#JD has ocd . to me

[starzwithapen]

OUR HCS FOR THESE GOOBERS USING TEMPLATES FROM @koppaitepaladin !! Plus bonus creek because I'm uhhh normal about him . They're All autistic 2 me but Branch and Poppy r most important to me <33

[moxiemozze]

BroZone designs + trollsona doodle

Some Headcanons vvv :D

John Dory:

• he’s aroace

• he should be grey but is basically repressing his depression so he has grey splotches in some areas, he tries to keep it hidden from his brothers but he also doesn’t like seeing it

•tells a different story every time you ask about a scar you never know which one is real

•got his first grey hair at 15 because of stress and got two more when he was 17 a week before the band broke up

• #1 OCD haver

•ambidextrous

•thought all his brothers were dead

Bruce:

•transgender, he thought he was a lesbian for a while, turns out he likes girls but not when he’s one

•him and brandy are t4t

• Beach Rock and Pop, like Elvis style music I forget the name

•I know his kids have canon names but I think he named them after drinks besides Bruce Jr.

•used to be a terrible cook

•Bruce has a tail but it’s very short and hidden by his hair

Clay:

•Aromantic

•he’s in a platonic relationship with Viva

•he has a huge scar on his chest from the burgen escape but hides it with his sweater romper

•has had a cataracts since birth (just like me fr) and had these huge nerd glasses as a kid but didn’t wear them anymore once the band got popular

Floyd:

•MLM and trans

•PopPunk

•Saw JD at a bar once in his early 20’s, blinked and he was gone. He didn’t drink for the rest of the night

•has gone grey multiple times, but because he wasn’t grey as long as Branch his mood doesn’t affect his colors but it did affect his ears

•has severe joint pain in his wrist and his leg, needs a cane to walk around on good days

• has the same hair texture as Clay but straightens it

•says he thinks his hair is cool now

Branch:

•transgender and bi

•Pop but loves every style of music

•looks the most like his mom

•didn’t take care of his hair when grey had to learn how to take care of it with Poppy

•he did his top surgery himself and that’s why it looks so botched

•he had a crush on creek for about a week then decided to hate him after seeing him being his typical asshole self

•has so many nicknames from poppy and his brothers, his secret favorite is twig

Branch color variants

I almost forgot to add the obligatory creek hate photo

[sammyhasspammy]

My BroZone Human Designs (+ Some Explanations!)

My post with my human AU!

Their father was black while their mom was Hispanic. Obviously, Floyd ended up being the lightest of them and takes after their mom the most

They all know varying degrees of Spanish

Though they would change up their hairstyles sometimes during the performance, JD insisted they look as similar as they could since fans liked it, so they had "iconic" styles for the group. Those with 4c hair had high tops while Bruce and Floyd took this half-part style

Age: 41

Languages: Fluent in English and Spanish

He ended up becoming the shortest of his brothers and it bothers him every day

You can hear his flip-flops flopping from a mile away and it drives Branch crazy

I think his hair got darker cause he tried to dye his hair after he found a few white hairs and ended up going too dark with it, but he kept it

Kept his high-top for sentimental reasons

Looks the most like their dad

OCD haver #1

Age: 39

Languages: Fluent in English and Spanish, learning Portuguese (Brandy is Brazilian to me <3)

Hairy chest cause brandy likes it

Teaching all his kids Spanish he is not letting them forget their heritage

Usually was the one helping their grandma in the kitchen after their parents' death but was also interested in it before. Most of the recipes he makes now are still ones that are from his childhood

Also master mixologist... for trolls sized drinks. He tried to make drinks for island goers before, but turns out that making a drink that is basically twice your size is hard and inefficient, so he taught Brandy how to make them!

