#i guess i just forget when the back 2/3rds to 4/5ths of it were so GOOD

[nightcall99]

Dreams from 25.8.24

Dream 1: I was at the old house and I was just lying on my bed passing time and dawdling I guess. I was watching a Harry Potter movie, maybe it was the 4th or the 5th one. It definitely wasn't the 3rd movie even though that's my favourite one because that one is too emotionally and visually intense so I can't rewatch it too often. Whichever one it is from the series, the feeling is that I put it on for comfort. I always play it over and over. Then I knew it was time to get up and go get ready. In fact there was some app on my phone which was connected to Harry Potter and I received a 'message' from my dad. It was a warning notification. On my screen I saw it like fire, like a light, in fact I am reminded of the goblet of fire (which is from the 4th movie) and it was a symbol which meant I needed to go now.

My siblings and I had to go somewhere, I was doing something. Graduating, maybe. I was to do a speech. I was so apathetic. I didn't want to move from the bed but I made myself. We all wore black suits. My black pants had lint of them, were wrinkled and probably hadn't been washed in awhile but I didn't care. I was dreading the speech I was about to do. My siblings went downstairs. I was still looking in the mirror. I was depressed. I didn’t care how I looked but felt like maybe I should. I should make myself more presentable but what's the point?

Dream 2: I was in a bus with some family, that wasn't my family but it 'felt' like family and we were on a road trip to what felt like a fairy pond or small garden, someplace special. On the way was a huge steep hill which we were going downward. The 'mother' figure was driving and she was driving the bus in stages to protect the kids (us). She maneuvered the car in short bursts instead of driving down fast all at once, which would scare us. I felt her maternal energy protecting us. I know I was excited to get there but I think she was trying to downplay it a little as well. It was only a little pond or little place but I was excited to be included and to go somewhere new.

Dream 3: I am in an Italian restaurant and it's busy. When I arrive I get seated away from everyone else, the main 'party', and am instead seated with strangers at some other table. But I don't bother to actually sit there, I go and stand where the group is. FB is there (old co-worker). There is some kind of small celebration happening. Honestly I barely know that I was invited but I'm there. FB was talking about some type of thin noodles (it looked like rice vermicelli) which she showed us in a plastic take-away container. She said it was lighter than regular pasta and the way they cook it is they put in the broth and let it absorb into the noodles over a period of time. That's how it gets the flavour of a regular pasta dish, even when it's technically not. I knew that it was likely to cause less bloating and I wanted to try it. I asked her, How can I order it? She said something like, when she goes back to Italy she asks for this especially. As if she has to be there and be the one requesting it. So I won't ever be able to ever taste it.

I don't think I really wanted to stay. I leave before the waiter comes to take my order. I know how this is gonna go down. I will order and then they will forget about me because they can't see me, I'm just another face in the crowd. I will then get frustrated and anxious about whether or not I should say anything to them. Not to mention I am already overstimulated and it's only going to get worse with time. I leave. The people working there try to get me to stay but I refuse. On the way out, I see a cabinet of takeaway pizza. I am hungry, I could definitely eat especially since I was supposed to have had a sit down meal just now but how would that look since I just said I was going. Also I couldn't be bothered. It wasn't that enticing, it was just regular pizza which looked delicious of course but I knew it would give me digestion issues.

Dream 4: I am with CA. We are going from place to place together, idk why she's in Australia. It just felt like as part of something else, it gave her the opportunity to come here and now here she is. I'm beside her at a table in a restaurant or cage, and opposite her is some random lady. She is helping this lady with her coursework, it looks like something to do with flowers or botany. She is going through the answers and affirming to the lady that everything is right. I know it's because CA is a natural teacher that people gravitate toward her, to ask for help. I'm just sitting there chilling. I notice at one point that the lady looks back and forth at the two of us and I know that some gears are turning in her head. Some time passes and then they're done. I ask the lady while she is packing up, So what is this course? What kind of degree will you get by the end of it? I'm trying to get to know her better. She says something but I don't hear what. It wasn't the title of her degree which is what I was curious about, it was something else random. After we leave and I say to CA, Do you reckon she noticed that we have the same energy? I noticed she was looking at us. I think people can feel it. Deep down they know. She replied, Yes. Then I said, Omg you know what, I had a dream about this! About you. She stopped what she was doing to look at me (as if I was about to say something exciting) and I said, Oh no, it was just a boring dream but in the dream it was like this, but it's like I was the one who was helping someone with their homework. She just smiled. I was gonna find the dream to show her but who cares, I let it go.

Then we went to some other place, which reminds me of the steps at a major city train station where people often wait to meet each other. She saw her friend, an older gentleman and they embraced. They started talking. I noticed I was wearing a school uniform. I kind of waited by the side, letting them catch up and not minding that I was waiting. I noticed some boys staring at me, I knew they liked me. I think I flirted with them a bit while I waited. I think she introduces me to this man that I don’t know.

Dream 5: I had to get to uni. I had just woken up and it was 9:17am so I was late. I should have been there at 9am. I didn’t want to get up, I wanted to stay in bed. I knew I had to go in and finish some assignments and ultimately finish my course. There were some unfinished assignments which I had known about for along time, but had forgotten and I needed to do them now. I think to myself if I stayed in bed and cancelled the 'day', how would anyone know? What difference would it make? But I do get up.

Dream 6: I was wandering around the city after something and I found AL. Now we were on our way somewhere. I thought about finding my car to drive there but I just let it go, we could walk I suppose.

[br-uwu-cewayne]

Finally completed the damn thing... honestly for as incredible the scarecrow and joker story climaxes were, i get that Knightfall was just the denouement... but it was pretty fucking lack luster comparatively...

[tornrose24]

My Lordsona’s letters, diary entries, and journal entry in Mother Miranda’s Lab.

I remembered that in each of the lords’ areas, there tends to be letters/journal entries/notes that are either about them or that they wrote themselves in addition to what Mother Miranda wrote about each one in her lab. I thought it would be fun to make some for my lordsona as a way to add additional information (including what could have lead to getting a cadou in the first place, because I don’t think those are given out so freely).

There is mentions of  @artistcaptainbendy‘s lordsona Bendypants and their OC Benjamin.

TW: Mentions of gore

(All journal entries located in personal studio in the gallery. Some would hold clues to solving certain puzzles.)

Journal 1

May 3rd, 1968

(page 1)

I would rather swim in Moreau’s lake and be subjected to whatever goes on in Donna’s estate than give another art lesson to Alcina’s girls. She hoped I could cultivate some talent in the three of them, and there was some promise in both Cassandra and Daniela. Bela seemed disinterested and wanted to go to the piano instead. There was some frustration over the past few weeks and it made me thankful I’m their ‘aunt’ or else it wouldn’t have ended well for me.

Weeks later, they presented me with some abominable displays. That one ‘statue’ looked like one of the maids... or what was left of the poor woman. And I doubt that was red paint used on that canvas.

I don’t mind speaking with Alcina herself once in awhile when I want a bit of class and elegance. There’s certainly no denying her sense of taste in decor and her collection of artwork is incredible. But her daughters are too much for me and I don’t agree on her views of all men. She certainly never met my father or my...

(page 2)

Father....

Sorry, I got lost in my memories there for a bit. Tomorrow I am meeting with some of the village children and will give them an art lesson. They are more of a delight compared to those poor excuses for children in that castle.

They admire the other lords, but its possibly for the best that they aren’t allowed to get too close to them.

Reminder to self: Check to see if the Duke has any works of art to add to the gallery when he comes back.

Journal 2

September 2nd 1975

(Page 1)

It appears I finally have a new security guard. The bastard and a friend of his thought he could sneak into MY gallery and steal a painting that I said would cost a fortune. They fell victim to the Escher trap (clearly they didn’t pay attention to his surroundings) and the painting was destroyed.

All that trouble for a Van Gough replica that’d be worth not even a fraction of the true painting.

But then again, what should I have expected from the son of the drunkard who nearly paralyzed me for life with a bullet to the spine and sent me into Mother Miranda?

The man was completely brain dead. The friend was a bloodied mess, but I stitched his arms to the thief, added some details of my own, did a bit of fixing up, and used a Cadou. He’s dull as a rock and doesn’t recall his past life, but he’ll be good at protecting my gallery from other idiots. 

I call him David after the famous statue.

September 5th, 1975

(Page 2)

Unsurprisingly, Heisenberg thought my creation was, and I quote ‘a hunk of shit and dumbassery mixed together’ and said he could have done so much better. Unlike him, MY creations ARE true works of art. Of course I’m not interested in getting into an argument with him as he enjoys doing so with Alcina.

I brought David to someone else who’d be fascinated with him. Bendypants seemed intrigued and wondered if I could lend David to them to help build a set.

I’m deeply disturbed that I’ve sunk as low as the others. I didn’t think I’d actually use a cadou but I try to tell myself that what I’ve done was a fitting punishment. Besides, it keeps Mother Miranda off my back for a bit.

Note to self: Need to do something about the additional arms on David. They don’t look like they are as secure as I would like them to be.

October 10th, 1975

(Page 3)

It turns out David developed a soft spot for Benjamin. As in Bendypants’ favorite lycan. He’s been looking at him like a girl harboring a secret crush.

That was.... rather unexpected. I guess David isn’t as dull as I thought. I need to keep an eye on him in case he remembers anything about his former life.

Journal 3

January 20th, 2004

(Page 1)

Karl is crude and a bit much at times. But there’s no denying that he’s rather handsome and I finally was able to convince him to pose for some sketches for a painting after all these years. It took the finest bottle of whiskey the Duke had on hand to convince him.

Bendypants will be so envious of me. They too have a certain soft spot for our fellow lord. Perhaps I can gift them with a replica painting as a present in the future.

I admire that Heisenberg doesn’t bother putting on airs like Alcina and his.... extraverted nature is a breath of fresh air. However the whiskey caused him to spill something rather concerning. He seemed unusually interested in my family’s plot of land in the graveyard.

I’m very concerned about what his intentions are.

(Page 2)

I just paid the gravekeeper to unearth the remains of my family so I can burn them and bury them under the oak tree.

I am NOT letting any of the lords use my family’s remains for whatever they are planning.

March 15th, 2010

(Page 3)

Bendypants invited me to one of their plays. It was ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream.’ It was a delight and helped me take my mind off things. The idea of making some of the characters not quite fit into certain norms that are expected in the village would have made Mother Miranda squirm.

I showed them that painting of Ophelia drowning when we discussed Shakespeare the next day. Sometimes I wonder why the cadou didn’t make me lose my mind like Ophelia–would I have been happier without my sanity in the village, amongst the others? At least I wouldn’t have been aware of what sins I would be committing across the years.

I have deeply cherished my friendship with them. They were there at the funerals for each family member of mine who died. Their condolences were honest compared to the other lords and those who were trying to kiss up to me. Like me, they too have somehow defied time’s cruelty to the body, and have known the loss of a loved one. 

(Page 4)

The children are the only others in the village that I am fond of and would protect. Such innocence to the violence hidden in the corners. Sometimes I wish to give into the desire of motherhood, but that would have been the greatest pain I could experience....

(letter hidden in Lord Bendypants’ theater) 

Dearest B,

Regardless of what Miranda tells us lords, you are the only true family I have left in this forsaken village. I would have never imagined that wild, mud covered child of the woods would be the one person I could trust.

That woman never was and will NEVER be my mother. Regardless of what she gave to me, I had to watch my family succumb to old age and sickness while I still remain as I am–a Venus forever frozen in youth and beauty. I hope she burns in hell for her sins and for what she has turned me into across the years.

I suspect that whatever she wants with the infant she kept mentioning is not going to end well for us or the village. She is charismatic, but her lack of true warmth makes me uneasy. I get the feeling that death is certain, but as to who for is not clear yet. I have two requests for you if my suspicions are correct.

First, I am going to see if I can hide any children I can find. They were one of the few things that made me happy here and do not deserve whatever Miranda has planned, so I shall sneak them in a room within my gallery. Please do not let any of your lycans harm the children or attack me tomorrow night. Should things go according to plan, they will be able to have the true freedom that was denied to all of us.

Secondly, should I perish from whatever Miranda has in store, retrieve my body, burn it, and bury it under THAT oak tree where I placed the ashes of my family. I think I finally know for sure who was getting into the graves lately, but I will be damned if I let that asshole take my body too.

I will never forget our times together, or the visits to your wonderful theater. Thank you for being there when I needed it the most.

Your friend,

-R

(Journal in Miranda’s lab)

Subject Name: _______ Rose

Cadou Affinity: Somewhat Favorable

Brain Function: Normal

Subject’s spinal chord was damaged by a gunshot wound three days before procedure. Subject has regained full mobility after cadou implantation. Six horn like protrusions have grown out of subject’s skull, yet subject hasn’t suffered any damage to the brain.

Subject’s arms mutate into an armor and bone fragments extend out of limbs like thorns that are strong enough to tear through flesh when provoked. These abilities are somewhat similar to Alcina’s but pales in comparison to what she is capable of.

Insect-like wings extend right out of subject’s backside when the subject wills them to, yet immense pain makes this a rarity. The placement of the wings is exactly where a small piece of cadou was implanted to repair the damaged spine. Additional procedures were required to ensure that the subject could not be able to fly beyond the village borders.

Further mutation turns the subject into something resembling a fae, yet behaves and moves like an insect. However it takes the subject four hours to change back. Subject also becomes predatory in this state.

An unfit vessel for Eva.

[teatime-scans]

Chapter 36 Text Translations

Hey all, we’re back with a text translation from our backlog! Some of these chapters might be released out of order, but rest assured that we will work on eventually getting all the chapters in our backlog released! So just hang tight and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Translator: Manaphy TLC: Spimer

Page 0

Middle text: The hot days have arrived.

