#the peninsula spoilers

[rin-the-shadow]

The weird thing is, even in quite a few of the dystopian and/or zombie movies I've seen, even when there are selfish people who ruin things and prey on others just for the sake of it, there are also just as many characters who go out of their way to stick their necks out for each other. And those characters who do that? They tend to be the protagonists or at least supporting characters who get spotlighted.

It's Ben and Barbra banding together in Night of the Living Dead despite never knowing each other before that. Do they survive? No. And it's portrayed as a tragedy that they die when they shouldn't have. Those militia men who burn the bodies at the end? They aren't played as triumphant, but as terrifying.

It's the group from Dawn of the Dead who stick together and take care of their infected member even when they know he's on borrowed time. It's the priest from that same movie giving the zombified residents their last rights. The idea that these people will still remain even if others become selfish and violent.

It's everyone who goes out of their way to make sure Kee gets to safety in Children of Men, even though a vast majority of them never knew her before then.

It's the passengers who help Su-an and Jung Yu-mi get to the safe station in Train to Busan. And Jung-seok going back to save Min-jung despite the overwhelming number of zombies in The Peninsula.

....I had a point in all of this but then I got lost in nerd rambling so...I guess part of what I'm trying to say is that while sometimes that grimdark every man for himself "if you're strong you live and if you're weak you die" stuff can be the take a post-apocalyptic media is going for, there are also some that say, "Okay. So some people will use tragedy and disaster as an excuse to be selfish and hurt people. But you don't have to do that. You can choose to care about and help others. And you know what? You won't be the only one to do that."

hate how all these apocalyptic films show society breaking down the hot minute the grid goes down, with all the survivors banding off into tiny violent gangs that prey on each other.

bitch you are a member of one of the most social species in existence! it is actually insane the extent to which humans have evolved to use cooperation as our main survival tool. humans have been building and then rebuilding societies for as long as disasters have been bringing them down. an apocalypse would be fucking awful, but the survivors would end up building communities and networks and pooling resources and knowledge, because that’s what humans do. that’s what they DO!!!

[biscuitscheesebiscuits]

Reading physical copies of The Queen's Thief series for the first time and realizing that the maps in them are inconsistent???

[sanctus-ingenium]

Inver - relief map relative to the continent with otherworld territory marked, broad habitat map, detailed local landmarks map, and political map of the northeast atlantic peninsula as of 1862

i was just having map fun for two days lol. i make habitat maps a lot already but the difference with this one is that i can't just download a handy shapefile and do some GIS magic. this was hand drawn (but obviously. somewhat traced over the actual irl map)

for the outline of the north sea coast i used bathymetry data to figure out where the true coastline would occur. the north sea recedes but the atlantic doesn't (to the same extent). because this landmass was formed through some ancient Event, i felt pretty okay about changing the bedrock because like, whatever, we can't be fully realist all the time. so the northern half of inver is mainly limestone, the southern half is silicaceous - so we got the bog/marl divide there, though lough cánamac (in volume slightly larger than any of the north american great lakes) appears to be the remnant of the north sea, it is freshwater with a relatively low pH. the water of the lough is black to dark brown due to the run-off from the southern bogs and swamps.

in the north, the mountain ranges are calcareous. calcareous grassland, scrubland, heaths and fens dominate with a largely alkaline profile. limestone marl lakes which regularly flood due to groundwater input make the region pretty unsuitable for crops other than rice.

the ruad is the name for a stretch of otherworld territory which contains the lough, though generally used to refer to the forested area. it is completely uninhabitable throughout the majority of its range due to the non-euclidian structure of the land making it impossible to navigate consistently, and the strange and frequently hostile creatures living there. the ruad is faery territory and belongs to an entity known as the Red King, who uses the symbol of a stag. so although inver may look like a large country compared to its neighbours, it has a relatively small population concentrated on the west coast.

however, sailing across the lough is the quickest way to trade with countries in the east, far quicker than trekking through the forest and over land. the trade route through the ruad from invergorken to the cánamac town is one of the most valuable in the continent. it consists of an old road with regularly-spaced ranger safehouses and patrols, and a newer pair of railway lines which can cut through the supernatural aura of the ruad due to their iron rails. the first and older line is no longer in regular use. it was constructed before the development of wrought iron and before the build crews learned how to blast through rock, so it takes a very slow and winding route and required a lot of maintenance. safehouses were constructed to board the workers while the tracks were laid. but without this original track, the construction of the second, far more advanced wrought iron track would have been impossible. workers for the second track were able to commute and sleep on the first track's train, keeping them from harm. the second track can fit two trains side by side and is in constant use ferrying cargo and passengers between the two towns

the country of inver, once The Event wiped out all of its original inhabitants a couple thousand years ago, was settled by hibernians and vikings from the north moving south, and aquitanians from the south moving north (thus the place names). the ruad mostly blocked incursions from the east. there was a long history of dispute over who truly owned the land, and that remained sort of up in the air for most of its history until the 1400s when armorican warlords (like Olivier) decided to make it theirs for realsies and waged war against their old hibernian trade partners (like Finbarr) for control of the land. the hibernians lost because finbarr fucked it up at the last second, and this cemented a ruling class of werewolves in inver until the 1860s

inver consists of three large duchies which cover 70% of the population. Moya in the west is the heart of lycanthrope rule, everybody worships a faery known as the immortal hound and the ruad is far enough away that it is not a fact of life as it is for everyone else. Inver duchy covers the capital city and the south-western farmland, the main sites of production in the country. And Cánamac duchy covers the trade port in the lough and surrounding territories, where forest clearing has led to new farmland and a thriving population. There was a fourth duchy in the north, Aber, but it was historically somewhat isolated and cut off from the south of the country and had developed its own customs and traditions, and its own form of the country's currency. In the 1840s, the duchy of Aber was dissolved and reconstituted into the king's lands, and southern customs were enforced in the north to prevent any more divergence. the palaces of the ruling families in each territory are shown in the local map alongside the family names.

