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randomusingsofalovesickgirl · 2 months ago

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EPISODE 01: CALL ME YOURS

a/n: somewhat (?) proofread! just needed to get it out there, before i forget. 😅 alsooooo if you would prefer shorter but more chapters, let me know 😊 🎶 call me yours by lilian helper 🎶 crush by fox gunn 🎶 there's no way by lauv ft. julia michaels

The moment you walked into the living room, you knew two things: first, the cameras were already rolling, and second, you were absolutely and irreversibly screwed.

There are plenty of things to be concerned about when you walked onto the Inside set—being without your phone for a week, tripping on your own feet, being at the mercy of seven of your most shit-starting friends, fumbling your words, or not getting along with the other contestants. But instead, all you could think about was him.

Not the cameras. Not the chaos. Not the loudness of it all. Not Milli and Cinna, who are currently sitting next to you as Cinna speculated who the fuck ordered the golden straw. Just George, standing a few feet away from you, looking completely unbothered. As if nothing happened. As if the two of you didn't just ruin your friendship two nights ago.

It happened after a year of skirting the line: hundreds of inside jokes layered with meanings, countless one-on-one moments that felt far too intimate for 'just friends', lingering glances you hoped no one noticed, and endless excuses to be near each other. Friends constantly asked "will they or won't they?" as they did whatever they could to set something up, push something to happen. Meanwhile, your fans created millions of edits, insisting that it had been secretly happening all along.

But beyond all your friends' efforts and fan speculation, nothing ever happened.

Until two nights ago, alone in his empty flat.

Both of you gave each other the heads up that for the next week, you wouldn't be able to talk due to 'important family trips'—a lie, of course, to cover up being on the show. A week wasn't long, sure, but for you two—seven days felt forever. You hadn't gone more than a single day without at least texting since you met during the Sidemen Talent Show. His roommates were out on the town, and while you were both invited, you opted to spend the night alone—just the two of you. At some point, the shitty television show playing in the background became nothing but noise—forgotten between the shared laughter and stolen glances that lingered longer than they should've. Soon, the silence felt loaded. With one too many glasses of wine, your guard dropped...but it was the way George looked at you, almost as if he was trying not to. You don’t remember exactly how it happened, but he was soon hovering over you. You could feel the warmth of his breath and see the flicker of hesitation in his eyes, like he knew it was a bad idea but wanted it anyway. His hand brushed your jaw, a feather-light touch that sent a jolt down your spine and butterflies fluttering in your stomach. You whispered, "We shouldn't." But you wanted nothing more. "What are we doing?" George mumbled, his eyes now locked on your lips. His voice was low and a little slurred, and for a while, none of you moved. Until you leaned up, and his lips were on yours. The kiss, though soft, was hungry and aching. Like a secret finally breaking free, like a weight being lifted off both your backs. His mouth moved against yours with a year’s worth of restraint unraveling all at once—desperate, tender, and a little clumsy from the wine, but so, so real. Each kiss tasted like everything you’d never let yourself say sober.

"Can the contestants please make their way to the challenge room?" Tobi's voice blasted from the speakers, accompanied by the screen flashing the same message in bold white letters.

Cinna and Milli stood up from beside you, prying themselves off the beanbags you'd all practically melted into. You let out a playful groan, dropping your head back. “I don’t want to go. I know they’re going to be evil,” you whined, making both girls chuckle.

Taking Milli’s outstretched hand, you let her pull you to your feet. As the others started making their way toward the challenge room, you caught George’s gaze lingering on you out of the corner of your eye. He stayed back, letting everyone else pass.

He disguised it as adjusting something on his microphone pack, which only made your chest ache. Him waiting for you wasn’t odd—no one would’ve questioned it. Everyone already knew you two were close before the show. Mandi had even declared the moment you walked in that it was unfair both of you were here, claiming you were “definitely dating,” which would make "doing nothing together too easy." Her theory, of course, was backed by the dozens of TikTok edits she and Milli had watched of you and George together.

You both denied it—laughing it off with an ease that had been practically rehearsed for months. But you silently prayed none of them noticed the flush in your cheeks, the redness in George’s ears, or the way your eyes kept finding each other across the room.

As Cinna and Milli moved ahead, their laughter blending into the buzz of the rest of the group, you hung back. For a second, it felt like it used to—just the two of you; normal, almost. You had to physically restrain yourself from throwing your arms around him and telling him how happy you were that he was here. He licked his lips, and you had to force yourself not to remember how they felt on yours.

"Hey," He said, soft enough that only you could hear.

You swallowed. "Hey."

The silence that followed stretched between you like a tightrope. One wrong word—one mention of that night—and it would snap, sending you both tumbling.

He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes flickering to the ground and then back up at you. You noticed how they paused, just briefly, at your lips. "So, uh...how are you finding things so far?"

The conversation already felt...so small. Meaningless.

You forced a smile. "Fine, you?"

He nodded slowly at your words, sheepishly even. "Yeah...just...you know," he shrugged, "ready for the lads to fuck with us." He put on a stupid accent, one that he knows always make you chuckle. And it almost did. Almost.

Silence filled the space again, thick and charged. You stared at each other a little too long, both of you trying to refrain from subconsciously moving closer to each other, as you always have done. George shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly unsure of what to say next.

His voice dropped down to an even quieter whisper so that no one could hear (as if he didn't have a microphone pack strapped to his chest). "You left before I could wake up. I'm not sure if you wanted to talk about it...or if we can...but I think we definitely should."

You hesitated. Too many words fought to reach your tongue, none of them right. Not here. Not now.

"Yeah, uh, I don't know..." you mumbled, "but we definitely should." Your eyes darted around. Everyone else was already in the challenge room, just two studio managers still tidying up the set.

He nodded again, too quickly this time. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Just, I wanted to let you know that I don't want it to be-"

"Oi! Lovebirds!" JJ poked his head from the challenge room and into the hallway, "Get your asses in here right now! We're waiting on you two!"

George let out a low breath and let out a quick smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Guess that's our cue." He held out his hand for you to take.

You stared at his outstretched hand, your heart thudding in your chest.

For a split second, and against your better judgement, you almost reached for it—almost letting muscle memory win. But instead, you wrapped your arms around yourself and took a small step forward, slipping past him to join the others without another word.

Not a rejection. Not quite. Just...space.

His hand hovered mid-air for a moment longer before dropping back to his side. He didn't say anything, just followed behind you—his eyes trained on the ground.

When you stepped into the challenge room and saw JJ, Simon, and Tobi—JJ in mid-rant about how he was this close to starting without you, you smiled.

Familiar faces. Some sort of normalcy. Even under the far too bright lights, you could pretend that nothing actually happened; that you weren't spiraling and panicking underneath your cool exterior; that George's closeness doesn't mean anything more than usual.

You mumbled an apology as you took your spot next to Milli and Dylan, trying to keep your expression neutral. Out of the corner of your eye, George slid into his place across the room.

Your eyes met once—just once. A flicker. A slient later.

But for now, the cameras were rolling, the game was beginning. And you can't let Tobi, Simon, or JJ have an idea that something was weird between you two. Then you'd never hear the end of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The challenge is Insider Dating," Simon began, clapping his hands together. "You'll each be given two questions that you must answer to our satisfaction. Think of it as a chance to really get to know your fellow Insiders!"

The group let out a chorus of exaggerated awwws, leaning into the bit for the cameras.

"But," Simon added with a mischievous grin, "there will be distractions. You can opt out… but it’ll cost ten grand from the prize money.”

A collective gasp echoed through the room—playful, dramatic.

Tobi jumped in. “We’ve already paired you up. We’ll call your names. When it’s your turn, sit at the table, open the menu, and read what you see.”

As stage managers did a final sweep, double-checking mics and cues, everyone began speculating about what the distractions might be.

“I think we got this,” Dylan assured you, resting his hand on your bouncing knee. “Don’t worry.”

Milli grinned. “Remember, you’re a bad bitch!” You laughed, grateful, until something across the room caught your eye.

Mya leaned in toward George, who seemed to be explaining the rules again. Her hand rested lightly on his bicep, a sly smile on her lips. Your stomach twisted. She was gorgeous. And George? Maybe he’d like her more.

It shouldn’t matter. You and George were just friends who’d… hooked up. No claims. Still, the way she tilted her head toward him, the way he let her—it made your chest feel tight.

You looked away quickly, turning back to Milli. “As long as it’s not snakes, I’m happy.”

Finally, the challenge began.

First up: PK and Cinna—rats crawling over them.

Since entering, Cinna was the person you trusted most. She seemed genuine; serious about the challenge, lovely, and just overall kind. PK, on the other hand, terrified you—loud, outrageous, unpredictable. You worried he’d spend more than he’d earn.

Still, you had to give them credit. They both endured the rats. Neither tapped out.

You looked up—George was watching you. But as your eyes met, he quickly looked away.

Next came Farah and Jason. Though Farah had been rowdy so far, you admired how kind she truly was. When Jason panicked about the nail near his ear, she comforted him, hyping him up.

“This is so fucked up!” Jason screamed, sending the room into laughter. Except George. He had his own bit ready.

“It’s gonna get more fucked up!” he said, slipping into that same ridiculous accent he always used to make you laugh. Everyone cracked up—but you knew that joke was targeted particularly for you. It became clear when George's eyes looked over to see if you were laughing.

His eye contact made you feel small. You sank a little into your seat, hands beginning to fidget.

“Hey,” Dylan whispered, taking off one of his rings. “Here. Fidget with this, if it helps.” You smiled gratefully, twiddling the ring between your fingers.

Dylan and Mandi were up next—"a kiss from a chicken" as their distraction. Dylan admitted what he’d do if he could be invisible; Mandi revealed her first kiss.

“This is our only group of three—a threesome, if you will,” JJ announced with a smirk. “Milli, Mya, and Whitney—please take your seats.”

Shit. That meant you were left with George.

You were pretty sure the realization showed on your face, especially when JJ and Simon winked at you. Tobi’s lack of reaction was more concerning—did he realise something?

“You got this, Milli.” You gave her a smile as she stood.

Creepy spiders crawled across their heads as they answered: Milli’s most embarrassing date story, the most famous person in Mya’s DMs… and then Whitney tapped out. Another $10K lost. Fuck.

Now it was your turn.

Tobi called out yours and George’s names. JJ led the group into a chorus of exaggerated “Ooooohs.”

You forced a laugh, heart pounding as you stood. George met you halfway, giving your hand a quick squeeze. You hadn’t realized how visibly nervous you were—but he had.

Still, he looked away quickly. His expression unreadable.

