#those darn girls! not knowing how hysterical they truly are!

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 182

Epilogue: "Dreams Come True"

I'm gonna be honestly with y'all, no matter how many times I've read through this chapter over the last couple days to try and prepare myself, all my thoughts and comments are still so similar to what I originally wrote two years ago. I doubt anything I say now could top it but I'll apologize in advance if I really do sound like a broken record this time since my feelings regarding this beautiful finale really haven't changed since then. I'll start off with saying that I am a tiny bit bummed that we never got the chance to see the children explore the large city they arrived in, but the second season's ending slideshow sorta filled in that need for me. While the city is definitely a complete contrast to what they were used to living in back in the demon world, I love they all decided to create their own little village around where Emma lives. That'll definitely make her feel more at ease with being somewhere she's familiar with and I'm sure a majority of the kids fancy the wildlife surrounding them too, especially Ayshe and the dogs. Let's not forget how impressive it is that these kids were able to build so many houses on their own as well! And the idea of them taking turns to visit Emma so she doesn't get overwhelmed with so much attention at one given time makes me so happy. Speaking of our girl, she looks so pretty! She definitely looks like the Emma we've come to know and love with that big smile on her face (even if seeing her without her iconic 63194 still upsets me a little) while looking fondly at new photos of her large family. Sure, anyone in this world could've taken the photos, but of course I headcanon that it was Ray who purchased a new camera to do so.

Emma's face here is damn hysterical and Phil looks so proud of himself for surprising her. Seeing these young kids casually riding on top of a plane that large is truly quite a remarkable sight, but she had to at least hear that thing flying closer, yea? No way something that huge can sneak up on someone.

It is so darn cute how the younger kids act like buying a plane that size and flying it everywhere they go is totally normal. Their chill attitude has poor Emma completely speechless. I'm so proud of her for learning everyone's names though, not only by recognizing their faces but their voices too as she knew it was Phil calling to her from outside. Seeing Violet become a pilot is surprising but the job fits Oliver very well since he was typically seen holding onto a plane toy during numerous Goldy Pond flashbacks. Looks like he achieved his dream and I'm happy for him!

I'm even more excited to see Chris feeling 100% better and finally reuniting with Emma! It's sweet how he still loves her so much regardless her lost memories. I'm only noticing now but it appears Jemima even brought flowers for Emma? Ahh, these kids are too precious for words!

It's crazy how they're able to visit so many different places and experience countless new things all in the span of one single day, but I suppose traveling is pretty simple with a plane like that, not to mention how this world doesn't have any national borders to worry about. Seeing Yvette get inspiration and sketch everything she sees is adorable and of course you have Ray being the strict older sibling who makes sure everyone else behaves while out in public. I still wish more of the Goldy Pond kids were invited to join the trip, but I understand how meaningful it is to see all the GF escapees finally live out their dreams which they shared with us at the very beginning of the story.

One of the most ridiculous and funniest things this extra chapter reveals to us and Emma is how Norman became the leading man behind some huge multipurpose company. I know his motive was to act independently from the Ratri clan (which is fair because I wouldn't wanna rely on those bastards either) but at least have the company be a fresh idea in his mind or a little new, not hit us with his total success right outta the gate! I can accept this life for him further into the future for sure, but not at 15/16 years old! You're still a child sir! Dude must have really loved hearing others refer to him as "boss." Vincent would obviously be okay with that and I imagine Ray making fun of Norman each time, or jokingly calling him "emperor" like he did in one of volume 15's extra pages. Speaking of my boy, he looks way too chill and perhaps unbothered about this whole idea, or maybe he's just so used to his friends having crazy idea that he's become immune and knows deep down there's no way he can change their minds once they get this passionate about something. Even though this chapter is primarily focused on the GF children, it's nice to learn more about what Nigel and Sony are up to nowadays with their new roles.

Hearing how Norman was capable of skipping grades and essentially graduating is the most believable thing about this page. I'm sure the schools in the human world were nothing compared to the difficult tests he passed with ease at GF and Lambda. I'm relieved he and the rest of the Lambda crew are healthy as well, but I can't imagine him recovering while simultaneously constructing a large company from the ground up. Perhaps he focused on getting better first and then started on his career path, but then I'd have a harder time believing this boy managed to do so in less than two years, depending how long it took for him to fully recover beforehand. Norman is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Moving onto everyone's wishes now and ooohhh my, the girls look simply gorgeous!! I love each of their outfits so very much! I especially like how often Anna has her hair up in that ponytail too. It suits her and she's beautiful! And it's adorable how she and Gilda pull Emma along with them so they can all take advantage of the 3-for-1 deal. Emma looks great in her new outfit too but I very much prefer her previous one, only because it's reminiscent of her GP out a little bit. So happy our little musician was able to witness an opera too. I've been to several Broadway plays and musicals before but seeing an opera is still on my checklist for sure.

I gotta give kudos to all the children because while it's certainly insane how they're hitting everyone's dreams all in one day, not once do they ever look exhausted. They're having the time of their lives and are beaming with excitement no matter if they're fulfilling their wish or someone else's. Some of their wishes are really simple too if ya think about it, like a handful are things us readers could try out for ourselves, but after all the drama they fought through in the demon world, they absolutely deserve to enjoy everything this world has to offer them. I'm once again loving Ray being that caring older brother who makes sure his younger siblings don't exert themselves. Not to mention how damn hilarious it is to see him not even flinch while touring the haunted house. After the traumatizing childhood he lived through and the wacko world of the Seven Walls, nothing should frighten my boy, so I'd like to imagine he only entered the haunted house to look out for the younger child like Rossi and Alicia who are absolutely regretting their life choices. What matters is that Yvette is loving every moment of her wish and possibly laughing at her sibling's expense.