Age 36

Languages: Fluent in English and Spanish. Learned French and Chinese as a hobby

Spoke to Viva in Spanish a LOT, especially during rough times when she was stressed and would start just rambling in Spanish. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be so fluent

When they were younger, people thought he was younger than Floyd because he was so tiny, but then he became the tallest

His hair got stained green while at the gold course, but once they left it he kept dying it green

Age: 33

Languages: Fluent in English and Korean (Don't... don't ask), knows some Hindi, knows VERY little Spanish

JD was devastated to hear that Floyd had forgotten 90% of his Spanish

He had spent a few years with the rock trolls and was best friends with Barb for a while, that's where he learned Hindi (I headcanon her as Indian). When she was a teenager she also gave him an awful stick-and-poke on his back, not even Floyds brothers know about it

Went gray for a while in between leaving Brozone and joining the punk trolls, but I don't have a theory as to why yet

When they were younger, Floyd would straighten his hair in order to look more like Bruce in order for them to match. Bruce hated this but couldn't stop Floyd from doing it. Floyd is embarrassed by how poorly he straightened it before.

Very nice and/or low-tempered to most people, but he is ruthless when it comes to JD. Branch has heard Floyd yell the worst insults known to man to JD after being picked on by him, but it's their little way of communicating with each other and is, usually, affectionate. It's a cycle at this point. JD makes fun of Floyd, Floyd gets "pissed," then JD does it again cause he thinks it's funny

Age: 21

Languages: Fluent in English, knows very little Korean and the most basic Spanish ever

JD was also devastated to hear about Branch not speaking Spanish

Doesn't remember shit about their parents. Every time his brothers reminisce on them he just stands there, confused

Also kept his high top for sentimental reasons, but after TBT he started experimenting a bit more

OCD haver #2

Extra Branch one (With banter, check ID for the banter in text if it's hard to read)

[charliecoxbf]

We need to talk about the link between mental illness and political extremism. Because, as much I only have anecdotal evidence, I think there's something there.

I used to be extremely leftist. Like, very extremely. Concerningly so. Think "tumblr leftist". Every issue was a single issue, everyone across the aisle was the devil, hating the good for the love of the perfect. Imperfect allies were considered just as bad as enemies, i valued being morally pure and right more than achieving anything. I fell for "I'd rather not vote than compromise my values!" propaganda like it was custom made for me. It was bad. I cut people away for simple microagressions rather than trying to educate them, I boycotted movies I because of actors I secretly enjoyed but felt couldn't support due to not knowing for sure where they stood politically or because they said something insensitive once fifteen years ago.

I was also, unknowingly, struggling with OCD and Schizophrenia. Undiagnosed. Some things should have been signs that something was off, like my escalation from "Putin wants to rebirth the russian empire" and "Russia has homophobic policies" into "Putin wants to kill me, specifically, and has replaced my dear childhood friend with a look-a-like sent to kill me", which now looking back makes me feel a sort of sad empathy for a lot of people who genuinely believe "the vacciness have microchips that the government will use to track you!!!" because hey, they might just be stupid, but also, they might be struggling with psychosis too.

But then something amazing happened. I got diagnosed and medicated (and sure, I resisted both the diagnosis and the medication at first because I thought the psychiatrist who diagnosed me was a russian operative and the medication was poison sent by putin to kill me), and once the drugs kicked in, the world was less scary.

People across the aisle weren't the devil anymore. Microagressions weren't purposefully crafted with ill intent. People were worth being educated, and i finally realized that moral purity is impossible. I could turn my brain off and just watch a movie or TV show without worrying about what that meant about me or the greater scheme of things. Someone who watched The Big Bang Theory wasn't the enemy. And you know what? Turns out I like The Big Bang Theory. And Fuller House, and Jurassic World, and Guardians of the Galaxy. And Call Me By Your Name.

This obsession with moral purity and falling in love that we see in both political extremes (extreme left and extreme right, talk about horseshoe theory) is, to me, a kind of religious psychosis. People are looking for a savior (Trump, or Bernie, or any third party candidate), for absolution ("I was the bestest boy and boycotted starbucks for palestine / star wars for their wokeness / jurassic world & guardiand of the galaxy because chris pratt might be a republican and also because he thanked his second wife for giving him a healthy baby which definitely means he hates his first born disabled baby and anna farris / books for their sinful content / bluey because of palestine"), for a lack of responsibility ("both sides are equally bad so if i don't vote i'm not supporting badness and it's not actually my fault when whoever wins wins"). They think they themselves are more important than anything else in the world. Yes, even the causes they claim to support. ("I won't vote for kamala because of palestine, and yeah that means trump wins and yeah that's terrible not only for palestine but also domestically and globally, but at least I won't be marked by the sin of compromising.")

