#also ralsei is fun to write for

[lynxgriffin]

Eldritchrune - Parasite Problem

1 | 2 | 3

Story Setup Eldritchrune Masterpost

After Susie is severely injured in a major battle, Kris elects to take on a very difficult and dangerous task to help her out with a smaller problem.

PHEW this comic has felt like it's been taking me forever to do, and I've still got more left to finish, but hopefully all the rest goes smoothly!

[acaciapines]

man does anybody remember when i making a deltarune daemon au fangame....started that like a WEEK AND A HALF before chapter two came out and i proceeded to write hundreds of thousands of words of deltarune fic in like one year <3 as one does.

replaying what i made of it now and it is SO WEIRD to see this old version of kris njgkdfg my kris is so so so different.

but!!! i AM stealing bits and pieces of it for the dess raises kris au :333 i had a really fun player-mechanic n they are coming along for the ride <3

[puppys-rhythm-heaven]

i barely know what media literacy is but i can write really long paragraphs about random undertale/deltarune stuff and i think that counts for something-

[hellspawnmotel]

Question: I notice on your Deltarune posts you focus on a lot about relationships and gender roles and such. May I ask why exactly? Just curious as to why find this aspect of this game so particularly interesting? Is there anything else you find interesting about DR?

well. first of all yes I find many other aspects of DR to be interesting lmao. the discarded vessel, the conversations ralsei and kris have when the player isnt looking, the dreemurr-holiday family split, anything surrounding dess, the connections to undertale, what gaster's goals are, susie's potential, kris's whole everything.... but as I've said before, I don't really like making predictions outside of themes and character dynamics. and I feel that for most of these things, I don't have enough information yet to really dig my teeth in analysis-wise, or else I don't have anything interesting to say that hasn't been said already.

as for why I fixate on the theme of gender so much.......

it just happens to be a theme I'm extremely drawn to and interested in

idk if I've ever vibed with a single character as much as I do noelle. it's like she and all her aesthetics were made for me specifically to love. and noelle is..... at least given the context of the weird route, she's kind of a girl of all time? not just in terms of being a great character, but her position represents femininity in fiction to me in the same way as like, rei ayanami or anthy himemiya. she's very much herself but in the eyes of the narrative and the viewer she becomes every girl to ever live. she's turned into a symbol. all girls are like the rose bride. there's just already so many layers and so much to analyze about it- not just from the game itself but how the audience receives and reacts to the game.

I'm a woman

my absolute favorite genre of video games is JRPGs from the 90s and 00s and let me tell you something about that. I could name more games that I have stopped playing after getting hours in specifically because the way they handled their female characters pissed me off so much, than games that I've come out of feeling like the girls were written at all fairly. how women are written in this genre, and in fantasy at large, is something I already thought about all the time. and deltarune is very much based on games like that! it's not the only thing deltarune is based on but it's the thing I personally have the most experience with. and given what we've been presented with so far, I actually feel pretty confident, for the first time in my life, that deltarune is going to continue to do right by its female characters and have interesting things to say about women in JRPGs, video games, fantasy, and fiction in general, if only in the abstract. it's something I've been dying to see done well specifically in this setting, this genre, and this medium for years. and I'm gonna revel in that as much as I can.

......writing this I forgot that you also said "relationships" and not just gender roles lol but that answer's a lot simpler. I just love watching and writing character interaction. and again, it's something I can iterate on a lot despite not having the full picture yet. it's fun and cool.

[bugfartheart]

I low-key finally figured out how to draw ralsenin a way I'm happy with and he's FUN TO DRAW!!!!! 😄😄😄😄

I think Ralsei has a crystal ball that he ponders upon and or uses to spy on or observe things

And also a pink diary with a heart lock that he writes in with a cute feather pen that has a bow on it

[jasonsstuffiguess]

I aged them up. Again.

Alternatively, The Deltarune main cast if they aged relative to the release window between the chapters!

Either way, I wasn't huge on some of the original designs I made of them as adults. And according to comments on some other sites... yeah, I was def not alone, to put it lightly. If you're curious, here are the original designs!

So as a response, I made some edits and redesigns of my take on the Fun Gang, mainly the Dark World forms, and then I thought I may as well make some adult Light World forms for the Lightnerds.

Some ideas:

Kris is now working a 9-5

Susie is now a semi-pro wrestler.

Noelle is a teacher at Hometown's elementary(taking over from Toriel), much to some dismay of her mother, who expected her to go for some "higher/proper" job.

And Berdly now has contacts! Oh, and he is also a semi-professional streamer. Or at least aiming for it, hence "semi". He's not fully pro yet, but he's gaining viewers, slow and steady. As for Ralsei and Lancer? Eh, pretty much the same, except now more "mature" and stuff.

...and now I wanna write an AU or fanfic about this scenario. Maybe a "high school reunion" kinda story or fluff.

God. Damnit! I already have a shit ton of AUs and WIPs, do I really have the space to add one more?!

(Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, I have.)

Made using Aseprite.

[deltavember]

DELTAVEMBER 2023 CALENDAR

Howdy! If you couldn't tell by the name, Deltavember is a 30-day drawing (or writing, or music, or anything creative) challenge based around Deltarune, taking place on the month of november!

This year it's based around Chapter 2.

Here is the calendar!

And here are the prompts in plain text:

1. NEW CONNECTION, IMMEDIATE NOSTALGIA

2. CYBER FIELD

3. QUEEN

4. CYBER FIELD ENEMIES

5. SWEET CAP'N CAKES

6. NOELLE

7. BERDLY

8. TRASH ZONE

9. CYBER CITY

10. CYBER CITY ENEMIES

11. RALSEI & SUSIE'S CITY ADVENTURE

12. KRIS & NOELLE'S CITY ADVENTURE

13. SPAMTON

14. DECEMBER

15. CARNIVAL

16. PANDORA PALACE

17. COLOR CAFE

18. MANSION ENEMIES

19. ACID TUNNEL OF LOVE

20. SUSIE AND NOELLE

21. SPAMTON QUEST

22. SPAMTON NEO

23. QUEEN FIGHT

24. THRASH

25. GIGA QUEEN

26. HOMETOWN

27. CASTLE TOWN

28. FAVORITE NPC

29. FAVORITE SHIP (If you don't like shipping, this is a free day!)

30. FREE

And here are the rules!

