Potentially stupid and silly thought about Deltarune Chapter 2.
A question about Chapter 2 was why the heck was the starting area scorches to pieces. Queen’s forces were trying to capture Noelle and she’s an ice user.
Post-Chapter 5? You know… if Ralsei beat us to Cyber World he could have been the person to “blame”. WE know he has hella strong fire magic. He’s just afraid to use it. At least in front of Kris and Susie. Now, this is a valid thought.
In sanity’s defense, maybe Queen was just using explosive attacks and didn’t care about friendly fire.
But, the silly and stupid is the ramification of this thought if true.
Ramification 1: The Knight
Something, someone, caused the Knight to not enter the Dark World. The Knight created it. The laptop’s webcam caught a blurry video of them doing so. They just didn’t enter or immediately retreated?
… I know Knight Fraud is popular in some circles right now, but does this mean Ralsei potentially 1v1ed the Knight off screen and sent him running for the hills?
Ramification 2: Tralsei Debate
Queen’s forces attribute the destruction to “her”.
Granted, maybe the attacks were friendly fire under Queen’s orders. Maybe Queen’s forces thought the fire destruction was caused by Noelle.
It’s just mildly fun to imagine Ralsei dropping the “boy moder” look because neither Kris or Susie are around. Not bothering with the pacifist act in order to keep Noelle safe until the pair arrive. Just flinking around fireballs like crazy in femme or nonbinary Ralsei glory.
*Knight flees after a failed attempt at kidnapping Noelle before Kris and Susie arrive*
Tralsei: Get back here, Knight! Kris and Susie aren’t due to arrive for another half hour. The prophecy says you will survive whatever I put you through. This is a wonderful time for me to vent some of this dysphoria frustration before I need to play nice for the next couple hours!
Knight: !?!?
Tralsei: I’m the mother &#@@ing founder of the $@!% Gang. Let me finally show someone why I hold back. When I’m done with you, you’ll be wishing I could kill you. You’ll be feeling this until next week!
For the last week or few I've been starting to suspect "Kris" might be the Vessel all along. Like, we play as the Vessel.
The Vessel is a plot thread that has been left hanging even before Chapter 1 proper even starts. Being a copy of Kris it has Kris' memories and personality. It, they, might not have been supposed to have a personality and will of their own. But, Deltarune has a strong theme of choosing who you are rather than being told who you are.
Chapter 5 spoilers beyond
The Path to This Thought
This raises some questions though. Namely, where is the real Kris? Bio Kris?
Before Chapter 5 this thinking had me wondering if Kris Knight wasn't still a possibility because we were never playing "Kris" in the first place.
The Knight is as much Kris themed as Dess themed.
Kris Knight being without a soul for so long could explain the health issues the Knight seems to have.
The Knight's identity is a mystery and someone we the player should know since Kris blocked us from seeing the Knight without a helmet.
The Knight is someone who nobody in town would seemingly question wandering about.
Ralsei Has a Hidden Identity
But Chapter 5 introduced more into the Ralsei mystery. We know Ralsei doesn't want to be what he should be, is told he must be. To the point of holding back what he is and can do for fear of making things worse. The flowers, mostly Flowery, spends mocking Ralsei through most of the chapter.
Whatever your thoughts on Tralsei, I'm going to use trans femme language to explain what I mean as an example. Tralsei being the name I've seen for the theory Ralsei is trans gender to some degree.
Flowery sticks Ralsei into the closet
Flowery sticks Ralsei's hat back on. He and the other flowers repeatedly spend most of the chapter going "Shouldn't you be boy modeing?"
In Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 Ralsei spends a chunk of it kind of doing the "4tranner" equivalent for darkeners. Telling Tenna and the flowers they (including himself) they will never pass, they are not valid, and that they should never have hopes of passing. While the flower gang are a walking pride flag of all sorts of genders that all go "We are human! We are going to fully embrace who and what we are even if we don't match perfectly (see Orange)! Why should we hide ourselves? I mean, if that is what you want, Ralsei, why aren't you wearing your boy moder hat?"
When Flowery and Ralsei have a true heart to heart talk with Ralsei opening up about his identity issues the tone changes. Flowery encourages Ralsei to genuinely be who he wants to be. Praising Ralsei for doing so well this far. Then calls Ralsei "princess" opposed to prince.
