#the glories of being a '98 kid I guess

[yelow-heart]

I miss JaidenAnimations, tails. I miss her a lot..

[ghost-town-story]

So, as you may have guessed from the random snippets, I have a new WIP lol. So, while I'm still fixating on it, have a worldbuilding ramble :D

So the idea originally came about because I was worldbuilding for Knighttime Dreams, and I came up with a new character that I immediately fell in love with. Problem was, there was basically no room for him in KD, which made me real sad. And then I thought, what if I just give him his own story?

And now here we are lol

Unnamed Superhero WIP has 2 story lines. The first is centered around Isabelle, a college student and wannabe hero, and Stella and Julian, twins who own the local cafe and seem to be hiding secrets. The second follows Izzy's hero alter-ego, Despereaux, and his encounters with the necromancer Revenant.

So, superheroes are a thing, how the fuck does society function? Greeeeat question. Villains gonna villain cause that's basically a requirement of the genre (tho they will get more solid motivations as I flesh them out. at least one (not Revenant) wants to create a sorta zombie army for.... reasons?). Vigilantes are frowned upon, if not straight up illegal (depending on where you are). So if you wanna be a hero, there's basically 2 above-board ways to do it. 1. recruitment 2. sorta the equivalent of going to college for it

What's the difference?

Recruitment is only for the best of the best, those with powers so strong they're hard to hide or tone down. It can also be a little iffy, because it does require parental consent, but a solid 98% of the time that's a non-issue. Hero worship hella is a thing. Anyways, recruitment can happen at any age, and kids who are recruited end up in a sort of boarding school for hero training. After graduating (ages 15-18 depending on powers/how quick they pick up training/how well they do in sidekick roles), they'll get chosen for a team or department. More on that later :)

The college equivalent is for those who weren't good enough to get recruited, or those few who are part of the 2% who didn't get permission for hero work. People who go this route often end up in support roles or lesser known teams.

Now what the fuck am I talking about with teams and departments?

Heroes are split up into two broad categories: Combat and Support. Combat heroes are the ones who go out and fight villains directly, with all the danger (and glory) that comes along with that. They're split up into different teams, which is currently an arbitrary decision that I'll rationalize later :P

Support heroes are the ones doing more behind-the-scenes stuff, like reconnaissance, civilian evacuations, and medics. Some hero teams have support heroes in them, while others will just hire a support as needed. Supports-for-hire are separated into different departments, some examples being recon, evac, backup, or medics.

There is a severe distinction between a hero's civilian identity and their hero identity. When doing hero work, they'll often be wearing some sort of mask and a vocoder to disguise their voice at minimum.

When they graduate, heroes are given a tattoo on their right hand to mark what team or department they work for. But to keep up the barrier between civilian and hero identity, heroes will wear a glove to cover the tattoo.

But wait, doesn't that defeat the point of trying separate civilian/hero identities if everybody knows they're a hero? Not exactly. There's a difference between "Yeah I'm a hero" *no indication of team or department* vs. "Yeah I'm a hero in this department/on this 5 person team/etc". Plus, the point of the tattoos is so that, if an emergency happens when they're off duty, a hero can show the tattoo to whoever is helping evac/keep civilians out of the area, and they'll get clearance to go in and help.

But despite the fame and glory, there's a dark side to the industry, hiding behind locked doors where the cameras can't see.

Best case scenario for a hero: you retire at a nice age, and get to live the rest of your life in luxury and mild fame.

Second best case scenario: you burn out early and life the rest of your life in middling wealth and fame.

Most common scenario, especially for recruited kids: the system chews you up and spits you out, and you're lucky if you retire with less than 4 major injuries. If you even make it to retirement.

~

And a couple of rapid-fire heroes, villains, and in-betweens

Despereaux - hero-in-training, mouse shapeshifter. Name may change later, but for now, I am not clever lol

Revenant - vigilante, necromancer

Chameleon - former hero, human shapeshifter

Jellyfish - former hero, steals knowledge

Apollo - semi-retired hero, healer. Name also may change later.

Unnamed right now but currently the only villain with a "full" story arc. Can control plants, and is the one trying to make a zombie army (and pissing off Revenant in the process (Revenant is very possessive of corpses))

[straightouttaneptune]

It girl pt. 3 - First training

Pairing: Mentor!Natasha Romanoff x Mentee!Reader, Platonic!Avengers x reader, Peter Parker x Reader (In the future)

Warning: Fluff with Mentor Nat, mention of family issues, a little low self-esteem reader :(

Summary: Natasha had once joked about picking a random new recruit trainee to teach all her skills since Tony had recently become Peter’s mentor. Fury sees this as a legitimate idea, and asks Natasha to choose her protège, code name: “it girl”.

Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

———————————————————————

“Hey, ‘it girl’.” As soon as you walked into the ginormous gym, Captain freaking America and another buff guy with the name ‘White Wolf’ stood in all their glory. And, to top it all off, you’re pretty sure Captain America called you an ‘it girl’.

“Oh, yeah. ‘It girl’ is your code name. I think a lot of people are gonna be calling you that.” Natasha smiled, walking in beside you.

“Steve, Barnes, meet Y/N. Y/N, Steve, and Barnes.”

“My name is Bucky, Bucky Barnes.” He eyed Natasha warningly before his eyes softened, smiling as he shook your hand. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the tower, Doll.” The metal arm didn’t surprise you, as you already read, watched and knew about every single Avenger.

“And I’m Steve.” Steve took your hand, squeezing with a grip of a supersoldier. “You must be very talented if Nat picked you.” You opened your eyes wider to take in his appearance, he was bigger, taller and cuter than you imagined. Too bad he was like 100 years old.

“Thank you- I, I’m so honored.” You couldn’t think of anything else to say, still star-struck. You only ripped your eyes from the two when Natasha called out from the boxing ring.

“Don’t steal my Y/N, Rogers!”

The combat training was going pretty well, you learned how to knock someone out with your thighs today. Weapons training was moderately good, you hit your target around 60% of the time.

But you weren’t in real training until Steve and Bucky left after teaching you the basics.

As soon as they left, Natasha worked the hell out of you. About 2 hours later, you were dying.

Your lungs felt like they were being squeezed and shoved around, you literally could not feel your legs, sweat rolled down your neck like a waterfall, and you were questioning yourself for agreeing to be recruited.

“Ms. Nat, I think I’m dying.” You laid down on the yoga mat, looking up at the bright ceiling feeling helpless.

“You did good, Y/N. I’m proud of you.” Natasha’s voice toned down at the last sentence, so quiet that is was almost like a whisper. But you heard it, and it fills your heart up with pride.

“Thank you.” You restored the energy to sit up, grabbing your water bottle and chugging down the remaining liquid.

She chuckled from her spot at the boxing ring, leaning against one of the pillars in the corner. “How do you feel now?” She jumped out of the ring, walking up to you.