- Please don't misgender the characters

- No AI content

- Tag posts as #Deltavember 2023! Nothing bad happens if you don't, I just probably won't see and reblog the post.

- You may also tag it as #Deltavember 2023 Day (Number) for each day, if you so choose.

- And, of course, there's the obvious - no NSFW, no incestuous or pedophilic ships.

P.S. It's never too late to start! If you're discovering this halfway through the month, you can just start from there! If you miss a day, you can make it up, or just skip it! This is all for fun :]

[rattusnorvegicusfragaria]

What characters you want to see in Indie Cross? Mine are the fun gang from Deltarune (tho I feel just having Susie since Ralsei is a kind fluffy boy and Kris can be hard to write due to the whole player control thing) Doey or CatNap from Poppy Playtime, Shantae, The Lamp from Cult of The Lamb, Fancy Pants Man from Fancy Pants Adventure, Spooky from Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion, a Newgrounds characters (likely Pico, Tankman, Alien Hominid or even Boyfriend and/or Girlfriend) and the Mouthwashing cast because it would be really funny to see one of the indie protagonist undo the narrative of that game. Also, if Roblox is considered indie, I want to see the heroes fight Seek from Doors.

Hat Kid from A Hat in Time is a big one for me, I think The Batter from OFF would be a cool antagonist for a Frisk subplot, episodes taking place in the settings of Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion and Don't Starve would both be really cool. I would also like to see Deltarune but I also feel like that'd be hard given the incomplete state it's in, I'd suggest Spamton as a one-off antagonist since his story's complete but apparently he already got petrified off-screen. I think a one-off gag of a group of Lethal Company employees getting killed could be a fun addition. Zagreus from Hades would be fun.

At first I thought Jacket from Hotline Miami and Monika from DDLC would be cool characters to get the Nightmare boost Afton got, but then I realized the power of that is based on what's possible in the character's home world, and Jacket's from a pretty damn normal world while Monika's already the most powerful thing in DDLC.

I ADORE Night in the Woods and The Binding of Isaac, but I don't think those would really fit. NitW because it's normal people basically, and Isaac because that whole game takes place in a dream (and also I'm just not sure what Isaac would contribute to the story tbh). I also think Fear and Hunger is neat but wayyyyy too needlessly edgy for Indie Cross lol

[gabyiisart]

Hey there! I wondered if I could ask - what is it about Kralsei that appeals to you so much? For me, it's partially how rich the pairing is in symbolism and meaning, and how much it could potentially represent with regards to Deltarune's themes... and it's partly because I love the boy with every shred of my soul and I want him to be happy :')

Would love to know if you were willing to share!

Oh Hello!! ^u^

I believe our reasons for liking Kralsei are just VERY similar, symbolism, meaning and Ralsei as well!! And that's why I always identified so much with your analysis about them! You basically write everything I would like to say of them in your texts, haha!!

Kralsei, to me, it's about how the narrative is trying to tell implicitly that Kris and Ralsei's relationship will be about a journey of understanding your identity, understanding yourself, belonging...

Kris and Ralsei have very similar problems at the moment: lack of identity. You see that everything Kris and Ralsei do will always be on Asriel's shadow. Everything Kris had before he left was always because of Asriel and how he was a kind of guide for them. Ralsei clearly has references to Asriel, (and Flowey) the kindness, prince thing and etc. But YET, he still doesn't know what it's like to be Ralsei: he doesn't know what it's to be HIM. And honestly, from there you start to think that there is something much deeper to Ralsei than just being an Asriel from a different universe.

This video talked about a little theory: how Ralsei is there to make Kris find their own identity, I highly recommend watching it! And that's where I wanted to start my point about: Ralsei is here to help Kris, to serve his lightner. But on the other hand, Ralsei also needs to be rescued, he also NEEDS his identify, without living in someone else's shadow, if he will help Kris to be themself, will Kris be grateful enough to do the same for the Darkner who helped them?...

I honestly got to think that maybe this is one of the connections of their names? The Undertale Frisk/Kris Ralsei/Asriel connection?? Where Frisk had to save one last person and it was Asriel????/Hj

This idea of Ralsei and Kris being an allusion to "find yourself" or even "self-love"... It's beautiful to me. Not wanting to go into too much detail, but since 2023, I feel like I've been having symptoms similar to identity crises, very focused on who I am, what I should be and how I should act with everything in general, learning that this is an aspect of Ralsei made me find comfort in him, and Kris as well. The supposed meaning of their relationship comforts me and makes me want to see lots of arts, fics, anything good related to them. I hope one day they develop and we have lovely scenes of them doing arts and crafts, hanging out in Hometown and having fun at school!!!!

I can't forget to mention that the thing about light and dark symbolism!! Both need each other.

If we have the few implications of love between the two in the game, I hope Toby will lead this nicely, in a good developed way. In case of becoming an endgame, could be a good one for the end of Deltarune! And then we will have another important canon couple like Undyne and Alphys and the royal guards muahahaha

Shipps where the two individuals help each other, especially in things as profound like in this case: knowing your own identity, just touch me so much! And that's why Kralsei is my favorite ship. Love them forever! <3

[pro-gamer-berdly]

Hey just thought it would be fun to share my Deltarune headcanons here!

(I hc they have a preference for men, by the way)

[Image ID: Kris from Deltarune in their dark world doctor uniform over top of a non binary and monosexual flag, above is text that says "non verbal" and beside it "AUTISM !!" End image ID]

[Image ID: Susie from Deltarune in her dark world outfit looking surprised over top of the sunset lesbian flag. In impact font the top text says "adhd" and the bottom text says "lesbian". End image ID]

I think that Ralsei would type things like XD :3 and :D in texting

[image ID: Ralsei from Deltarune in chapter 2 smoking a fat blunt over top of the achillean, demiboy and ace spec flag with a text bubble that says "XD" beside him. End image ID]

Trans Noelle 🦅🇺🇲🦅💥🦅🗣️🗣️🇺🇲🦅

[Image ID: Noelle from Deltarune in her dark world outfit blushing overtop of the sapphic, demigirl and trans flag. End image ID]

[Image ID: Berdly from Deltarune in his light world outfit holding a book and pointing his finger in the air like a nerd in front of the non-rainbow gay flag with flaming text above that says "AUTISM". End image ID]

Also there were more tiny headcanons I wanted to share about characters who aren't the main few. (Mainly shipping)

Sorry I have to spell Roulx's name wrong in the image ID so it can be read properly oops

Anyways T4T QUEENKAARD!!!!!

