I wonder exactly what happens to people who are caught eating or drinking on TheBus? Much less what happens to people who violate the baggage rule, which is more to the point.

So, today I got on TheBus, and it was moderately full. Couple of seats in the front which I wasn't about to touch because of the combined presence of Mr. P and a bunch of small kids (looked like at least 5 crammed into a two-person seat, but I wasn't counting) in the vicinity. So I proceed toward the back. Where I found one lady and a non-folding stroller in possession of the entire back row. In theory, if I could have gotten past the stroller, I could have sat by the window, but I'm not that nimble and I don't really like the back seat on a hot day. So I stood.

I'm still wondering exactly how she got that stroller past the driver. Usually the drivers are good about distinguishing what is too large to fit under the seat or in the lap, (even if they do let people who have two huge bags, which would take up more than one seat worth of underneath, in) but this stroller didn't appear to fold, and it was pretty huge. Could have fit two small kids in and probably all their equipment too. Usually people have to unpack the kid and fold the stroller before boarding, so they stick the stroller under the seat and hold the kid (and accessories)in the lap. Plus she was at the very back, which meant she rolled that sucker past everyone and their kid brother when she got on. Must have been at the beginning of the route, or near it, before any standers happened.

I'm really wondering how Gau is so prominent in the merchandising. Back when there was Nabari no Ou available on Animxis, it was mostly Miharu, Yoite, Raiko and Gau, two per bookmark or shitajiki or clear file or whatever. Occasionally some of the other people had items, like I remember seeing Tobari-sensei's ear cuff, and some other items for other people. I don't particularly remember Aizawa on much, or Fuuma Kotaro.

When we first found out about Raimei going after her brother, it sounded a lot like he was channeling Uchiha Itachi, what with the killing the family and going to join some powerful ninja group. Except that, as it turns out, she wasn't in possession of all the facts and he didn't bother to tell her. So I still have no idea what the heck is going through Raiko's head, except that someone who shows up on so much merchandising can't be that bad. Probably. Keeping in mind that Darth Vader is also very popular on merchandising, so there's levels and levels of bad.

I was watching the Penn and Teller tour of foreign magic DVD, whatever the official name for it was, and there was this guy practically all he does is change masks instantaneously. Handy skill for Beijing Opera, apparently, but I didn't see him doing any singing or anything, so I don't think he personally is in Beijing Opera. Pretty dang impressive skill too, but I can just see the AGT judges saying 'been there, done that, don't you have any more masks? Or can't you sing and change masks?' and eliminating him before it came to audience voting. Similar to the quick change people the other year. And these are acts who draw in audiences in their home regions pretty consistently. OK, maybe their homes are starved for entertainment and would watch anything, but I'm thinking, if Wayne Newton can draw in the same people all the time, maybe there's sufficient numbers of people to keep the quick change artists busy also. Even the guy who conjures up bowls full of water from where ever he was keeping them.

#1 - Hibari Kyoya. From Reborn, so he's good at fighting, which is helpful if you have a lot of enemies. And he's got Kondo Takashi's voice, which is nice, and Hibird, which is a definite plus. On the other hand, you can't make any noise when he's sleeping, so that's separate bedrooms right there, and very likely he'll have Kusakabe-san and any number of ex-prefects wandering around doing stuff with boxes and rings, because I get the feeling that's what he's been doing TYL for the family.

#2 - Sakata Gintoki. From Gintama, so he's also good at fighting. Sugita Tomokazu's voice, too. Unknown age, but probably older than Hibari-san. And he eats sweets way too often, and he doesn't make much money, because most of it is spent on food or Jump, one way or another. So if you're the rich heiress to some dessert-y manufacturer, he might actually be perfect for you.

#3 Hitsugaya Toshiro is a bit problematic. He's a shinigami, so for starters, he's effectively dead. although that may not be a problem, what with one thing or another. And way older than Gin-san and Hibari-san and everyone else on the list combined, probably. On the plus side, he's got Paku Romi's voice. And he's good at fighting, and I suspect he comes in quite handy during the summer.

