It's So Poetic That Asriel Died With Chara, And Not In A Literal Sense But More Of A Metaphorical Sense...

it's so poetic that asriel died with chara, and not in a literal sense but more of a metaphorical sense... flowey feels that he can never be asriel again because that part of him died when chara died. he can never be who he was and he's come "back" in the shape of something that distinctly reminds him of his trauma. there's so many reasons he told us to view flowey as separate from asriel but the thing that always gets me is that asriel is just a reminder of who he was and what he can never get back. it's fascinating that when we see "asriel" again, all he wants is to reset everything. to go back to a life where he felt safe and loved and wanted.

"flowey" is someone who feels he can never return to loving others and being loved because of his trauma, and becoming "asriel" again when shown that he is worthy of being loved and saved despite everything is so touching to me. i think flowey completely lost hope of any kind of future and frisk allows him to see that there are things beyond his past. flowey never allowing himself to truly live because chara is gone vs being shown that he's allowed to live despite chara's death is such a perfect way to write grief. there's always that feeling of "am i really allowed to be here if they aren't?" that comes with the type of grief flowey is going through.

it's much easier for him to constantly try to go back than to accept the world he's in. trying to be asriel again is much easier than it is to accept himself as flowey. it's easier to think of when you were younger and happy than learn to live with grief and who you are now. ultimately it's much better for him to be able to live as flowey and make new relationships as who he is now than to wallow in grief and anger. i think a lot about him being able to find some happiness and hope as flowey... something something to be loved is to be changed