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i really dont like the idea that ralsei is a specific object. especially not with newer stuff from chapters 3 and 4.

There are still a lot of things we don’t know about Ralsei.

For me, he is like something that was originated or created when the first darkworld came to be. The poor children going into the bunker might be extremely related to that.

Ralsei having such relationship with Kris and Asriel in his name and appearance is too much to be a coincidence. They were related to Ralsei’s creation and he has a big connection to them.

I find interesting that Ralsei doesn’t seem to have the same outside knowledge that he had about Kris and Susie with other characters like Noelle. (Or maybe he didn’t want to tell to Susie about Noelle?? When Susie asks about her in chapter 4 he just knows which items she could equip.)

Another thing that I have always been curious about that is relevant to this discussion is that Ralsei is named as “Dark world being”. Other darkners don’t have that denomination, just the titans. So this theory is accurate in that..

Ralsei is clearly different than the usual object based darkners, but still a darkner nonetheless.

The Titans are also darkworld beings like Ralsei, they are direct flows of the dark and are an embodiment of the fear of the dark. According to what Ralsei himself said.

So, adding these elements I think Ralsei is an embodiment of something else.

Maybe he is an embodiment of a dream… a dream Kris had about who they wish they could be to be loved.

Ralsei is pleasing, has self worth issues, can take different forms, is very feminine while he is a boy (could be trans or fluid eventually??)

So, for me it seems like he represents that dream Kris had of being like one more member of their family, like, looking equal to them. Kris had a sort of “species dysphoria” and this is why they used the headband.

If we assume that Ralsei is a literal shadow, then it should be a shadow of something very related to Kris, because all his similarities to them are undeniable.

What if he is the shadow of Kris wearing the headband ?? (This is a theory I saw suggested elsewhere, or Ralsei being a Kris fursona drawn by them or the shadow or Kris with the headband on and how Kris imagined themselves filling that shadow. If you saw Kris in a shadow then the shadow shape would be very similar to a dreemur’s. Only in shadow Kris looked similar to their family. This is related to the headband, because with the headband Kris’s shadow would look identical to a dreemur. Having instead of the ears the hair. Ralsei’s shadow version has ears that look like hair).

The green crayons are clearly related to Ralsei being green… but I still don’t see how they could be related (there is a theory vid about Ralsei being a drawing). But… being a drawing also doesn’t match with other stuff.

If you add all this information up there are too many things connected between Ralsei and Kris to be a coincidence, but it all ends up there, we don’t know how. Also Kris insistence in not relating Asriel to Ralsei like it’s something unthinkable to them. It’s all pretty odd to be honest.

“wow you’re kind of really close with kris, huh?”

(girl who loves and misses kris more than anything but they’ve distanced themselves from her and she doesn’t know why or what she did and they’ll never be the same no matter how much she desperately wishes for it and she just has to live with it and take it in stride like she does everything else in her life—) “what nooo lol we were Forced to be friends”

Noelle: "What?! No, me and Kris were just neighbors. We just saw each other a lot! Nothing more!"

Also, Noelle: *blushes TWICE when Kris is mentioned and makes the same blushing sprite she makes when she gets flustered about Susie. The first time when Susie talks about their FLIRTING SKILLS, and the second when Susie brings up her own ferris wheel ride with them*

And what's even more painful is that she WANTS to be close again! She BADLY misses them.

But she's got it into her head that the only reason they would interact with her at all is that they need something from her. Not because they actually want to be with her! We even see this in her very first interaction with her!

See how she's confused and taken aback when Kris asks (without our input), they want to be her partner!?

A lot of people get the toxic idea that (queer)platonic and nonromantic relationships are less queer than romantic ones, or even not queer at all. And that reinforces the toxic idea that ace/aro people are lesser than other identities and/or that don't belong in the queer community, and that loops back and reinforces the notion that platonic nonromantic relationships are less queer or aren't queer at all. It's a vicious cycle!

And sadly, amatonormativity and aphobia are very pervasive in shipping culture, even in fandoms of queer media and queer pairings.

