#that's why you need to COMPARE the two texts and make CONCLUSIONS based on that comparison 😭

[theflyingfeeling]

oh for fuck's saaaaaaake 😐

[poly-val]

i've never felt the need to respond to a tumblr post Ever, but this was such a lazy gut-reaction analysis of an character arc I personally found very emotionally affecting so here I am I guess. tl;dr: I don't believe Ymir is a transmisogynist stereotype and most of the analysis above is lazy and refuses to engage with the text of the game on anything other than the most banal and literal levels, which end up missing interesting and worthwhile ideas by a country mile.

(cw discussion of sexual assault/rape, transmisogyny, body horror)

let's explore this in four points. first, let's talk about Ymir's style and presentation.

Count Ymir was one of the first characters we got to see in the teasers, and when folks spoke about him, it was always referring to him as a woman. And it's obvious why: he cuts a very matronly figure, with the long fitted and the ruff around the collar and the headpiece (itself reminiscent of the Nox's silk hoods and crowns). In this way, if we compare his style to other Carian styles, like the gowns of the Preceptors for instance, it's obvious that Ymir's High Priest outfit is meant to be way more feminine than not, especially if you take into account the wrap underneath the crown, the collar, the bloomers under the robe.

I'm starting here because like, this isn't a mistake! Neither is this treated as a joke, anymore than any of the other characters in the game, DLC or otherwise. Like, it's interesting that we have a character present very obviously as ritually/ceremonially feminine, while still using a masculine title. Compare Ymir to another DLC NPC, Thiollier, who also cuts a very feminine figure, with the flowing hair-like hood and mask, and with the very soft voice (and his actual obsession with St. Trina). Moreso than at any point in the base game, the DLC has gone to lengths to introduce characters who play with, subvert and question norms of sex and gender. Women wear armor modeled gloriously off men's chests, men wear dresses and nun's habits, and every one of them is following a figure who is famously (for lack of a better phrase) genderfucky: Miquella.

And having mentioned obsession, let's move to point two: Ymir's dead son, Yuri.

I'm going to gloss over the frankly bizarre leap in logic that is required to see a transfem-coded character have a connection to a child and instantly jumpto "oh it's some pedo shit", though I'm still pointing it out.

"Obsession" is a very strong word to describe what has only been shown to us to be sorrow and grief. It's obvious that Ymir lost a child, and his moments alone in the graveyard are nothing if not tender. More than the pain of losing a child, there's also the pain of failed motherhood, which hit home to me as a trans girl. I think hearing that was the first moment the gravity of Ymir's story really hit me. It's sad! It's meant to be sad! It's a moment where we see that motherhood is not a metaphor or an eldritch theme or whatever, it's literal. It's someone apologizing to his dead child that he wasn't able to be the mother he needed to be. The grief is palpable. If obsession is found in Ymir's story, it's not an obsession for Yuri, but for what came after. It grew out of that grief, and makes Ymir that much more tragic for it. Cradling a dead fingercrawler is unnerving, but if anything it shows us what grief can make of us. To touch on it again: it is very weird to see this character arc and immediately, without any supporting evidence, jump to the conclusion that Ymir is sexually obsessed with this dead child. It's weird and just a bad take.

Which leads to my third point: the fingers.

Fingers have been all over the game since launch. Two Fingers, Three Fingers, Finger Maidens, Finger Readers, Fingercrawlers, and the DLC makes good on this through Ymir and the Finger Ruins. Fingers are a very important symbol in Elden Ring, and they're fascinating because the symbol is also extremely literal. When you meet the Two Fingers for the first time, it's kind of a shock because that's literally actually what they are. They're literally just two giant fingers sticking out of the ground. The metaphor is broken a bit because it ceases to be a metaphor. The fingers are literal. Hell, the players are called Fingers too in multiplayer! We are Fingers ourselves.

Fingers are many things in Elden Ring, but what they have never, ever, ever been are penises. This is like, bargain-bin level analysis, barely psychosexual in nature, to see fingers and assume they symbolize penises just because they are "phallic". One reply to this post said this kind of analysis says more about the reader than the text and I have to agree, because it ignores so much context and theming that's been carefully built up in the base game.

Fingers point, they guide, they embrace. Juxtaposing the Two/Three fingers as incomplete hands with the fingercrawlers in abandoned Caria Manor, grotesque severed hands adorned with jewelry with way too many fingers, gives us a fascinating idea: our reach exceeded our grasp. The fingercrawlers are emblematic of "an ancient act of blasphemy" (Ringed Finger desc.), so it's interesting that you find this ruined manor crawling with the things. It's a crystal clear sign: something terrible happened here. And when we arrive at the DLC, who do we find that's associated with Caria? Ymir, and so a question is answered, if obscurely. But the fingercrawlers in Caria have never been taken to mean "the castle is covered in penises". That's facile. It doesn't tell us anything about Caria, or the fingercrawlers, or the symbol of fingers in general. It's an easy leap to make but it's lazy and unmotivated.

Like, let's compare the Fingers as eldritch symbols of Outer Gods to another Fromsoft Outer God: Oeden in Bloodborne. The entire game he's talked about as formless, but when his coming down to earth is signalled to the player, how is that shown?

With a full too-bright moon (stereotypically feminine in myth, mind you). And it's formless Oeden who then goes around forcibly impregnating women in Yharnam. Like, if Fromsoft wants to write rape into their games, they'll do it. They did it in Elden Ring too: as an Outer God the Scarlet Rot forcibly makes Malenia into a mother! This is text! The Two Fingers help make Marika into a mother-goddess, sure, but that was pretty explicitly with Marika's consent. Same with Ymir: he seems pretty enthusiastically consenting to the whole "being made a mother" thing.

The reference to Gwyndolin is also very egregious. I won't sit here and say that Gwyndolin is perfect rep; it definitely strays into dubious areas of fetishization. However, once again, Gwyndolin's snakes are not a penis thing oh my god. Snakes are cunning, dangerous, alien; in Dark Souls in particular, snakes represent a failed ambition, the snake being unable to become a true dragon, stuck with its belly on the ground and always envious of its airborne cousins (Covetous Silver Serpent Ring). That extends to Gwyndolin: the son-daughter that was hidden away is envious of her bright and beautiful family, the ones who get to walk around and bask in the sun. The Moon aspires to be the Sun, but only manages to be an obscure Darksun. The snakes lend a monstrous, tragic quality to Gwyndolin, because even if he's the last spark of divinity left in deserted Anor Londo, even if he's the mastermind of the great plot to deceive humanity, he's still hidden away, left to watch over the empty tomb of a man who didn't think he was good enough. The snakes are not a haha penis thing. Again, Gwyndolin is far from perfect, but it's once again facile to assume that just because something is long and cylindrical that it must obviously mean it's a penis. It's along these lines that I reject an interpretation that the fingers under Ymir's robes are penises.

And if you want to talk psychosexual, taking a look at Berserk, which massively inspired the whole of Fromsoft's Soulsborne series, would be a good start. Phallic imagery is used to great and disturbing effect in that manga, because its use was thought through, intentional and highly explicit. in that case the penis means something: the violence of misogyny, the masculine dynamics of power, the trauma of rape survivors. If anything, when compared to the psychosexual hellscape in Berserk, Elden Ring comes off as a little sexless (though it's disingenuous to imply that Elden Ring isn't stuffed to the brim with weird sex stuff).

And this leads us to my fourth and final point: the dolls.

So I'll say something before I get to the meat of this point. Saying that the dolls in Elden Ring are a weird creepy sex thing that only represents rape ignores the few times that characters willingly choose to become dolls. One of these characters (Ranni) is also near-explicitly coded as trans (and a redux of Gwyndolin, in case we were wondering what Fromsoft thinks about her), and so her willingly becoming a disabled doll is fascinating and contextualizes what we come to know about dolls.

But, granted, yes. Most of what we know about dolls comes from Seluvis, who is a weird shitty sex pervert who is called an honest to god "dolly botherer" by Gideon at one point. His dolls are pretty straightforwardly acquired through deception; like, you have to trick/force people to drink a drug that turns them into dolls. It's violating, and the game makes no bones of that.

My point here is: Ymir's association with Anna's doll is suspect. The story of what exactly happened to Anna is ambiguous, as is the history of both Jolan and Anna and how they came to be in Ymir's service, but it's weird. But like, that's interesting? It's interesting and complicates Ymir's character even further. It lets us know that maybe he's not just a kooky sorcerer who has a weird finger thing going on, that his relationship with these two women is not as simple as knights and their lord. Additionally, it runs back into the base game too, because now the doll's presence implicates Caria as well. Rather than Seluvis being a standalone creep, there's an implication that dolls are a systemic part of Carian history, one that fits neatly with the game's thoughts on nobility as consuming and corruptive.

But this isn't like, anything new. Some of the game's most trans-coded characters are also its most complicated and morally dubious. The whole game is focused on how Marika's selfishness breaks the world and ruins the quasi-immortal lives of all her children, Ranni orchestrates a murder-suicide and actively conspires against her closest confidants, Malenia unleashes the Scarlet Rot, Miquella's grave misdeeds and wrongdoings are littered across the DLC, literally! It's flavor, it's intrigue, it's complicating the lives and stories of the characters we meet. No one is all good or all bad, and just as they are larger-than-life mythical figures, they are also people.

So why does Ymir have a doll of Anna? Maybe it is a weird sex thing, maybe it's an extension of his fixation on motherhood. Maybe from his perspective the two knights aren't just servants, but children. I don't know, and it's left ambiguous for us to decide.

And like, to that end I'll clarify something. A lot of hay is made about Souls games being "up to interpretation" or open to a whole lot of conclusions, how Fromsoft gives us the pieces and we're expected to put together an incomplete puzzle. I don't think is correct at all. I think these games often show us stories that are clear and unambiguous, and while some of the little details are left open-ended, the big picture resolves clearly once you apply a little critical thinking. The only thing you need to do is trust the story that they're telling you. That's why I think "Ymir is transmisogynist garbage" is a bad-faith read of a really fascinating character. It's not that I don't think the point should or could be made, I just think "the fingers are penises and also he's a pedophile" is flimsy and unimaginative grounding for such a point to be made. The game does have a lot to say about motherhood, but none of those things include "mommies can't have penises". You can find Ymir uncomfortable, unnerving, upsetting - in fact I guarantee that was a large part of his design from the get-go, but I don't think that is grounded in a read of him as a transmisogynist stereotype of a "man in a dress", anymore than any of the other transgressive designs in the game are secretly anti-tranny jokes.

No One Else Is Saying It So I'm Going To: Elden Ring DLC Is Transphobic As Fuck

The entire character of Count Ymir feels like Fromsoft was upset people weren't as disgusted by Gwyndolin as they were supposed to be, so they turned the transmisogyny up to 11 and made it absolutely unmissable how much hatred they have towards trans people. And most people on the internet are still fucking missing it somehow, so let's break it down, I guess.

Count Ymir is an NPC in the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, and is the main character of his own questline in the DLC. He's an old man who sits on a throne and is only ever referred to with he/him pronouns, and he wears a 'priest's outfit' that involves a habit-like crown and a long, purple robe.

One of the first things you learn about Count Ymir is that he's somehow attached to a deceased child named Yuri, to the point where he starts calling tiny fingercreepers by his name. You can find Ymir at night sobbing over the gravestone, while during the day he cradles a tiny, dead hand and calls it Yuri. While giving him an obsession with an underaged boy who may or may not have even been his son is definitely sus, it's literally the least weird part of this quest. It's mostly there to set up unease and distrust with Ymir, because they player doesn't know how Yuri died, and suddenly this old man is treating creepy monsters as children and calling them by this dead child's name. Again, nothing incriminating on its own, but that's just the set-up.

Ymir gives you a "bell," which is a long, cylindrical object with a bunch of holes in it, one of those holes on the elongated tip, that the player takes to places called 'Finger Ruins' to unlock treasure. Finger ruins are large, grey deserts with giant stone fingers jutting out of the sand. These ruins are inhabited by fingercreepers, enemies from the base game that are spider-like severed hands, and these new enemies that are long, lamprey-like finger men that can grab the player and suck on their face. To use the bell Ymir gave you, you go up to a giant version of the bell and blow into it, the hole on the tip the size of the player's entire face.

As you go on these treasure hunts, you meet Jolan, Ymir's bodyguard, a woman who is protective of the old man for some reason. Ymir mentions that Jolan has a sister named Anna, and both of them are purehearted. Here's the thing, though. During the 2nd treasure hunt, you can find a secret room in a tower nearby Ymir's church, and in that room is Anna's corpse, turned into a puppet somehow. Puppet summons in the base game are heavily, heavily implied to be victims of sexual violence, as the man who makes them, Seluvis, exclusively makes puppets out of women and naked men, keeping some of them in his bedroom behind a magic door, and getting very personal with you the instant you find out about this. These are dead bodies that are meant to be read as the objects of sexual gratification to the one who made them that way.

Anna's puppet is in a secret room near Ymir's church. It is explicitly stated later that Anna is Ymir's "doll," further cementing the implications from the base game. Before even getting to the end of the questline, we have confirmation Ymir is a sexual predator who has murdered at least one adult woman, which puts his obsession with a deceased young boy further into question.

After the 2nd treasure hunt, you return to find Ymir crying at Yuri's grave. He tells you that Marika, the queen of the lands between, final boss of the main game, and mother of DLC antagonist Miquella, is a failure because she is a bad mother, and that Miquella is doomed because of a "rotten root." This brings up his other obsession, that of motherhood, and how Yuri would still be alive if he'd had a better mother. You can probably see where this is going.

Ymir gives you a third map, which tells you the church is already in a finger ruin desert, which is obviously untrue, as you can see it's not. So you look around and find a secret tunnel underneath Ymir's throne while he's at Yuri's grave. Underneath the church is a hidden finger ruin, with fingers jutting out of the sky and one more giant bell at the end.

Anna invades you here, though it's clear from before that she's been long dead and this is her reanimated corpse being used for Ymir's bidding. After defeating Anna, you get to the last bell, and instead of treasure, you're teleported to a sea of fingers and fight Metyr, Mother of Fingers. This is a fromsoft game, so you can use your imagination on what a boss who is themed around maternity and has a body made up solely of long, plump fingers looks like. Hint: phallic and unpleasant.

After beating Metyr, Jolan tries to kill you for ruining Ymir's plan, somehow? You just followed his maps and did what he asked, and this ruined his plan. He told you where to go, gave you the key item you needed to use, and asked you to do it for him. He drew you a MAP. But this ruined his plans? None of this quest was thought through beyond the cruelty it applies to real world groups, the writing makes literally no sense. Hate crime aside, the writing is just bad.

After fighting Jolan is when the other shoe drops and Ymir is summoned as the final boss of this sidequest. His title is Count Ymir, Mother of Fingers, and his purple priestess robe is now bursting at the seems with wriggling fingers. He says he will be "A true mother. The only mother." He fights by literally giving birth to fingercreepers, spewing them out of his robes as a projectile. Let me remind you of the phallic nature of this enemy, and of Gwyndolin, the other transfem-coded hate crime character Fromsoft made, who had snakes wriggling out from under her dress. This is a repeated theme in these games, of transfem-coded characters having dangerous, cylindrical objects under their clothes.

To be blunt, because I know not everyone is seeing this, having Ymir call himself a mother and then immediately be shown to be covered in penis-like fingers that were hidden under his robe this whole time, is an anti-tranny joke the devs are making. They made it with Gwyndolin, who we actually liked, so they went more explicit and made it again with an old man who kills women and children, sexually assaults them, and then tries to take sole ownership of the word "mother" because of his hatred towards women. The key item he gives you is designed to make the player feel violated. The entire quest is choked in phallic imagery, with Fromsoft practically screaming at the top of their lungs "PENIS ITS PENISES, HE HAS PENISES HE CAN'T BE A MOM BECAUSE OF THE PENIS!!! ISN'T HE GROSS, ISN'T HE SCARY??? PENIS!!!!"

It's fucking disgusting. It's detestable that they went through all of this trouble to show us how un-fucking-welcome we are in this game's community. This is some of the worst transphobia I've seen from a mainstream title in decades. This is Silence of the Lambs, Sleepaway Camp type shit. I would not be surprised if JK Rowling had a writing credit for this DLC. This isn't even getting into all the poorly thought-out incest they added into the main questline, either.

Fuck Fromsoft. I hope all the people who wrote this quest choke on air. It's fucking pathetic, I'm mad as hell, and any trans person who plays Elden Ring, or any other Fromsoft game, should be mad as hell, too.

[devoqdesign]

A/B Testing Your Way to Landing Page Perfection: Strategies for Continuous Improvement

In the digital marketing world, your landing page is often the first impression potential customers have of your brand. It's the virtual storefront that can make or break a conversion. But how do you know if your landing page is truly effective? Enter A/B testing, a powerful tool that can help you optimize your landing pages for maximum impact. In this blog, we'll explore strategies for using A/B testing to continuously improve your landing pages and boost your conversion rates.

Understanding A/B Testing

A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method of comparing two versions of a web page to determine which one performs better. In this process, you create two variations of your landing page (A and B) and show them to different segments of your audience. By analyzing how users interact with each version, you can make data-driven decisions about which elements to keep, modify, or discard.

Why A/B Testing Matters

Eliminates guesswork: Instead of relying on intuition, A/B testing provides concrete data on what works and what doesn't.

Improves user experience: By refining your landing pages based on user behavior, you create a more enjoyable and effective experience for your visitors.

Increases conversions: Even small improvements can lead to significant increases in conversion rates over time.

Provides ongoing insights: A/B testing is not a one-time effort but a continuous process of refinement and improvement.

Getting Started with A/B Testing

1. Establish Clear Goals

Before you begin testing, define what success looks like for your landing page. Are you aiming to increase sign-ups, downloads, or purchases? Having clear goals will help you focus your testing efforts and measure results effectively.