“It feels amazing. Unreal, I just...” You broke eye contact with her, gaze moving to look out of the glass wall. “I don’t know if I deserve to be here.” It was now your turn to quiet down, gaze falling onto your shoes.

“Hey, Y/N?” Natasha sat down beside you and placed her hand on your head, caressing it until you looked up again into her eyes.

“You’re here because you do deserve to be here. Sometimes, when we just keep seeing super-soldiers and Gods being heroes, we forget that there are heroes that live among us. I saw what you did in that shop the other day. You’re special.” Her features were soft, accepting and warming, something you desperately sought in your whole life. Your mother was a sweet lady, but her attention was always, constantly on your father, who never came home. She’s never really looked at you.

Your eyes turned glassy, tears welling up. Never in your life did you think that you’d find a sense of belonging, acceptance, comfort in the woman you’ve only met 2 times. But she was someone who’d say that she was proud of you, who’d give you a chance to be a part of something.

“Hey. Come on, Wanda baked cookies this morning.” She stood up and extended her hand to you, and you happily took it. By the time you stepped out of the gym, the smile had already returned to your face.

“Hey! There’s the ‘it girl’ I keep hearing about!” In the kitchen were Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson and Vision. Wanda was the first one to run up to you, pulling you in for a hug. The scent of roses tickled your nose, probably from her shampoo.

She let you go and looked over at Natasha, sending her a look of approval.

“I’m Wanda, this is Vision and that’s Sam.” The robot-looking human waved, and the falcon, or Sam, gave you a high five.

“I’m Y/N. Great to meet you guys.” You flashed them a smile while you deduced everything about them while they were distracted. The Avengers were interesting, and no harm in studying a little bit about them, right?

Wanda went off into the kitchen to grab her cookies, which she offered more than you could eat. While Nat made some calls, you hung out with the three of them for a while, stuffing your face with Wanda's delicious snacks. You bonded with them, especially Wanda with her age being closer to yours than anyone else in the building. The four of you gossiped endlessly about the Avengers until Natasha came in with Tony Stark around 6:30pm.

"Well, well, well, kid. You must be the famous Y/N." Tony revealed his striking brown eyes as he ripped his sunglasses off. You nodded and he shook your hand politely, looking up and down at you. "You look exceptional. No wonder they call you 'it girl'." He let go of your hand and again, you were met with this warm sensation of being accepted. You guessed that the Avengers had that effect on people.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. You look dazzling as well." You played with your words graciously, commenting on Tony's million-dollar tailored suit. 

"I like you." He nodded to himself and patted Natasha on her back affectionately. You didn't miss Natasha's small smirk of contentment.

"Anyways, the car's here for you. You'll be sent home with the spider-ling, though, I hope you don't mind." He checked his wristwatch and made a quick exit, and you waved goodbye to your 3 new friends then walked with Natasha to the main door. 

"I see a lot of myself in you, Y/N. Come back tomorrow, I think Thor and Bruce'll be back by then." She pushed you towards the waiting car, standing back at the entrance with Tony. 

"Be safe." She whispered as she watched the car drive away, oblivious to the commotion happening in the car. 

"Y/N?!"  "Peter?!" 

"You're it girl??" "You're spider-man?!"

“You know, I heard that.” Tony side-eyed Natasha, while she gave him a death glare.

“They start to grow on you, don’t they?” Tony called out at Natasha as she walked away, he knew that you’d be a vital part of Natasha’s life in no time. Just like how that spider-ling of his became the son Tony never thought he’d have.

“That’s why you had the Stark internship?!”

“Well, yeah, it’s not exactly an internship...”

“Did a spider bite you too?”

“A spider bit you?!!”

Next chapter: Part 4

Taglist: @mindset-jupiter @fangirlingisajob @theadventurousqueen@gwenmxnstacy @ballerboobitch @the-lady-cersei-lannister @golden–rain@dollofbucky @sakuranomegami @elizabeth-santana-98 @anne2cold@eyeballtoes @marvel-is-a-mood @roseryss @redqueenstorm @orchideax@huntersociopathavenger @petertinglessss @marv-ells@hopefuloperaangelnerd @je11yfishwriter @iloveyou3000morgan @kewl-r@missmulti @grace-barnes-13  @samarcher79 @slow-dance-in-the-dark @intricate-melody @editsbyjenny @brenleestar @a-vvenger @princessizzy36

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Legacies 1x06, Mombie Dearest Review

I guess it's time. It's time for my weekly torture session. Screw the fiery pits of hell. If I'm really bound for hell -- as my Sunday school teacher once told me I was since I was a child born and conceived out of wedlock -- all Satan really needs to do to make me suffer is make me watch this dumb show for all eternity. Maybe that's what this show is, maybe that's why it exists. Perhaps JP is a denizen of hell come to Earth to create more torture fodder to be used in hell.

This is going to be an honest review of my thoughts and feelings regarding Legacies, the spin-off of a spin-off that should never have come to pass. But here we are. I'm not a fan of the show, have never pretended to be one so if you're looking for Legacies positivity, this is not the place for you. Keep in mind these are my thoughts and feelings about this mess of a show. Opinions are never right or wrong. I'm not telling you how to think and feel. You don't have to agree with my opinions but I would ask that you respect them, please. Also, spoilers for the episode so if you haven't seen the episode yet, watch the episode and then come back...otherwise read at your own risk. But let's be real here. I'm sure my followers who end up reading this have no desire to watch this show and use my ramblings as a substitute for actually watching the show...those selfish jerks...just kidding I love all my followers and please only watch the show if you really want to. I'm making a sacrifice watching the show so you don't have to.

Alright, let's get into this. 1x06, Mombie Dearest, what happened? Well, a necromancer brings back the twins' bio mother, Jo. But everyone realizes by the end of the episode that mombie dearest being back is not a good thing -- real shock, I know. I have no idea what could possibly have given it away. Maybe it was the dead rising from the Salvatore cemetery or maybe it was Jo, under the control of a necromancer, burying Josie alive. Who can say what really gave it away? The twins say good-bye to Jo and siphon all the magic out of Jo's body, thus killing her a second time. We meet the necromancer who brought Jo back and Alaric vows revenge. The necromancer better watch out. Truly, human 50--year-old pedophile Alaric is a force to be reckoned with.

It's also the twins' sweet sixteen. So in typical JP TVD fashion, of course there's a party. And this party was pretty boring. Myself, a bookish nerd who never goes out, has been to parties more lively than this one.