“Go on, loverbirds!” Jason heckled. The group erupted in laughter. George flipped him off, and you forced a laugh.

You sat across from each other, and today, the table felt too small. George slid his foot between yours—a subtle touch to ground you. This time, you didn’t pull away.

As always, JJ made another joke at your two's expense “This isn’t your first date, so you know what to do.” You rolled your eyes and flipped him off again, earning some more laughter.

"Please open the menus." Simon instructed.

You flipped it open.

SHOCKING QUESTIONS.

“Ladies first,” JJ said, smirking. “So George, you're up.” George nodded in resignation as a technician locked you both into the shock devices.

You look at the questions listed on your menu. "What is your worst online dating experience?"

You’d heard this one before. But instead of listening, your eyes tracked the way he flinched—eyebrows furrowing in pain. Your hand instinctively reached for his, ignoring the group’s collective aww. You squeezed it, silently telling him to hang on. He squeezed back.

“Was that satisfactory?” George muttered, wincing.

Tobi, Simon, and JJ nodded. "Please ask the next question."

Really? You turned to look at the three hosts, who all had a mischievous look in their eye. These bastards.

"Snog, marry, and avoid three Insiders." He's going to say Mya.

George hesitated. "Do I really have to answer this?"

“You can tap out,” JJ taunted, “but we all know what your going to say anyway."

“Can it be any gender?” George asked, trying to stall. A shock hit. He grimaced, then gave in.

“Snog Cinna. Marry you. Avoid Farah.” He turned to Farah. “Sorry—you’re quite loud.”

“Fair,” she shrugged. She had admitted that was her red flag.

Tobi clapped. "Good job, George. It's now your turn to ask the questions."

"Which Insider do you currently trust the least?" George asked hesitantly, his hand now enveloping yours even before the shocks started.

The jolt shot through you. You yelped.

“This is unfair—I've just met them!” you protested. Another shock hit. You squeezed George’s hand tighter.

“You can always back out,” Simon teased, shuffling the cards.

But ten thousand...

Cinna came to your rescue. "It's okay! We won't be offended, right guys?" She got everyone to agree.

“Okay, really, no offense, but—either Whitney or Mandi!” They immediately jumped up, demanding to know why.

“Let me explain!” you pleaded. “It’s obvious one of you got the golden straw, and your denial makes me not trust you. Just admit it—it’s teamwork, so there's no point in being mad. ’Just be honest.” You were rambling, rushing to defuse the tension. “Also—the prices are literally extortionate! Who the fuck charges that much for a straw?” you added.

As the group laughed at your extra comment, the Sidemen motioned that the answer was satisfactory.

“George, just—please ask the next question,” you blurted, voice getting higher as you try and ignore the pain.

He looked down, face flushing red.

“Really?” he asked the Sidemen. They nodded. He berudgingly asked the next question; “Which Insider of the opposite sex would you… uh… be willing to share a bed with?”

“Agh—literally fuck off!” you yelled, jolted by the next shock.

You could answer honestly. Or safely. But the pain—and your instinct—won.

"George." You didn't dare look him in the eye, instead staring at the ceiling. You didn't see George's gaze fixating on the menu, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Why?" JJ prodded.

“That’s not part of the question!” George defended for you.

“Uh uh,” Simon tutted. “We decide when the answer’s complete.”

Tobi stayed silent. And that’s when you were sure—he realised something was up.

You didn’t care anymore. “I’ve fallen asleep in planes with him, and on his couch plenty of times.” Even before two nights ago, you've stayed the night countless of times; mostly on his sofa, whether that is side by side on the chaise lounge or on his shoulder.

The Sidemen finally nodded. Accepted.

With the challenge over, the hosts announced how much prize money had been lost. Everyone began to file out—some toward the shop, others back to the living room.

George lingered by the door, waiting for you who stayed behind to playfully punch JJ in the shoulder.

“Hey, can we get you in Room 19 for a confessional?” a producer asked, pulling you aside. “Tobi wants to speak with you too.”

He knew.

You turned to George, his eyes locked on yours. Sorry, you mouthed. Later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Room 19 was too bright and too quiet .

Tobi was already inside, lounging on the sofa like he hadn’t just summoned you in. He’d asked the camera crew to give you two a minute.

You slid into the sofa beside him, hiding your face in the back of the sofa. "Why do I feel like I'm about to be told off?"

He didn’t answer—just looked at you, like he was waiting for you to crack.

"What?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Something happened."

You shook your head too quickly, too defensively.

Tobi, of all people, wasn’t going to buy that. He knew. He knew. Ever since the YouTuber Pub Quiz—when he’d finally gotten fed up with watching you and George make heart eyes for three hours while being far too close to him. He heard firsthand George calling you snookums and had to physically pull George closer to him in order to protect their answers, especially after George kept gravitating towards you. When Tobi pulled you aside that night, he managed to get you to confirm it, drunk and giggly (fuelled by the alcohol from the night, and the shots you did with George), slurring out your not-so-little crush.

Maybe this was your sign to stop drinking.

“Don’t even deny it,” he said. “You and Mr. Architect aren’t acting like your usual lovesick selves.”

You rolled your eyes, scowling. “Fine. But you can’t tell any of the boys.”

Tobi mimed zipping his lips and tossing the key. You sighed.

“We slept together.”

His jaw dropped. “And?”

“And… nothing. We haven’t talked about it.” You could see the panic spiral forming in his head. “We were both drunk, and it was two nights before filming. We didn’t know we’d be here together. I kind of… left before he woke up.”

Tobi groaned. “You idiot. You didn’t want it to be awkward, so you made it more awkward.”

“I panicked!”

“For what it’s worth,” he muttered, “that poor sucker looks even more in love with you than before.”

“Tobi, we haven’t even made eye contact.”

“He looked wrecked when you were hurting earlier. That wasn’t acting. And trust me—Clarkey can't act for shit. Trust me, I've seen it."

You snorted. He wasn’t wrong.

There was a long pause. You didn’t say anything more. Not yet.

“They’re gonna call you for a confessional soon,” he said gently. “You good?” You nodded, even though you weren’t sure. Your head was a mess of George. "If you ever need a break, just ask them to go to the smoker's area. And, if you ever need to talk to me, just say so. We can hear everything."

You gave him a grateful smile, and then he was gone. The door shut behind him.

The crew came back in, cameras rolling.

You straightened your shoulders, just enough to fake composure. Although the world as you know it felt shook to its core, you had to pretend it was all fine.

Giving the producer a small nod, you convinced yourself you could do this. You'd done harder things. You just should not mention George, as much as you want to.

Maybe being away from your phone is harder than you thought. You wished you could text your roommate for her advice, although you could already guess what they were. Maybe you just needed the comfort. Maybe you just need George.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The end of the day came around faster than you expected.

With two new faces—Patrice (or “Uncle”, as he insisted) and DDG—the group loosened up again, especially after that tense challenge. Chaos resumed not long after, as people either tried to sneakily snag meal upgrades or tried to stomach the quite...unpleasant dinner prepared.

You wanted to keep track of who was doing what, to have a better idea of who to trust. But George was already on top of it. And right now, you couldn’t trust yourself around George, let alone what you might say if you were alone with him.

So you stuck close to who you could trust so far; Milli, Dylan, Jason,a and Cinna. Luckily, DDG managed to wrangle everyone into a budgeting talk—half serious, half banter—and you nodded along, grateful for the distraction.

Across the room, George finally stopped circling the space, his self-appointed half-joking job of policing the 'ruffians' (his words, not yours) done for the evening. But his gaze kept drifting. Back to you.

His eyes were pleading.

You could tell he wanted to talk. Needed to talk. About that night.

And you knew you should.

And part of you really, really wanted to.

But you were scared.

With a week still ahead of you—and cameras in every corner—this wasn’t the time.

Not quite yet.

Not quite here.

So you laughed a little louder with Dylan, leaned a little closer to Milli, and pulled Cinna deeper into the conversation.

Maybe you could avoid him for seven more days.

Maybe by then, you’d know what to say.

Maybe, in the real world, without all these cameras, this would feel less messy.

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taglist: @rubyskies

#george clarkey x reader #george clarke x reader #george clarkey fluff #george clarkey #george clarke fics #george clarke fluff #george clarkey fics #sidemen inside #george clarke

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snapscube · 24 days ago

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Do you know a lot about Deltarune chapter 2, or have you avoided seeing spoilers in hopes of having a blind playthrough? I'm super excited to see you play it! It's soo good :D

mostly the latter! i did play the intro of the chapter around release and i mean i exist in a lot of circles that are on the toby fox hype train something fierce so it was impossible for me to get ZERO idea of what to expect but in terms of the moment-to-moment i will have a very very fresh perspective.

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lynxgriffin · 3 days ago

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Deltarune Chapter 3 and 4 RANDOM THOUGHTS

Spoilers so it's going under the cut! This is just me gushing about the madness

Geez I have like 50 different things I want to do art for and I can't focus on any of them long enough to start, SOB

Was NOT expecting Susie to find out that Darkners are objects immediately upon starting up the chapter. I'm glad she took it as well as she did, though! Still think this may come up much much harder later.

Holy crap Tenna's designs and animations just hit like a truck LOL. It wasn't until much later that I was like "wait...this guy is not getting recruited to Castle Town, is he. There's no way those sprites will get integrated."

Disappointed we did not get a proper Susiezilla sequence, I wanted that!

All the banter of them sitting around playing Legend of Kris was adorable

Did not expect Lanino-Elnina-Rouxls Kaard DISASTER THROUPLE???

Lancer MY BOY

Geez all of the stuff where Kris was playing their solo adventure was just. SO unsettling.

"You didn't do Snowgrave in chapter 2? Well you're doing it here now lol"

"You were used up" UH OH!!!!

I managed to S-Rank both boards somehow and got to the Shadow Mantle boss but got my ass handed to me; I'll need to go back and try again later.

Totally called Toriel being in the prize capsule from the start

saxophone noise

Me at the end of the Tenna boss battle: Kris Knight is real? Well, not what I would've liked, but I'm sure it'll be--

Me five minutes later: I'M SORRY, WHOMST??????

But no for real the Knight design and demeanor is LEGIT scary, I'm so glad we got a proper really intimidating villain

But yeah absolutely got thrashed by the Knight as well SOB SOB

THAT ENDING THO??? AND THEN THE TRANSITION INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER?

Please give Susie MORE PANCAKES

Absolutely fascinated by the fact that the monster religion is also just. Like. The game legend. The implications

Cannot believe we had friggin Tom and Jerry-ass shenanigans in Noelle's house with the soul including Kris beating the crap out of us with a hockey stick

banging fists on the table SU-SELLE! SU-SELLE! SU-SELLE! SU-SELLE!

