#my worst quality as a sports fan is that i Do Not remember anything that happened pre....february 2020?

[irrealmadrid]

sometimes you have to watch all of real madrid’s champions league goals from 2016-2022 in one non-stop 2 hour-long sitting to cope with The Horrors, and that’s okay,

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Winter 2022 Anime

Was Winter 2022 a good or bad season for anime? I’m not entirely sure. There were definitely a lot of subpar, disappointing, and outright terrible anime, and the shows that I truly fell in love with were few and far between. That said... man, the good stuff this season was really fucking good. There’s at least three all-time classics worth checking out here, not to mention the continuation of one of last year’s best shows coming in for a mostly satisfying landing. I’ve already talked about My Dress-Up Darling and Akebi’s Sailor Uniform in another post, so you can check that out for my more in-depth thoughts on both of them (short version, Dress-Up Darling was a delight and Akebi made me feel like I should be put on a watchlist for watching it). As for the rest of the season, read on to hear my thoughts on the many, many anime I kept up with and find out which ones are truly worth your time!

Arifureta Season 2: 2/10

I told you. I fucking told you the worst thing that could happen with Arifureta was a competent anime adaptation. At least when the production was a complete trainwreck, you could enjoy it as a so-bad-it's-good garbage fire. At least then it had some value as an unintentionally honest depiction of what these kinds of bottom-tier isekai sludge deserve. But nooooo, the second season just had to turn things up to Basically Competent and give us the straightforward, unfiltered Arifureta experience we were apparently all clamoring for. And just like I said, the result is a show is absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The characters are garbage, the wish-fulfillment pandering is gag-inducing, the story is nonsense, the "comedy" is agonizing, and all the unintentional hilarity of the first season's failures is nowhere to be found. This is no longer a so-bad-it's-good disasterpiece; now, Arifureta is nothing more than one more shitty, worthless isekai among far, far too many like it. But hey, I guess all ten genuine Arifureta fans out there got the show they were always dreaming of. I hope it was fucking worth it.

Tribe Nine: 3/10

I was excited for Tribe Nine when it was first announced. A crazy cyberpunk extreme baseball anime from the creator of the astoundingly good Akudama Drive (and Danganrompa, which I hear is good too)? This should've been a home run. Unfortunately... look, you remember how Madoka kills off its cool mentor character at the end of the third episode as a way of catapulting the story into high gear? Well, Tribe Nine tries to do the same thing, but it instead drives the entire show into the dirt. Once Shun Kamiya kicks the bucket, Tribe Nine loses all its mojo, and the promise of an off-the-walls sports extravaganza fizzles in a flash of flop sweat. The characters are all grating, the plotting is too stupid to even enjoy ironically, Lidenfilms' production values continue to barely rise above the bottom of the barrel, and just as the cherry on top, the sound mixing is so atrocious that I regularly had to turn my volume down to avoid getting my eardrums blasted out. My advice: just watch Akudama Drive if you haven't already, because that show kicks ass in all the ways that Tribe Nine falls flat on its face.

In the Land of Leadale: 3/10

Isekai is boring. There, I said it. This genre is one of the least interesting, least necessary, and least compelling... things that exists in popular culture right now. I just finished In the Land of Leadale seconds ago, and I'm struggling to find something, anything, worth talking about in this white noise of a show. And frankly, me trying to figure out how to talk about Leadale already feels like I'm putting more thought into it than everyone who actually worked on the damn thing. This show is too mind-numbingly nothing to deserve that level of consideration. So instead, I'll leave it at this: even though this show lacks all the usual tropes that make me hate isekai- no harem, no incel whining, the protagonist is a well-adjusted adult woman more interested in forming meaningful personal connections with people than power fantasy masturbation- it's no more interesting than any of the usual seasonal dreck. That, more than anything, should prove how fundamentally broken this genre is.

Princess Connect Re:Dive Season 2: 3.5/10

I so desperately wish I could like Princess Connect. It's rare we get an gacha adaptation that's so consistently gorgeous, with cinematography and animation that rank among the best I've ever seen in this medium. Plus, it even kind of sort of has a yuri romance at its heart! But then someone has to open their mouth, and I'm reminded that almost every character's voice in this show makes me want to rip my eardrums out from sheer annoyance. It is shocking how bad the comedy in this show can be, all screeching and wailing in overplayed moe voices from characters who don't so much have comedic personalities as they do obnoxious gimmicks that just kind of Happen(tm) in isolation from anything resembling comedic chemistry. Worse still, season 2 tries to push the plot to the forefront for the sake of a dramatic climax, but it feels like the show's assuming you've already played the gacha so it doesn't have to bother explaining any of the countless Proper Nouns and Implied Backstories it throws at you. And as someone who has not played the gacha, the end result is an incomprehensible clusterfuck of unexplained bullshit that feels like it's playing off knowledge that the show itself never bothered to give you. What a waste of such a stellar production.

Magia Record Final Season: 4/10

Alright, I know this is technically part of the spring season, but it’s just four episodes that all dropped at once in perfectly bingeable format, so I’m including it here for the sake of staying relevant. And honestly? The finale of Magia Record made me angry. Not because it’s particularly terrible (though it’s still pretty bad for all the same reasons the previous seasons were bad), but because I finally see how this show could’ve been good. The final two episodes, for the first time in Magia Record’s entire run, showcase a genuine depth and pathos beyond just cluttering the screen with too many characters to keep track of. And for the first time, I see the show that Magia Record could have been. A show that takes the original Madoka’s themes of persevering through tragedy and expands upon them with self-love and the power of community as guiding lights in the darkness. A show that genuinely compliments Madoka Magica and shows a brighter side of its world where magical girls can find happiness, even through all the pain that still befalls them. Given proper build-up, with more time dedicated to building compelling characters than spouting overstuffed lore and fanservice? This finale could’ve been something really special. It’s just a shame that’s not the version of this show they ended up making. Alas, that better Magia Record anime that peeks through in its final moments is a dream that will never come to pass, and all I’m left with is frustration knowing how good things could’ve been in comparison to the mess we actually got.

Tokyo 24th Ward: 4/10

At some point, Cloverworks is going to work itself into a ditch. This is the second winter in a row it’s aired three shows at once, and just like last time, it resulted in their highly ambitious original anime being driven straight into a ditch. Multiple unplanned recap episodes, animation that quickly degrades from pretty and polished into barely holding together... someone needs to fire whichever producer is pushing this studio so hard before it results in yet another potentially worthwhile anime going up in smoke. On the bright(?) side, at least we’re spared another epic tragedy like what befell Wonder Egg Priority, because Tokyo 24th Ward was already bad even before the production started falling apart. It’s trying to be this clever, high-concept allegorical thrill tide exploring the debate of privacy and freedom vs security and safety, but it mostly comes off as ham-fisted both-sides-ism that doesn’t really understand how to accurately portray the pitfalls of either total anarchy or creeping authoritarianism. And while there are a handful of good ideas and moments scattered throughout, the overall package is basically just a dumber, more meat-headed version of Psycho-Pass. And I really don’t need any more bad Psycho-Pass in my life; its own sequels were terrible enough to cover that front forever.

The Orbital Children: 5.5/10

If nothing else, you can't fault The Orbital Children for lacking ambition. In just six longer-than-usual episodes, this Netflix original from the creator of Dennouh Coil transitions from a fun lark about space camp gone wrong to a heady, philosophical debate on eco-fascism, predetermination, the failures of capitalism, how that might affect the future of technology, and a graduate-studies-level thesis on the evolution of AI thought patterns... all while still technically being a fun lark about space camp gone wrong. Does it work? Not really, if I'm being honest; there are entirely too many ideas stuffed into this show for such a short runtime, and none of them really get the chance to breathe (nor do many of the characters). But goddamn, was it fascinating to watch unfold. Hopefully Dennouh Coil's higher episode count will let help these lofty ambitions find their footing when I finally get around to that show.

The Case Study of Vanitas Season 2: 5.5/10

Good news, everyone: the second season of Vanitas got rid of that godawful running joke where Vanitas harasses Jeanne into loving him! The worst part of this show is no more! Now we can finally judge this stylish steampunk vampire romp on its own merits without an obvious Terrible Aspect ruining everything! Aaaaaaaand it’s still not that great a show, lol. I think my biggest issue is the fact that we’re two full cours into Vanitas now, and yet I still have no idea what the story is even about. Sure, not every anime needs an overarching narrative to be good, but despite all the revelations about everyone’s pasts that come to the surface over the course of this season, it’s not really clear what any of this is building towards. What, exactly, is supposed to keep me coming back to The Case Study of Vanitas over the course of these characters’ journeys? What is the end goal I’m meant to wait in anticipation of? Because lacking that knowledge, I can’t help but feel like this show is going nowhere fast. I’m not opposed to watching more now that I no longer have to worry about the aforementioned baggage, but if Bones ever returns with a season three, I hope those big-picture questions finally get some answers.

Sabikui Bisco: 6/10

This show is nuts, y'all. Like, it's really nuts. In the first two episodes alone, we're introduced to a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style desert world where people shoot arrows that explode into giant mushrooms and ride on giant crabs to escape the pink-rabbit-mask-wearing forces of an oppressive regime riding on militarized war hippos. And it somehow only gets wilder from there. Suffice to say, Sabikui Bisco is a hell of a good time, at least when the stiff production from new studio OZ isn't shooting it in the foot. But what really gives this show its heart is its characters: the interplay between the titular brash, bullheaded Bisco and the aggressively kind, good-natured doctor Milo he partners with makes for the most charming queerbait couple we've seen in a long time. You know, the kind of couple where all the emotional moments are about them expressing how much they mean to each other with intense physical intimacy, and one of them even outright says "I love you" to the other one which inspires him to literally crawl out of the depths of hell, but then the one dude has a romantic subplot with the other guy's sister out of nowhere. I'm not even mad, it's hilarious. Chicken out all you want, author, we all know where Bisco's heart truly lies.

Requiem of the Rose King (1st Half): 6/10

A deliciously dark and gothic re-imagining of Shakespeare's historical plays that casts the infamous Richard III as a tragic intersex antihero in a doomed romance with King Henry VI? Be still, my beating heart. Requiem of the Rose King is so thoroughly My Shit that I'm almost offended I didn't come up with the idea myself. The only thing holding it back, sadly, is the production: J. C. Staff is still one of the most overtaxed studios in the industry, and their limited animation, paired with a script that rushes a few too many moments, results in a compromised product that feels like it's only living up to half its potential. Thankfully, director Kentarou Suzuki covers for a lot with his arresting, almost Ikuhara-esque stylistic flourishes, bringing this bloody war tale to life with surreal tableaus of terror and haunting depictions of the characters' tumultuous inner thoughts. As long as he's able to keep his hands on the rails in the show's second half (and as long as Kou Ootani's music continues to kick ass), I think this tragic tale will stick the landing well enough to be worth a recommendation.

Slow Loop: 6.5/10

With how crowded this anime season was, I almost passed over Slow Loop as just another generic Cute Girls Doing Cute Things show. But I'm glad I gave it a shot, because this turned out to be a very fine example of the form. Yes, it's basically just a bunch of adorable moeblobs learning about fly fishing, but it executes that premise with real heart. The characters are charming, the humor is solid, and there's a clear love of the hobby in how it's portrayed and interacted with. Plus, there's actually a very powerful thematic undercurrent where the co-protagonists, new stepsisters Hiyori and Koharu, are both dealing with the grief of losing a parent. It's not too overstated, but it's clear that fishing is a way for both of them to process that grief, finding comfort in the sport itself and the connections they build through it. And that little bit of emotional complexity made this otherwise simple show really touch a chord with me. It's no Yuru Camp, but it's definitely worth checking out.

Salaryman's Club: 6.5/10

Sound the alarms, everyone: Lidenfilms finally learned how to animate! And holy fuck, is it a sight to behold. Salaryman’s Club isn’t just an impressively above-average production, it’s right up there with Haikyuu itself as one of the best-looking sports anime of all time. Every single whack, smack, dash, leap, and spike of its badminton matches is brought to life with some of the sharpest editing and animation you’re likely to see all year, and it makes every last strike of the shuttlecock sing. The story itself is nothing to write home about: aside from the unique gimmick of taking place in the world of corporate sports and featuring adult characters balancing athletics with their actual jobs, it’s mostly just a by-the-numbers sports narrative with character arcs and story beats you can see coming a mile away. But that simplicity is easily forgivable when the sport itself kicks this much fucking ass. Every time the characters get on the court, Salaryman’s Club damn near becomes one of the best shows of the season, and it’s absolutely worth checking out for that alone. Just don’t expect much more than Basic Competency between the moments where it truly comes alive.

Sasaki and Miyano: 8.5/10

What's particularly great about Sasaki and Miyano is that it's not just an adorable slow-burn slice-of-life romance that just so happens to be Boy's Love. No, this show is in large part about BL and it's complicated relationship to real-life gay people. Miyano is a closeted fudanshi who uses the fiction of BL to distance himself from his own queerness: "I'm not like the people in this stories, so how could I possibly like guys?" But when his attractive upperclassman Sasaki begins to awaken something in him, both he and the audience are forced to consider where the line lies between the consumable fantasies of BL and the reality of being attracted to other guys. It explores how fiction can both help us process reality and blind us to it, how so-called "problematic" works can still be valuable to the people they're supposedly insensitive towards, how gay men struggle with and sometimes reclaim even the supposedly more harmless stereotypes of what it means to be a gay man. It's a shockingly thoughtful work that will leave you with a lot to chew on, even as its primary purpose is to make you squeal with joy at just how gosh darn adorable these boys are being. Both thematically rich and sugary sweet, Sasaki and Miyano is a new high-water mark for BL anime, and I hope its popularity will result in many more great gay romances to come.

Ranking of Kings (2nd Half): 8.5/10

It's been an absolute delight watching Ranking of Kings slowly get its due. Just like Boji himself, this show started with no one taking it seriously, dismissing its seemingly childlike artstyle and paying it no attention. But with nothing more than sheer, unabated quality, it's risen to become one of 2021's greatest anime success stories, racking up praise and affection from every corner of the anime community. It's an underdog success story both in-universe and out. And the second half, despite suffering from the same lack of focus as the first half, fulfills that promise with spectacular climaxes to character arcs and some of the most jaw-dropping animated fight scenes I've seen in a long time. Seriously, episode 21 puts the entirety of Demon Slayer to shame all on its own. There is, unfortunately, some allegorical anti-Korean imperialism baked into one of its backstories, and it's a rare sour note in a story that otherwise treats all its subjects with the empathy they deserve. Survive that speed bump, though, and Ranking of Kings is a truly remarkable achievement. This is one underdog that no one's gonna underestimate ever again.

Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3: 9/10

Alright, here's the deal: every single person reading this rundown has a job to do. Your job is to stop whatever you're doing right now and go watch Takagi-san. I don't care what else you're watching, do it now. If Western weebs could turn mid-tier seasonal waifus like Nagatoro and Uzaki into memetic smash hits, then you have no excuse not to pay your respects to the once and future queen of teasing rom-coms. Because unlike those pretenders to the throne, Takagi-san doesn't exist to sell a fantasy to masochistic loners looking for their next fix. No, this show is nothing more or less than the most adorable, sincere portrayal of middle school puppy love you're likely to ever see. So leave behind your screechy gremlins with big bazongas and smug faces plastered over skimpy outfits, and come marvel at the sheer joy of watching two thirteen-year-olds slowly stumble their way into understanding how to be in love with each other. Come delight at a show that's only gotten more adorable with every season and reaches a head here with some of the most well-earned, squee-inducing payoffs in anime rom-com history. Come, my friends, and give Teasing Master Takagi-san the respect it deserves. I promise you, you won't regret it.

[cavalierious-whim]

Love, Misunderstood (FE3H)

Sylvix | Modern AU | Fake Dating | Teen So, here’s the thing: Felix doesn’t date anyone that isn’t his sabre.

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A/N: I wrote this for the Sylvix Server's Secret Santa Event last year. Read here on AO3 for better quality! And follow me on Twitter here! @Satodee1 on Twitter drew an AMAZING fanart for this fic as well! I cannot believe I've been blessed so. Please take a look here and give them a follow!

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Let go the fear of falling in love.

#

So, here’s the thing: Felix doesn’t date anyone that isn’t his sabre.

One, there isn’t time. By day he’s almost a professional athlete with dozens of fencing titles to his name, and by night he’s a business student double majoring in Marketing and Finance. His days are full of workouts and conditioning, a carefully maintained diet, and when the sport isn’t on his mind, his academics are.

Two, there’s no interest. None. Whatsoever. Felix has never once looked at another person and thought, Yes, I would like that one.

Which brings him to his current problem: there’s an annoyance in his face that some might think is pretty if they liked overly bleached hair and heavily lacquered nails. Gum pops in her mouth. She twirls a long tendril of hair around a finger like the love interest from a nineties sitcom.

Felix doesn’t just hate; he loathes and despises. Less so the girl and more so at being perceived as a romantic option. He feels as though he does a pretty good job selling the fact that he’s entirely off of the market, even going as far as snarling at hopefuls. Apparently, some people are just infuriatingly stubborn.

Or maybe just oblivious. Felix is starting to lean towards the latter, watching carefully as the girl stares back at him, dreamily.

“So, like,” she says, punctuating the words with a giggle, “I’m a big fan. Of you and you know, your fencing.”

Felix is a hundred percent sure that she has no idea what she’s talking about. What he says instead is, “I’m studying.” Neat and simple, and not even mean. Hopefully enough to fend her off. He’s almost proud of himself.

She blinks at him like she’s trying and failing to process what he’s just said. “So, that bout last weekend,” says the girl, relentless in her pursuit. “You really honed in the touches, winning before the time limit.”

This surprises him; maybe his earlier assessment is incorrect and she’s honestly a fencing fan. Felix meets her gaze and she stares back, smacking her gum, hair still wrapped around her finger, and eyes glinting.

Right, no, she’d just done her research.

“Thank you,” says Felix because he’s not entirely an asshole. “But as I said, I’m studying, so if you would--”

“It was truly riveting,” continues the girl, clasping her hands before her. “Your form is just exquisite.” She says the word like he’s a prized pig.

Felix is losing his patience, his fingers tightening around his pencil and squeezing tighter and tighter. It might snap under his grip. It’s happened before.

“Look,” says Felix, his tone hardening just a modicum, “I appreciate--”

“So, how about grabbing a bite to eat together?” asks the girl, batting her eyes at him in an exaggerated flourish.

Felix opens his mouth to say something rather nasty, but he’s interrupted by someone dropping into the chair next to him. “Darling.” An arm finds its way slung around his shoulder and Felix goes rigid. “I’m sorry that I’m late; got stuck in traffic. You know what rush hour is like.”

It takes everything for Felix to not grab the man’s arm and break his wrist.

Before he can do so though, the man looks to the girl and says, “A bite to eat? All of us? Group dates are always fun.”

The girl, to her credit, looks about as flabbergasted as Felix feels. “Um--”

“Unless you meant alone with my boyfriend?”

Felix immediately starts, turning to look at him incredulously. “Boyfriend--”

“My mistake,” the girl apologizes immediately. “I didn’t, um, realize that you… Anyway, thank you for the chat!” And with a wave, the bleached-blonde bimbo takes her leave.

Felix whirls onto the man next to him, immediately shrugging out of his grasp. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The man is lightly tanned, cheeks dusted with a spattering of warm freckles. His hair is auburn and unruly, curling wildly around his forehead and ears. His smile is crooked, a dimple forming at the left corner of his mouth. Handsome, if Felix likes people. He doesn’t, he reminds himself.

“Saving you,” the man says. “Really, she just wouldn’t let you go. It’s astonishing really, I could feel the leave me the fuck alone vibes radiating off of you from across the shop.”

Felix blinks at that. “I didn’t need help.”

“I think that you did.”

“I didn’t,” repeats Felix, unable to let go of his stubborn need to get the last word in. Glenn used to say that it was the best and worst part of him.

“You could have just told her no.” The man pauses, thumbing at his chin as though he’s amused. “You don’t seem the type to be nice and gently let someone down.”

Felix isn’t; he’s the type to throw books at people instead, and be brutally blunt about what he does and doesn’t want. “I was distracted,” he finally says, “I’m studying for an exam and she just caught me off guard. I promise you, had I been on my game I would have done far worse.”

The other man cocks his head to the side, watching him, and Felix already hates the calculating gaze. “You really go all in, don’t you?” he asks. “Just no fucks given as to what people think about you?”

“I’m not here to date, I’m here to go to school.”

“How boring,” says the man.

“I like boring,” says Felix.

There’s a beat and then, “I’m Sylvain.” Sylvain holds his hand out for a shake. Felix stares at it as though it might bite him, but Sylvain waits patiently. “You owe me at least yours.”

There isn’t a chance in hell that this man doesn’t know who Felix is; his face is plastered across every Garreg Mach University billboard this side of Fodlan. Still, Felix has been raised with manners and he can hear Glenn rolling over in his grave.

Felix hates manners but sucks it up.

“Felix,” he says finally, still ignoring Sylvain’s hand. “Thank you for the help, but I don’t need it. Now leave me alone. I don’t have time to entertain jockstraps like yourself.”

Sylvain eventually puts his hand down and watches Felix for a long moment. Felix doesn’t like the slightly amused grin that seems permanently attached to his face. “Got it,” says Sylvain eventually. He stands and throws his bag back over his shoulder. “Then this jockstrap will take his leave.”

Felix almost feels bad, prompting him to say, “My appreciation is honest. If you hadn’t stepped in I might’ve snapped the girl’s neck instead.” He expects him to run off at such vivid imagery, like so many do.

