#beginner chess course for kids

[chessbrainzind]

What May Children That Are Learning Chess Stand to Gain from a Beginner Course?

For centuries and, in fact, millennia, chess has been holding people’s minds as a game that demands patience to win, as well as thinking and logical calculations. Apart from the regular process of mastering a board game, it may be quite fulfilling to teach kids to play chess. Kids can learn important skills that go far beyond the chessboard with the aid of a beginner chess course for kids, which can offer many advantages. This post looks at the advantages that kids can have when they start playing chess.

[brainynbright]

Discover the Best Winter Camps in Dubai – Brainy n Bright’s Ultimate Learning Adventure

Unleash Your Child’s Potential This Winter with Brainy n Bright’s Camps in Dubai

Winter in Dubai is the perfect time for children to embark on an exciting journey of learning and discovery. Brainy n Bright’s winter camps are tailored to foster creativity, critical thinking, and hands-on learning in a state-of-the-art environment. Designed for children aged 6 to 16, these camps offer a unique blend of STEM, robotics, coding, and more, ensuring a transformative experience for every participant.

Why Choose Brainy n Bright’s Winter Camps?

Comprehensive STEM Curriculum - Brainy n Bright integrates STEM-based education into its programs, encouraging young learners to explore robotics, artificial intelligence, and game development. Each activity is designed to ignite curiosity and develop essential problem-solving skills.

Expert Instructors - The camp’s instructors are seasoned professionals passionate about STEM and committed to delivering engaging and insightful lessons. Their expertise ensures that children receive high-quality training in a supportive and inspiring environment.

Interactive Learning Spaces - The facilities at Brainy n Bright are equipped with cutting-edge technology to provide a highly immersive learning experience. From 3D design to programming and robotics, participants have access to the best tools and resources.

Flexible Learning Options - Brainy n Bright offers both in-classroom and live online sessions to cater to the diverse needs of learners. With multiple time slots and course durations, parents can choose the most convenient option for their children.

Certification and Global Opportunities - Students who complete the camp receive a STEM.org-accredited certification, enhancing their portfolios. Moreover, they can prepare for prestigious global competitions like the World Robot Olympiad and FIRST LEGO League.

Activities at the Camp

Participants can immerse themselves in a variety of activities, including:

Robotics: Hands-on projects in building and programming robots.

Python and AI Coding: Beginner to advanced-level coding for young tech enthusiasts.

3D Designing & Animation: Creating digital models and animations using professional tools.

Game Development: Designing interactive games from scratch.

Chess and Strategy Games: Enhancing logical thinking and planning skills.

Benefits of Attending

Holistic Development: The camps nurture critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork.

Real-World Applications: Students engage in practical projects that connect learning to real-world scenarios.

Networking and Social Skills: Kids collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds, building lasting friendships.

Future-Ready Skills: From coding to design thinking, participants gain skills that prepare them for the future.

Camp Locations and Schedule

The winter camps are held at Brainy n Bright’s modern facilities in Dubai, conveniently located in Al Nahda and Al Barsha. Sessions are available in multiple formats, with options for weekly, monthly, or full-term enrollment to suit every family’s needs.

Enroll Today!

Brainy n Bright’s winter camps offer an unmatched opportunity for children to learn, innovate, and grow in a fun and interactive environment. Spaces are limited, so secure your child’s spot today and set them on a path of exploration and achievement.

For more information, visit: https://brainynbright.com/winter-camp.php​

[kiyalearning01]

Checkmate Your Boredom: Exploring the Benefits of Online Chess Classes for Kids and Adults at Kiya Learning

Introduction

• Give a brief overview of the ageless game of chess classes in Singapore  and its ongoing appeal.

 • Discuss the benefits of online learning over conventional classroom settings and the growing trend in this direction.

• Describe Kiya Learning as a website that provides chess lessons that are effective and entertaining for players of all ages.

Benefits of Online Chess Classes for Kids

• Cognitive advantages: Enhances focus, memory, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.

• Strategic thinking: Promotes rational preparation and judgment.

• Emotional and social benefits: Encourages emotional control, patience, and sportsmanship. • Boosted self-confidence: A feeling of achievement from reaching goals. •

How Kiya Learning serves children: O Level Curriculum that is age- and developmentally appropriate and interactive to keep young minds active. · An engaging learning atmosphere facilitated by knowledgeable and enthusiastic chess teachers. o Promotes talent development and friendly competition through online competitions.

Benefits of Online Chess Classes for Adults

Maintain cognitive sharpness: Helps preserve memory, focus, and critical thinking skills.

Strategic refreshment: Sharpens decision-making abilities and strategic planning.

Stress reduction and relaxation: Provides a mentally stimulating yet calming activity.

Social connection and competition: Connect with other chess enthusiasts and participate in online tournaments.

How Kiya Learning benefits adults:

Variety of class options for different skill levels, from beginner to advanced.

Flexible scheduling of online classes to fit busy lifestyles.

Opportunity to learn from experienced chess instructors and improve their game.

Kiya Learning's Online Chess Course Platform

Briefly describe the user-friendly platform for online chess classes.

Highlight features like:

Interactive online chessboards for practicing and playing against classmates or the instructor.

Pre-recorded lessons for on-demand learning and review.

Live sessions for personalized feedback, strategy discussions, and Q&A.

Progress tracking tools to monitor improvement and set goals.

Conclusion

Briefly summarize the key benefits of  Best online chess classes at Kiya Learning for both kids and adults.

Emphasize the fun and engaging learning environment at Kiya Learning.

Encourage readers to sign up for a free trial class or explore Kiya Learning's course offerings.

Include a call to action (CTA) with contact information for Kiya Learning.

COMPANY NAME - Kiya Learning

WEBSITE NAME - kiyalearning.sg

CONTACT US -+65 96453195

[academyy6]

Best professional chess academy in mumbai.

Mumbai, a busy metropolis, survives thanks to its upbeat atmosphere. There are keen students willing to delve into the enthralling world of chess amidst the city's bustle. Unexpectedly, there are close to 600 million chess players in the world. Chess is a superb board game that provides entertainment as well as cognitive advantages, and it has grown significantly in popularity in Mumbai. We have put up a hand-picked list of the Best Chess Coaching Classes in Mumbai for those of you who are interested in learning the game.

1)South Mumbai ChessAcademy (SMCA) is the leading Chess Training Academy in India with its branches based in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Rajahmundry and Bangalore. We have tailored courses such as basic, intermediate and advanced levels for students. When it comes to teaching chess, we do not limit ourselves to the classroom or online training but we also guide and groom our students to participate in several tournaments happening nationally as well as internationally

Professional chess courses at SMCA

coaching at smca centres

personal chess coaching

Online chess coaching

SMCA offers Customized chess training for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced level students. Our coaching is not limited just to online coaching, we also guide students to bring their game to the various tournaments happening nationally and internationally.

What we offer

Quality coaching through certified coaches

Specialized syllabus for different levels

Challenging game sessions to improve competitively

Exposure to Indian and national chess tournaments

Learn Chess from the comfort of your home!

Address: Turf Estate 201, Shakti Mills Lane West, near Famous Studio, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400011.  Phone: 098214 93956  Website: www.smca64.com

2) Joshi's Chess Academy- Joshi's Chess Academy is recognised for changing its pupils' chess journeys. Joshi's Chess Academy ensures top-notch instruction thanks to its three FIDE Certified Trainers and seven FIDE Certified Arbiters.

3) Chess Guru -  Mumbai's Chess Guru is a renowned chess coaching facility run by FIDE-rated players. Chess Guru, which is renowned for its top-notch instruction, offers chess lessons at their academy, at schools, as well as in-person and online coaching sessions. Making smart movements, according to Chess Guru, is the game's core skill and opens the door to victory.

4) Kaabil Youth - Numerous kids desiring to master the game of chess seek Kaabil Kids out as the best chess training programme in India. Kaabil Kids provides a distinctive educational experience with more than 5,000 lessons taught and more than 1,000 students trained. Kaabil Kids is distinguished by its affiliation with grandmasters and the top chess trainers in the nation. They offer cutting-edge online chess coaching with hands-on learning. For a safe and fun chess coaching platform, pick Kaabil Kids.

5) Upstep College  - For players at different skill levels—beginners, intermediate, and experts—Upstep Academy offers chess coaching. Children are taught chess at a steady pace so they can comprehend it and do well.

6) GURUKUL CHESSE ACADEMY - The Gurukul Chess Academy is one of Mumbai's top chess training facilities. With its elite staff of FIDE instructors, international arena masters, FIDE-rated players, and national arbiters, Gurukul Chess Academy provides prospective chess players with a strong foundation.

7) Shetty Chess -Shetty Chess Classes assist pupils thrive at chess by emphasising the development of strategic thinking. Shetty Chess Classes is a great option for chess tuition in Mumbai because of its committed teachers.

8) A1 Institute of Chess - A1 Institute of Chess provides coaching to improve critical thinking abilities and chess strategy knowledge. A1 Institute offers complete training for newcomers, advanced newcomers, intermediate players, and seasoned players with its many teaching levels.

9) King Maker Chess Academy - The King Maker Chess Academy is committed to giving chess players a solid foundation. Students can achieve success in the chess world thanks to their knowledge and leadership.

10) Cube Matrix School- . Chess instruction is available at Cube Matrix Academy for players at all skill levels, from novice to expert. The institution has played a significant role in developing many accomplished chess players because of its highly qualified professors.

[sumitkumarf9871]

Chess clases in Abu Dhabhi

Kiya Learning offers online chess classes for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. They have experienced coaches and structured courses for different skill levels. Chess requires critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning. By playing chess, kids improve their cognitive abilities and develop better analytical skills.

[leapcoderzprinceton]

Summer Camp Near Me | leapcoderz.com

Leap Coderz is excited to announce its upcoming Coding and STEM Summer Camp for Kids Near me ! This camp is designed to provide an engaging and interactive experience for children to learn about the exciting world of technology and science. Our summer camp is designed to provide a hands-on, interactive experience that will spark your child's curiosity and ignite their passion for STEM. The camp is a unique blend of Academics, Robotics, Coding, Chess and Public speaking.

Over the course of the camp, your child will have the opportunity to explore various aspects of coding and STEM through a range of hands-on activities and projects. Our experienced instructors will guide your child through the basics of coding, robotics, and engineering, while fostering creativity and problem-solving skills.

