Rudy

Lay a finger on her and I'll kick your ass.
(...) Hahaha!! Hahahaha!! Just kidding!!
Well, kinda kidding.

Rudy to Susie about Noelle, Chapter 2

Rudolph "Rudy" Holiday (JP: ルドルフ・“ルーディ”・ホリデー) is a Lightner from Hometown in Deltarune. He is the bedridden father of Noelle and Dess, and the husband of Carol. He can be visited at the end of Chapters 1 and 2, as well as during the Light World segment of Chapter 4.

Profile

Appearance

Rudy is a monster who resembles a reindeer. He has tan fur with a hint of a reddish tint, a narrow face, dark hair, and wears a thin mustache and goatee. When attending church service, he wears a green Christmas sweater with red and white detailing, and red pants. When in the hospital, he wears a sleeveless white patient gown.

Personality

Rudy is outspoken, jovial, lighthearted, and honest. He enjoys conversing, occasionally curses, and is quick to joke about anything to lighten the mood, such as Kris inspecting objects in his hospital room. Despite his medical condition, Rudy is lively and talkative. Rudy is also protective and supportive of Noelle, as he encourages her to pursue her crush on Susie and lightheartedly threatens anyone who he sees as hurting or insulting her. This ranges from expressing a desire to throw something at Berdly, or that he will "kick [Kris's] ass" if they insult Noelle's singing in choir. He also enjoys video games, as he offers advice to Noelle. Under normal conditions, Rudy is seen with a grin on his face.

Etymology

Like his daughters and wife, Rudy's name and some of his characteristics are references to various aspects of Christmas, including his last name Holiday. Reindeer are often associated with Christmas (through Santa's reindeer). His first name, "Rudolph", is a reference to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Main story

History

Rudy was college classmates with Asgore and knew Toriel through the campus's social scene, describing Asgore as shy in company and Toriel as "a total NUT" who once hit him across the room with a key lime pie at a party. The first time he met Carol, he immediately told her she was "a HOT piece of work", and she slapped him so hard he blacked out. At some point, Rudy married her and they eventually had two daughters, Dess and Noelle.

Rudy and his family became close friends with the Dreemurrs. He witnessed Asgore and Toriel's courtship, was Asgore's best man at the wedding, and retained affection for them even after the two families drifted apart. He remembers Kris, not without affection, as "the creepy kid next door" who used to scare Noelle for fun and once got entangled in the family's decorative lights.

Rudy is currently hospitalized for an illness, confined to bed rest and coughing if he laughs too hard. He keeps a faceless angel doll made by Noelle and Dess as a "good luck charm". A bouquet of roses from Asgore and a get-well card signed by Toriel and Kris are on his bedside table.

Chapter 1

Noelle visiting Rudy and laughing at one of his suggestions, as A Town Called Hometown plays

After Kris's return from Card Kingdom, they can find Rudy in the bed in the left-hand patient room at the hospital, talking with Noelle. As Kris stands in the doorway, Rudy and Noelle discuss a crush Noelle has and how her parents first met, and Rudy asks her to bring a video game, Dragon Blazers III, that she has been stalling on to the hospital instead of waiting for him to come home and finish it with her, laughing that he is "bored as HELL" here.

After Noelle leaves, Kris can enter Rudy's room. If Kris examines other objects in the room, Rudy jokes about Kris's rudeness and tells them to be a little friendlier, but is also surprised that Kris looks at the card they had signed for him as if they never saw it before.

When spoken to, Rudy calls Kris "Krismas" and brushes off questions about his condition, saying that he is only in the hospital for tests. He asks whether Toriel made them visit him, and if not, says they have grown a lot.

Though Rudy loves his "smart, kind, sweet" daughter, he voices deep concern for her, describing her as "defenseless" and afraid of everything. He is unhappy about not being available to protect Noelle, asking Kris to look out for her while he is hospitalized, though he remembers the pranks Kris played on her in the past.

Chapter 2

As promised, Noelle brings her game to Rudy's hospital room and plays it with him. When Susie and Kris arrive, Rudy greets them, before half-jokingly warning Susie not to hurt his daughter. He explains that the hospital has to run more tests, but insists he is well enough to go to church tomorrow. Upon further inquiry, he explains that his wife is tough on Noelle, which is why he feels getting better is his responsibility. After seeing the scene in Sans's grocery store with Toriel and Asgore and then talking to Rudy, he expresses frustration that Asgore is asking for free pickles from Sans instead of himself.

On the Weird Route, he briefly holds Susie back as she and Kris are leaving to offer her some advice on how to impress Noelle.

Chapter 3

Before the battle with Tenna, a flashback scene occurs with the Holiday and Dreemurr families watching TV together at the Dreemurr residence. Each member disappears one-by-one, with Rudy being the fifth to disappear after Dess, Carol, Asgore, and Noelle.

Chapter 4

Rudy outside the hospital, standing in the church, as Old wooden rafters plays

Rudy makes his first appearance outside of the hospital during church service. He is seen sitting in the front right pew and later on chatting with Toriel in the southwest of the church. Talking to him will prompt him to tease Toriel about Asgore's "you know what" and an incident involving key lime pie; the former prompts her to splash him with juice.

