#I've never seen it worse than in 98

[gothwineaunts]

Oofh. The hate in the comments. It's starting to get to me. I've been trying to ignore it for a long time now, but like they literally want one of the romantic leads to disappear. So many people. They just hate her. Like not even "love to hate her." Just despise her enough to call her slurs and pray for her death. In a wlw.

I must have really fucked this up, I think.

[bonzirella]

MMM YEAH, YOU GOT ME MOONSTRUCK ft. nagi

response to anon who asked about doing a reverse yandere rin x reader, all my reqs got deleted along with my account but we ball

Summary: You're needy, and your boyfriend has been somewhat.. neglecting you. So you resort to the next best thing, fucking him while he's asleep. But things don't quite go as expected

Includes: nagi x fem!reader, smut? dirty? idk, reader is off the raills, this was SUPPOSED to be smut but i actually can't take ts seriously

a/n: we're going to get through the posts of my deleted account one at a time!!

It's far too late for you to be awake. And it's most certainly too late for you to be pulling the stunt you're about to. The mattress dips as you crawl in, looking over Nagi's asleep face. Soft white curls and a peaceful expression, all things you would've normally loved in a more... wholesome way. Generally. Normally. 98% of the time. Except right now, you're anything but normal. And normally, you'd slot yourself right into his big biceps and snuggle close, falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. But as we've established before. You're not normal right now.

You've been dating Nagi for a few months now. But your sex life? Nonexistent. You don't think he does it on purpose, really. It's just that a busy soccer player like him and the mayor of Lazyville most likely thinks about sex as often as you think about soccer formations (hint: never). And you suffered from too-shy syndrome, rendering you unable to ask for sex. What were you supposed to do, smile and say, "Hey Sei! I've been thinking about you cumming in me for weeks now! Wanna get down and dirty?" He'd probably break up with you. On second thought, he wouldn't. Realistically, he would give it to you with some minor complaints. But you weren't about to risk it. So this was your next best option: dress in lacy white lingerie and fuck him until he wakes up, which is arguably worse than straight up asking for sex, but we ball.

With shaky hands, you tug down his sweatpants and boxers, making sure to do it painfully slow so he won't wake up. You gulp, and just in case if he were really, really mad at you, you decided to put on some really pretty, skimpy lingerie that you think, pray, he'd like.

Your mouth waters as you see his pretty cock. and for a moment, you have second thoughts because he's huge. You let out a small whimper and whip your hand over your mouth faster than your last three bad decisions combined—and somehow, this feels more dangerous. He hasn't woken up. You bite your lip softly as you stare at his pretty mushroom tip like a creep. Your pussy twitches against his thigh and you suddenly realize that you made a mess. There's a wet spot the size of a small pond on his thigh. You can already see the frogs jumping in. Ribbit Ribbit.

You have to suppress a moan because it would be downright pathetic (sorta hot) if you came just from the sight of his pretty, pretty dick. So you muster up your courage, pull aside the panties of your lingerie, and sink down. Your eyes go wide and a soft, traitorous moan escapes your lips. You freeze. Look down. Nagi's asleep. Whew. You continue sinking down until you've bottomed out, holding onto the headboard for dear life. There's this one prominent vein that's incredibly close to your g-spot. You fear for your life. Looking at the clock, you've seen that it took you damn near thirty minutes to take him fully. You pant softly, getting accustomed to the feel of him in you. Your pussy clenches around him every time you remember he's inside you, and your softly roll your hips.

All of a sudden, a large hand grabs your ass and Sei's eyes slowly open. You blink. Your face turns beet red, but you clench around him. He smirks. Then, he gets real close to you, and whispers, "Ribbit."

You scream. Suddenly, you're in your bed, next to him. Nagi. He looks at you, confused. "What was that about..." he trails off as he looks down at you. You follow his gaze to see that your legs are practically wrapped around his thigh. And so is your slick. He looks at you, tilts his head, blinks slowly, "Mmn.. looks like I've got a problem to fix, mmn?"

[elizaa31]

So i've seen all these discussions about Savannah Grayson, the debates between the haters and the defenders and just thought i would drop in too.

First of all, I would like to state (God i sound as if i'm in court) that I do not, under any circumstances, hate Savannah. But...I also don't really like her.

Here is why:

After The Brothers Hawthorne, I really liked her. Almost as much as I liked Gigi. I understood her, she was similar to Grayson.

Then comes in The Grandest Game.

I felt like Savannah was a bad sister to Gigi during the book. For example : when Gigi found out 'the secret' she tried to keep it for Savannah, and tried to act normal, like she usually did, bubbly and cheerful. When Savannah found out 'the secret', she changed entirely. She was even colder than usual, cold even to Gigi. It makes sense, because for Savannah her father was everything. But if you think of it, for Savannah was a lot easier to pretend she was okay than to Gigi, because of her personality. Yet she didn't even try to be okay for Gigi, she pushed her away, when Gigi did everything in her power to be okay for Savannah. If I were Gigi, when i would be trying so hard to pretend to be fine for my sister and my sister would just treat me with coldness, i would be so discouraged I couldn't hold it in anymore. But Gigi is obviously better than me.

2. Yes, there is a 98 percent possibility than Eve didn't tell Savannah the truth about her father, which would explain why Savannah thought Avery killed her father. But if you think of it, when Vincent Blake threatened to reveal the secret, it meant he had some proof. Obviously, Eve wouldn't have showed the proof to Savannah, because it would have meant Savannah would see Avery tied to a chair and Mellie shooting her father. Which leads to the only possibility, where Savannah believed Eve without any further proof. If you pride yourself on being resourceful and calculated, like Savannah, you would never accept an information like that without proof. Even if you got proof, you would still look to verify further. Everyone says Grayson and Savannah are the same and you cannot like Grayson and dislike Savannah. But think of what Grayson would have done in this situation. He would have looked into it. Tried to find actual proof. Not just believed it like that. And Savannah... didn't. Which means her anger, her beliefs about Avery were unjustified, and it's her fault too, not just Eve's, because she didn't even try to actually dig in and find the truth.

Then, there would be the situation where Eve actually told Savannah the truth and Savannah just blamed Avery, but that would be even worse so let's not talk of it

In conclusion, this are my reasons for slightly disliking Savannah, i hope it makes sense

Thanks for reading it, I'm aware how long it is :)

[d3sertdream3r]

I've been loving trop this season!! I am wondering how the whole SauronxGaladriel thing is going to play out though I'm nervous it won't be very satisfying with everything they've built up and all the marketing hype it's gotten. I'm worried they're baiting shippers to get more people to watch. Thoughts?

Oh boy, I have MANY thoughts!

I am absolutely DEVOURING this season, anon! The first episode in particular really blew me away. As a Saurondriel/Haladriel shipper, I thought all the direct parallels shown in Sauron and Galadriel’s journeys were PERFECT! 

I was worried they were going to retcon Sauron’s genuine feelings of despair and questioning if he should “repent” or not due to the amount of hate and toxicity from the usual suspects on the internet. Instead they really leaned into it, and I loved seeing The Dark Lord having nightmares. It’s a side of him we’ve never seen explored before! And that Annatar reveal… holy moly! Celebrimbor and I were both like: 

Galadriel has been breaking my heart in each episode. Elrond and Gil-Galad need to give my girl a break! Morfydd Clark’s acting is stellar. She is so heartbroken over not recognizing Sauron for who he truly was and even worse… catching feelings for him! She’s really going through it and it hurts, but it’s also brilliant on the writers’ part. 

Everyone else’s acting and stories are great too. Arondir was a favorite of mine last season and continues to be this season. Disa is FANTASTIC and I love her and Durin so much there aren’t any words to describe it. Isildur and Estrid are cute and I’m interested to see how their story plays out. I hardcore ship Elendil and Miriel, and his daughter needs to take a seat before she helps Pharazon destroy their home! I know the story, but MAN was it killing me to see how Eärien is contributing to its downfall in this show (in a good way… I think having her be involved with the opposite side of her father makes for great drama). 

As to the second part of your ask… I have been involved in many online fandoms for about 13 years now, and I gotta say that 98% of the time fans come up with way more interesting storylines than the creators of any show. A lot of the time they just don't deliver. I’ve been burned over and over again, so my bar is pretty low at this point. 

They’ve done a fabulous job with the Saurondriel dynamic so far, and I’ve seen some really interesting fan theories about Galadriel briefly joining Sauron or being taken prisoner by him. As truly fascinating as that would be, I’m not holding my breath. I think it’ll be a rehash of season one’s ending with more violence since they have swords this time around. After that, I’m guessing they’ll focus on Sauron gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing his way to the throne of hell while Galadriel and company work together to stop him. They’ve hinted at Celeborn a bit, I’m sure we’ll see them reunited at some point. 

I’m sorry if this isn’t very reassuring! I wish I could be more optimistic about Saurondriel in season 3, but I honestly don’t think Tolkien’s estate would go for Galadriel falling to the dark side in any capacity. Sauron taking her prisoner could happen, but I highly doubt it simply because as I said before, fans tend to have better ideas than a lot of creators in my opinion.

I could be completely wrong! I have just learned not to trust creators to handle things the BEST way, but that doesn't mean it won't be handled in a GOOD way. Hopefully that makes sense, lol. I think some people will be satisfied and some people won't, just like every other story. The shippy photoshoots and marketing have been delightful! I can't tell if they're baiting until I see the last episode. I think they were just having fun, but some comments from cast and creators would definitely seem a bit baity if the payoff is underwhelming. We'll see!

I really hope the season goes out with a bang and we all have something to love about it; especially Saurondriel shippers!

[wttt-dirus-work]

So, i saw a post with NY headcanons and it reminded me that while i included my own disabled headcanons in my fics, i forgot to make my own headcanons post (?) and i've got more than i though lol

So here we go!

NY: Dude got a bad eye, someday it's normal, other days it get blurred. He also has a scar over it, and his shoulders can get funky when its humid outside.

NJ: some of y'all already knows it, but Jersey got Tourette's. Mostly shoulder jerking, neck twitching, blinking hard and grimacing. When it gets bad his back jerks, and his vocals tics get worse (mostly whistles and pop, tho if hes anxious/stressed he does repeat some words)

Delaware: he got arthritis in his hands, and can hardly move them.

