#elite four karin

[smthleon]

younger karen wip!!!

woahj mama......

#did u guys know I love crazy t girls #elite four karen #Karin #karen #pokemon #hgss #pkmn hgss #pokemon hgss #elite four

[meistoshi]

dark  types  can  be  nasty  business.     satoshi  has  battled  enough  specializing  in  the  type  to  be  aware  of  that.     he's  utilized  dark  types  enough  to  be  very  aware  of  that.     it's  the  last  elite  four  battle ...     they  cannot  blow  this.

he's  tried  looking  into  karin's  stats,  &  he's  been  pleasantly  surprised  to  learn  she  shares  the  values  of  not  focusing  too  hard  on  the  advantages  &  disadvantages  of  typings  —  there's  still  not  a  lot  of  pros  in  kanto  that  simply  use  the  pokémon  they  like  over  what's  effective ;  he's  been  focusing  on  typings  much  harder  for  this  league  for  that  exact  reason.     he's  tempted,  really  tempted,  to  honor  that  perspective  &  use  the  team  he  wanted  to  head  into  this  thing  with  to  start,  but ...     there's  the  next  battle  to  consider.     if  satoshi  wins  this,  there  will  still  be  wataru  to  battle.     that  needs  to  be  taken  into  account.

&  so ...     ❛  lucario,  i'm  gonna  have  you  sit  the  next  one  out.     you  too,  pikachu.     i'm  gonna  see  about  allowing  an  exception  of  technically  having  eight  monster  balls  on  me  so  you  two  can  still  watch  here,  alright ??  ❜

there's  token  pouting  from  the  pair,  annoyed  but  halfhearted,  understanding  their  trainer's  intention :  they've  been  battling  for  three  days  straight  against  the  strongest  battlers  between  two  regions  —   this  is  no  common  league,  they  need  to  take  a  break  if  they're  to  not  break  against  wataru's  dragons. pikachu just barely pulled through against leon's lizardon. ( he doesn't want to worry that much again for a while. )

satoshi  smiles  with  just  a  bit  of  exasperation  &  ruffles  the  tops  of  both  their  heads  before  pulling  out  his  phone  &  opening  up  his  available  roster.     ❛  now  let's  see ...     good  against  dark  types ...     ❜

a  devious  little  glint  sparks  through  him,  grinning  over  at  pikachu.

❛  how  do  you  feel  about  giving  up  a  slot  to  barrierd ??   ❜   it'll  be  a bit of a  double - edged  sword,  much  like  his  gamble  with  heracros,  but  hey,  gotta  pull  out  all  their  stops.     besides,  barrierd  seemed  to  have  fun  in  hoenn.     &  if  pikachu's  mirroring  devil  of  a  grin  is  anything  to  go  by,  it  certainly  doesn't  mind. ( & it'll give satoshi the reason he needs to check in with his mama again. hopefully she won't mind overmuch. )

#hi for the love of god hello i intend to actually finish this event soon ghakfhal #ic. #event. onto indigo horizons. #the story so far.

[msclaritea]

She Escaped Scientology in the Trunk of a Car. Her Nightmare Is Far From Over

Valerie Haney opens up about her years-long battle with the Church of Scientology, and how the court is forcing her into “religious arbitration”

BY TONY ORTEGA

MARCH 27, 2023

Valerie Haney, former Scientologist turned whistleblower. VALERIE HANEY

“I’M LITERALLY SHAKING right now as I’m talking to you,” Valerie Haney says, speaking by phone from Florida.

Her 22 years in Scientology’s hardcore elite unit, the Sea Organization, has left her with what her therapist has diagnosed as PTSD, she explains. And a court ruling on March 15 had left her trembling as those years of trauma were stirred up again.

“I was like, am I on another planet? Is this really correct? The court is OK with me having to go back to the place where I literally had to escape in the trunk of a car to get out?”

In November 2016, Haney, who worked casting Scientology’s internal films, crawled into the trunk of an actor’s car during a film shoot in order to get away from Scientology’s secretive international management compound “Gold Base” near Hemet, California. Her unusual escape became the subject of the premiere episode of Leah Remini’s third season of Scientology and the Aftermath, which aired on A&E in 2018.

The episode explained that after Haney made it to Los Angeles, Remini hired her as an assistant, and once Scientology found out about it Haney was allegedly subjected to a frightening campaign of surveillance and stalking.

She also began talking to law enforcement.

“I went to the authorities three months after I got out. I went to the FBI. I was thinking, of course we’re going to court, because this is all illegal!”

No charges were filed, but Haney herself filed a lawsuit against Scientology in June 2019 alleging kidnapping, stalking, and libel, which turned into a legal nightmare that now has her facing the prospect of going to the church to submit herself to an internal “religious arbitration” proceeding.

Haney, like other former Scientologists, finds that the church’s “arbitration” strategy is an impediment to getting a day in court. An exception was the lawsuit filed by Danny Masterson’s rape accusers, who sued Scientology for, they said, harassing them for taking their allegations to the LAPD. That case was also forced into arbitration initially, but then a California appeals court ruled that because the allegations of harassment (including the alleged poisoning of pets) had occurred after the women had left the church, the arbitration contracts shouldn’t apply.

In her first interview since filing her lawsuit four years ago, Haney says she still can’t believe that a Los Angeles court granted Scientology’s arbitration motion, forcing her to take her case to Scientology itself, and without an attorney, or a court reporter, or even a friend by her side.

“Scientology literally abused me my entire life, I finally escaped, and I’m trying to use the U.S.  judicial system, and now they’re going, oh no, you need to go back and do everything that your abuser says.”

