#tarutalks

[i will preface this by saying this is a horrible word dump of insane rambling as i try to figure out all my thoughts after chapter 5! there is little sense or order to this, and no conclusion is reached, but i just have to get my thoughts written down somewhere.]

noelle finds courage in susie. she becomes braver and stands up for herself and reaches for what she wants. she takes agency, takes control, and doesnt let her family's tragedy define her. noelle is sweet and loving and absolutely deserves to have her affections returned, because she is simply so genuine and lovely.

susie finds something she never believed she could have in noelle. the idea that someone would like her in such a way, the idea that she could have love, is clearly alien to her. noelle is someone who likes her for who she is, whose liked her from the start, and who accepts her wholeheartedly for who she is.

it should go without saying that susie and noelle are a perfect match. and its evident from chapter 5 that ralsei and the other darkners also think noelle and susie are a good couple. furthermore, noelle finding courage and agency in susie is a direct contradiction to the weird route, and how her control is removed from her through kris by the player, further emphasising how genuinely good susie is for her.

but then kris is added to the mix, and everything becomes messy.

its stated throughout the game that kris has had no close friends since them and noelle drifted apart. susie becomes their best friend after their shared experience together in the dark world, and its emphasised how its their thing, their special thing, thats just the two of them, where no one else can intervene or change what they have together. the sleepover, the diner, the way theyre attached at the hip. the fact that others start to notice, with noelle calling kris 'the susie expert' and the other teens in class noticing that kris gets annoyed when theyre nasty about susie. kris' parents comment on how delighted they are that kris has a special friend. flowery even states that everything will be okay, 'as long as you two [kris and susie] stick together'. in chapter 5, toriel also comments 'im sure susie would love to go with you [to the festival]', and asgore says how happy he is that kris has found susie, as he worried they would never have anyone close to them besides asriel.

the narrative itself is formed around the closeness of susie and kris. chapter 1 would never have been able to reach a conclusion if susie didnt decide to put her trust in kris and allow them to direct her. the defining moment of their relationship, for me, was at the dark fountain in chapter 4, where the text reads: 'susie's smile, which seemed to defeat everything, shined on in front of you, and for a moment, it was as if all the darkness had been blown away'. its clear that susie means everything to kris. we see it time and time again.

chapter 5 had additional scenes with implications of kris' feelings going beyond friendship. but regardless, whether you prefer to view kris and susie as platonic soulmates or a romantic possibility, its evident that their bond is a core element of the story, and integral to kris' character.

then theres kris and noelle. this is mostly explored in the weird route, but we see it in the normal route, too. noelle thinks of kris often, and reminisces on their past together fondly. eg: 'kris is the only one who knows how weird i am'. there are constant references to their childhood together. and in chapter 5 during the festival, you can vote for kris and noelle as the king and queen, and then ride the ferris wheel with her. she talks about how kris has always teased her, but how ultimately she knows they just want her to be happy, which i believe to be true. we see in the weird route that kris will harm themselves [via removing the soul] in order to go and comfort noelle, to try and undo what the player has done. their fury with the player/soul for hurting noelle is blatant.

and additionally in the weird route, there are exclusive examples of susie and kris' closeness. in chapter 5 weird route, susie talks about 'whatever [her and kris] are' being better than the festival king and queen, then becomes flustered. she also suggests that she wont let kris leave her when they go to college. but despite this, even in the weird route, noelle and susie are still interested in each other, as seen in chapters 2 and 4.

so, no matter which path you take, thier dynamics remain the same. susie and noelle have romantic feelings for eachother. kris and noelle miss their relationship from the past. kris wants to protect noelle from harm. kris wants to protect susie from harm. susie and kris have a special bond and emphasise the fact they are a duo. and now, since chapter 5, it seems likely that kris has developing feelings for susie, and there are some nods towards them having feelings for noelle, too. [or at least indication that they feel something complicated towards her.]

the ending of chapter 5 solidified their three-way dynamic through the use of the soundtrack 'walking home'. the soundtrack 'festival' when the three of them are together is upbeat and sweet. this melody is made softer in the suselle confession scene, with the soundtrack being named 'i guess im in love'. then, 'walking home' takes the same melody and makes it slower, sadder, quieter. the fact that this song is used to depict them as a trio, susie/noelle as a romantic couple, and susie/kris' relationship at the end of the chapter makes me believe that their three way dynamic is going to be extremely important.

not to mention kris' reaction to susie's suggestion at the end, where she says they need to bring noelle to the dark world, too. kris is dejected, resigned to their role as a third wheel/unwanted addition to the pair. [berdly even suggests this at the festival, but its written as a joke so im not sure whether to take it seriously lol]. but we know kris' upset is not out of any dislike for noelle, because they clearly still care for her.

so whats the deal? i thought i was just going crazy with my shipper's goggles on whilst playing chapter 5, but ive seen other people take note on the dynamic between these three, and the way kris seems torn about susie and noelle being together, whilst also wanting the best for both of them. not to mention the insistence on throuples this chapter. i also thought that was for jokes so i didnt read too much into it, but maybe...?