Mass: He was injured during the revolution, and walking became harder for him (limping and his legs became stiffer), then another injury during the civil war made him unable to walk for some days, therefore he use a wheelchair most of the time. He is still able to walk, but it is either too painful, or he doesn't have the energy needed to be able to stand all day.

Connie: he got shaky hands, when he's tired, nervous or angry, he cant hold anything with those. Its his nerves, and it doesnt hurt but its annoying.

Vermont: he got diabetes! Type 1; and it's so fucking expensive that it's Québec his "dealer" (it cost around 98$US when here its around 12$CAN sooo). He also got a sweet tooth, and forget to watch his sugar level (Hampshire there's for it; buddy's wayy to protective to let anything happen to Vermont)

PA: he's dyslexic, and it's mostly Mass who helps him with paperwork when he's not badgering Connie.

Florida: That gremling got Adhd, big dyslexia and his first language is spanish (which doesnt help with the reading). He also got so many scars from disturbing wildlife (anyone has seen that "yoink" dude in the everglades? Yeah thats flo). He got chronic pain in his left knee, and his right wrist always cracks when he moves it.

Louie: french lover is a people pleaser, but the chillest person you'll ever meet. He never panics, and is sometime too calm; but hurt any of the southern state (or Cal) and you're done. He's the voodoo capital, so dont mess with him

Georgia: hes an insomniac, but is fucking sleepy during the day (the math aint mathing ya know). He can sleep anywhere except during the night. He's bud with york and nevada, you can find those three driking in silence during a poker game.

Virginia: (uses they/them) they have a limp on the left leg, who always in pain (low but chronic with some real bad days). They're also a sleepwalker (think Celinaspookyboo style) and Georgia (or one of the insomniac state) each switch to watch them at night.

Montana: deer in headlights when spoken to. Will not talk to anyone when he doesnt have something to say or isnt upset (that sketch with the clown thing? Yeah he talked to them cause he was angry). Dont talk to him, dont even aknowledge him and he'll be more than happy to not exist in your mind. (Hes jealous of alaskas ability to not being seen)

Cal: dudes his always in pain. The fire, the drought, to goldrushes, hes always hurting. He got big scars from the fires, and his skin is the dryest thing ever despite all the moisturizer he uses. When he's burning up his eyes gets cloudy grey; they itch and cry all the time, and he cant see shit. He also need an oxygen mask when its too bad, and his eyes are naturaly gold.

Washington: hes a bitch. Dude got poor circulation too, so his hands and feet are always cold. When it's raining for too long his hair is oily, and when it's a drought it's the driest (he uses dryshampoo and got a routine to fight it).

Oregon : hes gay. Thats a known thing, and he's the bridge between Cal and Wash. Hes nicer to cal than wash, but he's not kind. The west coast are nice in interraction, but they ain't your friends.

Nevada: ah, vada. He got scaring from the nuclear testing, can see in the dark like nobody, and is the only state who can chose to change their physical appearance. Has coloured hair (pink or purple mostly) and the greenest eyes you'll ever see (or purple, didnt made my mind yet). Hes careful with his diet and always exercice despite the painful joins.

Texas: that idiot got sleep apnea but refuses to get checked out for it (and get a CPAP). He also has asthma (geez that word is hard to write) and colorblindness (can't see red). He only wears his shirt cause he knows what the colours are and refused to be pranked about that.

If you wanna adds your own, your welcome to do so! ^^

[skinnypaleangryperson]

This house is full of nothing but consumer cobwebs, and a failed attempts of being able to be seen as a creative and as an individual both on a personal level as well as professionally throughout my life. I can literally feel the spiritual and physical dust and grime going through the books and the celebrities I've crushed on, the creative people that I've admired and have read about ever since high school and now, as a washed-up meaningless nameless 27-year-old that is nothing but internet trash, I've never been more aware about where my journey was going and it feels like my head is imploding constantly wanting to rant and to see that failure in everything, everyone, and in everything set around me. It blows my mind that people just accept the fact that their dreams never come true and that they just live that way. That they don't even some just try to be able to spew out every minute of every day how unhappy they are and how detrimentally spiritually devastating it is. When I was a kid, being a nobody and not being creatively successful was not yet a mark of anything of a lack of character or of anything I had to offer, it was just simply something that I hadn't figured out yet. Now I can't enjoy anything anymore, I see my failure and everything at best, and at worst, I see a lifeline of profound spiritual and physical suffering that is surrounding me from an already terrible unremarkable and a loveless childhood enough as it was where I was told that I could push through it because once I got older, it would "get better", only to realize that those were all just cope adults that couldn't stand the idea that some people are born miserable and unnamed and unseen, and only become increasingly worse until the point of death as they get older.

I'm now just another no name, miserable on Reddit and miserable at work in real life with people who are in the same circumstance who are probably told the same lies for all the same fake and reasons growing up. Some people can handle it more than others but I can't even enjoy anything anymore. I realized today while everybody else was casually enjoying the Oscars in the celebrities in the rich people that are celebrating and knowing each other, that I seem to be one at the very few that is in a genuine state of peer despair over the way that my life is gone and the way that it will continue to go, at best, exactly the same within it's a loveless impossibly robotic mundanity and even abuse on the internet, and worse, to end up dying or alone on the side of the street while everybody else celebrates how special they are, the people that get to run this country, the people that really wanted, the rich people in the celebrities, the ones who own people souls.

This is only a small section of the torment that's in my head everyday, and I'm just waiting for the day when it renders me to a sense of complete dysfunctionality. There's cobwebs in my throat to those cobwebs on the things I used to be able to enjoy before I realized my own true unremarkable dry, profoundly pathetic nothingness in reality, and the way that it's always been on them and the fact that I just didn't have the unfortunate temperature reality to be able to see about what that actually meant, and the delusions that I held and kept close to me that I still do but now just do on a fictional level because I can't stand the burning pain of being a part of reality even on a pair of social relationship way knowing what that means for me if I were to allow myself to.

Nothing helps and nothing will ever change it. And the worst part, is that 98% of the time in this world I feel like I'm experiencing it entirely on my own.

[merkerlerspeaks]

I absolutely hate when people call for people's deaths, tell them to rot in Hell, and other such phrases.

Some girls I went to school with at one point have been arrested and charged with child neglect and murder, because their babies died from negligence. I'll call them Mandy and Alice for this post.

Like I knew these girls growing up. We were friends- not great friends, but friends. I KNOW they would never have wanted to hurt their babies. Heck, Mandy I KNOW was excited for her baby!! Im not sure about Alice, she feels a little more likely to be a bit more negligent but I'm like 98% certain still that she'd never want to kill her infant child.

LIke I know, I KNOW. The babies were innocent and didn't deserve to die. But seeing my old classmates trash talk them over it instead of, I don't know, having some freaking SYMPATHY for parents who could have very likely ACCIDENTALLY MURDERED THEIR BABY would be absolutely freaking lovely. Imagine being a new mom or a new dad and waking up and finding your baby dead, because of something YOU did. Imagine loving your baby with all your heart but you're struggling so much as a new mother and find yourself being the cause of their death. Imagine knowing that the light of your life is dead because you weren't able to be the parent they deserved. Imagine living with that for the rest of your life. Is that not punishment enough? Now imagine it was someone else. Do you, as an outsider, really think that these people need MORE piled onto the already crippling guilt they feel? It is awful when a parent loses a child. Its even worse when a loving parent accidentally kills their child.

Yes I know it's negligence. The baby deserves sympathy moreso than anything or anyone else. And I do not know for sure if this is how things went down for Mandy and Alice. But I knew them, I can make some educated guesses.

Tell me you didn't know Mandy and Alice without telling me you didn't know Mandy and Alice. 'Rot in Hell' my foot. They lost their babies and it's awful and I hope they are able to heal and rest easy knowing that while they may not have had their babies for long, God has them back now and they're now waiting to one day meet their mothers. It's a horrible, awful, negligent, tragic accident when these things happen and I can't NOT have sympathy for the parents and it's genuinely sickening to me to see people talk this way about people who may be aching so deeply inside. You don't know the full story. Granted I don't either, I've just seen mugshots, charges, and news articles. But I do know Alice rushed to get her baby medical attention when she realized there was something wrong. I do know Mandy was excited to have her baby. But even if it was done on purpose, God will handle them accordingly. But if you don't have the full story, especially in cases like these, it is absolutely vile to start trash talking, calling names, calling for their deaths & hoping for them to be hellbound. It's so much more likely that these were accidents and they're hurting at the knowledge that they killed their baby. I hope they're able to heal from that knowledge, find God and know that they can be forgiven. And rest easy knowing that God has their children and they will be able to reunite someday, they'll have a chance to apologize.

Again I know its awful and I can't excuse child death due to negligence. But things like this do not indicate a cruel heart. I knew these girls. They had horrible reputations in school, had horrible home lives, but if you were actually, I don't know, nice to them? They were actual sweethearts. I would be willing to put money on it that they would have never intentionally hurt their babies.

Now the anger at the babies deaths is justified for sure. I understand it. But I can't stop putting myself in their shoes mentally, thinking about it. None of us have the full story and likely never will. Maybe I'm just a little biased because I knew them more as people than just as a negative reputation. Or maybe Im seeing the possibilities for accidents & just general lack of support & education on infant care because I actually knew them. It doesn't justify the things that happened leading to the babies deaths, but I also know that when you have unintentionally done something horrible, there is NO ONE that can make you feel worse than how you make yourself feel about it.

Ugh. Idk I just wish people wouldn't just jump the gun based off of a mug shot, a headline, you DON'T know the whole story. And some of the people saying these horrible things are supposedly Christians. Maybe they are. But calling for the death of a sinner isn't very Christ-like, is it?

[cliq-geo]

Community in Crisis: Melee's Digital Divide

Hi all, it's been a while. This is another blog post with the potential to spiral into a rambling mess. I will do my best to rein it in.

My main idea is this: Melee is changing for the worse. For the longest time I wondered if my aversion to this change was a natural instinctive rejection of what's new and different ("being a boomer") or if there was actually something substantive to my vague negative feelings. I am thinking about it in less vague ways now and I'd appreciate if you heard me out.

