#this was nearly 2000 words

[aldebarangel]

the charm of the first two class of 09 games were the balance of satire and realism (which are enhanced by the voice acting) that redeem the 'anti-visual novel' intention too well. class of 09 was fun because we get moments that feel real. there's nicole's arguements with her mom and the conversations between any of the teenagers are time-period accurate despite the cartoonishness

the comedy works because the dialogue flows well. the dark humor and shock value are carefully executed. the edginess works because of the writing knowing its limits

it knows when to be funny (mr lorre meeting up with nicole) and when to take itself seriously (nicole talking about her experience as a myspace escort)

i really think that nicole being a bad person without bigotry (most of the time) is what makes its comedy work.

flipside fails miserably and feels like a disconnection from the other two games. when jecka suffers it's just for the sake of suffering. it isnt like in the other two games where nicole suffers as consequence. honestly, flipside just looks like what class of 09 would be without the proper care it was given. it focused too much on trying to be edgy and funny that it doesnt execute the realism. nicole's mom was written in a way that feels real. her multiple divorces are comedically cartoonish but when she's on screen and voice acted she actually behaves like a real life mother. jecka's dad has none of that. he just says things and yells when he wants to.

[rcmclachlan]

Trademark: Top-tier Bucktommy writer + generally Cool + getting Buck pregnant

Thank you + thank you + thank you!

[surelysilly]

sock puppet storyboard 80% completed and submitted, more nonsense at 11

“Wanna hug it out?” the kid offers, opening up his disarmingly skinny, toothpick arms. At Jason's guarded look, he adds unsurely, “... No homo?”

[bohemian-rhapsody-in-blue]

Beboptober 2024 Day 4: Virus

Thanks to @bebopcrew for the prompt list! A short one for today :)

Spike-person and Faye-Faye were out chasing a bounty on the Swordfish and the Red Tail, but they weren’t doing so hot. The two guys they were trying to track down had somehow turned the tables and were now hot on their tails, firing missiles left and right. Spike and Faye’s ships were taking it okay for now, but a couple of more good shots by the criminals and they’d be falling down, down, down….

Good thing Ed was there to save the day!

Because little did those bounty heads know that she and Jet had a secret weapon: a computer virus she’d written. It had worked once before, on those mean old pirates, and unlike then, she could send this virus wirelessly, over the net. Besides, these criminals weren’t pirates; they hadn’t even tried to hack their ship or steal all their data first. They probably didn’t have any antivirus software. In fact, for all Ed knew, they didn’t know their ships could be infected at all!

She could see Jet’s brow all scrunched up in worry as he watched Spike, Faye, and the criminals chasing them out the Bebop’s big window, and occasionally glanced back at her. She giggled as her fingers flew over her keyboard, adding some finishing touches to her masterpiece of a program. Silly Jet. He didn’t have to worry. Never fear, Ed was here!

With a flourish, she gestured to Ein, floating next to her. She’d let him do the honors. Obligingly, Ein pressed his nose down on her computer’s Enter key and barked.

Now she drifted over to the window and watched, too, as the ships tailing Spike and Faye started to veer and spin crazily out of control. They almost looked pretty, like a bird or a butterfly in zero gravity. “Wheeeee!” Ed said, following their path with her finger on the window hoping Jet wouldn’t notice and reprimand her for smudging it.

And then the bounty heads were the ones falling down, down, down, while the Swordfish and the Red Tail zoomed safely away, then turned back to follow them down into the planet’s atmosphere—Spike and Faye had the upper hand again.

The virus had worked!

Ed had known it would, but it still delighted her. She spun and twirled around in zero gravity, laughing and squealing, feeling all filled up with her shiny, sparkly triumph.

Jet’s brow wasn’t all wrinkly anymore, either. “You’re a lifesaver, Ed,” he said, casting a grateful smile her way.

Was she? Maybe she was. She was a lifesaver. She had kept Spike and Faye from spiraling down into Certain Oblivion. Thanks to her, they’d catch the bounty and earn lots and lots of Woolongs to buy yummy treats and souvenirs, and keep the crew happy, fed, and not grumpy.

And without her, they’d be totally doomed. She’d been the one to save them.

She sure was lucky!

