#also TEAM FOSSILS FOR THE WIN

[clarafyer]

My GOD I love them

[ki1ldeer]

Oh goodie!! My favorite time of year!!!

[davekat-sucks]

I couldn’t resist this thing we’re doing with Homestuck characters with Youtube channels so here we go.

Beta trolls first/

Aradia: 100% she’s a spelunker who’s video content is exploring abandoned urban areas and cave systems. She even has on hand dusting tools and a pickaxe to look for exposed fossils. Her uploads coincide within a day of a person dissapearing or the report of a murder.

Tavros: he’s Alternia’s biggest Pokétuber, or I guess in this sense, a Fidutuber. He likes to discuss the meta for competitive and lore about the fiduspawn series. He also dabbles in fantasy RPGs, especially if there is a girl with magical powers or a protagonist whisked away to a fantastical realm, tying back to his Pupa Pan obsession. What’s cool about Tavros’s playthroughs for his RPG games is they’re narrated and voice acted by his friends! He has Nepeta and Aradia do some of the female cast voice acting, as well as Gamzee and Karkat for male voice acting!

Sollux: twitch streaming speedrunner, very popular in the speedrunning community for his TAS tech and glitch hunting prowess. His uploading schedule is very infrequent due to his struggle with sensing the imminently deceased.

Karkat: 100% a movie reviewer like that of the Nostalgia critic, his review gimmick is he trues to violently destroy movies he considers “COMPLETE SHIT FESTIVITIES” by using threshecutioner style combat on the DVD boxes, or if the movie was digitally downloaded, corrupt it with one of his broken, shitty viruses.

Nepeta: survivalist vlogger who gives tips on living in a cave, animal hunting, preparing meals from the meats of different wild animals, and how to keep contact with the civilized world. Notably Nepeta has collaborated with Aradia to guide her through particularly hard to navigate caves.

Kanaya: fashion and aesthetics channel. She is a lifestyle blogger dedicated to showing you how everything can be shaped colored and placed to fit your personality. She’s got playlists for landscaping and gardening, fashion, and hell even how to make the food on your plate look appetizing!

Terezi: skit and parodies channel. Her on hand plushes make her a plush skit channel similar to SuperMarioLogan, and she loves to invite her friends to cast as different pyralsprites, action figures, paper drawings and even an occasional animal carcass for her new episodes. When her plushes are worn out, Terezi instead uses GMod and editing software to make her secondary skit show, think SMG4 but now the characters type in leetspeak and reference bugs and grubs a lot. For using copyrighted characters she has been sued many times and won every case. She uploads legal advice to a secondary channel on how to avoid getting copyright claimed and how to win in court.

Vriska: e-thot and competitive gamer. She plays a lot of ranked team games like Overwatch, Marvel Rivals, Fortnite, and even Team Fortress 2! She’s toxic, and has been known to call out and swear at her teammates and opponents, has doxxed her own moderators for her chat, and once sent Tavros a virus to his computer for wiping the floor with her at FiduFLARP, a modded game of FLARP that adds in fiduspawn monsters as catchable enemies. How she’s not banned is a sinple reason: she always streams with a crop top that’s worn low.

Equius: hybrid channel for electrical engineering and combat training. He’s like electroboom in that he gets shocked quite a lot, but different in that he could build a Boston dynamic robot in less than an hour. He has tutorials on constructing the control systems of military aircraft! His combat videos focus on a lot of boxing and hand-to-hand techniques, and especially how to concentrate the force of your blow. When he does demonstrations for weapon combat, he invites Karkat and Tavros over for battle strategies for Threshecutioners and Cavalreapers.

Gamzee: naturalist and spiritual healing channel. He streams often for calls with chat members asking for their ailments and providing healing advice or even trying a through-the-screen hypnosis method to cure chat members. He’s a fraud, but people love his calm demeanor and positive attitude so much people go to him for vibes, and his “cures” work often enough that some people even believe he has healing magic.

Eridan: strategy games and naitical technology. World of Warships no. 1 advertising advocate. He also dabbles in human games like Hearts of Iron IV and Sid Mires’s Civilization series. He thinks they’re actually really really easy games. When he reviews ships he likes to go to museums to review and describe war ships and how effective they were at sea. Sometimes he can even swim to shipwrecks if he feels like it, which is… rarely.

Feferi: Vlogger for ocean diving and nature documentation. Her positive attitude and natural optimism towards the unknown makes her view even the most ugly and aggressive deep sea life seem cute and misunderstood. Surprisingly her favorite sea life is the shark! When Eridan needs to explore a shipwreck, he uses Feferi as a guide to get him safely diving down to the wreckage, and so he doesn’t feel alone in the dark waters. Deep sea diving actually burns a LOT of calories, especially with how long her videos can get (2-4 hours) so on the side she does shorter Mukbang videos! Commenters are in awe that she’s so skinny despite eating half her weight in food every time she does a Mukbang.

Beta kids/

John: illusions and pranks channel, loves to live record strangers falling for his obvious trucks and deceits. Don’t worry it’s all for fun and no one gets hurt :) His magic even extends to cool programs you can do on your computer to make your desktop do something cool, or customize your pointer (yeah to this day he’s still an amateur at coding) when Karkat is reviewing bad movies, John is usually invited for skits where he’s the stand in for a stawman of the movie’s fandom explaining why the movie is actually good.

Rose: she’s like those atheist skeptic channels but instead of just debunking God and flat earth theory she also uses her magic to prove and convince her subscribers the horrorterrors are the only real cosmic entities who exist beyond the physical universe. In the case there’s a video going around of something crazy happening that could be a hoax, she invites John over so he can rant and expose the magic tricks the video uses to make it look real.

Dave: shitposter. He posts whatever he feels like whenever he feels like. Tony Hawk combo score, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff comic dubs, Smosh skits with John, and a lot of Youtube Poops. He’s less a poster and more an editor. He’s done video editing for a bunch of other Youtubers, like Karkat, Kanaya, Sollux, Terezi, John, and Rose. He has a lot of time on his hands and he uses it for the best editing gags and cutoffs you could imagine. Like Caddicarus but even funnier.

Jade: she’s a mystery. You’ll see her everywhere and yet her main channel has less than 10k subscribers. She has made a cameo on EVERY character I’ve described so far. She’s dug up bones for Aradia, competed against Tavros in fiduspawn (and narrates for his RPG playthroughs, voice acting for some female characters too!) she playtests Sollux’s speedrun strats to see of they’re humanly viable, she’s done skits in Karkat’s video where she parodies prominent female characters alongside John, Dave, and Sollux. She is used as a practice combatant for Nepeta to demonstrate fighting various wildlife from foxes to bears. She’s done in depth explanations for various plant life and their living conditions in Kanaya’s horticulture videos, she plays in Terezi’s skits as a character who’s a stereotypical furry, she’s Vriska’s top pick for playing casual multiplayer games like UNO, or Worms, or Smash Bros. Jade was a featured teacher for how to build a homemade Nuclear Reactor with Equius. She was interviewed by Gamzee for her dog ears and her ability to see the future. She demonstrates how to handle various firearms in Eridan’s videos, and has even done 2-person mukbangs with Feferi. So after all that, what does Jade post on her main account? Squiddles character AMVs.

If I’m gonna do the alpha kids and trolls it has to be a separate ask, this is a very long one.

