The kids very specifically went under his nose to get the flowers, the hid everything they were doing from both him and Toriel, so it's not like he knew what was happening and just ignored it.
Asgore loved his children. Their deaths were the reason he declared war on the humans. He spent time with them, he fed them, clothed them, sheltered them, and let them play.
He still misses both of them greatly, many, many years after their death. Their deaths, and the repercussions from his choice after, weigh on him until death. He reminisces about both of them condtantly. That would not happen to a father who was criminally negligent.
Saying someone is negligent because their child ate/was around toxic stuff is kinda dumb. The forest is full of toxic things, yet families go hunting, or berry picking, or mushroom gathering all the time. If a child secretly eats a berry they found in the forest, that's their fault, not the parent. ESPECIALLY if they know it's poisonous. Like Chara and Asriel knowing buttercups are toxic because they fed Asgore buttercups.
And on that point, would a negligent father care at all for something their children made for him? Would he eat it? And would he really be forgiving after it poisons him? No.
Asgore was not negligent. He was an excellent father who was hit hard by terrible circumstances and choices.
If he didn't KNOW They were there because they escaped or something then that changes everything, but unless i forgot that's not specified. Personally i always assumed the kids were able to roam freely, especially since Toriel lets us do just that both in the ruins and as Kris.
If they snuck away it was just mighty unfortunate, but he can't be expected to be omniscient.
If he knew where they were and failed to foresee that his kids when unsupervised around poisonous plants could get hurt that fits the bill for supervisory neglect tho
He failed to foresee his children's plan to... purposely die? No parents gonna foresee that. The kids didn't eat the buttercups on accident, it was a formulated plan. They both knew the flowers were poisonous and ate them anyway. I assume they were allowed to move through the underground freely, but that doesn't mean everything that befell them while exploring was their parents' fault.
Well.. Depending on the legal system, It does.
As i said, supervisory neglect is a thing. If an unsupervised child hurts itself and noone is there to stop it, the guilt befalls on the parents, as leaving a minor without an appropriate guardian is a legal grey area at best and a punishable offense at worst.
Its not the fact he couldn't foresee that Chara thought suicide was a big brain move that's a crime, because that's an unresonable standard to hold him to: its the simple fact noone was watching over the two of them.
Ok, fair enought. But then the other child murders shouldn't be mentioned either and the comment becomes "Wannabe [blank] vs professional [blank] vs Optimus Prime."
The entire joke hinges on the fact all options have committed crimes that would make any human institution burn any adoption request coming from them after the most surface-level background check.
Even still, arguing about it from a moral standpoint instead of a legal one: would you Leave a 10yrs old completely, 100% unsupervised?
Even without a suicide plan involved, that's bad parenting no matter how you spin it.
The reason i brought up the law is because the reason for it existing seemed like a no-brainer: You shouldn't let kids roam freely, because (and im talking from experience here) they WILL do dumb stuff that gets them hurt, be it intentionally like with Chara or by complete accident, and the judicial system aggrees.
Optimus of course, the only one who wouldn't try to Murder me (depending on the version, but a good Optimus would never do that). He's basically the dad of the autobots, very wise, and can transform into a car to bring me to Disneyland or get McDonald's and protect me well.
Asgore is one of the sweetest, most caring and loving characters out there who always gets his ass kicked by fate no matter what world or timeline he's in, like i can imagine what a fantastic father he was before everything went downhill
ts!underswap might not be canon in any way, but i always loved the way it depicted Asgore - in undertale Toriel moves into ruins and keeps that place as her own personal fortress of solitude where every other monster is literally scared of her, meanwhile Asgore in the ruins made that place into a new home for monster civilisation, a place where anyone can come and live if they wish to. And he lives there with peace and love of the citizens, he helps everyone around, even if he's not a king or mayor of ruined home. Like, anyone in ruined home can come to him if they have a problem and he will listen and help them, i just love this guy so much
even in undertale, the note in his home says that he's in the garden and if you have anything to get off your chest you shouldn't hesistate to come. Like, come on, this guy is so caring for everyone
Of course Asgore! He used to be a dad before, his jokes are really funny and he always drinks tea (I kinda like tea too) Yeah, he will be depressed after his divorce with Toriel. But he never threw away Chara's and Asriel's stuff, which means he is really good at saving memories and how he loved his children.
What about Star? He needs to grow up. I mean, he is not ready for such a responsibility, like taking care of a child. I mean, he is too self-absorbed to take care of a kid. I would be friends with him, but he is not ready to be a parent.
What about that robot? I don't know who is he, but I don't want any problems with government
One collected child souls. One is a robot. One wouldn't care about a child roaming around with a real fully loaded gun.
Probably Starlo. If we're gonna be honest, anyone who wants your soul is just contributing hope for monster-kind.
While I'm sure Asgore has come to like humans after almost fighting us in pacifist, and he has experience in being a father, he still harbored the souls of CHILDREN. I can understand Toriel wanting to leave, even if it was wrong of her to do it.
Optimus Prime, I know nothing of since I never watched anything Transformers related. He's a robot that can transform into a semi-truck. I think. Would be cool, but I know nothing of him aside from that, so...
Wannabe child murderer
Vs
Professional Child murderer (+two cases of criminal negligence)
Vs
Optimus Prime.
Its a tought one. I guess Asgore by exclusion? I Don't know enought about Autobots unfortunately, and Star is... Well, Star.