We still don't know how ralsei is moving between dark worlds, so until proven otherwise i am choosing to believe that he is kris' knife
Hey coming back in after writing out this whole repsonce, this was meant to be a discussion on Ralsei and Headbeand and/or Knife Theories, but it ended up going into Roots and I may have discovered something I haven't seen a Roots theorist discuss, so I'm going to let it start where I originally started and let it devolve into what I found out while writing:
i've suggested this before as the knife somehow isn't listed in the light world inventory and also doesn't show up in the dark worlds despite kris carrying it everywhere
on one hand this could open the door for kris carrying OTHER stuff that we don't get access too, (and their sword is a pencil, and the phone remains the same) say the Ralsei as the headband theory. the appeal of headband theory is that we've heard of it and seen it in a flashback, and it's a solid object representation of Kris' issues, but we haven't seen it. We were in their goddamn house and the cactus upstairs got a person but the headband didn't.
what both headband and knife theory have on common is the idea that then Ralsei "belongs" in all of the dark worlds. Clearly the rules aren't as solid as proposed in chapter 2, as shown in chapter 3 when Tenna's employees don't feel like they belong anymore they turn to stone. (potentially linked to being an inanimate object used by humans, once they feel like they don't belong and feel like the inanimate object that they are / abandoned whatever, they turn back to being inanimate) This expands on how Ralsei and the closet world can hold everyone:
1. the closet world is a Storage Closet meaning quite literally everyone belongs there, and can organize homes despite being so different.
2. this means Ralsei belongs in every world. There are multiple ways this could be true:
A. Most likely: he belongs with the fun gang over belonging in a world. All that matters is Lightner's perception yk. If true this could mean if there's a team crashout around the end Ralsei could be in danger of finally turning to stone, which would be dramatic and heartrenching asf
B. As the prince of a storage closet he naturally belongs in every world as an envoy
C. He is a general enough object to belong in every world. this could go with the previous two. physical playing cards don't belong in a digital world, and when cable tv is trying to stay relevant many classic things are being phased out. The same feeling can be felt in a home where children are growing up. However there are things like clothing items and tools that haven't gone "out of fashion" and always belong. Say, a piece of headwear or a dagger dating back to at least the 10th century indonesia and malaysia.
While all of the dark world's denizens are based around an area of Lightner entertainment (play room, internet, tv, religious service) basic tools can be used anywhere and aren't used to for entertainment, either to create entertainment or for everyday life. Think of a hammer, or a big hat. Hence the storage closet and it's prince, a place used for basic necessity and a prince that is also used for basic necessity. (While I'm aware there are darkners like the water sprites, cups, and tasque that are for basic necessity, they are based around and within a world that manages entertainment. While the water could be fine as that's everywhere, Tasque would be "useless" in a physical space)
All of this would also explain Ralsei's outlook on being a Darkner. Entertainment likes to think it's more than a basic need, and while it is and can be, it in all technicality is a basic need, either for escapism, deep mental exploration, or the simplest "keeping the mind active". Meanwhile Ralsei, who could be a more functional, generation spanning tool, would have a deeper understanding of being a tool.
The issue is, this is groundwork for both headband and knife theory, and doesn't really discount either. While Kris has "grown out" of the headband, it still has it's use and connection. It takes Kris back to a childhood, innocent version of themselves, and carries nostalgia and complex feelings. People think the pink horns could be the cheap red headband fading over time, and since Toriel is a teacher there it's not impossible that it ended up in the school storage closet when Kris "outgrew it". It IS of note that Ralsei has the horns as the Asriel we see in Undertale is too young to have them grow in yet, but he does seem a bit older in appearance even if slightly.