Take the Deltarune fandom and how people talk about Kris: a character who, while not explicitly confirmed to be aroace, has many ace headcanons due to the ambiguity around their relationships with other characters. While there's nothing inherently wrong with shipping Kris romantically, I have seen too many Kris shippers argue that Kris's relationship, be it with Noelle, Susie, Ralsei, or Berdly, should ONLY be seen as romantic. That it NEEDS to be romantic. That it MUST be romantic and that their character or the narrative of Deltarune as a whole would somehow suffer if it wasn't.

And even characters/relationships explicitly confirmed to be aromantic aren't safe. Just look at how some Hazbin Hotel fans treat Alastor, even though the show itself states that he's aroace! The fact that TWO DIFFERENT PAIRINGS GOT INTO THE TOP 20 SHIPS DURING TUMBLR'S SHIP WEEK speaks volumes about how big an issue ace erasure is.

With Kris it bothers me so much, because they haven’t shown any indication of corresponding romantically to anyone (because of how we interact with them and the game), and some people have argued me that they have something with Noelle, or any other character and like the distinction between “you can ship them” and “it only makes sense as romantic” is so thin and is very based in what the other characters do.

This was meant to be a short post but fuck it I’m gonna elaborate anyways

My reasoning mostly stems from her feeling of being a “bad kid”

At least from my own (admittedly limited) experience with undiagnosed ADHD, when someone doesn’t know that their brain just doesn’t work the way everyone else’s does and they aren’t accommodated accordingly, they can often feel like something is fundamentally wrong with them (which can often lead to lashing out)

Another thing is that even if she struggles academically (the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in her note to Alvin come to mind), it’s clear that she’s not dumb

She just was never taught in a way that properly accommodated her (which can sometimes make you feel dumb anyways, hence the fact that she usually refuses to even try most puzzles in ch 1 until she’s absolutely forced to with no one to give directions)

I totally agree!! The hate for the character is so manufactured. He is flawed and all, but he is a kid that has been failed and the things he does are part of what makes Deltarune great. As Susie or Kris he is a kid that is suffering.

Both worry that communicating their desire for physical affection will "force/pressure" the other into doing something they don't want (Spamton thinking Tenna finds him repulsive, Tenna misinterpreting Spamton's difficulties with touch). I'm thinking Tenna accidentally startles Spamton by touching him when he didn't expect it/see it coming, panics and starts excessively apologizing, and that's what causes them to talk about it.

Spamton wants affection, but struggles with touch/physical intimacy because of trauma caused by the violence he had been subjected to by others in the past. He and Tenna carefully test what he's comfortable with, and Tenna makes sure to get his attention before touching him, so he expects it and doesn't get startled.

Tenna struggles with deeply rooted feelings of guilt and devotes himself to taking care of/serving Spamton all the time to the point of hurting himself; he gets some catharsis from being in pain, believing that he deserves it as "punishment". Spamton explains that, if Tenna wants to make him happy, he needs to rest and let himself get taken care of too, since seeing him in pain is upsetting; Spamton also uses healing magic when needed. Tenna gradually learns to rest without feeling guilty about it.

Tenna's near-death at the hands of the Knight traumatized both. Reminders of the event cause Tenna to have panic attacks, and when that happens, Spamton helps him take deep breaths to calm down; they hug afterwards. Knowing Tenna's fate years in advance and then watching it happen has left an impact on Spamton, and he's a bit overprotective of Tenna and aggressive towards any perceived threat (it's mostly verbal aggression; he won't try to fight unless someone puts their hands on Tenna).

Having spent years with no information about what happened to Spamton, and now knowing how much Spamton has struggled, and having processed all that information, Tenna is a bit overprotective of him too and is also aggressive towards perceived threats (also mostly verbally, but he can additionally use his size to intimidate; he will only use force if someone puts their hands on Spamton).

Both of them feel deeply anxious if they aren't aware of each other's location at all times, maybe even to the point of panic. They follow each other around everywhere (for example, if one of them needs to use the bathroom, the other will follow and wait outside). It will get better with time, but won't be very obvious to an outside observer, since they're still mostly sticking together.

When they're hugging/cuddling/etc, they find it hard to physically let go of each other. They've always been affectionate and liked doing it for long periods of time, but now there's also a degree of anxiety that comes with ending physical contact.

