You ever think about the fact that maybe the reason Berdly might be bad at video games is because he has no time to play them but still loves them
hahahaaaa oh all the time bestie :) :')
you know he really doesn't talk about video games as much as like, fanon depiction would lead you to believe. he really is extremely focused on academics and his jobS. i'd have to doublecheck, but from what i remember, he doesn't bring up Hashtag Gaming in any of his light world interactions? aside from the anniversary stream of course. that really only comes out in the dark world, where schoolwork and workwork have faded to the back of his mind ('tis worth noting the interactions with him in the light world are pretty minimal BUT LIKE MY POINT-)
i'm sure he likes people to think he has his life put together enough to work two jobs, to be hometown high's top student, and to be a budding professional gamer or whatever. but. he absolutely does not. kiddo has to be exhausted :( it's amazing that he stays on top of school the way he does and doesn't just collapse onto his bed whenever he gets home, mindlessly playing video games until he eventually passes out
something that sits with me a lot is that he attributes his grades to noelle and don't get me wrong - he probably wouldn't be doing as well if she weren't there to support him. but they're both really busy. noelle's on cross country, and i wouldn't be surprised if she's involved in other extracurriculars, and she spends a lot of her free time at the hospital with rudy. i don't think these tutoring sessions happen as often as his dialogue implies 😐
in all actuality, he probably frequently struggles through homework and studying on his own. noelle is the only person he allowed himself to be honest around; he's not going to seek out help from a professional tutor or alphys or worse, another one of his classmates. he sits there and he forces himself to learn the material, maybe texting/calling noelle to ask her something, and they probably have study sessions of course...once or twice a month. i imagine the thing noelle does most often is check his work before class and they go over anything he might have done wrong
and he knows he won't have noelle's support forever - or, he thinks. once college rolls around, noelle won't have any reason to hang around him anymore - she's pretty and she's talented and she's smart as all hell, and she's sweet and generous, and she could make friends with anyone ever, and berdly seems convinced their friendship is simply one of like...hm. proximity. take this bit from night in the woods
and in some ways, that's likely an accurate assumption. let's be real. (but as bea goes on to say, the relationship born from proximity is still important, and it's still a beautiful friendship worth cherishing) but i bring this up because with this perceived soon-to-be end of their friendship hanging over berdly's head, he probably spends more time than ever studying on his own
he doesn't get free time. it's funny to joke about, but video games aren't a part of his life right now. he really just... doesn't have the time. anyway i need to adopt him instantly