The camp is open to children ages 4 to 16 years of all skill levels, from beginners to those with prior experience. We believe that everyone can benefit from learning about technology and science, and we aim to create a fun and inclusive environment for all participants.

The summer camp starts on July 5th, 2023. It’s a 9 weeks program, though parents can enroll their kids for any number of weeks. We offer both full day and half day camps. There is also a facility of free 1 hour pre-camp and post-ca

If you are interested in enrolling your child in our summer camp program, please enroll by April 25th to avail early bird discount. We have limited spaces available, and enrollment will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

We look forward to welcoming your child to our Coding and STEM Summer Camp for Kids !

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[adritaaa]

Online coding platforms for kids

WhiteHat Jr- It is an online coding platform exclusively designed for kids around the age of 6 to 14. Because everyone prefers a comfortable, homey environment, WhiteHat Jr provides the opportunity to learn coding by offering live interactive classes, 1:1 kids coding courses, multiple projects, and much more. Children further benefit from the free trials. It teaches programming in an innovative and fun way by developing games, animations, etc. Because of its immense popularity, the faculty is huge. So, every student is allotted a different teacher, so that the latter gets to devote more time to his/her student. The prime aim is to educate the children on the core concepts of programming.

Vedantu Superkids’ goal is to shape the child from conception. It is for kids aged 6 to 12. It is not important to know the basic concepts to start coding on this platform. It has employed experienced teachers to provide extensive knowledge to the students. Their target is to polish the students for the future so that they brim with success. The syllabus is divided in a perfect manner so that the children can cover each step efficiently. With this program, they will be able to design apps, videos, and AI-based applications.

Khan Academy has used the “Hour of Code” method to teach children how to code. The benefit of learning at Khan Academy is that it offers a variety of methods for completing the “Hour of Code,” such as “drawing with code,” “building webpages,” and “working with databases.” It is divided in a perfectly efficient manner. The hour of drawing with coding involves the teaching of JavaScript, one of the most significant programming languages. JavaScript will be used to code the drawing. Children will learn JavaScript in a fun and engaging way. The hour of webpages bestows one with the opportunity to learn how to create webpages using HTML and CSS. And the purpose of a database is to teach people how to store data for apps and other purposes. Its large variety of options, which includes videos and ‘talk-throughs’, coding challenges, and projects adds to its popularity.

Udemy- It has taken an approach to teach the foundational concepts of coding. Also includes detailed information on the coding languages. With its widely structured system, it encourages learners to follow the path of creativity. The course comprises ‘11.5 hours of on-demand video’, assignments, an article, and a certificate of completion. The lectures are divided, keeping in mind the ease and comfort of the students. But the course structure is extremely detailed to provide serious education on coding to the learners. They will teach you everything from the roots up. So, having advanced knowledge is not a requirement. Their series, ‘Coding for Beginners,’ has earned huge admiration for being extremely beginner-friendly.

Coding Hero- It is one of the best online coding platforms for kids. Their well-structured system which includes the C4C learning framework aims to pique the interest of a child. They have implemented the project-based approach to sustain the interest of the child in learning to code. The introduction of artificial intelligence, design classes, chess, animations, etc. is meant to make the course all the more fascinating.

Code Karo Yaaro- Their objectives are to fully inspire students and to plan campaigns that will enable them to achieve their goal of developing the “next generation of entrepreneurs.” Code Karo Yaaro inspires others to study computer technology. It more fully explains the purpose of coding. Its goal is to “make every kid codeable,” and by introducing children to programming and technological developments, it has opened up a world of options for them. There are numerous options, starting with 1:10 to 1:11 Live Interactive courses. It has designed its course modules so that children aged 6 to 15 can easily adapt to them in order to more actively engage children in the concept of coding. In order to make the child progressive, it essentially promotes “problem-solving” and “critical thinking skills.” It makes an effort to shape the youngster for potential professional opportunities in the future. Its instructors are highly trained and competent, and it has created courses for every level. To confirm its incredible potential, you can try taking a look at the free trials it provides.

Contact details-

Website- http://www.codekaroyaaro.com/ and http://suvidhafoundationedutech.org/

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/cky_kids_coding_school/ and https://instagram.com/suvidha_mahila_mandal?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Email- info@codekaroyaaro.com and parents.support@codekaroyaaro.com

[hobsapce]

How Chess can be the best Hobby

Chess can be different things to different people. One of those things is a fun hobby. So yes, chess is a hobby which teaches other skills  as well. Many times chess is labeled as a game of the smart people but that is not true it can be learnt by anyone.

Chess can be seen as a hobby as it is regularly played for enjoyment during one’s leisure time. The best part is that it can be played online. Online chess classes for kids have popularized to such an extent that millions of children all around the world are playing it and learning everyday. At the same time HobSpace  is a great online chess  platform for kids to enjoy and learn chess.

Playing chess is one of the most rewarding hobbies you can bring into your life. There are many benefits of playing Online chess, which range from practical benefits such as cognitive and mental benefits; as well as more subtle benefits, such as finding something to occupy your time. Anyone would want to learn chess in a fun way from a certified tutor and it is only possible via an online chess class. Where you can connect  from any part of the world and Learn.

Read More: https://hobspace.com/blog/chess-for-kids/how-chess-can-help-your-kid-become-smarter/

[the-astromeners-bakery]

How the Wayne’s reacted to meeting Cassandra’s girlfriend (Me) and also the gifts I brought them-

Bruce Wayne-

He was pretty nice. He told me that as long as I treated Cassandra right and made her happy, we would have no problems. He even asked Cass my allergies so he could plan the meals accordingly. It was hard to get a gift for a BILLIONAIRE, but he seemed to like the fruit basket-

Dick Grayson-

He was very excited. Apparently, I’ve been the first person to ever beat him at Star Wars trivia. He said he wanted to meet me in a week for a rematch. He really like the playing cards and chess set I got him.

Jason Todd-

Pretty chill. Asked we what I read and if I wrote. We had a long discussion about grammar and the best writing tactics. He offered to teach me Spanish. He appreciated the pack of rare novels I got him, and even offered to pay me for them. I said no but I still found 300$ in my Paypall.

Tim Drake-

He shared his coffee maker with me, so that’s a win. He asked me the stereotypical questions, how we met, how long we’ve been together, etc. He also said he’d been willing to help me if I’m struggling in anything. He said he’d out the coffee mixtures I got him to use, as well as the new laptop.

Stephanie Brown-

She gave me a semi-tour of the mansion, told me if I ever wanted to move in there was always room. She also admitted that she was the one who ordered that giant load from my shop just so I could have extra spending money, which made me glad I choose to see her some purple dresses.

Damian Wayne-

I knew he would be tough to please, so I brought a basket with all the kittens in it to hopefully a good impression. He didn’t say much to my face, just leaning down to pet them, but Cass told me I had his approval. I decided to take the risk and get him a peacock… I almost thought I saw a smile.

Duke Thomas-

Listen, this dude is a sweetheart. He ate the majority of the baked goods I gave him, and quietly asked if he could have more the next time I visited. He’s about Christie’s age I think, so I offered to tutor him in literature.

Harper and Cullen row-

I put these two together because they never left each other’s side. Harper was pretty open about it, while Cullen took a little convincing. They both liked the art supplies I gave them, and Harper asked if I wanted to meet again to draw with them.

Helena Wayne/Bertinellie-

Are they twins or something? No clue. I got them both gift cards because of last minute shopping- they still seem to like and respect me.

Luke Fox-

Also a sweetheart. Challenged me to a few rounds of basketball while asking me questions. I lost most of them, but it was good game. When I gave him a ball pump, he pat me in the back and thanked me.

Barbara Gordon-

Lovely woman. Said she’s ‘grateful that Cass is dating an empath’. How did that woman know?! Anyways, she loved the headphones and wheelchair bag, so that’s great.

Carrie Kelly-

Really energetic kid. Cass told me she wanted to get into sewing, so I bought her a beginners kit and taught her the basics. Safe to say, I might be her favorite non-sibling.

And of course..

Alfred Pennyworth-

Sweet old man. If anyones hurts him I will personally kill them. No one deserves him. I brought him some herbs I grew and he seemed to appreciate them. He called me “Young Master” as first. When I told him I wasn’t comfortable with that, he didn’t even blink before calling me “Young Lass” instead. Sweet old man.

Safe to say, I’m pretty much welcome back anytime. Apparently, there’s still some family I haven’t met that just couldn’t make it, but I’ll see them at what Mr. Wayne called “Introduction part 2”. I’m glad it all worked out fine.

[harmoni-me]

Hello! I’m not sure if your requests are still open but, if they are here you go! I wanted to ask if you could write me a request of Nagito Komaeda x a reader who is the ultimate Chess Master? I kinda wanted to imagine him falling in love or already dating his S/O who plays chess as a professional and is more on the kinder side when it comes to him. Good luck! 💖

Ooo! This is such a unique concept, and I absolutely love it! Writing it was an absolute joy! Thank you so much for the amazing request <3

Nagito Komaeda x Ultimate Chess Master Reader!

The ultimate nurse, the ultimate swords-woman, the ultimate photographer…everyone in this class seemed to posses such interesting talents. It made you feel quite jealous, in some sort of way.

Now, of course you never thought of your talent as boring, useless, or unnecessary in the slightest! After all, you were the Ultimate Chess Master. You believed that everyone should try chess at least once before inflicting their nasty opinions on the strategic game. Unfortunately, that was already too late when it came to…basically your entire school life.

In Elementary, you would ask the kids on the playground to play a quick game of speed chess, because you thought it was a fun way to spend time with friends! But all you got in return were child-built insults, saying that chess was stupid and boring. It’s quite ridiculous to admit, but those comments still float around your mind sometimes. Kids were harsh, still are…

In Middle School, you had a few close friends, and when you asked one of them to try playing a game of chess with you, all they did was look at you weirdly, a look that only seemed to scream “uh, are you serious?”. This was when you started to question your liking for chess. Was it that weird? Am I the only one my age that thinks that chess is actually a fun game?

Now, you were sitting in class at Hope’s Peak Academy, a school full of the elite, yet…

This was the first time you felt truly, whole-heartily ashamed about your love for the game of chess.

“Are you kidding me? Chess? You got into this school for an old-people game like CHESS!? Pfft-!” A girl in twin blonde pony tails and an orange kimono let out a shrill of laughter.

“An…old people game….?” You muttered to yourself, steadily becoming a little closed off from the rest of the class.