Due to The Event causing massive damage in this region of Europe, forbidding the development of britain and france etc as colonial empires, the last great Empire of this continent was the roman empire, and even that didn't manage to overcome the Ruad. technology is rudimentary in Inver and the people living there are largely considered to be weird backwards superstitious barbarians. aquitan has been threatening annexation for decades, led mainly by the church of suzette, which forbids interaction with otherworld entities. the church holds in disregard the nobility of inver and their cultish ways, and as a result has been banned from attempting to convert inver citizens. but the church is still allowed to make minor inroads into inver for one very important reason: penicillin and antibiotics are the sole creation of the church, and the secret of how they are made is unknown outside suzette. so for the sake of good, advanced healthcare, the church is allowed to set up clinics and hospitals, on the condition that nobody is converted, and members of the church are strictly banned from engaging in any business but importing and selling antibiotics

[animerunner]

Me: Has never had an interest in making fakemon before.

-Gen 10 leaks happen-

Me: Suddenly coming up with a half dozen different ideas for what legendary/mythical Pokemon based on the Greek Gods would look like

[callmearcturus]

Wait, do people know about the Before I Play wiki?

I have used this for..... at this point easily over 6 years. It's a wiki where there will be low-spoiler/non-spoiler hints about just stuff you would want to know before playing a game.

It's always stuff like.... "Vitality in this game is useless, put your points in everything else first" or "Don't leave the second hub town until you buy X item, it'll become unobtainable."

Lemme pick an example almost everyone will know. From the Animal Crossing New Horizons page, the first tip is:

Nearly everything on the island is movable later, including all buildings and even cliffs and rivers. The main things that are fixed are the stuff on the border of the island (river mouths, beaches, rocks/peninsulae, the dock and the airport) and the resident services plaza, so picking your island layout should be based around that primarily.

That's stellar advice, tbh, given what you'll know about the game 30 hours in instead of 30 minutes.

Not every game is covered obviously and not every piece of advice is good, it's all subjective, BUT..... I look up almost every game I play for the first time, just to keep stuff in mind. The SMT4 page had top tier advice imo.

[thesiltverses]

Out of curiosity, just how unstable/stable would the Peninsula be following the Glottage Incident? Not going to go into specifics about it to avoid spoilers. I'm working on a thing for the RPG set after it, and wanted to see what the showrunners thought would happen.

Oh, that sounds really cool!

Personally - although of course this is no more canonical than any other bozo's opinion - this is what I imagined would happen to the Peninsula after the events of the show (spoilers below the cut)

Assuming that there are no wild cards from the stuff we deliberately left open-ended (i.e. that the polluted winds aren't going to sweep east across the entire Peninsula and render it uninhabitable)...

With Carson and Val gone, a whole lot of load-bearing lies are likely to come crashing down very quickly. The remnants of the CLS government will be able to publicly declare that the Peninsula only won the war with the help of a highly illegal rhetorical god who murdered civilians, committed countless war crimes, and threatened to unravel reality. Likewise, the High Adjudicator's sex coma was already on the verge of being an open secret, and his private plane flying out of Glottage then crashing in the west is only going to lead to more searching scrutiny about just what the hell was going on there.

If the Peninsula was ending the war in a strong position, all of this might not matter - but with Glottage in tatters, a power vacuum, a decimated population, and the war's outcome looking less like a heroic victory and more like an internationally-condemned and chaotic embarrassment, I imagine the remaining Adjudicators would be pivoting frantically to become peace-loving, harmonious and sustainable-sacrifice types, with the condemnation for the war being unceremoniously heaped on Carson and the High Adjudicator's shoulders in their absence.

As a result, I can see Shrue (with their history of anti-war speeches) being quickly re-embraced and co-opted, maybe even actively canonised as a saintly figure by the newly-pacifistic political establishment - because after all, wasn't their speech really raging at the wastefulness, lies, and corruption of certain politicians? We should all have listened to them earlier.

I can't see the Parish being publicly acknowledged as the true perpetrators of the Glottage attack, however - it's far more politically useful to state that Val must have been responsible (because then the people of the Peninsula are also victims of Carson's lies and his horrific terrorist-saint run amok, we all suffered equally, and we can all just draw a line under this tragic affair.)

The lasting winners of the power vacuum are likely to be the major international faiths, which can quickly position themselves as neutral mediators and peacemakers between the leaderless CLS and Peninsula, while swooping in to play a more active role in both nations' governance.

All of that scandal and upheaval would also undoubtedly continue to energise the Woundtree / anti-sacrificial movement across the country which might even find a legitimate foothold in mainstream thought, but the ideological risks to that movement (being neutered or softened or co-opted) would be greater than ever.

So...definitely highly unstable, I'd imagine, but with no shortage of players rolling in from the wings, just as before, to try and transform all of this into a nice, simple, tutelary story of saints and scapegoats.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[Spoilers below cut]

I'm absolutely terrified, it's not even funny. I can't even click it. But I have to... for the LOREEEEEEEEE... okay, let's-a go....

(The following is my live reaction:)

ay the TADC plug, of course

"Born to shit, Forced to wipe" - not smg3

wise words Three

also, the Ferris Wheel and rollercoaster thing is still there in the background (Ferris Wheel wedding, my beloved...)

I knew someone was going to bring up Meggy and her disappearance

LEGGY! MEGGY, WE'LL RESCUE YOU I PROMISE!!!

THANK YOU THREE for asking the right questions here

oh... not what I expected. at least the crew knows this is obviously Mr Puzzles

NAME DROP

OK, a LOT to digest here:

These are all the possible minigames that we might see in WOTFI. Well, at least all the attractions we could see...

a Mr Puzzles Chonk plush (in the bottom right)

a Tunnel of Love attraction... hmmmm.......

Huh, I didn't know this was by the coast of the Mushroom Kingdom. Or it could be an island/peninsula.

The what now, Leggy?

YEP I knew that once they found out, they would want to leave

...and of course, Mario wants to stay

Yeah, Luigi said it himself

but also, look at the Mr Puzzles cardboard cutout in the back, he's wearing Meggy's cowboy hat from Western Spaghetti

Alright, but before we go in, we gotta have a buddy system, guys

All these critiques are going to make Mr Puzzles lose himself even more than he already is

I think I saw someone posted about submitting a water gun game so congrats for getting in!

