#Developer Misconduct

[buzzblend]

Widow loses life savings after ‘firetrap’ developer fails to repay €150k loan

A controversial developer who asked to borrow the life savings of an 81-year-old widow has failed to repay the money after half a decade of broken promises.

In 2017, the widow gave €160,000 in cash to developer Paddy Byrne, who built the Millfield Manor estate in Co. Kildare where six houses burnt to the ground in under 30 minutes in 2015.

The cash was for a penthouse apartment in Dublin she planned to move into.

The development was built by Victoria Homes, a company that was established by Mr Byrne’s sister Joan just before Mr Byrne was precluded from acting as a company director in Ireland for five years.

After viewing plans for the €630,000 property, in a development called Greygates in Mount Merrion, the pensioner withdrew the cash from her bank and gave it to Mr Byrne.

Some €10,000 of this was a deposit, with the remaining €150,000 provided on the advice of a third party who was known to Mr Byrne and the widow, who said the cash would secure a good price.

According to a handwritten receipt, signed by Mr Byrne, the money was provided on May 29, 2017.

But in November 2017 the widow, a retired primary school teacher, found a more suitable home and asked for her money back.

Mr Byrne agreed to this, saying he would have no problem selling the penthouse and promptly refunded the €10,000 deposit.

However, he asked that the remaining €150,000 be treated as a 14-month loan and promised to pay a 10% annual interest rate.

This effectively turned the widow into an unwitting creditor of Victoria Homes.

According to a handwritten agreement, signed by Mr Byrne, the loan was to be ‘paid back from the sales proceeds’ of the penthouse at his Greygates development.

More than half a decade later, the loan remains unpaid – even after the widow made a criminal complaint to gardaí and took legal action to secure a judgement.

As it is a civil matter, the Garda investigation faltered. And because various other unpaid creditors had previously secured judgements against Victoria Homes, the widow is now unlikely to get her savings back. During the Celtic Tiger years, Paddy Byrne was renowned for his €2.4m Sikorsky helicopter and sponsorship of the Irish National Hunt festival.

But in 2011 his then-firm, Barrack Homes, went bust and Mr Byrne declared bankruptcy in Britain with debts of €100m.

He was banned from acting as a UK director for 10 years in 2012.

This ban was scheduled to end in 2022 – and ran the full course – but it only applied in the UK and Wales.

According to the UK insolvency register today, Mr Byrne’s discharge from UK bankruptcy is ‘suspended indefinitely’ until the fulfilment of conditions made in a 2012 court order.

Separately, in Ireland, he was also restricted from acting as a director for a period of five years – which ended in January 2018.

Mr Byrne is also known for building the Millfield Manor estate in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, where half a dozen houses were razed to the ground within 30 minutes in 2015.

A report into the blaze found ‘major and life-threatening serious shortfalls and discrepancies and deviations from the minimum requirements of the national mandatory building regulations’ at Mr Byrne’s development.

Today, having exited bankruptcy, Mr Byrne is best known as the figurehead behind Victoria Homes and associated businesses, which was set up by his sister and her husband in December 2012, while he was bankrupt.

Mr Byrne was not a director or owner of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy. But, in 2017, Mr Byrne’s sister and her husband stepped back from Victoria Homes, transferring their shares to an offshore entity in Belize city called Victoria Holdings.

In November 2022, the main lenders to Victoria Homes – the Lotus Development Group – forced the firm into receivership for the second time.

In 2020, Lotus had forced a previous short-lived receivership before agreeing a deal that saw Victoria Homes begin trading normally once more.

Today, Mr Byrne appears to have left Victoria Homes behind and seems to be focusing on a new firm instead.

Set up in the summer of 2020, Branach Developments is entirely owned by Mr Byrne and is not encumbered by any bank debt or mortgages as Victoria Homes was.

According to the latest filed accounts, for the year ended 2021, Branach Developments held ‘tangible assets’ of €210,000 and ‘stocks’ of €600,000.

The accounts also show that, in 2021, Mr Byrne provided the company with an interest-free loan of €1,024,438.

Just last week Mr Byrne’s new firm was one of the winners at the National Property Awards sponsored by the Business Post and Deloitte, among others.

At the award ceremony, Branach Developments took home the prize for best sustainability initiative of the year.

However, Mr Byrne, who shuns publicity and is rarely photographed, does not appear to have attended the ceremony and the award was accepted by a colleague.

This week the Irish Mail on Sunday sent queries to Mr Byrne via his mobile phone, his email at Victoria Homes and his email at Branach Developments, without response.

Queries to his solicitor and the separate accountancy firms representing Victoria Homes and Branach Developments also went unanswered as did calls to the numbers on the websites of these firms.

Mr Byrne also previously declined to respond to questions from the MoS relating to the establishment of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy.

At the time, Mr Byrne appeared to be living at Ballinrahin House, close to Rathangan on the border of Offaly and Kildare.

The home is a luxury build on 26 acres of stud-railed paddocks with six stables and a 1.3km tree-lined avenue behind electric gates.

The property was on sale for €2.8m in 2009, but land registry records confirm that, in November 2014, it was sold to Victoria Homes for a knockdown price of €484,000.

Ownership of Ballinrahin House was transferred offshore to Victoria Holdings in Belize on April 10, 2018, just weeks before Mr Byrne was due to repay the €150,000 back to the widow.

[washisart]

Renew sketch of some old art. Original Sadahiko and his antler-less phase.

[averysherwood]

One of TOH's big problems is that the characters are very clearly divided into black and white, which just leads to other problems.

In season 1, they tried to make characters more complicated. There were also characters like Willow and Gus, but the rest still had more elaborated and realistic characters. Amity wasn't a thoroughly bad person, she had some positive moments, but she bullied Willow. Twins were shitty siblings with violent jokes, but they were still not antagonists, they could apologize to Amity and even tried to help her, not forgetting to play a joke with her. Eda was a good person from the very beginning, but at the same time she was a fraud and a shitty teacher. Lilith was a villain with a more or less human motivation. Camila loved Luz and wanted the best for her, even in ways that were unpleasant for her. Yes, even for the first time Hunter, even though he was an antagonist, was also not a black and white villain who is evil because he is evil.

And then everything sank into oblivion. The actions of twins haven't been mentioned, now they never prank anyone and behave like caring, stupid siblings, especially Emira. Camila says that she was wrong about everything, Luz was just expressing herself when she brought dangerous snakes and fireworks to school, and Camila is actually a nerd like her daughter (although I'm sure now she will indulge Luz in any of her whims, otherwise Luz will run away again). Lilith is now a cool insecure nerdy aunt. Amity and Hunter... Enough has already been said about them. Eda doesn't mention crimes anymore, she's just a caring mom in love with her ex. And the fucking Alador lost all his sins and it turns out he was just standing on the sidelines while his wife abused the children and himself, yes, truly believable.

And in the meantime, the antagonists who didn't have time to be redeemed, even those who had the motivation, became evil for evil's sake. The whole past of Belos? Oh, guys, I'm sorry, he's just born evil, the local god himself told us. Can Odalia really love children and wish them the best? No, she hates them, she needs money, money, money, she's stupid and supports genocide for money, yeah! Kikimora has family problems (like Lilith)? Fuck it, she's just dumb and mean. Only Boscha partially avoided this, but it's true that what was done to her was also badly prescribed (they scored on her for a season, then abruptly pulled out when no one needed her anymore). At least they didn't make her Miss Cherry Ice Cream Sweet Girlfriend for Willow, and thanks for that.

I hate that the characters who initially didn’t let me quit the show on the second episode turned into a pathetic semblance of themselves. My God, if I turn on the channel for kids now, the characters from these cartoons will have more character than Amity and Hunter in season 3. TOH wants to seem like an adult cartoon raising adult problems, but his characters are on the level of first Disney movies about princesses. Here you have evil villains who deserve only death and good characterless cardboards, you should feel sorry for them. In 2021-2023, it's completely irrelevant.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Getting muddier…

So in April 2024, Sentebale hosts a polo match in Miami that Harry plays in and Meghan attends. Sometime during the match, there’s a Sebetebale group photo where Meghan gets mad and pissy at Dr. Chandauka for daring to stand next to Harry in the center-ish of the photo and she moves her down the line

On March 26, 2025, Harry’s PR claps back at Dr. Chandauka’s statement alleging board misconduct and malfeasance by pinning the blame on Dr. Chandauka by upsetting a major Sentebale donor in 2024, which caused the annual Sentebale Polo Cup to be canceled and resulted in a loss of significant donations to the charity.

I speculated that perhaps this “major donor” was Harry himself.

Yesterday, March 28th, the Financial Times revealed that in April 2024, Harry asked Dr. Chandauka to issue a statement from Sentebale supporting Meghan in whatever media onslaught she was currently dealing with. Dr. Chandauka refused, saying Sentebale was not a Sussex PR machine:

The Financial Times also reveal that Sentebale was pretty much reliant on Harry for donations and that once his reputation nosedived from Megxit-Oprah-Philip-Queen-Netflix-Spare, that stream started to dry up and forced the charity to reconsider other avenues for donations, which led to the development of the US marketing and outreach strategy. The board, according to the Financial Times, accused Dr. Chandauka of failing to launch a US strategy.

