#there is so much untapped potential between two nerds

[figs-oliomedley]

I hope to GOD that if the Ninja *are* split that we don't get the usual pairings. Cole and Jay is always nice, but I wanna see the ever-elusive Jay and Zane dynamic. How does Pixal interact 1 on 1 with a ninja who isn't Kai or Zane? I WANT THE DYNAMICS, PEOPLE!!!

[citadelspires]

P1-Looking at how great your posts on how Anne,Sasha,&Marcy would interact with both the Duck nephews and Team Magic, I thought I may as well do one on them interacting with Owl House kids and add Sprig & Polly in there too to even it out. Who do you think the Calamity trio, Sprig, and Polly would get along with the best individually between Luz, Amity, King, Willow, and Gus? I'd assume Luz with Marcy (both fantasy nerds), Amity with Sasha (both not so good friends and maybe not so good parents)

First off, thank you I'm glad you enjoyed my posts about the duck crew! Secondly, I am so sorry it took so long to get to this ask, given how much I loved doing the stuff with the duck kids and amphibia girls the first two times around, these types of asks are my absolute favorites to get, so I decided to wait till I had the time to really put some thought into it and give it the response it deserves! That being said, lets get to it! (rest of the post under the cut cause wow this is long)

Ok so I do agree that Luz and Marcy would get along splendidly but I am saving Marcy for later because I have plans for her, along with a few factors that lead me to believe there's some interesting fun to be had with another combination. While Marcy and Luz both share the "enamored with another world" aspect, Marcy's approach is to enjoy diving into studies and making herself useful on commanded missions and such. Luz can't study for longer than a few minutes at a time, and while she's always down to help her friends, she's also perfectly content causing chaos in the home of a known criminal. However, there is a character from Amphibia who loves to engage in the daring adventure side of the world of amphibia, diving headfirst into whatever trouble they can find, regardless of how much they do or do not know what they're getting into.

Luz is a perfect match to go on chaotic adventures and have massive amounts of fun with Sprig. Sprig, especially at the start of Amphibia, is always the one dragging Anne along on all kinds of adventures in the wilds of amphibia, and Luz is the driving force behind exploring the boiling isles and finding new adventures and places to see, exciting things to do. Whether Sprig ended up on the boiling isles or Luz ended up in Amphibia, I'm certain one of the pair would immediately ask if there were any cool and potentially dangerous places to explore, and the other would be the first one to take them up on it. Sprig would get the chance to see more of what the people from Anne's world are like, and Luz would get the chance to see a little glimpse of that "PG fantasy adventure" she was looking for in the first place. Overall the two of them would have so much fun together, on that I am certain.

Next up, I will admit there are probably better characters for each of these two to get matched up with, so this is admittedly a bit of the two being leftover, but I do think I can buildup a pretty solid argument for the pairing. Willow and Polly is a strange duo on the surface. Polly is bold, loud, and aggressive. Willow is calm, quiet, and gentle. However I think there's some potential there. I think Willow is a really great person to keep Polly out of trouble, in the hypothetical scenario Polly is let loose on the boiling isles that would be a complete disaster(for the isles, Polly would come out of a fistfight with the entire emperors coven unscathed) unless someone was there to reign her in. At first Polly might be a little reluctant to be looked after by someone who is just another kid in her eyes, but we've seen bits and pieces of Polly where we're reminded that, as aggressive as she can be sometimes, she's still just a kid. She's not immune to love and affection, and I think Willow is just the kindhearted, loving person to help Polly feel a little more okay with not always being the strong brave kid she tries so hard to be. As a little bonus I think it would be pretty great for Polly to think she's got Willow and her softhearted nature all figured out after some time only to be taken completely by surprise by the sudden realization the moment Willow uses her magic that "oh hold up this girl is insanely powerful." To be honest that might be a pretty great experience too for her to see that power comes in many shapes and forms. (A lot of the people who are able to fight in amphibia are more agressive about it than willow is so it would be new for polly). This goes double if Willow meets Polly in Amphibia because I mean have you seen how much foliage is in that world? Dear Lord Willow would be a god.

(it is at this point that I realize how long this post is gonna be, maybe I should go put a cut up there somewhere)

For the third pairing I will now reveal where I decided to send Marcy. I would absolutely love to see interactions between Gus and Marcy. Just imagine it. I would argue that Gus is the most curious and inquisitive owl house kid, as well as the most inclined to actually be constantly studying new things instead of jumping right into them. Gus is a dedicated investigator (perhaps too dedicated) and Marcy can absolutely get behind that. Beyond that I think Gus would lose his mind to find another human in the first place, let alone one who can probably recite all of human history off the top of her head. Meanwhile with Marcy, she would be absolutely fascinated by everything and everyone in the boiling isles, and I can just imagine right now that every time she had a new question she'd pose it to Gus and Gus would be like "I... I don't know. *excitedly* I don't know! Let's go find out!" cue the two of them rushing off to investigate:tm:. Also! More than anything else i want Marcy to help provide suggestions to Gus on how to improve/expand his tunnels under hexside because I NEVER FORGOT THE TUNNELS.

With only two pairs leftover y'all can probably guess who's going with who. Unless you can't that would also be fair. I am kinda throwing a curveball with Sasha's I suppose, but I think it actually works out pretty well. Sasha and King have incredibly similar ideas about just about everything. While I think initially King would try to order Sasha around and it would get on Sasha's nerves severely, once that toned down, the two of them would get along really well. Sasha wouldn't see King as a threat due to his size and overall lack of power, and King would just continue seeing Sasha as a very strong pawn, though not out loud so she doesn't yell at him. I mean, we've seen what King would act like provided he became a teenager and it's honestly pretty in line with how Sasha would take over and be in power. I can absolutely see the two of them conspiring to run the whole isle, whether or not those plans ever actually come to fruition, I think she'd develop a soft spot for him.

And finally, I think there's a lot of untapped potential with Anne and Amity. While Anne is more coming from the past of the person who got pushed around and Amity is more the one who did the pushing, the two of them have more to bond over than it would seem. The core concept at the depths of each of their characters, is a chance for them to finally figure out who they are and what they want to be. With Anne it's been Sasha's presence and her need to be socially connected at all times that drove her to have a messed up view of friendship (friends are there to do stuff for other friends, like an exchange for their love), and the feeling she should just be quiet and let everything happen to/around her. With Amity it's the constant pressure from her parents to let them define her along everything she does and all of her relationships. Both Anne and Amity are in a place where, after spending so much time missing out on the chance to form their own identities and become their own people, they're finally starting to realize they can decide who they are. They're finally going to find themselves, and it's gonna be beautiful.

[howlingday]

About Jaune ships...

I have opinions. You may not agree, but they are mine. They may change in time, but not now.

LANCASTER ( RUBY X JAUNE )

The old tried and true. I mean, what's not to like? Cute girl falls for first guy she meets at Beacon? Classic romance trope, and after reading how much Ruby loves romance stories (I consider certain parts in the manga canon), it makes sense. In fact, after Arkos sank (A moment of silence, please . . . Thank you), many moved to Lancaster, which isn't bad. Happens all the time in fandoms. Sad thing, though, is far I think she'll last. If we're talking Volume 5 or earlier, then maybe. However, I feel if Ruby were to have an endgame in romance, it would be RoseGarden (I have opinions on that as well, but today isn't the day to discuss that), mostly because Oscar bumped Jaune's role from male lead to male side. Not to mention that while Jaune is becoming a beast in his own right, Ruby is a different creature altogether and evolving her character more rapidly and chaotically than anyone else (Must be all that screentime).

TLDR: I want it to be canon, but I might just be hoping.

WHITE KNIGHT ( WEISS X JAUNE)

Doofus in tin foil meets princess who hates daddy (Am I in the romance section of the library? You know, the corner for adults only?) No, but I do like this ship. I'm always a sucker for the fantasy genre, and using a zero to hero male makes it relatable. I also kind of ship it because the same reason I ship NaruSaku in the Naruto fandom: he likes her and he's willing to go the distance. But enough about that; instead let's talk about canon. Will they hook up? It's a soft maybe for me, for two reasons. 1. Rosegarden is most likely to be endgame, and after Ruby and Pyrrha, I'd say Weiss is Jaune's next to be his love interest. 2. Weiss has warmed up to Jaune. Sure, not lover or crush level (Yet), but she's definitely changed her opinion on him. In Volume 1, Jaune was bugging her, like all the time, which I could see as him getting mixed signals on (Exhibit A: Tall, blonde, and scraggly). When Volume 5 came around, everyone jumped onboard because he saved her life (Don't lie, because I'll admit that I did it, too). Not the best reason, but still reason enough, I'd say. Then in Volume 7, she hangs out with him and Oscar to the movies (It was either that or awkward Bumbleby all night. I feel ya, sister). Nothing romantic happens, but it does show how much their relationship has developed. If Weiss is Jaune's endgame, then they have set the pieces up perfectly to do so.

TLDR: High likelihood to be canon and I'm a sucker for Knight/Princess ships.

KNIGHTSHADE ( BLAKE X JAUNE)

This is the part where I say definitely not. Not in a million years, but I'll explain why I like the ship, though. As for why it won't work, the answer is Bumbleby. They haven't kissed yet, but you know they're going to eventually (Because if they don't, the fans will attack like a swarm of hornets). But here's the question you might be asking now: why do I ship this? Well, it's part of the allure of "opposites attract" ('Cause I'm dressed like a cat!). Blake is an intelligent, outspoken, and agile ninja with a criminal history of terrorism who spends her free time reading novels. Jaune is a B at best on his tests, soft-hearted, and ground-based knight who's worst crime is fraud (Still a crime, but peanuts compared to literal terrorism) and spends his free time hanging out with his team. Day and night. But they also tried that with Sun for a season and a half and it didn't last (BECAUSE BEES).

