#go make something else all about strong independent bland women

[doverstar]

sometimes anne with an e is so wholly UN-anne of green gables that I have to throw up

[justcallmenikki7]

BTS Reaction To: You Standing Up For Yourself (Mafia!Au) (Hoseok and Maknae! Line)

Summary: you don’t put up with shit from people who disrespect you.

Warnings: language, harassing, rude men who degrades women, discriminatory comments, women being bitches, self esteem, women degrading women, women picking at readers weight and looks, age and maturity talk (?).

Notes: two posts in one night? hell yes. also, a big thank you to @charliesfairy for helping me and giving me ideas!! i love you<3

Request: Anon said- bts mafia reaction to their s/o having a strong personality and knowing how to protect themselves.

***********

Hoseok:

Being the fiancé of a mafia leader is hard because of the constant pressure of making sure that you are not in any danger, some of the criticism from peers, and the constant worry from your fiancé himself. Plus, it is hard trying to live a normal life when your fiancé will not really let you live one due to him having enemies that try to take him out and possibly hurt you to get to him. But, after some reassuring and persuasion from your side, you finally got him to agree on letting you have a job where you can have a somewhat normal life – plus you can feel better that you are not solely depending on your boyfriend for everything. You hate depending on people and like the feeling that you are independent.  

Even though you have a job, you are still put under protection by having a guard that watches you from a distance to make sure you are safe. This was an argument between both you and your boyfriend, which was not a pretty sight. But hearing his side of the story, which is him having a peace of mind that you are safe and are protected while he is at work made you be able to live with having someone watch you 24/7.

Anyways, you love your job. You love the people, the atmosphere, meeting new people, making new friends/acquaintances has been something you have thoroughly love. Hoseok can see this too by your change in mood. Of course, there are those rude customers. Usually you are able to be calm while you dealt with the rude customers, but the ones today are not that easy.  

When you first walked up to the table filled with young men, you had a gut feeling that it was not going to end well. At first, they were semi pleasant, but as time went on, they became ignorant and crude towards you. One male, in particular, stuck out like a sore thumb. You did your best on trying to ignore them and being as polite as possible, that was, until, the ignorant male made a comment when you were walking away with their order”

“Hey baby,” the male said as his eyes trailed down from your back to your butt, eyes staying glued to it for a few seconds before looking back up at you, “when you bring that sweet thing back over here, make sure to bring a soda with it.” he winked at you, making you feel disgusted and angry.  

Finally having enough, you slammed your notepad on the ground before you stormed over to the table.  In your angry state, you did not see your fiancé come into the restaurant with your on guard body guard in tow. The look of surprise and enjoyment on the group of men made you even angrier, they like that you are angry.

“I am sick and tired of how you all have been treating me. You all are nothing but ignorant pigs, finding enjoyment by disrespecting women and harassing them with crude words. I am now going to ask you to leave the restaurant and to never comeback unless you comeback with some manners.” You tried to stay as calm as possible along with not using any curse words.  

“You cannot kick us out, we are your customers. You serve us.” one commented, a smirk on his face.

“Yes, she can, and you better leave before things get a lot uglier. And you better apologize to my fiancé before you become nothing.” A familiar voice spoke up from behind you, bringing you a sense of comfort and safety. The pure look of terror crossed every man sitting at that table, bringing you satisfaction that they realized who they have been harassing the whole entire time.  “And if I find out that you have been harassing anyone else like you have been to my fiancé, then I will make sure no one ever sees any of you again.”

Nodding their heads, they all apologized to you before quickly leaving your restaurant. Turning around, you came face to face with the love of your life. “Thank you for stepping in, but I had it all under control.” you thanked, kissing Hoseok on the cheek.

“I know you did, but I could not stand how they were treating you so I wanted to say something. Plus, you being really angry turned me on.” he winked, giving you a cheeky smile. You rolled your eyes, smacking his shoulder lightly. “But seriously, I am proud of you, baby girl.”

Smiling, you brought Hoseok into a hug, mumbling a ‘I love you’ into his chest, to which he replied “i love you too, Y/N. I will always protect you no matter what.”

Jimin:

Everyone looked down at you in the mafia and real world since you were dating Park Jimin. Park Jimin was the definition of cold, heartless, and strict – someone who was straight to business and made sure there were no mistakes. You were the definition of kind, loving, and someone who wore their heart on their sleeve and gave them your full trust right then and there. That was something everyone took advantage of. Even though you were someone who could defend themselves, you never did because of your view that everyone was human and made mistakes.  

That is why you were now criticizing yourself to the max.  

You wanted to help your fiancé out and wanted to prove that you were worthy enough of being his fiancé. Deciding to do a drug deal alone without any help was the biggest mistake in your life – probably to the point where Jimin will never trust you and possibly break up with you.  

You could feel the tears form in your eyes by the mocking laughter of the dealers. Every laugh and every chuckle that they continued to light the fuse to the anger you were feeling.  

“It is funny how she thought that she could do a man's job. I am sorry, baby, but this field is only for men, not weak women, like you.” the leader called out.  

And that is what made you go off. Screaming out in anger like a mad woman, you took out your pistol and shot at the man's leg, earning a cry of pain from him. His cry brought you a sick and twisted satisfaction.

“Who's the weak on now, huh?” you question, aiming your gun at his two back up men. “i have had it with everyone criticizing me for being the fiancé of Park Jimin. Just because I have the opposite personality as him does not make me any less of him. Whipty do, I have a vagina and boobs, that makes me a girl – but that does not define my damn strength and worth as a person. And just because I was not born into this line of business does not mean I am going to hold him back from his job. So, you all need to shut the fuck up and give me some respect because I will not fucking hesitate to kill you all.”

“That’s my girl.” You heard an all familiar deep voice praise from behind you, causing you to freeze in worry and relax at the thought of your fiancé being here. “Now, why are you boys trying to take advantage of my girl and degrading her?” The men were stumbling over their words, causing Jimin to sigh in annoyance. Snapping his fingers, you saw Taehyung, Jin, and Yoongi stalk over to them and drag them off to the black vans. “Boys, make sure they are nice and ready for my girl when we get to the cells. I know my girl needs to release some anger and they are the right toys.” Jimin chuckled darkly, bringing you into his chest.  

“How did you find me?” Was the first thing that you asked Jimin.  

“I have my ways, but that is beside the point. I am proud of you baby for defending yourself. Now, before you ask, no, I am not mad at you. I am proud of you for being the strong and beautiful woman that you are and for wanting to prove to people that you are, even though you do not need to. You do not need to prove anything to anyone.” Jimin explained, kissing your head. You know that Jimin struggles with his words, but that is okay because you know that he loves you and you love him.

Taehyung:

Being with someone who is a Greek god is hard because you are automatically compared to them. Every day you always wonder how the Kim Taehyung – a beautiful human being, sculpted by the gods themselves, who is also a mafia leader – wanted to be with you and asked you to marry him. You have never looked at yourself in a positive light because of how ‘bland’ you see yourself as. Yes, you can admit that you do think you are pretty, but not pretty enough.  

By being with Taehyung, you have had a lot of criticism from it due to the looks. The main group of those people who do criticize you are girls from outside of his gang and inside his gang. They always say you are not worthy enough in looks to be with Kim Taehyung because you are not even close to his looks. Of course, you do your best in ignoring them by reassuring yourself that you are a lot nicer than them, intelligent, and human than they are. Which is true, you treat people with respect, you are a very smart person and are good at strategizing with Kim Namjoon when it comes to ambushing a warehouse, and are more human because you do not go and tear someone down because they do not fit in the category of ‘worthy’ in something.  

Even though you do your best in ignoring them, you still have your breaking point.  

Tonight, is ball night, which means you have to wear a dress (which is something you despise wearing). When you walked out of your shared bedroom, Taehyungs jaw dropped. The look in his eyes and the words he whispered in your ear about what he planned on doing to you later when you both got home had you feeling sexy and confident in yourself. The whole night Taehyung kept you beside him – his arms wrapped possessively around your waist, a dark look in his eyes towards men who stared for too long, and his body pressed against yours told you that Taehyung was feeling extremely possessive of you.  

His actions have helped you not worry about the envious looks from every girl in the room.  

“Kitten, I have to speak with two men, it will only take me a few minutes and I will be back, okay?” Your fiancé explained to you, giving you his boxy smile that was only reserved for you.  

“Okay, don’t leave me here all by myself for too long.” You teased, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He laughed, kissing your forehead before leaving.  

“Who, I cannot believe you decided to show up looking like that.” A voice spoke from behind you, followed by mocking laughs.

Turning around, you came face to face with the group of girls who make your life a miserable hell. “What is your problem with me? What did I ever do to you?” was the first thing you asked.

Scoffing, the girl replied, “I have a problem with the face that my leader has a cow as a fiancé. Taehyung is too good for you. He deserves a beautiful woman who is skinny, smart, and strong as his fiancé. Not someone who looks like a cow, thinks that she is smart, and believes that she is strong. You are nothing but a loser that is not good enough to be in this line of business, that is why I have a problem with you.”

Trying to not let her words get to you, you stood up straight and walked closer to her with your head held him. “You know what you lack in? Kindness. You see, you are nothing but a sad, insecure, scared woman who thinks that everyone is below you. You may be told that you are beautiful because you have the ‘perfect body’ or the ‘perfect hair’ always wearing the most expensive clothes, jewelry, and makeup. But you are not beautiful, you are ugly by how you treat people and degrade them. You are ugly by calling people names, picking fun at their looks, and rating them on how much money they have, you are just plain ugly.” you growled out, not breaking eye contact from her.  

You knew that you pissed her off and you knew she was about to hit you from the way her fists clenched and how stiff she got. As she was going to punch you, you grabbed her fist, twisting it behind her back which caused her to yell out in pain, and you kicked her behind her knees, making her fall down.  

“What the fuck is going on here?” your boyfriend yelled out, coming to stand beside you.  

“i love you babe, but you need to teach some of your members respect and kindness – some of them lack in it.” your grip on the girl’s wrist tightened, making her yell out in pain. “I will be in the car.” you said before letting go of the girl’s wrist and walking off.  

Jungkook:

You have always believed that maturity comes from experience – not age. Yes, age does play in with it, but going through life events and growing through them is what you believe defines a person's maturity level.  

So why do you get bashed on for being in a relationship with a 23-year-old mafia leader? That is something that you ask yourself almost every day when someone is shocked on how old you are. Yes, 19 is still young, but that does not mean anything. But it obviously does when you are dating a 23-year-old. Ever since you started dating Jungkook you have been criticized by your age and lack of maturity. People in the mafia world believe that you are too ‘immature’ to be handling weapons, going to meetings, being with the one and only Jeon Jungkook. This has caused a lot of fights in your relationship because of how much stress it puts on you both. You know that Jungkook has been targeted as a weakling now because of it, making you feel guilty and contemplating on leaving him no matter how much you love him.  

That morning, you both woke up in each other's arms, naked bodies pressed together as if the both of you were one whole. The argument from the night before was still on both of your minds, but the makeup was what made you stronger. That is something that you love about both yours and Jungkook's relationship is the communication that you both share with one another. You both do not go and runaway, you both talk (mainly yell) it out, explaining how you both feel, and once everything that you both had been holding in is out, and you go from there.

“Do you still want to come? It is okay if you don’t, I wouldn’t blame you since nothing exciting happens.” Jungkook asked you, kissing your shoulder blade.  

“I still want to come to the meeting. I like learning what you do and what goes on behind the scenes of being a mafia boss.” you answered, looking up at your boyfriend.  

“behind the scenes?” Jungkook teased, pressing kisses to your face as you laughed.  

Once you both stopped laughing and decided to get up and get ready, you both hopped into the shower. After the both of yours shower, you got dressed in appropriate clothing for the meeting and left. The drive to the meeting was quiet besides the music that was playing from the radio. When the familiar building came into view, you suddenly became tense. You have a feeling that this meeting was not going to end well, making you extremely nervous on what's to come.  

