#worldmaster

[hutz224]

Mona looks for a seniors concession

Turning 60 makes you eligible for a seniors card, which you can use for concessions on public transport, art gallery and movie tickets. Most senior citizens enjoy these perks while following a sedate lifestyle. But some seniors just can't stop running. And an elite few can't stop running really, really fast.

Last Thursday night in Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia, a much decorated star of Australian distance running, Steve Moneghetti, clocked 15:52.9 for 5000m. An unremarkable time until you learn that Steve has just turned 60 years of age.

Steve was ecstatic after the race because his time broke the previous world record for his 60+ age group by more than three seconds. But a day later, Steve's Instagram post carried the news that the meet "wasn't sanctioned for WR or Oz (Australian) record". So it appeared that his great run would only be recognised as a State (Victorian) record. 

This news rang a bell for me because in the 2018 Toronto Marathon, I ran with American runner, Gene Dykes, who shortly afterwards set a 70+ marathon WR in Jacksonville, Florida. He later found that the race had not been sanctioned by USATF, the governing athletics body in the USA. As far as I know, Gene was never recognised as the WR holder, and his time has now been surpassed by a Dutch runner, who ran 2:54.19 earlier this year.

But the marathon is a road event and we all know about the distance certification requirements for road races so that there is never a repeat of Alberto Salazar's overturned marathon WR in 1981. Surely there is no such issue with track records, so why was Steve so concerned about the sanctioning issue? Setting a world record on the track should be pretty straightforward, shouldn't it? As long as the track is 400m around, and you run faster than anyone else has ever run for the distance, then you are a world record holder, right? Well maybe, or maybe not ...

Here's how it works in Victoria (and I assume the other Australian states) for track record claims. For any given track meet, a state athletic body can issue a "State Permit". Performances at a State Permit meet can be submitted as State records or national qualifying times. In order for an Australian record claim, the relevant meet must have a "National Permit" from Athletics Australia. The Clifton Hill meet had only a State Permit, which is why Steve thought that he could not claim an Australian record. And the Clifton Hill meet could never obtain a National Permit because the track has only six lanes.

But wait, this is not the end of the story as far as Steve's record claims go. The State and National Permit requirements only apply for open age and underage records, not Masters records. Clyde Riddoch, the Records Officer for Victorian Masters Athletics, has assured me that Steve's performance will be recognised as State and National Masters records "as long as the paperwork is in order". Steve's run was hand timed and three different timekeepers were required to have recorded his time, among other requirements. The organisers of the Clifton Hill meet shrewdly engaged highly qualified Athletics Victoria officials to oversee the meeting, and as a result there is no doubt that the paperwork will meet the required standard.

That just leaves the big one - the world record. Will World Masters Athletics recognise a hand timed performance on a six lane suburban track at an unsanctioned meet (i.e. a meet without a National Permit)? Here's the advice from Hazel McDonnell, the Secretary of Oceania Master Athletics:

"When the record was obtained there are certain forms to be filled out and verified by the officials at that time. These must then go through your state statistician to be verified again and then onto your National body who will lodge it with WMA."

Keith Bateman is another very fast Australian senior citizen. He holds numerous State and National overage records, and most importantly for this article, the M55 world records for every track distance from 1500m to 10,000m - a truly incredible feat. And here's the good news for Steve: not all of these records were set at National sanctioned meets, but were accepted by WMA as world records nonetheless. In other words, the record requirements for Masters are less onerous (and bureaucratic) than for open and underage athletes, something of a seniors concession if you like.

Time will only tell as to whether Steve's mighty run will gain WR status, but Keith's experience gives great cause for optimism. But even if WMA does not recognise the performance, all of us who were present to witness it greatly enjoyed the chance to watch a true champion in action and yell: "Go Mona!" again, just like we did at Olympic Park all those years ago.

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to "Worldmaster" Nizat 'Kvarosee!

Today is his -446th birthday!