Despite mentioning how we could visit such places ourselves, I have yet to actually go watch an official soccer game, visit a hot spring or eat lunch in such gardens. I mean, I visited such botanical gardens down in the city but not once have I ever had a fancy picnic there! These young kiddos are out here making me jealous for real. I still find it so amusing that Rossi, a child who had fled from actual demons before, is amazed by dinosaurs. I guess it would be interesting to see such creatures whether they're alive or not. As of this previous weekend I can say I finally rode one of those old style trains as well, but Phil is way more excited about the adventure than I could ever be. So glad this moment of his was sorta animated, though he wasn't bouncing in his seat as wildly as he is here.

Everyone has these grand experiences in mind for their wish and Norman is over here just vibing with his two favorite people. It's real definitely simple compared to everything else but with how often the trio was forcefully separated throughout the story I know how much he doesn't wanna feel that pain ever again.

While I love how excited Emma was upon seeing the giraffes, I'm certain her reaction was due to seeing these animals up close for the first time. Of course I'd be ecstatic if our girl would slowly gain back some of her memories over time, they choose to show us the anxieties she probably feels every day about whether or not she's really Emma deep down and if she should act like the girl her family loves so much or just be her new self.

Phil being that one good boy who chooses to focus on Emma and her sudden mood switch while she's battling herself in her head.

I wanna say "oh sweetheart, you're anything but alone," but I know her amnesia makes her feel as if she's isolated from her family by not being able to remember every detail about them, the experiences they shared, or her true feelings. She can imagine this giraffe wish would've made her old self happy, since everyone else's wishes brought such big smiles onto their faces, but that's because they all wished for these kinds of moment their entire lives. New Emma is hearing about this dream for the first time and has no clue on how to react to a wish that isn't truly her own. She's probably even feels a little scared that she won't come across as genuine about the idea and she doesn't wanna disappoint her family by not living up to their expectations of what the original Emma would've done in her situation now. It really breaks my little heart to see her doubt herself so much when she literally has the greatest family in the world who would accept her regardless of what she acts like or feels.

One might think that Emma yelled so loudly to try to convince herself and her family that she's really excited about this wish, but to her surprise, she's rewarded with beautiful laughs. Once they arrived, Emma asked if her dream was to see a giraffe but no one bothered to correct her about how original Emma always wanted to ride one instead. To see this Emma reach deep down into her heart and shout with such confidence about what she really wanted to do is perfect in every way, so little does she know that her reaction was exactly what her family expected of her and they couldn't be more delighted to hear such words come from her again.

I'm in love with her adorable, surprised face and how she's in complete awe to learn that perhaps she and the original Emma are more alike that she's realized.

Aahhh it thrills me to no end that this little joke from all the way back from the first chapter is exactly how this series ends. We're coming fill circle baby!

Favorite panel/moment:

Oh no way, Ray's wish as my favorite? Wow, who could've possibly guessed that? Not to show any dislike towards the Mona Lisa or anything, but I'm very glad the story chooses to show us the kids visiting the Sagrada Familia way better. The architecture of this damn thing is impressive and it's insane how it looks this breathtaking despite it not being completely finished yet.

More importantly, this smile of Ray's is the most precious and beautiful thing I've ever set my eyes on! He's probably filled with so much emotion just by standing in a place he never imagined himself to be. He believe he was gonna die a long time ago but now that all his trauma is behind him and he fought his way to freedom, he's so grateful he's alive to actually see this gorgeous structure actually in front of him and realize that all the hardships he fought through alongside his family was truly worth all the effort. This face of his has absolutely lived rent free in my head these past couple years.

BEST GIRL!! I am so incredibly happy and proud of you that you achieved your dreams!! Truly inspirational and she undoubtedly keeps her top spot as my favorite shonen protagonist.

And with all that, I can finally say: End of series.

Seriously though, thank y'all so much for reading through all this, whether you were here from the very start back in April or ya caught interest somewhere down the line, I appreciate every single one of you! I dunno exactly when these posts went from a couple short comments to full length chapter reviews, so I apologize for all my rambling since I honestly didn't intend to write out such long posts. I literally couldn't help it. The love I have for this series is as strong as ever and I'm very surprised that even after these last couple years I still somehow manage to learn or notice new stuff about this world and these characters. One of the many benefits to reading through this story at a slower pace I suppose, and wouldn't you know it? Today is the perfect day to experience it all over again from the beginning.

(Yes, having the project end today was 100% planned from the start.)

[katara-stan-club]

I’ve noticed that a lot of the time the script will make other characters OOC as a way to get them to shame Katara for being rightfully upset. The biggest examples I can think of are TSR and EIP.

If you have to break every other character in order to shame one particular character, perhaps you should take a step back and figure out if the characters are shaming that one character, or if you the writer are shaming that character. And then stop fucking shaming a teenage girl for rightfully being angry at the world and how she's being treated, brychael.

[etlunainmorte]

Very brief mention of abuse and bullying. Read with caution. Thank you!

***

📷 Memories 📷

***

"I'll be home soon, Kyrie. I promise. Okay." Nero placed his cellphone back to his pocket just in time to see Nico's mysterious black - haired friend glancing at something outside the window of the trailer.

"See something you like?" The young Devil Hunter asked, his eyebrows knitted in confusion at the way the man stared.

"She has been at it for almost an hour and a half,..." The man answered with a low voice.

"I told ya, don't mind what she does." Nico, who was fixing the broken camera at the back of the trailer where her messy workplace was situated, answered almost harshly. She gave a quick look at her friend, saw him still staring outside the window, and rolled her eyes in defeat. Then, with a slightly irritated look at Nero, she added, "See? He just won't listen!"

"What are you looking at, anyway?" Curious, Nero finally gave a glance outside the window to see what the man was staring at. And lo and behold, he saw Mary sitting at one of the old benches outside not far from where the trailer was parked, doing something really,... unusual. "Oh, this is something new. What's she doing?"

"I saw her taking out a sketchbook from that bag of hers. And she started,... scribbling." The man answered.

"Huh. Really?" Nero scoffed and collapsed at the chair opposite V. "Well, that's something new. At least she's doing something really productive for a change."

