#i was fully prepared to win champion z tournament

[potomacdebateacademy]

Potomac secures Harvard CHAMPIONSHIP and more!

WOW! This past weekend has been truly a debate extravaganza.

As in the wise words of Coach Noah, “Debaters, regardless of your competitive record, I hope you know how proud the coaches are of your efforts preparing for, and competing at this tournament. I promise you, if you ask any coach or any of the many teams who had competitive success this weekend, they will tell you that you learn far more from your losses than your wins. HOLD YOUR HEADS UP HIGH!”

That said, we would like to recognize the following individuals for their achievements:

49th Harvard National Forensics Tournament

High School Congressional Debate

Quarterfinalists: Armaan S. & Avi A. - EARNING A GOLD BID TO THE 2023 TOC!

Avi and Armaan are now fully qualified to the Tournament of Champions, the most competitive debate tournament in the country; they’re the first students in Potomac’s Congress program to bid and to be fully qualified! GO ARMAAN & AVI!

High School Varsity Public Forum Semifinalists: Ruth D. & Aaron T. - EARNING A GOLD BID TO THE 2023 TOC!

Ruth and Aaron placed in the top 4 of 326 varsity debate teams. This is a massive achievement at one of the hardest tournaments in the country! GO RUTH & AARON!

Triple Octofinalists (Top 64): Benjamin T. & Luke W. and Preston L. & Zayd P. We also want to recognize Brooke C. & Carol L and Digonto C. & Dhira V. for having a 4-2 record!

Speaker Awards: 5th: Ruth D.

Ruth ranked as the 5th best speaker out of more than 620 students competing in Harvard’s varsity tournament! GOOOO RUTTHHHHH.

High School JV Public Forum Triple Octofinalists (Top 64): Ella L. & Thomas W.

Middle School Public Forum Co-Champions: Diya B. & Ayan M. + Roselyn B. & Tiffany T.

The teams above CLOSED OUT HARVARD’S MS DIVISION!!!! Meaning, they took home 1st and 2nd place respectively out of 119 teams from across the country!

Quarterfinalists (Top 8): Daniela A. & Mira K. Octafinalists (Top 16): Anika B. & Kaylynn Y. and Amber W. &a Natalie Z. Double Octafinalists (Top 32): Aahana G. & Cady W. and Maanit K. & Ava Y. Triple Octafinalists (Top 64): Rishik S. & Alex Y. and Veer P. & Samarth S. and Veda D. & Anthony L. and Nathaniel D. & Josh K.

Speaker Awards:  7th: Roselyn B.  10th: Tiffany T.  13th: Anika B.  15th: Amber W.  18th: Nathaniel D. The 2023 Milo Cup at Millard North High School Varsity Public Forum Semifinalists: Angela G. & Abigail H. - EARNING A GOLD BID TO THE 2023 TOC! Octofinalists: Grace L. & Katherine X.

Speaker Awards:  2nd: Katherine X.  5th: Abigail H.  9th: Grace L.  18th: Angela G. Finally, MAJOR CONGRATULATIONS to our super team of Kaden C., Jonathan F., Alex L., Derek M., Lily P., and Evelyn S. for advancing to the SWEET 16 ROUND! This means they are now officially within the Top 16 of teams and will continue onward in the 2022-2023 The International Public Policy Forum. Press release is available here: https://www.ippfdebate.com/announcing-the-2022-23-sweet-16

[tacobellabeanburrito]

so for like a few days now ive been giving kirby characters spongebob quotes because i have nothing better to do in school and.... it mightve turned into the most insane au ive ever made (nvm just remembered the shrek au i made of kirby)

Spongebob = Bandana Dee

Patrick = Kirby

Squidward/Sandy = Meta Knight

Mr. Krabs = King Dedede

-

Meta Knight: Don’t be intimidated Meta, just try to imagine him in his underwear...

*Buff King Dedede*

Meta Knight: OH NO HE’S HOT!

-

Meta Knight: So how many of you have used a sword before?

Bandee: Do spears count?

Meta Knight: No.

Kirby: Is mayonnaise a sword?

Meta Knight: No Kirby, mayonnaise is not a sword.

Meta Knight: ...Horseradish is not a sword either.

-

Kirby: Well then I guess your gonna miss the Food Raid.

King Dedede: ...The what?

Kirby: I said... *big gasp* I guess your gonna miss the FOOD RAID.

-

Bandee: Aww, cheer up Hyness! It could be worse! 

Kirby: Yeah, you could be bald and have a big nose.

-

Bandee (Trying to defeat Chaos Eliflis): NOTHING’S WORKING!

Kirby: Wait Bandee! We’re not cavemen! We have more copy abiltiies.

Kirby: *Proceeds to annihilate Chaos Eliflis with Wild Hammer*

*Chaos Eliflis enters a second phase*

Bandee: It didn’t work...

