#it feels like i'm bragging and i hate talking about accomplishing anything because it feels really selfish and egotistical

[feinstone]

Congratulations on graduating! That must be an amazing feeling.

thank youuuu <3

technically i won't be graduating until the end of the year because i finished past the cut off date for my uni's mid-year graduation ceremonies, but i'm happy to have finished regardless.

it's been a really difficult and long process, and i had to delay finishing my degree by 2 years due to a long string of Life Events (Not Fun) that got in the way of me completing the last 2 courses i had left in my degree as of mid-2022, so i'm glad i finally managed to get to the end of a semester without some random bullshit stopping me for the first time in several years lmao.

i dropped out of high school after i got sick, and i thought i was gonna have to drop out of uni too, despite all the work i've put in to pull my life together. it really means a lot to me that i managed to make it through to the end this time, even though it was tough to keep my head above water sometimes.

[bluekat12345]

Smiling Critters vs Nightmare Critters

While I don't personally play the game, I like the watch other people on YouTube playing, and I also like seeing fanwork relating to the Smiling Critters. And with the release of the Nightmare Critters, one of the first things I thought that these were supposed to be counterparts to the Smiling Critters. I wanted to share my thoughts on which Nightmare Critter counters which Smiling Critter.

DogDay vs Simon Smoke

I made this choice because DogDay is the leader of the Smiling Critters, and Simon 'knows' he's cool and popular and knows how to almost win popularity contests, so I imagine he would be the self-appointed leader of the Nightmare Critters. But while DogDay is friendly, warm, and encouraging to his friends, Simon is an absolute jerk who always brags about his popularity and accomplishments, making it clear he's better than others.

CatNap vs Baba Chops

This was the toughest, but ultimately, I thought these two would be counterparts to each other. Because with CatNap gives introvert vibes, being quiet, calm, but still tries to be there for his friends, Baba prefers to be alone, far away from others, locked away in her house, and has to practically be forced to join her friends. (Plus, CatNap helps his friends sleep, and a classic way to fall asleep is by counting sheep...)

Bubba Bubbaphant vs Touille

I thought this appropriate because Bubba is the brains of the Smiling Critters while Touille might be kinda stupid. Bubb is attentive and tries to get all the facts and most likely has a wide range of knowledge and interests while Touille only talks about trash yet isn't exactly informative or helpful despite talking a lot.

Bobby BearHug vs Rabie Baby

Ultimately, I think these two would counterparts since Bobby is a caring soul who is loving and compassionate to her friends while Rabie seems like she has no respect for her friends since she doesn't respect privacy, loves gossiping and spreading rumors and lies, and isn't afraid to share other people's secrets, while Bobby would never dream of hurting her friends like that.

Picky Piggy vs Maggie Mako

I felt this was an obvious one since they are big eaters within their respective groups, but while Picky encourages a balanced diet and eating healthy, Maggie eats anything except vegetables and basically laughs at the idea of eating healthy.

Kickin Chicken vs Icky Licky

While Kickin is considered the cool kid of the Smiling Critters, Icky Licky gives the impression of someone who tries to act cool but fails. Kickin also doesn't give up and even if he doesn't succeed, he'll be cool and try again, Icky is a poor sport who always has an excuse for why he didn't succeed, and would most likely lose his cool and give up in anger.

CraftyCorn vs Poe

They both seem to be the most creative of their groups, since Crafty likes to draw and paint and Poe likes listening to music, but Crafty is on the lighter side of art while Poe would be on the darker side. While Crafty is colorful, sees the beauty in things and likes to share her art, even if she's shy, and uses art to make herself and others happy Poe is dark, angry and gloomy, prefers to hangout in graveyards alone, and hates brightness and sunlight, and he seems to see the negative in things.

Hoppy Hopscotch vs Allister Gator

This is another one that I felt is obvious since Hoppy is energetic and Allister is lazy, so they are natural opposites. She puts all her effort into whatever and is a team player, Allister doesn't like to put the effort in anything, would rather wait for good things to happen to him while letting others do the work for him.

This is just a personal opinion so do not consider this as canon. As I'm sure you noticed, not all the critters are exact opposites of each other, but I made this list based on which the Nightmare Critters could possibly be rivals/archenemies with which Smiling Critter, if the two groups ever met, each would have their own rival. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

[egg-emperor]

I'm planning on making a much more in depth post about Eggman and Gerald in the future because I have WAY more to say but I just wanna compile the instances of this certain funny fact about it that I absolutely love.

Even though Gerald was Eggman's idol and he was inspired by him and he had all these great things to say about him, he can't ever mention/praise him without praising himself/flexing that he's related to him in at least some way.

He calls Gerald the greatest scientific genius in the HISTORY of the world, and adds "that's my grandpa" like "not everyone gets to say that, how cool am I for that haha." Love how you can hear the pride in the tone of his voice too.