Asgore how did you get more awkward every chapter

The whole scene with Carol was just generally so, so DEEPLY UNCOMFORTABLE

Evil and intimidating deer by awesome lesbian couple indeed

Me earlier: Man Carol Holiday is going to get a pretty brutal death in Eldritchrune, I feel a little bad, it's probably going to feel unwarranted--

Me after chapter four: Hell naw this bitch gettin' what she deserves

I gotta say that I REALLY loved the music in this chapter, absolutely outstanding. I might like From Now On even more than Rude Buster

All in all in chapter four was SO cool, loved that we're taking everything seriously now, it felt like a real turning point

OKAY SO turns out THIS KINDA HAPPENED A BIT? But while my initial thought was Gerson being the Knight, I honesty like this better

IDK Gerson was just SO funny as a J.R.R. Tolkien-esque party member and I absolutely appreciated him being a mentor to Kris and especially Susie

Did NOT expect Susie making her own dark fountain before Noelle did!! But oh man all the differences in her version of the world that you can see compared to the usual one...

In any case I love Susie more and more every day if horrible things happen to her I will teleport to Toby Fox's house and push everything breakable off of his shelves

YOUR TAKING TOO LONG

Ralsei I am DEEPLY WORRIED about you my dude

He was looking so ragged this chapter and missed good chunks of Susie's dark world, too

I am extremely anxious about that critical part of the prophecy that we conveniently missed but that Susie saw, my weird kids need to be okay

Also uhhh??? Am I nuts or like? Did my half-human Susie crack theory get more evidence?? I was expecting just a solid debunking but if anything there's just more hints of it???? I'm kind of terrified???? Half-human Susie real????

Seriously I may just finally dive into the nightmare realm of making a theory video for it

HELLO NEO DARK FOUNTAIN ALREADY

HI TITAN ALREADY THAT WAS SICK AS HELL AND ALSO TERRIFYING

Seriously that Titan boss battle was crazy hard; it took me a lot of tries and it was a LONG fight every time

I have no solid thoughts on whether it's Carol Knight or Dess Knight; I'll have to ruminate on it more

It's Raining Here made real...

CANNOT BELIEVE WE ENDED THIS CHAPTER ON FRIGGIN KRIS MISERABLE IN BED WHILE SORIEL DISCO HAPPENS DOWNSTAIRS

Again: I want to draw but have no focus aaljsda

Also I got like two hours of sleep last night because my brain would not stop buzzing lol

Once again THIS GIF REMAINS MY ULTIMATE REACTION TO NEW DELTARUNE BYE:

#deltarune #deltarune spoilers #dr spoilers #dr chapter 3 and 4 spoilers

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skeletonh0e · 3 months ago

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"You write Sans as too nice!"

"You write Sans as too mean!"

Guys imma remind ya'll of a very important thing when it comes to my husband. Which is,

Sans is an extremely mysterious and furthermore extremely flawed character. Toby Fox literally said he wanted Sans to feel real so like most people there's a lot of layers and complexity to him

Not to mention similar to most people we know, we just don't have the full context behind a lot of what they do. This is especially the case with Sans.

Also should go without saying but this is about Vanilla undertale Sans, not his AU counterparts where their entire gimmick is that they are nicer or more evil than bis default self.

The first one "you write Sans as too nice", Sans is not a character known for cruelty

He's friendly if cheeky toward the player / Frisk, strictly talking within the pacifist route. While we'll talk about that whole promise to protect later but this isn't something exclusive to just the player or player character

Sans is established to be fairly popular and openly friendly within the underground, he has a decent amount of friends and people seem to like him. While I wouldn't call Sans a goodie two shoes that goes out of his way to constantly help others clearly he's established to a friendly and chill dude

Also while clearly he loves to play pranks and goof around, he's also down to go alone with the players antics as well to a certain extent

All this indicates that Sans is a good natured guy for the most part, plus it's worth nothing it's very implied that the reason Sans has so many jobs is to afford the place he and Papyrus live at

Sans sounds pretty nice, there's a lot of basis that allows you to interpet his character in a very positive light

Onto the next one "you write Sans as too mean"

Sans can do some shady shit

Granted he immediately attempts to play it as a joke and it's unclear how serious Sans is actually being here, not to mention his motivation behind saying this. The dramatic timing with the music stopping and everything certainly IMPLIES he wasn't joking but there's some room for interpretation. Besides I wouldn't be surprised if he was serious but wouldn't have followed through when the time came but more on that later

Also a friend pointed out while he jokes with everyone, he only plays pranks on Frisk, while we can assume he does it to other monsters we only witness it done to Frisk

Pranks can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on your relationship with the person doing them, and whether or not you find the pranks funny. I found Sans to be funny and most did but, not everyone will

Trying to sell snow to a little kid (even if he doesn't follow through on the extremely high price), asking you to foot the extremely pricey bill at Grillby's (though again he doesn't follow through) the telescope prank or volunteering to stack hotdogs on someone's head without asking...all of this could be seen as passive aggressive forms of bullying. Not saying I think it is or at least if it was, that it likely wasn't all intentional on Sans' part.

At the end of the "dead where you stand" speech, this can casts his past actions in a negative light, he tells you he was, "Just kidding." Where is the humor in a "joke" like that? And then for the bonus round, he'll make a smart alecky comment that goes something like, "I've done a good job looking out for you. You haven't died a single time!"

But anyone who isn't a master at undertale gameplay (most players especially first time ones) has died at least once upon leaving the ruins if not SEVERAL times by this point

And Sans knows of resets, so this is him being a bit of a dick here tbh. Unless you go the route of assuming that Sans is truly completely 100% oblivious which the game doesn't support even if it's amusing to think about

Now on the trust pacifist ending at least we get solid confirmation, that Sans likes Frisk and is their friend but there's a lot of ambiguity about where this starts in game. Did he straight up not like Frisk at the start but kept his promise reluctantly? Did he only change his views at the end of true pacifist? Did it change in-between the journey? Or were all these pranks really just good natured and Sans never meant ill will to begin with? Up to you, which brings us to the next point

The genocide route

Though obviously the context for the genocide route vs the pacifist route are entirely different, I do think the information we're given reframes some of his actions in the pacifist route. We all wanna rag on Sans for threatening a literal child but-

We have the ability to reset. Which need I remind you the only other character we know for a fact had this ability was Flowey. Who uh, is not a good dude need I remind you and he did his own genocide routes in the past. The difference between us the player doing a genocide route is that we followed through until the end, Flowey didn't.

It can be a bit harsh but idk about you, if I found out someone, even if that someone WAS a kid had the ability to control time like that....would you trust them? Would you like them right off the bat regardless of how good of a person they seemed?

Of course how much Sans remembers different timelines is unclear and again entirely up to interpretation, for the most part he is aware of resets but doesn't remember them. But I have seen theories arguing he does so again depending on the context here this can reframe Sans' actions.

Also worth noting that he does mention that he did want to befriend the anomaly (the player/frisk), thinking they just needed a good laugh or something akin to that. Which certainly could indicate his pranks were truly good natured and not an attempt at bullying, but also he could just be saying this to throw the player off. Sans is not above using manipulation to get the player to stop, i.e him pretending to spare us for example

You're quickly noticing a trend here.

Sans may be doing something with the best of intentions, Sans may be just being a straight up dick. Sans does not wear his heart let alone his true intentions on his sleeve. Which is why he's such a compelling character to begin with.

That's not to say we know NOTHING about him, he cares about Papyrus clearly, he cares about Toriel (I will come back to this too dw), he's shown to be extremely clever, observant and he definitely does like jokes. The takeaway should not be that Sans is some unknowable character, the takeaway should be a lot of things are simply unclear about him. Much like people we know irl.

Think of Sans like a puzzle, we have some pieces but some are missing and while we can actively do our best to fill in the blanks we'll likely just never know the complete picture

However, a common theme with Undertale is there are no bad people simply people put in difficult situations with no right answer. Which brings me to the neutral routes which given the sheer number of neutral endings there are it'd be impossible to cover them all ESPECIALLY since this post is already super long

But

I will address a few things

The first one being "why doesn't Sans intervene when the human starts killing?" well the reason can vary depending on the extremity of the players actions here, however we have to address the main thing here.

We can debate how much Sans actually remembers about different timelines and previous resets all day, but he is aware of them. To quote the man himself if YOU lived everyday of your life knowing you'll just start over like your previous actions just didn't happen....what would you do?

The man is DEPRESSED as a result, he keeps through the motions but he has given up and doesn't believe his actions matter. Does that justify not doing anything up until the VERY end of the genocide route and straight up not doing anything in more brutal neutral routes?

Hard to say. Would you do though?

Sans knows who he's dealing with. It does not matter what he does he can't stop you. The only reason he trys in the genocide route is BECAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT TO END THE FREAKIN WORLD

Plus someone pointed out in a weird way waiting that long to see if you ever change your ways or show even an ounce of mercy by sparing a single monster is in a way holding true to his brother mentality of even the WORST person can change

Also remember he doesn't just NOT give a fuck if you kill everyone he cares for, Sans doesn't take action against you because he knows there's no point but Sans never goes "okay lol" he is very much upset at you ESPECIALLY if you kill Papyrus or Toriel

I couldn't find the screenshot of it but I believe in one of the neutral endings where you do kill toriel and papyrus he basically goes "you better watch yourself kid," implying he might actually hunt you down. Not 100% clear if the threat is meant to be interpreted that way, it could be more of a "stay away" than a "I'm coming for you" but still

Plus in some neutral endings he shows legit regret over not doing more

Now I've established Sans can be nice, Sans can be cruel or just kinda mean, Sans does a lot of things that pretty ambiguous in terms of intent, but Sans is also extremely flawed. Which brings me to the finale conclusion of this character analysis (?) (whatever you wanna call it?)

His promise to Toriel

Now, this is not a Soriel post even if I do admit I like the ship. However, people who act like he doesn't care about her are legit smoking crack, his promise to her was legit to comfort her, he gets along with her, in one neutral ending becomes her roommate and is actively upset by her death

Regardless of how you wish to interpret that relationship, clearly he cares about her and the two have a strong bond.

