#19 episodes without cats incident

[episodes-without-incident]

10/17/2024:

19 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Cats (2019)

13 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Everytime We Touch (2005)

[shinygemstone]

HERE IS A LIST OF THE 30 MAIN KIPO AUs I WANT BUT WILL NEVER HAVE BECAUSE THE FANFIC COMMUNITY IS TINY IN ORDER OF SPOILERINESS (FEWEST SPOILERS FIRST OBVIOUSLY)

1. An AU where Kipo doesn't end up on the surface in the first episode, and has to go through the events with the mega monkey still looking for her

2. An AU in which all of Kipo's people are actually dead, and she's the only survivor. Depression for everyone!!

3. An AU where Margot never betrayed Wolf, and the two have a very close and codependent relationship. Bonus points if Wolf gets kidnapped by Scarlemagne

4. An AU where Wolf's wolf parents never actually betrayed her and raised her alongside the other children. Wolf girl wolf.

5. AU where the protagonists end up separated after Ratland, with Kipo and Benson trying their best to escape Scarlemagne's place without Scarlemagne realizing they're there while Wolf, Mandu, and Dave try to save them

6. AU like #1, except Lio fucking dies and Kipo's body now assumes it is in danger a lot more. So now she's dealing with the mega monkey and turning into the mega jaguar

7. Kipo gets along a little too well with the timbercats, and they kind of adopt her. Parental Yumyan and Molly. They're not surprised to find out she's part cat and teach her how to properly kitty

8. In which Lio turns out to be the mega monkey, somehow.

9. In which Kipo was raised on the surface, and is kind of known as the local feral half cat creature. Naturally, Scarlemagne kidnaps her for weapon usage and oops. Guess he has to teach the feral out of her

10. In which Jamack joins the protagonists (if you didn't think my man would be here you're wrong)

11. Let Kipo get upset about the whole mega jaguar thing PLEASE

12. Song and Lio raise Kipo, while Song is suppressing the mutagen and struggling more and more as she gets older.

13. Song turns out to fill Dr. Emilia's role, and is actually trying to end mutekind.

14. Emilia gets her hands on Kipo, but mistakes her for a normal human (somehow) so Kipo grows up in the science burrow believing mutes killed her parents and that what Emilia is doing is justified. Bonus points if she's Emilia's protege/assistant/intern

15. Emilia gets her hands on Kipo, knowing that she's Song and Lio's daughter, and decides she can use Kipo as a weapon. This would involve a lot of dehumanization and likely good brother Scarlemagne/Hugo. Also Lio? Totally dead

16. AU where Lio manages to yoink Hugo. That's the AU. Hugo and Lio and Kipo as family.

17. AU #16 with angst: Lio gets captured, so it's just Hugo and Kipo. Bonus points if Kipo grows up in Ratland

18. For even more angst, Scarlemagne kidnaps Kipo, raising her in his blooming empire. Except Scarlemagne has no idea how to raise a child, especially not one who's half mega jaguar.

19. Where Mulholland doesn't help Kipo, and Scarlemagne's coronation goes as planned.

20. Where Emilia kidnapping the mutes was a trap, and it works as planned. Kipo is in for such a bad time.

21. Where what Emilia did to the mutes she kidnapped mutes is a lot more horrific than in cannon.

22. WOLF BOTHERS TO REPLACE STALKY

23. Margot changes her mind about betraying Wolf sooner, and Emilia never captures any of the protagonists. Consequently, Emilia sneaks into timbercat village to conduct her evil plans.

24. Instead of Yumyan, Kipo gets hit by the cure. Consequently, the decision is made to have the mega jaguar deal with all subsequent human incidents. This prevents It's a Trap from happening.

25. Kipo gets hit by the cure, except it works. No more mega jaguar, but she gets back to timbercat village.

26. Kipo goes through with sinking the cruise ship. Insert huge crisis (and maybe Song, Lio, or both of them rejecting Kipo/treating her like a monster. Please. I live for angst)

27. AU where Dave kills child Benson, and is a reoccurring side character who's literally just a bastard

28. Fun Gus Monster Emilia. Like just IMAGINE if she took Gus' DNA instead of the mega walrus. Sludge monsters are underrated imo, and she could do so much fucking damage.

29. Emilia gets stuck as a half mute, and gets shoved in prison. Maybe with Hoag.

30. SCARLEMAGNE LIVES

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 19

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

----------

The episode where Bond assists Twilight with his mission at the laboratory may not seem like a significant story, but it's actually the first time Twilight has spent a considerable amount of time alone with someone (Bond) with whom he doesn't have to put on any airs – not as Loid Forger, nor as an aloof spy. He has no reason to hide anything from Bond, someone who can't talk or judge. So who is the man revealed in such a rare situation? While at first he's annoyed that Bond's presence could hinder his mission, his annoyance soon turns to empathy. With an uncharacteristically concerned look on his face, he asks Bond if he came to get revenge on the scientists who hurt him and his friends.

We saw in the doggy crisis arc that Twilight has compassion for dogs when he refused to harm the German shepherd that attacked him, and when he gave sincere thanks to Bond for saving Anya. But this episode shows further proof that Twilight sees Bond as more than just "a dog." Not only does he show empathy for what Bond had to suffer through in the past, but he's projecting the very human notion of vengeance onto a dog. He also chooses to trust Bond's instincts rather than send him away…and as a result, his mission is a success! As we'll see in later episodes, his bond with Bond (no pun intended) will only continue to grow.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for Bond's bond with Yor (though it's a totally one-sided thing). We as the audience know that Yor would never act violently towards Bond, but thanks to his misinterpretation of his vision of blackness (which Endo confirms in the fanbook did not mean death), he thinks her food will indeed kill him.

As @piracytheorist pointed out, Bond may not understand that Yor's toxic food is completely unintentional. Since he was traumatized by his time at the lab, where they fed him rancid food, he may equate being fed bad food to some kind of punishment. Plus, being a dog, he may not understand that humans' actions don't necessarily reflect their true intent (misinterpreting the actions of others is such a common theme in Spy x Family, I can even tie it back to Bond!) Doesn't help that Anya put the idea in his head that Yor will kill him if he disobeys her.

It's unfortunate, but at least Yor is oblivious to the fact that Bond thinks this way about her. I know she would feel awful if she knew he was scared of her!

After the "Pastry of Knowledge" incident at Eden, Twilight is again faced with more failing test grades from Anya. But this time, he's more composed about it, even noting that she would have done well on the classical language part had she not made so many spelling mistakes.

@sophiamarieispinkbunny-chan brings up a good point in this post that it's unusual for the ever-suspicious Twilight to dismiss the fact that Anya is knowledgeable about an archaic language of all things. But as we've seen time and time again, he's more likely to turn a blind eye to anything suspicious about Yor, Anya, and Bond compared to anyone else.

This suggests that, though he won't admit it, he could possibly be afraid…afraid that if he digs too deep, he'll learn things about them that could lead to them having to separate. The only exception to this so far has been when he investigated Yor after Yuri's first visit, which is understandable since having an SSS officer so close to him could be disastrous (and of course, he felt guilty about it after).

But in Anya's case here, he not only decides that's it not worth thinking about, he even cooks her favorite dinner that night (hamburger steak) without any complaints. Compared to the very first time he was confronted with her poor school skills, he's definitely learning to be a more understanding father (and a less meticulous spy).

Some time later, Yor meets up with Franky to help him rescue a lost cat. This is probably the first time the two of them have been alone together without Loid present, so Yor feels a bit uneasy about this unexpected social interaction. In typical Yor fashion, she expresses concern for the cat and is eager to help, but also thinks she may be more of a bother to Franky. She also hesitates when referring to Loid as her husband. As I've mentioned in previous posts, at this point in the series, I believe she has a crush on Loid but is clueless about those feelings, so she gets flustered whenever their relationship is brought up.

I find it funny how Yor with all her crazy strength and assassin skills is totally powerless against cats clinging to her! Obviously her power is strictly reserved for the "bad guys" she's sent to eliminate on her jobs (or anyone who threatens her loved ones). Innocent animals are safe, even if they scratch her face a bit!

As Franky comes up with ways to catch Kopi, Yor gives him her full supportive side by continuously praising him for his inventions. However, she has no hesitation about sacrificing said inventions to prevent Kopi from running into traffic.

It not only makes sense that she'd be ignorant about how much work goes into building such a machine, but it also makes sense that she holds nothing back when trying to save someone who's in trouble, even if all notions of acting "normal" go out the window – whether it's this cat, the Eden cow, or confronting SSS officers that threatened her family.

As a side note, another example of Yor's wholesome, humbling personality that's only present in the Japanese version, is that she gives the honorific "-san," which denotes respect, usually translated as "Mister" or "Miss," to everyone (besides Yuri, but that's normal for an older sibling). Not just children like Anya, but even animals. She calls Bond "Bond-san," and in this episode, she calls Kopi "Kopi-san." She even called the terrorists from the doggy crisis arc "terrorist-san."

In fact, Yor uses keigo (the polite form of Japanese speech) excessively, almost to an abnormal amount. This could be a reflection of many things about her character, such as her low self-esteem, eagerness to put those around her at ease, and the possibility that Garden instilled the idea in her that she's just a "soldier" for her country, so she never gave a thought about fulfilling her own identity. However, as I'll discuss later, there are some rare and telling moments where she drops this filter and lets her raw feelings out.

When Yor returns to work later, we see that being "normal" is something she's still hung up about, since she gets very excited when Sharon suggests that she may have finally become "somewhat" so. This scene also shows how good she feels after helping someone out, which carries over to her meeting with Shopkeeper soon after.

Speaking of which, we once again see Yor's naivety about her assassin job that I discussed in Part 13: she thinks of it as just getting rid of "evildoers." But despite her strong desire for this, I never got the impression that she likes being an assassin, as in, she enjoys the act of killing people. Compared to a typical view one would have of someone who willingly kills for a living, she doesn't relish in her murders, taunt her opponents, or display any kind of pleasure from their pain. As we'll see throughout the cruise arc, she's very professional about it, being indiscriminate and earnest with her targets. She kills solely for the sake of others, whether it's to help her family or her country. What she desires is the result of the work – eliminating "bad guys," not the actual act of elimination.

The scene where Shopkeeper launches a surprise attack at Yor, only for her to easily dodge it, reminds me of the fact that Yor is sometimes described as "clumsy," but she's definitely not clumsy on the physical side.

Usually characters in anime/manga who are shown to have traits similar to Yor, like exaggerated naivety and a low sense of self-worth, are also shown to be clumsy in the typical sense of dropping things, tripping, and making messes. But, while Yor has tasks she's not good at, like cooking and sewing, and she occasionally has trouble controlling her incredible strength, she's definitely not clumsy. I'm really glad that Endo didn't give her the "clumsy" trait to go along with her social awkwardness, as it would make no sense for a highly skilled assassin to not be anything but perfectly coordinated with their body. We see many examples of this with Yor, not just in how she overpowers every opponent she encounters, but smaller things, like in her introduction episode where she catches the tray with her foot, and how she swiftly leaps and clings to the ceiling at the pet adoption fair without anyone noticing.

Continue to Part 20 ->

<- Return to Part 18

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: A Festive Day in the Life of Dan and Phil!

Date video was published: 12/20/2014 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 254

The 2014 DITL video! The last one had been back in August 2013. This is my absolute favorite DITL and probably one of my top five DNP joint videos of all time. Get ready for me to have way too much to say about it.

0:00 - sleepy morning + quiff Phil! We’ll see a surprising amount of that in this video.

0:05 - “almost a week till Christmas,” so they must have filmed this just a few days before it was posted

0:25 - no waking up Dan in “his” bedroom like in the first two DITL. Hmmm...this scene doesn’t seem staged at all...especially since Phil’s laptop is already open on the arm of the sofa. Unless he just left it like that overnight.

0:37 - love that the other advent calendar on the mantle in the one they made. 😂 There are 18 of the doors opened on it, so they’re probably filming this on the the 18th or 19th of December.

0:47 - they both jump into doing the theme music as soon as Phil says “titan”

0:57 - that is pretty late for them to be putting up the decorations! Phil looks sad about it too.

1:01 - sad tinsel. I think Phil had the silver piece in the background in his last video. And the little WALLE in the background here, from all the way back in PINOF. 🥺

1:17 - this domestic insight, just 😭😭😭

1:26 - full circle back to the first DITL video. I wonder if they watched the previous DITLs before filming this one.

1:41 - so many mugs.

1:48 - Dan did not want that one because it was very hard to actually drink out of as he discovered in DITL London. I really bet they did watch the previous ones shortly before this...so many references back!

1:55 - awww, happy warm Phil

2:13 - such a dramatic sigh but he goes to get it anyway!

2:25 - well that is a terrifying way to burn a tealight...put it on a dish!

2:33 - I love that there is no explanation for this in the video. Phil is superstitious about new shoes on the table, which they had both tweeted about before.

2:40 - Dan fashion show and an encouraging Phil

2:47 - immediate smile when Dan notices Phil there

2:56 - why does Phil looks SO GOOD in this clip. also, as usual a weird/slightly horrifying poem from his brain.

3:02 - love that they both decided to wear holiday jumpers. They also wore these same ones for their December radio show. Also the Dan lean-in 🥺

3:12 - PJ tweeted about this DNP visit!

3:27 - this whole leaving scene is possibly the most domestic part of any video - the candle argument, the coat adjustment, the stop in the bathroom to check their hair, Phil checking to make sure Dan has keys, the spider checking and joking... I mean.

4:13 - more throwback conversation to DITL London

4:35 - so glad he chose not to lick his hand. Even more horrifying in 2021.

4:40 - Dan talked about this and falling up the escalator in What not to do on Public Transport

5:00 - “bit corporate isn’t it?” but caves immediately because Phil wants to. 

5:10 -  Love that Phil orders while Dan finds a table. Love that Phil makes Dan draw something happy not just a sad face. Love Dan’s huge smile after that.

5:33 - Dan really can’t say much he was reading his phone in the clip right before this!

5:58 - Dan’s talking about this weird incident that Phil posted a clip of on LessAmazingPhil

6:18 - they always go to at least one nerdy shop in the first DITLs!

6:36 - the things they choose to zoom in on in this shop...Dan with Spiderman’s crotch a few seconds before this and now Phil on the shirtless guy book cover. subtle, lol.

7:29 - I had actually heard of this board game prior to this video because Wil Wheaton did a TableTop episode. I remember being so surprised to see DNP wanting it!

7:39 - Phil and his weird people encounters. 😂 And Dan just mocking him for it.

7:59 - they did, in fact, go to see Matilda the next summer.

8:10 - oh my god this clock scene. Of course Phil wants to make a game of it. And then Dan with the seemingly slight fudging of what he was pointing at. And this look and then both of them giggling. 👀

8:32 - that start of Dan’s running! This is around the time or shortly after he had started to see a therapist (according to the timeline he gave in Daniel and Depression), so thinking he probably wanted to start for his mental health.

9:11 - Dan talks about the “guy wearing the white sheet in Manchester” in What not to do In Town. Their reminiscing faces are too much.

9:19 - Phil is so excited about this. He had tweeted a couple times in the past about Moomins (1, 2)

9:37 - the excitement about the treats and the festive drinks and decorations and Phil’s teasing 😭

10:04 - they film fairly often in the back of cars and I just feel like must be so awkward, but it doesn’t seem to bother them. And Phil’s hair is quiffed again!

10:28 - and the stairs song! Which they are too prepared for so it must be a regular thing they say/sing. This video has SO MANY moments that I love.

10:51 - Phil just sitting while Dan hauls the tree box out. Maybe Dan lost rock-paper-scissors.

10:59 - reminiscing about THE TREE now, which is the last time they decorated on camera

11:09 - why is this a common theme in DITLs!? lol. Love that they’ve lit the candle again after getting home.

11:22 - “stop doing that” as he can’t control his giggles. sure.

12:03 - okay, Phil had to go get the other decorations! The “Christmas faces” are slightly horrifying

12:22 - that is the most horrifying. also, Dan and Phil themed toys/decor even in the bathroom.

13:02 - Dan’s little messed up piece of hair in the back is so cute. Also love that they have the garlands up and everything at this point too.

13:19 - even more quiff-Phil!

13:31 - their fridge contents are not great

14:04 - unexpected filming but a huge grin anyway from Phil. Also, how do they make just answering the door so awkward, lol. Also: what is that picture in the background in the bathroom(?)

14:32 - they’re so excited about this set up and dinner plan

14:43 - and now glasses Phil! Also, arguing about wrapping neatness. I love it. Although when we see Phil’s wrapping in a minute, I think I might agree with Dan...

15:03 - PJ will end up with one of these face banks

15:10 - Phil came up with some decent gifts for Kath this time, although he didn’t think she had good ideas.