"Meaning?" It was V's turn to ask a question.

Ever since he arrived at the location, V couldn't help but feel that there really was something very odd about what was happening. At first, he thought that Nico was only exaggerating things to make him come out of hiding, hysterically saying stuff like Demons appeared here and there, did this and that, and that she needs his knowledge to get to the bottom of this. Now, years of extensive studies on Demonology has taught V that the evil creatures would not appear and wreak havoc on the surface unless they are ordered to do so by a higher, sort of high - ranking, Demon. Or if they are seeking something of utmost value. Regardless, when V arrived, he proved Nico's words to be the truth. Demons did appear here and there and did this and that.

However, he can't say that his knowledge about Demonology is enough to solve this mind - boggling issue about these creatures appearing out of nowhere.

And Mary's odd behavior, and most probably his guilt of wrecking the damn camera, didn't help with the situation, at all.

"You see," Nero began. " ... Mary was - "

"Hey,... " Nico interrupted all of a sudden. The two men both looked at her and saw her pointing at something right outside the window next to her. " ... that's Morrison!"

Morrison? Thought V as the Artisan went out to greet the new visitor,...

***

It's unmistakable. Marsha heard the girl crying. And she has never even heard or seen the child do so.

The tall and perfectly poised woman abandoned her knitting and sped towards the living room to see her niece trying to patch up what looked like wounds on her palms with bandages.

And not just any wound,...

"Mary?!" Marsha called. The little girl almost jumped in fear as she heard her name being called and tried to hide her hands behind her back.

And this only made Marsha even more suspicious.

The woman sighed, strode closer towards the girl, bent down and grabbed her niece's arms. "You don't hide things from me, young lady!"

"But, Marsha, it's nothing!" The girl hopelessly argued, for she knew she was losing. Marsha finds out about everything, and that was a fact.

But, the older lady was having none of Mary's arguments. Marsha pulled her niece's arms from behind her back, held out her little hands, and saw, in utter fright and disgust, the lashes and blood painting the girl's little palms.

And the sight infuriated Marsha to the bone.

The next morning, Mary found Marsha knitting again on her little space in the huge library.

"I'm going to school." Mary announced with a loud voice over the Doris Day song that was being played on a vintage record atop one of the antique tables next to the shelves to her left. It was Marsha's favorite song.

And to what Mary just said, the older lady looked up from her handiwork and only raised an eyebrow. Raising her wire - rimmed glasses above her pointed nose, she said, "Oh, you're not going to school today, young lady."

Mary furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because, I said so!" The woman answered, her facial expression as stoic as ever. "Now, do come here and keep me company."

The little girl, although doubtful of Marsha's decision to not drive her to school that one particular morning, obeyed, putting her bag on the floor next to the iron table and sat across her aunt. 

Looking at the many colorful yarns and several unfinished projects on the table, Mary asked, "How about tomorrow?"

"No." Marsha answered, her eyes never leaving her craft. Her answer remained the same for a week that Mary finally took up the courage to pick up one of the green yarns and a pair of darning needles from Marsha's knitting kit.

And this did not go unnoticed by Marsha, herself. Looking at Mary's freshly bandaged hands, and the needles she's holding, she nodded, and said, "Very well. I could teach you if you want. ONLY if you want."

Mary gave a sheepish smile and placed the yarn and the needles back to the basket before her. She, then, took out her sketchbook and some coloring materials from her bag and went on to finish that Venus art she's been working on for a week since Marsha forbade her to come to school.

It was not until another week when Mary finally found out that Marsha tried to press charges to the school and that awful teacher who gave her those wounds. Getting little to no justice after what happened, Marsha gave up and, instead, had Mary enrolled to a different school that was very far from that accursed place full of bullies, not to mention that devil Burns ( who only received penalties so light it's ridiculous, considering what he's done ) still on the loose and freely roaming about that campus.

It was also during that time when Mary almost memorized all of Doris Day's songs about love and heartbreak, and how not to question Marsha's decisions ever again.

***

" ... please, call me, Mary. I'm so worried about you - "

With furrowed eyebrows, Mary ended the voicemail from her aunt and made her way back to the trailer where she found, yet, another visitor sitting on a chair across that tall, black - haired man who stepped on Nico's camera.

Stuffing her cellphone back to her pocket, she saw the new visitor standing up and offering his hand to her.

"I'm Morrison." The man graciously introduced himself as he shook Mary's hands. "And you must be Mary Suermann! New accomplice of Nico?"

"Ah, yes, you might say that." Mary answered quietly as she took her hand from his, trying to ignore the fact that she could feel someone staring at her from behind her back. She carefully turned around without having to face V and stood next to the door, seeing that her companions were discussing something.

"So, let me get this straight," Morrison began as he settled back to his chair. " ... strange Demons began appearing randomly in some specific locations in this city? And not just any Demon, you say?"

"Yeah." Nero, who was sitting on the sofa next to V, answered. "Ahh, V, what did you say that Demon's name was, again?"

"Niddhogg." V answered, his low voice sending shivers down Mary's spine. She would never, ever, forget that voice, no. "But it wasn't particularly a Demon. It was a parasite that lives in an evil tree called the Qliphoth, which thrives on Human blood."

"And this Qliphoth tree," Morrison spoke. " ... are there any of those growing around here?"

"If there is,... then this city could very well be done for." V answered, successfully drawing all eyes on him in curiosity. "You see, this,... demonic tree,... grows quite,... let's just say,... rapidly. But, never mind that. The point is: there should be no Niddhogg if there is no,... Qliphoth,... to begin with."

"Niddhogg,... " Morrison mused as he rubbed his stubble. "I'm not gonna lie with you but, that is the first time I've heard of that thing. I don't even know what that looks like - "

"Exactly why Mary had to take pictures of it!" Nico added, emphasizing on the name like she was some kind of a criminal who committed such atrocious deeds. "Isn't that right, huh Mary?"

