#i might go even further into certain events later just becuase

[the-skooma-den]

Aight! part 2 to my whole shebang on my eso main syke! Part 1 is here and it covers the basics of who/what she is. This one is how she goes through the main plot, all thats under cut

And here is a directory to both posts about her, as well as the ones about her siblings

Were gonna do this bullet point style .also just assume the main plot quests are going on at the same time, the “main” quest remains relatively unchanged aside from her relationship with Abnur Tharn, who is her grandfather, which although it sounds important really isnt because she hates him. 

Pre main plot: Mostly covered in the previous posts

 Her time before the main plot, as a member of the brotherhood.  At the time of her kidnapping she was mentally a wreck and moments away from a mental break. She was on a lot of drugs and was drunk pretty often, it was a very bad scene. On top of that morally speaking was pretty ambiguous if not downright evil.She was actually infamous in the brotherhood for her ruthlessness. (It’s actually a common story to tell the new recruits about the time she slit a babies throat in front of its mother because the mother got in her way). Overall unsympathetic and completely apathetic to worries of the world around her. 

It’s worth noting that deep down she was already ashamed of herself, which fueled a lot of her unhealthy behavior. She doesnt see much wrong with how the brotherhood operates in general (she was literally raised in their cult so not much surprise there) But her earned reputation as being brutal was not one she was proud of 

Eventually she was drunk one night and was captured and sacrificed by the worm cult, thus starting the main plot

Cold Harbor: She was in cold harbor for a long long while ,she’s not actually sure how long she was there. It felt like years, but when she got back to nirn she had only been missing for about 6 months, and some of the injuries she couldve sworn were there for a months looked only hours old when she escaped. Her experience there haunts her for a long time,pretty much the rest of her life, but she does her best to deal with it. Her time here cause her first real shift, because now she cares about something. Even if it’s just caused he pissed her off. She’ll stop at nothing to stop Molag Bal even at the cost of her life. Which might not really be an issue in the first place, as thanks to her lack of a soul she is essentially immortal. Whenever she “dies” her body falls to the ground and her concienness is left to wander nearby while it magically heals (unless the body is completely destroyed, then she ends up at a wayshrine a while later)

Cold harbor is where she got her most prominent scars. The shackles around her neck (mostly on the back of her neck) and wrists and lashes on her back. All of her piercing were ripped out as well. Her hair is extremely matted and overall shes just gross and uncomfortable She also has 2 neat and precise stab wounds above her heart from manimarco.

Khenarthi’s roost/ Auridon: After Razum-dar drags her out of the ocean looking like hell, She’s so dazed from ya know,dying and coming back to life that she doesnt bother coming up with any kind of character or disguise, she barely even has the mind to come up with her fake name,Syke.

When he dredged her up he immediately brought her to healers and though they had to work pretty quickly they fixed her up well. They cut off all the matted bits of her hair (which she later fixed into her little Mohawk thing), they healed up all her tears from the piercings being ripped out. They also healed up the wound from the shackles and whips the best they could ,they couldn’t do it all the way through but they made sure it wouldn’t get infected at least, but there was no way to stop it from scarring.

She actually does know who Raz is even though they’ve never met, she’s just heard of him. She figures “Hey getting the support of the Queen and her spy force would be useful” so she goes along with it and helps him. She manages to conceal the fact she knows who he is pretty well, but he is still suspicious. (which to be fair a women who was recently pretty clearly a prisoner falling out fo the sky and clearly being a experience fighter and mage isn’t exactly normal). She proves herself dangerously competent, extremely useful (and also kinda hot) so Raz asks for her help on Auridon as well. 

Only a few notable divergent from the main plot of things happen while on  Auridon. The first is that after she is appointed as an Eye of the queen she asks the queen to speak privately for a moment and while no one knows 100% of what they spoke about, the main thing is that this is when Syke explains the whole “I have no soul and am planning on killing Molag Bal to get it back” thing. As his invasion is starting to really mount up by this point the queen promises to support the endeavor whenever it happens so on so forth.

The second is an extra moment between Raz and Syke after the quest at Mathiisen. Basically She looks at Raz and realizes since she’s met him like 4 of his friends have died. She’s not very good with people or emotion but, well they may not really trust each other but they still like each other…and she’s at least pretty sure they're friends,all his other friends are kinda dead, she figures she might as well TRY to comfort him. This ends up with them getting absolutely smashed in the local inn and is basically an excuse for exposition because Raz knows almost nothing about her at this point. He does end up learning quite a bit about her, including that she’s from a little town north of silvinar (which honestly, kinda obvious. She has a pretty strong east bosmeri accent even after living away from there for years and years), and that she’s at least somewhat noble with little to no interest in claiming her titles. She greatly downplays HOW noble she is. He returns the favor and tell her he’s from a little farming village and She immediately guesses what part of Elsweyr hes from, shes spent a lot of time there in her youth, and she could identify that southern Anequina accent anywhere. After this she takes to jokingly calling him Farm Boy…if only in private. They also learn more about each others families, though it mostly amounts to funny stories about their younger siblings.