2. Identify Key Elements to Test

While you can test virtually any element on your landing page, some of the most impactful areas to focus on include:

- Headlines and subheadings

- Call-to-action (CTA) buttons (text, color, size, placement)

- Images and videos

- Form fields and length

- Page layout and design

- Copy and messaging

3. Develop Strong Hypotheses

For each test, formulate a clear hypothesis. For example, "Changing the CTA button color from blue to green will increase click-through rates by 10%." This helps you stay focused and makes it easier to interpret results.

4. Choose the Right A/B Testing Tool

There are numerous A/B testing tools available, ranging from simple to complex. Popular options include Google Optimize, Optimizely, and VWO. Choose a tool that integrates well with your existing tech stack and offers the features you need.

5. Ensure Statistical Significance

To draw reliable conclusions, make sure your test runs long enough and reaches a sufficient sample size. Most A/B testing tools will help you determine when your results are statistically significant.

Strategies for Effective A/B Testing

1. Start with High-Impact Elements

Begin by testing elements that are likely to have the biggest impact on your conversion rates. This often includes your headline, main CTA, and hero image.

2. Test One Element at a Time

To clearly understand what's driving changes in performance, focus on testing one element at a time. This approach, known as univariate testing, helps isolate the impact of each change.

3. Consider Multivariate Testing

Once you're comfortable with A/B testing, you might explore multivariate testing, which allows you to test multiple variables simultaneously. This can be particularly useful for understanding how different elements interact with each other.

4. Segment Your Audience

Different segments of your audience may respond differently to various elements. Consider running separate tests for different traffic sources, devices, or customer types to uncover segment-specific insights.

5. Test Radically Different Versions

While it's tempting to make small tweaks, don't be afraid to test dramatically different versions of your landing page. Sometimes, a complete redesign can lead to breakthrough improvements.

Implementing and Iterating

Once you've identified a winning variation, implement the changes on your live landing page. But remember, A/B testing is an ongoing process. Use the insights gained from each test to inform your next hypothesis and continue refining your landing pages.

Keep a log of all your tests, including hypotheses, results, and lessons learned. This documentation will prove invaluable as you build your testing strategy over time.

Conclusion

A/B testing is a powerful tool for continuously improving your landing pages and driving better results for your business. By systematically testing different elements and making data-driven decisions, you can create landing pages that resonate with your audience and drive higher conversion rates.

Remember, the goal isn't to find a "perfect" landing page – because there's no such thing. Instead, focus on creating a culture of continuous improvement, where you're always learning, iterating, and optimizing based on real user data.

As you embark on your A/B testing journey, stay patient and persistent. Some tests will yield dramatic improvements, while others might show no significant difference. Every test, however, provides valuable insights that can inform your overall marketing strategy.

By consistently applying the strategies outlined in this blog, you'll be well on your way to creating landing pages that not only look great but also deliver tangible business results. Happy testing!

My Fiver link for :  Figma Landing Page Design Service

[technology01tools]

Compare CSS Online: A Guide to Streamlining Your Web Development

In the fast-paced world of web development, efficiency and accuracy are paramount. One of the crucial aspects of creating and maintaining websites is managing CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). CSS defines the look and feel of a website, controlling everything from layout to colours and fonts. Comparing CSS files to identify differences and merge changes is a common task for developers, particularly when collaborating on projects or updating legacy code. In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of comparing CSS files online and how it can streamline your web development process.

Why Compare CSS Files

Before diving into the tools and methods for comparing CSS files online, it's essential to understand why this process is beneficial:

1. Version Control

Web development often involves multiple developers working on the same project. Comparing CSS files allows you to track changes made by different team members, ensuring that no critical updates are lost and conflicts are resolved efficiently.

2. Bug Fixing

CSS bugs can be notoriously difficult to track down. By comparing versions of your CSS, you can pinpoint exactly when and where an issue was introduced, making it easier to debug and fix.

3. Optimization

Over time, CSS files can become bloated with unused or redundant styles. Comparing CSS files helps identify and remove unnecessary code, leading to cleaner, more efficient stylesheets.

4. Merging Changes

When updating a website, you might have multiple CSS files with different modifications. Comparing these files allows you to merge changes seamlessly, ensuring a consistent design across the site.

How to Compare CSS Files Online

Using online tools to compare CSS files is generally straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

Step 1: Choose Your Tool

Select the online tool that best fits your needs. For this example, we'll use Diffchecker.

Step 2: Upload Your CSS Files

Most tools allow you to upload files directly from your computer or paste the CSS code into text boxes. Upload the two CSS files you want to compare.

Step 3: Analyse the Comparison

The tool will display a side-by-side comparison of the two files, highlighting differences. Review the changes carefully, noting any conflicts or areas that need merging.

Step 4: Resolve Differences

Make the necessary changes to your CSS files based on the comparison. If the tool supports merging, you can often do this directly within the interface.

Step 5: Save and Test

Once you’ve resolved the differences, save the updated CSS file and test it on your website to ensure everything looks and functions as expected.

Conclusion

Comparing CSS files online is a valuable skill for web developers, helping to maintain clean, efficient, and bug-free stylesheets. By utilising online tools, you can streamline your workflow, enhance collaboration, and ensure your website looks its best. Whether you’re a solo developer or part of a team, mastering CSS comparison will undoubtedly improve your web development process.

[telegramchile]

Telegram in Chile: A Comprehensive Guide

In an era dominated by digital communication, messaging apps have become essential for staying connected. One platform that has gained significant popularity is Telegram. Due to its unique features and robust security measures, Telegram has steadily increased its number of users in Chile. This guide will explore everything you need to know about Telegram in Chile.

Read More: telegram chile

Table of Contents

Introduction to Telegram

Why Telegram is Popular in Chile

Key Features of Telegram

Setting Up Telegram in Chile

Telegram Channels and Groups in Chile

Using Telegram for Business

Telegram vs. Other Messaging Apps

Security and Privacy on Telegram

Telegram for News and Information

Cultural Impact of Telegram in Chile

Challenges and Limitations

The Future of Telegram in Chile

Conclusion

FAQs

Introduction to Telegram

Telegram is a cloud-based messaging app known for its speed and security. Launched in 2013 by Pavel Durov, it offers features beyond simple text messaging, including multimedia sharing, bots, and channels for broadcasting messages to large audiences.

Why Telegram is Popular in Chile

Several factors contribute to Telegram's popularity in Chile:

Enhanced Security: Telegram offers end-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages, appealing to privacy-conscious users.

Free and Open: Telegram is free to use, with no ads, and it supports large file transfers, making it ideal for sharing media and documents.

Versatility: It supports a variety of content formats, including text, photos, videos, and voice messages, which makes it versatile for different types of communication.

Key Features of Telegram

Telegram stands out due to its rich feature set:

Secret Chats: For end-to-end encrypted communication.

Channels: For broadcasting messages to unlimited audiences.

Groups: Supporting up to 200,000 members.

Bots: Automated accounts that can perform various functions.

Cloud Storage: Access your messages and files from any device.

Setting Up Telegram in Chile

Getting started with Telegram in Chile is straightforward:

Download the App: Available on iOS, Android, and desktop platforms.

Sign Up: Use your phone number to create an account.

Customize Settings: Adjust privacy settings and notifications according to your preferences.

Explore: Join groups, follow channels, and connect with friends and colleagues.

Telegram Channels and Groups in Chile

Telegram channels and groups are widespread communication and information dissemination tools in Chile. Here are some ways they are used:

News Channels: Many news outlets use Telegram to broadcast updates.

Community Groups: Local communities and interest groups use Telegram to stay connected.

Educational Purposes: Teachers and students utilize groups for educational discussions and resource sharing.

Using Telegram for Business

Businesses in Chile leverage Telegram for various purposes:

Customer Service: Providing customer support through quick and direct communication.

Marketing: Using channels to broadcast promotional messages and updates.

Collaboration: Teams use groups to collaborate on projects and share documents efficiently.

Telegram vs. Other Messaging Apps

Comparing Telegram to other messaging apps highlights its unique advantages:

Security: Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram offers secret chats with self-destructing messages.

Customization: More customizable than Facebook Messenger, with bots and advanced settings.

Capacity: Supports larger groups and file transfers compared to many competitors.

Security and Privacy on Telegram

Telegram is known for its commitment to security and privacy:

Encryption: Offers end-to-end encryption for secret chats.

Two-Step Verification: Adds an extra layer of security to your account.

Self-Destructing Messages: Messages that delete themselves after a set period.

Telegram for News and Information

Many Chileans turn to Telegram for news and information:

Real-Time Updates: News channels provide real-time updates on current events.

Alternative Media: Independent journalists and bloggers use Telegram to reach audiences.

Community Alerts: Local groups use Telegram to share important community information and alerts.

Cultural Impact of Telegram in Chile

Telegram has had a notable cultural impact in Chile:

Activism: Used by activists to organize and mobilize.

Social Movements: Plays a role in various social movements by facilitating communication.

Digital Community Building: Helps build and maintain digital communities across multiple interests.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite its advantages, Telegram faces some challenges:

User Adoption: Competing with more established apps like WhatsApp.

Misinformation: Like other platforms, it can be a conduit for spreading misinformation.

Technical Barriers: Some users may need help navigating the app's advanced features.

The Future of Telegram in Chile

Looking ahead, Telegram is poised to continue growing in Chile:

Increased Adoption: As more people recognize its benefits, user adoption will likely rise.

Enhanced Features: Ongoing updates and new features will enhance user experience.

Greater Integration: Potential for deeper integration with other digital services and platforms.

Conclusion Telegram's rise in Chile is a testament to its powerful features, security, and versatility. Whether for personal communication, business use, or staying informed, Telegram offers a robust platform that caters to diverse needs. As digital communication continues to evolve, Telegram is set to remain a significant player in Chile's digital landscape.

[moringawholesale]

6 Tips For Creating A Great Animated Promo Video

There is an increasing demand for online video content. In one survey, 83% of participants said they would rather use video than text or voice to access instructional or instructive content. Growing demand means more chances for creatives to help clients with their needs related to video creation.

Here are the tips for making a marketing video that engages viewers and draws in well-known customers.

Types of animated promo video

An animated promo video aims to motivate viewers to take action by showcasing a product or service. These movies are straightforward and contain brief, understandable informational bursts. Although there is no ideal duration, it is generally recommended to keep these videos under 120 seconds due to viewers' short attention spans. Squeezing our ideas, visuals, audio, and animation into this constrained amount of time is a challenge for creatives.

Product demo video - highlights particular characteristics of a product or service to show how it functions.

Explainer video - is a type of video that explains a company's product or service. It can be used to showcase complex technologies and tell brief stories.

Testimonial Video - The best kind of video marketing is the testimonial video from a consumer. Nothing compares to a customer's favorable video testimonial regarding their experience with your company's product or service. 

How to create an Animated promo video

Many components are used in animated promo videos, such as color, lighting, forms, texture, space, timing, sound, typography, and tone or value. Effectively mixing these components to strengthen the intended message is necessary to create a captivating one. The following advice will assist you in achieving that.

Limit the color scheme of your project

Excessive use of color might be equally damaging as using no color. It can be challenging to effectively use color in content that covers complex subjects, like scientific data. When that happens, I usually stick to a small color scheme.

Set a goal

Make it obvious why you are doing this video. Is brand awareness the goal? to increase sales? to instruct your client? A well-defined objective facilitates the creation of an engaging script that is appropriately long. This goal-setting activity is essential since studies reveal that sixty percent of viewers become interested when a video is longer than two minutes. Videos that are used for staff or customer education can be longer and still have a low bounce rate.

Set a tone

Select an emotional tone for the video based on your message and brand values. It could be straightforward, professional, funny, dramatic, or friendly.

Utilize tone and timing to engage viewers

A video's speed and timing can make or kill a project. Take the length of time a topic spends on screen, for example. You can highlight or minimize a subject's importance in a video based on how long it appears. Furthermore, the timing of each individual animation is quite important since it creates a whole rhythm that supports the intended meaning of the project.

Tell a story

Your message may include facts, figures, offers, etc. However, including this knowledge in a tale is a fantastic method to ensure the audience remembers it.

Make clear CTA

After watching a video, 46% of viewers take some form of action. Ensure that your audience is aware of the appropriate course of action. 

Conclusion

In order to motivate viewers to take action, an animated promo video combines formal design aspects, storytelling, and marketing ideas in a unique way. This product explainer video raises brand recognition and drives sales for the products and services they endorse.

Promo videos that are successful are concise and save viewers from having to read through extensive product details. Additionally, they show viewers a result that connects with them on a personal level. The most compelling videos demonstrate how the requirements of the viewer are addressed. With your next project, use these pointers to produce an animated promo video that can boost your client's brand recognition.

[visagurukul012]

A Complete Guide to Essential Vocabulary Words for IELTS

Are you preparing for the IELTS exam? If so, you’ve probably heard that having a strong vocabulary is crucial for success. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assesses your ability to communicate effectively in English, and a rich vocabulary can make a significant difference in your overall score. In this complete guide, we will explore essential vocabulary words for IELTS, helping you build the language skills necessary to excel in this test.

Why Is Vocabulary Important for IELTS?

Before diving into the vocabulary words, let’s understand why vocabulary is so vital for the IELTS exam. The IELTS test evaluates your English proficiency across four key language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary plays a critical role in all of these sections.

Listening: During the listening section, you’ll hear various accents and types of English. A robust vocabulary will help you understand the spoken content, including complex words and phrases.

Reading: The reading section consists of texts on diverse topics. A rich vocabulary will enable you to comprehend and answer questions about these texts more effectively.

Writing: In the writing tasks, you need to express your ideas clearly and coherently. A wide range of vocabulary allows you to convey your thoughts with precision and variety, which can impress the examiners.

Speaking: In the speaking section, you’ll engage in a conversation with an examiner. A broad vocabulary allows you to express yourself fluently, accurately, and with nuance.

Now that we’ve established the importance of vocabulary, let’s explore a range of words that can enhance your IELTS preparation.

Essential Vocabulary Words for IELTS

1.Common Everyday Words

Begin by strengthening your everyday vocabulary. These words are useful in both casual and formal contexts:

Elicit: To draw out information or reactions.

Obtain: To acquire or get something.

Evaluate: To assess or judge the quality or importance of something.

Convey: To communicate or make something known.

Contrast: To compare the differences between two or more things.

Identify: To recognize or name something.

Emphasize: To give importance or prominence to something.

Influence: To affect or shape someone or something.

2. Academic Words

IELTS often includes academic topics, so you should be comfortable with academic vocabulary:

Hypothesis: An educated guess or a proposed explanation.

Paradigm: A typical example or pattern.

Synthesize: To combine different ideas to create a new understanding.

Cite: To quote or reference a source.

Analyze: To examine something closely and break it down into its components.

Comprehensive: Covering all aspects; thorough.

Empirical: Based on observation or experience.

Criterion: A standard or principle for evaluating something.

3. Descriptive Words

Being able to describe things effectively is crucial in the IELTS exam. Here are some descriptive words to expand your vocabulary:

Vibrant: Full of life, energy, or color.

Mundane: Ordinary, dull, or routine.

Exquisite: Extremely beautiful or delicate.

Pristine: Clean and in its original condition.

Austere: Simple and plain; without excess.

Ubiquitous: Present everywhere.

Ephemeral: Lasting for a very short time.

Serene: Calm and peaceful.

4. Words for Expressing Agreement and Disagreement

In both speaking and writing tasks, you may need to express your agreement or disagreement. These words can help:

Agree: Concur, concur, consent, endorse.

Disagree: Contradict, dissent, oppose, refute.

Partially Agree: To some extent, somewhat, partly, relatively.

Absolutely Agree: Completely, totally, unequivocally.

Strongly Disagree: Firmly, vehemently, categorically.

5. Transitional Words and Phrases

To connect your ideas smoothly in both writing and speaking, use transitional words and phrases:

Furthermore: Additionally, moreover, besides.

However: Nevertheless, nonetheless, on the other hand.

In conclusion: To sum up, in summary, to conclude.

For example: For instance, such as, to illustrate.

On the contrary: Conversely, in contrast, on the flip side.

6. Words for Discussing Trends and Statistics

In the writing and speaking sections, you may need to discuss trends and statistics. These words will help you:

Increase: Rise, grow, surge, climb.

Decrease: Decline, drop, diminish, fall.

Fluctuate: Vary, oscillate, change.

Steady: Stable, unchanging, constant.

Peak: Highest point, zenith, climax.

Trough: Lowest point, nadir, bottom.

Read a blog:- Study abroad

How to Learn and Use These Words Effectively

Context Matters: When learning new vocabulary, understand how words are used in sentences. This helps you grasp their meanings and usage better.

Use Flashcards: Create flashcards with the word, its meaning, and a sentence using the word. Review them regularly.

Read Widely: Exposure to different types of texts, such as newspapers, magazines, and books, will expose you to a wide range of vocabulary.

Practice Writing: Incorporate new words into your writing tasks to reinforce your understanding and application.

Speak and Listen: Engage in conversations with native speakers or listen to English podcasts and videos to practice speaking and listening skills.

Online Resources: Utilize online vocabulary resources and apps that offer word quizzes and exercises.

Stay Consistent: Regular practice is key to retaining and using vocabulary effectively.

Conclusion

A strong vocabulary is a valuable asset for anyone aiming to excel in the IELTS exam. By learning and using the essential vocabulary words provided in this guide, you’ll be better prepared to tackle the test’s various sections and demonstrate your English language proficiency. Remember that consistent practice and exposure to English in real-life situations will further enhance your vocabulary and language skills. Good luck with your IELTS preparation!

[gremlin-writes-angst]

Long-distance HC

Headcanons on how the BP LI's deal with a long-distance relationship.

Masterlist right here

Nightowl reminds me of myself, and my friend so this is mostly based on that

He loves to spoil you with packages.

he sees something that reminds him of you he's getting it. Whether it's a free rock or something that way out of his budget.

His adrenaline is high and he doesn't think things all the way through, he spent too much money on a large plushie, and now he needs to send it to you, which cost even more money, money he doesn't have yet.

Most of the things he gets for you are random and require an explanation.

Now he plans to send it all out, a nice crazy care package but almost every time it gets sent out later than intended. Like you'll get a package in May labeled “valentines package”.