You’re love for chess was parallel to how you played, which was almost unbeatable on a professional level, yet…

Why were these comments crushing your heart? Why did it make your love for the game waver?

Class continued like normal, just a little lecture to start off the rest of our high school lives. You honestly weren’t paying attention, your focus more attentive to your little chess notebook, filing it with strategies you wanted to try against high-level computer AI.

Though, it would be nice to have even a complete beginner to play with every once and awhile, though, you might be asking for too much.

Thump

Great, more harassment.

You turned around slightly in your seat, and looked down at the ground it see a crumpled piece of notebook paper that had hit you in the back. You picked it up, and looked around to try and figure out a potential culprit, but it seemed as if everyone was acting normal. No dice, then.

Unfolding the messy ball of paper as quietly as possible, you read what seemed to be words written on the inside.

Meet me in the library today after school, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to be seen with trash like me

The wording on the letter was…strange, but that didn’t stop you from feeling a tiny firework of joy in your heart. Yet, you couldn’t help but feel more nervous than joyous due to how the letter was written. It was surely vague, but it really seemed like the writer as quite the low self esteem.

You were suspicious, but honestly, what could go wrong? It had to be someone from the class that you were just introduced to, so at least it’s not like a blind date sort of thing…

The more you thought about it, the more it actually seemed like a blind date. Nice.

Time seemed to move incredibly slow for the whole rest of the school day, but eventually, the bell had rung, and you were out the door in a heartbeat.

After a little while of asking for directions to the school library, you finally reached your desired location: An absolutely humongous cavern of probably any book one could think of.

Only a couple of students were residing in this literal book mansion, and none of which you recognized.

“I guess they’re not here yet…” You mumbled, sitting yourself by a large, lit fireplace. As the warmth from the flames licked your skin, steadily causing you to naturally relax all of the tensed muscles that were stuck to your bones.

You pulled out your phone, and automatically started a game of online chess with a random opponent. The game was done in a mere ten minutes. The other player was no doubt new to the game, but that’s ok, you were there once too.

You suddenly heard a subtle clunk next to you, making your gaze wander to that direction. It was that boy from your class, the lucky boy. You remember him clearly because you thought his hair resembled a fluffy cloud. The two of you made eye contact, his foggy green eyes squinting a bit when he smiled at you, warming your heart a smidge.

“Y/N L/N, correct? I hope you don’t mind my presence, though it’s ok if you do, I would never blame you on something that’s not your fault.” The thin male crouched down to take a seat on the floor with you, sitting cross-legged.

“Yep, that’s me…and I actually kind of appreciate the meeting, honestly. Even if you just came for simple company, I think that’s very nice of you, especially since everyone in the class already thinks my talent is boring and all…Nagito Komaeda, right? I’m happy to meet you.” You shot a warm smile to the boy, causing him to reciprocate.

“You’re too kind to such untalented scum like myself, all I have is the Devil’s luck, after all! I can’t even control any of it! So I’m glad someone like me can be used as a stepping stone for you to be a beacon of hope!” Nagito chuckled, humored by his own self loathing.

You flipped your whole body to face the living incarnate of a four-leaf clover, “Well, um, on a personal note, I don’t think you’re scum. At all. I think your talent is anything but boring…I also think you’re…quite kind, for hanging out with someone like myself.” Fiddling with your uniform sleeves in nervousness. You just want him to feel better about himself.

The boy went quiet, his smile dwindling from your comment. Was he not used to compliments?

After a few moments in silence, Nagito gazed into your eyes, a new type of smile prettily stitched onto his features. It was almost like this expression was more…vulnerable, uncovering itself under layers upon layers of facades. His face almost made you breath out a sigh of relief at how comforting and relieving his genuine expression was.

“I would like to play with you. I-If you would let me, of course.” Nagito gestured his hands downwards to the chess set he had placed onto the ground since the very beginning. And how did you not notice that? It may or may not be the fact that the boy in front of you seemed to be way more intriguing.

You’re eyes widened as sudden happiness started to flow through every vein within your body. The excitement washed over your soul, rejuvenating it’s prior state of melancholy dreariness. Was…he was serious, right?

“Really…?” Was all that you managed to squeak, causing the lucky student to tilt his head in wonder.

“Hm? Well, of course…I don’t really know who else I would be aski-“

“C-Can we please play speed chess!?” You sputtered, the passion and the fireplace flames reflecting off of your eyes to reveal in an enticing glow.

“Speed Chess?” Questioned the frizzy-haired boy, though he did seem quite interested at your sudden burst of energy.

“Yeah! It’s also commonly referred to as Blitz Chess, and it’s like chess, but you have a very short amount of time to make your moves! It’s super duper fun, and if you want even more fun, then we could also play Bullet Chess! It’s even faster, and a game only takes roughly three minutes if you…keep up…the…pace…” Your words started to get quieter and more mumbled. God, you totally forgot the two of you were in a library, how embarrassing….

A hearty laugh spilled out of Nagito’s mouth, the corners of his lips turning upward to the ceiling. You looked down in pathetic nature. That was totally something to laugh at…

“Though I would consider myself a newbie when it come to chess, speed chess sounds lovely.” Nagito smiled, his pointer finger playing and twirling around the queen piece’s crown.

“Ah, a-alright, well, lets get started, shall we?” You stuttered, with joy obviously evident within your voice.

                                       .   .   .

Unsurprising to you, you had won all three games of speed chess against Nagito, though, it was surprising how close each game was. the more you thought about it, the more you realized his luck most likely aids him whenever he plays. Definitely one of the most interesting opponents you’ve been up against, whether it would be for casual online play, or in-person tournaments.

“Ah, bummer, I guess someone as useless as me shouldn’t even try to come close to beating you!” The boy ruffled his cloud-like locks, laughing at his loss.

“Hey! You had me worried for a few turns there, you were no pushover at all, Nagito!” You proclaimed, frustrated on why he would still think that, even thought the game results were all obviously pretty close.

“Also, please don’t say that your useless…it makes me really sad, because it’s not true at all.” You looked up at him with eyes that reflected something that had never burned so brightly before, and Nagito noticed.

Those eyes, previously clouded from the despair given from others, were now shining with a glimmering hope…and he drew that out from you…by simply playing a mere few games of chess.

For a moment, and only for a moment, he believed your words. Maybe he wasn’t so useless, he helped you find your smile and joy, right? Maybe…maybe…

“Oh yeah!” You shot up, causing Nagito to snap out of his thoughtful daze. You stuck your hand out to him, waiting for reciprocation.

“A handshake, to wish a good game among equals.” You encouraged the boy, wanting for him to fully indulge into what it was like to play the game in a professional, yet somewhat casual setting.

The boy looked at your hand, observing everything. Your nails, your fingertips, your knuckles, all the way down to your wrist. Equals, huh…

Nagito then slowly reached out to your hand, grasping onto it gently, yet it felt like it was the most comfortable fit he could’ve imagined. He wanted the warmth from your soft skin to seep into his cold hands, wanting that heat to slowly fill the rest of his frozen body, all the way up to his thawing heart. Though he didn’t linger any more on the handshake than he needed to, not wanting to make it uncomfortable for you.

But god, did he want to hold on forever.

[chessbrainzind]

Breaking Free From Mental Capabilities: Is Online Chess Academy The Best Option?

Teaching kids to play the age-old game of chess is a special challenge in this day of digital natives. Online chess academies have opened up a world of opportunities for young players, even though traditional chess clubs and in-person training still have their beauty. This leads us to discuss the benefits of .

[tundrainafrica]

Hello. I’m a curious person hehe can you tell us how did you start with competitive chess ♟? Did you start at a young age? Also, does people study strategies?? Just like queen’s gambit? Do you have any anecdote on a competition? I suck at chess and get really nervous under pressure, so I really envy people who are quick thinkers.

Hi anon,

Thanks for the ask haha. It's nice to know people are interested in my chess life. I haven't actually played competitive chess in years but I have started playing online every now and then recently cause my boyfriend started doing chess reporting and he and his friends started talking about it more so I got interested in it again.

Because of that, I'm kinda interested in going back to En Prise because I actually had a clear story planned for that lmao.

Can you tell us how did you start with competitive chess ♟?

It's a long story hahaha but TLDR I only got into it to get exempted from school shit and I had a huge crush on our captain and I tried to learn how to play chess cause I had a 'notice me senpai' phase.

I think half the skills I forced myself to learn is because I wanted to be noticed by my 'senpai' and it works all the time anyway.

Here's the long story.

Back in college, all the college students are mandated by law to do some community service. It's usually related to your course, and it was a teaching thing and although I like teaching, I'm not the very best teacher since I personally do NOT like teaching people in big groups.

On top of that, the community service happens every weekend and I kinda wanted my weekends. The only way to get exempted from community service is to become a manager of a team or an athlete.

Being a team manager for volleyball/basketball teams are really hard since you have to show up for their twice a day trainings and their weekends game so I tried to apply as a manager of the more chill sports like tennis or chess and being the manager of the chess tea is such a popular role since it's an easy job. It was kinda competitive to become the manager of the chess team so I decided to just cram learn the sport to get an exemption from PE classes and from the community service thing.

Did you start at a young age?

Nahhhh I started in college.

Also, does people study strategies?? Just like queen’s gambit?

YES WE DO.

In fact, I had to read so many chess books just to get to the same level of most of my teammates since they’ve been playing since they were kids. I read books on strategy, openings, end game, I watched games online and I would analyze my games over the board and using chess computers.

Actually, when playing in tournaments, we had three hour games, saturdays and sundays and we had to prepare for our opponents and we usually knew who they were so we would unearth the records of their games and study the games beforehand and make a repertoire and a plan for how to beat the players and sometimes, I'd have to memorize 20 move openings, pretty similar to queen's gambit but on a college level.

It was actually kinda fun.

Do you have any anecdote on a competition?

Most of the people in college tournaments have been playing chess their whole lives and they are actually recruited by the colleges to play.

Since I only started in college and nobody actually knew me, the most entertaining stories I have are really just those times where I manage to actually beat one of the athletes and the face they make when they realize they were beaten by a total beginner and their coach's faces when they find out they were beaten are always priceless.

I suck at chess and get really nervous under pressure, so I really envy people who are quick thinkers.

Lmao, I aint good at chess. I lost A LOT back when I was playing competitively.

I'm just good enough to beat most casual papers I guess but I’m not master level. I have good games where I did put up a great fight against master level players and I have beaten some but I'm not the quickest thinker asdfghkl. I made a lot of stupid decisions on the board, and even in life in general

The intense studying and the competitive chess was really just a phase in my life. I occasionally join tournaments for fun now and I play online every time I just wanna exercise my brain.

