#Jerald Low

[banmaihong]

"Siêu lừa" Singapore: Đóng giả người thừa kế giàu có Hàn Quốc để mua bất động sản, nạn nhân mất tiền rồi vẫn không tin bị lừa, suýt kết hôn với "tỷ phú dỏm"

Phô trương sự giàu có “giả”, Jernald Low đã khiến các nạn nhân bị “thao túng tâm lý”, vô thức giao hết tài sản quan trọng cho mình. Cảnh sát Singapore đánh giá, đây là 1 trong những vụ lừa đảo phức tạp nhất. Lòng tin là thứ quý giá, chúng ta không thể sống vui vẻ trên đ��i nếu không được ai tin tưởng. Nhưng cũng có những kẻ có được lòng tin của người khác mà không trân trọng, một vài trong số…

[bitter69uk]

Heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended the Lobotomy Room cinema club’s presentation of 1962 sexploitation masterpiece Satan in High Heels on Thursday 18 July! Damn – this particular club felt jinxed! If it feels like I’ve been banging on about Satan in High Heels for an eternity, the film was meant to be our featured title in June, and we had to cancel at the very last minute due to a crisis at the venue and reschedule it for July. I’ve got to admit the sparse attendance on Thursday night felt like a dagger through my heart. Reservations-wise, we had a full house in June and then an even fuller house for July (we deliberately overbook knowing there will always be flaky people who don’t turn up). Where was everyone? But the hip attendees who WERE there totally engaged with Satan’s sleazy urgency! I’ve seen Satan MANY times at this point and am still discovering and appreciating something new (like how it begins and concludes with perfect circularity, with the exact same snatch of circus calliope music). With its emphasis on high-heeled mules and leather, Satan is a fetishist’s delight! I’m the first to admit I know virtually nothing about its director Jerald Intrator (1920 - 1988), who was clearly no hack and a filmmaker of real verve and attack. Should I investigate his other titles like The Orgy at Lil’s Place (1963) and Caught in the Act (1966)? Leading lady Meg Myles is riveting as bitch goddess anti-heroine Stacey, and I maintain that (with her ginger beehive and tight pencil skirts ) if you squint your eyes, she anticipates Christina Hendricks in Mad Men. Myles should have been a much bigger star! Finally, if you liked Mundell Lowe’s urgent finger-snappin’ jazz soundtrack, it’s on Spotify! Listen to it and feel like you’re living in your own personal b-movie! I’ll announce the August film club title soon.

[scoonsalicious]

Sigh. This is like watching a whole car crash that's about to happen. You know it's about to get so messy but you can't look away. First off, I'm glad the J names is catching up with everyone hahaha i didn't think I'd actually start a trend with that one. Second, I always read everyone's comments and ask after the parts, and I think I can safely say that I feel like I'm alone in thinking that there's so much more to what happened than meets the eye. I mean, everyone, including Pocket has all the right to be angry at Bennet because what he did was assholeish behaviour. But I really do feel like I'm the only one who's holding out full judgment against him because again, there's missing pieces here. I honestly think Joana has a bigger play in this than Brian did it. Like yes, he still had a choice in having sex with her, and yes the articles was a happy accident, but the things before that, I just know there's something she did to Boston, and while I have my theories, I can't have a clear idea as to what it was exactly yet. So, I'll just have to wait for Chapter 27 (it's seems so far away but god, time flies. I mean we're at Chapter 20 already). And I hate to add the technically about the cheating since it doesn't really matter, but i will reiterate that it wasn't the deed that was truly hurtful to Pocket, it was the constant lying.

Now let me get to the confrontation. While reading it, I'm glad Pocket stood her ground and set a boundary that there's nothing he could do to fix this because it absolutely is looking like that right now. And I did side-eye him a little with the crying and reasons he was spewing because accident? Really? I was getting slightly annoyed to when he didn't come clean right away either. And then he just kept promising things again and again and it's honestly just a cycle at this point. Because yeah, in order for his promise to have any validity, he has to fulfill them first, and so far? He's fulfilled none. He was getting pretty desperate in that closet. But I also can't blame him. I do think this is good for him though, because this is how he will truly see how much hurt he put Pocket through. But then I took a pause and realized how distraught he was, and yeah he's losing the love of his life, but I also have a feeling there's so much more as to why he can't say exactly what happened. I mean, not that Pocket has given him any chance but, I just can't shake the feeling that something else is at play here. And I can't wait to see the truth come out.

Now, onto Pocket's actions after that. Sigh. I don't agree with it at all. But I can't blame her either. Still, I just know that if something were to happen between her and Steveioli, she's going to regret it and she's going feel disgusted with herself because essentially, she's stooped down so low. I would've been fine if it was any other man but Steve? i mean, I don't hate him as much as you guys lol but I'm looking at the fact that he's your ex's best friend. And yeah, I'm all for petty revenge, but since I can't bring myself to fully be angry at Benson, I'm not all for doing the deed with Steve. Because for one, it's proving to Billy that his fears were right. Yeah, it going to hit him were it hurts, but who are we sure that he finally will understand the pain he's put Pocket through? What if this is just going to reinforce his insecurity because they've essentially been proven right. And I just know Jerald is going to milk this whole thing, I can already see her being the instigator and being like "See what I said. I told you I was right." And while Byron should grow some balls and not believe a word she saying, he's angry and hurt and insecure and fragile, he's bound to get manipulated again.

two, this is going to hurt Pocket more than she thinks. Like, the aftermath of this isn't going to be pretty, and I'm honestly just worried about Pocket because I really do feel like her actions in this is going to haunt her and is going to be much more harmful to her than she knows. I really don't want it to, but I have a feeling that if she goes down this route, something is going to bite her back in the ass and god, I'm so worried because she's been through enough. Basically, I'm just saying, this is going to do more harm to her than any good. Like sure, she's going to have the short moment of triumph and feel good with that revenge. But after?

Overall, I'm honestly can't celebrate anything that's been happening because I have a really bad feeling about everything hahaha like I'm just reading everything and sighing out loud. Like i just know this is going to blow up, so i can't even take in the small victories, if there are any. I'm glad Pocket is having fun and letting loose on her birthday though, and that she's feeling all the love from everyone because she does have great friends and she is very loved. She deserves to know that and more. But again, I have a feeling that it's going to be short-lived.

Again, amazing as always! I can't wait to see were you're taking us. I'm just here to enjoy the ride. Lots of Love!

— Jnon 🤍

My beloved Jnon, I'm sorry for responding to you so late today! Yesterday? IDK. The J-names a are vibe, and we're all feeling it, so thank you, you magnificent trend-setter. I appreciate you holding out judgement against Barnacle until all facts have been presented. Jif Peanut Butter's influence on his is definitely strong, and we'll see just how she manipulates him later on. Pocket is in for a pretty major downward spiral going forward and, at the risk of entering spoiler territory, not all of it is going to have to do with Bucky. His emotions when she called him out on his tryst with Joffery Baratheon were legitimate, but he's got to learn his lesson that words aren't going to fix things; his actions will (and I do feel bad-- he was trying so hard between when they first broke up and the Russia mission to avoid Jade, he really was, and he was doing so good, too; an genuine effort was being made!). And, Bestie, if you think Pocket sleeping with Steveoli would be "stooping down so low," whew boy! Just you wait! We gotta hit rock bottom, baby. Things will definitely bite her in the ass, and do much more harm than good for awhile. We're getting into some dark times ahead! Truly not a lot to celebrate rn; except for maybe Chapter 22, which is a flashback chapter, and some of my favorite writing, lol.

[ecogrim]

I need a new discord pfp here are your options

[gameshowquickies]

Contestant of the Day: 11/7/2024

On this disappointing day in Game Shows, and for better or worse, Tonight’s Big Winner is Jerald Hawkins from TPIR, who, after being one of all six PG losers, took home a car as part of his Low SC worth $30,183 C & P.

[dukereviewstv]

Duke Reviews TV: The Orville 1x09 Cupid's Dagger

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews TV Where...I'm Scared Out Of My Freaking Mind....Mainly Because I Saw This Episode!...

I Consider Myself A Very Brave Man That Stands Up For Movies Other People Tend To Hate, But This Episode Has Rocked Me So Much That I Have Nightmares Just Thinking About A Scene In This Episode...

I'll Tell You What, If You Guys Weren't Coming With Me On This, I Probably Would Skip This Episode, But Since You Are, Let's Look At Episode 9 Of Season One Of The Orville, Cupid's Dagger...

This Episode Sees The Orville  dispatched to mediate talks between the Navarians and the Bruidians, two alien species at a centuries-old stalemate over which race lays proper claim over the planet Lapovius. Also assigned to the matter is Darulio (Played By Rob Lowe), the Retepsian whose affair with Grayson a year prior ended her marriage to Mercer.....

Who Is There To scan an ancient artifact from the planet for DNA to reveal which species was the original inhabitant. Unbeknownst to the crew, Darulio secretes a powerful Phermone during his mating cycle which affects Members Of the crew In Certain Ways...