And right off the bat, the show immediately showcases why MG is absolutely THE WORST! Immediately, he comes up to Penelope and says he respects women and hates all forms of toxic masculinity. Really, MG? Do you really? Because there's plenty of evidence in episodes prior that would suggest otherwise. In this episode, MG is really creepy about his whole Lizzie fetish. And that's what I'm calling it. I'm calling it a fetish, not a crush. Because I don't believe for a second MG actually likes Lizzie as a person. He knows her favorite color, talks about how pretty she is but he never once talks about what about her, personality-wise, he likes about her. And I'm not saying Lizzie isn't likable, she definitely is, I adore Lizzie in all of her flawed glory, but I don't think MG actually does. He fetishizes her and that's it. He's so certain that if he gets one chance with her, he'll have her. Let's not disregard the fact that MG, despite saying he respects women, clearly sees Lizzie as something he has the right to own. Lizzie has given no inclination that she harbors any sort of romantic interest in MG but yet he's so convinced that if Penelope keeps Rafael away from Lizzie long enough for MG to make his move, Lizzie will fall for him instantly and realize the nice guy trope is the only trope for her. But the second Rafael shows up again and Lizzie chooses Rafael over MG, MG gets all angry about it. Like, "how dare Lizzie choose another guy when she could've had me?" Well, my friend, if it was like you said and all Lizzie needed was a few moments with you and she would've seen the light, then she would've chosen you, wouldn't she? It's not her fault, it's not Penelope's fault, it's not Rafael's fault, you've been friend-zoned, get over it. I thought you respected women? Or are their choices also not worthy of respect? In actuality, you don't respect women. You respect women when they give you what you want, as soon as they don't, as soon as they don't validate you, it must be their fault. MG, much like JP, has a very surface level of what respecting women actually entails. And really, if it came to a choice between Rafael and MG, I'd probably pick Rafael too. He may be boring but at least he probably doesn't have a creepy fetish towards me.

Caroline's absence is also explained, finally. Even though I already knew because of additional material I read about the show. Caroline isn't around because she's off trying to find a way to save the twins from that unfortunate Gemini coven mandate that one twin has to absorb the other on their 22nd birthday. Caroline's apparently embroiled in something that's going to help with that and thus can't be there for the twins' sweet sixteen. But this is really code for that Candace most likely just wants to put this trashy franchise behind her. But not to worry, why have the amazing Caroline around when you can have dull Jo back from the dead?

So Josie starts hanging around with Jo and this eventually leads her to being kidnapped and buried alive by Jo under the control of the necromancer. The necromancer wants...you guessed it, the knife in exchange for Josie. Penelope, MG, and Hope end up looking for Josie in the cemetery and end up in a third-rate zombie horror flick. I can't help but feel it's really strange that a vampire and two witches were struggling so much with these zombies. MG is blessed with super strength. Penelope and Hope are witches who have the power to give brain aneurysms. Not to mention, as the show loves to point out, Hope is perfect. She has the power to fight a dragon, a huge spider, but not zombies. The undead...her true nemesis, I guess...which is ironic considering she's part undead both biologically and mentally. They eventually find Josie through a necklace Hope had conveniently given Josie earlier in the episode as a birthday gift. If I didn't know this show thrived on plot convenience, I'd almost think Hope knew what was going to happen to Josie. I mean, out of all the birthday gifts to give Josie, she gives her a necklace that has a very specific ability to help with this particular scenario? Wouldn't it be a plot twist if Hope was actually the villain pulling all the strings here? She might actually be interesting if that were the case. But I know better. Then we end this particular plot thread with some truly horrifying dialogue about MG realizing he's a superhero and Hope has her team of Avengers. For some reason, Penelope finds MG's antics about being a superhero hilarious, I have no idea why, and when Josie thanks MG for saving her, he pumps his fist and is all, "my first super-hero thank you!" And I'm just like, could you be more obnoxious and horrible? It's not like Josie just went through a traumatic experience or anything. Then we have an equally cheesy conversation between Penelope and Josie. They kiss and Josie laments on how much she hates Penelope and Penelope says, "I know". Cue the eye-roll, please.

But the episode, thankfully ends when Jo dies again, everyone is sad, and Alaric hits the necromancer with a shovel.

Something else I wanted to bring up. So before they kill Jo, at first the twins say they don't want to do it but then Jo tells them they're witches, they need to because witches are all about the natural balance and yadda yadda yadda. I just think Jo talking to the twins about what's natural and what isn't is kind of strange. The twins existing isn't natural. When Jo died the first time, the coven moved the twins from Jo's womb into Caroline's and for some reason, Caroline's womb still functioned perfectly despite being a vampire. Last I checked, that is something most decidedly not natural. Just thought I'd bring that up.

Phew, this episode, I didn't enjoy it but it could possibly have been enjoyable if it weren't for the fact 98% of the characters are self-inserts. It's really hard to care about characters who basically have no personality, no reason for me to like them. This episode gets a C-. Potential was there but completely squandered.

[perfectackeracy]

Shingeki no Kyojin chapter 98 review (+ theories)

This chapter marks the ending of volume 24 and finally ends up with the moment that was hyped at the beginning of the book, in chapter 95:

The highlight of the Liberio festival, the stage - Ch. 98

And what a festival it was! It’s probably the only chapter of the volume where Reiner spends a good time in company of the kids, where every event happened according to the plan... till the cliffhanger of the volume came to ruin the good mood.

Indeed, it’s one of the rarest cases where it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next, because our now-protagonist was left in the dark since Eren surfaced in Liberio, triggering a bunch of unexpected events by his mere presence... just like Grisha did when he came inside Paradis. Because hey, the idea of hope and prosperity for Mainland Eldians wouldn’t be funny to envision if literally everything went as planned! 

Looks like Eren isn’t in position to attempt anything funny. He’s got what he wanted in Liberio and can return to Paradis. At best, we’ll see another timeskip of reorganization before sailing on Paradis, at worst, someone interferes against Eren or Eren does something stupid and the mood is already ruined before the operation even starts.

T’was a nice chapter with content definitely worth talking about.

The cadet batch

The future of Marley

The Yeager’s family reunion

Willy Tybur

The basement meeting

Key points

Follow me under the cut!

Not really a WTF CR, but one translated panel in particular is outright bizarre and gives a different interpretation of the whole scene.

“How we’re feeling?” Looks like they were rejoiced at the idea of beating Gabi up instead of complaining about the racket for a foot race. Not really cool for Gabi.

Oh and also...

Wat is coherency

Seriously, one time it’s Liberio, the other time Rebellio... just pick a correct translation...

Moving on the group who had quite a fair load of spotlight in this chapter…

The cadet batch

The cadets as waiters - Ch. 98

If anything, this chapter highlighted the four kids a lot, starting with Falco beating Gabi at an endurance race. I guess playing deliveryman while drinking the freedom kool-aid for a month helped a lot. We also got to see how the four kids reacted with each other differently. Previously it was as a group of four, but this chapter denotes the individuality of certain relationships.