I think a lot of those people, on both sides of the aisle, could benefit from therapy and medication. I'm not saying there's an epidemic of mental illness on the political extremes - some people (like JD Vance and Candace Owens) are just sell outs looking for a proffit and will say anything to get it. Some people (like Trump) are objectivelly evil. Some are just brainwashed by religion. But there must be at lesst a significant amount who are struggling with mental illness.

I don't know. Just my 2 cents. What do you guys think?

[sapphirebluephoenix]

so.. you are a popcross fan?? tell me all your opinions and headcanons and whatnot /nf

Okay like the previous post said these are finally here and no longer ghosts (For those who don't know Pizza's old acc. (which this is) was really weird and the asks didn't end up in my inbox, anyway) OH BOY HERE WE GO-

Okay, let's go by character for headcannons and rambles HELL YEAH-

Alexis - AROACE AS FUCK- is just genuinely beautiful. Brilliant. Definitely struggled in school but not because she didn't understand the content, she was just bored and didn't have anyone but Sterling.

Ana - *baby* Had Benny make her an underwater room with a bed and everything, her favourite colour is actually green, and she hates eating fish. Oh and Autism. It's hers now.

Astra - DESPISES EGGPLANT. And I MEAN despises. Hates it. Ew. Gross. Also doesn't love chicken but will eat pretty much anything else. And idk who said it but her hair photosynthesises (was that JD? I think it was JD)

Benny - I have so many but : ADHD, TRAUMA, stims with his hands, a lot, when he talks, bounces, constantly moving, chews on random shit, will just get up and walk away if he's bored, has every fidget under the sun but only uses like 2, always has a fidget on him.

Champagne - had homophobic parents.

Charlie - Agender (that one's actually confirmed on the patreon!) and doesn't want to fuck, just splits himself in two if he wants. (Just whoop- now there's TWO Charlies)

Coşmara - Nonbinary. OCD. Mine.

Gooby/Archie - Randomly chews shit then blames it on Benny.

Heath - Has a MASSIVE family, think Brock from Pokemon, and was basically Brock. Heath is Brock.

Jake - SQUISH- ADHD, Dyslexia, had shit teachers during foster who called him stupid because of it.

Kate - ...IDK YET

Kayla - Does IT shit. wears blue light glasses.

Skinner - Wasn't actually a murderer but was framed by his twin brother (JD and I came up with that one)

Sterling - I mean his issues with emotions have been made canon so idk what else to say-

Tayrun - Tism. Loves working with kids.

Vasilia - Nothing. She is perfect.

[jj-iz-bae]

Don't tell me not to worry

Word count: 1722 words

Requested by @sunwardsss : Can you do comfort 38 and 43 for Chase please? 38: “I’m in the hospital.”43: “You don’t have to sleep here just because I got admitted.”

Pairings: Chase Stokes x Reader; Chase Stokes x Rudy Pankow; Rudy Pankow x platonic!reader

Warnings: Hospitals,seizures,Fluff,bad spelling and grammar

Note from author: so this is actually based on a seizure episode I had. It only happend one time and was caused by strep throat which triggered a reaction in the auto immune disorder (the disorder basically is that instead of my immune system attacking the virus or illness, my immune system attacks my brain causing all sorts of weird things to happen. When I was younger only strep throat triggered a "flare" of increased symptoms ie ocd,anxiety,age regression,mood swings,foggy brain and other things. Sadly the disorder has developed so that I flare with any illness, not just strep) ANYWAYS 😂 I hope you enjoy this Fluff with a tiny pinch of angst. Just a tiny bit if you squint. Ace is my nickname for Chase and I've used it in other blurbs. I just think it's cute. Kinda like how I call Rudy Panky🙃