'Kvarosee was the fleetmaster of the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience during the beginning of the Human-Covenant war. 'Kvarosee and his fleet were responsible for several glassed planets, but also experienced significant losses after UNSC Operation: SILENT STORM.

He was called to answer for his failures, but knew he would likely be killed. Rather than appear, he went rogue, intent on redeeming himself by destroying ONI. The Covenant leadership sent members of the assassin group Silent Shadow to pursue him. When they finally found him on Netherop, rather than kill him, he and his remaining troops were stripped of their armor and marooned on the hostile planet.

Over the next three decades, 'Kvarosee and his followers continued to wage war against the small remaining UNSC contingent that was also marooned on Netherop. They discovered Precursor ruins which utilized incredibly advanced and intuitive technology that was able to detect their needs and sustain them over the years. With that technology also came the "Divine Hand", a weapon capable of destroying Forerunner Guardians, which 'Kvarosee believed was a gift from the gods. He dubbed himself "Worldmaster", and became increasingly deluded by his beliefs.

During the regime of Cortana, the technology was discovered by the UNSC, the Swords of Sanghelios, and the Banished, igniting a race to be the faction to claim it.

Once on Netherop, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios realized that the remaining forces there were unaware that the war ended. Arbiter Thel 'Vadam used the fact that 'Kvarosee was not immediately hostile to attempt to explain the reality of the Covenant. His urging fell on deaf ears and, when the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios seized the technology, 'Kvarosee and his second-in-command, Tam 'Lakosee, chose to stay on Netherop rather than return to Sanghelios. However, without the Precursor technology to sustain them, 'Lakosee quickly realized that the severely wounded 'Kvarosee would not survive. In a final act of loyalty, 'Lakosee mercy killed his leader.

[oukabarsburgblr]

beside the horniness,what kind of game sousuke and daisuke would enjoy?

- 🎀

Your other inbox, ouch and this

Sousuke definitely likes to spar. Bla bla backstory yada yada but he likes to spar in his free time or completely mutilating the sandbag in his gym. Either that or basketball.

Daisuke prefers online chess more. He prides himself for being one of the worldmasters although it fluctuates every few days so he constantly have a go at it to keep his spot. He thinks people who do the ai vs ai thing is dumb.

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 19

More info below:

Thel 'Vadam / The Arbiter:

Debuted in Halo 2

Born Dec. 10th, 2485, he- 

You do not need me to write a five page breakdown on one of Halo's top five characters.

Tam 'Lakosee:

Debuted in Halo: Silent Storm

Serving as a steward of Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee within the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience, he would take part in the earliest years of the Human-Covenant war. As the fleet glassed Etalan in March 2526, he escorted First Blade Tel 'Szatulai of the Silent Shadow to Pious Rampage's bridge, where 'Szalutai would present a message from the United Rebel Front. In order for the Minor Minister of Artifact Survey to understand the message, Tam was sent to retrieve a translation disk - although, Nizat would gesture for him to take his time doing so. The fleet would then travel to Biko for more glassing, and Tam would once again escort 'Szatulai to meet Nizat and the Minor Minister regarding the Insurrectionists. Later, upon devastating defeat at the Battle of Zhoist, Tam would kill the Minor Minister as the San'Shyuum berated Nizat. His fleetmaster would have the body incinerated and the cause of death covered up in order to protect him. He would continue to follow Nizat as Silent Shadow and the Fleet of Swift Justice sought to kill the fleetmaster, aiding in a plan to bait ONI with a stolen Luminal Beacon. They would attempt this plan at Netherop / N'ba, only to end up stranded there.

