#aug 17 2015

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragonball Z: Abridged Episode 9 Review

Originally posted August 17th, 2015

The difficulties of adaptation.

One of the most important decisions I made when preparing to review Dragonball Z: Abridged was to treat it the same as any other adaptation, because that’s essentially what it is. And like any adaptation, DBZA can be constrained by the limitations of its source material.

The difference between DBZA and most adaptations, of course, is that it uses and re-edits the animation of the original show, splicing together clips to fit their own narrative, rather than adapting a story from one medium into another. This is a pretty significant limitation, and it means that Team Four Star is required to follow each beat of the original story, with next to no freedom to stray off from that story.

Up until now, Team Four Star has made the most of this limitation, using clever editing and writing to add comedy to a very broad and often disjointed story. They also were able to manage pacing very well, thanks to the number of characters whose story needed to be told; they’d cut to a character, progress them as much as possible in a couple of minutes, and then cut away to the next character, progressing their story as much as possible.

It often didn’t work in their favor, and a lot of their writing only served to make the stories feel more disjointed, but it still gave them room to experiment. And then in episodes 7 and 8, they tightened the story, focusing in on one group of characters and letting their interaction be the source of most of the humor.

The content of episode 9 makes both of Team Four Star’s previous approaches impossible. Most of the characters are already dead, for one, and the only events that they can cut between is Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan facing the Saiyans, and Goku traveling down Snake Way to join the fight. Their solution is about as optimal as possible, as they choose to focus the story on the conflict on earth, while only giving us a brief look at Goku’s progress in the intro.

None of this is to say that episode 9 is bad, of course; it’s still streets ahead of some of the earlier episodes, and most of the jokes land really well. Gohan’s outburst, in which he descriptively defines the word “skullfuck,” is hilarious and well-earned, considering that Gohan just lost the closest thing he���ll ever have to a father.

Character wise, we get some great development for Vegeta, with his narcissism and impatience on fully display as he refuses to acknowledge Goku’s superior strength and kills Nappa for costing him immortality. Piccolo’s sacrifice is also handled quite well, as he realizes at the last second that he should’ve just moved Gohan out of the way, and then proceeds to scold Gohan for his failure to dodge as his dying breath.

Rating: 4/5

If you liked this review, please consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

As bad of a joke as Princess Solid Snake was the first time around, I do appreciate that they keep her voice consistent.

[blinkandyoumissit]

17 AUG 2015 | Steve Aoki • Behind the Scenes of "Back to Earth" music video with Fall Out Boy

[ archived page | video download ]

[liatkolink]

For people still in denial whether Israel has committed war crimes, here is a comprehensive list of war crimes Israel has committed both before and after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the list being taken from the Wikipedia article of war crimes with some notable missing examples being the usage of chemical weapons, famine, disease and apartheid. The 7th of October attack did not occur in a vacuum, but is the product of decades of Israel not being held accountable for its war crimes.

Killing civilians:

Israel/Palestine: Unlawful Israeli Airstrikes Kill Civilians by Human Rights Watch on 15/Jul/2014

‘Not a normal war’: doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza – The Guardian on 2/Apr/2024

Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp kills 45, prompts international outcry by Reuters on 27/May/2024

Intentionally killing PoWs:

Israel’s Hush-Up Machine in Action: Denying Story Israel Executed Egyptian Prisoners by Washington Report on Middle East Affairs on 8/Apr/2010

Torture:

Israeli government report admits systematic torture of Palestinians by The Guardian on 10/Feb/2000

Israel/OPT: Horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees amid spike in arbitrary arrests by Amnesty International on 8/Nov/2023

Israel: Palestinian Healthcare Workers Tortured by Human Rights Watch on 26/Aug/2024

Taking hostages:

Infographic: How many Palestinians are imprisoned by Israel? by AlJazeera on 17/Apr/2022

The thousands of Palestinians Israel arrests, tortures, holds even in death by AlJazeera on 17/Apr/2024

UN report: Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and secretly, subjected to torture and mistreatment by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner on 31/Jul/2024

Unnecessarily destroying civilian property:

Israel destroys Gaza tower housing AP and Al Jazeera offices by Reuters on 15/May/2021

Israel targets infrastructure in Gaza to ramp up civilian pressure on Hamas, report claims by PBS News on 11/Dec/2023

Widespread destruction by Israeli Defence Forces of civilian infrastructure in Gaza by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner on 8/Feb/2024

Deception by perfidy:

Israeli soldier gives 74-year-old Palestinian woman water then shoots her in the head by Middle East Monitor on 20/Jan/2015

Israeli special forces disguised as doctors kill three militants at West Bank hospital by The Guardian on 30/Jan/2024

NBC News investigation reveals Israel strikes on Gaza areas it said were safe by NBC News on 26/Apr/2024

Wartime sexual violence:

Stripped, beaten and blindfolded: new research reveals ongoing violence and abuse of Palestinian children detained by Israeli military by Save the Children on 10/Jul/2023

Israel/oPt: UN experts appalled by reported human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner on 19/Feb/2024

‘Everything is legitimate’: Israeli leaders defend soldiers accused of rape by AlJazeera on 9/Aug/2024

Pillaging:

The Biblical Pseudo-Archeologists Pillaging the West Bank by The Atlantic on 28/Feb/2013

Jewish Soldiers and Civilians Looted Arab Neighbors' Property en Masse in '48. The Authorities Turned a Blind Eye by Haaretz on 3/Oct/2020

Israeli soldiers boast about looting from Gaza by AlJazeera on 14/Feb/2024

Any individual that is part of the command structure who orders any attempt to committing mass killings:

Netanyahu incites violence by casting protesters as clear and present danger by Middle East Eye on 30/Jul/2020

Israeli minister's call to 'erase' Palestinian village an incitement to violence, US says by Reuters on 1/Mar/2023

Netanyahu cites 'Amalek' Theory to justify Gaza Killings by Times of India on 29/Oct/2023

Database exposes 500 instances of Israeli incitement to genocide in Gaza by TRT World 4/Jan/2024

Genocide:

The Genocide of the Palestinian People: An International Law and Human Rights Perspective by Center for Constitutional Rights on 25/Aug/2016

Genocide Warning: Israel & Palestine by Genocide Watch on 21/May/2021

A top U.N. court says Gaza genocide is 'plausible' but does not order cease-fire by npr on 26/Jan/2024

‘Reasonable grounds’ to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, UN rights expert says by CNN on 27/Mar/2024

Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza? New Report from BU School of Law’s International Human Rights Clinic Lays Out Case from Boston University Today on 5/Jun/2024

Ethnic cleansing:

UN Human Rights Council: ‘Israel engaging in ethnic cleansing’ by the European Union Parliament on 23/Mar/2011

Israel's ethnic cleansing in Palestine is not history - it's still happening by Middle East Eye on 22/May/2019

UN expert warns of new instance of mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, calls for immediate ceasefire by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner on 14/Oct/2023

‘Plan for ethnic cleansing’: Israel’s north Gaza siege sets off alarms by AlJazeera on 22/Oct/2024

Granting of no quarter despite surrender:

White Flag Deaths Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead by Human Rights Watch on 13/Aug/2009

Investigators: Israel fired on Gaza civilians carrying white flags by The Electronic Intifada on 28/Jan/2015

3 hostages killed by Israeli soldier in Gaza were waving a white flag, Israel says by npr on 16/Dec/2023

A group of Palestinian men waving a white flag is shot at, killing 1 by NBC News on 24/Jan/2024

She was fleeing with her grandson, who was holding a white flag. Then she was shot by CNN on 26/Jan/2024

Two brothers shot by Israeli forces in Khan Younis, white flag ignored by AlJazeera on 29/Jan/2024

Conscription of children in the military: First one where I couldn't find anything. Way to go, Israel!