She’s fought back in interesting ways: Since the arbitration requires that she nominate an arbitrator, she’s suggested names like Tom Cruise, Elisabeth Moss, and Jenna Elfman — a total of 19 well-known and less well-known Scientology figures, drawing the ire of the church’s attorneys.

Scientology denies that Haney was held against her will and that she was harassed after she left the church. But it has made assurances to the court that its arbitration rules will provide a fair hearing for her accusations. Rolling Stone sent multiple requests for responses to Haney’s allegations to the Church of Scientology’s spokeswoman Karin Pouw, who has not replied.

Valerie Haney was born to Scientologist parents in 1979, and from ages six to 12 was raised in Scientology’s Cadet Org, a version of the Sea Org for children, at its “spiritual mecca,” the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida.

[girlvinland]

When you get some ouchies and your partner in crime finds it funny but still dresses your wounds 🤕.

Feel like this needs a follow up.

#by bug #my art #my doods #pokemon #gsc #elite four will #elite four itsuki #elite four karen #elite four karin #masakudoshipping

[maiden-artstraea]

Bored before work so doodled two kids who are just trying to make an honest living 💋👅

———

I did this in color first and I just need someone to know that that lollipop was the same color as Karen’s hair.

Also my Will HC is that he is a manlet I’m sorry. If you know me, you know this. If you don’t know me, plz forgive me. I see you tall Will fans and I respect you.

#pokemon #gsc #pokespe #elite four karen #elite four karin #elite four will #elite four ituski #masakudoshipping

[vanisketches]

You could say how he is trying at least...The future of Kanto and Johto regions!

Thank you for your suggestion! Hope you like it anon!

Reblogs > Likes

#pkmnart #Champion Lance #wataru #elite four karen #elite four Will #karin #itsuki #elite four Bruno #elite four Koga #Kyo #Siba #Pokemon fan art #pokemon #fan art #my art

[blueiskewl]

Bronze Age Tomb of Female Ruler Discovered in Spain

About 3,700 years ago, a man and a woman were buried together in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Their tomb was an ovoid jar beneath the floor of a grand hall in an expansive hilltop complex known as La Almoloya, in what is now Murcia, Spain. It’s one of many archaeological sites associated with the El Argar culture of the Early Bronze Age that controlled an area about the size of Belgium from 2200 B.C. to 1500 B.C.

Judging by the 29 high-value objects in the tomb, described Thursday in the journal Antiquity, the couple appear to have been members of the Argaric upper class. And the woman may have been the more important of the two, raising questions for archaeologists about who wielded power among the Argarics, and adding more evidence to a debate about the role of women in prehistoric Europe.

She died in her 20s, possibly of tuberculosis, and had been placed on her back with her legs bent toward the man. In life, she had a range of congenital anomalies such as a shortened, fused spine and a stunted left thumb.

On and around her were sublime silver emblems of wealth and power. Her hair had been fastened with silver spirals, and her silver earlobe plugs — one larger than the other — had silver spirals looped through them. A silver bracelet was near her elbow, and a silver ring was still on her finger. Silver embellished the diamond-shaped ceramic pot near her, and triple plates of silver embellished her oak-wood awl — a symbol of womanhood.

Her most fantastic silver artifact is an impeccably crafted diadem — a headband-like crown — that still rested on her head. Only six have been discovered in Argaric graves.

She would have shimmered in life. “Imagine the diadem with a disc going down to the tip of her nose,” said Cristina Rihuete Herrada, an archaeologist and professor of prehistory at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and one of the discoverers of the burial. “It’s shining. You could actually see yourself in the disc. Framing the eyes of that woman, it would be a very, very impressive thing to see. And the ability of somebody to be reflected — their face in another face — would have been something shocking.”

The sound of her would have been dramatic too: “Think about the noise — this clink clink clink, because it’s silver against silver in these very large earlobes,” Dr. Rihuete Herrada said. “That would make for a remarkable person.”

The man, who was in his 30s when he died, had been interred with his own fineries, including flared gold plugs in his ears. The silver ring that had once been on his finger had fallen off and lay near his lower back. By his side was a copper dagger fitted with four silver rivets.

Like their contemporaries — such as the Minoans of Crete, the Wessex of Britain and the Unetice of Central Europe — the Argarics had the hallmarks of a state society, with a ruling bureaucracy, geopolitical boundaries, complex settlement systems and urban centers with monumental structures. They had divisions of labor and class distinctions that persisted after death, based on the wide disparity of grave goods discovered at archaeological sites.

And while most of these systems have long been considered deeply patriarchal, the double burial at La Almoloya and other Argaric graves are making archaeologists reconsider life in ancient Iberia. Was she the one wielding the power? Was she a symbol of power but held none of her own? Did they share power or wield it in different realms?

They were buried beneath the floor of a great hall, where long benches lined the walls, and a podium stood before a hearth meant for warmth and light, not cooking. The space was big enough to hold about 50 people. “There have been hundreds of El Argar buildings excavated, and this one is unique. It’s quite clearly a building specialized in politics,” Dr. Rihuete Herrada said. The couple had at least one child together — an infant discovered buried beneath a nearby building was a genetic match to both of them.

In the El Argar culture, girls were given grave goods at an earlier age than boys were, indicating they were considered women before boys were considered men. Diadems are exclusively found with women, and their graves hold a richer variety of valuable goods. Some male elite warriors were buried with swords.