TLDR: Not even a snowball's chance in the summer sun, but so much story potential if you do (Which I do)!

DRAGONSLAYER ( YANG X JAUNE )

This, I would say, is the opposite of Knightshade, where Jaune is the day and Blake is night, here Yang is the Sun and Jaune is the Moon (Like their crests! Remember those? Y'know, when they were relevant?) Will it work? Even less so than Knightshade. However, it does open up some interesting paths considering how... provocative Yang can be, and Jaune, compared to the other guys, is the nerdiest, geekiest dude at Beacon. It's like the cheerleader/nerd romance, except the cheerleader is the captain of every sports team... and rides a motorcycle. The Volume 8 preview introduced us to Yang and Jaune riding motorcycles and we went nuts over it. Yang was back in her element, roaring down the street, riding on walls, popping off tricks with Oscar riding- Back to what I was saying, people were asking, "How did he know how to ride a motorcycle?" and the elementary answer is "He didn't." He almost fell off his bike from a small box in the road. True, anyone would, but look at how he reacts: he stiffens, he refocuses on the road. This kid literally started riding at breakfast, and I DARE you to prove me wrong. But hey, great fic material right there, though, eh?

TLDR: Never gonna happen, but I don't care. All I care about is writing that they love each other. And they also fu-!

ARKOS ( PYRRHA X JAUNE )

I'm sorry, I need a moment. . . . Alright. Do it for her. This ship... was perfect. Probably the best ship out them all. I legit almost cry every time I think about Volume 3. Pyrrha was everyone's favorite. Her background, her interactions, her choreography, everything! But, of course, like everything in our lives, she was too good to be true. But let's honor her memory by talking about her ship, Arkos. Pyrrha was the champion of the world, the Brothers' and Oums' gift to Remnant. She could do no wrong and she HATED it. Her plight was with how she was seen. Everybody knew her! Everybody, except Jaune. And he only figured out she was "a big deal" was because Weiss had to spell it out for him! As time went on, they became the best of friends, two peas in a pod, the perfect odd couple! They worked together and trusted each other, they cared for and supported each other, they lo- No. No, I can't say it. It's been years, and it still hurts. So, I'll explain something else: the reason why Jaune SHOULD NOT be shipped right now. That reason is Pyrrha. Jaune was helpless to save her. He's suffering from survivor's guilt and he's still grieving. In Volume 4, he would sneak away and train until late at night to scroll recording of her. In Volume 5, he confronted Cinder and got Weiss almost killed because he let his grief for Pyrrha take control of him and let his emotions run wild. In Volume 6, he finds the Pyrrha statue and he... I don't know how to say this, but he let's go. He accepts that Pyrrha is gone and he's starting the healing process. He's finally ready to move forward.

TLDR: T.T I never felt that it was wise to wish too much~

MARTIAL ARCS ( REN X JAUNE)

I'll be honest, I don't really ship it. Yeah, it's cute, and it falls perfectly into the "if I had to pick a guy" part of me, but to be honest, I don't ship it. 10% because Renora and 90% it just doesn't click with me. They both just seem too soft, too quiet, too introverted. Best friends? Yes, definitely! But lovers? Eeeeeh, not really.

TLDR: I will only ship as neccessary.

NORA'S ARC ( NORA X JAUNE )

I've only just got in this deep with the fandom only recently, so I don't know if a lot of you know me. Heck, I'm probably just some RWBY fan you happen to spot as you move through your dash. However, old or new, I want to be made absolutely positively clear on this. Of all the ships here, this has got to be my-

O T FUDGIN' P

Wow! Never thought I'd feel so strongly about a crack ship like this. And yes, as sad it is to say, this is a crack ship. Renora was planned from day one, so it can't be helped. At least it didn't blast me in the face all of the sudden (OH NO, NOT THE BEES! AAAAARGH! THEY'RE IN MY EYES!). But why this ship? Well, for one thing, it's that whole opposites attract thing with Nora as the bubbly, outspoken, airhead powerhouse and Jaune as the soft spoken, introverted, nerd tactician. But wait, there's more to this trope, because it can go deeper: Order VS Chaos! Who makes all the messes? Who cleans up those messes? Who follows all the rules? Who makes their own doors? It's just. So. Damn! GOOD! One sad thing about this ship though is that it's not only not canon because of Renora, it's anti-canon because Renora. Every fan fic of Nora's Arc requires an explanation for Ren and Nora to not be together-together, like you have to write a formal apology to the FNDM for liking something that's different from what is canon or commonly accepted. If that's the case, then I'll be the anarchist here!

TLDR: I LOVE IT! What's that? Not canon? Who gives a damn?! I just explained why Jaune won't be shipped anyways! Now, if you'll excuse, I have some fan fics to find.

ARCFALL ( CINDER X JAUNE )

Oh, here it goes! Now, if we're talking ships that'll never happen, this is where we find better reasons than "it's not canon" and "character development". No, this... This is a declaration of war. Allow me to explain. Cinder Fall is evil. Like, down to her core. She wants power and she'll cut through anyone to get to it. Including Pyrrha. This woman sank Arkos by means other than "X and Y kissed, so..." She killed X, leaving Y alone. And her interactions with Jaune tell me she wouldn't even be worth a hate-bang. But, as Momma always, there's a thin line between love and hate. This is where the appeal comes in. Cinder is evil with no past, which leaves the previous chapter's of her life story blank to be filled in. Jaune is good with a troublesome, albeit easy past, but untapped potential for more. It's another opposites attract, but different from INTRO VS EXTRO and CHAOS VS ORDER; this is GOOD VS EVIL. Who will win this battle of wills; will our hero purify the tainted heart, or will he slip deeper into darkness, never to return to the light?

TLDR: Should be a NOTP, and yet the allure pulls me in.

What do y'all think? Do you agree? Let me know!

[snoffyy]

So zhaozu (zhaoko) anon here and may i just say first of all i’m so so glad! Second of all i’d like to add that Do Me a Favor is currently playing on repeat in my brain i think you really utterly nailed both zhao’s self-interested loyalty as well as a reasonable evolution of zuko’s willing blindness regarding his exile? I’m obsessed with them because they have a very powerful mutual energy that imho could be both ‘i could fix him’ and ‘i could make him worse’? Zhao has literally spent his life preparing to 1v1 a god great spirit and zuko has been throwing himself headfirst into avatar hunting and they both take it so seriously they are the same breed of nerd they are two mulders with no scully in sight both these idiots went I Want To Believe and They Did. I go literally insane because in universe people make fun of zuko for fruitlessly hunting the avatar for years but like, zhao? Zhao the moonslayer? Zhao the library burner?? This mf is out here with a silly little quest that rides the same range of impossible? My idea is sort of based half around the concept that actually zuko and zhao have lots in common and 60% of that is having incurred the wrath of various spirits and 20% is being Incredibly Stubborn and the last 20% is being nerds who Will throw hands. (The other half of this concept is my feelings about what a ‘realistic’ childhood for zuko would be as the heir to essentially a branch family based on the fun ‘ozai was originally supposed to be iroh’s spymaster’ concepts floating around) and this got a bit long but i just love! Your characterization of them! And the dynamic you strike between them!

Anon, you have my heart 😭

Ah, Do me a Favour. I remember writing that within a week based off some ideas I came up with half-asleep XD. Scribbled some notes, woke up the next morning and went, 'Wow, this might actually work.'

Right on the mark for their mutual energy!! I completely agree they have the capability of 'fixing' each other (read: aggressively pushing the other into bettering themselves) or on the other side of the spectrum, dragging each other down with spite. Oftentimes, both occur simultaneously, which I think is why I find them so compelling to write about. And I suppose it's why I struggle so much with writing short stories for them. It's because they are the epitome of enemies to lovers and have so many conflicts to resolve before you can call them capable of loving each other (or anyone) in a healthy manner.

I love your concept! Yes, they're both spiritually entwined, often not in the good way, and Stubborn. So STUBBORN. Makes me wanna pull my hair out at times. AH, and we love Nerds who can and WILL throw hands!! And ooh, a realistic childhood for Zuko? Fun! It'd be so interesting to see how those dynamics play out! imo, they can really be the 'ride or die' couple, and there's so many ways their relationship can develop and grow.

Thank you for sharing your ideas! There's a lot of untapped potential for Zhao and Zuko (romantic or platonic), and it does my heart so, so good to hear we're getting a little more beyond the, er, typical equation these two usually end up in. Not to say I don't love me a good dark fic, but I'd never say no to diversity!

[austennerdita2533]

Hey! Hope all is well!! First of all, thank you for all the links to save money on books. I checked them out and plan to use some with buying books!! And don’t worry I have other self-restraint issues-mine come more from the fact that I get bored easily so I have about 4-5 books going at the same time. That way I can switch up genres when I need it (for instance I always have a fantasy, a romance, and a dark romance all available to me at the same time because those are my favorites) but sometimes more than one of the genres too. I also am terrible at following a tbr for instance I have been wanting to read Ugly Love for months now but then as I get closer to finishing a book a different book grabs my attention and must be read asap. But to prevent money spending I just browse through kindle and download a free sample of books I want to try instead of buying them right away. Plus I have a rule with myself that I have to read the first 10% of the book that the free sample gives me before I buy anything because at that point I can tell if I like the writing style, the potential story, etc. Just because I don’t want to buy a book and not finish it so I don’t want to waste my money and time. It has worked well so far! I mean there really has only been one book (well series) that I did not buy because I could not even get through a chapter (unfortunately that was the from blood and ash series which I know is a big hit but personally the writing style just was not for me)but it still saved me money!!