Oftentimes he likes to send a hoodie, he asks you to send him one back. The sleeves are embroidered with special messages. ILY. Breathe. You’re cute. My cutie.

As soon as he sends the package off he's texting you. He constantly asks if you got it yet, even though he has tracking.

When you do get it, you’re required to get on a call with him so he can see your reaction to what he got you, along with explaining wtf he got you cause it's so random.

It's been mentioned that quest likes writing, specifically poems so you can expect that from him.

He doesn't have much free time but he does his best.

Most of the letters are things Quest struggles to say to your face but doesn't feel messaging is personal enough.

Sometimes he'll send a letter with sticky notes, every sticky note has a time, date, signature along with a message, the messages vary but they're all simple thoughts he had at the moment.

An example, he's too busy to respond on the server but he's watching it, he notices you mention only getting 2 hours of sleep, Quest writes down. Sleep more.

Or you're on a call with him, he said something, and your laughing he jots down. I love your laugh.

“What are you doing?”

“You'll see.”

“Is it one of those sticky notes? Why not just tell me?”

“Cause it's hard to get the word out of my mouth.”

You smile at his shyness, you know you'll love whatever he wrote so you let it slide.

On the rare occasion, you'll get a poem, their mostly happy ones, ones where Quests explain how you make him feel, how he compares you to a colorful sunrise, because not only is the dark gone but the future is dull but full of beautiful colors.

In conclusion, he is a sap who can be a little shy, And you need to buy him a fancy pen and paper cause he won't indulge himself but he wants them.

He likes playing online games with you. They don't mind what game, he just likes having that time with you.

There is also a spoiler, mostly on the game world. You want something in a game that costs real money, it’s yours.

Often he’ll tease you before, he is on the purchasing screen as you whine that you need this item and he hits buy as he says.

“Sounds like a you problem.”

And if you ever mention that you're hungry or you haven't eaten he will doordash you food, half the time they don't even tell you.

You'll be playing a game with them as someone knocks on your door, you discuss yourself. You first deny that it's yours, then the person says it's from .

“A naked…toaster”

You take the food and close the door, returning to your game.

“Toasty!”

You yell as they laugh with blush on their face.

He hates it.

If he didn't have so much work he visit you at least once a month.

He's tried to ask you if you fly over every month but you decline, you can't do that, you are also busy.

So he sticks with calls as often as the two of you can.

Even if it is just a 15-minute lunch break he doesn't mind teasing you while you eat.

He also sends memes, a lot of them. Most of them are things he thought were funny but on the special occasion, you'll find ones that basically say, I love you.

Similar to Toaster, he buys you things. Not really food or online stuff buy stuff from amazon. It's not even just stuff you want but needs.

One day you complained that you needed a new stool, you got home from work and there was a package with a stupid joke on it.

You have received those pajamas that are covered in Xyx face, he thought it was funny, then came underwear, pillowcases, blankets. Anyone that enters your house would think you're obsessed with him, so you hide it all.

Xyx was disappointed when he visited and couldn't find any of his “merch”.

[all-hail-the-witcher]

hello u said we could come here for AP test advice umm I’m concerned about my DBQ and LEQ this Thursday do u have any advice? mostly for structuring tbh, like should I be shooting for 3 body paragraphs? thank u, u are epic :]

HOW TO WRITE A DBQ

1. Skim All The Documents

that sounds dumb, but its for sure the best place to start. take a highlighter or a pen and underline a few important pieces of text in the written docs. you don't have to read them thoroughly, just look at them enough so that you know what they are talking about. next to each document write down a few words describing the main idea/argument. it is also a good idea to write down which piece of HIPP (historical context, intended audience, purpose and point of view) you're going to do for which document next to that doc so you don't forget when you are writing the essay 

2. Group Your Documents

this will determine how many body paragraphs you need. if you find that your documents only fall into two separate groups, only have two body paragraphs. if they fall into three groups, make 3 body paragraphs.\

3. Figure Out Your Thesis Statement

based on how you grouped your documents, write a thesis statement. the thesis statement should answer the question. 

4. Write Your Introduction

with most ap dbqs, the question will pertain to one theme, such as the economy, or migration, or whatever. your introduction should contain literally as much information as you can possibly remember about the other themes from that same time period and end with your thesis statement. so for example if my essay question was on the economy during the industrial revolution i would include in my intro paragraph things about immigration influxes, culture clashes, how america was interacting with the rest of the world, etc. think of it as the opening crawl in the star wars movies: you need to know all the other stuff that was happening as background info before you can get to the thing that you're talking about. this is your contextualization point. your thesis statement should be at the end of this paragraph. the intro paragraph in whole should be at least half a page long.

5. Write Your Body Paragraphs 

based on how you group your documents you should have 2 or 3 body paragraphs. these should be at least a page long. remember to use HIPP and to contextualize as much as possible. when i wrote dbqs i threw in every last piece of outside information that wasnt in the documents as I could remember. make sure that if theres a written doc that you are quoting from it directly at least once and either introduce the document by saying “In Document 1 by ____” or putting it in parentheses at the end of your cite/reference/allusion (Doc 1). USE ALL THE DOCUMENTS!! that way if you misinterpret one, you won't get points off.

6. Write Your Conclusion

a conclusion does not have to be long. if you run out of time, it can be literally one sentence. your conclusion should summarize your argument and essentially restate your thesis. if you want, this is where you connect to a different time period. 

HOW TO WRITE AN LEQ

1. Figure Out What Kind Of Question It Is

all leqs are either change and continuity over time, compare contrast, causation, or periodization. depending on which kind of question you get, take 5 minutes to plan for it. come up with 2 or 3 really solid pieces of evidence that you can reference for each. 

2. Map Your Essay

depending on the question you have, figure out how many paragraphs you need. for change and continuity over time and compare contrast id do two paragraphs: one for the changes/ comparisons and one for the continuities/ contrasts. for causation and periodization you can do either 2 or 3 body paragraphs, depending on how many examples you have come up with.

3. Write Your Thesis

your thesis should directly reflect the question. if it were a change and continuity question your thesis should address that x y and z were the changes and a b and c were the continuities. the same goes for the other kinds of questions.

4. Write Your Introduction

essentially the same as your dbq intro. include as much background as you can remember from the other themes as possible. think of the star wars crawl. aim for around half a page. put your thesis statement at the end.

5. Write Your Body Paragraphs

write your two or three body paragraphs. they should be around a page long. include as many examples as you can think of in as much detail as possible. now is not the time to be vague. ensure that your body paragraphs answer the question posed in your thesis. (ex. address that x y and z are the continuities because blah blah and blah etc)

6. Write Your Conclusion

same as the dbq conclusion. does not have to be long, but try to make it at least a sentence. It should restate your thesis and explain why (why are these the changes, why are these the continuities). now is also the time to connect to another time period if you want.

[gendercensus]

Supplementary survey: they/them reflexives, The Sir/Ma’am Issue, and Spivak vs. Elverson

This short, clarifying survey ran from 4th until 24th April 2021. There were 2,998 usable responses. Unlike the annual Gender Census survey, this one was open to anyone of any gender, provided they lived in an English-speaking country.

It asked about two things:

They/them verbs and reflexives - basically whether people who prefer they/them pronouns prefer the reflexive to be themself or themselves, and which people feel is more “correct”.

Sir/ma’am/? - investigating why people use sir/ma’am in areas where it’s polite and common to do so, and whether there are any viable nonbinary or gender-neutral alternatives.

This blog post will also investigate the Spivak vs. Elverson issue, which was actually a separate poll that took place on two social networks.

~

THEY/THEM VERBS AND REFLEXIVES

Someone asked about themself vs. themselves, and it reminded me of some of the they/them issues that people ask about in feedback boxes and various confusions surrounding them.

Singular they - what is it, and when and how do people use it?

Plural they - what is it, and when and how do people use it?

What is the “correct” reflexive for each of these?

You can see the statistics in more detail here, but here’s the graph as an overview:

Participants were asked a series of questions about singular they pronouns. Everyone was asked a “which is correct” question, and participants who sometimes or always like to be called ”they” were also asked about their personal preferences.

The graph is a view of only participants who sometimes or always like to be called “they”.

Verbs. As you can see, participants overwhelmingly (94.3%) wanted people to use plural verbs (”they are reading a book”) when talking about them in the third person - even though the percentage of people who thought that was the most “correct” form was a little lower (81.8%). This was lower because 11.4% of participants who preferred “they” answered “both are correct”.

Reflexives. People were much more likely to say that both themself and themselves were correct (28.3%), and more likely to have no preference between the two (17.4%). However, themself was still more popular overall at 59.3%, and 47.3% thought themself was grammatically correct.

You as a control. I also asked all participants whether yourself or yourselves was more correct when addressing one person as a kind of control question, because they is almost grammatically identical to you - it can refer to one person or multiple people, it takes plural verbs even when referring to/addressing one person, and in that situation only the reflexive changes. Many people who say that singular they is grammatically incorrect have no issues with singular you, so it seemed like something that might be interesting to compare. In the graph above you can see that 93.6% of people thought yourself was more correct; only 4.2% of they-accepting participants felt that both yourself and yourselves were equally correct when addressing one person.

There were a couple of things that came up several times in the comments:

“They is” is common in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), and probably in other dialects too. As I don’t live in the US I’m pretty unfamiliar with this dialect, but either way that seems fine to me. It’s part of why I also asked for participants’ locations, because I wanted others to be able to download the results and see if some regions were more likely to use some words/constructions than others.

There were some alternatives to themself and themselves presented, such as theirself and theirsen. Both of these points lead nicely to the third...

The idea that any language choice is more “correct” than another is quite prescriptive. What feels correct or natural varies depending on a lot of factors, such as where in the world you learned English, and there is no such thing as objective correctness when it comes to such a broad and variable language as English.

I am aware of and agree with that third bullet point, so my asking which phrases were more “correct” was a bit of a trick question. It was a good way to get a feel for people’s linguistic instincts.

I also thought it was interesting that participants who never wanted to be called they were slightly more likely to side with the most popular view on what is “correct” across the board, and less likely to say “both are correct”.

~

PLURAL VS. SINGULAR THEY

I actually ran another version of this survey first and then scrapped the responses, because it was clear that my survey design was leading to some pretty confused and unhelpful data! Among other things, it asked participants whether they preferred singular or plural they for themselves and then directed them to particular questions based on their answer, and the comments suggested that people either didn’t really understand the distinction or meant different things by those terms, even though I had added help text.

This is my understanding:

Singular they is they/them pronouns when used to refer to one person. Verbs are usually plural (i.e. “they are” rather than “they is”), and themself and themselves are both common. Example usage: They are getting themself a cup of coffee. They bought themselves a nice new hat.

Plural they is they/them pronouns when used to refer to two or more people. Verbs are usually plural (i.e. “they are” rather than “they is”), and themselves is almost universal (with the exception of regional variations such as theirselves). Example usage: They are getting themselves some coffee together. They all bought hats for themselves.

Some plural/multiple people refer to themselves as “we” and prefer to be addressed as “they/themselves” (which they call plural they) because they are a group of individuals sharing one body.

The reason I initially asked directly about singular vs. plural they is because I was concerned that plural/multiple systems would cause some statistical confusion. Many plural people have asked me to add plural they to the checkbox list of pronouns in the annual survey, but since it has never been entered by over 1% of participants I have never had reason to do so. As far as I knew, the only difference between singular and plural they is the reflexive (themself for singular and themselves for plural), so I wanted to be able to investigate non-plural people in isolation, and I was curious to know about any trends or differences. I wanted to find out if I should be doing anything differently to ensure that Gender Census statistics are helpful.

So, I swapped out the badly-designed question for a straight-up checkbox, a “check this box if you’re plural/multiple” type of thing, with a note that participants should fill in the survey once per body wherever possible, and then I made some graphs.

Here you can see that plural systems were still more likely to prefer people to use themself to refer to them rather than themselves, though the margin is narrower:

Plural participants were also more likely to say that they sometimes or never want people to refer to them as they, whereas non-plural people were more likely to want people to always refer to them as they (or they just feel fine about it):

There’s not a lot in it, though. It’s all relatively evenly distributed, with no strong leader in either category there.

For the curious: 8.2% of participants checked the plural/multiple box.

In conclusion: plural and non-plural people alike all prefer people to use themself when referring to them in the third person using they/them pronouns, and I feel that there is probably no need to ask about plurality or separate out data from plural people in future. (Asking about this and seeing the responses did in part prompt me to start an anonymous feedback form for plural participants of the Gender Census, though.)

~

THE SIR/MA’AM ISSUE

For several years participants have been asking me in the feedback box of the annual Gender Census survey to also ask about gender-inclusive or nonbinary-specific alternatives to sir and ma’am. I’ve largely not done anything about it, because when informally asking around I’ve generally had the response “just don’t say sir or ma’am, just leave it out altogether.” I live in the UK, where if someone calls you sir/ma’am you’re either looking at home in a fancy restaurant for billionnaires or you’re being made fun of - or sometimes both.

However, during this year’s annual survey while talking about it in a little more depth I learned that there are places in the world where sir/ma’am is very common, required for politeness, and basically inescapable. Nonbinary people in those areas are really struggling, because they do actually need a nonbinary-friendly stand-in for those terms - omitting the sir/ma’am isn’t an option.

Again, the location question was asked so that anyone else downloading the spreadsheet of responses can analyse by region to find out whether sir/ma’am is ubiquitous in particular regions and in which contexts it is used, and can even check whether there is a region-specific alternative to sir/ma’am emerging. I asked several questions about sir/ma’am, including about reasons/contexts and personal preferences, and some superficial analysis is included on the spreadsheet of responses.

But the juicy bit is the nonbinary-specific and gender-inclusive alternative words, right?

[The counting formula is case-sensitive so I made everything lowercase to make the count a little more accurate.]

Suggested gender-inclusive alternatives to sir/ma’am

mx - 4.1% (151)

friend - 2.2%

comrade - 1.2%

captain - 0.7%

ser - 0.5%

mate - 0.4%

m - 0.3%

per - 0.3%

boss - 0.3%

folks - 0.3% (9)

Suggested nonbinary-specific alternatives to sir/ma’am

mx - 8.3% (250)

mix - 0.7%

tiz - 0.5%

friend - 0.4%

ser - 0.4%

comrade - 0.3%

mixter - 0.3%

captain - 0.2%

ind - 0.2%

mir - 0.2% (6)

So it looks like Mx (pronounced “mix” or with a toneless vowel that sounds a bit like “mux”) is the clear winner in both categories. If you want to try to introduce a gender-neutral version of sir/ma’am in your area this one is probably your best bet.

~

SPIVAK VS. ELVERSON

This wasn’t part of the same survey! It was a Twitter poll and a Mastodon poll that ran for one week and ended today, and I’m putting it here because it has to go somewhere.

Sometimes people refer to the ey/em and e/em “versions” of the Spivak pronoun set, which makes my eyebrows do things, because they’re not both Spivak. They are distinct established pronoun sets with their own names.

Spivak - e/em/eir/eirs/emself - written about by Michael Spivak in the 1990s. [source: Nonbinary Wiki]

Elverson - ey/em/eir/eirs/emself - created by Christine M Elverson in the 1970s. [source: Nonbinary Wiki]

The Elverson set is older, but it’s less well-known for some reason, so they’re assumed to be variants of Spivak due to the similarity in spelling.

I was recently asked how we can know which is more popular, given the “oh this checkbox option is close enough, I’ll just choose that instead of typing in my very slightly different set” effect and the “hmm this checkbox option is very close to my set, I’m probably meant to choose this one” effect, plus the boost that checkbox options get with the “oh I hadn’t thought of that one but yeah, why not” effect. Spivak (e/em) is on the checkbox list of pronouns in the annual survey, so it appears to be much more popular than Elverson (ey/em)... but is it really?

I ran a poll on both Twitter and Mastodon, and then used a spreadsheet to extract the useful numbers. There were 141 relevant votes after one week. I wouldn’t usually make annual-survey-altering decisions based on a sample that small, but in this case the results are extremely decisive:

It seems that the highest proportion of people who like at least one of the sets are happy for both to be used, at 48%. 45% prefer ey/em (Elverson) and 7% prefer e/em (Spivak). This is pretty stunning! I’ve been presenting e/em (Spivak) as a checkbox option on the Gender Census annual survey for years, possibly since the first survey in 2013, and because it’s a checkbox option it seems to be consistently a lot more popular than ey/em (Elverson). That’s 4.3% and 0.6% respectively in the 2021 survey. But this poll suggests that actually ey/em (Elverson) is much more popular when the two pronoun sets are viewed on a level playing field.

When you remove all “I don’t mind” votes, you get this:

Over 6 times as many people prefered Elverson!

I will definitely be adding Elverson to the Gender Census next year, just so that we can split the e/em and ey/em votes and really get to the bottom of this.

Anyway, while we’re on the topic, ey/em takes singular verbs most of the time.

[riddlecrux]

Light seen through the windows: an analysis of windows as a literary tool in Elriel relationship

I would love to preface this meta with my favorite disclaimer that everything that I will be discussing is based on what I have gathered from SJM writing. The quotes used in this post will serve as a starting point for further analysis. Additionally, I will be using things such as symbolism, metaphors, and literary device methods to build up my reasoning and beliefs. On another note, this, as usual, is strictly pro-Elriel meta. If they are not your cup of tea and you wish to comment, please be civil and bring arguments supported by the text.

So many of us like to gaze and stare through the windows daily. Looking at the world behind the glass often is considered a form of tranquility that we feel. Windows are essentially doors that lead us to whatever lies behind them - the last border between being in one place and then in another. It isn't then surprising that windows serve as symbols and metaphors in literature. From the start, whenever I read a passage about windows in ACOWAR I was reminded of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. You may ask why?

