#this is about Arthur Lester but it can be about anybody

[arthur-lesters-right-arm]

Hey guys the good news is they approved your blorbo's gay sex the bad news is you put your blorbo in too many previous situations and they accidentally fucked him to death :( He fell apart like a bunch of jenga blocks. Yeah he turned to dust sorry :((((

[slapjacq]

Alright I’m hopping on my soapbox again

First and foremost this is not pointed at anyone. I’m not bitching and moaning, and if it comes off that way, I’m not trying to come off that way. I just wanted to vomit some words about something that a post I saw pointed out and the more I’ve thought about it, the more I see and agree with what it says.

We joke a lot about Arthur Lester being a pathetic wet cat of a man. And yes, at points he definitely is. But I feel like we kind of play off how much trauma this man just carries around like it’s a fanny pack.

This goes for a lot of other protagonists/characters I see being talked about in this manner btw. Like they all have such deep rooted issues due to the things they’ve experienced. And like at the end of the day, if anybody else went through even of the fraction of the hardships that these characters face, they’d be a fucking mess too. Probably even in an even worse state. The greatest thing about these characters are their capacity to endure and push forward, and I feel like that sort of sentiment gets pushed to the side. It’s a weird dichotomy of if we see them after they’ve endured, we’re more likely to think of them as tough, hardened individuals. But if we see them while they are enduring, the idea of them being as strong as they are is almost ignored in a way.

Which also feels like a reflection of some of us not being able to congratulate ourselves for pulling ourselves through our issues but hoo boy thats a different conversation altogether and is to be had between one and one’s therapist or trusted individual.

And again for clarification I’m not saying like “don’t joke about this 😤😫”. Sometimes we see ourselves in these characters and just joke about it (which there is nothing wrong with). When we are reminded of our issues and experiences, for some of us, our first responses is to make fun of it. I’m just as guilty of it as any other person. And idk, something about it just irks me in a type of way I can’t put my finger on. Idk food for thought.

Which leads me to say I love John Doe in Malevolent so, so, so, so, so much. He’s Arthur’s biggest fan, but like in the way a Chicagoan is a fan of their baseball teams.

(Edit: if there’s a bunch of grammatical errors, I’m aware and trying to scrub them best I can. I wrote this hungover and coming home from work at like midnight.)

[oldmrfroag]

Gasp!!! ;-; I feel so honored @jonmartintrash

Ugh ah jeez uh here we go!!!

3 ships: Jonmartin (The Magnus Archives), Alvina and The Interviewer (The Amelia Project), and Juno Steel and Peter Nureyev from The Penumbra Podcast. Bonus points for Arthur Lester and John to have a self care day, those crazy bastards deserve it.

First Ever Ship: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians because I’m a shameless Percy Jackson kid, but also perhaps Karl and Eva from the Oracle of Delphi Keep series?

Last song: Give a Little by Cg5 and Legrand, interspersed with Will Wood. My playlist is a mess rn.

Last Movie: I don’t even remember, I haven’t really watched any lately.

Currently Reading: The Lord of the Rings audiobook, but specifically the version on Scott Christian Sava’s Lord of the Rings painting playlist where he puts the audio over him drawing portraits of the characters.

Currently Consuming: all podcasts babyyyyyy. Lovely @moonunit13 has introduced me to the Amelia Project and I’ve been tearing through that- I think I’m on season 3 part II right now and having a blast. Other than that it’s finishing up welcome to nightvale, malevolent, and Not another dnd podcast, though the last one has very long episodes so it’s a bit more difficult to catch up with it. Also hermitcraft! Basically anything hermitcraft I can get my grubby little Minecraft hands on.

Currently Craving: Ginger Peach Iced tea, it is hot and humid and I require cold drinks ;-; though the Amelia project has given me an incessant desire for good cocoa.

9 people you want to know better: oooooooo that’s a tough one, but I think: @hotdrinks has very very swag art especially of Martin Blackwood my beloved, @applestruda also has VERY cool hermit craft art. @moonunit13 ofc ofc @kalapebbles to see their answers. @snekberry because their art is VERY swag and also I’ve been a lurker on their blog and they just seem generally very cool but I’ve been a bit too shy to just drop into their ask and scream about their art. Uhh @thewrongshop does MAGNIFICENT character writing for Martin and Jon and is just a generally very cool and swag person… oh jeez I’m really blanking now. I think that’s it for now but I’ll update if I can think of anybody else lol

And thank you again to @jonmartintrash you are very swag and have been a blast to be mutuals with. Brings a smile on my face to see silly malevolent or amelia project memes on my dash :)))

Thank you @queerinyellow I love doing things like this!

3 ships: Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Jarthur-qpr (Malevolent), Jonmartin (The Magnus Archives)

First Ever Ship: Violet and Duncan (Dunclet) from A series of unfortunate events (specifically the show)

Last song: evermore by Taylor Swift? I cant remember lmao. It might have been a Queen song

Last Movie: Summerland

Currently Reading: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuistion; The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Currently Watching: 1899, The Magicians, New Girl, Greys Anatomy, The Last of Us

Currently Consuming: in terms of media...mostly podcasts: Welcome to Night Vale, woe.begone, King Falls AM, The Amelia Project, The White Vault...I'm also obsessed with looking at fanart, especially of Malevolent. And I've started reading fanfic for the first time, it's pretty fun

Currently Craving: Garlic Butter Noodles :]

9 people you want to know better: (no pressure of course, I know some of you already 👀!) @eyes-sheep-song @eyeldritch @nightvale-is-gay @staellaris @averysaurus @brokenrecordofahuman @fivehargreaves @threearmsally @mrfroag

(I'm gonna add 2 more) @stobotnik @hello-from-the-night-archives

[tiffgeorgina]

do you have any favourites parts of season 2? (I agree that the plot has been.... Thin? Non-existent?) But what are the things about this season that you've enjoyed?

hello anon! a few things i’ve enjoyed are:

-the new guest stars. watkins, hill, and raphael are knocking it out of the park. we waited longer than i wanted to to see june and dulé but hey, at least they’re here now! im already kinda attached to their characters and im pretty sure all of them are gonna get fucked over so im scared fjgkjhfdg

-just seeing all these mf characters again. ive missed them so much kjhgkdfjh i could watch them watch paint dry and i’d be okay with that bc i just MISSED THEM

-CONNIE. RESURGENCE. OMFG. i saw xosha roquemore (the actress who plays her) credited for 2x05 a couple weeks back and i FREAKED. OUT. god why do i love this narc. acab except for connie because i like her and she’s pretty (seeing her in full color and 80s style was a REVELATION)

-mo coming back ugh i missed him at the jammer group. seeing him complacent and beaten down HURT. im ready to see him fuck blair up i love blair but he’s walking away in handcuffs this season if mo has anything to say about it

-blair/harris. ok they’re cute i said it (plus they’re easily getting the most screentime out of all the couples this season which is nice bc their relationship is so much less established than the others)

-mo/dawn flashbacks mo/dawn flashbacks mo/dawn flashbacks mo/dawn flashbacks mo/dawn flashbacks!!! i knew we would be seeing their backstory but i didn’t expect it to be the first thing we saw all season!!! i love mo/dawn and i love getting backstory since i was waiting to know more about their past for so long and!! it’s here!! now we know everybody at the jammer group used to work for leighman and that’s why they hate them and we know mo and dawn go back a decade and!! it’s just so satisfying to KNOW i love to see it

-the entirety of Fore! (2x04) yassir. fucking. killed. that. shit. he was the sole writing credit for that episode, and when i saw that on the imdb page i simply knew it would be god tier. and it was! admittedly a little plotless, but that’s par for the course this season, plus it was early enough in the season to get away with it i think. the twist at the end. corky’s entrance. blair/harris. blair being an idiot. blair being a high idiot. yassir x being the king of feminism. yassir lester writing andrew’s emmy reel like that. we haven’t seen season 2B yet but 2A peaked with fore!. period. try to disagree with me. you can’t.

-ofc the 80s aesthetic that we all know and love. i saw somebody describe black monday as a period piece once and it seemed kind of ill-fitting bc it’s not set in victorian era england but yk what? it’s totally fitting. this is a period piece. the 80s slap.

-blair being the villain that we know he is. i wish they would quit stalling on this because it’s making all the characters seem monotonous and non-distinct, but i like those moments where blair snaps (“WE ARE DOING THIS” and “i am the only family you need now. just me”) andrew’s such an excellent actor and it’s fun to see this side of his range since he’s usually played really nice and wholesome (or at least not downright villainous) characters. he’s sending chills down my spine with some of the shit he’s doing and saying this season. andrew. emmy. nomination. now. GIVE IT TO ME NOW.

