store in the next room after the puzzle (specifically the store with the orange Addison). At the first store, you can buy the Purple Hatchets for Susie. This gives Susie the move "Double Chop". The move attacks twice and deals fatal damage. As long as it's the last move, the enemy won't have enough time to run. Now you backtrack.

In the first fight that you use Double Chop as the finishing move, Susie absolutely freaks out. She wasn't expecting to kill someone, and she knows this is real, so she's already scared. But no matter what, she assumes you didn't know either. This is the first time you used the attack, how could you have known it'd actually kill someone.

As you continue to backtrack, you hit your 2nd encounter. Susie absolutely refuses to use Double Chop. You're given two dialog options. Either "Let's try something else" or "What about getting stronger?" The first (obviously) boots you out the route, but the second one causes Susie to pause. Susie's now creeped out and tries to protest. You then say "We need to get stronger". Susie hesitates, then say "For the fight with the Queen?" You have to agree. From now on, Susie won't question when you tell her to use Double Chop. She still hesitates at first, but the more you fight and the more you use Double Chop, the quicker she is to attack.

For the puzzles, the first one you had to solve before you got the Purple Hatchets, but after that, there's the puzzle you force Susie to "solve". The more and more you push Susie to "solve" it, the more frantic she becomes until she uses Double Chop on the puzzle panel. She starts cursing you out, threatening to kill you for risking her life. All you do is simply show her the damage she did to the panel. It's so much damage, you wouldn't be able to tell what it was originally for if you didn't know. She's gotten stronger. You tell her that you only did it to show her how strong she's gotten, and she feels... good about it. She's gotten stronger, that's awesome. Susie knew she was strong before, but she didn't think she'd be able to reach this level of strength.

Susie is still a little hesitant to use Double Chop, but she feels like she needs to do this. Like you said, it's so the two of you can fight the Queen. When her, Kris, and Ralsei fought the king, they all almost died, and Susie doesn't want that to happen again. Plus, you're her best friend... her first friend (besides Lancer), you obviously are just helping her. She's just not strong enough yet, and you're helping her get stronger.

Eventually, you get to the Spamton dumpster. Once you kill everyone, he'll offer you the Splintering Axe (still costs 1997 D$). It makes Susie take damage over time, and Susie questions how this could make her stronger. "Resilience." And Susie believes it. In the fight with the Queen, she's bound to get hurt, so this will help her continue on in the fight. It'll make her stronger, that's what you told her. You just want to make her stronger, right? The Splintering Axe gives her the move "Wood Chop" and deals fatal damage that instantly KOs the enemy.

Finally, you run into Berdly. At first, Berdly is just teasing Susie, calling her a C+ student. Susie starts to get annoyed and decides to fight him. She's so annoyed by Berdly's teasing that before you can command her, she swings at him. She doesn't use Double Chop or Wood Chop, but with all the fights, with how much stronger she's gotten, she almost takes Berdly out in one go. This really freaks Susie out. She just wanted to rough him up a little, not almost kill him. Susie's freaking out, trying to figure out how to fix this, cause it seems like Berdly's about to pass out. Then you command her to use Wood Chop.

Susie's now scared out of her mind. Yeah, you're her best friend, but the best friend she knows wouldn't make her kill someone. "We need to get stronger" you tell her, but she still refuses, saying that this is going a bit too far and that the two of you should stop while you're ahead. You tell her that the two of you aren't strong enough yet, she's not strong enough, that she's too weak. This really affects Susie, making her go silent. Then Berdly pipes in with "Is my life really in the hands of a C+ student?" Susie quickly turns and attacks blindly out of rage. But Berdly doesn't take the hit, someone ran in and too it for him.

Noelle took the attack for Berdly.

The attack took Noelle out completely, saving Berdly in the process. As Berdly tries to get Noelle to respond to him, desperately trying to shake her awake, Susie falls apart. She just killed Noelle, the girl she has feelings for. She just couldn't hold back her rage, she wasn't strong enough... she was too weak. She was to weak and it cost Noelle's life. Susie decides to split off from the party, saying she needs some time to think.

You're now by yourself and go down the manhole to the Queen's Castle. You go through the castle like normal, except it's just you and Ralsei. He doesn't know where Susie went. You get to the Queen and Ralsei explains to her why the Dark Fountains need to be sealed. As you go to seal it, the Queen asks you where Noelle is. You can't answer. You finally get to the Dark Fountain, only to run into Spamton NEO. He's too strong, you can't defeat him. Kris calls for Ralsei, for Noelle, even for Berdly, but no answer. You call for Susie, and as you hear the sound of her axe swing, you seal the Dark Fountain.

You, Susie, and Berdly wake up. Berdly doesn't even talk to you or Susie. He tries to to wake Noelle up, but to no avail. "She's... she's probably just extra tired." Berdly wants to pretend, but with what happened in that "dream" and the terrified look on Susie's face, he knows it's not true. Noelle's gone. Berdly quickly leaves, carrying Noelle. Susie is frozen in place. She looks down at her hands and they're covered in splinters. All you can do is walk out the computer lab. Susie follows you silently.