As for the power structure the two occupied, Dr. Rihuete Herrada suggests that perhaps they held potency in different realms. The swords could suggest “that enforcement of government decisions will be in the hands of men. Maybe women were political rulers, but not alone,” she said.

She suggests that perhaps the Argarics were similar to the matrilineal Haudenosaunee (known also as the Iroquois), with women holding political and decision-making power — including over matters of chiefdom, war and justice — but men being in control of the military.

These intriguing ideas fit into an emerging body of research from various archaeological studies in Europe that are re-examining female power during the Bronze Age.

“The fact that most of the grave goods, including all of those made of silver, were associated with the female clearly points to an individual that was considered highly important,” said Karin Frei, a research professor in archaeometry at the National Museum of Denmark. “It makes sense to raise the question of whether a class-based state society could be ruled by women.”

Dr. Frei is the director of Tales of Bronze Age People, which uses methods such as biogeochemical and biomolecular analyses to study the remains from both elite and commoner burials in Denmark. “In several parts of Bronze Age Europe, females might have played a much bigger role in political and/or long-distance networks than previously thought,” she said.

Joanna Bruck, an expert in the Bronze Age of Britain and Ireland and head of the School of Archaeology at University College Dublin, says that the assumption that elite women of this era were “bartered brides,” exchanged as objects in networks of male power, is ripe for reconsideration.

he burial at La Almoloya “provides such clear evidence that women could hold special political power in the past,” Dr. Bruck said. “I think we’ve got to be open to the possibility that they wielded power and agency. Of course, power is a really complex thing. You can have power in some contexts but not in others. We shouldn’t think of power being something that you have or don’t have.”

By Jennifer Pinkowski.

#Bronze Age Tomb of Female Ruler Discovered in Spain #archeology #treasure #silver #history #history news #ancient history

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 9/04/2021

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#05 - Coordinates:  Sanada speaks to Kei about the day he rescued Yukimura. Meanwhile, Shitan receives a message via carrier pigeon as the Bonito II sails to Orléans to follow the next lead. Fena and her crew reach a hollowed out dig site and enter a buried and abandoned temple. Fena starts getting mysterious visions as she leads her crew through winding catacombs below the temple, unaware that O'Malley and her own pirate crew are following behind. When O'Malley has her subordinate Mary pick a direction at each fork, she does and O'Malley's crew goes the opposite while marking where they've been. Fena's group soon reach a glowing altar with a space that fits the clear stone, and try to find the next clue, while Fena wanders off to what appears to be the grave of Joan of Arc where she is grabbed by one of O'Malley's subordinates. Just as the samurai uncover some Roman numerals etched onto the stone, O'Malley and her crew appear with Fena at sword point, forcing them to give up what O'Malley calls the "coordinates to El Dorado." Karin reluctantly gives them her paper with the numbers, but O'Malley kicks Karin and drags Fena away with her own crew, before blowing up the entrance to the catacombs with the Goblin Knights inside. Tsubaki is awoken by the explosion while waiting on the Bonito II.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon EP#10 - The Gold and Silver Rainbow Pearls: The twin brothers Kinka and Ginka, who share the same body, continue their battle to the death so that the victor can claim their entire body for himself. Towa, Setsuna and Moroha are sent to stop the damage they are causing to nearby villages and attack them. Noticing that both Towa and Setsuna carry Rainbow Pearls, Kinka and Ginka hold a truce so that they can steal them for themselves. The two possess Towa and Setsuna's bodies respectively, forcing them to fight each other until Setsuna uses some poison to expel them, but they end up running away with the pearls. The brothers report their feat to Joka, their clan's leader, who decides to absorb both while claiming the pearls for herself as part of her plan to get revenge on Sesshōmaru. Towa and Setsuna arrive to retrieve their Pearls when Setsuna, watching the brothers in peril, has some glimpses of the day when she got separated from her own twin sister. After Joka separates Kinka from his brother to absorb him first, Ginka joins forces with Setsuna to defeat her, but Kinka does not survive the attack, with his brother dying soon after. Towa and Setsuna regain their Rainbow Pearls and Towa wonders if Setsuna remembered her past a little, while Moroha laments that with the enemies' bodies turned to ashes, they can't claim any reward for slaying them.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (Endeavor Agency Arc) EP#106 (18): The Unforgiven: Fuyumi explains to Midoriya and Bakugo that Natsu was very close to Toya, causing him to blame Endeavor for his brother's death. Eventually the time comes for Endeavor to bring the trio back to U.A. The car is soon attacked by street whitelines, controlled by a villain named "Ending", with Natsu held hostage. Ending emotionally explains that heroes can’t kill, but since Endeavor had to kill the High-End Nomu, he can do it again. Natsu’s scared face causes Endeavor to hesitate. Ending launches nearby cars into the air, and hangs Natsu in front of a moving train. Bakugo saves Natsu, Midoriya uses Blackwhip to grab the cars, and Todoroki captures Ending. After hugging Natsu, Endeavor apologizes to him as he never intended on avoiding his kids, but still ran away from his responsibilities. Natsu has no intention of ever forgiving him and Endeavor says it’s okay since he just wants to atone. Endeavor decides the best thing he can do for his family, is to ensure they live happily without him.

