the objective: write a stereotypical “haunted game” creepypasta
the result: this
Behold,
The deltarune creepypasta where something something the scc fuck shit up i guess. With visuals !
enjoy
I’ve been a long time fan of Deltarune, it’s true. Ever since it first came out in 2018, I had been hyped for the upcoming chapters, excited to see what Toby Fox would give us next. Jamming OST’s, thrilling stories, lovable characters, all that jazz. Even before Deltarune, I was in love with Undertale, and, well, that’s where this starts.
I LOVE robots. Mettaton, fanon designs of robot bodies for Napstablook, all of it I just adored. That explains why I was elated when chapter two ended up being ALL ABOUT a cyber world- and it was led by a robot. But, I ended up quickly forgetting about Queen, in place of three characters who took my heart ineffably quickly- The Sweet Cap’n Cakes.
Three characters who are so… perfectly stupid. I loved them wholeheartedly and was thoroughly disappointed that they didn’t get much screen time. So obviously, I replayed the game over and over, soaking in the cyber field events, clawing out any of their dialogue I could. That’s what it’s like to be obsessed with a character.
And I should also mention… I adore mods, modding, fangames, all of it. So of course, I found a mod that gave those three bonus dialogue and dialogue options, and installed it faster than I could view the files it really came with. I noticed quickly that the game was slower to start up, but I didn’t care or take much note. It sped up as soon as it finished loading.
I quickly came to adore that mod. It gave them a lot more character, and even if it had a couple tropes I didn’t quite agree with, I loved the way the modder characterized them. Cap’n became less of a smooth man try-hard, and more of a subtle flirt, and still a romantic. Sweet had a few more moments where they were characterized as being just a little pissy, and I adored it- I found it funny, alright? K_K was a total doofus as always, but she also had a few quieter notes, making her less of a character who’s silly for silly and a character who felt more like silly as some form of… coping mechanism. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that interpretation, but I rolled with it.
Then came... the weirdness.
Everyone who played Deltarune knows shopkeeper sprites. They’re more shaded and fleshed out than overworld and battle sprites. I, for one, adore the three’s shopkeeper sprites. I think they look cute when they’re all so happy, doing their little motions together. It was those sprites that started getting… Odd.
During one of my replays, I noticed something while getting shop items. The glint on Cap’n’s shades had… disappeared. I brushed it off, chalking it up to nothing more than an animation error, or some form of bonus that the modder had added in. But I soon realized it wasn’t just the sprite that was off- his dialogue wasn’t quite “him.” I figured it could’ve been some beta dialogue that one of my actions had somehow activated, so I brushed it off again.
The next time, K_K’s expression… changed. That big smile usually plastered onto their face was now nothing more than a line of pixels. They still moved like they always had, but their face wasn’t quite right. Cap’n’s dialogue remained weird and I hadn’t noticed any sprite changes on him or Sweet. At first, I thought all was normal, but I noticed K_K was also talking less now. I don’t know quite how to describe it- they seemed more anxious. I know, I know, I said earlier that the modder had started characterizing them as being a bit more anxious as their reason for being silly, but it wasn’t the right anxiety. It was paranoia. They spoke with less tilde’s and more ellipsis, but they still spoke.
Reloading again, Sweet was staring right into the camera and K_K looked even more nervous. I didn’t know what to expect entering the shop, but it wasn’t… that. The dialogue changes caught me off guard too. Sweet spoke his lines late- Cap’n spoke first mostly. K_K’s lines died down until it was mostly their “iconic” lines, lemon drops, short for Cakes, etcetera. They seemed worried. That’s when it came to the performance dialogue- Sweet didn’t move. K_K moved, their sprite returning to normal, but still with sweat marks, and Cap’n moved as he always had, but Sweet didn’t. And to my surprise, the others noticed.
“Why aren’t you dancing, Sweet?”
“…”
“H-hey! Come on, Sweet, w-we gotta perform remember!-?”
“…”
“Sorry guys. I’m just not in the mood today.”
That was the end of that dialogue chain. I was… surprised. None of them had addressed each other yet. But that meant I wasn’t crazy, I wasn’t experiencing glitches- it was all coded in. It was… “normal.”
K_K’s death glare into the camera sent shivers down my spine. The equalizer in the background had turned off, making the scene darker, and making it more difficult for me to make out the details. But I could see it. Cap’n’s face. Or… lack of one. I didn’t know what was going on- and they didn’t either. There was no dialogue, no dialogue box, anything. They just moved, slowly, very slowly. I felt trapped there, so I slammed backspace, a keybind I had made in case I got stuck in an area. When I tried to re-enter, I was greeted with this dialogue.
“Nobody’s home.”
The next time I entered, I wished I hadn’t. Something was appearing and then reappearing, fading away and then back in on Cap’n’s face. Or where it was supposed to be. Sweet’s face was gone too, but not entirely- their iris was missing, leaving only their dark eyes. K_K looked even more terrified now than last time, staring down at their hand curled into a fist. I sat, dumbfounded. How could… what had… why? Why was the game acting like that? Was it the mod? But the screenshots had never said anything about it.
After minutes worth of sitting in silence, dialogue finally appeared. K_K’s.
“Please go home…”
I was kicked out of the shop. When I tried to re-enter, it gave me dialogues of denial.
“Nobody’s home.”
“They don’t want to see you.”
“They’re taking action.”
“Don’t be one, too.”
“Feel the beat! Watch my moves! Dance, dance!”
“Scrap metal.”
The game froze before I entered the shop. As it did, I waited, staring anticipatedly into my screen. That was probably why it hid me so hard- the glitching, and then the transition into the shop. The music was deeply out of tune, but I could hardly pay attention.
It was so dark. But I could see it. Tendrils, wrapping around everything, emerging from a broken radio.
The game crashed, and I didn’t dare reopen it. I had had enough of buggy mods.
So, if you ever come across the “Sweet Cap’n Cakes Extra Dialogue” mod… don’t download it unless you want your shit to be screwed. It coulda messed with my other files too. I’ll be uninstalling it soon.
…
…Hey…
Where’s that music coming from?
End
We’ll be back to your regular grimdark shortly
