#kris and their magic knife

[lynxgriffin]

Eldritchrune - Kris's Birthday

Story Setup Eldritchrune Masterpost

Close to the end of their journey, Kris has a small celebration with the beasts, and reflects some on both their past with their brother, and the light world ahead.

(Reminder that I draw these scenes out of chronological order!)

YAY managed to get another part done! This one won the poll, so had to go with it first! At least Kris finally gets a nice, happy moment with all the beasts they've recruited!

Alt text under the read more:

Page 1

Panel 1 - Wide opening shot. Kris sits facing Ralsei, with the rest of the Fun Gang surrounding them. The Gang now consists of Susie, Noelle, Lancer, Berdly, Catti and Jockington, and Monster Kid. The Fun Gang have set up camp in a hollow crater, the landscape around them rocky and barren. Everyone is lit solely by the glow of a campfire in the center of the crater. Ralsei addresses Kris: “Get plenty of rest, Kris.”

Panel 2 - Medium shot of Kris and Ralsei, still across from each other with the fire between them. Ralsei continues, “Tomorrow we face the last bound god before the Dark Fountain…it’ll be our toughest fight yet!” Kris responds, “Yes. I understand.” They stare into the fire.

Panel 3 - Closeup on a happy Ralsei as he holds up one claw. “And since we’re so close to the end…”

Panel 4 - “...I thought I’d conjure up a special surprise for you!” Ralsei moves his claws, and magically congeals a plate, food and frosting all together in a swirling center.

Panel 5 - Ralsei holds up the finished object in front of the fire: a small frosted cake, topped with strawberries. “SURPRISE! Happy birthday, Kris!” he declares with a broad smile.

Page 2

Panel 1 - Ralsei holds the cake up in the foreground. Kris looks at it in surprise. Behind them, Susie and Noelle look on with interest. “Wow! Is today really your birthday, Kris?” Noelle asks.

Panel 2 - Closeup on Kris. They scratch at their head in confusion, and respond, “I… Is it? I’ve lost track of the days since arriving here…”

Panel 3 - Medium shot as Ralsei happily hands the cake to Kris, who takes it. He says, “Well, I’m not sure if it’s exactly today. But by my estimates you should have had one by now! So now is as good a time as any!”

Panel 4 - A wider upshot as Kris takes the cake, and the beasts watch. Berdly leans in closer, curious, and asks, “What do you humans do on these ‘birth-days,’ as you call them?”

Kris replies, “Well, typically…you eat cake, or some other sweet treat, and you spend time with your friends and family.”

Panel 5 - Kris stares into the fire again, and continues, “And usually, they also give you gifts.” Behind them, as if in abstract shadow, is an image of a younger Kris surrounded by the other Dreemurrs, all smiling. It seems to be a memory of a past birthday.

Page 3

Panel 1 - Closeup of Kris still looking into the fire, their eyes hidden by their hair. A shadow seems to fall over them. The memories of happier times still hurt.

Panel 2 - Lancer pipes up: “Ya got the cake and friends part right here!” Kris turns to see Lancer and Susie smiling at them, and gives a small smile back.

Panel 3 - Noelle leans in over Kris as well, her head taking up most of the panel. She says, “Sorry, we don’t have any gifts for you…but two out of three isn’t bad, right?”

Kris’s smile broadens a little, and they reply, “No, it is not.”

Panel 4 - Kris pulls out a smaller knife…

Panel 5 - And in a shot focused on the cake, begins to slice the cake into equal pieces with the knife.

Panel 6 - Kris offers a piece to Catti, who happily licks it up. “Tasty.”

Panel 7 - Kris tosses a piece across the fire to Berdly, who catches it in his mouth. “Thanks, Kris!”

Panel 8 - Kris turns around and tosses another piece into Susie’s open jaws. “Hell yeah, cake!” she says, excited.

Page 4

Panel 1 - A wide shot as the whole Fun Gang sit around the fire, enjoying their cake slices, small as they are. Kris works on eating their own slice. Noelle says, “That was good! …Do you think there’ll be lots more cake in the light world?”

Panel 2 - Medium shot of Kris, who turns to look up at Noelle. “Yes, there are. But I would have thought you’d be interested in the humans more,” they say around a mouthful of cake.

Panel 3 - Noelle looks off to the right, and responds, “Sure, I’ll have some, if they’re soft… I don’t like the hard bits, like armor and bones.”

Panel 4 - Wider shot as Noelle leans back against Susie, snuggling into her side. “I mostly want to get to the Light World and quiet this feeling in my mind…once I do that, I’ll be happy,” She says.

Susie grins, and says, “More for me, then! I can’t wait to get to the Light World and all that food…”

Page 5

Panel 1 - Susie rests her head on the ground, and continues, “I’m gonna eat up all those humans and finally feel full!” She smiles and licks her lips at the thought. Lancer sits just nearby.

Panel 2 - Wider shot of all the beasts around the fire. Across from Susie, sitting in a loaf, Catti says “Greedy.”

“Oh come on, like you aren’t excited for the food!” Susie responds with an annoyed look.

Panel 3 - Medium shot as Catti looks up towards the dark clouds above them, grinning broadly. Behind her, Jockington also looks Skyward, his body wiggly. Catti says, “Not just that. Open skies. Sun. Fresh smells. New magic.” Jockington adds, “It’s been, way too long since we, learned a new technique!”

Catti reiterates: “Lots of things. Looking forward to them.”

Panel 4 - Wider shot as Kris turns to Monster Kid, who’s been quiet this whole time. They’re mostly buried underground, but their tail is currently out of their mouth. Kris asks them, “You’re looking forward to leaving the Dark World, too?” They reply, “Y-yeah, Kris! I wanna eat some humans too, but…also wanna be someplace niver, y’know?”

Panel 5 - Closeup on Monster Kid’s face as they continue: “Here it’s really hard to find food. And it’s so dark and cold, and e-everyone’s trying to fight each other… I hate it, yo.”

Page 6 

Panel 1 - Wide downshot of the whole Fun Gang huddled together in the empty crater. The barred landscape stretches out around them. Berdly looks to the skies, and says, “Yes, it’s true. The terrain here is so bleak and devoid of sidequests.”

Panel 2 - Closeup on Berdly as he smiles, looking excited and proud. “But if the Light World has as many humans as you say, I’ll be able to max out my volume in no time!”

Panel 3 - Susie looks away and sticks out her tongue, clearly annoyed at the prospect. “Oh goody, we’re aaaall excited for that…”

Berdly, not picking up on her sarcasm, just continues to beam proudly. “And rightfully so!”

