#was supposed to be doing work but kris happened

[keitarin]

I'm alive but god I'm tired

[acaciapines]

i need to talk about the dess raises kris au. or im gonna explode.

[beryllineart]

Battle Against Lancer

... Oh dear... That wasn't supposed to happen...

Deltarune belongs to Toby Fox

Ok, little headcanon here, I think it would be cool if Darkners turned into the object they are in the Light World if they die in the Dark World. Hence, Lancer turning into the Jack of Spades when Susie kills him. She has no idea what just happened, and even though she didn't get any LOVE or anything, she knows that Lancer is definitely dead, and it's her fault. And the player can't do anything to stop it because they can't control or stop Susie.

Anyways, with Ralsei, his robes would cover up the object he really is when he reaches 0 hp, but it wouldn't be damaged like Lancer's card is because it's not a permanent death unless the whole team dies.

But come on, turning into the object could have a whole lore behind it, because the Angel is worshipped by the Light and feared by the Dark, right? So what if it is because light doesn't mean death, but death means light to the Darkners? Like, when a Darkner dies, they are brought to the Light and forced into that form, permanently. It makes sense in my head, ignore my ramblings.

Anyways, I'm not sure how my headcanon would work for Chapter 2 Darkners, but come on, I wasn't going to miss the chance to draw a card sliced to bits with a traumatized Susie looking on. You can tell that I cared about that page because I added a background. Also, I realize that the soul on page 2 comes from Susie when technically it should come from Kris, but I liked the way it looked (and totally didn't notice where it was spawning from when I played the game.)

Comics are hard, but I had so much fun playing around with the panels on the first two pages. My pacing might be a bit off though... Also, it's so so hard to draw the same character over and over in different poses, so sorry if Susie looks a bit different than she should, I did my best. And sorry for the ramble, but that's why I put the keep reading thing up above. If you read through my brain dump, good job! Get yourself a cookie.

[jellyfishoreo1206]

WE ARE NOT SEEING ENOUGH OF MIRAGE GUYS

So I'm taking matters into my own goddamn hands-

Meeting Mirage ;)

Either Noah or Mirage might be a little OOC, but I'm giving it a shot

Takes place after the movie, with fem pronouns

Enjoy!

-------

Dude, where the hell are you?

Y/N was currently sent a page to Noah, her best friend of 3 years. He was suppose to pick her up from work, as her car broke down and is still getting fixed at the mechanics, but it was well over 20 minutes and he still hasn't showed. He was suppose to be there at 7:30, and now it's almost dark.

I'kl be there in 10 minutes! Domething just csme uo

Several typos, whatever the hell is happening over there is really making him either rush or panic... actually those are both kind of in the same sense.

Letting out a sigh through her nose, Y/N quickly typed out a response.

Yeah, yeah. Better keep to your promise, Sonic.

Not even letting him respond, the H/C-nette shoved the device into her coat pocket. Sure it may be the beginning of the summer, but she get cold easily.

And I mean very easily.

"Man, I really need a hot shower right now."

10 minutes breezed by quickly, seemingly in a blink of an eye. About to page Noah again, Y/N stopped in her tracks when a honk sounded in front of her.

Looking up, her eyes widen in complete surprise at the image in front of them. Her best friend, Noah Diaz, in a fucking Porsche. Well, it looked like it seen better days, but still.

"Yo, you gonna get in or are you just gonna stand there looking so surprised?" Noah shouted from inside the car, a smug look on his face.

Snapping out of it, Y/N got inside the car, buckling in her seatbelt.

Once the seatbelt clicked, Noah started the car onto the route back to Y/N's apartment complex. 5 minutes in and the two are making small talk and all that before Y/N asked him a question.

"So, what happened?"

"Hm?"

"To the Porsche. Looks like Frankenstein's monster."

Noah let's out a small chuckle at the comment, "Oh uh, some guy sold it to me for a good price. Because it was all banged up and stuff. Couldn't even start."

"When did you get it?"

"Got it 2 months ago, still has some kinks that need to be fixed. But we've made some progress." He patted the dashboard in a comforting way, a somber smile on his face.

"2 months ago? Weren't you in Perú during that time? Also is Reeks helping you fix the car?"

"Yeah. I think I made a pretty good decision going there..also Reeks is just helping me get the parts, I'm mainly doing the fixing."

"Mm, pretty good job so far. I could help with the paint job? The blue and silver seems to be fading out, but I think it a fresh coat will make it look gorgeous."

After she finished that comment, the car felt like it heated up a little. Not too much to notice, but just enough.

"By the way, what did you do in Perú again?"

"Oh, to study for a job I was doing..got to see some of the landscapes and all that..and nearly died-"

"What was that?"

"Wha-nothing! Don't worry about it at all."

A silence fell between you too, an awkward silence to be exact. He's a little more fidgety than usual.. probably from exhaustion. It's something he does whenever he's very tired. Man, he must be more exhausted than usual.

"Sorry I called you so late, like right after your new job and stuff. It must be tiring."

"Nah I don't mind, you're my best friend after all. Just returning the favor when you babysat Kris last minute." Now Y/N absolutely loves Noah's family. First time she met them, it felt like a bond just, instantly clicked within. So from that day on, she makes a little time out of her day just to visit the Diaz family, especially Kris. He was so sweet, and like the little brother she never had. So whenever Noah or his mom were busy, she babysits him, and brings some food so they can enjoy together.

"I don't mind babysitting Kris at all. He's like a little brother to me anyway."

"Yeah, that's Kris. Best little brother I could ever ask for." A soft smile comes to his face, maybe he should bring some food from that burger joint his family likes, before he goes home so his mom doesn't have to cook tonight.

"Yeah..Hey do you mind if I put in my playlist?"

"Go for it."

Grabbing a mixtape from her pocket, she inserts it into the slot right above the radio, turning the knob to hear what was currently playing.

The familiar rhythm of Virgen by Adolescent's Orquesta brings a smile to your face, increasing the volume as one of her favorite songs plays through the car. Every so often, she would sing along to the lyrics, taping her fingers against the door.

What Y/N didn't know, was a certain Autobot mech was observing her in the passenger seat mirror, noticing the small things about her that seemed to have caught even more of his interest. The moment she got in the car, Mirage had to admit, she was PRETTY. And the compliments she said? Wooo that was feeding his ego.

And she was drop-dead gorgeous, in his optics, he doesn't even know her one bit and he's on his knees just from the sound of her voice. Oh her voice, don't even get him started on her voice. Most purest thing he has ever heard since he had stepped foot on Earth. Got her filling his tanks with a fluttery feeling, or as Noah sometimes likes to refer to, butterflies. What a weird thing to say. (Ngl, I head cannon Mirage to fall in love FAST)

After those few thoughts, the mech started observing her other features. Her eyes, hair, lips, cheeks, hands, even the smallest of moles/freckles that were dotted across her face. Oh and when her smile plastered her face, Mirage felt his spark beat faster.

She was a beauty, a beauty in her own category..

Sadly he wasn't able to admire her much longer, as they stopped in front of her apartment, the sky now completely dark. About to open the car door, the lock clicks, preventing Y/N from getting out. Thinking nothing of it, Y/N goes to unlock it, but it keeps repeatedly locking itself. With a huff, Y/N turns to Noah.

"Dude can you stop that shit?"

"It's not me I swear! Li-like I said, Mir-! The car was all banged up when I got it, still got a few bugs in it.." And as subtly as possible, kept kicking right above the pedals. Not to harshly, but to get the message across to stop messing around.

Finally after what seemed to be forever, the car doors unlocked, with Y/N getting out of the car, making sure to grab her tape. Running a hand over the hood, not noticing the shudder of metal, Y/N waves goodbye to Noah before entering her building, already getting excited for her hot shower.

When Y/N was out of sight and earshot, Noah turned to the radio, somewhat pissed.

"Mirage, what the hell was that??"

"Whaaaat? I did nothing wrong. Also, ouch. Do you have to kick me that hard? I'm still recovering y'know." You could hear the teasing smile on his face, pulling the recovery card whenever.

"Mirage you can't do that."

"Why not? Not like she noticed anything."

"You just can't!"

"Aww but I wanna keep admiring la angel bonita un momento más."

"..what."

"I wanna keep ad-"

"I know what you said, but, seriously?"

"You gotta introduce me to her one day, Sonic."

"Mirage she's going to freak out!"

"Mm but what are the chances she won't? Pleaseeee? I won't stop bothering you unless you say yesss~" He coos in a sing-song voice.

"Nu uh, ain't happening. Just because you're acting like a kid doesn't mean you're getting it."

"Fine. But whenever you give her ride home, I'll just keep locking the doors."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Noah leaned back into the recliner, pinching the bridge of his nose out of frustration. Whenever Mirage says he'll do something, he will follow through. He's ambitious like that. So either; Stay with the no but have Mirage be a brat for who knows how long, or, just get it over with.

"Sooo..Is that a yes?"

He was quiet for a bit, before letting out a sigh,"Fine, fine! Yes, it's a yes."

"Hell yeah, baby! Oh I already have so many places to meet up for dates-"

"DUDE."

------

So that concludes my first post! I like how this (somewhat) turned out, but it's a first. I've made some edits to this and the second part will be out soon, so I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting!

Part 2 here!

[gurdis]

DELTAFELL - JEVIL

Jevil has escaped from his non-metaphorical prison and now works as an assassin, hired by King. His talent at finding and killing people has earned him the title “Headhunter” among Darkners, as well as “It” and “That f*cking clown”. Unfortunately for King, Jevil takes a little too much time for his jobs, as he likes to torment and mess with his victims for a bit before killing them. He’d actively hunt you down throughout the chapter, acting as a more sinister antagonist while the Lancer stuff happens.