When you and Jungkook walked into the elevator, he brought you into a hug which made you relax, “you know what babe, fuck everyone. Just because you are four years younger than me does not mean shit. If I did not thing you were right for me then I would not have asked you out. I asked you to be my girlfriend because of what I saw in here” he pointed towards your heart. “and I fell in love with the girl who spilt coffee on me. I fell in love with the girl who makes my heart pound faster each time I look at her. I fell in love with the girl who makes me smile, happy, crazy, and makes me a better person each day. I don’t give a fuck on what those people think because they are not the ones in this relationship, it is only us. And if they have a problem with it, then they can simply fuck off, or, if you allow me to, blow their heads off.”  

His speech brought tears to your eyes and speechless. Before you could reply the elevator dinged, signaling that you made it to the floor where the meeting was to be held. You and Jungkook walked out of the elevator hand in hand and to the room where the meeting was, as you walked in, a person had the guts to say something.  

“I’m sorry, ma’am but this meeting is for adults and not little girls,” he apologized mockingly.

“Neither should little boys, but look at who showed up.” You sighed as you walked to the chair that was beside Jungkooks.

[jackbabewang]

At first sight...

Pairing: Jaehyun x Reader Genre: College au, Fluff, That library crush theme Word Count: 2,554

It can be hard to seduce someone in total silence.

Final exams are approaching, so now you are spending a great deal of time in one corner of your room at a clustered study desk, constantly reviewing notes, and grumbling. There are just too many distractions to interrupt you at the dormitory. The residents above are deliberately harassing you by stomping on the floor, classical music blasted from the room next to yours making your unit feel like some strange musical theater of the absurd and then there is your bed. So so inviting. You have enough points going into the exams to pass easily, but the pressure has not lifted because you are keen to scoring the highest possible marks. Well, that is just you being you. To pry yourself away from disturbance, the university’s library seems to be the ideal place for better concentration. And so, your routine begins.

Day 1

Unknowingly excited. Your nerdy self got a seating in a booth that offers the most privacy. Though the library is crowded with students studying frantically, it is still quiet. Your body sinking into the cushioned padding, laptop opened, bookmarks orphaned on tables, highlighters and pens began their labour. 

Day 3

Still going strong. Probably. You need some fresh air and a break from your studies. After a couple of hours sitting hunched over books, you are worried that you can even try out for the role of a hunchback. You decide to take a walk outside on the campus park. You miss warmth, the heat of the sun on your skin, needing the light for some kind of photosynthesis.  

By the time you return to the library, there sits a paper cup on top of your table with a square note beside it written, ‘Hey little fighter, soon things will be brighter!’ There is no name, no initial that gives away the identity of the alleged person who left it there. A small smiled etches on your lips as you reach for the source of warmth, the tip of your fingers have turned icy cold the second after you walked in. A string of white steam escapes through the small opening, turns into vapour around your nose, kinda dumb of you to take a sip without hesitation. The intense heat burns your upper lip and you wince in reaction. “Fuck!” 

Day 5 

Your enthusiasm surely died down. Two days away from the first paper, you are feeling the tension in your shoulders, in the air, when you come across topics that you are unsure of. The ink runs out in your flimsy pen, the cheapest in Target, and your writing fades away into almost invincible marks on the paper, until you reluctantly switch for another. Consequently, you are feeling numbness in your head after reading, with pressure in temples. Faintness and migraine give you a ready-made and honest reason to excuse yourself from the books momentarily. A short walk to the water fountain or the upper floor toilet will do. 

It seems like deja vu all over again when you come back to the same paper cup but with a different note this time, ‘Wish you luck for whatever you’re struggling with :)’ Kinda creepy… not going to lie. The idea of someone watching you has the hair on your neck prickles. However the ever encouraging words compensate for your terror. 

Fifteen minutes prior to closing time, the librarian makes an announcement and requesting patrons to leave. The sun has already set, and the moon is slowly peeking in the darkened sky. That is when you realize you have been staying in for approximately eight hours.

You make your way out immediately, the drink from an anonymous individual in your hand left untouched and disappointingly you have to throw it away. 

“Hey!” 

Your hand stops in mid air, head turns to the rippling voice. A guy in gold rimmed glasses jogs over. With a closer look, he has a strikingly handsome face and you are left wondering what exactly did you associate with a fine man like him. 

“Glad I caught you,” he says, panting slightly. His eyes flitting nervously back and forth between you and the paper cup. “Do you… Do you not like hot drinks? I’ve got you hot chocolate this time since you weren’t drinking the coffee…” 

 “Oh.” So he is the secret delivery guy. 

There is an uneasy silence in the air. He rubs his collarbone and then the back of his neck, looking almost embarrassed. “I guess you don’t.” 

“No, no! That’s not it. I just- Don’t get me wrong. I don’t wish to catch myself heart attack cause I had two shots of coffee earlier.” Well, the pounding of your heart should be stopped by now but it does not seem to. Weird. “And this… hot chocolate?” You pause for confirmation and is rewarded with a nod. “Is kinda too sweet to my liking and it’s not such a great idea to get jazzed when I’m wracking my brain.” 

He chuckles, mumbling coherently to himself that he has understood girls wrongly. Little did he know, you are no ordinary girl. You are a girl of determination; a girl of the new millennium. Sugary-sweet desserts work no effect, and you do not fawn upon pick up lines and impassioned gestures. You are too, too difficult to please.

“So…” You look everywhere except in his eyes, feeling awkward in the presence of this stranger, a hot stranger to be frank.

“I- I was asking if you wanna have… dinner with me?” Gulping so loudly he can hear himself, enough for you to hear it too, and you can see his Adam’s apple moving rapidly. 

“Sorry… I’m going back now, though…” And have yourself a bowl of bland oatmeal with fresh-cut fruits. Now, however, your stomach grumbles on cue, reminding you that you have not been eating since morning. 

He chuckles again, a pleasant throaty sound, and humiliation nips your skin like sand fleas. “Let’s go. I believe it can’t wait.” 

This is just odd. What has gotten into you to come into agreement with someone you have known for less than an hour. Anyone else will figure you are a pair of couple just by walking together shoulder to shoulder, and if anyone among your circle of friends were to find out, they are definitely going to be nosy about it.

“Hey, I may be strange, but not weird! There’s a difference.” Jaehyun is his name, and he sure has the balls of steel. Let us put it that way. That is cause the guys in your classes are incomparable, they get intimidated by you while he does not even flinch in the face of the wolf (for some reason they gave you the nickname). 

As much as you hate to admit it, the more time you spend with him, the more you enjoy his company, his wit, and his willingness to discuss anything—whether it be politics, Ironman versus Captain America, or Joji’s latest track. He is courteous, ambitious, and attractive, and he can dance with the best of them. Most of all, he does not seem to mind your independent ways of thinking. 

“Are you going now?” He is probably pushing his luck, since he certainly does not want you to leave just yet, but he has to ask. 

“I am.” You can swear you see disappointment flickers in his eyes and if you are not mistaken, his bottom lip sticking out slightly in a pout. But it is gone so fast when, “I can stay for… a bit longer.” 

“Great. Follow me.” 

Without another word, he turns and stalks up the stairs. On the third floor landing, he stops and looks back to make sure you are still following closely behind. An amused smile emerges as he watches you panting breaths, and a blush blooms like hothouse roses in your cheeks. Past the hall and into the narrow passage, thence leading to what you assume is the back door which he has already broke open with a flexible plastic ruler. Flipping the light switch, turning on the lights, illuminating the space, and you come to realize it is the abandoned classroom where you attended tutorials for Business Communication last semester. 

“We could’ve taken the elevator!” 

“It won’t be fun then.” 

“You mean, it won’t be fun if you don’t have me to laugh at.” 

“Besides, nobody saw us. We can’t be seen in here.”  

He proceeds to scramble around like he has done it before, maybe not a lot, but a few times at least. He connects his phone to the stereo system and soft, soothing music drifts lazily on the air from hidden speakers. He then joins you at the table, sitting beside you, closer than your very first meeting. 

“I didn’t know this was possible until now.” 

“Oh, they’re a lot I haven’t shown you yet,” he says, wriggling his eyebrows lasciviously and giving you a cocky grin. You just have to have a pep talk with yourself that if Jaehyun is not hinting something else—you can imagine. 

“Do you always bring people here?”

“What do you mean?”

You shrug your shoulders, turning sideways and lean against the chair back with him mirroring your posture. “You know… Girls… Is this how you impress them with your lockpicking skills?”

“Are you, perhaps, a wee bit jealous?”

You scoff at such a ridiculous prospect. In fact, you might get salty if you figure you are just one of the chicks he brought over this place. You are not going to fall for him and his antiques like the stupid bitch they are. 

“No. I never bring women here. I don’t bring anyone here. You’re a first.” 

Your interested gaze transfers to him. “You don’t?”

He shakes his head. 

“But… why?” 

“Policy.” He glances at you, sees you frowning and says, “Don’t worry about it, okay?” 

Yet for long the study session is either neglected or long been buried and forgotten, the mood of the times is a very different one. You continue to talk, and really got to know each other well, not romantically but just as good friends. Suddenly your conversation is broken with the sound of keys jingling, followed by a quick turn of the knob coming from the far side of the corridor. 

It is the security guard patrol. 

Immediately you scutter about the classroom, switching off all the lights, locking the door while he runs to unplug his phone, making sure to return the place to its original state. You find yourselves under the table and stealing glances out of the small window and the crack beneath the door until it passes. 

Though the guard has already left, it does not seem as if Jaehyun has any intention of moving an inch. He is too close—so close you can smell the musk of his cologne, and he smells so damn good. He is too close—so close you can feel the heat of him, and your backside is all but paralyzed from the uncomfortable position. It is dark, but you can still make out the twinkle in his eyes. The tall guy seems fascinated by you, looking you up and down, then openly studying your face. 

The thought must have form in both your minds at the same time because your eyes flutter shut as he leans forward, kissing you gently on the lips. A deep, lingering kiss that have you wanting more. This kiss is so soft that it’s like a memory of a kiss, so careful on your lips that it is like someone running his fingers along them. Slowly, gently, the tip of his tongue traces your mouth, outlining your lips with exquisite, excruciating care. A growl of pleasure escapes him when you part your lips in welcoming at the first prod of his tongue. The lemon drop he had before adding flavor to a kiss that is already the sweetest of your life. 

One of his hands settle at your waist, the other cups the side of your throat. His thumb slides beneath the neckline of your jacket to stroke the hollow beneath your collarbone. On a soft moan, you plunge into the mindless whirl of your senses and allow yourself to feel. Just feel. For the first time in your life, you finally understand that one kiss can helplessly seduce. And if your heart has not been racing earlier, it now goes into overdrive, hammering against your chest.

Jaehyun knows he should not be kissing you. He has told himself he cannot let it happen so soon. But something about you calls to him. Every rational thought vanishes as he gives in to the sensations rampaging out of control. He holds you close, relishing the feel of your breasts crushed against his chest. Sliding his hand down your back to where your skirt has ridden up, pushing his hand beneath the fabric, gliding it up your thigh. A firm squeeze on the curve of your flesh making you yelp and jolt. The loud collision when you banged your head against the desk above bringing you both to your senses. 

“Shit, sorry.” He is breathing hard, his eyes fierce with arousal, his lips red and moist and a little swollen from that hard kiss. You believe yours appear just the same as well. 

Deep in the foggy recesses of your mind, Jaehyun has crawled from under the table and turned away with downcast eyes as he seemingly adjusting the sudden tightness in his pants. 

What just happened? 

“Are you coming out, or not?” He offers his hand, you blink before sliding your shaking one around his. 

Talk about awkward. His shirt is a wrinkled mass from your gripping fingers, your hair swept to the side still you can feel his delicate touch on your skin, both your faces flushed a luscious crimson from the passionate moment.

