#also the second part...it's an UT character definitely

[thesnowflake18]

Help what does this mEAN?!?!

[entomjinx]

Uta is NOT a Mary Sue

I wrote this on twitter for a "what's a controversial One Piece opinion" post, but I definitely want it here too. Also I apologize for any typos, as I'm physically incapable of not making at least one.

Uta, by definition, is not a Mary-Sue despite how people seem to believe so due to her past, abilities, family, and how she's introduced into the story.

Definition: The term "Mary-Sue" comes directly from whether or not the character in question is 2 dimensional, depicted as lacking any flaws, which makes them unrealistic, and the rules of the story tend to bend to them second they would stop the character. Other notable things about Mary-Sues is that they are typically free of any weaknesses, they're innately virtuous, and typically attractive.

So let's break this down bit by bit.

Right off the bat, I will say she's attractive, but so are most characters in One Piece. If attractiveness is all it took to make a Mary-Sue, then everyone would be a Mary-Sue. It's the same with the fact that she has a unique design.

Uta has several very clear weaknesses:

One: her devil fruit is stamina based. If she falls asleep, they all return to their bodies. If she dies, they die with her. She has to die to take her opponent down like that, and it is therefore, a weakness.

Two: she doesn't fight much outside of the song-world. This could be because of a lack of training to fight, as shown by her unwillingness to harm someone's body. Instead, she has to have unconscious people fight for her.

Three: If they can't hear her, they're unaffected. There is a whole scene depicting marines in headphones to block her voice, and it works until they're knocked off.

Four: she's not omnipotent while in the song-world. Several people were able to hide from her and the things she created.

Five: she can't alter a person's will, only their form. Sunny, Bepo, and Blueno fought against her after their bodies were changed. The people from the audience still called out for Uta to stop.

I could continue, but I think these get the point across.

She's not virtuous; she's morally gray, like most characters in One Piece.

She wants to start a new era, but the way that she plans on doing so removes people's freedom and will kill them. That's not virtuous, even if she believes it is. It makes her similar to a cult leader. Even if they somehow had everyone's best interest in mind, wouldn't call a cult leader virtuous, would you?

Everything above covers how she has character flaws, but I'm going to add a few more.

She begins to panic when things don't go how she expects them to. That's why the audience gets turned into stuffed animals and such. If they won't stay themselves, then she has to keep them there.

She was eating wake-shrooms the whole movie. Those are literally in universe stimulant drugs. Another point against virtuous and towards character flaws.

She didn't seek help for the things that were bothering her, which ultimately led to her crazed idea. Her isolation led to her being so independent that she probably didn't know asking for help was an option.

And finally, the big one: is she a two dimensional character? Definition first: a 2 dimensional character is a character with little to no character development. They're too simple, and show little to no serious thought. The have no real dimension to them.

Guys, the whole movie is about her. We see how her trauma changed her from loving being a part of the red haired pirates to not being able to stand pirates at all. How her lack of outside help and isolation only made everything worse, and what ut eventually turned into. We see her realize she was wrong the second she's able to process a fraction of what she's done, which if you pay careful attention to the movie, you know that not all of it was fully her. Parts of it were the wake-shrooms, which make people slowly go insane. (How many shows was she using one or two on, I wonder?). Some theories even believe that Tot-Music was still affecting her mind after the first summon, but I digress.

She just needed help.

There's so much more I could put into this analysis, but I've made my point. She's not a 2 dimensional character.

To address some of the concerns I know will come up:

"She's the daughter of the strongest Yonko." Being Shanks' daughter doesn't make her a Mary-Sue anymore than being Garp's grandson and Dragon's child makes Luffy one.

"She's Luffy's childhood friend. He was supposed to be alone." Being friends with Luffy doesn't make her more of a Mary-Sue. If anything, it adds more depth to both characters, as it helps explain why Luffy wanted a musician so badly. It also explains part of his hatred for loneliness. He had one friend who went missing and he never saw her again. ("Being alone is more painful" -Luffy's flashback post Marineford) -She was adapted into that spot of the story very well. "Luffy's never mentioned her before." Luffy never mentioned Ace before Alabasta either. In case you haven't noticed, Luffy doesn't really talk about things unless he's asked directly or has a direct reminder.

"She's so overpowered that she almost killed 70% of the world at once." Yes and? Kaido regularly attempted suicide. Big mom steals people's life spans. Luffy has a god devil fruit that the government renamed because they couldn't get a hold of it for 800 years.

All of them are objectively stronger than Uta in terms of strength. She had to become popular enough for most of the world to listen to her, and then strategize exactly how this would play out. There's also the fact that some people may be immune because of Haki (gorosei)

She had a plan and it was effective because she blindsided everyone with it. That's a talent and a half, and it wouldn't work more than once.

It also has nothing to do with whether or not she's a Mary-Sue and I think it's silly to bring it up, but I know how people are.

And finally: nothing is stopping you from continuing to dislike her. You don't have justify disliking her by calling her something she isn't. If she doesn't vibe with you, she doesn't vibe with you. Everyone has things they dislike, and that's perfectly normal.

If you'd like to know what an actual Mary-Sue looks like, then I recommend trying to read just five chapters of "My Immortal," with the main character Ebony Darkness Dimentia Raven-way, the Mary-Sue of Mary-Sues. Everything is so exaggerated that it's easy to spot.

If you genuinely want to discuss any of this, then I'm down to talk about it, but if you're here to hate and didn't even bother to read everything, then I'm not interested.

Thank you to everyone who made it this far, and I hope you have a good day <3

[sopuu]

Sorry if someone’s already asked this but what’s your opinion on undertale yellow?

ooh UTY!! well-deserved title of being one of the best ut fangames out there imo. wonderful designs, character backstories and the MUSIC. hooo the music. they went so hard on that i cannot tell you how many times i’ve listened to Guns Blazing and all the flowey fight tracks lmao

speaking of flowey (wonderful segway there) the neutral run has gotta be my favourite route because they absolutely Nailed his character. the fact that they implemented his trauma into his attacks is so smart and to top that with the different art styles??? their mind??? it also felt like he was experimenting with how he’d want his actual omega flowey fight to be like which is so so cool

i still remember the first time i saw him go from “why won’t you give up??” to slowly looking straight at the player. since clover doesn’t exactly have determination the meta aspects of ut won’t be as prominent, but in that short moment you get a huge blow of it- just flowey acknowledging but not quite confirming your presence, a second of vulnerability on both ends and then it’s gone. chef’s kiss gave me all the chills 👌🏻

that said tho although it is the yellow soul backstory i don’t really see it as a ut prequel? not in a bad way just that it doesn’t quite give the same energy as undertale yknow. some parts like the character designs are actually too good to fit into ut’s aesthetic (like ceroba and starlo’s whole gang), while some npcs felt like they were there just to deliver a gag instead of being a part of the world. ik undertale is guilty of that too at times but i felt like uty had a lot more of it,,

it would’ve also been interesting if they tied in the geno route to canon ut instead of having clover releasing the souls. it was kinda sudden to me especially with all the buildup of how asgore will definitely kill him but in reality he just got KO’d not even in battle. you’ve got the player rooting for the monsters and you’ve got a successful geno run in undertale already, so why not do something different here and have clover fail? see how the underground deals with the aftermath of it all while still developing into the ut we know?

BUT despite that it’s no doubt this is a phenomenal fangame! loved the demo when it came out, love the final even More, and the passion of everyone in the team really shines through- it’s so cool to see what this community can come up with :)

[totallynotthecrystalskull]

Do you have any tips for recreating the Deltarune sprite style?

Hmm... I'm not entirely sure if I've got any 100% full proof tips for the style (nor will I pretend I'm an expert on the style), but I'll give what I can for ya! So, first up, for any given color on a sprite, I'd suggest only using two colors. One brighter highlight, and one darker base/tone. the shading in DR doesn't tend to get super complex, so most of the time having only two tones for a part should work super well. Bonus points if one or both of the colors are then reincorporated into other parts too, like using one section's highlight as a shade for another, or using the same shade for multiple colors.

Second, a few in-between pixels can help give depth to sprites. You ever see those one or two pixels in-between an outline and the base color, and it uses the same color as the shade? Well, those are in-betweens, and while UT and Lightworld style sprites don't tend to use them, the Darkworld sprite tends to have way more of them, and they help distinguish Darkworld sprites. Third, don't be afraid to use a different color than outright black for your character outlines. There are a lot of sprites that use pure black like Lightworld sprites or sprites for Darkners, but if you're making a darkworld sprite for a Lightner, than get a little creative. Use a very dark tint of whatever their main color is, and that'll help them feel like more of a lightner. It's not a hard-n-fast rule (Berdly uses a black outline despite being a lightner), but it's a tool that can be used.

Fourth, use plenty of ref material. Take other DR sprites, compare them to your work, see what might be different, how you could fix it, and just try your best. And finally, remember that DR's stlye isn't perfect, has plenty of imperfections, and that it's ok to go for designs that aren't super consistent. It's part of the charm in my opinion, because even if it's definitely improved since UT, the spritework is still obviously no Metal Slug or anything, and I kinda love it for it. If you've got differences or flaws between your sprite and the official style, just remember that the official DR sprites are also pretty inconsistent, so your problems might not even register as looking wrong. Sometimes it's even fun to embrace a sprite's initial mistake and then turn it into something amazing/fun. And so uh... yeah, there's my tips. Not really sure if it helped all that much, but I hope they do! If I'm being totally honest here, my style's actually more closely based upon the style of the Undertale mod Bits and Pieces, as it's what I originally was mimicking, and it just so happened to be conveniently similar to DR's style. These are a few character sprites that I made in the style of the mod, with these all being the winners of a contest the community had to get NPCs into the mod (and the final two are mine).

I'd also made some sprites in past that were for a game project I was helping out with. It never saw fruition, though the styled was obviously influenced by the Undertale style, but they were different and they were also... well, a little rougher considering I made them when I was just getting into pixel art. I still like them and I don't think I did too bad for at the time, but it definitely doesn't match my current style (plus, the project's kinda dead in the water anyways)

[midnight-in-town]

Why Jane is a demon

Back to Mey & Ran’s investigation we go: since I have some time, I want to do a recap post on why I think Jane is a demon and is also possibly John Brown, Victoria’s aide. 

This sums up different posts that I previously wrote on Jane and on John being supernatural [x][x] and also possibly the main attacker behind the massacre at the Phantomhive manor, 4 years ago. 

Premise

First of all, to replace the context: Heathfield was “looking to replace his wife” who died in a carriage accident along with their daughter. 