I heard about the Book of Night by Holly Black I am really looking forward to it!! I have other friends who adore Jurdan so we are all pumped to see her take on an adult romance and the summary sounded really cool!!

I will have to check out Anxious People for sure!!

But anyway I finally finished The Atlas Six!! Honestly I would have finished it sooner but I got into a romance mood so I went and read both Birthday Girl, Punk 57, and Credence by Penelope Douglas. Definitely recommend Birthday Girl if you like age gap relationships-it is a big one though so if those are not for you I do not recommend it. Punk 57 was okay, I was expecting a little more out of it than I got and I only read it since they were pen pals and I love letter writing but there was not a whole lot of that. And Credence well Credence is what it is LOL it is SUPER taboo and not for everyone and I feel slightly ashamed to say I enjoyed it, but I do not know you well enough on a personal basis to say read it or not read it because well it is wild and it is really a book that I think you love or you epically hate and think people are insane for liking. So look up at your own risk.

But did you end up finishing atlas six?? I do not want to talk about it unless you finished it!! What were your thoughts on the characters/plot/ships?? I am super excited about the future of it!! Olivie confirmed it will be a trilogy recently. I think the next book comes out next year. I also want to start some of her other books like Alone With You in the Ether. I just really enjoyed her writing style and the way she develops characters.

Can’t wait to talk about it with you once you get through it!!

-ACOTAR anon

Hello, hello! I'm embarrassed it's taken me so long to get back to you, I apologize! I haven't had access to WiFi the last week and a half so I haven't been on here much. I went away with two of my closest girlfriends and we were busy laughing, chatting, and goofing the time away--pretty standard with us, tbh. We're a bunch of Chatty Kathy's whenever we're around each other. 😄

But yayyy! I'm so happy you might be able to use some of those money saving book sites. They've been a godsend for me, truly. I mean, I still spend double what I ought on books but at least I can rationalize it because I know I'm saving some money lol. That's smart of you to have established that rule where you read 10% of the sample first before you buy the book. I might have to try that. I hate when I buy a book only to find myself disappointed because I don't enjoy the writing style or the story. I do usually read excerpts, but they're not always long enough for me to tell if I might like something or not.

I'm sorry you didn't care for the From Blood and Ash series. That seems to be hit or miss for a lot people. I believe I have the first two books on my Kindle (which I scored cheaply from Kindle Daily Deals lol) so I will get into it at some point. I'm curious which way I will land.

I don't know how people only read one book at a time. (No hate, just amazed lol.) Like you, I usually have at least 2, sometimes 3 or 4, books in rotation because I want to slip into different genres depending on my mood. And also depending on the time of day. Sometimes I prefer to read fantasies or thrillers during the day because they're exciting. I don't want to stop reading. Now, romances and non-fiction I will read at night, before bed. They're good genres to lull me to sleep with their facts and/or fluffiness.

I'm gonna have to check out Penelope Douglas. I'm not that familiar with her writing, but I'm always looking for new romance authors. You seemed so shy/embarrassed about liking Credence that I HAD to go and look up the summary lolol. You can't say "taboo" and then have me not investigate. My interest is piqued! The polyamory angle sounds fun. I've only read it in fic for the most part so this one's going on the tbr. As is Birthday Girl with the age gap. They both sound deliciously promising!

Something to know about me when it comes to books, to reading: I'm a daredevil. There's literally nothing I won't try at least once. There are times I balk AT MYSELF for the things I pick up knowingly, willingly, but I never regret it. Not even when I read something disturbing enough to give me nightmares. Which has definitely happened. 😂

And yes, I have finished The Atlas Six. I tore through that book so fast! I kept sneaking reading it when I was supposed to be doing other things. I loved that it was a character-driven fantasy because those are my favorite. And the magical system is so cool! It's such a creative blend of science and magic--like, the way she embedded particle physics and the multiverse into everything set my nerd flag flying like you wouldn't believe haha. The characters all have that morally gray Six of Crows vibe to them, too. They're enigmatic. Hard to pin down. They're all thrown together out of necessity not because they like each other, and it was fun to see how attachments did or did not form. I liked Callum the least. However, he's also one of the characters who intrigues me the most because I have no idea wtf he wants. There's no way to parse what his endgame is right now besides self-preservation. Nico is a conceited wise ass, so naturally I love him. Parisa and Reina both terrify me for different reasons. Parisa screams I AM A SIREN so I don't want to tread too close to her. Reina, I think, is going to just, like, detonate the whole planet at some point. She has so much untapped power. Tristan grew on me the most. I didn't care for him much in the beginning because he was an asshole, but then little by little, his layers start to peel back and you see how much he cares. How much he feels. Libby I related to a lot because I've spent most of my life feeling like an outcast like her. And the fact that she's constantly battling inadequacy--oof! That hit me.

As far as ships go, sheesh, I gotta say I'm conflicted! I feel like there are so many different directions the author could go??? It's rare for me not to know where the romance is headed, even this early on in the series, but I really don't.

Parisa and Dalton seem to be the most obvious ship right now. Even so, there's something dark, something dangerous and unknown lurking there so I don't know if that'll work out. Nico and Libby have the enemies-to-lovers type banter and dynamic that I love to gobble up. They're a lot of fun. I enjoy their scenes a lot. It's interesting that they're bound/connected in their powers, too. I can't wait to learn more about that. I'd be totally fine if they went romantic...but then I'm also picking up a vibe between him and his roommate. So I don't know what to think? I could get behind Libby and Tristan as well. Their unresolved tension leaps - literally LEAPS - off the page and I like how their dynamic progressed from dislike (on his end) to respect to something more...well, undefinable as of yet. There's palpable sexual/emotional energy between them, though, for sure. Callum seems to genuinely care about Tristan but he's been so damn manipulative! He'd have to jump through some hoops for me to get on board.

As you can see I babble a LOT when I get excited haha.

Anyway, what about you? Do you have any favorite characters or ships so far? That twist at the end was pretty good, don't you think? It blew the whole story wide open. I'm so looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts! xx

[retvenkos]

“i’ve always loved you, haven’t i?”

requested

OKAY, BUT FALLING IN LOVE???? WITH SCOTT LANG??? THAT HAS TO GO A LITTLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS...

so the two of you are good friends, and you have been since high school

so you know him like the back of your hand

and he knows you better than he knows himself

and you may or may not have always had a thing for scott, but he’s just so  d u m b  when he wants to be

so he clearly has zero idea about all of it

but don’t get me wrong, you were never super hung up on him

bro never saw you that way!!!

then he had a wife!!!!

and an insanely cute kid!!!!

there was no way in hell you were going to get in between that

you had your own fair share of partners during this time

but none of them were ever serious

scott would always joke about when you would finally settle down

“maybe someday.”

“in the meantime, i’ll make bets on it.”

and you were good friends with his wife and cassie, and you were always careful to never overstep

and you were good at it, at this point

scott was just one of those loves that would never be

then he lands himself in prison

and the two of you have a fight when you go to see him

because you understand what he was doing, but he went too far! he has a wife and a child to think about, now!

and he knows that, but he couldn’t just stand by

“sometimes you have to stand by! sometimes that’s all you can do!”

“no, (y/n), you can always do something!”

“not from in here, you can’t.”

and the two of you seethe at each other for a minute, then you get up to leave

“(y/n)...”

and you turn around

and it looks like he wants to say something, but you’re not sure what

“watch over cassie for me, yeah?”

and you nod stiffly

you’re mad for a long while

and scott feels so guilty

he’s lost everything - his daughter, his wife, you, everything he’s ever worked for...

and for what? did it even make a difference?

he ruined his life, did it make any bit of change?

and you know scott

and you know he’s beating himself up.

so when you cool down, you go to apologize

and he tries to apologize first, in classic scott fashion

and you allow him, and then you express your apology as well

“i really thought this would be it.”

“you can’t get rid of me, lang. i would never be able to stay mad at you for long.”

“i really am sorry, (y/n).”

“i know.”

and when he gets out, you are so supportive

you frequently go to baskin robins to cheer him up, even if it is by making fun of his pink polo shirt

“it’s a terrible uniform.”

“i think it suits you.”

but let’s be real, scott is one of the best friends you could ever have

so supportive and kind

he has your back for everything, and he is always trying to remind you of your strengths???

scott gives praise so freely, so please just give him some in return

and you find yourself falling for him all over again, but you have to remind yourself that scott has to find himself right now, and adding your feelings into the mix would only complicate things

also, when he becomes ant man, you’d better believe that his first instinct is to tell you

and you know he’s hiding something because this man is many things, but smooth is  n o t  one of them

and when he tells you, you think he’s joking

but when you find out he’s telling the truth???

“what the hell???? why didn’t you tell me???”

“i did!”

“you could have shown me!!!”

okay, but scott lang is full of untapped potential???

i mean, bro has soooooo many talents

he has amassed so much useless knowledge and so many odd talents during his house arrest

so there is never a dull moment with this man

he is also just a mega nerd

he has so many interests, and you will just let him rant about them for hours with sounds of agreement in all the right places

and you will watch all of his favorite movies with him and get super into them

he also just has the best stories, and you indulge him in telling them

“i’m sorry, you met tony stark?”

