#also clearly a renga supporter

[ladylovesalatte]

it might be langa's birthday but we're the ones who got the gift... I mean have y'all SEEN the official art?? when I tell you i made a NOISE

[reki-of-the-valley]

Reki in a skirt. Reki stealing one of Koyomi's skirts without anyone in his family knowing. Reki putting it on in his room when no one is home. Reki feeling really good in a skirt but not ready to do anything about it so he only enjoys it when he's alone. Reki finding little pleasures in being a little more feminine from time to time. Reki who likes stealing things from his sister's closet, things she never wears. Genderfluid Reki who isn't confident enough to do anything about it, isn't confident enough to come out to anyone, but who still wants to wear skirts and pink from time to time

[baya-ni]

How Ep 7 Gave Us More Reasons to Hate ADAM, Beyond Being a Homewrecker: a Short Essay

Ok look, I know that we all hate ADAM for a multitude of reasons including but not limited to: driving wedge between renga, traumatizing reki, engaging in weird pedophilic bullshit with Langa, and just being a creep in general. But it's this scene from ep 7 between ADAM and Tadashi in particular that really infuriates me...

And I don't see a lot of analysis of the truly horrid implications of this scene so I’ve taken it upon myself. In this essay, I’ll dive into ADAM/Tadashi flashback scene of ep 7, exploring the dynamics of their relationship through a class lens, and demonstrating the true extent to which ADAM deserves to be shot between the eyes. Ok let’s do it.

Early on in the season, we get a clear sense of ADAM's character as pompous and condescending, if not through the way he skates but through the way he treats his secretary; he degrades Tadashi, calls him names, shows no gratitude despite Tadashi’s unfailing service and compliance.

And ADAM's abuse of Tadashi culminates in ep 7, when we learn that ADAM plans on letting Tadashi take the fall for his acts of political corruption.

But what I find truly awful is the reason why ADAM is going to let Tadashi take the fall. In ep 7, we get this flashback:

So these scenes tell us is that ADAM was first groomed by his father (then later by his aunts) to occupy some position of great influence in society, in business, in politics, or something similar. He was probably born into great wealth (since his family could afford to send him to America for school) and was expected to take up the mantel as family patriarch or something like that.

And in this scene, it’s implied that in an attempt to get ADAM to finally “grow up”, his father forces him to give up skating, trashes his board, and sends him away to America. Tadashi witnesses this, and clearly sympathizes with ADAM, but doesn't speak up for him.

And supposedly, ADAM feels so betrayed by Tadashi's silence...

...That he carries this grudge into his adult life, and it fuels his abusive behavior towards Tadashi. This is so utterly fucked up for so many reasons.

This scene takes place when ADAM was still a teenager, which means that Tadashi has served as his assistant/secretary for many, many years. I wouldn't be surprised if Tadashi's family has been serving ADAM's family for generations; Tadashi's loyalty to ADAM despite the abuse seems to imply such is the case- he has an inherited obligation to remain at ADAM's side.

But I also do think that Tadashi genuinely cares for ADAM, at least the person he used to be. If Tadashi has been tied to ADAM's family since ADAM was a teen, it's likely that they grew up together, and were probably close friends. One can imagine that ADAM often confided in Tadashi, trusted him and shared with him his love for skating. And though ADAM had skating friends like CHERRY and JOE, Tadashi would be the only one to understand the full extent of the expectations placed on ADAM to give up anything unrelated to his career and the success of his family.

My point is that Tadashi obviously feels guilty about not speaking up- its probably a big reason why he's so determined to stay by ADAM's side and why goes along with every one of ADAM’s dangerous skating (and skating related) stunts. He failed to support ADAM in the past, so he does so now. But ADAM hasn't forgiven Tadashi and never will...

Rather, ADAM’s bitterness and resentment runs so deep, he sees Tadashi as nothing but a disposable tool.

But here’s the kicker, this backstory is some great drama (and I’ve been dying to know what the whole deal with Tadashi is) but the relationship between ADAM and Tadashi tells us a lot about what kind of person ADAM is, and why we should hate him for more than just being a renga homewrecker.

If we step back for a moment and and analyze the flashback a bit more objectively (that is, without much consideration for either of these characters’ personalities) what we have is a deeply troubling power imbalance.

Fundamentally, Tadashi is ADAM’s employee, and has been for all of ADAM’s adult life. No matter how fond ADAM might have been of Tadashi in the past, the gap in their wealth and class would have prevented them from ever being equals.

Tadashi has always had more to lose than ADAM.

And this holds especially true for the events of the flashback. What ADAM expected was for a Tadashi, who at the time couldn’t have been much older than ADAM, so literally a teenager, to jeopardize his livelihood by standing up to ADAM’s father, essentially the boss of his boss, in a culture that stresses respect for your superiors above almost all else, just so his skinny privileged ass could skateboard. It’s the entitlement and sheer willful Ignorance of that sentiment that really makes my skin crawl.

And again, this office scene illustrates an earlier point I made that Tadashi always has more to lose than ADAM.

