#episode 215: odds or evens

[gintama-polls]

Gintama Episode Tourney

Episode 211, "Ghosts Aren't the Only Ones Who Run Wild Around Graveyards" As tensions between the four factions rise, Jirocho moves against Otose, and Gintoki snaps. The second episode of the Kabukicho Four Devas Arc.

Episode 215, "Odds or Even" Kamui is sentenced to death by the Harusame pirates and Takasugi asks to be his executioner. The aftermath of the Kabukicho Four Devas Arc.

[lilac-5ky]

Analyzing the Kada/Takasugi interactions in episode 215.

So, I finally managed to start the new season and see my beloved again. Episode 215 was nothing but sort of amazing, I loved the relationship between Kamui and Takasugi, plus, all the interactions among the Kiheitai members. The episode had plenty of great moments but there was a scene, or rather a sequence of scenes, that caught my attention and that is the ones that included Kada. I'll try to give my own interpretation of this scene, in case anyone was also intrigued by it.

The first time Kada appears in the episode, she is playing a game of Odds or Evens with the help of a nut and a bolt, all by herself. When Kamui first appears, he takes part in her game by guessing that underneath the cup, it's evens.

But, when Kada lifts the cup, she reveals one nut and one bolt, meaning that it's odds, something she admits herself.

The next one to play Kada's game, is Takasugi, by guessing it's Odds. Once again, Kada reveals the result to him, showing the very same nut and bolt she showed Kamui, a pair of odds. But, here is the catch. Even though Takasugi guessed correctly that it was Odds, she still claimed that it was Evens, declaring him the loser of the game.

Once Takasugi sees the result, he doesn't seem to really react, until Kamui points out to him that losing at her game, is as if he is cursed. Here, we should note that Kamui did lose the game and she didn't lie. But in Takasugi's case, even though he won, she claimed that he lost. Kamui hasn't noticed or seen the pattern in the game, at this point, and he really considers losing at her game a curse.

After they kill the Harusame and Admiral Aho- Abo, Takasugi turns back and visits Kada one final time. She is still playing the game by herself and this time, he says Evens, instead of Odds, changing his previous guess to this one. Just like Kamui, Takasugi had only seen the result to his own game, so he can't be too sure about the entire game being fixed YET. That's basically why instead of going for his previous choice, he goes for the obvious wrong one.

There is no way this time he would be able to get Evens. Takasugi picks Evens knowing that he is going to lose because at the end of the day, it wasn't a game of luck. It was all on Kada. She gets to decide who wins or loses, no luck combined in the mix at all. Takasugi could guess Odds and be right, but if she doesn't want him to win, he won't win, meaning that Kamui was wrong. There is no curse involved, it's just Kada being unwilling to let others win after losing at her own game in the Four Devas arc.

This is why this time, Takasugi smiles at her. He sees past the game and makes sure that there is no destiny involved, or whatsoever. One could say that he was humoring her all along and it wouldn't be a lie. However, I argue that this is also an act of kindness on top of him visiting her to sate his own curiosity. He knows that she has lost her mind and even then, he entertains her one final time, knowing that this could as well be her final gamble.

Takasugi smiles even though he loses because in reality, his defeat means nothing. He is used to standing against his own fate, this is nothing new to him. Even if she 'cursed' him as Kamui said, it didn't matter to him because at the end of the day, he relies on his own powers to achieve everything he does. Luck or fate mean nothing to him as long as he can reach his goals and having her 'curse' him a final time, gives him the push to keep on going. He doesn't care if there is one more person going against him, even if that person is what represented luck for many.

That's pretty much it! I couldn't get the final scene out of my mind, for some reason I found it really endearing that Takasugi went back to her one final time, knowing that the game was fixed and that it meant nothing. It was a whimsical and unnecessary move on his part, yet him doing that helps flesh out his character and personality even further. Rather than an inhumane, calculating, cold blooded murderer, he is someone who wouldn't mind losing a game just to humor someone as well as himself. Someone who takes pride when going against fate and this is why, Takasugi remains one of the most well written and fleshed out characters of Gintama. He offers kindness in his own way and has his own moral code, something he further proves by saving Kamui all by himself.

Unrelated P.S. : I have been working on the second part of my newest fanfiction, which I hope to post in the next couple of days. After that, I'll be doing more requests. Sorry for the huge delay, I just have lots of inspiration that pulls me to different directions, I have read each and every one of your requests and I will be writing all of them as soon as possible.

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [215/316] “Odds or Evens”

↳ “It's more fun to dance with a batshit crazy idiot than a plain old idiot.”

[siren-theories]

The question of children

Note: ICYMI here is an updated post with all my analysis/thoughts so far.  DIsclaimer: The following includes spoilers of up to and Including Episode 309 “A voice in the dark”. This post was prompted by the following question:

Thank you very much for sending that one in.  I have to admit that this is a question I have asked myself many times, mainly driven by the parallels of Ben, Ryn and the story of the Pownall massacre. And Episode 308 has given those thoughts new form as they exchanged vows at the end of Episode 308. After all, children quite often follow such vows in human relationships. But children are quite a hassle for a TV show. Child actors are problematic to work with and once they exist, they often only waste screentime while bringing very little to the plot. And as they grow up, there is the question of time - having child actors more or less forces the show to use time in a linear manner as the child actors grow up. Though Siren already left itself a loophole with Hope and her growth spurts, this is still problematic for a show that has covered a period as short as a few months in three seasons. (I really need to update the timeline post soonish). 

  A). Can they actually have a child together?

We know that Sirens and humans can have children together as evidenced by the whole existence of Helen and the hybrid cult. 

However, we do know that Ryn has struggled with fertility issues before, which was a major plot point of the later half of Season 2. I do believe however that the fertility problems were mostly related to the males of her species. As the tests showed in Episode 213 “The Outpost” there was nothing wrong with Ryn herself 

(Leave it to the always body-positive Ryn to be proud of such a fact). 

And as soon as they could isolate viable sperm from the male, fertilization of her eggs was no issue at all in Episode 215. Biologically, there should be nothing preventing her and Ben having a Baby.

B). Will they have a child together?

With Ryn was not being in her mating drive during the recent episodes, we probably can rule out any pregnancy as a result of those scenes OP mentioned (unless her change into a human has progressed much further in those episodes, which is possible but IMO very unlikely). However, what happens when her next mating drive occurs? I think this can be safely answered within the context of the previous scenes in the show. There were multiple scenes in Episode 213 where both Ben and Ryn clearly exhibited signs of wanting to have children with each other and one scene in particular where they both had to force themselves not to do so within that episode.

And in 308 Ryn clearly states her wish for having a family with him, during the kitchen table discussion.

Ryn: “I will live on Land. With you.” Ben: “On land. You mean, stay human?” Ryn: “Yes. Here. Together. Human.” Ben: “What about Hope?” Ryn: “She can be with us. As a family.” Ben: “I can’t ask you to do that.” Ryn: “It is my choice. When it is time, I will be human with you.”

After figuring IVF works there is also no reason for Ryn to have more pureblood children just for the sake of her species considering there are plenty of willing alternative candidates (this would also be much better for the future genepool of her tribe).

So therefore, I do believe there is a high chance of them having more children, possibly as soon as Ryns mating drive kicks in again. By now you probably already figured out what the persistent qualifier “more” is referring to. I believe that for all intents and purposes they already have a child together - Hope.

C) Hope as their first child

While Ben is not the biological father, this is no hindrance to Hope being their first child. After all, under the law of many first-world nations Ryn would also not be considered the biological mother since she did not conceive Hope, nor did she carry or give birth to Hope.

Siren is no stranger to these constellations - after all, the best father figure in the whole series, Dale Bishop, is Maddie’s stepfather.

(Sidenote: Contrast how awesome Dale is as a father with Ben’s parents and Maddie’s mother. The show makes the point very early and very often that biological relations are not what determines who your “real” parents are,)

And for all intents and story-telling purposes, Ryn intends for Ben to be Hope’s father. This was signalled multiple times this season, even as early as Episode 305 and seems to be a role Ben wants to take up as well. 

In Episode 305, Ryn returns with Hope to land after her first transformation. And the very first thing she does onscreen is to hand Hope over to Ben in a manner very reminiscient of a mother handing over her child to its father.

(They look very much like a family in that scene, don’t they?) Then, we had Ben saying that he already views her like his own daughter in the same Episode. (Sidenote: rushing into things is a steeple of their whole relationship so this was in character for them).  

Ben: “It’s weird man. Feels like she’s mine. I*m going to help raise her.” Ryn of course also expressed the wish for Hope, Ben and herself to be a family in Episode 308:

Ben: “What about Hope?” Ryn: “She can be with us. As a family.”

And with Hope’s reintroduction in Episode 9, this dynamic was reinforced multiple times - especially and crucially from Hope’s side. And even more important was that Hope’s actions were completely unprompted by Ryn. 

1. Despite Ryn saying in Episode 305 that Hope will not remember her time as a baby, it is shown in Episode 309 that she does remember Ben, signifying the close bond the two already have

Episode 305:

Ryn: “When we meet again, you will be grown. You will not remember this time with me. So I will remember for us both.”

309: 

Hope keeps glancing at Ryn and Ben Ryn: “She remembers you. From when she was a baby.” 