Panel 4 - Noelle nudges her enormous nose against Kris’s back, and says, “We’re all really excited to see the Light World with you, Kris.”

Kris turns back towards her slightly, and smiles. “Me too.”

Panel 5 - Kris reaches around the fire to hand the now empty plate back to Ralsei, who takes it.

Panel 6 - Ralsei makes the plate vanish into shards of nothing with a wave of his claws. “Then let’s get some rest!” he says, satisfied.

Panel 7 - The small campfire is now extinguished. Only a thin wisp of leftover smoke rises from the blackened wood and coals.

Page 7

Panel 1 - A wide shot of the crater, still at night. With the campfire out, all of the eldritch beasts are now asleep. Monster Kid is buried underground. Catti is sleeping as a loaf, with Jockington resting on her back. Berdly sleeps with his head tucked under one wing. Susie and Noelle sleep snuggled up together, with Susie’s long tail curled around them. Kris lays nestled between them, long hair and shaggy fur serving as a makeshift bed. Ralsei stands off to the side.

Panel 2 - Medium shot of Kris. They lay awake between the two beasts, staring up at the sky. They look pensive.

Panel 3 - Slightly closer, Kris looks down and to their right. Ralsei asks from offscreen: “Kris! Are you feeling all right?”

Panel 4 - Downshot of Ralsei as he looks up towards Kris. He spreads his arms out in a hopeful gesture. “I know perhaps this isn’t the sort of birthday you would have had back home, but I was hoping I did okay on such short notice…”

Panel 5 - Closeup on Kris as they close their eyes. “I just…” They take a deep sigh.

Panel 6 - Kris looks up from the makeshift bed, looking sad. “I can’t remember the first birthday I had with mom and dad and Azzy anymore.”

Page 8 

Panel 1 - Shot of the dark skies above. Thick clouds silently roll across a starless expanse. “The whole day feels like it’s completely gone.”

Panel 2 - Wider shot, with Ralsei in the foreground. He still watches Kris carefully. “Oh, I see. I suppose Seam has asked for quite a few payments from you during your time here…perhaps you sold the memory?”

Panel 3 - Closeup on Kris as they squeeze their eyes shut, trying to block out budding tears.

Panel 4 - “Yes. Likely,” they say. Kris sadly holds up their left hand above their head. Their hand is missing the pinkie finger…another payment to Seam.

Panel 5 - Closeup on Ralsei as he looks downward. “I’m sorry, Kris.”

Panel 6 - Medium shot as Kris hugs themself, still nestled in the hair and fur. “Asriel would usually get me a book he thought I’d like, and I’d complain about it, but then read it cover to cover in one night. Once I learned how to read, anyway,” they say with a small smile.

Panel 7 - Low angle shot as Kris continues to reminisce, watching the dark clouds above. “Mom and dad also always got me a square of chocolate. I don’t know how they afforded it.”

Page 9

Panel 1 - In a flashback panel, Asriel and Kris sit across from each other outdoors, each leaning against trees. Simple woods surrounded them, and a lazy river rolls by just past them. Beyond the river are a few small homes and farms from the town. Kris holds an apple, while Asriel has a book and feather pen. Both are talking, looking happy. 

Kris speaks over the flashback: “Azzy and I would go and sit by the river in the summer, and he’d point out plants and animals and tell me to give them science names. Even when I said crass or foolish ones, he wrote them down and said he would petition to get the names changed.”

Panel 2 - Closeup on Kris as they look away, the memory still feeling a bit sad to them.

Panel 3 - Closeup on Ralsei, interested and responding to the stories. “Your brother sounds like a generous soul.”

Panel 4 - Kris looks down, still sad and reminiscing. “He didn’t have to be so nice to me. Everyone said he’d leave town and go do great things.”

Panel 5 - Another flashback panel, this time in Azzy and Kris’s shared room. It looks similar to their room in canon, but much older and more bare-bones, with simple wood walls. Kris sits on the edge of their bed, listening. Asriel sits on the edge of the bed, looking pensive, his cheek resting against his hand. 

Kris continues over the flashback: “But he…he told me that he didn’t like that pressure. That I was more fun to hang around than whatever great thing the town expected him to do.”

Page 10

Panel 1 - Closeup on Ralsei. He looks on, his tattered scarf flowing behind him. A curious smile crosses his face. “The way you have spoken about him, all this time…I am so curious to meet him.”

Panel 2 - Kris nestles down into the bed of fur and hair, and shuts their eyes, drifting off to sleep at last. They mumble, “Maybe…maybe soon.”

Panel 3 - Wide shot of all the beasts, asleep in the crater. Kris finally sleeps as well, tucked between Susie and Noelle. It’s dark, and quiet. In the foreground, Ralsei remains awake and watching, his back to the camera. It’s unknown what he’s thinking.  

[jupiter-on-the-compupiter]

Kris Deltarune and Sunny OMORI: What if we were both sorta inexpressive and selectively mute (very autistic-coded), we both had A Knife and a stubborn girl with a pink color theme and family issues; and a green-themed soft kind-hearted boy who might have a bit more to do with the story than they're letting on as companions; and part of our story took place in a magical world with different designs and color palette that mirrors the real world and represents escapism related to issues with an older sibling that's not there for xyz reasons. What if going back to that world, despite being negative in the end, was a choice we constantly and consciously made to escape reality. What if we were trying to escape the real world. What if we were trying to escape ourselves.

[meloethelavendeer]

Some of my Kris headcanons because they are my second favorite character

And also just cause I need to get these down on to paper (?)

Favorite colour is grey

Some other colours they like are blue and pink

15 years old

Loves halloween

Eyes are naturally red

Their knife is a gift from catti

Sort of struggles with being human, wishes they were a monster

Loves psychological horror games, especially indie ones

Autism

Their favorite animals are rats and cats

Looooves the aesthetic of plague doctors and masks in general

Nonbinary, this is quite obvious but still

Struggles with dysphoria a bit, alot of people see them as quite masculine when they just want to be androgynous

Some outfits include all black ones with fishnets and stuff, a cute pink and blue striped dress and a some neat accesories

Has alot of outfits in their wardrobe, just reaaaaally attached to that one sweater.

100% has tried to cosplay their dark world form

Fucking hates the government

Favorite drink is apple juice

Ex Christian (or whatever castle town follows), now an athiest (maybe pagan)

Likes emotional music and classical music.

Has pulled some pretty crazy pranks before, some even getting in the local papers

"A message written in toilet paper has been found in the middle of the road this morning, it spells LIGMA"

Figured out they were nonbinary with the help of monster teen, they were quite good friends.

