You know what i noticed? Deltarune really likes tsundere mentions. Especially with all the different cacti, which started as a back-reference to UT, but now feels more like commentary on Kris' mindset- "Sometimes it's important to push away your loved ones"
Kris being an affection-starved tsundere actually makes so much sense, when you think about it.
Not in a "how dare you assume i like you, baka" way, like the trope is usually played, but the rare "why would anyone actually like me" version.
The self-doubt then leading to "you never tell a girl that you like her, because it makes you look like an idiot". It's easier to not put your emotions out there so you won't get hurt, than be met with disappointment of rejection.
And then i noticed something else. ALL OF THEM ARE TSUNDERES!
Kris the "i will push you away first, so you won't be able to hurt me later"
Susie the "i don't need friends, they backstab me"
Noelle the "no i definitely don't think about you and our past all the time every day nononono"
Berdly the "if you want my affection you need to fight for it (please please please love me don't leave me please)"
Ralsei the "whaaaat? Affection? noooo, i don't need that, i don't deserve it"
Ohhhh these emotionally constipated teens... *shakes my head smh*
Why I Don’t Think Kris Hates the Player – At Least in the Pacifist Route
I’ve seen a lot of people saying that Kris from Deltarune outright hates the player, that they resent us for controlling them. And I get where that idea comes from, after all, there are moments when Kris clearly pulls away from our influence. The way they rip out their soul in the opening sequence is undeniably unsettling. But personally, I don’t fully believe that Kris completely hates the player, especially if you stick to a more pacifist approach.
I think it’s too simplistic to say Kris automatically hates the soul in every scenario. If you consider that the player is essentially an outside force taking control of their body, it’s natural that Kris would be wary or uncomfortable. But being uncomfortable isn’t the same as hating. Over time, especially if you play kindly, I believe Kris at least comes to tolerate and maybe even rely on us a little.
Some of the warmest moments in the game (like when Kris quietly follows along as Susie and Ralsei bond) feel almost like they’re letting us help them navigate a world they don’t fully understand alone. It feels like a fragile partnership rather than pure hostility.
One of the little moments that shows Kris doesn’t totally resent the player happens during the quiz scene with Tenya in Deltarune Chapter 3.
It’s such a small detail, but if you pay attention, it’s very telling. When Tenya asks what Kris’s favorite food is, the possible answers include “Chocolate” and “Pie.” Most players automatically think it’s chocolate because it seems like the obvious, I mean kris like chocolate. But if you wait before selecting, Kris actually coughs softly, almost like they’re trying to get your attention.
That cough is a clue. It’s Kris’s way of subtly nudging you toward the real answer: Pie. This is what their mom, Toriel, bakes for them. It’s part of their identity and their memories.
The fact that Kris helps you here, even just by coughing, says a lot. If Kris truly despised us with no nuance, why would they bother giving any hint? Why not let us embarrass them in front of Tenya and Susie by picking the wrong answer?
I think this moment shows that Kris is willing to cooperate sometimes. They don’t want to be completely misrepresented or misunderstood. Even if they’re not thrilled about being controlled, they’d rather give a little signal than have you say something that feels wrong to them.
It’s one of those scenes that makes me think Kris’s feelings about the player are way more complicated than simple hatred.
Another moment that really shows how layered Kris’s feelings about us can be happens in the secret minigame from Chapter 3.
If you’ve played it, you know what I mean—when you enter that hidden arcade cabinet, you control a tiny pixel version of Kris inside the screen. It’s a funny, almost nostalgic moment. But when you finish the game and the little Kris sprite pops back out, something happens: Kris drops the controller.
At first, it just looks like they’re surprised. But if you don’t move right away, you’ll see their expression change. Their face loses color and goes this pale bluish tone, almost like they’re scared or sick. It feels like they’re genuinely afraid of what you’ll do nex, if you’ll make them pick the controller up again, or force them into something they don’t want, or kill them.
But here’s the detail that sticks with me: if instead of approaching Kris, you quietly walk away from the scene, Kris doesn’t go pale. They don’t back away. They just stand there, like surprise? We dont know.
It shows that Kris is always bracing themselves for the possibility that we’ll push too hard. They’re prepared to shut down or recoil if we don’t respect their space. But when we choose to step back and give them time, their fear doesn’t fully take over.
To me, this scene proves again that Kris doesn’t automatically hate us. They’re scared, yes, but their fear seems rooted in uncertainty, not just resentment. It’s like they’re waiting to see if we’ll be kind or invasive. When we respect them, we avoid making them feel that cold, trembling dread. Is like they call us for something in the begining of the game, but scared of what we will do.
Moments like this are why I think Kris’s feelings about the player are complicated. It’s not pure hostility. It’s a cautious, wary hope that maybe, if we’re gentlesharing control doesn’t have to be so frightening.
After Kris get back to taking control, assuming you didn’t walk right up to them or force them into anything, Susie comes into the room. She looks at Kris for a second and then asks, almost casual but with a hint of curiosity:
"You into these kinda games?"
If you didn’t scare Kris before, they won’t look pale or frightened now. They just stand there, calm but a little tense, waiting for what you’ll choose. It’s a big contrast to how they react if you invade their space, they don’t flinch or drop their gaze.
Then, you get a choice: you can tilt Mini-Kris’s sword cursor to “Yes” or “No.”
If you pick No (by turning the blade away) Susie shrugs, walks over, and unplugs the arcade controller herself. She says:
"Then don’t play it."
And the mini kris disappears.
This moment connects to something bigger: the relationship between Kris and the player. The question isn’t just what we want, it’s what Kris wants, and whether we’ll ever respect that boundary.
And this idea comes back again during the Spantom fight later on. When Spantom gets his strings cut, he collapses limp—like a puppet whose master lost interest. It feels unsettling, because it makes you wonder:
If we ever get bored of Kris, if we let go of the “controller” or decide we’re done, would they fall the same way?
Just another empty body, waiting for someone else to pull the strings.
Nobody really knows the answer. But the way the game sets up these parallels, Kris’s fear of being forced, Susie stepping in to unplug the controller, Spantom’s body hitting the floor, makes it clear that being controlled is something that haunts Kris, what if we get bored of them.
And it’s why I don’t believe Kris hates us outright. They’re scared of what happens if they lose themselves completely. They’re scared of if we complete deltarune, they will stop existing all togueter.
Maybe the scariest part of that scene—and honestly, of Deltarune as a whole—isn’t just Kris’s fear of being controlled.
It’s the fear of what happens if we stop.
When Susie unplugs the controller and tells Kris, "Then don’t play it," there’s a strange, heavy silence. For a second, it feels like Kris is relieved, like maybe they have a little more say in their own life. But right after, when you remember how Spantom falls, a worse thought creeps in:
What if Kris doesn’t only hate losing control, what if they’re terrified of having no purpose at all? Remember the boss in this secret minigame that sayed a part of kris enjoyed this?
Spantom’s body drops like a lifeless doll the moment its strings are cut. It’s not struggling. It’s not resisting. It’s just gone.
That image echoes something unsettling about Kris. If we, the player, decide to close the game, to turn away and never come back, what happens to them?
Does Kris stand there forever in a blank room, waiting for someone to move them again? Do they feel their consciousness fading like Spantom’s, becoming nothing but an empty shell? Or are they trapped in a half-dream, aware that we’re gone but unable to act?
So, in my view, while there’s always an undercurrent of tension between Kris and the player, the pacifist route suggests that a small level of trust can grow if we’re careful not to push them too far.
Chekov’s Berdly - A collection of details regarding The Bluebird that are yet to be addressed…
Telepathically beaming this list into the minds of everyone who still thinks that Berdly isn’t going to be relevant in future chapters.
The Burghley Berdly room in Queen’s Castle containing something that’s ever so slightly surprising to Kris. A room that had been designed according to Berdly’s past search queries, leading to the next point…
Queen’s judgement stating There’s Nothing Wrong With Him He’s Just Annoying. It’s a pretty accurate description, but what intrigues me is how this response comes after a request to keep distracting him and find Noelle. It first looks like she’s going to identify why Kris must keep distracting him (“For You See” being the direct choice of words…), but then she backstacks and gives the simple version. I don’t think she’s lying - rather that she’s just not telling us the whole truth regarding what she knows about him. Given that he’s a volunteer librarbian I have reason to believe Queen has the most data on him, but lacks the insight into the emotions behind them as she admits herself.
Related to the above, the fact that Queen actually cares for him albeit less than she does for Noelle. This makes total sense given Noelle Needs Help Like Seriously Right Now, and her forwardness on the holidaygirl1225 blog means that Queen has more to work with regarding Noelle’s emotions even if she’s off on her final conclusions and how to help her. Noelle is Queen’s top priority, but Queen should know a little more about Berdly given how she convinced him (not asked! She Did Not Ask Him) to work for her to protect Noelle.
The Shift With Ms Boom. Seeing that Berdly skedaddles out the librarby after ch2, this isn’t the same as his librarby volunteer work. Speaking of which, the librarby closing due to lack of volunteers indicates he’s the one keeping the place open. Let that sink in - Berdly works two jobs, completely out of charity for at least one of them, on top of being a high school student struggling to maintain the position of class no. 1. Why does no one bring this up when discussing this guy? Maybe because it completely destroys the argument that Berdly Is A Selfish Entitled Jerk that every Mainstream Deltarune Fan seems to believe?