But he also calls himself the greatest scientific genius of the world as the opening for every journal entry and says he'll mark his own place in history as the ULTIMATE genius.

Because Gerald had his time with the title and status when he was alive but it's his time now.

He also literally says this word for word on the subject of Gerald again in Shadow 2005 btw, as a way to say he had his turn and now it's time for him to do whatever he wants with what he left behind as he pleases. Another selfish move.

Pointing at himself with the Egg Dealer's limb for emphasis lol

He also refers to Gerald as "one of the greatest scientific minds", the specification makes me think it's in a like “but don’t forget about meee, I am too~” kind of way lol

And with the proud "and my grandfather" again added on right after the fact, it's like he's like "AND he’s also the grandfather of the best person and greatest scientific genius in the fucking universe and that’s even cooler baby!!!" ahfjhkafhsfgh he’s so funny 🥰

And then in TailsTube, he couldn't mention Shadow being created by Gerald without bragging about being related to him again, as a way to praise himself for his genius by being related to him so it's like it runs in the family. Anything to give himself some of that praise.

(Also damn, the way he scoffs and says his grandfather's creation is the "SO CALLED ultimate life form" like that. 💀 Mans still thinks he can do better!)

It's literally just like Eggman with Sage. LITERALLY just like it. It's super funny how the way he talks about both further proves that he can't value/respect/praise anyone without making it about himself as the massive fucking egotist he is, it's 100% never genuine and selfless and I believe he's incapable of that.

That's why I headcanon that another part of why Eggman was inspired so much by Gerald is that being related to him also helped with his hope to accomplish his own dreams and always fed his ego to take pride in even back as a child. Because judging by the jealousy and selfish egotistical entitlement he says he's always had in the Egg Memos, nothing has changed.

Along with how it seems he only praises him from an academic perspective in genius and science instead, as his good deeds never factored in the reasons. I think a huge part of his admiration for Gerald was always about seeing himself in him for his genius and science and the pride he felt and it's why he felt so entitled to attention and power.

Eggman's narcissism, egotism, selfishness, and pride always factors into literally everything he does. He is the epitome of self-centered. I love how it shows in everything he does. Even with the closest he gets to admiring and valuing anyone like Sage or even Gerald in any way, it's for the pride he can have in being related to them in any way and the ways he can benefit.

This also goes back to how I said it's different when it comes to Maria because not only did he not create her like Sage, he also can't relate to her like he could with Gerald to any degree, so he couldn't take pride in her for the same way. And that's why he hates the attention she got- because he can't have a piece of that pie.

Also speaking of Eggman feeling entitled to attention, power, and anything else he wants, he uses his relation to Gerald to say that he's entitled to doing whatever he pleases with any of Gerald's creations as his grandson, including Shadow himself, which he uses as a way to demand him to obey him. This level of entitlement and selfishness isn't very respecting of his idol's memory, huh?

I bring this up in this post because along with the entitlement and selfishness, there's actually also some pride in there with the "it was MY grandfather who created you"

I'm gonna get into this part and more about how Eggman talks about Gerald much deeper in a bigger analysis post in the future though because I have WAY more to say.

But yeah god I just want you to know how much I love this asset of it for now, how he can't genuinely praise anyone selflessly and always has to use it to praise himself, even when it comes to Gerald and Sage.

But in Generations even when he has the power to travel through time and fuck with the past it's just like "fuck Gerald the only person as smart as me is myself" jhsdjkdjkghfdbskfj

Nobody will ever be as great as he is or matter as much to him as he does to himself! XD 💜💕

[heiluceen]

Listen.

I don't want to hate you, I feel like I've never been able to have a real adult conversation with you because you try to lie or manipulate the situation even when it's just you and I; I know what you've said and done to me, physically and mentally.