So now…apparently it is Dr. Chandauka’s fault that the trademark application Harry submitted to the US PTO was rejected for being “too vague” and apparently it is also Dr. Chandauka’s fault that US donations to Sentebale dropped by 50%…when no one has any idea who she is, what she does, and kept getting mistaken as “a royal fan.”

Let me tell you…there’s only one person to blame for declining donations from the US. It’s not the lady who no one even knows. It’s the ginger twat with global fame and household recognition.

[denning-alpha]

A/B/O and Misce behavior: Romping

What is romping? Romping is a common nonsexual play behavior exhibited by most people in the ‘verse (and by many Misce folks as well!). It is most prevalent in young people, but the behavior doesn’t stop until the person is simply too old to romp anymore. Romping is silly, fun playtime, where two or more members of the same pack engage in energetic activity, such as running together, wrestling, jumping around, and even swimming together if the participating pack members can swim.

Romping behavior starts as a very young child, somewhere between crawling and full walking. Litter mates will roll around together, nipping at each other and rubbing their faces and necks together. As pups get older, romping evolves into running, wrestling, jumping around and on each other, and making friendly and playful vocalizations. This behavior subsides as the child grows into a teenager, but comes back stronger once again as they get older and become full fledged pack members. The reason for this is quite unknown, but it’s possible that teens may still be in their “awkward” stage where they’re trying to find their place in the world and the pack. They may feel embarrassment, which may lead them to subconsciously suppress romping behaviors. This will only last from about the first cycle, between 11-13, to about 17 or 18 years of age.

Romping is a strictly nonsexual behavior. It is often done between lovers or mates, but it is not a precursor to sex. It is also happens between close friends, family members, and other pack mates. It is a unique scenting behavior. Instead of rubbing on each other (called bunting), pack members will activate their scents by vigorous activity and interact playfully with their pack to mix their scents together.

As pack members grow too old to romp, younger members of the pack will still scent with them, usually after vigorous romping with other members.

Romping as a sexual behavior is called “frolicking”. It involves more sexual behaviors, such as rutting, petting, grinding, and biting around the neck areas, as well as licking and bunting around the face, neck, and chest area. Usually, this behavior only happens between bonded mates. Otherwise, it is considered sexual misconduct.

For those unable to romp, such as the disabled or elderly, they still often participate as mentioned above. Other members of the pack will romp, then immediately go and scent the unable so they can participate in the playful activity. The unable will also often make vocalizations to be included in the romp.

The vocalizations performed during romping and frolicking are varied and individual between dynamics and people. Most commonly, they are playful growls, yipping, and making a playful “awr!” sound to goad the other members into playing along. This may be the first type of vocalization young puppies do besides crying.

Frolicking vocalizations will differ from romp vocalizations. During frolics, mates will often growl, chirp, yip, and make a blowing noise called “chuffing” to get the other’s attention. Chuffing is not an inherently sexual vocalization, but it is often present during frolics and mating.

All dynamics take part in both romps and frolics. Parents need not be concerned if one or two members of a litter do not romp as soon as the others; romping development happens randomly to different members of a litter. If your pup does not start to romp before they begin to walk, it is not entirely unusual. Just give them time and even encourage romping and playing by getting down with the pups and beginning to romp gently with them yourself.

Romping will usually end in a preening session, to really spread the scents around between all pack members. Fixing hair, straightening clothes, and brushing off are all normal and socially expected behaviors post-romp.

[velvette-hussle]

HAZBIN HOTEL’S MESSY HANDLING OF THE NATURE OF VICTIMHOOD & SEXUAL MISCONDUCT (a probably incredibly nitpick-y rant, but I don’t give a fuck)

⚠︎TW: Discussions of Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment & making rudimentary comparisons between Angel Dust and Valentino. ⚠︎

I really wish that the show had allowed for more nuanced discussion when it comes to the topic of victims and victimhood.

Like, victims can also be wrong, they can be perpetrators of crimes and violence also. People are allowed to dislike a victim of something; no one should be obligated to tolerate someone else’s bad (or even just annoying) behavior because that person has also been hurt. Victims can be depicted and portrayed in a bad light and still have their victimhood acknowledged and empathized with while also still being “bad people” or having done something to victimize somebody else in their pain or trauma, and having that be acknowledged also. Neither of these ideas automatically cancel each other out, they more so exist in a forever winding feedback loop (at least that’s how I see it) until someone is able to “healthily” unpack their trauma.

Then, on top of the show just completely not treating victimhood like a scale, the narrative also can’t decide when it wants to treat abuse and/or sexual assault or harassment as a serious topic that it wants to respectfully address or if it wants to treat these things as something to laugh at and find funny or make brief gag jokes out of that diminishes the potential seriousness of a scene.

EX: Valentino licking Charlie in “greeting” during their first meeting is played as a funny gag joke (like the music beat doesn’t turn sinister until he looks back at Angel because Val technically wasn’t on the defensive yet since he didn’t know who Charlie was there for) BUT how Valentino purposely decides to touch Angel Dust on his chest after he explicitly says not to touch him is treated as disrespectful and disgusting as it is.

Like, these are the same fucking disrespectful behaviors. But anytime Valentino does some fuck shit to anyone other than Angel it’s played for a joke (outside of when Angel was worried for Nifty, kind of), despite the fact that when Val does it to Angel nearly the exact same thing is played seriously.

PART ONE: STATIC VICTIMHOOD

When Valentino first meets Charlie and licks her arm he’s pushing a boundary for his own amusement - and, given the theory(?) that his saliva produces some sort of aphrodisiac, probably attempting to “mellow her out” so to say as well. He can’t kill Charlie, he’s smart enough to know that at least, but apparently everyone knows that she’s a pushover and so he can assert a level of dominance over Charlie by licking her to make her uncomfortable, and to lord over the fact that he was able take some tiny bit of her autonomy away like that, then verbally flustering her (further knocking her off kilter so she’s easier to manipulate) by propositioning her.

There is a direct parallel in this type of boundary pushing behavior (specifically of a sexual nature) that Angel does as well, it’s just not born of the same thing that Valentino’s is. Where Val makes people uncomfortable and domineers them as a way to disarm them and make them easier to manipulate for his own satisfaction, Angel does it as a form of deflection so that he feels like he has more power than he actually does. It’s a defense mechanism, but an incredibly unhealthy one (which is normal).

The show had an opportunity with this parallel to comment on how both versions (albeit to different levels) are bad, but it didn’t. Now, you can certainly infer that Angel was being incredibly rude and inconsiderate when he was constantly coming onto Husk despite the other’s clear dislike for it and how uncomfortable it made him by how once they become friends in “Masquerade” that harassment just stops, but forcing an audience to infer character development and story messages is not good writing the way it’s done in the show. Angel just stops entirely without any discussion or hint at the unfavorable parallel which means that there is no lesson to be learned from its existence. The emphasis on “this is a bad action too, despite Angel being a victim” is not there, it’s only treated like incredibly unacknowledged character development that’s only actually considered as legitimate because the fans are over-analyzers. How quickly his behavior is brushed aside without proper (or any) acknowledgment is ignoring an actual issue instead of addressing it and then acting as if the issue was never there in the first place.

We know why Angel stopped harassing Husk but not why his harassment was bad in the first place. The audience knowing about a topic that’s briefly touched and filling in blanks does not mean that the show was written well. The harassment is played like a joke until it disappears, not played like a joke (specifically when Angel is the harasser) until someone calls him out on it fully and he apologizes and then he stops.

As far as the show is concerned, the problem isn’t that Angel purposely makes people uncomfortable (in a similar, but still more understated, manner to Valentino) as a form of deflection and posturing, it’s that he’s fake. There’s a difference there. What the show actually does is erase that bad behavior instead of objecting to it, which I’d be willing to bet has led to some - especially younger - fic writers copying Angels unhealthy behavior within the framework that it’s just “flirting” and not a direct crossing of other characters’ boundaries.

You have to make shit like that explicit in a show where you’re claiming to be seriously and respectfully tackling these subjects. No one should be allowed to get a pass for things that on another character would be viewed as morally reprehensible just because they’re a main character/a part of the core Hotel cast, this confuses the storytelling and messages. Just because a few people in the audience know an action is wrong and then will apply further insight onto it themselves does not mean that the show itself accomplished that same amount of introspection, and in Hazbin’s case that’s exactly what happened. The show is being praised for something that it did not do. If parts of the audience did not already know that Angel harassing Husk was bad (despite the fact that it’s played for laughs every time, and once during “Masquerade” in a way that’s supposed to make the audience feel bad for Angel alone) then they’d come out of season one not thinking twice about the way Angel harassed Husk; Husk who eventually gets so fed up with Angel’s constant barrage of unwanted advances that he began dreading anytime Angel would say something even remotely suggestive and so tried to anticipate his innuendos so that he could cut Angel off before he could even start. The people who couldn’t understand past what the show was telling them (through its framing of characters and their actions) was “right” and what was “wrong” wouldn’t’ve picked up on the fact that Angel is being a problem when he harasses Husk because he’s sexually harassing him and that it’s not cute or proper flirting or just “wrong” because it’s a negative coping mechanism for Angel to have or any of that shit.