15:18 - I find it so cute that Dan wants to keep the cookbook

15:30 - Dan looks almost embarrassed to share this. He’s also got something “12 Days of Christmas” themed in that blue box on the chair. Although apparently a lot of his family just wanted money.

15:37 - I have no words for Dan filming this closeup and then them choosing to keep it in the video.

16:16 - Phil’s trying to be all serious with his wrapping tutorial and then the tape just immediately falls. 😂

16:40 - “it’s endearing” Dan does look pretty endeared, lol. Dan’s concerned because the face banks are actually gifts from both of them, at least according to PJ

17:04 - wow, Vine mention

17:25 - Dan’s just expecting Phil to come up with a great pun on the spot. Also, the lobster thing is an old reference.

17:39 - I think I mentioned this in the last DITL post, but I like that we do see even in a short video that they spend some time alone. That’s just so normal, especially for introverts even when you’re that comfortable with someone.

17:45 - Phil will keep reading that book over the holidays

17:48 - we did see the inside of the chest. So what is Dan implying here, lol.

17:52 - well then. Dan’s giggly face though.

18:08 - soft piano Dan 😭

18:25 - Ariana Grande had sent them both cat ears after they met her for the radio show

18:37 - a glimpse at the early gaming channel set-up.

18:46 - we don’t actually see that footage in the gaming video

18:51 - it must be pretty late at night by this point considering it was dark when they came home 

19:15 - Phil’s first instinct is to throw it of course

19:18 - this face and the sweater paws. I can’t. 😭

19:25 - and of course a joint ending. 

19:40 - Dan is so sleepy and happy seeming here

20:13 - awwww 🥺 The last video of 2014!

One difference from the first two DITL is they don’t even pretend that they’re going to see other friends/invite someone over. Just the two of them hanging out and they seem quite happy with that. This is probably the most “domestic” of the DITL videos. I love it so much.

Phil went to his parents’ on the 23rd to celebrate Christmas. He had Swedish food, was very excited as usual, got a stocking with a toothbrush and animal socks, and watched Guardians of the Galaxy. Dan went to his family’s on the evening of the 24th after a candle incident (lol, though I love that he was burning the candles even without Phil there. He started the tradition of yearly Christmas pictures of Colin. And also posted this.

On to the 2015 videos, and the start of the TABINOF/TATINOF era!

[bartletforamerica]

How the Bartlet Administration Reacts to COVID-19

Abbey: is not taking any chances. After losing the fight to get the President to retreat to the farm or Camp David, she gets him to agree to limit himself to the oval office and the residence, with as few in person meetings as possible. Even before they’ve pulled together a White House task force, she’s made sure that everything is being disinfected and that her entire schedule is either canceled or made virtual. Her staff is the first to be working from home (and oh boy does she scold if she finds out any of them did something she thinks is foolish), with most of the rest of the White House staff following shortly after. She makes it her mission to do PSAs on what people should be doing and even does a virtual Sesame Street collaboration to teach kids how to wash their hands.

Zoey: Is not super pleased to be stuck in the Residence 24/7. She’s doing classes from her bedroom, so yay to not having to get out of bed early, but she can tell people are super disappointed that her camera is set up so that she has only a blank wall behind her [it turns out the secret service is very touchy about where you take video calls]. She also gets officially hired and given a security clearance for the sole fact that she’s one of the only people allowed to be near her dad who is tech-literate. She ends up doing some of her reading on the couch in his office so that she's on hand for when he's supposed to be skyping with the senior staff and can't figure out what link to click. She spends a lot of time worrying about Ellie, who helping do research about the virus, and texting her friends.

The President: is not happy to be closed up away from people. He also thinks that Abbey is overreacting where he's concerned. He misses actually getting to be around the younger staff. He and Zoey do a cooking from home video at C.J.'s suggestion, so that the country can see he's alive and to encourage people to not go out. They make chili and fight over whether it needs more cumin or oregano while Abbey records it and pipes in from behind the camera. The country is treated to a history of chili and a diplomatic incident nearly happens because apparently Mexicans deny having any association with it, even though most food historians say it has Mexican roots. The flaming debate doesn't stop a second episode at Thanksgiving where the country is treated to the history of the yam and all the secret spices that go into the President's stuffing. A large portion of the country gives him flack for putting Oysters in his stuffing. [In a small bedroom in an Illinois apartment a woman finally figures out why Joe Bethersonsen sounded so familiar.]

Leo: moved into the Residence because there was no way he was going to talk the President off ledges via skype for however long this lasted. He can only do so much. Zoey helps him learn to use Skype and he finds himself missing Margaret desperately even when he spends most of the day with a computer dedicated to having her on Skype so he can turn to it and ask her questions. She insists he get exercise and eat healthy (something he thinks she’s collaborating with the first lady on behind his back—they say very similar things much of the time). He skypes with Mallory on Sunday mornings over breakfast in his room and they pretend they’re at a hotel having a fancy brunch.

Charlie: is not particularly happy. He got sent home with everyone else because he’s not particularly necessary to have on hand if the president isn’t going anywhere. He’s still getting paid and he does do some work (the most important bit being hanging out on the phone with the president so he can ramble about history so Zoey can get her own reading done, Leo can browbeat the staff, and the first lady can do her own job) but he’s been ordered by the president and first lady to focus on getting extra school done while he can.

Donna: started freaking out the first day there was a rumor of a new disease in China. Then the White House shut down and even senior staff got sent home unless they absolutely needed to be in the building (basically just C.J. and some of her staff). And her roommate (not the one she'd really liked, who had a cat, but one she hopes is only temporary) works for a GOP congressman who thinks the whole thing is a hoax and bans masks in his office, so Donna is not at all happy and spends time she should be working cleaning things her roommate touches and that's sixty percent of how she ends up living with Josh.

Josh: is struggling with not being allowed to leave the house on pain of the first lady taking him to task (something about his lungs and the bullet). Even when he was putting his nose to the grindstone to make it through college and law school, he liked being around people while he studied, so he was usually in the library or a cafe rather than his room. He works best when he can bounce ideas off people and take in new ideas. When he was grounded after surgery it absolutely sucked and that was why he drove everyone crazy calling them all the time. Yeah he was bored, but he was also lonely. Plus he's not the best with technology. He very nearly went on national tv with his boxers showing, if not for Donna skyping him beforehand and making sure he fixed the camera. Between needing not to be alone and needing his assistant to be able to actually help him, the invite for Donna to stay with him slips out when she's complaining about her roommate. She shows up two hours later with two suitcases of clothes and two suitcases with pasta, toilet paper, and flour.

Donna and Josh: are handling the pandemic much better now that they're together. Josh can bounce ideas off Donna without it tying up his phone line. And she can listen in on his calls to the various members of congress about the stimulus package that they're working on. It's an even better look at Josh's job than she had before, and while it makes some of her work harder to focus on, she feels like she understands some things better than she ever has before. Josh even starts listening to her about how to sway certain congressmembers to their side. When they're not working, Donna forces Josh to cook with her so they're not entirely subsisting on delivery. They tried making bread and managed to spill half a bag of flour on the floor in the process but they ate all of it, even though it tasted pretty bland. Josh finally got Donna into baseball when it came back. Toby spit out his beer when he was on speakerphone with them and he heard Donna accurately yelling at the Mets for screwing up. Donna wears Josh's clothes more than her own, since she doesn't have to be on camera most of the time. They're platonically sharing a bed because they haven't found a convertible sofa for his living room that they like, they say, and it doesn't make sense for one of them to sleep on the couch, which they say has a spring that makes it uncomfortable to sleep on, even though Donna lounges on it all day with no problem. They are absolutely not dating and so they tell all their friends.

C.J.: spends five minutes laughing every time she gets off the phone with Josh or Donna. She loves her friends but god they're so completely in denial. It does, however, give her a much needed break. Her job has always involved a lot of people and knowing what venue to meet them in to ensure that she gets or passes on the information she needs. COVID protocols mean no more one-on-one meetings with journalists in her office, no more gaggles following her through the halls. The press corps were not happy when they moved all briefings outside and insisted on face masks and shields in addition to everyone sitting six feet apart. She gets asked about the president's health at least once a day and they start doing weekly waving from the balconies just so the press corps can get footage of him, healthy and shouting down to Danny and some of the others. Someone makes a cartoon of the president in the tower, with Abbey as his dragon keeper and though no one is willing to justify a cartoon with a comment, privately C.J. thinks it's accurate. She's always admired Abbey's fierce protectiveness of her family, even when she doesn't agree with every way it expresses itself or when it interferes with C.J.'s job. She has to come up with new ways to push the White House agenda (keep the economy afloat, stay home, no, don't listen to the GOP governors or those running for the primary, those ideas are not good, go the fuck home and stop having parties) and while some work, others bomb. It would help if everyone would stay on message and not screw up.

Sam: would like to make it clear that he did not know how many people would be at that gathering. He thought he was going for an outdoor meal with just a few old friends who could help raise money for the democratic party, not a fifty-person birthday party. The media fallout nearly gets him fired. Instead he gets yelled at by C.J., then by the First Lady. Mallory even sends him a card about how stupid he was. He's pretty sure that having Donna around is the only reason that Josh hasn't made the same mistake by now. It had to have been a toss up as to which of the two of them would screw up. Sam just isn't lucky enough to have a Donna (Sam is very happy that Josh has a Donna, Sam just wants Josh to realize that he talks about Donna the same way most men talk about their wives, because it's really hard not to respond to "why do I put up with finding her hair clogging the shower drain" with "because you love her and can't live without her, stupid"). He instead has adopted a cat for company. It tries to scratch him every time he tries to pet it. Sam spends his days trying to find a way to say "fuck the economy until we've beaten the virus" in a way that is palatable to the American people while trying to remind Toby that they can't actually say that outright. This is not an easy task.

Toby: would like to tell most of the American public to shut up, stay indoors for two months, pretty much nobody excepted, and if you don't, then you get tossed out to sea. He's come within an inch of telling anti-mask people they deserve to get sick on the record and is strongly advocating that the federal government figure out a way to mandate that every person in the country, minus those with legitimate medical exceptions, get the vaccine as soon as possible. He is also about to get evicted because it turns out his neighbors do not appreciate having rubber balls bounced against the walls for hours on end. Apparently, the thud is rather annoying. He worries about everyone, though this is delivered brusquely. Out of everyone he's taking the new work from home situation the best. No one can pop in to distract him, or comment on his eating habits. And if he doesn't want to talk to someone, he can always turn his phone to silent and pretend not to have seen they called. He's not pleased the Yankees lost to the Rays (necessitating rooting for either the Dodgers or the Rays, one of which beat his team and the other which betrayed New York), but he can at least take solace in the fact that the Mets didn't even make the playoffs.

[hazard-and-friends]

i watched the first episode of canine intervention tonight, here’s some uncensored liveblogging featuring my spicey dog training takes:

“my dog training system is known all over the world" mhmm. lemme google this guy.

by clicking through his in person training site to his online remote training course, i found a whole lot of big red flags: "Establish pack leadership" dogs don't have pack leaders. anyone who wants to make you a leader is not using a good understanding of dog behavior "Time your praise and corrections" the times when i use corrections are when i'm the least on my game. my goal is NEVER to use corrections/positive punishment. why should i? it's concerning that he uses it as a core part of his method. "Exercise and reinforce your leadership as a way of life" more leadership bullshit.

fancy letters are not the end-all-be-all, and there are trainers i seriously respect who have none of them. but they don't talk about leadership and corrections. it's concerning that he talks about his sports team as a kid, where he went to high school, and his celebrity clients, but not his mentors and education in training.

back to the show

why does his facility have enough dogs to keep them in kennels? how does that teach aggressive dogs how to be safe in a home environment?

not all of the dogs in the first shot of a class (~1:38) have two collars on but a lot do. that's not a red flag (i worked sydney in two collars [her flat collar and a martingale, because syd was very gear smart and it was nice to tell her that we were doing heeling now]) but with what i saw on his website? it's quite likely that one of those is the dog's normal flat collar with tags, and the other is a prong, choke chain, or electric collar

also: "I help the dogs that no one else will" is a flat out lie

if you're willing to take on any human aggression cases, generally you’re willing to take on all of them. now, some of these cases may generally lead to a recommendation of euthanasia. but that's in the best interests of the dog and owner

oop class shot where it's clear that they're wearing prongs

here's two points not about this guy specifically: 1) it is hard (impossible?) to do humane, ethical dog training in a 45 minute episode slot. it's not good tv. it's slow as hell. there's no drama. the aggression trainers i know? have never been bitten. many have never been CLOSE to being bitten. no tv value. 2) the positive dog training community is OVERWHELMINGLY white and middle class.

it's also full of racists.

"Nearly a million dogs are euthanized yearly and over 40% of them are pit bulls" i've calculated that first statistic myself, but it's important to put it in context: this is USA specific, and that's down from 3-4 million 20 years ago. the second one, i would love to see his source.

he's right that it's important to understand where aggression comes from

anyway back to those two points, at the same time that it's really, really hard to do compelling TV with ethical dog trainers, it's also really REALLY important that the positive dog training community be working on being anti-racist. and it's really, really important that low income dog owners and people of color are getting good dog training.

alright first case! he's had her 3 months, 3 bites in that time. 10 attempted attacks. she's a young adult bully breed mix who had one front leg amputated after being shot. owner walks her in a muzzle which is a) too small and b) not bite proof.

"I see what we're working with" he says, after approaching a dog in her crate. hazard responds similarly to someone coming in, but he's not a bite risk. that's not a good evaluation.

he is correct about lady macbeth's motivations: this is a dog who's scared as hell and making herself really big and scary so that everyone leaves her alone.

okay he's also right that playing with her around strangers is really, really good for fear aggression

"frenzied just chaotic state" yeah no

reality check for y'all: i am not an aggression specialist and i have seen more freaked out dogs

she was on edge! she was unhappy! but holy shit was she not even remotely close to what dogs are capable of

"she just bit me!" she nipped your cheek, not breaking skin. that's a level 1 or 2 (of 6). that's not NOTHING but it's well within normal for a dog who's being restrained when she wants to be somewhere else.

[note that at no point in the episode was the owner ever given any sort of indication that lady macbeth is not this horribly aggressive Pit Bull TM. nor was there any discussion of a bite scale.]

"The only option we're gonna have is to [board and train] for 3 weeks" "I have no choice but to take her back to my facility back in San Jose and work daily with her" no!!!!!

[15 minute break]

lmao sorry i had to go yell at gf about how much this board and train is not necessary and in the process penny decided to cause Drama again

ANYWAY, the b&t is not necessary because all of those aggressive incidents bar the first could have been avoided if the owner was on the ball. this is not JUST a lady macbeth issue, this is ALSO an owner issue. both of them need to relearn how to handle new people.

as a bonus, lady macbeth needs to learn to trust her owner, which she categorically cannot do in a b&t

"The box is an important training tool to teaching new behaviors. It's also a first step in establishing pack leadership" ok this is new to me

and new is not a good thing here

text: Obedience depends on a dog's trust and respect for their pack leader calculus depends on your trust and respect for your math teacher! if you respect them a lot you will magically be able to do calc!

I WAS HOPING. I WAS TRYING.

i was HOPING that his training for her fear aggression would be based in toy play.

instead he's got a fake arm and he keeps reaching out to poke her, and the owner says "no!" and does a leash pop (leash wrapped around her neck) every time she tries to bite.

"She doesn't know it's not his hand" it smells like plastic what would she THINK it is

also funky that we're 19 minutes into the episode about an aggressive bully breed mix and the trainer's childhood bully breed mix who killed a dog, and like. not a single mention of what these dogs were bred for.

let's go back to "how are you teaching aggressive dogs to live nicely in a home, if they are spending most of the day in a wire kennel"

for shits take, high school doesn't teach you how to handle your emotions! why should obedience class teach your dog the same?

and then like, every time she breaks the down he yells NOPE and leans over her??????

dude you're scaring her into being obedient. while you're talking about how it's important to treat her fear.

text: Fear based aggression can be reduced by desensitizing the dog to strangers you're right! it sure can! THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE

you've got a dog on her side with one hand over her, the other on a skinny check chain on her neck. every time she does anything but lay flat, the leash is popped and you say no. you are flooding this dog and creating learned helplessness.

jo summed it up well with this: he's good at seeing the behavior, he knows what he's looking at, he just can't change it. he only knows one method.

jo and i are now trying to figure out if "dog training but marie kondo not cesar milan" is a viable tv show

jas correctly stops the friend and changes how he approaches the dog, that's a good response

i'm laughing bc after a 3 week board and train which is not going to be less than $4k, he's giving the exact same "how to meet new people" directions that i would give to a similar client--at the start of our time! not at the end!