You were never a motherly figure to me, you never learned what I actually liked and wanted out of life; you only gave me things you were unsatisfied with yourself or that you wanted for yourself knowing I'd probably not want it and end up giving it to you, because everything was what you liked so you'd just say "if you don't want it ill take it". Like how about return it and actually try and understand what I like or do something I want to do with me, not just try and buy me with things you would want? I don't have to be exactly what you want me to be, and that's all you've ever tried to force onto me. I am my own person, you don't get to dictate what I want or like out of everything in this world. I want to be treated with respect, not like a person that has to be under your command because you birthed me. I've seen what it's like to truly love and value someone for who they are; and what they choose to offer, not what they could offer me out of myselfish wants like you. People have their own wants, needs, personalities and loving someone dosent mean forcing what you love onto them; but, loving them for what they already love and grow to love even if it's not what you expected. You've talked poorly about me when I don't treat you how you haven't deserved to be treated, but then brag to others about my accomplishments like you raised me while the accomplishments I've made have been a product of me despite you; not, because of you. You always treated me like I was owned by you not like you wanted to help me become my own person, like a mother should. You pretend like you've never done anything bad instead of just owning the things you've done, apologizing, and trying to grow you were stuck in a loop pretending to be the best mother in the world; while making me want to die more and more because I couldn't have any control of my life, a life I never would of asked to be born into but you never cared because it was always about what you wanted and not what you could help with. Relationships are give and take but all you ever could do is take, you could never give; so people stopped giving which is why you ended up on the streets, because you couldn't swallow your pride and realize it isn't all about you. You need to see this as a wake up call and figure out who you actually are and not what you think the world wants you to be. You don't have to be perfect to everyone, it's okay to have flaws and not be the coolest person around; as long as you enjoy the things you like and let others enjoy the things they like you can live in peace, but you constantly judge others to seem like you shouldn't be judged for the same things you are doing as well because someone else may judge you. The trauma of having a mother like you caused me so much damage to my want to please others or help others before myself, and I'm finally at the point of now knowing how and when to kick leachers out; not just letting them suck me dry, like you taught me I should with you. I am my own person with my own wants and needs and I know who I am while you dont, and I'm a good person who let's everyone be who they need to be and don't try and force anyone to be anything they aren't out of the benefit of myself; because I actually know how to love and cherrish people, not try and coerce them into my life and how they view me. I've tried multiple times to give you another chance and instead of trying to get to know me you automatically act like you know everything about me, that you know what's right for everyone, but you could never just treat me like you were meeting me which is why I never stayed. You never tried meeting me, actually knowing me, just wanted me to pretend to be what you wanted and I'm no doll. I'm not perfect and I don't pretend to be. I can admit my flaws and admit I'm working on them because I am human and we all have flaws we just have to acknowledge them so we can work on them and move on. I hope you get to that point, you need to work on it and move on.

[starsistertarot]

hey! do you have any random imayoshi headcanons or drabbles that you want to share but had no technical reason to post?

OHGOD DO I EVER;;;

I have a lot of random headcanons for this man, since... You know, as everyone now knows, Imayoshi infested my mind.

I'm sorry for the late reply! I've been busy binging Haikyuu, hehehehehe...

Warning; Some swearing, These are my personal headcanons! You're allowed to disagree/Have your own opinions.

Also not proofread and written at 3AM

Enjoy 😃

---

Morning routine headcanons:

Imayoshi goes to bed at UNGODLY hours but he's still somehow a morning person.

Wakes up at 8-9 AM every day even if he doesn't have to-

Can get 2 hours of sleep and somehow function like a no- ... This man is not normal. Forget I said anything.

He loves being alone in the mornings, so if you're his s/o and likes to sleep in, he's in silent paradise 🤌

If you're his s/o and happens to be a morning person; he will somewhat ignore you??? Like; Please don't talk to me unless it's important vibes??

Gives really rude wakeup calls at noon though, so watch out for those 😃

Food Headcanons

He likes his coffee BLACK, LIKE HIS SOUL

Hot or cold, doesn't give a shit honestly-

Hates sweets, like actually hates sweets.

Dislikes chocolate, unless it's dark. (Probably wont eat it anyways)

Prefers salty snacks/not overly sweet desserts.

A decent chef, not the best but won't burn down the kitchen- (Unlike me 🥲)

His specialty is fish 🐟

Likes to eat and cook the fish he caught (since he likes fishing). Makes him feel accomplished (Especially if other people compliment his fish lmao).

Family headcanons

He kinda hates kids, but he's also like "cool those exist".

Only liked his sister growing up, tbh-

Doesn't want kids of his own though

Has or will get a vasectomy when the "family expectations" arise

Aspires to be a really shady uncle however (if his sister or his s/o has siblings)

Bribes them with candy to do his bidding (like the evil mastermind that he is)

Would brag about being the favorite uncle, and everyone is like "HOW THE FUCK-", because in what galaxy would Imayoshi be anyones favorite family member- 😃 ... (except my galaxy, where he is MY favorite family member but shhhhhh)

Relationship Headcanons

He's not really a romantic???

Or he is romantic but not "a romantic" (DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE IDK)

Doesn't mean he doesn't like doing romantic things, he just doesn't do it A LOT

Will bring you flowers on anniversaries (if you like those), out of common curtsey

He's not much for dates- He prefers to cuddle on the bed/couch and watch movies

Would genuinely spend a lot of time with you, which is why his quiet mornings are so important to him.

Dates you as if you've been married for 10 years lmao- Very comfortable, low-key, just enjoying each others company ❤

Childhood headcanon

Tried to kidnap Santa once.

When he found out about Santa, his first thought was to exploit him for money-

He waited all night by the fireplace but Santa didn't show up

That's how he found out Santa wasn't real

Decided to break the news to his sister once she was old enough to understand what a Santa was.

