#whenever i talk about my special interests i feel quite embarassing

[plexiglassonion]

.

[wy-van-sunshine]

wesper fanfic!

Author’s note: I have read so many fanfics in which Wylan feels different from Jesper’s world and lifestyle, somehow out of place and he’s sad about it, but since I always want to see things from other perspectives I want to write something in which Jesper is the one feeling “wrong” for the way Wylan lives his life. I really hope you’ll like this!

The stage lights shone on the beautiful flautist’s red hair, enlightening his silver flute and isolating him in the only spot of warm light in the entire theatre: the music he played was so full of harmony and peace, it was as if Wylan existed in a parallel world made of his own music and emotions.

The public was lucky enough to be allowed to observe that world from the outside, taking part in it through the celestial notes that Wylan played in the most natural way, almost as if they were an extension of his soul.

Jesper was in a private place, hidden from the rest of the people but from where he could have the best view of his boyfriend: he often mocked him about his “graceful serenades”, but whenever he played on stage he couldn’t help but admire the unique talent the merchling had and fall in love with that music not so many months ago he didn’t even care about.

Jesper smiled. In any other occasion he would have called himself an idiot for that, but now he really couldn’t do anything else but keep that peaceful expression on his face, his chin resting on his hand as he stared at Wylan on stage, his gaze filled with love and admiration.

The magic lasted forever, but it was also so brief: before anyone wanted him to, Wylan played the last notes and he finally smiled, looking at the point where he knew Jesper was and bowing to the whole public who was applauding and cheering him hard. 

Every time the redhead had a concert, the night was so difficult to end: he exited the theatre and almost everyone was waiting him there to see and talk to him. Wylan was so grateful for that, but at the same time he always met Jesper’s eyes among all people and some parts of him wanted nothing but run to him and hug him. However, he was a polite musician and he always stopped to talk with his public.

Jesper looked at Wylan’s blue, shiny eyes with pride: he was so happy everytime after a concert and the sharpshooter would have paid a million kruge to see that expression on him every second of his life. 

“Hey there, boy!” Jesper turned his head to his left and saw a middle aged couple “You are the flautist’s boyfriend, am I right?” asked the man.

“Yes, yes I am” he answered smiling “Did you enjoy the concert? I don’t know much about this world, but I really think he’s the best out there” 

The woman nodded “His music sounds so graceful! I bet he’d play some parts of Tchaikovski’s pieces like no one ever has”

“You’re right, my dear! And what about the concerts by Mozart? He would enchant the public! What do you think, boy?”

“Jesper, you can call me Jesper” said the Zemeni, then smiled, a little embarassed “I... actually, as I said before I really don’t know much about this musical world, but... well, I think Wylan would be amazing in any occasion...?”

Jesper couldn’t quite decipher the gaze the couple exchanged: they looked... disappointed in his answer, but what could he do about it? He had just been honest. Luckily, Wylan finally came and he didn’t have to think about it anymore. 

“Jes!” Wylan called with a huge smile on his lips, throwing his arms around his waist. The sharpshooter released a breath and hugged him back “You were a Saint up there” he said. 

The redhead hugged him harder, but then he felt a hand tap his shoulder and he turned his head, meeting the old man’s gaze. He smiled politely “Good evening, sir!”

The couple started talking with Wylan about the same topic they tried to discuss with Jesper, but this time they found someone who understood everything they said and the chat became more and more interesting to Wylan, more and more uncomfortable to Jesper.

He was there, trying to follow the conversation, but he got lost among weird composer’s names and numbers of concerts and operas. He could see how Wylan was loving all of that and how he was feeling comfortable, and suddenly he felt wrong. 

Music was one of Wylan’s greatest passions and what did he know about it? Bach and Mozart were names he had only heard, “Cage” was a place to be imprisoned in, “Chopin” was a funny word similar to what you did when you went to the mall. He knew absolutely nothing about it. He knew nothing about one of the most important things to his boyfriend. 

After minutes which felt like eras for Jesper, Wylan took leave of the couple and grabbed Jesper’s hand, smiling as usual “Shall we go home?”

