#implying the horse is racing for team horse

[wigglesforonce]

sorry this is the funniest caption you could have for this photo

Horset McHorse (USA) Horse.

[kydrogendragon]

Call of the Night - Day 2 of Sandmanniversary

Words: 3k

Pairing: None (but implied future Dreamling)

Rating: Gen

Ao3 Link Here

When Hob signed up to help man the White Horse, he hadn't really cared about what it was they were doing. All he knew is it was a three month expedition, it paid decently, and they needed an engineer on board in case anything happened to the old girl. Honestly, he'd expected a fishing vessel or maybe some government contract type deal. Once he was aboard and introduced to the crew, however, it became apparent this was a little different.

Loads and loads of gear and boxes were set up in the hull. Constantine, their lead researcher and childhood friend, filled Hob in on the details of their mission. Apparently, they were a team of marine biologists (there were definitely more titles and fields, but they went over Hob's head, so marine biologists it was) studying some rare sightings out in the North Atlantic a good five hundred miles from port.

The journey so far was fine. He'd gotten to reconnect with Jo—who he hadn't thought he'd see again since she'd left for uni in the states. He'd also gotten to get to know the rest of the crew. And The White Horse was quite the beaut. She ran fine and ran smoothly. They probably didn't even need Hob around, which left him with more free time on his hands than he was used to. He's pretty sure he's just a few more "visits" away from Jo wringing his neck.

When he'd returned to his bunk later that week to a small stack of books and pad and paper, he just laughed. To Jo's credit, she at least found him some books that actually sounded like something he'd read.

It was a month into their journey when it happened. The sun had set long ago. Most of the crew was either having their "breakfast" for the late-night shift or fast asleep in their bunks. Hob strolled the deck, walking its length and enjoying the fresh sea air.

It was quiet save the roll of waves and splash of the ship against them. It was this, this peace and silence of the ocean at night that Hob had needed. He also probably needed something more to keep his hands busy as well, but at least Jo was trying with the drawing supplies, as shit as he was with them. The most exciting thing that's happened so far was one of the rigs kept catching when reeling up. He at least got to whip out the tools for a few hours.

He was about to head back when he heard...something. If they were closer inland, he'd guess it was a bird—still could be, he supposes. It was quiet, just barely heard over the crash of water against the steel of the ship. It droned on, long and drawn out. It was deep, pained almost. And each minute it sounded closer.

Then he saw it. There, way on the horizon, a pale red dot among the darkness. It looked like a buoy or beacon as it moved with the waves. Hob frowned, lifting his binoculars that hung around his neck up to his eyes. It was hard to pinpoint in the night, but when he finally landed on the light, he gasped.

It was still far out from their ship, the details hazy, but it wasn't a buoy and it definitely wasn't some sort of beacon or the like. It seemed to come from some sort of...creature? Fuck, it was hard to see at this distance.

The noise grew louder, sharper, as the light drew closer. Hob's heart raced in his chest as the eerie sound soon filled the air. Tales the crew had told flash through his mind, stories of leviathans, of creatures belonging to the deep. Of mermaids and sirens, of life unknown and undiscovered. Of the rare sighting they were here to locate in the first place.

Hob reaches down, pulling the walkie-talkie off his belt. He clicks the button and raises it to his lips.

"Alex, you're gonna want to see this. Starboard side, up closer to the bow. And hurry. Think we may just have your mystery monster."

Seconds pass before his walkie talkie crackles to life. "Hob? What?"

"I'd get up here quick, mate. Whatever it is, it's not man-made. And it's glowing."

"Glowing? Paul, can you—...Okay, okay! We're headed up. Keep your eyes on that thing."

Hob clips his device back onto his belt and keeps his eyes trained on the rapidly growing bright spot amongst the dark seas.

The thing looks only a mile from the ship at this point when the strange sound coming from it quiets. And then there are footsteps on the hull.

Paul and Alex race up with Jo and some of the less science-more muscle crew follow close behind. Paul steps up, putting a hand on Hob's shoulders to steady himself against the rocking of the boat.

“Where is it? What did you see?” he asks.

“Paul…look.”

Hob and Paul turn towards Alex who stands against the ledge. He points out into the water where the red glow is beginning to dim. Paul gasps, waving to the others.

“Go! Go, hurry! We need to get that thing, toss out the netting now!”

The ship comes to life. People race about, orders are shouted, lights flicked on. Ropes are tossed around as the rigs are set up and ready. Hob watches that fading dot all the while. Its hard to tell from here if the thing is sinking into the sea or if whatever part of it that glows is simply…fading. Fuck. Is the thing dying?

“Sending!” One of the riggers calls out as the net is lauched out into sea. The lines of rope are illuminated in the bright ship lighting until they fade from view as they fall over their target. Then, that noise from earlier sounds off. It howls, calling out into the darkness as—Hob guesses—the net falls over it.

“The hell is that noise?” Jo shouts over the sound of machinery and waves.

“Dunno!” Hob calls back. “The thing was making a different sound earlier.”

“What kind of sound?”

“More…pained. I guess.”

Jo looks grim as she turns back towards the ocean. The crew call out to one another and the rig groans as the net is recalled. The chains and gears slowly clank. Rope and netting is hauled aboard, swirled in piles to the side.

“What the hell are you putting the thing in when we get it on board?”

Jo pales. She races towards Alex, talking into his ear. Its too loud as the winds start to pick up and the waves grow stronger. Hob watches as the two dart below ground.

The click-click-clicking of the gears rolls on. Hob backs up, giving the open area of the boat wide berth for whatever it is they end up hauling in. Paul's leaning over, calling out to the other biologists and scientists when Hob catches the words “I see it!” leave the man's mouth. Alex reappears, sans Jo, and races over towards Paul, shaking the man in excitement as the last few dredges of netting are hauled up.

And then Hob sees it. He sees the mass of wriggling black and red and white. He sees a mess of fins and scales. And he hears the deep, almost growling call that comes from the things mouth. Its…its human mouth.

The creature, whatever it is, struggles against the thick ropes as its lowered onto the deck. Salt water splashes over the boards, clinging to Hob's skin. He hears the wet slap of flaining limps and fins as the last of the net grows slack.

And then he sees hands.

Or something close to hands. The fingers are longer, sharper. Like claws dipped black. As the creature reaches out, trying to get traction on the slippery surface, Hob can just barely make out webbing between the digits. Alex and Paul step closer along with some of the others. He steps forwards and then freezes. Eyes, as blue as the ocean herself, pin him in place. The red glow fills his vision and then all Hob sees is darkness. He drifts off to the sound of shouting and a final, deep melodic groan from the creature.

He wakes up in his bunk. Or a bunk at least. His is normally the upper one but Jo sits to his left so unless she gained the ability to float, he's on one of the lower ones. Probably Matt's.

“You're alive,” Jo greets, setting her notebook down on her lap. He can just barely make out what looks to be field notes as he turns towards her.

“I am. What…what happened exactly?”

She sighs, pushing her bangs out of her face. “Matt carried you down here all freaked out. Said you'd passed out on the deck as the damn freak storm rolled in. Hell of a time to play damsel in distress there, Gadling.”

He chuckles, stretching his limbs as he does so. His body is sore, but not in any way that's out of the ordinary. His head aches a bit but not too terribly. “Any ideas what happened to me?”

Jo shrugs. “Dunno. Weird pressure drop from the storm fucking with you in combination with who knows what else. Rach took a look over you though. Gave you a clean bill of health from what she can do with you being passed out as you were. Said you should probably go see her for another once over when you woke up though.”

He sits up, nodding as he does. “Sounds good.” Flashes of the night before run through his mind. He remembers the black and red and white. He remembers fins and scales and claws and hands. And then he remembers those eyes.

“The, uh. The creature. Did you—”

“Get it? Yeah. You missed out on all the fun of figuring out how the hell to get it in the observation tank. Could have used your strength though. Thing weighed a shit ton. Had to use a hell of a lot of tranquilizer to get it to even stay calm and not flair about. We'll have to run more tests and cross-reference the sighting reports but I think this just might be ghe creature people were talking about.”

“What is it?”

Jo huffs. “That's the thing Hobsie. It shouldn’t exist at all.” She turns with a mischievous smile on her lips. “Things a bloody mermaid.”

The creature—and Jo was right. Things a bloody mermaid. Well…merman, he supposes—glares at them from its tank that is definitely too small for a thing its size. The part of it that looks human is about the same size to a normal person, though it’s significantly skinnier and bonier than most men. If it had legs, it looks like it could have been a high-fashion runway model with that narrow waist and sharp cheekbones. But, it doesn’t have legs. Instead, its got a giant fucking tail with fins and scales and everything.

Hob is definitely processing this world perception altering finding completely fine.

If merpeople are real, are unicorns? Bigfoot? Nessie? Fucking dragons?

Hob needs to sit down.

He falls into the folding chair by the wall, hands in his lap, as he watches the group of scientists flitting between their equipment, the tank, and back to their equipment again. They’re checking the water for lord knows what and currently seem to be trying to find a way to get a blood sample without the creature—man—merman thing attacking them with either its claws or tail or teeth. Christ, it has sharp teeth. Nearly took off poor Paul’s fingers when he tried to grab a water sample. Looked more like a monster from the deep than anything from the Little Mermaid.