[liquidstar]

I'd love to hear some of your recommendations! And I'm good without any content warnings, but since you're posting this for all your followers to see probably best to add them

Alright sure! I’ll be general then and since you’re just starting out this will sort of be bringing up a lot of really popular ones, the really good ones where the general consensus is “you gotta see this!”, but I’ll also try to give ones from different genres so you have a variety of things to pick from, so this isn’t really a list of personal favorites but I’ll throw in a couple of those too lol, but generally think of this as a handy beginners guide with just a little personal bias.

I wrote a lot so I'm gonna put them under the cut here.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist is a franchise that’s considered a must-watch, it takes place in a world where alchemy is a borderline magical power, but is considered scientific in-universe and follows scientific laws, namely the law of equivalent exchange. Something can’t be made from nothing, to gain something of equal value must be lost. The story follows the story of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who at the ages of 10 and 11 committed alchemy’s one and only unforgivable sin, human transmutation, in an attempt to bring their mother back to life. As a result, one brother lost his arm and leg and the other lost his entire body, leaving his soul bound to a suit of armor. However the brothers are resolute to regain their original bodies, and the older brother, Edward, joins the State Alchemists, a branch of the military, to try to gain access to research materials to help them achieve their goal. But was that really such a good idea?

Fullmetal Alchemist can be a bit confusing to get into due to the fact that there are two series: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009). The latter is a reboot with a different story that follows the original manga. They both have the same beginning, but diverge paths and tell very different stories. My recommendation for how to watch this show is: Watch 2003 first, and Brotherhood second. Everyone has a different opinion about which is better, but everyone agrees that 2003 has better backstory but a contrived ending, and Brotherhood has a rushed beginning (Because it works off the assumption that you’ve seen 2003) with a great and fulfilling ending. If you can’t do both I say just watch Brotherhood because it will leave you more satisfied and you don’t have to watch 03 to get into it.

For both series the biggest trigger warnings are: Parental death, child death, pet death, war, genocide, dismemberment, religious themes, and miscarriage. For brotherhood specifically: on-screen suicide, and for 2003 specifically: rape (not on-screen) and pregnancy from it. The 2003 series is also a lot darker than Brotherhood which has a more optimistic tone, so that’s worth noting too.

Soul Eater

A show I think is incredibly fun, and a good one for an October watch if you wanna save it. It takes place in a world where certain people have the ability to transform into weapons, and they team up with other people who become their meisters. The characters often travel around, but the main setting is Death City, a fictional city in Nevada based off of Las Vegas but with a huge Halloweentown vibe, and a school right at the top of it called the Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA) where a bunch of kids that turn into weapons learn how to hunt down witches and kishins (Beings that consume human souls). The school, of course, is run by the grim reaper, Lord Death himself.

Our main characters for the series are a group of 7 students. Our protagonist Maka Albarn and her weapon partner Soul “Eater” Evans, a scythe. A loud mouth assassin named Black✰Star and his weapon partner Tsubaki, who has many weapon forms. And the son of the grim reaper, Death The Kid, and his two weapon partners Liz and Patty Thompson, who are twin pistols. There are also a bunch of really lively colorful background characters and antagonists, and the cast of the show being as insane as it is really makes it, on top of the great atmosphere and of course the plot, which just builds more and more as the series progresses. Also Crona is there and we all love Crona.

Trigger warnings for this show include: Child abuse (Mental and physical), manipulation, snakes and spiders (The motifs of two major villains), some very surreal moments that can verge on unreality. Also, in the dub and most subs: misgendering of a canonically trans character. Crona is a character who is non-binary, but the dub and subs use gendered pronouns for them due to general ignorance about neutral pronouns in 2008, though this isn’t the fault of the original series and falls on the translators hands.

Also it’s important to note: that the first 3 episodes are prologues and they take themselves less seriously, there’s more fanservice in them than there is in the rest of the series (Except for Blair she stays the fanservice character :pensive:)

Zombieland Saga

Idol anime is really prevalent as a genre, the most popular being Love Live, but my personal favorite is Zombieland Saga. It’s an idol anime, but it’s also a comedy about zombie girls who become idols. It sounds ridiculous but there’s an insane amount of heart in it regardless, it wasn’t a show I expected to get emotional at but I did! It also made me laugh a lot too. The series itself can serve as a bit of a subversion on what idols are, not just because they’re literally zombies, but because of who the characters are.

Sakura Minamoto is a character who starts off as a more typical idol, a peppy pure girl, as the series continues her struggle with depression gets highlighted. Saki Nikaido serves as her initial foil, a delinquent girl with a criminal record who subvers the idea of pure perfect idols. Ai Mizuno, a former idol who has since undergone severe trauma (The way she died). Junko Konno who has ideals that seem very different on what idols “should” be due to the time period she died. Lily Hoshikawa, an explicitly transgender idol. Yugiri nolastname, a former high ranking courtesan, subvering the pure image of an idol by being a sex worker. And Tae Yamada, a completely nonverbal idol who’s still treated with the same amount of importance as the rest of the team. The premise here really is just that these girls don’t fit the incredibly rigid mold of what idols should be and yet they still all deserve love and they gain a fanbase by being their earnest selves.

Trigger warnings for this series aren’t incredibly severe but since they’re zombies there’s still talks about death and they way they died (Including motorcycle/car accidents, plane crashes, getting struck by lightning, and a heart attack), there’s also comedic dismemberment, as in their arms just sort of pop on and off and stuff like that. The most notable thing is the deadnaming of Lily, the trans idol, by her father, but it doesn’t appear to be malicious in any way.

Note: this series is in the middle of it’s second season right now, if you want to wait until it’s over it should be 12 episodes long and just aired it’s 3rd, so about 9 more weeks.

Death Note

This is also absolutely another series that gets recommended to people right off the bat, and for good reason, this show is an intricate game of chess between a serial killer and a detective trying to catch him, and it’s incredibly easy to get super invested in the suspense of what happens next. The story begins when a shinigami, a god of death, drops his “Death Note” into the human world out of pure boredom. A Death Note is simply a notebook where if you write someone's name in it… They die! And who better to pick up such a powerful object than Light Yagami, a prodigy praised for his genius and academy accomplishments as well as his charm and popularity, and with a very strong but juvenile black-and-white sense of justice, likely due to being raised by a cop.

So naturally Light begins his power trip as soon as he finds the notebook, he intends to “fix” the world by cleansing it of all the bad people, but truly he intends to become the world’s new god. Or the “God of the new world” as he puts it. But there’s one thing standing in his way, a detective resolute on catching him with the codename L. The series entire crux is a game of cat and mouse between these two, as they try to outsmart each other and the murders continue, Light loses more and more of his humanity, L becomes more resolute on catching him. There are more twists and turns than a cheetah race, and it’s honestly pretty addictive to see what happens next.

Trigger warnings here obviously include a lot of death and murder, including suicide, but in some cases it’s a forced suicide at Light’s hands. Also abuse, as Light loses his humanity he isn’t above manipulating and discarding people who love him. And one instance of near-rape on screen fairly early on, but the purpitrator dies before it happens and the victim escapes.

K-On!

Slice-of-life is an incredibly popular genre, and K-On! is the quintessential example of it. It’s a series that not everyone will like, because not a lot truly happens, and it can be overly saccharine or “moe” for a lot of people, and that’s fine. But I personally think that despite not a lot happening, the story has genuine substance, more than you may gather at first glance. It’s true that not much in the way of big plot really happens, it’s mostly life events, that’s why it's a slice-of-life. But it’s not about nothing. The real theme of the show is the fleeting nature of youth. It’s about how important the friendships you form at that time are, how they’ll stick with you for a lifetime, and how everything comes to an end. It’s sweetness even becomes a little bittersweet because you knew their after school tea time would end come graduation, and as they realize this it breaks their hearts a little, but they continue on, because they’re still After School Tea Time!

The series itself is simply about 5 girls in a band, Yui Hirasawa on lead guitar, Mio Akiyama on the bass, Ritsu Tainaka on the Drums, Tsumugi Kotobuki on the Keyboard, and Azusa Nakano on Rhythm Guitar (Who shows up later). They’re in a club at school called the light music club where they waste a lot of their time just drinking tea and eating cake, but they’re having fun and that’s what counts! The series has a lot of really great direction and expressive animation despite the fact that a lot of it is just sitting around and talking, it’s incredibly visually interesting so you don’t get bored.

I honestly don’t think there are any big trigger warnings I can give for this series, maybe that Sawa-chan can be a little too forceful when she wants to dress up the girls in cute outfits sometimes but it’s usually not presented as too creepy especially after season 1 where they tone it down due to straying from the manga.

Mob Psycho 100

This series is an absolute love letter to the art of animation as a whole, the artstyle itself may not seem like much to look at but the animation is some of the most expressive, fluid, creative, and vibrant out there right now, it’s the type of series that you can tell was made with a real passion for its medium and it’s story. It’s protagonist is Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed “Mob”, a term that literally means “Background character”. Mob is a middle school kid and an incredibly powerful psychic, like, insanely overpowered, but he’s currently working part time for a shady conman, Reigen Arataka. Though it may seem as if Reigen is just using Mob for his powers, their bond is actually a very sweet one and you can tell they care for each other, it’s a very important one at the heart of the series.

The core themes of the series itself are what really make it shine, it’s message is stated as clearly as possible in the opening songs, “your life is your own” and “if everyone is not special, maybe you can be what you want to be”. Put simply, you’re the protagonist of your own life, but the other important message of the series is that all the supposed background characters are just as important. The friends you make, the connections you have with other people and the way they impact you, they’re what make you strong. No one is born special, everyone is just a normal person, and everyone deserves kindness. It’s a series that I recommend incredibly strongly for just how powerfully it portrays this message.

Trigger warnings for this series include kidnapping, possession, a scene with a “man in a dress” joke, and a racist design for a background character. Also (spoilers) a scene where it seems like a child was murdered and a scene where it seems like Mob’s entire family was murdered.

Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War!