-momentary mo&blair resurgence (even if it’s fake). i miss mo&blair as father-son so fucking much anon you don’t even know. finding out that they were the ones clicking their heels in 2x06? i could’ve CRIED

-being right. ok this has a bit of lore but i have been STALKING the imdb page for black monday for MONTHS. bc they’ll add episode titles, or screencaps, or cast members all the time without telling anybody, and everything’s been accurate so far (so it’s not some troll lying on imdb we know that lol). specifically, in 2x09, there’s a character credited as dr. gabe egon. the tl already had suspicions that he had smth to do with conversion therapy bc there’s this one picture that sho released where you can see all this shit mo’s written on this board, and it DEFINITELY SAID CONVERSION THERAPY. and this episode comes around and roger is walking out this door that says “dr. gabe egon ~ therapy for the religiously erect” or whatever and i was like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and then roger blurts out that it’s literally CT and i !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this shit is in different areas for better or for worse and even if im confused and bored at the same time being pulled along for the ride is fun as hell

-the naming scheme for the episodes. i literally had no idea what they would do for the episode titles this season since there’s no countdown to black monday, but i like how it’s shit that the characters say/write. bc then a character says the episode name and you’re like !!!!!!!!!!! jfhgdfjk. plus it kinda tells you what’s going on--i knew 2x06 would be about a ponzi scheme before blair even proposed the idea in 2x05 bc the ep is titled Arthur Ponzarelli. and i knew fore! would be the episode where blair and the harrises are golfing and blair gets hit by a golf cart since “fore” is a golf term. and i know that 2x07, “who are you supposed to be?” is the weird halloween party ep where everybody looks ridiculous and ppl are def gonna be getting into it. 2x10 is titled “i don’t like mondays” and idk what that means but i bet mo says that line in the show. and 2x09 is titled “at that time” and im so scared bc that episode has a blair flashback and WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHAT DOES IT ALL MEANNNN

-more women and more women being relevant to the plot. good. it was getting a little obnoxiously man-influenced here. cmon the majority of the cast AND the majority of the directors AND the majority of the producers AND a majority of the writers AND both the creators can’t ALL be men. like pick a struggle.

whew that list was longer than i expected it to be! thanks for the ask anon! what are y’all’s favorite parts so far?

[johnnymundano]

Class of 1984 (1982)

Directed by Mark L. Lester

Screenplay by Tom Holland, Mark Lester and John Saxton

Story by Tom Holland

Music by Lalo Schifrin

Country: United States

Running Time: 94 minutes

CAST

Perry King as Andrew Norris

Merrie Lynn Ross as Diane Norris

Timothy Van Patten as Peter Stegman

Stefan Arngrim as Drugstore

Michael J. Fox as Arthur

Roddy McDowall as Terry Corrigan

Keith Knight as Barnyard

Lisa Langlois as Patsy

Neil Clifford as Fallon

Al Waxman as Detective Stewiski

Erin Flannery as Deneen

David Gardner as Principal Morganthau

Linda Sorensen as Mrs. Stegman

Teenage Head as themselves

Note: If you enjoyed Class of 1984 you may also be interested in the thematic sequel Class of 1999 by the same prime movers, which is much more overtly comedic, and Unman, Wittering and Zigo (1971) a very British spin on the same themes starring David Hemmings.

Also: I took the images from the Internet like the anarchist hell child that I am. No rules! no future! Rip the system!

I remember reading about Class of 1984 when it came out and thinking the review in Starburst made it  sound like an incredibly exploitative and deeply unpleasant movie. Being 12 I immediately made a mental note to see it as soon as possible. Unfortunately the movie wasn’t passed uncut in the UK until 2005, by which time I was no longer 12 and thus somewhat preoccupied by the labyrinth of idiocy which is adult life. But that mental note still niggled, and so in 2019 that 12 year old’s simple ambition was belatedly fulfilled thanks to the UK blu-ray release of the movie. Turns out that not only is Class of 1984 incredibly exploitative and deeply unpleasant, but also (spoiler) my taste hasn’t evolved much since I was 12, because, me? I thought it was a hoot. A hoot and a half in fact.

Class of 1984 asks the old, old question Hollywood loves to ask - how far do you have to push a liberal milquetoast until he starts biting folk’s throats out? Because, as any decent hard working common sense fella with dirt under his fingernails will tell ya, it’s okay to have high-falutin’ ideas about equality and decency and edjumacation but, let’s face facts, when their wife’s blood soaks their corduroy jacket these liberal schmucks won’t hesitate to dip their fists in the basin of other people’s faces. It’s a small-minded, nasty genre that takes unseemly delight in demonstrating that the self-appointed avatars of civilisation have feet of clay. But it isn’t a stupid genre; it also recognises the fact that being a pigeon chested liberal weakling takes some doing against very stiff resistance. Basically, the genre exploits the fact that small-mindedness and mean-spiritedness are universal levellers. To err may very well be human, but to wish for violent revenge is, well, very human. Class of 1984 is one of the smartest of this, uh, cathartic genre; it is simultaneously a Push The Liberal Until He Snaps Movie and an Impotent White Male Liberal Revenge Fantasy movie. Everyone wins. Except women; it was made in 1982 so women get short shrift; being (mainly) either whores or wives to be sacrificed on the altar of manliness. If you are a regular reader of comics I should probably point out that this is not representative of women’s roles in the real world.

But then Class of 1984 is not set in the real world. For a start it was made in 1982 so it is set in the (then) near-future. “We are the future!” is the regular mocking  refrain of the violent urchins, and also of the typically ridiculous Alice Cooper title song, which exists only to remind you just how seriously you should take any of this. (Not very.) This is the near future of every frothing right wingers most secretive wet dreams. The inner city schools are crumbling concrete nests of perversion and lawlessness. Kids carry knives and deal drugs while the feeble faculty fall apart, turn to drink, or turn a blind eye. Feral monsters in torn clothes roam the halls; rulers of the fallen kingdom of academia. This is where weak-kneed liberalism, left-wing learning and the kind word in place of the hard fist get you: a violent hellish maelstrom only the force of a quiet white man pushed too damn far can tame. Yes, Class of 1984 is the kind of movie that makes rightwingers spaff so hard and so often that by the time the credits roll only dust is puffing out. But by the time the put upon teacher is putting the buzzsaw to bloody good use in the woodwork room, effete liberal cheesecakes will also be readjusting their tortoiseshell glasses and getting sweaty under their white collars. Something for everyone, like I said.

There’s little point unfolding the plot of Class of 1984 since it’s familiar stuff, but it is very well done stuff. It certainly delivers the expected multiple frissons as Andrew Norris (Perry King) finds every humane alternative barred to him as he is remorselessly forced down the rat run built from liberal society’s failure to face his inner beast. And there is a lovely build to the finale; in which the hopes and dreams of the normal students, in the form of a concert, is contrasted with the ultra-violent theatre of vengeance unfolding in the corridors beyond. For a movie aimed squarely at the amygdala Class of 1984 is surprisingly wittily and smartly written. it is also surprisingly wittily and smartly acted. Perry King is ridiculously chiselled of chin, but elicits much sympathy as his flailing increases, and you feel a sense of both triumph and loss as he finally grasps the nettle of his inner ferocity. Merrie Lynn Ross has little do as the sacrificial wife, Diane, but she effectively provides the foil of the sheltered person who doesn’t understand how bad things are in the real world. Unfortunately, in a very, very, (very) tough to watch scene, the bad things finally become impossible for her to ignore. The actual class are pretty great too. Really horrible, each and every one of the scrofulous, disrespectful little shits. Special mention, though, for Timothy Van Patten as the sociopathic ringleader, Peter Stegman. A truly nasty piece of work who plays the system and his single mother with even more finesse than the piano he unexpectedly excels at.

(The kids’ convincingly unhinged viciousness is vital since you are supposed to cheer as they fall before the force they have unleashed, a force more dangerous than nuclear fire; the angry white man pushed too far. And you will holler as they drop, because the young cast have done their awful work well. Mind you, you are only able to applaud their painful demises since they all look to be in their mid-20s. Had they actually looked like the teenagers they represent the whole thing would have been too unpleasant for anybody, well, anybody not in the NRA. Movies like this can’t get too near the knuckle; it’s part of the unspoken arrangement with the audience.)