But instead, Sylvain just throws his head back and laughs, before leaving him be.

#

“Do you like Adrestian Barbecue?”

This one cuter than the last, pert little nose and wavy locks of brown framing her face nicely. Felix still isn’t remotely interested. “I’m studying,” he says, trying his best to sound at least polite. He’s not very good at it, but the woman pays it no mind.

“This’ll only take a moment,” she says. “I’m wondering if you’d like to go get lunch or something? There’s a great new place that’s just opened up off of Twenty-Fourth Street, and--”

“Babe,” someone cuts in, leaning over Felix’s shoulder, their cheeks barely inches from each other. Sylvain, Felix’s mind supplies before being annoyed that he’d remembered. Felix hadn’t seen him in the shop for a few weeks. Sylvain to his credit doesn’t sling his arm around and immediately drop into the chair without permission, he just hovers next to him. Waiting.

A slight improvement.

“Sylvain,” says Felix. Then pauses, unsure how to continue. He swallows and then, “You’re late.”

Sylvain chuckles. “Traffic.”

Felix huffs, a little emboldened. “That’s the excuse you used last time.”

“And it’s still true,” says Sylvain.

“Um,” says the woman who’s been interrupted. “I was trying to ask--”

“My boyfriend to lunch,” cuts in Sylvain. “Yes, I saw that. I can barely get him to go out with me, what makes you think that he’d have a go with you?”

Felix’s eyes nearly bulge at the aggressive raking. Sylvain seemed like a nice man the last they met, but perhaps Felix has underestimated him. It sounds like a jab straight from Felix’s book.

The woman’s mouth falls open and she gawks but quickly recovers. “Right,” she says. “My apologies, I’d thought-- Never mind that. Have a wonderful day Mr. Fraldarius.”

Felix cringes as she turns and walks away.

“Mr. Fraldarius,” drawls Sylvain, falling into the chair next to him. “I really do have a habit of coming to rescue you.”

“I didn’t need to be rescued,” says Felix, acerbically. “It isn’t my fault that you insist on butting in where you aren’t wanted.”

“So, you wanted to go grab lunch with her?”

Felix closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, and lets out a frustrated grunt. “Absolutely not.” Sylvain doesn’t say anything, just watches him with unwavering patience. Eventually, Felix says, “Look, I appreciate your willingness to help, but--”

“You know, I could just pretend to be your boyfriend and they’d leave you alone for good.”

Felix blinks and then he scowls. “What?”

Sylvain shrugs, noncommittal. “You study here nearly every day. I study here too. I finally stepped in because you seem to get attention all of the time and it does nothing but annoy you. Seriously, people have no boundaries.”

Felix wants to tell Sylvain that he has no boundaries either, but decides not to fuel the fire. Instead, he says, “There’s no reason for you to help me, you would gain nothing from it.”

“Some peace and quiet. Do you know how hard it is to focus on schoolwork here when women and men are trying to approach you? I come here for the quiet, not to watch the latest episode of Blind Date.”

Sylvain has a point; the people who approach him tend to be rather loud about it. Felix thinks about the proposition for a moment. “No,” he finally says. “You don’t have to study here. Go elsewhere.”

“It’s preferable to my dorm,” says Sylvain, not bothering to elaborate. “And, I think that’s why you study here as well. You hate people and would do anything to avoid them entirely. Even if it means studying in public.”

Felix cringes because Sylvain’s nailed it on the head; the general public is less invasive than Ashe is. His roommate is nice but needlessly curious. “I don’t need your help.”

Sylvain opens his mouth to answer but stops when the barista comes by their table. “Felix,” he says, smiling kindly. “I’ve brought you a refill, yeah?” He drops a take-out cup to the table. “Just let me know if you want more.”

Felix nods, his lips quirking the slightest bit. The boy has always been nice to him and unfussy. “Thank you,” says Felix, genuinely.

The barista leaves and as Felix reaches for the cup, Sylvain raises his eyebrows. Felix’s mood immediately sours. “What?” snaps Felix acerbically.

Sylvain points to the cardboard sleeve around the cup. Felix turns it around to find the barista’s name and number written in curling script. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” says Felix. But, at least the barista has the decency not to accost him publicly. Felix rubs at his forehead.

“Say that I take you up on your offer,” starts Felix, already wanting to pull them back, “what are you expecting in return?”

“Nothing,” says Sylvain. Felix meets his eyes, narrowing his gaze as he watches him carefully. “Honestly,” continues Sylvain under the scrutiny. “I also like to study in peace, but I don’t like to sit at tables alone. I work better when there’s someone else there, even if it’s not to talk.”

“That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” says Felix.

“So is every person on this campus thirsting after your mangy ass. It’s a mystery to me.” Sylvain bites back just as hard as Felix, it seems. Felix respects that, if only slightly.

“Fine,” says Felix. “But only because I’ve got tests coming up and I’m tired of being bothered.”

“It’s a deal then,” says Sylvain. “We study and pretend to be dating, reaping the benefits of a quiet and quaint coffee shop.”

“You’ll have to be convincing,” says Felix.

“So far, it’s worked.”

Sylvain holds his hand out to shake on the deal and Felix looks at it warily. Then, with a resigned sigh, he takes it. Sylvain’s hand is wide and warm, and it makes Felix want to pull away. He hates closeness and doesn’t do well with physical contact. When they part, Sylvain smiles and then finally drops his book bag from his shoulders, settling in.

Felix hopes to the Goddess above that he’s not making a mistake.

#

Felix wants to hate Sylvain on mere principle, but they fall into an easy companionship. Felix hates it, hates that he doesn’t dislike Sylvain. But, Felix doesn’t quite like him either, and it’s the last thread of hope that he hangs on to.

A week into the charade, Felix is still stunned by the fact that Sylvain actually studies. He expects Sylvain to joke or flirt incessantly. He hasn’t; Sylvain’s quiet when they sit at their table in the corner of the coffee shop, nose-deep in a math text.

Felix’s gaze narrows slightly when he reads the title. “You’re taking Calculus III?”

“No,” says Sylvain, eyes not leaving his book. He flips a page, looking bored. “It’s a prerequisite, so I’ve already taken it, but sometimes I have to revisit.”

“Already taken it?” Sylvain taps another textbook to the side and Felix’s eyes widened. “Ordinary and Partial Differential Mathematics?” Felix can not for the life of him, think of a degree that would require a course like this.

Sylvain hums. “Yeah, it’s my required math for this semester.”

“For a jockstrap like yourself?” The nickname has stuck and so far, Sylvain hasn’t stopped Felix from using it.

Finally, Sylvain looks up, eyes crinkling in amusement. “I like math,” he says simply, “and I’m good at it. It’s an easy course for me.”

Felix isn’t sure what’s easy about math that he doesn’t even grasp the purpose of, but Sylvain’s only proven himself to be a weird man at his core. Sylvain looks at Felix’s book in return.

“Statistics,” says Sylvain. Felix has a distinct impression that he’s not remotely impressed.

“A requirement,” says Felix. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t take math at all. But it’s part of a Business degree.”

“Business.” Sylvain snorts. “What a boring degree. Aren’t you here for fencing?”

“On a fencing scholarship, yes. There’s no future in a sport, though.” Felix narrows his eyes at him. “Something that you should probably learn.”

Sylvain’s got the build of a footballer, though, so Felix knows that he’s likely on that track. But, Sylvain doesn’t really talk about himself much, let alone his schooling. He has a tendency to watch people carefully with a gaze that’s far too knowing.

Felix never likes that look, like Sylvain’s mind is far away and thinking. A thinking Sylvain is likely a dangerous Sylvain. It’s always the ones you least suspect. Glenn would have been best friends with this dolt.

“What?” says Felix, annoyed.

“Nothing,” says Sylvain, turning back to his textbook.

Felix frowns but doesn’t push to ask more.

As the weeks pass, things shift from a tentative, peaceful study, into an actual friendship. Felix wants to hate it; a large part of him wants to loathe it because he doesn’t like people, nor does he like it when people admire him in return.

But, Felix has learned in their brief time together that it’s not all bad. Not every person who is friendly with you wants something in return. Being a Fraldarius has severely skewed the way that he views the general public, but Sylvain seems to have no idea what his roots are, thank the Goddess.

It’s led to a low-key relationship, full of quiet jokes and genuine care. Felix grudgingly accepts it.

Like always, Felix finds Sylvain holding their table in the corner, a cup of coffee already ordered and waiting for him. Bernadetta’s handmade mugs might be odd and a little bizarre, but they serve drinks all the same, even if it loses its heat more quickly.

Sylvain once berated him for his wasteful use of to-go cups and Felix relented without much of a fight. Much to his irritation.

“One large red-eye, black as your soul,” says Sylvain, pushing the cup towards Felix. “I think he threw in an extra shot this time.”

Felix grunts, noncommittally, drops his bag to the ground and slumps into his chair. The mug is hot to the touch, so it must be fresh, and Felix leans over to inhale deeply. Sylvain makes a gagging sound which causes Felix to glare at him.

“No judgment,” says Sylvain. Then he pauses. “Actually, a lot of judgment because only stone-cold dicks can drink that dredge--”

“Go back to the field,” snaps Felix, before taking a sip. It’s dark and bitter as it burns through his veins. Perfection, really. Sylvain just has bad taste.

“Always with the jock references,” says Sylvain. “At least you haven’t called me jockstrap yet.”

“Apt name for someone like yourself.”

Sylvian blinks. “What does that even mean?”

Felix huffs. “An athlete, you dolt.” He takes another sip. “You make fun of my sport enough that it's only appropriate that I do the same.”

Sylvain is quiet for a long moment and then he bursts out laughing. “Wait, wait,” he starts. “You think I’m an athlete? Why?”

“You're built like a footballer,” says Felix. “Infuriatingly tall and broad.”

“Not to say that jocks are dumb, or anything, but with my courseload what makes you think that I even have time to think about playing a sport?”

Felix thinks for a long moment, coming to realize that even with their burgeoning friendship, he knows next to nothing about Sylvain. He’s easy to get along with, they’ve fallen into an easy routine and Felix even finds that studying flies by with little to no thought by his side. Something about Sylvain’s quiet presence in the coffee shop makes it easier to focus.

Still.

“Wait, you don’t?” asks Felix. “Why didn’t you ever say--”

“I thought that you were just insulting me, I didn’t think that you actually thought that I--” Sylvain stops, laughing again. “I’m sorry, this is hilarious. It shows just how bad you are with people. Pure comedic gold.”

“You said you were on scholarship!”

At that, Sylvain raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, an academic one. Astronomy and Astrophysics.”

“Astrophysics?” blurts Felix incredulously.

In retrospect, it’s painfully obvious, he thinks. Suddenly, the textbooks of differential calculus and other various maths and sciences he can’t pronounce make a hell of a lot more sense. He reaches out, lifting the book that Sylvain’s currently working from, eyeballing the title.

“Steller, Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy,” Felix reads. Then he moves to the next. “Statistical Quantum Mechanics.” Felix meets Sylvain’s sheepish gaze. “You aren’t joking, are you?”

“I’ve wanted to understand the planets ever since I saw Star Trek as a kid--”

“Are you really basing your degree on a television show that you watched growing up? One that isn’t even that good?”

Sylvain’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, you did not just disrespect the best television show to ever have been created.”

“I’m not having this conversation,” says Felix. “I have an essay for Business Statistics, and it’s going to be hard enough to focus knowing that you’re doing experimental math over there.”

“Theoretical math,” says Sylvain, coyly correcting him.

“Whatever,” hisses Felix. “Honestly, being a footballer would be less annoying.”

Sylvain frowns slightly. “Than being smart?”

“What?” Felix scowls. “No, that isn’t what I meant. I don’t give a rat’s ass how smart you are, but really, Sylvain-- Star Trek?”

Sylvain lets out a long breath and Felix realizes that he must be used to being judged. Sylvain doesn’t have the typical look of a scientist when you think about it. He’s handsome and well built, looking like he spends more time on a beach than a mechanics lab.

Felix has the decency to be at least a little bit embarrassed for assuming, not that he’d publicly admit to it.

“Look, just go back to your book,” says Felix. “I’ll go back to mine. And if I have any math questions, I’m going to expect your help.”

At that, Sylvain lets out a little chuckle, different from his usual boisterous laugh. It takes Felix a moment to realize that it’s a genuine moment from Sylvain, one where he’s let down all those walls he’s carefully put up.

It seems that he’s even more guarded than Felix is, something of mild interest. If Felix took an interest in things. He doesn’t, he thinks, but it’s more like he’s trying to convince himself.

“Alright,” says Sylvain. “But I don’t know how much help I’ll be. Simple math confuses me more than this does.”

What a ridiculous thing to say, but it’s not as annoying as the way that Felix’s mouth twitches into a near smile.

#

In the aftermath of Felix’s assumed snafu, Sylvain makes irritating strides to get to know Felix better. Irritating, because Felix has come to learn that he likes spending time with the genius of a chump, be it lunches between classes, or dinner after their study session. A variety of low-commitment activities that are usually full of small talk that Felix is angered he doesn’t hate.

“Just to be more convincing,” said Sylvain, doing most of the talking like always. Felix was inclined to agree, considering that Annette told him that Sylvain wasn’t his type and the idea of the two of them together seemed frankly, odd.

“I don’t get what the issue is,” says Annette, one day that seems like eons after Felix struck his deal with Sylvain. It’s past winter holiday and creeping into the spring, warm enough to catch a snack at the crepe stand after Annette’s yoga class. “Are you bothered that you like to spend time with him?”

“No, that’s not--” Felix pauses. “I’m not good at making friends.”

“We’re friends,” says Annette, shoving a mouthful of crepe into her mouth.

Felix wants to remind her that they met after she asked him to dinner, and it was the one time he’d said yes. It lasted about thirty minutes before they both decided dinner was a bust and went bowling instead. Annette kicked his ass, looked pretty while doing it and he’d felt nothing in return.

Instead, he says, “You're persistent.” It’s half-hearted and he doesn’t really mean it, but Annette’s cheeks puff up anyway.

“Oh, Felix! You’re evil,” huffs Annette, but she never stays mad at him for long, turning her attention back to her food.

“Sylvain is… different,” says Felix, as they sit down on a bench.

Annette nods sagely. “I mean, yeah, isn’t that why you like him?”

“He’s sufferable.”

“I mean, I’ll admit, he’s an odd choice and definitely not your type but--”

“Wait, Annette,��� says Felix. “Do you think that I actually like him? As in romantically?”

She blinks at him, confused. “I mean, don’t you?” asks Annette around a mouthful of food. She’s never been very ladylike, but it’s a breath of fresh air at the end of all things. Normally it would endear Felix. But.

“ What?” snaps Felix, eyes immediately narrowing. “Of course I don’t, this entire thing has been a ruse to get people to leave me alone.”

Annette chews at her food thoughtfully for a second and then says, “But you enjoy spending time with him.”

“I’ve made that apparent,” says Felix. “It vexes me.”

“You’ve admired how smart he is.”

“Infuriatingly so, but it’s useful when we study.” Felix pauses. “Don’t tell him that I said that.”

“You spend your free time with him,” says Annette, gesturing at Felix with her crepe. “This is the first time I’ve seen you face-to-face in like a month, but you go out of your way to see him every day.”

At that, Felix starts, mouth snapping shut as he thinks. Annette’s right, he does go out of his way to spend time with Sylvain. And if they can’t meet properly, it’s texting. Sylvain’s usually the one to greet him in the morning with a corny horoscope that neither of them believes, but still laugh about. And Felix is usually the one to say goodnight, even if it isn’t warranted.

It feels wrong if they don’t share words at least once a day.

“Annette,” says Felix.

“Hm?” hums Annette, cheeks bulging around the last bite of her crepe.

“Am I in love with him?” It’s rhetorical, of course, and dreadful in tone, but Annette answers anyway.

“Would that be a bad thing?”

“No,” says Felix, mouth parted in awe as though the heavens had just been explained to him. Or, Sylvain explained theoretical warp theory and Felix finally understood it. That’ll never happen, but--

“I love him.” The words come easier than he expects and they fill him with unexpected warmth. He wants more of it. He’s also afraid of it, but if there’s anything that Felix is good at, it’s striking something head-on with force.

He hasn’t lost a fencing match in nearly three years.

Annette, blessedly, is quiet for once, just watching him process his feelings. And when he’s done, when Felix comes to his conclusion, she asks, “Do you feel better?”

“Yes,” says Felix, and it’s honest and true, and strangely welcome. He hasn’t felt this good in years. Certainly not since Glenn passed.

“Good,” says Annette, “Now go kiss him.”

Felix’s answer is dumping the rest of his crepe directly into her lap, the loss of his snack well justified.

#

Because Felix’s life is apparently a romantic comedy, he expects things between him and Sylvain to become awkward.

It doesn't. In fact, everything is disgustingly normal. They keep their study dates, emphasis on the study part. Sylvain still greets him with his coffee order, and on the few occasions that Felix beats him to the shop, he greets Sylvain with his ridiculous white mocha, extra whip.

There are a few differences, Felix supposes.

When Sylvain leans over to help with a math problem, Felix turns to him. They meet eyes more often than not. Felix willingly covers Sylvain’s dinner, which raises an eyebrow because he’s notoriously stingy.

But, if Felix seems off, Sylvain never mentions it or broaches the topic. It’s aggravating, how easy it is to just keep to the routine. And it’s not that Felix doesn’t want more; ever since his talk with Annette, he finds himself entertaining the idea further.

He’s done a lot of thinking. Sylvain’s handsome, there isn’t a doubt about it, but that’s not what pulls Felix to him. Sylvain’s smart as a whip and doesn’t mince his words. And yes, he puts walls up and dances about things personal, but Felix does the same.

And lately, Sylvain’s started to pull those walls down, comfortable in Felix’s presence.

No one’s ever comfortable around him and Felix is struck by how much it means. Feelings are hard and love is even worse. Felix isn’t quite sure that it’s worth it.

But, he hasn’t written the idea entirely off.

“Felix?”

Felix blinks. “I, er--”

Sylvain’s mouth tugs slightly downward at one side. Concerned. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

“Fencing,” blurts Felix. “The big tourney coming up.”

“You mean the one two weeks ago?”

Okay, so, Felix has been more distracted than he cares to admit. It’s all Sylvain’s fault. “Sylvain, it’s nothing. I’m just tired. School is draining. The usual.”

“Tired,” says Sylvain, unconvinced. He leans back in his chair, arms crossed and watching Felix carefully. Curse Sylvain’s perceptiveness and his ability to look right through people.

“Look, Sylvain--”

“Felix Fraldarius,” drawls another voice. They both turn to find a familiar face framed by bleach blonde hair and twirling a lock around her fingers. There’s the snap of gum in her mouth as she chews open-mouthed and unflattering.

Immediately, Sylvain is on the defensive. “Hey--”

“Hold it, golden boy,” says the girl, “I know you aren’t really dating. Heard it one day after you grabbed a bite to eat.”

Sylvain’s face darkens. “Have you been following us?”

The girl makes a face at the accusation. “Ugh, as if. It was a coincidence, I swear, but what a wonderful one. Means that I’ve got a chance.”

Felix immediately bites back, hackles raised. “I already had little interest, but as of right now, there’s not even a remote possibility of you having a chance.”

“Is it really so hard to just give it a go? You might even like me.” She bats her eyes in a pathetic attempt to appeal to him, but all Felix can think of his tanned skin dotted with freckles and sun-kissed auburn hair.

“Doubtful,” says Felix, dryly.

It takes only a second for her features to change dramatically, from coy and shy to contemptuous and sneering. “I wonder why I even bothered,” says the girl, before nodding to Sylvain. “Clearly your taste isn’t as good as I would have thought. Haven’t you heard the rumors about him?”

Yes, ad nauseum. From friends, the general public, even Sylvain himself. His problems with women and dating, and commitment issues. His brother and father, and the pressure of family legacy. At first, from those around them who’d heard of their dating, who’d seen them hanging out. People who felt it their duty to warn Felix.

And eventually, Sylvain himself who’s recently opened up about the heavy baggage that he carries around, shouldering it without much of a complaint. If anything, Sylvain’s the one looking out for others.

So yes, Sylvain doesn’t have a stellar reputation, but there’s a lot more to a person than what’s seen on the surface. A lesson that Felix has spent the last half-year learning quite unwillingly.

“Do you think yourself superior?” asks Felix, eyes narrowing at her. “You have no concept of personal space, nor do you seem to comprehend the words ‘no’ and ‘not interested’. Sylvain could murder someone in cold blood and still have twice the worth that you hold.”

“It’s a wonder, why you would even consider him,” scoffs the girl.

“Obviously it’s because I love him and despite the terrible things the lot of you gossip about, he makes me perfectly happy.”

The table goes quiet, both the girl and Sylvain staring at him. Likely, for different reasons. Felix didn’t mean to say it so plainly, but he’s never been good at pulling his punches, even when it comes to verbal lashings.

Besides, she brought it upon herself.

And against all odds, Felix feels wholly and utterly satisfied, not a moment of regret at his confession. He takes a sip of his coffee, fingers curled around his mug tenderly, meeting her gaze head-on.

“You should leave,” says Sylvain, before the girl can even respond. She opens her mouth to retort, but stops when Sylvain smiles at her. Only it isn’t a smile, it’s a nasty-looking smirk, more like a wolf that’s about to pounce its prey.

Wisely, she backs off, huffing in annoyance as she turns and leaves.

