r/hatethissmug • u/ProbodobodyneInc Hate.. let me tell you how much I've come to hate.. • Jul 10 '26

Gaming I hate Trans Ralsei Theory

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Even if we ignore the numerous times he has been referred to as he/him, a boy, a guy, a dude, a prince, we must also realize that just because he isn't traditionally masculine, he isn't transmasc (or transfem)

There is no Easter Bunny, there is no Tooth Fairy, and there is no Princess from the Dark.

'Oh but Deltarune is all about breaking free from fate' I can hear exactly two of you say in your heads (I can read your mind,) I know one thing, and it's that I can't break free from the fate of going through Undertale 2 and finding that both routes lead to the same goddamn ending of Gaster Friend Inside Me Penumbra Phantasm Big Shot World Revolving Jarona Shadow Crystal Always Bet On Papyrus Knight.

ZHOTAN!

(Also, I'm not transphobic, before you try to spew that label onto me)

2.3k Upvotes

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570

u/Lucie_Is_Sleeping Jul 10 '26

As a trans person. I don’t care.

I am fine with Ralsei being either.

But I feel like this discussion taken to an extreme is bad.

22

u/Prudent-Arm-6771 Jul 11 '26

Yeah people get really heated about it. I really don’t care either. I’m more on the side of Rals maybe being genderfluid, but I’m not gonna care if he’s not. The most upsetting part of the argument is, honestly, how angry people get. You either get called a transphobic dumbass for not liking it, or called a woke dumbass for thinking it might happen

224

u/Latter-Syllabub-5560 Jul 10 '26

Shoutout to the guys who called everyone that disagrees with the theory racist, transphobic assholes

99

u/Versitax Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

The internet has taught me no one gets more offended about anything more than those who aren’t being targeted in the first place.

17

u/Bugswaxx Jul 11 '26

I mean if I say "incels should all die" or "hoes aren't worth shit", men that wouldn't fit "incel" and women that wouldn't fit "hoe" are prolly also gonna be offended, you know, because of the implication

4

u/Qweeq13 Jul 11 '26

These terms are often used by malicious people just to insult an entire gender. People no longer can easily say they hate all men without people pointing out how weird that statement is.

So instead they say they hate incels but clearly actually mean all men. Same with hoes and women, misogynist men see all women like that.

People used to call games with impossibly beautiful female characters often featured in Japanese games as pandering to male fantasy, seeing how that didn't work they now say it is pandering to incel fantasy hoping that would take people's enjoyment away.

Racist people use this exact same behavior with variety, they simply call any group of people they hate "ugly" and claim they only criticize the aesthetics of their entertainment. Anyone calling people racist, or sexist is just projecting this way.

They want people to appear like they are overreacting being paranoid by being very subtle, very selective how they speak. Online ridicule is the best tool to achieve this effect. If you can't take anyone seriously anymore you are not going to act.

5

u/Ill-do-it-again-too Jul 11 '26

I don’t know where you’re going where the word incel is used to describe all men, but I don’t see it. Usually it’s to describe a certain type of man, who admittedly don’t deserve to die but are definitely worth criticizing

2

u/Bugswaxx Jul 11 '26

Nah, incel is like Woke, Nazi, SJW, Chud or other words that have devolved into "person I don't like", in this case "man I don't like", because Virgin, which is essentially what Incel means most times it's used nowadays, is too blatantly saying men are only worth something if they can have sex, which in this new era, is supposed to be a problematic stance

1

u/Ill-do-it-again-too Jul 11 '26

I’ve seen plenty of people who’ve blatantly had sex get called incels for being misogynists. You’re right that it’s being misused, but that’s what most people who use it mean, it’s not being used as an insult towards random men who don’t treat women like crap but haven’t had sex

1

u/Strixordinal Jul 17 '26

both of these things are true, some people only slightly misuse it like youre saying but some people also horribly misuse it like the other guy was saying because thats how words work.