Jesper tried to smile back, but he couldn’t. He just nodded and started walking. Their way back home was not long, but it passed in silence, Wylan thinking about the night and Jesper about how everything about himself felt wrong. Sometimes Wylan looked over the sharpshooter: he was silent and that was something to worry about, but he had no idea about what was going on in his head and he said nothing until they arrived home.

Without a word, Jesper placed a kiss on Wylan’s head and immediately reached for their bedroom, throwing himself on the bed and staring at the ceiling, his head almost in pain for his thoughts. 

About fifteen minutes later, the merchling entered the room with a smoking cup in his hand, reached the bed and sit next to Jesper’s body, looking at him. He knew he was sad or worried about something: those were the only - rare - occasions in which the Zemeni didn’t speak, even though Wylan was sure his head was screaming. Anyways, he knew in those occasions Jesper loved to dissolve his thoughts in a cup of hot cocoa, so that was exactly what he had prepared for him as soon as they got home. 

“Hey there” he said softly, placing a hand on Jesper’s shoulder “Take this”

The sharpshooter gave him a weak smile and took the cup in his hand: he sit against the wall in order to be able to drink it better. Still, he didn’t say a word.

“What’s wrong?” Wylan asked, now a little worried. Usually after the first sip of cocoa the sharpshooter started talking, but now he was silent and the redhead was silently panicking. Had he done something wrong? It wouldn’t be the first time, after all he was not perfect, in fact he was the exact opposite of perfection.

“Ioneserveu”

Wylan didn’t understand what Jesper said as he murmured with such low voice, his eyes fixed on the cocoa. 

“What? What is it?” 

The sharpshooter released a long breath and he finally looked up at his boyfriend: meeting his beautiful blue eyes made him feel even worse.

“I don’t deserve you” he said with a painful smile. 

Wylan felt a shot straight to his heart: the gray eyes that were looking at him were a storm, they were troubled, they were honest. 

“What the fuck are you saying, Jesper?” 

“There, I got you saying the f-word” 

“Stop joking. What does I don’t deserve you mean?”

“It’s a very simple Kerch sentence. I don’t feel like I’m enough for you and I don’t think I actually am”

Wylan took Jesper’s hand in his and talked with broken voice “But why? We’ve been together for almost a year now, Jes. Where is this coming from?”

Jesper huffed, he was not comfortable with that talk. He wanted to tell Wylan how he was feeling, but he wasn’t good at dealing with emotions; moreover, what if his boyfriend hadn’t noticed his differences yet? What if he was the one to point them out to him and ruin their relationship forever?

“I feel like I’m wasting your time here. These months were amazing for me, but for you? Tonight I saw how your eyes shine when you talk about music and all those composers, and I see that same joy when you explain to me your impossible equations or the way you build bombs, and I smile and I nod because I know how much that stuff means to you, but I don’t understand anything and- how long can this last? How long before you get tired of-” 

Jesper suddenly stopped: he couldn’t finish the sentence. If he said that last word out loud, the whole feeling would become real and he really didn’t want to burst into tears in front of Wylan. 

...me? How long before you get tired of me?

The sharpshooter found himself in a whole new situation: in seventeen years of life he never once thought anybody could get tired of him, he did his best to be as energetic as possible and people loved being around him. But Wylan was no ordinary boy: he was so special and he didn’t deserve someone as ordinary as Jesper felt. 

He stared at his merchling, looking for an answer he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear: but Wylan was smiling softly at him, not a sign of concern on his pale face. He got nearer to the sharpshooter and he kissed him, slowly dragging his body down with his. They were now laying next to each other, Wylan had for the first time ever Jesper’s head resting on his chest - it was always the opposite as their heights were clearly different. 

After kissing Jesper on his head, Wylan spoke in a whisper “Are you happy with me, Jes?” 

The sharpshooter was enjoing being cuddled by his boyfriend, he had calmed down a little, but he still felt like he didn’t deserve all those attentions.