But as many people have pointed out....Sans actually does break this promise, he doesn't really do anything to protect Frisk throughout the entire game unless you count not trying to kill them on sight. Now granted with resets being a thing this creates something of a loophole

Cuz yeah Frisk did die but didn't die ya know? They can come back. There's no perma-death

But while we all want to hold Sans up to the standard of being this ultimate protector, here's something to point out that I feel like a lot of people tend to forget

Sans has 1 HP, think about that. What does that mean for him as a monster? One hit and he dies, literally, one hit. I've seen some people make the argument that HP doesn't stand for Hit Points, it's stands for HoPE

What happens to monsters when they lose enough hope? They fall down. They die. So not only is Sans physically weak but honestly I think my human standards he'd be chronically ill as if he has one hope could he literally die at any moment?

Now. Granted there is a theory that the characters choose to display their stats and that they say so this could again be Sans trolling or straight up lying but if we're going to take the "you'd be dead where you stand" line at 100% face value then we take this at 100% face value

Can Sans really be that good of a protector or would doing so actually get himself killed?

Everyone talks about how hard the genocide fight is because THATS him acting as the games last defense to stop you. There is no one else. There will be nothing else if you continue. It's why he try so hard because he has to. There will be no more world. No more him. No more anything. He's pulling out all the brakes because otherwise he's just fuuuuuucked

If Sans followed Frisk around it'd take him getting barely hit for him to die, which while Frisk can reset imagine how tiring that would be. Sans is good at dodging yes, but he gets tired pretty easily. Now you can find workarounds sure but regardless it's a lot of hassle isn't it?

This also brings me to the reason why I don't think Sans would follow through if he did attack us right outside the ruins. How long would this man actually last in a pacifist fight? Especially if the human hasn't done any harm? I feel like he'd tire easily or quickly be talked out of it, Sans isn't a ruthless killer unless he's pushed to be one

How much can Sans actually do? Does he not act in the neutral routes not JUST because of extreme depression and a defeatist attitude but because he knows that he can't do much in a fair fight? Hell, even in genocide Sans has to actively fight dirty to be such a challenge

You can argue him not at least trying anyway is cowardly or bad, but idk man. If you were chronically ill and you knew for a fact this kid can just reset then come back life would you really bother? I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that the kid is fine and it's better to risk it

Frisk can reset sure, Sans can't. And Sans doesn't have any reason to trust Frisk would being him back to life if need be.

There's a lot of difficult questions to be asked here and decisions good or bad have been made, Sans is a good guy sure at least I think so but even good guys don't always know what to do or make the right decisions.

#undertale #sans undertale #sans the skeleton #character analysis #yuri speaks 🩵#this got long #and i am so sleep deprived

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thewertsearch · 27 days ago

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Ask Comp 12/05

@carcinogeneticist-writes-fanfic asked: I know your policy has been to hold off listening to the official albums until you're done with HS and I totally get that, wanting to hear them in the context of the comic first is totally valid. That said, would you be willing to give early consideration to Michael Bowman's solo album, "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido?" It's got the rather dubious honor of being one of only two or three official albums (out of like 30!) to NOT see any rep in the comic at all and I'd hate for you to miss out.

Found it on the Collection! It's generally a very chill album, with a lot of lower-energy tracks that might have been hard to fit in one of Homestuck's high-octane Flash animations.

It's not really my type of music, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate something different every once in a while! I think my personal favorite is Dawn of Man.

@likelyvampirical asked: While on the subject of Bowman, On The Thirteenth Day has been sent to you.

This one's fucking great. It feels like the kind of track you'd hear over the opening/ending to a Homestuck anime.

It also sounds vaguely like Sburban Jungle, but I don't know if I'd call it a remix; it feels more like it's gesturing meaningfully in Sburban Jungle's direction, which I like a lot.

@shelbybunny asked: re: voice headcanons in the (as of writing) latest ask comp; i think a good voice headcanon for John is Toby Fox’s voice in his ska cover of sunsetter or Michael Guy Bowman’s cover of How Do I Live

It's still so weird hearing Toby Fox's actual voice. He feels like the kind of guy who shouldn't have a concrete presence in our reality.

Anyway, these voices are both fairly close to how I imagine John sounding. Toby even looks somewhat like John - or, at least, his hair does.

@heattth asked: Hi, I believe you mentioned once that if Tumblr died you would continue this blog on Discord. I don't know how likely this is to happen, but, could I ask you which server that would be?

I currently run an on-and-off gaming Discord which is open to all the blog's followers. If Tumblr goes down for good, I might just convert it into the new primary liveblogging platform - although Discord has its own issues, so I'm not 100% committed to that. Guess we'll see what happens!

Edit: I ended up retiring the Discord for now, simply because it grew too large for one person to manage. I still plan to continue the liveblog if Tumblr bites the dust, but I'm completely undecided on where!

@manorinthewoods asked: I've heard the Hockerberts (Hockengberts?) called the House of J. Unsure how common that is. ~LOSS (28/4/25) @cationicflood asked: the prospit kids may also collectively be referred to as the J-squad, as all four of them have names beginning with J (this is a trait that i do not think any other character outside this group possesses)

Yeah, there's no real way to legibly combine all four names. I came up with 'Prospit Patrol' the other day, and I honestly kind of love it - but I guess that'd technically include the Prospit trolls, too.

Anonymous asked: i think the key difference between jade and jake’s social lives despite being completely isolated is that jade at least had bec and prospit. with jakes dreamself dead (which presumably never woke up) and no guardian to speak of, hes pretty much completely alone out there

Actually a very good point. We eventually learned that Jade was in contact with the White Queen, so she was doing some in-person socialization. Clearly, that mattered a lot more than I realized.

@morganwick asked: Recall that future Jade shared your frustration over causal time loops, wanting ideas to actually come from where they came from. She did manage to get Karkat to be just vague enough to get her to do what she wanted herself to do while still giving herself enough room to come up with as much of the idea as possible herself. Karkat technically didn't even tell her to captchalogue the window, only draw it, the assumption/understanding being that she'd use the scribblepad to do so.

I definitely like that interpretation a lot better than the idea that the information was spontaneously stable-looped into existence, so I'm adopting it as my personal canon. The less loop-generated intel we have, the better.

@that-good-ol-fashioned-mothgirl asked: funny how Jane “biggest fan of a baking empire” Crocker subscribes to empiricism

Clearly, an 'empire' is any organization that values tangible evidence over logical reasoning. Jane's brainwashing is clearly benign - the Condesce is just trying to make her a better skeptic!

@that-good-ol-fashioned-mothgirl asked: the green sun is the theoretically infinite felt on English’s temporal pool table

In other words, the entire multiverse is part of Lord English's game. Seems fitting to me.

@elkian asked: Something I put together recently thanks to your blogging: the more conventially intelligent/sapient a Sprite component, the better a Sprite can communicate with the Player. BUT, these are also more independent and can operate on their own impetus, proving in some cases (like Jadesprite) to be unwilling/unable to help the Player for whatever reason. It's a neat balancing mechanic.

That's actually a really good explanation for why Jadesprite was so independent.

She's not the only one who's exhibited this trait, either - Davesprite also seemed comfortable with resisting sprite programming!

@mhafanlol2000 asked: Dave spent his childhood with Cal, too, and he doesn’t seem hypnotized. What makes you so convinced that Dirk will turn out to be worshipping English, or something?

Ah, but Dave didn't actually own the doll.

Bro was the one carrying it around all day, and he can't be flash-stepping around Dave that often. For the majority of the time, he was the one receiving the lion's share of Cal's miasma, as he has been since the moment he was cloned.

Dirk is the same, of course, but he's only had Cal for sixteen years, while Bro was in his thirties, at least. Dirk seems a lot more normal than his counterpart, so we can at least assume he's less corrupted than Bro.

Anonymous asked: I'm not going to lie, the fact that the entire acts 1-5 of homestuck are ONE DAY is one of my favorite fucked up facts about this story. Like, honestly maybe more than 24 hours passed, but because we got untethered from Earth time immediately after entering and it's not like the Incipisphere has a day/night cycle, A VERY LONG MONDAY AFTERNOON INDEED

The second the camera cuts away from John and Jade, they're going to immediately pass out for a good twenty hours.

Hey, do we think Davesprite needs to sleep? Surely not, right? Alright, he can look after them, then.

@elkian asked: Just wanted to say that I'm loving the liveblog in general, and in particular I really like your take on how the Alpha timeline works. "Based on what this character would most likely do in this situation" not only frees it from some of the rigidity of predestination, which can definitely get stifling or flatten a story if taken too far; it's also a good explanation in terms of meta. It works as both a general explanation and story-themed one, and I like it a lot. Seems accurate, too!

You can thank Terry Pratchett for putting the idea in my head, back when I was first reading Night Watch. It's a really satisfying way to resolve the identity issues surrounding time travel, isn't it?

@drakethedeep asked: Keep that thought in mind regarding a timeline involving interfering with the green sun. On a similar train of thought, timelines seemed to become doomed when they can no longer contribute to the timeloop that created them to begin with. For example, in the first doomed timeline we see, because John dies, he cannot perform the ectobiology that results in the creation of him and his friends/family. so keeping that in mind, what conclusion/ theories about the alpha timeline do you have?

Initially, I thought that any timeline which could no longer satisfy its own loops would be instantly doomed - but that would have caused Davesprite's timeline to fade long before Future Dave actually left, since John's death immediately made the Veil cloning impossible.

However, the wording you use here comes close to fixing that issue. Davesprite's timeline could never fulfil the time loop created by John's Veil cloning - but it still contributed to the Alpha Timeline, via Davesprite. Maybe a timeline only fades once it can no longer contribute to the Alpha in any way whatsoever.

@wolygan asked: Kinda neat how as Sollux is dying his powers change from the red and blue to just his blood colour, as if he is casting from his health instead of just having an ability, now that his eyes are burnt out.

Oh, interesting. I didn't consider that!

Sollux has said he's retiring his duality schtick, and apparently that includes his red/blue motif. After all, he's not really 'the duality guy' anymore - he's just Sollux.

@liliflower137 asked: This is probably a little late as I'm still catching up but,,, gush, Vriska's conversation with John, where she expresses regret, where she thinks back on what she has done… It made her my favorite character for a while. Just. The potential of her learning to be different, of becoming something more than the world she was born into. Seeing a character so HORRIBLE, so AWFUL, turn around and… realize. It's so powerful.

Yup. Super fucked up that she died before she was able to complete her metamorphosis - but I'm confident that her story's not over. After all, we've already started hanging out with her ghost!

@liliflower137 asked: Hello!! I am not quite caught up yet but your description of Scratch as thinking like an author is BRILLIANT, I never would've thought of that and it makes him make so much more sense!!! Man he's way more interesting to me now, thank you!!! This liveblog continues to be the most fascinating read of all time!!