Its skin was pale and it stared them all down with eyes black as the night sky. It’s hair—was it even considered hair?—floats off its head in the tank like the smallest, most dainty strands of kelp you’ve ever seen. Well, if kelp was pitch black, anyway. Gills protruded from its neck near the leathery looking fins and fans on its face. Its hands faded from normal-ish looking skin to inky black nails that could pierce as well as a knife.

Then there was this thing’s tail. If the upper half of it was something that should be played by Bill Skarsgard, the lower half was a thing of beauty. A dream and a nightmare mixed. Most of the scales were black, but caught the light with an iridescent shine. It reminded him of the tail feathers of the roosters they’d kept when he was young. Mixed in were sections of deep ruby reds, painted on the merman in patterns similar to koi fish. There were large fins on either side and down towards the tip, not unlike a betta or goldfish, but were currently tucked close to its body. It was quite a sight to behold.

And then there were the eyes. The one Hob kept trying to make a conscious effort not to look at but keeps finding himself drawn to. They're dark. Black like the night sky. And yet, he remembers the brilliant blue of them on that first night….

“Hob?”

He startles, whipping his head up to see Johanna standing off to his side with an amused expression. He sighs, placing a hand over his heart.

“Christ, Jo. Make more noise before you sneak up on a man like that.”

She rolls her eyes before nodding her head towards the stairs. “Walk with me?”

Hob stands, following behind her as they make their way up and out of the room with the impossible but here creature. Jo pushes the door open and they step out onto the main deck. The salty sea air hits Hob’s lungs. He takes a deep, shuddering breath and he realizes just how shaky he’d been down there.

“So.”

Hob huffs. “So? This the part where you tell me I’ve seen too much and have me killed?”

Jo just turns her head slowly to him, looking at him with her classic ‘you’re an imbecile’ face. “Nope, wasn’t planning on any murder today. But I did have a favor to ask of you.”

“Oh?”

Jo sighs, pushing her bangs up out of her face. “Obviously, we’ve a bit of a major discovery on our boat here. And, of course, I’m thrilled about it and I’m certain the rest of our crew here is too, but I also know that this whole things gettin’ funded by the Burgess family and, no hate to Alex, but I trust his father about as far as I can throw him.

“So, if that thing we’ve got down there’s got a brain like ours, I want you to try and befriend it cause there’s no way in Hell I’m letting Roderick Burgess get his hands on something like this. And if you can befriend it, then maybe we can get it to trust us enough to release it without having to use all the equipment and having people figure out what we’re doing.”

Hob blinks. This was...not where he thought this conversation was going. “What do you think the old man’s going to do?”

“Keep it trapped like some exotic pet? Try and eat it? Fuck if I know what those rich bastards like to get up to in their free time, but I’ve never heard a good story come from them when it came to keeping rare creatures in their possession. How many horror stories have you heard about those rich old fucks keeping tigers or crocodiles or other shit in their house?”

Hob huffs a laugh. “Not many, honestly.”

“Right, forgot. You like to live like it’s medieval England and newspapers and Twitter haven’t been invented yet.”

“Hey! I do use the internet, you know!”

Jo elbows him lightly as she laughs. “So, will you help me?”

He sighs, leaning back against the wall by the door. Jo watches him, hands in her pockets. Hob can say, with certainty, he’s never been asked to befriend a literal sea creature before. And he’s pretty sure that keeping one in a tiny tank isn’t doing them any favors either. But it’s Jo that’s asking. And she doesn’t ask for much, not for serious stuff like this. And he owes her a lot already, like this job, for one.

“Fuck,” he groans. “Alright, yeah. I’ll see what I can do. I make zero promises I’ll be successful, but I’ll try my best.”

“Good. And if that doesn’t work, come two months, I’ll just need your brawn instead to help haul the thing back to the ocean instead.”

“That thing weighs like a hundred and fifty kilos! I’m not that strong!” Hob cries.

“Better work on your fish charm then, eh?” she says with a wink.

Hob shakes his head. The shit he does for this woman.

“Right. Well, I’ll let you lot do your poking and prodding. I’m going to stay up here for a bit and just...process my future months for a moment, yeah?”

Jo laughs as he heads back down the stairs, leaving Hob alone among the sound of waves and the spray of the sea. He walks over to the ledge of the ship wall. He folds his arms and rests them and his chin on them, sighing as he watches the boat rise and fall on the ocean waves. The stars shine above him, land long gone from view. It's just him, this boat, this crew, and the fucking fantastical creature in the tank just under his feet. What the hell has happened to his life?

He stays there until the chill seeps through his jacket and into his bones and only then does he retreat to the safe warmth of the interior. He pads his way down the stairs and hallways until he's crawling into his bunk. As Hob closes his eyes, he drifts off to the thoughts of pale skin and blue eyes and a lingering fear of what it all means.

[fixfoxnox]

I FINALLY GOT MY GRUBBY LITTLE HANDS ON SOAP'S JOURNAL!!!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, guys there is so much in this bad boy that NO ONE has mentioned!! The SoapRoach content in here is off the walls!! Why is all I ever see the like 2 moments Soap mentioned Ghost??? There so much Roach and Price and Gaz content here, so here are some random bits from Soap's journal:

MW:

Embarrassed that Price helped him up and caught him from the plane during Crew Expendable mission

Mentions needing to buy Price "a bottle" as a gift afterward

Upset he missed the first shot on the helicopter during Hunted, says it was "inexcusable, especially considering SAM'S shoot themselves"

Put into the infirmary by a dog bite, too embarrassed to tell Gaz or Price (only Nikolai knows)

Call's Price's mustache both a "dick-tickler" and "Price's precious whiskers"

Blames himself for Gaz, Griggs, and Price's deaths (he believes Price died on the high way) and tries to come up with other ways they could have moved through that would have let the men live

Get's stuck/angry over the image of Zhakaev's blood mixing with Gaz's on the bridge

Nik brought women to see him while he was recovering in Russia

Begins mentioning his struggles with pain killers like morphine and alcohol

He becomes almost obsessive with cleaning and caring for Price's pistol as a way to distract himself from becoming addicted

Tries horse racing and betting to cope, but eventually turns to smoking

MW2:

Soap is the one who sought out the formation of TF141, Shepherd merely backed the idea

Describes Roach as "Raw, skilled, loyal to a fault" (implied he and Ghost are absolutes for the team)

On the other end, Ghost gets a simple "what the hell kind of name is Ghost" and no other information akdndjdhjdhd

Roach has the highest score on the rifle test, a whole 18 points over Ghost

Ghost beats Roach on PFT, but only by 3 points

"Have been looking forward to breaking Roach in" during Kazakhstan

"Feel even more comfortable with him than Price must have with me" omg

Roach has a journal that Soap spots him writing in, he wonders what he's writing

Adds to the end wondering if Roach is "wondering what villa claras taste like" which is clearly a reference to Soap's own admiration of Price and wondering if Roach feels the same as that, but boy oh boy Soap was that a gay way to put it ajdjfjdbhd

Makarov weighs 184 pounds and is 5'11 I'm wheezing what a little wet rat of a man I love him

Mentions the death of Meat, so far one of the only deaths he hasn't blamed himself for

Mentions needing to trust Roach and his instinct more, essentially tells himself to cool it with the constant reminders and stuff

Plans to put Roach on circuits and crossfit because he wasn't fast enough lmao

Says he would have crashed the plane before leaving Roach on the rooftops in Brazil 🥺

Blames himself for Roach almost not making the jump to the plane

Says that Ghost "knows something about interrogation"

Mentions that the team didn't bat an eye to him torturing Rojas for information, Soap draws a comparison between himself torturing Rojas to Price torturing Al Asad.

He specifically has Roach handle the C4 after seeing how well he did with it during Kazakhstan

"Ghost hacked at a snails pace" LMAO REAL

"Funny thing watching Roach get taken down by Price" listen sir, give your boyfriend a break please

Very excited and cathartic for him to give Price his pistol back

Says that Price returning and taking over command was the "best demotion imaginable" 🥺

Was just happy following Price and Roach because he "got to listen to the two of them working together like we once did"

Says it was nice to see Price taking Roach under his wing

"For all that coaching, Roach did a shit job with the bodies" listen here sir...thats not a mechanic in the game give the boy a break akdndjjdhd

Knew that Price was up to some bullshit as soon as his comms went off

Kill shepherd: "For Ghost. Roach" 😭 throwing myself from a cliff

"Loyalty doesn't operate on a sliding scale. It's a safety. On or off."

MW3:

Nikolai and Yuri go way back, potentially from Nik's time as an ultranationalist?

Nik rescuing Soap again and Soap saying he owes him a pallet of Imperia for it akdjjdjd

"Knife would healing too slowly for tastes" baby....

Nikolai providing him with antibiotics and pain medication 😬 Soap describes them as "providing inspiration" which does not sound good

Mentions how the ultranationalists have become more violent then they were under Zhakaev

Soap lost friends during the terrorist attack in London

Final thoughts:

Omg my husband

He struggles a lot a lot with guilt from very early on

Put a shit ton of pressure on himself and blames himself for anything that goes wrong. Especially blames himself for the deaths of other characters.

Seems to have had a struggle/struggles with coping with that guilt. It appears to have manifested a bit in struggles with pain killers and alcohol that he manages through almost compulsively taking care of Price's pistol.

Attempts to cope through horse racing (and gambling?) But what ends up working is smoking.