“Yes Wy, I am happy. I am so happy. And because of that I’m afraid I’ll screw everything up”

“You want to know why I fell in love with you in the first place?” 

Jesper grinned “Not if then you’re going to dump me because I’ve ruined everything”

Wylan gently slapped him on the neck “I would never want to be without you, you idiot” 

“Fine then” Jesper allowed, his heart beating faster for what his boyfriend just said.

Before talking, Wylan started caressing Jesper’s dark hair “I have built bombs and explosives in my life, Jesper. And I know a lot of things about chemistry. When I met you, I felt like everything I knew about explosions was nothing compared to you. You are a living bomb, and I’m saying it with a positive meaning: you are like a constant explosion of energy, you don’t just burst once, you keep on doing it and that is the exact energy I didn’t know I needed in my life. You have no scientific explanation and I love it”

Jesper breathed heavily and Wylan thought the was holding back tears: he took his chin in his hand and he lifted his head, looking into his eyes just to find out they were actually wet. The redhead smiled at him.

“I don’t care if you don’t know things about music or maths or anything else, one boring nerd is enough in a coulple, don’t you think?” 

Jesper laughed “You’re my favourite nerd, you know”

“I should hope so! Anyways, I asked you whether you’re happy with me and there’s a reason for that: when we got togther, I had the same worries about myself. You were a charming, extroverted thief and I didn’t feel like I could fit in your world. But then one day you hugged me and I thought I feel like I fit in these arms. I understood I was happy with you, and to me that was enough. If you’re happy with me as well, then we don’t have to worry about anything else”

“Saints, you really are a poet, Van Sunshine” said Jesper with a grin, but before Wylan could reply he reached for his lips and he kissed him for long, silently thanking him for everything he said, for everything he gave him not just in that moment, but every day since they met. 

Maybe their worlds were different, but while kissing and hugging and looking for more, Wylan and Jesper couldn’t help but notice how perfect they were for each other: their lips matched, their hands coincided perfectly, their bodies completed each other. 

They were happy together and they loved each other. 

And yes, that was far more than enough. 

[purplesurveys]

772

What was the last thing you threw at someone? A piece of meat for my dog to run for. Well, walk and sniff around for. He’s an old guy and doesn’t run anymore unless we’re taking him out for a walk. Do you follow recipes? I always certainly have to, since I don’t have any one dish memorized. I’ll start off with a collection of recipes for sure, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be at least a decent cook over the next few years. Where's the last place you had an itch? The area behind my knee.

Do you look people in the eye when you talk to them? It’s always important to have eye contact to show you’re paying attention so yeah. But I know it can get uncomfortable for most people at some point – and me – so I’ll give my eyes a break and look at their forehead, their nose, the space between their eyes, etc. When you look into someone's eyes, can you see their pain? Uh no, I don’t look that intensely lmao. And even then, I’ve learned over the years that most people are very good in hiding or playing off their true emotions that even if I try to find something off, I’ll likely turn up with nothing.

