#so when you get players who really truly buy into not just the team but the community

[miketownsends]

Cal has a bat for Players’ Weekend that’s in Sonics colors and just says “bring them back” and i swear to god if the front office ever lets him be anything other than a Mariner i will never ever forgive them

like i feel like he has really embraced Seattle in a way that we don’t see very often and i cannot stand the thought of him going to any other team tbh

[emmylksblog]

COLD NIGHT // Héctor Fort

summary: A tough week left you battling insecurities, and it all came crashing down during your boyfriend's celebratory dinner with the team. based on this request

genre: angst, comfort

warnings: anxiety

a/n: i feel like I’m getting worse at writing lately, and it never seems like I can fully capture what I imagine, especially since english isn’t my first language. I’m really sorry for that, and I truly appreciate everyone who’s been reading my fics—your support means so much to me! i also hope everyone is doing well with everything that’s going on in Spain and, especially, with the heartbreaking situation in Palestine. stay strong and take care of yourselves. Stay healthy! ❤️

It had been a tough week. Ever since your relationship with Héctor was made public, you’d been walking on eggshells. The pressure to keep up appearances weighed heavily on you, everyone seemed to want to know who the footballer’s girlfriend really was.

Of course, you’d gained haters instantly, and at first, you thought you could handle it. But all it did was add even more stress to your life.

Héctor noticed how distant you’d been with him lately, and he hoped that bringing you as his plus one to the team dinner would help things go back to normal.

As you walked into the restaurant with Héctor, you felt eyes on you from every direction. You tried to ignore it, putting on a small smile as you greeted his teammates and their partners. The noise and energy around the table were comforting, but a knot still tightened in your chest.

Sitting down beside Héctor, you tried to blend in, watching everyone else talk and laugh. Héctor’s hand found yours under the table, squeezing gently. He leaned closer, his voice soft, “You doing okay?”

Forcing another smile, you nodded, hoping it would be convincing enough. But Héctor didn’t buy it.

It felt strange trying to interact with Héctor the way you used to. None of this was his fault, but now, with everyone watching, you just couldn’t act like before. You didn’t want him to worry though, so you brushed your thumb gently over his hand.

“I’m really okay, don’t worry,” you said softly, your eyes fixed on your hands resting together in your lap.

He watched you closely, not entirely convinced, his thumb grazing your knuckles as if reassuring you he was there.

Héctor wasn’t ready to let it go. He shifted in his seat, positioning himself so you had no choice but to meet his gaze. “Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes searching yours with a playful seriousness. 

When you looked up, he raised his eyebrows up and down quickly, making a silly expression that instantly drew a laugh from you. You nodded, feeling some of the tension ease as you held his gaze, grateful for his little attempt to cheer you up.

You felt a wave of warmth spread through you at his words, the tension in your chest finally starting to ease. His touch, so simple yet comforting, made everything feel a little less overwhelming. 

"Thank you," you whispered back, your voice barely audible over the noise of the room. You could see the concern still in his eyes, but his smile never wavered, and that was enough to make you feel safe for the moment.

He kept his hand on your cheek for a few seconds longer before letting it fall, but his presence beside you felt like a quiet promise. No matter how much the world outside tried to pressure you, he was here, grounding you.

Now feeling more at ease, you joined in the dinner, even getting involved in conversations with some of the players' girlfriends nearby, who turned out to be really kind.

Their easy smiles and friendly questions helped you relax, and soon enough, you found yourself laughing along with them, the tension from earlier slowly fading away. 

Every so often, Héctor would glance over at you, his eyes soft with relief at seeing you more comfortable. 

Dabbing your mouth with a napkin, you reached for your bag and gently tapped Héctor on the shoulder, letting him know you wanted to head to the bathroom. He immediately offered to come with you, but you shook your head with a small smile. 

“Alright, just be careful,” he said, his eyes full of quiet concern. “I’ll be right here when you get back.”

You slipped into one of the stalls, grateful for a moment alone, when the sound of two girls talking loudly caught your attention. Their voices grew clearer, and you quickly realized they were talking about you and your relationship with Héctor.

"I just don’t get it," one of them scoffed. "I mean, have you seen her? She doesn’t belong with someone like Héctor."

The other girl laughed, clearly amused. "Right? He could do so much better. She’s just... so basic, like some lowly girl who got lucky. I bet she just clings to him because she knows she’d be nothing without him."

They kept talking, each comment feeling like a jab to your chest. "I give it a few months, tops. Héctor’s too good for her, and he’ll figure that out sooner or later." 

You stayed silent, holding your breath as the hurtful words sank in.

The happiness you’d felt just moments ago plummeted, sinking deep into something cold and sharp in your chest. A tight ache formed there, squeezing painfully as their words echoed in your mind. You could feel the sting of tears building, threatening to spill at any moment, and suddenly, every harsh comment they made seemed all too true.

You felt like absolute trash. Each word they’d said chipped away at the fragile confidence you’d built up tonight, and the doubts you’d tried so hard to push down now roared to life, making you question everything.

You’d been telling yourself the same things all week, those same cruel doubts replaying over and over in your mind. But somehow, hearing it come from strangers—spoken out loud without a hint of hesitation—made it feel painfully real. It cut deeper, each word like a confirmation of every insecurity you’d been trying to ignore.

Wiping away the few tears you couldn’t hold back, you exited the stall with quick, abrupt movements. There was no way you could stand another second listening to that crap. You pushed the door open, not caring if they noticed the expression on your face, and stepped back into the hallway, determined to leave that negativity behind you.

You did everything you could to hold back the tears as you walked back to the table, trying to act like nothing was wrong. The last thing you wanted was to worry Héctor any more than he already was.

You’d noticed how closely he’d been watching you all evening, alert to every little shift in your mood. This past week, you’d been distant, and he obviously knew something was up, but he hadn’t pressured you to tell him anything. 

As you approached the table, you forced a small smile, hoping it would be enough to keep him from noticing the cracks starting to show.

The moment you sat down, Héctor’s hand instinctively found its way to your leg, a small gesture meant to ground you. He wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, but he could see the faint tension in your eyes, the way you seemed to be holding something back.

Without a word, his thumb gently traced soothing circles on your knee, hoping it would bring you even a small bit of comfort.

You pulled Héctor's hand off your leg, your body tensing with an unfamiliar mix of emotions. After what you had overheard in the bathroom, you didn’t know how to feel anymore. You couldn’t look at him, afraid he’d see right through you, so you kept your eyes down, your chest tight. 

Héctor's face fell as he noticed the sudden distance between you two. His hand hovered for a second before resting on the table, unsure. He could feel the shift, the unease in your every movement. His voice cracked slightly as he asked, “What’s wrong? Please, talk to me…”

Those words were your last straw. You could feel the tears starting to burn your eyes. You stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. The sudden motion caught the attention of the other Barça players, their eyes flicking between you and Héctor, but you didn’t care. You just needed to get out.

Héctor didn’t hesitate for a second. He grabbed your purse and rushed after you, calling your name, his voice urgent. “Hey, wait up!”

Once outside, the cold night air hit you, and you wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to fight the chill in more ways than one. Héctor caught up with you in seconds, his hand gently but firmly taking yours, stopping you in your tracks. You looked up at him then, eyes red and face twisted in confusion, frustration, and hurt.

"Why won’t you talk to me?" Héctor's voice was soft but desperate, like he was afraid he was losing you. "What’s going on, please..."

You didn’t answer right away, just staring down at the ground, the weight of it all pressing down on you. Slowly, you brought your hand up to his arm, fingers tracing the tattoo you’d memorized so many times in the past when anxiety gripped you.

It had become a soothing ritual, something that calmed you when everything felt out of control. You hadn’t done it in a while, but now, it felt like the only thing that could help you breathe.

Héctor’s face softened as he watched you, his thumb gently rubbing the back of your hand. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’m here. Whatever it is... we’ll figure it out, together.”

You took a deep breath, finally meeting his eyes, and everything spilled out—the hurt from the whispers, the insecurities you’d been battling, how you felt like you didn’t deserve him, like you were never enough.

Héctor listened without interrupting, his hand never leaving yours, and when you finished, he pulled you into a tight hug, holding you as if he never wanted to let go.

“I love you,” he murmured into your hair, his arms strong around you, grounding you. “You’re everything to me. Don’t listen to what anyone says. You’re more than enough. You’re my enough.”

You held onto him, your body trembling but somehow calming in his embrace. The cold didn’t matter now; just the warmth of his touch, the softness of his words.

Héctor leaned back, looking down at you with a small, gentle smile. “Come here,” he said, before pressing his lips softly against yours, sealing the promise in a kiss that spoke volumes.

You kissed him back, letting everything fall away in that moment—your doubts, the voices, the pain. All that was left was him, and you. Just the two of you.

[mossfrg]

Jersey Gotham

Okay as someone born and raised in Jersey, I feel like we as a fandom are missing out on truly Jersey-ified Gotham. Like, c’mon, Jersey Girl Brucie Wayne??? So here I am to present a list of things I need more of because god damn it make Batfam— mostly Bruce, Jason, Tim, Steph, and Duke— Jersey (all based on my own personal experiences/real things that have happened to me):

Bruce cannot pump his own gas. He just. Doesn’t know how to. It’s not like a rich person thing, he just never learned cause he’s from fucking Jersey and never leaves Gotham. Jason didn’t know how and Talía lost her shit “How??? You are child superhero??? Who died and spontaneously came back??? But you can’t pump gas??” Tim kinda knows cause of Titans but again, he never really had to. (There’s a Twitter threaded dedicated to the Wayne family titled “is this rich or Jersey”). Steph and Duke can but they both pretend not too.