[Image ID: Rules Card and Queen from Deltarune over top of the trans flag. There is an iPhone heart emoji above them. Next to Queen there is text that says "hides affection under jokes" with an arrow pointing at her. Next to Rules, there is Swatch from Deltarune saying "Why does Queen call you baby girl" and Rules responding with "Leth us stopeth talking, nowth". End image ID]

[Image ID: Jevil from Deltarune over top of a non-rainbow gay flag and Spamton from Deltarune over top of a bisexual flag, they have a heart between them. Next to Spamton is a thought bubble that says "I am going to kill him" and next to Jevil there is a thought bubble with a cat sticking out it's tongue wearing a jester's hat. End image ID]

My first time writing image IDs by the way please let me know if I need to change anything about my descriptions :)

Also tell me your headcanons in notes pleassse

[lynxgriffin]

I've praised your performance of Eldrich Ralsei many times before, but damn. Damn it. Damn how I love him!! He is so cute, but not just cute like in the game, but cute and also mysterious. He is obviously quite strong, very smart and has his own motives. His smiling blurry face is scary enough, I would be scared too. And it makes him...cuter when he finds himself in a situation like this one with Kris' meltdown. He knows everything about the dark world, but he doesn’t know what to do when in front of you is a teenager who just almost died, and the fact that they alive doesn’t really help when they realizes that they was sacrificed by them own parents.

I want stroke his fur on his face. He is cute.. Thank you for drawing and publishing this in the public domain, i wish that you always have enough money for your personal life, so that you can continue to draw for your own pleasure, and in the meantime bring pleasure to everyone who follows your work.

Awwww thank you so much for the very kind words! So glad that you're enjoying Ralsei here this much and think that he's cute, he's very fun to both write and draw!

Thank you again, I do want to keep making more with this story!

[acaciapines]

I hope you realise that your latest fic "like a car off a cliff" is now permanently burned into my gray matter and won't ever go away as long as I live. I mean this in the best possible way of course - I'm probably gonna go back and read it when I calm down a little because oh my word what a phenomenal story you've written.

Anyhow, I wanted to ask a question about the backstory of this particular fic. We know how Kris and Ralsei met in this continuity, and that she was eventually able to escape her home situation thanks to them, but I'm wondering what it was that made them want to try and have a relationship together. There's something about the fact that these two characters, who in this continuity aren't suited to romance at all, were at least willing to try it together that strikes me as very poignant. Essentially I'm asking - what was it you think they saw in each other which made them want to try for that?

Hope this makes sense - like I said, your writing kinda fried my brain a little bit with how good it was, so if I'm rambling incoherently here I apologise! XD

proud for my fic to live rent free in your head forever <3 always feel free to drop an ask about it No Matter How Long It Has Been. i love to yap.

and of course! uh, the real reason is that both of them were sort of like. i guess this is just what you do, and they were closer to each other than anybody else (kris and ralsei meet when they're ~12ish and continue to meet up until theyre 14, which is when ralsei leaves). basically they saw all their friends getting together and talking about romance and crushes and then susie and noelle got together and its like. oh we're the other two members of the friend group we should do that too right. and thus they did. think like the high school dance is approaching and theyre like oh shit hey wanna go together. and this is how it starts njgkdfg

but ALSO in terms of a romantic relationship they're actually very safe for each other lol, bc neither of them really....want any of that? so for them dating was literally no different from being friends, which is why they sort of didnt. acknowledge that maybe they didnt want to be in a romantic relationship for so long. it only became weird in the context of society! but if its just the two of them they're doing pretty well.

basically theyre both aromantic <3 we love this for them.

hope that helped!!! theres a lot of like. backstory thought that i never put explicitly on the page for this one so, uh. feel free to ask more about this 'verse! it was real fun to translate into 'reality' aka without the dark worlds, cause those are so important to how i interpret these characters yknow.

[ilyrouxls]

Amusement Parks Have Rouxls Too

Rouxls Kaard x Reader

(Fluff, Gender-Neutral Reader, Not Canon AU idk, Y/n used)

Your sibling Kris forces you to join them with their friends and Rouxls to go to the Amusement Park. Chaos, failed flirting attempts, jealousy, and disaster oh my!

You awake early on this Saturday morning to grey clouds covering the city, and cold air nipping at the people outside. A morning like this called for a warm beverage and a pile of blankets. Settling for hot cocoa, you feel excited thinking about everything you won’t have to do today. You stir the packet of Cocoa mix into a warm glass of water. No college, no chores, no work, and no terrible coworkers. It’s only 10am, so you still have a lot of time to waste indulging in doing nothing. It’s perfect for the first day of Winter Break. Of course, until Kris had decided to text you.

“Y/n. come to the amusement park with us.’ So unspecific, per usual of your texts with Kris. They seemed to have a knack for never telling you the full details while at the same time also leaving you on read. Sipping on the steaming cocoa, you write back a response; ‘1. Lol. why? 2. Who is going? 3. Why??’ Kris is always a handful for you, but you love them to death. When you had decided to move out, you chose to not move far so that you could still see them easily. You're glad that you had chosen to do that considering after you moved out, Asriel soon did as well. Asriel is sadly much farther away than you, so Kris began taking the bus to see you. You appreciate it a lot more than you’d ever admit. You both weren’t really close when you were younger, so it’s nice that you’re closer nowadays.

‘Ralsei, Susie, Noelle, Berdly, Lancer, me. The usual. Rouxls is gonna be there too. Meet us at 11.’ You sigh, Kris didn’t even give you an option to not go. And now if you don’t show up you’ll look like an asshole. Damn it, they’ve got you cornered.

On the flip side, Rouxls will be there. Your feelings for him are… complicated. He’s annoying, obnoxious, and quite frankly outright irritating. But these traits are why you’re madly in love with him. If you look past the three previously named traits, he’s genuinely sweet and caring. Especially towards his adopted son Lancer, aka his lesser son. You don’t really know the story between them because you've never asked; it seemed too personal when you first met him and now it seems like it’s too late in the friendship to ask. Rouxls certainly is an interesting character, you can’t tell if he likes you or not. He always calls you a puny small worme or a peon, or other names along those lines.