Loves the moon and night

100% would be bullied and called a furry in human society

Right handed

Surprisingly agile, tries their best to keep athletic but doesn't really work out

Would absolutely adore ultrakill

Just says stuff sometimes, utters random phrases that don't make much sense

Big anxiety huge anxiety suffering anxiety

Enjoys doing stuff with both their hands and feet, has learnt to play games and write using their feet.

They use this to bully noelle for having hooves (light-heartedly, of course)

Paints their nails black

Tries to do make-up but fails miserably and it makes them really fucking sad.

Loves messing with people, irritating them. One might say trolling them

Their voice is quite unique. It's rather deep but they try their best not to have it sound masculine. They often talk quietly so it doesn't really have that gravel to it.

Oh btw amab kris

Grew up on Windows seven

And the ps3 as well

As a older sibling idk how younger siblings work so like no kris and asriel headcanons

Chill with most people unless they are assholes or problematic.

Trying to grow out their hair or at least make it a bit bigger.

Really really wants piercings but toriel refuses to let them have any (asgore has promised he will do his best to get them some for their 16th birthday)

Really jealous that they can't do magic, learnt magic tricks as a result

Pansexual

Gets more real world crushes then fictional crushes

Says really morbid things sometimes as "fun facts"

Wanted to be possessed by a demon and constantly joked about it

Now that it has happened they do not enjoy it at all , and nobody believes them when they talk about it. Except maybe susie.

They do appreciate it when the player tries to do best by them. Which is rare.

They still want us gone though.

Always talks about being evil but doesn't really want to hurt anybody, they care alot about their friends.

Yeah, that's all. A lot of these are projections, tbh but I'm glad I got it down.

[lobyuslucas]

I like to imagine TF2 with characters from indie games

If I were to list just my favorites it would be something like:

Aubrey (OMORI) as Scout

Peppino (Pizza Tower) as Soldier

Sunny (OMORI) as Pyro

Anton (AntonBlast/AntonBall) as Demoman

Susie (Deltarune) as Heavy

Gerome (Pizza Tower) as Engineer

Hero (OMORI) as Medic

Kris (Deltarune) as Sniper

Chara (Undertale) as Spy

OBS:

to make the joke: "no, that would be your mother", there would be a romantic relationship between Chara and Sunny, since Aubrey has maternal problems and wouldn't even care

Chara was going to call Sunny "Ma Tarte Au Chocolat", instead of "Ma Petite Chou-Fleur", and their theme was going to be a romantic and French version of Mari's DUET

considering Soldier and Demoman's relationship of friendship and hate, Peppino would be a Soldier and Anton would be a Demoman, since the two are from two "WarioLand-Like", Anton is an alcoholic demolisher and the case of Peppino's "headcanon" being a war veteran

Thousand March, could have Rocket Jump Waltz leimotifs

The most ironic thing about Chara and Sunny dating is that the Spy hates the Pyro because he can't escape the flames.

Some Domination Dialogues:

Peppino dominating Kris:

I will send my condolences to your reindeer wife

This is no longer your fantasies of magic in an RPG, this is WAR, and I love it

Chara dominating Aubrey:

Can I hear your headphones? "This is Aubrey, I hate Valentine's Day, father figures make me cry"...wow, is it over yet?

Well, Time to visit your sunshine

Kris dominating Hero:

Ah sorry nurse, I confused you with someone fearsome like your corpse girlfriend

Too slow, domestic cook

Aubrey dominating Anton:

try to ballin' that, you drunk chucklenuts

Let me send you back to Satan, you walking bomb stinking of rotten lard

Susie dominating Sunny:

You can't burn me, I'm made of pure leather

You're going to have to burn more of this oil here, antisocial, because I'm not feeling the power of this lighter

Gerome dominating Chara:

I just kicked your camouflaged ass back into the ground like a mule, you brat

Did your goat mother never teach you not to use a knife as a toy?

Anton dominating Susie:

Your leather will make a great demolition jacket

Barney & Friends were not good examples for you are playing with a Minigun with the pros

Sunny dominating Peppino (without the Pyro mask)

I was avoiding being offensive but it's better to treat your cholesterol before launching rockets

I didn't even need to dominate you, putting ketchup on the pizza would make you freak out

I'm open to new ideas in the comments

[zoebelladona]

fics by crowstyping (that's me!) 🌿

PERCY JACKSON

arkadia is gone: broken trio lycanthrope au. in which it is lykaon instead of kronos.

kyparissos, run! kyparissos, cry: novelisation of thalia's death

pointed north: au about my ocs, campers luke's age post-battle of manhattan. pov my son of apollo oc with mommy issues and psychosexual problems.

HIS DARK MATERIALS (follow @dximonions)

apple heart: narnia/hdm crossover. lyra belacqua x lucy pevensie one-shots collection.

bauble: a tony costa x lyra belacqua flash fic.

it's a long way out to reach the sea (but i'm sure i'll find you waiting there for me): au where lyra is not captured at the end of the subtle knife. lyra and will play in the ocean of another world.

paradise dropped: high school/small town au. panjava. will has a crush on lyra belacqua, they sit in the park and drink wine, talking about prophecies.

symbol no.14: bird: pre-the secret commonwealth fix-it where lyra and pantalaimon talk things out instead of letting it fester.

this peppermint winter: written post-s1 finale. christmas special about lyra trying to make the holidays feel special despite everything she went through.

novaturient: post-the amber spyglass lyra realises that while she might love will she wasn't in love with him.

within walls: human experiments but with dæmons

SHAPESHIFTER AU

the influence stars have: the lion king except it's humans who can shapeshift into animals

anatomy of an edelweiss flower: the secret of nimh except it's humans who can shapeshift into animals

《 possibly upcoming 》

power outage [ pjo / one-shot ]: throne room scene in tlo except thalia is there

lightning in a bottle [ pjo / multichap ]: au where luke does not join kronos. when thalia's tree is poisoned luke offers himself as volunteer to go on the quest for the golden fleece in an attempt to save her.

lichtenberg figures [ pjo / multichap ]: au where thalia comes back her actual age.

fixed star [ deltarune / one-shot? ]: following the events of the snowgrave route, instead of opening a new dark world kris goes to noelle and explains the situation. they think they might have a chance to find dess if they work together.

smile to charge, hug to cast [ pjo / multichap? ]: my will solace and lou ellen are besties manifesto. backstory stuff and how they fared during the events of pjo

supernova [ deltarune / one-shot ]: december holiday is missing. two kids try to find her.

bury me in the lake i swam when i was a child [ merlin / two-shot? ]: freya is not dead. she and merlin got married, he visits when he can. he brings her flowers.

amphibious [ merlin / one-shot ]: merlin can think of no one better to look after aithusa than the lady of the lake.