“I- I should get going…” You nervously clear your throat. Actually, you are ashamed of yourself about it all. You have never thought of yourself as needy, thereto committing to the blind decision of having a hookup with an incredibly gorgeous man. God must have sent a guardian angel to knock out your head before it takes on another level.

However all these thoughts are gone when he says, “May I see you again?” 

“… Sure.”

“Tomorrow?” Boy, he sure is eager.

“Patience.” 

“Right, that’s why I said tomorrow. I want to see you again in another hour. But I’m willing to wait.” 

Has he always been this sweet and smooth? His words, eye contact, and all body gestures operate in the fashion of sweet talking and alluring you, to really basically falling for his suave, smooth ways. This has never been you. 

Unfortunately, the following days should not be possible because you have to keep your mind active and your sanity intact. 

“After finals?” 

He lets out a deep guttural groan. On a second thought, he wants to take back his words, he is not willing to wait for a week, let alone a day. He wants to greet you with a kiss on the back of your hand and a bouquet of fresh flowers, he wants to take you out for a proper date at an exclusive cafe, he wants to pay for the meals— The list goes on. 

“Right. After finals.”

[darkzeruda1214]

The anime improved her character

Now I want to clarify something before I start. 

I know the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom is heavy on the shipping, so I want to ask that most of you readers who are shippers to please put to that to the side for a moment. I’m not attacking any of your ships. I’m not saying they are inherently bad. Nor am I trying to put any shade on them. I’m solely focusing on the character as a whole.

I also understand that Anzu/Tea’s character is also a touchy subject considering the fandom’s mixed feelings about her. So I also want to ask to read this with an open mind. I’m not trying to change anyone’s perspective of her. I’m not trying to make you like her if you don’t. Or hate her if you do like her. I’m talking about my own opinion about her and what I felt about her. And you’re more than free to disagree with me, just like I have a right to talk about what I feel about her as well.

With that said here are my thoughts...

There’s one more thing I want to clarify before we start. 

I will be addressing Anzu’s character in three perspectives.

You have her manga counterpart.

Her Japanese anime counterpart

And her 4kids version. 

I will not be including her game counterparts by Konami. Nor will I talk about her movies versions either. Because Pyramid of Light isn’t essentially part of the main story as a whole.  And Dark side of Dimensions takes place after all the main Yu-Gi-Oh! events. And while yes the movie does take place in the manga universe. It’s still many years after the release of the books.  

Now… with that said let’s officially start.

As someone whose been both watching the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and reading the manga there’s a number of things I’ve seen be changed in both versions. Besides the larger obvious changes, (such as duels, plot points, etc.) there were some smaller ones that I noticed when I reread the manga.

And thus we get to Anzu’s character as a whole.

And as the picture says.

Anzu’s manga incarnation is my least favorite of the three versions.

Now, I really do like Anzu as a character. I don’t hate her. But I’m not going to lie that I used to be one of those people who would bash on her simply because she existed. But looking back on that I found just how unfair and bias that was.  Then I got to take a closer look at her character and I found, that her manga incarnation (to me) has to be her worst version mostly because of how she behaves in it.

Now no hate to Kazuki Takahashi, but Ima be frank, the only female character that I thought was well-written was Mai, and Ishizu to an extent. The rest… well could use some work. More particularly Anzu, now I do understand considering the manga was first published in 1996. In a time where women’s roles were a bit different then how it is today.

I’m no expert on Japanese customs, and how women are and were treated. But I do know there is a difference in Japanese culture and Western culture. Especially with woman empowerment in the recent years.

Now beyond that small detail, I already came clean that manga!Anzu wasn’t exactly a favorite. I’m not saying she was all that bad, as she clearly has her good points but I think what made her bland and off-setting is how she reacts to certain situations.

Warning: I’m heading into romantic territory.

I think more of less her crush on Yami Yugi/Atem. More specifically during the time they went to the water park. What seriously made me ticked off about Anzu was that she intentionally put herself in danger in order to see “cool other Yugi” in action.

And that’s one thing that bothered me a lot. Because the reason she even got a crush on Atem is mostly because he saved her from being shot. Which isn’t inherently bad. But you think she could be more concerned about the fact that the guy died. By being lit. On. Fire.

Who had been sitting right next to her I might add.

Granted she was blind folded, but you think that a person who bets her life wouldn’t be playing games by using fingers. (Granted Atem’s intelligence is off the charts when it comes to playing games). She should be scared shitless of the “mysterious” person and for her life. But still she falls in love with a stranger who DIRECTLY caused a criminal to be lit the guy on fire. I can understand that she falls in love with him because he saved her life. But if setting up a trap so a person can be lit on fire willingly doesn’t scream a manipulative psychopath, then I don’t know what to call them then.

Now going away from that fact, I think another thing that really bothered me is just how distinctly she cares little for everything else when dealing with Atem and her not so secret crush on him. And that would always involve little-miss-friendship one way or another to cast Yugi aside, just so she can spend some time with Atem. And to me that was just irksome. (So much for being childhood friends)

Something else that tends to grind my gears has to be the fact that she always, somehow is the victim of being captured and being used as a ransom or cause troubles for the whole gang. (Not to say that the anime hasn’t done this, it’s just not as much as it was in the manga).

Though, I won’t deny it must suck being the only girl. Especially during that “don’t make a sound” trial in the Death-T arc.

Now the reason why I prefer her anime counterparts compared to her manga version, is mostly because they were able to add more to her character beyond the basics. As well as tone down some of her negatives to something that sounds realistic and what a normal teenage girl could have.  

Now I’m not saying that her anime version hasn’t done wrongs. As at times she would get frustrated over nothing. And her jealousy rivalry with Rebecca can get out of hand and just straight out made for the basis of comedy. But to me that’s still miles better than her manga counterpart (especially in the earlier works).  

But if I had to be honest, I think her Season 0 counterpart, as well as her 4kids version were my favorite incarnations of her.

Yes, even her 4kids version. Friendship jokes aside they able to give her a less annoying personality. (And the fact that they got a voice actor that didn’t try to sound like a stereotype cute anime school girl) And whether you like Tea/Anzu or not, she does have a spunky personality, which is a lot more evident in both Season 0 and her 4kids counterpart. This gal is the embodiment of friendship goals!

She’s a friend who will always have your back and is willing to go through thick and thin. Not to mention if you’re feeling down she will try to find a way to lift your spirits. If not listen to your problems and comfort you.

Say what you want, but if she were real. I would like to have her as a best friend. And just in general, going back to her Season 0 counterpart, (as many consider to be her best version) and quite frankly I agree, and I think what made her such a good character in it, is that some of Anzu’s lesser great moments were given to Miho. Who has a cute and scatterbrain personality, not only did it give Miho personality, she was usually enjoyable to see on screen. Sometimes she was annoying, but not to the point were it was overbearing. And it meshed pretty well with those faults and still make her joy to watch on screen. Because of this we got to focus on more of Anzu’s stronger traits, and be a supporting independent character. For instance, the chono-sensei episode, where Anzu stood up for a class mate because her love letter was going to be revealed to the whole class as punishment.

Or starting a petitions to give students a chance to get a job while they’re in school. Or the fortune teller scene, where she reveals that she doesn’t believe in fortune telling and that she can shape her own future because she makes it happen by her choices and will.

I think more or less I think some of my more favorite changes has to be these two scenes.

Like this one:

changing to this:

These two are from the Season 0 and first manga volumes. The differences being instead of Anzu being the turned into a toy first, it’s Miho and later on Anzu joins, but out of her free will to fight along side her friends.

...

Then there’s this one, it changes from: 

To this:

The second comparison is from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist vol. Where she’s being controlled by Marik and would be forced to swallow a poisoned capsule if Yugi doesn’t duel a controlled Jounouchi/Joey

And the second one being that she’s strapped down to a chair and instead of being poisoned she will instead be crushed under a large metal crate. This allows Marik to release his control on her, since she’s locked. Which then allows her to watch the duel.

Being free of Marik’s control she’s able to tell Kaiba and Mokuba this:

And to me that makes a huge difference because it shows how much of strong and caring character she is. She’s willing to die for her friends so that they don’t have to.

(Though to be fair in the original manga she probably would do the same if she was in control). But I think that small change grow and expands her character even more.

And to me, I simply just prefer her anime counterpart in comparison to her manga version. I sincerely believe that both animes fixed what made her a bit intolerable in the manga. At least to me that’s what I feel

Feel free to disagree, but I’m sticking firm to mine. 

[thesinglesjukebox]

ARIANA GRANDE, MILEY CYRUS & LANA DEL REY - DON'T CALL ME ANGEL

[3.69]

"Independent Women Part III: No Throttle"...

Josh Buck: Absolutely not. [2]

Katie Gill: "Don't Call Me Angel" is a fun piece of movie credits music. There's nothing special here, but it's a jam of a song that would fit perfectly well in the already established oeuvre of middle-of-the-road yet totally serviceable movie tie-in songs. Two of the singers know exactly what sort of song they're in and give it the sultry, radio-friendly, sexy spin the song needs. The third is Lana Del Rey and her inclusion BAFFLES me. This is so far out of her wheelhouse that it's hilarious. Seriously, was Selena Gomez busy or something? The music video for Demi Lovato's "Confident" was practically an audition piece for this type of thing, why the heck isn't she here? [6]

Thomas Inskeep: Ariana does some Grande karaoke, Miley sounds like she'd rather be singing "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," and Lana teleports in to do another take on her breathy schtick (and brings the song to a screeching halt in the process) -- nothing about this, apart from (I imagine) someone's discussion of market share, makes any sense. There's no cohesion here. There's barely even a song. [2]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: So, so, so cringeworthy. Ariana, Miley and Lana sound like reality music TV contestants who were forced to make a song together one week, couldn't get on the same page and ran out of time to rehearse, but had to release something anyways. Ariana is awkward and lonely on the hook, like she's waiting for help that never comes; Miley comes out of nowhere with a cloying shouted verse; and Lana is off in another world mumbling incomprehensible nonsense. Even the backing track has a nervous manic energy. If you want a good song about Charli(e)'s angels, just listen to this instead. [3]

Michael Hong: In high school, I worked on a group project where the only times we met up were when we decided upon a topic and to actually present the whole piece. Rather expectedly, the whole thing fell apart rather quickly and it was a completely embarrassing experience. "Don't Call Me Angel," gives off the same vibe, like Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey were each given only the title and asked to write something vaguely empowering for women. Each artist sounds like they wrote for a different track and made absolutely no effort to meld styles, instead forcing the producers to try and mash the entire thing together. Even the chorus buries Miley and Lana completely beneath Ariana, perhaps rather wisely as I can't see the group's vocal tones meshing together very well. "Don't Call Me Angel" survives only through the one thing my group never had, natural charisma. [3]

Alex Clifton: How did Ari, Miley and Lana end up in this? I guess it echoes the three Charlie's Angels but this trio doesn't make sense. I can see how individual duets would've worked; Ari and Lana could've done something slow and spacy, Ari and Miley taking a more upbeat route, Lana and Miley singing something retro. This, sadly, doesn't play to anyone's strengths and just ends up being overproduced mush with a decent riff. If I had to pick any artist who could make this song make sense, it would be Rihanna, and the music video would be her in thirteen different outfits kicking ass. [3]