"I can't imagine imagine a dog having it too much worse than she did, the fact that she took a gunshot, the fact that she had no security for years of her life" alright dude a) think worse, this PALES to abuse cases b) let's not? shittalk? the care that people without reliable housing give to their dogs (and occasional cat!)?? because what they do for their pets is incredible, and it isn't necessarily connected to her opinions on strangers

so yeah still laughing bc like. that "happy ending" would be my first session with a client. that's how you START handling stranger danger. and for this the owner paid thousands.

[medea10]

Medea’s Top 20 Animes of the Decade

Hey all! Disappointed in some “best of” lists of this past decade? Well…prepared to be possibly disappointed some more because I’m doing one now! Here’s a top 20 list of my favorite animes that came out in the 2010’s. I seriously couldn’t do 10 this time due to how many awesome animes came out this decade. Unlike my anime superlative list, I’m going to be stricter here. Anything that aired in Japan before January 2010 is stricken from the list (which sucks because that means Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood & InuYasha: The Final Act are disqualified). And these are going to be MY favorites from this decade. Be aware that there will be popular animes I leave off the list due to my own personal opinions and the fact that some of them I have not watched yet. So I’m just going to tell you right now, don’t expect My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter, or Demon Slayer on this list because I have not watched any of that shit! Let’s get cracking!

20. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (2018)

After nearly 20 years since the end of the first series, Cardcaptor Sakura returns with a sequel no one asked for and no one expected to come back. But it definitely brought back the nostalgia for those who grew up watching CCS. This story gives a continuation where Sakura is in middle school and ends up collecting a whole new set of mysterious cards. And the series is what you would expect with the cutesy feel whenever Sakura is with Li or it gets really intense when Sakura’s up against a really powerful card. While the ending leaves us on a bit of a cliffhanger with no continuation in sight, this series was one of the best reboots I’ve watched in recent years.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu Coming soon to home video

19. The Rising of the Shield Hero (2019)

This is my first (modern) Isekai and I gotta say I really enjoyed the story. Unlike other anime characters that travel to another world, the main character Naofumi is not praised as a savior nor put on a golden pedestal. Quite the opposite, this guy has to fight for even a shred of respect from anybody. Because after watching past protagonists like Miaka Yuuki, Kagome, and Kirito, that trope gets boring. Despite many of these episodes making me physically ill as I watched Naofumi being shit on by the other heroes and everybody else, it was great to watch this struggle with Naofumi to become a great shield hero.

P.S. Myne is still a raging cunt!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & FUNimation

18. My Love Story!! (2015)

One of the BEST rom-com animes out there! The story of a gentle giant boy named Takeo falling in love with a sweet, petite girl named Yamato and their story as a couple. Yeah, the big difference between this anime and a bunch of other anime rom-coms is that Takeo and Yamato reveal their love for each other in episode 4 in a 24 episode series! By anime standards, that’s unheard of because most love stories want to wait until the finale for something like that. This anime is just a cute story of watching Takeo and Yamato bloom with their budding relationship. Yeah, I admit some of the stories can be a little boring. Sometimes the beginnings of romances have a slow-start before we get to the good stuff. But even when they’re doing little things, they’re just so cute to watch.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, HI-DIVE & Hulu Available for home video

17. Durarara!! (2010, 2015-2016)

This story is a complete cluster-fuck, but I don’t care. The stories that come from this anime and the characters make this one of my favorites. Durarara follows the strange stories that happen around the town of Ikebukuro with a headless motorcycle rider, super-human strengthed men, an internet troll who loves to mess with humans, otakus, a mad scientist, a parasitic carrier, and gangs of different sorts. But if you would ask me what’s my favorite thing about Durarara (because there’s a lot of random things for anyone to choose), it would of course be any time Shizuo Heiwajima is on the screen. This guy is just pure rage in a bartender’s outfit. He’s able to casually pick up and throw a vending machine at a person, he can punch the clothes off a guy’s body, and even kick a mid-sized car down the street.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu & Netflix Available for home video

16. Daily Lives of High School Boys (2012)

If you’re looking for something random and hilarious to watch, look no further with this one. Each episode has random segments, mostly featuring three boys, Tadakuni, Hidenori, and Yoshitake in some of the most absurd moments ever showcased in an anime. Just to name a few fun moments; being caught experimenting with women’s underwear, finding a clever way to kill a hornet (indirect kiss), intellectual talk with a cute girl, using your jacket as a soccer ball replacement, and how to unzip your fly without using your hands! That last one still confounds me. But the show also expands to other characters around school and town. I know this series is severely random to have a coherent plot, but sometimes I prefer randomness. And that’ll continue with the next entry!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll Available for home video

15. Nichijou (2011)

Yet another random segment anime (only this time with girls)! I know the official title is “My Ordinary Life”, but there is nothing ordinary about an anime where you have a six year old professor, a talking robot girl that was created by the six-year old professor, a talking black cat, high school girls capable of body-flipping police officers, a young boy who rides a goat to school, a high school girl capable of firing a bazooka, and a principal who fights a deer. That last one is just epic! If for no other reason to watch Nichijou, just watch the scene where the principal fights a deer! Much like Daily Lives of High School Boys, this series relies more on the random shenanigans of many of these characters (but mostly the main three girls, Mio, Yuuko, and Mai). It’s silly and fun! Check it out and give this anime a little love. Because there’s no way it’s getting a second season (Japan showed no love for this one)!

Available to watch on: FUNimation Available for home video

14. ERASED (2016)

I don’t care what manga readers say, this was a fine anime, you anal-rententive fuck-wipes (soooo not sorry for that statement)! This murder-mystery captured my attention when it first aired. The story is about a man named Satoru who has this ability to go backwards in time (usually a few seconds or minutes) to prevent a tragedy from occurring. But after an incident involving his mother, he ends up going all the way back to his ten-year old body in 1988 in order to prevent a tragedy from his childhood. This included saving his classmate, Kayo from her premature demise. It was a catchy time-leaping mystery that would enthrall me week after week…up to a certain point. Yeah, you can already guess who the culprit was early on. But all the suspense leading up to this was still a great tale.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Hulu Available for home video

13. Panty & Stocking w/ Garterbelt (2010)

GAINAX, you wishy-washy, crazy-ass, can’t give a full conclusion to a story to save your life, leaving us on a decade-long cliffhanger bastards, YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!

So this bizarre-ass anime is about two bitch-angels kicked out of Heaven, named Panty and Stocking. One likes to fuck men and the other gorges herself on sweets! In order to get back into Heaven, they must exterminate ghosts with the help of a black priest named Garterbelt, a fanboy named Briefs, and an Invader Zim knock-off named Chuck. And did I mention Panty and Stocking use their own lingere as weapons to take down ghosts? This story is balls-to-the-wall insane! And it gets crazier when you pop in the English dub! Dick jokes, fart jokes, and a whole lot of fucks! As any superhero show will do, this anime does stay to the villain of the episode trope with a few leeways here and there. This included a segment dedicated to the late Satoshi Kon and a music video. All of this leading to an ending NO ONE expected to happen leaving us on a cliffhanger that is now going on 10 years. Regardless, this absurdity in a thong is a treasure to behold. I would also advise not doing a drinking game whenever one of them says “Fuck”. You’d be dead by the end of the first episode!

Available to watch on: FUNimation Available for home video

12. Attack on Titan (2013, 2017-2019)

*singing incoherent Japanese*

YEAGER!!!

Get ready to get hooked on two of the catchiest opening themes of all time! I thought it was just about a young boy taking revenge on a race of titans for the death of his mother. No one expected there to be a twisted, messed-up origin to the titan race where the main character is connected to everything! That’s all my messy thoughts coming out after witnessing the climax portion. As for the rest of you, Eren Yeager’s world is turned upside-down when the town he lived in is demolished by titans. As a result, the entire town is demolished and left for dead and Eren watched as his mother is eaten by a titan. Eren ends up joining the Survey Corps along with his friends Armin and Mikasa to take down titans and prevent another town to suffer the same fate as Eren’s home.

Going into this anime, I SERIOUSLY thought this was going to be a comedy. You would too if you were going off of all the memes that emerged in 2013. But this anime takes a sharp left turn when Eren discovers a horrifying secret involving his own body. After that, this lead to more unbelievable discoveries involving people we all initially thought was the supporting cast. And this is as cryptic as I can be without delving into severe spoilers. The only way to get my meaning is if you watch this series. It’s just…WOW!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, & Toonami Some seasons are available for home video

11. Kill la Kill (2013-2014)

A girl with a giant pair of scissors picking a fight with the main bitch at school, all the while wearing a sailor suit that talks to you! That is the balls-to-the-wall insanity Studio Trigger gives you in a show like this. Ryuko Matoi enrolls in Honnouji Academy in search of the person who murdered her father. There, she comes face-to-face with the potential murderer, Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki rules over Honnouji as she has a special uniform capable of giving her super-human strength. But what Satsuki doesn’t know is that Ryuko is about to get a special uniform to give her that as well. A talking sailor uniform named Senketsu helps Ryuko in her journey of finding her father’s murderer. Yeah, this series goes all-out with the special powers brought on by certain clothing. Then again, it’s Japan and fanservice is a must in at least 75% of animes! I mean, there are moments where Senketsu gets skimpier on Ryuko, not leaving much to the imagination. As absurdly off the wall this anime was, I enjoyed every frame of it and it’s easily one of Studio Trigger’s best works.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Netflix

10. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma (2015-2019)

You’d think with my picky-ass, I would have never watched an anime about cooking (and if my family is reading this, close this page now and play a wholesome game of shutting your gobs). But Food Wars never fails to increase my appetite. Yukihira Soma ends up in Japan’s most elite cooking school (with a 10% graduation rate) where he finds himself up against Japan’s and even the world’s greatest up and coming chefs. And every now and then, he ends up having to go up against one of these chefs in a cook-off known as a Shokugeki. If it wasn’t for the food orgasms, I would easily tell my cooking-show obsessed family members to watch this. I know no normal person would ever strip off all their clothes and have a raging orgasm when eating delicious food. But hey, it’s Japan! Gotta stick in fanservice somewhere! With inventive ways to spice up a regular dish, I may one day broaden my taste-buds into more exotic food-stuffs. Just, keep the peanut-butter squid away from me.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, HI-DIVE, Hulu, & Toonami Some seasons are available for home video

09. Your Lie in April (2014-2015)

Grab your tissues, children. We follow Kousei Arima as he regains his ability and passion for playing the piano with the thanks of new-found friend Kaori. What can I say about an anime that’s so beautifully animated with likeable characters and music to die for? OHHH…I shouldn’t have said that last thing! Yeah, the main character Kousei goes through quite a bit in his life dealing with the aftermath of his mother’s death and having to relive seeing someone he cares about die the same way. There’s just so much you wish would happen with these characters and watch as it’s dashed away during a Chopin piece. OHHH…I did it again! Well folks, if you’re into tear-bait and classical music, definitely watch Your Lie in April!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu, & Netflix

08. The Promised Neverland (2019)

One of the newest entries with one of the most shocking first episodes in recent history! I know in the past decade we got a lot of first episode hookers like Attack on Titan, but if you came in this blind-folded, get ready for a trip. We follow orphan children Emma, Ray, and Norman as they plan to escape their home before they become food for hungry demons. In a weird way, this anime is almost like the 2000 film Chicken Run. I know I’m not the first person to think that up, but yeah, gotta say it here. This was one of my favorite animes of this year and I was hooked week by week with what was going to happen next. It got so intense that immediately after the series ended, I picked up the manga to find out what happens next. And let me tell you, it gets more insane after the events of episode 12. But one thing that always astounded me was watching all of these kids plot an escape so elaborate when all of them range from ages 6-12.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu

07. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (2017)

What would you do if you opened the door one morning and found a dragon standing outside? Not just that but what would you do if you were living with more than one dragon and you now find yourself hanging around other dragons?! Kobayashi’s world changes for the better as she meets a dragon (named Tohru) that loves her so much that she would happily become her maid. And given the stigma for eons between humans and dragons, this series we see cute interactions with humans and dragons. Up to a point that it feels like all these characters are becoming family! There’s a dragon named Fafnir who finds humans horrible people, but ends up changing for the better when he finds himself hanging with a human that plays video games and creates manga. But I’m always so drawn to the relationship of Tohru and Kobayashi. Kobayashi was never really close to her family and when she moved away she mostly spends her nights drinking alone. But once Tohru and Kanna move in, it’s always a fun day with their cute shenanigans. It’s definitely brought Kobayashi out of her shell and gave her a family of dragons to live with.

And there’s this cute little dragon named Kanna! She’s so cute and adorable! Look at her nom at just everything she eats. She’s so adorable! Who’s a cute wittle dragon? Yes you are! Yes you are!

As a final note in this particular entry, I want to mention one particular member of the staff. Yasuhiro Takemoto! This man was the director for Miss Kobayashi, as well as many other animes from Kyoto Animation and I feel the need to thank this man for all the hard work he had done. I’m thankful for all of your work in the anime community and we miss you.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Funimation Available for home video

06. Pokemon XY (2013-2016)

It might be cheating a bit to put a Pokemon series on this list since they’ve been around since 1997. But it’s not a continuous shot like Detective Conan and One Piece, so I’m counting the XY arc for this list. Even though this series didn’t show me my favorite character and it gave me a shipping that’s worse than Herpes (with a cult for that ship that’s on par with MAGA), this was one of the best arcs to the Pokemon series. And I was excited for this series when it first came out because with the introduction of Mega Evolution, I was hoping for Ash to delve into that. While Ash wasn’t the one using Mega Evolutions, we did see him grow more through a synchronization method with Greninja that brought about so much in terms of battling. Just to name a few awesome moments with these two, he took down an iceburg pokemon, went toe-to-toe with a champion, and even made it all the way to the finals of the Pokemon League. Now did he win that league? That’s not important! What is important is that these were some of the best moments this series had to offer.

But it wasn’t just Ash we followed, but an anime-only character introduced named Alain as we followed his journey to becoming stronger through Mega Evolution. It felt risky following a different person for 5 or more episodes (without mentioning Ash), but it was all worth it when we came to the climax of the series when Team Flare came from the shadows. Listen guys, I know Pokemon has given some disappointing seasons before (especially the arc prior to XY), but if there’s any season you should watch, it’s definitely this one.

Also, Rica Matsumoto sings this one song called XYZ. I don’t know if you all have heard this song, but I think you should. It’s so bad ass and always pops up in some of Ash’s best battles in this series…in the Japanese version! I love it so much that I always feel the need to bring up XYZ whenever I talk about this arc.

Available to watch on: Disney XD, Hulu, & Pokemon TV Available for home video

05. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

I will always be a sucker for magical girl animes. Especially since Sailor Moon was the very first anime I watched fully! But Madoka Magica was…different and edgier. The premise is that a cute, white animal asks you to form a contract with it so you can become a magical girl. Magical girls defeat witches that cause havoc! Better read the fine-print on the contract ladies, because what the little rat doesn’t tell you is that you eventually become a witch yourself and will end up dying a horrible death, thus repeating the cycle. This anime would always leave me in a state of awe when watching it, whether it was the shocking deaths or the clever animation used when a witch emerges. But when you’ve got Shaft Studios animating this, expect some trippy moments. I think it’s because episode 3 was a big turning point that many of us were caught off guard by what happened and were scared of what happens next. Although thanks to Madoka, many other magical girl animes are following down the same path and trying to make it edgier. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I gotta say Madoka has definitely set the bar on edgy magical girl shows.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu Available for home video

04. Violet Evergarden (2018)

Prior to this anime’s release, Kyoto Animation had a reputation for putting out anime that was geared to the “moe” genre. But with recent releases of A Silent Voice, Miss Kobayashi, and Violet Evergarden, their style has evolved into something I can’t describe in just one sentence. This anime is just beautiful to look at. The animation is just stunning, look at it. Now, I was a bit turned-off by the main character of this series, Violet. First of all, she literally looks like Saber from the Fate series and has arms that rival Ed Elric of FMA. Secondly, her almost robotic personality really turned me off. But it wasn’t until later in the series where we watch her interact with the people she was helping in each episode that made me truly appreciate what she’s doing.

Violet was once used as a tool for war and would always obey her commanding officer. But once the war was over, she found herself as an “Auto Memories Doll” where she’s writing letters people want to send to someone. Many of these episodes, we watch her see the world outside of the war and hell she was put through in her past. Her words were able to bring people together, heal two fighting nations, bring a family closer together, give closure to a grieving family member, and so much more. Add to that, this series gave out one of the most heart-breaking episodes I’ve ever watched in anime. It made me ugly-cry and that rarely happens! Not just me, but litereally everyone who ever watched this episode, but also Violet herself. This episode (that’s episode 10) was like the first time where she felt actual human emotions for anyone other than the person she once loved. This episode felt like a turning point in how I felt about Violet as well as the show in general.

