UK university software engineering student.

I am an avid critic as well. In fact, I consider it one of my hobbies. Criticism is important, without it one cannot improve. And the more you love something, the more harshly you should criticise it.

I also love to write. It used to be my dream job but times have changed. Now it's become more of a hobby, so I dabble in the arts of fan fiction to practice it. As it just so happens, the very first thing I ever wrote in my life was a fan fiction story. Must have been when I was around about five years old. Maybe younger.

I love many franchises, but Girls und Panzer is the only series to have my attention for fan fiction so far. (Not strictly true. I have written a first draft for two Ace Attorney stories but never got around to finishing either of them)

I take pride in my ignorance of military gear, because it means I can create stories that are just as detached from reality as the original show. My sources are War Thunder and Tank Encyclopedia. Who cares about facts?

Favourite things in media

By this I just mean what is my favourite thing in any generic category.

Favourite game - Tricky one, very hard to pick. I don't think it's possible to have one game that you favour above all others. But Dishonored stands out for its gameplay, while Telltale's The Walking Dead (both seasons 1 and 2) stands out for being one of the very few things in this world to make this stoic, emotionless robot cry. I also like Overwatch, even if I think it's quite poorly designed.

Favourite book - I haven't read books in a while. Atticus The Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths was a very well loved book when I was kid, and Gone was simply great as a teenager, even if it did get a bit silly later on. That book series is probably insufferable to me now but I don't want to go back and check! Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief was also great. I can't pick a single one out of all of those, though.

Favourite show - Girls und Panzer, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Breaking Bad all stand out. It's a toss up between the first two. Objectively I would say Avatar was better.

Favourite anime Just in case favourite "show" wasn't narrow enough of a category. As well as GuP I also like Fullmetal Alchemist. I believe that Brotherhood is better than the original, but I tried to rewatch Brotherhood a while ago and thought it moved at a bit too quick a pace, it seemed like it expected you to know the story already. Keijo (no seriously, and not for the tits. No seriously), Hellsing: Ultimate, the first half of the first Naruto series and Soul Eater (haven't seen it in years, probably shit in retrospect) also stand out. GuP takes the cake though, even though I would say FMA is better. Though Hellsing is still worthy of a watch because...

Favourite villain - The honour of favourite villain for me used to be the Major from Hellsing: Ultimate. Holy shit, what an awesome villain. Everything from his detail, to the way he moves, the way he talks, his thick accent, the rising in pitch in his voice when he gets excited, his speeches, his overly dramatic acting, the fact he settles for no goals to obtain his means yet still justifies it beautifully, he is just such an awesome villain.

But my actual favourite villain is the antagonist of the Danganronpa series. I won't spoil it just in case, but I love them for a lot of the same reasons I love the Major. They have some amazing dialogue with great voice actors whether it's the anime (the Danganronpa 3 anime, that is, fuck the adaption of the game) or the games themselves. They're hilarious, they're threatening, they're crazy, and yet they're rational in their own way. Like the Major, they do not have a goal, only a means, and they will not settle for any goals to achieve those means. They want to destroy the world, but only because they love to see despair, not for any other gain.

Favourite character - This one up until recently was difficult. No character ever stood out to me like one worthy of the title "favourite" should. But, this goes to Sam Pearce, a character from a GuP fanfic called Girls und Panzer: Total Warfare. He is such a joy whenever he is in the spotlight. And he's relatable to me on a personal level. He reminds me of me so much. Sounds narcissistic, but the similarities between us are sometimes scary. The coat, the glasses, the black leather gloves, the fact he consciously tucks the cuffs of them into his jacket sleeves when he puts them on. Living abroad, branded as an outsider, until he finally learnt how to say "just ignore it", making him cold faced, calculating, seemingly emotionless. Yet he still has a sense of humour that sometimes shines through, and still makes it clear to his teammates that they should prioritise having fun in Tankery, as well as winning.

And recently, I've also taken to adoring the villain of Danganronpa (see above).