See how despite whatever trauma ADAM experienced in being made to give up skating and being sent away to America, he’s now one of the wealthiest and most influential political figures in Japan such that he has police chief in his pocket. He’s one of the greatest skaters the underground skating scene has ever witnessed and the founder of S, the most popular skating race in the region.

He hasn’t suffered one bit, yet Tadashi has lost everything.

Blackmailed and abused, a forced accomplice and fall guy for ADAM’s political corruption, Tadashi is a hostage and a victim, all because of one moment many years ago when a teenage Tadashi dared to choose self preservation over self sacrifice.

It makes me sick.

But at the same time, cheers to the writers for getting me to hate a character so singularly for so many reasons. I’m now very invested in Tadashi’s character and I so hope we get to see him team up with The Gang and the Inspector to get ADAM’s ass thrown in jail.

So in sum, Eat The Rich, Tadashi supremacy, thank you all for coming to my TedTalk.

[einfalls-los]

I am not okay.

Listen, I don't usually get emotional over anime, especially not wacky anime like sk8 (that is not an insult, btw, I love sk8 for what it is). Maybe it's because I had a very emotional and exhausting 2021 so far but sk8 has quite literally been my comfort anime this whole year. And I expected it to get a little angsty like most sports anime. But I was not ready for the gut punch that was episode 9.

So I'm gonna rant about / process the whole thing under the cut (so spoilers, obv). Also, I'm using this as a scream-into-the-void kinda thing but feel free to comment your thoughts if you have any.

Alright first things first - I don't really care for renga. I do think they're super cute and I want to see them together and happy but over the last few years I get less and less drawn towards ships involving high schoolers. It's probably only natural, the farther I get from my school days the least interesting high school romances are getting. Therefore I don't have a lot of thoughts on them this episode. But their moment on the track was just so sweet? And so gay??

To get it out of the way: I hate Joe's skating style.

I wasn't really into the race between Joe and Langa, it felt like something they had to get out of the way to let the plot progress (and get to the Cherry/Adam race already).

I actually really like the route they seem to go with reki. It was set up as that trope of someone realising they're better suited for the support team instead of going to the front lines because they're surrounded by prodigies and while pretty good just not ... well, a genius. We saw it in how amazing the boards he makes are, we even got the "inspirational interview he by chance sees on tv". But this episode he clearly states - no, he does not want that. He wants to skate! Not being a genius be damned! And I think that's really neat iff they continue this correctly. I can see this going multiple ways - him achieving what he wants through hard work and not talent. Or even him not getting as amazing as the others AND THAT'S OKAY. Because that's not the important part, the important part isn't skill but fun.

Now about the big fish - the whole Kojiro/Kaoru/Ainosuke backstory and the Cherry vs. Adam race. Okay, let's see if I can organize my thoughts enough to form coherent sentences.

I am not used to canon lgbt characters in anime. I tend to not like most bl series because of their stereotypes and a lot of them have issues with portayal of consent and outside of those gay characters are so so rare. There are a few examples of course but it's pretty much always subtext.

Now, I know what we got here was also hardly more than subtext but hear me out. I was fully ready to read anything gay happening in this series as fujo fanservice and go on with my life. I had fun ready matcha blossom fics and scrolling through the tag but I expected literally nothing to come out of this. I was super surprised by the "Langa confessing to his mom" scene last week but was still prepared for it to be ignored or to be told "in a bff kinda way" later.

But somehow it feels like this episode crossed a boundary. I can't define why. But it feels too much to be fanservice-y anymore. When at the same time it still isn't canon. Not in an explicit way like I want.

Also, funfact - there is a post sitting in my drafts from last week. I didn't post it because I got distracted by other stuff but it said (paraphrased): a little angst-y headcanon but what if kaoru was actually in love with adam in the past. That's why he is so obsessed with skating against him. And him and kojiro are either already a couple and kojiro is worried he isn't over adam or ko is pining for him and doesn't think kaoru is reciprocating his feelings (and is right about it???). --- and this is pretty much literally what happened this episode???? I don't know how to process that, how am I supposed to feel about that?

And last but not least: For a long long time I haven't hated an antagonist in the way I hate Adam. I was already iffy about him in past episodes but more in a "oh look at this creep ha ha" kinda way. I hate his aesthetic and his whole drama schtick and I am super creeped out by the way he treats langa. And when we got a bit of his backstory last episode I was like - I get it. I will not forgive his actions, I still want to see him in jail but I get it. But again, I feel like he has crossed a line this episode. This may be a very personal line for me but I just got so genuinely angry at him and I don't know what to do with this emotion. Especially since I am about 90% sure adam won't have to answer for his actions in the way I want him to. I am just so disgusted and angry with his character and his actions and knowing it will not be handled like I want it in-universe.

I don't want Langa or Reki to skate against him I don't want to give him the satisfaction and I want those kids as far away from him as they possibly can be. I want Kaoru and / or Kojiro to deck him in the fucking face, I want him to know this is not fucking okay, I want him to suffer and rot in jail without ever touching a skateboard again. (And if he has to lose a race I still want it to be against cherry as my baby deserves.) And I want matcha blossom happy in each others arms, kaoru healing from his feelings and disappointment in adam. I want everyone to be as happy as possible except for fucking adam. FUCK.