Emily Bronte used windows as symbolism in her work. They are very important for her characters and their personal arcs. They are symbols of barriers, misfortunes that characters face. Windows there are metaphors of various obstacles estranging Bronte's characters from achieving their hopes - realizing that the dreams they had will be not fulfilled. As I don't want to get spoilery with Wuthering Heights, I'm going to draw conclusions in a very neat manner. Bronte used windows as a connection to nightmares that one of the main characters was suffering from - it ties to the fact that in his nightmares he sees the person he had loved, haunting him. Because of the relationship with a said woman, the imagery of windows in this particular scene symbolizes death, an obstacle that stands between both of them. Throughout the book, we also get glimpses of how windows might be used as a metaphor for social classes and the contrast between them, and how Heathcliff and Catherine have to go about it. Along with the windows, doors are also used as a symbol of trapping someone in one place, obstructing them from achieving their dream or preventing them from reaching out to their loved one. Not to mention that during a very particular scene with Catherine, she wants the windows open - a symbolism of her wanting to feel free, to connect with something she knows, she longs for. This leads to the conclusion that windows in Bronte's novel are symbols of life and death, they are the in-between - a symbolic barrier.

On the other hand, windows in literature signalize something called "art of watching", and usually it is connected to a female protagonist that observes life, events through the window. Not to mention, the most famous association to windows such as "windows to the soul" - which, of course, is more metaphorical. It allows us, the audience, to connect with the character's inner feelings, struggles, as we are presented with the emotional aspect of said person. They are the bridge between the inside and outside. Windows are also a source of light, which we humans crave. Looking through the window one can absorb the light, which can resonate as a symbol of growth and change. Metaphorically we see the light from the window when we feel a need to light up the darkness inside us. They expose us, our inner feelings, and struggles.

When I read ACOWAR I have noticed that SJM decided to use windows, quite clearly, in the indication of two particular characters. Azriel and Elain. For the first time, when we met Elain again in the third book the window is a big issue.

"The suite was filled with sunlight. Every curtain shoved back as far as it could go, to let in as much sun as possible."

We have a clear description of the sunlit room, curtains shoved to further underline the need for light.

"And seated in a small chair before the sunniest of the windows, her back to us, was Elain."

In the brightest place in the room sits Elain, in front of the window. She is exposed to the sun, to sunlight and is absorbing that light - which is highlighted during this scene (which makes it important to note).

"Her skin was so pale it looked like fresh snow in the harsh light. I realized then that the color of death, of sorrow, was white."

The sunlight exposes Elain, its harsh light makes her pale, almost translucent. Even Feyre realizes the graveness of this picture comparing this white hue to death. As you can see the chain of events in this scene played like that: sunlit room -> curtain swept away -> Elain sitting in front of the window -> sudden comparison to death.

"She had been always so full of light. Perhaps that was why she now kept all the curtains open. To fill the void that existed where all of that light had once been. And now nothing remained."

Feyre deducts that the need for light on Elain's part is a desperate call to brighten the darkness inside her - which perfectly aligns with the metaphorical usage of windows. Elain basks in light in a helpless cry for help. The very dark void that appeared within her after being Made eats her away. It sucks her immortal life away - the one which she yet didn't get used to. On the other hand, we as readers are presented with the fact that Elain is trapped. In this Fae life, in this room, in this situation in which she grieves for her past and many what-ifs.

Nothing. Not even a flicker of emotion. “Everyone keeps saying that.” Her thumb brushed the ring on her finger. “But it doesn’t fix anything, does it?”

Sitting in front of the window - a sunny one to be precise, which symbolizes life, growth, and change, Elain is presented in a contrast to her surroundings. To show that visible barrier that her person has to overcome. She realizes that her dreams are meant to be unfulfilled, that they are unreachable.

"My stiff, limping steps, at least, had eased into a smoother gait by the time I found Elain in the family library. Still staring at the window, but she was out of her room."

The next time we see Elain she is out of her room - her "cage", but even though she left the boundaries of her entrapment she still chooses to linger around the windows. As Feyre notices, Elain gazes through the window - we are obstructed from Elain's POV and it's hard to imagine what she could be thinking about. Yet the symbolic manner of using the window as some sort of mirror, a passage that happens throughout the series, allows me to think that the metaphorical usage of windows, in this case, isn't a far-fetched idea.

"Elain didn’t turn. She was wearing a pale pink gown that did little to complement her sallow skin, her brown-gold hair hanging in loose, heavy ringlets down her thin back."

SJM uses this sentence to highlight that it isn't just a quick glance out of the window - in fact, it is constant staring through it. It is important for us as readers to note that this thing, window gazing, is an occupation that lasts for long periods of time. It isn't something trivial, it is something that showcases the importance of said windows in Elain's journey.

“What are you looking at?” I asked Elain, keeping my voice soft. Casual. Her face was wan, her lips bloodless. But they moved—barely—as she said, “I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea.”

Feyre decides to ask Elain who is still gazing through the window. Her answer is very ominous and holds a great deal of importance, but also underlines the fact that she is drawn to the window. Not to mention that what she is seeing is the sea - another vastly discussed symbol. In this situation, I believe that the interpretation can lay in a more psychological aspect of the matter rather than a literary one. In the works of very well-known psychiatrist Carl Jung the sea "symbolizes the personal and the collective unconscious in dream interpretation". So from his notes there comes this annotation that caught my attention, "The sea is a favourite place for the birth of visions."

Elain is a seer who constantly gazes through a window which symbolizes the in-between, life and death. These two are connected to one another and SJM used many things to further develop Elain's character as a powerful figure.

"Elain only turned toward the sunny windows again, the light dancing in her hair."

After the whole conversation Elain doesn't move from her spot, quite the contrary she returns to her previous activity. Gazing through the window. Once again we are reminded about the sun and light - which signalizes that Elain tries to undergo through the process of rebirth, but also tries to break free from the unhappiness that came with lost dreams.

"Something in my chest cracked as Nesta’s eyes also went to the windows before Elain. To check, as I did, for whether they could be easily opened."

Here we have an instance of both sisters realizing that Elain spending so much time in front of windows can be dangerous, as in her attempting to jump from them. Once again, the symbolism of death.

"More steps—no doubt closer to where Elain stood at the window."

Elain is still beside the window when Lucien tries to talk to her. Even alone she seeks the place next to the window to stare.

"But sunlight on gold caught his eye—and Elain slowly turned from her vigil at the window."

Elain is still by the window, for the whole scene she is there not moving an inch from it. Furthermore, the word "vigil" is also an interesting choice. There are different meanings of it, but I find these ones very telling and suitable for this instance: a period of sleeplessness; insomnia, a watch kept, or the period of this and a devotional watching, or keeping awake, during the customary hours of sleep. We can speculate about what happened to Elain while she was in the Cauldron, what made her so withdrawn from life and so desperate for the light. I want to believe that we as readers will get our answers in the next book since Elain being a seer with unknown powers makes her a perfect target for Koschei with which she has already had connections.

She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly.

Again, during the whole conversation, she doesn't move away from her spot next to the window. Windows for her, start to become a symbolism of change and rebirth - the things she probably wished while being confined to her room.

Elain only stared out the window, unaware—or uncaring.

We have another mention about staring - which further highlights how important windows are as a literary tool for Elain's character. She seeks light, she wants to overcome this barrier that was thrown at her the moment she was Made. She, perhaps, watched through the window to observe the life which was stripped away from her and turned her into this immortal being. Or, maybe she just desperately wanted to brighten up the darkness that gathered inside her because of that whole situation. Another important thing to note is that this scene is a first moment alone with Lucien - her mate, which should have been very painful for her. The conversation also held a lot of weight, yet she valiantly stood by the window as if somewhere behind it she could find an answer.

“So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. What if”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden —“that is what she needs? Is there no free will? What if Lucien wishes the union but she doesn’t?”

Here we have an instance of "art of watching" in which Feyre observes Azriel and Elain through the window. By watching them she comes to the conclusion that both of them are better suited and actually can comfort each other in comfortable silence. The window here is used as a barrier to showcase parallels of two couples: happily mated Feysand and unhappily in love with other people Elriel.

"But I looked to Azriel, currently leaning against the wall beside the floor-to-ceiling window, shadows fluttering around him."

And here we are start with Azriel and windows (also in ACOWAR). He is another character that has an extraordinary connection to windows. He is often mentioned next to them and somehow parallels Elain's behavior - staring through windows, being near them.

"I blinked, realizing I’d been lost in the bond, but found Azriel still by the window, (...)."

As we can see Azriel lingers next to the window without moving away from it - as the scene progresses we know that the conversation lasts a good ounce of time, yet Azriel stands in his place by the window.

"Azriel didn’t so much as turn from his vigil at the window, though I could have sworn his wings tucked in a bit tighter."

The same wording, the same imagery. Both used for Elain and Azriel. Both of them keeping vigils at the windows, staring through them as if they could find an answer through them.

"The main room of the guardhouse was stuffy and cramped, more so with all of us in there, and though I offered Elain a seat by the sealed window, she remained standing—at the front of our company. Staring at the shut iron door."

This scene is when Elain is about to confront her lover - Greysen. It is underlined that she rejected her usual spot, which is by the window, and preferred to face the door. She was trapped, she knew that a very important discussion will take a place here. She chose to look at the door rather than at the window, which in this matter could symbolize hope for a change - she stared at the door which metaphorically means transition or imprisonment.

"(...) close to Elain’s side as she and my sister silently kept against the wall by the intact bay of windows."

Another instance of Elain and her being content with being next to the windows.

"I’d seen Elain staring out the window earlier—watching Graysen leave with his men without so much as a look back at her."

"Art of Watching", but also the window's symbolism of dreams that were unfulfilled. At that moment, we can assume, that Elain realized that her dreams concerning human life and her future with Greysen would only be unattainable dreams/hopes.

“What now?” Elain mused, at last answering my question from moments ago as her attention drifted to the windows facing the sunny street. That smile grew, bright enough that it lit up even Azriel’s shadows across the room. “I would like to build a garden,” she declared. “After all of this … I think the world needs more gardens.

At the end of ACOWAR, we have this powerful moment, in which Elain gazing out of the window sees sunny streets = life. A chance of rebirth, which also beautifully overlaps with the fact that she proposed building a garden! The in-between that she balanced on while gazing through the window for so many times turned from death and misfortunes into life and hopes of the future.

ACOFAS

"Elain politely refused, taking up a spot in one of the wooden chairs set in the bay of windows. Also typical."

From Rhysand's point of view, we can deduct that even they are aware of the fact that Elain and windows are something notable. It is a place where she feels comfortable and probably spends a lot of time.

"Beyond the windows, darkness had indeed fallen. The longest night of the year. I found Elain studying it, beautiful in her amethyst-colored gown. I made to move toward her, but someone beat me to it."

In previous quotes, we could gather information about how Elain craved the light and how desperate she was to lighten up her person. Here, we can see that she also started to embrace the darkness. She is again by the window, observing the darkness as if no one else was around her. And of course, the one person who goes towards her at that moment is Azriel, a personification of darkness in the books.

Azriel strode to the lone window at the end of the room and peered into the garden below. “I’ve never stayed in this room.” His midnight voice filled the space.

Azriel went straight to the window. And not an ordinary one, but the one through which you can see the garden. Life and light. I know many were theorizing if what kept Azriel so occupied by the window was Elain, but I would love to put some of my thoughts in this discourse. Yes, I do think that what caught his attention, or who caught his attention was Elain. However, Elain at that moment represents life and light - the things that are associated with windows. And if you spin it around you have Azriel=darkness, death staring at Elain=light, life. The in-between, the very initial symbolism of window in literature. Not to mention that in this scene we have Azriel watching the light and next we have Elain observing darkness.

“No,” Azriel said, not turning from the window.

Azriel remained at the window. “Will Nesta stay here if she comes?

“I’d still be surprised if they remember once the storm clears,” Azriel said, turning from the garden window at last.

We have a whole scene in which it is so heavily implied that Azriel was constantly staring through the window, not even bothering to move away from it. We also have another highlighted thing which is the fact that it was a garden window.

There was a tiny box left on the table by the window—a box that Mor lifted, squinted at the name tag, and said, “Az, this one’s for you.”

A small thing, yet a very sweet one. The fact that even his present was placed close to the window, which starts to become an Elriel thing.

ACOSF

"She’d barely slept for fear of Elain walking off this veranda, or leaning too far out of one of the countless windows, or simply throwing herself down those ten thousand stairs."

We have a reminder that during her stay at House of Wind, Elain was a symbol of death. She carried it on her while being associated with windows that were used as a source of light that helped her heal.

"Elain stood at the wall of windows, clad in a lilac gown whose close-fitting bodice showed how well her sister had filled out since those initial days in the Night Court."

Even when she visits Nesta, she takes the place by the windows. It is something that is strictly connected to her. As if the windows were part of her now.

Elain’s smile was as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows. “I thought I’d drop by to see how you were doing.”

Light, sun, life = Elain.

“You’ve got good coloring, I mean,” Elain clarified, striding from the windows to cross the room. She stopped a few feet away. As if holding herself back from the embrace she might have given.

SJM still used the passages to underline the passage of time that Elain spent standing next to the window. It is a place in which she feels good and perhaps safe.

"They’d sat in them, before this fire, so many times that it was an unspoken rule that Azriel’s was the one on the left, closer to the window, and Cassian’s the one to the right, closer to the door."

We also get the information that Azriel always was the closest to the window - which is an odd thing to add without a deeper meaning. As if to further build up that connection between him and Elain - that both of them are aware of the fact that they are also the symbolism of the allegory of windows. I believe that SJM really researched that light and darkness trope, with which she built and she is still building up Elriel. The windows are just another tiny nugget that further envelopes both of them as one. Because while Elain transformed from death to life, she still welcomed darkness and embraced it - and Azriel opened to the life and light, seeking it. As I said, windows are a literary tool, which perhaps wasn't the main idea in the SJM text, but the amount of parallels between both of them and even the same wording applied to different scenes tells me that it's yet another connection between them.

[vgfm]

Deltarune Theory: The True Identity and Importance of “Everyman”

I’ve been away from the Undertale theory scene for a long time. It’s been so long that a whole new-fangled game got announced, and I’ve got some theories on it.

Are these theories about Gaster or Sans or whatever’s going on with Kris? Not exactly. At least, not yet. I’ve got a better character in mind.

Let’s start with Everyman: Undertale’s most obscure character and (I think) one of the most pivotal in Deltarune.

This is a two-part theory: the first part outlines who Everyman is and why I think he’ll be important in Deltarune. The second part? You’ll have to read and find out.

This is a long one and with loads of images, so strap yourselves in.

Sections

Part 1: Introduction to Everyman

Who is Everyman?

“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”

Everyman’s Importance

Why did Everyman appear in True Lab?

Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune

Part 2: Everyman is ???

What will Everyman’s role be?

Jevil’s Connection to Everyman

The Spade King’s clue

Additional Evidence

“Seriously?”

The Gaster connection

The “Strange Son”

Who made who?

“Seriously, who is Everyman?”

End

Closing Summary

Final Conclusions

Who is Everyman?

"Everyman” is a special attack that appears during the Reaper Bird amalgamate fight in True Lab.

This same figure appears twice in Deltarune’s first chapter:

Once as graffiti in an alleyway in Hometown...

...and again as a rare bullet attack during Jevil’s fight.

The name “Everyman” only ever appears in-game next to his graffiti portrait in Hometown. Everyman’s sprites are simply titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s game files:

[Image transcript: UTModTool is showing multiple highlighted sprite entries that begin with “spr_strangeman”. On the right is the file “spr_strangeman_walk” opened, showing a picture of Everyman. End image transcript]

Some time after Undertale’s release there was a since-deleted tweet from Toby with a picture of Reaper Bird’s attack that he titled “Everyman,” which is where fans first got the name.

[Image transcript: A tweet from toby fox that says “Everyman”. The first reply says “Is that his name. please thell me thats his obj name.” Toby’s response repeats “Everyman.” The next reply says “everything i aspire to be.” Toby responds again with “’Everyman’ you aspire to be.” Toby then adds another tweet saying “Description. Just a good guy that shows up on occasion.” end image transcript.]

This is a web archive screenshot so the image of Everyman’s bullet sprite wasn’t preserved here. Special thanks to catcat for tracking this one down!

“So Everyman’s just an Easter egg, right?”

I don’t think so. I’d be more inclined to write off Everyman’s role in Deltarune as a mere cameo if he had only shown up once. But it’s odd that Toby felt the need to include Everyman twice in a single chapter. To me this seems less like a one-off cameo and more like foreshadowing for a greater role in the full game.

Let’s compare Everyman’s appearances to instances of character foreshadowing and one-off cameos from Undertale and Deltarune:

Mettaton

[Image transcript: four Undertale screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, the narration text box reads “(the machine isn’t working.)” as Frisk stares at Mettaton in Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle room. In the top-right screenshot, the narration textbox is reading a TV announcement in Papyrus’ house: “(It says ‘STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM - MTT.’)”. In the bottom-left screenshot, Napstablook’s text box says “there’s a show i like to watch on it... sometimes...” as Frisk looks at their television. In the bottom-right screenshot, Undyne’s text box says “This oven is some top-of-the-line MTT thing.” as Frisk stares at her oven. End image transcript.]

Mettaton is foreshadowed multiple times before he makes his proper introduction in Alphys’ Lab. This includes a direct on-screen appearance of his rectangular form as part of Snowdin’s colored tile puzzle. What’s interesting is that half of these references (including the tile puzzle) only make sense in hindsight to a first-time player. For all we know there could be other, more-cryptic Everyman references already in Deltarune that we don’t have the full context to understand yet.

Rouxls Kaard

Despite his legendary introductory sequence catching many-a-player off-guard, Rouxls Kaard actually is foreshadowed a couple of times before his stunning debut.

[Image transcript: four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left screenshot, Ralsei is reading a message from Rouxls Kaard: “It says... ‘Thoust fools, thou will NEVER figure it out now!’. This is continued in the top-right screenshot: “Then it, um, says, ‘PS - I make my own Rules. - RK’”. In the bottom-left screenshot, a puzzle-master says “ROUXLS KAARD... Lord of the Puzzles... Be careful...!” In the bottom-right screenshot, one of Clover’s heads says “RK came by... What a hunk!” End image transcript.]