With a deep sigh, she took out her sketchbook from her bag, opened it, and handed it to Morrison, who gazed at it with such unmasked awe.

Not that the Demon illustrated in it was such a looker, no.

"Magnificent!" Morrison exclaimed. "Are you the one who drew this, Mary?"

With a little sheepish smile, she nodded, and answered, "Yeah."

Morrison looked up from the sketchbook, held it up for the others to see, and asked, "Is this the one?"

And to this, V's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. It truly was an exact and very detailed drawing of the demonic parasite Niddhogg.

Who knew this girl had some kind of a hidden talent?

"Indeed." V answered, a bit of admiration getting past his monotonous voice, which Mary didn't miss.

Nico, who was leaning against her jukebox, took the sketchbook from Morrison's hands and stared at it with widened eyes full of wonder and disbelief. This made Mary smile a bit, and V, who was observing this entire scene, didn't miss the little gesture.

"Whoa. Ya really are an artist!" Nico exclaimed.

"Why?" Nero butted in. "Don't believe her?"

Even before Nico could fire up her own response, Morrison cleared his throat and said, "I want to take a picture of that illustration, if I may. I would show it to my associate in the Devil Hunting business and see if he could crack any sort of thing, anything, regarding this demonic parasite."

Seeing that Morrison's statement was directed at her, Mary nodded, giving her full consent. And as the man began taking photos of her Niddhogg art with his cellphone, Nero asked, "Where were you going, anyway?"

"To the office of the said associate in the Devil Hunting business."

"You mean, Dante?"

"Right you are." Morrison handed the sketchbook back to Mary and placed his cellphone back to his breast pocket. "I have some things to discuss with him. About a man who was found dead in his own house just this morning."

"What happened?" It was V's turn to ask a question.

"Reports say he died of cardiac arrest. Not that big of a deal, to be perfectly honest. Except that this man was linked to the disappearance of a few children in the last decade. There are no sufficient evidence to prove his crimes but, investigations are underway after they found some curious things in his home right after his body was taken."

"And those are?" V pried even further, and it was honestly making Mary a bit nervous.

"Some trinkets and clothes that belong to children. Apparently, they were hidden in a small compartment just behind his fridge. The authorities found the man's body, and some emptied bottles of water, right next to it."

"Maybe they belonged to his kids, or something?" Nero tried to explain.

"Yes, except that this man had no children, or relatives living close by. And the only people he knew were his colleagues in a school he was teaching at. Now, don't you worry about this thing. You have your own problems to deal with. But, just to be sure that my hunches are wrong, I will speak to Dante regarding this - "

"This man," All eyes, including V's, all turned to see Mary looking wide - eyed and horrified as she stood near the door. " ... who was he?"

"His name," Morrison began as he stood up and gathered his things on the table. " ... was Roger Burns. He was a teacher at - "

"I know." Mary heard Nico's little gasp at what she just revealed. "He was my teacher."

"Oh!" Morrison exclaimed and put a hand on Mary's shoulder. "I'm so sorry for the loss of your teacher - "

"Actually, I'm not in the least bit sorry. In fact, he - "

"He?" Morrison and the others waited as Mary held out her hands to show them something. But, then, something made her stop as she somewhat stared in disbelief at her own hands.

V, who stood just in time to see what Mary was looking at, saw nothing but her smooth - looking palms.

"Girl, what are you trying to say?" Nico, who was getting a bit impatient, questioned.

Mary looked up, smiled, and brought her hands down. "Nothing! Just,... nothing."

"Alright, then! I'll take my leave. I'll see you around." Morrison, who pretended to not be weirded out by what just happened, tipped his hat and finally left the trailer with more questions than answers.

"Are you alright?" Nero, who placed a hand on Mary's shoulder, kindly asked.

With a smile, she answered, "Never better."

However, V knew that was a lie. Mary was hiding something from them. It was very clear to him. But, what was it?

And why should Mary open up to them in the first place? They wouldn't believe her if she told them that the scar caused by her now dead teacher was all but mysteriously gone!

***

📷📷📷

***

[evenstevensranked]

#33: Season 1, Episode 11 - “Secrets and Spies”

To destress from her busy schedule, Ren takes up a secret gig performing ABBA karaoke at local Japanese restaurant. She’s super sneaky about it and Louis is determined to figure out what she's up to.

The opening shot of this episode is Ren in her room rearranging her ridiculous schedule, showing us that she’s absolutely swamped. Eileen comes waltzing in and oddly knocks after the door is already open. I just randomly noticed that. Like, give the girl some privacy. She’s all excited to tell Ren that Councilman Mackenzie (whoever that is) is looking for a new intern and that he’s expecting her call. Ren CLEARLY does not want to do this and even tells Eileen that her schedule is too busy. One look at her calendar cork board would make anybody be like “Guuuurl, you’re only giving yourself an hour and a half each week for relaxation time?! You’re 14!” Instead, Eileen looks at her schedule and says “No, honey. Look! You have Tuesday, 4:30 to 6 available!!” Seriously, Eileen? 

Ren is spending Wednesday at 5pm reading to the blind. Give her a break. 

As soon as Eileen leaves, Ren walks into her closet and screams at the top of her lungs. Except, it’s obviously a stock audio clip of a horror scream. Louis overhears and it’s the first clue to the budding mystery. 

At dinner, Ren is curiously missing. We see that the Stevens are doing some “International Delicacy du Jour” where each family member chooses a meal from a different country to eat or something. I don’t know. Steve cooked a traditional Vietnamese meal, and I swear, the way he pronounces the dishes would never fly today. He’s like, “You already have your pho-taaaaaaiiiiii!” in the most mock Asian sounding accent ever, oh my god. He goes on to say “bon appetit” in Vietnamese, which also sounds terrible. He also cooked sticky rice and there’s a gag where the rice is, well... too sticky. None of them can get it off of their utensils. Ren comes running in late and clearly lies about meeting with the councilman. When asked, she tells them that she got the internship. That is, until Louis notices a yellow feather tucked into Ren’s shirt and makes a scene about it. She immediately deflects from that and brings up some ceramic cat that Louis broke to change the subject. Huummm...