For his secret boss fight, you’d be told by Shawm that the secret to defeating him is in the castle basement, or Jevil’s former cell. After walking in there, Jevil would follow you in and close the door behind him, trapping you. He’d call you all fools, mock you while also thanking you for reminding him of his freedom, and congratulating you on finding yours. Then he’d fight you.

There’s two ways this fight would go. Secret bosses are some of the only Darkners you can fully kill in a regular playthrough, turning to a red mist upon doing so.

He has 2 themes, a regular battle one and a boss fight one. Regular battle would be called Ringing Rosies, and the boss theme would be called Time Crunch (reference to the Big Crunch, the concept of the collapse of the universe)

Option 1: Kill Jevil. Upon being beaten, he’ll say:

*Weeheehee! You lightners sure know how to put on a show!

*With strength like yours... what beautiful chaos could be set loose!

*But... alas... my essence cracks, and soon...

*Soon, I will fade to nothing.

*But be warned.

*Soon, you’ll face an even bigger threat than me!

*Oh, no. Not the King, but someone much worse.

*Farewell, lightners... let’s see what madness follows you next!

You got the Jester’s Bands.

Armor

A pair of scarlet cuffs lined with spikes on the inside. It’ll increase your attack and defense drastically, but it’ll hurt.

+4 DEF

+4 ATK

-50% Max HP

Kris: (Susie:) Shit, Kris! You’re bleeding! (Ralsei:) I’ll tend to their wounds…

Susie: That’s metal as hell…

Ralsei: … (Susie:) (Doesn’t it hurt???)

Option 2: Pacify. He’ll say:

Pacify

*Oh, my... I haven't felt this drained... in ages... and ages! *It seems you lightners may have a spark of strength after all. *Perhaps... you might even bring an end to the King's reign… *A new era... not peace, no... but something... different. *Weeheehee... won't that be fun?

You got the Devil’s Cloak.

Weapon (Ralsei)

A cloak brimming with a strange energy. It enhances magical abilities in exchange for the wearer’s physical strength.

-4 ATK

+6 MGC

Susie: Egh… It’s making me feel woozy…

Ralsei: I suppose I could wear it as a scarf.

[jokeroutsubs]

Joker Out interview with magazine Mladina, published on 30th of June 2023

Interviewed by Vanja Pirc

Photos by Borut Kranjc

This year's Slovenian representatives at Eurovision, the five-member band Joker Out, attracted an unusually large amount of attention with their accessibility and playfulness, especially with the song "Carpe Diem." In the days and weeks that followed, it became clear that their Eurovision entry, which only placed 21st, had indeed opened the door for them to go abroad. They started adding new concerts in Ireland, Croatia, the UK, Scotland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Serbia, and others to the ones they had already arranged in Slovenia and the former Yugoslav republics. They sold out all of them, some in just a few minutes. Well over eight thousand people will see them on the UK and Nordic tour alone. For musicians working in Slovene, that's an incredible statistic.

It's a remarkable milestone to see how they've come from "Špil liga," where they first came to the limelight by winning in 2013 when they were still a high school band, to today, being greeted by masses of enthusiastic fans below the stage, and being selected by the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand to be their opening act at Croatia's Špancirfest festival. We spoke to lead singer Bojan Cvjetićanin, guitarists Kris Guštin and Jan Peteh, and bassist Nace Jordan. Unfortunately, drummer Jure Maček was missing, but we could see that he is a man of many talents by looking at the huge wooden structure with a platform that added another floor to the band's rehearsal space in Šiška, Ljubljana.

After Eurovision, you made no secret of your disappointment at finishing 21st, but your Eurovision song "Carpe Diem," sung in Slovenian, is now one of the most listened-to songs of this year's Eurovision event. It's being played all over Europe, most notably in Finland, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain... Did you expect this turn of events?

Bojan: The result we achieved at the Eurovision Song Contest was really not the greatest. Not even close. But, as you can see, in the end, it doesn't even matter. What is more important for us is that we managed to achieve the rest of the goals we had set for ourselves. We approached Eurovision in a very organic way, aiming to translate our stage and concert experience from real life to the Eurovision stage. It was clear to us that this is the biggest show stage in Europe, maybe even in the world. We were aware that this is a competition of one song, one comprehensive performance to be presented in three minutes. Our goal was to ensure that the audience would remember Slovenia's performance in 2023, and we have achieved that. We also aimed to connect with other performers, and we succeeded in doing so. But most importantly, we wanted both our Eurovision song and our other songs to be well-received in the real world. The data from radio stations, online streaming platforms, and concert offers confirm that apparently, we have achieved that as well.

Before, you were known mainly in Slovenia, and to a lesser extent in the Balkans. However, your Eurovision song has temporarily climbed to the top 50 most viral songs in the world chart on the streaming platform Spotify. You even briefly surpassed Sweden's Loreen, the winner of this year's Eurovision, in terms of popularity.

Bojan: Just to clarify, we only surpassed her for a day or two. But it's really nice that it happened on Spotify's list of the most listened-to songs in the world.

Kris: Well, she did get a billboard in New York's Times Square as the winner at the time, so it's a matter of who surpassed whom, I suppose (gesturing with his hands).

Well, who did?

Bojan: I believe that what we will gain from this performance will surpass what many other performers will achieve. Eurovision has introduced us to a very large audience in a very short time, and they have really connected with our music. They are now translating our lyrics into their own languages and even learning Slovenian. We were surprised to see how many of them bought dictionaries to learn Slovenian - we know this because we were asked to sign them. Others are learning Slovenian through online platforms, and there are even dictionaries being created on TikTok. These listeners are not bothered at all that we are not creating in English at this point; on the contrary, they would like us to keep it that way. However, we have to be realistic. To truly expand our listener base, it's important to be accessible to people.

That's why you have already prepared an album a few months ago, featuring songs from both your previous albums rearranged in English. The album is now awaiting release. One of your main goals was to be able to translate your concert experience onto the stage.

Bojan: The first real international test after Eurovision was in Zagreb, where we performed as the opening act for the most popular young Serbian band at the moment, "Buč Kesidi", at a previously arranged concert. We performed outdoors in the middle of the day, with the sun still high up in the sky. However, we were greeted by a crowd of 2,500 people and received a phenomenal response. They sang along with us, and later we read in the Serbian media that we probably have the most Croatian fans among Slovenian bands. After this show, when we announced a solo concert in Zagreb's Tvornica for November, which is comparable in size to Ljubljana's Cvetličarna, the tickets sold out in five hours. So, we arranged another concert in the same venue, and that one sold out as well. The response in Croatia has been truly amazing, and they have set a very high bar for the future.

You have been intentionally engaging with the countries of the former Yugoslavia lately. Through songs like "Demoni" ("Demons"), you have approached them language-wise. In addition to Croatia, you have also been booked for concerts in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Your Eurovision song also reminds me a little of Plavi orkestar, which was once the most popular Yugoslav pop band, or Đorđe Balašević. It is probably not a coincidence that the line "The game of hatred is your thing, thank you, don't count on us" is reminiscent of his hit "Računajte na nas" ("Count on us")?

Bojan: No, no, it's not a coincidence.

Is it nevertheless more difficult to plan a breakthrough to the rest of Europe? After Eurovision, the Irish were the first to sign you up, did the audience there also know your songs by heart?

Bojan: Yeah, we haven't really gotten used to that yet (laughs). In Ireland, we managed to sell out our first show in 12 minutes. It's true that it was a small venue, comparable to Ljubljana's Orto bar, and it wasn't a solo concert, but a joint performance with this year's Irish Eurovision representatives. However, due to the high level of interest, we arranged another concert in a club twice as big, which is also their most iconic venue. Soon after, other venues started to show interest. We announced a UK tour, with over five thousand tickets on sale for four shows in major cities, and they sold out. We announced a Nordic tour, with around 2,500 tickets available, and it sold out in half an hour, along with three Finnish concerts in just ten minutes. Later, we released an additional 770 tickets, which were gone in five minutes. Offers are also coming in from many other countries, and it is impossible to predict what will happen in the upcoming months.

A number of Slovenian music artists have successfully reached international audiences, from Senidah to Laibach, from Gramatik to Umek, and you were the first ones to consider using Eurovision as a springboard. Would it make sense for our country to continue using this event to promote established musicians who are eager to make an international breakthrough? You were internally selected for this competition.

Kris: It all depends on what we as a country want to achieve from this competition in the future. We have to decide whether EMA is a competition where we find the most suitable representative and expect them to make the most of their opportunity while promoting our country along the way, or whether it is a competition where Slovenian musicians present themselves to Slovenian audiences. Personally, I believe that it is definitely better to choose a performer who already has an established infrastructure in place and a certain support base, because this can enable him to use his potential to the fullest.

Jan: I think that would be the best approach as well. However, since many musicians see EMA as one of the few opportunities to showcase their work to a wide audience through public broadcasting, it would make sense to maintain that aspect too, perhaps as a prelude to EMA, transforming it into a grand finale for carefully selected artists, similar to Sanremo.

Bojan: The main issue with the previous selections was that Slovenia didn't approach it with the intention of winning. Of course, success in such a significant event is not guaranteed. But why not approach it strategically nonetheless? For example, I believe we should send Senidah to Eurovision in 2024!

Senidah is the biggest star in the Balkans, the most listened-to musician. Is she also your role model in that sense?

