#Three Phase Stabiliser

[punkpandapatrixk]

Slow Mornings~♪

Hello lovely peeps. I'm popping in to say that I'm so sorry I haven't been as productive as I’d hoped. I had all of these plans, and literally 3 years’ worth of content ideas, but my body has not been able to catch up! I’m now behind on all of the readings I’d scheduled for the entirety of October XD

The truth of the matter is a little bit convoluted but I’ve been both experiencing a series of burnout—autistic burnout, which I didn’t even know was a speciality thing—as well as being in this healing phase where my body simply wants to catch up on sleep, after years and years and very long years of being on edge. There was a meme I forgot to save that says something to this effect:

'Your body is healing from years of trauma; you’re not lazy. You deserve this peace.’

Actually, the above could as well be a mash of two—or three—separate memes LOL Here’s another good one from a sub maker that I feel captures just thee vibe I’m feeling right now:

‘Maybe you're simply perceiving how a lovely sensation of closure & calm gently fills the air around you, feeling a little sleepier than usual. Or maybe you can sense how a massively positive change is coming, seemingly eager to go with it and that's great as well.’ – The Witch of Drown Shadows

I believe many of you reading this could relate as well. A new beginning is on the horizon for sooo many of us who’ve been on a soul-search to liberate ourselves from the chains of the toxic Matrix. I hope you're doing well, and excited for what's to come before the year even ends ^o^v

Forget the grind, leave behind soul-sucking deadlines, and enjoy the slow mornings~♪

Naturally, I’m going to be more productive again once I’m done stabilising myself—all mind body and spirit aligned. I’m not saying this out of a sense of ‘obligation’; that all people ideally must be a productive member of society. No, not that. I really want to get productive on this blog because I’ve a shit ton of good content in the works XD

I’ve so much new content on career, luck, character glow-up, soulmate friendships!!!, celebrity life, life purpose and other esoteric shit I’m eager to put out \^-^/ Not to mention the fiction that’ll go on Wattpad. I’m making progress on Punk Panda Stories but slow…very slow XD

For now, I’m aiming to post one PAC every week without fail. I’m just going to expect this much from me in the meantime, so as not to burn myself out on the psychology level just yet. When you expect too much from yourself, the stress could deter any progress instead, right?

This is especially true for those who don’t necessarily have a deadline. But that’s the thing, I don’t wanna strangle myself with deadlines anymore. So I’m not gonna work like that anymore. This ain’t 9-5 corporate, girl. Stop thinking like that! Is what I’ve been telling myself. Gotta change the whole way I approach my soul-work~♪

Until the end of the year, I’m teaching myself to enjoy slow mornings™️ I’ve been starting my day with just cleaning myself and my room; having a breakfast of lemon tea w/ a dollop of strawberry jam + a CVS croissant; playing a game on my dusty-but-trusty old PSP when I’ve got the time; and reading a few chapters of an actual book.

In the afternoon, I’ve been back on teaching myself ballet and strengthening my vocals. It’s nice. I feel very healthy and like myself again, but better <3 We were born into this world to enjoy our hobbies and hopefully, ideally make money alongside those hobbies <3

Never forget that, girlies. Hard work doesn’t suit us <3

How the Boredom Epidemic Ruined Hobbies by Nicole Rudolph

[revvnant]

okay srs question, you've talked before about how hurricane the town is a character in its own right. how do you think hurricane evolves alongside mike/how does he view the town as he grows older?

this is gonna wander. i'm spitballing.

i always like stories that involve immortality that isn't innate. like, how do different people react to living forever? do they grow? part of me believes that, if you check in on an immortal a hundred, two hundred years from their turning, you'll actually find them to be the same as they were when last you met. check in twenty-five years later, though? totally different person. i think we go through cycles. we see the elderly as static only because their next phase (death) isn't comprehensible to us. give an eighty year old twenty more active years. see how they change.

all this just for me to say that michael is an exception to the rule. i very much cleave to pseudo-hard magic systems (call that the worldbuilding half chub), and mike being a revenant, specifically, is important to me. revenant. revenir. re-turning. put a pin in that, it's a surprise tool that will harm us later. call him wight. call him zombie, in the traditional sense — a victim not permitted to rest, chained to the work they performed in life.

i'm going to scoop a little from tamsyn muir and a little from canon. sorry, i promise we're getting there. the way that fnaf's ghosts work, to me, has always had to do with cause of death/method of murder. it's less intentionality on afton's part and more an unhappy accident. let's posit three types of death, assuming the existence of a material (if not made of any matter we can normally perceive or interact with) soul in this fictional setting:

1. gradual, natural death, including death by sickness. cell decay. a smooth transition where the soul gradually loosens from its mooring and is drawn naturally to... wherever. some afterlife. the soul recycler. doesn't matter. any trauma — fear, the intensity of the illness — is spiritually negligible. it might rattle inside a little, but it will pop out.

2. traumatic death. getting stabbed. getting hit by a car. getting shot. a hole opens for the soul to get out, but the pressure of the sudden switch gets it stuck. maybe this is temporary; the soul lingers for a bit, separate from the body, gets its bearings, and moves on. maybe it inhabits something else just because it's more comfortable with a casing. a television. a closet. it may need some gentle massaging to stabilise. the time between death and the natural movement to an afterlife mentioned above is what makes up the ghost. i could talk about this forever, about ghosts not experiencing that time linearly, but we'll move on.

3. extremely traumatic death. the soul is skewered in place. such immense damage is done to the individual, both physically and emotionally, that that reverse pressure lodges the soul inside the body. if you're, say, beaten, stabbed, and then shoved inside an animatronic casing while still alive, and then your meat rots away over years, you may not perceive the difference between the original body and the new one. the shock takes so long to settle, it becomes home. dislodging is now a process. the feeling is key, here. it gives the soul something to hold onto, a link to its form that it grips onto and won't let go. unfinished business and the like. revenge. hence, the revenant.

now take number three and put it inside a body that decays but never dies, that can move without muscle or bone. the kids were stuffed in suits. michael was the suit. he was crammed inside his own head, alive, with all of the funtimes. how was he meant to escape? he was literally fenced in while all the death processes happened. and then they eject from him, because they're not him, but he's stuck. and he's furious. and through sheer force of rage, he pilots himself, because even purple and empty, his soul is in its original wrapping. it never left.

obviously, he can't work. not a problem if he doesn't have to eat, definitely a problem if he needs a place to live. he may be able to hide inside his house for a while, use money from the family account, but william has also gone missing. and michael is a renowned murderer. so he has to move, and he has to change his name, and he has to find somewhere to live. more than anything, though, he has to find william. that is the condition of his continued existence. he's not a person choosing a goal with the freedom to opt out at any time; he's a creature being powered by an emotional engine that only accepts hate as fuel, thanks.

meanwhile. hurricane moves on. nobody knows where the remaining aftons went, and speculation runs wild for a time. maybe they blame michael for the murders, chalk william up as one last victim, and go on the local news about it. a real act of satanism, in their very town. but what gets me about hurricane is 1) the very specific timescale and 2) the absolutely ghoulish behaviour that comes after. the gap between sister location and fnaf 3 being thirty years is so incredibly perfect. fnaf was already in part about nostalgia-made-horror; it was the game's marketing scheme, and then it was made part of the plot. hurricane looks back on what happened to its children, and it makes a haunted house out of them.

i love people who speculate on sammy emily, if you think he exists. i love it because he's only middle-aged now. your sister was beaten to death in an alleyway and now she's part of a tourist trap. for peace of mind, i like to think the parents moved away. it's all very derry. in a word, it's peak. the series does not get better than this, because it's so ick, it's so what the fuck, and it's so real. hurricane cannibalises its loss and processes it into a mythology. they never found the bodies: speculate, until the speculation becomes a story on its own. do not think about the child bleeding out in the rain. think about that freaky puppet. it's outlandish and so it's easier to confront. humanity loves to look sideways at tragedy to keep from going mad.

back to michael. i could fill his thirty year gap with so many adventures, and sometimes i do, but most often, in my mind, he is static. he gets ripped out of the time stream in his twenties by something so horrific, and he cannot look sideways at it. his eyes were kept open and facing forward clockwork orange style while he was a passenger in his own corpse. now he's in the driver's seat and his eyes are on the road. you know in signalis how a promise is literally ripping the fabric of the universe apart? michael does not change. michael cannot change. there's nothing left of him that can grow save for his frustration and his guilt. ghosts don't perceive time linearly? he has no concept of those thirty years. (neither does springtrap. lol and lmao.)