And then there are two, sitting at a table in silence. Felix is oddly comfortable, sipping at his drink while Sylvain’s mouth opens and closes. Thinking about what he’s going to say. Felix supposes that he’s opened the inevitable can of worms.

“So,” starts Sylvain, “correct me if I’m wrong, but when you said that you love me, it sounded pretty genuine.”

Felix scoffs, he can’t help it. “I always mean the things that I say.”

He expects Sylvain to bolt, to run away, to want nothing to do with this. Instead, Sylvain smiles, small and real, regarding Felix with a kind of warmth that immediately sets him on high alert.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” asks Felix, testily. But Sylvain only chuckles, soft at first and then louder. “Really Sylvain? You’re laughing? Right now?”

“Sorry,” says Sylvain, “It’s not actually funny-- okay, that’s a lie, it’s hilarious.”

Felix frowns, sneering defensively. “Is the idea of me loving someone, least of all you, so entertaining?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?” demands Felix, exasperated. Sylvain’s not one to beat around the bush, but he can’t seem to find his words, too busy being amused by Felix’s feelings, to his utter embarrassment.

“It’s because I love you too.”

Felix’s mouth falls open because that’s the last thing he expects Sylvain to say. He doesn’t answer, gaping openly at Sylvain, floundering for an explanation. Eventually, Sylvain finds himself, clearing his throat slightly.

Sylvain looks to Felix’s face and then his gaze drops to where his hand rests on the table. Considering. Felix really hopes that he’s not planning on taking it, but Sylvain does, fingers tugging at his palm gently.

Felix lets it happen, settling on the explanation that he’s just not like himself at the moment.

“Felix,” says Sylvain, this time quieter and more serious. He thumbs at Felix’s knuckles, the touch soft and hesitant. “I’ll admit, I’m a little bit relieved.”

“I’m annoyed,” says Felix. “I’ve been annoyed since the moment I realized it because all I’ve been able to do is think of you. It’s infuriating in the worst of ways.”

There’s a moment that passes as they watch each other, Sylvain’s hand practically burning around Felix’s. And then, Sylvain says, “Felix, can I kiss you?”

Yes, Felix thinks. It’s such a foreign feeling that he nearly pulls away but he doesn’t. He’s determined to indulge. It’s about time he’s enjoyed something in his life.

So, what he says instead is, “If you must,” the words clipped but his usual crustiness softer than normal. It makes Sylvain smile at him again, looking at Felix like he can see right through him.

Sylvain leans forward smoothly, cupping Felix’s jaw in his other hand. He’s still looking at him, like he’s some sort of treasure, paused right before Felix’s mouth. And that makes Felix impatient.

Felix is the one to close the distance, sealing their lips together like a promise. Sylvain’s mouth is soft under his, but he responds eagerly, his han moving to the back of his neck. Felix has never really put stock into the whole sparks flew and things were felt nonsense. Turns out that he’d been wrong and that kissing is kind of everything. All he can think of is Sylvain’s presence and the solid weight of him as he leans in.

Sylvain licks into the kiss, but only just barely, coaxing a tad more than just a mild response from Felix. And Felix can feel his skin burning bright red with strain, or embarrassment, or maybe just the idea that they’re doing this in public.

He doesn’t care, Felix wants more, fingers curling into Sylvain’s shirt and tugging slightly.

Eventually, they part because breathing is necessary and even Felix requires air. Regrettably. He wants to go back in, to kiss Sylvain again, just one more time before he gains his senses back and thinks better of it.

But first.

“You know, I’ll kill you if you hurt me,” says Felix, fingers tightening their grip around  Sylvain’s shirt.

Sylvain laughs, leaning close to Felix's ear and pressing a soft kiss there. “I know. But that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 67 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 254 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

--

RATE THE EPISODE 246 Responses

The response to this week’s episode remains overwhelmingly positive, with 97.6% of responses giving it a score of 3 or higher. 

This is the first episode where I have absolutely no criticisms, so im quite happy with how it turned out.

Voice acting was top tier

perfect

Emotional 

Great Job! I'm glad my favorite character's death was so emotionally misered.

Forget Attack on Titans, this episode was Attack on my Feelings ! 😭

I want to rate it a 1 because of Sasha but a 5 because of how well it was done... so 1.5

Absolutely loved it

Perfect

ASIDE FROM SASHA’S DEATH, WHICH MOMENT WAS THE MOST EMOTIONAL FOR YOU? 247 Responses

Connie’s heartfelt admission to Jean seems to have stolen the hearts of the plurality of responders (36%). That is followed by a tie of 18.2% responses noting Eren’s breakdown or EMA’S tense reunion as the most emotional moment for them. In third place is Gabi’s tragic declaration about her struggles with 11.3%. Other responses were, in order, Jean lamenting all of the deaths occurring, Gabi and Falco realizing that Zeke betrayed them, Hange scolding Eren for forcing the SC to intervene in Marley and Levi and Eren’s confrontation.

Connie telling Sasha and Jean that they're special to him made my heart hurt knowing what was going to happen mere minutes after. I honestly saw me and my two best friends through them, and it was gut wrenching seeing Connie and Jean's reactions. Even Mikasa's reaction broke me, to be honest. They all lost a huge light in their lives.

WHICH MOMENT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST? 222 Responses

So this question was meant to only go on the anime watchers poll and ended up here somehow. Thanks to the 222 who were good sports and responded anyway! :P The most shocking moments that took place in this chapter/episode was the revelation that Eren went rogue from the Survey Corps, that Zeke was collaborating with the Survey Corps, how the Survey Corps treated Eren, and that some Paradisians seemed to be turning to nationalism, in that order. 

Not sure why we're being asked as manga readers which moment shocked us the most since we already knew everything that was going to happen this week

HOW MUCH DID SASHA’S DEATH HURT YOU? 249 Responses

When it came to Sasha’s death, it would appear that it broke the hearts of the overwhelming majority of responders, with 81.1% giving it a rating of either 4 or 5 on the tragic scale. 

Broke my heart and I'm still crying over it three days later. Honestly though, it was greatly done. 

3 years later it hit me, Sasha is dead ;_;

Cried my whole soul and body. Rip sweet Sasha

I thought Sasha's death would've been more emotional.

WHOSE REACTION TO SASHA’S DEATH AFFECTED YOU THE MOST? 250 Responses

Sasha’s death elicited various reactions from the main cast. Two different responses tied at 36.4% noting Connie and Mikasa’s reactions to Sasha's death as the one affecting them the most. This was followed by Eren’s at 13.2%. The rest were, in order, Armin, Jean, Levi and Hange. 

I don’t cry at fiction much, but Sasha’s death got me more than I thought it would. I feel like seeing Armin and Mikasa’s reactions in particular is what got me.

The way they animated Armin and Mikasa bawling over Sasha's body and the inclusion of Call Your Name made it all the more emotional. I think by "Assassin's Bullet" they also meant a bullet through my heart because man did that hurt to watch. 😭🤧

WOULD YOU PISS YOUR PANTS IF LEVI WAS GLARING AT YOU WITH MURDEROUS INTENT? 248 Responses

A bit of a joke question, but we wanted to know if Levi appeared as threatening as he seemed. 80.2% seems to think so, admitting their incentive to piss their pants. In contrast, 19.8% don’t think the Captain’s such a scary guy!

THE FULL VERSION OF “ASHES ON THE FIRE” BY KOHTA YAMAMOTO (THE PREVIEW SONG) IS NOW OUT. IF YOU’VE LISTENED TO IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? 236 Responses

“Ashes on the Fire” has been released to rave reviews, with 88.1% of responses giving it a 4 or a 5. Nobody gave it a 1, either. Yamamoto-san, thank you!

OVERALL, HOW WELL DO YOU THINK MAPPA ADAPTED THE MARLEY ARC? 251 Responses

In spite of the relatively vocal complaints about the adaptation of certain elements of the Marley Arc, it would appear that the overwhelming majority of responders seemed pleased with it, with 51.4% giving it 5 and 37.1% giving it a 4. 1s not present. 

I've been a bit bothered how Mappa follows the Manga like a slave, using the panels as scenes and not adding anything in between. Sure it works for Manga, but it feels weird to me to watch in Anime how Eren grabs Armins hand and they don't give a transition where Armin pulls him in, but just show him inside the airship next. Just little things, but bothers me a bit. Overall I'm really enjoying their choices.

The show looks BETTER

I was fine with the episode. The quality of animation dropped but I understand that every scene cannot be animated on highest level. MAPPA has done a great job with the Marley arc. They shown the character development and bonds between the warriors perfectly. We had some cuts here and there but overally was okay: 8/10 for me. 

I’m so pleased that MAPPA has taken the anime. I’m still more of a fan of this particular series’ manga than anime though.

DID SASHA’S DEATH AFFECT YOU MORE WHEN YOU READ THE MANGA, OR SEEING IT ANIMATED WITH VOICES AND MUSIC? 249 Responses

As noted above, Sasha’s death seemed to be a hard hitter for most. Comparison of the adaptation vs the original allows to discern which hit the readers/watchers the hardest. Just one percent shy of a majority (49%) thought that the anime made it much more tragic. 30.9% noted that the impact was roughly similar across both mediums. On the flip side, 10.4% thought that the initial depiction of it in the manga was the hardest hitter. There were also a couple of write-ins. 

I dont remember I sped run reading the manga, kinda regretting it

I knew it for the first time in the manga, so it had a more powerful impact (I cried for a whole week. Not kidding) and the anime managed to make me cry as hard as in the manga. Though, I already was aware and grieved so it wasn't as bad

Got Spoiled :( so kinda meh, saw it coming

When the music kicked in after Connie announced she was gone, my heart broke into a million pieces. 

Let's be honest, Sasha's role was over after she killed the titan in the village and saved Kaya. After that she was just there. She got zero development, zero important moments, zero depth. Her death effected many characters and helped them to develop. Sasha's death was sad but at least brought some important changes in others. 

Not a Sasha fan so I was not really that affected but having a death in the series always feels sour

I think for me, they're both even.....mostly. There's just something about having been waiting for the chapter leaks on reddit with a bunch of other people and most of us collectively grieving at the same time. Once bigger pages of the chapter started coming out, it made me cry. I didn't even cry during serumbowl when I first read it and that had plenty for me to be even more upset about.

Honestly while reading manga I hated that Sasha’s last word was „meat”, it seemed so ridiculous. I’m happy MAPPA made it look more serious with music. Actually everyone’s reaction for Sasha’s death had more impact on me than the death itself

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SAW GABI KILL SASHA IN THE MANGA? AND HOW DO YOU FEEL SEEING IT AGAIN NOW, KNOWING HOW GABI’S ARC DEVELOPS? 247 Responses

Gabi is perhaps the most controversial character introduced post-time skip. Whether you’re a proud member of the Gabi Gang, proud hater of the 12 year old or just a neural party, everyone can admit that. With Sasha’s death at her hands, many seemed to offer up their opinion on the kid, back then and now. A slight plurality, 31.2%, stated that they did not hate her back when 105 first released and they don’t hate her now. 23.1% note that although they were rather upset with her back down, they are not (upset/angry) any longer. On the flipside, 25.5% state that they still hate the kid, as they did back then. Finally, some were simply neutral. Classic. 

Quite a few write-ins, as well.

I hated her in the manga but after watching the anime, I’m not happy about it but I understand why she did what she did and don’t hate her as much anymore.

I was extremely upset about it before and am still extremely upset about it now, but for different reasons. I hate her less but am not any less annoyed by her brainwashed hatred of the Paradisians, although I understand her much better and realize and empathize that she's just a kid who's been used by her country in the worst way.

Gabi Braun Must Die

Broke my heart and was upset, but understood where she was coming from (thought about her perspective only)

Sasha shoulda killed this cunt while she had the chance

It’s war, she did as she needed to.  Her arc is fantastic 

love hate relationship 

I didn't like her but not because of Sasha death (that's war consequence) and it's the same now

I really hated her with my whole heart and soul, but now that it has been all explained, that she had character development, I even like her now

I used to be angry about it but I understand why now, Gabi is just a victim of Marley’s control just like anyone else is, it’s a shame this is the results of it. She’s still at fault but I can’t hate her so much for it

I feel tired of Gabi hate. I disliked her in the manga back then but now I feel neutral towards her, because she has changed. Yet, I wish she took less screentime. 

SORRY for ranting! I don't understand the hate on Gabe. Yes, I know she killed a Paradise character which was present in series since its beginning and I understand Sasha's fans are upset Sasha is not here anymore because of her. but those people do not analyse Gabe as they should be. Every character belongs to a different side and each side is blinded by what heir belives in. It is okay to not like Gabe but I don't tolerate hate on her. I THINK THIS QUESTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED AT ALL.

Initial hate, understanding after some thought

Understanding her situation I know I shouldn’t hate her, but I’m choosing to be petty and hate her anyway 

I liked her much more than I like her now. She was a much better character back then, her killing Sasha (a one-note comedic relief) was cool and brought some spice to the story. Now she just exists to spout themes and convenient exposition and to be an aimbot

i dislike her, even if i understand her

I dont like Gabi. Never did. It isnt because she killed Sasha tho. I just dont care for Gabi tbh BUT i can totally understand her actions and do not blame her for it after seeing the destruction and killings

I was and still am upset about Sasha's death, but from the start I blamed it more on the circumstances than Gabi.

I loved her then, I love her now and it probably wouldn’t change even if she killed my favourite characters. She’s my cinnamon roll

Gabi did nothing wrong, killing a soldier in the battlefield is not a crime.

See, I WANT to like Gabi since she's obviously changed, but knowing she killed Sasha nonetheless will ALWAYS prevent me from having any love or respect for her. She will always be my most hated character

MAPPA ADDED AN EXTENDED SCENE OF FLOCH AND OTHER SURVEY CORPS RECRUITS BEATING GABI AND FALCO. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? 240 Responses

MAPPA added an extra scene of Floch and Friends raining down copious amounts of gratuitous violence upon two 12 year olds (MAPPA is pro-child violence???????? Find out when 111 is adapted). 48.8% seemed to think that it was a decent addition, even if just for the SC’s characterization (or perhaps you enjoyed seeing that?). 22.5% thought it was a bit over the top to feature. Finally, 16.7% did not care. 

I didn't like it. But, it was def a believable reaction from them.

I just wish it was enough to kill her

I liked the additional characterization of Floch & co.

Great addition, it was implied in the manga so the scene fitted well. Still, it was horrifying to see how vile the scouts were to two kids

How about an option where we're glad Gabi got beaten to a pulp but not when Falco was?

ORA ORA thing, but we viewers get hurt too. 

Didn't feel bad about Gabi getting beat up, but I did feel bad seeing Falco get beat up. Poor boy didn't deserve that

A nice addition 

I thought it was a great choice to highlight the continuing violence and feelings of vengeance from both sides even more. and I thought it contrasted really well with Jean's decision not to throw the kids out of the airship.

The people glorifying this scene annoy the shit out of me

It's a good way to hint the "Yaegerist" perspective to anime onlies

MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA

The Gold Experience memes are funny

It was an IC scene for people like Floch + I feel bad for the kids

The way they shot that scene made the recruits seem like mindless, gross-faced animals storming towards the kids to beat them up. I liked how they were dehumanised like that, considering that most faces amongst them belonged to the ones who support the rumbling. 

It hurt to see that but good scene though

Feel empathy for Gaby. Violence don't solve problems

Now THAT'S what I call fan service! Who needs big-boobed, big-ass females or shirtless guys with and when you can just have the most hated character get the tar beaten out of them xD

I can see why they did it. MAPPA's not dumb and I'm sure they anticipated a massive onslaught on hate towards Gabi specifically, so it was their way of trying to satisfy the haters. Falco didn't deserve it tho.

It was a good addition

GREAT JOB MAPPA

I hate Gabi too but that was too much beating up a child, yet it also showed how shit Floch and the others are.

Apparently some people never noticed that Gabi and Falco got beat up, probably because it happened in the background. So it was good for MAPPA to call attention to it.

I love Gabi but she had that coming. No need to hurt Falco though. :(

OVERALL, HOW WELL DO YOU FEEL MAPPA EXECUTED THE REVEAL THAT ZEKE IS A TRAITOR TO MARLEY? 240 Responses

The reveal that ZOOK has been working against Marley for years on end is one of the most important ones in the series, really. So it was important to have it be executed in a rather decent manner. The vast majority of the fandom thought that MAPPA did a fine job. 52.1% gave it a rating of 4, 27.5% gave it a 5 and 17.1% gave it a 3. The couple of the other respnders gave it a 2, with no 1s.

IN THE END, DO YOU THINK EREN’S ACTIONS IN MARLEY WERE ULTIMATELY JUSTIFIED? 242 Responses

A question to remember… Were Eren’s actions in Marley ultimately “justified”? A plurality, 44.6% seems to think so. In contrast, 24% disagree. And 31.4% still aren’t sure to this day.

SIMILARLY, DO YOU THINK THE SURVEY CORPS WAS ULTIMATELY JUSTIFIED IN TREATING EREN AS THEY DID? 244 Responses

When it comes to the SC treating Eren as they did, the division is much less pronounced however. The majority, 60.7%, think that the SC had quite the justification for treating Eren as they did. On the flip side, 19.7% think that there was such justification for behaving in such a manner towards Eren. Finally, the same amount of responses stated that still can’t be sure to this day.

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN A CLEAR SHOT OF YELENA, DID MAPPA DO HER JUSTICE? 243 Responses

YELENA is here. Queen 👑. Or well, maybe not. Who am I to say? In any case, her appearance was received well. 52.7% thought MAPPA did very well and 33.7% went on to declare their love for her. Just shy of 10% noted that MAPPA could have done a little better though. 

Kinda wish her hair was like neon or something idk

Need more eps of her to decide, she didn't get much screentime and lines here. 

I don't like Yelena, but yeah I guess they did good.

In the manga she was a creepy-looking person. MAPPA made her unique, interesting and mysterious. I love her voice and her stoic, relaxed self. MAPPA did a good job.  

QUEEN!!!!!

Great adaptation but I still don't like her as a character

Don’t care about her 

don't really care

I hate her and I don't care about her.

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 247 Responses

Such a colorful chart for this one. It would appear that slightly over a quarter look most forward to seeing Crykasa at Sasha’s grace. Slightly less (21.9%) want to see Sasha enjoying Niccolo’s cuisine. In third place is the scene with Connie, Jean, Mikasa and Niccolo at Sasha’s grace. The rest are, in order from most to least, Onyankopon and Yelena teaching the Survey Corps about the Port, EMA talking at the shooting range and Hange and Armin learning about Marley’s technology.

HOW HYPED ARE YOU FOR THE UPCOMING TIMESKIP FLASHBACKS? 239 Responses

The time skip flashbacks seem to be a hit. A little over 51% are super stoked about seeing them animated. Slightly under 24% state that they’ll enjoy them, but are looking forward to other things more. In contrast, 22.6% are ready to go crazy (from a positive standpoint)! Wooo! 

Enjoying AND dreading it at the same time

I just want the centipede

Boring. The only thing what interests me is Historia teasing Mikasa about her crush on Eren. The rest is too jolly. 

I'm looking forward to see Yelena's insane self be animated. That, and more Zeke.

THE MOST RECENT LIST OF FUTURE EPISODE TITLES SHOWS THAT EPISODE 12 WILL LIKELY END AROUND CHAPTERS 109-111, LEAVING CHAPTER 112 (EMA’S ARGUMENT) FOR EPISODE 13. EPISODE 67 WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY ADAPTED FROM CHAPTER 105, PROVING THAT ADAPTING DIALOGUE-HEAVY CHAPTERS FAITHFULLY CAN EASILY REQUIRE THE FULL 20 MINUTES. WITH ONLY 16 EPISODES - AND SO MANY WHICH ARE DIALOGUE-HEAVY - DO YOU THINK THINGS WILL END OFF WITH THE INITIATION OF THE RUMBLING (CH. 122), AS HAS BEEN SPECULATED BY MUCH OF THE FANDOM? 238 Responses

The manner in which the Season will end is a mystery to even the manga readers. Where will it end? Will it have many cuts? These are the questions. 36.6% seem to think that MAPPA will somehow manage to both end it at Chapter 122 and cut as little as possible. 26.5% don't believe ending on 122 is possible. 12.2% do believe MAPPA will end the Season on 122, but only with many notable cuts. Finally, just a little under 20% are simply not sure. There were a few write-ins as well. 

I hope not, too many cuts would be required 

The is no way they're making it up to 122, at first I thought they were going to finish it off with Eren's head getting blown off in 119, but now that seems like a reach too. Now I think MAPPA is probably going to end this first half of the season with Eren and Pieck's "where is the enemy?" and the warriors arriving to Shiganshina 

I’m not sure right now so I’ll have to see for later episodes for the cut-off point, if it isn’t the Rumbling then it’ll be when Gabi shoots Eren

MOVIE

I'm conflicted. I'm sure they'll end at rumbling because it's the only reasonable point to cut it, but I feel like they're running out of episodes. Then again I'm feeling the same about the state of Manga, there's just too little chapters left to end things up well.

I don't really want to think too much about it, I just want to enjoy the anime lol

I fully expect 119 to be the end

What was the point of rushing Reiner's chapters if you are going to slow down later. Goddamn it MAPPA. 

It'll really depend on the pacing for the next couple episodes, but I'm with a bulk of the fandom that see Chapter 119 Two Brothers being the end point for The Final Season. IF they were to skip the opening and maybe the ending, I can see them transitioning from Eren's head getting blown off immediately into his transformation and the beginning of the Rumbling. But even that is quite farfetched. 