Bojan: Absolutely. Senidah is the first Slovenian artist, after Mr. Predin and "Lačni Franz", to truly break through in the Balkans. She does write music in Serbian, but that's irrelevant; what's important is that she's made a remarkable breakthrough in a market that has so far been very closed off to Slovenians. And not only has she broken through, but she is topping the charts. However, I would understand if Senidah refused to participate in EMA, at least as long as the current rules are in place. EMA is too close in time to Eurovision. The winner has only one month to submit material. Imagine having to put together the most important performance of your life in just 15 days? We, on the other hand, had more time since we were internally selected—three months—and we utilized this extra time to design our pre-Eurovision campaign, which ultimately played a key role in our success. That's what left the biggest impression.

You managed to invest between ten and fifteen thousand euros of your own funds in this promotion. You have an extensive domestic touring career behind you. In October, you will fill our biggest venue, Stožice, for the first time, where you expect 12,000 people.

Kris: I've always considered it a privilege to have established a music career at such an early stage in our lives and to have quickly reached the point of financial self-sufficiency.

Bojan: It really worked out for us that right after we finished university, we began our professional lives as musicians.

Those who know you say that you are very disciplined, very organized. Bojan, your fellow classmates from Poljane Gymnasium in Ljubljana also say that even back then, you were absolutely convinced that you were going to make a breakthrough. Many people rolled their eyes at the thought, but you had a clear objective. You were networking with the right people, educating yourself, and Pavle Kavec taught you guitar...

Bojan: Yes, Pavle the legend. I knew during my time at Poljane Gymnasium that I wanted to be an artist. I hadn't fully decided whether it would be music or something else because I was also considering studying acting. But my thoughts were always centered around creating. I suppose that's more or less true for all of us. When Jure and Nace joined us, the first question was whether we were fully committed at 1000%, or if there was another one percent pulling us towards a "plan B," such as the directions we were trained in. No, there is no "Plan B" anymore. At some point, we made the decision to cut it off.

So, the high school students at Poljane Gymnasium may very well forget that you were once planning to be their sociology professor? We've also seen you in a few episodes of the series "Gospod profesor" ("Mr. Professor").

Bojan: I've given up on the professorship, but I still find acting very interesting. For once in my life, I would like to be in a film, playing a totally negative character. I would be mean as a snake. And it doesn't even have to be a Slovenian film; it can be from the Balkans.

Kris: I have to admit that I never thought of making a living from music, although I certainly saw it as an ideal. Even when I was deciding on my studies, I wavered between sociology and chemistry, and then preferred the latter because of its greater potential for employability. Well, later on, I did go into social sciences, for a master's degree in international relations.

Yet Kris, you were the one who had the ideal conditions to become a musician. You grew up playing guitar, because your father, Miha Guštin - Gušti, is the co-founder of "Big Foot Mama", one of the most popular Slovenian bands. Today, you are considered to be their successors.

Kris: I really had the ideal conditions to become a musician who does this for a living. Not only because of my dad, but my mum also worked for record labels for many years and has recently embarked on this path again, so I've been in touch with both sides of the music world, creatively and business-wise, since I was a little kid. But I didn't really start playing guitar until I was 14, 15. And nobody else among us is a trained musician either, except our drummer, Jure Maček.

Bojan: Yes, our Maček finished elementary music school, and he also played a lot, mostly with the "Logatec brass band".

Jan: Let's not forget his performances with the "Golaž brass band", and with the Cantabile Symphony Orchestra...

Jan, you are a mathematician. The link between music and mathematics was explored by Pythagoras after he listened to a blacksmith striking a hammer, and from that he developed the study of harmony.

Jan: Yeah, at the moment it's kind of like, if you have an out-of-tune guitar, you can just say you have a Pythagorean tuning (everyone bursts out laughing). To me, maths is relevant because it's the only thing in the existence of human understanding that you can really count on. It can be used to get definitive answers to at least some questions. I see it as something that gives you structure in your life.

Nace: I would have chosen to study veterinary medicine if I had gone to university, but I discovered very quickly that music was my passion. After high school I went out into the world, I played in a band on a cruise ship that more or less sailed the Baltic, somewhere between Russia, Finland and Sweden. You could say I've got a lot of musical mileage from playing abroad. But it's limited to German schlager and German rock. Our audiences were mostly German families (laughs).

You also have the most experience of performing in front of TV cameras, especially as a member of the in-house band of the TV show "V petek zvečer" ("Friday Night"), which gives airtime to more folk-music genres on TV Slovenia. Have you scrapped this "plan B" now as well?

Nace: Officially, I'm still a member of that band; maybe the managers are expecting me to come back to the show in the autumn. But it remains to be seen whether that will be possible. Most probably not.

Today, together with MRFY, you are considered the successors of our most popular rock or pop-rock guitar bands who managed to appeal to the masses, not only of "Big Foot Mama", but also, for example, "Siddharta" and "Dan D". Why hasn't there been a real breakthrough of new bands of this kind in the last few years? Were guitars considered to be outdated, were young people closer to electronica, trap, hip-hop, mixtures of genres?

Bojan: The music of "Siddharta" and "Big Foot Mama" was a kind of basic building block for me from the very beginning. These people have influenced me more than any other world-renowned musicians. So having them support us really means a lot to me. And the Špil Liga, where student bands have been entering for the last decade, has definitely been a very strong factor in the revival of the scene. MRFY are also from Novo mesto, which is considered a mini Slovenian capital of rock'n'roll, as many of the bands that have developed under the patronage of Tokac, the music producer and frontman of "Dan D", originate from there. At the same time, in last few years the Slovenian youth has become hungry for home-produced music of all genres, and this has stirred up a strong wave of creativity, which is being held in the hands of our own generation, as well as those a little younger and older than us. At this point, the whole spectrum of what we need, from clothes to design to photography, is being created by people our age, as well as those a little younger and older than us. Well, with one exception, of course, being our producer Žare Pak, but he's young at heart.

As you reach out to a wider audience, do you also feel the pressure to meet the ever-increasing expectations of both listeners and the music industry?

Jan: I feel that right now, more than ever, we can be confident and sure of what we are doing. We didn't even enter Eurovision with some deliberately made hit-like song to suit Eurovision ears, but we did a Joker Out song that could easily have been on our album last year. Our achievements so far prove that we are doing something right because people at home and abroad like it.

Kris: I also feel like we have more freedom to create now but also fewer inhibitions to go into more experimental waters in terms of music, outfits, visuals, or anything else.

Do you think that's what some people expect from you now?

Bojan: Musicians are often criticized for their style, genre, or sound. But such criticisms are absurd.

In particular, Slovenian rock or pop-rock has always been attacked in this respect for relying too often on tried-and-tested forms and less often, for example, on boldness, innovation.

Bojan: We've been on the scene long enough, and we know that the very concept of what Jokers do bothers some people. And that's why they keep pushing their idea that we don't make authentic music but rather some crap that we invented just to exist. So, they feel it would be good if we would stop doing that. These people want, or even demand, that Joker Out should stop being Joker Out. And we're happy that on the first and second album we were able to make music completely unburdened by expectations of how people would react to it. I think the second album is quite challenging in both its sonic elements and the overall meaning of the lyrics in certain songs. I'm sorry that not one of the critics mentioned "Plastika" ("Plastics") in their reviews. None of these intellectuals who have so much to say against our love songs thought that this could be a harbinger of a different, new direction.

This song was written in response to a study showing that the vast majority of teenage girls today want plastic surgery and other body modifications to meet their perverse beauty ideals.

Bojan: There's a lot of content that people don't want to see. On the other hand, I also don't understand why songs about love, which are in the vast majority in this culture at the moment, should be inferior to those about society. In fact, I hope to be able to sing about love for the rest of my life.

Kris: You will, you will sing "Umazane misli" ("Dirty Thoughts") for the rest of your life (laughs).

You addressed Europe with the words "We'll be dancing all night long, we'll love and play with each other as if there was no tomorrow." You have stated several times that you are not a political band, but isn't that actually very political? What is more political than being able to smile and rejoice even in the worst of situations?

Bojan: I very much agree. I even think that if Tokac had sung our song, the message would have gotten through to a lot more people. But because we sang it, a lot of people didn't take it seriously.

The current Prime Minister, Robert Golob, after learning that the future coalition had brought down the government of Janez Janša, said, "Today people are dancing, I am waiting for you to start dancing too." Do you think that if we had had your song then, he would have said instead, "We'll be dancing all night long"? As some employees of RTV Slovenia did when the depoliticisation of their institution could begin?

Bojan: The song "Carpe Diem" is largely written with the idea of fighting back against the things that are happening today. The fact that we had Eurovision in a country that was not last year's winner, because the event could not be held there due to the war, is quite an indication of the troubled times we live in. On the other hand, our only defense as musicians is to spread positive energy among the people and send socially relevant messages. We cannot do more than that. We do not want to take up arms, and we won't. Our only weapons can be our songs.

Culture and art can certainly be weapons too, especially in situations where people are suffering. Do you think that's why Ukrainians supported you at Eurovision, both the audience and the jury? The country is in ruins because of the war, people are displaced, and there is no end in sight to the conflict. But your dancing until dawn has been noticed.

Bojan: I am a child of refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina. My parents had to leave their home in Banja Luka because of the war. They came to Slovenia as refugees and stayed here. They had to rebuild their lives. In light of today's events, I can only conclude that the saying 'Historia magistra vitae est' (“History is the teacher of life”) is clearly not true. Because one day, when all the problems of this world are solved, I too will be able to afford the attitude of being opposed to all that is positive. But at the moment, that is not a possibility.

Your parents, Bojan, had to move because of the war, and your mother, Kris, moved from the Netherlands to Slovenia for love.

Bojan: That's a much nicer reason, isn't it?

Kris: Well, I also have a grandfather who fled Indonesia because of the civil war.