Later that night while walking through the hall, Louis happens to overhear Ren talking on the phone in Japanese. He goes barging in “Hey, Stoolie! Why ya speakin’ in Japanese?” which is honestly so funny. It’s the way Shia says it, omg. He’s officially convinced that Ren is hiding something at this point. He has a meeting with Twitty to try and break down the evidence so far and we get a pretty memorable bit. Twitty’s reasoning is simply “Well, she’s a girl and girls do weird things. HEY! That’s a great song title. *proceeds to sing/play ‘girls do weird things’ on guitar*) This is a great scene so I’m just gonna embed it. There is one issue I’ll mention: there’s an awful overdub here. Listen to when Louis says “little miss perfect.” The audio was so obviously recorded at a different time, his lips don’t match, and he didn’t even bother to speak with an appropriate inflection so it would sound better in context. It makes me wonder what line they had him say originally... 

“Get out... Get out of my house” was always one of my favorite lines lol. 

We move on to the tiniest, most insignificant subplot EVER. Donnie is struggling with Trigonometry, (a subject I literally never studied in high school... is that bad?), so he gets an online tutor named Russell. The guy is a total nerd apparently and wants Donnie to help him out with the ladies. They meet up in person, and the tutor ends up being a little kid. That’s literally it. The plot never goes anywhere else. That’s it. There is a good line here, though. Russell is all “Let’s go meet girls!” and Donnie’s like “Look, kid. The only place I’m taking you is to a moon bounce.” I love this.

The next day at school, some random chick tells Louis to thank Ren for referring her to the Councilman and that she got the internship... not Ren. The plot thickens. We get a montage of Louis spying on Ren all day, even hiding in a darn mailbox, until he follows her all the way to Tokyo Rick’s -- a super random Japanese restaurant. Louis is beyond confused, that is.. until a man comes on stage and says “Up next on the mic, we have the vocal stylings of... Isis.” And we get the big reveal: Ren in a 70s style wig singing “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. 

Can we talk about that fact that Ren’s stage name is freaking ISIS though?! Isis?! Really, Disney? This is honestly Illuminati territory for me. Although, Isis is also an Egyptian goddess, which is probably where they got the name from. But, still. It’s a little disturbing in hindsight to think that Ren’s alias went on to be the name of a terrorist organization. Yikes. Christy is a fine singer, but this is unfortunately not her finest performance. To be fair, she was like.. 15 or 16 here. I definitely look back at my own performances at that age sometimes and.... yeah. Not the greatest. This is another memorable scene though and deserves to be uploaded to YouTube, so... I uploaded it: 

Now that Louis knows her secret, he decides to torture her with his knowledge of the situation. We get another montage of him sneakily posting Tokyo Rick’s karaoke fliers all over school, and Ren subsequently removing them. He also drops yellow feathers on her, and even sends a message for Ren to report to room 109, where he has the school band playing “Dancing Queen” (terribly.) I love this part. This is another thing that counts as music humor for me, which y’all know I’m a giant sucker for. The band is just so bad. It sounds as if every band member is on life support and being forced to perform on the verge of their last breath. They literally sound like they’re dying. Just think of the 20th Century Fox sax, trumpet, and recorder fails for an idea of what it sounds like... and times that by 10. Louis is conducting them and shouts “Javier!! That’s your cue!” which is absolutely hilarious to me. Sometimes, it’s the smallest details of this show that kill me the most. Ren walks in and Louis casually says “Isis!” When Ren asks “What did you call me?!” he responds with “I said ‘Hi, sis!’” Perfect. 

Ren pushes Louis out of the room and into the hallway to scream at him and it quickly turns from a scene I absolutely love to a scene that crushes my soul. Ren gets so fed up and screams “Do you think you’re funny?! I don’t. Nobody does! In fact, we all feel sorry for you because we’re out living busy, productive lives and you have... ugh, I don’t know... NOTHING! So just BACK OFF, Nothing Boy!” - The “nothing boy” remark was always a little cringy to me. Not the greatest insult, but it’s just so sad. She kinda hit Louis everywhere it hurts the most. He’s always struggled with feeling like he has nothing special or unique about him in comparison to everyone else. The one thing he does have is comedy, and she says he sucks at that too. Dang. He just stands there and sadly takes the beating. I’m upset. 

Louis takes ~the gloves are coming off~ approach and suggests that the family should go to Tokyo Rick’s as his pick for the International Delicacy thing to reveal Ren’s secret to their parents. But later on, Ren genuinely apologizes to Louis. She admits to being a little jealous that she can’t seem to relax and have fun the way he does -- so she decided to sing karaoke as a way to let off steam. It’s actually really sweet. I love whenever we get nice sibling moments between them. 

I will say, there’s a funny bit where some random kid is using the water fountain near them -- he’s sort of eavesdropping so Louis BARKS at him to make him go away. Oh my god. It’s one of those out of left field moments that help make this show great. I wonder if this was an ad-lib...? If it was, I love Shia even more and I didn’t think that was possible. 

Is it just me or does the kid look EXACTLY like Coach Tugnut? I’ma bout to ask Jim Wise on Twitter if he’s related to him...

EDIT: I asked. I was right. (tweet)

EDIT EDIT: I was not right. Turns out Jim was pulling my leg??? haha. We cleared this up in our interview with him. So embarrassing. 

Louis accepts Ren’s apology, but it’s too late. Ma and pops are already at the restaurant. Oh, boy. 

Louis obviously feels bad at this point. When he gets to the restaurant, he does everything in his power to distract Steve and Eileen from seeing Ren on stage... but fails. They’re shocked to see her. Ren was singing “Dancing Queen” again btw (is that the only song she knows, orrrr?) and her outfit got an upgrade.  