2. And of course, later in the same episode Hope seeks physical contact with Ben - the image projected here is one of Family again.

And Ryn is again very happy about her daughter doing this. For whatever reason there seems to exist a strong, reciprocal bond between Hope and Ben already. 

So as it stands right now, Hope already is their (first) child in my opinion. The writers IMO could not have made that any more clear, especially not with those scenes in 309. 

Assuming she survives the finale (which I very much wish for), I would argue that any other children during the run of the show will be unlikely from a storytelling and logistics perspective. Even should Hope not survive (or have another prolonged period of absence for whatever reason) I do not think there will be another child shown onscreen. In addition to the usual problem with children in tv there is another one in play here: As strapped for screentime as Siren is, I would assume the writers do not intend to introduce further children unless they serve a dramatic purpose. 

D) Children and the Pownall family arc

One such arc where a Baby might prove beneficial for dramatic reasons however is the Pownall family arc.

As I have written at length before, there are parallels between Ryn/Ben and Charles Pownall/his unnamed siren. And the Pownall massacre happened in part because Ben’s ancestor and his siren failed to raise their child together.

("Seperated from her child, his mermaid lost her mind and went back to the water, never to return. Infected by the song and her abscence, Charles lost his senses. He gathered his crew, trapped the mermaids in a cove and slaughtered them.”)

As such, from a storytelling perspective, It would be very dramatic and enjoyable for Ben to have a child with a Siren and hopefully not mess up raising her. Therefore, should Hope not survive the season the odds of them having (another) child onscreen would increase dramatically in my opinion.

If Hope should indeed die, maybe it will not only be Ben repudiating the mistakes of his ancestor, but maybe also Ryn showing that she is stronger than the unnamed Siren. Maybe she would survive and heal after the loss of a child precisely because she has humans standing by to help her?

(And yes, I would think that would include Maddie). However, I do think Hope will survive. Anything else would be just too cruel to Ryn and also a bit odd considering how much screentime was invested in Hope’s “creation” in Season 2.

Either way, while a child would add drama, it is also not necessarily a conditio sine qua non for the story of the Pownall family. And IMO Ben’s attachment to Ryn is already strong enough (cf their "wedding vows” in 308). Therefore, a child would not be needed to prompt him to chose Ryn over his family (a choice he also already made in Episode 215 and which you can read more in detail about in the previously linked post).

Conclusion:

Do I expect them to have more children onscreen, over the course of the series? Probably not, given the above arguments. 

Do I expect them to have more children in the future (including a hypothetical time period after the series finale)?

After the series ends (and assuming some kind of happy end for them) they would probably increase their family as early (or as often) as Ryn’s mating drive and other factors permit. At this point in the story, they clearly want to have a family together and there would be nothing to stop them from enlargening their already existing family should they so choose. 

So I would tentatively argue that yes, they eventually will have more children.

[kellylewis]

Blog Entry #3 – Representations of Class in Shameless

Making Ends Meet

     The Gallagher’s are a working-class family, barely making ends meet. Luckily, they have a house, and even though it may appear dirty, run-down, and small for the number of people living there, it works. To give some more context, the six kids and on occasion Frank, Monica, and some stragglers all share one bathroom. Also, the four boys: Lip, Ian, Carl, and Liam all share one bedroom. However, none of the Gallagher’s are ever shown complaining about their living situation because, as a working-class family, they don’t know anything better. At the same time, they are aware it could be worse: living on the streets of Chicago.

Watch this video, which gives a behind the scenes look at the sets, such as the Gallagher house. Notice how detailed the props are and how that reflects the personalities of the characters in Shameless. For example, the set designer points out how Veronica and Kevin use what they have for baby proofing in their house because they don’t have a lot of money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALNddBH_osM

     One may wonder, if none of the Gallagher’s have a “real” or full-time job, how do they afford a house? Well, the house belongs to Frank’s aunt, known as “Aunt Ginger.” In season three, Aunt Ginger dies, and in episode eight, during the funeral, viewers are introduced to Patrick Gallagher, Frank’s cousin, who fights Fiona for ownership of the house. The argument over the house is a critical storyline in season three, but after many physical disputes between Patrick and the Gallagher kids, they can keep the house. The article “What’s the best show about poverty, crime and crazy sex? It’s ‘Shameless’” reveals another reason why the house in the Southside of Chicago is the main setting of the show. John Wells, the showrunner, explained how he resisted suggestions to set the show in a trailer park because “That is too often American TV’s answer to what white poverty must look like, rife with yokel cliches” (Stuever). The house setting was a strategic move in attempting not to over stereotype class structure in television.

Photo above shows Patrick Gallagher

Photo above is the outside of the Gallagher house (Fun fact: you can visit this house in Chicago! The address is 2119 South Homan Ave, Chicago, IL, 60623) 

     In the journal article “A Model for Quantitatively Analyzing Representations of Social Class in Screen Media,” categories of class: working, middle, and upper are said to be determined by occupation, income, one’s dependence on a job to make ends meet, and lifestyle indicators such as material possessions” (Behm-Morawitz et al. 211). First, let’s examine the Gallagher’s occupations and income because they go hand in hand. Since most of the kids are young and still in school, it is hard to have a job and make a decent living. And, as English Taylor explains in her article “How 'Shameless' Reinvented the Working-Class-Family TV Show,” Frank, the father, is an alcoholic who spends his days and money getting drunk, thus not contributing to the family financially (Taylor). This leaves Fiona, the oldest sibling, as the primary provider. As mentioned in a previous blog post, Fiona has done it all from being a maid, nightclub waitress, cleaning up toxic waste, owning a laundromat, and more. Also, Fiona’s office job at a cup company in season three is most noteworthy because she could receive health-care benefits. The other kids try their best to contribute. To name a few of the unique ways in which the Gallagher kids have made money: Debbie ran a daycare, Lip and Kevin bought an ice cream truck to sell pot out of, Carl was a fryer at Captain Bob’s restaurant, and Ian was a nightclub stripper. Using all these odd end jobs, the Gallagher children contribute to the squirrel fund, which is basically a place to put all their money to use to pay for bills and groceries.

The Gallagher’s take their squirrel fund very seriously, even the youngest kids contribute. Watch this video to see a scene about the squirrel fund in which Lip and Fiona fight about the spending of the money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As_ccwaOgqw

     Overall, the representation of the class structure on Shameless is reasonably accurate. Although the writers of the show use comedy to cover up the hard realities of barely having enough money to survive, they don’t gloss over the hardships. The use of humor is not far-fetched from reality, in which some people use jokes as coping methods for their situations. Compared to the content analysis, which found that 67% of the 302 characters coded were part of the middle class and only 11% of characters made up the working class, Shameless is an exception (Behm-Morawitz et al. 215). The writers of Shameless are clearly trying to represent the underrepresented working class. Taylor does an excellent job in encapsulating the way Shameless portrays class, stating, “Through a pioneering blend of comedy and raw disclosure, Shameless successfully connects audiences to a more real American actuality—a noteworthy and rare accomplishment in the history of the working-class sitcom” (Taylor). In the end, I would argue that Shameless is an inclusive show in which anyone can watch and feel like they relate. Even those not part of the working class may have gone through financial struggles in the past or know someone else who is dealing with that issue.  

Here are some images of the Gallagher’s in various jobs:

Citations:

Behm-Morawitz, Elizabeth, et al. “A Model for Quantitatively Analyzing Representations of Social Class in Screen Media.” Communication Research Reports, vol. 35, no. 3, July 2018, pp. 210–221. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08824096.2018.1428544.

Stuever, Hank. “What's the Best Show about Poverty, Crime and Crazy Sex? It's 'Shameless.'.” The Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/whats-the-best-show-about-poverty-crime-and-crazy-sex-its-shameless/2016/01/07/caaaacf8-b1c9-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html.

Taylor, English. “How 'Shameless' Reinvented the Working-Class-Family TV Show.” The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2012, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/02/how-shameless-reinvented-the-working-class-family-tv-show/252851/.