When was the last time you sneezed? Midnight today. How do you act under pressure? It will depend on how much there is to do and how much time there is left. I don’t have one permanent behavior for every time I feel pressured, which is pretty often. Who did you last say "I love you" to? My dog. Do you ever call people just to hear the sound of their voice? Yes, back when everything was normal I’d sometimes call my girlfriend just to drop by and say hi, and also because our schools are a little far apart and I’ll miss her in the middle of the day. School usually stresses her out so I do that as a pick-me-up for her. When was the last time you used a glue stick? January maybe? Our profs always ask us to submit index cards with our contact details and a 1x1 photo at the start of the semester, so there’s a good chance I asked to borrow glue from someone to paste my photo onto the card. What was the last startling noise you heard? Some dipshit on my Twitter feed decided it was good fun to share a jumpscare disguised as an innocent, cute video at 3 AM. I was mad about it then and I’m still mad as hell about it now lol. Do you ever look back at your yearbooks? I did this a lot as a kid. Idk why, I found it interesting to get to know the people in my school and read their write-ups I guess. I stopped looking back on them precisely because I did it too much when I was younger. Do you ever want to be prom queen/king? No. I did not give a shit about prom at all. I really would’ve happily skipped out on it but my school is a complete killjoy and made both attendance and bringing a date mandatory for everyone. No stags, can you believe it? It’s like when Captain Holt from Brooklyn Nine Nine said “Have a good time, I specifically requested it” lol Are you tired? Tired of this quarantine, yes. But I took a nap not too long ago so I’m not feeling to sleepy in that sense. Have you ever ran from the police? I haven’t done anything for them to have to do run after me, so no. Are you afraid of clowns? Not really. I was never exposed to them much so I always just saw them as people in heavy makeup that do balloon animals and other funny tricks. Have you ever written on someone's face in your yearbook? HAHA yes. When my sister and I were kids we bickered a lot, and in one of our fights I thought it’d be funny to doodle on her kinder portrait. She didn’t think so and she started wailing - just in time, I heard my mom coming home and I had to think fast so my sister a) stopped crying and b) wouldn’t tell on me. So I did the stupidest thing and also doodled on my own prep portrait to make her feel better. She calmed down and my mom never found out. When was the last time you made dinner? I *helped* my dad make dinner a few months ago. I haven’t completed a meal myself. Do you have any special plans coming up? They’re gonna be mellowing down the lockdown rules in my province by the 15th and I’m really hoping to see Gabie soon. Realistically I doubt it would happen as I don’t think both our parents would agree to it, but it’s still nice to keep hoping. Did you just lose the game? Yep, but I really only found out about this game from Reddit a few months ago and I didn’t grow up having to play it, so I’m never all too pissed off or like emotionally invested in general whenever I lose it haha. What is a class at school you are interested in taking? There are global studies electives that I was unaware of until someone told me to take them after I enrolled for my last sem in collefge. There are courses on Turkish culture, global gastronomy, and they also had past courses on ‘Diversity on Perspectives on Peace and Conflict,’ ‘Cultures of Disasters,’ and ‘Cultures and their Global Entanglements.’ They all sound right up my alley and am disappointed no one told me sooner. Do you hold on to your dreams? Some of them, the ones I know I have a chance of attaining. Obviously I’ve had to let some go, like wanting to go to the moon or becoming a firefighter. Do you follow rules or break them? Follow. I don’t like getting into trouble. Is there someone you are dying to see? A lot of people. Who do you want to be buried next to? I’ve given this zero thoughts. Are you double-jointed? Nope. Did your dream last night involve blood? It didn’t. I’m not even sure what my dreams were anymore. Who was the last person to yell at you? My mom, probably. How do you feel about the new president? I wouldn’t call him new, he’s in the latter half of his term now. I hate him and I hope he dies soon. Do good things come to those who wait? Sure, it can happen. What is the last song you played on iTunes? I haven’t used that in a while. The last one I listened to on Spotify was Sudden Desire by Hayley Williams. Petals For Armor is still on loop, surprise. What is the last thing you looked up on youtube? I was showing my sister the hilarious Vine of Beyoncé where she thanks a talk show host who tells her “You are Beyoncé,” as if it was a compliment looooool, so I looked up “you are beyonce thank you.” When is the last time you went to the grocery store? March 9th. What is your favorite fish? Tuna or eel for raw fish, tilapia for cooked. What kind of calendar do you have? A digital one. Have you ever been two hours late for school? Oh hell no. I’ve been late before, but if it’s as dramatic as being an hour late I usually just cut class to save myself the embarassment of having to do the walk of shame entering the class. What is your favorite stuffed animal that you own? I don’t have any stuffed animals. Who did you hang out with yesterday? My family, as has been the case since March. Has anyone stolen your heart yet? Yes. Have you ever won a gold medal? No. I’ve won first place before, but they didn’t issue out gold medals. Do you have any trophies? Also no. Do you work out? I don’t. When you introduce yourself, do you give hand shakes? Sometimes, but tbh I just picked it up from Gabie who’s a big hand-shaker. I preferably wouldn’t cause it seems so formal to me. Is there a limit to how many best friends you have? Yeah, like I wouldn’t want to have a lot; I like keeping my immediate circle small. I’m more than content with my two best friends. When's the last time you went to a dance? 2016. What grade are you in? Soooooooooo unbelievably close to graduating college. Are you in a band? I’m not and haven’t been. Have you ever been in a talent show? No thanks. Have you ever won a contest? Competitions, yes. Contests, no. How do you feel about germs? I’m quite particular about them. I don’t like sharing clothes with people; I pick which friends get to eat off of my spoon or sip from my straw; I’m super iffy about touching someone else’s keyboard; I really don’t like having to touch other people’s hair and with that is also the fact that I never borrow or lend hair ties. Holy shit so I’m more germaphobic than I thought and all I had to do was list these things down......................... Do you like screamo music? Not really. What does your wallet look like? Pink and a lot thinner now that I haven’t been given an allowance since they stopped school. Do you have any hickeys on you? No. At this point, I really wish I did lmao Would you rather have money or love? Money. I love love, but I won’t deny that I also love being able to afford the lifestyle I want to live haha. Do you have any family pictures hanging on the wall? Not on the wall, but we have several frames lined up on the first few steps of our stairs. Which do you prefer: bath or shower? Bath after a long hard day. Shower most days. Do you have a lamp in your room? I used to, but I removed it after realizing the light just keeps me from falling asleep faster.

