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Everyone's talking about the weird route right now, which like HOLY shit. The prophecy can be broken. There was no flower man trapped in asylum. However I feel obligated to point out we may have an actual way to defy fate itself in the main route. I'm talking about Ralsei.

He believes that all Darkners have their own purpose that can not be deviated from. And he believes the prophecy cant be changed, but despite this he wants it to at all costs. The ominous broken panel from Ch.4 is one example, but I'm also talking about who Ralsei wants to be.

His unhappiness with who he is is pretty damn clear .We see more of this with the switch back to the "Dark Ralsei" form. His own displeasure with how he looks.

LITERALLY shoved into a closet by Flowery, and forced to wear something he does NOT like anymore. Symbolism is a literary device writers can use to communic-

This really shines in the butler suit scene. And the status text shows how deep into self-hated Ralsei really is, with ignoring his own wants and needs.

None of this makes him happy. None of this is what he really wants. Chapter 5 shows us that in pretty damn plain text. But funny enough, before the entire story starts back in castle town there's a secret little cutscene that shows why there is all of this discomfort.

She isn't fully there yet. Still deeply repressing herself and only agreeing when its what other people want. But its still her truth. Its what she actually wants for herself. All of her past desires of liking plushies, knitting, and baking fall more into place. Especially with the scene with Flowery.

Being figured out by the one person you hate the most has got to be infuriating. The blue and pink colors has got to be the least subtle symbolism, but the furious blush about being called Princess REALLY seals the deal. Even Asgore sees it. This was in a more literal sense of hiding away from him physically, but still it works on two levels. (The neutral pronoun change in this and the status text is even more of a sign. To be fair I do think this is a transfemme thing, a lot of trans people switch to something more neutral in our early stages.)

What if you can choose who you are in this world? What if by doing so, you can defy fate itself and break the prophecy? If the prophecy isn't true anymore could it still predict the future? If "the prince" isn't a prince anymore not just by identity but in the most literal sense, could this be the very thing to change the future? This would be excellent thematic writing. The only way to save the world is to love, change and accept yourself.

Stories can be rewritten and retold, and I think Ralsei will do so with her own story. Isn't that lovely? Isn't that wonderful?

Edit: HOW DID I FORGOT ABOUT THE LOST GIRL MUSIC IN CH4 HELLO?????

Deltarune fans when you ask them why Ralsei is called they/them two times in this chapter:

Ralsei quite literally had been living in the closet their whole life

Kris: yeah Ralsei's I think that horn headband I used to wear all the time which is probably why she looks just like you. She's a girl tho so not an exact copy

btw I have a theory regarding Ralsei's character design in relation to the "Ralsei is a closeted trans girl" interpretation, specifically based on the secret scene in chapter 5 where they briefly dress as a "princess"

their standard character design is somewhat infamous for being less cute/less appealing than their chapter 1 design, where their body is mostly obscured/cast in shadow.

I do agree with this opinion - however, if you ask me, the design on the right, where they're wearing the pink dress, is even nicer than their first design, and I'm wondering if these are actually the intended reactions to each iteration of the character. the middle design is cute on its own, but it's a lot more messy/uncoordinated compared to the other designs. what if it's an intended awkward transitional state between their chapter 1 design and their princess design? what if it's intentionally uncoordinated to reflect the fact that Ralsei spends most of the story "in between" the person they feel they should be, and the person they're developing into?

I think the middle design looks awkward because ...

- the color balance and distribution is off. the middle section of the design consists of saturated blocks of color with black accents, while the head and extremities are white with delicate pastel details. the chapter 1 design is all blocky, saturated colors + black, and the princess design is all delicately-detailed pastel colors + white.

- the shape language is "lumpy." the big round ears with the big scarf and poofy cloak and arms always folded behind the back makes the silhouette hard to read. the chapter 1 design is cleaner, consisting mostly of overlapping triangles, almost like a pine tree. the princess design has this elegant, wavy flow to it, with the rounded frill trim of the skirt repeating the shape of the ears, and the indent at the waist ribbon(?) echoing the shape of the horns; the shape of the poofy skirt together with the curve of the horns and ears, and the posing of the arms, also draw the eye to their face (also helped by the lack of a scarf).