They wake up horribly hungover (and naked) the next day and go on their separate ways for a bit. (aka, he goes to meet up with the Queen on their way to the festival in skywatch, Syke goes and does some sidequests and then they meet up during the festival. The plot continues)

Last little side note here is her addiction to skooma and other drugs. Dying, spending a long time in spooky terrible ghost hell prison, and then kinda but not really coming back to life has some pretty funny affects on a person. She didn’t get any kind of magical cure for her addiction, she was basically just forced to go cold turkey for god knows how long. She’s in an ok enough mental space to at least refuse skooma, but she still hits the alcohol pretty frequently.

Valenwood:  Valenwood is where things get a little conflicted with her personal life, Namely because of her sister, Nia. (more on her in part 1 but quick summary, she ran away almost 10 years ago and faked her death,and then showed up with the bosmeri noble members of their family completely denouncing her, their mother and the rest of their family)

So while Syke is off doing the main quest in Valenwood, Raz puts together that one of the Dominions biggest supporters among the Bosmeri Nobles matches Sykes description of her sister. Raz decides to tell said Noble about the whole thing and she confirms that, that sounds a LOT like what happened between her and her sister. Raz learns a bit more about the whole family drama he has somehow stumbled into, including the whole “Nia ran away Thing, but doesn’t learn much about Syke specifically. Just that her and Nia are actually cousins, they have different last names and that she’s pretty much always gone by fake names or nicknames (and that Nia is working of the correct assumption that Syke wouldnt appreciate her real name being revealed) 

Nia at this point, does not regret leaving and knows it was what was best for her, but defiantly regrets how she did it. Raz informs her that hes actually going to see Syke at Marbruk and invites her along to try and apologize to Syke.

Raz is expecting some heart felt reunions and tearful apologies and is of course surprised when Syke didn’t even let Nia say two words. She saw Nia, was stunned enough that Nia took off her mask without struggle but before she could get even 2 words out Syke decked her. Hard

So Raz talks to Nia (once she wakes up) and learns some alarming things from her. Mostly why Nia ran away in the first place (she didnt want to be a member of the dark brotherhood and being a impulsive teenager who figured that faking her death was the best option) and that yeah, Syke is not just a member of the brotherhood, but a really notable one,and also a lot about her …disturbing reputation in it. Not to mention the fact she’s a bit higher up on the nobility scale then she originally implied…by like a lot. She is pretty close to inheriting several thrones and important titles, and is by the way, Abnur tharns granddaughter.

Raz, of course, runs to the Queen to deliver the information that yeah, their extremely efficient new recruit is a member of the brotherhood, and is the granddaughter of the man who tortured her. The Queen already knows. Syke isnt dumb, she figured this might come up eventually and told the Queen first chance she got (remember that conversation in Auridon?). Ayrenn agreed to continue letting her be an Eye,with the understanding that if Syke ever moved against the Dominion she’d be killed on the spot. As for the Abnur Tharn thing, well Syke never really knew him. At the time of the Auridon conversation she had never met him, and you can’t really hold a person accountable for the actions of a relative she never knew… Course Syke had at this point met Abnur tharn multiple times but even someone with zero social grace like her understood that this was not the time to mention it.

Raz is pissed at Ayrenn and Syke for not telling him any of this, Syke is pissed at Nia for…everything she’s done for almost 10 years, and Ayrenn and Nia are getting along surprisingly well (and lowkey are kinda dating). Nia follows Syke around for the rest of the main Dominion plot, Syke is not happy about it but damn Nia’s hard to shake. Nia is as stubborn as her sister and If Syke won’t forgive her then she can at least try and help get her sisters soul back.

The Raz and Syke thing gets resolved before the end of Valenwood after another brief conversation where it really hits Raz with the pure amount of shit Syke’s been through and is still going through.

Yeah hes still mad, but shes desperately trying to apologize to him and honestly sometimes you have to cut a person some slack. Whatever her reasons for joining in the first place she is genuinely loyal to the Dominion (if she wasn’t those giant golden wing tattoos on her back were a real stupid move). There’s no way around the fact he’s a little intimidated by her now, for several reasons really. And it sucks and it hurts her but you can’t really blame him.