Food Wars: The Fourth Plate (Promotion Exams Arc) EP#64 (03) - Hopeful Solidarity: Kuga, who seeks to surpass Tsukasa after being humiliated by him a past Shokugeki, presents a smoked pork dish that incorporates both Sichuan and French cuisine. However, Tsukasa presents his own dish, which is a purée that incorporates all four types of green tea, and the judges declare Tsukasa the winner. This makes the second round a sweep for the Elite Ten. Despite their victories, both Tsukasa and Rindo are too exhausted to participate in the third round, all according to Erina's plan. The next day, the third round's matchups are Soma against Saitou with butter, Takumi against Eizan with beef, and Megumi against Momo with apples. As the third round begins, Shinomiya arrives at the arena.

Black Clover: The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc EP#164 - Battlefield: Heart Kingdom: Dante is overjoyed that Yami was able to cut him as he had grown completely bored of the human world and Yami made him enjoy combat again. He explains that the Triad plan to reach the Underworld but require a spell called Tree of Qliphoth, which requires Vangeance’s world tree magic and Yami’s dark magic to allow every devil from the underworld to come to the human world. Disciple Halbet sets the Heart kingdoms fruit trees on fire, claiming all that is required for health and beauty is basic nutrition, thus eating food for pleasure is ridiculous. Outraged by this, the comically obese Charmy activates her adult form, instantly losing her excess weight and transforming her sheep chef into her gluttonous wolf. Halbet’s magic is entirely consumed leaving her defenceless, so Charmy beats her up, ruining her flawless beauty. Disciple Sivoir battles Leopold using hundreds of magic eyes to watch the entire battlefield. Leopold is injured by Sivoir’s long range attacks but Sivoir realises Leopold had been enduring the attacks in order to craft a giant circle of mana words and defeats Sivoir by summoning a volcanic eruption. Loropechika’s throne room is suddenly invaded by Triad member Vanica, whom Loropechika recognises.

#Toonami #Toonami Weekly Recap #Adult Swim Music Video #Iron Maiden #Fena: Pirate Princess #Yashahime: Princess Half Demon #InuYasha #My Hero Academia #My Hero Academia 5 #Endeavor Agency Arc #Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma #Food Wars: The Fourth Plate #Promotion Exams Arc #Black Clover #The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc

[plunnies-n-shit]

passing on (passing over)

Bleach -- GrimmIchi -- Pokemon AU

Ichigo cares for a Tower of Souls (where dead pokemon are laid to rest and can be mourned). It's a lonely job, and a sad one, but Ichigo is good at it. He also trains emotional support pokemon on the side, which is the much more enjoyable part of the job.

(His partner pokemon are a pair of phantump, one shiny one normal, named Yuzu and Karin.)

Grimmjow is looking to become Champion someday, but right now he's got a Purugly who's getting really old and even though staying in the shadow of the Tower of Souls seems... morbid. He can also get a lot of emotional support here and there are lots of services to help make his Pantera's last days as nice as possible.

He does his best not to visit the Tower of Souls unless there's something they absolutely need him for, though. In fact, he tries to stay as far from the Tower of Souls as possible while still staying in the town limits. Which is how he ends up at a quaint-looking cabin on the very far edge of the town. Two stories, log walls, green roof. Fenced in backyard. A pair of Phantump sleeping on the porch.

And because he has nothing better to do (also because Pantera has now clambered up onto the porch and is sleeping with the Phantumps), Grimmjow goes inside.

Ichigo just got a litter of Skitty in, and he's trying to keep most of the litter from bullying the shiny runt while still getting them all settled. Grimmjow walks in, sits in one of the chairs to wait for Ichigo to get done, and gets a tiny little mewling shiny skitty dumped in his lap. 

"Just. Hold her for a minute, please," Ichigo says absently, trying to keep the other skitty from climbing the chair to get to grimmjow too.

Grimmjow looks at the skitty. the skitty looks at him.

Grimmjow's heart melts.

Ichigo recognizes Pantera as the old purugly that everyone has been talking about, gets the other skitty into their cages so he can go back and talk to Grimmjow because he imagines Grimmjow might need someone to talk to. Because the people of the village are very nice people, but their views on death can feel a little. Callous. To outsiders. Loss is hard. Ichigo knows that intimately.

Grimmjow doesn't get around to talking about it that night, but. He comes back. For the shiny skitty who has bonded with him, of course. Not for Ichigo, who is gentle and kind and understanding and also very attractive

And then he comes back again. And again. Pantera gives the Shiny Skitty (who is actually a guy, and Grimmjow is naming Edrad) her approval, which means she treats the skitty like she might treat her own child. Lots of sleeping and vigorous grooming.

One night Pantera and Edrad are sleeping in a cat bed Ichigo dragged out into the main room. Karin and Yuzu are in the kitchen. Ichigo and Grimmjow are sitting in the main room trying to get a slowpoke to play because the poor thing needs some exercise when Grimmjow finally admits he's. Scared.

Pantera was his very first pokemon. She's been with him for as long as Grimmjow can remember. More than a partner, she's family. And Grimmjow doesn't know what he's going to do without her.

Grimmjow cries himself out on Ichigo's shoulder. He spends the night in ichigo's bed. And in the morning he watches Edrad pounce for Pantera's tail and he feels. Better. Not good, but. Better. Like he can do this.

Pantera passes on. Grimmjow moves on, but stays in contact with Ichigo. Pen pals. Over the distance, they slowly, slowly fall in love.

Years layer, Grimmjow gets a message: The Elite Four and Champion are ready to face him. It's the hardest he's ever fought, But Edrad, Shawlong, Yylfordt, Di Roy, and Nakeem are ready.

And when he walks through those last doors to face the Champion… 

Two Phamtump, a shiny and a normal, are right there to greet him with hugs and cheek rubs.