You drink the last of your cocoa, wash the mug, and think of the pros and cons of going. Cons; Being in a crowded Amusement park, scary rollercoaster rides, tons of people, and annoying kids. Pros; The Fun Gang, hanging around Kris, an opportunity to romance Rouxls…….

‘I’ll get ready, see ya soon.’

Your face feels hot, this could actually work out if you play your kaards right. The amusement park is the perfect place for you two to get closer. It almost makes you giddy thinking about it. Correction, it actually does make you giddy. You smile as you go to shower and tidy yourself up.

Showering is easy but picking out an outfit is hard. You want to impress Rouxls by looking your best, but not too overdressed. You want to be comfy, but not under dressed... It’s an overly complicated process, but eventually you pick something to your liking. You pack a bag with a thin blanket, so you all can sit in the grass at lunch of course, and your wallet. Soon enough, you drive over to the amusement park, planning your ‘devious’ plan.

The local amusement park isn’t far from the city you live in, but it’s a little farther to get to from where Kris lives. Your parents, Toriel and Asgore of course, used to take the family during the Winter and Spring a lot. Asriel always wanted to play the games to earn prizes but Kris wanted to ride all the rides. So you guys always did both. Kris won all the prizes, but got forced to share against their will. Asriel would get sick from Roller Coasters, but still went on them so as to not ruin the fun. You never weren’t much into games at the time and were too scared to go on the rides. What you enjoyed the most was the atmosphere; sitting in the grass, enjoying your family's presence, and watching the sunset at night. But besides that, you liked cheering both of your siblings on! The good old days of youth. One thing that’s definitely changed is that you would totally play the games now.

Soon enough you arrive at the amusement park and you already feel your anxiety kick in. There’s a lot of people, scary rides, and Rouxls Kaard here. That’s a lot of things that are scary. ‘Where r u? I'm here’ You send Kris the text, and try to gain the balls to go out. You take a deep breath and get out with your bag and head toward the entrance. You feel a buzz in your pocket and pull out your phone to read what Kris said while you stand in line. ‘Already got entrance tickets, trying to buy tickets for rides and games atm.’ You smile, it’s been a bit since you’ve seen Kris. They honestly brighten your day when you see them.

Going up to the entrance to buy tickets, you see a skeleton snoring at the ticket booth. “Uhm… excuse me..” You say, hoping to get their attention. The skeleton stirs and looks up to you, but keeps their head in their arms. “Oh, hey-o. Wanna ticket or somethin’?” His voice was monotone yet he kept a tight grin on his face, a bit friendly but a bit unnerving at the same. You hope he’s actually an employee, but his attire wasn't exactly a uniform.

Blindly trusting the suspicious guy, you nod your head. You were similar to Kris, not one for conversation but more in a socially awkward way. You pull out your money and put it on the counter. You focus your gaze into the park while the worker, if he even is a worker at all, gets your ticket. There's a chance you just gave your money to a scammer. You look past the gates and there in the distance you can see the Fun Squad!

… Oh no.

The scene before you plays out like this; Kris and Susie are shaking the ticket machine, Ralsei is frantically trying to stop them, Berdly is standing a couple feet away trying to act like he doesn’t know them, Noelle is at a different ticket machine, Lancer is hanging onto the machine gleefully, and Rouxls defeatedly sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. Oh boy, today is gonna be a long day. “Know 'em?” The worker at the ticket booth asks you. You make a face, knowing the fate in store for you when you walk in, "Yeah." He hands you your ticket and you thank him before going in.

“Guys don’t go breaking the ticket machine please... We just got here, we can't get kicked out yet!” You say, walking up to the group. “Ah! Finally, the assistance has arivedetheth.” Rouxls stands up and exclaims exasperatedly; it seems like he already tried to stop Kris and Susie. Kris and Susie stop shaking the machine and Kris runs up to you, giving you the biggest hug. Smiling, you hug back and ask, “So, what’s the issue with the ticket machine?”

Susie rolls her eyes and walks over to you. “We thought if we shook it hard enough the tickets would come flying out and we would save our money.” You can’t help but laugh a little because that makes sense now. "Don't worry, I got enough tickets for everyone while you guys were... doing what you did." Noelle says, tickets in hand. Seems like she was the only one with a brain. She hands out tickets to everyone, what a saint she is. As the Fun Gang begins to move towards the rides they desire, you fall a little back to walk with Rouxls. For no particular reason of course. “So, what made you want to tag along Rouxls?” You imagine the reason was probably that he wanted to watch Lancer, but you still ask regardless just so you have something to talk about. “Well, I wasn’t planning on attending, but I heardeth thou were going to be here and decidetheth to join along to so thou shall not be watching these little worms alone.” You don’t know whether to feel flattered that he cares for your well-being or offended for calling them worms. It makes you wonder whether Kris asked Rouxls to come by pretending you were already going, and vice-versa for yourself. What a trickster they are, if it was purposeful. “Aw, that’s sweet of you to tag along for me. Thank you, I appreciate it. The kids aren’t worms though.” You giggle, looking at your feet instead of him. He chuckles in response and you both walk in silence.

Soon enough the kids found the first roller coaster they wanted to ride on. The start of your master plan began to set in motion, or so you were hoping. You wanted to pull a few super smooth moves on Rouxls, but you were, conveniently, inconvenienced every time you tried. The first inconvenience was when you tried to ask Rouxls to get on the rollercoaster in the same cart as you. But he declined, saying something along the lines of rollercoasters was for worms and that he would never. The look on his face gave it away though, he was scared of them. So you were you so it was kind of a good thing. Instead you decided to join him watching the kids ride their rollercoaster. You were excited to get alone time with Rouxls until your second inconvenience happened. Ralsei wasn't able to handle the roller coaster and the poor little guy got sick, so he sat with you both for the rest of the rides. It reminded you of when Asriel got sick from roller coasters all the time when you were kids. You did feel bad for Ralsei, but you were also secretly cursing him for accidentally ruining your alone time.

After the last ride ends and everyone gets off the ride, you ask, “Okay everyone, are we getting hungry?” You get a collection of answers such as, “Hell yeah!” and, “Yes please.” Pretty obvious who those two answers came from. Kris takes the lead and shows everyone the way to the food and snack portion of the park. The stands around you smell delicious and the food looks great, but you can only think of one thing. Cotton candy. It’s been years since you’ve had authentic amusement park cotton candy, and it was the only food on your mind.

