I mean if your gonna mention the tea with ralsei and kris you kinda have to acknowledge that the code increases the ralsei teas healing for kris after selecting the  "its ok not to smile" option

I do find it really interesting for Kris and Ralsei, how Kris seems to be connecting with them a lot more after Ralsei starts trying to be his own person. When Ralsei starts diverging from the role of just the prince of the dark, Kris is always supportive, even contradicting the player at times. When you're talking with Ralsei in his room, if (for some reason) you choose "Of course not" when Ralsei asks if he's allowed to be his own person, Kris will cough and cut off the "not" at the end.

Other people have brought up the Ralsei Tea getting better after comforting Ralsei in chapter 4, but I think it's more complicated than that. If you choose "It's okay not to smile" Ralsei will compliment Kris' piano playing earlier in the chapter, and I think that's the actual reason for the tea increasing. Ralsei is complimenting Kris directly here, and showing that he actually does like Kris themself, and their actions independent from us. Maybe the reason the tea was so low in the first place is that Kris was intentionally distant, knowing that Ralsei knew about us, the player/soul, and just assuming any affection on Ralsei's part was just towards us.

Which is what makes the Chapter 5 hotspring scene so interesting to me! Ralsei is dropping the pretense in a way, directly talking to Kris and affirming that he trusts them even if he doesn't agree with their actions in creating the dark worlds. Their relationship is suddenly the only one Kris has where there isn't that undercurrent of "they'll all hate me if they find out my dark secret". Ralsei is choosing to trust Kris despite not knowing why they're doing it all, and I think this is the point where Kris might actually start to fully trust Ralsei as well.

15:16 it’s at least confirmed that asriel had feelings for dess because of the love letter in his drawer at the start of chapter 5

YOUR CHOICES WONT MATTER
            BUT THEIRS WILL

Yeah, I don't believe Kris disliked Ralsei, they were just wary of him at first. Ralsei came on pretty strong in the beginning, and the fact that he resembled Kris's brother probably threw them off too. But by Chapter 4, it's very clear that Kris cares deeply about their friends. They'll hug Ralsei willingly in chapter 4, splat onto the floor with him, and even tease Susie together. I really love how much everyone's friendship evolved since the beginning.

I'll only say, Berdly never had feelings for Noelle. He states clearly that he thinks she has feelings for him and feel force to reciprocate. And he's wrong about it ofc. While with Susie... eh. I can't lie this kids strikes me as aroace with how little it takes him to assume romance somewhere. He learned she was a gamer and immediately decided romance was the only option, but he doesn't really act around her like someone with a crush does either.

Its kinda funny how kris is hit in every direction and every aspect on their life consistently

2:36 i kinda had the opposite interpretation for ralsei, where instead of that "just being his personality", he reads more as the type of person who falls in love easily but doesn't usually have the self-confidence to actively pursue relationships. he blushes when rouxls mistakes the heroes for a throuple in chapter 3, has a huge part of his characterization built around not seeing himself as a person who deserves to pursue selfish desires, and his meta knowledge provides additional reason for him not to pursue a relationship with susie in particular, because of noelle.

The relationship between Kris and Noelle, romantically speaking, is complicated. In the last episode at the festival, not counting the weird route, if you visit the stalls in a specific order and choose the interactions between them, it provides more context about their relationship. In fact, I feel that at some point it was mutual, but as you mentioned, the Dess incident and the profound separation from the family caused a rift. I want to think that their interactions became more complicated without them feeling uncomfortable just remembering the event. It makes me think that from the first episode, we, as players, were the ones who, in a way, "helped" their interaction after a long period; I definitely feel like there's still a spark there. I mean, Noelle showed hope of winning alongside Kris, and the fact that she and them managed to ring the bell made this connection even clearer, but perhaps it will remain just that, a frustrated spark; I'm sure Kris really feels conflicted with these two being together, not only romanticly, of course, the mere thought of losing friends with whom to have a good time over and over again

If youre crazy enough to vote Kris and Noelle as King and Queen, you find out that as kids they actually voted for each other against Asriel and Dess. Then Noelle gets sentimental and decides to make the same vote, basically saying that "those kids still deserve to win"
So yeah, they may have actually had feelings for each other as kids.

Also, Kris blushes when Susie asks why the hell they have a feather from Berdley so Kerdley just might have some validity LMAO

Have to disagree with the idea that Ralsei doesn't crush on Kris. He obviously does. Blue in chapter 5 all but confirms it, mentioning first Susie's every breath holds Noelle's name, and "Ralsei, who's every step is following love." Ralsei is very consistently the party member that most often directly trails behind Kris. Even in Tenna's boards, Ralsei never does his own thing unless you give him control over Kris. He just follows behind Kris like he always does. Meanwhile Susie does her own thing automatically. Ralsei's preference for the "blue and pink" soda, being the coloration of Kris, also indicates Ralsei's affection.