She's still mad at him for that lmao

[senjuushi]

Hello, so I saw role-reversal post (master is a character in the game and R guns are players) and it was simply wonderful! I wonder, what about original guns in this setting?

I think that Mauser is really competitive and is ready to fight if Marks or Hachikyu are ahead of him in rank in some event🥴The competition for a very rare card of Master is really fierce!

I can't find the original post so jkshgsbs I'm >:( about that now

. . .

F — While he's far from an obsessive player, he'll still gush over every single card he gets... to an extent that gets annoying to others. Claims that you're "playing hard to get" when the gacha isn't nice. Frequently squees over the cuter cards of you to anyone around.

Belga — Makes 89 play for him sometimes when he's too lazy to do it himself. Still rubs every accomplishment in the "virgin's" face. Weirdly good gacha luck and infuriatingly arrogant about it. Terrible at playing consistently, but somehow still gets a lot of good cards.

Mikhael — Pretty casual player overall. Never gets worked up about bad gacha rates, and sometimes neglects playing in favor of his piano, but he's surprisingly devoted when a particularly beautiful card comes up. Very good at saving up currency over months at a time.

Ninety — Plays devotedly every day and gets all sad if the gacha isn't nice to him. Will run around and show everyone whatever cards of you he gets, practically wiggling with excitement. Makes someone else read all the stories to him if he has trouble with the words.

89 — Claims that he'd never care about a normie game like that. Actually plays to a level that can only be considered obsessive. Will absolutely pay to win when it comes to anything remotely fluffy or romantic. Sometimes gets too flustered to finish your stories.

Ghost — Gets bitter, seething rage every time someone gets a card he doesn't. Talks to your image on screen when he's alone, to the point where greeting you is a repeated part of his day. Plays with pure dedication because he doesn't want you to feel forgotten.

Eins — Not good at games. At all. Will probably ask Fal to do a lot of things for him so he doesn't mess something up. Very encouraging to the others as they compete and obsess over the game, despite being kind of confused about what the big deal is. Not competitive at all.

Fal — Often too busy to play properly... which frustrates him more than he wants to admit. Claims not to care about a silly game, but still gets twitchy when the others brag about getting good cards of you. Might eventually give up and just co-play Eins's account.

Kirsch — Viciously possessive of you, whether you're an image on a screen or not. Has debated (and might have tried) stealing the others' phones and fucking up their games to ruin their chances. Rubs his good luck in everyone's faces, but has tantrums if they do the same.

Hokusai — Not the most dedicated player, but still excited to see you every time he logs on. He's perfectly content with whatever cards he gets, regardless of if his luck is good or not. More likely to obsess over events than gacha stuff, since they seem more winnable.

Love1 — His gacha luck is unparalleled, much to Like2's eternal fury. Acts casual around others, but plays with dedication every day when no one's around... mostly so he can make a nuisance of himself when he gets the good cards. Gets really invested in card stories.

Like2 — The gacha hates him, and he's thrown his phone multiple times before because of that. Absolutely spends way too much money trying to get your cards. It usually doesn't work. Halfway ready to strangle Love1 for being so annoying about his good luck.

Mauser — The most dedicated player you can imagine. It's a near-religious part of his daily routine, and he's proud of that. Has the best collection of your cards of any of them. Scolds the others for not devoting themselves to you properly and playing like he does.

[bluemoondust]

do u have a bnha oc or a demon slayer oc snd can u write them as a yanfere

:0 I'm pleasantly surprised to see someone request my ocs! I do have ocs for both but I'll go with Demon Slayer for this (I have two more I didn't include here because they're not too developed yet) and I'll talk about the others another time. Hope you enjoy! 😊 Also, since I don't have drawings of them yet, I will say that Rōnin's face is mostly covered by a kitsune mask. I'll post drawings of them when I can!

Warning(s): Controlling Behavior, Overprotective Behavior, Guilt Tripping, Possessive Behavior/Mindset, Passive Aggressive Behavior, Hints of Sadistic Tendencies, Mentions of Stalking, Delusional Mindset/Behavior, Mentions of Violence (not towards darling)

✧Igarashi, Ohta — Breath of Glass✧

Like many other people in this world, Ohta has lost people close to her and has seen the lives of others being taken. Everything in her life was going to be perfect but it all shattered under the force of those who destroy lives. Since then, Ohta has shut her heart away in fear of being hurt again. Though, that all changes once she meets you. She denies her feelings in the beginning. All good things come to an abrupt end for her, so it would hurt all the worse if she were to indulge in what her heart wants.

What gets her to give in is the realization that now... Now she knows how to protect. Ohta laughed at the irony of it all; she was seen to be wedded by someone who would love and protect her (unfortunately his life was taken by demons), but now she is the one who will defend you from the dangers of the world. On that day, she vowed to devote her time in keeping you safe for she loves you so much. Even if you aren't aware of her presence due to how nervous she becomes when approaching you.

