#except for chara. they're not available

[existencebringsonlypain]

dreemur hugs!

Tag game!

Tagging: @kid-az @para-cera-therium @dar1asp1n3lk1ss3r

If you aren't tagged but you see this on your dash, I'm hugging you too!

[deltaruminations]

undecided if i'll do a full writeup about this with Actual Evidence And Stuff eventually, but i feel pretty strongly that Kris is better understood as the Deltarune equivalent of the First Fallen Human (FFH)/Chara Undertale than as equivalent to Frisk or some combination of the two. partly because it just makes the most immediate sense (they're Asriel's adopted human sibling with emotional problems. come on) but also because like... if this is a universe where Asriel gets to be alive and experience growing up, isn't it only fair that the FFH/Chara gets that chance too?

like, DR is this alternate universe where we get to see every (well, sort of, more on that later) Major Character from Undertale in a new context. based on what we've seen, we know that they're all fundamentally based on the same "model" in Deltarune as they were in Undertale -- the context of their lives, and the options available to them, are just different here.¹

NarraChara Theory (NCT) aside,² the FFH was the one Major(!!!!) Character in Undertale who didn't really get a chance to tell their own story (or at least do so in an explicit way). players who don't finish No Mercy will never even "meet" them directly; to most players, Chara is little more than someone else's experiences and memories.

with that in mind, i feel like creating a very obviously Chara-shaped hole in the fabric of Deltarune's universe, one that correlates pretty closely to a life they didn't get to live in Undertale, and filling it with the "model" of Frisk instead just kind of... erases Chara, I guess? and having Kris be a combo of the two diminishes Chara & Frisk and undermines the whole deal of them being separate people.

not that it's unthinkable that this choice could have been made, but to me it doesn't really feel like a meaningful choice. i have a hard time imagining what that choice would be saying beyond something kind of vaguely cynical, and that doesn't really feel consistent for how these stories have been written thus far. Frisk already has their story in Undertale, we already love Frisk, and we already gave them the best outcome we could. it feels pointlessly cruel, to me, to force them into the role of this honestly pretty troubled teen, with a difficult healing journey ahead of them, when there's clearly another character in the repertoire who better matches this role and would benefit from this kind of journey more than anyone else.

anyway i don't necessarily think Deltarune/Toby is ever going to explicitly state Oh By The Way This Kid Is Actually Who Chara Undertale Would Be In This Context, and clearly Kris as a character and Deltarune more broadly are intended to explore a whole, whole lot more ideas than just Hows Stuff Relate To That Other Game. but I do think some of Toby's choices for Kris might be in conversation with his choices for the FFH in Undertale and how those choices impact how we end up feeling about them.

in Undertale, Chara has a voice, but depending on how you feel about NCT, that voice is either mostly limited to the darkest possible manifestation of their character, or it's so subtle that it's commonly overlooked or even disregarded except when they're at their worst. Kris's lack of an explicit "voice" (so far) and complicated relationship with player control begs us to read between the lines about who they are and how our influence affects them in a way that's much harder to ignore. after all, we have well-accepted precedent for understanding a "vessel" whose voice we can't hear.

i also think this is partly why Kris's name and sprite call to mind Frisk's.³ it's not to suggest that they are literally equivalents of one another; it's to get us in the mindset of treating them in the same way as we treat Frisk, to pay attention to the ways in which they do and don't exercise their agency and consider what it means about them.

if we can come to forgive or at least understand Flowey/God of Hyperdeath Asriel after learning who he was and how his situation shaped him, how would seeing Chara from a different angle affect how we think about them? would we reconsider how much our influence affects what we see of them?

i think this might be partly why Asriel isn't really present so far in Deltarune. IMO, having him be at college isn't just Toby Epic Trolling The Fans Because He's A Mercurial Trickster God. i think it's Toby saying, "hey, there was someone you didn't get a chance to make friends with before. maybe you should spend a little time with them instead." and that's a choice that does feel meaningful to me, you know?

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¹ freaking universe-hopping skelebros sort of aside, if we assume they're From Deltarune, but we could still argue that changing contexts will probably impact their personalities across DR & UT, just in a way that involves continuity of their same characters instead of separate instances I GUESS LOL???? also yeah, take any thoughts you may be having about about Doctor Mister Gaster "The Blaster" and set them somewhere that is not here for a little while because this post isn't about him OK!!!!!!

