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patchwork-crow-writes · 1 year ago

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Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei, continued

(this is a continuation of my first post on this subject, creatively titled Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei. The parts all build upon each other, so it's best to read from the beginning. Here's a little TOC so you can get up to speed:

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After Part 1.5: I Believe Your Choices DO Matter Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers <- (You Are Here!) Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends (Future parts to be added as they are written))

(Please be aware that this series will go over topics including coercion, non-consentual romance, and an observation pertaining to potential incestual undertones. If any of this makes you uncomfortable in any way, please proceed with caution. Thank you)

Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers

Kris Dreemurr is doomed the instant the player assumes control of them.

If Undertale is a game about how your choices can affect the world, then Deltarune is about how sometimes, your choices mean absolutely nothing. Fate grinds on, irrespective of your wishes. Onward you march, towards your ultimate destiny.

This concept features heavilly in a lot of RPGs - the idea that the protagonist is the "chosen one" who will save the world, which due to the constrains of narrative and gaming, is what ends up happening 95% of the time. Much like the Knight and Princess dynamic I discussed in the previous part, this trope is so heavily ingrained in the gaming psyche that we do tend to accept it when it happens,as part and parcel of the RPG experience.

This very familiar setup is where Kris and Susie find themselves upon meeting Ralsei, who waxes lyrical about the very Non-Specific-and-Light-on-Any-Identifying-Details Legend. They are told that the balance of light and dark is being disrupted and a "terrible calamity (will) occur", are shown some apocalyptic imagery, three heroes who are identified by their race/species (and not their name - a detail which may become important later on), who will stop something nefariously dubbed the "Angel's Heaven". It is Prophecy 101, the most barebones framing for a quest you can imagine... but hey, the game needs a hook, doesn't it? Some grand stakes to get the ball rolling.

And so, the roles are doled out: Kris is the human, the unwavering leader; Susie is the no-nonsense contrarian who doesn't really care much for concepts of fate and determinism, and Ralsei is the exposition fairy, doing his best to keep his comrades on the path he has set out for them.

Ok, cool. But where does Kralsei fit into this? Well, in Part 1 and 1.5 of this series of posts, I brought up how Deltarune goes to great lengths to bring the idea of this pairing to prominence... but I didn't really talk about why the game is doing this. And the answer is, because it ties in with Deltarune's central theme of destiny and determinism. Or to put it another way:

Your Choices Don't Matter.

And here, you might protest. Because surely when the game says that, it's only refering to Kris's choices, right? We, as players, can choose from different dialogue options, we can choose to FIGHT or SPARE our adversaries. More fundamentally, we are the ones in control of Kris's movements and actions, while they are almost entirely powerless to fight our influence (note how I say almost - this will be important later).

But think for a moment about the choices we are given as players, and ask yourself - what meaningfully changes as a result of our actions? In Chapter 1, it doesn't matter whether we fight or spare anyone, they'll all return regardless in Chapter 2, with a single line of dialogue added as a handwave to explain why. And while Chapter 2 gives us a little more say in this - we can lose potential recruits to Castle Town by fighting rather than sparing, and they won't turn up in Ralsei's dark world at the end - the main points of the story do not meaningfully change to reflect this.

(there are, of course, things that we CAN do to change things in a pretty big way *coughSnowgravecough* but given that the means to achieve this are rather well-hidden, and it involves doing some very, VERY messed up things in pursuit of it, we can consider it an exception that proves the rule - technically your choices CAN have consequences, but those consequences are so horrific that you're probably better off not choosing in the first place.)

Okay, sure, you say. But this doesn't apply to the interpersonal relationships in Deltarune, now does it? If we don't want Kralsei to happen, then we simply don't choose any of the options that hint at it. That much must be in our power, surely?

To which I have one riposte: the Acid Tunnel of Love.

Brief overview of this sequence: Kris and Ralsei are tasked with "distracting" Queen while Susie and Berdly go to rescue Noelle. Literally on the next screen, the only way to proceed is across a giant river of acid, atop a swan pedallo, while soft carnival-style music plays in the background. Partway through, Ralsei has a heart-to-heart with Kris/the player, Rouxls Kaard does what he does best, and a photo may or may not be taken at the end.

You don't get to choose not to do this (unless you do that other thing which we're not discussing here). This just happens. And it's difficult to get away from the fact that this entire scenario is dripping with romantic undertones, especially when it's contrasted directly afterwards with Susie and Noelle's equally-romantically-charged Rescue and Ferris Wheel ride.

