#also how did 'oppressed' end up on the negative traits list?

[vorcotec]

Personality Traits.

Rules - Use BOLD to highlight your muse’s personality traits. Use ITALICS for traits that only apply in certain situations.

tagging: feel free to just steal it

NEGATIVE TRAITS

Abrasive ∥ Abrupt ∥ Agonizing ∥ Aggressive ∥ Aimless ∥ Aloof ∥ Amoral ∥ Angry ∥ Anxious ∥ Apathetic ∥ Arbitrary ∥ Argumentative ∥ Arrogant ∥ Artificial ∥ Asocial ∥ Bewildered ∥ Bizarre ∥ Bland ∥ Blunt ∥ Boisterous ∥ Brittle ∥ Brutal ∥ Calculating ∥ Callous ∥ Cantankerous ∥ Careless ∥ Charmless ∥ Childish ∥ Clumsy ∥ Coarse ∥ Cold ∥ Colorless ∥ Complacent ∥ Complaining ∥ Compulsive ∥ Conceited ∥ Condemnatory ∥ Conformist ∥ Confused ∥ Contemptible ∥ Conventional ∥ Cowardly ∥ Crass ∥ Crazy ∥ Criminal ∥ Critical ∥ Crude ∥ Cruel ∥ Cynical ∥ Decadent ∥ Deceitful ∥ Delicate ∥ Demanding ∥ Dependent ∥ Desperate ∥ Destructive ∥ Devious ∥ Difficult ∥ Disconcerting ∥ Discontented ∥ Discouraging ∥ Discourteous ∥ Dishonest ∥ Disloyal ∥ Disobedient ∥ Disorderly ∥ Disorganized ∥ Disputatious ∥ Disrespectful ∥ Disruptive ∥ Dissonant ∥ Distractible ∥ Disturbing ∥ Dogmatic ∥ Domineering ∥ Dull ∥ Easily Discouraged ∥ Egocentric ∥ Envious ∥ Erratic ∥ Escapist ∥ Extravagant ∥ Extreme ∥ Faithless ∥ False ∥ Fanatical ∥ Fanciful ∥ Fatalistic ∥ Fawning ∥ Fearful ∥ Fickle ∥ Fiery ∥ Fixed ∥ Flamboyant ∥ Foolish ∥ Forgetful ∥ Fraudulent ∥ Frightening ∥ Frivolous ∥ Gloomy ∥ Graceless ∥ Greedy ∥ Grim ∥ Gullible ∥ Hateful ∥ Haughty ∥ Hedonistic ∥ Hesitant ∥ Hidebound ∥ High-handed ∥ Hostile ∥ Ignorant ∥ Imitative ∥ Impatient ∥ Impractical ∥ Imprudent ∥ Impulsive ∥ Inconsiderate ∥ Incurious ∥ Indecisive ∥ Indulgent ∥ Inert ∥ Inhibited ∥ Insecure ∥ Insensitive ∥ Insincere ∥ Insulting ∥ Intolerant ∥ Irascible ∥ Irrational ∥ Irresponsible ∥ Irritable ∥ Lazy ∥ Malicious ∥ Mannerless ∥ Mechanical ∥ Meddlesome ∥ Melancholic ∥ Messy ∥ Miserable ∥ Miserly ∥ Misguided ∥ Mistaken ∥ Money-minded ∥ Moody ∥ Morbid ∥ Muddle-headed ∥ Naive ∥ Narcissistic ∥ Narrow ∥ Narrow-minded ∥ Negative ∥ Neglectful ∥ Neurotic ∥ Nihilistic ∥ Obnoxious ∥ Obsessive ∥ Obvious ∥ Odd ∥ Offhand ∥ One-dimensional ∥ One-sided ∥ Opinionated ∥ Opportunistic ∥ Oppressed ∥ Outrageous ∥ Paranoid ∥ Passive ∥ Pedantic ∥ Perverse ∥ Petty ∥   Plodding ∥ Pompous ∥ Possessive ∥ Power-hungry ∥ Predatory ∥ Prejudiced ∥ Presumptuous ∥ Pretentious ∥ Prim ∥ Procrastinating ∥ Provocative ∥ Puritanical ∥ Quirky ∥ Reactionary ∥ Reactive ∥ Regimental ∥ Regretful ∥ Repentant ∥ Repressed ∥ Resentful ∥ Ridiculous ∥ Rigid ∥ Ritualistic ∥ Ruined ∥ Sadistic ∥ Sanctimonious ∥ Scheming ∥ Scornful ∥ Secretive ∥ Sedentary ∥ Selfish ∥ Self-indulgent ∥ Shallow ∥ Short-sighted ∥ Sloppy ∥ Slow ∥ Sly ∥ Small-thinking ∥ Softheaded ∥ Sordid ∥ Steely ∥ Stiff ∥ Stupid ∥ Submissive ∥ Superficial ∥ Superstitious ∥ Suspicious ∥ Tactless ∥ Tasteless ∥ Tense ∥ Thievish ∥ Thoughtless ∥ Timid ∥ Transparent ∥ Treacherous ∥ Trendy ∥ Troublesome ∥ Unappreciative ∥ Uncaring ∥ Uncharitable ∥ Unconvincing ∥ Uncooperative ∥ Uncreative ∥ Uncritical ∥ Unctuous ∥ Undisciplined ∥ Unfriendly ∥ Ungrateful ∥ Unhealthy ∥ Unimaginative ∥ Unimpressive ∥ Unlovable ∥ Unpolished ∥ Unprincipled ∥ Unrealistic ∥ Unreflective ∥ Unreliable ∥ Unrestrained ∥ Unstable ∥ Vacuous ∥ Vague ∥ Venomous ∥ Vindictive ∥ Vulnerable ∥ Weak ∥ Wilful

NEUTRAL TRAITS

Absentminded ∥ Ambitious ∥ Amusing ∥ Artful ∥ Ascetic ∥ Authoritarian ∥ Big-thinking ∥ Boyish ∥ Breezy ∥ Business-like ∥ Busy ∥ Casual ∥ Cerebral ∥ Chummy ∥ Circumspect ∥ Competitive ∥ Complex ∥ Confidential ∥ Conservative ∥ Contradictory ∥ Crisp ∥ Cute ∥ Deceptive ∥ Determined ∥ Dominating ∥ Dreamy ∥ Driving ∥ Droll ∥ Dry ∥ Earthy ∥ Effeminate ∥ Emotional ∥ Enigmatic ∥ Experimental ∥ Familial ∥ Folksy ∥ Formal ∥ Freewheeling ∥ Frugal ∥ Glamorous ∥ Guileless ∥ High-spirited ∥ Hurried ∥ Hypnotic ∥ Idiosyncratic ∥ Impassive ∥ Impersonal ∥ Impressionable ∥ Intense ∥ Invisible ∥ Irreligious ∥ Irreverent ∥ Maternal ∥ Mellow ∥ Modern ∥ Moralistic ∥ Mystical ∥ Neutral ∥ Noncommittal ∥ Non-competitive ∥ Obedient ∥ Old-fashioned ∥ Ordinary ∥ Outspoken ∥ Paternalistic ∥ Physical ∥ Placid ∥ Political ∥ Predictable ∥ Preoccupied ∥ Private ∥ Progressive ∥ Proud ∥ Pure ∥ Questioning ∥ Quiet ∥ Religious ∥ Reserved ∥ Restrained ∥ Retiring ∥ Sarcastic ∥ Self-conscious ∥ Sensual ∥ Sceptical ∥ Smooth ∥ Soft ∥ Solemn ∥ Solitary ∥ Stern ∥ Strict ∥ Stubborn ∥ Stylish ∥ Subjective ∥ Surprising ∥ Tough ∥ Unaggressive ∥ Unambitious ∥ Unceremonious ∥ Unchanging ∥ Undemanding ∥ Unfathomable ∥ Unhurried ∥ Uninhibited ∥ Unpatriotic ∥ Unpredictable ∥ Unsentimental ∥ Whimsical

POSITIVE TRAITS

Accessible ∥ Active ∥ Adaptable ∥ Admirable ∥ Adventurous ∥ Agreeable ∥ Appreciative ∥ Articulate ∥ Aspiring ∥ Athletic ∥ Attractive ∥ Balanced ∥ Brilliant ∥ Calm ∥ Capable ∥ Captivating ∥ Caring ∥ Challenging ∥ Charismatic ∥ Charming ∥ Cheerful ∥ Clean ∥ Clear-headed ∥ Clever ∥ Colorful ∥ Companionly ∥ Compassionate ∥ Confident ∥ Conscientious ∥ Considerate ∥ Constant ∥ Contemplative ∥ Cooperative ∥ Courageous ∥ Courteous ∥ Creative ∥ Cultured ∥ Curious ∥ Daring ∥ Decent ∥ Decisive ∥ Dedicated ∥ Deep ∥ Dignified ∥ Disciplined ∥ Discreet ∥ Dramatic ∥ Dutiful ∥ Earnest ∥ Educated ∥ Elegant ∥ Eloquent ∥ Empathetic ∥ Energetic ∥ Enthusiastic ∥ Exciting ∥ Extraordinary ∥ Fair ∥ Faithful ∥ Farsighted ∥ Flexible ∥ Focused ∥ Forgiving ∥ Forthright ∥ Freethinking ∥ Friendly ∥ Fun-loving ∥ Gallant ∥ Generous ∥ Gentle ∥ Genuine ∥ Good-natured ∥ Gracious ∥ Hardworking ∥ Healthy ∥ Hearty ∥ Helpful ∥ Heroic ∥ High-minded ∥ Honest ∥ Honorable ∥ Humble ∥ Humorous ∥ Idealistic ∥ Imaginative ∥ Impressive ∥ Incorruptible ∥ Independent ∥ Individualistic ∥ Innovative ∥ Inoffensive ∥ Insightful ∥ Insouciant ∥ Intelligent ∥ Intuitive ∥ Invulnerable ∥ Kind ∥ Knowledgeable ∥ Leader ∥ Logical ∥ Lovable ∥ Loyal ∥ Many-sided ∥ Masculine ∥ Mature ∥ Methodical ∥ Meticulous ∥ Moderate ∥ Modest ∥ Multi-leveled ∥ Neat ∥ Objective ∥ Observant ∥ Open ∥ Optimistic ∥ Orderly ∥ Organized ∥ Original ∥ Painstaking ∥ Passionate ∥ Patient ∥ Peaceful ∥ Perceptive ∥ Perfectionist ∥ Personable ∥ Persuasive ∥ Playful ∥ Popular ∥ Practical ∥ Precise ∥ Principled ∥ Protective ∥ Providential ∥ Punctual ∥ Purposeful ∥ Rational ∥ Realistic ∥ Reflective ∥ Relaxed ∥ Reliable ∥ Resourceful ∥ Respectful ∥ Responsible ∥ Responsive ∥ Romantic ∥ Rustic ∥ Sage ∥ Sane ∥ Scholarly ∥ Scrupulous ∥ Secure ∥ Selfless ∥ Self-critical ∥ Sensitive ∥ Sentimental ∥ Serious ∥ Sexy ∥ Sharing ∥ Simple ∥ Skillful ∥ Sober ∥ Sociable ∥ Sophisticated ∥ Spontaneous ∥ Sporting ∥ Stable ∥ Steadfast ∥ Steady ∥ Stoic ∥ Strong ∥ Studious ∥ Suave ∥ Subtle ∥ Sweet ∥ Sympathetic ∥ Systematic ∥ Tasteful ∥ Teacherly ∥ Thorough ∥ Tidy ∥ Tolerant ∥ Tractable ∥ Trusting ∥ Uncomplaining ∥ Understanding ∥ Upright ∥ Urbane ∥ Venturesome ∥ Vivacious ∥ Warm ∥ Winning ∥ Wise ∥ Witty ∥ Youthful

[thememcry]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent ( potentially ) / fandomless

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO. 

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. (apparently there are youtube comments circulating about how boring or weak aerith is. if an explanation needs be provided for how strong of a woman, character, and fighter she is in her own regard then the point of the character is missed entirely.)

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant to the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant to the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.  (the big baddies know of her, the little baddies know to look for her and the heroes just learned of why she’s important).

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?

      it depends entirely on the person / character i’m writing and what verse they’re in. when someone approaches me and doesn’t specify a verse i give them main verse (ff7r) and follow canon as closely as i’d like. but most of my threads diverge from canon for exploration or other purposes. i’m not concerned with how close to canon my aerith is ------obviously i’d like people to hear her voice when i have her speak, or see her performing the actions i have her commit to but i’d also like this interpretation to be my own. so when someone reads a piece of my writing they say oh yes, that’s kay’s aerith definitely.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutual.  

      i could make an entire post about all of the things i love about aerith gainsborough on its own, so i’ll try not to let this be too rambly.

      she is such a three-dimensional character and she always has been. people expect just to meet the damsel in distress, to rely on cloud and company to help her out at every twist and turn. square even did a good job selling her appearance: soft pinks, gentle features, and when she was given a voice actor the first few times they always went the route of someone who had a lighter lilt. to the first glance she is very much all of those things. except it’s not all she is.

      aerith wears masks to cover the horrendous things that happened to her as a child: experimentation, the shocking loss of her mother after escaping it, crushing loneliness, an awareness that she was different and nobody around who understood the properties of that difference to explain it to her in a way that didn’t terrify her. she heard the planet, could tell when people passed away and rejoined the lifestream, surrounded by all of these voices yet so fucking alone. and did she let it make her bitter? did she become angry or cold, jaded or cruel? no. aerith is kind and giving without being too self-sacrificing and without making her boring. she’s not as innocent as people are made to believe.

      look at her first interactions with cloud. she flirts mercilessly with him, and then you discover she did it to zack, too. she’s not afraid to express herself in any fashion and she’s unapologetic about how forward and positive she is. despite all of the shitty things that happened to her, she’s still all of these great things. she’s scrappy, she can be a brat (ask the turks!) and she blooms under the cover of oppression that she lives. sure, she’s in a beautiful house with a loving mother figure but she’s in the slums and she’s being watched constantly by some part of the company that wants to see her dissected or worse.

      and she’s divine. no, literally. of course it takes her death for the realization of that divinity to really be understood by the fan base and even by her own party, but once aerith dies she becomes an actual deity. it’s sad that you don’t get her in your party any more but it’s obvious how much she affected everyone she worked with (and even those she didn’t). they spend the rest of the game avenging her, they spend the rest of the game explaining their grief over her loss, promising her death won’t be in vain. and once that’s done? there’s an entire movie where cloud deals with his grief over everything, but mainly his self-appointed guilt over her death. as if he could have changed it? i mentioned to @seraphicwiing​ in a conversation (an au one) about sephiroth and aerith ------he didn’t kill or break her. he gifted her divinity.

      so this sweet flower girl goes from a first appearance damsel in distress to an actual conduit of the planet, watching over her friends and everyone else from the spiritual plane of it. controlling the lifestream itself to rise up and crush back meteor.

      if you don’t like her by this point, it’s a lost cause. honestly, just go play pacman or something.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  

      maybe strong female leads aren’t your cup of tea? perhaps you really wanted aerith to maintain her softness and have none of the bite or edge that i argue make her interesting?

      some people want a strong woman to be something like paine in ffx-2, or lightning in ffxiii, or even lulu in ffx itself ... dark and perhaps a bit brooding, angry with someone or something. they can be gentle but they’re mostly a razor sharp edge threatening to slice anyone who tries to get close to them. aerith is arguably a hot take on the stronger female leads ... even compared to tifa. you don’t doubt that a woman who fights with her fists is a tough, bad bitch ... but aerith isn’t physically strong. she’s the image of a princess honestly and that’s just not what some people want to see or deal with.

      arguably her personality can come off a bit strong. she’s snarky and, as i said, a tease. she can be bratty from time to time and that can absolutely be read as irritating, especially to someone whose looking for negative personality traits to focus on at a first glance.

      and a lot of people just see her as a love interest to cloud. and she is, i won’t deny that. it’s been further addressed in the remake with her dream sequence that cloud absolutely has feelings for her. it dredges up the age-old argument from 1997 of: tifa or aerith. why does it have to be or? why can’t he love them both in different ways? or the same way? it’s not like aerith has a lot of time to be the love interest, anyway. we all know how disc 1 ended, by this point.

      perhaps people see her end-game divinity as a deus-ex mechanic. sure, it kind of it. but the game never hid its intentions of why aerith was there. she was always special, we just didn’t know how. she always had holy, we just didn’t know what it meant at the time. but it does seem a bit convenient that right as the meteor is going to crush midgar ------here comes the lifestream, holding it back so holy can stop it! wow, amazing! darn that aerith and her connection to the planet. how awful. maybe cloud could have just braver’d it.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  

      i love her. it’s just that simple. she’s so complex and so different from other characters i tend to gravitate toward. she has a darkness but she’s good, genuinely. i usually go for people who are deeply seeded in some kind of trauma, or are just generally a piece of shit. and aerith certainly has her trauma, but she’s risen above it. she chooses to live her life as much as she can before the ultimate doom clock ticks to 0, you know?

      i admire her beauty. not just her physical beauty (and she is), but the beauty of her as a person. i wish i could be as endlessly positive as she is, even faced against such awful odds. i wish i could be the kind of person who surrounds themselves with people who love them, despite their flaws. but i am very much the opposite of aerith.

      i consider myself endlessly lucky to be a mouthpiece of some kind of version of her. this is a character i’ve had a connection to since i was like, 7 or 9 (and i’m 30 now). the very fact that i get to log in every day and express some form of this wonderful character keeps me connected to her. she has a loud voice in my head, and i think she always had. i think that remake just re-lit the flame for her.

      i wrote her a long time ago, during myspace rp days. but we all know how myspace ended. so i choose to write her now because it feels right. and i really do enjoy having someone who shines so brightly in my head.

What keeps your inspiration going?  

      the same as everyone else, i think: music, clips of the character, art of her ... but mostly? my writing partners. i wouldn’t be anywhere without the people in this site who come to me every day with an interest in my interpretation of aerith. i never expected so many lovely humans to want to see what i can do with her. but i have people dm’ing me on discord every day with ideas or thoughts, with musings or what-if’s ... and it really just keeps this muse so alive for me.

      even though i have a backlog of drafts and inbox things to answer, i can know that they will get done ... it’s just up to me as a human to write things out.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO. 

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.  (i’d prefer to write out a reply to a solo drabble).

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO. 

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO. 

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

      in the proper context. i don’t want someone coming on here and telling me i play aerith wrong because it’s not what she would do canon. that’s cool, i don’t write her strictly canon. but if i’m having doubts and i ask for the feedback, i’m open to it.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  

      always. i am 100% always accepting development questions.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  

      nope. i don’t care if you agree with my headcanons or not. i’m sure there are people who don’t like that i have a ship with a sephiroth, or a reeve, or that i’ve had her mess around with rufus or biggs. i’m sure there are people who despise the way i make her speak to people ... and that’s fine. they’re allowed to. but this is my interpretation of aerith and so far i’m loving everything that i’ve gotten to do with her. especially those things that include character building with others.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

      they’re allowed to disagree. they’re also not beholden to follow me. i won’t be upset if they unfollow me. it’s their comfort, after all. and i’d rather spend time on here enjoying myself than either having someone voice their dislike of my interpretation or get vocal about how they’re uncomfortable.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  

      people have really hated aerith since 1997. they’re allowed to have their silly opinions of her. and i’m allowed not to entertain them.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  

      please do. i’m human and i make mistakes. i’d love to fix them.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?  

      yes, but i’ve had people mention that i seem a little unapproachable. please approach me. if you want to write with me let me know. if you want to chat ooc with me talk to me. i promise i’m an absolute dimwit on my side of the screen. i’m spacy but i try to be as nice and welcoming as possible. somehow i’ve conned a few friends out of this rpc already with my idiocy, so please please please come chat with me.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

[huds-hub]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; MUN & MUSE - MEME

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

Stolen from @mrfunnybone. Since this meme has a bias for canon muses, I’m tagging two of my favorite canon writers that I know didn’t fill this out yet: @soulcoerced and @spearslinger (I wonder if a fellow Undyne RPer has a different take on some of these questions? ^^;;). For everyone else, feel free to steal it and tag me if you do! I’m curious to see how OC muns answer some of these questions...

MY MUSE IS:   CANON / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated [[ The adult version of my muse is canon, but her teenage equivalent is not present anywhere in Undertale / Deltarune. So, uh… canon but kind of complicated I guess??? I like describing my muse as canon-wise. My Deltarune fishies are undoubtedly AUs at most, canon-divergent at least. ]]

[[ Mun’s note: I’m going to cheat on this. For the next 8 questions, I’ll answer for both Undyne as my teen muse AND regular adult canon Undertale Undyne. My thoughts on her counts as something, right? My muse is based on canon! ]]

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK [[ Undyne’s character to the rest of the fandom is unpopular (compared to Sans, Chara, Gaster, etc…). It’s a shame, because her dialogue portraits alone would make great meme fodder. HOWEVER, among Undyne fans, I notice there’s an interest in depicting her early years because she’s one of the few cast members who’s had their childhood explicitly mentioned. ]]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK [[ She’d better not be, because my muse is a  C H I L D. As far as I’ve seen, canon adult Undyne is depicted more often as a ‘badass’ than a ‘sexy fish.’ ]]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK [[ Younger Undyne is definitely interpreted to be a determined, tough kid. Of course it’s the same for adult canon Undyne. It’s basically her most distinct character trait. ]]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK [[ Lordy, Undyne as a whole is entirely underrated by the fandom... ]]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO [[ OMG... you’re gonna get me started. I’m marking ‘no’ on this question because this is supposed to be about my aged-down muse. But Undyne... sweet violent Undyne’s very important to Undertale’s story! *fangirling START* Besides being the mid-point antagonist in the game, Undyne adds a layer of the theme of DETERMINATION to the game and how it can manifest in monsters if their bodies are strong enough to handle it. In an allegorical sense, she represents extremism in reaction to oppression and how that passion can take on the form of extreme love or extreme hatred depending on circumstance. So HELL YEAH she’s important to the main story of the game! AAAHILoveThisFish!! *fangirling END* ]]

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [[ Same as the previous answer for my teen Undyne: begrudgingly marking this with a ‘no’... It’s a YES for canon Undyne. In all routes, original game’s Undyne is the first character who is purposefully trying to kill the Player. Players can’t get the best ending without helping her hook up with Alphys and not incurring her wrath by killing any monster. In the worst ending, she’s one of the two antagonists that put up enough of a fight to make any player abort the Genocide Route. ]]

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO [[ My muse WANTS to be significant to her world. In the original game, Undyne’s only mentioned by others in Snowdin and Waterfall (not counting Alphys in Hotland). She’s described as a “local hero” by Gerson. I get a sense she’s not exactly famous to the people in the entire Underground compared to, say, Mettaton. ]]

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL [[ Oof. Pretty sure my teen fish annoys the residence of Waterfall for being a loud-mouthed little scamp. The only reason she’s not considered ‘bad’ is because it’s pent-up energy and misguidedness, not flat-out cruelty. In canon, it seems like the people who talk about Undyne do it in either a positive or neutral light. You have Monster Kid, Papyrus, and Onionsan singing her praises. The Royal Guard members respect her. Asgore thought of her well enough to have her lead his military. Uhh, for a neutral instance, I remember an NPC in Snowdin saying she’s “loud, rude, and beats up anybody who gets in her way” (I don’t remember the exact quote). To weigh this more on the side of my muse, I’ll mark this answer as ‘neutral.’ ]]

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?  [[ Since I have an aged-down character, canon is literally my END GOAL! I gave her a “starting point” on her journey to the determined, dedicated, and excitable warrior fish we all know and love from the game. I filled in the gaps from there, using parts of her past mentioned in the game to glue the headcanons together. Deciding what she was like when she was younger – What’s her family background? What aspects about her changed as she matures? What internal and external conflicts would she deal with as a teen? – THAT’S the non-canon part. My Deltarune AUs are… different. Canon is my end goal too, but the timelines are all wonky to fit the needs of wanting to interact with the Fun Gang. LOL ]]

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.   [[ This kid is spunky, loyal, compassionate of the plight of her people, and will see through anything she sets her mind to, despite life’s barriers. She’s got a lot of pent-up energy and is searching for what she can do with it to help her achieve her goal of setting Monsterkind free! ]]

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).  [[ The teen fishy has a streak of selfishness and short-sightedness. Being honest, Undyne would be a racial supremacist if she existed in real life. Big yikes. Also, she’s willingly being trained as a child soldier. Another big yikes right there. ]]

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   [[ Ages ago, I RPed the adult version of Undyne, which resulted in a bunch of headcanons for her past. I had no desire to RP any of them after it ended. A year later, I commissioned an artist for a Gerson vs. teen Undyne piece. That single-handedly made me want to get back into RPing again. ]]

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?   [[ My fellow RPers wanting to interact with this silly fishy! When I first started, I expected my interest to peter out over the months. I didn’t expect many RPers wanting to interact with an aged-down character. But here I am, wanting to expand my headcanons further and making AUs so I’m not limited to canon. ^^ It’s all thanks to you guys!! ]]

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO?

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF?     [[ I should do it more often TBH. But I find showing them via story-telling more fulfilling than just explicitly explaining them in posts. Plus, it gives me more leeway if I’m still playing around with an idea. ;) ]]

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO  [[ I’m not counting the three pending drabbles until I finish them. ^^;; ]]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO [[ She finds a way to bother me! Usually in the form of sudden inspiration for how to respond to RPs. ]]

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? [[ Sometimes I wonder if I forgot some aspect about Undyne that’s in canon, or unintentionally exaggerating other less-important aspects of her other characteristics… ]]

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [[ Generally, yes. But I do have my days when I suffer from low self-confidence. ]]

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / SORT OF? [[ It depends on what’s meant by that. I’m sensitive to other people’s feelings, so I don’t intend to sound rude OOC, even if I’m expressing something negative about something I think the other did. If this is referring to being sensitive about events in RPs… my sensitivity is equivalent to that of being invested in any work of fiction. I know it’s not reality. I can pull away from the fictional world and it won’t bring down my real life. ]]

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   [[ If it’s given in good faith and is constructive, sure. ]]

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   [[ Hell yeah, give them to me! ]]

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  [[ It depends if they want to tell me. I don’t mind either way. Personally, I like hearing other people’s interpretations! ]]

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   [[ *shrug* It doesn’t matter as long as they don’t harass me. ]]

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   [[ I’d just ignore it. They don’t need to interact or follow me. If my muse really is a bother to them, they can block my account. ]]

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   [[ I hope my grammar’s good enough, or else my English degree studies went to waste! But yeah, sure. Fun fact: explaining grammar rules so people can avoid major errors in the future is more helpful than nit-picking insignificant errors without explanations. ]]

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   [[ As long as fellow RPers aren’t being rude OOC, don’t break any serious rules, or do something that I mention are personal triggers to me, I am easy-going! RPing is fun and it should stay that way for everybody involved! ]]

[colonization-of-the-philippines]

Spain’s Colonization on the Philippines 

Before dissecting the actual effects of the Spanish colonization on the Philippines, it is essential to first talk about the “founding” of the Philippines itself.

The actual discovery of the Philippines was in 1521 when a Portuguese explorer named Ferdinand Magellan, and upon his discovery, he claimed the land for the King of Spain. Two and a half decades later, the first settlements arrived in the Philippines with the leadership of a Spanish Explorer named Miguel Lopez. Lopez’s settlement’s first major influence on the native Filipinos was introducing them to Catholicism, which was a very Spaniard trait of the time.

However, the overall response to these settlements from the natives was not a positive one. They did not at all respect these outsiders claiming and colonizing their land, and so one of many revolts and rebellions began.

One of the first instances of organized group rebellion was by the Dagami tribe, who ended up beheading one of Lopez’s supervisors. This lasted only two weeks however, as the Spanish and the Dagami tribe signed a Peace Treaty of Cebu, which ended this short Revolt.

The second and more prominent act of rebellion from the natives was the Dagohoy Rebellion, and the reason for it’s prominence was mostly due to its length of 85 years. The cause for this particular rebellion was said to have been because the Spanish refused a Christian Burial for Francisco Dagohoy’s brother because he was a Filipino native. When Dagohoy vowed to right this wrong, it was more the last straw to a list of more complex causes. The Rebellion began in 1744, 200 years after the first Spanish Settlement. By this point, the natives of the Philippines had been subject to forced labor, unfair tax collection, and overall oppression by their colonizer. While the unjust burial of Dagohoy’s brother was listed as the primary cause, it was really two centuries of oppression that lead to nearly another century of Rebellion.

After the Dagohoy Rebellion ended in 1829, the much larger Philippine Rebellion began in 1896. The Rebellion began a few years after a group called the Katipunan formed. At first the group sought out to gain more rights for natives through politics, however the group was disbanded by the Spanish. After their forced separation, the Katipunan re-organized and declared a nationwide, armed rebellion against the Spanish. This Rebellion was indeed carried out by most of the nation, and with aid from the United States, the native Filipinos were successful. The Truce Pact of Biak-na-bato was signed by the Spaniards on December 14th in 1897, ending the Rebellion. This event would be one of the major causes for the failure of the Spanish colonization

Filipino independence did not come officially until the battle of Manila Bay, which was fought between the United States and Spain in the Spanish American War. The U.S. defeated the Spanish in a grueling Naval battle, and after signing the Treaty of Paris, the Spain officially surrendered all control over the Philippines. While this was neither recognized by America or Spain, the natives of the Philippines officially declared their independence from Spain on June 12th 1898.

The Effects

The oppression from the Spanish colonization has affected the Philippine natives in mostly negative ways, however let us talk first about the positive ones.

One of the core positive changes was the sense of nationalism that helped bond each island together. Even when the Spanish first settled in the 16th century, their presence helped bring a political unification to each of the separate island and lands within the country. During the Philippine Rebellion before the 20th century, the sense of nationalism is one of the major reasons why they reigned victorious in the first place. Their pride for their country and countrymen could not have been stronger when they celebrated their independence.

Another positive effect was that the Spanish had introduced higher education to the Philippine natives. They suddenly had access to schools and colleges, something that was impossible to do before the Spanish arrived.

Language and traditional foods from Spain were also incorporated into Philippine life style, much notably the hybrid-language between their native tongue and the Spanish language.

On the contrast, the Philippines have dealt with large economical problems presented by their Spanish Colonizers that provide a slippery slope to get out of. On top of this the Spanish’s introduction to Catholicism, while now a very important aspect of the Philippine life, has unfortunately ingrained its way into conservative politics like most European places in the world.

In the next Blog Post, we will discuss the brief yet important history of the United States entry into the Philippines and how that has affected the nation today.

[cbcdiversity]

Author Interview with Robin Talley

What inspired you to write Pulp?

I read one of the earliest lesbian pulp novels years ago when I was doing research for another book — Marijane Meaker’s groundbreaking Spring Fire, published in 1952 — and I was mesmerized, both by the story itself and by the world it presented. It focused on the relationship between two deeply closeted lesbians living in a time when being who they were meant having to go to extreme lengths to keep their sexuality a secret, and facing horrific consequences if they ever slipped up (which of course they did). I learned that there was an entire wave of these novels, some of which sold millions of copies, all during a time and place when anyone who didn’t conform to expected norms faced terrible oppression. I wanted to explore that culture, and I thought it would be interesting to look at it through the lens of a teenage character in the present day — someone to whom all of this would seem like irrelevant ancient history, until she probes a little deeper and finds out it’s anything but.

Pulp is set in Washington, D.C., with two separate storylines taking place in two very distinct periods in American history — the summer of 1955 and the autumn of 2017. Exactly how different were these two eras?

The main characters in both of Pulp’s storylines are lesbians, but they have very different experiences in how their communities view their sexuality. What are the biggest differences between them?

Here, we do see very concrete differences. One of Pulp’s two narrators, Janet, who’s 18 years old in 1955 and secretly trying her hand at writing a lesbian pulp novel, has known she’s attracted to girls for some time, but had never heard the word lesbian until she read it in a book she found at a bus station. The other narrator, Abby, who’s 17 in 2017, discovers the world of lesbian pulp fiction from an article she randomly clicks on after looking up queer fanfic about her favorite show. Abby’s been out to her parents and everyone else she knows since she was a high school freshman. Janet never considers coming out to her parents — and if they did find out, she assumes they’d send her promptly off to an asylum to be cured. Although there are certainly still plenty of LGBTQ teens in the present day who can’t come out safely — and although conversion therapy is still legal in most of the United States — there’s no question we’ve made massive progress in terms of mainstream acceptance of same-sex relationships over the past few decades, and Abby and Janet’s experiences very much reflect that progress.

In the 1955 storyline of Pulp, the characters are also living through the Lavender Scare. What was the Lavender Scare, and why isn’t it more widely known?

The Lavender Scare, which happened at the same time as the second Red Scare (again, during the McCarthy era and the years that followed) was a massive effort by the U.S. federal government to identify lesbian, gay, and bisexual government employees and fire them. Police officers raided gay bars and turned over the names of anyone they found to the federal government so they could check their employment rolls. Meanwhile, investigators eagerly took tips from other employees and conducted highly biased interrogations. Anyone could report that they suspected a coworker of homosexuality, based on things like their voice being too high or too low, their hair being too short or too long, or any other personal traits that might be considered a deviation from the expected gender norm. Thousands of people were fired from their jobs and unable to get new ones due to the rumors that inevitably spread. Many were also forcibly outed to their families in an era when outing frequently meant disownment. Suicides of former federal employees were common.

As for why it isn’t more widely known — a lot of people involved didn’t want to talk about it publicly at the time, because that would risk opening themselves up to further scrutiny and potential negative consequences. Plus, of course, the people who have generally been in charge of deciding how history is taught have usually chosen not to center the experiences of marginalized communities, so stories like this one are more likely to get left out of classes and textbooks.

In Pulp’s 2017 storyline, the main character and her friends are very conscious of social justice and regularly go to political protests. Why did you include this thread in their story?

Like the characters in Pulp, I live in Washington, D.C., and for years I’ve witnessed and attended many, many demonstrations that are also attended by many, many local teenagers. Teens have always been engaged in politics and social justice, because they understand that these issues touch their lives directly and that one day their generation will be in charge of deciding how to approach these questions. Teen activism has taken on a deeper resonance under our current administration, which is going out of its way to harm marginalized communities. It’s been wonderful to see so many young people speak out and take action when they’re up against something so terrible, and I wanted to capture a little of that in this story.

What do you hope readers will take away from Pulp?

That none of this is new. We’ve been fighting for social justice for many, many generations. Some of the arguments we’re having now are different from the arguments we had in the mid-twentieth century, but in a lot of ways, many of them aren’t that different. We’re currently witnessing a movement to go backward, with politicians attempting to re-litigate issues that many people in my generation naively grew up thinking had already been resolved. We have to be mindful of what came before us so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past, and so we can fight back against the people who want to take us there on purpose.

Robin Talley is the New York Timesbestselling author of five novels for teen readers: Pulp (coming November 2018), Our Own Private Universe, As I Descended, What We Left Behind and Lies We Tell Ourselves, all of which focus on LGBTQ characters. Her first book, Lies We Tell Ourselves, was the winner of the inaugural Amnesty CILIP Honour and short-listed for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Her short stories have appeared in the young adult collections Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft, All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages, A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers and Other Badass Girls, and Feral Youth.

Robin lives in Washington, D.C., with her wife and their daughter. She enjoys reading about queer characters, analyzing Disney movies, and chocolate. You can find her at www.robintalley.com.

[elleberquist6]

Stray Cat - chapter two

Rating: Mature Word Count: 1748 Warnings: Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut Summary: Phil Lester believes that if he does good things then good things will happen to him, so on one of the worst days of his life he invites a rain-soaked Neko boy named Dan into his home. Phil has never met a Neko before and he knows nothing about the dark system that has molded Dan. Dan is part of a repressed population with few rights, and as Phil gets to know him he can’t understand why – Dan is the most amazing person he has ever met. --- Phil and the Neko entered the apartment building and walked up the stairs in a comfortable silence, but once he unlocked his door and they went into his home, the silence became a bit more oppressive.

The boy was the first to move, taking off the borrowed jacket and hanging it on the hook beside the door so it could dry. Phil smiled at the boy and gestured to the kitchen, where their dripping clothes wouldn’t ruin the tile floor. “If you'll wait in there, I’ll get some towels.”

They parted in the hallway, and Phil retrieved two large, fluffy towels from his linen closet. When he returned to the kitchen, he found the Neko staring at an overripe banana that Phil left on the table, meaning to throw it away, and the Neko was practically drooling.

“Wow, you really must be hungry.”

The boy blinked in surprise at Phil’s reappearance and at the towel Phil tossed him, but he caught it. The Neko continued to sit at the kitchen table while he dried himself, but Phil leaned against the kitchen countertop, preferring to stand while he thought. They both rubbed the towels roughly across their arms to get the blood flowing, and as the Neko dried his ears and then hair, Phil realized that the wet waves were going to dry as curls, which probably looked rather cute.

Phil finished with his towel first, since the Neko needed to dry his tail next. While he did, Phil turned to his kitchen cupboards, which he knew were nearly empty. “Hey, I promised you food, but I don’t know what you like to eat.”

For some reason, Phil had hoped that the warmth and safety of his kitchen would encourage the boy to start talking, but when he turned around he’s met with the same silence that was becoming familiar. Could he be mute? At least the Neko was looking less miserable.

Phil bit his bottom lip as he thought, and he finally decided to think out loud since he was unlikely to get a response. “I don’t know if I said, but I have never met a Neko before, and I don’t know what you guys eat.”

The Neko was now looking at him with interest as he rubbed the towel over the damp fur of his tail. His ears were upright and pointed forward.

“So,” Phil said. “Would it be insulting if I made you a tuna fish sandwich, or would you like it?”

The Neko burst with sudden laughter, and the sound warmed Phil to his core. Phil decided to make him a saucer of milk, just to hear the sound again. He made himself a sandwich too, since this was about the time he’d normally be having dinner. They ate in comfortable silence, though after hearing him laugh Phil was pretty sure that the Neko could talk but he just didn’t want to now. Phil decided not to press the issue, and he relaxed, enjoying the boy’s company. He could tell that the boy was hungry as he finished half the sandwich in the time it took Phil to take a couple bites of his.

Once they had both finished dinner, Phil asked the boy, “Do you have anywhere to go tonight? Maybe there is someone you could call if I let you use my phone?”

Phil hadn’t expected a response. Up until now, the Neko had just stared at him and barely indicated that he understood a word Phil was saying, but this time he shook his head.

“Do you want to spend the night here?” Phil asked, and the Neko’s eyes widened looked afraid, but Phil wasn’t sure why. They were still wearing wet clothes, and shivering slightly, so Phil decided to offer more incentive. “I have some spare pjs I can lend you and my couch is pretty comfortable.”

The boy relaxed and accepted the offer with a nod and a slight smile. Phil left the Neko in his bathroom with a blue flannel pj set, and by the time he returned Phil had brought a pillow and a duvet to the couch. The Neko slumped onto the couch, looking exhausted and his ears were drooping. His hair was completely dry now and was a wild mess of curls that made Phil want to try to tame it with a brush; he looked so young like this.

As he closed his brown eyes, Phil noticed something around his neck – it’s a black collar with a silver tag hanging from it. There’s something written on the tag, but Phil would have to lean closer to read it, and he didn’t want to startle the Neko by getting so close. He cleared his throat to make the boy reopen his eyes. “I’m going to go to my room now. Good night.”

The Neko nodded and as Phil left the room he burrowed under the duvet. Phil shut his bedroom door, but he didn’t turn off his light, as this was much earlier then he usually went to bed, but he didn’t want to keep the tired boy awake with the noise of the TV in the living room. Instead, he turned on his laptop and pulled up Google. He typed “Neko” into the search field.

The first results didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know: Nekos were cat-human hybrids with ears and tails. There was a lot of social discrimination against them and laws that prevented them from getting jobs and owning property – instead, Nekos were the ones who were owned.

He saw a website that seemed to offer advice to Neko owners. He didn’t own the boy in his living room, but there might be something useful here, so he clicked on it. There was an article on the website called ‘My First Neko’, and he started reading.

Congratulations on your purchase! As you get to know your new Neko friend, there are some things that you should understand about them. Personality: As a species, Nekos tend to have the following very common positive personality traits – they are sweet, caring, playful, and loyal. There are also some negative personality traits common to Nekos, such as laziness, short attention spans, and gluttony. Also, they are helpless and dependent on their owners for all needs.

Needs: • Food: First, your Neko will need food. The average healthy Neko can follow the same diet as their owner, so just make your Neko a serving of whatever you are eating, and they should be happy. • Clothes: Your Neko will need clothes to keep warm. While they can wear pants with their tail tucked into a pantleg, most Nekos are more comfortable with a hole cut in the pants to accommodate their tails. • Heat: This is a monthly healthcare concern for adult Nekos, as they can become ill if not properly cared for during a heat. A physician can prescribe heat suppressants to diminish the affects of the heat, though this is costly. A cheaper alternative that most owners prefer is to handle their Neko’s heat by themselves. • Toys: Remember that your Neko can become bored easily, so use toys to keep them entertained. From the innocent to the wicked, we have it all! Click [here!] to view our online store Grimacing in disgust, Phil clicked away from the website. While Phil didn’t like the way that the article referred to Nekos like they were inferior creatures, he was sickened by the abruptly sexual content of the article. It wasn’t really like that for Nekos, was it? They weren’t looked at as sex toys. Were they?

Of course, he’d heard of their reputation. While Phil had never met a Neko in real life before today, the little he’d seen of them had been in movies and on TV. Sometimes it wasn’t a real Neko and it was just an actor with ears and a tail pinned on, but the role was always the same: sex worker. They were portrayed as strippers, prostitutes, escorts, porn stars, and they always met violent ends.

Phil shook his head because this had to be a stereotype. The Neko sleeping on his sofa was just a kid, and Phil couldn’t imagine him going through some of the situations he’d witnessed on Law and Order: SVU. He cleared the search field on Google and typed ‘why do people buy Nekos’. The results weren’t very helpful since it seemed like not many articles had been written on this topic besides the vague few that claimed Nekos were for companionship. It seemed more likely that it’s an open secret – everyone knew what Nekos were used for, and no one wanted to discuss it.

Before he could click away, he saw that as he scrolled down his results yielded something different: not why do people buy Nekos, but where do people buy them. Phil already had one more Neko on his hands than he knew what to do with, but the name of one website sounded promising: ‘Neko House’. It was located in London not too far from where Phil lived, so he investigated further on their website.

As he was about to click on the listings for Nekos on the website out of curiosity, he saw another option for ‘sell’. He clicked it. There was contact information stating that Neko House would buy healthy Nekos, no questions asked. The standard offering price for Nekos was also listed, and the number of zeros in the offer made Phil gape. That had to be a typo. They couldn’t actually be worth that much. £10,000. That was 5 months of rent for Phil.

At the same time though, how could anyone put a price on a living creature? The idea made Phil shut his laptop, not wanting to see any more. He had just wanted to find someplace safe for the boy because tomorrow the boy would be back on the streets if Phil didn’t do something. A place called Neko House sounded so perfect in name, but would the boy be safe if he gave him to them? And what about the money? He could use it to live comfortably while he looked for a new job, but how could he spend it, knowing that the Neko he had sold might be used as a…

He couldn’t think about that anymore, so he placed his laptop on the floor beside his bed and he turned off his light, leaving his problems for another day.

[quakerjoe]

This is about the third or fourth one of these articles I’ve written where I’ve gone over a debate I’ve had with a Donald Trump supporter. I hope that by sharing some of the tactics I’ve found to be more effective, they might get used by others who take on the mind-numbing task of trying to reason with and/or debate these people.

Eventually this latest discussion spiraled into talk about authoritarian dictatorships, where I pivoted toward North Korea as a prime example of a strictly controlled population that’s been fed, since birth, propaganda by rulers who dictate the behavior and access to information of the people living there. I even used Saudi Arabia and China as other examples of leadership styles that, while not dictatorships (China is communist while Saudi Arabia is a monarchy), still highly censor and restrict the freedoms their citizens have.

Naturally, we both agreed that these nations, while different in many regards, all shared the same heavily restrictive nature over the freedoms of their citizens. My friend agreed that it’s vitally important for these nations to be brutally controlling when it comes to freedom of expression or information, in order to maintain their control. Though I had to make sure to skate very easily around this to avoid him picking up on the trap I was setting.

Then I brought up Adolf Hitler. We discussed how he effectively used fear and nationalism to manipulate people into believing horrific things that weren’t only inhumane, but also completely untrue and against their own interests. I stated that fear is a wonderful form of manipulation considering someone who’s afraid will believe all sorts of illogical things — and he agreed.

That’s when I shifted the argument into a more philosophical tone. I mentioned how Nazi Germany, the Saudi Arabian monarchy, the North Korean dictatorship, and communist China are all technically different forms of government, yet they all share many of the same traits. It was around this time where I said that, in many ways, these types of authoritarian leaders are really just extremely elaborate examples of con artists who use their power to carry out incredibly intricate scams to fool their people into believing outright lies and propaganda.

My pro-Trump friend also agreed with that assessment.

Successfully clearing that hurdle, I continued the philosophical debate linking con artists and dictators, more specifically the traits they all must share to be effective. That’s when I began to rundown a list, asking my friend if he agreed with each question. Do these oppressive regimes:

Rely heavily on controlling the information their citizens receive to create the illusion of something that’s not real? He agreed.

View a free and open press as a friend or an enemy? He said they obviously oppose freedom of the press since none of those nations have it.

Promotion nationalism as a way to build morale among their citizens to distract them from the truth? He agreed they all did.

Push the idea that they are the only people who can be trusted, while vilifying any critics of their rule as the enemy? He agreed.

Try to intimidate or eliminate anyone or anything that threatened their position of power? He agreed with that, too.

View any criticism, especially truthful criticism, as an attack on their power? Once again, he agreed.

Support conspiracies to justify their propaganda against enemies, like how North Korea does with the United States? This one he said he wasn’t sure, but sounds about right.

Will always play the victim when things aren’t going their way by vilifying a group of people, another nation, or something other than themselves for failure? Again, he agreed.

That’s when I asked him the question I had been building up to: So you would agree that many of the tell-tale signs of an oppressive dictatorship led by an authoritarian tyrant would include leaders who often play the victim to justify failure; view freedom of the press as the enemy; use nationalism to manipulate their citizens; use threats or intimidation to try to silence critics; view any criticism of their policies as an attack on their power; often push conspiracies to justify their propaganda; and perpetuate the idea that they’re the only ones who their people can trust and anyone contradicting what they say are liars trying to undermine the greatness of their leadership?

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” he said.

“Well, congratulations, you just agreed that Donald Trump acts and behaves like a con man and a dictator,” I replied. I wish I would have taken a picture of the look on his face. It was a mixture of the proverbial “deer in the headlights” and panic trying to find some way to respond after realizing I had just lured him into this trap.

First he tried to deny Trump had done any of that, using the typical spin many of his supporters use. I went through everything I had mentioned, pointing out examples where Trump had perfectly displayed those traits:

Wanted to control the information citizens receive to create an illusion of something that’s not real: His frequent attacks on the media, even pushing the ridiculous claim that they’re not reporting on terrorist attacks — aka creating something that’s not real.

View a free and open press as the enemy: Donald Trump called the media “the enemy” on Twitter.

Promotes nationalism: His slogan “Make America Great Again” is textbook nationalistic b.s. and he’s often used “rebuilding the military” (even though our defense budget has remained in the hundreds of billions of dollars for years) as a way to push this idea that we’re weak and no longer great — but he’s going to fix all of that.

Push the idea that they are the only people who can be trusted while vilifying critics: Again, constantly attacking any negative media about him as “fake,” while projecting this idea that he’s 100 percent honest and “just telling it like it is.” I even pulled out my phone and showed him the article I wrote where, based on Trump’s own “logic,” Fox News — a source he never calls fake — would, in fact, be considered “fake.”

Tries to use intimidation against critics who threaten his power: Again, his constant attacks on the press, plus his lashing out at people or businesses on Twitter who dared to speak out against him. Even his behavior as a businessman, often threatening lengthy lawsuits out of spite, was his way to try to silence people who might go up against him.

View any criticism as an attack on their power: I asked my friend to name one instance where Trump admitted he was wrong and took full ownership of it — he couldn’t name a single thing.

Supports conspiracies: I brought up his 9/11 conspiracy and his “millions of illegal votes” costing him the popular vote for which he’s yet to provide a single shred of evidence. I then asked my friend if he could and, once again, he could not.

Always plays the victim when things aren’t going their way, blaming others for failure: I went back to his whining about The Apprentice not winning an Emmy to prove that Trump has a long… long history of claiming things are “rigged against him” or citing conspiracies whenever things aren’t going his way.

I even brought up how many dictators want huge displays of “admiration” for them by way of public events where people show up to cheer their every word. You know, kind of like what Trump loves, holding events where his fans show up to feed his own ego while they cheer his every word.

Naturally, my friend tried to argue some of those points, resisting the overwhelming facts I had just used to prove that he agreed that Trump’s behavior is very much like a dictator. I reinforced that he couldn’t agree authoritarian dictators share all of these traits, but then deny that Trump behaves like one when I was actually describing his behavior when I was running down my list of questions with which he agreed.

That’s when I asked him one final question: If a con man was going to try to fool you into believing a very elaborate scam that obviously favored them but went against your own best interests, would they:

Want you to be well-informed with access to factual information and sources that might prove the lies and information they’re telling you aren’t real? — or —

Tell you that anyone calling them a con man is a liar, even possibly jealous, and that they’re the only person you should trust because they’re the only one telling you the truth?

“The second one, obviously,” he said.

“Exactly,” I quickly countered.

This was when my friend, clearly frustrated and flustered, decided to end the conversation and change the subject. He never fully agreed that Donald Trump was a con man who acted like a dictator, but he did agree that my descriptions of both — when I was actually describing Trump — matched the signs of a con man and dictator. The fact that my friend, someone who’s notorious for never giving up in a debate, abruptly ended this discussion was all the proof I needed that, deep down, he knew I was right.

Unfortunately, like many Trump supporters, the truth about the person they support isn’t something they want to face.

- Allen Clifton

[mathematicianadda]

Student Buy-in and Student Resistance

Posted on: 

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 - 7:01pm

Written by: Dr. Christine von Renesse and Dr. Philip DeOrsey.

We use inquiry in all our classes, in particular in our mathematics for liberal arts (MLA) classes. In our typical MLA class, students work in groups on mathematical explorations, and then share out their thinking in whole class discussions .

Student Resistance

Unfortunately, teaching with active learning strategies like inquiry-based learning (IBL) often leads to student resistance. “Felder and Brent (1996) note that enthusiasts of student-centered or learner-centered instruction are in for a ‘rude shock’ […] when they begin to actually implement updated pedagogies in their classroom.“ (Tolman, page 2. See references below.)

Tolman defines student resistance as “an outcome, a motivational state in which students reject learning opportunities due to systemic factors.” They further go on to state that “resistance is a motivational ‘state’ and an outcome of multiple interacting factors; it is not a ‘trait’ that endures over time or exists as part of a student’s personality or genetics.”

If you have facilitated an active learning classroom you may have experienced some of the following from your students:

Unwilling to engage in any task (anxiously or passive aggressively).

Openly rejecting tasks: “Why do I have to do this? When do I ever use this?”

Aggressive when questioned about their reasoning. “This is the correct answer, who cares how I got there?”

Acting helpless: “I can’t do this!”

Demanding different teaching style: “You are not teaching us!”

Sound familiar? Which student behaviors, if any, have you encountered that fall under “student resistance?” Do you understand why your students behaved the way they did?

To make inquiry-based learning work we want to lower student resistance, but to do this we first need to understand student resistance more deeply. One great resource is Tolman’s book “Why Students resist learning: A practical model for understanding and helping students”. He uses the Integrated Model of Student Resistance (IMSR) to explain how metacognition, cognitive development, negative classroom experiences, and environmental forces (work, family, culture/racism, disabilities) influence student resistance. It is tempting to think that student behavior only results from our facilitation during class but that is rarely the case. Seeing all the reasons that may lead students to resist can help us understand students’ feelings and behaviors and help overcome resistance.

Tolman explains that students either act to “preserve self” or to “assert autonomy”, and that they can do so actively or passively. It is helpful to understand that an expression of frustration can really mean that a student needs to assert autonomy, or that a student that seems afraid and reluctant to work is possibly trying to protect themselves from failure and humiliation. The more we, the facilitators, understand about why students resist the better we can support them in choosing to instead engage in learning again.

Makira [page 45] claims that “despite all of the literature-based evidence pointing to the importance of student–faculty interaction in college, many faculty overlook, or underestimate, the impact they have on their students. There is often a tendency for faculty to assume that talent and hard work alone will get students through the course, when in reality many other factors—including their own behavior toward students—can play important roles. In their study, the three variables that correlated to positive student outcomes (comprising the student–faculty relationship factor) were the student looking up to the professor, feeling comfortable approaching the professor, and feeling that the professor respects the students.”

Similarly, Tolman writes that “Communication theorists have also revealed some important ways that professor-student relationships shape learning and resistance. In this literature, immediacy refers to the amount of interpersonal warmth and social connection that an instructor demonstrates toward students.” [...] By understanding that sometimes students may be reacting to our own misbehaviors, including not adequately preparing students for tasks or not helping them understand the reasons for assignments[...], we may discover opportunities to alter our behavior to enhance student learning. By understanding the important role that immediacy plays in fanning or damping student resistance, we can seek to develop our social connection with students.” (Tolman, page 10)

When student buy-in is missing, e.g. resistance is up and students are blaming the facilitator, it is tempting for the facilitator to blame students - instead of looking for solutions to the problem. This can lead to a vicious cycle in which learning becomes harder and harder.

Student Buy-In

Zumbrunn et al. provide an interesting perspective in their study showing that belonging plays a crucial role for students’ engagement and achievement. Belonging is defined as the extent to which students feel accepted and supported by teachers and peers. They “argue that a supportive classroom environment predicts belonging and that belonging likely predicts self-efficacy and task value [value beliefs for learning tasks]. These motivational beliefs, in turn, independently predict engagement and engagement predicts achievement.”

This implies that for learning to be possible we as facilitators need to create a supportive classroom environment so that students feel that they belong. There are some strategies available on how to get students to buy-into their college classes, for example Dana Ernst' blog about setting the stage in mathematics and Tolman's book (more general), but successfully getting buy-in seems to depend on many factors, such as facilitator behavior, beliefs, and personality.

(Some of) Our strategies for Student Buy-In:

We describe ten general strategies that we use to encourage student buy-in. We relate each of these strategies to the revised model of classroom support for motivation as described in [Zumbrunn]. These connections are noted in parentheses for each strategy. Not all strategies listed are employed by us both, but we chose to list them jointly. You can see it as a menu to choose from, with probably many more good ideas missing.

Early success (belonging and/or task value)

Facilitators make sure that all students experience success early in the semester. To this end we choose shorter activities in the beginning - with an especially low threshold - that we know to be doable for everyone. In our experience if students fail to find early success they can quickly feel like they do not belong in the class.

Reflection (self-efficacy)

Students watch short video clips and write journals 2-3 times during the semester. Topics range from growth mindset, mind set and physiology, productive failure, persistence, (lack of) diversity in mathematics, injustice in mathematics, to applications of mathematics.

Trust (supportive classroom and belonging leading to self-efficacy)

As facilitators we truly believe that all students can be successful and make sure to tell them repeatedly that we believe in them and trust them.

Positivity (supportive classroom)

As facilitators we stay positive during class, especially when our students make negative comments or show other forms of resistance to our class environment.

Immediacy (supportive classroom and belonging)

In order to show our immediacy we often come to class early to sit with students and ask them questions beyond the classroom (“How are you doing? How are your other classes? How is your family? Do you have plans for break?” …). We make sure to tell them some stories about ourselves as well. The idea is to create a personal connection and to show students that we care about them as people.

Classroom Norms (supportive classroom and belonging)

In group and class discussions, we generate norms for our classroom community. These norms can include beliefs about mathematics, for example “Mistakes are valuable”, but they can also include how we want students and facilitator to act in class, for example: “Acknowledge the difference between intent and impact.” We like the Anti-Oppressive Resource for Establishing Norms for Discussion and Jo Boaler's Resource for Norms in a K-12 Mathematics Classroom.

Community Building (supportive classroom and belonging)

We consciously work on building a class community in the beginning of the semester. For example, we regularly change the grouping of students to make sure that all students know each other. Grouping students according to needs later on can be helpful as well.

Engagement

To help students stay engaged we make sure to provide activities that allow all students to work at their learning edge.

Belonging and Equity

We also specifically support student minorities, making explicit that we welcome all students and do not accept any microaggressions.

Art (Achievement)

Most students appreciate some form of art. Connecting mathematics to creating art is a powerful tool to motivate students. If students already know how to create art it is likely that they will enjoy this. If not, the promise of being able to is enticing. Of course you can choose any other form of achievement for this section, for example an applied project for a calculus class.

References:

Cavanagh, A. J. et al. 2017. Student Buy-In to Active Learning in a College Science Course. Cbe Life Sciences Education. 15(4). 15:ar76, 1–9.

Makira, M., Pasos, P. 2012. Connecting to the Professor: Impact of the Student–Faculty Relationship in a Highly Challenging Course. College Teaching, 60: 41–47.

Tolman, A. O., J. Kremling (Eds). 2017. Why Students resist learning: A practical model for understanding and helping students. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Zumbrunn, S., C. McKim, E. Buhs, L. R. Hawley. 2014. Support, belonging, motivation, and engagement in the college classroom: A mixed method study. Instructional Science. 42(5). 661-684.

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[ginguzzler]

Her Own Story - Episode 1.4: Alanna: The First Adventure

Feminine Mystique

This is the segment where I talk about what it means to be a woman in this fantasy world: gender performance, female sexuality, and relationships with men, women, and everyone in between. 

I’m going to start with the bad here so that I can end with the good. Because there is a lot of good. But sweets are for dessert. Beef is for the entrée.

~Gender Essentialism Rearing Its Head~

A quick note before I get started: I’m writing this as a cis-het woman. In other words, I identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. As a result, I have a lot of biases - some I’m sure I’m not even aware of. So if you find this discussion or my definitions in any way off-putting, please let me know! I’m always working to get better at this.

Now to get to it.

This book runs headlong into the issue of gender essentialism. If you’re not familiar with the term, the basic gist is this: all men have a penis, all women have a vagina, and there is no in-between.

For the record, this is not true. Your biological sex and gender are not the same thing. Biological sex refers to the type of genitalia you have. It’s physical. Gender refers to the set of social behaviors a person performs: whether you like wearing dresses, who you prefer to date, and even how you hold yourself when you walk or sit. And all of these behaviors are learned. Terms like “tomboy” and “queen” are used to judge how well people perform them.

This translates into a two-fold problem in western society (and other countries, but because this series is written in the context of western society, that’s the side of the issue I’m focusing on for now).

First, we link biological sex, which is a physical trait, to gender, which is behavioral.

Second, we only have two gender options, based on the most commonly seen types of genitalia: male and female. Man and woman. With this system, we assign babies a certain set of behavioral expectations based off their reproductive systems.

In practice, this doesn’t work out, of course. Even if everyone could agree on what makes a “real” man or woman, there are overlaps and contradictions everywhere: there are women who like to talk cars and men who enjoy cooking and cleaning. Women who are attracted to women, men who prefer dresses. The list goes on. And I’m not even getting into how race, class, and disability play into this issue.

As a result, it’s not surprising that there are people who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned. Some identify with the opposite gender. Some identify with a combination of those roles. Some don’t identify with any gender at all. Currently, one of the most popular terms for this broad group of people is “trans,” but there are many other names.

Clearly, this is a huge social divide that intersects with all kinds of issues. But the problem with The First Adventure is that Pierce never addresses any of it! Although she openly challenges the assumption that men and women should follow certain behaviors, she never once questions the existence of those genders themselves. So for people who don’t feel as if they fit into either one, these books seriously fall short. 

I don’t think this is intentional. In this book and in later ones, Pierce goes to a lot of trouble to be as inclusive as possible. But when Alanna’s first period triggers a massive breakdown about her body and gender, her health practitioner tells her: “Your place in life can always change…but you cannot change what the gods have made you.”

And that is a problem. It implies that gender is biological and immutable. It implies that you don’t get a choice.

I’m pretty sure that this isn’t what Pierce intended. The rest of the book lands much closer to a message of “don’t change yourself for society.” But what she intended doesn’t matter. Because in this context, where it is framed as a gender essentialist issue, that message becomes something more like, “you can’t change the gender you’re born with.” And that’s some transphobic bullshit.

~A Brief Aside on Gender Performance~

Now might be a good time to go into gender performance – those behaviors that we see associated with either gender. Unfortunately, because Alanna is going through her pubescent years with a ton dudely dudes, she’s not very aware of the differences in how men and women act. So while there’s lots of gender performance going on – see the bullying discussion in 1.3 – it’s not something that’s highlighted much. So I’m going to save it for the next book.

~More Internalized Misogyny~

As I said before, I think Pierce talks about this issue really, really expertly. But she does slip up. I may be part of a small demographic that finds this particular instance troubling. But it’s still worth talking about.   

Alanna loses her temper pretty reliably throughout the book. And she suffers from a lot of internalized misogyny, which rears its head pretty consistently, as well. But these two intersect most notably when she notices physical changes: her breasts and her first period, in particular.

Her consequent outbursts are fueled by fear of discovery, obviously, but they also reveal a fear of being a woman. Because in Alanna’s mind, women are “soft and silly” – and that’s a bad thing.

Coram, her man-at-arms, reassures her that she’s neither of these things. But he’s missing the point. Because the issue isn’t that she’s mischaracterizing herself: it’s that there’s nothing wrong with being soft or silly, just as there’s nothing wrong with a woman who’s tough or serious.

It may be a small quibble, but it’s one that bothered me. Alanna is still young, so it’s natural that she’s not thinking of how other women are affected by sexism. But it would’ve been nice if Coram had at least mentioned it. Then again, he is a cis-gendered male.

There is a brief nod to the effects of systemic sexism – and oppression in general – at the novel’s end. After Jon discovers Alanna’s secret, he mentions in passing that she has outperformed most of the other pages, that she “does better than most of us.” Alanna simply says, “I had to.” Because in her society – and in ours – any person who is marginalized has to be extraordinary in order to be considered on the same level as your basic cis-gendered white dude. And those expectations have imprinted on her so strongly that, even though most people don’t realize she’s not a boy, she holds herself to higher standards.

~Boobs and Blood~

Okay. Now that I’ve hit on the most outstanding issues, I’m going to get to the good stuff. Because, holy cow Batman: a nuanced portrayal of female puberty!

I’m not even talking about becoming interested in sex. I’m talking how girls cope with the physical and emotional impact of growing breasts and getting their first period! And best of all, when Alanna goes to see a health practitioner about these concerns (in secret, naturally), we get a straightforward discussion about sex and FANTASY BIRTH CONTROL. References to female orgasm!

If I sound excited, it’s because I am. I can’t overemphasize how unusual it is to see a scene like this in any literature, let alone books targeted to children.

Pierce is not the first author to explicitly discuss menstruation and sex. Both Judy Blume and Stephen King did so earlier and more famously in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Carrie. But menstruation is still a deeply taboo topic, even today. And this scene in The First Adventure was the first time I personally ever read about it in a novel. And outside of one or two memoirs, I’ve only seen the subject tackled in one other book – also written by Pierce.

And the discussion is nuanced.

Oftentimes, going through puberty is shown as one of two extremes: something that all girls desperately crave (as in Are You There God?) or as a horror show (as in Carrie). The First Adventure offers a rare in-between. Alanna is deeply distressed by her changing body. And, before she realizes what it is, she is terrified upon finding blood on her sheets. But once she understands what is happening and how to deal with it, she begins to accept it. She isn’t happy about it, but it isn’t a deal-breaker.

And honestly? This really matches up with my personal experience. Overall, I was looking forward to both breasts and periods much more than Alanna ever was – but even I was left feeling pretty ambiguous once both appeared. Not just because of the physicality of it, but because of the social implications. Awkward conversations with my mom and teachers. The constant fear that my bra strap might show or that I might leak. And the reactions from classmates, particularly male ones, whenever the subject came up. I could write a whole book on it.

Just as you don’t get to control when these changes happen, you don’t get to control how other people respond to them. And that loss of control is unexpected and unpleasant, even if you’ve been looking forward to the rest of it. So I could deeply relate to Alanna’s overall negative reaction. Puberty can really suck, even when you’re not hiding your gender.

In all honesty, other than the gender essentialist issue which pops up here, my only major beef with this scene is the health practitioner’s casual assumption that Alanna is going to change her mind about having kids. Presumptuous, much?

But really, there is so much to like here. I love that chapter in which this scene takes place is explicitly called ‘Womanhood.’ Pierce isn’t trying to hide it.

I also love that the remainder of the chapter focuses on other, non-physical aspects of growing up. It’s not about physical attraction or sex. That’s saved for later books. Instead, this is the chapter where Alanna starts to become more self-aware: not just of Duke Roger’s suspicious behavior, but also of the possibility that the divine might be taking an interest in her life. They are the first inklings of developments that will become integral to the remainder of the series. 

 ~A Quick Note on Breast Binding~

Pierce briefly describes the practice of binding breasts in this book. The reasons for this are obvious, but the method Alanna uses – wrapping her breasts tightly with a piece of fabric – is actually considered pretty unsafe. Putting that kind of pressure on your chest improperly can seriously deform the ribcage. Alanna switches to a more classic chest binder by the next book, which is a much safer option, but not a lot of attention is brought to that. This Buzzfeed article provides some good info and resources.

If you’re interested in learning more about trans rights and issues, I highly recommend checking out the National Center for Transgender Equality.

And that’s it for today! Next up: Bildungsroman.