Chase

Trump appears to be earning his biggest win yet - with a 42 percent showing. Senator Rubio - you might want to go on the market for a new roof. It appears the ceilings busted.

Alright - although I think both of us rather agree as to the status of the Champion to begin with. The only thing that really defines Champions (who get very little screen time in their respective roles) is their strength. First of all, most of my suggestions about the Elite Four are that it is more a primitive council government as opposed to parliamentary government or a republic with various branches. In fact, the higher you are up on the ladder - the more dependent one is the value of strength and title defense alone as opposed to local duties. This is why Steven is allowed to go as he pleases and collect rocks, why Diantha is allowed to be a movie start most of the time, why Iris and Blue are allowed to - as kids - hold the title, and why Lance is allowed to fight crime if he so chooses. It's also why Red doesn't spend his time holed up in the Indigo Plateau. The higher you are on the totem pole - the less the burden. This structure of "government" is more important at the Gym Leader level, where you find soldiers, mayors, seers, businessmen, scientists, and other various "community" oriented positions representing the local Gym Leader more frequently. In this system of government - the local government is more powerful than the national government. That would make the League Champion - the top of the totem pole - a figurehead. Figureheads are leaders or heads of state that LACK real power. It is most certainly possible then, that if we're going to assert the League is equivalent to the government of a region - that there is sort of a monarchical or ritualistic importance behind a champion (and we know there's a ritualistic importance behind the champion because the one "obligation" should the trainer choose to accept it is that they periodically take on challengers!) - without having not much else. On top of that, you can ascertain that militaristic importance falls on the strongest of Trainers, but isn't EVERY Pokemon Trainer able to fight alongside their Pokemon in times of crisis? Heck, Legendary Pokemon don't even need Trainers often. Finally, Alder is a pretty big hole to the "Nuke" theory. It's believed that Alder never actually competed for the title of Champion (and he gets WAXED by N later on, proving he isn't a champion focused on strength.) The games - outside of Lance - just don't advocate that Champions are very militaristic people.

le bump - It's caucus day in Navada for GOP voters. Check the first post. Also Eviora: WHOA WHOA WHOA. Have a video. C: At this Iowa town hall - the atheist asking the question gets essentially a response that respects the atheist's beliefs in totality - regardless of Marco leaning on his faith personally regardless of whatever leadership position he is in. If you're perhaps worried about things like LGBT equality and Abortion - the former doesn't sound like Rubio's axe to grind (and Obergefell v. Hodges' ruling seems pretty safe under Rubio - which is good news for those kinds of voters.) and the later - while Rubio himself holds an extremely partisan position of abolishment on it - should also be protected by the ruling of Roe v. Wade - ESPECIALLY if President Obama can get a Supreme Court Justice through Congress before his term ends. If you are really wanting a Democrat to win the nomination - yes, I do agree that Trump would turn out the vote better than Hillary would on her own if she were the nominee (and I kinda think Sanders - if he really has this large movement going on - might house Trump). If you're worried about the GOP nomination for the sake of genuine consideration in November... I would think you would want Rubio over Trump. Marco has less drastic policies than Trump does. I don't think a wall and 11 million deportations is something a Democrat should want on the table if looking to give both candidates in the general election a chance.

You want to talk about feasibility - here's how I see it. Democrats: Hillary Clinton needs to hold the support of the Democratic electorate - or she will be exposed, beat Sanders by a narrow margin due to votes from the previous Obama/Clinton coalition (Older voters who are either female or an ethnic minority), and look very fragile against what may be a Donald Trump that holds the support of a good size of the Republican electorate -or- a Marco Rubio that will be very easy to coalesce around (who threatens both Hillary -and- Bernie). Hillary quelling the "revolution" quicker would help the Democrats draft a liberal policy moderate voters and undecided Republicans can accept. Alternatively: Sanders needs to crack the Clintons' safe BEFORE Super Tuesday (or he will lose most likely) and force the DNC to treat him as a legitimate candidate. This isn't impossible as I predicted earlier in the thread, but I don't think Bernie has much time and can't afford delegates to favor his opponent in more states as they have been. Republicans: The GOP has to thin the field fast or they are going to have to embrace Trump period. The consensus among the pundits is that the Republican primary has been clogged with far too many candidates, which has allowed for Trump to steadily win states with only 30-something of the vote. With Cruz and Rubio both roughly earning 22 percent - Ben Carson and Kasich dropping out would break the Trump machine if the argument that Trump's ceiling is low holds true. As I said before, if the GOP wants to win, they need to win with Rubio. I'm not sold on Donald Trump being the real representative of the Republican Party and I think if the Democrats attack it the way NickCrash describes, they end up nominating Marco Rubio - who is best equipped to run in November. If anything, The Democrats might -want- Donald Trump to win the nomination. Especially if he can't clear the 30-something percentile in a state within HIS OWN PARTY.