Do you have windows vista? No. Do you have the strength to say goodbye forever? I’ll deal with it if I had no choice, but I’ve never handled goodbyes well.

[sociallyawkward--fics]

aksjflpaalshdhdhks okay so i found out that bts (kpop band) is a thing and now im learning korean -H (i don’t even know why. i was listening to one of their songs and i was like ‘y’know what would be handy? being able to know what they were saying without having to look at captions’ and my brain was like,,,,,,,tHEreS a tHiNG cALled dUoLINgo so ... yeah. it’s a thing now)

also??? they’re all so pretty??? i don’t know how but like??? they are??? somehow??? one of them (i think it’s jungkook but i haven’t quite figured out how to tell them apart) has the cutest smile and not to be straight but gakskfjkslajf -H (im not saying i have a crush on any of them (pajdhsj i feel awkward saying that) but literally they’re all so pretty??) (also im talking about bts if you couldn’t tell)

oh no oh fudge i’ve gone down the rabbit hole there’s no hope for me. xy their mvs have a storyline there’s a whole freaking webtoon and no satisfying ending im losing my mind over here and i have no idea what to do with my life. my only consolation is that im seeing spiderman in a few hours -H (wth the fandoms so large, i thought bts was a freaking band why are they so popular)

ok so i watched spiderman no spoilers but there were pride flags in the background!!! i saw two rainbow flags and im !!!! -H (idk any kind of representation makes me happy. my brother always criticizes stuff like that bc all the main characters are straight or smth but im just happy we get anything at all. like, ill see a gay couple in the background and i guess it just makes me feel happy cause the creators cared enough to put it there!! im valid in their eyes!!) (im just rlly optimistic?? idk)

also sorry for sending so many asks. i think i do it bc there’s no one else to talk to?? like there’s my brother but he’s more critical and doesn’t really like the things i do; im too scared of my friends making fun of me or ... idk none of them are as fandomy as me. also this is anonymous and it makes me feel more secure?? i kind of lost track of what i was saying but the point is i might be here a lot bc no one shares enthusiasm with me and im stuck with too much of it and it gets unhealthy -H

so yeah. sorry. i know (i know, i know) im not bugging you but there’s just a part of me that’s scared i am. which is a problem because i always crave human contact but i mean who cares amiright?? (i don’t mean it don’t worry) -H (also i can imagine you replying to all these asks (i don’t even remember how many) and it’s gonna be a disaster im melting with embarrassment someone save me)

------------------

My younger sister likes BTS a lot! I’ve not been able to get into it, or any kpop, but I fully support any interests y’all get into! Also, that was totally me with Japanese on duolingo (and Klingon, I did start learning Klingon lol), but I accidentally haven’t touched the app in ages.

