I’ve been thinking recently about trans Ralsei and what it means for the story going forwards, and I realized something about the Prophecy.
So, in the story, there are three heroes: A Human, a Monster, and a “Prince from the Dark”.
“Prince” is an explicitly gendered term, and up until now we haven’t questioned it, since Ralsei’s gender wasn’t taken seriously from a story context. Even in the rare cases when it did come up that Ralsei was feminine, it was usually played off as a joke. Ralsei was considered male for the “prince” role, and the conversation stopped there.
Flowery changes that equation. Say what you will about the guy, but he clocks Ralsei as hiding something pretty early on, and then spends the remainder of the chapter grilling them about it. He knows that Ralsei can bend the rules of the Dark World and is choosing not to. He knows that Ralsei has insecurities about their own gender and their relationship with Kris. Hell, he even calls Ralsei a “princess” in direct opposition to their given role in the Prophecy.
Then, when Ralsei eventually snaps at Flowery, their response is very interesting:
“You wanna know what happens…”
“If I don’t follow the rules!?”
“EVERYTHING! Will fall! Apart!!”
Why is Ralsei so cagey about following the rules and not doubting the prophecy? Well, consider this: if Ralsei accepts that they’re a girl, then what happens? The prophecy specifically implies a male role (The Prince, Alone in Deepest Dark), and Ralsei wouldn’t fit into that spot anymore.
That would imply that Ralsei is NOT one of the three heroes, but instead that she’s desparately trying to fill the third role with the understanding that she’s an impostor.
… so who is the Prince then? I’ve heard people bring up Lancer, Berdly, or even Rouxls before, but the second part of that descriptor eliminates all three. None of them are “alone in deepest dark”.
Who does fit that description, though?
At least in my opinion, the answer is Asriel.
Consider Spamton’s dialogue in Chapter 2 about Fear:
“WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF??? ACCORDING TO [[Encyclopedia of]] [[Being Afraid]]”
“THERE'S NOTHING TO FEAR EXCEPT”
“... can anyone hear me? Help...”
“HUH??? WHAT?? NO, I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING JUST NOW!!!”
“... BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE THEY WERE TALKING TO YOU.”
The assumption at the time was that this voice was Dess, but based on everything we know about Dess’s weird meta extra-planar situation, Spamton shouldn’t be able to reach her at all.
However, if we’re operating under the assumption that Asriel isn’t actually at college and went somewhere else entirely, then it’s very possible that he snuck back home, tried to go back into the Deepest Dark World in the Shelter, and got lost in the endless night.
This would also explain why Ralsei is handling this in the way that she is, since Asriel is supposed to fill that third role as a “Prince from the Dark”, and yet Azzy is nowhere to be found. Ralsei is under the impression that Asriel is either missing, dead, or both, so in her mind, she must be the third hero so that Kris and Susie can still have hope.
Maybe I’m completely off-base here, but that’s the way that I’m reading this so far. I can’t wait for Chapter 6 :)