Joshua Copperman: I didn't realize how dated the Max Martin sound was until hearing "Don't Call Me Angel." Pop music is now either created with substance(s) or has substance thrust upon it. Meanwhile, the lyrics are clunkier than ever, "you know we fly/but don't call me angel" no longer endearing melodic math but shallow feminist lip service at a time when "if you feel like a girl/then you real like a girl" can sneak onto a major label record. It's the first time I can't listen to a Martin production without thinking of this unexpectedly poignant stand-up segment about Martin and Cosmopolitan. When the tropical house is so bland, further lyrics stick out more; Miley's pre-chorus ("Do I really need to say it/Do I need to say it again") is lazy, and Ari's vampire metaphors are just baffling. Lana comes out strongest, someone who seldom charts but has more cultural relevance than the former and is much hipper than the latter. Her verse is classy when Ari is unmemorable and Miley cribs from a Rihanna album reject from four years ago. "Angel", though, feels like a reject from 2013, when Miley was in her imperial phase and Ari was just breaking out from Nickelodeon -- in fact, it probably would have had Rihanna instead of Lana at that time. But no matter what trio, one thing is clear: with this lemon, you cannot make Marmalade. [3]

Katherine St Asaph: Remember, "Independent Women Part I" stopped the otherwise great song dead on the bridge to announce it was commissioned for CHARLIE'S AAAAAAANGELS, so "Don't Call Me Angel" earns points already for not doing that. It keeps its product placement to outside context, namely the fact that the song exists despite the three artists having little in common besides having stanbases and sniping at critics. The disparate styles can work together -- see the "Lady Marmalade" remake, unfairly maligned except by a few -- but here there are only anti-synergies. Miley's verse can't decide if she wants to be the track's Mya or the Pink (probably the better idea), but its bluntness also best fits the backing track. Ariana's sighed, harmonized "angel" is a great millennial R&B hook, but one that outside of an R&B song is starved for air. Lana's bridge, though a complete non-sequitur and only empowering if you squint, is also the most sonically charged thing she's done in ages; if there isn't a reason Lana Del Rey hasn't worked with Max Martin beyond "Lust for Life" (I suspect that there is), that wouldn't be the worst career direction. Everyone's part diminishes everyone else's, the exact opposite of what you need from an event single or a Charlie's Angels shine-theory ad. [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Every big pop collab feels a little unnecessary -- pop stars work based on the idea that they're the center of the universe, and collaborations by their very nature make that seem silly. But this sounds really, really unnecessary. Two artists coming off career highs (and one coming off of "Cattitude") should at least drive some head-to-head comparison, but none of the three credited artists interact in any meaningful way. It's the Batman V. Superman of pop music -- conflict and chemistry built mostly on reputation rather than action, with nothing to defend unless you're an unabashed stan. [2]

Joshua Lu: In which Lana Del Rey learns that her reward for releasing her magnum opus is the opportunity to limp through a thank u, next reject. Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus's voices already feel unbalanced, but Lana's mushy croons are so inapposite that they grind the song to a halt. [3]

Scott Mildenhall: It rattles along satisfyingly, but this never leaves the marks that the intermittent brass punctuation seems to signify. None of that is aided by how Del Rey, unbending in her lack of persona, has to be deployed in the manner of a guest rapper, wheeled on and off through a side door. The inability to sound at home with her collaborators in the way they do with each other is one thing, but the inability to sound anything other than lifeless in the face of them is another, and that's the precise opposite of what's called for. [6]

Will Adams: As out of place as she may seem on paper, Lana's bridge is the only point where the song becomes interesting: the key dips even more minor, and the arrangement has tangible cinematic sweep. The rest is a cluttered shamble of an Ariana Grande album cut, with her and Cyrus trading off lines with all the dubious empowerment of a Barb Wire quote. [4]

Jackie Powell: All right folks get ready for a sports metaphor, because it's coming. Ariana Grande is a bit of a ball hog on this track. What she doesn't seem to understand is if you are going to lead your team, you've got to provide the proper assist to each of your teammates. To me, saving Del Rey until the two-minute mark supports the idea that these "angels" aren't really meant to work together. I thought the purpose of this was to present a team of strong women looking to take on the world via a song that preaches empowerment for this new wave of both feminism and Charlie's Angels films. Where a point guard should pass the ball and set up her teammates on the wings (no pun intended) and under the rim, Grande instead takes all of the shots. When the mic is pointed toward Cyrus after Grande's opening hook, though, she shoots with simultaneous finesse and power, letting her head voice mix well with the potent sound in her chest. If I was reviewing the visual made to accompany "Don't Call Me Angel," Hannah Lux Davis' treatment would receive a [10]. Grande, Cyrus and Del Rey all exude a mystique, ooze sex and expel power. For a Charlie's Angels theme song, that's right on the money. But what confuses me lyrically is how the hook clearly communicates the theme, even nodding to Destiny's Child, but the verses, bar maybe Cyrus', are underwhelming. The clock-tower cowbell loop that runs through and through grabs my attention, but I think Kristen Stewart could write better poetry. [6]

[Read and comment on The Singles Jukebox]

[english-ext-2]

Viva Voce (NEW)

Please note exact requirements will vary across schools, and all analysis here is based on the sample assessment/support material from the NESA website 

The Viva Voce is the first formal assessment task, worth 30% of your internal mark. It’s the only assessment carried over from the old course, so some of the information here is recycled from my original post. 

The Viva is a 15-20 minute panel interview where you present your Major Work to your teachers and respond to their questions. It’s basically “selling” your MW and its concept: “hey, look at how great my idea is! This is the form it’ll take, here’s the research I’ve done so far, and this is how I intend to carry it out.” You will also need to submit your Major Work Journal for review. 

According to the sample assessment material on the NESA website, the presentation could include the following:

A thorough explanation of the purpose, audience, context and form of your Major Work

Acknowledgement of the sources you have used in developing the proposal and inquiry question

An outline of your plan to complete the Major Work project including a timeline

References to your journal to assist in explaining choices made and research completed.

Before I unpack the above, I want to briefly address concept. You obviously need to explain to the panel what your MW is about, but concept also underpins your understanding of purpose, audience, context and form. I have other detailed posts on developing a concept, but for our purposes here I just wanted to highlight concept as key to how you explain everything else required of you in the Viva. 

Explanation of purpose, audience, context and form (+ concept) of your MW

While it’s important to explain each of these individually, it’s just as (if not more) important to link them together.  

Purpose: Basically what you’ve set out to do with your MW. At this stage, it should not be something bland like “I aim to entertain my audience” or “I want to make people think”. Literally anybody could say that about their major. What is it that you want your MW to do specifically? What is the “conceptual purpose” of your MW, if you will. You might like to start out brainstorming a list of verbs, or thinking about the messages/themes you want to explore in your major.   

Audience: Who is your Major Work intended for? Which group of people will respond to your major in the way you want them to? Again, broad answers along the lines of “the general public”, “high school students”, or “young people” won’t cut it. You need to delve a little deeper. Running with the last two examples, it’d be more “high school students who are highly active on social media” or “young people frustrated with their experience of the political system”. Specificity! It’s your friend.  

Context: To quote the NESA glossary, context is “the range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.” Replace “text” with “major work”, focus on “composed”, and you’ve got the gist. You need to be aware of your context (how your MW links to Advanced and Extension, for example) AND situate your MW in its context, e.g. a critical response on female journalists in WWII would require some knowledge of wartime reporting, government propaganda, censorship, attitudes towards women in journalism, etc.  

Form: Most obviously, what is your form? And why have you chosen it? I’m not sure as to how detailed an answer teachers expect from the second question, but you should have some idea beyond “I like it.” This is where tying form to the other elements becomes important. What makes your form the most appropriate for your concept, purpose, and audience? 

Putting it all together

Running through every permutation of purpose, audience, context and form would take far too long, so I’m going to limit this section to the relationships I personally find to be the most important. Please note that I’ve chosen to pair the elements for simplicity’s sake, but they all feed back into and overlap with one another.  

Form and audience

Let’s say your major is a short story. Your intended audience would obviously not be film critics or even people who enjoy watching films. In other words, your intended audience should be directly related to your chosen form.

But there should also be a consideration of how your concept factors in: for example, why did you choose poetry to explore environmental activism on climate change? It could be because poetry is a strongly emotive form, and climate change is an issue that rouses great passion in your intended audience of green activists seeking new, culturally relevant ways to express their concerns around the consequences of failure to act on this issue.

(Btw there’s no shame in saying that you chose a form because it means a great deal to you personally! Familiarity with and fondness for a particular form is a perfectly legit reason to choose it. Just that it can’t be the only reason.) 

(I pulled that poetry/climate change example from thin air, but turns out it’s a real thing.)

Audience and purpose

Your understanding of one is shaped by the other, the why of your MW informing the who and vice versa. Just as you wouldn’t buy someone a gift you know they’ll absolutely hate, you wouldn’t create a MW for an audience unlikely to appreciate it.

Say your major aims to deconstruct the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope in science fiction film and encourage change in the way women are represented in this genre. Film critics and/or cultural studies academics might be interested, but they’re not in the best position to push for change. A better fit would be, say, directors and producers working in the sci-fi genre who are interested in subversive or transformative gender narratives.

Form obviously plays a part here too, since you may have decided a podcast is the best way to reach your affluent and online audience.     

Form and purpose

Why is your form best suited to doing the thing you want your MW to do? Or to quote from the NESA description of the Major Work: “The form of the Major Work must be chosen deliberately to contribute to the authenticity, originality and overall conceptual purpose of the work.”

To go with my sci-fi example from above, deconstructions of popular tropes are very well-suited to critical responses (and academic audiences). But as I noted, the purpose of encouraging change in the film industry demands a more visible platform that you’d get with a podcast. If, however, you were more interested in deconstruction-through-satire, a short story or short film would be the better choice.

Acknowledgement of the sources you have used in developing the proposal and inquiry question

It should be self-evident, but bears spelling out in full: cite specific sources. “I read an interesting article online” isn’t as strong as “I read an Atlantic article about how teenagers use Instagram to debate the news, which informed my thinking about the ability of social media to polarise, and the evolution of news consumption among young people.” Let the extent of your independent investigation shine! Show off the knowledge you’ve accumulated! Own your research, basically. (Also ironic in that you’re acknowledging other people’s work, but you get what I mean.)

It wouldn’t hurt to link those specific sources to your proposal and inquiry question. I don’t know how thoroughly you’ll be expected to explain those links, but something like the following would be a decent example: “This Atlantic article helped to narrow the scope of my inquiry question about the impact of social media on news-gathering behaviour to young people, instead of everyone.” The key thing is to at least mention various sources and show the teachers you’ve actually been doing relevant research.

Action plan outline, including timeline

Hint: structure your plan in relation to the composition process. Obviously, the particulars are going to be specific to your major. But be realistic in your planning. Try to strike a balance between micromanagement and no time management at all: while you don’t strictly need to break the entire EE2 course up into minuscule steps like “week two: write the opening scene”, it’s also not helpful to say you’ll tackle the entire investigating stage in January. To reiterate: the points under each stage of the composition process provide a good guide for your action plan.

Be aware of your own and others’ limits too! If you know you’re a serial procrastinator, can you really crank out a first draft in three weeks? Will you be able to secure feedback from your learning community in the week before an assessment block? You also need to account for any other Major Works you’ve got and remember the workload from your other subjects. How will you fit EE2 around them? There’s nothing wrong in keeping your timeline tight, a kind of platonic ideal to which you aspire, but it shouldn’t be so unrealistic as to be impossible.  

I say it in my guide to the composition process, but remember that your action plan will likely change throughout the year. Life happens! Something might happen in your personal life; you could come down with the flu; maybe a friend is late in getting their feedback to you, and you find yourself falling behind schedule. It’s not the end of the world. You can adjust your action plan as you go - working around obstacles is part and parcel of EE2.  

References to your journal to assist in explaining choices made and research completed

You should be able to point to specific entries in your journal to explain why you made a decision, which is a good time to remind you to keep your journal up to date!! Back-filling entries is a pain but also procedurally unsound, since you can’t return to your state of mind and exact train of thought when you made a decision.

Preparing for the Viva

You’ll be given the questions 15 minutes beforehand, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare. Make sure you are familiar with and prepared to discuss your major’s concept, form, purpose, audience and context (particularly links to Advanced and Extension coursework).