Chase was wrapping up a day on set, shoving all his belongings into a backpack. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his keys ,leaving his casting trailer when his phone started ringing. He just realized he hadn’t heard from you all day. Seeing your name flash across the screen, he stopped in his tracks and answered. “Hey baby girl! I haven’t heard from you all day!” Chase exclaimed as he started to kick a rock around with his foot. “Sorry Ace. Please don’t freak out.I’m totally fine now but I'm in the hospital.” you explained slowly. Chase’s eyes grew large as he starred jogging to his car. "Don't tell me not to worry baby! Where are you? What happened?" Chase asked as he reached his car and fumbled with the keys, trying to move quickly in his panicked state. He swore under his breath as he dropped his keys and put you on speaker phone while he picked up his keys. You heard the rustling on the other end of the phone and grew nervous. "Chase! Babe are you OK? Calm down I promise I'm OK!" Rudy just so happened to be walking to his car when he heard your voice and saw Chase cursing at his car keys. "Hey dude! What's going on? You OK?" Rudy asked as he walked over to Chase. "Rudy! Y/n's in the hospital and I need to...I just can't.." Chase stuttered. Rudy grabbed the keys out of his hands. "I'll drive. You just talk to her." Rudy threw his stuff in the back of Chase's car as he hopped into the drivers seat and Chase ran around to the passenger seat. "OK sorry babe. Rudy is driving cause you're freaking me out. What happened?" Chase asked, running his hand through his wavy hair as Rudy pulled out of the set parking lot. "Thanks for taking care of him Rudy! I swear I'm fine! I'm at St. Marcus hospital. I think it's pretty close to town." Rudy picked up his phone and pulled up directions on his GPS before placing his phone in the cup holder so he could see the map. "No problem hun! Now tell us what happened before Chase pulls his hair out." Rudy answered ."Yeah you're scaring the shit out of me,Baby girl." Chase let out a breathy giggle.

"OK. Well I had my mom over and we were just hanging out watching TV and everything went black. Everything sounded echoey and I tried to open my eyes but it was like i had no control. I started convulsing and got sick. Mom called an ambulance and they brought me to the ER. The Er sent me here so I've been in the ambulance twice today!" You sighs. Chase nervously picked at his lips. "So what does that mean? Like did they run any tests yet?" Chase asked as Rudy broke a few traffic laws to get him to you quicker. "They have me hooked up to all these monitors and I'm going for an MRI tomorrow. The doctor said I most likely had a seizure." You explained as you looked at all the wires and iv lines covering your body. Chase let out a breathe that he didn't know he was holding. "OK baby. We will figure this out! Rudy, how far away are we?" Chase looked over at the blonde with red eyes, on the verge of tears. "It's right up here on the left." Rudy mumbled as he leaned over the steering wheel to make sure it was clear to turn. "OK babe. We just pulled into the parking lot. Where do I go?" Chase asked as he unbuckled his seat belt. "I'm on the 7th floor room 54." You said yawning. Rudy pulled up to the main entrance and stopped the car. "Go ahead man. I'll park the car and meet you up there." Rudy explained as Chase gave him a quick hug and jumped out of the car and jogged to the entrance. "OK I'm getting in the elevator now. Ill see you in 2 seconds OK? I'll be right there!" Chase babbled on as he put the phone up to his ear, taking it off speaker. "So how was work?" You asked trying to distract him a little. "Y/n as much as I wanna tell you about my day, I can't remember shit right now." Chase smirked as you hummed in response.