thaw & foredawn [ barbie / multichap ]: i rewrite magic of the pegasus but i let annika say fuck

dark age [ loz / one-shot ]: totk being the "beginning" of the timeline makes me angry so i'm novelising a theory i saw refuting that

how terrifying to be aglow [ loz / multichap ]: totk + ss remix where i do my own take of the imprisoning war from skyward sword using tears of the kingdom worldbuilding. aka, hylia and the original hero are zonai

we'll be dead in the water [ thg / multichap ]: welcome to the 73rd hunger games! fanfic quality version of the ongoing rp between myself and @on-the-river-lethe. for more check out @laberinthos

waking up the giants [ tlg / multichap ]: my version of the backstory of the dead civilisation in the last guardian

wearing our remains [ trc / multichap ]: my adam/blue/noah manifesto + au where i remix trc to Not include gansey and ronan. die mad about it

[parniathedevil]

•KRIS DREEMURR•

Age: 16-20

Gender: non-binary/male

Pronouns: He/they

Orientation: Heterosexual/genderfluid

Color magic: red

MBTI: ISTP

-Likes:

-sharm objects

-anime and movie

-toriel call them "Mama's baby"

-sibling

-Dislikes:

-blue color

-His soul

-insects "especially flies"

Extra info:

-He is Frisk's older blood brother and the pair are orphans

-He loves brain games, including dominoes, and plays with Asriel

-He likes cold and sour foods very much and lacks sweetness in his body

-He has a child like 7 depression and because he was an orphan, he was mocked, so he hurts himself with a knife

-He has a big crush on Noelle Holiday

[Dark World Custom] wip

[leonsleftbicep]

posting this while on the brink of falling asleep

@eepymonstrr i have finished the outline and stuff for the dnd x sleep token thing.

i put to much work into this and its not even drawn yet because i had to flesh out the characters first before drawing them.

this is is my notes in text form with some additions. enjoy this till i can actually draw, i do not have time nor energy at the moment. very sorry.

Elf Druid Vessel - 

White long curly hair, gray skin, smoke markings, freckles, some other markings, the deer womb tat, claws. Why a druid? He was abandoned in the forest by his elder. He seemed to be too quiet and almost depressed to the others, he was not attractive to the humans like all the other elves. It drove his elders to abandon him and call him a monster, a creature, not worthy of love. By anyone. He encountered Sleep as he shivered and slept on the moss covered forest floor. Sleep asked if they could be able to save him, let him be free. in return worship Sleep and spread his word and create a collective. After that vessel awoke in a cottage being taken care of by a smoke like creature that had tentacles and eyes in place of a face shrouded in a cloak. The same cloak he would adopt and add to in his worship of Sleep. 

Half-Orc Ranger II -

Blue undertone gray skin with red gradient on his fingers and toes, dark hair with gray streaks at the temples, 5’7, 180 - 200 pounds, tusks that are prominent. Lots of scars as well as Sleep’s marking as a scar on his chest. Why a ranger? Hes self taught main weapons are two Kris knifes his mother gave him before he was exiled from the quiet village he got thrown out for being loud and “spawn of the enemy”  He met Vessel after almost shooting Vessel with an arrow as he was hunting.

Tiefling Rogue III -

Red skin with a black gradient on his fingers and toes, white/pale blue eyes, long black warm tone hair (most likely curly). 6”7 - 7 feet tall (not yet decided). Claws because why not  Why a rouge? He met IV while on a heist with his old party (of people also on the run). The encounter with IV was in a tavern in the middle of the town he was in at the moment. He fell into IV’s arms and was baffled at spark feeling, like something that makes him want to leave all of this behind and just find happiness. Which he did, he went on a journey to find IV after that, running into him with his new party (Vessel and II). III felt a pull and knew he was on the right path.

Dragon-Born/Human Hybrid Wizard IV -

Warm gray scales with a red and gold iridescence that is stark against his skin, 5’10, stormy blue eyes with dragons slit pupils that act a lot like a cats, dusty brown blond long mullet mohawk, a tattoo somewhere, claws because why the hell not (starting to get sleepy while writing these up) Why a wizard? He was born to a human mother and a dragon born father who plans to retire from his wizardly duties once IV has found his magical spark and is of age. Little did he know that his son would find how spark and then decide to leave the royal life forever.

im now going to go to bed

[ohandcounting]

Oblivion Theory / Pile of Snow Theory by WandyDoodles / @wandydoodles

Oblivion Theory link

It's a good read! Go read it! It's way faster than 190 pages looks like because the font is big and plenty of pictures too. Almost like reading a comic book level of difficulty to focus, I like it a lot. My specific thoughts below the read more

I think this is potentially dead on for at least the symbolism that's going on, though it's still probable to me that there is also an "in-universe" angel. I'm also not sure if I agree with the assumption that the red soul we pilot is special beyond it being a human soul either? Like, there's no reason (YET) to believe that a different human couldn't also seal fountains just from their soul being able to float around in dark worlds like ours does. (like the Susie jail escape, Ferris wheel, literally every battle, etc.) Like, they could just be a magician like those dudes who did a big magic barrier in Deltarune.

On the ending thoughts: I was going to add that Sans' could be talking about Flowey, but...No. Flowey hasn't revealed himself to anyone except us in this timeline. How the hell would he know our type if not from something that happens in DR?! I never noticed it before! Flowey does explain other dialog, like "our reports showing timelines jumping around" and what not even if you did Geno first run/on a true reset. It's why I never thought about it before.

The proposal for The Vessel being The Knight seems very, hard to believe at first. I'm still not settled on it myself, but: The Vessel could be mistaken for Kris if they throw on a hood maybe? "There's that creepy Kris going to the library. We're used to our 1 human in town!" With a lot of characters showing a knowledge on what's going to happen (like Jevil) they might just know when to go do things already without raising suspicion. Only appearing when Kris wouldn't, and/or slipping by without people seeing. It's interesting to me that they never bothered addressing that tbh. I wonder if it's just something they couldn't explain well so rather than bringing it up, they're just hoping we explain it ourselves/wait for new chapter dialog to confirm this.

I am 100% sold on the knight not wanting to end the world though, I've been calling it the "Conspiracy Theory Theory" where the Bad Guy™ is not the Bad Guy™ but rather someone trying to make us Stronger so we can help fight The Really Bad Guy™ (like Kill La Kill kind of[the 10th anniversary was recent, so it's just the only example I can think of atm.]) It gets that ridiculous name because I believe MANY characters are in on it, including Kris themselves, Ralsei, The Red Soul, The Knight, Goner Maker Sequence Voices 1 & 2, Mystery Man, Geoff, Gaster, etc. Pretty much everyone who could be except Susie.