Thanks - it just made sense to me, y'know? Scratch even talks a little like Hussie sometimes, and the idea that he's a pseudo-author is the only thing I can think of that explains some otherwise extremely strange phrasing on his part.

@liliflower137 asked: Hello hello again! I've just seen the map you showed of Rose's coordinates and you can literally see the town i live in on that map!! So I can tell you Northern New York State, at least around that section, is VERY rural. The closest Starbucks is in Canada and its mostly dairy farms and cornfields around here! New York is a big state and aside from the city itself and some other places it's actually surprisingly empty. Hell, I've lived here for like 9 years and I've never even been close to NYC! But its definitely not remote, people live and work in that national park nearby! And there's plenty of burger kings for sure. (I'd even say maybe the one 40 minutes away was the one in my town but I'm pretty sure it opened after I moved here so probably not) It's so wild I could pretty easily drive to where Rose's house would've been… crazy.

Oh, fun - it's like you're her neighbor!

If you're that local, you might be living closer to Rose's address than any other Homestuck fan on the planet. You've got to be at least in the top ten, right?

@liliflower137 asked: Another addition to the jade seer of light fakeout that I've noticed during my own reread (inspired by yours!) Remember Jade's wardrobifier? One of her possible shirt symbols was the symbol for the Light Aspect!

Hussie's Trick continues to bamboozle the unprepared.

@liliflower137 asked: After sending you a bunch of asks while reading, I'm finally caught up!! Whew I can finally stop accidentally staying up until like 5am reading your incredible analysis and being distracted at work! I'm free!! Thanks for the ride!!

Hah, this really is a serious compliment. Don't worry, I've been staying up till pretty close to 5 lately as well. That's what happens when you're gaming on a server in a US timezone!

Anonymous asked: hello ms wertsearch! i have just finished binging your entire liveblog in lieu of any meaningful way to access homestuck OR the unofficial homestuck collection (kind of a lie - i'm sure it's on the wayback machine) and i have to say you might just be the ideal homestuck reader! you analyze these characters AND this story so quickly and perfectly it is very awesome to read. i cannot wait for you to stick it out through the rest of act 6! have a wonderful day!!!

Thank you so much! As far as I'm aware, there are still a couple of unofficial mirrors of the comic floating around online. I asked around on the Discord and was provided with this link, which seems perfectly functional to me.

Anonymous asked: I just want to send a message to let you know how much I appreciate and enjoy your blog. Ive had a very rough couple of years (who hasn't, right?) and reading this blog has been such an escape. It makes me feel like I'm 13 again and reading homestuck on the school computer with my friends. You have such insightful things to say about the comic. I never really jelled with the homestuck fandom outside of my irl friends I read the comic with, so your blog is kind of like a second shot at participating in the fandom for me. I'm having so much fun. Thanks for doing this. <3

As always, messages like these are the greatest motivator I have for continuing to liveblog. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but thank you for sharing! :)

Anonymous asked: Your liveblog is So fun to read, especially when you predict plot points that are either extremely true or extremely false (like when you theorised at the very beginning that jade was genetically modified to be a sburb player! Or when [spoiler] and also [spoiler] and especially [spoiler]) Are you planning to read through your own liveblog when you've finished reading the comments to see how many things you jokingly predicted that came true? Or are you relying on asks to point out things like that?

I'm definitely reading through it when I'm done! I've even half-jokinly considered liveblogging the liveblog, but that might be a bridge too far even for me, lmao

@manorinthewoods asked: I've found another HS liveblog! 'researchhpurposes'. They've not made it through Act 5 yet, so hopefully they're spoiler-free - although, like you, they're going in only mostly blind, so there might be a stray thing here or there. Going to read through and see if there's anything extraordinary. ~LOSS (29/4/25)

(I'm noticing they *do* engage with reblogs, so without reading the whole thing, I'd say there's probably *some* spoilers. -V)

I can't wait to take a gander at some other liveblogs - but, yes, strangely enough, some of them can still spoil the comic, even if they're even farther back than I am!

@mrjocrafter asked: Once Upon a Time, a serialized live action soap opera / fantasy show with a batshit convoluted plot on par with Homestuck (i highly recommend it) has this concept called The Author, who's an individual blessed/cursed with the power to rewrite reality by literally writing in book(s), but if this power is suppressed, overpowered, or lost, the wielder is just some guy with a pen/quill. This is how I like to think of character!Hussie in Homestuck.

I've actually been watching a Once Upon a Time retrospective series on YouTube, and it's been an enjoyable watch so far. I even checked out the first couple of seasons myself - and, yes, batshit is exactly how I'd describe the average day in Storybrooke. Why the fuck wasn't it in Kingdom Hearts?

Anonymous asked: Yo so i was just rewatching Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and i was thinking since you like homestuck you should watch that if you haven't seen it already. Similar vibes. It's super excellent, it stars Elijah Wood. It did get cancelled after season 2 which sucks but each season is its own story with its own resolution. The stuff they were setting up for season 3 looked so dope tho, it's so tragic i'll never get to see it. It's the only thing that gives me the same feeling as homestuck. I don't want to like, say what it's about cuz like homestuck i think it's best to just jump in blind. If you have already seen it i'd love to hear your thoughts.

I haven't seen it myself, but I know the book it's based off. Dirk Gently shares an author with one of my favourite series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I feel like the show is probably up my alley too. Will definitely add it to the list!

Anonymous asked: Community is a sitcom about a study group at a community college. I recommend it, it's got a wit to it that I think you'd like.

I've seen a couple of clips of Community, but it didn't really click with me. That said, it's hard to judge the overall quality of a show from just a handful of clips, so I may give it another chance.

@manorinthewoods asked: There's a further benefit to the three-year time skip; it'll bring the characters roughly in line with the IRL time movement. April 2009 -> November 2011 is five months off the three-year timespan - which is sensible, since you need that time to actually write the story. Five months is. Probably a reasonable expectation, from the outset, for how long it might take to progress to the end of the timeskip - but, of course, this is a webcomic, and webcomics are very well known for taking absolutely ages to write. ~LOSS (29/4/25)

If that's true, and Hussie is timing things so that the kids emerge in November, then they're kind of playing with fire here.

I mean, committing yourself to maintain a consistent posting schedule for five months? Couldn't be me, is all I'm saying.

#full liveblog #asks #act 6

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ohandcounting · 2 months ago

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Getting The Most Out Of Deltarune Chapters 1+2+3+4: A Guided Experience.

Experience Deltarune the same way we did as it was releasing

Want to read this as a google doc instead?

If you are the rare person who heard about Deltarune (the parallel story to Undertale, by Toby Fox!) through the recent Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, this is for you. This is also a good resource for anyone that's just been out of the loop, or wants to make sure they've "seen it all" before getting to the next chapter.

It details not just what to play before Deltarune's new release content, but also has tips to make sure you don't miss anything important while getting through it without wasting time and detailing what happened between releases so you can go in with the same full experience I've had waiting for it to release for the past 7 years. The best time to get started was 2015, the second best time is now. All of it is below this read more, and it comes with only the necessary spoilers to save you some time. You can read it all in one go before starting any of the games, if you want. It's like, 10 years of stuff in here though. Take your time. If I missed anything, tell me and I'll edit it in. The best way to read this post is on my blog so you can see any of these edits. Feel free to share this around, make a video essay where you just read this off word for word, and/or repost it in any other fashion. I just want people enjoying the games! Credit is appreciated of course.

The Undertale Essentials

Go play Undertale! (you can skip any steps you've done before) It's on Steam, Xbox, Playstation, Switch. You can find android mobile ports of it pretty easily too, apparently. You can find a way to play it, I promise.

Just get to the end however you want, it largely doesn't matter what you do since a large appeal of the game is it reacting to your decisions. But if you get an encounter with no enemies, that means you've killed enough of them to activate an optional mode that skips a lot of the normal stuff in the game. So I would quit out to reload your save in that instance. You absolutely need to experience the game that started it all because a lot of Deltarune's enjoyment comes from the knowledge you'd have after playing this game first! Including the music! Don't mute the game just because you think the Ruins music is kinda mid!

Play Undertale...Again! This time, you need to be going for the True Pacifist Ending. Which just means you do all the important side quests, and don't kill anyone at all.* Don't worry about this being boring, there's actually plenty of unique dialog for a second playthrough.** If you don't super-kill The Flower™ from the trailer and all the marketing during a playthrough, he'll give you tips and hints on how to do it without having to look up a guide after the normal final boss. But really just try and maximize the dialog you see in this playthrough and you should get it. Just make sure you pour water on the blue lady after she passes out in the lava area, if you leave the screen on accident before pouring the water on her it locks you out of a side quest and you'll have to load a save from before the boss fight. If you save after this, that means you have to start all the way over...again again! *If you never killed anyone in your first playthrough and didn't lock yourself out of any important side quests, you can just hit continue to load into the room before the finale, and go back to do the side stuff you missed. **If you can't tell that the dialog is new, that means you can't complain about it being boring since you didn't remember the original dialog anyways! (This is a spiteful remark towards my biological older sister)

Play Undertale...Again Again Again! In step 1, I mentioned an optional mode that skipped a lot of the normal parts of the game. Well now you're going to do that on purpose, by not fighting an area's boss until you've exhausted the encounter limit. It's one of my favorite parts of the game to play. This can only be done by Fighting enemies until they fall to ashes before you, and stop showing up entirely. After the first area, save points start giving you an enemy count so you can't miss them on accident. Do this for the whole game, and you'll be able to reach The Final Conclusion to Undertale.

...Or...

You could watch someone else do it. (Don't click that out of curiosity if you're not at this step yet, it starts with super spoilers for the True Pacifist Ending!) This video playthrough features no commentary and uses YouTube's chapters feature, allowing you to skip through the monotonous enemy grinding if you just want to see what's new. Not everyone wants to do this playthrough, for obvious reasons.

This step might feel optional, but it's so important that I would highly recommend watching the video if you don't want to play it yourself. (You can check the end of this video yourself even if you played it, as this ending does change some things in other parts of the game!)

Congratulations! You've now finished The Undertale Essentials! (or you already did all of this like 10 years ago) Time to move on to...

The Extracurriculars!: Part 1

I don't believe any of this section is skippable if you want to really get the most out of Deltarune, despite the name. Feel free to use this time to think about Undertale even more, on a deeper level. These are events that happened between Undertale and the surprise release of Deltarune Chapter 1. Starting with...

The UNDERTALE Anniversary Q&A

Just make sure you read those instructions! It's not very long, so you could read it all in a single bathroom break.

The UNDERTALE 2nd Anniversary Alarm Clock announcement

This has since been cancelled, but it has some unique dialog for the characters found nowhere else. Again, very short.

