When Dining Table Became My Working Table.

Round-up: A Lot of CSI-Style Forensics Have Turned Out to be Bogus

Basically a lot of it is pseudoscience that was never rigorously tested in controlled situations to see if it actually worked.

This is because it was not developed by scientists, but by police, and mainly with an interest in putting people in prison rather than uncovering the truth.

At least two dozen people have been falsely convicted due to “Bite Mark Analysis”. 

“Burn pattern analysis” put an innocent man to death in Texas

“Blood Spatter analysis” such as that shown on the TV show Dexter is actually completely unreliable even according to the US Department of Justice

Forensic hair comparison is also widely believed to be junk science and the FBI is currently reviewing convictions based on hair analysis due to the unreliability of their results

Handwriting analysis has an unreasonably high error rate, by some accounts as high as 43%

Lie detector tests, or polygraphs, are notoriously unreliable and based on bad science. Even though everybody knows this, they are still constantly being used in criminal investigations among other places.

Toxicology labs can be poorly supervised and badly run, producing false and even fraudulent results

Due to sloppy procedure at many labs and lack of regulation even DNA testing is often unreliable

Even when correct results are produced, genetic profiles may be less useful than we have been lead to believe

Fingerprinting analysis is not foolproof and actually has not been thoroughly tested, as this Frontline special discusses

Here are a few more articles on how unreliable modern forensics are.

Unfortunately due to TV shows that stress forensic investigation, juries are demanding this kind of evidence at trial, and have little idea of how untested and unreliable it really is.

There are parents who got stuck in the "denial" stage and couldn't face their kids and accept.

I really hate it when parents of autistic kids use phrases like “I know they’re in there.” Bitch they’re right in front of you! You haven’t lost them! They’re not locked away like a final boss in a video game!! This is your child As Is! Love them for who they are not what you wish they would be! Fuck!

I am starting to dislike this MC...

My blood is boiling in anger how these men regard women in battle….poor MC! 😖😖

I wish I could sew their mouths shut.

SLBP is totally worth it.

Hmm...as to the starting route...Yukimura is a good choice. :) Just don't do his act 2 yet. Other good choice is Masamune.

For ninjas, if ever, (after 1st route finish) Kyoichiro.

It also pays to read other's reviews when it comes to specific routes so you'll know what to expect (because SLBP likes variety ranging from good and less-than-good, plus throw in possible character deaths to make us cry 😫) but I suggest that, if you can, do ALL of them for the experience.

Opinion welcome: SLBP

I've been contemplating on playing this for a while now, but I'm more drawn to Ikesen so I didn't bother. Is it worth playing? How different are the characters from Ikesen?

And lastly, (if I do play it), whose route do you recommend I play first? 💕

Thank you!!!

SLBP “Consummate Moonlight: Passion Ascending” Pt 2 Review

Yeah, yeah, I know this event ended like a week ago, lol. I’ve been swamped with real life stuff. Nearly everything that could possibly change in my life is changing - but in the best possible way! So I’m going on semi-hiatus for a bit - aka the only otome I’m likely to consume for the foreseeable future are SLBP events and IkeRev stories with CG’s. Sorry, MidCin Giles anon! ^_^

But enough about me! Here are my highly belated thoughts on the 2nd batch of ninja pre-sex events, from least to most favorite. :)

Kyoichiro is, for lack of a better description, a little bitch in his ES. When MC is headhunted (alongside the Mitsuba) by Shingen, Kyo comes along for the journey. Which seems cute on the surface, except he’s really only there to guilt MC into hurting the potential deal by going back to Oda territory with him, and all because he’s being headhunted himself by Hideyoshi (“Will you go with me, or onward to Kai?”). Upon their return, Kyo gets arrested by Nobunaga on suspicion of being Goemon, and it’s up to MC and Hideyoshi to rob a samurai in his absence to save his sorry ass. And of course, Kyo’s upset that MC puts herself in danger, and doesn’t even apologize (he has much to learn from Sasuke…). In the end, Kyo’s grateful to MC and I guess it’s kind of cute, but I was too upset to really appreciate the scene tbh. ^_^

This ES had the makings of a great story, but too much went wrong imho. I would’ve liked it better if MC had made the decision of returning with Kyo herself, without him explicitly asking her to (cos that’s awfully selfish of him). I would’ve liked it even better if she’d at least met with Shingen for her clan’s sake! Also, I wanted to read the actual scene where MC and H became thieves. And don’t even get me started with that omg-you-put-yourself-in-danger bullshit that he pulled (without apologizing!!). All in all, I think Kyoichiro does have his good sides, but they definitely weren’t on display in this story.

Personal enjoyment: 3/10

In Genya’s ES the poor guy is faced with one doozy of an order from Iga: kill Masamune. Holy shit! Adding to the pressure is the fact that Sakuya (aka Genya’s evil bro) has found MC, and is more than ready to kill her if he doesn’t follow orders. Yikes. Gen handles the situation with as much grace as one can reasonably expect, which is to say it feels like he’s on a verge of a breakdown for half the story, but can you really blame the guy?! Gen’s eventual “confrontation” with a sleeping Masamune is devastatingly touching (“Aren’t you going to kill me?”), but fortunately, he, MC, and the Date clan are able to work together and come up with a solution out of this whole mess (but not before MC tries to leave to protect Gen and he saves her from Saku 💔). One Ashina assassination and a victorious battle later, and things fortunately go back to normal for the absolute sweetest gang in SLBP.