The save file analysis is wrong I feel? When Flowey takes over the save file, that is a veteran with literal near-godlike powers who knows how to manipulate saves. He hasn't had control for 9999:99 yet, despite what the timer shows. That info could be missing for Kris because we weren't there when it was made, what we use to see save file information shows what's missing because it literally doesn't know how long Kris has had that save nor where it was made. We get to see the name because we're in their body though. Like we see empty save files, and they're just empty. After a true reset? It's just empty, just like erasing a file in Deltarune. Kris having ANY information means something more than "just to establish you as a separate entity even harder than Undertale." Especially if the cut intro of Susie trying to wake us up is still hinting towards something like a timeloop being canon. (instead of being cut because it's not longer true)

Save file part 2 break in paragraph for easier reading: It might also be because Kris doesn't have the soul they made that save with anymore, if you're a Kris Is Toy Knife Kid Equivalent Truther like me.

It also falls for the trap of thinking what Chara says at the end of genocide is strictly a metanarrative statement, not something Chara believes will be possible. In a game where characters consistently say things that apply both in and out of universe, which I've never liked. Like Flowey after restarting the game after in TPE talking to both: 1.) us in the meta, but believes he is giving his parting words to 2.) Chara IN universe.

But like everything with depth, people are gonna make mistakes. Especially mistakes they don't think are mistakes and are much simpler answers without constant "catches" and clarifications. It's kind of like explaining King Crimson to people, where I'm the only person to do it right. (not a serious statement)

They also point to Mettaton's nebulous "Ratings" when mentioning the amount of monsters in the underground, instead of the echo flower where it's stated there's literally thousands of monsters??? This is something I see people do all the time?

[the-unrelated-theorist]

A few thoughts on this:

The subject of whether Light World monsters use magic is really just as cryptic and vague as the subject of whether monsters bleed. At this point, the most definite answer anyone can give is "yes, but actually no."

Ice skating pond... did Kris fall through thin ice? Is that why there's all the water references?

"Lightbringer"- I am so glad someone pointed this out! "Lightbringer" is the literal definition of "Lucifer," and it always bugged me why Spade King calls Kris this.

The Dark World brings to life things that are hidden or lost, right? Including dreams, desires, and abilities. So if monsters can use magic in the Dark World, it would make sense that magic is just a latent ability not used or rarely used in the Light World.

Bread doesn't address this, but I will: Kris DOES have a magic stat, and their status says ACT's "don't use magic." We know Toby Fox is a troll, and that pretty much everything he puts into one of these games is gonna come back sooner or later, especially when it's fairly prominent. It's unlikely that he would point out that ACT's don't use magic, and give Kris a Magic stat in the Dark World, if Kris cannot or never will use magic.

Yes, I think Kris opening the Dark World counts as magic. I've thought of this a couple of times- if Kris can't use magic, how the heck did stabbing the ground with a plain ol' knife open a Dark World? They would have had to summon their Determination, but how did they learn to do that, in the first place? Determination is what keeps them from dying in the Dark World... Oh, wait. The whole "has Kris died before" thing....

So, if opening a Dark World qualifies as magic, then The Roaring Knight, who must live in the Light World, is also using magic. So, yes, monsters in the Light World CAN use magic.

If you read a lot of fantasy stories (for instance, I read Manta comics), you frequently come across themes of "civilized" peoples favoring religion over "barbaric" magic. Could be the same deal here.

[vexic929]

What are your OCs' favorite weapons or fighting styles? What weapons would they want to learn how to use, either for efficiency or just because they think it's cool?

Marco: prefers to sit behind the scenes and control his robots, he should probably learn at least some self-defense honestly lol

Salacia: prefers a shield and her control over water, can also use a polearm, xiphos, and bow and arrow, she'd love to learn some Atlantean fighting styles for Tuatlall <3333

Tuatlall: prefers magic, isn't much of a fan of physical combat

L'Harann: has superpowers (eye lasers best!!!) but is also good with her fists without them, she'd probably do well learning kickboxing

Experiment 929: likes to use her newfound superstrength to throw things like cars

Lea: prefers manipulating sound waves into knife-like projectiles and fighting with a bo-staff, practices (and teaches) jujutsu and taekwondo, she'd love to learn capoeira and kungfu

Megitsune: prefers fighting with dual-swords and jujutsu

Eoland: doesn't usually need to fight beyond using her superspeed, one punch at mach-2 is plenty for most people lol

Barbara: same as Eoland, she'll also do a few rounds of normal-speed boxing with Eden and Ira

Hartley: prefers to use her flute to hypnotize people to do what she needs them to or uses her robotic rats, she can throw a solid punch if she needs to but she could use some self-defense lessons also

Yǔqí: tries not to fight at all but will try to distract whatever hero is trying to stop her while her snakes finish what they need to do and make their escape

Eden: the police on Earth-63 don't really use weapons but she's a very good boxer, she'd love to learn karate as well

Ira: is also a very good boxer and he practices tai chi

Cisca: very much does not consider herself a fighter both before and after gaining her powers, though she's not opposed to using her powers to defend herself and her friends

Savitar: see Barbara

Mallorie: SPEED! FORCE! SWORDS!!!

Kal: he's literally Superman lol

Ricki: prefers her escrima sticks but is also proficient with a bo-staff, batarangs/birdarangs, shuriken, and practices kungfu, judo, taekwondo, and aikido, she'd love to have a better mastery of sword fighting

Jessie: prefers knives, particularly favors her kris, kunai, and cinquedea (and of course, the All Blades), she's also proficient with batarangs/birdarangs, shuriken, and practices muay thai, judo, and taekkyeon - although outlawed on all of Earth-63, she's also very good with projectile weapons including guns (where she got the guns, she'll never tell), she'd like to get better at archery

Tiff: prefers her bo-staff but is also proficient with batarangs/birdarangs, shuriken, and practices kendo (she was on her high school team), judo, and aikido, she'd like to get better with knives (she will die before she asks Jessie for help tho lol)

Dami: prefers their katana, is also proficient with knives, a bo-staff, batarangs/birdarangs, shuriken, and is absolutely not opposed to biting people, she also practices kungfu and muay thai and would like to learn more martial art disciplines

Gabi: prefers to turn into a tiger but her other go-to animals are gorilla, snake, bat, cat, dog, or octopus, she'd like to see if she can turn into extinct or alien animals

Laska: prefers her bow and arrow, would like to learn how to fight at close range

Piper: prefers to use her sound control for speed and defense, she'd love to learn how to use it on the offensive

Lara: practices hapkido, would like to learn other martial arts

Jisoo: prefers to use the ice side of her powers, she feels like the fire side is too dangerous but she'd definitely like to learn how to better control it

Alex: practiced qin na and fenced in high school and college

Dan: practices shuai jiao, would love to learn how to use some ancient greek weaponry

Amara: prefers her bow and arrow and fire powers, practices taekwondo, would like to get better with a sword or spear

Mendel: doesn't have any formal training but his punches are still fairly powerful and he'll also bite, he's trying desperately to get some sort of training lol

[felikatze]

got tagged by @fayesdiary for WIP wednesday and since i WAS writing today... I shall oblige. even if it's already thursday in my time. it's still wednesday somewhere in the world!