But, unpopular news as it may be, not all the kids are shits. Future star Michael J. Fox plays the thankless role of Arthur, The Good Student, complete with puppy fat. Together with Erin Flannery’s Deneen he represents the kids who get left behind but just might make it. Bit of optimism there, snuck in amongst the eruptions of violence. But… Roddy McDowall! Dear, sweet, Roddy McDowall is a revelation. His slightly theatrical aspect is just spot on for Terry Corrigan, the teacher ground down to a desperate, alcoholic wreck, who cracks in a different way to Norris. His heart-breaking descent, together with Fox and Flannery’s kids are the secret heart of the movie. Class of 1984 flirts hot and heavy with nihilism, but is brave enough to finally put out for humanity. All the sturm und drang pandering to the basest emotions is camouflage for a small sliver of optimism. Which isn’t half bad for what’s basically Straw Dogs (1971) set in a 1980s American inner city high school. But, Christ, that Roddy McDowall. Respect is due, sir. As if kids today even know what respect is. The little shits.

[sireneia-a]

me realizing there’s twenty-one playable child units in fe4 second gen and thus exactly enough to assign each one an arcana in a persona au. you know what this means kids

it’s all under the cut with attempts at explanations. i know this isn’t rlly the most relevant thing to this blog, but i’ve written metas on characters that aren’t actually muses so i’m letting it slide. fe4 spoilers will be briefly touched upon for a few characters. the explanations are specifically for how the arcana are represented in persona, but please keep in mind i’m a persona scrub kdhfkdhfdfkfd so if it ends up being only specific to character arcs from p3, my bad. i’m also sticking to the standard cards and avoiding special ones like aeon. welcome to super self-indulgent hell

i did the order by recruitment order, but here’s a link to just the order of all the characters ( sans explanations ) by the actual tarot in case you just want to see that and be done with it

Seliph: The Fool

Obligatory protagonist role getting this arcana, but the Fool is generally based around one being influenced by others. Considering how Seliph is placed in a role as a liberator as thrust upon him by the people’s expectations due to his lineage, I thought it was fitting. 

Lana: Priestess

Who I imagine would be the party’s initial navigator. Regardless, getting away from the strictly Persona gameplay aspects, the Priestess is an arcana given to quieter characters who have untapped potential. I generally just think Lana has the vibe for this as opposed to an actual reason.

Larcei: Temperance

This is one of the leftover ones admittedly. Temperance deals with an inability to balance one’s various life aspects. Larcei tends to be portrayed in adaptations as struggling between her combat as well as her love life, and she’s typically unlucky in the latter.

Ulster: Star

I love you Ulster, but he ended up also being one of the leftover ones as well. The Star is associated with hope and joy. There’s actually a pretty cool quote about this one in terms of bestowing help to others in their time of need but eventually being doomed to fall. Ulster is depicted as being protective of the others ( namely in Seliph’s childhood friend squad ) and is compassionate as well as a big brother type, thus I thought he matched up enough with the idea of bestowing help unto others.

Diarmuid: Strength

The Strength arcana in the Persona universe typically explores characters who have a strength of heart in order to keep going past hardships. Though almost everyone in gen 2 experiences tragedy and tries to overcome it, Diarmuid’s separation from his mother and then his consequent journey through Yied to reunite with his family stuck out to me. Additionally, he always seemed to have a good head on his shoulders even when given bad news in fe5 should you let Nanna fall in battle before he joins Leif’s party.

Lester: Sun

The Sun arcana directly deals with happiness, typically revolving around characters who are faced with miserable situations yet still try and be optimistic; alternatively, the character has lost their initial happiness. A really cool arcana in terms of character arcs, and Lester got it not because I thought it fit him, but because he was literally my last option and I thought the Sun arcana would fit him more than some other remaining ones, and a lot of the characters at this point I was dead set on keeping them locked in to the ones I chose for them. I initially gave this arcana to Lene. 

I’d love to meet someone whose fav is Lester sdkhkddf I feel so bad that I don’t have a lot in terms of analysis on him.

Julia: Fortune

The one I knew I’d want the most for this arcana right away: the Fortune arcana revolves entirely around fate. The characters usually have to make a large decision and strive to seize their own destiny. Julia and Julius both have their births completely orchestrated for the sole purpose of furthering the Lopt Sect’s goals, their fates determined by their bloodlines. Julia rises up from what originally seemed like a helpless situation to being the one to restore peace to Jugdral herself. I literally can’t imagine anybody else, sans Julius, who could fit this arcana better out of the second gen cast.

Fee: Chariot

The Chariot arcana places an emphasis on striving towards a goal, holding a determined and willful spirit. Fee is another character I knew I instantly wanted for a specific arcana, as she’s fixated on finding her missing father-- especially when you take FE5 canon into mind and make her father Lewyn. She embodies both the arc ( willing to accomplish her goal no matter what ) but also the personality associated with the arcana.

Arthur: Magician

For starters, giving this arcana to an actual mage is so satisfying. In any case, the arcana is associated with somebody who takes more of a secondary role to the protagonist but still has their own ego. Additionally, great tragedy befalls and motivates the character-- though typically it’s romance-related in terms of arcs, but I ended up omitting that for this. Arthur is a character who exudes confidence, something that Fee suspects might not be well-deserved when they bicker, and his call to action revolves around his desire to reunite with his family. He’s aware terrible things befell his mother and sister and is terribly protective of his sister as a result. Tine honestly might get the shortest end of the stick out of the second gen cast in terms of horrible fates.

The LI manga adaptation also depicts Arthur as a shameless flirt that is a bit of a pervert, which also helps just strengthen the tie between him and the typical archetype for the Magician arcana character in the Persona series.

Iuchar: Moon

Even though you can’t recruit both of the Neir brothers in one run, I’m giving them different arcanas since I personally think that their character arcs in-game are different enough to warrant it and it gets me up to my perfect twenty-one number.

The Moon arcana revolves around illusions and typically involves a character seeing reality not as how it is, some going so far as to blame themself for something that isn’t true. My analysis on Iuchar touches upon the idea that he’s putting up his carefree personality as an act to be able to more easily show kindness upon Isaachians without arousing suspicion from his family; additionally, it talks about the idea that Iuchar blames himself for everything his family has done under the Empire and asks for forgiveness sincerely, not understanding how Seliph sees that Iuchar is blameless and that even if he wasn’t, the people love him already. Iuchar simply can’t see that reality. Though him being the actual canonically flirty character is a good argument to assign him the Magician arcana, I ultimately personally see the Moon arcana as more fitting for him.

Iucharba: Death

The Death arcana is about life cycles and predominantly characters undergoing a great change. Iucharba is a character I personally note for not really being taken seriously by his family as noted in this meta and he undergoes a great transformation throughout the events of Genealogy should you recruit him as a result. He begins as a young man allied with the Empire, a man sorely underestimated plenty, and he ends up developing into this character that suddenly is the heir to the Neir bloodline and consequently is now actually in a position of power within Grannvale-- a position he was nowhere near getting before defecting. Also not really necessary for this arcana, but the fact that you can only recruit him at the cost of killing his brother helps put a literal death association.

Patty: Devil

I actually originally had Patty assigned to the Lovers arcana, but I think this is fitting enough too. The Devil arcana typically deals with characters who commit immoral actions and have difficulty telling that what they’re doing is wrong. They’re led by impulse and temptation but they are also typically dedicated to a cause. Patty is a thief who steals to procure funds for the orphans her and her brother look after. Her compassion is her commitment and though she’s aware what she’s doing is shady, she still believes herself to be partly in the right because those she steals from are terrible people as well. She’s a more mature Dew in a sense. She’s not a perfect fit for the Devil arcana, but she fits it the most out of all the second gen.

Leif: Justice

Leif honestly probably could’ve fit a few, but I decided the Justice arcana is most suitable; the characters associated with this arcana typically are concerned with fairness and can be pretty stoic. Leif’s obsessed with enacting vengeance-- a theme that is just a breath away from justice. He’s the character I think of most in Jugdral that cares the most about karma and seeing people get what they deserve. Additionally, he fits the personality trend in how he attempts ( keyword: attempt ) to suppress his feelings.

Nanna: Empress

The Empress arcana is given to elegant women in high positions of authority. They’re typically a little on the cold side but hold compassion ( perhaps in a sort of motherly fashion ) for others underneath all of that. The second gen are almost all royalty or nobility of some degree, but Nanna especially came off as a princess to me the most out of all the characters. Additionally, God her JP voice actress really nails that refined aura. Nanna’s personality in my opinion also matches the trend in how she can be a little curt ( namely to Finn should he be her father as well as to Homer in his recruitment conversation ) but she ultimately is heralded for being kind and supportive by Leif. 

Also gameplay-wise, the Empress personas typically end up having healing skills, and Nanna’s class as troubadour plays into this too. 

