Why Ralsei is GNC megapost
In response to: https://www.tumblr.com/cherryflavouredgoshdarnsoda/821488205617577984/my-big-transfem-ralsei-evidence-megapost
The post above is so long that when trying to reblog it I kept getting processing errors on tumblr and was worried I wouldn't be able to post the response, so I decided to do it like that. Anyway without further ado...
The main issue I have with this post is that nothing written there is exclusively trans things
I will only use he/him pronouns as those are the pronouns Ralsei go by and I think using the gender neutral pronouns may muddy-up the post and add unnecessary confusion since Kris uses they/them pronouns and I'm also gonna refer to the poster of linked post with they/them pronouns too.
Spoilers warning obviously!
CHAPTER 1
#1 : The first argument is that Ralsei is the only one in the prophecy to be explicitly gendered which is a non-argument. The prophecy wasn't gonna use "a DARKNER" when that word hadn't been defined yet it's a neologism purely tied to Deltarune, not even Undertale has any mentions of darkners, that's why it's a non-argument.
#2 : I'm also confused by the paragraph/the argument that comes right after. This part was to showcase how shy and introverted Ralsei with the fact that Susie (the polar opposite of him, bold and extroverted) had to ask him to pull his hood off. This is made abundantly clear by the very same message they screenshoted to make a point.
It's spelt out so clearly and they still managed to find another completely different meaning outta this.
#3 : This is when the analysis gets real ugly and subjective, so they say that Ralsei blushes if you give him a ribbon which they assume means he is transgender and is just afraid of expressing his gender. tbf it's not completely baseless because I know there are trans people who were like that, but when a large number of things could have that effect ranging from fetish (and you know damn well I'm well-versed into that stuff) which would obviously leave a blush since infatuation makes your blood warm up, maybe he felt a bit humiliated but was too shy to say anything, or could he just be a soft effeminate boy who felt a bit embarrassed that he is being made more feminine? They extrapolate a lot out of so little information that it boggles me.
#4 : They end this section by bringing up Ralsei's title in chapter 5. This is the worst piece of evidence because the blurbs often don't refer to the characters with their intended gender, especially Susie because ironically in chapter 3 she is then a "Dark Actor", and in chapter 4 a "Dark Hero", both masculine words (or gender neutral at best), the only exception is once at the beginning of chapter 1 when she is a "mean girl". It's wildly unreliable and you can add to it the fact that in the previous chapter, Ralsei was explicitly labeled the "Stool Boy".
You can fact check this for yourself it's all on the wiki.
On top of that, while I haven't mentioned it yet there's a giant lapse of logic in all of this since they keep reiterating that the game and by extension the prophecy is deliberately misgendering Ralsei and portraying him incorrectly, like for example they say that Ralsei uses his chapter 1 hooded icon in chapter 2 even though he took off the hat a while ago which is a fair point, so then why should be care about titles if clearly the game is supposed to be constantly wrong anyway?
And finally this is based off a freaking meme as the cherry on top of the cake.
Non-binary people don't exist guys, all the they/them's are just transfems in denial!
This is what too much "media literacy" does to a mofo, it causes them to try to find meaning where there's none with lots of splitting hair, conjecture and speculation thrown into the mix.
CHAPTER 2
#1 : They make a point to complain about how other characters treat Ralsei.
A notable part of this new status quo that is less positive however, is chapter 2's recurring theme of Ralsei being forgotten about or ignored by characters other than Kris and Susie, as Queen, Berdly and Noelle rarely acknowledge their presence.
Again, Ralsei is timid and introverted (contrasted by how assertive he is in chapter 5, that's why Flowery even pays attention to him) and the other characters don't know him. Berdly, Noelle and Queen don't know him because he's not a lightner. Additionally, Tenna doesn't really pay him much attention either, same as Susie although because she is naturally extroverted she gets a smigde more attention. Tenna really only cares about Kris and this is made abundantly clear in the sword route where he will have a monologue to himself in the NES game.
#2 : They then follow it up by commenting on how Ralsei likes wearing masculine clothes, so add drag and fashionista into the lists of things Ralsei could be! They then proceed to say the funniest thing of the post.
Ralsei's willingness to be subservient to other people
So Ralsei is a sub uwu, add that to the list! It's obvious that the reason why why he's like that is because he is shy. Must feel like the fifth time I say it.