Also, the overall issue is framed as if Angel’s actions are only self destructive and that’s why they’re bad: Angel acting “fake” as a defense mechanism in order to give himself some semblance of power and autonomy back over to himself because of how thoroughly he frequently gets it stripped away by Valentino. That self destruction is only shown through the lens of pity though, there is no mild scolding involved outside of telling Angel he’s got issues. Him harassing Husk and Alastor is never framed as a problem specifically because you’re meant to laugh every time it happens and because Alastor shoots him down immediately afterwards. The narrative never scolds Angel for harassing Husk because it’s not written well enough to be able to handle both issues, so it just erases the bad thing that doesn’t fit within its narrative that “every victim is a good person” and only focuses on the ways in which Angel’s unhealthy behavior impacts him and puts him in danger and is unhealthy and unfair to him.

Acknowledging the fact that self destructive behavior isn’t good or healthy, especially while also still validating whatever circumstances led the person to such behavior, is great! Now just also acknowledge that that self destruction is not without its risks to the people around the victim as well. If Husk wasn’t the way he was, and the show wasn’t the way it was, he could’ve come out of his interactions with Angel having been victimized by Angel, and he wouldn’t be fucking wrong in not wanting anything to do with Angel after he’s become Angel’s sounding board to lash out at and sexually harass to make himself (ie: Angel) feel better.

This is coming from someone who has experienced both sexual harassment and assault and who has non-“good victim” tendencies as a result of those experiences and a few other things too, by the way. In my experience, verbal (sexual) harassment is not given the same weight as physical harassment and sexual assault or rape. It just isn’t. Most people can’t even see verbal abuse as anything but a mild inconvenience and, while they will scold and be disapproving of the perpetrator, the majority of the weight of ending or not “encouraging” the harassment is still put on the person on the receiving end to be able to “rise above” and ignore and “get over” everything, or to “stop enticing” their harasser. Excuses for the perpetrator often sound like: “It’s just a harmless catcall they didn’t even touch you” or “well they’re going through something bad too so just give them a break” or “it’s just flirting” or “they just like you”. The mental damage that someone takes from their being verbally sexual harassed not being taken seriously at all, but them still feeling horrible about it, can cause people to feel weak for having those feelings at all and tends to lead to them staying silent and just learning to deal with the harassment; harassment that often leads to assault. An instance of verbal harassment cannot then repeatedly be played for a joke in a show that is claiming credibility and claiming that it is handling sexual assault and abuse properly and with respect. As a result people will overlook one form of harassment to focus in and condemn another, leaving the other - seemingly lesser - thing to be left up to interpretation or not internalized as also a problem as well, because that’s what the show did.

There could’ve been discussion about how even as a victim people’s unhealthy coping mechanisms can still pose a problem to others. Being a victim of something or someone cannot excuse that person themselves’ bad behavior, and that’s a dangerous mindset to not dissuade and to subconsciously push. We can empathize with Angel (since this is an adult show all of us should have the ability to understand this duality) and still acknowledge, with the same weight that we do his abuse, Angel’s own messy behavior. You can’t just be allowed unchecked to show sexual assault as bad and then leave the clear sexual (albeit verbal) harassment that’s being shown without a moral, because then the issue just gets dropped and you’re ignoring another (even more common) form of abuse.

My first time watching “Masquerade” I found myself empathizing with Angel even though I hadn’t (and still haven’t) attached to his character in any significant way; I’d also long since grown uncomfortable (and felt stupid) about not feeling good when knee jerk reacting to Angel harassing Husk by laughing at my tv though, and neither of those feelings cancel out the other. Around the time that you could tell that Husk was genuinely bothered when they were doing the trust fall exercise is when the joke fully stopped being funny for me. I know that Husk cutting off Angel to say: “I swear to fuck, if you say dicks…”, wasn’t meant to be Husk feeling uneasy around Angel (it was just to show him being fed up with Angel’s hyper sexuality in a “funny” way) but that in no way stopped the reaction from pinging uncomfortably in my mind regardless. It stuck with me so well, even, that when Vaggie told Husk that he had to be the one to deal with Angel after Angel’s outburst/breakdown I instantly objected; as far as I was concerned after Husk (even after repeatedly being harassed after expressing his dislike for said harassment) asked Angel if he wanted to talk and then Angel not only went to harrass Husk again but then also lashed out at him after Husk rightly rejected him Angel was no longer his problem anymore.

That’s not to say that I don’t think Angel deserved to be given some leeway or deserved not to be forgiven or that someone shouldn’t have gone to make sure he was okay in general, but even now I still don’t think it should’ve been Husk that had to go run after him and cheer him up. Especially considering the fact that Husk isn’t the one sponsoring Angel, and Charlie actively says that she’s to blame for Angel’s sensitivity at that moment; Charlie’s a big girl I don’t see why, even with her feelings being a little hurt, she couldn’t have gone and made an actual effort to make amends then, and when I first watched the episode that’s what I though was going to happen. Husk did not provoke Angel there on purpose or with malicious intent after he realized Angel wasn’t doing well, Angel just did not want that kindness at the moment in the way that it was being offered (which does happen) and maybe he didn’t trust the kindness due to trust issues he has from Valentino either, but that does not excuse his behavior and only serves to explain it. Forcing Husk to then go deal with and cheer up the dude that’s been repeatedly harassing him and not taking him up on his offers to connect didn’t rub me the right way. Yes, people shouldn’t give up on their friends or loved ones too quickly when they’re lashing out after having gone through a rough event, but 1.) Husk and Angel aren’t friends and Husk is in fact only at the Hotel at all because he’s being forced to stay in the first place, and 2.) other people are not obligated to put up with someone else lashing out at them regardless of if that someone else is hurting, period.

If we were to be given backstory on Valentino that shows that he was a sex slave worse than Angel is when he was human - no freedom from his “work” ever, had to sleep in a cage, was treated like an animal, and was constantly literally shackled and shit - none of that would suddenly erase what he’s done to Angel or spontaneously make it “okay” because Valentino’s only acting out due to trauma, no matter how much you might feel for him after learning that. That’s not how that should work, where because you’ve been a victim once you can now never be held accountable for any wrong actions you perpetrate again or some shit.

Like, Angel Dust is still a bad person, he is just also a victim of abuse and rape. He fully, alongside Vaggie, was more than prepared to murder Sir Pentious despite the fact that he was no longer a threat by the time that he’d been found out as a mole and they all saw him be left for dead and then begin to cry, and despite what the Hotel was even made for. This is a character trait of Angel’s (ie: how easily he’ll kill & the few hints of his past in the mob) that’s presented pretty neutrally though, and is never really something that Charlie or the show paints as bad within the context of the show’s morals (or even as something the characters should stop doing in order to be able to repent).

All of which just kind of add to the show’s (and all Vivziepop properties in general) tendency to mix messages. When Angel does something bad it’s funny because the narrative said so, but when a one off character does something similar to what he did (because that character isn’t supposed to be liked) now all of a sudden that same action from earlier will be framed as horrible. This back and forth then directly leads into the show framing rape and sexual harassment and abuse as bad only until they can be framed as funny.

PART TWO: ARE RAPE JOKES FUNNY OR NOT?

My - and other people’s - anger and/or disappointment is not rooted in the assumption that we all missed Angel and Husk’s relationship development; and also if a lot of people/the show’s creators are claiming that a show has good representation (no matter what type) people are going to test that out for themselves, and Hazbin does come up lacking in regards to the back and forth way that it both treats SA seriously and then turns around seconds later to turn SA into a gag joke and not treat it seriously.

The issue is not that Angel was harassing people in general, but that it was not treated narratively like an issue in regards to how he continually sexually harassed Husk and the show never treated it as anything but a funny recurring joke. We know why Angel acts like that, yes, but the reasoning doesn’t excuse his behavior, it only explains it, and at no point does his harassment get properly addressed.

He never apologizes for harassing Husk or lashing out at him when Husk was not the actual source of his pain; the show decided to just forget this and have Angel not do it again - I suppose since he became more comfortable with everyone at the Hotel and no longer felt the need to act anymore - and also have Husk comfort Angel without bringing up how actively uncomfortable we saw Angel make him multiple times for reasons that we as the audience can only infer, which is where people’s problems lie. We’re supposed to laugh at Husk getting uncomfortable by Angel’s pushing unlike when we are shown Angel getting uncomfortable when around Valentino.

Similarly things like Pentious being bodily dragged away after impulsively announcing that he’d have sex with everybody - clearly regretting that choice because he didn’t mean it and as such not giving real consent - are treated like a funny gag for the audience to laugh at instead of the horrible scenario it is too.

Compare that to how seriously Angel’s possible SA at the hands of Valentino is portrayed with a fairly high level of seriousness and then wires do cross. The show does go back and forth on when it wants to take SA and SH seriously and when it doesn’t. Also, Medrano has curated a Fandom of over analyzers fairly purposefully considering all the hidden details and messages/hints Vivziepop shows tend to have in the background of their animated scenes and how often characters vocally tease the audience; just because you don’t want to think about the show that hard or that seriously doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone else is being ridiculous. Plus, the show is handling serious topics, so as such the conversation around those topics are going to be just as serious.