-

And then... The Big One...

Adeline: OK Dark Meta Knight, are you ready for your first day of Goodness School?

Dark Meta Knight: Yeah...

Adeline: Alrighty, goodness lesson number one! You see someone drop their wallet... Dedede drop the wallet.

*Dedede drops the wallet*

Adeline: Now, what do you do?

DMK: Excuse me sir, but I do believe you’ve dropped your wallet.

Dedede: Doesn’t look familiar to me.

DMK: ...What? I just saw you drop it. HERE.

Dedede: It’s not mine.

DMK: IT IS YOURS. I, am trying to be a good person and return it to you.

Dedede: Return what to who?

*DMK smacks his face in annoyance*

DMK: Aren’t you, King Dedede?

Dedede: Yep.

DMK: And this is your ID?

Dedede: Yep.

DMK: Well, I found this ID, in this wallet, and if that’s the case then this must be YOUR WALLET.

Dedede: That makes sense to me.

DMK: Then take it!

Dedede: It’s not my wallet.

DMK: YOU MOTHERFUCKIN FEATHERBALL YOU BETTER TAKE THIS WALLET OR I’LL RIP YOUR ARMS OFF.

*Adeline then proceeds to spray DMK with a water spritzer*

-

Idk, i just thought these were hilarious. At least to me. I might make a comic out of these.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 289

So we’ve finally reached the home stretch of Dragon Ball Z.   These last three episodes are set ten years after Episode 288, and this period is colloquially known as “End of Z.”

Why do an epilogue ten years in the future?   Well, there’s a specific reason that’ll become clear in the next two episodes, but I think it’s a handy way to establish that nothing terrible happened for at least ten years following the Buu conflict.   Also, this era roughly coincides with the date that Future Trunks arrived from in Episode 120.  In case there was still any lingering confusion, that dystopian future has clearly been averted.   Kid Trunks is now the same age Future Trunks was when he first appeared, but there’s no androids or anything for him to worry about.   His biggest problem is that his aircraft is slower than his own ability to fly.

At least, I always assumed that’s why this part of the story opens on Trunks.   He really doesn’t get a lot to do in this.    He flies to Goku and Chi-Chi’s house, hoping to visit Goten, but Chi-Chi doesn’t know where he is, so he goes next door to ask Gohan.   

I guess over the past decade, the Son family made some upgrades to their home, and Gohan lives right next to them.   Trunks finds the door unlocked, so he just walks right in.

There’s some establishing shots of the house, but the main feature is a photo of Gohan and Videl from their wedding.  They didn’t look like this when Gohan was handing out wedding photos in Dragon Ball Super, but what can you do?

Anyway, Gohan couldn’t come to the door because he’s busy taking books down from his enormous shelves.  Also, he has glasses, which are supposed to tell you he’s all intellectual.

Oh, and he’s even got the pencil in his ear.    Lay it on thicker, why don’t you.   

I never understood Gohan’s career as a “great scholar”.   This episode makes it clear that he became one, and that with Buu’s defeat, he was finally free to pursue that life, but I have no idea what kind of “academic meeting” he’s talking about, or why he needs all those Charles Darwin books to prepare. 

Anyway, I’m happy for Gohan.    There’s people who wanted him to be this unstoppable badass, or they’re salty that he didn’t become the main character of DBZ, but this is alll he ever wanted out of life.   His own place, not too far from his parents, and a ton of books to read.  

I suspect that’s why Videl fell in love with him, because as much as she wanted to know about the Great Saiyaman and the Golden Warrior and the kid who beat Cell, the real Gohan is pretty much the awkward guy he was trying to be when they first met.   Yeah, he was keeping secrets, but he wasn’t disguising himself.   And I know there’s fans who wish Videl would have continued fighting and training until she became strong enough to beat up Goku, but I think in the end, this is the sort of quiet life she always wanted too.    She just needed to meet Gohan to realize it.   

While they talk, Mr. Satan appears on TV in an ad for the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai.

Videl is embarassed at her father’s antics, but he really did save the world from Majin Buu, so it’s not like he isn’t entitled to some of this.   But Videl points out that no one remembers what he saved the world from, because of the wish Goku made to make everyone forget Majin Buu.

Anyway, Gohan tells Trunks that Goten is out somewhere sparring with Goku, and that Bulma and Vegeta are there too.    So I really have no idea why Trunks came here alone.

Look how pissed these two are.   What is their problem?

Anyway, Goku and Goten are indeed sparring, and Goten doesn’t seem to be enjoying it much.  

Bulma’s mad because they almost never see Goku anymore unless they come to him, and Goku says they dropped by five years ago.  

Then he observes how old Bulma looks now.  Let’s just do the math really quick... Yeah, Bulma is 51, while Goku would be 47.