So, you get a snippet from chapter 7 of plusquam, which I worked on today. all of infinitiv proudly bears the draft name of "ACT 2 BABEY"

in exchange for me not injuring them this chapter morgan gets blackmailed instead cuz i will never let them rest <3

i respectfully tag @thanatophagency in case he wants an opportunity to show off but my usual "only do it if you wanna" applies

"Hah. And you know me so well?" As though Gerome had ever acted out of more than common courtesy - out of respect for his father's duty to the Exalt. "Morgan is dead."

"And Morgan will stay dead."

What? Lucina truly could not know of this. Of whatever game Gerome played now. He walked away from Minerva with his hands up and palms facing forward. Did he clean your blood off his axe?

"I have a preposition."

Your hand clenched around your knife. You could kill him. He's wide open. Instead, you said, "I'm listening."

"We are in the distant past, years before our time. Changing fate is what all of them want. But... it would not do to change too much."

You damn well knew that already, and it agonized you. How do you prune the bad and keep the good? How do you guarantee any of you will ever be born?

"Marth, Caeda, Michalis. All of these names, childish they may be, serve a purpose."

"What, making Owain happy?"

Gerome frowned. "Kris had a hand in this, I admit."

"Kris isn't a real hero."

"According to Kris, Kris is a 'heavily debated historical subject.'" You could hear the air-quotes on that one. Despite his nonsensical tales, both Owain and Lucina held deep passion for the past. Many an argument you snuck past in summer evenings, and you recalled, ever so distant, Gerome skulking around some of them.

"I'm not suprised," a smile crept into your voice, and you grimaced to push it back down.

"We must distance ourselves from the people of the past. We do not belong here."

"You just don't want me blabbing to your mother."

Gerome moved his hand, and you prepared to strike, but he merely massaged his temple. Much good it did him behind the mask. It's the gesture that counted. "The Cherche of this world is not my mother, and she never will be. But yes."

The Robin of this world was not your father, and never would be. Papa was long gone and Dad was buried under a mountain of flowers.

You blinked.

"And what do I gain in return? For not proclaiming your huge forehead to the high heavens?"

Where Gerome was a stick in the mud before, he truly has become even stiffer since you spoke last. And riling him up remained just as fun. You could never resist.

He scoffed. "I won't tell Marth of you."

Now it was your turn to scoff. "What should I care if she finds out?" Distant wingbeats, ever closer, beating over your heart. A grin split your face. "And what should I care if I dispose of you right here and now?"

The undead wyvern crashed into the clearing, snapping branches and bushes along the way. Its head lolled further than before, taking a loop around its neck before settling in your direction.

Gerome dodged back to evade the spray of plant matter and dirt. As you jumped atop the wyvern and readied your magic, so did he climb Minerva and take out his hand axe.

"Indeed. Perhaps I should be off to tell him now, that his dear sibling faked their death and joined the one who killed his parents."

"Indeed. Perhaps I should be off to tell him now, that his dear sibling faked their death and joined the one who killed his parents."

He would not dare. "You insignificant wretched worm. You lot play at being heroes of justice, and yet you stoop to blackmailing me. Aren't you supposed to die for me?"

As a mage, you held the advantage in the air, especially since a wyvern's resistance was much meeker than a pegasus's. The two-faced wretch could count himself lucky you did not have a wind tome on hand, but thunder would fry him well enough.

"I never participated in your play acting. Marth became my only liege once you betrayed your kin." His voice rose to carry over Minerva's liftoff, not a step behind you.

Your kin. What a riot. And yet, it told you something very important - the fools had no clue of Master Grima's face, as he had ensured.

The two of you circled over the treetops, neither attacking, neither retreating.

Gerome continued, "I am no hero and I do not pretend to be, as you pretend to be the villain. If... if saving this fleeting dream is what brings him happiness, then it is my duty as his knight to keep dreaming."

[justanother-fanficwriter]

Trese Spinoff Part 1 (NCIA agent.) (based on the Netflix adaptation.)

Genre: Action, Adventure.

Reader Profile:

Gender: Male

Age: 25/same to Alex

Relationships: Unnamed mother, Unnamed Father, Alex/Cousin, (S/N)/sister, (B/N)/Brother), Crispin and Basilio/ adopted cousins, and five more cousins (Alex's twin and her bros) just frickin research!

11:30 Am, you were at NAIA Terminal 4, a man is asleep right at the Air Asia stand. Or is he. Your job is to frame the S.P.L.A. (Supernatural Paranormal Liberation Group) a terrorist group. You go into the airport and you need to find the profile of the person you need to frame. You can't simply ask them all, so you head to the tourist information and steal an ID. You take it to question the tourists, thank god there are only a few today. The profile you need is: Scientist, Beach, Cebu Pacific. After a few interviews, you found her. You need to get a passport to get a bag to place the dead guy on the bench in. You find the identical bag and take the name of the owner. You head to the check in and try to get the passport, you need one now. But of course, the girl behind the counter isn't stupid, she wont give a passport belonging to Linda Crisencia when you literally are a dude. You need to get that lady out of there. You bought a soda and pretend to spill it next to the counter.

"oops, sorry..."

You pretend.

"Ugh! Read signs! Bulag ka?"

You get to the computer and take the duplicate passport. As you do this, your sister powers off all cameras. You manage to get the passport and you take the similar looking bag, you take it and place the body inside, but one last touch, removing the stickers. Luckily, you always bring alcohol with you. You take the stickers off and replace the bag, you get into the van with your sister and drive off.

As you drive, your sister starts to make fun of you.

"If you were smart enough, you could've just slipped the bag away from the security without making a dumb passport."

She says annoyingly.

"At least I do things planned unlike you!"

You start trash talking and roasting each other.