It gets to a point where she gets extremely controlling since she takes this as a heavy responsibility. What else is she if she can't do anything for you? If you were a fellow demon slayer, she refuses to leave you alone on missions. Practically demands to be partnered up with you for every one. In some sense, she does see you as someone who is unable to protect themself at all, much like Rengoku. Refusing her sends her into an unhealthy spiral as she resorts to guilt tripping methods. Why won't you let her do this for you? Do you see her as worthless? She can't bear to see you die! She wants to live by your side and start a family!

✧Gushiken, Tetsurō — Breath of Metal✧

Tetsurō is deemed as perfect husband material by many in his village, even Ohta's parents agreed! Hardworking, good cook, kind smile, and a fighting spirit. What they don't know is the growing possessiveness he feels when with you. He is a realistic man and knows not everything in life can go the way he wants. However... Just this once he will defy such views in favor of having you all to himself. Tetsurō doesn't like to be arrogant, but he does have the need to brag to himself about how his accomplishments and amazing personality could be the perfect way to draw you in. No one could compare.

Though that doesn't mean he does not possess any... Undesirable traits. Insecurities brings out jealous tendencies. People who are getting too comfortable around you are faced with passive aggressive comments. Especially if they are of higher position. He just isn't very fond of those who like to step over those who are 'beneath' them. It brings bad memories, plus, he'd hate to see you be tainted by their ugly views.

If anyone were to try and voice their concern over his behavior... No one would really believe them. Tetsurō, who has done nothing but good in both assisting those in need and protecting others from demons, threatening a life? No. That's not him. Also, do not get me started on how sadistic this man can get when he's really pushed past his limits of patience.

✧Kurosawa, Rōnin — Breath of Ashes✧

He's an odd one for sure. Everytime he speaks seems to be pure monologue as if he were playing a character in a play/book. Calling himself someone who rose from the ashes of the flames before him and demons the absolute evil he must vanquish. You wouldn't be able to tell if he was a yandere or not, which makes things all the more worse. You'd never see it coming.

Rōnin is delusional when he notices his feelings towards you and immediately seeks out ways to express them. Following and watching at night are just his way of showing you. No one will harm you! He fully believes you'll fall for him just as he did for you. Why wouldn't you? He's seen the way you are. You wouldn't be so cruel as to push him to the side and leave him to being alone once again... Right? He's brave. Strong. Helpful. Amazing. Skilled. What more could a partner ask? Any demon or human who even thinks of approaching you with less than good intentions will have to face his wrath. Either by having them choke on ashes or tear them apart even without his nichirin sword. Oh, the irony of him wanting to purge the evil that is demons when he himself has become what he swore to destroy.

But... You'd love him, right? You stuck around even with his eccentric personality. So this discovery shouldn't be an issue if you were unbothered by him.

[rheawritessometimes]

Hello! Congratulations on 250 followers! If it's still open may I get a matchup? <3 I would like a male romantic matchup with the adult characters!

I'm a leo, an infp who when you first meet me is very reserved and quiet. Hogwarts house is Ravenclaw if that helps! I am quite shy and prefer to keep to myself mostly when around strangers. I do take a liking to people easily and when I do it helps with warming up to them! Whenever I'm comfortable with someone, I'm more talkative and more vocal about my interests. I really enjoy talking about things I'm interested in and love doing! I am a family person who loves my family dearly! They mean absolutely every to me and I would do anyway for them! I only have one younger brothers who I enjoy teasing~ I can be very chaotic when I want to be...especially with close friends and family members! I don't have a great sense of humor...if anything my humor is actually quite dark haha- I'm also a workaholic! I strive to do my best and reach as many expectations thrown at me as possible, especially if they’re from my family. I get most A's in school with the occasional B's..Although I stress myself out fairly easily and usually very often. I tend to bottle up my emotions instead of letting them out, one of the reasons are that I don't know how to express myself properly. I would also say I am quite friendly and kind!

I'm an artist and writer who does both things as a hobby and stress reliever. I enjoy creating stories and OCs! I know how to play the piano and guitar, been playing ever since I was young! I'm also a ballerina, which I also started learning at a very young age. I really enjoy music, I listen to all kinds of songs. I would eat anything given to me but I do particularly like cold things and seafood. I also prefer the cold weather over the hot weather, I always feel sick easily in hot weather. I also absolutely have a fear of the dark and clowns...I hate bugs too, they freak me out

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all this and maybe doing my request! Please take care! I hope you have a lovely day!! <3

I match you with...

Childe!

It’s okay that you’re shy because Childe is outgoing enough for both of you! He was probably the one to start talking to you first. Perhaps a result of him doing something reckless, like casually trying to destroy Liyue, and bumping into you or something.