Whether or not we think this was just a big lie, so that he could appeal to young women with a lower social standing in order to have intercourse with them (while UT maybe promised to eventually revive his wife or something), it’s clear that Abby and at least another servant used to be a part of the Aurora Society and were the ones driving this whole blood collect operation.

Meanwhile Jane was hired as a security guard...

 ...which means that she’s unrelated to the Aurora society. 

Notion of a job contract between Heathfield’s household and Jane

That’s the simplest clue: many readers noticed the way Jane talked whenever she referred to her job in the manor:

&

At some point, she also said that she would never do more on a job than what was directly asked of her (it was mistranslated in English so I won’t add the panel) and this all sounds very typical of demons speaking about their contract.

In other words, Jane stuck to her contract like glue, up until the operation was dismantled by Ciel’s allies. We’ll get back later to why a demon would give up when she could have easily defeated at least Mey. 

Jane’s behavior towards Baron Heathfield

Also something many readers noticed, as in, Jane lacked a lot of deference towards “her master”. 

This could be explained by the fact that she, as a demon, has no respect for him as a human (remember, Seb sees humans as grasshoppers & their soul as food). Besides, it’s very hard to be the master of a demon: our!Ciel does a rather good job, considering the wild and mocking beast that is Seb. 

So it’s not hard to think that Heathfield didn’t have it in him to correct & control Jane’s behavior towards him (if he even cared to do so in the first place).  

Parallels to S1 of the anime

As much as I kinda dislike admitting it (since I’m no fan of the anime), this arc was rather reminiscent of the one with Angela Blanc and Henry Barrymore. As we know, Angela eventually turned out to be a fallen angel and also Ash Landers, the Queen’s aide. 

So, while I’m really not sure angels are meant to appear in the manga, Jane being supernatural and having a “male counterpart” (named John) that we already met would be in tune as a parallel. Which leads me to the second part of the post.

Jane = John? 

As I linked to above, it is my belief that John Brown was hinted to be supernatural and even possibly a demon (instead of, like, a Shinigami or Angel). 

So, if John is indeed a demon, then it is likely to think that his master and holder of the contract is Queen Victoria and, in that case, one can wonder what was the point of “Jane” entering a contract with Baron Heathfield. 

Too many demons can spoil the soup

Unlike Shinigamis who are introduced in almost every arc (we get it, Yana), I’m personally against the possibility that Jane could be a third demon (assuming John is indeed one), because that’d mean introducing a pretty powerful character with literally no agency after Mey & Ran’s investigation, when we are far into the story and the plot is complex enough as it is. 

Yeah, storytelling-wise, it doesn’t sound like a good idea.

Besides, if Jane is a demon who only was in a contract with Heathfield, then...

...one can wonder what he even paid to have her summoned. That’s why this explanation makes not much sense, I find, considering the household seemed to have no idea at all about Jane being possibly supernatural.

Whereas if we’re considering that Jane already was in a contract with someone else, then it gives her a lot of agency + it means that meeting Heathfield and entering a very secondary contract with him would not have needed fare for the crossing (making the process even more simple). 

Why the presence of a demon at Heathfield’s manor

If we’re considering that John = Jane, then Jane would have been gathering intel on the blue sect’s operations for her real master: Queen Victoria. 

After all, remember that discussion between Victoria and Brown at the end of the Weston arc? 

Victoria clearly was interested in UT’s bizarre dolls (because she wants Albert back? Because they’re great war weapons?), so if she’s slightly aware of what’s been going on since ch140 and the real!Ciel’s return, then it’d make sense that she’d send her precious aide to gather info for her. 

And what Jane discovered is that the Bizarre Dolls need blood (amongst edited records and episodes) to function properly and long enough. 

As for that possible secondary contract that she made with Heathfield: we don’t know what it was about (maybe getting to eat the dead maids’ soul?), but it doesn’t nullify the contract with Victoria, seeing as Seb confirmed multiple contracts are possible.

Why Jane didn’t try to fight for long against Mey and Ran

If she’s a demon, then she theoretically had the strength to escape Mey’s gun and win, but there is a main explanation as to why she gave up: she didn’t want to be found out as a supernatural being. 

After all she was facing Ran & Mey and:

Ran showed that she was indeed strong as hell, which makes it interesting to ponder if she’s also a supernatural being or a strength-enhanced human (like Finny)

Mey is Ciel’s staff (and if Jane = John, it’s possible Jane would have known about that fact), so Jane proving to Mey that she was more than human would mean Ciel & Seb would get to hear about it and I’m pretty sure Jane/John wouldn’t want that. 

Another additional possibility is that Jane had gathered enough info, as her original mission requested, and she had no reason to stay longer (except maybe to eat some more souls, as per her contract with Heathfield, who knows). 

Ending word: what about the other investigations?

There is a lot at stake here and, as we know, UT definitely needs stopping. 

So it’s interesting to think that we possibly saw the Queen’s side gathering info on the situation through Jane, while Ronald (definitely representing the Shinigamis’ Organization) just made his appearance during Bard & Lau’s investigation. 

While Ronald’s arrival is definitely bad news (because it means people are going to die and for all we know Bard might be one of them), it makes one wonder who we’ll meet next if we get to read about Finny & Snake and Ciel & Seb: finally one of the remaining star lords? another government’s spy (France? Since UT went there some time ago)?

We’ll see!

Anyway, sorry for the long post, I hope it managed to convey my thoughts a little more clearly than my old posts. Don’t hesitate if you guys have any question! 

[mantra4ia]

Debris 1x13 "Celestial Body": rewatch Reaction'd, questions and comments

So if all those people are experiencing emotional convergence, who are they converging from? Who's sending the emotional signal that the debris is channeling, or is it the debris manifesting it's "consciousness" in a way that we can understand it by way of human conduits?

Maddox is clearly trading debris pieces with Irina (perhaps the piece that he took out of storage off the books), and Irina is on the phone with presumably her handler/ boss to negotiate this trade. She gives him lateral (which I assume means latitudinal) readings and then he asks for longitudinal readings which we don't get to hear. They are: Lateral 105, 112, 115, 120, 113, 110, 109

What's the significance of these measures? Latitude goes from 0° to 90° from the equator, so that doesn't track unless the scene is cut wrong and they're meant to be longitudinal (E/W) readings, which go to 180° relative to the prime meridian. That would make more sense, because after Irina is done with the first set of readings, the unknown caller on the phone says "drop to level two for vertical" and latitudes are North/South.

If we're talking Western longitudes, notable landmarks include: Denver, Salt Lake City UT / Phoenix AZ / nearly Sedona AZ - aka where the telesphere went, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe/ Nevada border, Great Salt Lake, Alberta-Saskatchewan border, and the Utah-Arizona border.

Or perhaps they're not part of terrestrial measurement at all. The act of "lateral reading" could just mean verifying your sources/accuracy as you go, where as vertical reading is reading for content first to see if something is worth evaluating for sources.

However, if they are part of coordinates, then is the fragment that Maddox is trading with Irina a legitimate "mapmaker" piece like George previously said Influx was seeking? Ya know, when he lied to his daughter. Can a mapmaker piece track moving/animate debris akin to the telesphere? Are those black dust cloud beings George is running from made up of animate debris?

Bryan: After becoming a parent you're in a heightened emotional state, emotionally raw.

George: Higher highs, lower lows, the joy of having a child, the postpartum depression, and the fear of getting it wrong.

Me: Are we in a pensive, self-reflective mood, George? Are you practicing your pub trivia Bryan, delivering exposition, or are you speaking from personal character experience? Seriously, how would you know?!

John Noble as Otto, man why does he always make such a good villain?

What is with the cryptic vagueness when Maddox tells Irina, "You know I can't let you leave with that case right? I mean you know that. There's another door for you Irina, one that only you can go through." They seemed almost on good terms in a previous episode, like friends or something more in a past life "nice car, i almost left / no you didn't", he wouldn't kill her, would he? Or is it more like a code between them, a sort of "I'm being watched, take the back exit"?

Hey, so why is it that sometimes George's eye seems opaque and damaged from the debris implant, but then when he's talking to Finola after he distracts Bryan while being Debris whisperer, his eye seems fine? PS: I googled Tyrone Benskin just to see what he looks like when he's not playing George Jones and I didn't know he's a former member of Canadian Parliament. Don't trust the government, eh?

George: "You're such a compassionate person, you always have been. So much of your mother in you." That's the second time that Finola's mother has been mentioned in the series, back from the pilot. Is it a coincidence that the first piece of debris that chose to interact with Finola resonated her mom? More than just Finola's desire being reflected by the debris, but the debris emoting it's first impression of her as someone compassionate that it can trust?

It also raises my heckles that George repeats, almost word for word, something that Finola said in episode 3. "If we can't help people, we do not deserve this debris / if we don't use this debris on these people, we are not worthy to have it." Are father and daughter that ideologically similar, or has he been spying on her progress this whole time, or both?

George: "I took my life to allow myself a rebirth, I paid the price. I want you to know that not one day goes by that I don't think of you and your sister. I want you to know this." This coincides with my initial impression that George staged his death to get away from Orbital after he assessed how his research was being used/abused.

George: "You never wanted to go into the pool, I had to throw you in, and you kicked and screamed, but you always did better that way." Immabout to throw you George, just keep talking!!!! I'm sorry, this charicature of absentee father reminiscing about the good old days really ticks me off from personal experience.

Also, as a person with a disability, I am not particularly pleased with the use of Dario as a plot device instead of a thoughtful character with a backstory at this point in the show for 13 whole episodes now. Pretty pissed off actually, so they better do something phenomenal and pivotal with Christian Rose (Dario) in season 2 [maybe have his character interact with debris in a similar way to Caroline]. But that's another rant about ableism in screenwriting for another angry day....

George: "A telesphere was born yesterday. It came from a pocket dimension inside Orbital. I think it's birth may have triggered the debris." This is perhaps the one-ish episode that I find George remotely interesting and also infuriating, particularly because of the way he speaks, like he's finally taken off the guise of the old, well-meaning eccentric and turned into a sharp, cunning, and at times calculatingly ruthless individual. I find it peculiar that he says a telesphere is born. Makes me think that the debris is not just part of a spacecraft, but a hybrid of the beings piloting that craft.

I get tremendous satisfaction from Finola head-butting people. This should continue.

I'm not familiar with all of the work of JH Wyman to know if this is a running theme or an ongoing joke. But does he keep his writing staff in a constant state of starvation? Is that why pieces of debris are called "Nachos", and why Influx has "Beans" to shield them from debris side effects, and why Bryan is always eating junk food? Should I be worried about the writer's room and start sending them healthy snacks?!? Just give me an SOS in the credit roll.