And By That I Mean...

So With That Said, Let's Dive Into The Horror That Is Cupid's Dagger...

We Start The Episode In The Ship's Mess Hall Where It's Kareoke Night As Kelly Sings Journey's Any Way You Want It And Bortus Attempts To Sing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On Only To Interrupted By A Crewman Who Tells Ed And Kelly They're Recieving A High Priority Message From Admiral Halsey...

Taking The Call In His Office, He Tells Them That An Ancient Artifact Has Been Discovered On The Planet Lopovius, Where 2 Factions The Navarians And The Bruidians Are Fighting Over The Planet With Both Factions Claiming That They Colonized It First...

And If They Go To War It'll Affect Union Space As They'll Drag Their Allies Into The Conflict, But This Artifact Might Solve The Problem

So, With The Navarians And Bruidians Permission, They've Asked For A Neutral Union Archeologist To Scan The Artifact For DNA And Whatever Species DNA Is On The Tablet Can Lay Claim To The Planet...

Traveling To Lopodius To Rendezvous With The U.S.S Olympia, They Take On-Board The Archeologist Who Turns Out To Be Darulio The Retepsian Who Slept With Kelly And Ending Her Marriage With Ed, Alara Tries To Hold The Shuttle To Prevent Awkwardness But...

Anyway, Despite Darulio Saying That If He Had Known That Kelly And Ed Were Involved In The Assignment Ahead Of Time He Would Have Recused Himself, He Says He's Not There To Cause More Tension Between The Two, He's Just Here To Do His Job....

Oh, He Says That Now But Actions Speak Louder Than Words In This Story....

But Either Way It Does Cause Tension Between Kelly And Ed And Why Wouldn't It? Either Way, She Cheated On Him With The Guy So, Yeah, Ed's Entitled To Be Pissed...

As Alara Takes Darulio To His Quarters, He Accidentally Runs Into Lt. Yaphit (Voiced By The Late Norm McDonald) And Accidentally Gets A Piece Of Yaphit On His Pants (He Puts It Back, Of Course)

Before Yaphit Goes To Claire's Office To Seduce Her And Attempt To Ask Her Out On A Date For The Umpteenth Time, Tired Of This, Of Course, Claire Says No And If He Does It Again, She'll Submit A Formal Complaint...

Hey, That's What I'd Do If Norm McDonald Was Trying To Seduce Me..

Oh, What? What? Just Because The Guy's Dead Doesn't Mean I'm Gonna Stop Making Fun Of Him At Times...

Anyway, Kelly Visits Darulio In His Lab To Check On His Status With The Artifact And To Make It Clear That What Happened Between Them Was A Mistake And It's Never Gonna Happen Again...

But....Next....Scene...

They're About To Recieve The Ambassadors For The Navarians And The Bruidians And Kelly Is Not There To Meet Them Cause Guess Where She Is?

Just Guess...

Oh, There's No Need To Guess Cause You All Know So Let's Say It Together...

She's In Bed With Darulio!!!!

And Ed Catches Them...

You Know, If There's A Point In This Episode Where We Crossed Into The Ninth Circle Of Hell, This Is It...

And Believe Me When I Say We're Going To Cross Into The 10th Circle Later...

So, Yeah, Ed's Furious And He Has A Right To Be, I'd Be Pissed Off Too If I Were Him, But Either Way, They Still Meet The Navarians And Bruidians And The Meeting Goes Well With The 2 Ambassadors Saying They're Willing To Meet With Ed Tomorrow To Talk About The Possibility Of Sharing The Planet Together...

Meeting With Alara, Kelly Tells Her That She Has No Clue What Happened, She Went To Tell Darulio That There Was Nothing Between Them Anymore But She Looked Into His Eyes One Thing Led To Another And Badda Bing Badda Boom...

But Here's The Thing, She Wants To Stay With Darulio Because She Feels She May Have Missed Out On Something Good Because Of All The Guilt She Felt About How Badly She Messed Up Her Relationship With Ed...

And Newsflash, You Should Feel Bad! In Fact It Was You Feeling Bad About What You Did That Got Ed To Where He Is Today!

Talking To Gordon About How F-ed Up This Is And It Is, He Thinks That They Should Focus On The Peace Talks But Instead He Decides To Fire Darulio And He Says He Has Complete Right To Be Angry And He Has No Excuse Except For The Fact That His Species Consider It Rude To Turn Down Sex...

Seriously? You Have To Bring Racism Into This?

But Before He Packs Up, He Shows Ed Some Ancient DNA That's Over 30,000 Years Old Saying That The Artifact Is A Birthing Bucket And In Order To Find Out What Species It Is More Tests Will Have To Be Done...

Well, That's The Next Guy's Problem, Bye!...

Ok, Despite Me Wanting That To Happen, Darulio Says That Said Tests Should Be Complete Within 36 Hours So Ed Grants Him The 36 Hours Neccessary To Complete The Tests And Get Answers On Which Species It Is...

But Then Ed Asks Darulio Out For A Drink, Meaning That The Dumbness Virus That's Infected Kelly Has Infected Ed As Well...

It Gets Worse From Here, Folks As Claire Visits Yaphit In His Quarters In A Somewhat Hot Dress And Asks To Come In, Thus Starting...This Scary Subplot/Somewhat Relationship...

Now, I Bet You're All Lining Up In The Comments As You Think I'm Being Ageist, But I'm Not, I Have No Problem With Claire Being In A Relationship Whether It's With Issac Or Someone Else...

But This "Relationship" With Yaphit, Scares The Hell Out Of Me, Why? Well, You'll Find Out Later In The Episode All I Can Say Is That The Crossing Into The 10th Circle Of Hell Has Begun....Ew.....

As Ed Has Drinks With Not Only Darulio But Kelly Who Figures Out That He's Coming Onto Darulio, The Navarians And The Bruidians Both Want To Know When The Tests Will Be Completed And Want To Speak To Ed...

With Alara, Gordon Marcus And Ty, Noticing How Weird Ed, Kelly And Claire Are Acting, Alara Goes To Check On Claire Leading To...The Scene...

Now, Be Warned, People, This Scene Has Been Known To Have People Not Only Lose Their Mind But Also Crap Their Pants Endlessly...

I Probably Shouldn't Be Watching This, But I Like You Guys To The Point, I'm Willing To Risk My Sanity Watching This Scene So, Here We Go...

Alara Goes To Check On Claire In The Med Bay Only To Find...

(Start At 0:21, End At 0:35)

My God, I Never Thought I'd Say This But MacFarlane, You Are Now The Champion Of Scary Special Effects...

I Mean, If People Honestly Think That The Schwarzenegger Baby From Junior And Special Effects From Son Of The Mask Are Scary, Then They Don't Know What They're Talking About Cause This...

I Honestly Don't What To Say About This Because My Pants Are So Full Of Crap Because Of How Scary This Scene Is...

And It Looks Like Alara Is Just As Confused As I Am As She Has The Same Question That I Have:

What The Hell Did I Just Walk In On?!

Are They Having Sex Or Is Yaphit Assimilating Claire Into His Hive Mind?

Cause If They're Having Sex...

That Need Answering Now!.

Anyway, With Claire Saying The Exact Same Thing Ed And Kelly Are Saying About Darulio, She Tells Claire To Stay Where She Is And For Yaphit, To Go Back To His Room And Not To Answer The Door For Answer The Door For Anyone Including Claire..

But Before Alara Leaves The Med Bay, Bortus Contacts Alara To Tell Her The Bad News, That The Bruidians And The Navarians Are Threatening To Withdraw From The Agreement And Settle Their Conflict In Battle...

Visiting Darulio (After Shooing Away Ed And Kelly Who Continually Hit On Him) Alara Finally Gets Some Answers Out Of Him About What's Going On With Ed, Kelly And Claire...

Turns Out Once A Year His Species Gets In Heat, Unleashing A Pheromone Through Skin Contact To Help Them Attract Mates, He Didn't Mean To Infect Ed And Kelly But It Happened When They Shook Hands In The Cargo Bay...

And When He Tripped Over Yaphit He Absorbed The Pheromones Because Of His Gelatinous Form And Somehow Transferred Them To Claire...

But He States Either Way It'll Pass In A Few Days, But With Time Not Exactly On Their Side, Alara Takes Him To The Med Bay As Ed And Kelly Meet With The Navarians And The Bruidians Who Are Kind Of Pissed Off That They've Been Avoiding Them And Are Running Out Of Patience...

And Ed Talking About Darulio Only Makes Things Worse, Causing Them To Believe That The Mediation Is A Sham Leading Both Fleets To Go To War, Way To Go, Dummy!

But It Gets Worse As After Examining Darulio, Isaac And Alara Discover That Darulio's Pheromone Has No Antidote So Alara Confines Him To His Quarters As The Bruidian And Navarian Fleets Arrive, Preparing To Fire On Each Other...

With Bortus Raising Deflectors, He Tries To Contact Ed And Kelly Only For Us To Discover That Kelly Is In Her Quarters Eating Ho-Hos, Listening To Carole King And Crying As Ed Has Just Had Sex With Darulio...