Here's a conjecture. What if Johto was the region Kanto went to war with? Given Japanese history and government structure - we know Japan is no stranger to imperialism - or the action of annexing the land of other territories to expand a nation's footprint in the world. What if Kanto had it in mind to overtake their next door neighbors and reach the western coastline of Johto? You can't fight a war without an opponent... right? 1. Location, Location, Location Now, we know for sure Johto makes the most sense geographically - because it is virtually a next-door-neighbor in terms of boundaries. Johto provides several productive areas that Kanto would appreciate having - such as easy access to the western sea, where it's presumably easier to reach regions such as Unova or Kalos if the PokeEarth is similar to our own. If Kanto had it in their mind to expand, it makes more sense to start close to home, where moving resources and armies wouldn't be too much of a hassle. Barring a civil war with itself, this point alone makes Johto an attractive annexation and thus the biggest target right out of the gate. 2. Progress is to Paper as Tradition is to Rock Johto's major landmarks are a burned tower, a bell tower, a lighthouse, a dairy farm, and the sprout tower - traditional landmarks that have likely been the way of the land for many years. On the Kanto side of the line, Kanto has many things that indicate progress, such as Silph Co, the Safari Zone, a fossil museum, a major port city, and a radio tower that was formerly a grave site. Kanto symbolizes a differing - and more advantageous - style. One that indicates progress. If Johto needed to look any more of an ideal annexation prospect, it's technological lapse in comparison to Kanto doesn't help it appear very competitive. 3. The Saffron City Gym Debacle MAJOR spoiler alert for a game that's 20 years old - Saffron City has TWO Pokemon Gyms. The most important one - that awards the player with a League badge - is the Psychic type Gym run by a leader named Sabrina. The other one is an inferior Fighting Dojo that specializes in you guessed it - inferior Fighting types. (It's okay Fighting types...you're not inferior in my heart.) Psychic type Pokemon have the advantage of being able to predict a Fighting type's moves before the Fighting type gets them going, resulting in a mismatch. Why then - would anyone have the audacity (other than how utterly awesome Fighting types are) to challenge the legitimacy of Sabrina's gym and set up shop on the next city block with the underdog type? Enter Johto. See - In the first generation of Pokemon games, Psychic types weren't just head over shoulders when it comes to Fighting types, they were pretty much the top of the class, with Alakazam being an extremely problematic Pokemon to deal with. Johto and Generation II however introduces us to the great equalizer - the Dark type Pokemon. Dark types are completely immune to Psychic type attacks - rendering Kanto's best Pokemon useless in a war situation. This is where Fighting types rise up to make their claim - as Fighting type Pokemon are the best to use in order to dispose of Dark types. If Kanto is in the after-period of a war in which Fighting types were the difference between what appears to be a stalemate or even partial victory - and utter defeat, you can begin to realize the Fighting type Gym's argument for importance and existence. This also explains the significance of Electric type Pokemon - who were able to shed some light on their Dark adversaries. 4. The Mt. Silver Pokemon Center Anyone who has ever beaten a Generation II game knows that before you ascend Mt. Silver to challenge Red, you find that it's a surprisingly flyable location with a Pokemon Center at the base of the mountain. This, along with the Pokemon Center outside of Mt. Moon in Generation I, is the one of the most remote locations for a Pokemon Center to be located at. This is relevant to a potential war with Johto however in that Mt. Silver is essentially on the border of the two regions - and potentially built to assist Kanto ground troops by healing their Pokemon throughout the war. 5. Trash talk from Blue....toward Gold? Blue being an absolute jerk to Red is one thing - the two are childhood rivals and both grew up next door to one another in Pallet Town. Blue being a jerk to Gold/Ethan/Lyra/Crys on the other hand? That's nearly uncalled for - especially because I've already established Blue learning to be a little more responsible and less arrogant due to Red putting him in his place. However, the trash talk isn't directly at the protagonist for their skills or being a step behind or what have you (unless you talk to him with less than seven Kanto badges)... It's due to the player having all the Johto badges. You're telling me you conquered all the Gyms in Johto? Hahaha! Heh! Johto's Gyms are that pathetic? Hey, don't worry about it. I'll know if you are good or not by battling you right now." "This is the real power of Johto…" (after being defeated) Blue seems to give off a bit of Kanto nationalism here. Could this point be a stretch due to being purely proud of one's own nation or Blue being expected to boast? Sure - but it's an oddly specific reason to trash talk, unless Johto and Kanto don't really get along very well... for some reason. THE INDIGO PLATEAU IS BOTH JOHTO AND KANTO'S POKEMON LEAGUE. This only happens in Generation II, where the player must actually travel to Kanto -from- Johto in order to become Pokemon League Champion. In this thread, we've established that the Pokemon League serves as a council government body. This means that for whatever reason - Kanto and Johto have to share the same regional government. If this is following a war between the two regions, it makes complete sense, indicating either a Kanto victory or a tentative stalemate in which Johto keeps a little independence in exchange for leaving the regional government duties in Kanto's hands. What about Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos? I think it's safe enough to say that those nations are a lot less landlocked (barring Kalos, which we don't know completely about yet - but we DO know that once upon a time -IT- was involved in a war.) and safe to assume that history wouldn't repeat itself 5 more times. Keep in mind. Having a weak council government doesn't mean there isn't one at all.

I do think that I want to defend Blue by perhaps putting a bit of scope into the way Kanto seemingly operates - remember, the presence of figures like Koga and Lt. Surge along with strong family heirs like Brock, Misty, and Janine in the region suggests that Kanto's establishment of "governance" is largely based on outright strength. Remember that I mentioned the Elite Four to be the equivalent of a tribal council more than a multi-branch central government most of us are used to seeing today. Kanto appears to be recovering from involvement in a global war of some sort - and one of the many ways countries switch from wartime to peacetime is establishing a militaristic body to enforce a "peace through strength" policy. This makes Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Young Lance hawkish council members whose -main- job is to determine the level of strength in their opponents as well as worthiness. In that time, strength may be the only known measure. Blue successfully passes all four trials - and takes up a vacant position as their Champion. (What ever happened to the Champion - if there even was one - before Blue's ascendancy is a theory for another day.) This could be one of two things. In the event that Blue is "the first" Kanto Champion - he effectively is the first one to set a precedent of being "stronger" than the Elite Four - enabling the very first ascendancy. When Red comes along and knocks the newly coronated Champion off his perch - Red establishes the next precedent of value by providing public service - as well as that of topping a previous Champion. In essence - Blue is off the hook because he started the ball rolling. Notice that Blue steps down two rungs and takes up a Gym Leader position in Viridian City - a humble act that enables him to use his strong personality to assist in local matters. (He's actually met on the remains of the former Cinnabar Island in Gen II - for presumably a reason of investigation of some sort.) Blue is a unique character that not only is attributed with potentially pushing Kanto's re-construction along by precedent, but also steps down and joins the efforts. Remember that Gym Leaders are essentially more responsible for their locales than the top of the League is. By setting up shop in Viridian, Blue is now working past just being a strong trainer and developing his civic responsibility - in effect growing up in the two years that pass from Gen I to Gen II. He recovers - and as such - regains his worth of obtaining that Champion perch from before in my eyes. -- Also due to the larger responsibility placed on Gym Leaders - It's still quite arguable that their lack of existence with regards to the Dark Type is still valid regardless of the Elite Four. Karen, Sidney, and Grimsley are not inherently "bad" characters - but they do share a certain edge and obvious "balance" between being responsible government figures and Dark Type users. Karen's own admission to preferring Dark types is that they are "wild" - which is hardly an orderly type to carry around in most cities - but in a lot less restrictive body of government (say, a wartime council) it's appealing. Grimsley (who's Japanese name literally means "Devil") is the son of a formerly-prestigious family that fell into hard times - and as a result he bears an addiction to gambling. As a lax councilman his strength as a trainer is enough to validate his member status - but he wouldn't be a reliable public servant. Finally Sidney values individual strength as a trainer - much like Blue did - over public service. The three of them all share a rather bored expression that lightens up in a fight, but the three of them are not directly involved with public service or aiding the player in the slightest. -- I would say Alder is the most capable leader, and that Cynthia appears to be the strongest. From what Intsys said, Unova's Champion is the closest thing to the "President" title in all of Pokemon - and Alder is a trainer who prides himself on love and community over strength, which is distinctly different from Blue, Lance, and Cynthia in differing respects.

