Charisk

Charisk
By bentejam
GENERAL
Undertale
Character	Frisk
Character	Chara
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Never met, Chara is dead (Pacifist and Neutral Routes) Allies (Genocide Route)
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Non-binary
Also Known As	Frara
Tropes	· Fire-Forged Friends - Following the NarraChara theory, Chara begins to warm up to Frisk throughout the game. · Headbutting Heroes - True Pacifist Route Chara and Frisk. · True Companions · You Are Not Alone

2

“Right. You are a great partner.
We'll be together forever, won't we?”

— Chara

Charisk is the non-binary ship between Frisk and Chara from the Undertale fandom.

Canon

Chara, the first human felt in the Underground, died long before Frisk began their journey, but somehow their essence was attached to Frisk's body when they fell in the Underground. Their very ambiguous relationship is determined by player's choices:

Chara remains silent during Neutral and True Pacifist Run, except for showing their remembrance in some occasions; during Pacifist final boss battle, Frisk calls "someone else's" name, which was speculated to have been Chara. The player, or Frisk is shown a memory of Chara and Asriel together, something only Asriel or Chara would have been able to show. It is believed that Chara showed Frisk this memory, as a way to show Frisk how to SAVE Asriel.

During a Genocide Run, instead, there are some elements which have been interpreted by fans as if Chara was possessing Frisk's body: sometimes Frisk walks forward without the Player making any effort to make Frisk move. They walk on their own, which never happens in the Pacifist or Neutral Routes. At the end of a Soulless Pacifist Run, Chara seems to take full control of Frisk's body, as their appearances are changed into Chara's ones, while still retaining the general form of Frisk.

At the end of the Undertale Demo, if the Genocide route has been followed, text appears on the screen saying "That was fun. Let's finish the job." This is believed to be Chara talking to Frisk, encouraging them to continue down the genocide route.

Both Frisk and Chara don't interact in the game. There are potential interactions, but nothing is completely confirmed.

Similarities:

• Frisk and Chara are both fallen humans, both being around the same age.
• Both characters are non-binary.
• They are connected by their soul in some kind of way. Although never explicitly stated in game, at the end of the genocide route, Chara says "My determination. My human SOUL. They were not mine, but yours."
• They both have the red SOUL.
• They both have striped shirts.
• They are both friends with Asriel.
• They are both seen as Toriel's children, as Toriel was Chara's adoptive mother, and Toriel calls Frisk "My child". At the end of the pacifist route, if the player chooses to stay with Toriel, Frisk and Toriel are seen to have a mother-child relationship. There is no evidence in canon saying that Frisk and Chara are blood related.

Fanon

Romantic

A lot of ship content is based on the NarraChara theory: the theory that the narrator of the events in the Neutral and Pacifist run is Chara. There are some hints to suggest this, such as the narrator occasionally having different opinions from Frisk's reactions, and the fact that 'Chara's' name (the player's input name for them) exists in the game menu. Many AUs and fanfic are based off the idea that Chara and Frisk's partnership throughout the game exists both in Pacifist and Genocide Runs, and that Frisk influences Chara. In the True Pacifist Route, a fan made an observation on Chara's relationship with Frisk (this observation depended on the NarraChara theory) throughout the game.

Since canonically they're both children and Chara is some sort of ghost, many Charisk shipping AUs presumes Chara has somehow to be brought back. Many also take place after they've both grown up. Alternatively, they can be in an AU where Chara was born around the same time as Frisk and never died.

Since neither of their genders are specified in game, they're variously portrayed as an het, slash or femslash couple.

Some people ship it because Chara and Frisk have the a 'soul buddies/connected personalities/dark mirror'. They're both tied up with the Player Concept as well and are both shown to be kids, so it means there's effectively a heap of common ground between the two, especially for fans of pacifist interpretations of Chara/sympathetic Chara.

Regardless, the ship is mostly all sorts of headcanon. Most popular option is Frisk being the passive, cute and kind, while Chara is the strong, protective and caring; two people from the opposite angle.

Because they are both children, some fans like to portray them in a Ghibli Romance sort of way (not being extremely romantic).

Charisk is only portrayed in a romantic way if the Player chose to give Frisk the "I have places to go" ending. Resulting in Toriel (Chara's mom) not adopting Frisk.

Platonic

Although never meeting in the Pacifist or Neutral Routes, a lot of people think they would be friends. This belief is due to the NarraChara theory. The theory is that Chara "guides" Frisk through the underground. Chara makes jokes constantly through narration dialogue, and describes things to Frisk to help them understand monsterkind, as Chara once lived in the underground as a member of the Dreemurr family.

A common headcanon for this ship is that Frisk is mute, or has Selective Mutism. Chara acts as someone who can understand them. There are hints in canon that show this headcanon could be real. Chara was able to understand Asriel's intentions and emotions without him expressing it, and most people assume that Chara would be able to do the same for Frisk. On top of that, Frisk barely speaks in the game at all. They're silent for most of the game, saying a few lines here and there based on the Player's choices.

Although both characters are non-binary, people in the fandom often "change" both character's genders to their liking.

Another common headcanon for this ship is the idea that Chara is mischievous or "evil" and Frisk is kind or even indifferent. In fanworks, they are often portrayed with Chara doing "evil" things or dragging Frisk along to do such things, and Frisk either going with it or trying to encourage Chara to do something "good".

In the ACT menu used in Undertale battles, oftentimes there is an option saying "Flirt". Pressing this option would cause Frisk to flirt with whatever monster they are fighting. Because of this option, a lot of people believe that Frisk would be flirtatious, whether in a Platonic way or Romantic.

In the fight against Asriel at the end of the game, the narrator offers a SAVE option for the player/Frisk to press. Lots of fans interpret this as being Chara trying to save Frisk from being trapped in this fight, by giving them a way out of the fight.

Family

Due to their similar appearances and the game's "I want to stay with you (Toriel)" ending for Frisk, the two are sometimes portrayed as adoptive siblings or otherwise related in fanon. Most commonly, they are either twins or Chara is the older sibling by a few years. In a combined Undertale/Deltarune AU, Kris is sometimes included as both of their older sibling, which makes KFC.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Chara/Frisk tag on AO3

Charisk stories on Wattpad

FAN ART

Charisk tag on DeviantArt

Frisk x Chara tag on DeviantArt

TUMBLR

Charisk posts on Tumblr

Frisk x Chara posts on Tumblr

Chara x Frisk posts on Tumblr

Trivia

• The names Frara and Chisk, which also combine "Frisk" and "Chara", exist in the fandom, but usually refer to unofficial characters combining traits of Frisk and Chara rather than the ship between the two.
• Frisk's Official Tarot Card is "The Fool" while Chara's is "The Devil". In Major Arcana, The Fool represents beginnings, a free-spirit, innocence and optimism, while The Devil represents your shadow (or darker) side and the negative forces that constrain you and hold you back from being the best version of yourself. You may be at the effect of negative habits, dependencies, behaviors, thought patterns, relationships, and addictions.^[1]