Gabi loves when the Udo and Zofia duo sides with her and holds influence and authority over them. However, the duo cheered when Falco beat her for the first time. It goes to show she was known as the undefeated one. As important as her grades were, her character paints her as the dominant figure: she’s authoritative and dynamic, and really can’t stand competition. That’s why she treats her relationship with Falco as rivalry, and thinks he’s only there to grab the merits, when his brother already got some.

Gabi rejecting Falco - Ch. 98

Obviously, this is not what Falco intended at all. He doesn’t think he’s up to become a warrior in the first place, but only gets in the way of Gabi’s glory to protect her, because he loves her that much. More than restoring the family’s honor or going on Paradis, all he does is exclusively for the sake of the girl he loves. Between that and his compassion for war victims, he truly behaves like the cinnamon roll of the group. He’s also a bit naive: getting friendly with a stranger and even considering him his friend, truly unaware of his real motives. Falco puts so much faith in him, he’s even separating from the main group to pick him up at the festival. Eren became his confident and lays on him discussions he can’t have with others. Not even Gabi or his own brother.

Eren’s (and Reiner’s) legacy - Ch. 98

Despite that, Eren rubbed on him a little too much. Would he keep the same cool face if Gabi ends up rejecting him too often or if he grows up and realize it’s not worth it? Looks like he’s heading for the wall of a brutal realization, namely that his new friend isn’t the man he thought he was or… worst of the cases, if Gabi dies. Gabi dying would also break Reiner even further.

So far, Gabi and Falco are the moving elements of their group of four, while Udo and Zofia tag along; between Gabi and Falco, Gabi is the more leader-like, wanting to put Falco in his place. Falco’s reasons for going on is exclusively for Gabi.

The other two, Udo especially, had their moments in this chapter.

Gabi supervising Udo and Zofia - Ch. 98

Especially around Gabi and the preparations for the festival. Zofia was adorable and she’s definitely nailed as the weirdo of the group after 93. She makes off-topic statements in contrast of the actual mood, which adds a nice lighthearted touch. She has the chilliest temper of the whole group, being absentminded most of the time. The ice to Udo’s fire.

Udo’s struggles have been highlighted in this chapter. We’ve learned his family moved from another internment zone from another country and the struggles he faced there were far worse than in Liberio. That explains why he was constantly worried about the reputation of Eldians in the world and why he’s the most skeptical of Marley’s treatment of Eldians. In the corner of my heard, I thought about him having similar traits to Annie, particularly in their cynicism and their tendencies to lash out and go with the flow. Annie has a tendency to run away, physically and emotionally. Not sure what Udo would do in war conditions on his own, but he does lash on other things and other people... unintentionally.

Udo getting pissed at the guests - Ch. 98

Of the group, Udo’s the one with a hot temper: almost squeezing Falco’s head when he thinks about how incompetent Marley’s navy is, kicking town property when he thinks about the MEU survivors demonizing Eldians further and in this chapter, he almost gave in to the provocation from the guests talking behind his back, making him spill wine on that Touyou noblewoman.  

The Touyou noblewoman - Ch. 98

And luckily for him, she covered him up. This scene served at the same time to introduce the Touyou clan, directly inspired from Japan, and their mark (the same one on Mikasa’s wrist) and to show strangers can be kind to Eldians. The latter serves for Udo’s development, considering he was the most hopeless for the festival.

The four of them shone as a true group of friends hanging out during the festival where the cultural gates opened to Liberio for the first time. The kids had their fun and could have their taste of freedom for the first time. Tasting new foods, listening to music, viewing other people… They all were in the mood to party and that was the most lighthearted moment of the chapter. And who can forget that tragic moment leading to the death of Reiner’s paycheck?

“Papa, can we have some pastries?” - Ch. 98

It’s adorable how Reiner hangs around the kids during that festival. Everytime he has a free moment, he hangs around the kids, and everytime he does that, you get fatherly vibes from him. Towntrip in Fort Slava, paying the kids’ food at the festival... despite being riddled with depression and PTSD he spoils them rotten when he can.

Will to live restored - Ch. 98

Because those smiles restore his faith and give him a reason to keep going. That’s more important than his paycheck. It was also worth it for his cousin: she partied too hard but felt at least things were changing, due to the recent events following the peace treaty with the Middle-Eastern Union. What she doesn’t know is why Willy showed up and she likely doesn’t know about Paradis’ operation taking place soon. In chapter 91, she wanted to get the Armor to get her chance at crushing Paradis, but now that it’s confirmed Reiner will be going there for the last time, I’m not sure how she’ll take it. Would she let go? Would she go through an existential crisis? Would she die before knowing it?

Nothing’s going to go well for the kids, will it?

Colt and Zeke playing catch - Ch. 98

Lastly, I wanted to talk about Colt. Despite hanging with the warriors rather than the kids, Colt had his caring moments, especially about him not wanting Falco to be selected for the Armored Titan. As the official big brother figure of the cadets, him not being shown in group with them makes him detached from them. The other warriors except Zeke are around his age, but their ranks are different, so I feel like he’s a bit awkward around them.

Not only that but I have the feeling he’s… pretty much a trained regular for the future warchief. In 91: his ideas got turned down by Commander Magath. In 93, he feels like he can’t measure up to Zeke’s abilities. In 95 and onwards, he remains pretty much in the background: Porco and Pieck contributed to the discussion more often.

Zeke is particularly attached to his successor, inviting him to play catch with him. Additionally, Zeke must have helped him ascend to the rank of warchief considering the fates of the Yeager and the Grice family are connected: they were both tarnished by the actions of Grisha and Uncle Grice respectively and as Grandpa Yeager states, they had no choice but to send anybody available in the military.

The future of Marley

Magath and Willy discussing about the future of Marley - Ch. 98

Magath and Willy were talking in metaphors, to refer to the military officials as “the home”. The “expansion” refers to the recruitment campaign and the “demolition” refers to how much generals Magath plans to fire, especially after the morning reunion. He also referred to “usable posts” like Reiner and Zeke, and the “sneaking mice” as Eren.

The most shocking thing of the chapter is how quick the current Marley officials have been dismissing Reiner’s intel under the pretense Eldians know less. Between the start of the chapter and the commentary about their navy, making child warriors and any strategy that isn’t titan fighting, the officials are quite incompetent. Both Porco and Pieck made sneaky remarks about it.

If anything, it’s a good thing Zeke started this plan: by allowing Magath and Willy to take the reins, they can restructure the whole army before they launch an assault on Paradis. I’m giving at least a two-month timeskip before they launch an attack, making it three months in total since the end of the conflict with the Middle-Eastern Union. This is the same timeskip between the battle of Trost and the battle of Shiganshina. And at the end of the first month, from Eren and the others’ point of view, we figured out who the traitors were, learned a bunch of information and overthrew the previous government. Here, Zeke, Willy and Magath made everything possible to orchestrate a revolution. In the meantime, the chapter ends with Eren, the mole, revealing himself.