[miyuskye]

Today I stumbled on old posts from people reacting to the sk8 finale. I want to make a premise and say that I also felt mixed emotions after it and I was sure that there was something wrong with it. After two months and a half I can say with certainty that the only thing that felt wrong was the lack of episode time, but oh well. Thinking back about sk8, I feel that the writers and the director did the best they could with the time they had.

I think that the main source of confusion stemmed from people misunderstanding the point of the plot. I'm putting myself also among these people because I was so sad that Tadashi forfeited his match vs Langa, but after thinking calmly about that I realized that I just wanted to see Tadashi skate because I am this whipped for him XD and, in reality, even if he had a match with Langa, it would have probably ended the same way -- with Tadashi forfeiting the race midway and letting Langa win (since it's hinted that he's a skating god and Langa beat Adam because he was lucky). This is coherent with the small number of available episodes and Tadashi's arc.

Back to the general public confusion. I'm sure a lot of people were blinded by Renga and totally missed the point the staff wanted to make. It was confirmed in an interview that "sk8 is the story of Adam's search for his Eve", whatever this means (it could be Adam finding his Eve in either Tadashi or Langa, i.e. finding his Eve through the concept that skating is fun). The point is that the focus is on Adam and always has been on Adam. The fandom gave into a collective thinking that Adam was a pedophile and an abuser, but that's clearly not how the staff wanted to portray him. He is obsessed with Langa because he finds in him a worthy and, most importantly, equal partner, he adores Langa and given how loudly he expresses his feelings (i.e. painting a pierced heart over red chrysanthemum to shout out his feelings for Tadashi) his attitude toward him is just the embodiment of that. He isn't interested in Langa because of the power imbalance between them (again, he sees Langa as his equal); he just doesn't want to be alone.

And, yes, the final episodes clearly fit into the narrative of "skating should be fun" because Langa understands (through Reki) that skating with friends is fun and makes Adam remember that (meanwhile he realizes that Tadashi, his friend, was by his side all of this time). Langa, at the beginning, thought that skating was all about the thrill and the adrenaline. He didn't understand that it was fun and amazing to do it with friends/ the people you care about (paralleling to how he didn't realize why he stopped snowboarding when his father died). That's why from ep 7 to 10 he doesn't feel anything. It's because it was all about being with someone you care about, both in skating and snowboarding. He understands that through his relationship with Reki, but my point (and prolly the point a lot of people missed) is that it's general and it doesn't limit itself to Reki and Reki only. I don't want to invalidate Renga, of course not, I like the pairing and the ending makes it clear that Langa's happiness is skating with Reki especially. But the fun experience that comes from skating is a general thing and him going against Adam is just a consequence of that. He wants to make Adam understand that you should have fun while skating, and he wants to have fun with him because he admires him. He was never scared of Adam, and he generally looked pretty chill even when he smashed Cherry with his board. The only thing that mattered to him before his race against Adam was 'why did he start skating?' and 'he looks like he's not having fun' instead of 'i'm going to make this guy pay for his imaginary crimes with my board'. It was like a argument but between friends, the one that gets you in a fight (idk like Rin taking Haru by his collar in Free lmao) because you both want to stand your ground but still care about the other. Also, Utsumi also confirmed that she wanted them to fight with fists in the last ep XD

So, yeah, sk8's ending falls perfectly in the 'skating should be fun' trope. Moving on, let's talk about Kamata. She's, once again, a target for the fandom collective hysteria and she became like this because they projected their hate for Adam into her. Or into Tadashi sometimes, again completely missing the point that the show is about Adam. A lot of people wanted the police to raid S, but that couldn't be realistically attainable because Adam made sure to take off S from the patrol route again and I'm p sure he took additional measures so it wasn't believable for those measures to be shattered in less than a week (when S has been up and running for 7 years). Let's pretend she somehow managed to search Shindo's house. What would she have found? Nothing accusing Adam of Takano's crime. I understand that Takano's crime wasn't very well detailed but I'm thinking that it was something on the line of being bribed to making a certain kind of contract (when he talks about receiving illegal fundings it's the only thing that came to mind). And, on another note, Adam was the one leaking info to the police in the first place XD first, because he wanted to raise to the top of his party (and just standing in Takano's shade isn't his way to roll) and he wanted to have a leverage on the police, so that he could use that leverage to hide his borderline illegal skateboarding races. But they are two different crimes. Kamata wouldn't have found anything useful for the Takano investigation and, even if she managed to find proofs of S (and that's a big if because I'm sure that Adam and Tadashi go out of their way to hide the S screens also from aunties and the household staff), what can she do with those? They're not related to the investigation at hand and can't be used in that specific trial (which is about Takano receiving illegal fundings). A new trial should have been made and Adam wouldn't surely go to prison in one day XD furthermore, it's clear that Kamata belonged to a subplot and that she was a supporting character. She was never meant to be something more than that. I have a long history of elevating supporting character to something they're clearly not so I'm used not to feel 'betrayed' when this doesn't happen, but probably other people don't.