Hello guys - time for another Pokemon theory. This one is particularly special to me (confirmed or otherwise) because it combines two things I've really had my heart after lately. Pokemon itself - and the dealings of governance known as "Politics". What is the theory then? The Pokemon "Leagues" symbolize the "levels" of Government within the regions of the Pokemon Universe. This means that the Champions of the region effectively are not just a celebrity figures, but are actually figurehead LEADERS in the region. The questions we'll need to answer though, are WHY this is today. --- 1. The Gym Leaders/Elite Four members/Champions act as the region's strongest peacekeepers. Here are a few distinct Gym Leaders with the kind of background that suggests their presence deters conflict. Starting with Vermilion City's Lt. Surge, we know for a fact that the 'Lightning American' is a former/current soldier who 'fought in the war'. Follow Gym Leader Koga of Fuchsia City is someone who is trained in ninjutsu, a now martial art archetype that was former renowned for it's usefulness in espionage in feudal Japan - as is his daughter Janine, who takes his place two years later. Drayden quite literally is the head of Opelucid City as the town's Mayor - which is a direct homage to Unova being an Americanized region and American local governance. Morty takes a more sage-like protector position in Ecruteak, but is indicated to know of disturbances due to his knowledge of the Legendary Beasts of the Burned Tower along with his ability to see into the future (his discription is 'the Mystic-Seer of the Future.') In fact, every region seems to have some sort of protector like figure holding a Gym position. In Hoenn, Norman is quite literally the player's father, who immediately stands to protect his family - while Wattson is a public servant who is credited with the design and innovation of Mauville City. In addition to Drayden - Clay has a role similar to that of businessman Donald Trump, claiming Driftviel's "big-cheese" status and innovating his locale in the same manner Wattson does. So, these big time leaders seemingly take more often than not specific posts for the good of their communities. Going so far as to prevent things like war and disturbances with their leadership ability and the strength of their Pokemon. This isn't just limited to Gym Leaders - but the Leaders represent the local level of government, doing whatever they can to help their towns thrive and survive. 2. The absence of the Dark Type Gym. Carrying on with the theme of Gym Leaders - One noticeably missing type in the main series games is that of the Dark Type when it comes to Gym Leader representation. This comes may come with due respect to that aforementioned point. The role of Gym Leader is that of a public servant that is called upon to keep the peace. Dark type Pokemon are clearly the worst examples in doing so. In Reborn even - our representative is Luna - a seemingly nomadic girl who -instead- of filling her post serves as the estate maid of another potentially duplicitous character in Radomus. - meaning the fact that there is a Dark type Pokemon Gym at all goes to show that Reborn treats IT's Pokemon League as just that - more of a sporting organization where the challenges don't have to be met with necessarily noble or stable returns. Dark types are renown for overpowering their foes and using evil tactics. In Japan, the Dark type is known as the "Evil" type. Not something you want to appoint in the position of a public servant. If the importance of a Gym Leader reaches beyond proving trainers are worthy of challenging the Elite Four and Champion - then it makes sense as to why Dark is not represented here. 3. Our Protagonists are inevitably Heroes and Heroines. Name a single Pokemon game in which the player doesn't have to fight crime on their way to the Pokemon League Championship. Right - there isn't any. Fighting off evil organizations is part of the song and dance - and it's just as much important as the collecting Gym Badges is when it comes to deeming you the character of being worthy of the title. The word "Champion" has two meanings. The first of which is that of a winner that takes all - as in sports. The second however - is someone that fights strongly for a cause. In the games - it would seem multiple times that Champions are made of both definitions, and that it takes more than riding the wave of victory to the League to validate yourself. 4. The Pokemon League is a form of primitive council government. The biggest argument against the function of Pokemon Leagues in region governance is that the games don't suggest the amount of work that it entails to hold a position at the League. We only know that League Members are to be battled by aspiring champions. However, this is a form of tribal council - a primitive form of . government that existed to protect villages from various threats. Since the Pokemon universe is inhabited with incredibly powerful monsters and people that use them with ill will - the sole job of determining the figurehead of the government through testing his or her strength - or battling the player character - makes a lot more sense when it comes to it's place in governance. Beating an elite four member constitutes getting that Elite Four members vote. In fact, you need a unanimous four vote decision in your favor with the votes you've already gained off the table should you lose during a challenge. This indicates that you are being watched by those you've bested and acts as confirmation that you - are indeed worthy of being Champion. That's what is more substantial than beating the champion head to head. 5. Champions have different styles of leadership - and are free to intervene or not. The most memorable Champion to me is Lance, because of his brash, invasive approach to being Champion. We first encounter him by helping him investigate Rocket's doings in Mahogany Town and giving Team Rocket the boot from the area. However, other champions, like Blue, don't get too involved with the region's affairs once they take their post. Blue doesn't get a lot of time to fit in - but it's presumed that Diantha and Alder are Champions throughout the entire journey, and they don't pull out all the stops to protect their regions either. This would normally not make sense if Government was the idea behind the Pokemon League - except for the fact that figureheads are a thing. Essentially, the National Government in the Pokemon Universe is second fiddle to the local governments when it comes to organization - which is completely doable and valid. It means that people can go off collecting stones or being a movie star or fill a Pokedex with many spare hours because the burden of governance doesn't fall directly on them. Like Lance - they CAN certainly help the cause however. So - there's five quick points. It's kinda sloppy, but I see a pretty significant parallel at least. I hope you guys enjoy - and please do discuss!

