#deltarune character analysis

[megaderping]

The release of Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 left fans divided on if Berdly had regressed as a character, or if there was hope for more growth in the future. As a fan of the character and one of the first to really analyze it in video essay form, I thought it was high time I did a follow up video on this messy nerd of a bluebird.

[hoverboards-and-dragons]

Why don't we stay back, and let her go ahead?

Here's cool art

and some related analysis/ranting below;

Kris and Ralsei's relationship is just as significant to both characters as Kris and Susie.

(so is Susie and Ralsei, but that's way easier to argue.)

So, this is not to downplay Susie and Kris. They are so incredibly important and wonderful and meaningful. Obviously.

But with Ralsei, Kris gets the one thing they can't with Susie, it's private.

And if the piano tells us anything, Kris values their privacy over even their autonomy.

As much as Kris loves their time and their friendship with Susie; it is something they're always sharing with us. We are present for every bonding moment and experience they have, and thats not mentioning how much of the Kris Susie knows isn't fully them.

But Ralsei knows, thus is capable of having a separate relationship with Kris, and one with Us.

Something very under discussed and yet I think it absolutely necessary for understanding Ralsei is that we, by definition, have never seen how he acts when we aren't watching, and this extends especially to how he treats Kris.

What has been called a preference for the Player is what I'd interpret as a fawning fear response, he is wary of Us and our power. He'd prefer to befriend us but he doesn't know our intentions and is playing it safe in hiding information for the Party's sake. If he refused to go along with violent playthroughs, remember that would be abandoning Kris alone with us after we've proven ill intent.

If Kris is our Cage, Ralsei is their Keeper, and our jailer, as the one who knows enough about our logistics to create pockets of respite for them and constantly checks in and knows the thing that answers isn't always them and is hiding just as many secrets as they are.

Who's just as much an object in his own life as they are in theirs.

And Ralsei is aware, to some degree, he's failing in this role. If that chapter 3 dialogue, and the chapter 4 Gerson tea party is anything to go off of. Susie has Us and Kris looking out for her, but there's no one as aware as he is of Kris' situation to make sure they're eating and sleeping properly. (no one willing to step in at least)

Our relationship with Ralsei's is just that: ours. It does not matter how suspicious and fake we find him or how badly we want to kiss him on his adorable fluffy face, we cannot influence whats happening between him and them.

We don't know what Kris and Ralsei's dynamic is really like, and thats what makes it so significant. It's important developments happen away from our prying eyes, on their own terms. For two characters who get to have almost nothing to themselves.

And then people somehow concluded Kris hates him and he only cared about the Player because even in the 'its not about you' story we cannot stop making it about us for five fucking seconds.

[braininatankwithalaptop]

Okay, so something about deltarune fanon that bothers me (by far the least problematic but I don't see anyone talk about it), is how people characterize Berdly. I get it, he's outwardly very similar to the misogynist incel nerds that think they deserve women's love. But we find out very quickly he's not actually like that.

It's kind of obvious in chapter 2 that his characterization of "guy who is clingy to Noelle and smug," isn't because he thinks he's entitled to her love or is homophobic or whatever people think.

He's autistic and (imo) on the ace-aro spectrum. And even if he somehow isn't he's still being influenced by allonormativity. He legitimately thought Noelle was attracted to him, it was a mistake. I think if she was able to muster past her social awkwardness to say, "I'm sincerely not interested in you like that, I just want to be friends," he'd accept it, he'd probably even be happier. And part of the reason he assumes she doesn't want to just be friends is because of allonormativity and comphet. In the culture he's raised in, a boy and a girl can't just be close friends, so that must mean they're attracted to each other. Of course, Berdly knows his own feelings on the matter, he's not attracted to her. He's starved for friendship. So if he plays the role of the expected "recipient" of romantic attraction, he gets to continue hanging out with her.

Now, some may ask why Berdly would gain a crush on Susie, or why he would say to Kris in Chapter 4, "You're next," if he's really ace or aro. Well, what are the similarities of those two characters in Berdly's mind? We know Kris plays games and Berdly knows this because his check information suggests that the two of them have played together. When Susie reveals that she played Dragon Blazers 2, Berdly immediately "falls in love with her." Now, even if he's a teenager, this is very quick for someone to "fall in love."