"Karin, Yuzu," Ichigo calls from across the battlefield, and Grimmjow can barely breathe. Ichigo is wearing Champion Blacks, and he looks. He looks good, the girls in his arms, a shiny Haxorus looming over his shoulder, three more pokeballs on his hip.

That same gentle smile that grows into a cocky grin. "You ready, Grimmjow?"

(Grimm doesn't win. Afterward ichi heals up all his pokemon & they go on a date. They're friendly rivals now, always joking about how Grimm is gonna take his title one day)

#q's plunnies #passing on (passing over) #bleach #pokemon #grimmichi #grimmjow jaegerjaquez #ichigo kurosaki

[bookwriting]

Leadership With Karin Hurt and David Dye

Melanie Johnson and Jenn Foster, owners of Elite Online Publishing, interview Karin Hurt and David Dye, authors of Winning Well and Courageous Cultures, about how to become a leader in your business and in your everyday life.

Karin is a former Verizon Wireless executive, and an Inc. Magazine Great Leadership Speaker. She inspires and guides leaders with Live Leadership Development programs; her weekly video blog, Asking For a Friend; and four books.

David’s flair for bringing clarity to complex topics is rooted in decades of experience as an executive and elected official. His Live Leadership Development programs, Leadership Without Losing Your Soul podcast, and four books provide practical plans for human-centered leadership.

After a while, they realized they were writing the same book, so they decided to collaborate. Karin and David wrote their first book, Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your Soul. Soon after the book was complete, they realized they had fallen in love somewhere along the way. They got married and merged their businesses.

Now they help human-centered leaders (like you) resolve workplace ambiguity and chaos so that you can drive innovation, productivity, and revenue without burning out employees.

Learn More Here

Check out this episode!

#business #entrepreneur #elite #publishing #book #expert #small business

[gunnerpalace]

So how would you rewrite it? I think you said something about doing that?

That would be the subject of Hyperchlorate Part III. (Part II again being detailing everything that went wrong, and Part I being going over what made the story unique.)

In essence there are the four major changes I would make to Bleach:

Radically expand upon (and show, don’t tell) character relations in the story. We are repeatedly told that so and so are friends, or family, or colleagues, or whatever, and we essentially never see it (outside of Tatsuki and Orihime at the very beginning). It’s critical to caring about and interlinking the characters and seeing them grow and develop. For example, someone made a point that the Xcution arc demonstrates Ichigo’s bonds with Soul Society are stronger than with his own friends. That’s true, and you can see it in the Japanese cultural context of him using their first names (even for Toushirou!) whereas he keeps calling Uryuu and Orihime by Ishida and Inoue. There’s a definite social distance there. But it’s a subtle thing. And it really needs to not be subtle. There needs to be a lot more interactions between characters; plenty of characters literally never interact at all, and plenty of characters look fucking terrible for their apparent gross negligence that serves zero point other than to maintain the Mystery Boxes (here’s looking at you, Isshin, Ryuuken, and Kisuke).

Recontextualize everything after the Soul Society arc. I am not opposed to certain places, people, or concepts (e.g., Hueco Mundo, the Espada, Fullbring, the Soul King, etc.) but the way they were introduced and handled was, frankly, garbage. Arrancar, at least, were set up rather early on. The rest… was a bunch of ex nihilo shit. It came out of nowhere with no setup. I also don’t really enjoy the thematic inversion of Hueco Mundo seemingly purely for the sake of subverting expectations. So, I would restructure everything that happens after that point in gross detail.

Refit, standardize, and clearly and consistently implement and allude to the grand plot. If there was going to be some grand purpose to the Bleach universe, it needed to be made clear textually, not just thematically, throughout the story. It needs to be set up to the reader, if not to the characters, very early on so they “get” what everything is building toward. That absolutely was not done.

Having a real ending that actually involves our protagonists making a substantive change. I’ve definitely been over this before.

That’s all well and good, right? So what sort of things would I actually look to change?

As an example of the high-level stuff… In terms of narrative, internal consistency, and plot, the whole Substitute Shinigami thing makes no fucking sense. It makes literally zero sense that Ginjou was the first one in several thousand years, and Ichigo was only the second. It makes zero sense that a technique to transfer powers to humans exists and is taught at the academy, can be known to have a “low chance of success,” and then made a crime when it’s happened a grand total of two times, unless it was all a long con just to catch Ginjou, and in that case it’s dumb because he doesn’t matter. (We’re supposed to believe Soul Society allows Hollows to run roughshod everywhere but they’re really obsessed about catching this one dude but not enough to actually task anyone powerful to go do it? No, none of that makes sense.)

It also doesn’t make any sense that there are only a grand total of 6,000 to 7,000 Shinigami to patrol its nebulously defined area of responsibility. (Is it the whole world? Is it just Japan? If the latter, are there other Soul Societies? If the former, where are the foreigners? Sure seem to be a lot of people who look foreign, but they all have Japanese names and speak Japanese in a manga that clearly at least recognizes Mexico. Why would foreigners accept a feudal Japanese afterlife? This is another small example of what I mean by the grand plot being fucked.)

It also doesn’t make a lot of sense that the only Shinigami worth a damn are Captains, Lieutenants, and the occasional Seated Officer. (This is canonical, by the way.) Almost all of them are total trash who would lose to the most basic bitch Hollow, let alone an Arrancar. Meanwhile, your average Quincy can mop the floor with all three.