But then, perhaps it's a parody. A funny contrivance that sends up the absurdity of Kralsei by comparing it to a romantic pairing with actual weight, Suselle. But there are two problems with this; the first is that if we write off this scene as parody, then we must also do the same with the ferris wheel, because they both operate under the same logic - they're both based on a massive contrivance.

The second problem is that Ralsei doesn't seem to have got that memo. And no matter how you respond to his questions, the scene will end with his admiration for Kris strengthened. There is NO dialogue option you can select which will dissuade him from his feelings.

Exhibit A: calling Ralsei a lackey will have him cheerfully exclaim "Ooh, I've never been somebody's lackey before!" (because he's a darkner, that's literally what he was designed to be). Exhibit B: saying "It's strange" has Ralsei write off his question as, erm, "sarcasm". Which would perhaps be read as a rebuttal, except that his understanding of social situations is so minimal that he might genuinely believe he's committed a serious faux pas here, rather than interpret the response as a rejection. It also doesn't change his follow-up response, either. Exhibit C: Saying nothing when he says "it's good that you're you" has him laugh at how "Kris-like" not saying anything is, before saying that he "[likes] you-like things".

Cue Ralsei haters throwing their hands up in exasperation.

Contrast again with Susie and Noelle's scene. Here, too, we're presented with options to influence how things will happen. But the crucial difference is, we have absolutely zero sway over Susie, and she will always choose to say and do her own things. Here, too, we are powerless to intervene, but in a more direct way, whereas with Kralsei, even though we CAN choose an option, none of them make a difference to the scene or its outcome. This serves to show just how much agency Susie actually possesses, and is a stark contrast to Kris's severe lack of agency... as well as our own.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, consider this: Susie is free to make her own decisions, up to and including choosing NOT to pursue Noelle romantically. Kris, on the other hand, has no such freedom, and thus cannot choose to opt out of entering into a relationship with Ralsei. And, as I have alluded to a few times, neither can we, despite what our own feelings on the situation might be.

And thus we come to the title of this part - Kris and Ralsei are Star-Crossed. No reference to this line is made in Deltarune as of present, but it has numerous connotations which I believe are relevant to these two characters. Firstly, the idea that their connection is destined to occur - it's written in the stars, woven into the game's literal architecture. As such, there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it from happening - not Ralsei, who probably would be quite thrilled with it, not the player, who try as they might cannot influence it either way, and certainly not Kris, who is almost entirely unable to voice their own desires. We are each as powerless as each other in this instance.

Secondly, the idea that this destined relationship, no matter what form it might take, is doomed to end in tragedy. From the reaction to the various teas, we can infer that Kris is lukewarm on Ralsei at best (this may change as future chapters are released, but it's not exactly a ringing endorsement). And as time goes on, it becomes increasingly apparent that Ralsei is likely labouring under a false notion of who Kris actually is, and has fallen for the idea of Kris that he has conjured up in his own head, rather than the genuine article.

But the problem is more fundamental still, for if we understand the prophecy correctly, light and dark must be in balance - they cannot mix. That means no new dark fountains, which means that Ralsei can never manifest anywhere as a darkner once the events of the game are concluded. This would of course preclude any sort of interpersonal connection, romantic or otherwise. The best that could be hoped for in such a scenario is that Ralsei returns to whichever object he represents in the light world and Kris keeps him around as a memento.

This all assumes a great deal, of course - Kris's stance on Ralsei may well change, and for all we know Ralsei is more than likely very aware that we exist separately from Kris, as evidenced by his clandestine conversations with Kris while we see what Susie's up to. Additionally, it is entirely possible that Ralsei has instead fallen for US through Kris, which presents... additional complications. More on that later.

All of this leads us back to the central conceit of Deltarune: Our choices do not matter. Nothing we say, nothing we do, can change what is going to happen. We don't know exactly where this is going to go, whether they will fall into a full-on romance, or if they become something more akin to queerplatonic partners, or good friends, or something like siblings, or perhaps even mortal enemies. But one thing is for sure - Deltarune is going to continue cramming Kralsei down our throats, whether we like it or not.

...okay, think I best stop there for now. And look, I know I haven't really gone too much into the why of all this just yet. But patience - much of the past few essays have been establishing the groundwork - the what and the how, if you like. I'n Part 3, I'll attempt to go over what I believe the Narrative (i.e. the game) is trying to accomplish with Kralsei - what it's trying to say about games, stories, romance, and how we can be manipulated into endorsing a potentially problematic relationship, irrespective of the wishes of the vessel we control.

Thanks for reading!