The way Noelle helps Berdly study vs his actual abilities. For some ungodly reason half the fandom believes for certain he’s just a freeloader who relies solely on Noelle to do everything herself, as if she’s the one writing his tests and doing his classwork in real time. What we do know is that Noelle highlights his notes judging from the phone call scene in chapter 4, and even then the fact she brought this up unprompted makes me wonder if he asked her to do this, or if it’s something she does out of habit. Yes, Noelle tending to freeze-and-fawn in the face of other’s demands is a problem that needs to be addressed, but that’s unrelated to the fact there’s a difference between imposter syndrome and being a straight up fraud.
Parents. Where the hell are they. Did a blue egg just randomly roll into hometown and hatch into this weirdo, or do Berdly’s parents actually exist. Please, something, anything. Yes, there’s the Bird Teacher at Hotland High but we’re not in the Underground now. And fan content doesn’t count either (sorry Martlet ily), I need to see some evidence this guy didn’t straight up spawn. I don’t even need actual relatives, given the insight into Susie’s life we can infer from a single decrepit bedroom. The closest guess is that there must exist a Deltarune counterpart to the aforementioned bird teacher, possibly a teacher here like Toriel or Alphys. Either that or inter-dimensional divorce.
Speaking of birds not existing, where are the bird npcs. My buddies Grillby and Papyrus are nowhere to be seen unfortunately, but the red bird from the diner, the waterfall bird, the librarbian who resembles a monochrome Swatch… I can’t find them anywhere. This wouldn’t be such a big deal were it not for the fact that most other Underground npcs seem to be around here and there. Where The Heck Did The Birds Go. And Don’t Even Get Me Started On Reaper Bird. There is one bird that does exist - the completely normal bird npc with total shrimp posture, who we recognize from their Goner counterpart. Oh And Burghley ofc.
The Air Crackles Green With Freedom. The Wind Howls. Two recurring phrases that show up in relation to serious plot moments and shadow crystal battles. And also Berdly uses Green Air Magic and has to be freed from control using Susie’s Idea like King Round and the Werewires which is entirely unrelated right.
The Holy Halbird and Glow In The Dark knight’s armor. Do you really expect me to believe these are just throwaway gags after all the symbolism in Chapter 4? And Light being Kinda Sorta Super Important to beating the titan? Calling it now that the holy halbird is a highlighter - something meant to draw attention to other existing details, and any light it seems to give off is actually absorbed light being reflected using fluorescent dye, same with glow in the dark paint… now tell me again why the Sky Mantle is described as fluorescent?
Eggroom Eggs on Berdly’s Desk. Susie Doesn’t Wanna Think About It. Yeah This One’s Just A Bit Guys Don’t Think About It Either.
Berdly seems to be the only one making progress on the project as of late given our study session in chapter 4 was mainly us learning a bit more about the Holidays and Dreemurs. And also the Tell-Tale Himejoshi. If the payoff ends up being that Lol The Project Didn’t Matter Berdly Worked His Feathery Behind Off For Nothing Ain’t That Funny… I may actually punch a wall. The wall shall be spared however if this ends up being like Papyrus’s dream of being a royal guard, and Berdly at least finds something better in the process.
Speaking of Berdly’s people pleasing tendencies being in vain and having the opposite effect and driving people away, only furthering this feedback loop and worsening this desperation to get others to like him… ever thought about the apple from The New Girl Story? The one that plays into the relationship between two major characters as well as continuing Kris-Cross-Applesauce Dreemur’s Fruit Motif? Yeah that was from Berdly, he gives them to Alphys and she just ignores them lol. Ignored fruit, left to rot… it’s just another joke at Berdly’s expense, don’t worry about that 3% random flavour text from the Jackenstein battle on the Weird Route I’m sure it means nothing…
Silver Drake. If that name sounds completely out of nowhere, it’s the name of the Ice Palace Boss from Dragon Blazers III that Noelle is trying to beat post-ch2. While this seems to reference Snowdrake, it should be noted that it actually reflects fire attacks and is weak to ice attacks judging from Noelle’s reaction. I don’t know why a Snowflake based monster species who lives in Snowdin and makes ice puns would resist fire attacks, but I do know a certain bird who is weak to ice magic. Also, why is Berdly weak to Ice? Are we working off Pokemon rules, or does this have a deeper meaning? And the name Silver Drake indicates the boss may be either based on a type of dragon… or just a regular duck boy. And Why Silver? Considering Noelle’s Silver Watch, the Silver Snowflake-Star-Shurakin attack of the Roaring Knight, The Silver Card item from way back when, and the silvery Rhapsotea item, I wonder if Silver is a little bit important somehow. Just a thought..
My 20k Word Long Rant About The Fact That Snowy “It’s Just A Joke” Snowdrake Is Closer To The Offensive Disrespectful Dudebro Archetype Then Berdly Will Ever Be Has Been Cut For Time. Honestly Guys Toby Has Used They/Them For Papyrus At Least Ten Times More Than Berdly Has Used Anything Other Than They/Them For Kris. And Ten Times Zero Is Still Zero.
Hey remember when I said that birds are nowhere to be seen in Deltarune? That was a lie… kinda. Compared to the lack of known bird lightners, the dark world is brimming with birdlike characters. The Starwalker Bird, Poppup the Dolphin-Birds, Addisons (kinda? half the fanart on this site turns them into bird people so I’m throwing them in here), Swatch and the Swatchlings, Guei the Ghost-Birds, That Foghorn Leghorn Fire Extinguisher Guy with the code… and Spamton G. Spamton, everyone’s favourite glasses-wearing, freedom seeking bigshot with a rollercoaster battle, who has nothing but the best intentions for Noelle and won’t take the opportunity to exploit her strengths in any way whatsoever, unlike that entitled Nerdly guy who only cares about himself and won’t take no for an answer right guys?
My 50k Long Rant About The Idea That Spamton Plays More Into The Imagery Of Toxic Masculinity And The Objectification Of Women Especially On The Weird Route Than Anything Berdly Has Said Or Done So Far Has Also Been Cut For Time. But Seriously Why Does Every Analysis On Gender Roles In Deltarune Treat Berdly Like Some Embodiment Of The Incel Mindset When Spamton Straight Up Calls Noelle A Hochie Mama Like WTF.
The Spelling Bee. Who’s the Jackass that added December to the competition after one of the most traumatic events in the doe’s life? And why the heck did winning a single spelling bee give the bluebird such an ego boost to the point any positive attention he receives from his classmates is taken as a sign there must be ulterior motives because Why Else Would They Be Nice To Him?
Speaking of which, ever thought about how the closest interactions Berdly has with perceived romantic interests end up cut short by The Blue Bird Himself? Like the conversation with Noelle following the Ferris wheel rescue? Or a close call kiss from Susie? Or a festival date with Kris? Could it be that The Wonders Of Romance, much like a Nippled Golden Statue With Disturbingly Humanoid Muscular Features, is an impossible ideal he only dreams of since he believes it would never happen? And the second someone actually becomes close enough for it to be possible he has to nip it in the bud and kill the moment since it could never become a reality for someone like him, yet he’ll still continue acting as if he’s reciprocating interest since he values the connection? Maybe?
Ralsei has no goddamn clue about this guy. Makes sense - he’s not in the prophecy, so he’s not important to the bigger picture. Unfortunately this means that the poor goat kid has no way of accounting for a random bird appearing out of nowhere and almost bringing about the roaring in chapter 2 (BUT ONLY AFTER HE CONFIRMS IT’S WHAT EVERYONE WANTS AND EVEN THEN RALSEI QUESTIONS EVERYONE’S CHOICE TO CREATE A NEW FOUNTAIN SERIOUSLY WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP ACTING LIKE THIS WAS ALL BERDLY’S DOING WHEN HE WAS THE ONLY ONE TO ASK IF IT WAS REALLY OKAY DOES CANON DIALOG MEAN NOTHING TO YOU I’M LOSING MY MIND HERE) I wonder why Ralsei, the guy who dreads the inevitable final prophecy and hopes being Kind and Merciful will help us get a better ending even if it seems the future is set in stone, hasn’t noticed how Berdly credits his pacifist rescue from Queen’s wires to the lightner’s Kindness and Mercy, and how both Tenna and Jackenstein survive the normal route through recruiting everyone through Mercy and being Kind Enough according to Susie. Then again, Ralsei will note giving Berdly the prize as Unexpected Kindness…
How to draw dragons is stilll overdue. Sort it out Dreemurs.
A giant post about Noelle Holiday's Relationships - 1
The people in Noelle's life tend to think about "What would be best for Noelle?" but never ask her what she thinks would be best for her.
It's funny in a very tragic way that she is very loved, there's no doubt of that and yet everyone treats her like she is too fragile to be involved in their plans, like a damsel in distress: She can't be an active actor in her own story, she has to stay still and be "the goal", her happiness is the "goal" of her loved ones and yet everyone is struggling to see her as capable of choosing for herself.
Carol (and Queen too, if we think about Chp 2) is the biggest example of this, I don't doubt that she loves Noelle, but her way of loving is intentionally or not hurting Noelle. She is very strict and controlling, and I think it's fair to say that she likes things to be as they were: For both Holidays and Dreemurrs to be friends again and for Dess to be back, for everything to freeze and stay as it was.
Rudy is harder to figure out, since we have so little information of him in Noelle's day to day and also in their own house- But I think that could be intentional. Rudy's warmth/presence isn't felt at all in the Holiday's house and I almost wonder if it's because he and Carol aren't doing so well recently/after the incident, or if it has always been that way. I think that genuinely he tries his best to guide her towards self-confidence, but that he himself also struggles with asserting his opinion. He is very outspoken and a jokester but when it comes to Carol we don't get this sense that he wants to see her soon, we know he wants to be home for Noelle but not exactly because of Carol NOR Dess.