If you’re still in doubt, the old English Extension 2 Support Document includes a handy list of starting questions, a sample of which I’ve copied below:

Concept

What concept have you developed for your Major Work? Describe it.

Why are you interested in this concept?

What are your sources of inspiration?

How is your concept an extension of the knowledge, understanding and skills developed in English (Advanced) and (Extension) courses?

Purpose

What are you aiming to achieve during the Extension 2 course?

How are you planning to achieve this purpose?

Form

Have you decided on the form in which you would like to compose?

Why have you chosen this particular form?

Intended Audience

Who is the target audience of your work and why?

The questions you answer in the Viva will be different and/or tailored to your MW specifically, but the list above broadly covers the things you’ll be asked. You don’t need to write an entire essay in response to each question; dot points are fine. The Viva is not a speech, so your language doesn’t need to be as formal.  

Practice, practice, practice

If you’re worried or anxious about fronting up before a panel, I recommend doing a practice run with a close friend. Grab your notes, MW journal, a stopwatch, and someone you trust, then get them to pitch you the list of questions you’ve prepared for. Use the stopwatch to keep yourself within 15-20 minutes. Practicing will build your confidence and familiarity with your notes, as well as help you cut down on any waffle you might be inclined to.    

During the Viva

The preparation is one thing, communicating what you’ve prepared to the panel is another. Of course, a lot depends on who the teachers are, how comfortable you are with them, your own confidence levels, etc. I can’t really help you there. All I can suggest is that you try to convey your interest and enthusiasm to the panel. It’s your project, and you want it to succeed. Channel some of that passion into the way you present your MW. You’re pretty much stopping short of grabbing each teacher by their lapels and yelling LOOK AT THIS FANTASTIC IDEA I HAVE.

The teachers will ask you questions related specifically to your MW, ones which are spontaneous and based on their understanding of your MW as you’ve presented it to them in the Viva. Again, try not to stress. The teachers are not looking for ways to trip you up, they’re helping you to think about the direction your MW could take. One of the most important things you’ll learn from the EE2 course that isn’t mentioned in the learning outcomes is taking criticism. It’s about being able to accept (reasonable) critique of your work and striving to improve those areas, as well as exercising control over your creative process, i.e. not taking absolutely every single suggestion put forward unless you truly believe they’ll all benefit you.    

Post-Viva

When you get your marks back there should be comments as well, like suggestions on what you could be reading, or questions that might help you orientate the direction of your MW. Take these on board, and discuss them with your English teacher(s) as soon as possible. The assessment tasks are certainly there to assess you, but they’re also ways to keep you on track and help you to make your MW better. (Keep in mind what I mentioned above about taking criticism/feedback.)

[websitestree383]

Dating App For Athletes

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COVID-19 UPDATE:

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As an athlete myself, let’s get the cons out of the way first and then, if you’re not totally put off by the idea of dating someone like me, you’ll get to see all the wonderful pros of dating one.

They have a tight schedule

Dating an athlete is inevitably difficult due to their tight schedules. So, if you’re used to being with them all the time and enjoy spending your days in bed with your partner, a sportsperson probably isn’t a good choice for you. A tight schedule also means that you’re unlikely to see them everyday, but hey, this way it becomes even more special when you do!

They will usually prioritize their sport over you

You may find yourself thinking “my girlfriend / boyfriend prioritizes sports over me”. With sports being the centre of most athletes lives, there’s a constant struggle of becoming the main priority in your boyfriend/girlfriend’s life. Dating an athlete with strong dedication usually means that they have to put their sport and training first, with everything else riding in the back seat. So, I wouldn’t personally recommend this to anyone who cannot deal with not being the #1 most important thing in their partners life. This can be tough when in a relationship with an athlete, as you can almost feel as if you’re not being valued, which sucks.

A strict diet usually means no alcohol or high-calorie foods

For all you foodies out there, dating an athlete is a big no-no unfortunately. Athletes are usually extremely dedicated in both the gym and in the kitchen. This means there will be no junk food, very little alcohol and more than likely a lot of bland foods and greens. I’d like to say that this is a positive thing about being a person competing in high-leveled sports, but I really can’t. Plainly put, it sucks.

Statistics have shown they are more likely to cheat

This is the biggest con of being in a relationship with a sportsperson. A study by The Independent showed that athletes who played certain sports have a higher chance of cheating, compared to the average joe. There have also been multiple cases where sportspersons have used their tight schedules as a way to hide their affairs/cheating. The sad fact is that sports-people are also more likely to cheat because they are usually relatively good looking and, therefore, just have the option and a bigger incentive to do so.

_______________________________________________

But keep reading,

we’re so close to the pros

of dating and athlete now!

_______________________________________________

Well, I will still drop a link here if you are interested in finding personality matching dates:Download CLiKD!

Athletes travel… A lot

Whether its for sporting tournaments, a simple league game or to access some new type of training, sportspersons are always on the move. Again, this links back to the overarching issue of dating an athlete. Time, or the lack of it. Travelling is both exhausting and takes up a lot of time. I’d personally recommend you give it a go, however, as the positives for dating an athlete are tremendous.

Now let’s get onto the pros of dating an athlete!

Again, usually they are in good shape and work hard to maintain their physique. A real blessing and a curse!

Have you always wanted to date the fittest and most attractive person you know? Chances are they’re a sportsperson (or just very lucky). So, there you go. The first positive of dating an athlete is that the physical attraction you feel towards one another is likely to remain.

Traditionally athletes are confident and outgoing

Being an sportsperson often forces a person to become confident, because you’re constantly competing, and competition grows confidence. This is definitely something you will want in your girlfriend/boyfriend. Insecurity is not a good look on anyone; as well as the simple fact that confidence is an attractive personality trait to have. Personally, I have found that dating an athlete results in their confidence and positivity rubbing off on their partner. Sportspersons are often good leaders, because of the responsibility that sports places upon you.

_______________________________________________

For all the women reading this,

you’ll never have to worry about

whether or not your

boyfriend is manly enough!

_______________________________________________

Dating App For College Athletes

You will get into shape!

In order to make time for each other when dating an athlete, you can try and go to the gym together. You might have heard the saying, “If you sweat together, you stay together.”

_______________________________________________

“If you sweat together,

you stay together.”

_______________________________________________

This way, you can both spend time getting to know each other better. Plus you’re able to get fit while doing so ( you basically get a free personal trainer this way!) This is a major perk of dating an athlete. You will also most likely feel pressured into eating healthier, as to not be embarrassed when they pull out their thorough meal plan. Though now that I’m reading this last point, I’m starting to see it as a negative… Moving quickly on!

Athletes are always competing, and are therefore ambitious and driven

When I used to list the things I was looking for in a potential partner, the most important thing I wanted was for them to be ambitious and to love travelling. When dating an athlete, you get both of these. I’m sure you agree that people who are driven foster good relationships. It isn’t easy to maintain and develop a relationship, but at least you stand a chance if you’re attempting it with someone who is willing to reciprocate the effort you put in.

Free tickets to their sports games

This one seems relatively self-explanatory. Free tickets for you and your friends to go watch them compete! Plus, maybe you can set your friends up with a teammate this way. This is simply one of the many perks of dating an athlete! What more could you want?

Dating App For Athletes

By Lars Engen

[fae-fucker]

Zenith: Chapter 5

Andi turned on her com. “Breck, Gilly .” The permanent lens in her eye, activated by a light tap to her temple, allowed her to patch into another crew member’s visual feed.

So ... There was no indication of Gilly or Breck allowing this connection, meaning that Andi can just ... randomly watch her crew members take a piss in first person if she wishes to, I guess? How exactly does this work? Are they even alerted when this happens, or can she just creep on them? Can they do it to her or is this tied to rank?

This also sounds like an extremely intrusive surgery that would probably require altering your actual brain in one way or another, but it’s waved away as “an expensive visit to [a] shady doctor.” Who in their right mind would trust a shady doctor to do this to them?

Alright. Whatever. This is soft sci-fi, so I guess I don’t care too much.

Andi orders them to shoot the smaller ships and somehow take out both at once.

Gilly answered with a giggle sharp as a knife. “Done.”

Bad.

An old spacesuit floated past the window to her right, and Andi hoped a corpse wasn’t still inside.

... Why would you hope that? How could you possibly hope that? Does she think the corpse just ... vanished? Does she think the person was sucked out through a tiny hole like some sort of corpse-juice? The chances of a corpse NOT being there are lower because they’re in space, where not even bacteria would help with the decomposition.

What the fuck am I reading ...

Update: An old spacesuit floated past the window to her right. Andi wondered if a corpse was still inside and shivered slightly.

Why did they change this ... The meaning is pretty much the same.

Death was Andi’s closest friend, a little demon that whispered in her ear on dark nights. And here in this wasteland, a graveyard where many had met their demise, death felt closer than ever.

A massive, hulking rock appeared ahead of them, easily the largest asteroid in the belt.

“Lira,” Andi said, a plan brewing in her mind as she pointed at the asteroid, “circle us around that thing.”

“Circling will slow us down.” Lira cocked her head, her blue skin stained with flashes of white as the single star in the distance came into view.

1) How do you just know it’s the largest asteroid in the belt? Have you seen every rock in the belt? You know those can be the size of a small planet, yes?

2) So if circling would slow them down ... what exactly was Lira planning to do? I mean, I guess death by asteroid collision would be quick, but surely not ideal.

3) WE KNOW SHE’S BLUE.

Update: The comment about Lira’s blueness has been changed and is no longer there, thank fike.

Anyway, apparently they’re doing this so that the bigger ship will slow down and the smaller ones will get ahead so that the Marauder will get a clearer shot.

What was the plan? Even if the two seekers Explorers caught them and tried to dock, with ships that small, they wouldn’t be able to haul the Marauder across the skies.

Well, presumably the “Tracker” isn’t out of the fight, you fucking idiot, it’s still following, just slower. They take you down quick, then -- because you can’t flee -- they just wait for the Tracker to catch up before they dock.

I swear to god ...

They shoot the seeker Explorer ships and of course they get both in one shot because whatever, except this time Andi feels bad about it, I guess?

Andi stared at the Explorer ships on the rear-cam, thinking of the men and women inside. Knowing that here and now, they were facing their final moments. She felt a flash of pity for them, the pang of regret Andi always felt before she took a life.

Uh. What’s the point of this? She can’t both be the Bloody Baroness, biggest badass in the galaxy, ruthless murderess extraordinaire, and try to squeeze sympathy points out of the reader. Because you can’t commit to one or the other, Shinsay, your character ends up being a pointless nothing, too fucking bland to have a personality. 

The Marauder whined as the blast knocked it off course, as if the dying ships had laind bleeding hands on them and shoved.

So here we have another indication that the Marauder is pretty but completely useless. The fact that it gets knocked off course implies that it’s light, which in combination with the extra shielding needed, means that the glass it’s made out of is light but fragile as fuck. Which makes no fucking sense considering that it’s established to be impenetrable.

“Take us to the center of the Belt. Bigger asteroids.”

Bigger than the one you just said was the biggest one in the belt?

Lira caught on. “We can lose them there, and fly out the backside, hide somewhere on Solera.”

Why are you catching on just now? Wasn’t this your plan? What the fuck is happening?

“Fuel?” Lira spat a wad of Chew into her mug. “Low. But we can make it. We just lost a lot of weight from that ammo.”

*spittakes*

NOW HOLD ON A MOMENT.

ARE YOU TELLING ME ... THAT THIS SHIP IS SO LIGHT, AND SO BADLY DESIGNED, THAT ITS SPEED IS DEPENDENT ON ITS WEIGHT, AND THE AMMO FOR YOUR GUNS IS SO HEAVY, THAT FIRING YOUR GUNS ACTUALLY MAKES YOUR SHIP FASTER OR MAKES IT USE LESS FUEL?