“fought him, actually. keep up.”

and at this point, being friends for literal years, the two of you are very much in sync

it’s honestly just cute to see the two of you, because you both care so deeply for each other and have each other’s backs in the best and worst of situations

hope is honestly so shocked that the two of you have never dated, and when she tells scott this, he is at first like,,, what??? but then it’s just,,,,, oh

oh

oh, no

so he tells luis about it, and luis is just like,,,, yeah, man. i agree.

and so now, scott is fully aware of it

and he is able to reconcile his feelings pretty fast

he likes you

no, he loves you

he always has, hasn’t he?

and then he thinks about you, and he thinks about how you’ve never really settled down, how you’ve always been closest to him, how you always cared about him more than anyone else

and he just knows that you have to like him too

no, love him

you always had, hadn’t you?

and you would think that scott would hide his feelings behind jokes and stuff

and he does, until he gets you alone

then he is very heartfelt and upfront about his feelings, and how you’ve always been there for him, in thick and thin, and how he’ll always be there for you, even if you don’t feel the same

“but i really hope you feel the same.”

and you are surprised, but not entirely shocked, because you always knew this side of scot existed, it’s why you fell in love with him in the first place.

“of course i love you, scott. i always have.”

and literally no one is shocked by this revelation, but it’s hella cute anyway

but onto some random fluff because i need it!!!

scott is the definition of 🥺🥺🥺🥺 when you are the big spoon

he just feel so safe and loved???

and he definitely sings in the shower, so i hope you’re ready for that

he is also pretty good at cooking???

he probably worked at a diner for a while, so he’s really good at making breakfast

he knows  z e r o  popular songs after 2010

so if you make him playlists he just,,, melts

he’s a huge movie buff, so you guys are frequently going to the cinema

you also go to watch kid movies with cassie, and it’s cute to see how invested he gets

he claims it’s so he can support cassie’s interests, but you have seen him crying in a movie or two

he also has an unhealthy love for milkshakes, i don’t know why

but more than that???

he loves  y o u

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

[dreadwhoop]

Reviewing the All Elite Wrestling personnel (Part 1)

Part 0 - https://dreadwhoop.tumblr.com/post/631091725056835584/reviewing-the-all-elite-wrestling-personnel-part

Wrestlers to Push

I know - but aren't they already the tag champions how could they get any better? FTR are so good I made an entire catagory which effectively dismantles the tag division because it's clear nobody can, should, or will be capable, of beating these two anytime between now and in 2021. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood are essentially one pick because these two will never go singles and should never be booked as such. Let their reign be long and AEW as a whole will prosper. Also try to book them as heels but not to resort to heel tactics to win every match because sometimes being dominant makes the belts worth far more.

One of the most impactful and natural talkers in his short time in AEW - everything he says has bite. He's also unique. He's going to fight dirty but he's also hard to dislike - there are just so many layers of complexity to the Mad King and the best is how people will immediately disregard him until he does something and then can't look away - this is the guy who will get new fans into the product. He's a throwback, a trendsetter, and an easy prospect all in one.

The reliable hand of AEW by far - the guy's been a mainstay throughout the year and, critically, not ex-WWE. Deserves his due. This recommendation could of gone to so many people throughout the year - Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, Penta El Zero M, Rey Fenix, but for one reason or another they all fail the test because of being injury-prone or getting into issues or just not ready. Stop his 50-50 booking and give him vital wins over big names.

Again I know - this guy is mega-pushed? I want to clarify something. Never de-push MJF - he's a prodigy who is already great and is going to get greater as he's cultivated. The guy doesn't need to be a star because he makes stars out of everyone he's been interacting with and yet even when elevated MJF continues to surpass them without much effort. Put him with FTR and you're going to have a reason to get rid of every other faction fast.

One of the unluckiest/luckiest men in AEW - his career has remained dorment post-Feb but pre-Feb was ace. Pac will tear up NJPW if given the chance to migrate over upon finding out his place in AEW is not as a top guy - you're easily looking at a guy who can be everything in AEW like a Prince Devitt or a AJ Styles or a Will Ospreay. When he returns you push this guy to the moon - I hope his look is even more goblinesque and PAC becomes the surprise 4th member to MJF and FTR.

Sometimes you need a good storyteller and you need people who are as good talking as they are wrestling. A complete package and a rising star who is also relatively new in AEW. Highly adaptable and versatile, AEW could pretty much give him anything and he'll turn it into gold - the Midas mouth of Ricky Starks is another way to get people into the company fast. I don't see him winning titles but I see him beating every non-title individual between now and next September. I feel like Taz should let Starks promote himself and be entertaining on his terms instead of over-promoting him. Pace his push and he'll gradually gain greatness.

Speaking of great talkers look who improved the most since the beginning of AEW. Only soured by her feud with Big Swole, Britt Baker is the embodiment of taking comedy heel to serious heights - her matches with Hikaru Shida are indications of just why she is tough and enduring as much as her behaviour is endearing. I could include her in the faction with FTR, MJF, and PAC as DMD. She just needs to improve a little and add a few moves in and she's AEW Women's World Champion bound.

Untapped potential - incredibly cool and has a story waiting to be told based on her association with the resident losers of AEW - make her somehow win by their (accidental) interference. Also please showcase her cosplay and more awoken side of being a bigger nerd than the two she manages - Leva is someone who heals all the wrongs of watching TV and her presence is always welcome. Everyone loves Leva Bates. You love her. I love her. What a woman. Heroic. Shapeshifter.

By contrast, her untapped potential is less about the entertaining side of pro wrestling and more the sports athleticism of pro wrestling - Serena Deeb is the most deserving woman in wrestling right now - of all the new signings or fresh faces there's someone who is genuinely eye-catching without having to be all about sex appeal or the gimmick. In other words I find her to be a future champion in the making and will make everyone she wrestles better off in defeat.

Ah see not everyone is an active wrestler to recommend! Taz is a fantastic personality, commentator, manager, and just about the jack-of-all-trades man you need him to be to support a product as big as AEW. I couldn't believe how well he gels with Tony Schiavone, JR, Excalibur, Jericho, Ricky Starks, Brian Cage, Darby Allin, Jake Roberts, Eddie Kingston, etc...it goes on and on and on. A hard working man - he's adapted and evolved from an underdog to a true legend.

[squishykpoptummies]

A Magical Halloween

a/n: i literally meant to have this up over a fucking week ago oops but like. better late than never?? (there’s so much dialogue and plot unrelated to kink i’m sorry.) so this is a harry potter au because i’m a fucking nerd and i feel like there’s so much untapped potential there for shit like this. i have a bunch of headcanons, as well as where i think everyone is sorted, so let me know if you’d like to see them? (also i don’t have anyone using honorifics bc they’re in england lol)

--

“It sucks that we don’t celebrate Halloween properly here.”

Ten was sprawled out on one of the squishy couches in the Hufflepuff common room, head in Taeyong’s lap as the older absentmindedly played with Ten’s hair. Though the common room was mostly empty, the few Hufflepuffs there were giving the two a wide berth, still not quite accepting of having a Slytherin in their living space, despite Ten being a consistent fixture for the past three years and proving himself to be (relatively) harmless.

“You say that every year,” Taeyong replied.

“Because it’s the same every year,” Ten whined. “Just some fucking pumpkins and a feast. Trick-or-treating is the best part of Halloween, and you’ve all just fucking done away with it!”

“Most Wizards find trick-or-treating offensive. Your family was a rare case. Also if you keep cursing we’re going to get kicked out.”

Ten hummed. “Halloween is my mum’s favourite holiday.” She’d insisted on taking Ten and his sister trick-or-treating every year until he went to Hogwarts, regardless of if her Wizard husband liked it or not.

“I didn’t know that.”

“It’s my favourite holiday, too.”

“That I knew.”

“Do you think we can institute trick-or-treating this year, Mr. Prefect?”

“Did you miss the part where I said it’s offensive?”

“No, I heard you, I just chose not to listen.”

Taeyong sighed, but smiled fondly. “As soon as we graduate, I promise we’ll go trick-or-treating.”

Ten huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked up at Taeyong, large eyes gazing back. “Wanna know the best part about trick-or-treating?” Ten asked lowly, voice taking on a teasing lilt.

“Sure.”

“Stuffing myself silly with all the candy I get.”

Taeyong flushed pink.

Ten sighed as he sat up, stretching his arms over his head and making sure that his jumper rode up, just a bit, just enough to reveal a sliver of his soft tummy. “Shame we have to wait three years to be able to do that.”

“What if,” Taeyong wet his lips, “what if we start this year?”

“What are you implying?”

“Honeyduke’s had candy.”

--

It was frustratingly easy to sneak into Hogsmeade and back. (“Did you want to get caught?” “Yuta just always made it sound so thrilling, and it wasn’t!” “You do realise he probably makes up most of those stories.” “Fuck off.”)

Smelling of sugar and the butterbeer they stopped into the Three Broomsticks for, they made their way back to the Hufflepuff dorms, bulging bags of Honeyduke’s candy hidden under heavy winter cloaks.

Ten spred out their haul on Taeyong’s bed when they got to his room, Taeyong hanging one of his ties on the door handle before closing it.

“We gonna finish this all today?” Ten asked, separating the chocolate frogs from the peppermint toads.

“If you want,” Taeyong shrugged, sitting on the bed next to Ten and helping with the sorting.