I think he's just looking for friends to share his hobby with. When he sees Susie as a potential new friend his brain goes through the calculation of "romantic couples spend lots of time together + I want to spend lots of time with Susie now = I must romance Susie to play games."

However with Kris (and to a lesser degree Noelle), the reason he pursues them feels slightly different. For one thing it's in the Light World after his Dark World character development was reversed. And for another he hasn't shown similar interest in Kris. The only difference is the approaching festival. Imo the reason for this pursuit of both Kris's and Noelle's dates is that the way teenagers usually talk about festivals and proms (i.e. "If you can't get a date for this one event that matters in your life then you're a loser," etc.), pushed Berdly to fall even more into the trap of allonormativity. He's deeply insecure and knows outside of his performed intelligence people don't think highly of him. If he gets a date he gets to "win" being a highschooler. And therefore, if he gets more than one date he gets to "win" even harder.

So yes, Berdly is annoying. He's an autistic teenager. Just like Carol Holliday can be a neglectful parent obsessed with preserving the past and chasing perfection without being homophobic. In fact, I'd argue flattening their character traits into quippy words for memes is kind of boring.

Characters can have flaws & be "antagonists" without being bigots.

[vinnae-records]

Deltarune Fan Designs!!!

I was having fun with drawing these four, and I wanted to ALSO post the designs here. I spent a few days on these, so some love would appreciated...

I have ramblings about each design under the cut, as well as close-ups, and, of course, bald(!!!) versions too lmao. Warning: it's LONG.

Let's talk about the overview of all the designs!

All the Lightners are a bit dulled in vibrancy compared to Ralsei, a Darkner. That IS the intended effect. The Dark World is a place of imagination, as we learn from the latest information from the new chapters, and it's MEANT to appear more bright and lively because it's stemmed from the creativity of the self. Whenever I do the Dark World designs of the Lightners, I'll definitely touch on the contrasts of what their imagination brings out versus what reality IS for them!

But, let's start with Noelle!

I tried to keep close to the sprite design, with some added features to make her character truly pop! Small nods to things help bring the character out in a strong way.

Darker fur tones to "sandwich" her design, (i.e. the antlers and the hooves, as well as the fingers). The lighter fur helps to contrast and draw the eye. I used the contrast to give the full "school-girl socks" effect with her legs, to match with her uniform-esque style.

With that, I also pushed the "innocent, perfect school-girl" vibe, her volumous hair tied into braids and "restrained." The braids are in the snowgrave ice shape, a nod to the Weird Route and another addition to really push the idea that Noelle is a restrained individual due to her home life, expectations, and so on.

She tries to please her mom, wearing the bright colors of the holiday season yet trying not to stand out. Along with the bells tying back her wild hair, the hint of her inner oddities comes out with the puff of hair at the ends of the braids, along with the partially wrinkled attire.

And, as an added final touch, her blue eyes are a save point. All of the Lightners have the white save point in them, while the Darkners have faux save points (colored, not white) ones in theirs.

Onto Kris!

Same as before, I kept close to the sprite design, though I made additions to really push the design features.

Kris, surprisingly, was a bit hard to do! But it wasn't too bad once I got into the groove of things. I did the same trick as with Noelle, "sandwich"-ing the design with dark tones, (i.e. the hair and the shoes), and leaving room for light colors to pop.

I went with a very plain, simple design. Kris is meant as the player's "canvas," though they are very unwilling in that matter. I put nods to the SOUL, (the heart on the sweater, the heart shape in the bangs, and the shape language of the design), but I gave Kris some of their own flair too. Scuffed shoes, painted black nails, and the two cowlicks on the hair, for example.

I chose to keep their eyes not visible, instead giving them a red save point glow, another nod to the SOUL and it just being another fun design feature. The lack of eyes is also meant to give a vibe of being unsettling, mimicking the feeling that we get, as the player, since we don't know all that Kris is doing when the SOUL is put aside.

Other than that, I kept the look a bit more grungey, though I kept it light and plain. I didn't want to give Kris too much personality, because they're unwittingly a blank slate for the player.

And now, Susie! Our lovely girlboss.

As before, I kept close to the sprite design, though with some added flair and nuance.