WHO DESIGNED THIS SHIP? A BUNCH OF GIBBONS?! IS IT MADE OF FUCKING TINFOIL AND POWERED BY WISHES AND FARTS?!

Breck and Gilly’s voices shouted into the com, and somewhere, down in the pit of Andi’s dark soul, she knew she’d missed something.

DOWN IN THE PIT OF ANDI’S DARK SOUL

I’m crying.

Seven ships waited for them, uncloaking themselves, materializing before her, like eyes in the darkness.

WHY !! WOULD YOU !! UNCLOAK!!

You could argue that once the proximity alarms went off, there was no reason to be cloaked, but the enemy ships DON’T KNOW THAT. Andi needed clear visuals on the ships themselves to be able to know when to shoot. If she can’t SEE the damn ships, she won’t be able to shoot them down.

This is just for the convenience of the protagonist, isn’t it?

The ship itself seemed to release a deep, rumbling sigh.

And then...darkness.

The only light came from Lira’s scales, glowing a bluish-purple in the dark.

Oh, Godstars.

Andi’s pale, glowing eyes were the only light inside the small space.

No.

They’d been hit by an EMP. Andi watched as Lira tried to repower the ship with the backup system but to no avail.

Everything went still and silent, as if the Marauder itself lost all life beneath them.

It seems that Shinsay is trying to compensate for removing that “Lira is blue” comment from earlier.

Also, this EMP is powerful enough to shut down a single, specific ship from a distance without damaging anything else in its pathway/area of effect, somehow, and Andi knows that this is a thing (and hasn’t tried to install anything to counteract it), yet still this is the first time they’ve been caught? 

I smell bullshit. It would’ve made more sense if Dex had hacked their controls somehow, since this used to be his ship after all. I don’t know how they managed to make things worse instead of better.

Oh fuck me, nevermind, there are countermeasures installed (those dumb metal shields). But you see, Dex’s EMP worked because it’s special. He kissed it and wrote his name on it and gave it a little love tap on the ass, I assume. 

This just ... keeps getting dumber.

Andi tries to go for the escape pods, but Lira tells her that when the ship is dead, the escape pods are, “logically,” also pretty dead. Which Andi should know, because she’s the captain of the ship, but WHATEVER.

How else do we get that info to the reader, right? Also, what?

WHAT KIND OF SHITTY ESCAPE PODS ARE THESE?!

SO WHAT, IF YOUR SHIP GETS BLASTED AND THE POWER SHUTS OFF, YOU’RE JUST STUCK THERE? ESCAPE PODS SHOULD HAVE THEIR OWN POWER SUPPLY, SEPARATE FROM THE SHIP ITSELF.

THAT’S THE POINT OF ESCAPE PODS, THEY WORK WHEN THE SHIP DOESN’T.

HOLY SHIT.

I would get if the EMP killed the escape pods, I guess, but here it’s framed as if the power of the escape pods depend on the power of the ship, which is just ... bad.

“I don’t want to be taken again,” Gilly whispered. Gone was the bloodthirsty little fairy. In its place was a frightened, tiny young girl.

Great. All this wank about how amazing and badass Gilly is, and now we get this garbo. Strong independent murderess until ONE THING goes wrong (which they should fucking expect as supposedly badass space pirates at this point), then it’s time to fucking crumble.

[Breck] whispered soothing words, but Andi didn’t hear them. She wasn’t listening.

Mm-hmm. We got that when you said she didn’t hear them.

Fear spiked through her, in and around, threatening to still freeze her, just like the ship. 

But she was the Bloody Baroness. She was the captain of the Marauder, the greatest starship in Mirabel, and she had a crew waiting on her word.

I can’t believe this book is still wanking on about how great the ship and Andi are when we just spent four chapters watching them fail and get captured.

I would say it’s Andi being an overconfident idiot, but I doubt Shinsay know what an unreliable narrator is or how to properly use one.

The girls lined up, side by side. Andi with her swords, Gilly with her revolver gun. Breck unveiled a nasty black short-whip that crackled with light. Lira simply stood with her fists clenched, appearing weaponless to the ones those who did not know the ways in which her body could move, lithe as a predator on the hunt.

Swords? Whips? FISTS?

These bitches are fiked. Or would be, if this book made any goddamn sense.

Anywhoo, the Patrolmen board their ship, and drama happens. 

Arcardian or not, she’d see the badges of those who wouldn’t back down stained with blood. It was her crew or her past and—her soul be damned—she would always choose her crew .

Yeah, their friendships are just seeping off the page like some sort of platonic goo.

She didn’t see him right away, but as he approached, her chest seized at the outline of him, tall and muscular and perfectly proportioned to win a fight.

As he approached, Andi’s chest tightened at the sight of him, tall and muscular and perfectly honed for fighting.

It’s him, said a small, frightened voice in her mind.

Then, Aas if confirming her suspicions, he stepped out of the darkness like a demon emerging from hell.

IT’S DEX DOGTECTIVE!

How the fuck is one “perfectly honed for fighting?” What does that even mean? Do you know how many types of fighting there are? Is he a featherweight MMA fighter or a sumo wrestler? You’re not being awfully specific here.

We find out through some clichéd dialogue and Andi’s thoughts that they used to be lovers, but the some sort of betrayal happened and she left him to die.

She remembered every inch of the angular white constellation tattoos twisting their way across his brown skin, the feel of his strong hands on her body.

Sasha, you might try to be less obvious with how much crap you’re swiping from SJM. I mean we all know you’re doing it but could you at least try to pretend you’re not? For the sake of at least looking like you put some effort into this?

Andi’s katanas swords crackled, purple light arcing around the fierce blades.

How anime is this?

“I’m going to kill you,” Andi whispered.

“You can try,” Dex said, and shrugged again shrugging, those demonic black his once-captivating brown eyes sparkling with laughter. “But we both know how that will turn out.”

She screamed and charged straight at him., Nnot giving a damn if there were twenty or even one hundred heavily armed men Arcardian soldiers blocking her path.

She was going to drown Dex Arez in his own blood.

Drama.

[judgeanon]

A SHORT HISTORY OF FEMALE JUDGES IN JUDGE DREDD FROM 2001 TO 2004

As Mega-City One changed leaders at the turn of the 21st Century, so did 2000AD itself, having been bought off Egmont’s hands by independent UK video game developers Rebellion. The early days of this newfound alliance were surprisingly quiet, as Rebellion had never tried their hand at publishing before and the 2000AD editorial team needed time to rebuild and reorganize. So it will take a while for the next giant city-wrecking epic to come by.

In the strip, DeMarco’s departure for the Megazine and Anderson’s continued spinoff success combined with Judge Hershey’s promotion to Chief Judge naturally brought about a sharp increase of the latter’s appearances. But as great as it is to see a character grow into a role in real time, the position does come with a particularly insidious couple of downsides that have plagued her pretty much ever since. More on that later, but for now, let’s get started.

(Previous posts: 1979 to 1982 - 1982 to 1986 - 1986 to 1990 - 1990 to 1993 - 1993 to 1995 - 1995 to 1998 - 1998 to 2001. All stories written by John Wagner unless noted otherwise. “Cover” art by PJ Holden)

Blog favourite Staz Johnson kicks things off drawing “The Sons of Katie Didd” in progs 1248-1249 (June 2001), which features a Judge Vance assisting Dredd with an investigation. She even shows her face too, which was something a bit missing from a lot of background female judges in previous years. Immediately afterwards, we get the last story written by Garth Ennis for the prog, one that would prove divisive with readers even to this day.

Written as part of a deal to get the rights to his early “Troubled Souls” series back, “Helter Skelter” (drawn by Carlos Ezquerra and Henry Flint, progs 1250-1262, June-September ‘01) is Ennis’ unabashed love letter to all things 2000AD-related, although mostly Dredd. The story concerns a group of scientists who use interdimensional jump technology, reverse-engineered from the Dark Judges’ d-jumps, to send unmanned probes to several alternate universes. However, this catches the attention of one of those universes’ version of Murd the Oppressor, the Necromancer of Necros who’d haunted Dredd and his crew back in the “Judge Child Quest.” This Murd came from a universe where he had succeeded in feeding Dredd to his toad, and upon learning of an alternate reality where Dredd had bested him, travelled across the dimensional gulf to gather a party of many other classic Dredd villains. And together, they came up with a plan to travel back to the main dimension and kill him and take over Mega-City One all over again. It’d seem Ennis had picked up some multiversal habits from working at DC.

The only female judge in this story is, rather predictably, Chief Judge Hershey. The above panels belong to the second episode, and they do give us a nice, albeit small glimpse into her mindset one year into her first term. It’s interesting to see a bit of uncertainty from her, since right from day one she’s been shown to be fairly comfortable in her role, and Dredd quickly stamps it out by making it clear that she can’t nor should lean on him for approval, even managing to slide in a bit of double meaning with the “You’re your own judge” comment. A harsh, but effective tactic. Perhaps too effective, given what’ll happen a few years from now.

Unfortunately, sharing the same space-time for almost a tenth of a second with an alternate universe Call-Me-Kenneth puts her out of action for most of the story (not to mention leaving her in a rather undignified position), and when she comes back it’s mostly so alt-Judge Cal can have someone to monologue at. We do get a nice little bit of continuity, however, when alt-Fink Angel, whose main universe counterpart had tried to gruesomely murder him back in “The Fink”, calls dibs on her as the rogues gallery tries to decide what to do with the survivors of their initial assault. Ultimately, it’s Murd who wins the discussion, and so we get one Hell of a page:

The sole survivor of Murd’s fun and games, Hershey is nursed back to health by Dredd in a citizen’s apartment and Ennis, perhaps feeling a bit guilty over the whole ordeal, does give her a bit of respect by having Dredd tell her she was “too strong” to die. In all fairness, if there’s one guy who’d know what it takes to survive crucifixion, it’s Ol’ Stoneyface. Unfortunately this is one of those stories that end with Dredd (mostly) single-handedly beating the tar out of everyone else, so there’s not much else for Hershey to do.

She does take a more center stage in progs 1263-1266′s “On The Chief Judge’s Service” (October ‘01), gorgeously painted by Colin MacNeil. A sequel to “The Chief Judge’s Man”, it opens with Armon Gill, the Justice Killer, seeing Hershey live for the first time in a lecture and then silently murdering a citizen for spreading rumors of her sleeping her way to Chiefdom. Besides showing how much Gill’s obssession has grown, it is interesting to see an outsider’s view of Hershey. We know how citizens feel about judges in general, but opinions on particular judges besides Dredd are much more rare.

Much like in the original there’s not really a lot for Hershey to do in this story, although when Gill is captured as part of a larger plan to kill a previous Justice Killer now languishing in a cube, we do get to see her reaction to being accused of covertly masterminding the murder of dozens of innocents. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from her at this point:

On one hand, this kind of matter-of-fact coolness and honesty are perfectly in line with her character so far, not to mention being admirable qualities in and of themselves. But on the other, this is a good example of Hershey’s biggest problem as a character moving forward: there’s not really a lot of genuine depth to her. She’s certainly an excellent judge, but things like her more liberal views or her relative inexperience, even her underlying lack of desire to be Chief, are just not coming out to the surface. What we’re left with is someone who’s really good at her job, but since so many of Dredd’s stories are based on things going terribly wrong, it’s not a quality that gets showcased a lot.  And without McGruder’s conflictive nature, Hershey risks falling into the same bland mold of most Chief Judges before her.

(Slight art error from MacNeil here too: Hershey is wearing the straight shoulderpads and star ornament of Chief Judge, but also her regular badge)

Prog 1271′s “Driving Desire” (December ‘01), by Cliff Robinson introduces  Judge Vonne Hollister, a Wally Squad operative under the guise of a slabwalker whom Hershey promotes to the Council of Five as her way of bringing in “the true voice of the streets”. Which is certainly more in tune with how she was portrayed during her candidacy, but as far as this story goes it’s less about any actual lasting developments and more about getting a few laughs from the rather... candid Hollister jokingly trying to tempt her straight-laced colleague, Tek Judge McTighe. A point could be made about Hershey trying to bring more women into the Council, but certainly not by the story itself.