Definitely had a lot of care for his team, particularly Roach seemed to get a lot of his attention.

Much closer to Nikolai then I think people realize. Nik saves his life numerous times and the two work together even with Price not around. Definitely helps to fill in some gaps on why Nik sticks around at the end of mw2

Looks up to Price so very much. Like stars in his eyes this man can do no wrong type of thing.

[animementrash]

I could've died

Characters: Levi x reader

Tags: angst, canonverse scenario, hurt no comfort, implied levi x reader

A/N: woo! third day in a row posting! thank you very much to those who have taken the time to read/like/reblog my work I deeply appreciate it! Also I keep on posting AOT related stuff because I had an AOT brainrot and most of my saved works are related to this anime but I also have some content for other fandoms which I'll eventually post. This is my take in the "hurt no comfort" area, I'm not very fond of this topic but a little heartbreak is good from time to time(? Once again thanks for reading and feel free to message me any request/comment!

There is a high-pitched beep that brings my consciousness back, I wake up with a gasp and look around to find my horse patiently waiting for me in the open field. I get up still confused and make my way to it.

“I could’ve died… I seriously could’ve died” That’s all I can think about while I ride my horse as fast as I can to reach my squad after a titan grabbed me in the middle of the ground, it happened so quick I didn’t have any time to react, all I could feel was my ribs hurting and the screams of my team members, everything went blank and then I woke up in the floor. I guess Levi or someone killed the titan but didn’t stop for me since we have explicit orders to retreat as soon as possible.

“Hey guys! I don’t know who killed that guy back there but thanks for the help! I was seriously scared!” I say once I'm near them, our horses racing through the muddy field make it difficult to communicate while riding. Some do glance back and others just keep riding, I then spot Levi at the front of the formation, his horse is going faster than ours.

“Captain Levi!” One of our squad members calls him, maybe he’s trying to let him know I’m back in the formation but Levi never replies, he keeps on riding with his gaze fixed straight forward.

“It’s alright! I’ll talk to him once we get back to the safe area!” I tell the guy and he just keeps riding in silence. Was Levi angry at me? I guess the fact that I got caught did make him upset so I hope his anger has cooled down once we reach the barracks.

“Be careful guys, seems like a storm is approaching!” I alert the squad; the sky is filled with clouds and the sun is soon hidden behind a gray curtain. Again, nobody replies and I start to feel as if not only Levi but everyone is upset with me.

We move forward and after a couple minutes my horse starts to lose its strength, maybe it was also hurt during the assault.

“Guys, I’ll slow down for a bit, my horse isn’t feeling too well” I announce and meet silence once more, with a sigh I slow down the pace and let my horse rest. The team moves at the same speed and sooner than later there is a considerable distance between us but I remain calm since we’re no longer in titan’s ground. I feel a knot form in my stomach and the urge to cry when I see them get away, I feel ashamed and useless, they seem to be very angry at me. I let the tears roll down my face taking advantage in the fact that nobody is around me.

About half an hour later I am finally back at the barracks, I leave my horse in the stables and make my way to my squad, they’re all reunited next to a bonfire except for Levi.

“Hey guys, I really want to apologize for what happened back there, it was a rookie mistake that could’ve cost my life and I am sorry for worrying you all…” I speak with a shaky voice, some of them have their backs turned towards me.

“Guys seriously, if there’s something I can do to fix this please let me know…” Tears fill my eyes and blur my vision, I look down to avoid being seen crying and blink the tears away, that is when I see it. The muddy boots of my team mates are all pointing away from me, nobody is turned towards me, but the worst part is when I look to where my boots should be and all I see is air. I’m not there.

“I could’ve died” echoes in my mind over and over and slowly turns into “I died”.

I look up and see their crying faces and understand it’s because of me, I look around and try to find Levi but he’s nowhere around.

“Levi, I am sorry” With that whisper my presence dissipates and somewhere inside the barracks Levi allows himself to let out a broken sob.

[autumngravity]

Me: Literally doing some mundane chores.

My Brain: Hey remember when MLP in their series finale trapped a child in stone because she tried and succeeded to an extent with the help of two other villians to start a pony race war that in turn summoned basically a nuclear winter caused by mystical wind horses?

Said child before that tried to take over Equestria by trying to take magic away thinking that friendship = power(I mean she was right but also completely wrong) and when she got caught they sent her to freaking Tartarus.

One of the two creatures she teamed up with being a power-hungry centaur that in the past stole ponies life force, tricked/manipulated the literal emobdyment of chaos and took his magic, and who had an all-out DBZ style fight with Twilight Sparkle and forced her through a whole ass mountain and atomic bomb level magical attacks.

And the other creature they teamed up a was tyrannical Queen that drained ponies of their love, that the benevolent ruler of Equestria blasted permanent holes into at one point, who was implied to be intentionally withholding the proper way to feed her entire race so that she could control them better, and literally ate a kitten in the comics.

Who were called by the fanbase the Legion of Doom. Who at one point sang a tango musical number together.

To defeat them all three were trapped in stone together for seemingly enternity, who might be complete aware and conscious of everything going on around them. And then put on pubic display in the capital city for tourists to take pictures with.

Yea MLP was a riot right?

[meirimerens]

i saw on the tags of one of your patho posts saying that one of the writers was in some way indigenous and a picture of him was used for artemy’s patho classic portrait. did you have any sources about that or even the name of the writer? because that’s very interesting and i would like to find more. i also dont speak russian so it is difficult for me to research lol

hiii! this information is findable in english, don't worry but the tldr is that it goes as such:

Artemy's Classic HD portrait is of lead writer and IPL founder Nikolai Dybowski. if you look at the portrait and at current pictures, you can see those are the same features, he just has a beard now.

some other portraits of characters are from IPL members, such as Dankovsky's portrait who, according to a member of the team (hwynac) at the time, is of Ilya Stepanov, who worked at IPL. (other sources say the portrait is of Ayrat Zakirov, part of the original pathologic team, but from pictures those are two completely different people).

it was(/still is?) a common belief that Nikolai Dybowski is half white and half russian indigenous (possibly Buryat, as the Kin takes heavy inspiration from them) in the same way Burakh is, because his picture is used as his portrait, Burakh is a blonde man with blue eyes in the same way Dybowski is (even if Burakh is said to have a "steppe phenotype" by some characters in-game, which you can kinda picture what that means), and people drew parallels between a potentially half-white half-indigenous Dybowski reconnecting with his indigenous side/going the same sort of close re-connecting as Burakh, but as far as we know from this interview with him (page 57), the closest thing to this is he is 1/16 (if the math is correct) chinese (he puts it as his great-grandfather's wife being "from china", which encompasses a wide, wide number of ethnicities, but considering her family was aristocrats, possibly Han? question mark?). completely neutral statement, by the way, i am not implying anything about how he should or should not relate to a character he himself created and to a fictional(ized) indigenous people he also invented or what it means to him like flat as fuck, i don't even have a hair off a horse in this race, just that it's different, as far as i'm aware, from the common conception of Dybowski as this similar to Burakh. but yknow. it's a storey!

thank you for stopping by! \o/ the classic hd portraits are very dear to me... yulia's portrait whoever you are... nikita koledin as peter and andrey you gave it your all. thank you for the unibrow so much

[air--so--sweet]

How to Speedrun Bury Your Gays aka That Time Legion Killed All Its Queer Characters In 20 Minutes

Well, 20 minutes 30 seconds to be exact...

First up at the episode's beginning, we have Daniel, who doesn't actually die, but I'd argue having your memory erased with no possibility of regaining it is comparable to death.

But hey he was a two dimensional character who existed solely to have effects on his husband, Clark's, storylines, firstly to humanise him when Daniel was introduced in Chapter 8 and then to add weight to Clark and David's exchange in this episode, Chapter 24. Oh and he also appeared in chapter 20 to remind us he existed since he hadn't been seen or spoken about once since he first appeared. So, not a great loss, right? I didn't even know his name, I had to google it for this post. Not a big deal when he was practically created to die...wait...

So at the 3 minutes 48 seconds mark our first gay has been buried. Record time and we've barely broken a sweat.

Next up we have Lenny and this one is trickier. She's a more developed character with her own agency and who has purpose beyond being a glorified prop. That purpose has been a bit harder to nail down this season but she had some growth in the last episode, choosing to feel the loss of her daughter rather than let David take the pain away or suppressing it with drugs (which feels like it would have been her MO pre David). It also seems she's reached her limit and is no longer willing to blindly follow David and allow him to- oh no, never mind, she's stabbed herself in the neck. I guess it kind of fits with her motivations, since she states to David that he can't have her, prior to stabbing herself. Would it have been more interesting and satisfying narratively if she chose to work with Division 3 to take David down instead? Or decided to try get revenge on Farouk for what he did to her on her own terms, which would also have the benefit of at someone finally trying to hold Farouk accountable for the monstrous things he did? Or even just have Lenny decide she doesn't have a horse in this race since she was drafted against her will and she's going to ride of into the sunset to do her own thing? (this is one hell of a mixed metaphor, I impress myself) Sure...but here she gets to have her last words be a call back to a memory she shared with David...except actually that was a false memory altered by Farouk to hide his presence in David's mind and he and Lenny never had a 'Why is it blue?' exchange in real life nor did she witness said false memory. Love the writer's cared enough about her arc to remember this accurately. And so dies maybe the best role Aubrey Plaza has ever had.

