#undertale rant

Oh right. The other one.

CW: Undertale rant/analysis

Number 1 Chara defender here!!

I have never, and will never understand why people hate Chara. For me it was obvious at 8 years old that Chara is not the epitome of evil, but rather a child who was struggling.

At the end of a pacifict run, when you go all the way back and talk to Asriel, he does mention that Chara was not the best. I think people take this too literally, not realising that it just meant that Chara may not have been pleasant, but they weren't evil.

You forget why they wandered up the mountain in the first place. It's rumoured that people never return, so why would a child go there intentionally?

Chara's hate for humanity is something we'll never find out about, but for me, the way Chara argued with Asriel that violence was the only way, tells me Chara has only been taught that Violence is the way.

UGHH 💔 It's so obvious that they weren't treated well, or that the history they were taught upset them to the point of hating their own kind, it screams a child who is passionate about a loving and kind world, only to have their view shattered by stories of pointless violence.

But anyway, it's just really struck me how completely heartwrenching everyone's deaths are, but especially Sans. I feel like he's kind of gotten the short end of the stick, fandom-wise, with how everyone treats him as a character like he's just some tumblr sexyman we play with like a doll. He's such a crazy complex character that seems to just have been boiled down to a meme in the fandom (and outside of it).

Watching his death made me bawl. I cried over Papyrus and Undyne and Toriel as well, but Sans really wrecked me. Refusing to die in front of the one who killed him- hanging on just long enough to leave the screen- letting himself have some measly scrap of empty joy in his last moments, with seeing his brother again (assumedly, hallucinations or visons coming from a dying mind- or if you're feeling optimistic, the spirit of Papyrus, but that doesn't really fit in canon, I don't think, it's just a thought to make you feel better if you force yourself to believe it) and leaving to go to a place he feels comfort- I'm literally broken about this.

Toby Fox is such an amazing storyteller. I will always love this game and these characters will always have a place in my heart. They mean so much to me.

Warning: may sound like Chara hate to some, but Chara is actually one of my favorite characters in Undertale since childhood. I love them. Please keep this in mind while reading this.

Undertale fandom (especially on Youtube and ESPECIALLY Tiktok) try to use critical thought and realise after 8 years that Chara is just as responsible for the Genocide route and is a willing participant in it challenge (impossible)

Like how can you think that Chara is punishing you for your sins at the end of Genocide or is disgusted with you if they helped you throughout it all?

We do not corrupt them.

We do not manipulate them.

Chara is your partner on equal grounds. They make it very clear right at the end of Genocide that you were never in control.

I repeat: we are NEVER in control of Chara.

Treating them as a lost and confused baby without any freedom of choice or thought is a disservice to the character.

Proof under the cut.

So, a couple years back, I wrote a disorganized rant about why I was frustrated with Toriel’s character in Undertale, and what I’ve seen in the anniversary post (as well as Deltarune) show me that my issues with Toriel still exist. And before I say anything else, I KNOW that Undertale is about a bunch of flawed characters. I KNOW that know one is meant to be perfect. I KNOW that characters have flaws. My issue is, how am I expected to care about a character who won’t acknowledge her flaws while constantly pointing out the flaws of others?

My issue with Toriel is her lack of accountability and how she’s seemingly untouchable by the rest of the cast when it comes to criticism. For a game that rewards mercy and grace, she constantly denies it from others (Asgore mostly, but he’s not the only example), and is honestly has quite a nasty personality behind those butterscotch pies. I’m not saying she’s secretly some evil witch or something, but she’s far less likeable to me because she’s coddled by the narrative and no one challenges her flawed way of thinking. I hate to do this, because I believe that Toby Fox is a more competent writer than Vivziepop, but Toriel kinda reminds me of Stolas in that regard, and I already despise Stolas as a character, the lack of self-awareness, shifting blame onto others, no one in the narrative actually calling them out and acting all chummy despite barely knowing them, and a spouse who takes the fandom’s ire. I know that Stella is (badly) written to be a one-note villain to justify Stolas’ behavior, and while I extend Stella grace because of that unfortunate fact, I can’t be as kind to Toriel because I know she could be written better.