The main plot counties as it does, though I like to think they get a slight break at the end to actually enjoy the celebration appointing the new Silvinar and Green Lady for a couple days before things go to shit and she has to run out to reapers march.

Appearance wise, shes starting to replace her Piercings and she’s getting tattoos to cover her scars. Golden Laurels around the shackle marks and Golden eagle winds to cover the whip marks on her back. She really believes in the Queen at this point and thinks Ayrenn is the best bet Cyrodill has, to the point she’s decided to represent it on her body.

Reapers March: (technically part of Valenwood I think but i figure it deserved its own part)  Even more shit hits the fan now, cause being declared an important figure in a completely different religion isn’t something that’s gonna help a crisis of faith. So a few things happen here.

A third member joins the party, Syke’s little adoptive brother Jo’Thera, a Khajiiti Necromancer and fellow member of the brotherhood shows up. He was besides being her little brother, easily Syke’s best friend. He knows She’s been unhappy for a long time now and when she disappeared he was the only one who didn’t just assume she killed herself. The moment he heard a rumor that a woman who sounded a lot like Syke was running around the Dominion territory he took off after her. (side note, the reunion between him and Nia isn’t as violent as her and Syke’s, its just bitter and cold and sad). He was never really all that loyal to the brotherhood, he was mostly in it for his family so when Syke explains the situation he’s just fucking ready man, ride or die. Fuck it lets go off the grid, tearing credit cards and shit if she’s out then he is. (She’s not actually out yet, leaving was never in the question for her. She desperately wants to get back to her famly she just wants her soul back first. He’s just supportive)  and Syke is considerably happier to have him along then she was Nia (who while ostracized by her siblings, is still following along). He kinda creeps everyone out, cause on one hand he’s a perfectly cheerful friendly man. On the other hand he’s a necromancer assassin. It’s just an unsettling combination...It doesnt help that he aware hes creepy and finds unsettling people extremely fun. 

So of course Senalana happens. She lets Raz live, so he is of course extremely mad. and thats a whole damn thing. It’s not to different from what happens in game, just imagine afterwards it’s more of a real argument rather then Raz just yelling at her, also its longer. And also imagine some more romantic tension between the player and Raz .LIke they aren’t really dating yet, but they've defiantly banged multiple times and theyre both lying about not having feelings for each other

She does have a good reason for letting him live outside of their growing romantic relationship. She doesn’t really believe in the dominion so much as she believes in Ayrenn and Razum-dar. She’s seen to much of the Dominion from the inside and out to really think well of it, but she knows Ayrenn. And she knows Raz. If someone has to be emperor/empress of her home she’d prefer it to be Ayrenn. However she is also convinced the Ayrenn won’t be able to do that without Raz specifically, Syke has seen them work together and at least from Sykes point of view if one loses the other then any hope the Dominion has of winning this war is fucked.

Anyway that whole argument ends up in a shouting match at the end of which Syke takes the circlet,disappears for a few weeks, hides it her own damn self and then continues on the main quest.

This is the main reason why it really took Raz and Syke so long to get together, if it weren’t for this they would have been together before Syke went back to coldharbor easy. This complicated things a bit, made them both think

Syke chooses Shazah as the Mane and was really torn up by Khali’s death. This only real difference between this and the canon quest is that she actually threatens Shazah towards the end of it, like full on knife to throat, right after watching Raz and Ayrenn die. Basically saying that if any of this comes to pass, Syke will hunt down the traitors first, then Shazah. And if it comes to it she’ll take the Ruby throne for herself (one of those moments that everyone remembers that she is a noble woman, even if she doesnt use the title. and also that no one but her really knows just how high up she is). Shazah asks her if she loves him. (him being Raz, she did just watch Syke sob over his body, then only tear up a little at Ayrenns corpse). Syke doesn’t Deny it, she doesn’t say anything. They just keep moving.

(Also Raz and the rest were being kept updated on what was happening during the whole ceremony and up until this point it was basically a mix of dark humor about their own deaths and sympathy for the girls having to go through it. At this point it goes dead quiet, eyes turn to Raz, and im not gonna extend this further by adding a pic of the surprised pikachu meme but in spirit its here and representing Raz’s face)

The main plot keeps on rolling till it’s time to storm cold harbor. She does go in alone though, despite her siblings insistence, she refuses to put them in danger of losing their souls to.

She has one final conversation with Raz before she goes, they admit nothing cause theyre stubborn bastards but they do apologize to each other 

Cold Harbor: There’s really not much different here about how syke goes through it. The only things of note are that she’s terrified for the whole thing and also makes friends with a few of the other reoccurring characters, namely Darien, who i think shows up earlier then he actually does in game because he basically ends up her sidekick through the whole thing (though he might say otherwise). She is suitably distraught when he disappears. She helps out in the search for him whenever she can spare the time after that.