I don't know if I want to talk about Tadaai AGAIN because I feel like we said plenty about them. TL;DR the relationship is not abusive so the point doesn't stand. Tadashi has agency, and chooses to stay by Adam's side because he wants to (and not because he has... Stockholm syndrome... I cringed while writing that XD)

The last point should be the fact that people felt betrayed that Renga wasn't more canon. which I think stemmed from the fact that Utsumi can't decide what to ship XD she had the same problem in Free because she was torn between MakoHaru and RinHaru, but here?? I'm so sure she ships Renga and Tadaai but she definitely likes Eden too. (She wouldn't have had a whole ass theme song for them if she didn't 😊) and so she couldn't decide what route to take and she ended up taking all of them. Bless her, i love a multi shipping queen 🙏

On this note, I saw also some posts about Adam being a homophobic example of queer villain except for the fact that he's not. The authors have made it clear that they love him to no ends. He's not supposed to be Evil and Unredeemable. I don't know why people are so bent on labelling him with things he's not. My roommate told me that he gave off the creepy vibe at the beginning but she confirmed me that after ep 4 it's clear that he's not meant to be dangerous like the other villains he's compared to. I don't personally like people comparing Adam to Hisoka, for example, because I feel that there are very different intentions behind them. Also, I have a feeling people have never watched a media representation of actual grooming (or something that is closely related to this). There's no grooming in sk8. There are fanfics when people describe Adam this way (and while it's interesting to read them, I feel that he's/very/ OOC there), but he's not like this in the original canon.

Thank you for reading this 🙏

[sparkywanderer]

Parallels in SK8 The Infinity: Why Renga will (probably) get a happy ending

So uh. I had a ton of thoughts after the recent episode. So I wrote a thing about parallels and stuff and not gonna lie it’s kinda long (I get sidetracked like 5 times and have not edited this to be concise so it’s really bad???). Here it is, though, if you would like to read my rambling anyway!

Spoilers for Episode 8

Sk8 really likes its parallels. Whether it be how many times it likes to group Langa and Adam together as the “talented ones” or equals or whatever, or how the writers put Cherry/Joe and Adam’s separation with Langa and Reki’s in episode 7 practically back-to-back, it’s clear that they’re all tied up together in some specific way. Not only that, but Miya’s story of losing his friends due to his skateboarding talents rings eerily similar situation-wise to how Reki isolates himself from Langa due to the latter’s talents (though of course there are major differences and such, but other posts could probably explain way better than me so let’s ignore that for now).

Episode 8 adds another parallel to the mix with the reveal that Tadashi actually taught Adam skateboarding in the first place, because well, guess who taught Langa skateboarding? Guess who else enables the skateboarding of someone else, in Tadashi’s case handling Adam’s other work as a secretary and driving him in/out of S, and in Reki’s case building a skateboard for Langa? And not only that, but guess who else is compared to a dog (albeit more for the sake of a bet than anything)? Think back to the whole bet with Miya.

(I think there’s a manga panel that shows that Langa sorta thinks of Reki as similar to one too, but I’m too lazy to find it tbh)

Tadashi and Adam’s relationship is still a little unclear from episode 8, so there definitely could be more of these parallels, but what we do know is this: these are both pairs that were very, very close, sharing a mutual love for skateboarding, before eventually drifting apart as one became far more engrossed in the sport than the other to the point of danger. The writers portray this through Langa’s incredibly high speeds in Episode 7, and the flashbacks of Adam getting into highly dangerous situations with other people which cause them to get badly injured. Both of them don’t fear the thrill of this wild style of skateboarding, enjoy it even, while others like Reki, Cherry Blossom and Joe clearly do-- setting them apart as similar people, as Adam remarks. Langa mirrors Adam and Reki mirrors Tadashi, which bleeds into their equally mirrored relationships. 

Going more in depth on Reki and Tadashi specifically, both of them are not the best at communicating their feelings. In Reki’s case, he bottles up all of his doubts and anxieties about his relationship with Langa until they eventually culminate into one scene and force them apart. In Tadashi’s, he doesn’t stand up against Adam’s father about letting him continue to skateboard even when he clearly wishes to. They’re different, of course, but both of them are clearly the type to put a mask over how they actually feel: in Reki’s case with an “It’s nothing!”, and in Tadashi’s case with an “I have no opinions”. 

(One of the few times smiling Reki brings me Suffering instead of serotonin)

But what’s the point of this all? What’s the point of drawing out all these random connections between Adam and Langa, and Tadashi and Reki? The purpose isn’t showing the similarities, but the differences. Given everything that’s similar, it’s a lot easier to see what’s distinct, and in my opinion that is what will ultimately set these two relationships apart.

Because here’s the thing: Langa actually cares about Reki. Even if they’re so different in terms of skateboarding skill level (which is not necessarily true, but that’s a whole other thing), Langa cares enough about Reki to not leave him behind. The writers blatantly show this in Episode 6, when Langa stays behind and looks for Reki despite the tantalizing offer of a race with a bunch of very talented skaters right in front of him. (It could be argued that he DOES take the offer instead of focusing on Reki by breaking the promise with Reki in episode 7, but the thing is he also assumes Reki will understand and still support him, clearly surprised at his reaction, so it’s not really the same.)