Enjoys the way you progressively open up to him, getting closer feels like an accomplishment. Possibly the reason he started getting to know you, determined to get you to open up to him.

We all know Childe is a family man. The lengths he goes to for his family, just… Sharing stories about your families with him is the best. He probably really wants you to meet his family and in return also wants to meet yours!

If you can be chaotic with him it will always be fun, but Childe can be a bit extreme. His energy is almost boundless, good luck keeping up once he really gets going.

Childe would probably appreciate a darker sense of humor. I’m pretty sure he’s killed people, so…

This man finds ambition so attractive. He finds your drive and accomplishments admirable and he’s not afraid to tell you.

Childe is pretty supportive, so don’t be afraid to rely on him emotionally if you need to. He won’t pressure you to say anything, but he’ll be there if you decide you want his support.

He thinks you’re so talented, 100% brags about it to other people. “My s/o can dance, play instruments, AND is artistic.” If you give him any art he will cherish it. Makes him so soft.

Oh, you like the cold? Move to Snezhnaya with him.

Childe may be a bit of a clown himself but he will protect you from bugs and try to reassure you about your other fears.

Childe was so proud of himself. Today he had gone out fishing and he was going to make dinner with fresh fish before you came home. He was so looking forward to impressing you.

The Harbinger was usually a good cook, and he’s not really sure what exactly went wrong. But when you walked in the door and saw smoke coming from the kitchen accompanied by the distinct smell of burning, he knew he absolutely could not let you witness his plunder. So, he came out of the kitchen before you could see in and flashed a bright smile.

“Hey, welcome home. Are you hungry? I was thinking we go to Liuli Pavilion for dinner,” he said, already moving to usher you out of your shared home to go get an edible meal.

[realtalk-princeton]

To Maybach -- Anon 2023 again. Honestly, my other major option is Brown (and Penn, but that's out by now) and I'm concerned that I'd be sacrificing happiness if I choose Pton. "Happy" is a part of the Brown brand, whereas "ahhhhh" seems to be a part of Pton's. I want the name and the opportunities Pton would afford me. I suppose that's not a question, but how would you respond? Do you understand what I mean? Is it so awful to pick Pton 4 name/opportunity (in addition to the other stuff)

Sorry for the delay everyone, I just got caught up in a lot of obligations. Due to multiple popular demands from both pre-frosh and current students, I decided to structure my Brown and Princeton story in the following manner. In the first section, I’ll give my background context prior to starting college and my feelings throughout the years on the subject. In the second section, I’ll specifically address the above question in more detail with my many thoughts on key distinctions between the two schools. I think the combination will serve the purposes of everyone quite nicely. Lastly, if any pre-frosh ever want to talk to me, feel free to reach out and ask for my contact information. Or even better yet lol, I just remembered that PREVIEW started, so I guess it might be easier to just talk in person to me. I actually don’t even have class tomorrow haha. I just think that talking is sometimes easier than writing and also in these responses sometimes I have to speculate. For example, I can pretty safely state that if a pre-frosh is almost certain of being a pre-med, Brown is probably going to be a much less stressful experience, but I have no idea if this applies to you beforehand.

So anyway, even though it was four years ago, I still remember it like it was yesterday. Boy time flies. I was not the most studios or stand-out HS student. I wasn’t the valedictorian or salutatorian of a rather small school far away from major cities. While some Princetonian HS students spent summer doing lab research at universities, I spent mine goofing off with friends and traveling. We used to actually have a bonfire at the end of the school year and burned stacks of our HW up to 4 feet high lol. When it came to applying to college, I did not actually even again acceptance to NYU or BC lol even though my stats were more than up to par. I guess maybe they were concerned that I wouldn’t be a very hard-working student. Luckily, I am very fortunate that despite coming from an extremely educated family (grandfather and mom went to Columbia, Dad went to Berkeley, etc.), my parents never put that much pressure on me. So as you can imagine, I was super excited when I heard that I got into Princeton, Brown, Cornell, and some other schools. For a period of time, I was actually getting ready to go to Brown. My SO at the time had committed to URI and I was psyched by the super expressive culture of Brown. Students prided themselves on being true to themselves and also took full advantage of freedom with responsibility. The location was close enough to NYC and some kids from my HS were already there. I always hated excessive structure and authority growing up and the prospect of 70%’s A’s granted, no +/I’s, and pass/failing anything was totally alluring! On a side note, I always laugh when they say that people don’t abuse pass/fail and use it only like 10-15% of the time. Well, maybe that’s because they’re already handing out A’s like it’s water and all A-’s become A’s haha. But anyway, I was psyched. Who wouldn’t want to live at camp Brown and take it easier than HS, but still be guaranteed a legit degree on your resume? However, after I visited Princeton, connected with a large number of alumni, and actually started putting real thought into my education, my perspectives slowly, but surely started to change. I think what I really underestimated was the power of the Princeton degree and how impressive our alumni network truly is. The people I met and still meet to this day are absolutely brilliant in several respects (e.g. they aren’t just nerds in one subject) and many are focused on maximizing their impact and allocation of influence in this world. The alumni donation rate is nothing short of incredible and the chance to be part of this network was alluring. I remember meeting a guy actually who got waitlisted and was already attending Duke when he got the chance to go to Princeton. He lived every moment to the fullest with his academic pursuits, the social network of brilliant, but diverse persons, and solid career plans. Anyway, it just became more clear to me over time that while Princeton was rigorous, it’s academic qualities could be much more intimate and engaged than Brown and the intellectual horsepower of its students (mostly) created truly incredible and impactful people. Jeez lol I forget sometimes how many alumni we have on the SC, in politics, business, arts, etc. At Brown, all they do is gush over Emma Watson in an almost cult-like way (sarcasm). But anyway, I was getting pushed as you can imagine, but I was still worried as I wasn’t the best HS student and grade deflation had literally only ended the year before. But eventually, the offer was just too good to pass up. Once you become a Princeton student, your life truly does change and people will treat you give you credit solely based on this fact (whether it’s right or wrong is another story). I remember before I even committed, I was hanging out at the Princeton Club in New York and a few days later some of the guys (who literally knew me for like a few days), invited me out and basically paid of lunch at Smith and Wollensky and lauded me on my “accomplishments” lol and how they could always be resources to bolster a Princetonian. Pretty soon after I committed.