Additional bit: when you get to the pink Addison's store, there will be a reference to the Snowgrave Route via the pink Addison. They'll bring up that "It's a little cold, don't you think?" If you agree, Susie will offer her jacket, although it doesn't have sleeves in the dark world. The jacket will not show up as armor. The jacket is supposed to mirror Noelle's watch in the Snowgrave route. If you have the jacket, once you're in the computer lab, you can offer it back to Susie before you leave. Susie will take it back, but will tie it around her waist instead of actually putting it on. This is just a little Easter egg that cause a few sprite changes.

[zombvibes]

According to the tags of your last Allyswap post, you have other AUs. Would you like to share the premise/any doodles you have?

This sounds you’re interrogating me, anon. /lh

Anywho, I DO have other aus and YES I would LOVE to share junk about them.

So when I made the teammateswap and allyswap guys, I had multiple ideas for the characters (obviously). So one day I thought “Man. I still really like these ideas and I wanna use them.” So I did!! Which became the alt aus like as in : alt teammateswap and alt allyswap. They were originally called tms! side b and as! side b. (Which tbh? Might go back to those names…not sure though.)

Like normal teammateswap and allyswap : alt tms is susie swapping with noelle, noelle swapping with berdly, and berdly swapping with susie. alt as is susie swapping with berdly, noelle swapping with susie, and berdly swapping with noelle!

And if y’all don’t mind I’ll just share their (old icky) sprites and some haha hehe dialogue boxes :

TOP = alt teammateswap , BOTTOM = alt allyswap

(There’s also art of them but um. It’s too old and grody for me to show on here. Unlike twitter, I want to seem prim and proper on tumblr /j)

Anyways, I’ll probably redesign them at some point and make them ““official”” and also because some swaps don’t really make sense. (But mostly talking about the Susies and Noelles here. The Berdlys are only there so the Noelles could mess with them. Don’t tell anyone I said that though.)

There’s also like…other random aus I thought would be cool or funny but I don’t plan on doing a lot with them (which I will list now) :

THE TIMEOUT AU

- An old snowgrave au idea I had where during the Berdly fight right before Noelle does her spell, Kris rips us out of their chest and puts us in a far they found in a trashcan off screen. Kris would finish the chapter without you and you’d have to watch and think about what you’ve done. (Hence the name.)

- I already talked about how the au would work on twitter but I doubt you’d wanna go onto twitter to see something so I’ll just copy and paste everything here :

This route is called The Timeout route! Kris is tired of your bullshit so they stuff you in a jar they found in one of the trashcans from the city! You get to watch Kris, Noelle, and Berdly finish the chapter without you because you’re a prick! To start this route, during chapter 1 you have to make Kris play the piano (which they do poorly). (You’ll probably have to do many other things to piss Kris off but I can’t think of any at the moment..just know that playing the piano is not optional) Chapter 1 ends as normal! Chapter 2, you gotta start the weird route! Like just killing stuff, then you get the ring etc. But when you get to the Berdly fight, there’s a small chance that Kris stops Noelle right before she does snowgrave. Afterwards, Kris (still in battle) rips out their soul and walks off the screen. There’s trash can rummaging noises the the background. Noelle and Berdly stand there shocked and Berdly asks what’s wrong with Kris. Noelle said that Kris was acting weird all day. Kris comes back with a jar that has their soul in it. Noelle and Berdly proceed to flip their shit. Kris puts the jar in their inventory and grabs Noelle and Berdly’s hands and drags them off to the right thus ending the battle. You get to see Noelle and Berdly ask Kris plenty of questions that Kris ignores and says that they’ll talk about it later. When Kris and co meets up with Susie and Ralsei, they notice that Kris is different. Susie asks what’s wrong, and Kris says that they’ll talk later. Yadda yadda yadda Everyone gets caged (except for Ralsei). Things happen as normal with some things happening differently cause Kris is in control duh. When Susie and Kris are in front of the fountain, Kris takes out the jar and opens the jar. The soul comes out and does its thing. Susie stands there shocked. Once they’re in the lightworld, everything happens normal. Berdly and Noelle leaves thinking it’s all a dream. Susie after they leave looks bewildered at Kris then shakes them : “What the hell was that all about????” You can finally control Kris here and pick between : Tell her what happened and What are you talking about? Telling her what happened : Susie becomes even more confused and Kris (out of your control) says that they’ll elaborate at some point and the conversation ends there. “What are you talking about?” : Susie flips out even more and shakes Kris angrily. Kris doesn’t say anything (this is your doing) and Susie just says : “Whatever…” and leaves without Kris. Susie will still have the sleepover but will be weird around Kris (depending on what which option you choose). Everything will end the same but Kris puts you in the cage and not between the couch. You’ll sit there not being able to see what happened to Susie and Kris. You’ll hear what happened though, you just can’t see it. Then the chapter ends! …Btw you don’t fight spamton in this route, Kris just doesn’t fight spamton.