The trailer for UNDERTALE's Switch release I guess?

This one is just funny, I really like this trailer. It didn't even release for the third anniversary on time outside of Japan. However, there is a fan favorite Exclusive Boss Fight and also Whatever This Is (<- 1/100 chance) that you'll miss if you didn't play the game on Switch! These are essential to know about going forward, as it's effectively two entirely new characters.

Here's the Exclusive Dog Shrine for the Playstation release, which is...Not Important...I'm watching this just now for the first time and it kind of sucks...badly. Okay just this one is skippable.

The Deltarune Essentials: Chapter 1

I want to take a moment to set the mood here for you. We just had the Switch release for Undertale, for the third anniversary. Nobody is expecting anything from Toby, who's now a multi-millionaire off of game sales alone (official merch comes from Fangamer, I wouldn't look at it yet though as you might run into spoilers) and if he does release anything else, we expect it to be just his "next project."

Then, the morning of October 30th, the day before Halloween, the official Undertale account tweets this and this. (<- start that one at the bottom I formatted it wrong) Then, after waiting a full 24 hours and finally downloading the new thing it greets you with THIS terrifying premise. We were terrified!

Now, after reading that, it is finally time for...

Playing Deltarune! But just chapter 1. It's free! After installing it, if it's the steam version, right click it and open up the "properties..." menu. Then go down to Betas and set it to "chapter1.2.lts.test - 11-25-24" to make sure you're playing the latest version, if you can't it's not a big deal but this does make some changes that will be in the final game. Meaning it's just a way to play the final-ish version of chapter 1+2 a bit early!

It's your first playthrough, just do whatever you like. It's only a single chapter rather than an entire game, so replaying it won't take nearly as long even if you mess something up. I will warn you though, you will need at least 90 minutes in a row after fighting the final boss of Card Castle to complete the next section that has no save points. This is, technically, for the best. You'll see. But please, for your own sake, do not start Chapter 2 yet. I promise, it's worth it.

Playing Deltarune But Just Chapter 1...Again! Or don't. While I do personally recommend playing through it again and doing the opposite of what you did the first time, that's not really important. At least not that we can tell yet. What you will want to do is load your first save file, and then making sure you have the White Ribbon armor item and watching the chapter 1 portion of this guide (it starts in partway through the video to avoid spoilers, make sure you stop the video before he starts talking about Chapter 2) to make sure you didn't miss anything important for Chapter 2! You will need to get to the ending cutscene again to make sure any changes to your file transfer to Chapter 2 properly.

This is just a general playthrough tip: When you're in town, you can just go all the way down to the bunker at the south-most area first thing. This will let you explore through the town in "layers", making it hard to miss anything that isn't hidden (the guide does mention the hidden part of the town!) Really, the most important part is just talking to sinks before anyone else in the room though.

Now that you've finished Chapter 1, it's time for...

The Extracurriculars!: Part 2

At this point, you're probably thinking to yourself "Why should I wait? Why would I not just go into the next part of the game now? Why do all these extra parts?" The simple answer is, Deltarune uses its Chapter releases to give you time to think about it. Probably, too much time, given the way some of us react to it. But this does play into its strengths as a series, giving us tidbits and mysteries to dive into. Trying to predict and figure out what's being foreshadowed and find the characters hidden and all the little interactions you could of missed. This really is the true strength of the series, and why people love talking about it. There's so much to find, there's almost always more you haven't seen.

This section covers the events that happened between chapters 1 and 2 of Deltarune. It's honestly quite a doozy, but less of it as vital as last time. Starting with:

Toby Fox talking about his thoughts on the game he's been working on since 2012.

Yeah, it turns out Deltarune started development before he even started working on Undertale. This is more or less unimportant if you don't care about Toby Fox or the creation of the game.

Honestly a lot of what's here and between the 5th Anniversary is mostly little tweets here and there. If you DO care about a little behind the scenes stuff, you'll just have to open the Toby Fox's twitter account and scroll down until you see the big blue "Windows protected your PC" images because everyone's PC's thought he was releasing a virus because he called the game "SURVEY_PROGRAM" lol. (then you can start scrolling up to see the stuff!)

Also the Chapter 1 Demo released on Switch with a very funny trailer

Seriously though, it's all just other stuff he's worked on, jokes, behind the scenes/scrapped content, or previews for chapter 2 which you're about to play anyways.

This all changed on the 5th anniversary however...

THE UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Orchestra Concert

This doesn't have much exclusive in it (excluding the music itself, of course) other than a commercial for some merchandise that was released on the 5th anniversary. There are also some piano covers from Toby Fox himself at the 3:03:00 mark, including a song you might not have heard yet. It's a very fun listen and watch, but it isn't vital if you just care about the story and characters instead of the music. Somehow. (If you played through the game muted you're doing it wrong [Unless you're deaf. Sorry.])

The UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Alarm Clock Dialog

Unlike the other alarm clock dialog, this is actually very entwined with the characters, to the point where despite it being their Undertale versions, it actually gives insight for their Deltarune versions as well. A very important read, if you ask me, and very enjoyable if you just like the characters. Not nearly as short as last time, but it's sectioned so you can come back to your spot easily if you get interrupted.

The UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Deltarune Status Update

This is more or less just talking about how far along chapter 2 was, and why it's been taking so long! Non-vital if none of that interests you, but there are some cool screenshots of Chapter 2.

Microsoft (probably) paid Toby a ton of money to release the game on Xbox for some reason lol

Again: really funny trailer. Here's most of the Exclusive Xbox Stuff (the rest can be found here, thanks @undertale-encyclopedia for having such a good pinned post) which doesn't sucks and gives more information on a few characters, even some we only meet in Deltarune!

Now for the 6th anniversary we have something very special.

The UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary SO WE PLAY deltarune CHAPTER 1 FOR SOME REASON live stream featuring 3 dads

This is really cool and important to the experience if you ask me! I genuinely recommend watching it, beginning to end, skipping nothing and keeping your eyes peeled throughout. It's not a very "normal" playthrough, and the waiting periods have exclusive songs & information.

You'll see why at the end of it, but now that you've definitely watched that entire video (it's okay if you did it at 2x speed) it's time for...

The Deltarune Essentials: Chapter 2

More spooky tweets...So Spooky... (again, bottom to top. Just like manga!)

Playing Deltarune Chapter 2! Your first playthrough, do whatever you want. There aren't any long stretches without save points this time either. I highly recommend getting at least 1 of everything you come across and keeping it safe, with your new storage ability this shouldn't be too hard. There's plenty of secrets to find too, so keep an eye out!

This will save you a lot of time though: There is a part in Chapter 2 where the party changes in some meaningful way I'm being intentionally vague about. As SOON as this happens, use the new Chapter 2 save menu to copy your save into an unused save slot (I recommend the bottom slot) and don't touch it or save over it for the rest of this playthrough.

There is a hidden B-side route, requiring either a guide to go through it or someone behind your shoulder telling you what to do. Saving at this moment will allow you to do this B-side route, without having to start the chapter over from the beginning. Having someone telling you what to do is the recommended way to do it.

Do the hidden B-side route, which is significantly shorter than a normal playthrough. If you saved in the correct spot, you should have a save file ready to go right before the branching point. Again, someone else telling you what to do is recommended. But if you need a guide for it, there's one on the wiki in the "Method" section near the top. Try not to read anything outside of it.

I recommend to stop reading the guide as soon as possible, as once the route is initiated a low-pitched sound will play whenever you successfully keep the route going. If a different sound plays, you have aborted this B-side route, meaning you need to reload your last save. If you get stuck, you can go back to the guide as necessary. Do note that you WILL need to find The Dumpster and buy from it.

After you Do-The-Thing with the Dumpster-Thing-You-Need-To-Remember-To-Equip, you'll be locked in, so you won't need to consult the guide anymore for the rest of the playthrough.

You can now watch the entire "Making PERFECT Deltarune Save files..." video beginning to end.* I originally linked it at the 6:40 mark, so you can watch what was before that to see what spoilers I skipped. If you just want the Chapter 2 guide portion, it starts at 13:30. This step of "making perfect save files" is technically skippable, but there are some REALLY good items in Chapter 2 that are VERY missable! This will make sure you get them all, maximizing your Chapters 3 & 4 experience. But this one really isn't vital if you're enough of a gamer to not need strong items for "optional" hidden bosses. Oh, and make sure you talk to sinks before people whenever possible. *if you’d rather just read a checklist, here’s one by @brixbraxium. It covers both chapters 1 & 2, so I couldn’t link it earlier. It doesn’t cover absolutely everything like the video guide, but if you just want the big points this is perfect.

The Extracurriculars!: Finale

The Finale. All the extra bits and pieces that have been dropped for us here and there as we've been waiting for the past 3 and a half years for that Trailer. You may not want to read this section until after you're done with Chapter 2! It's easily the longest section to get through. But I'm sure you've been wondering...

Who the hell is that guy from the intro that's been making those spooky tweets before chapter releases? and Part 2 of it. These videos are, of course, not gospel (something like this really can't have one) But it's a very good summary of the information we have and what the common consensus was/is for some things.

Also there's been this unused code that has a person talking the entire time lol. This actually changed between the chapter 1 and chapter 2 release. This is probably Dess? Who you may or may not even know exists at all. Hope you've been paying attention!

The UNDERTALE 7th Anniversary Deltarune Status Update

This one has content you, someone who just played Chapter 2, will actually care about! It previews content and music for chapters 3 & 4, but still effectively tells us nothing! It's awesome! More importantly though it tells you about

THE SPAMTON SWEEPSTAKES

Don't watch the video at the top. This is for your own safety. You can't handle it. Not Yet. This features tons of exclusive music, previews of stuff you already saw and other stuff that wasn't featured in the Switch 2 direct trailer, and ads that you actually SHOULD click on. Can you find all 40 hidden pages? No? Are you sure you checked the product descriptions really thoroughly? Both homepages? Okay here's the wiki page that lists them all. Really do go through them all though, there's a lot of character building that just won't happen in the game here! Also, here's a live Spamton FAQ that got buried in Fangamer's twitter for some reason. Very funny and informative.

Successfully managing to get through all 40 hidden pages, and reading all of the text on the normal pages, and the FAQ, should inoculate you to [Spamton's Essense] allowing you to now watch the video at the top of the sweepstakes page. I am not liable for any [injures] you suffer.

THE NEWSLETTERS

After this, everything became consolidated into Seasonal Newsletters (sign up here, I recommend truck freak) that are archived here on Toby Fox's website. Just click into the Newsletter archive, and scroll down to the bottom first and work your way up. Seriously, just go up through them and enjoy what we've been waiting for months apart.