There have been fist fights over whether it’s pork roll or taylor ham. Jason and Bruce are very adamantly pork roll like the good Southern Jersey boys they are— it’s the one thing they can agree in most days— but Tim is taylor ham. Steph and Duke, despite being South Jersey, like to cause chaos and flip sides constantly. Dick, Damian, and Cass couldn’t care less.

The Absolute Hatred of New York/NYC. Doesn’t matter which kid it is, Bruce (and Alfred) got them all on board with this. Don’t even get them started on the Statue of Liberty; it’s a Wayne family tradition to try and buy it from NY because technically it’s more in NJ than NY and it’s closer too. They’ve yet to be successful but Bruce has hope for when it’s Damian’s turn.

And bc of this hatred of NYC comes the support of Philly!! None of them are super big sport fans, but they do cheer for Eagles, 76ers, and Union. Bruce, thanks to Alfred, is a big fan of soccer (“it’s football, master Bruce, I didn’t raise you in a barn”), and is a member of the Sons of Ben. He can be found in the River End of the stadium with Jason cheering for Union at pretty much every home game. There are multiple videos of Brucie Wayne and Jason Wayne screaming at refs, launching fireworks off the roof, and cursing out opposing teams’ players. Duke and Tim can be found 76ers games, while Steph frequents Eagles games.

Accents. Pls for the love of god give those boys (and Steph) accents. They are from New Fucking Jersey. They say “cawfee” and “tawlk.” They pronounce 0% of their t’s in the middle of words— kitten is ki’en, Trenton is tren’in. Jason and Steph drop letters when they gets pissed, Bruce slurs words, Duke and Tim drop passive-aggressive “y’all’s” to piss people off.

Driving. Now it’s not that they’re shit drivers, it’s that everyone else is a shit driver, and it’s not helped that majority of them learned to drive in the Batmobile. Steph has a loudspeaker on her car and frequently yells “fucking Pennsylvania turn your goddamn blinker on!” while driving. Bruce has a room in the manor dedicated to his speeding tickets. Tim as gotten into multiple fists fights at lights because people were driving slow in the fast lane. Jason is infamous for doing the Jersey Slide.

Jason, Tim, and Steph have gotten mugged before. They talked their way out of it and gave tips to the mugger. Bruce has kicked a rabid raccoon while walking home before because what else was he supposed to do? Duke has ordered a “pork roll egg and cheese on an everything” before in Not-Jersey and cried because they don’t have it. Several foreign benefactors of WE have asked for translators at meetings with Brucie cause Brucie’s accent is so thick and exaggerated. IN CONCLUSION: making Batfam (and gotham) Jersey is funny as hell and presents so many good opportunities. Make Batfam Jersey! (again these are all just my personal experiences, big state yada yada, different experiences, blah blah idgaf I jsut need batfam fist fighting over pork roll)

[krispycreamcake]

The Sakamakis perfect match in: Game night

From author: This is a new series I'll be doing where I pair up the Sakamakis with their perfect partner for specific scenarios, so if you have any asks, feel free to send!

Shu Sakamaki

🎻- Frankly, Shu is a lazy man child whose only purpose on earth is to drive you up a wall

🎻- He needs someone competent that can carry your team for the BOTH of you because God knows he won't

🎻- Shu finds that getting a reaction out of you far more interesting than the game itself

🎻- So let's say you're playing Uno, he has five +4 cards up his ass and he's only willing to spend them on either you or Reiji

🎻- The truth is, when you're good at everything, no challenge is ever truly a challenge and that makes life soooo boring especially if you're immortal

🎻- Anyways, Shu would be best matched with someone that would try their best at any given game, especially if they're competitive

🎻- He also needs someone that's a major crash out and tweaks tf out when he ruins the game for them

Reiji Sakamaki

☕️- Reiji definitely needs a team player

☕️- He needs someone strategic and communicative so they can conspire together on ways to win

☕️- Here's a hint, he's open to blatant cheating if you do it in such a way that it doesn't technically count, except it so does

☕️- For example, you're all playing Monopoly. You offer to buy Ayato's property in exchange for yours except you KNOW that it's in between both of Reiji's properties, and the chances of him landing are extremely high and you and Reiji are in kahoots together so you both split the profits

☕️- See that's not technically cheating, that's playing smart

☕️- Reiji's best match would be someone who's competitive but also cunning. Ooh and never let him feel like you're the one in charge, he'll go crazy

Ayato Sakamaki

🏀- Well uh

🏀- He would want someone as arrogant and competitive as him, but is that what he needs? Absolutely not

🏀- Ayato needs someone level headed that can help balance out their team dynamic in order to win

🏀- He needs someone that'll see the flaws in his mistakes and take accountability for HIM because I have no idea if you could even convince him he even made a mistake in the first place

🏀- In short, Ayato needs someone to save that burning ship he's on

🏀- You need to be in control without specifically admitting you're in control, you need to be sneaky about it and make it seem like HE'S the one who came up with those ideas

🏀- The best example I can think of is when you're playing pictionary, you whisper something REALLY close to what the actual thing is and have him come up with the answer himself

Laito Sakamaki

🃏- Laito's best match would be someone who's a bit laid back and playful

🃏- While we all know Laito's extremely smart and can read people well, we need someone to bring out that side of him rather than takeover and never have him put his skills to use

🃏- He needs someone that'll force him to take the lead otherwise everything would just be a big joke to him and unless it's a game he likes, he genuinely does not care

🃏- You need to kind of be a Shu in this case

🃏- What I mean by this is, you need to tease him a bit, make him feel just the inciest bit insecure about his game skills. Tease him, make jabs at him, play mindlessly into the opponent's hands

🃏- Hmm this example would best describe what I mean. Imagine you're playing a game of Ludo and you roll a six and instead of moving your piece out of the way before it gets "eaten", you choose the option to unlock another of your pieces to the game. He goes nuts after your like 3rd time of this and subtly starts giving advice despite cussing you out in his mind

Kanato Sakamaki

🧸- Someone patient for sure but also extremely determined

🧸- You need to essentially gentle parent him to the finish line

🧸- Don't get mad at him when he makes a dumb move but let him scold you because you did

🧸- Kanato would work well with someone that's headstrong and has a clear view of victory. He needs someone he can trash talk the other players to, regardless if they're his brothers or not

🧸- Aside from him being batshit insane, he'd be a fun person to play with. He's smart and calculated in the emotional aspect of the game and he can read his players really well

🧸- He knowsss how to get under their skin and might even have a freak out if someone calls him out. Of course none of it is real, but what the others said DID hurt his feelings (just maybe not to that extent truthfully)

🧸- Kanato would work well with someone willing to put up with his antics, someone who's patient and well versed in the game they're playing

🧸- The only example for this scenario I can think of is imagine you guys are playing checkers or chess and Kanato stands behind you while outwardly critiquing your opponent's every flaw and making disappointed noises and distracting them purposely

Subaru Sakamaki

🥀- Similar to Kanato, he needs someone patient

🥀- Obviously his anger will be an issue, but you also need to be smart to be able to point out the flaws in his moves and communicate to him ways to win

🥀- See Subaru would pair great with someone that can tell him what to do clearly and precisely

🥀- You need to be the brains to his brawns, you need to think and act quickly

🥀- You also need to shit talk his brothers with him

🥀- Maybe they made a stupid move, why not try lightening the mood with some loud whispering about them

🥀- Subaru would act like he doesn't like the idea of game night, but by the time he has the dice in his hand, he's folded. And because of this, he needs someone that can have fun with him

🥀- He needs someone playful but yet a person that can lock in at any given moment

🥀- Even if you guys don't win, he'll make a comment on how fun it was in the end

🥀- Example wise, I can honestly only think of you guys playing Snakes and Ladders and you shake the desk while the dice rolls to give someone the exact number they need to get eaten by a snake and he's just in the background backing you up and vouching for you that you didn't do it, meanwhile he's trying so hard not to laugh his ass off

[t00muchheart]

As I do when I am hyperfixating on something, I have read a LOT of supernatural fanfiction in the last few months, and I get a lot of the titles I read from other peoples’ recommendations or collections on ao3, so I figured I’d share some of my favorites in case anyone else is looking for recs :)

AUs:

Spirit of the West by teen_dean

This is a shock to literally no one who follows me because I regularly bring it up, but it honestly is one of the best things I’ve ever read. The 90s horse girl AU of your dreams (or, if you haven’t dreamed of one, that you never knew you needed). The storytelling is immaculate, the symbolism rich, and it only improves on re-reading

And this, your living kiss by opal_bullets

Poet Dean AU featuring genuinely beautiful comments on language and writing and how we encounter stories and words and what they can do, and also some honestly incredible poetry

where there is darkness by quiettewandering

Lighthouse keepers AU! this one is a bit mysterious and I did scream into a pillow after finishing it. If you know the story of the Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers, it is loosely inspired by that.

Phantasma by thisisapaige

Messy Dean, my beloved. Messy, Stanford-Era Dean, my beloved. Dean breaks off from John and buys a haunted house, and things sort of escalate.