“I want.”

--

Ten did, in fact, finish all the candy (save for a still mostly full box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean that Ten refused to touch after claiming to have gotten a foot-flavoured one) in little under an hour, Taeyong hand-feeding him each piece, followed by making out, sucking Ten off, palming himself through his trousers, leaving them both red and disheveled and panting.

“We should get ready for the feast soon,” Taeyong said a while later.

“You can’t be serious,” Ten groaned.

“Don’t forget that I haven’t eaten yet,” Taeyong said, untangling himself from Ten and starting to vanish the piles of wrappers strewn across the bed and surrounding floor.

“You go then. We wouldn’t be able to sit with each other, anyway. And Doyoung’s gonna make fun of me.”

“Why would he make fun of you?”

“Because it’s pretty obvious that I just ate my weight in candy.” Ten gestured to his stomach, sticking out a good few centimetres even laying down, barely contained by his jumper.

“I think it might be the biggest we’ve ever done…” Taeyong mused, heat pooling in the pit of his stomach, which he tried to will away for now because they really didn’t have time for another round right now.

Ten ran an appraising hand over the curve of it. “Mmm, I’m not sure. I think it’s been bigger.”

Taeyong’s hand joined Ten’s, feeling over the soft skin stretched around the mass of food. He pressed down lightly, and Ten groaned, but it was his ‘I’m really turned on’ groan rather than his ‘I’m in pain’ one. “I think you can eat more,” Taeyong said softly.

“I think you might be right.

--

The Great Hall was in chaos when they arrived, everyone still scrambling to find seats next to their friends, and Taeyong immediately rushed off to the Hufflepuff table to try to contain it. Ten scanned the room until he saw his group of friends at the Slytherin table, Doyoung, sporting bright purple hair that definitely hadn’t been that colour this morning, waving him over. He self-consciously adjusted his robes, and squeezed himself between Doyoung and Jaemin, a third-year that Doyoung had recently adopted.

“The hell did you do to your hair?” Ten asked as he sat down, breath immediately knocked out of him as his trousers cut harshly into the sensitive skin of his belly.

“Jaemin just learnt Colour-Changing Charms.”

“You look like a grape.”

“Thanks.”

“Can I practise on you, too, Ten?” Jaemin asked from his other side.

“Maybe later. I’d look pretty good with aqua, don’t you think?”

Jaemin’s eyes sparkled. “Ooh, yeah, you’d look wicked cool! What if—“

Jaemin was cut off when the numerous dishes in front of them suddenly filled with food, conversation forgotten as the younger boy hurried to fill his plate before all the good stuff was gone.

Ten surveyed the array. Was he hungry? No, not in the slightest. Was he still going to eat? He looked up and met Taeyong’s eyes from across the Hall, flushed cheeks apparent even from this far away. He smirked. He was going to give his boyfriend a good show.

He dug in eagerly, food rich and settling heavy in his stomach, yet taking seconds and thirds because Hogwarts food was honestly irresistible, Taeyong’s gaze burning him all throughout. But, he needed to keep it subtle, God-forbid anyone catch on (though he had to admit that thought sent a thrill of arousal through him).

But Ten was about to explode. And pudding hadn’t even been served yet! He rested his chin in his palm and absentmindedly mashed his fork into his second helping of potatoes. He could still probably eat a bit more, but it’d be a gamble, with the potential of turning painful. Maybe if he unbuttoned his trousers…

“What’d those potatoes ever do to you?” Doyoung broke him out of his reverie.

“They reminded me of your face. That was a terrible retort, sorry, if you give me a minute I’ll think of a better one.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes.

“You need to step up your game, man,” Donghyuck, another third year and one of Doyoung’s children, interjected.

“And you need to stop eavesdropping,” Doyoung said, flicking Donghyuck’s forehead.

“Excuse you, I was having a perfectly civilised conversation with Nana over here.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re butting in.”

“Every time you call him ‘Nana’ it makes me think of my grandmother.”

“Who asked you?”

“Your mum.”

“That was terrible.”

“Your mum was terrible.”

“Would you stop with the ‘your mum’ jokes? They don’t even make sense.”

“You’re just too old to understand.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you, Hyuck.”

“I’d like to see you try, old man.”

“I hate you all.”

“Look, pudding, now stop fucking bickering.”

Never a dull moment at the Slytherin table. Ten shook his head fondly, and scooped a bit of pie and ice cream onto his now cleared plate.

“You’re having more?”

Ten felt his cheeks colouring. “No, I just filled up my plate to stare at it- yes I’m eating more, I’m fucking allowed.”

Doyoung tsked. “You’re gonna get fat,” Doyoung said through a mouthful of his own ice cream.

Even more heat went to Ten’s face, blood rushing down to his dick. Now was not the time to get hard, damnit. He shrugged, and took a bite.

Ten only managed the one slice of pie, but he was able to eat several scoops of the ice cream, going down easily and leaving him panting slightly. As casually as he could, he felt down orb of his stomach, tight and hot and hard, waistband of his trousers suffocating and straining against his girth. Fuck, his button was going to pop. He was going to have to undo it. Seeing that his tablemates were deep in conversation, he fumbled with the button, growing increasingly frustrated when it wasn’t coming undone.

“What are you doing?”

Ten’s head shot up to meet Jaemin’s questioning stare. “Nothing,” he said, too quickly.

“Damn, you really ate a lot,” Jaemin jabbed a curious finger into Ten’s stomach.

“Ow, quit it.”

“Why’d you do it?”

“Why’d I do what?”

“Eat so much, especially since you already seemed pretty full when you got here.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it, Jaeminnie?”

“Nope. Can I do your hair now?”

Ten sighed. “Why not.”

“Colovaria.”

It felt like his hair got shocked with static, though it still lay straight when he ran his hand through it. “How do I look?”

“Huh.” Jaemin pursed his lips.

Ten sighed again. “What did you do?”

“Well, it’s not quite the colour we were going for.”

“I figured. What is it.”

“Red.”

Ten slumped in his seat, burying his head in his arms. “Whatever,” he mumbled. “I look good in anything, anyway.” He was starting to slip into a food coma, and he wished more than anything that he was in bed getting well-deserved belly rubs from his boyfriend.

An indeterminate time later, Doyoung was patting his shoulder and saying, “Get up.”

Ten groaned, and did not get up.

“Your hair looks stupid.”

He groaned again.

“Taeyong, come collect your boyfriend!” Doyoung called out. “I think he died. See you later, then,” he said to Ten before walking off.

“I think he ate too much,” he heard Jaemin say quietly to, presumably, Taeyong.

“I’ll take care of him,” Taeyong softly replied. “Thank you, Jaeminnie.” Ten felt Taeyong slip into the seat next to him. “I like your hair,” the older boy said, brushing his hand through it.

“Third years learnt Colour-Changing Charms.”

Taeyong hummed. “It looks nice. Jaemin did a good job.”

“I asked for aqua.”

“Well, he still managed to turn it.”

“You Hufflepuffs are too nice.”

Taeyong ruffled his hair. “Let’s get you to bed, shall we?”

Ten nodded, leaning into Taeyong’s side. “I’d ask you to carry me, but you have the upper body strength of a noodle.”

“Hey!”

“I’m getting too fat to be carried, anyway.”

“Hey,” Taeyong lifted Ten’s chin, eyes meeting each other’s. “You’re beautiful.” Taeyong gave him a soft peck on the lips. “At any weight.”

“You literally say that multiple times a day.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

“I believe you, I believe you, now can we please go back to your dorm? I’m so fucking full and I’m really turned on right now.”

So Taeyong helped Ten to his feet and helped him waddle his way to the Hufflepuff dorms because there was no way he was going back to Slytherin like this.

Ten collapsed onto Taeyong’s four-poster bed in his blessedly empty room, Taeyong hopping on soon after and closing the curtains around them. “I don’t know how long we’re going to have alone,” Taeyong explained.

Ten nodded, not really paying him much attention as he struggled with his trousers button once again.

“Need any help there?” Taeyong asked.

“No, no, I got it.” He tried to suck in his gut, which was simultaneously agony and erotic, but it still did not budge. Fuck this stupid button, honestly. “Do you remember the cutting charm?”

“We are not going to destroy your trousers just because you’re too stubborn to let me help!”

“They’re my trousers; I can cut them up if I want to!”

“You’re ridiculous.” Taeyong swatted Ten’s hands away and deftly undid the button. “See? Was that so hard?”

Ten breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, babe.”

He watched over the dome of his stomach as Taeyong traced the angry red indents the trousers had left behind. “We should try to pop the button off next time,” the older boy mused.

“I thought you said I wasn’t allowed to destroy my clothes,” Ten teased.

“D-different circumstances.” Taeyong’s blush was high on his cheeks as he continued to explore the expanse of Ten’s overfilled tummy. “You’re so hot like this. If I knew my roommates wouldn’t be back soon I’d totally ask you to fuck me.”

“And normally I’d be totally down for that, but if I were to move that much I might actually explode. Could you settle for cuddles instead?”

Taeyong gave an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose.” And then he flopped down next to Ten, pushing the younger boy over to make room. His hand found Ten’s stomach again, pulling Ten’s shirt up to his chest for better access.

Ten melted into the touch, nuzzling his head into Taeyong’s shoulder. “This was fun,” he said. “Let’s do it again next year.”

“Y’know…” Taeyong met his eyes, gaze warm and sparkling. “I think I just might have a new favourite holiday.”

