I don't strictly believe in groomer Dess, but I do think she was abusive specifically to Kris
did you see how mangled the wiffle ball bat in her room was? the one that gave Kris a headache just from looking at?
So, I have talked about it before, and since I (⚔️ Alice) am in charge now instead of 🐦 the 🌸 other 𐂂 Freaks (affectionate) I get to talk about it my way more, because Nuance is so hard to find with this topic
I should start off by saying, as someone who was never groomed (in a sexual way or otherwise) it's of course not my place to say how one explores this experience using art (nor is it anyone's place but especially not mine). By all means, tell the stories you need to tell. This is my own biased take on it, as a writer who has explored the topic in her own work too
I think there's a common tendency in the community to simplify the trauma that Kris has experienced. Wittle it down to one incident, or one abuser, and once they're out of the picture or they process what happened That Day, Kris will be "fixed". For the longest time that role of "the bad person making Kris's life worse" was saddled on the player, and their happy ending would consist of the player finally leaving and Kris goes back to "normal." Now that this isn't textually viable anymore (not that it ever really was), another scapegoat must be found, as it were. When the truth is much more complex, and will involve revelations and atonement by multiple figures in their life (on top of Kris finally actually leaving Hometown)
I'll start by addressing the possibility of sexual molestation—what MOST people are talking about when the topic of grooming comes up—followed by non-sexual grooming, which is not only more likely, but actually textually supported
Now, it is worth noting that I think, out of the list of potential Kris Molesters, Dess ranks 3rd, maybe 4th in terms of likelihood. This may sound odd, but I think Asriel, Toriel/Asgore, and Carol are way more likely, along with potentially whoever is hidden behind the Forgotten Man
First, they literally grew up with Asriel, and close family is always the most likely suspect. Followed by the parents who eventually ended up divorced. Then there is Carol who, even if she isn't the Phone Voice or the Knight, is the only character to put a hand on them in an uncomfortable and possessive manner on-screen. As for the Forgotten Man, he might be, or might represent something that happened to Kris prior to their adoption, which isn't out of the question. We never find out what "unhappy reason" Chara came to the Underground for in Undertale, but if it involved someone in their life, it would be a human or humans we never actually meet in the story. Not only does this mean Toby Fox didn't have to get into specifics (which ultimately wouldn't have helped the story anyway), it rules out any of the characters you meet in game that you're expected to, y'know, get to know and like. Not that they're completely faultless; the homelife Chara had pushed them to martyrdom in a way nobody intended, but if anything Toby's stories are about how even people who love you can hurt you, and how to grow past that. It's about loving Better
Another thing to consider is, regardless of what happened in the past, we have to recognize that what the Knight does to Kris IS grooming, which does not in any way need to involve molesting them. The fact it is molding them into a Squire of sorts, requiring they lie to and hide things from their friends, stringing them along with a "promise" and removing authority figures who could otherwise help them, is already plain text. It's either Carol or the Knight behind all of that, and my suspicion of Carol has gone down tremendously this chapter, given it's now suggested she doesn't know any more than Asgore does (he has consulted her conspiracy corkboard, and still doesn't know who the Knight is, or even who made the very fountain he's in during the whole chapter!)
In that regard, Dess Knight has to be grooming Kris in the present unquestionably. The only real mystery is how far back it goes, and what else it entails
Before I get into that though, I will say for what it's worth; if we take the Knight to be Dess at her Worst (kind of like Flowey was Asriel at his worst), then it makes sense that the Knight's treatment of Kris is the floor of what they're willing to do. Something to consider when forming your headcanons, is all. Maybe it's still a low floor, but it is there
With that, I'd like to talk about what I think is going on
Ultimately, I don't think we will see any confirmation of any named character in Deltarune actually, explicitly molesting or have molested Kris. Not only because it would almost certainly alter the rating, but it would also tank any chance for that character to be liked in the fandom. And at the end of the day, Toby does want you to like and care about his characters, even the villains
But do you know what they could do without much audience fallout?
Pull out, or put in, this thing
There remains, I think, a reason why Kris's SOUL is portrayed like this internal organ that they need to root around in their chest cavity to rip out, complete with hurt and death sfx. Toby didn't HAVE to make it work like that
He could have made it as effortless to separate from Kris as it does in the Dark World, where it flies in and out of them diegetically (we know this both from Toby's comments in the chapter 1 stream, and the events in 2nd Sanctuary in chapter 4). It is a dynamic force of expression in the Dark World, where they also show its light to Susie the most (awww, that's gay <3), whereas in the Light World it is treated like something to be ashamed of. To take out in secret, to stop being yourself or to act on the will of someone else, and to beat and hit and toss in the garbage
Toby chose to make it both of these things, which is the biggest proof to me that not only is the red heart we control Kris's own SOUL, but that they've had it and been removing it for a long time... and at least two characters know
"For some reason" both Carol and Dess are associated with red heart (or human-soul depending on your opinion) shaped pillows. The ones in Dess's closet even match the SOUL perfectly, such that Kris doesn't see it until you move out of the pile. But why does Carol have these pillows that have been here since Kris still came over, and why does Dess have ones that match the SOUL perfectly in her closet (which had to come from before she left)?
My best explanation is simply this: before they stopped coming, Carol knew how to remove Kris's SOUL. And Dess knew how to put it back in them
Consider the two cases here: one set of pillows is on display, a decorative item like the Christmas decorations. But it's not very Christmasy, is it? And, they're not displayed with any religious symbols like the Delta Rune, so even if it represented something non-Kris specific like the Angel (which I don't think it does), that doesn't fit how they're displayed. So the best conclusion is that they are put on display because human SOULs are a rarity, and Kris is, as Carol says, "welcome here any time."
Compare that to the pillows in Dess's closet. Stashed away in a messy pile, like they've been thrown into the furthest corner from the door. Recall that Noelle recounts how Kris used the heart pillows to "prank" her. And while it's still debatable whether that prank involved literally pulling out their SOUL, the end result is she believed it was really these pillows. The same pillows Dess has flung into her closet, perhaps to discourage a young Kris from pranking her sister... but also trying to stop her mother from decorating the house with a visual representation of what sets Kris apart from everyone else in town
I think that both Carol and Dess have seen them without their SOUL, which is why Carol is aware of it, and why she has a fascination with the pillows. Note: this doesn't have to even be a sexual fascination; it could be an attempt to make them feel appreciated, or human SOULs are still associated with a special kind of power in Deltarune's world, or any number of other reasons. She probably doesn't see anything wrong with it, given how she decorates her house
Meanwhile, Dess likely discouraged Kris from taking it out, and may have tried to protect them from her mother's encouragement by getting them to hide it. This can even go hand in hand with some depictions of Dess finding out about Kris cutting themselves, and while she tries to help them, her advice ultimately ends up hurting them unintentionally, saying they can't tell anyone, which means they don't get help, and once she's gone they have no one to turn to
So both the heart pillows and their actual heart got hidden away. And, after Dess left, they started doing both; ripping it out, and hiding it away; in a cage, in the bathroom, in the garbage. And now, every time they do, it's to further the plans of someone who is hurting them
Is this canon? Certainly not, at least not explicitly. I do think that we are eventually going to get an answer to why the heart pillows are a thing, and this is an example of something I can see Toby writing. It is, to be clear, an allegory of child abuse, particularly csa, of being a survivor, and using self harm to regain control, but is both bad for them (as shown with them crawling around corpse-like at the start of chapter 5) and causes them to relive old pain as well. And it's bitterly tragic that the one who once tried to help, is now continuing the cycle
The same story retold
Like the Prophecy