I’ve noticed from watching Let’s Plays that many people don’t even realize that these lines were meant to foreshadow him (and I’m pretty sure I didn’t realize it either on my first playthrough).

Ice-E

Now here’s something that’s an example of both a one-off cameo and proper foreshadowing! In Undertale, Ice-E is referenced exactly once in the entire game—as part of Sans’ Monster Kidz Word Search puzzle. No other character mentions Ice-E, Ice-E does not appear in-person, nor does the Ice-E’s restaurant appear... in Undertale. Deltarune is a completely different story.

[image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. in the left screenshot, Kris looks under their sink and the narration text box says: “A can of Ice-E’s Cool Boys Body Spray ‘Spray For The Boys,’ Flamin’ Hot Pizza Flavor.” In the right screenshot, Kris reads a chart in the hospital. The narration text box says: “(It’s a classic 1-to-10 pain scale, using ICE-E as a model.)” End image transcript.]

In Deltarune chapter 1 we find numerous references and bits of foreshadowing for Ice-E and, lo and behold, we see that Ice-E’s restaurant exists in Hometown at the end of chapter 1. And notice how it’s multiple references and not just a one-off like last time.

In every example of foreshadowing listed above we’re given more than one hint of a character’s presence, and so far Everyman fits this same pattern. This makes me feel safe in assuming he will have a bigger role in the full game.

Everyman’s Importance

What’s interesting is that in Chapter 1, Everyman appears in both the light and dark worlds. So far Deltarune has kept the light and dark worlds largely separate from one another, with only Kris and Susie traveling between them (as far as we know).

Everyman’s presence in both worlds implies that either he can travel between both worlds as well, or at least that lightners and darkners are both familiar with him.

Based on what we know, I’d wager that Everyman is a lightner—specifically, a monster.  I say this for two reasons: 1.) so far we’ve only seen lightners (Kris and Susie) travel between both worlds, and 2.) this would explain Everyman’s appearance as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks in Undertale’s True Lab.

Why did Everyman appear in the True Lab?

The worlds of Undertale and Deltarune are connected. Toby has all-but-confirmed this himself.

[Image transcript: A screenshot from the official Deltarune website’s question-and-answer page. The question says “So there’s no connections between the two games?”. The answer says “It’s a different world that might even have different rules. That doesn’t mean there will be no connections at all though.” End image transcript.]

One major connection between Undertale and Deltarune is their largely-shared cast of characters. Many major characters from Undertale make an appearance in Deltarune’s first chapter, and Toby has shown that at least some characters from Deltarune’s universe have counterparts in the Undertale universe as well.

The Undertale Alarm Clock App makes reference to Rudolph Holiday living in the Underground some time prior to the events of Undertale.

[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Asgore says “Rudy... loved the holidays, you know.” End image transcript.]

This dialogue also strongly implies that Undertale’s universe has a counterpart for Noelle.

[Image transcript: Another dialogue box from Asgore. He says: “With a warm slice of fruitcake on the table. His youngest daughter peeking shyly from around the corner...” End image transcript]

Depending on how one interprets the Clamgirl NPC’s dialogue, there may or may not be an Undertale version of Susie (aka “Suzy”) too.

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Clamgirl tells Frisk: “Synchronicity...? My neighbor’s daughter looks about your age.” In the right screenshot her dialogue continues: “Her name is ‘Suzy.’ I feel like you two should be friends.” End image transcript.]

I’d argue that Everyman also had a “counterpart” in Undertale’s universe who lived as a monster in the Underground. Much like Rudy, the Underground’s Everyman likely grew old and eventually “fell down”. But unlike Rudy, Everyman was sent to the True Lab for the royal scientist’s soul experiments and became part of the Reaper Bird amalgamate.

This would fit with the pattern that we see with most other amalgamates, namely that they each seem to be made up of one named/noteworthy monster combined with several other generic monsters. The formula goes like this:

Lemon Bread = Shyra (Shyren’s Sister) + Aaron + Moldbygg

Endogeny = Muttler + various dog enemies

Snowdrake Mother = Crystal (Snowdrake’s Mom) + Vegetoids(?)

Reaper Bird = Everyman + Astigmatism + Whimsalot + Final Froggit

The Memoryheads seem to not “fit” with the other amalgamates, perhaps intentionally, so I’ll leave them out for now.

Long story short: Everyman was most likely a monster since he was part of an amalgamate and (as far as we know) amalgamates can only be made of monsters.

Why Everyman will have a bigger role in Deltarune

We see in Deltarune that three of the monsters who became amalgamates in Undertale have since passed away. This fits a trend I’ve noticed of Toby trying to “explain” the absence of characters who are prominent in one of his games but not the other.

The examples I cited above of Rudy, Noelle, and (possibly) Susie existing in Undertale’s universe also serve as “excuses” for where those characters were and why they were absent from the events of Undertale’s story. Rudy was dead and Noelle and “Suzy” were living with their families (presumably) in parts of the Underground where Frisk never ventured.

Shyra, Muttler, and Crystal are similarly “excused” from Deltarune’s story when the graveyard informs the player of their passing. Gerson is likewise excluded from Deltarune due to having passed away before the events of the game.

Conveniently, Everyman is not listed among the amalgamate monsters who have passed away in Hometown, and the alleyway graffiti implies he’s alive and well.

We know that Deltarune’s timeline and character ages don’t match up perfectly with Undertale’s—Deltarune Asriel is still alive and slightly older than Kris, who’s roughly the same age as DR Monster Kid. Conversely, Undertale Asriel died long before Frisk entered the Underground, yet Frisk is still seemingly in the same age bracket as UT Monster Kid (who’s barely younger than Asriel in Deltarune). Like Rudy, we can assume that Deltarune’s Everyman is younger than the Everyman who “fell down” in the Underground.

What will Everyman’s role be?

Remember when I said this was a two-part theory? Well, here’s the second half of my theory: Everyman is the Knight.

[Image transcript: A text box that says “Yes, you read that correctly.” End image transcript.]

Yes, the same Knight mentioned by Seam, Jevil, and the King of Spades. The same Knight who’s pulling new dark fountains out of the earth and who’s implied to be a major antagonist in the full game.

I could hedge my bets by saying Everyman is merely “connected” to the Knight, but if the Knight is a character we already know of then I think Everyman is the most likely candidate.

Let’s start with the name: Everyman’s sprites are titled “strangeman” in Undertale’s files. The very first mention we get of the Knight in Deltarune is Seam describing a “strange knight” who appeared, complete with red font for emphasis.

[Image transcript: Seam speaking inside of a shop, saying: “But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away.” End image transcript.]

The word “strange” seems to be used selectively and very deliberately in Deltarune’s first chapter. Here’s a breakdown of all the times it’s used:

Seam referring to the knight

Seam referring to the Knight’s “strange son” (more on that later)

Telling Seam about Jevil (”Strange Prisoner”)

Seam referring to the “strange someone” that Jevil met

Seam mentioning the “strange words” Jevil said

Rouxls Kaard referring to Lancer (”a strange and irritating darling!”)

Narration before Kris seals the dark fountain (”You felt something strange.”)

Flavor text during the Jevil fight (”Kris gazed strangely”)

The Devilsknife/Jevilstail appearing in a “strange chest” outside of Jevil’s cell upon defeating him (this may be dummied out or only triggers if your inventory is full of weapons/armors and Jevil can’t give his item to you)

The description of the key to Jevil’s cell (”something feels strange about it”)

With the exception of the line from Rouxls Kaard, every instance of “strange” somehow connects to the Knight or Jevil. If the Knight is indeed the “strange someone” who Jevil met then the list tightens even further, to the point where all but one use of the word “strange” is associated with a single character and his handiwork—a very “strange man”, as it were. Speaking of Jevil...

Jevil’s connection to the Knight and Everyman

Jevil’s fight is one of two places where Everyman appears in Deltarune chapter 1. Not only that, but Everyman’s sprite only appears as a rare event during Jevil’s carousel attack, implying that his appearance is somehow significant.

Interestingly enough, the other two sprites that appear during this attack are one with a head that vaguely resembles Mysteryman (believed to be Gaster) and another with the head of a horse, a.k.a. the same as a knight piece on a chess board. It’s also worth pointing out that it’s rarer for the Everyman sprite to appear than it is for either of the other two sprites to appear.

We can also see the Everyman sprite represented in the official Chaos Revolving Keychain from Fangamer.

Jevil mentions the Knight once you defeat him, showing that he has knowledge of his existence.

[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THE HAND OF THE KNIGHT IS DRIFTING FORWARD.” End image transcript.]

This is interesting since Seam’s dialogue implies that Jevil was imprisoned well before the Knight overthrew the three kings at Card Castle. I can think of three possible explanations for this seeming timeline discrepancy:

Jevil is somehow intrinsically “aware” of things that go on outside of his cell

The Knight or someone else visited Jevil in jail to tell him about what happened with the three kings

The Knight is the same “strange someone” that Jevil met before he was locked up

The first explanation is the least likely, imo, due to Jevil asking who Kris, Ralsei, and Susie are when he first meets them.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jevil is talking to the fun gang and he says: “BUT LO, THREE VISITORS STANDING INSIDE?” This continues in the right screenshot, where Jevil says: “WHO ARE YOU FEW?” End image transcript.]

If Jevil was aware of the outside world then he’d surely know of the fun gang’s antics by that point.

The second explanation doesn’t seem very likely either. Seam is the only character who acknowledges Jevil’s existence and we never see Seam visit Card Castle, even after the Spade King has been overthrown.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Jack Person tells the fun gang: “By the by, I asked Seam to come here, but...” Continuing onto the right screenshot, where Jack Person finishes by saying “There wasn’t any interest.” End image transcript.]

Jevil’s cell doesn’t seem to have any guards and it’s kept on its own floor, so that would rule out Jevil hearing about the knight from other prisoners.

If someone in the castle brings food to Jevil then he may have overheard it from them, but even that is speculative. Does Jevil even need to eat? He says his body “cannot be killed,” after all.

[Image transcript: Jevil saying “THIS BODY CANNOT BE KILLED!” End image transcript.]

And I’m not sure if the King of Spades would be so accommodating towards a dangerous prisoner.

That just leaves the third explanation, which seems the most likely to me. It’s also the tidiest explanation for how Jevil would be aware of both the Knight and Everyman—they’re the same person.

We can only speculate as to why the “strange someone” caused Jevil to run amok. If that strange someone was the Knight then I would assume that setting Jevil loose may have been his attempt to overthrow or destabilize Card Castle’s leadership. We know that the Knight eventually overthrew the three other kings himself, so that may have been his plan B after Jevil failed or he merely wished to remove Jevil as an obstacle. Either way, the Knight toppled the quadrumvirate and installed the Spade King as the protector of Card Castle’s dark fountain.

The Spade King’s clue

The Spade King is the closest ally of the Knight that we’ve seen so far. The exact nature of their relationship isn’t fully known, but the King’s words imply that he reveres and is loyal to the Knight.

[Image description: Four Deltarune screenshots arranged in a grid. In the top-left, the King of Spades says “By the Knight’s will, I shall shatter your heart to pieces!”. In the top-right, the King says “For the KNIGHT has appeared.” In the bottom-left, the King says “The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth.” In the bottom-right, the King says “My KNIGHT... I shall not fail you...” End image transcript.]

Both characters share an interest in maintaining the existence of dark fountains, given that the Knight has been said to create new fountains by pulling them up from the Earth.

Unlike Jevil, the Spade King’s attacks never make explicit reference to Everyman’s visage, but he does give a possible nod that many players have overlooked. When the Spade King is defeated, he makes a curious gesture by letting his cloak fly away like a butterfly.

While this may be a simple artistic flourish, I always found this moment to be odd and unfitting for a brutish character like the King. It’s also worth pointing out how the King’s cloak is clearly not a part of his body, unlike what’s implied with Lancer’s “clothes”.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the battle narration says: “You tell Lancer you can’t tell the difference between his clothes and his body.” The narration continues in the right screenshot, saying “He seems flattered... His ATTACK POWER went down!” End transcript.]

What if the King didn’t always have that butterfly-shaped cloak? Did someone give it to him? Think of where else we’ve seen butterfly motifs before.

At first blush, this seems obvious—the Reaper Bird is clearly made from the Core mercenaries, including Whimsalot. Whimsalot attacks with butterfly bullets, so that’s where Reaper Bird got them from, right? Case closed. Well, not so fast.

It turns out there are two different sets of butterfly bullets in Undertale’s game files, and Reaper Bird’s are different from Whimsalot’s.

[Image transcript: Two groups of butterfly bullet sprites. The left group is labeled “Whimsun / Whimsalot.” The right group is labeled “Reaper Bird”. End image transcript.]

Notice how Reaper Bird’s butterflies are smaller and have pointier, more symmetrical wings? While those differences could be chalked up to limited pixel resolution, it’s interesting how Toby went out of his way to create an entirely unique set of butterfly bullets for Reaper Bird when it arguably would have made more sense for him to recycle the Whimsun butterflies like he did for Whimsalot.

If you want to compare the sprites for yourself I suggest either looking at the game files directly or looking at an actual playthrough of Undertale. I’ve noticed that Spriter’s Resource mistakenly has Reaper Bird’s butterflies listed under Whimsun’s sprite sheet (which is a completely understandable mix-up).

To drive the point home, notice the string names that are used for these butterflies:

[Image transcript: An UTModTool window showing multiple named strings. Highlighted in red are six strings that each contain “obj_strangeman_butterfly” in their names. End image transcript.]

They’re “strangeman” butterflies. Not “amalgamate” or “Reaper Bird” butterflies (despite Reaper Bird having its own share of dedicated strings and named sprites), and they’re not “Whimsalot” butterflies either. Toby clearly delineates them as belonging to strangeman, a.k.a. Everyman, meaning that Everyman is specifically associated with butterfly imagery. The Spade King also makes use of butterfly imagery immediately after he mentions the Knight in his final turn.

Between the King and Jevil, this makes two characters that can be linked to both Everyman and the Knight.

Additional Evidence

Let’s circle back to Reaper Bird for a second. It’s commonly known that this amalgamate is made from Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot. To wit:

These enemies are part of the mercenary group that Mettaton hires to attack you in the Core. Have you ever noticed how out-of-place they seem? Almost every other set of enemies in the game is somehow themed around their environment — Snowdin enemies are ice creatures, Hotland enemies are fire/lava-themed, etc. These mercenaries are themed around medieval warfare and yet they show up in the Core, the most high-tech area in the entire Underground.

What’s even stranger is that this medieval theme seems to come out of nowhere. Astigmatism, Final Froggit, and Whimsalot act as “upgraded” versions of Loox, Froggit, and Whimsun, respectively. And yet their Ruins counterparts don’t have any medieval theming whatsoever—it was added purely for the mercenaries. For whatever reason they’re all dressed like a bunch of wizards and... knights.

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “Why do I look like a black sausage and not a knight or a wizard?” This continues on the right, where it says “Well... Everyone has an angle they look best from.” End image transcript.]

That’s not my interpretation of their designs—the game outright calls them knights.

On the one hand, it’s true that Asgore’s royal guards also dress up like knights, but the Core mercenaries are explicitly not part of the royal guard—they’re mercenaries.

[Image transcript: Battle flavor text that states “Mercenaries emerge from the shadows.” End image transcript.]

Assuming that Asgore has a dress code for his guards or is just old-fashioned in his sensibilities, there’s still no reason why fighters outside of the guard should follow their standard. Even some of the royal sentries don’t follow this theming, as seen with Doggo and Sans (who’s technically a sentry):

With the abundance of knight-themed royal guard and sentry enemies that exist already, Toby could’ve easily designed the Core Mercenaries to more accurately fit with the Core’s futuristic theme. Doesn’t it seem a little too coincidental that Everyman would wind up as part of the same amalgamate as these otherwise out-of-place knights?

When we look at the other amalgamates, we can see that Lemon Bread (a.k.a. Shyren’s sister) is made up of Waterfall enemies. Endogeny is made up entirely of dog-based enemies. These two amalgamates each have a “theme” for their component monsters that fits the “main” named monster they’re each made of, and Reaper Bird has a clear theme of its own. Why would Everyman be paired with a bunch of knights if he was not connected to them in some way?

Even the Undertale artbook groups Everyman’s concept art with the Core Mercenaries, specifically the ones that look the most like knights and wizards in-game. The book also repeats the name “Everyman” and Toby’s cryptic phrase of “Just a good guy who shows up on occasion.”

Perhaps Everyman knew the Core mercenaries when he was alive? Were they his fellow knights? Or did they work for him before he fell down and they had to then lend their services elsewhere?

“The Knight? Seriously?”

Some of you may be shaking your heads dismissively at the idea of Everyman being the Knight (or you more likely clicked over to another tab by now). I mean, just look at the guy:

What part of this design makes you think “knight”, let alone THE Knight? Well, Seam does refer to the Knight as a “strange” knight, and Everyman certainly fits that bill. But more importantly, we haven’t seen an actual overworld sprite for Everyman yet—we’ve only seen some graffiti and a couple of magic bullet attacks, which are always abstract and simplified.

Not pictured: Froggit, Migosp, Temmie, Moldbygg, Tsunderplane, Mettaton, or Endogeny.

Everyman’s “proper” design would almost certainly differ from his Pillsbury Doughboy-esque bullet sprite, especially if he’s wearing a cloak or a suit of armor. And even if his design doesn’t differ that much, so what? It’s not like this series has ever had an opponent that looks goofy or non-threatening, right?

Another little tidbit I noticed: one of Reaper Bird’s attacks consists of Everyman repeatedly removing his own head.

Or maybe it’s not his head? Perhaps it’s a helmet? Like one that a knight would wear? After all, it’s not unheard of for helmets to have beak-like protrusions.

And this is a series where helmets can come in any shape or size to better fit the needs of the wearer.

Just some food for thought.

The Gaster connection

It’s time to address the elephant in the room: “Isn’t Gaster supposed to be the Knight?” If you haven’t heard by now, this is one of the prevailing theories in the fandom. To be honest, if the Knight ends up not being Everyman then Gaster is the next-best candidate, imo, but these two theories don’t have to be mutually-exclusive. I think a case can be made that Everyman and Gaster are connected in some way.

