#sorry im stealing this image from reddit

[jostar]

[elliebell77]

ok ive given this some thought and am going to dump said thoughts here. Sorry if it doesnt make sense lol

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The first thing I thought when I saw this post was actually of Deltarune, or specifically Asgore’s house.

Now of course, you can make the argument that the state of his house can be blamed on the fact that he’s poor cause nobody’s buying his flowers and he keeps giving them away for free, PLUS he’s divorced which could have added to his financial struggles.

And I’m not refuting that. I’m not! I think a lot of this can be blamed on his financial troubles. HOWEVER, even poor, his room is still a mess. Disorganized, no sheet on the bed, random shit and flower supplies everywhere, the wedding flowers (im coming back to that later btw). Not to mention the color scheme itself. Looking at the juxtaposition between the actual shop and his room, the contrast is obvious enough that I don’t think i need to point out the difference in mood and colors, though I WILL point out the only real color in Asgore’s room is the flowers. And while this could be because the storefront has to look nice and professional, I think it also represents something about his character: The happy face he puts on for everyone (or at the very least, his kids) and the actual, dimmer mental state he’s in once you peel back the curtains.

There’s also the fact that, like in Undertale (which I’m getting to soon, I promise), Asgore’s life is one marred by loss. Rudy, for example, his best friend, is in the hospital and possibly dying. His wife left him and his kids rarely see him anymore. He doesn’t really have anyone to talk to, other than his flowers. To put it shortly, Asgore is incredibly, incredibly lonely.

I have a lot more to say about deltarune but I’m gonna loop back to it later + i havent played deltarune in a long time so there’s a lot i’ve probably missed/misremember

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Now for Undertale. This is an interesting one, and I have a lot more material to work with because I remember more of that game lmao.

(thank you random reddit user for making these maps so i can rip it off google images to steal for my character analysis post)

Oof. Where do I start with UT Asgore.

I guess I can start with his loneliness. “Loneliness?? What loneliness??? He’s super friendly and regularly chats with citizens!!” I hear you yelling angrily at your monitor as you read this. Well, hypothetical audience member, shut the fuck up.

Ok but seriously, I thought about this a lot and while yes, Asgore is super friendly and outgoing, does he actually have any… friends? Like really good, really close friends. Sure, he has Undyne, but Undyne seems to be more of a child/student to him. Yes, he HAD Rudy, but as stated in the alarm clock dialogue, he passed away long before the events of Undertale. Gerson seems to have been a companion of sorts (war buddy?? Friend? Hard to say), but again, it’s implied they grew apart when Toriel left

Gerson dialog I was referring to ^

This means that, again, Asgore is alone. The only family he has left (that he knows of) locked herself in the ruins to get away from him and seemingly hates him, and while yes, Asgore does go out and talk to his subjects on the regular, he’s not necessarily close with any of them for one reason or another.

Which brings me to my big, fat point and the biggest reason I wrote this whole essay in the first place:

Asgore clings to the past (as a form of escapism?)

I mean, it’s painfully obvious in both games, but especially so in Undertale. I mean, just look at his house. The fact that it imitate’s Toriel’s, the fact that he tries so hard to imitate her butterscotch and snail pie, the fact that his kids’ beds are still both in their room, perfectly made, with their possessions still inside, untouched. Hell, he still has the nose nuzzle champs thing from 1998, which had to have taken place more than a decade ago now.

Toriel, on the other hand, has moved on. The kids’ bedroom only has one bed. The chair is well worn. Her room is messy, but lived in, with a journal detailing her life. Yes, she has a yellow flower, yes you can make the argument that she, too, clings a little bit to her old life, she’s very clearly moved on and dealt with her grief in a much, much healthier way than Asgore has.

Asgore’s house, in contrast, is just a cheap imitation of Toriel’s. A hollow shell, lacking the soul, the worn yet lived-in charm that makes Toriel’s so comfortable and welcoming. Asgore has not moved on, and maybe he never will.

We also see this in Deltarune (HA see I DID circle back to it), though not quite as obvious. Remember the wedding flowers? (you better, cause I specifically said I was coming back to them. bitch.) Not to mention the fact that he’s STILL trying to get Toriel back despite her obvious rejections (i mean, the poor woman’s thrown away so many bouquets of flowers that the trash smells like flowers 24/7)

This is shown, too, in the color language of both houses. I’ll put em here so u dont have to scroll all the way back up to see what i mean

The only real color in the room is the flowers. The only thing that lights up the house is the past. In a dark, lonely life, the only light to keep him going is the good ol’ days. The way it once was, when his wife was still with him and he still had 2 loving children. And he so desperately wants to get all that back that he’ll build and maintain an entire house that he doesn’t even seem to really live in, just to get a cheap imitation of what his old life was like

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Is this evidence of PTSD? Well… no, not really, but it’s definitely evidence of depression, or at least some kind of psychological/trauma-related issue that he’s trying to escape.

For science. For those of you who have played/watched Undertale, do you believe Asgore may be depressed or have some level of PTSD? If so do you think this influenced his choices and actions?