You can say that the target audience for the show should already know that how Angel acted towards Husk before “Masquerade” wasn’t okay, but I’d argue that Angel’s SH of Husk is a much harder thing for a lot of people to wrap their heads around as an actual problem in real life than Valentino clearly maliciously hitting, threatening, and abusing Angel is. Most everybody can clock extreme forms of abuse like that, the things that people will deny and make the most readily accepted excuses for are smaller instances like making others uncomfortable with constant advancements, unwelcome sexual comments, or catcalling and reconciling with the fact that people can renege on their consent even in the middle of a sexual act or that if someone has to wear someone down/pressure them into sex that the sex cannot then be counted as fully consensual.

Physical and parental abuse often work the same way; people can identify when watching tv shows that the over the top smashing bottles and calling kids names and running after them to beat them and break their bones is abuse, but some of those same people won’t count locking a child in a dark room as punishment as abuse or just hitting their child when ‘they really deserve it’ as abuse - or even heavily teasing them or not allowing their child any privacy as abuse. Which is then why depicting these smaller (or less conventional and readily identifiable) acts of abuse and sexual harassment and assault with just as much care as the bigger more obvious examples is so important.

TL; DR: Eight episodes or not it would’ve taken two short lines for the show to properly address Angel’s SH of Husk as a problem (then have Husk forgive Angel in the face of his regret because Husk is understanding enough about his situation, and have Angel own up to his own faults while also not treating victimhood like a ‘get out of jail free card’ to excuse any victim’s bad actions) and they could’ve easily done away with Sir Pentious getting dragged away to have non consensual sex as a joke entirely; then the show wouldn’t be being criticized for having a tonal problem when it comes to how wishy washy it is about which characters SA and SH is taken seriously and which ones aren’t and are treated like a joke, and could then accurately claim to have delved into sexual assault, rape, and rape culture respectfully even as a show focused on comedy.

Anyway, I started and finished this thing in March and April of last year so keep that in mind, I guess. Also, mind my repetitiveness; I just wanted to keep the length and not edit any more than I already had fr.

[softer-ua]

See people frequently hc Bakugo as the top dog in middle school, like he’s got the skills to put his money where his mouth is so obviously kids would suck up to him out of fear or for his potential fame, but I don’t think that’s right.

Not being picked on doesn’t make you popular.

I think his inferiority complex was more than just Mitsukis bad parenting, I think a lot of people did look down on him growing up, it wasn’t all in his head.

I think he was very much the stereotypical bully who’s only friends were his lackeys and he was generally disliked by the rest of his class. Deku kind of hints towards that in the light novels Valentine ch.

For a kid like Bakugo I highly doubt that his encounter with the older kids trying to fight him on his way home from school was his last one. People throw rocks at things that shine.

He was left alone because of his aggression, and he’s agressive because it ensured he’d be left alone.

I doubt anyone beyond his lackeys (and a younger Deku) ever congratulated him on his accomplishments, instead each win was just another reason for the kids to dislike him, partially out of jealousy but also because he’s such a poor sport and a bragger

By the time middle school hit he probably felt like a bit of an underdog because so many people hoped he would fail.

That feeling is only compacted by his treatment in his first few months at UA, because he comes at everything already on the defensive and his defense is offense so he appears as just a spoiled arrogant ass and built the same reputation he had in middle school

What no one but Deku is privy to is that winning is all Bakugo had when he entered UA, he’s developed the core belief that he’s not likable and that being the best is the only reason anyone would ever put up with him, if he’s not the best than he’s not anything

Talent and potential is all he can offer, but those are shallow traits and I think a part of him resents people for praising him, but he also hates it when they don’t

That’s why he gets so flustered when he knows the praise isn’t shallow

When he knows the praise isn’t just for him winning but for all the effort he put in, and because they’re genuinely happy for him; that it’s less about the win and more because they like seeing him do well and are proud of him for his efforts, and that they’d still be there even if he’d lost(which he thinks makes them losers)

It’s one of those things he didn’t understand about Deku when they were younger, he was smart enough to see a difference but didn’t have the context to place it.

Just because Deku was different than others didn’t give Bakugo a reason to believe it was a positive difference, in 15 years of life Bakugo doesn’t seem like he’s ever met anyone other than Deku who was nice just to be nice (his dads nice, but like that’s his dad)

Bakugo seems completely unfamiliar with the concept of unconditional love, of doing something kind in silence with no expectations of return, of wanting what’s best for him with no agenda

Selfless love is always costly; fear can't afford it, pride doesn't understand it. -Bob Goff

The majority of Katsukis experiences of others being kind to him were because certain kids want to be seen with him, because of his potential for fame or to deter other bullies, or they just want to keep him from possibly bullying them.

At some point his mother decided tough love was the only way to go, his dad could hardly stop her, and all his teachers were exasperated with his misconduct. Bakugo has no personal role models who express anything more than simply putting up with him because they have to.

People think he’s admirable in the way they might admire a painting in passing, but scoff when they see the selling price and think it’s unworthy because they don’t understand the skill and dedication it took to make it

Or they think he’s admirable because others do, everyone else thinks it’s a good painting and they don’t wanna look uncultured or stand out from the crowd and risk being asked to explain themselves, but truthfully to them the paintings worthless and forgettable

Deku admires him and understands the uniqueness of each brush stroke, that the technique used was practiced deliberately and took years to master.

He knows that there’s dozen’s of scrapped rough drafts, that it’s true this piece is amazing because of the artist’s natural creative talent, but it’s also true that creative talent couldn’t have brought them this far, this work takes drive and practice.

He knows better than anyone that envisioning a picture doesn’t put paint on a canvas, putting paint on a canvas doesn’t guarantee an idea come to reality. Only practice and patience will ensure results, and even that isn’t always enough to give life to your imagination

You have to know not just how colors play together and how perspective works but you have to know your materials too. How will the paints react to the air, the canvas, other paints? In what ways do your brush strokes show through, can you cover a mistake? Do you have the materials ?

Deku knows this all so deeply and is so in awe of the results, he’s more than willing to save up and pay the asking price because he wants to spend his life reading into the way some colors blend and bleed into each other while others form distinct lines of separation

His old school mates admired but they didn’t appreciate. Deku, and now others, admire him and find something new to appreciate about him all the time. And not just the finished piece but all the steps it took to get there.

The first person other than Deku to do this is Kaminari, because the art itself didn’t impress him. Katsuki’s skill and success didn’t matter to Kaminari in the face of his terrible personality and he says as much, and I just think that’s really neat

He looked at this boiled sewage of a person and went hey that’s kinda fun, and then they were pals for life

[artbyblastweave]

Don't know if you already made a post about this but what do you think of the giant-men from the ultimate universe?

Assuming that by "The Giant Men" you're referring to the cadre of U.S soldiers who they issue the Pym Particles to after Pym himself gets the boot for his misconduct- It's one of my favorite plot beats from that series. In line with The Ultimates' brand of bitter satire, it's asking several pointed questions of the classic super-scientist archetype- first, if you came up with a replicable and effective way to give yourself superpowers, what, aside from genre convention, would drive you to exclusively use it yourself instead of issuing it to a whole bunch of subordinates as a force multiplier? Second, what are the odds that the skillset to produce superpowers in a laboratory setting would align with the skillset to use those powers yourself effectively in combat? (Pym gets his clock cleaned the handful of times he actually tries to fight anyone.) Third, given how resource intensive it would realistically be to develop anything as complicated as this- how do you get to finish-line on something like a growth serum without any oversight (answer: you don't) and why would that oversight allow those first two things to happen?

And the answer, of course, is that debuting Giant-Man as a single, individualized superhero rather than an army of giant faceless shock-troopers was SHIELD's way of smuggling the poison pill in with the peanut butter. The first few issues of The Ultimates is an exercise in star power- they were willing to work the superhero-as-celebrity angle, the American-Super-Scientist Whiz-Kid angle, right up until it becomes clear that Pym's awful personal conduct makes fronting the man himself a PR liability rather than an asset, and they unceremoniously give him the boot. One of the thematic throughlines in The Ultimates is that the difference between a superhero and a tabloid laughingstock is, ultimately, whether SHIELD is willing to both sign off on you and keep your fuck-ups under wraps, and the second you stop being useful to the powers that be, the mask comes off, and they strip your superheroic identity for parts.

[fairytaleendingss]

Caged Animals

Chapter 1

Summary: You're tech genius, taken hostage by Hydra and forced in to working for them to develop weapons technology. However, when you get assigned a new mission — to create tech for the top-secret Winter Soldier program, things become a lot more confusing.

Pairing: Winter Soldier x Fem!Reader

CW: Death, descriptions of torture, murder and injury, allusions to sexual harassment and misconduct, kidnapping, mistreatment, brainwashing. This story is a dark one, read at your own discretion.

I got the idea for this story after I read @aquaticmercys fic "Black Sheep". You should all read it. It's literally incredible.

I'm planning for this story to be maybe 10 chapters. Maybe less. We'll see how it goes.

Let me know what you think! Feedback is aways appreciated.

--

You were 21 when Hydra took you. It was no secret that you were special — a university student with IQ of 250 and a photographic memory. However, there was many more in this world like you; Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Hank Pym. You were also sure there were many other genius' out there yet to be discovered.