As for answering your specific question, I’m already seeing red flags. Whenever you choose a school for the name, that’s setting yourself up for a bad time. Yes, our opportunities are better. Look at the difference in endowments lol. It’s like that for a reason even though they have way more students and more grad schools. It’s also reflected as well in our post-graduation salary averages. Brown is more creative with RISD and it’s curriculum, but that doesn’t always equal more opportunities. Princeton has the most power and resources of any university on a per-student basis and gives us an incredibly powerful brand and network. That said, you should probably explore why you want to go to Princeton other than the name and brand. One of the miserable people I know picked Princeton over another school because it was the “Best” school she got into and that’s just not fun when you didn’t research enough beforehand. By contrast, I know someone who turned down Harvard for a small liberal arts school in the middle of nowhere and she had an amazing time. If you feel like and click with Brown’s social scene, that’s another reason for not going to Princeton. Academically, Princeton is better for people who want rigor and want to truly maximize their learning in a short period of time and be around amazing minds. Our depth is much better than Brown’s and it shows with how strong our students are in critical thinking skills both inside and outside of their majors. However, there is a downside to this. For example, if you want to major in physics at Princeton, you better adapt fast or be damn good at it. You can’t just “love” physics and be relatively bad at it (compared to your peers) to succeed here because we teach you to be the best students possible from professors who literally wrote your book. At Brown, sure you don’t learn as much or go as deep, but you can major in almost anything because you just aren’t held to the same standards. So there’s a tradeoff. If I majored in Brown’s business program, let me just say that I would not NEARLY be perceived by others to be so intelligent (even though I’m not lol). I know the kids in the degree, it’s not like they are dumb, but jeez lol is it a joke a bunch of the time. Relating sociology to business for example on the surface can seem like a good idea that teaches people until you actually see what they’re writing and working on. I would probably have a 4.0 without working as hard too. And I don’t mean this to mean I’m like super smart or anything. It’s just not comparable to Princeton. However, I am super blessed and thankful that I did take Economics here seriously. The kinds of critical thinking skills and the ability to analytically dissect complex multi-faceted problems that I have developed serve me very well and I feel so rewarded. I literally got a position at a hedge fund with no experience at all because the interviewer liked how I wrote a research paper on guns an applied rigorous statistical analysis in many novel ways to answer new questions. This is no different in many ways than using public information using novel techniques to find value where nobody else sees it. But overall, I think that I’m feeling Brown for you unless you are willing to work harder here for greater depth of learning. I just want to say too though that despite me working hard, I still don’t pull-allnighters almost ever and I still have achieved very high grades. You don’t have to be a genius to do well here. Take it from me. I had piss-poor test scores (by Princeton standards) and was not a valedictorian, but if you are strategic and work reasonably hard and are disciplined, the work is more than doable. I don’t want to brag because I think it promotes bad culture, but you ought to know that a student like me can succeed academically and perform at the top of their class without working in the library all the time. So you should really evaluate what kind of learning experience you want and where you will be most likely to be happy and healthy. Some people just want a break after HS and don’t care about going super deep into their learning development. That’s totally fine, but then Brown is probably better (assuming you also like the culture). Some people would really abuse Brown’s system, not really learn, develop unhealthy and bad habits, and be kind of bored. In that case, Princeton is better. It really depends on you, but if all you see here for you is a name, you’re probably shooting yourself in the foot coming here.