Ren apologizes again and explains the whole situation to their parents. They’re surprisingly understanding! They agree that everyone should have some crazy fun every once in a while. The episode ends with Steve wearing Ren’s wig and the whole family singing “I’ve Got The Music In Me.” It’s hysterical. And ironic, because none of them have the music in them. Especially Louis. Seeing him dance and sing is truly the 8th wonder of the world. What goes through Shia’s mind while he’s playing this character? I want to know.

How does this kid go on to be a drummer? Explain. 

And that’s it! Like the majority of Season 1 episodes, this one is a little slow paced.. but it works here. It’s part of the charm of the first season. I love it. I originally had this ranked towards the “worst” half of the list, but upon re-watching I found a lot of things to like about it. Between Twitty’s awful hit single, the terrible school band, Ren’s performance and the family sing-a-long.. what’s not to love?! It’s a bit of a rollercoaster between Louis and Ren but ultimately turns out fine, which always feels like a well deserved and happy conclusion. I also like how this episode isn’t necessarily a Ren plot or a Louis plot, it’s blended and I love when they’re able to do that and have it flow so well. Also, if you’ve never seen the episode before.. it’s sort of a genuine mystery leading up to the reveal. It’s actually difficult to figure out what Ren’s been doing. It’s a pretty solid episode, imo. But, not the greatest. 

Thanks for reading! Thoughts? :)

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[poop4u]

Dog is Love by Clive Wynne

#Poop4U

The author Clive Wynne sums up his book’s thesis in its title: Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You. He argues, compellingly, that dogs aren’t special because of their intelligence, but because of their social bond to us, which after extensive research, he is happy to call “love”.

One might say that this is not quite as unique an argument as he suggests, but there is no better scientific explanation of our astoundingly close emotional relationship with dogs than in this book. It contains so much interesting information that I first began trying to summarize all the studies myself for you. Bad plan. Trying to rewrite his entire book in short form was probably not a good idea. What I’ll do is list a few, just to whet your appetite.

Before I do, I should mention that some of the studies are well known to many of us. For example: Belyaev’s “domesticated” foxes; Hare’s early arguments that dogs evolved to understand pointing gestures while wolves do not (it was Monique Udell, working with Wynne who disproved this); Coppinger’s hypothesis about wolves evolving into dogs through natural selection, to name a few. However, Wynne builds on these studies and many more to argue that the domestic dog’s behavior, physiology and genetics all suggest that the science doesn’t suggest, it downright demands, for us to acknowledge, that yes, dogs really do experience love, and we are the lucky recipients.

Here, then, are just a few of lesser-known studies that Wynne uses to make his case:

Dogs just really, really like to hang out with people: Mariana Bentosela found that wolves and dogs differed in how much time they spent within three feet of a seated person–familiar or unfamiliar. Wolves, who as we know can be super social and loving to familiar people, spent less time with familiar people than dogs did with unfamiliar ones. Think about that.

It is astounding, really how many dogs choose to hang with us when they could be doing so many other things. When Maggie chooses, over and over, to stay with me instead of doing the million other things she could be doing off leash and free, it makes my heart gushy.

Perhaps the most interesting research relates to the discovery that the genes of domestic dogs are similar to those of people with Williams Beuren Syndrome, which creates behavior described as “hyper social” and with “exceptional gregariousness”. (Note that many of the sites I searched focus on physical and cognitive problems, and say little about behavior, as in: “Children with Williams syndrome typically have a personality that is friendly, outgoing, and/or talkative,” from the Nat’l Organization for Rare Disorders.) However, Wynne visited a summer camp for children with the syndrome, and although he felt guilty about making the comparison, said it was like “watching a whole camp of kids pretending to be dogs”.

He even references the well-watched video, “Cat-friend vs. Dog-friend” by Craig and Parker. (The “dog friend” is hysterical, but I couldn’t help wanting to defend my super social cat Nellie while watching it.)

Remember the first study I mentioned, in which dogs hung out with unfamiliar people at high rates? That is hugely important, and key to understanding who dogs are. How many dogs treat every stranger as if they were their best friend? It’s downright bizarre if you think about it in evolutionary terms. Indeed, one of the challenges of being a parent of a WB Syndrome child is keeping them safe . . . imagine if your child believed ever single person they met was instantly their best friend.

So, we now know that dogs have a genetic make up very similar to that of children with WB Syndrome. BUT . . . are you thinking what I’ve been thinking about this? All dogs are not Golden Retrievers. For that matter, all Golden Retrievers are not Golden Retrievers, if you know what I mean. Plenty of dogs of many breeds are more reserved with strangers, and some are pretty darn reserved with their owners for that matter.

And now we know why, thanks to the research of Bridgett vonHoldt working with Monique Udell and the author, Clive Wynne. It turns out that there are three genes (at least) related to WB Syndrome, and different variations of these genes, found in both dogs and wolves, are consistent with their levels of sociability. Crazy cool stuff, yes?

And here’s a section in the book that is sure to get your attention: Wynne argues that domestic dogs have a stronger social hierarchy than wolves. Yeah, you read that right. Don’t panic, he is vehemently opposed to the concept of training dogs based on a “dominance hierarchy,” but he cites interesting studies that show wolves and dogs growled over a bone at similar rates, but the domestic dogs were more likely to have a winner who gets the bone, and a loser who gives up entirely, while the wolves stayed put, eating and growling with no winner or loser. Read more in the book–it’s an especially thought-provoking issue.

The author concludes that we owe dogs more than we are giving them, decrying dogs left alone all day with little interaction even in the evening, substandard shelters, irresponsible breeding, etc. Overall, it’s an important addition to the field, and a great addition to our libraries.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Well, you gotta take your successes where you find them. We just returned from the Star of the North Stockdog Trial in Minnetrista, MN, and for the first two days it was Trial Field 2, Maggie 0. I had no idea how difficult this course was. The 500-yard outrun is one thing, but the field is a series of ridges that run horizontal between you and the sheep. The dog loses sight of the sheep at least twice during the outrun, and you lose sight of the sheep and your dog twice on the fetch. It’s a much tougher course than the one we ran on over Labor Day, and honestly I’m not sure I would have entered if I’d known how challenging it was. As another handler said “Poor Maggie! All these extra hard courses for her to deal with when she’s just started in Open.”