It's your friendly neighbor election maniac here to bump this thread because it's democratic caucus day for Nevada and republican voting day for South Carolina! - See how it's faring in the first post of this thread yeah?

Also, I guess I can get away with my three favorite characters:

Alright. I'll fess up in this thread. I didn't want to play Undertale because I thought "oh, it's a stupid fad". AND NOW I'VE BEEN SPOILED AND HOLY MOTHER OF S--- I REGRET EVERYTHING. ---

We know from 'Force Awakens' that Ben Solo - or Kylo Ren - is the son of Han and Leia. We know from 'Revenge of the Sith' that Anakin Skywalker is the father of twins - Luke, obviously - and also Leia. I don't know how you read that Anakin was a Solo ancester, when I was implying that the general "generational passing" theory (I.e. Rey is Luke's daughter - or is somehow a Skywalker or a Kenobi due to lineage.) - but the lines go like this. Anakin and Padme > Luke and Leia. Leia and Han > Ben. Luke and ??? > ? ...and on the contrary I was trying to phrase that Ben Solo was a Skywalker descendant - which would have been Leia's true maiden name had the whole Darth Vader thing never happened and Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan didn't have to offer to adopt her, just like Luke's last name was indeed still Skywalker. Sorry for the confusion. --- If you want to get technical - re-incarnation isn't totally impossible. Qui Gon Jinn, in death, was the first Jedi to master communicating through visions to living Jedi through the Force, and resultingly taught his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi to conveniently provide Ben Kenobi the ability to talk to Luke during the first Death Star attack. Later on, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and even two versions of Anakin (depending on if you're watching the original take of 'Return of the Jedi' or the re-mastered edition.) appear to Luke through the Force after the Battle of Endor. Those Force visions are indeed a bit supernatural in themselves - but that would be your "re-incarnation" of Obi-Wan and Yoda. Or at least something close. Both of those two Jedi are supposed to be dead. --- Finally, those visions appeared to Luke - someone who during the first Death Star raid had very little Jedi training. No, it wasn't like Rey's flashback experience at all - but even if you don't attribute the persons of Yoda, Anakin, and Obi-Wan in those appearances to themselves and instead make it simply an illusion to Luke (which it isn't, as Yoda tells Obi-Wan directly in 'Revenge of the Sith' that it's related to Qui Gon mastering a form of communication after his passing.) - it -does- give Luke illusion-like experiences. --- And, allow to build on that theory. My argument after all is indeed in this case, that Rey is literally Anakin Skywalker. The closest thing to Rey's flashback experience in any of the films? Anakin's flash-FOWARD experiences. In 'Attack of the Clones' Anakin is stuck on Naboo being the Jedi protector of Naboo Senator Padme Amidala (because, convenience.) - and on Naboo, Anakin has a "dream" of his mother, having what appears to be an extremely painful experience. That dream is followed by his mother's excruciating trauma at the hands of Tuskan Raiders on Tatooine, who had stolen her from her newly betrothed husband (the father of Uncle Owen Lars - who would eventually be Luke Skywalker's care-taker.) This dream is followed by another similar experience in 'Revenge of the Sith' of Padme - also in extreme pain and apparently giving birth. This is followed by her death after birthing Luke and Leia. Meaning, these are not just visions for both Anakin and Rey (should they be connected) - but they are significant happenings. For Anakin, his dreams were more like warnings, and for Rey, her memories are as such - but both have the same purpose - Awakening. It's those visions of the future that expedite Anakin to do such rash things as kill the entire colony of Tuskan Raiders mercilessly and ultimately change teams - both in efforts that failed in preventing the visions from becoming reality. For Rey, she -was- resisting the past for what it was, and at the moment she accepted it as that - reality - she became empowered. Just as Anakin did. That would mean that not only does Rey being Anakin leave the prophecy in potential fulfillment, provide a new twist to the series, explain the strong reaction to the Skywalker Saber from Rey's point of view specifically, provide an identity to the hooded man placing his mechanical hand on R2-D2 (Because if Rey is Anakin, then that would indeed still qualify as a memory - whereas we'd have to assume from some logic gap that Rey has known Luke personally before under the generational passing or complete outsider theories.) - but it also makes all three trilogies come full circle while still paralleling something in the way the Star Wars seems to do all the time. It's very possible she is the Neville Longbottom of Star Wars - because there's a lot we don't know about her at this point. However, she's gotten more attention than other break-out characters like Poe Dameron and Finn from the new film - so it's a stretch to say the movie really answers all the questions if that's the case. That wouldn't make for a satisfying closure.