But The Question I Have Is Why Is Kelly Crying, Eating Ho-Hos And Listening To Carole King?

She No Reason To Do That Unless She Caught Ed And Darulio Having Sex, Was There A Deleted Scene Where She Caught Them? Because It Feels Like There's A Big Time Gap Of What Should Happen...

Talking With The Ambassadors For The Navarians And The Bruidians, Bortus Tells Them To Contact Their Fleets And Tell Them To Stand Down But Refusing (Because The Union Has Been No Help In This Matter), Bortus Tells Alara To Take Their Communication Devices And To Confine Them To Their Quarters...

This Leads Isaac To Come Up With A Plan To Reconfigure And Extend The Deflectors So Much That It Creates A Partial Barrier Between The 2 Fleets...

Contacting Engineering, Cheif Newton Says He Can Do It But Not Without Yaphit Who's Unfortunately Having Problems Of His Own Right Now As Claire Holds Him At Gunpoint As She Wants To Know Why He Hasn't Called Her...

Well, I Wanted Answers And With This It's Obvious...Claire Has Been So Assimilated Into The Hive Of Norm McDonald That She's Willing To Go All Jack Torrance On Him...

However, Feeling Bad For The Trouble He's Caused, Darulio Visits The Bridge And Says There's A Way That He May Be Able To Settle This...

And By Settle It, He Means Temporarily Settle It, So What Does He Do? He Infects The Bruidian And Navarian Ambassadors Causing Them To Like I Said, Temporarily Fall In Love With Each Other...

So With The Bruidian And Navarian Fleets Disembarking And Ed, Kelly And Claire Returning To Normal, They Pretty Much Want To Put What Happened To All Of Them Behind Them...

And It's For The Best Especially After Seeing....(Shudders) God, It's Still In My Head!

Anyway, With Ed And Kelly Wondering What'll Happen When Darulio's Pheromone Wears Off Of The Ambassadors, Darulio Enters And Assures Them Most Likely Nothing Will Happen...

As He Finished His Analysis On The Artifact And Discovered That Both Parties DNA Is On The Artifact, Meaning They'll Have To Share The Planet...

But Before Darulio Leaves For The Olympia, Kelly Asks Him If He Was In Heat When They Met And He Says Maybe, Leaving The Door Open For Ed And Kelly To Reconcile Only For Them To Slam That Door Shut At The End Of The Season...

This Episode Is Awful!!!!

It At Times Has The Main 2 Characters Acting Like Complete And Total Buffoons And The Scariest Scene I've Ever Seen In My Entire Life, But I Will Give Them Credit For Opening The Door For Ed And Kelly To Get Back Together, Despite Like I Said, Slamming That Door Shut At The End Of Season One...

If You Like This Episode Fine, I Mean It's Not Hopeless, It Just Could Have Better Story Writing And Be Less...Nightmare Inducing...

So, I'm Sorry But I Say Skip It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[directedbywomen]

Penny Johnson Jerald is rocking her role as Dr. Claire Finn on The Orville. Episode 9 Cupid’s Dagger was directed by Jamie Babbit. Rob Lowe guest starred in the episode as the alien Darulio. 

Have you explored Jamie Babbit’s work?

[ahb-writes]

Medieval Nicknames, Pet Names & Diminutives — Male

Adam: Adnet, Adenot, Adkin, Ade, Add

Aloysius: Lowis, Lewis, Lewin, Louis

Amyas: Amyot, Amand, Amadis (Fr)

Ancel: Ansel(l), Anselm, Ancelot, Anscelin, Hanselin, Anselin

Andrew: Dandy, Tandy, Dancock

Anketil: Antel, Anker, Antin, Aske Asketil, Askil, Annakin(Yo), Asti

Arnold: Arnaud, Arnot, Arnel

Auberon/Aubrey: Oberon, Avery, Avo, Aves, Auvery, Aubert, Albray, Albert

Bartholomew: Bart, Ba(t)te, Barty (Scots), Batty, Batkin, Bette, Bartelot, Bertelot, Bertelmew

Christopher: Stoffer, Kit(te), Kester, Kitelin, Christal (Scots)

Denis: Dionysus, Den(et), Denzil, Denisel

Egidius: Aegidius, Giles,Gille, Gillard, Gilo, Gisel

Elias: Ellis, Elcock, Helle, Eliot, Elwaud (Scots), Elwat, Eluat, Eluolt, Elkin, Helyas, Hellis, Elyet, Allat, Alard Adalard, Elicoc, Hellcock, Elie

Geoffrey: Jeppe, Geff, Gepp, Jeeves, Jeff, Jefcock, Jeffkin, Jeffrey

Gerald/Gerard: Girard, Garard, Garrald, Garrood, Jarrold, Jarrot, Jerald, Greoud, Jared

Gilbert: Gibb, Gibelin, Gibelot, Gip

Hamo: Hamlet, Hamlin, Hammet, Hamnet, Hamon(d), Haim(o), Hame, Hamon, Aymes, Hamekin, Hawkin

Henry: Hal, Harry, Herry, Hanne, Hen(kin), Hanekin, Halkin, Hawkin

Hilary: Ilarius, Illore, Eularius, Eylarius, Ellery, Hille

Hugh: Hugo, Huiet, Hughelot, Ugo ,Hugelin, Huelin, Hulin, Hudde, Huglin, Hudkin, Hukin, Howe, Hewe, Huget, Hudelin, Huhel, Huwet, Huchon (Fr)

James: Jago, Jacob(i), Jacce, Jack(lin), Jagge, Jakot, Jackett, Jackamin, Jex, Jem(me), Gimelot, Jimme, Jaycock, Jakock, Jankin, Jaques, Cob(et), Jakemin

Joel: Juhel, Jool, Jol, Johol, Joelin, Joylin, jollein

John: Jack, Jankin, Jenkin, Jan(cock), Hank (Flem), Henk(e), Henkin, Hann, Jonet, Jehan, Janin, Janne, Jenin, Hancock

Joscelin/Goscelin: Josse, Joyce, Josset, Gotselin, Gotsone, Jukel, Judoc, Joy, Joshin, Joce, Goss, Got(te), Goslin

Lawrence/Laurence: Larry, Lorenz, Larkin, Lorkin, Laret, Lawrie, Lowrie, Low, Laur

Leonard: Leo, Lyel, Leon, Leunot, Leonides, Lionel, Leoline

Luke: Lucius, Lucian,Ludovic, Luck Lucas, Luket

Matthew: Mayhew, Makin, Masse, Math(e), Mathy, Matkin, Maton

Michael: Mihel, Michel, Miot, Mighell, Miche, Miell, Miles, Milo

Nicholas/Colin: Colcock, Cole, Coll, Colkin, Colet, Nicol, Nicolin, Nicks, Nix

Odo: Odelin, Eudo, Otho, Odinel, Othello

Orlando/Roland: Rollet, Rollin, Rowland, Rowlatt, Rollant, Ruel, Rollanz, Rauland

Paul: Poul, Pole, Pauley, Paulin, Powlis

Peter: Pierce, Piers, Pers, Pell, Perkin, Pirret, Perrin, Perr(el), Pierun, Perron, Peterkin, Petri (Scots)

Philip: Phelp, Philp, Felip, Filkin, Philpot, Phipp, Potkin, Potin

Ralph: Rafe, Rafael, Raff, Radulf, Raul, Raulin, Raulot

Randolph: Randall, Randle, Randulf, Rand(y), Hann, Rann, Ranulf, Rankin, Randekin, Ranel, Rendall

Reginald: Reynold, Reynaud, Reginaud

Richard: Rick, Rich(ie), Digge, Ricot, Richelot, Rickard, Dicel, Dic(con), Dicet, Dicelin, Diggen, Hick, Hicun, Hickot

Robert: Rob(in), Robelard, Dobb(in), Hobb(in), Hobelot, Hobelin, Hopkin, Nobb, Nabb, Nabelot, Bobbet

Roger: Hogg, Rodge, Hodge, Dodge, Dogge, Doggin, Hodgekin

Silas/Silvester: Silvanus, Selwyn, Selvayn, Savin, Salvin, Selwin

Simon: Sim(o)nel, Sim(kin), Simond, Simonet, Simcock

Theobald: Tibalt, Tibbald, Tebbet, Tebb(el), Tybaud, Tepp, Talbot

Theodore: Theodoric, Terry, Todrick, Torrey, Tyrri, Tedric, Therry, Thierry (Fr), Deryk (flem)

Thomas: Tom(lin), Tomkin, Tomcock, Tam(lin), Tommis

Torald: Tory

Vivian: Vidian, Fithian, Fidd, Fidkin, Fiddian, Vidgen

William: Wilmot, Guylote, Will(y), Willet, Wilot, Wilcock, Gilot, Gilmyn

(further reading: female names)

[data2364]

Halston Sage  as  Lt. Alara Kitan  2017  in   The Orville   “Cupid's Dagger“  

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6850956/

[junker-town]

Western Illinois, Year 40, 2046-2047

The final season of our sim dynasty with Western Illinois in College Hoops 2K8 is here.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April 2020 for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 40, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

Western Illinois entered Year 39 trying to three-peat as national champions for the first time in program history. We lost two starters early to the NBA coming into the season, but still had enough talent to be ranked No. 10 overall in the preseason polls.