Also, I 100% get the “they’re so pretty but it’s not a crush” thing. I think it’s called aesthetic attraction? But I could be wrong. But I feel that way about so many pretty people lol. Also, hyperfixations and rabbit holes are my speciality, I totally get it.

Also, man, I wish I didn’t have such tunnel vision when watching movies! I totally didn’t notice/forgot to look for the pride flags when I was watching FFH! Also, your brother sounds like my family and that sucks, it’s so dumb, I’m sorry, kiddo!

Never worry about sending a bunch of asks! It actually super makes my day whenever I get an email that someone’s sent me an ask, even if I don’t get to answer it for a long time because of the computer situation/my own bad memory to get online. I totally understand the anonymity thing, and the anxiety with sharing stuff with friends and family.

If you crave human contact, I am always open to getting your asks, it makes me really happy! And don’t be embarassed about sending so many asks! I really do love it and love replying to all of them!

[greengargouille]

Little Sugaya things

Hello AC fans, do you know whose birthday it is today? “No, but I have a strong feeling it might be the character whose name is in the title.” What a cheeky reader you are. But, indeed, in this October 25th Sugaya Sousuke turns... Well, he doesn’t really age, fiction and all that. This is an ideal time to talk about him!

I have a strong liking to this character, so I figured I would make a small post about him (especially if that can count toward ankyou week), my observations, mostly things I want to remember while I write fics.

...This isn’t a small post at all.

Note: I tend to link towards other posts whenever I make mention of extra-material, but there are 3 things that I will tend to use a lot, and for this reason I’m linking at the beginning, namely his Roll Book profile, his Graduation Book profile, and the Individual Ability chart. 

This first point is easy, but Sugaya is a really good artist, and really fast at that. And by that I mean really, really fast. Notable achievements includes, in non-chronological order:

Doing really neat drawings on the back of his tests. Like, already, it’s quite the art he’s showing us -and given he’s in the middle of a test that probably only last one class, he had less than an hour to do that. Uh. Impressive for someone in junior high, but still plausible.

A few moments after the class discovered they have to do a theater piece, he do a ‘realistic’ portrait of his comrade (I mean, it’s in the same style as the manga itself, so... that counts as realistic, right?) on the demand of Karma. Again, quick yet with some level being it. [Note that the anime version had Karma hold the image in colors. But no Sugaya in the background. Either we’re supposed to believe Karma have impressive photoshop skills he uses to have countless disturbing images of Nagisa in different clothes, either Sugaya hide himself because wow, it’s embarassing to be associated with art of Nagisa crossdressing. Don’t worry, Sugaya, at least this one wasn’t sexualised.]

Hey, do you remember how class E infiltrated into a building they knew nothing about, then had to disguise themselves to hide against the wall? Am I the only one wondering how did they happen to have just the right hue of spray paint on them, and for 27 students too? This isn’t so much about skill and speed that it is about Sugaya probably having who-know how many spray cans in advance on him during the whole arc. Like, okay, he’s the artist kid, but that’s probably way too many. Unless he have been able to convince his classmates to carry them for him. Or he could actually summon them out of nowhere.

He did seems to pull brushes out of nowhere during chapter 155 just for emphasis. I mean, he could be just happening to have random art supplies in his pocket, even if those can be costly and he is shown to have a little plastic case for his brushes during chapter 111. Buuut I’m still betting on summoning his supplies by demonish magic.

Okay, now it gets really really weird. Remember the island arc? The fight with Gastro the gun specialist? In a few minutes, in silence, under pressure of someone who have shown killing intent, he somehow manage to produce a scarecrow. Like, how. When did he even obtain some of those items. Is he some RPG protag that will put every random item in his inventory. Matsui please explain.

...Yet, somehow, this isn’t the most impressive thing he have done. For that we will have to come back to his own moment of spotlight, chapter 37.

So. He painted the arms of the whole class. (He argues some pages later that there’s no ‘blank canvas’ left for Korosensei, so it truly means the whole class had, at this point, their arms tattooed.) 