Flouting the legal distinctions of proportionality and military necessity:

Israel violates the principles of necessity, proportionality in its attacks on Gaza by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor on 13/May/2023

Enough: Self-Defense and Proportionality in the Israel-Hamas Conflict by Just Security on 6/Nov/2023

War Crimes and Accountability: The Case Against Israel’s Military Operations in Gaza by JURIST News on 5/Jul/2024

[matan4il]

On this Yom Ha'Zikaron Le'Chalalei Ma'rachot Yisrael (Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims), I figured it's important to remember that Israeli victims did not exist solely on Oct 7. We have lost loved ones before and since. Here's a list with just one random victim to represent each year. Please scroll down the list to see how far back it goes.

(part 1/5, all parts in the reblogs)

2024: On Jan 7, we lost 19 years old Shai Garmai

2023: On Oct 7, we lost 28 years old Osama abu Madiam

2022: On Nov 23, we lost 18 years old Tiran Faro

2021: On May 12, we lost 5 years old Ido Avigal

2020: On Aug 26, we lost 39 years old Shai Ochayon

2019: On May 5, we lost 49 years old Zaid al-Chamamda

2018: On Dec 12, we lost Amiad Israel Yish Ran, who was murdered in his mother's womb

2017: On Nov 22, we lost 21 years old Hodaya Nechama Assoulin

2016: On Oct 25, we lost 14 years old Rami Namer abu Amar

2015: On Feb 17, we lost 4 years old Adelle Biton

2014: On Oct 22, we lost 2.5 months old Chaya Zissel Brown

2013: On Dec 24, we lost 22 years old Salech al-Din abu al-Atayef

2012: On Jul 18, we lost 28 years old Yitzchak Idan Kolangi

2011: On Apr 17, we lost 16 years old Daniel Aryeh Viplich

2010: On Feb 26, we lost 52 years old Netta Blatt Sorek

2009: On Apr 2, we lost 13 years old Shlomo Nativ

2008: On Mar 6, we lost 26 years old Doron Trunach Mahareta

2007: On Jun 17, we lost 85 years old Meir Cohen

2006: On Aug 10, we lost 4 years old Fatchi Assdi

2005: On Jul 12, we lost 16 years old Nofar Horvitz

2004: On Sep 29, we lost 2 years old Dorit Massarat Binsan

2003: On Sep 9, we lost 20 years old Naava Appelbom

2002: On Nov 10, we lost 4 years old Noam Levi Ochayon

2001: On Dec 12, we lost 42 years old Ester Avraham

2000: On Nov 21, we lost 19 years old Itamar Yefet

1999: On Jun 24, we lost 34 years old Tony Eliyahu Zanna

1998: On Dec 2, we lost 41 years old Osama Moussa abu Aisha

1997: On Mar 13, we lost 13 years old Natali Alkalai

1996: On Feb 25, we lost 57 years old Yitzchak Elbaz

1995: On Jul 24, we lost 60 years old Zehava Oren

As Tumblr limits a post to 30 images... part 1/5 - the next parts will be posted in the reblogs momentarily. Please check out the full list.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[a-shade-of-blue]

New Gaza fundraiser asks I've received (11 August)

Ghada Banat (@ghadabanat): Ghada is pregnant and on her latest trimester and is expecting to give birth very soon. Ghada is from a family of 14 and has a 9-month-old daughter. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/65f2a341) (#239 on the verified fundraiser spreadsheet vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi.) 

Malk and Ahmed Al Zaeem (@malkzaim): Malk is 14 years old. His grandfather suffers a spinal injury but there is limited meidcal resources in Gaza. Malk and is family is trying to evacuate and ensure his grandfather receives essential medical care abroad. (https://gofund.me/f5a14faa) (#129 on the verified fundraiser list vetted by nabulsi and el-shab-hussein)

Suad Ahmad (@suad-ahmad): Suad and her husband have an infant son Khaled who is born during the current war. Her infant son developed a severe fever due to a chest infection. They, along with her family, are stranded in the streets of Al-Bureij, where a bombing attack and ground invasion is imminent according to multiple sources (!) They are trying to evacuate and find medical treatment for Khaled (https://gofund.me/ebaee2af) (vetted by nabulsi)

Lina (@azaxa): Lina is 25 years old and has two children, 2-year-old Saif and 3-month-old Sidra who was born during the current war. Their home has been destroyed and they are trying to evacuate out of Gaza.  (https://gofund.me/4f077ab2) (Vetted by association. This campaign belongs to a friend of @/mohiy-gaza. Mohi's gfm has been shared by 90-ghost. ana-bananya has been able to confirm this connection by reaching out to Mohi, please see linked post.)

Kareem Almadhoon and family (@kareem-family): Kareem suffers from cerebral palsy and severe malnutrition and needs many medications that are not available. Kareem also has three other siblings Lamees, Maryam and Nour. (https://gofund.me/baf38a35) (shared by 90-ghost)

Sameer Al Khaldi (@sameer-17): Sameer is from a family of 17, including 9 adults and 8 children. Before the current war, his was preparing for his daughter’s wedding which was supposed to take place this summer. One of his son was supposed to finish high school this year and was looking forward to study business in uni.They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/e61eadec) (Vetted by association. This campaign belongs to a friend of @/mohiy-gaza. Mohi's gfm has been shared by 90-ghost. Both @/ana-bananya and @/dlxxv-vetted-donations has been able to confirm this connection by reaching out to Mohi, please see linked post.)

Ahed and Samah (@ahedalshaer): Ahed is a 22 year old dental student and Samah is 18 years old and supposed to be in high school this year. They are from a family of 7 with 3 brothers: Jamal, Hamdan, and Hamada.Their father is diabetic and their mother suffers from chest infections but there are not medicine or treatment available. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/ed54855f) (#407 on the Butterfly Effect Project verified fundraiser list)

Ahmed Jihad (@ahmad-syam-blog): Ahmed is newly wedded right before the current genocide happened, and his daughter was born during the ongoing slaughter. They are trying to survive and evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/2768b3a3) (#171 on the Bees and Watermelons verified fundraiser list!) (11 Aug: LOW FUNDS! Currently $598 CAD raised of $40,000 goal.)

The one below is UNVETTED but seems legit:

Malak Al-Mughribi (@malakalmughrabi): Malak and her husband Amjad has a 3-year-old son named Malek. (https://gofund.me/cf2f172e) (This campaign is UNVETTED but seems legit. Her Instagram goes back a decade (See the post she has been tagged in on IG. The earliest she has been tagged in is from 2015, a post she has been tagged in in 2019 is geotagged in Gaza))

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 13 July - 25 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 26 July -29 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 30 July - 1 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 2 August - 5 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 6 August - 10 August.

[goatpaste]

What influenced your artstyle? Are there any artist that you took heavy influence from? Has it always been the same artists, or, if your artstyle looked different way back when, different artist throughout the years?

ohhh yeah no my art style has changed a lot through the years! its funny because it used to be a lineless style for awhile! then it fluctuated to lineart, now its back to mostly the lineless!