he falls asleep with the horrors fresh enough to burn his tongue and wakes up to a haunted house.

wouldn't you go ballistic. wouldn't you want the entire thing razed to the ground. wouldn't you think of all the people who judged you and scorned you and called you the devil, see what 'they've' built, and wholesale check out from humanity? michael never fit in in hurricane, but now he can't fit in anywhere. because how could they do this? those kids died last year, he drank from milk cartons with their faces on them and it curdled in his stomach because it happened at his family's restaurant, and maybe he could have stopped it. he should have put his foot down. he should have looked closer. you're mythologising that? his failure? unlived lives? how could you do this? how could you do this.

who is he going to meet, to change for? the town is a moral wasteland to him, and he's also super stinky and cannot get a normal job. we are only individuals insofar as we are not other people; i.e., what is us is necessarily defined by what is not us. neon genesis evangelion finale. or descartes. it's one of those i can't remember. who does michael exist in comparison to?

dead children. henry. springtrap. mostly springtrap. and he's played those games before. they are, in fact, the only games he's ever played. he has no reason to change — he has every reason to stay the same. springtrap is the only person who makes him michael. everyone else is dead or fled. michael wakes up because they found springtrap. springtrap wakes up because michael is there.

unpin that bit for me, the one at the top about returning. re-turning. les mis fans you don't have to say it, we know, we know it's always the cycles, every time with the cycles. orpheus so loved eurydice he couldn't not look at her, and so condemned her to hades and himself to loneliness. michael so loved hated springtrap that every time he was nearly out of hell he turned back. he had to look, because to know he is to know me. i just need to make sure you're there. i just need to make sure i'm me, and i can only be me with you. and if you keep 180ing at the gates...

so his view on the town can't change. simple answer.

[alienbloodheart]

the Star Heart Codex

full name of the record: 'the Star Heart Codex: a Guide for All Timeseers Future-Past’

record abbreviation: SHC

recovering timeseer: Athan Levy (the Leviathan; Alien Blood-Heart)

subject: codex from the future-past in the process of recovery.

pre-recovery status: completed successfully, data stabilisation procedure complete (2768-2778 AUC) recovery status: unknown; ongoing since 2778 AUC.

details: recovered fragments are presented below. the structure is provisional as recovery progresses. recovered excerpts are not final; errors in transcription are possible, and fragments may be altered as new data surfaces. the author denies all responsibility from the knowledge contained in the recovered codex, nor in any of its future versions.

codex format (as reconstructed): *************

I. the Book of Rules:

the Rules of Sunlight

the Rules of the Tower

the Rules of Stardust

II. the Book of the Earthborn

the Three Voices in the Pyre

the Three Sides of the Coin

the Three Aerial Eyes

the Three Songs of Moonlight

III. the Book of the Sphinx

the Riddle of the Pyramid

the Secret told by Earth

IV. the Book of Ghosts

the Dance of the Droplets

the Shriekers of Chaos

the Breath of Life

V. the Book of Contemporary Hearts

the Three Beats of a Heart

the Two Branches of World Tree

fragments indicate we are nearing the completion of the books. the scope was unknown, the end is now glimpsed. this may all be temporary, for who knows Time in Truth?

access a pdf: catbox-link

version française du Codex Cœur Étoile (coming soon)

*************

notes: recovery; the threads have been many. most turned out short. a decade of research, and the threads were spun. more often than not i lost the threads during recovery. ancient myths are murky, science is cold, many religions are proud, philosophies are bloated. many are blind. let this guide be the initiation for new Earthborn Timeseers on their Path.

notes: (update) fiction?; the Star Heart Codex is NOT a work of fiction or a fantasy world building exercise. or maybe it is to you?

notes: (update ii) closed books; although recovery is not final, the Book of Rules and the Book of the Earthborn form the foundation of the SHC. these Books will not feature new sections. the same applies to the Book of the Sphinx.

notes: (update iii) clarification; the SHC is a recovered document. this term was chosen as it best embodies the process of creation. recovery consists of 3 phases. phase 1: the foundation of the SHC is assembled from the world’s oldest systems of knowledge. phase 2: the foundation was refined over and over for coherent data stabilisation. this phase took me more than a decade. phase 3: let the Void’s influence permeate and guide creation.

notes: (update iv) gender; the Codex is currently phrased gender-neutrally. this will soon be reversed to a masculine phrasing, as this is less confusing. naturally, women can be Timeseers too.

[elskamo]

I Actually Have Some Good News for Once!

And some bad but at least things are finally turning around for the end of 2024!

I Won My Court Hearing and My Benefits Have Gone Back Up Again!

I've gone back from a little over £300 to £800 a month along with some backpay for the year or so that my benefits were wrongly reduced. Unfortunately almost all the money has been spent on things like repairs, replacing broken items, and living costs. Although it went rather quickly at least it went to towards things that were desperately needed.

I did have to give up quite a large chunk of the money to my parents in order to keep staying with them as I still don't have anywhere else to live, but again, at least I have a rood over my head for the winter.

I'm still job searching and am potentially hoping to look into working abroad in Canada using their IEC program, that being said it's a long way off for me and I would have to get a lot of paperwork, finances, and other things sorted out first. So for the meantime I'm still looking into work here in the UK.

I Had My First Two Appointments at an NHS GIC and Have Started Testosterone!

I previously went private in 2021 back when I had a job and actual money to get my Gender Dysphoria diagnosis but ended up not being able to continue with that GIC to get hormones due to everything that happened in late 2021/early 2022 onwards. My first appointment at the NHS GIC covered A LOT of safeguarding stuff as well as catching them up on what happened at my private appointment and how I've been since then. It was a very quick turnaround for my second appointment, the first was on November 5th, the second was on November 26th!

At my second appointment I chose to take the large injection every 12 weeks so I can have my health monitoring done at the same time at the appointments, I'm expecting to have one earlier injection in 6 weeks time that my GP should agree to take over but I have a backup appointment scheduled at the GIC just in case there's a problem transferring my prescription.

I did find out through the health monitoring and through chatting with both doctors that I have PCOS as well as raised liver function. The former should be easily treatable with Testosterone, but I have the option to get surgery later down the line if I'm still experiencing severe side effects from the condition, the latter is likely down to the medication I'm on so I'm waiting to book an appointment with my GP to get it changed or reduced.

I Had My Assessments With a Psychiatrist and Will Be Starting Therapy!

I'm still waiting to confirm what exact diagnosis I've been given but the psychiatrist frequently mentioned Dissociation/Dissociated Parts as well as (C)-PTSD during our appointments. I'm being referred onto the Trauma Pathway which has three phases, the first being Stabilisation Therapy. Given how close it is to Christmas and knowing how long things take on the NHS I probably won't have my first therapy session until the New Year but you never know.

Hopefully with all the good things that have happened recently I'll be feeling up to creating more content and posting more frequently like I used to, at the very least I'm in a much better position than I was two years ago when everything started going wrong - Ronald

[tallulah-caseys-misadventures]

I've spent the last two days making a reference sheet for Tallulah for one of the three TMM crossovers I have involving her, this one being the one where she goes to Tokyo after the Taming of the Tights.

Her mother and Zakuro's mother are old friends from before the girls were born, and when Cait hears that Lullah is peripherally involved in teen drama that involved a shotgun, she pulls Lullah out and sends her to live with said old friend.

Tallulah does not take separating from the first friends she made in years very well and hits her emo phase full force, which is kinda exacerbated by Zakuro's own wall of angst.

Her costume looks very similar to Zakuro's on purpose, Ryou thought it would be fitting considering their similar builds and opposing power sets. The differences in colour scheme are more obvious when they're standing next to each other, Tallulah's purples are warmer than Zakuro's.

Snow leopards aren't a particularly sociable animal, so Ryou stabilised the DNA with house cat DNA, specifically that of a siberian forest cat in the hopes that it would help make her more inclined towards teamwork. Tallulah is capable of shifting into both forms, at first just when her heart rate increased but eventually by choice, and can also become invisible.

The two cafe uniforms is because Ryou was a bit of an asshole and said Tallulah wasn't girly enough for the dress when she showed up for her first shift, and when the dress was waiting in her locker for her second shift she asked for the waistcoat and trousers back out of spite.