We ran through the regular season schedule, losing only one game to UCLA during the non-conference season and sweeping Summit League opponents once again. We entered the NCAA tournament at 29-1 on the year and earned a No. 4 seed to the big dance.

We beat Brown in round one, knocked off Georgia Tech in the round of 32, beat Indiana in the Sweet 16, and lost to Florida in the Elite Eight. We know enter the final season of my career tied with John Wooden with 10 national championships.

We added three players in our last ever recruiting class: five-star JUCO SF Jerald Obasohan, four-star SG Erwin Walls, and four-star PF Kenny Butler.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 40:

It feels like only yesterday that a fresh-faced, 25-year-old came to the small town of Macomb, Illinois with big dreams. Coach Rick was hired by Western Illinois to do the impossible: win a national championship with arguably the worst team in college basketball. After 39 seasons at the helm, our tiny program has accomplished that and so much more. Now it’s time to hang it up.

Our journey at Western Illinois is finally coming to an end. In literal terms, College Hoops 2K8 forces mandatory retirement upon coaches in dynasty mode after 40 seasons. All good stories need closure either way. As we start our final season, we have some big stakes attached to our swan song.

Western Illinois has won 10 national championships in the Ricky Charisma era. That ties us with UCLA legend John Wooden for the most in history. What started as a mission to win a single national championship has now left us with a different goal: to become the undisputed greatest program in the history of the sport.

While we failed in our bid to three-peat last season — falling to Florida in the Elite Eight — we did bring back all four breakout juniors for this season. We only lost starting center DJ Foster to graduation. Yeah, it’s been a while since we last published Year 39 (thanks for your patience), so let’s go over the roster:

PG Christano Ngounou, junior, 89 overall: Ngounou made major strides after being forced into the starting lineup last season, and now looks like a rock solid contributor going into our final year. An international recruit out of Cameroon, Ngounou is a fast 6’3 guard with lockdown defensive ability and a slightly above average three-point shot. We have bigger names on this squad who will be expected to carry the scoring load, but Ngounou is going to play a huge role because he’s way better than every other point guard on the roster. We need quality minutes from him in the tournament. Former five-star international recruit with B potential.

SG Bernie Doyle, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Doyle is an incredible talent who enters his senior year looking to fully blossom into a superstar. The 6’9 shooting guard uses his immense size on both ends of the floor. He’s elite at getting into the passing lanes and forcing steals (a team-high 1.8 per game as a junior) on the defensive end, and has a sweet three-point stroke offensively. Doyle is such a smooth scorer and dominant defender that it feels like he has the natural talent to develop into an all-great in his senior year. Let’s hope he’s up to the challenge. Former No. 36 overall recruit from Detroit with C potential. Projected lottery pick.

SF Floyd Keller, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Keller checks every box for a small forward. He has good size at 6’7. He has a three-point rating in the mid-80s. He’s the best dunker on the team. He’s an elite offensive rebounder for a wing with a rating in the low 90s, which helps equip him to play minutes at the four. After a tough shooting night in our Elite Eight loss last season — he went 1-for-7 from three — we’ll need Keller to be consistently great if we want one more run through the bracket. Former No. 101 overall recruit out of Dallas with C+ potential. Projected second round pick.

PF Oscar Fray, redshirt senior, 88 overall: Fray enters his third year as a starter with a fascinating combination of size and skill that could set him up for a breakout senior year. The 7-foot power forward is a great three-point shooter for his position with a rating just below 80. Defensively, he’s the top-rated shot blocker on the team, and also does a pretty good job on the glass. Former No. 118 overall recruit out of Lynn, MA with C potential. Projected second round pick.

C Brody Munoz, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Munoz finally gets the spotlight as a senior after backing up DJ Foster — a one-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player — for his entire career up to this point. We’re expected big things, and not just because he’s tied for the highest rated player on the roster going into the regular season. What Munoz lacks in elite size at 6’11 he can make up for with strength, agility, and rebounding. We expect him to be really good at forcing turnovers, grabbing putbacks, and helping fortify the paint. Former No. 169 overall recruit (No. 6 center) out of Nashville with B potential. Projected lottery pick.

We have an incredibly deep bench for our final season. Center Logan Polk (85 overall) will be our sixth man, and should be able to form a three-man front court rotation with the two starters in the tournament. After that, we have a lot of options but not a lot of good options.

Here’s the rest of the bench: wing Jaycee Queen (80 overall), wing Jerald Obasohan (79 overall), guard Archie Howell (78 overall), wing/guard James Haranga (74 overall), guard Edwin Walls (74 overall), and power forward Kenny Butler (74 overall).

This is really it. Year 40. The last dance. What a ride it has been. We start the season at No. 4 in the polls.

How did the regular season go?

For our final regular season, we tried to schedule a good mix of local schools and historic big conference rivals with a couple in-season tournaments thrown in for good measure.

Here’s how the regular season went:

Win over Bradley

Win over Nebraska

Win over UTEP

Loss to Southern Illinois

Win over Florida

Loss to Northwestern

Win over New Mexico

Win over DePaul

That sets up a rivalry game against Illinois. We’ve played the Illini in almost every season, and we don’t want to end this dynasty without one more dub. The losses to Southern Illinois and Northwestern were a real bummer, and we need a palate cleanser. Let’s go!

Big win, 102-68. Look at Cristano Ngounou hanging 17 points and six assists on the Illini. Love seeing both starters in the front court — seniors Oscar Fray (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Brody Munoz (18 points, 11 rebounds) — each dropping a double-double, too. And how about our new five-star JUCO addition Obasohan chipping in 12 points off the bench? Really promising performance from the boys.

We get a big win over Kansas in our next game. That sets up another marquee game with a program we don’t like very much out of the state of North Carolina: Duke. We’ve battling with Duke on the court and on the recruiting trail for 40 freaking years. Can we end this rivalry with a dub?

Ugh, loss, 88-83. Nice games from Bernie Doyle (19 points, four assists) and Oscar Fray (14 points, 12 rebounds), but it isn’t enough. That’s our third loss of the season. Get bent, Duke.

We end the year with three more non-conference games.

Win over Illinois-Chicago

Win over American

Win over Arizona State

While we may have lost the final battle to Duke, I won the war over Coach K with a significantly better career by any measure (more on that in a minute). Now it’s time to jump into conference play in the Summit League.

Did we go undefeated in conference season?

Yes we did, another perfect 18-0 stretch.

Now we enter the conference tournament. Can we punch one more automatic bid to the NCAA tournament?

Win over UMKC

Win over Southern Utah

Win over UL-Calcutta

We’re going to the NCAA tournament for the last time, but that isn’t even the headliner after winning the Summit League. Im taking home the conference tournament championship, I won game No. 1,171 of my career. That currently puts me ahead of Coach K for the most wins all-time.

We have built a great legacy at Western Illinois. Before we enter the NCAA tournament, let’s take a look at our statistical leaders:

What a year for Munoz. Dude sat on the bench for four seasons before finally getting a starting spot, and all he did was lead our team in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Fray was awesome, too, averaging a hair under 15 points per game while chipping in nearly two blocks and six rebounds per game. It’s good to see Keller and Doyle both hit double-figures in scoring. I’m a bit surprised Cristano couldn’t even put up seven points a night after his big game against Illinois, but the assist and steals numbers are solid. We’re going to need him in March.

The Leathernecks are heading into the NCAA tournament at 32-3 on the year. I can’t wait to see what seed we get.

2047 NCAA tournament

Well, we couldn’t end this dynasty without getting swindled by the Selection Committee one more time. We’re a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. I thought we should have been a top-four seed without question.

We’ll open the tournament with a game against No. 11 seed Syracuse. Sheesh. Before we get to the game, let’s check in on our roster one more time:

I’m loving the way this group progressed through the year. We have two awesome wing scorers with an elite combination of size and shooting in Keller and Doyle. We have plenty of beef up front with Munoz, Fray, and Polk. Ngounou entered the program as a 77 overall and shot up to a 92 in three years without a redshirt. The bench also really improved during the season and should give us plenty of different lineup options in March.

This is going to be a tough run, starting with Syracuse. The Orange have knocked us out of the big dance before, and consistently put together really strong teams.

Our last dance starts now. As always, we’re simulating every game, I’m not controlling the ‘Necks.

Let’s go!

Win, 105-73! What an absolute beatdown. We’ve moving on to the round of 32.

Long-time followers of the series will know that our Leathernecks have always been known as a second half team. It happened in a big way in this game. Syracuse ended the first half strong to cut our lead to nine points, but we quickly turned it into a blowout out of the break.