When you think about it, from the FT arc to the end of the Uprising, the SC, under the reins of Erwin, hunted the hidden mice (RBA) and put in place a government suiting their needs, with a puppet leader (Historia) for one particular campaign: retaking Wall Maria. Replace Erwin by Zeke and Paradis by Marley and you’ve got the same goals.

The Yeager family reunion

Eren playing with a baseball - Ch. 98

…Though it can hardly be considered as one, when the only contact Eren made is with his brother, through letters. His grandparents aren’t aware their other grandson was at the hospital.

A month passed since Eren asked Falco to send his first letter. The dialogue implies Eren and Zeke have been conversing for a while. Zeke’s line about being a brother and his face implies he started sharing the sentiment only recently, and overall, there’s this glove and baseball. The two of them have been conversing for a while.

Eren’s presence has been revealed by Zeke, indirectly, to Magath. Whatever Eren is up to, he’s already under suspicion and thus his movements are limited. I don’t think we’re up to see a clash between the warriors and the Advancing Founder in Liberio. Especially when Eren will eventually return on Paradis, because he got what he wanted: Zeke’s trust, allowing to come closer to him, because he’s the missing ingredient for a fully-functioning coordinate. And Zeke’s royal blood is of course, unknown from both sides. It can mostly be used as a means of blackmailing. Or worse, forcing Zeke to eat his brother so his mind will be savagely hacked by two lines: Yeager and Fritz. That or Zeke only revealed his royal blood to a couple of trustworthy individuals so the correlation between his blood and the royal blood can be falsified...

C’mon, it doesn’t take a brilliant mind to figure this shit out… - Ch. 93

But more than his brother spilling the beans on him, Zeke is rather optimistic about Eren coming in Liberio. He still communicated with him and offered him baseball equipment, so he doesn’t get bored at the hospital… all of that instead of ratting him out. After all, he still carries the Founder and everybody at the strategic table knows it. Yet he lets Eren act as he pleases. The reason for it is simple:  

“Someday… I’ll come to save you” – Ch. 83

And it looks like he didn’t even have to come in Paradis to get him. He directly fell into his hands! How convenient…

The sensitive side of Zeke wants Eren to be free from the brainwashing his father inflicted him. He wants to believe Eren has seen the light in some way and thought he could understand what he has been through. What Zeke saw in Shiganshina was a naïve boy who was misled by his father throughout his life, because he himself was forced to go to the warpath since birth. What he doesn’t know is Eren being closer to his father than he thought. A while ago I suspected Zeke to lose and die because he took his family matters too close at heart. It looks like it hasn’t gone off the picture yet.

The rational part of Zeke still wonders why would Eren show up now. What could possibly make him move now where everything is going smoothly? He’s conscious that what describes Eren’s condition is “brainwashing” and nobody gets out of it easily. It seeps into your brain long enough so your perspective on reality is fooled. I think Zeke will realize way too late that Eren’s brain isn’t wired like that.

Grandpa Yeager also met his grandson in this chapter. While the former is completely unaware of his real identity and motivation, the latter knows everything, from Grisha’s pint of view. He felt all the disgust Grisha had for him when he “bowed down to his masters” when Fay died, how Grisha inherited the Yeager clinic, how morbid he looked when Grisha was cuffed and taken for interrogation and how Kruger explained how he didn’t want to lose any more of his family. Eren understands the situation in which his grandfather has been, and despite that…

“Regrets…? It seems… You have your own about your family.” – Ch. 98

He managed to strike an important nerve. He’s unfazed by what he did, because his actions were intentional but at the same time it’s sad to see Grandpa Yeager is still haunted by Fay’s death and Grisha’s actions. Those actions made him lose his children and the grandchild is condemned to a life of war and a short existence to repay the Yeager name.

Without any further addition, Eren mixes in the crowd for the upcoming festival, where he’s meeting the last survivor of Paradis’ operation.

Willy Tybur

Willy captivating the crowd - Ch. 98

Part of why I loved this chapter is because of Willy’s… willingness to cooperate with the plan. After shaking his hand with Magath’s, the two of them started to occupy their roles, and Willy finally stepped out of the balcony to join the crowd. As the ruler of Marley, he holds the belief it’s a nation for Eldians and Marleans. However, taking the first step to put them on an equality foot isn’t obvious.

Willy taking a new role - Ch. 98

There’s the weight of the time and the generations crawling on Willy’s back, but also the ascending hatred of Eldians from the world, and the alignment of the diaspora with the vow of renouncing authority to serve the former oppressed people in their wars, and stay isolated in internment zones. Despite that, he’s handling the international scene quite well. Many leaders from the world knew him since he was a child, like Ogweno, Nambia and that MEU ambassador.

Willy saving the night - Ch. 98

He’s also a charismatic leader. When the Marlean ambassador failed to capture the attention of the people, Willy saved the night by promoting his production, using an elaborated speech. The whole crowd cheered him up. I’m curious about his acting talents.

And of course, probably the most peace-ruining moment of the chapter…

The basement meeting

Eren and Reiner meeting after 4 years - Ch. 98

Considering everything that transpired since last chapter, it’s quite a shock. And just casually on Eren’s part moreover. I’ve written about why Reiner was traumatized in my last review and here it is, blowing in his face. Meanwhile, Eren looks so nonchalant it’s disturbing to say the least. Rubbing Reiner’s wish to return home in his face when he lost all his companions and showing there out of the blue, completely unaware of what’s going on.

They’re both in a situation where neither any of them can fight or trashtalk, considering Falco’s in the same room. Either Reiner will send Falco off to have an adult talk with Eren, either Eren will be vague about anything that transpired on Paradis, because the festival is starting soon, and they only have a couple of minutes before returning to their positions.

Eren wouldn’t gain anything from Reiner’s side, since he observed him for a while. Reiner however, would like to bombard him with ask: why are you here? How did you get here? How could you mix in the crowd? What happened to Annie and Bertolt? What did you do to Falco? What the fuck is this greasy, dirty hobo look?

Whatever is going to happen between the two, I’m not going to like it at all. I’m expecting Eren to make me feel uncomfortable depending of what he’s going to say to Reiner and since he asked Falco to bring Reiner down there, he ought to get something from him. Either blackmail or false promises. We’ll see.

Key points

It’s been a month since the victory of Marley over the MEU

The Marley government is an “unruly mob”

The internment zones are scattered all around the world 

Zeke and Eren have been communicating a couple of times and Magath is aware of Eren’s presence

Grandpa Yeager works at the hospital and is unaware he had a conversation with his other grandson

The man who helped Grisha getting in the revolutionary group is Uncle Grice

Colt and Falco’s motivations to get in the army were to repair the Grice family’s honor

It’s likely Zeke did the same too, for the sake of his grandparents

The “Touyou” clan comes from the nation of Hizuru

Willy encountered leaders of the world when he was young

Liberio was the former capital of the Eldian Empire and the place of birth of Ymir Fritz

Clams, clowns, accordions, ice creams, pizza and wraps exist in SnK’s world

Reiner’s paycheck is high enough to treat four kids with snacks

It was quite a long analysis. Hope you enjoyed it and see you next chapter!