Left Text: The official spin-off in which Amuro Tooru is the star! In this chapter, “That Idol” makes her debut! When visiting Nichiuri TV at the idol’s request, an incident suddenly occurs…!?  

Detective Conan Zero’s Tea Time

Cover + colored start!

Arai Takahiro - Draft Supervision: Aoyama Gosho

Page 1

Side text: The Poirot pair have come to Nichiuri TV-!

Panel Text: As thanks for the great popularity! The opening pages in color! Azusa: It’s my first time at a TV station!

Azusa: Maybe we’ll get to meet some celebrities~ Amuro: Well, who knows!

Board: Okino Yoko - waiting room Blue circle: Amuro Tooru’s official Spin-Off!

Yoko: Woow! This looks delicious! Okino Yoko (22) - Idol

Page 2-3

TIME.36: HANZO

Calligraphed text: Saving the world from the shadows.

Detective Conan Zero’s Tea Time

Arai Takahiro - Draft Supervision: Aoyama Gosho

Page 4

Azusa: Wow! It’s Okino Yoko-san… She’s so cute…! Yoko: Thank you for the delivery!

Yoko: Mouri-san recommended me your café… Yoko: He told me that you make delicious sandwiches! SFX: Naahaha

Azusa: Yes!  Please help yourself to these delicious ham sandwiches, an original recipe created by Amuro-san! Yoko: So, you’re Amuro-san?

Yoko: I’ve heard about you from Mouri-san! That you are a very talented detective, and so on... SFX: Twitch

SFX: Sneak

Azusa: Amuro-san? Amuro: Not at all, I’m no match for Mouri-sensei by far...

Page 5

Yoko: Oh, I know! If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like you to pass along to Mouri-san! They’re tickets for my next show...

Yoko: Huh? ...They’re gone… Manager: A-Again? Yoko: My cosmetics pouch as well…

Yoko: This makes it the third time this year...  Even though I locked it in here… SFX: Whisper Whisper

Yoko: A thief has been striking often inside the station’s waiting rooms as of late… Amuro: I’ll inform Mouri-sensei about it... If it’s for your sake, Okino-san, I’m sure he’ll agree to help!

Manager: Yoko-chan, it’s almost time for the rehearsal for HANZO! SFX: Ker-chak Yoko: Thank you very much for today! I’ll share these with everyone!

Azusa: This waiting room thief is worrisome, isn’t it… Amuro: Indeed, I hope they get arrested soon...

Page 6

Amuro: By the way, Azusa-san… What kind of program is this HANZO...? Azusa: You’ve never watched it, Amuro-san? Poster: HANZO - 5th Contest

Azusa: HANZO is a super popular ninja-themed sports contest! Despite many top athletes from various fields as well as other people who take pride in their physical strength coming forward to take the challenge, not a single person has managed to clear it!  

Azusa: It’s really interesting and always has me on the edge of my seat! Yoko-san always attends as a commentator, And she’s supposed to hand the trophy to the perfect conqueror who’s bound to appear sooner or later! I absolutely can’t miss this week’s episode ~♪ Amuro: Oh, I see...

Azusa: Um, excuse me, Amuro-san! Before going back to Poirot, is it okay if I wash my hands first? Amuro: Yes, I’ll be waiting here! Azusa: I’ll be right back! SFX: Tap tap

Page 7

SFX: clack clack

Amuro: This is Okino-san’s waiting room, isn’t it? SFX: Jolt

Hanzawa: Well, I’m a HANZO staff member, that’s why... Amuro: Yeah, I would guess so… Since we were in the same room a short while ago…

Hanzawa: Please excuse me, I have work to do…

SFX: Drops

SFX: Clink Clink

Amuro: Oh? You dropped something!

Page 8

Amuro: Lipstick? Hanzawa: Eh!? SFX: Rumbling

Amuro: Is it yours, by any chance? Hanzawa: I...I’m on the make-up staff, So could you please give it back?

Yoko: Oh dear, what’s wrong with me? Forgetting things in the waiting room... SFX: Clack

Yoko: ? That,

Yoko: Is my cosmetics pouch…

Hanzawa: Dammit! Amuro: Wait! SFX: Stomp

Page 9

Amuro: !?

Amuro: What the!? What is this gigantic set!

Hanzawa: What a persistent guy! Though, how far can you follow me in this devilish fortress, which has crushed numerous challengers? [1st stage] This is a set I’ve created! It’s like my backyard!

Hanzawa: My beloved Yoko-chan’s pouch! As if I'd let someone snatch it!

Page 10

[2nd Stage] [3rd Stage] Carving: 50 Monme TN: Approx. A “Monme”, or “Mace”, is a japanese measurement of weight. 1 Mace ~ 3.75 grams.

[4th Stage]

Hanzawa:  Why did I have to build such an atrocious and nasty course...! SFX: Quiver Hanzawa: My fatigue is building up… I’m losing my grip...!

SFX: Slip

Hanzawa: Aaaaaa… SFX: Splash

Page 11

Amuro: Huff Huff

HANZO’s last trial - The Rising Warped Wall

SFX: Slip

SFX: Tap Tap Tap

Page 12

SFX: Stomp

Manager: Where’s the culprit, Yoko?! Yoko: If I’m not mistaken, he ran over here! SFX: Thud

Page 13

Yoko: T-There he is! In the pond below the set! SFX: Choke

Staff: You bastard! It was you! You’re the waiting room thief!

Staff: Someone call the police! SFX: Chatter Chatter

Amuro: Phew, At last, the goal… Sheet: Perfect conquest!

Amuro: Wait… What was I even doing?

Azusa: Amuro-san, I was looking for you! What are you doing all the way up there!? You’ll get scolded! Amuro: I will, won’t I?

Bottom text: In the next issue, a tea time to test his skills-?!

Right side text: An unrivaled chase-

Left side text: Continues in issue #33

[jse-egopocalypse]

2017 Egopocalypse Detailed Timeline

Jacksepticeye OverNightWatch All Jump Scares so a few months back, i did a 2016 Egopocalypse Detailed Timeline and im glad you guys thought that it helped you with all the ego stuff since not all of you were here when it happened.

so now, we will delve into 2017. this is shorter than 2016 but a lot of interesting things happened. (Detention to Overnight Watch)

i’m putting every video (with time stamps and links to the said video) on this post and some pictures and screenshots that are important and from varies of social media.

(video playlist for this entire timeline is at the end)

Click keep reading to view

1st video: SCARY SCHOOL | Detention 返校 - Part 1

timestamp: 27:35

there was no glitch but he did the head anti movement and the voice is kind of staticky. 

2nd video: I'M SO SORRY | Detention 返校 - Part 2

timestamp: 0:26

so anti first appeared in Detention Part 2 in 2017

timestamp: 3:47

Anti said: “Forgotten or just too afraid to remember?”

and at the end of the description, there’s a zalgo text which also says the quote above.

3rd video: BROKEN INSIDE | Detention 返校 - Part 3

timestamp: 8:52

the face cam glitched when a sound in the game scared sean.

timestamp: 9:04

when he was doing what the spirit was doing, the facecam glicthed intensly and said “he’s all like fucking weird and all over the place”

and as usual, at the end of the description, there’s a zalgo text that says

“Broken spirit, let me out”

4th video: BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS | Detention 返校 - Part 4 (END)

timestamp: 1:13

the face cam glicthed and was moved to the other side of the screen.

timestamp: 2:05

the facecam glitched once more, disappeared for like 2 seconds, and then back to the left side. it glicthed as well before it turned back to normal.

more anti apperances timestamps: 

5:31, 5:51, 27:50

and of course, at the end of the description,another zalgo text that says

“betrayal neglect mistake”

5th video: AntiSepticEye Takeover at PAX East 2017 Panel | JackSepticEye

and how could anyone forget this iconic moment from PAX East 2017 at Sean’s panel?

this video doesn’t connect with any of the storylines, it’s just a cool lil thing that sean and robin did.

just watch the video for yourself since it’s just a minute long.

6th video: SPREADING THE SICKNESS | Epidemic

timestamp: 8:41

anti said: “laughter is the best medicine...for death” and then the camera glitched.

7th video: DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS | Bio Inc. Redemption #2

timestamp: 13:40

he named his patient “Chase Brody”

timestamp: 16:32

sean said: “slow and steady kills the chase”

timestamp: 16:43

he also said: “there’s only one doctor out there who can help us with this, Doctor Schneeplestein!”

8th video: TOUGHER THAN EXPECTED | The Escapists 2 #2

it looks like a normal thumbnail right? nope, it’s not.

3-08-17 is a date. but what for? we’ll see later.

he’s also wearing chase’s shirt in this episode. idk if it’s intentional but still suspicious.

9th video: PLANNING THE ESCAPE | The Escapists 2 #3

nothing very suspicious happened in the video but the thumbnail

the numbers on his prison uniform is the date of Say Goodbye (31.10.16 = October 31st, 2016)

also, the shirt made the jse community shook because he posted an instagram picture with that shirt and gauges (he wasn’t wearing them that time yet)

10th video: TRUST ME, I'M A DOCTOR | Bio Inc. Redemption #4

ZE GOOD DOCTAH IS HERE! he tried to kill one of his patients again but this time, it’s intentional. and we all thought he’s a bad character.

11th video: KILL JA̶CKSEPTICEYE | Bio IN̵̛c Redemp T̨I̶̢on

remember the escapists 2 part 2 thumbnail with the date that i mentioned earlier? that’s when KJSE happened.

so for the first 40 seconds of the video, jack was the one in the video but he got sick and had to leave 

timestamp: 0:47

and then schneep came and played the game instead 

timestamp: 1:14

and called his patient “jacksepticeye”

he also considered as his good friend when his assistant, peter, died.

timestamp: 3:04

anti appeared and schneep said “my eye is itchy” right after.

timestamp: 3:41

schneep asked: “are you feeling okay, jack?” and there was a glitch sound.

timestamp: 4:13

when schneep said “I’m a very smart doctor” the facecam glitched and we can see that schneep has blood dripping on his eyes and nose and then anti appeared for a split second at 4:15

more anti apperances timestamp:

4:47

timestamp: 5:11

anti was slowly taking over schneep. 

more anti apperances timestamp:

5:23, 5:25

timestamp: 6:03

schneep has blood on his eyes and nose again.

more anti apperances timestamp:

6:31, 6:39, 6:45

timestamp: 6:47

schneep said: “i will not have you die” and anti said the word die as well.

timestamp: 7:14

he finally showed himself.

more anti apperances timestamp:

7:33

timestamp: 7:45

anti slowly took over schneep.

and for a few moments, the game and facecam keeps glitching and lagging. schneep was begging us to help and save jack anti.

timestamp: 8:07

anti has now took over the operation and schneep was not giving up.

more anti apperances timestamp:

8:08

timestamp: 8:10

anti has taken over schneep and made him strangle himself with the headphone wire unconsciously and then fought over it and asked himself: “what am i doing?”

more anti apperances timestamp:

8:16

timestamp: 8:20

“i’m trying my best” schneep AND anti said at the same time as the video was glitching.

more anti apperances timestamp:

8:24

timestamp: 8:30

he has now fully taken over schneep, like a puppet.

timestamp: 8:41

as jack died, anti appeared with the iconic black eyes.

at 8:46, we can hear schneep screaming and from that timestamp until the end, anti won and made sure that we know.

12th video: EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE | Doki Doki Literature Club - Part 4

- tw: suicide -

timestamp: 5:04

when sayori hung herself, anti showed up for a few frames.

more anti apperances timestamp:

5:18

timestamp: 1:10:41

sean anti said: “Oh well, I guess we’ll see you next̶ ͢t͞iḿe” with that suspicious looking face and when he said the phrase “next time” his voice got deeper and the facecam got a lil unsaturated.

13th video: JUST MONIKA | Doki Doki Literature Club - Part 5 (END)

timestamp: 13:03

when sean read yuri’s dialogue, he said: “like the edge of a knife, Yuri?” afterwards and when he said the word “knife” the camera glicthed (because guess who loves knives c:<)

timestamp: 25:20

sean’s facecam glitched and did the anti head movement before yuri glitches back to normal.

timestamp: 30:53

when monika sent in-game jack a poem that just says “CAN YOU HEAR ME?” there’s a slight voice of anti in the background while sean read the said phrase.

timestamp: 46:28

during this part, monika will restart the whole game and before that happened, the game and sean’s facecam glitched.

and the time when you’re alone with monika, sean keeps reading monika’s dialogue with anti’s voice and the iconic laugh.

then in the description of the video, if you scroll through, there are zalgo texts that just say: “just monika”

14th video: Jacksepticeye OverNightWatch All Jump Scares

oh look what it is :) it’s overnight watch :) nostalgic, isn’t it? :)

anyway, the whole video is purely all the highlights of what happened during the whole time and the person who posted it already put timestamps on the video so HAVE FUN! :))

- E N D -

and that’s all the ego content videos from 2017 and we’re now moving onto the social medias.

so these 2 pictures are just “hm, normal” no. you’re wrong.

if you adjust the exposure the picture of sean with the green hair, there’s a faint text that either says return or reborn, hence the twitter bio.

now these are tease pictures before KJSE that he posted on twitter and instagram

sean has also been changing his bio on twitter almost constantly after the epidemic video and before KJSE

and then i think this is either during or after his doki doki playthrough

and you can see the zalgo letters in the “just monika” spells out “anti”

now, during his detention playthrough he has been reblogging stuff on tumblr and replying with zalgo texts and made 1 post with just zalgos.

it says: “convoke Ready

(i can’t make up the next 2 words)

Ritual Nobody”

now on this one, it says: “suppressed ignored unpredictable”

and that’s the whole egopocalypse timeline during 2017 (i think i missed something so let me know)

HERE’S THE PLAYLIST TO THIS POST: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5wG46uK8MEOCZ7pON77Q18PdNO6t6gZ6

i hope this is helpful to anyone who didn’t get to experience this or just forgot about what happened during that time of year.