The elevator dinged and Chase got off the elevator and walked up to the nurses station. He put his phone on his shoulder so he wouldn't look rude for not giving the nurse his full attention. "Hello miss! My girlfriend is here somewhere. Room 54. Her name is y/f/n y/l/n. I can give you her birthday if you want to verify I'm not some weirdo." Chase said talking a mile a minute. The nurse just smiled and got up from her desk. "You must be Chase! She told us you were coming! Said you'd be the tall surfer guy with the chocolate brown eyes. Follow me." The nurse smiled before walking down the hall with Chase on her heels. She got to a door and knocked lightly before opening it. "Hey y/n! Surfer boy is here!" The nurse giggled as Chase walked through the door and the nurse closed it behind him. You were laying in the hospital bed with leads attached to your chest and stomach. You also had an iv in her arm and a couple stickers with wires on her head. Upon seeing Chase, you total lost all your composure and started sobbing. Chase rushed over to your side and gently hugged you close. "It's OK baby. I'm here. I've got you." Chase cooed as tears started to run down his face. You scooted over on the bed making room for Chase to lay down. He carefully made sure all the leads were out of the way and nothing was being pulled before tucking you into his chest. " It was so scary! I didn't know what was happening or why." You sniffed as you snuggled into his chest. "Shhhh. It's OK now. It's over. You're here now ad we will figure out what happened and why. Just relax baby." Chase cooed as he rubbed your back. A soft knock made you jump in your sleepy state. Chase said come in before kissing the top of your head, noticing the jolt of your body at the sudden noise. Rudy entered the room with Chase's backpack on his shoulder. "Hey y/n. How you feeling, sweetheart?" Rudy asked in a soft voice as he crouches down next to the bed. "I'm exhausted and confused as to what happened but I feel ok. Thank you for making sure Ace got here OK. I really appreciate it." You said while reaching out to grab Rudy's hand. "No problem at all! JD is coming to pick me up so Chase's car is here." Rudy explained before putting Chase's backpack down. "I thought you might want your bag." Rudy nods to Chase as he stands up. "Thanks man. I owe you one." Chase bumped his fist to Rudy's. "No you don't! You would have done the same for me. You rest up OK y/n? Don't let this guys puppy energy keep you up." Rudy said pointing between the two of you, which made you let out a small chuckle. "He smells like the ocean and is warm. I think I'll have no trouble falling asleep." You mumbles as you snuggles into Chase's chest again. Chase smirks ,holding you close. Rudy's phone dings and he waves good bye so he doesn't disturb the half asleep girl on Chase's chest.

You awoke from your nap to Chase still at your side. You smile up at him. "Sorry I fell asleep on you. You didn't have to stay." Chase opened his eyes lazily, drawing shapes on your arm with his finger. "No way am I leaving you baby. But since you're awake now. I really need to pee." Chase chuckled as he slowly scooted off the bed and walked to the bathroom on the other side of the room. You turned on the TV and sat up a little, looking at the screens and wires all around you. Chase came out of the bathroom, tossing a paper towel into the trash bin, before grabbing his bag from next to the bed. He pulled out his charger and plugged your phone in before putting it down on the table next to you.As he placed the bag down and sat next to you on the bed, a nurse knocked and entered the room. "Hey you two! I have extra sheets and blankets for you! This chair fold out into a lounger so you both don't have to smush together all night." The nurse explained as she sat the extra blankets and linen on the chair. "Thank you so much!" Chase beamed as the nurse came over to your bed side to check all your vitals. "Is there anything I should look for overnight?" Chase asked the nurse."Well if she has any convulsions or gets sick, press this call button." The nurse said pointing to the red button on the wall. "Other than that, if anything has you worried press the button and we will come make sure everything is OK." The nurse smiled as she finished getting your blood pressure and typed the vitals into her laptop before leaving the room. Chase got up from his seat on the bed and opened up the lounger chair, putting on the different sheets ad blankets. "You know, you don't have to sleep here just because I was admitted." You smile watching his basically throw blankets round until he was satisfied. He came and laid down next to you again before pecking your lips. "I told you ,baby. I'm here with you for everything. We'll figure this out together." Chase cooed as he pulled you closer and watched SpongeBob with you on his chest, running his ringers through your hair. "I love you, Ace." You said before kissing his hand. "I love you more,Baby girl."

*photo cred to pintrest*

Taglist:

@afterglowsb-tch13 @cherryobx @sunwardsss @yourlocalauthor @starkeymarkey @k-k0129 @royalpogue @ilovejjmaybank @beatement-l @miniatureauthorpartyspy @bxmaaa @allielozoya @shawnsthighs @i-love-scott-mccall @lilbabyharrys @dannii-li

Comment tag list on any of my writing to be added❤️

[advice-fandom-and-fun]

Hello! I'm Cameron (@camcam-the-grandpan) but you can call me Cam! I'm 16, nonbinary (they/them she/her) and I'm panromantic asexual. I'm a fan of pretty much every fandom out there so you can ask me about all the things! On a more serious note, I have ADHD, PTSD, dyslexia, anorexia, bulimia, anxiety, adjustment disorder, and major depression. As someone who has lived with all of these things, I know a thing or two on how to deal with them. If you have any of these things and you need help, I'm here for you. We can get through this together!

Hey, I'm Flick (@flick-does-things). I'm a minor, I'm genderfluid (ze/hir) and I'm asexual. I like The Witcher, Good Omens and Marvel things.