[unwanteddesire]

Rules: pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. don’t cheat. tag some people.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 

Bungo Stray dogs

Tsukiuta: The animation

Hakuouki

Gintama

who is your favourite character in 2? Chuuya/ Chūya Nakahara

who is your least favourite character in 1?  Gyomei Himejima I just don’t find him interesting in the manga.

what is your favourite episode of 4? It’s actually a special episode. Special episode 3 - The Winter`s Banked Fire. It is a Saito episode and Saito being my favourite it’s easier to see why it is my fav. He is just too cute in this episode especially love him and snow bunny. Also who does not love Yamazaki Style tatami mat flip .😂

what is your favourite season of 5? So hard I love so many episodes probably season 8. I picked this because of Kamui’s fights more then anything. He’s my fav and the whole fight with the others when he’s losing his crap is awesome. We also get to see his younger self and life growing up which was pretty sad.

who is your favourite couple in 3? Even though it isn’t cannon Hajime and shun. ❤️

who is your favourite couple in 2? Honestly no one

what is your favourite episode of 1? Out of what has been animated so far episode 12 "The Boar Bares its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps" Zenitsu uses his thunder form for the first time not only is it funny it’s totally bad ass haha.

what is your favourite episode of 5? Again so many good episodes as much as I wanna pick an episode from season 8 I’m not I’m going to pick one from season 5 episode 215  "Odds or Evens". We see kamui and Takasugi work together and be badass. Also it makes me laugh so much.

what is your favourite season of 2? My fav season of bungo stray dogs so far is season 2.

how long have you watched 1? Since it was released. I was already reading the manga before it came out.

how did you become interested in 3? Me and my house mate like to watch anime together we was scrolling through anime finding one to watch when we stumbled across it and since then it’s been a downward spiral 😂 I brought so much merch in Japan when I went.  😅

who is your favourite actor in 4? Kosuke Toriumi  he plays Saito. Hiw voice is just so nice though. I love him in other animes/games too like Tsukiuta.

which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5? Honestly I love 5 to death but it has to be 2 bungo stray dogs. It’s such an amazing anime/manga.

if you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? Saito Hajime.

would a crossover between 3 and 4 work? haha 😂 nope not unless it was 3 doing a show about 4.

pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?  Giyu Tomioka and  Shinobu Kocho. It’s a love hate thing you know and a lot of people ship them anyway. But so much for that because of things that won’t be mentioned because spoilers for certain people and all...

overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?  Easily 5 - Gintama it’s amazing how it even has a storyline with all the craziness it has.

which has better theme music, 2 or 4? Bungo stray dogs especially season one opening which is sung by Chuuya’s voice actor and it’s super catchy.

I tag: @boostthatgold and @avatarartemis

[iveonlyeverseenliketwoanimes]

How Horikoshi treats his female characters (Feat. How his ‘Fans’ treat him): A Rant

Something that has recently been popping up a lot in the BNHA tags, for me at least, is this idea that Hori is a “Lazy/Bad Writer”. It’s a topic that’s genuinely interesting to me and I would love to discuss it! After the reaction i got to my last post on discussing the fandom, i feel like this is a really fun topic for me to look into and i love having an open discussion with people. So just to let you know before we start, everything here is my opinion - feel free to respond with your own thoughts and i’d happily have a conversation with you about anything and everything! If you disagree with me then that's fine, if you agree with me then that's fine too! I'm just a person with a keyboard and an opinion and so are you! :)

So today i would love to discuss how people treat Hori in regards to his female characters and i hope you enjoy this 1500 word essay/ramble i did. (PS if you came from my last lil essay then this one is a lot less sarcastic because its a more serious topic and i don’t want to come across as too rude also i actually got sleep today)

Now, this was actually the first topic I came across when looking into the Hori tags. At first, I was on board with the general theme of what was happening. I saw some lovely artwork of Momo where people had redesigned her costume, they were very creative in how they did it and overall, I had no complaints – if the whole topic of this tag was about how people wanted to be creative and redraw characters in their own design then I’d 100% support it, but the more you look into it, the more…. Nasty is gets.

So, the overall theme of what I gathered from this little tag is that idea that Hori is some sort of [Word I really don’t want to type out but im sure you can guess what it is] because of how he draws his females, most of which are underage. So if you, as a consumer, are, well, consuming something, such as a TV show, film, anime, Manga etc. and you see something that makes you go “This is disgusting – I need to write a Tumblr post about this to warn other people about what's happening here” then I fully support you – please keep on doing what you’re doing. 

However, this isn’t what I see, what I see are posts going “F*CK HORI HE’S A [Nasty word] AND I HOPE HE D*ES – HERE EVERYONE I MADE AN ANTI FLAG, SHARE IT EVERYWHERE AND LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN SEND MY D*ATH THR*AT TO” Meanwhile, when you go on this same persons page it’s all reposts of the characters and screenshots of the show, posts of them saying “Yo did you guys see the new BNHA episode last night?!?” and overall just very fandom-y stuff. I truly cannot comprehend this type of behaviour – you are so set in this belief that Hori is a [Nasty Word] and yet here you are, on the very same blog you use to slander his name, actively supporting him! Listen, if one of you Anti’s were to sit there and say “I wholeheartedly think Hori is a [Nasty word] and therefore I am no longer going to participate in this fandom or with supporting his creations” then, while I don’t agree with you, I support you in your decision as you have made a clear stance on something with both your words and your actions and I can truly respect that, and hell you would actually get my attention and I might read into what it is you’re talking about. I’m not, however, going to waste my time reading a piece of material written by someone who does all that nasty stuff I previously mentioned and take any of what they say seriously. Let me put it this way; you think Hori is a [Nasty word], you are supporting the show, you are therefore supporting a [nasty word], so why should I take anything you say seriously? I don’t want to see any more of this ‘One minute we love him, one minute we hate him’ attitude because when you hate him the things you are saying are some of the worst things you could possibly say to another person and its childish, disgusting and you’re giving this fandom a bad name.

Now back to the girls, I personally do find certain characters outfits a little distasteful, especially with how they’re done in the anime and how they zoom in on certain body parts, i also dislike how it’s ‘funny’ for characters like Mineta to get away with such disgusting behaviour. I do think that’s the biggest flaw I can find in this show – I don’t however 100% blame Hori for this. Now obviously at the end of the day, it is down to Hori what happens in his show, but can we all stop pretending that it’s just him that does this? When I think of anime the first thing that comes to mind is anime girls and their… attributes. It’s an industry issue and Hori is one of many people that partakes in it – so im not saying he’s not to blame, im just saying some of you are a little dramatic and need to realise if you truly want this behaviour to stop then you need to go after the industry and not just one guy.

Now this next point I want to make is something im sure might be a little confusing for most of you and something I can 100% see the other side of better than some other points ive made. It’s also kinda hard for me to put into words so please bear with me here.

I don’t think its necessary for Hori to develop his female characters as much as their male counterparts – now im sure that’s an odd concept but let me explain. As a child growing up in the age of great TV shows such as Hannah Montana, iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place etc. I think ive spent a fair amount of time watching TV, my personal favourites as a child were Winx Club, BRATZ and W.I.T.C.H (Im from the UK so apologies if you have no idea what they are). Now all of these shows were ‘for girls’, they all revolve around a group of girls and their adventures in their respective worlds, they learn things along the way, because, even if you don’t realise it, these kids shows have hidden messages in them that are like ‘we should be kind’ ‘we should treat others with respect’ and all that jazz you need to know to be a decent human being. However, the one thing that these shows always lacked was any form of male presence. Now im not saying these shows had no males in them, that would be weird, but what I am saying is that the males in these shows were very one dimensional and they were always the love interest of one of the characters, or you might get the odd parental figure that would show up for one episode to be a motivation for a character. However with BNHA, a show that is specifically aimed at teenage boys, I don’t feel like they do such a disservice to females (AKA the ‘men’ equivalent of my other shows), sure they’re not treated great in certain aspects that I've already discussed, but look at their actual characters, Uraraka is the main girl, sure she very much has the same role as many of the men did in my childhood shows of the ‘love interest’ but her character is more than that and we see it in the sports festival as well as some of the more recent chapters (213-215 to be specific). Her character isn't just some airhead and neither are the other girls, Momo is literally top of the class in terms of written ability and she had her own little mini-arc around gaining confidence (which is still ongoing because guess what – people don’t change overnight), Mina has had some spotlight on her and is seen to be a very confident and skilled fighter, Tsu was literally described as the ‘perfect student with no flaws’ and is shown to be a badass on multiple occasions, Midoriya’s mum is even a character that’s had some form of arc with her learning to believe in her son and she's not some faceless character we hear about every so often when they need a plot device.

Now im not saying the female representation is perfect and it’s certainly not 100% equal to that of the men, but im saying it doesn’t need to be. This is a show for boys, sure girls can watch and enjoy it, but its made for boys in the same way my shows were made for girls, and the average boy isn’t going to want to watch a bunch of fairy princesses run around saving their fluffy little pets like I did (im sure a some of them will – and good for them, in the same way that some girls might want to watch superhero films, it’s not something im saying is bad, its just most people raise children into predetermined stereotypes of what gender roles they should fill and the media caters to that).

So what im saying is that taking a show aimed at boys and comparing it to shows aimed at girls and how each handles the opposite sex (we’re not going into gender here, that’s a whole other topic of diversity), I don’t think BNHA is all that bad. I guess if I want to be a little harsher in my approach, why is it okay to have a near-all female cast and not a near-all male cast? I understand a need for diversity, truly I do, but sometimes having a token character for each ‘type’ of person takes away from what the show is actually trying to convey – and in BNHAs case I think its trying to teach young boys that it’s okay to be emotional or vulnerable when you’re in situations that other shows teach you to ‘man up’ in. Not every show can solve racism, sexism and homophobia, I’m sorry to break it to you, but some shows are a little more basic in their approach to what it is they want to show and I think BNHA is a perfect example of that, it’s showing boys that you can cry, you can go through struggles in life, you can even come back from being a terrible person through growth and development, and I think that’s something boys need. A lot of people in this day and age want men to change (and I agree that there are a lot of things all groups of people can work on) and BNHA is showing boys how to grow up in a way that’s not this ‘tough guy that has no feelings’ and at the end of the day isn’t that something we want?

I do believe there are areas that BNHA really needs to improve in when it comes to it’s female cast, but can we stop with this awful hate? This fandom had such potential to be an amazing community of people who are skilled with art, writing, storytelling, cosplay, etc. but it seems like half of you just want to tear each other down and it’s sad to see such potential wasted because you can’t handle someone having a different opinion or view to you.