The Dlc start to happen about a year after the main quest (that year is when all the things like that mages and fighter guild happen). At this point her hair does keep going grey but once the stress of “I have no soul and i’m going to fight a god” goes away it slows down a lot. The worst of her scars are already covered by tattoos and her favorite piercings have already been replaced, so this point any additional piercings and tattoos are just for fun because she likes them.

as for the last 2 drawings,One is just her in game look,I thought it be fun to put in here. the other is just a reminder that she almost always wears a mask and that variations of this mask are the only thing most characters will ever see of her.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 219

So let me just recap the last twenty episodes.  Gohan went to high school, and he didn’t want anyone to know about his super powers, so he invented a superhero persona to disguise himself.   Videl learned his secret, and blackmailed him into entering the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, because she also learned that he was the son of former Budokai champion Son Goku.    Videl is, of course, the daughter of former Budokai champion Mr. Satan, so she thinks it would be a dream match to fight Gohan, but she has no idea how much stronger Gohan is.   

Overhearing Gohan talking about the tournament, Vegeta invited himself to the competition, just so he can Gohan could have a real competition instead of Gohan just steamrolling the others.   Then Goku decided to join in, cashing in his one day to return to the living world.    And before you knew it, we had this feel-good reunion on our hands, with most of the Z-Fighters and their friends having a fun time.   

Except the Surpreme Kai is also in the tournament, as he and his sidekick Kibito have entered undercover, apparently for reasons having to do with two other entrants, Yamu and Spopovitch.    As far as anyone can tell, Y&S were once ordinary humans, but they’ve been drastically changed, and they seem to have some evil agenda for the tournament.   

And that brings us to this episode, the finale of the “World Tournament Saga,” as Funimation reckoned the story arcs back in 2001.    The irony is that the past ten episodes have been all about this tournament, but it’s actually been nothing but a sideshow.    The real story unfolds here, with Kibito facing Gohan in the fourth match of the first round.    Kibito just wants Gohan to turn Super Saiyan, and the Supreme Kai explains that this is because he expects Yamu and Spopovitch to assault Gohan.     Gohan could easily fight those two off, but Shin plans to psychically restrain Gohan, allowing Yamu and Spopes to do their business.    The point of all this, as we’ll see later, is that the Supreme Kai wants to follow Yamu and Spopovitch back to their boss.     

I say all of this because Episodes 200-219 are sort of a lull in DBZ.   I don’t know if everyone sees it that way, or maybe it’s just me, but it is tempting for me to write this part off as kind of boring.    Mostly, I look back on it fondly because I was excitedly buying these episodes on VHS tapes in the summer of ‘01, because I really wanted to know what happened next.    I don’t know why I’m so nostalgic for those days.    I felt kind of pathetic at the time: this huge nerd, fresh out of college, sitting alone in his apartment watching anime tapes.   A couple of liveblog posts ago, I used a joke that I’ve been sitting on for 18 years because I had no one I could share it with.   This batch of episodes is a little lower-energy than the rest, but they’re still special to me, and they do carry a heapin’ helpin’ of plot, even if it looks like it’s just the gang sort of whiling away an afternoon.  

Sometimes you can just do that, you know?    You can blow a day doing something fun instead of something that “keeps the plot moving”, and it’s not wasted time.   I don’t regret those nights watching these episodes on tape over a glass of milk and a bag of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.   If anything, I regret that I might have ever regretted it.    Sometimes you just gotta chill out.   DBZ knows it, and we should know it too.   

Anyway, Gohan’s agreed to Kibito’s request that he turn Super Saiyan, but he decides to up the ante and offers to turn into a Super Saiyan that has advanced beyond a Super Saiyan by further overcoming the Super Saiyan wall that separates Super Saiyans from Ascended Ultra Super Saiyans who have surpassed the Super Saiyan.    In case you’re wondering, the term “Super Saiyan 2″ still hasn’t been coined yet.   It can’t happen soon enough.

When I watched these episodes the first time, I didn’t understand the distinction between SSJ1 and SSJ2, mainly because the show hardly bothered to distinguish them as separate forms.   I just assumed that Gohan powered up when he beat Cell, but he hadn’t actually transformed into something other than what he was when he first started fighting him.   You can tell the difference between SSJ1 and SSJ2, but it’s kind of tricky, and it helps to have a side by side comparison.    With Kid Gohan, it’s pretty easy, because you see him in both forms for several episodes, and he switches back and forth a couple of times.   