Whatever the specifics of Ralsei's identity. It is undeniable after Chapter 5 the truth is important for the series.
One, judging by how Ralsei has danced around it, is meant to be a shock to the characters in-universe.
What is that Identity? Ralsei is Original Kris' Body
Then remember the flowers aren't normal object darkeners. They are soul less living beings, flowers, turned into darkeners.
This had me thinking, is this why Kris the Player Character is warned about not having the soul. How Kris PC is seemingly hesitant to enter dark worlds without the soul? With he flower gang as precedent, the possibly seems near certain that the Vessel would become a darkener.
Heck, maybe the Vessel does considering how much more Kris changes colors compared to Susie, Noelle, Berdley, Toriel, and Asgore. That it is a Pink situation.
So, where is Kris if not the Knight? Well, what about Ralsei?
Kris wanted to be a monster but wasn't. Asgore notes Ralsei looks like a monster at first, but when you look closer the differences make it clear Ralsei isn't. Slipping into using Kris' nonbinary pronouns instead of Ralsei's normal he/him.
Ralsei has red horns unlike the other Dreemurr looking folk. Kris wore red horns as part of their Dreemersona.
If "Original" Kris' body lacks their soul they could have become something between Gerson's dustner and Flower Gang's hybrid-ner.
Repeatedly when seen by somebody who knew Asriel, Ralsei is painted as looking close but different. I would argue, like a sibling these characters didn't know Asriel had.
Ralsei is the sort of stupid name Asgore and Toriel would have given Kris[mas] had Kris been born to them.
"Kris" (I propose Vessel) seems shocked about the dark world in the closet when there is already a save point with Kris' name. There wouldn't be a contradiction if Kris created it and saved without the Vessel being aware. The only person in that dark world is "Ralsei".
"Kris" and "Ralsei" have that weird thing going on where both of them know stuff and at times hint at it. Only both know the heart/player is watching. They don't want us to know it.
Why is there, presumably fresh, blood in Kris room and why does Vessel feel guilty about taking something from Asgore? If Kris was involved with Dess' disappearance it wouldn't have been the Vessel.
If Ralsei isn't using some super secret dark world back rooms to go from world to world, he'd need a form that wouldn't be seen as out of the ordinary at first glance. Kris-sei, if they can survive for a bit without their soul like Vessel, could pass in and out easily enough.
Not like this was already potentially foreshadowed.
If Ralsei isn't the red horns. He isn't some sort of "Kris' desire to be a monster was so great the formless wish became a physical darkner". If we need to dispose of Kris' body a closet that a dying Kris turned into a dark world would be a way to do it.
So if Caine and Kinger finally have a father-son relationship… does that mean Kinger calls him by his first name, all three middle names, and last name when he’s about to unleash the full force of his parental wrath
Sleep Deprived Thought: Are Any of the Fun Gang the "Heroes"?
Up front, this way of thinking does have potential issues. It would be a big enough twist that landing would need to be done very carefully for it to work well. For it to avoid the story becoming bad writing.
This is more of a random "what if" thought than something I'd consider a full theory as there are holes in this "theory" I currently don't have the answer to. This was something woke up wondering. This is something I'm writing while my morning caffeine is still mostly contained in my vintage "Coca-cola" texture glass cup.
Some Chapter 5 spoilers
The Question/Premise
What if none of the Fun Gang are "The Heroes"? Like in an unchosen ones situation.
Susie
Anyone who even remotely dabbles in Deltrarune theories probably knows this argument by heart. Whether you believe it or not.
Gerson/"Oberon Smog" outright says Susie is the "Dragon" rather than the "Girl".
The prophecy image is vague enough to start an unending war on whether you see it as blue/black or white/gold Susie or Noelle.
Susie over and over is kind of the left field character. Her idea defeats the Titan. Gerson encourages her to write her own story instead of the prophecy. Ralsei in Chapter 1 begins doing the whole "maybe there is a way to change things..." thing after Kris walks up to Castle Town with her. Queen would have had the right amount of cages in Chapter 2 if there were one less person with the group, like Susie wasn't supposed to be there?
Ralsei
What made me ask this question. Ralsei is trying his hardest to not be himself. Whatever Ralsei is isn't a normal darkener.