These talk about everything Toby Fox has been working on and have cool stuff like interviews with the characters and also real people who work on the games! It'll cover a couple things that happened before this section too, so don't worry about me missing anything if you think I haven't mentioned it here. However, there are some Famitsu articles linked, and you may notice that when you try to read them...that you do not speak Japanese...

Here's translations by @chartcarr of pretty much every Toby Fox Japanese only interview! You can find the one's mentioned in the newsletters under the "Toby Fox's Secret Base" link if they're not on the front page. (Chartcarr is going to re-do most of these at some point. That might have already happened, check’em out again if you’ve already read them!)

Newsletter Issue #5 Has 3 Random Valentine's Day Cards. Here's All Of Them In One Page. We had to hunt these down as a community, together! It was brutal! A lot of them only went to a few people, and if those people weren't online or aware we didn't have theirs yet, we just didn't have it! It was great.

All that's left for you now is to remember to click the snowman at the bottom of Issue 8.

Don't want to miss anything once Chapters 3&4 come out? Here's a speculative checklist by @brixbraxium (again!) that predicts everything we'll need to do based on the previous chapters. If I never update this, it can't ever be spoilers! Woohoo!

Big Questions FAQ:

This Series Has Irrevocably Rewired My Brain How Do I Cope With This

Watch this. It's a great video, even if you don't have this problem. It's basically what happened to me.

How Do I Become A Theory Lord With All Of This In My Brain Now?

Here's Device Theory, by @m0llystars, it should get your gears turning just watching it. Yes all 3 parts are out. It's especially worth your time if you like thinking about this game perhaps a bit too much really.

I Really Need Specifically More Undertale Not Deltarune Right NOW!!!...Please?

Here's an Undertale exhibition by Shayy on the show "That's Never Happened Before." You can probably just google "Undertale Theory" or something though if this isn't enough.

I Need To Give This Man More Than The $1-$35 I Have Already Given Him For His Game(s), How?

Official Merch can be found here, there are also EU and JPN sites linked at the bottom of the page. Here is the Bandcamp page to Buy the digital versions of the soundtracks (also on most streaming platforms)

I Like Music Theories

Here you go!

All Of This Happened So Fast I Need Something To Help Analyze The Characters In This Largely Character Driven Series! Help?!

Here's Dorked's Undertale & Deltarune Analysis playlist who you can also find on this website running the blog @megaderping

I've Managed To Consume All Of This Before Deltarune Chapters 3 + 4 Released, Or Came Back After They Released, And I Crave More. Now What?

The biggest inspirations for Undertale and Deltarune are Earthbound, Mother 3, Live A Live, OFF, Yume Nikki, MOON: Remix RPG, Brandish, Cave Story, and the TouHou series. (and a few more not mentioned here!)

OFF The RPG is getting a re-release on Switch & Steam soon with new music (some is by Toby Fox!) and revamped combat, so look forward to that. Or you can play the original OFF for free.

Earthbound is on every Nintendo console ever. Here's an excellent Let's Play of Earthbound you can watch if you don't want to play it yourself. It will show you more than you could possibly find on your own. A great series just in general, if you need something to watch.

Here's a video on how to play Mother 3.

Live A Live can be purchased on Steam or Nintendo Switch, and is excellent. Each campaign is relatively bite sized so you'll never be stuck on anything for long. I recommend disabling tutorials and starting with Imperial China, it's very linear and simple so it's perfect to learn with. Looking up guides to make sure you don't miss anything is fine though!

Cave Story is just free.

Yume Nikke is just free.

MOON: Remix RPG is on steam and Nintendo Switch. If you're a theory head, I highly recommend playing this one through to the end.

TouHou has a very dedicated unofficial translation scene, as there is no official translation for most of the games, so you'll need to go through them to play the games unless you can read Japanese.

I don't really have anything for the Brandish series, I just absorbed information about it from a blog that's no longer active. If anyone knows a truly exceptional let's play of it or the best way to play it, I'll edit it in here!

Stuff from other people who worked with Toby Fox

Temmie Chang has made a couple short games that Toby Fox has helped with

Splendidland (Mickey’s Dicksmasher Person) has done several things, including making Franken RPG. Which is fantastic.

Space Funeral isn’t really related at all but if you liked Franken it’s an obligatory recommendation. A friend of mine played it because they just got into Deltarune and didn't want to burn out replaying it before release, then immediately recommended it to me.

Toby Fox helped with the music for Soul Of Sovereignty, by ggdg, who did some art for Undertale and got interviewed in one of the newsletters.

Fred Wood has his own website, definitely check out LOVE 3.

Taxiderby, creator of UNDERTALE RED, has their own itch page also.

I can also strongly recommend ZeroRanger & Void Stranger if you just want that feeling of digging deeper. Finding obscure interactions and details buried deep within the game, challenging but deeply rewarding in gameplay and lore discovery...Also play them both if you want to hear the music do that thing where the motif is established in the first game to give hints towards stuff in the second game in action. It's very cool.

Wait that's really how you're ending it? A random game rec where all you say is they're very cool without explaining anything about them? One of these wasn't even a question!

#Deltarune #Undertale #UtDr #Nintendo Switch 2 #<- it's a launch day title I think I can get away with that.#switch 2

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rainrot4me · 13 hours ago

Note

Hello! 🍓 I saw you guys talking about the red outfit, and I thought what it would be like if the hair was red. What do you think their reaction would be to very red hair that stands out like blood on snow?

✦ . jeff the killer

“You look like violence.”

Red hair on you would short-circuit his brain. It’s the same color that coats his knife. That stains his clothes. He’d be obsessed. Always touching it, twirling it around his finger, sniffing it while pretending he’s not.

“Damn. That red’s unnatural. You know what you look like, right? Like trouble. A whole lotta trouble.”

“You sure you weren’t made for me?”

He’d tug it during kisses. During arguments. During everything.

✦ . ticci toby

“Damn, Red? You tryna kill me?”

He’s obsessed immediately. Can’t stop looking. Can’t stop teasing you.

“It’s like—bam! There you are. Bright as h-hell. You trying to distract me on purpose, or is it just a bonus?”

“Bet I’d look go-good with that red all over my hoodie.”

He calls you Red every chance he gets, grinning like a fox who just found a rabbit that wants to be chased.

✦ . eyeless jack

“Fascinating. You’re a walking artery.”

Jack would be intrigued more than turned on—at first. Red hair is symbolic, animalistic, primal. He’d trace the strands between fingers like threads of fate.

“The color suits you.”

“How did you get it so bright? It’s… pretty.”

He’d take extra care with you, almost reverent. But make no mistake: the desire is simmering beneath his control.

✦ . masky (tim wright)

“You like standing out, huh?”

He tries to act unimpressed, but that intense red draws his eyes every time. He’d tug on a strand when you walk by. Say something rough just to mask how much it turns him on.

“It’s like waving a flag in front of a bull. Dangerous idea, sweetheart.”

“You asking to be stared at? Or just by me?”

The color becomes his fixation. If he gets possessive? He wants to be the only one who gets to see it down (preferably wrapped around his fist).

✦ . hoody (brian thomas)

“Blood in the snow.”

Hoody doesn’t say much, but red hair would haunt him. It becomes your trademark in his mind, the first thing he sees in his peripheral when you move. It makes you look unmissable. Targeted. Beautiful.

“It suits you. Loud color, quiet voice.”

“Just remember: red attracts predators.”

If anyone else stares, Hoody stares back harder. He wants the color to stay vibrant, alive. And only his.

✦ . ben drowned

“Yo, you look like a dragon or something.”

Ben loves it. Pixel red. Fire red. Boss-fight-about-to-happen red. It’s bold, and he’s all about aesthetic. He screenshots you in his mind every time you move. But he doesn’t let you get by without jabbing first.

“Hot damn. You trying to cosplay a warning sign?”

“Ten bucks says I could pull that color off better. Wanna compare?”

He’d get way too handsy, constantly tugging your hair, joking about using it as a leash. But also? Big simp energy behind the teasing.

✦ . clockwork

“Striking. I like it.”

Natalie would be the first to compliment you, but it’s never just a compliment. She sees the power in red, the way it makes you impossible to ignore. She leans in close to touch it. Brush it back. Tangle her fingers in it.

“It’s bright. Suits you.”

“What’s it for? Yourself? Or for me to look at?”

She loves it. If anyone insults it? They won’t have a jaw left.

✦ . laughing jack

“Oooh, look at you! Like a candy-cane…”

Jack thinks you look delicious. Like a gory dessert. He immediately wants to paint your lips to match your hair. He’ll yank on it mid-convo, just to see you react.

“Red suits you, sugar. Makes it easy to find you in the dark. Like a ribbon around a treat.”

“Wanna see how it looks in my hand?”

He can’t stop touching it. Or you. It turns into obsession fast.

✦ . slenderman

“Red hair. An interesting choice… but you wear it well.”

Slender sees red hair as a statement. A rebellion. An offering. He watches it gleam like fresh blood in moonlight and becomes fixated. It’s not about lust, it’s ownership.

“It makes you visible. Desired. You must crave attention.”

“You bleed beautifully. Inside and out.”

He may even start dreaming in red. Because now, it marks you.