[reckonslepoisson]

Fuckfest (1989), King of the Jews (1991), Let Me Be A Woman (1995), Serenade in Red (1997), An Evil Heat (2002), The Narcotic Story (2007), Thin Black Duke (2017), Oxbow

Over more than three decades, Oxbow’s experimental rock has sounded like nothing else. Anchored by Eugene Robinson’s howls – a force so loose and boundless, so uncontained and domineering that one can hardly believe it acts as stabiliser – the band has stuck with a sort of rock that is noisy, trudging and punky, though also informed by blues and jazz. For me, however, Oxbow’s great mastery lies in their use of sparsity and ambience. In dropping into lengthy, spacious phases, the group subdues listeners before unleashing havoc with incendiary and shocking power; producing musical explosions that really, truly explode. 

Pick(s): ’30 Miles’, ‘Cat and Mouse’, ‘The Stabbing Hand’, ‘3 O’ Clock’, ‘Stallkicker’, ‘The Geometry of Business’, ‘Cold & Well-Lit Place’

[how2fit]

Jumping lunges are one of the most effective strength training exercises that can help with weight loss, boost strength, and much more. Know how to do them correctly.Are you looking to strengthen your leg muscles? If so, try doing jumping lunges. Jumping lunges is a dynamic exercise that has a significant impact on your overall well-being. This explosive practice goes beyond standard static lunges, challenging your body with a tremendous rush of energy. By including this exercise in your fitness regime, you may greatly boost your lower body strength. Plus, jumping lunges effectively engage multiple muscle groups, including your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core, providing a full-body workout. However, an improper form can lead to injuries, particularly to the knees and ankles. So, here’s how to do these correctly.What are jumping lunges?Jumping lunges are a dynamic exercise that combines the strength-building benefits of traditional lunges with an explosive plyometric element (quick, powerful movements to generate force). “Starting in a lunge position, you powerfully jump and switch the position of your legs in mid-air, landing in a lunge with the opposite leg forward,” says fitness expert Mahesh Ghanekar. This continuous jumping and switching motion challenges your lower body muscles, burns calories, improves balance, and enhances coordination.You can strengthen your lower body by doing jumping lunges. Image courtesy: Adobe StockBenefits of jumping lungesThere are many reasons why you should add jumping lunges to your fitness routines. Here is how they can help you:1. Strengthens lower body musclesJumping lunges are an excellent workout for strengthening the lower body, as found in a study published in the Journal of Human Kinetics. They typically target the quadriceps, a group of four muscles on the front of the thigh that extend the knee. The hamstrings, a set of three muscles at the rear of the thigh, are also heavily used during the exercise, especially during the forward and backward movements.They also effectively engage the gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in the buttocks, as well as the calves, which are important for propelling the body forward during the jumping phase. By adding them to your fitness regime regularly, you may significantly increase strength and definition in these critical muscle groups, resulting in better lower body power and overall well-being.2. Enhances balance and coordinationJumping lunges are a dynamic exercise that requires excellent coordination and balance. During the jumping phase, you must properly coordinate the movement of your legs, arms, and core to move yourself forward and switch places in the air, as found in a study published in the Journal of Human Kinetics. This requires significant neuromuscular coordination to ensure a smooth, controlled shift. To avoid falls and injuries, maintain stability after landing. To stabilise your torso, engage your core muscles, and use your leg muscles to absorb the impact of landing. Consistently practicing them can help you improve your coordination and balance. This improved coordination and balance can lead to better performance in a variety of activities, from everyday tasks to intense athletic initiatives.3. Helps burn caloriesJumping lunges are a high-intensity exercise that can significantly increase your calorie expenditure. The explosive nature of the movement elevates your heart rate, demanding your body to work harder and burn more calories, as found in a study published by Mercu Buana University Yogyakarta. By incorporating them into your workout routine, you can effectively contribute to weight management goals. The combination of strength training and cardiovascular activity makes jumping lunges an efficient way to burn calories and helps to achieve your fitness goals.4. Boosts cardiovascular healthJumping lunges are challenging exercises that raise your heart rate and provide a cardiovascular workout, as found in a study published by Medicina.

Like interval training, the explosive movements and constant changes in direction put your heart system to the test. This higher heart rate strengthens your cardiac muscle, improves blood circulation, and boosts your overall heart health. Regular incorporation of jumping lunges into your routine can contribute to a healthier heart and improved endurance.You may also likeHow to do jumping lunges safely?Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do them safely. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, core engaged, and shoulders back. Raise your arms to shoulder height, bent at the elbows, ready to swing forward and backward as you jump. Step back with one leg, lowering your body into a lunge position. Ensure your front knee is directly above your ankle and your back knee is almost touching the ground. Keep your chest upright and core engaged throughout the movement. Explosively push off the ground with both feet, jumping upwards. Quickly switch the position of your legs in mid-air. Swing your arms forward as you jump to help with momentum. Land softly in a lunge position with the opposite leg forward. Bend your knees to absorb the impact. Maintain proper form and avoid landing with your knees locked. Continue jumping and switching legs in a controlled and fluid motion.Jumping lunges can help in your weight loss-journey. Image courtesy: FreepikThings to keep in mindHere are some points to remember while doing the exercise. Maintain good form throughout the exercise. Avoid leaning too far forward and keep your core engaged. Avoid bouncing or jerking movements. Perform each repetition with control and focus on proper technique. Land softly on the balls of your feet and bend your knees to absorb the impact. Stop if you feel any pain or discomfort. Rest when needed and gradually increase the intensity and duration as you improve. Always warm up before starting any exercise and cool down with light cardio and stretching afterward.Note: Consult with a healthcare professional or certified fitness trainer before starting any new exercise program, especially if you have any underlying health conditions or concerns.Related FAQsIs it safe to follow jumping lunges every day?No, it's generally not recommended to perform jumping lunges every single day. Daily performance can increase the risk of overuse injuries, such as muscle strains or joint pain.When is the best time to practice jumping lunges? The best time to practice jumping lunges is typically after a proper warm-up, such as light cardio and dynamic stretching. Incorporating them into your workout routine 2-3 times per week is generally sufficient for most people.

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] Arjun Erigaisi and his former coach, N Srinath (PC: Arjun Erigasi and N Srinath/X) After the eighth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa are among the three joint leaders with 5.5 points each. There is nothing unexpected about it because these Indian players are in the elite of the world. The surprise lies at the bottom of the table. Having started the year’s first top competition as World No. 4, Arjun Erigaisi is winless. With four draws and as many defeats, he has just two points. The top-rated Indian languishing at last in the 14-player field is something that nobody saw coming. He has drawn and lost against the kind of opponents he was crushing at will last year. Arjun’s former coach and Grandmaster N Srinath is surprised to see some chinks in his game, but not totally taken aback by the turn of events. “He (Arjun) plays a high-risk game. When it comes off, it looks spectacular. Sometimes, it can go askew,” Srinath told RevSportz. “His general playing style is like that. There can be sharp ups and downs. There is no one particular reason. In the past also, there were phases when things didn’t go well, and he stabilised after that. He’s a bit off-form at the moment. I think this is temporary,” noted Srinath, who was the coach of the gold-winning Indian men’s team at the Chess Olympiad in 2024. He felt that in the fourth-round defeat against Vladimir Fedoseev, Arjun made a blunder. “In general, his opening preparations have not been what you expect of him… I am a little bit surprised the way things have happened, but considering the nature of his game, these things can’t be ruled out,” said Srinath, who worked with Arjun as a mentor first from 2018 and then a full-time coach until 2023. For the Latest Sports News: Click Here Arjun Erigaisi in frame. (PC: Chess.com) Not a regular in elite events like Gukesh or Praggnanandhaa, the 21-year-old had been ruthless against players rated below 2700 at the Olympiad in Budapest last September. That’s why he was fielded on the third board despite his superior rating. In the Tata Steel event, there are five players below 2700. Arjun has played against four of them and lost twice. The defeat against No. 82 Max Warmerdam of the host nation in Round 7 has easily been the upset of the tournament so far. Performance can plateau sometimes after a sharp rise and even dip. But Arjun’s graph has plummeted as spectacularly as it had risen in a short span of time. Star performer at the Olympiad, who became only the 15th player in history to cross the 2800 mark in Elo ratings, his task will only get tougher in the last five rounds. There is no respite in an event of this quality. After a rest day on Monday, Arjun faces defending champion and Chinese World No. 9 Wei Yi. In the last two rounds, he will take on world champion Gukesh and Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the other joint-leader and World No. 6. He will play with black pieces in three of these five games. “It can be an agonising and torturous experience,” said Srinath when asked how a player feels during a sudden slump and such a horror one. “And it’s difficult to recover during the tournament. The best way to deal with this is to switch off and restart after a while. That’s not possible on one rest day… The mind keeps asking for solutions. He needs time off the game for mental clarity. He will figure out what is going on.” Also Read: ‘Behind schedule’ Pakistan worries ICC days ahead of Champions Trophy The post Former coach Srinath says Arjun’s high-risk game prone to ups and downs appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[news365times]