[kigozula]

GladiatorWeek2

Day 1: Favorite Characters

1. AZULA - Crown Princess Azula

"...all I ever wanted

was to grow up to be like you."

Azula is and was always my favorite character in ATLA as well as in fanfics. Should be crystal clear already=). She is even higher than the first place.

Something I really enjoy reading in Gladiator is, that she brings up people's failures and throws it in an elegantly way straight into their faces, such as with Iroh and Zhao.=D And of course when she brings up embarrassing stuff Sokka said or did in his most defensless moments. How she thinks of herself shamless when she is with him sometimes and how much she loves him. So much that she even considered leaving her Nation in case her dad finds out.

I felt very bad for her throughout the whole part 1. When her heart was broken, when she got strong but then her Gladiator destroyed that with one kiss, when she longed to be with the man she loves but her circumstances would never allow it and what made me cry was her Flashback. How she ran away from her mother, how her cousin loved her but could never fullfill his promise and how her father didn't hug her when she cried*_*. This girl makes me emotional. And I adore her strength despite everything. That she still has an ear to listen, like her first discussion with Sokka.

She may have never endured what Slaves endured, but her emotional struggles given her with her status as Crown Princess is hard. Her nation on one side, her lover on the other. Her father on one side, but the innocence suffering people on the other. Some days I just wish she would ally with her uncle, the White Lotus and the Water Tribes... but then I think that be would not a solution right now.

Her relationship with her guards and friends is well portrayed.

2. Rui Shi & Royal Guards

It was true that he was meant to give his life for her if need be, but surely he had always imagined himself dying for her in a battlefield, or saving her life from assassins… dying because of Azula's clandestine relationship surely was the most shameful and least honorable possibility of all. 

"We did adjust to being the Princess's guards quickly enough, after all" "

Rui Shi is AMAZING!! He is a very very good character, very handsome and I just love him. Although Gladiator is about Azula & Sokka, I cannot imagine the story without this precious guy. His personality, his true love for Song, his dedication to his Job and most of all: his loyality and his relationship with his Princess Azula. I just can't forget his "I could have lost my Princess" quote=D.

At the beginning I liked their little discussions when Azula didn't want to be protected and he complained all the time that she doesn't let him do his job. Over 100 chapters later he brings two unknown people to her at ease saying "...you'd surely be able to kill them first" in case they try to harm her. Yeah poor guy gave up and got tired.=D The way he protects her (wants to) from everything that could hurt her and he is not only dedicated because it his job, he shows also emotional attachment towards her. And this is something I love about him.

The panic he had in the Attack of the White Lotus arc was gold, really.

His talk when they were becoming Imperial Guards and he didn't obey and attacked Azula was one of my favorites.

As for the other Guards. Similar to Rui Shi, they are not always strict and just do their Job all the time, but also joke around and seem to really like Azula, as the Story progresses. They are very good characters. Of course this is also because of Azula herself. And she seems to like them too and their relationship is just so wonderful.

As for my favorite Guards, well other than Rui Shi I definetely choose Fei Li. His energy is so well written. He also looks handsome. Taro and Tai Wei are the most famous ones out of the rest I'd say. So I like really all of them.

3. Sokka

"You're my top priority,

and you always will be."

Sokka, well Sokka is kinda different. I can say surely that Azula and Rui Shi are my favorites all along the Story, but not for Sokka. My favorite Sokka is in the Introduction Arc and then in Part 2. Though, also at the end of Part 1.

This boy has some moments where I just like to throw a chair straight into his face... really, I am not denying it. Sometimes I really "hate" him. And when I take time and think, many of those moments are in Part 1. Especially when he didn't kiss Azula and slept next to her when she needed it*_*. But then in other moments he has these cute charming sides and broken moments what makes me love him.

Because with Part 2, he kinda becomes a different guy. I mean of course he had a horrible life and considering that he still made quick process, but still. With the start of Part 2, he becomes a better man maybe??

What I liked about him in the beginning was his whole attitude and conversations with Azula. In Part 2 I like it how he is sure what he wants and needs. And this has most likely something to do with them finally giving in. He loves Azula so beautifully, that I find the most amazing. She is his priority and always in his thoughts. Of course it is also great how he wants to help people altogether. But his special feelings and need of protecting for his most important people like Azula and his family is most amazing so far. I like him waaayyyyyy more in Part 2 I think.

4. Zuko

"I came back after ten years at sea and there

was no hugging involved whatsoever."

Zuko is good in your story. I mean many people know how I felt about him in canon...(tbh, I do not even want to think about it right now-_-). But so far he is pretty good. He has a hard life too. Ten years at sea, no parents, bad relationship with his sister and lost hopes...

When he met Mai... I think it was one of the saddest and emotional moments. But he still gets over it, although it must be very hard to see the person you love like that upon returning. The moment he thinks everything is okay, he lands in the South Pole, finds out his is going to be father, meets his life goal and has to spent a long time away from his "wife" as a prisoner. But I hope he will be happy. I have no idea what is coming for him in the future to be honest. Let's see it.

What I love the most is when HE started making steps towards fixing his relationship with his sister.💙 This is something I always wanted and I hope it will get better.

Zuko especially is very good in Gladiator and Bryke should see how character development really works!!

5. Seyary, you are really amazing with writing the side characters from ATLA and your wonderful OC's. Reaaalllyyyyy.

No particular order

I think maybe I should put Song also next to Rui Shi on the 2nd place?? This girl is so cute but also very ... I cannot find the right word, but I love her feelings about Sokkla. She also seems like a shipper to me?? Fighting on her own ways for their relationship. Song is very important.

I like Mai and Ty Lee, but Mai more. Her unexpected comments are bomb.

Okay, Haru and Ruon Jian are good too although we didn't see much of Ruon Jian=D. I wonder if he is still in touch with Chan??

Jet

I like Jet in canon and was happy that we saw more of him here. His interaction with Azula was very amusing and interesting, since he is one of those character I always wanted an Azula interaction with.

General Tiang

I am very curious about what way this guy will go. He seems to be more like an "Azula-Fan" but I might be wrong. His Story is such a good idea, I liked it. His wife and his nice personality make him very likable. And when that unexpected talk came with Iroh... it surprised me because I never thought he was Lu Ten's friend. A touching idea. We didn't see much of him but I like him. Everyone who cares about and respects Azula is sympathetic to me.

Zhao and Ozai ... ahhh these two. I think it is clear that I reaaallyyy like interactions with them together with Azula. They are just very cool... though in the Slave Riot Arc they kinda turn out not so cool. I would say I think Ozai is 50/50. He also has some nice moments, but then he acts pretty shitty. But then he tries to be better than his own father and listens to Azula and tries to support her. As for Zhao, he is in my Top 5 favorite characters list definetely. But Ozai too somehow... The fifth maybe?? (Tbh, the order from 3rd - 5th is very difficult). I totally like how Seyary portrays him. He helps Azula, is polite to Sokka as well as to Toph, has a daughter he seems to care for, a very interesting portrayal of his character. I like it when he is next to Azula and actually helps and respects her as well as her Partnership with her Gladiator. But then he hides that Spirit Oasis Information from his best friend and his daughter... I guess I still like him except that Slave Riot chapter... let's also see here what he is up to in the future... Again, I would love it if he allies with Azula in the future and also wants to make the world a better place, but I am not sure about him. I am sure about Ozai, but not with him.

Lu Ten

"I'll miss you too,

my wonderful dragon lady."

Okay, I love Lu Ten. My favorite part to read are those flasbacks with Azula and him that produced tears in my eyes. All those flasbacks. I just thought he deserves to be on my list. He loved Azula and he was very important for her too. Lu Ten's parts are beautiful and sad. And I love that combination.

[tazzykiki]

I’m tired, angry and bored so here we go! A messy list of fucked up Public School Things that may or may not be a universal experience:

The Lunches were a mix of good and horrible:

I was usually fine with the lunches because they were pretty decent and, like, yay food! But looking back they were just, so wrong????

Like in my middle school lunches AND breakfast were a mess. I got food poisoning like once or twice from the breakfast and the lunch was pitiful. At one point they just stopped cooking the pasta and left a bunch of uncooked, powdery noodles in a plastic box like anyone was gonna grab them and be like “mm yes! my favorite! hard noodles!”. Like what the actual fuck.

The pizza was also in a box, none of the toppings were labeled so it was a gamble on what type you would get, and most of the time they were burnt. In HS the pizza was fine but it tasted fake as hell and I’m pretty sure they just took some rubber and put cheese on it.  

My HS lunches were better but even then it was just, really concerning how limited and odd the food was. Luckily we didn’t have to pay except for like cookies and stuff smaller than your hand that costs like $2 cuz they want to “promote healthiness” despite feeding us what is basically prison food.

The class sizes were horrifying: I’m sorry but what person can teach 30+ rowdy kids and be perfectly fine??? Not to mention this was the norm the whole day! Imagine grading all those papers, keeping track of every student, and making sure they all shut up long enough to teach. And that’s just for the teachers who actually care.

Like a class size should be a max of 20 with a few exceptions. Do you know how stressful it is for everyone involved? Not to mention, 30 kids was considered SMALL!! Some classes had 40, even 50 STUDENTS!!!! WHAT THE FUCK.

We never had enough books, or supplies, or anything. Usually by the half point of the year, half the books would be missing or destroyed and it was a mess. In HS the Drama and Music teachers had to deal with like, one class of 10-20, and then like 5 classes of 40-50(all mixed grades too). And you know what’s even more fucked up? There was only one of each teacher.

There was one drama teacher. Who btw deserves the world and legit cares about her job and students. I honestly hope she quit and went somewhere better. She had to put up with 40+ screaming kids, grade all of those assignments, deal with insult and harassment(she was plus-sized and white. So she couldn’t talk back, would get insulted, and more.The only white people allowed to be sassy in that school were funny white men that were laid back), and had barely enough supplies to get by.

There was one music teacher. Who also deserves the world and legit cares about her job and students. She had to deal with 40-50, almost 60+, kids. The majority of them being sophomores and freshman, with bits of seniors and juniors. She taught music, taught band, and organized events and performances. She is, I believe, the first and only music teacher in that school and that’s just so fucked up. Like imagine being one person and having to manage hundreds of students like that.

There was only one digital arts teacher but I have no idea what they did since you can’t choose what class you attend. I just know it was constantly crowded, never really applauded, and they weren’t involved in a lot of things.

Oh yes how could I forget the art teacher! Yeah no there was no art class that involved drawing and painting. Apparently that class was scrapped years ago and has now turned into a JROTC locker! :D Speaking of JROTC:

JROTC and Sports had too much support and that’s a serious problem:

Hey maybe it’s because I’m an art kid and I hate exercising(because every attempt to do so was met with laughter, humiliation, and the ridicule of my body even though I can’t control how my body grows and changes), but man did JROTC and sports(specifically football) have way too much attention.

We had not one, not two, but FOUR ENTIRE JROTC CLASSES! Classes training you to be in the military, specifically Air Force. Classes you HAD to take unless you wanted to be in gym(never had the class but from what I’ve heard, there were about 50-70 kids, mostly male, filling up that class and they didn’t do anything but play ball or whatever. All of course, taught by one guy).

Somehow this program had enough support for uniforms, 4 different classrooms, supplies, several teachers(all of whom were in the military at one point[they were chill except for the freshman teacher who called you a whiny baby for being in pain]), and more. 

Not to mention, every so often military people would come by with pretty pamphlets and fun little strength tests and have kids to sign up to newsletters and shit and ask them to join the military when they graduate so they can get free college and happy fun times!! :D

Football was given way too much attention, even over the other sports, and I absolutely hate it. Every month was about  football, football, football. So much money went into football, so much support went into football. Yeah yeah yeah follow your dreams or whatever the fuck they tell you on Disney Channel, but there was too much support on this one sport that involved kids breaking their heads open. 

Please please give me ONE valid reason why this irritating-ass sport had so much attention while art students, craft students, theater students, music students, students who want to work in literally any other field that doesn’t involve science or sports had to fucking scrape every tiny little chance they could from the crumbs that were left behind. PLEASE tell me why I had to join a completely different program that was hella exclusive and restricted to Juniors and Seniors that had a certain skill-level just to have a proper arts class while football players got a cool fancy bus, a shit ton of gear, and praise every single day(seriously their pictures and trophies were everywhere). 

Why is it that they get scholarships and full rides for throwing a ball around and bashing their brains open while I had to fucking destroy my hand and scramble around for some shit like $200 which I wouldn’t even get because I don’t have the skill to paint the mona lisa or whatever. Anywayyyy~

Hey what the fuck was up with the rules? Sorry kids but if you’re reading this, everything they tell you on tv about high school is a lie. Unless you watched the Dora the Explorer movie, then that was actually pretty accurate.

Hey is it weird we had metal detectors and legit police officers(who were armed) in our school? Is it weird that we had to wear plastic, see-through book-bags, that weren’t even given to us for free and were so weak that they had to get rid of that rule because they would break after like 2 months? Is it weird we were all stuffed into a nasty, sticky, pest-ridden, staircase right in front of the main doors in the morning because we weren’t allowed all the way inside for whatever reason unless it was for a club(i.e. sports)? Is it weird that we were all trapped in the lunch room by security guards because they didn’t want kids roaming the halls even though they already did? Is it weird we weren’t allowed to go to the bathroom and were always told “you should’ve went your last class” when your last class didn’t let you? Is it weird we weren’t allowed to use the bathroom and were always told that “you should’ve went during the transition time” even though the transition time was only 4 minutes and the hallways were so crowded that it’d be time for class by the time you’d get there?

Is it weird that when we were allowed to use the bathroom, all of the bathrooms were locked and only one on the other side of the school was open, and the majority of the stalls were broken? And they kept the bathrooms locked, even after school, because they didn’t want kids skipping class even though they still did?