In fact I think he never even mentions Dess in any of his dialogue (I'll have to check), so either he doesn't like reminding Noelle and Kris of Dess, or HE can't stand the topic himself. I think he likes to avoid heavy conversations, always distracting Noelle with other things because that's all he thinks he can do in the state he is in.
Even Berdly, bless his heart, in BOTH routes assumes that Noelle isn't with Kris because she wants to but because they did something to trick her- And we know for a fact that in the more serious and dangerous situation he would throw his own safety away just to save her. I don't think Berdly has ever had a genuine crush on Noelle, I think it's more likely his perception of relationships has been twisted in some way due to his childhood neglect and insecurities: He starts liking someone, even if platonically, and instantly gets attached to that person because he doesn't seem to have many friends,- And when he does get a friend, or someone who tolerates him, he assumes that person must have a deeper motive/feelings for him, because he can't imagine someone wanting to hangout with him simply because they simply like him as a friend.
But even with all that being said: Berdly still fails to interact with Noelle as her own person- He does treasure her friendship more than anything, but he (AND CATTI-) sees her as someone who can't decide for herself and would easily be persuaded and manipulated-
Which we of course know is far from the truth, Weird Route proves that Noelle is far more strong-willed than everyone likes to proclaim, it takes a lot to push her into that state of compliance and even then she is still taking things at her own pace (she doesn't stick to Kris after Snowgraving Berdly, she goes away to recollect her thoughts, she isn't acting like a perfectly obedient puppet even if she helps when we call her name- She is doing what she is told but isn't at all being compliant about it, she even seems to kiss Susie as she becomes, in fact, even more assertive)
I think it's really intriguing how Noelle is written. From everyone on the Holiday and Dreemurr distancing/Dess Missing Drama, she seems like the one with the ""healthiest"" mindset when it comes to accepting new things coming into her life. Yes, she misses Dess of course, and she misses the simple times where everyone got along-
But she isn't holding an iron grip to her past like Carol, nor avoiding it like Rudy, she isn't trying to move on and live on as quickly as possible as Toriel- And nor is she THAT obsessed like Asgore that she would go out of her way to try and force Kris to hangout with her again.
She is hurt, deeply so, she wants to find her sister not only because of nostalgia but because she knows something happened, something probably otherworldly.
Even Toriel who seems very mature has her own sense of desperation when it comes to completely avoiding her past, she wants to move on quickly so it doesn't hurt her anymore- But without thinking and without a plan, she isn't rationalizing how her kids might feel or if this sort of "Speedrun To Happiness" isn't going to hurt her too on the long run (I find it very suspicious that she isn't bothered at all about her Tv being gone, along with other house objects- Either it was overlooked by the devs, or this is one unfortunate sign of Toriel's deeper mental health).
Asgore is just too obsessed with going back to how things were, that I think that's exactly what pushes Toriel away. He thinks that after proving everything he'll just... Hmmm... Earn her back...
[I ACCIDENTALLY HIT POST AND I DIDN'T STOP WRITING MY THOUGHTS-]
I'll be back to talk about Kris later because their relationship with Noelle is FASCINATING. But rn I'm at work.
I see your "everyone pushes their beliefs about what is best for Noelle onto Noelle" and raise you "it's partially because Noelle really does not speak up for herself and is therefore prone to compliance and manipulation".
Not to demean Noelle (because I think she's one of the best written and most complex characters ever), but she's obviously a golden child and a people pleaser– gets good grades, is on track & field, volunteers at the church, everybody loves her, and nobody has anything bad to say about her. Hell, she starts to agree to date Berdly at the festival until Susie literally rips the phone away from her because she obviously doesn't want to do it, but she simply can't say 'no' most of the time.
A lot of kids that see their family struggling early in life will, out of love for them and a desire to ease their burden, make themselves as perfect and "good"/not defiant as possible. She folds easily to Queen and Carol especially, because they're her mother-metaphor and mother. I think Carol's icy color palette is a direct translation of how Dess' disappearance has made her cope by being emotionally cold, and also wanting to "freeze" or preserve the past. That means, she's simply unable to meet Noelle's emotional needs, ie letting Noelle process the loss in the present when Carol wants to salvage the past, or giving Noelle warmth that Carol no longer has. And Noelle, as kind and loving as she is, wouldn't want to upset her mother in any way– She appears to like grunge makeup, but hasn't worn it since that one time because Carol wouldn't like it. She's anxious at first about Susie going into Dess' room and taking her guitar, and immediately jumps to trying to explain herself when Carol spots them before she quickly submits. It takes a lot to get her to stand up to Queen, and she only explicitly defies her by the very end of chapter 2.
As for Rudy (and Kris), Noelle says that they are the only people who she feels she can say 'no' to, and that Kris is the only one who knows about her "weird" side; this pretty much confirms that Noelle is purposefully choosing not to be fully open around anyone else, like Carol or Berdly. I think it can be assumed that Rudy is safe for Noelle, but perhaps he's also trying to appease his wife, as they both understand that they've all gone through one of the worst possible things that can happen to someone with a family.
Chapter 2 is all about how Noelle struggles to express her own desires to others, and how she evolves from that. You can either choose to mostly let Noelle be, showing her that the Dark World isn't so scary and allowing her to open up until she feels she must stand up to Queen by the end– Or, you can have Kris utterly steamroll her, making her concede to going with Kris to the festival instead of Susie, solving puzzles in the way you want– and every step of the way, out of her (PLATONIC) love for Kris, she rationalizes our actions as them "making her stronger" or 'more confident', ignoring the very real danger she's in, because she's learning to always listen to Kris, that this is what's best. Her leaving after Snowgrave isn't defying us, so much as her being in shock and numbly leaving the scene where she has just participated in doing a terrible thing to her best friend. If we had the option to call her back to our side, I'm sure she would have even then. And by the time of chapter 4, when Noelle is truly in danger of being directly hurt by Kris/us, she can't bring herself to move– she freezes and is compliant, because that is what we have been conditioning her to be since chapter 2.
Finally, on Berdly. There's a scene in the class (perhaps at the start of ch2 but I'm not sure), where Alphys calls for a volunteer to read. Nobody does. Noelle, clearly uncomfortable but also unable to bear the silence when Alphys asks again, starts to meekly volunteer– it's then that Berdly steps up to "take the blow of humiliation" and reads himself.
I'm making a whole big post on the complicated dynamics going on between these two, but what I'll say for now is that Noelle's kindness to Berdly by being his friend is what has made him more outwardly confident and so... himself, especially compared to her. He sure doesn't have the best language or the best approach when he describes Noelle as a "powerless doe" to Kris, but he has percieved that she has trouble speaking up for herself, and his speaking up and acting on her behalf so often is likely just him trying to help her like she has been helping him all this time. And yeah, he misses more often than he hits, but there is room for his (PLATONIC) love to become real merit.
Leading up to the Snowgrave fight, Noelle makes all the excuses in the world for Kris and why she's fine, actually, this is fine– Berdly recognizes this situation for what it is, just plain bad, and stands up for her by literally fighting for her. He does that for the same reason he volunteers in class to read in her place: Noelle is people-pleasing, often to her own detriment, and Berdly has made it his duty as her friend to protect her from the bad outcomes that behavior often leads to.
okokok hear me out this is a biiiiiiiiiiiiit of a reach but I find it interesting anyway (yes it's abt kerdly)
so as we know, when kris picks up noelle's phone after susie throws it; and berdly unknowingly invites kris to go with him, there are two options you can pick: go with him, or just prank him.
What i think is interesting is how he RESPONDS to each option.
Go with Berdly:
"K- KRIS!? You... you... the phone, you...!?"
"..."
"Kris, I have to say. Heh. I am. Flattered."
"But if you want my hand... you'll have to fight for it."
"On the day of the festival... You, Noelle, Susie..."
"The lover who impresses me the most... Will be my date."
"Kris, may the best suitor... Epic win."
"Good luck."
Wrong number song:
"KRIS!? You... you scoundrel!!"
"Eavesdropping on my sweet, cartiligienous inner thoughts..."
"Hmph. Go ahead and taunt, Kris."
"I'M the one Susie and Noelle are falling like dominoes for."
"And you know what dominoes means, Kris?"
"You're next."
For the wrong number song, he attempts to be smooth and flirts with Kris, saying that they're next in line to fall in love with him. This is similar to an interaction you can have with him in chapter 2, where he basically goes "don't be disappointed kris, but I'm into susie" or some shit; like he thinks kris is flirting with him. This makes sense for his character, since he seems to have a problem distinguishing people being nice from romantic advances.
But what I find REALLY interesting is how that contrasts with when we straight up accept his invitation.
He actually gets kind of flustered, stuttering a little, which i guess is kinda normal for the situation; but the main thing is how he acts like he WASN'T EXPECTING THAT KIND OF THING FROM THEM.
This is strange to me. Like, how do those responses go together? One seems to imply that Berdly thinks that Kris wanting to date him is inevitable, but he acts SUPRISED that Kris wanted to go with him. Like, yeah, he wasn't expecting them to pick up the phone, but he fucking PAUSES and goes "Kris, I have to say. Heh. I am. Flattered." like bro is like trynna process it.
Idk man it's almost like Berdly subconsciously WANTS Kris to like him and while he keeps his ego fueled by thinking everyone is obsessed with him including them he has a biiiit of yearning deep down and it surfaces in an uncomfy way when kris says they'll go with him and he quickly patches it up with "OHO you must FIGHT for my HAND", (also why weren't you considering that when you thought it was just susie and noelle??? Does someone want to feel wanted by a certain human???? hmm????)