Ares: Hierophant

Another character I was certain of what arcana I wished to assign them from the start, though I feel like a lot of people would think of different cards than I did. The Hierophant characters typically are fixated on the past and need to learn how to move on from that. Ares’s arc literally revolves around how he’s obsessed with killing Seliph to enact revenge for ( what he believes to be ) Sigurd killing Eldigan. Even Lene attempts to get Ares to stop being tied down to the past and to accept the present and the future. 

Lene: Lovers

I went into this really wanting Lene to be assigned to the Sun as mentioned previously but ended up changing her to the Lovers which works out too. The Lovers character is usually someone who is popular and they’re tied between two conflicting aspects of themself. Lene is friendly and charismatic both due to her personality as well as her line of work, and her character explores her maturity as Ares’s confidant in opposition to how she’s fixated on finding her mother no matter what-- something that can be interpreted as a childish fantasy that’s hopeless considering how little of information she has to go on. Additionally, the Lovers personas gameplay-wise are usually healers and associated with wind magic, and though that doesn’t quite fit Lene, it coincides with it enough what with her being a support unit primarily and also both her cipher and her heroes art associating breezes with her.

Tine: Judgement

Judgement arcs explore characters realizing their true calling and gaining absolution and acceptance. Tine is initially allied under the Empire due to her connection to the Friege family, and she lived a very stifling existence until she defects. She’s uncertain exactly what she’s doing as well as who’s “right” at the time that she takes to the battlefield but she comes to realize that Seliph’s liberation army has good intentions. The truth that seemed so muddied before becomes so much clearer by the end. She also is another character who asks for forgiveness from Seliph and ends up being wholly surprised by how easily he gives her it. I feel like this implies that desire for absolution her entire life and it’s over the course of the war that she’s able to feel comfortable in her own skin and voice out her own wishes.

Febail: Tower

Ah, yes, the Edge Lord card. Regardless, the Tower arcana deals with bad omens and doom and destruction. The characters associated with this card are typically characters who have fallen from grace. Febail is unknowingly the prince of Jungby, one of the few playable second gen units guaranteed major holy blood, but he lives his life struggling in an orphanage and as a mercenary who will take any job so long as it gives him the money to provide for the other orphans. He loses sight of his own morality, needing to be reprimanded by his sister that his attempt to slay Seliph isn’t actually going to end in his goal of prosperity for the kids. Though all the kids have taken a tumble in life, I genuinely think Febail captures this concept the best.

Ced: Emperor

If there’s literally any character I think could actually translate super well into a Persona verse more seriously beyond just me assigning arcanas, I honestly think it’d be Ced. Anyhow, the Emperor arcana holds characters who desire to control their environment even if fate gives them trouble in attempting to do so, and the characters typically are suffering from a personal issue that they do not know how to tackle. Ced is a mage who goes out of his way to find his father and along the way, brought on by his own conviction, establishes the Magi Squad to try and help the people suffering in Manster from oppression underneath the Empire. That active role reflects the arcana very well in my eyes, and Ced’s personal conflict with Lewyn as a neglectful father as per FE5′s canon seals the deal.

Coirpre: Hermit

Hermit wasn’t my first pick for Coirpre as an individual character, but I gave him it pretty quickly after I thought about the entire second gen cast collectively as opposed to just standalone cases. I think Coirpre would most likely end up as the second, more powerful navigator character to recruit especially with his ties to the Bragi bloodline and the canonical Bragi connection to prophetic truth.

Coirpre doesn’t have the strongest connection to his arcana, but the Hermit arcana characters typically put themselves in situations where they are hiding away from the spotlight and others. As such, these characters are usually more in background or supportive roles in life. Coirpre is a healer in an extremely militant country, a larger anomaly considering the fact that his father is the Shield of Thracia-- a famed general. Coirpre, upon being locked away as a hostage, adamantly requests to be let go because he doesn’t wish for his father to be forced to fight; he seeks a more discreet way to solve the issue befitting of the arcana and ultimately sought out a calmer solution. Judging by his minor involvement in FE5, he also is more neutral typically in terms of alignment, not caring much for whether or not Leif was a runaway prince but also not offering to join him unlike the other FE4 characters who show up in the midquel. Coirpre keeps himself on the down low until he’s freed by the liberation army and realizes his father and he need to take a stance against the Empire more actively.

Altena: Hanged Man

The Hanged Man arcana explores characters who undergo arcs where they are caught between two extremes or two parties in their life. Altena encompasses this idea best in how she is troubled by her loyalty to southern Thracia due to being raised as its princess and her true lineage as Leonster’s princess. She is at odds due to this conflict, what with both parties being at opposite ends of the battlefield from one another and she’s forced to make a choice between her adopted brother and her blood brother.

[samglyph]

MORE SONGS HAVE BEEN ADDED. Continued track list along with some of my thoughts below.

Heel Turn 2 by the Mountain Goats

This is such an Arthur song. Man. And there’s even a piano solo at the end. Jesus Christ.

You found my breaking point

Congratulations

Spent too much of my life now trying to play fair

Throw my better self overboard

Shoot at him when he comes up for air

I don't want to die in here

Whose Eye Is It Anyway by Jhariah

Read the title. Cmon. Thinking about John and Arthur as well as Yellow and Arthur.

If it's an eye for an eye, then we all go blind

If it came to it, would you cross that line?

With the taste of the blood on your tongue like wine

And the weight of your crimes weighing on your mind

It's an eye for an eye and we all go blind again

An arm and a leg, my friend, les yeux d'la tete

I never give as much as I get

This path of heart attacks is paved with folks

Who only gave their enemies what they had coming

…Well, Better Than The Alternative by Will Wood

Well what do you know, another Will Wood song I have an entire malevolent animatic for in my head. I’ll try to keep this brief, thought it’s difficult when I have a frame in my head for nearly every line of this song.

Peter Pan collars but my daughter's growing up

She's gonna be a lot like me

But I don't wanna be at all like me

Yellow buzzcuts, pulling out stingers

You're telling me I'm holding up eleven fingers and

Stranger things than death can happen

And

If they could see the future back when times were simple

Would they kiss your cheek or yank the bandage off

Let you speak or take advantage of how

If everyone's sick, well then nobody can catch it, and if

Everybody's different how could anybody match

And we're looking through the pockets of the hand-me-downs we've laid out

Wondering if we’ll fit into the yesterdays we played out

And also

Warmer tears than you've grown used to since then

A toast to the nosebleed seats

And the big dream sequence where you're found

Guilty of your innocence and gently sent right back to bed

Everybody knows that nobody knows that

Everybody's all up in my motherfucking business

This isn't my first anything. This isn't my first anything

Everybody knows that nobody knows that

Everybody's in on everybody's business

This isn't my first lyric, I know exactly how I should finish it

Baby, could you play along with me, Baby, would that be alright with you

And when we find out what's wrong with me

Could you tell me how I'm right for you

Baby, could you play along with me, Baby, would that be alright with you

After all of that's been done to me

Could you tell me how could you tell me how, Could you tell me

Ok moving on

Teeth by Five Seconds of Summer

Beats for when you have a weird codependent occasionally homoerotic relationship with the voice in your head.

Some days, you're the only thing I know

Only thing that's burning when the nights grow cold

Can't look away, can't look away

Beg you to stay, beg you to stay, yeah

Sometimes, you're a stranger in my bed

Don't know if you love me or you want me dead

Push me away, push me away

Then beg me to stay, beg me to stay, yeah

and of course

Something in the way you're looking through my eyes

Don't know if I'm gonna make it out alive

Cairo by San Fermin

I’ll be honest this one’s mainly just dreamlands vibes.

You try too hard?

Your mind too meager

Two whispers follow when you leave

You read it wrong

A bold-face fever

You've stolen everything you believe

Half-Decade Hangover by Will Wood

If you want me to stop putting Will wood songs on this playlist then you’re going to have to tell him to stop writing songs about Arthur Lester, though I’ll be honest this one feels a bit of a stretch? But no more of a stretch than the last one. My man is sad. My man has problems.

Like it’s a good thing you said you’ve got your whole life ahead

Oh great another half century to live to regret

2econd 2ight 2eer by Will Wood

Already did my malevolent analysis of this song here. You get it. Moving on.

Autoclave by The Mountain Goats

Read the opening and then go listen. It’s Arthur Lester (and John) all the way down.

Hand me your hand, let me look in your eyes

As my last chance to feel human begins to vaporize

My Eyes by the Lumineers

The fact that I haven’t seen this on any other playlists yet is wild considering the very first lyric. This is another obvious one.

Oh, the devil's inside

You opened the door

You gave him a ride

Too young to know, too old to admit

That you couldn't see how it ends

What did you do to my eyes

What did you sing to that lonely child

Promised it all but you lied

Tainted Love by Soft Cell

Ok I’ll admit this one is a goof but are you gonna tell me I’m WRONG. that I’m WRONG. NEXT.