We've now hit the 10:42 mark so slowing down but still keeping a decent pace (sidenote: I remembered Lenny's girlfriend Salmon when writing this, a character who was maybe even less developed than Daniel, and wondered what happened her. We saw her giving birth in the previous episode and then she wasn't present for the rest of her daughter's abridged life courtesy of the time eaters which...actually implies she died in childbirth which is incredibly grim...I don't think it was an intentional implication but it's there nonetheless).

And last, but certainly not least we have Mr Clark DeBussy. Did I know his surname without googling it? Absolutely not. Have the writers ever figured out how to use his character post season one? Absolutely not. Though I did enjoy his one girl talk scene over tea with Syd.

To be fair, I do quite enjoy the scene leading up to his death. While a manufactured scenario, the home movies he's watching of his husband and son do add a melancholy to this scene and I love the visual when he turns to face David that leads to those images being projected onto his face. Teamed with his resigned yet angry delivery of 'I should have killed you the first time we met', David's sad smile as he agrees and Jeff Russo's always beautiful score it is just perfect. And then Clark is grabbed by one of David's cult members and thrown out the air lock and, as we hit 20 minutes and 30 seconds, our final gay is buried...well floating in the depths of space but same thing. There's excellent use of the family video projections again as they briefly overlay the scene of his expulsion from the airship and...it's just occurred to me since going to space in no way impeded David's attack, and Farouk could have gotten pissy with Division 3 for being cowards even if they hadn't started orbiting the earth....did we go to space just for this visual The style over substance of Legion is an ongoing issue but this time I might just accept it, it's a lovely shot.

And thus ends Legion's queer cast's run. There is a further 21 minutes and 40 seconds in this episode in which Syd loses her mind and Kerry looked like she was about to lose a fight and I thought 'Okay actually this is just an episode where characters are going to die, it's coincidence the first three were gay' but then Kerry actually survived and, after a brief second childhood in the astral plane with Melanie and Oliver, Syd gets her mind back...so actually the only people who stayed dead/memory wiped were queer.

I don't know how to to end this. Maybe with the advise to write decent queer representation and don't bury them or at least not all in one fell swoop only taking up half an episode? I wrote a joke about Clark's son not having a name but googled it to doublecheck and he does...it's Buster...Buster DeBussy...Clark was underdeveloped but I refuse to believe he would give his child a name tha sounds like a side character in a video game. He was better than that

[uselessfilmnerd]

Dungeons&Dragons Honour Among Thieves: A Film Review By Someone Who Knows Nothing About Film

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves takes the beloved world of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) to a wider audience, without compromising its already faithful tabletop gaming audience in its narrative. This review includes light spoilers for the named movie.

The film takes place in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a vaguely medieval fantasy world filled with wonderous creatures and races. It finds our main characters, Edgin (former Harper and single father) and Holga (his long-time warrior companion) in prison after a very ambitious heist gone wrong, while Simon and Forge (a pathetic sorcerer and con man, both previous companions of Holga and Edgin) have moved on and live separate lives. The heist was motivated by the mythical Tablet of Reawakening and started by a mysterious and extremely powerful wizard, Sofina.

The narrative follows the rag-tag team of former conmen and thieves Edgin, Holga, half-elf Simon and tiefling Doric as they try to take down former companion Forge, and his ghastly advisor Sofina and their nefarious plot to steal away Edgin's daughter, who has been manipulated by Forge in her father's absence after being entrusted to him.

The film itself was definitely a breath of fresh air in terms of the lack of over-the-top romantic pursuits, and especially in its representation of Edgin and Holga's platonic co-parenting style of raising Kira after Edgin fell into a depression following the death of his wife. I was worried that both of their characters would later be compromised for a half-developed "true love was in front of you all along" narrative, and was pleasantly surprised when Holga was implied to be looking for another dwarf partner during the medal ceremony. It was lovely to see how Holga's character was used to compliment the others, and was never used as a crutch to showcase the others. The showing of her finding closure after a loving relationship with an ex-partner was also lovely to see, both humorous and oddly charming in its vulnerability. Finally, an adventure movie which does not use strong female characters to further the plot to the main male!

Speaking of strong female characters, I believed Doric and in turn the male Simon both needed their own section. Doric, the fiery but charming tiefling accepts the quest proposed by Edgin after Simon mentions that he knows a Druid to help. Doric was previously courted by Simon, and found his lack of self-esteem positively distressing, and ended the courtship. Her resolve throughout the movie makes her one of the main masterminds, and quiet and observant as she is, the story would not be complete without her. Wary of humans after witnessing them only lie and cheat, she is hesitant to help Edgin, but winessing the execution and maltreatment of the people who took her in as their own, she agrees to take down Forge. We are introduced to her during an execution, where a woman from a group called the Emerald Enclave has been sentenced to death by dismembrement for questioning the Ruler (Forge). She is adamant in her cause until her very near end, just before the executioner's horse transforms, revealing it was Doric in Wildshape all along. She is cemented as just and right. Her never-ending curious and sometimes mocking questioning of Simon is a lovely addition to her nature, and creates a funny, well-balanced character who again, compliments the group perfectly. Her emotional journey from start to finish of the film is evident too, especially in terms of putting her guard down: a subtle but lovely story-progression as she begins to take charge. Simon has just as significant of a journey, but instead of with the group it is within himself. He is introduced as the comic relief terrible, no good, very bad sorcerer, whose tricks include piping out the smell of fresh-cut grass. However, there is hints of true ability, such as quickly flipping the gravity of an entire barn when his life was threatened after being outed as a thief by the audience. It is all dismissed as 'accidental' by Simon, but his self-deprecating nature and lack of self-esteem play down his achievements. This is especially true in terms of trying to attune to the helm, in which he is frustrated at his own inability and lashes out at those around him, who in turn bolster him to keep trying. This leads to somewhat of a breakthrough later on, in which he realises he is strongest at his weakest, a beautiful sentiment to those who find themselves best under pressure and perceive themselves as average otherwise. His journey focuses on overcoming himself, and learning to live with his doubt while overcoming it for those he loves. I found this a lovely and refreshing narrative for a male character in a movie inspired by a very male-dominated game.

As for Edgin, his story was touching, but almost predictable. The grief which separated him from his daughter due to his own greed in taking treasure from the Red Wizards he put away and led to his wife Zia's death was framed by trying to do right by his daughter, and undoing the damage caused. He realised that while he knew Zia as his wife and the mother of Kira, the only mother Kira ever knew was Holga, and in a truly touching moment, uses the only chance to revive his wife to revive the heroic Holga instead as his daughter sobs. I say 'predictable' as if it is a dirty word in terms of film, but sometimes compassion is predictable, and that is a positive. The lesson he learns is predictable, but that doesn't make it any less impactful. It was so refreshing to see this father-daughter bond featured on screen, especially with a father with a complicated past just trying to rekindle his relationship with his daughter. Learning that accepting his failures and his faults does not take away from his front as the optimistic planner but in fact helps heal this and his daughter is just beautiful, and his journey to taking responsibility for his actions, even if they cause unwanted harm, was truly important and touching.

Seeing these heroic characters come to such human and humble realisations in an action-packed humorous movie is so lovely to see! The plot is thick with twists and turns and subtle hinting which comes to fruition much later in movie, making it feel well-rounded and solid. The plot is easy to follow and engaging, with clear villains but also morally-grey characters, including a well-rounded but still mysterious female villain. As for specifically Hugh Grant's performance, it can be called classic Hugh Grant; it is the same as in Paddington, and in every other Hugh Grant movie ever, which added a great touch for even accidental Hugh Grant followers. For me however, it was amazing to see Sophie Lillis in the role of Doric; she embodied the quiet but fiery personality perfectly, as she has done before in I Am Not Okay With This and IT.

This movie receives a 4 star rating in this movie review by someone who knows nothing about movies.

[unmotivater]

A Review of Neanthadral Opens The Door to the Universe

Mild Spoiler Warning & Trigger Warning for Discussion of Suicide & Abuse

Can you believe it? I literally finished it under 24 hours, like all four hundred pages under a damn day (well technically, I started it yesterday at like seven pm and finished it at four pm today). That was how addictive it was, I just kept reading through it. Flipping through it. I couldn't believe I thought my sister was ridiculous for buying this.

Unlike most YA novels I've read, our protagonist (Cliff Hubbard, AKA the titular Neanderthral) narration is entertaining. He's self deprecating, but he isn't pathetic. He doesn't really put himself down for attention, he's just shaped that way.

Before the story started, his brother, Shane, committed suicide and that pretty much made his life worse. Then, his life took a turn for the... greater weirder when one of the school's assholes Aaron Zimmerman got a concussion and told Cliff God came to him with a list. A list on how to fix the school.

I was never one for religious books, or books with religious themes. I'm just not interested. But this one handled it well! (And most of the supporting cast are err... atheists, so that's also unique. One of the main characters turns agnostic by the end, no elaboration on that.)

Cliff is huge, as in GIANT huge (that's where his cruel nickname comes from), but don't let that fool you. No matter how much his dad tells him to join the football team, he's basically a nerd at heart. (Although he can beat an asshole up easily. I'm not sure if he needs the football team as much as the football teams needed him).