Leggy Plush!!

also spider-man plush... symbiote... venom... GOOP!4????

...Once Upon A Perfect SMG4?

[*points at Four and Mario*] The sillies

ok, but like, why is Three smiling like that while everyone else looks so disappointed?

They did the buddy system!

Bob: "Those dumbasses will see ANYTHING and get excited."

I feel seen and I don't like it.

I don't like this either. I already know this is a trap but like noooooo

Three just standing there like a dad watching over his kid

Someone else also submitted a mini-game involving a ducky fishing game

GOD DAYUM.... why did you have to pose like that, Three? You're not beating the allegations, huh.

Aw, Three really wanted to enjoy a carnival if Mr Puzzles wasn't involved (writers, write that down + carnival dates)

OK NOPE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW

🫵 🏳️‍🌈⁉️

oh c'mon now, it's just plainly obvious. Not that it should be surprising, everyone's part of the skittle squad (tm)

STRONG WOMEN we love to see it

...that can't be a real thing... can it?

same Luigi same

YES PLEASE CAN WE?

sorry dude, they really locked in

also what the hell is that building in the back?

Luigi (or rather the SMG4 fandom): "See? I can handle this! I'm not afraid anymore! Do you hear me? I'm not afraid-" [*horror jumpscare*] [*scream*]

NOT EVEN MELONY'S GOD POWERS COULD HELP US, WE'RE FUCKED

NOOOOOO NOT KAREN AND SAIKO

THREE WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW

NOOOOOOOO THREEEEE I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE THE LAST ONE TO MAKE IT OUT

[*sobbing*] he sent one last text to warn them :( he really does care

AND HE SENT IT TO FOUR [*head in hands*]

the contact names they have for each other.... (I'm not well)

WE GOTTA GO [*runs*] GET OUT GET OUT

Leggy... why did your face change like that?

WHAT WAS THAT CRYPTIC CAPTION?!

Mario, please don't sacrifice yourself... oh, thank god! They really are having me panicking for the smallest things

wait... OMG THEY SAW MY SUBMISSION! THEY SAW IT!

the mini-game challenge that I submitted:

Pop & Whirl: Everyone gets a bag of popcorn. The winner must keep all of their popped kernels in their bag, without dropping a single one... while being chased around the carnival by a collapsed Ferris Wheel (Professor Layton style)!

I DON'T CARE IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN IN WOTFI, I'LL TAKE IT. But if it does happen, I'll draw lawyer Meggy with a redesigned Ace Attorney-esque outfit (somehow)

please don't tell me the green pipe is also a trap...

...the exit door from TADC?

oh god, why does this remind me of the dark web?

and the eyes on the mushrooms... [*IGBP flashbacks*]

heh heh, funny mirrors... AH SHIT PUZZLES, DON'T JUMPSCARE ME LIKE THAT

actually, now that I think of it, Mr Puzzles hasn't revealed himself this whole time...

THE DIDNEY ENGINE ROOM?!

...holy shit

so was I right about us getting to see Mr Puzzles' "truest form" and the whole "Eye of Ra" thing?

are those his arms? and the circle things, it could be part of his cyborg texture but they also look like eyes.

the fog part is really interesting because they could've gone with any "spooky" color but they chose this. It's the creative vision, the one Didney had in this room.

This really reminds me of the goo from IGBP and Wren's wire simulation in Western Spaghetti, but also from this angle, a bit of Zero's "no legs" body design.

"His obsession becoming his identity" - Puzzles connected himself to the single star Didney had. You got it right, past Ink.

HUH?! YOU CAN'T END IT THERE

AND THEY GRAY-ED OUT OUTRO, NO MUSIC! IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN, GUYS

also congrats to Nikej1708241 for making it to the credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

That was a pretty solid episode ngl. Probably not as "plot twist-y"

(i know that's not a word) as the previous episode but my spaghetti gods, it delivered! Not Marty again, we may have to rethink this one.

Ok, I've made a list of all the attractions and mini-games there are in the carnival grounds in Puzzle Park:

Ferris Wheel

"Tender Tunnel" (Tunnel of Love attraction)

Merry-Go-Round carousel

Basketball arcade game

Hammer game

Bumper Cars

"House of Crazy" funhouse (also that fits Mr Puzzles somehow)

A spooky cart ride

Water gun game

Rocket ride

Arcade (just flat-out an arcade)

Clown Ball Game

(There's apparently a cafe???)

Ducky Pond fishing game

Pizza shop (....marty?)

It's probably not all of them, we would just have to wait and see, but if you submitted a mini-game that involves any of these, congrats, you likely got in!!!

I still very much enjoyed this episode and some of what I theorized could possibly come true. And some didn't, which is totally okay with me. I'll cherish the Ferris Wheel chase scene regardless :)

We still have to wait for a trailer or a special video in regards to WOTFI, which I will have to analyze and see what's to be expected. From the looks of it in this episode, it seems like it's up to SMG4 and Mario to rescue their friends one by one by completing the mini-games. The more people they rescue, the more help they can get to complete the games. And that includes saving Meggy at the end.

Now, personally, I don't want Mr Puzzles to die. Not yet. There is still a lot of potential that could go for him. A similar redemption arc just as Three went through. Puzzlevision 2. Goop!4. Marty. Anything could happen. Then again, he could die.

Now you might think he might not die because he has a plushie, but there's literally merch of Axol and Desti and they're dead. Puzzles isn't safe from this possibility.

Put in your final bets, my dear fellows, because nothing will ever be the same again...

[phantomrose96]

The Silt Verses spoilers under the cut

I saw someone refer to Carpenter as dead after the finale and I had to do like, a double-take. And obviously it's a valid interpretation of her ambiguous ending. MOST people who get shot by soldiers and fall into the water are dead or about to be dead.

But this is Carpenter.