Is it weird that if you didn’t have a belt(if you were male), or a part of your uniform, you would be prevented from going to class if there were no more temporary uniforms?

Is it weird that if one kid did something bad, the entire class would be punished and class time would be wasted and the point of punishment would be lost because the teacher wanted a taste of power or whatever?(hey one time in 8th grade, both classes had to stand in one long ass line for about half an hour because someone was talking and it was treated like it was a joke. this took up our breakfast time too)

Other Shit: One time my HS got like $20,000 and instead of using it to fix at least one thing, they wasted it on useless flatscreen tv’s and SAT “tutors” that taught us 3rd grade english & math, how to annotate(I swear to fucking god one more person try and teach me how to underline a motherfucking sentence---) and did absolutely nothing to help us. Meanwhile the football players were living like kings.

We had a strange assortment of teachers, ya’ll know about my junior and senior english teacher. But did I ever tell you about the freshman JROTC instructor? She was so much fun~ I remember one time!!! ooh this is a good one :DDDD!!!! that I was in so muuuuuch pain that I was crying and couldn’t move! and guess what!!!!???? ooh! ooh! guess! She called me a whiny baby and said I was overreacting!!!! omg? She was so right tho, I was totally overreacting to being in immense, insufferable, pain that no one even attempted to be concerned about~~ 

Oh here’s another good one: I used to cry a lot! It was horribly embarrassing and not fun~ I was either sick, on my period(which according to the multiple doctors I had to be rushed to, was normal and the intense pain was hereditary), or having an emotional breakdown~ This lasted from 5th grade to Senior Year of HS! :D

One time I was in a lot of pain, 7th grade I believe, and cried for a whole hour straight. What did my teacher do? Have me sit in class while everyone went to like social studies or whatever, talked with some teachers, and then complained about how I “cried and cried and cried for an hour straight” with no concern whatsoever. BTW the nurse was never there and even then she was kinda useless.

Don’t even get me started on the several times I was on my period and was actually screaming in pain and was still looked down on because a student screaming and hollering in pain is no cause for concern obviously~ Really surprising how a lot of the male teachers and staff were more concerned then the female ones, especially the science teacher who has a uterus, has multiple daughters, and the audacity to say I’m ~overreacting~. I’m so happy our teachers and schools have our priorities in order.

Note: If you’re horrified by this. Good. You should be.

More misc things: My HS had a shit ton of roaches, water bugs, and whatever those long disgusting things that walk around on the walls and fall off once you see them. Art meant nothing to them. Teacher sanity meant nothing, student sanity meant nothing. The principal was great and I blame whoever’s “funding” schools and working behind the scenes.  I know this was more about personal stuff, but like a lot of things like large classes, lack of supplies, lack of empathy from teachers, constant pests, horrible food, stupid rules that hurt us more than helped, really weird exposure to cops and military, and too much focus on one subject is super common in public schools and I really really want it to stop.

[astroabg-blog]

Neptune in the 5th House Transit

This specific transit is hitting me so hard, it inspired me to create a whole astrology blog...so hi, my name is Ava and I have a weird hobby of stalking planetary positions of random people I meet.  Neptune in the 5th house Transit Experience

Started on January 1, 2019: I definitely felt this transit hit very hard in my love life department. Everything became very dreamy, very surreal and very bizarre…only to be followed up with major disappointments. It kicked off with a bang when I saw the super model that I had met over the summer magically reappear 4 months later right on new years eve. I had been dreaming of ideal scenarios and fantasizing about this guy but he was out of my league and looked like he belonged in an Bruce Webber Abercrombie catalog (google it for reference). It was never going to come true, I would describe it like crushing on Leonardo DiCaprio (a fantasy)…until everything I imagined in my head down to the smallest details of our encounter came true. He showed up on New Years Eve at the bar I was working at, being everything I imagined him to be personality-wise. He even acted exactly like how I played him out to act in my delusional imaginative scenarios. After my shift, I went to look for him and behold, he comes out of nowhere looking for me too. & guess what, he liked me back, thought I was the most perfect girl in the world, kissed me on New Years (imagine that, he choose me in a bar with 1000 other people) I ended up not sleeping with him even though he really wanted to and then after that I never heard from him again. What started out to be the most perfect movie-like way to start 2019 with my perfect prince ended up being a fuckboy who ghosted me when I texted him. A few months later, I had heard that him and his twin brother had probably slept with half the town that I was from. I would describe this feeling as having everything you ever wished for and the most perfect man of your dreams only to lose him and all the hopes and dreams you had with him….what a disappointment right? Neptune in the 5th.

Wait…It doesn’t stop there, we’re only 7 months into the 10+ year transit. I can already tell this is going to the most disappointing 10 years of my life & maybe I should start praying to some higher power at this point. While super model boy was ghosting me, I was trying to forget about my (extremely) hurt feelings of rejection by going to concerts and doing some party drugs (ecstasy). And of course, while rolling my face off on ecstasy, I start to magically fall for another boy , this time he’s a 1st year medical school student who is definitely not my type. While I would describe super model boy as being out of my league, I would describe myself as being way out of med school boy’s league. Simply put, he was ugly & definitely not up to the standards that I look for in another person but I felt myself falling harder and harder for him every time I saw him. It didn’t help that I was on drugs when I saw him the first 2 times, then I was drunk for the next 2…but definitely under some sort of influence all the times I saw him, which made the connection I felt with him feel even more deep & spiritual. However, when I was sober I definitely lost my rose tinted glasses and realized how unattractive he was…this followed up with feelings of confusion on why I thought I liked him so much. Sober Ava definitely did not feel as in-love as drugged/drunk Ava. It definitely wasn’t real love but drunk Ava didn’t care & she definitely didn’t care that he had a girlfriend…that he eventually cheated on when we saw each other the 4th time. I slept with him, mostly because I regretted not sleeping with my perfect prince the first time but also because I wanted to see how far he was going to go even though he had a girlfriend. I wanted to see if he was capable of cheating and he was. The experience was bad, his size was disappointing, he was just disappointing…it was very evident to me that he was from a small town & has been sleeping with the same girl for the last 5 years of his life…(he was kind of inexperienced or maybe I had just been with too many people) His girlfriend caught him through reading his texts and he denied cheating and just brushed it off as harmless flirting. I didn’t hear from him again or ever saw him again. He probably went back to his girlfriend of 5 years and realize that he spent too long with this girl to throw it away for some random girl he saw 4 times. I still think about him time to time, maybe I was hoping he was going to leave his girlfriend for me but I’m sure if I saw him sober again, I would be really confused as to what I ever saw in him. Disappointing in more ways than one…. Neptune in the 5th.  

My next (and most current) infatuation is my boss, who happened to be 19 years older than me and balding. We’re just at the 7th month of my Neptune transit and this is my 3rd “crush” (I have Venus in gemini…hence my multiple lovers at the same time) This one definitely had all the themes of Neptune connected to it: Forbidden, unobtainable, taboo. He’s also definitely not my type. I find myself saying that a lot, I started falling for guys I would never fall for. I look at them and see no flaws even though he was old and balding, he also had a gut…but he was just adorable to me. It’s bizarre I know, Neptune really has that effect on you. I saw him in the most rose tinted glasses, I thought he was perfect & had the best personality, I didn’t even care about his flaws. I suspect that he has some slight feelings for me too because there is some tension between us but maybe thats just Neptune planting delusions in my head & making me imagine things that aren’t really there. This one is just on going pain and disappointment everyday because of the feelings I have and the inability to act of them because he is my boss.  I find myself being really caught in my head about love. I think about love a lot, I think about my next lover a lot, I imagine what it would be like to meet another guy like my super model, I fantasize about my most perfect soulmate and when I’m going to meet him. I really am in love with the idea of love…but when it happens, it just ends up disappointing me. Maybe its my Venus in gemini that just gets bored once I get something and wants the next new thing. In truth, none of these guys were probably anything special but in my eyes, I was really seeing a fog of perfection that turned into utter disappointment when the fog cleared up.  If all this happened within 7 months, I wonder what the next 10 years of my life is going to look like with this 5th house transit. Somebody help >_<

[liamhaydn-blog]

The Argentina Problem & The need for Dictator Messi

Lionel Messi uses week old babies to do kickups with, he spits in the face of elderly women and burns money infront of the homeless. These are all headlines you won’t ever see, and that’s because they aren’t things that have ever or will ever happen, but he must  have done something.  

Something morally wrong, something really corruptible for otherwise there is no fair reason why a simple humble guy who has done nothing other than raise a family with his one true love and entertain us with breathtakingly consistent talent with a football should be forced to play in the Argentina national side.

On Saturday night Argentina began their Copa America campaign. The first step towards ending their 26 year wait for a major trophy. For Messi, it is his ninth major international tournament for the Argies, and his 5th Copa America.

It’s hard to recall a time Argentina had gone into a Copa America less fancied (it didn’t take long to see why). There was some fleeting hope among the more optimistic Messi/Argentina supporters that maybe these low expectations would work in the teams favour. After the huge pressure of going into the last two Copas expecting themselves to win, maybe the lack of expectation this time would allow them to play with less pressure and they could end up surprising a few people.

As it turned out, no one was surprised with Argentina on Saturday night. The only slight surprise maybe, is that somehow they’ve managed to get worse from the World Cup last summer. 

It was a match we’ve seen Argentina involved in time and time again over the last several years. The defence and midfield too poor with the ball to regularly involve the teams star attackers (not just Messi, the team also has Aguero and Di Maria who play for two of the best teams of the world, but you would be forgiven for forgetting as they’re rarely spotted for the Albiceleste), then the forwards when they do receive the ball usually only have one player ahead or level with them with no sign of the Argentine full backs being anywhere near the opposition final 3rd (atleast they make up for it with their defending right...Right!?..) 

Regarding Lionel Messi, apart from big players who have represented proper minnow nations (George Weah with Liberia for example) it is hard to imagine any player having to deal with more of a stark contrast between their current club side and international side. 

But this is not a minnow nation, this is  Argentina, one of the most formidable powerhouses in International Football. 14 time champions of South America and since they made the final of the inaugural World Cup in 1930, they’ve been back in the showpiece final 4 more times twice winning the greatest prize of them all.

And yet for the last few years the difference between Argentina and FC Barcelona has been the difference between night and day. That’s not to say it’s been all plain sailing at Barca, just one Champions League semi final appearance since they lifted the trophy in 2015 is underachieving by their standards, and the Roma and Liverpool defeats were unforgivable. 

Barca’s hysterical fanbase have been relentless in their insistence that their club is in a real crisis and whilst undoubtedly they are not without issues, in the real world they’ve won a major trophy in 10 out of the last 11 seasons and they’ve claimed the domestic crown (in the opinion of many including me the strongest league in the world) 5 out of the last 7 seasons. 

In 10 games Barca will win 8 of them, Messi will score 9 and assist another 4. Some crisis. It seems as though Messi sees more of the ball and is involved in more openings in the first 10 minutes of a Barcelona game at the Nou Camp than in 90 minutes of an Argentina game. 

Watching Messi in an Argentina match has a strange effect. Simultaneously the 90 minutes drags along, time crawls by whilst also feeling nowhere near long enough for Messi to impact the game. It feels like only by extending Argentina matches to 4 hours long could we hope to see Messi do half of what he does in a game for Barcelona, in an Argentina shirt. 

With just the standard 90 minutes, Messi is usually limited to one good piece of play per Argentina game (be it one good dribble, pass, shot etc.) and one half chance (usually a free kick from a long way out). 

Compared to the dramatic transformation of the European game, South American football feels like a throwback to the game of old, it doesn’t appear to have changed that much since the days of Diego Maradona. The pitches aren’t perfect, the games are very rough, physical, often even ugly. To highlight the difference in style and approach between Football’s two most successful continents, take this statistic: in 51 games at Euro 2016, there were 3 red cards. After 5 matches at this years Copa America, two red cards had already been shown.

Most South American teams seem to take a very conservative, defence first approach. The number of players teams put between the ball and their goal only serves to highlight further just how isolating it is playing as an attacking player in this Argentina team. They’re regularly attacking with just 3 or 4 bodies with 7 opposition players back defending their goal. Of course the only South American team bar the minnows who don’t have a solid defence in place is...Argentina. Nicolas Otamendi? How did this guy actually convince people he can defend? All over the show.

Though the problem has undoubtedly got worse in recent years, in this ‘Messi Era’  Argentina have often had issues scoring against South American opposition in competitive football. Messi’s combined Copa America and World Cup Qualifier record  is 29 goals in 67 games which is by no means a disgrace, but this is a player who at his scoring peak scored 91 goals in a calendar year, who has scored over 40 goals a season for 10(!) consecutive seasons.

Sergio Aguero has 16 Copa America + WCQ goals and Angel Di Maria just 9. In comparison, 22 of Chile International Eduardo Vargas’ 38 international goals have been scored at either the Copa America or in a WCQ.

These problems in finding the net will likely continue for the Argies against Paraguay and if not, the respite will only be a short one, resuming as soon as they face above mediocre opposition in the next stage. That is assuming they get that far, as failing to get the right results against Paraguay and Qatar would be their first group stage exit at the tournament since 1983 and would surely be one of the lowest moments in the history of Argentinian football.

So what can Argentina do about it? well there’s lot they could do about it, lots they could try, but what *will* they do about it? what are they willing to do about it? very little would be my guess. 

All hope of change from the fairly disastrous 2018 World Cup had been pinned on the introduction of Lo Celso into the side and how he would be able to link the midfield to the attack and establish a good partnership with Leo Messi. If Saturday night is anything to go by, this one player will not be enough to remotely come close to lifting Argentina’s fortunes. 

So it appears Argentina will insist on plodding on with the same tried and failed formula, perhaps doing enough to scrape past Paraguay and Qatar before succumbing against the next above mediocre team they face.