I feel I have to say a little more on this entry. This anime is without a doubt, the most beautifully animated anime of this entire decade (despite what OTHERS have to say). And it couldn’t have gotten that way without the talented folks at Kyoto Animation. I can’t express enough how much I’m blown away by this series. Only now when I think about it, I get horribly depresssed due to the recent tragedy that struck KyoAni. Only now, do I appreciate all the hard work to put this masterpiece into action. And I wish it didn’t take me until a tragedy to watch this anime. But I’m glad I was able to watch Violet Evergarden. And I wish for you all to take the time to do the same!

Available to watch on: Netflix

03. Assassination Classroom (2015-2016)

Stand. Bow. Kill your sensei! Middle school students being trained by professional assassins to take down a yellow-tentacled monster (who is also their teacher)! These students must assassinate their teacher within one year, otherwise the world will blow up. Now I had my reservations watching a cast this big! I mean, we’re watching an entire 28-person class try to shoot their teacher. Thankfully, I didn’t grow to be annoyed by the concept like with Negima. I loved nearly all of the students and remembered many of them. One of the biggest drawing points with me is that, all of these students were seen as the ones to give up on. They were in the lowest-level class where school, family, and society have just given up on these children. Being in a much similar situation in middle school, I can relate. That’s why when I saw someone like Koro-sensei teach these kids so much more in the world of academics, it made me happy to see these kids have someone to look up to. Many of these episodes were fun to watch. Koro-sensei is a laugh-riot sometimes when the class has to do an activity together. Add to that, one of the hardest to watch goodbyes in recent history. For a good laugh and a good cry, Assassination Classroom is the way to go.

Available to watch on: FUNimation & Hulu Available for home video

02. Yuri on Ice!!! (2016)

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! *random screeching noises*

Why yes I love this series! It is so beautiful. I wish to see more of this in the future. I would like for Viktor to have Yuri’s babies. Don’t at me! I didn’t expect this series to give the female viewers an actual loving relationship between two of the main male characters. But halfway into the series, we get the kiss that cemented the deal. So besides the gay relationship, we’ve also got a beautiful soundtrack, animation that’s stunningly gorgeous, a story about an underdog working his way to receive a gold medal with the help of his hot, Russian coach…God, I just love this anime!

I’m a sucker for a root for the underdog story. And Yuri Katsuki definitely fits that description! Before Viktor came along, he was coming off of a humiliating defeat at a previous competition where he came in dead-last. But throughout the series, we watch Viktor mold Yuri into something audience members have overlooked in this boy. Viktor taught Yuri what love really is in more ways than one. But Yuri isn’t a total zero-to-hero in a span of 12 episodes, but at times he does come damn-near close. Every week, I’m amazed at how much Studio MAPPA put so much effort into this. While the quality did take a slight dip in some of the final episodes, so much has happened before that I’m willing to let that go. Watch Yuri attempt at making history with Yuri on Ice.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & FUNimation Available for home video

Before I get to my anime of the decade, how about I quickly do my TOP 10 ANIME MOVIES OF THE DECADE? No commentary, just announcing them quickly.

10. The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)

09. When Marnie Was There (2014)

08. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

07. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)

06. Kizumonogatari (2016-2017)

05. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)

04. Pokemon: I Choose You (2017)

03. Your Name (2016)

02. A Silent Voice (2016)

01. Wolf Children (2012)

CLOSE CALLS FOR THE LISTS: Black Lagoon – Roberta’s Blood Trail, Sailor Moon Crystal, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fate/Zero & Fate/stay night: UBW, Angel Beats, The Wind Rises, Parasyte, One Punch Man, Aggretsuko, Steins;Gate, Inu x Boku SS, and Dragon Ball Super.

And now, #1…oh, you should already know what it is by now. One of my favorite animes came back with the vengeance in 2019 that no other anime can touch it. Rightfully so! You know it, I know it, let’s get it over with! So say it with me now, three, two, one…

01. Fruits Basket: 1st Season (2019)

Thank you! Just…thank you! In a time where I hate reboots, this one was handled with the utmost care. What can I say about this anime that everyone else hasn’t said already? This anime is like warm soup on a cold day. The nice pick-me-up when you had a shitty day on the job! That beautiful rainbow you see after a rain shower!

Coming upon a family with a terrible secret, there’s much hesitation on who (if any) can be let in without being hurt. Tohru Honda accidentally learned of the Sohma family secret, where if one of them is hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they’re turned into an animal from the Chimese Zodiac. These people have had to live with this stigma their entire lives. Because of this, relationships are put in turmoil, obtaining friends was damn-near impossible, and everyone has to be on a constant state of worry in case their secret comes out. But Tohru loves and accepts everyone, no matter what. In many of these episodes, we see Tohru reach out to the members of the Sohma family to tell them that she sees the good in them and that they are loved. To reach out to the hurt, silent tiger, Kisa! To reach out to the mentally-scarred rat, Yuki! To reach out to the heart-broken dragon, Hatori! And to give a hug to Momiji…when his momma won’t!

All of these individual stories always gets to me! Even re-told, these stories have improved 100%! And in some cases like Ritsu’s story, done better than the original! I watched the original story God-knows how many times! But with the remake, I found myself re-watching random episodes in my off-time when I should be watching something else. I always have to go back to watching everything from this series. From the good and the sad! From the ultra-laughable moments, to the jaw-dropping moments! In a time where many of us yearn to be accepted for who we are, an anime like this feels absolutely necessary. I know it might be biased of me to pick something from this year and cheating a bit considering at the beginning of the decade I was heavily into the original series. Regardless, this is still my pick for Best Anime of the 2010’s.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu

[hansoheeglobal]

English translation; Han Sohee interview on Dazed Korea May 2020 Issue (credit the scanned article goes to @cubfcoftee)

Usually, the more popular the drama is, the more viewers see the characters in the drama being reflected in reality. In that sense, do you realize the popularity of "Yeo Da-kyung" in "The World of The Married"?

Yes! (Laughs) These days, I've already been getting a lot of bad words from my acquaintances, regardless of family or friends. Two days ago, I got a message from a friend saying, "You're really bad."

How did you interpret Da-kyung as an actress?

When I read the script, I felt sorry for Da-kyung. A young woman in her early 20s abandoned her family, her gaze, and her pride, I wondered why she was doing this. In order to express the character, I had to understand Da-kyung enough, so I was worried about how to do. In my view, Da-kyung is a character who threw both body and mind in love with 'Tae-oh', so I decided to look at that part only. For 'Da-kyung', the keyword love is in front of a married man, and for people, the word married couple exists before love. I think this is the difference between Da-kyung in my view and Da-kyung that viewers see.

What's the point of the future story?

Tae-oh is cursing, and so far it's only the beginning? (laughs) Focus on Da-kyung and Sun-woo" relationship, but at the same time pay attention to the story of the people around them. Yes, as couples of different ages, such as Lim Je-hyuk, Hyun-seo, and In-gyu, get involved in the incident, the episode unfolds in an omnibus style. There will be a lot of things happening one day.

"I want to act a real love relationship this time, not a dramatic love. Stories that date their peers, resolve conflicts, and end happily. And I hope my character gets loved next time."

Da-kyung's fashion is also getting popular.

At first, I thought Dagyung should dress nicely because she is a rich-house daughter. Thinking about it again, I thought, "Yeo Da-kyung: The daughter of a rich family is the eye of the beholder, and Da-kyung's poem line is my house (=the rich house) that was born and grew naturally, so I don't need to shine like the daughter of a rich family for the first reason." Dakyung's fashion will all change with time.

Dagyung is a Pilates instructor.Do you actually enjoy pilates?

No, I don't have a lot of muscles, so I've been doing weight training. Before I started filming, I learned Pilates at the director's recommendation, and it was so different from the exercise I've been doing. Something similar is that it feels like holding up like a core exercise, a plank. I didn't think static exercise was right, but once I tried it, it was effective for Jasmine's orthodontics. I'm going to try to do it a little more.

What kind of character do you want to play?

Instead of dramatic love, I want to play a real love affair next time. It is a story about people of their age who date, solve conflicts with each other, and end happily. And next time, I want to be act as that character.

Is there anything else you'd like to challenge besides acting?

I used to study art. I want to learn more from my discharge because art is something that I have to be with in my life. But I don't think I can do art at the same time.You have to do one right before you can catch two rabbits. I think it's time to focus more on acting, and art is not light to me, so I want to study in France when I have time to turn my eyes to it.

I was surprised that your skin was so good while watching the monitor. Do you have any special methods?

Sleep? For me, sleep is better than exercise or diet. I'm going to sleep at least 7 hours. When I'm on the location, I'll sleep as soon as I get in the car. In fact, if you can't sleep, you get dark circles and pigments, and you'll be able to control your tired skin. I'm trying to make a habit of drinking water. I didn't even drink a cup of coffee.

Your hometown is Ulsan. I'm curious about the Seoul adaptation period.

I have a friend who is studying abroad, and when I came to Seoul, she was the only one I knew. My friend lives in Hongdae and I live in Gangnam, so I was always alone when I was eating or drinking coffee. The street is a little too far to see often. So I have been staying in the studio with my friend, not my house, ever since some time ago. And I got to know a lot of people through Arba Teu, and now I'm happy to have that kind of relationship.

Don't you usually use dialect?

Now I have free dialects and standard language, sometimes without even realizing it. There are times when they come. It's not a dialect, but it's a unique accent Haejun Sun Bae, who plays Taeoh, is from Gyeongsang-do, so he naturally speaks in dialect once or twice in the scene.

You must have tried hard to change your dialect while acting.

It was natural. Fortunately, I think the environment helped a lot. My grandmother is from Wonju. She doesn't speak in dialect at all, so I didn't speak in dialect when I was young. After coming up to the first page, I naturally adapted to it by making many friends in Seoul. I still use dialect when I meet my friends from Gyeongsang-do. Depending on who you talk to, it becomes similar to the other person's tone.

I heard you were popular with your friend when you were in school.

I'm an exaggeration. (laughs) I didn't have a commonly called "boyfriend." attend a girls' high school I transferred to an arts high school, so I didn't know what to do in a space with boy friends. If you've been to a girls' high school, you'll know how fun it is. Seven unique moods. I don't like extreme color and I'm interested in people, so I've been friends with O.J. I've received a few letters from my friends saying that I want to be close to them. I think it was misrepresented that I was popular among women. (laughs).

You're working as Han Sohee. What is Lee So-hee's personality like?

There is no boundary or difference between Han So-hee and Lee So-hee. It's still strange to call her Han So-hee. I like people. It's not like I listen to other people's stories and say, "Whoa!" I just like to sit face to face and watch.I thought, "How would a photographer like?" and "How would he like to be?" I tried to approach him as a person when I didn't do it when I was working.

You think a mind that likes and observes people will be the foundation for the job of an actor/actress.

That's right. Since the character is human, I think it's helpful to get to know many different sides of people naturally.

What do you usually do when you're alone?

I ride a bicycle because the weather is so nice these days. I can't go to the fitness center because of Corona 19, so instead, I ride my bike for a walk. I like to be active, but when I want to pick it up, I just stay at home for a week. There's something extreme about it, but it's all at home. Suddenly, I was like, "Oh! I can't be like this." If you think you need to move like a human being, you can go out alone.

When I saw at your Instagram, I thought, 'Han So-hee has her own taste like a woman in her twenties these days.' I'm curious about Han So-hee's daily life, hobbies and tastes.

I usually watch movies, especially French movies. I recently watched all of director Xavier Dolan's movies again. I like the feeling of seeing and listening to different cultures and languages. If you keep looking at the characters in the movie, you can feel their eyes, hands, and feet. In short, everyday fashion is manuscript! Among them, I like to wear dresses that have a vintage or retro vibe in the design that reveals the necline. I like styling that matches rough boots that contradict the feminine dress of flower pattern. I rarely dress up these days, so I only wear Crocs.(Laughing) I rarely put on basic makeup and apply it on my lips to add more vitality. My skin is thin enough to show veins, so I rarely do base makeup because the more I put on makeup, the more my skin gets damaged.

It's a cat named Butler?

It's my second brother. At first, I brought him with the thought of having a child, but now he's a sister who lives with Eun. His name is Marsh, and he's soft like a marshmallow. So I called him Marsh. He's like a real brother. He's good at opening doors. Jump and lower the lever grip and open the door. Sometimes when I get sick of cat toilets, I go into the bathroom and do my chores, and I'm often surprised at night. But he's a quiet kid who's never been bitten.

How was the photo shoot today?

Since I was filming a drama, I was stuck in Da-kyung for a while, but I felt like I was out of it today. It was a pictorial, so I knew I had to strike a chic pose, but it was fun because I was able to move freely, slanted and tilted. I like this better than the pose that you put on in a cool way.

Which pictorial would you like to take with Dazed for the second time?

I want to take pictures outdoors. with a languid feeling in the sun

So sorry there are a lot of mistranslation. I hope you all still get it.

[an-angels-diary]

Mystic Code: Choose Your Path Walkthrough “Happy Ending: Case Closed”

So this is actually the second ending that I got, and although it said “Happy Ending”, I don’t think this is the true end, since it still have an unsolved mystery after the ending.

Note: You can skip Prologue, Episode 1 & 2 

Choices that I have made are in bold.

Will keep updating as I play~ So check out this Ending Guide

Recommended to be played along with this Bad Ending Guide, so you can get the bad endings without repeating the game, although hearts will be needed.

Click here to keep reading

Episode 3

Anything to ask?

Ask about the other wounds

Ask if she knows anyone else

The whiteboard in covered in notes from this case.

Examine the whiteboard (Image)

Ignore the whiteboard

Read the pile of documents (Image)

Is lieutenant [your name] there?

Answer 

Don’t answer

Episode 4

Did you…

The victim was a Mystic

The victim is our killer

The victim is the attacker

What should I do?

Listen to Captain Wilson

Insist on going together (+Theodore’s Intimacy)

What do you think, Lieutenant [your name]?

Agree with Eliot

Agree with William (+William’s Intimacy)

Give another option

Text from Justin.

Ignore the text

Go meet Justin (+Justin’s intimacy)

What would you like to drink?

Don’t Drink

Drink

Episode 5

It was…

A man drying up

Pearls piled up

Why don’t you go question some people then?

Go (+Theodore’s Intimacy)

Don’t go

Who are you going to take?

Theodore Wilson

William Harris (+William’s Intimacy)

Leona Carlson

How have you been?

Not bad

Good

Bad

We have juice and coffee.

Juice 

Coffee

Episode 6

Haaa… so strict as always.

Take Eliot’s side (+Eliot’s Intimacy)

Don’t take Eliot’s side (+William’s Intimacy)

What should I do?

Ask Eliot

Don’t bother asking

How to do it?

Easy way. Check the files in KICS

Stay up and go through paperwork

Episode 7

Where should we begin?

Top

<Assault in Mullae District>

Can’t we open this by force?

How can we open this cabinet?

Leona

Date of incident: August 29th

What should I have?

What should I have?

Maybe this could be our lead (+Leona’s Intimacy)

…Ah

Episode 8

How can I help?

About <Solitary Death Case in Gumcheon District>

About <Murder Case in Fabric Factory> - Bad Ending No. 10 <Can’t Think Straight (1)>

About <Police Murder in Sillim District> - Bad Ending No. 11 <Can’t Think Straight (2)>

He handed me a can of coffee.

Take it (+William’s Intimacy)

Don’t take it

…Who is it?

Boyfriend

Little brother (+William’s Intimacy)

Someone I know

You should get some rest.

Ask if I can go out (+Theodore’s Intimacy)

Just rest

Episode 9

But that’s expensive...?

It’s pretty pricey (+Justin’s Intimacy) (Image)

Something simple

Something cheap

Do you have to go?

Stay a little longer (+Justin’s Intimacy)

Return to the station

Episode 10

I saw the date circled in red.

Oh yes! Kendo Tournament (+Justin’s Intimacy)

Oh yes! Judo Tournament

Oh yes! Wrestling Tournament

So you need to take care of your health

Okay (+Theodore’s Intimacy)

I’m fine - Bad Ending No. 15 <Overworked (1)>

What should I do...?

Eat (+Justin’s Intimacy)

Don’t eat

Episode 11

The egg roll tastes...

Amazing (+Justin’s Intimacy)

So-so

Ugh, not good - Bad Ending No. 18 <Your Taste in Food>

Let’s see, what should we talk about?

Pop-up Bars

Kendo Tournament (+Justin’s Intimacy)

I was looking around for someplace quieter...

and moved over to the library

and moved inside the gymnasium

and moved back to my car

Episode 12

What should I get for Justin...?

A sports drink

Cream Bun

Banana Milk (+Justin’s Intimacy) (Image)

I decided to question them.

Man with vacant expression

Man with shaking hands

I must have missed something

Another witness at the scene

Relationship between Justin and the victim

Justin’s Alibi

Episode 13

His anger towards the Mystics finally blew up...

Stop him from talking

Keep quiet

Put your personal feelings aside and follow procedure

Answer

Don’t say anything

I will...