Speaking of: is the "Bean" that Finola ingested a piece of debris? Similar to the pieces of debris that fused with Anson Ash? Will it impart some physical benefits to her moving forward?

"I won't lose you again...you belong with me." What are you talking about George Jones, you made the conscious decision to leave your family. You didn't lose Finola, she lost you. In this version of reality at least. Or (unscripted backstory) did Jones and his wife separate prior to her death / was Finola brought up mostly by her mother? That doesn't seem the case if she was buying her father birthday presents and took it upon herself to settle his affairs after his death.

Why do the Influx Operatives Otto and Anson have tattoos on their hands, but not Loeb? Is he like the low end of the totem pole FNG who hasn't earned his stripes, hence why Otto gives him s***: aka "Careful you cretin. All the finesse of a butcher."

What is the hierarchy of Influx anyway? Despite being an anti-government "for the people/ elevate the human consciousness" organization they do still seem to have a governing hierarchy and Otto and George seem to be on the same level, pretty high in rank / they talk with confidence to each other like they go back a while.

What is that weird thing that Otto does with his hands to Bryan's head? What are all the weird things Otto does, including his massacre at the petrol station? Ick.

Why is it that Leob and George are freaked out by the black smoke (debris particle?) man, but Anson and Otto aren't? They seem to see them(?), but don't overtly react.

Bryan: "It seems like we're entering some kind of new phase." Gee where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, the story of "Blackwater grandfather" and the black wind that they're still teasing endlessly while refusing to tether it into some kind of world building lore. Agggghh!

Lololol, Bryan and Finola's dynamic even in the midst of a very serious episode makes me laugh. "Devon Reese / two e's? / Two e's!" "This one smells like baby diapers. Almost as bad as the tech section of the plane/ You mean your section of the plane. / Almost." That zinger 👍

Paraphrasing Bryan: "[recapping, recap, and did I mention recap]...something about George doesn't feel right." Personal pet peeve: I HATE IT when episodes have intentional explanatory lines like this to point out the fact that we as audience are privy to information that the main characters aren't. Not only does it make the main characters seem less intelligent, it breaks the fourth wall a little bit and gives the impression that the audience, which is ahead of the plot, is not as intelligent and needs a reminder that we're ahead. Lackadaisical writing drives me nuts!!! I can't outright say that it's "bad" dialogue, but it's not a choice I would make if I wanted uninterrupted viewer immersion.

Finola: "My instincts are good" Me: You are an emotionally intelligent decision maker with gaping personal blind spots.

George: You belong with me, your father.

Finola: My father died six months ago, and you are not him.

Me: Chef's kiss 👏👏👏

Otto: "It would never have worked out with that girl [Finola], not in any iteration." Definitely makes me lean towards the fan theory that the alt!Finola in (presumably) suspensia in Sedona Arizona got plucked from another reality.

Surprisingly, the ending credit roll has no voiceover as all the previous episodes of the season have. Disappointed that there's no potential teaser to a season 2 if the show gets renewed. But I find it curious that the extras who were demonstrating emotional convergence were credited as: chess board persons. Not sure if that's relevant, but I definitely feel like this show is playing games with me and my emotions.

[missholoska]

Is mad mew mew the same as she was in undertale or is she different In swap mh?

Mad Mew Mew is sort of an awkward situation for me in that she was revealed after I already had a lot of ideas set in stone for Swap MH, otherwise I likely would've tried to find a different swap for her that allowed for her Mew Mew form :'''> I guess it would've been fine to just leave her unswapped entirely, but I wanted to see what could be done with the Ruins Dummy role that Canonswap originally had for her.

I've talked about this part before but in Swap MH she's similar to Mettaton in that I don't want either to be "stuck" living unhappily in their old bodies/identities, so both characters at some point changed their names and pronouns and found ways to be happy with their forms - for Happstablook this happened pre-"game" events, and for Mad Dummy it's mid-"game" when Alphys asks her to model a Mew Mew cosplay that she has a revelation about herself and soon changes her name to Maddy the Dummy. in post-pacifist her personality vastly resembles UT Mad Mew Mew, and her design changes frequently as she models wigs and clothes for a living. she still has the same fashion sense as her original counterpart though, so she definitely has a preference for pink hair and cute skirts ✨

also as for Bored Dummy (UT Ruins Dummy) having a Mad Mew Mew equivalent form - I don't think they'll have a second fight in The Place Behind The Skelebros’ Sink™, but I do have the beginnings of an idea for a new form for them? I already use the headcanon that ghost monsters can hear Frisk's narration to Chara, so it'd be cute if both human kids are pretty close to the ghost family due to being in on the secret, and from there maybe Chara offers to knit a body for Bored Dummy. not sure exactly what yet bc I literally just thought of this a couple days ago, but I'll keep thinking on it!

[lifeofcynch]

coming out?😳

uhh so i’ve actually been questioning myself for a long time... but i kept telling myself each time ‘nah i’m straight. this and that doesn’t mean anything! i’m just thinking too far into things, right?’ because... i don’t even know?? this shit is confusing. i thought that i was misinterpreting things and that my autism was making me confused, but like... everyone wonders sometimes! but i feel like there’s a point of questioning yourself that goes past the regular amount? these thoughts and feelings have been on and off since i was like 13. i feel like that says something. i thought i’d only had crushes on boys but i think back to this really sweet and nice girl in my class in middle school who, despite my shyness and social difficulties, woyld always be friendly with me and talk to me. i remember thinking she was pretty. and i still do, whenever i see her, which isn’t often. i was never really able to get out of my shell, so when i went to another school, the friendship we did have faded. i am in a relationship now with a super sweet guy who i love with my entire heart and wanna stay with, but i tried imagining what it would be like to hypothetically be with that girl, and i found that i honestly wouldn’t mind! i’m comfortable with it! i have my preferences with personality and stuff, just like with guys (i definitely prefer men though.) there’s also the fact that there are certain female characters i find myself looking at in a different way (like eda clawthorne, or jucika, or that burlesque mouse from the mouse detective.👀) i guess they meet my standards? i watched a movie the other week with a badass female lead and tbh i couldn’t stop looking at her! every scene she was in were the best scenes xD i even ended up looking up the actress just so i could look at her bc she’s really pretty, and that’s when i realized that she might be my first ever female celebrity crush, and i started really realizing that i may not really be as straight as i thought! also like half of my OTPs are femslash and i find myself swooning and fangirling over m/f ships and f/f ships equally! i do have m/m ships as well but they’re very few and i’m simply not as invested in them. idk maybe this also says something about me? so i had a good talk about all of this with my boyfriend yesterday and he told me it seems i’m bi, and that he had actually thought that about me at times, and that actually made me happy to hear! so at this point i’m really starting to consider myself as bi! i think i might’ve been in denial for a long time. not because i’d feel ashamed or abything like that, but because i tend to overthink which makes me second-guess myself a lot and makes me unsure about many things... maybe one day i’ll see myself as straight after all, but i honestly doubt it because of all these signs i’ve noticed more and more. i just want to be as honest with myself as i can be, you know? and straight doesn’t feel honest anymore. so yeah, at least for now, i’m bi. :’3 bi, and in a het relationship with the love of my life!💜

any thoughts? i wanna know if this seems right, from my possibly-fellow LGBT+ followers/mutuals! please be honest bc i don’t wanna accidentally be part of something i’m not actually a part of hhhh i’m very anxious ;v;

[thelazyhermits]

Hiii! I’m pretty new to this blog! So I wanted to introduce myself! Because you’ll maybe find me lurking around more often! Hi! I’m sora! And I absolutely adore your the glitch story!! At the moment I’m at mob tale part 2 and can I just say that I had to reread underchrome again and again!! I love chrome!! I absolutely ador him! I wanna hug him and give him smooches!!! Also! You write so well!! You suck me in at every moment of the story! I edge is such an adorable tsundere!! Stretch and blue are sweethearts!!

I squeal whenever I see one of the skeleton brothers! I can’t wait to read further and when I complete the glitch I’ll be reading your other work! Watch out you’ll be seeing me around a lot!! *happy bounce* I wanted you to know that I absolutely adore you and your writings! Please never chance and stay your amazing wholesome self!! Also! I love your header!! Are you also a huge fan of tokoyami as me? Lots of hugs from me!! I’m gonna dive into the glitch again! See you!! *waves enthusiastically before plopping back into AO3 to read the glitch*

Hi, Sora! Happy to have you here! ^-^

Awwww, you are too freakin sweet! Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying The Glitch! I’m also delighted to hear that you like my writing and Chrome 💕💕

Tokoyami is definitely one of my favorite BNHA characters, probably my second favorite 1-A student after Midoriya. That’s why I like to give him and Dark Shadow a lot of focus in my writing when I can haha

BNHA is currently the only fandom I write for since I’ve come to love it so much. I still like UT. I just don’t write for it anymore. Hopefully, that won’t be too disappointing for you ^^;

I hope you continue to enjoy The Glitch!! 💕💕

[wiinterrose]

          ( xavier serrano , male , he/him, 23 ) omg ! i was walking yonge street downtown , and you’ll never guess who i saw . 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒 ! i just saw a post about them on sixsecrets ! i think it said something like “ 𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐘 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝟓 𝐀𝐌 : 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 ?” . isn’t that wild ? i guess it makes sense through , since they’re apparently 𝐃𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐒 and 𝐂𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 . but i’ve heard they’re also 𝐎𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 and 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂 ! i’ll just stick to giving them the benefit of the doubt . i mean , it’s not like i know them personally — they’re a famous 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 / 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐁𝐄𝐑 ! you know , i’ve actually heard rumors that ██████████████████, but they’re just rumors … i think . i dunno . if you happen to run into them , tell them i’m their biggest fan ! ( ollie , they / them , 21 , est )

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

— mikey was born and raised in winnipeg because i think it’s funny when characters are from winnipeg. if you’re from winnipeg i’m so sorry. definitely was born on the coldest day of that year ( so like some point in january )

— but because of those long, cold harsh winters, mikey found himself in a dance studio a lot. his aunt was a dance teacher and with rather absent parents who meant well but both had long hours at the local hospital, he spent a lot of time with her. he fell in love with dance pretty early on, always having a certain fluidity and grace even when he was young.

— random but he also played hockey up until he was like 16 or whatever because he’s canadian and i’m not stupid. it happened. he can still skate tho. in a slightly different life he probably would have been a pretty good figure skater huh 🤔🤔🤔 but anyway...

— also feel like it makes sense that he did gymnastics. and trained in classical ballet.