Migration flows have been huge in recent years, with thousands of people pouring into Europe, but they are often met with contempt and harsh treatment. Do you feel that your intimate experience of all this migration has also shaped your attitude towards all those who are seeking a better life?

Kris: Absolutely. In my home, this has always been a topic we have talked about. When I was still living with my parents, we often watched the TV program "Dnevnik" together, and whenever they showed a piece on migration, my mother would get very emotionally involved in the scenes on the screen. And that sticks with you. When you see a parent who can understand someone who had to leave home for completely different reasons and on the other side of the world, it naturally rubs off on you.

Bojan: Most of all, you feel the spectrum of pain associated with having to leave your home is much more than just having to leave a place. Only then do you realize that home is really a tangle of space, of people, of smells, of tastes, of everything surrounding you. Leaving all that behind is not the easiest thing to do. It is even harder to leave under duress, and the hardest to leave knowing that your home is in the process of being destroyed and that when and if you return one day, it will not feel like home anymore. The same people will not be there, the same smells will not be there. What has shaped your life will no longer exist.

Alongside wars and conflicts, another key reason why people from other parts of the world are moving to Europe in large numbers is climate change. Your generation is leading the fight to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, to live more sustainably. How important is this cause to you?

Kris: The fight for climate fairness is one of our few very clear common political positions. Here we are completely united and support all political choices towards sustainability. It is also very clear that this is an important issue not only for us but also for a large part of our audience. It was interesting to note that two years ago, at a rally for climate justice in Ljubljana, we saw a poster with the lyrics of one of our songs. We've summed up our own thoughts on the subject in the song "Novi val" ("New Wave)," which was written last year and is currently one of our most successful and important songs.

In that song, you say "The radio only plays lightnings and strikes', the newspaper says that we' ve lost our way. Today we'll sing and raise our glasses, we were born yesterday and have already been blamed for everything." And what are you guilty of? Probably not the fact that your generation faces precarious employment, that loans are hard to come by, and so are real estate, even rental properties?

Bojan: These are the facts of life lived by the "born yesterday" generation. They are the result of the accumulation of bad decisions over decades. These facts manifest themselves in reality as obstacles that reduce our ability to build the pillars of our independence and, as a consequence, are the reason for our failure to live up to societal expectations. In a world where laws have been written for decades in favor of a mega-massive littering of the planet, we are guilty of standing up for environmental justice instead of "doing something smarter and more serious with our lives," even though previous generations have themselves turned the (labour) market into a war zone of precarious employment. We fight day in and day out with the uncertainty of whether or not we will be employed tomorrow...

But even in this song, you sing and you raise your glasses.

Kris: This song and the Eurovision song "Carpe Diem" are actually very similar in spirit and message, except the second one addresses the listener in a dance guise and this one in a much more serious manner.

The song "Novi val" ("New Wave") has received a lot of attention because of the English version you released before the Eurovision, which you performed with the renowned British musician Elvis Costello. Your now ex-member Martin has a godfather who is a friend of Costello's, and in 2013 you sent him the song "Gola" ("Naked") to listen to. He did listen to it and suggested that you send him more songs. So last year you sent him "Novi val" ("New Wave").

Bojan: Yes, that was true, and when I sent him that song, I also asked him if he would be willing to re-arrange it in English. And he wrote back that he was up for it. Shortly after that, only about a week later, he sent me another email saying if we all agreed, he was ready to sing the song with us. Interestingly enough, he felt the song even before he understood what it was about. His first reaction after hearing the Slovenian version was that it was "a charming song that transcends the understanding of language". He recorded his vocals in New York, and we recorded them in Ljubljana. At the end of the song, we kept the chorus in Slovenian, at his request.

Costello has two Grammys, two Brit Awards, and was named one of the 100 greatest rock'n'roll musicians of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. What does his support mean to you?

Bojan: I can say without any reservation that even if I never wrote another song after this, I would forever be proud of what I have achieved. But it was this collaboration that gave us an indescribable amount of new energy to create. I am very proud of it. However, I must add that I felt the same pride when Tomi Meglič or Grega Skočir gave us words of encouragement. The moment when I first felt their sincere appreciation was a turning point for me, and since then I have existed quite differently as a musician. But of course, it is clear that Elvis Costello's encouraging words carry international weight. And that is something completely new for us. It's just a pity that we haven't been able to meet up yet because he was on tour in the US at the time of the recording of the song and later the video.

He will be touring Europe in the autumn, including Hamburg. You recorded the Eurovision song there in December.

Bojan: He honored us greatly then. He sent us the song "Hamburg Postcard", which he wrote especially for us.

Kris: Let's not forget something else. Our band has always described our music as "shagadelic rock'n'roll" (the Oxford English Dictionary defines shagadelic as "sexy, but in a psychedelic or retro way", A/N). We borrowed this term from "Austin Powers", but it was actually spoken by Elvis Costello, who played himself in that film. When we sent him our song "Gola" ("Naked") in 2019, we thought it would be a good idea to let him know that we also use the term "shagadelic rock'n'roll". And then he personally gave his permission to use it because he felt that that was what it was. To complete the circle, Elvis Costello is one of the original protagonists of the English New Wave, and we are now singing together about the New Wave. He is also from Liverpool, which hosted this year's Eurovision. Our collaboration was clearly written in the stars.

Costello, as a Liverpudlian, knew the most famous local musicians, The Beatles, very well and had worked with Paul McCartney. The Beatles are also among your role models, and this year you also visited the place where the Beatles began their musical journey for the first time. Do you now understand better why they remain the greatest?

Kris: For me, visiting Liverpool and the places that influenced the Beatles and their music gave me some perspective. We knew them through songs, like Penny Lane, for example, but in reality, it's much smaller and more 'plain' than we imagined. Liverpool is a beautiful city, but the suburbs where the Beatles lived are very ordinary working-class housing estates. One could say quite bland. Now I walk around Ljubljana with different eyes. I can imagine that one of our future songs could also feature an insignificant, less exposed street that made its mark on us...

Bojan: And this is where you can see very clearly why the Beatles are the Beatles. Because everybody has a Penny Lane in their life, an ordinary street where you meet a friend. Penny Lane is the most universal thing in the world

The English song "Novi val" ("New Wave") was covered by the BBC and ITV, and the British voted for you at Eurovision. Your music and performances have always been influenced by British pop. Is that one of the key places for you, besides the Balkans?

Bojan: I think our focus is on any place that is willing to accept us, but England has a special charm because we ourselves have been heavily influenced by British music. I'm not the ultimate "nomad," I dislike long flights and exotic destinations that can be unpredictable, so Europe is very dear to my heart. I would be very happy if we could establish ourselves as a European band that could travel a little bit around Scandinavia in the summer and then Dalmatia in the winter...

Kris: Or Spain, where we would eat tapas.

Is the interest in your band in the country also related to the fact that Bojan speaks Spanish?

Bojan: Yes, I ended up doing more interviews in Spanish than in English. The Spanish have also been very active because of our links with their Eurovision representative Blanca Paloma.

Kris: It's really amazing how you can charm a foreign audience by speaking their language. I understand it with the Spanish, as they are mostly less proficient in English, but I was surprised by the Dutch. Dutch is my mother tongue, of course, but I didn't expect that it would matter because in the last few years I have noticed that in Amsterdam, almost only English is spoken on the street. Even the oldest market vendor speaks perfect English. But they were very enthusiastic. On streaming platforms, the Netherlands is one of our top 10 countries.

You mentioned earlier that your fans are now learning Slovenian. What about your future - will it be written in English?

Bojan: The next album will almost certainly have songs in English, Slovenian, and Serbian, but it's very possible that there will also be some in French or Spanish.

What about Finnish? At Eurovision, the most talked-about thing was your friendship with the Finnish representative Käärijä, who came in second place. When you, Bojan, sang his song, he praised you, saying it was "better than the original".

Bojan: We haven't talked about a musical collaboration yet, but I was a guest at his concert in Helsinki in June, and we would be very happy to have him at our concerts. Unfortunately, that won't happen in Stožice because he has a big concert on the same day.

Now that it is clear that your international ambitions are growing exponentially, what is the ultimate goal where you would say, well, now we have made it?

Kris: Even before we had international ambitions on the level we have today, we often talked about how performing on the main stage of the Hungarian festival "Sziget" would be a testament to the fact that we have achieved something in our lives. Do you remember?

Bojan: How European of us, right? (laughs)

And - have they called you yet?

Jan: Not yet, but we are already learning Hungarian just in case (laughs).

Kris: And we were just wondering why we shouldn't just announce a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 2030.

Bojan: Yeah, because if we started selling tickets now, we might even be able to sell them by then. (Everyone bursts out laughing because the stadium seats 90,000).

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Kralsei is Doomed (and that's why I love it)

To me, Kralsei is a commentary on the idea of being in love with the idea of being in love - that is to say, being enthralled with the anticipation of courtship and falling in love, without really taking into consideration how the ensuing relationship would... actually work.

The depth of longing that is evident in Ralsei towards Kris is indeed intoxicating, and as I've mentioned previously, the game itself seems to push this pairing in the way that certain events are made to happen - most notably the acid tunnel of love running parallel to Noelle and Susie's heart-covered ferris-wheel ride. And add to that the whole nature of dark worlds as synonymous with dreams, fantasy and imagination. From a narrative perspective, the relationship seems almost destined to occur.

But I think Ralsei might find himself a bit adrift if and/or when he actually succeeds in wooing Kris... or the player, or whoever is predominantly in charge by that point. Like a dog chasing a car, I'm not certain he'd know quite what to do if he got what he was after, because at that point it stops being a flight of fancy and becomes real... which is very much the domain of the light world, and outside the darkness's purview.