Also both dialogues end with a very...... SPECIFIC kind of flirtatiousness he ONLY shows Kris.
With Susie and Noelle, It's pretty much a verbose variation of "You think I'm super hot. Ur cool too ig. I will now grace you with my presence." Which is just an offshooting of how he acts in general, just acting like he thinks everyone can't get enough of him and he's doing everyone a favor by existing.
But with KRIS it's direct. It's an invitation, a challenge, almost.
He's ALWAYS trying to get Kris to engage with him. EVERY TIME he opens his mouth around them it's basically just him trying to get Kris to admit they want him in ANY way. Like You want to join MY side right kris? You WISH you had MY grades and MY gaming skills and just admit you think im cool just tell me im the coolest and smartest and most attractive monster you've ever met because you soooo think that right? RIGHT? TELL ME IM PRETTY!
Like it's crazy how badly he seems to want approval from THEM SPECIFICALLY. How in the beginning of chapter 2 he's jealous of SUSIE. JEALOUS OF SUSIE. FOR BEING KRIS'S FRIEND.
And he's NEVER jealous of Noelle for being friends with Kris.
NEVER jealous of Kris being friends with Susie.
He can't even see that Noelle and Susie are OBVIOUSLY down HORRENDOUSLY for each other much less be JEALOUS of them.
But somebody new is hanging around kris and he gets jealous.
Aaaaannnd then he acts like he has a crush on said friend and rubs that in Kris's face and suggests they're jealous of HER.
Don’t think about Berdly’s home life. Don’t think about how we’ve seen neither hide nor feather of anyone responsible for raising a child who views affection as purely conditional and who based his identity on being The Smart Kid after winning a single spelling bee. Don’t think about why a teenager who clearly struggles with spatial reasoning and real-time thinking without any guidance feels like asking for help is actually cheating and cannot identify his real strengths and weaknesses. Don’t think about why a high school student feels the need to be working at least two charity jobs during a school week and over weekends, in addition to remaining top student, yet cannot accept that title as genuine due to the aforementioned assistance. Don’t think about how this child will do mental gymnastics to try and rationalize why someone would be genuinely nice unless they have some sort of romantic interest. Don’t think about how no one bothers to remember this kid’s name, or how even the more reasonable adults in town regard him with such disdain. Don’t think about why the one thing that brought him over to your side was that you’d accept him even if he’s stupid, or why no one gives a damn when he’s rendered comatose by your very own actions, with Kris having to drag his unconscious body to the hospital while everyone else just laughs off his dire state. Don’t think about the fact that the same woman who lovingly gives Susie a pep talk and hot chocolate will threaten to smoke bomb a simple request for an overdue librarby book. Don’t think about the fact that Berdly is left alone with his thoughts for the majority of chapters 2 and 4, worried about what his friends really think of him while the whole joke is that he was ditched purposely, after bending over backwards to convince he’s worth something to people who never give him the time of day.
Berdly’s just a joke character guys, he’s clearly just an egocentric brat who was like this from the start and he’s not going to be relevant or develop further later on, you shouldn’t be thinking about that.
Don't think about how Berdly simply would not be a top student if he didn't have the capacity to study and learn on his own, but he straight-up calls himself an idiot for needing help.
Don't think about how quickly and happily he adopts the "idiot" label like a badge of honor just to identify with the only other people who have ever accepted him. Don't think about how he wakes up in the Light World and thinks it was all just a dream.
Don't think about how he performed romantic affection for a girl he had zero romantic interest in, because he thought a potential crush was the only reason she would ever be kind to him. Don't think about how desperate you would have to be to keep someone in your life to violate your own boundaries in that way.
Don't think about the fact that his entire plan was to leave the real world forever for a fantastical sci-fi world where he and his best friend can always be together, where they'll always be validated and accepted.
Do NOT question why he has no awareness for social cues, why he talks with no filter and often comes across as rude, why he notes the texture of freshly picked-up books, why he gets so frustrated when we butt in while he's staring at the puzzles trying to figure them out and simply do them for him, why he takes the puzzle so literally to begin with and doesn't think that the puzzle pieces can simply overlap with each other because they're made of light, why Queen says, "There's Nothing Wrong With Him He's Just Annoying".
And, no matter what, under no circumstances must you see that Susie was initially a bully to protect herself from being rejected by others, and apply that same logic to Berdly. No way was he ever ostracized like her, no way was he ever rejected or treated with utter disdain like her, despite canon evidence of Kris prank calling him and adults wanting to throw stuff at him and Alphys never eating the apples he brings to her and Queen avoiding him at every possible chance.
There's absolutely ZERO chance that Berdly uses being smarter than everyone as an armor in the same way that Susie used being tough and scary as her armor. He's just an annoying asshole just because! Let's just draw a bunch of art of his only friend wanting to choke and to hit him, because he deserves a good wack over the head, right?
Tony why the FUCK do all the flowers think they're humans. I know this isn't UNDERTALE Tony. Deltarune Asgore has no reason to associate the flowers with the human children or their belongings Tony right????? Right Tony??
TONY WHY DO THE FLOWERS KNOW ABOUT BERDLY TONY.
Like I would stock it up to the fact that Kris made the dark fountain and not Asgore and mixed their own memories in there but the flowers aren't Darkners, they have their own memories and personalities based on both their own understanding of the world as plants in the light world and as witnesses to Asgore's experiences with them.
The flowers live in little glass cases in Asgore's shop, and not the part that's open to the public, Tony. Even before then they probably lived in the Dreemur house's garden Tony. And Berdly should be WAY TOO YOUNG to have been at Asgore and Toriel's wedding when the flowers were used. Like the only thing I can think of an explanation is that Berdly and Kris used to hang out at the Dreemur house together as kids more than they talk about, but if that's the case why don't they mention Noelle at all who has confirmed to have been over at their house all the time before Toriel and Asgore separated?
YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT THERE'S NO REASON THAT THE FLOWERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BERDLY TONY.
Tony what the hell is this:
OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR TONY I JUST WANNA TALK. 🚪✊✊✊✊✊
Oh, him? Yeah thats just Berdly. Yeah the only lightener to be fully active an entire chapter and never be under the player’s leadership. The only character who can be essentially killed when diverging from the main story. And one of the only major characters to be entirely omitted from the prophecy. Yeah, when you play the video game backstage in chapter 3, a blue bird that you can’t kill blocks you from continuing until you freeze it. And he had a ‘leader’ egg on his desk that every egg you collect follows. Uh huh, he could also heavily connect to whole escapism aspect of deltarune and what thats trying to say. And if you want to explore themes of neglect, well, he has the potential for that too. Yeah, he also has extensive video game knowledge in a video game meta narrative. He draws parallels between himself and the main character Kris, while also being the only character to be fully connected to who Kris is in the moment (aka no past baggage and minimal player/prophecy influence)* and, though they butt heads, does seem to genuinely respect them. He’s the other blue knight. Kris is the other blue bird. After you freeze him in Snowgrave, flavor text keeps popping up that references him in general and specifically his knowledge for video games. In a meta narrative. Setting aside relationships ((a big ask)), he’s the only thing that really meaningfully changes in the Snowgrave route. At the end of chapter 2, his icon is a question mark while everyone else’s is their face, something played for a gag but hey. You never know. Yeah, don’t worry, he’s not important.
Kris might want to go to the festival with Berdly - And that's okay.
There's been a long-standing misconception in the fandom about the festival options with Berdly that I'm quite tired of still seeing around. I guess it's because it's funny to frame it as Kris being very adverse to the option to go with him, but the joke loses steam when it's based on a very possible misinterpretation of the relationship.
As the fandom has been exposed to one extreme end of the conversation ("Kris HATES Berdly" crowd), I think the fandom should also hear from an actual shipper and not an ironic one or Berdly hater (or Kris hater even). We will ALL give you a different point of view on this topic and one side honestly feels like blatant mischaracterization.
Basically. NO, Kris does not hate that we can choose to go with Berdly. They do not hate him. Annoyed? Maybe. Hate? No. I want to explain why I think they're actually pretty cool with this.
(Obviously this analysis will be VERY biased. I am a kerdly shipper, so a kerdly perspective is expected. This is a very long semi-serious text analysis & mild crashout post on the fandom btw. (YAY.) Post will be subject to future edits and additions!)
Clearing Out Some Thoughts
The popular interpretation of the "repeating Berdly" dialogue has been my BIGGEST HEADACHE ever since the chapters released and I'm frustrated it hasn't been cleared up after all these months. It mainly comes from people who don’t understand how Kris and Berdly’s relationship has been set up so far (which to be fair is kind of subtle). I personally recommend everyone, even me, to do another run of DR to refresh yourself on character relationships.
NO, Kris is not screaming in fear here. They are not flailing, gagging, nor throwing a fit about it. I've literally seen people claim that Kris "started crying" at this option...which just goes to show how the flanderization has blown out of proportion. Where is this dialogue you guys speak of?? What Deltarune did you guys play??
You can see where my frustration comes from after so many bad faith takes like these have been popularized. I blame viral fan content interpretations where they have Kris screaming and crashing out. Not to mention, one of the most popular voiceovers from what I've seen ISN'T EVEN THE RIGHT DIALOGUE. It's the one audio where Ralsei says "Why do you sound so confused Kris?" I know people don't like checking the source material, so I'm almost convinced this is what blew this misconception out of proportion because a "haha funni Berdly hate" video will stick with people more than the canon interaction. There's a lot of videos btw, this isn't any specific callout to anyone :/
ANYWAYS. Let me break down the actual dialogue for y'all. A lot of this comes from discussing with and seeing discussion between other kerdly-heads, so I think these are things that we've come to a common consensus on. Healthy debate is always welcome though.
