No one asked for this, but here's my opinions/theories on deltarune Asriel.
I think he'll be the character with the biggest difference in personality from his Undertale counterpart. Most of the characters, if they have differences, they're just different circumstances. Bratty and Catty aren't friends, for example, but they would make great friends still. But Asriel, I think, has been shown to have a different characterization, in my opinion, and it mostly amounts to one big thing.
UT!Asriel is very timid, and DR!Asriel seems much more bold. In Undertale, Asriel notably isn't making a lot of decisions for himself, and even goes along with Chara's plan even when he stops agreeing with them because he's too timid to go directly against them. He does, later, when he keeps control of the body to prevent Chara from killing humans, but he let it go for longer than he should have. In addition, as Flowey, even when he was thinking of killing people and felt no compassion for them, he was timid about it at first.
DR!Asriel, in comparison, has shown a relative boldness, even in the few stories we hear about him. He's making more decisions for himself, and even kisses someone even knowing his parents wouldn't approve. Some of that might be the age difference, since UT!Asriel was pretty young and DR!Asriel is college age, but it is still a notable difference that many of the other characters aren't affected by.
One of the interesting differences in circumstances for Asriel is his parents' divorce situation. It happens in both universes, and for (What I believe to be) very similar reasons. So in Undertale, Asriel dies before his parents separate - it's part of the situation that sparked the breakdown of their marriage. But in Deltarune, he witnessed them before, during, and after the divorce. His reaction to it is also interesting, and I suspect this might be another characterization difference. I don't know how Flowey felt about children dying, since he wasn't really around for that bit, and he just popped back up long into his parents' separation - but he didn't feel anything towards them anymore, so there was no reason for him to be bothered by it. He was completely separate from the situation (I am playing with that a little in the CoreSoulsAU). DR!Asriel was not only directly affected, but also had to watch Kris be affected by it as well. They're very close, so I think that would majorly affect his reaction to everything going down. So here's my take on the situation (up to Chapter 2):
Asgore was police chief when something happened to Dess Holiday. My read on it is that there was some ambiguity over whether or not the negative outcome of the situation was Asgore's fault - my take is that Dess is fully dead, or believed to be. There was huge fallout from this, since it seems to have screwed up the relationship between the Holidays and the Dreemurrs a bit - they still interact just fine, but they have a lot of emotional baggage weighing it all down. I figure that Mayor Holiday, Toriel, and Asgore each blame Asgore for Dess's death, while Rudy doesn't blame Asgore. And the blame Toriel and Asgore place on Asgore leads them to split, her because she can't stand to look at him and know that his screwup led to the death of a child, which could have been one of their children just as easily, and Asgore sort of accepting it as part of his life falling apart because he figured he deserved all of that.
I think Asriel might be angry at both Toriel and Asgore for how they dealt with that. While Dess was probably close to Asriel, and he probably cared a lot about her, worrying about whose fault her death was didn't bring her back. In fact, all it did was isolate Kris, between the fact that the kids didn't hang out all together anymore and they don't seem to be encouraged to visit Asgore, though they're allowed to. It also ruined the normal routines and family interactions they used to have. So Asriel took up the slack of that, taking Kris to get hot chocolate and being their friend through all of this. But, at the same time, having all that on his shoulders and having the expectations of a small town who knew him his whole life, it's no wonder he went off to college. He probably didn't want to live his life the way everyone else expected him to.
I think the setup that he's the golden child who wins awards and is beloved by all is setting that up. People view him a specific way, and it's a kind of pressure - he's the dependable one, the good kid, the good influence. He's the town's best example of the next generation. He's been through a lot but he's never wavered. And I think that's hard for a person to keep up with.
For that last reason, I suspect when we do see Asriel again, he'll have done something that surprises everyone but Kris. Maybe a relationship, or a life choice or something that his family wouldn't approve of, showing that there's an emotional barrier between him and his parents that he didn't feel comfortable enough to share something about himself with them (though of course Kris knew about it). I doubt he's the knight purely for proximity reasons (he's not there). But it could be that his actions are related to it anyway, like if he taught Kris how to open dark fountains. But I think there will be something else, unrelated to all of that, that everyone will be grappling with because he's finally broken the mold of their expectations in some way.
And kind of unrelated to all that I think of UT!Asriel and DR!Asriel as completely different people in a lot of ways. So I headcanon UT!Asriel as aceallo, but DR!Asriel as aroallo. Based on not a lot but that's my headcanon
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
In the year 201X a strange video starts circulating on the internet.
In the year 201X a strange video starts circulating on the internet.
In it is possible to see what must be a park with a beautiful garden of golden yellow flowers. Among the flowers a being is hunched over, seeming to lament something.
There are whispers in the background and a voice screams, drawing the attention of the being, which raises its head and the face that faces the camera can only be described as monstrous.
There are gasps and screams in the background. The creature rises in fright and another cry sounds, but this time the word "child" is also heard. The camera zooms in and at the monster's feet there is what looks like a fallen body.