#3 : Afterwards, they talk about the blue Spamton dress to which they assert is a trans iconography in Undertale because Mettaton and a fem-presenting character wore it. First, the dress itself is I believe a reference to Mettaton since Spamton is literally inspired by her. Second, besides Mettaton, it's never been confirmed what gender that character was or transitioned into. Even the wiki states that the lion wearing it could possibly be an allegory for transitioning, keyword here is "could" not that it has been confirmed to be the case. They make it a point to say that Ralsei said the dress was cute just to add:
which I think speaks volumes as to where this arc for Ralsei is going.
Yeah he is queer, he is gender nonconforming, he likes girly things. Again you infer him to be trans when every hint so far could point to a feminine boy character just as much (if not more in some cases) as a transgender woman.
#4 : Within the same paragraph they point to this scene:
Which is worded like a question, as if Ralsei didn't understand what Kris meant, but if we go with your premise, that could again hint at Ralsei liking girly things like dresses and bows. Methinks I've rephrased it ten times now.
#5 : Ralsei hides a lot from the player because he is scared of how the prophesy will unfold. You can even scare Ralsei in chapter 3 iirc with a comment option if you are on the weird route. He will be borderline hysteric saying that going down this path will not change the outcome but cause a worse ending overall. Of course I actually played the games so I'd know and you wouldn't because you got all your info off social media.
CHAPTER 3
#1 :
With their knowledge of how Dark worlds work, in Ralsei's mind they are an inherently secondary and lesser being who only exists to serve the purposes of the other two heroes in saving the world and that any wants or desires they may have beyond than that are selfish and to be ignored in favour of being helpful and useful. Which is so many levels of fucked up and untrue, but is nonetheless the core foundation of Ralsei's system of belief, particularly when it comes to how Ralsei thinks of and expresses themself as a person.
What does any of that have to do with Ralsei being trans?
#2 : The next argument uses Ralsei's time in the game where he's in control. He doesn't really know what to do.
And yeah he's basically you know, submissive, as usual haha.
#3 : Once again bringing up the ribbon, so now's a good time as any to point ouit that ralsei is not the only character who likes ribbons. Kris also likes ribbons, if you manage to put 2 on mini kris, Ralsei or Susie will comment that they seem pleased. This is only possible (to my knowledge) by having Ax Hero pick up the smell particles when you control it, there are several implications throughout the game that Kris likes ribbons in general, they especially like blue ones. Funnily, this argument is written hugely in bad faith too because they point out 3 specific ribbons, the white, blue and pink ones to make the trans pride colors, yet there is a red ribbon you get in chapter 1 and a princess ribbon you get in chapter 4, so those aren't the only colors. After reading this part I hope I somehow find a green ribbon in the next 2 chapters, it'd be a good ol' slap in the face.
#4 : I believe the Monarch Butterfly is based on Blue (and Mr. Butterfly) from the same chapter. Kind of like how the gold widow is based on Muffet and the Mannequin was inspired by Mettaton. Blue has that iconography and is heavily associated with butterflies. The princess ribbon itself could also allude to chapter 5.
CHAPTER 4
#1 : The first relevant argument is this:
In particular, this theme of feeling like there's something missing in your life, discovering new things about yourself because of it, but being scared to openly accept it about yourself and admit the feelings are valid, while certainly not exclusive, is a common and often deeply relatable experience for trans people, especially those still in the closet or figuring themselves out.
You contradicted yourself in the same sentence with that "while certainly not exclusive", so you're saying that feeling is not part of the trans experience exclusively? Even if they didn't say anything to contradict themselves, I would've absolutely reminded them that I exist and that this is also something I had to come to terms with due to my fetishes and queerness, I had to overcome the fact I was a furry, weird and that nothing would change how much of a freak I am and I'm not trans.
#2 : Just as they said the lost Girl track is used whenever somebody is having a monologue and it has been expanded away from merely Noelle and Dess. The issue with that argument is that apart from Ralsei, there are only female characters with monologues past chapter 2. Chapter 2 felt like the peak of Deltarune whereas every chapter afterwards felt lacking in one way or another, the lack of unique musics. I mean the worst offender are those flowers in chapter 5 they all use the same boss battle music. Imagine if the music trio in chapter 2 instead used smart race for their encounter music.