I have no idea, I'm a little worried now. Wouldn't be the first time a lot of content gets cut but if they insist on reaching ch. 122, I just don't see how you do that without butchering a lot. If that happens, it would probably lessen my enjoyment of the season.

Yeah, I think it will have a lot of cuts, but I believe that it will get there because Ymir falling in the tree was in the trailer

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

It's amazing seeing how each week, something with SnK trends! ^^

It still baffles me just how much people insist on hating Gabi, especially when her arc has shown tremendous growth in the manga. Reiner was no better than her when he was a child and continued to insist that Paradisians are devils and chose to further destroy their lives even after sleeping under the same roof as the 104th for 3 whole years and forming personal bonds with them. Yet, his actions are forgivable but Gabi's are not? Both characters have shown remorse for their former beliefs and misdeeds against Paradisians. Both realized that they were in the wrong. The characters have forgiven Gabi. Why can't y'all do the same? People who want Gabi to suffer are no better than they accuse her of being. 

Well done episode which managed to capture the emotions of sasha's death perfectly

monke

I really appreciate Gabi as a character. She has spunk and a strong character arc in which she changes and grows more than anyone in the last 30 chapters of the manga, save maybe Mikasa (ignoring how Eren, Reiner, Armin and maybe a few others changed during the timeskip). It makes me sad seeing people wishing for her to die and praising Floch and the others for kicking her.

Gabi absolutely deserves the hate she gets

I absolutely love to see the anime-onlies mass hate of GabBitch, does my heart good xD

Boring ,too much Gabi she is annoying

Time to strap in: wild ride ahead!

Gabi Braun is the WORST character, her arc was poorly written and the moment she kills Sasha solidifies her rightful place as most hated character

No development has made me stop hating Gabi. The wound of Sasha's death will ALWAYS overshadow any crocodile tears Gabi may cry.

Kudos to Jean's and Connie's voice actors. Emotions were so raw and natural.

so good! they're really nailing down the emotional beats so far!

Dialogue-heavy but still amazing! Also the music was great

I didn't felt anything when Sasha died. Even the first time, in the manga. She hasn't enough personnality for me to care. Erwin and Bertolt's death were more saddening for me. Stop hating Gabi. She was in grief and she did what Marley brainwashed her to. And Sasha killed people right in front of her, so…

1 chapter was too little to be adapted for an episode, you could tell some scenes were stretched to fit the runtime

The music they chose for the scene of Sasha passing was also the same music they used when the Survey Corps first donned their capes and Eren found out Marco was dead... man, that song is gonna hit harder than ever now

It didn’t help with the overwhelming amount of hate Gabi is getting. I hope Mappa does her justice because she’s a great character but the Anime only seem to hate her because its a “funny” “popular” thing but it really isn’t... shows who really is paying attention to the story and the people who are watching it because it’s popular and trendy 

People who are hating on Gabi do not understand the themes portrayed in AoT

Pretty solid overall. Wonderful bits of animation such as the ODM bits and the solid character acting from Sasha going down, Mikasa and Armin is distress, personal highlight being Gabi's reload animation. Good ost choices, nice addition of Samuel and Daz to foreshadow their conflict later on in the story, and great work from Connie, Gabi and Eren's VAs.

Friendly reminder that just because we hate Gabi does NOT mean we don't "understand" the story or themes. We just don't care because Gabi is a bad character.

U mad at Gabi for what she did ? Did she kill Potato girl for no reason? Imgine a kid, at least 3 years younger than the 104th, made fighting on WARS and praised for it, brainwashed by Marley that Paradisians are devils, and these devils came in her home, killing her friends and this WOMAN killed in front of her eyes two people who tried to protect her. Don't be mad at Gabi. Grieve for Sasha, okay, but stop hating Gabi. You're the worst when you do it

Hey Gabiatans: as long as you're not threatening the VA or other RL p olle, it's PERFECTLY fine to hate Gabi. Period. We don't have to like her, and it's not like we don't "understand" her just because we hate her. I "understand" a lot of Germans were forcibly coerced into joining the Nazi regime, but I don't have to pity then for any consequences that came for them.

Leviiiiiii

I was surprised that Mikasa and Armin crying over Sasha had no voice over. I thought it was still effective but I'm not sure if I prefer it. Other than that, the character animation was amazing this episode. Gabi's hands as she reloaded the rifle and Armin crying were my favorites. Overall, everything was pretty perfect and I love it when a chapter gets adapted in full with basically no cuts. One of the best episodes in the series and a proper send off for Sasha.

Wonderfully done episode! They truly did Gabi and Falco's perspectives justice. Also, seeing Eren's expressions and reactions in animated format was clarifying and super well done, too!

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 227 Responses

Thanks again to everyone who participated! 

[senotsuri]

Way back when, I posted an image of an OC, who fairly recently got a full name (she only had a surname back then.) So, with Eliza’s name finally figured out, I realised I hadn’t actually given my overview of the game that spawned her; Champions of Vestroia.

Time to lose my mind, I guess.

Some fore-knowledge before we get into this.

I am, by all means, a legacy bakugan fan, not a reboot fan. I’ve only seen one double episode (the become-smaller-child episode, which was cute, and Outer Demons, which has a super good premise, but the execution is. something.) By all accounts, CoV is essentially my introduction to the world of the reboot, and I’ll come to this later.

I played both the first game (Bakugan Battle Brawlers, specifically the Wii edition), and the... third game (Defenders of the Core, shortened to DOTC, also for the Wii. The second game, for anyone curious, is Battle Trainer, a DS exclusive.) This will come up later, of course, but I want to point out these two as they’re basically my control group for the quality here (not for the battles though; different battle system and all.)

I am incredibly stay-at-home. A lot of people I know irl I don’t have contact with, and most of them don’t live in my city. This is only important when it comes to the protagonist and literally no one else in the game, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

So the game begins with the character creator. This is pretty standard stuff, honestly. My one issue with it is just-- this is probably my fashion sense speaking, but the fashion in the game is very... for lack of a better term, naff. There aren’t many options that look good, personally speaking. This is ignoring the issues where the protagonist loses their name, mid conversation, or is referred to as if I chose the male option instead of the female option. These issues are likely just oversights, by all accounts, but talk about jarring.

The first time you see your character is where 3. comes in. The protagonist, no matter what you chose (I have two save files, in case there was a difference. There isn’t), will always be a football/soccer player. Are you one of many, many people who isn’t sporty, who is trying to play as themselves? Sorry, your character is sporty, and you can’t do anything about it.

In the legacy games, this was never really a problem; your character was never seen doing anything other than brawling and interacting with other characters. Whether they played sports, or stayed indoors and wrote fanfic, the game let you decide on that for your character, by not having them do either of those things: your character only battled, or snuck around in DOTC’s case.

Once you stop playing football, you get to run to your best friends, and I guarantee you, you won’t immediately guess who they are unless you somehow already knew.

I mentioned BBB and DOTC being my control group on quality. Bringing the character creator back into this, the NPCs are laughable in quality. Any character who has the same model as you (older child. There are only two other model types: adult, and younger child) will look like a remixed version of your character. Had it not been for some characters having special eye shapes, you could practically cosplay any character in the game, because they were made the same way you made your character.

This includes your two best friends.

You could easily make the same character (minus clothes) as one of your best friend characters, without knowing it until you saw them.

While, yes, BBB and DOTC had the characters from the legacy anime in them, the fact that your best friends are nigh indistinguishable from any other character in the area, because you could easily make any of them in the character creator, isn’t... great.

Speaking of that. Characterisation is questionable, to say the least. Whatever bakugan you have in your first slot will answer to you the same as any other bakugan you have in your first slot. If you started off with Howlkor in the front of your party, and you replaced him with, say, Barbetra, Barbetra will act the exact same as Howlkor did, and it’s really something.

There’s only (?) Armoured Alliance bakugan in the game, other than Dragonoid, Pegatrix, Trox, Hydorous, Nillious, and the afforementioned Howlkor. That’s a small roster, by all accounts, so having varied dialogue depending on the bakugan would make sense.

The characterisation of the other characters is also a little funky in places. Your best friends don’t brawl, and I honestly forgot about them for a portion of the game. The tournament brawlers are practically as faceless as the villain minions, and the villains- oh the villains...

Preston. I don’t like Preston, at all. He’s a villain from the moment you see him, and the whole “try to find Preston” section in Helena Heights makes me want to punch someone. When you fight him in the Parasol HQ, his dad being the CEO, it’s fairly clear that Preston is little more than a tool for him. Sometime later, you fight Preston again, this time as the final tournament’s final battle, and he’s laughably weak compared to the other challengers. Remember, this kid fights you with Leonidas.

You’d think Leo would be good, but I’ll get into the butchering that happened to my death dragon later.

Anyhow, he fights you, assuming his dad will enjoy him defeating you. With the power of you’re the player character, you beat him, he hands all of his bakugan to you, and gives up on brawling for good. Kinda.

The next time you see him... hoo boy. In Old Town, on the way to defeat dear detestable dad, you come across Preston. He offers you help, and when player character is understandably suspicious, Preston complains that... one of his toys was taken away because you beat him, and now he wants Revenge On Dad.

I wish I was joking. His revenge, by helping you defeat his dad, isn’t because he’s obviously neglected by his dad (company taking priority over him, the CEO’s son), and then is used as a minion to try and get rid of you. It’s not out of bitter feelings because his dad doesn’t care about him, no, it’s because his dad took his ball away.

What’s worse is how player character reacts: “Oh! :) You’ve learned that bakugan aren’t just tools! :) Yes you can help me, despite the fact that you learning this sounds less than genuine and definitely not last minute! :)”

This is a level of stupidity I’ve only seen in DOTC Mira when Spectra tricks her into giving him Drago. He’s literally sulking and moping about over his ball, and then he sees the player character, immediately being manipulative so that player character can take down his dad for him. 

Leonidas also forgives him, and has the same reaction as the player character.

Speaking of Leonidas! I think everyone’s been excited for Leonidas in general - we all love a shark headed death dragon, and we wanted one in the reboot for ages.

I refuse to call reboot Leonidas Leonidas. This is like the Shun Kazami debacle, but one I’m substantially more angry about.

Leonidas, in BBB, was untrusting of everything, wanted to throw down with everything in sight, had no fear of anything because “I don’t fear weak [humans]”, and literally came from hell. He eventually grew to trust you and others, to calm down and enjoy himself at his own pace, and was willing to have help from others, showing anyone around him that his origins aren’t the be all and end all about him.

Leonidas, in CoV, is immediately trusting of the first human who showed a hint of kindness, has a weakness to all attacks in the game, comes from Vestroia (not the Doom Dimension), and forgives the human who threw him away when he didn’t win the battle against you for him.

Ignoring the fact that Leonidas just doesn’t look good in CoV, I’d say he got bastardised. That’s not Leonidas, it’s just a dragon with the same name.

The main villain is the CEO of Parasol, an energy company that, assumedly, used to use solar power. Upon finding out that bakugan battles give off incredible levels of power, they turned to using bakugan, forced to battle, to generate power. These guys literally dug into someone’s house to try and get Leonidas. They’re evil.

On the topic of the battling for power generation; this has a decay effect on Vestroia, as it happens, as battling energy would usually go back into Vestroia, which would be recycled and reused.

The CEO doesn’t bend the knee to you until you break him, which is undoubtedly nice for a villain; I was honestly expecting him to give up, but he doesn’t. You beat him into a corner.

But as my introduction to the world of BP, through CoV, is lackluster at best. Obviously the game is meant for those who have seen the reboot, and don’t mind being completely disconnected from the story, because CoV is self contained, and Dan only shows up to be the tutorial giver (as a jpg, no less).

From what the game tells me about the setting; bakugan are often exploited by adults, bakugan do not like adults because of this, but can’t tell when a human child is manipulating them, unless another child removes them from that situation (the lack of agency here is somehow worse than in the legacy series, who knew).

Despite bakugan being around for 18 years in the setting, no one seems to be aware that they’re living beings, other than the main charcter, as if BP humans are equivalent to Legacy’s Vestals. I was already aware of Vestroia and Earth sharing a location in space, but the fact that drilling deep enough causes bakugan to appear on Earth seems... really weird? Schrödinger’s Bakugan Summoning Pit, but they exist on every digging site possible. Bonus points to all bakugan being able to speak, and they do speak a lot, but only to the player and whoever is around the player in a cutscene.

I’m missing a lot of things, such as battle items being the worst sometimes, I’m aware, but at this point I’m tired of rambling, so let me end off in a comparison.

CoV has, in my opinion, the same replayability levels as Pokemon Shield; I couldn’t replay either game to the end, and I wouldn’t recommend either to anyone unless they were desperate for a new game to play, and had nothing else to chose.

[tiesandtea]

Mr. Lazy – fanzine interview with Alan Fisher, December 2004

intrepid suede globetrotters elina and sirje conducted this interview with alan fisher, the man about whom songs like "lazy", "high rising", "beautiful loser" and, according to the man himself, "the most of the others as well" have been written. (editor's note: not to suggest that alcohol played any part in this q&a session, but it did take place in alan's local. oh, and in other locations in the uk, plus morocco & finland, in both oral & written forms. anyway, surely worth all the so-called trouble.) no animals, be they cats or terrapins, were harmed during this interview, but a considerable amount of wine bottles did get destroyed.

how long have you known brett? where did you grow up?

i have known brett since i was 16/17 – near on 20 years now. i grew up in sussex, near haywards heath.

how does it feel that so many of brett’s lyrics are about you? (did you ever get the feeling that brett was just kind of observing you or waiting around for you to do something flamboyant so that he could write about it?)

it’s very flattering to know that some lyrics are about me. however i was never aware of brett observing me purposely to get lyrics or ideas for songs. it’s funny because there are so many songs that are very personal to me, and you think some part of the song is about you, and they are not. over the years many friends who have been in close contact with brett and the music think that songs are about them, because of various lyrical content. i think brett has ability to take elements from friends’ lives or chapters and create a story blended together, a fusion of characters in one song. i remember when i heard “the big time” and the last line – “now we’re in the big time and you’re in the way” i was extremely put out, i took it very personally. i thought it referred to me, but luckily it didn’t. however i’m pleased to say that my favourite song has to be “lazy”. the original version i think went like this – “here they come with their make up on as lovely as the birds come and see them” which i think is very beautiful. which changed to “here they come gone 7 am bla bla bla”, which was about being up all night, then putting on make up so as to hide the effects of being on a bender, and going down to off-license to buy cornflakes and bottles of red wine.

what was the best experience traveling with suede? (what happened in las vegas?)

difficult question, as i’ve had many amazing experiences on tour with suede. two very contrasting escapades were one journey in japan, and one on the west coast of america. brett and myself had the fortunate experience of visiting a buddhist temple in japan called the “moss gardens”. we visited a temple that was so beautiful and peaceful, and the entire gardens were immersed in moss with beautiful ponds and waterfalls. we sat in the temple and wrote a mantra admist buddhist chanting, which i believe influenced the song “introducing the band”. the other experience was a trip to la, san francisco and las vegas. i seem to remember i hadn’t been to bed for a few days, and when i was there i didn’t sleep much for various reasons. we stayed at a friend’s house in beverly hills called michiko, a house of pure opulence, with plenty of alcohol and other fineries. i seem to remember that towards the end (in vegas) brett wouldn’t let me sleep – just more alcohol. and i think that when i went to bed brett checked to make sure i was alive.

what will/do you miss the most about suede?

the thing i miss the most about suede is being around when a great song is created. i’d come home and brett would say “i’ve got it.”, some missing song on the album and consequently we would stay up night after night listening to the same song over and over – the poor neighbours.

at what part of his career was brett at his happiest?

when he was writing happy songs. actually i don’t think brett ever made happy songs. only joking! i don’t know when brett was actually the happiest. i think maybe when the band first started and the first album came out, that’s when he realised his dreams were coming true.

has brett being famous ever bothered you?

brett being famous has never bothered me; in fact it’s been quite a relief; it’s taken the limelight away from me.

fame can and has certainly changed many people who obtain it. how do you think it's affected brett over the years? has it affected your friendship?

i don’t think fame has changed brett’s fundamental characteristics, obviously it has shaped his life aspects like walking down the street, or having a drink in pub. i think living with me for so long has definitely fucked him up.

is there a lot of divergence between brett's public persona and the man underneath it all?

not really. he’s the same complex, passionate and artistic character at home and on stage, i don’t know about the bedroom though!!

how were the new band members really welcomed?

some dreadful, unmentionable initiation ceremonies.

was brett & bernard getting back together a surprise for you? how do you like the new material? how about brett’s solo material?

not really; they had a magic chemistry together that never really fulfilled its potential. and the new stuff is absolutely great! wait and see!!

what's all this about brett meditating? it was mentioned in the love & poison book.

i haven’t actually read love & poison, which is extremely lame of me, eventually i will. however, i think brett has some interest in meditating, maybe from visiting japan’s buddhist temples and being influenced by their way of living, zen and all that.

is brett good at pub quizzes?

brett, i could imagine, is very good at pub quizzes if he entered them. they have a quiz at our local pub, i think brett and mat osman entered once, and came a very admirable second place, which is no mean feat, because it’s a very professional affair in that establishment.

have there been times when brett did something you wish he hadn't? musical decisions or anything.

i can’t think of anything that resembles a mistake or regret in terms of musical direction. over the years, artists are faced with monumental decisions to make in terms of artistic development; single releases; band commitment and general themes for the forthcoming albums. however, i think brett has the ability to listen to other people’s opinions as well as his own, to come up with the best viable decision. considering the turbulent times of drug taking and various band members coming and going, i don’t think he’s done too badly.

how posh is brett?

how posh is brett – what a strange question – in fact the hardest one i’ve ever been asked! – not at all. crikey, well for somebody that came from a council house and bought second hand records/clothes. he now drinks tea at 4 o’clock in proper bone china tea cups – doesn’t get any posher than that. oh! and he has a butler called jessica rabbit.

does he watch sports on tv?

well it has to be football, brett hates posh sports like cricket & rugby (un)like me. he is very obsessive over the england football team, ipswich and manchester united (because that’s my team, and i always cry when they lose).

what's brett's best quality?

brett’s best quality is having good taste in friends and good taste in music, i.e., suede.

and his worst?

i can’t think of his worst qualities, but i remember the worst thing living with him, he would always become too comfortable on the sofa which would mean i would have to rewind the suede demos and go out and get another bottle of wine from the off-license.

we're sorry this is all about suede/brett... when we start an alan fanzine we’ll interview you about yourself... ok?

ok.

tell us a secret

my favourite colour is black.

how much do suede lie in the interviews? (if you read them)

i’m too busy to read suede interviews, i’ve got my own press cuttings to examine.

what do you think brett would have become without suede?

i’m sure it would have only been with some musical compaction. however, our living arrangements would have resembled something out of “the servant”.

what about you? how much has suede affected you?

suede were the most important thing in my life. as my girlfriend just put it a moment ago whilst i was writing this, it’s like going out with three people: her, me and suede. as i tell her, it could have been worse: i could have been friends with ronan keating.

do you love us? what do you think of suede fans in general? a lovely bunch on whole, or have you had some harrowing experiences with obsessed loonies?

well, i’m a suede fan myself, so i would have to say they are great. obsessed loonies? i am one; i have been stalking brett for 20 years, but he doesn’t realise.

there are lots of mentions of yours and brett's drug use in l&p. is this an accurate characterization of the state of affairs or did it get glammed up a bit for press?

it’s all a myth, i once smoked a joint with brett, it was really far out man! oh, and i snorted some glue at a dinner party once, it was so chic.

tell us something about suede that we don't know.

they are a figment of your imagination!!

tell us something about brett that we don't know.

i know something extremely juicy, real top gossip. but you’re going to have to wait to see whether he meets my blackmail demands.

if you were an animal, what kind of animal would he be? what kind of animal would brett be?

brett refers to me as an electrocuted rabbit, something similar to the mad hatter in alice in wonderland. i think brett would be a very feline cat.

speaking of cats, they tend to go missing, don’t they?

we had a cat called meisk – when brett was on tour it went missing. when i found it on the street, i thought it had a cold because it had a funny meow – it turned out to be the wrong cat. i remember brett was extremely pissed off. we had another cat called sphinx that was an incredibly lively character, it had a long run up – then produced its claws and wham!!

have you ever been arrested?

yes! on several occasions, on suspicion of being sinister and bad influence on society.

dave thompson’s yet-to-be-published suede-book, an armchair guide to suede, includes this: 

"‘young men’ developed out of lyrics written for a joke band, the bruisers, that anderson, his flatmate alan and a hairdresser friend named gary hatched one evening;"

can you tell us anything more about this?

after one crazy night early in the morning we had this inspiration to form a band based on idea of national front skinheads with the title song “british bulldog”. brett and gary were both very amusing and inventive with songs like “santa ain’t a wanker” etc.

besides that, have you ever been musically inclined or in a band yourself?

after hearing brett playing an instrument called the melodica, something like a mouth organ with a pipe attached to it, waking me every morning, it put me off music for life.

what other music are you into besides suede?

sigue sigue sputnik and mozart.

have you and brett ever had a fist fight? have you ever fought over who does the shopping or cleans the toilet or whose dirty plates are in the sink?

we have never had a fist fight in 20 years. however, we once had a duel at sunrise over who was the vainest.

that’s it then. say something nice. or mean. whatever you like. thanks!

stop asking me questions about brett, and more about myself!

Source: Pornographic & Tragic, the official Suede fanzine, issue 2 (December 2004).