Hot damn! These are all so good!

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Marvel High AU, Blurb One:

Science Fair Episode-

~The science fair in question~

Gambit: has an exhibit on different explosives

Rocket Raccoon: also has one

Reed Richards: made a portal

Victor von Doom: also did that

Hank McCoy: made a Jekyll/Hyde serum

Hank Pym: him as well

Tony Stark: made a mini robot

Loki: made a mini ice figurine

Reader: has an exhibit on different fossilized tree saps

The teachers: Oh cr*p it all

Reader: nurses a root beer in the corner

Later-

Mini Ultron: I will destroy you all!

Mini Ultron: fires lasers at everyone

Johnny Storm: passed out + on fire

Star Lord: twerking to ABBA

Peter Parker: screaming

Jubilee: blew up the gymnasium floor

Reader: slaps Ultron into a bucket of mop water

Afterwards-

Nick Fury: -and the winner of thr science fair, the only exhibit not set on fire or that tried to kill us, is... Peter Parker

Tony: What?! Why?! My robot was perfect!

Loki: It should have been me!

Kade Kilgore: My self-detonating grenade was legendary!

Gene Khan: What about the history of the Makluan rings I did?!

Rocket Raccoon: My exhibit only exploded AFTER rich boy's robot blew it up!

Gambit: I second that!

Nick Fury: My decision stands. Runner up is... Reader Readerson. As their exhibit is the only other one still standing

Spider Kids: Go Peter! We knew you had it in you!

Avengers: So unfair!

X-Men: We'll win the next one!

Fantastic Four: Good work, team!

Guardians of the Galaxy: Thank Ego that's over

Reader: ...

Reader: yay?

@sugar-soda @thewickedweiner @wolvesbane1984 @vivid-bun @danniloversugar @crowwithguns @crow-crystal @manulodo @chaoticlovingdreamer @bluemoonice

[pokemonbattletournament]

We have Pokémon at Home!

Round 3 matchup 31

Propaganda for Zongazonga:

"because we NEED fossil fighters rep if we're going to be discussing mon games. zongazonga is the final boss and main villain of the second game (the best one), being an ancient evil sorceror who transforms into a Zombie Dinosaur to fight you, the player, and your team of non-zombie dinosaurs. and if you can beat him for a second time in the postgame, YOU TOO can add him to your team and go around beating up random kids' dinosaurs with him! fossil fighters had a lot of things i could've submitted...but what tops an evil zombie dinosaur wizard"

Propaganda for Sommie:

"Is cute, marketable, and owned by Nintendo, definitely a Pokémon. It is also as tall as a loaf of bread and its weight is equivalent to two peaches."

"It’s as big as two peaches 🥺"

More info under the cut

More information about Zongazonga:

More information about Sommie:

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Wednesday

SpaceTime 20250430 Series 28 Episode 52

The strange mystery of Titan’s river deltas

Scientists are looking for the Saturnian moon Titan’s missing river deltas.

A new study unveils the volcanic history and clues to ancient life on Mars

A new study has revealed that the floor of the red planet’s Jezero Crater is composed of a diverse array of iron-rich volcanic rocks.

Rare earth metals discovered in the atmosphere of a glowing hot exoplanet

Astronomers have discovered rare earth metals in the atmosphere of KELT-9 b, one of the hottest known exoplanets.

The Science Report

Claims you can blame when you were conceived for how you store fat.

Scientists have for the first time analysed the soft tissue of a fossilized 183 million year old plesiosaur.

A new study shows Chatbots make inconsistent moral judgements.

Alex on Tech: YouTube turns 20

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through your favourite podcast download provider or from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He was the dorky school kid who spent his weekends at the Australian Museum. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on a career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. His first gigs were spent as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist, and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. That compares to the ABC’s overall radio listenership of just 5.6 per cent. The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[estrogenandspite]

An Alternate Pokemon Ending

This post started as a reply on a mostly unrelated thread on cohost that I ended up spinning into an entire one-shot Pokémon AU. If I had the time and energy to write things purely for fun, I think I'd expand on this. As is... I like it a lot. (Also it gets trans down the line)

I’ve always had a headcanon that Giovanni (in the games, not the anime) is a former Pokemon champion that got bored. He has everything he needs, he’s not in it for the money. He’s in it for the thrills. That’s why he makes himself the hardest gym on the continent, that’s why he was interested in those fossils, that’s why he had his scientists make Mewtwo: he was desperate for a real challenge.

And that was why he was so calm about this 12-year-old tearing his empire apart. Because he’s actually thrilled. Here we have a real challenge, someone who can give him a proper fight.

This is also why we find Red on top of a mountain in Gold and Silver, and why he just wearily fights us without a word. After becoming the champion and defeating Mewtwo…Red realized he understood how Giovanni became Giovanni, how after spending your formative years in Pokémon battles you can lose sight of the Pokémon and just become obsessed with the battles.

I like to think beating Red on that mountain gave him perspective as he walked down, all his Pokémon fainted, realizing Giovanni was wrong and that he was in danger of being the same kind of wrong. That focusing on the challenge meant you lost sight of the bonds with your Pokémon. That he apologized to them after they were healed, gave them all hugs, and promised them they could rest after one more fight.

Then he went back to Giovanni and explained this all in the only language the older man would understand: a final battle. Did Giovanni learn his lesson? Would he keep working on his criminal empire?

Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it wasn’t Red’s problem anymore.

Red took his championship winnings right now and runs the largest Pokémon ranch on the planet, where all his captured Pokémon are now free to live their lives if they choose and if they leave, he only asks that they say gooodbye so he doesn’t worry. Ever so often, some kid comes by to challenge the one time champion, and he’ll do so with whatever mons are willing to fight. Some of those kids comment how easy the new Viridian city gym leader is.

Giovanni comes by for those fights. Once a year. He loses every time. There’s been no sign of team rocket. Every time Giovanni thanks Red. Never explains why, but Red gets it.

Sometimes you need to be kept humble.

---

In this timeline, which is all about healing, Blue and Oak finally had a proper talk. Blue admitted he felt like Oak was consantly overlooking him and that’s why he lashed out at people around him. Oak apologized and realized that was a good start, but real healing would require therapy.

During that therapy, Oak finally just told Blue that he was asking everyone if they were a boy or a girl not because he’d gone senile, but because he hoped asking would make Blue more comfortable asking that question in the mirror. Oak had seen the signs, but everything said not to pressure a person into coming out, but he wanted to help with puberty blockers since that would be relevant very soon.

Transition is easier in a world of potions and now going by Azure, she’s much happier these days.

Part of Azure’s healing process was apologizing to Red for the endless bullying, but after dealing with an actual mafia Red was like “yeah we’re cool. I mean, I did tell everyone on the continent your name was Asshole, so I’m not blameless. Also, she/her from now on? Awesome.”

They weren’t close friends right away because just because someone apologized doesn’t mean you let them back into your life right away, but they are in the short list of “former champions”. Azure went on to work at and eventually become the director of the Safari Zone and reshape it into something better, so it’s an actual nature preserve as opposed to a legalized hunting ground. Pokémon that are particularly traumatized or not able to fit in to the zones’s habitat needed somewhere to go, and Azure couldn’t think of anyone better than Red.

