#asriel analysis

Random Deltarune thought:

In the game files, the fan-named “Snowgrave Route” is internally called:

Alternative Route, Side B, or Weird Route.

Which that last one, uh... seems awfully weird to do! Like, compared to the uncomfortable, gratuitous mental abuse the player can force Kris to inflict on Noelle, along with the mass-murder, it almost seems... too casual, too irreverent.

However, it’s not exactly unprecedented...

In Undertale, in the fan-named “Genocide Route”/Bad Kid/Kill-em-All/No Mercy Route... Papyrus makes it the most obvious that he knows we’re going around killing people, outright mentioning the dusty powder on our hands, & he calls us “freaking weirdo!”

And then, there’s Burgerpants, who usually calls us “little buddy” if we’ve talked to him. But if we’re in the G-Route? He switches to “little weirdo.”

Then there was even Asriel, if we backtrack all the way to the Ruins at the end of the True Pacifist run, reflecting on the fact that he had repeatedly tortured & killed everyone in the Underground...

“I did some weird stuff” indeed...

Maybe it’s kind of a reflection of the player’s mindset (since Asriel also kind of considered himself as a “player” in a “game” when he sufficiently dissociated from reality).

Players who do such routes aren’t necessarily cruel people or real killers at all. Most of them are genuinely horrified at what they uncover. They’re just curious. They just want to examine all the “what ifs”, & learn more about the characters they love, by observing their behavior in new circumstances. And they know it’s just a game.

Especially if we think oldskool, before Let’s Play streams & online revelations. Those of us old enough to remember that time, had to find out secrets tentatively, like a pioneer, & most games didn’t reward so many levels of curiosity. But, sometimes they did. & the thought of discovering something new about a game you love is exciting. So, if you just decided “I wonder what would happen if I killed everyone in this game,” your friend might just kind of be like, “All those nice characters? Wow, you’re weird.”

What we get to see of it isn’t fantastic. Chara makes fun of Asriel being a crybaby in one of the videos, and Asriel even admits that Chara wasn’t the greatest person. Asriel, even as Flowey, is very dependent on Chara for approval. He just goes along with anything and never says ‘no’ until they’re both dying. So… not amazing.

We know Chara held a lot of contempt for humanity, but decorations in their room would seem to indicate they cared a lot about their monster family. And Chara and Asriel shared BFF lockets. Chara genuinely seemed to feel like they could confide in their brother. So… not awful, either.