EDIT: This ask is a good addendum on how Zeke likely perceives Eren.

[halcyonkrp]

WHO’S THAT TRAINER ?

coming from jindo, south korea and settling into the dongnae district here in busan as a barmaid, she’s not participating in the league! but don’t underestimate her, can you guess who it is?

                                                                                IT’S CHOI JAEIN !

POKEDEX ENTRY

PARK JUNGHOON TO REMAIN GWANGJU ELITE.

Dad curses as he reads the headline. It’s not surprising, Park Junghoon is the champion of the south, a god among men— or so says everyone. A former, national champion, turned elite of Gwangju after allegedly handing the championship to the challenger due to boredom.

“That bastard,” Dad mumbles under his breath as his eyes scan the smudged print of the newspaper. “He’ll never be as good as he was in ‘98. Isn’t he too old for this?”

“I’ll beat him one day,” Jaein says between bites of her apple. It’s all prepubescent vainglory. The farthest anyone from Jindo has gotten is the league pass, decent enough but nothing to write home about—  nothing to care about.

“That’s nice Jaein,” Dad’s voice is dismissive and she can tell he didn’t hear her anyways. Her heart sinks.

“I’m serious,” she says under her breath, “you’ll see.”

JINDO GIRL BECOMES FIRST TO COMPETE IN GWANGJU ELITE TOURNAMENT.

The flash leaves her seeing sunspots. If she had known entering the Gwangju Elite Tournament involved this much spectacle she would’ve thought twice.

Everyone in Jindo comes to her house to wish her luck. It doesn’t matter that she’s not there more often than not. They live trifles and tokens for her, because she’s their girl now. No one cares to remember the way they never believed her when she started out, what matters now is she’s made it further than anyone else.

Everyone gives interviews detailing minor events to complete lies about how wonderful she is.

It makes her cringe.

“Don’t bother with them,” Her sister says after Jaein makes it to top 9.

There’s a huge party thrown in her honor somewhere, toasting her name even though Jaein can’t make it.

“Just keep focused on the next step and fuck everyone else. That’s what’s important.“

UNDERDOG CHOI JAEIN BECOMES GWANGJU ELITE.

“God you look like a corpse.” Park Junghoon says as he claps her on the back.

He’s still no where near what she expected the now former Gwangju elite to be. A small sinewy man with a pleasant smile and graying hair. The poster on her wall back home always made him seem so much more imposing and serious than the man before her.

“What are you so nervous about? The hard part is over.” He rubs her shoulder the same way her dad does when she’s nervous and Jaein can’t fight the homesickness that overcomes her.

“I just like battling.” The words spill out of her like some long withheld confession. “I didn’t want any of the attention, I just wanted to win.”

Her face watches his reaction in the mirror, and for a second she swears she can see pity cross his otherwise amiable expression.

“Aren’t you interesting.” He says, cupping his chin in his hand before laughing. “You know most people go through the league and this whole tournament thing just for the glory. I mean, they don’t say that of course, everyone says it’s always been their dream to win or whatever other bullshit but mostly it’s just the pursuit of fame and fortune and whatever else comes with the territory.”

“Don’t worry kid, you’ll do great out there. Don’t even think about it.”

CHOI JAEIN TO BECOME NATIONAL CHALLENGER.

She doesn’t know why she tries anymore. Three years as Gwangju elite and she hates it.

If she had know then what she’d known now, she’d never bother to try standing here.

But the thrill of battling keeps her here, enraptured still.

All the same, she makes a careless mistake at the last moment on purpose and Dragonair faints.

Everyone tells her she’ll get it next year as if she needs consoling, Jaein doesn’t bother to mention the great weight that’s been lifted off of her chest.

CHOI JAEIN THROWS ELITE BATTLE, KIM TAEWOO BECOMES NEW GWANGJU ELITE.

They’re almost friends, her and Taewoo. Five years of constantly running into each other at this stage, there’s a welcome familiarity about seeing Kim Taewoo again for a battle.

“Taewoo,” she asks the night before their battle. “Why do you do this? Why do yo want to be the Elite?”

He laughs, like it’s some silly question everyone knows the answer to.

“I don’t want to be the elite. ” he says evenly. “I want to be the champion. And I’ll try however long it takes because that’s my dream.”

She takes a swig of beer and nods. “So that’s the motivating factor. I think I might’ve lost the plot then.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” She pulls herself to her feet and puts her hand out to shake Taewoo’s. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sleep well.”

The next day she gives out the worst battle of her life. The announcer calls it the worst thing he’s seen since Park Junghoon in 2000, but for the first time in forever, Jaein breathes easily after it’s all said and done. And when Taewoo smiles and waves at the cameras she’s sure she’s done the right thing.

Girls from Jindo aren’t meant to take the national stage.

FORMER GWANGJU ELITE, CHOI JAEIN TO RETIRE.

Most of the time, people just ask why.

Why waste prodigous talent. Why give up in her prime. Why throw the National Tournament. Why throw the Gwangju Elite Tournament. Why retire. Why any of it.

Most of the time, Jaein doesn’t have an answer, or at least not an answer close to what they’re looking for.

Even still she notices the way their gazes differ. Some people look at her with minor resentment, others with pity, most with confusion. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end for their golden girl, she wasn’t supposed to throw in the towel at twenty-four with not even as much as a reason as to why. She was supposed to make history, to make the island proud. Instead she lives as a hermit avoiding the critical gaze of others and avoiding explaining anything that’s gone wrong.

She packs her bags, the same night she finally answers a question.

“Why’d you throw the game?” Dad asks as he helps her pack her things away. Nearly 24 years spent in this room and she’s never seen it so empty.

“Everything stopped being fun.”

“So that’s what it was about,” he sighs, “fun?”

She pauses, fingers toying with the zipper of the bag.

“Something like that, I suppose.”

“Then moving to Busan, is that for fun too?”

“No, Moving to Busan is because I can’t deal with everyone’s disappointment and judgement.”

“Jaein—”

Dad’s never been good at the emotional heart to heart talks and it shows by the pained expression on his face.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to lie to spare my feelings, I know it’s true.”

He claps her on the shoulder before leaving the room.

CHOI JAEIN SPOTTED IN BUSAN. WILL SHE MAKE HER RETURN TO BATTLING?

“I know you from somewhere.” The drunk woman slurs as she props her head up with her hand. “Did we go to school together?”

“No, I’m not from here.” It’s the truth and yet somehow when Jaein blurts it out, it feels more like a lie. “I just have one of those faces.”