It was your work in mechanical engineering that piqued their interests, specifically.

It was the perfect formula. An inventor with almost Stark level intellect, only weaker, more mailable and far less renowned. Someone they could pluck from the outside world without anyone batting an eye. You were the perfect target.

They had agents waiting in your apartment one day when you arrived home. They were armed and leering at you like you were a piece of meat. At the time you felt you had no choice but to go with them. It was a matter of survival. You were young and scared and didn't know what else to do. Looking back, you wished you would've fought harder.

You were taken to a base somewhere in far reaches of Russia. You didn't know exactly where. They kept you locked away with no contact to the outside world. They gave you a room — which was really more like a cell — with a cot and a desk to work at and access to their main tech labs but not much more.

You were under constant, 24-hour surveillance. There was a camera in the corner of your room. The little red light blinked at you from the roof all day and all night, letting it be known that there was no freedom here.

Guards were always patrolling too, watching you with a dangerous hunger in their eyes — like they were just waiting for you to slip up; like they got some sick sort of satisfaction from the idea of keeping you in line.

They kept you comfortable but not so comfortable that you felt you weren't disposable. That's how they liked you; scared, submissive, compliant.

At first, you just worked on developing their tech — spy-wear mostly, that allowed them to carry out stealth operations. They didn't tell you what these missions entailed. They only gave you information that they deemed need-to-know. However, you couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that settled in your gut as you worked; a feeling that told you that these were not ethical people — that you were working for the bad guys.

But you knew they were watching, knew they demanded results and you were scared of what they'd do if you didn't complete the work you were assigned.

You'd heard the screams echoing down the concrete halls. You'd listened to sounds of gunfire. Not the chaotic, rapid-fire kind, like that of an ambush; it was the hollow, threatening kind. The sound of two swift bullets cracking someone's skull followed by a body dropping limply to the floor. You figured that they'd be able to sound-proof rooms if they wanted; they had the means to but they chose not to on purpose. They wanted you to hear it — wanted you to know that no one was safe, remind you of what would happen if you forgot your place, even for a moment.

So, as a means of survival, you kept your head down, did your job and tried to ignore the gnawing guilt that remained a permanent fixture in your chest.

As time passed, they grew to trust you more. They started giving you more information and bigger tasks. Your skills were proving useful to them.

Your resentment for your captors only festered. It nestled itself under your skin and lay dormant inside of you, building until you were sure that one day you would no longer be able to contain it. You began to resent yourself as well.

The first time they asked you to design them a weapon you outright refused. You received a dislocated knee and three cracked ribs before you caved.

However, that was the first time you realised, that despite what they wanted you to believe — that you were just another captive, worthless and only kept alive due circumstance — you meant something to them. They had a plan for you here. For some reason, they needed your brain.

That piece of knowledge is what helped you survive there. You held your cards close to your chest, and kept yourself composed for the most part. You waited, observed and prayed for a miracle.

--

You believe it was sometime into your third year with Hydra that it happened.

You were sitting at your desk, re-examining the blueprint of your most recent invention — a gun that could be used to blow up a car from underneath — when the cell door slid open. Pavlov, your commanding officer, was standing before you, a sinister smile coating his features. You felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand.

He moved towards you with precision, boots thumping on the concrete floor of your cell. The air in the room grew thick as he slid a file across your desk.

"Would you like to finally find out what all your hard work is going towards?"

Your nervous eyes flickered to the file and zoned in on the three words, printed in thick black ink: "Project: Winter Soldier".

You'd heard whispers of him around the base. You couldn't speak much Russian but you'd learnt to pick up bits and pieces in your time at the compound. It was a name that drifted like acid from the tongues of your fellow agents, often followed by words like "attacked" or "murdered" or "dangerous".

You'd never given much thought to the project. Part of you had come to believe it was no more than a ghost story passed around as a way of instilling fear or maybe compliance.

However, the dread that crept up your spine as you were escorted down to the lower levels of the base was far from fictitious. The lift was dark and cold as it carried you down, down, down — to floors you could only access with a top level security clearance, floors you didn't even know existed.

There were two armed guards waiting for you when the doors parted. They nodded at Pavlov before turning and leading you through the hallway. It was a part of the building you'd never seen before, much more secure than your ID badge granted you access to. You knew Hydra harboured many secrets, even from it's own members, but as you walked through the dimly lit corridors you couldn't help the feeling that swelled inside of you; like you were about to get a glimpse of something you really weren't supposed to.

The walkways were damp and smelt of metal and mold. The fluorescent overhead lights flickered ominously. Water dripped steadily from somewhere to your right, in time with the pounding of your heart. A chill came over you as you were directed towards a heavy metal door. It looked to be reinforced, like there was something behind it worth keeping in. Pavlov walked towards it, stopping in front of the retinal scanner. A light flashed green and it slowly slid open.

The room you stepped into was much larger than the others on this floor. It was brighter too. You entered onto a platform that overlooked a lab of sorts; however, it was different to the one you frequented five floors above.

The platform extended around the edges of the room and was lined with guards, wielding weapons. Turing your gaze downwards you saw a large glass cylinder placed in the center of the space.

Three agents in lab coats that you didn't recognise were huddled around it, muttering to each other in hurried Russian that was outside of your limited vocabulary. You assumed them to be scientists, tasked with maintaining whatever this top secret project was.

An eerie chill clung to the air around you and your nerves were set alight as one of the scientists moved to a control panel that was located to the right of the tank. Then, he flicked a switch.

The room fell silent, buzzing with an icy anticipation. Clouds of what looked to be steam began to seep out the bottom of the chamber. Then, with swift movements, the soldiers on the platform all stood in position, their weapons taking aim as the glass of the tank slowly began to lift.

Your heart was in your throat as you watched the scene in front of you. You weren't sure what to expect but there was a lingering feeling of trepidation that hung over the space like a beast preparing to pounce.

The doctors all stood back, maintaining a steady distance from the project, but you couldn't help but take a step forward, your sweaty hands moving to clutch onto the guard-rail. Your eyes widened as you examined the sight before you.

Inside the tank was a man. Tall and toned, with long, dark, mattered hair. A mask covered the lower part of his face so that you weren't able to properly make out his features. His eyes were shut, signaling that he was in some state of induced unconsciousness. However, the most unusual feature of this man was the metal appendage that shimmered at his side. The fingers were clenched into a fist, metallic plates tensed together and a red star marked like a brand, into the shoulder. It was utterly fascinating. In all your years experience you'd never seen anything like it.

Pavlov moved forwards, a menacing smile on his features as he absorbed the curiosity on your face. He came to stand behind you, his voice low in your ear as he loomed over you.

"Beautiful, isn't he?" the man muttered, and edge of malice to his tone. "We call him the asset but he's more commonly known as the Winter Soldier."

The words sent a shiver running down your spine. The feeling of unease that had been rising inside of you, began to bubble into your throat.

"He's our most successful experiment," Pavlov continued. "An assassin programmed specifically to carry out Hydra's most difficult and important missions. He's highly trained, highly focused and highly deadly — a soldier created with a singular purpose; to kill."

Your mouth went dry at his words, your heart pulsing like a double-kick inside your chest. You looked up at Pavlov, brows furrowed as you did your best to mask the cold foreboding that settled inside your bones.

"Who is he?"

Pavlov just smirked. "He's Hydra's most valuable weapon."

He knew it wasn't the answer you were looking for but from the look in his eyes, you could tell that there were still some secrets that they didn't want you to know. Not yet at least.

You shifted your gaze back towards the asset, just in time to see his eyes snap open.

Then, suddenly, his metal arm shot out, gripping one of the doctors around the throat. The man gasped, not even having enough time to scream before he was being lifted off his feet. He pawed fruitlessly at the arm that grasped his neck but the soldier just stared back at him, with cold, lifeless eyes. In an instant his windpipe was crushed.

Your heart leapt in horror as you watched the scene unfold. A second doctor rushed towards him but he sent the fist of his flesh hand out towards the mans face.

There was a sickening crack and you flinched, gasping in surprise as the second doctor was sent sailing across the room with a force much stronger than that of a regular human. He slammed into the concrete wall, body falling limply, like a ragdoll to the floor.

You heard the sound of guns cocking, but Pavlov waved a hand in the air.

"Wait! Hold fire," he ordered.

The soldier's feet were still contained inside the capsule but his movements had been so precise, so instant, that it almost seemed instinctual. Like it was muscle memory; to take out any surrounding threats without even so much as a conscious thought. The idea set alight a new wave of terror inside you, unlike any you'd felt before.

You watched as the soldier's eyes darted around the space, assessing for any further threat. For a moment they landed on you and it felt like all the breath had been sucked from your body. His eyes weren't scared or angry or even brimming with some dark, animalistic desire to kill. It was something much worse.

They were empty.

It was then that the realisation dawned on you. Whatever "experimentation" Hydra had done on this man had been even more brutal and horrifying than you could've imagined. They hadn't just broken him, they'd completely stripped him of every shred of humanity that existed within him. You didn't know how, but they had. They'd made him into a tool, a machine, a weapon — just like Pavlov had said.

You weren't even sure there was any man left in him at all.