Hey, speaking of amazing animation, Kaguya-Sama is a romantic comedy series centered around the premise of two incredibly arrogant people falling in love. Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are the vice president and president of the student council at the prestigious Shuchi'in Academy, they eventually develop feelings for each other but they’re both simultaneously too proud and too insecure to admit it, so the real crux of the series is the 3D chess they play with each other to try and get the other to confess first. Along with the scatterbrained secretary, Chika Fujiawara, the treasurer in desperate need of Prozac Yu Ishigami, the cast is incredibly fun and they all fit into the comedy great. Every single little game of “do you like me?” that they play is written like the most intense thing in the world, the insane animation absolutely adds to it, making it seem almost like a psychological thriller, the comedy comes from the absurdity of just how much they hyperbolize it.

It’s not pure comedy though, due to a lot of the series being set up around mindgames, the characters are actually fairly psychologically complex with a lot of genuine development stemming from their childhood to explain why they are the way they are. The series may be about mindgames, but the actual narrative frames them as a juvenile way to go about relationships, a way to try to protect yourself from getting hurt because you’re afraid to trust. The entire core theme is that communication in relationships of any kind is the most important thing and you cant replace it with clever little tricks, so the main pair only ever make actual progress when they’re actually upfront with each other. Even if it’s scary to be that vulnerable with someone, especially if you’ve been hurt in the past like they have, the relationships you build off of mutual trust and openness will be worth the risk, and they can help heal you. And one of the things I love about the series is that this doesn’t just apply to the main pair, but it places equal emphasis on the importance of friendship. All the characters' relationships with each other are unique and interesting and they all develop the same way, with trust and openness, and they become better because of each other.

Despite being generally a comedy, a lot of the characters deal with some really heavy things too so trigger warning for: child abuse (not on-screen), child abandonment (again not on screen), anxiety and panic attacks, suicidal ideation- initionally played off as a joke but it becomes very obvious the character in question is legitimately suicidal and in the manga he nearly attempts it but is stopped, this plotpoint will most likely be in the anime at some point as it’s also not complete.

Your Lie In April

Alright I gave you a funny show now I’m going to make you cry. In fact it’s hard for me to type this synopsis because I’m an absolute crybaby and thinking about this show gets me, but I think it’s absolutely worth checking out because it’s a very beautiful sadness. Your Lie In April is a series that follows the stress and trauma young musical prodigies face in their lives, as well as the people around them, and it’s a series about the beauty of music and art, and just how much it affects people. The music in the show is absolutely gorgeous, the way that they convey emotion through it is so beautiful and intricate that it just sticks with you. You feel the music, and you understand.

I’m actually going to give the trigger warnings right now instead of at the end because in order to explain the plot I’ll have to talk about them so tw for: Child abuse (phsyical and mental, on-screen), terminal illness, death, in depth depictions of PTSD, vomiting, panic attacks, the works.

The series follows Kousei Arima, a formal piano prodigy who hasn’t performed since the death of his mother two years ago. Kousei's mother was terminally ill, but she was also incredibly abusive. Kousei has incredibly complex feelings about his mother because of this. The trauma she instilled in him is severe, but because he was a child, he still is a child, and he loved his mom a lot, as any child would, and he didn’t want her to die and he blames himself for not being good enough. He wanted to make her happy, and the only way he knew how to do that was to play the piano. So he played and played and practiced until he was perfect, they called him the human metronome. But he would still get severely punished for being anything less than perfect. He had lost all the passion he once had, and after his mother died it was the final nail in the coffin, his trauma manifests now in a way that makes him unable to play. But all that changes one day in April when he meets a violinist named Kaori Miyazono, a girl full of life and passion for music, she’s someone who according to Kousei “Exists in springtime.” and she’s going to help him play again and refined that love for music whether he wants to or not! Teen drama happens of course, but there are much bigger roadblocks ahead.

Assassination Classroom

This series is thankfully generally more lighthearted… Most of the time at least. The premise is pretty simple, but incredibly ridiculous. An incredibly powerful octopus-like creature is the teacher of a classroom of middle school students tasked with the assignment of assassinating him in order to save the world. The series starts off very slice-of-life as it focuses on introducing the very large cast of characters inside of Class E, also known as the “end class”, but it quickly gains traction and gets a lot more intense as time goes on.

The octopus creature in question, Korosensei, is actually a very kind and genuinely good teacher to all his students. The real crux of the series is that it’s sort of a critique on the educational system, the students in the end class are there because they’ve been ostracized from the rest of the campus, far away in the mountains, to be made examples of. Why? Because they’re students that are considered worthless, instead of getting help they’re only pushed back further down in the system and left to struggle within it fruitlessly. They’re given up on, despite being children with so much potential, because they don’t fit a very rigid mold. That’s what Korosensei wants to help them with, and they’re able to grow as people together. As the series progresses you feel such a great sense of unity for the class, they’re like a family, they stick together and it’s very heartwarming. And watching them work as a team of assassins is so fun!

However the series can get heavy at times too, it doesn’t stray from heavier subject matter at all and i found myself incredibly shocked by it a few times, so trigger warning for: Child abuse (on-screen and off), both at the hands of a parent and a teacher and in one case a parent who is also the principal, misgendering of a character, sometimes as a “joke” but other times played dead serious at the hands of his mother, child death- specifically suicide, a successful one as well as 3 assassination attempts that doubled as suicide attempts by the main 3 characters (weird parallel they all got there huh)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Honestly this is a series that is good to go in blind for if you need to tws, it’s a deconstruction of the magical girl genre, but if you don’t want to know more than that you can stop reading here. If you want to know more, it’s a series that starts off very light-hearted and in tune with typical magical girl conventions at first, however by episode 3 it’s made painfully clear that these girls are being led to sign up into something they shouldn’t. It’s heavy, though not incredibly so, but it’s also a lot to explain in a summary. Madoka magica is… It’s Faust with magical girls.

I’ll explain as much as I can without giving too much away. The story begins when Madoka Kaname and her friend Sayaka Miki encounter a creature who calls itself Kyubey, who says it can grant a wish of theirs and in exchange they have to become magical girls and fight witches. Both the girls are hesitant, but Sayaka wants to wish for her childhood friend’s injuries to be cured so he can play violin again, while Madoka is content as she is and can’t think of a wish. Luckily they have a mentor, a magical girl named Mami Tomoe who helps introduce them to everything. However something is stopping Madoka from becoming a magical girl, a mysterious new student who is also one herself, Homura Akemi, is resolute on keeping Madoka from becoming a magical girl by all means possible, for reasons Madoka doesn’t understand. Things get even more complicated when a rival magical girl shows up, Kyoko Sakura, who becomes Sayaka’s new rival. As things get more heated between those two they discover a terrible secret about the nature of magical girls, and what they truly signed up for.

Spoilers ahead but trigger warning for: Child death, parental death (backstory only), decapitation (off-screen), needles, incredibly surreal imagery inside the witch’s labyrinths that may feel unreal, mind control, suicide, depression and despair expressed by young characters. Also don't bother with Magia Record

The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.

Alright something lighthearted now, there are a lot of comedy anime I enjoy, a lot of series that have made me laugh, but none has made me bust a gut like this series has, it’s absolutely hilarious. It follows the life of a boy named Saiki Kusuo who has psychic powers. His powers are incredibly overpowered, and he absolutely hates them, in his eyes they cause him nothing but trouble. There’s not much in the way of a plot to describe, because there isn’t any, the series is comprised of 5 minute segments surrounding Saiki and an incredibly vast and colorful cast of characters that are just all completely insane, many serve as parodies as types of anime tropes because the series as a whole is very self aware and doesn’t shy from breaking the fourth wall a lot, but the characters surrounding Saiki are what make his life… Disastrous.

Like I said there’s not really a plot to describe but like FMA people may get confused with this one, there are 3 seasons but one of them is titled “The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K: Reawakened” as is a continuation of the first two with just 6 episodes in it. Also for some reason only the second season isn’t dubbed so if you’re planning on watching it that way you’d have to either stop or switch to subs for season 2

The only major tw I can give here is an ongoing joke about a character being into his sister, he’s treated as disgusting for it of course because he’s a parody of that trope but that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable, luckily he doesn’t show up much.

Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia is a series I personally just adore, it takes place in a world where witches are common and well-known among the people, but the era of witches is over and magic is dying out. However that doesn’t mean passion of magic doesn’t exist, the protagonist is a young girl named Atsuko Kagari, or Akko for short. She’s resolute on being just like her icon, a witch known as Shiny Chariot, as she attends the same magic school: Luna Nova! Unfortunately Akko isn’t exactly a magical prodigy, in fact she can’t even fly a broom, but that’s not gonna stop her, nothing will. Just like Chariot said, believing in yourself is your magic.

Once at school Akko gets into all types of crazy shenanigans with her with her two roommates, Lotte Yanson and Sucy Manbavaran, and occasionally her rival, Diana Cavendish. Akko still struggles a lot in school, in fact her inability with magic is pretty explicitly handled as a metaphor for a learning disability, and though this makes it harder for her she’s still resolute. Though the series is generally episodic, a concrete plot starts to form by the second core. Along with the help of her guidance counselor, Professor Ursula, Akko learns that she needs to unlock 7 “words” to bring magic back to the world, each time she learns a new one it comes with an important lesson to her and ultimately relates back to each of the core themes of the series

The series is pretty lighthearted so the biggest trigger warning I can give is one for bullying, two characters in particular tend to target Akko for not being a good witch and it can really sting to watch. Other than that none come to mind

[blizzardfluffykpop]

Winter Break

Summary: Yugyeom and you stay at Hogwarts for Winter Break. 

Oneshot

Word Count: 1,967

Yugyeom X Reader

Requested: Hi~~ would it be possible to request #25 for the 25 Days of Winter with Yugyeom? I was a bit late for the Hogsmeade promt, but I was wondering how would it be to spend Christmas at Hogwarts? I hope your day was amazing 💜💜💜

Prompt: 25. Make your own prompt!

The ceiling in the great hall is covered in candles and snow. Almost as if you were to reach up, you could taste a freshly fallen snowflake. As the days draw closer to winter break, the more excitement builds off the walls. Everyone is itching to leave the castle and be with their families. Exiting the castle and almost everyone is throwing a snowball at someone else. Which would lead to me spotting one of my seven friends and hitting them in the back of their head. The little shiver as they turn back around with a cold stare. Wondering who dared to throw a snowball at them. I wave, and it turns one snowball thrown into a whole snowball fight. Professors are nowhere near safe, although Hagrid is always one to join in on the games. 