Seeing the stand in the distance, you start to veer away from the group with it being the only thing on your mind. “Huh? Y/n, where are you going?” Noelle's voice calls out from behind you, and you point at the booth. Heading over to it, you notice the man running the stand is the previous man from the entrance ticket booth.

“I thought you worked at the ticket booth?” You ask him when you get to the front of the line. The guy looks up and his grin seemingly gets wider. “Ha, I s’pose I multitask. It’s a skele-ton of work though.” He winks, and you can’t help but laugh a little at the pun but also cringe at it. “Oh I bet, sounds like you get worked down to the bone.” He snorts at equally cringey pun while you hand him the money, and he starts making your cotton candy. “Didn't read you as the type to like puns.” You look at him a bit confused. “Are you a professional at knowing whether someone likes puns or not?” He chuckles, "Perhaps." You roll your eyes and laugh. He hands you your cotton candy and you turn to walk back to the group.

After you turn around, you notice all the kids are playing tag on an empty grass hill nearby. Rouxls is standing nearby but instead of watching them, he's watching you. When your gaze meets his, he turns and watches the kids. You could imagine it but it seemed weird that he was watching you, his face looks a bit angry too. Was he mad that... you got cotton candy? Maybe he wanted some too. Putting that aside, you walk back to the group. The kids are all playing a seemingly intense game of tag, but it looks like they got themselves some snacks and put it in a pile nearby. You walk toward Rouxls and say, “Sorry about that, it took a little bit. I’ve got a blanket for us all to sit on.” He doesn't say anything, but you set your bag down and grab the blanket you packed and lay it on the ground. Rouxls sits on one end while you sit on the other, eating a bit of your cotton candy. Awkward silence ensues.

…

“So, did thou know the man at that stand? Thee both seemedeth.. uhm.. quiteth friendly.” The question broke the silence but didn't make any sense. “Oh, no not really. He was also the guy running the ticket stand. Kinda weird to be running both areas right? He was also making some cheesy puns.” Rouxls makes a hm sound in reply, leaving you with more questions than answers. Rouxls' weird attitude made it seemed like he could be jealous of the way you acted with the ticker stand slash food stand worker. But that's too cliche to be true, right?

You want to break the tension but you’re not sure how to with the way he's shut your previous conversation down. Staring at the yummy sugary treat you hold in your hand, an idea sparks to life in that brain of yours. Slowly, and hopefully not noticeably, you scoot your way closer to Rouxls. In a matter of seconds you’re so close that the both of you are almost touching arms. He doesn’t seem to notice thankfully, he’s staring at the kids but it seems like he’s actually spacing out. “Have you ever had cotton candy before, Rouxls?” You ask, finally breaking the silence. He jumps at your voice and turns to you in a surprised manner. He was definitely spacing out based on the slightly shocked expression he holds. “A-Ah, I didn’t realize you- thou got so.. close. No, I hath never had whatever thou speak of. He almost broke his façade but he picked it back up quickly... you always knew he probably exaggerated or faked his way of speaking. You smile and push the cotton candy close to his face and say, “It’s called ‘cotton candy’, and you should try some! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, basically it’s sugar that gets heated up into liquid and then spun into this like uh, soft cloud threads? I’m not sure how to describe it but you should try it.”

His cheeks flush a dark blue in a way that makes it seem like he could be blushing, but you’re not sure. “Are you sure? Isn’t it yours?” You nod your head, and he hesitates for a second but then he takes a surprisingly good sized bite out of the cotton candy and his eyes light up in delight. “Mm, tch-at is pretty, mm, good.” He mumbles, mouth full of cotton candy. You can’t help but giggle at his cute behavior. He glares at you, but it seems playful enough that you don’t mind. You pull the cotton candy back to you and take a bite, then bring it back to him to eat. From an outside perspective it probably seems like you two are a couple. You don’t mind at all, you hope he doesn’t mind either.

The kids finally tire out and join you both on the blanket to eat their lunch. You all share some laughs, and before long lunch passes by and the real fun begins. Susie suggests you go to the arcade, and of course you all agree. When you get there, Berdly loudly exclaims, "We should do a competition to see who is the best overall gamer! I know you all know I am undoubtedly the best, but I'm sure you're all eager to try to beat me." Ignoring his gloating for a second, that actually sounds pretty fun. "Sure, can I go against you first?" You ask him, you can't wait to kick this kid's ass. Berdly smirks and picks out some random shooter game. The others begin to pick out their competition and go to other games. While you get ready to start your epic match against Berdly, Rouxls walks over to you. "I am admittedethly not good with video games, so I wisheth thee luck on winning. I have no doubth that thou shall win." Even though you were sure he was just being nice, your heart can't help but flutter that he went out of his way to wish you luck. You played against Berdly a few times, and let's just say you won by a long shot. Even though Rouxls said he wasn't good at video games, you managed to get him to play a couple of games with you. He did pretty well for his first time, only struggling every once in a while. Then Kris joined in and basically annihilated everyone. They always did have a knack for games, always winning while barely putting in effort to it. These events have led up to now, where you’re all surrounding Kris and Susie, the last competitor against Kris. They’re playing Dance Dance Revolution and both of them are trying their hardest to win. Who knew Susie was this good at dancing, she was really holding out against Kris. Everyone was cheering for who they thought was going to win. You could hear Noelle cheering for Susie the loudest though, how cute.

The song was just about to end with Susie winning when suddenly she missed a note. The game flashed with a finish sign and showed their scores. Kris won by barely a smidge of points. “GODDAMN IT KRIS, I WAS ABOUT TO WIN!” Susie exclaims and in a fit of rage punched the screen, smashing it. Everyone stands in shock and you hear someone shout, “Hey! What do you think you're doing!” Looking to where you heard the shout, you see a guy who looks to be the manager and a couple security guards running towards you all quickly. In a rush of panic you yell, “RUN AND HIDE!!”

You all run out of the arcade, scrambling in different directions to hide on various attractions. You pause in the middle of a crowd outside the arcade unsure where to go, when a hand grabs yours and drags you along with them. Startled, you look and see Rouxls is the one who grabbed you. You both run towards the nearest ride to hide, the Ferris wheel. The worker, obviously clueless to the previous arcade incident, lets you into the box and starts the ride up. You take a seat to catch your breath.