For All You Young Hockey Players Out There, Pay Attention by thursdaysfallenangel

I don’t even watch hockey, but this AU kind of made me want to start. Rivals to friends to lovers all while dealing with the homophobia in the NHL

time has come today series by teen_dean

Team Free Will brings in teen Dean Winchester to help with a case, parallel worlds come into play; every version of Dean Winchester falls in love with Castiel & all the good stuff like that

What Baking Can Do by cowlovely

Baker & Dad Dean fic and Doctor Cas? What more could you ask for?

Everyone’s a Critic by Englandwouldfall

Food Critic Cas and Chef Dean meet in a truly unfortunate way. This is worth it for Cas’s reviews alone, but also the Dean-Gabriel dynamic

FROTUS by kathscradle

A President Cas, Restaurant Owner Dean romance that was honestly just a good time

Fix-Its:

take the bones, begin anew by JustStandingHere

This was one of the first fics I read and it is sort of peak disaster™ Dean Winchester. I love a good “I fixed up a house for you and didn’t realize it meant I was in love” fic and this one is iconic

i want to do with you (what spring does with cherry trees) by sobsicles

I ugly cry every time I read this fic. It is a run of Cas and Dean’s relationship in seasons 13-15 and has Dean making a friend and it hurts but also it’s so good. Maybe my favorite Sam line of any fic comes from this fic ("If he thinks what you two do is friendship, then I must just be some guy he happens to speak to sometimes.”)

break the skin (to break the barriers) by sobsicles

Dean gets tattoos, and as he does, he tells the tattoo artist his life story. This is a post-15x19 fic told from an outside perspective and it is so well-done

Dumbassery, Denial, Doing by sobsicles

Listen tbh this list could be dominated by sobsicles and so I am showing restraint by only including three of their works. Their Dean characterization is everything to me and this fic really highlights Dean growing to understand himself better when given the freedom to

Revisions by bizarrestars

THEE what if Dean and Cas got together earlier and Chuck just wrote it out? fic.

a turn of the earth by microcomets

I love a work that explores pre-series Dean, and this one is great. Basically, think what-if later seasons Cas and pre-series Dean met (Strandlines by aeli_kindara is another good example of this premise, but in Strandlines, it is pre-series Cas as well as pre-series Dean).

psalm 40:2 by unicornpoe

On a similar note, psalm 40:2 is a great pre-series Dean, future-Cas fic. I am a bi Dean believer but this fic did sway me toward the gay Dean camp because it’s simply so good.

You Belong Among the Wildflowers by ImYourHoneyBee

Dean fixing his relationship with Jack? You got it. Dean trying to work through losing Cas? Yep. Dean getting Cas back by being stubborn? It’s there.

Who You Gonna Call? by saintedcastiel

Dean has a ghost following him around as he tries to start a life post-series, and for a while, he can’t figure out what’s happening. I love nothing more than Dean telling people he and Cas were married because he doesn’t know how else to explain and this fic delivers so hard

quilts by fleeceframe

A “Cas didn’t confess before getting taken to the Empty” fic. Soft things all around

Miscellaneous:

Fathers & Daughters by sinnabonka

On a different note, this is one of my favorite Claire fics. It looks at Claire’s relationship with Cas and the impossibility of it, and it’s so artfully done.

Bus Loop Madness by batz_in_blue

Literally just a “what if everyone lived, Jack was a toddler, and they all picked him up from school?” AU. I audibly laughed while reading this, and it’s an essential pick-me-up from the heavier fics.

More of my favorite sobsicles fics include: gorging myself on you, still can’t get full (insatiable), and he’s back (with a mind of his own), six hundred sundays (and many more), oh sooner or later it all comes down to faith, things happen (they do, they do, and they do), according to all known laws of life, and profoundly bonded (by law)

Also, honorable mentions to Ninety One Whiskey, which is such a good fic, and Make a Believer Outta Me, which is a Hocus Pocus AU that is honestly just a fun time.

[bluelocksource]

Otoya Eita’s trivia (source: twt & Egoist Bible).

"Stealth Breakthrough."

☆ Character's colour: Bright green.

☆ Weapons: Off-the-ball movement and agility.

☆ Nickname: ‘Ninja’.

☆ Birthday: 3rd December.

☆ Current age: 17 (3rd year of high school)

☆ Zodiac: Sagittarius.

☆ Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture.

☆ Family: Father. Mother. Older sister. Himself. Younger sister.

☆ Current height: 177 cm.

☆ Dominant foot: Right foot.

☆ Blood type: O.

☆ Starts playing football: At age 6.

☆ Team before joining BLUE LOCK: Kirigakure Academy Soccer Club.

☆ Motto: "Step up or step aside." **

☆ Favorite food: Churros. “It tastes great.”

☆ Disliked food: Pickles. “It doesn’t taste great."

☆ Favorite animal: Phoenix. “It is a flaming bird.”

☆ Favorite season: Summer. "Do I need a reason?"

☆ Favorite football player: Minamino Takumi.

☆ Favorite music: He likes listening to neo city pop genre.

☆ Favorite manga: Moteki. “It’s top-tier, no objection.”

☆ Favorite movie: Home Alone. “The unbeatable Christmas movie.”

☆ Favorite TV show: FNS Kayousai & Music Station Special Superlive. “I can get senselessly hyped up.”

☆ Favorite celebrity: Aso Kumiko. “I’m seriously dying!”

☆ Ideal type: Bright and honest woman. (don’t count on it, he’ll change it soon).

☆ Hobby: Tour around TDR (Tokyo Disney Resort). “Riding Tower of Terror at DisneySea is a must!”

☆ Mushroom shoots vs Bamboo shoots: “I only eat the chocolate part of the mushroom. I’ll give the rest to you.”

☆ What goes best with rice : A cute girl. “I like watching girls who eats rice deliciously.”

☆ What makes him happy: Something exciting.

☆ What makes him upset: Something boring/depressing.

☆ What he thinks his strength is: “I forget unpleasant stuff after sleeping.”

☆ What he thinks his weakness is: “I forget important stuff after sleeping.”

☆ Favorite/Best subject: English. “I only take the class seriously because the teacher is beautiful.”

☆ Dislike/weak subject: Other than English “Studying is boring.”

☆ What made him cry recently: He got hit in the eye from being slapped. “Cheating’s not good.”

☆ Usual sleeping time: 8 hours.

☆ What he usually ends up buying from convenience store: Breath care. “Who knows if I’ll be kissing my girlfriend later.”

☆ Place he washes first when taking a bath: Between the toes. “Don’t want to get athlete’s foot.”

☆ Fixation: Scent. “I can tell our compatibility if you hug me.”

☆ Number of chocolates received from previous Valentine: 1. “It’s from a senior I was dating at the time. I was really into her.”

☆ At what age he experiences first love: At age 3. “With Dokin-chan.”

☆ The first time he got confessed to: Happened when he was 5 years old. “I kissed about 95% of the girls in nursery school, and 50% of them confessed.”

☆ What will he do if received 100 million yen: "Charter a night pool party for as long as I can."

☆ At what age he stops receiving presents from Santa: At age 12.

☆ What was his last wish from Santa: New spikes. “With some exciting design.”

☆ How he spent his holiday: "Either hanging out with friends or going on a date. I love the fluttering feelings prior to dating. The feeling wears off once I date the girl, though."

☆ What will he do during his last day on Earth: Enjoy the moment.

☆ Favorite historical figure: "Steve Jobs. Creating the iPhone is truly remarkable."

☆ If he hadn't encountered soccer, what will he be doing: "Making chill music. I want to be someone who creates that kind of music."

☆ If he could only take one thing to a deserted island, what would it be: "I wouldn’t need anything. I’d just go with the flow. Deserted island, woohoo! "

☆ If he had a time machine, would he go to the past or the future: The future. " I want to know about future fashion and music. And I want to get along with future girls. Oh, I wonder if ninja jokes would work in the future?"

Last updated: 1/11/2024

** I translated his motto before (link to the post). It was difficult for me to translate it but a user who replied on that post worded it better than mine so I use them here :) thanks @thats-miss-spider-to-you !

note: i want to apologize in advance for any mistake made in the translation!

[pucktoxicity]

I’m so sorry if this a waste of time!

But you seem to know almost every hockey player, and well I’m too lazy to scroll far down to find anything but what’s Jack? Like I see a lot of stuff about Luke, Nico etc. but I’ve never really came across anything about Jack besides how he picks up girls, and his relationship with Sammy.

I kinda also wanna know about the rest of the team, during hockey season I was more focused on learning more about the sport, watching hockey games, but I’ve realized that a lot of people really do care about how the players are outside of the sport, and I wanna know about the people I’m rooting for on the ice if that makes any sense.

Side question: I know you’ve mentioned you meeting players, and knowing some people that know them very well, and maybe you know them personally and I just missed that. I’m sorry if this is pushing a line but how do you meet them and get to know them personally cause all I read is “be blonde, skinny, and pretty and you’ll get right in” I’m not asking because I want to befriend them I just wanna know if they really do care about personality and how you present yourself as a person!