Yet some pages later the arms of the students are bare, and given Sugino’s comment, they cleaned themselves before it set off. Henna will dry after roughly 15-30 minutes.

The twist in all this? Try to look at how long it takes to make such a tattoo. Maybe you will be more lucky than me. All I could find is that a full hand or foot tattoo takes around half an hour. Yet it seems in less than that Sugaya have drawn around 50 full arm tattoos. Korosensei who? I’m sorry, but the only Mach 20 monster that I see here is a student. 

But really, think about this. He have impressive skills in drawing. Notably with chalk if we see chapter 37. Painting (he even made a Korosensei’s potrait in what I think is expressionism style? in the manga only though). Sculpting. Doing masks and disguises. Henna tattoos. Calligraphy too according to background details.

This boy is 14, 15 by the end of October. How the heck did he get so talented in so many forms of art? He had to dedicate his whole life to art- heck, his hobby is touring museums and art exhibits, and his treasured item is a watercolor paint set! Okay, I admit Hollands are expensive as heck, so it’s understandable he values them. But... He isn’t just your average artistic student. He’s a monster. 

So far, Sugaya seems less of a background students and more of a final boss in a art shonen, but how well does he fare as a student?

...Pretty badly, actually. Here what his Roll Book profile says about this: “At first he had wanted to excel in both academics and art, so he opted to enrol in an escalator school, but at Kunugigaoka he understood the limits of his academic prowess. His studies floundered, while his artistic sense flourished in contrast.  After coming to Class E, he overcame his limits in academics and gained a surge in confidence.”

And indeed, it is a big fall when it comes to academics. His manga-only chapter show his former headteacher to be the one dealing with class B, so he originally have some skills. Yet, during 3-E... his individual ability chart places his academic prowess at 1 on 5, something only Terasaka shares with him. He consistently is at the bottom of the exam rankings when comparing the scores of class-E only, and get scores even worse than Terasaka when it comes to Science and Maths, his biggest weaknesses if we’re to believe the Graduation Book profile. Though, if we observe his results...

...Japanese’s not his speciality either (not helped that it seems to be the favorite subject of more students). He do considerably better in English, yet in chapter 3 of Korotan D, taking place just after graduating high school, he mentions he’s not very good at English, so he either got worse with time or never was that good either. Most likely the second, though : plenty of characters are good at English, and the season 2 opening give us a shot at his first semester grades.

Since it’s a bit blurry and I suppose not a lot of you readers are proficient in Japanese, here are the results in a more accessible form (keeping in mind the grades are on 5).

First row

Japanese: 3, Social Studies: 3, Maths: 2, Sciences: 2, Music: 4

Second row

Art: 5, Home Economics: 5, P.E.: 3, English: 4.

Yes, definitely better at English. The good music skills is a nice surprise, and the good score in Home Ec. not so surprising with his dexterity, plus him being in Hara’s group when it comes to group activities. He’s really the kid that’s excellent at all secondary subjects...

And then there is Physical Education. He seems to be neither good or bad at it, but how does he compare with the rest of the class?

...That’s a good question, because the opening doesn’t give us good shot to half the class’ grades. What we do, however, is (yet again) the Individual Ability chart, which give us “Physical Ability” and “Mobility” (that I also include as I feel this cover both speed and agility).

The first one is... not brillant, to say the least ; with a score of 2.5 on 5, there are only seven students worse than him (and that include Ritsu, so really it’s more like six), and two of the same level. When only students like Okuda or Nagisa are the ones you can beat in arm wrestling, you’re not exactly at the peak of strength. 

As for Mobility, still 2.5 on 5. Seven students worse (still including Ritsu). Yet again, it’s low but barely enough for it to not classify him among the bottom.  And he have an avantage here: as Karasuma says in the Roll Book profile, ‘he has a tall back and has reach’, not something you can exactly argue with his 179cm, merely one cm less than Terasaka and Karasuma. Longer legs means longer steps, after all. 

...Still a weakass, though.

We talked art, we talked skills, now let’s continue with personality.