Here's the thing about Melee: it's old. It's almost older than me. The community is older than me being sentient. I'm a '98 baby, doc kid, veteran TO, and tenured community member, and yet at ten years in I still haven't been around for more than half of the game's existence. I've been involved in two of Melee's biggest scenes (SoCal and Washington) and I've seen a lot of players move through that revolving door. The community has been through a lot of changes over the years, and there have definitely been generational vibe changes throughout the community's many eras. However, I believe that since COVID shook the world and permanently rearranged society, the cultural shift in Melee has been larger than anything we'd seen in the 19 years of Melee prior. I believe this is because every single aspect of day to day life switched to online as the primary mode, which is very bad. I will get back to that in a bit. First, let's talk about the before times.

If you asked players in 2019 what set Melee, Smash, or even the FGC apart from other games, you would without a doubt hear "We gotta play in person" as the response. As online game connectivity surged through the 2010s, fighting games remained as the final bastion of LAN gaming culture. We commonly held the belief that playing in person bred fiercer yet more respectful competition. We believed sitting next to your opponent and shaking their hand brought about humility and good sportsmanship. Fighting game events were not only places you could compete, but also thriving social scenes where people met and shared lifelong friendships. We formed local identities and rivalries with adjacent scenes. When we competed internationally there was more pride on the line than money. The list of reasons community members might name goes on and on but the point is: Melee players really liked going to tournaments. There's something unique about Melee. It was originally played on the GameCube, a revolutionary and competitive console that somehow was Nintendo's only commercial failure. The game itself is part of one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. It was a best-seller, yet it's often treated as the forgotten middle child. No other games in the series play like it. No other game in the world does, for that matter, despite many imitators. Regardless whether you joined the community in 2006 or 2025 this aspect of the game is understood. There is an aspect that is no longer understood by all newcomers, though: Melee is a game that lives on through its community. As a part of the community you are a part of that legacy. By going out of your way to assemble a GameCube, Melee disk, memory card, controllers, a CRT, and setting them up in a room in your house so that others could come play, your effort was rewarded by something greater than yourself living through you. Melee is every smile ever shared at a tournament. It is every groan after losing a stock. It is every sleepless night and every bead of sweat on foreheads of major TO's trying to figure out how to turn months of work into a weekend thousands will never forget. It is a story of resilience and hope. When new players joined in, they were handed a pen, and they knew that they were writing for more than just themselves. It was more than just a vehicle for personal success. We were sick because Melee was sick. We had fun because Melee was fun. If outsiders didn't get it we didn't care. Everything we did, we did for Melee. People came and went, the faces at events changed, but Melee remained something that lived on in the hearts of everyone in the community. Before I get too wrapped up in how much I care about that, I'll get to the point. I think that the events of 2020, Twitter, and Discord, are slowly but surely diminishing what Melee had always been prior.

So far I've only spoken to what is largely agreed upon to be true. I doubt anyone would object to my romantic musings about Melee, it's the type of shit we all love. But I'm going to enter the nitty gritty here. I'm going to sound like a hater. I will try to step wisely but there's no way to go about this without potentially insulting anyone. That's not my intention, but I've accepted it as a possibility.

The problem with Melee is the problem with everything now. When COVID pushed everything to the internet, shit got weird fast. All of us crafted new identities in digital spaces. Our outward facing personas and our online ones started to blur. I believe everyone has a story to tell about how this process negatively affected them. Melee is not so different. As anyone reading this knows, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fizzi blessed the Melee community with a gift. Melee with rollback netcode meant that even in quarantine we could still play the game we love from a distance. There was even an unranked queue where you could match with randoms with similar MMR and low ping. Eventually they debuted Ranked, with leaderboards and a whole new UI. Overnight, while our community struggled with missing our collective pastime, Melee became a full-fledged online game. This was more than just serviceable, it was revolutionary. But did Melee really need a revolution? Before COVID it was bigger than ever despite being somewhat inaccessible. We can now go back to in-person tournaments. Things were supposed to return to normal but that was always impossible. Every single aspect of human life is permanently changed. Because the story of Melee is a story of human lives, it is no exception.

When I ask people who have played the game a long time how they feel about Slippi, it is usually neutral to bad. People say it's too sweaty, it's no fun when you can't see the person you're playing. It's cold. Some see it as only a practice tool. Others see it as something wretched they would like to avoid. But here's the problem: it is currently the most accessible way to play Melee, bar none. For the first 18 years of Melee it didn't matter how you discovered the Smash community, your initiation to the game was in person. You experienced human faces, CRTs, laughter, the timeless charm of Melee on full display. This is what hooked everyone in. A lot of people who joined the scene in the last 5 years started with Slippi. They were recommended a YouTube video about Hungrybox or heard Ludwig talk about it on stream. Upon googling "smash melee" they found Slippi and decided to give it a try. This is sick and cool. I love that new people have come to the scene through new means. However, I can't help but wonder what it will look like when the entire community's initial experience of Melee was sweaty, no fun, or cold. They couldn't connect emotionally with their opponent for one second and this was of little to no consequence to them. What sort of community will that be? How many people were looking for community but instead found dead discord servers or weird twitter arguments about bigotry and hate? If they had any sense at all, they would move on and continue searching. Those that stick around might come into things with negative ideas and perceptions that pose a risk to what I can only describe in limited zoomer speak as "the vibes." They may perhaps only view Melee as a vehicle for personal success. Or consider themselves insiders and contributing to online discourse despite never attending an event. These attitudes are not ones I personally believe will best carry on Melee's legacy.

In many cases competition can bring out the worst in people. Online games can take this to extremes. Melee escaped this for so long by being one of the exceptions. It has always been more than just a competition. That "more" is the glue that has held it all together for so long. It is the foundation upon which something truly wonderful is built. If Melee was just inputs, frame data, damage, and stocks, it would have died long ago. When you have winners and losers you have a story, but when you have a crowd you have a collective experience. The inherent value of Melee was never what any individual gained or lost. It was what we all shared. I'll say it. Our community once wore its heart on its sleeve. The face of Melee, the first point of contact, was genuine. Its heart still beats but the heart of Melee is the collective heart of its players. In an age where our faces are cold digital facsimiles, we are more at risk than ever before of losing something beautiful for future generations by hiding it behind a mask.

I think there will always be more I could say about this, but I won't risk making this any longer. My views are laid as clearly as I can state them. If you got this far, thanks! If you agree, you're welcome to commiserate with me and even more welcome to help me brainstorm a better way forward. If you don't agree with me, you can let me know why. I can't promise I'll change my mind, especially if your first tournament was in the 2020s or your favorite player is Hbox, but I promise I will always listen. Take care.

[millenari]

Munkustrap for the ask game? 🥺

1. Canon I outright reject

I CANNOT find the post but there's this one Jack Rebaldi interview where he mentions something about how 'no one likes Munkustrap because he's the leader and nobody really likes the guy always giving you orders' and as much as I love Jack Rebaldi's Munk I just don't agree with that interpretation. Everybody loves Munk. To Me.

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

On the flip side of Munk actor interviews, Michael Gruber saying

'[Munk is] entrusted with giving the information to the other, maybe younger cats who have not been to the Jellicle Ball before. He gets up and says exactly what they're here to do. He's also caretaker of the kittens. He wants to make sure everybody's safe; in all the Macavity scares, he's there to protect the tribe. So he is the protector'

about Munk is really fundamental for me and how I see Munk, Munk's role in the tribe, and Munk's role in the story.

3. Obscure headcanon

His owner is an old unmarried lady who lives in an apartment by herself; she calls him Felix and he feels responsible for her bc she 'has no colony'.

4. Favorite line

Michael Gruber's American-ass delivery of 'or hairier' in Pekes is my favorite comedy moment in any and all versions of Cats I've seen, it gets me every time.

5. Best personality trait

He cares, deeply and personally, about pretty much everyone, and never hesitates to put himself out there to assist if someone needs it. He's a natural leader and a quick decision maker even under pressure, but he's still patient and compassionate with everyone he meets-- even when he's stressed or angry, he still makes efforts to be kind.

6. Worst personality trait

Munk physically cannot remove himself from a situation if he thinks he's needed, even if he's actively making it worse. He also is one of those people who refuses to let people just vent at him and tries to solve everyone's problems even if they don't want a solution to their problem.

7. Age/height/weight headcanon

Munk is shorter than Tugger but significantly stronger than him, so he can just scoop Tugger up in a fireman's carry and remove him from a situation if he's being annoying.

8. Unpopular opinion about them

Honestly I think I'm even more normie about Munk than about Tugger. I don't think I have any truly unpopular hot takes about him.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

I do love his part of Jenny's song-- the way he's singing directly to the kittens on the ground, and his section of the song has this lullaby feeling to it that's just so calming and tender. I really love how for that song it's a duet (sort of) between a young dude and an older lady, but the older lady gets the snappy upbeat part and the younger dude gets the slow & sweet part. It really just establishes Munk as this soft and nurturing figure from the beginning.

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)

Bway revival Macavity fight imo. It's just so damn good.

11. Faceclaim for the role

Michael Gruber is rlly my Munk, even the unique shape of his wig in 98 sticks out to me as a Fundamental Munk Thing™.

In human aus he's kind of this lighter-skinned 'racially ambiguous' kind of guy with dark hair, smile lines, a little bit of stubble, and a frequently worn sweater vest.

12. Crack headcanon

I feel like his human version would be a Beyonce fan, but like in the cringiest middle-aged-dad way possible.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

Munk's always been a pretty level-headed and mature guy, even when he was young, so there isn't much that he's done that I can label as 'stupid' except perhaps jumping into dangerous situations to protect someone without considering his own safety first. My hc for how Plato joined the Junkyard starts with Munk running straight into traffic on a busy street bc he saw baby Plato abandoned between two lanes and petrified from fear.

Random ass kitten Munk had never seen before in his life, and he charged right into mortal danger without a second's thought about it. Brave, but also stupid.