#4 Rokudo Mukuro... This one is a bit tricky. I'm not entirely clear, but I think he's actually been imprisoned during the whole TYL arc, but he's been out and about anyway. He can take over people's bodies, so if you get on his bad side, no amount of TRO-ing is going to help you. And there's effectively no income either, so you have to be employed enough for two (or possibly five, if you add in Kakipi and Ken and Chrome too). But he's got Iida Toshinobu's voice, so that's not a problem.

#5 Okita Sougo. At least he's got a job, and he's good with weapons. And he's got Suzumura Kenichi's voice. But he strikes me as being a bit single minded and ruthless and difficult to steer. Unless you're Kondo, because he might actually listen to Kondo.

So the thing they have in common is that they're good at fighting. I'm guessing that the surveyed people attract enemies, so they want to marry someone who can protect them. Whether they'd be inclined to protect them is another matter. The surveyed people certainly don't care whether their husbands have income or can cook either. Hijikata Toshiro, #10 on the list, thinks mayonaise layered on mayonaise is a good dish, for pete's sake.

I'm thinking that I must not have been a very curious porpoise when I was small. I don't remember ever wondering about any of that stuff. My mom says I didn't even ask her where babies came from, much less why is the sky blue or why are pineapples called that. I expect I didn't care. Still don't, really, which is why I'm not a scientist. Not the right kind of inquiring mind. I would definitely be the parent that said that babies come from Woolworth's. Assuming we had a Woolworth's handy and available. Home Depot, maybe. The place is big. Room for lots of stuff in there. Except for the ads from Tad Fujikawa that say he's from Kapiolani. Well, he was expensive anyway.

Although, if I had been more inclined to ask questions, almost certainly I would still have some of the Kikaida merchandising I had back when I was small. And the Go Ranger plane I used to have. Actually, if I had been more of a collecting turn of mind, I wouldn't have thrown away all the record sleeves for my 45s and stuffed them all into one package.

But it's the same like when they say the Senate is a bunch of old white guys. I'm always like, Dan Inouye and Dan Akaka may be fairly ancient, but they sure as heck aren't white, and they've been in the Senate for years now. 2% of the Senate still counts. Especially when one of them has major seniority.

I keep thinking about the Soko ga Shiritai episode with all the "Japanese" people who don't look Japanese, because they're actually naturalized or hapa or whatever. Plus, there's the ethnically Japanese who don't speak a word, so they look Japanese, but they're really American or Peruvian or whatever.

Mistress Raspberry. Something pointy about her, and I think related to someone named Wizard Raspberry, but I don't remember much about him except balloons. She was good with disguises, I think.

Slave bracelets made of iron coated with gold. To suppress magic and incidentally to keep off the things that came in from the ocean at night. A castle with a secret passage under a bathtub.

Maggie had a hair necklace that let her talk to her grandmother's cat. Maggie danced for gypsies. Maggie's dad wanted her to marry some guy and had her locked up. Unicorns to purify water. A really big statue in the water. Water with visions. Sirens with combs.

OK, lessee, Maggie had a half sister married to the king, and they had Bronwyn and some sons. Maggie and Colin had Carole. Jack fits in there somewhere. Maggie's got a whole bunch of witch relatives, including an aunt who lives in a gingerbread house. Everybody's a bit mixed, because their ancestors were not too picky about who they were marrying. Maggie's sister sleeps a lot.

My brain thinks it's Bronwyn's Bane although I can't remember why. All I've got is a bit with having to bypass a bunch of dogs, clean up years worth of dog doo, and then having to clear out years worth of weeds. For some reason that I can't quite place.

And some mermaids. And some gypsies. And something that flies. Could be a dragon. Or something equally large. Didn't fit in the castle. And maybe a cat? A small black and white cat? Unless that was in one of the other books in the series. I definitely remember a cat riding on a killer whale, I think. Color-coordinated cat. Probably not Maggie Brown's cat, though. His son? Erratic memory.