What's strange about Ralsei over the inventory characters and items is that Ralsei never leaves or joins with the party, he stays and waves goodbye and then appears where needed. This goes into a deeper theory involving the doors to other darkworlds within darkworlds. The storage closet had one to the adjacent room because they're physically connected, same thing for the church. However, there is the big center room potentially going to the dark fountain that we still have no access too. We don't know the full purpose of the bunker but people who hold political power have access, or partial access, to it, and all we know is that it's a bunker. Roots (highly implied to be a map / version of hometown) ends up taking you to the bunker. We've never gotten to actually see the real world version of the storage closet or the bunker, and with multiple closets that 'a tall person could fit inside" that Kris won't let us in,
Either this means Ralsei has general access to every storage closet in Hometown once a dark world opens, or, the crazy theorist option, that they are physically connected via a system of tunnels under Hometown. Hence: "Roots", functioning like a "Roots" system that is no longer used or allowed to be used, but people in power who would need to know about it do know, say, the mayor, the police, and either the church or the hospital (or the school :eyes:). This could also refer to specific families instead but either way they're in positions of power.
Kris won't let us even open the one in the church, and the tech closet in the librarby is already incredibly dark. If the next world is hometown itself, it could actually be "roots" and we gain access to the roots system of hometown, which has been turned into a dark world. Shit, the flower wall Asgore is watering in his shop could be a secret fucking door, as he stands in front of it almost protectively.
also just remembered the Spamton Sweepstakes page [https://deltarune.com/secret/] Where you click on various closets to find various secrets. One is Ralsei Plush, one is Pipis, one is the Gumball Machine, one is the Chair in Susie's Room, one is this:
And I just found this reddit post linking Bitroots to Digital Roots:
Various tunnels, ey? past the lake? interesting.
People have said dark worlds connect to undertale areas, and if true "roots" could be our "true lab" Roots could also be literal as if the bunker roots system is no longer in use (potentially due to problems or Dess and the other kids finding it) than it could get overgrown over time.
This doesn't show the roots, just implies they're there. It instead shows a house surrounded by trees, indicating hometown, potentially that the trees have roots, and the houses do too.
And holy shit it just hit me,
"Lost where the forest would grow, the children followed the pointed tail."
Where the forest would grow is such a weird line without context. "would" as in it's not there yet? it's supposed to be there and isn't? it's a video game and not loaded in yet?
If. If hometown is "the forest" the children could've gone into the bunker and. and gotten lost in "Roots", the underground tunnels, even linking to buildings not built yet. As far as I remember, roots form before the trees do.
that and people have well connected FRIEND to Roots, as he likes to appear there, and if Friend is the pointed tail...
I need a pause because this became a whole new theory, that I think could explain a LOT about "Roots"
getting back to Ralsei's transport:
This could explain both Ralsei and the Knight's form of transportation. Kris doesn't want us to discover Roots as either Dark World or Physically the Knight is using it to get around. If only physical it would be odd for Ralsei to be able to get there, but that could be why it takes Ralsei a second, as he has to navigate from one storage closet to the other through the miasma of reality, but they are connected which allows him to get there.
I implied earlier that chapter 5 could just be roots, however if it was hometown as a whole it could also end up giving us access to roots through the dark world where we couldn't before. I do like the idea of Roots being a dark world and using it in Chapter 5 and/or in other chapters afterwards to get places in hometown via darkworld routes, like the nether lol. Or physically, again the Knight is a Lightner meaning they/she could use the tunnels as transport.
I keep saying this because all of the closets Kris won't let us in connect directly too a Darkworld, being Chapter 2 and 4, meaning the Knight could use that, enter through the closet, and then open a darkworld immediately, eventually connected to adjacent rooms like the Church, maybe even the storage closet to classroom. (the place we spawn in in the first world is one of those weird dark spaces that eventually shows up in chapter 3 as well, and with the directions where we spawned in could connect to the other spare classroom we don't have access to yet, which even that could have an opening to roots, or the storage closet itself does. It's a good way to remain low-key while in the Light World, they only seemed to take Undyne through Above-Ground Hometown out of desperation. It's also likely the Knight is trying to remove everyone that knows about the roots system, which would include Toriel, and Undyne at that moment was easier to grab as she, as the Police Chief, would also know about it, even if more recently. With Kris and the phone callers desperation to keep the code away from Susie, they may not just be protecting the Bunker's dark world, but the route the Knight and Ralsei uses. Because if discovered they could not only get to hidden places in hometown, but prevent various parties from using them, and maybe even find the Knight or it's/her hideout in the light world.
