thankfully the 'different dimension' thing got retconned (it was always a stupid decision), but there's still a frustrating refusal to let 'classic' and 'modern' characters coexist for like.. branding reasons?

Hard-Boiled Eggpawn is fine it's just missing because I was going to replace it with Eggrobo, but the AI slot version of that mod is currently unavailable and I wasn't able to- but when I realized that I had already deleted Hard-Boil and didn't feel like redownloading it.

for the first post I tried to fill every slot to be like "here's what you can do with mods!" but zomom's gaping, unrigged mouth literally made me so uncomfortable to look at I had to remove him. I would rather just have AI vector for now, but hopefully a better character gets made for that slot.

Here's where I am now. Some characters have been added, removed or replaced. Almost everyone has crosstalk art now (a lot of which had to be sourced from discord which I will save the rant about). I updated my locres file to account for the new characters and in the process slipped in a little joke.

it's the same mod, actually, it updated with a version that goes over shadow's "AI Racer" skin. I'm using it in combination with a mod that gives all the alternate skins their own character slots.

are you using crosspatch? if so click the little gear icon next to the mod in the manager and it'll have options to change the outfit and UI. If not, go into the mod folder and delete or rename the regular surge folder so it's no longer above the riders version

This is the greatest insult of all of this. It's not getting called the wrong name sometimes, it's that this name still exists in their brains at all, over a decade since I have answered to it. That it even crosses their mind. That they still default to it. At this point, I have lost faith in them.

I can hear the verbal backspace, the slight pause before the name "June" leaves their lips. They realize, a second too late, that they aren't "supposed" to say the name that they continue to use within their own thoughts. A name that they have continued to use against my wishes for over a decade.

It not only offends, but baffles me that I'm still getting deadnamed by relatives at this point. It's not just a slip, it's a tacit admission that they do not see me for who I am. That on the occasions they do manage to get my name or pronouns correct, they are actively editing their own words.

HELLL YEAH

SHOW ME

there are certainly more "formative" examples but this is the one that immediately came to mind, partly because it's STILL the coolest character design I've ever seen lmao