- the theme of the design is hard to get a read on. the chapter 1 design gives the impression of a little forest sprite, with the consistent use of green, the spikey fluff on the ears, the tattered edge of the cloak and the pointy hat. the princess design's poofy, frilly dress, together with the over-sized glasses and droopy eyes and ears, gives the impression of a "shy, refined girly girl" sort of archetype. the middle design doesn't really communicate anything specific beyond "mysteriously looks a lot like both Asriel and Toriel."

btw I have a theory regarding Ralsei's character design in relation to the "Ralsei is a closeted trans girl" interpretation, specifically based on the secret scene in chapter 5 where they briefly dress as a "princess"

their standard character design is somewhat infamous for being less cute/less appealing than their chapter 1 design, where their body is mostly obscured/cast in shadow.

I do agree with this opinion - however, if you ask me, the design on the right, where they're wearing the pink dress, is even nicer than their first design, and I'm wondering if these are actually the intended reactions to each iteration of the character. the middle design is cute on its own, but it's a lot more messy/uncoordinated compared to the other designs. what if it's an intended awkward transitional state between their chapter 1 design and their princess design? what if it's intentionally uncoordinated to reflect the fact that Ralsei spends most of the story "in between" the person they feel they should be, and the person they're developing into?

I think the middle design looks awkward because ...

- the color balance and distribution is off. the middle section of the design consists of saturated blocks of color with black accents, while the head and extremities are white with delicate pastel details. the chapter 1 design is all blocky, saturated colors + black, and the princess design is all delicately-detailed pastel colors + white.

- the shape language is "lumpy." the big round ears with the big scarf and poofy cloak and arms always folded behind the back makes the silhouette hard to read. the chapter 1 design is cleaner, consisting mostly of overlapping triangles, almost like a pine tree. the princess design has this elegant, wavy flow to it, with the rounded frill trim of the skirt repeating the shape of the ears, and the indent at the waist ribbon(?) echoing the shape of the horns; the shape of the poofy skirt together with the curve of the horns and ears, and the posing of the arms, also draw the eye to their face (also helped by the lack of a scarf).

- the theme of the design is hard to get a read on. the chapter 1 design gives the impression of a little forest sprite, with the consistent use of green, the spikey fluff on the ears, the tattered edge of the cloak and the pointy hat. the princess design's poofy, frilly dress, together with the over-sized glasses and droopy eyes and ears, gives the impression of a "shy, refined girly girl" sort of archetype. the middle design doesn't really communicate anything specific beyond "mysteriously looks a lot like both Asriel and Toriel."

Transfem Ralsei Transfem Ralsei Transfem Ralsei Transfem Ralsei Transfem Ralsei

Based on this (and many other things but mainly this)

For one, it feels very cheap. Like, it only exists because it'd be so SHOCKING and WACKY and CRA-A-ZY!!! Because when you go to college, you get TRANSED! Everyone transes when they go to college, you know?! Compared to the actual themes and behavior and textual evidence backing up Galsei, it really does just feel like a transfem Asriel would only serve as shock value.

But more importantly, it completely wrecks Ralsei as a character! Ralsei's entire arc is about becoming her own person, and while textually that means "seeing herself as more than a tool to be used for the Lightner's purposes," metatextually we the audience also understand that as being more than just Asriel 2. The game has beaten us over the head that Ralsei is NOT Asriel, even if some superficial similarities are there. Hell, even Asriel's own father can see that! So to have Ralsei go through this entire journey of self discovery, ultimately culminating in her determinating her own gender identity, only for the rug to be pulled out from under us and WOAH, ASRIEL IS A GURL TOO?!?!?!?!? WAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!?!

What would that do other than cheapen Ralsei?

every day it closes a tiny bit more

you desperately want to go through the door

but you don't

why?

you say you're scared. you say you don't know what the other side is like. you've never been there, after all

you talk to other people about it. they say going through the door is the best decision they ever made in their entire life. they say they've never been happier. they say that the door is still wide open and only closing very slowly, that there is still time. they tell you how much they regret not going through the door sooner

"yes" you say, "i will go through the door"