I loved this route (although it was super stressful to read!). Gen’s struggle to reconcile everything felt super realistic (or as realistic as one can get in a universe with magic ninjas), and he came off as such a great boyfriend to MC. Gotta admit though: every time I read a Genya story, I just end up hating Sakuya that much more. Good thing Gen more than compensates for his bro’s villainy! Best quote: “You can take everything I have, but not her! Never her!”

Personal enjoyment: 10/10

Hanzo is a bona fide semi-villain in his route, simultaneously manipulating Ieyasu into pursuing Divine Rule while, well, not really trusting that he can really pull it off. But when the hotheaded Ieyasu insists on facing the mighty Takeda army head on, Hanzo can’t even help because a) Ieyasu doesn’t want him there (“We don’t need you to come. You’ll just be a burden anyway”), and b) Hanzo’s injured and traditional medicine doesn’t work on him! In the end, Ieyasu’s poison-filled salves end up doing the trick, and our snakey ninja is able to rush off into battle, save Ieyasu’s sorry ass, and return to Ieyasu’s castle, alive and more-or-less in one piece. Aww. I could swear I’ve read very similar setups in slash fanfics before… ;)

Okay but in all seriousness, this is supposed to be a story between Hanzo and MC, and I personally thought that that aspect of the ES was utterly fantastic! Literally everything Hanzo does with MC is super appealing (and super hot!!) - from playing with her early in the story, to calling her little mouse (I died, ngl), to coming home to MC after the battle, kissing her hair!!, and asking her to help him with Ieyasu’s salve. What a character! The shockingly functional relationship Hanzo was able to sustain with MC in this story almost makes me believe his MS’s happy ending could work. Almost. ^_^

Best quote: “Sing to your heart’s content..let your voice reach the greatest heights” - Hanzo auditioning for Phantom of the Opera

Best platonic scene: Hanzo and Sakai bonding over plants. Again. :)

Personal enjoyment: 10/10 (also that epilogue… 💕)

So those were my thoughts. What did y’all think? I’m curious to know! :)

Did Hideyoshi and Nobunaga have a close relationship?

Personal relationships is always hard to judge if there’s no concrete evidence for it (e.g letters/diaries that discuss personal feelings). The only thing we can know for certain is that Nobunaga valued Hideyoshi as a capable vassal. 

There’s text establishing that Hideyoshi is someone who owns some land/property as of 1565. He started working for the Oda anywhere from 1554-1560. If he really did start out as just a servant, that’s a considerably fast rise in rank.

Also, I would think he had been quite privileged to be allowed to adopt one of Nobunaga’s sons. I don’t know if there’s a precedent for this in other families, but with Nobunaga this is the only time he allowed this. Nobunaga’s other sons that were adopted out were meant to “peacefully” conquer the other clans (the Kitabatake and the Kanbe), or was adopted out as part of peace treaty (with the Takeda). 

The Royal Signs III:

Aries: An exile. As close to a leader as anything. Decades of experiments. Inhuman flesh. A blank porcelain mask, inscribed with a single symbol. The only thing left untouched is her hair.

Taurus: The Knights Captain, daughter of the high priestess. A martyr. A township saved, burning like a star in the dry autumn heat. Blazing wings. 

Gemini: The King Under The Ice. A stolen childhood. Small shoulders for an impossible burden. A desperate bargain to contain an ancient evil. 

Cancer: The first queen. A woman more scars than flesh. Respect commanded by tooth and claw. Legend says even the beasts bowed their heads when she spoke.

Leo: The High Priestess, come to make good on an old covenant. Thunder on the mount. Eyes burned by sights from the land of the dead. A flash of thunder revealing the legions of ancestral dead, come to heed her call to arms.

Virgo: A young princess, currently being carried to safety in a backpack. She wraps her tiny hands around the shoulders of her bodyguard and tries to sleep.

Libra: A empress by title, an alchemist by desire. Long trips to the countryside spent foraging in swamps and mountain caves. Jars of exotic insects displayed proudly to less than excited diplomats.

Scorpio: A general. Born with an ancient and rare gift. A man who could speak to beasts. Said to be the first to harness the great wild things and drive them for war. Legends of an army of half-men, half-beasts.

Ophiuchus: A prince fallen prey to an old and terrible sickness. An inexplicable whistling cry that only he can hear, calling him to the mountains. There he sits, preserved in the abandoned aeries, decked in scales.

Sagittarius: The renegade prince. Palace finery and lavish parties forsaken for nights of adventure and intrigue in the city streets. Scandalous tales of cross-dressing and romance and baffled police.

Capricorn: A king of blood and stone. A menace to some, a savior to others. To carve out a space for his people against impossible odds and overwhelming enemies. Rites finally conducted in service of a god that was long thought to have abandoned their worshipers.

Aquarius: A queen burdened by loss. A pilgrimage to the ancestral mesa. She sits under the night sky. A low, droning tune on a horn carved from an old tree. The stars mourn with her.

Pisces: A queen of many eyes. Networks of spies that span the kingdom. A diplomatic party approaches, an assassin among them, unaware of her own assassin that already sits perched in the rafters above them. 

In the end, I reverted back to Bamboo Green BG. Its just too pink for me. 😩

Cute pink motif…NOT BAD 😅😅😅😅