Meanwhile, just think about what Adam does to Tadashi when he’s so focused on his stupid tournament, in contrast. Using him as a scapegoat for his own goals with no shame whatsoever.

(someone free this man. someone free this man please)

Not only that, though, but his passion for skateboarding isn’t just in the sport itself, but a major part of it is the people he spends time with. Before with snowboarding, it was his father, and when he was gone Langa stopped finding joy in that sport altogether. And now it’s Reki who’s gone, and he’s quickly realizing skateboarding that no longer brings the same thrill that it used to-- as made evident with the sudden shift to snowboarding in that scene, and the absence of his heart beating quickly, which could represent a lot of things but the point is he’s not having fun. Oh wait, that's another parallel.

On the other hand, Adam accepts that he’ll leave some people behind with his talents, dismissing them as unworthy rather than taking the time to actually try and recognize any flaws within himself or his way of thinking. This is perfectly exemplified in the first scene of Episode 8, where he shows little to no concern whatsoever over someone he’d been considering a possible match just a couple of seconds ago. Because it’s as he says: to him, when the perceived “distance” between two people is too great, to the point where it is “unreachable” for one of them, there can be no “real love”.

(oh yeah they both have blue hair too i guess)

But remember, Langa’s not like that. He isn’t willing to so easily give up on Reki like that, as seen with how he consults his mother for advice and still constantly checks to see if he’s there to talk to. He’s not going to so callously give up on him like Adam does with those he skates with, because his version of love isn’t nearly as twisted as his. Instead, he’s going to try and fix things, “repent and make efforts” (though of course neither of them are entirely at fault here), and communicate, as foreshadowed by the latest episode.

Reki, on the other hand, doesn’t show as many signs of wanting to try and reconnect with Langa, as of Episode 8 anyway. But I still have faith in him, because he seems to be having some doubts given his actions-- and more than that, remember what Cherry was talking about when he found him, words that he probably at least kind of listened to! Eventually he’s going to realize that he’s cut off a really good relationship for the wrong reasons, and he’ll have to apply some of these teachings and make efforts to actually communicate once he begins to realize it.

(Also, just take a moment to appreciate the bi calligraphy.)

So what can we take away from all this? Adam said Langa was the same type of person as himself. And sure, maybe that’s true in some ways, but it’s not entirely, and if the anime wants to have any clear thematic messages about relationships, it will most definitely reflect the results of their differences one way or another. At the very least, Reki and Langa will not turn out like Adam and Tadashi did. Because what’s the purpose of constantly comparing and contrasting characters in eerily similar situations, if their differences don’t have any actual effect on the story and the message that it’s ultimately attempting to convey, especially in a short 12 episode anime?

But anyways, if you actually did read this far for some reason, thank you! If I missed anything, you wanna add anything else, or just idk talk about this anime in general, let me know :D

(TLDR: Adam and Langa are sort of similar but also really different because the latter cares for Reki, so therefore this is yet another sports anime that will probably be about the power of friendship/love, and I Pretend I Do Not See whatever death flags there are for Langa I DO NOT SEE THEM!!!) 

[bee-calm]

langa

how i feel about this character: v good !!! one of my favourites in sk8- his personality resonates with me a lot too + its always nice to see characters that you can relate to a bit

romantic ship: do i even need to answer this one? renga is like. soulmate-level romance and i love them sm. they really push each other to go further in the best possible way, and they care about each other... so much..... 

non-romantic ship: langa and miya !! they’re like siblings and i care about them a Great Deal. im very invested in the concept of langa and miya- both of them who have grown up as only children- suddenly realizing ‘ah so THIS is why people complain about their siblings langa’s relationship with his mum is also SO important to me, its clearly a bit difficult for langa to open up about stuff (although once he gets going, good luck with stopping him) but he does clearly trust his mum enough to ask her stuff, and she’s super supportive (if not a little bit awkward) in return !! good family relationships make me so happy

unpopular opinion: not sure if i really have any- maybe that sk8 could have explored his relationship with his dad a bit more?? they kind of skipped over that plot point a bit i Think

one thing i wish would happen: same as above, i really wish they went a bit more into langa’s actual feelings about losing his dad and how it impacted his love of snowboarding. i know it probably wouldn’t have fitted the mood of the series, but it felt a little bit weird that it was just kind of relegated to being a background plot, when that sort of thing would normally have a pretty big impact

[dinosandfries]

Skate with me again

A Renga fic by @Dinos_Fries in Ao3

_______________________________________________________________

Langa was questioning everyone he passed if they had seen a boy with red hair, when he heard Adam call his name, he looked up to the stage and then he got an idea, he immediately ran up to the stage and grabbed the microphone from Adam’s hand, “My Eve~ We can finally resume our beef~” Adam said as he moved close to Langa, Langa awkwardly shifted away from him and tapped the microphone to check if it was working, and then he took a deep breath and started to talk.