[ad_1] Arjun Erigaisi and his former coach, N Srinath (PC: Arjun Erigasi and N Srinath/X) After the eighth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa are among the three joint leaders with 5.5 points each. There is nothing unexpected about it because these Indian players are in the elite of the world. The surprise lies at the bottom of the table. Having started the year’s first top competition as World No. 4, Arjun Erigaisi is winless. With four draws and as many defeats, he has just two points. The top-rated Indian languishing at last in the 14-player field is something that nobody saw coming. He has drawn and lost against the kind of opponents he was crushing at will last year. Arjun’s former coach and Grandmaster N Srinath is surprised to see some chinks in his game, but not totally taken aback by the turn of events. “He (Arjun) plays a high-risk game. When it comes off, it looks spectacular. Sometimes, it can go askew,” Srinath told RevSportz. “His general playing style is like that. There can be sharp ups and downs. There is no one particular reason. In the past also, there were phases when things didn’t go well, and he stabilised after that. He’s a bit off-form at the moment. I think this is temporary,” noted Srinath, who was the coach of the gold-winning Indian men’s team at the Chess Olympiad in 2024. He felt that in the fourth-round defeat against Vladimir Fedoseev, Arjun made a blunder. “In general, his opening preparations have not been what you expect of him… I am a little bit surprised the way things have happened, but considering the nature of his game, these things can’t be ruled out,” said Srinath, who worked with Arjun as a mentor first from 2018 and then a full-time coach until 2023. For the Latest Sports News: Click Here Arjun Erigaisi in frame. (PC: Chess.com) Not a regular in elite events like Gukesh or Praggnanandhaa, the 21-year-old had been ruthless against players rated below 2700 at the Olympiad in Budapest last September. That’s why he was fielded on the third board despite his superior rating. In the Tata Steel event, there are five players below 2700. Arjun has played against four of them and lost twice. The defeat against No. 82 Max Warmerdam of the host nation in Round 7 has easily been the upset of the tournament so far. Performance can plateau sometimes after a sharp rise and even dip. But Arjun’s graph has plummeted as spectacularly as it had risen in a short span of time. Star performer at the Olympiad, who became only the 15th player in history to cross the 2800 mark in Elo ratings, his task will only get tougher in the last five rounds. There is no respite in an event of this quality. After a rest day on Monday, Arjun faces defending champion and Chinese World No. 9 Wei Yi. In the last two rounds, he will take on world champion Gukesh and Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the other joint-leader and World No. 6. He will play with black pieces in three of these five games. “It can be an agonising and torturous experience,” said Srinath when asked how a player feels during a sudden slump and such a horror one. “And it’s difficult to recover during the tournament. The best way to deal with this is to switch off and restart after a while. That’s not possible on one rest day… The mind keeps asking for solutions. He needs time off the game for mental clarity. He will figure out what is going on.” Also Read: ‘Behind schedule’ Pakistan worries ICC days ahead of Champions Trophy The post Former coach Srinath says Arjun’s high-risk game prone to ups and downs appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[legends-of-time]

Thorn Bush (Doctor Who Story)

Chapter 10: Day of the Doctor Part Two

Masterlist

"I now pronounce you man and wife." The Clergyman announces to Ten and Elizabeth, who stand arm in arm, in the courtyard of the tower with Clara, Kathy, Eleven and the War Doctor watching on. The clergyman stands in front of a large tent.

"Woo hoo!" Clara cheers.

"You may kiss the bride."

Ten gives his 'wife' a strained smile but this doesn't deter Elizabeth, who grabs his face and does the enthusiastic kissing. Clara cheerfully throws confetti at them but even she pulls a face at the display though all of them are.

"Is there a lot of this in the future?" The War Doctor asks his future self next to him sceptically, raising his eyebrows at the sight in front of them.

"It does start to happen, yeah." Eleven replies.

"It's quite funny when you think about it." Kathy giggles. They stare at her in disbelief. "Or not?"

Ten eventually pulls himself away.

"God speed, my love," Elizabeth says.

"I will be right back." Ten runs into the TARDIS in quick speed, not looking back. Kathy waves at Elizabeth as she follows the others inside the TARDIS.

"Right then, back to the future." Eleven declares.

——

"You've let this place go a bit." The War Doctor mentions as he glances distastefully around Nine and Ten's console room.

"Ah, it's his grunge phase. He grows out of it." Eleven replies with a shrug.

"Oi, never dis the TARDIS!" Kathy exclaims. The TARDIS lets out an appreciative hum.

An alarm suddenly sounds and the console begins to spark. Kathy pulls Clara away from the TARDIS as Ten receives an electric shock from the console. The walls around the control room change in a blink, turning from bronze-coral to a white, lit up appearance with round circles in the wall.

"Ow!" Ten exclaims. "The desktop is glitching."

"Three of us from different time zones. It's trying to compensate." The War Doctor speaks thoughtfully.

"Hey, look, The round things!" Eleven points out with excitement, grinning widely.

"I love the round things." Ten catches his excitement.

"What are the round things?"

"No idea."

"Sometimes I wonder if you know anything about TARDISes." Kathy shakes her head at them smiling.

"Yes, we do!" Eleven exclaims offended. "I'll show you!" He darts over to the console. "This is the friction contrafibulator." He fiddles and the controls spark again and the desktop outlook shifts into Eleven's later control room look. "Ha! There, stabilised."

It is Ten's turn to give the room a once over, "Oh, you've redecorated." Eleven starts to smile but then, channelling the Second Doctor, Ten pulls a face and mutters, "I don't like it."

"Oh. Oh yeah? Oh, you never do." Eleven pouts.

Kathy shakes her head. "Listen, the Zygons have access to the Black Archive through using Osgood and Kate's appearances. We need to get there."  All three Doctors go quiet and look at each other in trepidation.

"Okay, so you've heard of that, then." Clara mumbles.

"Well then." Eleven straightens his bow tie. "Best stop them."

"Uh, no, TARDIS-proof," Kathy tells them.

"Brilliant." Eleven rushes into action, setting up the space-time telegraph. A gift from the Doctor to Kate's father. It is very needed at this moment considering that Kate will be trying to detonate the nuclear warhead 20 feet beneath to save the world.

Kathy twists a knob and static fills the room before a voice that sounds very much like Kate, echoes around them, "...destroy London?"

"To save the world," a second Kate speaks, the real Kate, "yes, I would."

"You're bluffing."

"You really think so?" Real Kate challenges. "Somewhere in your memory is a man called Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart. I am his daughter."

"Go!" Ten nods to his future self, managing to get the audio going both ways.

"Science leads, Kate." Eleven calls. "Is that what you meant? Is that what your father meant?"

"Doctor?" Kate has a surprised quality to her voice.

Kathy steps forward. "You know your father was given the space-time Telegraph by the Doctor so there's be a hotline straight to the TARDIS for emergencies. It goes both ways." She's not going to let Kate do this.

"And I also know about the Black Archive and I know about the security protocol," Eleven adds. "Kate, please. Please tell me you are not about to do something unbelievably stupid!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor." Kate breathes, her voice growing softer as she orders someone else to, "Switch it off."

"Not as sorry as you will be. This is not a decision you will ever be able to live with!" Ten tries. There's a sombre look shared between the Doctors.

"I said, switch it off!" Kate demands and the feed is cut to static before either of them can say another word.

"Great." Ten huffs. "Not only can we not talk to her but we also can't get in there because it's TARDIS-proof."

"How can they do that?" Clara asks.

"Alien technology plus human stupidity. Trust me, it's unbeatable." Eleven mutters.

"We don't need to land." The War Doctor remarks. Kathy sees that he has noticed the stasis cube they had taken from the Zygons.

"Yeah, we do. A tiny bit. Try and keep up." Ten mutters patronisingly.

Kathy shakes her head at him. "No, he's right we don't."

"What do we do then?" Eleven asks.

The War Doctor picks up the cube. "Cup-a-soup." All of them begin to grin. "What is cup-a-soup?"

Ten and Kathy pilot the ship while Eleven stands at the open door of the TARDIS as he uses the phone to contact personnel back from the National Gallery. He manages to get a hold of McGillop, the man that had been there when it had been revealed to Eleven, right after Eleven had viewed the Time War painting. Current Eleven orders McGillop to have the painting to be transported to the Black Archive.