[sage-is-in-fact-very-tired]

oops (<- his ass is not being normal about ic and fable)

[summerfevers]

if you’re up to it i would very much like to know your white collar neal timeline🎤🎤

this turned out to have many asides and be very long so the tl;dr is: peter have you considered that he's just a twenty-something teenage girl :( ?

timeline:

neal born 1984 ish. he's an aries and a millennial

neal, ellen, and neal's mom go into witsec 1987, neal age 3

2003 adler scandal i fucking guess. neal age 19

neal arrested probably mid 2005, 21

neal goes to jail for the first time, i want to say early 2006, age almost 22

pilot is set late summer 2009, age 25

same-sex marriage legalized in new york june 24th 2011, they talk about this in season 3 episode 14 which is soon after. neal's 27

more or less a year later–let's go with less–neal tells sam that he has spent the last decade running from the truth he learned at 18. taking him literally that it was 10 years ago he is now 28 it is the end of season 4 and 2012

the end of season 4 to the series finale is less than a year. he is 29 its 2013.

when we see him in paris he might be 30 but that doesn't count To Me

i present my evidence:

i don't know where we got "neal is 35" from i cant make it work. neal and co. went into witsec (which i have actually since learned is not available to people living in dc, they have their own version but it is not overseen by the federal marshalls, i don't think they can give you as many legal documents like a ssn, and they don't help you set up your new life as much? something about neal's life that would be interesting to explore.) when he was three and ellen says in season 4 that she's been in witsec for Nearly three decades. confirmed 33 or under in season 4

he also says to "sam" more than once that he's spent the last decade running from the truth he learned at 18–he very well could be rounding down here and mean like 12-13 years but i am Choosing to Believe he meant that literally. we are now at youngest 28, it is the last episode of season 4.

now due to the way the show is structured and the fact that it is never really winter. ok maybe winter 1 time because i can see in my mind neal in his little wool coat and earmuffs but largely it is summer and we never have a christmas episode. anyway due to All That our only real anchor in the timeline is that the episode where diana is Grappling with her engagement to Christie happens immediately following june 24th 2011, when same-sex marriage was legalized in new york. and also that later that season in the commutation hearing they say that neal has served 2 years of his sentence. so the pilot was set in 2009 when it aired we are at one year/season. but as the series goes on the episodes and even seasons have increasingly shorter gaps between them, and by season 6 we haven't even finished our four years. by the end of season 4 i want to say we are three years into his sentence and he's 28. between the end of season 4 and when neal dies in season 6 there has got to be less than a year that passes. actually deadass why was neal so obsessed with the pink panther case ending his sentence early we are like months out king. i get the injustice the system is broken they'd keep him forever but to people outside his circle he must have looked sooo silly for that. but whatever. he is 29 when he dies and 30 when we see him again in paris, his roaring 20s of crime and incarceration over.

Anyway where the "neal is 35 or at least claims to be much older than this timeline would say he is" probably came from in-universe is that the adler scandal takes place SEVEN years before s2 when peter confronts neal about it. 2003?????? guys the thing we have to understand, to embrace, about neal's personal timeline is that i do not think anyone in that writers room was really grasping how much they had neal do in so short a time. 2003 he is like 19 guys. maybe by the time peter says it was 7 years ago it was 2011 ? and the adler thing was 2004? but no that couldn't work because it's mid 2011 like a year later in s3. so basically neal walks out of st louis and has a magical girl transformation through which he immediately becomes a great conman and criminal. and he meets mozzie basically straight away. he should still be in like calculus and ap lit at this juncture. and then they go right into the adler con ??? and neal is obviously lying through his teeth to everyone saying he is at least 21 but probably more along the lines of 23. and while most of his aliases are eventually found out by peter if no one else, no one ever goes "wait IS HE a teenager?" no one is guessing this.

so we spend a couple months fucking around and fucking UP with adler, kate probably doesn't know how old we actually are, this relationship cannot actually last very long at all because we are truly on a time crunch right now. we have less than three years for neals entire criminal career before he goes to jail. i know i said on the bullet list he went to jail early 2006 he has got to have been arrested like summer 2005 at the latest to be tried and sentenced by then and i feel like even that might be tight because he was suspected of so many other things they wanted to get evidence for. but how is neal teaching kate to be a criminal less than a year into his own career. i think neal must have been a hardcore improv kid for this to work honestly. i bet he competed. so our golden days of mozzie neal and kate against the world lasts maybe a year at best before neal and kate fight and she leaves and he spends months trying to get her back and get her attention and commits a truly breathtaking amount of crimes in this time.