— he went to university of toronto for college, studying kinesology and dance, and danced at one of the prestigious studios in the city.

— his big break moment was when in his sophomore year at ut, he made it onto the second season of world of dance in early 2017 ( lets pretend that show has been on longer than it has bc i don’t want it to be the first season of it sldk ). he made it all the way to the finals and quickly become a fan favorite along the way. though he ultimately placed second and missed out on the million dollars, that was the beginning of many doors opening for him. ( for those who, might have the vaguest clue what i’m talking about : i’m highkey feeling like, michael dameski style which is an idea i had after i named him michael so don’t @ me for him having the same first name ).

— millions watched that show, including some prominent agents and scouts who were able to help him launch a professional dance career : something he never thought he’d see himself actually doing. his first big gig was making the dance team for some singer’s north american tour, and he ended up not returning to ut to pursue a professional dance career full time. since then he’s danced in a few music videos for some uber famous musican ( same one he went on tour with or not idk ?? also a wc ?? maybe ?? ), a tv show, couple movies, and other various gigs around the city. he works part time at a studio when he has time, and has been honing his choreography skills as well.

— he makes enough dancing, but certainly not enough to make him RICH. no, that come from an impromptu vlog he did while on tour with aforementioned singer. having already garnered a following from world of dance, he soon rose to youtube fame as well, something he never could have predicted. i feel like his videos are very just, day in a life with various random challenges mixed in, and various workout and flexibility tips. he also still does pieces and duets with other prominent dancers just for fun too. his natural charisma and attitude really just carries him through easily lmao.

— mikey developed a bit of a habit of sleeping around when he left for college, all the newfound freedom was just intoxicating and well. he was hot so. it wasn’t like it was hard alsdkjf. that stuck around well into his blossoming dance career. nothing that was enough to be scandalous, but he made his way around. and then a year and a half into this unforeseen new life, he met matthew glass.

— he’d had a couple serious relationships before, one in high school, one his freshman year of college but neither of them could hold a flame to what he felt when he was with matt. perfection wasn’t something mikey believed in, but he almost did with what they had.

— it was like for over a year and a half he lived in this insane dream, and then mikey and matt broke up and he was devastated ( behind closed doors and with curtains pulled tightly shut ).

— he then proceeded to broadcast how perfectly fine he was doing by going back to his old ways and sleeping around obsessively, this time with very little regard as to how many headlines he was making. as far as coping mechanisms go, i guess sex is better than alcohol ?? not to say he wasn’t also drunk at times l o l.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂

— mikey is a... how do u say... im gunna write manwhore bc it’s accurate so pls don’t take offense. inch resting bc i’ve written smut like once in my eight year rping career but that’s what he decided he was gunna be and who am i to deny that.

— very bi. very much does not care. if the world didn’t know he was before, it definitely does now lmao. he hasn’t come out in the sense he’s like posted a video about it and said “i’m bisexual” but it’s pretty obvious from the media and maybe he has gotten asked in interviews and has just shrugged and been like does it matter ?? i’m sorry he’s not the vocal bi ally we need. perhaps we will work on that.

— hasn’t dated anyone since matt bc he’s highkey lowkey still hung up on him but no one needs to know that right. outwardly, he’s very much the same : seemingly happy, but he’s a lot more careful with his heart and letting people close to him. if anything he’s become a bit of a two-way mirror, always seeing out but never really letting people see in, just what they want to see.

— probably goes without saying but extremely flexible. idk if any of you know who juuse saros is but apparently he can twerk in a split and i’m not saying mikey can but like. he just might be able to...

— straight up does not get cold. never wears more than a hoodie, probably danced shirtless in the middle of winter just fine. at least being from winnipeg is good for one ( 1 ) thing.

— i feel like people call him flower. idk guys. maybe im just thinking too much abt hockey goalies.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

— he tends to be extremely underestimated as he comes across a bit dumb and generally has a pretty positive outlook on life which people confuse for him being naive when that isn’t the case. but he’s found he can use that it his advantage and that sometimes, people will tell him things they think he can’t understand but he hears and remembers everything. it’s helped him out of a few difficult situations before.

— i feel like he has a bit of ethan dolan’s personality & dumbass energy idk guys...

— live in the moment kind of dude. his motto is probably like : you just gotta know what you want to do next. i mean looking back on his life it’s been pretty crazy and that’s only solidified his outlook that like, you really can’t control too much. just let it go where it takes you.

— people do like him though and they like talking to him for whatever reason. generally has pretty trustworthy vibes but he’s more slippery than he comes across. he’s a selfish person at heart and always has his own best interests in mind, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first.

— extroverted. i think ??

𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

— 6′1″. chocolate brown eyes. curly brown hair. he has a lithe but extremely fit build due to his career. his core strength is especially impressive. 

— he has a monochromatic lineart tattoo of a rose on his left forearm / wrist and a butterfly ( again monochromatic & just lineart ) on his right shoulder. small scar at the base of his neck by his ear from an unfortunate hockey accident.

— needs glasses but usually only wears contacts unless he’s in his apartment late at night.

— he’s not overly fashionable, going more for comfort than how he generally looks. on a regular day, he’s probably got the whole... college athlete look going if you know what i mean. a big fan of mirrored aviator sunglasses. wouldn’t know what dressing up meant even if it slapped him in the face.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

first and foremost i want to say that i like to vibe and brainstorm with people to come up with unique connections between our characters but here are a few ideas:

— the singer whose tour he danced on — singer whose music videos he’s been in — mayhaps even actors for that tv show / movie he was in ( v small role but whatevs. maybe they just Vibed yknow ) — flirtationship 😔 — always ye ol good hookup l o l — we keep running into each other idk maybe we should talk ??

TAKEN CONNECTIONS PAGE HERE

𝐎𝐎𝐂

          hey guys, i’m ollie. my intros are either written really eloquently or a big mess bc im trying to rub together a couple braincells at 1 am and whatever comes out, comes out. no need to guess which category this one falls into lmAO. anyway, i’m a slow plotter bc i’m easily overwhelmed trying to do too many things at once but i swear i will try to get to as many people as i can. and yeah this entire character is inspired by my love of world of dance don’t @ me... if u made it all the way down here u should watch this bc 😳 & mikey has the same athleticism and strength.

[yunsangelic]

Hey, Im new to the hockey scene and might send you some asks without the anon option in the future (but not right now 'cause I'm still too self conscious) and I read some of your asks in relation to Nolan Patrick and wanted to know if you can explain a bit of his skills for me? I know he is a great player and I can see that the games I've been watching, but I'm too new in this scene and some written help would be awesome. He was the first player who got my attention, he and Sarah Nurse. Thx

First of all take as much time as you need to work up your courage, I get being anxious, but I swear I’m nice even off anon!! Second of all I LOVE Nursey in like one million different ways. Okay and then finally to address your main question, I had to tap into the Big Hockey Brain that belongs to Mara* (@MaraBowden on twitter) because she is THE statistics gal in the Chick Trick Podcast & Website! (CTP twitter link, CTP Website) Also I’m sorry this is gonna be all over the place.

[*Mara’s analyses are based on solely Nolans time in the NHL, mine are based off of his time in the WHL and the NHL]

Okay let’s get started.

The first thing I notice is how focused he is on ice and during games. In his mic’d up videos he’s always talking about what plays could be made next depending on what the opposing players do, which is another thing

He pays attention to what other guys do, on his team and on other teams, what their typical move is, he reads people and plays REALLY very well which is a great skill to have.

That all being said his hockey IQ is, unsurprisingly, high and it’s a skill, according to his dad and uncle-both former players and coaches, he has had since he was kid (x)

He has a very solid, strong shot. From Mara (paraphrased by me): He has a good shot location, consistently put up above average xG numbers (this means expected goals) likely due to the good shot location. He mainly shoots directly in front of the net and from the slot (the slot is the space between the attacking teams faceoff circles) Outside of good shot placement there isn’t much statistically that pops out about him because he has only played 2 NHL seasons and neither of them were the full 82 games. (this part is word for word) “[B]ut I watched some highlights and routinely was like ‘bro that was sick’ which makes me think he’ll figure stuff out more in the future[.]” (Heat map of his shot placement x)

This speaks more to his character but he’s very respectful towards his teammates and coaches (TK doesn’t count, neither does Hak) 

He isn’t afraid to put pressure on opponents, especially when battling for the puck!! You can see that he wants it and he’s gonna do what has to be done to get it.

He’s pretty physical for a forward, and definitely isn’t afraid to get into it with another player when they piss him off (*Paris hilton voice* that’s hot)

Watching him stick and puck handle, he’s quick, precise, and efficient. And not to like uwu babie him but he does this thing when he scores where he like “holsters” his stick after he scores and I swear it's so fucking CUTE (he does a bit of handling AND celly-ing in this video here x)

Also, because I have to bring this up, his absence from the Flyers this year wasn’t his first run in with a long term injury in his career (sports hernia, out 3 mos in WHL), and he handled that situation with maturity and level-headedness and I believe he’ll handle his current injury in the same way.

I have noticed that when he’s having a good game and he’s got the swagger everyone saw in Brandon that hes very steady, focused and one or two steps ahead of the game which is where he gets those absolute beautiful goals.

Last bit of stuff here; He follows through on everything he does hockey-wise. Hits, plays, and shots. And he’s extremely vocal, as I mentioned with his teammates he can be heard on the ice, off the ice on the bench, and in practice as well, so he definitely has so much potential to be an all-star and maybe even make people rethink his placement in the draft...... :)

Citations: MoneyPuck.com, all videos are on Youtube.com, nhl.com/flyers, SportsNet, Philadelphia Flyers, Mara’s Brain, My Brain.

[jaypelt]

Cheers for Five Years of Undertale, and its Everlasting Effect on Me

Been a while since I’ve done one of these... I might even be rusty at it! Honestly, what I’ve got right now are more vague thoughts than coherent words in my head. I wasn’t sure if I’d even do this, since I felt it wasn’t entirely necessary. Everybody had so much to say! But spurned on by the display of someone very close to me, the cogs in my head couldn’t help but start turning for me too. So here I am. This isn’t going to be easy, though. Because if you read this, I need you to understand the depth of my feelings. Even if just a little. So I’ll do my best to bare my heart yet again, for the sake of it and everything its done for me. Everything it’ll keep doing for me.

The beginning is usually always one of the hardest parts. A blank space devoid of anything, that you’ve got to somehow miraculously fill with thoughts somebody else could understand. But Undertale is rarely a subject I ever have to struggle so much with. It’s been a long, long five years.