"Okay! So, all we need to do now is connect the stasis cube to the Gallifrey Falls painting and we'll be able to get inside." Kathy says to the group.

The Doctors seem a bit reluctant to relive old memories of the day or the same day for the War Doctor, but they need to do that so they can save London.

——

The TARDIS had been placed into the battle of Arcadia painting. They all stay inside until they need to, listening to the blasts sounding and Daleks crying "Exterminate!" The Doctors open the doors and rush out, sonics in hand.

"Exterminate!" A Dalek cries as it trundles towards them, its laser arm powering up.

Three sonic screwdrivers resonate together to create a sort of shield, merging together and powering each other's up to create a blast that strikes out at the Dalek and sending the unhappy pepper pot crashing out of the painting and into—

——

—the Black Archive, followed by three of the same Time Lord while Kathy and Clara quickly follow behind.

"Hello." The youngest Doctor greets.

"I'm the Doctor." Ten remarks.

"Sorry about the Dalek." Eleven finishes.

"Also, the showing off," Clara adds with a huff as she steps out.

"Tell me about it!" Kathy exclaims as she struggles to step out because of her dress, Clara helps her.

Kathy sees two sets of Kate, Osgood and McGillop gathered around a table in the middle of the room. She glances at the Dalek as it's the first time she's seen one in person.

Eleven strides over to the humans/Zygons. "Kate Lethbridge Stewart, what in the name of sanity are you doing?"

Kate, human Kate, stands up from the table. "The countdown can only be halted at my personal command. There's nothing you can do."

"Except make you both agree to halt it." Ten shrugs.

"Not even for three of you."

Kathy can't believe how easily this woman will do this, to kill all those people.

The War Doctor shares her thoughts as he frowns as he says, "You're about to murder millions of people."

"To save billions." Kate lifts her chin, not disagreeing with him. "How many times have you made that calculation?" 

"Once." Eleven agrees. "Turned me into the man I am now. I'm not even sure who that is anymore."

"You tell yourself it's justified, but it's a lie." Ten declares as he moves over to the head of the table, placing his hands on the edge to lean and look both Kates in the eye. "Because what I did that day was wrong. Just wrong."

"And, because I got it wrong," Eleven adds. He and Ten drag chairs over to the end of the table. "I'm going to make you get it right." Both Doctors plonk themselves on the chairs and cross their legs on the table. Kathy walks over to stand behind them.

Kate seems unimpressed. "How?"

"Any second now, you're going to stop that countdown." Ten informs, waving his hand between the two Kates. "Both of you, together."

"Then you're going to negotiate the most perfect treaty of all time." His future self adds.

"And it'll be a fair and safeguarded on both sides," Kathy says.

"And the key to perfect negotiation?"

"Not knowing what side you're on." Ten finishes. Both Doctors push away from the table with their feet and stand.

"So, for the next few hours," Eleven says as he and Ten pull out their screwdrivers, "until we decide to let you out."

"No one in this room will be able to remember if they're human..."

"...or Zygon."

"Whoops a daisy." Eleven cries as the two jump onto the table and point to the ceiling, using their sonics. The two sets of Kates, Osgoods and McGillops look up and realise too late that one of the memory wiping devices is positioned on the ceiling right above them. Kathy and the War Doctor join in with their own sonics. The memory device sparks and as the countdown reaches 7, the humans and Zygons look befuddled before noticing the countdown.

The two Kates look at each other in horror, they turn to the countdown on the wall and shout, "Cancel the detonation!" The ticking time bomb stops at 5 seconds to go.

"Peace in our time." Eleven declares.

"Cutting it a bit close though," Kathy remarks.

——

Kathy leans against a shelf, taking in the scene of the Zygons and humans working together in discussions of a treaty. While she knows this will work overall, she also knows of the future rebellion of some of the Zygons. The Doctors had gone their separate ways to let them discuss, one of them is bringing the TARDISes close by. Clara explores the photo array of past companions. Then she goes to the Warrior, who is sitting in the Seventh Doctor's big leather chair.

Kathy sees the War Doctor disappear when Clara turns her back. Clara looks around confused and looks at Kathy to see her reaction. Kathy nods her head towards the other two Doctors, who are chatting together, as it is time to get moving.

The two Time Lords had raced to their TARDISes to follow where the War Doctor had gone after Clara, and Kathy, insisted that the youngest Doctor had not destroyed Gallifrey yet. Kathy knows Clara hopes they'll stop him but the other two Doctors are not intending to do that, just do not want the War Doctor to do it alone.

Two TARDISes park themselves in the barn. Enter the Doctors, Kathy and Clara stepping out of them. A red, rose-like button that glows, stands on a stalk above the Moment box with the War Doctor standing before it, his hand hovering over it. 

Kathy observes him for a moment before glancing out through the cracks of the walls knowing that out there, out in the desert, is Gallifrey. The planet where she got part of her DNA from.

"I told you." Clara smiles, looking relieved. "He hasn't done it yet."

"Go away now, all of you." The War Doctor commands, sounding very tired and doesn't even look at them. "This is for me."

"These events should be time-locked." Ten mutters to those next to him, his eyes gazing around the barn tensely. "We shouldn't even be here."

"So, something let us through," Eleven concludes, staring around just as warily.

Kathy looks back at them all. "Of course, there's a reason why the three of you were brought together."

"Go back." The War Doctor says, drawing the Doctors' attention away from her before they can ask her what she means. "Go back to your lives. Go and be the Doctor that I could never be. Make it worthwhile."

The two Doctors stare at their younger self with sympathetic eyes. Slowly, together, the two began to walk over to the man while Kathy and Clara stay back.

"All those years, burying you in my memory." Ten says quietly.

"Pretending you didn't exist." Eleven continues. "Keeping you a secret, even from myself."

"Pretending you weren't the Doctor, when you were the Doctor more than anybody else."

"You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right." Eleven comes up beside the War Doctor, staring at him steadily.

Ten comes up on the other side and lifts a hand over the War Doctor's, which is still hovering over the red button. "But this time..."

Eleven does the same, placing his hand over Ten's. "...you don't have to do it alone."

"Thank you." The War Doctor breathes quietly.

"What we do today is not out of fear or hatred." Kathy hears the emotion in Ten's voice that is trying to escape and she herself gulps down tears threatening to spill. "It is done because there is no other way."

"And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save." Eleven whispers sombrely. The three Doctors are unmoving, staring at the button they have yet to press.

Eleven glances toward Kathy and Clara, who shakes her head. "What? What is it? What?"

"Nothing." Clara murmurs.

"No, it's something. Tell me." He insists. Kathy keeps quiet for this bit.

"You told me you wiped out your own people. I just... I never pictured you doing it, that's all." Clara tearfully admits. It suddenly goes dark.

"What's happening?" Clara questions.

"Nothing. It's a projection." The War Doctor replies.

The scene shifts to what is happening on Gallifrey at this exact moment, the children and people in the middle of the war.

"These are the people you're going to burn?" Kathy asks.

"There isn't anything we can do." Ten replies.

"He's right. There isn't another way. There never was. Either I destroy my own people or let the universe burn." Eleven adds.

"Look at you," Clara says. "The three of you. The warrior, the hero, and you."

Eleven walks over to her. "And what am I?"

"Have you really forgotten?"

"Yes. Maybe, yes."

"We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero."

"Then what do I do?" Eleven asks desperately.

"What you've always done. Be a doctor." Clara answers. The fighting seems to have stopped on Gallifrey; people emerge from their hiding places. "You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was the promise?"

"Never cruel or cowardly." Ten speaks quietly.

"Never give up," the War Doctor joins him, "never give in."

"Doctor..." Kathy swallows and steps over. "You can't do this..."

The three men look at her, startled. The images vanish and they are back in the barn.

"You're not actually suggesting that we change our own personal history?" Ten gapes at her.

"Not change it as such..." Kathy replies. "...but you never remembered what happened, did you?"

"Well... I remember getting the Moment, and then... big red button..." Ten starts to say but keeps trailing off as if his memories are not exactly lining up. He looks at his future self with wide eyes.

Eleven swallows and closes his eyes. "...then Gallifrey was gone and I was regenerating..."

"So, you don't remember actually pressing the button?" Kathy presses.

"No... I—" Ten frowns. "History said Gallifrey had been destroyed from the war. I knew I had been getting ready to use the moment, but..."

Eleven grins, clearly having clocked what Kathy is trying to say. He sonics the big red button back into the Moment box.