Sorry for any typos.

i love these questions! i’ll start with the jack answer:

i fucking love his personality. he, to me, is in between being extroverted and introverted, so he’s not quiet, but he’s not loud and overly outgoing either. it’s that perfect middle ground. from the 🦋, i’ve been told that jack is actually the quietest of the three, along with one of my friends who is very close with the team and at almost every event, devils-sanctioned or otherwise, that the guys are at, that he is 100% the quietest brother.

he’s very, very kind, always says hello when he sees me at a game (through being around the team a lot over the years and living in the same area we’ve gotten to know each other well), and is just… sweet. i don’t know how to properly articulate it because the words i want to use don’t feel good enough. he’s just a really nice guy, and a good friend, and at signings/team events i’m always insanely amazed by how he remembers people and says hi to fans he recognizes, asks them about things (especially kids). you can just tell that with him and his brothers, they were raised correctly, in team settings or out in the world. he’s not the kind of person to be a dick to you if he sees you out somewhere, he’ll always say hi, ask how you’re doing, and like luke, if you’re somewhere with him, he makes sure you’re good, if you need anything, etc.

on the team: this is awesome! i have learned a lot about these guys through the years, and i understand this too. if i’m gonna root for you, who exactly are you that i’m cheering on? or buying a jersey with your name on the back? who do you want to know about? i’ll gladly help you out and tell you more about them! 😌

on meeting them: i am definitely lucky for several reasons, and won’t go into explicit details of just how i’ve gotten to know the devils or players across other teams, but living where i live and being able to go to almost every game at prudential center, being in the same general area where the guys all live… it helps. they’ll recognize you. especially going to events and signings, they know, hey, i know that girl, and if you say hi, they’ll say hi back. the “blonde, skinny and pretty” thing is a bonus, i’ll be completely honest, but that doesn’t matter if you just want to know them and be their friend, or something else. not all of these guys (a lot of them in fact) are exclusively into blonde girlfriends/hookups/friends. i’m also in a position where i’m luckily in that 23-27 age range with most of them. we have a lot in common, i can drink, i can go out, and do things where i’ll see them and/or hang out with them. truly the secret to getting to know these guys is being confident in yourself and knowing, blonde and skinny or not, that you’re beautiful, and that’s all that matters. the rest will come naturally. 💋❤️

[penaltyboxboxbox]

who are your favorite hockey players??

let me introduce my blorbos....dont mind if i do

1. mikhail (misha) sergachev (sergy): he's my pookie for real hes such an underrated personality in the league and he's so cute and funny and i love to watch him play i really really love him and his jersey is my favorite one that i own...everyone in tampa is also so mean to him rn which makes me sob...my boy</3 hes suuuuuch an insta girlie too he is fashionable and always posing....i miss when he used to post on his story about his iced coffee and hot girl walks

2. tom wilson: oh the behated by hockey at large, they will never turn me against you. hes literally a big silly dog of a man. heart of the team. one of those players ive watched my whole life. our future captain. our two time all star. hes our boy hes our guy. has so many cute boyfriendships......

3. auston matthews: oh am34.....how he bewitches me. hes so balding and sexy and big and crazy to watch hes just truly so fucking good at hockey i have no idea how someone can not have fun watching this dude play. great personality, unabashedly himself, love love love the energy this dude brings to the league. and by energy i mean pure gay swag. he carries his mf purse everywhere with him....his constant wearing of brands pride collections.....his gay ass mustache....i love you homo i love you

4. mathieu joseph (mattyjo): he and i are very nearly birthday twins....hes really just got the sweetest face and the most fun personality, i absolutely loved him when he was in tampa, always so goofy in team content, always having fun at warmups, just a really playful personality that again is so underrated...i literally cried the day he got traded i was about to buy his jersey...cried again the day i couldn't see his first game back in tampa..even if i dont watch the sens really ill always love him as a player and hope he ends up on one of my teams again

5. patrik (patty) laine: I generally have a soft spot for 2016 draft class, but god I do love this weird freak. He's just so strange...strange looking....odd behaving.....dressing insanely......i simply have to love him. especially now that he's bald. again an underrated personality, really fun to watch play, forever bummed he keeps getting injured. really the player that made me start caring about the jackets, and i've become really really invested in the dynamics on that team specifically w/ how they surround him. his instagram bio just being "boring guy overall" is also just so. hes silly.

[abubblingcandle]

If you ever wanted to share some of those feelings about prem teams and poor roster management, I would love to hear about it! I'm still very much in learning mode and love to know people's thoughts :D

Oh all the time!! I'm going to put this under the cut because this is going to be a long one gang! (This is also going to target Man City a bit, and Nottingham Forest, and Chelsea a bit as they are the current examples I could think of so ... sorry guys)

Introduction - Premier League Squad Rules

So in general the Premier League squad rules are that you can name a 25 man squad to play in the Premier League that season. Only 17 of those players can be not "home-grown" and under 21s are not included in this list.

A "home-grown" player is a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday.

So these rulings massively encourage teams to sign very talented Under-21s to their academies (ideally under 18s) so that they can play them if needed and keep them so they class as home-grown when they get older.

Point 1 - Homegrown Players

Therefore, what a lot of rich title challenging prem teams do is they find reliable, would be fine in the team but not exceptional, cheap homegrown players to fill those slots and make use of that 'extra' space. For example Man City have a third choice keeper Scott Carson who (credit to him) has the most lush job imaginable. He plays like 10 minutes a year or maybe a few matches in lesser trophies but because he is a homegrown player they might as well have him on the squad list instead of an international third choice keeper who would take up one of the valuable spots. So if you have no intention of playing a player except for in dire, there is truly no one else situations then get a homegrown player from a smaller team for cheap.

But! What this does mean is it can really hamper the careers of these homegrown players because the club has no intention of playing them (often the managers don't even really like them or play a formation that suits them), they are just there because you might as well. An example of this is Kalvin Phillips at Man City. Now by now a lot of people on here know how much of a fan of Kalvin I am (he is a wonderful human being, excellent defensive mid and all round sweet guy), but even that aside he does not play more than 15 minutes in a match for Man City because there is no space for him. He is used to rest players when matches are already won and that's it really. The only position he could fill is filled by Rodri and if Rodri can't play then Pep changes the whole formation. SO he is only there for dire emergencies. But he is an England player, he is national standard and despite all the medals, the lack of squad rotation is harming his career in a massive way.

So the home-grown player rule is great to improve development of English players but it encourages teams to sign players they don't really want or need because there are spots to fill.

Point 2 - If you want him then I'll have him

(This is particularly the case with under-21s)

With clubs being bought by oil money now, this leads to a "throw money at the situation approach" which means that as soon as a player is highly rated then lots of clubs jump at the chance to buy that player whether that is actually a player they need or fits in their scheme. If this player is under 21 then it's better because they don't fit into the 25 man squad. For example this summer transfer window Chelsea signed 12 players. Three of them were defensive midfielders ... a position that AT MOST you play 2 of at once. And they already had three! This panic of "oh no, this team want this player so he must be better than what I've already got" leads again to teams getting players that don't improve the team and/or are surplus to requirements. But you can't throw your multimillion dollar signing who you have very publicly signed to the wayside! So they have to play no matter what because so much effort and money has gone into their signing. You can't bench someone who cost £100m for an academy player or you will be torn to shreds even if it might be better for a team to rest their star or if god forbid he ain't performing, it is so difficult for the manager for the manager to make changes.

Point 3 - Win at all costs!

So, being part of a Premier League side means congested fixtures. You might have European competition, you might have FA Cup, you might have World Club Cup, you might have League Cup. So this means playing a lot of football! You might think "Candle, contrary to your argument here this sounds like a great opportunity to rotate in players so that people don't get tired or injured?" WRONG! Particularly in mid table clubs, cups are their best chance to win trophies. If you want to win trophies you play your starters to not risk an upset. But then you need to play your starters in the league because league performance is the most important thing for Euro qualification or to avoid relegation. Big clubs also don't want the shame of being victim to a giant killing so may play starters against lower league sides to avoid that. If you are worried about your league position and lose to Arsenal in the cup, fine. If you are worried about your league position and lose to Forest Green Rovers in the cup, you are a disgrace and an embarrassment to the sport. Therefore encourages lack of rotation because you are more likely to win if your best players are out there.

Point 4 - Attention Span of a Goldfish

The fans are to blame for this ... sorry fans. If you rotate in a player, and that player has a bad game or is lacking match fitness then managers get torn to shreds in the media, by the fans and the board of their club. So that player gets benched again, even if it was a blip or against a superior side. If a player is playing well and is benched for rest and then the team loses then managers get torn to shreds in the media, by the fans and the board of their club. The culture doesn't encourage looking after the players and maybe accepting that there might be some iffy performances for a player to get settled into the side or slightly less impressive performances from fringe players. For example Darwin "Captain Chaos" Nunez for Liverpool. When he first came to Liverpool he was god awful, couldn't even hit the stands when he shot, got the nickname Captain Chaos because no one knew what he was doing. He kept being benched, because he wasn't doing what the club wanted but all that did was knock his confidence and mean that it was a lot harder to rotate strikers.

Point 5 - Favourite Children

Simple point, most managers have players that they just ... like and others that they don't. Managers are human. You are more likely to pick a player that you like to start than one that might irritate you or you didn't really want on your team EVEN IF it is to the benefit of your favourite child to rest them.

