The benign ramblings of a cat (who sporadically creates)
@linderes
17 ⏐ ⏐ Genderfluid ⏐She/Any
The name's Linder
PFP By: @illbleedgabriel on twitter
This blog will mainly consist of my writings on things I like but will include some things like music or gamedev
Hi there, welcome to my blog. I'm Linder a genderfluid transfem who talks alot of the things she enjoys and sometimes tries to create things she enjoys, hope you find some enjoyment in them.
I’m in a few fandoms being Undertale/Deltarune, Geometry Dash, and ULTRAKILL and whatever I am focusing on at the moment. But since only the UTDR has a presence on Tumblr I will mainly talk about it on this blog.(its tagged under #deltarune, #drtheory, #dr)
Tags: I try to tag most of my posts but not all things will be here so here are the main ones of what I post
#linweekly: I will “try” to write weekly blogs of things I have been playing, listening, reading or watching. They vary in length but should be a decent read
#storyanalysis/#musicanalysis: Typically matches up with my weekly blogs but can be sporadic posts so those more sporadic ones are labelled here
#gamedev/#gamedevelopment: Any public showing of the games I am working on
#music: The music that I compose
#blabber/#random thoughts: These will be my random thoughts and long tangents that appear time to time
Heard Andrew Cunningham was releasing his symbolismgem video soon(listen to his last stream) and that made me think about heaven and the how light works in DELTARUNE and here are my crazy ideas I just made while sleep deprived. I always thought it was weird the angel had to be banished like what’s the in-lore reason? I can get it on a thematic level with playerangel (And I am a trinity angel believer) but is there a reason for it in the story?
Fiction/Reality: This is the obvious reading of the relationship. This has been talked about much better by others and it’s already been talked about alot so I'll skip this one
Shadows/Objects: This has been one way of viewing how darkners function I have seen. The darkners act similar to Plato’s cave where they are just shadows of objects are given life and the objects that they originate from exist on a "higher plane" to them. This is moreso a space filler but still felt like I should mention it.
HELL/HEAVEN: Hell has been connected to darkness since Gaster the darkness king has the 666 connections, "HELLS ROAR BUBBLES FROM THE DEPTHS" and with the angel/heaven being connected to light it makes sense HELL is connected to darkness
Sensory Deprivation/Overestimation: This the first "opposite" idea I had. Ralsei's description of dark worlds in ch3 made them sound very similar to what happens when you are deprived of your senses. When you "lose"/block your senses for long enough in our world your mind can "make" images/sounds to keep itself stimulated. Dark worlds are like the fantasy version of that. So, what would the opposite be? What would happen if things became too real? Well, I my first thought was that the game would take the "eldritch" approach where it is too much information for the mind to handle so the mind won't be able to properly understand/comprehend it. While darkners do interact with the light world just fine which might make the whole “too hard to comprehend angle” weak it makes me think angelic/holy beings will not follow the conventional rules of deltarune's world like Winglade's for example its textbox being different. And the angel prophecy panel being unsettling. The angel will be something otherworldly that’s why it needs banishment
Dreams/Waking: Dark worlds have been likened to dreams for a while with Kris waking up in ch4 and the whole Noelle and Berdly lie and the whole Eram(nightmare) Zelda connections. The Mizzles the water creatures are called sleepy. And once the "dream" ends we wake up to the real world. During dreams we believe them to be real but once we "wake up" we realize it wasn't real. This could be likened to immersion.
Eyes open and closed: "In this land, only eyes blinded by darkness can see the way" this relates to the dreaming idea aswell but this puzzle shows when we close our eyes more matter shows up. During the Titan climb when the eyes are closed more darkness is made pouring out. And Winglade has a wide eye open in its centre and hell it even says "Open your eyes Open your eyes" ofc this could just be revolution talk but it could have a double meaning
Life/Death: The dark fountains are referred to things that give the world "life/form" so darkness creates life. But when we use light to close the fountains, we are technically removing the "life" from the darkners. While they remember their time as objects they still don't have as much "form" as lightners do. This could suggest that light as a force removes the "life"/form from an object.