I didn't really get most of the references, but I was so invested in Aaron's and Cliff's bromance. Their friendship went from 'Yeah, I only went along with his List for the jokies' to 'I would DIE for Aaron (well he never said that, but you can assume that)'.

They act like straight teenage guys, you know, ass, boobs and girls, but they also got a lot of chemistry together. Honestly, they're one of the few bromances I don't find myself shipping romantically. I just love them.

I forgot to elaborate on his list, but they were basically pointers on how to make their school better;

Put an end to Niko (one of the bullies obviously)'s bullying

Call the JTs (group of crazy Christian teens) to repentance

Remind Mr. Spinelli (an asshole teacher of theirs) why he chose to teach.

Show Frankie's gang (notorious gang of drug dealers) a better way

Find and stop HAL (a hacker)

Yes sir, I busted the book out!

Of course, it's left ambiguous on if Aaron did see God. Weirdly, the book also implies that Shane had a hand in transporting the message to him? The book does lean towards it being the result of his brain damage, but personally I liked to think there was a God sending him a message. Not a traditional God in our religions, no, I think a God.

Granted, I am an atheist so I don't have a horse in this race.

But seriously. Aaron got the best character development in this book. He went from a handsome, sexist douchebag to a well... handsome, loveable douchebag. Seriously. It wasn't just the concussion changing him, he really does change for the better. Albeit, he's still a teenager so he got a far way to go in terms of change but this is still better than nothing.

And did I mentioned Tegan, Cliff's girlfriend? I was worried she'd be those girlfriend characters that are only used to further the protagonist's development, but she has her own arc, personality, and hurts.

If I was a straight man, I'd fall for her. That's a queen.

But this topic does touch on some heavy topics. They may be hard to read through. For one example, Cliff has flashbacks to Shane's graphic suicide a few times. So, it might be triggering for any readers sensitive to that.

Cliff's dad also physically abuses him a lot, so that's also another sensitive topic the book touches on. But don't worry, his life gets better from here. A lot better. Everything I discussed in this post is just a tip of the iceberg, the four hundred page novel is a LOT more than that.

Overall, this is one of the few books I'd give a five star. Captivating, emotional, fun story, fun characters, beautiful themes. I adore everything about it. I wish I had read it earlier, but better now than never, right?

Please check it out if you love a YA novel that isn't centered around a romance. It's beautiful, fun, amusing.

And that was all that unmotivater wrote.

[hero-nerd]

Here’s that Batman project I was working on a while ago that I told y’all

Just part one but this alone has taken months lmao

Part two will be about ocd for this same character

Anyway enjoy

Introduction

In Batman stories, characters are given all types of diagnoses. Some are explicitly stated within these stories, some are implied, and some are theorized by fans. I have always wondered how accurate these diagnoses are. This project will use criteria from the DSM-5 to examine specific interpretations of Batman characters and determine how accurate a given diagnosis is for them. Each section will specify the source material being used.

Harvey Dent

Harvey Dent was one of Bruce Wayne’s best friends back in the day. He was a district attorney, and a good one at that, as he was about to be the one to bring the Penguin down in court. During this case, however, Dent was sprayed in the face with acid by someone working for the Penguin. This scarred Dent’s face, and is said to have caused him to lose his mind. After this he becomes a villain in Gotham going by the name of Two Face, referring both to his scarred face and his dual personalities. This section looks at the interpretation of Harvey Dent from season one of Batman the Audio Adventures which can be found on HBO Max, Spotify, and YouTube. It is recommended to listen to this podcast before reading, but all scenes used throughout this section are listed along with their timestamps.

Timestamps

Episode One

Yin and Yang Scene 11:40-23:50

Episode Two

Ghosts of Gotham Scene 3:56- 8:13

Episode Three

Voicemail Scene 10:11-11:19

Batman's Investigation Scene 25:40-26:55

Episode Four

Doubleday Street Scene 4:25-8:30

Episode Five

Horse Racing Scene: 20:55-26:52

Episode Six

Pier Two Scene 29:09-37:08

Episode Seven

Dinner Scene 17:35-26:00

Episode Eight

Penguin and Two Face Team-Up Scene 14:53-21:45

Episode Nine

Announcement of Merger Scene 21:26-22:45

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria

Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, which may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession. The disruption in identity involves marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency, accompanied by related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, cognition, and or sensory-motor functioning. These signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.

Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting.

The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

The disturbance is not a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice.

The symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or another medical condition.

Analysis of Diagnostic Criteria

In Dent’s introduction in the podcast during the Yin and Yang scene, he can be heard arguing with another voice that we learn is Two Face. Two Face refers to Dent with the nickname “College Boy”, implying a gap between the two of them. At the timestamp 13:02 the narrator specifically says that these two are the same person but with two voices, letting listeners who may not be familiar with the story of Harvey Dent know that these two personalities are within the same body. The narrator also refers to this as a “double occupancy” in Dent’s head, and likens them to Jekyll and Hyde. This scene shows that Dent does not have possessive type DID, as there is no “possession” of either Dent or Two Face taking over with one or the other having full control of the body. Instead, they fit the description of non possessive type DID, which details the experience of having two or more simultaneous thought streams, which is shown by the way Dent and Two Face talk between themselves as two separate consciousnesses.

The Yin and Yang scene also shows an explicit example of the distinct split between these two personalities. At the time stamp 20:11, Batman says that he needs to have a word with Dent alone. Two Face laughs at this, saying that there is no privacy between him and Dent, but then Batman recites a Latin phrase students learn in law school. Dent understands the meaning immediately, and Two Face does not understand it at all. Two Face becomes agitated, asking what it means. This shows us that while Two Face appears to have all the knowledge and memories that Dent has from the time he was formed due to the lack of amnesia (as detailed in criteria B), he does not have access to any knowledge or memories from before that time, showing that he is separate from Dent.

There are two interesting instances that show off the difference in word choice and thought process between Dent and Two Face. In the Yin and Yang scene at 14:10, Dent and Two Face both finish a sentence with their own saying. Two Face says that he has two words for the captive, and Dent jumps in saying “yes, neat and tidy”. Two Face corrects him by saying “tooth and nail”. Then again in the Horse Racing scene at 23:55, Dent is talking about how people in Gotham respond to trespassers. Two Face interrupts and says “a double barrel bloodbath, free of charge”. Dent replies with “I was gonna say inhospitality, but he’s not wrong”. This shows their distinct patterns of thinking, as well as providing an instance where Dent refers to Two Face as a separate entity from himself.

Until episode 6, there is no obvious distinction between Dent and Two Face’s sensory-motor functioning. The Pier Two scene shows Dent and Two Face going through a significantly distressing event. In this scene they are trying to save Pier Two from a bomb, and in doing so they fall into the water and begin to drown. Batman has arrived at this point, but is unable to help because he is diffusing the bomb. At 34:29, Batman is calling down to Harvey, telling him to swim. He says “you know how to swim”. Dent replies with “yes I do, but he doesn’t”. The scene then goes on to describe Dent and Two Face struggling for control while trying to keep afloat, showing the split in sensory-motor function between the two of them.

In the Penguin and Two Face Team-Up scene at 16:45, Penguin tells Dent “That’s blowfish toxin, old boys!” When talking about them teaming up at 21:00, Penguin says the team up will be “Just you, and you, and me.” This shows that the split between Dent and Two Face is distinct enough that even others on the outside see it and refer to them as such. During the Announcement of Merger scene at 21:55, Dent says that Penguin’s criminal organization will be “uniting with the august firm of Dent and Dent”, another indication of the distinctiveness of Dent’s two personalities.

Throughout all of this podcast, Dent and Two Face are referred to as separate and distinct personalities by other characters, the omniscient narrator, and Dent and Two Face themselves.

In all of the podcast, there is not an instance where Dent has any significant gap in recall of events or information inconsistent with ordinary forgetting. However, due to the nature of this podcast only showing select moments of Dent's life and our inability to gather information outside of those shown scenes, it cannot be stated with certainty that this has never happened. For the sake of this project, using what is given in the media, it will be assumed that Dent does not meet this criterion.

Due to the fact that Dent does not meet criterion B, that does not factor into any clinically significant distress or impairment that Dent might have. Instead, one must turn their attention to criterion A, the presence of Two Face, Dent’s second personality.

When it comes to the occupational aspect, there is evidence against clinically significant impairment. In the Horse Racing Scene, Dent tries to hurt the Penguin’s business and does so by destroying the Penguin’s private box at the horse races using an obscure law to protect him from legal consequences and closing the Iceberg Casino using another obscure law. While explaining what he has done, Dent talks about several legal strategies he used to pull this off. Dent then details to the Penguin how if the Penguin keeps coming after him, Dent will use the law to do more than merely inconvenience him. At 25:47 Two Face says “You know, if we was really crazy, we could bring down the entire Gotham underworld in the court of law.You want to try us? Give us a reason to burn it all down.” Then Dent says “Then give us thirty minutes with publicly available records, and we can pull together a legal strategy that will squeeze your precious criminal organization until it’s pulp, and juiced, and served on crushed ice to the federal government”. This shows that Dent still has the ability to do the work from his occupation, and do it well. So well, in fact, that in the Penguin and Two Face Team-Up Scene Penguin devises a plan to get Dent working with him. During the enactment of this plan, Penguin says to Dent that “somewhere in there is an absolutely brilliant legal mind”. It is clear that Dent has not been impaired in his occupational skills, even though he is now using those skills for crime.