Kris: Your Honor, He's Not That Bad
First of all, if the theory that the options are Kris's thoughts is correct (and the way these are phrased feels very "Kris-like" (of what we know SO FAR of their personality)), then Berdly being HERE is already quite suspicious because why are they actually considering him as an option?
If you remember, back in Chapter 2 when Susie asked Kris who they were taking to the festival, there were four options to choose from. Susie, Noelle, Ralsei, and just silence ("..."). I really like the take that this could have been the Berdly option (or "not going," that's fair too!), but Kris had not built up quite the confidence to think of him as a viable choice. Kris is also going through an arc which has them slowly gaining autonomy and confidence in the main route, and working through all of their strained relationships. It could be that up until THIS POINT, they didn't allow themselves to think of the possibility of hanging out with him again ESPECIALLY at the festival (which is a big deal btw).
Yes. These two have a history hanging out together several times. This has been very established. Kris is implied to have become distant and reclusive as of late, and that would have to include not hanging out with Berdly as much anymore. This has caused some of the awkwardness you can read between them, like Berdly's few attempts to appeal to Kris or have them join him (ex. coaster battle "join/do not join", Queen mansion puzzles) but simultaneously trying to maintain his rivalry shtick. I have to throw this out there because Noelle and Kris aren't the only ones with a weird strained/distant relationship. I think people forget this.
Despite popular fan perception, RALSEI is the one who was surprised here, NOT KRIS. Choosing Berdly momentarily stuns HIM as, to be honest, Berdly was likely not someone he thought Kris would have in mind...but they do.
The third ellipses and literal side-eye he's giving Kris is telling. He's thinking picking him was totally out of the blue (or judging their tastes /j)...and THIS is what makes Kris react. It's in response to Ralsei's questioning and silence, not because THEY were confused. They said "Berdly" just as straightforward as all the other options. If we pick Noelle, Ralsei's confusion is mild and short-lived. He simply encourages them to have Susie join them too as that would make Noelle very happy. He gets flattered if we pick him and wants Susie to hang out with them in his place, and tries to put a positive spin on the "not going" option. His reaction to Berdly sticks out awfully compared to the others, he only questions choosing him.
BTW, the way he phrases the Noelle option by not including Berdly makes me think he didn't even take into account him appearing at all, so his surprise to hearing Berdly as their choice out of everyone is understandable. It's like "Oh! Him? Yeah him, I forgot...I didn't know you two were close." And they ARE- Ralsei probably doesn't know this. They've literally met only 2 days ago and the only thing Ralsei knows about Kris (as far as we know) is what he's heard of the prophecy, and maybe Dreemurr family lore if his connection to them is true. Berdly is NOT in the prophecy, so Ralsei barely has any info on the guy (but somehow he does know about Noelle? debatable), and their encounters were limited to his short time in the Cyber World. Not the best impression to have of him vs Kris who's known and interacted with Berdly for years, so they know him way better.
I could get a lot more speculative here, and I'm totally overthinking, and say this is more proof of how Berdly is unpredictable by this world's prophetic standards. Or at least, his connection to relevancy and being “forgotten” is pushed a little further. See, Berdly is INSISTENT on going to the festival, even if his arm is fried/numbed out, he says how that won't stop him from going - and I believe him! He's stubborn! But Ralsei, the one who's been told secrets of the world and what's been foretold by time and space itself, being really surprised by Berdly being considered a festival option by Kris and him potentially joining/hanging out with the gang...is awfully interesting to me. He didn’t see that coming. Huh.
Berdly, Birds and Memory is a long post for another day.
The bread and butter of this whole damn thing. Here we go.
Kris repeats themself...LOUDLY. That's all that we get. There is no tone indicator at all. This is on purpose for some comedy, sure, but also for ambiguity. PLEASE keep this in mind for later, I will come back to this. The most important thing here is they repeat it for RALSEI who is stunned. They're trying to get their point across here. "Berdly. BERDLY. YES I SAID BERDLY."
Call me stupid, but in these two lines of dialogue, there is not a word that insinuates a BAD reception to this choice. Ralsei acts surprised at their insistence, but that doesn't mean it's because THEY were negative about it. He's trying to politely tell them "Okay I get it, I get it!!" Ralsei doesn't say “screaming,” he says “loudly.” I know debating semantics is kind of annoying, but I think it makes a world of a difference seeing how different sectors of the fandom ended up interpreting this and we still can't agree on what the right interpretation of it is.
Here's the truth though, they DIDN'T scream. They are only raising their voice at him, as if he didn't hear them the first time around (he did). Ralsei doesn't describe any other behaviors from them that would tie this to a negative connotation. Kris doesn't visibly move here like they've done in other occasions where they had a negative reaction to something. Examples are Post SNeo screaming & turning away from us, or the mild down tilt in the Chapter 4 ending cutscene. You could make the case that these are extremely serious moments and therefore more expression is needed, but there have been other subtle movements for positive scenes as well, like the Susie lake skip scene.
They've also been shown to know what the choice is before saying/acting upon it, so if they didn't want to say "Berdly," they would've been confused FROM THE START. That's literally what they did when choosing Ralsei or Noelle in Chapter 2 when Susie questions them about the festival and she comments they sounded confused. Or they would've done something to stop themselves from saying his name, even just coughing or yawning to cover it up. But they don't. They say his name. Then they double down on it. Triple down even.
Therefore, I think the interpretation that the fandom ran with...Kris screaming in disbelief, disgust, anger, even fear...is pretty baseless, false, and ridiculous. Also blatant projection from the massive Berdly hating side of the fandom who think Kris also hates him, nothing new tbh.
People ALWAYS leave these two lines out of the conversation and it makes me want to crash out, probably because if they were acknowledged their entire argument would be put into question.
Kris sounded genuine and insistent enough for Ralsei to wish them well. He thinks Susie would be happy for them to pursue him at the festival (which you can debate how true that is, but that's not the point here (but Susie WOULD care for their happiness and respect their choices, their autonomy, if that’s what they really want)). This dialogue here reads to me like "Okay, weird taste but we'll still support you! Go get him you!"
Ralsei is awkward, sure, and his social cues aren't always the best (he IS learning), but the entire conversation is simply a lighthearted back and forth. Kris is trying to be cool about this like "yes him, HIM, don't judge me damn it," which is wayyy funnier than the popular take imo!! Kris has mostly been established as a weird, kinda shy, but lowkey cool kid. A good flirt, but also easily flustered to do so ("cringe" blush sprite confirms this to me). So, with this reading of them, it's them feelling pressured by judgement and that freaking side-eye as they try to make a good case for their potential interest in Berdly. LOL.
By the way, why do so many portrayals of Kris have them acting like they're above Berdly's pompous and cringy personality as if they're not the certified weirdo of the town?? This kid barks like a dog and does weird shit on the daily y'all. They probably had cringy OCs and obsessions when they were younger that they’re trying to hide today. That’s the kind of vibes I get from Kris.
Anyways, Ralsei supports enby rights and wrongs.
Kris, Why Berdly?? - Sincerely, Everyone
I HAVE to mention this because I think it adds context to this scene and a previous chapter 2 one. In chapter 2, there is this scrapped swan boat dialogue that has Ralsei asking Kris what they are thinking about at the moment. It's a similar premise as well, and Kris DOES think about Berdly here as he's one of the choices, but goes silent when Ralsei specifically asks "what part" of him they're thinking about. (And wow, would you look at that. They’re not screaming or crashing out about choosing Berdly here either.)
This was scrapped...but the question was reimplemented in a more comedic moment with the Berdly statue. If you keep interacting with it, Kris keeps staring intently and Noelle starts to question "what part" they're even looking at. Kris is very persistent with admiring it (trolling at this point) till Noelle starts to compliment it as well.
There's also the plushie gifting options where giving it to Berdly makes everyone question them like, "Berdly, why Berdly??" Ralsei tries to wave this off as an act of kindness from their part, even if giving it to any other person would also be kind...so he was just flabbergasted. Again.
The takeaway here is that there is a small continuing pattern of Kris dodging being questioned on their interest towards Berdly because literally no one else but themself understands this. So far they don't feel like explaining. I rest my case for this point.
Kris Shoots Their Shot; Ends up in an IRL Dating Sim
This leads me here, to the choice that's been unnecessarily filled with dread by the fanbase. I have a lot of thoughts.
First of all, it's a bit weird how much people have been really stretching the joke about "punishing" Kris by having them go to the festival with Berdly. You're what, enjoying acting like you're purposefully revoking further autonomy over the kid you already control during most of the gameplay? Ah yes, the worst thing that you can do to them is pushing them to ask out the nerdy loud bird guy from class who they've already hung out with plenty of times before, and therefore knows what to expect and how to deal with him. So very punishing. Also, I know people like using this and the Ralsei dialogue as set up for the joke that this is why Kris beats the SOUL up later (I can't tell whether this joke has become unironic in the fanbase), but they were gonna beat the shit out of us whether or not we engaged with every single Berdly option or completely avoided him. That has nothing to do with him. They just hate us in general lol.