TLDR - Premier League clubs (particularly those at the top of the table) are awful at reducing burnout and injury in their players through rotation. This is partially through team design, external pressures, stupid signings, cost of players, and favouritism. It is bizarre that the teams that have the best depth in squads are the most reluctant to use it

[22plus15]

yey about the draft thing! (I never understood it anyway and I don’t watch nwsl but it looks like fans are happy about it 👍😅)

very yay!!! i've been reading about the cba all day so i'll explain a bit if anyone's curious ⬇️

the draft is a very american sports thing -- when players decide to go pro out of high school or college (which are very established here rather than academies and reserve teams), they make themselves available for the draft and the worst performing teams in the pro league each season will get the first draft picks so they essentially get the best new players, which is supposed to maintain parity btwn teams and avoid the teams with the most money or pull hoarding all the best rookies

it was integrated into the nwsl pretty much by default -- but as it turns out doesn't work as smoothly for how global of a sport soccer is (clubs have a way bigger pool of overseas players to buy from than other american sports so they don't rely on the draft for new talent) and also takes a lot of agency away from young players. lots of reasons and lots of debate on both sides of it. that's the college draft but what's also been eliminated is the expansion draft, which was when a new team was created they got their free pick of available players (not limited to just rookies) to give them a fair shot, but at the expense of the players who suddenly got traded and had to uproot their lives (among other potential dangers in a post-roe v wade world and with the history of bad actors in women's sports). it sounds good for new teams in theory but in practice it never really works out anyway (just look at utah royals' place on the table lol)

anyway the elimination of the draft is just one part of the cba that was announced today and i really recommend looking into it if this kind of thing interests you! the nwslpa (players' union) secured lots of player protections, much higher salary caps and minimums, guaranteed contracts (i.e. if you get injured or smth, which we know happens a lot in woso these days, you'll still get paid your full salary no matter what), extra bonuses for end of season awards, charter flights (the usa is huge you gotta fly), players' consent is FINALLY required for trades, free agency for all, parental leave and childcare, mental health services, etc etc

and a lot of the same workplace protections will also apply to front office staff and everyone who works behind the scenes at clubs and within the league so it's genuinely a huge step in the right direction for making women's sports leagues truly professional and safe working environments, and also not being afraid to diverge from the model of major men's leagues 👌

of course there's always progress to be made and the elimination of the draft will def come with a learning curve, but this has all been a long time coming and a lot of past nwsl players suffered and were put in a lot of precarious positions that future players will hopefully never even dream of happening to them now 👍

and last thing i promise: i remember answering an ask about kc current having lucy's discovery rights, meaning if she wanted to go to the nwsl she'd have to sign with them or they'd make bank if another team wanted her. that's been eliminated as well so i believe she's a free bird if she ever comes here!

[thenhlteaissuperhot]

What are your good and bad surprises in the league so far?

There are, of course, significantly more examples than this, but I don't want this to be a long-ass post so I will just point out my personal highlights of highlights - naturally, they are quite Czech-centered since that's my main interest:

GOOD

The Bruins - obviously.

To be honest, I was slightly anxious about their fate from now on since losing two elite centers like Bergeron and Krejci at the same time, and also guys like Orlov and Bertuzzi, does leave you quite vulnerable, especially after a crushing first-round exit like they have experienced, but they have honestly been rocking it so far and I love it for them.

The Poitras kid, Zacha stepping up his game and delivering as the first center, Pasta showcasing that he very much belongs in the top 10 of the league, Swaymay with Ullmark being the best goaltending duo in the entire league, Marchand giving slays left red right as a captain, the defense being solid...

Filip Hronek in Vancouver

The Hughes-Hronek defensive pairing is among the best right now, they have clicked extremely well with each other, Filip is getting extreme ice time, and I am glad that at least someone from the former Red Wings is thriving in their new home

Quinn is literally leading the defensemen in points and Filip is 4th, which is insane, considering he has never been viewed as a top defenseman among Czechs

Anaheim and Arizona

They still won't make the playoffs, we all know that so let's not be delusional here, but they are finally getting genuinely fun to watch and showing us the immense potential they have.

Logan Cooley is doing great for a rookie in Arizona, has eight points already... - imagine what Bedard would be able to showcase if he had at least a slightly decent team around him

Lukas Dostal in Anaheim's net...

Jack Hughes and Elias Pettersson - for obvious reasons, just look at the stats

BAD

Edmonton

Honestly, has someone told them that having Leon and Connor on the team doesn't mean you don't have to invest in the defense and goaltending because I feel like they genuinely don't know that

Is it really that hard to look around and fetch at least a solid goaltender? They are the complete opposite of Boston right now in terms of the net - sorry not sorry, but they don't have a single goaltender they could truly rely on, both of them are equally struggling and the awful defense is certainly not helping them. Just go look in the European leagues, there are a ton of outstanding goalies who would be eager to play in the NHL if you gave them the chance

Imagine how sore Leon's shoulders must be right now from carrying the team - you can't depend on one elite player to drag you through the mess, you yourself are responsible for, you have to have some sort of backup when one of your stars gets injured

Jonathan Huberdeau

You gotta feel for Calgary right now - signing this guy to an 8-year, $84,000,000 contract and him scoring two goals for you in ten games played...

Jakub Vrana

I was genuinely hoping that St.Louis would be the right destination for him in terms of them giving him the space and ice time to showcase his skills and solidify his position on that roster, but instead, it's the third team that makes him a healthy scratch

I know that there is a lot of pressure there for the team to perform so it might not be entirely Jakub's fault, however, this really is his last chance to stay in the league and currently, he is not delivering the results needed for him to be given another contract

Dominik Kubalik

Watching him at the Worlds where he was single-handedly leading the points of the Czech team and scoring basically every single game at least once, I did have great expectations of him, but so far, he has scored only two goals in Ottawa.

I am not that knowledgeable about the Senators - frankly, the only piece of information I know is that Tkachuk, Stützle, and Giroux are there and that Ryan Reynolds wanted to buy the team before he invested in yet another trash called Alpine in Formula One, but knowing Kubalik, his problem probably is the lack of ice time and competent linemates, which I am not sure is going to improve any time soon

Genuinely hurts to see another former Red Wing struggling

[star-struck01]

Pudding and Whiskers Pt. 1

You meet someone cute at your work and your friend gives them your number

Masterlist | Pt. 2

(Not my photo)

Kenma Kouzume x GN!Reader

Word Count: 668

Written: 12/10/2020

Edited: 08/17/2023

The sound of meowing filled your ears as you unlocked and quickly shut the door to make sure no cats escaped behind you. You made your way to the staff room, practically dancing over the furry fiends so as not to trip; it truly was a skill to behold. After you changed into your uniform, you greeted your coworkers and the cats that rubbed against your legs. It really was a skill to have, being able to not trip over the small furry creatures that covered almost every surface. The cafe had a lot of stray cats. Your coworker Hina switched the sign from CLOSED to OPEN and moved to stand beside you at the entrance to greet the customers as they walked in, and your coworkers led people to the free tables or booked-out rooms. The cafe you worked at was pretty popular, which meant that with so many people coming in, the building had to get bigger to hold more people. At this point, the owners should just buy an office building to really hold everyone who wants to come in. The cafe also had rooms for parties or big groups, and that waitlist was quite long today, though they had one of the high school volleyball teams. If you remember correctly, it was Nekoma, which was kind of funny since this was a cat cafe. This was the topic of Hina and your conversation this morning.

"I heard that their team is full of good-looking players." Hina gushed to you with a small flush on her face. Her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "I also heard that one of their players is half-Russian and half-Japanese!" You hummed to show that you were still listening as you petted your favorite calico cat, Yui. She was this little thing with gorgeous golden eyes. As you were petting her, you heard the door chime. Standing up, you looked over and saw a big group of people wearing matching jackets. "Hello and welcome to Pawsitive Café! You must be the Nekoma volleyball team, right?" You wait for confirmation before both you and Hina start leading them to the room they booked. You didn't really look at any of the members when they first walked in, but once you had looked up as you unlocked and opened the door for them, you saw the towering captain (a lot of social media accounts that came up on your feed said he kind of resembled a rooster) and a small man beside him. The smaller man's hair was two-toned, and it kind of reminded you of pudding, with his gold eyes that were almost identical to Yui's. Although the man looked like he really didn't want to be there, you realized that you were staring and that the man had caught you staring. You felt your cheeks flush and quickly turned your face away, just missing the confused look on his face. Hina saw the whole interaction, and a smile that you would call maniacal spread across her face before she quickly turned it into a sweet smile. "I'm Hina, and this is Y/N, and we'll be your servers today. If you need anything, this little button will alert us to the devices on our belts." Hina pointed at a small circular white button with a little gray phone on it that was attached to the wall, while you pointed at the one on your waist. The two of you begin handing out the stack of menus you were holding to the sides of the table that you were assigned to. "While you guys are deciding on what to eat or drink, Y/N and I will go fetch some cats." The two of you smiled before Hina grabbed your hand and pulled you out of the room. When you got far enough from the room, she started asking questions. "What was that?" "What was what?" You looked at her confused, not knowing what she was asking you about.

(It's in parts because tumblr won't let me post the whole thing)

[dokidokitsuna]

I wanted to make a video about this, but seeing as my first Splatoon vid is already taking ages to make, and I don’t really have a whole lot to say, I’ll just write it out:

If you’re not playing X Battles, it may interest you to know that you’re really not missing much. ^^;

When I first tried grinding up to S+ rank to unlock them, I did it in the hopes of finally getting access to serious, exciting matches that always come down to the wire because all the players are super skilled and intent on winning. I mean, Turf War and Anarchy are fine, but sometimes you want a real challenge, y’know? I think every MMO game needs some form of “no noobs allowed” mode in order to provide a consistently engaging experience for mature players, and that’s what I expected X Battles to be.

