omg you crossposted it? holy cow – i'm so glad you enjoyed this analysis so much. once again, your blog has been my gateway drug into becoming a Trant Heidelstam fan, so thank you so much for that

Thank you!

I can't quite bring myself to use the fanfic convention of 2nd-person writing, but it'd be too much of a crying shame to just exclude all of Harry's skills. Hence their cameos here.

also aboard the trantjean train. you have single-handedly turned me into a diehard fan of this ship. no pressure intended and at the same time dear god i need more of them so i can stick 'em in a blender

If you've read this far, thank you. I don't have much else to say, except that when the song comes out, please bear in mind that with these complexities in mind, there's a great deal of room for interpretation.

The harm OCD metaphor in this song has some very unfortunate implications when mixed with an abuse-centric reading, so please be careful to remember that intrusive thoughts do not make people violent, nor do they excuse violence.

I do not know enough about abuse to be able to write about it in a song. I'm aware that given the domestic abuse metaphor in the Weird Route, it's difficult for it not to emerge in the lyrics. And given Carol's behaviour towards Noelle, there's something to be said about the cycle of abuse here.

Often, survivors of IPV are effectively trapped – leaving can effectively uproot the survivor's life. So, to retain access to their own life, the survivor has to stay in an abusive situation.

To everyone who has gone through this, I am so, so sorry. I wish you safety and support.

So. THAT scene in ch4 involves:

* Noelle having a freeze response
* Cornering and physically forcing Kris onto Noelle
* The whole HIDEOUS unhealthy romantic undertone from chapter 2

It's difficult not to see this as some kind of an analogy for sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

So, the Knight is Kris' lifeline. They HATE the Knight, but they don't know how to leave.

At this point, I should mention an important reading of the Weird Route, since it affects the lyrics.

(TW for sexual assault and abusive relationships.)

We also know Kris needs the SOUL, as much as they hate it.

In that way, the SOUL's control could be a compulsion metaphor - compulsions are often unpleasant, but without them, we don't have a way to deal with the obsessions. We're trapped in a cyclical disease.

(It gets better, I promise.)

So, let's assume Dess is the Knight for the sake of this song.

We've got a cycle of disembodiment: a possibly unwilling Dess is forcing Kris to become violent. Dess-as-the-Knight embodies Kris' ultimate fate.

Kris is then, by no fault of their own, forcing this fate upon Noelle.

Moreover, if Dess might be the Knight, is this by will, or has she also lost a war of attrition against her own mind? That is, is she suffering like Kris?

If so, is it the guilt that's always there in the night? Her guilt? Kris' guilt? No matter whose guilt it is, it will eat them alive.

Complicating things is the multiplicity of perspectives.

The chorus interpolates 'Don't Forget' – but is this Dess whom we can't forget? (Or the Knight, who might be Dess anyway?) Is it the voice in Kris' head?

In the 1st verse, Kris insists on their bodily autonomy despite flashforwards, only to lose some of this autonomy in verse 2. In the 3rd verse, they have nothing left of their body and heart to give away.

They are the Knight's agent – not by choice, but by attrition. It is destroying them.

The Weird Route is a fever dream where you cannot resist those unwanted violent impulses. It is every OCD-sufferer's worst nightmare.

So, Executioner Delegate's verses follow this slow loss of control – i.e. the process of surrendering to possession/mental illness.

All your life, you carry the guilt of violence you're certain you're going to commit – that you could swear you felt happen. Over time, it comes to feel as though your body isn't your own, as those dissociative moments happen constantly.

For reference: imagine blinking and finding yourself in a parallel universe where you see yourself lunge; where you feel them stumble back; hear bone crack—

Then, you crash-land back in your own body, and somehow, though you could swear you just [REDACTED], nobody's punishing you.

That's harm OCD.

(Spoilers for Deltarune chapters 3+4; TW for OCD discussion.)

I find possession-related stories to be reminiscent of OCD – you're stuck behaving at the mercy of a voice in your head that feels like it's not your own. So, this song is about both Kris – in particular, Weird Route Kris – & OCD.