Normal darkeners can't change their stats, their natures, and all of that. That's something we only have seen in very unusual circumstances:
Jevil (Secret Boss): Talked to or interacted with something odd.
Chaos King: Might have had the mantle and was given a push by the Knight.
Spamton (Secret Boss): The mysterious caller. Got access to a body that contains the glass shard formed of Metaton's lost dream.
Ram: Possible mantle interaction.
Gerson: A "dustner".
The Flowers: Living beings without souls turned darkners
Whatever Ralsei is, it is powerful. He has access to strong fire magic. He fears the unleashing all his power risks destroying it all. Making things worse. Even Flowery admits that what Ralsei is doing should be impossible, but his kind heart is making it possible.
This has caused some people to think Ralsei could be a titan. Just one who has gained self awareness. There are other possibilities. *cough*
In any case, if this is broad strokes true then Ralsei isn't supposed to the "The Prince in the Dark". Ralsei isn't supposed to be "here" any more than Susie. Only, Ralsei's fear of changing too much will lead to a worse result combined with his in-depth knowledge of the prophecy just means Ralsei is better at hiding his intrusion into the story.
Kris
I haven't thought much here beyond the nagging hanging plot thread. Where is the vessel? Well, that is solved easily enough if the vessel has been there all along.
We're playing the vessel, the copy of Kris with Kris' memories. Given color and life by the soul. Potentially this is foreshadowed in the sword route. The heart/soul "becomes" 8-bit Kris who can escape their confines, leave the screen, and wanders off to do whatever.
Granted, this is one of the holes I mentioned at the start. We now need to solve where Kris is. I can spitball some ideas, but which is true?
The Knight is real Kris. Kris Knight is back on the table.
Kris vanished in whatever incident Dess vanished in. Nobody noticed because the vessel replaced Kris that far back.
Kris is Ralsei. Thought of this while writing this. I'll probably make a separate post.
We've seen repeated references to multiple Kris. If we accept rhyming with Undertale there was the whole Frisk being confused for Chara by Flowey (Ralsei). If the other two Fun Gang aren't the chosen heroes then it would make sense Kris [we play as] isn't either.
Wait, Where's the "Real" Fun Gang?
Honestly, dunno. This is one of the "holes" in the theory/speculation. Solving this requires a whole separate theory, or reveal in a future chapter, to slide into it.
Maybe something like "The Original Fun Gang" is true. Where Deltrarune isn't the story of the prophecy, "Dragon Blazers 1". Deltarune is after the prophecy and its tragedy already happened, "Dragon Blazers 2". Someone is trying to trigger a similar event in the hopes of undoing the tragedy. A false prophecy causing a set of false heroes to be pulled together.
Maybe the "Real" Fun Gang are displaced. Like, Real Kris, Noelle, and a third (Berdley? Seam? Lancer?) were supposed to be the heroes. Only with the False Fun Gang slotting into the role the Real Fun Gang never got the call to adventure.
What Does This Add?
A twist for twist's sake is bad writing. A good twist is something foreshadowed. Something that can be ruined if people understand the writer's writing style well enough to pick up on the foreshadowing. A good twist works like a magician's trick that you can possibly know. A well executed misdirection rather than the magician sucker punching you, doing the thing while you are hunched over in pain, and yelling "surprise!".
Toby is doing something about identities as one of Deltarune's themes. We don't know what exactly beyond it includes you don't need to be who others tell you that you are.
That your choices matter.
With the "Weird Route" being proving everyone wrong in an unhealthy way vs the likely "Pacifist Route" equivalent being the "healthy" way of dealing with it. The "neutral" route being where we get the "one ending" that seemingly any choice leads to unless you do things that seem to go against what the game encourages.
As tropey as this sounds, a reveal that the "Fun Gang" are the false heroes. Maybe even the three intended villains of the story would fit into this theme fantastically. They aren't the chosen heroes, but the trio who chose to be the heroes.
Stupid intrusive thought. Music switched from “Isn’t She Lovely?” To “I’m Just a Man”. So, my brain imagined Odysseus singing to baby femme Jax instead of Scamandrius…
You know, that could be interesting from a vorthos design space, not sure how it would affect other design spaces admittedly. A problem I have is how many cards are "copies" of characters that are all legendries with different names, but that's mitigated when the different cards show a character's growth over the story.