[jason5577]

In Honor of Palm Sunday🌴🌿

Kings Riding on Donkeys? What the?

“Jesus is ready to go to Jerusalem, where he knows he will be killed. "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day," (Matthew 20:18-19).

On their way to Jerusalem, Jesus tells his disciples to get a donkey and her colt. Jesus knows he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and he is going to have a royal procession into the city of the great King. To us it seems odd, but in ancient times, kings rode donkeys. In fact, donkeys play into a strong, messianic and royal motif in the Scriptures with allusions to and prophecies of the Messiah. Respected rabbis rode donkeys and Ugaritic texts depict deities riding donkeys as well. In Islamic tradition, several heroes are called "donkey riders" and the early Christian tale Vita Sanctae Pelagiae Meretricis "presents as the apex of beauty and sensuality a woman riding on a donkey."1

Early in the Old Testament, the regal, messianic depiction of donkeys is expressed in Jacob's prophecy concerning his twelve sons. He says,

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk," (Genesis 49:10-11).

Jacob predicts here the great dynasty of David, and the greater kingdom of Jesus Christ, and the donkey motif is born here in this regal prophecy.

In Deborah's song of military victory over God's enemies, she sings of the wealthy who ride on "white donkeys" and sit on "rich carpets" (Judges 5:10). Again in Judges, Jair the Gileadite judged Israel for twenty-two years, and "he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities." Donkeys, not horses, were ridden by rulers. King David rode on donkeys, as they were a royal gift to the king (2 Samuel 16:2). Solomon, David's son, rides his father's mule into Jerusalem for his coronation as king (1 Kings 1:38-40).

In the Bible, the donkey is a sign of humility, labor, and strangely enough--regal authority; the horse, however, is a sign of human strength, pride, and war. Interestingly, Saul, the failed, proud, king of Israel, marks his beginning as the nation's leader while searching for a pair of his father's lost donkeys. He never rode them. Absalom and Adonijah, the rebellious sons of King David, promote themselves in their attempt to usurp the father David's throne with horses, chariots, and grand processions. Not a great sign of humility.

The prophet Isaiah, writing some 500 years before Jesus, writes, "Behold the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth; Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense is with him,'" (Isaiah 62:11). Zechariah echoes this prophecy saying, "Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey," (Zechariah 9:9). Isaiah says, "Behold your salvation comes." Zechariah says, "Behold, your king is coming to you." The king is coming; the salvation is coming.

What kind of king? What kind of salvation?

Matthew equates the words of the prophets by placing kingship and salvation in one person, the humble man riding on a donkey, riding into a great city, where the king knows he will be murdered. Yes, murdered! It is the king who brings salvation, and it is the king who himself is salvation, but it is not the salvation (victory) wrought over the political enemies of Israel by means of military force.

But it is strange and odd, for the salvation is indeed accomplished by means of military and political overthrow. The difference is upon whom the military and political force falls. It's the military (the Romans) and the politicians (the Roman and Jewish leaders), and the people who shouted "Crucify him! Crucify him!" who are the ones that put the king to death, and produce a result, by the providence of God, a gift of eternal life, justification, righteousness and peace for all who believe. The greatest crime becomes the greatest blessing. The king is coming; the salvation is coming. They both culminate together in the one person, Jesus Christ, whose name means "Savior King."

This passage is called, "The triumphal entry." In other words, Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem is a victory ride. But hold on a second. He's riding to his impending doom. He knows he's going to be killed. It's like Robinson Crusoe knowing that if he rescues Friday from the cannibals, he'll be killed too. But he has to do it. He can't stand to see an innocent man suffer. So he leaves the comfort of his self-made, comfortable "castle." and he rescues Friday, almost to his own peril. But he gains a friend that lasts forever. Good ol' Friday!

If Jesus is our model, then the path to victory is through humility and suffering. Remember Joseph? He denied himself the pleasure of Potiphar's wife, was thrown into prison on false charges for rape, but was exalted to the throne after a while of patient endurance. As a friend of mine once told me, "You haven't lived until you've been unjustly fired." Man, I've been livin' then! Jesus calls us to take up the cross and follow him. The victory is ours by faith, and it is in him. We celebrate! (Even as we suffer).

1. Dictionary of Biblical Imagry, Intervarsity Press, p.215.

Posted by Christopher Mark Van Allsburg at 11:16 PM

Source: https://vanallsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/donkeys-for-kings-palm-sunday.html?spref=fb

Labels: Bible Oddities, what the?

1 comment:

john Twinem said...

Saw this while doing some study; I know the post is from a while back, but it's also useful in support of this to think of Deuteronomy 17 and the description of the ideal covenant king--from among the people, not using his authority for self serving ends, under the law with everyone else, not setting up a standing army and "not multiplying horses to himself". Horses as a force multiplier for a standing army would be useful to a king who is a tyrant and an oppressor, rather than a servant/defender/protector of his people. The mule or the donkey is a great symbol of the leader's humility and acknowledgement of the Divine King.

June 30, 2016 at 12:18 PM

Picture courtesy #Vikings Season 2 Episode 9 “The Choice”

#Athelstan rides a donkey into the Viking camp as peacemaker /emissary between King Ecbert and the Vikings.

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Gintama, Episodes 215-218

Goddamn, a there’s a lot to talk about tin these episodes, huh? In fact, I can get one good section out of all of them individually, so let’s do that! In which there is fanservice and manservice, crab and toilet paper, and the most terrifying union imaginable.

Monsters Unite

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, you’re a tv show just coming off the heels of one of your best arcs yet. Your audience is flying high on the euphoria of your fantastic storytelling, and you want to promise them that there’s still more transcendence to come. How do you get that message across?

Well, if you’re this show, you decide to slam your two most terrifying villains together into an alliance and send them right on a crash course toward Earth.

Sweet. Merciful. BHUDDA. Just the sight of Kamui and Takatsugi sharing the screen was enough to get me wheezing in fear. These two monsters have been sulking in the background ever since their first big appearances, emblems of the sinister darkness bubbling just underneath Gintama’s skin. Takatsugi has been one of this show’s oldest, darkest mainstays, the first real villain to last longer than an episode and leave lasting scars on the narrative back in Gengai’s introduction. And Kamui was the catalyst for this show’s most explosive arc yet, the crown prince of terror that made Yoshiwara in Flames so devastating. Not only that, they’re both symbols for everything our heroes have been fighting against all this time. Gintoki’s desire to leave the past behind and carve into a new future, Kagura’s refusal to let her blood define her and become her own person... these two fiends are the antithesis to those hopes, the dark shadows of the past determined to drag them back down. They are the specters that will always haunt our heroes until they’re finally put down. They ARE the antagonists of Gintama.

And now, they’re working together and barreling straight towards Earth to bring the full force of their fury down on our unsuspecting Odd Jobs Crew. Alone, they were terrifying enough. But together? The combined force of the Yato Clan and the Space Pirates? Shaking off their derelict, corrupt masters and forging a new bloodstained path with nothing standing in their way? With the mutual desire to carve a swath of destruction across the universe to justify the darkness they’ve both already wreaked? Lads, I am not fucking ready. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take for them to show up, but I know when they do, words are almost certainly going to fail me. This isn’t just going to be epic; this is going to be a battle the likes of which legends are written about. This is going to be a Promised Day-level masterpiece.

Bring it on, show. I don’t care how long it takes to get there. I don’t care if it kills me. Because this is going to be a fight worth dying for.

Building a Perfect Joke

The density of Gintama’s storytelling has always been one of its strongest assets. Whether comedy or drama, it’s very adept at packing the screen with detail that builds off itself and ties together in such spectacular fashion that no one element feels extraneous. This isn’t just helpful on a level of quantity: the quality of the storytelling benefits from this intense focus as well. When you have so many things going on at once, and you’re able to make them all tie into each other, the success of every element enhances the success of all the rest, leading to a mutually beneficial feedback loop of awesome. And there are few better examples of this effect than episode 216, a.k.a. the story of how tissue boxes and toilet paper take over the world. This episode is superbly funny, even by Gintama’s already absurdly high bar. And it achieves that comedy by constantly building off the jokes it sets up into direction you could never even expect, taking seemingly nonsensical gags and weaving full-on narratives out of them.

Consider: from the simple beginning of Kagura bringing her kid friends in for a tour of Odd Jobs (because she is exactly that kind of earnest goober), we spiral into a dumb goof about the creation of the Patriot, a Frankensteined hammer that really doesn’t serve any purpose. But instead of leaving it there, the show makes this seemingly one-off gag the central thrust of its narrative, building a weird mythology around the non-importance of this useless artifact. And then it ties that idea in with the general idea of kids being too smart for the adult world, picking apart the inconsistencies and superfluous tendencies of supposedly “serious” grown-ups who actually have no idea what they’re doing and are just stumbling around life like the rest of us. Thus, the theme of the episode itself becomes the disconnect between how children view the world and how adults want them to experience it and learn from it, and in case that wasn’t clear enough, Gintoki and the gang then segway into trying to teach this gang of budding Socrates wannabees that lessen by way of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rip-off with the Patriot at its center. But we’re still not done: the simple joke of turning the supposedly Wonderland factory into a government conspiracy site where people are regularly shot for stepping over the line again spirals into its own in-depth narrative about the factory owner’s supposed life story, as told by his broken body’s adventure down a conveyor belt slideshow snapshot sequence, which then finally blossoms into a central thesis about the useless Patriot: all jobs, however seemingly useless, are worth pursuing, and that’s what it means to be an adult. We’ve come full circle on every single idea we’ve touched upon over the course of the episode without wasting a single second.