You know what would make a lot more sense, and work better with what’s on paper? Here are some ramblings from my notes on this subject:

i think it’s sorta like… you wanna mirror the structure of the Hollows; Shinigami as a whole are like Menos, although they are almost all Arrancar (there could be some very low-ranked/new Shinigami who do not have shikai, these would be the “rookies”), whereas substitute Shinigami are like masked Hollows, with some overlap into Gillians/Menos Grande

- Captains (General Officers) are at the level of the Espada (with obvious differences among them correlating to Espada generated from Vasto Lordes and Adjuchas)- Lieutenants (Staff Officers) are at the level of the Privaron Espada and some of the stronger fracciones- Seated Officers (Officers) are at  the level of most fracciones and wild Adjuchas [sometimes from the 4th Seat up are more on the level of the above, e.g., Ikkaku and Yumichika]- Unseated Officers (NCOs) are at the level of weak fracciones, or on the order of holding off a Gillian- Substitute Shinigami (Enlisted) are at the level of individual Hollows

Substitute Shinigami are basically what Soul Society sets up to deal with the Living World rather than directly intervening, because “they have better shit to do;” they’re probably set up like a secret society of beat cops, and yeah, if the Shinigami proper notice spiritually sensitive people while setting up new districts or maintaining their assigned ones, they shank'em and induct'em (usually these people attract Hollows anyway so it’s a “become one of our grunts or die” type deal; maybe if they refuse, the Shinigami kill them instead for shirking their duties?)Hollows aren’t the only spooky thing running around in the night either; they’re probably relatively rare, and other weird shit like revenants and ghosts are more common

i also have some notes here about how it’d be cool if Substitute Shinigami were like, an established thingand were expendable gruntswith actual Shinigami being rather more elite, even if they’re not seatedlike it’s XCOM with supernatural shithaving shikai should be a big fucking deal; even knowing kidou should be like, impressiveyour average Hollow should be equivalent to a Substitute Shinigamian unseated Shinigami should be like a Menos Grandea Shinigami good at kidou and a weak zanpakutou should be like a weak Arrancara seated Shinigami should be like a medium Arrancar and know shikai for surelieutenants should be like Privaron Espadaand captains should be like the Espada (or higher)

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. My first big change to Bleach would be dispensing with the concept of substitutes as being rare. They should be the main interface for the human world (and expendable, and have a high turnover rate). Rukia being there should be A Big Deal. (Have her sent there specifically to monitor things, like a Commissar? To look for Grand Fisher? Whatever.)

Ginjou, were he to exist, would then need a different backstory, but that would be real easy to build out.

As an example of additional character interaction, I’ve already detailed my idea that Kisuke and Yoruichi should be Rukia’s surrogate parents. (And solving the problem of when Rukia got the Hogyouku.)

As another example, it has never made sense to me that Rukia is the one that stays to fight Shrieker while she tells Ichigo to take Karin home. Rukia knows her powers are iffy at best, and should know better. She damn near almost dies (along with Chad) for no reason other than… ??? For dramatic tension and to reveal Chad can attack Hollows, I guess. Even Ichigo calls her out on it. It should’ve been flipped, with Karin revealing things to Rukia and learning about her, and that should be built into Karin repeatedly noticing the two of them (which was never, ever paid off in any fashion whatsoever). This is just one example of more moments of character interaction outside of fights.

As an example of reworking things, I like the ideas of turning the hunt for Aizen into something more like Apocalypse Now, that Aizen kidnaps Karin and Yuzu instead of Orihime, and that his hideout is deep in Rukongai instead of Hueco Mundo:

in one of these posts, @icchiruki was like, Aizen shouldn’t have run off to Hueco Mundohe should’ve run into Rukongaiand that’s geniusbecause it makes him more sympathetic because they have a legit reason to be aggrieved with Soul Societyand also lets us see the other side of the coinwhich, conveniently, leads toward my idea of the HM arc as being more like Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, with Aizen as the equivalent of Kurtz out among the Montagnardsand also lets there be some spooky eldritch shit like whatever was going on with Ukitake and folk belief in TYBW, but less out-of-nowherebecause it’s pretty clear that whatever’s going on with the divine in Bleach is fuckin’ weird and Lovecraftianwhich can tie into that other bit of work i was doing with “where does all this come from anyway”so you stitch it all together and pull the seams snug and you get an actual expansive worldthen you keep the focus squarely on Ichigo, Rukia, and co., as they navigate through itthe further out into Rukongai you go, the weirder it should get; Shinigami should also routinely get sent to Hueco Mundo (both of these being the more important shit they gotta deal with) and recon and do stuff there; Hueco Mundo itself should be less empty wasteland, more kind of weird dark mirror of Soul Societylike a Kill Six Billion Demons type deal

These are just examples. I could go on.

tl;dr Make Bleach much longer and more personable and personally relatable, show your hand on some of the mysteries and backstories much earlier, and make it simultaneously more fuckin’ weird and more human.

#Asks #Bleach

[d-stabilize]

Elite Four Karin and Will specifically in the context of pokespe

[naruto-oc-critiques]

What do you think people who work with Orochimaru do? Do they destroy villages? Are they constantly undercover searching for people to join him? Are the ones he likes training? Or are they all test subjects that never leave the hideouts?

Mostly from what I’ve observed, there’s a fairly even mix of all of these. Kabuto for example was a spy in Konoha, but also helped him destroy the village. Karin and Juugo were test subjects. The sound four were originally test subjects before becoming his elite bodyguards. Aside from that, any member of Otogakure were part of Orochimarus crew. 

