I’d fall down Mt. Ebott and live in monster society if I could.
With all the bullshit that still gets flung at the LGBTQ community, I grow more and more grateful that Undertale exists. Like Earthbound--the game it was inspired by--this game is so important to me on so many levels.
You have not one, not two, but five major non-binary characters (Frisk, Chara, Napstablook, Mad Dummy, and Monster Kid. Papyrus may or may not be non-binary depending how you interpret the sign on the door to his room), two of whom are the main protagonists (Frisk and Chara). The female characters are diverse and well thought out, and the “tough” characters like Undyne and Toriel are allowed to be vulnerable without being subjected to Chickification and stay strong without being Strong Female Characters. You have two skeletons--and the most popular characters in the fandom--who are implied to be asexual, possibly aromantic. One of the major bosses is trans (Mettaton transitioned from a genderless ghost into a male robot) and he is a celebrity admired by everyone for being sexy and kind and talented. You have a bisexual otaku lizard scientist and a determined lesbian fish warrior who hook up in the best and true ending and they don’t die. Everyone who you kill in Undertale through the neutral or genocide paths, their murders are never chalked up to them being LGBTQ and everything to do with you being an asshole. The closest thing to a villain you have in Undertale is a Woobie Destroyer of Worlds who did it all for his non-binary best friend, and his devotion and love for them is practically Homura Akemi-levels.
Finally, not LGBTQ-related, but important to me nonetheless. Seven characters off the top of my head are depressed, suicidal, or implied to be: Sans, Alphys, Asgore, Napstablook, Frisk, Chara, and Flowey. Everyday I struggle with feeling useless, wasting my life and whatever little talent I have, and feeling like I’ve done nothing good for anyone and that I make everyone sad and no one would want to hang out with me. Knowing someone like Sans is universally loved and that people think Napstablook is adorable and love lying on the floor feeling like garbage with them--knowing that Chara is implied to be snarky and cynical asshole who did a lot of horrible things and Asriel still sees them as his entire world after the pedestal’s broken, and that Frisk wouldn’t care if Flowey is soulless and jaded and still considers him their best friend (and feeling the same way about Chara)... it gives me so much hope that there are people out there who would love to hang out with me, and believe that the friends I do have truly do care about me and not get fed up with me like I worry so often would happen. We’re here for each other... the most important lesson I got from Undertale is, “You matter.”
Happy Easter, btw. :)
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/135327.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!
You have not one, not two, but five major non-binary characters (Frisk, Chara, Napstablook, Mad Dummy, and Monster Kid. Papyrus may or may not be non-binary depending how you interpret the sign on the door to his room), two of whom are the main protagonists (Frisk and Chara). The female characters are diverse and well thought out, and the “tough” characters like Undyne and Toriel are allowed to be vulnerable without being subjected to Chickification and stay strong without being Strong Female Characters. You have two skeletons--and the most popular characters in the fandom--who are implied to be asexual, possibly aromantic. One of the major bosses is trans (Mettaton transitioned from a genderless ghost into a male robot) and he is a celebrity admired by everyone for being sexy and kind and talented. You have a bisexual otaku lizard scientist and a determined lesbian fish warrior who hook up in the best and true ending and they don’t die. Everyone who you kill in Undertale through the neutral or genocide paths, their murders are never chalked up to them being LGBTQ and everything to do with you being an asshole. The closest thing to a villain you have in Undertale is a Woobie Destroyer of Worlds who did it all for his non-binary best friend, and his devotion and love for them is practically Homura Akemi-levels.
Finally, not LGBTQ-related, but important to me nonetheless. Seven characters off the top of my head are depressed, suicidal, or implied to be: Sans, Alphys, Asgore, Napstablook, Frisk, Chara, and Flowey. Everyday I struggle with feeling useless, wasting my life and whatever little talent I have, and feeling like I’ve done nothing good for anyone and that I make everyone sad and no one would want to hang out with me. Knowing someone like Sans is universally loved and that people think Napstablook is adorable and love lying on the floor feeling like garbage with them--knowing that Chara is implied to be snarky and cynical asshole who did a lot of horrible things and Asriel still sees them as his entire world after the pedestal’s broken, and that Frisk wouldn’t care if Flowey is soulless and jaded and still considers him their best friend (and feeling the same way about Chara)... it gives me so much hope that there are people out there who would love to hang out with me, and believe that the friends I do have truly do care about me and not get fed up with me like I worry so often would happen. We’re here for each other... the most important lesson I got from Undertale is, “You matter.”
Happy Easter, btw. :)
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/135327.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!