I’ll get my thoughts in order

Leave the room

Episode 14

What to do about Justin?

Leave Justin in Criminal Division - Leads to Normal Ending No. 7

Bring Justin to MIU (+Justin’s Intimacy)

Ask anything, and I will tell you everything.

Don’t ask anything

Ask what he ate (+Justin’s Intimacy)

Ask about the Kendo Tournament

Episode 15

There’s a closed sign hung up by the cafe.

Ignore the sign and enter

Wait a moment

Then it immediately came to me.

Gumwa (Golden Frog)

Baeksa (White Snake)

Ancient Hwali (Golden Carp) (+William’s Intimacy)

I’ve got a lot on my mind now.

Ask if he’s doing okay

Ask if anything else is going on

Episode 16

What did you find out?

Missing teenagers (+Theodore’s Intimacy)

Dead cop

Doctor’s surgery

Ah...!

Greet him with a smile (+Justin’s Intimacy)

Greet him with concern

Episode 17

Hm...? Why are you so surprised?

Tell the truth

Change the topic

Don’t say anything

Chris began leading the conversation...

...You’re right (+Christopher’s Intimacy)

We’re always appropriate

Must be hard to work with someone so stiff.

Disagree (+William’s Intimacy)

Try provoking him

Episode 18

Are you okay?

I’m fine (+Leona’s Intimacy)

Not fine

I think so

Why are you coming out from there?

Let Eliot answer

Answer for him

He brightened a lot, but Justin still seemed down.

Talk with Justin

Take a look at Justin

Hug Justin (+Justin’s Intimacy) (Image)

Episode 19

Use the media?

Block out the media  - Can lead to Bad Ending

Hold a press conference (+Theodore’s Intimacy)

Who should guard the door? - If you chose Block out the media

Leona Carlson

William Harris (+William’s Intimacy) - Bad Ending No. 25 <Failed Door Guardian>

Should I open the door?

Don’t open it - Bad Ending No. 27 <No Time for That>

It was obvious who they were so I quickly opened the door (+Eliot’s Intimacy)

How can I help you?

I’m from the police department

We need to talk to Doctor Jihyung Nam

Episode 20

Then what brings you here?

Tell the truth

Tell a lie

Mix truth with a lie (+Ansel’s Intimacy)

Ansel seemed shocked.

Calm him down (+Ansel’s Intimacy)

Try to ask what happened

Episode 21

Do you want to go question Christopher Spencer?

Go meet Christopher (+Christopher’s Intimacy)

Don’t meet with Christopher

Drink?

I’ll have tea please (+Christopher’s Intimacy) (Image)

I’ll have coffee

Just water is fine

Episode 22

What should I do?

Stay and talk to him - Bad Ending No. 30 <Your Cue to Leave>

Finish the interview and leave (+Christopher’s Intimacy)

I’ll call him now.

Call Eliot (+Eliot’s Intimacy)

Don’t call Eliot - Bad Ending No. 31 <The Shutdown. It’s just not Working!>

Episode 23

Do you want to talk to him?

Talk to Ansel

Don’t meet Ansel

Sure, go ahead.

Why were you at the hospital earlier?

Then, you only knew Dr. Nam as a patient?

Were there any problems between you two?

Then the first thing I did was…

Document the interview - Bad Ending No. 33 <The Lost Chance>

Take the coffee cup (+Eliot’s Intimacy)

Episode 24

I might be able to get a lead with this…!

Search for the cat

Send Eliot (+Eliot’s Intimacy) (Image)

Check the Box

I took a deep breath and recited a spell.

Use the spell carefully

Use the spell as quickly as possible - Bad Ending No. 35 <Relax, Relax>

Should I open the box?

Open the box

Don’t open the box - Bad Ending No. 35 <Lost Faith>

Then the letter…?

The suspect wrote it

Suspect didn’t write it

Episode 25

Something unusual....

Yes (Image)

No

Which one should I go for?

Red Invitation

Black Invitation

Have you closed the case?

Yes

No

I quickly pulled out my gun, pointed at both men…

And shouted out

I fired off a warning shot (Image) - Happy Ending: Case Closed

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #187, #188, & #189

Thur Aug 22 2019 [02:04 PM] Bocaj: 187 issues later, still fantastic but not necessarily still four [02:05 PM] Wack'd: Eh, they're still pretty Fourish [02:05 PM] Wack'd: Unless you count Franklin I guess [02:05 PM] Wack'd: Sure, Thundra, Greer, and Impy have been around a lot lately, but Greer insists she's not part of the team and Thundra and Impy don't really play well with others [02:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Also, Impossible Man's been KO'd by an unseen assailant. [02:06 PM] Wack'd: Also true [02:07 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, on the plane ride back from New Salem, the team recaps a little [02:07 PM] Wack'd: Agatha left that place in the hopes that others have her kind would be encouraged to join her, and she blames herself for raising Nicholas badly [02:07 PM] Wack'd: These are, again, the kind of details it might've been nice to have during the actual story so we could wring something out of them [02:08 PM] Bocaj: "Thundra and Impy don't really play well with others" I posit that Johnny and Ben historically haven't always played well with others [02:09 PM] Bocaj: Sometimes a family is that cat woman stray you adopted, the woman from an alternate universe where men are considered the weaker gender until you slammed her universe into another, and that annoying alien [02:09 PM] Bocaj: We'll call him the 'urkel' type [02:09 PM] Wack'd: Let me rephrase that to "are openly contemptuous of others and seem hesitant to do even the bare minimum to lend aid" [02:09 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, but in a different way from Impossible Man, who literally nobody except other Popuppians can stand to be around. [02:09 PM] Bocaj: Ok well thats different [02:10 PM] Wack'd: The Four discover Impy, knocked out but apparently unharmed. Sue worries that whoever did this might still be in the Baxter [02:11 PM] Wack'd: We can also add to George Pérez to the long list of comics artists who are bad at drawing children but very good at drawing tiny adults

[02:12 PM] Bocaj: George Pérez can draw a lot of things, in terms of range and also in terms of numerical things on a page but children are black magic that eludes him [02:13 PM] Aleph Null: i relate because children are also black magic that eludes me [02:13 PM] Wack'd: So Johnny flies outside to look in all the windows while Ben decides to go floor by floor. Reed is out out because they made a plan without him and Sue has to heal his fragile ego [02:13 PM] Wack'd: “Without my stretching powers, I'm not really good enough to be anything more than a nursemaid!” [02:13 PM] Bocaj: fuck off reed [02:14 PM] Aleph Null: can we retitle the blog to “fuck off reed” [02:14 PM] Wack'd: This is a nice moment

[02:15 PM] Wack'd: Honestly I like how forgiving everyone is being of Agatha. Not that anyone on this team has room to throw stones [02:16 PM] Wack'd: Oh my god Johnny is also like "man, running off on my own like I always do probably hurt Reed's feelings" [02:16 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Ben runs into KLAW! [02:17 PM] Bocaj: Ulysses Klaue Klaw? [02:17 PM] Wack'd: Whose shtick at this point is still being made of sound and also being able to fire sound monsters at people [02:17 PM] Wack'd: And not, you know, having a claw [02:17 PM] maxwellelvis: His artificial hand is his claw. [02:19 PM] Wack'd: Oh hey it's this guy

[02:19 PM] Bocaj: oh thats a bad look [02:20 PM] maxwellelvis: Actually that's not that guy. That's a different guy. [02:20 PM] Wack'd: Back in #20 he got the ability to alter non-organic matter because he was exposed to an atomic incident [02:20 PM] Wack'd: Since then he's had a couple of appearances in the 70s, one in Two in One and one in Iron Man [02:20 PM] Bocaj: The guy I knew as Molecule Man is a multiversal bomb [02:21 PM] maxwellelvis: Wait, I saw that guy shrivel up and disintegrate when separated from his wand for too long. [02:22 PM] Wack'd: Yes [02:22 PM] Wack'd: This got undone in the Iron Man appearance I mentioned [02:22 PM] maxwellelvis: oh [02:22 PM] Wack'd: Where he also gained the ability to possess people [02:23 PM] Bocaj: There was a shitty Avengers Assemble episode about Son of Molecule Man [02:23 PM] Bocaj: It had a stylistic flashback to EMH [02:23 PM] Wack'd: Given how fucking often these books are like "oh, they killed him, he's gone for real" and then in a completely different book he comes back to life and then he returns to his original book with a long winded explanation... [02:23 PM] Wack'd: I'm not sure why you would've assumed that he was actually dead [02:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Because this time he left behind a body. [02:24 PM] Wack'd: That doesn't mean anything! [02:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, a pile of dust in a ragged old Molecule Man costume. [02:24 PM] Wack'd: At the end of his first appearance the Watcher aged him into oblivion [02:26 PM] Wack'd: Agatha filling the role of "lady who tells Reed to suck it the fuck up" now that Medusa's gone

[02:28 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Ben gets turned into glass, Johnny is drowned in midair, Sue is...uh...

[02:28 PM] Wack'd: Sure, that's how that works [02:29 PM] Wack'd: And Reed tries to fire on the two but his gun is turned to helium and he's knocked out [02:30 PM] Wack'd: Okay so uh [02:31 PM] Wack'd: In the aftermath of that Iron Man I mentioned, Klaw found Owen's wand, with Owen's mind trapped inside, and gave it to a guy he met on the street so Owen would possess that guy [02:31 PM] Wack'd: The narrative notes that the guy was a boxer so I should probably also note that the guy was a boxer in case it becomes relevant [02:33 PM] Wack'd: So! The Four are incapacitated! Who cam save them now! [02:33 PM] Wack'd: Why, Impossible Man, of course. Not because he cares about the team, but because he's angry that someone defeated him in combat [02:34 PM] Wack'd: Impy can shapeshift so Molecule Man can't really do much to him [02:34 PM] Wack'd: And Impy removes his ears and makes himself into a non-sound-conductive material so he's immune to Klaw [02:34 PM] Wack'd: And then he kicks their asses [02:35 PM] Wack'd: Owen had been planning on using Reed's psi-amplifier (from that time Ben and Hulk switched brains) to make it so he could keep his ass in this body forever [02:35 PM] Wack'd: But Reed manages to cut the cord mid-process, sapping Owen back into his wand [02:36 PM] Wack'd: And undoing all the damage he caused [02:36 PM] Wack'd: AND THEN REED PICKS UP THE WAND WITH HIS BARE HANDS, LIKE AN IDIOT [02:37 PM] Wack'd: W E L P

[02:38 PM] Bocaj: Basically Lunella becoming Smartest was long overdue because Reed is dumb [02:38 PM] Bocaj: Someone needed to explicitly be smarter than him or else it would be very sad [02:39 PM] Wack'd: Don't think it's escaped my attention that this is our second evil Reed storyline in which Reed isn't actually evil [02:39 PM] Bocaj: Hm [02:40 PM] Bocaj: At least it’s not an evil Sue storyline [02:40 PM] Bocaj: Those are bad in many many ways [02:40 PM] Wack'd: If Gerry Conway's read on the Reed/Sue divorce arc was "if they're going to split up it should be because Reed does something truly ghastly", it seems like Wein's was "people seem to really want to make Reed a jerk, so how do I do that without altering the fact that he's genuinely a nice person" [02:42 PM] Wack'd: I loathed Conway's take, but Wein's is even worse because it denies the idea that Reed has anything to be culpable for. It seems like people have been shilling him constantly recently--Sue noticing Counter-Reed is unaffectionate to spot the ruse, Ben assuming Counter-Reed is obsessively watching the Negative Zone because he wants to save his counterpart, Counter-Reed immediately becoming a selfless paragon when his headache wears off [02:43 PM] Wack'd: And this issue, too, with everyone but Agatha assuming Reed is entitled to authority and feeling bad for hurting his feelings by doing their own things [02:44 PM] Wack'd: Maybe I'm being uncharitable because he's the cripple-the-b**** guy, but it does really seem like he sees nothing wrong with Reed's normal pattern of behavior and is mildly baffled anyone would. Which would fit well with his aesthetic of overwhelming nostalgia [02:45 PM] Wack'd: Anyway

Thur Aug 22 2019 [02:46 PM] Wack'd: So Reed's brain is trapped in Owen's wand now [02:47 PM] Wack'd: Ben destroys the Psi-Amplifier so Owen can't take over Reed's body permanently [02:47 PM] Wack'd: Owen, in retaliation, traps Sue, Johnny, Ben and Impy in an adimantium cube [02:48 PM] Wack'd: While he goes to blow off some adimantium rage [02:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Spider-Man and Venom ~ Maximum Carnage (Genesis) - Main Theme [02:49 PM] Wack'd: Johnny uses his heat to expand the air in the box, forcing it open, but it takes basically everything he's got [02:49 PM] Wack'd: You would think everybody in that box would die a million times of heat stroke but I guess not [02:50 PM] maxwellelvis: I was about to question the presence of Adamantium in an FF story, then I remembered that A. it's past 1975 now so Wolverine is a thing, and B. Len Wein is one of Wolverine's co-creators. [02:50 PM] maxwellelvis: And I think he first coined "Adamantium" to describe what his claws are made of. [02:51 PM] Wack'd: Watcher has gone from a white Grey to a fat bald guy to a Tor Johnson character

[02:53 PM] Wack'd: Watcher is still not talking, which Ben takes as a sign of apathy [02:53 PM] Wack'd: "Why don't you go to sell tickets to a funeral," he asks [02:54 PM] Wack'd: Ah yes, my favorite Tom Hanks movie

[02:55 PM] maxwellelvis: "You should make'em bugs!" [02:58 PM] Wack'd: Credit where it's due, I think this is genuinely the coolest monster design we've had in a while! You can see some remnants of the Kirby aping that still, in 1977, has not worn off, but it feels novel applied to brick and mortar, and I love the arrangements of the windows and the way the structures on the roof jut out of it's shoulders

[02:59 PM] Wack'd: Reed agrees to stop resisting, and the building returns to normal [02:59 PM] Wack'd: And then his friends show up and Reed starts resisting again [03:00 PM] Wack'd: Thanks to that resistance, Owen can't do anything to our heroes directly, and has to settle for transforming their surroundings [03:00 PM] Wack'd: This would be a lot simpler if they just kept the "no organic matter" limit from his first appearance [03:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Blame Steve Gerber, I guess. [03:01 PM] Wack'd: Impy tries to hit Owen with a giant mallet but Sue stops him because she doesn't want to hurt Reed [03:02 PM] Wack'd: Impy takes it well

[03:05 PM] Wack'd: Unfortunately, Reed's body gets knocked out anyway [03:06 PM] Wack'd: But while this renders the Reed inside of Owen's wand unconscious, it sends Owen into spasms of pain [03:06 PM] Wack'd: Causing him to release his grip on the wand, dropping it into a nearby factory furnace [03:07 PM] Wack'd: And so normalcy is restored--OR IS IT?! [03:07 PM] Wack'd: Reed's decided to resign from the Four [03:07 PM] Wack'd: And Sue's going to join him because "I already deserted my husband once, I'm not going to do it again" [03:07 PM] Wack'd: *sigh* [03:08 PM] Bocaj: 😐

Thur Aug 22 2019 [03:10 PM] Wack'd: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 #189 [03:10 PM] Wack'd: Is a reprint of Annual ’66 [03:10 PM] Wack'd: Moving on [03:10 PM] Wack'd: As if there weren't enough reasons to hate Wein, it certainly seems like a lot of issues get delayed while he's around [03:11 PM] Wack'd: This is the second in less than ten issues [03:11 PM] maxwellelvis: That might explain why Chris Claremont took over Uncanny X-Men almost immediately after Wein revived it

[episodes-without-incident]

4/16/2024:

4 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Cats (2019)

19 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Everytime We Touch (2005) (new record!)

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 7 Review: Unification III

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This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 7

The Vulcans have long been one of Star Trek‘s most fascinating creations. A society built on the value of logic, The Original Series immediately challenged the concept by making main character Spock half-human, with all of the emotionality that comes with it. Through his struggles, we were able to see both the value and limits of a life led by logic; his conclusions (and ours) on the matter were rarely simple ones. That legacy continues on today in Discovery, with an episode decades in the making. “Unification III” is more than just a reference to the 90s-era Next Generation two-parter (“Unification I” and “Unification II”) that told the story of Ambassador Spock’s efforts to bridge the divide between the long-separated Vulcan and Romulan civilizations, it is an intentional and direct continuation of that story. (If we didn’t get that from the content, we’d glean it from the episode’s title.) This is a yet another Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 installment that is deeply interested not just in pulling back in some of the franchise’s most celebrated characters, but in engaging with its most enduring themes.

What are the pros and cons of being part of something larger than yourself? It is a question last week’s episode, “Scavengers,” explicitly delved into and its one we see front and center yet again here, to even greater effect. It’s a question Michael needs to answer for herself, as she continues to question her place on the Discovery and in the Federation as a whole following her year without them. And it’s a question Ni’Var, the ex-Federation planet formerly known as Vulcan, cannot ignore, as it continues to live in a post-reunification society composed of both Vulcans and Romulans.