Little Words by the Happy Fits

I listened to this on repeat while I was doing my piece for episode 26. For me, I’m imagining John attempting to comfort Arthur with this one, using a song that perhaps Arthur once sang to Faroe. Ough I’m sad.

Darling, darling, darling, let me dream of you

Let me dream of you

Where I die in, die in, die in your arms

Die in, die in, die in your arms

Darling, darling, darling, let me sing to you

Let me sing to you, let me sing to you

Down fell the rain

Though your little words often came

And out of this dreary house you built by heart

Don't you despair

Though my little words can't compare

I'll always be here with you behind closed eyes

Jimmy Mushroom’s Last Drink by Will Wood

Arthur Lester depression moments (tw for this song: vague suicidal ideation)

But, I'll tell you what, I'm not afraid to die

I'm more afraid of what might happen first

Either way it's not like we'll get out alive

I can't say that I know which one is worse

Misanthrapologist by Will Wood

So I’m gonna be honest this song came out on Friday and I can’t find lyrics yet and I don’t want to transcribe them myself, but it’s about wanting to fight god, self loathing, and potentially concerning relationships. So. I can imagine an illustrated lyric video for this one.

Happy listening!

Now is a good time to offer up my Malevolent playlist. Is it groundbreaking. No. But god the amount of animatic material.*

*I am a visual sequential artist first and foremost so the criteria for my adding a song is purely if there is at least a verse that I can imagine drawing/story boarding the characters to. This playlist is mainly a mix of Arthur, John, and a dash of yellow and Kayne. If you have suggestions feel free to shoot ‘em my way.

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 3/22/2018

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday, 22ndMarch 2018. Remember that you can read full articles via subscribing to Nation News Online, purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN) or via Barbados Today (BT).

RULING ABLP HEADED FOR COMFORTABLE VICTORY IN ANTIGUA –The leader of the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP), Harold Lovell was defeated in the general elections here on Wednesday as the party appears heading towards a massive overall defeat. Lovell, a former finance minister, who was leading the UPP into a general election for the first time, was seeking to regain the St. John’s City East seat, which he lost in n2014 to the incumbent Melford Nicholas of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP). Nicholas polled 769 votes as against 616 for Lovell and 16 votes for Bruce Goodwin of the Nemocratic National Alliance (DNA). “This is a more satisfying victory to me than the first victory,” Nicholas said, adding “we always knew we were in the pole position…” Lovell has not yet conceded defeat in the general election, but the ABLP is leading in all of the 17 seats, except Barbuda, where Trevor Walker of the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) easily defeated the incumbent Arthur Nibbs of the ABLP by 568 to 429 votes. “This is a historic time for the people of Barbuda,” Walker said, noting that this is the first time that a candidate has won the seat by more than 100 seats. “I am very happy tonight. I have made history in so many ways. I have won all the boxes and that has never happened and the people have said to the administration that they are fed up,” he added. Walker had gone to the High Court unsuccessfully challenging the decision of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) to have voters on the island cast their ballots in Antigua. ABEC had taken the decision indicating that the damage done to the island by Hurricane Irma last September had made it impossible for the voters there to cast their ballots. Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who had predicted a clean sweep of the polls by his ABLP, is comfortably leading in the St. John City West constituency which he has represented since 1999, while his wife, Maria Browne, is heading for a successful entry into politics leading in the St. John Rural seat that had been held previously by former prime minister and family member, Sir Lester Bird. (DN)

NO WAY! PRIVATE SECTOR STEERING CLEAR OF EX SEX WORKER’S CAMPAIGN - THE local business sector is staying a long way away from the campaign of retired prostitute Natalie Natlee Harewood, who has appealed for assistance from the private sector to run her general election campaign for the City of Bridgetown seat. In fact, spokesmen for the two key private sector organizations said they were steering clear of politics altogether, not just Harewood’s campaign. In a post published today on her campaign website www.votenatalie.comand headlined Natalie reaches out to businesses for sponsorship, the controversial candidate’s campaign manager Charlie Spice Lewis listed a number of areas in which Harewood would need assistance. These include space in Bridgetown for her constituency office, a hired car for transportation, clothes, shoes and other fashion accessories, beauty care items like hair and nails, advertising flyers, posters, banners and T-shirts. The campaign manager told Barbados TODAY that in return, businesses would receive promotion and exposure to a “captive” audience of her over 45,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. However, while chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association Charles Herbert said an official position had not been taken, he would advise companies to stay out of politics and not contribute to Harewood’s campaign, although he said individuals who wished to make donations were free to do so. At the same time, President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Eddy Abed said the BCCI was not in the business of backing any political party.“I would not want to comment on this as we have never assisted any political party as we believe that ours is not to direct our membership towards any party or person,” Abed told Barbados TODAY, stressing that the chamber’s mission was to lobby for clarity and timelines on all promises, integrity of members and basic best practice and conduct of Members of Parliament.It was only yesterday that prominent church leaders Canon Noel Burke and David Durant gave Natalie’s right to contest The City seat their blessings.Burke, who is chairman of the Barbados Christian Council (BXC) said the mother-of-three was free to be in the election race if she felt she had something to offer, adding that it was up to the voters to decide. Like the BXC chairman, Durant, who served as a Government Senator in the Upper Chamber of Parliament during the last cycle, said he too saw nothing wrong with Harewood - who announced this week she was giving up prostitution to pursue her political ambition - offering herself for public office, despite her profession.Similar sentiments were expressed today by a leader of the Muslim community who made reference to the position adopted by the BXC. “I think like anyone else the Muslim community will view it in their own way,” Sulieman Bulbulia, secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association, told Barbados TODAY. “[As] was mentioned yesterday by the head of the Barbados Christian Council, everybody has a right to participate in the democratic process regardless of their background. So people will form their own opinions, but we don’t throw stones.”However, Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for The City Henderson Williams is suggesting that there is something sinister about Harewood’s entry into the race.While not pointing fingers directly at the incumbent, Jeffrey Bostic of the Barbados Labour Party, Williams claimed he was closing in on Bostic and Harewood’s eleventh hour entry could be part of a more elaborate plan to confuse voters. “It may just be strategy because ironically enough surveys have been done and generally people know what the pulse is or what is going on in The City,” the challenger told the media at a news conference to discuss progress on number of projects undertaken by his constituency office.“Sometimes people may throw another person into the fray to change the dynamic or, on the face of it, cause confusion, particularly if there is a particular grouping that the person may have popularity with,” Williams added. However, the DLP candidate said any such plan was unlikely to work, as voters in The City were not easily distracted. “It is very interesting in terms of the conversation that is going on in The City as even yesterday I was speaking with a resident and they were talking about her [Harewood] 40,000 Instagram followers, but The City is an interesting place and we have a mature voter and generally people would understand what is required.“The City is a very diverse place and regardless of your profession and whatever you bring, you have to stand and be counted by the people and they would make a determination of everything that you present and decide what they would or would not accept,” he argued, even as he defended the retired sex worker’s right to contest the election. He said it augured well for democracy, as it showed that no one was excluded from the process. “It is my personal view that this helps democracy and that is what it really is about. Anybody who believes that they have something positive to bring to The City they are free to come and I have no objection to anybody joining the race,” Williams said, while making it clear that though “the political environment and politics in Barbados might seem very straightforward, it is not”. (BT)

SEWAGE SHIFT: NEW AREAS ALONG SOUTH COAST NOW IMPACTED BY SPILL - Efforts by the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to bring relief to areas on the south coast affected by the long-running sewage spills appear to have gone awry, with the problem shifting to previously unaffected areas. The Worthing site of the temporary pumping station was virtually submerged in effluence this morning, while on the opposite side, the manhole at Emperors Court plaza was profusely gushing sewage.This development comes just two weeks after the BWA conducted a series of repairs on manholes in Rendezvous and Hastings, which had been leaking for months. It was observed that since the temporary fixes several of the manholes, which had become notorious for bubbling sewage, were now dry. Only this week BWA Director of Engineering Charles Leslie reported that the problem had subsided because all of the pumps were functioning at optimum efficiency. However, the lake of effluence this morning in the vicinity of the old Bank of Nova Scotia building at Worthing told a different story.One business owner, who spoke to Barbados TODAY on condition of anonymity for fear of further negative publicity to her textile store, said the pump had been causing spills intermittently over the last week, but it was a lot worse this morning. “I really cannot take anymore. I have lost 40 per cent of my business because there is no foot traffic. The place is just a smelly mess and I cannot take it anymore. I am in the process of looking for a new place and even though I did not want to move from the south coast, I do not believe I have a choice at this time,” she said. Another storeowner said he was considering closing his doors and travelling to the United States, where he would stay until a solution to the mess was found. “Right now I am pulling out my hair because nobody wants to walk in this area. It seems as if it makes no sense I stay open because this isn’t going to be fixed anytime soon. So I was thinking that I might go the US and wait out this thing,” he said. Meanwhile, community activist Adrian Donovan told Barbados TODAY while he applauded the BWA for bringing some relief to the problem areas, it was clear that something had to be done to address the manholes where the new leaks were taking place.  “They tried to fix the areas in Rendezvous and Hastings and while I must congratulate them for their efforts, we are now seeing manholes leaking that were not leaking before. Something has to be done because this really bad,” Donovan said. (BT)