Closing time is in fifteen minutes, and all that remains of the bar is Jaein, her co-worker, and the drunk woman at table 12, and God how Jaein wishes she’d just leave.

“No, no. That’s not it. I know you.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” Jaein replies with slight venom lacing otherwise polite words.

Then Jaein hears snapping and the giggle of realization. “You’re that girl from Gwangju? The one who was National Challenger two years ago. I remember you! Can I get your autograph.”

It’s bizzare and common at the same time, and Jaein stares blankely at the woman before wiping down another table.

“I’m sorry miss, but I really think you have me confused with someone else.”

The woman scoffs, “ah shit I could’ve sworn you were her. You look so much like her.”

Its a bald-faced lie, but these days it feels like the truth more than anything. Jaein hates it.

[popofventi]

Favorite 100 Songs of 2019 :: #100-81

Ventipop's favorite 100 songs of 2019 is the culmination of all the best new songs I've heard and featured over the past year. It's not the same songs you'll hear on every other site's top 100 song list. Because it's my fucking favorite 100 songs...not theirs. Here are songs #100-81.

100.  “The Future Is Here” by Sleater-Kinney

"I start my day on a tiny screen Try to connect the words, they're right in front of me I walk to work out on the city streets No one speaks to me, their stony faces beat"

99. “Cool To Who” by Walrus

"I don't think we have a specific classification or term of what we do, we used to be a lot more psyched out but now I think we just make music we like. We're not trying to sound like one specific thing and aren't trying to pretend we're a jazz band or something either, so I suppose we sound like ourselves, a maturing version of what we have always been."  -- Walrus band member Justin Murphy

98. “Gucci Rock N Rolla” by Snakeships feat. Rivers Cuomo & KYLE

"I was faded in the daylight Elevated up in cloud nine I don't need no one to get by If you wanna judge me, that's fine"

97. “People’s Faces” by Kate Tempest

"Even when I'm weak and I'm breaking I stand weeping at the train station 'Cause I can see your faces I love people's faces"

96. “Je Ne Me Connais Pas” by Mattiel

"Not my rodeo, not my Michelangelo You can keep your liquor and keep your tobacco Don't pay no attention, too much of a hassle Leave 'em in a white dress, leave 'em in the chapel"

95. “Light Years” by The National

"Oh, the glory of it all was lost on me 'Til I saw how hard it'd be to reach you And I would always be light years, light years away from you Light years, light years away from you"

94. “The Best of Folks” by Bonnie “Prince” Billy

"Don't get angry if you're called the worst of many Don't withdraw your hands from all that they can do Those who would deny your love may not have any For the best of folks will see the best in you"

93. “Easy” by Camilla Cabello

"All of the mazes and the madness in my mind You really, really love me You know me and you love me"

92. “All My Happiness Is Gone” by Purple Mountains

"Ten thousand afternoons ago All my happiness just overflowed"

91. “Cornelia Street” by Taylor Swift

"You hold my hand on the street Walk me back to that apartment Years ago, we were just inside Barefoot in the kitchen Sacred new beginnings That became my religion, listen..."

90. “Only The Dark” by K. Flay

"Promise when you go, you'll sleep with the stars Remember when the lights dim down It's only the dark"

89. “July” by Graveyard Club

"I don't want a life with the lights around me I don't want a life with the lights around me I don't want a life with the lights around me I don't want a life with the lights around me Why can't I say goodbye? Tears in eyes look like diamonds Empty form and crooked sound You were a bird What are you now?"

88. “Not How It’s Supposed To Go” by Ashe

"Be a good girl, pretty house wife Need to have sex every night"

87. “I’m Afraid of Americans” by BONES UK

"Johnny wants a brain Johnny wants to suck on a Coke Johnny wants a woman Johnny wants to think of a joke Johnny's in America I'm afraid of Americans"  -- David Bowie

86. “Catch Me If You Can” by The Cranberries

"Trudging Through the darkness Escaping from yourself"

85. “Dylan Thomas” by Better Oblivion Community

"If it's advertised, we'll try it And buy some peace and quiet And shut up at the silent retreat They say you've gotta fake it At least until you make it That ghost is just a kid in a sheet I'm getting used to these dizzy spells I'm taking a shower at the Bates Motel"

84. “Look What You Started” by Paris Youth Foundation

"You say all the right things but Just at the wrong time"

83. “Mi Rumba” by Sofi Tukker, ZHU

"Call me a pervert, call me a freak I want every part of you inside every part of me"

82. “Summer of ‘42” by Kishi Bashi

"The days were gone asunder The chaos of the war Made man of everybody But the memories I adore We named our favorite sunset But I remember very few The summer of '42 When I was in love with you"

81. “Called You Twice” by FIDLAR featuring K. Flay

"If I'm being honest My friends hated your ironic attitude Same for me, it wasn't cute Guess I've been assuming that real life was like a movie"

#80-61

#60-41

#40-21

#20-1

[justbritishmotoring]

The new Aston Martin Vantage GTE will make its long-awaited racing debut in the 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Super Season at the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (3-5 May).

Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

The Aston Martin Vantage GTE is based on the critically-acclaimed Aston Martin Vantage road car, the most performance-oriented sports car to come from Aston Martin’s ‘Second Century Plan’. Powered by a 4.0-litre, V8 turbo-charged AMG engine developed and optimized by AMR, the Vantage GTE is the first all-new GT car Aston Martin has introduced to the FIA WEC GTE category in seven years.

Following an extensive 10-month testing and development programme that has covered 35,000km and 14 different circuits, the team is confident that it has a competitive and reliable car capable of repeating Aston Martin Racing’s 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours glory in June and contending for the overall Super Season GTE Pro title.

Aston Martin Racing also boasts a world-class driving line-up in 2018. The GTE Pro roster includes three-time Le Mans winner Darren Turner, who is joined in the #95 car by 2016 FIA WEC GTE Pro champions Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen. Meanwhile, 2017 Le Mans winner Jonny Adam shares the #97 entry with DTM and Spa 24 Hours race-winner Maxime Martin (B) and Formula 1 test driver and Formula E racer Alex Lynn (GB).

The Vantage GTE replaces the highly-decorated normally-aspirated V8 Vantage GTE, an example of which will be campaigned by Aston Martin Racing’s reigning GTE Am champions Paul Dalla Lana (CDN), Mathias Lauda (A) and Pedro Lamy (POR) in this year.

