Auuuughhh

Mancountry. The pizza deodorant. Watching your dad do bonding activities that are for "the pals" and "the boys" only. The way the weird route puts Kris into the role of Groom in an abusive partnership, bestowing a ring onto their childhood friend in a white dress.

It doesn't invalidate the character, or anyone else, to pick up that there are gendered expectations placed onto them - even if it's not explicitly said by another character, there's a spectre in the air around all of those things. And that spectre is coercive gendering!

I think that the existence of the flower humans in this chapter contributes a lot to this (in OP’s favor). If the conceit of ‘born nonbinary’ Kris is that humans lack gender in this world, I think the very presence of the seven flowers erase that, and even if they don’t, I think this chapter reveals a lot about Hometown and its perception of gender.

Here are seven flowers, who have met and been influenced by a human (and possibly said human’s Dark World), who clearly believe that humans have gender as they take on their human forms. To the point of one of the two non-binary flowers, who chose their own name and identity, being questioned on which (not what) their gender is, and then being told it’s okay if they’re unsure (instead of, you know, nonbinary). Sure, their idea of humanity is shaky (one of them is quite literally in the form of a rat), and Green is just Green, but clearly they have gendered ideas of humanity, from the gendered society around them. (Contrast this with ghosts, who seem to be formed genderless and must transition to a state of having gender. Interestingly, both Mettaton and Pink are still struggling with this in Deltarune, whereas Mettaton had already moved forwards in Undertale!)

From a young age Kris and Noelle debate over who’d be a ‘king’ and a ‘queen’ between them, because that’s still the way a seemingly accepting town of queer identity functions. All of the married couples in Hometown that we’ve seen are still in M/F relationships with children. Susie is treated like an outsider in town in part for her roughness, and her refusal of feminine performance is treated as notable (e.g. not wearing ribbons most of the game). This is a world that still reinforces gender! And within that, Kris is often coercively pushed towards a masculine role, as you’ve stated above. It’s only really in the Dark World where Kris gets to step out of that, to try skirts and dresses, to explore more concretely what humanity means to them, whether they even want it (“…Have you had ears before? Cute and fluffy ears? […] Yes, you’re nodding. Obviously you agree. Obviously.”), and who they are—and even then, they’re being controlled by the soul. It’s also interesting to me that Aqua, the closest reflection to (a young?) Kris out of the flowers, is a girl, and how closely they seem to have been influenced by Dess. Perhaps they’ve felt pushed away from femininity as they age? As they continue to live in Asriel’s shadow?

hi everyone. i'm fundraising to move myself out of Georgia and into a more stable position with a partner in Philly, right after having a major surgery and suddenly losing my income.

two weeks ago, i was abruptly pushed out of my job of 9 years directly after being promised a promotion. the way it happened blindsided even my managers, and i won't go into details, but i have no income with no warning.

recovering from surgery means i don't have the ability to move out of my apartment on my own. without enough income to cover rent + bills + moving expenses, i'd be incredibly grateful for sharing this around or donating. more info is on the gofundme page.

$30/$5000

again. i did not say you were not oppressed. this post is literally about how you are oppressed. it is a reminder that you are not the most oppressed person in the world, a way i've seen a lot of white transfems acting lately. maybe not even necessarily in a detrimental way, but in a way that definitely leans towards the "white is default" lane of thinking, which erases black suffering, which erases progress towards black safety. this, to me, is troubling, which is why i made this post. it's important when building solidarity within our community to understand who the most vulnerable of us are, because the safety of the most vulnerable of us will ultimately be the safety of all of us.

"weird! i wonder why!" she exclaimed, whitely.

Probably just because it isn’t true. There’s a lot of misinformation and due to the economic crisis posed by the pandemic and the initial lockdown (there are other reasons, but it all comes back to capital), countries were pressured to call the pandemic over when it only got worse after 2022. Aside from the spike we see in the winter of 2021-22, transmission and infection has been almost consistently elevated with greater peaks of high transmission all throughout the year.

In America we are admittedly in a relative lull right now, but as you can see, numbers of deaths/infections/chronic illnesses are still incredibly high. Note how on average, people have been infected with COVID over 5 times.

I just woke up and have work soon so I can’t go digging through archives, but here is an example of data during a peak. This is February 2025, where transmission was higher than 61% of the pandemic. 1 in 65 people infected and a resulting 250,000-1,000,000 people leaving that single week with a new long COVID condition (ie. POTS, ME-CFS, thyroid disease, cancer, etc.) does not signify that a pandemic is over.

Saying "Not all rap music is about violence, here are alternatives" is not helpful, because the violent music ALSO has meaning.

When Biggie Smalls postures about his gang connections and packing heat, he isn't doing it because wow violence is so edgy, it's a powerful statement. Youth in urban areas where gang activity is heavy are often treated as lesser than by default, especially compared to black people the same age from a wealthy background. There's a reason that the "wholesome and respectable" black-lead entertainment of that era was stuff like the Cosby Show, with doctor-lawyer parents, or Family Matters, with a cop dad. There's a reason why the big joke of Fresh Prince is someone with a more unstable upbringing moving in with one of these model black sitcom families.

Standing up and saying yeah, I came from the mean streets, I was molded by this violence and yes, I did what I had to do to survive in a world that refuses to acknowledge my existence as meaningful or worthy of protection. I protected myself, I made my own way, and fuck anybody who tries to stand in the way of that.

Refusing to demonize that environment and wearing it like armor in a way that protects from the authority that wants you to see them as sub humans incapable of only violence and hatred, and saying HEY. I'm here, I lived this, and there is love and there is pain and there is ART in this.

That is powerful. That is the essence of gangster rap.

It isn't about hurting people for fun, it's about holding a mirror up to a society that does the hurting and then calls you a monster for what it's made you. Its about validating the experiences of the disenfranchised and biting back at authority. It's about turning a pain that the world say you deserve being one of those people from those places into POETRY. Into ART.

And thats why it matters.