"There's still a billion billion Daleks up there, attacking." The War Doctor says confused.

"Yeah, there is. There is." Eleven replies.

Ten begins to grin as well. "But there's something those billion billion Daleks don't know."

"Because if they did, they'd probably send for reinforcements."

"What? What don't they know?" Clara asks them, looking confused and excited.

"This time, there's three of them," Kathy explains.

"Oh! Oh, yes, that is good. That is brilliant!" The War Doctor exclaims. "She didn't just show me any old future, she showed me exactly the future I needed to see!"

His future selves look at him blankly while Kathy grins.

"Eh? Who did?" Eleven asks.

He gets ignored. "Oh, Bad Wolf girl, I could kiss you."!"

Ten looks at him in surprise. "Sorry, did you just say Bad Wolf?" Ten asks. He glances at Kathy unsure.

"So, what are we doing? What's the plan?" Clara excitedly butts in.

"The Dalek fleets are surrounding Gallifrey, firing on it constantly." The War Doctor explains to her.

"The Sky Trench is holding, but what if the whole planet just disappeared?" Ten adds.

"Tiny bit of an ask." Clara remarks.

"The Daleks would be firing on each other." Eleven cheers.

"They'd destroy themselves in their own crossfire." Kathy nods.

"Gallifrey would be gone, the Daleks would be destroyed, and it would look to the rest of the universe as if they'd annihilated each other." The War Doctor concludes.

"But where would Gallifrey be?" Clara asks.

"Frozen. Frozen in an instant of time, safe and hidden away." Ten replies serenely.

"Remember the painting?" Kathy asks, Clara nods. "Well, basically we'll be doing that, but freezing a planet in a moment in time, away from everyone."

Clara beams at the news.

——

Kathy joins Ten in his TARDIS and Clara with Eleven as the three TARDISes patch through to the War room. Kathy watches as Eleven and Clara appear on one half of the monitor screen and the War room on the other. She knows that they'll all be appearing on holo-monitors in the War room.

"Hello, hello," Eleven calls as they get through. From the monitor Kathy is looking at from Ten's TARDIS, she can see the Time Lords under siege and Eleven and Clara in different squares. "Gallifrey High Command, this is the Doctor and Miss Clara Oswald speaking." Clara does a little wave.

"Hello!" Ten greets as they get through. For the other TARDISes, they'll be appearing as a square on their screens while being another hologram in the War Room. "Also, the Doctor along with Miss Katherine Davis. Can you hear us?"

"Also, the Doctor," the screen splits again as the War Doctor appears, "standing ready."

"Dear God, three of them!" The General seems utterly and completely horrified. "All my worst nightmares at once."

"General, please listen to what they have to say first," Kathy warns. "They have a plan to save you all."

"We should point at this moment, it is a fairly terrible plan." Eleven has to add.

"And almost certainly won't work." Ten agrees.

"Yeah, 'cause that's how you get someone to help you." Kathy shakes her head to herself. Ten ignores her.

"We're flying our three TARDISes into your lower atmosphere." Eleven continues, also ignoring her.

"We're positioned at equidistant intervals around the globe." Ten informs. "Equidistant." He grins. "So grown up."

"Focus, Doctor." Kathy nudges him.

The War Doctor is clearly in a good mood and ignores the extra comment. "We're just about ready to do it."

"Ready to do what?" The General asks, looking fearful.

"We're going to freeze Gallifrey." Eleven declares.

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"Using our TARDISes, we're going to freeze Gallifrey in a single moment in time." Ten adds.

"You know, like those stasis cubes? A single moment in time, held in a parallel pocket universe." The War Doctor continues.

"Except we're going to do it to a whole planet." Eleven explains.

"And all the people on it." Ten finishes.

The General looks aghast. "What?! Even if that were possible, which it isn't, why would you do such a thing?"

"Because the alternative is burning." Eleven answers solemnly.

"And I've seen that." Ten inserts.

"And I never want to see it again."

"We'd be lost in another universe, frozen in a single moment." The General argues. "We'd have nothing."

"You'd have each other." Kathy points out. "You'd have your planet, your people, your safety, your lives and hope."

"It's delusional." The General spits. "The calculations alone would take... hundreds of years," Kathy smirks and looks at the stasis cube on the console that will also be on the other consoles as well.

"Oh, hundreds and hundreds." Eleven smirks.

"But don't worry, I started a very long time ago." Ten winks. The image on the monitor shifts and shows all of the Doctor's past incarnations appearing. All calling out to each other for help and all have the same calculations done by the War Doctor's TARDIS and finished in Eleven's. Same software, different case.

"You might say I've been doing this all my lives!" Eleven whoops.

"I didn't know when I was well off!" The General sounds ill. "All twelve of them!"

"No, sir." An unfamiliar voice chimes in. The screen splits one more time, only revealing a set of rather angry eyes with bushy eyebrows to match. "All thirteen!" Kathy sees the Doctors looking at each other confused. The War room shakes as a blast is heard, which distracts them.

"Sir!" The man beside the General cries out in warning. "The Daleks know that something is happening. They're increasing their firepower."

The General closes his eye, gathering his strength for the final decision. "Do it, Doctor. Just do it."

Eleven nods seriously. "Okay. Gentlemen, we're ready." He reaches out to put a hand on a lever. Clara puts her hand over his.

"Geronimo?" She asks grinning. Eleven nods and they pull the lever down.

"Come on, Kathy!" Ten laughs as they grab their own lever. "Allons-y!"

Kathy laughs. "Allons-y!"

The War Doctor rolls his eyes. "Oh, for God's sake. Gallifrey stands!" He pulls down his lever.

TARDISes rush towards the planet and surround it, then whiteout. Pieces of Dalek scatter in space as though they had been blasted apart and no planet remains.

——

The Doctors, Kathy and Clara are in the under gallery of the National Gallery and gather before the painting of the Time War. They all have their own cup of tea. Ten and Eleven stand by the painting and Kathy stands by Clara and the War Doctor, who sit on the bench. Three TARDISes are lined up by one wall. The opposite is decorated with a collection of roundels.

"You know you should give yourself a trim." Kathy casually remarks to Clara, remembering what Clara had said to her 700 years earlier.

Clara grins unquestionably. "Really? Would it look good?"

"Yeah, you'd suit a bob, but not yet." Kathy points a finger at her with a fake serious face. Clara laughs.

"I don't suppose we'll know if we actually succeeded." The War Doctor sighs sadly as he muses. "But at worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding in doing the wrong."

"Life and soul, you are." Clara remarks as she sips her tea.

"You may one day," Kathy says.

"Do you know something?" Clara asks.

Kathy shrugs. "Maybe. Spoilers." She then wanders over to the painting.

"What is it actually called?" Ten asks as he squints at the 3D painting of the Time War. He's wearing his glasses as if that'll help him find a clue.

"Well, there's some debate." Eleven replies, taking off his own glasses. "Either No More or Gallifrey Falls."

The War Doctor forces a smile. "Not very encouraging."

"Maybe you're all looking at it wrong?" Kathy supplies.

Eleven frowns at her in thought while Ten asks, "How did it get here? Kathy?"

She shrugs but really, she can't quite remember herself as she always got a bit confused by this bit, which is annoying for her.

Eleven smiles. "I really don't know."

His past self smiles at that. "There's always something we don't know, isn't there?"

"One should certainly hope so." The War Doctor stands. "Well, gentlemen, it has been an honour and a privilege."

Ten nods at him. "Likewise."

Eleven smiles at him. "Doctor."

The War Doctor turns to Kathy. "It's my greatest pleasure to get to know you, Kathy. I look forward to everything."

"I look forward to it," Kathy replies.

"And if I grow to be half the man that you are," the War Doctor turns to Clara, "Clara Oswald, I shall be happy indeed."

Clara startles slightly as she takes a sip of drink but straightens and stands cheerfully. "That's right. Aim high." She kisses his cheek gently.

The War Doctor sighs. "I won't remember this, will I?"

Kathy shakes her head. "I'm afraid not. Time streams being out of sync and all that."

"You can't retain it," Eleven adds.

"So, I won't remember that I tried to save Gallifrey rather than burn it." He lets out a long sigh at that. "I'll have to live with that. But for now, for this moment," he nods to himself, smiling with his hands on his lapels, "I am the Doctor again. Thank you." He turns to the TARDISes. "Which one is mine? Ha!" He goes into the shabbiest TARDIS. It dematerialises.

"I won't remember either," Ten pulls off his glasses, "so you might as well tell me." Kathy plonks herself next to Clara so as to let the two have this chat.