also i'm skipping through forging bonds right now trying to flesh out this timeline and it was incredibly shady of peter and co to see that kate is doing so much to stay hidden from her ex boyfriend and then to reveal her to neal in order to catch him. like that was fucked up they didn't know neal yet he hadn't been suspected of violent crimes but they didn't know why kate was working so hard to escape him. like it worked out ok (arguably, but that could be a different post) but they had no reason to trust neal not to hurt her like this. she could have been running from an abusive situation he's known to be a talented criminal with no fears about escalating his crimes he could have killed her. one thing about the fbi is that they never once care about kate's safety and it does indeed get her killed one day.

in conclusion neal is known as one of the best forgers in the world when he is arrested in 2005 at age 21 maybe 2 years into his criminal career. here i am 21 what have i accomplished

[icewindandboringhorror]

recent things

[desertduality]

I am so sorry this next chapter is taking forever ajksjsj my brain is only letting me write like 200 words at a time

[novelistparty]

trying to learn anything about electric guitars on the internet (or IRL) is a terrible dude-knowledge experience but sometimes there are little gems like this that ease the pain:

[natcliachen]

TASK 005 - THE TALENT SHOW

LOCATION: Woodrow House DATE: Wednesday, September 7th, 2005 TASK: Write a self-para of your character presenting their talent.

Hearing Mrs. Tristan read out her name after drawing it from the hat, Natalia stood from her seat at one of the four tables, smoothing out the simple but elegant black dress she had chosen for the evening. It was understated, just the way she liked it, with a touch of sophistication that made her feel put together after spending most of the day feeling a bit off from the previous night's shenanigans.

Hank had helped wheel in the baby grand piano earlier today, its polished surface gleaming under the light that was focused on the area that was deemed their 'stage'. She offered a polite smile to the crowd before taking her seat on the piano bench. Once seated, she nearly launched straight into the piece she had practiced, eager to get this over with, but then she stopped herself. This wasn't just another rehearsal — it was a performance. A few words needed to be shared.

"Richard really liked this one." The words were simple, but they held a depth of meaning for her.

She stretched her fingers, feeling the slight tension in them, before resting them gently on the ivory keys. And then, with a deep breath, she began to play Clair de Lune.

FLASHBACK Natalia is 13

Once you got to Woodrow, you didn't just get to a new room, new clothes, a new... group of people to get to know. You also inevitably got new extracurriculars — a new language to learn, a new sport to play, a new instrument to practice.

Growing up, Natalia had this tiny electronic keyboard in her room. A childish thing with harsh, synthetic sounds that never quite satisfied her. She always liked the idea of playing piano but this was a poor imitation of one. She also never got lessons, so it never stuck. All she knew was whatever her mom taught her when she gifted her the toy. Chopsticks. Simple, repetitive. Fit for a child.

So, when it came time to choose an instrument at Woodrow House, Natalia chose the piano — a real piano, big and beautiful, with Steinway & Sons elegantly etched into it. She dedicated herself to it, spending an hour each day learning from the teacher Richard hired, Mr. Suarez, and then another hour practicing on her own because she was enamored with it.

For most kids, an hour of learning would be enough to make them rush off to something more exciting the second it was over, but not Natalia. When the lesson ended and Mr. Suarez left to teach his next student, Natalia stayed. She sat on the bench, working to perfect what she had learned that day, holding herself to an almost unrealistic standard. But she welcomed the challenge. With time, focus, and perseverance, she believed she could master anything. And master it she did.

Year after year, she'd impress her teacher. The pieces she learned got longer and more complex. Whenever she hit a block, she'd set more time aside outside of classes to push past it and get it right. It wasn't always pretty. Her fingers would become sore and ache. She'd still push herself despite it. Sometimes it paid off. Other times, it didn't and she couldn’t play properly. Mr. Suarez would tell her to stop. To rest. She hated it, but she would. Because it was what she was asked. She'd still dedicate an hour to practicing — this time in her head — her fingers moving delicately against her lap as she laid in bed with her eyes closed.