2002 kicks off with prog 1276′s “A Walk in the Park”, written by Gordon Rennie and drawn by Paul Marshall, where Dredd chaperones a group of cadets through a training exercise in one of MC-1′s last surviving parks, among them a girl by the name of Vesey who shows herself to be a bit of a softie, though she hardens up quite quickly. The very next week, we get a small Hershey sighting at the end of prog 1277′s “First Blood”, by Alan Grant and John Burns (February ‘02). Of note is that Dredd calls her by her rank instead of her name, which makes sense since Dredd is always a bit more of a robotic bastard when Grant’s writing him.

Cam Kennedy makes a double appearance in this post, first by drawing a Judge Ansey helping Dredd deal with the recurring Branch Moronians and their ill-fated hostage-taking attempts in “It’s Deja Vu All Over Again Again” (progs 1282-1283, March ‘02), and later with one of my all-time favorite comedy Dredd strips, “Block Court” (prog 1284), where Judge Burnside helps Dredd get through the soul-crushing horror of old-time due process. There’s also a Brit-Cit judge by the name of Dolman in “Escape from Atlantis” (art by Paul Marshall, progs 1285-1287, April ‘02), although sadly she’s unable to escape getting shot to death by androids.

The next mini-epic is the ten episodes long “Sin City”, drawn by Kev Walker, which ran from prog 1289 to 1299 (May-July ‘02). The eponymous Sin City is a giant floating city that tours the world, allowing visitors to enjoy all manner of illegal activities thanks to its independent sovereignty. Of course, Dredd is not a big fan of this scheme and would rather not see any of his citizens making it their vacation destination of choice, but as it turns out, his boss has other plans. And so, about two years into her first term, we finally get the first of several voice-raising, rank-pulling, table-slamming, “Why are Mommy and Daddy fighting?” rows between Dredd and Hershey:

... which turns out to be pure theater on Hershey’s part to hide the true nature of Dredd’s assignment: an undercover operative in Sin City has reported the presence of an international terrorist with a mad-on for Mega Cities called Ula Danser on the island, and then promptly vanished after trying to get more information. So Hershey wants Dredd on the island to pick up the trail and find out what’s what. This also opens the door for Judge Hollister to reappear, leading a small army of Wally Squad judges into Sin City, including one Judge Molotar who ends up impersonating Ula near the story’s end. There are two other street female judges in the story, Kaplin and Blane, but they don’t really contribute much to it besides filling up crowds (and in Kaplin and Molotar’s case, casualty lists).

Overall there’s not much to say here in regards to our main subject, but Hershey’s penchant for subterfuge and espionage is beginning to show from underneath her liberal cover. She’s clearly gotten used to lying through her teeth and hiding ulterior motives, but she still finds a place in her mind for doubt and regret when Dredd fails to stop a chemical weapon from being released inside Sin City and infecting thousands of citizens, requiring the whole island to be quarantined while the virus runs its course. So we see that Hershey’s lack of ambition doesn’t equate to a lack of standards, and she feels a strong responsibility to do better, which is not something many other chief judges have expressed. At least, not until a major crisis nearly wipes out the entire city.

Moving on, Colin MacNeil returns to paint a couple of background judges in “Blood and Duty” (1300-1301, July ‘02) and Ben Willsher makes his first appearance in these posts by drawing an unnamed med judge at the end of “Case for the Defense” (1303, August ‘02). Ian Gibson returns to draw the Gordon Rennie-written “Give Me Liberty” (1304-1305, idem), another personal favorite comedy story. In it, we get to see Hershey living up to her promise of listening more to the Council, although ultimately it’s Dredd’s suggestion that she follows. And much like McGruder way back in the day, Gibson takes the liberty to redesign the Chief Judge’s badge:

For a bit of variety, we have a vid-fone judge in “Class Project” (art by David Millgate, prog 1310, September ‘02) and an SJS judge by the name of Vickers who conducts a cavity search on a cit mostly for fun and giggles in “Waiting” (by Rennie and PJ Holden, 1312, October ‘02). Carl Critchlow brings out his new artstyle in “Out of the Undercity” (1313-1316, November ‘02) which has Dredd talking to an unnamed female judge who’s wearing a helmet but also the double shoulderpads of a Tek, or even a Chief Judge, so it’s not terribly clear who she is. Another female judge appears as part of a disciplinary council in 1317′s “Reprisal” (art by Paul Marshall, idem) which serves as a small coda to “Sin City.”

While not actually featuring her, prog 1318′s “Open Justice” (by Rennie, Mike Collins and Dylan Teague, idem) deserves an honorary mention for using the framing device of an e-mail sent to Chief Judge Hershey from a disgruntled criminal as part of a new citizen relations idea. Which, in true Justice Dept. fashion, ends up being a total lie.

(After over five years of working in different call centers, this is an intensely relatable page for me)

Having already tango’d with a Predator in the 90s, Dredd finally filled the other side of the intergalactic ugly motherdrokkers dance card in 2003′s “Judge Dredd vs Aliens: Incubus”, written by Wagner and Andy Diggle and drawn by Henry Flint. Starting on the new year’s special and running until April’s prog 1335, the story co-stars Judge Sanchez, a rookie judge fresh out of the academy who is having second doubts about the whole street judge thing, freezes under fire but ultimately manages to find the courage to fight back and help Dredd save the day and... have we been here before? Yeah, Sanchez is pretty much a recycled Castillo, with her character arc condensed into one 15 part storyline. The biggest difference is that Castillo was already a foul-up when we met her, while Sanchez is still teetering on the edge. But apart from that, they may as well be the same character, in all honesty.

The story also has a Judge Pitt who gets her fingers burnt down during the first encounter with the xenomorphs, and of course, Chief Judge Hershey also shows up, mostly just to look really cross as the aliens murder their way through the Grand Hall and to authorize the use of mothballed Mechanismo units, although it was Giant Jr.’s idea. So overall, not much else there either.

A loose end is finally tied in “The Trial of Orlok” (art by Cam Kennedy, progs 1336-1337, April ‘03), which features a Judge Wing as part of a special court that decides the final fate of Orlok the Assassin. No points for guessing what that is. Hollister and Hershey also make small one-panel appearances, although the latter is drawn with regular shoulderpads. A couple of weeks later, Judge Lucas fills a crowd in prog 1339-1341′s “Hard Day’s Night” (May ‘03), written by Robbie Morrison and drawn by Patrick Goddard and Dylan Teague. But going back to loose ends...

Armon Gill’s third and final outing, “Revenge of the Chief Judge’s Man”, appeared in progs 1342-1349 (May-July 2003) and was drawn by John Burns. It opens with a bit of a surprise return as Dredd visits the Cursed Earth penal colony where Gill is being held to meet with its warden, Judge Jura Edgar, last seen about two years ago when Hershey all but exiled there. To everyone’s surprise, including Edgar’s, Dredd asks her for help in uncovering the identity of the man behind the Chief Judge’s man. And despite being resentful of her demotion, Edgar agrees, half out of curiosity and half out of genuine surprise of Dredd’s humility.

Although brief, Edgar’s role here resembles a more hard-edged Miss Marple, sans the colorful anecdotes. With only a handful of second-hand information to rely on, she accurately produces a psychological profile of Gill’s handler and suggests a couple of possible starting points for Dredd. The narration also gives us a glimpse of Dredd’s own feelings on her, including a lingering regret that it had to come down to this. Even with all that happened there is a strength and dignity to Edgar that he can’t help but respect. But despite her and Dredd’s efforts, Gill manages to escape and sneak his way back into Mega-City One.

Back in the Grand Hall, Dredd tries unsuccessfully to convince Hershey to cut down on official engagements, and although she recognizes the risk, duty comes before security. It’s interesting that, while other Chief Judges would’ve met this threat with a bit of bravado (like the time Griffin held a council meeting on an open terrace, or McGruder herself giving speeches while snipers gunned for her head), Hershey’s reaction is comparatively fatalistic. But out-living three Chiefs while still a member of the Council of Five must really put things in perspective.

Such fatalism turns out to be 100% justified, as Armon Gill infiltrates an official visit to a tunnel project, commandeers a giant drill and even with three bullets in his chest and Dredd’s fist all over his face, still succeeds in brutally killing the Chief Judge, who dies screaming as she’s shredded to pieces by the deadly machine.

Anyway, our next stop is prog 1360, where--oh wait, hold on, turns out Dredd managed to convince Hershey to use a robot double for once. Overall, there’s not much Chief Judge in the Chief Judge’s Man trilogy. The few snippets of characterization we do get are nothing too insightful or surprising, and by revealing the real face behind Gill in the very first story, it doesn’t even entertain the possibility of Hershey actually being guilty of ordering the murder of innocents. Bit of a missed opportunity there.

“I need a vacation.”

Ok, for real now, our next stop is “See Zammy Run”, by Gordon Rennie and Iñaki Miranda (progs 1360-1361, October ’03), which features a Judge Gulacy, likely named after famed Shang-Chi and Batman artist Paul Gulacy. A week later, Ian Edginton and Steve Pugh introduce us to Judge Jules, a sector house chief with a nasty case of perps dying in lockup, in prog 1363-1364’s “Inside Job” (idem). Hershey returns for a very small cameo at the start of “Meatmonger”, by John Smith and Siku (who had already drawn one of her solo adventures in the Megazine, many winters ago) in progs 1365-1370 (November-December ’03). The first story of the new year, “Cincinnati” (art by Carl Critchlow, progs 1371-1373, January ’04) involves a blind protester assaulting and seemingly seriously wounding the Chief Judge, causing a massive manhunt across the Cursed Earth. And an unnamed female judge assists Dredd in a hostage situation in prog 1374’s “S.A.M.”, (idem) drawn by Val Semeiks and Cliff Robinson.

And then we get to 1375-1377′s “Master of Fear” (February ‘04), written by Alan Grant and drawn by John Burns, which co-stars Psi-Judge Shakta, Anderson’s friend from the Megazine. Or maybe, someone with the same name who looks absolutely nothing like her:

For argument’s sake, here’s Arthur Ranson’s original Shakta:

That... is some change. It does seem to have gone mostly unnoticed at the time, probably since people were busy shouting in the Nerve Centre about Steve Moore’s “Valkyries.” To add insult to art error, she doesn’t even get to do much, since Dredd rescues himself in the end.

Moving on, we get a couple of background cadets and a female academy attendant in “Cadets of the Blood” (Ezquerra, progs 1378-1381, March ‘04) and that leaves us comfortably at the start of the last long thrill of this post, prog 1382-1386′s “Gulag”, by Gordon Rennie and Charlie Adlard (April ‘04).

The premise is simple enough: satellite imagery reveals evidence that some Mega-City One judges, likely Apocalypse War prisoners, are being held in a secret sov gulag. A special meeting with Justice Dept’s defense division (two of which are female) is held and a full-on military incursion is dismissed as potentially too harmful to sov relationships. Dredd, who of course is in attendance, is having none of it, and we get a magnificent demonstration of his arm-twisting prowess:

Of course, Hershey is hardly the first Chief Judge to get this particular threat. All the way back in “Robot War” we had Dredd straight-up giving his badge to Goodman and “quitting” until things got hot enough for him to call himself back into action, because deep inside that leathery exterior beats the heart of a total drama queen. Luckily, this time there’s no need for such antics, as Hershey dismisses the council and has a meeting of her own with Dredd that neatly encapsulates everything good and everything bad about their relationship:

By their very positions, Dredd and Hershey see different things. Dredd is all about the small picture, the street level, tiny things that can lead to larger conflicts, and like the street judge he is, his solutions are short and to the point (and usually brutal). Hershey, meanwhile, has to look at the bigger picture. She can't afford anything else. But coming from street division and having worked with him for so long, she understands and agrees with Dredd far more often than her position should. So she gives him what he wants, but also makes sure to establish her own terms as well, which are grounded in her established penchant for subtle, covert operation (although how she expects the sovs to believe MC-1's biggest judge was not acting with the consent of their own department is anyone's guess). Together, they form a two-pronged approach to Mega-City One's affairs, with Dredd keeping an ear on the street and an eye for simple solutions, while Hershey deals with the larger problems and shadier business that Dredd refuses to engage in. And if Dredd sees something that Hershey might have missed, he knows he has a direct line to her, to the highest power in the city who is also sympathetic to his way of thinking.