Rouxls sits next to you, in the same state as you. “That was quiteth… hah.. an exciting and scary predicamenteth.” You nod your head feverishly in agreement. Pulling out your phone, you send a quick text to Kris informing them that Rouxls and you escaped to the Ferris wheel and that everyone should meet up in 10-15 minutes at the front. You know it's a bit annoying that you all have to hide out for that long, but it's better safe than sorry in case the guards go to the gate now. They don't text back yet, and you hope they're okay along with everyone else.

Suddenly, realization hits you in the face. Rouxls and you are alone. In a Ferris wheel. By yourselves. Alone. Did you mention alone? Your face warms up and your body starts to feel uncomfortably sweaty. Even though you were trying to woo him from the start and this is the perfect place. But now that it's happening with no interruptions this time, it's making your body feel like it wants to collapse and yet always throw yourself out of the window. You feel too scared to make a move so instead you decide to look out the window. You didn’t realize how long you all were playing arcade games until you looked, the sun is already setting behind the clouds. It was beautiful, it had already passed the orangey stage and was now in the darker stages. Dark purples, pinks, and light blues painted the sky. Some stars even started showing up.

“Rouxls! Look at the sunset, it’s beautiful right now.” You lean back into your seat to allow Rouxls to see the sunset from your window. Instead of looking from where he was sitting next to you, he scoots closer and leans over you to see the sunset. He stretches out his arm putting his hand on your thigh and his other hand on your shoulder to steady himself. His face lights up looking at the sky, and he smiles peacefully. You blush and oh my god do you want to kiss him right there and then, but you don’t want to interrupt the moment. He looks absolutely stunning in the lighting, the sun dimly reflecting against him, enhancing his features perfectly and making his hair look angelic. You try not to stare but you can’t help it.

Rouxls turns his head away from the sunset and instead looks at you. Your eyes meet and slowly Rouxls leans closer to you. He’s so close you can feel his shaky breaths against your face. To say you were freaking out in your head was an understatement, your thoughts were running a million miles a minute. You’ve been wanting to kiss him for months now, and it felt like it was about to happen. You want to make the move, but you feel frozen staring into his eyes. Rouxls makes the first move, and finally seals the gap and kisses you. It takes a moment, but you reciprocate the kiss and put your arms around his neck while he moves his hand from your shoulder up to hold your face. His lips feel soft and taste sweet, the flavor of cotton candy still lingering on his lips even after all this time. You both pull apart and you feel a little winded. “I apl- aplogizeth for not asking to kiss thou.. I couldn’th help myself.” Rouxls trips up a little on his words, but you understood what he said. “It’s okay, I’ve been wanting to kiss you for months- I mean it’s okay yeah don’t worry. Don't think about what I just said.” You accidentally overshare that little tidbit of info and try to laugh it off nervously. Rouxls smiles and kisses your cheek, which reassures you that he didn’t mind.

A minute or two passes, and Ferris wheel finally brings you both to the bottom to get off. Rouxls stands up and holds out his hand gentlemanly for you. You take his hand and hold it tightly, and he leads you off the Ferris wheel. With your free hand, you take out your phone and see Kris has texted a few times updating the situation.

‘Okay, I got stuck in a ball pit. A security guard is near me.’ (8:21pm) ‘The security guard just walked past me.’ (8:28pm) ‘THE SECURITY GUARD ALMOST SAW ME’ (8:34pm) ‘IM RUNING RNW OMG HE IS RUNIGB AFTER ME I WILL HAVE TO’ (8:35pm) ‘Sorry for the typos and not finishing my sentence. I’m safe now, we’re all here at the entrance except Rouxls and you.’ (8:39pm) ‘We’re leaving without you two with mom. If I see that you're both in the news for getting arrested, we aren’t gonna bail you out lol. And I'll print out your mugshot and hang it up in the house.’ (8:45pm).

You can’t help but laugh at the series of texts Kris sent. You update them that you’re okay and that Rouxls and you got stuck on the Ferris wheel. You shiver, now that the adrenaline is gone you realize how cold the night has gotten. Rouxls looks at you at you concerned and you say, "Sorry, don't worry. I'm just a little cold." He smiles and replies, "Ah, I see. It does seemeth to have gotten quite cold from when we hadth first arrivedeth. If you are cold dear, then taketh my coat." Rouxls lets go of your hand and takes off his coat, handing it to you. Although flustered, you take it gratefully and put it on. The coat is warm since he had been just wearing it, and is stops you're shivers in a matter of seconds, the jacket was a bit big on you but you didn’t care. You grab his hand again, already missing the feeling of it. “Thank you for the jacket, you’re never getting it back ever again. The kids left with my mom, so it’s just you and me. We better get to the parking lot quickly before security recognizes us.” You tell him and the both of you speed walk and get to the parking lot quickly. As you approach your car Rouxls suddenly stops. “Are you okay? What’s up?” You ask concerned, still holding his hand. “Uhm.. I just realizedth that thy mother took me here with Lancer, it was convenienth at the time to not take two cars...”

…

“Oh.”

“Luckily Lancer is with them. I think they’re all going to have a sleepover, I heard them mention it earlier at lunch.” You say and Rouxls sighs in relief that Lancer will be okay. While wondering how Rouxls will get home, a thought crosses your mind. You tug on his hand to get his attention, “Hey, wanna have a sleepover of our own? You can stay at my apartment for the night and then in the morning I can take you to pick up Lancer and take you both home.” Your face heats up, while your offer is meant to be innocent, your thoughts can’t help but imagine some not so innocent scenarios.

Rouxls looks surprised by your offer and you hope you didn’t over step. “I mean of- of course you don't have to, I can just take you home instead and then you can do your own things. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable-“ Rouxls cuts off your rambling by squeezing your hand reassuringly. You stop and look at him, and he leans down to kiss your cheek. “Don’t fret dear, I would love to stayeth over at thy home.” You smile, happy that he wasn’t offended and happy that he actually accepted your offer. You turn toward your car and you pull him close, walking hand in hand together.

“Alright then, let’s go!”

(Orginally posted on AO3 9-12-22, 4551 words)

(Based off of a dream I had January 2022. In the dream I had, instead of sharing cotton candy it was a bowl of white rice and I was feeding it to Rouxls. Just plain white rice. Not on a grassy hill, no no no we were just below the Ferris wheel on the concrete for no reason. Then Kris, Susie, and Ralsei come over and get all mad that we were sitting and eating because we were supposed to be in the arcade playing games. So yeah that dream inspired this lol)

[baconmoop]

My argument as to why the mysterious letter is definitely Gaster.