I think my art really came into its own in 2019 when I played Smile for Me and discovered @/yugsly art style and fell in love. their my biggest inspiration, I admire all their work and take a heavy inspiration from them for sure

Here lets do an exploration of my Deviantart Galleries all the way back to 2011-2019 just for a quick evolution timeline lol

this is just some fun highlights, feel free to explore my ancient accounts (and apology for whatever 11-19 year old sammi be saying on there lol) [x] [x]

Random cat1 (Aug 28, 2011), my very first upload to Deviantart/online artist space

Early Uploads of my Fursona (Mar 15, 2012) (Jul 15, 2012)

the short while when my fursona was a ponysona (Jun 26, 2012) (Jul 14, 2014)

Art from 2013 (Jan 14, 2013) (Jul 29, 2013) (Dec 31, 2013)

Art from 2014 (Feb 3, 2014) (May 17, 2014) (Sep 10, 2014)

Art from 2015 (Jun 3, 2015) (Jun 17, 2015)

Art from 2016 (Jan 14, 2016) (Apr 23, 2016) (Jul 25, 2016) (Dec 31, 2016)

Art from 2017 (Jan 21, 2017) (Feb 15, 2017) (Jun 28, 2017) (Aug 28, 2017) (Dec 7, 2017)

Art if 2018 (Feb 10, 2018) (Mar 22, 2018) (Oct 24, 2018)

Art of 2019 (Jul 25, 2019) (Jul 25, 2019) (Aug 4, 2019) (Oct 2, 2019) (Oct 8, 2019)

[aidairoarchivetwo]

良い子の皆様明日はＧファンタジー9月号の発売日！です。新？キャラの登場で前回とは違う意味の嵐が起きそうな花子くん9話をよろしくお願いします。 源家の兄弟仲は果たして良好なのか！ All you good children, tomorrow is the release date of the September issue of G Fantasy! Please look forward to the 9th episode of Hanako-kun, where a new character appears and a storm of a different meaning than the last one will occur. Are the brothers of the Minamoto family really on good terms?

Date and Time: 6:22 AM · Aug 17, 2015

[shefanispeculator]

For the second time in less than a year, patrons at Blake Shelton's Ole Red Tishomingo witnessed the concert debut of one of his teenage stepsons.

Zuma Rossdale, 15 — the middle of three sons Shelton's wife, pop icon Gwen Stefani, shares with her ex-husband, rocker Gavin Rossdale — played his first public performance Monday, July 29 at Ole Red Tishomingo.

Zuma, who will turn 16 on Aug. 21, covered two songs by up-and-coming Oklahoma country music superstar Zach Bryan during the short acoustic set at his stepfather's hometown restaurant, bar and venue.

"I had no idea that he was going to come out ... and sing until Blake started talking," said concertgoer Jamie McGaugh, a devoted Shelton fan from Coalgate. 

"He did mention Kingston, and he said Kingston's influence was Gwen, but Zuma's influence was him — and he was all proud about that."

Zuma Rossdale follows brother Kingston in making his debut at Ole Red Tishomingo

An Ada native, Shelton, 48, made Tishomingo his adopted hometown several years ago, and he opened the first location in his Ole Red bar and restaurant chain there in 2017. The eight-time Grammy nominee is known to occasionally perform at his Johnston County hot spot.

Shelton and Stefani, 54, started dating in 2015 after they met when they were both working as coaches on the hit NBC series "The Voice." The couple live on the sprawling Ten Point Ranch near Tishomingo, where they wed on July 3, 2021.

Last August, Kingston, then 17, played his first public set inside The Doghouse music hall at Ole Red Tishomingo, performing a series of original alternative-rock songs. An encouraging Oklahoma audience of about 400 music lovers witnessed his debut, including McGaugh, and her mother, Lanell Eclair, also of Coalgate.

Which Zach Bryan songs did Zuma Rossdale play at his debut concert in Oklahoma?

For his debut at Ole Red, Zuma performed a more low-key and down-home show. At about 3 p.m. Monday, Shelton posted on X that he was planning to stop by Ole Red Tishomingo at about 5 p.m. that same day.

"I’m coming by to grab some food and thought I’d hop up and play 3 or 4 songs," he posted on the social media site.

McGaugh barely had time to drive from her Atoka workplace back to Coalgate, collect her mom and her daughter, Mazie McGaugh, and get over to Tishomingo. With the short notice, she said Shelton took the stage in the Ole Red restaurant, rather than the Doghouse music hall, for about 100 fans, mostly locals.

"We made pretty good time. It did dawn on me the other day ... 'He wasn't popped up at Tish in a while; I'd better be on alert because he may be gonna do that, because he does it once or twice a year.' You never know about him. But I never dreamed about it being on a Monday night," she said.

"I was shocked when he walked out. I was taken aback ... because I was like, 'Wait, he never has on a cowboy hat."

Along with the white hat, Shelton took the Ole Red stage in a blue plaid shirt, blue jeans and boots, to perform "Playboys of the Southwestern World," a fan-favorite song he dedicated to his youngest stepson, Apollo. Stefani and Apollo watched the show at a table alongside the pop star's sister-in-law, niece and nephews. Both the boys wore cowboy, hats, too, McGaugh said.

Shelton played "Pour Me a Drink," his new duet with Post Malone, solo before introducing Zuma. The teen took the stage dressed in a pale striped button-down shirt, blue jeans, brown boots and a black cowboy hat and carrying an acoustic guitar.

"This is Zuma, everybody," Shelton said, as the crowd cheered appreciatively.

"How y'all doing?" the teen drawled as he settled on a tall stool.

"Get the microphone where they can hear it," Shelton coached, adjusting the microphones for Zuma.

Strumming his guitar, Zuma sang solo on two popular songs by Bryan: "Oklahoma Smokeshow" and "Revival."

Everybody was excited. I think everybody was very open with Kingston. But this was more of the vibe that's over there, the country music. It seemed like everybody knew everything, and it was very shocking how good his voice was. I had no idea. He was very good," McGaugh said.

After earning rousing applause for his two-song set, Zuma yielded the stage back to Shelton, who closed the half-hour acoustic show with his signature song, "Ol' Red."

A Shelton super-fan. McGaugh said she's thrilled that she's now seen both Kingston and Zuma give their first public performances.

"I think those kids love it over here ... and everybody over here loves Gwen and her boys. They really do. I haven't ran into one person that said that they didn't like them, or that they weren't nice," she said

[devilsupdates]

Update on trade

Again this is coming from ESPN and the Devils app

We got a goalie!!!!

The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has acquired goaltender Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for New Jersey’s conditional third-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. Montreal will retain 50% of Allen’s salary both this year and in 2024-25, the last year of his contract. The announcement was made by President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.

The conditions on the pick are as follows: if Allen plays in 40 regular-season games in the 2024-25 season and his club qualifies for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 2025 third-round pick becomes New Jersey’s 2025 second-round selection.

Allen, 33, joins New Jersey after spending the last four seasons with Montreal. The 6’2”, 195lbs. goaltender recorded a 41-68-15 career record with the Canadiens, while also earning three shutouts and a 3.30 goals-against average (GAA). Allen posted 6-12-3 record in 21 games this season for Montreal and owns a 6-1-0 career record playing at Prudential Center.

Before Allen was traded to Montreal on Sept. 2, 2020, he played in parts of eight seasons with the St. Louis Blues from 2011-12 to 2019-20. Allen earned 148 career wins with St. Louis, which ranks second all-time for Blues franchise history. The Fredericton, New Brunswick native logged his first career regular season start on Feb. 13, 2013, in a 4-3 win at Detroit. He recorded a career-high 33 wins in 2016-17 with St. Louis and earned a career-high six shutouts in 2015-16.

The veteran netminder also carries Stanley Cup Playoff experience, after playing in six postseasons with St. Louis, and was a member of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship team. Allen has played in 29 career postseason contests and owns an 11-12 overall record with a 2.06 GAA.