I guess if we're sharing - my ideal woman has changed due to having fantastic experiences and being able to see what works well and what doesn't with me. That's in no way supposed to be shallow - because without the experience I wouldn't even have a good answer to begin with. Signs along the broken road still hold valuable information. Ideally, not because there aren't any men or distinguished others who aren't great folks, my partner would be female. That woman would have to be just that - a woman and not a girl. Again, this isn't because some of the younger girls out there are horrible human beings, but my life is centered majorly around young people - and young people have a tendency to dabble in trifle pursuits. After causing such to someone else - I would rather not have my time wasted on someone who is going to prioritize things of non-value a significant amount of the time we're together. That prevents growth. "Girls" also tend to crumble over pressure, responsibility, commitment, maintaining interest levels, fidelity, and morality. Women are either stable, or acknowledge their faults and build upon what they learn from their mistakes - meaning, they prioritize growth. After having been a rather polarizing partner myself - I would gladly sacrifice my passion for argument for having a woman that believes in many of the things I do. Particularly sharing of faith the nuances of life that faith impacts. While I enjoy spirited discourse, a family can't be unified in conflict without causing harm. That woman would have to be willing to pick me up. In the past, there was no better feeling of love than when who I was with went out of their way to right my emotional ship. Life is going to be difficult and without a mutual effort to have each others back - the reverse often ends up happening, and your partner goes from friend to foe even if they didn't mean to. Having mentioned "family" earlier - the ideal partner must be open to the concept of at least -raising- children - be they a result of intercourse I and said woman or the adoption process. I'm someone who works directly with children on a daily basis, so any previous uncertainty about children is largely erased on my end. This isn't of importance, but if the woman wants to "tie 'em up" as soon as the doctors are willing to give them the procedure - and doesn't want to adopt on top of that - that's reason for worry in my book. That woman had better be playing for keeps. I think that much speaks for itself in a lot of the ideal partners that have and will be shared in this thread - but it's hard for me personally to be okay with the game-players or freelance daters of the world. --- I guess that means I want a woman who has strong faith and similar ideals, open to starting a family in some form, who is going to help me up when I stumble and not leave me behind. That might sound picky - but I feel to compensate I should give the things my ideal partner DOESN'T have to wield. --- Libido. - One could make the argument that because I want a partner who is open to a family that I want a woman who is willing to round the bases. This is exactly the reason I posit adoption - as sex has not usually been something I have cared particularly for. Wealth. - I myself will probably not make a fortune throughout my lifetime - and if that's the case, how could expect any partner I have to endow me with theirs? In fact, that's going to happen with my ideal partner anyway (finding fortune) - with or without monetary gain. Independence. - Dobby makes a good point about how the "glue couples" of the world tend to have catastrophic partings and less-than-desirable moments - but I've learned that having a girl that can fend for herself isn't all that important if you're willing to pick up the slack for her. While the door's open to be super picky - I don't think I have the credibility to endorse such a thing being a requirement here. Physical Appeal. - The right partner will have you enamored by things other than looks. If they happen to be good enough to be found on the cover of GQ or Cosmopolitan mag covers - then that's simply icing on the cake. I'm not one for decorations. Lack of Imperfections. - Today's culture does a fantastic job of persuading people to believe in the lie that they aren't worth it without having to spend money on their products or conform to a certain style or changing who they are so that they can be better. One thing I've learned mostly about myself - is that I couldn't do "Mr. Perfect" even if I had all the means to, so it would be a crime to expect such a thing out of "Ms. Perfect." - I could be lucky enough to run into Kate Upton, but if Kate Upton doesn't match up with me, then I'd rather have someone who isn't a supermodel and rich who does. Period.

Here's a few things I've heard before somewhere Rey -is- a Skywalker - but one we're already very familiar with. It's very interesting how Rey reacts with the infamous 'Skywalker Saber' that - assuming Rey is the third generation descendant that many think is certain. In that cutscene Obi-Wan Kenobi's two actors throughout the original and prequel trilogies (the late Alec Guiness and Ewan McGregor respectively.) have voice cameos in a flashback sequence of a hooded figure placing his replaced right hand on R2-D2's dome, along with a presumed encounter with the Knights of Ren and a ship leaving child Rey on Jakku. It should be know that the hooded-figure could be one of two Skywalkers who have interacted with R2 - the most obvious one being one Generation above Rey's - Luke - as she comes chronologically right after he in the time. However, the Skywalkers have a history with limb loss. This means that the other person that hooded figure could be.. ..is Anakin Skywalker - the grandfather of Kylo Ren and Jedi Knight who tragically was overcome by Dark Side, becoming Darth Vader. Anakin's background is the cause of many a groan in the Star Wars fandom. Lacking a father it is said that Shmi Skywalker (his slave mother from the first two prequel films) conceived Anakin out of the Force. - Yeah, similar to how Mary would conceive Jesus out of the Holy Spirit. This would make Anakin's birth a virgin birth, and one that would go largely into the direction Qui Gon ultimately takes by bringing him into the Jedi Order - Qui Gon believed Anakin would "fulfill the prophecy" of a Jedi bringing the force into balance - an element Mael brought up earlier. We know that Anakin is a direct ancestor to Ben Solo through Leia - but we also know that despite having kissed Luke in original trilogy, Leia never had sexual intercourse with her brother and that Han doesn't once acknowledge ever having a daughter of his own. This means that unless Luke goes to some remote planet, knocks up some random unknown woman, and the moment at the end of the first sequel trilogy film is to imply a father-daughter re-union - that Rey's connection to the Skywalker Saber isn't really explained through generational passing. The alternative to traditional generational passing - be it Rey being a Skywalker, or being a Kenobi (which isn't likely due to Rey's appearance in the film and our knowledge that the Resistance's plight against the First Order follows the Galactic Civil War by 30 years, meaning Obi-Wan's been long dead at that point and we would need to fill in a generational gap we have no proof for.) - is something a little bit more outlandish. Re-incarnation. Ladies, genleman, and other distinguished readers - I present to you the theory that Rey is indeed the second coming of Anakin Skywalker. I.e. Rey and Anakin are the same person. It perfectly explains why the saber was of any importance to Rey - because it would still leave in-tact that Rey is a Skywalker - but this theory also has the added effect of re-instating the possibility of that prophecy actually being fulfilled. We've seen in two generations of Skywalkers that Anakin nor Luke were suitable previously to accomplish the task, both experiencing a flip-flop of Light to Dark to Light - even if Luke's lapse of light-bearing was only momentary in comparison to the reign of Darth Vader. In fact, I'd argue that Luke began to shift to the Dark Side when leaving Yoda on Dagobah mid-training (Yoda actually tells Luke of the path!) - which results to Luke going to Bespin, effectively losing his fight against his father, Han being frozen in carbonite > which leads us to Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine, where Luke uses tactics such as extortion and threats (more dark side leaning tendencies!) to reclaim his friends. Mael argued about Happiness and Emotion being Dark side tendencies. He's absolutely right. And this is where the still-intact prophecy gets turned on it's head. The original Jedi Order thought the means of "reaching BALANCE" in the Force" involved taking out the Sith. The Order was heavily in power of the Force, with various Jedi at one time all across the galaxy as it's "protectors". The films would like you to think Light and Dark meant "good" and evil" - but they just simply do not. Suddenly - Anakin Skywalker comes along and actually comes "close" to achieving that balance - but acting in part of eradicating that Jedi Order and tipping the scales in favor of the Dark Side. The problem though, is that the Sith didn't stop the pendulum in the middle. The Original trilogy is the story of a ragtag group of "rebels" - which Lucas again wants us to believe are the "good guys" - but in this part of the timeline, it's very clearly the Dark side has all the clout with regards to the Force. Emperor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker - or Darth Sideous and Darth Vader - are the two most powerful Force wielders with significant galactic weight. (Yoda may match Palpatine, but he doesn't have any political control or power outside of his abilities.) - and the power gets even more lopsided at the end of A New Hope, when Ben Kenobi sacrifices himself in order for Luke to escape the Death Star. And now our Sequel Trilogy - with our re-incarnated heroine - who'se birth is very much unknown (meaning she could be born of the Force AGAIN) has the opportunity to fulfill the prophecy in a chaotic setting where the Force is awakening in new people and battle lines are being drawn to steer the direction of a by-now severely beleaguered galaxy. She doesn't have to fall to the Dark Side like she did before, but she still doesn't have to ascribe to the right wing teachings of the Light Side either. Doing neither while actually ending the outside political conflicts leaves the galaxy in a place it's never been in a -very- long time. A galaxy that is harmonious and it's light and darkness sharing equal representation A galaxy, that is in balance with the Force. Prophecy Fulfilled - and Qui Gon ends up being right about that strange kid from Tatooine all along. Closure.