Useless rpg recs. Games that have romance mechanics/romance but there is only one canon love interest

In Stars and Time:🌈 Adventure game about loops, with a lot of found family feelings and an amazing character analyisis. In the game you play as Siffrin (non binary) and there is a romantic subplot with a character in your party. It is not choice-based, as it is part of the main plot.

Slay the princess: The game's first screen already tells you it is a love story. You play as a mysterious hero who has to slay a princess to save the world. Through the game you can make the romance with you and the princess more or less subtextual.

A Date with death: 🌈 You can play any gender, and you will romance death (male character). This is a dating sim but only with one dating option. It has some mystery and some adventure too.

Gamedec: 🌈 Adventure investigative rpg where you can play any gender. There is only one romance option, a male character (Zhou) whom you can romance indipendently from your gender. This is a minor subplot.

Our Life beginning and always: 🌈 Visual novel and dating sim where you can play as any gender and you will romance your childhood friend and neighbour (who is always male). The game follows you two growing up and falling in love.

The Remainder: 🌈 You are a wizard (any gender) who is trapped in a tower with your assistant (Ilar, non binary). You don't remember what happened and have many holes in your memory but you two used to be lovers. The game is full of mystery so I won't say more. Text-based mixed with visual novel

Sorcery!: 🌈 Text-based adventure rpg with combat. You play as male/female and have to retrieve a magical crown. In your journey you will encounter an assassin (Flanker) and you can romance him indipendently from your chosen gender.

Eternal home floristry: 🌈Very short free game set in a future dystopia. You play as a retired assassin who is learning how to care for flowers. You can reconcile with your ex lover.

Solstice: 🌈 This game has two protagonists, both have one romance option each. The male protagonist is a gay man so the romance option is a male character. This is a visual novel with a mystery themed plot.

Newfound courage: 🌈 This info is a bit outdated, but at least in the pre-dlc version you played as Alex (a gay man) and only had one romantic story (Jake) in the game. The whole game is an adventure rpg about being queer and being accepted. In 2022 the game was majorly updated with a dlc that added romance options.

The Banner Saga: This is second-hand information as I have never finished this series, but in this adventure rpg - visual novel you can lead two characters of your party to a romance (Rook and Oddleif).

Always sometimes monsters: 🌈 Pixel rpg mainly resource management where you can play male/female and have to reach your ex (you choose the gender) before they get married.

Beloved Rapture: 🌈 Adventure jrpg-like game with dual protagonists, two male characters (Jonah and Aiden) who fall in love through their adventure.

Knight Bewitched: 🌈 Pixel adventure jrpg-like game where you play a female character (a knight) who has to slay a witch. The two instead fall in love through the journey.

Milky Way Prince: 🌈 Visual novel about an unhealthy relationship and the difficulty of it (two male characters). I have not played it yet, so I am using the general description of the game.

Haven: 🌈 Exploration game set in space and where you can play a couple. You decide their gender.

South of the Circle: Visual novel about a scientist that ends up investigating the South Pole during the Cold War. Through the game you can explore your romance with another academic.

With this in mind, we are seeing these characters through the lense of talking to two impossible killing machines in the context of the end of the world. Ie you have to imagine that all of them are extremely on edge. In fact one of the first things we get most from characters responding to meeting either protag is that they are clearly dangerous and skilled warriors.

Add to this that for most characters we only have a few lines of dialogue and moments and we end up with people being a little reluctant to write most of the characters and leaving them as static facsimiles of what we find in the game.

I fully expect that characters like Sherma and Shakra and Quirrel and Cloth, or even those who barely or never talk, have rich in their lives and show different parts of themselves to different bugs and I think when people write from those perspectives, they should feel empowered to fill in the gaps with what they think hides in there.

I am adding layers about the characters that the game doesn’t fully present, but I try to be as close as the game as possible in moments where Hornet interacts with other characters for example, to show that this face she usually present of perfectly well-put insect warrior is of course PART of her, but it is also the facet of herself that she chooses to show outside. I am developing more what she is inside which I think the game gives you interesting moments that you can interpret or dissect in different ways.

For example, something that I noticed is the different way Hornet approaches different characters when she is infected by the parasite. Is a moment when she feels a bit vulnerable and it was interesting to see that she was more open about her displeasure with Shakra than with other characters.

