maybe this is a personal complaint and i'll probably have to see how the rest of the game plays out before making any big statements, but: does it feel weird to anyone else how little dess is actually mentioned in deltarune during the hometown-segments? right now, the main assumption in the fandom is that she went missing years ago and is, most likely, assumed to be dead. even more likely, she probably disappeared in the shelter and that's why the shelter is considered off-limits. the assumption that she's dead is probably also why there are no missing posters around town, why asgore comes off as kind of pathetic to all the townsfolk (assuming that he still believes he can find dess) and why noelle never mentions/implies that she still thinks dess is out there. but i have to say, your sister going missing with (assumably) very little proof that she's actually dead (like, yk, a dead body) doesn't seem like enough to just assume that she's dead and accept that idea. how can a town go through a scandal THAT big and not have it affect the general atmosphere of the town? i'm hoping we will get more insight on this in future chapters, maybe a flashback to noelle and the family finding out dess 'disappeared' and why they believed she was dead, the effects of it on the town, etc. and deltarune is a game that reveals more backstory/information as the story goes on, that's not a bad narrative structure. but considering how little chapter 1 does to establish this, i do think the presence (or, lack of presence) of the mystery of dess isn't felt clearly enough.
EDIT: i just remembered noelle's favorites history on her computer includes 'paranormal/paranatural/crime' things, which could indicate her interest in these things OR imply that she's been looking into dess' disappearance. then again, i think small hints in the background are not enough to emulate the feeling of "a member of the town went missing and no one really knows why".