There are more screams and a stone flies The creature extends its arms. Her mouth opens, but if she speaks something, is lost amid the screams and curses of the people who begin to surround her.
A stone hits the creature that stagger. A more courageous man steps forward with a piece of wood in his hand and hits him. The creature recoils in fear and encouraged the man to attack him once again. Another man approaches from behind and hits the creature with something in the back.
The creature falls hunched over, hiding its head while being attacked. A third approaches and tries to drag the fallen body away. That's when the monster finally reacts.
With superhuman speed he gets up and launches himself on the body. The third man falls back screaming, rolls over and runs away. The other two step back momentarily frightened by the beast's reaction.
The monster gets up with his body in his arms. For a brief moment it can be seen that it is indeed a child. Its astonishingly pale face hangs from the creature's arms before he embraces it against his chest.
More people approach, perhaps encouraged by the creature's lack of reaction, or perhaps just desperate to rescue the child. They circulate with guns raised and screams of offense, but they do not attack, for fear of hurting the child.
The monster squeezes the child's body and looks feverishly at people screaming. A dark liquid oozes from various wounds through your body.
The camera turns quickly and shows a man running with a shotgun towards the monster. The man stops at the edge of the circle that has formed and shoots. The creature's explosion and howling scares several people who run.
The person filming is also frightened and runs. For a moment, you only see legs running before the camera turns and focuses on the creature that now run out towards the trees that bordered the park.
Two more shots can be heard in the background as the people trying to follow the monster, but the creature is very fast and in a few seconds it disappears between the trees.
The video ends with several people running through the trees and a voice shouting “He is gone! He is gone!"
In just a few hours this video becomes the most viewed and commented video in the world. Showing on the most different platforms and media, ranging from the most serious news to sensational programs.
After the first week, it was expected that the video would be forgotten like several other videos with strange or unexplained things, but this is not the case, since after a little investigation the child in the video is identified and his terrible story is discovered.
A little orphan reported missing years ago. The orphanage in which he lived is flooded with reporters and police and in a short time several cases of abuse and neglect are discovered both by the heads of the orphanage and by other authorities.
Still, no clue is given as to what happened to the child or what the mysterious being was in the video.
Several programs go to the local trying to do their own investigations. One of them gets some enthusiastic locals to guide him through the mysterious forest that surrounds the park. In the middle of the interview, they tell about the legends of Mt. Ebott, the farthest mountain.
The natives say that the Mountain is cursed, and that anyone who tries to climb it will never return.
Excited the team convinces them to go there. The group then arrive at the mountain and with surprise they actually find a small cave and an almost perfectly circular hole in it where the lights cannot illuminate the background
Everyone is excited about the discovery and the police are called in to investigate. A specialized team is called to investigate. It turns out that the hole isn't even that deep and some go down to see what's at the bottom.
A simple stone floor is what they find at the bottom. There are no passage or marks, nothing! The hole is literally a well.
After a few brief explanations by geologists the hole is soon forgotten. With no evidence other than a video, and no more appearances, the case loses interest media and some time later a man is arrested on charges of kidnapping and killing the child and using a ridiculous disguise to cover up the crime. And even though never found the child's body, the case is closed by the local authorities.
Many do not believe the explanation given and swear that the monster was real, even showing a dead animal or a wound to show that he was a victim of the monster. Many onlookers and "paranormal hunters" still visit the small town that takes advantage of the fame gained from the place to profit by making "guided trips" or selling things from the "Ebott Monster" as it was nicknamed.
Some include the mountain and the strange hole in it, inventing that on certain moonless nights the hole opens and allows beasts from the underworld to go out to hunt innocent children.
It is precisely because of this that a few years later the town returns to be the center of attention in the world.
A couple of tourists and their son are taken by a guide to see the mountain. While the guide tells stories about the mountain to the wife, the father films the cave and the child plays with a toy knife pretending to be an explorer. The poor child trips over the vines that cover the cave floor and ends up falling into the hole.
Desperate, the child's parents shout for the child's name without getting answers.
The guide returns to the village for help while the father tries to descend without success. Soon help arrives and some volunteers tie a rope and descend. To everyone's shock the bottom is empty, there is no sign of the child.
Again the authorities are called, search groups organized by the forest despite the 3 adults swearing that the child fell in the hole and not that he was lost in the forest and having the video as evidence.
Again the video runs around the world. Geologists, researchers, even psychics are called.
Everyone has an opinion, a theory, but nobody has a solution to the mystery. Finally the army arrives and closes the mountain access. There is pressure from all sides to investigate the place and more than one country tries to intervene in the matter.
Agreements are made and teams of scientists are sent to the scene to investigate. Chemical, wave, radioactivity tests and a dozen others are done.
The well floor is drilled, material is collected from the walls, from the plants, everything is photographed, tested and re-tested.
All tests go nowhere.