It is shocking to know that the planet that used to be Vulcan, one of the founding members of the Federation and always a beacon of light and justice, is no longer part of the interplanetary alliance. Frankly, it’s the biggest warning sign so far that perhaps this future incarnation of the Federation cannot be trusted. But that debate is for another episode. This episode’s debate lies firmly within the confines of The Burn, a mystery that has become increasingly tangled up in the story of Michael Burnham—not because she has any personal memory of the tragedy but because she has made it her mission to get to the bottom of the incident that tore the Federation apart in the hopes that she can bring the Federation back together again.

The mystery of The Burn leads Michael and the Federation to Ni’Var. Prior to The Burn, all Federation member planets were asked to put resources towards Starfleet’s dwindling dilithium problem. Ni’Var came up with SB-19, and experimental project that involved somehow moving ships through space in a near-instantaneous manner that is not unlike the Discovery’s spore drive method. However, the Ni’Var scientists deemed the experiment too dangerous and planned to shut it down… until the Federation ordered them to continue. When the Burn occurred, Ni’Var believed it was their fault and that the Federation forced them into the tragedy. Ni’Var chose to leave the Federation as a result.

Michael is insistent on bringing her new findings on The Burn to Ni’Var, as she believes it proves that SB-19 was not the source of the accident. She also wants access to any data from the SB-19 project that could help lead to more answers about The Burn. Despite her insistence, Michael is initially and surprisingly hesitant to go herself. However, Vance convinces/orders her. After all, who better to act as the Federation’s ambassador to Ni’Var than the sister to Spock, the person who paved the way to the Vulcan-Romulan reunification?

Unfortunately, Ni’Var President T’Rina immediately and definitively shuts down Michael’s request for the SB-19 data. But this is far from Burnham’s first time dealing with stubborn Vulcan-types. She invokes the T’Kal-in-ket, a Vulcan ritual that demands a quorum entertain her request for scientific data. Basically, it’s a debate club meet mixed with a therapy session with tiki torches for ambiance, and it is all so very Star Trek.

Michael is appointed an advocate from the Romulan Qowat Milat, aka the order of warrior-nuns seen this season in Star Trek: Picard and, in the biggest surprise of the episode, it is Michael’s long-lost mom! Honestly, the plot twist that time-traveling Gabrielle has someone become a Ni’Var warrior nun sometime in the last few years is a bit hard to swallow, but it’s such a glorious reunion that I’ll allow it. It also leads to one of the most intense moments of the episode, when Gabrielle more or less emotionally manipulates her own daughter in front of the Ni’Var quorum, the Ni’Var president, Saru, and a roomful of others into publicly working through her issues.

Why is Michael so obsessed with finding out why The Burn happened? How can she claim to speak for and trust the Federation when she was disobeying direct orders just last episode? Where does Michael belong? These questions, in grand Star Trek tradition, are asked in what is more or less a courtroom drama. And, in grand Star Trek tradition, when our protagonist reaches for faith in the institution of Starfleet, in her Discovery family, and in the ideals of the Federation, she finds it. In the process, she convinces T’Rina to share the SB-19 data with her—not by effectively and logically arguing her point in the T’Kal-in-ket, but by prioritizing protecting the fragile peace between the Romulans and Vulcans over getting answers about The Burn.

While Michael needed a win right about now, she needed the process of returning to a place she once called home and being forced to be honest with herself even more. Ni’Var gave that to her. Roughly halfway through the season, Michael has found where she belongs once again. She started this episode “between places,” as her mother described it, and she ended it being where she is: part of something bigger. If this validation of a commitment to and a belief in something bigger than one’s self—for Michael, for the Romulans and Vulcans of Ni’Var, for all of the member planets of the Federation—ends up being Star Trek: Discovery‘s enduring thematic legacy, then this journey to the future will be time well spent. After all, isn’t this what Star Trek has always been about?

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Additional thoughts.

In the other main plot of the episode, Saru asks Tilly to be his Acting First Officer. (Just give her the job!) Tilly has trouble with it, asking what are honestly some really difficult and important questions: Does Saru want her for this job because she is qualified or because she is compliant? He informs her that it is because he thinks it is what would be best for the ship, which I guess means the first option. It checks out that Tilly would have low self-esteem about this. We’ve seen it from her before, no doubt at least partially a result of her overly critical mother. But we’ve also seen how, when given the time and support, Tilly is able to advocate for herself. Honestly, she will make a great First Officer. I am excited to see this relatively non-traditional Captain-First Officer team of Saru and Tilly in action.

Speaking of which, I’m glad Stamets got his act together on this because his initial reaction to Tilly’s request for advice around the possible promotion was pretty harsh and not very helpful.

“The union of the Vulcan and Romulan people will not be achieved by politics diplomacy will not be achieved by politics or diplomacy — but it will be achieved.” Did anyone else cry when Leonard Nimoy came on screen?

I guess they didn’t have the budget to go to the surface of Ni’Var, huh? Bummer.

“What if you hadn’t made it back? What would I do?” I love that Tilly calls Michael out for putting hr in such a shitty position last episode. These two really are very good at being friends.

“You guys are chronic overachievers.” Book nails it.

“There is a whole galaxy out there, full of people who will reach for you. You have to let them.” This quote from last season remains one of my absolute favorites, and is obviously a guiding theme for Star Trek: Discovery.

“You always know where to find me.” Gabrielle, finally, to her daughter.

“Headline: Michael Burnham is Coming.” I love how Vance just transitions into Newsies mode here.

I am kind of shipping Saru and T’Rina?

“You feel like home.” Book and Michael are such a functional couple.

Confirmed! Michael and Tilly are still roommates.

“She wondered how much of the man Spock became was a result of who his sister was.” Wow, this is such a powerful, rare message: the idea that the legacy of an important man, or any important individual, is made up, too, by the people who supported and loved them.

I’m still side-eying that cat.

The post Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 7 Review: Unification III appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2JdiGN2

[tigerlover16-uk]

DBS Goku is a retarded, selfish monster with no redeeming qualities whatsoever and is the embodiment of every fandom stereotype about the character. No true Goku fan would like anything about Super, so stop lying to try and win favour from real Dragon Ball fans you tasteless swine!

You know it’s offensive to mentally disabled people to use the word retarded as an insult, right? Who’s the real monster here?

And no redeeming qualities huh? Okay, you know what, I’ve seen this nonsense before from Goku fans and DBS detractors, so here’s a list of redeeming qualities and moments:

1: Right from the first episode Goku makes it clear that he wants to start intensive training again to be able to keep the earth and his loved ones safe whenever another villain shows up. This shows he’s learned from stuff like Raditz showing up and accepts he’s responsible for keeping everyone safe and wants to be responsible.

He doesn’t go off to train with King Kai without warning though, he agrees to get a job like Chichi wanted because the family needed the money, and when he was offered money (Which he tried to refuse at first because it sounded like too much and Goku’s humble) that was when he left to train, though only after making sure it was okay with Chichi and Goten.

And he promised to come back and visit often, which he seemingly did since in the Japanese version it’s implied Gohan and Videl hadn’t got married yet, and Goku was shown to have attended their wedding from a photo (Even wearing a fancy suit, something he hates doing because he finds them uncomfortable). This from a guy who has a bad habit of forgetting to drop by and visit people for years unless something big isn’t happening, showing that he clearly understands the importance of being with family.

2: The whole reason he fought Beerus was to defend the earth. Notice that he only asks to fight Beerus RIGHT AFTER the cat said he was going to earth and commented off hand that he might blow it up. And immediately after being defeated he’s speculating on how he could potentially defeat Beerus and then wants to warn everyone about him, and in the next episode King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory all have to physically restrain Goku from instant transmissioning to earth to confront Beerus.

Throughout their fight Goku frequently shows worry for the earth potentially being destroyed by Beerus, goes out of his way to make sure that doesn’t happen, and during the last stretch of the fight it’s the mental image of his friends and family in danger that empowers him to keep going despite running out of fumes. Does any of that sound like someone who’s selfish and only cares about himself and fighting to you?

3: He’s shown to hang out frequently with Goten at work and at home, and is enthusiastic about having him come train with him, even if Chichi’s not in favour of it. He’s pretty affectionate and supportive of him during these moments.

4: When he found out about Frieza, Goku got back to earth as fast as he could, saved Gohan from Frieza’s attack, got Piccolo’s dead body to a safe place so it wouldn’t be destroyed, and then his first instinct was to make sure Gohan was safe and healed, reassure him that he did a good job and that they could revive Piccolo, then order Goten and Trunks to get out of dodge before confronting Frieza. He took charge and was responsible in that situation, like a team leader and protective parent would be.

5: He’s shown many times throughout the show to explicitly care about his friends and loved ones and their well being. There’s too many examples to count, but I think the most popular one was him flying into a rage greater than any we’ve seen of him since Frieza killed Krillin at least when Goku Black told him he’d murdered an ALTERNATE VERSION of Chichi and Goten.

6: After that silly little incident where he ended up punching Monaka thinking he would dodge, Goku was immediately sorry and apologized to him. Compare this to when he shot Old Kai in the face when they first met in Z to see if he was really a big deal, then just made a smarmy comment about how he wasn’t (And then offered to let the guy feel up Videl, a teenager, and Bulma to get him to co-operate, knowing he wouldn’t likely face any repercussions, and only backed down when Gohan and later Vegeta angrily called him out for it, but never seeming genuinely apologetic and more just saying he’s sorry to save his own skin).

7: He was happy to let Monoka fight before I’m after being allowed to still compete in the tournament with universe 6 because he wanted to let the guy have a shot, only agreeing to go before him again when Beerus insisted. Selfish he wasn’t there.

8: He was immediately horrified when Champa tried to kill his team after they lost and wanted to help before Beerus told him to back down, and was generally very concerned for their safety.

9: He’s shown to be an extremely loving and affectionate grandfather who adores Pan and is very concerned about her safety.

10: He was immediately concerned when he found out Future Trunks showed up injured and wasted no time teleporting himself and Vegeta back and going to get senzu beans, and showed compassion for the people of the Future at several points.

11: When confronting Present Zamasu, Goku was initially willing to give the guy a fair chance because he probably hadn’t done anything wrong yet and he might not go bad, but was still rightfully cautious around him, and upon seeing Zamasu try to murder Gowasu he immediately wanted to jump in and help, looking highly concerned when Beerus wouldn’t let him. And then when they did stop Zamasu’s assassination attempt, Goku went right up to Zamasu and called him out specifically for murdering so many people in the future, and was ready to throw down with the corrupt God when he wanted to fight. And despite being willing to show mercy earlier, Goku ultimately had no protest when Beerus deleted present Zamasu. Goku had his priorities very straight during this whole confrontation.

12: When Goku Black first went SSJR and critically injured Vegeta, Goku immediately dropped his earlier calm and overconfident attitude when he thought beating Goku Black would be easy, ordered Future Trunks to get Vegeta to safety and went straight to Super Saiyan Blue to confront Black himself, taking that entire confrontation seriously as well as not protesting when Future Trunks later jumped in to help after Future Zamasu showed up, because Goku acknowledged that he could use the help.

13: He eventually did try to gather the Dragon Balls to wish King Kai back to life of his own volition, though he was willing to use one wish to heal Pan when he found out she was sick with no hesitation.

14: He got a second part time job as a bodyguard just because Chichi wanted him to, even though they obviously didn’t need the extra money considering how much they still had.

15: He dropped what he was doing and almost forgot he wanted to go training with Whis when he found out Bulma was pregnant, sharing some quiet bonding time with his oldest friend and even offering her his treats for Whis as a present before Goten reminded him what he was doing.

16: He was immediately horrified when he found out about the losing Universes being destroyed in the tournament and despite being in shock for a bit resolved to win and save the day when Beerus snapped at him about the whole situation.

17: Throughout the entire build up to the tournament Goku shows nothing but confidence in Gohan as well as all of his friends abilities, even defending Krillin and assuring that he would do well when Gohan questioned how useful he could be. Though he does understand the weight of the situation they’re facing and that there’s a chance they might lose after Majin Buu fell asleep, which was the only reason he was willing to have Frieza on the team because he was the strongest and most useful replacement Goku could think of even despite the risk.

18: Speaking of, Goku does take things seriously in his scenes with Frieza if you look closely, and was furious with Frieza for murdering the universe 9 assassins, despite them trying to sabotage their team and doom universe 7 and Frieza himself pointing out they would die anyway, and the only reason he didn’t stop Frieza from killing all of them was because he saw Baba and her attendant were under attack right before he jumped in to stop Frieza, so he immediately reacted to protect them. And when he did confront Frieza afterwards he got trapped in a sphere of destruction energy. Afterwards although he took responsibility for Frieza’s actions to Beerus and insisted they still needed him to win, he gave Frieza a stern warning via their sparring match that he could match Golden Frieza now and he would make him suffer if the creep stepped out of line again. Bringing Frieza in to fight in this tournament was a crazy move and reckless, but Goku is taking things seriously and it’s an act of desperation like when he worked with Piccolo to stop Raditz, so although reckless it is Goku trying to be responsible for the sake of everyone and everything he loves.

19: He quickly bonds with Android 17, is immediately happy to help him out against the poachers, saved him without hesitation when 17 tried to pull a heroic sacrifice, and at the end of the episode made it clear that although he never considered himself a hero, he values life and can’t stand to see innocent lives destroyed.

20: He’s been nothing but a good sport to the fighters from other universes in the tournament of power, calling out 17 for interrupting the Kamikazi fireballs transformation and vouching to let them transform, helping Caulifla to get a better understanding and a grip on her super saiyan transformations and being willing to let her and Kale go off to recuperate after the scuffle with the Pride Troopers, despite them technically being enemies in this situation like Android 18 pointed out. He also saved Hit from being eliminated, even though he tries to pass that off as him wanting to get in on the action with Dyspo it’s pretty obvious from their established friendship Goku was genuinely looking out for Hit there.

21: He’s very supportive of Gohan’s life choices and choosing to prioritize work and being a scholar, as shown when he was perfectly okay with Gohan not being able to compete in the U6 tournament and reassuring him that studying was important too.

Also, if you ask me he looked pretty darn angry at the Grand Priest after Universe 9 was erased, and he does talk about how he has to be the one to win the tournament to get the wish on the super dragon balls, indicating he does have a plan in all this.

And I could really go on and on all night like this. These are just some notable examples, there’s a lot of redeeming qualities Goku shows throughout the show and good moments where’s he’s clearly portrayed as a good and kind person, even if he is still very flawed like anyone else.

Look anon, I get why you’d be upset with Goku’s portrayal in Super. it’s not perfect, there have been bad moments and things could definitely be better with him. I’m not going to argue too hard with people who don’t like his portrayal here even if I think a lot of people do overreact about it.

But to accuse me of being a liar and not a real fan of Goku for liking anything about Super is quite frankly the most annoying thing anyone has said to me in regards to ragging on me for liking the show. Goku is my favourite anime character and always has been, and the fact that I’m willing to put up with a series where his character is off about 20% of the time maybe but more or less fine otherwise doesn’t make me any less “Real” of a fan than you or anyone else who likes him.

I can get very annoyed with Super’s handling of Goku at times. I wanted to slam my forehead against the keyboard at the opening scene in episode 58 and I’m still waiting impatiently to see his smarmy attitude from the preliminary fights from the current saga addressed and how he’s going to go about making everything right and saving the other universes to make up for his carelessness. I get where people are coming from, especially with the awful fandom that wants to take every chance to demonize and attack Goku making it a million times more frustrating. It’s understandable people would have no patience with ANY writing mistakes when they could be used to fuel those cretins and lead to more harassment for all the decent fans that like Goku.

You have a right to have issue with the show and to express dissatisfaction. You do NOT have the right to attack me and the people who like the show and are more forgiving of it’s occasional issues for not feeling exactly the same way as you. I stay in my own lane and don’t try to pick fights with people who feel differently about certain things in Super and only have reasonable discussions with people who are willing to talk about them.

Moreover, as I have just laid out for you, your claim that Goku in DBS has no redeeming qualities is a blatant lie. I suggest that you and anyone else who wants to criticise Goku in Super not do that and be fair to account for all the GOOD moments he’s had and the full extent of his portrayal, and not try to erase his better moments, strip all context for his actions throughout his appearances and twist the narrative to make DBS Goku look as bad as possible to suit your confirmation biases.

You know why you people shouldn’t do that? Because that’s EXACTLY the sort of thing that Goku haters do to try and demonize his portrayal in DBZ, and I thought all us people who like Goku were in agreement it’s a bad thing that people do that, right? Yet I swear so many of the people complaining about Goku in Super often slide into the exact same kinds of routines.