BUBBLE/Ring-Revolution-Ripple: The darkness plumes look like bubbles and it's much more clear in the Titan fight and again the HELL'S ROAR quote. The angel prophecy has a ring/halo, winglade greets wit "halo" and its text spins in a ring. And ripples are able to "cut" through the darkness allowing us to see again via echoes during the darkness segment and the ripples are halo shaped (this is weak but it’s connected to the sound point). On a later point, Gerson an author Gerson who writes stories talks about a song from the see and that being the hammer of justice which is him with his hammers representative of his desires for Susie break the prophecy and write a new story while the sound of justice is alien and silent and only leaves destruction in its wake and ripples(Also note how this boss mainly uses a sound based indication attack another tie to angelic imagery). The bells of justice are ringing and Susie made a darkner from their sound. And revolving is connected to the angel by winglade and Jevil's theme. "THE WORLD REVOLVING" is referring to Jevil's delusion of him being above others and the world revolves around him while thi isn't true for him its true for the angel. They are the main figure of the symbol and the 2016 deltarune website image makes mention of the angel's heaven, and when we disconnect from the game the world ends.
Lies/Truth: This is just moreso just repeating the earlier points but I felt I should put it here to feel more complete.
Sight/Hearing: "THEY'LL SEE THE TAIL OF HELL TAKE CRAWL." "THEY'LL HEAR THE RING OF HEAVEN'S CALL."/Organik: "Listen! The song of legend plays. Amen" Yeah this is weak but I feel like it's gotta mean something.
Silence/Bells-Sound: Bells ring and toll and the ring ps4 achievement can be gotten by ringing the bells and the light has been already connected to rings and halos so I feel like silence makes sense with darkness with the ch4 segments being linked to silence. And bell sounds ringing light our way. The starwalker bird thing from ch1 also is brought down by the bell (and it shoots stars).
Creation/Destruction: This might be less popular and more weak point as the Titans are seemingly embodiments of destruction but I think it could be more complex than that. First darkness creates and light takes away we have pointed this out already. But I have 2 ways of looking at it the Titans are the repressed fears within the back of a person's mind that’s why they so massive they are literally too "big" for a person to handle so the person themselves hides it away at the back of their mind and they seek destruction as a way as retribution against the world as they are darkners based on true hatred. But another way to look at starts with a question, now why does the Titan have light imagery? I think the wings is just the Titan taking the shape of the angel as it is mentioned in its act it can take multiple forms in its act and the thing the heroes fear in the chapter is the prophecy and that is about the angel. Also, the titans in the dark truth scene only have the star eyes. The star in its face is seemingly the only thing consistent with Ralsei's telling of the roaring which I think could imply the Titans are fallen angels/stars that’s why they cry during hatching they were forced into this role without choice due to the prophecy. And stars are connected to the player's save point and stars are lights in the sky. But alot of this is just speculation idfk about the titan star imagery yet. Now one might mention the “Revive Kris” act has holy light and while yeah that’s sorta true I see it more so the light showing you the artificiality/fakeness of the situation (dark world) allowing yourself to heal yourself via the belief of you are fine. (This is hella weak but I gotta try) Are likelier conclusion is that light has a hope connection. Also, a Winglade and Wiccabel destroy a piano in 3rd sanctuary which could be part of the revolution thing but I think its deeper with the idea of “tearing things down”
Water/Fire: The dark fountains and depths connect darkness to water already but fire is a destructive force and if it is linked with light it sorta explains why the angel needs to be banished. The roaring cutscene fire is displayed and I think this could be due to the angel burning away the darkness but the angel is alien to the world and needs banishment. This can explain the Spamton eyes burning line with him being the character who has mentioned heaven the most. Elec/Holy exists and electricity does cause fires. Susie is also a dragon.