For 33 years, Tam would survive as one of Nizat's loyal followers - now called the Defenders of the Sanctum, led by Worldmaster Nizat - thanks to the discovery of Precursor technology that gave them food, water, special armor, and a great weapon they called the Divine Hand. Then, in late 2559, Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, Spartan Olympia Vale, and their respective forces would land on Netherop / N'ba looking for said weapon. As the two groups met the similarly stranded Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov and her forces - who the stranded Sangheili had been locked in constant fighting with over the years - the Defenders of the Sanctum would approach via a tunnel made with their Precursor technology. They would successfully abduct the civilian Rosa Fuertes. On the journey back, Thel and his remaining stranded allies would catch up and attempt to negotiate. They would first hear him out, only to react in denial that the Covenant was a lie and the galaxy had changed, launching into hostiles. However, a sudden explosion would make the Defenders realize that Vale had used the Arbiter as a diversion to sneak past them and reach the Divine Hand. They would retreat to go deal with the invading humans, only to have their numbers reduced to just Nizat and Tam - 'Ra'ashai defecting to the Arbiter's side. Tam would negotiate with Thel and Vale, helping them with the Divine Hand in exchange for mercy for Nizat - who had been critically injured - but this would quickly go sideways as the Banished and Forerunner ships arrived. As the Arbiter attempted to deal with his enemies, Tam would take hold of the weapon and cause all of the ships in orbit be destroyed, with some Banished surviving to pose a threat to everyone stranded. Nizat and Tam would be abandoned in their temple as the Divine Hand was taken from them, with it the "blessings" turning to ruin. However, in order to spare his dear leader from learning of this, Tam would choose to mercifully kill him.

[rin-claymore]

Emery the peacock siren. An NPC one of the worldmasters will be larping.

[redrawthecolorlessworld]

In this particular world, there are four rulers;

The Worldmaster—the most powerful of them all.

The Sungazer—the one who shines brightly amidst the clear skies of the day.

The Moondrifter—the one who shines amidst the dark skies of the night.

The Starwatcher—the one who gazes at the stars that sparkle in the night sky and beyond it.

They all have their own roles in maintaining the peace of this universe, even if sometimes the Worldmaster will have to resort to destruction in some parts of the world. But that's normal.

But then, the Dreamcutter came.

And everything got messy ever since.

[julcafetao]

If y’all going to war, i'm there for sure! I Wouldn't miss it ❤️🔺🔺 - @ibjjf World Master JiuJitsu 🇺🇸 I did the job but is was not enough... no 🏅 for me 🤷🏻‍♂️ . But I won more than it. Believe me, I’ve learned a lot and I won a lot during the last days. - - Probably one of the biggest and the toughest competition. The level is growing every year! . And, as usual, the last days were crazy for us, and as usual the team was awesome! This why we play, why we train, why we grow, why we cry, why we smile, why we are so strong : We Are a TEAM! - We spent a great week together. Laughing together, waiting together, screaming together, fighting together, suffering together, losing together and winning together. - So... I’m really really proud of our team 🔺🔺! - I have a big big thought for my wife and my kids. ♥️♥️ I promised... i did it also for you! Lov’ ya @anatovainsocal, lov u A&A! - I would like to 🙏🏼🙏🏼 my team for the support @graciebarraparis @gbpariscompetition Together we are an ocean. #team - A special 🙏🏼 to @jhuntbjj for the help and the support #FAM!! - Thks guys, well done !! @bocciabjj @hakhitt #Florent @momo_rhino @yannsahlani Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but I’m always proud of y’all🔺🔺 - Thks 🙏🏼 @flowcoaching_paris @jbpowerfit @ben_bbe #workhardpaysoff - A huge thanks to @wantvsneed 🥋 @al.lagura Again, I was wearing my fav’ hoodie! #theworldisyours #family - Thks @rvca_europe 👑 @monkeytape 🐵 @thearmbarsoapcompany 🧼 For all the support 🙏🏼 - Now it’s time to come back in Paris, to see my family, time to recover, to rest a little bit, to work on the little details and ... ready for a new season 👊🏼👊🏼 - - - #worldmaster #lasvegas #ibjjf #wearegb #byanymeans #spreadlove #neverstop #leavingmybestlife #oneteam #oneshield #brotherhood #integrity #development #jiujitsu #onelove #graciebarra #blackbelt #ttwd #monkeytapemafia #gbparis #wantvsneed (à Las Vegas Convention Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1hyHfFJI08/?igshid=3na5l6stmisb