Unfortunately, that’s not what I got…my first foray into X Battles was surprisingly average; and at the time it was kind of funny. ^^ I mean, every once in a while I did run into a few crazy people who definitely belonged there, but most of the players were virtually indistinguishable from everyone else in terms of observable skill. Like, the battles just felt…normal.

And now, a few seasons later, they feel a lot worse than normal. :[ If it came out that Nintendo was secretly allowing players to buy access to X Battles without having to earn it, I would 100% believe it at this point. Because I’ve seen some really stupid stuff going on in recent matches…and when I say stupid, I mean STUPID.

The vast majority of the time, the experience is something I call “steamroll or be steamrolled”: either you get a disappointingly easy match where the enemy team doesn’t stand a chance against you, or a useless-to-even-try match where your team doesn’t stand a chance against the enemy. Either way, the outcome is pretty much set in stone about 30 seconds in. :/

And then there’s the absolute worst kind of match, a new phenomenon I’m calling “babysitting”: basically, the enemy team isn’t even that good, to the point where I can hat-trick or wipe them all by myself multiple times…but it amounts to nothing, because my allies are even worse, and can’t hold the line without me. So every time I die, we lose all our progress…and unless I can kick it into max-overdrive and 1v4 my way to victory, we just slowly and painfully lose the match.

Obviously, these aren’t things that should be happening in matches pulling randomly from what should be the most skilled players in the population. 6_6; Like, I refuse to believe that I’ve unknowingly become such a god-tier fighter that the whole playerbase seems like kindergarteners to me (I’m good, but I’m really not that good…).

It HAS to be a matchmaking issue…but even then, it’s concerning that people who’ll spend a whole match hiding from the enemy and “charging specials” (a strategy that only makes sense when you’re woefully inexperienced) are (a) somehow allowed into X Battles, and (b) matched with players like me. In a specialized mode like this, I should not have to worry about playing with people who clearly don't understand the game very well. They don't deserve it, and I don't deserve it. :/ Like, if not here, then where??? What's the use of all these ranks and points and statistics if they don't affect the gameplay experience? Am I expected to grind all the way to S+10 before I'm consistently matched with players of a similar skill level...?

And on that note: something interesting I’ve noticed recently is that, as X Battles have steadily gotten worse, Anarchy Battles have actually gotten better: all of the truly fun, challenging down-to-the-wire matches I’ve had in the last few weeks have been in Anarchy. And to me, this suggests that grinding to X Battle eligibility has become so unrewarding that skilled players who would be going there are instead opting to just stick with Anarchy Battles, making the population of skilled Anarchy players larger than before. I mean, if they’re all having experiences similar to mine, I wouldn’t blame them...

In conclusion: X-Battle players are not to be envied, and also I’m kind of concerned about the future of Splatoon 3’s multiplayer viability. ⚆_⚆; There’s a reason that we have a growing population of exclusive ‘Salmon Runners’ and I think this is part of it…hell, if Salmon Run just had more than 1 mode available on the daily, I might make the switch myself (maybe sthg where you don’t have to worry about losing your pay grade and can just kill fishies for fun with your weapon of choice…I’d love an ‘arcade mode’ or ‘infinite run’~). I’m among the people who no longer enjoy Splatfests (I never thought it would happen to me, BUT IT DID ;_;), and yet I always have fun during Big Runs and Eggstra Work. Apparently, the game immediately becomes 50% more enjoyable when 50% of its inscrutable, unreasonable matchmaking system is no longer an issue. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[kloppool]

essay - the kids (and 30 year olds) are alright; how the carabao cup final embodies klopp's vision

There are certain games that serve as an encapsulation of a manager’s vision and influence and last Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final was certainly one of them. While the circumstances of the match were far, far, from perfect, it resulted in a perfect microcosm of Klopp’s vision and what legacy he leaves. Needless to say, the main thing on people’s minds was Liverpool’s massive list of injuries. Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Szoboszlai, Jones, Nunez, Salah, Jota. Everytime you thought the list was over, there was another name. And so, Klopp and Liverpool had to adapt.

While the “Klopp’s Kids” narrative is certainly true and worthy of all the praise in the world, so are those opposite the youngsters. A group of children were thrown into the deep end that is the Carabao Cup Final, the names of which were unknown to people outside of Liverpool circles. Amongst the youngsters, Jarell Quansah has the most appearances at a whopping 8. Bobby Clark has 5, James McConnell has 3 and Jayden Danns was playing in his second ever game. When you throw children in the deep end, you need people to guide them. That came in the form of the two perfect encapsulations of Klopp’s tenure and transfers: Virgil van Dijk and Waturu Endo.

Under Klopp, Liverpool have mainly made 2 types of transfer deals. The first is splashing big money on proven players that generally operate within the spine of the team. The second is buying under the radar talent for cheap. Virgil van Dijk embodies the first better then anyway else, aside from possibly Alisson. Bought for 75 million, he arrived in the winter of 2018, as Liverpool waved farewell to Barca-bound Phil Coutinho. He was desperately needed, as Liverpool was a goal-scoring machine, but leakey defensively. A world record fee for a defender (at the time), he made his debut in the FA Cup against Everton and scored the winner (obviously a header) late on. The rest is history. Van Dijk has proved to be worth more then every single cent paid for him, and not just because of his defensive abilities. Even before he became captain, he was clearly a leader on the team and had good relationships with everyone, especially his defensive mates. That kind of leadership is what makes him truly invaluable.

Endo, despite having just arrived, has already been a success and has the makings of a legend. The Japan captain was signed in the aftermath of failed attempts to get Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia. In the end, both went to Chelsea for absurd sums, and Liverpool were left without a DM. With the Premier League season alreacy underway, Liverpool bought Waturu Endo from Stuttgart for 16 million. The move was met with skeptcism. It’s probably fair to say most Liverpool fans aren’t well versed with Stuttgart and people were frustrated after the failure to sign Caicedo and Lavia. Endo was not as flashy as they were and he was much older, sitting at 30. In his arrival video, Jurgen Klopp greets him by telling him “...we really need you. We need you and your heart and your legs and your football ability and your football brain.” It’s safe to say, Endo has delivered on everything asked of him, plus some extra. A lot of extra. In a season where Liverpool’s incoming midfield signings included Brighton star and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, and Hungary captain and highly rated Red Bull graduate Dominik Szoboszlai, Endo’s performance is all the more impressive. And he’s doing it at a fraction of what was paid for Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, who have both justified their own transfer fees. 

Back to the original point, van Dijk and Endo were tasked with providing defensive stability, to allow the kids to have more freedom. Indeed, both gave Man of the Match performances, even well into extra time. Their grit and steadfastness allowed the younger players to go forward without fear. This confidence caught Chelsea off-guard, and rightly so. You may have seen Chelsea fans (and certain other fanbases) point out that Chelsea’s squad had a younger average age by the end of the match than Liverpool. This is being used in an attempt to dismiss the impact of Liverpool’s youngsters. This is also a stupid argument. Firstly, Liverpool’s average age was raised by the aforementioned Virgil van Dijk and Waturu Endo, along with Andy Robertson. Secondly, this ignores the true meaning behind the praise of Klop’s Kids. They aren’t praised solely for being young; rather, they’re academy graduates making their mark in a team full of stars. While there are also debates and arguments about how truly homegrown these kids are, the undeniable truth is that Liverpool has become one of the best clubs to be a young player in. 

It’s hard to pick one, singular best thing that Klopp will leave behind, but after Sunday’s final, I’m tempted to declare that it’s his impact on Liverpool’s academy. It all started with Trent Alexander-Arnold and his eventual promotion to the first team. Alexander-Arnold has played nearly his entire senior career at Liverpool under Klopp, and it shows. The marriage of his natural footballing talent, namely his passing and vision with Klopp’s tactics and mentality has made Alexander-Arnold a star. And he’s been like this for a while. Despite losing the 2018 Champions League Final, he kept Ronaldo in his pocket that whole night, at age 19. Over the next few seasons, he continued to shine brighter. However, the 2022-2023 season saw many difficulties for him, compounded by Liverpool being nothing short of miserable. 

But there are almost no signs of his struggles last season. In fact, Trent has stood out this season, both as a Liverpool and England player. His new role as a hybrid rightback/midfielder has paid off. He rescued a point against Manchester City in November and proceeded to score the winner against Fulham not long after.

Trent’s rise was likely a message to Liverpool academy kids that “Yes, you can do it. There is a way. It’s hard, but it’s possible.” For many years, Liverpool’s academy was mocked and derided. There were occasional sparks of talent, but nothing consistent. Now, however, everytime Liverpool play a new 17 year old appears on the bench. When he comes on, people think, “OK, they’re injured and desperate. He’ll be overwhelmed.” And then the kid precedes to score a goal or make a game-saving tackle. 

But the best part of it all is how these kids are treated. Whether they score a brace or misplace a pass, the older players offer nothing but encouragement and love. When Jarell Quansah started against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup, Virgil van Dijk traveled with them to support the team, despite the terrible weather. He wasn’t even in the squad. Guidance, comfort, praise, encouragement, are constant. And it comes from some of the best in the world at their positions. Players, such as Alisson, van Dijk and Salah, who will go down as legends, not just for Liverpool, but as all-timers in their respective positions. It comes from the likes of Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool boys who understand the academy kids, perhaps better then anyone. It comes from World Cup winner, Alexis Mac Allister and chaos king Darwin Nunez.