Fluid-Changing/Rigid-Constant: Darkners can be anything really depending on the fountain creator Tenna could have been just a giant display for an abstract concept darkner to use but due to his connection to Kris he gained a personality. But in the real world he is a TV whether fixed or broken he is still just a TV
DEPTHS/SKY: The depths has already been mentioned already a ton so lemme go onto sky. In chapter the Organik fight dialogue says "Organik considers the meaning of the stars and sky" and stars are already player related the sky is already connected to the stars. The skymantle in the code also protects against Elec/Holy attacks so that’s further evidence
Writing/Blank: When you create a story you write with something dark on a blank page usually. Black on white, darkness of the light. So, when you “add” white you take away the story
Max/Null: The Knight has a 999 motif with its swoon ability and darkness adds so light should remove and there has been that one code of 000 in ch3 to access the outside and the 0s were only there once the game was finished/off. Once there was no more story it all goes to 0 null. A 0 is also halo shaped
Despair/Hope: Hope is Susie-core and Gerson mentions Susie “Burning everything up” and she also wants to break the tragedy with the rest I outlined there is some light vibes coming from this. Hope is also seemingly the thing that empowered you during the ch4 dark fountain sealing. Despair seems like an apt opposite a case I can think of is the UNUSED voice in the code who is seemingly slowly giving up in a way as they lose their sense of self
???/Stars: Ok I have no idea what this could mean but stars are related to light with the save points and like the starwalker angel bird and like a lot of other things. The Knight is dark/star but they’re a fallen star because of that ROOTS room book in my head and Titans idfk man but I do think it suggests one thing. Light and Dark are not in opposition like enemies but work together like art. When you create stories some parts or entire stories you abandon or get rid of to start from scratch that’s the creation process. There is a Winglade who says “cleave you own path” they are light and they destroy so others can make something new from the ashes. Now the prophecy is similar it made of both light and dark elements, look at the Organiks description “A philosopher who studies the ancient words. Their light-blocking mask is said to let them commune deeper with the truth of the dark.” This implies the prophecy has some light emitting property why? Here’s the idea the prophecy made from darkness is just a telling of events but with the light of the heavens its was put as truth onto the world but it burns away/destroys any other ways for the story to end. Gaster does say “MY DELTARUNE” this story is his not anyone else’s contrasting Gerson who thinks the opposite. But the members of the dark and light both want something like a new path I believe with the light making the path clear and the darkness building it.
Now I want to mention on last thing. GLASS. I believe glass acts a medium only in the connection between layers of reality or the holy/divine/metaphysical. Your computer screen is made of glass is it not? Now what this means for the shadow crystals Knight and all other crystal shit and what I really mean I would love to get into it another time as I am really busy rn. This entire post is also super messy and unorganized but I wanna get this out there for now at least. Maybe Andrew will connect all these together. I do want to get another version of this post out in the future much more neat and properly organized but for now this will suffice.
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.
One thing I love about the whole Expedition 33(E33) debacle is that a lot of people will assume it’s just people being contrarian or just hating the new "popular thing" like previous years but there is reasoning behind it with how much more vitriol than previous game awards is really interesting.
If you don't remember E33 won the game awards like almost every award was E33 and many felt it was a tad bit uneven considering how 2025 was very big year with gaming and one game being all over an award show celebrating gaming in general is just not a fun awards show. But that is one reasonable critique what people really didn't like is that their favorite game didn't get any brownie points for being "good". Alot of people may say that the game awards isn't objective they treat it as if it is. The game awards is the Oscars of the gaming world is the only place where there is sorta vibe where this is where you find "true quality" as many oscar wining films are touted as existing in a upper echelon of film where you sorta can't criticize a film and people want that attribute to their favorite games.
In the end people want their favorite game to be "objectively good" to the wider world actually winning the award is a far bigger deal than just nominations and it sorta shows how people want games to be like other mediums. Other forms of media are easier to analyze and judge thanks to the fact everyone will have almost near the same experience. Gaming is the one medium where the viewers are directly integrated into the art itself and you can only build systems for the player to interact with and you can talk on those systems but different players will always find unique paths for their playthroughs and learn certain tricks later or sooner than others. Making it so your personal playstyle to games and your own preferred genre matter alot more in games than in mediums where the work is alot more static. So, games are alot harder to objectively quantify.
But E33 winning so many awards at the "objective" game awards made alot of people angry as if you were in these peoples' shoes E33 is like "objectively" the best game as it swept the awards so people now try find something objectively wrong with the game and it’s hard to critique the game itself as all you can say is that the style, art direction, or just don't personally like specific aspects of it(which is why I won't be playing it but I am watching a playthrough) but that sorta discussion feels like you adding nothing to discussion (which I think is a shame with how so many people are think objective discourse is the only one of value) of course so now you attack the label of the game as labels are something more real and tangible. So now we have the entire discussion if E33 is indie and what indie means
Now after that long preamble I now present to you my personal view of what constitutes a game having the indie label.