Dent’s social functioning, however, has been impaired by the presence of Two Face.

This can be shown in the Voicemail Scene. Bruce Wayne leaves Dent a short but powerful voicemail during which he tells Dent that while he may not know what Dent is going through, he will always be there to help, and that he really wants to help Dent. The most telling part of this voicemail comes at the timestamp 10:57 when Wayne says “I don’t know if you get these messages, but I’m going to keep leaving them anyway”. This shows that the friendship between Wayne and Dent has fallen apart since Dent’s accident that led to the formation of his second personality. Dent’s inability to maintain that friendship is indicative of significant impairment in social functioning.

There are several indications that the presence of Two Face is not part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice. This is shown in the way other people talk about Dent and Two Face. In Batman’s investigation Scene, Alfred Pennyworth and Batman are discussing Dent, and the fact that the Penguin is “inflaming Harvey’s breakdown”. When Batman begins speculating on why the Penguin would be doing that, Pennyworth says at the timestamp 26:48 “If I may, sir, does a man like Oswald Cobblepot need a reason to torment the mentally ill?” Similar remarks are made by some of Dent’s fellow members of the Gotham underworld. In the Horse Racing Scene, Dent and Two Face are switching off sentences and talking together as they talk to the Penguin. At the time stamp 21:40, Penguin says “Spare me the doubletalk Harvey, I don’t speak mental patient”. This shows from two different perspectives that the presence of Two Face is not a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice.

Over the course of the podcast, Dent is shown under the influence of a substance once. This is in the Penguin and Two Face Teamup Scene when the Penguin poisons Dent using blowfish toxin. Dent’s behaviors regarding the presence of Two Face do not change when he is under that influence, instead remaining consistent to how he presents while not under the influence. This consistency of Dent’s traits show that it is not the effects of a substance or other condition causing his symptoms.

Final Thoughts

While Harvey Dent meets the majority of the criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder, he does not meet all of it. It is very evident that Harvey has a distinct separate personality, but without the recurrent gaps in his memory it can not be confidently said that he has dissociative identity disorder, and that his symptoms are not better explained by another disorder.

[janiedean]

I'd like to ask your thoughts on a HOTD question... not trying to drag you into the Discourse Du Jour (god knows I could do without any discourse at all lol), just because you like Jace and the Starks and you can be trusted to have sensible opinions. Do you think Sara Snow really existed and/or will be featured in the show? Most of the fandom (or at least, most people I've seen discussing her) seem to think she didn't and she won't and it would be OOC for Jace otherwise but I'm not sure. When Martin makes his official histories go "oh but of course that theory's ridiculous, it totally didn't happen like that, let's not even consider it for a moment", it makes me think there's at least a grain of truth and it's more about important people dismissing facts that don't align with their vision or sources they think are too beneath them. Plus, the show has taken Mushroom's side on some things in season one, even without taking taking him literally on every detail. And a Targaryen prince hooking up with a "wolf girl" of Winterfell who just happens to be a bastard sounds like both a parallel to Rhaegar and Lyanna and, if the books do go there and it wasn't just made up for GOT, a genderbent version of Jon and Daneerys.

okay first of all sorry for replying so late as stated these weeks were busy af but in order:

premise: the way f&b is written the entire point is that you get the gist of what happened but everything you read is information filtered by one or more sources all of which are somehow biased one way or the other so let's just say that not counting what exactly happened that you know for sure happened you can't know how and you have to do some thinking about it/extrapolate and shit, which you can't do when reading face value which is what 90% of any fanbase in any fandom does this days alas but this stated

the consequence imvho is that generally you should... generally presume the truth is somewhere in the middle while seeing how your source is biased which I think is smth the show did fairly well (swear to got i'm watching the last two eps soon but anyway)

case in point if you read the book at face value al*cent was basically c*rsei except shallower bc obviously you can't get much in depth that way, but as again biased sources, the show extrapolated a much more (imvho) believable and sympathetic characterization without making her a saint or changing what she actually did in book canon/the way the story went and I say this as a 'I'm team black because I dislike most of the greens and anyway their claim was imvho bullshit' person so like I don't have many horses in this race

when Martin makes his official histories go "oh but of course that theory's ridiculous, it totally didn't happen like that, let's not even consider it for a moment" > you are imvho entirely correct in this assessment

with this said

'Do you think Sara Snow really existed and/or will be featured in the show?' the answer is yes to both but I don't think the marriage is actually gonna be a thing

first: if they got married no way that it wouldn't have a future repercussion in the sense that like.. when in og canon robb married jeynew in what seems like similar circumstances (because honestly i feel like this jace/sara thing would be more similar to that than jon/dany bc it implies breaking the betrothal to baela same as robb did with walder frey's daughter while jon and dany would break any betrothals should they get together) the entire realm knew three days later. if mushroom is the only one bringing up this marriage and gyldayn says it's doubtful she existed it means that there's no other source mentioning her or the marriage other than mushroom and it could absolutely be the opposite side trying to trash talk jace/the blacks spreading the rumor, but like if they actually did marry it would have been a known thing and like i don't see why - if it happened - cregan would have kept it hush hush since it meant like... his sister being married to the future crown heir?? that's kinda important?? but somehow that doesn't come up any time the northerners are discussed in the context of the dance? sounds sus

also: the pact of ice and fire (pact of ice and fire come on) is basically 'jace and cregan become friends because jace reminds cregan of his younger brother and cregan decides to pledge to him and jace promised his first daughter to be betrothed to cregan's son' which is like an entirely sensed alliance pact, but like... if jace was married to sara why the fuck would they need to do that since the alliance was already there? like it makes zero sense that if a marriage happened they'd need to sign a marriage pact for kids that at that point would be... sorta half-siblings

that said I doubt mushroom would just make her up out of wanting to diss jace so tbh I think the truth is that this sara does exist, is in the show and has a role in it but as they presented the whole thing until now jace forsaking the engagement with baela when it seems like they're taken with each other (and not betrothed at TWO AND FOUR like in the book) seems kinda ooc and there's no reason for him to do it the way it was with robb being distressed and wanting comfort (since at that point luke is already dead so....) so like I don't think the wedding is likely but I think she existed and that she'll be there and the fact that she existed is the reason why the wedding thing could happen, also because... like if she was cregan's bastard sister and married a future king I doubt northerners wouldn't mention it and it's not mentioned in other asoiaf books nor in any other stark-related role within universe sooo

also like the fact that gyldayn is absolutely xenophobic when he talks about sara most likely means that she exists and she's a pretty nice person

I also don't get why people would discourse savagely over this because like having her exist and them having a friendship or smth would be taking mushroom's side without going all the way and acknowledging gyldayn's while also not going all the way and as stated I think truth is in the middle here anyway like I think she existed but the marriage didn't

about the parallels... I see your point but not counting that lyanna was trueborn, I think the parallel is actually the pact not jace/sara, I mean, the pact of ice and fire is about starks and targs joining houses at some point (presumably following generation) which ofc doesn't happen because jace dies, but... if r+l=j which is a thing then it's stark/targs joining houses, and if the song of ice and fire is the song of tptwp........ well I've been saying for ages that this series is titled a song of jon snow whatever ppl think so like the pact is just predicting jon's existence imvho and that's the one parallel I see in this sense

wrt jon and dany honestly at this point I think they might hook up in main books but aren't an endgame ship bc idt martin wants to do targ restoration and as stated I've thought for ages that dany survives and goes back khaleesing in essos and jon becomes king long enough to fix stuff and separate the kingdoms and then goes off with the wildlings later so like as I don't think it's endgame I wouldn't go there but I see what you mean so if it's a thing it could be but I honestly don't think they're going there

tldr: yes she exists, yes she is in the show, no there's no marriage, both sources are biased against the northerners and they can choke on it xD

[subjectively-objective]

Arcana 99 - Ch. 2

A Technological Impossibility

What is this? Next

Of course, I had heard of the Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon. I tried my best to ignore the relentless ads, but they were well, relentless. Go to the theater? “In the news, the Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon promises to be the greatest event in history, bringing. . .” Read the paper? “Cash prizes will be provided to anyone who finishes. . .” Watch television? “Now a word from our sponsor, Mr. Grenfell and his wonderful race around the world! Have you ever dreamed of. . .” Go to a play?

PRINCE: “A glooming peace this morning with it brings; “The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: “Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; “Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: “For never was a story of more woe “Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

CAPULET: "May they be pardon’d first, and forgiven; “For how could their eyes have seen; “That every last of their wishes could be granted anon; “If they but won the Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon.”

Luckily for the actors, Romeo et. al was hardly Shakespeare's best work; frankly, it's his worst. I was only even there to mock the people going to the most mainstream Shakespearean play and still not being capable of understanding the words. As if I could understand that nonsense without help. If it had been Hamlet, though, the theater and the actors within would not be standing today.

Over the course of several months, I had unwillingly learned everything about the stupid marathon, but only one point interested me, the promise of a wish. I am a skeptic at heart, so I waited for proof to surface, and surprisingly, it did. Wishes were granted to a trio of randomly chosen volunteers. I watched the televised wish-granting hundreds of times, and through that research and some divination, I discovered that the wishes were truly granted to truly random people. Grenfell was legit. Well, as legit as a stranger claiming to have magical abilities could be.

