Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2025-06-24 11:13 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2025-06-24 11:13 am
Entry tags:
STOP!!!! TALKING!!!!
Hey, do you want more Deltarune rambling?
[ Yes ♥ Yes ]
MORE DELTARUNE RAMBLING IT IS. I wish I could write fanfiction, but, when I try to think of a concept, I just find myself feverishly analysing this game.
In today's entry, I try to pin down everything I can establish about Kris so far! I thought for a long time that silent protagonists just didn't interest me, but I am fascinated by Kris.
There are spoilers here for all of Deltarune so far, including the Snowgrave route. Some things have probably slipped my mind, and I haven't beaten the game's optional bosses, so I may be missing some details we learn there.
Kris:
- Is being controlled by the player, but can resist our control to at least some extent. We can tell them to say or do things, but Kris has some control over how they're said or done, and can occasionally refuse entirely. As we know, sometimes they'll resist our control long enough to pull our soul out of their chest. If you try to throw away the 'ball of junk' (i.e. your items from your Dark World adventures), Kris really doesn't want to, but you can force them to throw it away anyway. In chapter four of a Snowgrave route, we can see Kris's arm shaking as they try to break the player's control to cover Noelle's mouth.
- Seems to need the player. Kris may not want to be under our control, but, for one reason or another, they can't just get rid of us. They'll remove us temporarily, but they'll always restore our control when they're done, no matter how much they may hate what we make them do. Kris is trapped in their situation, but not exclusively by us; they endure our control because there are goals they need us to accomplish, likely related to the Knight (who may or may not be Dess) and the person giving Kris instructions over the phone (who may or may not be Carol Holiday).
- Knows who the Knight is, and is trying to hide that knowledge from the player. If you tell Kris to picture the Knight, they'll try to distract themselves before picturing the Knight's face.
- Is a bit of a loner, an outcast. It doesn't seem like people dislike Kris, but, at the start of the game, they don't really seem close to anyone. Other people find them hard to read, even Noelle, who's known Kris since they were kids. Toriel is very happy to learn they've made a friend.
- Is a quiet person, but does speak. Noelle describes their voice, when they're not under our control, as deadpan and mumbly.
- Is kind of a weird, chaotic little gremlin with a mischievous streak and poor self-control. Puts bath bombs in the toilet, cheerfully devours moss, plays a lot of slightly cruel pranks on Noelle.
- On that note, possibly has a crush on Noelle.
- Has a dark sense of humour. When Queen gives you the choice of perishing or submitting, if you choose 'perish', Susie will comment on the fact that Kris says it weirdly enthusiastically.
- Is surprisingly good at flirting! It's possible that that's because they're under the player's control, but I'm inclined to think we just tell Kris to flirt and they're great at it, because, let's be honest, having me in control is unlikely to make anyone better at flirting.
- Loves playing the piano. When Kris has removed your control in chapter four, they'll take the time to play. If you try to tell Susie you'll never play the piano again, Kris will refuse to say it; they'll either start coughing (in a normal route) or bite their own hand so hard they lose HP (in a Snowgrave route).
- Adores Susie. If you call Toriel at the end of chapter one, Kris will say without our prompting that they've been spending time with a friend. By a long way, Susie-flavoured tea heals Kris the most (120 HP, compared to 60 for Ralsei tea and 70 for Noelle tea, suggesting Kris's feelings about Ralsei and Noelle might be more conflicted). When Monster Kid says Susie sucks, we're told that Kris looks annoyed. When the King attacks Susie, Kris leaps to protect her; it's one of the few actions Kris takes entirely of their own accord while under the player's control.
- Has complicated feelings about Asriel? They seem to miss Asriel; their throat gets tight when drinking the hot chocolate they used to have with him, and we know from their web searches that they've been looking up when Asriel will be home from college. But they refuse to look at Asriel's personalised room in Queen's castle; if you open the door, Kris will close their eyes to avoid seeing anything. Because they personally don't want to know what's in there, or because they want to hide it from the player?
- Blushes at certain points in chapter four: when Susie mentions Kris is good at flirting and suggests she and Noelle could take flirting lessons from them, when Susie comments on the fact that Kris and Noelle rode a Ferris wheel together and Noelle says it was 'forced', when Susie asks if Kris normally carries a knife around.
- Doesn't seem great with sincerity. You can try to make them say something sincere, but there's a good chance they'll make it sound sarcastic. (Or at least they will when talking to Susie, which admittedly might be because they know she'll respond better to that than to sincerity.) There is one point we know of when Kris is sincere by their own choice, though: when they're trying to comfort Noelle after the events of Cyber World in a Snowgrave run.