Team size: I think if a game is around <=25 developers on the team working on the game it should count as indie as anything from around 25-70 feels like it should be AA and anything >70 is AAA this is not like hard set numbers but gives you a feel of what indie means
Type of co-worker: If the game's team consists mainly of friends and acquaintances and people who you have some close relation to it can count as indie as with higher dev team sizes the less you "know" others on the project
Involvement: If 95%-80% of a game's content is worked on by around like 10 or so people (or even far less) I count it as indie as being indie the person/s who is the main guy/s behind the whole project usually have to have multiple skills that go over many disciplines and have to imbue the project with their artistic vision in multiple places even in the small places.
Indie+: One thing I can agree with is that budget isn't a good indicator of what counts as indie but I will say I am fine calling something an indie game if the money used to make that game came from another indie game beforehand like if Edmund McMillen made bank from super meatboy and used that money for a game after super meatboy that counts as indie as long as it loosely follows most of the points brought before.
Now is this isn't a hard list of what counts as indie. The term indie has diluted so much that it sorta is a vibe now and I tried to capture that vibe. Most modern indies don't follow every bullet point and its mostly one or two points can apply and they are applied pretty loosely. Hell, there is the thing on outsourcing to overseas studios which some games which have the indie label do but the level of outsourcing till something becomes AA is a tricky topic and its based on your own level of tolerance to outsourcing as a whole. The line between indie and AA is already very tenuous but I feel lime as always it's just sorta vibes.
E33 is special as it like exists on that line and while for me personally it leans moreso to AA as I heard outsourcing was used in alot of areas for many it still leans indie and thats ok indie as a label is fluid.
In the end Z.A.T.O is the only indie game and the only game you should play
I know Christianity has alot unique beliefs on the bible what’s literal, what’s metaphorical, what even is hell blah blah. One thing I have noticed with the belief of some non-denominational christians is they accidently turned Christianity into a type of infoharzard.
So in Christianity spreading the story of jesus and the word of god is very important and if you don't you will be sentenced to hell as it is your moral duty to spread the word.
Now at the same time when you ask them "What happens to those who never hear about God at all?" they say that God is so loving and merciful that he would let all the good people entry into heaven and if you were bad or in between you would be either sent to complete anniahlation or purgatory.(One saying you'll be given a chance in the afterlife to reconnect with God)
Now if you think about under this framework technicaly the best method for people is to just not spread the word of god. Like if you spread the story of the bible YOU are now entering the possibility of hell into their lives as their options are now either reject the word and go to hell or accept the word and live a life to go to heaven and the now also have the divine mission of spreading the word. But if you instead done another method of just teaching reasons to be good under an atheistic worldview only YOU will be sentenced to hell and those people who take the lesson to their heart, the only possibility will now be either nothing/purgatory or heaven after death, both of which sound better than hell.
So the most benefitting thing to do is to sacrfice your afterlife for the afterlife of others, sorta making it into a selfless act to disobey god's will to srpead the gospel.
There are some painting errors, but don't mind them (T_T) I thought Shadow Mantle and Shadow have almost the same name, so I made them dance. Also they look similar...
＋I forgot to write Flash WARNING!! I'm so sorry..........TT
WIP! Moving house has been really stressful, so I'm using the blorbo as an emotional punching bag to cope. Yay.
I'm genuinely not sure if this is related to any other comics I've done, or just a vague What If scenario for whenever Kris's shady deal starts to expire. What do you, the viewer, think?
I also feel like borrowing a possessive SOUL, betraying your friends, and having 999 pounds of repressed trauma while exploring a dark metaphysical realm is bound to cause you problems eventually.
Hollow Knight Silksong is a masterpiece and should be known as one of the best games ever made
VERY VERY slight spoilers for silksong and hollow knight read at your own risks.
Will make a more in detail post later but want to gush forbit. So finally finished Silksong with 100% and my god was it fun.
The game is essentially Hollow Knight but 1000% better. And with Hollow knight already being a 9.75/10 for me that makes silksong a 20/10.
