#its very sweet to see canon trans representation in one of my favorite games

[scuba-divers]

THE MAYOR OF MOONLIT CITY IS TRANS??!!

[undertale-data]

[Image Description: an Undertale chat box with the name "Frisk" in its center, between a talksprite of Frisk's monotone face on the left and the EGG, a sun, and "WED", taken from the Dating Hub, on the right. End I.D.]

Frisk received a total of 59 votes, meaning that 2.2% of responders picked them as a favorite. However, these numbers only tell part of the story. In our analysis of which characters people create content of, Frisk was the third most popular, beaten only by Papyrus and Sans. This implies that a lot of fans care deeply about Frisk, but for whatever reason, they are not usually fans’ number one choice. This makes our data on them somewhat limited, but there are still some interesting repeated sentiments. They were also often brought up by people who claimed they liked too many characters to choose, so we analyzed those responses as well.

Many loved the ambiguous nature of Frisk’s character. The empty spaces in their characterization allow some fans to project onto them easily.

Some go as far as calling Frisk “a blank slate for the player,” although this is not technically true, as they are revealed to be their own person at the end of the True Pacifist route. This reveal was pointed out by a few responders, and many more love that their character raises interesting questions about how much of the game is based on Frisk’s choices, and how much is the player’s.

Frisk is also canonically nonbinary, which is very important to many responders. Our demographics analysis revealed that a very large portion of the Undertale fandom is nonbinary or questioning their gender, and it may be representation like Frisk that drew them into the game. Others noted being surprised by a nonbinary main character, and only realizing that being nonbinary was an option at all because of them.

There are also many fans who love to see the variety of fanon interpretations for them. Most commonly, fans pointed out the common headcanons that Frisk is nonverbal and/or autistic.

They tend to be demonized less than Chara, but many fans do find it interesting to explore their role as the catalyst for both the best and worst endings in the game. Many enjoy exploring the moral questions this brings up,

Many love that the few things that the game does reveal about Frisk show that they are a complex character with a distinct personality, although their backstory and motivations are never revealed. They are often seen as a cute little kid with an unhappy past, who makes mistakes even when doing their best, but, despite everything, continues moving forward.

Highlights: (under the cut)

I love how their personality is often portrayed in the fandom : very stone faced and ‘dry’ but silly, confident, and clever.

amazing child filled with compassion and determination

The interface between the player and Frisk makes for a fascinating moral question, about free will, and how much you can expect a child to do

Frisk was also my first real introduction to trans/nonbinary people, and some fanart/writing of them introduced me to what autism could look like outside of mainstream media. (I'm a trans and autistic teen, for reference.)

We went through what Frisk went through and felt at times determined and hopeless as them. They held us and we held them and after everything we’re still us.

i like the variability of interpretations for both them and chara. they can be sweet or an asshole (plus many many more traits) and it can all fit into canon!

Frisk may be more open to fandom interpretation, but honestly, that's probably why I like them the most. I like imagining a scrappy young kid doing their best, committing mistakes, living and laughing... I like the fanon character traits that have established themselves independent from what few canon facts we know. I like the few sprinkled-in tidbits we DO get. A character so malleable and yet with defining borders.

Because of the choices, everything Frisk does, can change the route of that world, and the little details that happen with their choices, I love that because, let everything open to happen, do you want to make friends with Toriel? you can, do you want to put hot cats on your head, well Sans do that for you, do you want to have a bad time? You can.

[Image Description: A wordcloud in the shape of Frisk’s full body sprite on a white background. Their face, hair, and feet are brown, their shirt is blue and purple, and their eyes and mouth are black. Their face has been left free of text. Some of the most visible words are: Frisk, Player, Love, Kind, Kid, Person, and Game, which represent the most common words in the essays people wrote about them. End of ID]

Read the full list of responses shared with permission by clicking this link.