14. Most heroic moment

Munk's doing heroic shit all the time. My previous answer is actually a good example, plus, you know, he's tangled with Macavity more than once.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done

Munkustrap Has Never Done Anything Wrong, Ever, In His Entire Life.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

I don't know if this is 'never admit to himself' levels but Munk wonders a lot if he shares some blame for how Macavity ended up. He and Mac grew up together, and while he always knew his older brother had a temper, he really and truly thought Mac was just rough around the edges, and that he really did care about Munk and the rest of the tribe deep down. But when Macavity betrayed the tribe and started doing Evil Deeds, Munk was left wondering if Macavity had always been rotten deep down, and hid it from all of them for all those years, or if he'd just.... snapped somehow, from the pressure of being Deuteronomy's heir, or something, and maybe there was something Munk could have done to help him before things got too bad.

As is, Munk may never know.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

18. What they’d go to see a therapist about

Stress & setting too-high standards for himself, probably.

19. Vices/bad habits

Never resting, for one. He basically never gets enough sleep. It's funny, in my human aus both Tugger and Mac suffer from insomnia, but Munk is oftentimes just as sleep deprived as those two despite being the only Deut bro without insomnia, just because he's always doing things. That man is responding to his work emails at 1:24AM for no goddamn reason.

20. Scars

He's got plenty of scars, most of them not huge, but he's been in all sorts of fights and even if asked he wouldn't even be able to identify how or when he got them.

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)

I think he drinks wine in one scene in my human/celeb/soulmate fic, otherwise he's a real coffee man.

22. Best physical feature

I don't know what other cats would consider his best feature! By cat standards Munk is a handsome dude, but kind of in a normal, average way. Just, you know, a handsome guy you'd see on the street. Honestly I think his general vibes are his most attractive trait, though that's not physical. But nobody in all the world can look at a large muscular man being sweet and cute and patient with little kids and go 'nah 3/10 for me'.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like?

I'm thinking like... forest or campfire or something like that.

24. Most annoying habit

Asking someone to complete a task for him and then changing his mind and completing it himself before they can get to it.

25. 3 things they’d want to take with them if they were dropped off in the middle of nowhere

Again I need more details for this question but a book for sure regardless.

26. What they would do if stuck in an elevator with [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

Munk I think is a pretty boring character as far as getting-stuck-in-an-elevator shenanigans go. Except for Macavity, that would probably be interesting. Anyone else would probably just be the two trying to escape together and then rock paper scissors for the next six hours.

27. Their guilty pleasure

Human Munk probably has a variety of snackies he considers guilty pleasures, like special chocolates or whatever. Cat Munk would probably say it's 'oh sometimes I go off somewhere in the Junkyard by myself and just sit for a while and enjoy the silence' and the person he's talking to is like THATS NOT A GUILTY PLEASURE THATS JUST KEEPING YOURSELF SANE

28. How they feel about [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

I headcanon Jemima as being Bomba and Macavity's daughter, though this is a fact Bomba very much keeps to herself-- she's only admitted it to two people and Munk is not one of them. However Munk.... has eyes & he's perfectly aware of who Jemima's father is, though he's never gotten Bomba to actually admit it. This kind of creates a. .. . not 'weird' relationship, but a kind-of sad one, because Munkustrap knows he's this delightful little girl's uncle but she doesn't know it in return, and her finding out will probably be more devastating than anything, because it would come with the knowledge of who her father is.

So Munk just kind of has to treat Jemima just like he does the rest of the kittens and keep the knowledge of their relationship to himself, though he's always wanted a big family.

29. Eating habits

Munk is a Deuteronomy, so in both cat and human aus he can eat for fucking forever. Human Munk likes to cook and bake as well, and he and Demeter make their dinner together every afternoon, and very rarely order takeout.

30. Sleeping habits

Whoops, I already talked about this. He doesn't sleep as much as he should, but he sleeps soundly whenever he does get around to putting his head down.

31. If the had a tumblr what would it look like?

Probably politics. Plus some pictures or art or such that he finds interesting.

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh

Kittens being cute will very easily get a smile out of him, though he doesn't laugh-laugh terribly often. One thing people don't know about him is that Tugger suffering something that he 1000% brought upon himself absolutely will get an evil grin or two out of Munk.

33. Something guaranteed to make them cry

Just like Tugger's answer, Deuteronomy's death. Munk's not a big crier I don't think, but when he does cry he's usually pretty quiet.

34. How they react when they are feeling X emotion (sad, angry, excited, scared, etc.—can specify as many as you like)

Most of these I think would result in Munk throwing himself into his work with vigor to get his mind off of the Bad Feelings. Munk's not quick to anger but he is quick to calm down after an outburst, and his excitement is usually going to be expressed through singing or dancing.

35. Their idea of a perfect day

This man will honestly be like 'yeah the perfect day would be a bunch of relaxation with my tribemates watching the kittens play and so on and so forth' and then refuse to stop working for ten minutes to make it happen.

36. Their favorite season

Late winter/early spring, the time of the Jellicle Ball and the incoming of the warm season.

37. What they really think about themselves

Munk struggles a lot wondering if he makes the right decisions as a leader and measures himself up to Deuteronomy all the time. He really wishes he could do more even though he's already always busy, and worries a lot whether the trust that the tribe places in him is justified.

38. Favorite holiday

Christmas bitch. Probably also a thanksgiving bitch as well.

39. Favorite game

He probably likes Monopoly. Like an insane person.

40. Favorite book

I imagine he likes reading but I'm not sure what I would say is his favorite book! He probably likes books about history and such a lot, and the occasional historical fiction.

41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be?

Probably his mother, whom he doesn't remember well.

42. 3 comfort items

UHH for human aus: he loves the old scrapbooks from when he and his brothers were kids, his favorite flannel jacket, and uh........ does his wife count as a comfort item,,,,

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise

You KNOW Munk has got to be a steak guy. Unlike Tugger he can probably enjoy a good salad, and box mac and cheese is probably one of those things he whips up every once in a while for childhood nostalgia reasons. There probably aren't a ton of foods Munk even dislikes, much less despises.

44. Their happiest memory

Like I mentioned before, this question is hard for me. I hc that he and Demeter have triplets at some point after the events of the musical, so maybe when they were born.

45. Their favorite celebrity

He seems like the type of guy to like Elvis, idk why.

46. The person they most admire

Deuteronomy. I feel like that one is easy lmao

47. Their dream job

I don't think he really had big career aspirations, more of a family man.

48. Scariest moment of their life

Probably when Macavity betrayed the tribe.

49. Favorite toy as a child

He seems like a stuffed elephant kind of guy. Or maybe his collection of the little green plastic army men.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

I don't think he really has any memories he's consciously or subconsciously blocked out. There are things he tries not to think about or remember, but not on the level of fully blocking anything from his head.

[tri-punisher]

The fandom is already fucking up with Razlo so badly. I legit saw a zombie au someone drew, where Livio was a human and Razlo was his dog. And they keep drawing them like weird skinny little wraiths because terminal Stampede-brain. They have the worst media literacy too, I swear. I saw one Stampede fan the other day say they don't like that Legato "isn't loyal" in 98 because he forces Vash to kill him, and that's apparently out of character. It's like, Stampede has so little characterisation that they have to get all their ideas about the characters from bad Fanfics, and I guess in stampede fanfic land Legato is a gentle lil fella who would never fuck with Vash because Knives wuvs him or some bullshit.

Watch Razlo turn out to be intentionally made as an experiment and be pure evil or some Orange bullshit. I'm totally prepared for an overwrought "this isn't who you are Livio, come back to us" scene.

jesus fuckihng christ i could feel my face just scrunch up in disgust when i read "and razlo was his dog" what the HELLLLLLLLLLLLL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE COME THE FUCK ONNNNNNNNNN it's bad enough you make the deliberate decision to erase any instance of livio having a dissociative disorder (which is something already heavily stigmatised and misrepresented!!!) by separating him and razlo completely--which i have seen myself multiple times now, and relatedly i've seen people remove vash's prosthesis in so-called "modern" AUs too, sooooo great that in your little cutsey uwu AUs the disabilities and disorders a character has miraculously disappear!!!!!!) but then you can't even dignify razlo by making him a human, he has to be livio's DOG??? A FUCKING DOG??????? is the presence of a character having a dissociative disorder really that much of a fucking mystery to you that the only way you can comprehend it is when it just doesn't exist at all??????

I'M BETTING ON RAZLO TURNING OUT THAT WAY I TELL YOU MAN. unless they lift his deal whole cloth straight from the manga but atp that doesn't seem very likely at all. he will not be dignified he will not be his own person with his own flaws and complexities he will just be some fucking construct that the eye is using to control livio that vash and the others fight once when livio decides to betray the eye and then it's over, u never fucking see him again. i would gladly eat my words if this doesn't turn out to be the case but orange has given me zero reason to believe that razlo will be treated with even the bare minimum of respect. the bar is ON the fucking GROUND !!!!!!!

only thing worse than that that i can imagine is that one flashback frame of razlo that appears for like 2 seconds is in there only as an easter egg for manga fans and.. that's it. that's the extent of razlo's appearance in tri.stamp. though i don't know, personally i would rather him be totally excluded than treated as just some fucking prop, some evil that livio has to "overcome" and not an actual character at all. Patoohey

[metalgearsolidexclamationpoint]

After 125 hours I consider myself well enough prepared to begin Horizon: Forbidden West: New Game +: Ultra Hard. I’ve got a little bit of the completionist in me, so one damn trophy still locked is going to torture me forever. Horizon: Zero Dawn, you ask? Well, at some point I guess I lost interest because I never even finished the DLC. So there: having 67% trophy completion or whatever is fine! But having 98% will kill me.

Truth be told, UH is not the last trophy on my list. I have yet to beat 2 Machine Strike players (why must games develop their own little versions of chess then demand I learn to play them?) or the Enduring (why must games develop their own little versions of melee combos then refuse to acknowledge the button presses?). I have also found only one Delvers’ Trove, killed zero enemies while gliding (another combat mechanism that doesn’t fucking work), and have two more colors and five more NG+ face paints to unlock (but that will take care of itself via UH). More than anything, this is a test: if UH is a colossal, impossible pain in the ass immediately, then it’s not worth it. Despite the aforementioned 125 hours, I do have a full-time job and a spouse and a dog and the responsibilities those entail. But if I simply need a little more combat strategy and patience for stealth mode, then I’ll go for it.