And when getting swept up in the thrill of romance stories, it's easy to forget that the "struggle" does not end just because the couple share a tender kiss or whatever. Reality can, and often does, quickly ensue, and questions of long-term compatibility in the face of waning desire can spell doom for any relationship, no matter how "destined" it might seem in the run up to it.

This does not even take into consideration the biggest obstacle to this relationship - to exist in a form that we as players might recognise as reciprocal, it'd have to either be entirely confined to the dark world, or there'd have to be some way to bend the rules of Deltarune's reality to allow Ralsei to manifest in the light world, which... presents entirely new problems, not least because of the whole "Roaring" shindig.

Indeed, the more likely scenario, aside from the whole thing fizzling out or otherwise coming to an unfortunate end, is that Kris begins wearing the horned headband that is supposed to represent Ralsei, which as romantic a gesture as that might be, does not exactly live up to the promise that the pairing hints at... although in a strange way, such an outcome might end up strengthening the fantasy element of Kralsei, as a nascent relationship brought to a tragic end by the unflinching and immutable rules of light and dark. Such relationship never has to be actually tested by reality, which allows it to exist in a sort of crystalised state, a seemingly-perfect snapshot of a love that can perpetually exist in an idealised form.

It might be worth watching in future chapters to see how Kris and Ralsei's friendship develops, as it might give hints as to how Deltarune itself might end. Should the above come to pass, and the two come together only to be tragically wrenched apart by outside forces, it will suggest that the dark worlds will not be completely closed off, as the fantasy of Kralsei will be allowed to persist unchallenged by reality. If, however, they drift apart, or decide to remain friends only, or perhaps even if they break up mid-game, it would allow for a cleaner break between light and dark, suggesting some sort of sundering of the bridge between the two.

This, of course, sidelines any other interpretations of their relationship, such as an extended metaphor for self-love and acceptance, or of a coming-to-terms with the past, though I don't see that these can't co-exist alongside the above.

One final note: much of my focus has been on Ralsei rather than Kris, and there are grounds to argue that Kris does not wish, nor will they ever wish, to pursue a relationship with Ralsei. However, the fantasy of Kralsei's potential that exists both in Ralsei's head, and in players receptive to the game's suggestions, almost renders Kris's feelings and opinions on the subject moot. In other words: the reality of what Kris might want, even if that DOES end up wanting to be with Ralsei, is supplanted by the fantasy of their potential thrilling romance story.

In this, the core themes of Deltarune are again reinforced - Kris's choices do not matter, even if their choice would align with the fantasy-romance being suggested. This is not to suggest that I do not care what happens to Kris, but it does highlight that there is a narrative reason for Kralsei, or at least the idea of Kralsei, to exist in the game, and lends further weight to the idea that it is ultimately doomed to failure, regardless of the wishes of its participants.

[levc-egm]

Random Deltarune rambling.

Been thinking about how some people assume Kris is the knight based on their actions, followed by Kris opening up a dark fountain. And then those people mock the idea that anyone else could be the Knight.

But then remember how the game parallels Noelle with an angel, even calling her "angel" directly to our faces, but nobody assumes or debates if she could possibly be said angel.

Like I'm up for whatever happens in the game. But it is funny to see how people treat these things, that to me seem equal, as totally different. Like both things are supposed to make us go "OH THEN IS "THIS" CHARACTER THIS "THING" THEN?". Things to ponder while they work on new chapters.

Toby knows his fandom. He probably expected us to talk and debate things about the story. Why else would both chapters end with a cliffhanger that lets our minds go wild?

In many ways, we're still just at the start of the story. It can go anywhere. But as time goes on, people get attached to some ideas and then decide "this is how it is supposed to go". And this, of course, isn't bad. But it will be fun to look back on what the fandom created before chapters 3 and 4.

To me, the first taste of this was in the most recent newsletter and looking at that screenshot with Noelle. Is it her house? Another place we haven't been to? Either way, it got me thinking on how I haven't seen anyone do a take of what a dark world could be like based on the Holiday manor, to say an example. Most dark worlds predictions are limited to what we've seen so far in Hometown (which makes sense).Like, we might not even get a dark world of something like the church or Asgore's flower shop.

IN ANY CASE: I love deltarune and I love speculation. It is just fascinating to see how a fandom interacts with the work of fiction they follow.

Btw, penumbra phantasm will totally happen, IF IT DOESN'T I'LL BE SAD-

(TO BE CLEAR, I do not believe that Noelle is the angel, I like the idea of the player being the angel. I just thought it was a good example of what I wanted to talk about.)

[lynxgriffin]

How can Paper Trail end, when Kris didn't even enter the seventh Dark World? The justification you gave for ending it there is that "what happens next is... not for the player to know". But the SOUL wasn't destroyed, only severed, so what's stopping them from continuing to observe? You didn't need to give a justification at all. (ask continued)

(continuation) Isn't the timing of the SOUL gaining control of Kris awfully convenient? Why does Gaster think he knows when the story will end? After all, its actual ending was premature, from his point of view. Why didn't you give a transcript for Lemon Ralsei's prophecy? And how did he get those scars? One more Paper Trail ask: do the soul traits of each prince have any relation to the content of their diary entry? Because if they do, I can't spot it. I lied, heres another PT ask: is there any real reason why the princes can travel between dark worlds and combine, or is it just some bullshit power they get from being connected to Kris?

Geez okay so that's a whole lot of PT and DOFP critical asks. I'm just going to do all of those at once because I don't want to spread that out over six asks. Maybe uh...next time try and consolidate those?

The whole idea is that the player can't observe the world of Deltarune without that connection to Kris. If that connection is severed, then so is the ability to observe and interact with that world.

Gaster thinks that he understands the player well enough to believe that they will not let go of Kris until they know what happens. The player choosing to let go of Kris without knowing what happens is unexpected for him, so yes, from his point of view, it is premature.

If you mean when Gaster got his scars, he just got them over the course of his work. He's clearly not working safely!

I can't remember, but I think I did give a transcript? If not, people were able to work out what Lairse's legend was, anyway.

The soul traits for the princes relate to the feelings/behavior that Asriel expresses through the diary entries, and specifically link up to how the souls move. For example, for Eslira, his worries over what Kris is doing -> Eslira's fear of a human lightner -> he tends to isolate himself and stay in one place -> teal soul is "don't move, and you won't get hurt."

And all of the princes can do that by the end when enough connections have been established between them, and because they're special compared to how other Darkners work. It probably would not have worked early on in the adventure, even if they did know how to do it.

DOFP ask - Why does Greatest Dog's save file date back to just before they joined the guard? At the time, GD wouldn't have DT, so my assumption is that the save file updates on its own, but you need DT in order to LOAD. But why is that the last time it updated? What does Greater Dog mean when they the first subject's "face was different"? Did they have a blaster... GRAFTED onto their face? Why?

Greatest Dog mentions this in the story: this was the day he was supposed to get his special armor, and he wanted to remember this day forever. Even if he has no direct control over his save file, that's still something that would stick as "important! save here!"

You see in a flashback that the monster is wearing a mask akin to the machinery that looks like a Gaster blaster. This gives the idea that the mask/machinery altered their face, although this wasn't intentional on Gaster's part.

[petra-creat0r]

Deltarune: Fool's Fate Ch. 8 Secret Boss

Chapter 8 of 10 and the last boss unique to the Fool's Fate era! (The last two were originally intended for Kris's journey, but Kris skipped over them). This chapter we head back to Hometown because this SBs Dark World takes place in the Town Hall!

I originally came up with this gal like... Only a couple of days ago. I struggled with the Town Hall secret boss for a while. I knew I wanted the SB to relate in some way to the Holidays, but with how much time has past since the original Deltarune, I'm not sure Mayor Holiday would be mayor anymore. (I think it might be interesting/funny if the election happened recently and Mayor Holiday lost to Heats Flamesman after running unopposed for many, many years in a row.) Anways, on a walk home I eventually came up with something and that's how we now have Polaris!

Her name is both because she's based somewhat off a polar bear/lives in a polar climate (perhaps the only polar climate left in the transformed Town Hall Dark World) but also Polaris is the name of the northern star. Doesn't exactly relate to her time motif but I thought it still fit her. (I can't put a whole lot of thought into all the names, okay? Chapter 10's secret boss is literally just mirror backwards)

Not sure what to do for her text quirk, but I imagine with her hood up, she rarely speaks. When she does speak, it's in short, to the point sentences. She's cold and closed off. However hood off, she rambles about the vastness and never-endingness of time and dimensions beyond comprehension. The concept of infinity, the end and the beginning coming together as one. A 4th dimension. She sounds insane. But then again... Aren't all the secret bosses?

For Polaris's soul mode, it's a split orange and blue mode. I imagine it works similarly to how the Switch soul mode works, but still utilizing the orange and blue soul modes from my previous bosses. (Alternatively I might just give her the actual switch mode and give the next boss some twist up to the switch mode, for the sake of skill leveling.)

If it isn't clear by now, Polaris is based off a clock. Specifically a pocket-watch clock that was likely a gift to Mayor Holiday since the clock in her office doesn't work. (Imagine it's literally frozen because how cold she keeps her office) At some point though, the pocket watch's cover snapped off and it's face froze as well. Thus it got thrown in the trash and left behind when Mayor Holiday left office.

Backstory under the cut

Polaris wasn't really anything special back during the town hall world's old era, she was just the friendly clock tower keeper. Watching after the old and cold watch tower that loomed over the town hall Dark World from the north. Sure, she could sometimes be cold and a little blunt, but so were many denizens of this world. (Likely something due to the primary Lightner influence of the time)

Even still, Polaris did her job and she did it well. Upkeeping the clock tower and making sure it's time was accurate and bells tolled when they were supposed to. Everything had a schedule. Everything had a set time. There was order. There was routine.