Seeing how much we don't know about Kris and their relationships still, it would be fitting for them to actually not have a problem with going with him at all to go against the popular consensus against Berdly. If the "options are Kris's thoughts" theory holds up, they were already actively considering accepting his indirect date invite anyways and you're simply acting upon their thought. You could say, the SOUL is wingmanning them to take a shot at it?? Pranking him here feels like their "safe" option because it stays in within their established dynamic so far (friendly banter), and seemingly wouldn't push their relationship any further...or does it?
Berdly’s reaction is what sells me on Kris not having a problem with this, because they say it genuinely enough to throw Berdly completely off guard. He takes THREE BOXES to recover, quite literally having a hard time comprehending what just happened here. Also, he’s flattered?? If Kris had said it in a confused or mocking way, he would have noticed right? His typical reaction to being at the other end of Kris's pranks is being quick to anger and annoyance. Him being FLATTERED, hesitant, and stuttering (just TRY voicing this out loud) makes me think Kris had no mocking tone in their voice. Maybe their response ranged from something like "Sure dude, I'll go with you." or straight up flirting with the way he's reacting - flustered!! He's FLUSTERED!!!
There’s other instances of him being confused about Kris being genuine with him. The most prominent example is at the end of the Berdly and Queen fight when Berdly is exhausted post-fight. We can have Kris walk up to him and they unpromptedly ask him if he’s okay. He’s kinda touched by the question but assures he’ll be okay, and further prompting makes him think they’re flirting with him and also pushes them away basically. It's almost like he questioned their insistence on his well-being as if they really cared, right? The plushy gift that coincidentally is figured with his desire (nipples, lol) also makes him very happy and hesitantly holds his truce "this once" with Kris. So when they actually accept his date invite, it fits the pattern of confusing him first and then...
Berdly being Berdly snaps back into his persona and, as classic (one-sided) rivals do, turns this into a competition for his hand. THIS IS THE ONLY OPTION WHERE HE MENTIONS THIS COMPETITION!!! Though, I do think it'll still end up happening because Kris, Susie, Noelle, and Berdly are going to the festival, and he's most certainly not going to show up with a partner. ANYWAYS. He was thrown so off-guard he made it up on the spot. I do think he enjoys being competitive with Kris, so this was an easy way to claim the “upper hand” in his eyes. However, I also think it was an easy excuse to make it harder to admit that this very forward acceptance was real, and not a joke on Kris’s part. He's absolutely dodging their answer here, so there could be heavy denial under that smug face.
A big part of Berdly’s journey is learning to differentiate platonic v romantic bonds. Like I've said before, a real romantic advance towards him would be met with confusion. Every instance of being kind to him in game is always met with Berdly begrudgingly thanking Kris or giving push back. He has a hard time being honest, and accepting kindness without expecting anything in return…why would he be liked just because? Why would anyone be his friend or care about him just because? It might have to do with expectations he either self-imposed or came from another figure in his life, but this is speculation on my part...it's a bit more than Universal Mother Theory.
“The lover who impresses me the most” is a very interesting phrase to me. His festival choice is not who he finds the most romantically appealing, but who he thinks will try to appeal TO HIM the most. He wants to see someone going above and beyond for him because he deeply craves that attention and true affection/connection. He’s basically saying: “I won’t make this easy for you, Kris! Show me how far you’re willing to go for me, and maybe I’ll actually believe you really want to date me! *smug face*” aaaand he will still end up denying it if they do “win.” It's par for the course with him.
ALSO he doesn't make it this hard for Noelle and Susie!! It's JUST KRIS he wants to make it hard for!! JUST SAY YES DUDE IT'S NOT THAT HARD. But now, no suspense in a ship set up would be boring, wouldn't it?
This last part just solidifies the kind of dynamic kerdly has had for a while now, which is cringe gamers taunting, challenging and ribbing at each other. Look, he's not even rejecting them here, so he's okay with them pursuing him?? I mean, HE'S the one who pulled them into this spur of the moment competition instead of just accepting god dammit.
I really think he does want to see Kris trying to vie for his hand though. He wishes them luck. That's pretty gay.
Best Prank of the Century? No, They're Just Down Bad
(↑ Ralsei surprised by “Berdly” choice VS Berdly reacting to Kris accepting ↑)
So to recollect our thoughts here, if Kris was sooo against going out with Berdly, why do they seemingly switch up overnight and decide to vaguely flirt/fluster him??? The reactions above with the popular take feel contradicting as in neither instance does Kris do anything to stop themself from acting on the choice. What, do they suddenly want to play up the prank? "SOUL, I would NEVER date Berdly!!!" to "Hey SOUL, I just had the FUNNIEST fucking idea-"
I don't buy this at all though. WHY?
BECAUSE we already have examples of Berdly being able to pick up when Kris is teasing him!!! If Kris is saying it in disbelief, in mockery, he would be able to tell! Take the scene in Ch1 when Kris taunts him to stand at the hospital window (so Rudy can throw something at him) and he picks up it's another joke; calls them unemployed. Or the many times Kris plays along w taunting/pranking him (both battles honestly, Queen's mansion interactions), or selecting the "Runs away fast" option in Ch4 which he plays along with because of their speedrunning shtick.
And why wouldn't he be able to read them when it's implied they've hung out a considerable amount of times? He would be used to hearing such tones from them. He has EXPERIENCE falling for Kris's jokes.
(Side tangent. This dialogue makes me clutch my head because he's simultaneously trying to appeal to them and putting them down. "Oh don't I seem just so cool right now, Kris? Join me and tell me I'm cool!" but also won't let them be THAT close to him. Similar to him asking for their help alone in Queen's mansion...simply to heal his bruising ego? But he's confiding in Kris in a vulnerable moment. More proof of their weird strained bond. Does he want them close or not god dammit! Is he scared of letting them in too close? To put down his walls around them? Is he just seeking their approval? What do you want Berdly?!)
(↑ Wrong Number Song VS Go with Berdly ↑)
If Kris was mocking him, I would have expected another angry or frustrated reaction that he got caught up in another joke of theirs, like in the alternate phone call choice. Yet, these are two completely different reactions, and when Kris accepts he doesn't react out of frustration, AT ALL.
I think people forget this and don't credit Berdly enough for actually knowing Kris's behaviors after all this time knowing them. Y'all forget HE'S the one who's known and interacted with the true current Kris the most than Noelle (nostalgic for the past, strained bond), Susie (past bully/victim history, current SOUL involvement), OR Ralsei (most knowledge is prophecy based/cryptic). Therefore, he’s one of the few who can read through their antics.
Berdly's a little dumb but not THAT dumb okay.
Weird Route: Hope And Longing
(↑ Chapter 3 S-Rank end of Board 3; Weird Route VS Main Route ↑)
I'm bringing this dialogue up because I think it adds another layer to the conversation. The choice to not change the Ralsei dialogue about Berdly in Weird Route but actively changing it HERE is strange. This is where the tone ambiguity that I pointed out earlier starts to become interesting because it coullllld confirm it's correct to frame it as positive.
It's FOUL sure because he's comatose, but almost hopeful and longing from Kris's POV?? The insistence suddenly makes sense here. Instead of going to the festival, engaging further with Noelle, and potentially causing more harm, we'll stay with Berdly at the hospital, potentially aborting the Weird Route at that point and letting Suselle play out similar to what's being set up on Main Route...just my two cents there. Kris would love nothing more but to put an end to the tormenting of the route, remember? Everything about their SOUL-less actions is them doing damage control, so this choice could be a moment of relief?
If the dialogue isn't changed, doesn't an offended and silly "Berdly? BERDLY?? BERDLY??!?" clash with WR's established grim and serious tone?? I mean c'mon, this is the route where Kris's care towards him is the most blatant and in-your-face. They have an undescribed negative reaction to Susie's joke in the picture above. There's the Jackenstein flavor text that implies they're thinking of him a bit more with tragic undertones (rotting apples, withering memories). They took him to the hospital and unpromptedly tried to nurse him to health when we take them to visit him later. They are persistent with Noelle that "Berdly will get better" to where I don't even know if they're trying to comfort her more or themself about his condition. Why would the Ralsei conversation suddenly change into disbelief and disgust in WR?? It doesn't make sense, nor does it hold up with the popular negative take.
What fuels this idea even more is that choosing Noelle on WR DOES make Ralsei react differently. Instead of encouraging them to hang out, he's despondent, saying going with her would not be a good idea. Kris isn't happy that we're pushing them to hurt her more, of course they'd happily take hanging out with Berdly instead in this scenario. Ralsei still wishes them well afterwards with Berdly. Ralsei assumedly doesn't know about his condition. He'd just see them being stubbornly insistent about the choice. "Berdly. BERDLY. BERDLY. (Please.)"
(The bird noises thing is very cute btw, more of Kris teasing/imitating him even when apart. Even Susie is weirded out. I love them sm)
Kris Plays It Safe and Wins Big. Wow.
OKAY FINALLY. As a huge kerdly-head, my favorite option is actually pranking him lol. It was actually my choice in my first playthrough! I just think this is the funniest portrayal of their banter-filled dynamic and threw me so off-guard with the entire interaction...because wdym Kerdly canon. Unfortunately, I do have wayyyy less to say about it; most of it would be me repeating my previous points. It’s also a much shorter response and I feel it's kinda self-explanatory.
The one thing I find very funny about choosing this option to “spare” Kris a festival date with Berdly, is that this option STILL ends up being kerdly-pilled. Truly, the illusion of choice.