ROAD RELIEF COMING AS USD$25M PROJECT TO START SOON – Relief is on the way road users shunning potholes daily. This promised has been made by project manager in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Dave Scantlebury who said from May a multi-million dollar road rehabilitation project will be undertaken across the island. Scnatlebury's comments following a town hall meeting at Alexandra School, Speightsown , St Peter on Tuesday night. The Inter-American Development Bank-funded US $25 million road rehabilitation project is to improve various sectors of the country, but also assist drivers in reducing wear and tear on their vehicles. The roads selected for repair will be the entire Charles Duncan O’Neal highway from Checker Hall to Greenland, the ABC Highway from the Frank Worrell Roundabout to West Road and the westbound lanes of the ABC Highway from the Norman Niles and the Clyde Walcott Roundaboust. “The main objective of the operation is to improve the quality of road infrastructure and its connectivity, in order to inter alia enhance Barbados tourism competiveness and growth,” Scantlebury said. He noted the loan and project would also seek to strengthen the ministry’s institutional functions with training and other plans. (DN)

BLACKMAN AND GOLLOP PRIMARY CLOSED AGAIN AFTER BRUSH FIRES DISRUPT CLASSES - There seems to be no respite for Blackman and Gollop Primary School after it was forced to close again after a brush disrupted classes yesterday. Several parents were annoyed at the development because they had to abruptly collect their children following an almost week-long closure because of environmental issues related to cow itch last week. “The ministry is going to need to close this school. This is my second child at this school but it is the same problems,” said one parent who conceded that the fire seemed unavoidable. Another chimed in: “It is the same problem every year; when it ain’t cow itch, it is the damn fires.” Grantley Straker complained that he was summoned to the Staple Grove, Christ Church school, saw smoke but no fire. It was a case of back and forth for another parent who went to the Thelma Berry Nursery, a stone’s through away, to pick up one child but soon had to turn around at Montrose, Christ Church and head to Blackman and Gollop for another. He conceded it was dry time and windy so fires were expected, which meant that the smoke would cover a wide area. He also said the school could not be moved but the cow itch and other things were impacting negatively on the institution. Parent Sabrina Wood wants to see the cow itch problem solved during the upcoming Easter holiday time and called on the relevant ministry to be much more proactive. “The cow itch does not grow and suddenly appear in March. The ministries need to deal with it during the holidays so school was not disrupted in that way,” she said. Don Husbands, who collected his four-year-old twin son and daughter, said the sudden calls from the school were an inconvenience, because of his job as a taxi driver.   Principal Petrona Holder was said to be “busy at the moment” when sought for a comment. On Monday when parents returned their children to school, many had expressed annoyance that the plot of land opposite the building had not been burnt to rid it of the dreaded cow itch. They had expected it to be burnt, just as was done with the land nearer to Dunamis Outreach Ministries last week. Instead, it was cleared by an excavator and then the culled cow itch was burnt. One frustrated parent declared: “The whole term this school [has been] shutting down. Since the end of January, [the children have been] going home a day, two days, three days a week.” When Blackman And Gollop closed last week, all of the children stayed at home except those in Class 4, who attended classes at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology.  (DN)

HIJAB, YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG ELECTION ISSUES FOR LOCAL MUSLIM COMMUNITY – A MUSLIM WOMAN’S RIGHT to wear the head scarf (hijab) when taking pictures for identification is one of the key issues the community wants addressed as the 2018 General Election looms over Barbados. Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association, Suleiman Bulbulia, told the DAILY NATION that citizenship for some of its members, and a multi-faith prayer hall at Grantley Adams International Airport, were also of special interest. He was speaking on the sidelines of a presentation of water coolers to the Brandford Taitt Polyclinic, three secondary and four primary schools at TMR Sales & Service yesterday. In December 2015, the SUNDAY SUN reported that a Muslim woman was contemplating taking Government to court after being asked to remove her hijab when she visited the Electoral & Boundaries Commission for an identification card. The woman was informed the card would not be issued if she did not show her full face. “We recognise international standards do allow for women, for religious purposes, to continue to wear the scarf. And so we are trying to have that on the agenda for the political parties and for the new Government coming in to look at as a policy,” Bulbulia said. They have written to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs Steve Blackett seeking clarification on the issue. At the time, Blackett said there were rules, regulations and laws governing the photographs. “I can’t see how religion can dictate what must be followed outside of the four corners of these rules and regulations,” Blackett had said. Members of the Rastafarian order of Nyabinghi were also seeking legal advice on the issue, as their women are also required to cover their heads while in public. A number of European countries have banned the scarf outright, while others have guidelines on how it is to be worn for identification purposes. Meanwhile, Bulbulia said some of the association’s members who had the right to citizenship, either through migration or marriage, were seeking to have the process speeded up. Applications had been submitted but “but it is taking a long time”. On the issue of the multi-faith hall at the airport, he said both locals travelling and visiting Muslims would like the space so they could pray comfortably when required to do so. Muslims pray five times a day. The secretary said there were also challenges of unemployment within their young community.  “Traditionally, we have had family-owned businesses but that is changing as the economic climate changes. A lot of the younger generation are looking for employment and may not go into the family business, or that is already subscribed to,” Bulbulia said.  They have traditionally been salesmen either in vehicles or stores, mainly in Swan Street, The City, supplying Barbadians with a range of household items. (DN)

SAME-SEX PUSH: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WANTS BIM TO LEGALIZE THE PRACTICE - An international human rights organization is suggesting the time has come for Barbados to recognize same-sex marriage and provide the sort of atmosphere in which the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LGBT) community can live freely and without fear of persecution or victimization. The New York based Human Rights Watch, in a report entitled, I Have to Leave to be me: Discriminatory Laws Against LGBT People in the Eastern Caribbean, said Barbados must “repeal section 9, Chapter 154 of the Sexual Offences Act of 1992, which criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct”. “End legal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people by repealing all existing laws criminalizing same-sex conduct,” it said, while advising the authorities here to “pass laws defining the crime of rape in a gender-neutral way so that non-consensual sex between men or between women is included in the definition and subject to equal punishment”. The non-profit, non-governmental organization, which describes itself as “part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all”, wants Barbados to increase public awareness of human rights principles, adopt inclusive hate crimes legislation, publicly condemn attacks or incitements to violence against individuals or groups on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and establish a national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles, the UN approved international benchmarks against which national human rights institutions can be accredited by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions.“As part of its international obligations, Barbados should consider advisory opinion 24 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, with a view to taking the necessary measures in accordance with that opinion to secure the rights of same-sex couples and legal gender recognition,” the report said.The advisory opinion, published in January this year, holds that member states of the American Convention on Human Rights have an obligation to permit transgender individuals to change their names and gender on identity documents, to recognize same-sex marriage, and to ensure the economic rights of those in same-sex relationships.Human Rights Watch also called on the Ministry of Education to introduce sexual education curricula, “which are comprehensive, scientific and evidence based”, and which “should be inclusive in nature and reflects all sexualities, not only heterosexual individuals”.It called on the office of the Attorney General to train the Royal Barbados Police Force to interact appropriately with the LGBT community, and to “undertake prompt, independent, and effective investigations into all allegations of acts of violence, including those that may be motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity”. The report was launched today at United Nations House, Marine Gardens, Christ Church, where Boris Dittrich, the Human Rights Watch advocacy director for LGBT rights, urged local advocacy groups, such as the Eastern Caribbean Alliance or Diversity and Equality Inc (ECADE), and foreign diplomats to pressure Government to repeal buggery, sodomy and gross indecency laws and “introduce anti-discrimination legislation, including sexual orientation and gender identity as ground for nondiscrimination”. Not sparing the rest of the Eastern Caribbean, Dittrich complained that those laws were lending to a number of horror stories in the region, supporting his claim with the several first person accounts contained in the 107-page report, of the situation in Barbados and six other countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.“I really hope that not only ECADE, but also the other civil society organizations will use this report in coming years in order to put pressure on their governments in order to change the law and legal situation and also to protect LGBT people against discrimination, violence, harassment, bullying and so forth. “I also would like to call out to the international diplomatic community to use this report in your dealings with governments in the Eastern Caribbean, and we as Human Rights Watch, we will use the report in our international advocacy at the international bodies, but also at the UN in Geneva,” Dittrich said. The LGBT cause was also promoted by the UN’s top diplomat here, Resident Coordinator Stephen O’Malley, who argued that the current laws in the Eastern Caribbean were the main causes of economic, social, psychological and emotional turmoil facing the community. O’Malley said while these laws were rarely enforced, they carry heavy penalties and “do have a cost”.“LGBT people are too often excluded from legal protections, rejected by families and communities and denied equal treatment in schools, workplaces, health care settings and the streets,” O’Malley said. “But this cost doesn’t just occur at the individual level. When bright minds are denied a safe space to learn and grow, when capable individuals are denied employment, when workers, whether artists, teachers, doctors or lawyers, no longer feel safe, nations as a whole lose,” he said. O’Malley said beyond economic cost, safety and security were also undermined by homophobic and transphobic violence, which, when left unpunished, could undermine rule of law “and when institutionalized, it systematically denies human beings the full expression of their inalienable human rights”. It was in January this year at a meeting in Geneva to review of the human rights records of UN member states, it was recommended that Barbados decriminalize same-sex unions. However, despite the mounting calls for the laws to be adjusted, Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite has made it clear Government would not change the laws, although he indicated there was no tolerance for discrimination. (BT)