Klopp’s influence will live in every one of the players he has coached, especially the ones who are young. While some things will change when the new manager arrives, the Klopp mentality has become synonymous with Liverpool and will live on in the young players who will, one day, become stars,

[supergenial]

Unicorn Overlord: It’s good

Well you already know I like to talk about games sometimes and if you have ever read me you already know what gets me writing: When I think a game is really good but also tremendously disappointing in one or two relatively unimportant aspects. So let’s dive into my thoughts on the latest game by Vanillaware: Unicorn Overlord.

First off, nearly every attack animation in this game is a delight both graphically and sonically. The attacks truly feel like they have WEIGHT to them, like someone’s getting fucked up for sure. Of course halfway into the game I started skipping animations quite a lot but the reason I skipped is because fights are a bit hypnotic to look at, and seeing Every Single Fight would make the game last an additional 10 hours or so.

Beyond that, the fact that the game makes you a programmer is just cool, you get to set several conditions to decide if and when attacks will be used in skirmishes. This opens up a tremendous timesink to anyone who cares about optimizing their teams. And hey, if a fight doesn’t seem like it’ll work, just move the characters around a bit, or their skills, or turn the assists off and on again, the rng is seemingly static so you can try any number of combinations before combat, and the battle preview is perfectly accurate so any prediction you see is guaranteed to happen.

Ok but is it too easy?

Surely enough, you’d think any game with that much player freedom is bound to be either too easily beaten by skilled players or too hard for casuals and my surveying seems to indicate: both, but mostly the first one. Upon release date I had to read a plethora of people complaining that the game was Too Easy, even on expert and True Zenoiran difficulties (true zenoiran being the difficulty you unlock upon clearing the game).

Honestly though I think the difficulty should be fine for most players, the problem here is that obviously most of the people buying day one are seasoned srpg veterans who will obviously utilize the system to it’s greatest extents. It’s no wonder that I saw spoilers for The Worst ending (which requires beating the final mission extremely early into the game) before I ever saw spoilers for the midgame or even the actual finale. People playing this day 0 were freaks desperate for a new srpg.

So rather than complaining that the game is too easy, I’d rather say that the issue is that it is Too Rewarding. This is a game where doing stuff gets you stuff, if you make a well thought out unit that steamrolls your enemies it is no surprise that it actually works out and it successfully steamrolls your enemies.

It reminds a bit of the time Breath of the Wild was released. If upon clearing the Great Plateau you go straight to hyrule castle, you will have a fight against Ganon at this maximum possible difficulty. If instead you choose to actually do the game’s content, the divine beasts will let you skip the first few phases of the fight, resulting in an easier fight against Ganon not only because your Link is stronger thanks to the hearts, equipment, energy and techniques acquired through the journey, but also because Ganon simply has less hp. To a lot of people this was an issue, they wanted the fight to be hard, but clearing most of the game actually made it significantly easier.

As far as I’m concerned though I don’t really mind it! Obviously if you prepare for a fight the fight will be easier. This is a complaint that while I do understand, I don’t really share at all.

In the same breath that I praise it for being too rewarding I will however also admonish it for not having enough content for these types of players. Surely enough a casual like me feels like freaking Einstein for beating a boss while taking no damage but it’s fair to say more content or more interesting content needed to be there to fully satisfy those who love the struggle.

Not to say vanillaware didn’t try. You have the Coliseum where your units face off against actually well thought out teams, leading to an epic fight with a beautiful gigantic woman who will join your army only if you defeat her. And once you do defeat her there’s even more well thought out teams waiting for you in further arena levels.

This however begs the question: if you can make better enemy teams in this mode, why didn’t you do that for the main game too. Not only that but challenging coliseum levels will net you very powerful rewards that will make your army even stronger and the main game even easier. Hell, you can get all the way to Amalia early on and have a lvl40 behemoth among your lvl20 main army.

To make matters worse, Amalia’s fight is easily cheesed by the thieve, one of the very first classes you acquire. The fight will count as a victory as long as you lose less percentual hp than she does, which is way too lenient. For her final form at least they should’ve made it so you can only win by actually getting her hp to 0.

This highlights the issue we talked about earlier that I will spell out once again: the game truly rewards everything you do, however it doesn’t offer any further challenge for the rewards it gives you. To be fair with Vanillaware, they reportedly ran out of money while working on the game so it’s no surprise there’s no real post-game or whatnot.

The point is: you can show you understand team building and get Amalia early but this will make the following chapters extremely easy. Hell the game won’t force you to go to any place even though there’s obviously an intended order but if you skip ahead and go to the harder places, your reward will be having an abysmal time going back to easy low level content if you want to just enjoy the story. And oh boy, let’s talk about to the story, but first

The marketing

Can't recall if official sources actually said “From the creators of 13 Sentinels” or not but I'm still blaming the fans for spreading this one because no it’s not. Why would you ever say this. Different writer, different character designer and different game director. Blud_thinks_he’s_on_the_team.jpg. Yes it’s the same company and they have a similar style in the 2D segments but that’s it. If 13 Sentinels was an actually popular game (lol) do you have any idea how detrimental this would be to unicorn overlord?

These are completely different games. One is basically a visual novel with a gripping story that will have you hooked all the way to the end, which also happens to have some gameplay, while the other is an srpg with captivating gameplay, which also happens to have some story. These are two insanely different games, why even bring it up. Haven’t felt this mad since Zanki Zero said it was by the creators of Danganronpa. Bitch one of them is a cool, dark story taking place at the very end of humanity where some kids are humanity’s last remnants of hope, and the other is danganronpa. Don’t bring that shit up. They’re totally different games. Also before going on to the story:

The Characters

Auch is the coolest boy ever. He's my little blorbo or whatever tumblr people say these days.

Honestly, it’s a cool cast, for the most part. Some person said on twitter that the game really gets the essence of just throwing Guys at you and they could not be any more correct. “Hey guys I’m Lex and I climb trees”. What more could you possibly want from a character? One of them even has the balls to, in his epilogue, invent democracy in a story where there’s only kingdoms and empires, hell dude you helped a king rise to power. What the hell. You get an old witch that reverted back into being young and instead of looking like a 9 year old she looks like a regular grown woman. For a japanese company to do that it must have taken So Much restraint.  There’s also a half-elf that’s discriminated against by full-elves, epic dungeon meshi reference, amirite. Hell there’s even a catgirl that’s just a human with no cat features, she simply used to be a cat.

Aight you got me, the characters are quite simple for the most part but I assure you they are endearing precisely because of that. My favorites gotta be Melissandre (been a sucker for swordmasters for over a decade now, plus her rapport with Scarlet is really cute), Aramis (his poses are so extra, love him), Auch (not only is everything about him hilarious but his epilogue goes HARD) and of course my most beloved: generic female elven fencer, for no one has ever breasted quite as boobily as she has.

The Story

Alright so, the story, now we’re heading into spoilers. That’s right, spoilers for King’s Ranking and Dangan Ronpa, and also Unicorn Overlord to a lesser degree.

You know how in Ousama Ranking we see how despicable it is when the previous generation clings on to life and their so called glory so desperately that they would rather supplant or ruin the lives of their children who insist on being their own person as opposed to merely vessels of their will, an impending global issue happening right now as our planet slowly rots away to it’s demise because 80 year old politicians outright despise the newer generations so much they’d rather burn the world as opposed to letting them have it. Ok. what if we used that theme but like, uninteresting?

Don’t get me wrong, I had fun with the story. At first I was supremely pissed off when there was mind control like 5 minutes into the story but the game eventually reveals there is no mind control and when it does, it kinda doesn’t fix the issue? Surely enough this is better than just a generic mind control scheme, the type of bullshit danganronpa 3 the animation despair side (aired in 2016) would pull off, but it’s still not stellar.

Turns out all these mind controlled people are actually possessed by souls from a bygone kingdom from olden days. The unicorn ring doesn’t dispel mind control, it exorcises the souls possessing the body, so that the original owner can retake control. So that’s pretty ominous and dark for sure but fundamentally doesn’t solve the issue brought up by mind control.

When Super Dangan Ronpa 2 reveals that it’s cast used to be supervillains prior to having their memory wiped all the way back to the time when they were still innocent, for a moment it raises a lot of questions. Going further beyond the issue of forgiveness for those who repent their crimes: Should we forgive those who don’t even remember their crimes? Who commited crimes against their will? A man burns down your house, your family still in it, but he was brainwashed, would you want him jailed? This is a fun thing to think about before it is revealed (in the anime) that they weren’t actually evil, they were simply brainwashed by brainwashing tech. Their acts of evil did not stem from bad choices made at bad times, they were simply forced into doing evil. This reveal of course retroactively ruins a large part of danganronpa and most of what it ever meant to me.

Unicorn Overlord, in trailers, fancied itself a game with Tough Choices, I vividly remember the trailer showing the protagonist next to a defeated enemy and the options Recruit and Spare being shown. So I for one thought that perhaps recruiting a bad guy would make it so I can’t recruit a good guy later on, or some other shortcoming. Like maybe executing someone would result in a drastic change in the narrative. But this isn’t the case.