Born on Aug.7, 1990, St. Louis selected Allen in the second round, 34th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft. He also represented Canada on the international stage at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) U18 World Junior Championship (WJC) in 2007-08 and 2009-10. Allen helped Canada win a Gold Medal in 2008 and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He also earned a Silver Medal with Canada at the 2010 WJC.

[cchr11]

These are some concepts I developed for good ol' Ulrika. (It's all wip)

I forgot to mention: everything previously stated before this post about her and her relationships has been retconned

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backstory in a nutshell:

2008: The swedish hitman 'Ulrik Bielke I' migrates to Russia wanting to join the Mafia. The Russian Organized Crime tests his loyalty for a whole year before accepting him as a member, foreigners face stricters trials and rules.

2009: Ulrik I is accepted and quickly marries with a russian woman from within the organization. Plans to climb to the top by establishing the Bielke family as the top hitmen in the group.

2010: Ulrik Bielke II is born. During this decade the country stands out as one of the leaders for bioweapons development and human augmentation.

2015: Ulrik II's brutal training and conditioning begins. Within the same year, Ulrik I offers himself for mechanical augmentation to extend his career as the Russian Organized Crime's influence and power gradually creeps higher in the country. They acquire access to human augmentation technology to test it with their men.

2027: Ulrik II's training pays off and becomes one of the top hitmen at 17, accomplishing the first step of his father's plan. The same year, the 'Aug Incident' takes place and Ulrik II along other colleagues are forced to kill Ulrik I. The ensuing battle left all the men severely mutilated, leading to all of them being mechanically augmented. The loss of his father left Ulrik II mentally unstable.

2030: A gradually unstable Ulrik II resolves in continuing his father's wishes and follows his footsteps. Marries with a woman from the Organization and impregnates her. After finding out the baby is a girl, he thinks of forcing an abortion but decides not to as the girls can be married to influential members of the group.

2031: Sara Bielke is born. A few months later he goes through a second succesful augmentation surgery but is rendered infertile. Frustrated, he decides to raise his daughter as if she were a son and changes her name to Ulrika Bielke.

2034: Ulrika Bielke's brutal training and conditioning begins the moment she learns how to walk. The training encompasses more than 'hitman activity' as it aims to turn her into a fullblown field agent, adapting to the evolving nature of the 'members who get dirty', which are becoming more sophisticated.

2042: Ulrik II grows more deranged and forces Ulrika to go through light mechanical augmentation. He's against radical alterations since he's afraid it could render her with long lasting health issues like infertility (But near death training is somehow ok). He concludes the amputation and replacement of her arms is the best lightest choice. Since then til the age of sixteen Ulrika required multiple limb replacement to match her growing body.

2050: Ulrika is chosen among other agents for deployment to Mexico to support the Russo-Mexican Alliance which was just consolidated. Ulrika mades up her mind and uses this opportunity to truly prove her worth, as she grew feeling inadequate for never meeting her father's expectations. It's during this time where a previously sheltered, or rather isolated Ulrika realizes mechanically augmented people are viewed as lower class citizens and are discriminated upon. This adds anger to the indifference she felt towards the world.

2052: A member of the Luminous Path Triad contacts The Russian Organized Crime to hire a 'gweilo gangster' to work as a field agent. This member is Tracer Tong, flexing the reach of his contacts to seek foreign aid that is free of Majestic-12 control. (Paul Denton had been sent back to New York and Tong needed a replacement to investigate Versalife). Ulrika is chosen for the task as she had been nothing short of excelent in the past two years in Mexico. After failing to infiltrate Versalife, Ulrika's whole worldview slowly crumbles when she's exposed to all the conspiracies and meets JC Denton.

Random characterization ideas:

Ulrika, like JC, has been raised her whole life to be a living weapon. Weapons are tools, and tools don't talk, don't think, and don't act without input. They must perform and most importantly, be effective. An ineffective tool is discarded: incompetence is death. Ulrika, however, and unlike JC, was not raised to be a weapon to "protect the weak and punish the evil" (or that's what JC thought he was doing in UNATCO). She hurts others to perpetuate "injustice and evil", although she doesn't view it that way.

Ulrika thirsts for power as her inner desire is to be the best, and she wants so to maker her father proud, to finally deem her worthy. Such ambition has been her life goal since forever, and once she accomplishes this, she thinks, she'll be able to conquer the Organization. This goal changes when she arrives to Hong Kong and meets JC Denton, realizing that all she believed to be important is miniscule in comparison to what she could achieve by sticking around him: true world conquest.

Talking about JC, she views him as what she should've been since the begining, what her father desired her to be. She develops an infatuation for him, although it's all focused on his skills and lethality. In truth, she can't give a damn about his personality or feelings, all that matters is that he's the strongest, most dangerous person in the planet. She'll encourage him to merge with Helios, not to save humanity or fix the state of the world but to gain total control and total power. She'll support the idea of annihilating all dissidents and would 100% erase the organization off the map. (Which is unnataible as Rusia becomes the Omar's birthplace. Ulrik II becomes a member, ceasing to be.)

[asukaskerian]

monthly word count + year total

TOTAL FOR DECEMBER: 3 844 words. ..hhghgb i thought it was moooore

POSTED: nothing.

IN PROGRESS: -madatobiizu ABO cherry wine verse (979 words) -bleach pack fuckening ABO verse, baby cuteness (450 words) -bleach suburban ot4 (1 414 words) -bleach psychic wolves (377 words) -bleach bloodsport (624 words)

--

YEARLY TOTAL:

jan: 4 700 feb: 6 014 mar: 4 512 apr: 4 889 may: 1 719 jun: 1 184 jul: 2 271 aug: 1 615 sep: 3 026 oct: 2 109 nov: 4 272 dec: 3 844 TOTAL: 40 155 AVERAGE: 3 346.25

yeah so the downward trend is getting obvious. HHHHHH.

2010: 136 235, average: 11 353/month. ... :X :X :X 2011: 167 675, average: 13 973/month. :X 2012: 332 396, average: 27 700/month. eeeeeeee. 2013: 396 917, average: 33 076/month !!!!!!!! 2014: 315 332, average: 26 276/month ... :X 2015: 206 403, average: 17 200/month. 2016: 127 495, average: 10 625/month. >:( 2017: 80 828, average: 6 736/month. .__. 2018: 128 033, avergage: 10 669/month. FUCK YOU 2017. 2019: 159 609, average: 13 300/month. huh! 2020: 105 791, average: 8 816/month. ... hhghhrhhhhhhhhhhhhhh flops. 2021: 101 776, average: 8 481.33/month. =__= 2022: 73 461, average: 6 121.75/month. hhAHHJZVB WORSE THAN 2017 2023: 40 155, average: 3 346.25/month. this used to be three months' worth. hgh.

FICS I POSTED THIS YEAR:

-Howling Outside Your Door : Grimmichi pack fuckening : Chapters 5, 6 and Epilogue -Cherry wine chapter 8 (madatobiizu ABO) -Ichigo centric sequelette to Howling Outside Your Door (grimmichi pack fuckening ABO)

I did work on suburban ot4 and STILL don't wanna post it in public but otherwise it's still all half-dying fics trying to crawl back to the surface. no new ideas or anything. this *sucks.*

--

have some teasers anyway.

-- cherry wine --

"Don't joke. The cheeky omegas are already coming out of the woodwork as it is."

"Ah… Yes? Your fault for reacting to that girl the other day. Now they think that's your type."

Madara didn't truly change his posture but suddenly he looked a little more tired. "I thought that was why Raiha's niece seemed to have had a personality transplant."

"Aheh." Izuna hadn't even been sure he had noticed. "Mmh. Yes."

