Guys Gaster is obviously important

I am fascinated by the recent influx of people doubting, or at the very least downplaying Gaster's role in DELTARUNE to that of a passive observer, or something reduced to a weird route exclusive interaction.

This feels like a particularly lore brained way of looking at things, which is ironic given that those arguing for his role to be passive sometimes argue that those wanting to see him are just looking for lore stuff to be acknowledged. It's easy to see the abundance of theories come to the conclusion that the fandom is clearly just hyping up Gaster, that his role cant be as big as the audience imagines or that the copious amount of clues we have pointing to his role in the game are just there because Toby likes leading us on.

This is silly.

It's not controversial to say Gaster will be involved but I dont think enough people really get how it's very important that he's involved.

Gaster is both setup and punchline to DELTARUNE. Every easter egg alluding to his presence in UNDERTALE is ultimately foreshadowing for DELTARUNE, be it his shattering across time and space, his "falling into his creation", or the incredibly obvious entry 17 which is literally just Toby teasing DELTARUNE. He's been looking for us, he knows we have been as well, and this entire experience is ultimately a connection between author and audience, something that he desires immensely.

The role of the diegetic author isnt something that can really be ignored when looking at DELTARUNE, no more than the role of diegetic "apathetic player standin" could be ignored in UNDERTALE. They are both crucial to the game's metanarrative, which is something Toby is very interested in exploring in his stories.

All of this to say that I think it's a fairly safe bet that the ultimate mystery at the heart of deltarune is what is going on with Dr Wing Gaster. The figure surrounded in all the darkness of the depth is him.

This is not to say that he is the answer to every mystery, he isnt. But things in some way or another do lead back to him, whether directly or indirectly.