UH is always a strange beast. Sometimes it’s “enemies take less damage, you take more,” which is generally boring and not worth the time. Sometimes it’s “enemies take an incredible amount of damage and you can easily learn how to dodge/defend long enough to have the whole thing devolve into a tedious stalemate,” which is worse. Now that we are in the ninth generation of consoles, I expect cleverer AI to be the cornerstone of UH difficulty. But I also expect the game to acknowledge that, if I’ve put 125 hours of gameplay into it, and I’ve taken the time and effort to upgrade the legendary weapons it was already a time and effort commitment to acquire, then it shouldn’t be impossible. Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Dragon Age: Inquisition all have very fair UH equivalents — if you have put in the time, they’re truly not that hard. (They don’t have carry forward mechanisms the way Horizon does, so it’s more a matter of knowing how to optimize your play and immediately find or craft the best weapons for your playstyle rather than upgrade and stockpile.)

Took a break, ate some ice cream, walked the dog, and commenced UH; subsequently plowed through To the Brink, The Embassy, and half of Death's Door. So far it has not been so difficult it's put me off. In fact, I kind of like it. Got a bit of a rude awakening from some scroungers when I learned that shooting their resource pouch and their butt radar or whatever wasn't enough to immediately kill them like it is in Normal. Maybe I've never noticed their attack patterns before because I usually kill them too quickly, but they seemed to have more acrobatics and quicker recovery time when chaining attacks. The bristlebacks also seemed a little quicker and changed up their attacks more often. I know I've seen "charging with a giant log in their tusks" before, but I saw it several times in the few battles I fought in the first hour of UH.

The Embassy was much easier than I expected. The rebels seemed to circle on their mounts for a set period of time, and though I took potshots at them with my fire arrows, they didn't really retaliate. I've also enjoyed berserking machines so I can just hide and pick them off at my leisure. The duel with Grudda wasn't very hard -- I used the valor surge for super-powered melee combat -- although I did get thrown off the cliff, wasted a third of the valor surge trying to get back up while the game warned me I had left the quest area, and didn't manage to get off a single resonator blast either. Still, my OP valor surge did a lot of the heavy lifting (and knocked all his armor off), so I set him on fire a few times after that. Oh yeah, no health bars is killing me!

I'm currently strolling around the Latopolis facility, smug in the knowledge that I can just cruise underwater to avoid Specters for the whole mission… nursing some carpal tunnel…

[legion1227]

Every Movie Watched in 2023: Ranked.

Unlike my previous ranked lists of TV, music, and games, I'm gonna try and wrap this up in one sentence thoughts of all the 117 films I watched this year.

117. Norbit. 0.5/5.

Eddie Murphy plays a nerd, an obese woman, and an Asian character, it's painfully unfunny.

116. Due Date. 1/5.

Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis are terrible people with terrible chemistry in this unfunny 2010 comedy.

115. Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey. 1/5.

Besides some decent gore, there's nothing this movie has going on.

114. Clash Of The Titans. 1/5.

Another despairing entry from 2010 enters the fray as Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes fail as portrayals of Zeus and Hades on every level.

113. The Third Saturday in October Part 5. 1/5.

Arguably in the so bad its good territory, but it annoyed me still.

112. Old Dads- 1.5/5.

Old man Bill Burr yells at cloud.

111. Hidden Strike. 1.5/5.

The novelty of Jackie Chan and John Cena on screen together is nowhere near good enough to carry the film.

110. Fast and The Furious- 1.5/5.

The first movie is shockingly more dull than I remembered as a youth.

109. Dark Shadows. 2/5.

The least engaging vampire film I've seen in a long time.

108. Justice League: Warworld. 2/5.

Imagine taking the anthology approach with variants of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman and your movie still sucks.

107. The People We Hate At The Wedding- 2/5.

Ben Platt, you will pay for your crimes.

106. Shotgun Wedding-.2/5.

Another disappointing wedding movie but this one had Jennifer Coolidge so it's slightly better.

105. Vacation Friends 2. 2/5.

Between this and Hidden Strike, this might not have been John Cena's best year, I'm afraid.

104. Shazam: Fury of The Gods. 2/5.

Maybe it's a good thing the DCEU is dead.

103. The Killer. 2/5.

Not bad on a technical level, but not what I was expecting.

102. Five Nights At Freddy's. 2/5.

Either be menacing or be goofy, pick a lane, FNAF!

101. Top Gun. 2/5.

Besides homoerotic undertones, I can barely recall the film.

100. In The Shadow of the Moon. 2.5/5.

A Philadelphia police offers spends their whole life trying to track down this killer and I promise you I cannot remember the plot twist.

99. Police Academy. 2.5/5.

The guy that makes sound effects with his mouth is a beast, I cannot front.

98. White Men Can't Jump (2023). 2.5/5.

Jack Harlow and Sinqua Walls will never be Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.

97. Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham. 2.5/5.

Batman in the 1920s is fine...I guess?

96. Adult Swim's Yule Log. 2.5/5

Serial killers and aliens and possessed fire logs...there's too much going on.

95. Fractured. 2.5/5

Shutter Island but worse.

94. A Man Called Otto. 2.5/5

Not enough redemption for me to not still think of Otto as an asshole.

93. The Little Mermaid (2023). 2.5/5.

I like Hailie Bailey but the rest of this cast...mm.

92. Final Destination 3. 2.5/5.

Easily my least favorite of the Final Destination franchise.

91. Champions. 2.5/5.

Woody Harrelson coaching a special needs Basketball team has its moments.

90. Extraction 2. 2.5/5.

Didn't see the first one, but the fight scenes here were enough to carry the film at least this high.

89. The Flash. 2.5/5.

Warner Bros banked everything on a movie that harbors a scene that basically parades around long-dead actors in disgusting CGI.

88. Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead. 2.5/5.

Not sure how this holds to the anime or manga, but on its own it's fine I suppose.

87. Mars Attacks. 2.5/5.

A deeply bizarre film but some fun moments here and there.

86. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. 2.5/5.

Weakest Conjuring movie so far and it's not really close.

85. Barnyard. 2.5/5.

I liked this movie a lot more as a kid, but I respect it still as an oddity.

84. The Grinch (2018). 2.5/5.

One of the Christmas movies of all time.

83. Infinity Pool 2.5/5.

Deeply disturbing Nipple scene, I cannot.

82. Theater Camp. 3/5

Great cast, but need better material.

81. Renfield. 3/5.

No one matches the greatness of Nicolas Cage as Dracula.

80. Trilogy of Terror. 3/5.

The last story, "Amelia" is the most terror-fueled of the three stories.

79. Final Destination 4. 3/5.

One, it should've been called FD4 instead of "The Final Destination" because that's too confusing, and two, it has the weakest opening death scene of the bunch.

78. Private Parts. 3/5.

Howard Stern's rise to the top is mildly entertaining.

77. Blue Beetle. 3/5.

I like it when George Lopez gets work.

76. Kick-Ass 3/5.

No pun intended, but the fight scenes are pretty kick-ass.

75. Tetris. 3/5.

The second the guy stepped foot in Russia I sorta clocked out mentally.

74. No Hard Feelings. 3/5.

Jennifer Lawrence beating up teens while naked makes her an icon.

73. Totally Killer. 3/5.

A slasher mixed with time travel elements contributes to a fun film.

72. The Woman King. 3/5.

Powerful cast, but the subject matter didn't move me as much as I wanted it to.

71. Strange World. 3/5.

Nowhere near Disney's best, but it's got its moments.

70. Prometheus. 3/5.

I like how it's a prequel to the Alien movies.

69. Mission Impossible. 3/5.

The very first one feels tame, but I'm hoping the rest get more over the top as I try and go through them.

68. Dungeons & Dragons. 3/5.

I'm not into D&D, the game, but the movie was decent.

67. Insidious. 3/5.

Patrick Wilson was better in this than in Conjuring three. Wild.

66. The Last Voyage of the Demeter. 3/5.

It has its moments, but a vampire picking off shipmates drags too much, surprisingly.

65. The Boys of St. Vincent. 3/5.

This movie is why I don't fuck with the Catholic Church and why I make fun of them.

64. Rashomon. 3/5.

Classic movie involving an unreliable narrator trope, but I have a hard time feeling movies that came out before 1970.

63. Seven Kings Must Die. 3/5.

The movie sendoff for the show, The Last Kingdom, is better than the show's last three seasons.

62. Drunken Master. 3/5.

It has some nice fight choreography, but Jackie Chan has a better kung fu flick.

61. Stephen King's Cat's Eye. 3.5/5.

A better version of the Trilogy of Terror with better stories.

60. Silver Linings Playbook. 3.5/5.

Romcom with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradly Cooper is more devastating than funny.

59. You People. 3.5/5.

Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill are a fine duo for most of the film.

58. Cocaine Bear. 3.5/5.

Fun, but I was hoping for it to be more chaotic than it was.

57. Antman & The Wasp: Quantumania. 3.5/5.

Yes, its flawed in many ways, but I don't care cause I like how ugly MODOK looks and Paul Rudd.

56. Terrifier. 3.5/5.

Murderous clown rampage made some good content for a little bit.

55. The Blackening. 3.5/5.

A really funny take on the horror genre and black people in horror films.

54. Loaded Weapon 1. 3.5/5.

A parody film reminiscent of The Naked Gun or Scary movie franchise in some ways and I love that.

53. Lethal Weapon 1. 3.5/5.

Loaded Weapon 1 working off of a classic like this makes sense to me.

52. Don't Breathe 2. 3.5/5.

As someone who didn't see the first one, but ended up seeing this, I think there's some enjoyment in seeing a blind old man harm bad guys.

51. A Disturbance In The Force. 3.5/5.

A documentary about the horrid Star Wars Christmas special is honestly enlightening.

50. Nimona. 3.5/5.

Adequate animation coupled with likable leads give a good time for animation fans.

49. Rise of The Planet of The Apes. 3.5/5.

Caesar yelling "NO" gave me chills, bruh.

48. Stephen King's IT (1990). 3.5/5.

Tim Curry's Pennywise will forever be iconic.