“Reki...if you’re still here, I just want to say sorry! I’ll do anything to make you forgive me! I’ll even refuse to skate with Adam!!” Langa said, everyone gasped in surprise (even Adam), “My Eve!~ Don’t be absurd! You are made skate with me!” Adam said dramatically as he placed his hands on Langa’s shoulder, Langa ignored him as he shrugged his hands off his shoulder. “Reki, ignore him! Skating isn’t fun without you! You’re the reason I started skateboarding, you made it fun for me! I want to skate with you again! I want to feel the excitement of skating with you again! You mean everything to me...so knowing that you’re mad at me, makes me upset! I was a terrible person to break our promise, I really hope you forgive and even if you don’t, I just want to see you again” Langa said as small tear form in his eyes, his voice filled with sadness

Everyone was silent for a while until the silence was broken by a sob from the crowd, Langa looked down to the crowd to see a boy with curly, spiky red hair, Langa immediately knew it was Reki, his eyes lit up as he made eye contact with Reki’s eyes that were filled with tears, he ran down the stage as fast as he could, he pushed everyone from his way, many got mad at him but he ignored them, his mind focused on Reki and when he finally got to Reki, he immediately wrapped Reki in a warm hug, “Reki, I missed you...” Langa softly whispered in Reki’s ear, Reki blushed from embarrassment and pushed away Langa, “I missed you too...” he mumbled quietly, his face burning up, Langa visibly lit up and went to hug Reki again, Reki faced turned red as a tomato, he then again pushed Langa. Langa pouted and crossed his arms, “Stop pouting! I’m sorry but there’s a lot of people staring at us” Reki said while pointing to the crowd of people staring at them, “Ah-! Sorry, Let’s go!” Langa said as he took Reki’s hand, and his skateboard and then ran out of ‘S’ gate as everyone watched them in shock.

When they got outside the gate, they stopped to breathe, when they were able to catch their breath, Langa spoke up, “I’m sorry about that...you must be so embarrassed.” Langa said as he scratched the back of his head, “yeah...but it’s fine, and about forgiving you...I forgive you, I’m also sorry about ignoring you” Reki told Langa, “I was getting upset on how popular you were. You, Miya, Shadow, Cherry and Joe are such amazing skaters while here I am... I can’t even keep up with all of you. I’m just the red-haired guy who follows you around,” Reki said with tears in his ears, “Reki-” Langa said but he was cut off, “I am so amazed by you! You learn so fast! You’re really gifted! Getting to skate with so many talented skaters like you, I want to be happy and just support you but I can’t...because I WANT TO SKATE WITH YOU!” Reki told Langa, as tears kept falling down his face and as he ran his hand in his hair in frustration.  

Langa looked at Reki with sad eyes, he then wrapped Reki in a warm hug, "I just want to skate with you again...Langa" Reki said as he sadly smiled at Langa, "I want to have fun skating with you Reki...and only you" Langa whispered in Reki's ear, he wiped the tears on Reki's face and moved the hair on Reki's face behind his ear, Reki's face was really beet red as Langa cupped his face, "L-langa! W-what are you doing?" he nervously asked him, Langa leaned forward to his ear and whispered, "Reki..I like like you", Reki's eyes widen in suprise, his face was flushed, he couldn't believe it, Langa let go him, he stared at him with a nervous and worried look, "Ah...forget I said that Reki" Langa said nervously, Reki's eyes widen, "N-no! I-um, I like you too!" Reki said, clearly flustered, Langa smiled really wide, he jumped on Reki, they both fall down to the ground.

They both look at each other and then they both laugh, they stopped laughing and then they both got lost in each others eyes as the moon shone above them, they slowly closed the gap between them, their lips touched slowly, their hearts felt like thousands of fireworks exploded,  when they pulled away and sat down, they smiled at each other, "Reki, could you be my boyfriend?" Langa asked Reki as he placed his forehead on Reki's, Reki happily smiled at him, "Of course I would Langa" Reki said, Langa then pulled him to a quick kiss, "I don't ever want this day to end" he said to his first and forever lover

They stay there for awhile stargazing

Meanwhile at 'S'

"Should we go find them?" Shadow asked the others, both Cherry and Joe looked at each other with the knowing look, and then nodded to each other, "Let's just let them figure this out" Cherry told Shadow, Shadow nodded and shrugged it off.

______________________________________________________________

[kerahlekung]

Fake 'PN candidate list' or wish list?

Fake 'PN candidate list' or wish list?.

Most avid political watchers in Malaysia would have recently received a purported list of Perikatan Nasional's candidates for the next parliamentary election. The 13-page PDF file, marked "sulit" (confidential) and authored by one "KGE", names 194 "PN candidates" sans Gabungan Parti Sarawak. The "list" was accompanied by notes outlining the rationale behind certain candidacy decisions and purported outcomes of inter-party negotiations. Top Umno and PAS leaders contacted by Malaysiakini have dismissed the document as fake and are probably right. The first half of this article would explain why. They told Malaysiakini that the "list" was fictional since negotiations between the three parties have not taken place. Umno and PAS are in a formal alliance known as Muafakat Nasional, which in turn is currently allied with Bersatu. Collectively, they formed the PN government in March. Upon closer inspection, the fake "list" would sound less preposterous if it was seen as a proposal from Bersatu's perspective. This angle would be explored in the latter half of the article. However, since Malaysiakini believes the "list" to be fake, it would not be reproduced in this article to discourage its spread.