And then, just because this is Gintama, we end on one final subversion as the kids don’t get the intended message and just mock the Odd Jobs crew for putting on such an obviously dumb show. And I remain laughing all the way to the bank. What a spectacular showcase of this series’ comedic chops.

For the Sake of Seeing Man-Flesh

Sometimes the stars align just perfectly when I’m writing for this blog. I always try to pass my arguments through a certain framework of how I look at a specific scene or aspect of a show; I feel like it gives my thoughts more context and overall make them more interesting. So you can imagine my delight at seeing Gintama tackle a pool episode so soon after I’d finished Zero no Tsukaima’s disastrous hot springs joint. What better way to explore how to get this kind of episode right than leave it to the masters to do the explaining for me?

In case you haven’t read my other treatises on pool/beach/hot springs/whatever episodes, I generally dislike them a lot. They’re a time-honored tradition of saving money by using a lot of dull panning shots on girls in minimal clothing, often contorting the reality of the characters and situations to make them more sexual than they have reason to be. A skeevy and cheap trick that should really have died out by now, especially when it rarely needs to be there at all (seriously, if the cash isn’t there to make this episode anything other than pandering, why not just cut the whole thing and use your budget more effectively on the stuff that really matters?). And truth be told, Gintama’s pool episode isn’t... immune to this leering lens either. Let’s be real, Gintoki and Hasegawa have their perversions, but they’re never more explicit about it than when bikini season comes around. It does help that this show’s female cast is so consistently in control of their own autonomy that their attempts are usually easily thwarted with a kunai to the back of the head (”He was doing fine a moment ago, but he just died.”) or a pair of crushed binoculars, but it’s still not the show at its best. And ugh, can we just not with the accidental groping? That’s one trope that Gintama hasn’t really figured out how to subvert yet; it wasn’t funny with Tsukuyo, and it’s even less funny with Kyubei.

But then, in the middle of the episode, things take a turn for the glorious with one simple line: ”Shoguns have traditionally swum in tighty-whiteys.”

I love the character of the Shogun so much, simply because he’s a brutal rejection of the kind of cringe comedy that I detest. Horrible things are always happening to him, but instead of getting embarrassed and angry, he embraces the flow of the situation with the kind of open earnestness that’s really impossible to mock. And that’s what really ends up saving this episode: with someone as genuine as him suddenly on the playing field, it becomes impossible for the characters, and by extension, the show, to sink into baser aspects. There’s no way to make peeping tom gags endearingly honest, after all. As a result, the rest of the episode is just one utterly fantastic romp that takes full advantage of the Shogun’s willingness to debase himself (”But a thong isn’t bad at all”). And with the girls finally taking an even playing field once again, the show wastes no time in letting them shine once more because, as Gintoki himself is quick to point out, the women are actually the strongest people in the entire damn cast. Tsukuyo the cool aunt, Otae the take-no-bullshit mom, Kyubei the wonderful disaster gay (seriously, can Otae and Kyubei get married already? I am LIVING for how protective they are of each other), and, of course, Mother Fucking Kagura. They’re all such fantastic characters that are so far above the usual anime bullshit, so it’s only fitting that the men’s final strip gambit is for their sake, to equalize the equation by getting some manflesh on screen as well. That’s the kind of equality of disrespect and respect alike that makes me adore this show so fucking much, and I praise the Shogun’s earnest tighty-whiteys for making that possible.

Hot Pot Memories

I still maintain that episode 25, the Christmas hot pot duel, marks the beginning of the true Gintama experience. By taking the simple-but-relatable conundrum of when it’s polite to take food in a hot pot dinner and spinning it into a Death Note-style battle of masterminds, it effectively established the framework that has carried it to this day, setting up that aforementioned density  of storytelling I was praising a couple sections ago. It’s absolutely been surpassed since then, but the impact that one episode has had both on this show’s quality and my appraisal of it is undeniable. But episode 218 might be the most direct spiritual successor to 25 yet, cleverly using the multiple edible appendages of a crab as fuel for the exact same kind of who-gets-to-eat strategic brilliance. From the stupidly amazing excuse of the lazy-animator-inspired constant power outages being the catalyst (The fact that this was apparently also in the manga delights me to no end: adaptation imitates source material) to Kagura instantly picking up and rolling with her dad’s “gorilla excuse” plan, to the whole thing expanding into its own war-torn mythos of hidden princesses and Miyazaki references (look, I’ll watch Castle in the Sky one of these days, I promise), this re-captured exactly the same staggeringly brilliant storytelling chops from almost 200 episodes ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But whether old or new, the magic of Gintama is always exciting to return to.

Odds and Ends

-That was a cool-ass floating space fortress.

-”Why do you think I summoned you here?!” “For the free meal?” God, Kamui’s so much like his sister it’s terrifying.

-”I have an eyepatch and a hook. I’m clearly not captain material.” pfft

-”I’m not a lolicon, I’m a feminist.” SHUT THE EVERLOVING HELL UP OOISHI NOBODY LIKES YOU

-”Please die.” “That’s not much of a surprise.” Yeah, nothing gets past Dio.

-”Better to be the head of a cat than the tail of a lion.” god why is he so cool

-Liking this new ED a lot. The reflections-in-the-water gimmick is always fun.

-”He’s just throwing together a bunch of phrases to say nothing at all!” Gin-san would make one hell of a politician.

-Kagura in a Suit Count: 5

-”Next we use toilet paper to wipe away his bloody past.” I... have questions.

-”At least it hasn’t spread to his glasses!” SURE

-*wheeze* holy shit I forgot how awesome she was

-”It’s the Bermuda Triangle of idiots!” Accurate.

-”10th and 14th shouldn’t be so stingy!” “Are you ever gonna get over that?” I’m not, because that arc was baller.

-”I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE’S TRYING TO DO!” help my sides

-”That hole was begging for a flag to be planted down there...” KYUBEI HOLY SHIT

-”Is it right to scissor him without first doing missionary or doggy style?” “This conversation just got very weird.” Shinpachi is me.

And that’s all for now. See you next time!

[mayalaen]

Movie Count: 30/215 (Bridesmaids and The Place Beyond the Pines don’t count)

I’ve seen Memento before, but it was the first time for mom. I liked it just as much the second time, and although mom was a little confused, I think it cracked her up that it was all about memory issues when her memory has always been shitty 😛

Working backward in a film was a fun way of watching, and I have a thing for movies about shitty people. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that, but yeah. Keeping it spoiler free in case you haven’t seen it, but this ticked my asshole boxes.

Bridesmaids was added to our list because so many people talk about how good it was. Since it wasn’t an official Top 200, only making it 20 minutes into the movie before finding another movie was allowed 😂 I don’t like cutesy girls’ night out type of movies, but my mom does, and yet she wasn’t enjoying it either. The jokes felt like listening to my uncle’s ex-wife. She thought she was funny but would keep going and going until it’s painful like okay maybe I would’ve chuckled 5 minutes ago but STOP.

The Place Beyond the Pines was odd, but I liked it, and I don’t even know why. Maybe it was just because the movie was about shitty people being shitty and no real resolution and no moral lessons just hey people can be shitty because that’s real life?

The Dark Knight Rises wasn’t quite as good as The Dark Knight, but it was entertaining. It could’ve been shorter by about 45 minutes.

Oh and we started watching True Detective and HELL YEAH. Finished the first season a few nights ago and we’re about 2 episodes into the second season.

It was awkward and dark in all the right ways, and both of us LOVED it. That 6-minute one-shot scene near the end of season one coordinating all those people was pretty amazing too.

Movies/TV shows about people who are barely redeemable because they’re so screwed up and awful are my thing, so this series ticks the boxes for me.

[gintama-polls]

One last call for nominations for the next long tournament, a favorite episode tourney.

Under the cut is the current list of entries, taken from the Gintama THE FINAL-related survey. If there's an episode not in the list below that you want included, feel free to nominate it using the above form by this Saturday, the 20th.

Entries:

1: You bastards!! Do you even have a silver soul?

3: Nobody with Naturally Wavy Hair Can Be That Bad9: Fighting should be done properly

20: Beware of conveyor belt

25: The hot-pot is a microcosm of life

32: Life Moves on like a Conveyor Belt

38: Only Children Play in the Snow

48: The More You're Alike, the More You Fight

61: On a Moonless Night, Insects Are Drawn to the Light

65: Youngsters learn the value of life from rhinoceros beetles

77: Yesterday's Enemy, After All Is Said And Done, Is Still The Enemy

87: Perform A German Suplex On A Woman Who Asks If She Or The Job Is More Important

99: Life And Video Games Are Full Of Bugs

103: There's A Thin Line Between Strengths And Weaknesses

105: It's All About The Beat And Timing

111: There's Almost A 100% Chance You'll Forget Your Umbrella And Hate Yourself For It

119: Within Each Box Of Cigarettes, Are One Or Two Cigarettes That Smell Like Horse Dung

142: Life Is A Series Of Choices

153: Sleep Helps A Child Grow

166: Two Is Better Than One. Two People Are Better Than One

175: People Of All Ages Hate The Dentist!