If you’re planning on making someone under Orochimaru, I think you can really go for anything. Ultimately as long as he did use them for testing, it doesn’t matter what they do afterwards, he uses them where they’re most useful.- Mod Kaida (09/23)

#Mod Kaida #tagquest2018 #orochimaru #otogakure #narutowatcher15

[achrcmxtic]

Name: Yamazaki Zero Age: 20 (Deceased) Birthplace: Goldenrod City Family: Mother and Father (Alive), Younger sister; Karen of the Elite Four (Alive)

(Under the cut for triggering themes, please DO NOT READ if you are triggered by any kind of abuse, drugs, death, suicide, or alcohol)

His parents were never into being ‘parents’ and never took to being very warm or encouraging. Zero grew up angry and bitter, dropping out of school and joining the local gang. A small but growing crime syndicate named Team Rocket. 

Disgusted by his behavior and his constant drug usage, his parents wrote him out of the family and ignored him when he was at home. The only thing he cared about, and made him come back every now and then, was his younger sister, Karin. 

She was the “Princess” of the family, in some cases he suspected their father was too attached to the younger girl, and his mother was too far drunk nearly every day to notice. Still, nothing was done and instead, Zero ignored it and only gave her attention. 

He taught her how to battle, showed her Team Rocket’s vision and even how to defend herself. She looked up to him, loved him dearly, and admired him.

Happiness, however, only lasts for a fleeting moment before tragedy wraps it’s awful long fingers and chokes it away. One night while he was watching her, home alone and after an awful and terrible fight between him and his parents, Zero went up into his room, writing a small note for his little sister, and overdosed. It didn’t work as well as he wanted, and after throwing up violently, he hung himself instead, the act breaking his neck and severing the spinal cord. 

The next morning, Karen found him, and he was collected and laid to rest. His parents denied the suicide claims and instead, blamed their daughter and wrote her out of the family just like him. 

#tw: alcohol abuse #tw: vomit #tw: death #tw: suicide #tw: abuse

[girlvinland]

kees

#by bug #my art #I’ll post it by itself too I guess #pokemon #elite four will #elite four itsuki #elite four karen #elite four karin #masakudoshipping

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

NIKEIKOCRACY IN POKÉMON

So, since a couple of years, I’ve been imagining a Pokémon world governed by different countries (which are the regions), in a nikeikocratic system (I made up the word, from the greek νικεικός or nikeikós [”the bearer of victory”] and κράτος or krátos [power], so the word itself means “the power of the victor”. This system basically holds the champion of the Pokémon League as the leader of the nation, with the gym leaders and the Elite Four being their counselors and helpers. 

If someone is able to defeat the Champion of the region, they have the option of becoming a Gym Leader, an Elite Four member or the new Champion. To apply for the job, they just have to defeat in a fight again the person they are willing to replace. If anyone just wants to be a Gym Leader, but not necessarily wants to take on the whole Pokémon League, they can just go to specialised schools (kinda like universities) when they study all about Pokémon, and then have to defeat in a fight the Gym Leader they are willing to substitute. There are some exceptions to this rule, as the previous Gym Leader can assign a successor if they willingly step down from their previous occupation.

So, I’ll now proceed to list all the nikeiocratic sistems in the Pokémon world, noting the roles of each Gym Leader and Elite Four in each Nation. Keep in mind that, in my vision of the Pokémon World, in Kanto and Johto they speak Japanese, in Hoenn Spanish, in Sinnoh German, in Unova English, in Kalos French, and in Alola Hawaiian / English, so the names of the people and places will be in those languages.

Hope you like them:

KANTO:

-Takeshi Maruishi: Nibi Gym Leader, in charge of the Protection of Nature and the Environment.

-Kasumi Taki: Hanada Gym Leader, in charge of Sports and Leisure.

-Matis Kaminari: Kuchiba Gym Leader, in charge of Defense.

-Erika Niji: Tamamushi Gym Leader, in charge of Equality and Society

-Anzu Tamashi: Sekichiku Gym Leader, in charge of the Preservation of the Cultural Identity

-Natsume Numachi: Yamabuki Gym Leader, in charge of Education.

-Katsura Kazan: Guren Gym Leader, in charge of Technology and Science

-Midori Okido: Tokiwa Gym Leader, in charge of the Protection of Pokémon

ELITE FOUR:

-Itsuki Kamen: In charge of Cultural Activities, Champion Adviser

-Kyo Tamashi: In charge of Health and Medicine, Champion Adviser

-Siba Suji: In charge of Infraestructures, Champion Adviser

-Karin Mashonoona: In charge of International Relations, Champion Adviser.

JOHTO:

-Hayato Soyozake: Kikyo Gym Leader, in charge of the Preservation of the Cultural Identity and Traditions

-Tsukushi Subako: Hiwada Gym Leader, in charge of the Preservation of the Environment and the Natural Resources

-Akane Heii: Kogane Gym Leader, in charge of Leisure and Sports

-Matsuba Kiri: Enju Gym Leader, in charge of Education and the Youth

-Shijima Arashi: Tanba Gym Leader, in charge of Justice

-Mikan Koseki: Asagi Gym Leader, in charge of Equality and Society

-Yanagi Hyoga: Choji Gym Leader, in charge of Pensionists

-Ibuki Joshosuru: Fusube Gym Leader, in charge of the Protection of Pokémon and Trainers.

(They share the Elite Four with Kanto)

HOENN:

-Petra Pérez: Férrica Gym Leader, in charge of Education.

-Marcial Puño: Azulona Gym Leader, in charge of Leisure and Sports.

-Érico Dínamo: Malvalona Gym Leader, in charge of Pensionists.