Once we are all tuckered out, we head over to Care of Magical Creatures. Three more days and more than eighty percent of the students will be at home. Usually, I would be joining in that percentage alas, I’m having my first Christmas at Hogwarts. Hagrid beckons all of us to follow him to the lake. “Before we leave for home, I want to show you all what Hippocampuses do for the winter.” I catch up to Yugyeom and Bambam, and the three of us walk at the back of the crowd. “So, (Y/n), where are you going for winter break?” I shrug, “I’m staying here,...” Bambam pouts, “Aww,... I was hoping to visit you over the break.” I pout back, and Yugyeom gleams over at me, “So am I!” I grin and let out an excited ‘yes’. 

I’ve been friends with Jaebeom, Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae, Bambam, and Yugyeom for six years now. While Mark and Jaebeom have graduated, we all remain friends. But, with Yugyeom, I don’t feel friendly emotions, I feel the type where your heart picks up when they walk into the room. When he laughs, my whole day becomes brighter when he's sad, I’m sad. In the beginning, I denied that I had any feelings for him because it was so much easier, seeing him as a friend. My heart thought differently and knowing that everyone in the group is heading home. Except for him and I, has my heart going into overdrive, I’m excited but terrified. 

“Aw you guys are no fun,...” I laugh, “Bambam, if you want you could write to your mother and tell her you're staying here.” He shakes his head, “You know she would have my head after she already planned to have me over.” I laugh, “She is such a sweet woman though,...” He scoffs, “Yeah, uh-huh.” Yugyeom shakes his head and sticks his tongue out at Bambam, “We get to stay here, sucker!” I laugh and join in on his antics, and Bambam places his hand over his heart. “How can a Hufflepuff be so mean?” Yugyeom shrugs, “You bring the best out of us, Bambam.” Bambam scoffs, “I am a Gryffindor, I would do nothing of the sort.” He lifts his head up, walking away from us just to run into a tree. Yugyeom and I crack up and high five, “Don’t worry, I’m okay. THANK YOU for asking.” Bambam glaring at us, and we mimic him, “THANK YOU for asking! You’re welcome!” 

We reach the bottom of the hill to see Hagrid showing us the Hippocampuses that lay swimming under the ice. “You see, the water underneath is quite warm. The ice is protecting the creatures lying within. A Ravenclaw lets out, “Does that include the Giant Squid?” Hagrid sighs, ready for a break, “He lies there, but he rarely comes out of his dwelling.” A few kids snicker, and after everyone sees the reds and blues of the Hippocampuses he leads us back to his house. “Alright, class dismissed.” 

--

The next weekend, Yugyeom and I watch our four friends leave for home. Bambam promised to write us a letter. From seven to five and now down to two. When they leave, Yugyeom looks over at me and asks, “Wanna make snow angels with me?” I smile, “Why not?” He grabs my arm, and we run to the courtyard. He drags me down with him, and I can’t help but laugh. Swinging our arms back and forth, we make our angels perfect. I do my best to get up and not ruin my angel. Yugyeom follows suit and looks at our angels, and says, “They’re missing something.” I raise my brows, and he draws little halos over them. I laugh and accidentally bump into him. Causing the halo to go right into the head of his angel. He drags me down on top of him, and we tussle. “My angel was perfect!” I flip us over, “Not as perfect as mine was!” I say as we roll across both of our angels, ruining them. I pout, “Now, we gotta do them all over again.” He scrunches his nose up, and it’s my turn to throw us into a blanket of snow. 

We recreate our original snow angels, and with a chill, we head back into the castle. Sitting across from him in the great hall, I bet him a sickle that I can beat him in Wizard’s chess. He pouts, “You have an unfair advantage!” I look up and pretend to think about it, “I don’t know whatever you mean.” He glares, “You and Jinyoung are on the chess team.” I shrug, “Maybe” He shakes his head, and between us appears a chessboard. I let him make a move first, “Okay,... No pressure. Pawn to F3.” My jaw drops, seeing as I was going to take him out in three moves. And now this game is going to go longer than I intended it. “What?” I sigh, “Nothing,...” He smirks, “I’ve watched you and Jinyoung play enough to know that’s the only safe bet with you guys.” I roll my eyes, and I start taking him out piece by piece. I stopped paying attention to his pawns and attention to killing off the queen. I have everything except the rook and a bishop when he lands a pawn on my side. “I’d like my queen.” My jaw drops, and with the way, his queen sits at E1. His queen and rook unite in killing my king. Not only am I in shock but agony. He chuckles, “Beginner’s luck!” I sigh and laugh out, “Experienced loser!” He grins, “Ayy, you’ve beat Jinyoung how many times at chess?” I shrug, “Never lost to a beginner though.” He smirks, “Life is always open to new opportunities, right?” I cross my arms and pout, “I guess” He ruffles my hair and pulls out of his pocket three of my pieces that I seemingly lost. “You little--” He scampers off, and I chase him around the tables. “That’s cheating!” Our laughter booming off the walls, “Not if you didn’t catch me!” I finally catch up to him and wrap my arms around him. “Now, I did.” He mumbles, “You did years ago.” But I couldn’t quite make out what he said. 

I give him his sickle, “But I cheated?” I shrug, “My loss, cause I didn’t pay attention to you sneaking the pieces off the board.” He flicks it up and says, “Heads we sit in front of the fire after sneaking butterbeer from the kitchens. Or tails you buy us butterbeer from the three broomsticks.” I shake my head, “Oh Merlin,... I hope it’s heads.” He catches it on his forearm, and I look over his shoulder to see which side landed right-side up. “Heads!” I point to him and say, “Your common room!” He looks over and asks, “Why’s that?” I shrug, “It’s closer, less likely to be caught.” He smirks, “And when did you ever care about that?” I roll my eyes, “I don’t want to spend my winter break scrubbing cauldrons.” “Fair enough.” 

We grab a case of butterbeer and a few pastries before we head to the Hufflepuff common room. “You guys decorated?” He nods, “Of course, all the third years got together like three weeks ago and decorated it.” I smile, “It’s so beautiful,...” He smiles, “I think so too.” We sprawl out on the couch and watch the flame twinkle. We each pop open a bottle, and he says, “You know I didn’t plan to stay here.” I look over at him and ask him why he was then. “My parents are helping my brother move into his new house.” I nod, “I bet that’s hard, isn’t it? When you go back, you won’t see your brother.” He sighs, “Yeah,... I miss him already, I know he writes to me all the time. But I guess it’s hard to know something consistent is no longer.” I nod, “I understand that, Gyeom.” He puts his face into my shoulder, and I reach my hand up and play with his hair. He asks me why I’m here this year, “My mother is stationed in another country. You know how she’s an Auror and all it’s just weird not to spend the holidays with her.” He nods, “I know, exactly, what you mean.” I rest my head on top of his and take in the moment together. 

--

Today is Christmas, and since I decided to stay with Yugyeom in his dorm. Since everyone else in our year is at home for the holidays. I had no one to bunk with within my house. Yugyeom is already in front of the fire and has a butterbeer cracked open. His presents on top of his lap, and I hide my gift for him behind my back. He looks over and sees me and cracks another butterbeer open, and tells me it's mine. I grin and join him on the couch, both of us dressed in fluffy pajamas. He scoots closer to me and hands me a small box. I give him my gift, and he smiles. We decided to save each other for last. Bambam’s mom made my owl a cardigan, and he got me a human-sized one. It seems they did the same for each of us, in a variety of colors. I laugh at Mark’s gift for Yugyeom is a set of fake tattoos. The note says, “To fulfill your need for more!” He laughed as well, and Mark gave me a coffee mug with three different packs of hot cocoa. Knowing I will share it with the rest of the group. Each gift makes me feel warm and fuzzy. It's nice to know I have such good friends. 

I reach to open Yugyeom’s gift to me, and he tells me, “Before you open yours,... I have something to tell you.” I nod, “Okay,...” He finishes up with his gift, “I,... uh,... I’ve liked you since our second year.” I grin, “That’s a relief since I’ve liked you since second as well.” He smiles and we open our gifts. It’s a gold necklace with his name scrawled out, “It’s beautiful, Yugyeom.” He smiles and finds that I got him a similar gift, but with my name written in cursive. “So can I call you mine?” I ask him softly as he turns around and has me clasp the necklace around his neck. “If I  get to call you mine, in turn.” 

I point up at the ceiling there hangs a big bundle of mistletoe. “They say Hogwarts mistletoe is special.” He finishes my sentence, “It only appears above couples who are meant to be.” I place my hand on his cheek, and he holds my face in his hands. And for the first time, I kiss the lips of Kim Yugyeom. Maybe spending winter break at Hogwarts was the best idea my mother had yet.

[nickburn]

Things I Enjoyed in 2020 Despite Everything

Seasons Greetings! This year has felt like an eternity for so many reasons, and before it’s over, I’d like to take a look back on the distractions that got me through it. Along the way, I’ll occasionally point out where I was emotionally at the time and whether I got into a particular thing before or after the pandemic hit in mid March. I hope you enjoy this little retrospective of some of my experience during one of the worst years of human history!

Games & Mods

Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven

When I was making my 2020 resolutions list late last year, one of my goals was to play more old games in my backlog and not buy many new games this year. That goal largely went on hold, because, well, I sought out enjoyment wherever I could find it instead of forcing myself to play one thing or another. But before Covid, I was really enjoying my new playthrough of M&M6. I’d made attempts at it before, but it was really GrayFace’s mod that made the game click for me. Modern features like quick saves and mouselook make the game much more accessible, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to try an old-school RPG. It’s a great stepping stone into a mostly-dead genre. I’m hoping to get back to it soon. I just jumped ship to simpler ventures like Doom Eternal after the pandemic hit and haven’t looked back since.

Pathologic 2

I learned about the Pathologic series late last year and have since become a little obsessed with it. Hbomberguy’s lengthy video essay on the original game really intrigued me and lead me to trying the sequel/remake in April via Xbox Game Pass. In a weird way, it was cathartic to be a doctor in an even more dire situation than our current one and still see signs of the townsfolk trying to help each other deal with a supernatural plague and little help from their local government. The game helped me express a lot of what I was feeling at the time, when I was still getting used to working from home and wondering just how long this could go on for. I’ve gone back to it recently, and I’m hoping to finish it someday, if I can find a way to stop dying. Above all, Pathologic 2 teaches you how to make choices in no-win scenarios with little information or resources and still persevere, despite the world going to Hell around you. And that’s maybe the most important thing to practice at the moment.