The first thing to point out is how absolutely agitated he is with them here. It makes me think that Kris put their all into singing the song, maybe tossed in some swears, or sung it obnoxiously, who knows. Yet again, this is an example of Berdly reacting to Kris joking with him, claiming they’re “taunting” him even. His persona falters again as he falls for their bait. THIS is the reaction I would have expected for “Go with Berdly,” had Kris asked him out in a jokey manner. But they weren’t joking…and he was confused by this.
Berdly gets offended that Kris had the audacity to listen to his ramblings before being prompted with a date invite, and I think that’s interesting. We don’t get to hear a lot of Berdly when he thinks he’s by himself, and a lot of the rant was him trying to justify why Susie and Noelle had rejected him. Not only that, he basically admits how he’s also playing along with having “feelings” because he wants to throw up at the idea that Susie has “gone yandere” for him. Lol.
He’s offended that his so-called rival just overheard how he really feels about Susie and Noelle, stripping one layer away from his facade that he's worked so hard to build up. That's a MASSIVE slip up from him, and “taunting” could be him thinking Kris will use this against him? Maybe? Again, the strained aspect of their relationship shows as he puts Kris in an antagonistic light here. Not like they would do anything to intentionally harm their friends though, and put his thoughts on blast. Does he know this though? Does he know they care? Probably not...for now.
Afterwards, he tries to pull himself together and acts boastful because even though his actual feelings towards Susie and Noelle were just exposed, he’s still convinced the girls are falling for HIM. He’s confident he will also end up wooing Kris just like all of his other very very real suitors.
It would be incredibly funny if in reality Kris already fell for him a while ago, the first and only domino if you will, and he's just never picked up on this fact because of his platonic v romantic misunderstandings. He probably thinks he's oh so smart using a domino comparison that he's ALREADY incorrect on. Not to mention, Kris's affection would be anything BUT typical, so reading romantic advances from them would be quite puzzling on his end I think.
BTW, he does NOT BRING UP A COMPETITION HERE. He quite literally made that shit up to cover up his flustered reaction in option 1. It’s more like he takes it as HIS challenge that KRIS WILL FALL FOR HIM. The “competition” aspect is sorta flipped?? (Imagine Berdly trying hard to woo Kris using the most tropey things he's learned from all his VN's. And IT WORKS.)
Also Berdly is absolutely flirting with them here. "You're next," is a fire pick up line. And Kris is basically flirting with HIM in the first option based on his reaction. They're flirting with each other. And dancing around it instead of just accepting the date. I'M GOING TO BE SICK!!!!!!!!
-SO IN CONCLUSION-
"Berdly. BERDLY. BERDLY."
Kris thinks of Berdly as an alternate festival companion. Gay.
Ralsei is STUNNED into silence and judges their tastes.
Kris becomes insistent that their taste is not that bad okay.
Ralsei wishes them luck with their ugly ass (potential) boyfriend
WR: Kris could be insistent and RELIEVED they'll be spending their time with him instead of continuing the Noelle Torment™
"Go with Berdly"
Kris flusters Berdly by being genuine and forward...or flirting-
Berdly is in denial and basically playing hard to get by making it a competition
Berdly doesn't reject them and wishes them luck. This is GAY.
"Sing the Wrong Number Song"
Kris pranks tf out of Berdly and he rages; wins "fell for it again" award
Berdly claims he's got game and potential suitors (this is being fact checked)
Berdly claims Kris WILL fall for his charm and drops banger pick up line
Fact check says Berdly might have game AND a suitor
Berdly cannot understand actual romance for SHIT and Kris is struggling to get it through his thick skull that they're down to go on a festival date. It's totally fine dude. Berdly plays hard to get. Or thinks Kris wants to play hard to get. They should just kiss.
The conclusion is gay people can never simply ask each other out normally.
Everyone on Planet Earth Is Wrong About the Berdly & Noelle Dynamic Except for Me and the Actual Deltarune Team (1/3)
Okay umm, so I'm glad people are hearting this post so quickly! Unm... I didnt mean to post it yet? So please expect heavy edits until this little note here is removed. I want to be more clear on why exactly I think Berdly has autism, and how it ties into his more controversial traits. Thanks! 💕
I have an online friend that got me onto Pinterest recently, and I like making character boards so far. There's just one problem: The thing with me is, I really, really like platonic representation between female and male characters. And I REALLY like Noelle and Berdly. In my opinion, they're one of the most realistic depictions of messy childhood friendships, while presenting it all quietly in a cheeky-yet-layered 'Undertale' way. But if you try to look up Berdly content, or Berdly and Noelle together, a majority of content (not all of it) falls under these categories:
Kris/Berdly (This is an overwhelming majority of Berdly content. Nobody likes him except as meme fodder or in a dynamic w Kris 🥀 /hj)
Berdly simping for Noelle and/or Susie
Berdly being malicious to Noelle ('No L but you lost your sister'/If I was named after a month I'd disappear too')
Noelle does not see Berdly as a good friend and is just too nice to abandon him already
Noelle wants to hurt Berdly and is actually one slip-up away from breaking his scrawny neck
Not to yuck anyone's yum– I've learned a few years ago that people enjoying media or characters in their own way isn't bad, so long as they're not putting down anyone else in the process.
But that's just it– The fandom-wide dismissal or even hatred of Berdly, especially when channeled through Noelle, feels more than a little bad to me who grew up as an "annoying" kid (as I will explain here). And by neglecting him, I think a lot of fans are missing out on HUGE aspects of Noelle's character that I find to be really interesting as well. So, part 1 is an assessment of Berdly's real feelings on Noelle, where he may fall flat in this relationship, and why; part 2 will do the same with Noelle, and part 3 will get into an aspect of their dynamic I have literally seen NOBODY mention, and why it means that Berdly HAS to be taken out for the Weird Route to even work.
Part 1: Reassessing Berdly From an Autistic Lens
If you don't already know about the Universal Mother theory, there's a great video that sums it up:
The TLDR is that Queen's interactions with each of the main characters in Chapter 2 provides insight into their parental relationships (or lack thereof in Ralsei's case), and it's most evident with Noelle. It's obvious in Berdly's case, too. The Smart Race fight is full of flavor text like this:
Berdly, an obnoxious kid, is constantly doing The Most to please Queen and get her attention in the way a kid might engage with a parental figure, but she wants nothing to do with him. And let me tell you, THIS dialogue after the fight is what RADICALIZED me:
Real talk: How many neurodivergent people have experienced this growing up? How many of you have overheard something like this?
You engage in social situations authentically with the peers and adults around you, and overall you're nice and you're not wanting to hurt anyone. But maybe you talk too much, or you're just a bit too loud because you're so excited, or you say something you don't know is wildly inappropriate for the social situation? Suddenly, everyone around you quietly (or explicitly) does their best to take a wide berth around you at best, or they try to humiliate you for their amusement at worst.
There's not a lot of characters in the Light World that reference or interact with Berdly besides Noelle, and the examples we have are quite negative. Toriel (a public educator, mind) says that Berdly "harasses" Kris about library money they genuinely owe, Kris is implied to prank call Berdly repeatedly, Alphys never touches the apples Berdly gives her, Rudy calls him "Nerdly" and enlists Kris to help him throw stuff at him (sir that is a CHILD), and if you subscribe to Universal Mother theory, even his own mom is overstimulated by her kid and actively avoids him.
Specifically, I do think Berdly is autistic. It explains EVERYTHING about his behavior that most fans find annoying or bad, and his treatment of Noelle. NOT because autistic people are inherently annoying or bad, but because our perception of the world and how we process information often leads to social faux pas that other people then judge as annoying. We can't all be Peridot or Papyrus, where our neurodivergent traits are consistently funny and quirky and easily digestible for allistics. Sometimes, we are awkward in an uncomfortable way! Sometimes, we are cringe! And bullying or neglect early in life can unfortunately compound these traits.
This is very likely why Berdly is hostile by default to Kris and Susie. Bullied and ostracized kids will often don an 'armor' and reject other people to protect themselves from being rejected first; we all understood this with Susie's character. And how many times have you heard or seen in media, "They're just jealous of you because you're smart"? Being tough and scary was Susie's armor of choice, and being smarter than everyone, #1 I class, is Berdly's. It's why he falters immediately when Susie takes his preemptive cynicism at face value (she is also used to being rejected, but she has friends now, and doesn't feel the need to protect herself by being mean back), and backs off. He doesn't want to be alone, and a part of him wants their company– he just doesn't realize that he may now have the option to have it, genuinely, without being bullied. His 'smarts' are also, seemingly, the only thing he has that gets him occasional praise or positive attention.
But, the outlier is Noelle. She can't admire Berdly's smarts, from his perspective; she's the one tutoring him, so she can see right past the smart persona he's put up in order to earn attention. And yet, she doesn't ignore or bully him, either. She helps him, cares about his safety, has trouble saying "no" to him, and brings him to her house and her room regularly enough that he got to rename her plant. They play racing games together!
He clearly isn't used to all that; he isn't used to positive attention that he doesn't have to "earn" by being smart. On another level, Berdly is a boy, and Noelle is a girl who's giving him positive attention. What's the conclusion that a lot of boys in this situation come to? What does Berdly assume when Susie accepts him, even after he 'admits' to being an idiot?
"She must have a crush on me" is exactly the kind of silly 'stuck in your own head' kid-logic that a kid like Berdly would use, and he thinks with a skew often. If we take Berdly's thoughts seriously for a second and pretend that Noelle did have a crush on him, then the scene is pretty endearing as well. He emphasizes that he really values their friendship, and when he perceives Noelle's bewilderment as embarrassment, he shuts that down right away. He didn't have the heart to 'reject' her before this point, partially because he really doesn't want to embarrass her, and partially because he really believes that this is why she's willingly remained in his life. His whole plan was to leave Hometown forever and live in Cyber City, specifically because the thought of eventually drifting apart from Noelle terrifies him.
He's desperate to keep Noelle in his life. He wants to keep her for help and support, yes, but also for her friendship. He could have easily centered his 'Smartopia' around himself if he just wanted to create a place where he would always be validated as the smartest. But, his ideal, perfect world is one that he shares with her.
So... Why do they clearly have so many problems?
His inability to connect fully with Noelle as a friend stems from multiple factors– a big one, I think, being his autism. He is sensitive to Noelle's demeanor, and he's always the first to ask if she's okay or reach out to her in multiple instances where she is upset or conflicted.
And sometimes, he gets close– He correctly identifies that Noelle does have a crush, he correctly identifies that Noelle is being pressured to do things she doesn't want to do– He just fills in the blanks he has with his own worldview and perception. Again, very normal autism thing to have situationally low empathy, or like– You project your own worldview onto others because it's hard to conceptualize outside of that. I looked it up and apparently it's called 'mind blindness'? Someone smarter than me can correct me on that if need be. XD
Even the people who like Berdly and understand that he cares about Noelle will often say, "He just needs to listen to Noelle's feelings!!" Well, I'll get into this in-depth in part 2, but Noelle doesn't really share her feelings. It's not just that Berdly is projecting his own worldview onto her; many autistic people need you to explicitly state your wants and needs to them, and Noelle doesn't do that. Or when she tries to speak up, she quickly gives up when someone (usually Berdly) is talking over her, or she's under any sort of pressure. She'll tell Berdly that she's gifting him a platonic flower (again, he's not used to affectionate gestures, so he can't view the flower for him as simply platonic), but she starts to say 'yes' when he literally asks her out on a date in chapter 4.
And, although it's meant to be silly filler, let's look at this newsletter gif again:
It's implied to be summer here, and therefore hot. Berdly is fanning Noelle instead of himself to look out for her and keep her cool. And, heck, try doing this yourself: This is a labor-intensive task that's hard to do for more than a few seconds! But because Noelle's back is turned, he can't see that he's actually inconvinencing her– and Noelle seems to give no reaction and doesn't confront him about it. I think this right here is a nice little summation of how Berdly's autism and Noelle's refusal to say something leads to awkward situations and miscommunications. Which will be discussed further... In Part 2!!
So, to review the content that often mischaracterizes Berdly and his dynamic with Noelle:
Berdly isn't a simp. He views Queen as a parental figure, Noelle as a platonic friend that he genuinely misunderstands as having a crush on him (because he can't understand kindness that he doesn't have to earn), and Susie... Well again, he's not used to getting positive attention that isn't tied to his smarts. I think if he got to know her, he would realize quickly (like he did with Noelle) that he doesn't really have a crush on her. What he loves is the idea of being accepted unconditionally.
Berdly's ignorance to Noelle's feelings is likely due to him being neurodivergent and having mind blindness, NOT him not caring or having malicious intent.
Berdly isn't solely responsible for the flaws in his friendship with Noelle, and those flaws won't be all resolved neatly "if he just listens to her more". Berdly needs to listen, yes, but Noelle struggles to directly say what Berdly needs to hear– at least, prior to Chapter 2.
TLDR: Think of Berdly as autistic, and then play Chapter 2 again.
There's so many other little bits of dialogue that the 10-image limit won't allow me, like Queen 'comforting' Berdly towards the end of Chapter 2 by saying: "You Cannot Calculate Other People's Feelings". And I say 'comforting' in quotes because Berdly starts to open up and ask Queen if she understands how he feels, but she was only trying to comfort Noelle. How sad is that?
Anyway, thanks for reading this far! 💖 I obviously relate to Berdly quite A Lot, but I think Noelle is one of the best-written child characters... Like, ever, and I hope to also do her as much justice in Parts 2 and 3. I guess we'll see! X)
I really think he contributes to the game’s themes of isolation. He feels like everything he’s ever earned is a fraud. Almost everything he does is a performance to prove how “smart” he is. He doesn’t have any real friends aside from Kris (go kerdly). Yeah, he studies with Noelle, but he feels like he’s using her and feels pressured to reciprocate her “feelings” for him which aren’t even real. Don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely got an ego, but he feels like a fraud.
I think a lot of people are under the impression Berdly would benefit from having all the lies he tells himself ripped from him. Like, he’s the only person pressuring himself into being smart, Noelle doesn’t have a crush on him, most people think he’s actually a dumbass (I do think he actually is really talented but thats a whole other thing), a lot of the residents of hometown fucking hate him, and his rivalry with Kris is rather one-sided. All these lies are hurting him and isolating him, but I don’t think just revealing the full truth to him would be very helpful. I think this attempt at helping him really comes from a place of wanting to “put him in his place.”
This scenario would be awful for Berdly. He would feel even more isolated, he’d push Noelle away, and he wouldn’t even trust Kris anymore. Yeah, he isn’t lying to himself, but now he’s balled up crying in his room all day. I think the best thing for Berdly would be to help him with his self confidence, reassure him that living up to people’s expectations doesn’t matter, and tell him he doesn’t have to be someone’s love interest. I think Kris is the best gateway for this, because they’re probably the person Berdly is most genuine with, but the great part is that the game is already doing this.
He learned in Chapter 2 that he could be genuine and didn’t have to be smart. Yes, it’s undone by him thinking it was a dream, and yes, there still was an amount of performance to him by the end of the chapter. But I think some of that stuck with him, and it’s at least a start.
The main moment I want to focus on though is Chapter 5. Berdly learns that neither Noelle nor Susie are in love with him (and susie won’t let kris go to the festival with him (I’ll never forgive her)), and you can see the relief fill him. He clearly REALLY doesn’t want to be in a relationship and just feels like that’s what he’s supposed to do. But once he finds out he doesn’t have to, he’s just content to wingman and be awesome. He’s like the #1 Suselle shipper. I was actually at a loss for words when I first saw this scene because he seemed so much happier than we’ve ever seen him.
I have a few (3) more miscellaneous things to say about him:
I heavily headcanon Berdly as aroace if you couldn’t tell (my kerdly is platonic)
I love him so much
And I think it’s really neat that most of this is pretty much happening in the background, it’s a real testament to how well written Deltarune is
Now, I'm not saying his obsession was healthy but I feel that there is a complexity to this character that was lost to some. Yes he is overbearing, self-absorbed and until his arch often puts down others on a regular basis but...
He is putting on an act. Think about it ever since a little kid he faked this prodigy persona and there's only one person who knows who he really is in Noelle, whom he probably sees as superior even if his ego can't openly admit it. Now he has an opening to the gang who he probably can relate more to intellectually.
I'm going to say it, I think Berdly's character is tragic in his own right, he comes as selfish, and by all extents, he is a prick. But I think this was born as a way to protect what he sees as 'the only reason to remember his name'. Living a lie, especially for so long, gets extremely lonely after a while, Berdly can only be truly sincere to Noelle and maybe his family.
Now imagine, secret is out, and here comes someone he's scared of being seen in the same light as(Susie the class hellion) and turns out he can be accepted, once and for all, as he is. Not only that but there's someone he can relate to and has similar interests without having to put the usual farce. His confused brain hasn't had someone he can be honest with in years aside from the smart girl that took pity on him, knowing how his brain functions he was bound to get those feelings confused with romantic attraction.
And I agree, that attraction is a ship that should never sail, however, as straight-out, friends and comrades, Susie and Berdly really bounce well off each other, by the short time we see them it's clear that at least Berdly it's having the time of his life with it. "May the smarts be with you!"
You know why he's so stoked? he is, for once, proud for Real, not of his act, but of himself. He is wearing the dumbass club badge as a medal of honor. And his plan (which wasn't too shabby, there was a chance it could have worked if he wasn't so socially inept as to bring fuse to Noelle having an emotional outburst on how much of a dense child he is) is probably the first time he is comfortable getting help from others.
So no, Berdly isn't just a slimy gamer archetype, at least, not to me. He has an inferiority complex coupled with a year-long false persona he made for himself and an utter lack of a friend circle that wasn't just studying groups with Noelle. He is a prick, his arc was about learning to respect others as well as himself regardless of academic prowess. I believe he is getting there, and I feel there will be another revelation coming for this character in the next chapters. However, that is a topic for another post.
The Dear Noelle schtick is not just like he talks big so he's the rescuer or smth. Berdly had until now only one friend he could confide and ask help from.
Noelle does mean a lot to Berdly, and not only because of his studies. She is the only one to be patient with him and the only one he was able to form an honest connection with.
Of course, he butchers it with his romantic imprinting like he does with anyone who sincerely tolerates him. If anything, this goes to show how important it is for him to be able to be honest with people and how little experience he has with it.
Is in this same scene where Noelle finally tells Berdly that she doesn't like what he is doing. Let's be honest, I feel that Berdly getting all sorts of weird signals isn't only his fault. Yes his conclusions were quite ludicrous and Noelle's reaction was justified. However, Noelle isn't particularly communicative, Berdly had absolutely no idea what was going on between her and Susie, and it's not like her crush is common knowledge in school. Also, Noelle may as well have been the only person that he knows he can trust, it is extreme, but not without any reason.
Through his arc he is trying to find ways to both move on from his facade and fix his relationship with Noelle.
areudirty
izzy806
ellievsbear
baratheonpilled
vaporwave
gracieabrams
prguitarman