[ejzah]

A/N: Basically, this is just turning into Kensi and Deeks flirting on the job all day long.

***

The Agent and the Lawyer, Part 11

Kensi was about to lean back in for a second kiss, when she heard the sound of footsteps and Eric popped his head through the doorway a few seconds later. Deeks quickly moved away from her, running his hand through his hair in a falsely nonchalant way.

“Hey, Callen needs you, Kensi,” Eric said, jerking his thumb behind him. “Oh and Deeks, I almost have your ID ready. You can come by and grab it before you leave today.”

“Great, thanks.” Deeks said. “Nice shirt by the way. Are those cacti?” Eric plucked at his button down, which indeed featured tiny cartoonish cacti, and nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, it was limited edition. I think they sold out by now.”

“Aw, that’s too bad.” Deeks turned to Kensi. “Don’t you think I’d look great sporting a little desert greenery?”

“Actually, I think you’re both ridiculous and can’t that grown men would choose to around dressed like that,” Kensi said, purposely not looking at Deeks. Eric didn’t seem to notice the tension between them. “Did Callen say what he needs.”

“Something about a translation. He’s waiting for you in the bullpen.”

After Eric had left, she glanced at Deeks out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if Eric hadn’t come along. Part of her was annoyed at the interruption and another, saner, part of her was infinitely grateful.

“That was close,” she told Deeks who shrugged.

“I thought you said Hetty wouldn’t have a problem with us having...whatever it is we have,” he said and Kensi sighed.

“Hetty might be pretty forgiving, but even she’s going to have a problem with us making out on the job.”

“So, what I’m getting from this conversation is that if Eric hadn’t interrupted us, we would be making out right about now.”

“Ok, that was not...” Kensi pressed her lips together and tried to fix Deeks with a no nonsense expression. It was hard with his teasing smirk. “Let’s just agree to try and stay professional while we’re here, ok?” she requested.

“Fine. I will try and be a professional, as hard as that is for me,” he agreed, but raised a finger dramatically. “However, I expect excessive amounts of making out later on to make up for this.”

“You are ridiculous.” Kensi gave him a shove and he let her push him across the room. “Now let me give you the rest of the tour before someone else comes looking for us.”

***

“Explain to me again why I have to complete firearms training,” Deeks said to Kensi. It was a few days since he’d officially accepted the liaison position and in that time he’d filled out numerous forms (some of which horrified the lawyer in him), been bored to death by agency policy videos, and received a mixture of helpful and not so helpful advice from Sam and Callen.

Kensi had been by his side through all of it, which was both comforting and distracting. They hadn’t really discussed “the kiss” at all and it was simmering between them.

“Hetty’s orders,” Kensi explained simply. He’d already learned that the majority of Hetty’s orders were followed without question.

“Yeah, but I’m just supposed to be consulting. There’s no reason why I would need to fire a gun.” He shifted the plastic safety goggles Kensi had given him, definitely stalling now.

Pushing them back into place, Kensi snapped a pair of noise cancelling headphones over his ears. She gave him a once over and then patted his hair back into place, rearranging his bangs over his forehead. She tilted her head, smirking at him.

“You look adorable. And you should know by now that Hetty always does things for a reason,” she said. Deeks didn’t hear Hetty come in behind them and jumped when she suddenly appeared near his arm. Most of the time he wasn’t fazed by her, but he was accustomed to her apparent ability to apparate.

“It never hurts to be prepared, Mr. Deeks,” she told him gravely.

“But...”

“You never know when you might find yourself in a dangerous situation that you need to fight your way out of.” She gestured to Kensi. “Ms. Blye, why don’t you give Deeks a demonstration?”

“Sure,” Kensi said, throwing him a smirk as she snapped on headphones and goggles. With a level of familiarity that was equally terrifying as it was hot, she removed her gun from the waistband of her pants, sighted the target and shot several times in quick succession.

She lowered the weapon with a mildly satisfied expression as they all studied the paper target, now riddled with holes.

“Hm, not my worst,” she commented with a shrug.

“You shot it in the groin,” he said, gesturing to the target, which now had a massive whole where its non-existent penis had once been. “Who aims for the groin? And why?”

“It’s always good to be prepared,” Kensi replied calmly.

“Ok, now your really scaring me.” Hetty removed the target, ignoring his reaction and nodding at it appreciatively.

“It’s also a good reminder to stay on Ms. Blye’s good side,” she added, giving Deeks a sideways glance.

“Is it too late to quit?” Deeks asked.

“Nonsense. Now enough stalling.” Hetty gestured for Deeks to step forward. “It’s your turn. Kensi will guide you through the process.”

If Kensi was surprised by Hetty’s order, she didn’t show it. She placed a Sig in front of him, not her own he noticed, and then folded her arms expectantly.

“What’s the first rule for firing a weapon?” she asked, reminding him of his 2nd grade teacher. Though he had been a lot less attractive than Kensi was.

“Aim for the groin?” he guessed. Kensi gave him an unamused smirk.

“Ha, very funny. Careful, or I might just practice on you.”

“Well, it’s seems you two have this handled,” Hetty said, clapping her hands together in a satisfied way. “I will be in my office if you need anything.”

Once she had left, Kensi picked up the Sig again and balanced it in the palm of her hand.

“Ok, since we’re starting at the beginning let’s talk about safety. The most important things to remember are to always keep a gun pointed in a safe direction, that’s usually the ground, keep the safety on, and don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you actually plan on shooting something. Or someone.”

“That’s it?” he asked, thinking that there should be far more rules for handling a dangerous weapon. Kensi shrugged.

“For now. As long as you don’t shoot yourself in the foot, I figure you’re on the right track,” she said.

“It worries me that I can’t tell if you’re joking right now.” Kensi didn’t respond to that, but held the gun out to him with the muzzle facing down.

“Now it’s time to talk about hold and stance.”

Keeping his arms crossed, Deeks eyes it dubiously.

“I told you I’m not a big fan of guns,” he reminded her.

“I’m not asking you to be friends with it, Deeks,” she said scathingly, offering it to him again.

“I think I’d rather-”

“Just take the damn gun, Deeks,” she snapped. Reluctantly, he reached out and gingerly grasped the grip. It felt heavy and foreign in his hand and he stared at it distastefully. Kensi was watching him avidly, but he didn’t try to hide his expression. “Great, you still didn’t shoot yourself.”

When Deeks didn’t laugh, she cleared her throat awkwardly and then nodded at the gun.

“Ok, using your dominant hand-so your right-hold the base of the gun like this.” She demonstrated with her own gun, creating a v-shape with her thumb and forefinger. “Then wrap the rest of your fingers around the front of the grip.”

Deeks followed her directions, a slightly heavy feeling growing in his stomach. He hadn’t held a gun in years, he’d seen plenty in court and evident, but never actually touched one. Although he definitely wasn’t enjoying the experience, it wasn’t quite as bad as he’d been expecting.

“Now wrap your non-dominant hand around the front of the grip and support your dominant hand,” Kensi continued, closely following his every move. After Deeks had copied her, she nodded. “Good, now we’ll work on your stance.”

“No, you’re holding your hands to low again,” Kensi said about 20 minutes later and Deeks dropped his arms, the weapon bouncing slightly against his thigh.

“Last time you said I was aiming to high,” Deeks pointed out. “You nitpicking isn’t helping.” Normally, he found Kensi’s dedication to detail to be an attractive quality. Right now it was just annoying.

“Just do what I say.” She gestured for him to turn around and Deeks sighed, adopting the pose she had taught him. Kensi made a frustrated noise almost immediately. “Hold still,” she ordered, coming up behind him. Deeks froze as she placed a hand under each arm and then nudged his left leg forward with her knee.

He could feel her warm breath on his neck, her torso just barely pressing against his back. It sent a shiver down his spine and a flurry of very work inappropriate images running through his head.

“If you wanted to cuddle, you could’ve just asked,” Deeks murmured, turning his head slightly so their faces were just a few inches away.

“Shut up,” Kensi said, her voice a little rougher than normal. She adjusted her arms again and then took a step back. “Ok, keep your arms at that level, sight your target and pull the trigger.”

Pulling in a shallow breath, Deeks slid his finger over the trigger, hesitating. Blocking out the wave of memories that came with holding a gun again, he squeezed the trigger. The bullet ripped a hole through the target’s shoulder, just inside the lines and he jerked at the kickback.

He glanced back at Kensi, whose eyes were on him rather than the target.

“Why don’t you like guns?” she asked quietly. It was a blunt and unexpected question.

“I just don’t,” he said shortly. “I’ve seen all the damage they cause when in the wrong people’s hands and I’d rather not be a part of it.” That was certainly true, even if it wasn’t exactly the answer to her question. Kensi squeezed his arm,her expression sympathetic.

“I’m sorry that this is difficult for you and I wish I could promise that you don’t have to touch one again, but I can’t. Hetty wants you to have firearms experience and a single shot isn’t going to cut it.”

He sighed heavily, tossing his head back.

“This is not what I expected when I signed on to a be a legal consultant.”

“What were you expecting?”

“A lot more arguing about chain of evidence, pissing Sam off by telling him all the laws he’s technically violating,” Deeks said, shrugging and Kensi smirked.

“Well, there’s still time for that.” She nudged his shoulder and suggested, “Why don’t we call it a day on the target practice? That’ll give you a little more time to get adjusted to the idea.”

Deeks gladly handed the gun over to Kensi who returned it to the armory while he hung up his goggles and headphones on the wall. Peering in the plexiglass window, he fluffed his hair, pulling a face.

“I think I have headphone hair,” he told Kensi as she walked back in.

“And how is that different from your normal hair?” she asked as he continued to fiddle with it. Giving up, he turned back to Kensi with a lofty expression.

“I will have you know that this look is carefully curated to appear disheveled and carefree.” Kensi snorted at that.

“Well, you’ve certainly got that part down. It’s very beach bum chic.” She cackled at her own joke.

“Actually, I call it “Styled by Pillow”,” he informed her. Tilting her head, Kensi reached out and ran her fingers through his bangs, rearranging them and then smoothed down the back. She paused, considered him again and nodded, apparently pleased with the result.

“Much better.”

“I thought we were supposed to remain professional,” he reminded her.

“I was just making sure you look presentable,” Kensi said. “I mean, do you really want Sam to see you looking like you just rolled out of bed?” It was a good excuse, but Deeks didn’t buy it.

“Or maybe you just can’t keep your hands off me.” Kensi’s mouth dropped open and she fumbled for words for a few seconds.

“That is not-that is not true. I can totally keep my hands off you.” She was so eager to prove him wrong, it was kind of adorable. Crossing his arms, he leaned close enough that he could whisper to her.

“I bet you can’t go the rest of the day without touching me at least once.”

“Oh I would totally win that bet,” she said scornfully. “You aren’t nearly as irresistible as you think you are.”

“Really? Then how about another wager. If you touch me at any point today, we actually go out on a date,” he suggested. “At a restaurant.”

“And if I win? Which I will.”

“I’ll have Alejandro’s delivered to your door for a week.”

“And what exactly in your depraved mind constitutes as touching?”

“Anything that doesn’t involve directly saving my life,” he decided.

“That is too good to pass up,” Kensi said happily as she pulled her phone from her pocket.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself,” Deeks said, smirking at her.

“That’s because I actually have an ounce of self-control.” She wiggled her phone at him. “And Eric says we have a case.”

Deeks chuckled as she sashayed out of the room, singing about all the tacos she would be eating. As much as he wanted to take Kensi out, he was going to enjoy watching her try to win. He didn’t plan to take it easy on her.

***

A/N: Deeks learning to shoot is partially inspired by a scene from the show Castle. And once again, I don’t know how to shoot a gun. I googled it. It’s probably inaccurate. You’d think after watching 11 seasons of a show, I might have picked something up, but I haven’t.

[lovemesomesurveys]

cause I’m a blackbelt when it comes to beating up on myself

Do you listen to music while you fill out surveys? Rarely. I mostly listen to ASMR while doing them or just have the TV on.

In the past week, what song have you listened to the most often? I Love Me by Demi Lovato.

What was the last thing you shared with someone else? My mom and I shared a Mcdonald’s french fry yesterday.

While playing video games, do you prefer being first or second player? I don’t care. When I was a kid I would have said first, but what kid didn’t. 

What is the most difficult word for you to pronounce? Hmm. I’m blanking at the moment, but when I was a kid I struggled with “aluminum.”

What did you have to do for the last homework you were assigned? *shrug* That was 5 years ago.

You’ve planned a roadtrip. Where are you going, and who’s coming too? Can we just fly? ha. Road trips can be fun, but I don’t like really long car rides so I guess it would depend on the length of the trip. Or actually, I guess if it was a road trip we’d probably have a lot of stops along the way to do stuff and stay somewhere for the night so that wouldn’t be bad.

Do you have an overactive imagination? My mind wanders to some random places. Some really sad and dark places, too.

What was the last important thing that you thought about? The latest news about the Coronavirus regarding my city.

Generally, do you call people, or wait for them to call you? Neither. I don’t like talking on the phone.

On average, how many texts do you send out each day? I don’t text everyday, but when I do it’s just a few.

Has anyone ever questioned your sanity? I’m sure.

How many people do you depend on? Three. Two of those three especially.

How many people do you think depend on you? Zero. I’m not very dependable anymore. I’m useless. 

What is the worst color combination? Brown and anything, really.

Have you ever injured yourself walking around in the dark? I don’t tend to go around in the dark. At night I have the light from my TV in my room and if I needed to go somewhere else in the house, I’d use the light on my phone.

When you get a papercut, how do you react? Go “ow!” or make that sound when you suck your teeth or whatever you know the one and examine the cut. Can you type without looking down at the keyboard? Yep. I’ve been typing since I was a kid, so I have like 20 or so years of experience. 

At what age did you develop an interest in the opposite [or same] sex? I remember my first crush was when I was in the 3rd grade.

Are you or members of your family religious? A few of my family members are, as well as myself.

What’s so scary about clowns, anyway? There’s something creepy about ‘em, but I’m not scared like I was when I was a kid. I’m a fan of Pennywise. 

When was the last time you acted like someone you’re not? I can’t hide the mess that I am now.

When was the last time that you cleaned your room? I straightened up not too long ago.

How many hats do you own/wear? A few.

What was the last thing that you printed? I don’t remember. I haven’t had to print anything in a long time.

Did the last song you listened to hold any special meaning? I forget what I last listened to.

Are you experiencing problems within a current relationship? No.

When you’re upset, who do you turn to? Usually no one, but depends on what’s wrong. Does winter weather depress you? I’m depressed year round, but I love the wintertime. Reminds me of this photo I found on Pinterest last year that had a skeleton in a Santa hat and Christmas lights strung around its arms that said, “when you’re dead inside, but it’s Christmas.” I need that on a t-shirt.

Who was the last person that you called? My mom.

What product was being advertised on the last commercial you saw? I think it was food related. 

Do you ever wonder who sings the catchy commercial jingles? Not really. There have been actual songs in commercials that I was curious about because I liked them. 

When you think about your last relationship, what song comes to mind? Nirvana’s song Lithium, but the cover of it done by an artist named ThePeteBox. Also Kids by MGMT. 

Are there any lyrics to describe your current crush/relationship? I don’t have a crush.

Who in your life makes you the most uncomfortable? No one. Do you ever receive comments on your weight? Yes, quite often.

Is there anything that you do just to make other people happy? I haven’t done a whole lot for others in a long time. :/

When you need a temporary escape, what do you do? I chill in bed and probably put my headphones and an ASMR video on.

What was the last lie that you believed in? Hmm.

How long did your last feelings of heartbreak last? In the romantic sense, a year.

Is there any sport that you would want to learn to play? No.

What band would you most like to meet? Linkin Park. I’m sad I never got to see or meet them with Chester. :( RIP. Also, the Jonas Brothers. Yeah, I said what I said. Don’t judge me.

Do you ever have difficulty opening pill-bottle caps? It’s happened, but no not usually. 

Do you gain weight around the holidays? No. I can’t seem to gain weight, but I need to.

Are you related to anyone famous, or to any historical figure? Possibly.

If it was an option, would you take a trip into outerspace? Nooooo. Everything about that sounds terrifying.

What was the last thing that you wrote down [with a pen/pencil]? Grocery list.

Has anyone told you that you have a nice smile? Yes.

Are you uncomfortable with being photographed? Very. If I’m going to have my picture taken, I need to take it myself. I know my angles and I can mess around with filters. I can also take several until I can settle on a decent one.

What’s the earliest you’ve woken up in the past week? 830AM.

How many people have you talked to today? Zero so far, it’s 3:34 in the morning and my family is asleep.

What was the last reason behind why you went to the hospital? For myself it was to have surgery. Besides that, I visited someone in the hospital a few years ago.

When journaling, are you honest when documenting your feelings? I’d say so. Ya’ll know how I am.

If you have a journal, do you ever worry others might find it? I don’t want anyone I know “in real life” to find this survey blog.

When you go camping, do you sleep in a tent or an RV? I don’t go camping. Noooo thanks.

What’s one ridiculous thing that you do? Be stubborn and not do certain things I should be doing and neglect myself.

Do you feel that you must wear make up to be attractive? I was still unattractive with makeup.

What was the last thing [other than the keyboard] that you touched? My phone.

Ever done anything dangerous while driving with someone else in the car? I don’t drive.

Name someone you wish you could be closer with? I’m close with my family and that’s all I need.

Have you ever played the license plate game on long car-trips? No. My cousins and I played slug bug; though, as kids.

Are you a secretive person, or are you open with your thoughts? I’m not nearly as open in person as I am on here. I keep a lot to myself.

What is the worst question that someone could ask you? ”Why aren’t you working?” “What do you want to do?” “What are you plans?”

Do you talk to your pets? Yes of course.

Do you have a least favorite day of the year? My birthday the older I get, ha.

What traits do you look for in a potential BF/GF? The usual good qualities, but I also need someone patient and understanding. That’s very important.

Right now, what’s in your bookbag/backpack? I don’t have a school bag anymore, I’m done with school. I do use a mini backpack; though, as my bag for whenever I go somewhere which contains my wallet, phone, hand sanitizer, and straws. I bring my medicine as well if I’m going to be gone awhile.

What’s unique about your city or town? Bleh.

If you could say something to the world, what would you say? Wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer if you’re out and about. Avoid large crowds as much as possible. Stay home if you’re sick if you can. Use the elbow greeting or even better just a wave or nod. You don’t need a mask unless you’re sick or caring for people who are sick. Be cautious and aware, but try not to panic. That adds to the craziness. No need to wipe the shelves clean of everything. Be considerate. Stay informed. Oh, and did I mention wash your hands?

[spaceagetoon]

Get to Know Me (Taken from @yougoghkiddo-blog)

1) What is your full Name?

September Blue Rose (Not pitting my last name, sorry)

2) What is your Nickname?

B, Blueberry, Blue’s Clues, Blooragarde, Blur

3) What is your Zodiac sign?

I’m a fucking Libra! (Party)

4) What is your favorite book series?

I don’t read a lot of traditional books but my favorite comic series is Fables by Bill Willingham!

5) Do you believe in aliens or ghosts?

Both! Ghosts is just a personal belief and as for Aliens, it just seems statistically improbable that we’re alone!

6) Who is your favorite author?

I don’t have a definitive favorite but Roald Dahl is up there!

7) What is your favorite radio station?

Lofi/hip hop beats to Relax/Study to

8) What is your favorite flavor of anything?

Idk 😅

9) What word would you use often to describe something as great or wonderful?

“Rad” typically

10) What’s your current favorite song?

I’ve been really digging “HateF**k” by The Bravery and “Kids” by PUP

11) What’s your favorite word?

“Boy” is pretty good

12) What’s the last song you listened to?

Currently listening to “Wait a minute!” By WILLOW

13) What TV show would you recommend everyone to watch?

Bojack Horseman

14) What’s your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down?

Mulan, Heathers, or Scott Pilgrim. Pretty different I know 😅

15) Do you play video games?

I’m a true gamer 😎

16) What’s your biggest fear?

To be forgotten

17) What is your best quality, in your opinion?

I’ve got a pretty good taste in music

18) What is your worst quality, in your opinion?

I can be selfish and possessive, which I hate

19) Do you like cats or dogs better?

Both 🥺

20) What is your favorite season?

Late summer early fall

21) Are you in a relationship?

Not really?

22) What is something you miss from your childhood?

My innocence and sense of hope

23) Who is your best friend?

@crybabycrush and @/avocadoclo who doesn’t have a tumblr 😅

24) What is your eye color?

Blue!

25) What is your hair color?

Currently Blue and pink

26) Who is someone you love?

My sisters, my best friends, a few others

27) Who is someone you trust

Nobody a whole lot (yaaayyyyyy trauma!)

28) Who is someone you think about often?

@crybabycrush and Dan Avidan 🥰

29) Are your currently excited about/for something?

MTAC 2020 and cosplaying Shadow the Hedgehog!!!

30) What is your biggest obsession?

I was gonna make a joke but for real it’s Game Grumps/Ninja Sex Party

31) What was your favorite TV show as a child?

Bear in The Big Blue House, says so my mom.

32) Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone?

I’m non binary so uhhhhh

33) Are you superstitious?

Ye

34) Do you have any unusual phobias?

Ants, Tall Buildings/Statues, more that I’m forgetting at the moment

35) Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?

In front. I’m an attention whore 😅

36) What is your favorite hobby?

Drawing!

37) What was the last book you read?

I fully don’t remember. I almost never read

38) What was the last movie you watched?

Garfield Gets Real LMAO

39) What musical instruments do you play, if any?