This is re-treading old ground that a number of those who know me are already familiar with, however, I don’t think this would be complete without it. But it will get very, VERY personal. If you’re not comfortable with that, then uh... giving you another warning now. But pushing forward...

Right before UT came out, I hadn’t begun to really unravel quite yet. But I was very close. It was somewhat of a rough transitional period as I moved on from my middle school to high, losing very dear IRL friends and generally continuing to struggle with school, as I had been for years. Untreated ADHD is real nasty. But I’d always had at least some friends, either online, or ones I made throughout the year, to rely on. And I didn’t really think about things. The start of this school year was no different. Even having a... perhaps questionable choice of boyfriend, but, well, he was my first.

I struggled with just about every aspect of school from basically the start, but having a small group, and especially an online partner to come home to everyday, helped me at least get through. In the coming months, however, I’d start to encounter more turbulence. Through aforementioned partner, I met someone who’d come to rely on me far more than he should have. Made even worse by the fact that he was a full grown adult while I was only 14, which will be a recurring trend. And has been for most of my life.

We hit it off pretty quickly, becoming good friends and talking to each other outside of mutual friend spaces. And through that, he started to open up about his problems. Living with a family that treated him poorly, suicidal urges, and particularly, an abusive boyfriend. If you know me well, I’ve probably definitely talked about this at least a little.

My daily routine starting becoming supporting this person through all of his troubles. Sitting in skype calls or exchanging messages for hours at a time on the daily. Rarely did a day go by where I didn’t, slowly sinking into an apathetic pit from overextending myself for the sake of his mental health. I couldn’t even help him improve, all I could do was just try to keep him alive. Which, well, I did. For months.

Everything else fell to the wayside as I was constantly stressed about the life of someone I cared about. Obviously my school life suffered even further. I grew withdrawn from everyone, and kept only to the few online friends I had. However, in the midst of this downward spiral, just before the ball really got rolling, a certain game came out. Exactly a month after it had come out, October 15th, 2015, I’d become interested after all the talk on tumblr about Undertale.

After watching a playthrough on youtube(I didn’t play for myself at first, a pity), It’d personally resonated so strongly and gotten me so hooked that it was something I invested a fair amount of my time into consuming content about. I grew super attached to all these characters that’d made me laugh, smile, cry... just this whole spectrum of emotions. And someone in particular, Alphys, really caught my attention after things had begun to get worse.

She felt so... relatable, though I couldn’t possibly tell you all the reasons. When I think about it, we’re not really the most similar, but something about her just hooked me. Maybe because she had all these things going on that nobody knew about. And that she lied. And felt so anxious interacting with anyone after she’d previously been much warmer and closer. That she was closer to “disappearing” than she seemed.

Whatever the reasons, the months moving further along, consuming content about UT practically became my lifeline. I reblogged heaps and heaps of posts  about it, watched videos, listened to the soundtrack, even started drawing because I’d been so inspired. When I was just stuck in this horrible pit of second-hand depression, it was the one thing that still made me happy. I started to really think about why it mattered to me and how. It’s funny, I’d read books obsessively for years before then, but UT was the thing that really got me thinking. It was all downhill from there, I tell you. Now I’m an artist and a writer. Horrific.

But, unfortunately, for all its good... it couldn’t stop what was to come. I was still getting worse and worse, with no end in sight. I’d already been supporting... let’s call him Phil, for a few months. And in December of that year, my boyfriend completely dropped off the grid for a while. I’d see him appear online sometimes and I’d message him, but no response, then right back to offline. Finally, he came back, approaching me with something he obviously was uncomfortable about.

To make a long story short, he’d come to the conclusion that he was straight, and decided to end the relationship. What’s bad is that... honestly? I was already doing so poorly that I had a hard time caring. But we did pretty much stop talking, and I leaned into Undertale all the more. Anyway, time continued to pass. Not without its few ups, and mostly downs. I got used to being called “mature”, usually followed by “especially for your age.” “Phil” told me that if I were legal, he’d date me. I’ve got a crippling fear of screwing up with people that’s stuck with me to this day, after a few occasions involving him. I considered doing some... not so great things to myself. Thankfully, I was always so averse to physical pain that it didn’t become anything extreme.

As for the few ups, there was “Phil” finally managing to leave his abusive relationship, when he’d tried previously and fallen into such a bad depressive episode I had to talk him down. So that was something. He’d even started going to therapy after the second break up.

Not that it did a whole lot. The school year began approaching its end and nothing had really changed. I’d been going through all the same motions for around half a year or more. My sleep was terrible, I was passing almost none of my classes, had practically no friends to speak of, and just felt... tired. All the time. But during this... the minute beginning of a monumental shift started. Another character in UT had begun to clutch me in his grasp. Even more strongly than Alphys. Flowey. Through the posts a singular person on tumblr had made about him and my experience with the geno run, I came to understand the dumb little flower more. Which is also funny, because he was previously my least favorite. Even, yes, after the Asriel reveal.

I’m having a difficult time weaving together this convoluted timeline of events, but it was around... perhaps March or early April that the person whom I’d been supporting for almost a full fucking year completely disappeared. Without a word. The one thing I’d tried to stick to for so long was just. Gone. So I drifted about with, well, no purpose.

By the end of the school year, it probably goes without saying that I was... not doing great. But one those aforementioned acquaintances I’d only just started to become actual friends with came forth to me with a question. That being if there was some way for us to keep contact during the summer. So I gave her my email, which would turn out to be a decision that saved my life. Because things would only get worse before they got better.

This is getting to be way, way, way too long. So to summarize, summertime came around and I’d been in pretty close contact with... I’ll just call her V. She was... well, unlike anyone I’d ever known. Someone who stood out with the intelligence you could just see in their eyes. Outgoing, charismatic, compassionate... all those sorts of things. We were opposites in a lot of ways. Or, at least, it felt like it.

Some things happened, like “Phil” coming back after months of nothing. Me immediately slotting back into my role of being a pillar of support, but then screwing up and hating myself for it. But honestly, that ain’t shit to the rest of the whole shitshow.

For a bit of context, my parents are divorced. So for most of the previous years, I’d been going to my mom’s place during the summer and staying with her the whole time, to make up for how rarely we’d see each other otherwise. That year... she was beginning to run low on money. She lived next to my granny, but still basically alone, compared to how she’d been staying with someone else in hotels for the few prior years.

After learning she didn’t have enough to pay rent and might be kicked out, she tried to appeal to her mom, who said she wouldn’t let her stay. Why? I don’t know. After that, she spiraled into a panic. And, well, the ever faithful little worker bee, I stepped forward to try and console her in any way I could. She seemed to recompose, at least a little. It wasn’t great, and she thought she’d have to do some unsavory things in order to survive, but... I thought that, just maybe, I’d done something.

But... later that night, she started drinking. Which... well, put her in a mood. Exacerbated by the day’s earlier events and the fact that she was taking medication that responded poorly to alcohol. She came over to where I was sitting, my little makeshift desk I’d put together to set up my desktop, with my little sister just in the other room. Just... a warning for this next part, it’s... grim. More grim than anything else in this thread.

She proceeded to tell me she was going to go upstairs and grab the gun my granny kept in her room. And berated me for thinking I’d done anything to help, saying she “wasn’t like my little friends” that I could simply talk to. With that, she walked away, heading upstairs. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so crushed in my entire life, to this day. I broke down crying, sitting in that chair.

Yet, somehow, I managed to stop when I saw her coming back down. She walked back over, pointed the gun at her head, and told me to give her a reason she shouldn’t do it. And also to this day, I.... still don’t know if I said what was right. It was all I could think of. I quietly told her that if she did it, I’d pick that gun up and do it to myself. Same as her. And I asked if she wanted to be responsible for that.

It was true, too. By that point, I didn’t care anymore.

And if there’s one thing I can say about her, it’s that she’s always cared about me. In a horrible, twisted way especially, that night. It was enough to make her silently pull the gun down, go back upstairs, and put it away. One last time... she came down, walked past me to the front door and simply said “I love you.” before going out to sit on the porch.

I’m not sure I’ll ever truly get over the events of that night. I spoke to V afterwards, as I’d been keeping in regular contact, as I said. And even been speaking to her throughout the day about what was happening. I think she was panicking just as much as I had been, and told me to go find the gun and unload it. So I did. Bawling my eyes out the whole damn time. Afterwards, I took the bullets and threw them in the large neighborhood garbage can.

The rest of the night’s a blur. I don’t recall if anything else happened, I just remember waking up tired the next day. My uncle was in the house, as he’d been staying with my granny for a while, but hadn’t been around the night before. I tried to talk to him, but.. couldn’t bring myself to open up. Even though we were pretty close. I went back to my dad’s.

That wasn’t the end of it, either. For the next coming months, I’d get drunken calls and live in fear of being put right back in the same situation. It got so bad that I stopped answering my phone altogether. I broke contact with my mom entirely. I still hate answering or making calls.

Anyway, a few other things happened in the summer, like my applying for online courses. And the subsequent ridicule from my dad’s side of the family for the decision. Tell you what, the stress of taking a test to try and join that online program, then going to golden corral and having to struggle to not cry in front of everyone there was... not the ideal way to spend a birthday. Happy 15 years to me.

So.... that was that. I still went through with online courses and everything kind of... slowed to a crawl. I tried to do school work, but depression and still yet untreated ADHD prevented me from making any substantial progress beyond a few finished classes. For a while I simply... existed in a limbo. All I did was get up, get on my computer, maybe talk to a few people, and play Overwatch. Maybe look at tumblr, as I remained into Undertale. V and I lost contact after school started back up. I never blamed her for it. In fact, I preferred it that way. She didn’t deserve to have such a burden placed on her, and I still... feel guilty for leaning on her so much.

But I’m very thankful. I hope she’s out there living a good life, wherever she is.

And this! Is where we finally get to the not depressing parts! And only... what, 29 paragraphs in? Sheesh... I know I wanted to really illustrate just how shit things were to demonstrate just how much UT did for me, but this is taking it a bit far, isn’t it? Ah well... already made it this far. In for a penny, in for a pound. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! I’m sorry. Truly. And I love you so very dearly.

Time went by and I kept doing my thing. Playing Overwatch(a practically self-destructive behavior deserving a therapy, frankly), talking to the few friends I had that I kept at an arm’s length, that sort of stuff. “Phil” and I no longer talked, thank goodness. Obviously I was depressed as all hell, not bothering to shower, eat, clean up, or do laundry for days on end. I spent more time asleep than I did awake, on most days. Did I say this was where the not depressing part was? I may have lied a little.

