Running gag

Potassium

Queen, Chapter 2

Deltarune features many running gags, which are jokes that recur throughout the game. Some appear across all Chapters, while others are less common.

This list is sorted by first appearance. If a recurring gag has its own article, a recap is not necessary.

Annoying Dog

Main article: Annoying Dog

The Annoying Dog appears in every Chapter, sometimes interacting with the party in humorous ways.

Explosion

Ralsei is sent flying in the wake of Lancer's realistic explosion

The explosion is a "realistic" explosion GIF that appears in each Chapter. It is an edited version of a GIF that originates from the 1993 stock footage collection "Pyromania".

Chapter 1

• When Lancer rams into Ralsei in Castle Town.
• When the Thrash Machine is blown up.
• If the Pirouette ACT displays "What! It was just foley!", the explosion sound may play.

Chapter 2

Queen's car exploding

• When the cake leaves the cauldron in Ralsei's castle.
• When Berdly's roller coaster car blows up in Cyber Field.
• When Queen throws her glass in Cyber City.
  • Multiple appear when the Berdly statue destroys the Arcade Machine in this same area.
• When Queen's car blows up after she, Noelle, and Kris suddenly leave it.
• When Queen throws a ball at the pins near the end of Cyber City.
• When a key opens up a door in Queen's Mansion.
• When the Annoying Dog opens up the big door in Queen's Mansion.
• If the Thrash Machine is fully a duck, it will explode upon contact during Rouxls Kaard's fight.
• When Rouxls Kaard falls to the ground upon defeat; the explosion also removes the middle houses.

Chapter 3

The secret realistic explosions caused by pulsar cannons in the Cooking Show

• When Susie destroys a toilet in one of Shuttah's ACTs.
• Multiple will appear at the start of the Cooking Show, if the "W" key is pressed.
• Multiple appear during the tutorial for the Monster Movie.
• Multiple appear when the Tenna statue is destroyed during the Monster Movie and in his fight.

Chapter 4

• When Jackenstein's pumpkin destroys the slower pumpkin during Jackenstein's fight.
• When the Mikes receive the final hit on non-Nintendo Switch 2 versions of Deltarune.
• When the Mike door changes from FRIEND-themed to cat-themed.
• Multiple appear when numerous cats drop into the hoop in the Jongler minigame.
• When an asteroid is hit in the Battat minigame.
• When the "MichaelBomb" is used to reset the Mike minigame high scores.

Cartoon splat noise

The standard cartoon splat noise

Lancer's music player playing a cartoon splat noise

A cartoon splat noise appears throughout the Chapters. Instances of it usually involve either Ralsei or Lancer.

Chapter 1

• "SplatNoise" is a topic disliked by Clover.
• Lancer makes this noise when Susie jumps on top of him and squishes him for a team attack.
• In Card Castle, Lancer's music player plays this sound.

Chapter 2

• It can be heard in reverse when Susie eats the cauldron cake at Ralsei's castle.
• It can be heard when Ralsei gets squished by the weight of Kris and Susie's Power Beast Forme S.
• It can be heard pitched down when the "TakeCareX" ACT is used with Noelle in the party.
• It can be heard when Lancer is served spaghetti while petrified in Queen's Mansion.
• It can be heard when Ralsei gets squished by Susie's fall at the rooftop of Queen's Mansion.
• Maus's neutral flavor text when Tired states that its clicking sounds more like splat noises.

Chapter 3

• It can be heard when the Ball Machine falls onto Doctor Tennaville.
• It can be heard bitcrushed when Rouxls is abruptly removed from the pyramid during the Desert Board of The Legend of Tenna.
• It can be heard slowly and in reverse when Lancer slides backwards through the door to the Green Room at the end of his dialogue after the Desert Board.
• It can be heard bitcrushed again when the impure rainbow is formed in the Island Board of The Legend of Tenna.
• It can be heard when receiving a LancerCon.
• It can be heard in reverse when returning any LancerCons.
• It can be heard when Lancer uses the "LANCER Card" in Rouxls Kaard's fight in this Chapter.

Chapter 4

• It can be heard when stepping on the empty snack platter outside of the Holiday mansion.
• It can be heard when Ralsei gets stepped on by Susie in order to grab a book for the Old Man.
  • Half of the sound can be heard if Kris steps on Ralsei afterwards. When they step off, the other half plays.
  • Kris can also lay down next to Ralsei if the option to "show him compassion" is selected, which plays the sound.
• It can be heard when the party lands in the Dark Zone.

Chapter 5

• A loud, reverberating variation of the sound can be heard in an optional cutscene in Castle Town when Kris and Tenna knock on the door to Mike's room.

Multiple Chapters

• It can be heard when entering Lancer's room at Ralsei's castle, and in reverse upon exiting it.
• It can be heard when interacting with the Lancer item in Kris's inventory in Chapters 2 and 3.

Thrash Machine

Main article: Thrash Machine

The Thrash Machine, first created in Chapter 1, reappears several times after its destruction. If the machine is a duck, it is said to "suck[s] ass".

Starwalker

Main article: Starwalker

The original Starwalker reappears in unexpected places in each Chapter if he was encountered in the Forest of Chapter 1.

Moss

Main article: Moss

Consumable moss appears in each Chapter.

Dead pixel

King's arena, where the dead pixel is visible in Chapter 1

King's arena in the anniversary build; the new dead pixels are visible on the right

The "dead pixel" is a singular stray pixel, resembling a defective pixel, that is intentionally placed in one of the final boss fight arenas in each Chapter.

Chapter 1

• King's fight, on the left side of the room.
  • Three more dead pixels, two of which are purple, were added to the arena in the build used for Undertale's 6th anniversary livestream.

Chapter 2

• Queen's first fight, on the left side of the room.

Chapter 3

• Tenna's fight in the Cold Place, near his face. Unlike the dead pixel in other Chapters, this one is much lighter and moves left and right.

Chapter 4

• The Titan's fight, on the left of the room. It is only visible pre-battle, or if Susie is DOWNed during the encounter. The dead pixel in this Chapter also moves up and down.
  • There is also a dead pixel visible in one of the Titan's animation frames, though this could be unintentional.

Banana

Spinning banana

The banana, and the concept of potassium in general, appear in Chapters 2, 3, and 4.

Chapter 2

• When Kris, Noelle and Queen are driving in the latter's car in Cyber City, a banana appears midway through the drive. Queen requests Kris to grab it, and if they do, she simply states "Potassium". If they do not grab it, she believes they will get sick, presumably due to potassium deficiency.
• The potassium gag is mentioned near the end of the Cyber City drive in Queen's car; Queen worries that "Poor Noelle [Will Clip] Into A Wall Somewhere", and "[Waste] Away From Potassium Deficiency".

Queen instructs Kris to grab the banana in her mansion

• In the Acid Tunnel of Love, Queen once again requests Kris to grab a banana. Ralsei asserts they will not grab it, as they will not listen to her, but if they do, he states it is "good for [them]". If it is avoided, Queen says she wanted them to not grab it, so they become potassium deficient.

Chapter 3

• A banana appears in Shuttah's mouth in one of its ACTs.
• The word "BANANA" appears alone in one of the quiz questions in TV World.
  • The same question may also use "BANANABABABA", which contains "BANANA".

Chapter 4

• In the Mike battle, one of the Fruit Bonus's the Maus can offer Kris is a banana.

Watercoolers

Main article: Watercooler

Watercoolers that act in strange ways appear in Chapters 3 and 4.