He was and is happy to help, especially because helping Pokémon like that would be great therapy for Mewtwo. This brought the two into contact more often and, over time, a spark lit between them. Pikachu and Venasaur encouraged it, but Charizard and Blastoise took longer - but they did come around after talking to Azure’s Pokémon and hearing how she’s changed.

Giovanni showed up at the wedding. He didn’t speak to anyone, save to briefly greet Azure by her chosen name. Other than that, there was a clear understanding between these three former champions.

Giovanni never stopped those yearly visits. And when there were some issues with Azure and Red adopting due to archaic laws, Azure vented when Giovanni could hear, and three months later every gym leader was calling for inclusive laws, because honestly it’s the year of Archeus 20XX we should be past that, and privately they were ashamed it required Giovanni, of all people, to bring this to their attention.

Mewtwo and Giovanni spoke once. Mewtwo said if Giovanni ever went too far, Mewtwo would leave Red’s ranch. 

Nothing else needed to be said. 

There was no reconciliation here. Some wrongs can’t be forgiven.

Mewtwo was fine staying here while Azure and Red lived. When they passed, Mewtwo figured they could go looking for what came next.

Azure and Red adopted Green a year later, and when that little bundle of chaos grabbed Mewtwo’s ears and looked them dead in the eyes before saying “Kitty,” Mewtwo (now sometimes Kitty) decided immortality meant they could stay perhaps a bit longer.

And ever so often, waking up next to the man she never expected to love, Azure will give him a gentle kiss as she leaves for work and look over her shoulder before Zapdos gives her a lift to the Safari zone, and she gives him an impish grin, and Red smiles and says “don’t you dare” but he doesn’t actually mean it, he thinks this is cute, and she’s already speaking.

“Smell ya later, babe.”

[notwiselybuttoowell]

New maps have revealed the best “win-win” opportunities across the world to regrow forests and tackle the climate crisis, without harming people or wildlife.

The places range from the eastern US and western Canada, to Brazil and Colombia, and across Europe, adding up to 195 million hectares (482 million acres). If reforested, this would remove 2.2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, about the same as all the nations in the European Union.

Previous maps have suggested much larger areas have the potential for regrowing trees but were criticised for including important ecosystems like savannahs and not considering the impact on the millions of people who live in or depend on forests.

The researchers behind the new maps built on previous work but employed a deliberately conservative approach in order to shine a spotlight on those places with the highest potential and the fewest problems.

They focused only on dense, closed-canopy forests and excluded areas that had suffered recent wildfires. The result was a map showing 195 million hectares of reforestation opportunity, an area equivalent to the size of Mexico but up to 90% smaller than previous maps. They provided further options that, for example, avoid the risk of social conflict with forest peoples, which reduced the potential CO2 removal to 1.5bn tonnes a year.

Reforestation opportunity maps are crucial because regrowing trees is the largest and cheapest option for taking CO2 out of the atmosphere, but tree initiatives need to focus on the most suitable areas to maximise their impact.

“Reforestation is not a substitute for cutting fossil fuel emissions, but even if we were to drive down emissions tomorrow, we still need to remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere,” said Dr Susan Cook-Patton, at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and a senior author of the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications. “Many, many years of evolution have gone into trees figuring out how to suck CO2 from the atmosphere and lock it into carbon stores, so it’s ready to scale now.”

Prof Simon Lewis, at University College London and not part of the study team, said: “There have been a series of well-known studies of global reforestation potential that have come up with wildly high numbers. This new study is the antidote to such hyperbole. New forests in the lowest risk areas globally would remove about 5% of humans’ CO2 emissions each year – important, but not a silver bullet.”

The options the scientists created beyond their 195mHa base map prioritised three broad criteria: avoiding social conflicts, improving biodiversity and water quality, and highlighting places where governments already had reforestation goals, making action more politically possible.

“There’s always a set of values or motivations that goes into the way you produce the map, and the answer that you get,” said Kurt Fesenmyer, also at TNC and lead author of the new analysis. The area of land that met every criteria was small – 15mHa – so the researchers hope governments and NGOs will use their interactive maps to highlight the most suitable solutions in their own countries.

The focus on social conflicts was crucial, as almost 100 million people live in the 195mHa area. “Previous studies often failed to address how reforestation could have negative effects on human well-being, especially for poor people living in the remote rural areas often targeted for reforestation,” says Dr Forrest Fleischman, at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the study.

However, he added: “The most conservative map removes potential forest restoration across almost all of Africa and Southeast Asia, due to fears of [land rights] conflict. This risks perpetuating poverty, if investments in nature avoid poor countries with limited governance. Plans to invest in nature to improve local livelihoods and also benefit the climate and biodiversity should be seized, as these often go hand-in-hand.”

[jonquilyst]

Day 8 - Challenge Day

It's time to take a field trip! Today our challenge is taking place in Sulani. Everyone is thrilled to have a supposed beach day (don't mind Hans, he's constantly pouting) and Toni even started making a sand sculpture!

But I didn't take everyone here just for everyone to have fun on the beach. No beach episodes here! Instead... I have a much more entertaining activity in mind.

Hehehe... While everything seemed to be going well, the ground suddenly began to shake, and the active volcano on the neighboring island began to spew ash...

And before everyone knew it, the small island everyone was on was bombarded by volcanic rocks! Willabelle narrowly escaped being crushed by not one, but two giant rocks that hurdled straight toward her!

Did I just summon a volcanic eruption at will? Absolutely. Let's just say I can make anything happen... Anything.

Now, what's the challenge? Well, I summoned this eruption because this challenge's movie genre is action, and no action movie is complete without giant burning objects hurdling towards you! But what are we gonna do with these rocks exactly?

The teams will be harvesting the riches within these volcanic rocks, and the team whose stash of riches is the more valuable than the other will win invincibility! This challenge will also come with a standard elimination, to give ourselves a break from the new and scary last challenge!

Once again, due to uneven teams we will be sidelining one contestant, this time from the Big-Names as they are now the bigger team! Before I could spin my wheel, however, Neal decided to book it and he swam away to the other island, so... I guess I won't be needing my wheel today!

Our remaining contestants got cracking, breaking apart each piece of rock! Paulina strikes it rich and earns 136 simoleons from 3 different treasures while Willabelle only manages to retrieve a single broken fossil, which only earns her 10 simoleons... Coffee and Drew fill out the middle with their 54 and 78 simoleons respectively.

THE RESULTS:

Illustrious Star-Shines:

Coffee: 54 simoleons

Drew: 78 simoleons

Flo: 149 simoleons

Hans: 18 simoleons

Takashi: 267 simoleons

Renowned Big-Names:

Enzo: 49 simoleons

Liana: 138 simoleons

Paulina: 136 simoleons

Toni: 10 simoleons

Willabelle: 10 simoleons

With a combined total of 566 simoleons to 343, the Illustrious Star-Shines have crushed the Renowned Big-Names and have secured victory!

THE ILLUSTRIOUS STAR-SHINES WIN!

Ouch, Big-Names... It looks like your winning streak has ended. You know what that means! It's auditorium time 😈

Today's Confessional: Neal Ward

"It sucks that my team lost, but not participating in that challenge gave me an excuse to swim in the ocean and have the beach on the other island all to myself, so personally, I'm considering myself a winner anyway."