- On that note: genuinely cares about Noelle, despite their habit of bullying her a little. In a Snowgrave run, Kris wants to make her feel better after what the player put her through; they want to protect her. Kris will physically drag Noelle out of the room to shield her from you if they notice you approaching, and they'll kick the shit out of the player's soul if you hurt Noelle again. Kris may not be honest with their friends, but their love for their friends is nonetheless real.
- Really hates the fact that Sans is boning their mother.
Also, here's a little follow-up thought on my 'Kris has a crush on Noelle' theory, i.e. more transparent Kris/Noelle shipping disguised as serious analysis. Not really spoilery, but does discuss an optional conversation in chapter three of Deltarune.
I've been thinking more about my theory that Kris has a crush on Noelle, and I think this interpretation really helps to clarify Ralsei's reaction if you tell him you're taking Noelle to the festival.
In chapter three, if you tell Ralsei you're not going to the festival with Susie, he'll ask who you're planning to go with. If you say Noelle, Ralsei's response is:
* Noelle...?
* Umm, I'm sure if Susie was with you, too...
* Noelle would probably really appreciate it!
* I'm sure the three of you would have a lot of fun!
* Umm, if it's... the three of you.
Ralsei really seems concerned by the possibility that Kris might go to the festival with just Noelle. I wondered at first whether it might be because he recognises the player as a threat to Noelle, but I don't think that's the case, because he only has this dialogue on the normal route. If you're on the Snowgrave route, he says he doesn't think it's a good idea to take Noelle at all.
So why does Ralsei gently advise against being alone with Noelle even on a normal route? It's not that he thinks Noelle and Susie should be the ones going to the festival together; he's fine with the idea of Kris going alone with Susie.
Now that I've concluded Kris has a crush on Noelle, this makes a lot more sense to me! Why does Ralsei think Kris shouldn't go alone with Noelle to the festival? Because it could feel like a date, and, if there's genuine (and probably unrequited) romantic interest there from Kris's side, it's likely that that's just going to hurt Kris.
Am I biased and/or overthinking? Almost certainly. But I still feel a lot is clicking into place now that I'm viewing Deltarune through this lens.
[ Yes ♥ Yes ]
MORE DELTARUNE RAMBLING IT IS. I wish I could write fanfiction, but, when I try to think of a concept, I just find myself feverishly analysing this game.
In today's entry, I try to pin down everything I can establish about Kris so far! I thought for a long time that silent protagonists just didn't interest me, but I am fascinated by Kris.
There are spoilers here for all of Deltarune so far, including the Snowgrave route. Some things have probably slipped my mind, and I haven't beaten the game's optional bosses, so I may be missing some details we learn there.
Kris:
- Is being controlled by the player, but can resist our control to at least some extent. We can tell them to say or do things, but Kris has some control over how they're said or done, and can occasionally refuse entirely. As we know, sometimes they'll resist our control long enough to pull our soul out of their chest. If you try to throw away the 'ball of junk' (i.e. your items from your Dark World adventures), Kris really doesn't want to, but you can force them to throw it away anyway. In chapter four of a Snowgrave route, we can see Kris's arm shaking as they try to break the player's control to cover Noelle's mouth.
- Seems to need the player. Kris may not want to be under our control, but, for one reason or another, they can't just get rid of us. They'll remove us temporarily, but they'll always restore our control when they're done, no matter how much they may hate what we make them do. Kris is trapped in their situation, but not exclusively by us; they endure our control because there are goals they need us to accomplish, likely related to the Knight (who may or may not be Dess) and the person giving Kris instructions over the phone (who may or may not be Carol Holiday).
- Knows who the Knight is, and is trying to hide that knowledge from the player. If you tell Kris to picture the Knight, they'll try to distract themselves before picturing the Knight's face.
- Is a bit of a loner, an outcast. It doesn't seem like people dislike Kris, but, at the start of the game, they don't really seem close to anyone. Other people find them hard to read, even Noelle, who's known Kris since they were kids. Toriel is very happy to learn they've made a friend.
- Is a quiet person, but does speak. Noelle describes their voice, when they're not under our control, as deadpan and mumbly.
- Is kind of a weird, chaotic little gremlin with a mischievous streak and poor self-control. Puts bath bombs in the toilet, cheerfully devours moss, plays a lot of slightly cruel pranks on Noelle.