- (I would’ve made the route work a little different if I worked on it NOW but hey…you get the idea I hope.)

- This au was meant to basically Kris giving the player the middle finger

DELTARUNE BUT IT’S SUMMER NOW I GUESS

- Another old idea I had. It’s normal just deltarune but it takes place during summer school. (Or just the summer I didn’t put too much thought into it. I just wanted to see Kris and Susie have fun in the sun together tbh) It all started because I wanted to make a Phineas and Ferb reference—

TIMESKIP AU

- What kind of au hoarder would I be if I didn’t make a “They’re adults now” au? It mostly focuses in Kris, Susie, and Noelle (Berdly’s there too but I mean…he’s just there. Not too important). The darkners don’t really age in my timeskip au because I just…think they wouldn’t really age like lightners would? Since they’re objects? I feel like they would still look the same but like…with eyebags or dirt/dust on them or something. (Didn’t think about it too much,,)

- They’re all around 20 something? 25??

- There’s art of this too but again…too old and grody for me to show. Pretty sure I posted timeskip suselle stuff on here once but you’ll have to find it yourself I’m not linking it. It’s still a little embarrassing,,,

- I think I may redesign them in the future since they look too “self indulgent” and not how I would actually imagine them in their 20s.

- It’s basically The “Everyone gets facial hair now” au honestly LMAO

SPECIES SWAP

- Another obvious thing for an au hoarder to have— Basically, Kris is a reptile, Susie is a goat, and Ralsei is a human! (There’s also Noelle, who’s a bird, and Berdly, who’s a reindeer…but. I’ll probably not do that or at least it wouldn’t be “canon” to the au.)

- In this au, Susie is a darkner and Ralsei is a lightner (along with Kris.) And this is kind of a role swap as well (kinda?). Ralsei would be the one the player controls. Kris isn’t controlled by their soul and has their regular personality. Susie and Lancer were already established to be buddies before Kris and Ralsei arrived in the dark world. Though in this au, Susie’s personality would be a little goofier to match with Lancer’s. She’s still mean though but chapter 2 mean and not really chapter 1 mean. Ralsei would talk but we wouldn’t be able to hear him (like with human Kris.) He does talk way more than human Kris though. Kris doesn’t talk at all unless necessary or for a funny/dumb quip. For their dark world versions um tbh? I can’t really choose on whether Ralsei should have a sword (like human Kris) or magic (like goat Ralsei). I guess the sword would make more sense but goat Susie would feel a little empty if she isn’t swinging her big ol’ axe around. Again…didn’t think about it too much. OH YEAH AND darkner goat Susie is a prince like goat Ralsei is. (Not princess though because Susie still has her butch lesbian swag in this au)

- Uhhh I do have concept art but it’s not much…I hope to actually sketch out the concepts at some point because darkner goat Susie sounds so much fun to work on!! I have clear ideas of everyone’s designs in my head, just didn’t put it “paper” yet.

So uh…YUP! Think that’s all! If anyone’s interested on hearing about or seeing a specific au, I’ll try my best to elaborate on it more or quicking sketch out something)

(I’m asking you to send me asks about them if you’re curious)

[realm-of-aethercrest]

Hey, I hope this doesn’t come out wrong, but how come Ember uses it/its pronouns despite it being based on Dess, who goes by she/her? I don’t have any problem with it, it’s just that Ralsei seems to be based on Asriel, and both characters go by he/him, so I’m not really sure why the same doesn’t apply to Ember and Dess. Is it a reference to angels technically being sexless entities?

Only its name that is based on Dess, specifically the last half of her name. I honestly think it's a clever name choice for it especially because it's an ACTUAL name which could separate it from just being December-inspired. Also, it's noteworthy to remember that Ember is based on the angel doll that Noelle and Dess made together and that it has become a representative of the Holiday family itself. That's why Ember possesses the core traits of every Holiday family member; the dedication of the Mayor, the charm of Rudolph Holiday, the valor of December Holiday, and the spirit of Noelle Holiday. Despite the name, Ember doesn't exactly follow the "Ralsei is based on Asriel" theme however still has a special and personal connection to the family. And I should clarify that angel tends to be portrayed as a humanly figure with wings and halo on media, that should explain why it does NOT look like Dess... which some people are still confused and wondering why it doesn't parallel Noelle's older sister the same way Ralsei parallels Asriel, haha. I don't blame them though, a lot of us are used with the concept of having the Ralsei role resembling whoever Asriel is along with their name rearranged in AUs. While I think it's a neat idea to work on at times, I also suggest (if I may) try going for a similar direction but strays from the pattern or standard if any of you wants to make an AU with said concept! As for the it/its pronouns... sort of? But I also find it cool personally.