"Gods Won't Let Me Die" Carpenter. "Gods' most unkillable woman" Mallory Glass Carpenter the First. "When Faulkner curses out the Trawler-man the Trawler-man drowns him to death, but when Carpenter does it the Trawler-man declares her his favorite and intervenes time again to save her from murder by drowning his own devout instead" Carpenter. "Followed for months by the God of Death Carpenter and it takes Hayward pointing out that this God is actually steering her AWAY from death" Carpenter.

Carpenter could declare "I'm tired" and lay down to stop breathing and the gods of The Silt Verses would conspire to push air into her lungs. Carpenter could lay down on a knife and all the Gods would say "Queen you dropped this" and lift all of her blood back inside her.

I absolutely DID expect the finale to end with Carpenter's death, for sure. It's just that in order for me to believe Carpenter has in fact, finally, actually, died, I'd need Dr. McDoctor Head Coroner of the Peninsula to come by, hoist her body up, and say "Yes she's dead. I'm an expert in these things, and this is a dead person for sure."

The fact that Carpenter vanished under the water, and it bothered the soldier enough to comment "her body isn't coming back up." Brother she fell into the water. Trawler-man is down there sewing her wounds shut and making a crab-bake and getting her ready to live another wet reluctant day.

[christine-ye]

Kamen Rider Blade character name meanings

I was watching an anime lyric video on YouTube last night and recognized one of the kanji in the lyrics also being used for one of the main characters' names in Blade and ended up falling down a rabbit hole (aka Jisho.org) so I made a guide breaking down the Blade cast's names because 1. when do I ever not think about this show and 2. language stuff is fun to look into (also included Shiori and Kotaro because why not, slight spoilers incoming)

♠ Kazuma Kenzaki (剣崎一真)/Kamen Rider Blade ♠

Kenzaki (剣崎): ken (剣) - sword (spade itself also derives from the Spanish and Italian spada meaning 'sword'); zaki (崎) - small peninsula, promontory

Kazuma (一真): kazu (一) - one; ma (真) - true/truth, reality, genuineness (could refer to Kenzaki's genuine love for humanity and eventually Hajime); both characters together could mean "one truth" (could refer to Kenzaki seeking the one true way to allow Hajime to keep living without having the world be destroyed during the finale) or "one reality" (could refer to the current nature of the Battle Fight preventing Kenzaki and Hajime from seeing each other again despite them defying their fates)

Blade: the main part of a sword whose name is derived from the Old English blæd meaning 'leaf' (also hence why the spade is replaced with the leaf in German playing cards), related to the Suit of Swords (Spades) in the Minor Arcana

♦ Sakuya Tachibana (橘朔也)/Kamen Rider Garren ♦

Tachibana (橘): mandarin orange (specifically the Citrus tachibana, also explains why one of his themed drinks from the Kamen Rider Diner was orange-flavored)

Sakuya (朔也): saku (朔) - new moon (symbolizes new beginnings in astrology, which ties into Tachibana's return to being Garren again after initially trying to quit and his character song literally being called Rebirth), the first day of the lunar calendar; ya (也) - to be (classical form), also a common suffix in Japanese male names

Garren: either a corruption of the English word 'currency' in Japanese or phonetically sounds similar to the French carreau meaning 'diamond' (might be a stretch though), related to the Suit of Coins (Diamonds) in the Minor Arcana

♥ Hajime Aikawa (相川始)/Kamen Rider Chalice ♥

Aikawa (相川): ai (相) - mutuality, togetherness (also phonetically sounds the same as the Japanese word for love, which ties into Hajime's character arc and Chalice's heart motif); kawa (川) - river, stream; both characters together could mean "river of mutuality" or "river of togetherness"

Hajime (始): beginning (ironically contrasts his true role as humanity's destroyer)

Chalice: holy cup or goblet whose name is derived from the Latin calix meaning 'cup', related to the Suit of Cups (Hearts) in the Minor Arcana (also symbolic of Hajime's growing love and humanness throughout the show)

♣ Mutsuki Kamijo (上条睦月)/Kamen Rider Leangle ♣

Kamijō (上条): kami (上) - above, up; jō (条) - article, clause

Mutsuki (睦月): mutsu (睦) - intimate, friendly, harmonious (could refer to Mutsuki learning to control the Spider Undead's power with Tachibana's help); tsuki (月) - moon, month; both characters together mean the ancient Japanese name for January

Leangle: an Aboriginal club/polearm-type weapon, related to the Suit of Wands (Clubs) in the Minor Arcana

💻 Shiori Hirose (広瀬栞) 💻

Hirose (広瀬): hiro (広) - vast, broad, spacious; se (瀬) - rapids

Shiori (栞): bookmark, guidebook (could refer to her role as the gang's resident Undead tracker and Kenzaki's closest ally at BOARD)

🥛 Kotaro Shirai (白井虎太郎) 🥛

Shirai (白井): shira (白) - white (callback to his love for milk mayhaps /j); i (井) - well, town, community (could refer to him befriending and providing hospitality for Kenzaki and Shiori after BOARD kicks the bucket, also farmhouse trio ftw)

Kotarō (虎太郎): ko (虎) - tiger, drunkard (for milk obviously /j); ta (太) - thick; rō (郎) - common suffix in Japanese male names

[woodlnds]

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown”

Spoilers ahead for the Guardians of Ga’hoole.

A piece done a while ago of lord Coryn surveying the midnight landscape, perched above the peninsula of the spirit woods. I like to think that after death, he would often leave the heavens to visit his mortal world, guide lost scrooms, and perhaps living owls who have become adrift and fallen astray. Once a king, always a king.

[odinsblog]

“I sometimes hear people say that Russia was forced to attack Ukraine because Ukrainians wanted to join NATO. Those people also often say that NATO promised it would not expand to the East, but later broke this promise. And this, allegedly, is the reason why Russia keeps attacking its neighbors.

If you have ever heard people say something like that, please know that this is not true. And it will take me less than five minutes to prove with facts that both statements are false.

First, let's have a look at the timeline of events.