APRIL 9 DATE SET FOR ELECTORAL APPEAL -  A date has been set for the Supreme Court to hear Government’s appeal against the recent ruling that paved the way for Commonwealth citizens to vote in the next general election. With the appeal scheduled to be heard next month, lawyers for the people who had sued the state over their rights to participate in the election, are hoping for a quick ruling. During a procedural exercise today, at which attorneys representing all sides appeared before Justice of Appeal Andrew Burgess, the court set April 9, 2018 as the date for the hearing. At this morning’s hearing for case management in order to fast track the appeal, it was agreed that the crown, led by Donna Brathwaite, QC, would submit the index of appeal by Friday, March 23, and the amended notice of appeal by Monday, March 26. The state was also ordered to enter its written submissions by April 4, 2018, while the respondents, comprising of attorneys-at-law Wilfred Abrahams, Gregory Nicholls, Fay Finnisterre and Elliott Mottley, QC, must produce their written submissions two days later. Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson had ruled last month that Commonwealth citizens who meet the requirements under the Representation of the People Act had a right to vote here. The ruling came after four Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals who have been living in Barbados for more than a decade, challenged their exclusion from the voters’ list.St Lucian-born academic Professor Eddy Ventose, Grenadian Shireene Ann Mathlin-Tulloch, Jamaican Michelle Melissa Russell and Montserratian Sharon Juliet Edgecombe-Miller had sought to get their names included on the electoral list in time for the next general election.The Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) had told the claimants that they were not eligible to be on the list, as they did not enjoy permanent residency, immigrant status or citizenship of Barbados. Gibson ruled that any decision to exclude them would be in violation of the Act, which does not make it mandatory for the applicants to be permanent residents, immigrants or citizens of Barbados in order to vote. He said “only the Parliament of Barbados has the power to insert those conditions,” while explaining that the only requirements needed for a Commonwealth citizen to vote in Barbados was for that person to be a resident here for three years, and to be living in the constituency in which the person is desirous of voting for three months.  This afternoon Abrahams told Barbados TODAY he was optimistic that the appeal process would be completed in time to allow those who qualify to vote in the election, which is constitutionally due by June this year. “I am confident that the appeal will be handled quickly to allow any further appeals to the Caribbean Court of Justice if it comes to that. This is not an overly complicated issue and I am confident that a decision would be handed down the same day or shortly after the hearing on April 9th,” the attorney-at-law said. “It is clear that the court appreciates the seriousness of the issue and what it means for the election,” he added.  In any event Abrahams contended that the Chief Justice’s decision still stands until the Court of Appeal says otherwise, and that persons were free to continue to register with the EBC. (BT)

240 HOURS OF COMMUNITY WORK FOR BJERKHAMN – Johan Bjerkhamn was given 240 hours community service and placed on probation for two years with the attached condition that he continues to receive psychological counselling. In addition, Magistrate Barbara Cooke-Alleyne, who handed down the decision in the high profile case earlier today, also recommended that  Bjerkhamn, a gun dealer, whose 11-year-old son Luke died from a gun shot wound, after a gun Bjerkhamn was cleaning went off, should no longer be allowed to deal with firearms. Bjerkhamn, 40,  had previously pleaded guilty to the charge that on April 11, being a person over the age of 16 years and having custody of Luke Bjerkhamn, a child under the age of 16 to wit 11 years, wilfully exposed the said child in  amnner likely to cause injury to his health. Today he sat glum faced in the prisoner’s dock at the Holetown Magistrate Court as Magistrate Cooke-Alleyne read a type-written three and a quarter page statement to the court, outlining the case, evidence pertaining to Bjerkhamn’s mental health and the mitigating factors. (BT)

MAN ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING TWO WOMEN - A St Michael man, accused of assaulting two women, has been granted $3,000 bail.It is alleged that Shawn Fernando Walcott, of Warners Gap, Brittons Hill, committed the acts against Toyna Small and Crystle Ann-Marie Small on March 13, occasioning them actual bodily harm, as well damaging a pair of spectacles belonging to Crystle. He denied the offences when he appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant, and, with no objections, was released on bail after his surety was accepted.The accused returns to court on April 23 when both complainants are due to make an appearance. (BT)

 GRIEVING GIRLFRIEND TESTIFIES IN MURDER TRIAL - The trial of murder accused Kason Kemar Edwards, of Gays, St Peter, has opened in the High Court, with nine witnesses, including the girlfriend of his alleged victim, taking to the stand. Edwards is accused of the August 21, 2012 murder of 32-year-old Jason Husbands, who according to Principal Crown Counsel Alliston Seale, was on his way home when he came across several rocks in his path at Lamberts, St Lucy.  When he got out of his vehicle to remove the rocks, Husbands reportedly encountered someone “lurking on that stretch of road” who fatally shot him.  However, the 12-member jury heard today that the case went cold for two years before Edwards was arrested and charged with Husbands’ death. Today, the deceased man’s girlfriend Sharon Boyce, with whom he shared a 13-year-old daughter, was among the witnesses who gave evidence in the No. 2 Supreme Court. She told the court, which was presided over by Justice Randall Worrell, that on the day he died, Husbands, who was an appliance technician at Courts Barbados Limited, had cut the grass and cooked pelau at their Hope Road, St Lucy home - which they had moved into in either April or March - while she stayed in bed with their sick daughter, who was seven years old at the time. Boyce also disclosed that Husbands later left the house in his blue open back vehicle to do a private job. At the time, he was carrying his red toolbox. However, the grieving girlfriend said he never made it back home alive as she had received the unexpected news of the death of her boyfriend, who was in “high spirits” when he left home.“He was dead,” a visibly shaking Boyce told the court before breaking down in tears today. She also revealed that she did not visit the scene where her boyfriend met his death, as she “wasn’t in a state to go”. However, two years later she was called to the Speightstown Police Station to identify the toolbox, which she recalled only “had in a few tools . . . not everything”. “I start to cry and scream,” she said, and while pointing to Edwards, who was dressed in a blue and white short sleeve shirt and the lone occupant of the prisoners dock, she said he was also there at that time.Edwards’ lead attorney Arthur Holder then asked Boyce whether she had told police at the time that the toolbox, “looks like” Husbands’. “I don’t recall Sir,” was her response before she was excused from the witness stand. Today Crown witness Hazel Collymore also testified that the deceased was at her Cave Hill, St Lucy home around 1:30 p.m. fixing the gas line to her stove, which was leaking.“To this day I do not know his name and I do not know him,” Collymore said, explaining that her daughter Merlese Chandler was the one who had gotten someone to come and take a look at the stove.  She said after fixing the appliance, Husbands left her home between 2:30 and 3:15 p.m., adding that her stove has not had a problem since then. Police Constable Roger Barrow, who was the Scenes of Crime photographer that day, submitted an album of 38 photographs taken during the investigation. In some of the photographs, Husbands is seen lying face down on the road near the front left side of his vehicle where there were a number of rocks. The front part of the vehicle was damaged and several wounds could be seen on the right side of Husbands’ back. Crown witnesses Jason Johnson and Randolph Billy from St Peter and Evelyn Hinds, Hamilton McIntosh and Anwar Springer from St Lucy also told the court they had seen the stones in the S-bend of the Lamberts road on the day on which Husbands was killed. However, McIntosh, who is a postman, told the court he was not prepared to take any chances “because at that time postmen’s [motorcycles] were getting tief.  “So I accelerate through the rocks and gone! Didn’t see anybody,” he told the court, adding that this was “just after 3 p.m.” However, Johnson said when he approached the bend around that same time, he saw a van in the road and blew his horn twice, but it did not move. “I got out, take a walk about five metres, heard the engine on but nobody there . . . . Then I saw someone on the ground. I say to myself, ‘look like an accident’. I call the police . . . but I did not go too close,” he recalled. Springer, who was a passenger in another motorcar, told the court that he was also in the area just after 3 p.m. “I saw a dead gentleman [and] I thought it was a hit and run. I saw a vehicle, a L200  . . . . We couldn’t pass . . . so we reversed in the cart road and then two police men came and say, ‘where wunna going?’” Springer recalled before Justice Worrell adjourned the case until tomorrow. (BT)