Umno's 'numbers' don't make sense The biggest red flag signalling the improbability of this "list" is the fact that Umno would only be granted the right to field candidates in 64 seats while its splinter party Bersatu and PAS would be allocated 54 and 31 seats respectively. If the "list" is true, it would mean that Umno - arguably the richest and biggest party in the country in terms of membership - would only be fielding half the number of candidates it did in 2018. During the last election, Umno fielded 120 candidates for Parliament, with 54 winners. As for Bersatu, it fielded 52 candidates, of which 13 won while PAS fielded 154 and won 18. Another fact which makes the "list" improbable is the suggestion that a large number of senior Umno members, including its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, would be dropped as candidates. These include sitting MPs who won their seats with comfortable majorities such as Najib Abdul Razak (Pekan), Nazri Abdul Aziz (Padang Rengas), Idris Jusoh (Besut), Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak), Mahdzir Khalid (Padang Terap), Ismail Muttalib (Maran), Ismail Mohamed Said (Kuala Krau) and Azalina Said Othman (Penggerang). According to the "list", three Umno MPs who relinquished their seats would be granted the "Tun" title, a promise which would be hard to keep, given that the cap of 25 titleholders had already been reached at the time of writing.

A Bersatu wish list? What is difficult to ignore in the "list" is that it appeared to favour Bersatu which has far less proven support compared to Umno based on the 2018 election. The "list" suggested that Umno would have to make way for other parties - mostly Bersatu - in 20 constituencies it won in the previous polls. This included seats which Umno won with more than 50 percent of the votes cast in 2018 such as Beluran, Mersing, Masjid Tanah, Putrajaya, Rompin and Jeli, which by conventional wisdom meant the party would likely retain these constituencies without having to cede it to Bersatu. In contrast, the "list" suggested that Bersatu had to cede only three seats it won in 2018 - Kubang Pasu, Muar and Simpang Renggam - to Umno. Moreover, the "list" suggested that Umno is not seeking the return of most seats which it lost to Bersatu in a series of defections between 2018 and 2019. These seats are Jeli, Bagan Serai, Bukit Gantang, Masjid Tanah, Beluran, Tanah Merah, Hulu Terengganu, Larut, Sabak Bernam, Mersing, Kudat, Beufort, Libaran and Sipitang. With such a lopsided deal, the "list" appeared more like a Bersatu wish list rather than a bona fide PN candidate list.

Delicate balance Based on the above, it can be concluded that the "list" is fake. However, what could be gleaned from the "list" are some factors which might be taken into consideration as PN's seat negotiations progress. Currently, there are two main blocs which make up 80 percent of the PN federal government - Muafakat Nasional (Umno and PAS) which has 59 seats and Bersatu which has 32 seats. On paper, Umno, PAS and Bersatu are all vying for the same constituents - Malay Muslims - but the fake "list" took a regional approach to seat distribution. The fake "list" suggests that Umno would be allocated more seats in Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Pahang while Bersatu is allocated more seats in Perak, Selangor and Sabah. PAS seats were mostly concentrated in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah. The fake "list" also appeared to have taken into account seats which Umno won with less than 50 percent of the vote share as the basis for ceding 14 seats, mostly to Bersatu. Umno, PAS and Bersatu faced off against each other during the 2018 election, leading to many candidates winning without a clear majority. In closing, there is no reason for Umno to make such "generous" concessions, which could potentially irk its grassroots pining for the return of a powerful Umno and limiting its chances of maximising its electoral successes. However, the fake "list" does help illustrate the complicated dynamics between Umno, PAS and Bersatu as the three parties move towards the next general election, assuming that the PN coalition holds until then. - Andrew Ong,mk Senarai calon PN: Palsu atau harapan Bersatu?

Shafie Apdal neither the PM 

we deserve nor need...

Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal is the opposition’s prime minister designate. He must be over the moon right now because finally someone had the pluck to nominate a politician from East Malaysia. He is, of course, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) pick. His deputies will be PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir’s son Mukhriz. At this stage, it just stinks to be Anwar, but we’ll save that for another day and time. Ditto discussions about Mukhriz whose charisma can’t even move a pebble and who has yet to come out of father’s shadows. Mahathir has denied that he propped up his son for the deputy prime minister post. Sure, that may be true. But in Malaysia things work for influential people without them needing to ask directly. Now, an East Malaysia prime minister is refreshing. Thumbs up for diversity. But if Mahathir and PH really cared about diversity, then Shafie would be last on the list for obvious reasons. Ever since Shafie took over the Sabah chief minister post, the state has been lagging reform-wise. For example, he is still the state’s finance minister despite a source close to him saying in 2018 that this temporary double-hatting was meant to stabilise the state government.