With High School Gohan, good luck, because his hairstyle looks about the same either way.

Here he is in Super Saiyan 1, back in Episode 205.   

And here he is again in Episode 200.   Not much of a difference.    Really, the only reason I think I can tell is because of context clues in the story.   Gohan only transformed in #200 to disguise himself, so why waste energy using his strongest form just to clobber bank robbers?    In #205, he was just training, and while he might have eventually worked his way up to training in SSJ2, Episode 205 was his very first day of whipping himself into shape, so it doesn’t seem likely.    And in Episode 210, I assume he went to SSJ2 because he offered to do it.     Why bring it up at all if he wasn’t planning to use the form?

Everyone’s amazed, especially Videl and Gohan’s other friends, who now realize that Gohan was the “Golden Warrior” and Great Saiyaman.   But Vegeta’s not impressed, becuase he senses that Gohan is actually weaker now than he was when he defeated Cell seven years ago.   

Lines like this are evidence that Vegeta must have mastered the SSJ2 transformation himself by this point.   I’ve seen this hotly debated in the fandom, since we really have no direct proof, but Vegeta was certain that he could beat Gohan here, and I don’t see how he could believe that unless he managed to replicate the power Gohan used to beat Cell.    Make no mistake, Gohan may be weaker than he was in Episode 192, but that’s still way, way stronger than almost everyone else here.   

The live crowd starts to figure out that Gohan must have something to do with those guys from the Cell Games, which is exactly why Gohan asked everyone not to transform at this event.  

Meanwhile, Yamu and Spopovitch ready some weird device and they prepare to go into action.    As they do...

The Supreme Kai uses some sort of power to immobilize him long enough to allow Y&S to do their thing.   

I’m not really sure how these two expected this to go.    They were scouting the tournament for strong powers, but did they really think Spopovitch would be strong enough to restrain such a person all by himself?    Shouldn’t they be a little suspicious at how easy this is?    They don’t know that the Kai is helping them right now, but you’d think it would occur to them.     In any event, they jab Gohan with some sort of bottle, and it sucks the ki energy right out of his body.  

Krillin tries to make the save, but Piccolo stops him because this is too important.  I do like that Krillin is the one to try to jump in.   He’s been riding with that kid for years, and he’s just used to having Gohan’s back.   You might as well as a fish to give up swimming.   

Videl tries to jump in too, but Goku stops her.    She’s pretty upset about it...

But Goku assures her that his son can survive this.    He doesn’t know what’s going on, and he may not entirely trust the Supreme Kai, but he trusts his son’s toughness.     There is something I really like about Goku and Videl’s interactions.    They barely appear together, but there’s a lot of untapped potential there.    For Videl, Gohan is this magical boy, a pure cinammon roll who can do wonderful things and sweep her off her feet.     But his dad is this Legendary Super Saiyan who grew up in the woods and pees wherever he wants.   Goku embodies a lot of the stuff Gohan is trying to hide from her, and that must surely intrigue and frighten Videl.

Cool shot of Mighty Mask (Goten and Trunks) watching this play out from the nosebleed seats.    I’m not sure why they don’t jump in.   I guess they figure if the adults aren’t getting involved then they shouldn’t either, but that seems contrary to what they’ve been doing up to now.

Then Yamu announces that their doohickey is full, so they can stop now.   Mission accomplished, whatever that was.

Kibito just stands there like a goof.   I guess they have no idea what he’s all about, so they must think he’s too scared to intervene.    They did threaten to kill anyone who got in their way, but it’s strange that they came here to steal ki from powerful fighters, and never considered that they might meet people stronger than themselves.

Spopovitch even remarks on how easy this was.    Seriously, they filled that whole bottle after attacking just one guy.    You’d think that would make them a little wary, but no.

Then they just fly away.   The Supreme Kai waits for them to get a decent head start, then he announces that he’s going to follow them, and he asks the Z-Fighters to join him if they wish.   

Goku’s in, because he wants to know what’s happening, and he’s not worried about Gohan, since he survived, just as the Kai promised, and Kibito’s going to stay behind and heal him, so they must be on the level.

Yeah, Gohan’s alive, but he looks to be in pretty bad shape.   See, this is exactly the skin color Yamu and Spopovitch have all the time, and I’m pretty sure that’s meant to indicate how physically messed up they are.   But Turles looked like this all through Movie 3, with no explanation given.   Was the Tree of Might’s fruit doing that to him?   Who knows?

Videl asks Gohan to shake it off.    I don’t think Taylor Swift songs can fix what’s wrong with Gohan right now, but I’m betting that usually perks him right up.   