"Tell you what?" Eleven inquires as though he doesn't already know what his past self is asking.

"Where it is we're going that you don't want to talk about."

Elevens sighs. "I saw Trenzalore, where we're buried. We die in battle among millions."

"That's not how it's supposed to be." Ten denies.

"That's how the story ends." Elevens shrugs as if he doesn't care. "Nothing we can do about it. Trenzalore is where you're going." Kathy knows that isn't quite how it all plays out.

"Oh, never say nothing." Ten determines. "Anyway," he shakes Eleven's hand, "good to know my future is in safe hands." He places his cup next to Clara. "Keep a tight hold on it, Clara."

"Hmm. On it." Clara agrees as she places down her own cup and stands. Ten takes her hand and kisses it. Kathy shakes her head at it as she trails after him to the TARDIS but not before hugging Clara goodbye.

"Till the next time, Clara."

"Till the next time."

Kathy gives a nod to Eleven, who nods back.

"Trenzalore." Ten mumbles, turning back to Clara and Eleven as he is half in the box. "We need a new destination because I don't want to go." He steps inside with Kathy following, groaning to herself at the last bit of his sentence, as she needs to be with him so that the timeline stays on the right path.

"Onwards?" Ten asks.

Kathy nods. "Onwards." She smiles at him sadly knowing that as they leave, he'll forget.

——

2013

A figure walks into the room that Eleven had just vacated. It was a young woman wearing 21st century clothes, brown hair poking out. Blue eyes look around the room as if to double check that no one is there, particularly a certain half Time Lord, before taking off the hood of her coat to reveal that it is Kathy.

She smiles as she walks up to the painting, recalling how she had been standing here 500 years earlier from her perspective. Kathy glances over her shoulder when hearing steps rapidly heading towards the room. Osgood runs in and halts quickly as she takes in Kathy standing in front of her. Kathy knows she's probably confused for a moment by Kathy's appearance at first.

"Kathy!" She exclaims. "You're here! Well, again. Is it safe?"

Kathy smiles at her kindly. "Of course. I wouldn't be that careless." She looks back at the painting. "I assume it fulfilled its purpose?"

Osgood nods eagerly. "Yes. But how did you get a hold of this in the first place?"

"I couldn't possibly say," Kathy replies, smirking. "But you should really put a plaque for the name of the painting otherwise people will get confused."

"What's its name?"

"Gallifrey Falls No More."

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[xprojectrpg]

This Day in X-Project - September 22

 Scott Summers' birthday

PHASE 2

2015: Clint stops by Jennie’s studio to discuss what he’s discovered, and they manage to find some common ground. Amanda and Laurie talk and compare notes. Quentin apologises to Jean for not taking training seriously.

2016: The Dulcet Sound of My Voice: A meeting is held on how how to deal with the sponsors of the bill; Hope does some spying to find out the weakness of one of the sponsors.

2017: Green-Eyed Monster: Artie emails all X-Teams from Santa Ana to let people know the Sapien League plans to steal the rock and use it against mutants. Psi War: Wanda sends an email to all teams letting them know what happened at the Snow Valley offices the previous day; Jean, sure Quentin is still alive, enlists Haller and Emma’s help to track down his psyche; the three of them find Quentin and the Shadow King in the Astral Plane where Quentin has to reclaim scenes from his life before the Shadow King corrupts them and him; finally defeating the Shadow King, Quentin prepares to leave with Jean and the others and ends up in Jean’s head as a psychic ghost; Jean and Quentin are forced together come to an accord and find a new respect for one another. Gabriel snapchats Angel asking her why this keeps happening to him, he later emails Amanda and Marie-Ange to let them know he’ll be out of the office for the day.

2018:

2019: Training Day: Gabriel and Kevin reach their final destination in Genoa but they have been made; later, having escaped, Kevin tells Gabe the network is now his.

2020: Operation: Crazy X-Girlfriend: Amanda provides an update on the failed mission, including the fact Kevin is missing and Jubilee, Wanda, Marie-Ange, Felicia and Emma are injured in various ways; Kevin wakes up and finds himself in the custody of a very different Mary than the one he knows, or the one who took him hostage; Mary tells him she needs the Sugar Man to stabilise her powers before they kill her. Marie-Ange emails Amanda about a development in her precog while trying to do readings for Jubilee and Wanda’s safety.

2021: Marie-Ange shares a bird graphic to lament the raven that dropped a gyro in her bag. Topaz texts America to ask if she's got time to go over some new information. Darcy meets with Doug to work on her hand-to-hand combat work and breaking holds.

2022:

[the-hopefulpenguin]

#every day i get closer to writing an essay about fire nation grand strategy#there are quite a few context clues!

So, about that...?

I’m so glad you asked! A caveat before we get going – ATLA is a children’s television show and is not designed for geopolitical analysis. That said, I do think it’s possible to do it with a bit of inference and squinting at maps. So, my argument is that the Fire Nation began the Hundred Year War (HYW) as a maritime campaign of colonial acquisition and geostrategic defence, but their war goals steadily totalized – especially in the late war.

To expand that out a bit, I’d identify three core phases to the HYW from the Fire Nation perspective:

1. A largely littoral effort in the early parts of the war to seize outlying Earth Kingdom territory.

2. A stalemate imposed by geography and distance.

3. Attempts to break that stalemate through various escalating means, culminating in the Sozin’s Comet attack.

To explore this, let’s go back to Sozin. Why did Sozin start the HYW? We see on screen that part of it is a ‘civilizing mission’ (quotation marks very much deserved) to share the riches and wealth of the Fire Nation with the rest of the world. Now, that’s him explaining his cause to Roku, so he’s certainly couching the effort in a particular rhetorical stance – but the idea of some sort of ‘Hotman’s Burden’ (to bastardise Kipling) would make sense from what we know about Fire Nation culture.

But it’s not just that, of course. Part of it is simply colonial expansion – the western coasts of the Earth Kingdom were up for the grabs, so Sozin took them. But I think, perversely, the war can be better understood as a pre-emptive forward defence. Why? Because a strong, united Earth Kingdom is the Fire Nation’s worst nightmare.

To take a brief trip into British history, one of the core tenets of British foreign policy from the 1500s onwards has been to avoid a single country dominating the coasts of western Europe. If this were to happen, invasion attempts against Britain would be in the offing – the Spanish tried this, Napoleon tried this, Hitler tried this.

I think Sozin thought similarly. We know from the Kyoshi books that the Fire Nation takes the threat of the Earth Kingdom very seriously – Rangi notes that the Fire Army plans and trains for a war with them, on the order of three centuries before the outbreak of the HYW. However, this was not a major concern because the Earth Kingdom was in frankly shambolic straits. It could not police itself, individual powerbrokers operated fairly independently, and the risk of some sort of invasion of the Fire Nation by the Earth Kingdom was very low.

However, then Kyoshi (who, incidentally, is awesome) comes along and starts fixing the Earth Kingdom. She scours daofei and defeats warlords like Chin. The Earth Kingdom, under her watch, starts to stabilise – and centralise, too (for example – refugees in the HYW were expected to run through a fairly complex bureaucratic system to get to Ba Sing Se. That points to quite an advanced level of governmental development).

If I’m a Fire Nation strategist at this point, I am starting to get seriously concerned. A centralised Earth Kingdom would have access to far more resources than I ever would. In addition, while the Fire Nation enjoys a technological advantage, it’s not out of the question to assume that the Earth Nation would begin to catch up – certainly we see in the post-HYW era that industrialisation is very swift in the western Earth Kingdom. I need to either attack now while I’ve got a chance or watch while my neighbour becomes a continental superpower able to impose demands or conquer me. Or try diplomacy but let’s be honest, the Fire Nation’s government wasn’t set up culturally or institutionally for that.

(Incidentally, this is almost to a tee German logic about the First World War – Russia was developing rapidly, and the German military felt that they were going to go to war at some point; and so the sooner, the better).

And so, Sozin decides to pull the trigger and invade. This also necessitates the removal of the Avatar as a precondition, hence the timing and scope of the – utterly barbaric – genocide of the Air Nomads. But this invasion appears limited in scope.

Our evidence base on this is exceptionally patchy, but when we look at maps of the Fire Nation’s advances, they are largely confined – even after a century of fighting – to the western edge of the main continent. They have a secondary front down south in Chameleon Bay and have at points lunged eastwards to positions like Pohaui, but their landwards expansion isn’t very big. Omashu is very close to the Fire Nation and didn’t fall; and General Fong’s fortress is similarly nearby, albeit to the north. Gaoling, too, is untouched by the war.