I favor Asgore as a character because he takes accountability not only for himself, but for his people. He was angry when he announced the war; I can’t imagine any parent would be rational the second after the murder of their kid. I see Toriel’s running away in a similar light, or at least, I want to. The thing stopping me is that there doesn’t seem to be any realization on her part that she was upset or that Asgore, the father of her murdered child, might not have been in the best state of mind when he made that order. She seems to forget the man she married and is content to label him and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Underground, as the evil ones, while ironically being quiet should Frisk murder a Froggit on front of her or show up to her house covered in dust. For the brains behind the throne, she’s a bit dense, and I can’t tell if that’s a writing issue or simply a character flaw.

It frustrates me that her black-and-white way of thinking is never challenged throughout the game and how she’s allowed to lecture Asgore and lord over others despite giving up her place as Queen. To be fair, the only member of the main cast I could realistically see calling her out for appearing out of nowhere and taking over is Undyne, given how she rebels against Toriel in one of the endings. In the pacifist ending, though, she’s weirdly chill with her possible partner being fired over a genuine mistake in an effort to find a peaceful alternative to SOUL collecting. The characterization seems off between the Pacifist and Neutral endings, and Asgore is similar, as he seems far more self-aware and thoughtful and quick to adopt Frisk in the neutral runs, while he’s a whimpering coward who can’t make decisions the second Toriel appears. Again, I don’t know if these are genuine character flaws or just issues with the writing itself.

I think I’d like Toriel better had she:

1. Done a better job of actually protecting the humans, because it seems like she either just is useless at watching them or waits for the very last second to swoop in and play the hero, like with Frisk.

2. Gone WITH Frisk to ensure their safety as the last SOUL required instead of just abandoning them for her own feelings (honestly, she seems like she only really cares when it’s convenient, otherwise it’s out of sight, out of mind), and maybe actually seeing how Asgore provided his people with hope while compromising and playing the long game.

3. Stayed in the Underground and stuck with her morals rather than moving to the surface and enjoying the benefits that OTHERS had to sacrifice their morals for.

4. Was called out by Undyne in the True Pacifist Run, or at least challenged for appearing out of nowhere because, realistically, only Sans knows who she is, and even that’s pushing it. Sure she’d probably double down on her own flawed logic, but at least the issue of her abandoning her people would actually be addressed and not ignored because “tee hee Soriel! tee hee Undyne and Alphys are gonna kiss!!!”

And just to touch on Asgore really quickly, I’m not saying how he went about things was the perfect solution, but there is no squeaky-clean way to handle the situation of the Barrier. Like it or not, 7 people are required to die if the Barrier is to be broken, since the experiments were a bust in the worst way possible. The thing is, I don’t see why it couldn’t have been a plot point that Asgore raised the humans himself. I get that they wanted to make it ambiguous as to if he was a scary monster like Toriel describes him, or a soft baby like the kingdom claims, but it could’ve worked. Have Asgore shift his decree when he’s more rational to capturing humans and having them delivered to him to “deal with”. Not everyone would follow this, realistically, because some are far more murder-happy than others (gotta put those combat encounters somewhere), but imagine Frisk going around and hearing about the humans being sent off to Asgore and never been seen again, Asgore banning entrance his house to honor his lost family, but still going out and being the friendly king he truly wants to be. All the while, he raises up the humans who choose to seek peace with him, and those who act violently are the ones who face an early end. Make it a parallel to Toriel’s shoebox of different sized shoes, and Asgore’s basement of different sized graves. I don’t know, I guess what I’m saying is neither character was really given much time to properly be explored. I still enjoy the game and it’s impact on me, but it’s definitely not perfect. I have much more I could rant about, but I’d be here all night.

Deltarune!Toriel and Asgore are hard to watch, honestly. Asgore feels like even more of a brainless idiot who’s only character traits are being divorced and poor, while Toriel comes off as one of those overbearing Christian moms who clutch their pearls at everything, which is…definitely a choice. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I want to like Toriel, I do. Hell, even during my hardcore Asgoriel days, I would actually write Toriel finally gaining some self-awareness and gaining some more nuance to her character, while Asgore actually learns to stand up for himself and not put up with Toriel’s passive-aggressiveness despite still loving her. Maybe I should write something about it for old time’s sake.