Digital roots in chapter 2 also houses the Spamton Body and Friend which. You know. Would also explain FREIND's form of transport as well.
All of this could very much imply that Ralsei Isn't in Kris' inventory, like the knife, but also that the Knight isn't either, making Knight Knife theory also worse off. Because if Ralsei or the Knight were in our inventory then they'd spawn in with us like Lancer and Roulxes do. That being said Lancer, Rouxles and others are able to get to other dark worlds on their own, meaning they can probably use the same route Ralsei is, that being roots. Which, i wouldn't also put it past Toby to use "routes and roots" as a pun. because you know how he is. Two of the characters are named rouxls kaard, tasque and maus.
This could connect to various things about Undertale, which although it doesn't have a roots system it IS literally called the Underground. It's also not impossible the Roots system goes underwater, leading to the old familiar song coming from "under the water",
Onion goes to investigate and hasn't come back yet.
Out of everything, you know what this made me think of? The Ice Key.
As a preface I lead to you to this page, "Damn You Tenna"
click on the TV. The page is full of static and has this info:
The text about "you're not supposed to be here" is physically on the page.
The static is referred to as Ice and Snow. Once you find the one "static" image that scrolls with the page, labelled ocean, when you click on it it takes you to a purely blue page, playing Ocean Waves sounds, and:
In Chapter 3 when playing The Legend of Tenna, Tenna desperately doesn't want you to sail across the ocean to the Ice area, as soon as you see Ice, he shuts down the game and creates a barrier. In the Sword route you can now access this area, eventually leading to the Ice Palace. the Ice Palace is a dark place, consisting of a strange map. eventually you find the White Cloak and follow her seemingly base intuition to reach this door:
It leads to pure darkness, and then the next game, which is the Cyber world and then the manhole cover which leads to bitroots (pointing again to the idea that the library tech closet is physically linked to the ROOTS tunnel system) which leads to the bunker with eram
Everyone already knows this connection, even to the point that the music playing is also called Glaceir.
The Cyberworld directly reminds Noelle of Exploring in the Woods with the other three, where she comments she "mostly remembers crying", but for some reasons feels nostalgic thinking about it. As from what I can see the woods behind the graveyard leads to the area blocked off with police tape.
If so referring to the bitroots map from earlier, you enter it from where the police tape is. AKA from behind the graveyard.
It's hard to say right now without it all layed out like a conspiracy board how it all connects, but it DEFINITELY is.
The idea is, potentially with Noelle's intuition, they found an entrance to Roots, probably the one behind the police tape, leading the kids into the bunker and probably a dark world. This "Roots" system is how the Knight travels between the light and dark world unseen, and probably Ralsei and others as well. This Roots system is incredibly important, and is hinted at in every chapter past one, with Digital Roots, Bit Roots, and then the Prophecy Roots.
Kris refuses to remember whats behind the tree, as they try to paint it, fail, it makes a mess, and they paint the tree over it. Noelle can't remember finding anything behind the graveyard. I return your attention to "AREN'T YOU FORGETTING SOMETHING?" when finding the ocean through the Ice and Snow Static. I bet one of the entrances was behind a tree, shit maybe the one Asgore used to jumpscare his eggs wife. They found something traumatizing under there, potentially in the tunnels that lead under the ocean where Spamton's body is in Digital Roots, something that at least Kris went to therapy to to forget, people have brought up the Forgotten Man being Kris' therapist and piano teacher, having taught them piano for therapeutic reasons. That connecting to the "Art therapy" location where Kris blocks out what's behind the tree, things are adding up even if the equation isn't 100% solved yet.
This both devolved and evolved. Roots Tunnel System Theory unlocked ig. @ballgame I want to hear your thoughts, especially since this could completely discount Knife theory and lean towards Headband theory.
Speaking of: this does not answer why the Knife is inaccessible and not in the dark world.