Overwatch

I’ve continued to look forward to weekly Overwatch nights with my friends every Thursday, and it’s really important to have something like that right now. Even if it’s just a new episode of a show airing, a new video from a favorite YouTuber, or a regular Zoom call with coworkers, it helps so much to have something to anticipate from week to week and month to month. Otherwise, it’s really easy to feel like nothing’s going on besides the entropic deterioration of the universe. Overwatch itself helps with this, because it’s such a positive, bright, and optimistic game, as only Blizzard can create. And it’s improved a ton in the past couple of years, in a lot of ways. If you haven’t played in a while, hop in and check out all the new content with your friends; I think you’ll have a great time. It’s looking more and more like Overwatch 2 is right around the corner, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

Go

I learned how to play Go after watching a documentary released this year about  AlphaGo, the computer that beat the Go world champion, and I have a huge appreciation for the game now. I think it’s even more beautiful than chess, though even more insidious to learn. If you haven’t played before, start with a 9x9 board, teach yourself the basics, and try playing with another beginner friend. I guarantee you’ll be amazed at the amount of strategy and imagination that a game ostensibly about placing black and white stones on a grid can inspire. Go’s one of several new hobbies I’ve picked up this year, and those new hobbies have really helped me pass the time in a way that feels productive as well as take my mind off whatever depressing news just got blasted across Twitter.

Doom 64

Doom Eternal was fine, but Doom 64′s where my heart lies. The PC port on Steam is great, allowing everyone to easily play the game with mouse and keyboard. Its levels are tight and colorful, often asking the player to backtrack multiple times through the same areas to unlock new ones and take on whatever new twists await down each darkened corridor. It’s a surprisingly fresh experience. Unlike many modern Doom mods that strive to be sprawling marathons, 64′s levels are short but memorable, and the game is a great entry point to the series for newcomers because of that. Retro FPS’s continue to inspire and entertain me, and Doom 64 is one of my new favorites.

Golf With Your Friends

I’m not usually that into party games, but Golf With Your Friends strikes the right balance between casual tone and skill-based gameplay. The maps are vibrant and devious, the different modes are creative and often hilarious, and the pacing is near-perfect. If you’ve got a squad itching to play something together for a few nights, I guarantee you’ll have a lot of laughs trying to knock an opponent off the course or turning them into an acorn just as they’re about to attempt a nasty jump.

Quake 1 Mods

I probably sound like a broken record by now to a lot of you, but I won’t rest until I get more people into retro FPS’s. The outdated graphics and simple gameplay can be off-putting at first, but it doesn’t take long at all to get hooked after you’ve played the likes of excellent mods like Ancient Aliens for Doom 2 or Arcane Dimensions for Quake 1. And it’s only getting better, with this year marking probably the best year for Quake releases ever. The industry even seems to be taking notice again, with many talented mappers getting picked up for highly-anticipated, professional indie projects like Graven and Prodeus. And while the marketing around the retro FPS renaissance as the second coming of “boomer shooters” should be much maligned, the actual craft involved in making mods and brand new games in the genre has never been stronger. I even contributed four levels to the cause this year, but you’ll have to play them yourself to decide if they’re any good: https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/?filtered=burnham.

Streets of Rage 4

I had not tried Steam Remote Play before this year, but it works surprisingly well if you have a decent internet connection. Because of Remote Play, I was able to complete Streets of Rage 4 with my friends, and it was very close to the experiences I had as a kid playing brawlers like Turtles in Time on the Super Nintendo. The game is just hard enough to make you sweat during the boss fights but just easy enough that the average group of gamers can complete it in a night or two, which is ideal for adults with not a lot of free time.

Hard Lads

Hard Lads is a pure delight of a game by Robert Yang about the beauty of a viral video from 2015 called “British lads hit each other with chair,” which is even more ridiculous than it sounds. It made me smile and laugh for a good half hour, and I think it’ll do the same for you.

Commander MtG

The Commander format for Magic: the Gathering is one of my favorite things, and in 2020, I dug into it more than any other year. More so even than playing or watching it being played, I created decklists for hours and hours, dreaming up new, creative strategies for winning games or just surprising my imaginary opponents. I sincerely believe this little ritual of finding a new legendary creature to build around and spending a few days crafting a brew for it got me through the majority of this summer. I didn’t have a lot of creative energy this year, but I was able to channel the little I did have into this hobby. Especially during the longer, more frustrating or depressing days at work when I had nothing else to do or just needed a break, I could often dive back into card databases and lose myself in the process of picking exactly the cards that best expressed what I wanted to do for any given deck. And it’s nice to know I can always fall back on that.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

I played a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh! growing up but never had the cards or the skill to be particularly good at it. I just knew I enjoyed the game and the 4Kids show, but I quickly them behind when I got to high school. Fast forward to 2020, and the game and franchise have evolved substantially, not always for the better. But I do find it so intriguing, with a skeptical kind of adoration. It’s not nearly as well-supported as Magic, but what it does have are gigantic anime monsters on tiny cards with enough lines of text to make your head spin. And it’s so interesting to me that a franchise like that can continue to thrive alongside more elegant games like the Pokemon TCG and Hearthstone. And the further I’ve delved into how the game has changed since I stopped playing, the more invested I’ve become, going so far as to start buying cards again and looking into possible decks I might enjoy playing. An unequivocal win for Yu-Gi-Oh! is Speed Duel, which seeks to bring old players back to the game with a watered-down, nostalgia-laden format with fewer mechanics and a much smaller card pool. So if all you want to do is pit a Blue Eyes White Dragon against a Dark Magician, that’s 100% still there for you, but the competitive scene is still alive, well, and astoundingly complicated. And I think that’s kind of beautiful.

Black Mesa

I wasn’t expecting to have the tech to play Half Life: Alyx this year, so Black Mesa seemed like the next best thing. And it really is a love letter to the first game, even if it’s far from perfect. I even prefer the original, but I did very much enjoy my time with this modern reimagining. If you’ve never played a Half Life game before, I think it’s a great place to start.

VR via the Oculus Quest

Around halfway through this year, I started to get really stir crazy and yeah, pretty depressed. It seemed like I’d be stuck in the same boring cycle forever, and I know for a lot of people, it still feels like that. So VR seemed like the perfect escape from this dubious reality where you can’t even take a safe vacation trip anymore. And you know, I think it works really well for that purpose. The Oculus Quest is especially effective, doing away with cords or cables so you have as much freedom as you have free real estate in your home. I don’t have a lot of space in my studio apartment, but I have enough to see the potential of the medium, which is completely worth it. Next gen consoles are neat and all, but I’ve got my heart set on picking up the Quest 2 as soon as possible.

* Beat Saber

I was most looking forward to trying Beat Saber on the Quest, and I was not disappointed. You’d think rhythm games had reached their peak with Rock Band and DDR, but the genre keeps on giving with gems like this. It’s hard to convey if you’ve never tried it, but the game succeeds so well in getting your entire body into the rhythm of whatever song you’re slashing through.

* Half Life: Alyx

Again, I really did not expect to be able to experience this game as intended this year, and I still don’t think I really have. The Oculus Link for the Quest is admittedly a little janky, and my PC barely meets the minimum specs to even run the game. And yet, despite that, Alyx is one of my top three games of 2020 and maybe one of my all-time favorites. Even as I was losing frames and feeling the game struggle to keep up with all the AI Combine soldiers running around, I was still having a blast. For me, it is one of the best reasons to seek out and own VR and a pinnacle of game design in its own right.

Hades

For me, Hades has mostly been similar to every other Supergiant Game that I’ve played: fun and well-polished but ultimately not engaging enough to play for very long. And there’s always this sheen of trying to be too clever with their dialogue, narration, and music that rubs me the wrong way. But Hades is certainly their best game, and I can’t deny the effect it’s had on people, much like Bastion’s reception back in 2011. And I’m really hoping Hades gets more people into roguelikes, as a more accessible and story-driven approach to the genre. Timing-wise, I wish it hadn’t come out around the same time as Spelunky, because I think it did make some people choose one over the other, when the best choice is to play both and realize they’re going for very different experiences. The precise, unforgiving, arcade-like style of Spelunky isn’t fun for everyone, though, and Hades is thankfully there to fill in that gap. I’m really glad I found more time to play it this year at least to succeed on one escape attempt; it’s a fun game to think about in a game design context. And I do think the game has a lot of merit and is doing some clever things with difficulty that the studio likely could not have honed nearly so well without the help of Early Access. The most impressive part of the game to me is not the story or the music or the combat but the massive amount of contextual dialogue they somehow found time to program, write, and record at a consistently high level. All of this is just to say, Hades is obviously one of the best games of the year, and you should play it if you have any interest in it at all.

Spelunky 2

I’ve spoken a lot about this game on Twitter, so I’m not going to rehash much of that here. For me, it’s been a journey of over 1,000 attempts to learn the intricacies and secrets of a deep and demanding game that’s been as frustrating as it’s been rewarding. But it remains a constant source of learning and discovery as well as mastery and pride for me, and I still have hopes of reaching the Cosmic Ocean and getting all the trophies someday. It’s been a joy to watch other Spelunky players too, even as some fair worse than me and others fair far better. And the Daily challenge keeps me coming back, because seeing my name high up on the leaderboard just makes me feel so damn good (or at least I’ll get a good laugh out of a hilarious death). At its heart, Spelunky is a community endeavor, and I think it succeeds at that better than almost any other game this side of Dark Souls. I think it is my Game of the Year or at least tied with Alyx, I really can’t decide. If you don’t think you’d enjoy it, all I’ll say is, the frustration and difficulty are integral to the experience of discovery and surprise, and your brain is better at video games than you think.

Chess

Okay, yes, I watched and enjoyed The Queen’s Gambit, but I think 2020 had already primed people to get into chess this year regardless. Like Yu-Gi-Oh!, chess was a childhood pastime of mine that I really enjoyed and then quickly left behind as I discovered things like music and the internet. If I had to assign a theme to my 2020, it would be rediscovering old hobbies to remind myself how good life actually is. And now I’m more committed to chess than I ever was before. I’m watching international masters and grand masters on YouTube (as well as the incomparable Northernlion), I��m playing regularly on Chess.com, and I’m even paying for lessons and probably my own theory books soon. Like most fighting games, chess is a complicated form of dueling a single opponent with zero randomness, so mistakes are always on you. And modern chess platforms offer extremely good analysis tools, showing you exactly how, when, and why you screwed up so you can do better next time. Like Hearthstone, it’s a quick, addicting, tense, and rewarding way to train your brain and have fun. And it seems more popular now than ever, in part due to a certain Netflix original TV show...