Let me say up front that this section is highly speculative (unlike the previous sections, which clearly aren’t the least bit speculative). We’re dealing with two super-obscure characters who’ve yet to make a proper on-screen appearance in either game. It’s already hard enough to figure out how either of them connect to the broader Undertale universe, let alone to each other, but I’ll give it a shot.

For starters, we can affirm that both Gaster and Everyman are linked to the True Lab. There’s no shortage of fan theories and speculation on Gaster’s prior usage of the True Lab in his own experiments and I won’t get into all that here, but suffice it to say the True Lab has Gaster’s name written all over it.

(Am I the only one who thinks the DT Extractor looks more like Everyman’s head than it does a Gaster Blaster? Forget I said anything.)

We’ve covered how Everyman appears as one of Reaper Bird’s attacks. Interestingly, the amalgamate Memoryhead has an attack that resembles the head of Mysteryman, the figure believed to be Gaster (which I’ll assume here for simplicity’s sake).

If we follow the logic of my prior “Everyman is the named/important monster that makes up Reaper Bird, fitting the pattern of other amalgamates” argument, then Gaster (or pieces of him) could fill the same role for the Memoryheads.

Everyman and Gaster’s sprites both have the suffix of “man” in Undertale’s game files. Here are all the sprites that use this same naming scheme:

strangeman - Everyman

mysteryman - “Gaster”

snowman - gives you the snowman piece

riverman - a.k.a. River Person

darkman - the shadowy overworld sprites used for the Core Mercenaries

watchingman - The spoon-shaped amalgamate that tucks Frisk into bed

The snowman’s inclusion is a bit of a fluke, because what else would you call a snowman without using “man” in the name? If we exclude the snowman, each instance of “man” represents a mysterious figure that ties back to Everyman and/or Gaster.

We’ve already covered the connection between Everyman and the Core Mercenaries, and it’s easy to connect the “watchingman” amalgamate with the True Lab. River Person is also frequently linked to Gaster in fan theories (and they allude to “the man from the other world” and “the man who speaks in hands”), so what we’re left with is a close-knit community of strange, mysterious "man”s.

This naming scheme looks very intentional on Toby’s part, and he seems to be continuing it in Deltarune by referring to the secret unseen NPC who gives you the egg behind the tree in Scarlet Forest as simply “a man.”

[Image transcript: Narration from the secret egg room. The text box states: “(Well, there is a man here.)” End image transcript]

The Knight’s “Strange Son”?

Remember when I said I’d get back to the Knight’s “strange son”? That’s now. I’m a little iffy on this topic because it involves stacking a whole ton of assumptions onto a single line of dialogue that’s phrased in an ambiguous way. But, if it means what I think it means, it could shed a ton of light on Everyman’s possible connection to Gaster and whether either of them are the Knight.

When you ask Seam about the “Kingdom”, Seam says this:

[Image transcript: Three of Seam’s text boxes arranged vertically. In order, they read: “Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East. But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away. The remaining king put him and his strange son into power.” End image transcript]

Let’s focus on that last sentence. On my first playthrough I misread this line as “the knight put the king and his strange son into power” because that sounds a lot closer to the events that happened—the Spade King and his “strange son” Lancer are in power now because the three kings were locked away, presumably by the Knight.

But the actual text states the opposite—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his strange son (i.e., the Knight’s son) into power. Or does it? The line could also read as—the remaining king (Spade King) put him (the Knight) and his (the King’s) strange son (Lancer) into power. The second way is  awkwardly-structured but technically valid. And this is assuming that Toby didn’t make any grammatical errors when he typed these lines, which he has done on occasion.

[Image transcript: A dialogue box where Dr. Alphys says “I felt so guilty knowing I hadn’t do anything to stop you.” End image transcript.]

Not to be too hard on Toby, but even if Seam’s line is grammatically correct it’s still clunky and murky in its conception—at this point in the game we’ve only just been introduced to Lancer and the fact that his dad is the King, and now this line is potentially introducing yet another father/son duo that is closely connected with Lancer’s dad—is it any wonder that this line is often glossed over by fans?

The second reading, where Lancer is the “strange son,” is also awkward because the Spade King would have little need to put Lancer “into power”. Lancer was already a prince and, presumably, already wielded power in that role. Various NPCs make reference to Lancer bossing them around, and such a thing could’ve easily happened before the three kings were deposed.

If we take Seam’s line with the first reading (where the Knight has a “strange son”) and assume there were no grammatical errors, then this is the only time in chapter 1 that the Knight is ever referred to as having a son. It’s also the only time that the Knight is addressed with pronouns, implying that the Knight is male. If true, this would rule out the theory that Kris (or any potential alter ego that Kris has) is the knight, since Kris is neither male nor do they have a son. This would also rule out Susie, who’s never been a popular contender for being the Knight but is referred to as a “dark knight” on her stats page.

Who made who?

So then, who’s male, widely believed to be the Knight, and is often depicted as having one or more sons?

This (alleged) guy!

“But wait,” you might ask, “isn’t your theory that Everyman is the Knight?” Well, the Knight and his “strange son” seem to be working as a duo in the scenario that Seam outlines, given that the Spade King put both of them “into power.”

Because of Everyman’s connections to the Knight that I’ve laid out, plus the more popular theory that Gaster is the Knight, it’s possible that one may be the Knight and the other may be the Knight’s “strange son.” The way I see it, it doesn’t make a huge difference which one is which.

Now, I don’t think that Gaster and Everyman would be father and son in the strict biological sense. There are a number of reasons for this, but for starters I’m not even sure if Everyman and Gaster are the same species. My inclination is that Everyman is a monster, while Gaster may be a darkner. The latter is mostly my own guess and springboards off of a popular theory that Sans is a darkner, but it’s a whole other can of worms that I won’t get into now.

More importantly, Gaster is strongly implied to have some sort of connection to Sans and Papyrus. All three of them are also connected with special fonts that they each use. As far as I can tell, there’s no widely-used font by the name of “Everyman”, so this would imply that Everyman is not a skeleton and therefore not biologically related to them. However, there’s more than one way to start a family.

Gaster was the royal scientist in Undertale’s universe and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he (or his potential Deltarune counterpart) could find the means to create life forms artificially.

[Image transcript: The vessel creation scene from Deltarune. The on-screen text says “YOU HAVE CREATED A WONDERFUL FORM.” End image transcript.]

Everyman could be a creation of Gaster’s and thus he’d be Gaster’s “son”.

There’s also another possibility: Everyman is Gaster’s creator. We know that the Knight is pulling new dark fountains out of the Earth. I think the Knight, regardless of who they are, must be able to survive without a dark fountain to give their body form, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to venture into areas where new fountains have yet to be pulled up. The Knight is almost certainly a lightner, and I’ve already detailed why I think Everyman is a lightner as well.

We don’t fully understand how dark fountains interact with darkners, but it’s stated multiple times that dark fountains “give form” to the Dark World.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Today the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS-” and continues into the right screenshot, saying: “The geyser that gives this land form-” End image transcript.]

In the dummied-out manual pages, Ralsei also mentions how his dark fountain gives his body form.

[Image transcript: Ralsei’s manual excerpt, whic says “Dedicated to The unending pillar of darkness that gives my body form.” End image transcript]

Darkners need dark fountains in order to maintain their forms. They may not even be able to survive at all without them. From this point of view, when the Knight creates new dark fountains he’s bringing new darkners to life. If Gaster is a darkner himself, then it’s not unthinkable to imagine that Everyman may have brought him to life in this way and could thus be called his “father”. Seam does refer to lightners as the “creators” of darkners, after all.

[Image transcript: Seam’s dialogue box saying “They were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose...” End image transcript.]

Ultimately the question of who’s the father and who’s the son is purely speculative. We don’t even know for sure if the Knight has a son, let alone whether it’s Everyman, Gaster, or someone else entirely. It’s very much a “the chicken or the egg?” kind of question.

[Image transcript: Two images. The right is a screenshot of the egg room with narration stating “(You received an Egg)”. End image transcript.]

Hmm...

“Seriously, who is Everyman?”

Let’s bring this home with the question we started with: Who is Everyman? I’ve gone into evidence that he existed as an actual person in Undertale and will likely play a role in Deltarune, but this doesn’t tell us much about the kind of character he is. We don’t even know if “Everyman” is his real name.

If Everyman is indeed a prominent character in Deltarune then there are two possibilities: 1.) he’s a brand new character we’ve never met before, or 2.) he’s someone that we have met before. The first option, while a strong possibility, doesn’t leave us with much to talk about, so let’s look at the second.

Right out the gate I can confidently say that Everyman is not a character that we talked to or had significant interaction with in Undertale. The obvious reason is that he was busy being stuck inside Reaper Bird and he couldn’t have been in two places at once (as far as we know). This means that Everyman would have to be a character introduced in Deltarune chapter 1.

I’ve said before that I believe Everyman is a lightner, so this would rule out any dark world characters. That leaves us with the residents of Hometown who didn’t have direct counterparts in Undertale’s story.

After careful consideration I’ve narrowed the field to two suspects:

Father Alvin

Father Alvin has always struck me as an oddity. He seems like an important member of Hometown’s community, and yet none of the other residents ever talk about him. He’s also conspicuously absent from Undertale’s universe.

The most notable thing about Father Alvin is that his church seems to worship “the Angel”.

[Image transcript: Father Alvin saying “Let the Angel’s power light your way.” End image transcript.]

Ralsei’s prophecy states that the three heroes must seal the dark fountains in order to banish the “Angel’s Heaven.”

[Image transcript: Two Deltaunre screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, Ralsei’s narration says “Only they can seal the fountains.” The right screenshot continues, saying: “And banish the ANGEL’S HEAVEN.” End image transcript.]

This would put the heroes at odds with both the Knight (who’s creating fountains) and whoever is serving this Angel. We can only speculate on the Knight’s motives, but what if he’s acting in service to the Angel?

Something that isn’t brought up much in the fandom is the religious reverence that darkners give to their fountains. The King of Spades refers to the fountains that the Knight creates as “holy” fountains.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the King of Spades says “Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world...” The right screenshot continues, saying “OUR world.” End image transcript.]

The soundtrack that plays at the Fountain is called “The Holy.” Dark fountains can seemingly create life, so it’s easy to imagine the Knight viewing his own mission as some sort of holy rite.

As far as evidence goes for Alvin being Everyman/the Knight, the biggest clue is the drawing signed by Alvin that shows up in the supply closet at the end of chapter 1.

Every other object in the closet represents a part of the dark world that Kris and Susie visited, and yet at no point do they encounter a dark world manifestation of this drawing. We know that the Knight visited Card Castle previously, so this drawing could be meant to represent the Knight’s presence in that part of the dark world.

It’s also worth noting how most of the closet’s toys are arranged from left to right in the order that Kris and Susie encountered them on their journey. Alvin’s drawing is on the far right, just past the open cabinet drawer (i.e., Card Castle), implying that Alvin’s drawing was either at the fountain or that it was effectively the “next” thing that Kris and Susie would’ve encountered if they had stayed.

It’s hard to make out what the drawing could be beyond being a “poorly-drawn picture of a green turtle”, as the flavor text explains. Could it be Everyman? Or is it just a reference to Bold and Brash? Both? Neither? The world may never know. Or it may know when the full game comes out.

Can I also add how strange it is that Alvin’s drawing is in the closet to begin with? Alvin looks to be a pretty old dude, so why would his drawing still be in a school that he no longer attends? I don’t have an answer, I just think it’s weird.

Other clues that could point to Alvin being Everyman are that he is, scientifically speaking, old-looking, which would line up with my hypothesis of Undertale’s Everyman being an older monster who fell down before becoming Reaper Bird.

Alvin also vaguely resembles Everyman as far as their proportions are concerned.

It’s by no means a perfect match, especially if we factor in Alvin’s shell, but both characters possess a round head with some sort of beak or proboscis.

If Everyman actually is Father Alvin, then the title “Everyman” could be a reference to The Summoning of Everyman, a 15th-century religious morality play. I won’t get into the specifics here, but the play focuses on a character named Everyman who must prepare for his inevitable death and judgment for his deeds in life. I don’t really know how much that would tie into Deltarune’s themes or if it’s even a deliberate reference to begin with, so make of it what you will.

Father Alvin was the first character that I suspected of being Everyman when I started writing this theory, but there’s one major sticking point that prevents me from fully embracing the idea: the fact that he lacks a character portrait for his dialogue boxes.

This may seem like a minor nitpick, but dialogue portraits indicate when a character is important to the story, and it would be a pretty big oversight on Toby’s part if a (presumably) recurring antagonist wasn’t given a portrait. Even a three-scene wonder like Rouxls Kaard was given a portrait.

It’s true that recurring characters like Napstablook and Monster Kid weren’t given portraits in Undertale...

But Deltarune has greatly expanded the number of characters with portraits this time around, and we can already infer that Noelle (who had a portrait in chapter 1) will be an important character going forward:

Given Alvin’s limited dialogue in chapter 1 and his lack of a portrait, I’m more inclined to believe that he’ll end up being a minor character, in which case he’d almost certainly not be the Knight (and therefore not Everyman). But who knows, maybe Toby will give him a portrait in the full game.

Thankfully, we have another candidate who might be Everyman:

The Ice-E’s Employees

You think I’m joking? Trust me, you’ll know when I’m joking.

I didn’t initially make the connection between Ice-E’s and Everyman until I saw a post from @curioscurio​ that pointed me in that direction.

Let’s go back to the Everyman graffiti that appears in Hometown.

Notice how the drawing right next to it resembles Ice-E’s head? I can’t believe this was staring me in the face the whole time and I never realized the connection.

Another point in favor of the Ice-E’s workers is that we don’t even know what two of them look like. We know that Burgerpants is one, and another is implied to be the Nice Cream Bunny that we met in Undertale.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Ice-E’s employee says “Psst, can I tell you a mascot secret? I only started working here because...” The right screenshot continues, saying “The logo made me think it was an ice-cream shop...” End image transcript.]

But this still leaves the “purple guy” and “The Warrior”, who remain in full costume for chapter 1, meaning that one of them could resemble Everyman underneath their mask.

Speaking of The Warrior, he certainly fits the bill as being “strange.” His title wouldn’t be out of place among the likes of The Knight, and his dialogue refers to the hospital’s medical staff as “white wizards”, which fits with the medieval theming that’s associated with Everyman’s mercenary cohorts in Undertale.

[Image transcript: Two Deltarune screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, the Warrior says “This castle’s WHITE WIZARDs relegated me to this HEALING CHAMBER...” The right screenshot continues, saying “But my BLOOD is BOILING FOR BATTLE!!!” End image transcript.]

Speaking of the Core Mercenaries, here’s an interesting tidbit:

[Image transcript: Two Undertale screenshots side-by-side. In the left screenshot, a Core NPC says “As a youth, I would sneak out to play by this creepy flaming pit.” The right screenshot continues, saying “Since the CORE is always re-arranging, it was like a game trying to find it.” End image transcript.]

I used to assume that the Core Mercenaries were older monsters who fought in the human-monster war, which would explain their insistence on dressing up as old-timey knights and wizards. However, these lines of dialogue imply that the Mercenaries are far younger—young enough to visit the Core when they were kids.

So why would a bunch of younger monsters dress up like old-school knights and wizards? Simple: they’re LARPers. This would explain why their more casual overworld dialogue doesn’t match their overly-serious battle dialogue whatsoever—the battle is over and, thus, so is the act.

What does this have to do with Ice-E’s? Simple. The Warrior is also a LARPer. But he takes it a step further and never lets the act slip. According to Burgerpants, he terrorizes customers with war chants during his day job, and we see him keeping up the act while he’s injured in the hospital. It’s clear that he’s living in a fantasy world, and someone like that would have every reason to spend time in a strange dark world that “seems like” fantasy.

[Image transcript: Lyrics from Deltarune’s credits theme. It says: “And the places that you know seem like fantasy”. End image transcript.]

Someone like him could grow attached to such a place and want to see it spread as far and wide as possible, with no regard for how it would affect the boring “real world”. All he’d need to do is create new dark fountains to sustain this fantasy world.

I also find it interesting that The Warrior is in the hospital during chapter 1. Burgerpants claims that this is the result of “pizza-related injuries.”

[Image transcript: Two dialogue boxes from Burgerpants. Read from top to bottom, it says “The Warrior - Thankfully absent due to pizza-related injuries. Constantly terrorizing customers with war chants.” End image transcript.]

But what if there was another reason? We can see signs of “some kind of struggle” in the King of Spade’s throne room, complete with tattered wall banners.

[Image transcript: Narration in the Spade King’s throne room. The text box says “(Wall banners. They seem to have been through some kind of struggle...)” End image transcript.]

What if the Knight sustained injuries when he overthrew the three kings and had to go to the hospital afterwards? A “struggle” implies that there was some resistance involved.

Another interesting coincidence is that the previews for Deltarune Chapter 2 strongly imply that it will take place in a dark world that forms in the hospital.

Earlier previews have also implied that Noelle will have a larger role in Chapter 2, and she’d have every reason to be in the hospital visiting her father when things hit the fan.

It feels awfully convenient that a new dark world springs up right in the spot where the Warrior is. I wouldn’t be surprised if chapter 2 gives us our first glimpse of the Knight in person, and what better way than a surprise run-in with the Warrior?

Some of you may be asking why I’d suggest a minor character like The Warrior might be the Knight when he has a single line of dialogue and no dialogue portrait? Simple: characters tend not to have portraits when their face is hidden from view. We see this with Undyne in Undertale:

She doesn’t gain a dialogue portrait until after she removes her helmet. This is also true of Burgerpants in Deltarune.

So, unlike Father Alvin, The Warrior has an excuse for not having a dialogue portrait yet. While Father Alvin has some compelling evidence supporting him being the Knight/Everyman, The Warrior has no major counter-argument that I can think of (unlike Father “no portrait” Alvin), so I give The Warrior the edge as far as Everyman suspects go.