Here’s the (gorgeous) field, looking far less intimidating in the photo than in person. Those little ridges you see are actually quite deep, and you lose sight of your dog, and your dog loses sight of you, multiple times. This handler has sent her dog, who has disappeared on the way to his sheep, who you can see in the far distance.

Here’s another look at the undulating course:

My biggest disappointment on our first runs was that, when first sent on her outrun, Maggie ran behind us to the “exhaust pen” rather than looking for sheep up the field. It’s a new bad habit she started this summer, and I think it’s all about avoidance, as in: “These sheep close by are soooo much easier to deal with than the ones forever away, I’ll just work them.” Both times I left the post and did get her going up the field. On Friday she crossed over at the bottom of a ridge (I couldn’t see her) and ended up getting stuck on the sheep in the set out pens. On Saturday she finally found the right sheep but got stuck in a dip. I waited and waited and waited, and finally walked halfway down the course (never will 250 yards seem as far as when you have to walk out onto a course to rescue your dog). I found her lying down with the sheep grazing in front of a patch of water big enough to be called a pond. I suspect she simply got into that deep dip, had no idea where I was or what to do, and just abdicated. When she saw me she easily moved them down the field.

After Saturday I considered going home, wondering if I was just going to set Maggie back by making her run one more time on Sunday on this difficult course. But I finally decided to try again on Sunday, since she’d found the sheep Saturday and perhaps had learned what to do when the world went wonky and she and the sheep descended into the Bermuda Triangle. I’m glad we stayed. After cold, misty weather on Friday, and one hell of a lot of rain on Saturday, Sunday dawned blue sky and cool, but windy. We walked to the post mid afternoon when the wind picked up, the sheep were getting cranky after three days of running, and lots of dogs were having trouble getting them to stop eating grass and play the game. I tried not to obsess–would she find the sheep on her own or try for the exhaust again? Would she and the sheep disappear again in a deep dip and require me to leave the post yet again?

Whew. Maggie left the post and ran a gorgeous, huge outrun around to the back of the sheep. She did what looked like lovely lift (granted she was a tiny dot that I could barely see). I held my breath when she and the sheep disappeared two different times on the fetch, but each time, some tiny white sheep ears appeared behind the ridge with my little dog right behind them. She did a truly lovely fetch and wrapped the sheep around me well. Alas, the hungry, crabby sheep were too much for her on the drive, and she couldn’t get them pushed around the course. One large, horned ewe basically made it clear she was done with trialing thank you very much, and Maggie didn’t know what to do except bust in on her. We got DQ’d, very reasonably, by the judge.

I couldn’t fault her much–the sheep were getting worse and worse, and lots of good, more experienced dogs were having a lot of trouble. Of course, there are plenty of dogs out there that can handle sheep like that, but right now Maggie isn’t one of them. She might never be, but I am taking our successes where I can, and I was so happy that she figured out the course, put her big girl panties on and ignored the “easy” sheep.

One more trial next weekend, the last one of the season for us. It’s another famously hard course in which the dogs have to run through a stream to gather the sheep half hidden under some lovely old oak trees, and do a “dog-leg” fetch rather than bringing the sheep directly to you. They do tend to be sheep that Maggie rather likes (flighty versus heavy), so that’s a plus in our favor. I would be so happy to get numbers instead of letters, but if Maggie and I learn something important I’ll call it a success.

Here’s hoping you had a victory of sorts yourself last week, whether minor, like ours, or major. We’d all love to hear about it.

  Poop4U Blog via www.Poop4U.com Trisha, Khareem Sudlow

[bellereveprincess-blog]

First Draft

BLANCHE enters a perfectly pristine dining room in perfect Stepford-wife garb. She is carrying a beautifully roasted chicken and sets it down on an immaculately set dinner table. Her hair and make-up are done to the T, and a small tiara rests on the crown of her head. After setting the chicken down, she goes over to the wet bar and pours two drinks.

BLANCHE Well there he is, just the man I was looking for! Supper is just about ready, just finishing off the gravy and the biscuits. Everyone should be arriving shortly, I should think. Wanna drink?

She offers one of the drinks to "Allan". "Allan" declines. Alrighty then, more for me.

She takes a sip from her drink and sets the other down on the table. 

BLANCHE Listen darlin,’ before everyone gets here, there’s somethin’ really important I want to talk to you about. I wanted to let you know that I found the letter you left for me on the dresser this morning and, I have to tell you I think I’ve read it so many times that I have the darn thing memorized by now. But I wanted to let you know that it’s okay. It’s okay because I already knew. (Laughs) I mean that’s not to say that I always knew. Believe me when I first discovered it, it nearly knocked the wind out of me. How long have we been together? Since we were seventeen? My God, we were just babies! Remember our first kiss? Daddy never let me out of the house after eight o’clock, but I knew I just had to see my Allan. So I snuck out of the house, and walked two miles down the road to your place. We had to creep into your room through that raggedy screen door that seemed to creak no matter how carefully you closed it. We were lying on your bed... in the dark... and I just knew "I’m going to have my first kiss. This is where my life is truly going to begin." I could feel you leaning in, I couldn’t see you in the dark but I could feel you there. So I leaned in too... and sure enough if we didn’t miss and end up two fools wagging our tongues around in the air like a pair of dogs.

This tickles Blanche a lot. BLANCHE But we found each other. Yes we did. In the dark. Two lonely stars in the dark universe that found each other. And from that moment on I knew that I would never be alone again.

Blanche takes a large swig from her drink.