It is maddening how little Argentina seem to be willing to change, and whenever they do make a change it always seems like such a random throwaway selection of personnel, done without any real conviction or hope it will bring about improvement. 

For arguments sake here’s how I would look to address The Argentina Problem. First I would move Messi into Midfield. It’s maybe a bit bold to move a player into a position he’s never played before in the middle of a tournament and I can’t understand why its never been experimented with before in friendlies. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Messi is the best footballer Argentina have, the best footballer anyone has, there is zero benefit to having him play in a forward position at the moment where he is so isolated and seeing the ball so rarely. He is the best passer in the world, he will be able to keep the ball better than any of their other midfield options and can hit passes that few can see, but as well he is also a calm player with a cool head who can steady Argentina from the middle and allow them to keep the ball for a while, which at the moment they are completely unable to do.

This also gives Messi the opportunity to dribble from deep and have options infront of him, he will attract many opposition players when he has the ball which should free up more space for the attackers. It’s long been thought that Messi would flourish in centre midfield when his pace left him and though we’re not at that stage yet, with Messi’s passing range and football intelligence combined with his current ineffectiveness in the side I believe the time is now here to try Messi in centre midfield for these final 2 group games.

Ahead of Messi, I would make Dybala a starter in the side. At the moment he doesn’t ever even feature off the bench. Imagine that, a team struggling as much as this one for goals and for quality completely ignores a man who can give them both in abundance if his Juventus career is anything to go by. He’s 25 years old, not a kid and only has 1 goal for his national side due to opportunities being so stark. 

Unless they want another Carlos Tevez on their hands (a world class player whose international career was wasted, scoring just 13 goals over 11 years due to being in and out of the side)  Argentina must trust Dybala sooner rather than later and give him the opportunity to prove himself. It was ridiculous that at last years World Cup he was behind Higuaín in the pecking order and its ridiculous that he still now isn't getting a look-in.

Adding another top class attacker into this side would also give defences more to think about and give the current attackers so much needed support. There needs to be much more fluidity and movement in the Argentine attack, Di Maria is allowing games to pass him by whilst he stands out wide not doing anything. Dybala and Di Maria could switch positions during games, drifting all over.  

Argentina’s defence are appalling so the best way to combat that in the short term could be to just go top heavy, try to outscore teams and hope that by stacking their attack with the best players they have, teams are more wary and respectful of them. Because at the moment they are causing zero fear or worry for the opposition. 

Looking past this tournament, I would also ensure Mauro Icardi is included in every squad from now on, playing as much as possible. I get that he’s a dick and has a bad attitude which may prevent him from hitting the heights he could hit in football, but he’s a brilliant goalscorer. He only needs one chance, one touch. He scored 55 goals in 77 games in 2 seasons for Inter before souring his relationship with the fans. He has been awarded just 8 international caps. 8. He’s 26 years old and Argentina look set to waste having another top striker. And for what? what are they possibly gaining from completely freezing him out.

Looking to the 2022 World Cup, there is only one man who can make Argentina from also rans to serious contenders. Diego Cholo Simeone.

Simeone took control of Atletico in December 2011 days after the team had lost 3-0 at home to a 3rd division team in the cup. They were in 10th place. By May 2014 Atletico had won La Liga in doing so breaking the longest duopoly in Spanish Football since the last time they won it in 1996 when Cholo was a player for them. 

The same season they were literal seconds away from winning their first ever European Cup, this was all achieved with a starting 11 costing 35M pounds. In 8 full seasons at the club Simeone has won La Liga at the Nou Camp against Barca, The Copa Del Rey at the Bernabeu against Real, the Spanish Super Cup, 2 Europa Leagues and 2 Uefa Super Cups. He has made 2 Champions League Finals, and finished in the top 3 for 7 straight years. He has transitioned the club into a new era with a new modern stadium and he has done all of this whilst regularly losing big players and having to rebuild. Prior to taking the Atleti job he was also at the helm of Estudiantes de la Plata when they won their first Argentine league title for 23 years.

Basically, if anyone is going to fix Argentina, it’s going to be him. It has to be him. One day it inevitably will be. The proud Argentine who made 106 appearances for his country will undoubtedly one day fall to the temptation of managing his beloved nation at the FIFA World Cup.

And the way I see it, if you’re going to do it what better time to do it than at the 2022 World Cup where you’ll have a 29 year old Dybala, 30 year old Icardi and the greatest player of all time playing in his last ever World Cup. 

Messi has scored 67 goals in 131 caps for Argentina, better than 1 in 2 which is a solid return if not as mind-blowing as his 603 in 687 games for Barcelona (though given the context of the Argentina team he’s scored 67 in, who knows maybe it is) and though in recent times he’s seemingly grown tired and less able of carrying Argentina on his back, no one should deny that for many years that’s exactly what he did.

Argentina reached extra time of the World Cup Final and 2 Copa America finals in 3 years (Where they was only Higuaín not being shit away from glory. How they must long for them days now). Without Messi that wouldn’t have been possible. He dragged those average teams to touching distance of silverware, and that’s why I hope he is given the chance to play his final World Cup with a truly world class manager in charge.

Just give Messi a chance of winning the biggest prize of all, just a chance. Get Simeone in to coach the defence, get everyone running through brick walls for the shirt and for him and get Messi playing behind Dybala and Icardi, knowing that it’s a collective team effort now and all the responsibility is no longer his. 

It’s what the greatest player of all time deserves and for that reason I hope he picks up the phone soon and calls Simeone. And tells him personally how much he wants him to take the job for the World Cup. It’s hard to imagine that wouldn’t have an effect on Cholo, such a big legend of the game asking personally for you. Then after he’s had time to think on it, I would leak the call to the world, so huge pressure builds on him to accept and he can see the huge fanfare from Argentina fans for him.

Whether Messi the dictator is real or fake, he needs to come out now and take action to save his international career. 

[nightwingism]

5-Years in the Making

So hey, uhm. Hi guys. This isn’t Nightwing related at all, so if you’re following me for that, I’m sorry. This post isn’t the content for you. It’s also VERY long - 5 years long - so if you don’t want to read it, don’t worry about it. It’s also why I’m posting this at 3:13 AM.

I just wanted to take the time and tell a story of my life. Just stuff that has been effecting me since mid 2014. You obviously don’t have to read it. I just wanted to air it out. Get most of it off my chest. 

I feel like it’s important to talk about things that hurt you. That effect you. It’s better to do that than to bottle things up inside you. You know? Because if you just keep it bottled up, where’s the healing? If you let it out, maybe you can make room for something better.

That’s my philosophy anyways. The stuff I tell people. And this is me practicing what I preach.

Please don’t try to figure out who people are, or anything like that. I’d like to keep that a secret. Thanks.

In 2014, during my Junior year in High School, both my Uncle and my Grandpa died. My Uncle, who I was named after, died from an 11 month battle with cancer. My Grandpa died due to smoke inhalation during a house fire a month later that destroyed my Grandparent’s house, due to possibly arson caused by a person who was living in the home. This happened during the months of May - July, roughly. If I’m being honest, this time period really blurred together for me, as it happened just so fast. During this time, my maternal side of the family got really close to each other.

I mean, when I talk to other people about family and stuff, we were always abnormally close, but we got even closer during this time. We had a shirt made up and everything “(Blank) Strong” and what not. Over summer, we spent an ungodly amount of time with each other, as a sort of “mending period.” Slept over at each other’s house, never went anywhere and just stayed cooped up in the house. To be able to lean on each other for comfort. 

Which was very odd for me, since for the previous 17 years of my life, I was essentially bullied by most of them for showing any kind of emotions, for being too emotional. Verbal, emotional, physical. The normal bullying. I’m the youngest, and a boy, so I guess I was supposed to be this unfeeling, unemotional, robot? So to be expected to let out these emotions was weird. I don’t know. I wasn’t able to do it. It just never felt right for me to express sadness when the pain was so much stronger in others. It was a really hard time, feeling like my feelings were invalid due to others and the fact that I just felt like I couldn’t let them out.

It’s not like I didn’t feel bad, or missed - miss - them. I do. Still do 5 years later. But seeing how hard it was for my mom, dad, siblings, and just that whole side of the family, I felt like I had to kind of just saddle that shit up and put on some kind of front. I don’t know. Like I said, it was a really hard time.

My cousins weren’t much older, but they sure loved to act out the adult stuff. For that week, I went to every single party I could go to. Which was basically all of them. And I got my first taste of the stereotypically “high school parties” and all that comes with it. 

I got drunk for the first time, I got high for the first time, I got cross faded for the first time. The whole 9 yards. Turns out? Not a fan of the former and latter - the middle is alright I guess. Being doing the former a lot recently (but that’s a whole different can of worms). So after that, I basically said “nah, not for me. I don’t need that.” Can you really call it cutting it cold turkey if it was only for a week? I guess to just illustrate that point.

2014-2015 senior year went by and we continued to be a really close family.

For Christmas that year, in 2014, my Aunt boasted that she had got us all tickets to go to Cancun for the 4th of July weekend in 2015. Cool, great. During this time we all /loved/ each other, we’re all so close. We would all be 18 years or older by then, so we would all be legally able to drink in Mexico. What could possibly go wrong??

The answer is everything. Everything could go wrong.

This was during Summer School during my 1st year in college, where I was doing Cross Country and in the middle of the training days. So during the trip, I would have to run on a treadmill and workout. Not important to the story, just trying to situate this in my own personal timeline.

The first two days were fine. My cousins and I went to the “club” and I danced with a girl twice my height and totally out of my league. I swam with my newborn niece, babysat my young cousin. My dad recommended me some drinks that mask the taste of alcohol. It was fun. At night my cousins and I would “FaceTime” all of our girlfriends before going to bed or whenever. I put FaceTime in quotes because we had to use this special app due to location and everything. it was weird. I also don’t have an iPhone so.

It really was a great trip those two days.

Then the third day came around. It was on July 3rd. I only remember the date because it was literally the day before the 4th. So 4 - 1, yeah. Anyways. I forget how this whole thing started, but basically I wanted to stay in the room and talk to my at the time girlfriend. I missed her and all that. And I really didn’t want to play volleyball with random girls? But I was talked into it, and i said fine. Whatever.

Went to play, we played a few rounds. It was whatever. After those rounds, they said they were going to clean off and we’ll start a new round. I didn’t want to clean off, since we were still playing and that would just be a waste, so I waited around.

And waited. and waited. and waited.

Half hour goes by and I’m wondering where the hell they were. Turns out, they went to play a whole different game in the pool and just never told me. Ditched me in a game I didn’t even want to play to begin with.

Rude.

But whatever. So I went to go hang out with my niece because I love her and she was barely going to be 3 months. So still cute. 

We were told that we would have to wake up early for the next day (the 4th) because we had something planned, and to make sure we had alarms and room service and all of that situated. I made sure to set that up.

That night, the two cousins wanted to go out to the club again. I was still upset with them so I said no, it was going to be an early night for me. And it was an early night. That is, until they came back into the room at 3am drunk out of their minds with two random girls.

They were the opposite of quiet or considerate. I woke up basically right away. I forget how the conversations went, but the main thing that stuck out to me the most was one of them saying “If he wakes up, I’m leaving.” So I pretended to be asleep so they can have their fun. Whatever. I just want them to shut up and let me sleep.

After an hour of them talking loudly to each other and failing to get them in bed, my cousins take them back to their rooms. So this is roughly 4ish

Me being me locked the door on them, but had second thoughts and unlocked the door. That would have been funny but cruel.

But it probably would have been better than what I did.

So remember when I said I put alarms and room services? Yeah well I totally forgot about that. Turns out I asked for room service for 6am?? Which is an ungodly hour anyways. Lots of metal pans and plates and metal stuff was ushered into our room, and it was like a scene from a movie.

And I was irrationally pissed at everything. And I take full responsibility for being an idiot and not taking the high road. But at the moment, and at the time, it felt like the thing to do.

So I banged on a few of the pans. Turned on the TV and for some reason Women’s tennis was playing. Great. Turned that shit up high. And I really just wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine. Show them how it felt to be rudely woken up.

Well they didn’t like it much. After a few verbal spats thrown towards me, which is nothing new, been told most of those things by them my whole life, whatever, one of them says “he’s a (last name), of course he’s a bitch, all the (last names) are bitches” and that really got to me. 

Because, sure yeah, I can be a dick, an asshole, a douchebag, whatever. But he brought my family into this. My mom, my dad. My whole paternal side. And that really just broke the camel’s back.

To this day, I don’t know how I was able to get out of my bed, get into their bed, without spilling my bowl of cereal, and without them reacting before I was able to throw my 4th punch, but on God, I did it.

Though, I really wasn’t able to get a 5th one in, when they were able to react and go all 2v1. One held, one hit. That was a fun time. I learned I have a pretty solid head that could take a good amount of punches. Almost went blind in my right eye because one of them did the old “thumb in the eye socket” technique. Still have the scar under my eye from it too. But I got a nice clean cut on that one’s neck.

After that we had a very long verbal spat about how “we’re a family goddamn it” and “grandma and my mom thought you’ve been a douche this whole trip” and “you’re just jealous of how we are closer than you could ever be”, oh and a few more random things thrown in there.

They went back to bed, and I sat there on my bed. Watching Tennis. Each wack of the racquet just kind of reminding me of the events prior. 

Oh and it turned out we didn’t have to be up until like 9. So I laid there for like 2 hours like that. I just remember typing everything that happened and sending it to my girlfriend, because I just needed to tell someone, and I didn’t want to forget any of it.

It was also then that I basically had a dilemma.

If I told my family what happened, the trip was over. Completely over. This getaway adventure to escape our troubles would turn into a family spat. And I just couldn’t do that to them. I couldn’t.

So i didn’t.