Russia first invaded Ukraine in February 2014 by occupying the Crimea peninsula. At that moment, Ukraine was a neutral country by law and expressed no intention of joining NATO whatsoever. For instance, during the Revolution of Dignity, the protesters insisted on Ukraine joining the EU, not NATO. It was only in autumn 2014, after many months of war, that Ukraine abandoned neutrality.

So what came first? Russia attacking Ukraine, or Ukraine wanting to join NATO?

The answer is clear.

Had Russia not threatened Ukraine's existence, there would be no reason for our country to seek collective security. So please do not repeat the lie that, I quote, “Russia attacked because Ukraine wanted to join NATO,” end of quote. This does not correspond with the facts.

Now let's have a look at the story of NATO allegedly promising not to expand to the East.

If you ask people who say this, when exactly, such a promise was made and who made it, most of them will not be able to provide a clear answer. Spoiler, because no such promise has ever been made and the whole story is a Russian fairy tale.

Those more sophisticated will tell you that the promise was made to the President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. They may even refer to the 1990 U.S.-Soviet negotiations on the reunification of Germany. Again, let’s consider the timeline.

In summer 1990, when these talks were held, the Soviet analog of NATO, the Warsaw Pact, still existed. Its dissolution, let alone the Soviet Union's dissolution, was not on the cart. No one even talked about it or imagined it. It was only next year, in 1991 that the Warsaw Pact, and later the USSR, quite unexpectedly ceased to exist.

Now explain to me just how the very issue could be even discussed in the summer of 1990. It is not surprising that Mikhail Gorbachev later himself refuted this falsehood. When asked by a journalist whether any such promise had been made, he said this was a myth.

Now let's look at it from another perspective. How could NATO even promise anything like that?

Initially, it is not NATO that decides which country joins it. Countries themselves need to want it. And actually, the membership criteria are very difficult. It requires a lot of political will and reform. All the NATO members that joined it after 1991, really wanted to be part of it.

Their people wanted this.

And here comes the most uncomfortable question for Russia: Why were all of the nations that had been part of the Soviet Union or the Socialist bloc so eager and desperate to join NATO?

Well, maybe because in three decades, Russia has invaded or incited war in at least three of its neighbors, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. At the same time, Russia has not dared to invade any of its NATO neighbors.

Do you see the pattern?

The only reason for countries in the vicinity of Russia to seek NATO membership has always been and remains the need to protect their people from Russia.

Therefore, Moscow has only itself to blame for the fact that all of the central European and Baltic nations ran away from it and hid under the NATO umbrella as quickly as they could.

Do not let Russian officials or their supporters in the West fool you. Russia attacked Ukraine not because NATO expanded to the East, or because Ukraine wanted to join NATO. Russia attacked because it denies Ukraine's right to exist and wants to conquer our land and kill our people. It is through our shared strength that we can and must stop Russia and put an end to its aggressive plans for the rest of Europe.

For this to happen, keep supporting Ukraine and don't buy Russian lies.”

👉🏿 https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2014/11/06/did-nato-promise-not-to-enlarge-gorbachev-says-no/

👉🏿 https://www.tumblr.com/odinsblog/686191406300184576/appeasement-does-not-work-appeasement-didnt

👉🏿 https://www.tumblr.com/odinsblog/684530801484922880/believing-putins-reasons-for-invading-ukraine

👉🏿 https://www.tumblr.com/odinsblog/742088177664344064/violated-agreements-1991-russia-cosigns

[wolves-and-stars]

Remus in his Element: FIC REC LIST

(A list of fics where the authors dont fuck up remus lupin, the most brilliant, wonderful man to have existed.)

Okay i would like to preface this by saying that i went throught the 2014 remus lupin is a nerd era (and thats not to say he isn't, just not thr way they made him out to be) and it was the worst. So, here are some fics that give REMUS LUPIN.

1. Subtlety, Thy Name is Sirius Black by rekahneko (ffnet) 21k

Remus thinks sirius needs to be more subtle with his flirting, sirius thinks remus is full of shit. So they make a bet to see who's right. Remus has to manage to subtely get the girl (cough cough) he has a crush on to ask him out, before sirius can agree someone else to ask him out.

Remus is so self assured and comfortable with who he is and what he wants without comprimising on his affection and actual personality.

Fire fic.

2. The lad that loved you by mollymarymarie (ao3) 81k

Remus and Sirius get into a relationship, naturally the next step is to pretend they hate each other and give james a heart attack.

Remus is so sexy in this one. The final chapter is (SPOILER) so fire when he punches snape.

3. Ten reasons (to go to michigan) by greyeyedmonster18 (ao3) 59k

Remus is a newly divorced and a best selling author, unfortunatley he has nothing left to write. So, he books a flight to the upper peninsula where he grew up. He happens to meet a starnger in a coffeeshop, who happens to change his life.

There's a scene with his ex husband, where he throws down his credit card and it is such a breath of fresh air with all the pushover remus characterizations.

4. Dating Remus Lupin by children_of_the_shadows (ao3) 83k

You will never find a fic with such brilliant characterizations of all of the marauders. All 4 of them are so unique and funnily written. Sirius is so unhinged its crazy. Hes giving bimbo, but deliberate bimbo yaknow? And remus. Ohmygod remus in this fic.

He is so emo, aloof, nonchalant. And it drives sirius up the wall. Remus gives so hard in this fic.

5. Sex pistols by Artificialaorta (ffnet) 86k

Remus is the lead gutairist for belladonna a punk rock band. His character is so cool and so sauve, but irl he is not so cool and not so sauve about sirius black, lead singer for pop band the marauders.

I love fics that dont put his character down by making him someone that just gives into everything sirius and james say and do. But still manage to keep him, himself you know?

6. Stalking sirius by remuslives23

Remus is very self assured and confident in the way he acts in this. Hes a journalist that stalks sirius and happens to be the only one that gets under the mysterious mans skin.

7. Highland Fling by Picascribit (a03) 38k

Sirius goes backpacking through scotland and happens to meet a cute bartender at the pub. Except hes staright, lives in america, and set to be engaged.