- On that note, possibly has a crush on Noelle.
- Has a dark sense of humour. When Queen gives you the choice of perishing or submitting, if you choose 'perish', Susie will comment on the fact that Kris says it weirdly enthusiastically.
- Is surprisingly good at flirting! It's possible that that's because they're under the player's control, but I'm inclined to think we just tell Kris to flirt and they're great at it, because, let's be honest, having me in control is unlikely to make anyone better at flirting.
- Loves playing the piano. When Kris has removed your control in chapter four, they'll take the time to play. If you try to tell Susie you'll never play the piano again, Kris will refuse to say it; they'll either start coughing (in a normal route) or bite their own hand so hard they lose HP (in a Snowgrave route).
- Adores Susie. If you call Toriel at the end of chapter one, Kris will say without our prompting that they've been spending time with a friend. By a long way, Susie-flavoured tea heals Kris the most (120 HP, compared to 60 for Ralsei tea and 70 for Noelle tea, suggesting Kris's feelings about Ralsei and Noelle might be more conflicted). When Monster Kid says Susie sucks, we're told that Kris looks annoyed. When the King attacks Susie, Kris leaps to protect her; it's one of the few actions Kris takes entirely of their own accord while under the player's control.
- Has complicated feelings about Asriel? They seem to miss Asriel; their throat gets tight when drinking the hot chocolate they used to have with him, and we know from their web searches that they've been looking up when Asriel will be home from college. But they refuse to look at Asriel's personalised room in Queen's castle; if you open the door, Kris will close their eyes to avoid seeing anything. Because they personally don't want to know what's in there, or because they want to hide it from the player?
- Blushes at certain points in chapter four: when Susie mentions Kris is good at flirting and suggests she and Noelle could take flirting lessons from them, when Susie comments on the fact that Kris and Noelle rode a Ferris wheel together and Noelle says it was 'forced', when Susie asks if Kris normally carries a knife around.
- Doesn't seem great with sincerity. You can try to make them say something sincere, but there's a good chance they'll make it sound sarcastic. (Or at least they will when talking to Susie, which admittedly might be because they know she'll respond better to that than to sincerity.) There is one point we know of when Kris is sincere by their own choice, though: when they're trying to comfort Noelle after the events of Cyber World in a Snowgrave run.
- On that note: genuinely cares about Noelle, despite their habit of bullying her a little. In a Snowgrave run, Kris wants to make her feel better after what the player put her through; they want to protect her. Kris will physically drag Noelle out of the room to shield her from you if they notice you approaching, and they'll kick the shit out of the player's soul if you hurt Noelle again. Kris may not be honest with their friends, but their love for their friends is nonetheless real.
- Really hates the fact that Sans is boning their mother.
Also, here's a little follow-up thought on my 'Kris has a crush on Noelle' theory, i.e. more transparent Kris/Noelle shipping disguised as serious analysis. Not really spoilery, but does discuss an optional conversation in chapter three of Deltarune.
I've been thinking more about my theory that Kris has a crush on Noelle, and I think this interpretation really helps to clarify Ralsei's reaction if you tell him you're taking Noelle to the festival.
In chapter three, if you tell Ralsei you're not going to the festival with Susie, he'll ask who you're planning to go with. If you say Noelle, Ralsei's response is:
* Noelle...?
* Umm, I'm sure if Susie was with you, too...
* Noelle would probably really appreciate it!
* I'm sure the three of you would have a lot of fun!
* Umm, if it's... the three of you.
Ralsei really seems concerned by the possibility that Kris might go to the festival with just Noelle. I wondered at first whether it might be because he recognises the player as a threat to Noelle, but I don't think that's the case, because he only has this dialogue on the normal route. If you're on the Snowgrave route, he says he doesn't think it's a good idea to take Noelle at all.
So why does Ralsei gently advise against being alone with Noelle even on a normal route? It's not that he thinks Noelle and Susie should be the ones going to the festival together; he's fine with the idea of Kris going alone with Susie.
Now that I've concluded Kris has a crush on Noelle, this makes a lot more sense to me! Why does Ralsei think Kris shouldn't go alone with Noelle to the festival? Because it could feel like a date, and, if there's genuine (and probably unrequited) romantic interest there from Kris's side, it's likely that that's just going to hurt Kris.
Am I biased and/or overthinking? Almost certainly. But I still feel a lot is clicking into place now that I'm viewing Deltarune through this lens.