0

u/pompurumi Jul 11 '26

incel isnt like the word hoe, it's an ideology.

4

u/Bugswaxx Jul 11 '26

It's devolved into just beijg a replacement for calling someone a virgin or micro dick, or even just "man I don't like", while I do agree the chan it originates from has a problematic "culture" that should be criticized as it's basically self victimzation by men that ends up making them unable to grow as people, in the mainstream incel has stopped being a descriptive term to that

56

u/sudoregalia Jul 10 '26

i've had people say that denying ralsei is trans (evidence: one cutesy line) is on the same level as denying jax from tadc is trans (too much evidence to list out + creator confirmation for those who didn't get it)

and that anyone who does either is transphobic and on the same level of transphobic + media illiterate

not on reddit btw this was an actual person

18

u/Apart-Performer-331 Jul 11 '26

aw man guess I’m transphobic now cause I don’t see where the headcanon came from

18

u/sudoregalia Jul 11 '26

born to be trans, forced to agree when anyone calls any character trans or else you're a "threat to the community" and "have internalised transphobia"

10

u/Apart-Performer-331 Jul 11 '26

yea like I get when it’s a canon trans character but like you’re not helping trans people by doing that with a headcanon

11

u/sudoregalia Jul 11 '26

it's also to the detriment of gnc people and nonbinary people, because the assumption always seems to be transfem

like come on, i'm transfem myself but transfem defaultism combined with extreme egg culture create a very toxic environment

1

u/_TurtleX Jul 12 '26

There is way more evidence than just one line, most of the idea stems from chapters 3 and 4, and didn't suddenly become such a big thing because Ralsei got called a princess by Flowery and dressed up like a princess in castle town.

1

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

No but it IS the same rodeo in which the hints had to become very blatant and even then the creator still had to come out saying “yes, this character is trans.” For people to get it, with people then claiming it’s bad writing because they didn’t get the bow scene and bc they had to say it in an undeniable way

Like when some people ‘debate’ against it, they’re very close minded about it proving they don’t really understand WHY people think is, and even worse, assume it’s a very surface level then and then claim misogyny because somehow trans people don’t understand gender roles (and I’m not saying there aren’t people who are that surface level with it, but A. That’s still valid, but then again I’m assuming you’re talking about the ones who are insistent it’s real and you’re transphobic otherwise but geniunely I have never seen that and seen more of B. It’s so incredibly frustrating when people completely write it off without understanding it and then claim some sort of bigotry from the other side when they are the ones being bigoted bc by not trying to even understand it they prove they think trans people are less)

You say ‘one cutesy line’ as the ‘only evidence’ which I’m assuming is the scene where Flowery calls Ralsei princess but by saying that you prove you don’t understand it, because A. That’s NOT the only evidence, it’s just the new one to add to a long list. And B. Ignores the context of the scene, just like the bow scene. It wasn’t just that Ribbit put a bow on Jax’s head, it’s that they were being the most vulnerable they have been with anyone, and in Ralsei’s case, that scene with Flowery is the ONLY one where he’s NOT teasing, mocking, or trying to anger Ralsei but is instead being completely sincere encouraging them to acknowledge what it is they want without any regards to what Kris or yourself wants. It wasn’t a “you’re cute and girly so you’re a princess” it was a “you need to acknowledge and confront what it is you want without any regards to other, like the fact you want to be a princess.” (Which speaking of, it’s very telling Ralsei LOVED being a princess, but to compensate for the fact they liked it, they were insistent it’s ok to like it if YOU liked it, because they’re still dependent on you validating it. That’s less about the trans debate and more Ralsei doesn’t dare break away from how you perceive them.)