Until there wasn't.

One day the clock tower broke. It's clockwork stopped ticking and it's hands refused to move. "It's fine" Polaris thought. "Just the ice freezing up the gears again. Just have to warm them up and get everything back on schedule!" ... But even after warming up the gears, they wouldn't budge. Polaris kept the heater on them for hours, days even... And yet nothing.

In the mean time, Polaris tried her best to keep the time herself. She knew when it froze and *approximately* how long it's been since then. She could help keep the time, right? Not to mention she was a clock herself! Though... It's a bit difficult to read your own face. Even still, Polaris had to try. So many Darkner's depended on the time for their own routines and schedules. There were meetings, conferences, appointments that all relied on Polaris and her clock tower. She couldn't afford to let them all down.

Eventually during this time of desperation and scrambling to try and fix the clock tower, now frozen at the same time for months on end, Polaris met a man. A man from beyond both time and space who offered to help. Not just in the little polar bear's dilemma, but also to show her how great and expensive time could truly be. The other Darkners below the tower were like ants, all scurrying around, scrambling to make their next meeting or appointment or conference on time. They limited and rationed their time because they believed it was constantly running out. That the ticking of the clock was always counted down to something. When in reality, the clock was just ticking. Time would always keep going, be it "wasted" or used, and unaware of anyone's life.

Even though he original deal was only about fixing the tower, after hearing the man talk about the endlessness of time and the futility of life, she needed to hear more. She didn't care about fame or power, she only wanted knowledge now. She paid no mind to if people even noticed the tower was fixed. Polaris only yearned to learn more. The man, ever the curious mind himself, was happy to oblige. Sharing secrets about time and the universe with the little clock bear that anyone else would fail to comprehend.

And oh, the more Polaris knew, the more she wanted to see. She wanted to understand, to be able to comprehend this glory that was the man's dimension, far from her own. Her world just looked so flat in comparison. So limited, so confined. She wanted to be able to view and understand time as the man did. As the endless expanse forever stretching on rather than just a meager ticking clock that could only imitate the concept by ticking the seconds down. Even when the man tried to explain that even those in his domain still see time itself as a clock face, Polaris didn't care. In fact that tidbit made her feel more entitled to the knowledge. ... Though hesitant, the man showed her all he could.

Perhaps it was a type of fear, or perhaps the man simply had more important matters to attend to, but regardless, one day the man disappeared. Polaris, loosing her mind and still yearning for more, started to spiral. She wanted to understand. She NEEDED to understand. She needed to be able to articulate what she'd learned to others! ... But how do you explain infinity in a way that others will truly get it? How can she share the Truth that the man shared with her? Polaris needed to see it again. She needed to see what the man had showed her but the man was gone... She went mad

Polaris tore her cover off. Her true face was the clock, it always had been. The cover was just a mask to hide behind. Why should she cover such a beautiful thing? If even just an imitation, it still represented the thing she yearned for most. That endless expanse. People around Polaris had eventually noticed her change in demeanor. How she'd ramble on and on about a dimension behind their own. Beyond even the world of the Lightners. They called her insane. By definition, she probably was. And all the while, Polaris was still searching for a way to see what the man showed her again. She new it was somewhere, that the man had left something behind. She just didn't know where.

Eventually, after enough people had caught on to her lunacy (and taken note that she'd fallen behind at her job), Polaris was relieved of her duties and kicked out of her tower. Out into the snowy tundra of the north. She couldn't believe it. Didn't they know what she was doing!? What she was trying to see, what she was trying to get everyone else to see!? ... Of course they didn't. How could they? Polaris could barely explain it herself. And so she walked the icy cold tundra, ever searching for ways to explain it.

Until a puppet and a group of young Lightners fell into the town hall world...

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Hey, any of y'all watched/read Flatland? ... Yeah, that's just the secret bosses in a nutshell imo.

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[ikeromantic]

Tinsel

Ikemen Advent prompt featuring Yukimura (and Sasuke)! approx. 600 words.

“You want to do what?” Yukimura frowned at Mai and Sasuke. 

“We’re going to put a Christmas tree up,” Sasuke said again, completely unhelpfully. 

Mai nodded. “It’s a western tradition from the modern day but I think it will be fun! We can decorate a tree and get each other gifts . . . you’ll like it, I promise.”

Yukimura rubbed a hand over his face. “Sure. Fine. Let’s get it over with. What do you need?”

A little while later, with a list in hand, Yukimura, Sasuke, and Mai headed to the Kasugayama market to pick up dried berries, flowers, glass beads, and ribbons. He was trying to imagine how all that would look on a tree in the castle garden. An evergreen, they’d said. “Are you guys sure about this,” he asked again. “I mean, it sounds pretty dumb.”

Mai grinned and bumped him with her hip. “You’ll just have to see it, I guess.”

“Hey, watch what you’re doing, boar woman,” Yukimura said, without any real heat.

“It might help if we describe it.” Sasuke pushed his glasses back on his nose. “We’ll wrap the tree in strings with the beads and berries and flowers. It will be very colorful and festive.”

Mai nodded. “The more colors the better. It’s just too bad we don’t have any lights. Or tinsel! I loved that stuff when I was a kid.”

“I liked it too. The way it glimmered in the light. Like little streaks of starlight caught in the branches.” Sasuke’s lips quirked up in one of his barely-there smiles.

Yukimura rolled his eyes. “Tin sell?”

The ninja shrugged. “It’s not made of tin, despite the name. It was thin strips of reflective plastic, more like a fabric than a metal. It was supposed to imitate snow or ice, though I never thought it looked like that.”

“Some things just don’t exist in this time.” Mai gestured to a market stall. “Oh look! Those will be perfect.” She tugged Sasuke over to peruse the dried flowers.

Yukimura still didn’t really understand, but his friends look so excited. He liked seeing them happy. It made him wish sometimes that they hadn’t had to give up everything in the world they knew to be here with him. Despite the fact that this kris-mast tree was a pain, it was well worth it to see them so full of excitement.

When they got home, Mai picked out the best tree in the castle garden and they set about decorating it. Despite Yukimura’s skepticism, it actually looked pretty good. Not that he would admit it. The bright flowers and berries looked nice against the dark green foliage, and the glass bits caught the evening light. 

“Wow,” Mai sighed. “It really reminds me of home.”

“Same.” Sasuke put his arm around Mai and settled the other across Yuki’s shoulders. “Thanks for making this happen. I don’t know what I would do without my BFF and the love of my life.”

“Yeah, yeah. Knock it off already,” Yukimura pulled away, though he regretted it. 

Mai gave him a knowing smile. “Now all that’s left is to get each other a gift. I hope you have some ideas.” She winked.

Yukimura had no ideas. Zero ideas, even. Gifts were not his strong suit. He supposed he could get them candy. That always worked for Shingen. Or sake? The kind Kenshin liked. Maybe a book? Kanetsugu liked books. None of it quite fit though. He wanted to get them something special.

And then it hit him. The tin-sell. Shiny. Like fabric. Thin enough to hang on the branches. Yuki sped to Yoshimoto’s quarters. It didn’t take long to get the art-lover on board. 

The next morning, Mai and Sasuke went out to the tree to put their gifts beneath the boughs. The evergreen glistened in the early morning light, bedecked in thin strips of silvered silk. It caught the sun, glimmering like starlight. Like icicles. Like the smiles lighting his best friends’ eyes.

@candied-boys @queengiuliettafirstlady

[lifeofkaze]

♦️ for each member of equinox, please (and I don’t have the symbol but feel free to do the smutty one for them too)

I love these asks. These are exciting. Let's do this.

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

Jaz: Jaz has too much energy to stay still for a long time, she will always be out and about either working out, exploring, playing the drums, surfing... whatever to get her energy out. When she's running and tired of listening to music, she has a plethora of true crime podcasts on her phone to choose from.

Leon: Leon used to be a regular on leftist demonstrations until 1) he got himself arrested when things got a *little* out of hand and 2) the label told him to knock the activism off - both personally and creatively. Not wanting to hurt the trajectory they were on at the time, Leon complied. Nowadays, he mainly occupies himself with - surprise - any form of music.

Mara: In every city they go to, Mara takes every chance to sneak away from the others to explore historical and/or abandoned sites to soak in the atmosphere and practise her photography there. Also, she likes romance novels, the cheesier the better (but you didn't get that from me. It's a secret. Shhh.)

Mel: Mel is renowned for not allowing anyone to take their food spicier than she does. Can she handle it? No. Does that matter to her? Absolutely not.

Ev: His favourite things outside of music are motorbikes. His second favourite thing are splatter movies - the gorier the better.

Kris: Kris (literally) grew up on the beaches of Australia's west coast. According to him, he could surf before he could walk. According to Jaz, that's a gross exaggeration but who believes her anyway.

✿ - Sex headcanon

Jaz: It's no secret Jaz loves a good shot of adrenaline and when it comes to sex, she's no different. Places you're not supposed to be, a bit of risk, some sneaking around, fear of getting discovered... it adds just the right edge to the fun, in her opinion.

Leon: Leon is all here for sensual experiences. May it be ice cubes, feathers, blindfolds, substances... whatever enhances the senses, he's all in.

Mara: Even though she sometimes feels like the odd one out in her band, Mara doesn't particularly like one-night stands. She's not prudish or anything, but she prefers to build a connection first before she goes any further.