Susie wasn't too bad to draw! The details were pretty set in my mind, when I started going into it. First off, her design IS inspired a bit by JaidenAnimations, due to the Multiplayer Mod of Deltarune that Alpharad is doing with his subathon, and she is playing Susie, and has PERFECT voice for her, so I felt obligated to put JaidenAnimations vibes into it.

But onto the design features. I gave Susie a three tone palette with her scaling, darker, mid-tone, and light tone, to indicate depth. Hard on the outside (darker tone), and softer on the inside (lighter tone). The design is focused on the concealment of herself, the fierce badass she likes to portray versus the softer, kinder inner self. Along with this, I also added gold to the design, a nod to her Dark World form but also as a sort of "silver-lining" thing. It's meant to flash the fact she has a heart of gold, IF you look close enough to find it.

I also put nods to her unstable home life, from the holes in her jeans to the scuffs on her knuckles, as well as generally being more ruffled and unruly compared to the others. She's big, imposing, and roughened by the world around her, and I hope I portray that well.

To wrap up, her eyes, like the other Lightners in this line-up, have a save point in them. Bright, bigger than the others, circled by the vibrant yellow-gold irises.

And finally, Ralsei!

As always, I stuck close to the sprite design, though I DID go a little wild on Ralsei's adaption...

I love this fluffy boy. He's my favorite. But! His design is very elaborate for a reason!!!

First off, let's talk about the differences between the white and black variants. Ralsei is much more soft, more open and unassuming compared to when you first meet him where he's shadowed, conspicuous, and speaking like he knows more than what he's actually saying.

Ralsei was a complicated task, but I hope that his vibes got across. He's meant to be welcoming (the wide arms of welcome, the shy but encouraging smile) but he knows more than he lets on. The black variant hides underneath a large brimmed hat, witchy and mysterious, alluding to a bigger purpose. The white variant shows a trust, a willingness to be more open, though he still holds back most, if not all, the information from those around him.

Beyond that, his attire is complicated, imposing, and rather regal. He's dressed importantly, with a sense of impeding purpose, the symbols of the DELTA RUNE weighing on him, (i.e. long, heavy sleeves, the wings curled inwards on the robe section near his legs as if to hide the full extent of the prophecy that looms). While he looks put together (and that IS the image he is trying to portray; that he knows so, so MUCH and is "OKAY" with the weight of it all); inside he's a mess, worried and hard-pressed to keep everything from falling apart. It's a weight on him, LITERALLY.

Another design feature is the eyes. While I gave him the save point shape pupils, they're not the pure white of the "proper" save point that the Lightners have. They're colored, a mimicry of true life, and another reminder that Ralsei isn't really... real. It's just another thing to weigh on his shoulders!

Anyways...

If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! If you like my art, character design analysis, or anything My Little Pony related, maybe shoot me a follow and a reblog! Or even an ask telling me that you liked this post! I have an on-going My Little Pony webcomic which you can read here on ComicFury, or on this post on Tumblr! I also have a Bluesky account, though I'm not very active on it currently.

Thank you again for reading this far, and have a wonderful day!

[dooberryforest]

My Deltarune OC guide master post

Notes:

-most info here is taken from the game or the deltarune wiki

-I’ll be focusing on common enemies and the more random npcs

-this is just meant to give ppl some organised inspiration, if it’s unhelpful or actively causing the opposite of it’s intended effect please ignore my posting pls pls pls have fun and don’t let anyone stop your creativity

-feel free to repost but do link back to the main post so ppl can get ideas for as many darkner ocs as possible

-my final agenda is to see more diverse darkner ocs on Artfight so I can draw them (I have a wicabel oc and it’s given me a taste, I require more, if anyone has a mizzle or Hathy oc tell me all about them plsss)

CHP1

Rudinn

Hathy

Chess

Jigsawry

Bloxer

CHP3

Watercooler

Pippins (not by me but better than what I’d make)

Shadow guys (also not by me lol)

Zapper (again, not by me)

CHP4

Wicabel

Winglade

Mizzle

[megaderping]

Mayor Holiday is an enigmatic character in Deltarune, other than what we hear from NPCs, yet with what little information we have, I think there’s still a lot we can assess about the character and the worrying relationship with Noelle. In this video, I discuss the information we have, compare the Mayor with Queen, and touch on how her relationship with Noelle has worrying red flag while also discussing how tragic events within the family may be contributing to those red flags.