If you’ll excuse me now I’m going to bed soon. I would have been willing to have a more fair and reasonable debate with you about Goku’s portrayal in the show if you’d come to me with a more polite and reasonable tone. But don’t expect me to back down and take abuse when I’m being directly insulted over my opinions. Unless you’re going to apologize for being a jerk do NOT come into my inbox again with this attitude.

I swear, this fandom is the worst thing I’ve ever been involved in. Please no one else chime in with their own opinions or anything, this is just personal stuff. I’m tired now

[chriswoodfandom]

Mon El Appreciation Week - Day 5

Favorite heroic moments

When deciding what to post for this I realized that Mon El actually had shown his courage, been smart and resourceful and/or had different types of heroic moments in all season 2 episodes that he was awake.

In episode 3 he went straight from being in a coma to going up against Supergirl and the whole DEO when escaping what he must have believed be his enemy/captors and within a day stranded on a foreign planet he figured out how to get in contact with aliens on Earth and how to send a distress call to Daxam. Plus when Kara apologised for judging him he accepted gracefully. 

In episode 4 he immediately took the blame to get Winn out of trouble after the bar incident and the “From now on I will do as I’m told” and “I’m in your hands Kara” in order to make sure he would not hurt anybody else is also heroic, especially given his upbringing as Prince of Daxam.

In episode 5 he is brave enough to try to be human and go to work as an intern at Cat Co despite barely knowing what the words mean. He messes up, but he dares and makes the effort. Also he does not hesitate to try to help at the gala fundraiser, even if this means that he disregards Kara’s instructions.

In episode 6 he goes to fight Parasite knowing full well what happened to Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. He also tries to help a homeless man and is then kidnapped by Cadmus.

In episode 7 he gives up his escape from Cadmus to save J’onn and also urges Kara not to solar flare to save him.

In episode 8 he fights the real Hank Henshaw and goes back into the bar despite hearing from the fleeing humans that “All the aliens are dead!”.

In episode 9 he follows Kara through the portal because he is concerned for her safety (again ignoring her instructions) and twice stands up in front of Kara to protect her. He decides that he wants to be a superhero - “I want a heavy cape”.

In episode 10 he again disregards Kara’s instructions + his own and others safety to protect her, but the true “heroic” moment was admitting his feelings/being honest with Kara while convinced she would reject him.

In episode 11 Mon El did not lash out in any way when Kara basically ripped his heart out and stomped on it with the whole “it is not what you do, it is who you are” ramble at his place of work. (Mon El had very little screen time in this episode due to Chris filming as Kai in TVD in Atlanta)

In episode 12 Mon El is brave to seek Kara out at the DEO to tell her it meant a lot that she believed in him and try to understand why she is being cold/distant and then goes to her house when she calls

In episode 13 Mon El rushes to help Kara against Parasite and then driven by jealousy and pride challenges Mxyzptlk to a Daxamite duel when he knows how dangerous he is - stupid but still heroic in a culture where duels are deemed as an honorable way to settle disputes and save his damsel-not-in-distress

In episode 14 again he disregards Kara’s wishes, but Mon El is suspicious of Jeremiah Danvers return and senses danger, so even though he knows it endangers his new relationship with Kara to warn against giving Jeremiah free access to the DEO, but then takes Winn’s advice to just ask Kara what she needs and then does just that.

In episode 15 Mon El shows support for Alex and Maggie saying “on Daxam it is the more the merrier” and encourages Kara to blob her article

In episode 16 Mon El does not hesitate to surrender himself when the unknown ship is threatening Supergirl and National City

In the Flash musical crossover he goes to another Earth to save Kara and does not hesitate to get vibed into the dreamscape to try to save her.

In episode 17 he volunteers to go back to Daxam to stop Rhea hurting Kara/Supergirl

In episode 18 he takes the initiative and steals Jack’s access card to help Kara’s investigation (Yes, shenanigans!)

In episode 19 he supports Kara/Supergirl when she needs it (again limited screen time, episode Alex centric)

In episode 20 he is ready to shoot his mother to end the invasion, but his master manipulator mother tells him he is a hero of earth and heroes don’t kill their mothers...

In episode 21 he agrees to the wedding with Lena to save innocent civilians and then listens to Kara and returns to Earth without her

In episode 22 he sacrifices himself and tells Kara to use the device and has to leave Earth

[yuniesan]

Girl Meets Season 4 - Episode 21

Girl Meets Season 4 - The Continuing Saga of Riley and her friends as they tackle their Sophomore year in High School. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. What will their sophomore year be like? Read and find out.

Episodes [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

A/N: Remember back in Episode 12 of this story, where Lucas sends Riley the link to that website. Well that’s how this part of the story was born. 

21. Girl Meets Talent

It was a warm spring day when Riley realized that she may have found her talent, although she hadn’t noticed it before. It had started with a few articles for a website she usually went to when she was alone and thinking about her future. She wrote to them, and sent them articles, but she hadn’t thought much about it. Most of the articles were about her love of fashion, or about the struggles of being a teenage girl. She used her mother’s maiden name, and the name of her purple cat Violet to hide that it was her.

Even her picture on the website was her in a wig hiding who she was because she didn’t want her friends to find out. She wrote about the triangle, her feelings for Lucas, her friends, her family, and all of her insecurities. The website constantly asked her for more articles, because they liked her writing style and so Violet Lawrence was born. Fashionista, with a very real backstory. They knew her real name and understood her need to stay hidden in the background because she didn’t want her friends and family to find out.

She hadn’t realized that it when she started writing for them that it would turn into something, she was a teenager after all. But after the first of her articles had become huge hits they asked for her parents’ permission to be a staff writer, at the age of sixteen Riley had accomplished something without anyone knowing. The problem was that now she had to tell everyone about it, and honestly she wasn’t ready for that.

The papers arrived by courier the next day, they only wanted one maybe two articles a month along with a column where she could talk with readers about their problems. Riley read over the papers over and over again. Wondering if she could forge her parents’ signatures, but knowing her mother, the lawyer, it wouldn’t go very well. It took her most of the afternoon to build up the courage to talk to her parents. She had told her friends that she couldn’t meet up with them but asked Lucas to come over later. She wanted him to know because he was the one who sent her the first link, she clicked on a link on the same website and found herself on a website that discussed everything from fashion to personal problems. He had given her this chance without even knowing that he did it, so he deserved to know before the rest of her friends did, this included Maya.

“Riley,” her mother called out forcing her to step away from her thoughts. “Lucas is here.”

Riley grabbed the papers and took them with her, she needed to talk to them before dinner and with Lucas there it would give her a little strength to say what she needed to say. When Riley walked into the living room her father was glaring at Lucas like he would do something as bad as sneezing just so he could kick him out.

“Mom,” Riley said trying her best not to crinkle the papers in her hand. “Daddy,” she said trying to get her father’s attention. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“You,” her father said looking at Lucas like he had done something wrong. She watched Auggie jump up off the couch and step between Lucas and her father.

“Lucas quick run, save yourself,” her brother yelled out pushing her father back.

“No Auggie,” her father said. “He did something wrong and now he must die.”

“I warned you,” Auggie said stepping away from her father and running to their mother. “Daddy is going to jail tonight.”

Her mother laughed but turned to Riley ignoring her husband chasing the teenage boy around the living room. “What do you want to talk to us about sweetie,” she said.

“Well… this,” she said handing her mother the contracts.

Her mother looked at the papers before looking back up to her. “Riley these are contracts, how did you get these?”

“Well that’s what I want to talk to you about but well,” she said pointing at the chase happening behind them.

“He always thinks the worse of everything,” Auggie said smiling at her. “I think daddy’s afraid of Lucas taking you away,” he whispered to her.

“Cory come sit down before you die from chasing Lucas around,” her mother said looking exasperated with her husband. “You forget that he’s an athlete.”

“Fine… but… only… because… I… can’t… breathe…,” he said before plopping himself on his chair trying to catch his breath.

Riley pulled Lucas towards the bench seat that Maya usually occupied when she was over, as her family looked at her.

“Okay Riley,” her mother said looking at her. “Explain this contract.”

“Wait…,” her father said slowly trying to suck air back into his lungs. “What… contract?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something I’ve been doing for a while,” Riley said smiling at them. “Remember back in January during the bullying incident?” The all nodded at her, Lucas taking her hand to calm her nerves down. “Well Lucas sent me a link to this website for teens and people who were going through a hard time to find comfort from others… and well I looked through the website and found a link to their main site, and well… um… they were asking for articles from regular people, and I wrote to them. So for the last couple of months I’ve sent them a couple of articles and stories for them to publish.”

“You’re a published writer,” her mother said surprise in her voice.

“Yes, for the website, and well I write under another name because… well a lot of what I write about is personal and I don’t want it to get back to anyone I know.”

“What name do you use?” Lucas asked looking at her.

“Well the last name is Lawrence,” she said smiling at her mother. “The first name is Violet.”

“The purple cat,” he said smiling at her, while she nodded at him.

“Is it alright if we read some of your writing?” her mother said to her.

Riley nodded smiling at her mother. “It’s alright, but remember a lot of it is things that are well in the past but I wrote it to give others the chance to look at it and remember to find the good in life when everything seems to be going really bad. I also wrote fashion articles, and make up articles on samples they’ve sent me.”

Her parents nodded knowing that Riley had gone through so much, “So the contracts are for?” her mother asked. Riley knew that the lawyer was coming out of her.

“Well I got a call from the editors a few days ago, and they want me to start writing an online Dear Abby column, and an article a month for their magazine. But this is up to you because I need your permission to do it.”

“So why is Lucas here?” her father asked.

“Well since he was the one who gave me the link, I figured he deserved to know before everyone else does,” she said smiling at Lucas. “It’s only fair.”

Her mother stood up and walked over to her and gave her a big hug, Riley was surprised by the sudden affection since she wasn’t done talking but she was happy to have her mother’s arms around her.

“I’m so proud of you Riley,” her mother said not letting go. Soon enough the rest of the Matthews clan came over and hugged her too. The four of them embraced until Riley pulled back.

“What the hell,” her father said smiling. “Come on Lucas,” he said pulling the green eyed boy into the embrace. “Thank you, for taking care of my daughter… even if I don’t show it all of the time, I’m glad you two met.”

Riley laughed hearing her father’s words because for the last four years Lucas has been a thorn at his side, always afraid of Lucas taking away his daughter.

“So what now?” her mother said once they all pulled apart.

“Well you’re the lawyer, so I’m thinking you read them and make sure there’s nothing weird on there, and that I can only work on certain days.”

“I can see if she could get credit at school for doing this,” her father said smiling at her. “Might as well use it to your advantage.”

“We also have to make sure her cheerleading schedule is a part of this,” Lucas said.

“And she had to have family time too,” Auggie said.

The five of them talked about how everything needed to work, just to make sure that she isn’t overwhelmed by it all. Riley decided that her current schedule was fine, since she had already done her writing during the days Lucas had his mandatory family dinner, and Maya would be with her family.

“No more working at the café,” her mother said once they had finished. “We can get Maya to work your shifts if she wants to work, or we can hire someone. I know Josh is looking for a part-time job.”

“Are you going to keep writing under your pseudonym?” her father asked right after her mother had finished.

“I would like to so that it doesn’t interferes with how people look at me when I’m in school,” Riley said trying to hide how she felt about everyone knowing that Riley Matthews was a known writer. “I mean Violet has a certain look to her, I made it up when I sent them the picture for my profile. They had asked why I didn’t want anyone to know and I told them that everyone already knew my business at school, so it would be nice to be someone else for once.”

“Okay, but remember when you start writing books in the future, use your real name,” Lucas said smiling. “You’re stories are as good as anything you can write for this magazine.”

“Deal,” she said smiling.

 They decided on having everyone over for dinner on Saturday so that they had advanced notice about the day. Riley had told them that it was just a regular dinner, they just wanted the family to meet their grandchildren’s friends. She had also convinced Maya to use the day to tell the elder Matthews about her relationship with Josh. She had used every excuse she could so that no one would suspect the real reason for the dinner. 

She was in her room getting ready when Lucas knocked on her bedroom door. “Hey princess,” he said smiling at her, but she could feel her hands shaking. “What’s wrong?” he took her hand and sat her down on her bed holding her close hoping to calm her down.

“How do you tell people that you’ve been writing articles about them?” she said as it all hit her. “I mean I never mentioned them, and they were really all about my feelings on how the situations were but I wrote a lot of personal stuff on there.”

“Riley, honestly after you told me about the other day I read one of the articles,” he said and she could see sadness in his eyes. “It hurt me at first, but only because I wished so much that I had known about what you were feeling during the triangle.”

“Sorry I didn’t tell you how I felt… I just didn’t want you to feel like…”

“Riley I understand, just be honest with everyone, plus it’s a great step forward in your life, you know you have a talent in something. Plus you have a way of helping so many people,” he said smiling at her.

The two of them sat at there for a moment until her door swung open and Maya walked in with Farkle behind her.

“We’re not bothering you two are we?” Maya said trying to act innocent, before she pushed Lucas aside and sat next to Riley. “Too bad.”

“Hey Riley,” Farkle said smiling. “Your mom asked us to come and get you since the last person she sent up ended up staying up here.”

“Oh right,” Riley said standing up. “Family… downstairs… dinner.”

Lucas nodded his head taking her hand, Farkle and Maya both gave her a weird look but just shrugged it off. Riley knew that they were thinking that this was normal for Riley to be spacey. Once they were downstairs Riley saw her grandparents on the couch talking to her Uncle Eric about his job, while Uncle Shawn and Aunt Katy stood in the kitchen with her parents. Josh was sitting at the bay window with Zay and Cassie, while Smackle made goo goo eyes at him, until Farkle showed up and took her hand, and Maya sat down with Josh.

“This is our family,” her brother said walking up to her and hugging her, just as the front door opened and Ava smiled at him. “My woman’s here,” he said before rushing to meet her at the door.

“Everything is going to be alright,” Lucas said squeezing her hand.

Riley nodded at him and then looked over at her mother, they had gone through the contract with the magazine after school, and they were signed. The contract put her under a one year contract, to be revised at a later date if Riley wanted to stay with them. She nodded at her mother to tell her that it was time to tell everyone, dinner was done but they wanted to make the announcement before everyone ate.

Her mother pulled away from table with champagne glasses filled with sparkling cider, and started handing them out.

“Well isn’t this a fancy dinner party,” Maya said as she took the glass.

“Well we’re celebrating something,” her mother said smiling at everyone.

“Alright everyone gather around the table,” her father said smiling. “I have a lesson to teach.”

“But we’re not even in school,” Zay said while Farkle and Smackle both Yayed in the background. “Zip it you two,” he said glaring at the geniuses only to have everyone laugh.

“Anyway,” her father started. “A long time ago, a little girl once asked me what her purpose in life was, and how she was going to live up to the legacy that was her parents.” Everyone looked over at Riley and smiled, as her friends remembered that lesson. “Well a few days ago she ended up doing something that showed her that she not only had talent, but she would one day surpass her own parents.”

As her father spoke Riley felt so proud to be their daughter, because she had really received the best present in the world, and that was that she had them as her parents.

“Wait a minute,” Josh said.

“This is a party for Riley,” Maya finished.

Her mother laughed before nodding towards Riley, “Okay sweetheart, do you want to tell them?”

Lucas squeezed her hand and gave her a soft smile. “For the few months I’ve been writing articles for this online teen website, and they called me last week to tell me that they would like to have my article appear in their magazine, as well as run an online advice column for its readers.”

The entire room erupted in congratulations as everyone came in close to hug her before she finished telling them the whole story. She was so happy to have this many people in her life who were proud of her. Riley took out the magazine where her first article was set to appear, it was originally just supposed to be a one-time thing because of her age but they had told her that they wanted someone who would connect with their readers, so why not have an actual teenager on staff.

“Wait,” Maya squealed. “I know this magazine, everyone at school reads it.”

“I’ve been to the website,” Cassie said excitedly.

“I have also looked into it, although it’s not my kind of thing,” Smackle said as they flipped through the pages.

“You’re names not in here,” Maya said when she reached the table of contents.

“Actually,” Riley said making them all look up. “I use a pen name, mainly because I don’t want anyone at school to put two and two together. Especially since I write a lot of personal stuff on the articles I normally write for the website.”

“So what’s the name?” Josh asked as he looked over Maya’s shoulder.

“Violet Lawrence,” she said smiling at her mother once again.

The three girls all looked up at her like she had grown a third head.

“Riles,” Maya said. “I’ve read your articles… they’re about us?”

“Mostly our adventures, my feelings towards things, and random stuff,” she said trying not to feel like she violated her best friend’s privacy.

Instead Maya surprised her by giving her a hug. “Thank you,” she said in her ear. “You’ve given me more strength than you know.”

“Really Peaches?”

“Yes,” Maya said. “I loved those articles, it was nice to read something that was so encouraging especially considering how much we’ve gone through.”