Blah blah “more months go by”, you know the drill. Until... I believe, November of 2016. After cementing my love of Flowey ever deeper, I’d started to follow more blogs putting out content for him on tumblr. In particular, the most important ones being I’lltrytobegood, Flowey-Answers, and later happyflowey and Corruptedflora.

It all started with a stream. I joined an art stream of LLA(Lovelyladyartist) on picarto as he worked on ITTBG. I kept quiet for the first few streams I joined, being too anxious to really out myself in any capacity. But little by little, I was coerced out of my shell. Particularly by one SilverKhaos, who I think at the time went by SilverSlayer or something. Anyway, he got me talking. And through that, I started making friends, bit by bit.

Also through the stream, I was introduced to CC(CuteCatDoodles) of Flowey-Answers. I obsessively read through the entire blog in a single sitting, just... having such a good time with it. And... strangely enough, it... got me feeling oddly better. Like I’d finally started to breath after not being able to for what felt like such a long time. If just a little. The next day, I got out of bed early, cleaned up, took out some garbage, and made breakfast. Just a simple plate of scrambled eggs. A simple, easy morning for most any average person. But for me? It was one of the most special mornings I’ve ever had.

Likewise, I did the same with Ding’s happyflowey, of reading through all of it in a single night. My head hurt like a motherfucker, but I tell you, it was worth it. The effect perhaps not as profound, but still very meaningful to me, as well as sowing the seeds of yet more relationships to form. If far off in the future, as far as this timeline is concerned. I still adore all of those dumb, charming little flowers so much. Mania would come to inspire my first ever OC, in fact. Thinking about that blog makes me miss when the UT fandom was more active here, even though I never participated in the fandom at large. But I’m grateful for the memories and incredible amounts of enjoyment getting to read it all brought me. I have way too many cropped images of Hysteria.

I wasn’t immediately better, but it was all the start of something new. I kept up with the streams, also joining in for CC’s. For hours upon hours a day, I’d just hop into them and spend the day talking away. I had something to really look forward upon waking up, starting to adjust my schedule so that I at least didn’t miss TOO much. I was able to really make friends, it felt like. Even though I wasn’t and still am not the most socially adept.

And as luck would have it, because picarto chat was and probably still is pretty unstable to this day, it just happened to go down and that led to... the creation of the discord server! It started off small, but steadily got more and more joiners from the growing population of the streams. LovelyLadyArtist, CuteCatDoodles, BrySkye, Flowers-Without-Pots, SilverSlayer, KRS, Donut, Mr.Quarter, Dragoler, Stilla, Chara, RotmModdy, Rowdy, Dunal, and probably at least a few others I’m forgetting... all names I encountered there and most of which I still see daily.

Through that server, we started keeping up even when there wasn’t any stream going on. Just goofing off and having a good ‘ol time. Already I was... well, doing a helluva lot better than I had before. All because of the gathering of a small community surrounding this indie gem. And even further centered in a niche specifically about Flowey! Who, and I’d forgotten to mention this before, I’d found a surprising amount to relate in. He’d become a big, BIG hyperfocus. Which is why I’d met everyone at all. Truly, it’s crazy to think how possible it is for me to have never come down this path.

From there on, I continued to meet new people, established new relationships. I even got invited to an RP server, creatively named “Flower RP” :p. At first I was hesitant, perhaps not even initially 100% interested. But as people really got into it, I felt an incredibly strong Fear of Missing Out. Leading to the creation of a character still near and dear to my heart.... Zorch. The result of contributions from many friends, from design ideas, to character concepts, and even his name(thanks for that, Rowdy). And... I began to write. It wasn’t great at first. very short form, and I didn’t know how to approach the roleplaying mindset, or even how to properly characterize him.

But over time... I got better. I became more confident. I really got into the nitty-gritty of character writing and discussion. I joined in on hours long discussions about the characters, lore, and narrative of Undertale. I’d wake up just to be there as soon as chat began to move, all the way to the point where everyone was finally asleep. I started to be able to help people again. For months, participating in this RP, in this chat, in this community was what I lived for. The joy that I felt in being among friends all working towards and talking about a common goal and interest is, well, honestly still somewhat unrivaled.

Paci, Pots, Neue, Castor, Silver, Nightmare, Rowdy. Me. All of us joined together in mutual love for a game, spurred on to feverishly create our own content about it. I kept up for months on end, living by the mostly same routine for probably the longest I’ve ever stuck to anything. Eventually... things happened and the server’s gone quiet. We had problems with management, people feeling excluded, targeted, etc etc. It was a very... consequence heavy RP, most of us were almost complete newbies to the roleplaying game, and many came to care rather deeply about the ongoings of it. Perhaps too much. But, well... I’m not sure it could have been prevented.

Sometimes, I still wish I could go back to that point of my life. I know someone else who does too. Even more than me. But I know not to try and emulate the past, as alluring as it may seem. So I push forward. Leading to yet another server with its own events. Clement, myself, Rowdy, Zielo, Neue, Moddy, Vee, Mini, Nappy, Tia, Silver. Some familiar names, some new. All still with the foundation of Undertale, but it quickly became a thing for us to just... chill and talk about anything. There was real love in that place. It was at this time that I even started going to therapy! After some struggling with the family. It helped a lot.

In time, that server, too, went under. For reasons that have long since been buried and forgiven. It no longer exists, after being deleted entirely, but I’ll always remember it. And we did eventually all(mostly) gather back together someplace new, which is still being talked in. Even gaining some new additions recently! If any of you guys are catching this one, I love you!

And we come to the final and most recent group. One I wasn’t actually a founding member of, instead being a late joiner. Comparatively smaller than all the ones before, but filled with just as much love. Pip, Ding, Kink, and Cola. Remember when I mentioned happyflowey sowing seeds, and then didn’t even expound in further detail about corruptedflora? Well congratulations, you’ve reached the payoff.

It all started after I began interacting with the mun of CF, Kinko, and became mutuals with them. We usually just spam reblogged from each other on occasion for a while. That is, until I got messaged, then sent a friend request through Discord. Which, even still, didn’t immediately go anywhere. But eventually... some things led to another, and we joined up in a particular server. Not one I’ll be naming, but times were... turbulent in there. It went under and we lost contact a bit after that.

That is, until completely out of the blue, I just get invited to a server with them and some pals to just join in on Roblox shenanigans. Imagine me, sweating and anxious as hell after getting asked to join a server with two people behind blogs I adore, considering Ding was there too. Cardiac arrest, I tell you. And obviously more than just them too! But the night turned out to be so fun that I forgot I’d ever been so anxious in the first place.

From there on... the rest was history. There’s been many, MANY ups and downs, but I’ve found yet more people I love very, very dearly. And they’ve gotten me to open up about the way I feel the most. In the past years, I could never tell someone I loved them, no matter how much I really wanted to. The words just couldn’t come out, but they... they brought that out in me. And now I can say it whenever I want! Like now! I love you guys!!! So much!!!! And not just you all, but everyone else too!!! And much love to Kink especially for being a driving force behind me making this, as well as just being a goddamn star.

So... as a final ovation... LLA, CC, Bry, Drago/Paci, Pots, Silver, Donut, Quarter, Stilla, Chara, Moddy, Rowdy, Neue, Castor/Skater, Tia/Nightmare, Clement, Zielo, Vee, Nappy, Ding, Pip, Cola, and Kink. As well as some stragglers like Log, Ingrid, and Jai. I’m probably still forgetting some... but thank you all for being my friends. It’s been a long, long five years. And yet, many of you are still in my life. In at least some form. There aren’t words enough to express my gratitude towards every single one of you for the most incredible years of my life and pulling me from what can be called nothing less than the fucking abyss. You all made and continue to make life worth living.

And thank you, Undertale. The game behind all of these relationships.  The game that inspired such strong feelings in me when nothing else could. That made me into an artist and writer. The reason I’m still alive. The game that changed my fucking life and will continue to affect me, I believe, for the duration of it. I really cannot overstate just how important you were and still are. There’ll never be anything else like you.

[me-and-my-gaster]

Wish you the best with the weather! Take care! (anon on because i'll definitely not take any risk knowing how the UT fans can be protectionist about the skelebros) (or maybe is it just all the posts saying they're "the strongest characters ever omg" that ended up squicking me) sand treat you like shit yet everyone loves him, but when Flowey does it It's not sexy. And Pap just begs to be killed by the first abuser coming around. Aka the skelebros are the privileged dudes of Undertale.

I’m getting mixed signals here, but I’ll try to unwrap this whole ask somehow!

First of all, thank you! I hope the heat goes the fuck away and leaves me be. Second of all, the anon is exactly for that, and keeping yourself safe on the internet is important.

Now, to the ask itself.

Sans is a character that we see and interact a lot (if we so choose, not all interactions are mandatory). He’s also a character that is a humanoid monster with a very neat design and is just popular by default even outside the fandom. Additionally, Sans is a character that surprises us with a twist at the end of the genocide run. This means he’s a big part of the story we take part in and shows us surprising depths. Again, if we so choose. 

Ultimately, he’s seen as a neutral guy that turns into a desperate good guy. An interesting and alluring premise for a lot of people. And I get that. People want a hero, and if that’s a sexy hero for whatever reason, that’s a double win. 

It does make it much easier to treat him as this awesome epitome of coolness, power, secrecy, and goodness. And I think that’s what’s happening. Just people being people about their faves.

The same happens with Papyrus, who appears a lot in the story, especially in Snowdin, and has a lot of lines to delve into if we so choose. Again it’s up to interpretation and to our own choices to get to those depths. A lot of people hc him a certain way because they only glimpsed parts of him and weren’t interested in the other. But ultimately, we see him as a good guy who didn’t want to hurt us.

Flowey, however, is painted as an antagonist from the very first meeting. He tries to hurt us, he tries to kill us, he’s being cryptic, annoying, he tries to manipulate us emotionally. He tries to play with us whether we want it or not. He shows us he’s more than just a flower on many occasions, even going into some meta-knowledge. That’s not a way to make us love him and be friends with him.

During the majority of the story, we’re shown that skeleboys good guys and Flowey isn’t (and we get some tasty bits of depths, as a treat) because that’s how the whole story is written. Sans is a gremlin with hidden coolness, Papyrus is a mood that tries too hard, Flowey wants to kill us with a smile on his cursed face. Simple. 

This said... I think Flowey is the best character in the whole game. 

To summarize the whole useless rant - the fandom picked their faves based on how the game’s writing went and it does have a bias towards the skelebros for quite a lot of reasons I can easily see as a person who likes to delve deep into people’s psyche, picks apart stories and also writes her own.