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 219

So let me just recap the last twenty episodes.  Gohan went to high school, and he didn’t want anyone to know about his super powers, so he invented a superhero persona to disguise himself.   Videl learned his secret, and blackmailed him into entering the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, because she also learned that he was the son of former Budokai champion Son Goku.    Videl is, of course, the daughter of former Budokai champion Mr. Satan, so she thinks it would be a dream match to fight Gohan, but she has no idea how much stronger Gohan is.   

Overhearing Gohan talking about the tournament, Vegeta invited himself to the competition, just so he can Gohan could have a real competition instead of Gohan just steamrolling the others.   Then Goku decided to join in, cashing in his one day to return to the living world.    And before you knew it, we had this feel-good reunion on our hands, with most of the Z-Fighters and their friends having a fun time.   

Except the Surpreme Kai is also in the tournament, as he and his sidekick Kibito have entered undercover, apparently for reasons having to do with two other entrants, Yamu and Spopovitch.    As far as anyone can tell, Y&S were once ordinary humans, but they’ve been drastically changed, and they seem to have some evil agenda for the tournament.   

And that brings us to this episode, the finale of the “World Tournament Saga,” as Funimation reckoned the story arcs back in 2001.    The irony is that the past ten episodes have been all about this tournament, but it’s actually been nothing but a sideshow.    The real story unfolds here, with Kibito facing Gohan in the fourth match of the first round.    Kibito just wants Gohan to turn Super Saiyan, and the Supreme Kai explains that this is because he expects Yamu and Spopovitch to assault Gohan.     Gohan could easily fight those two off, but Shin plans to psychically restrain Gohan, allowing Yamu and Spopes to do their business.    The point of all this, as we’ll see later, is that the Supreme Kai wants to follow Yamu and Spopovitch back to their boss.     

I say all of this because Episodes 200-219 are sort of a lull in DBZ.   I don’t know if everyone sees it that way, or maybe it’s just me, but it is tempting for me to write this part off as kind of boring.    Mostly, I look back on it fondly because I was excitedly buying these episodes on VHS tapes in the summer of ‘01, because I really wanted to know what happened next.    I don’t know why I’m so nostalgic for those days.    I felt kind of pathetic at the time: this huge nerd, fresh out of college, sitting alone in his apartment watching anime tapes.   A couple of liveblog posts ago, I used a joke that I’ve been sitting on for 18 years because I had no one I could share it with.   This batch of episodes is a little lower-energy than the rest, but they’re still special to me, and they do carry a heapin’ helpin’ of plot, even if it looks like it’s just the gang sort of whiling away an afternoon.  

Sometimes you can just do that, you know?    You can blow a day doing something fun instead of something that “keeps the plot moving”, and it’s not wasted time.   I don’t regret those nights watching these episodes on tape over a glass of milk and a bag of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.   If anything, I regret that I might have ever regretted it.    Sometimes you just gotta chill out.   DBZ knows it, and we should know it too.   

Anyway, Gohan’s agreed to Kibito’s request that he turn Super Saiyan, but he decides to up the ante and offers to turn into a Super Saiyan that has advanced beyond a Super Saiyan by further overcoming the Super Saiyan wall that separates Super Saiyans from Ascended Ultra Super Saiyans who have surpassed the Super Saiyan.    In case you’re wondering, the term “Super Saiyan 2″ still hasn’t been coined yet.   It can’t happen soon enough.

When I watched these episodes the first time, I didn’t understand the distinction between SSJ1 and SSJ2, mainly because the show hardly bothered to distinguish them as separate forms.   I just assumed that Gohan powered up when he beat Cell, but he hadn’t actually transformed into something other than what he was when he first started fighting him.   You can tell the difference between SSJ1 and SSJ2, but it’s kind of tricky, and it helps to have a side by side comparison.    With Kid Gohan, it’s pretty easy, because you see him in both forms for several episodes, and he switches back and forth a couple of times.   

With High School Gohan, good luck, because his hairstyle looks about the same either way.

Here he is in Super Saiyan 1, back in Episode 205.   

And here he is again in Episode 200.   Not much of a difference.    Really, the only reason I think I can tell is because of context clues in the story.   Gohan only transformed in #200 to disguise himself, so why waste energy using his strongest form just to clobber bank robbers?    In #205, he was just training, and while he might have eventually worked his way up to training in SSJ2, Episode 205 was his very first day of whipping himself into shape, so it doesn’t seem likely.    And in Episode 210, I assume he went to SSJ2 because he offered to do it.     Why bring it up at all if he wasn’t planning to use the form?

Everyone’s amazed, especially Videl and Gohan’s other friends, who now realize that Gohan was the “Golden Warrior” and Great Saiyaman.   But Vegeta’s not impressed, becuase he senses that Gohan is actually weaker now than he was when he defeated Cell seven years ago.   

Lines like this are evidence that Vegeta must have mastered the SSJ2 transformation himself by this point.   I’ve seen this hotly debated in the fandom, since we really have no direct proof, but Vegeta was certain that he could beat Gohan here, and I don’t see how he could believe that unless he managed to replicate the power Gohan used to beat Cell.    Make no mistake, Gohan may be weaker than he was in Episode 192, but that’s still way, way stronger than almost everyone else here.   

The live crowd starts to figure out that Gohan must have something to do with those guys from the Cell Games, which is exactly why Gohan asked everyone not to transform at this event.  

Meanwhile, Yamu and Spopovitch ready some weird device and they prepare to go into action.    As they do...

The Supreme Kai uses some sort of power to immobilize him long enough to allow Y&S to do their thing.   

I’m not really sure how these two expected this to go.    They were scouting the tournament for strong powers, but did they really think Spopovitch would be strong enough to restrain such a person all by himself?    Shouldn’t they be a little suspicious at how easy this is?    They don’t know that the Kai is helping them right now, but you’d think it would occur to them.     In any event, they jab Gohan with some sort of bottle, and it sucks the ki energy right out of his body.  

Krillin tries to make the save, but Piccolo stops him because this is too important.  I do like that Krillin is the one to try to jump in.   He’s been riding with that kid for years, and he’s just used to having Gohan’s back.   You might as well as a fish to give up swimming.   

Videl tries to jump in too, but Goku stops her.    She’s pretty upset about it...

But Goku assures her that his son can survive this.    He doesn’t know what’s going on, and he may not entirely trust the Supreme Kai, but he trusts his son’s toughness.     There is something I really like about Goku and Videl’s interactions.    They barely appear together, but there’s a lot of untapped potential there.    For Videl, Gohan is this magical boy, a pure cinammon roll who can do wonderful things and sweep her off her feet.     But his dad is this Legendary Super Saiyan who grew up in the woods and pees wherever he wants.   Goku embodies a lot of the stuff Gohan is trying to hide from her, and that must surely intrigue and frighten Videl.

Cool shot of Mighty Mask (Goten and Trunks) watching this play out from the nosebleed seats.    I’m not sure why they don’t jump in.   I guess they figure if the adults aren’t getting involved then they shouldn’t either, but that seems contrary to what they’ve been doing up to now.

Then Yamu announces that their doohickey is full, so they can stop now.   Mission accomplished, whatever that was.

Kibito just stands there like a goof.   I guess they have no idea what he’s all about, so they must think he’s too scared to intervene.    They did threaten to kill anyone who got in their way, but it’s strange that they came here to steal ki from powerful fighters, and never considered that they might meet people stronger than themselves.

Spopovitch even remarks on how easy this was.    Seriously, they filled that whole bottle after attacking just one guy.    You’d think that would make them a little wary, but no.

Then they just fly away.   The Supreme Kai waits for them to get a decent head start, then he announces that he’s going to follow them, and he asks the Z-Fighters to join him if they wish.   

Goku’s in, because he wants to know what’s happening, and he’s not worried about Gohan, since he survived, just as the Kai promised, and Kibito’s going to stay behind and heal him, so they must be on the level.

Yeah, Gohan’s alive, but he looks to be in pretty bad shape.   See, this is exactly the skin color Yamu and Spopovitch have all the time, and I’m pretty sure that’s meant to indicate how physically messed up they are.   But Turles looked like this all through Movie 3, with no explanation given.   Was the Tree of Might’s fruit doing that to him?   Who knows?

Videl asks Gohan to shake it off.    I don’t think Taylor Swift songs can fix what’s wrong with Gohan right now, but I’m betting that usually perks him right up.   

Piccolo and Krillin are going to go with Goku, but Vegeta hates this idea, because their match is next, and Vegeta wants to fight Goku above all other business.    Whatever the Supreme Kai is up to, it could waste Goku’s whole day, and they might never get a chance to have their fight.  

So ultimately, Vegeta joins the Supreme Kai, since the only way he can ensure he gets his fight with Goku is by sticking close to him and making sure this situation gets resolved in timely manner.  

And 18′s staying behind, because the Tournament has a cash prize but the Supreme Kai is doing this pro bono.   

She also tells Krillin to bug out if things get too rough.   I’m pretty sure Krillin’s been fighting above his class for decades now, so it’s a little late for that.   18 knows that, but she’s gotta say it anyway.

So everyone leaves, and Kibito heals Gohan in the ring, promising a full explanation later.   

Then Videl asks if she can join Gohan and Kibito.   Gohan isn’t thrilled with that idea, but she insists,so they leave together.

Mr. Satan hates that, but he can’t really do anything about it.    Also, this is the first time he’s seen Videl fly, which is a shock.