Huffing, his brother leaning on one elbow, fist mashed against his mouth grumpily, and glowered at the Lightning envoys who were doing nothing to ask for it.

"I didn't even want her, I just thought she was amusing. Who even wants to take someone to bed that they could break in two sneezing too hard?"

Izuna tried not to look too amused as the Lightning envoys went to sit and the Water ones started up the alley, lest they take it personally.

"Hm, yes, let's not tell people you like dangerous shinobi better, if that's all the same to you. They'd have a much better chance of assassinating you."

Madara threw him an irritated glare that became a watchful glance over Izuna's shoulder. Izuna fanned himself absently and took his time turning to see which of the Water Country envoys had --

Hm.

Hm.

Why was this little blond brat dragging behind to grin at Tobirama.

--

bleach pack fuckening ABO

Ichigo feels so stupidly nervous watching Grimmjow's pack investigate his apartment. His apartment with the huge bath he never uses and the sunken living room-couch area and fuck, all his pillows and blankets are in the cupboards after the grueling wash they all needed last time his pack stayed over. Renji makes a mean cocktail but by god they stain.

He's going to look like he's trying too hard if he gets out the cushions now, isn't he.

"You, uh. Need--"

"You going to close the wards, Shinigami?"

Ugh. Ichigo makes a face at the blond one. He seems to remember he's an asshole.

Wait, they're all assholes. They hang out with Grimmjow. Have to be just to survive him, no doubt.

As he turns to seal the wards again, he catches a glimpse of the man himself, standing wih shoulders loose and hip cocked as he surveys the place. In the crook of his arm is the b-- his -- Ichigo does up the wards.

--

suburban ot4

"Ichigo made a pretty big decision on his own, and he didn't talk to me. He shared it with this other person as a, a done deal thing, and he didn't even talk to me about it."

Grimmjow whistles low and quiet between his teeth. "Yeowch. I'll dig a hole behind the gazebo."

Orihime blinks. "To put his--"

"Corpse, yeah, I'll make it square so it doesn't pop up too much, we just gotta fold him up a bit."

"… Pff."

"Plant some flowers on top to make it look legit with the loose soil. Gorgeous blooms."

Orihime presses both hands against her mouth, and still cackles. "Mean!"

"Or hey, tomatoes, some peppers. Delicious."

She giggles some more. Ah, it fixes nothing, and yet it's like being tickled out of a heavy coat. Freeing, like she can breathe a bit better as it drops around her feet.

"Sounds -- hehe, sounds good. Adzuki beans? Mm, I could make my own paste."

He smirks, just a little bit.

"… Haaaaa. I should probably try talking with him before the… gardening."

Grimmjow-san scoffs. "Quitter."

"Grimmjow-san!"

"Yeah, yeah, maybe. I mean, you're giving up an occasion of growing his namesake on the corpse of the guy who wronged you, which is the coldest, most badass shit, but you do you. Tch'."

… She'll feel a little bad in a minute that she laughed, because strawberry jokes are the lowest of -- hahaha -- hanging fruits.

--

bloodsport (ichigo, charlotte, luppi)

"… What's your names, anyway," he mumbled a fifteen minutes' bullet train ride later. "And do I, um. Pronouns."

Being laughed at was almost more of a relief than it was embarrassing.

"Listen, home is just kinda -- hngh. I mean? Gay people exist--"

The small one's face spasmed; their emotions -- yeah, Ichigo didn't want to notice that howling disbelief or the edge of hysterical hilarity that went with it, thanks.

"They still have to marry and have children. I mean, if they're echt. Duty to the blood. Whatever. So gender stuff is, uh. Yeah. Not really. Fuck."

Askin concealed a grimace a beat too late. The tall one grinned genially, leaning toward Ichigo and Askin with their hands linked sweetly behind their back. "You poor deprived chickies! You confused sweethearts. I am going to open your minds so wide--"

"Ugh," the small one cut in, rolling their eyes, and got a toothy, brilliant smile aimed their way along with a sharp threatening I-will-cut-your-neck gesture.

"To start with! Arrancars have been known to reproduce asexually. In the first couple generations, or maybe when the blood is very strong, but!"

"Didn't Starrk bud out a little girl ten years back."

"That guy's a freak though. Leading to! Two, the gender binary is for squares. Still with me, chickies?"

"Uh. Yeah."

"Three, I'm the womanest woman who has ever womaned."

"Oh." Yeah, good thing Ichigo had asked. Her voice was, uh. Deep. And the contrast between her mannerisms and makeup and her T-shaped frame, thick with muscle--

"But also, transcending the restrictive gender binary inherited from our caveman ancestors back on Earth is excellently beautiful and I am, naturally, first place at it."

--

grimmichi psychic wolves

"So he just… decided to ditch us."

Yylfordt said nothing for a few seconds, and then all at once grabbed a chair and flung it to the floor, along with the clothes and books piled up on it. Nakeem watched the books scatter, sliding along the linoleum.

"What the fuck! What the fuck?! Why would he do that? We're the best, baddest fucking squad, we're fucking black ops at the top of the game, what fucking reason would he have to fucking leave?"

More silence, out loud. Inside their minds everyone was buzzing incoherently, tidbits of denial blurring past.

Makes no sense, what about his pride, we were gonna be so great--

"He hated the sex," Nakeem said.

He got stared at.

"… The heat sex?" Di Roy asks eventually. "But he always said it was the best sex of his life."

Nakeem considered it. Not wrong, but. "Also the worst."

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

A list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing

I made a list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing.

2009

NOV 30 Manageable Tongue Twisters.

2010

FEB 24 Marxist-Socialists Jokes

2011

JUL 21 A Post Gender Normative Man Tries to Pick Up a Woman at a Bar

DEC 07 ACTOR & PLAYWRIGHT JESSE EISENBERG ON THE THRILL OF THE STAGE

2012

JAN 25 Courage Is Just an Act

FEB 15 Jeremy Lin Has Helped Me Through Some Pretty Tough Times

MAR 12 Jesse Eisenberg on His Lifelong Aversion to Youth Culture

MAY 24 Sushi Nozawa

JUN 06 Masgouf

JUL 09 The Whiskey Blue Bar at the W Hotel

AUG 01 TCBY

AUG 20 Robert Frost Elementary School Cafeteria

OCT 02 Organix vs. the San Gennaro Street Festival

NOV 21 Thanksgiving With Vegans

DEC 11 Body Rituals Among the Lauxesortem

2013

FEB 22 Matthew’s House

MAR 17 Marv Albert Is My Therapist

APR 15 The League, Passed Down

APR 17 I Didn’t Win Any Pulitzer Prizes This Year

APR 25 A Marriage Counselor Tries to Heckle at a Knicks Game

JUN 03 Fuddruckers and an Unreliable New Friend

JUN 24 Separation-Anxiety Sleepaway Camp

AUG 06 A Crawfish Boil and Dad’s New Family

SEP 09 A Bully Does His Research

OCT 02 A Post Gender Normative Woman Tries to Pick Up a Man at a Bar

OCT 07 Final Conversations at Pompeii

NOV 01 The Museum of Natural History and Making Compromises

NOV 12 Alexander Graham Bell’s First Five Phone Calls

DEC 12 The Ashram and Mom

2014

JAN 20 If I Was Fluent in . . .

JUN 10 Carmelo Anthony and I Debrief Our Friends After a Pickup Game at the Y.M.C.A.

2015

MAY 25 Men and Dancing

SEP 01 My Nephew Has Some Questions

SEP 09 My Spam Plays Hard to Get

NOV 22 THE GUY WHO HATED NOW YOU SEE ME, A SHORT STORY

NOV 23 An Honest Film Review

2016

JAN 27 What Do You Do When Your Mother Won’t Shut Up at The Ballet?