I also did something very interesting with Shakra when Lace in a dialogue tells her that it’s kind of hypocritical that she talks to her about matters of feelings when she is not the “sensitive kind”, and Shakra confronts her about that and doesn’t fully realize that she fully comes out as that to others. So, the characterization and what we perceive about the characters can also be used to deconstruct them in different ways…

Because for one, I don’t think that a fierce warrior that doesn’t have any feelings would go out of her way to do every single thing Shakra did just to find her mother and mentor. She gave up everything and went to search her without knowing what she would find, or if she would find her at all. With Hornet is the same. The game is inviting you to dissect and interpret the characters beyond what they say or what’s is stated in the surface.

People and fans these days tend to take what the character DO and how they present themselves as ALL what the characters are but you should also interpret that sometimes they might not be fully honest, or they might come from a culture where that is just the regular way of acting.

I realized there is no way of writing something meaningful about the game without doing this, because at some moments you are in between the wall with some decisions and I don’t want the characters to feel stale. To mesh the in-game characterization with how I think she would be like when forming closer relationships it’s essential I think.

To Bind Our Echoes That We May Be Whole

The apocalypse has come and gone, and against all odds, Pharloom remains standing. The time has come for Hornet to return to Hallownest, accompanied by friends and allies: Shakra hopes to explore the mythical land beyond the wastes, and properly lay to rest a member of her own tribe; Lace fears unraveling without the aid of a Weaver, while contending with the immensity of a future free of her mother’s threads; and the Green Prince lives only only to spite the Citadel, passively seeking a more honorable end than might be found in the rubble of his homeland. Meanwhile, Hornet returns from Pharloom with magic and knowledge that might aid in the slow recovery of Hallownest and Deepnest–and perhaps offer the chance to call home the sibling she once thought lost to her forever.

Chapter 6: Finally Equipping that Compass You Bought

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Folks have been asking about whether Ghost and/or the Shade Lord will make an appearance! Well, it doesn't happen this chapter either! Instead we get a totally different miracle: some of the characters are actually talking and communicating with each other (with varying degrees of emotional honesty).

I ended up pushing through and finishing the last page a day earlier than predicted! I'm genuinely unsure how well received this chapter will be, because it is so, so, so text heavy--likely one of the most in the entire comic. However, these conversations are important because it explicitly establishes the core motives (or lack thereof) of most of the central cast, and points us in the general direction the plot will be taking.

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Hollow Knight Fanart Masterpost

Transcript:

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There are a few reasons for this, a lot of which I base on what we know of Shakra's tribe from the lore: "I shall not return, Hornet Wielding Needle... I cannot. To leave my tribe's nest-plains, that journey has only one direction. This has always been our way, our long leaving, for those few who survive till age seeks to claim their shell, and those fewer who choose to send them on. But these lands, Pharloom... My nest-plains I once saw so grand, now they become small. A place for birth, and growing, but a place too narrow to live a bug's life full."

My main arguments are:

1: Shakra doesn't have wings.

2: Velvet ants are one of the groups in hymenoptera that lack eusocial behaviors and thus engage in the type of hunting and wandering that would be expected of Shakra's tribe, leading to a culture defined by hunting, cartography, and independence.

3: Many Velvet Ants are native to deserts and that feels very "nest-plains".

4: Velvet ants, as non eusocial hymenopterans, lack a queen which makes sense seeing as that feels almost certainly like something Shakra would have mentioned in a land as Mother and Queen dominated as Pharloom.

5: This feels kind of consonant with the ways Shakra talks about the Skarr: respecting them as warriors alike to her but finding their ways odd, laying traps which feels like a feature of a culture bound to a single nest. Additionally, the similarity in the rings and the curve claws then feels like a body plan based weapon decision.

6: I find this specific species of Wingless Wasp the most visually similar to Shakra's design, which lacks the stripes of yellow jackets and possesses the heavy black coloring that we see in this type of Velvet Ant.

7: Velvet Ants are known (somewhat overstated as with all bug cultural understandings) for being dangerous, with potent venom in their stingers and a hunters mentality, gaining the common name "Cow Killers". This fits pretty well with the idea of a decentralized warrior tribe.