29

u/Lokiatreuss Jul 11 '26

My comments on the Trans Ralsei subreddit got taken down for "bigotry and hate" when all I said was "dressing like a girl doesn't mean you HAVE to transition" and "Toby wouldn't hide an important plotpoint behind a Starwalker easter egg"

11

u/Fickle_Enthusiasm148 Jul 11 '26

Well yeah you went into a space for a specific idea to argue about that they're wrong lol

if you don't like trans ralsei don't go into the trans ralsei subreddit?

10

u/Lokiatreuss Jul 11 '26

I came across it with crossposts into the Deltarune subreddit, didn't go out looking for it. Plus, it was bouncing ideas and more constructive stuff, not arguing

14

u/Latter-Syllabub-5560 Jul 11 '26

I have to be honest, as uncormfortable as the Transei theory Made me for personal reasons i did'nt really minded it or went out of My way to engage, just found it a neat way to engage with the character and a writing inspiration

But the more i see the people who defend it i've started to lowkey dislike it

5

u/_TurtleX Jul 12 '26

I'm going to be so real on reddit there are like 5 people who are against trans Ralsei for every person who speaks in favor of it, and like 50 people in opposition per person who claims it's canon.

3

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

And most of the time, when they’re saying it’s not real they also claim it’s misogynistic as if trans people don’t understand gender roles

9

u/Lokiatreuss Jul 11 '26

Exactly my thoughts. Cool if it happens, oh well if it doesn't, but the aggression from people makes me despise it

1

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

I mean it’s not just that so that’s probably why (and you gotta understand that they’re probably tired of the blatant misogyny that comes from people who are so weirdly insistent it’s not only not true but that trans people are misogynistic bc they’re insistent upon gender roles for the ‘theory to be true’ which proves not only do they NOT Understand it, but aren’t even trying to, and when you feel nobody is trying to understand you it forces you into a bubble)

All to say I get it, but you went the wrong way about it bc you looked at one detail instead of the whole picture

I’m not saying you’re wrong either btw, just providing context on WHY that happened

6

u/EstablishmentAny2728 Jul 11 '26

I left a comment somewhere in the deltarune subreddit under a post of someone asking why people are mentioning black representation, and I responded with “many people believe blue is black, I personally don’t see it” and was called a racist left right and center. I really don’t know how such a peak game attracts such a repulsive community

3

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

Were you doing that ironically??? That’s…. I don’t even understand this, bc Blue very clearly is black????? You can’t be surprised when people call you racist for looking at a character who has dreads and black features and saying “they’re not black”?????????

This isn’t even about Blue why are you swerving into that??????

4

u/SirMetaKnight82 Jul 11 '26

Racist?

21

u/Latter-Syllabub-5560 Jul 11 '26

Because there's another character Blue that's femenine and "Black coded"

So of you don't in Transei, that means You obviously dislike the fact the only other gnc man is black and that makes You racist

6

u/ExistentialRebellion Jul 11 '26

Man whoever said that must've pulled a muscle, stretching that hard...

9

u/Humorous-Inventor613 Jul 11 '26

the only reason they have muscles is cause of all the mental gymnastics they do

1

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Latter-Syllabub-5560 Jul 11 '26

Already explained it in other comment

5

u/GrandmasterTactician Jul 11 '26

Agreed. Let people have their headcanons, but don't force people to follow your headcanon either. And also don't get upset if it's not canon, this is very important fandom etiquette

2

u/TreyLastname Jul 11 '26

I will get crucified for this, but a common head cannon that people will go a bit crazy about thats pretty similar is that Halara Nightmare from raincode is non binary. And its a fine headcannon, I dont care if people want to consider Halara that way, but thinking its a fact ignores the original joke. That people dont know for sure and too scared to ask.

I know people think, since shes not presenting one way or the other, and people use they/them when referring to her, that she is nonbinary. But -

  1. Not presenting is not the same as being.

And 2. Other people dont know, and they/them is used whenever you dont know gender constantly, not just for nonbinary.

And before someone mentions it, why would she correct it when it doesnt matter and shes trying to be as secretive as she can about herself.