Clearly this means the man has yet to shed his Umno ways. He has an uninspiring track record, too. Shafie was investigated in 2017 over allegedly abusing RM1.5 bil meant for rural development projects. He purportedly siphoned the money when he was rural and regional development minister between 2009 and 2015. Back then he was remanded for eight days and released on bail on Oct 27, 2017. But he was cleared of the charges on Aug 28, 2018, after PH won the general election in May the same year. And his tenure as rural and regional development minister deserves more scrutiny. The second series of the 2013 Auditor-General’s Report, for instance, flagged a number of rural water supply projects in Sarawak. Initially, a total of RM2.4 bil was allocated for 314 of such projects but only 115 or 36.6% were completed at a cost of RM1.43 bil. Of the 314 projects, 69 required the construction of water treatment plants and connection of major water pipes worth RM1.71 bil. The A-G only audited 13 of the 69 projects, but it found several weaknesses including preliminary studies that were not comprehensive enough, the quality of the construction work was not satisfactory with visible leaks on the water tanks, and four out of the 13 failed to be completed after being given a few extensions and only two were completed ahead of time. Also, the audited projects cost less than the amount allocated with RM388.03 mil spent instead of the projected RM463.4 mil.

People close to him have also been charged by the MACC. One of his generals, Peter Anthony, has been charged with multiple rounds of corruption and abuse of power. Among others, money laundering involving RM8.75 mil between 2014 and 2016 and embezzlement of more than RM15.5 mil involving land deals linked to the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) between 2014 and 2015. Anthony, who is the state’s infrastructure development minister and Melalap assemblyman, pleaded not guilty to all charges. If anything we’ve learned from the past is that political expediency is costly. PH co-opted Mahathir and friends who supposedly led to the victory of the coalition during GE14 but also gave birth to the “Sheraton coup” and the collapse of the government that Malaysians voted for. In its wake, Muhyiddin Yassin is now prime minister and his Perikatan Nasional coalition is the government of the day. And they are moving at warp speed, placing loyalists on government-linked corporations, delaying Parliament, threatening the free press and doing all the things that irk many as if they are in a hurry to do whatever it is best known to them. Sadly PH never moved as frenetic or concerted as Muhyiddin and his team. But such is the “scheme of things” that really calls to question whether we would see a change in government in the short-term given how PH or whatever the country has for an opposition is in shambles. So what does Malaysia need for an alternative? We need politicians with lesser baggage than the lot who are leading PH right now. That’s a start. But we also need more women and more millennials to step up – such as Nurul Izzah Anwar. PH is not short of them. Some would say that this is not a wise political strategy, citing surveys and findings cooked up from every nook and cranny. But the young ones in PH can afford a 10-year struggle.

The old ones cannot. But this isn’t about the old guard and should no longer be. Malaysia has to move on beyond Mahathir, Anwar, Lim Guan Eng and their ilk. And this is a reflection of what is happening the world over, where women and millennials are taking charge of government. If we aspire to be a “developed nation” it’s high time we act like one, aside from being obsessed with income per capita or GDP growth. What about the East Malaysian? Sure, but let’s not have a token East Malaysian. Shafie is in Mahathir’s orbit and therefore comes off as a puppet. The East Malaysian hopeful too has to be someone different but also someone who can navigate the intricacies of the royal houses in the peninsula – an ever-present political pressure point. More importantly, with the younger ones running the government, we can also finally have stronger institutions. Remember that Shafie’s corruption charges were dropped by MACC when PH took over the government. That is something that should not be repeated. Because that means we have never truly improved from the past and a successive government like Muhyiddin’s can use that advantage to its fullest – cue Musa Aman and Riza Aziz. So Shafie is neither the prime minister we need nor deserve. – Emmanuel Samarathisa

Pencalonan Shafie: PH wajar 

putuskan sebelum sidang Parlimen 13 Julai...

Cadangan pencalonan Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal sebagai calon Perdana Menteri untuk mengembalikan mandat rakyat dan membolehkan Pakatan Harapan (PH) Plus membentuk semula kerajaan perlu diputuskan bersama di dalam mesyuarat Majlis Presiden PH. Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng berkata Majlis Presiden PH perlu bermesyuarat dalam kadar segera sebelum persidangan Parlimen bermula pada 13 Julai 2020 bagi memutuskan cadangan itu. “Jawatankuasa Tertinggi Pusat (CEC) menegaskan pendirian bahawa kedudukan PH perlu diperkukuhkan dan pada masa yang sama, PH juga perlu bekerjasama dengan semua parti yang komited untuk menentang Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Ada orang suruh kah? Orang suruh bersara dan rehat.

20 tahun PKR, DAP dan PAS kemudian Amanah bersama. 

2 tahun Tun bersama, terus huru hara. Takkan tak nampak lagi kot...

“CEC mengambil maklum bahawa cadangan pencalonan ini adalah bersejarah kerana melibatkan seorang pemimpin dari Malaysia Timur dipertimbangkan buat julung kalinya,” katanya dalam kenyataan, malam tadi. Mengulas perkara lain, Guan Eng yang juga Ahli Parlimen Bagan berkata, CEC DAP juga menyokong supaya Speaker Dewan Rakyat, Mohammad Ariff Md Yusof dan Timbalan Speaker, Nga Kor Ming dikekalkan dalam jawatan mereka. Ini selepas Ariff dilaporkan menerima usul mencadangkan supaya khidmat beliau dan Kor Ming ditamatkan. — Roketkini.com

cheers.

Sumber asal: Fake 'PN candidate list' or wish list? Baca selebihnya di Fake 'PN candidate list' or wish list?