Eventually, there was something Natalia couldn't push past. Not with time, her perseverance, or anything. The critique wasn't something she could work through.

"Your timing, technique... it's perfect. But it's not there yet, Natalia. You're missing something. The emotion. Feel the song," he would urge her. It was frustrating. How could she play a song perfectly and still not get it right? It made her want to strangle Mr. Suarez with the strings inside the Steinway but she kept those thoughts to herself and just practiced instead.

One more hour, she thought to herself. She'd give herself one more hour to try and get this right. To somehow inject 'emotion' into a song she played so well that she could practically do it with her eyes closed. It was this same day that Richard happened upon the music room. He hardly came down to the basement floor, so she was surprised to see him when he made his presence known under the doorway.

"Claire de Lune?" He asked.

She nodded.

"You play well," he commended.

"Not well enough to Mr. Suarez apparently. I can do this with my eyes closed and he'd still say it isn't right."

Richard gave a small chuckle. "Continue that bit for me. Let's see what Suarez is talking about."

And so she did. Richard closed his eyes and smiled in that same way he does when he enjoys a spoonful of apple pie with a bit of vanilla ice cream with it.

"God, I love this one," he gushed. "It's just... the raw humanity of it. It's everything. Every emotion under the sun. Tender but... turbulent. Nothing captures the beauty and fragility of life, existence, better than this. Debussy was really onto something."

Natalia never thought of the song that way. To her, it sounded pretty. She never thought about the way it made her feel, or what it could make anyone feel. Richard always had a knack for bringing emotion into things. For taking the intangible — the feeling of it all — and putting it into words.

"Oh, there's something special about this song, Natalia."

He closed his eyes again. Even from a distance, she could tell Richard just went somewhere far away in his mind.

If Natalia could read Richard's thoughts, she'd learn that this song reminds him of quiet mornings in Woodrow House as a child, the feeling of his mother’s gentle hand brushing through his hair as he'd read beside her in the Great Room; the warmth of the sun on his face as he lay on the hills near the lawn, beside the love of his life, Adelia; Winifred’s laughter echoing as she ran across a field of dandelions; and the last moment of shared laughter he had with Celia's mother, Gloria, before his dear friend's world went cold.

Instead of share any of it, Richard said something simple but profound all the same: "It reminds you of how full life is, doesn’t it? It’s amazing how music can do that — without words. There’s nothing like it. Comfort. Nostalgia. Peace."

Natalia frowned slightly. “I don’t really think about the music like that. I just play it.”

Richard smiled, a soft chuckle escaping him. "That’s probably what Suarez is talking about. You’ve got to let yourself feel it."

“It’s a song,” Natalia reminded him, her tone pragmatic. “How can you possibly feel it? Vibrations, maybe, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.”

He laughed again, shaking his head. "Gosh, you’re so serious. So many of you kids are — Alison, Sama, Vik. So singular in your ways. It’s impressive, but it can’t be good for the heart."

Unsure how to respond, Natalia pressed her lips together, uncertain if she should be apologetic.

“Let the song take you somewhere,” Richard advised gently instead after he noticed her reaction. “You said you can play it with your eyes closed, right? Then close them. Listen to the notes. Where does your mind go? The memories, the places, the people — that’s how you feel the song.”

Richard played the saxophone. He knew the importance of soul in music. It wasn’t just about the notes; it was about the emotion that flowed through them.

Like every moment with Richard, it ended too soon. Before the moment could linger too long, he announced his leave.

"Thanks for playing so wonderfully. I'll leave you to it." He patted the wall of the music room before moving away from where he was leaned against the doorframe.

PRESENT DAY Natalia is 26

With each note she played, Natalia found herself stepping through a doorway into a different moment of her life.

Her mind first took her back to that cramped apartment in Chicago, twirling in front of her old closet, with mirrors on its doors. She could almost hear her mother’s delighted claps as she spun in a new dress, one her mother had carefully saved for.

She thought of her mother. How their eyes were the same color. How their long hair fell in the same rich brown curls.

