Susie’s Exclusive Flower Item is the only one that’s an Armor and not a Weapon. Meaning that if you’ve gone through the full Shadow Crystal ‘Arc’, it still doesn’t override the Justice Axe as her current ‘Ultimate’ Weapon, but simply compliments it. Gerson’s mentorship of Susie, the vision of what kind of Hero he knows she can be is still so so important, but the Flowers can support it by boosting stuff the Justice Axe can’t - like Susie’s Damage-Sponginess and her growing variety of non-lethal Magic abilities.
You can even read into how Susie is the one that got Orange’s Weapon because of the parallels between these two (tough aggressive girls with a big appetite, cope with their many insecurities by lashing out at others, Orange’s identity as a Human versus… whatever is up with Susie and her relation to Humanity) and how Susie clearly noticed the Parallels and has been making an effort to treat Orange with respect, kindness and empathy.
How Susie is growing to be both the Defiant Badass Hero and learning to just be who she is. Just getting to be a more emotionally-mature teenager with more friends and these two aspects of her character development are not in competition, they simply compliment each other.
And in contrast, Kris does get a Weapon from the Flowers, and comparing it to their other Shadow Crystal Boss Item, the Black Shard, it’s far from a straightforward power-up. Maybe it’s a back-up prize for people who did some-but-not-all of the Shadow Crystal Bosses and just couldn’t beat the Roaring Knight? But I think the intent is that it’s more of a side-grade, the Black Shard and the Aqua Knife have different pros and cons that the Player can choose between. But Kris can only equip one of them at the time.
One of these is Kris literally wielding a piece of the Knight’s own blade, the perfect weapon for the Chosen Hero fighting against the Titan and their Spawn, most likely obtained after completing the Sword Route, which is a Real-Life Creepypasta that is like 75% just a big glowing reminder to Kris how little control they have over their own life. The other is a considerably less sinister item that fits Kris’s actual personality, given to them by someone who seems like a reflection of their happier, more carefree child-self, one that is still more offensive-oriented than other Flower Items, but also more defensive/pacifistic than the Black Shard. Rather than the two items complimenting each other, Kris’s development is at an impasse, between being the things that they are forced to be; the Knight’s ally, the Hero of the Prophecy, the Player’s Cage and between just being Kris.
And then there’s Ralsei’s Blue Shoes. Which, like, even for a Player who has done every Shadow Crystal Boss up until now, might still be the first Ralsei-exclusive Weapon they get. Especially since the Puppet Scarf is generally considered very situational and the less attractive option compared to the Dealmaker. And, well, first and foremost, since the Blue Shoes are also an optional pick out of the six Flower Items, Ralsei is the only Delta Warrior who doesn’t have an Exclusive Item they always get on the Shadow Crystal Quest. Feels very symbolic of the way they narratively marginalizes themself and allow themself to be bossed by Kris and/or the Player. Ralsei only gets to have the ultra-powerful narratively-significant Weapons if the Player chooses to give it to them. Their Arc can only be emphasized via thematically-resonant items if the Player allows it.
And then if you do have the Puppet Scarf, then the Blue Shoes are almost always going to feel like a straight-up Better Item, and that also feels very resonant. The symbolism of the Puppet Scarf in relation to Ralsei’s arc is, like, kinda extremely depressing. You’re dressing Ralsei up in Literal Puppet Strings, with an item that you only get if you FIGHT and is only really valuable if you’re planning to deal damage and fight as much as possible. Essentially ignoring Ralaei’s request/nudging that you should be as Pacifistic as you can in this world, making them go against their own principles in their dedication to following the orders of Kris/You… emphasizing how they are also your Puppet.
And the Blue Shoes are the exact opposite of all of this. A ‘Weapon’ optimized for Healing and Pacifism, literally given to Ralsei by the character symbolizing Integrity, in the Chapter emphasizing how Ralsei’s integrity about their principles is both their greatest strength and weakness, culminating with them actually putting their fluffy little foot down and refusing to let the Player FIGHT the Final Boss.