Okay, now I’ve had time to drink it all in/actually do things for valentines day, I’m ready to make my argument as to why the mysterious letter is definitely our boy Gaster. I’ve been of the mindset that he’s a goofy old man for a long time, and I’ve always wanted to make a video essay to explain my point of view but I've never had the time. This newsletter gave me the push to write this ‘quick’ summary  though. Feel free to fight with me in the notes.

First of all, I am aware that the Japanese version uses Hiragana instead of his normal Katakana. I barely understand English, so I can’t even begin to understand the importance of it. It is my biggest foil, but I don’t think it affects things too much.

My first, easiest bit of evidence, is the fact that Toby has already removed the letter, leaving only this.

He does this constantly with Gaster stuff. He did it with the tarot cards, he did it with abc123a.ogg. The moment someone posts something online, he removes evidence of its existence. Suspicious, is it not?

Okay, let’s break the letter down shall we?

This is in line with a lot of things we already know about WDG. Most likely in Wingdings, we have hints in Sans’ lab and the true lab that his handwriting is impossible to read. We don’t know any of these are 100% him, but it makes sense that it would be difficult to read unless you were determined enough to do so (I assume that is what ‘squint your heart refers to?). 

There are multiple people who know what the ‘delta rune is’, but here to me he is clearly discussing the game, not the prophecy. The only person to ever have interest in our opinions of the experience is the ‘other him’, when he introduced us to the survey program. He also talks in short sentences, Like he does in the initial goner sequence, and pretty much everything else. 

Okay, so this is something that has plagued my mind for a while, but this has brought it to the forefront. I assume here that he’s referring to Dess being stuck in the code, or whoever it is (See here https://forum.melonland.net/index.php?topic=68.0). I’ve always been of the mind that Gaster genuinely wants to help, partially because of the eggs and partially because he seems to want you to win. He wants you to stop the roaring. I have a bunch of theories about this that probably deserve their own video, but here’s a quick summary:

If you name yourself Suzie in the goner maker scene, he says:

As far as I know, he doesn’t say this for anyone else, including ralsei, so he clearly has some kind of positive opinion of Suzie. Why would he say this if he was an antagonist to the fun gang?

When you die in the game and press no on the continue screen, the song ‘darkness falls’ plays (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSn4p1Xx7NU&ab_channel=Palpe). While definitely having Gaster’s leitmotif for starters, Just listen to how melancholy it sounds. It gives me the same bittersweet vibes that it’s raining somewhere else gives me. If this is a reflection of how Gaster feels when you give up, then he’s definitely a bit bummed that you failed.

Someone is clearly helping the secret bosses. While most people assume that he is doing it for some kind of nefarious purposes, I think he was genuinely trying to help, and it backfired. 

Anyway, back to the letter.

There’s a lot of connections between forgetting and Gaster. Fanon dictates that he’s been completely erased from everyone’s memories, but I don’t want to rely on fanon here. The first thing that comes to mind is obviously ‘Don’t forget’ plastered all over deltarune, which is what I assume he means when he calls it ironic, but that isn’t specifically tied to him. What I do think of however, is goner kid. I’ve already put enough images in this bad boy, but he says "Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same...Except you don't exist? Everything functions perfectly without you...Ha ha... The thought terrifies me." We know so much about how the goners are connected to him, I’m not gonna re-go over it here. Someone also mentioned the Spamton sweepstakes “AREN'T YOU FORGETTING SOMETHING?” on the ice page, which could also be relevant here. Is there any other character linked to forgetting as much as he is?

Okay, now for my most dubious point (sue me I’m not an actual theorist). But… Doesn’t this give you old man papyrus vibes? It’s goofy, It’s in all caps, it puts a smile on my face. To quote my friend outside the fandom, “It’s giving old man texting his grandchildren for the first time”. I know this is one of the biggest contradictions for people, claiming that it’s out of character for gaster to speak like this, but I give exhibit A, from the legends of localisation book: 

(Ripped directly from https://www.tumblr.com/gasterofficial/715722490333298688?source=share)

I’ve always loved this. It’s probably not canon, but it’s goofy as hell. It was one of the first things that made me want to do a video on my “gaster is a good dude” ideas. It’s the exact same vibes as the letter. 

So what do you think? I could definitely go into more detail about all of this, if people are interested. I just saw something that helped fuel my theories and had to put my opinions out there. Please don’t murder me in the notes for going against the antagonist gaster grain I am very sensitive okay good by!

[itsbebebe]

So I got bored and decided to binge rewatch some deltarune theory videos and now I'm writing this i guess. I dont hang out too much in the deltarune tumblr tags so idk how much of this is spewing well agreed ideas already but...

Its interesting to me how susie and noelle have this sort of order v chaos thing in terms of their narrative roles. (This is looking like a long post so ill be kind and add a cut here)

Susie is like the character that drills the "your choices dont matter" concept into you (the player - if im referring to kris in this post ill use their name). Not only is she the first to say it but the main times where you make a choice and it doesnt matter are because theyre stopped by susie. Iirc, the only power you have over susie in her segments in both chapters are in puzzle solving (something that actively aids her in her goal). During both the lancer battle and the ferris wheel scene you cannot change what happens. You just have to sit there and watch. Not only that, but susie also can straight up override your decisions in moments like when you try and decide who to go with at the crossroads in chapter 2. You also cannot stop Susie fighting at the start of chapter 1. Some of the few choices that you do make (how you design the thrash machine in chapter 1, speaking to onion san in chapter 1 in hometown) are specifically done when susie isnt around to stop you.

Susie, intentionally or not, forces some order upon the story. She helps force the beads down their designated path, or whatever that metaphor in the hospital is.

However, in chapter 2, susie, by her own choice, leaves for a while and its our new party member who allows us to make a big choice that will matter. Snowgrave. Ive seen people point out before that the snowgrave route really parallels noelles history with game bugs (shown mainly through the sweepstakes blog posts) as the route feels like a game break. In fact it is a game break, considering you are supposed to not have any meaningful choices and do the normal route. It sort of makes it seem like Noelle herself facillitated the route. Not only that, but Noelle (likely due to insecurities in her relationship with Kris) lets you make a lot of choices when you are with her. (I think it could even been argued noelles presence allows you to override susies tendency to stop you making choices in the cutscene at the start of chapter 2).