Mel: Mel is a natural performer to the core, and it carries from the stage into the bedroom. She loves a good (or bad) roleplay, and it happened more than once that she got so into it that sexy time ended in fits of giggles and laughter. But who's to blame? Her girlfriend is hot when she laughs.

Ev: Ev is used to having the upper hand, or pretending to have the upper hand, so in the bedroom he's happy to cease control from time to time. He will not ask for it though. He will never ask for it.

Kris: Kris is as relaxed as they come and easily pleased. He's not much into games, however, and prefers to meet his partner at eye level. Some may call it boring but he's yet to complain. Or have someone else do it.

[undertalebabbleblog]

UTDR Holiday Newsletter Musings

Heya, Pup here, and I'm back again to talk about how Toby Fox has once more driven me insane.

Usually the newsletters have a black background and white text, but the background is white this time! Thematically appropriate, I suppose.

*glances outside at the warm summer morning*

Or, well, it's thematically appropriate if you don't live in the southern hemisphere lol.

Toby has a Bluesky account now, apparently.

...Yep, that belongs to Toby, alright.

And he even made an archive of the roast chicken posts "in case Blueski flies away". Excellent, those are exceedingly important, we wouldn't want them to be lost.

(Skipping over the stuff about the GameMaker updates and bugs because while it's interesting it's not what I'm here to talk about.)

*(...) *(...Pup slowly puts down the microwave they were holding and steps away.) *(All the settings on the microwave say 'spaghetti' anyway. It's unsure if that would work on frozen dogs.)

But in all seriousness, the reviews Toby shared seem pretty solid, and we are definitely, 100000000000% getting chapters 3 and 4 in 2025. I am incredibly excited and can't wait to see what the new chapters have in store.

(I wonder when they'll come out...? Place your bets, everyone! My money's on Undertale's 10th anniversary, since Toby has a habit of releasing and announcing important stuff on or around the anniversaries.)

We also have some text from chapter 4 that has been translated into Japanese. I cannot read Japanese, so unfortunately I don't have anything to say on that part, but I do have some things to say about some of the bits I can read!

"Inferno,&Inferno!" We don't have any context on who's saying this or what it might be about. My first thought is Dante's Inferno, given how much religious symbolism is in these games, but I'm probably wrong lol.

Lancer: "Susie, can you enrich my enclosure?" Susie: "Uhh, I can punch a hole in drywall and hide toys inside." Lancer: "Thank you. Someday, I will do the same for you..." This COULD just be about Lancer's room. Or it could imply that Lancer gets trapped somehow? Idk.

"To by, or not to by?" I don't have much to say here. But it's a Shakespeare reference, so I'm legally obligated to point that out.

Berdly: "Listen. It disgusts me to say this, but... as an ACT. OF. CHARITY. I will let you... Be the breeze under my wings. You... Me. Festival." My guess is that he's saying this to Susie. If so, Noelle is going to FLIP and I can't wait to see it lol. I'm very curious about this festival, too... I feel like something big's going to happen.

...wait.

WAIT.

Jevil's fight was in a carousel. Spamton's was on a rollercoaster.

...am I overthinking this, or are the secret bosses somehow foreshadowing the festival???????

Elnina: "Did it hurt when you fell? Your tag says you're... um, the moon." If I remember correctly, Elnina is one of the weather forecast themed enemies. Since this is chapter 4 dialogue, my guess is that this text is from Castle Town after you recruit them.

Chapter 5 is in development! Yay!

I was going to make a post about some of the new merch before the newsletter came out. Now I guess I'll just include my thoughts on it in this post.

SO. We have a Kris shirt.

Following the trend of the Frisk merch, Kris isn't named. All Frisk's merch refers to them as 'the human', and now Kris' shirt is the 'Important Person's Shirt'.

Here's all the text I've found describing it, from both the newsletter and Fangamer.

Listen. I am going insane over this. I have far too many thoughts and I don't know how to put any of them into words. BUT I'M GONNA TRY.

Okay. So.

Firstly, the love thing.

We already know that LOVE = Level of ViolencE. But while that adds an interesting layer, it's not primarily what I'm going to be discussing here.

Kris and the player have a connection, obviously. Their love will become yours - the love they receive from their mum, their dad, their friends, isn't meant for us. Yet it feels like it's directed at us, because we are Kris. Your love will become theirs - we decide their actions. If we express love for another character, we're expressing it through them, which means that the other characters are seeing it as their love instead. Us and Kris are separate entities, and yet we have an undeniable connection that makes us difficult to separate.

Also, I'm not entirely sure how this relates, but my first thought when I read this was about the default options for the vessel. The game records your choices in the vessel creation sequence. However, if you start a chapter 2 save file without continuing from chapter 1, the choices are automatically set to the first option of each question, except for the gift, which defaults to Mind. It also has default options for all the choices in the game, which all seem to follow what we know of Kris' characterisation. Essentially, if we haven't played chapter 1, Kris seems to play through it for us. In the vessel creation sequence, the question 'HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CREATION? (IT WILL NOT HEAR.)' has 'LOVE' as the first option. I don't know how this might relate and it might be entirely unrelated but in my head I feel like some dots have been connected and it's driving me crazy. TOBY FOX YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME.

(Please picture me with one of those conspiracy theory boards with the red string and pictures and scribbled notes. That's the most accurate depiction of me right now.)

The mask thing seems important too, but I can't think of what it might be referring to. Maybe something to do with how the actions you choose for Kris aren't how they're really feeling?

There's also a Seam plush, which I wasn't originally going to talk about, but then the newsletter happened.

Firstly, look at it. Look at this battered old wizard cat. I want it.

Secondly, we get a sort-of-canon Seam design! So that's cool.

...dusty magic. Broken dreams. No tail, torn off by cruel and loving hands. The tail in your mind should be stronger than anything I show you.

THERE IS SOMETHING HERE RELATED TO THE DARK WORLDS AND DREAMS AND IMAGINATION AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT IT BUT IT'S THERE.

If they keep releasing merch, my entire house is going to be UTDR themed. I can feel my wallet getting lighter and lighter each time they release something new, and I haven't even bought any merch yet.

And finally, if you click on this antlered snowman at the bottom...

You get a message...

DESS LORE DESS LORE DESS LORE

She called Noelle 'Elly' I'm gonna cry -

More angel Noelle... and "I wish it could snow whenever I wanted"... kind of ominous given the Snowgrave route and the whole Angel's Heaven thing.

AAAA I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES IN THE GAME

I actually missed the snowman link at first, so obviously I'm going to be clicking everything in all future newsletters just to be sure lol.

Uhhhh... yeah. That's all.

See you next time, and happy holidays!

[magentainbio]

hey undertale/deltarune fandom im dumping a bunch of headcanons on you that may or may not be popular/adopted from other people or just might be flat out canons

spoilers for undertale, undertale yellow, and deltarune, i suppose.

- Kris wishes they could wear something besides the same shirt constantly but don't feel like doing anything about it

- Frisk had a rough life at home and Toriel might have reminded them of it a little bit at first. this rough life is possibly why they climbed Mt. Ebott in the first place.

- If Ralsei is evil, he doesn't have it in him to betray the party. I don't think he is, though, and with the direction the story is going think he will be more of a "What you're doing, even if you don't realize it, is wrong" and then he gets all sad and apologizes, changing for the better.

- Frisk's trait is Love, and not Determination. They just happen to possess a large amount of Determination.

- Gaster

- Sans knows all about the multiverse. He studies it as a hobby because it's a special interest of his. He's studied the timeline, the Deja Vu monsters tend to get, all of it. He is a nerd who likes to crack jokes. And neurodivergent.

- I think Charrator theory is true, and I think Chara had some time before Frisk fell down to examine their actions. Possibly realized what they did was wrong. When we do the Geno route, it's like that part of them is reawakened, and they manifest, forever taking control when we aren't. They continue playing along with our silly schemes, but the change we did? It's permanent.

- I like to imagine Flowey has some sense of empathy or feeling. I don't think he does. But, I like to imagine.

- Asgore is bi. Do I need to elaborate??

- I like to imagine Gaster just watching everything from the Void. We don't know enough about him to really *know* anything about him, but I like to imagine him watching over the Underground, cheering from the sidelines, watching over his boys Sans and Papyrus as they do their silly little things

- Heats Flamesman is the knight /j

- Papyrus forces the UTY and UT gangs together, it goes horrible at first but eventually things work out.

- Sans acting completely apathetic and monotone is a coping mechanism

- Sans studied the multiverse, but also some psychology. He understands emotions better than most, reading people's minds just by their body language.

- Sans has tried to explain to Papyrus in at least one timeline the entire multiverse theory and Papyrus just didn't get it

- Common theory, I know, but Kris, Susie, and Ralsei form a trio: Red, Green, and Blue. More notably, Kris, Susie, and Noelle form a much closer trio of: Magenta, Cyan, and Yellow. Just a blind guess based off of this, Noelle might be more important than Ralsei.

- Sans is not the only one aware of the world's mechanics, by a long shot. Frisk knows of them through our help, Flowey has directly messed with the world, Asgore is at least aware of the other children loading their saves. Shopkeeper Tem is just... somehow completely aware of your resets. All monsters get a sort of Deja Vu.

- I feel after the Pacifist ending of UTY Ceroba never truly let go. She either let go of her resentment after Kanako was sent back, or sometime after meeting Alphys and promptly attacking her. Maybe both.

- The cast of UT never really understood the harm they did to the cast of UTY. besides flowey. buut, in the end, Flowey honestly helped everyone whether he meant to or not.

- We, the Player, are just always there. We tell people what to do. We are, however, attached to different hosts for different reasons. Maybe there's some higher power pulling the strings, moving us around. Maybe there's just a system.