#writing #essay #Deltarune #fan theory #Kris dreemurr #Ralsei #Kralsei #Krisei #kris x ralsei #destiny #Narrative #acid tunnel of love #your choices don't matter #Suselle mention #cw potential noncon #thoughts

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patchwork-crow-writes · 1 year ago

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Additional Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei

This is a continuation of a collection of posts entitled "Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei", which are... exactly that. This series has already covered topics such as:

How Kris and Ralsei's roles in the story and game mechanics of Deltarune contribute to promoting their romantic arc;

How the game takes advantage of a player's knowledge of RPGs to create cute moments between them; and

How the relationship is being pursued irrespective of Kris's - or the player's - wishes on the matter.

If you would like to read any of the other posts in this series, below is a handy TOC that will point to all the posts that currently exist:

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After Part 1.5: I Believe Your Choices DO Matter Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends <- (You Are Here!) (Future parts to be added as they are written))

Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends

Okay, so I've already talked - at some considerable length - about the Acid Tunnel of Love scene. But there is a really fascinating aspect of this part of the game that I didn't touch on in Part 2, because it wouldn't really have fitted there, but which I feel sheds some considerable light on the intention of this sequence.

But first, we need to talk about Parallel Universes.

...okay, FINE. It's actually the cut content from the Tunnel scene (link to Youtube displaying the options, courtesy of OrdinaryDeltarunePlayer2001.)

If you're not familiar with what this is, here's a quick primer: essentially, an earlier version of the scene would have had Ralsei ask Kris who they were thinking of, with the selectable answers changing depending on who you gave the present to earlier in Chapter 2. When selected, Ralsei would talk a bit about that person, in terms that would suggest that he is fully supportive of Kris pursuing a romantic connection with the person in question. An option existed for Susie, Noelle, and even Berdly... but NOT, crucially, for Ralsei himself, despite the fact that he can be the receipient of the gift as well.

Instead, there was another option that would always be present, which read "Thinking of you". Selecting this option would have Ralsei react... as you'd expect him to. But the interesting thing is how quickly he sweeps it under the rug and moves on to the next point in the conversation. Almost as if he doesn't take it seriously, or doesn't believe that he's a valid option in this instance.

(incidently, if you DID give Ralsei the gift, and try to select the alternative option, it will not work properly and completely skip to the next scene without any reaction from Ralsei at all... which means they either didn't get round to programming his reaction before they decided on the present scene, or they realised that it would be redundant (not to mention on-the-nose) to have two versions of the same dialogue option here)

So... what does this say about the present incarnation of the Acid Tunnel segment, or about Kralsei in general? Well, one thing it DOES say is about how we as players would have been given more freedom to pair Kris with any one of their friends, and perhaps would additionally allow us as players to more closely align ourselves with their own wishes and desires (which given all the positive attention she gets from them, would likely as not be towards Susie), while also potentially taking Ralsei out of the dating pool and into a more "agony aunt/confidante/cheerleader" role to Kris.

In addition, there is the "?" option at the top of the dialogue box, which effectively amounts to a "mind your own business, nosy goat". This would have worked effectively as a "don't care" option for people who... well, didn't care about any sort of romance centered around Kris, as well as giving them a way to assert their right (and perhaps desire) for privacy. Though it is interesting that Ralsei does default to mentioning Susie after this, I believe that's to make the link to the next topic of the scene.

However, there would have been a few problems. For one, it would have allowed players to throw a wrench into Suselle, right at the crucial point that that nascent relationship starts to take off. If, after all, we would have chosen either of Susie or Noelle at this point in the game, we would have an expectation that that pairing we chose would come to fruition, rendering the ferris-wheel scene right afterward devoid of a significant part of its purpose and weight.

(Not to mention that allowing either Kris or the player any real choice in this matter would run entirely counter to the whole "your choices don't matter" thing Deltarune has going)

Whether for these reasons or otherwise, we instead ended up with the Kralsei (and Suselle) show. Which means - at some point, a choice was made to initially present the player with options, which was then wrested away and replaced with what is essentially an on-rails dating simulation, which, if we're lucky, only one of its participants doesn't actually want to do. Within that context, it's difficult to see how people can refute the notion that the game is forcing Kralsei to happen.

But again, the question looms: WHY is Deltarune doing this? What is the game trying to say? What does our reaction to all this say about us, both as players of video games and as people who consume narratives and fictions for entertainment or escapism?

Uhh find out in part 3! Coming... whenever :P

#essay #rambling #thoughts #theory #Deltarune #Kralsei #Krisei #Kris x Ralsei #Acid Tunnel of Love #Cut Content #Your Choices Don't Matter #Shipping #Part 2.5

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