47. Asteroid City. 3.5/5.

For a first ever viewing of a Wes Anderson film, it was a bit confusing at times, but fascinating nonetheless.

46. M3GAN. 3.5/5.

M3GAN was serving the entire time.

45. Kung Fu Panda 3. 3.5/5.

The weakest of the KFP movies, but still has a good main villain.

44. Fearless Hyena. 3.5/5.

This is the other better Jackie Chan movie I was talking about.

43. Elemental. 3.5/5.

The best love story ever told...not really, but it's cute.

42. Tangled. 3.5/5.

Also cute, but I can't look past the age gap.

41. X. 3.5/5.

Mia Goth was serving as well in this horror prequel to Pearl.

40. A.I. 3.5/5.

Very ambitious Spielberg project with tinge of creepiness that I'm unsure if it was intentional or not.

39. Violet Evergarden: The Movie. 3.5/5.

Gorgeous animation, likeable characters, HUGE problem with that age gap.

38. We The Animals. 3.5/5.

Based on a true story, I feel for the plight of these young boys.

37. Jackass Forever. 3.5/5.

Idiots doing dangerous stunts even in their older age remains idiotic fun.

36. Interview With A Vampire. 3.5/5.

Leagues above Dark Shadows as a vampire movie.

35. The Super Mario Bros Movie. 3.5/5.

Lovely animation and a fun take on the Mario franchise in spite of underwhelming voice performances from some, but not all.

34. Final Destination. 3.5/5.

The first one set a pretty high bar to top in its franchise.

33. Suzume. 3.5/5.

It's a good time, but there are opportunities not taken here that infuriate me.

32. Final Destination 2. 3.5/5.

The first scene on the highway is the best scene of anything the franchise provided.

31. The Princess Bride. 3.5/5.

Oh my god, I miss Andre The Giant.

30. Scream 6. 3.5/5.

There is a reason this franchise is arguably the king of the slashers.

29. Juice. 3.5/5.

Oh my GOD I miss Tupac TOO.

28. Knock at The Cabin. 3.5/5.

The classic Shyamalan twist is predictable, but it's still a pretty entertaining movie.

27. SISU. 3.5/5.

Soldier is intent on not letting Nazis take his gold and goddammit I GOTTA respect it.

26. Missing. 3/5.

Maybe the most fun of those kinds of thriller screenlife-type movies.

25. Atlantis: The Lost Empire. 3.5/5.

An underrated Disney classic I wish I saw sooner.

24. The Princess and The Frog. 3.5/5.

Dr. Facilier is one of Disney's coolest villains and his song is one of my favorites ever.

23. Beau is Afraid. 3.5/5.

Did NOT need to be 3 hours, but it definitely wasn't boring.

22. Alienoid. 4/5.

Time Travelling shenanigans lead to unbelievable fun adventure.

21. Venture Bros: Radiant Is the blood of the Baboon heart. 4/5

A beautiful, possible, send off to an underrated Adult Swim TV show.

20. Call. 4/5.

More time travelling shenanigans involved that I like for the most part until the dark ending.

19. One Piece Film: Red. 4/5.

I love One Piece to bits and this film satisfied me immensely as a One Piece fan.

18. Air. 4/5.

Better version of the Tetris movie.

17. Dredd. 4/5.

I respect that Karl Urban never once took off the helmet.

16. Evil Dead Rise. 4/5.

Bloodiest, goriest spectacle that's a triumph.

15. Edge of Tomorrow. 4/5.

In spite of Tom Cruise's flaws, damn if he isn't a movie star.

14. Fargo. 4/5.

Watching all the seasons of the show before seeing the film is really eye-opening to see where the seasons got their influence from.

13. High Fidelity. 4/5.

I could listen to the guys in the film talk about music all day.

12. Fahrenheit 11/9. 4/5.

I got so mad watching this documentary.

11. Speed. 4/5.

Everything on the bus to "Pop Quiz Hot shot" is pure cinema.

10. Oppenheimer. 4/5.

Human meditation on one of the most devastating acts pulled off in human history makes for troubling watch.

9. They Cloned Tyrone. 4/5.

Tyrone gets cloned and its sublime.

8. Another Round. 4/5.

A simplistic premise of seeing how far the human body can indulge while still working is so damn good.

7. Barbie. 4/5.

Not only is its message thought-provoking but it's funny as hell.

6. The Menu. 4/5.

Between this and The Bear, this was a good year for me and cooking-related media I watched.

5. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. 4/5.

Stunning animation, and two excellent antagonists help lend to a stellar animated film.

4. Prisoners. 4/5.

Hugh Jackman losing his shit makes for compelling watch.

3. John Wick 4. 4.5/5.

Action so good I could watch this forever.

2. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. 4.5/5.

If it was like ten minutes longer, it would be at my number one.

Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3. 4.5/5. I almost cried over a CGI raccoon, you bet your ass its my movie of the year.

[charmed-asylum]

PROMPT THE BREAKS Prompt List: (starter kit)

Remember you can choose as many as you want or even pick from other places just remember to add on to your story and tell me.

1. "Come over here and make me."

2. "Wait a minute. Are you jealous?"

3. "| almost lost you.?

4. “Wanna bet?"

5. "Don't you ever do that again!"

6. "Kiss me.?"

7. "It could be worse.?

8. *Looks like we'll be trapped for a while..

9. "You need to wake up because I can't do this without you."

10. "I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice."

11. "Just once."

12. "I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified."

13. "If you keep looking at me like that we won't make it to a bed."

14. "You heard me. Take. It. Off.?

15. "You fainted.…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes.

16. "You did all of this for me?"

17. "| swear it was an accident."

18. "YOU DID WHAT?!"

19. “If you die, I'm gonna kill you.”

20. "It's hard to get used to.. «what is?" "Being someone that someone cares for.."

21. "The first time you smiled it felt like the universe aligned."

22. "It hurts..." "What?" «Loving someone who doesn't love you..

23. "Let me do this, please."

24. you're not as funny as you think you are

28. I'm just getting comfy

29. just because you can doesn't mean you should

33. you are such a nerd

34. why are you so cold?

35. stop laughing at me

37. you're ticklish

38. can we go home yet?

39. you are a terrible influence

40. one of us is clearly smarter than the other

41. you need some sleep

42. how have you survived this long by yourself?

43. are you just quoting song lyrics?

44. sleep is for the weak

45. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

46. "What? I have never-"

47. "I do not have an answer for you.

48. "In my defense, I really wanted to."

49. "At least I didn't break any laws."

50. "What did you do this time?"

51. "How do we get out?

52. "I don't hate you."

53. "Don't call me that."

54. "Just marry me already."

55. "Did I stutter?"

56. "Did I just say that out loud?'

57. "H-How long have you been standing there?"

58. "I've never felt this way before and I'm terrified to be honest.?

59. "Is that what you call an apology?"

60. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

61. "There is no way this much stupid can fit inside one person."

62. "I'm never leaving.../ promise."

63. "Uh, am I interrupting?"

64. " like you, like like you like you"

65. "Stop being a fucking prick.

66. "Do you want me to stay?"

67. "You're my everything."

68. "I love seeing you smile."

69. "i've been thinking about you all day.?

70. " i can't get enough of you.

71. « like being close to you. you're warm."

72. I’ m not wearing any underwear. thought you'd like to know."

73. "this is a one time thing."

74. "you know where to find me."

75. "you're really good at that.

76. "don't be shy now, sit on my face."

77. "YOU SENT ME PICTURES OF YOU NAKED WHILE I WAS IN A WORK MEETING!"

78. "If I ask you to kiss me in front of all these people, will you do it?"

79. "Don't go on that date." "Why?" «You know why." "Say it."

80. "i think i might be in some kind of love with you?

81. "say you want me, and i'm yours." "you need a place to stay for the night"

82. "i want to taste you"

83. " love it when you talk dirty

84. "if you interrupt me one more time- so help me god'

85. "if we weren't in public right now i'd have my head between your legs"

86. " don't know what to do" "then let me teach you"

87. "this feels dirty" "that's because it is"

88. “don't cover you're face, i want to see you"

89. "are you sure about this?"

90. "ive never wanted to fuck someone as badly as i want to fuck you rn".

91. "do you want help with that?"

92. “im going to fuck you until you forget that assholes name"

93. “bend over the desk love"

94. "is that a drawing of me?"

95. “i didn't mean to say that but yeah, i love you."

96. "you weren't supposed to hear that!"

97. "this isn't adrenaline, i want to spend my life with You “

98. "do you think of me when you touch yourself?"

99. "I'm not going anywhere"

100. "fuck you. - "when?"

101. "no one's ever made me feel like this."

102. here, let me help you."

103. "we're quite literally fugitives of the state." -"so no pizza?

104. "you're insane." - "people keep telling me that."

105. "you're pretty." - "you're drunk."

106. "i'll keep you safe."

107. "i'll spend a thousand lifetimes coming back to you."

108. didn't think it was possible to love someone this much."

109. "Touch yourself for me.?

110. "Shut up and take your pants off.

111. "Wanna see what I'm wearing underneath all this?"

112. "Do you know how beautiful you are? It's truly distracting."

113. "How are you this perfect?

114. "I've waited so long for this!"

115. "Would you just shut up and kiss me already?"

116. "Tell me what you want."

117. "Could he make you feel as good as i do?"

118. "Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?"

119. "Just let me finish this/this level and I swear ill go down on you until you cum at least three times.

120. "I haven't even touched you and you're already this wet."

121. "Were you just masturbating?" "U-uh.no, I was just." "Want some help?"

122. "I really want to kiss you right now." "Then do it."

123. "I don't care what you do just fuck me."

124. "Stop distracting me."

125. "I saw you last night..you looked beautiful."

126. "God, you have no idea how amazing you are, do you?"

127. "I don't wanna hurt you, baby"

128. "You think that I'm watching you? Don't flatter yourself..."

129. "This world doesn't deserve an angel like you."

130. "I think they might be a problem. Don't worry, love, I'll take care of them for you."

131. "I'Il do whatever it takes if it means we'll be together forever, my sweet."

132. "You will do what I ask."

133. "If you just do what you're fucking told then we wouldn't have a problem, would we?"

134. "Where's that smile I'm looking for, sugar?"

