I probably should've said this half a year ago, but we can't control the way others treat us--that's why I've been saying, "The ball is in Kris & Ralsei's park, and not in ours." It's not up to the victim to placate or change those who mistreat them. Behaving kindly is still up to us, and not expecting people to change for us is the healthiest approach, but we have been kind and will continue to be. So, we don't deserve mistreatment, and while the way others treat us can be somewhat influenced by our behavior, it's not something we can outright control. At the same time: expecting people to treat us with a basic level of decency (especially people we're stuck with, and especially in response to nothing but kindness on our part) is entirely reasonable. All this to say, because we can't control what others think of or do to us, it's not our fault if they mistreat us. We did nothing to deserve that, and it's not up to us to make it right: it's up to them. (And, tbc, this is mistreatment we're experiencing at the hands of those two.) Prescriptions of any kind for the Player's behavior from here onward therefore, imo, unduly burden the victim when all expectations should be on the perpetrators.
We have spent time crying and laughing and fearing and loving with these guys, but they've done none for us--it's an unbalanced relationship. As relationships go, It Is Utter Ass. Why does Kris hate us even though they're our captor? Maybe they're misanthropic and are projecting the discomfort of the path they've chosen onto us. Is Ralsei afraid of us? Maybe he just hates us, straight off the bat. Like it's some ~profound lesson~ we needed to learn that some people will just hate you and there's nothing you can do about it (a lesson that's coming from a character we've grown attached to over many years at this point.) Who the hell knows. But like I said: he's not our friend--he's Kris's. My point is, the game should give us time away from those two and space for them to realize their error in mistreating us.
Caring and feeling hurt about how people we love feel about us is entirely natural, but trying to control it is not on our side of the field. Kris and Ralsei are holding the medicine of closure. I've said before the only way for me to really be healthy is if I step away from this game and found something else to love, because there's no changing the fact that we're currently in a place of pain right now--the only way to be happy is to play pretend or let go a bit, at least while the next chapter is still cooking.
There's a line from a forbidden feminist publication that frames criticism of a victim as something to the effect of "prodding them for the imprecision of their screams." The ball is not in our park, and I'd argue it never has been.
The player is being lead on with the Weird Route, and why it might not go as people expect/wish
(More of a ramble than a coherent theory, continued after the cutoff)
So theres alot of discussion around the Weird Route regarding Noelle, Kris, Soul, the Prophecy and what it means for the future.
Some of the most popular theories I've seen suggest that it will more directly end the Prophecy (but at a much greater cost), result in a thematic game "freeze", or a brick wall, etc etc
However theres one part I haven't seen at all discussed, which feels to me extremely important:
The game, in what one might call the weirdest example of 4th wall breaking, instructs us on how to start it. Why?
Obviously this is done for our benefit, because on a normal Route this is useless to Kris, as the moment has passed.
So someone, aware of the Soul enough to know about its time travel powers, wants us to preform it.
The "culprit" people usually jump to (when it comes to meta stuff) is Gaster, but in all other interactions with us he has been extremely direct.
If he wanted us to do the Weird Route, there is so far no reason for him to suddenly be coy about it (and generally, the popular idea that Gaster will take a villainous role is very flimsy, but thats another post).
It is more likely that it is related to Eram, or whatever he serves.
Back on track, I think this re-contextualizes the entire Route. The player is doing this for someone elses benefit. This is no longer just about the Souls vanity or playing up being evil or whatever. You are being toyed with by something else.
With all this, I fully expect the WR to end in a "I see. SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CHARGE?"
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