FEB 04 Act Like You Know

FEB 12 Why I Broke Up with the Little Mermaid

MAY 19 My Cousin Recently Became A Realtor

NOV 04 SELF-DEPRECATING HEROES

DEC 11 LOW TALK IN HIGH PLACES

2017

JAN 23 YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW

JAN 25 My Very Good Friend

FEB 01 发现肉——致中国读者

MAR 04 HAVE YOU DINED WITH US BEFORE?

NOV 14 Mongolia

2018

JAN 15 Sad Stuff on the Street

MAR 20 Thanks, Giving

MAY 14 My N.B.A. Knowledge Comes In Handy

MAY 18 One Small Blow Against Encroaching Totalitarianism: The Natural Order of the World Depends On It

MAY 31 Jesse Eisenberg on the Relentless Work Ethic of Philip Roth

DEC 05 The Cast Members and Their Crew

2019

JAN 03 MY SISTER PUSHES THE LOBSTER

NOV 21 My Two-Year-Old Requests Just One More Song Before Bed

NOV 23 Jesse Eisenberg: Recommends four contemporary plays

2021

MAR 02 Writer Courtney Zoffness and Jesse Eisenberg on the Radical Compassion of Art

2022

NOV 07 Content Warning

2023

FEB 20 A G.P.S. Route for My Anxiety

[closetedlesbian526]

Alright I need some feel good sloot games to watch or cute interviews, something! Any reqs?

Omg there’s like so many lol but I’m gonna list a few off the top of my head

1. The two interviews Sloot and Allie did with Eric Wilson

2. The togethxr video Sloot and Allie did

3. Sloot breaking the assist record vs Indiana (Aug 31, 2020)

4. Sloot’s Gonzaga jersey retirement (https://youtu.be/Y_RENQSKUXI?si=U3kDqR_a1Ate9yg0) I’m posting the link cuz it’s not easy to find

5. Sloot getting her first triple double vs the Wings (July 20, 2018)

6. Sloot getting the second ever playoff triple double vs CT (September 28, 2021; Sloot and Allie’s 8th anniversary of being together btw!)

7. Game 4 of the 2021 finals for obvious reasons (October 17, 2021)

8. Any of those old locker room interviews of Sloot from like 2012-2013 on YouTube lmaooooo

9. This like ping pong charity video from 2015 (https://youtu.be/kDi3jlFdrRw?si=wieqecGtkXbDF_Yj)

10. Any old content from Gonzaga (linking some of my favorites

-https://youtu.be/eAFDlDkgP-U?si=LSS2XlNQHiPyZ1H3

-https://youtu.be/Wp7h0iPhIrk?si=a8F0pD2LPCrCYqAl

-https://youtu.be/HnsjztTzPHM?si=f3c6RSovCQymivQh

-https://youtu.be/yN5GDe8Ws5o?si=SWhxvMC36SMxkZFr

-https://youtu.be/oHqEbGvb3y4?si=4-VzPxnKqTHsG6v1

-https://youtu.be/15SWSm8s0qw?si=Hhn16l5VU9suhOis

11. Those videos from the In the Blue series from 2019-2021 that Chicago Sky posted on their yt channel

12. The press conference after Chicago won the championship

Ok that’s like a good list lol I’ll add some more in the comments if I think of anything later

[maaarine]

Bibliography: articles posted on this blog in 2024

Posted in January

Men Just Don’t Trust Women – And It’s A Huge Problem (Damon Young, Huffington Post, Mar 16 2015)

Amsterdam sex workers protest against plan to move red light district (The Guardian, Oct 19 2023)

They were Israel’s ‘eyes on the border’ - but their Hamas warnings went unheard (Alice Cuddy, BBC News, Jan 15 2024)

The Heteronormativity Theory of Low Sexual Desire in Women Partnered with Men (Sari M. van Anders, Debby Herbenick, Lori A. Brotto, Emily A. Harris, and Sara B. Chadwick, Aug 23 2021)

A new global gender divide is emerging (John Burn-Murdoch, Financial Times, Jan 26 2024)

The secret of OnlyFans: It’s much more than porn (Marta Biino and Madeline Berg, Business Insider, Jan 18 2024)

—

Posted in February

Half of Spanish men feel discriminated against amid feminism backlash (James Badcock, The Telegraph, Jan 16 2024)

Parisians vote in favour of tripling parking costs for SUVs (Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, Feb 04 2024)

Ireland kickstarts vote on constitution’s wording about women and family (Rory Carroll, The Guardian, Jan 25 2024)

Divorce rates plummet to lowest level in 50 years ‘due to cost-of-living crisis’ (Kieran Kelly, LBC, Feb 22 2024)

—

Posted in March

‘There are some really extreme views’: young people face onslaught of misogyny online (Clea Skopeliti, The Guardian, March 01 2024)

Johnson: Why men interrupt (The Economist, Jul 10 2014)

France makes abortion a constitutional right in historic Versailles vote (Kim Willsher, The Guardian, March 04 2024)

‘My self-worth plummeted every month’: the hidden disorder that can ruin women’s lives (Chloe Aslett, The Guardian, Oct 16 2023)

The tyranny of the algorithm: why every coffee shop looks the same (Kyle Chayka, The Guardian, Jan 16 2024)

DNA Tests Are Uncovering the True Prevalence of Incest (Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, March 18 2024)

Finland is world’s happiest country for 7th year while US drops out of top 20 (France 24, March 20 2024)

Swedish pharmacy bans sale of anti-ageing skincare to children (Miranda Bryant, The Guardian, March 20 2024)

Women are being diagnosed with ADHD at unprecedented rates. Here’s why. (Kaelyn Lynch, National Geographic, Jan 16 2024)

5 Takeaways From an Investigation Into Hysterectomies in India’s Sugar Industry (Megha Rajagopalan, The New York Times, March 24 2024)

English Just ‘Badly Pronounced French’, Paris Academic Says (Tom Barfield, Barron’s, March 09 2024)

—

Posted in April

Why are women more prone to long Covid? (David Cox, The Guardian, June 13 2021)

French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris (Carlton Reid, Forbes, April 06 2024)

Long Covid may be the body trying to fight off other viruses (Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph, April 08 2024)

The Troubling Trend in Teenage Sex (Peggy Orenstein, The New York Times, April 12 2024)

Sydney knifeman who targeted women ‘was desperate for a girlfriend’ (Andrea Hamblin, The Telegraph, April 15 2024)

Revealed: Israel has sped up settlement-building in East Jerusalem since Gaza war began (Jason Burke, The Guardian, April 17 2024)

‘I was only a child’: Greenlandic women tell of trauma of forced contraception (Miranda Bryant, The Guardian, March 29 2024)

Hormones and their Interaction with the Pain Experience (Katy Vincent and Irene Tracey, 2008)

—

Posted in May

Study suggests injury risk varies in menstrual cycle (Katie Gornall, BBC News, May 01 2024)

‘Urination equality’: Amsterdam women win fight for more public toilets (Ashifa Kassam, The Guardian, April 29 2024)

You can want things you don’t like and like things you don’t want (Shayla Love, Psyche, May 07 2024)

‘A new abyss’: Gaza and the hundred years’ war on Palestine (Rashid Khalidi, The Guardian, April 11 2024)

The important link between eating disorders and past trauma (Giulia Suro, Psyche, May 14 2024)

Hostile Intelligence: Reflections from a Visit to the West Bank (David Graeber, 2015)

—

Posted in June

AfD: How Germany’s far right won over young voters (Hans Pfeifer, Deutsche Welle, June 10 2024)