@ethicaltreatmentofcowplants @cowplant-ate-my-sim @stargazer-sims @seyvia @simsinfinitylt

@witheringscreations @invisiblequeen @nakasumi-sims @riverofjazzsims

[goldensunset]

i love n but looking at his final team in bw again it is. so bad. peace and love <3 but also i think it’s such a great detail

like it makes perfect sense in the story that the guy who doesn’t even like being a trainer, whose whole goal is to put an end to pokémon battling, would be bad at battling. cuz it’s not like he has a lot of experience with it. yeah he didn’t build a competitive team he’s just doing this with his friends kinda like penny. the previous times you fight him he uses only the random pokémon he finds around him like he’s just summoning the nearby forces of nature for aid like a disney prince or something. in the end he’s got a random medley of mons and the only logical explanation is those are the ones he’s had around for a long time and was always going to stick with

like so what if 2/3 of his final team are weak to fighting, 1/2 are weak to steel, 1/2 are weak to ground, etc. it’s whatever. those are the friends he happens to have and he’s loyal to them. so what if their abilities are either useless with how he uses them (illusion, plus) or an active hindrance (defeatist). so what if he doesn’t even have a dragon type move on zekrom/reshiram they can use either whatever they want to use idk man. no held items? no problem. he’s not about that artificial sweetener microplastic man-made item life they are living like nature

basically like he isn’t gonna judge them for who they are or what they wanna do. they’re his allies not his tools he’s not going to betray his ideals even for the sake of having a better shot at winning. it’s his friends or nothing

like. n is the guy who looks at the small picture of things over the big picture. he was never going to be able to beat the player and become the true reigning champion and hero of unova who has the authority to shut down trainerdom forever without approaching that battle with a strategic mindset and/or boxing his friends. he sacrifices his larger goal because he would never want to be the hypocrite who treats his own pokémon like tools while preaching that other people shouldn’t

(makes him like the exact opposite of ghetsis who’s strong yet evil while preaching goodness. who in fact directly benefits from abusing his pokémon (max frustration hydreigon, enough said))

and in turn like… he definitely knew this. he talks a big game but there’s no way that in his heart he didn’t already understand that he was gonna lose to the player. like @claitea once pointed out in this post the archeops with the defeatist ability for example is kind of symbolic here. n is a smart guy he must’ve figured out like halfway through the game that he wasn’t strong enough, that it just wasn’t meant to be for him, that ghetsis didn’t really see him as capable or worthy of respect, something like that. and his ideals were wavering anyway after having seen the truth about trainers and their pokémon out in the world. in his heart he had already half given up but was too stubborn to admit it, much like anthea says

the other way to interpret this of course is that since ghetsis has been introducing n to all these pokémon that have been abused (perhaps even abused *because* they were weak) in order to manipulate his heart, n has been taking care of these guys in particular and therefore has been closely bonding with them as the friends he wants to battle with. you could say ghetsis also has an incentive to ensure that n’s team isn’t strong enough to defeat his own in case n decided to revolt, thus he wanted to introduce him to a bunch of super weak pokémon. and again like @claitea says it’s odd that n would have a fossilmon like why would he have a fossil or go somewhere to revive it. decent chance he got that from ghetsis

but also like ghetsis did want n to be the strongest trainer in the region so he probably was hoping n would still do better than that. it could just be that ghetsis’ plan therefore backfired terribly bc oops you taught your son to love and defend all the weakest and least loved pokémon regardless of what they could provide for people and then they failed to provide for him. go figure

so either ghetsis apparently thought n’s team was good enough for him to give his son the green light to go ahead like that (which like. he was almost right except the player is built different) or he secretly really was banking on n losing. so that he had an excuse to toss him out like trash at the last second because that was his plan anyway

tldr feel free to disagree with any of these points or interpretations etc but like i LOVE it when they prioritize subtle storytelling and characterization over objective quality when building characters’ teams

[its-dean]

I’ve been posting on other online platforms about Fossil Fighters for a long time now, and most who are familiar with what I share know that a lot of my content has a heavy focus on original vivosaur ideas. With these vivosaurs I come up with, as well as the stats I create to go with them, I notice that there are often people questioning whether what I come up with would be balanced or not from a gameplay standpoint.

As I’ve gone on with developing this unique vision for my vivosaurs, I’ve also slowly refined my idea of Fossil Battles entirely. All of us are aware that both the original Fossil Fighters and Fossil Fighters Champions don’t have the best balancing in the world. There are certain cast members and even a few core game mechanics that allow so many otherwise memorable characters to fall to the wayside, and with the stats I was coming up with I was only further encouraging that type of hostile environment. The more I worried about whether something I was coming up with would feel realistic or balanced the more I considered the fact that the formula itself may have been broken in the first place.

There have been others in the community that have projected their own ideas of how to change things up regarding gameplay, things like adding new elements or even having customizable skills. Because the series felt like it had ended so suddenly there's become so much to dream for in a potential sequel. These are the people that inspired me to attempt something similar myself back when I was making my vivosaur last year. It inspired me to take a step back with my thinking and ultimately led to me creating a total re-imagining of the classic battle system we all know and love. 

That's the thing, the games may not be perfectly balanced, but I always find how these games work to be something that's just inherently fun in a very unique way. Above everything else, with this project I wanted the new system I was creating to still have the "feel" of having a good old-fashioned Fossil Battle. These games have incredible potential for an interesting competitive landscape, just if only some of those unbalanced mechanics were to be adjusted. This is what I strive to achieve the most with my ideas: an environment where every vivosaur has something practical to them, a format where you CAN win using your favorite vivosaurs. The only thing that should stop you is how well thought-out and unique of a strategy you can come up with.

Fossil Fighters Odyssey is a personal project of mine that I've technically been working on for over half a decade now. Still, I think it's most important to stress the fact that everything I come up with and will be talking about in this post is for fun. This shouldn't explicitly be seen as a vehicle for a potential fan game, I make these things for my own enjoyment and have no plans or obligations to turn any of these ideas into tangible content in the future. We all can pretty unanimously agree that it’s fun to dream about a theoretical continuation of this franchise, especially because of how it felt like it came to such an abrupt halt in a way none of us were really ready for. This project is simply meant to represent the changes I'd most want to see if that were to ever somehow happen, and that vision of mine simply might not appeal to your individual preferences.

But now moving to the fun stuff itself. I strive to be as in-depth as possible when taking into account how I would rework the gameplay, taking a comprehensive look at the entire series. To keep things feeling familiar while also feeling like an "evolution" of sorts, I found it most compelling to try and utilize standout mechanics from all three of the previous games. Yes, that includes Frontier because, while I can't defend its battle system as a whole, I do think there are some features it introduced that can really enhance potential team building and strategy (mainly referring to the boost system it uses).

Since there are far too many changes to cover in a text post, I created a PowerPoint to explain everything in a more presentable and organized way. The link to it can be found directly below this paragraph, with the presentation being separated in order of different areas of discussion, from how vivosaurs have changed to the differences in the battle system to new and altered abilities and so much more! Plus, attached to this post are the stat sheets for every single vivosaur, #1-300. My own vivosaurs as well as the 10 unique vivosaurs from Frontier are included in the lineup, and all the vivosaurs you're already familiar with have received numerous changes and enhancements to their skill sets so that they can thrive in this new Fossil Battling format.

