my strangest legacy – in high school, for one reason or another (I can’t remember) my friends and I wrote “34 days until March 2nd” on the whiteboard in the drama classroom. It was completely arbitrary but we kept it it up, “30 days until March 2nd” ”23 days until March 2nd” etc. It spread around enough that the entire school is buzzing about what is going to happen on March 2nd. We figure we should think of something and decide to bring in cake. There were about 13 of us in total committed to bringing a cake. On March 2nd, during 3rd period lunch we all entered the cafeteria in a line (the parade of the cakes) and laid them out—a grand cake buffet for everyone in that lunch period. We did it the next year. And after we graduated it kept going.
This past March 2nd was the 9th year they’ve done it. It’s become a school sponsored event. There are t-shirts for this thing every year. March 2nd is cake day. I am a god.
Determination is “the will to keep living… the resolve to change fate.” It’s the power that gives human souls “the strength to persist after death.” It is so powerful that
Because many people believe the red soul represents determination, some players associate determination with the color red. However, determination is found in all human souls, and there is evidence that all of the fallen humans had the power to save, load, and reset. Furthermore, there is a strong link between determination and yellow – the save point.
In Entry Number 5, the word “Determination” is in yellow (and contrary to popular belief, “Determination” is never written in red). The lab entry is written by Alphys, so she would know the color of the determination she extracted from the souls. While it is not the exact same color as the save point, it is extremely close. Closer than the other yellows found in the game, such as the golden flowers. Coincidentally, Flowey is also the same color yellowas the save point. It’s possible he became this brighter yellow after being injected with determination.
However, the most conclusive evidence is from the Undertale Demo’s instruction pages – specifically the TITLE SCREEN page.
The save point is literally “the manifestation of your own DETERMINATION.” While these instructions are not included in the official release of Undertale, the statement makes sense. Determination is the source of the power to SAVE and CONTINUE/LOAD. It also ties in nicely with the facts that the color yellow is used for selection in the main menu and the save menu turns yellow on a successful save.
Ultimately, there is more evidence that determination is the color yellow rather than red.
Important Note: Please keep in mind that the color of determination is separate from the human soul traits and colors. The yellow soul has the trait Justice, and this analysis does not change that. What this analysis provides is a more appropriate color for the physical component found in all souls – determination –
and this disregards it as a trait for the red soul. For those interested in what the red soul’s trait is, please read our theory, the red soul.