After leaving church, he is back at the hospital in worse shape than usual, frequently breaking into coughing fits when he speaks. He comments on the service taking pretty long, likely the cause of him being worn out. If Kris inquires about tomorrow, he talks about his promise to support Noelle at the festival, saying that he will get better to do so after saving up his energy.

If Kris brought Susie to visit Rudy in Chapter 2, the two share a conversation where Rudy subtly encourages Susie to go to the festival with Noelle. If Kris and Susie did not visit Rudy in Chapter 2, Rudy simply questions Kris why they brought Susie there.

Relationships

Noelle

Noelle is Rudy's youngest daughter. The two have a very close and easygoing relationship, and Rudy describes her as a good daughter. Rudy is one of the only people Noelle can tell "no", showing that she is more relaxed around her father than her mother. Rudy in turn is very protective of Noelle and worries about her well-being, being aware of her anxieties and fears. He frequently tries to be there for her despite his illness, visiting her at church and wanting to support her at the festival. Noelle often visits Rudy in his hospital room, telling him about her day, asking for advice about her crush, and playing Dragon Blazers III with him.

Asgore

Asgore is Rudy's best friend. The two met in college and have been close ever since, and Rudy was Asgore's best man at his wedding. Asgore visits Rudy's hospital room frequently and gifts him bouquets of flowers, which makes Rudy worry about Asgore's financial situation. Asgore includes Rudy in his prayers.

Carol

Carol is Rudy's wife. Despite their contrasting personalities, they got married and had two daughters together. Rudy and Carol's parenting styles differ heavily, and Rudy feels the need to balance out her stringency. In a conversation between Toriel and Rudy overheard at the church, Toriel refers to Carol as Rudy's wife, but he corrects her, simply calling her Carol.

Toriel

Rudy laughing after Toriel splashes his face with fruit juice

Toriel is one of Rudy's friends, having known him since their college years. Rudy remembers Toriel as far more wild and energetic in her youth, fondly recalling various college antics and parties they attended together.

Despite the distance that has grown between the Dreemurr and Holiday families, Rudy remains on friendly terms with Toriel and enjoys teasing her about embarassing memories she would rather forget. When the two catch up with one another at church during Chapter 4, the two engage in lighthearted banter, with Rudy jokingly bringing up stories from her past and Toriel retaliating by splashing fruit juice on his face.

Kris

Kris is Rudy's neighbor and the child of his best friend, Asgore. Rudy has known Kris since they were young, and he sometimes reminisces about pranks Kris used to pull or them spending time with his daughters. Rudy is kind to Kris and frequently jokes around with them, nicknaming them Krismas. In Chapter 1, Rudy is surprised to see Kris visit him, and tells them he is proud of them if they say they came without being told to. Despite the Holiday and Dreemurr families growing apart, he still trusts Kris and asks them to watch out for Noelle in his stead.

Susie

Susie and Rudy meet for the first time in Chapter 2 if she and Kris visit his hospital room. Rudy is aware of Noelle's crush on Susie, and frequently alludes to it when she is around, giving her a shovel talk to not hurt Noelle and hinting at dates Noelle might enjoy. While Susie doesn't understand these hints as she is oblivious to Noelle's crush, Rudy thinks she is nice and they get along well, often playing off of each other's humor.

Outside of Deltarune

UNDERTALE Alarm Clock

Rudy has an Undertale counterpart, who is alluded to in its continuity and its external canon. His counterpart was friends with Asgore. In Asgore's excerpt of the Winter UNDERTALE Alarm Clock, it is revealed Rudy was close friends with him, had formerly attended Hotland University, lived in a snow cabin, presumably either in Snowdin Town or Snowdin, had multiple daughters, and had passed away in the underground.

Despite lamenting his friend's present absence, Asgore remarks that Rudy would have been happy to see his daughters grow in the sunlight, especially his youngest daughter, who he believes will make many new friends in the future. In an early draft of the Winter Alarm Clock dialogue, released for Undertale's 2nd Anniversary, Rudy is mentioned alongside Noelle and his wife.

Gallery

• 
  Rudy resting in his hospital bed

Trivia

• Rudy's name is one of the names that prompts a unique response from the voice in the introduction during Chapter 1.
• Remarking on the bouquet from Asgore, Rudy relates its appearance — roses covered by a bell jar — to Beauty and the Beast, saying that it won't work because he and Asgore are both beasts. Inspecting the bouquet a second time prompts him to say that if Asgore wanted to take him to prom, he should have just asked.
• In Chapter 1, if Kris talks to Berdly after talking to Rudy, they presumably invite Berdly to stand outside the hospital window in accordance with a line said by Rudy. Berdly declines.
• Rudy acts frustrated when Kris interacts with the sink in the hospital room in Chapter 1. If Kris does the same again in Chapter 2, Rudy exclaims that the sink has 2-0'ed him, but he will even the count someday.
  • Interacting with the sink in Chapter 4 prompts Rudy to ask Kris if they are expecting soda to come out from the sink. This may be a reference to the soda that is placed out of Kris's reach in the Undertale 6th anniversary stream.
    • This may also be a reference to Presidents Jay and Dope replacing the tap water with Faygo in Homestuck.