Link to the PowerPoint (in case the picture quality is too poor to be able to read on this website)

FFO Mechanics.pptx

Link to all 300 vivosaurs and their stat sheets:

FFO All Vivosaurs.pptx

(Disclaimer: not all of the vivosaurs have artwork to correspond with their dino medals, but those will be hopefully trickling out down the line in the future.)

To round things out, I definitely want to thank the people that have already been supporting me and the things I create these past few years elsewhere. Without the level of the recognition and approval I see from the people who always respond to what I make, I definitely never would've come this far with developing my ideas. You guys are the ones who've been enjoying these things, from vivosaurs to characters to the overarching story I hope to one day be able to share with you all. I owe it to you for allowing myself to become as invested in my favorite series as I now am. And hey, depending on how people react to what I have here I may make another post outlining the more creative story and character elements I have in mind… 

Thank you to everyone who's been there for all this time, as well as anyone willing to read through everything I've been able to put together here, this project never could've been completed without you all for me to share it with.

[d33pwithinmys0ul]

AOT toy store headcanons

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LOMG but we’re fitting almost three years of memories into this post

i'm obsessed that some of you have brewed up fire hcs after my post asking if ya'll wanted this! i love that u love this!! i worked at that toy store job for so long and lost a lot of the whimsy towards the end, but this post was pretty fun to write, so i hope my experiences make this fun for u too

🛍️🧸

-obviously, Connie's a fucking natural, he thrives in a company tee and cargo shorts, ready to make someone's day

-Connie loves to demo toys--RC cars, drones, RC snakes/lizards bc he's a menace, will absolutely pick an adult with children to terrorize with whatever device he’s allowed to play with that shift and stick with them until they’re annoyed (will employ the other staff for “RC fights” but that’s when you know it’s slow as hell)

-Connie also loves riding a big wheel around the store, obviously it's too small for him (he's only allowed to when it's basically empty because nobody trusts him to not mow over a kid in that thing)

-Sasha likes to make displays, specifically for books and plushies! Will usually have Mikasa help her with heavier items or when building something taller, because no way in hell she's having Connie or Jean hold a ladder after she nearly fell once, trying to haul giant teddy bears with those two at the base

-Sasha is not allowed to organize or “dust” the candy bins anymore.. she is the reason why there’s a limit on free staff candy and discounted bulk bags of jelly beans

-guys you have no idea how anal assistant manager Levi is about dusting, LOOK, it's a huge deal in a toy store because you don't want any inventory to get old and gross and there's soooo many boxes everywhere---toy boxes matter, they have to stay clean, they display something that'll light up a child's day!

-Levi has a schedule for each section to be cleaned and trains everyone to dust and clean properly (start at the top of the shelf/tower display and go down since the excess dust falls, always use a microfiber cloth)

-slow shifts means playing a board game together for team building and yes Mikasa is competitive, yes Eren is a sore loser, yes Armin usually wins

-Armin is actually a sore winner because he will explain his strategy and why he prefers games of skill over chance, “unintentionally” rubbing it in

-Eren is a bit quiet on the floor and just prefers handling pallets and stocking, swears he isn’t good with kids and is kind of awkward but is better than he gives himself credit for.

-Mikasa is low key a doll expert. great at helping find proportions for furniture and clothing and knows more obscure lines

-the staff all take turns doing the free reading circle every weekend, Jean is usually the most popular because he likes to do all the voices and he’s fine as fuck, single parents flock to him bc he’s a natural with kids sorry im picturing him in a tight tee and cargo shorts rn goddamn

-Jean will do sidewalk chalk art to promote side walk sales or do window murals for the seasons or holidays <3

-Historia does a lot of the calligraphy for signage throughout the store and she and Hitch are a fire social media team- they somehow convinced the owner (Erwin, doesn’t work the floor unless it’s busy as hell, just buys stock and handles the financials) to get into blind boxes to keep up with the times

-before Hange quit their part time shifts to return to working as a professor, they would demo the children’s science kits, their fave is the fossil digging chests

-Levi despises the geode bins in the science section and didn’t restock after they all sold out. soooo much excess dust

-Bertholdt and Eren are the best to ask about fidget toys and how each appeals to certain people, and they both adore the early open low stimulation hours offered occasionally

-there’s also LEGO events that involve free exclusive mini sets to pick up and build, RBA usually handles those because they and Levi will go out to the community and donate excess blocks after🙂‍↕️

-Annie and Armin usually judge LEGO build competitions, they do a lot at home together (though annie doesn’t seem the type she actually loves helping people pick out age and skill appropriate lego gifts)

-Reiner is the toy store santa for the christmas season (broad af.. awooga) there’s a red “mail box” he sits by once a week in December and the staff usually sneak the letters to the parents after

-Mikasa and Levi are closely tied for fastest and most efficient gift wrappers. sometimes it’s fine to take your time with it especially because the kids love to watch, but on busy winter shifts with a stack of gift wrapping forms, those two got it.

-okay, so every christmas there’s a competition for selling a certain number of items $50+, you can earn extra PTO, so everyone goes hard for the holiday season (so friend groups can coordinate vacations together)

-Hitch’s favorite tactic during said season is preying on the piece of shit dads that want to blow hundreds of dollars on christmas eve because they didn’t care enough to get anything sooner. she knows they don’t know a thing about their kid and just asks for gender and age and throws a bike or 18 inch doll their way, will convince them that bigger is better

-Marco is usually the silent killer though, he’s just warm and easy to approach (especially when the team pounces on sales in december, eyes shining like sasha eating meat), somehow he’s the first to max out his earned PTO every year

-most people don’t find out until right before Christmas that there’s a second store location an hour away (surprising usually because in my hc/experience, it’s a small business)

-You guessed it, the Marleyan cast work at a diff toy store and there is a bit of a rivalry, like a $1M difference in sales because of the location..

-Pieck is a puzzle fiend, Porco is a trading card expert

-RBA all switch between both stores and handle deliveries between them (exchanging stock, transfers)

and uh, let’s pretend this is a magical world where everyone got a living wage +compensation for the extra work that they do… (cough cough)

a real good christmas season shift at a toy store might be fanfic worthy tbh i might write some fluff for that this year?? i wanted to post some pics but i don’t wanna dox myself or my old co workers lol. will hunt down something less identifiable

anyways lmk if yall wanna hear my horror stories/hcs inspired by them bc this job was not all sunshine and rainbows lol

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Pat Byrnes :: @thePatByrnes

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 5, 2024 (Friday)

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 06, 2024

For all that certain members of the media continue their freakout over Biden’s electability after his appearance in last Thursday’s event on CNN, it is Trump and his Republicans who appear to be nervous about the upcoming election. 

Journalist Jennifer Schulze of Heartland Signal noted today that as of 8:00 this morning, the New York Times had published 192 pieces on Biden’s debate performance: 142 news articles and 50 opinion pieces. Trump was covered in 92 stories, about half of which were about the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Although Trump has frequently slurred his words or trailed off while speaking and repeatedly fell asleep at his own criminal trial, none of the pieces mentioned Trump’s mental fitness. 

But for all of what independent journalists are calling a “feeding frenzy,” egged on by right-wing media figures, it seems as if the true implications of Project 2025 are starting to gain traction and the Trump campaign recognizes that the policies that document advocates are hugely unpopular. 