I’m @nonbinary-gay-disaster , so some of you know me. My names Jasper Dani, but please call me JD when making requests. I’m fourteen so please nothing weird. I’m non-binary , so they/them pronouns please! I have anxiety, OCD, probably ADHD, and a chronic disorder called being too gay to function. Y’all know already, but just in case, I’m a lesbian. I’m not super good with fandom stuff, but I’m pretty good at advice and comforting people, so come to me for whatever you want! If you want advice or comfort just address an ask to bean and ask your question or ask for hugs or whatever you need!

(Flick and JD, if you want me to change or add anything just let me know!)

[thesportssoundoff]

“A great HW fight, a few great prospects, Jimi Manuwa and .500″ The UFC returns to the UK Preview

Joey

March 11th, 2018

Fights: 12 (11?)

Debuts: 5 (John Phillips, Charles Byrd, Magomed Ankalaev, Hakeem Dawodu, Dimitry Sosnovski)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Rustam Khabilov OUT, Stevie Ray IN vs Kajan Johnson/Dmitry Prohebetz OUT, Dmitry Sosnovskiy IN vs Mark Godbeer/Alex Reyes OUT, TBD IN vs Nasrat Haqparast/Elizeu Zaleski OUT, Brad Scott IN vs Jack Marshmann)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 5 (Fabricio Werdum, Alexander Volkov, Jimi Manuwa, Jan Blachowicz, Stevie Ray)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Terrion Ware, Paul Craig)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  7 (Fabricio Werdum, Alexander Volkov, Jan Blachowicz, Leon Edwards, Peter Sobotta, Mark Godbeer, Kajan Johnson)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 18-8

Alexander Volkov- 3-0 Fabricio Werdum- 3-2 Jan Blachowicz- 3-2 Jimi Manuwa- 2-1 Tom Duquesnoy- 1-1 Terrion Ware- 0-2 Leon Edwards- 4-0 Peter Sobotta- 2-0

Too High Up- Terrion Ware vs Tom Duquesnoy

Terrion Ware is the sort of fighter every MMA organization loves to have. He's a guy who can test your prospects, give them a few unique looks and test what guys can and can't do. Thus far, Ware has given some dicey moments to Cody Stamman and Sean O'Malley so you know he can be your prospect tester dijour. The problem is Ware is fighting third up on the card vs Tom Duquesnoy in a fight entirely designed to get Duquesnoy back on the right track. I'm not opposed to young fighters getting opportunities to rebuild their stock because it's just smart business but Duquesnoy-Ware should not be third fight on the card. Thus far Ware's agent has got him on International Fight Week, the co-main event of an FS1 card and now this premier slot on Fight Pass. Dude's out here putting in work.

Too Low- Danny Henry vs Hakeem Dawodu

In his UFC debut, Canada's top prospect gets what is the usual "hyped guy debut" fight---a really fucking tough matchup where nobody respects his opponent. Henry is a former AFC champ who debuted vs Daniel Teymur and had a hellacious war with him in a FOTN bonus earning win. Henry looked huge for 155 lbs so lord knows what he'll look like at 145. Henry is a flawed fighter who Dawodu should be able to style on BUT there are no guarantees under 155 lbs and Henry has a lot of tools (power, size and cardio) which should give Hakeem some issues. This fight should be on the main card.

Stat Monitor for 2018: Debuting Fighters (Current number: 6-9):  John Phillips, Charles Byrd, Magomed Ankalaev, Hakeem Dawodu, Dimitry Sosnovski

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 6-2): Stevie Ray, Dmitry Sosnovski, Brad Scott

Second Fight (Current number: 8-9): Oliver Enkamp, Danny Henry, Nasrat Haqparast

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 5-9):  

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 11-8): Hakeem Dawodu, Dmitry Sosnovski

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- I'd actually like to begin by doing a bit of an exercise if you'll so indulge me. There are 17 European fighters on this card from top to bottom if you remove the in limbo fight for one Nasrat Haqparast. Removing the debuting fighters, that number drops to 15. Of those fifteen fighters, how many of them are some combination resulting in 2-2 in their last 4 fights?