Again self assured remus. No insecurity or digs at his personality.

8. This is the Life by 1electricpirate (ao3) 15k

After the war, Sirius becomes an uptight, high-ranking Ministry official; but when an old childhood friend comes unexpectedly back in his life, he learns what it is to let go and live and love once more - the question is, will Remus let him?

Love remus in this one.

9. Rumor has it by Remy_writes5 (ao3) 15k

No student had ever figured out why Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin seemed to hate each other so much, and at this point in the year the seniors were done trying. All they had time to focus on now was finals and graduation, although the annual class trip provided a welcome distraction. Three days on a lake with their four favorite teachers and plenty of time to gossip had to be a good time, right?

10. The London Underground Book of Love by Children_of_the_Shadows

The cardinal rule of the London Underground is to never, ever make eye contact. It is a rule that, among many others, Sirius tends to follow despite his otherwise rebellious, non-rule-following nature. So the first time he makes eye contact with a human being in the subway comes as much of a shock to him as anyone else. Especially when he's unable to look away.

Remus is so cute and fluffy in this.

11. Everything's Connected by mizdiz (ao3) 44k

When he's seven years old, Sirius Black has a brief encounter with a strange boy in the woods, who, in their short exchange, teaches him an important lesson about the nature of the Universe, only to then disappear without a trace.

Nine years later, Sirius, along with his two best friends, is a student away at boarding school, with a brand new transfer student as his roommmate--a foul-mouthed, astronomy nerd named Remus Lupin.

Between school, hormones, relationships, and the fact that he is keeping a (magical) secret away from everyone--Sirius' year starts to go a little off the rails.

Not to mention, there's something familiar about that Remus Lupin kid that he just can't seem to shake...

Remus lupin is magic in this one.

12. Play Dates by DeathjunkE (ao3)

Remus and Sirius are Single Parents who meet by chance and become interested in one another.

Remus is just a simple, good, kind, baker.

13. Wizard beat by eprime (ao3) 6k

Sirius is a fanboy.

14. Remus Lupin's Guide to Successful Courting by Children of the Shadows (ffnet)

Remus has lived for twenty five years now. Due to his incapability to emote or feel many complicated things at the same time, he has always maintained a straight face, his facial features sitting at an angle of approximately a hundred and seventy four point two d though he has practiced it many times before in front of the mirror, Remus has truly never smiled.

[pixelplayground]

A Tale of Two Peninsulas ❤ Sims 4 - For Rent Edition

Disclosure: This early access opportunity was provided to me via EA's Partner Network.

I had a chance to jump in game for a brief moment this afternoon to check out the new world and some of the new packs features. I have to say Tomerang is unexpectedly beautiful with a lot of attention to atmospheric detail. (Listen to the clip below of the gorgeous bird songs).

Functionality wise, it is easy to convert existing builds into rentals, and the system quite self-explanatory. You can own and simultaneously rent the same property, which opens the door to creating AirBnB type gameplay. Personally, this world is going to be more of a vacation destination for my sims, where I will build a large hotel (rental units) and convert the existing other lots into restaurants, bars, and retail space. Most of the gameplay functionality regarding the rentals will work seamlessly in other neighborhoods, and if you're like me and struggle with not having enough lots per world to both house your sims, but also place enough community lots to make your world feel alive, this pack is a gamechanger.

The Lore

There's quite a bit more to discover about this world than I anticipated. I haven't watched many of the developer streams or any play throughs, personally I prefer to discover the pack myself. That being said, I don't want to post too many spoilers, but let's just say, the Tiger Sanctuary stole my heart ❤

[ym-loreposting]

The Duscur Conspiracy

The Tragedy of Duscur is an event that is particularly relevant to the Faerghus centered story lines in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. It occurred 4 years before the start of both games and led to the assassination of Faerghus's king Lambert and the subsequent subjugation of Duscur. However, the exact events are mired in multiple layers of conspiracy from multiple factions within and outside Faerghus. For a while, I was confused as to what exactly happened and this is more or less my attempt to get it straight and to see who was involved. Spoilers for both games under the cut.

The surface of the Tragedy

Credit to @cartographers-office for removing the names from the Fódlan map used in the above picture.

The Tragedy of Duscur is about the peninsula of Duscur, pictured above. It sits roughly northwest of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and was separated from it by the Sacred Gwenhwyvar mountains. According to the Dedue/Sylvain C Support and the Byleth/Dedue B Support in Three Houses, the two regions used to be friendly with each other for a long time and they were even allies.

This was to change in the Imperial Year 1176, when king Lambert, his son Dimitri, his second wife Patricia and some knights from Faerghus were visiting Duscur, were attacked. All of them were killed, except for Dimitri, who was saved by Gustave, a knight who had stayed behind in Faerghus. Among those killed was the knight Glenn, the older brother of Felix and fiancé of Ingrid.

In the aftermath, Lambert's older brother Rufus became regent of Faerghus and the people of Duscur were blamed for the assassination. As a result, the Duscur region was violently destroyed by the Kingdom as retribution. The land was burnt and many of the people were slaughtered. House Kleiman, a very minor noble house of Faerghus, played a large role in this subjugation according to the Register of Kingdom Nobles and was rewarded with the entire Duscur region as its feudal estate.

In the year these events took place, together known as the Tragedy of Duscur, Lambert was also planning major political reforms in Faerghus. This is explained by Catherine in Chapter 3 of Three Houses on the Blue Lions route, as well as that this caused Lambert to gain enemies. Cristophe of House Gaspard, a minor noble house of Faerghus, was accused of being involved with the Tragedy and subsequently executed by the Church of Seiros.

Roots of the Tragedy

That is the story of the Tragedy on the surface, but there is more to it and its roots run very deep. The earliest ones go back to the coronation of Lambert. As mentioned above, Lambert had an older brother named Rufus and in Chapter 3 of Azure Gleam, a Scholar speaks of the rocky relationship between the two. Rufus is said to be smart and unrivaled in politics, with Lambert being the polar opposite although he had a gift in tactics. Rufus did not have a Crest of Blaiddyd, while Lambert did, which is why Lambert became king despite being the younger brother. Rufus meanwhile became the Grand Duke of Itha, a small territory northeast of the central Blaiddyd territory, and may not have been necessarily happy with that arrangement.