Hey Sparky. I hope you have a fantastic date of birth. What I will always grow to appreciate about you is that you were willing to learn. I still consider your growth in Pokemon battling and more importantly, your faith in yourself and willingness to be resilient even when the ball didn't bounce your way one of my greatest achievements on this server. To call you a pupil is an absolute honor. As a person, you've been nothing but respectful to other people and someone who rose above the faults of others. For a majority of you reading I can say the same - and I'm indebted to those here who give me the light of day. What I'll always remember about you is staring our modest Reborn Competitive Battling Association season by getting beat, and getting beat, and getting beat, and getting beat...only for you to turn it around mid-season by upsetting an undefeated opponent and going on a tear all the way to the championship tournament. You understand what 'determination' is all about. Share that with others and never stop reaching for your goals. Again, Happy Birthday.

Our prez hopefuls are now in Nevada and South Carolina....and it's gettin' ugly down south. Let's start with with the fallen tributes. Our Republican nominees are now down to six after Chris Christie's camp suicided in the New Hampshire debate, Carly Fiorina's camp died outside of the debate building of frostbite because ABC wouldn't let her in, and Jim Gilmore's camp seemingly re-animated itself to "formerly announce" what we assumed was the case the first time we saw this man on the ballot. Our survivors are front runner and rich asshole Donald Trump, values-man and apparently pornography director and part-time liar Ted Cruz, The Boy In the Recently Busted Bubble Marco Rubio, George W. Bush, and discount Morgan Freeman. (Jeb and Ben Carson) The Republican candidates converge upon the Palmetto State, home of the Gamecocks, a bunch a Christian folk, and an insatiable crowd of people that aren't going to want to hear the issues talk first or to play paddy cake. This state is the political Salty Spittoon - and you all know the question they want answered. How tough are ya? --- They usually say whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That won't be the case in the left-wing burlesque show that is the Democratic race. Hillary Clinton has come full circle after getting out-done by her counterpart Bernie Sanders up north, and now the strategy seems to be putting on the same glitter, feathers, and high heels as the democratic socialist. How do you beat Bernie Sanders? Become Bernie Sanders. Foolproof. The debate held earlier this week was all about who was the better progressive, with Hillary borderline dancing on ripping off Sanders' policy points straight from his website.

So - this is a pretty neat thematic read out you can get from the link Mike shared on his spectrum post. Anthropocentrism is a pretty big deal to me. When we're looking for a President of the United States - the bottom line is that we're representing the people - human beings - of this nation, and that their needs should be met first before the needs of those in the future. Globalization is a little bit of a surprise - but not too much. I do think we should support currencies like Bitcoin and allow for the entire world's economy to be boosted. America is a little bit too far past the perch of isolationist paradise, and I believe it's easier to globalize than it would be to revert inward - and subsequently let those who oppose us follow. Elitism is a relief personally. The more "Populist" candidates in this year's election are Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Ted Cruz, who tap into the country's less experienced albeit much more passionate grassroots movements. Rather than being a "pro-establishment" person due to the experience issue however, I am more-so just looking for someone who can do the job justice. Tough Love is a natural tendency of mine, and it's one I feel has it's place sometimes, and sometimes doesn't. When I took the quiz (answering all of the bonus questions) I got a close match to Marco Rubio - a guy who is accused of not being tough in some areas but is so in others. Deregulation allows the ceiling for all Americans to be higher, and thus incentivizes hard work. As someone who is adamantly stubborn against the notion of having to rely on the government - let alone have them oversee the nation's economy - I do indeed feel it is more beneficial than a regulated economy. Capitalism is one of the most successful economic systems in history and it attributes that success to it's incomparable efficiency. It's major drawback is that ... it doesn't stress wealth distribution? Yes, I am proud of this result - not because I want to be a super rich guy someday who pays low taxes, but because if I make enough on my own, I don't -NEED- the government to change the game in order to give to the poor. There's a difference between something being broken, and something being on top shelf. If it's not broken, don't fix it. Traditionalism is a flavor of human being. As one that doesn't believe in the concept of subjective morality, I would prefer we stuck to morality as opposed to immorality as a nation. I don't exactly know why this directly opposes Progressivism - other than the issues at large bring up conflicts of free exercise vs. equality. I do lean towards defending free exercise, because liberties shouldn't be lost in order to level the playing field by any means. Equality is best obtained by pulling the oppressed up to us, not falling down to them. Laissez-faire is a good thing to be weakly in favor of. Keynesian - or the opposite suggesting that government economic intervention is positive long-term - policies have had some success, such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "New Deal" - but in assistance to the New Deal was a more global economic boost - World War II. I'd agree with this assessment as I've always given America's involvement in the war due credit for pulling it out of the Depression. Decentralization is a very, very, VERY big deal to me. A decentralized government firstly provides more power to citizens at the local level, who know better what their area needs than the national government. Secondly, it reduces the influence of big government and allows local governments more lawmaking ability, which adds to the flexibility of the State and Local levels. Win-Win. Small Government is more ideal than Big government because of the aforementioned "power to the people" in the blurb about Decentralization, along with less ability to be be wasteful and bureaucratic.