So... I agree, but because it’s clear to me what psychological mechanisms made it happen, not because fandom is bad and we should feel bad.

[midnight-in-town]

do you think Yana is writing the servants' backstories because she is preparing the story to reach its final stages?

Hello! Ah, indeed, Sensei once said that she would address all of the servants’ backstory before the story ends. :)

So far tho’, within the last 29 volumes, we only got:

Finny’s

Mey’s

So while I think Kuroshitsuji is well into its second half, I do not think that this blue sect arc and what follows currently are the last arc, unless Sensei chooses to end it early (which, seeing her lack of motivation, could happen). 

Anyway, the thing is, each time we got a backstory for one servant, it was related to the on-going investigation or arc (Germany and the army’s experiments for Finny, working with Ran Mao for a master badly treating his servants for Mey).

That’s why for Bard’s backstory, we’ll probably have to wait for an investigation or arc partially focusing on war (since he’s a veteran), which means:

maybe if we get to see Bard and Lau’s investigation at the sanatorium in this arc

in another arc focusing again on the whole 25 years early WWI subplot, that’s actually been a part of the story since the Murders at Manor arc

Additionally, I don’t know if we’re meant to get more of Snake’s backstory, since we already quickly saw how he joined Noah’s Ark, but it could be nice to have more details as to where he comes from and why he can talk to snakes.

Finally, there is also Tanaka’s backstory left, which we may get at some point during this conflict between the twins, since Tanaka chose to stay at the Phantomhive manor most likely because...

...his loyalty goes to the house (because of Claudia) or the current head of the family and not to a master in particular. Basically, I think we’ll get to Tanaka’s backstory once we finally start to learn a little about Claudia. 

Anyway, actually the servants aren’t the only characters whose backstory we have to know about before the story ends. For example, the Undertaker’s backstory is key to a good part of the plot, so at some point (sooner rather than later, considering the blue sect arc), we’ll also focus on UT’s past and how he became who he is now. :)

TL;DR all that to say that Kuroshitsuji is definitely in its second half, but (not mentioning Sensei’s current lack of motivation) I don’t think it’s the last arc, because there are still way too many loose ends as of right now. 

Don’t forget that Ciel will sell his soul to Seb once he gets to have his revenge and, while I think the twin may have something to do with what happened 4 years ago, he’s definitely not the big bad, which means that there is still the big bad to get to, once we’re done with the twin. 

Again, it’s hard to be sure of much considering that Sensei’s less interested in Kuro lately, but that’s my take on it for the moment.

I hope this makes sense, have a nice weekend Anon! ^3^

[shadowron]

Vegas, Chummer!  Peacekeeper, the adventure for Native American Nations, Vol. 1, for Shadowrun (1st Edition). Part 3.

Catch up on things here:

Part 1: Road Trip!

Part 2: Benny Hill

The runners now find themselves in Las Vegas, which will seem familiar to their hometown of Seattle, what with all the bright lights, tall buildings, and people trying to kill them every half hour.

“It’s time to start working the streets. If this were Seattle, you’d just talk to your regular contacts. Here, you’re a stranger.”

How in the Great Dragon Dunkelzahn is this really supposed to work?

Skipping over to the Debugging section of this Legwork section:

“The only problem that can arise here is that the runners do not check any contacts at all.”

Oh, right, because it has to work in order to move forward with the adventure. A good GM will create some drama and fake some die rolls, but in the end, they’ll drop the next soy crumbs so that the runners can move on to the next ambush.

Alright alright alright. You know I’m just kidding.

There are two ambushes.

Two?? Again? That would be ridiculous.

There are three.

First Ambush: Renraku

Renraku? Was there just a random die roll made?

The players start to pick up on some more details of Jesse John’s jarring juju junta – he has stolen a plot device from Renraku called a McGuffin “tonal generator” that he will later use to… generate tones? Getting ahead of ourselves. Renraku, being the responsible corporate citizens that they are, have dropped a seven-member Field Ops team into the sovereign Ute Nation which I’m sure will have no political repercussions whatsoever.

Plus, they put the jump on the runners at the most amusing time – before the runners have any fracking idea about the tonal generators at all! That’s literally not until the next section.

After the players finish making their third set of new characters, as they, already full of holes and out of ammo from their drive to Vegas, have surely been turned to pulp by the professional corporate hit squad with wired reflexes, partial heavy armor, and SMGs, they can finally move on to the next automatically determined plot point. 

The Kokomo.

There. Now it’s in your head.

This is a North Las Vegas slummy hotel (which, if you’ve been to North Las Vegas, you know is redundant) where they pick up the next set of automatically determined plot points after shooting up some of Jesse John’s goons:

They learn Jesse John might be a toxic shaman

They get a broken tonal generator (hey! Maybe those Renraku folk will return so you can just give it to them? But what are the odds of that happening?)

They get a computer chip with an address to an LTG in the Pueblo Corporate Council

They get a printed note with Jesse’s next location of DASTARDLY DEEDS MUHAHAHAa

This section is funny because it plays like a cutscene – the runners have no choice but to hear expositional dialogue between Jesse’s goons, no matter how they approach. With an ear to the door. Surveilling astrally. Listening from the fire escape outside (seriously! It’s listed as an option!). Then, no matter what happens, the tonal generator must get destroyed, and the PCs must get the note and computer chip. Otherwise the story ends and the players have to go see sunlight.

You can almost see the chapped, Cheetos-dusted hand of the GM reaching down from heaven to shove these things in the runners’ hands, then gently patting them on their way to the next section.

Here the editing gets sloppy and confusing, as references to “Provo”, presumably from an earlier draft, are not fully replaced with “Pueblo”.

They are in Vegas now, part of Ute Nation. The note from Jesse gives the address as:

The LTG address, and really the only reason for the decker to be on this mission at all, is definitely in Pueblo Corporate Council. But when they jack in, still in Vegas, it’s written assuming that they’re in PCC.

“You’re lucky that Pueblo is so fully computerized. Virtually every hotel room has an ISDN jack in the wall, allowing you to access the Matrix.”

When the Trace IC finally hits upon the decker’s location, later in the section, it says a detachment of PCC security soldiers will arrive in 10 minutes. That’s fine, if they’re in Pueblo, BUT THEY’RE NOT IN PUEBLO YET, as the VERY NEXT PARAGRAPH says:

“This is how the scene shapes up if the team is operating somewhere in Vegas.”

So apparently, it only takes 10 minutes for PCC to drop an eight-member hit squad into the sovereign Ute Nation which I’m sure will have no political repercussions whatsoever. I mean, if Renraku is doing it…

(Note: I’m not counting this as an ambush because, honestly, the decker always has it coming)

The GM better have fully read the adventure and see this Provo/Pueblo goof, because otherwise things are going to get weird when the runners want to go to Provo and somehow end up in Pueblo.

The next section has them trying to leave Vegas, only to be…

Second Ambush: the FBI.

Because, again, the Ute Nation – the most pro-Native, anti-everyone else member of the NAN, is a sieve when it comes to allowing strangers into their country to attack shadowrunners.

This FBI team is the one the runners might have met at the Seattle/SSC border if they were too dumb to play Shadowrun in the first place and didn’t try to escape custody. So hopefully this is the first time the team sees them – the two cybernetically enhanced mage Federal Agents (who are given names and Timothy Bradstreet illustrations so they must be important) and thirteen Fast Response Team Troopers (also with wired reflexes, heavy armor, and SMGs), who aren’t even given condition monitors because seriously the runners are going to get turned into a dull red streak on the hot, Vegas pavement by them.

We call ourselves “The Baker’s Dozen”.

But before that happens, the Benny Hill meter gets turned up to eleven with…

Third Ambush: Renraku (again)

The next batch of Red Samurai must have just been air-dropped from Kyoto, because a team of ten Field Ops troopers then show up to compare their wired reflexes, heavy armor, and SMGs with the Feds. I bet they have the same APDS ammo supplier.

The idea here is that, because no one is willing to stop shooting long enough to even attempt an Etiquette roll and try to smooth over this obviously misunderstanding, the runners will be able to make their escape.

Which they will.

Because the plot demands it.

[loudlytransparenttrash]

This Week Within Our Colleges: Part 22

Students at George Mason University spent days protesting the hiring of Brett Kavanaugh as a visiting law professor at GMU’s Law School. Some students complained to campus leaders, telling them students’ mental health is threatened by the Kavanaugh hire, despite the Law School being located 3,500 miles away from the university. “This decision has really impacted me negatively. It is affecting my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty.” Another female student gave similar comments to the board, “As someone who has survived sexual assault three times I do not feel comfortable with someone who has sexual assault allegations like walking on campus.” A third female student told the board, “we are fighting to eradicate sexual violence on this campus. But the hiring of Kavanaugh threatens the mental well being of all survivors on this campus.” The next day, students marched around campus chanting “kick Kavanaugh off campus” and holding “cancel Kavanaugh” signs while some stuck blue tape over their mouths.

University of Colorado Denver brought back a 2016 course, “Problematizing Whiteness: Educating for Racial Justice.” Students will learn “the plight of people of color and how white people are complicit.” The course details explains, “The study of whiteness has always sought to challenge racism, racial privilege, white supremacy, and colorblind racism. However, to overindulge in the spectacle of ‘white racial epiphanies’ overlooks the ongoing work whites must do to participate in racial justice. Beyond the feel-good of momentary White racial awareness lurk enormous concerns about how to continually examine Whiteness in order to uphold antiracism, moreover the fruition of a more racially just society.” It also, understandably, tells students that recording any of the lecture is forbidden.

A State University of New York College at Old Westbury professor wrote an article which he states it makes him happy when he sees poor white people on the street begging for food and often wonders how hard he should kick them in the head. “White people begging us for food feels like justice. It feels like Afro-Futurism after America falls. It feels like a Black Nationalist wet dream. It has the feels I rarely feel, a hunger for historical vengeance satisfied so well I rub my belly.” White people, he says, are a Rorschach test: “I see in them the history of colonization, slavery and mass incarceration that makes their begging Black people for money ironic - if not insulting. You wasted your whiteness! Why should we give to you?” The professor admits that this isn’t a “good look,” however, when he thinks about Martin Luther King Jr.’s “be thy best self” and “show compassion to those who spite you,” he retorts “go f**k another secretary Martin!” 