Sadly, none 😞

40) What is your favorite animal?

Birds, frogs, foxes

41) What are your top 5 favorite tumblr blogs you follow?

In no particular order, @shittycryptids @shittythrifting @one-time-i-dreamt @simpscreens and @i-am-a-fish

42) What superpower do you wish you had?

Shapeshifting!!!

43) When and where do you feel most at peace?

Anytime I’m with @crybabycrush 🥰

44) What makes you smile?

Good music and nice art

45) What sports do you play, if any?

Lol nah

46) What is your favorite drink?

Any fruit juice!!!!

47) When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody?

I don’t think I ever have?

48) Are you afraid of heights?

Yep

49) What is your biggest pet peeve?

Whenever someone talks over somebody

50) Have you ever been to a concert?

Two!! First Ninja Sex Party and second P!nk!!

51) Are you a vegan/vegetarian?

I’m slowly working my way up to vegetarian

52) When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Either an astronaut or a chef

53) What fictional world would you want to live in?

Monster Prom!!!!

54) What is something you worry about?

What I’m going to do with my life

55) Are you scared of the dark?

Ye

56) Do you like to sing?

I LOVE to sing

57) Have you ever skipped school?

I was homeschooled my entire life so uhhhh

58) What is your favorite place on the planet?

Yet to find it

59) Where do you want to live?

New York or LA, maybe space.

60) Do you have any pets?

7 cats, 1 dog, and 1 chinchilla

61) Are you more of a early bird or a night owl?

Night owl for sure

62) Do you like sunrises or sunsets better?

Sunsets

63) Do you know how to drive?

I’m a virgin who can’t drive

64) Do you prefer earbuds or headphones?

Earbuds

65) Have you ever had braces?

Nope!

66) What is your favorite genre of music?

God I have no idea

67) Who is your hero?

Dan Avidan and Arin Hanson

68) Do you read comic books?

Yeah!! Mainly Fables, Harley Quinn, and Gwenpool!!

69) (nice) What makes you the most angry?

People who think their better than everyone

70) Do you prefer to read on a electronic device or a real book?

Real comics, digital fan fic

71) What is your favorite subject in school?

Idk art history?

72) Do you have any siblings?

An older sister and a younger sister!

73) What was the last thing you bought?

Fishnets LMAO

74) How y’all are you?

5’1

75) Can you cook?

I can bake! Cook?? Eh kinda 😅

76) What are three things you love?

Music, Video Games, and conventions

77) What are three things you hate?

Cringe culture, my dad, and conventions

78) Do you have more female friends or more male friends?

I actually probably have more non binary friends

79) What is your sexual orientation?

Bisexual!

80) Where do you currently live?

A constant state of anxiety

81) Who was the last person you texted?

My brother in law

82) When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday?

83) Who is your favorite youtuber?

Forever Game Grumps, but currently Sorrow TV and SnapCube

84) Do you like to take selfies?

Occasionally

85) What is your favorite app?

Mario Kart Tour

86) What is your relationship with your parents like?

Mom, pretty good. Dad, not so much.

87) What is your favorite foreign accent?

A less posh British accent? (Sorry I don’t know all the areas😅) and French

88) What is a place you’ve never been to, but want to visit?

New York, France, And Japan

89) What is you favorite number?

69 ;)))))) I have no idea

90) Can you juggle?

Not very well

91) Are you religious?

Not very

92) Do you find outer space or the deep ocean more interesting?

Outer space. I’m terrified of the ocean.

93) Do you consider your self to be a daredevil?

I consider myself to be a dumbass

94) Are you allergic to anything?

Pumpkin and long haired cats

95) Can you curl your tongue?

Yep

96) Can you you wiggle your ears?

Nope

97) How often do you admit that you were wrong about something?

Not very

98) Do prefer the forest or the beach?

Neither?

99) What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you?

I honestly can’t think of anything

100) Are you a good liar?

LMAO NO

101) What is your hogwarts house?

Hufflepuff

102) Do you talk to yourself?

Uhhhhhh yeah

103) Are you an introvert or an Extrovert?

Introvert 100%

104) Do you keep a journal/diary?

Occasionally

105) Do you believe in second chances?

Sometimes too much

106) If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do?

Turn it into the police I guess?

107) Do you believe that people can change?

100%

108) Are you ticklish?

Yeah but I’m not gonna tell you where

109) Have you ever been on a plane?

Nope

110) Do you have any piercings?

Just my ears but I want more soon

111) What fictional character do you wish was real?

Damien Lavey or Julian Devorak 😩😩😩😩

112) Do you have any tattoos?

No but I want some REAL BAD

113) What is the best decision you’ve made in your life so far?

Probably to start cosplaying. Even though I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to I wouldn’t know almost any of my friends if I never cosplayed

114) Do you believe in karma?

hell yeah

115) Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Not anymore! Thanks laser surgery!

116) Do you want to have children?

Really really bad

117) Who’s the smartest person you know?

Probably my mom

118) What is your most embarrassing memory?

I really don’t like thinking about that

119) Have you ever pulled an all-nighter?

Multiple times

120) What color are most of your clothes?

Black 😅

121) Do you like adventures?

YES

122) Have you ever been on TV?

I’m like the only person in my family who hasn’t LMAO

123) How old are you?

18!

124) What is you favorite quote?

“Love Everyone, Forgive Everyone, Especially yourself.”

125) Do you prefer Sweet or Savory foods? (I ran out of room) Sweet!

[viiavi]

Get to know me tag

3 more traits to add to the 3 that’s been on my profile for a long time now.

I was tagged by @galaxysuede​. Thank you!! ♥

I tag @ceechalla, @vvildhoneypie, @bloomlet, @naelu, @keysims, @shellywellylove, @nolan-sims, @a-kind-red, @simxiety, @frostsims21, @racingllama, @foursims and whoever else is interested!

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Jay

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? Still Jay, lol

3. BIRTHDAY? Summer baby

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? I don’t read as much as I used to, but growing up, I was a huge Goosebumps fan. Now, I’m waiting for the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? Yes!

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Now, idk. But as a child, I loved Mary Downing Hahn.

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION?  I don’t have a favorite radio station, but I really enjoy 96.5 with Delilah because I’m an old fart

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? Coffee.

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? amazing

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? "Evan Finds the Third Room” by Khruangbin

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? Bamboozled.

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? Shades of Man by Khruangbin

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? Parks & Rec is good, Breaking Bad, The Good Place.

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? Yes! Not as much as I used to though

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Failure and loneliness

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? I’m a problem solver.

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? I lack patience

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? Dogs 100%

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Spring

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? Yes!

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? Peace of mind/less responsibilities.

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? My boyfriend

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? Dark brown

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? Dark brown

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? My family, my boyfriend, my friends and my dogs

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? Boyfriend, again. He is the only person I can truly be myself with

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? See above. Also, my family and my dogs.

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? Yes! I’m excited for a trip I’m going to soon!

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? Coffee and video games

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? Sailor Moon, Are you Afraid of the Dark, All That

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? I think we already know this... starts with a B, ends with a D

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? I would like to say no, but I am

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? Not really... all of mine are pretty common

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? Both!

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? Gardening

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? I don’t remember. I think a documentary about fragrances

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? Violin

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Orangutans

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? Look at my blogroll for that.

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? I would love telekinesis/telepathy. Or, the power to materialize anything you desire

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? By the ocean, or when I’m gardening

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? I appreciate the small things in life, so I smile to a lot of things, and would be too tedious to list

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? Tennis

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? Water, all the way.

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? A month ago?

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Yes!

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? Passive aggressiveness, though I am guilty of it myself sometimes

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? Yes! The latest one I went to was Journey’s with my Madre

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? No, I have to force myself to eat most veggies

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? A scientist

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? Gonna go with Harry Potter world for this

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? Finances and health.

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? I’m a little embarrassed to admit that yes, I still am.

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? Yes! No one is saying I’m good at it though, lmao

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? Once, maybe? Idk, I actually liked school

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? The beach!

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? A little town by the sea

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? Yup, I have 3 dogs

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? For a long time, I considered myself a night owl, but now that I’m older, I think I’m leaning more towards early bird

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunrises! I love walking on crisp mornings with the sun just starting to peak through the horizon

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? Yes! And I must say, it is BORING AF

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? Headphones! Earbuds never stay in my ear

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? Yes, for four years

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? Not sure

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? My mom! She is the most patient, caring, emphatic, talented and hard working person that I know. I strive to one day be as good of a person as her

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? I used to. Me, Garfield and Archie Comics go way back

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? Intolerance

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? The real thing. Reading on a electronic device all day makes my head hurt

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? English and Microbiology

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? I have an older sister and brother

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? A foot massager for my mom

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 160cm

75. CAN YOU COOK? Yes! But I don’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? Coffee, bouganvilleas, and bear hugs

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? People who litter, broken promises, and when people don’t give me a sufficient amount of time to do/prepare for something

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? Nowadays, I have more male friends

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? Straight

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? The US.

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? My sister

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Yesterday, while watching a documentary, lol

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? Laura from Garden Answers, lol

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? Nope.

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? The calculator app, lol

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? I’m definitely closer to my mother than I am to my father. My dad and I have had a strained relationship while I was growing up, but now that I’m out of the house, our relationship has gotten better.

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? I love the Creole accent

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Too many places

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 4 and 47

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? I can juggle one ball

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? Not really. But as I’ve gotten older, I feel a little bit more religious than I was before

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? That’s a tough question, and definitely not one I can choose between. Both are really interesting

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? Eh, sometimes

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? Dog dander

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? No

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? Only when I also move my entire face

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? Certainly not an easy thing to do, but I admit that I’m wrong most of the time

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? I love both! But I’m drawn to large bodies of water

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? It’s on the tip of my tongue... tip of my tongue 😕

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? I don’t think so, lol

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? Hufflepuff

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? Yes, and I’m not afraid to admit it

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? I’m an introvert, but can be an extrovert when liquid courage is around

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? I used to

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? Yes, wholeheartedly

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Pick it up, look around, call out and probably mail it back to the person who lost it

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? Yes! Everyone is capable of change. Though the rate of growth varies greatly from individual to individual, so the amount of change you may hope to see is often not what you get. Giving people second chances and wanting to grow takes a lot of time and patience.

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? Certainly

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Yes, and I hate them

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? My ears

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? Let’s go with Captain America with this one, idk

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? Yes, I have 2!

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? Cutting toxic people from my life

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? Yes, definitely

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? I do, though, my simself aint wearing any

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? Absolutely

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? My boyfriend is one of the smartest people I know

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? I took my dog to the groomer’s and she asked for my dog’s name, and brain kept glitching and making my mouth say “Boner”

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? Who hasn’t?

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? Black

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? YES!! I love spontaneity

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? I don’t think so

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 31

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” - Bruce Lee

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? Savory.

[purplesurveys]

457

Coffee mugs, teacups, or water bottles? Coffee mugs, I guess. I’ve never used a teacup and water bottles are bad for the planet. And mugs put me in a disposition to work lol. Bubblegum or cotton candy? Cotton candy. Haven’t had one in a while and it brings me back to being a kid. How did your elementary school teachers describe you? Very quiet, quite aloof, would bring a new book to read everyday in the corner, and not really fitting in any group. Do you prefer to drink soda from cans, bottles or cups? I don’t like soda. Earbuds or headphones? Earbuds. I used to be a headphones chick during my ~punk rock phase because I thought it made me look edgy haaaaaaaah but I got out of that period pretty quickly and now I prefer earphones.

Movies or TV? Movies. TV shows make me impatient what with all the cliffhangers and season breaks and hiatuses. Favorite smell in the summer? Fresh seafood being served while beachside. No other sensation can compare. Game you were best at in PE/gym? Track and table tennis. For some reason I enjoyed futsal too; I was a pretty good blocker. What do you have for breakfast on an average day? I skip breakfast kinda all the time. Name of your favorite playlist? Maybe the playlist I made that’s just a compilation of Paramore’s whole discography. Lanyard or key ring? I use a lanyard so that my keys are already bunched together with my ID, which for me is easier to keep around. Having them separated will just make it easier for me to lose one of them. Favorite non-chocolate candy? Sour Patch Kids.

Favorite book you had to read for school? Dekada ‘70 or Without Seeing the Dawn. I also remember fairly enjoying this book about the Holocaust, I think it was called Number the Stars. Most comfortable position to sit in? As long as at least one leg is up, I’m comfortable haha. Most frequently worn pair of shoes? I wear all my shoes once a week, so I don’t think I have a favorite pair I wear more often than the others. Ideal weather? Dark and gloomy and stormy. My love for the beach aside, I love the rain. Pencils or pens? Pens. Once we graduated from pencils from the fourth grade I don’t think I ever looked back. Obsession from childhood? My earliest obsession was the original Hi-5 cast. Then it involved into wrestling, Pokémon, Beyoncé, and Paramore. Favorite crystal? I had to look them up as I wasn’t actually familiar with any crystals, and rose quartz seems cute. Favorite activity to do in warm weather? Ugh, I get so sluggish when it’s summer. It’s no fun to do anything other than going to the beach and staying there all day long. Favorite activity to do in cold weather? Watch movies, do healthy self-care stuff like coloring, drinking coffee, studying. I’m so much more productive in cold weather/temperatures. Five songs to describe you? That’s too many. I can’t even come up with one. Best way for someone to bond with you? Be comfortable in silence with me and not bombard me with extraversion. Top 5 favorite Vines? “There’s only one thing worst than a rapist, boom!” “A CHILD–” “No” “T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-TAAAARGEEEEEEET” “Stop, I coulda dropped my croissANT” “what the FUCK is up kyle NO what did you say what the fuck dude step THE FUCK UP kyle” “Fr e sh a voca do” Ads you have stuck in your head? I don’t have any. They aren’t memorable anymore, just irritating. Average time you fall asleep? Anywhere between 9:30 to 1. Range is big since it’s different all the time. What is the first meme you remember seeing? Oh god, I was there from the beginning. War flashbacks all the way from 9GAG in 2009-2010 - the FFFFFFFUUUUU-, Forever Alone, Y U NO?, Bad Luck Brain, Ridiculously Photogenic Guy, College Freshman, Lazy Senior guys. Was there for all of it and it used to be the most hilarious stuff I’d see on the Internet.

I don’t actually know if these were the first batch of memes, but they definitely changed the game when it came to Internet humor.   Suitcase, duffel bag, or backpack? Backpack. I never use the other two. Lemonade or tea? Lemonade.

Last person you texted? Gabie. Jacket pockets or pants pockets? I don’t mind either. Favorite type of jacket? Jean jackets or cardigans. Sci-fi, fantasy, or superheroes? Not a fan of all of these, but I’m most likely to get into something sci-fi. What clothes do you sleep in? Thin ones because it’s always really hot where I live, even with the AC on :/ Favorite type of cheese? Brie or ricotta. What saying or quote do you live by? “There isn't a person on this planet that should let a past nightmare dictate or cloud their future dreams.” What are you currently stressed about? Internship as always ughhhhh. Favorite font? I use Proxima Nova a lot. What did you learn from your first job? Favorite fairy tale? Never did like those, even as a kid. Favorite tradition? Huge Christmas dinnerssssssss. Talent you're proud of having? Having a sport. If you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? Not feeling too creative for this today. Or ever. If you were an anime character, what genre of anime would it be? Character you relate to? Monica Geller or Amy Santiago. Favorite website from your childhood? Y8 without a shadow of a doubt. Any scars? On my left brow and one of my toes. Favorite flower? I like any flowers except for anthuriums. Any good luck charms? Nope. Least favorite flavor of food or drink? Rocky road and double dutch. Left or right handed? Right. Least favorite pattern? Can’t think of any. Worst subject in school? Calculus. Favorite weird flavor combo? Mayonnaise with everything, even though mayo doesn’t even count as a flavor hah. When did you lose your first tooth? I was either 5 or 6. Favorite potato food? As chips, fries, salad, or croquettes. Can’t help it, I love potatoes. Gas station coffee or grocery store sushi? Grocery sushi. I love sushi, no matter the quality tbh. Do you call them fireflies or lightning bugs? Fireflies. PC or console gaming? Console. Writing or drawing? Writing. Podcasts or talk radio? Podcasts. Barbie or Polly Pocket? Barbies. Fairy tales or mythology? I don’t care for either.

Cookies or cupcakes? Cupcakes, but this hurts to say considering I love cookies just as much. Your greatest fear? Failing. Your greatest wish? A secure future. Who would you put before everyone else? My girlfriend or any member of her family. Lamps, overhead lights, fairy lights, or sunlight? Lamps. Nicknames? Sure, but not a lot. I usually go by my given name. Favorite season? Winter, which I wish we had to begin with. Favorite app on your phone? Reddit. What is your desktop background? It’s one of the default mountain ones Apple provides in the Macs. How many phone numbers do you have memorized? Just my mom’s, mine, and Gab’s. Favorite historical era? I’m a fan of any. History’s cool.

[vampireloreskill]

Get To Know Me 

tagged by @fourfinefreshfishforyou a billion years ago, thank you so much!! i actually Did have fun filling this out even if it took me forever 

 anyone who still wants to do this can say i tagged them!

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Who wrote this? A fed??

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? Kris

3. BIRTHDAY? This year

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? Would you believe me if I said Warriors

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? Ghosts no, aliens sort of... I’m not sure I buy into whole other civilizations but I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some kind of life outside of our planet even if it’s just bacteria 

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Rick Riordan is pretty cool

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? Christmas

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? Strawberry or peach 

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? Amazing

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG?  Your Type - Carly Rae Jepson

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? I’m a big fan of defenestration

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?  Your Type - Carly Rae Jepson

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? I don’t like to blanket recommend shows because everyone has such different tastes

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? Tbh I just mope around until I either feel better or give up and go to sleep

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? This is an Assassin’s Creed and Sims zone ONLY

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Strangers on the internet knowing my second biggest fear

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? Objectively it’s probably my ability to see things from other people’s perspective but TBH I much prefer my sense of humor and ability to laugh at my own jokes whether or not anyone else finds them funny 

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? My inability to self moderate

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? I want to say neither,, but I may be leaning towards dogs in recent years :/

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Winter, but lately Autumn has been sneaking up on it

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? Nah

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? Being small... I loved hiding in tiny spaces and being picked up

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? *cowboy voice* Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time...

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? Dark brown

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? At this point it’s basically black but I still like to say dark brown

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? God, my family, probably a lot of people idk I catch feelings easily

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? Literally no one but God 

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? A lot of seemingly random celebrities, if you count constantly reciting names in specific patterns as thinking 

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? Yes, lots of things! 

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? lmao

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? REDWALLLLL

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? I’m not sure what the opposite of shrug emoji is but the answer is still no one

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? I’m not, but someone needs to tell me that

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? I’m not sure I have any phobias? Irrational fears, Sure

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? Behind it!

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? I REALLY want to get into dollhousing

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I know I said Les Misérables in a previous tag meme but I now remember that I actually read the first book in C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy a while back more recently

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Spider-man: Into The Spiderverse which was........ AMAZING 

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? When I was younger I had a lap harp but that’s about it

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Opossums

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? I’m not a fan of naming names in this context sorry!

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? A lot, but I’ve concluded that for any powers gained I would inevitably just end up becoming a super villain and/or batman so hard pass

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? When I first wake up, and just lie there trying to hold on to what I was just dreaming about

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? It’s basically physically impossible for me not to grin like a fool watching Wander Over Yonder

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? Does Wii Bowling count

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? Apple cider

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? I don’t know? Probably when I wanted to wake up at a certain time

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Sometimes? Depends on how possible it is that I could fall

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? Dry skin currently 

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? I was going to say no but I have the distinct feeling that I have even though I didn’t remember absolutely anything about it except maybe the auditorium?

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? No

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? Zookeeper

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? Um. Eternia?? ajfghdk 

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? Not growing as a person

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? Not really, but I do like the ability to turn on lights if I need to

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? My vocal cords were made for Christmas carols and little else. But yeah, sometimes.

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? I’m not... sure?

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? I’ll let you know when I’ve found it

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? Where I already do

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? Yes

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? Night owl

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunsets

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? I feel like I could make an educated guess in an emergency

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? Headphones

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? No

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? I feel like it’s probably pop or disco tbh

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? Jesus 

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? Here and there, the only series I’ve actually read all the way through is Cable & Deadpool (2004) but I want to get into Venom

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? Not to be cliche but injustice of any kind

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? Real book, I like turning pages and the way the cover fits into my hands. Can’t say I’m a fan of the smell though.

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? Vocabulary

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? Yes

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? Sims 4 packs

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5′2 or so

75. CAN YOU COOK? If it involves anything other than a microwave or a toaster then,,, no

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? Vampires, villains in love, wood paneling 

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? Intrusive thoughts, Marius Pontmercy, mint flavored toothpaste

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? I... Have more female mutuals

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? Bisexual but like it’s Complicated. Also this is the first time I’ve ever actually said that directly so ✌️🎉

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? A fed wrote this

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? My mom

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Earlier this month

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? I don’t really follow any, but I used to be obsessed with the videos of this one guy who acted out crossovers of DC/Marvel characters with action figures and had a really great voice

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? I do! I just never do anything with them once I’ve taken them lol

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? I don’t have one right now, but I adore choose your own adventure ones

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? Pretty good with my adoptive parents. I want to be closer with my birth mom but I don’t... really know how to go about that without being a disappointment. Never met my birth dad which has been eating at me somewhat lately.

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? Uhh Australian maybe??

