Thinking about Gerson in Undertale describing how some see the Angel of the Delta Rune to be a savior, some seeing it as as "A harbinger of destruction, waitin' to 'free' us from this mortal realm", and him seemingly not accepting either as 100% true but not denying them either, him saying the trangles are monsters below, and the circle is "something else" and he "just think it looks neat"
Do you think in Deltarune, he truly believed the prophecy, despite not going to church?
Which Holidays and Dreemurrs do you think believed, and now believe the prophecy?
Given his son became a pastor, I'm guessing he was fairly devout most of his life, but grew into his current world view after retiring from historian work and becoming a writer (if we take his career order as Smith -> Historian -> Writer -> Teacher... I guess a turtle monster would have a long enough life to pursue multiple careers like that)
That and if he was writing Lord of the Hammer while teaching, his experience in passing on knowledge to the next generation firsthand rather than in an academic environment as a historian might have made a difference too, realizing that the way students can reinterpret your lessons back at you in imperfect, but novel ways, is itself a creative activity. He probably stalled out in finishing his magnum opus because he feared he lacked the fresh perspective on these stories to tell a worthwhile ending, and so when he was revived in the Dark Sanctuary, that desire to encourage finding a new path got new life along with him
As for who are the good Angel-fearing Prophecy believers... obviously Toriel and Asriel, and I think Asgore in particular wanted to embody that "anyone can be a hero" mentality more earnestly than Catty put it, and is probably the reason he became a cop. Whether he still believes... well, he does still go to church, but at night, and thus doesn't participate in the community aspect of church life, not even seeing his friend on one of the few days he's out of the hospital. Kinda tragic that may have been his last chance...
Speaking of, Rudy is also a believer, possibly still is, and definitely also believes in emulating hero behavior in how boisterous he is in defending his daughter, dropping a "I'll kick your ass" at anyone who shows interest (even if he's kidding, well mostly kidding... in his own words). Honestly so far it seems that "anyone can be a hero" dogma only seems to encourage being a cop or a patriarch. Bleh...
Noelle is a choir girl and was in a Youth Group along with Dess, Azzy and Kris (an often overlooked fact about Dess, btw), and while she's seemingly familiar with stories based on the Prophecy, she doesn't seem to make the connection back to her religion so readily. She describes "everything good is a ripoff of Dragon Blazers", which is technically true, but seems to overlook Dragon Blazers being based on the Prophecy... a fact we learn from Gerson, who Noelle did NOT have as a teacher (judging by Alvin stating that Kris did not have him, and by the transitive property, yadda yadda...). She also doesn't seem to connect her "dream" of Cyber World to being a hero in the Prophecy, but rather to her games, a connection that Susie doesn't make at first, on account of only playing the one, Dragon Blazers 2
Carol is an interesting case, because, now that Asgore has been safely eliminated, the Roaring Group Chat has dwindled in size (not that I ever believed Asgore was a part of it, but the idea was at least plausible in chapter 4). At this point it's down to just Kris and the Knight, and maybe Carol
And here's the thing about Carol: I don't think it makes sense for her to be pro-Prophecy... well, ever really, but especially after chapter 5
First, just look at what she values. Preservation above all. Preserving the town in this idyllic suburban freeze frame, preserving the Christmas season year round in her house, preserving antique weapons (given the Katana in her kitchen is described as "ancient"), and of course controlling Noelle's life to such a suffocating degree that she feels like someone else is living her life for her, and finally preserving her missing daughter's room so absolutely, she never even made her bed after seven years
In short, this is not the behavior of someone who wants the Prophecy to come to pass. Because the Prophecy means change; first a crisis that calls for heroes to quote "save us" end-quote, then a Tragedy, and finally a banishing of the Angel's Heaven. Whatever that means, that sounds like it's not conducive to keeping a little snowglobe town like Hometown running smoothly, don't you think?
Second, the fact Asgore didn't really know anything makes it seem to me like she also doesn't know that much either. Asgore seems unaware of the Knight's identity (or even if it IS the Knight of the Prophecy), unaware that Kris has been making fountains, including the one he was in, and unaware of any ulterior motive to doing so, if they exist. And considering he has access to Carol's personal corkboard in her bedroom, that he's consulted multiple times and gone over the details, we can safely say that Carol ALSO doesn't know any of that! Also I just don't see her writing Asgore a check for five billion flowers while simultaneously arranging his kidnapping
Now sure, maybe she has a Plan that she's not only kept secret from Asgore, but doesn't involve the Prophecy actually coming to pass... except the way it's going with Kris and the Knight, it looks like "fulfill the Prophecy and enact the Final Tragedy" is what THEY are working towards. Since Susie's plan to defy the Final Tragedy goes in opposition to Kris's "promise." You would think, if Kris and the Knight secretly didn't want it to happen either, the Knight wouldn't be so violently opposed to Susie? Or nearly jumpstart the Roaring because it could? That's not going to make Carol's job as mayor any easier if the apocalypse started on a whim. Even the Prophecy getting far enough along that we've got people getting kidnapped is already causing problems; Napstablook is employing criminals to shore up the city's missing police force. Criminals who tried to break into her house just two days ago! I'm sure she's just thrilled about that
So, either Carol is not involved in Kris and the Knight's scheming at all, or she does have a plan, and has no idea how close Kris and the Knight have gotten to botching it. Either way, it doesn't make her look very pro-Prophecy at all!
