UwU

IN THE FUCKING WEIRD ROUTE OF ALL PLACE

ALSO THIS DIALOGUE IN PARTICULAR IS INSANE WORK FOR THE WEIRD ROUTE???

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So, Kris definitely shares Asgore's affinity for flowers to some degree, including talking to them.

Note: I'm debating on turning this into a video and adding it to my YouTube line-up this week.

Chapter 5 plays out the festival so many fans have been eagerly anticipating. If you play the Neutral route, Kris tags along as a third wheel, wingman, and moral support for Susie's Big Date with Noelle. The group project in Chapter 4 left space for Susie and Noelle to talk and establish sweet, wholesome chemistry between them. While these two have a solid foundation, Kris gives them an extra friendly nudge at the ferris wheel and the relationship strength tester. They're Susie's best friend and slowly rebuilding their previous friendship with Noelle so they're in a uniquely perfect position to help the flustered lovebirds. Both of them trust Kris and Kris' involvement helps smooth over any heightened nerves or expectations attached to their budding romance.

As soon as the player finds Berdly, he kicks off the impress him to be his festival date competition. Which pretty much amounts to him directly asking each one in turn if they'll be his date. When Berdly first asked Noelle, she almost said yes because of their previous dynamic. He asks her again. She has the backbone to say no, but tries to be diplomatic and polite. She insists they're just friends.

Hopeless, oblivious Berdly asks Susie and she angrily tells him she's with Noelle. He has the audacity to approach Kris next and even uses the ridiculous nickname Queen came up with for them. But Susie intervenes and cuts him off before the player or Kris can respond, saying that they need Kris. Then Berdly changes tactic and tries to join them as 'the fourth wheel.' Every shot he took is rejected, but he takes it all with surprising grace. He pivots to announcing he's a fellow wingman and that if Kris or Noelle need any extra help, he'll be around.

He even sidebars with Kris and presents a bad poem he came up with for Noelle to use to impress Susie. It's sweet. In a way. While Berdly does finally take Noelle's hint and back off, he tries to maintain his smug, superior attitude with what comments he makes about Kris playing third wheel. It's a backhanded, hypocritical comment. He's trying. He's slowly improving, but whatever improvement he's made is offset by not quite knowing how to handle his changing dynamic with Noelle. He wants to continue getting included, but he doesn't know how to handle rejection with tact or grace. He doesn't understand exactly where he stands with Noelle, the difference between a crush and his newfound fondness for Susie, and whether he actually wants a romantic relationship with someone.

It's realistic that it will take time for Berdly to drop his superior nerd act and let his more vulnerable side come through more often. While Kris might have gladly gone on a date with Berdly now, it might be for the better that Susie quashed that option. Look, Berdly was approaching Kris as option no. 3. He gets credit for supporting Noelle, but he needs a little more time improving his friendship with Noelle, learning how to talk to and listen to others, and his own feelings or sense of self period.

That said, it'd be a fantastic idea for him to hang out with Kris more often as just friends. Even with the player interference in mind, the festival is a showcase for how compassionate, supportive, and emotionally intelligent Kris is. Later events in Chapter 5 show how much they love their dad. Kris' ideas may not always be the best thought out or planned, they may not know exactly how to fully express themself, but they care.

The scene where Asgore pushes Kris out of the Dark World and shuts the door in their face broke my heart. They're trying to save him and help him out. They want the best for him as much as he's trying to do the best he can for them in his own way. Both of them would benefit from sitting down and talking to each other.

Kris loves deeply and fiercely. If Berdly asks them out again, he needs to be genuine. No bluff or Casanova act.

Chapter 5 is full of little ship teases and hints. Susie and Noelle are the one canon ship, but I'm convinced that there may be a dangling thread for Kris and Berdly. So, the purple Darkner Seth is a self-professed Berdly fan and admirer. There's a little scene where he mentions brokering some kind of shady deal with Kris. The player thinks Kris is about to give Seth the all-important feather, but no. They're giving Berdly's no. 1 fan one of Berdly's feathers.

Susie bursts in and asks Kris why they have this momento conveniently on hand. Kris just blushes in response. How the player interprets this is ambiguous. I've chosen to read this as Kris honestly likes Berdly. Whether they have a crush on him or mild romantic interest, it's just not the right time, place, or circumstances to fully explore or unpack those feelings. While the chapter highlights Susie's newfound interest in romance and navigating her feelings for Noelle, Kris is learning some new things too. Susie asks Kris how they'd approach someone they like. From what little players have seen, Kris' frame of reference are their divorced parents and their older brother having trouble confessing his feelings for Dess.

Asgore's Dark World has some dating sim inspiration to it. Kris defaults to flirting whenever anything mildly romantic pops up. Anything deeper or more intimate to that probably feels weird. They might admire Berdly's bumbling, unabashed confidence. It doesn't matter how awkward or misinformed he is, he'll pick himself up and keep on trucking. In a way, Berdly has a similar awkward, dorky charm to him that Asgore probably had pre-divorce. Unlike Asgore, Berdly is working on course correcting and being vulnerable. He's trying to fix his strained friendship with Noelle and slowly getting better at understanding or not bulldozing her boundaries.

Kris has seen Berdly at his lowest. If they started liking him, it was when they saw him lower his guard. They like the hidden version of him that Noelle sees as worth maintaining a friendship with. So, fanart originally sold me on Kris and Berdly.

Berdly is the definition of a flawed character, ruined by a fandom with concerningly low levels of media literacy. Sure, he was originally a comic relief character, but the longer the game goes on the more interesting he gets.

I do actually agree!

I personally really hope the TawnyCrow relationship ends up as something that people will make Mr Rock and Roll animations to. Where essentially they’re two older people who fall in love but realise they’re at the wrong stage in their lives to pursue a relationship and just have to live with the regret of not knowing each other earlier.