- Papyrus isn't naïve. He's quite clever and powerful. He just isn't really bothered by a lot. Not enough for it to matter to him, anyways.

- Asgore has to force himself to agree that ehat he's doing is right. Always. It hurts him, but I think UT is his breaking point, where he can't take it anymore. He's being dealing with everything for so long, and... There's just something about them. Frisk. That reminds him so much of Asriel. He can't keep his guard up around them.

is this list too long yet

im stopping here for now

I accidentally posted this without tags whoops

[luciluck2046-utdr]

Welcome to the (non) official

BLOG!!! (For short LUW)

This AU is my own idea. There may be some questions you may ask yourself, but first let me explain what this blog is for.

This post is the main one, I recommend checking it if you're new to this AU. Here I'll post everything Luci's Underwitch related. Or almost everything. I'll try. (I may have missed some art from my main acc, it is @artsycrow46)

Also, if you want to ask any character anything, on @lucisunderwitchasks you can ask them! Edit: The account was deleted and moved here(i have way too many accounts so I need to do some cleaning from time to time)

Let me give you a brief explanation of the AU. Luci's Underwitch is an AU where all monsters are actually humanized, being called Witches. Frisk is 12 during their travel around the Underground, doing the Pacifist Run, and in the end, accepting the job as the ambassador of Witches, but going 'home' to their dad. Chara fallows them pretty much everywhere, and likes Frisk very much, being besties.

Now several months fast forward, Frisk lives with the Dreemurr Family. Asriel (11 y/o) and Kris(5 y/o) are their siblings, and Toriel takes care of all of them, dating Sans (mhm, I'm one of them Soriel shipers).

Ten years later, Frisk and Asriel are at college, and Kris found out about the Dark Worlds!.. The year now it's 2025, and Kris with Susie are now at their homes, waiting for their siblings to come back from college for Easter! Scarlett is one of Frisk's best friends, maybe even more than friends! And Asriel is still single since he's autistic as fvck.

Toghether, Frisk (with Chara ofc), Kris, Asriel, Susie and Ralsei are going into a steampunk adventure in Frisk's closet.(all of this is happening after Chapter 2. I am going to play the next Chapters when they're out, and add them to another fanfic)

Under the cut you'll have more, and at the end there will be the questions.

'kay, the explanation wasn't that brief. I am going to make a comic about it, but I am still learning about how to draw perspective and hair sooooooo y'all won't get this soon.

I have two fanfics on the way with this AU, and a third one might appear after I finish the second.

The main fanfic is called Lost Souls, The First Part explaining different events from Frisk's life after they got out of the Underground, and The Second Part is going to fallow the two humans into the closet adventure! (The closet has nothing to do with lgbt, but the fanfic surely has a bunch of lgbt in it)

I might upload several chapters in a day, or forget about it for weeks. If anyone wants to read more and I haven't uploaded a new chapter in a long while, uhhhhh tell me? (My dumbass my forget fast)🫡🫡🫡

The link to it? I might add an AO3 link too after I figure out how to use that website-

The second fanfic is called Underground Adventures, fallowing Frisk trough the Underground. This one will be out all at once, not by parts, so it's no worth to put the link here.

Now the third fanfic. It's going to be called Runes And Adventures. It's going to be abt Kris in the dark world, during Chapter 1-2. The Chapters 3-4 are going to get a separate fanfic, since they're gonna be AFTER the steampunk adventure. I am not even working on how to write it or any ideas, since it's going to take a long time, and it's not the biggest deal. I might not write it at all, since you get to see most of Kris's interactions in the game already, but who knows?

NOW!!! The possible questions(since I can't say FAQ)

1. Why is it called Luci's Underwitch?

Well, it was supposed to be called Underwitch. But apparently that exists already so I had to add my name to it. TwT

2. How do the characters look?

Well, if you've been on my main, @luciluck2046, you would see a bunch of fanarts, but I'll post them here too a bit later.

3. Comic?

Not yet. I suck.

4. Inspiration?

I got inspired to make this AU after I finished TOH(The Owl House), and also I liked the idea of humans with magic that UnderMate has. So yeah, I kinda combined those two with Undertale and my creativity, and I got this AU!

Reference sheets

Welp, it seems you got to the end of the main post! I might update this often, but who knows? See you later my friend, and have fun reading!

[ana-chronista]

Me again with some Jan/Jure for the kiss promts hehe :))

Could you maybe do …forcefully and ...out of necessity for them (either works fine as well<3)

So my hand slipped and I wrote both...

33. ...forcefully

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Lying there on the hospital bed, arm already in a fresh cast and sling, Jure has the audacity to roll his eyes. “Oh, come on. It's not like I did it on purpose!” “That doesn't matter!” Jan snaps back at him, trying to take a deep breath before his anger becomes full-on fury. They may be in a private side room, alone while the nurse is off sorting out the discharge paperwork, but the door is still slightly ajar and he doubts anyone down the corridor wants to hear him shouting. “Jan, it's not that b- ” “Don’t you tell me – you're lying there with a broken arm and you're trying to tell me me it's not that bad?” He can’t believe how casually Jure is treating this. The panic he’d felt from the phone call – don’t freak out, but can you give me a ride from the hospital? – is still gnawing at the edges of his mind, even though no permanent damage has been done and Jure appears to give precisely zero shits about what’s happened. “Who are you, my mum?” Jure scoffs. “It's really not, it barely hurts – ” “That’ll be the painkillers, which seem to be messing up your take on this.” “Look, if I’d wanted a lecture, I would have called Kris – ” “Yeah, I’d love to see how you’re going to explain this one to him.” Jan says snidely. He wants a front row seat to that show, for sure. “What are we supposed to do with the gigs coming up?” “I don’t know, Rick Allen manages just fine.” Jure shoots back. For a moment, Jan stares him down, hands on hips, until suddenly Jure sighs, flippancy draining and leaving him deflated. “Get a session musician, I guess. I know a few people, and I’m sure Nace has a few connections.” Jan shakes his head, insisting, “That’s not the point, Jure.” “Yeah, OK, I don’t want to let the fans down. Maybe I can still be on stage?” “Also not the point!” He can’t help raising his voice. How does he not get that there are a million and one different scenarios still running through Jan’s head, each worse than the last? “What if you’d landed on your head or something? You could have been hurt way worse!” And just like that, he can see annoyance flooding the other man again. “Yeah, but I didn’t, and I wasn’t! Honestly, I don’t get why you’re making such a huge deal – ” “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He darts forward, his hands landing on either side of Jure’s jaw to hold him in place and crushes his mouth against his. He pours every last scrap of fear and frustration into it, cutting off every last what if and what now chasing through his head. There’s a spark of satisfaction as Jure shifts his head the fraction he can, mouth falling open beneath Jan’s teeth and tongue. It only lasts a moment before footsteps echo in the hallway. They’re both breathless and panting as they break apart. “There!” Jan hisses, still holding on to Jure’s face as the drummer stares back at him. “Do you understand now? A knock sounds on the door. “Mr. Maček – ” “Jan – ” Jure sounds as dazed as he looks. Jan can feel his jaw clenching as he shakes his head and lets go of Jure. “Later. We’ll talk later.” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to the window as the nurse comes in clutching Jure’s file.

49. ... out of necessity

“So, the time has come!” Jure announces, startling Jan out of pretending to check his texts to look up and see their new drummer grinning up at him. “For what?” he asks, wondering if he’s missed something. The music and chatter of the party is like a wall of noise blocking off what’s actually happening, and he’s been lurking here in the corner for a good ten minutes trying to recharge his social batteries, beer in one hand and phone in the other. “For us to kiss!” Jure sounds so matter of fact, as though it should be obvious. Jan raises an eyebrow, trying to stay deadpan. “Oh, really?” Jure shrugs. “Well, I’ve already kissed everyone else... Bojan, Kris, Martin, even Matic on his way out.” He ticks them off on his fingers as he goes, leaving one raised that he prods into Jan’s chest. “That just leaves you.” “And what’s this all for? Science?” “Nah, team bonding exercise.” He can’t help but laugh at the flimsy reasoning. “You know, if you wanted to kiss me that much you could’ve just asked.” “Didn’t think I’d need to.” Jure says airily. “Thought you’d make me welcome.” Jan rolls his eyes, unable to help the fond smile tugging at his lips as he slips his phone away. “Well, if that’s how you feel, come here then.” Jure apparently doesn’t need to be told twice. He’s immediately stepping into Jan’s personal space and wrapping his arms around his neck to pull him down, leaning up and meeting him halfway. Jan lets him lead, unsure exactly what he’s going for, but Jure’s lips on his are warm and insistent as he coaxes Jan’s mouth open and then Jan – Jan decides to play him at his own game, wrapping his free arm around Jure’s back to draw him in closer, pushing back as much as Jure is. He lets Jure cup the back of his head and deepen the kiss, but nips back at his bottom lip, enjoying the smallest shudder he feels run through him. Jure was the one to ask for this, of course. He might as well make it memorable for him. It seems like he’s succeeded, because Jure is grinning when they break apart, wide and self-satisfied and very much the cat that got the cream. Jan can’t blame him – he’s feeling quite pleased with himself too, even if he restricts it to a smirk. “Will that do, then?” he asks. Jure uncoils himself from Jan, sliding his hands over his shoulders to his chest before giving him an affectionate nudge. “Hmm, maybe. I don’t know.” His tone is light and teasing, though Jan’s pretty sure he can hear some breathlessness in there too. “I might need more research – I’ll let you know.” And if Jure suggests they go conduct that research somewhere a bit quieter, Jan knows he’ll agree. This party is boring, anyway.