—

Posted in July

Coloniser le sud du Liban ? Un fantasme d'Israéliens messianiques à prendre au sérieux (Ha'Aretz via Courrier International, 3 juillet 2024)

Tampons found to contain concerning levels of arsenic and lead in world first study (Vishwam Sankaran, The Independent, July 10 2024)

South Korea politician blames women for rising male suicides (Jean Mackenzie, BBC, July 9 2024)

“Violence against women a ‘national emergency’ in England and Wales, police say (Vikram Dodd, The Guardian, July 23 2024)

—

Posted in August

Menopause was a French invention at a time of revolution (Alison M Downham Moore, Psyche, July 30 2024)

Misogyny to be treated as extremism by UK government (Helen Catt and Charlotte Rose, BBC, Aug 18 2024)

—

Posted in September

What Is Synaptic Pruning? (Jacquelyn Cafasso, Healthline, Sep 18 2018)

‘Frightening’ Taliban law bans women from speaking in public (Annie Kelly and Zahra Joya, The Guardian, Aug 26 2024)

Elon Musk suggests support for replacing democracy with government of ‘high-status males’ (Ariana Baio, The Independent, Sep 03 2024)

‘Not our tradition’: calls in Sweden to ban fathers walking brides down the aisle (Miranda Bryant, The Guardian, Aug 31 2024)

Olympic runner Cheptegei defied her violent ex. She lost her life anyway (Ammu Kannampilly, Reuters, Sep 14 2024)

—

Posted in October

The outside world knows Wim Hof as the eccentric Iceman. His family suffered domestic violence (Anneke Stoffelen and Robert van de Griend, De Volkskrant, Sep 28 2024)

The mothers who regret having kids: ‘I wished I were holding a cat and not a baby’ (Adrienne Matei, The Guardian, Sep 26 2024)

At a Loss for Words: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers (Emily Hanford, Amp Reports, Aug 22 2019)

Vu d’Allemagne. Le procès Pelicot, une honte pour tous les hommes (Leo Klimm, Der Spiegel via Courrier International, Oct 10 2024)

These Two Rape Cases Are a Lot Closer to Home Than We Like to Admit (Elizabeth Spiers, The New York Times, Sep 22 2024)

How The Netherlands Built a Biking Utopia (Michael Thomas, Distilled, March 09 2023)

It’s not just Trump v Harris: America’s men and women are also locked in battle now (Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian, Sep 27 2024)

Violences routières : « Plus on adhère aux stéréotypes masculins, plus on est enclin à prendre des risques sur la route » (Olivier Razemon, Le Monde, Oct 25 2024)

You Might Not Recover from Burnout. Ever. (Devon Price, Oct 25 2024)

—

Posted in November

Why are British teenage girls so unhappy? Here’s the answer (Caitlin Moran, The Times, Sep 13 2024)

Russia bans ‘child-free propaganda’ to try to boost birth rate (Reuters, Nov 12 2024)

[queensharotto]

Stray Siren Explained: Chapter 3

Read the Comic l Dayo’s Carrd l Dayo’s Linktree

Rivalry is the third chapter of @snow-bunnii’s Stray Siren and ran from Apr 6, 2015 to Aug 17, 2015.

As the name of the chapter suggests, it details the beginning of Coral and Tetra’s rivalry while at the same time shedding some light on Tora’s history with Tetra and her Crew.

Synopsis

After Tora gets a glimpse of what happened, Tetra continues to mock Coral, comparing her to her own swabbie, Niko. This angers Coral who subsequently punches Tetra, with the latter returning the favor by wrestling up her dress. This ultimately results in a fight breaking out with different reactions from their respective guardians, with Tora telling them to stop while Gonzo encourages Tetra, the latter is subsequently called out by the former for encouraging violence and demands he aid her in separating them. After the fight is stopped, Coral begins to cry, terrified of being sent to an orphanage with Tora telling her not to listen to what Reiji tells her. Tetra overhears this and believing that Anchor is messed up for threatening to send Coral to an orphanage, subsequently begins picking up the items Coral dropped. Upon giving Coral her items back, Tetra states she did to prevent her from making a scene and that it wasn’t an act of kindness. Tetra then turns to Tora who states that she still owes her a duel and mockingly calls her a coward. Tora fires back by mocking Tetra for her short stature and states she would agree once she gets her “dogs” under control.

A year prior, Tetra challenged Tora to a duel, having been inspired by the duels her mother would have. Tora then questions where her mother is to which Tetra quietly states that she isn’t around anymore and quickly brushes it aside and demands a duel. Tora initially refuses but Anchor tells her to accept to which she reluctantly agrees and attempts to duel, but is interrupted by Gonzo looking for Tetra and subsequently calling Tora a “child-bully”. They attempt to ignore him, but the onlookers begin to chastise Tora for harassing a child. Tetra is then separated from Tora by her crew who begins shouting at them, demanding that they let her go.

Returning to the present, Tora states that it got so bad that she was forced to fabricate a story that they were doing a comedy skit. Coral blows a raspberry at Tetra, who leaves, stating that while Anchor’s crew are their rivals, they come off as more of a joke. Coral proceeds to blow a raspberry when her expression changes to one of defeat. Tora’s questions this and Coral states that she’s wasted enough time getting groceries and that now she’s going to be sent to an orphanage. Tora finds out that there was a missing grocery, being Vodka, she becomes irritated at Anchor.

While returning to the ship, Tora reassures Coral that things will be okay and upon their return, Anchor states that while she didn’t miss anything, she returned past the time limit he gave. Tora proceeds to threaten to leave with Coral and confronts Anchor while also pointing out that she knew about him sending Nelzen to spy on them. Anchor agrees, but declares Coral as being Tora’s responsibility. Tora informs Coral that if she messes up that they’ll both get in trouble, Coral then embraces Tora overjoyed to be staying with her. Tora then questions Neiji’s silence to which he states that he understands why she did what she did.

Later that night, while getting settled in for the night, Tora begins to ask Coral where she’s from, given that her diet consists solely of fish and stating that she slept on rocks, Tora even questions if she has amnesia to which Coral states that she doesn’t. Coral states that where she’s from doesn’t have an economy and she also states that she doesn’t know much due to being solely raised by her mother. While they didn’t have much nor were they the most intelligent, they both still cared about each other. Tora then asks about what happened to her mother to which Coral responds that she thinks she abandoned her for being a burden. Coral further explained that she was considered “undesirable” with her mother being blamed for having her, this eventually led to her mother going crazy which got her into trouble numerous times for the sake of her daughter. Now with her mother gone, Coral was now vulnerable to physical and verbal attacks, while Coral initially attempted to endure it as her punishment, it gradually became worse which led to her running away and ending up where she is now. Tora then begins to question everything Coral said, and subsequently promises to protect her. Coral admits that while she is grateful, she states that her people are likely glad that both she and her mother are gone. Tora once again asks Coral if her mother escaped without her to which Coral replies that it’s possible since her mother would talk about looking for a better place for them to live to which Tora asks if it makes her feel angry in a sense. Coral states that her mother loved her at some point, given her coral piece pendant and hopes that her mother is happy even if she doesn’t love her anymore. Coral’s mother was revealed to have been executed and while disintegrating into sea foam, she apologizes to Coral, all while calling her “her precious child”. Tora questions why Coral isn’t angry at her mother for abandoning her but quickly decides to end the conversation upon seeing Coral asleep, before going to bed, she wishes Coral a good night and sweet dreams.

Analysis: Tetra’s “Kindness”

I wanted to briefly analyze Tetra here, specifically where she “helps” Coral when she realizes that Coral is an orphan. My theory as to why she did this is that it would come off as hypocritical of her, since even though she’s an orphan herself, she was at least fortunate enough to have not been placed in an orphanage.