180: The More Precious The Burden, The Heavier And More Difficult It Is To Shoulder It

184: Popularity Polls Can…

187: It's Goodbye Once A Flag Is Set

201: Everybody's A Santa

203: Everyone Looks Pretty Grown up after Summer Break

204: Use a Calligraphy Pen for New Year's Cards

205: Meals Should Be Balanced

211: Ghosts Aren't the Only Ones Who Run Wild around Graveyards

214: Tis an Honor!

215: Odds or Even

216: I Can't Remember a Damn Thing about the Factory Tour

217: What Happens Twice Can Happen Thrice

220: The Bathhouse, Where You're Naked in Body and Soul"

230: It Would Take Too Much Effort to Make This Title Sound like a Text Message Subject

231: When You Go to a Funeral for the First Time, You're Surprised by How Happy the People Are

237: Please Take Me Skiing

241: We Are All Hosts, in Capital Letters

246: Festival of Thornies

247: Letter from Thorny

256: The Meaning of a Main Character

260: Pinky Swear

261: Unsetting Moon

264: Liquor and Gasoline, Smiles and Tears

265: Dog Food Doesn't Have As Much Flavor As You'd Think

268: An Inspector's Love Begins with an Inspection

272: A Reunion Also Brings to the Surface Things You Don't Want to Remember

273: When Compared to Time in Heaven, Fifty Years of Human Life Resembles Nothing but Dreams and Lottery Tickets

275: 9 + 1 = Yagyuu Jyuubei

282: A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes Over and Over

287: He's the Sweet Tooth, and I'm the Mayo Guy

296: Take the Initial Premise Lightly, and It'll Cost You

297: Keep Your Farewells Short

301: Ninja Village

304: Those Who Protect Against All Odds

305: Sworn Enemy

311: Jailbreak

315: Nobume

316: Farewell, Shinsengumi

320: Zura

322: Ten Years

323: Paths

326: Siblings

330: My Bald Dad, My Light-Haired Dad and My Dad`s Glasses

333: All the Answers Can Be Found in the Field

335: The Super Sadist and the Super Sadist

341: Guardian Spirits Are Also a Part of the Soul

342: Try As You Might to Make a Natural Perm Go Away, It Will Always Return

346: Geezers Carve the Things They Shouldn't Forget into Their Wrinkles

355: Rabbits Leap Higher on Moonlit Nights

356: Making a Dull World Interesting

361: The Creatures Known as Humanity

364: Two in Girl Years Is Equal to Ten in Man Years

366: Dun Dun

367: Gintama Final Ending Scamming Trial

Gintama: A New Retelling Benizakura Arc

Gintama: The Movie: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya

Gintama The Final

[thecrapshotbracket]

First Round, Batch 53 Results

(19) Episode 215 - The Morph defeats Episode 266 - The Unboxing 3 (58.2% of the vote)

Episode 429 - The Inhale defeats Episode 28 - The Warning (76.8% of the vote)

Episode 223 - The Missionary defeats Episode 235 - The Prospector (65.0% of the vote)

Episode 212 - The Culture vs Episode 47 - The Idea

Welp.

I honestly wasn’t sure if this was going to happen. I’ve seen polls come down to two and even one vote, but after over 200 polls, this is the first draw. 

So... what do?

My original plan was, in the case of a tie, to make the call via RNG, and to the keep the bracket running I’m going to go with that for the first round (in case it happens again). However, I also reserve the right to change this in future rounds if doing so feels too much like a cop-out. I certainly don’t want the finals, semifinals, etc. decided by what basically amounts to a coin flip, after all.

Anyway, to decide this I went to random.org and generated a random number from their default of 1-100. Odds went to The Culture, evens went to The Idea. And...

16! Even. The Idea takes it.

Thank you to all who voted.

[mysticseasons]

Over 500 hours showcasing our athletes and the world's best on Radio-Canada and RDS

October 31, 2017, Montreal

On Friday, February 9, the opening ceremony will be held for the OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES PYEONGCHANG 2018. Radio-Canada, Canada’s official broadcaster for PYEONGCHANG 2018 in partnership with RDS, the official specialty channel, invites French-speaking audiences to take a front-row seat to the performances of Canadian athletes and the world’s best, with over 500 hours (559 hours) of Olympic programming on ICI Radio-Canada Télé (344 hours) and RDS, RDS2 and RDS Info (215 hours), from February 9 to 25, 2018.

Some 3,000 athletes will be competing in 15 disciplines, including the 200-odd members of the Canadian team. Many of them are medal hopefuls, including Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Mikaël Kingsbury in freestyle skiing; Érik Guay in alpine skiing; Marianne St-Gelais and Charles Hamelin in short-track speed skating; Ivanie Blondin in speed skating; Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in figure skating; Alex Harvey in cross-country skiing; Kailie Humphries in bobsledding; Mark McMorris and Sébastien Toutant in snowboarding; and, of course, our men’s and women’s hockey teams.

NOVEMBER 1, 2017: 100 DAYS to go TO PyeongChang 2018!

One hundred days before the Olympic Games begin, on Wednesday, November 1, the second hour of MÉDIUM LARGE on ICI RADIO-CANADA PREMIÈRE will be devoted to PyeongChang 2018. On ICI RDI,Marie-José Turcotte will host À 100 jours deS jeux olympiques de PyeongChang 2018, on Wednesday, November 1, at 8 p.m. During this special program, she’ll take the pulse of the Canadian team as its members gear up for these Olympic Winter Games. She’ll introduce us to Canada’s Olympic hopefuls and, together with our analysts, will examine their chances of stepping onto the podium. Executive Producer: Luc Lebel

20–22 HOURS A DAY ON ICI RADIO-CANADA TÉLÉ

ICI Radio-Canada Télé will be offering 20–22 hours of live and repeat programming every day, so audiences won’t miss any of our athletes’ performances and comments. On Friday, February 9, Marie-José Turcotte will give audiences a glimpse of what lies ahead, and will follow the opening ceremony with Patrice Roy (live broadcast from 5 to 8:30 a.m., repeat from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.). She will also be on hand for the closing ceremony with Dominick Gauthier on Sunday, February 25(live from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., repeat from 5:30 to 8 p.m.).

Every night, Marie-José Turcotte, covering her 15th Olympics, will host the coverage in prime time as the day of competitions gets underway for our athletes over in Pyeongchang. The figure skating,

snowboarding, freestyle skiing and alpine skiing events will be presented primarily in the evening. The evening coverage will also spotlight men’s and women’s hockey games and key competitions. The morning coverage, starting at 5 a.m. with host Guy D’Aoust, will feature short-track and long-track speed skating. The morning program will also include coverage of the bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, biathlon and curling events.

Programming will be offered in five time slots, with five anchors:

Marie-José Turcotte will present the competitions from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. during the week, and from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekend (from 8:30 or 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Pyeongchang). Diane Sauvé will present from 1 to 5 a.m. (from 3 to 7 p.m. in Pyeongchang). Guy D’Aoust will present from 5 to 10 a.m. (from 7 p.m. to midnight in Pyeongchang). Martin Labrosse will be on the air from 10 a.m. to noon with a roundup of the day’s performances in the company of athletes, analysts and personalities. Alexis de Lancer will bring viewers the day’s highlights from 12:30 to 4 p.m. during the week, andfrom 12:30 to 5 p.m. on the weekend (nighttime in Pyeongchang).

A seasoned team of commentators and analysts will follow each of the disciplines. In addition, two special analysts will be on location to comment on PyeongChang 2018 and all the competitions: Special analyst during Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016, Dominick Gauthier will be back to provide his insights on Team Canada’s daily performances, while Kansas City Chiefs football guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif will have the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity and share his fascination with Olympians. He’ll speak to athletes and the people in their lives to gauge their state of mind in the hours leading up to and following a competition. In addition, Jean-René Dufort will be back at the Olympic Games with his special take on PyeongChang 2018 and life in Korea.

Executive Producer: Luc Lebel Chief Editor: Chantal Léveillé Producers: Catherine Dupont and François Messier

Finally, our correspondent Anyck Béraud and reporter Pascal Poinlane will provide daily news updates related to PyeongChang 2018.

ON RDS, RDS 2 AND RDS INFO

RDS, RDS2 and RDS Info will offer 215 hours’ live coverage of the Olympic Winter Games, depending on the schedule of the various events to be shown on all three channels.

Claude Mailhot, who covered his first Olympics Games at Montreal 1976 and has over 40 years of experience as a sports broadcaster, will be the main anchor on RDS each day during peak viewing hours.

RDS, RDS2 and RDS Info will present all the key moments from events such as speed skating, ski jumping, biathlon, cross-country skiing, hockey, curling and more.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 will be broadcast on RDS.