I remember thinking up a lie on the spot to explain why my eye was bloodied. I said I fell into the side of the drawer. I remember my rational was something along the lines of “I needed something to be so obviously a lie, that they wouldn't bother to ask me to elaborate now”. And they didn’t.

This was the 4th. And I think we went home on the 7th? So I just needed to avoid everything for the next 3 days and then I was home free.

Before it was over, my mom and sister got into a little fight, so we both isolated ourselves from the group. She asked me what really happened, and I told her. So she really helped me throughout those days.

The trip was over. Woot. Now I never had to see any of them again, because I would be able to just say no to family get-togethers. Get a life of my own.

NOPE.

We had a dodger game THAT Friday. And we already bought the tickets. So I couldn’t really say no. And my girlfriend was coming too, so at least I’d have her to keep me sane.

Well, here’s the funny thing. It wasn’t until the drive to the game where my family finally turned to me and asked “So what really happened”.

Before I told the story, I literally BEGGED my mom not to say anything. I made her promise multiple times that she wouldn’t. And she promised and agreed. So I told my tale of astonishment, everything up to this point. How they were all called bitches and that’s what set me off to turn it physical.

Again, I just want to say that I know I shouldn’t have turned it physical. But insulting me is one thing, insulting my family is a whole other level.

Anyways, we get to the game. (There’s a part where my grandma was upset because I didn’t hug her? But I honestly don’t remember that because I just remember trying to find the bathroom. So maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t, I still don’t know) I get my food, and we go up to the seats. I’m already sitting on the top - away from everyone as much as I can - and everyone starts to work there way in. Eventually my mom and dad start walking up.

And this is where all hell breaks loose.

My mom shouts “the bitches are here” and that was really just. Wow. Insults are hurled, slander is tossed. It was a very lively discussion. And there I was. Just sitting there, because the ONE thing I didn’t want to happen, the ONE thing I tried so hard not to let happen, is unfolding right in front of me.

I remember one of the female cousins who wasn’t involved try to argue some point, one of the male cousins crying, and my aunt saying “did you see what he did to (my son’s) neck!” and my mom responding “Yes I did!” all proud. 

Fast forwarding to April 2016, and to sort of just fill everything in from Dodgers game to then, it was basically full of Facebook digs directed towards us, my grandma saying for us to knock it off and stop enticing them, and then more digs. 

For someone reason, no one in my family was safe. All of us had something negative to be said. But it basically boiled down to it being targeted at me (of course), my mom, and my oldest sister. 

Anyways, in April, my grandma was having a birthday party. I forget how old she was turning, but we had a big celebration. I remember it was only supposed be “X” amount of money, but it seemingly doubled over night to pay for things that weren’t needed to be paid. A lot of wasted money.

It was my grandma’s birthday though. And that wasn’t a thing I was going to miss, regardless of how everything was.

A lot of things transpired that night. Small things. But things none the less.

The next day, I sent a text to my aunt, telling her what I felt and why I felt that way. I believe it was mainly addressed to talk how she was being rude to my girlfriend, and I didn’t appreciate that, and asking her to treat her with more respect. Didn’t go over well. I think I got a meme as a reply that was saying “the world doesn’t revolve around you”. Yeah.

A few days later, my oldest sister and I went to my grandma’s to talk to her. Because we felt like this was just an awful situation for us and we wanted to try to get her to see that we weren’t doing anything. Anyways, I guess during this time, one of the male cousins was texting my other sister.

Essentially, he said my sister lied about a very traumatic effect that happened to her, which still effects her to this day, and that if it “really did happen, there would be a police report”.

I don’t think I’ve cried that hard in a long time. I remember breaking down and just. Yeah. We showed it to my grandma, because there’s no way this could be real? Right? And I remember I was furious. I was so fucking pissed off. I was /visibly/ shaking.

For the next, I don’t know, 2 hours, me and him went back and forth in text messages. Just hurling insults at each other. I eventually started to target his mom, my aunt, because he made a side comment about “don’t talk about my mom” and, cmon, that’s like, an invitation at that point, especially in that mindset. 

Side note, a lot of those insults thrown at me are now inside jokes between my friends and I because they were just the stupidest things I’ve ever been called.

So I was insulting him, insulting my aunt, and just ready to take on the world at this point. Because, honestly, at this point I was just holding on to my anger. It wasn’t good at all. And to have something like that be said about my sister? It really brought that fire to life. And it’s the main reason why I can never really forgive them. At least him. 

But that’s a whole other story on why.

So maybe a couple days later, my whole family gets a message on facebook. It’s a 6 paged message that essentially boils down to “this is what is wrong with you, you, you and you, and you guys are toxic as hell and you guys are out of our lives.

My favorite part is when I’m called a “selfish, ungrateful, self-entitled punk” and how I’m jealous and want to be like my cousin. Which is hilarious. She also mentions the traumatic experience in quotes, which pissed me off, because quotes usually indicate the idea of a falsehood that is being passed along as facts. 

From there, we don’t talk. We don’t talk for a year or so.

I don’t think it was until mid to late 2017 where people started to talk to each other again. Thanksgiving and Christmas usually forced us. But we slowly started doing things together, and having family events with each other that last longer than an hour.

And now it’s 2019. And we are doing full on holidays again. Inviting each other to these things out of the blue. Acting like nothing ever happened. Back to the “old days” sort of deal. 

“The healing process.”

And I just don’t know. I don’t like going to these things still. I’m still angry at everything. I’m still hurting from it all. 

I’ve been wearing this fucking mask at these events all these years, reinforcing it after each use, acting like I can stand to be there, that I don’t want to get up and just run away. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to use school as an excuse to leave events early this year. But that could only go so far.

And it’s been 5 years. And I don’t know what to do. 

Except write it all down, throw it into the wind, and just try to heal I guess. Heal as much as I possibly can.

[dontkeepthedevilwaiting]

Here we are!

Thank you, dear readers for submitting your thoughts on UCN, it’s time for us to do the same. We believe it is Michael’s Hell. Hold on for a second, and let us explain, but first, let’s explore and talk about the views you have submitted, thank you each and everyone who did!

(Full post under the cut)

@mymandakat​ says

That’s completely understandable! Keeping up with FNaF is rough, and that’s an understandable viewpoint, however with so many voicelines that are... Striking we can’t really feel the same way

@starryoak​ says:

God, is this a relatable one. But, as I shall elaborate on further later, I feel Will deserves something more biting. Torturous. Fitting for an abusive, manipulative, murderous liar.

@cuddlycat4​ says:

A great point! Plus I feel if we played as William, some form of Michael would be there, maybe after he’s scooped.

@funtime-innards​ says:

That’s fair! I’ve seen a lot of reasons why it could be William’s hell, and a lot of them raise fair points, but if you’ll hold on, let us explain our findings (as best we can, without spoilers, of course!)

@kittyqueen445​ says

Again, fair enough! But for us, the opposite is true.

@smiranna1210 (Who I can’t tag for some reason >:/) says: 

First off, no need to apologize! believe me, if anyone should be apologizing it’s me ><, to continue, I’ll go ahead and delve into our pre-prepared lines we went into:

“I recognize you, but I’m not afraid of you, not anymore.” -The Puppet

  We know that Michael was a bully when he was younger, as evidenced in the FNAF 4 minigames. And with some fancy calculations, we can determine that Michael was at least 11 years older than Charlotte. This could account for why she would be scared of him.   If you were a young child watching someone bigger, and taller picking on kids, you’d be terrified! I was bullied when I was younger, and even kids who were younger and shorter than me were scary.   It would certainly also make sense for it to be William, but I feel like another Puppet quote would also back us up.

“I don’t hate you, but you need to stay out of my way.” -The Puppet 

  She sees Michael as someone who interferes with bringing life to the children, but doesn’t feel hatred toward him like she does for William.   And for your reference to Orville, we have an idea for that as well:

“He tried to release you, he tried to release us, but I’m not gonna let that happen. I will hold you here, I will keep you here, no matter how many times they burn us.” -Orville Elephant    This refers to Henry trying to release the souls by burning down the pizzeria, Orville using the “they” pronoun could be referring to the minions of hell because Henry only burned down a pizzeria with them once. And as for Michael, he seems to be a much more unaware component to Henry’s plan.

@fnafcomicsartandaus​ says:

Once again, completely understandable! we’ll go over the rest of the voicelines very soon, and I can totally see that being a satisfying conclusion, but we have some ideas that might also be a lovely conclusion.

Anonymous says:

William does deserve hell yes, but again, doesn’t he deserve to be in a Hell more permanent? And as for the one you should not have killed, Michael’s hands are not clean. Michael has done wrong, but wrongs that can be made right. It’s not entirely his fault, either. We’ll go into it more in the comic, if you’ll care to stick around.

And lastly, @cherry-s-poison​ says:

Now, this has been one of the most intriguing cases for William’s hell I’ve seen. However, I do still want to provide our (almost) full evidence for Michael’s hell, if you’d care to read...

  We believe that by playing through and beating UCN, you are playing as Michael trying to redeem your soul. Michael has sinned. He bullied his brother and accidentally killed him, but he is not beyond saving.   Michael resides in the 5th circle of hell, the circle of wrath, where the dead fight each other.   William, however, is beyond redemption. His hell is deeper, more permanent. He resides in the third ring of the 9th circle of hell where traitors to their guests are frozen in ice, and we can hear his screams from the fifth circle. William is a traitor to his guests because he killed children who came to be entertained at his pizzeria. In Dante's Inferno, it is explained the once a person commits such treachery against their guest, their soul falls to Ptolomea (the 3rd round of the 9th ring) before their body is even dead and that their body is then inhabited by a demon until it's natural death.

And now for the quotes that stand out to us the most:

“I can’t run like I used to, but I can pull myself apart just fine.” -Foxy (If you play as Michael in every game, sometimes under assumed names, you would know how fast Foxy used to run to get into your office.

“You won’t get tired of dying, will you?” -Toy Chica (It is established in The Fourth Closet that William has yet to die. He somehow, miraculously keeps hanging on, even under extreme circumstances. Michael, however, gets scooped and dies, yet manages to regain control over his body as some sort of zombie. And, again, if we are playing as Michael the entire time, we see him die over and over with every jumpscare.)

“Where is my beak? Lodged in your forehead, of course.” (In FNAF 2, we have a time where we find Toy Chica’s beak is missing, and in FNAF 4, the girl with the toys of the animatronics has a Chica with a missing beak. These would be things that Michael would have seen.)

“Now I can play take apart and put back together! You won’t feel a thing.” -Mangle (This alludes to the fact that Michael worked in the FNAF 2 location where the Mangle was a pull-apart and put-together attraction.)

“I wanted to wait for just the right moment to drop in!” -Mangle (Mangle drops in on their victims to bite them in the face, which they try on Michael in FNAF 2)

“He’s here and always watching, the one you shouldn’t have killed.” -Mangle (William has killed multiple children, and if we were to break it down to “the one you shouldn’t have killed,” it would be Charlotte [a girl]. Whereas, we watch Michael feed his little brother to Fredbear. Later in the game, we hear a flatline, signaling that the brother died. This is the one Michael shouldn’t have killed.)

“Come face the consequences of your failure.” -Withered Bonnie (Michael has failed to save the children. In FNAF 2, we see the Puppet tell Michael to Help Them! Save Them! Then there is the message: You Can’t.)

“I have seen him, the one you shouldn’t have killed.” -Withered Chica (Another reference to the “ONE” you shouldn’t have killed.)

“Seeing you powerless is like music to me.” -The Puppet (We know that music soothes the puppet. Without music, she comes at Michael. Seeing him powerless is also comforting to her.)

“I am remade, but not by you, by the one you should not have killed.” -Nightmare Freddy (WIthout giving too much away with what we think the first part of this means, we have another reference to the “ONE” you should not have killed.)

“The light can’t save you now.” -Nightmare Freddy (Michael flashes the light to get rid of the nightmares.)

“What a gift to relish, a victim that can’t perish” -Nightmare Freddy (Baby has stated that Michael won’t die. While his body does in fact die, unlike William, Michael’s spirit remains as he has unfinished business)

“Let me put you back together, then take you apart all over again,” and “Let’s see how many times you can be pulled apart.” -Nightmare Fredbear (Michael broke his brother by sticking him into the Fredbear’s mouth. Now it’s Fredbear’s turn to break Michael.)

“This time, there is more than an illusion to fear.” -Nightmare Fredbear(These are Michael’s nightmares, his fears, and now they are real because he is in purgatory.)

“We know who our friends are, and you are not one of them.” -Nightmare Fredbear (If you go to the pile of toys in Michael’s brother’s room, he tells you that these are his friends. They are not, however, Michael’s friends.

“Greetings from the fire, and the one you should not have killed.” -Jack o’ Chica (Another reference to the one you should not have killed.)

“This is a nightmare that you won’t wake from.” -Nightmarionne (Michael has nightmares, but now that he is truly dead, he will not wake from them.

“This time, death cannot save you.” -Nightmarionne (Nightmarionne is not canon, which could mean that there is no actual animatronic stalking Michael, but rather just a nightmare. Every time Michael gets jumpscared in game, he dies again, but is able to return because as Baby said, “He won’t die.” But in hell, death will not save Michael from the eternal torment, only beating the game will release his soul to heaven.)

“I am the fearful reflection of what you have created.” -Nightmarionne (This one is a little too spoiler-y, so I can’t go into it, but needless to say, Michael is the one who is scared of his reflection.)

“I guess you forgot about me.” -Circus Baby (We know that Michael is William’s son. We also know that Elizabeth is WIlliam’s daughter. Did Michael forget he had a sister?)

“Want to see the scooping room?” -Circus Baby 

(Baby tricks Michael into going into the scooping room, so she and the others [as Ennard] can take over Michael’s body.)