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Mexico

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 6

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? Do you take me for a clown

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? Yes, I’m a nondenominational christian 

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? The ocean, it’s teeming with life and I find it bafflingly fascinating how there’s still so much we don’t know about it

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? Absolutely not

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? Almost every single time we go shopping in Sam’s Club I get inexplicably feverish and nauseous and feel like I’ve thrown out my back until we get to the check out. That and I may have a dairy allergy? But honestly my stomach is acting out every other day so who knows really.  

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? Ye

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? No

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? Not as often as I should

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? Aesthetically, the beach, but forests are less sandy

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? Pat, don’t rub (When drying your hands)

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR?  mmMM I don’t really lie, like, seriously about stuff that I can recall? I’ll jokingly say stuff that blatantly isn’t true and even then I sometimes feel guilty and confess seconds later. Unless you count lying by omission? Or saying stuff like “I’m fine” LMAO. The World May Never Know

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? We Don’t Discuss Harry Potter On This Blog, but ravenclaw all the way and any test that tries to sort me into hufflepuff isn’t Valid 

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? Generally just when I’m alone

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? Introvert

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? I’ve tried, but I just don’t have the attention span for it asdfgh. Sometimes I write down my dreams though.

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? Yes

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Convince someone else to pick it up and check for ID

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? Yes

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? That’s a personal question

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Yes

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? No

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? Count Dracula from Monster Family (2017) ok so,,, i know he tried to freeze the entire world because a married woman rejected him but LISTEN

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? No

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? Following Jesus

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? Mm, not karma per say, but I do generally think that what goes around often comes around in way or another

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? No

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? NO

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? Idk! there a lot different types of smart people

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? Nice try, but someone might actually read this

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? I’m basically nocturnal so... yeah

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOUR CLOTHES? Various jewel tones

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? Ehhhhhhh

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? Not that I know of

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 21

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? I can’t really think of one right now

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? Whichever I’m in the mood for!

[delineative]

writing year in review: 2018

total number of completed stories: 9

total word count:

ao3: 43 879

(+ ~5k on socks)

fandoms written in:

dorohedoro

we both chose each other - noi/shin

houseki no kuni

growing without rest - phos/phos

idol producer / nine percent

counting flower petals all day long - xukun/zhengting

leaving nothing behind - xukun/zhengting

when we see each other again - jun/zhengting, ziyi/zhengting, yanjun/zhangjing/zhengting, xukun/zhengting, justin/chengcheng/zhengting

take one step closer - xukun/yanjun/zhengting

nct

from first principles - 00line

produce 101 china / rocket girls

coincidence makes sense - yamy/meiqi/xuanyi

seventeen

the earth in its turning stopped (last 2 chapters) - seungcheol/jeonghan/joshua

reaching for you from the endless dream - wonwoo/jun

wips:

out of the wips i’m currently working on:

dirtmix assignment (will be revealed very shortly!)

nahyuck pacific rim au

markrenmin enemies to lovers fantasy au

looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?

around what i expected... i was aiming for 1 fic a month and didn’t quite manage to hit that but i feel like each fic was longer than usual (i’m a terminal shortfic writer so anything over 3k is long for me). like i kept going 1-4k over my projected wordcount which was extremely panic-inducing when i was trying to write to deadlines lmao so overall i’m okay with the quantity of words i produced this year!

what pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

fandom-wise probably the survival show spiral and moving into ncity... if 2017 was the year of yugioh then 2018 was the year of rpf. some of the stuff i posted to socks was very uncharacteristic of my usual m.o but i think everything i put on main was very true to brand i.e ambiguous relationships + vague pining + emo conversations in the dark

did you take any writing risks this year? what did you learn from them?

i signed up for svtbb and had to drop out due to exam pressure, which was sad bc it’s the first exchange/fest i’ve ever defaulted on, but then i went and did lordeventeen and yuletide even though they partly ran through exam seasons too so i guess i learned nothing?!?

actually i think i probably could have afforded to take a few more risks genre-wise, i feel like everything i wrote in 2018 recycled the exact same themes but also at the same time those themes are the only thing i can write. terrible taste i will never change i will never improve that is a promise etc etc

what’s your own favorite story of the year?

reaching for you from the endless dream had me tearing my hair out while i was writing it but ultimately i feel like it paid off! i’ve always wanted to try canon compliant + magic and this ended up with some of the best writing i’ve ever done, plus i’m happy i was finally able to write something for one of my favourite svt ships <3 honourable mention to the concept behind when we see each other again, my post-disbandment allzzt ship manifesto titled after csc_uri_dasi_bol_ttae.mp3 

best story of the year?

also reaching for you from the endless dream! i’m really proud of how this one turned out both in terms of technical quality (.... *repeats the same phrase 300 times* Is This Thematic Consistency?) and emotional beats, and it got so many lovely comments. i think this is probably one of my best fics ever, and i’m glad it struck a chord with other people too!

most popular story of the year?

not counting teiits since most of that was posted in 2017, it’s counting flower petals all day long, which really surprised me when i checked my ao3 stats? i must have hit the sweet spot of fandom growth + burgeoning ship popularity bc literally nothing happens in the fic other than one (1) kiss, but thank you for giving it so much love 💖

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

omg i think everything i wrote this year was WAY over-appreciated but coincidence makes sense, which features a f/f/f rarepair (raretrio?) in a fandom with very little western fan presence, so i’m not surprised by its stats but i’m still pretty fond of this one and consider it one of the better fics i wrote in 2018, and one of the best idolverse fics i’ve ever written

most fun story to write:

from first principles, the debate au fic i’ve wanted to write for like 6 years, my beloved pet project through the month of august, and i think it shows? i tripled my projected word count and in the process of writing fully converted to dreamyism(/renjunism), so a lot of love went into it, even though there are places you can tell i definitely rushed the execution. one day i’ll do justice to a proper nct sports anime fic... 

story with the single sexiest moment:

all the rated content i wrote this year was posted to socks other than the brief dance studio 3some scene in take one step closer, but i genuinely have no idea if that was even sxc since i wrote it on my phone in a feverish last-minute sprint on a plane while blasting twice bdz and haven’t reread it at all jhfgdfjdfh

most sweet story:

the general tone of everything i wrote in 2018 was much less depressing than 2017 but i guess the sweetest story was we both chose each other... what’s more romantic than dismembering a bunch of thugs with your beloved partner and then jumping off a cliff together!!

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:

kind of a weird question to apply to rpf... characterisation perceptions are constantly shifting based on current meta and au role needs, though i feel like i’m always struggling to play catchup and by the time i publish anything the general image has shifted ;__; 

most unintentionally telling story:

from first principles draws heavily on my own experiences with high school debating... lots of 3rd speaker related anxieties and hangups projection all over the place in there lmao

hardest story to write:

every time i’m working on something, especially when i’m close to finishing, it is the hardest thing i have ever written... i can’t remember if writing has always been this difficult for me or if it’s an rpf thing. probably i struggled the most with reaching for you from the endless dream bc i’m deeply intimidated by writing jun (light of my life) due to the fear of not doing him justice, and also the deadline pressure nearly killed me. also at one point i called writing from first principles the worst experience of my life but looking back it wasn’t even that bad... mostly it was just that it kept getting longer and longer and eventually i was like Please God Let It End Already

biggest disappointment:

not finishing my svtbb fic... i am literally twitter user juncheolsoo i owe them SOMETHING!! not writing more fic. mediocre execution of decent concepts bc i got too impatient and rushed to finish things before i got bored of them

biggest surprise:

all of my fics about idol boys except one have over 100 kudos, which is just a ridiculous amount?! idol rpf fandoms have been so kind to me... i will work hard to become a better content creator in 2019!!

favourite opening line(s):

from leaving nothing behind:

“Are you looking for Justin?”

Xukun rears back, knuckles still poised to knock on the doorframe. “I—what?”

“Are you looking for Justin?” Zhengting repeats. He’s sprawled across the bottom bunk, leg dangling inelegantly off the edge. The phone in his hand casts an unsteady ellipse of light over his collarbone.

favourite closing line(s):

from growing without rest:

Beyond the arches the world is silent. The gem Phosphophyllite will become returns their gaze steadily, evenly. The shadows lengthen. In the distance behind them, a flicker of white, like light needling off somebody’s back, or the gleam of a pearl eye.

favourite 5 line(s) from anywhere:

from first principles:

“If only Mark-hyung was still here,” Renjun said, only half-jokingly. There was a brief moment of solemn silence as the three of them paused to consider their ex-captain, who had passed on last year to the realm of university debating.

when we see each other again:

So maybe they weren’t friends, but they were something. You couldn’t inhabit the same space for two years and come out the other side as strangers. Sometimes Zhengting thought that might have been easier than whatever this intimacy limbo was supposed to be, knowing somebody in the minutest details, what they looked like at the height of their intensity or the moments before they fell asleep, without really knowing them at all. Looking, and not having the gesture returned, or at least not equally.

coincidence makes sense:

The song ends, starts over. Meiqi doesn’t, though, pivoting to face them, and that’s all the invitation Xuanyi needs to unfold from her position beside Guo Ying and cross the floor. Like two halves of a single movement Meiqi reaches out to Xuanyi and Xuanyi presses their palms together, interlacing their fingers. The tilt of their heads towards each other like it’s something irresistible.

reaching for you from the endless dream:

Junhui was practically raised by the industry. The stage lying close enough to the bone it would be indistinguishable from it. He leaves his intensity on the stage but glimpses of it show through in odd moments, seamlessness without ease. It’s hard for Wonwoo to understand, but most things about Junhui are.

take one step closer:

You want to look into somebody, of course you have to let them look back. This is why he kept away in the first place, the terror of vulnerability when it could be staved off indefinitely instead, though he’d wanted to be seen, hoped for it, even, despite himself, something in the marrow singing out to be known.

It’s like an infection, a second heart in his ribs. A kind of longing that bites right through his hand. Strikes down to the quick. Severs the whole thing clean off. He ran so far from himself he landed in somebody else’s body, and here he is, still trying to escape.

top 5 scenes from anywhere you would choose to have illustrated:

jun lifting zzt up and spinning him around, from when we see each other again (;___; #junting_agenda_seeding)

wonwoo and jun in the kitchen with nectarines spilling out of the open fridge, from reaching for you from the endless dream

cxkzzt conversation in the dark while zzt is wearing a facemask, from leaving nothing behind

00z sports shounen hug, from from first principles

phos getting crushed by their future self’s gold arms, from growing without rest

honourable mention to noishin leaping off a cliff from we both chose each other, which actually did get illustrated in dorohedorozine <3

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year?

cut down my wip list... please i have 25+ wips on my spreadsheet i just want to FINISH something for once in my life instead of constantly starting new wips and letting them rot in the graveyard of my gdocs

practise writing actual shipfic and not poorly disguised gen. i WILL get better at writing kiss scenes

try to write something over 10k again

relearn what figurative language is and how to use it. rpf boosted my productivity stats but at what cost...

[himbosims]

The Simself Challenge? Is that what this is called? I have no idea. . .

The challenge is basically to make a simself then answer a fuck ton of question so here we are. Thanks @willowbomb and @sim-borg for tagging me. I’ll tag: whoever wants to do this because idk who hasn't done this yet

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Taylor

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? My childhood nickname was Tot. My friends call me d*ke and slut though so hey

3. BIRTHDAY? July 23, 2001

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? Series definitely The Mortal Instruments or the Infernal Artifacts by Cassandra Clare

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? Both i think, definitely aliens. I don't fuck with ghosts and all that because I don't want to die

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Right now my favs are Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? Where I live we have five stations, one that plays music from the 30’s all the time, three country, and one that says it plays pop but ends up playing country anyways. So, none.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? Idk man, thats a loaded question. Probably vanilla

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? ??? lit… idk dude I was trying to think of something that's weird but I can't think of anything

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? Be My Mistake by The 1975 or Not Warriors by Waterparks

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? Serious answer, lunacy (there's a reason its my username) not as serious, I just heard someone outside yell for the chillin’s and I started laughing because that word is great

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?  I’m currently listening to From Eden by Hozier

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? Shameless, Glee, Shadowhunters, Grey’s. I could go on.

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN?Love, Simon, Call Me By Your Name, or The Perks of Being a Wallflower

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? Obviously

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Spiders and needles

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? nothing

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? Everything, in seriousness, my selfishness or narcissism,  

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? Cats are my favorites but dogs are cool

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? fall

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? Never have been

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? NOT AS MUCH STRESS

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Irl- my friend EJ. Online- @hallowiamshebsims

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? Green

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? brown

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? Read 23

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? Read 23

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? Read 23

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? I don't remember the last time I was excited for something

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? Writing I think

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? Hannah Montana, Ned Declassified, Drake and Josh, Flapjack, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Chowder, Rugrats. I'm a true early Gen Z kid

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? My girl best friend, I dont tell him everything because i'm a secretive bitch

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? Nah

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? Read 16

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? Both

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? Writing, reading, creating imaginary worlds to live in

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I am almost done with History Is All You Left me by Adam Silvera and oh boy that book

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Paranorman: “You’re gonna love my boyfriend, he’s like a total chick flick nut.”

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? N/A

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Cats

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? @hallowiamshebsims @simmerberlin @willowbomb @pollinationqueen @gunthermnch

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? The ability to always have the money to pay for things

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? My room probably

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? People falling down, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJq4jWSQNd

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? That’s cute

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? Coffee

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? I have two teachers that are really weird about phones and talking in class so we pass notes instead

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Nah

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? LOUD EATERS

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? I went to a christian concert when I was like 5 so there's that

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? Nope, I live in the south how do you expect me to not eat meat

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? Teacher since I live in the south and that's the only jobs beside retail or waitress in my town

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? The Shadow World, but I wanna be a warlock, not a dumb shadowhunter lol

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? Everything

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? I’m afraid of what's in the dark, which is a hard ass way to say yes

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? All the time but im tone deaf so its bad

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? If I was sick, yeah. Other than that, I did twice. Once because I had a really bad panic attack right before the bus got to my house and I called my mom claiming I was really sick, and once a few weeks ago because my dog got sprayed by a skunk therefore making me smell like a skunk

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? uhhhhhhh

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? New York City, LA, San Francisco, Toronto, Portland, London. Any big city to be honest

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? A dog and three cats

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? Both. I sometimes stay up super late and sometimes i'm up really early. And if I can actually force myself out of bed I can get a lot done in either of those times

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunrises

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? Yeah but im gay so its not good driving l

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? Everything that wont break in a week

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? Nah

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? I don't really have a favorite, I listen to all kinds of stuff

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? Uhhhhh, Deadpool, or Spiderman

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? Nope

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? It takes a lot to make me angry but when im angry it's bad and I forget what i do when i was angry so i don't really know

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? Real

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? English and Creative Writing

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? Younger sister, younger step brother

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? A starbucks coffee last night

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5’7 or something

75. CAN YOU COOK? Depends on what i'm cooking

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? Books, music, friends

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? Racists, homophobes, sexists- so basically most the people in my town (hell what am i kidding, this side of the Mason-Dixon line)

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? One of each

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? I am on the ace spectrum and I am panromantic

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? ‘Merica the brave

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? Sheb

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Like, yesterday

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? CallMeKevin RTGame The Shane Dawson squad

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? sometimes

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP?I guess this hell site

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE?My mom and I are kinda close, i don't really talk to my dad much (even though I live with him half the week)

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? Aussie, British, Scottish, Irish… all of them

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Everywhere that’s not my state and the ones touching it

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 23

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? notta

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? Yes, but not crazy religious. I just believe in fate and that there is some type of higher power

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? Nasa bitch

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? I have an issue with adrenaline. As in, although i am an anxious person with too much adrenaline anyways I like to do things that give me a rush of adrenaline

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? I can't have my eyes pierced because I'm allergic to metal in the sense of having it in my body

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? Yep

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? Nope

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? Next question

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? I mean netiehr, but i'm not a huge fan of sand

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? You’ve made it through your worst day before, you can do it again

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? I think so

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? Sytherlin, not surprise

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? I’m talking to myself right now

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? Introvert

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? Nah, my writing is kind alike my diary

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? I give people too many chances

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Check the ID, maybe take the money and leave it in a bush or something. I don’t know

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? For sure

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? Please don’t  tickle me

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Nope

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? Read question 94

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? Alec Lightwood or Magnus Bane, but young Alec because I can't be friends with 27 year old Alec

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? Scared of needles, remember?

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? Doing things for me

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? YES

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? Both

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? Not really but if my future partner wants some i’d be open to talk about it

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? My ex-best friend. I used to hate how she never had to try to get good grades or be good at things, she just was

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? All my memories are embarrassing if you look close enough

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? At least twice a month

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? Nutruels and black

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? Sure

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? I think I wa son the news once

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 17

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? I have a lot, “Words have the power to change us.” “perhaps it is because of time that we suffer.” “I remain a work in progress until I die.” “The thing you are most afraid to write, write that.” I could go on

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? Sweet

[thesportssoundoff]

Holiday Shopping For The UFC’s Dozen Weight Classes

Joey

December 20th, 2018

The HAPPIEST of holidays to you and yours and I hope whatever you’re celebrating turns out to be the best one yet. This time of year isn’t every for everybody so if you’re a dude or lady out there struggling, remember that there’s always help to be found out there. If the holidays got ya down then don’t feel weak going out there getting yourself the help you need to make it through. We are, as they say, in this together and there are probably more folks out there just like you than ya realize. On the other hand, if you’re like me and this time of year is your favorite time of the year then here’s hoping these last five anticipatory days aren’t too gruesome for ya. Hopefully you did your shopping early enough to where it’s all about the waiting game and you aren’t that guy who waits to the last minute, runs into a CVS and grabs your mom or dad the first gift card that catches your eye on the rack.

MMA in 2018 was...strange and like most of combat sports, filled with plenty of unfulfilled wishes and genuinely cool moments overall. For all we gripe, I’d argue that ONE, Bellator, UFC, PFL and *insert regional organizaton here* delivered enough that we as fans should’ve been satisfied. For as much as we may gripe about the UFC, there’s zero doubt that they gave us plenty of good shit down the stretch of another long grueling schedule. With all of that laid bare, I wanted to do something different and instead of talking about what I want from MMA under my proverbial holiday tree, I’d spin it around and look at what each weight class in the UFC would be asking for. What does each weight class NEED for 2019?

Women's Strawweight

Big Gift: Finishes

The UFC's strawweight class has had it rough in 2018 which is weird because the talent level has never been higher. The hardcore journey into Asia has netted some new talent for the coffers from China and South Korea primarily plus Brazil churned out a collection of intriguing yet raw 115 lb fighters. The division also has seen a rise of domestic talents like Maycee Barber, Mackenzie Dern (She was BORN here so hush) and Tatiana Suarez all having fantastic years with proven names like Karolina K, Michelle Waterson, Jessica Andrade, Courtney Casey, Angela Hill and Tecia Torres stepping up. We even got a return from Cynthia Calvillo to further deepen what is a very talented and deep class. Even without Rose Namajunas, lost into early to mid 2019 due to neck problems, the division has seen plenty of damn good fights and intriguing names step up. The problem is that nobody in this division seemingly can finish fights. When news of the UFC's impending end of the flyweight division started circulating, statistics about finishes, punches thrown and knockdowns were floating around. Flyweights averaged the second lowest amount of finishes due to strikes, the second lowest percentage of finishes related to the number of strikes thrown per fight and finishes overall. The divisions behind flyweight in all those categories? Women's strawweight! There's a subculture of fans on twitter who make a killing taking the over on strawweight fights. At one point during the year, we had gone 12 straight strawweight fights without a finish. Deep into August, strawweight's finish per fight percentage was almost absurdly low. To the division's credit, the year has ended strong as we have had a 50% finish rate in all strawweight fights since UFC 228 in September. That doesn't make up for the total lack of finishes due to strikes but as a sub can be as fun as a TKO if we're being fair. The division has a wealth of talent, has seen some solid matchmaking and a decline in the importance of the grinder types who tend to slug their way through fifteen minute affairs. We're getting more athletes, more active fighters, less fighters who have a tendency to struggle in exchanges and just a better quality of MMA overall from the strawweights. Even accounting for talent taken for the 125 lb class, the health of this division seems strong. Just get folks finishing fights, keep giving us quality fights and get Rose back.

Stocking Stuffer: No weight cutting snafus

Flyweight

Big Gift: The Christmas Miracle

Simply put, the flyweight division needs a miracle. They got an extension on their life support with UFC on ESPN+ requiring a main event and TJ vs Cejudo getting bumped over. Those are temporary cures to a long term problem at flyweight; a problem that isn't going to be fixed with just one fight especially when MMA memories are fleeting. This division needs a new attitude, a new outlook and a new semblance of fan appreciation. You can be mad about Dana for a lot of things but he is 100% right when he says that he hopes the MMA media and their fans are as supportive of flyweight if it sticks around as they were when the Turk came around to claim the weight class. This division needs a Christmas miracle and the only person capable of delivering this is Henry Cejudo on January 19th. If Cejudo can't beat Dillsahw then this division probably does die a long painful drawn out death. Dillashaw would be a two time champion and the UFC would probably quietly nix the weight class rather than have yet another guy hogging up two belts. Cejudo remains the one man who can lengthen this division out. He has to beat Dillashaw and even that might just delay the inevitable. It has to be the sort of win that says that 125 lbs is only getting better with more talent inside of it than ever before. He has to basically blame Mighty Mouse for not taking the challenges the fans asked for and prove that flyweights aren't just smaller fighters but the best small fighters the UFC has.