The roots of the Tragedy of Duscur continue around the Imperial Year 1160, when Faerghus was beset by a plague. As explained by Sylvain during the exploration section of Chapter 8 of Three Houses:

"It wouldn't be unheard of. Almost 20 years ago, a terrible plague blazed through Faerghus. It even hit the capital city, taking the queen consort's life…or so I heard. The whole Kingdom was in an uproar over that loss."

A Kingdom Knight in Chapter 18 of Azure Moon explains that the source of this plague was the poorly constructed water system in cities like the capital Fhirdiad. Cornelia, a scholar from the Adrestian Empire, advised that top priority should be given to improving the city's infrastructure. This made the diseases go away and in return, she was given a position in the royal court of Faerghus. In Chapter 19 of Azure Moon, Dimitri also says that before she was given this position, her personality entirely changed.

In the Imperial Year 1171, as explained in Chapter 8 of Azure Gleam and the Dimitri/Hapi support line from Three Houses, Adrestia grew politically unstable and Cornelia requested that her old friend Lady Anselma be rescued. Anselma was a consort of Emperor Ionius IX and the mother of princess Edelgard. She was banished from the court due to a political dispute and was rescued by Lambert. Around the same time, Edelgard and Anselma's brother Volkhard von Arundel also sought asylum in Faerghus and Cornelia arranged this. Eventually, Anselma and Lambert developed feelings for each other and got married, though Anselma went under the name Patricia.

The fact that Patricia was from Adrestia and her very existence were kept obscure from the public, with Cornelia regulating the few visits she and Lambert were allowed to make with each other. The fact that Edelgard was kept in the Kingdom was kept a secret as well as to avoid the Empire demanding her extradition. Cornelia meanwhile told Patricia that Lambert kept Edelgard away from her, until Edelgard and Volkhard returned to the Empire in the Imperial Year 1774.

Two years later, Lambert set out to perform his aforementioned political reforms. This made nobles in the west of Faerghus, specifically Viscount Mateus, Viscount Elidure, Viscount Gideon and the lord of Kleiman (who at the time ruled over a single castle) unhappy, but they did not wish to talk with the king about their concerns. This is because they were sure that they would be drowned out by the king's supporters in the east, such as Rodrigue, the Duke of Fraldarius, and Matthias, the Margrave of Gautier.

Truth of the Tragedy

Due to all the existing tensions within the Kingdom, Cornelia was able to manipulate those unhappy with Lambert's reign into assassinating him. The western lords because they did not agree with his political reforms, while Rufus seemed to have desired the throne. She was also able to get Patricia to join in because she promised her that she would be able to see Edelgard again.

The conspirators arranged some Duscur guides, as explained in the Three Hopes Paralogue Wildflowers for the Future. When the attack happened, one of these guides was responsible for the death of Glenn according to Ingrid:

"That man played a key role in the Tragedy of Duscur. And he's responsible for Glenn's death."

Meanwhile, Rufus claims responsibility for killing Lambert in Chapter 3 of Azure Gleam:

"Every night since I killed my brother, I dream a lion is ripping out my throat."

The conspirators however were ordered to keep Patricia's carriage unharmed and Patricia herself was kidnapped, though Thales claims that she was killed at some point afterwards during Chapter 17 of Azure Gleam:

"A foolish question. She burned to ashes on the pyre of our ambitions long ago."

Dimitri was the only one to survive the Tragedy and saw his attackers, knowing they were not of Duscur and thus did not believe the official story behind the tragedy (as explained in his B Support with Dedue from Three Houses). He would ultimately be saved by Gustave, while Rufus was rewarded by becoming regent of Faerghus and the lord of Kleiman gained the land of Duscur and the title of Viscount. Everyone involved also received money and supplies from Adrestia as recompense according to Rodrigue in Chapter 3 of Azure Gleam:

Which leaves the lords Elidure, Mateus, and Kleiman. We believe they—as well as many powerful western lords—were accomplices in the assassination of the late king. Along with the grand duke, they seem to have received large sums of money and supplies from the Imperial nobility. Thinking this to be recompense for the assassination in Duscur, we investigated the link further.

This implicates the Empire as well, but explaining its role is perhaps best left for another time.

Those slithering behind the Tragedy

All of this does not yet explain why Cornelia masterminded the Tragedy, why her personality suddenly changed and why she made life so awful for Patricia that she was convinced to kill her husband and stepson. This is because Cornelia was replaced by the Agarthan Cleobulus, who is the true mastermind behind the Tragedy of Duscur.

As for why Cleobulus did all of this, the answer is possibly found in the non-Crimson Flower routes of Three Houses. During the time skip in those routes, Cleobulus murders Rufus and frames Dimitri for it. This allows Cleobulus to take control of the Kingdom and to transform it into the Faerghus Dukedom, with it allying with the Adrestian Empire in the war in the second half of Three Houses.

In Three Hopes, Cleobulus seemingly attempts to set these events into motion early by manipulating Rufus into staging a coup against the major noble House Fraldarius. The claim is that House Fraldarius is trying to control Faerghus by eventually installing Dimitri as a puppet ruler, with Rufus attempting to gain the aid of the western lords again. If this were to succeed, Cleobulus could rule through Rufus without opposition, but the gambit doesn't pay off in the end as Rufus is killed and Cleobulus has to go on the run.

[minglana]

minglana's 2024 films WRAPPED

im just kidding this is nowhere near close to a wrapped. its just a list of my favorite movies i watched this year. they are in no specific order though, because you cannot make me choose The Best ive watched this year, i refuse to, in fact.

be warned of spoilers ahead for some of these, btw!