You arrived at HQ where you finally head to your office. You've been secretly investigating a case about a specific person named Alexandra Trese. You believe she is your cousin as you remember your family roots involved babaylan, real ones. Not dumb-ass witch doctors. The story of your mother was that she had a brother who was a babaylan. She never mentioned any other details about that brother of hers. She said that she had no powers and her only way to be a babaylan was to learn how to do healing magic. Too bad she wasn't born with this ability. But she was smart in science, she constructed a kris knife after Sinag was created (similar to Alex's) that can control atoms and form powers and create heat and could do the same things the Sinag can. Her family didn't accept her work so she ran away and continued her work. The NCIA discovered this and with the help of the NBI, they took her in and recruited and trained her. Then she became an agent where she met my dad.

Soon I heard a terrorist group is about to attack another MRT train with aswangs. You head to the coordinates.

I stood with another bunch of agents and my sister calculated the speed and trajectory of the jump I will make to land exactly in the train windows. One mistake then we all fail this mission.

"I got the calculations!"

"Make sure that's right."

You tell her. And she frowned before side eying you.

I immediately jump off the building and I landed right in the train windows causing the windows to break. I kicked the aswangs and threw them outside the train. I held the heads of two aswangs before cymbaling their heads with each other. I grapple the other before i stab him with my kris kick him to another agent that finishes him off. Your sister took her gun and shot the aswangs. The train stops at Shaw Blvd. And I got off. I realise, Alex will show up because the lack of information regarding the attacks will lead people to relate this to the Aswang Clan.

Next morning me and other agents arrived in black cars with our suits on right at the site for the attack and i was right, Alex will be there.

"Who are these guys?"

Her short haired bodyguard asks.

"Gago! They look like the frickin men in black!"

"If you put glasses on both of you, you'll look like them."

Alex replied to her long haired bodyguard.

"Let the professionals handle this!"

I told the cops.

"Who are you!? Who do you think you are!!!"

Alex asks angrily.

"The professionals."

You reply. Before heading to the scene and start convincing everyone it's just the aswang clan. You do this to reduce panick. You head back to Alex.

"Sorry for interrupting, by the way, im (y/n)! And this is by sister (s/n)."

I say while gesturing to my sister.

"Im Alexandra Trese, an asset of the Manila police in supernatural cases. These are Crispin and-"

"Let me guess the other, its ummm... Basilio?"

"Yeah, stop by my bar sometime."

For now, thats all folks!

[mrapplethorn]

Artificers that don’t use tech

One of the classes of which it doesn’t always feel like it belongs in your (or the adventure’s) world is the Artificer. Its name does not imply that though, we all know the Artificer in Dungeons and Dragons is a person that combines steampunk-esque contraptions with the magic found in most D&D worlds. An Artificer should be, according to the word’s description, a trickster or an immoral craftsman of clever devices. Confining this description to a person that uses metal contraptions to cast spells feels a bit shallow, so here are a few ideas you can use to build your next Artificer.

Art by Kris Theorin (left) and Lily Abdullina (right)

The Gingerbread Man’s Baker

Battle Smith Artificer – Cook’s Utensils

Delirious Barnsforth started out as a simple cook, working for a local noble family. Wanting more out of life, he accidently poisoned the lord and lady of the house. He fled into the forest where he met a benevolent Hag. She gave him shelter and taught him the basics of spellcasting. Delirious showed some affinity for the arcane arts, but he lacked in creativity.

Only after he discovered that there was a way to combine spellcasting with cooking did he really become a force to be reckoned with. His first ‘Steel Defender’ was a blob of dough that he somehow managed to trap a fey spirit in. These days he is known for bringing to life the famous Gingerbread Man.

How to play him

If you have spent one second on the internet, you know there are people on there that love to correct everyone that says Frankenstein when they mean Frankenstein’s Monster. Likewise, Delirious also corrects anyone that calls him anything but The Gingerbread Man’s Baker.

Every spell Baker Barnsforth casts is somehow shaped like a cook’s utensil, food, or other items you’d find in a kitchen.

Delirious, as an Artificer with the Battle Smith subclass, has a steel defender, although his is not made of steel but of dough, and in the shape of his oh-so-famous Gingerbread Man.

Art by Marcin Kulesza (left) and Dan Dossantos (right)

The Tatted Artificer

Armorer Artificer – Painter’s Supplies

Born without a shred of magic in her bones, Diana Jones studied to become an archeologist. Her interests also lied with art and painting, tattooing in particular. So, when she stumbled upon a mysterious dark fluid within a buried temple her first thought was to test it on her skin.

How to play her

Every feature, feat, spell, and ability of the Tatted Artificer is represented by a tattoo on her body. As shown in the image the spell Shadow Blade could manifest as a set of removable scimitar tattoos on your characters back.

The armor she would need to wear to gain her subclass abilities has taken the form of tattoos also.

If you play in a campaign where money has a prominent place, You and your DM have to agree on some things. Armor is a big aspect of the Armorer Artificer. Something we just replaced with tattoos. The easiest step is to keep the cost of an armor improvement but let it technically be an added tattoo.

Art by Alejandro García

The Snake Oil Salesman

High Elf Alchemist Artificer

Smoke billows from their workshop. The Healer of Harkonen goes by many names. But most people know them as Dietrich the Knife-eared Snake oil Salesman. Tall tales of their past are whispered in taverns. They speak of an elf who brought down the destruction of an ancient city with their disease-spreading elixirs. What the stories leave out however is that this simple alchemist does not work alone. They and their twin have travelled the world, fought beasts, and harvested magical components. Now they run a shop that sells miracle potions, miracle in the fact that you will never truly know what happens when drinking them.

How to play them

Dietrich or their sibling do not contribute to a fight with their physical skills. Their spells take on the form of potions, salves, and other concoctions. A fireball for example could be akin to a Molotov Cocktail.

Art by Oleksandr Kozachenko (left) and Victor Titov (right)

The Woodsman

Plasmoid/Reborn Artillerist Artificer

Once a man, the creature now only known as the Woodsman, is a hulking green figure. Raised as an orphan in a Druid Circle, his past is not well documented. His abilities are druid-like but also very alien to them. The forest is his home and the object of his protection. When provoked he breaks of pieces of himself that can act on their own and can only be described as vinelike cannons.

How to play him

The Woodsman has a lot in common with the Oath of the Ancients Paladin, you could even use the tenets of this subclass to guide you in your actions.

The spells the Woodsman casts all thematically link back to his plant-based nature.