Stocking Stuffer: A talker

Women's Flyweight

Big Gift: An identity

I suppose a hearty "Finally!" is owed to Valentina Shevchenko. After Nicco Montano struggled to heal up from a variety of injuries and ultimately missed weight, Valentina won her first ever UFC title with a decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk and got a jolt back into the UFC's floundering OTHER flyweight division. While she's not the champion that people want, she's the champion we got and Valentina is the sort of fighter who I imagine will have zero problems fighting anywhere 2-3 times a year in a division that could use a consistent champion. This division if anything needs stability and its own identity; something that can help clear the air of the stink that flyweight is just the scraps of 115 lbs and 135 lbs fighting out over a title nobody wanted but wound up getting in the name of inclusivity. It needs some sort of structure to be carved out the way that 115 lbs went through the growing pains of crafting its own hierarchy. It went from the TUF ladies to Joanna as this overpowering overconfident champion ruling over this division of young up and comers with something for everyone. There's no Ronda here to make everything relevant so the matchmaking and the women involved will need to do some heavy lifting. If flyweight turns into a "Who can Valentina 49-46 next?" then this division will be hopeless to ever go anywhere. It needs something that makes it stand out and fighters on the come up who can really present themselves differently.

Stocking Stuffer: Continued Depth

Bantamweight

Big Gift: Actual title fights

Stocking Stuffer: More Main Events

Over the past two years, we have had TWO bantamweight title fights. We had Cody vs TJ 1 in November of 2017 and Cody vs TJ 2 in August of 2018. This division has become such a tremendous hotbed for talent, earnest rivalries and developing unique fighters that it's a shame that the title picture has become so stagnant. Even if you were the kind of guy who got tired of Cruz vs  Team Alpha Male, you gotta admit that was at least an angle that could reliably turn out consistent title fights. Cody vs TJ was obviously a financial hit but the counter argument is that the desire to stop and start and wait for the first fight then the rematch created what we have now. The division is clearly not helped by that plus we've also got a logjam now with TJ going down to 125 lbs to fight Cejudo in a super fight that's kinda not super at all given that IF ANYTHING the argument can be made that Cejudo is the guy more qualified within his own division as it pertains to having a reason FOR a super fight. TJ has an immediate #1 contender waiting on him in Moraes and while I believe he proved who the man was vs Raphael Assuncao in their last encounter, the fact remains they're tied up and a trilogy is a just fight. Not good or entertaining but a just fight. That doesn't even begin to account for fighters like Jimmie Rivera, Pedro Munhoz, Dominick Cruz, Aljamain Sterling and the winner of Petr Yan/Douglas Silva de Andrade as compelling title fights in the potentially near future. This division needs title fights next year; not one, not the promise of multiple ones but actual honest to goodness fresh compelling new title fights with fresh new challengers for TJ Dillashaw.

Women's Bantamweight

Big Gift: A Pulse

If not for the legacy crafted by Ronda, Holly and Miesha, we'd be saying the stuff we say about the 125 lb class for men in this division too. We don't need to re-litigate what ails the 135 lb class. Divisions one up and one down raided the middle class and took away reliable names like Jessica Eye, Holly Holm, Alexis Davis, Liz Carmouche and Valentina Shevchenko to name a few. Retirement and pregnancies took away the star power from the division, namely the likes of Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate and Julianna Pena. What remains is a hollowed out husk of a division that has no signs of life left in it. Amanda Nunes vs Rocky Pennington is probably the worst title fight of 2018 and I suppose it spoke to the depth of this division that Pennington on a near two year layoff plus a broken leg was the right choice for the title fight. At the end of the day, 135 lbs just needs something. It needs some sort of a pulse and a reminder that it has its place in MMA. It needs someone to invest in it or some star to emerge from out of nowhere to step up and create some talent within it.

Stocking Stuffer: A TUF

Featherweight

Big Gift: Some divisional air freshener

Can great fights and great fighters get stale? 2017 began with Max Holloway and Jose Aldo on a collision course with Frankie Edgar on the outskirts looking in and a collection of proven quality fighters who had been beaten by some combination of the three as the filler. The "upside" was in guys like Yair Rodriguez, Renato Moicano and Brian Ortega. 2018 began with Max Holloway as the sole head of the division with Jose Aldo as the clear #2 fighter, Frankie Edgar on the outskirts looking in and a collection of proven quality fighters who had been beaten by some combination of the three as the filler. The "upside" guys were Renato Moicano, Brian Ortega and Zhabit Magomedsharipov. In 2019, we will enter the  year with Max Holloway as the sole head of the division with Jose Aldo as the clear #2 fighter, Frankie Edgar on the outskirts looking in and a collection of proven quality fighters who had been beaten by some combination of the three as the filler. The likes of Cub Swanson, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, Darren Elkins and company continue to be the filler. The likes of Renato Moicano and Brian Ortega have graduated in value but I don't think either fighter at this moment can say they're above Jose Aldo (while Ortega can absolutely make a claim that he's the #3 guy). Most of these guys have all fought one another or fought someone who has fought Edgar, Aldo or Holloway. This division could use some freshening up and something new going on with it. Maybe that's Moicano taking the FINAL step up to replace Edgar or Aldo at the top of the charts or maybe Ortega is back in a title fight before 2019 ends. Maybe the likes of Alexander Volkanovski,  Zhabit Magomedsharipov, Yair Rodriguez and can survive the gatekeeper's boss run that is the likes of Swanson, Edgar, Lamas and Elkins in some form or fashion. Hell maybe even guys like Michael Johnson and Chad Mendes can continue to be a vibrant little surprise, racking up some timely wins and preventing new challenges. This division is realistically the best division in MMA but if we end 2019 with the same old same old at the top then I'm going to have to call foul there.

Stocking Stuffer: Health and happiness for action fighters

Women's Featherweight

Big Gift:  An investment

The UFC is building performance institutes all over the world and I think that's great. It's their money, spend it how ya wish on what you like. That said if the UFC wants this featherweight class to live beyond Cyborg skipping out, it may be time to put those PI's to their best uses. Even if people cry favoritism, use the UPI's to restock the shelves in WMMA. Let athletes in need of a home stop in there, train for free, board for free and then try to find them gyms you're comfortable with to continue their careers. There's no reason that women's hockey/basketball/softball/wrestling athletes aren't being tempted with continuing their athletic careers in the UFC. That requires an understanding of failure and the tacit knowledge that you may invest hundreds of thousands into people who may not make it. Invest in your product long term, realize you might sink a cost or two and reap the benefits over the long term. It CAN be done.

Stocking Stuffer: A drama free year out of Cyborg (or whoever your champ is)

Lightweight

Big Gift: Detangler

Any other division in the world with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, Kevin Lee, Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder, James Vick, Justin Gaethje, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, David Teymur, Alexander Hernandez and countless others would be a pretty damn hot division and to its credit 155 lbs is pretty damn hot. Even if we can express disappointment in some of the ratings this division has drawn, the fights have been absolutely outstanding as a whole on the year. What this division really needs though is some detangler to help us figure out just what the hell we've got going on here. Is Khabib going to be out for a year? Is Conor? Will Ferguson fight ONLY for a title or will he be active again like in years past? Is Al Iaquinta really a top 5 LW? Can guys like Kevin Lee and James Vick bounce back from rough showings at the end of the year? We've got a loaded division but not a lot happening in large part due to the Khabib and Conor situation and also due to Ferguson and Poirier seemingly getting stuck in between fighting and not fighting for various reasons.  This division deserves a bit better luck than that.

Stocking Stuffer: A 165 lbs division

Welterweight

Big Gift: The element of danger

I've sort of beaten this into the crowd to the point where it's lost effectiveness so I won't belabor the point much longer. 170 lbs needs somebody to finish a fight. It needs a title fight with actual buzz and not buzz about seeing who can race to the bottom first. This is the UFC's weirdest, wackiest division which is somewhat unfortunate given the history of 170 lbs as a whole.

Stocking Stuffer: A Renaissance run from an old horse

Middleweight

Big Gift: Continued youthful and exciting international imports

There's some life here! For once, middleweight has some life going on with it! After the 2014/2015 run where Weidman, Rockhold, Whittaker and a bunch of TUF guys stepped up and showed out, the division hit a lull until this year. We got some glory days runs out of the likes of Jacare and Chris Weidman, we had Yoel Romero fight two times a year like a mad man but we also had the likes of Israel Adesanya, Karl Roberson, Paulo Costa, Thiago Santos and Jared Cannonier mark their arrivals as forces to be reckoned with at 185 lbs. The Contenders Series gave us fighters like Kevin Holland, Ian Henisch and Edemen Shahbazyan. Fighters like Tom Breese and Darren Till realized that lopping off limbs to make 170 lbs was a bad idea. For the first time in the history of the UFC, we're going to get a middleweight title fight between two guys under the age of 30. Even if you account for the fact that Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold are bound to leave the division soon, it doesn't actually feel like a death shot which is pretty amazing given 185's reliability on aging fighters to keep it afloat. What this division needs is really just more of the same. More fighters under 30 popping into the mix, less weathered proven mid tier gatekeepers being given opportunities over and over that they consistently come up short in. Keep building 185 lbs, man. We'll eventually have a serious division in short order.

Stocking Stuffer: One Jacare title fight

Light Heavyweight

Big Gift: Help

Help. SOMEBODY. Jesus christ, somebody help this god forsaken division. Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos are top 10 LHWs after a few fights! The only three really intriguing prospects are Johnny Walker, Dominick Reyes (who no longer feels like a prospect) and Aleksandr Rakic. This division needs help. It needs fresh new fighters, reinforcements from 185 lbs or just something. We're a win, a suspension and a bad sneeze from Gustafsson away from Shogun vs Jan Blachowicz as a title fight in 2019.

Stocking Stuffer: MULTIPLE Jon Jones fights

Heavyweight

Big Gift: The Same Old Same Old

Honestly I know there are folks who dislike the heavyweight division but let's be honest. This is a golden era for big doughy dudes doing big things. We've got old horses having renaissance years in Daniel Cormier. Alexei Olyenik and Junior Dos Santos. Derrick Lewis got to fight for a title! The European HW scene is popping with new guys springing up every other month seemingly. We got to see fighters like Arjan Bhullar and Tai Tuivasa get tested a little bit with some adversity. We might be finally getting some sort of ROI on guys like Justin Willis, Curtis Blaydes and Walt Harris. Francis Ngannou and Alistair Overeem both ended the year on the right side of the tracks. Despite our best reservations or concerns, Greg Hardy is coming and will step into the cage as literally the best athlete in HW division history. Even CAIN VELASQUEZ has apparently had the cobwebs blown off of him! The UFC heavyweight division is doing okay and everything will be alright. Just keep doing what you're doing, try to sign some more of these up and coming European heavies, be a bit more careful with the prospects you've got and let the division keep on keeping on. Long live Heavyweight MMA!

Stocking Stuffer: A semblance of an heir apparent or two

[insideabunker]

The Games: Chapter 2

"I don't care how good she is, Mike, there's just no reason to take her. There are more than enough good tall guys out there, and it would be a strict disadvantage to put someone so small behind the net."

In a cradle of loose netting behind the crossbar, a tiny transistor radio crackled to life, filling the frozen air with the staticky voices of commentators.  The sound echoed through the empty rink, followed by the sharp metal ding of a puck as it ricocheted off the goal post.

"We gonna listen to that thing the whole fucking time?"

"It motivates me."

"To what, have an aneurysm?"

The crack of a slap shot rang out like a bullet from a gun, followed immediately by the hard thud of vulcanized rubber hitting leather at 80 miles an hour.

"Are you throwing softballs?"

Lincoln eyed the goalie skeptically.  "Why am I even shooting from the line? You should be working on close up stuff. The teams you're going to be playing will be focusing on dekes, tips, and wrists more than they will slap shots.  You need to work on reading the body."

"Pussy."

Another crack filled the area, another hollow thud as the puck was stopped mid-flight.

"That's more like it."

Lincoln scowled.  As irritating as she could be, there was no denying his friend's talent.  The problem was that Lexa would be the first one to the point that out, and it made the goaltender hard to bear, and on rare occasions, pretty tough to like.

The radio crackled to life again, the static fragmenting the voices as they droned on.

"Oh, come on!  Remember Enroth?  He was five foot eleven, and the fans up in Buffalo didn't seem to mind him."

"Enroth? Enroth!?  Mike, if you're going to use someone as an example at least pick someone who still plays in the NHL.  The last time I checked Enroth was sent packing to a KHL team in Belarus or some such place.  Meanwhile, Halak and Khudobin, the only goalies in the league I can think of that are under six feet tall, haven't started more than half the games in a season."

"Keith, I played with Gerry Cheevers, who is arguably one of the greatest goaltenders in history.  He had to have been no taller than five foot eleven, and a hundred and eighty pounds soaking wet.  Now, Woods is only one inch and five pounds smaller than that.  You cannot tell me that she can't compete at a professional level."

"Ok Mike, thousands of years ago, when you played, it wasn't uncommon to see a guy five foot ten or five foot eleven between the pipes.  And for the record, I'm not arguing that she can't play.  She's good. I've seen her play. I know she's good. She might even be better than good. My point is there's just no reason to take her in an era of giant goaltenders.  Right now, the average goalie in the NHL is six foot two, two hundred and ten pounds.  And that's just the average.  Ben Bishop is six foot seven, two hundred and sixteen pounds.  Why on earth would you bother taking this girl when there are guys like that out there? Does she have the chops for the NHL? Sure. Fine. But, why sign a small, average quality NHL prospect, when you've got guys playing at the same level who can also fill up the net like they're the Rock of Gibraltar?"

"Well, either way, her selection to the Canadian national team should make this Olympics an interesting one."

"One thing is for sure.  If this girl wants a shot at being selected to a professional team, there had better be a shiny, gold medal hanging around her neck at the end of the games.  I doubt any NHL team is going to sustain interest if she can't bring home gold when she's just playing against other women."

“Can we please turn that crap off,” Lincoln pleaded with her, his arms dangling at his sides as he kicked a puck into position for another shot."

“I don’t want to.” Lexa adjusting her footing as she waited for him to snap the puck.

“Dante's gonna be pissed when he hears you've been binge-listening to this crap again.”

“He won't,” she crouched low in the net, superstitious that the mere mention of the surly, wizened goalie coach might summon him to appear before her.

“It's gonna get into your head.”

“It won't,” she crouching lower still, dismissing the momentary sting of guilt at her dishonesty.

“Whatever you say.”

Lincoln wound back, his body twisting forward violently as he slapped the puck in her direction, full force.

Most people would have believed Lexa when she told them that the detractors and skeptics didn’t get to her, but not Lincoln. He had known her too intimately for far too long.  Lincoln knew when Lexa was lying to herself. When they were children, it had been easier to recognize, easier to see the hurt hidden behind the brave face. Now though, the cracks around the edges were almost imperceptible, and when the naysaying was at its worst, Lexa only doubled down on her cocksure bravado.  It was an act that had become so calculated, so much a part of her, that he doubted she could tell the difference between the facade and the emotional truth behind it.

On the rare occasions that Lexa's emotions did break the surface, they always came out convoluted, manifesting themselves as anger and aggression rather than hurt and disappointment.  There were times when Lincoln wanted to do more, say more to help her, but his oldest friend lived in abject fear of losing her competitive edge. Frustratingly, Lexa believed that it was her fury, rather than her natural talent alone, that continued to propel her forward. Lincoln knew that his words would fall on deaf ears.

“So you want me to bring it in close?”

“Nope.”

Lincoln sighed, kicking at a puck.

“Lex, the teams at the Olympics...”

“I'm not training to play the teams at the Olympics, Lincoln."

"Lexa..."

They're women, Lincoln!  I've been playing in the damn OHL for three years now.  Men's professional hockey is my reality.  The Olympic games are a distraction at best, and when they're over, I need to be playing at a level that's going to get me drafted out of here. Training for the women's game isn't going to help me with that."

"And training like you're about to play Zdeno Chara is going to lose you the gold!"

Lincoln sent a puck flying towards the stands in frustration. It barely missed the glass, making a terrible rattling sound as it shook the board.

"Lexa, just listen to me for once! You're minimizing how good these players are."

The hulking former defenseman skated over to his friend, pulling off his helmet and discarding it gently on ice as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You're not wrong.  The women's game is different, but different doesn't mean worse, it doesn't mean unskilled.  These women play a different style of hockey, and all of them are extremely good at it.  Some of them are unbelievably good at it.  More importantly, because you've spent your entire career playing in all-male leagues, their style of hockey isn't one you've played before.  If you underestimate how hard it's going to be for you to adjust to that, you do so at your own peril."

Lexa sighed, pulling her goalie mask off. “I swear Lincoln; coaching women has gotten you soft.”

She winked, smirking at her already exacerbated friend. After a two year stint in the NHL, a catastrophic injury had realigned Lincoln's stars, setting him on a new path as the assistant coach of a collegiate women's team in Wisconsin.  His transition from rising playboy all-star to a champion of Title IX and female athletes was a sensitive matter, though he remained a good sport when it came to teasing.  She expected him to roll his eyes, groan, or perhaps playfully punch her in the arm.  Instead, he made Lexa jump as he threw his stick onto the ice, furious.

“Lexa! Can you just drop your fucking attitude for once?”

He skated away from her, his hands resting behind his head as he took a moment to cool off.

"You know… I get it. I grew up with you. I was there when you and those other girls petitioned to play in the boy’s league.  I saw how you were the only one left standing after years of harassment and abuse.  I've been with you every step of the way, so I understand how you ended up with the mindset you have, but you've got to get over this toxic masculinity shit! Somewhere, deep down inside of you, you still believe that you've gotten this far in spite of being a woman.  That belief is wrong, Lexa.  That thinking is your Achille's heel."

He turned back to her, rubbing his temples to soothe the headache form an afternoon of clenching his jaw.

"Those girls don't think that way.  I know you believe that if they were as good as you, they'd be playing in the men's leagues too, but you're wrong.  They didn't grow up where we did; they didn't have to walk that path.  They grew up playing in women's leagues, where nobody ever told them they weren't good enough.  They're not playing to prove anything to anyone."

He eyed her knowingly, an unspoken truth passing between them."

"If you shove it in their face that you think you're better than them because you play with men, they're going to use that attitude to humiliate you."

Lexa's face was red, her eyes fixed and furious.  She threw her goalie stick in Lincoln's general direction and tossed her glove and blocker down in disgust.

“I didn't even want to compete with these women! Playing for the stupid Olympic team was your idea; you and Dante!  I don't understand why the hell I'm supposed to learn some whole new style of play for something that's going to last all of three weeks!"

"Because it's a damn honor!"

Lincoln and Lexa both froze as the gravelly voice of Dante Wallace rumbled at them from across the ice.

"And would either of you care to tell me what you're doing here on a day that I specifically told you to take off?"

For a second, Lexa just watched her coach approaching, frozen in shock as though she were an eight-year-old who'd just been caught goofing off in practice. She was accustomed to her coach's frequent irritability, but this was a different mood altogether. The old salt was raging, his anger fueled by the audacity of his protege's defiance. Dante was the kind of man who refused to take insubordination lightly, and as he stomped towards them, fisherman's cap pulled low on his brow, unlit cigarette gripped between his gritted teeth, unshaven jaw clenched, Lexa knew she was about to catch hell.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"Dante, I..."

Dante held up his hand, pointing directly at Lincoln as he continued to stare Lexa down.

"Don't you even start!"

He thrust his index finger in Lexa's direction.

"You want to practice? Fine, let's practice.  Suicides, go!"

Lexa remained frozen for a moment, trying in vain to process an excuse.

"Now!" He pointed at Lincoln.  "You too, blockhead!"  

The pair finally sprung into action, dashing off towards the closest line and hustling back towards the goal.

Dante watched his unfortunate trainees sprint towards center ice, already panting.  He muttered, pulling up the zipper on the ancient Red Wings Starter jacket he was never without.  He stood there, letting a full five minutes pass until the suffering athletes had begun to turn red and pour sweat before he launched into his lecture.

"You're a damn fool, Woods! Only a fool would underestimate their opponent to service their individual, selfish pride."

He chewed on the end of the unlit cigarette, shifting it from one side of his mouth to the other.

"You've been granted the privilege of representing your country because you're the best it has to offer, a paragon of true Olympic prowess, and like a jackass, you choose to squander that opportunity. Why? Because you don't like the stipulations?!"

He spat his cigarette out on the ice, finally blowing the whistle around his neck to give the go-ahead for Lexa and Lincoln to stop.  The two dropped to the ice, gasping for breath.

"Woods, you're one of the best goalies I've ever coached, you might even be the best. Right now, however, you could fit the number of people that believe that into a pee-wee locker room. This season is the last one you'll be eligible to play Major Junior, and if you're betting on those NHL scouts suddenly coming to their senses, you've got another thing coming."

Dante walked over to where the players were slumped over on the ice, still trying to catch their breaths.  He crouched directly in front of Lexa's face, staring her dead in the eye.

"Kid, you've spent the last three years playing for the worst team in Northern Ontario.  Nobody gives a rat's ass how good you are if they don't see you play.  You're invisible up here, and as long as you're invisible, the NHL can ignore you all they like.   Play net at the Olympics and you get to show the whole world what you can do.  Nobody will be able to ignore you after that.  That's why I insisted you play for the women's national team."

Dante stood, brushing the wrinkles out of his pants, and popping another cigarette into his mouth.

"Now get off my ice and go clean yourselves up.”  He paused looking over the pathetic, exhausted skaters with disdain.  "You two look like a damn soup sandwich."

With that, he trudged off, the scent of bay rum and stale Camel Straights lingering in his wake.

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