For those of you throwing jabs at me for the Reborn play-though - I got it, I got it. I'll have to play Reborn during weekends where my time is less limited - as it's a very grind heavy and heavy thinking experience for me. Yes, I do play the game slower than paint dries - but I -WILL- finish that run. I've made a little bit of progress though. Can someone tell me why Nuzlockes are fun again? This run started off by having to start completely over due to the game not saving - which resulted in some differences with the party members from the last file. (Wilbur is now an Impish natured Pokemon - meaning we'll have to run it Physical. Timone is Relaxed, and now uses Keen Eye over Run Away, and Dory is a vastly improved Pokemon, Mild natured and sporting Big Pecks, which has caught the AI looking to lower defenses off guard several times - which has been some of the only breaks I've gotten on this run...) Anyway, we have two new friends...and I'm not exactly happy about them either. Our Flocessy Ranch encounter wasn't Riolu, which would have helped immensely against Cheren. It wasn't Mareep, which is just a very good Pokemon in general and would have helped cover Tepig's aquaphobia. It wasn't even Psyduck, which is a Water type pokemon from the start. It was Azurill. Everyone, this is Pikablu - who despite being a very solid 'mon due to being a Lonely natured Huge Power user - isn't what I was hoping to deal with. That being said, being able to obtain Frustration and Return very early in the game has given little 'ole Azurill a shining spot as the most powerful attacker on the team. That is, when using the TMs given to you. Annnnnnnnd it's time for the moment of truth...our Virbank Complex encounter isssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss- MOST DEFINITELY NOT MAGNEMITE. OR MAGBY. OR GROWLITHE. OR ELEKID. OR KOFFING. It was (*%ing AUDINO. AGH. I went ahead and named her Goat Mama. If the whole point of the game wasn't to survive all the way past Iris. I'd decide on a total genocide run. I don't even Undertale people. So, prepping for what could be a very disappointing experience against Roxie - the #squad is as follows:

You're....You're right. You're absolutely right. If it ain't Magnemite, Roxie is going to cause tears. Please be Magnemite. Please.

I was gonna say Happy Birthday, but then Rose said you were an 'Aints' fan and I started laughing hysterically. Just kidding. Have a good one, David. It could be worse. You could be a Cowboys' fan. :C

DYK: That the New 3DS is backwards compatible and can play Nintendo DS titles? I sure didn't. I just kinda stuck my old White 2 version into the cartridge slot - and it fit - and it read the game data. Backwards Compatibility "FTW". Anyways, this is my first nuzlocke challenge ever! And....My team is looking.....pretty ugly at the start - but before the adventure really gets going I wanted to go ahead and take the time to share what could be an absolutely embarrassing experience! From the top!....-ish! We'll meet the squad in a bit - but FIRST! It is a Nuzlocke, and for posterity, let's put da' rules up. You may only capture the FIRST 'mon you encounter in each new area! Unless it's a species dupe.....or not if you more "hardcore" than I am, but dupes are not fun to share, so sue me! There is no FAINTING in baseball Pokemon! If a 'mon loses all of it's HP, it is GOOOOOOONE. You'll have to either store it in a designated "Graveyard" PC Box, or bury it proper by releasing it. You can't form depressing bonds with your video game imaginary friends if you don't give them a NAME! Gotta name 'em all. Alright, Rules-schmules, NOW let's meet the team! (For the record, I've just been told by Alder to go find Hugh - who I've gone and named Ralph, because he reminds me of 'Wreck-it-Ralph". Yep, the nickname game is well off already! This is Wilbur. Wilbur is the Fire Pig Pokemon. Wilbur is level 7 and knows Tackle, Tail Whip, and and Ember. It's a Rash Nature, which means we're running SPECIAL Emboar this run. It gets access to Scald though...so it's all good! Yes, you may watch him "whip", but you can't watch him "Nae Nae." This ditz named Bianca gave it to us. It makes me hungry just looking at it. Meet Timone, which comes from the superior line of first-route-rodents known as the Patrat line! It's a Careful nature so you know it's going to bulk them special attacks...except it's going to evolve into Watchog...so it isn't. It's level 5 and knows Tackle and Leer. I wish I had the foresight of catching this here Patrat, so that we could name Wilbur "Pumba" instead. Timone and Pumba on the same team would have been nice. Dory would like to say hello. Because she just KNOWS she's getting boxed. Someday. This Pidove-ful pokemon is a Docile nature with Gust and Growl for a moveset. It's ability is Super Luck - as in, if it gets boxed in anything other than the Grave box, it's indeed lucky. It's named Dory because Pidove is one of the most forgetful Pokemon in existence. Fitting for one of the most forgettable Pokemon in existence.

I used to be on the pretty big "It's Gen 7" crowd following ORAS because it seemed so whole and complete and whatnot. Boy, was I wrong. I do believe it's going to be the finale of Gen 6 - and I also believe there are two major things that have yet to be discovered. Where on earth does the Train Station in Couriway Town connect to? What region is the Backpacker who gives the player a "Strange Souvenir" from? Perhaps Magiana and Volcanion aren't just local Kalosian legends. The train station in Couriway (which is loosely based from "carry away" or "railway") ends in the town and continues off east, which is the opposite direction from the rest of Kalos. That stands to reason that the station may cross over the Kalosian border into a new region. The unique thing about Kalos is that it's based on the country of France, which is different from Japan and the United States in that it borders several neighboring countries, such as Belgium, Germany, and Spain. Those countries are largely land-locking France from the south and east - which so happens to be the direction the railway from Couriway Town leads. I wouldn't be surprised if this next "Generation VI" game expands Kalos' roaming distance - and if we have to go out of the region to discover these new Pokemon and their secrets.