135. "So…do you want your underwear back?"

136. "Sweetheart, I have to mark you. How else is everyone gonna know you're mine?"

137. "You've been so good lately, my pet. Don't make me have to punish you.

138. "I fucking need you more than I need to breath."

139. "If you leave me, I'll die!"

140. "I know you liked them, sweetie, but they were keeping you away from me."

141. "You're mine, do you understand? You belong to me”

142. "Cry for me, baby."

143. "I know it hurts, honey, but that's what happens when you don't do what I say.?

144. "I just want to show you how much I love you..

145. "Don't worry, my love, I'll protect you."

146. "The next time they touch what's mine, I'll cut their fucking arm off."

147. "You're so cute when you're struggling."

148. "If you don't take your clothes off, I'll take them off for you.

149. "Just give into me, love."

150. "I'll lock you up and throw away the fucking key if you ever even think about doing anything like that again, do you hear me?"

151. "I wish you would just let me have you..

152. "I just want us to be happy. I had to kill them."

153. "'I do whatever the fuck I want to you, got it?"

154. "Is it so hard to love me?"

155. "I hate it when they look at you…so fucking much.."

156. "You know you're mine, don't you?"

157. "Do you really think you can get away from me?"

158. "You know you're mine, don't you?"

159. "Do you really think you can get away from me?"

160. “l know everything about you, darling, and you're so perfect."

161. "I'm madly in love with you.?

162. "You're all I ever think about."

163. "If you don't kiss me, I'll slit your fucking throat."

164. "You're such a pretty little thing tied up like that, baby."

165. "Tell me how much you love me."

166. "I'll carve my name into your back if that's what I have to do to let you know you're mine."

167. "Why're you crying? Aren't you happy to be with me?

168. "I'Il kiss away the pain, doll."

169. "I'm sorry, honey, but you made me jealous. They had to die."

170. "Do you think I like hurting you? Because I fucking love it.'

171. "You don't even know how lucky you are. I protect you and provide for you. Don't act so ungrateful.

172. "It's okay to love me. Please love me."

173. "I could fucking kill you right now, you know that?"

174. "Don't test me, darling."

175. "You think I'm jealous? Trust me, buttercup, you haven't even seen jealousy."

176. "I want to tell you I love you until my throat bleeds."

177. "I imagined my life without you and it was better. I was happier"

178. "I knew you were capable of this, but I never thought vou were

179. capable of doing this to me.

180. "It was never me. It was always them/her/him."

181. "I don't love you anymore, goodbye"

182. "Stick a knife in my chest, it would hurt less."

183. "Don't say that. That's not what I want."

184. "You're not who I thought you were."

185. "Leaving you will hurt, but staying with you is more painful."

186. "People change."

187. "I look at you and I don't feel anything anymore."

188. "I can't carry on like this."

189. "Just because you're angry, it doesn't give you the right to be cruel."

190. "I can't trust you anymore."

191. "You left like I was never a reason to stav"

192. "You have to forgive me" "I can't"

193. "If I could go back in time and change loving you, I would"

194. "You've ruined my life."

195. "I know you're trying, but it's just not enough."

196. "You'll forget about me, just like I'll forget about you."

197. "You're a fucking idiot!" "Yeah, I know."

198. "You've hurt me for the last time."

199. "'m tired of fighting."

200. a pretty little house-pet who just follows you around all day and cries when you have to leave

201. “JUST LOVE ME! LOVE ME IN THE WAY I LOVE YOU OBSESS OVER ME! CALL ME PERFECT! LOVE ME ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS!”

202. "You look really good in my clothes"

203. "This reminded me of you"

204. "Your hands are warm"

205. "I just want to relax in your arms"

206. "Let's go home" "I'm already home"

207. "Make a wish!"

208. "I could just stare at you forever" "Creep"

209. "I'm so lucky to know you"

210. "You're the most beautiful being on the earth"

211. "Hold me"

212. "You smell amazing"

213. "I wish you could see the way I see you"

214. "What are you doing?" "I was trying to make pancakes but it didn't exactly work”

216. "This isn't just a(n) [object], it's a promise"

217. "Sing to me again"

218. "Come back to bed"

219. "You're the only person I want to spend my life with"

220. .. sorry, I talked too much" «No no no not at all. Keep talking"

221. "Oh my god you never told me you could cook"

222. "Our kids are gonna be *mwah*!"

223. "Come on. I'll show you how to dance"

224. "I can't believe I never heard you sing before"

225. "I know you had a bad day, so I made you cookies"

226. "Let's go and look at the stars"

227. "Is that... is that a dog?"

228. "I'm gonna need someone to kiss at midnight"

229. "I can't stop thinking about you"

230. "Get on my shoulders, you'll see better"

231. "Is be a great parent, I'm just saying"

232. *Fogs up mirror and writes a message*

233. "I never thought I could miss someone this much"

234. "Not to be drastic, but I would jump off of a cliff for you"

235. "You're breathtaking"

236. "You're my new pillow"

｡* 🎀 𝐸𝓃𝒿❁𝓎 🎀 *｡

[silvysartfulness]

I posted 7,130 times in 2022

That's 205 more posts than 2021!

149 posts created (2%)

6,981 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ebonykain

@chigrima

@cryptidsamoyed

@nientedal

@veliseraptor

I tagged 2,361 of my posts in 2022

#the untamed - 516 posts

#smile with tear emoji - 120 posts

#asksilvy - 105 posts

#refs - 99 posts

#i laughed - 89 posts

#note to self - 69 posts

#the happy songxuexiao roadtrip story - 68 posts

#blorbo from my shows - 52 posts

#beautiful - 45 posts

#oh tumblr... - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 104 characters

#you are in fact autistic please try to get help so just trying to live won't leave you disabled for life

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapter 48 - As The Waters Flow of Heaven Has A Road But No One Walks It is up! :D

The rains caught up with them at last, and any hope that it might ease the sweltering heat was thoroughly dashed – the air was so thick with humidity, it was worse than the mists back in Yi City, thick and heavy and hot.

And yet, despite the discomfort of damp, clinging robes and the relentless heat... there was a comfortable familiarity, a sense of peace to simply walking.

“I have been thinking, lately, about the flow of water,” Xiao Xingchen mused out loud, unthinkingly letting a nudge from Xue Yang's elbow steer him around yet some other puddle or muddy patch. “And I've realized that by setting my heart so firmly on what we hoped to achieve in Jinlintai, making it the one goal above all others... I blinded myself to the greater truth of what it is I – we - actually hope to do.”

“Of course,” Xue Yang amiably agreed, and he really should have seen the bad joke coming, he should have, “you are blind, Daozhang.”

—————————

Things are heating up, and it's not just the weather. 💚

I'm having a rough time with my creativity lately - please know that your comments and asks and fun tags are literally what keeps me going. If you enjoy this story and want more of it, please tell me so..? 🥺

Maybe even come hang out in my discord server? 💚

113 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

#4

See the full post

134 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

#3

Can't help but oblige and ask about your hc for the origins of Song Lan's mysophobia👀

I know I outright encouraged the question, but wow. 😂

So this was a headcanon I picked up for Heaven Has A Road after actually writing the events that partially gave rise to it.

When I was on vacation a couple of months back, I found myself without hand sanitizer after visiting a store, and after the last two years of pandemic and the super-strict regulations at that particular location, being unable to sanitize my hands for those few minutes before I got back to the hotel really made my skin crawl. Like there were potential pathogens all over them, to the point I could almost feel it.

And so logically, I thought to myself "Wow, this must be how Song Lan feels at all times."

And then my next thought was "Huh, and he was the one who immediately picked up on the abandoned zombie village having been devastated by a plague..."

So, a Song Lan who knows to spot the aftermath of a plague, a Song Lan obsessed with staying clean, avoiding closeness and touch... A Song Lan raised by a temple, because he had no family of his own...

Maybe the first plague he saw was his home village. Maybe toddler Song Lan was told by terrified relatives not to approach strangers, not to touch, wash your hands, keep clean - or the sickness will get you, will get us all...

And then it did.

Maybe Song Lan was taken in by Baixue because everyone else was gone. Dead. Their bodies twisted and swollen and festering, ruined and tainted by sickness. Uncleanness. And if you touch, if you get dirty, if you don't stay clean... It will get you too. Get you, and all those you care about.

He was too young to consciously remember any of it. In his mind, there's nothing before Baixue.

But after that, he never stopped compulsively washing his hands.

And he still can't make himself touch.

230 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

#2

Happy birthday, Xue Yang!

There will be happy endings in your future yet! ♥♥♥

253 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Just your casual reminder that when faced with an enemy knocked flat on his back, Xiao Xingchen’s reaction was to go straight for the heart.

No demanding he surrender. No using the spirit-trapping rope he carries in his sleeve to restrain him. No hesitation, no quarter.

In that moment, beautiful Bright Moon Xiao Xingchen was 100% down for ice cold murder, and you can’t tell me Xue Yang didn’t fall in love then and there. ♥

512 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[thevindicativevordan]

Weekly comics reviews?

Nightwing #98 - I guess the marriage isn't happening after all? Otherwise this was Tom Taylor, the terminally online Twitter user who writes for the shared on social media cropped images crowd, fully indulging himself.

World's Finest #9 - Thought David would be responsible for his world blowing up. What he did would definitely leave you with hardcore survivor's guilt, but given all of his outbursts of rage, I had imagined something much worse. Despite Waid being seen as the Silver Age fanboy, he writes Joker in the same post-Moore mold as everyone else.

Stargirl: The Lost Children #1 - Never read a Stargirl book before, still haven't read Johns first JSA run, but I enjoyed this. None of the Hypertime bullshit or Johns trying to assert his will over the rest of the DCU, just a simple and straightforward character-first book. Hope that stays the case for the rest of the issues.

Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze #1 - Second one of these I've enjoyed. Probably the best execution of walking the line between keeping as much of the sympathetic Heart of Ice characterization as possible, while still showing that Freeze is enough of a bastard to justify him being an ongoing villain.