I thought this was a tremendous all-around team effort. Six players hit double-figures in scoring with no one putting up more than Floyd Keller’s 15 points. Everyone who played recorded an assist. I loved this play from the first half when we set two screens for our five-star JUCO Obasohan that helped get him an easy layup.

Our bench is a big question mark coming into this tournament, mostly because it’s filled with a lot of fresh faces who haven’t played big minutes in clutch spots before. I have to say, the performance of our reserves in our tournament opener was super encouraging. Obasohan in particular looks like a keeper after scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and knocking down a three. We always need wing depth, and he should be able to provide that on this run.

The clear highlight of Obasohan’s night: this sick two-handed dunk in transition for an and-one.

We love to turn defense into offense, and Ngounou and Doyle’s ability to get into the passing lanes really helps us out there.

Speaking of Ngounou in transition: he had a beautiful finish on the break to put the game fully out of reach. That’s what you want out of your point guard.

The win sets up a second round game against Colorado State

The Rams have been a solid program throughout this sim dynasty, regularly making NCAA tournament appearances. We have a decisive edge in talent heading into this game.

We are one win away from going to the Sweet 16 and extended our run in the big dance. One time, ‘Necks. Let’s go!

Win, 109-79! We’re going to the Sweet 16!

We didn’t need to be a second half team in this one. Our ‘Necks blew the doors off Colorado State from the opening tip-off. I thought we played a great game offensively thanks to our inside-out ball movement.

We had five scorers in double-figures in this one, but it was senior starters Bernie Doyle and Oscar Fray leading the charge. We know Doyle is capable of taking over a game at his best, and he was awesome in this one: 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three. The real story was Fray, though.

Fray was probably the least appealing long-term prospect of our recruiting class when he entered the program alongside Doyle, Keller, and Munoz. That was mostly because of his 74 rating and C potential grade. While he’s always been rated a few points lower than his classmates, Fray’s skill set on the court is so important to us. He’s a massive 7-foot power forward who can protect the rim and shoot threes. What more do you want?

Fray went off in this game: 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals on 9-of-11 shooting. I love watching the big man shoot from deep. This was from NBA range.

Here’s one more catch-and-shoot three for good measure.

Fray might get slept on a little on this team, but he’s absolutely critical to our success if we want to win it all.

I also want to shout-out the bench for another solid performance. I liked what I saw out of Obasohan (11 points) and Howell (10 points). Since we already have two Obasohan clips in this post, why not make it three? Love him hitting this triple in the first half to help us open up the lead.

We’re rollin’.

The win sets up a Sweet 16 game vs. Alabama

We’re now four wins away from ending this dynasty with a national championship. A Sweet 16 game against Bama is going to be an absolute battle.

In our simulated future, the Tide have become a basketball school. This program seems to make the tournament every year, and they’ve given us plenty of trouble in the past.

A trip to the Elite Eight is on the line. Let’s go!

Win, 112-69! We’re onto the Elite Eight!

Say it with me: SECOND. HALF. TEAM. After a tight first half left us with a six-point lead coming into the break, our ‘Necks absolutely torched the nets in the second half to come away with the blowout win. Seriously: we scored 66 points in the final 20 minutes. That was an offensive clinic at its best.

I had a good feeling about the second half when Cristano got this three hit the rim like 50 times before falling. Sometimes you need some good luck on your side.

A couple possessions later, Floyd Keller came down a ripped another three. We finally had a double-digit lead, and we’d never look back.

It was great to see Keller (15 points) get going from deep. He hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

While we don’t have any clips of the front court from this game, they absolutely deserve credit for the win.

Fray turned in another incredible performance, this one somehow even better than his last. He ended the game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks on 10-of015 shooting. He didn’t attempt a three (booooo) but he dominated the game on both ends. His front court mate Munoz was almost as good. The senior center finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds. We kept going inside — Munoz and Fray combined for 35 (!) field goal attempts — and they were making the Bama defense pay.

Not the best Bernie Buckets game (9 points on 3-of-10 shooting), but I clipped this shot from the first half, so I might as well embed it here.

Elite Eight, here we come.

The win sets up an Elite Eight matchup against No. 1 seed Indiana

Our run in the NCAA tournament has been a breeze up to this point, but I fear things about to get a lot more difficult. Our plucky No. 6 seed is about to run into one of college basketball’s blue bloods: the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers.

The Elite Eight has been something of a bugaboo for us. We lost in this round last year. We’ve lost in this round many times before. I don’t want it to happen again.

A Final Four trip is on the line. As always, we’re watching a simulated version of this game; I am not controlling the Leathernecks. Let’s go!

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Loss, 96-86. Oh my gosh. And just like that, our dream of ending this dynasty with a national title is over.

I am devastated. I really thought this team was good enough to send me out on top, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Hoosiers’ outside shooters did us in. Indiana’s guard-heavy lineup caught fire from deep (10-of-21 for 47.6 percent), and our perimeter attack couldn’t keep up. We only hit 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) attempts from three.

What happened to our second half team this time? We were only down two going into halftime, but we were outscored by eight over the final 20 minutes. Tough scene.

There were some solid individual performances. Munoz went out strong with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Bernie Doyle dropped 21 points and hit this three-pointer to keep us in it early.

Floyd Keller just didn’t give us enough on the wing. He shot 1-of-8 from three in the loss. He did give us a little juice in transition, at least.

Cristano played all 40 minutes, and had eight points and nine assists. I really wish I got another year with him as a senior next season.

Unfortunately there is no next season. After 40 years at Western Illinois, our sim dynasty is over. Here are some final numbers on the series:

Final record: 1,177-213

10 national championships (tied with John Wooden for the most in men’s college basketball history)

15 Final Four appearances

25 Sweet 16 appearances

Final NCAA tournament record: 113-27

38 Summit League regular season championships

35 Summit League tournament championships

38 seasons with 20+ wins

61 players drafted

The thing I’m most proud of? After we made the NCAA tournament for the first time in Year 3, we didn’t miss it again the rest of this dynasty.

Is Ricky Charisma the greatest men’s college basketball coach ever?

I think so. Here’s how we stack up to other top coaches in NCAA history in important categories.

Total wins

Ricky Charisma: 1,179

Mike Krzyzewski: 1,170

Jim Boeheim: 1,083

Roy Williams: 903

Bob Knight: 899

Dean Smith: 879

Jim Calhoun: 877

Adolph Rupp: 876

Bob Huggins: 828

Eddie Sutton: 806

Tournament wins

Ricky Charisma: 110

Mike Krzyzewski: 94

Roy Williams: 77

Dean Smith: 65

Jim Boeheim: 57

Tom Izzo: 52

Jim Calhoun: 49

John Wooden: 47

Final Four appearances

Ricky Charisma: 15

Mike Krzyzewski: 12

John Wooden: 12

Dean Smith: 11

Roy Williams: 9

Tom Izzo: 8

Rick Pitino: 7

Denny Crum, Adolph Rupp, John Calipari: 6

Consecutive tournament appearances

Western Illinois: 36

Kansas: 31

North Carolina: 27

Arizona: 25

Duke: 24

Michigan State: 23

Gonzaga: 22

Winning percentage

Ricky Charisma: 84.7

Mark Few: 83.44

Sam Burton: 83.33

Clair Bee: 82.444

Adolph Rupp: 82.1

John Wooden: 80.3

National championships

Ricky Charisma: 10

John Wooden: 10

Mike Krzyzewski: 5

Adolph Rupp: 4

Roy Williams: 3

Jim Calhoun: 3

Bobby Knight: 3

Who is the best player in Western Illinois history?

That’s the big question within the fanbase right now. Before we get to it, let’s look back at our greatest recruiting wins.

We landed five five-star recruits out of the domestic high school ranks during my time at Western Illinois. We also signed nine five-star JUCO recruits, and six five-star international recruits from places like New Zealand (shout-out Dave French), Montenegro (anti shout-out Vitor Andrisevic), France (what up, Kim Kone!), and Cameroon.

The highest-rated recruit in program history was Sammy Yan at No. 10 overall in 2032. He was pretty much a disappointment. The program’s all-time leading scorer was center Vinnie Harmon with 2,452 career points during his career. He was the No. 122 overall recruit and the No. 8 center (those that followed the series or played the game know that centers are always weirded underrated on the recruiting trail).

Here are some more numbers during tournament games only (aka, the games we streamed), from the amazing Leathernecks Database maintained by our fans:

The highest rated player in program history is a tie between small forward Nic Cummings and point guard Duncan Martinez, who are the only players to reach 97 overall. Cummings in particular is a great choice for the GOAT. He ended his career with three national titles, though only one as a starter. He’s top-10 for me, but not No. 1.

The people’s choice for the GOAT is Deke Van, the legendary center who helped carry us to our first national title in Year 8. Deke’s turn from from Year 7 goat to Year 8 GOAT is the most memorable we’ve ever had. We couldn’t have done any of this without you, Deke.