“You won’t die, but you’ll wish you could.” -Scrap Baby

 (At the end of Sister Location, we see a scooped Michael with Ennard inside throw up Ennard, fall down, and we hear Baby’s voice say, “He won’t die,” over and over again. Then zombie Michael gets up and all of Ennard’s eyes look at him from the sewer.)

I would love to go into Lefty’s lines here, but it’s too spoiler-y for what we have planned.

Bonus:

I know it may seem strange to cram FNAF 4 and Sister location together, but I think Nightmare’s lines really back this theory up.

“I am your wickedness, made flesh.” -Nightmare

 (Michael gets scooped on Night 5 of Sister Location, but he is still haunting his own body while Ennard is wearing him as a skin suit. Nightmare appears on Night 7, and is the embodiment of Michael’s worst fears.)

“I am here to claim what is left of you.” -Nightmare

 (It may be that Nightmare is possibly acting as the Grim Reaper, here to collect what remains of Michael after he is scooped.)

“I will vomit you back, to relive your horror.” -Nightmare

 (After Michael walks around with Ennard inside his skin for several days, he vomits up the spaghetti monster. If Nightmare is there, a animatronic personification of Michael’s fears and his death, Nightmare would know of this. Michael might fear being vomited up by an animatronic because it would have meant losing the fight against Ennard.)

To conclude, we thank everyone for sticking with us through the walls of text. There was a lot of information, and interesting opinions to comb through, and we hope we have shed some light and inspired opinions of your own. Thank you for lending your ears (or eyes, for that matter) and we hope you continue to enjoy the comic!

[arishamod]

Ultra Jump May 2018: 100 Questions for Komiya Arisa

“I’ll affect you with the magic of love  ♪”

TL: Arishamod QC: Ippi, Yuja

Komiya Arisa (Voice of Kurosawa Dia)

Nickname: Arisha

Birthday: 5th February

Blood Type: B

Hobbies: Reading Manga, Sleeping

Skills: Drawing portraits, Classical ballet

Notable Roles:

Movies: “Love X Doc”, “50 First Dates”, “After School War”, “Yumeji: Ai no Tobashiri”, “Evergreen Love”

Drama:   “Teru Konda's Legal Recipes”, “ Uchu Sentai Kyuranger (Akyanbaa)”

TV: “Tsuukai TV Sukattojapan”, “Tonight’s Nazotore”

1. Favorite food?

Meat.

2. Disliked food?

Hot tofu.

3. Favorite sweets?

Japanese rice crackers.

4. Your number one favorite home-cooked dish?

Although my mom is really good at cooking, and I love all the food she cooks, my favourite is still Ebi Fry (fried shrimp)!

5. Favorite color?

White.

6. Favorite scent?

A slightly sweet floral scent.

7. Favorite season?

Winter.

8. Favorite event of the year?

Birthday.

9. What sport do you like watching?

Figure Skating.

10. What sport do you like playing?

I don’t know how many years it’s been since I’ve played sports. Although I like to watch it, I might not say the same about playing it.

11. Favorite animal?

Dogs, but if it comes to looking at them only, it would be cats.

12. If you were to compare yourself to an animal, what would you be?

I look like a cat.

13. Are you a dog person? Or a cat person?

Dog person.

14. Favorite manga?

“Black Butler”.

15. Favorite genre of manga?

A clichéd shojou manga.

16. First manga you read?

“Ciao (Cha-o)”.

17. First anime you watched?

“Sailor moon”.

18. Favorite movie?

“Les Misérables”.

19. Favorite musical artist?

No one in particular.

20. Song(s) you listen to every day?

I don’t really listen to music…

21. First CD you bought?

A “Morning Musume” CD.

22. Your specialty song at karaoke?

I almost never go to the karaoke.

23. Phone lock screen?

The portrait that was drawn by Kubonouchi Eisaku that was used for my collaboration goods.*

*the same one that was used for her 3rd fan meeting.

24. A clothing brand you often buy?

UN3D and Elendeek.

25. Your best outfit?

None in particular.

26. Favorite place in your house?

Bed.

27. What do you want most right now?

A small Balenciaga purse.

28. What’s something that you’ll always carry in your bag?

My purse and portable charger.

29. What’s something you’ve been collecting unintentionally?

Cosmetics for the lips.

30. What’s your treasure?

The necklace that was given to me by my parents on my 20th birthday.

31. What kind of child were you?

Even now I am a child who has freedom.

32. Your childhood treasure?

The stuffed bear that my grandma gave to me.

33. Your childhood dream?

To be in “Sailor Moon”.

34. Someone you respect?

My parents.

35. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

Domestically, I would want to travel to Shikoku*. If it’s overseas, I would like  to travel to Iceland, where I previously traveled to for work once.

*Shikoku is the smallest major island in Japan.

36. What country do you want to try visiting?

France.

37. Any bad habits?

Recently I feel like I am hunching my back.

38. Do you have a catchphrase?

Demo sa (but).

39. Charm point?

My eyes.*

*I’m pretty sure this is her SFW answer because she has mentioned that her butt is her charm point in her gravure interviews ><

40. A strength you have?

I diligently do what needs to be done.

41. A shortcoming you have?

Frequently changing my mood.

42. Your special skill?

Classical ballet and drawing portraits.

43. Something you’re bad at?

Staying still.

44. A precise weakness of yours?

I am useless when I don’t have enough sleep.

45. What do you want to fix about yourself?

Since I realised that I get lonely too easily, so I want to feel secure when I am by myself.

46. What are you confident you can imitate well?

The faces of people with their eyes wide open from the manga by Mr. Umezu Kazuo.

47. What’s something you could live off of?

Food.

48. Your current obsession?

Since I have received a Kindle, I have been reading.

49. A phrase you’ve been using a lot?

None in particular.

50. Favorite motto?

Do it one way or another.

51. If you could describe yourself with one word, what would it be?

Doing as one wishes.

52. Something you’ve been picky about recently?

When they are doing my partial makeup for our stage costumes for Aqours, I sometimes insist that they “must use this eye shadow”.

53. Fill in the blank with something positive: I’m actually _.

Able to forget anything completely once I go to sleep.

54. Fill in the blank with something negative: I’m actually _.

Lonely.

55. Anything but this!

Being touched randomly by things around me

56. What would the world be better off without?

I do not know.

57. How do you kill time?

Sleep.

58. How do you relieve stress and refresh yourself?

Sleep.

59. What app have you been using often recently?

The calendar app that I use for managing my schedule.

60. What’s something you always do once you wake up?

Brush my teeth.

61. What’s something you always do before you sleep?

Drink water.

62. What do you do when you ride the train?

Things like reviewing Aqours’ dances and checking my Twitter.

63. What do you do to maintain your health?

Food definitely helps.

64. What do you do when you have the day off?

Sleep or go shopping.

65. What do you do when you have time to yourself?

Sleep or lie on my bed and do nothing.

66. What do you do when you hang out with friends?

We go to cafes.

67. Where do you want to go on a  date?

A meal would be fine.

68. If you were to confess to someone, what kind of situation would you want it to be?

I don’t really intend on confessing...

69. If someone were to confess to you, what kind of situation would you want it to be?

I want them to confess to me in person!

70. Something fun that happened recently?

When I was in Tokyo and Osaka for 3 days for my birthday event, there were many people who came to the event. It was difficult, but together with everyone who came to the event, I did my best! I had fun during this event.

71. Something sad that happened recently?

When I can’t remember what kind of work I did when I return home everyday.

72. Something funny that happened recently?

I often wear my western clothes backwards. I find that funny yet sad (laughs).

73. Something about your past you want to erase?

Nothing! Right now I should use all of it as a source of encouragement…

74. A moment that made you think “This is a miracle!”?

The time when I was heading to the station without checking the schedule, and the train came at a really good time.

75. A moment that made you think “I’m glad to be alive”?

When I am eating a delicious meal.

76. What wish do you want granted in the future?

To appear in a morning drama.

77. What’s something you wished for that came true?

Becoming a heroine.

78. Any fond memories of 2017?

I was able to travel to many different regions through the lives and events.

79. What went wrong in 2017?

I guess the year passed without any failures that was big enough to immediately come to mind...

80. What would you do if you won 100 million yen from the lottery?

Put money into my savings and buy a house.

81. What would you do if you had a time machine?

Since I neither want to know the future, nor do I want to change the past, I wouldn’t use it.

82. What would you want to do if the world were to end tomorrow?

Live a normal day with my family.

83. What would you want to eat if the world were to end tomorrow?

A meal cooked by my mom.

84. If you could bring one thing to a deserted island, what would it be?

“Anywhere Door”*

*The same one used by Doraemon

85. If you were reborn in another world, what would you want to become?

A human with save points.

86. If you were reborn in this world, what would you want to become?

Human.

87. If you were to be reborn, would you want to be male or female?

Female.

88. What’s good about being a girl?

Being able to wear many different cute western clothes each day.

89. What’s something you’d want to try if you were male?

I want be a playboy.

90. A challenge you want to take on?

I want to drive down from a mountain pass…

Though even if I got a license, I definitely wouldn’t do it.

91. A voice role you want to try in the future?

A normal girl. I think that it’s different trying to portray a normal girl.

92. If you could do any job outside of voice acting, what would it be?

Currently, I am doing gravure as part of my actress work outside of being a voice actress. When I was young, aside from the entertainment industry, I wanted to be either a pharmacist or nutritionist.

93. What made you the happiest out of everything you’ve been told?

“You have become such a mature woman”, which was said by a staff member that I’ve have known for some time.

94. Have you been keeping any secrets from the rest of Aqours?

There isn’t anything important enough that I will keep a secret from them…!

95. Where in Numazu would you like to visit again?

The frog museum.

96. Praise yourself as much as possible!

Your skin is so smooth!

97. Memories of your first love?

Around the time when I was an elementary school student?

I have forgotten it, just like how I forgot what I did yesterday. I don’t really remember much…

98. Please tell us a life changing experience.

Right before I turned 18, I had to live on my own, but I did not know how to use a washing machine.

99. Your thoughts on today’s photoshoot?

Since it is the season for spring clothes, being able to have pictures of us taken with the poses from the AZALEA cover with the room filled with balloons, really makes me happy.

        100. Finally, a word for your fans!

There will be many more events, so please do come for them!

Let’s watch out for each other’s health (laughs).

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 1/26/22

The last week of January brings us no manga whatsoever!… OK, I lie, there’s a lot.

ASH: You almost had me there!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has the 8th volume of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear.

And in early digital we see Berserk of Gluttony 5 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3.

Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

ASH: Which reminds me that I still need to read the first two, but I suspect that it’s a series that I’ll enjoy.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. The light novel debut is Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu). You can likely guess how this one goes.

ASH: I do find it fascinating to see how these trends evolve over time.

SEAN: The manga debut is Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Shinja Zero no Megami-sama to Hajimeru Isekai Kouryaku), based on the light novel J-Novel Club also puts out. This runs in Comic Gardo.

We also see the 7th An Archdemon’s Dilemma manga, the 5th Black Summoner manga, By the Grace of the Gods 10, The Ideal Sponger Life 6, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 11, the 2nd Reborn to Master the Blade manga, the 6th Record of Wortenia War manga, and Sweet Reincarnation 6.

Kaiten Books has a digital 3rd volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.

Kodansha debuts in print a new boxset holding the first 7 volumes of The Quintessential Quintuplets. Go read the part of the manga that everyone loved because they were sure their girl would win.

ASH: Haha!

SEAN: Also debuting in print is The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse (Mokushiroku no Yonkishi), a prequel to The Seven Deadly Sins that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

There’s also the 13th and final CITY, If I Could Reach You 6, the 12th and final Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Knight of the Ice 8, Saint Young Men omnibus 7, To Your Eternity 16, Wave, Listen to Me! 8, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 7, the last volume before the timeskip.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Knight of the Ice and Wave, Listen to Me!.

ANNA: Knight of the Ice is one of the rare series that I’m actually caught up on because it is just that good!

ASH: This is a good Kodansha week for me! In addition to those two series, I’m particularly interested in Saint Young Men and To Your Eternity.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Zatsuki: Make Me a Star (Zatsuki ~Watashi o Sutaa Nishi Nasai~), a shoujo title from Palcy. Two teenage stars whose careers are going in opposite directions meet at high school.

MICHELLE: I’m at least moderately interested in this.

ANNA: Me too.

MELINDA: This sounds very enjoyable!

SEAN: Also digital: Back When You Called Us Devils 9, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 3, Harem Marriage 13, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 3, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 4, Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 8, Tesla Note 2, Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 5, and What I Love About You 8.

Seven Seas debuts The Girl I Want is So Handsome! (Ikemen Sugidesu Shiki-senpai!), a done-in-one omnibus from Comic Yuri Hime. Shiki falls for an older girl at her school. She’s so handsome, and so cool… and so oblivious!

ASH: Count me as curious.

MELINDA: Same.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: the 10th and final Gal Gohan, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 3, Harukana Receive 9. Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 3, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 4.

Square Enix has A Man and His Cat 5.

MICHELLE: Yay!

MELINDA: I, too, say “yay!”

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Double, a manga from a magazine called Flat Heroes. Two friends are actors in the same theater troupe. One is asked to “double” the other, even as his career takes him in a new direction. Somehow this turns into a seinen thriller? Gonna be honest, this sounds fascinating.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: You still won’t trick me, Tokyopop!

ASH: Exactly so.

MELINDA: Ugh, the nerve of them releasing something that sounds interesting. I mean that with complete sincerity.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I’m certainly trepidatious. Speaking of hurts I shall never forgive, I have taken to requesting Silver Diamond on all of Seven Seas’ monthly license-request surveys. It’s BL and isekai-adjacent, so maybe? I figure it’s at least worth a shot!

SEAN: They’ve also got The Fox & Little Tanuki 4.

Viz has another massive One Piece box set that has Vol. 71-90 of the series.

Yen On has a 2nd volume of Spy Classroom.