Both the Orange Gloves and the Blue Shoes are given similar ‘justification’ to how they work with Susie and Ralsei’s preferred Weapon-Type, that it just help them wield the Weapon that they’re actually technically using…
But while the Orange Gloves is an Armor that could work in tandem with the Justice Axe, the Blue Shoes had to count as a Weapon, because their Thematic Meanings are mutually exclusive with the Puppet Scarf. Picking the Blue Shoes over the Puppet Scarf is symbolic of the Player supporting Ralsei’s arc of choosing their own Integrity over allowing us to control them. And if the Player still honestly prefers the Puppet Scarf, then, well, they clearly made their decision about listening to Ralsei’s own preferences about violence and about using Ralsei's passive nature against their own principles. Probably not a coincidence that the Puppet Scarf is always unlocked as part of the Weird Route, while the opportunity to even consider to get the Blue Shoes is entirely skipped over.
But, well, the Blue Shoes aren’t even Ralsei’s only possible Flower Weapon.
The Flowery Scarf already has a lot of thematic significance to Flowery’s character and his relationship with Ralsei. How it’s this too-good-to-be-true incredibly OP weapon (just like Flowery himself) that Ralsei flat-out refuses to use out of their personal dislike of Flowery (and maybe also because it is incredibly OP and thus will ruin the intended Difficulty Curve of the Narrative). And when Flowery’s confidence finally fails him fatally, the Scarf also gets ‘Broken’ and is revealed to be ‘all for show’. And Ralsei is finally willing to put it on to honor their fallen friend? comrade? frenemy? ally and show these two have been able to reach some sort of understanding by the end. And the Broken Scarf might now seem totally useless, like how Flowery felt deep down, but both him and his scarf still have a decent amount of power under the surface.
And considering how you can only get the Flowery Scarf by completing the entire Pink Coin Sidequest and that even as the Broken Scarf it is the most powerful Flower Item in terms of pure numbers (well, if you could see the numbers), you could probably just count it as the ‘real’ Shadow Crystal Boss Item of Chapter 5 (and it also fits the pattern of Chapter 1 having a Susie Weapon, 2 having a Ralsei Weapon, 3 having a Kris Weapon, then 4 having a Susie Weapon again). I think there’s also a strong thematic through-line in the idea that the ‘Ultimate Weapons’ (or very-near-Ultimate) of the Fun Gang are Susie’s Justice Axe, given to her by Gerson, Kris’s Black Shard, ‘won’ from the Knight, and Ralsei’s Broken Scarf, finally accepted as a gift from Flowery.
But also in addition to all of that, there's the fact that maybe kinda similarly to the Aqua Knife and the Black Shard, the Blue Shoes and the Broken Scarf are not a Clear Unambiguous Power-Up situation, but are more of a sidegrade. The Blue Shoes' boosts to Healing and their utility for a Pacifist Run feel unmatched, while the Broken Scarf's huge stat boosts mainly focus on Attack. It makes Ralsei a viable fighter, much like the Puppet Scarf, but without all of it's negative points.
Both gameplay-wise, it boosts Attack but without lowering the Magic Stat (and therefore Ralsei's Healing) like the Puppet Scarf does. It does actually improves Magic (and also Defense), simply not as much as the Blue Shoes and not as much as it focuses on Attack. And both in the sense that it doesn't have any of the Puppet Scarf's more sinister thematic implications, it is an item given from a character with a much more positive role in Ralsei's journey than Spamton, that clearly symbolizes positive character development from them, and one that they explicitly choose to allow us/Kris to make them wear.
So the Blue Shoes and the Broken Scarf present two mutually-exclusive options, but without either of them being very obviously more Sinister or negative for the character, the way the Black Shard feels for Kris. Both of these items can have a positive meaning for Ralsei from different angles, just like Blue and Flowery are both benevolent characters and each other's friend and ally. Although they are, according to Flowery's boss battle, friendly dance rivals…
So I guess it makes sense their Items are in a 'friendly rivalry'. One represents the peak of Ralsei's Integrity when it comes to their Pacifist Values and desire to be as nonviolent and as kind and friendly as possible, improving on their role as the team's main Healer, basically symbolizing the best of what it means for Ralsei to be Ralsei.
While the Broken Scarf represents 'breaking away' from Ralsei's established role, allowing them to take on more of a physical attacker role, one that maybe feels a bit more 'central' and less like just being the 'support' but also without necessarily sacrificing Healing or their personal Pacifist values entirely, more like accepting the nuances they had to make peace with back in Chapter 1. It represents Ralsei becoming something different from what they were before, and unlike with the Puppet Scarf, not because it was something forced unto them.
The Blue Shoes and the Broken Scarf give Ralsei options, and, options feel exactly like what they need right now....
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