There’s a surprising amount of romantic subtext between Kris and Noelle hidden throughout Deltarune, but it’s easy to miss since the game keeps it subtle and buried under optional dialogue, childhood memories, and Kris’s internal thoughts. Meanwhile, Susie and Noelle’s dynamic is loud, mutual, and constantly foregrounded, so players naturally gravitate toward it. It all often requires a lot of interpretation from the player.

Honestly it sometimes feels as though the game or even Kris doesn't want you or the characters to find out, like they're actively TRYING to make things work out between Susie and Noelle, like perhaps Kris is afraid of what the player would do if the bond between them and Noelle becomes too visible. One example of easily missable implied Kriselle dialogue is when you choose Susie & Noelle for the Ferris Wheel and then choose "Think about other things"; Kris will remember a time where they, the family and the Holidays went to the Festival together.
Here's a quick rundown: Kris throws a dirt clod at Dess while she's riding with Asriel and Toriel grabs and pulls their ear, Asgore laughs, Toriel pulls his ear, Rudy laughs, Carol pulls his ear, Noelle is confused, holds Kris' ear but doesn't pull; everyone laughs. Notice it's primarily couples doing the ear grabbing for laughing at Kris' prank.


Kris recalling this childhood festival with Noelle gently holding their ear while the adults pair off seems to quietly frame Kris and Noelle as a “pair” within the group. It’s understated, but it suggests a closeness the story doesn’t want to draw attention to. Bit like I said, sometimes it even feels like Kris (or the narrative itself) is deliberately steering things toward Susie and Noelle, leaving Kris’s own feelings tucked away where only attentive players will notice.

13:44 Berdley said that he doesn’t have romantic feelings for Noelle. He reciprocated what he thought were romantic feelings from her. He has some emotional immaturity where he interprets any positive attention as romantic. He thinks in terms of roles he’s supposed to fill because he’s a weird gamer dork with no life experience

After you pointed out that Susie is the 'true MC' of the game, it makes total sense why everyone has a plausible route to romance with her- it's exactly how that tends to go in any rpg with romance options. I'd even place a tiny wager on the next chapter including some kind of mention about Dragon Blazers having romanceable party members

BRO THERE HAD TO BE A BETTER IMAGE OF KRIS AND NOELLE

I think Suselle is doomed yuri, the hammer festival scene is foreshadowing, and the song title "I guess im in love" can easily show that doubt can be set up in the future

Rather than any romantic affection, I think Kris is has been sorely a close relationship from the beginning of the game and is afraid that they may end up alone again. From what 5 teaches us, Kris, Noelle, Asriel, and Dess were inseparable from each other. However, it appears that as Asriel’s crush on Dess grew, they began to spend more time together, leaving Kris and Noelle alone more often. Kris may or may not have been hurt from the sudden distance, but it seems like they were still okay because they had Noelle to be their friend. Then Dess disappeared. Now, not only is Asriel being distant, but Noelle as well, both grieving in their loss. However, this leaves Kris completely by theirself.

From certain context, it seems that Kris’s relationships never returned to how they were before. Asriel likely left Hometown for college because he couldn’t take being reminded of Dess, which is why he remains distant despite having phones available. Noelle likely realized that she unintentionally alienated Kris, but only after a long time had passed to the point that she didn’t know how to reconnect. That is why she seems somewhat distant in 1, but becomes close again after 2. They were able to reconnect, even if she doesn’t remember how.

Now, it seems like the past is repeating itself. Susie and Noelle are growing closer quickly to the point where they may not need Kris for their second date. And while they are supportive of their relationship, Kris is afraid that Susie and Noelle will no longer need them around, leaving him isolated once more.

I’m nitpicking atp but Berdly does say he never romantically liked Noelle and I don’t really see his crush on Susie as genuine either.

To add my two cents to the discusion, there is one piece of subtext no one really pointed out is chapter 3 cactus. In chapter 3 there is a tsundere cactus with crush on Kris hiding behind curtains in few difrent places and if you flirt with an enemy in front of one of them they tearfully give you their blessing and decide to step away.
Witch………
Well speaks volumes about how Kris views romance. Something they want to engage with but refuse out of care for their friends.

In Kris and Noelle's ferris wheel scene, the way she responds to "Sit silently" makes it very clear Noelle had feelings for Kris. In fact, she thinks it was one-sided in that she does not believe Kris ever felt anything for her in return, that she simply "made" them go with her.

I'm not convinced that her feelings for Kris are simply a thing of the past. Otherwise, the Weird Route would not be the way it is (especially in Chapter 4). Granted, I am also very biased in favor of Kriselle as I have shipped it since Chapter 2 and already viewed a lot of things in 3 & 4 as evidence they were a thing before the Dessappearance.

(You can get the ferris wheel scene by voting for Kris & Noelle and showing her the vote BEFORE selecting them to go on the ferris wheel together.)