Then, her thoughts drifted to Woodrow, to the mornings when the wards would descend the staircase together, a lively crowd, eager for their biweekly trip into town. The air would be thick with chatter and hurried footsteps, a chaotic harmony that felt like home.

She remembered quiet afternoons with Vikram, when the common areas grew too noisy and they’d retreat to her room. Side by side, they’d sit in silence, each lost in a book, the companionship between them speaking louder than any words could.

Her mind then wandered to Paris, to the mornings she’d wake happily in an apartment that was hers, walk along the Seine to work, and the pride she felt when a design she’d consulted on became a tangible dress in her hands — to be donned by someone beautiful and walked down a runway for a crowd to feast on.

And finally, her thoughts found their way to Richard. She thought of his laughter at the dinner table, the way his eyes crinkled in amusement at the stories the wards shared. She remembered his smile at them — a blend of pride and affection for people who weren’t his blood. His words and the way he spoke, always something seemingly so profound that they'd linger.

It reminds you of how full life is, doesn’t it? It’s amazing how music can do that — without words.

Natalia no longer thought about timing or technique. Her fingers seemed to move of their own accord, every note now infused with the emotions these moments had carried. The melody was no longer just a series of sounds; it had become a reflection of her life — people and places that had shaped her.

As the song reached its final notes, her fingers lingered on the keys, holding onto that stupid feeling Richard taught her to find. Just for a second, just for a moment longer.

“Thank you.”

She pushed her mouth into a practiced smile and offered a small bow of her head to the crowd. As she looked upon them, her face faltered just a little when she didn’t see the one she had hoped for. He couldn't be, of course.

Our dear Richard has passed away, she recalled.

Performance done and over with, she returned to her seat, swift to lift the glass of wine she left on the table to her lips.

[flyingseacow]

So we all agree Ishmael so very very autistic, and in my personal view chapter 86 is the absolute pinnacle of it.

Also, well. All this:

And whatever they may reveal of the divine love in the Son, the soft, curled, hermaphroditical Italian pictures, in which his idea has been most successfully embodied; these pictures, so destitute as they are of all brawniness, hint nothing of any power, but the mere negative, feminine one of submission and endurance, which on all hands it is conceded, form the peculiar practical virtues of his teachings.

Ishmael: Jesus is such a twink!

In man or fish, wriggling is a sign of inferiority

Care to elaborate Ishmael? No?

Though all comparison in the way of general bulk between the whale and the elephant is preposterous, inasmuch as in that particular the elephant stands in much the same respect to the whale that a dog does to the elephant.

Ishmael: I know I just talked a lot about elephants, but never ever mistake this for awe, whales are a billion times more cool than elephants! So write that down!

[akajustmerry]

okay guys just to clarify!!!! my original list had about 21 characters but I was on thin ice for working on and submitting that during work without an editorial greenlight so after I submitted I was lectured on how "it's important to do what I'm actually asked" and how 15 is apparently the best number for search engine optimisation. The editors chopped it down to the 15 characters *they* thought would be the most recognisable, but jsyk the full list of my original draft included Lawrence, Cyd, Comfrey, Eduard, Nan Pierce, Rhea, and Josh and IF I hadn't written and submitted this last week I would have included Nate but how was I to knoooow. I'll take shit for the ranking order cos that's all me but the number had to be 15 apparently :/

[astrowaffles]

We should all be like Tendou.

I know, I know; Tendou’s a little creepy and a little weird, and everyone hates him unless he’s on their volleyball team. But I honestly think that Tendou’s honesty, intelligence, self-confidence, sense of self and dedication should all be praised. It’s almost like no-one watched his arc at all, choosing to focus on Tsukishima overcoming the trauma of his brother being taken off a volleyball team, once, five years ago. I think everyone did; why does no-one ever mention Tendou’s heart-breaking “Farewell, my paradise”? It’s one of those moments that completely altered my brain chemistry, forever, and it’s never ever mentioned unless it’s by a hardcore Tendou fan wearing his jersey and sticking his poster on their wall.

Tendou should be one of those characters that every fan has to mention once in their life. He’s by no means top of my list on anything, but he’s good enough to be. I should be able to stand in a crowd of Haikyuu!! fans and start singing Tendou’s song, and they should all know the words, instead of hiding in a tiktok comments section timidly asking, “is it weird that I know his song inside out?” When I said, “I can recite the Way of the Ace”, there was a chorus of ‘same’s and a like from the creator. Talking about Tendou’s song outside of his sphere sparks a flurry of ‘Oh yeah, I remember that. That was strange, wasn’t it?’