Piccolo and Krillin are going to go with Goku, but Vegeta hates this idea, because their match is next, and Vegeta wants to fight Goku above all other business.    Whatever the Supreme Kai is up to, it could waste Goku’s whole day, and they might never get a chance to have their fight.  

So ultimately, Vegeta joins the Supreme Kai, since the only way he can ensure he gets his fight with Goku is by sticking close to him and making sure this situation gets resolved in timely manner.  

And 18′s staying behind, because the Tournament has a cash prize but the Supreme Kai is doing this pro bono.   

She also tells Krillin to bug out if things get too rough.   I’m pretty sure Krillin’s been fighting above his class for decades now, so it’s a little late for that.   18 knows that, but she’s gotta say it anyway.

So everyone leaves, and Kibito heals Gohan in the ring, promising a full explanation later.   

Then Videl asks if she can join Gohan and Kibito.   Gohan isn’t thrilled with that idea, but she insists,so they leave together.

Mr. Satan hates that, but he can’t really do anything about it.    Also, this is the first time he’s seen Videl fly, which is a shock.

Chi-Chi is worried.   I’m not sure why everyone in the stands is all beat up.   Maybe Chi-Chi did that while she was worried about Gohan earlier.    Tbh, I only took this screencap because I like Chi-Chi’s mussed-up hair.  

So... what about the tournament?    What about the tournament?   This is kind of a shame, really, because when I first watched these episodes, I just naturally assumed they were really going through with this event, and in a few episodes we were really going to see Goku fight Vegeta in a Budokai match.   But in hindsight, the 25th Budokai looked like a real clusterfuck of a tournament.   16 participants, many of them hopelessly outclassed, and the brackets were completely screwed up.    Was anyone really looking forward to seeing Yamu fight Goten and Trunks in a Might Mask costume?   The reality is that this tournament really was never meant to happen.  

Far away, the Z-Fighters catch up to the Supreme Kai, and he starts filling them in on the plot.    Long ago, there was an evil wizard--or “Madoshi”-- named Bibidi, who “accidentally conjured up” a monster.    Okay, that’s interesting, because the dub always said that Bibidi created Majin Buu, but I’ve seen other sources state that Buu existed long before Bibidi hooked up with him.    So that explains that.   

All Buu ever did was wreck shit, and he destroyed hundreds of inhabited worlds, which sounds kind of nostalgic to Vegeta, since the Saiyans basically did the same thing in the day...

But the Kai can hear his thoughts, and he quickly points out that Buu is far beyond the power of the Saiyan species.  Frieza killed nearly all of the Saiyans in one attack, and the four Supreme Kais could have killed Frieza in one blow, but Buu killed the other Supreme Kais, which is why Shin is the only one left.  

The problem with Majin Buu was that even Bibidi had trouble handling the guy, so he would store him in a magic ball from time to time.    I’m not quite sure how that worked, but I assume Bibidi would unleash Buu on a planet, then put him into storage before heading off to the next target.   

So this is a pretty big infodump.  It takes up half of this episode and half of the next one.    One thing I like about how this is executed is that we keep shifting from one group of characters to another.   It’s a little thing, but it keeps the scene from getting stale.   Also, Shin and Kibito are just telling the same story, so it’s not like we lose anything this way.  

So Shin managed to kill Bibidi while Buu was sealed up, and that ended the Buu crisis, except they never actually disposed of Majin Buu.    The thought was that there was no need, since only Bibidi had the ability to free Buu from his seal, and life on Earth was primitive and undeveloped, so this planet seemed like a good place to leave Buu.    They put the ball somewhere that Earthlings would likely never go to, and called it good.  

That’s a bit of a plot hole, though, because later, a major plot point will be that Buu might end up getting released prematurely, which implies that the magic ball is a lot easier to open than this, even without a wizard.   But we’ll get into that later.

As it turns out, the Supreme Kai recently discovered that Bibidi had a son, Babidi, who is just as evil as his dad, and has resolved to break the seal and unleash Majin Buu all over again.   

I have seen sources that say Babidi wasn’t actually the flesh-and-blood offspring of Bibidi, but actually a sort of magical duplicate of Bibidi, one that survived Babidi’s death and vowed to carry on where the original left off.   Sort of like how Piccolo Junior began as a virtual copy of King Piccolo, but gradually developed into a distinct being.   I suppose that’s more plausible than Bibidi getting laid, but otherwise, I don’t know that it really changes the story at all.

So Babidi wants to release Majin Buu, and he’s apparently getting close to reaching that goal.   So what does that have to do with Yamu and Spopovitch, and their mission to collect Gohan’s energy?   Well, that part has to wait for the next episode.   