I’d also like point out that if Gaster ends up not being the Knight or the Knight’s “Strange Son,” then we could get a two-for-one deal of Father Alvin as the Knight and The Warrior as his strange son. Definitely not the most likely outcome, but technically possible! I’d imagine those two would have a hilariously awkward dynamic if they were related.

Closing Summary

Wow, this post went on for a while! Let’s summarize what we’ve learned today.

Everyman (in Undertale)

Was likely a monster who “fell down”

Became part of the Reaper Bird Amalgamate

Likely knew the Core Mercenaries

Is connected to butterfly imagery

Described as “strange”

May or may not have looked like his bullet sprite

May or may not have been connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not have been connected to the River Person

Everyman (in Deltarune)

Is alive and active

Is known to both lightners and darkners

Can most likely travel between the light and dark worlds

Is known of by Jevil

May or may not resemble his Undertale bullet sprite

May or may not be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not be Father Alvin

May or may not be an Ice-E’s employee

May or may not be the Knight or the Knight’s “strange son”

The Knight

Described as “strange”

Is pulling up new dark fountains from the Earth

Has been to the dark world

Is possibly a lightner/monster

Is connected to the Spade King, who uses butterfly imagery

Overthrew the other three kings at Card Castle

Is known of by Jevil and Seam

May or may not be Everyman

May or may not be “mysteryman”/Gaster

May or may not be the “strange someone” who changed Jevil

Likely male

Likely has a “strange son”

Everyman and the Knight (similarities)

Both are likely monsters

Both are alive and active in Deltarune’s world

Both are (presumably) male

Both have a presence in the dark world

Both are known by Jevil and may have met him previously

Both are associated with butterfly imagery to some degree

Both are connected to knight imagery

Both are described as “strange”

Both may be connected to “mysteryman”/Gaster

Both are foreshadowed in Deltarune chapter 1

Final Conclusions

So what do I really think? I’m reminded of Undertale’s original Kickstarter demo and how much of the full game’s story was left out of it. Right now we’re in a similar situation with Deltarune. I can’t view any of my theories with certainty because at the end of the day I have no idea what Toby’s going to write for the full game, but I can guess.

If I had to put a number to it, I’d say the odds of Everyman making further appearances in Deltarune is 95% and the odds of him being the Knight is about 66%. There’s always the possibility that Gaster will usurp the title of Knight and leave Everyman as the Knight’s “strange son” or as the far less illustrious role of “no one particularly important”.

If Everyman is in the game, I’d give 50/50 odds that he’s one of the Ice-E’s employees, mainly due to the Warrior’s situation lining up well with Chapter 2′s (likely) setting. I’d then give a 25% chance it’s Father Alvin and the remaining 25% as “anyone else”.

Thanks for reading all of this (or skipping to the end). I’ve seen hardly anyone talk about our favorite strange little man and I just wanted to get the word about him out there. Even if you don’t agree with my conclusions, I’m happy to (hopefully) ignite further discussion over this often-overlooked character.

For now I’ve said all that I can say on the topic. All we can do is wait and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

Special thanks to @curioscurio​ for inspiring me to make this post in the first place.

Date published: December 10th, 2020

[nightswithkookmin]

From Jimin: To the hyungs Jungkook is just my little brother...

I have no idea what that says. But if this is what he said, then definitely it leaves room for interpretation because it's an incomplete statement. You don't need to know the nuances of the language to understand that that statement is a sentence fragment that expresses an incomplete thought on the surface of it.

The omission of a second clause implies the opposite of what was said in the first. It's as simple as that.

The question anyone would ask upon hearing that is, so... he's more? Or, so he's not your little brother?

Makes sense...

But I've seen other translations such as, to the hyungs JK is like my little brother and in other instance, Jk is our little brother etc.

Makes you wonder if these interpretations took the context of the conversation into consideration or even why Jimin would make such a statement in the first place in their attempts to provide nuance.

"SUGA: Jungkook is good at everything

J-hope: Jungkook always surprises us. he changed his style recently!

Jimin: The hyungs all think he's like my actual little brother.

V: Jungkook is good at keeping his focus

JK: Everything about Jungkook is pretty!"

It's Jungkook from the members' lens.

When you interpret Jimin's bit within this context then it's more likely he is trying to highlight his dynamic with Jungkook more than anything, mainly to the effect that Jungkook is perhaps obedient, likeable, sweet, puppy etc.

Comparing Jungkook to his actual little brother is a compliment and perhaps has a much deeper meaning than mere friendships in my opinion. It shows just how close, more than co workers they are, how more than friends they are, how really close they are.

I don't know why shippers shy away from comparisons to family bond when in fact the bond of family is the greatest bond one could ever have.

BTS do have a habit of liking their bond to that of family- and they love to show that bond off.

It's interesting seeing Jikook through the lens of the members when most times the bond of those two are invalidated, watered down and downplayed.

Everyone would have us believe Jikook are sworn enemies from rival states. So however you wanna interpret what he said, there's value in taking things at face value. You don't need to do too too much with it to try to get its meaning across because then that would be analysis and analysis are always subjective and subject to our own confirmation biases.

To the hyungs, he's like my little brother, he is just my little brother, he's like our little brother- all have the same sentiment if taken from the perspective of that whatever JM said was intended as a compliment to Jungkook.

Perhaps Jungkook treats JM just like a younger brother would a Hyung- given the culture of respect between hyung/dongsaengs, given the way hyungs are expected to take care of their dongsaengs, given the emphasis BTS places on their bond, honorifics culture...

Perhaps he means, Jungkook treats me in such a way you'd think he were my actual younger brother- a theme which to me is in line with that whole Jimin treats me better than my own brother does or the numerous times he's compared him to his own brother or something along those lines.

They love eachother very much. Whether that is platonic or romantic is up for debate but I don't think after this anyone can invalidate their bond or gaslight is into thinking those two aren't close at all.

If the members see them as this close then it really puts an end to this whole Jungkook is uncomfortable with Jimin nonsense.

The busan bros, the busans, the sun and moon duo, the exceptionally close pair, the hyungs all think Jungkook is like my actual little brother etc

They all have a similar vibe to me.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't care much about the nuances of the language in this context or in any context to be honest as the intention behind the text is pretty obvious💀

To me he is either providing the hyungs' perspective to affirm his dynamic with Jungkook or to affirm all that he's been saying of his dynamic with JK which is that JK is like a little brother to him just as he repeated in Festa.

To highlight and affirm their bond or to compliment Jungkook like the other's were in this instance.

This is the diagram some Karny drew to explain the nuances of the text.

And here I thought I was extra chilee.

I'm not mad at this. Love when a moment brings out the delulu in yall's eyes😭🤣🤣

I don't know why we are hung on Jimin's words out of all the statements that were made trying to dissect and over analyse it.

On one hand I feel some people are over sensationalizing while others are just plain invalidating Jikook's bonds- especially over something Jimin of all people would say.

He slick slick. I'll give him that. And he loves him some double entendres. But he's also usually the one to use dictum that makes it easier for his words and meaning to be translated- if they get translated. So it's fascinating to see the confusion his words are creating out in these streets. It really ain't that deep if you ask me chilee.

Alas, we are all adults and we all have different perspectives on these things. I'd say, find a source you trust based on their track record and stick with it. Do your own analysis or seek out others' perspectives on it. This is mine and how I take it- regardless of what any Karmy says😊

My delusions are mine and mine alone. No disrespect to Karmy. In fact, yall great people doing great holding it down for the gays🤭

Also disclaimer, I'm not a translator and any translation used here isn't mine.

In conclusion,

Hyuna screws her dongsaeng and Rain fucks his Noona. Dead that whole Jikook womb mates shit before I lay my paws on ya.

Please pls Jikook is louder than this🙄

Jeonlous counts. Keep your wokeness yo yourself please. You must be in the wrong industry if you think you have to live by a code of ethic in these ship streets.

There is no ethical nor moderate consumption of ships under shipping. There is nothing like ethical or moderate shipping for the holier than thou shippers in the back.

We all ghetto ma'am. You might as well go all out😴

My favorite line from their song though is when Hyuna sings, "I'm finna tell my father about us and pledge eternity to you. You have to be careful always though, there are lots of pretty girls out there. We have to tell the world, I can't share you with another girl."

Eventually they told the world🤭

Their careers suffered but they did it anyway.

Please no nondelusional, fake woke, moderate shipper person should tell it to me when I talk about Jungkook's frustration to come out with their relationship and come act like it's illogical hence implausible for him to want to come out etc😒

I like my delulu perspective better😌

Peace.

GOLDY

[baya-ni]

The Queer Appeal of Sk8

Recently @mulberrymelancholy reblogged a post of mine with a truly galaxy brain take about how Sk8 “is a show made for queer fans” and generally how sports anime often depicts love and relationships in a way that’s more accessible and relatable to ace/arospec people than other mainstream media does.

Just, *chef’s kiss* fucking brilliant. I urge you to read their post here (note I’m referring to the reblog not the actual post).

And basically, it got me thinking about this concept of Sk8 as a Queer Show, and the kinds of stories and dynamics that tend to attract queer audiences in droves, regardless of whether its queerness is made explicit or hell, whether that queerness was intended.

And that’s what I’ve been pondering: What are the cues, markers, or coding, in Sk8 that set off the community’s collective gaydar?

I obviously can’t speak for the community. So here’s what aspects of the show intrigued me and what, for me, marks Sk8 as a Queer Show beyond the subtextual queer romances: a punk/alternative aesthetic, Found Family, Shadow as a drag persona, and The Hands.

1.) The Punk Aesthetic

All three of the above screenshots are taken from Ep 1, and every single one of them depicts background characters. They’re nameless and ultimately unimportant characters, yet each of them designed so distinctly and so unique from one another, one could mistake each of them for the main character(s) of another story.

Of what little I know about Punk subculture, I do know this: that the ethos of Punk is heavily built around a celebration of individuality and non-conformity. Sk8 seems to have incorporated this ethos into the very fabric its worldbuilding, and the aesthetics and culture upon which it takes inspiration appeals specifically to a queer audience.

I don’t really need to explain why Punk has such deep ties with the queer community. For decades, queer people have found community and acceptance within punk spaces, and punk ideology is something that I think is just ingrained in the queer consciousness as both lived experience and a survival tactic.

Therefore, a show that adopts punk aesthetics is, by association, already paying homage to Queer culture, intentional or not.

Queer fans notice this- like recognizes like.

2.) Found Family

This also needs little explanation.

Too often, queer individuals cannot rely on their “born into” families for support and acceptance. Too often, we are abused, neglected, and abandoned by those who we were taught would “always be there for us.”

And so, a universal experience for queer people has been redefining the meaning of Family, having to build our families from scratch, finding brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers in people with whom we have no blood relation, and forming communities tied together by shared lived experience rather than shared genetics.

And this idea of Found Family is also built into Sk8′s narrative.

Like, for example, the way that Reki promises MIYA that he and Langa will “never disappear from [his] sight,” filling the void that MIYA felt after his friends abandoned him.

And in the way that JOE becomes a paternal figure for Reki, teaching him ways to improve in skateboarding, and ensuring that Reki doesn’t self isolate when he’s feeling insecure.

And in the whole Ep 6 business with Hiromi acting as babysitter to the Gang.

Hell, even ADAM (derogatory) is associated with this trope. Abused as a child, he finds solace in an underground skateboarding community and culture he helped create- his own found family (or some powertrippy version of it anyway).

Again, queer fans see themselves depicted in the show, but this time in the way that the show gives importance to Found Family relationships between its characters.

3.) Shadow and Drag

This is one that’s more of an association that I personally made. But I was intrigued by the way that Hiromi adopts his SHADOW persona. He wears SHADOW like a mask, and adopts a personality seemingly so opposite to his day-to-day behavior.

Further, the theatricality and general “gender fuckery” of his SHADOW persona, to me, just seemed so similar to a the characteristics of a drag persona (I don’t know a whole lot about drag but enough that I’m drawing superficial similarities).

There’s also this aspect of a “double life” that he, and actually all the other adult characters of the show, have to adopt, which is a way of living that I’m sure a lot of queer viewers see themselves reflected in.

4.) The Hands

Ohhhh the Hands.

One of the things I noticed very early on is the way the show constantly draws our attention to Reki’s hands, which I thought was a little strange for an anime about skating. After all, skating doesn’t really involve the hands, or at least the show doesn’t really draw attention to hands within the context of skating.

I count 3 times so far between Eps 1-9 in which hands are the focus of the frame.

First, when Reki teaches Langa how to fist pump after Langa lands his first ollie, second, when Reki and Langa make their Promise, and finally, when Langa saves Reki from falling off his board.

And you know what they say, twice is a coincidence but thrice is a motif (no one else actually says this I think I’m the only one who says this lol).

I’m not really certain why hands seem to be such a shared fixation among queer people (at least among those I interact with). All I know is that gay people are just fucking obsessed with them.

I have a Theory as to why, and at this point I’d love for other people to chime in and “compare notes” if you will, but I think it basically has to do with repression. And in the same way that queer people have had to redefine the meaning of family, we’ve also had to redefine intimacy.

Being overtly physically affectionate with someone of the same sex, even if they’re your significant other, or often specifically BECAUSE they’re your significant other, can still be dangerous, even now despite the “progression” of society. Queer people know this, this vigilant surveillance of our environment and ourselves, always asking ourselves, “Am I safe enough to be myself?”

Already, Western culture is pretty touch-averse. That is, it’s considered taboo to touch someone unless they’re a family member or a romantic partner. And to touch a person of the same sex in any way that could be misconstrued as romantic (which is most things tbh) is a big no no.

There’s just A Lot to unpack there.

But basically I think that queer people, by necessity, have had to learn to romanticize mundane or unconventional ways of being physically intimate so that we can continue to be romantic with one another without “being caught” so to speak.

Kissing and hugging is too obvious. But a handshake that lingers for just a second too long is much more likely to go unnoticed, braiding someone’s hair can easily be explained away as just lending a helping hand, touching palms to “compare hand sizes” is just good fun.

But for queer people, these brief and seemingly insignificant touches hold greater meaning, because it’s all we are allowed, and all we allow ourselves, to exchange with others.

God, I’ve gone off and rambled again. What’s my point? Basically that the way the show draws attention to Reki’s hands, and specifically how they’re so often framed with Langa’s hands, is one of the major reasons why I clocked Sk8 as a Queer. It’s just something that resonated with me and my own experience of queerness, and I know that I’m not the only one who noticed either.

~

So in conclusion, uhhhh yeah Sk8 the Infinity is just a super gay show, and it’s not even because of the homo-romantic subtext (that at this point is really just Text).

Because what’s important to understand is that Queerness isn’t just about same-sex romance.

Queer Love isn’t just shared between wives/girlfriends, husbands/boyfriends, and all their in-betweens. Queer Love can be two best friends who come out together, queer siblings who rely and support one another, a gay teacher who helps guide one of their questioning students, a queer community pitching in to help a struggling member.

And that all ties with another important thing to consider, that what we refer to as the “queer experience” or “queer culture” isn’t universal. In fact, it wrongly lumps together the unique experiences and struggles of queer BIPOC all under one umbrella that’s primary White and middle class.

So I think what drives a lot of my frustration about labeling a show like Sk8 as Queerbait is this very issue of considering queerness and queer representation within such narrow standards, and mandating that a show must pass a certain threshold of explicit queerness to be considered good representation.

I get that someone might only feel represented by an indisputable canonization of a same-sex couple. That’s fine. But labeling Sk8 as Queerbait for that reason alone ignores the vast array of other queer experiences.

The aspects of Sk8 that resonate most deeply with my own experiences of queerness is in the way that Reki and Langa share intimacy through skating (intricate rituals heyo). For me, them officially getting together ultimately doesn’t matter- I’ll consider Sk8 a Queer show regardless.

Similarly, @mulberrymelancholy​ finds ace/arospec representation in that very absence of an on-screen kiss. A bisexual man might find representation in Reki, not because he enters a canon relationship, but in the depiction of Reki’s coming of age, growing up and navigating adolescent relationships. A non-binary person might feel represented through CHERRY’s androgyny.

That’s the thing, I don’t know how this show will resonate with other members of the queer community, and it’d be wrong to make a judgement on Sk8′s queer representation based on my experiences alone.

That being said, Straight people definitely don’t get to judge Sk8 as Queerbait. Y’all can watch and enjoy the show, we WANT you to enjoy these kinds of shows, and we want you to share these shows and contribute to the normalization and celebration of these kinds of narratives.

But understand that you don’t have a right to tell us whether or not Sk8 has good or bad queer representation.

And even members of the queer community are on thin ice. Your experience of queerness is not universal. Listen to the other members of your community, and respect that what you might find lacking in this show may be the exact representation that someone else needs.

[scuttle-buttle]

Chapter 2

WC: 1728

Rated: E

Chapter Tags: mentions of sexual themes, alcohol consumption, past relationships

🧠

You and Laszlo had easily fallen back in your work routine during the first week back. His course load was almost identical to that of the previous semester, and so he didn't mandate that you come to classes like he had during the fall. Even so, you insisted on attending like usual.

Taking your seat at the back of the lecture hall you watched as he moved around the front while he spoke. You were supposed to be sorting through the information cards the students had filled out. Not much was actually getting done, as you were highly distracted. His right hand typically found home in his trouser pocket so as not to draw attention. But his left? You licked your lips. Of course you loved both of his hands, but with his favoring the left side you developed a certain affinity for the limb. Oh what his hand was capable of, you reminisced.

Your sigh must have been louder than you anticipated, as Laszlo’s eyes snapped in your direction. “Perhaps if you are bored you should keep your noises of displeasure to yourself,” he said with a quirk of his brow. His face held a look of annoyance, but his eyes told you otherwise. He knew exactly what you were thinking about based on the sound you made and it amused him to no end. You knew he meant nothing by the harsh statement. He did so to maintain his staunch reputation in front of the class.

Biting your lip you issued a “sorry, professor.” Even from across the room you could see the brief flicker of heat in his eyes at your 'apology'. To everyone else the encounter would probably leave them shitting themselves, but you knew better. Even a small success such as this was to be celebrated in your mind.