I think Hillary certainly has the potential to be in trouble - not because Bernie is going to beat her in the primary, but because beating Bernie may mean she has to lose some electability come November. The more Sanders throws some legitimate punches, it's seemed that Hillary's response is to drift more to the left herself. This isn't a bad move for her in the short term, because she has voter blocs locked up that Bernie may not reach already - but it does mean she isn't seen as the neoliberal that can steal from the right side of the board. Earlier in the thread, I commented that Clinton's biggest strength over Sanders was that she is much more appealing to moderates and independents than Sanders is - and if she begins to feel the Bern and leave the middle, it opens the door for her Republican opponent to make a play they may not have been able to make in November beforehand at those voters. Let's say it's Trump-Clinton, because I do believe that's currently the most feasible scenario at this point in time (The GOP establishment lane is still too crowded to deal with Trump effectively, making him a much more viable candidate than he perhaps should be, while Sanders forces Clinton to re-shuffle her platform.) Bernie will then give the Republicans a lot of footage on Clinton leaving the middle of the spectrum than they would have prior to Sanders' success - and this means that the dirt is on Clinton's blouse after winning her primary. Instead of Trump going up against a very election ready Democrat, he's going up against a battered nominee who would then have to scramble back to regain those voters she would have been able to count on having before. Meanwhile, Trump has the much easier path of beating his establishment than Bernie does his. Bernie has been climbing an uphill battle the whole time, as the Democratic Party seemed almost ready to give Hillary a coronation weeks ago. Donald has been able to out-talk, out-show, and outlast a very large field of candidates that do very little to distinguish themselves, giving him a very nice edge in this race from the start. Trump wouldn't have to about-face after winning the nomination - whereas Clinton most definitely would if she would win hers. That's why Sanders is causing the Democratic establishment trouble - and it's probably in their best interest to support him as much as they can.

I'll edit the first post again when all the raw votes are in - but here's your possible standings. It's worth noting that Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio are still waiting for the dust to settle and determine a Bronze finish in New Hampshire. Starting with the Democrats: Bernie Sanders - 60% Hillary Clinton - 39% How do you want to respond from losing what was essentially and in many cases literally a coin toss? Absolutely clobbering your singular opponent in kind in the next state up. The Bern was able to tap yet again into the Youth vote - which is a voter bloc that transcends others such as minorities and women - in an 80/20 decision. Sanders even beat Hillary in her niche voter bloc - women. It's time to take this man seriously if you already were not. Donald Trump - 35% John Kasich - 16% Ted Cruz - 12% Jeb Bush - 11% Marco Rubio - 10% Chris Christie - 8% Carly Fiorina - 4% Ben Carson - 2% Jim Gilmore - >1% Speaking of taking candidates seriously, enough with the dumping on Trump as joke candidate. The Donald now has a win under his belt, which several of the remaining names would have liked to have. Trump benefit from "the Governators" rampant attacks on a previously surging Marco Rubio, ending with a rather "kamikaze-esque" bully pulpit assault from Christie. He also tapped into the very large amount of independent voters in the state. Five random thoughts. Trump's getting better at this campaign thing. Outside of his usual vitriol stump speech about how "America doesn't win anymore" and how he's going to "make America great again", Trump said this in his victory address: "We learned a whole lot about ground games last week, didn't we?" For those of you that don't know, there are two major parts of campaigning outside of the fundraising aspect. Performing well in debates, and having some form of good ground game. Before Iowa, Trump didn't do much of any of it - already a billionaire, already is enough of an entertaining personality to somewhat skate through debates (although he's not bad in actually debating anyone), and instead of putting his team to work or barnstorming, Trump banked on his popularity to do all the work. His populism didn't reach out to everyone in the Hawkeye State however - enabling Ted Cruz, who is a solid debate participant and has arguably the best ground game in the country - to pull the upset a week ago - and deny Trump his first major political victory. It also hurt that he was a no-show in that state's debate. This time, Trump did it right across the board. He called out Cruz on not answering a question and didn't back down at the debate he most definitely showed up at. He established a ground game of his own, and the rallying was a little bit more pungent in New Hampshire. The result was his first win - one in which he doubled up the runner-up John Kasich's total vote percentage. Bernie will need to fasten his seat belt, because the road from here isn't so kind. The Democrats will be moving on to Nevada next - a state that is much more representative of most American states than the previous two campaign destinations. Here, Hillary Clinton polls much better due to a voter bloc Bernie doesn't have quite yet. Minority voters. It's not like Sanders is going down without a fight. Later today, Sanders will be in Harlem to talk to Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist. However, the Black vote has been a long staple of the Clinton coalition, going all the way back to the days of Bill Clinton in the White House. It's also not like Sanders doesn't have any hope - as the black vote is one that is going to be separated by generation much like the female vote is. However, the Bern may have to take his lumps in some of these Southern states before finding more traction. For now though, the guy can rest easy, and enjoy being in the presumable limelight. Strictly as a campaigner, Ted Cruz deserves more respect. You can say what you want about the Texas senator, and you may be right. He's a liar. He's not liked. His smile also looks like he's hiding some other disappointment. He's a Texan... But the guy's put up one hell of a fight, especially against establishment candidates in his own party. New Hampshire wasn't supposed to be an experience he can taut, but he may finish on the leaderboard anyway if he can survive the late tallying against trailing Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. He's essentially the Anti-Bernie, and in the Granite State, that would be enough to get you booed off the stage. Cruz however, was able to pick up lots of endorsements from sitting legislators in the state - which is an underscored part of the campaign buzz. Especially in a state like New Hampshire where nobody really cares. That will go a long way in preserving his ability to run all the way to the convention. He also tapped into the former base of Rand Paul supporters - who needed a home after their golden boy exited before reaching New Hampshire. All of that, paired with his exceptional force on the ground and his money situation, has Cruz sitting pretty despite being the most "Conservative" flavored candidate out there. A friendlier future appears in the Palmetto State - South Carolina is next for the GOP field. Hillary doesn't care about New Hampshire's result. ..and she likely won't have to for a little while, with the next states up looking mighty appetizing. Christie should be down for the count after suicide bombing the Rubio camp to no avail. Yes, one of the winners of last Saturday was indeed a governor. It wasn't Christie, who made the biggest impression during the campaign by sending his rival into a tailspin after holding a lot of momentum from the past week. Essentially, Chris Christie needed to do more than play offense, because while his attacks worked, the fallout votes didn't go to him.

*le bump* Just a friendly reminder that tonight is the night New Hampshire is won on both sides of the presidential race. On voting days - around 8:00 Eastern, be sure to check out the first post of this thread for information on the day's votes as they are ongoing. You may use further posts to talk about the race. I'll also leave the states results up as we run across America, so it will be cool to follow along - even if you weren't with us from the start. Should also have a running delegate count?