Two debuts for Yen Press. The Abandoned Empress is a Korean webcomic that is one of those “spurned noble ends up going back in time to try to fix things” stories.

ASH: I like that Korean comics haven’t been forgotten by publishers these days!

MELINDA: Ah! Agreed!

SEAN: Spy Classroom is an adaptation of the light novel – see two lines up. It runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

Also from Yen Press: Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 4, Cocoon Entwined 4, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 11, I Cannot Reach You 3, I’m the Hero, but the Demon Lord’s Also Me 3, Kaiju Girl Caramelise 5, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 2, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 17, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online 4, The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 4, and Yowamushi Pedal 19.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on I Cannot Reach You and Cocoon Entwined and, most especially, Yowamushi Pedal! I reckon the Inter High has gotta be finished by now!

ANNA: One of these days I need to read Yowamushi Pedal. My kids read it though so I just need to figure out where it is in my house.

ASH: I’m slowly catching up, myself. Hime Hime!

SEAN: See what I mean? Barely any manga at all. What are you getting?

By: Sean Gaffney

[jrpneblog]

Journey`s end.

This strangest of seasons reaches journey`s end on Saturday lunchtime as North End make the trip to the City Ground Nottingham (KO 12:30pm) for the 46th and final league game. There is no doubt that this season will be remembered as the season with now fans and whether North End finish 13th or 14th after Saturday`s fixtures, the league position will not define the season. However with 8 games to go and an interim head coach with no managerial experience in place things were not looking so bright. The fact that we had 44 points with 8 games to go was worrying but as it has turned out we would only have needed 45 points to be safe, so I suppose you could say that Brad Potts goal in injury time against Norwich was enough to keep us up but it certainly didn't feel like it. We will round up the season in more detail once the season is complete around 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. For now I`m just going to concentrate on the usual format because, well, it is actually a usual week.

Last Saturday we produced another very good performance beating play-off contenders, Barnsley, 2-0 in the process. I real hope the Tykes do it in the play offs against the odds as it will give other teams on smaller budget the inspiration and motivation to go on and do you best every game and if you do who knows what can be achieve. The Barnsley game saw a man of the match performance from Jordan Storey who has had a bit of a torrid time of it during various parts of the season, particularly in the 4-1 defeat at Watford. However he has finished the season well and scored the first goal against Barnsley 8 minutes before the break and flicked the ball on for Ched Evans to get the second and winning goal four minutes after the break. He seems to have settled in with this thrown together back three but in fairness to Lindsay, Hughes and Storey they have done an excellent job during the run in.

On Saturday we travel to Nottingham and take on a Forest side who seem to have really under achieved this season. The fact that I tipped them to be right up when I guested of a From The Finney podcast probably put the kiss of death on them as it usually does. Incidentally I also said Blackburn would be the surprise team in the Championship...what do I know! The Reds are not in particularly good form having taken just four points from the last five game with four draws and a defeat. I will be slightly surprised if Frankie makes wholesale changes and if everyone is fir it wouldn`t surprise me if he keeps the same team that beat Barnsley last Saturday. All games are important and while there is only one league position at stake in this game, win or lose, it would be good to finish the season with 61 points in 13th place. In years to come it will look like it was an decent sort of season given the number of teams with parachute payments but my oh my it really could have been so different as we know. I`m going for a North End win to finish the season off in style and to give give Frankie McAvoy 17 points from his 8 games which is absolutely promotion form. Don`t forget, as well, in those 8 games we have played 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th so there have been no gimmes at all. 

And finally this week (x2):- 

1.Football, as we know, throws up some incredible co-incidences and this years Gentry day at Nottingham on Saturday is no different. North End are taking the Gentry Banner to the City Ground and placing it behind the away goal. Nothing wrong with that you might think. Nothing indeed. However, on that Banner is my Dad`s name, my Dad passing away in February 2019. So I guess you could say that my Dad will be at the City Ground on Saturday and I will be at home watching on the PC. Now here is the co-incidence - the last away game my Dad went to that I wasn`t with him was....you`ve guessed it...... Nottingham Forest v Preston North End 22nd September 1973. It was a game in the early days of Bobby Charlton being our manager and I was stuck at my Grandma`s poorly sick. To add more co-incidence it was the last ever away game my Maternal Grandfather (Bill Smalley) attended, he would have been 70 years old at the time. I did get to watch the game as it was featured on Match of the day and the 1-1 draw was the first point Forest had dropped at home that season.

2. As people who know me will vouch for, I am not one for blowing my trumpet with betting. In fact I am one of the worlds worst tipsters, however the JR High Fives little flutter has had some success this season and with North End being the final bet we have a chance of being £57.25 up for the season. At worst it will be £40.75 and a profit of 20%+ . So good luck to anyone daft enough to follow me and let`s hope North End make it a final day win at Forest on Saturday at a nice price of 23/10 with the 36th and final selection of the season

.

JR`s HIGH FIVES                               

Preston to beat Nottingham Forest 23/10                        

A £5 Stake returns £16.50 on bet365                 

SEASONS STATS                               

Returns  £220.75    Stake £175.00    percentage profit  + 26.1%                        

Predictions 35   won 20   lost 15

[intricacynights]

Mir Omar Interview by Danielle Sanders

May 5th 2018

Mir Omar took the time to answer a few questions after his most recent gig at Intricacy Pathways on April 13th 2018:

Adolescents is a time when most kids are playing video games, hanging out with friends, getting in trouble, and most importantly figuring out whom they are.  Occasionally during adolescents, a person is lucky enough to stumble upon something that will end up being a major aspect of their life and help shape who they become.  For Mir Omar, he took an adolescent hobby and is now starting a blooming career with a bright future in a very competitive field.  Finding his niche, the New York native shows poise and distinction behind the decks, while still maintaining a playful, good humor and determined nature in his day to days.  The New York scene has some major hitters coming out right now, and Mir Omar is one of them.

1)      You have been producing and djing for over 12 years now, yet you describe yourself as the same old (young) kid from New York.  Is it important that you stay true to yourself? What growth have you seen in the last 12 years?

I got introduced to dance music, djing and production all around the same time when I was 14. My older brother is really the reason all of these learning opportunities came to me at an early age. Up until the first year of college, all of these were just hobbies except I actively listened to a lot of music and was up to date with what was going on… As time went by, with better self-discipline and very supportive people around me, I’ve gotten to where I am at the moment. Staying true to yourself is important for sure, regardless of what your profession is. But, it’s far more important to have integrity, never forget the people who were there for you when you were starting off, remembering that there’s always more room for improvement and that there is no end to the learning process. In the past 12 years… I replaced playing soccer with drinking beer lol but many of my hobbies have remained the same, I’m a bit more confident as person now than back then. I also have very supportive people around me so I owe a lot of it to them.

2)      Your newest track is the remix of Tim Penner “Lost Again,” which has received amazing support.  When you finish remixing a track or completing one, were you surprised by the support? When do you finally decide a track is ready for release?

When I initially got the invite to remix Tim, I got super excited. Tim is a brilliant producer and I have known him for a few years. This track was tough to remix because there are already great remixes to it, on top of the brilliant original piece. I was able to give it a new theme and I’m happy with the support it received. Surprised...a little bit but mostly happy :) I usually finish the entire track in a 6-7 hour overnight sitting lol then clean the track over the next few days, listen to it over different headphones, speakers. If I have a gig, I’ll play it out and see how people react to it. The ready for release is tough to answer, but I guess when I hear it repeatedly, feel it and don’t have any obvious mixing nightmares haha. My friend Monoverse actually is always there to give me feedback so it’s refreshing to get a second pair of ears in.

3)      You have received a lot of praise and support from John O’Callaghan, especially with him asking you to open for his Total Spectrum show in Chicago.  What does that mean to you?

Being a progressive Dj, and growing up listening to John’s music, I was extremely curious about his Henrik Zuberstein alias that he had been releasing progressive house under. After a long discussion about music with him at Subculture NYC, I asked him if I could get more of the Zuberstein stuff before release etc. We exchanged some emails later and he requested me to open for him at Cielo in December 2015. It was a 3 hour set and I’m happy that he liked what he heard. I got the chance to do the same in June 2017 and most recently in Chicago this past weekend at Total Spectrum. All I will take away from this is that there aren’t too many of the big guys who will take notice of the warm up guys. When I first met John, I didn’t even think of where this would take me, but I’m glad that our talks, and him pushing me to make music has brought me where I am now. This is the beginning of something great for years to come, and hopefully many more booths shared with John.

4)      There is a lot of debate, especially on the internet for progressive house vs. progressive trance.  Where do you see yourself, and what do you feel are the biggest differences between the two genres.

I personally dislike talking about genres and subgenres of dance music. Music should be felt, not argued about...Although I can see why prog house has a bad taste attached to it thanks to the misinterpretation of progressive during the EDM boom around 2010. I don’t really have an opinion on it because I don’t know if what I believe is even right. I do have a thought that because of social media, and how fast it is for us to know about what’s happening in Ibiza, Buenos Aires, LA, New York, Tokyo all at the same time, it exposed us to something we didn’t experience 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago.

What someone’s interpretation of techno, house, prog, trance, french fries (jk about the fries) in one location can vary from someone in another continent on the other side of the world. That’s pretty fascinating and that’s a big reason I think it’s a waste of time to tell someone what’s what. Let people enjoy things. Although… I don’t understand the association of wearing all black and liking techno thing. What if I accidentally put on a pink t-shirt and red shorts, I can’t like techno? *shrugs*

5)      In January 2018, when your track “Suddenly” was released on Solarstone’s Pure Progressive label, you mentioned it was the start of your discography.  Can you go into more detail what your discography will consist of and what can fans be on the lookout for?

Solarstone is another great guy that has been looking out for me the past year. I met him in 2013 and have had many discussions about music with him over the years. ‘Suddenly’ is strictly a direct flow of my thoughts, into what it sounds like now... I’ve found it hard to mix ‘Suddenly’ into my sets because it’s a bit faster and “prettier” than the usual stuffI play so hopefully during a much longer set I’ll be able to give it a spin.

As far as my discography goes, I’ve been making a lot of bootlegs. I have a remix coming out on Subculture soon, and a single on Pure Progressive and one on Madloch’s label, 3rd Ave. I’ve been receiving support from Hernan Cattaneo, who is my no.1 DJ of all time so I’ve been  basically glued to videos of him playing my stuff lol There are lot more tracks that I’ve written that are still in the “is it finished yet?” process and I hope to find a home for them soon. A lot of late nights and bags under my eyes :\

6)      Finally, if you could only live by one motto, what would it be?

I don’t really have a motto… but I am a huge fan of this quote by Albert Einstein - “once you stop learning you start dying”

www.facebook.com/miromarmusic www.facebook.com/intricacynights https://soundcloud.com/intricacynights/004miromar

[spartans-stories]

Hello there new traveler.

"Oh, you ask about a other traveler that pass by here. I have seen him but he or she, I didn't get a good look or a name so I really couldn't tell but whatever they were they never returned back. I'd advise not to go down that path, but while you are here, Would you like to hear a story from my past?"

"Oh? You would. Alright, I'll tell you about my love about pokemon."

The year is 2014, it's my first few weeks back in America, when I was in Guatemala for 2 to 3 years. My sister went through a lot to get me back in America but, that's a story for a other day. Anyways, 3rd grade. I was excited for my first day. I had my new shoes, clothes, and supplies. I could tell it was going to be a good day. But guess what?

It was one of the worst day of school I had in my entire 9 years of school in total. I struggled a lot I had no idea what the hell was going on. The math was different, the writing is different everything was difficult. The teachers didn't give two shits about me or they try to help me. Homework gave me headache I was lucky enough to get by the first semester of it with a C and D on my grades. I was told that there are 4 semester and I got one semester done. I wanted to cry, knowing all the struggling I'm going to go through for 3 more semesters. I wanted to cry a lot except one day I was looking through the closet to look for my binder I found something that changed my life forever. A LG phone with the game boy advance emulator app and pokemon red download in the emulator. I made a new save and holy shit I was introduced to the world of pokemon, my eyes widen like any kids looking at their presents on the Christmas morning.

I found my brother n law old xbox 360 he had since 20011, I found halo 3. And after those days I played a lot of pokemon and halo 3.

"Heh, whenever I say that or think about that moment, I just imagine a golden gate in the clouds in heaven that has been open for me by master chief himself while he has his hand on my back showing me all the amazing things about gaming."

He said to me "vedio games has no limits, enjoy while you can before you become older and forget these moments. "

"I did not listen and I rushed to get older as fast as I can but looking back, I wish I still was the naive 8 year old."

[The man pushes the logs in the fire with a stick to let the fire breathe]

"It sure was a wonderful part of my childhood, gone before I even knew it was gone."

[The man smiles brightly as a tear runs down his cheek]

"Gamers of all platforms should put all the heat aside and find peace between all platforms"

"Anyways"

After pokemon I kept that gameboy emulator and loved and cared about it so much.

I started collecting pokemon cards. My classmates starded to bring their cards to school when I started to show off my cards. It made the year go by faster and faster. When I realized it, 3rd grade was over. On the last day of school while everyone was having a argument about which movie should we watch on the schools Netflix kids account. I was in the corner of the room playing on my gameboy emulator and finally finishing pokemon red and ever since that day I've been in love with vedio games and pokemon.

"I know it's been 5 years since I collected pokemon cards, but I still have all my cards since then"

[The man pulls out a black binder that the cover has been painted white with splashes of different color of pain]

"The ones that say 'sell' on them, I wanted to sell them in the 5th grade but I knew I was making a huge mistake"

[The man hugs the traveler and wispers in his ear]

"I am sorry."

[The man violently snaps the traveler neck, killing the traveler instantly]

"I must keep the fire going."

[The man throws the traveler into the for making the fire grow slowly, seeing how the traveler flesh slowly melts to the fire]