On July 2, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts assured Trump ally Steve Bannon’s followers that they are winning in what he called “the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” In March, Roberts told former Trump administration official and now right-wing media figure Sebastian Gorka about Project 2025: “There are parts of the plan that we will not share with the Left: the executive orders, the rules and regulations. Just like a good football team we don’t want to tip off our playbook to the Left.” 

This morning, although Roberts has described Project 2025 as “institutionalizing Trumpism,” Trump’s social media feed tried to distance the former president from Project 2025. “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” the post read. Despite this disavowal of any knowledge of the project, it continued: “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.” 

In what appeared to be a coordinated statement, the directors of Project 2025 wrote on social media less than two hours later that they “do not speak for any candidate.”  

Aside from the fact that “[a]nything they do, I wish them luck,” sounds much like the signaling Trump did to the Proud Boys when he told them to “stand back and stand by,” Trump’s assertion and Project 2025’s response can’t possibly erase the many and deep ties of the Trump camp to Project 2025. Juliet Jeske of Decoding Fox News noted that Trump’s name shows up on more than 190 pages of the Project 2025 playbook. 

Rebekah Mercer, who sits on the board of the Heritage Foundation, was one of Trump’s top donors in 2016; her family founded and operated Cambridge Analytica, the company that misused the data of millions of Facebook users to push pro-Trump and anti-Clinton material in 2016. Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has appeared in a Project 2025 video. Trump’s own super PAC has been running ads promoting Project 2025, calling it “Trump’s Project 2025,” and many of its policies—killing the Department of Education, erasing the separation of church and state, ending renewable energy programs and ramping up use of fossil fuels, deporting immigrants—are also Trump’s.

Project 2025’s director, Paul Dans, as well as both of its associate directors, Spencer Chretien and Troup Hemenway, were in charge of personnel in Trump’s White House, and the theme of Project 2025 is that “people are policy,” by which they mean that hand-picked loyalists must replace civil servants. Trump’s former body man John McEntee, who reentered the White House as a senior advisor after having to leave because he failed a background check, was in charge of hiring in the last months of the Trump White House; he helped to draft Project 2025. Key Trump ally Russell Vought wrote the section of Project 2025 that called for an authoritarian leader; he is also on the platform committee of the Republican National Convention. 

If indeed Trump knows nothing about Project 2025 and has no idea who is behind it, his cognitive ability is rotten. As former chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele wrote, “Since [Project 2025] is designed to institutionalize Trumpism and you know nothing about it, then why do you echo some of its policy priorities during your rallies? Coincidence? And how exactly don’t you know that Project 2025 Director Paul Dans served as your chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management, and Associate Director Spencer Chretien served as your special assistant and associate director of presidential personnel? And folks say we should be worried about Biden.”

Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Project 2025 indicates just how toxic that plan is with voters. As political scientist Ian Bremmer dryly noted, it seems that “the second [A]merican revolution apparently [is] not polling as well as the first in internal focus groups.” Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson was even more direct, saying that Trump was trying to distance himself from Project 2025 because “most of it polls about like Ebola,” the deadly virus that causes severe bleeding and organ failure, and has a mortality rate of 80 to 90%.

The extremism of the MAGA Republicans was on display in another way today as well after The New Republic published a June 30 video of North Carolina lieutenant governor Mark Robinson, currently the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, saying to a church audience about their opponents—whom he identified in a scattershot speech as anything from communists to “wicked people” to those standing against “conservatives”—"Kill them! Some liberal somewhere is gonna say that sounds awful. Too bad!... Some folks need killing! It's time for somebody to say it.” 

Today the Vatican turned against one of those extremists when it excommunicated pro-Trump archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who was the Vatican’s diplomat to the U.S. from 2011 to 2016, for “schism” after he refused to recognize the authority of Pope Francis. Viganò has repeatedly attacked Francis’s Catholic Church for being “inclusive, immigrationist, eco-sustainable, and gay-friendly.”

Also today, Trump’s lawyers asked Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing Trump’s criminal trial for retaining hundreds of classified documents, to dismiss charges that can no longer be prosecuted in light of the Supreme Court’s decision that a president cannot be charged for crimes committed while engaging in “official acts.” They also called the case “politically motivated” and asked Cannon to stop the case entirely in light of Justice Clarence Thomas’s suggestion that Special Counsel Jack Smith was not properly appointed.

The other big news today was that the U.S. added 206,000 jobs in June, bringing the total number of jobs created under this administration to 15.7 million. Last month’s numbers were, once again, higher than economists expected and, according to economic analyst Steven Rattner, above job growth levels before the pandemic. He added that these jobs are not simply a bounceback from the depths of the pandemic: 6.2 million more Americans are employed now than before Covid hit. 

Poking fun at the calls for Biden to step down, conservative lawyer George Conway posted: “Biden needs to RESIGN NOW before any more of these terrible job things are created.”

In a speech today in Madison, Wisconsin, Biden vowed to stay in the race, and the speech appeared strong enough that right-wing extremists, including Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and activist Laura Loomer, posted on social media—falsely—that he was having a medical emergency aboard Air Force One. Tonight, George Stephanopoulos of ABC interviewed Biden without a teleprompter or notes, focusing only on Biden’s age without any questions about policy. ABC News posted the interview transcript with the president’s conversation portrayed the “g”s dropped off the words and with other colloquial pronunciations spelled out, as if it were dialect. Trump, whose words the press tends to turn into clean prose, has refused to do an interview under the same conditions.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[cognitivejustice]

Self-sufficient organic Finnish farm grows its own fuel and a greener future

An award-winning farm has teamed up with Helsinki University to create a symbiotic food production system that is self-sufficient in energy and nutrients. It’s a trailblazer in sustainable agriculture.

Photo above: Farmer Markus Eerola shows visitors the biogas plant that helps make his farm an energy producer rather than an energy consumer.Photo: Wif Stenger

Organic Knehtilä Farm provides its own nutrients and energy, thanks to careful long-term planning and a small onsite biogas plant operated by energy utility Nivos.

The biogas powers his tractor, pickup truck and cars, and is available to others at a commercial filling station on the edge of the farm, although vehicles that can use biogas are still relatively rare. It offers a valuable alternative to meet the growing need for affordable, clean domestic energy.

Demand for organic food continues to grow. “The price gap between organic and standard production is narrowing, partly because we don’t need fertiliser. Our farm has its own product line of oat and buckwheat products, which are produced here using a proven cultivation method known as agroecological symbiosis, where nutrients and energy are efficiently recycled.”

The sprawling 380-hectare farm’s carefully balanced circular economy has developed over a decade and a half, earning a WWF award in 2015 as a model of nature-friendly agriculture. In 2021, the Finnish Organic Association chose Knehtilä for the honour of Organic Business of the Year.

“Biogas production can convert farms from being energy consumers to energy producers, and play an important role in the transition away from fossil fuels. When it’s done in a smart way, it’s also possible to increase biodiversity in farming systems.”

Knehtilä forms part of the Global Network of Lighthouse Farms, a project led by Wageningen University in the Netherlands, involving commercially viable farms that offer “radical solutions to address sustainability challenges.” International visitors frequently come to Knehtilä to learn about unique system.