꩜ .ᐟ

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stylish-fish · 3 months ago

Text

you know what one thing i hope gets further explored in deltarune is the dark fountains and their effects on the darkners, particularly rulers like king and queen. since we know for a fact that the fountains affected them, but it's not entirely clear how, i have written down some thoughts of my own on it. they are mostly just theories and based on what i'd find the most compelling, especially considering the characters, but i do like the ideas i have for that.

first of all, it's confirmed that the fountains did have something about them that affected the rulers. in the undertale 6th anniversary stream, toby fox said that the fountain "changed [the king's] behavior" at around 3:00:14. also, the music trio says this when you talk to them about queen:

i think that the most popular explanation i've seen for this is that the fountains had some magical properties in them that made king's and queen's personalities worse and since they spent a lot of time close to the fountains, they were easily corrupted by them. while this explanation might have been what toby was implying — we don't know — i don't exactly... feel satisfied with this take. i feel like it takes something away from their characters, so i think i'll need to explain this further.

first of all, the king. what we know about his character is that his kingdom was abandoned by the lightners and therefore he swore vengeance and decided to take matters into his own hands. in fact, this is what it says when you check him:

we see him act accordingly: he's extremely agressive towards the lightners in chapter 1 and more passive, but still spiteful towards them in chapter 2. his change of mood between the chapters is often used as proof for the fountain changing his personality, but i think it could also be credited to the total change of environment for him. in chapter 2, he no longer has any power, authority or means to carry out his revenge he was so used to having before. therefore, he sees no point in trying to act aggressive or threatening anymore. also, i'd like to point out the way his info box is worded: the inciting incident that made his heart become "cracked with hatred" wasn't the knight or the fountain appearing but instead being abandoned by the lightners. it makes it clear that he very much wanted to have revenge on lightners even before the fountain appeared, and it's not just a drive the fountain gave him.

speaking of the king's revenge, the way i see the fountain is directly related to that. i see it more as a concrete means to achieve his revenge: something that changed his behaviour because of what it meant to him, rather than directly affecting him through any magical corrupting properties. we see him idolize the knight, despite of them being 100% likely to be a lightner, and i think that's because the knight created something that matters to him. i see it this way: the king became vengeful as his kingdom was abandoned, but as a darkner, he obviously had no way to affect the light world in any way, despite having the motivation to do so. when the knight appeared and created the fountain, he finally had a chance to change the way things were for real and he was happy to take that chance.

i believe the case is similar for queen, as well. her goal is similar to the king (to cover the whole world in darkness and rule it supreme) but her motivation is completely different. while the king wants to create this kind of a world to punish the lightners, queen wants to do it because she genuinely believes it will be an ideal world for them. the fountain obviously matters to her equally as much as it does for the king: the music trio even implies that the way the fountain's creation changed her was basically making her talk about it to no end. we see her try to achieve this goal throughout chapter 2, mainly through pressuring noelle into becoming the new knight and trying to turn the rest of the lightners into her peons. most of her schemes for that are reasonably goofy, but she can be threatening at times and is still very a much an "any means necessary" character. she shows few scruples about threatening to throw berdly to the acid, mind controlling him or capturing noelle and forcing her to create new fountains. she even says this:

she acknowedges that what she's doing might not be good and it might make her an "evil villain", but she doesn't see it as a problem as she believes it's for the best of everyone. in short, she's a very utilitarian person to the extreme. also, she doesn't seem to really consider other people's perspectives before making decisions, instead being sure that she knows what's best for them. i think she had these traits before the fountain as well, being controlling, overly confident in herself and having an "end justifies the means" approach but having a goal to achieve amplified these traits and made her act on them more. she, much like the king, seems to be calmer in castle town and without her own fountain, but i think that's very much for the same reasons as for the king: she doesn't believe she can or should take over the world anymore, and therefore doesn't feel the need to act aggressive to achieve that.

other than being something concrete to achieve their goals and therefore something that matters to them, the fountain could've also been something that affected them through being a liability. on one hand, you have an incredibly powerful tool that can help you finally achieve what you've always wanted, but on the other hand, it could easily be destroyed by lightners if they wanted to and your entire world would be gone should that happen. we see especially the king act territorial over the fountain, as he correctly believes the lightners have come to seal it. it would make sense for the fear of their fountain being sealed and their world being destroyed to affect them both and make them both want to protect it more fiercely.

finally, i also just think that the fountains being something that altered the king's and queen's personalities is something that takes agency away from them. now, as darkners, they inherently have very little agency as deltarune makes very clear: their fates could be completely altered by a snap of a lightner's fingers. in fact, the fountains being created is something that was outside of their both's control as well: had the knight not done that, neither of them could've never carried out their plans. however, it's important to me that despite this, both of them still have some agency.

the king is a character who very desperately wants to have agency and power. he rejects the power dynamic between lightners and darkners, being a darkner who resists lightners and wants to create a new world where his kind is no longer oppressed by them (he also wants more than that... instead of wanting to actually get rid of the power dynamic he just wants to turn it around, having lightners be below darkners instead. essentially, fixing injustice with a different kind of injustice). queen, on the other hand, is a darkner whose motivation still very much revolves around serving lightners. she wants to make them happy. however, instead of having the lightners make choices for themselves and darkners, she wants to be the one who makes choices for them. she very likely believes she's the only one capable of making such choices and decisions: even in her introduction, she calls kris and susie "foolish children" and herself a "computer (smart)". as a computer, she believes she's intelluctually superior to the lightners, she should control them because it's good for them. in short, it's important for both king's and queen's characters that they make choices, actual choices that matter.

so in conclusion? this is the way i like to see the fountains: as a powerful thing that both king and queen saw as useful for their goals and therefore found extremely important. again, there are a lot of other possible directions this could be taken to, so i'm not entirely against the idea of this turning out to be 100% false, lol. either way, i'm interested to see what toby does with this concept in the next chapters.

#my ramblings #deltarune #queen deltarune #king deltarune #deltarune theory

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maincharactermuse · 4 days ago

Text

THE ONE WHERE SHE FLIRTED. (1)

The café opened at seven.

Y/N liked to be there by six — when the streets of Hampstead were still quiet, still belonged to the foxes and delivery vans and the occasional jogger. Inside, the café was warm and quiet, her own little world slowly waking up.

She flicked on the lights, warm-hued bulbs strung across beams, soft glows from mismatched sconces. The space came to life gently. Wooden tables, each slightly different in shape and history, were paired with an eclectic mix of chairs, some thrifted, some inherited, none boring. Plants trailed from shelves and hung in hand-tied macramé, their leaves glossy from her near-religious watering schedule. The walls bore hand-drawn chalk art and framed polaroids from over the years - regulars, staff birthdays, someone’s dog that had become a café mascot.

This place was hers.

She’d built it from scratch, scraped together savings, worked long hours, painted every wall herself. After the accident - after the grief had nearly consumed her - this café had been her lifeline. Every batch of sourdough, every grind of coffee beans, every song that played from the vintage speaker tucked behind the counter: it all meant something. This was her heart stitched into bricks and mortar.

“Morning, boss,” came Ryan’s voice, already halfway through steaming milk as if he owned the place… which, to be fair, he sometimes acted like he did.

“Morning, Ry. You beat me?”

“I slept with a barista last night and had to sneak out early anyway. Figured I’d make myself useful.”

Y/N laughed. “You’re impossible.”

“I’m charming,” Ryan corrected. “And I make a mean oat flat white.”

Jules had already started banging pans in the kitchen, her signature cinnamon buns baking up warm and sticky. Toby, hood up and earbuds in, was unstacking chairs and pretending not to hear Ryan singing along to Stevie Nicks.

It was shaping up to be a good day.

———————————————————————————

The morning rush came in waves with joggers and freelancers, mums with prams, a local poet who always asked for hot water with lemon and then stayed for hours writing in the corner.

The bell above the door jingled, low, familiar, and Y/N didn’t even glance up at first. She was focused on the group order in front of her: two cappuccinos, one chai, an oat cortado with extra cinnamon. It was muscle memory by now, her hands moving with practiced ease.

But then she felt it - that subtle shift. A stillness, just behind the usual hum of the café. Not dramatic. Just… different.

She looked up.

The man who had walked in stood just inside the doorway, shoulders slightly hunched like someone trying not to draw attention but somehow doing exactly that. He wore a simple black coat, dark sunglasses, and a beanie pulled low over his curls. Not that tall, but his presence filled the room like warmth flooding in through a window cracked just open.

He glanced around, then made his way to the counter.

“Hi,” he said, voice soft. “Could I just get a flat white, please?”

“Just a flat white?” she asked, brow raised playfully.

He smiled faintly. “Unless you’re telling me I’ve made a mistake.”

“Well, it’s not wrong, per se, but it’s a little… safe.”

He huffed a quiet laugh. “Is this how you treat all your customers? Shame their drink orders?”

“Only the ones who seem like they can take it.”

He tilted his head slightly, amused. “I’ll brave the judgement.”

She grabbed a cup. “Name for the order?”

He hesitated for half a beat. “Harry.”

She nodded. “Alright, Harry. Let’s get you something barely passable.”

Behind her, Ryan leaned against the pastry case, arms crossed, silently watching the whole interaction with an eyebrow halfway to heaven. But he didn’t say anything. Not yet.

As she started the machine, Y/N noticed the man, Harry, glancing around the café. His eyes lingered on the corner table where sunlight pooled in a perfect golden wash across the reclaimed wood.

“That one,” she said, nodding toward it, “gets the best light until about eleven.”

He looked back at her, eyes curious behind the sunglasses. “Good to know. Is it reserved?”

“For people with excellent taste in natural lighting? Yes.”

His smile widened. “And judgmental baristas?”

“Also yes.”

She passed him the coffee, a real one, actually good, and their fingers brushed just slightly. Not enough to mean anything, but enough to notice.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Try not to spill it,” she teased. “The seat might be perfect but the tables are uneven.”

“I’ll live dangerously.”

He turned and made his way to the corner table, and as he settled in, the light hit him just right - soft and gold and quiet.

Y/N blinked a little, feeling like the air had shifted again.

Behind her, Ryan cleared his throat.

She turned.

“What?”

“Was that you flirting?” he asked, completely deadpan.

“Flirting? No. I don’t flirt.”

Ryan scoffed. “Babe. You flirted. You did the eyebrow thing. You told him his drink was boring. That’s textbook Y/N banter-flirting.”

“I was serving a customer,” she insisted.

“Call it what you want, but that was banter and blushes, babe. Banter. And. Blushes.”

“I did not blush.”

“You’re blushing now.”

She grabbed a cloth and chucked it at his shoulder. “Go do the dishes with Jules.”

Ryan grinned and sauntered off. “Love is in the air!” he sang on the way to the back.

Toby, still arranging chairs near the front, looked up and offered dryly, “That was definitely flirting.”

She pointed a warning finger. “This is your second week. Be kind.”

He shrugged. “Just saying. You never tease anyone who orders a flat white unless they’re hot.”

Y/N’s face flared warmer than she wanted to admit. “Go restock the napkins or something.”

———————————————————————————

As the hour passed, the café settled into its morning rhythm. Harry stayed tucked into his corner, writing in a notebook, occasionally sipping his coffee with quiet satisfaction.

And just before he left, he came back to the counter.

“That was genuinely one of the best coffees I’ve had in a while,” he said.

“Well,” she replied, arms crossed over her apron, “next time maybe you’ll order something more adventurous. Give me a challenge.”

He smiled again, tucking the notebook under his arm. “I’ll try to impress you.”

“Tall order.”

He lifted the cup slightly in a mock toast. “Thanks again. For the recommendation… and the abuse.”

“My pleasure.”

And just like that, he slipped out the door and the bell jingled behind him.

The bell jingled behind him.

Y/N stared at the space where he’d stood, a little too long.

Then Ryan’s voice came from the back, sing-song and smug: “Told you.”

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