2

u/GrandmasterTactician Jul 11 '26

It's honestly the same principle as people headcanoning Chihiro as trans. Like it's a fine headcanon sure, but trying to say Chihiro is factually trans is not paying attention to his arc

7

u/PogmasterNowGirl69 Jul 10 '26

It was the exact same for Jax, as a trans girl it's really disheartening to see a character who could (maybe) have my identity being so controversial.

Why can't we be normal about it like with all the other theories???

I would just like for people to stop saying that a character being trans is morally wrong, but that's what everyone has started saying all of a sudden. Just because Ralsei happens to be feminine, and so thinking that he could be trans is morally reprehensible.

I'm neutral on the theory, but as a trans girl I will never be able to see this community as the same.

27

u/Human1549 Jul 11 '26

I can’t speak for what other people are saying but the idea that a boy acting feminine or a girl acting masculine is a sign that they are trans is a step backwards. It’s just reinforcing gender norms

2

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

We got it, the person who thinks it’s misogynistic bc they didn’t even bother to try and understand it. Just gonna post this.

Like my god is it so much to ask to actually read WHY people think Ralsei is trans before you claim it’s misogynistic?

1

u/Human1549 Jul 13 '26

I didn’t claim it was misogynistic. No idea where you got that from. After reading some of the comments, I can see why some people interpret Ralsei as trans even though I don’t agree.

2

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

Just cause you didn’t say it didn’t mean you weren’t heavily implying it, and just because you don’t see any misogyny in what you said doesn’t mean it isn’t (which btw that makes it worse you aren’t aware of how misogynistic what you said is) What else do you mean by reinforcing gender norms? Why do you think trans people of all people reinforce gender norms? That they’re the ones taking a step back?

1

u/Human1549 Jul 14 '26

I meant that boy acting girly = girl felt restrictive to me. That’s what I had seen so far about the Ralsei trans theory. That and the blue pink being a hint at the trans flag. I have a better understanding of the theory now and I don’t think that anymore. Part of it is probably my bias from this happening to some other characters from other fandoms.

1

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 14 '26

Thank you for that, genuinely, I personally don’t see anyone who thinks Ralsei is trans bc of that stuff and it is typically that image and so it’s incredibly frustrating to me when people THINK it’s that and then claim it’s misogynistic even though they didn’t try to understand it to begin with. To me now, your comment is given off that you didn’t really consider it and didn’t consider how you came off so PLEASE actually think about it because it DID come off as misogynistic towards trans women in particular and they get enough grief as is.

0

u/Powerful-Bat6818 Jul 11 '26

I personally don't headcanon Ralsei as trans, but as a trans man, I think I can say that people headcanon It because they feel the character is similar to them (as I do with other characters too). Ralsei liking femenine things and probably that scene where he wears a dress and is happy about trying to be a princess resonates with trans women a lot. It's not reinforcing gender norms, a "boy" being femenine is typically what a transfem is before cracking her egg. Note that I'm saying "typical", not all are like that obviously, but it's not rare. This doesn't mean all femboys are trans women, it's just a common experience. You can see It as reinforcing gender norms, but it's just people trying what makes them more confortable before cracking.

On a side note, I'm aware some people react badly at the phrospect of understanding this is not canon and I'm not defending those acts.

4

u/Human1549 Jul 11 '26

I mean people are free to headcanon whatever they want (I headcanon things too). I think it’s great that people are able to see themselves inside Ralsei and be able to relate to him. Ralsei could be a femboy or transfem and people can interpret him as either. For me it only becomes a problem when people insist that Ralsei’s feminine traits mean he is transfem. Like most things going too far in either direction is harmful. Insisting that Ralsei is transfem is reinforcing gender norms imo but refusing to acknowledge the possibility can be just as harmful.

-11

u/PogmasterNowGirl69 Jul 11 '26

This is exactly what everyone who is against it keeps repeating.