That’s the point.

Tendou IS strange, and that’s why we should look up to him. Let me explain.

A long time ago, probably in the year 2000 or sometime similar, Tendou got into volleyball. I don’t know how, I’m not even sure we’re ever told, but he’s there at volleyball club and he’s gifted, a similar story to every other player in the hq universe. Except, there’s something very unique about young Tendou’s experience of volleyball. While every other character used this time to fall in love with it, Tendou was being bullied through it.

That’s not to say he didn’t love it, he did; it was the one thing that he was extremely good at - that his oddities made him good at, that they made him suit. In that way, volleyball has always been his refuge – his “paradise”. However, in every other way, those first few years were a nightmare that still haunted him in the last match of his career, in high school over ten years later. “He’s too scary”, “he’s creepy”, “he looks like a lizard” – primary school insults, but aimed at a primary school kid, and it must have hurt. His style of blocking and his love of shutting spikers down had built a barrier between him and his teammates; not to mention his ‘lizard’ face (which, I must admit, is probably true, but wouldn’t have been mentioned if not for volleyball’s habit of making everyone look weirder).

Considering that these events stuck with him for life, they must have been genuinely traumatic, but he never quit volleyball. I suppose that’s the first of the Tendou Qualities we should all want: he liked volleyball, he didn’t like the people. He did what most people are completely unable to do and continued with what he loved - and ignored what he didn’t. It’s almost amazing, how far he took volleyball when his first experience was so horrible.

After being bullied for being weird, scary, and for blocking, most people would then try to change it. “I’ll stop blocking that way against my teammates”, “I won’t pull that face anymore”, and even “I won’t attend practice anymore”. Instead, Tendou got better at being weird, scary, and blocking – and it got him into the top school in the prefecture, Shiratorizawa.

I think Tendou really started to shine when he started to be respected and praised for his skills rather than being bullied for being ‘weird’ (read: better than everyone else). We can see, obviously, that between him and Ushijima they got to nationals. I never hear anything about the skills of anyone at Shiratori besides those two, which gives me an image of them stuffing their teammates into sacks to drag up a hill.

Tendou’s blocking earned him a nickname, but I don’t like it – I’m not sure if he does either. “Guess monster.” Meanwhile, his teammate Ushijima gets nicknames like “Golden boy” or “miracle boy”, at least in his first year. The difference is obvious; they’re equally good, they both get plenty points, but Tendou’s weird. Tendou is innate talent, he’s scary, he’s odd, you can’t understand him, you can’t copy him, you can’t teach him. He is how he is. ‘Guess monster.’ He doesn’t seem to outwardly mind it, though. He’s always cheering on Ushijima using nicknames which get increasingly dramatic the longer the game goes on. It doesn’t seem to matter to him that he earns just as many points, if things go well. It doesn’t even seem to matter that everyone’s screaming “USHIJIMA!” and when Tendou scores, it’s cheers with no name. This is where we reach another Tendou Quality: he takes what he can get, and he doesn’t bear any ill will towards anyone who does better than him. If I were Tendou, I’m not sure I would be as close with Ushijima as he is – or maybe it’s his closeness with Ushijima that allows him to be so generous? How can anyone dub Tendou ‘scary’ when all he does is cheer on his team, and do his best? It just doesn’t compute. None of his team seem scared of him, either. It’s just…fans. Fans who are too used to more palatable people, like Ushijima who has a total of 2 expressions and 0 voice changes but won’t ever say anything he doesn’t mean - and he means everything kindly.

Tendou is completely, unapologetically unpalatable. It’s probably the main thing I love about him. Bullied for being weird and loud? Get weirder, get louder. In the end it’s his weirdness that pulls him through. He knows who he is and he knows how he is, and he didn’t bother to change himself, he just waited for people to accept him for it. In a way, it’s almost the same for Ushijima, whose blank face and apathetic demeanour don’t exactly endear him to his past teammates, though he was never bullied for being a man of few words. The entire Shiratori team accept Tendou and Ushijima and seem to have no problem with how they are. One moment sticks in my mind: Tendou, singing about smashing his opponent’s willpower into pieces. Semi, their reserve setter & pinch server, simply comments: ��what a weirdo”, fond smile and tone in place.