My thinking is that this is partly a matter of simple logistics – sustaining armies advancing deeper into the enemy heartland, away from sea lines of communication (SLOCs) is very difficult. But I also think this was strategic intent. The Fire Nation can’t govern huge swathes of the Earth Kingdom. Even their very limited footprint at the end of the HYW is unruly. Rather, Sozin hoped to bite and hold a small part of the coast, demonstrate the weakness of Ba Sing Se, and hence encourage other parts of the Earth Kingdom to splinter. This would end any threat to the Fire Nation and net some neat and prosperous colonies into the bargain.

But they didn’t. The Earth Kingdom stayed more or less coherent – see, for example, all their soldiers being equipped similarly which points to state-run arsenals – and fought back. So now the Fire Nation is left with a real problem. They can’t advance too far from the coast without facing major challenges, but they also can’t defeat the enemy without such an advance. They could retreat, but honour and national prestige means they can’t. So, they’re stuck in a stalemate through much of the war.

By the late-war period, and as Iroh’s generation – the second generation of military leaders born into the war – comes to prominence, patience is running out in the Fire Nation. Decades have passed and the Fire Nation is no closer to victory. Negotiation is unthinkable in a militaristic and honour-bound society. So, the obvious choice is to escalate and break the stalemate by main force.

Iroh’s first up to bat, waging a conventional campaign against Ba Sing Se. He does well – very well – clearing the path to the city and breaching the Outer Wall. But the tyranny of distance, logistics, attrition, and the loss of his son prevents a final push to victory. Zhao turns to spiritual means, hoping to kill the Moon and break the enemy will (or he’s just a bit insane, it’s not entirely clear). Azula and Ozai opt for technological solutions – a giant drill, and then a fleet of airships.

We are also seeing, increasingly, the barbarisation of the war. The Fire Nation clearly look down on the Earth Kingdom, and harbour supremacist sentiments going all the way back to the Age of Kyoshi. But Ozai brings this to the forefront, no doubt informed by decades of tit-for-tat atrocities and pointless, bloody stalemate; imperial powers and resistances to them both have quite lax rules of engagement around civilians. This is what allows Ozai and Azula to propose genocide as an ultimate war winning tool – and what turns a large enough coalition against the Fire Nation that they lose.

So…yeah. There you have it. Fire Nation grand strategy starts as quite sensible, but under the pressures of war and tyranny becomes an increasingly total and barbaric effort which culminates in the attempted extermination of the entire Earth Kingdom, vis a vis the mere countering thereof.

PS: From this perspective, the creation of the United Republic as a pro-Fire Nation power on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom represents a strategic victory for the Caldera. No wonder Hou-Ting and Kuvira are both so revanchist!

[putschki1969]

Hikaru Becomes a Freelance Artist!

After today’s earlier announcement of Hikaru’s departure from her agency Hifumi, we now get another big piece of news. Starting from November 1st, Hikaru is officially becoming a freelancer. With this additional info, it makes a lot more sense that she would move on to an animation studio that doesn’t really handle artist management. Turns out she will not be employed and managed by Okuruto Noboru Co., Ltd in the “traditional sense”. Instead, she has simply signed an agent contract which allows her all the freedom of a freelancer but still offers a certain range of support regarding marketing and promotion.

As expected, Hikaru is “rebranding” herself for this next step of her career or should I say, she going back to her roots? She is leaving the group project “H-el-ical//” behind after three years, the staff Twitter account has already been discontinued/deleted and I am assuming the YouTube account will most likely suffer a similar fate She is officially back to being just “Hikaru” again, her private Twitter and Instagram accounts have been updated accordingly. Hikaru also launched a new YouTube channel titled “Hikaru ch.” Be sure to SUBSCRIBE and watch her very first video here (Edit: The video has been removed/made private; You can watch it HERE):

As previously reported, Hikaru’s official fan club “Masani Hikaru” shall remain as it is but will be “renewed” under Okuruto Noboru Co., Ltd, meaning they are now in charge of the site’s management. Therefore, inquiries or fan letters need to be sent to Okuruto Noboru. A new monthly membership plan will also be introduced starting from Nov 1st. I guess more so than ever it is going to be important to support Hikaru via her fan club (since this is probably one of her few sources of income at the moment).

⋆⛧*┈┈┈┈﹤୨♡୧﹥ ┈┈┈┈*⛧⋆

Phew....too many announcements in one day. Not sure what to think of all of this. I would say it’s not a bad thing to become a freelance artist. As far as I can tell, it has worked quite well for Kaori Oda so maybe Hikaru can make it work too. Especially if she has YK’s support here and there. But oh boy, we are in dire need of a stabilisation phase. Something needs to happen soon, this current volatile situation is less than ideal.

[suzieb-fit]

A great upper body workout to start my Wednesday off well.

Mostly strength based, but with three "burnout" phases throughout.

Bear hold jacks. They're awful 😂.

But yep, that's what makes the difference. That's how we get, feel and see results. If you don't challenge yourself sometimes, why bother at all?

The insulin pod malfunction really messed me up yesterday. It took hours for my blood sugar to re-stabilise.

Felt yucky for a large portion of the second half of the day.

But meh, whatevs, lol.

I have had another pretty good sleep. As far as I'm aware, I only woke up once at 2.30am. Went to the loo, then back asleep til my alarm woke me back up at 4am. Waking up to the alarm is a revelation in itself. I'm usually awake for at least half an hour before it goes off. And it was the same yesterday too.

I'm going to have to stay up this morning, rather than go back to bed. Need to get back into my usual routine. Today is my last day off work!

So I'm having my green tea now, then I'm on with another workout.

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] India will look to breach fortress Gabba once again. Subhayan Chakraborty in Brisbane The Gabba isn’t the Gabbatoir anymore. Australia have lost two out of the last four matches they’ve played at this iconic venue. The last time they played here, they were blown away by West Indies’ Shamar Joseph with the pink ball. Now, with the ball back to red and the match scheduled in the pre-Christmas phase, where Australia has traditionally dominated on fresher pitches, the series against India stands at 1-1. The Gabba Test could decide the final result. Both India and Australia have their strengths and weaknesses, but by no means are either perfect sides. The batting of both has been inconsistent. Their top players aren’t in the best form. Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja haven’t performed in this series, while Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney, both Queensland locals, got their first taste of runs in Adelaide. For India, Rohit Sharma is out of form, Shubman Gill hasn’t scored big, Rishabh Pant is due for a significant knock, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul haven’t been able to score consistently. On Thursday, the Indian heroes from their last Gabba outing – Gill and Pant – took centre stage at the nets. They interchanged roles, facing throwdowns and a few traveling pacers including Navdeep Saini and Yash Dayal. The last time India played at the Gabba, Gill and Pant, supported by Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Washington Sundar, helped the visitors script arguably the greatest Test win in their history.  The memories here contrast sharply with those from Adelaide, where India suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the second Test, with the infamous 36 all out from 2020 still fresh in the minds of the players involved. However, at the Gabba, the scenario is the complete opposite. When Gill was asked about revisiting the Gabba almost four years after the historic win, the 25-year-old said, “Definitely very nostalgic when I came here. Just walking through the stadium again after the 2021 win felt very nostalgic. I definitely feel pretty confident playing here.” As the Gabba Test approaches, India have some decisions to make. Will the Gautam Gambhir-led team management support Harshit Rana after he was taken to the cleaners by Travis Head and then faced a barrage of bouncers, or will they give the nod to Akash Deep, who has been impressive at the nets? With plenty of grass on a pitch promising true bounce, Harshit might get another chance to seek redemption and help India take a 2-1 lead. There’s also a question mark on the batting position of captain Rohit Sharma. Will he open, will he bat at No. 6? India also haven’t settled on their sole spinner. Sundar played in Perth but was dropped for Ravichandran Ashwin in Adelaide. Could Ravindra Jadeja be tried at the Gabba? With minimal turn expected and the pitch unlikely to deteriorate much, India might opt for a defensive approach, choosing either Sundar or Jadeja to hold up one end. Both offer batting solidity, which could stabilise India’s crumbling top and middle order. Jadeja was spotted at the nets on the eve of the match, practicing against throwdowns from Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate. He appeared in better spirits in Brisbane compared to Perth or Adelaide. Is that a sign? With Gill stating that from now on, India would treat this series as a three-match affair, the Gabba Test will determine who takes the initiative as the series progresses into its latter stages. The post India aim to breach Once-Fortress Gabba again appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link