You had been hoping that you could push Laszlo to be a bit rougher with you sometimes. He would often restrain himself when you were intimate, but you had an inkling that underneath he was just itching to let go. By no means were you ever left unsatisfied, he made damn sure of that. You wanted to kick things up a notch; you wanted to see what he was capable of.

He cleared his throat. Picking up where he left off, he began “as you can see, within psychology there is no single truth. No one theory that can fully or definitively explain who we are, why we are, or what becomes of us. That is why we must always ask of ourselves the purpose of our nature and our choices. This term will be a glimpse of seeking answers to our questions. In the meantime - you have a quiz on Monday for the parts of the brain and their functions. Do not be late or come with excuses, I do not give makeups often, if ever. Have a nice weekend.”

With that the young underclassmen all shuffled out to go spend their weekend most likely partying, rather than studying. You really couldn’t blame them, as this section of Introductory Psychology was in the late afternoon. As an undergrad you would have probably done the same on a Friday night.

Both you and Laszlo packed up your things from your respective areas of the room. Once the last student was gone he called out to you. “Sara and John want to meet up this evening, would you like to accompany them or do you have plans?”

“Will you be there too, or are you too busy with paperwork and stuff?” He had been complaining of having a list to work through this week with some new documentation requirement the university put out on the professors. You trek down the stairs to meet him by the front desk.

“I think it would be odd of me to invite you out in the event that I would not be there myself,” he quips back. His hand comes to rest on your side.

You hum in response. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all week.”

He chuckles at you, “you’ve spent every day with me.”

“You know what I mean.” Peering around to ensure no one was present, you lean up to give him a quick kiss. “What time do they want us there?”

He checks his phone for the text from John. “In half an hour.”

“Then we better get going before he hogs all the pretzels,” you crack.

The two of you made your way from the university to the old pub a few blocks down the road. Students didn’t come here often, as it was geared towards the older and less rowdy crowd. It was perfect for the four of you though. You had even gotten on with the owner, Cyrus, and his niece Joanna, who often worked the bar.

You sat in the booth next to Laszlo; Sara and John opposite you. The first 45 minutes or so were spent going over the events of the past week back. Eventually, the conversation slowed.

“I think I should get us another round. What do you say?” Sara asked the table. You slid out from your side offering to give her a hand with collecting the new beverages. Laszlo watched as you walked alongside her to the bar, laughing at something Cyrus had said to you. You always looked so beautiful when you were laughing.

“So…” John began, getting his attention. Laszlo turned to face his friend. “I heard a rumor.”

“You know I don’t put credence into such things, out with it John.” Clearly whatever he wanted to discuss he didn’t wish to say in front of your presence. Despite his words Laszlo did have some trepidation about the upcoming conversation. Could it be about you? Maybe you two weren’t being delicate enough with keeping the relationship subtle?

John looks over to the bar where you and Sara are still procuring the drinks. “Karen is in town.”

He relaxed at the turn of events. “Ah, yes. She is guest lecturing at the university while she conducts research of some kind in the city.” Laszlo is matter-of-fact in his response.

John studies him for a minute. He looks concerned. “It’s been what, four years since you last saw her? Or have you seen her yet?”

“I have not. Why do you ask?” He brings the near empty glass to his lips to take a sip of the harsh liquid.

“Well, Laszlo, I just mean that you two were serious for a long time before you moved out here. In fact I had figured you would settle down with her. You left her in Austria to come here, after all,” he explains quietly.

Laszlo cocks his head in confusion. “I don’t see how that would be a concern. The dissolution of our relationship was mutual - she stayed in Vienna; I came to New York. We did not want the strain of attempting something long distance and we both came to the same conclusion on the matter. And it has been four years, John, as you so kindly reminded me. I have moved on and I am quite content now.” His tone was nonchalant.

He is happy. You were vibrant, and thoughtful, and he couldn’t say that he had felt this lighthearted in years. His years with Karen were wonderful, but in truth they didn’t compare to what he had now with you. For once he felt hopeful for what the future with you could bring. It wasn’t as strong a consideration with Karen.

John holds up his hands as if to defend his words. “I’m glad for that, truly. She’s wonderful for you and I can see that. I just worry that Karen’s presence might cause a resurgence of emotions or whatnot with you. Sara and I would hate to see things fall apart for the two of you after everything,” he gestures towards where you stand with her. “Are you going to tell her about Karen?”

Laszlo nods in understanding. “I appreciate the concern, John. But I assure you, I view Karen strictly in professional terms now. I look forward to hearing about her studies here as they could be illuminating for my courses.” He sees movement from you and Sara as you begin your return. “I do not see myself withholding information regarding my past with Karen, but I don’t know that I find it necessary to bring it up as of yet.” John’s nod is faint, as though he disagrees but isn't willing to say so. The conversation is cut short by you setting drinks on the table.

You all stay another hour at the bar. Laszlo’s thigh rests against you, his right hand atop your own leg. Occasionally you can feel the way his thumb lightly strokes you through your jeans. He makes it hard to pay attention to what Sara is saying to the group; little bolts of lightning shoot up your leg and to your core. When your legs clench Laszlo doesn’t seem to notice.

Aside from the growing arousal within you, the soft clink of the index finger of his left hand grabs your attention. A steady tap tap tap as he hits the side of his whisky glass. The movement brings you back to your thoughts during his lecture earlier, how the thick digits with their calloused tips drive you absolutely mad when they brush against your skin. You swallow.

This time Laszlo is aware of your state. His eyes shift to you from where he sits to your left. The two of you hadn’t had time or energy to be intimate since that night he took you to Delmonicos. The lack has taken its toll as you give him that look.

Abruptly Laszlo faces the others. “I would hate to cut our evening short, but I have more paperwork to fill out by Monday for the Dean. I would rather get it done so that I may enjoy my weekend. John, Sara.” He nods his farewell as he nudges for you to move out of the booth. You hold back your giggle at his insistent need to get home.

John looks slightly confused with the suddenness of your departure. A look of understanding comes over him with a whisper from a smirking Sara. With a wave the two of you leave into the cold January night.

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[bufomancer]

Comparing Pacman Frogs, Tomato Frogs, and Chubby Frogs

Pacman frogs, tomato frogs, and chubby frogs are perhaps the three most common terrestrial frogs in captivity. At just about any pet store or reptile expo you’re bound to find at least one of these delightful little fellows. While they’re relatively similar to each other, they’re not identical, and their ideal care in captivity will look somewhat different. Today we’ll be going through some of the main points regarding their care and comparing and contrasting the three species!

This is NOT a care guide, just a brief overview of some of the similarities and differences between these frogs and how that will influence their optimal care as pets. It is critical to do in depth research prior to acquiring your new pet. Additionally, “pacman frog” can refer to any of 8 different species in the genus Ceratophrys as well as any hybrids thereof. In this article we will only be talking about the one most common in captivity, Ceratophrys cranwelli. While their congeners share many similarities, their care is not identical and they should not be treated as interchangeable.

Lastly, please do not share the above graphic without the included written text here, and please attribute myself as the author, as well as the photographers of the frog images.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the details.

Cranwell’s Pacman Frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli)

Pacman frogs are native to the Gran Chaco region of South America, a hot, semi-arid expanse of land containing forests, wetlands, and savannas. During periods of extreme temperature or dryness, pacman frogs burrow into the soil and encase themselves in a thick protective layer of skin until conditions are more suitable. During the day they are often found partially buried with their heads exposed. They are ambush hunters and will find a place where they can both find prey and hide from predators. Insects will walk right past the motionless frogs, unaware that they are being watched- until they strike. They are nocturnal and primarily active at night. During this time they may move to find water, or a better place to settle in the morning. When it is breeding season they gather in temporary pools of water to seek out mates and lay eggs.

Pacman frogs are generalists, eating anything they can get their huge mouths on. Invertebrates, other amphibians, reptiles, and small rodents are most common but even crabs have been found on occasion in the stomach or gut of a wild specimen. They are solitary and cannibalistic, and must be kept singly in terraria. Otherwise, you’ll quickly end up with just one pacman frog anyways, especially if there is a notable size difference. Female pacman frogs have no qualms about attacking males whom they do not want to mate with, though this species is not difficult to breed in captivity with the right seasonal cycling and a little effort. Their powerful bites can draw blood, so be careful during feeding and handling.

The ideal terrarium for a pacman frog has a deep layer of substrate for burrowing into, mixed to mimic the sandy soils of their native habitat. A large water dish is very important, large enough for your frog to soak its entire body in. While you want a few plants (live or fake), they do not require a thick jungle. It is good to provide a hide or two for them, but typically they will burrow into the soil with their heads sticking out instead. A halogen bulb is best for daytime heat; they typically require no additional heating at night. It is also key to provide UVB in the Ferguson Zone 1 range. Many issues with frogs burrowing constantly are resolved when proper lighting is provided, encouraging their natural cryptic basking behaviors. Be sure that there is room for your frog to choose between full exposure, partial exposure, and zero exposure to the lights.

A male pacman frog grows to roughly 3-3.5 inches, whereas a female can grow to 5-6. Males may be kept in an enclosure with a minimum of 360 square inches of floorspace, such as a 20 gallon long terrarium. Females should be kept in an enclosure with a minimum of 650 square inches of floorspace, such as a 40 gallon breeder terrarium. Height is not very important except to provide a deep substrate and safe distance from lights. Your frog may use minor climbing opportunities such as rocks, the tops of hides, and broad branches, but they’re certainly not tree frogs.

Pacman frogs can live 10-15 years in captivity.

Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)

Tomato frogs are endemic to Madagascar, in swamps and moist forests. Their red, orange, yellow, and brown coloration blends in with fallen leaves. Captive bred specimens are generally selected for the boldest reds and oranges, like a ripe tomato. Tomato frogs breed during the long rainy season and lay their eggs in pools of water. At night they roam the forest floor hunting invertebrates, while during the day they hide in the leaf litter. They are often found in soggy areas of land near slow moving bodies of water.

Typically, tomato frogs, male or female, max out at 3.5 inches though specimens just over 4 inches are not unheard of. Generally, a terrarium with 360 square inches of floor space is suitable for a single tomato frog, but an individual on the large end of the spectrum would benefit from an upgrade. Of course, you can go as big as you like for your frog no matter their size!

While they are not considered to be truly social, they lack the same bloodthirsty instinct as pacman frogs and can sometimes be successfully maintained in breeding pairs or groups. Small tomato frogs may become prey for a larger one, but they are not as cannibalistic as pacmans. Cohabitation in captivity requires a larger than minimum enclosure and special care to prevent competition over resources, such as fighting for the prime basking spot or to soak in the water dish. This can be solved by providing multiple larger water dishes, and a large enough basking zone for all individuals to share without being crowded on top of each other.

The ideal terrarium for a single tomato frog includes ample substrate to burrow into, and a layer of leaf litter on top. You may find they snuggle into the leaf litter rather than actually burrowing all the way into the soil layer. They will appreciate plenty of vegetation to hide beneath, and a large water dish for soaking into. A drainage layer is recommended to prevent buildup of harmful bacteria from the damp conditions tomato frogs prefer. Ensure that parts of the terrarium remain drier, rather than the whole setup being waterlogged. A halogen bulb is ideal for daytime heat, in most homes supplemental nighttime heat is unnecessary. Include access to UVB in the Ferguson Zone 1 range and ensure they have the room to choose between full exposure, partial exposure, and no exposure to the lights. Tomato frogs may not use hides, but it is good to provide one or two anyways. Usually they are right at home nestled amongst the leaf litter and various foliage in the terrarium. They are a little more agile than pacman frogs and may use minor climbing activities, but they are also primarily terrestrial.

Tomato frogs live on average 5-10 years in captivity.

Chubby Frog (Kaloula pulchra)

Chubby frogs are native to the forests and rice fields of mainland Southeast Asia. Despite their wide range and prevalence in the pet trade, their wild behavior is minimally studied though there is still some interesting information to be found on them. Multiple papers have recorded chubby frogs and their congener, Kaloula taprobanica, several meters up in trees. This suggests that they may potentially be best described as semi arboreal rather than solely terrestrial. While all species, no matter how terrestrial, are capable of climbing here and there, scaling trees is a little different from clambering over hills, logs, and other obstacles in your path.

In any case, those papers should be taken as evidence that chubby frogs in captivity should be provided with climbing activities, which is why a 29 gallon terrarium is recommended as the minimum enclosure size for a single chubby. It has the same base dimensions as a 20 long, but an extra 6 inches of height. A 24x18x24 inch terrarium would be even better. Chubby frogs are quite small, typically getting no larger than 3 inches.

They are the most placid of the three species, with many keepers maintaining them in pairs and groups without issue. Their small mouths make it difficult for them to cannibalize each other, though care should still be taken to prevent stress from competition over resources. Their diet primarily consists of ants and similarly sized prey, though in captivity they can take suitably sized crickets, roaches, and small worms.

The ideal terrarium for a chubby frog includes deep soil with a layer of leaf litter. They should have plenty of foliage for hiding in, though live plants should be hardy enough to withstand a squashing from a small but chunky frog. Broad branches can create climbing opportunities, which are sure to be appreciated- just be aware as primarily nocturnal frogs you may not see them being used! A halogen bulb is ideal for daytime heat and typically no supplemental heating is needed at night. UVB should be provided in the Ferguson Zone 1 range and as always your frog should be able to choose between full exposure, partial exposure, and no exposure. A large enough water dish for soaking in is required.

Chubby frogs live on average 5-10 years in captivity.

Conclusion

Pacman frogs, tomato frogs, and chubby frogs share a lot of similarities- they are Ferguson Zone 1 animals, they are insectivores, they are primarily terrestrial and nocturnal- but they are not identical. They are different sizes, live in different habitats, and use their environment differently. Their ideal setups are a little bit different. All three of these frogs make great pets, and are a delight to care for and observe. Knowing what makes them similar and what makes them different is key to figuring out which you would most like to own. Maybe you even want one of each!

The information above is, once again, merely an overview and not a replacement for in depth research on their care. This information has been compiled from a variety of sources such as websites containing habitat information, scientific papers about these species, images of the frogs and their habitats in the wild, personal experience with caring for these frogs, discussion with keepers and breeders, discussion with those living in the native ranges of these frogs, and more. Below are a few resources to get you started with learning more in depth about the care of these frogs, but by no means an exhaustive list.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Pacman Frog Resources

Image used in graphic:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/adrian-afonso/1664147176

iNaturalist photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/22844-Ceratophrys-cranwelli/browse_photos

Vera Candioti, María Florencia. "Morphology and feeding in tadpoles of Ceratophrys cranwelli (Anura: Leptodactylidae)." Acta Zoologica 86.1 (2005): 1-11.

Grayson, Kristine L., et al. "Effects of prey type on specific dynamic action, growth, and mass conversion efficiencies in the horned frog, Ceratophrys cranwelli." Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 141.3 (2005): 298-304.

Souza, Paulo Robson, et al. "A voracious female during the courtship of Ceratophrys cranwelli (Anura: Ceratophryidae) in the Brazilian Chaco." (2014).

Schalk, Christopher M., et al. "On the diet of the frogs of the Ceratophryidae: synopsis and new contributions." South American Journal of Herpetology 9.2 (2014): 90-105.

Miller, Mark D.H. , Webb, Kempton E. and Martin, Gene E.. "Gran Chaco". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Feb. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/place/Gran-Chaco. Accessed 15 August 2021.

Tomato Frog Resources

Image used in graphic is my own, © Aster Laurel Montor

iNaturalist photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/25152-Dyscophus/browse_photos

Monroy, Jenna A., and Kiisa C. Nishikawa. "Prey location, biomechanical constraints, and motor program choice during prey capture in the tomato frog, Dyscophus guineti." Journal of Comparative Physiology A 195.9 (2009): 843-852.

Brenes‐Soto, Andrea, and Ellen S. Dierenfeld. "Effect of dietary carotenoids on vitamin A status and skin pigmentation in false tomato frogs (Dyscophus guineti)." Zoo biology 33.6 (2014): 544-552.

Segev, Ori, et al. "Reproductive phenology of the tomato frog, Dyscophus antongili, in an urban pond of Madagascar's east coast." Acta Herpetologica 7.2 (2012): 331-340.

Andreone, Franco, Vincenzo Mercurio, and Fabio Mattioli. "Between environmental degradation and international pet trade: conservation strategies for the threatened amphibians of Madagascar." Natura 95.2 (2006): 81-96.

Chubby Frog Resources

Image used in graphic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rushen/20253335546

iNaturalist photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/326303-Kaloula-pulchra/browse_photos

Vyas, Raju, and B. M. Parasharya. "Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) from Anand and Surat, Gujarat, India." Zoos’ Print Journal 19.4 (2004): 1444.

Kanamadi, Ravishankar D., Grish G. Kadadevaru, and Hans Schneider. "Advertisement call and breeding period of the frog, Kaloula pulchra (Microhylidae)." Herpetological Review 33.1 (2002): 19.

Major, Tom, et al. "Observations of Arboreality in a Burrowing Frog, the Banded Bullfrog, Kaloula pulchra (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae)." Current herpetology 36.2 (2017): 148-152.

Soud, Rakesh, et al. "Defensive and burrowing behaviour of Kaloula assamensis Das et al., 2004 and Kaloula pulchra Gray, 1831 (Microhylidae)." frog leg 18 (2012): 48-50.

Bhattacharjee, Partha Pratim, et al. "Sighting of Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) from West Bhubanban (near Agartala city), West Tripura district, Tripura." (2011): 18-19.

Lalremsanga, H. T., Saipari Sailo, and R. N. K. Hooroo. "External morphology, oral structure and feeding behaviour of Kaloula pulchra tadpoles Gray, 1831 (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae)." Science and Technology Journal 5 (2017): 97-103.

Ganesh, S. R. "Arboreal behaviour in the Indian Painted Frog Kaloula taprobanica parker, 1934." Herpetotropicos 8.1-2 (2012): 67-70.