You were snapped back to reality when Pavlov shouted something across the room. You watched as the remaining doctor — a small, frail looking man with lopsided glasses — pulled out a blood red notebook, detailed with a star symbol to match the one on the asset's shoulder.

In a breathless rush, he began to read a slew of Russian words that you couldn't make out. Even from over the top of the railing, you could see the way his hands were shaking in fear as they gripped book.

The soldier started screaming, his head thrown backwards as the words echoed through the room. His neck strained and his muscles spasmed, metal fist clenching and unclenching at his side.

Then, everything stopped. The room fell into silence as the last word was read. The soldier's head fell forward, hair falling into his face and breath heaving in his chest.

Then, three words were uttered from the man's lips. These ones you did understand.

"Ready to comply."

--

Your hands were still shaking as you left the room, your heart pounding in your ears as your brain tried to make sense of what you'd just seen.

There was a sick churning feeling settling inside your gut. You couldn't tell if it was fear or unease or some nauseating combination of the two. But one thing was certain; the whole situation was so incredibly fucked up.

As you arrived back at your room, Pavlov stopped in your doorway, his dark eyes ablaze with a sort of manic look that made you stomach roll even more.

"So," he uttered, his smoother than it should be after what you'd both just witnessed. "What did you think?"

You swallowed thickly, your jaw tightening. "I-I'm not sure."

"That's okay," his thick accent grated on your ears as he stepped toward you. "You will have much opportunity to learn."

He sat down on the edge of your desk, hands tapping the file he'd placed there earlier. You'd forgotten all about it until then.

"You have been issued a new assignment."

You looked up at him suspiciously. He just smiled that sickening smirk of his once more.

"The soldier. We want you to study him. Learn his habits, how he moves, how he fights. And then," he stood, moving to stand right in front of you, this distance between you becoming far too close for comfort. "We want you to build him weapons. Devices specifically tailored to his skillset."

You let out a soft breath, your heart dropping at the thought. You didn't know how many innocent people the asset had killed and now they expected you to become a vital part of the process. The concept made your skin crawl.

Pavlov was leaning in now, close enough that you could feel the heat of his breath on your face. You flinched as he lifted a hand to cup your cheek, stroking his thumb along the curve of you cheekbone. His skin itched against your own, you nerve endings prickling at the unwanted touch.

"With your help, he will be unstoppable."

You're entire body tensed and you suppressed the aching urge to pull yourself away and punch him in the face. Instead, you closed your eyes. Just the sight of the man's face mere inches from your own was enough to make your stomach role once more.

"Can you do that for me, my dear?"

You forced your eyes back open and nodded shakily. He finally removed his hand and you felt your breath release.

"Good girl," the words were whispered but sounded no less threatening in your ears. "I'll leave you to get started."

With that, he turned, slamming the door of your cell shut as he walked away. You sighed heavily, collapsing into your desk chair and placing your head in your hands. No matter how much you tried, you just couldn't seem to stop shaking.

Your eyes bore down upon the file below you, as if the paper itself was taunting you; daring you to take a glimpse inside and fuel the gnawing curiosity that had begun to build from the moment you stepped foot through those doors.

You told yourself you didn't want to know. That you didn't want to fall into a rabbit hole you knew you wouldn't be able to climb back out of.

But you already knew too much.

With a shaking hand, you flipped open the file.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

Covid is "totally not a pandemic," but HHS has put it on the same level as Zika, Anthrax, nerve agents, and Ebola. Strange.

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra today signed the 12th amendment to the declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act (PREP) Act for COVID-19 countermeasures, a step that provides liability immunity through December 31, 2029.

The declaration provides immunity, except for willful misconduct, for certain claims, including loss caused by or related to administration or use of countermeasures to diseases, threats, or conditions, according to information from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), which is part of HHS.

Present or credible risk The immunity applies to situations deemed by the HHS secretary as a present or credible risk of a future public health emergency. It also applies to groups or individuals involved in development, production, testing, distribution, and administration of countermeasures.

The PREP Act was enacted in 2005 to help protect pharmaceutical companies from financial risk in the event of a declared public health emergency. The act also provides funding for pandemic influenza preparedness. ASPR notes that the PREP Act declaration is different from and not dependent on other emergency declarations.

Similar PREP Act declarations are currently in effect for countermeasures against a range of other biological or chemical threats, including mpox and other orthopox viruses, viral hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola, nerve agents and insecticides, Zika virus, pandemic flu, anthrax, acute radiation syndrome, and botulinum toxin.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Josh Code

Published: Apr 22, 2025

Allan Josephson faced career destruction after criticizing gender-affirming care for minors. Years later, he sees a cultural tide turning—and legal vindication at last.

Child psychiatrist Allan Josephson will receive a $1.6 million settlement this week from the University of Louisville, which fired him in 2019 for criticizing the rush to use hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery to treat gender dysphoria in children.

In an exclusive interview with The Free Press about the settlement, Josephson said when he heard the offer, he was stunned.

“I looked at my wife and I said, ‘This is amazing.’ ” Josephson told The Free Press. “We felt vindicated by the amount that we won.”

In 2019, Josephson was among the first doctors in the United States to lose his job for publicly criticizing the growing movement to quickly affirm and medically transition children with gender dysphoria. His ordeal began after he spoke out at a Heritage Foundation panel on the threat of activist clinicians. “Transgender ideology… is neglectful of the need for developing coping skills and problem-solving skills in children,” he said on the panel.

“The fact that even back then, that position was being held up as somehow being anti-trans is just absurd,” said Jamie Reed, who in 2023 blew the whistle to allege medical misconduct at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Since Josephson’s firing, a sea change has taken place regarding transgender medicine in America. President Donald Trump was elected after promising to greatly restrict gender-affirming care for minors. During the 2024 campaign season the GOP spent at least $215 million on trans-themed television ads, the most famous of which targeted Kamala Harris’s stance on transgender issues with the slogan “She’s for they/them, President Trump is for you.” On the day of his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order mandating that the federal government acknowledge “women are biologically female” and “men are biologically male.”

“I'm a doctor who pursues the truth for his patients, so when Trump says there are two sexes—male and female—I’m encouraged by that,” Josephson said.

But 2017 was a different time. By then, Josephson had served as the chair of the university’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology for 14 years, received one of the American Psychiatric Association’s highest awards, and testified as an expert witness in several court cases on gender dysphoria. A few weeks before he spoke on the Heritage panel, Josephson visited the university’s gender clinic and met a patient with gender dysphoria. He worried clinicians were failing to treat patients’ underlying mental illness before capitulating to demands for hormones and surgery, he said.

“Of course you affirm the child and love the child, but you don't affirm a bad idea,” Josephson said on the panel.

Five days after the panel, Brian Buford, who at the time was executive director of the university’s LGBT Center, came across a blog post about the panel claiming Josephson’s comments were “anti-trans BS.” He expressed concerns about the comments in an email to Toni Ganzel, then the dean of the University's School of Medicine, who forwarded them to Josephson’s then-supervisor, Charles Woods, according to Josephson’s legal complaint. Six weeks later, Woods sent Josephson a letter telling him that “the majority of Division faculty disagrees with your approach to management of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria” and asked him to resign or be “unilaterally remove[d]” from his division chair position. Left with no choice, Josephson resigned. But it didn’t end there.

The university reduced Josephson’s “salary, retirement benefits, and academic travel funds,” according to the suit. The filing also says that after Josephson’s demotion, his colleagues began soliciting complaints about him, including scrutinizing his tax forms and noting the number of hours he was working. Three faculty members replaced Josephson after his demotion from division chair, and one expressed fear in an email to his co-chairs that the complaint campaign “makes it look like I am intentionally looking for things to target Allan [Josephson].”

As attacks on his character mounted, Josephson’s own faculty began to scour his notes on patients' clinical charts to find evidence of bad practice, he said. “That was the kind of intimidation and fear that I lived with,” Josephson said.

The University of Louisville declined to comment. Buford, Ganzel, and Woods, did not respond to Free Press requests for comment.

Finally, in 2019, the university chose not to renew Josephson’s contract, effectively terminating his position. So he partnered with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal defense fund, to sue officials at the University of Louisville, alleging that by firing him, his former employer violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

“I wanted it actually to go to court, because I thought that would be the final vindication,” Josephson said. “The personal cost was so enormous. I'm getting older, so this came at a good time, and there was a good settlement.”

Jamie Reed, the pediatric gender care whistleblower, said there’s still much to be done to protect children from life-altering surgeries they may later regret. Later this year, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on U.S. v. Skrmetti and determine whether states can ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors. For now, Josephson’s home state of Kentucky is one of 26 states with such bans.

“These kinds of one–off legal wins are hugely important, but I don't see that we're at a position yet where the United States has actually come to face the fact that damage is being done,” Reed said. “Half of our states are still doing this to children.”

==

We're officially in the "Find Out" phase of history's biggest medical scandal.