SUV CATCHES FIRE IN SKY MALL CAR PARK - A woman escaped serious injuries this afternoon when the vehicle she was driving caught fire in the Sky Mall parking lot just around 3:30 p.m.No one was injured. However, two other vehicles - a car and a truck - were slightly damaged by the blaze, while the woman’s grey Kia Sportage sport utility vehicle was gutted.It was not immediately clear if there were passengers in the SUV at the time, but the driver lost some personal items before one fire tender extinguished the flame. Arnold Bynoe, the truck owner said: “I was parked paying bills at SurePay and I was told that there is a fire outside. I came out to find that a vehicle had burnt and had my vehicle blocked. The bumper for my car got slightly damaged, as well as the head light.”Meantime, the owner of the other car involved, Canon Noel Titus, told Barbados TODAY he was informed that his vehicle was involved in the fire over the public address system.“I heard the announcement came over mentioning the number of my car and that is all. When I came out all I saw the smoke going up and the fire officials were coming in,” he said. (BT)

 WINDIES WOMEN LOSE ON LAST BALL – West Indies Women lost a last-over thriller to New Zealand Women, as they slumped to another series defeat on their wretched tour here yesterday. Chasing 134 at Pukekura Park, the Caribbean needed five runs from the final over, but lost three wickets and managed just three runs, to lose by one run and fall behind 0-3 in the five-match series. They needed three runs off the final delivery but Merissa Aguilleira, who finished unbeaten on 38, could only scramble a leg bye. The defeat was the sixth straight on tour for the Windies Women who also suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the preceding three-match One-Day International series, which was part of the ICC Women’s Championship. Sent in earlier, the hosts were held to 134 for seven off their 20 overs, with captain Suzie Bates carrying her bat for an unbeaten 52 off 53 balls. Opening partner Sophie Devine supported with 41, pummelling three fours and three sixes in an 18-ball cameo before being bowled by off-spinner Hayley Matthews in the sixth over. Matthews was the best bowler with three for 24 while seamer Deandra Dottin claimed two for 23. Presented with the ideal opportunity to clinch their first win, Windies Women lost three wickets cheaply to slump to 43 for three in the seventh over. Captain Stafanie Taylor was leg before wicket for 14 to off-spinner Leigh Kasperek, who also removed Chedean Nation for eight to end with three for 31. The Windies were in trouble when Matthews followed for 14, caught inside the midwicket boundary off leg-spinner Amelia Kerr. However, Aguilleira put on 30 for the fourth wicket with Dottin whose 24 required just 17 balls and included four boundaries, and added a further 57 for the fifth wicket with Kycia Knight, who struck 27. Knight, who faced 21 balls and counted two fours, fell to the first delivery of the final over. Britney Cooper, scoreless, was stumped, while Akeira Peters was run out off the penultimate delivery. (DN)

KING MAKES MIAMI MAIN DRAW –Last year was no fluke. Barbados’ top-ranked tennis pro Darian King is in the main draw of another big Masters tennis event, having come from a set down to advance through the qualifying rounds of the Miami Open yesterday. Facing certain defeat down a late break in the third, the 25-year-old King rallied for the most dramatic of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victories over world No.143 Mackenzie McDonald. It’s the second time in as many years that King made it through to the main draw of the Miami Open following last year’s walkover when American Reilly Opelka was a surprising no-show for that final-round qualifying round match. As a result, the Bajan ace will be preparing to play in his third ever main draw of an ATP Masters 1000 Tournament after he made his initial breakthrough at Indian Wells just weeks before that Miami Open appearance. And if history is anything to go by then King’s run is far from done as he won both of his first-round matches last year in Miami and Indian Wells. He made quite the impression on the big guns too, having taken a set off of then world No.10 Gael Monfils in Indian Wells before going up 4-0 against the ninth-ranked David Goffin at the 2017Miami Open. “These are two tournaments he likes though and we know he plays very well on the big stage, so I can only be happy for him to get the win,” said King’s coach and older brother Christopher King. “It’s the closest tournament he has to home, so the conditions are very favourable for him. We were looking for the same thing in Indian Wells to be honest but he got to the Challenger final just before that and it’s always tough to come back two days later and start an entirely new tournament.” But King got out to a rough start here too, having lost the first set before eventually battling back in an evenly matched second stanza. However, McDonald got an early break to go up 3-1 in the third until King staged yet another of his trademark late-game heroics. “He played a very tough match today. He kept with the game plan as the guy is a very aggressive player and Darian wore him down and eventually got the win,” explained the elder King. “Darian played with a lot of heart and did a lot of fighting back because he was down 3-1 in the third but of course this is nothing new for him, especially at this level.”  (DN)

YOUNG BEA RIDERS JUMPING HIGH – Members of the Barbados Equestrian Association dominated the recently concluded first leg of the Super League (SL) and Little League (LL) Show Jumping events at the Big ‘C’ Stables, Frere Pilgrim, Christ Church. The SL 1.10m. was led by the improving Adrianna Watson and Soca Kid, who took two second place ribbons to lead the league with ten points. The 13-year-old Indy Jones and Sir Glacken finished second on eight points, after winning round one of the competition. However, a costly error in the second round put her and her equine partner in fourth. Paige Tryhane and Corlato, the newest stallion to the show ring, took a convincing win in the second round with seven points. Tryhane made the podium again with two third place ribbons, finishing on Everyone Loves Daisy with six points. Following the SL competition, Jones dominated the Little League 0.80m with the young filly Galway Girl, earning eight points after grabbing first and fourth places. Slade Jones, aboard Haze, ended with six points to capture both second and fourth places. Leah Edwards was third after a win on Lucky Luke for a total of five points. Other competitors who are still in for championship points, are Zuri Connell with five points, and Kimberly Lampkin and Dominique Jones, who are tied on three points each.  In the adult section, Gillian Sampson and Sky at Dusk lead the way with seven points after recovering from their first class spill to win in the second round. LL classes four and seven, in the 0.90m category, was dominated by Abigail Haloute and Stella Blue, who won both rounds with a total of 14 points. Drayann Regan and LuckyLuke finished with two second place ribbons on ten points. Jara Emtage-Cave, aboard Chico, was in third, but an unfortunate rail saw her receiving four penalties to end on six points. The final class of LL 1m. saw a tie between Candace Jones and Spartan, and Jodi Haloute and Stella Blue with 12 points. (DN)

BAYVILLE RESIDENTS VOTE FOR PEACE – The community of Bayville took to the streets last Saturday to vote for peace. Bearing placards with messages such as We Need A Change, Together We Will Build And Grow, Make Love Not War and One Community, One Family, One love, scores of white-clad people walked from the headquarters of the National Union of Public Workers in Dalkeith, to Bayville’s playing field, in an event conceptualised by Barbados Labour Party candidate for the area Kirk Humphrey. Humphrey, who was supported by fellow candidates William Duguid, Lieutenant Colonel(retired) Jeffrey Bostic and Marsha Caddle, said the Community Unity March And Rally was his response to an upsurge of violence in the Bayland and to last month’s murder of resident Kesmar Codrington. “So because I grow up in the Pine, I also understood we have these violence spikes. It pops up in different communities and so the march was really to call it out, to call it by its name – violence – and we have to put an end to it,” he explained. However, he added the rally was also to highlight the more positive aspects of the community. “The Bayland traditionally had such a great reputation for sports and for culture, so we just need to get back to our roots and today is the starting point,” Humphrey said. The march climaxed with a concert at the Bayland playing field.  (DN)

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[arthur-lesters-right-arm]

[literally convulsing with lust] what the fuck is wrong with that guy