Combining these both could mimic something MMOs sometimes do. Early in the "story", UB or Universes Within, the named character hasn't earned the reputation to be considered a legend yet. Versions of them only gaining legendary in the cards depicting after they passed that point of development.
I'll do art of someone or something else next time, I promise. Suris the Skeptic again.
Any suggestions?
One of the rare pieces where I feel content in how far I pushed myself.
There are "flaws". I didn't want to mess with hands so I made sure they were out of frame. The chest might be too "forward" towards the viewer. It stands out more when I do the horizontal flip. The awning is way skewed in perspective unless you assume it is old and falling down on one side.
But, I did experiment more with shading. The tree came out good enough in my opinion.
So, in the vein of "misread sprites", I crit failed recognizing what a mural in progress' line art was. What was supposed to be Nicol Bolas, Magic the Gathering, (I think) looked to me like Glendale from Centaurworld wearing overly ornate armor.
Glendale's "face" was actually Bolas' nose.
Random thought about “The Amazing Digital Circus” if SOMA theory is true.
C&A must be monitoring the program to a degree if they are keeping the system running. Without Caine influencing things, it would be safer to send in new brain scan copies of employees to triage whatever is happening.
Just for the sake of example, let’s say some variant of the “Kinger Dies” theory is true. If the real flesh and blood person behind Kinger is alive he could just rescan himself.
Pomni: Hold on, I’m sure we can get out of this situation somehow.
Gangle: Everything is doomed!
*Poof! New king piece character enters, just looking far more gray. Maybe somehow depicting a receding hairline*
Zooble: A new one? I’m sorry, but you picked a wonderful time to join us.
King Piece: Hello, I’m… Grant. I believe you were well acquainted with the copy made from the brain scan of my younger self. The files called him Kinger, if that makes any sense to you all. I’m here to help you all get to a different, more stable, computer system before the execs fully format this simulation now that’s crashing.
Ragatha: So you’re here just to replace Kinger!?
Grant: Oh no, no, no. The formatting is slowed due to security checks as long as there are sentient beings in this system. If everyone leaves it will complete instantly. Erasing us all before the transfer could finish.
Someone needs to stay behind. Well, I’m a fresh copy none of you have emotional attachments to yet. Now that I say that, I guess it is kind of cruel of me to make you watch two versions of myself die in quick succession.
On her March 6 stream, admittedly I was half paying attention due to being at work at the time, Nyara cracked a joke about her being a maid cleaning with a mob with Suris as the cleaning fluid.
I believe this was a joke/reference to "Goblin Cleaning": https://store.steampowered.com/app/2748340/Goblin_Cleanup/
Originally I was trying for something more ambitious, but I quickly felt like it was beyond my current skill level. For one, I realized I had no idea of how the anatomy of the arms would work to believably hold the mop.
I thought about "borrowing" from "Floating Hands Studios"'s aesthetic and just have disembodied hands appear on the mop hand.e
In this version you can sort of see the draft idea I had for the maid outfit. Was running into some stumbling blocks. I had wanted to incorporate Nyara's blue, black, and pink mix but hadn't yet figured out how to.
Fanart Of: (I'm going to forget to do this ever again, aren't I?)
Updated my daily art practice template based on Marc Brunet's "Drawing Skillmaxxing: Daily Routine" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FORP4yz2UOY
New Version
Old Version (last set filled in)
Reasoning
What Marc laid out in his video was what I was already stumbling towards.
Shapes and lines was mostly became a mix of warmup and construction drawing.
Anatomy was sometimes true anatomy, but I was sometimes using it for gesture practice.
The references were either some quick sketch but was meant for "master practice".
Over time they became, for me, four boxes for whatever. May now I be a bit more focused going forward. I may not do them all each day, but now I have a better idea of what to do for each column.
The last few days I've been on a trying to copy Clevetass panels for part of my daily practice. It almost makes me think I've improved. Not saying I'm fantastic.
These are up to day 743.
Tried to pick samples of comparable effort put into them. I still can see where I have improved, but dang it really hits me now how spikey my quality is.
Except for maybe one panel in 2025's, I these were all referencing some character, person, or specific panel. Feel free to take a guess for the ones I didn't label. If they are recognizable it means I was at least close enough :D
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