The rich, vibrant cycle of life at Knehtilä is visible in not only the lush fields, but also in the insects and frogs that frequent them, and in a few animals such as horses, sheep, goats, chickens and rabbits. The farm is also a lively event venue; a high-ceilinged, 80-year-old barn has been converted to a space for up to 100 people for weddings, theatre performances and concerts.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Friday

SpaceTime 20250307 Series 28 Episode 29

Jupiter's moon Callisto could be another ocean world

As astronomers explore more and more of the outer solar system they’re finding that ocean worlds appear to be quite common and now there’s another they can add to the growing list – the Jovian moon Callisto.

Using lasers to identify ancient life on Mars

A new study suggests that lasers could be used to try and identify the fossils of ancient microbial life on the red planet Mars.

Getting dirty in orbit

A new study suggests the International Space Station’s cleanliness might be making its crew sick.

March Skywatch

The March equinox, the constellations of Taurus the bull and Leo the Lion, and don’t forget it’s almost 3.14159 – that’s Pi day.

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. That compares to the ABC’s overall radio listenership of just 5.6 per cent. The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[catch-me-hello]

No Mercy: Episode 6: K-pop Chaos in the Coliseum

This episode is called “3rd Debut Mission ‘Vocal Performance’ Results Revealed!” The pace is going full steam ahead, especially if we’re already going to know the winning vocal performance team after this.

Before we start, I want to correct something from my previous recap. It looks like after Yoosu and Kwangji were cut, the rankings for the remaining trainees changed, but not in any way that makes sense. Shownu is apparently Number Eight now, and Wonho is Nine. Jooheon is still Number One. I understand if everyone got bumped up one or two spots after two people were eliminated, but the new rankings are still all over the place. We don’t get an explanation, and for now, it doesn’t seem to matter.

We begin this episode with our trainees at a New Year’s Eve concert by K.will, the main judge on our panel. The venue is packed. The trainees are enjoying the show. It’s a party atmosphere and looks like a lot of fun, but suddenly No Mercy must have slipped K.will a note reminding him they’re still filming, and he needs to be mean. He stops his concert and asks if there are any single guys in the audience, and he points to our boys when they cheer.

“Having fun?” he asks. “Yeah!” they shout.

K.will then says, “I guess it won’t be so much fun when you get eliminated, huh?” What branch of the Jersey Shore Charm School did this guy go to?

The audience laughs at our trainees, who look embarrassed and a little pissed off. Happy New Year, boys! Here’s a can of salt you can dump into K.Will’s champagne!

After the concert, the trainees gather at a café. They are in better spirits. They count down to 2015 and celebrate the new year. As they settle down, one of them says that Yoonho is going to be a fossil this year because it will be his seventh year in training. Reminder: Yoonho is nineteen. I hope his New Year’s resolution is to sign all the other guys up for lifetime AARP memberships.

They all agree that their resolution this year is to debut. It’s exciting to know that it’s going to happen for six of the trainees around that table.

They share their K-pop dream-chasing experiences. Shownu joined Starship almost a year ago. Minhyuk, Hyungwon, and Kwangji joined together. Because of the intense competition among trainees to debut, some people around this table came on to No Mercy as rivals. This is a revealing conversation, and I’m glad the show kept it in. We learn about the misconceptions they had as new trainees, how it felt to bounce from one entertainment company to another, and how it’s hard to make friends when everyone is either leaving, transferring, or debuting. (I’m reminded of Shownu and GOT7 in Episode One.)

They make a pact to debut in 2015 and leave No Mercy behind with good memories. This is both sweet and sad. A minute ago, I was happy to think that six of them will debut. Now I’m remembering that ONLYsix of them will debut. And Yoonho, who will have sacrificed seven years of his life by that point, won’t be one of them. How much longer will he be able to stand being a trainee?

Right after this celebration, they return to the rehearsal rooms and find out they’re being split into the two teams we learned about last episode. So now we’re caught up in the timeline.

The teams separate and start rehearsals. We watch Shownu’s team develop their choreography. In confessionals, Wonho and his team tell us they’re nervous about competing against Shownu, since he’s the best dancer. Don’t worry, Team Two! You’re also up against three other amazing Monsta X dancers! You don’t stand a chance! (patting their heads) There, feel better?

I kid because I love. Or maybe I’m right. We watch Team Two rehearsing, and they’re having trouble jelling. While Team One gives us an amazing shot of Minkyun leaping forward, being caught by his bandmates and slingshotted back to land gracefully on his feet, Team Two keeps bumping into each other and losing the count. Poor #GUN especially struggles with the moves.

More confessionals. Everyone on Team Two is aware of the problem. #GUN knows he’s dragging his team down. My heart is sinking. I know he will eventually have to get cut, but it’s still tough to watch.

Team One discusses their song. They start rehearsing with a vocal coach. Right away, the harmony is off. They make a rule that anyone off-key gets flicked in the forehead, and Shownu is the first to get flicked. Then Hyungwon takes off his coat to flick Minkyun, and he still has that sexy confidence from the last episode. How is he still like this? Believe me, I’m not complaining.

Later, Minhyuk gets flicked, and we get our first dolphin scream! It’s all coming together, folks! They’re bonding as they take turns flicking each other for every cracked note. They will take that stage looking like they all stepped on rakes, but they will sound great.

Cut to evening. Team One has chosen a name: Ohjangnam. The closest translation I can find is “eldest son.” They are bonding as a team, eating takeout on the floor of the rehearsal space, and hanging out together. There they are. Four members of Monsta X … and Minkyun.

Moving on to Team Two, which is now Team Segyero, meaning “to the world.” They practice until 2am. Wonho stays up to keep working on music after the others go to sleep. I could never be a trainee. I love my bed too much.

The sun rises over the dorm. Team Two is now rehearsing with the vocal coach. Wonho is dealing with a sore throat, and I’m sure the late hours aren’t helping. The coach says the same thing, telling Wonho not to take responsibility for everything and to get some rest.

Wonho goes to the doctor for his throat. He goes back to the rehearsal rooms and dozes off during vocal warmups. Later, his group argues over the arrangement of the song. They’re all slumped over in their seats and arguing barely above a rasp because they’re exhausted. However, they do start to come together. #GUN likes a new melody Wonho has written and is writing a rap for it.

When we see them next, they are practicing the choreography, and they are energized and in sync. Even #GUN is getting the hang of it. Kihyun is excited and tells us Team Two could actually win this.

Back to Team One. They have been keeping an eye on Team Two. But they’re doing great as well. Because of course they are. They’re 80% Monsta X members. (Side note: How does Minhyuk’s hair still look perfect after hours of dancing? Everyone else is sweating, and he looks like he just left the salon.)

No time for beauty tips – It’s D-Day 3! I am so excited to see “80% Monsta X” vs. “20% Monsta X”! Sorry, but we’re past the halfway mark in this series, and they’re already starting to show us what the endgame looks like, so that’s just how I’m going to be from now on.

Sadly, we have left the K-pop Thunderdome behind. I will miss it. We are at the CJ E&M Center, which Google tells me is a television station in Seoul. Wonho looks much better. Our trainees are excited. No Mercy has built them a new stage here.

And what a stage it is. It’s awesome. I love it.

Honestly, I hope the set designers at No Mercy won a bunch of awards. This stage needs its own name as well, so I shall call it the K-pop Coliseum, because “Koliseum” just looks silly.