It took a few days for me to fully decide on it, but in the end, I found myself in the Bonneville Salt Flats. If I couldn’t learn about magic at home, then Grenfell’s wish, or he himself, would have to suffice.

I signed in one hour before the race and was left to find my own starting position. There wasn’t a strict grid for starting positions, you only had to be behind the starting line, so I tried to find a good shady place for Zippy before the race started. There was obviously little in the way of shade in the salt flats, but I quickly noticed a plane towering over the cars dotted around it. I made my way towards it and let Zippy rest in the shadow of the plane’s wing.

Half an hour of meditation passed and ended when a woman spoke to me about where my teammate was, “He’s right here,” I said, patting my horse for emphasis.

The woman sighed, “Any mode of transportation is allowed, but animals cannot count as a teammate. You need a human partner.”

“What? I read the rules, and it only said that I needed a teammate, not a human teammate.”

She sighed again, considering how often she did it, she was either an expert or a hobbyist, “It was implied. Heavily implied. If you can’t find a partner in-”

I cut her off, I already knew what she was going to say, “Just sign me to be partnered with the next person without a team, and please, do it quickly, I have to make sure my horse is ready to run.” It didn’t matter how much dead weight my partner was, I would be more than capable of carrying them on my back.

The woman left with a final showcase of her favored action, and I started brushing Zippy. Less than a minute passed before a stranger interrupted me, “I’m Nerio, your new teammate.” I responded in turn and held out my hand.

“France?” He responded and extended his arm. I tried to initiate the handshake, but he had brought out the wrong arm. I had extended my right, and he his left.

Really? He’s going to do this stupid power move to make me change my hand when he’s the one who sent out the wrong one?

I looked at our mismatched arms, then at him. I needed to make it as obvious as possible that I knew what game he wanted to play and that I was not going to play it, so after a moment I looked at his right arm. All I could see was the empty sleeve of his jacket. We shook left hands.

“Actually, I’m from Australia. The French name is just a. . . thing,” I said, desperately trying to alleviate the tension I had made without admitting my mistake with an apology, “You?”

“Greece,” He was certainly good at moving on.

“Huh, I thought that name was Italian,” I said as I glanced to the sky. Judging from the position of the Sun it was 11:58, “We’ve got two minutes left, get on.”

“I was going to say the same thing,” He pointed to a motorcycle behind him.

Could you even steer a motorcycle with one arm?

I laughed, perhaps more than I should, and pointed out the obvious flaws with his vehicle. It could only last as long as he had gas, and he had brought no extra gas.

He marched back to his vehicle and said, “If you said that about any other bike, I’d agree with you, but mine is different. Your horse on the other hand. . . It may not need gas, but a horse just cannot compete with a machine, no matter how good the rider is.”

I am going to love every second of proving you wrong, no matter how right you should be.

I mounted my horse to hide the smile I was certain had appeared. Despite being a minute away from destroying his worldview, I couldn’t wait to begin, “If you said that about any other horse, I’d agree with you, but we are different.”

A shadow covered drifted over me and my horse. Looking up, I saw a grey shape floating in the sky. I had heard that someone was going to use a zeppelin in the race, but I thought it was hyperbole. From where I was, it looked tiny, but the vessel was still a quarter-mile long and just silently floating as if it could just ignore gravity. Truly the closest they ever got to true magic.

A voice filled the canyon and brought my admiration to an end. The race had started. The ground came alive as hundreds of thousands of cars screamed to action and fought for dominance. I could barely see beyond my horse due to the dust kicked up by millions of tires. I urged my horse on, and as expected I quickly fell behind the other vehicles, but it was only temporary. I wiped a drop of sweat from my brow, placed it upon my horse’s back, and placed both my hands above it.

Arcana Fourteen: Enhancement, speed and endurance.

Aided by my magic, Zippy launched through the dust cloud and past the sea of vehicles spread out before me. A moment later I broke through the ocean of dust and saw the open world before me; however, I couldn’t appreciate the scenery as both ground and sky became a blur. I had already traveled ten miles, and Zippy was beginning to tire. I placed the index and middle fingers of both my hands on either side of my horse.

Arcana Thirteen: Revitalization.

The horse's breathing calmed, and he resumed his speed. I looked at the people behind me, hoping to catch a glimpse of my teammate trailing behind.

I won’t see him, probably because he is losing ground right this second. I can’t go too far ahead though, I still need to pick him up when he realizes my horse is leagues above whatever assembly-line trash he’s riding.

Despite my negative thoughts towards his vehicle’s ability to compete, I saw him just fine. Not only had he broken ahead of the pack, but he had also caught up to me to the point that I could see his empty sleeve flapping in the wind, a triumphant standard declaring his victory over all those behind him, and his desire to add me to the long list. Seeing that he was clearly no relative of mine, he shouldn’t have any magic within him. That meant that his speed was purely mechanical. I drew a circle on my palm and faced it into the wind.

Arcana Three: Communication.

The wind told me that I was going ninety-four miles per hour, yet he was still gaining on me.

Nothing should be able to compete with the arcane except the arcane. Yet. . .

To say that this stranger being able to effortlessly keep up with the world’s greatest magician hurt my pride would be completely ignoring just how much it pissed me off. I pushed my horse a little harder (and used the thirteenth arcana again just to be sure). The wind said I was topping one-hundred thirty miles per hour, well beyond what any ordinary motorcycle could go even temporarily. This speed was unsustainable, but I only needed to keep it up until I reached the edge of the salt flats; I only needed to keep it up until I proved him inferior. I glanced behind myself to see his shrinking form, except it was growing.

Just how powerful is his damn motorcycle?

The current record for a two-wheeled vehicle is barely any faster than what we’re going, and that bike could hardly be called a motorcycle. It had a smooth shell built around it. A vehicle that can cut through the air like that at that speed without such a shell is impossible even less so one that can be driven with one arm. The easy explanation is magic, but I’m the only one on the planet. At least, the only one of consequence. So, who is he that has that impossible machine that can rival the very forces of. . . whatever forces drive magic?

He is Nerio Pinkerton, and this race is how he regained his humanity.

Next

[i-lovelucy-blog1]

Unveiling the Mysteries of Betting: A Beginner's Journey into Wagering

Introduction: Betting, in its many forms, has been an integral part of human culture for centuries. From ancient civilizations to modern-day sports arenas, the thrill of placing a wager on an uncertain outcome has captivated people worldwide. However, for those new to the world of betting, the terminology, strategies, and sheer variety of options can seem overwhelming. Fear not, as we embark on a journey to unravel the mysteries of betting, making this intricate world accessible and enjoyable for all.

The Essence of Betting:

At its core, betting is a simple yet fascinating concept. It involves two or more parties agreeing to risk something of value, usually money, on the outcome of an event or situation with uncertain results. This could be anything from the outcome of a horse race to the performance of a stock in the financial market.

Exploring Different Types of Bets:

1. Straight Bets:

Straight bets are the foundation of betting. They involve predicting the outcome of a single event without any additional complexities. For example, in a football match, you might bet on which team will emerge victorious. bet777

2. Spread Betting:

Spread betting introduces a handicap or spread to level the playing field between two unevenly matched teams. This allows bettors to wager on whether the favored team will win by a certain margin or if the underdog will lose by less than the spread.

3. Over/Under Bets:

Over/under bets focus on the total combined score of both teams in a game, rather than the outcome. Bettors wager on whether the actual total score will be over or under a predetermined number set by the bookmaker.

4. Proposition Bets:

Proposition bets, or prop bets, offer a wide range of alternative wagering options beyond the final outcome of a game. These can include predicting specific events within the game, such as which player will score the first goal or how many penalties will be awarded.

Deciphering Odds:

Understanding odds is crucial for any aspiring bettor. They represent the probability of a particular outcome occurring and determine the potential payout of a bet. There are various formats for presenting odds, including decimal, fractional, and moneyline.

1. Decimal Odds:

Decimal odds express the potential return on a winning bet, including the initial stake. For example, odds of 2.50 mean that for every unit wagered, you will receive 2.50 units if your bet is successful.

2. Fractional Odds:

Fractional odds represent the potential profit relative to the stake. For instance, odds of 3/1 imply that for every unit wagered, you will make a profit of three units if your bet wins, in addition to receiving your stake back.

3. Moneyline Odds:

Moneyline odds are commonly used in the United States and indicate the amount you need to bet to win $100 (for negative odds) or the potential profit on a $100 bet (for positive odds).

Embracing Responsible Betting:

While the thrill of betting can be exhilarating, it's essential to approach it with caution and responsibility. Set limits on your wagers, avoid chasing losses, and prioritize enjoyment over excessive risk-taking. Remember, betting should be a form of entertainment, not a financial burden.

Conclusion:

As we conclude our journey into the world of betting, we've uncovered its intricacies and demystified its complexities. Whether you're a novice exploring the basics or a seasoned bettor honing your skills, the key lies in understanding the different types of bets, deciphering odds, and embracing responsible betting practices. So, as you embark on your own betting adventures, armed with this newfound knowledge, may your wagers be wise, your wins plentiful, and your enjoyment boundless. Happy betting!

[walkingwiththegods1]

Cassandra watching how Troy's being burned... (Or why sometimes, seeing the future; is not a desirable thing you will want to have!)