But that's where the relationship begins to strain: in Dredd's abuse of that closeness, strained by his reckless attempts at arm-twisting. To Dredd, letting nebulous compromises and escalating fears taint his ability to act decisively would be tantamount to treason, and the more the ruling bodies of the department advice caution, the more likely he is to blackmail them into action. And Hershey sees through it immediately. She's not willing to entertain Dredd's antics, but finds herself in the awkward position of agreeing with them. And the more Dredd pushes and oversteps his boundaries trying to strong-arm his own boss into righteous but potentially devastating decisions, the more Hershey feels it. The prongs risk breaking. And while first seen here, this is a conflict that will reapper in various forms and even reach a climax of sorts nearly ten years later.

Going back to “Gulag”, Dredd’s team of volunteers has a fairly respectable female count: Judge Morinta is a med-judge with a taste for modifying weapons that will turn out to be highly valuable on the field, Judge Kleinman is a gruesomely scarred street judge who had already spent four years in one such gulag, and there’s a surprise return in the form of Psi-Judge Karyn making her weekly prog debut. Last seen in the pages of the Megazine, Karyn’s logic for volunteering is, quite frankly, impeccable:

With boots on the snow, Morinta quickly proves her worth by arming everyone with tranq darts to sneak into the camp undetected. Inside, the team finds an empty barrack with the badge numbers for several justice department judges scrawled on the wall, and Karyn confirms Dredd's suspicions by reading the lingering emotions of the people who were kept there. However, they are long gone, moved somewhere else, and everything turns out to be a trap set by War-Marshall Kazan's clone son, Anatoli. Things turn ballistic soon afterwards, and Morinta gets another chance to shine thanks to a special dart with a chemical that blows up spectacularly when in contact with human blood. Karyn also pulls her weight by mind-controlling a sov tank into a bit of friendly fire, and everyone's generally having a pretty good time. Except for Kleinman, who's hit with a tank shell and dies in the battle.

Just when the rest of Dredd's squad seems to be about to end up the same, Justice Dept reinforcements arrive, shoot out the sovs, extract Dredd and company and blow up the entire gulag. All that's left is for Dredd to explain himself to the council, who are worried that his actions will instigate a new apocalypse war. He assures them that the sovs won't do anything, however, since now they have evidence that they kept and still keep Mega-City One judges prisoner decades after all hostilities ceased. Of note here is that Hershey and the council didn't know this and still gave the order to rescue Dredd and his team, so someone up there must've decided that he and his team were worth more than possible nuclear warfare. And although the story doesn't explicitly say so, the most likely source of that order has to be the Chief Judge herself. Especially when, once again, she has a private meeting with Dredd to reveal the mastermind behind the ruse.

Rounding up the post we have three more small roles: an unnamed black judge harasses a hapless citizen in the hilarious “Finger of Suspicion” (Cam Kennedy, prog 1387, April ‘04). John McCrea draws another female judge in “Last Respects” (written by Gordon Rennie, prog 1389, May ‘04). And in his first appearance on this retrospective, D’Israeli draws another black judge called Lola in the Ian Edginton-written “Tempus Fugitive” (prog 1390, idem). By some coincidence, both the first and the last of this trio have pretty stocky bodytypes, but it’s always nice to get some variety instead of swapped heads on the same body. As for wether said variety will be maintained, we’ll just have to wait and see.

On our next episode: Chief Judge Hershey’s first real crisis goes thermonuclear! And that's just the start of her problems...

[lastgenpodcast]

Princess and the Frog-A Think Piece

Someone once asked why Princess and the Frog didn’t do as well as say Tangled or Frozen when it comes to popularity. I thought this was an interesting question due to the wide variety of reasons that seem to entangle themselves into this question. While I believe part of the lack of popularity may come from an obvious reason, I want to dig a little deeper and do some critical thinking on this topic.  Perhaps my perspective as a Disney lover and a female will bring us to another side of the argument.  Before I begin, let me just say that I don’t think there is one clear-cut answer and, by all means, I don’t propose that my theory is better than others.  This is just to make you think about this issue from another point of view.  

Let’s start with some background to the time period that surrounded the world at the time that this movie premiered.  The country had just been through a period where everyone was suspicious of one another, travel was a nightmare, and financials were a mess. The country also made a decision to back change and a positive attitude (mostly) though there were some dissenting voices. Overall, 2009 had more of a positive feel than many years previously.  Despite that, and I believe the most recent time can attest to the heart of the people, there is that underlying issue that may have played a part in why people didn’t run to the theater for this movie. Yet, looking at numbers, this film didn’t do so terribly.  It was the 5th highest grossing animated movie in 2009 (keeping in mind this year also brought us Up, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, A Christmas Carol, The Secret of Kells, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs-besides the many smaller animated and direct to video releases).  It grossed $104 million in the US and Canada, but earned $267 million worldwide.  It was nominated for 3 Academy Awards, but lost to Up and Crazy Heart, which are wonderful movies in their own right.  

The thing about Princess and the Frog is what it did more for Disney animation than anything else. This was the first traditionally animated film since Home on the Range, one I have not seen yet, and was the first “princess” movie since Pocahontas and Mulan (which may be argued wasn’t a “princess” movie at all).  The animation department at Disney had not been firing on all cylinders with putting out stories that did not hit with the masses as Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast once had.  This was also the first film to bring back the Broadway-style music that captured the attention of audiences like those films in the 1990s.  With all these firsts, it would seem someone finally realized people wanted more than just bland animated stories quickly pumped out on the computer, and it’s clear that Disney forgot that one of the main factors in its major films is the music.  Bringing all these factors together really makes this film hit for me, as so many others who gave it a whirl.  

So, why the disconnect? Where did this movie lose people. Many purport that it’s a race thing, which may be accurate. To put some numbers in perspective, Pocahontas made $346 million worldwide ($141 million by Jan 1996) and Mulan brought in $304 worldwide ($120 million in the US and Canada).  Could these numbers be because of the previous films that were already tops, so another Disney film just brought people to the theater? Maybe.  Could it be people were more willing to watch a movie set farther back in history than say the 1920s? That may also be a thing.  Could it be the internet wasn’t such a big thing and the only way to get a review of a movie was to either read a critic’s write up or just go and hope for the best? Definitely something to consider.  Or is the fact that Tiana was loudly and proudly proclaimed as the first African American princess and hyped up long before the release of the movie, with the election of our first African American President rubbing some people the wrong way, causing many people to do what has now become the “thing” to do and hate something just for the sake of hating it? Super possible.  

What other perspective is there that I could possibly show that would make that last option not the main one to go with?  Well, the fact may lie in the history of other Disney princesses.  As we know, many of the typical Disney stories were fairy tales taken from very early times and set long before the 1800s.  That being the case, many of the roles we once held as “typical” princess/female lead were no longer being portrayed in a story from the 1920s.  We sort of saw this change with the character of Princess Ariel, who rebelled against her father and tried to do her own thing; Princess Jasmine, who, while wanting to rebel, didn’t really go that far as she got married anyway and she had a much kinder father than Ariel; and even Belle and Pocahontas who were far more stronger female leads than say Snow White or Aurora, but were still motivated mostly by love/romance.  Yet, the idea of a woman, no matter her skin color, wanting to do something such as own her own business and be independent is not something that, even today, is very popular.  There are many places and careers that hinder the escalation of women into top roles and some even actively prevent a woman from truly being at the top- even in the 21st century!  So setting this movie in a time when women were not very independent, and adding on top of that the traditional Disney princess mold being broken, it makes the traditionalist in many give it pause.  

Now, what do I mean by the traditional Disney princess mold- it’s not her race if that’s what you’re thinking.  It’s the fact that many of the “traditional” princesses were modeled after the meek woman whose only real drive in life is to find that one true love and get married.  Tiana doesn’t need any of that. She wants to do her own thing since this is where her true happiness is found.  At the end, she realizes that having others around her also can make her happy, she isn’t defined by her significant other or the role she plays in his life.  In fact, he is the one that seems to have lost everything and is only made better through his association with her.  It’s not typical for the woman to be the one that completes the relationship- it was typically the strong, handsome man that “fixed” all the girl’s problems.  This is a bold stance for the story to take, and one that was seemingly repeated, though a little softer in Tangled. While Flynn is the one that gets her out of the tower and shows her the city, Rapunzel was seemingly on her way there- she just needed a push.  And Flynn’s redemption comes via his sacrifice for Rapunzel rather than her making the decision to cut her own hair to spite Mother Gothel’s plan.  Rapunzel leaned a bit more to this traditional princess idea of sacrificing for the guy and finding her happiness in him (as well as reuniting with her family). But the fact that there was a short put out not long after that film about their wedding just goes to prove that people want that “happily ever after” ending.  It wasn’t until Frozen that the typical mold was truly broken and everyone could see that a princess (or queen) didn’t need a man to find her true love and her self worth wasn’t dependent on a man’s acceptance of her.  And word of mouth was really where Frozen shone, so if people aren’t recommending Princess and the Frog, this gem remains somewhat undiscovered.  

Tiana was the first to really test that traditional mold and fight back against the idea of a woman needing a man to complete her story- she completed his in fact.  However, another issue with this movie comes up when we discuss the word of mouth scenario.  We have mentioned many times that marketing for movies has not been a strong point lately for Disney, particularly in regards to their animated movies.  I thought Frozen was going to be a buddy-cop type movie with a snowman and reindeer; Zootopia was just talking animals one of which was snarky and one was a goody-two-shoes.  So, while there was a lot of talk before Princess and the Frog regarding the first African American Disney princess, talk of the movie and proper promotion was somewhat lacking.  Most egregious, though, must be the lack of park presence.  While Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee was a delightful surprise in the parks, this only ran from October 2009 through January 2010 in Walt Disney World and from November 2009 through January 2010 in Disneyland.  In Disneyland, this movie got more love from 2011 through 2013 when Tiana’s Mardi Gras Celebration, which initially ran from January through October 2010, again ran for the “Limited Time Magic” promotion.  Yet, considering that the Move It, Shake It parade is still floating down Main Street, I find the lack of park presence to be aggravating at best, particularly with New Orleans Square in Disneyland and the riverboat in Walt Disney World as the perfect settings for these characters (probably more so in Disneyland, hence the extended Mardi Gras celebration). Though, it does seem some justice is being done with the incorporation of Dr. Facilier in the Halloween party and Tiana is finally representing up on the stage show at Magic Kingdom in Mickey’s Friendship Faire.  But, as someone who has been to the parks since age 3, and who has many friends taking young children, I feel that additional park presence would allow for additional exposure to these characters and perhaps a new found favorite for those children not typically exposed to these movies at home.  The music is surely catchy enough to warrant repeated plays in the car and the colors of the movie are truly captivating.  Plus, there’s a talking alligator who loves to play the trumpet and a cajun firefly- I mean honestly now!  

So, while the very easy answer to the question of the obscurity of this movie may be to blame it on racism, I truly feel there’s more at work here.  I do feel the non-traditional woman role is interesting to tackle, but also the seeming lack of faith parks and resorts have in hiding these characters from park guests.  What do you think?  Could the answer be so basic or is there something more at work here?  Do you love this movie- make sure to recommend it to your friends and get them to recommend it also!  The more love we can garner the better!