Gameplay-wise there is no particular downside to recruiting any character in the entire game. Everyone recruitable is a Certified Good Person, who was either possesed or Doing It For A Very Good Reason. Ultimately it’s just the age old question: would you rather spare a poor man’s life and hang out with him, or gain +1 movement?

Hell, there’s only two recruitable guys I actually wanted to kill. One survives anyway, you face him off again later on and he lives again and is spared without your input. He’s not even possessed but still did something questionable, I wanted him in jail but he just lives on like nothing.

The other guy I would’ve killed is immediately spared without player input. He also wasn’t possessed but still cooperated with the bad guys, in a nation high enough in levels to possibly be able to resist the forces of evil. Tough Choices my ass.

Even if there’s no changes to the story though, the ethical question would by itself be worthy of note. I forgave this guy who aided evil but did he really have a choice? Was he right in that it would protect the people if he cooperated or is there something inherently insidious about allowing evil to be in power? Unicorn Overlord says: Who cares. He was just possessed bro. Or his ends justify his means. Stop having moral conundrums we’re trying to have fun over here. 

Point is that it doesn’t matter if they’re mind controlled or possessed, ultimately it just absolves criminals and takes away any moral question to be had about their forgiveness. No one has to be a bad guy because the zenoiran empire are the bad guys.

I guess a more interesting question would be: What if the zenoirans were good guys? Or at least decent guys. What if they only possessed bad guys, and once in control they just chilled and formed a secret society instead of trying to take over the world. Would their robbery of people’s lives and free will be so inherently wrong that it fundamentally makes them evil even if they’re improving other people’s lives? Is it ok to let people lose their free will as long as they’re shitty people? If there was some kind of evil guy, a king who’s a molester and abused everyone around him, but he turned good once he lost his free will or was possessed by an ancient relatively chill guy, would that make it ok? If you think those are decent moral conundrums know that you’re indirectly praising Persona 5, a game were The Good Guys go inside people’s minds to take away their free will.

Anyway, I shouldn’t be complaining, I’m the type that for a while has been on the side of just wanting simpler villains, any time we get something with even a little bit of nuance to it you get the most annoying people online consistently arguing about it for… I guess 5 years now?

They did put plenty of effort into this possession stuff, particularly notable in The Worst Ending. If you sequence break in a tremendously unnatural way and clear the final mission before saving Scarlet (the main love interest who is kidnapped at the beginning of the game) you get the worst ending in which you face off against her possesed body (which is implied to have undergone tremendous suffering and agony before finally giving up to the possession). After beating her and the final bad guy, Galerius possesses the protagonist and we see an ending featuring all the good guys in black armor led by Galerius, implying they’ve all been possessed too.

What’s really cute about this ending is that the credits show Galerius and his buddy Baltro first in the credits, that shit is hilarious for something that so few players will actually get, showing the final boss first in the credits like he’s the protagonist.

Well, aside from that, all the stuff with the sanctuaries that tell the lore of each continent near the end of the game, that’s really cool. Angels aren’t heavenly, they’re a failed experiment that can breed. Furries aren’t a different species, they’re elves that adapted to the environment using magic, whereas elves from the south had no need to evolve like this because their environment is so different. Honestly, that stuff was cool, I liked it. Really cool world building.

Anyway, by the end of the story the game spells out even louder for everyone that judging is bad and forgiveness is good, as it gives you the option to either kill or cleanse Galerius, with the choice to kill Galerius leading into the bad end. So if you’re ever in a situation in which you can kill Hitler remember: Unicorn Overlord wants you to spare him, he’s just a little baby boy who’s probably doing it for very good reasons.

Jesus christ dude just stop talking and tell me if the game is good or not

It’s a good game. 8/10 at the very least. Elven fencer my beloved I will follow your tits and ass to any game you’re featured in. Also play 13 Sentinels, not because it’s related in any way but because it’s freaking 13 Sentinels, if you haven’t played it then you really should

[horizon-verizon]

Do you think Helaena has an opinion on the whole Blacks vs Greens situation and the impending war? Do you think she truly believes in the Green cause or just goes along with what they do because she has no choice? From what I’ve seen, Helaena is mostly regarded as merely an “innocent” by both sides of the fandom, I’ve seen neither Team Green or Team Black people say that they think Helaena has either negative or positive feelings towards the Blacks.

In my opinion, it is unlikely that she has negative feelings towards the Blacks despite Alicent spewing her poison, because she happily toasted to Baela and Rhaena in 1x08, who she must know where involved in the fight that took her brother Aemond’s eye, and she also agreed to dance with her nephew Jace, and it seemed to be the first time in a long time where she was truly happy. I also remember her smiling a little when Viserys showed up to defend Rhaenyra against Vaemond. I honestly think that Helaena might wish that she could be closer to her family members from the Black side, and I don’t buy that Aemond treats her all that well either.

Aemond might be gentle with her and defend her from Aegon, but he clearly hates his relatives from the Black side more than he cares about her, given how he interrupted her happy dance with Jace by slamming his fist on the table so he could mock his nephews. Helaena deserves so much better. She was just born into the Greens. I don’t think she actually agrees with what they are doing, especially because she can see the future at times as well, which means she might be able to see all of their tragic fates which are caused by her mother and grandfather’s schemes.

Helaena is not a real player in this whole thing, even in the book. And I think that she likely just wished everyone will get along but knew it will never happen. Both in book and show. The book, written by a maester in a patriarchal society, emphasizes her gentleness and how others thought that trait would work well for motherhood.

In-world & in the greens' schemes, she is a means to:

legitimize and strengthen Aegon’s image and rule

(later events I won't spoil) draw more sympathy for the greens due to how vulnerable her neurodivergence makes her to societal and familial dismissal

a means for Condal/the writers to both add some more mysticism for this fantasy-less show (where are the damn dragons?!)

validate Aegon I’s prophecy and its unnecessary narrative role in HotD (the prophecy may be an element of fantasy but for the purpose of this particular story, it was both unnecessary AND the show writers try to use it as a means to diminish Rhaenyra's willingness to fight back aginst the greens whether that mean the actual usrpation or in one of many of the smaller conflicts before then, bcit's paired w/her guilt, her need to perform as aruler her neglectful & ineffective father said a ruler should be, etc.)

appeal to people justifiably looking for neurodivergent representation in their media and make the show more attractive

I really can’t see Helaena as hateful towards the Blacks. 

The show gives us no real indication that she despises or dislikes any of them because she doesn’t give them any particular look nor does she interact with any of them at all until she dances with Jacaerys. Happily and with more life in her than she ever had with any Green, I might add.

Of course, she would not be close to any Black because Alicent would have kept her away from them for most of her life (not that the jump cut between episodes 5 & 6 helps). But since Helaena seems very distant from Alicent and Otto treats her both “better” than he does his grandsons and a bit condescendingly as if she were a child or he was entertaining a cute puppy’s burst of energy, I would go out on a limb and see her as being a sort of innocent bystander in her own world. 

Otto has no real stake in her behavior apart from her giving Aegon kids and staying quiet and out of the way. Which she usually does from what we get to see.

This is also why, I guess, people also feel her adaptation into being a prophet makes sense and is good. But I already have my problems with her TV characterization (POST & POST). 

About Aemond Defending Her

This is the script piece of episode 7:

Aegon: We have nothing in common.

Aemond: She’s our sister.

Aegon: You marry her, then.

Aemond: I would perform my duty, if mother had only betrothed us.

Aegon: If only.

Aemond: It would strengthen the family. Keep our Valyrian blood pure.

And he looks for a bit longer than necessary at Helaena without directly engaging with her. 

Before Alicent pops up in her room to see her, Helaena also recites in episode 9 that: “It is our fate, I think, to crave always what is given to another. If one possesses a thing, the other will take it away”. So folks heard Aegon and Aemond’s words, the latter’s look at Helaena in the 7th episode, and Helaena’s words here all show a potential or certain reality where he is secretly infatuated with her and she knows of it through her extra sight. 

They might see Aemond as more sympathetic or morally better than Daemon since that Aemond is also trying to prove himself, and Helaena-- being his sister (Targ custom and Targness) and his older brother’s neglected wife--also would bring him closer to the throne if only Aegon hadn’t existed. Poor Aemond. He has to work for a brother who doesn’t appreciate the position he is in: has the birth order, the girl, the support from the grandfather and the Hightowers.

In episode 8, I think that if you are one to think he is in love with or infatuated with Helaena, you’re inclined to think he got angry for many reasons: 

Lucerys goaded him

he is upset/flabbergasted that Alicent called a cease fire despite the years she’s been telling them all Rhaenyra needs to be usurped/killed and is trying to begin the process of reorienting his life’s mission

Jace is taking all of Helaena’s attention

or/and Jacaerys purposely danced with Helaena just to get back at Aegon for his incessant goading. 

Rather than him just wanting to get back at Lucerys. 

One problem with that Aemond would have to be a lot more explosively angry than what he’s been portrayed so far. Like how he is canonically.

Another problem is that, as you pointed out, Aemond of HotD AND Fire and Blood really care about proving himself more than Show! and Book!Daemon did. (POST, POST, POST & POST).

Final problem is that we do not get a scene with them together alone where we can gauge how he thinks of her and vice versa in a more concrete way after watching episode 7.

We’re given this suggestion of romantic feelings, but nothing afterwards to really cement or negate it.

Perhaps Condal doesn’t even know what to do about this supposed ship himself yet.