When Coach tell you youre guarding @deke_van https://t.co/RDhmDAPRA8 pic.twitter.com/fm2udgvMZT

— Ryan Thomas (@RTtheSID) May 10, 2020

As the series went on, other great players emerged who finished with gaudier stats and better resumes.

My personal favorite might be Bert Draughan, Mr. Basketball out of Chicago (No. 29 overall recruit), who went on to win a title with us in Year 13 and also starred for our Year 11 team that began the season 35-0 before losing to Michigan State in the Final Four. Harmon is another fine choice. Skip Clemmons helped us win three national titles in Year 23, Year 24, and Year 26. Albert Jagla, Clemmons’ former teammate, played a big role in our first back-to-back championship squad, and is arguably the greatest perimeter bucket-getter in program history.

All-time favorite moment? Impossible to say. The first one that comes to mind is Kim Kone’s go-ahead corner three in the 2024 tournament. Najeeb Goode’s steal vs. UCLA in the Final Four to help us win our second title in Year 13 also stands out. There was also the time superstar power forward Allen Cunningham took off his pants mid-game.

Thank you to everyone who read, watched, and interacted

I started this series on April 11, 2020, a few weeks after the pandemic had shut down all ‘real’ sports. At the time, I was gearing up to cover the 2020 NCAA tournament. That never happened. I had college basketball on my mind, and I always wanted to write something on ‘College Hoops 2K8’, probably my favorite video game ever. This project is what came of it.

I had no idea if anyone was going to read this. I definitely did not think I’d finish out all 40 years like a complete lunatic. I didn’t think I’d write the equivalent of multiple books in terms of total word count.

Just before I dropped the first post in the series, I tweeted this:

Got a real dumb blog post coming

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) April 11, 2020

I wrote around 70 posts in the series, counting the inaugural Hall of Fame induction (read a big Deke Van retrospective at that link) and two posts of my Deke Van x Seattle Supersonics spin-off. I’m estimating I wrote 200,000 words in this series. That’s about the length of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”

I still can’t believe everything that came from this series. The Washington Post wrote a profile on it. I went on WGN TV and did a few radio spots promoting it. We sold a Deke Van t-shirt with Homefield Apparel. Our series inspired a new friend in Japan named Thanh Nguyen to write a pair of e-books adding greater depth to our story. Friend of the program Mike Rutherford did an amazing hype video for our first championship run. When I moved the series to Substack for a few months, more than 7,000 people signed up for email updates and still remain. Our first Twitch stream for the Year 8 Final Four drew more than 7,000 total viewers, and had 2,500 concurrent viewers on it at as we were closing out the win. On SB Nation, the series has been viewed more than 500K times.

What really made the project special was always the community around it. Some quick shout-outs:

The Leathernecks Database is an amazing companion to this series. You can lost in there. Thank you to the diehards to helped maintain it, and reader Evan for starting it.

Thanks to my guy who started the Leathernecks Nation instagram fan page and whoever is behind the wondrous fake Deke Van twitter account.

Thanks to everyone in the Discord who maintained ‘Necks discussion always and forever.

Thank the diehards that came out for every Twitch stream. I don’t want to name names because I’ll forget someone, but you know who you are. I love you all. I also want to thank the readers for keeping up with the recaps, and everyone who emailed me feedback throughout the series. I also want to thank my buddy Scott for introducing me to the game and running through multiple 40-year dynasties with me way before I ever considered blogging through it like this. This series would not exist without him.

What a ride it’s been. As I sim through to the end of the calendar, I’m greeted with this message.

Thank you, everyone. Go ‘Necks.

[epiphany-of-a-madwoman]

The Last Dragon | The Witcher & Game of Thrones

Chapter 2 | A New Life

Summary: Visenya Targaryen is the eldest and only surviving child of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell. When Robert Baratheon’s rebellion was won, instead of being slaughtered by the Mountain like her mother and siblings, she was saved by Ned Stark and taken as his ward. Years later, after she’s killed at the Red Wedding, she wakes up outside Blaviken. Now she finds her destiny intertwined with the White Wolf on her quest to go back home.

Note: Here’s chapter 2! Thanks for all your comments and love. I was kind of shocked at how many people would want to read this so thank you! Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list for this story. P.S: Find the season 8 reference 

Slowly, Visenya’s eyes open, her vision hazy and muddled as she’s stuck in between distant dreams and the waking world. One blink, two blinks, three blinks. The room is much brighter than the darkness in sleep, her heavy eyes begging her to succumb to it once more, if only for five more minutes. Sunlight floods in through the window, cleansing away the darkness and the nightmares that come with it. The bed beneath her is lumpy and uncomfortable, leaving much to be desired in terms of comfort. The distant shouts of patrons in the tavern below only slightly muffled. Due to the thin walls, it sounds as if someone is screaming from behind Visenya’s door rather than from the floor below. A low grunt leaves her mouth, head pounding like a drum. Pain faintly shoots through her jaw as she slowly unclenches it. A loud pop echoes in the small room, Visenya’s arms stretching towards the ceiling. Lying in bed for a moment longer, she stares at the ceiling with a blank mind.

A year.

It’s been exactly a year since she showed up here. And despite that, she’s never grown used to it. A piece of Visenya still believes that this is all an elaborate dream. Perhaps she’ll wake up and be back in camp, fighting a losing war. Or maybe she’ll be in Winterfell, tucked away in her bed as she huddled under her furs to keep away the cold. All the Starks will be alive and well, and Visenya can laugh with them over breakfast as she chases away the bizarre and dark nightmare.

But the other half of her knows that idea to be false, nothing but a fantasy that’s just out of her grasp. This is real, and so are the actions that led to her showing up in Blaviken. She can still see it too, in the depths of her mind. The last image of Robb burned in her head as his body was paraded around the burning camp, his head cut off and replaced with Greywind’s. The unspoken apologies bubbling out of Visenya’s mouth, all the words she never got to say to him and never will.

No, this is all real. And the sooner Visenya accepts that the sooner she can move on with her life.

She just hasn’t learned how to.

A crash from below and a slew of muffled curses bring Visenya out of her thoughts. Metaphorically and physically, Visenya shakes her head in an attempt to clear away the lingering melancholy. With a heavy sigh and the popping sound of bones cracking, Visenya pulls herself out of the bed, throwing aside the thin, itchy blanket. The cool wooden flooring on her feet is a stark but welcome contrast to her warm temperature. With the grace of a drunkard, she stagers over to the small dresser shoved in the corner of her room. In the process, she tosses off her old nightgown and trades it for a simple blue dress. She haphazardly tosses it on, unbothered by any wrinkles. It’s one of the few dresses she owns. She managed to sew it - after many pricked fingers and a storm of curse words. She received the fabric from the local tailor. One of the local men was harassing the tailor and Visenya offered to get him off her hands in exchange for some fabric. Needless to say, the man - who turned out to be usual at the tavern - had a beautiful black eye for a solid week. It’s a win-win for Visenya; she gets free fabric and the men think twice about harassing her.

If they’re smart, that is.

She still owns all the things she brought with her from Westeros. Her clothes and sword were cleaned, various holes patched until they appeared brand new and her sword shined brilliantly. Her clothes lie in a chest, carefully folded and tucked under her small bed. The sword lies beside it in its sheath waiting to be used once more. Visenya had been unable to get rid of the items but couldn’t bear to look at them. So they’re neatly tucked away, collecting dust as Visenya pretends they don’t exist.

Some nights, when riddled with melancholy and sorrow she’ll pull out the chest and unsheath her blade. The fine dress, embroidered with small flowers and details of silk alongside the deep blue cloak adorned with a fierce dragon and a proud direwolf gets drenched in salty tears. Sobs tear through the silence of the room, echoing in Visenya’s mind until it’s the only thing she can focus on, blocking out the sounds of screams from that night. She’d trace her sword, feeling the dragon on the hilt beneath her fingertips. It was both a source of pain and strength for her. It reminds her of what she lost in Westeros but it also reminded her of who she is - what she is. A dragon; and a dragon is unbothered by the sheep.

With a halfhearted ruffle of her tangled hair, the previously silver locks now dyed a mud brown. In fear of sounding vain, she hates the color. The golden - silver locks were always her pride and joy. It was soft as silk and shined like fine jewels, reflecting beautifully in the sun as it glittered like gold. The light bouncing off the alabaster snow made her glow. Sansa used to adore braiding her hair, styling it in southern braids. Now it was dry, tangled, and dull; never styled in the intricate braids she used to wear.  

But the dye is a necessary evil. Despite not being in Westeros - or anywhere near it - silver hair isn’t a natural color for women her age. And the people in Blaviken don’t take kindly to anything different. So, in an attempt to not garner any attention to herself, silver became brown. And with each application of the dye, Visenya feels a piece of her old self being chipped away, whittling away until there isn’t much left.

Another crash.

She turns around, another sigh escaping her mouth. She moves towards the door, swinging it open as she moves down the hall. It is bare and empty, with no patrons stumbling out of their room blindly. Her room is the closest to the stairs, often hindering Visenya from getting a restful sleep if the tavern below is in full swing. The floorboards creak beneath the weight of her, the sounds lining up with each breath she takes.