First off the enemy variety in this game is VERY VERY good. In many games with lazy enemies so many enemies are the same but with slight variations in strength and type of damage but with similar move sets. Some but now all of Hollow Knight(HK) enemies did this but in Silksong almost all enemies have their own move sets with similarities yes but the way they are placed together the way the enemy reacts to you makes each and every encounter feel like a mini boss fight at time. Obviously there will be some reskins but they are only used when its for story and or lore or they are used when the enemy reskin well compliments another enemy’s move set.
Now many are annoyed with double damage but I love it and it makes sense. It seems punishing until you realize when you heal 3 masks instead of 1 at a time which makes for far better healing. And another thing is your agility. Hornet is FAR more agile than the knight was so she will have an easier time dodging around bosses and enemies. Like alot of damage can be avoided if you utilize hornet’s arsenal during bosses. And with that mobility you can just ignore all enemies if you want. In HK you could that but it would require you to be far more careful restricting movement or be near end game. In silksong you can do that at the start
And the boss fights in silksong are so much better. This is thanks to the fact Hornets agility because the move sets of bosses are alot more complex than they were in HK and makes learning their patterns far more fun and overcoming them far more fun
And then there the crest and tool system. In HK you would see almost all playthrough sorta go down the same path with charms. But with crests and tool go to a rando streamers/youtubers first playthrough and you will see the amount of diversity with crests and tools and this is thanks how things are now organised
In HK all charms just took a certain amount of notches and when you fill your notches no more charms or else you become overcharmed and take 2x damage but equip one more charm. In silk song there are three types of tools red(R) blue(B) yellow(Y) R tools are new class of charms being able to be deployed during combat, B tools are just the good passive charms from HK and Y tools are the lower tier charms. But all crests have slots spots for each tool and you can get more slots by finding memory lockets e.g. final hunters crest has 2 blue 2 red and 2 yellow slots. Now since yellow tools are shittier per say you can put whatever you want onto them without worry unlike HK where putting on something like compass disables you from stronger options. And since blue is passive it heavily depends on your wants as a player and allow for variety for similar reasons as yellow but also require more thinking as all B tools are valid with only like 2 or 3 stinking but even those have their fans. R tools are where everyone wants to choose wisely since there really isn't a single bad tool and since these are active attacks they further customize your playstyle. This is without going further with how each crest has their own unique traits and qualities.
Now the story is also good but I there will be heavy spoilers. But I love the fact Act 3 is only accessible once you explored enough and completed enough quests and the whole fake final boss because Grandmother Silk is deceptively simple. But the characters I love em all Sherma, Shakra, Green Prince etc. all of them love em except Grindle fuck that fake piece of shit for abandoning me in prison.
But the story of pharloom’s horrible society and you saving the vestiges of the people in Act 3 so they can finally obtain freedom is a nice storyline. ofc alot of this is mini arcs of the characters Sherma's cris, Shakras mentor, Laces story, The weavers and everything else is nice to follow and easier too thanks to the fact HORNET TALKS. And her attitude of not giving a fuck is funny cause you tell she does care but SHE HAS TO JUSTIFY IT. Like her saving green prince there is no other words to describe it other than kindness but she acts all like "oh the key just so happened to fit" stfu just say you care. And the fact it ends with you having to save lace an act of kindness against someone who hated you for being something their mother wants is wonderful. There is ofc a pragmatic reason but hornet could have just killed here or grandmother silk and try and swim to the top with the flower but as we see the flower wilts before she could get to the end and who comes and save her? all her siblings guided by knight protect and put her to the top, I believe and love the shade lord is shown not as the entity the knight became but as something that represents the void given focus by the knight and siblings collectively protecting hornet
God this game is so good and the pin appearing after the end with hornet’s needle and with the title screen name being "surface" implying Lace and Hornet left pharloom is a cute detail and Hornet's red memory is such a COOL sequence seeing her grow up and the final message of all her mother’s wanting one thing from her which is to live via strength. Herrah teaches with her knowledge and wisdom (in mind) strength in her own convictions and identity, Vespa teaches physically(in claw) strength to fight against those who seek her freedom by training her and The White Lady who most likely was tone to take care of hornet (in care) was seemingly cold to hornet but not out of malice or being uncaring but to give hornet strength and distance hornet from the pale family. All this was to give hornet the strength to escape the fate that might befall hallownest and have hornet live to see the kingdom free of infection or create her own kingdom or future shaping the world. But as we see that personal and internal strength was useful on the path was not what saved Pharloom at the very end. Hornet was saved by her half-sibling now why does this happen? I assume it happens because of the dream no more ending. Why because the Knight is separate from the shade lord here and we see the other vessels in the background which we don't see them go to rest in godhome ending. Now the HK was all about how there can't be something truly empty so the knight probably formed a bond with hornet after she helped it seal away the radiance(more evidence to dream no more bite me) so it being part of void helped hornet when her strength faded. Which is what Act 3 being about as you help the bugs of pharloom build up to access, you use your strength to help others but when it runs out, shown as the everbloom from hornet's memories about strength run out her sibling from the void comes. Her sibling and hundreds of other siblings come out. The ones who she helped lay to rest. This final lesson of the strength of others. The vessels use their strength to shield her from the void and bring her to safety where probably both her and lace leave pharloom.