Vegeta explains that Saiyans remain in their prime longer as an evolutionary trait that lets them fight longer, but Bulma believes she looks very young for her age, and besides, she can just use the Dragon Balls to make herself younger if need be.

Anyway, the point of this whole visit is that Vegeta heard Goku was planning to enter the World Tournament tomorrow, and he wants to know why.   Goku thinks that there’s a strong fighter appearing at the tournament, and he wants to face him at the event.   This intrigues Vegeta, who suspects an alien or another android, but Goku insists that he’s a fully human Earthling.    Bulma doesn’t see how that’s possible, but Goku’s so sure of this that he’s making Goten enter the tournament as well. 

And he’s entering his grandaughter Pan too.   I’m oonfused here, because in the previous scene Videl called for Pan to clean her room, but now we see she just got back from flying around the circumference of the planet.   Maybe she snuck out of the house, or Videl just didn’t realize she wasn’t home.   Goku says that she probably won’t win, but she’s got a lot of power, and he thinks she’ll perform well.  This is enough to convince Vegeta to enter the tournament as well, and he threatens to slash Trunks’ allowance unless he joins in.   Yeah, like Vegeta gives Trunks an allowance.   I think what he means is that he won’t give Trunks as big a cut of the allowance he gets from Bulma.

So the next day we see the tournament grounds ago.    I just want to point out that Chi-Chi is the only one who got a better hairdo over the past ten years.   Videls’ bob is all right, but it’s not as good as the pixie cut, just sayin’. 

Goku and Pan wander around the place for a while.    By now, the Tenkaichi Budokai has become almost a complete carnival.  The 21st tournament was pretty subdued by comparison, but this thing’s got merch stands, arcades, and cartoon mascots. 

I like the part where they eat hot dogs together, because in the dub, part of Goku’s reason for returning to the Tenkaichi is that the stadium hot dogs were so good.  

Then some kid knocks over Pan and makes her drop her ice cream while he’s trying to steal a bunch of watches.

Goku’s afraid that she’s going to end this boy’s entire life right in front of everyone...

But instead, she cries because dogs are eating her ice cream.   Awwwwwwwwww.

So Goku gives her his ice cream to calm her down.   He already ate an entire carton out of the freezer for breakfast this morning, so he’s good.

Vegeta’s family shows up, and they have a daughter now named Bulla.  Honestly, I’m not sure why Toriyama bothered introducing Bulla, since she does so little in these episodes.    Maybe he was helping Toei flesh out the cast of GT, except GT didn’t do much with her either.   Maybe he just wanted to make it known that Bulma and Vegeta had sex more than once.

Krillin’s the only one who looks that much older.  Part of the trouble “End of Z” created for the franchise is that the characters in Dragon Ball Super probably ought to resemble these designs, but they usually don’t.   We never see Roshi get his other sunglasses, and Krillin shaves his head again instead of turning grey and getting a terrible hat.  And GT is set after “End of Z”, which means they had to make the character look even older, which is why Krillin looks like a miniature Gabe Kaplan on that show.  

But let’s check in on Mr. Satan, who’s going over the tournament with Majin Buu.   Satan’s lost some hair, but Buu hasn’t changed at all.    What I really love is how Bee’s grown up into a big ol’ dog who just sleeps by the recliner all day.    He borked at Super Buu and Kid Buu a lot over the past 35 episodes, but it was all worth it.   He got his pals home safe and sound, and now he can eat bananas whenever he wants.

Anyway, ever since Majin Buu came to live with Satan, he’s been rigging the Tenkaichi Budokai by having Buu act as his prize student.   Majin Buu defeats the other fighters, and then he faces Mr. Satan in the final match, and lets him win.   I guess Android 18 taught him the value of cheating.  This would make Satan a four-time Tenkaichi Budokai champion, but he only wone one of those titles legitimately. 

Here’s this, by the way.

So, Mr. Satan was planning on having Buu do the same bit again for this tournament, except Goku, Vegeta, and their kids are planning to enter, which shakes things up a bit.   But Goku promises that they’ll let Satan win the final match if any of them make it that far instead.  

There’s a quick gag where Mr. Satan gets seats for his friends, but he puts them right at ringside, which is apparently really awkward?  I dunno, that seems like the best place to be.   A lot of these characters used to be in these events, watching from that entranceway.   

So they ask Mr. Satan to intervene again, and he sets them up with this VIP Skybox looking thing.  I don’t know, the view might be better, but it seems kinda chincy to me.  

Then the contestants come out for the bracket draw.   Goten promises to avenge his loss to Goten in the 25th Juniors Division match.   Incidentally, there is no Junior Division this time, so Pan just has to fight grown men.  

Somehow, Majin Buu became really popular with the ladies.  Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

And here’s the field of twelve.  Now, you might say that isn’t enough for a proper single elimination tournament, but don’t worry, we’ve only got two episodes left.    It’s not going to get that far.