Every day is a challenge to keep her head down and mouth shut. The patrons are rowdy and crude, many of them before even having a drop of ale in their systems. Insults would hang at the tip of her tongue, thrashing at the patrons like an angry serpent, ready to land a deadly strike. Her palms covered in crescent-shaped scars from clenching her fists for so long. And sometimes she’d let go and allow her temper to flare and get the best of her. But the risk is never worth the reward, and Aldred has proven to not be a kind boss.

So with a deep breath, Visenya steps down the last set of stairs and sets off towards the bar. The scent of stale alcohol and farm animals mingling with the aroma of food hits Visenya’s senses, causing her nose to wrinkle in disgust.

“There you are! Took you long enough to get down here.” Aldred, the innkeeper loudly exclaims upon seeing Visenya. She mutters a quiet sorry as he shoves a tray of drinks in her hands. “Quit your apologizing girl. Just take these drinks to that table.” He motions over to a rowdy group of men, all donning dyed red leathers. A group of bandits - or mercenaries, Visenya doesn’t care to find out. They came in last night with a woman named Renfri, and haven’t shut up since. She manages to balance the tray in her hands and takes over to their table, dropping it with a thud.

“Enjoy.” she sarcastically mutters, already moving away before any of them have a chance to speak. A scowl automatically places itself on her face as she begins another day of work.

“Do you ever smile Jane?” Isadora, another one of the serving girls says as she passes by to bring another table their drinks. She’s kind enough but the biggest gossip in this backwater town. You can count on anything you say to her being passed around Blaviken within the next hour.    

“Only when bathing in the blood of my enemies,” she mutters to herself, quiet enough that no one should hear. The small chuckle that leaves a woman Visenya was passing, Renfri, told her she was unsuccessful. Visenya pauses to give the woman a quick glance before moving back to the bar, where Aldred already had another round of ale ready for a different table. She picks up the serving tray, careful to not spill the drinks ontop.

“You always so grim?” Renfri asks Visenya as she walks past her to serve a table. This time Visenya doesn’t pause but does answer the woman.

“Only when my heart beats,” she nonchalantly says in a deadpan tone. She hears Renfri stifling another laugh, but if she said anything else, Visenya didn’t hear.

“Here ya go boys,” she mutters, once again dropping the drinks carelessly on the table. Some of it splashes out of the cups and creates small puddles. A few of the men scowl at her as they grab their respective drinks.

“You always do have the most lovely smile Jane.” one of the men pipes up. Jerald, he’s here far too often and spends too much coin. It doesn’t help that he also smells like he’s never been introduced to bathing. Then again, that is most of the people in this town, Visenya has unfortunately discovered. Jerald, feeling brave from the copious ale he’s already consumed, reaches a hand out to grab Visenya. The anger bubbling under the surface of Visenya snaps, the fire inside her flaring to life. With the speed and ferocity of a roaring fire, she grips his hand that rests on her arm.

Without a moment of hesitation, she bends his wrist back until the back of his hand hits the table surface. He lets out a strangled cry of pain as she holds his hand in an uncomfortable position. The men around them let out various cries of surprise but do nothing else. The previously jovial atmosphere in the tavern dissipates, silence smothering the room as everyone stares at their table. She tightens her grip on his wrist, bending down until her face is a few centimeters away from his. Like a snarling wolf, she bares her teeth at him.

“Touch me again, and I’ll show you something far nicer,” Visenya said, a threat thinly veiled in her words. His eyes stare at her, closely resembling a spooked deer, fear speckled in his gaze. She holds him there a moment longer before releasing his arm. Without another word she swiftly moves back to the bar. Multiple pairs of eyes continue to follow Visenya as the atmosphere slowly returns, the chatter in the room picking up. And by the time she reaches the bar, the only two pairs of eyes on her, Aldred and Renfri. Aldred’s beady eyes follow her, a scowl resting on his face while Renfri watches her with a critical eye mingled with a look of approval.

“They always like that?” Renfri asks her, casually leaning again the bar counter, nonchalantly tossing pieces of her breakfast in her mouth. She lazily watches Visenya circle around the bar until she stands across from Renfri. Visenya’s gaze moves from the counter to meet Renfri’s. They quietly watch each other, Renfri waiting for an answer, and Visenya contemplating giving an answer.  

“All men are the same when they’ve got ale in them.” Visenya smoothly replies, breaking the silence and ending their stare-off. She grabs another cup and fills it to the brim with ale, sliding it over to Renfri. The woman merely raises an eyebrow at Visenya before tipping the cup up towards her mouth. Visenya watches as she finishes the ale so fast she could’ve given Robert Baratheon a run for his money. She slams the cup down, wiping away any residual ale on her face. Visenya says nothing, opting to begin eating an assortment of meats, cheese, and bread.

“Renfri.” she simply says, holding a hand out to Visenya.

“I know,” Visenya says, placing her hand in Renfri’s. “Jane.”

“I know.” Renfri mimics, giving her a teasing smirk. Visenya returns the gesture. She takes a moment to get a good look at Renfri. Shoulder length brown hair that’s almost as messy and unkempt as her own; a red blouse - matching the red leathers of her band of men; and a rather large brooch of a sword going through a circle with glittering gems on it.

“Nice broach.” Visenya simply says, removing her hand from Renfri’s grip.

“I think so too, it’s why I have it.” she smugly says. Visenya simply snorts with a snarky retort on the tip of her tongue, when they’re interrupted.

“You stupid girl, the fuck you think you’re doing? Get back to work!” Aldred bellows as he moves towards the bar, gathering the attention of any nearby patrons. “I swear you’re more trouble than you’re worth, Jerald and the boys said you attacked him again,” he sneers, resembling a boar preparing to attack. Visenya subtly rolls her eyes, eliciting a snarky smirk from Renfri. Aldred always did have a way with words.

She grabs two plates of food, probably prepared by Isadora. Without glancing in his direction she glides past Aldred, taking them to their respective tables. She drops the plates on the table. Without waiting for either of them to speak, Visenya turns back to leave. Before she can get back to the bar, the tavern door swings open. A large figure donning a cloak enters the tavern with heavy footsteps, his hood concealing most of his face. But Visenya manages to get a decent look at him before he moves from view. Sculpted face, piercing amber eyes, and snow-white hair. He quickly approaches the counter, where Isadora currently is. Visenya’s too far to hear what’s being said, but the pair are quickly interrupted when Aldred swiftly approaches them His face is nearly red with anger, making Isadora immediately move away from the two. At this point, everyone in the tavern has gone dead silent. Visenya moves closer in an attempt to better hear the conversation. One of the men with Renfri had already stood up, venomously shouting something at the stranger.

“Go; on your own or at the end of a rope. Your choice.” Aldred spits at the man, his arms crossed over his chest. He’s trying to appear intimidating, but the man before him is easily twice his side. Plus, Visenya doubts Aldred could overpower a half-dead chicken.

“Not a hard choice.” the man replies in a smooth voice. He turns to face the man that had spoken to him earlier. Visenya continues to move closer until she’s nearly behind the counter.

“Fuck that, kill him with your bare hands if ya have to,” Aldred says. After he says this, the rest of the men in red leather stand up, getting into a defensive stance. Visenya silently rolls her eyes at the situation. As far as she’s concerned the man hasn’t done anything wrong, and now they’re threatening to kill him. She carelessly glides behind the counter, trying to distract herself from the current tension.

“Probably why business isn’t so great,” Visenya mutters to herself, starting to pour another cup of ale, ready for this mess to be done with. She can feel the flames slowly building as her temper does - the same way it did the night she died. If they didn’t stop this nonsense, Visenya imagined she would be the one doing the killing and not on her own volition. Though the only thing she’d be mourning here is free room and board.

“Come on Witcher, you’re not scared of us are ya?” he asks in a mocking tone. A few of his men begin to step up beside him. The stranger just continues to stare at them. “Show us what ya got.” he goads, obviously looking for a fight.

“Can you not leave it alone for a moment?” Renfri interrupts, dramatically turning to face the group, throwing her food back onto her plate.

“Witchers can’t be trusted,” Aldred says through his gritted teeth.

“I’m not speaking to you,” Renfri says, not bothering to look at Aldred. “I apologize for my man’s interference in your day.” Renfri continues, nodding at the stranger whose back was turned to her. “Hopefully he can improve his behavior by tomorrow’s market.” Renfri finishes, her tone implying the words had a deeper meaning. The stranger and the man in red leather continue staring tensely at each other before he speaks up.

“Sorry Renfri.” he simply says, still staring at the stranger before swiftly turning back to his table.