Jimi Manuwa Jan Blachowicz Danny Roberts Jack Marshmann Brad Scott Paul Craig Stevie Ray

So of the fifteen fighters on this card from Europe who have set foot in the UFC octagon, seven of them are 2-2 in their last 4 fights. That fifteen also includes guys like Tom Duquesnoy, Alexander Volkov and others who don't even have a four fight minimum in the org.

The point was to illustrate the challenges of the European fight scene. MOST of these guys fight in Europe and the UFC goes to Europe, what, six times a year? That leaves these guys taking fights outside of Europe but never in America; like Mexico, Canada or Brazil primarily. That creates a pretty weird dynamic where most of these fights are outside of their comfort zones and on the road in enemy territory where they're really just there to be "an opponent." All of this leads to an erosion of fan support as more and more European fighters get smelted out of their home markets, creating the illusion that they're just not good enough. It all leads to a challenge of balancing the desire to showcase international fighters in front of their fans with the fact that there are X amount of cards to fill up with guys who have to fight X amount of times across X amount of dates. When SO many local fighters are in a state of "win one, lose one, win one, lose one" there's no semblance of momentum.

2- What fighter in Fabricio Werdum's past does Alexander Volkov best represent? I can't think of somebody who he's faced who provides the combination of workrate, size and striking depth that Volkov has. That's not to say Werdum can't win (or won't win) but I'm at a loss for a real good comp for Volkov.

3- It's amazing the level of durability Fabricio Werdum has displayed throughout his career. Not even looking at the level of growth he's displayed as a fighter, we're talking about a guy who has fought at a high level since at least 2007 when I first got reintroduced to MMA. He's fought everybody under the sun and only two guys have managed to put him down and out; Stipe Miocic and JDS. That includes fights with Overeem (three times), Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, Fedor, Big Foot, Andrei Arlovski, Big Nog (twice), Travis Browne (twice) and Gabriel Gonzaga. All of that is to lead into the obvious; at SOME point this dude is going to crack. He's over 40, fought three times last year and might fight three more times this year given how often the UFC calls upon him. It's just the nature of the human body to EVENTUALLY erode from prolonged damage. Volkov isn't blessed with the one hitter quitter that can put a dude out on impact but he is very active and aggressive. It probably wouldn't happen early but if this fight drags, accumulation of damage could be a serious problem.

4- So this main card is actually not bad considering it's a European Fight Pass card. Werdum/Volkov is a really good HW fight (and the winner probably is facing the winner of Lewis/Ngannou for a #1 contender spot), Blachowicz/Manuwa I was an awful fight but this is a relevant fight between big dudes at 205 lbs including one dude who will always be a "maybe sorta" #1 contender type because he creates highlight reels. Peter Sobotta vs Leon Edwards isn't the world's sexiest fight on paper but Sobotta has really turned his career around since coming back to the UFC and he seems really confident in his hands right now. On the other hand, Leon Edwards has lost his fight finishing spark but still has fights which suggest he's growing somewhat as a fighter. Even Duquesnoy/Ware should be tons of fun. The prelim slate is just so "UFC Fight Pass in Europe" level that it really dampens the excitement. Brett Johns getting on this card wouldve been huge for him.

5- Jan Blachowicz has sort of had a chance to mentally reset his stock on the lower half of the 205 lb division and gets rocketed RIGHT back up the top of the division. Blachowicz has really struggled around this level with losses to Pat Cummins (in a fight he could've won), Jimi Manuwa (fight he should've won), Alexander Gustafsson (in a fight he probably shouldn't of taken) and Corey Anderson. The level of competition there is pretty intense and it's not like Jan has been completely outstyled in those fights. He's just NOT on that level (or wasn't enough to win those fights). He gets a second crack at Manuwa now.

6- I'm really beginning to lose faith in Danny Roberts as a prospect. On the regional circuit, he always seemed to put himself in various states of peril but it seemed to be more out of inexperience. In the UFC, he's continued to put himself in bad spots defensively and his chin has been cracked on a number of opportunities. Dominique Steele had him hurting in a bad way, Mike Perry finished him in a fight where Roberts just couldn't get out of the way for a fifteen minute period, Bobby Nash had Roberts all sorts of thrown off before Danny Roberts finished him off and Nordine Taleb finished Roberts in violent fashion in December. Roberts draws Swedish karate ace Oliver Enkamp in a pivotal fight for both guys.