² I personally like to think NarraChara Real and may have been intended to stand in as their "voice," but even if it WAS intentional, the fact that Chara As Diegetic Narrator 1) has many skeptics (including me, originally) and can be (and often is) disputed with pretty reasonable arguments and also 2) isn't picked up on by most players in the first place (again, including me) means it's too subtle on its own to outweigh the popular fanon opinion that chara has always been an Evil Demon Murder Baby and not just like. a troubled but fundamentally well-meaning kid who just needed some direction after making the worst mistake of their entire life. and i have to imagine Toby would have thoughts he might like to explore about that also fwiw i don't actually think NarraChara has to be "real" for there to still be room for more nuanced/compassionate readings of Chara just based on the explicit info we have about them lol. and also, it's entirely possible that chara is meant to be viewed unsympathetically in UT, and DR is meant to play on that. I Don't Know OK!!!!!!

³ this is aside from the fact that I'm not convinced the No Mercy Chara sprite is really supposed to be taken as like, the literal canon representation of how they looked when alive, just like how "Chara" probably isn't meant to be understood as their literal true name in-universe (it's their True Name in a metanarrative sense -- like, if you know to input this name, then it's because you know enough about this game to know that the name you're putting in represents neither the body you control nor you, the player; as well as that "Chara" is the placeholder name this character would have had in development -- i.e., before any players had "called their name"). if i had to guess, i'd say Toby probably made No Mercy Chara look like that as a way to make it as clear as possible that the person talking to us isn't Frisk. (i wanna point out the unused Waterfall reflection sprite here -- this could be seen as an easter egg showing that Kris and Frisk were meant to be equivalent, yeah, but contextually I think it makes just as much (if not more) sense for it to just be seen as a scrapped indicator that chara was hitching a ride. in that case, this may have been the design we were originally meant to see at the end of No Mercy. what im trying to say here is toby is human and making choices based on what he thinks are the best options at the time and it's reasonable to think he might just change his mind about things like what an undead child looks like as the options change lol)

[icharchivist]

So is there a more effective way of grinding EMP than just killing slimes? I haven't set out to focus on it yet but it feels like raising EMP level takes forever

arf, unfortunately there's only just, massive grindings. EMP is especially a reward from grinding hard everywhere else than something i've seen people grind for - but yeah if you want to maximize your EMP it's with slime blasting

though, when you kill slimes there's just a few tips that can help

1) Activate the Boost to EXP Earned in the Journey Drop's shop

2) put this weapon from Rise of the Beasts in your grid (better if uncapped but even one copy gives you a boost)

Also if you want to double your efficiency while doing so grab also those weapon in RotB:

Especially Neptune's Trident, since Septian Burner is more recommanded for like, Angel Halo or other similar quests to look for mats (like the various trials) - basically when you know your grid won't take a power hit from it

NOTE that all of those weapons are available from getting them from the badges, so you don't have to spend pendant in the shop for them unless you are in dire need to.

Similarly, not for EMP but still in optimizing, use this weapon in your slime blasting grid:

you should have got it from doing the Halloween Quests. The "Chance to get candy" are basically EXP boosts that can be used to level up a character who hasn't been maxed yet

3) if your grid can allow it/if you have good summons to carry you and everything, don't hesitate to take the summons with EXP drop+ in the "Other" tab like Nobiyo or the Black/White Rabbit (Nobiyois an event summon, the Rabbits are both available to get in the Arcarum's shop, if you want to optimize yourself with them)

EMP raising IS meant to take forever and you'll only really get more by just keep blasting and usually it's better to not focus on it much. For the levels they're shared between various units so if you have multiple version of one character the level will go up faster, but for the points, it's per unit and it's just, using it a lot.

Personally for instance i have a very specific Slime Blasting team that takes into account all i said (though i use Bahamut rather than a EXP+ Summon bc i prefer to do quick multiple times than long for a little bit more rewards), and i keep underleveled characters in my team EXCEPT for Percival that never leaves my team. So when i blast slimes to level up the others chara Percival always get EMPs.

that's all i can really say ^^"

good luck with your EMP grinding!!

[mochiajclayne]

MORE HEADCANONS BECAUSE I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS AU LMAO

- Chara and Sasuke has a routine of some sorts when dealing with persistent (to the point of obsessive) admirers. Since Chara is bad at rejection, Sasuke would substitute for him and do it relentlessly--bluntly and glaring at them for good measure, sometimes idle threats if they're still persistent.

- The scariest thing is that Chara, if serious, behaves exactly like Sasuke. No one can tell them apart except Naruto (who insist on an obvious distinction but can't point it out) and Menma (who only look at their eyes and easily point Sasuke because he keeps on looking directly at his twin while Chara's eyes is looking anywhere except meeting his).

- Itachi is the best brother to the Uchiha twins in this AU. Chara actually started giving roses to girls because Itachi gave him one as a kid while he was tending to the garden and explained that it's a token of appreciation given to people you like (in similar fashion, Sasuke ate freshly picked tomatoes from that same garden and it became his favorite food ever since).