“Beer for my friend and one for me,” Renfri calls out to Aldred, turning back to the counter to finish her food. Aldred simply huffs and crosses his arms, staring down the stranger - resembling a petulant child. “I am speaking to you now, good sir!” Renfri calls out to Aldred louder, slightly leaning against the bar. The stranger, who now faces the counter pulls down his hood, revealing tangled white hair that goes below his shoulders. His current position also lets her see his black studded leather armor and a wolf pendant that hangs from his neck. Visenya, who’d been at the counter pouring drinks into cups, without looking to Aldred for confirmation, simply slides two drinks their way. One for Renfri and one for the stranger. Aldred glares daggers at Visenya, but she can’t pretend to be bothered. With the tension in the room slowly easing, so is the fire that was bubbling inside of her. Something Visenya is grateful for. Renfri simply gives Visenya a nod and turns to the stranger. He also nods his head in acknowledgment of her but does nothing further.

She moves to grab a cup of ale that Aldred had loudly slammed on the counter, his intention to get Visenya’s attention. As she grabs the mug he harshly glares at her but says nothing as she moves past him. The volume in the room has returned, but the tension is still there. Everyone seems to be uncomfortable with the presence of the stranger.

“Jane! Another round if you will!” Renfri calls to her as Visenya was making her way back to the counter. As she passes Aldred who was still standing in the same position as earlier, she gives him a sickly sweet smile. The smile that was only reserved for arrogant Lords that visited Winterfell and Robert Baratheon, when he came to ask Lord Stark to be his Hand. On her way past him, she grabs a pitcher of ale. As she moves around the counter, she replaces Renfri’s cup with the pitcher.

“We both know you’re going to drink it all. Might as well cut the middle man.” Visenya teasingly tells Renfri. Renfri gives Visenya a sly smile, but it doesn’t match the broody expression on her face. She picks up the jug and moves towards the stranger.

“More and more monsters wherever I go,” she says, her tone sounding defeated, before leaving the tavern. Visenya watches her for a moment before turning her gaze to the stranger, who she now stood before. Even sitting down he was still taller than her. His gaze moved from Renfri to Visenya. His expression is unreadable, not sure what to expect from her.

“Jane.” she simply says. The stranger raises a dark eyebrow at her. Strange, it doesn’t match his head. “That’s my name.” she finishes. He gives her a gruff ‘Hmm’ before taking another drink of his ale. “This is normally the part where you tell the other person your name.” Visenya quips.

“Geralt of Rivia,” he answers after finishing his drink. Visenya nods in satisfaction.

“You made quite a stir coming in here,” Visenya says, already pouring him another drink.

“It happens,” he replies shortly.

“It must be the hair.” Visenya sarcastically quips. Geralt quietly chuckles.

“Must be,” he replies, his voice gravelly and rough. She opens her mouth to respond with something witty when they’re interrupted.

“How much coin for you kikimora then.” Marilka, the alderman’s daughter, interrupts, leaning against the counter beside Geralt.

~

Tags: @queenmendes ; @losers-club6 ; @demigoddesofchimichangagod ; @power-of-words23 ; @winter-moons ; @madamwhisper ; @toribentleyva ;  @comicbeginning ; @naughty-koala07 ; @im-a-muggleborn ; @belgiantrash ; @mikariell95 ; @ayamenimthiriel​

[enbeast]

list of Beasts runner five has acquired over the years part 1/???

Lucifur Damsel Lobotsive (pronounced Low-Botss-i've): acquired about four months after the s3 finale. im pretty sure ive made a whole post about her kxjdhd. shes a very beat up black cat that five saved from getting chewed on by zoms and, with help from kefilwe lobotse, nursed back to health. she hates both people and other animals with a fiery passion, except for five who is the only thing she loves in this world, and kefilwe who she more grudgingly likes (kef can pick her up without getting scratched but she will complain the whole time, but will still come up to her for pets)

Pumpkin Pie Heart Emoji: a 5 1/2 inch female orange kneed tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) that five found in a murder victim's house while investigating a distress signal that sam picked up, back in early to mid s2. estimated to be no more than two years old, she could live for another 28 years or so, haunting sam as he watches five let her walk all over them. more docile than is common for her species, grew to 7 inches in the following years. her former owner had a pretty impressive collection of creepy crawlies but most of the rest were handed off to carers and hobbyists, despite five eyeing up several spiders and scorpions. (she was illegally imported by the dude but hey apocalypse. no rules babey)

The Gang (featuring lil jeff, gay bastard, rude butch, fresh boy, mud boy, cucumber succulent, sippy cup, jerald, mosco, michaelangelo, arch angel rockyourshit, chumbus, dermaveen, plastic straw optional, karen, fancy man, brick, coco butter, raw egg, boiled egg, and many more: several of the names given to the many fish runner five traded, was gifted, rescued, and otherwise acquired either shortly before or early s4, see 5facts #4 for details. very spoiled fish who live in a 4x2x2 foot tank filled with all the luxuries that used to be too expensive for five but now lay ignored in petshops and dead hobbyist houses. mostly guppies, mollies, swordtails, and angel fish, plus four bristlenose plecos and a few dozen snails of various species. they live in the councilors office to offer their soothing presence to anyone who needs it

pretty boy: a male flinders range scorpion from the same collection of scary bugs and pumpkin, gleefully acquired in early s7 after the guy who was looking after him contacted five on roflnet to let them know he was getting rid of a few of his bugs due to a new baby on the way that would be taking his office as a nursery so he could only keep what he could comfortably fit in his room. also pretty chill as expected. 97mm long when first acquired

[lesvegas]

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

1: I can’t afford to make a trip to the world’s last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon but I can afford to buy some of their merch. Which I did. Idk when my hat will get here but I can’t wait.

2: I have one Pez dispenser. It’s Charmander.

3: I like playing games while my partner watches through discord and I’ve been struggling for weeks trying to figure out how to stream Sly 2 for him. First I tried using Wine and bootcamp to run PCSX2 on my my macbook. Then I tried looking into video capture cards, and it turns out the only one that really works for mac is [really fuckin expensive]. Then I tried running PCSX2 on the craptop; a 4-5 year old laptop I only used for some games before giving to my brother before borrowing it again for more games. On super low settings and a cut framerate, I actually managed to get the game running (note that PCSX2 is hard to run even on beefy computers and Sly 2 has always been a ‘problem game’ for the emulator), but as soon as I tried streaming thru discord it kept crashing. This week I’m gonna try recording my TV the old fashioned way: with my phone. Here’s hoping it’s not complete shit.

4: I have 8 coasters on my desk right now because I like drinks too much.

5: One time some years ago I found a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, put the ingredients in a list and my dad went to the store to grab them before letting me make them. Instead of little mushrooms he grabbed these massive portobello mushrooms. I tried to work with them anyway but as they baked all the cheese and whatnot just sort of melted into a mess that stuck to the whole cookie sheet. We ate them in silence anyway and my dad still said they tasted good because he loves me.

6: I’m worried about my plant, Elizabeth. She’s a succulent but leaves and even stems keep drying up/falling off.

7: This is gonna sound mean as hell but my mom thought the string on my little brother’s worm on a string was hair and she snapped it and my brother was all upset and mom said she’d buy him a new one and he screamed ‘I LIKE JERALD’ and I had to leave the room because I needed to laugh.

8: I recently watched the movie Suckerpunch and I have complicated feelings about it but I liked it more than I hated it.

9: Twice today my cat was lying across the stairs and when I asked her to move out of the way she pulled her whole body to one side to let me pass.

10: I only just found out today that Adam Gontier joined Breaking Benjamin on an acoustic tour like two years ago and yesterday the Breaking Benjamin channel on youtube posted a collab of them both performing Dance With The Devil and I don’t care how cringe anyone thinks it is I’m still not over it these guys were my two fave singers through highschool.

[littlemovieposters]

2022 Home Viewing #78: Satan in High Heels. (dir. Jerald Intrator, 1962)

It’s been a while since I’ve watched one of the many mid-century, low-budget films restored by director Nicolas Winding Refn and offered for free on his website byNWR.com. In fact, I forgot I was trying to watch them all. Satan in High Heels is one of the better films on the docket; despite the usual tropes being used on the poster here, it’s not campy or kitschy. 

[swancon]

The Orville comes to SBS on Demand

Seth McFarlane’s sci-fi comedy The Orville comes to SBS on Demand this month, almost a year after it screened in the USA.

The comedy series sees McFarlane star as  as Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels whose career took a downturn following his divorce, and who is given the titular ship as his first command, only to discover that his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson, has been assigned to be his First Officer.   The cast includes Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes and Victor Gerber. Guest stars include Rob Lowe, Jeffrey Tambor, Holland Taylor, Steven Culp, Robert Picardo, Charlieze Theron, Rena Owen and Liam Neeson guest star. Reviews for the series have been mixed, but it has been renewed for a second season that hits US television in December.  Catch in on SBS on Demand from Monday 24 September.  

[cosmic0de]

In relation to my previous tags (warning major body horror/corpses)

Here are the server mascots! This is Blossombutt the Rainwing

And this is Jerald the Mudwing

They're angry to meet you

sorry for low quality I can't get the file open rn sobebdjkbs

Third wof arc au where instead of... Whatever that breath of evil mess was, it was something like the cordiceps fungus. Something something body horror zombie shit it begins to take more hold and catastrophe begins etc