To where? Hornet might have moved back to Hallownest as she reiterates "I am a daughter of Hallownest" at the end but that was more so stating that void was a big deal in hallownest so she is used to it but I think that she would return there most likely as that is her home and the lands beyond seem dangerous. Lace I could see her following her or going on her own journey detaching herself from her mother’s kingdom OR the pin could be Lace just seeing Hornet off at the surface and Lace be someone who takes over the citadel from her mother. But Pharloom’s fate? I believe they will rebuild with new societies. As we can see there are still existing bugs and there were tribes before Grand Mother Silk came to Pharloom so I assume there is still the chance for life to continue. We see craws have a small society already up and running with judges and shit so I think the workers of greymoor towers will integrate with them. But alot of pharloom will change for sure.
Silksong also has many mother allegories it seems to be alot about Maternity so will delve into that. Also pale beings and their love and need for domination (which I just think is a want to be praised)
Will also probably do a what happens to pharloom after the end on Silksong since in HK there was already existing societies still living in a dying kingdom they were just suffering from the infection. With Pharloom however their monarch was just removed with their source of silk gone. So pharloom will have to change. And there are plasmium caves on the side.
With so much irony with people calling anything peak and people using safe language when it comes to calling things they like perfect. I here honestly say silksong is a perfect game all and all the people saying masterpiece are right
One thing that's always urked me about sci-fi is the fact alien parasites just always perfectly match with humans bodies and animals bodies when that wouldn't really make sense at all. Most parasites here on earth eveovled in tandem to us and other animals, they don't just come in from nowhere with those full capabilities. Like if a space parasite from another planet came sure it can cause harm and death but full control of the human body? That would require it to have evolved in such a way that it had human like species it attached to back at home, those human like animals had similar brain structure, nerve structure and body composition? I don't buy that chief. That would be like driving submarine when all you know is how to drive a car. Sure you have a general sense of "drive" but you wouldn't be able make the submarine drive gorward
When I'm playing Deltarune Chapter 5 and Susie meets Asriel and then turns to Kris and goes "I can't believe he's just named after both of your parents. What would they have named you, "Togore?"
I genuinely feel like I'm going insane being on today's irony poisoned internet.
You can't have a bad opinion or be a troll or mean person you just ragebaiting. And If the person genuinely believes the stuff they say and ge backlash it was just you falling for the bait
If you stream games to friends or an audience and are bad you're clip farming.
You can't be funny without some people saying your baiting for attention.
Like alot of today's internet every action you say or do alot of the time is hidden behind a veil of irony or trolling and I mean far worse than it was before. I miss the days where people will try to defend the worst opinions with faulty arguments they believed because at least it was sincere. But now you can tell many people will just tparrot arguments that will trigger the other side and coause discussions to go in circles.
While the "Be Cringe, Be Free" mentality has gotten more popular over the last few years it only really exists within more defined communities and less popular social media not to the general internet user. You can tell cause when something a bit niche gets popular there comes an nflux of people calling fandom activities "cringe" and think people who have been in communities for most of their lives give communitites a bad rep. I just try to avoid those sorts but its hard to avoid when its people not familar on why the thing you like is good come and berate you on how you enjoy it.
And it's harder for me as I don't pick up on social cues easily so I have a hard thime to parse through all these posts. I just sorta assume the op is being sincere (unless sacarsm is blatantly obvious) since treating most general posts as joking and non-serious will probably just make me jaded. I just choose to not actively participate unless I know the other party will treat it seriously.