Scientifically it's just a hole in a cave. No false bottoms, tunnels quicksand or hallucinogenic gases. There is absolutely nothing abnormal there except the fact that one (maybe two) children went missing there.
It is only by chance that in a moment of frustration one of the scientists investigating the place throws his clipboard into the hole. He goes down to fetch and surprise! There is no sign on the clipboard.
Open-mouthed, he goes up and tells the others. Then a different kind of test begins, in which scientists throw different objects into the hole. None reaches the bottom.
Puzzled, they go to the bottom and try again. They see when the object is launched, but in midair, it disappears. It doesn't matter the size, or the weight, if it is a stone or an old refrigerator, if it is released it will disappear in midair.
They play trackers, cameras, gps, but although the object is gone, no signal is tracked or an image is seen. It is as if the object ceases to exist.
They try to measure when the “event” occurs, but this seems to vary from object to object without any logic.
The discovery is kept secret, but underneath the scenes a war is beginning to break out between scientific and military organizations from different countries, all wanting to explore the strange phenomenon.
It is spread by the media that a tunnel is discovered at the bottom of the hole and the body of two children has been found out. In addition, it is said that the caves have a kind of poisonous fungus. It is said that teams of scientists will run new tests, but that the cave is deadly dangerous and therefore needs to be closed.
With the explanation everyone soon loses interest in the mystery of Mt. Ebott again, but in secret the cave becomes a new Antarctica where several countries want a part to study and explore. New deals are made and new scientists are dispatched as security at the site is increased.
However, even with for more tests, cutting-edge equipment and studies, they do not get any answer beyond if the object were lowered tied, whether by any means, it would reach the bottom of the cave safely, but if it was thrown in the hole, it would disappear in full air.
After a time without answers, they finally test a live guinea pig.
A small mouse is thrown into the hole and just like the other objects it disappears. They try with other creatures and they all disappear.
The scientists then prepare a guinea pig with the most advanced filming and tracking equipment. They had already tried with a robot, drones, etc., to no avail. This time is no different, as soon as the creature disappears all the signs are gone with it.
They then decide to take a risk and a military man is chosen as the next guinea pig. He is armed with the best technological and protective equipment. Wearing a special suit and equipped with supplies he throws himself into the hole, only to reach the bottom like a stone.
The man did not disappear and removing several broken bones he was intact and with all the equipment still attached to him.
They try in different ways, but none of the volunteers are successful. For a while there is no advance in research until a proposal is made and discarded... for a while.
After many, many inconclusive tests an order is given and a child is sent to the cave.
They prepare it with equipment and place it at a lower level of the hole with safety equipment at the bottom so that if the experiment fails, the damage is minimal.
As if by magic, the child disappears in front of everyone. Everyone tries to track it down, but as before, nothing works.
They wait for her to return, but messes pass and the child does not return and nothing they test gives results.
The child is presumed dead, even if no bodies are found.
M. Ebott continues to amaze and despair scientists for years who cannot find answers to its mysteries.
Years go by, new technologies are developed, but none of them even gives a solution to what happens there.
Every few years, a child is selected and thrown into the hole. They find that only those below puberty and above early childhood disappear. If she is too old or too young she will only reach the bottom of the hole like adults.
No archaeological find, or space advance, is as strange, mysterious or secret as Mt. Ebott.
Years go by. The last child had been sent years ago with a gun and the best scientific/military training that could be done in the gap of the few years that had to prepare him for this... without success.
But technology has come a long way since the first child will fall years and years ago. Several advances have been made precisely because of Ebott's anomaly.
So many advances ended up giving some answers. A new kind of energy has been discovered. A kind of power that seemed to permeate the entire planet and that strangely was very strong in that cave, more precisely in the hole.
Other places, objects and even people seemed to be susceptible to this energy, accumulating varying levels of it.
But even with this fantastic discovery, few significant strides have been made to find out what it was and why it acted so strangely in Ebott and some other places in the world.
Even though they still didn't know the answers, many things were invented thanks to this discovery. New technologies, new study equipment and weapons were created and tested and after so long, scientists were ready to try again.
The next child was even more special than the previous one. Created in the laboratory and equipped with the strongest mind control technology developed, it would not need any equipment to go with it other than a small dressing with the highest healing nanotechnology and a stick that was the simplest and strongest weapon developed by technologies military.
If the theories were right, the child would experience a dimensional leap, or its existence would be completely eliminated by the pressure of the energy resulting from the hole.
Regardless of that they were sure that this time they would have answers, even if the child died they would be connected to it and, therefore, they could safely experience what would happen to it, be it success or annihilation.
They prepared it and threw it in the hole. For a few moments nothing happens, they think they have failed too, until the assembled scientists “see” what appears to be a dream.
Success! The child had not died, but something was happening, something they could not explain until the child woke up from their little fairy tale dream. Something strange in itself, since the child was developed to be an "empty shell" only a vehicle for the minds of scientists.
And then...
The child wakes up lying in a small bunch of golden yellow flowers...