Chi-Chi is worried.   I’m not sure why everyone in the stands is all beat up.   Maybe Chi-Chi did that while she was worried about Gohan earlier.    Tbh, I only took this screencap because I like Chi-Chi’s mussed-up hair.  

So... what about the tournament?    What about the tournament?   This is kind of a shame, really, because when I first watched these episodes, I just naturally assumed they were really going through with this event, and in a few episodes we were really going to see Goku fight Vegeta in a Budokai match.   But in hindsight, the 25th Budokai looked like a real clusterfuck of a tournament.   16 participants, many of them hopelessly outclassed, and the brackets were completely screwed up.    Was anyone really looking forward to seeing Yamu fight Goten and Trunks in a Might Mask costume?   The reality is that this tournament really was never meant to happen.  

Far away, the Z-Fighters catch up to the Supreme Kai, and he starts filling them in on the plot.    Long ago, there was an evil wizard--or “Madoshi”-- named Bibidi, who “accidentally conjured up” a monster.    Okay, that’s interesting, because the dub always said that Bibidi created Majin Buu, but I’ve seen other sources state that Buu existed long before Bibidi hooked up with him.    So that explains that.   

All Buu ever did was wreck shit, and he destroyed hundreds of inhabited worlds, which sounds kind of nostalgic to Vegeta, since the Saiyans basically did the same thing in the day...

But the Kai can hear his thoughts, and he quickly points out that Buu is far beyond the power of the Saiyan species.  Frieza killed nearly all of the Saiyans in one attack, and the four Supreme Kais could have killed Frieza in one blow, but Buu killed the other Supreme Kais, which is why Shin is the only one left.  

The problem with Majin Buu was that even Bibidi had trouble handling the guy, so he would store him in a magic ball from time to time.    I’m not quite sure how that worked, but I assume Bibidi would unleash Buu on a planet, then put him into storage before heading off to the next target.   

So this is a pretty big infodump.  It takes up half of this episode and half of the next one.    One thing I like about how this is executed is that we keep shifting from one group of characters to another.   It’s a little thing, but it keeps the scene from getting stale.   Also, Shin and Kibito are just telling the same story, so it’s not like we lose anything this way.  

So Shin managed to kill Bibidi while Buu was sealed up, and that ended the Buu crisis, except they never actually disposed of Majin Buu.    The thought was that there was no need, since only Bibidi had the ability to free Buu from his seal, and life on Earth was primitive and undeveloped, so this planet seemed like a good place to leave Buu.    They put the ball somewhere that Earthlings would likely never go to, and called it good.  

That’s a bit of a plot hole, though, because later, a major plot point will be that Buu might end up getting released prematurely, which implies that the magic ball is a lot easier to open than this, even without a wizard.   But we’ll get into that later.

As it turns out, the Supreme Kai recently discovered that Bibidi had a son, Babidi, who is just as evil as his dad, and has resolved to break the seal and unleash Majin Buu all over again.   

I have seen sources that say Babidi wasn’t actually the flesh-and-blood offspring of Bibidi, but actually a sort of magical duplicate of Bibidi, one that survived Babidi’s death and vowed to carry on where the original left off.   Sort of like how Piccolo Junior began as a virtual copy of King Piccolo, but gradually developed into a distinct being.   I suppose that’s more plausible than Bibidi getting laid, but otherwise, I don’t know that it really changes the story at all.

So Babidi wants to release Majin Buu, and he’s apparently getting close to reaching that goal.   So what does that have to do with Yamu and Spopovitch, and their mission to collect Gohan’s energy?   Well, that part has to wait for the next episode.   

And that’s the World Tournament Saga.   Next up is Babidi, and he’s a real treat.  

[makeyourownmyth]

Favorite Heard in 2018.

Same caveats, but even fewer.

There really weren’t any songs that everyone loved that I thought badly enough of to list as antis here. I will say that the Drake-ification of rap has had even worse effects that we thought it would, with mumblerap dominating everything. And there’s some notable absences on the lists, but those are definitely purposeful. 

Honorable Mentions:

Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood. Bloom was OK, but it took me to Blue Neighbourhood, which I had somehow missed. He’s amazing, I’m in love.

Black Panther Soundtrack. The Kendrick influence and brand is strong, but it’s really the more outlier-y style songs (like “Redemption”) that make this album as good as it is.

Alex Lahey - I Love You Like A Brother. This album actually came out last year, and it should have been on my list then and it wasn’t and I’ve spent a year embarrassed by that fact.

Billie Eilish - She didn’t actually release a new album this year, but all the singles were great and she’s a phenomenal talent.

Travis Scott - Astroworld. If this list would have been completed the month Astroworld came out, it might have been #1. But it lacks the sticking power to make something part of the truly good list. But he definitely made me a believer after spending time being at least partway a hater.

The Internet - Hive Mind. This album is good with a side of weirdness. Earl’s album is weird with (maybe?) a slice of goodness. And yet his album is ending up on a bunch of best of lists and Syd’s band isn’t. That’s wack. This one’s the winner if we’re comparing the two. But we don’t even need to do that. This one stands up all on its own.

Meek Mill - Championships. From the banging intro to the collab with Drake to “What’s Free” with Jay and Ross, this one goes hard. It’s a great Meek Mill album. You know exactly what you’re getting.

Pusha T - Daytona. Better than all the other rap albums on this list, almost made the real list. He’s so good at what he does, and “If You Know You Know” is one of the best openers of all time.

Tierra Whack - Whack World. If you haven’t heard this album, you should be ashamed. It’s only 15 minutes. Go listen! Then appreciate it and listen to it again. It’s great. She’s gonna do amazing things. 

Jeff Tweedy - Warm. I’ve been thinking about Jeff Tweedy and Wilco a lot this year, maybe because I read the book Learning How to Die. And I know this isn’t a Wilco album, so I know it’s apples to oranges. But I can’t shake this thought, regardless. I’m not sure there’s another band we have whose “universally acclaimed ‘best’ album” is almost certainly NOT their “best” album? I mean, post-YHF Wilco is super different. They stopped trying to be that band, but between Sky Blue Sky and A Ghost is Born and now this solo record, I’m pretty sure those albums (and this one, which I know isn’t a Wilco album) are actually better? It’s just really, really, really good. 

boygenius - boygenius. The best thing about this EP is that all the songs are solid and some are lifetime best material. The worst thing is that we’ll probably never get this collaboration again. 

Beach House - 7. Shockingly good after their odd turns on the last couple. I’m not ready to have complete faith in them just yet, but I’m glad they’re coming back around. 

Snail Mail - Lush. Solidly good, almost to great territory. Soccer Mommy got all the love, but I think this album is actually better? 

Charli XCX - Pop 2. It’s good. She deserves more credit than she gets, and she already gets a lot. 

Soccer Mommy - Clean. Not as good as the near-universal critical acclaim, but still a very strong album.

Cat Power - Wanderer. That cover of “Stay” is incredible all on its own, but the album really holds up on its own merits too. I can’t believe she’s still making music this good. 

Chvrches - Love is Dead. It took me a couple listens to actually think it was good, but it is. It’s a side step from their last 2, which I don’t love, but I’m happy they’re doing what they want to do. 

Buddy - Harlon & Alondra. Remember when he was next up and had an awesome voice? It seemed like his potential was gonna go untapped, but this album shows it’s not dead yet. It’s not quite Best material, but it was unfairly slept on. 

Best Songs:

"Backpack” - Alex Lahey. Same comment as her album. I know this came out last year. But I’ve spent a year being embarrassed by forgetting it, and she deserves a spot. 

"Thank U, Next” - Ariana Grande. Sweetener wasn’t bad, but this was way better. It took Mac dying, her concert tragedy, and breaking up with Pete to get the best Ariana we’ve ever had. 

“DJs Gotta Dance More” - A Trak. This is the type of song that I could listen to non-stop for the rest of my life and be perfectly content. 

“Missing U” - Robyn. She’s a queen. What do we expect? It’s solid gold. 

Dirty Computer Quartet - From the start of “Screwed” until the end of “Make Me Feel” Janelle Monae has my heart for all time. It doesn’t get much better. 

9. “Nice For What” - Drake. He’s fine. The best thing about this song is the Lauryn Hill. But it’s catchy as hell.

8. “Apeshit” - The Carters. It’s been a long time since my jaw dropped on a consistent basis listening to Jay. I’m happy it’s happening more, and even more with his wife outrapping him.

7. “Havana” - Camila Cabello. Earworm.

6. “Lemonade” - NERD. The Vampire King returns, recruits Rihanna to rap, and it sounds so good.

5. “Shallow” - Lady Gaga. I honestly haven’t even seen the movie yet, but this song is almost perfectly crafted. It sounds like it could have come out of any classic era. It does exactly what it aims to do. 

4. “Look Alive” - Blocboy JB. I don’t really even want to talk about how good this song is. It bugs me how good it is. 

3. “I Like It” - Cardi B. The album wasn’t bad, but she literally could have released just this song, and it probably would have sold just as many copies as the album did. The perfect song for driving during summer with your windows down. 

2. “The Story of Adidon” - Pusha T. My favorite song of the year. It taught the kids about real rap beef. From the cover art to the line about 40, it was shocking. Did he go too far? Yes. Do I think he shouldn’t have? No. Too bad the kids all ignored it and still rock with the Canadian. 

1. “Girls Like You” - Maroon 5. The most perfect pop song of the year. It sounds like it was cooked up in a magical song laboratory, and I don’t mind that at all. 