Let’s come back to the previous sentence from Karasuma, this time the full version: ‘Although he has a tall back and has reach, he is poor at close combat due to his personal nature.’ Sugaya is one who avoid fights, or is too nice to hurt someone. And he does seems of the nice kind ; after all, isn’t his hidden side in the Graduation Book that he’s helpful?

It’s not so much of an hidden side, to be honest. Besides teaching Kurahashi how to apply camouflage, we also have him help the others prank an ex of Maehara (in a manga exclusive story) by making disguises, and he helps paint Itona’s tank when he, according to the graduation book, is immune to girls (and wouldn’t have much of a thrill peeking under their skirts like some others)... Drawing Nagisa as Abe Sada on Karma’s request... Uh.

Note that at that point, Karma got along well with the class (so much that they send him messages during winter vacation), but there’s an interesting bit about Sugaya on his profile: ‘Even now, there are some in Class E who are still afraid of Karma. That’s why students-who-want-to-tease-and-Tsukkomi-him-a-little-but-decided-to-back-away such as Sugaya are common.’ It might hint at a teasing nature for Sugaya, but mostly that he can be intimidated. 

Another project on which he works because someone asked is Okajima’s, but he’s said to be ‘tricked’ into taking part in it. We don’t see much of him enough as an individual to know is he’s easy to fool (he does fall for Korosensei’s trick about a punchline in chapter 156, but then so does most of the class), but he doesn’t seems to inclined towards thinking much about things (he does have a 2 on 6 in Strategy/Planning aptitude, after all). 

Nice enough to participate in group projects if asked to, but still more of a lone worker: he’s classified among the individualistic students doing assassinations on ‘their own schedule’, and is shown to work more by himself (except maybe with Mimura what, did you thought I would not shamelessly use my previous posts). According to his Assassination Aptitude chart, he would make a pretty poor leader, too, with the lowest score possible of 1 on 6. Which might also tie in with him potentially being easily intimidated, too...

Not only he would rather work alone, he doesn’t seem to care so much about what others might think of him, either: tattoos are a big deal in Japan, yet he acts pretty nonchalantly when he comes in class with one on his arm. While the live-action movie doesn’t have such a moment, we also have an interesting bit of character design:

While Japanese schools are very strict about students not dying their hair, Sugaya have two purple lines of dye in his. Even Nakamura (who did have dyed hair in the manga/anime) doesn’t have her hair dyed. In fact, I think only Karma use hair dye (it’s dubious whether Itona’s hair is naturally white). Ignoring the rules for the sake of aesthetics is a pretty important trait of him, it seems. Maybe is it why he can so easily wear weird patterns?

So far, seems like Sugaya’s a nice, helpful guy who rather prefer calm and alone time, maybe a bit too carefree but nothing truly bad!

...Okay, maybe I spoke a bit too fast on the ‘nice’. That’s... a pretty blunt comment. And then going on how he couldn’t concentrate during the exam because of her and that’s why he got the lowest score of the class... Sure, totally her fault here.

...But outside of that, he’s much more mindful of oth-

Sugaya no. Don’t follow Korosensei’s example. It’s bad to take advantage of someone passing out to draw on them when they violently refused a few minutes before.

...Okay, maybe he would gain to take a bit more care of what other might think. Especially if this cause him trouble at work, like seen in the epilogue with him ignoring the allowed budget for the sake of artistic pride (though, according to his personal history page, he does learn to compromise on that point).

Artistic pride, now that’s an interesting point. Sugaya is mostly a calm student, even if he get as angry as the others on things like Bitch-sensei’s early treatment of class E, or Korosensei’s taboo game. There is, however, a comment from his part in his dedicated chapter:

‘Pissed me off’, talk about a strong reaction! Art really is an important thing for him. (Of course we end up talking about Art yet again. Of course). As a writer, I personally find this fact important to keep in mind, as it is easy to give in to flanderization. 

...I mean, you can make his character totally about art and you wouldn’t be too far from the original, so maybe flanderization isn’t that bad of a tactic...

Anyways, happy birthday, Sugaya! I hope with this post, others will take interest in this character!