Our boys jump up onto the stage, and the two huge LED panels in the back slide open to make the space even bigger. They get a bit emotional. Minhyuk tells us he feels like he’s closer to debuting. I want so badly to tell him that in just a few years, Monsta X will be performing at the 20,000-seat Staples Center (now the Crypto Arena) in Los Angeles, but let’s not overwhelm him. He needs to focus.

Even the judges’ table got an upgrade.

We have more judges joining us –a total of nine now. We watch them settle in, including our good buddy K.will. One of the new judges teases him about the fact that he used to have dreadlocks. Please let there be a picture. There is a picture! Thank you, No Mercy. Here is then … and now.

One of our new judges, Ga In, says that when she used to do badly in auditions, she would curse at the judges. So she’s a little nervous now that she’s on the other side of the table.  Someone show her K.will’s old photo.

The stage lights up in the K-pop Coliseum. Spotlights swirl. The LED doors open, and here come our trainees. They are ready for battle, and I am SO FREAKIN EXCITED.

One of our new judges tells our boys that teams are about making other members shine more OH WHO CARES JUST START THIS THING ALREADY. Ga In says Shownu’s team has the cutest members. OK, what the hell is up with all this flirting between the judges and the contestants? We’ve talked about this. The other judges are revealed – Giriboy, Jooyoung, and Mad Clown, who looks as happy to be here as you’d expect.

The new judges talk some more about teamwork and I DON’T CARE JUST SHUT UP AND START THIS.

Finally, we’re ready to begin. Shownu’s team, “80% Monsta X,” will do their vocal performance first. They bow and introduce themselves. K.will reminds Shownu how badly he did in the last mission, and I wish he still had those dreadlocks so I could use them to strangle him.

Flashback to rehearsals. This show gives me whiplash. They decide to personalize the lyrics to tell the judges a little about themselves. Jooheon talks about his mom. Minhyuk talks about his dad. Here’s where we learn that they are all the oldest sons in their families, so that’s how they come up with the name Ohjangnam.

Then they all face the camera and trash talk the other team. Minkyun has a special burn for Yoonho. “I know you’ve been training for a long time, but ten years would be better for you than six years.”

From now on, his name is Mosquito again.

Back to the Coliseum, and K.will asks Team One if they are ready. Bitch, they’ve been ready for two solid pages of my notes, and I’ve been fast-forwarding through parts. PICK. UP. THE. PACE. DREADHEAD.

We begin. The set design for Team One is amazing. Even the judges rave about it because apparently, THEY CAN’T SHUT UP FOR TEN MINUTES TO SAVE THEIR LIVES.

Team One starts singing “Officially Missing You.” The harmonies are gorgeous. Jooheon groove-raps, and his flow is perfect. The lyrics hit hard, especially when we’ve seen what they’ve been through so far just in six episodes.

Now I have to think about not only training, but my future, and achieving a dream that’s not guaranteed. I’m on this stage to find my life.

Shownu and Hyungwon move to the front to join him, and then they change the tempo to dance pop to show off their moves. They are a solid team. Even Mosquito doesn’t look out of place among the Monsta X members.

They sing about the rankings, the hard work, the mistakes they’ve made – they’ve made this song so personal. Minhyuk and Mosquito harmonize in the background in a heavenly sound that makes my heart swell up with joy.

They end with a “Happy New Year” to the judges. I loved it. I hope the judges do too. Let’s hear the professional criticism.

Ga In tells Jooheon how handsome he is. She can’t take her eyes off him. Thanks, Ga In. That was helpful.

When the other judges finally wrestle the microphone away from her, we hit another snag. They feel that Jooheon stole the show, and the others didn’t really stand out. OK, but don’t they need a lead vocalist?  And Hwungwon had a verse to himself during the uptempo part. They all did. I’m a little confused. It really feels like they didn’t see the same performance I did.

The reassuring news is that the judges did like the performance overall, and Shownu has redeemed himself. Team One goes back to the dressing room after the camera crew pries Ga In off Jooheon’s leg. (OK, I’m exaggerating, but she does spend the entire discussion looking like she’s trying to beam her phone number telepathically into Jooheon’s skull.)

Team Two enters the Coliseum. K.will kicks things off by asking Wonho which member of his group should be eliminated if they don’t do well. I’m guessing K.will spent his childhood burning ants with a magnifying glass. Wonho says if they don’t do well, he volunteers himself to be eliminated. This impresses the judges. Flashback time!

In rehearsals, Wonho and Crew make the same decision as Team One to personalize the lyrics to their song. Then they gather in front of the camera to do their own trash talking of Team One. And I’m sorry, but if trash talking were its own mission, Team Two would win hands-down. My favorite moment of the insult session (which they rap) is when they say, “Minkyun is a mosquito, there’s no taste in this, no one likes his voice!”

THEY’RE STILL CALLING HIM MOSQUITO, TOO. You know, I had stopped doing that earlier because I thought I was beating that joke to death. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.

Back to the Coliseum. The LED panels making up the stage turn into a starry night sky. The group is using rolling chairs in their choreography. The stars swirl around them as they get up to sing.

Thirty seconds in, I know they’ve won this. The personalized lyrics still sting. “People stop saying hi, they say good luck now.” I feel that.

I see now what the judges meant in their criticism of Team One. When I remember that performance, I think of Jooheon. Team Two is an actual team. They are trading lines. No one takes all the attention. This was the purpose of the mission. Twenty percent of Monsta X understood this better than the eighty percent.

God, these lyrics. No Mercy has done a good job of letting us get to know these trainees and what they’ve been through, so I know exactly what they mean when they rap:

Everyone expects so much from me Not like any other 19-year-olds, growing up I’m too old to complain, past twenty already Worries grow bigger inside me, but my father grows shorter each day, I want to rewind the film

This hit me harder than it would have if I’d watched it when it first aired in 2015. I’ve become very aware lately of how my parents are getting older. Imagine if I’d spent the past few years as a K-pop trainee, desperately trying to make my father proud, and watching him age before me, knowing I’m running out of time. Every trainee knows exactly what that feels like.

I need a minute.

Sorry. This song just hit me really hard, and #GUN wrote some amazing lyrics that found common ground between a Korean rapper struggling through the K-pop trainee system and a white girl in North Carolina.

OK, let’s shake this off and get back to our regularly scheduled recap. The judges like this performance better. One judge even tells #GUN he has more potential as a rapper than Jooheon. Then it takes a downturn. They like the singing, except for Seokwon and Yoonho. They were the weakest links, apparently. I didn’t notice. I’m starting to wonder if this is No Mercy doing the reality show trick of setting one of them up for elimination.

Both teams are called to the front of the stage. It’s time to pick the winner in the vocal category. The judges debate right in front of them. In the end, the vote is really close. Five to four. Wonho’s team wins. The twenty percent team.

Backstage, Shownu and Minkyuk pep talk their fellow eldest sons. They both show their strengths as leaders, not just Shownu. Minhyuk tells his dejected teammates that he doesn’t want this loss to affect their performance in the dance round. Shownu agrees, saying, “Yeah, I’m worried too, but let’s not be affected. Let’s do better next time.”

They manage to lift the spirits of their team after this frustrating loss, which should be a mission in itself. And I believe they are going to own the K-pop Coliseum in the next round when I see the preview, which highlights their slingshot move we saw in their rehearsal.

This ain't over yet.