[acertainmoshke]

In case you wanted to see the first on-page murder Shaka does:

(because I'm finally getting around to typing it up anyway)

“We are even, then.” Maggie jumped. I nearly did, too. I hadn’t heard him approach. “Yes.” His huge eyes skimmed from Kris and the pixies arguing on the ground, to me, to Maggie staring open-mouthed, and back to me. I didn’t like the look in them. “Good.” He barely twitched. For an instant the air felt charged like the moment before lightning strikes. I was faster. I was used to staying alive. I still had no knife to shove in his chest, but in another instant it didn’t matter. The world was my weapon. The air grew even colder. Ice spiraled out from my bare feet across the hood. The snow behind him swirled in a sudden breeze. Maggie shivered beside me. From the cold, probably. If he was new here, he would be stronger than me and not intimidated by any show of force. I had to act once, now, before it became a real struggle. I could feel every delicate ice crystal resting in the snow around us. No time to think; I moved them in the first way that came to mind. It was easy to press them together into something hard and sharp, to fling it through the air on a breeze. He had time to lift an arm in my direction before the ice spike pierced his throat, misting blood across my feet and Maggie’s white shoes. She let out a tiny squeak. Red blood ran down the curves of his green skin, splattered like rain on the road. The crackle of his magic died as he pitched forward, leaving a smear of green slime on the silver bumper before resting face-down on the pavement. The world was heavy and silent except for Maggie’s quick breaths. There was a new layer of ice atop the nearby snow. The car was covered in frost. So was the road, except for a perfect circle where Kris and the pixies sat. I didn’t try to pull my power back in. Not yet. It was so good to feel alive. My legs weren’t damp anymore—the fabric was frozen stiff, icy but solid against my skin. I let my body fall back against the hood of the car, my muscles relaxing and my eyes slipping closed.

Tag list: @stesierra

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

It was probably for the best that finding a way to create acid-proof fabric wasn't Doctor Walters’ only reason for sticking with the Glornists. Because over the past few weeks his occult research had thoroughly convinced him that there was little he could do to overcome a watchdog's natural lack of magic potential.

By this point Doctor Walters had even started to seriously consider accumulating demonic magic the same way Bishop Percival did: Making deals with demons. Despite the risks. Despite it requiring innocent sacrifices. But did their lives really matter when he'd pull from death row prisoners?

...It terrified him how easy it was for him to rationalize becoming a monster like him.

Doctor Walters had almost finished piecing together the finer details of a lesser demon's summoning ritual (just in case it was necessary) when he learned of Locdeom's own acid spewing spiders. Perhaps their silk would end up being the material necessary to free him from long, fruitless uniform development.

Fortunately the Skullship was set to invade a planet within an hour's drive of Locdeom. This allowed Teddy to combine his weekly day off with a vacation day to give him time to search.

Locdeom ended up being a perilous planet filled with creatures intent on either feasting on or sacrificing the novelty that landed in their midsts. The latter eased up once he'd managed to steal a disguise and overheard enough of their conversations to calibrate his universal translator.

A MRE and high-tech bomb ended up being enough to get directions to the Silk Cradle and hints on finding his quarry. Doctor Walters found an isolated area to hide his saucer and buried it in underbrush before stepping deeper into the dark, rocky valley.

The Araneae lavellan itself— with it's violet body and vivid green sacs— wasn't hard to find. The first day (according to his watch synched with the Skullship) hadn't even ended before he found a nest containing several specimens. Yet that did little good when he wasn't sure how to identify which silk belonged to which species.

There was only one way to find out: By experimentation. Doctor Walters bent down to take a sample to analyze back on the ship, then took out a vial of a bright lime liquid and methodologically poured it over silk samples.

...Which all dissolved like cotton candy in water. The silk in the neighboring chambers yielded the same results. Glorn, if he had ventured into this gropforsaken place for nothing...

By now Doctor Walters was frustrated and running low on ideas. He narrowed his eye at the high cliff overhang the Araneae lavellan and co. tried to pounce on him from, before pulling the kris he nabbed out of his pocket.

Then he pointed one arm up while aligning the center of his vision to his fingertips, pulled the knife back over his shoulder, and flung it at the webs with a running jump for good measure.

...Annnnd it didn't even get halfway up before clattering down against the accursed ground. Doctor Walters sighed before picking it back up and trying again. And again. And again... After every few throws he paused to check his surroundings for threats before resuming his futile work.

@candbrp

[sunsetcannon]

The Red Soul Trait.

Hell with it, I'mma post my UT headcanon here. Specifically in regards to the Red Soul. Sure there's the "Ballgame" joke and the classic of Determination. Yet there's a certain other thing I personally have in mind in what it could be called, one that can be used as synonym for Determination but at the same time not directly tied to Perseverance. I like to think that it's called "The Soul of Will." as in the will to go on, or one's will to live or to do something. It wouldn't surprise me if the idea has already been in circulation or if the name is already taken but I'll clarify more under the cut here to avoid clogging stuff up, hear me out if you want.

Ok so, Frisk/Your willpower, depending how the story depends it in terms of writing and if the player can be inserted in, is what keeps driving them forward throughout the underground no matter what, even gathering through their determination to deny even death. It's what gives them the ability to muscle through the likes of monsters such as Undyne, Asgore, hell even Asriel/Flowey. You can still argue that it's technically synonym for Perseverance, but I feel like raw Willpower would be different enough to stand on it's own. After all DT is apart of all human souls at their core, while other traits still do exist with Justice having Kindness, and Kindness having Integrity, all of them have Determination in some way outright which is why I believe Will or Willpower could be a more fitting name for the red soul. Raw Willpower may beat out Perseverance just enough just due to the fact that most of the time, a person's will is usually one of the last things to break, a person's will to survive no matter the circumstance. This also makes it ironic in Deltarune, where it isn't Kris's will, but your own. Kris is forced to follow your will throughout the entirety of the game, only getting what say they have through how they choose to say things, how they do actions, and of course when they straight up tear out the soul out of their own chest.

What makes things more interesting is Chara, who is implied to have the red soul despite no true presence of the player like with Frisk and Kris. Their own will is completely uncontrolled by any outside force, there is no player interference for them, only their pure will, which is what matters the most when they finally "pick up the knife" at the end of the genocide route where their will ends up erasing what is left in the timeline. However with the equal amount of will put into saving their brother with giving the player and Frisk access to their memories in the Pacifist ending. This doesn't mean that they can not be influenced, you are still the one to end up driving them into lashing out, and you are still the one who can help them heal. Will could also explain why the red soul is as "malleable" as it is, easily switching between the other traits as the game mechanics paired with the monsters' magic. However it seems like if put into more practice it can change unprompted, as we see in Spamton Neo's fight where it can switch into Justice unprompted by any phone like in Undertale. It could stand for the player's will, Frisk's will, however you may view it, but that's personally what I think. At the end of the day this is just generally a headcanon, but I tried to cover all questions that I could with this, of course there may be something I missed, I'm not perfect. I'd like to hear input from others in the fandom who may end up reading through this whole thread at some point!