-Candela Calor: Lavacalda Gym Leader, in charge of Youth.

-Norman Equilibrio: Petalia Gym Leader, in charge of Justice

-Alana Pluma: Arborada Gym Leader, in charge of Transportation.

-Vito and Leti Menta: Algaria Gym Leaders, in charge of Culture.

-Galano Lluvia: Arrecípolis Gym Leader, in charge of Society and Equality.

ELITE FOUR:

-Sixto Borgoña: In charge of Security Forces, Champion Advisor.

-Fátima Pírico: In charge of the Preservation of the Environment, Champion Advisor.

-Nívea Reina: In charge of the Economy, Champion Advisor.

-Dracón Rivera: In charge of the Protection of Pokémon, Champion Advisor.

SINNOH:

-Veit Minenor: Erzelingen Gym Leader, in charge of Natural Resources.

-Silvana Wald: Ewigenau Gym Leader, in charge of the Preservation of the Environment.

-Hilda Berg: Scheleide Gym Leader, in charge of Leisure and Sports.

-Wellembrecher Marinus Fennor: Weideburg Gym Leader, in charge of Justice.

-Lamina Reliktor: Herzhofen Gym Leader, in charge of Shows and Entertainment

-Adam Minenor: Fleetburg Gym Leader, in charge of Transportation and Infraestructures.

-Frida Firnor: Blizzach Gym Leader, in charge of Education and the Youth

-Volkner Lichtor: Sonnewik Gym Leader, in charge of Society and Equality.

ELITE FOUR:

-Herbaro Spinne: In charge of Health, Champion Advisor.

-Teresa Boden: In charge of Finances, Champion Advisor.

-Ignaz Feuerstein: In charge of the Care and Protection of Pokémon, Champion Advisor.

-Lucian Vorstellung: In charge of Culture, Champion Advisor.

UNOVA:

-Cheren Basik: Aspertia Gym Leader, in charge of Education

-Roxie Toxic: Virbank Gym Leader, in charge of Leisure and Youth.

-Burgh Insett: Castelia Gym Leader, in charge of Culture and Arts.

-Camille Von Holt (in my imagining of the Pokémon World, BW2 Elesa is actually Elesa’s sister, Camille): Nimbasa Gym Leader, in charge of Society and Equality.

-Clay Quacq: Driftveil Gym Leader, in charge of Natural Resources.

-Skyla Jettin: Mistralton Gym Leader, in charge of Transportation.

-Drayden Legen: Opelucid Gym Leader, in charge of Pensionists and Elders.

-Marlon Wabye: Humilau Gym Leader, in charge of the Protection of the Environment and Pokémon.

ELITE FOUR:

-Shauntal Nekomush: In charge of Justice, Champion Advisor.

-Marsal Tigher: In charge of Sports, Champion Advisor.

-Grimsley Rulott: In charge of the Economy, Champion Advisor.

-Caitlin Queen: In charge of Health, Champion Advisor.

KALOS:

-Violette Punaise: Neuvartault Gym Leader, in charge of Culture.

-Lino Falaise: Relifac-le-haut Gym Leader, in charge of Sports and Leisure.

-Cornélia Murmure: Yantreizh Gym Leader, in charge of Youth.

-Amaro Plante: Port Tèmperes Gym Leader, in charge of Elders and Pensionists

-Lem Tension: Illumis Gym Leader, in charge of Education and Technology.

-Valériane Fée: Romant-sous-bois Gym Leader, in charge of Traditions.

-Astera Sychique: Flusselles Gym Leader, in charge of International Relations and Diplomacy.

-Urup Glaçon: Auffrac-les-Congères Gym Leader, in charge of Pokémon and the Environment.

ELITE FOUR:

-Malva Éclat: In charge of Society and Equality, Champion Advisor.

-Narcisse Le Yeah: In charge of the Economy, Champion Advisor.

-Thyméo Chevalier: In charge of Defense, Champion Advisor.

-Dracéna Mignon: In charge of Health, Champion Advisor.

ALOLA:

(In Alola is a bit different, because the Captains are under the control of the Kahunas of each island, but they all have different charges)

-Ilima Maika’i: Melemele Captain, in charge of Education

-Lana Wai: Akala Captain, in charge of Natural Resources.

-Kiawe Ahi: Akala Captain, in charge of Sports and Leisure.

-Mao Mau’u: Akala Captain, in charge of the Preservation of the Environment.

-Mamane Elele: Ula’Ula Captain, in charge of Energetic Resources and Transportation.

-Acerola ‘Uhane: Ula’Ula Captain, in charge of Society and Equality, Champion Advisor.

-Mina Mele: Poni Captain, in charge of Culture.

-Hala Kaua: Melemele Kahuna, in charge of Traditions and Cultural Identity.

-Maile Pohaku: Akala Kahuna, in charge of Finances, Champion Advisor.

-Nanu Po’ele’ele: Ula’Ula Kahuna, in charge of Defense.

-Hapu Honua: Poni Kahuna, in charge of Health.

ELITE FOUR:

(Acerola and Maile are both members of the Elite Four)

-Molayne Elele: In charge of Technology and Science, Champion Advisor.

-Kahili Lele: In charge of Tourism and International Relations, Champion Advisor.

And that’s all, hope you liked it! Let me know what you think about this, and if you recall any mistakes, please tell me, as English is not my first language!

Thank you :)

#pokemon #nikeikocracy #elite four #gym leaders #gym leader #regions #region #nation #kanto #johto #hoenn #sinnoh #kalos #alola #unova