[constantlymisspelled]

The SUPERCOMMANDO CODEX - DRAFT

CONTENTS

Mandalorian Code Interpretation [link is found here]

Strength is Life

Honor is Life

Loyalty is Life

Death is Life

2. Honourable Conduct [link is found here]

Honour in self

Honour in the Community

Honour in the Galaxy

Honour Amongst Clan

Honour in Partnership

Honour in Leadership

Honour in Combat

3. Adoption Law [link is found here]

The Legal Definition of Foundling

Foundling Procedure

Disownment of Parent

Community Adoption

Adoption regarding criminal activities

Adoption regarding marital conditions

Adoption Consent

4. Marriage and Divorce [link is found here]

Spouse Definition

Spousal Privileges

Conditions for Legal Engagement

Consent and Age Restrictions

Conditions for Legal Marriage

Conditions for Legal Divorce

Children, Clan and House Considerations

5. Resolnare [link is found here]

The Six Tennent’s Broader accepted conditions

Way Followers Interpretation

Naasaade Interpretation and Redemption of Vows

Noncombatant Interpretations

The Mandalorian Healer’s Code

The Mandalorian Armourer's Code

Codes recognised in Conjunction

6. Clan and House [link is found here]

Definition of House

Responsibilities of House

Definition of Clan

Responsibilities of Clan

Requirements needed to be declared Alor of Clan

Requirements needed to be declared Alor of House

Requirements needed to be declared a Major House

7. Language Protectorate [link is found here]

Mando’a in Practice

Rights to change, add or remove words

Script usage and recognition in Mandalorian Space

8. The Position of Manda’lor [link is found here]

Requirements needed to be a candidate for Manda’lor

Responsibilities

Oversight

Commanding body

Restrictions, Compliance and Declarations of Misconduct

9. Education and Cultural development [link is found here]

The Education Responsibilities of Clans

The Education responsibilities of Schools and facilities

Freed Re-education programs and foundations

Religious and cultural rights within education systems

Parental rights throughout education

10. Electoral Process [link is found here]

The Court of Houses

The Sector Governors

The System Governors

The Astro Body Governors

District Electoral Members

Electoral Voters

Voting conditions

Overseers of the Ballot

Postal Elections

Voting Eligibility

Right and Responsibility

Conditions for Referendum, Re-election and Hung Parliamentary Votes

11. Court of Law

Family Court

Criminal Justice Court

Court of Appeal

Military Court

Financial and Business Court

Public Courts

12. Responsibility and due process

Parental Responsibility

Personal Responsibility

Political Responsibility

Financial Responsibility

Military Responsibility

Adoption Due Process

Engagement and Marriage Due Process

Divorce and Separation Due Process

Election Eligibility Due Process

Firearms Licensing Due Process

Verdgoten and Adult Graduation Due Process

Election Results Due Process

Parental Disownment Due Process

Clan and House Formation Due Process

13. Foreign interaction and policy

Foreign Ambassador acceptance

Externa; Ambassadors abroad

Foreign Currency and Exchange

Border Security

Digital Security and Programming Policy

Citizenship and Visa Acceptance

14. Employment within and outside of the sector

Legal age and parameters of employment

Contract and procedure for levels of employment

Foreign policy for Mando'ade working abroad

Foreign policy for outsiders working in Mandalore

15. Property and payment

Land ownership and tenancy

Forms of payment accepted in legal contract

Ownership and registration of vehicles

Ownership and registration of Firearms

Ownership and registration of Non-sentient Animals

Copyright, fair trade and artistic license

16. Beskar

Donations to Foundlings

Ownership

Sacred right to wear beskar as armour

Conditions for percentage declared

Rights to mine and export

Religious significance

17. Recognised Mandalorian Sects and Coverts

Traditionalists

Haat Mando’ade

Naasaade

Way Followers

Creed Bound

Silver Children

18. Armour and Weapon Classifications

Military Issue

Military Grade

Civilian Use

Hunter and Mercenary Equipment

Trade and Specialist Equipment

Journeyman, Protectorate

19. Criminal sentencing

Theft

Grievous bodily harm

Assault

Rape

Murder

Manslaughter

Negligence

Criminal Negligence

Medical Malpractice

War Crimes

Demagolkase - War Crimes against children

Sentient Trafficking and experimentation

Financial Misconduct and Tax Evasion

20. Military and Law Enforcement

Military

Mandalorian Protectors

Journeyman Protectors

Home Guard

Manda'yaim Reserve

21. Land Rights and Conservation

Land Ownership

Sale and Redistribution of land

Declaration of Sacred Places

Sector Council Lands, Protectorate Lands, Crown Lands and Stock Routes

Protected Areas

Water Ways

Tenancy, Lodging, and Temporary Accommodations

Public Areas

Squatters' Rights

Sanctioned and unsanctioned terraforming

22. Commerce, Business and Integrity

Currency and Zones

Business Licenses and Legal Procedure

External business practice

Monopoly businesses and Mega Businesses

Banking within the Sector

23. Discrimination [link is found here]

Species

Sex

Religious Interpretation

Language

Ability

24. Closing Statements

Manda'lor Jaster Mereel [link is found here]

The Translator

25. References

Regarding headcanons for Houses; [link is found here]

26. Contacts and Relevant Supervising Personnel of Note

[This post will be altered as I go, and as amendments are made]

[radical-revolution]

THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

Right View or Understanding—Developing a greater awareness of sources of suffering in our lives, sources of release from suffering, and aspects of reality that help us live differently, such as the understanding that actions have consequences.

Right Intention—Cultivating thoughts and intentions based on non- harming, letting go of grasping, and strengthening lovingkindness.

Right Speech—When speaking, we aim for speech that is truthful, helpful, kind, and timed wisely.

Right Action—Acting in ways that do not cause harm, such as not taking life, not stealing, and not engaging in sexual misconduct, so as to deepen peace within oneself and harmony in one’s community.

Right Livelihood—Making an ethically sound living; being honest in business dealings.

Right Effort—Practicing letting go of thoughts and feelings that create suffering for ourselves and others, and cultivating those that foster connection, wisdom, and true happiness for ourselves and others.

Right Mindfulness—Practicing mindfulness of one’s body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities.

Right Concentration—Developing the ability to focus our attention steadily in a wholesome way, without filters of grasping or aversion

Sharon Salzberg

[nerugigante39]

Exposing the Corruption of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as the world's largest foreign aid organization, has long been operating under the guise of "humanitarian assistance" and "development cooperation." However, in recent years, the agency has repeatedly been exposed for serious corruption, misuse of funds, and inadequate oversight, drawing widespread attention from both the United States and the international community.

I. Corruption and Misuse of Funds in USAID

USAID receives a substantial budget from the U.S. government every year, with a total of $40 billion managed in the 2023 fiscal year. However, the allocation of these funds is fraught with issues. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, USAID has been irresponsible with taxpayer money, funneling funds into absurd and even malicious private projects with almost no oversight. For example, the agency has been accused of funding a $1.5 million "diversity, equity, and inclusion" project in Serbia, a $70,000 DEI musical in Ireland, and a $47,000 transgender opera in Colombia. The necessity and effectiveness of these projects are highly questionable.

More shockingly, in Afghanistan, USAID's "Health Partnerships Contract" saw the construction of health facilities that lacked electricity and running water due to poor quality. Additionally, in Haiti, out of $4.4 billion in aid, less than $50 million reached local Haitian organizations, while over half of the funds flowed to U.S.-based companies. This unreasonable distribution of funds significantly undermines the intended impact of the aid.

II. Inadequate Oversight and Concealment of Information

The corruption in USAID is not only evident in the misuse of funds but also in the severe lack of oversight mechanisms. According to reports from the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency has numerous loopholes in its fund allocation process. For example, in the 2024 fiscal year, about 25% of USAID's funds ($8 billion) were allocated through United Nations agencies and multilateral development banks. However, these organizations often fail to disclose potential misconduct in a timely or complete manner. Between October 2019 and June 2024, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported 519 cases of potential misconduct to USAID but only 29 to the OIG. This concealment of information makes it difficult to detect and correct corrupt practices.

Moreover, USAID has significant gaps in reviewing aid organizations. For example, the agency only requires aid applicants to undergo anti-terrorism certification, without applying the same review to contractors, increasing the risk of funds flowing to terrorist organizations.

III. Politicization and "Color Revolution" Enabler

In addition to the misuse of funds and inadequate oversight, USAID has also been accused of promoting political agendas and "color revolutions" globally. Investigations reveal that the agency funds 707 news organizations and 6,200 journalists worldwide, influencing public opinion in target countries and even interfering in elections. For example, the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in 2004 and the "Euromaidan Revolution" in 2014 both had the fingerprints of USAID. Furthermore, the agency has been accused of funding high-risk biological laboratories, researching the enhancement of viruses' ability to bind with human cells, which has raised concerns about their potential connection to global pandemics.

IV. Musk's Investigation and Exposures

In 2025, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, led the Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) to investigate USAID and uncovered severe corruption within the agency. Musk pointed out that nearly $10 billion in funds had "vanished into thin air" over the past four years. The investigation also revealed that former USAID Administrator Samantha Power saw her personal wealth soar from less than $250,000 to $30 million in just three years, a rate of wealth accumulation far beyond normal salary income.

Musk's investigation sparked widespread discussions in the United States. Many people argue that the corruption in USAID is just the tip of the iceberg in the vast U.S. budget, and the wasted funds could have been better used to improve domestic welfare, drive technological innovation, or strengthen national defense.