- The Uchiha and Uzumaki families are friends. Mikoto and Kushina meet up once in a while to discuss gardening, exchange recipes, and gossip about their kids' romantic life (lol). They are the wingman for Naru and Sasu (they always make them do errands together and teasing their respective son is so fun on the same line that it's frustrating to witness them pining).

- Minato and Fugaku are involved in local politics, being mayor and vice mayor respectively.

- The Uchiha also manages the local shrine/temple (famous for its ceremony dedicated to the New Year, among other rites) (and Chara loves them).

- Chara and Menma dating is a big shocker to both families and up until this day, no one knew when they started dating and how it happened (when asked, Menma would always respond with "it is what it is").

- Sasuke knows though because he was there when it happened. Naruto is still prying the truth from him (to no avail but Naruto is equally stubborn as Sasuke is).

- Chara actually has a portion in their garden and it's only filled with flowers. Mikoto would give him advices and Kushina (who is good friends with the Yamanaka) would give him free seeds. Itachi gave him a book of flower meanings for Christmas and he reads it religiously.

- Sasuke and Menma shares the same hobby: reading. Sasuke likes mystery novels while Menma likes thriller in his mystery novels. Their message thread is full of book recommendations and book reviews.

- Chara reads shojo and Naruto reads shounen. Their message thread is about introspection and analysis (and their convo about Menma and Sasuke) (also plants because Nart likes them).

- Naruto and Sasuke's message thread is full of links and screenshots (big "I know you like this so I sent this to you" energy). They bicker on text, too. However, they usually call because Naruto talks a lot and Sasuke likes listening to him (he keeps on denying this).

- Chara and Menma talk a lot more (serious) on text. They talk in person, too, until Chara goes off to flirt.

- The Uzumaki owns a family restaurant and Menma and Naruto spends the rest of the summer working there. Sasuke specifically like their tomato soup and Chara stops by to shamelessly flirt with Menma (who is usually the cashier) while waiting for his order.

- MIGHT ADD SOME IDEAS TO THIS AU AGAIN SKSJSKSJ IT KEEPS ON EXPANDING

The blame goes to Road to Ninja universe (both movie and Tenten's infinite tsukuyomi dream) and I know Menma looks like Naruto and Sasuke's kid but hear me out:

Naruto and Menma as twins then falling in love with twin brothers Charasuke and Sasuke but set in modern au.

- Honestly everyone is alive because Nart and Sauce are traumatized enough in canon.

- Naruto and Sasuke definitely established relationship because they're whipped for each other (but it took them years to be boyfriends because these two took slow burn and ran away with it).

- Naruto and Menma are the best twins and in this au, I will...

Let's be honest though, Menma can't handle Naruto's randomness all the time but he will always lend an ear to listen to Naruto's all-time hyperfixation: Sasuke.

- Chara and Sasuke actually gets along contrary to everyone's belief. And Chara isn't dumb by all means but he's pretty much a himbo womanizer.

- Sasuke and Menma are friends and Naruto always say they do "smart stuffs" together but little did he know that Menma talks about Chara to Sasuke all the time aka complain about his flirty shenanigans aka Chara's nonstop attempts on kissing him.

- Menma rants calmly and state the problem directly to Sasuke but would go all out rambling to Naruto and he has a scheduled rant at 9 pm sharp.

- Chara is pretty much confident with his kissing skills and sexuality and Menma is really tense and serious all the time so a kiss will definitely ease the tension (he is just a helpful bro 👀).

- Sasuke is pretty much convinced that Menma likes Chara but doesn't comment on that. Naruto, on the other hand, considers the possibility because double dates, sue him for finding that wholesome.

- Charasuke, for the life of him, can't tell Naruto and Menma apart to the point that Chara kissed Naruto by mistake and Sasuke punched him almost immediately.

Chara, nursing his punched jaw: How can you tell them apart?

Sasuke, glaring: One of them is my boyfriend.

Chara: THAT'S NOT HELPFUL AT ALL.

- Chara wouldn't skip on dates but will always turn them down to spend time with his family, especially when traditions are in concern. Only a few people knows this side of Chara (aka his entire family).

- Chara fell first but Menma fell harder. (In actuality, they're both whipped but Menma is better at holding it in while Chara is literally gestures, feelings, and sweet nothings.)

- Chara confessed first because excuse you, romance is his area of expertise. Menma is skeptical due to obvious reasons.

- Chara is pretty much in love with everyone like how Naruto is good to all people and Sasuke and Menma share a silent agreement to that.

- LISTEN. Menma and Sasuke as the protective twin.

- But hear me out: Chara flirting with girls so that they won't fawn over Sasuke (since the other feels uncomfortable with it).

- Menma being the #1 Naruto defender because people like to compare both of them and Menma calls bullshit because Naruto might not learn in a conventional way but it doesn't mean, he's automatically dumb.

- OKAY I SHOULD STOP HERE LMAO