They talked for the rest of the night, about what she’s writing, her schedule, and what it meant for her future. Riley was happy that the nerves she had felt earlier in the day were gone. Her friends and family loved her and they would stand behind her no matter what.

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 5/19/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers Here is your daily news cap for Friday 19th May 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).  

BRUTAL ATTACK –The mother of a child who suffered a brutal beating that left her unconscious at the side of the road dreads returning the teenager to the school where her attackers remain. And Marcia Carrington, an active Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) member, said she also fears her own actions after hearing the account of how the schoolchildren stood on her daughter’s neck and kicked her in her head on Wednesday while she headed to the bus stop outside the Lester Vaughan School. The beat down came to light after a video on social media showed the teenager fleeing her attackers and narrowly escaping being struck by a van along Cane Garden Road, St Thomas. After the attack Carrington paid $500 in medical bills for X-rays and medication and is struggling to get $840 for a CAT scan.  (WN)

SIBLINGS CHARGED WITH ATTACKING MAN GET BAIL - Two brothers were granted bail today when they appeared in court charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.  Shamar Andre Rock, 30, and Brandon Ricardo Rock, 16, of Shorey Village, St Andrew are accused of attacking 25-year-old Jamar Green. The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. yesterday at Shorey Village. Police say Green visited the area to watch a football match and afterward, he encountered the brothers on his way to the bus stop. The Rocks allegedly attacked Green and tied him to a pole. The matter was reported to the police and they found Green tied when they arrived. A video of Green being tied to the pole was circulated via social media. Brandon and Shamar appeared before Magistrate Ian Weekes in the District “D” Magistrates’ Court and they will reappear on May 22.  (WN)

Man arrested during stop-and-search remanded - A man accused of using indecent and insulting language to police officers was remanded to HMP Dodds today. Twenty-five-year-old Darius Kenrick Bowen of #47A, Sanddunes Drive, Sandy Hill, St Philip appeared in the District “C” Magistrates’ Court today before Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch and was remanded to prison until May 22. The alleged offences were committed yesterday along Grove Road, St Philip during a stop-and-search by members of the Tactical Response Unit of the Royal Barbados Police Force. (WN)

SENT UP THEN RELEASED - A young man, who was seen being searched and arrested by police on a cellphone video on Wednesday, was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison at Dodds yesterday after pleading guilty to using indecent language. But quick work by his attorneys saw Darius Bourne being released from the St Philip facility just after 8 o’clock last night, after spending just over six hours. And now, a former president of the Bar Association, Andrew Pilgrim, is bemoaning the way in which Barbadians are still being remanded for simple matters like using indecent language, or being in possession of small quantities of drugs. Bourne, 25, of Sandy Hill, St Philip, appeared before Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch at the District “C” Magistrates’ Court in St Matthias, Christ Church, yesterday as a result of the altercation with police, and was remanded to Dodds until Monday. (WN)

MAN FACING WOUNDING CHARGE – Police have charged a 31-year-old man with wounding with intent. Jamar Adday Hall of Lot 11D Walkabout Path, Eden Lodge, St Michael, allegedly wounded 35-year-old Kidwe McCollin, at Block 4C, Church Drive, Eden Lodge, St Michael, on April 7. Yesterday, Hall, who was the subject of a wanted bulletin, surrendered himself to police accompanied by an attorney. He appeared before Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant in the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court today. He pleaded not guilty to the offence and was granted bail in the sum of $10 000 with two sureties, and will return to court on July 21. (WN)

POLICE ACCUSED OF BULLYING TAXI-DRIVER & PASSENGER – There will be no investigation into an allegation of police mistreatment of a taxi operator and his passenger if the aggrieved operator fails to file a written complaint against the law enforcement officers concerned. Assistant Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce told Barbados TODAY the Royal Barbados Police Force would not act unless there was an official protest to the Police Complaints Authority. The taxi driver, who requested anonymity, said the officers had acted unprofessionally when they stopped him yesterday and demanded to search his vehicle. The entire episode was filmed and posted to Facebook, but the video has since been removed from the social media site. Boyce said if the driver felt his rights had been abused he should bring it to the attention of the proper authorities in the approved manner. In encouraging the driver to report the issue, Boyce said police were allowed to stop and search vehicles at their discretion, but they should state the reason for the search. “You can’t legislate procedure on the road. They speak to the person who is driving and they wave the level of suspicion as to why they are stopping the vehicle. If they are doing vehicle stops they let you know they are doing vehicle stops and they want to see your driver’s licence and insurance and road tax and so on. If there is suspicion that there is contraband in the vehicle and it’s enough to create suspicion, then they can ask the driver of the vehicle who is in charge of the vehicle, to permit a consented search and a search can be done,” the policeman explained.  (BT)

JUDGMENT RESERVED IN POLICE PROMOTIONS CASE – The Court of Appeal Thursday reserved judgment in the case of 14 police officers who are claiming that were bypassed for promotions within the Royal Barbados Police Force five years ago. However, even as the panel of judges led by Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson weigh their decision, the lawmen’s attorney is already recommending how they should rule. In passionate submissions, during which has was asked to use less emotive language, Queens Counsel Ralph Thorne asked the Court to reverse the decision of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and promote the officers, two of whom have since retired. Thorne argued that there could be “no doubt” that in a matter of such high publicity over the last five years that the public was entitled to believe that there was some “major deficit” with the service records of the officers that disqualified them for promotion. Therefore, he pleaded with the court to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”.    In his three-hour long presentation in the No.1 Supreme Court Thursday morning, Thorne made submissions on 16 of 18 grounds of appeal. The other two grounds were argued on March 22. The officers are challenging last December’s ruling by Justice Margaret Reifer, who upheld the PSC’s decision to remove their names from the 2012 promotions list, and instead inserted alternative names, without further reference to the then Commissioner of Police. Thorne charged that the principles of fairness, transparency and justice were not followed by the PSC as stated under the Public Service Act 2007 when it took its “unlawful” decision. (WN)

LANDLORD’S FAULT - Laws that govern landlord/tenant conflicts are “clear”.  An attorney at law said the fault was at the landlord should any tenant overstay their welcome for an extended period of time, as there were procedures in place to have them removed. “Most of the time, people don’t know exactly what they have to do, either they are not following through or they are doing the ejectment wrong. I think it is really the tardiness of the landlord to allow someone to stay so long without receiving payment,” he said. Take the case of Sandra Walkes, who found herself unable to pay her bills because her tenant had refused to pay rent for three months or to move out despite being served two eviction notices. Her situation got to the point where she considered changing locks and there were contentious confrontations between her tenant and her children. She finally went to the police and consulted an attorney. (WN)

DANGEROUS ROAD! NUPW WARNS GOVT NOT TO TAKE A CAPITALIST APPROACH – Ahead of the May 30 National Budget presentation, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has sounded a stern warning to Government that the island’s public servants are already at the point of saturation. Therefore, the union says, now is not the time to be piling on any more taxes on Government workers, who it also described as overburdened. He further cautioned that the very social fabric that has held the society together stood to be destroyed, with some workers now faced with a choice of “feeding their families, buying medication or paying their commitment for their shelter” and already vulnerable to corruption. The NUPW leader was reacting to recent comments made by the Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association Charles Herbert, who was also a member of the Fiscal Deficit Committee recently convened by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart to advise him on the way forward for the floundering economy. With this in mind, the NUPW agrees that urgent remedial action is needed. However, it is adamant that the burden of austerity must be equally spread around. While acknowledging that streamlining and rationalization could bring about needed savings and that spending cuts must be made, McDowall further warned Government against going down the road of profit making at the sacrifice of workers, saying it would only yield deleterious results. (BT)

INCOME GAP GROWS - Income inequality IN Barbados is heading in the wrong direction. That’s the conclusion of new research by a Guyanese economist, who linked the trend to increasing wealth generated through the international business and financial services sector. Collin Constantine is a development economist who is a PhD student in economics at Kingston University London. Last month, he released the working paper A Community Divided: Top Incomes In CARICOM Member States and found that “Barbados is clearly the best performer is terms of rising inequality”. Constantine’s research covered the period 1960 to 2015. He noted that traditionally the region’s relatively high inequality countries were Belize, Suriname, Guyana, Jamaica and Haiti. Barbados has usually been among the relatively low inequality countries that include Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas and St Lucia. However, the economist found that “in the Barbados case, top incomes have steadily increased since the 1970s”. Put differently, he explained, “the middle class in Barbados has been shrinking”. Despite this, Barbados still had the lowest level of income inequality among CARICOM member states during the 1980s. Constantine said this had changed and Barbados was “rapidly converging to its high inequality peers”.  (WN)

KELLMAN CHIDES GOVT OVER AIRBNB – Businessman and Minister of Housing Denis Kellman is warning his own Government it can no longer ignore the importance of the increasingly lucrative online marketplace, Airbnb, to the Barbados economy. Kellman, the Member of Parliament for St Lucy, said a disservice was being done to the economy by not measuring the contribution the homestay programme was making to gross domestic product. The global accommodation facilitator has said that some 1,100 Barbadian homeowners had listed their properties on its website, each earning an average of US$3,900 a year. Two per cent of long-stay visitors to the island – some 16,000 people – stayed in Airbnb listed properties last year, a company official said recently.    Kellman sees the online community marketplace as an avenue through which ordinary Barbadians can contribute to the tourism sector, in very much the same way they helped grow the sugar industry. The Airbnb hosts here last week launched the Barbados Entrepreneurship & Tourism Association to advocate on their behalf. Founder of the non-profit organization Neeraj Vensimal said it was important for them to have a voice so they could make an input into pending legislation and other developments relating to the tourism sector. (BT)

MCCLEAN STRESSES NEED FOR CARICOM UNITY – The present and future global environment demands that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) engage in a process of “evaluation, revision and consolidation”. This advice was given by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, while addressing the opening ceremony of the Twentieth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, this morning. Senator McClean, the incoming Chairman of COFCOR, told her fellow Ministers of Foreign Affairs: “It is imperative that we deepen and strengthen community engagement and, as a cohesive body, leverage our voices as one to derive maximum benefit for the region”. She stressed that recent political developments in the hemisphere and Europe involving long-term CARICOM partners would likely have “a profound impact” on the region. (WN)

HEAR US PLEASE – A group of Venezuelan women living here attempted to crash the meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) foreign ministers Thursday, to highlight their opposition to the embattled president, Nicolas Maduro. Members of the Civil Society of Venezuelans in Barbados gathered outside the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre at about noon Thursday, the opening day of the 20th meeting of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Relations, to protest against the economic situation in their homeland and Maduro’s refusal to hold overdue elections. However, the demonstration was short-lived as they were quickly ushered off the compound by police and security personnel because they did not have a permit to protest.  (BT)

FORMER DLP CANDIDATE RUNNING AS INDEPENDENT - Three-time Democratic Labour Party candidate for St Joseph Randall Rouse has announced he will be contesting the next General Election as an independent candidate.  Rouse made this disclosure earlier this morning during a press conference at his Airy Hill, St Joseph constituency office.  "The decision I make today comes out of total frustration with this government as it relates to its lack of communication with the public on public matters, lack of leadership, lack of clear explanations for some of the policy decisions taken, the apparent anti-worker stances taken and more especially, this government's total refusal to accept positive economic advice even from its own economic advisors in the economy," Rouse said.  The now independent candidate said he had several concerns with the representation in St Joseph, but chief of these were the lack of adequate transport, the poor conditions of the bridge at Melvin's Hill and the inadequate healthcare facilities across the parish. (WN)

NATIONAL DISGRACE – The Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) spokesman on transportation is demanding a “credible and functional” plan from Government to increase the number of buses on the roads and bring relief to the travelling public. Former Chairman of the Transport Board Ian Gooding-Edghill complained in a recent statement that the state-run bus system had become a “national disgrace and embarrassment” and the Freundel Stuart administration did not appear to have a plan to remedy the situation. The BLP St Michael West Central candidate charged the current administration was mismanaging the transport agency, spending over $108 million on maintenance with little to show for it. The Opposition politician, who lost the seat by 193 votes to James Paul of the governing Democratic Labour Party in 2013, said the shortage of buses, compounded by financial problems, had been going on for much too long and Barbadians were the ones suffering as a result. He contended that not since the early 1990s had the Transport Board been in such a “deplorable” position. (BT)

ST. THOMAS DANGER ZONE - The people living and driving through the Shop Hill to Duke’s area and beyond are crying out for relief. There are blind corners, narrow roads, a sunken bridge, bush hindering eyesight and a lack of sidewalks and people are frustrated with this true danger zone where many people have lost their lives. One life lost in particular, 17-year-old Anyica Yearwood who was killed in 2010, is still fresh in many people’s minds. She was dragged by a vehicle which had struck her while she was waiting at a bus stop along Shop Hill. Armintha Headley lives near the area where that tragedy occurred. She said it was still dangerous there. (WN)

EX MANAGER FUMES AT SANDALS – A FORMER SANDALS BARBADOS employee is accusing her old workplace of giving her the runaround. Renée Ally, the hotel’s former landscape manager, said she was dismissed in June 2016 and almost a year later was still in limbo regarding a proper compensation package. “I had been there for about 23 months before I was dismissed. They claimed it was my performance but I never had any write-ups or disciplinary action against me on file so I don’t know why,” she said. “I went to the Labour office to state my case as I knew I had been unfairly dismissed and I wanted compensation.” (WN)

MALLALIEU ON THE MOVE – Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) president Andrew Mallalieu is facing a busy few weeks of travelling as he attends three of the next six races on the Grand Prix calendar as an FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) steward. And his continuing commitment to the work of the world governing body reflects well on the BMF, and on the island, one of the smallest nations affiliated to the FIA. Mallalieu will officiate as a Formula 1 steward at the Austrian GP on July 9, and also, for the first time, as F2 steward, in Monaco (May 27) and Hungary (July 30). In addition to his work as a steward, Mallalieu has been a member of the Rallies Commission, representing North America and the Caribbean, since 2010, a position he was invited to take up by the then-new FIA President Jean Todt, who was keen to involve more younger delegates. He is also a director of NACAM, which encompasses 14 FIA-affiliated countries in the region. (WN)

COVERS SNAG – There is a crisis with the covering of pitches in the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) major competitions because of old and inadequate covers. This was disclosed by BCA director of cricket Steven Leslie yesterday after the majority of first-round matches in last Saturday’s Super Cup 50-over championship ended in no-results due to wet areas, either on the pitch or by the bowlers’ run-ups. “We do have a crisis in Barbados right now with the provision of covers. “I would say that we are in a position where, possibly just a few clubs have what I would consider adequate covers and a large majority, who [have] if not inadequate covers, have covers which certainly are not able to fulfil the requirement of both the pitch and the run-ups,” Leslie said in an interview with WEEKENDSPORT.  (WN)

FOSTER, CHIC CHIC MAKE MARK IN DRESSAGE – Roberta Foster and Chic Chic were winners in the Intermediate 1 class during last weekend’s Dressage competition at Congo Road Equestrian Centre, St Philip. The 2016 second-placed International Equestrian Federation World Dressage Challenge pair, who recently returned from training and competing in the United States for three months, are making their mark, having competed in Prix St George with scores in the 60s. Fifteen-year-old Bree-Anne Hurdle has proven she is the most outstanding junior dressage rider, having achieved successful scores in the high 1960s and 1970s, aboard her mount Vivaldi in the last three competitions at the higher level. She also rode the first level test aboard Rumba, securing a 63.97 per cent, while 12-year-old Indy Jones, who prefers to be in the show jumping ring, competed with Essien in dressage and achieved a score of 63.53 per cent to capture second place. (WN)

YOUNG NETBALLERS SHOW PROMISE – Grantley Prescod registered the biggest scoring margin on court today when the National Sports Council’s Pine Hill Dairy-sponsored Primary Schools Netball Competition continued at the Police Boys and Girls Sports Club. Playing in the Marion Johnson-Hurley and Carolyn Sinckler zone, Grantley Prescod trounced St Gabriel’s 12-1 with goal-shooter Kimberley Phillips scoring seven of ten attempts and Azariah Ashton five of six. Goal-shooter Megan Cyrus shot the lone goal for St Gabriel’s. Meanwhile against St Ambrose Primary, Grantley Prescod shooters were not so free but still managed to pull off the win 2-0 with one goal each from Phillips and Ashton. (BT)

BAJANS SHINE AT WOODBINE – Three Barbadian horsemen were part of the winning connections of the midweek race card at the Woodbine Racetrack Wednesday. Ace veteran jockey Patrick Husbands and his nephew Simon, along long-standing trainer Ricky Griffith logged wins in each of the last three races on the day’s eight-race card at Canada’ premier racing oval. The elder Husbands steered 5-1 chance Conquest Boogaloo to a half-length victory in the CAN $62,300 sixth race, going 1,700 metres on the all-weather track.  (BT)

That’s all for today folks. There are 226 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase