Thinking about the shipping dilemma between Susie, Noelle and Kris (and Ralsei as honorary member) because honestly there is a way more sad subtext to it
Noelle is deeply lonely and traumatised. She is grieving her sister, she misses Kris so much that she ditches crush on Susie at the first sign of affection from them, her mother became harsh, cold and emotionally distant due to not dealing with grief in quite the same way and her father, her last true warm emotional bond, might die any day now. I also think her crush on Susie is somewhat effected by Dess; not in the weird Freudian sense at all, but in the sense she'd subconsciously lean towards someone that feels familiar. Susie IS a lot like Dess but it is just sad and further proves how much Noelle needs that type of person back in her life.
Kris is also traumatised because of Dess but has their own problems too. They miss their brother, but at the same time, everyone in the Hometown really only cares about Asriel and they lived in his shadow, their parents are divorced, they grew distant with not only Noelle but also other childhood friends like Catti and Monster Teen. + it doesn't help that they can't form true bond with anyone anymore because they have secrets to keep.
Susie shown severe trust issues since Ch1 and never had lasting bonds because even when she did connect with someone her family would move. I'm going to also make a wild guess that her family sucks and having to always move is THEIR fault because how else Susie became a bully? With teens it is 99% the failed parenting. She accepted that everyone will think badly of her so she might as well embrace being "the bad guy" and double down on deliberately scaring everyone but in reality latches onto everyone who shows her even the tiniest bit of affection like Noelle sharing the pen or Toriel comforting her. (and then Sans straight up didn't let Toriel do that again, that bastard)
Ralsei is very self-explanatory. He also has the secrets to keep, he is very self-conscious about his status as a Darkner, his life revolved around waiting for the heroes "alone in the Dark" and even then it is all just to complete some sort of the plan. So far he can't connect with both Lightners or Darkners and he tries to be tough about being willing to just serve as a tool without any needs and being "ready" for abandonment but not in a hostile way like Susie always is.
Kriselle outcome feels like the only thing from the happier, simpler past that Kris and Noelle could possibly get mended back. They've lost, or are going to lose, everything but each other. It is quite sad that the only way to get there is when extradimensional entity (us) interferes and literally forces Kris to make a move and Noelle to overcome her fears in boundaries-breaking ways though? Is all this a right thing to do to someone just because the outcome is the right thing?
But as for Ralsei...? Unless Toby makes gigachad anti themes and such move of merging the two worlds together in the ending, a Lightner that could be with him should commit almost full time to being in the Dark World! The thing is, Susie is literally the best candidate for it. Nobody has as much fun in the Dark Worlds as her, she is the only Lightner that formed significant bonds with the Darkners, such as Lancer and the Old Man, and from the looks of it again, she got almost nothing good to look forward for in the real world. I bet she could straight up move into the Dark World and her parent(s) would only care about her missing due to not being able to mistreat her! 🙄
On the other hand, Susie is someone who is able to give hope and future to either Noelle and Kris! She is someone who appeared later in life for both of them. Her friendship with Kris is special. She is someone making them smile and laugh again, she understands them, she considers them "the cooler sibling" compared to Asriel, she is someone hanging out with Kris after years of them being lonesome, she put them back together from the shards. She does likely remind Noelle of Dess and and fill the gap of that type of person's presence in her life, sure, but doesn't just replace Dess. Susie is likewise a new person in Noelle's life and they are able to open up to each other easily and almost instantly. For both, Susie is the kind of person they need and someone that doesn't bring their past itself back, but helps them to recover and move on.
The thing is, either Noelle or Kris being left behind in this situation is hurtful. I do wonder if Ralsei could potentially fill that gap for either, though!
For example, if the idea that he could become "real through the power of love" is true, Ralsei could give Kris something of extreme rarity and value: the sense of Kris significantly mattering for someone. Kris is always in the shadow, always shunned aside, always with the sense that their choices don't matter. So would not it be healthy for them to be close with someone for whom they were the most important, most life-changing person, taking active role? At the same time, Kris only gets more positive reaction to Ralsei tea after Ralsei's big mental crash out which is healthy for Ralsei too! Ralsei always tries to hide his discomfort, needs, pain and weaknesses and believes putting on the brave face and being subservient is how people would like him and Kris is not like that. Kris likes Ralsei more and trusts him more when he is being himself. Ralsei is not just opening up naturally but rather is encouraged to open up!
And since it is pre-Chapter 5 post I am still yet to see Noelle and Ralsei interacting, but I wonder if this would be rather nice too? They feel like the type of people who are similar enough to hit off very well but not similar enough to bore one another quickly. I can see them both validating each other, be it struggles or "cringe" thoughts. They are also both familiar with feeling trapped in living up to someone else's expectations, performing roles rather than being their own people. A mayor's daughter that should be perfect and proper and only hang out with the people her mother "approved" of and the Darkner prince who only lives to serve the plan without any regards for his own well-being or feelings. I see them as 'game recognised game' situation and for this reason they'd have easier time dropping the mask near each other.
(This post is elaborating my thoughts on the poll ( x ) I've made about preferable ships outcome recently!)