So Noelle allows you to make the choices, allows the chaos. Susie keeps you on a set road, enforces the order.

This is a fun frame on their relationship. If you told me there was 2 characters, one of which was a girl who was a known rulebreaker and bully and the others was a girl who was top of her class and the mayors daughter, and asked me to tell you which one was chaos and which one was order, i would get it wrong! (It also seems like a good framework to throw some tragedy upon their relationship but lets not think about that rn)

But now if you are anything like me you will be thinking "where do ralsei and kris (as our other 2 established main characters) fall onto this chaos v order paradigm we have established?"

Lets start with kris, as their position feels more quantifiable. Kris does what you tell them. By our established parameters that should make them more chaos leaning. However, Kris will actively stop you from affecting how each chapter ends. This suggests that they want some sort of order, or control over you but will allow you most of the time to make decisions, and allow chaos.

This suggests Kris is order leaning but chaos permitting.

Ralsei, meanwhile, i dont think sits on the paradigm as we have established it. He wants the prophecy to be fulfilled but he wants us to make changes that lead there. He gets upset when Kris is unable to make choices but firmly believes we must fulfill the prophecy. What ralsei does and doesnt know about Kris or us is vague and unknown, and therefore by extension how he feels about Kris and us is vague and unknown.

So is he more order - forcing us to do specific things and stopping us from having meaningful choices in the story? Not really... But then is he more chaos - allowing us to make big changes? In a sort of apathetic, not really bothered way maybe. All in all, i think Ralsei falls outside of the scale, as he has a very unique relationship with us and Kris.

Generally, choices and chaos and order are all very big themes in deltarune. So i think its interesting to link the two together like this.

[guthrie-odonto]

Chapter 3 still hasn't been released yet, which can only mean one thing... we can still speculate and have fun ideas as to who the fan-favorite Secret Skrunkly Boss™ will be! In my case, I have a mix of multiple common theories: The runningest, rip-roarin'est raptor this side of the Pixos, Chonery the Cowboy! (pronounced similar to "Connor" and "canary")

Once the beloved star of a simultaneous kids show and computer/video game (think like Dora the Explorer but inverse/a video game would be seen as a show in the dark world), Chonery even knew Ralsei at one point, the two being good friends and going on all sorts of fun adventures before Ralsei ended up leaving for his princely duties in a way, Chonery was the Chara/Kris to Ralsei's Asriel.... One day, Chonery would be told by some stranger (through mail, like how some shows would have fan mail segments) that their show would come to an end, as cowboy shows tend to go. At first, they just saw it as a chance to give one final great perfomance and proudly watch as his successors carried on in their role. But...

Nobody came...

Nobody did anything with them, no director/screenwriter/controller gave any commands, nothing was done with the sets he once performed on, nobody even came back for props. Eventually, the mysterious entity they had been in contact stopped writing to them, his last note being about the truth of this world paired with a shadow crystal and a poncho constructed from pure darkness, information so core-rattling that it left literal scars on their eyes. Being left alone without a spotlight, without light, without anything more than darkness for so long, cursed with the so-called freedom of abandonment beyond their control, even their color left them; but that's just how cowboy shows are... right? The one place they ended up finding solace in was the deep caverns of the fossil mines and the remains found within. Might not seem like the place for a spunky buckeroo to be in, but perhaps they saw a bit of themselves in the extinct creatures after all, they were certain that they too were a Goner.... And besides. If a canary sings in a mineshaft and nobody is around to hear it... why would it mean that there's something wrong?

Then, after the dark fountain that had been seeded was opened, Chonery noticed that some visitors had shown up in his little ghost town. Not just any visitors, but genuine, bonafide lightners! It wasn't enough to completely bounce them back, but the sight of Lighters of all entities visiting their little patch of NOTHING was enough to bring some hue to Chonery's shaded face. And if that wasn't enough, his old friend "Rip-Roaring Rally" subsequently arrived, having detected the dark presence that had been spawned in the Dreemurr household. After being filled in on the situation, Chonery even volunteered to join the party as someone who knows the ins and outs of this particular dark world as well as being just as knowledgeable on matters of darkness and lore as Ralsei (in battle, Chonery and Ralsei would act together as a single party member). And what's more, they didn't even ask for anything in return, not even a chance to get the airtime they'd gone so long without it's not like a dead bud walking such as themselves had any reason to breathe anymore. But Chonery would have an idea for a project he'd make for the fun gang, one that they suggest Kris and the player could help out on by obtaining the six power cathodes split amongst the two big factions of the dark world, the gangs led by Mike and Tenna respectively. This, of course, is the buildup for the secret boss fight, but it was also... oh, it was an idea. a great idea.

It was a simply WONDERFUL IDEA.

for some meta, behind the scenes notes: Chonery (a portmanteau of Chara, Goner, Flowey, and canary–as in "canary in a coal mine") is obviously a mix of Chara and Flowey in allusions, paralleling how Ralsei was in Chapter 1 and being the Ralsei version of Chara. (doesn't hurt that it means they have eye scars that match Photoshop Flowey and look like a face in the Memoryhead enemy from Undertale) In addition, they also draw on the popular cowboy/woody theory, with the video game aspect being from the sonic theory crafted by @right-brain-left-brain as well as the semi-common idea that the chapter 3 secret boss could be inspired by how Asriel had an attachment to Yoshi and felt enough guilt over pulling the "Yoshi down the pit" trick to confess to it in church–hence why they're specifically a raptor (plus it fits the sonic angle because what's more 90s and cool than a dinosaur?) Also, the secret bosses all have some kind of speech quirk (Jevil's repetition, Spamton's advertisment interruptions) and have actual voice lines somewhere, so what'd those be for lil' ol' Chonery here? They'd be both. That's right, instead of a written speech quirk, all their dialogue would come with voice acting (almost as if they're capable of not just speaking to Kris and the others, but to the player). As for what object they're formed from: The trashed flowers from Asgore? The bootleg video game controller? Kris' feelings of the once-happy (or at least relatively stable) state of the Dreemurr family overall, now a shadow of what it used to be? Who's to say.

Even with all their knowledge on the truth of this world and what darkners become in the light world, Chonery isn't so sure themselves...