According to a Myth... Cassandra, was a Troyan princess than was extremely beautiful; so much, than she atracted Apollo's/Apollon's attention; and he asked her what she wished the most in The World, and she answered than she wanted ''To be able to see the future''; to which Apollo/Apollon said than he will granted it, with only one condition: Than after she gained the gift of the profecy... She will became his lover. Cassandra accepted the deal, and the handsome and eternally young God of the Sun; proceed to first teaches her the ways of predict the future, and in the end of the many months of lessons; he granted her the ability to see the future... (Cassandra, was overjoyed to have this divine gift; once she realized than things happened, after she saw them before in her mind!)

Apollo/Apollon, told to the Princess; than he fulfilled her wish, so it was already time ''Than she fulfilled her part, and became his lover...'', but the prideful Cassandra; said to Apollo/Apollon, than she will never be his lover: Apollo/Apollon, feeling tricked and angry; went to Cassandra and kissed her, and before to leave her forever; he spitted inside her mouth, and told her before to dissapear; than from now on, she will continue to see the future; but none will believe her. Casandra, at first; thoughted than it wasn't true, but it didn't take long for her to realized; than her precious gift, was turned into a curse: She even predicted Troy's Destruction, and the Killing of her own Family; and the only thing she did, was screaming than somebody believe her, with not avail...

Since I had 9 years old, I had predicted things; but the mayority of this things, is not The Lottery Numbers or what Racing Horse/Sport Team will makes you rich (than is the most important reason of why many wishes to see the future: To became rich, overnight!) or nothing of that sort: Natural Disasters in The World, Problems in all Nations (Including my own Nation); Personal Tragedies, Family's Accidents, and sadly... The sudden death of two elderly relatives than, despise they were already old; and I was almost an adult, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to neither of them; specially, to the one that died first; and except to a few illness... He was mostly healthy, and in only a few hours; he passed to suddenly be seriously sick... To be gone. Why I'm telling this?! You may think...

Is simple, my friend: Predict the future, sometimes... Is not wonderful, at all!

I had save a few lives, but... I couldn't avoid the death of the relatives I mentioned above, or when a natural disaster is about to cause death and/or destruction; I could avoid people to being harmed by telling what I saw, but I didn't knew what will happened to me, or... Sometimes, being unable to avoid than someone passed for a really bad moment, 'cause they refused to listen or they didn't believed me, in the first place.

I'm nor a heroine, much less a villianess: I'm only a human being than desires to be normal, and have loyal friends in real life; with an ability than... I really sometimes, I don't want to have.

...Like in Cassandra's Myth, I was mocked for telling what will happened; and the only thing I could make, is seeing powerless how people went straight to a trouble; than could have being avoid, and watched them suffer miserable; as result. (...Is one of the worst feelings, ever!)

...I had people of my own family, either questioning my mental health; or, implying than I did something to provock things to happen. (Which, is very painful to hear; of your own family)

...Relatives with who I growned up with, they bothered me 'cause I warned them of future troubles; or telling me than ''You will be more useful, if you will predicts the lottery numbers, so we could be rich!'' (If The Gods/Goddesses, The Universe; or The Source of All Life, decides than saving your life; is more important than you becoming filthy rich... You shouldn't despise that help, by telling such thing: If you are smart, will sacrifices things than you like to buys for months or a few years; and saves your money [ only taking enough for an real emergency, to put the same amoutn you takes in the account/piggy bank; again], then... You don't really need the Lottery/Betting, to become rich!)

...People than were supposedly ''My friends, or Relatives closer to my age'', just ignored my predictions; but when the prediction became true... They accused me of awful things, and verbally abused me. (Since then, I'm became very cautious of ''To who and when, I tell what may happen...'')

Not always something I saw, turned into a beautiful reality; (Or... A nightmare!) but... Is more often than it will happen, than it's not. Or... Not always I can see the future: I think I wouldn't be able to function in real life, if that happened to me. (In the same way, than I wouldn't be able to live an almost normal life; if I was visited by The Deities, 24/7!)

The conclussion, is this: Don't envy, or wishes to be able to see the future... Some us wishes than will be only be able to pass at least a whole year, living a normal life!

Than all of you be able to see the future, only when you really need to know it; and than you lives the happiness you wish to have, someday... So Be It!

[mtpolicesite]

Sports Betting Information

People bet on all major sporting events all over the world. A large amount of money is at stake in sports betting, whether it is the Super Bowl or a soccer match in England. Betting on team sports is against the law in virtually all states of the United States. Nevada is the only state to permit sports betting.

Sports betting are in general done at a sports book. This is a place where gamblers can place bets on a variety of sports tournaments. Sports betting has transcended to almost all competitive and professional games. This includes sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, horse racing and boxing.

The type of betting varies with each sport. Winnings are rewarded after the finale of the event. There are three unique types of sports betting. In betting "against the spread," a gambler forecasts whether the favored team will win by a specific number of points or not. The spread is a point lead given to a weaker team that is estimated to lose by a certain number of points. A bet against the spread is identified as 11-10 bets. This implies 먹튀폴리스 that gamblers will win $10 if they bet $11, making a total of $21.

Betting "against odds" is a well-known type of sports bet and this is an easy bet, where a gambler forecasts the winning team. In addition, the bet may also be placed as "over-under." When making an over-under bet, the bettor gambles that the full amount will go above or fall short of the specific total stated by the bookmaker.

Sports books put forward bets at certain odds and conditions of its choosing, commonly known as proposition bets. Gamblers guess the score or the amount of touchdowns or strikes, based on the kind of sport. Spread bets are the usual bets to make. Spread bets are frequently referred to as straight bets for the reason that they involve payment of even money. Indulging in sports betting can be puzzling for a lot of people, in view of the fact that sports books have their own styles of betting. History has proven that betting on sports just about always results in losing money in the long run.

[muskokafarm]

Horse Breakers NSW - Muskoka Farm

Muskoka Farm is a 280 acre facility that provides top of the line horse breakers NSW. The farm is located in beautiful country surrounds, with natural bushland and national parks nearby. This environment is the perfect place to fine tune the science and instinct of race horse care.

The following is a tad more than a decade in the rear view mirror. A good number of these aficionados will be familiar with my name. For the uninitiated, my good fortunes are confined to a 280 acre slice of heaven on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. This small tract of land abounds with awe-inspiring vistas, quaint hamlets and verdant bushland. Most importantly, my horses are treated to a jolly good time. It's not uncommon for my staff to be found sipping champagne on the verandah, or more likely, in the confines of the barn. In short, my staff is a happy, happy bunch, and my clients are likewise, akin to family members. With this in mind, I'm putting my best foot forward. Among the many things, I'm looking forward to continuing my current tradition of high-caliber, personalised service for my esteemed clientele, as well as acquiring new ones in the not too distant future.

As the name implies, the Thoroughbred Racing Industry is about breeding and training Thoroughbred horses. It is also an industry that includes everyone who works with or around horses.

Robbie McEvoy is one of the most popular horsemen in Victoria. He started riding at age seventeen. His first race win came at Epsom, and he has ridden countless more since then. In addition to his racing career, he was a television news anchor and broadcaster.

One of his biggest achievements came last year, when he was able to ride two winners in two days. He also has been recovering from shoulder surgery.

When he wasn't in the saddle, he was a car rider for Wesley Ward. Now, he is back in the saddle riding winners.

Edmund Robbie is a horse owner and horse trainer. His stable consists of ten horses. The majority are stakes winners. Previously, he had worked at Chipotle.

Robbie O'Sullivan spent most of his adult life in the Thoroughbred Racing Industry. He is an experienced international jockey with a wealth of experience overseas.

Muskoka Farm is a premier training facility located in Wisemans Ferry on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. As one of the most competitive areas for raising yearlings, the 280-acre property is perfect for equine athletes. It offers a number of features and facilities to ensure horses are properly looked after.

The 280-acre property is home to five stables, 58 horse stalls and a private jetty/ponton. In addition, the farm has a number of amenities and services to offer its horses and owners, from track maintenance to tack cleaning. One of the many facilities offered at the facility is an eight-lane irrigated turf track.

For a thoroughbred enthusiast, there are several notable features and services available at the 280-acre property. It's the one-stop equine solution to keep your prized possessions in peak condition. This includes an AQIS quarantine facility for exporting and importing horses.

Muskoka Farm is a state-of-the-art facility that has the latest and greatest in equine technology. With facilities like a 2.4-kilometre-long crusher dust track, a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and a 2000-metre track, there's no wonder it's a popular choice for top-flight trainers. Whether you're a seasoned racer or a first-timer, the onsite facilities and team of professionals will make sure your horse receives the best possible care.

There are a number of recent Group 1 winners that have been broken in at Muskoka Farm. The new private training facility near Rylstone NSW is a quiet, safe place to train. It is also a perfect place for breakers to get their horses ready for their next racing season. Toby Pracey has been breaking horses professionally since he was 15. He has broken in a number of Everest and Golden Slipper winners. Currently, he is working with trainer Gary Portelli.

One of the recent Group 1 winners that has been broken in at Muskoka Farm is the son of two time champion sire Encosta de lago, Northern Meteor. He won the Group 1 Ascot Vale Stakes down the Flemington straight. His dam is by Last Tycoon, which is one of the top 10 broodmare sires in Australia. During the 2017-18 season, he has won four stakes, including the Group 2 Eagle Farm Cup at 2200 metres. To know more about Horse Breakers NSW, visit the Muskoka Farm website or call (02)45663106.