BLANCHE That’s why when I found out, like I said it knocked the wind straight out of me. When we first moved to the city, I can’t lie, I was a bit worried about making friends. I mean we had each other, of course, but I know a man needs his down time away from his wife. Now, you and I both know, Allan, that I can make a friend wherever I go! I can hold a lively conversation and you know I know how to leave an impression on somebody. But you, you’ve always been shy Allan, so gentle and so shy. So when you and Randall hit it off, I thought "well ain’t that wonderful, Allan’s gonna have a friend!" And Randall’s a good friend, such a good friend, such a good friend... But you know who’s my best friend? You, you are my BEST friend Allan. I’d do anything for you, but you know that. Because you, Allan, are very observant. You see things. Me, however, sometimes I think I can’t even see my own two hands in front of me. Because I couldn’t see it. Could not see it. Ah shit, the gravy!

Blanche runs back to the kitchen to check the gravy, She comes back out to the dining room with a gravy boat. 

BLANCHE Just caught it! Biscuits still need a minute.

Blanche finishes off her drink and starts in on the second. 

BLANCHE I don’t mean to toot my own horn but, when it comes to the wifey department, you hit the home run my friend. She cooks, she cleans, she sucks my dick twice a week. And you want to know why? Because I love you baby. I mean sure we’ve had our up’s and down’s but who doesn’t? When you put that ring on my finger, when you asked me to be your wife, do you want to know the first thought that came to my head, Allan? I thought "I’m safe. I have found my safe place." And like I said, all couples have their struggles. I know you like the back of my hand and I could tell that after a year of marriage and five years together, you were getting bored in the bedroom. Hell, maybe I was getting bored too! So when you suggested that our dear, dear friend Randall join us in the boudoir, I thought, oh hell why not? Who doesn’t like a good spit roast? Blanche bursts out laughing but is shaking at the same time. She finishes the second drink and moves to the bar to pour herself another one.

BLANCHE I’m sorry, that was vulgar. Blame my friend Captain Jack, he’s a raunchy fellow. But, if I’m honest with myself, I like Randall and all but I didn’t really want him in my bed...no. Because bored or not, you were all that I needed Allan. And dammit I was going to do whatever I had to do to keep my Allan happy. My girlfriends used to kid around, "When Blanche gets herself a man, she’ll disappear faster than cake on a fat kid’s plate!" Ha! And it’s true, you know, now that I think about it I haven’t talked to those girls in a few years. But who needs ’em when I’m with Allan. In my safe place with you. So like I said, I ’bout had the wind knocked out of me when last year, at my birthday party, I couldn’t find you or Randall anywhere. My two best pals! I walked into the kitchen. No Allan. I walked into the study. No Allan. I walked up the stairs and cracked the bedroom door open and... ahhhh, there’s Allan...and Randall. Fucking. On my Egyptian silk sheets! Guess ya’ll were having so much fun you didn’t even notice me. We’d been married, what, four months?

She chugs the drink and pours another one.

BLANCHE Oh, you didn’t think I knew? Yep, one year baby, one whole year. But as you can see I’ve moved past it. Yes, you missed the best of the hysterics. But I have to say, when I read your letter this morning- wait, wait let me see if I can say it by heart. "So, in conclusion, I am gay and in coming to terms with who I am, I realize that I am damaging the fabric of who you are, and for that I am deeply apologetic.I respect whatever way you decide to part ways from this union. Please realize that I love you to pieces, just not in that way. Love always, Allan. P.S you can keep the ring." So eloquent, darlin’. So when I read this, I said to myself "Wow, Blanche. It’s all out there now. You have a big decision to make." And so I have made you this beautiful dinner, and worn this beautiful outfit to deliver my decision. I’m not leaving you.

Blanche breathes out a sigh of relief.

BLANCHE Oh my God, it feels so good to get that off my chest. Now I see you looking at me funny, but here’s the great news for you. You can keep seeing Randall! It’s fine really. Because I care about you honey, and I want you to be happy.

There is a long pause. Allan clearly isn’t reacting the way Blanche expected him to.

BLANCHE Well aren’t you gonna say anything? I feel like I’m offering you a pretty sweet deal here. This way everyone is happy. You get to have your man and I get to keep the man I love. We’re allllll happy!

Blanche is getting more frantic, disheveling her hair, shaking, and drinking at a more rapid rate.

BLANCHE Ooohhh look at that serious face! I know what you’re thinking, Allan, I fucking know you. You want to tell me "Blanche, you deserve better. You deserve a man who can love you completely, who can give all of himself to you. You’re still young, you’ll find somebody else. You will find another safe place." Well... I don’t want to! I am not going back out into that fucking war zone of the modern dating world. Swipe left, swipe right, don’t double text, be casual, but not too casual. Don’t sleep with him too soon but don’t be a prude. No! I’m not doing it! I found my safe place and I’m done.

Blanche smells the burning biscuits.

BLANCHE Shit, my biscuits!

Blanche runs back to the kitchen. She comes back out with a tray of blackened biscuits. She slams them down on the table.

BLANCHE ARE YOU HAPPY?! Burnt to shit! It’s funny, when I was little, I used to sit outside my parents door and listen to them argue, hooting and hollering into the night, all the time. And one time, I asked Mama "if you and Daddy don’t like each other, why do you stay together?" And you know what she told me? She said, "Honey, you don’t have to like someone to love them. That man could put me through all kinds of hell, and I’d love him through it. That’s what real love is." So you know what? I’m gonna love you through this. I’d rather experience the pain of never fully having you than experience the pain of being alone. She looks at her wedding ring and smiles. BLANCHE I’m safe here. This is my safe place. And I will not let you send me out back out into that darkness, alone. The doorbell rings. BLANCHE Ah, the guests have arrived. (fixes her hair) How do I look?

My first draft was set in modern times. Along with deciding that crude language and Blanche DuBois don’t quite mix, I questioned whether her not to leave him would also seem strange in the modern day. Ultimately, I decided to keep it set in the time of the play.