Analysis: Anchor’s “Cheating”

So as mentioned earlier, Anchor put vodka on the list to which Tora called him a cheater for it. My guess as to why he did this was so that he could purposefully set Coral up for failure, knowing that minors can’t buy alcohol.

Syranium Explained: Death

As shown with Coral’s mother, when sirens die, they disintegrate into sea foam. Sirens turn into sea foam upon death regardless on if they’re underwater or on land.

Characters Featured

Coral

Tora

Tetra

Gonzo

Tetra’s Pirate Crew (debut; flashback)

Captain Anchor

Neiji

Nelzen

Coral’s Mother (flashback)

Notable Events

- The Captain’s name is revealed to be Anchor.

- Tetra once challenged Tora to a duel a year prior to the present.

- Coral officially becomes a member of Anchor’s crew

- Coral’s mother was executed, unbeknownst to her daughter.

[a-shade-of-blue]

New Gaza fundraiser asks I've received (22-23 August)

23 August

Fidaa (@fidaa-family2, @fidaa-family): Fidaa is 29 years old and has 2 children: Sila (2) and Muhammad Amr (2 months old), whom she gave birth to during the current war. They have been forced to move for more than 7 times. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/c33cc3d1) (shared by 90-ghost. Also vetted by association. Fidaa is the sister of @/wafaaresh (campaign shared by 90-ghost) and @/mohiy-gaza (campaign shared by 90-ghost), see post here.) 

Thaer Qanoo (@savethaerfamily): Thaer (26) and his wife Marah (21) has a one-year-old daughter named Nai. Thaer is a computer engineer. Marah is a uni pharmacy student who dreams of becoming a pharmacist but is unable to finish her studies due to the war. Their baby daughter’s health is deteriorating due to the lack of proper care and nutritions. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/c4e00591) (shared by mohammedalanqer but still SEEMS UNVETTED (?) since mohammadalanqer is asking el-shab-hussein, nabulsi and 90-ghost to verify this campaign in his reblog. (FYI mohammedalanqer's gfm is #174 on the verified fundraiser list vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi).But still sharing since mohammedalanqer has reblogged it asking us to help Thaer and his family)

Mohammed Almadhoun (@savepalestineinfamily19): Mohammed is a graphic designer. He is raising funds for himself and 10 family members (his parents, his brother, his 3 young sisters, his married sister, her husband and her two young children). His father suffers from arthritis and joint inflammation, and has a swollen leg and a partially paralyzed hand due to shrapnel caused injuries. He needs urgent medical care. They are trying to evacuate to Egypt. (https://gofund.me/e1cd35f4) (UNVETTED but seems legit. He has had his Instagram account @palestinian_survivor19 since March 2019 while his other Instagram account. He has had his backup account @mmadhonne since July 2017 and his earliest post there is dated March 2023.)

Yara Mohammed (@pt-yaramohamed): Yara is a 22-year-old uni physical therapy student. She was due to graduate this year but couldn’t because of the war. Her uni has been destroyed. She is trying to evacuate herself and 9 family members: his parents, five sisters and two brothers. Their house has been destroyed and they have been displaced. (campaign has been published by gaza-evacuation-funds and shared by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi. (FYI @gaza-evacuation-funds is an account created by el-shab-hussein and other bloggers dedicated to fundraisers vetted by @el-shab-hussein, @nabulsi, and MohdAyesh.It is created by el-shab-hussein and some other bloggers and has been vouched for by el-shab-hussein) (23 Aug: LOW FUNDS!!! Only €917 raised of €20,000 goal!)

Osama Basil (@osama-basil-ps, @ahmad-basil): Osma is a web designer whose office has been destroyed. He is raising funds to rebuild his office, secure internet access, support his and his family’s livelihood, and to purchase resources for his web development. (https://gofund.me/100da7db) (Vetted by association. Osama is a friend of @drfarhatblog (Dr Farhat is #248 on the verified fundraiser list by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi.) See post here for proof. His instagram is shammala.osama and he has been active on it since 2015)

Omar Khaled & Ahmed Al-Agha (@omargaze, @jody-family): Ahmed did not manage to complete his professional diploma in culinary arts due to the war. He is trying to evacaute himself and his family: mother (samah), brother Omar and his three sisters: Abla (20), Yomna (17) and Jody (9). Omar is an accounting graduate. Abla is an English major who dreams of being an English teacher, but her uni has been destroyed. (https://gofund.me/60d9e2dd) (vetted by association, see post here. Omar is the best friend of @/mohiy-gaza (Mohiy's account has been shared by 90-ghost.) This is Omar/her daughter Jody's IG account: jody_toys, which has been active since 2020)

Bilal & Maher (@shadowyavenuetaco): Bilal is from a family of 8 and they are trying to evacuate to Egypt. (https://gofund.me/69f45862) (Vetted by association. Bilal is the nephew of Mohammed Ayyad (@/mohammadayyad, @/yasermohammad, @/mohammadyaser1980). Mohammed's campaign has been shared by 90-ghost. Please see post here for proof of the two's relations. Bilal has also said that he has been vetted by el-shab-hussein, but I have not yet found the link to that.)

22 August

Abed Rahman El-Shaer (@abed-rashad13): Abed and his wife’s house has been destroyed by the bombing. Abed is trying to evacuate his wife, his mother, his two brothers and his sister. (https://gofund.me/19c9242d) (#249 on the verified fundraiser list vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi, promoted by el-shab-hussein here.)

Salah Ahmed Mohammed Alshareef (@salahmanarfamily, salahahmed90): Salah and his wife Manar have two children: Youssef (12) and Nour (7). They have been displaced and they wish to rebuild their home. (https://gofund.me/32a4669a) (vetted by 90-ghost.)

Other fundraisers I would like to share

Below are two Palestinian fundraisers my friend from my uni’s Palestine solidarity encampment asked me to share. Both are Gazan students and writers seeking evacuation funds.

Eman Alhaj Ali: Eman is a 22-year-old English literature and translation student. She is a writer and has published her writing in different news outlets like Al Jazeera. She has 4 young siblings: Doaa (6), Abduallah (8), Yousef (11), and Ahmad (12). Eman seeks to evacuate herself and her family and to complete her education abroad. (gofund.me/685217ca) (IG: eman.alhajali, you can see all the writing she has done (she has even written for news media like Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, and The New Arab!) on her IG)

Muhammed Elbaba: Muhammed has just finished high school and was planning to become a pediatrician. He has 4 siblings. He is a talented student who is very skilled in language and has even cooperated with international television stations. He has received special training in journalism and media because of this. He has now lost his home and his family members have been killed and injured. He is raising funds to 1) treat his brother who is injured and suffering from amenia, 2) evacuate out of Gaza, and 3) continue his dream of studying abroad. (gofund.me/75d2b095) (IG: mohmd_elbaba, you can see that he has had his account since 2020 and has been geotagged in Gaza in his 2022 posts)

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 13 July - 25 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 26 July -29 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 30 July - 1 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 2 August - 5 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 6 August - 10 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 11 August - 14 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 15 August - 18 August

Click here for my Masterlist for fundrasiers from 19 August - 21 August

How does vetting and verification work? See post here. (also read comments regarding 90-ghost and why we trust the campaigns he has shared)

Click here for my Google Doc with my complete masterlist of all the Palestinian gfm asks I've received, updated daily (along with other verified ways to send aid to Gaza). (I originally compiled it so it is easier for me to answer asks, but since I'm sharing it on my personal IG I might as well share it here too)