A University of Utah student reported her business professor to campus administrators for assigning too many books written by male economists and philosophers. “Many of these figures are of great importance. But at what cost do we continue to plant the seed of sexism in the minds of individuals? But especially in a course and college that is already deemed to be a ‘boys club,’ continuing those teachings, and those teachings being delivered by a professor of his character is dangerous.” The student also took issue in her bias report about a joke the professor made about how, “while all our jobs will be taken by robots,” he will be “retired living in Tahiti surrounded by 40-45 beautiful women feeding him grapes.” The student complained, “Not only did the professor willingly and openly objectify women, but he also objectified women of color. Women of another culture.”

University of Texas at Austin freshmen were threatened to be doxed if they considered joining the Young Conservatives of Texas or Turning Point USA. “Hey #UT23! Do you wanna be famous? If you join YCT or Turning Point USA, you just might be. Your name and more could end up on an article like one of these,” the tweet said, linking to previous doxing posts of conservative students at the school. “So be sure to make smart choices at #UTOrientation.” They went on to encourage other students, “if you begin to spot the young racists trying to join YCT or TPUSA, send us a tip so we can keep our reports up to date.” The anarchist student network have already released extensive personal information of pro-Brett Kavanaugh demonstrators at UT Austin, including their names, photos and contact information. It went so far as to post some of the phone numbers of the employers of students and urged them to be fired.

Webster University offered its white faculty and staff a chance to “witness their whiteness” in a program that seeks to eliminate racism. According to the event description, Witnessing Whiteness is about “white people voluntarily coming together to do work around racism in a supportive, non-threatening setting.” It’s also about “learning to speak about race and racism, exploring white privilege, and practicing allying with sisters and brothers of color.” White attendees also were taught how to commit to positive change in their lives, workplace and region and understand and practice interrupting racism and developing skills to act as agents of change.

University of North Georgia hosted several "safe zone trainings" to make the school a “safer, more inclusive environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community.” Students were given handouts which featured a ‘gender unicorn’ cartoon and encouraged attendees to use “LGBTQ-Inclusive Language” by giving them a list of “Dos and Don'ts.” They asked students to not use words such as “mailman” and “ladies and gentlemen” or phrases such as “both genders” and “opposite sexes,” instead suggesting that they use “all genders.” Attendees were also shown a YouTube video from Franchesca Ramsey called “5 Tips For Being An Ally,” which instructed them to understand their privilege.

Middlebury College were forced to soothe upset and angry students after Polish conservative scholar and politician Ryszard Legutko was invited to speak on campus about totalitarian temptations within liberal democracies. Ironically, the school canceled the lecture just hours beforehand after some students complained, then later held a reflection meeting with the student protestors, where administrators told them, “I hear you, and you should be outraged, and we should acknowledge that and apologize, because that’s the least we can do right now, because we can’t make it right in the moment. But in the future we will do everything we can to make it right.” As the safe space meeting was going on, unbeknown to the protesters, a political science professor allowed Legutko to be ushered into his classroom and address students in secrecy. 

At University of Texas at Austin, a pro-life speaker’s event was disrupted after someone set off a smoke bomb, triggering the building’s fire alarm and forcing attendees to be evacuated. The event went forward in another building.

A Canadian University of New Brunswick professor said he is in favor of taking a variety of actions against “white supremacists” who speak on campus, including publicly shaming them, firing them from their jobs and driving them from restaurants. What’s concerning about this is the professor’s definition of white supremacists. He said the "Make America Great Again" hats will carry the same shame as the uniforms worn by the Ku Klux Klan. “Every time I watch a documentary about the civil rights movement and all the hateful violence they faced, I wonder what the white people who were doing those horrible things were thinking... We are living in an era with Donald Trump and the Republican Party and the right-wing movement in America where things of similar gravity are happening. The entire sentiment of 'Make America Great Again' implies that there was a time when America was great and it's not any longer... America for Trump and his supporters is no longer great because black people have too many rights or there are too many women in the workplace."

A City University of New York professor was interviewed on radio where she stated the “ideology of racialized terrorism” is the responsibility of every white person in the United States. She criticized America for building "mental health hospital beds for white home-grown terrorists, but concentration camps and high-level security prisons for Black, and Black and Brown immigrants.” She goes on to wonder why we pay tribute every September 11 to “the pillars of American capitalism,” but never to “the young Black and Brown” victims. She also claims she's suffered in capitalist America after being designated a “other, non-white" on her arrival into the country and "white America has damned this democracy into the hands of white terrorists.” 

A University of Arizona student live-streamed herself on Facebook harassing two Border Patrol agents who were giving a lecture to Criminal Justice students. The female student stood near the door of the room, zooming in on the officers repeatedly while calling them murderers and saying they were an extension of the KKK on campus. “They allow murderers to be on campus where I pay to be here. Murderers!” In the second part of the video, the student follows the Border Patrol agents to their vehicle, repeating the phrase “Murder Patrol!” and also yelling at them in Spanish. At the end of the video, she films a protest apparently against the appearance of the officers. The student also launched into a rant about the “white woman” who attempted to talk to her. 

Gonzaga University’s Women and Gender Studies and Native American Studies departments hosted a screening and discussion about Disney’s film, Moana, titled, "Is Moana about rape?" According to the flyer, the professor behind the lesson discussed how Western patriarchy and masculinity attack “the feminine,” indigenous cultures, and the environment and nature. “Layne will ultimately also suggest that the film is Neocolonialist. It excuses Western culture from oppressing women, degrading the environment and erasing/murdering indigenous people,” the flyer says. It also came with a trigger warning, stating that racism, sexual assault, genocide and colonialism will be addressed.

Tufts University decided to remove a historical mural after students complained that the paintings depicting only white people eroded the school’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Alumnae Lounge mural, which depicts “the great names of men” of the school’s history, does not include “a single image of a person of color" which has lead students to complain that “they don’t want to receive awards in Alumnae Lounge because they feel excluded.” Tufts Senior Vice President said. “We want to attract a diversity of people to the university. But no less important, when they arrive, we want them to feel they belong here.” Tufts Africana Center Director applauded the decision, saying “the murals create an unwelcoming space for current students of color.”

Also at Gozaga University, an assistant professor wrote an op-ed where he blasted one of his white law students and accused him of deliberate “racial antagonism” because the student wore a MAGA hat to class. Without naming the student, the assistant professor wrote, “From my perspective as a black man living in the increasingly polarized political climate that is America, MAGA is an undeniable symbol of white supremacy and hatred toward certain nonwhite groups. I was unsure whether the student was directing a hateful message toward me or if he merely lacked decorum and was oblivious to how his hat might be interpreted by his black law professor. I presumed it was the former. As the student sat there directly in front of me, his shiny red MAGA hat was like a siren spewing derogatory racial obscenities at me for the duration of the one hour and fifteen-minute class. As my blood boiled inwardly, I jokingly told the student, ‘I like your hat.’ Without missing a beat, the student mockingly grinned from ear to ear and said, ‘Thank you.’” The professor concluded by arguing that “‘making America great again’ suggests a return to the days when women and people of color were denied access to these very institutions.”

A George Mason University assistant professor took to Twitter to ask white parents across America: “Why are you producing so many young white male terrorists?” “What is going on in your households? How involved are you with your sons? Are you missing signs their racism is filtering out of commonplace household racism into ‘I want to murder strangers’ racism?” She followed up with a reply to the white parents declaring their devotion to making sure their child isn’t a white terrorist, “I appreciate the testimonials of white parents doing the work of raising anti racist children. You give me a bit of hope.” 

The University of Michigan revamped its already transgender-friendly student health plan to include more services on top of sex-change operations. The school already covers mastectomies, genital surgeries, hormone therapy and counseling for transgender students. These plans now also accommodate “facial feminization surgeries,” as well as facial hair removal and “Adam’s apple reduction.” Another addition is “fertility preservation” for transgender students whose transition efforts result in infertility.

A Massachusetts school superintendent told a community audience that white people in our “systematically corrupt system that oppresses black individuals” need to “rewire their brains” in order to overcome their biases. The Pittsfield Public Schools chief (who is white) also blasted Trump, blaming the president's “daily hate” for the rise in racism and hatred on a national level. The event was planned to announce the implementation of African American history courses in local high schools. The course will delve into African American oppression and plans on stopping the normalization of seeing “black people being beaten on TV.” A teacher who worked on the curricula design at the schools said her eyes had been opened after participating in implicit bias training and reading the book "Waking Up White." 

Hofstra University students protested a statue of Thomas Jefferson at an annual event, titled “Jefferson Has Gotta Go!” which was co-organized by local Planned Parenthood staff. For the past few years, students have defaced the statue with “DECOLONIZE” and “Black Lives Matter” in an attempt to pressure the university president to join the long list of schools removing or covering up “traumatizing” statues and artwork. So far, the statue remains. 

An academic conference in Toronto focused on “Critical Becky Studies,” with multiple professors and faculty from American universities participating. “This session aims to characterize ‘Becky,’ a term specific to white women who engage whiteness, often in gendered ways,” the session description states. “Explorations of Becky and implications of educational practice from a variety of perspectives and contexts will illuminate the dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression tied to the gendered and raced mechanisms of whiteness enacted by Becky,” says the session description. Another paper discussed in the panel was titled “Border Becky: Exploring White Women's Emotionality, Ignorance, and Investment in Whiteness.” According to the description, the paper focuses on white women who must undergo a battle in order to extract themselves “from the white supremacist alliance.” 

At University of South Dakota, a planned ‘Hawaiian Day’ themed event had to be changed to ‘Beach Day,’ due to a cultural appropriation complaint from a single student. The student group planning the party were told to make the name change and to ban handing out leis as it violates the school's policy on inclusiveness. The group posted, “It was determined that these (leis) are culturally insensitive by the administration after doing research based off of the essay written by the initial complainant.” 

Williams College student activists demanded the Board of Trustees "commit to a complete process of reparation and reconciliation to indigenous peoples." The open letter states, “Many junior faculty of color are considering medical leave due to the unmitigating stress of living in an unsupportive and callous environment and to avoid the emotional detriment of existing here.” The students then demanded a “complete process of reparation and reconciliation” to the indigenous peoples, “approve a request of $34,000 as well as the increase of $15,000 additional funding for incoming Minority Coalition groups.” ”Offer free weekend shuttles for faculty and staff" and provide separate housing for black and queer students, as well as for all other marginalized groups. Lastly, “hire more therapists, especially trans and racial minority therapists.”

Dominican University in California has added a new major, wholly focused on social justice. The school created the major after a “growing number” of students became interested in social justice “careers,” according to the university news release. Students who major in social justice will have the chance to “examine the links between well-being, social justice, and diverse worldviews.” Additionally, students will “analyze social injustices and work toward positive social change.”

The State University of New York-Plattsburgh offered students the chance to de-stress with therapy donkeys during their Wellness Fair.