The Lion in Winter (1968)- i really liked this movie, i went in not really knowing too much about it, but i think it will become a christmas classic. nothing says 'holidays' as much as family hatred and vengeance starring katharine hepburn <3

The Talk of the Town (1942)- OK SO. throuples am i right???? like most of these movies, i watched it because of cary grant, but i ended up enjoying it because of the overall plot of the three of them living together and what they get up to, basically. i did not care much for the social commentary aspect of it though.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)- loved it!!!! its also about to become a halloween classic, because nothing is as scary as whatever went on in that house, as a commentary on the foundation of the US of A, disguised as comedy.

Notorious (1946)- absolute banger of a film. im mad at myself for not watching it earlier. ingrid bergman is amaaaaaaaaziiiiinnnggg. in this film (and others, of course). but holy shit. she carries this film entirely. and the phone scene is something that can be so personal. what who said that👀. cary grant and ingrid bergman on screen together is also something that can be so personal. WHO SAID THAT!!!!!!!

The Philadelphia Story (1941)- absolute cary & katherine classic! this is a movie i watched mainly for the cast, but the plot did not dissapoint either.

Ladies Should Listen (1934)- very cute movie honestly! a lot happens in the hour that the film goes on but i liked that the plot got straight to the point. this movie really surprised me, i didn't expect much of it when i decided to watch it.

Holiday (1938)- another katherine & cary classic. not much else to say about this movie except that again, i loved both of them here as well lol.

Design for Living (1933)- what if you were a broke artist in paris and you and your best friend were in love w the same girl. and the girl decided to do a gentleman's agreement. and what if the three of yall lived happily ever after as a throuple. someone sedate me this film is very cute ok😭

His Girl Friday (1940)- the craziest (so to speak) film i watched this year, probably along with arsenic and old lace if im honest. i also kind of fell in love with rosalind russell here, i loved her character so much. also this year (2024) it entered public domain so, thats fun!

some fun facts about my film watching habits this year:

the newest-released film i watched (from 2023) was also the first one i watched this year, which was saltburn (watched on jan. 4th)

in total, i watched 29 films. of those films, 16 were starring cary grant.

the worst film i watched this year was, without a doubt, the pride and the passion (1957). i do not recommend anyone vaguely familiar with the iberian peninsula or spanish culture(s) watch it expecting it to be good. the only redeeming factors are sophia loren, and cary grant dressed as a spanish peasant.

i rewatched two movies this year: my favorite wife (1940), and bottoms (2023) (third time watching it, actually). a side fun fact is that i dont like rewatching/rereading/etc stuff. so you KNOW i liked these movies.

saltburn (2023), shiva baby (2020), and bottoms (2023) were the only movies i watched made in this millenium/century/last 20 years.

i only watched one (1) movie in a language that wasnt english (i was on a cary grant high this year, whoops), and it was in spanish, todo sobre mi madre (1999).

[phantomdoofer]

Aight, now that I've finished Antonblast, here's some AU lore (spoilers for Antonblast below the cut)

First of all, Anton, Annie, Brulo, Nina, Danton, Satan, all of them, exist in Tower Town. Anton and the others are Ogres, a race that have appeared many times in the story. Boiler City and the Backburner Peninsula both exist in the world - in fact, Boiler City is considered a sort of rival city to La Crosta.

Anton is about a year younger than Peppino - in fact, they played against each other on the football field - and the events of Antonblast take place about ten years before Pizza Tower here.

At the end of Antonblast, the Spirits power up Anton into a Demon form, called Oni Anton by most people. This was only a temporary transformation, of course. But in Tower Town, every Ogre has the potential to become a Demon - that's how Demons are born, in fact. Nearly anyone can undergo a Ritual to become a Demon, really - minor demons, like Imps, are born of other races. But every single major Demon is an Ogre that gained great power somehow.

In TT, Satan is a particularly powerful Demon, but something of a rogue - he and his cadre of minions didn't participate in the attacks that devastated the planet during the Great War. He likes to torment mortals more than kill them, so world annihilation was a bad idea to him. His Moles, in this world called Talpa, are just a group of their species dedicated specifically to him. Every Demon has their Talpa minions - the worship a single Demon cultishly. Internecine wars between Talpa factions are common.

A side note: Giuseppe's Gustavo was killed when their group was sent to try and stop a group of Talpa from resurrecting their Demon lord, who died in Inferno. Giuseppe was trying to talk the Talpa down, one went berserk, and used their helmet spike to cut Giuseppe's throat. When Gustavo tried to intervene, the Talpa skewered him like a kabob. Giuseppe's powers kicked in on seeing Gustavo's corpse, and he went berserk, killing every Talpa there and almost killing his unit, including Anita. He didn't kill any of his soldiers, but the fallout of the incident led to Anita leaving Special Operations and Giuseppe's vocal cords were so damaged he spoke with a rasp until the events of "The Final Slice" led to his regeneration.

Every major Demon has their own Hell domain, located somewhere in the world, usually underground. Satan's, of course, is right under Boiler City.

Most of the Demon race died in Inferno - they're immortal, and extremely tough and powerful, but not invulnerable. Satan is probably the strongest major demon left, but no one's seen him since Anton and Annie beat his ass. The Satan Switch didn't blow up the entire world here - it wasn't strong enough for that - but it did devastate the Backburner Peninsula, and by the time of Pizza Tower Boiler City has only just been properly rebuilt.

As for the whole "nuclear war" bit... well, while nukes weren't on the table during the Great War, lots of other Old Tech weapons were used, and the aftereffects of some of them would be as bad or worse than any nuclear fallout. Some parts of the world won't be inhabitable for centuries as a result. In fact, the incident Peppino flashes back to in "Una favola della buonanotte", a bombing run that killed his best friend, tainted the land in that area so badly that even decades later, nothing will grow there. (This is something that will come up in a future chapter.) This is intentional - the Demons wanted to devastate the world, and what better way than to not only kill everything, but to ensure nothing could ever even think about living again?

Overall, Demons aren't really a threat anymore... but all it would take would be a few malignant Ogres to rediscover the Ritual, turn into Demons, and the whole mess could start up again. Plus, Satan is still out there, and he definitely knows the Ritual...

He created it, after all.