ON RADIO-CANADA.CA AND MOBILE APPS

Radio-Canada.ca/jeuxolympiques is where Internet users can catch all the PyeongChang 2018 action. Not only will they be able to watch and listen to all our TV and radio programs; they’ll also have access to over 2,500 hours of competition live coverage. Fans can choose to watch among up to 7 events available at the same time, enjoying the Olympic Games experience to the fullest. They can also watch part or all of the ceremonies and competitions in catch-up mode, check the results and medal count, read the bios of Canadian and international athletes, and get reports and news on the Olympic Winter Games and South Korea. All content can be accessed via the mobile app,downloadable prior to PyeongChang 2018.

Fans can also download a virtual reality app to watch 360-degree videos of the ceremonies and certain competitions, as if they were there.

ON ICI RADIO-CANADA PREMIÈRE

Reporter Robert Frosi will be on location for the duration of PyeongChang 2018. Every day, he’ll discuss our athletes’ performances and share the latest Olympic news on GRAVEL LE MATIN and MÉDIUM LARGE radio shows. Reporter Maxime Coutié will also be on hand to contribute to radio newscasts.

Throughout the Olympic Winter Games, host Pierre Brassard will share his special take on the event with radio listeners and offer a different perspective on the Olympics in two programs from PyeongChang 2018, on Saturday, February 17 and 24, from 4 to 5 p.m.

Serge Bouchard and Jean-Philippe Pleau will explore the theme of competition and the issues it raises in two episodes of C’EST FOU, on Sunday, January 28 and February 4, from 7 to 8 p.m. Host Jacques Beauchamp will look at the Olympic Games and Korea from a historical perspective, as part of a special week of AUJOURD’HUI L’HISTOIRE, from Monday to Friday, February 5 to 9, from 8 to 8:30 p.m.

Every Monday on Radio-Canada.ca/premiereplus, Marie-José Turcotte and Robert Frosi will co-host a podcast to catch up with the friends and family of the athletes before they leave for their respective competitions at PyeongChang 2018.

ATHLETE PORTRAITS ON ICI RADIO-CANADA TÉLÉ

This four-part series will turn the spotlight on athletes likely to shine at PyeongChang 2018. The episodes will air on Saturday, from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on ICI Radio-Canada Télé, between January 13 and February 3, 2018:

Érik Guay, encore plus vite (January 13): Profile of the most decorated alpine skier in Canadian history. His tenacity, professionalism and need for speed made him the world’s best in 2016, at the age of 35.

Alex Harvey et cie (January 20): Alex Harvey was born with cross-country skis on his feet. Through talent and determination, he has risen up the ranks of his sport, garnering two world titles. But his Olympic story remains to be written. Fully aware of the reasons for his unsuccessful performance in Sochi 2014, he has found the support he needs to win a medal at PyeongChang 2018.

Le goût de l’or (January 27): After capturing gold in Vancouver, ice dancing duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had to settle for silver at Sochi. After taking a two-year break, changing coaches and moving to Montreal, they’re ready to be crowned again.

Le trio (February 3): X-Games stars Mark McMorris, Sébastien Toutant and Max Parrot, who turned in stellar performances at Sochi 2014, will have two snowboarding challenges at PyeongChang 2018. How hungry are the three Canadian athletes for medals at these upcoming Olympic Winter Games? Researchers: Manon Gilbert, Olivier Pellerin Producers: Éric Santerre, Jérôme Voyer-Poirier, Vincent Tremblay

*A detailed program schedule will be available subsequently.

facebook.com/radiocanadasports @RC_sports instagram.com/rc_sports youtube.com/radiocanadasports

(x)

[cooperjones2020]

What’s Past is Prologue, What to Come, pt. 4

Summary: He wanted to hit whoever made Betty cry. He wanted to hit Betty so she’d keep crying. Interrelated vignettes from Jughead Jones’s obsession with Betty Cooper. Dark!Jug, Creepy!Jug, Stalker!Jug, generally Sociopathic!Jug.

A/N: We’re ditching the Shakespeare. Instead, I leave you with this quote which is delightfully creepy out of context: “Since he longed to take possession of something deep inside them, he needed to slit them open” (Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 215).

TW: implied child abuse (for this chapter specifically, check the other tags on ao3)

(parts one, two, and three)

ao3—>http://archiveofourown.org/works/11394858/chapters/26628525

By the time he stood across from her in the dusty classroom that housed five ancient PC monitors, two typewriters, and a microfiche reader, Jughead had given up fighting his obsession with Betty Cooper. He had given up fighting the way it hurt when she looked at Archie. He liked the hurt, liked the pain, liked the reminder he was alive.

When Betty and Archie seemed to be alright, after the disastrous night of the back to school dance, Jughead felt the embers in his stomach die down. But that ease of tensions came coupled with a new awareness of Betty. She seemed lighter to him. Not that she felt that way—he could still sometimes see her struggle with the ashes of her feelings, could see her face fall when she thought no one was looking. But the air around her seemed to be lighter, as if some of the threads that tied to her to Archie had been cut.

When he appeared in the doorway of the student newspaper office, he did so silently, so she didn’t notice him where she was bent over her work behind one of the ancient computer monitors. She wore a burgundy top today, new, one he hadn’t seen and that provided a marked contrast to her normal colour palette. He liked it. He liked the possibilities it represented.

“If print journalism is dead, what am I doing here?” he asked her, leaning against the doorway with one leg crossed over the other.

“The Blue and Gold isn’t dead, Juggie. It’s just dormant,” she replied, pressing her hands together in front of her heart, before running a finger along a dusty keyboard. “But waking up. You’re writing a novel, right? About Jason Blossom’s murder?”

“I am. Riverdale’s very own In Cold Blood.” He plucked a magnifying glass out of a pencil cup and held it up in front of him, looking at Betty through it.

“Which started out as a series of articles. I’m hoping you’ll come write for the Blue and Gold.” She looked so hopeful, so earnest and untouchable, he was a goner before he even walked in.

He tried anyway. “I just don’t think the school paper’s the right fit for my voice.”

“Juggie, Jason’s death changed Riverdale. People don’t wanna admit that, but it’s true. We all feel it. Nothing this bad was ever supposed to happen here, but it did. I wanna know why.” Every time she called him Juggie, his heart rate slowed down. It had been her nickname for him since they were kids and its effects were just as strong and just as addictive as morphine.

“Would I get complete freedom?” It was a feint, but he was interested in her answer.

“I-I’ll help and edit and suggest but it’s your story. It’s your voice.”

“Doesn’t sound like complete freedom but I’m in.”

“Okay, great. Um, in that case, I have your first assignment.” She did that thing with her hands again, like she was in an old episode of the Donna Reed Show and her body just couldn’t contain its joy. “There’s one person who was at the river on July 4th that no one’s talking about.”

“Dilton Doiley and his scouts.”

“Exactly.”

He brushed his thumb off his nose in gesture of camaraderie and conspiracy and turned to leave. He didn’t need complete freedom. He’d lost it long ago in any case. But, since the dance, and the night he and Archie had joined her and Veronica at Pop’s, he did need increasing access to Elizabeth Cooper.

We crave absolutes. They comfort us. But life is infinitely more complex than that. He was still attempting to untangle the threads that used to bind Betty to Archie when he discovered Archie and Grundy in the music classroom and it fucked everything up. It threw off his entire world axis in which Archie was deserving of Betty and he, Jughead, was not. Then, Betty found out about it. And with that, she threatened to slip back out of his control.

Closer access to Betty Cooper meant many things for Jughead Jones. It meant re-memorizing the smell of her hair and analyzing all the micro expressions that gave him insight into her moods. It meant resuming his game of guessing which underwear she was wearing that day, double points if he figured it out before he saw her bra strap.

It also meant seeing the places her enamel was wearing thin. After Dilton had left and they’d discussed the connotations of Archie being with Grundy at the river’s edge, Betty snapped a pencil in two with the force of the grip of her left hand. But she kept talking as if she hadn’t noticed.

He cut her off, “Betts, promise you’ll sleep on it before you go off the rails. We don’t know for sure what happened.”

She was staring at the cork board over his left shoulder. He could count the veins in the purplish skin beneath her eyes. He knew she wasn’t sleeping.

He slowly reached forward and unclenched her hand, removing the broken pencil pieces and brushing away the splinters that clung to her palm. She didn’t flinch, or even blink, when he touched her fresh half-moon cuts.

He wasn’t really sure how he wound up in a booth at Pop’s with Kevin and Veronica. He’d been typing away on his laptop, content as he was capable of being, when Betty walked in. Next thing he knew, he was ranting about the drive-in to a semi-captive audience. At least she’d bought him a burger again.

“The drive-in closing is just one more nail in the coffin that is Riverdale. No. Forget Riverdale. In the coffin of the American Dream. As the godfather of indie cinema, Quentin Tarantino, likes to say—”

“Please, God, no more Quentin Tarantino references,” Kevin cut him off.

“What? I’m pissed. And not just about losing my job. The Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. People should be trying to save it.” The drive-in, the diner, the friendly neighborhood Hitchcock blonde to his right, all of the pieces of Riverdale that looked so great on paper. That, cliche as they were, kept him from sliding into the darkness that loomed.

Veronica interrupted his thoughts. “In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car? I mean, who even goes there?”

“People who want to buy crack.” Trust the sheriff’s son to dismiss such an iconic emblem of working class Americana and Jughead right along with it.

“And cinephiles and car enthusiasts, right, Betts?” Betty knew what he was talking about, she knew what the drive-in meant to him.