It’s very important to recognise how much work Tendou has done to get to where he is – not in terms of volleyball, but in terms of preserving what made him unique. It’s human ‘herd instinct’ to get lost in the crowd, but Tendou has absolutely no intention of changing anything about himself. It’s probably Tendou Quality #1: he’s himself and has never even wanted to be anybody else. He has self worth; he knows he needs to wait for those who appreciate him rather than try to help those who won’t bother.

Tendou doesn’t go pro. He doesn’t even pretend to try after his last highschool match, simply telling Ushijima: “I don’t plan to go pro after high school. But when they make a documentary about you, they can interview me, and I can say I was your best friend.” He bids volleyball goodbye with his iconic, soul-tearing, “Farewell, my paradise.” He truly sees volleyball as what saved him and kept him going, but he doesn’t intend to take it further than an intense hobby. But despite all this, despite knowing he’s going no further, Tendou truly became one of the best in the entire high school arc. It’s true bravery, if nothing else: throwing himself into something he knows won’t last forever, and freely cutting it loose when the time comes.

When you think of Tendou, you think blocking. Guessing. Mind-reading. Whatever you believe it is that he does. Tendou is very much underrated, and not because – as I’ve been arguing for the past thousand words – he’s a nice person who values himself and his friends. No, he’s underrated because he’s genuinely one of the best players we’re introduced to. While national-level blockers battle it out in Team Japan gyms in the hope to be picked as Japan’s next star, Tendou’s chilling in Miyagi with his friends around him…scaring the hell out of every. single. opponent. From his expression to the blocks themselves, Tendou’s playing has helped take the eagles to nationals or prelims three years running.* It’s this that no-one remembers: Ushijima, as unreliant as he might be on Shirabu’s sets, cannot score every point. It’s too predictable, and there are a few blockers like Tsukishima who can track him around the court. That’s when Tendou comes in. A spike from him is rare, but his blocks score every time. Tendou is an excellent player who was picked by the unrelenting Coach Washijo for a sports scholarship, despite clearly being twiggy and not the powerful player Washijo seeks out (see: Ushijima Wakatoshi).

Even Tendou’s very name speaks of his power. While ‘Tendou’ means “heaven’s child”, “Satori” is the name of a Japanese monster: a monkey which reads minds. It’s a comparison which is too fitting to be an accident, and says a lot about people’s view of Tendou. Not only is he awarded the title of ‘guess monster’, he is considered to have enough talent to be compared to a magical creature strong enough to prey on humans themselves. So he now has strength, wisdom, blessing, knowledge, power, skill, and he’s unequivocally unique. Why are we still treating him as “Ushijima’s friend”? He’s so much more.

In terms of using Tendou as a role model, maybe we should cut out the bit where he sings about smashing his opponents into pieces. Oh, and the bit where he’s bullied. But everything else, we should imitate: the willingness to strike out on his own and leave his comfort zone, his unconditional support of his friends, his unapologetic ‘weirdness’…. it’s something we’d all do well to copy. Imagine if we all copied his bravery in cutting off volleyball, choosing to let ourselves move on from whatever we’ve outgrown, no matter how sad it makes us; imagine if we all supported everyone through everything they do, even when they surpass and outshine us; imagine if we all acted as we wanted to, no matter how society reacted. Wouldn’t we be happier? I certainly would.

And, even if we don’t bother to change ourselves or our social circles or our view on life, I at least hope that we start to love Tendou a little more. Doesn’t he deserve it? No matter what you look for in your favourite characters, he has it, and then some.

I think, one day, I will be able to post the words “I love tendou” and not have to explain. In fact, it should get the same number of clicks as my “I love Akaashi Keiji”, fresh on Tumblr this morning, without me having to cultivate a specific fanbase first.

Too dramatic?

Never.

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[catboybatman]

you ever think about the in-universe online world of dc? the youtube essays must be insane

[dwarfsized]

"oh this will just be a simple little intro i need to write and then I'll write some smut and I can post the fic" i tell myself, like a liar