Its not "ignoring reality" for an abused, neglected teenager to avoid going to their house where they arent safe and most definitely arent cared for. Thats a kid doing what they can for their own safety and well being.
Susie even tries to feed herself in the Light World in what ways she can when she has no money due to her caretakers, so its not like shes ignoring her own need for food, its just that shes a teenager that cannot exactly provide for herself yet! Sleeping over in Castle Town isnt depriving her of anything that she would otherwise get in the Light World.
Susie isnt going to starve because she spends the nights in Castle Town when she wasnt getting fed at "home" anyway, and shes not only just as excited for the Festival in the Light World, shes also rightfully concerned and taken aback when the flower shop Fountain is opened. We are very distant from chapter 2 where she got excited at the librarby fountain.
"But using Castle Town is keeping her from trying to improve her situation!" And what exactly could Susie, who is poor, a minor, and a social outcast who the mayor openly dislikes, do about her situation in the Light World? What exactly are the options here that you think she isnt taking?
Is she supposed to confront her abusers as if that wouldnt most likely end with retaliation? If Queen is a parallel to Carol, King is clearly a parallel to Susie's guardian, and what do we see when Lancer tries to talk to his dad in chapter 1? Is she supposed to run away and, what, stay with Toriel forever? What happens when her parents finally notice and have a physical place they can track her down to? They still have legal custody, theres only so much Toriel could do even if Susie told her, which she isnt going to do right now because Toriel just (accidentally and with zero bad intentions) made Susie uncomfortable and unwilling to talk to her. Susie only resorts to sleeping in the Dark World once her one Light World option no longer feels safe to her!
What other adults could she talk to? Undyne is a cop and has been kidnapped. Asgore is an ex cop who cannot pay rent, neglected his own family, and also just got kidnapped. Alphys is openly afraid of her. Rudy is dead or dying. Again, the mayor straight up dislikes her and told her to get out of her house.
And even if she did tell a trusted adult, what could they do right now? Call CPS on her parents? Even if that did something and didnt just end up with retaliation from her guardian(s), she might just be sent into foster care (if she isnt already!) and get moved away from the support network Susie's been building. This might even have already happened, as we know Susie used to move around a lot and that whenever she did make friends, she'd have to move away. That is exactly the scenario she wants and needs to avoid here!
Susie isnt a hero in the Light World and she cant exactly enter a rpg battle with her abusers to easily improve her situation. In the Light World, she is a poor, ostracized teenager with zero power over the adults in her life. Sometimes the best an abused kid can do is keep themselves as safe as possible until they get a real opportunity to get out. That's not a delusion, its a pragmatic way of handling a complicated situation that doesnt have any easy answers.
This isnt even touching on what this whole interpretation would imply for the Darkners and the Dark Worlds themselves or how contradictory it is to Ralsei's character arc.
I think some people are ctrl c + ctrl v'ing the same tropes/themes from other stories with fantasy worlds without thinking critically about what this specific story is actually telling us. Theyre not analysing Deltarune's themes, theyre remembering half a dozen books/movies where the kids have to go back to the "real world" at the end and completely ignoring the ways in which Deltarune subverts that and plays with those expectations. You cant just apply the "generic fantasy themes and ending" interpretation to a video game made by Mr. Genre Subversion and expect it to work!
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