But that's not at all why people say those characters could be trans.

It's just that being a trans girl very often includes feminine stuff in some way, like the ribbon and maid dress with Jax.

Ralsei was still feminine before chapter 5, yet the theory didn't have any prominence in, for example, chapter 2.

Please, stop accusing people who think a character could be trans of being backwards and of reinforcing gender norms.

As a trans girl I have the right to be feminine (like anybody else), doesn't matter if it is "stereotypical". Maybe characters and theories about them should be treated the same.

13

u/Wsofii004W Jul 11 '26

I think they meant that not all boys who act girly are trans, and vice versa. SOME people make those theories for the way the character acts like they're saying that a boy can't act feminine without being trans. And I think that making a theory SOLELY on this reason indeed reinforces gender norms. But I'm not against theorizing a character is trans for whatever reason.

1

u/_TurtleX Jul 12 '26

Literally nobody who actually believes in the theory believes in it because he is feminine, the only people who think that are all the people who see "I think Ralsei might be trans for these reasons" and immediately make assumptions about why people are saying that this character could be trans to complain about instead of actually bothering to understand it...

-9

u/PogmasterNowGirl69 Jul 11 '26

I have personally never seen someone think that honestly. All the posts I have seen are about the prophecy and similar stuff.

-1

u/TrillingMonsoon Jul 11 '26

I'm getting so much mileage out of this one

3

u/Wsofii004W Jul 11 '26

You posted that image twice and still didn't explain the reasons, I am curious as well.

2

u/_TurtleX Jul 12 '26

Basically the major jumping off point that the analysis is built off of stems from how he is written, not how he looks.

Starting in the acid tunnel scene, we start getting insight into his struggles with identity, when he mentions not knowing what being Ralsei like even is. Throughout chapter 3 Ralsei consistently talks about how darkners are less important than lightners and in chapter 4 there were a few more scenes showing his struggles with identity and self worth most notably the scene in his room which has specifically lost girl playing in the background (if you're going to argue that lost girl is just a general song for sad moments, it is important to note that Ralsei is the only character that isn't a girl to use the lost girl song, and that argument largely stems from miscontruing something Toby Fox said). A large part of his character arc is focused around these flaws and overcoming them.

Overall a lot of his writing resonates strongly with trans people, and I left out quite a lot in this explanation, but this really is not rooted in Ralsei being feminine.

2

u/Wsofii004W Jul 12 '26

Thansk for explaining! I didn't know about the song part, and I interpreted most of his identity struggles as him finally starting to interact with someone who cares about him without expectations and pressure (if good route ofc), since he basically waited all his life completely alone in the castle.

Now that you explained it, I feel like it does make much more sense, especially with the lost girl scene. (Also thnx for not spoiling chapter 5, I haven't played it yet)

2

u/_TurtleX Jul 12 '26

If you're more interested there is a video titled princess of the dark on YouTube which covered it pretty well from memory (the first part also doesn't talk about chapter 5 as it wasn't out yet.) :)

2

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

Genuinely wish more people were like you man, thank you for actually understanding it even if it doesn’t mean you agree

1

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26

Also adding this one

1

u/Human1549 Jul 11 '26

What’s it actually about then? I’m genuinely asking

3

u/_TurtleX Jul 12 '26

Basically the major jumping off point that the analysis is built off of stems from how he is written, not how he looks.

Starting in the acid tunnel scene, we start getting insight into his struggles with identity, when he mentions not knowing what being Ralsei like even is. Throughout chapter 3 Ralsei consistently talks about how darkners are less important than lightners and in chapter 4 there were a few more scenes showing his struggles with identity and self worth most notably the scene in his room which has specifically lost girl playing in the background (if you're going to argue that lost girl is just a general song for sad moments, it is important to note that Ralsei is the only character that isn't a girl to use the lost girl song, and that argument largely stems from miscontruing something Toby Fox said). A large part of his character arc is focused around these flaws and overcoming them.