7- Can Leon Edwards somehow finish Peter Sobotta and keep pace with the other 170 lbers who seem to all be getting their careers on the right track?

8- If Leon Edwards wins, do they try to put him vs Ponz in Chile? I really like Edwards but since nearly finishing Claudio Silva and smelting Seth Baczynski, he's had 6 fights and gone to a decision in all but one of them. There's really no reason somebody with his tools should be so....not fun. His fights are heading in the opposite direction at a time where Kamaru Usman, Darren Till, Ponz, Max Griffin, Elizeu Zaleski, Jake Matthews, Mike Perry and others in that  "fun new WW to care about" are all having damn fun fights.

9- All Magomed Ankalaev has to do is finish his fight and be the savior of 205 lbs. It's not asking too much.

10- Alright Mark Godbeer, what stupid shit you gonna get yourself into this time?

11- So about the Godbeer fight, maybe this exposes my lack of knowledge but I could not tell you the differences between Dmitry Sosnovskiy and Dmitry Poberezhets, the guy who was originally scheduled to fight Godbeer. The UFC seems to have like a bevy of heavyweights who they signed but can't seem to actually get to get into the cage, it's almost infuriating if you're one of those OCD guys who wants to keep up with everything going on.

12- Stevie Ray getting a new contract to try and smelt Kajan Johnson is very UFC of the UFC. It's almost like a Batman TAS plot from the Joker.

Must Wins

1- Fabricio Werdum

I feel like all of Werdum fights are must win given how much trouble he seems to bring with him. The last time we saw Werdum, he was throwing boomerangs at folks and shouting out Chechen warlords while also decisioning a very good HW in Marcin Tybura. The time before that he took a fight on thirty minutes notice vs Walt Harris and was caught on camera using the unacceptable f word in Spanish like six times. Werdum vs Volkov is a great HW fight that pits the old dog in the race vs the seasoned in his prime pro who is peaking. Good fight but a must win for the always controversial Werdum.

2-  Tom Duquesnoy

This entire thing is tailor made for Duquesnoy. He's getting a guy coming off two losses who is a glorified opponent. He's in Europe, he's on the main card and this entire showcase is built to make him look good and like the star. He truly cannot fuck this up.

3- Magomed Ankalaev

Mr. Ankalaev, I do not know you. I do not necessarily believe I have to know you at this point. All I know is you're a new light heavyweight. God speed, my dude.

Five Can't Miss Fights

1- Alexander Volkov vs Fabricio Werdum

2- Tom Duquesnoy vs Terrion Ware

3- Hakeem Dawodu vs Danny Henry

4- Jack Marshmann vs Brad Scott

5- John Phillips vs Charles Byrd

[evan-beethoven]

Off the top of my head I can think of a few:

Pride and Prejudice - one of the most popular books I can think of that fits this description. it's been a while since I've read it so my analysis might not be that good, but I've had it pointed out to me that Mr Darcy's bluntness, dislike of large social gatherings etc. come across in an autistic-coded way

Mrs Miniver - less famous but my mum read this book and enjoyed it very much; the main character has several children, one of whom is very quiet and methodical and dislikes social interaction more than the others. The main character is very accepting and from what I hear kind of just lets him do things his own way

Pretty much anything by JD Salinger - tbh I need to write a whole other post about his books because I'm obsessed with them (that's what inspired this post) but yeah. I'm not just talking about Catcher in the Rye either, I am absolutely certain that Franny Glass from Franny and Zooey has OCD

Honestly one of my reasons for loving classic literature so much is that you get some of the most interesting neurodivergent(-coded) characters...

Like, it's so poignant but still heartwarming to me to see these characters who clearly would be diagnosed as being autistic etc. if they existed nowadays, in stories from a time when those labels didn't even exist!

And yes, sometimes the way they are written and the way other characters treat them is imperfect and ableist, I'm not overlooking that. But what makes me so happy is that, even in these times, there were authors who went out in their daily lives and met neurodivergent people and were just like 'huh, I guess some people are just Like That, better put them in my story!'

No I'm not getting too emotional over this...