Best Albums:

7. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour. This album goooooeeeesssss in. She sings about all the typical things you’d expect from a country album, and then changes directions, too. 

6. Mac Miller - Swimming. We can’t ignore the fact that his death almost certainly affected the placement of this album. But even if he was still with us, Mac was progressing and growing, just like he has with every single album, and this would have been a serious contender. I still can’t listen to it without crying.  

5. The Carters - Love is Everything. Continuing the trend of old people being able to rap and do it well is an important reason this album gets to be this high. Also, it puts on fitting cap on the Lemonade/4:44/Love Trilogy. 

4. YG - Still Dangerous. It’s crazy how shit falls off when you don’t have a press-baiting single like “FDT” but YG is still making crazy good music. This album is not as good as the last 2, but it’s still super important to have an older perspective out there, representing for Cali G Funk in 2018. 

3. Vince Staples - FM! I will never forget where I was when I heard this album for the first time, and that’s an increasingly rare thing. In a time when there’s plenty of weirdo kids who are really good rappers, with the amount of praise that Vince gets, it’s still a possibility that he’s UNDERrated. He’s a voice we need, and this album is a perfect little piece that he created to share that voice. Everything he’s done has been great, and this is no exception. 

2. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer. Give me all Janelle everything. This album could easily have been #1. Every part of it feels purposefully thought out and well executed. The video version was great, the singles are all bangers, the lyrics are necessary, and the themes are pushing all the right buttons. 

1. Camp Cope - How to Socialise & Make Friends. I knew from the moment that I listened to this album that it was going to be my #1 in December. The fact that I’m still writing that in December, when the album dropped in March, is a testament to its staying power. From “The Opener” to the very last track, there’s not a moment of let up. These kids are super promising, and they have already done something phenomenal. I cannot wait to see what comes next for them. 

[gdmli]

A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

This blog will break convention by straying back to observations and reflections from throughout our time together as well as those from today’s class at Camp Dodge.

Also, much of the commentary in this and future posts will be through the lenses provided by my unique position (At Risk Coordinator) in one of Iowa’s neediest schools. ************************************************************************************************

At class orientation, some of us were given the question, What is one thing you enjoy about Des Moines? A few additional things have come to mind which deserve a shout out such as...

...our system of public libraries. Not only do we have a fabulous Central Library, but the East Side, Forest Avenue, Franklin Avenue, North Side, and South Side libraries give every neighborhood convenient accessibility. There is also programming available for every age. My favorites include the AVID series of lectures by prominent authors as well as the many events and activities for children which we frequent with our grandkids.

...the Downtown Farmers Market. Recently City View asked readers which was their favorite-the State Fair or Farmers Market. For me, it’s not even close! The Farmers Market provides small, often organic producers a venue to present and sell their wares to thousands of consumers each week. I make a point of visiting the large number of the small businesses which are operated by recent arrivals to our country. The food is always fresh and competitively priced. Recently I purchased a bounty of carrots, cucumbers, garlic, kale, Swiss chard, tomatoes for $15. Incredible!

...my favorite non-profit agency. 8th and College Connections utilizes space inside the Trinity Las Americas United Methodist Church and provides radical hospitality as well as language and civics instruction to newly arrived people to this country. As a volunteer teacher beginning my third year I come home after every class session with my heart warmed. These adult learners are grateful and ultra-motivated to learn the essentials for successful living in the US. If you are intrigued, let me know and I can tell you more. ************************************************************************************************

May I also begin a dialogue on the one thing we would like to see improved?

I think we need to clean up our act.

Let me first point out that living in the neat as a pin town of Pella for 22 years has left me just a tad psychotic about cleanliness. Despite this, it does bother me seeing trash lying around our city which could otherwise have been disposed of more appropriately. Both the areas where I live (just off SW 23rd) and work (East Side) seem to suffer from this malady.

My remedy has been to become a one-man clean up crew. Every day at work and once a week around my neighborhood I’m out picking up trash. My goals are to help beautify these areas as well as lead by example to motivate others to pick up after themselves and others.

Please join me in this crusade. **********************************************************************************************

The gentleman who led our cemetery tour, Archie Cook, is a real gem you all need to know a bit better. Rather than kicking back in retirement, he takes on the very challenging assignment of substitute teacher for the DMPS. He gets around to a lot of schools, but is very frequently at East High. In fact, he graces our building so frequently he is almost part of the staff. Teachers and students all know him which goes a long ways towards establishing a positive learning environment. Our building can be pretty rough some times, but I’ve never seen Archie get his feathers ruffled. He’s always positive, always leads the classroom with compassion, and students always have a good day when Mr. Cook is subbing. This is a rare skill and our students are the beneficiaries.

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One of the speakers at the Opening Retreat made mention of Des Moines’ talent shortage. This phenomenon is frequently sited by business leaders as an impediment to future growth (see here: 

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/09/06/ grassley-ernst-immigration-employment-visas-iowa-business-leaders/2217840001/ ).

While I have no doubt as to the efficacy of liberalizing the H-1B process, it is also true we are neglecting a very large and potentially powerful pool of talented workers. The best part is these future stars are already right here under our noses. This untapped reservoir of talent are the thousands of young people who attend East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, and Roosevelt.

If you need further convincing, let me know and you can spend a day walking the halls of East High and you will see this too. If you prefer metrics, check this out as it paints a bleak picture of the situation in the city schools. https://www.iaschoolperformance.gov/ ECP/Home/Index. Either way you will see we are not doing our best for these youngsters.

Here are some additional thoughts on the topic of developing our homegrown talent. This is a blog post courtesy from Mr. Knox of Urban Dreams who spoke to us at Principal Financial Group: https://www.makedmgreater.com/grow-a-diverse-future/ 

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The day devoted to social capital was and continues to be very thought-provoking for me. One source of inequity which has been on my mind recently is the lack of effective support for our English Language Learners (ELL). A critical piece to the educational process are the services provided by a cadre known as the Bilingual Family Liaisons (BFL). These people provide for open communications between school and home as well as support at school for students who arrive speaking little or no English.

The BFL with whom I work at East is one of the most effective educators I’ve ever met. She is extremely humble and would be very upset at me if I used her name, but she is an interpreter, teacher, coach, counselor, nurse, social worker and mom to countless students.

Therein lies the problem. Her workload is ridiculous. She not only supports hundreds of students and families at East, but serves additional clients at our feeder schools (that is to say elementary and middle schools whose students end up going to East for High School). I recently asked her how large her caseload was and she couldn’t even begin to provide a ballpark estimate.

Yes, resources are tight. That however is because of misplaced values by society and the policy-makers who represent us. In order to effectively influence the future of our nation we need to invest in our neediest students. ***************************************************************************************************

Over the weekend of September 13, I had a couple of “ah ha” moments related to the topic of social capital which I wrote about in my other blog. You can read it here: https://leadershipstars.blogspot.com/2019/09/friday-night-football-and-saturday.html 

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We are surrounded by military history, frequently without even being aware.

 For instance, in order to get to class today I drove on two roads authorized by the National Interstate and Defense and Highway Acts, signed into law by (President) General Dwight Eisenhower on June 29, 1956. It is the largest public works project in the history of the world. My favorite stretch of this highway is the ten or so miles just east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. If you’ve ever driven this stretch of road you know what I’m talking about. **************************************************************************************************

The vision for our “interstate highway system” came in part from the mind of a junior officer (Dwight Eisenhower) taking a troop transport across dusty back road for deployment in World War I, in contrast to what the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Allied Forces (SCAEF) saw from the Autobahn which the Germans had engineered prior to World War II. No doubt one of Ike’s ah-ha moments! ************************************************************************************************

The part of my drive from the East Mixmaster to Merle Hay Road was along I-80/35, built ostensibly for military purposes, is a portion of road which connects the George Washington Bridge in NY/NJ to the Bay Bridge which spans the Bay from Oakland to San Francisco. Have we ever thought about what a miracle that is? ***********************************************************************************************

And speaking of Merle Hay Road...Private Merle Hay of Carroll County was the first Iowan to die in the “War to End All Wars.” He lies in the West Lawn Cemetery in Glidden, Iowa. 

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Camp Dodge derives its name from Grenville Dodge who was one of the chief members of General Grant’s staff in the Western Theater of Operations of the War Between the States. Mr. Dodge was born in Massachusetts and is buried in Council Bluffs. He became an executive with the Union Pacific Railroad and no doubt was a close associate of many of those Archie talked to us about during our Opening Retreat. ************************************************************************************************

The prominent signage in Camp Dodge made it clear that using one’s cell phone while driving is frowned upon. Wish the same could be said on all of out public roadways. **************************************************************************************************

As a certified history nerd, I wish a full hour or so or our class would have been set aside for the Gold Star Museum. My goal is to go back in the very near future. I have ancestors who died at the Battles of  Pea Ridge and Shiloh (like nearly all native Iowans). I want to go back and do further research. ************************************************************************************************ 

I am too old and fat to have fully benefited from today’s exercises. I am in awe of those who have made this a way of life and those classmate who fully participated today. ************************************************************************************************

Those classmate who overcame fear and kicked ass on the Wall and in the other tests of courage, my hat is off to you. Also, the closing exercise in which everyone shared out from their experiences was the most inspirational part of the day for me. Bragging on each other with meaningful feedback is a great motivator.

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I’m a big believer in Servant Leadership. On that note, I was really impressed to see the Lt. Col. making coffee at lunch today. *****************************************************************************************************

Thank you to him, his staff, and the GDMLI Institute for making today possible.