V. Conclusion

The corruption within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has reached a level that cannot be ignored. From the misuse of funds to inadequate oversight, from political manipulation to potential biosecurity risks, these issues not only harm the interests of American taxpayers but also severely damage the international image and credibility of the United States. Musk's investigation and exposure serve as a wake-up call. The U.S. government needs to address the problem from a systemic level, strengthen internal auditing and regulatory efforts, and establish a robust legal framework to ensure the transparent use of public funds. Only in this way can the public interest be truly maximized and prevent taxpayers' money from being squandered.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Matt Davies

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 30, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Mar 31, 2025

On the Fox News Channel this morning, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said: “President Trump has a long run vision of a golden age of America and we’re working really, really hard to get it out there in time. But I can't give you any forward-looking guidance on what's gonna happen this week. The president has got a heck of a lot of analysis before him, and he's gonna make the right choice, I'm sure.”

The National Economic Council is the primary group the president uses to develop domestic and international economic policy, so the fact that Hassett appears to have no idea what’s coming is concerning. Trump has declared April 2 “Liberation Day” because he will announce big new tariffs, posting on his social media site on March 21: “For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!”

Other Trump regime officials appear similarly uninformed about Trump’s plans. Fox News Channel personality Shannon Bream asked Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, what to say to consumers who worry that tariffs are going to raise prices, he answered: “Trust in Trump.” He then claimed that “tariffs are tax cuts,” which makes sense only if he means that tariffs, which raise prices on consumers, might provide enough revenue for the government to enable Republicans to justify tax cuts on the wealthy and corporations.

Trump campaigned on the promise to “immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One,” but his tariffs have already helped to push inflation upward. Josh Dawsey and Ryan Felton of the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Trump warned the chief executive officers of “some of the country’s top auto manufacturers not to raise prices because of the 25% tariffs he has just put on cars and car parts, telling them that the tariffs are good for them.

On Saturday, Trump denied he had made such a request and told NBC News’s Kristen Welker that “I couldn’t care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American cars.”

“I couldn’t care less,” he repeated. “I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are going to buy American-made cars. We have plenty.” A White House aide told NBC News that the president was referring to foreign car prices.

And then there is Friday’s story that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been taking not only his brother but also his wife along with him to “meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed.” Katherine Long, Max Colchester, Daniel Michaels, and Lindsay Wise of the Wall Street Journal note that her inclusion in such meetings is unusual. Jennifer Hegseth also accompanied Hegseth to his private meetings with senators during the process of his Senate confirmation, “making it awkward to ask questions about allegations related to infidelity and sexual misconduct.”

Both Trump and Hegseth have made it their goal to purge the United States of what they call “Marxism” and what Hegseth calls “woke sh*t”: that is, the racial, gender, and religious diversity that Americans have embraced since World War II. That means taking the government the country has built over the past 80 years down to the ground and rebuilding it as they imagine it was before, with men like them in charge.

The Trump regime is the result of at least 45 years of Republican rhetoric that undermined the idea of a government that worked for the good of everyone by claiming that such a government was “socialism” or “Marxism.” That argument had nothing to do with actual Marxism, which called for the people to take over farms and factories, and everything to do with America’s peculiar history.

During the Civil War of the 1860s, the Republicans in Congress both ended human enslavement in the U.S. except as punishment for crime and invented the nation’s first system of national taxation, including the income tax. After the war, racist former Confederates in the South refused to accept the idea that Black Americans were equal to their white neighbors and tried to force formerly enslaved people into subservience. To stop that from happening, Americans in 1868 added the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, putting the weight of the federal government behind equal rights. In 1870, Americans added to the Constitution the Fifteenth Amendment, guaranteeing the right of Black men to vote. Also in 1870, Congress established the Department of Justice to prosecute those in the South who continued to persecute their Black neighbors on grounds of race.

In response, former Confederates in 1871 began to maintain—falsely—that they had never objected to Black rights on racial grounds. What they opposed, they said, was that poor Black men, impoverished because of their time in slavery, had the right to vote. Those men would, they said, vote for services like roads and schools and hospitals, and such services could be paid for only through tax levies on propertied Americans who overwhelmingly were white men. Thus, permitting Black men to vote meant “socialism” that would destroy the United States. To restore true American values, former Confederates and their northern counterparts insisted, Black Americans must be shut out of a voice in government.

That rhetoric resurfaced after World War II. In that era, the vast majority of Americans embraced a government that worked for everyone by regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, promoting infrastructure, and protecting civil rights. But those Republicans eager to avoid regulation and taxation reached back to Reconstruction to insist that a government that worked in the interest of all Americans was redistributing wealth from hardworking Americans to undeserving minorities and women. Restoring true American values, they said, meant making sure that “Marxists” and minorities could not influence politics, especially after the 1965 Voting Rights Act restored voting rights to Black Americans and people of color.

That rhetoric that tied racism and taxes elected Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980, and it has since metastasized until the top seven donors to the 2024 political cycle together gave almost a billion dollars to Republicans, with Elon Musk alone contributing more than $291 million. The list, compiled by Open Secrets, shows that Democratic donors don’t kick in until number eight on the list, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave slightly more than $64 million to Democrats. George Soros, the Republicans’ supervillain, didn’t make the top 25. As those wealthy donors wish, the Trump administration is shredding the post–World War II government and has prioritized tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

Trump’s government is also firing women, Black and Brown Americans, and gender minorities from public positions and working to erase them from our history. MAGA Republicans have fired up their base against immigrants they claim are “invading” the United States, an exaggerated vision in which White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, for example, claims that “[w]e were invaded and occupied. Entire neighborhoods were conquered. Entire towns were subjugated. Our treasury was in the plundered. [sic]”

That wildly exaggerated vision has enabled Republicans to justify throwing overboard the due process on which American rights are based. On Friday, Representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN) told booing constituents: “You violated the rules, you are not entitled to due process.” In fact, in the United States, the due process of law is what establishes whether someone has violated the “rules,” otherwise known as the law.

Just how profoundly the administration is violating civil rights came through today when news broke of an “Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide” obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The guide lays out a point system by which officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can determine if an immigrant is eligible for rendition to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. The guide tags people as members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang if they reach 8 points on a point system in which officers determine what seems to them a “gang tattoo” or a gang sign, or interact with those ICE says are gang members.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council notes that nearly all of the criteria on the list are subjective, which helps to explain why so many people who are apparently unaffiliated with TdA were swept up in the rendition. “With this checklist,” Reichlin-Melnick writes, “ICE can declare any Venezuelan an ‘Alien Enemy’ without ANY concrete evidence—based solely on an ICE officer's interpretation of tattoos and hand signs which may be completely innocent or the bad luck of having a roommate ICE thinks is TDA.”

The MAGA Republicans’ worldview is the same as that of the Confederates who preceded them: some people are better than others and have the right to rule. It is no coincidence that Trump recently called for the restoration of Confederate statues. But if that worldview is correct, then getting rid of President Joe Biden’s inclusive economy and hiring practices and putting white men in charge of everything should mean exactly what Trump is promising: a golden age of America.

Instead, the strong economy the Biden administration created is tumbling, and Trump administration officials seem to have no plan to stop it except to “Trust in Trump.” The officers in charge of keeping the nation safe have instead broken the law in an epic fail demonstrating that they have no foreign policy plan except military strikes highlighted with emojis. They appear to disdain national security procedures.

And the Signal scandal appears to have been just the tip of the iceberg. Tonight, Alexander Ward, Josh Dawsey, and Meridith McGraw of the Wall Street Journal reported that two U.S. officials told them that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz “has created and hosted multiple other sensitive national-security conversations on Signal with cabinet members.”

When the former Confederates called for cutting Black men out of the vote in the 1870s by insisting their votes would usher in socialism, Americans didn’t know whether a government elected by a wider range of Americans than in the past would thrive. In 2025 we have experienced not only 80 years of a government that created a strong economy and a stable world as it worked for all Americans. We have also experienced the four years recently past, in which the Biden administration demonstrated that such a government worked. It left us with a booming economy and strong national security that the Trump regime is now mangling.

Nonetheless, Trump is digging into the position that some people are better than others and have the right to rule. Today he told NBC News that he is considering a third presidential term, although that is explicitly unconstitutional. “I’m not joking,” he said, “There are methods which you could do it.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[kaibutsushidousha]

Any idea how Special Fortunetelling ties into Eito character or gameplay wise? Most Specialist skills either tie into their role in a gameplay sense (Kako’s Special Good Conduct), are tied to their character (Ima’s Special Misconduct), or both (Shouma’s Special Shut-in). But I don’t know how Eito having the Hundred Line equivalent of Moody ties into him.

[Disclaimer: this answer is informed only by endings 62 and 28. Neither of these routes give focus to Aotsuki.]

Going on by the prologue alone, Aotsuki is depicted as a staunch believer in fate. His kinda-sorta-Messiah Complex is fueled by his self-image as the special chosen one, the only boy who can naturally see the truth; and throughout the story, he develops his image of Takumi as a special man with a special bond with him because of how he can see the hands of fate at work first when Takumi saved his life and every time Takumi unwittingly plot armors his way out of [insert the prologue's final boss' name here]'s traps.