2018 World Endurance Championship Prologue Paul Ricard, France 5th-7th April 2018 Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

2018 World Endurance Championship Prologue Paul Ricard, France 5th-7th April 2018 Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

Copyright : Drew Gibson Photography / Nick Dungan

2018 World Endurance Championship Prologue Paul Ricard, France 5th-7th April 2018 Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

2018 World Endurance Championship Prologue Paul Ricard, France 5th-7th April 2018 Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

COPYRIGHT : NICK DUNGAN PHOTOGRAPHY CONTACT : NICK@NICKDUNGAN.CO.UK

COPYRIGHT : NICK DUNGAN PHOTOGRAPHY CONTACT : NICK@NICKDUNGAN.CO.UK

COPYRIGHT : NICK DUNGAN PHOTOGRAPHY CONTACT : NICK@NICKDUNGAN.CO.UK

2018 World Endurance Championship Prologue Paul Ricard, France 5th-7th April 2018 Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

2018 World Endurance Championship Prologue Paul Ricard, France 5th-7th April 2018 Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography

The Super Season heralds a new era for the FIA WEC. The eight-race calendar spans 14 months and is book-ended by two 24 Hours of Le Mans – the first time in history that the legendary event has appeared twice in the same championship. The series will also return to Spa-Francorchamps in 2019, having raced at iconic venues such as Silverstone, Fuji, Shanghai and the famous US sportscar circuit Sebring in between.

Aston Martin Racing Technical Director Dan Sayers said:

I can’t wait to get started now. We have delivered our most extensive testing programme with the Vantage GTE, optimizing every aspect of the car and bringing it to a point where we are satisfied that it is competitive and reliable. With it being the first all-new AMR car in seven years, this has been a huge undertaking and a fantastic effort by the whole team. I’m very proud of the car’s reliability and performance out of the box, but there really hasn’t been any time yet to look forward to going racing with it, maybe there will be time to reflect after Spa!

Aston Martin Racing Team Principal Paul Howarth added:

All of the pre-season development and testing has been targeted at Aston Martin Racing’s performance and delivery across the 2018/19 super-season. Spa marks AMR’s first race with the new Vantage and the whole team is looking forward to completing the first FIA WEC race with our new model. Our revised driver line-up has also completed an intensive training programme over the winter period, including a week’s training camp in the south of France and intensive endurance tests, so they are prepared for the challenge ahead. We’ll also continue to compete with last year’s reigning AM champions in #98 V8 Vantage GTE – in its swansong season with the same driver line up. Spa equates to 9% of the overall points available in the championship and the whole team’s focus is on delivering the best race possible for AMR.

Vice President and Chief Special Operations Officer David King said:

The outgoing Vantage has been competing on-track since 2006, and in the FIA WEC GTE class since its inception in 2012, so the racing debut of the new Vantage in Spa this weekend is a very significant moment for Aston Martin. Endurance racing defines the very character of our sports and GT cars – durability, performance and driveability – and they remain the best-looking cars on the grid as always. The super-season is going to be longer and tougher than any previous season, but the team have executed the development plan and pre-season testing clinically to be as ready as we can be for the debut of an all-new car

Works driver quotes:

Marco Sørensen (DEN), #95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE:

I am really excited to get this season started. The whole winter of testing with the new car has now come to an end and we can finally get to that first race weekend. My expectations going in to Spa are very high. I know the car is good enough to win races and I genuinely feel that we have the best driver line-up in the paddock. Of course, we need to learn a lot from Spa as Le Mans is so soon after, but we are already in a good position. Aston Martin has changed a lot since I joined in 2015. Our professionalism has grown along with our experience and I’m super proud to be a part of that. For every driver, it’s very special to work closely with a manufacturer, but my focus this year is to get the results we deserve with the new Vantage GTE.

Nicki Thiim (DEN), #95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE:

Spa… finally, finally, finally! It has been a long and busy winter. This is the first time as an Aston Martin factory driver that I have had such a busy winter; there has been so much exciting stuff going on with the new Vantage GTE car. We have done a lot of mileage and I think we are well prepared. There is a lot that is new about the car, including turbos (!), so it’s an exciting time for not just the drivers, but also the engineers and the mechanics. As a driver I can’t wait to go to Spa. I’m interested to see where we are compared to the competition when everyone is driving on the same fuel load and the same tyres at the same time. It’s going to be so nice to get out and race. Being a factory racing driver is a real privilege, it’s such a small club, so you must appreciate your position and not take it for granted, but right now Aston Martin is very exciting and a cool place to be. It’s something very special to be part of a new car development programme. Whatever I do in my career, this will always be something special to look back on when I am old and retired!

Darren Turner (GB), #95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE:

Since testing of the new Vantage GTE began in August last year everyone in the team has been looking forward to this moment. We have completed many miles in testing and already feel confident with the performance of the new car. I’m so excited about Spa where we finally get the chance to go up against the competition. From everything we have seen, we have a very good car. It feels good behind the wheel and that is always a strong sign that you have a great race car. The hardest thing when you have a new car is knowing where you stack up against the competition. A podium with the car first time out would be incredible and we go there believing that is possible. It’s always massively exciting when you have a new car. We had some incredible high points with the old V8 Vantage GTE last year, but right now I’ve never felt such a buzz within Aston Martin Racing and I cannot wait to get to Le Mans this year to see how well the new Vantage GTE performs.

Jonny Adam (GB), #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE:

I’m very much looking forward to getting the 2018 FIA WEC Super Season underway and driving the new Aston Martin Vantage GTE on its debut race. A lot of hard work has gone in to it up to this point and everyone at AMR is looking forward to Spa. Expectations are to get a solid haul of points and see where we are in comparison to our competition. The car has been running well in testing and we’d like to carry that over into our first race weekend of 2018. Of course, the race we all look forward to is the Le Mans 24 Hours. The success of 2017 will always be remembered, but I think we as a team are excited to return to this amazing race and hopefully fight for a strong result with our new GTE car.

Alex Lynn (GB), #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE:

I’m very excited indeed to be making my Aston Martin debut with the new Vantage GTE. There has been a lot of preparation up until this point from everyone at AMR and now we are very ready to see what our new creation can do. I think we can certainly expect a lot, and my expectations are high. We have put very good mileage on the car and it performed brilliantly, so we would be kidding ourselves if we didn’t expect to be fighting for the win at Spa-Francorchamps. I guess there has never been a better time to join Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver! I guess I am biased, but there is a real buzz within the team and I can’t wait to get to Spa now, but if I am honest, Le Mans and Silverstone are the races I am looking forward to the most.

Maxime Martin (B), #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE:

I am really looking forward to starting a new chapter in my career with the new Vantage GTE. This is definitely a big point in the season and an exciting moment for Aston Martin Racing. Spa is always a great event, but of course I think the most exciting point over the year will be racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is going to be quite a challenging race with all the competitors in the GTE class now. I think it is the most competitive and exciting GT class in the world. I think we have everything at Aston Martin Racing to make it an even bigger success than with the other car. I’m so excited to finally be racing in the FIA WEC Super Season with the Vantage GTE.

Note: Press release courtesy of Aston Martin.

  Aston Martin to Start Racing Season this Weekend The new Aston Martin Vantage GTE will make its long-awaited racing debut in the 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Super Season at the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (3-5 May).