And that’s the World Tournament Saga.   Next up is Babidi, and he’s a real treat.  

[rebeccahpedersen]

How Do You Value Condominium Amenities?

TorontoRealtyBlog

I would have thought that I’ve re-written this blog over and over, throughout the years, but I combed through the archives and realized the last time I really listed off Toronto’s most common condominium amenities was back in 2012!  And a lot has changed since then.

Without exaggeration, I did not once, ever use the gym in my first condo.  And it wasn’t a bad gym, I just never had occasion to use it.

In my current condo, I run a 5K on the treadmill every Sunday night.  And by “every,” I suppose I mean in my mind, because in practice I probably do it every other week.

Perhaps I workout in my current condo gym, but never did in my previous condo, because of life changes and happenstance.  But either way, I have personally experienced both the value of a condominium amenity, and the waste of the very same one.

Let’s not forget, you do pay for condominium amenities.

One of the very most naive things I ever hear among the buyer pool is, “I feel like I’m getting so much more value when I look at condos with substantial amenities, than with condos without.”

That’s like during the the 2018 Provincial election, when the NDP and the Liberals kept trying to out-do each-other by providing more “free” services to the voters.

In both examples, you’re paying for it, whether you realize it or not.

Some condos in the downtown core have absolutely zero amenities, and some are completely over-done.

So before I give you some examples of the latter, let me show you how I break down condo amenities, at least from a value and functionality standpoint:

TIER 1:

Gym

Concierge

Rooftop Deck

TIER 2:

Party Room

Guest Suites

Pool

Hot Tub/Sauna

TIER 3:

Games/Billiard Room

Tennis/Squash Court

Yoga Studio

TIER 4:

Cinema

Dog Wash

Car Wash

Meeting Room

Multimedia/Business Room

TIER 5:

Bowling Alley

Virtual Golf Simulator

Baseball Batting Cage

Video Game Room

Poker Room

Library

Lounge

Like I said, we could probably argue about this all day long, whether it’s what tier a certain amenity belongs in, or whether one particular amenity is more valuable than another.

I’ve also probably missed a few of the newer amenities offered in downtown condos, but perhaps that’s because some of them are just so crazy that I never knew they existed.  More on that later.

For now, let me briefly run through the amenities above, and why I think they belong in certain tiers.

TIER 1:

Concierge – This is, without a doubt, the number-one amenity that people look for, whehter it’s for safety, or because they don’t like going to Canada Post to pick up packages.  A 24/7 concierge is becoming automatic in most new condominiums, and that’s primarily becuase of the popularity.

Gym – This is a close second, in my opinion.  Many of us condo-dwellers, myself included, grew up as gym-rats, and the condo gyms just aren’t “enough” for us.  But many of us have come around on supplementing a gym routine with a quick fix in the condo gym, and then there are scores of buyers who get more than they need from the condo gym, and relish the opportunity to give up a monthly membership.

Rooftop Deck – Whether this has communal BBQ’s or not, I would still put this in Tier #1, as most of my condo buyers are looking for some additional outdoor space, with or without a view, just for extra breathing room.  Especially for those buyers who have only a Juliette balcony, or a small, useless 4 x 6 foot plank.

TIER 2:

Party Room – Most people who live in condos have never rented the party room, and yet so many condo-buyers want one.  I think that when you’re contemplating a move into 700, 600, or maybe even 476 square feet, you like the idea of being able to use a much larger space.  It makes the committment to a small box in the sky a lot easier!

Guest Suites – In the same way that people like the idea of a party room, condo-buyers always seem to think of their “out-of-town guests.”  It’s very sweet of them, and again, in practice, they don’t get a ton of use out of them.

Pool – Many of you will balk at this being in Tier #2, but I get a lot of requests from buyers for a pool.  Certainly more people ask for a pool than a bowling alley, or a wine cellar, or whatever else developers are coming up with these days.

Sauna/Hot Tub – This could debatably go in Tier #3, but with a pool often comes these two features, so I think they go hand-in-hand.

TIER 3:

Games/Billiard – Getting into the third tier means these items aren’t necessarily requested by my condo-buyers, but rather I’m gaging their response to the mere presence of these amenities.  A billiard room gets used, and thus it’s the most common of all the “games” in condos.  Spaces like the games room at the Merchandise Lofts – with billiards, ping-pong, foosball, darts et al makes for a much longer stay, even an actual “event” one Saturday night.

Tennis/Squash Courts – This is hardly ever requested, but I know a lot of people who use the tennis courts in the buildings down by the waterfront.

