YMMV / Tales of MU

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Tales of MU encourages this, including having a Spin-Off that gives a completely different view of some characters and events. Every major character and most minor ones seems to spark competing theories. Is Mackenzie Blaise an unrepentant sociopath, or just a normal girl who happens to be Cursed with Awesome? Was her grandmother's treatment of her horrible child abuse or going above and beyond the call of duty to raise a dangerous child? Is everything Amaranth's fault after all? Yes.
• Archive Panic: Mack's first year at MU ends with ch. 496; the second year is up to ch. 338. Also: 117 chapters in Jamie's Tale, 12 chapters of As The Underworld Turns, and 77 chapters of Other Tales (assorted side stories).
• Base-Breaking Character: Amaranth. She still has plenty of fans that tend to see her as an oblivious but kindhearted nymph that has good intentions and a positive support that encourages Mack to express her sexuality. Others have grown to dislike her for taking the limits of what could be considered a healthy dominant relationship to an extreme. There's a decent argument to be made that she enjoys the role too much to see it as a problem, coupled with Mack's addictive masochism, making the dynamic come off as abusive.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: At one point, Mack begins to panic during a crucial moment. Steff responds to this by... yanking down Mack's pants and smacking her ass repeatedly with a stick. This apparently makes her focus and she sets off to resolve the situation.
• Draco in Leather Pants:
  • Despite Puddy several times approaching Moral Event Horizon moments, and being a generally vile person, she has an extremely loyal fan-following on the forums, even in the face of hostility to and attacks on other fan favorites.
  • The Man. As demonic as he is portrayed, his Wicked Cultured is often mistaken for Affably Evil.
• Ethnic Scrappy: Shiel the kobold started out this way, with frequent race-baiting and Straw Feminist arguments that bordered on Insane Troll Logic. She seems to be growing out of it lately, though, which is making her into a more interesting and likable character.
• Fan Nickname: "Mack Daddy", for Mack's absent demon father.
• Jerkass Woobie: Mack in the early chapters, especially with regards to the prejudice and bigotry of which she is routinely the victim, but which she also routinely exhibits to others. To be fair, much of this was taught to her as she grew up by her Knight Templar grandmother. But between the Mechans, the Arkhanites, Winnie, and just about anyone who disagrees with her, she gives as good as she gets on the Jerkass front.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Some are really just reading because of Two's extremely likable character. Others are just in it for the admittedly interesting Worldbuilding, and regret so much time is put on college sex antics rather than the tons of interesting stuff in the world at large.
• Moral Event Horizon: Mercy waves to everyone else from deep inside it.
• Strangled by the Red String: A very odd version of it, in that Mack is not going to be allowed to be straight, or celibate, or monogamous by turns. Not only does the story conspire to get her into sexual situations, Amaranth even ordered her to perform a specific sex act with Ian on demand, at any time he wanted, after Mack admitted wanting to do so. Ian balked. He got over it.
• Strawman Has a Point: Various bit characters are generally portrayed as bigots for treating Mack as inherently dangerous or unstable due to her demon blood. However, even within the first month of her time at school, it's easier to count the number of cast members that she hasn't come close to killing than those she has, and in most cases she was set off by happenstance or her own mild negligence in feeding herself. In practical terms it's very legitimate to worry about someone who can't make it four days in a row without a potentially-lethal accident or outright attempted murder, and Mack is also presented as one of the most stable and emotionally balanced of her subspecies.
• The Woobie: Two. Because of her "programming" (namely, to want to do what she's told), the early parts of the story imply, and show in only a small part, that she has suffered a horrifying array of abuses. She very quickly gained the sympathy of both the rest of the core cast and the audience.

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