TV

The Queen’s Gambit

I think a lot of people want to be Beth Harmon, even if they know they shouldn’t. It must feel so good to be the best at something and know you’re the best, even while under the influence of certain substances. It’s what makes characters like Dr. Gregory House so fun to watch, though you’d never want to work with the guy. For me, anyway, I always wanted to be a prodigy at something, and what little success I’ve had made The Queen’s Gambit very relatable to me. More so, it’s easy to relate to growing up in a conservative environment with few real friends and fewer outlets of expression, only to realize you’ve finally found your thing, and that no one can take it from you. That’s mostly what I’m going to take from The Queen’s Gambit anyway, more than chess or the Cold War commentary or the problematic relationships Beth has with her cadre of rivals/boyfriends. The show gets a strong recommendation from me for fans of chess as well as lovers of optimistic coming-of-age stories.

March Comes in Like a Lion

Similarly, March Comes in Like a Lion features a protagonist who is scarily close to a version of myself from like eight years ago. My best friend has been urging me to watch this show for years, and I’m still only a few episodes in. But I love how it portrays a young person who’s moved to a big city away from home for the first time, with nothing more than some meager possessions and the hopes of becoming the best in the world at something. And Rei is not confident in himself or outgoing at all, he’s extremely depressed despite pursuing his dreams and trying to distance himself from his somewhat toxic family. It’s a great reminder that the smallest kindnesses can often change our entire perspective on the world, and that even the people that seem the most well-equipped to handle life often still need help. I’ve been very fortunate to have people like that despite mistakes I’ve made, and I hope to be that person for others too.

Umbrella Academy

I’m pretty burnt out on superheroes, but UA put a good enough spin on them that they felt brand new. The show is rough in places, but it’s surprising in some really clever ways. And the comics are some of the wildest stories I’ve ever read, like Hitchhiker’s Guide meets Watchmen.

HunterXHunter

I binged about 100 of the 148 episodes of HxH this year, which I recognize is not a significant number in the wider world of long-running shounen anime, but it’s quite an undertaking for me to finish a show of this length. The series goes places I never expected and made me care so strongly for characters I thought I’d hate at first. It’s the smartest and most endearing show about a band of misfits going on crazy adventures and punching people for the good of the world that you’re likely to find.

Hannibal

This is the rare show that’s simultaneously comforting and nightmare-inducing if watched for extended periods. I can remember nights after binging a few episodes where I couldn’t get many of the disturbing images out of my head. Fair to say, Hannibal is not for the faint of heart, nor is it without some low points. But for those who enjoy gory thrillers or gritty detective dramas, it’s a must-watch. 

Yu-Gi-Oh! Original Series, English Sub

You can probably imagine my surprise as I discovered this year that the Japanese version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is not only much better than the 4Kids version we got in the States, but it’s actually a decent show. The plot makes much more sense, it’s more interesting, the stakes are higher, the voices are better, and overall it’s just more enjoyable to watch. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it long enough to finish it this time, but this is definitely the way I’d do it and would recommend to others.

Fargo Season 4

It’s a miracle we even got another season of Fargo this year, let alone on time and of the same high quality as the first two seasons. It has a great setting, cast, and conflict. I love Chris Rock, and it was so cool to see him act so well in such a serious role. There’s a Wizard of Oz homage episode that is nearly flawless. And the post-credits scene at the end of the season is just the cherry on top. If you haven’t checked out Fargo by now, you are really missing out on some of the most interesting stuff happening in TV. I can’t wait to see what Noah Hawley does with the Alien franchise.

Movies

Cats

I had to include this one because it was the last full movie I saw in theaters before the pandemic hit. I technically went to Sonic too, but my friends and I walked out after about 30 minutes. The less said about that movie, the better. Cats, though, is a strange and curious beast (pun intended), adapting an already unruly animal (pun intended) to the big screen and yowling to be recognized (pun intended). But for every awkward or embarrassing scene, there’s one of pure joy and magic, like the extended ballet sequence or Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat. The film knows exactly what it is and leans into it hard, like a familiar yet slightly insane feline begging to be stroked, which I imagine is exactly what fans of the musical wanted.

Children of Men

There’s not much I can say about this film that probably hasn’t been said better elsewhere. I was intrigued to watch it when I learned it was one of my friend’s favorite movies. And I have to say, it’s really profound in a prescient way. Clive Owen gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. You should watch it, but only when you feel like taking a severe hit to the feels.

Basic Instinct

Vertigo is probably still my favorite film, so when I learned this year that Paul Verhoeven made a bloody, sex romp homage film to it in the 90s with Michael Douglas starring, I simply had to watch it. And you know, it’s not bad. It’s nowhere near as good as Vertigo, and you can see the ending coming a mile away. But what it does have is the immaculate Sharon Stone, who you cannot take your eyes off for the entire movie. And the movie knows it, making her look as alluring and suggestive as her character is to the detective investigating her. You could do worse than to watch it, just don’t expect any of Hitchcock’s subtlety or looming dread to seep into the final product.

Books

Dune

I finally finished Dune this year, and I can genuinely say it lives up to the hype. It’s not the easiest book to get through, but it’s by no means one of the most difficult either. I’m still bummed that the new film was delayed, but it might give me time to read the rest of the original book series.

The Fifth Season

Another fantastic piece of fiction, I cannot recommend this book enough. N.K. Jemisin is one of the best living authors of our time. If you want an original setting with a brilliant magic system and complex, compelling characters, look no further.

Video Content

Northernlion

I’ve been a fan of NL for years, though I’ve never been that into The Binding of Isaac. He just has a charismatic intelligence to him that sets him apart from most “Let’s Play” YouTubers to me, and he’s very funny to boot. I guess I’d say he seems a lot like me or the person I could picture myself being if I were a professional video content creator. So I was really excited for NL’s series of Spelunky 2 videos, and I still watch them every day, months later. And now he’s teaching me how to get better at chess, being a good 600 ELO higher than myself at the moment. His sarcastic and improv-laden banter have withstood the test of years and gave me some much-needed comfort and laughter in 2020. Somehow, the man even found a way to keep up his prolific output this year while raising his firstborn child. There are those who said it couldn’t be done...

The Command Zone - Game Knights

Josh Lee Kwai and the rest of the crew at The Command Zone continue to put out some of the most well-produced tabletop gameplay videos on the internet. It’s perhaps no surprise, seeing as how Lee Kwai created trailers for such blockbuster films as Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Jimmy Wong had a supporting role in the live action remake of Disney’s Mulan. But the crew around the two hosts are just as important and talented, and it’s clear that they all share the same singular vision for the channel’s future. They’ve carefully crafted a team of expert editors, animators, cosplayers, and voice actors to deliver one delightful video after the next at a consistently high level. If you’re into Magic: the Gathering at all, you simply need to watch Game Knights.

Cimoooooooo

I found Alex Cimo’s channel shortly after the algorithm learned I was interested in Yu-Gi-Oh! again, and at first, I was less than impressed with him. But it’s clear to me now that he not only loves what he does, he’s an expert Yu-Gi-Oh! player and analyst. Plus, he’s very good at explaining some of the more complex concepts in the game in a way that newcomers can understand. I’ve watched every new episode of The Progression Series and The History of Yu-Gi-Oh! so far, and they’re the best way I’ve found to learn how the game developed and changed over the last 20 years.

Team APS

This is another great Yu-Gi-Oh! channel, focusing more on skits, gimmick videos, and casual games rather than analytical or theoretical content. Mostly, they seem like a really great group of friends that just have a blast playing Yu-Gi-Oh! together, and their love for the game makes me want to play more too.

Tolarian Community College

Somehow, a community college English professor’s channel went from a quirky little deckbox review platform to the most popular Magic: the Gathering channel on YouTube in only a few years. But it’s easy to see why when Brian clearly loves what he’s doing more than most people ever will. He’s not only a fantastic reviewer and MtG scholar, he’s one of the most outspoken voices for positive change in the community and the game. Is he too hard on the Magic team at Wizards of the Coast? Perhaps, but without his measured and well-reasoned takes on all things Magic, I think we’d be much worse off.

IRL

Cooking

Even I get tired of eating the same things every day, so I’ve taken it upon myself to learn how to make more dishes, mostly out of sheer boredom. And I know I’m not alone in that, but I have to say it’s been a rewarding and fun adventure. It’s really surprising what you can throw together with a decent recipe and a little creativity in a modest kitchen when you decide to break away from the microwave for once.

Chinchillin’

Like many people, I felt that I needed a pet to survive this year, and I’ve always wanted a chinchilla. So I took a risk and bought one from a seller on KSL a few months ago, and my life has definitely changed for the better. No longer simply alone with my thoughts all day, I have a furry little companion to commune and bond with. And it’s more difficult to find time to feel sorry for myself when a basically helpless tiny creature depends on me for almost everything. Not to say it’s been a perfect experience however, people don’t say chins are difficult to care for for nothing. And I have learned more about them than perhaps I ever cared to know before, but that’s only made them more interesting to me as a result. Overall, I would recommend them as pets, just be prepared to give them a lot more time and attention than you would to say, a fish or a hamster. I’ve seen the commitment compared to that of a large dog, and I think that’s fair, though chins seem far more difficult to train and are far less cuddly. Basically, imagine a fluffy, super fast squirrel that can jump half your height, shed its fur at will if grabbed too tightly, that sleeps all day and bathes in dust, and that cannot get wet or too hot or eat 99% of human foods without serious complications. And they get lonely, and they all have their own surprisingly distinct personalities, some shy and mischievous, others bright and social, and everything in between. But I’m glad to be part of my little buddy’s life and hope to make it a long and enjoyable one for him. Part of why I wanted a chinchilla so badly is they typically live between 10-20 years, much longer than the average rodent or even many cats and dogs. And they’re sadly endangered in the wild, poached for their incredibly soft fur, which is why I believe it’s critical that we care for and learn more about them now. And above all, I adore my chinchilla’s antics, even when he continually tries to dig up and eat the paper bedding below his cage when I’ve provided perfectly edible hay and pellets for him in much easier to reach locations.

And that’s all, folks...

If you’ve read this far, know that I really appreciate it and hope you learned something new about yourself, art, or the world. And please do let me know what’s kept you going the most this year too, as I suspect I’ll still be searching for new distractions next year, even after I’m able to get a Covid vaccine injection. As Red Green would say, we’re all in this together, and I’m pullin’ for ya. <3