Yoga Studio – You might think, “This is really just a gym, so why isn’t this in the first tier?”  Well, I think a gym has weights and cardio machines.  A yoga studio is a separate, defined, enclosed area strictly for yoga, although in my building people use it for band practice…

TIER 4:

Cinema – You might use this once, maybe.  If you’re using this on the regular, then you’re clearly making a point to get your condo fees’ worth!

Dog Wash – You can put this in Tier #3 if you want, and I probably won’t disagree.  There are so many dog-owners in condos these days, but I personally don’t think that means a defined dog washing station is a necessary condo amenity.  I wash my dog once per week in my bathtub, although she’s only eight pounds.

Car Wash – This can be convenient, I’ll give it that.  But as most of you know, the “coin-wash” you get of the do-it-yourself variety is awful compared to the $10 wash you get, even at Esso.  So while this is convenient when you have bird crap on your windshield, you know it’s not the real-deal.

Meeting Room – Now we get into amenities that make some of you ask, “What the hell is that?”  Well, a meeting room is essentially a smaller version of a party room, often that you don’t need to either, a) pay for, b) hire security for.  We have one in my building, one level below the party room.  I had a fantasy football summit a few years ago (don’t ask – it was a meeting after thirteen years of league play with the same ten guys, to discuss rule changes), and I didn’t want to pay for the party room, or bother my wife with the presence of the other nine guys.  This room was perfect.

Multimedia/Business – I know this sounds silly, like the “business centre” of yesteryear, but think of all the students that rent in downtown condos, many of whom rent a 1-plus-den with a roommate and have zero privacy.  Many of them go down to the multimedia room or business centre to study.

TIER 5:

Bowling Alley – This feature made its first appearance, at least that I know of, in CityPlace back in the early 2000’s.  At the time, it seemed excessive, and unnecessary.  But as I’ll explain, and perhaps delve into further on Friday, this might have paved the way for far more outlandish features.

Virtual Golf Simulator – This is where you get into the category of, “I guess if it exists in my building, I”ll use it.”  But you would never want something like this if you knew you had to pay for it!  The problem with something like a virtual golf simulator is that the technology changes dramatically from year-to-year.  Ask anybody who has hit a golf club in the simulator at Golf Town this year, and they’ll tell you.  A simulator from 6-years-ago is like firing shots in the dark and making guesses about where they end up.  Not to mention, think about the maintenance and the potential for damage.  Just add alcohol on a Saturday night, and voila!

Baseball Batting Cage – This is getting repetitive, I know…

Video Game Room – These exist, trust me.  About halfway through writing this blog, I figured I’d better provide photo evidence of some of these amenities, so I’ll come back on Friday with a dedicated post.

Poker Room – My mind is reeling with cynical comments; I don’t know where to stat.  Is it BYOSG?  Bring your own sunglasses?  Will residents show up with advertising on their shirts?  “FULL TILT POKER” hats, and the like?  Who decides the buy-ins, the games, the players?  Is the condominium corporation responsible if somebody loses their life savings, and blames it on an illness?

Library – Here’s a return to normalcy, and yet I included this in Tier #5 becuase for the life of me, I’ve never understood who seeks out the use of a library in a condo.  I understand that some people out there like to turn their front lawn into those “Little Free Libraries;” take a book, leave a book!  But in a condo, I don’t know.  I remember my old stomping grounds at 230 King Street had this odd, almost awkward little area around the corner from the front foyer where there was a small shelf with books, and one chair.  It was so odd!  I had a Halloween party back in 2005 and as we were leaving the condo, somebody stumbled upon it and was like, “Oh wow!  A secret lair!”  My current condo has a library too, which is painfully awkward, since it reeks of retirees who have nothing to do.  On the wall next to the billiard table, there are shelves, clearly installed by a resident, and books – separated into genres!  “Fiction” and “Non-Fiction,” the hand-made signs read!  Hey look, I know I’m making fun here, and many of you reading this will disagree.  But walk up the aisle of an airplane and you’ll see so many older-folks on Kindles and iPads!  I will admit, I read paper books, and I will never change.  I refuse to give up the turning of a page, the placing of a bookmark, and the proud display of an actual book on a shelf, once I’ve completed it………….three times per year.  But I find it odd that as libraries in society are being closed, condominium residents are creating them at home.

Lounge – We’re not talking about party rooms here, nor are we talking about libraries.  Some condos have something called a “lounge,” which is often a party room with no party, or a library with no books.  It’s not a business centre, or a multimedia room.  What the hell is it?  I’m not sure…

Let’s break here for now, and on Friday, I’ll show you some of the more impressive, and/or ludicrous amenities that either already exist, or are being planned…

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