According to them, all the male characters with their own music are Berdly with Bird of Misfortune, Asgore with That Day and Tenna with Flashback (Excerpt), except that last one is reused by Ralsei and Noelle, so they're literally wrong. That leaves only Asgore and Berdly. Asgore and Berdly had an entire cutscene dedicated to them, Asgore especially is an important plot point in the case surrounding Dess' disappearance. Not a particularly convincing argument now eh?
#3 : Ralsei knows that the prophecy will end badly in some form or another and it's implied somebody's gonna die. Susie literally smashes the last piece of the prophecy as soon as she saw it and if you inspect the shadow crystal at this point, Kris would frantically shake it. What does that have to do with ralsei being trans?!
#4 : Third time bringing up ribbons and now's a good time as any to remind you that Kris can also equip them and they are a non-binary character.
#5 : What does that have to do with Ralsei being trans again?!
CHAPTER 5
#1 : We've finally reached the scene that broke the deltarune fandom, yeah you know that one where Ralsei wears a pink dress.
I don't need to tell you my thoughts on this because you probably know them already. I like the idea of men wearing dresses, skirts and maid outfits and I can see Ralsei being just like me in that regard.
#2 : Ralsei is a lot more open because he gets to do something he normally can't, that's not a feeling exclusive to transpeople.
#3 : Pretty much the remainder of the post just talks about Flowery and occasionally brings up previous arguments like the dark vine rank that I already debunked as bogus because Susie has almost exclusively male titles like dark actor or dark hero, anyway.... so I'll focus on Flowery only, it's gonna be pretty long. One thing of note that Flowery deliberately teases Ralsei not because he cares for him, but to piss him off because his goals differs from those of the Fun Gang. He gave him a nickname for starters. Flowery is also aware of the castle down dark fountain which Ralsei refuses to close down for any reason whatsoever, his excuse is balance, but who knows?
Flowery calls all the characters princesses indiscriminately, including Kris despite being non-binary, but the funny thing is that it was never targeted at Ralsei, but he takes it personally, so he just made this personal. Even after putting on the dress in chapter 5 he insists he is a prince to Flowery no matter what because Ralsei knows Flowery is taunting him.
Flowery exists solely as an anti-ralsei, he is flamboyant, extroverted and he doesn't care about the rules unlike Ralsei, while still sharing Ralsei's kindness (for Asgore) and esoteric forbidden knowledge about meta elements like the HUD or the settings menu.
Most importantly, Flowery never acknowledges Ralsei as trans in any shape or form either directly or indirectly in any of the dialogues, which has been a longstanding pattern for the post I'm responding to. It keeps bringing up "evidence", but none of it is evidence, it's conjecture.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
So basically, that post is full of opinions and contradictions. Unless it is shown clearly in-game that Ralsei is trans, then that's a headcanon just like every other "x is trans" meme that I've heard of before from the deltarune community. I remember "susie is trans", "noelle is trans" and "kris is trans" and thought these were slogans to trigger the chuds, so seeing some folks being adamant that Ralsei is trans now just makes me giggle. There is a literal trans character in the game, but no let's obsess over a feminine character who has only ever used he/him pronouns and claim he's trans.
Last thing i wanna add is if it is indeed revealed later that Ralsei is trans, there was 0 lead up to it as elaborated earlier, it's just so opaque in fact there was no dysphoria from misgendering, Ralsei has never been made uncomfortable for being referred to as a prince, so that would mean Toby Fox's writing in this regard is completely garbage like you just don't write trans characters like that (that's something rocko's modern life's cisgender writers would do) and I genuinely don't believe Toby Fox would write LGBTQ+ that badly when he has done a great job with the many gay relationships in Undertale and the whole Mettaton character, you know the ghost who is fem-presenting, but the body is masculine, that's why mettaton is an allegory for a transmasc character. (I'm not sure I explained it that well, but I hope you get what I'm saying)
All of that just to say that it's transparently clear to me that Toby Fox meant Ralsei to be a femboy, just like how Susie is obviously a tomboy. I don't understand the femboy erasure in LGBTQ+ spaces, I really don't.
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In conclusion, this the second worst theory ever from this fandom, second only to "Sans Undertale is from Deltarune because he bleeds" who's whole premise is blatantly wrong and dumb as bricks if you actually played both games and interacted with the npcs.
Further reading
https://www.reddit.com/r/feminineboys/comments/1u1701p/is_anyone_else_really_irked_by_the_constant/