Immortal X-Men #8 - Four Sinisters all exploring different solutions to how to beat A.I. Diamond Sinister as the one we know and hate who is focused on mutants, Club Sinister (Dr. Stasis) who is focused on humanity, Spade Sinister (Orbis Stellaris?) who is focused on aliens, and Heart Sinister (Mother Righteous?) who is focused on magic. Guessing Sins of Sinister is going to be about the four of them fighting, with the other three catching wind of our Sinister's Moira clones and robbing him of that power in the end.

And since that's all for this week I'll throw in some from last week too:

Dark Crisis #6 - Total disappointment on the whole this may be, but Williamson writes a kickass Jon and that scene with Jon and Clark was dope. I wish he was writing Jon's solo instead of Taylor. Unfortunately everything else sucks, Jace shows up and deus ex machina's Pariah away, Yara barely contributed aside from a brief moment with Pariah, and the Titans have been absolutely useless this entire event.

I Am Batman #15 - Best of the issue of the series this far, weird how it's an event tie-in.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #17 - Almost done. I guess the scene where Jon came out to Clark was sweet, but all I can think about is the one where he and Clark discuss what they accomplished while Clark was gone. This whole goddamn series was kicked off with Jon asking Clark why Clark didn't do more, and resolving that he was going to step up and be the Man of Today. Here we are almost a year later and Clark liberated an entire planet while Jon did a single city. Christ, how do you not see Jon as a failure and slactivist in that light? His old man has accomplished more than he has!

The New Golden Age #1 - Am I supposed to hate the Time Masters? Because I do, they're both stupid and incompetent. I kind of love that everyone is screaming at Johns to stop touching Watchmen and The Killing Joke, to quit rifling through Moore's trash, and he just keeps doubling down on it! More everyone begs him to quit the more determined he is to shove his ideas in everyone's faces. Least Helena Wayne entering the picture is cool, I liked her portion of the book.

WildC.A.T.S #1 - Standard Rosenberg book, I found it enjoyable but it clearly is relying on you coming to these characters with some degree of familiarity which I don't have. I know who Grifter is at least because I reread the Urban Legends setup issues, but everyone else I don't have a clue about.

A.X.E. Judgement Day Omega - Best Marvel event since Hickman, but I am sad the hipster Machine is only pretending to be bad. Irrational it may be, but my dislike for it's "le quirky" dialogue is all too genuine. Guess this is it for the Eternals huh? Marvel and Gillen were really relying on the movie being a hit to let him have a long run, and since it flopped their push is over. Too bad because Gillen really made me like them.

Fantastic Four #1 - This was good! Man is it nice to have a readable FF book again, even if I am irritated that it's doing the dumb "mystery box" cliffhanger that ASM is doing.

Sabretooth & the Exiles #1 - Sooooo good! Up there with X-Men Red and Immortal X-Men for best book in the lineup, they need to give LaValle more Marvel books ASAP, this guy clearly is going to be a star one day.

[seventhrounder]

I went thru my folder with old hockey magazines I had saved from around 2011 to 2015 and came across this one and thought it could be a fun to make a post about now in hindsight.

This is Jääkiekko magazine from May 2012, they always have a section of "99 questions with ..." and in this issue they interviewed Teräväinen.

I’ve translated the questions I found interesting under the cut! It ended up being about half of the interview. (*) are my additions.

On the cover "seuraava superjokeri" means the next super joker, he played for Helsingin Jokerit so it's a word play from that. Under, on the blue print it says: "The 17-year-old forward will become a first round draft pick in the summer. The natural goal scorer can dominate in SM-Liiga as soon as next season."

In the 2nd photo the headline and lead paragraph goes:

"A post with dents* - A year ago Teuvo Teräväinen was known only within a small number of hockey insiders. Few passers-by recognize him now either but after a flashy rookie season the Jokerit sensation is on the radar of every NHL team and is a strong contender to become a first round draft pick. Next season with Jokerit the talented second line center will be one of the main talking points in the SM-Liiga."

(*references the net Teräväinen had in his backyard and into which he practiced his shooting)

3. You've been described as a magician, top scorer, wunderkind and a prodigy. What do you think of these descriptions?

TT: Heh, those are some descriptions yeah. What can I really say? Don't really wanna comment on them much.

4. How nervous are you about the Draft?

TT: I try not to be nervous as best as I can. In a way I don't have anything to be nervous about since I don't care which team picks me or at what number I go.

6. Which is stressing you more, English interviews or physical tests?

TT: Maybe both. Bench press (laughs) and English interviews can be tough.

12. How far along have you planned your career with, for example, your parents or your agent?

TT: Haven't really planned things with others but I've thought about them myself. I try to go step by step and not jump too far ahead.

14. How does it feel to be so young with all the star players in Jokerit?

TT: How to say it? I haven't felt like I was young but a part of the team instead. The team's been very good with me and they haven't been looking down at me like: "oh he's young". It's been fun to play in an experienced team.

15. Is there a generational gap between players?

TT: You can see the age difference, older players look older but we're all childish, at least with our topics.

17. What does a 17-year-old do in the sauna nights of the team?

TT: I actually haven't been in any yet. I've always been at national team's camps or something.

19. Did you get the number you wanted?

TT: I did, yeah. I could've taken #18 but Semir (Ben-Amor) has it. But i'm happy with #86, it's good.

23. What are your strengths as a player?

TT: Offensive play and with that playing with the puck, passing, IQ, power play and skill, just the usual skill - skill with hands.

24. And weaknesses?

TT: They are to do with defensive play, strength and physicality. Battles and such but I think I took a step forward last season. That's a good thing.

25. Have you ever been "pressed into a mold" or has your playing style gotten to develop naturally?

TT: As a kid the play was mostly offensive/attacking, I didn't have to think about playing defence. Up until 15 years old, I got to attack pretty freely. Playing defence became more important when I started to play in A-juniors a couple seasons ago.

26. On a scale from 1 to 10 how determined are you?

TT: Maybe 8, feels like an 8.

32. What kind of role are you planning to take with Jokerit next season?

TT: I think a pretty big one. I try to be a top player and not just take others' example but give others example myself too. So that someone in the team can take something out of the way I do things on the ice and off the ice.

35. If you could pick anyone, who would be your car driver?

TT: Nico Manelius for sure. He's been my driver this season. I've had others too, like Riku Hahl but he's not nearly at the same level. Nico’s clearly the best.

36. What are the most important qualifications to be a good driver?

TT: The car is obviously important. Hahl's car is totally awful, he takes a lot of heat for it from the guys too. I wouldn't dare driving with him. Manelius is a steady performer, never lets you down.

38. What sports did you play as a 10-year-old?

TT: Hockey and floorball, probably football (soccer) during the summers at the time too.

42. When did you decide to focus only on hockey?

TT: So when I stopped playing other sports? Three years ago, before that floorball was kind of a side thing, I played a couple of games in the regular season and playoffs.

45. Do you follow floorball or other sports? Go to games?

TT: I don't go to games but I like to watch floorball on TV, it's an interesting sport. Sometimes I watch football too but I don't follow it much. Feels like they never score there.

47. Have you ever played with a wooden stick?

TT: As a kid I did play with a wooden stick.

49. You won the hockey players' golf tournament last summer even though there were more experienced players too. Are you good with all stick games?

TT: Well, I've been pretty good in all of them. I've played golf for a long time and still play it.

50. How is your swing?

TT: Pretty bold, kind of a hockey swing. I don't really care where the ball goes - as long as it goes far.

52. What do you think of off-ice training?

TT: Let's just say it's more stupid than being on the ice but you still gotta do it to be better on the ice.

56. Which word describes your professional relationship (with his coach, Tomek Valtonen), tranquil or colorful?

TT: Colorful of course. At times we're joking around, other times it's more serious but the relationship is really good.

57. Coaching you has been described in many words: good, bad, worse. What are they?

TT: Heh, well... I won't tell them here. He (Tomek) keeps the discipline during practices but sometimes when things haven't gone to a plan I've had to jump on an exercise bike in the middle of a practice.

58. What have been the reasons?

TT: I'll quote Tomek: "when I haven't been present".

59. Have you ever tried to turn the resistance of the bike to zero?

TT: (Laughs) Of course I have and sometimes I've even succeeded.

60. Describe your diet in three words?

TT: Greasy, healthy and good!

64. Your first name is not common for people your age. How did your parents come up with it?

TT: I actually don't even know. Maybe they didn't want a usual Ville*....

(*very common name for men of all ages in Finland)

66. Which of these is the most important: skill, unexpectedness or courage?

TT: Skill!

68. Your longest video game stint?

TT: Six hours, at least. I've played a lot of War of Duty lately.

72. The dumbest thing that has made you upset in hockey?

TT: Probably if I didn't get an assist on a goal even though I should have. Or even worse is if I score and they mark it down for someone else.

79. Have you had any concussions?

TT: I haven't had any, I've managed to always dodge them.*

(*ouch, tho it's good the recent one is his only as far as i remember)

84. In 2011 Team Finland finished in the 5th place at the U-18 tournament. Why only as 5th?

TT: Because we lost to Team Russia in the quarter final, just as well we could have won that game too.

89. You didn't get to be on the ice to accept the SM-Liiga bronze medal (because of the U-18's). When and where did you get it?

TT: I actually still haven't received it, I don't know where it is.

93. What is the population of Helsinki?

TT: There's like 5 million people in Finland so maybe around 500k in Helsinki? (to be exact 596k) Did i really get it right...?

94. Who's the mayor of Helsinki?

TT: I don't know, I barely know the president.

95. Do you think the municipalities in the capital city area should merge?

TT: Luckily I don't have to decide but they probably shouldn't.

96. What do you check first in the news paper?

TT: The sports section.

97. Your favorite tv show?

TT: Putous* was pretty good, I liked a lot of the characters. The grandma was pretty good.

(*Finnish live improvisation comedy/sketch show (there are still new seasons, the latest just finished). Every actor comes up with a humor character with a catchy phrase and one of them wins. "The grandma" is Marja Tyrni and I just got such flashbacks from typing this sentence.)

98. Last book you read?

TT: I don't read many books. The last book was a study book, a Finnish book. I wrote an essay on Tiki (Esa) Tikkanen's biography. An eventful book, great career and a lot of chirps.

99. Who should we ask the 99 questions next?

TT: Riku Hahl could have good stories, he's also seen a lot of the world.