Overall a lot of his writing resonates strongly with trans people, and I left out quite a lot in this explanation, but this really is not rooted in Ralsei being feminine.

2

u/Brotherman_Karhu Jul 11 '26

Just because Ralsei happens to be feminine, and so thinking that he could be trans is morally reprehensible

It kind of is though. Just cause a dude is a little feminine, suddenly he's trans?! It's reinforcing gender norms that many people have fought to deconstruct.

0

u/TrillingMonsoon Jul 11 '26

I'm getting so much mileage out of this

0

u/Sad_Structure4802 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

Also just gonna say implying trans people don’t understand gender roles is transphobic (especially when you’re not asking why they think Ralsei is trans and ASSUMING the reasons)

do you think trans people AREN’T trying to deconstruct that? Why are you deliberately leaving them out of that statement?

10

u/BrooklynSmash Jul 10 '26

The reason for Jax was "I can't relate to trans characters, so making Jax trans would be bad writing."

It rlly is just transphobia most of the time

9

u/Pheonix726 Jul 11 '26

No, no, while that *was* the reason for some, it also just wasn't well-foreshadowed in the show itself.

The "funny one" getting mad about being the butt of a joke with the maid dress and a reference to a "chicken fetus" while he talks about people thinking they can get through his facade to find a nicer guy beneath weren't enough for a lot of people to see it coming, so the loud insistence about the trans Jax theory felt like a jump to conclusions people were pushing too far.

I'm not opposed to trans characters, myself, it just never felt like a logical conclusion of Jax's character until the finale revealed more.

12

u/BarelyFunctionalGM Jul 11 '26

I mean, those are pretty fucking specific interactions, alongside the others.

Was more than enough for me to think, oh yeah, maybe trans.

Like I get if you've never heard of eggs before, but by that same metric, if you know jack shit about trans people no fucking shit you won't be able to read that someone is trans.

-1

u/PogmasterNowGirl69 Jul 11 '26

Idk, I just feel sad about what the community has become

1

u/azure-heavens Jul 11 '26

Ralsei is cute either way, and everyone has a right to their own interpretation of it until it's confirmed. If that ever happens.

Getting too serious about it and calling each other names for having either opinion is cringe.

-1

u/SavantTheVaporeon Jul 11 '26

I’ve never played Deltarune and don’t know what’s happening but the goat is cute either way, I see no problem. Idk why people seem to be making a big deal about it.

4

u/Lucie_Is_Sleeping Jul 11 '26

I think the theory/headcanon has existed for a while, but in Chapter 5, there is a scene where Ralsei(the goat) wears a ball gown like dress.

Ralsei is a prince and currently in the game is referred with he/him. He dresses in something that could be called a dress/robe. And he generally has a cutesy but ready to lock in personality.

0

u/azure-heavens Jul 11 '26

There are a lot of hints to it in chapter 5 and personally I think Ralsei will end up being some flavor of trans, but I also don't think anyone is wrong or hateful for not picking up on the hints.

1

u/TrillingMonsoon Jul 11 '26

Honestly, I give the theory like a 50/50 shot right now. There was some pretty damn unsubtle hinting toward it in the latest chapter, but it could just resolve into it being about identity issues unrelated to gender, or heck, maybe even genderfluidity instead of a binary transition.

I'm mostly frustrated by how much of the community is so vehemently against it without even having ever engaged with why people actually push the theory. I'm fine with disagreement, or even calling it a bad theory, or even just going "I do not care about this in any way shape or form." But if you're going to express hyperbolic levels of dislike toward it, a bare minimum I expect is not thinking it's just "People think he's trans because he's girly"

1

u/DriverExtension9303 Jul 17 '26

the problem is that SOME people (notice how I said some and not all of them) take the THEORY/HEADCANON as confirmed when it isn't