Anyway hope that all helps. I can answer specifics if you have them too.

Edit. also I realized how long this all is and noticed that maybe some of you should just call me or I can connect you with people I know who love Brown lol. It’s sometimes harder to write these things and express everything properly compared to like a 30-minute dinner conservasation. Just putting it out there. I’m also exhausted lol from staying up until 4am the past few nights for this huge deal coming up. I did this tonight so that I wouldn’t mess up my sleep schedule any further and avoid taking a nap lol.

[alltheselights]

Hi emma, My very close friend for 8 years has changed a lot, she doesn't like it when i'm happy or when i'm achieving good things in life, and she always always acts as a copy of mine, without telling me that she likes what i'm doing. I don't like the way i sound saying this, but this is what's happening and i just hate it so much. I'm thinking about leaving her but finding it difficult to do. If you were in my situation, how would you act? So sorry if this bothers you in any way.

Ahhh yeah, that’s a tough situation. I’ve known people who do stuff like that.

In terms of the “she doesn’t like it when I’m happy or when I’m achieving good things in life” bit, that sounds a lot like jealousy, and that could mean that she isn’t satisfied with her own life and feels like she isn’t accomplishing things. It’s not an excuse for not being happy for you and your accomplishments, but if you’re willing to work on the friendship at all, maybe when she makes bitter comments, you can say something complimentary about her and something she’s done to make it clear that life is not a competition and success/happiness is not a zero sum game, so what you have does not take away what she has. I think sometimes people need a reminder of that, and offering little compliments and making it clear that your friend has done awesome things too might be a good way to subtly make it clear that even when you get good things, that doesn’t mean that she hasn’t gotten good things too or won’t in the future. You can also possibly tackle the copying thing by offering her compliments and making it clear that the stuff she does when she’s not copying other people, when she’s just being her genuine self, is cool. From what you’ve said here, your friend definitely hasn’t some self esteem issues that are making her not a very friendly person to you, so anything you can do to improve that situation might improve her behavior toward you.

I do just want to say though - it may not be a bad idea to double check your own behavior and make sure that you’re not being heavy-handed with bragging about your accomplishments and happiness. I assume that isn’t the case, but it is possible that if your friend thinks you’re bragging constantly or that you think you’re better than her because of your accomplishments and happiness, she’s behaving accordingly in response. So definitely make sure you’re not doing that. It’s definitely okay to talk about your achievements, but obviously there’s a line where confidence becomes arrogance, and that’s not a pretty trait for sure.

That aside, another possibility is probably the scariest, which is to talk to her. You can say something like “hey, I sometimes feel like you’re not happy for me when I accomplish things, and that kinda hurts my feelings.” There’s probably no way to address the copying thing in a dignified manner, but I think by confronting her about the other stuff and getting to the root of some of her confidence issues, the the copying thing may stop or lessen as well. I know conversations like this are hard to have though, especially because people tend to get defensive, and obviously htere’s no guarantee it would accomplish anything, so it’s really up to you whether you want to attempt this.

Ultimately, it’s 100% your decision whether or not you want to do any of this. I understand what it’s like to put a lot into a friendship and only receive hurtful things in return, and if you don’t want to put even more effort in and feel that for your own mental health and happiness, you need to step back from this friendship, I think you should do that. I’ve ended numerous friendships, some more abruptly and some gradually, because they weren’t healthy for me anymore and I needed to put myself first, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So if you’re too exhausted by this friendship and it’s making you miserable, I would recommend ending it in a more gradual way by just putting more distance between you two. Make fewer plans with her, text her less, and so on. Perhaps if she realizes you two are drifting apart, she’ll put some effort in herself and look at her own behavior and improve it somewhat in the hopes that you guys will stay friends, but if nothing changes, you can just continue putting distance between the two of you until you’re more comfortable. It’s okay distance yourselves from them when they’re causing more harm in your life than good, in my opinion, so it’s okay if you want to do that.

[theuberthinker]

Sometimes you just have to applaud.

A person asked the question, "Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that

1.) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and

2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B.) He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F.) He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G.) He behaves unethically and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H.) He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I.) He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J.) He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L.) He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M.) His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right? *Crickets*) An Interim AG after Firing his First AG who’s appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N.) He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P.) He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q.) He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds and left it alone.

R.) He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters matter.

S.) He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips, or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military, yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T.) He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U.) Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V.) He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W.) He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X.) He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump Supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y.) He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking The free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z.) I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late 60’s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been?

- Chris O’Leary

This Occupy Democrats post ended up in my news feed a little bit ago- and I had to comment on this. Chris hits the nail square on the head with one swing of the metaphorical hammer. He, to put it simply, just GETS it, and it’s a wonderful thing.