“Totally.” But she wasn’t paying attention to him. He began tapping out a staccato rhythm with his foot.

“Anyway, it’s closing because the town owns it but didn’t invest in it. So when an anonymous buyer made Mayor McCoy an offer she couldn’t refuse—” Jughead stared out the window as he spoke.

“Anonymous buyer? What do they have to hide? No one cares.”

“I do. Also you guys should all come to closing night. I’m thinking American Graffiti. Or is that too obvious?” He directed it at the three of them, but he looked at Betty.

“I vote for anything starring Audrey Hepburn. Or Cate Blanchett.” Surprise, surprise.

“Or The Talented Mr. Ripley. Betty, your choices?”

“Everything okay, B?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just thinking. Um…Maybe Rebel Without a Cause?” Betty flicked her eyes at him and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her.

He turned his attention back to his dinner and contemplated the possibility that maybe one or two of the threads that used to connect Betty to Archie might now connect to him instead. He vaguely registered Veronica getting up and returning and the sound of the bell on the door jingling behind him.

“Now that’s an odd combo of people,” Kevin said.

Jughead and Betty both turned to look over their shoulders in one motion. It was Archie, Fred, and Grundy. Fuck. He glanced at Betty. Her mouth dropped open.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Betty, no. Don’t.” He made a half-hearted attempt to reach for her, his hand closing on empty air. He wanted to protect her, but what more could he do? She needed to snip the rest of the threads on her own. And truthfully? Archie needed a Betty Cooper-style kick in the ass.

Jughead grimaced at the two of them out of the window.

Again, Veronica’s voice intruded. “What’s happening out there? Do we know? Is it about me?”

Archie’s back was to him, but he could see the hurt and concern all over Betty’s beautiful face. “I have a strong inkling. And no. Also, I’d let it go.”

“Yes, but you’re you and I’m me. You do you, girl. I’ll be back.” He rolled his eyes at Veronica and settled lower in the booth.

“What was it like before she got here? I honestly cannot remember.”

Jughead didn’t respond. He sneered and ate the strawberry off Betty’s milkshake.

His final attempt to save the drive-in had been a bust. Mayor McCoy shot him down and even Fred wouldn’t help him. So, Rebel Without a Cause played to a full house. Of course. Nothing like nostalgia to pack them in.

Jughead watched from the projection room. She didn’t come. Whenever she came to the drive-in, she’d come up to the booth and drag him down to socialize for a while. Or she joined him up there with a blanket and some snacks.

He texted her, a little while after the movie started, but she didn’t respond.

She didn’t come.

The chill woke Jughead early the next morning. Indian summer had faded and no one had ever bothered to insulate the projection booth. He registered that he had a novel of a text from Betty sitting unread on his phone. He wasn’t ready to answer her yet.

He ate a stale pop tart and, from his seat next to the projector, he surveyed his dilapidated kingdom. A plastic bag blew across the empty lot. Discarded soda cans and spilled popcorn decorated the grass like some kind of fucked up Christmas tree.

When he could delay it no more, he stood to finish packing.

The Betty box had grown over the years. It took up more than half his backpack space, but he wouldn’t risk leaving it at the trailer. A drunk FP was an unpredictable FP.

Jughead watched the last reel finish winding then did a slow turn around the room that had been his only safe haven the past few months. He grabbed a shirt he’d missed packing, shoved it in his backpack, and, with an old photo of him and Jellybean in hand, closed the door.

He didn’t exactly need to add vandalism to his record, but seeing as Fred was the one tearing the drive-in down, he reckoned he was pretty safe. So he marked out “JUGHEAD JONES WUZ HERE” in black spray paint along with an outline of his crown on the side of the concession stand.

Then he tossed the can of spray paint away, to join the litter on the ground. When he turned to leave, FP was standing behind him. Jughead looked away so they wouldn’t make eye contact.

His father and the Serpents had been hanging around the drive-in for months, but he only sought him out when he hit the level of drunk of slurring his words and talking about reuniting their family. It was a little early, even for FP, but Jughead still didn’t want to talk to him.

When his father spoke though, his words were clear: “They’ll tear that booth down too. Raze the whole place, send it to the junkyard. And us with it.”

“Yeah. Or maybe they’ll save it. All the pieces. Store it in the town hall attic and rebuild it in a hundred years. Wonder who the hell we were.” The image made him smile. Then he remembered who he was talking to and cut his eyes away to frown at the ground.

“So where you gonna live now?”

“I’ll figure it out, Dad. I always do.” He just barely stopped himself from checking his dad with his bag as he walked past. That kind of aggression never worked out well for him with FP, and he didn’t need any more surprise injuries that needed explaining away to Betty.

[ace-reviews]

the harusame got some restaurant at the end of the universe shit goin on

Episode 215: Odds and Evens

This is one of those episodes that’s mostly intended to impart a bunch of important plot information to the audience that won’t pay off until way later. One Piece has a lot of these episodes. I dig ‘em.

Turns out Peacock Lady had a mental breakdown after getting her ass handed to her at the end of the last arc and is in a Harusame cell, Takasugi and the Harusame have worked out a mutually exploitative arrangement, and that dude up there wants Kamui to do... something. It wasn’t clear. Or I wasn’t paying attention. Most likely the second thing. 

Either way, Kamui goes to kill Takasugi for shits and giggles and gets shot in the back for his troubles. Politics, man, what’re ya gonna do. Also, at one point Takasugi blocks the camera with his butt, so have fun with that, Takasugi fans.

There’s a new ED this episode. It’s boring.

Next episode has Kondo in it, apparently. Till next time.

[icebluecyanide]

RQG 215 Anxiety Report

Continuing from last week, I’m basically going to rank RQG characters by how worried I am about them after any given episode, based on careful analysis of their chances of survival in the rest of the podcast, and whatever I think is funny at the time of writing.

So a lot happened this episode and some of these choices may be unexpected but in my defence the relief of everyone we know the status of still being alive I have become dangerously overconfident in the party’s chances of success. Anyway, here is my ranking for this week:

10. Topaz (last ep: unlisted)

Topaz is an angelic camel and buffed up to ridiculous levels, but has also been tasked to keep Babbage safe and who knows if Guivres will get another fly by attack in.

9. Wilde (last ep: 4)

Wilde did an amazing illusion, but also threw himself off Elizabeth tower and has not been seen since. Is he staying out of the way properly? Is another illusion going to work against Guivres after the first one? I’m worried that the first Apophis seeming to come from the ground means Wilde flew down and is now close to the crowd of blue veiny people

8. Cel (last ep: 3)

I have to be honest, Cel has so far not lost a single hp, temporary or otherwise, and they had 100+ to start with so I’m not too concerned about their health in the very short run, but I am worried they may not be getting a chance to really shine this combat. Let them throw bombs at the big dragon!!

7. Azu (last ep: 7)

I’ve been going back and forth for the ranking of Zolf and Azu, but I think Azu ranks a bit lower because she cast shield other on Babbage rather than Topaz, and there are three people likely to shield Babbage from any damage. So I doubt it’ll come to that. Also they are MECHANICALLY HUGE. On the other hand, they are very quickly going to be facing more and more people, and I’m concerned about the structural integrity of the tower after the flyby, especiallywith Azu being big now. 

6. Zolf (last ep: 6)

Is taking 1.5 damage from Topaz, so any human (for lack of a better word) shielding is going to be ending badly. Having said that, he’s still got over 100 hp left and he’s not only a healer himself but Azu is right next to him. But another breath attack from Guivres would probably not go great.

5. Babbage (last ep: 9)

Azu casting shield other and Zolf casting sanctuary has made me realise Babbage now probably has his own health tracker and like, how many hp can a brain in a backpack really have??? very concerning and also the fate of their success literally relies on Babbage staying alive

4. The Caretaker of Elizabeth Tower (last ep: not listed)

Not only has this person most likely been taken over by the blue veins and seen their tower be covered in plants, but the entire tower has now been flooded by OVER NINE THOUSAND MARBLES. Even once the blue veins have been dealt with they are going to be finding marbles in odd corners for years. Also they will likely have to clean up the glass that shattered because of Guivres attack and they’re probably not paid enough to deal with any of this.

3. Apophis (last ep: not listed)

Assuming this is the real Apophis, I am deeply concerned by Alex’s description of him doing a suicide run to get here. In my mind I’m picturing him accidentally ploughing into the ground because he overshoots and it’s distressing. What if Guivres infects him once he gets here?? Apophis is my favourite dragon in the series barring Hamid :(

2. Hamid (last ep: 1)

He got lucky once, but he’s still heading team Distract Dragon and there’s about 9 rounds left to go and he can only get hit like that once more at best before the next attack kills him. Also he’s flying around whispering ‘me not them’ 😭😭 and that’s not even getting into the fact that apparently he’s considered jumping into Guivres’s mouth to get around the spell resistance HAMID NO

1. Skraak (last episode: 2)

Skraak is the one I am currently most worried about, and I’m not even sure if they’re alive anymore. 😭😭 I can’t decide if it’s better or worse that Alex took the rolling away from Bryn, I hope so much that he passed his escape artist check, and that Alex didn’t have some increasing DC like in the Paris catacombs. I want them to appear again out of nowhere and surprise everyone with a brilliant sneak attack, but at this point they really are Schrödinger's Skraak. 😔