[jarekwphoto]

Tym razem jeden z kadrów z sesji dla zakochanych.💞💏 Agnieszka i Bartek.💑 Wszystkie pary 👫, które chcą mieć takie pamiątki, zapraszam do kontaktu. 500 600 050 lub jarekwphoto@gmail.com Jarek Wasilewski Fotografia #jarekzaparatem #sesjezdjeciowe #beautiful #happy #lodz #warszawa #fotograflodz #jarekwfoto #jarekwphoto #lifestyle #portret #portrait #wasilewski #worldmaster #klub555 #sesjezdjeciowelodz #girl #autum #kid #newell #canon #sigma #naturallight https://www.instagram.com/p/BwvlXdZnBJJ/?igshid=spkdzumomfpt

[bjjtees]

Dropping at world Masters #bjjtees #justroll #jiujitsu #brazilianjiujitsu #footlocker #bjjlife #ibjjf #worldmasters #bjj #toehold https://www.instagram.com/p/B0o8AgfnPJt/?igshid=1im1qzk29e67c

[awesomeredhds02]

irine_meier Geverifieerd

Time for “subliminal” advertising 😂 I’m happy to announce that my 2022 calendars are ready and you can get your own signed copies on my Etsy ❤️‍🔥 Discount today only to celebrate the launch 😜 Use the code HAPPY2022 Not gonna lie, last weeks were very difficult for me. This year is very special, because it’s the 5th anniversary of doing calendars and I wanted to make them as good as possible. I had to finish 5 cosplays in 2 weeks just to make you excited to discover these characters first on the pages of my calendars 😊 I also had a lot of technical problems with printing which I tried to solve with my team the last few weeks. I’m writing this message after the 3rd shot of coffee, because I didn’t sleep well last days, but I have to admit - I’M VERY HAPPY NOW 🥰 This year we made both calendars very big (A3 size), added a lot of exclusive pages inside, made the paper thicker and changed the printing technique to make everything look really wow!!! 😜 All this wouldn’t be possible without your amazing support! Thank you, my dear community, for being so awesome and supportive ❤️ Big thanks to my amazing team of the best people who helped to make it: @akunohako @worldmast @oltaura_@alicenevermindart @annaresheno ❤️‍🔥 And special big thanks to my mum, who helps me to pack and send packages every year 🥲❤️ #redhead #cosplay #2022 #calendar

[zuko-always-lies]

Maybe the "hero redeems hero by being nice to them' is common but unfortunately I've rarely seen it in action. Do you have any recommendations?

I was just reading a Keith Laumer short story, "Worldmaster," where the plot ultimately basically hinges on this. Another example would be the Vorkosigan Sage books "Brothers in Arms" and "Mirror Dance" by Lois McMaster Bujold. Or I guess even Darth Vader's redemption arc. I'm sure other people could also think of examples.

[whyralltheusernamestaken]

A simple greeting

Where you find yourself trapped inside the world of what you thought was a fictional book and the only way you can leave is to say hi to your favourite character... Overhaul.

Overhaul x reader 

Warnings : swearing

Words : 872

Masterlist

Series masterlist 

A/N : I am the biggest chisaki simp and I have never even written a fic for him???? 

Chapter 1

One second you were getting off the train stop nearest to your home, surrounded by normal looking people and the next you were standing in a busy station full of people with extra limbs or bright skin colours. 

You felt your mind swim in confusion as you stayed still, feet frozen on the ground and eyes darting around the crowds. A familiar mop of green hair and freckles walked past and you quickly ran after. 

“Um hello?” you called out, reaching out a hand and grasping his wrist. 

“Hi?” he jumped, turning around and nearly tripping over his own feet.

“Sorry!” you said quickly, letting go of his wrist and stepping back. “I thought you looked familiar, maybe not.”

“Ah,” he nodded, pausing slightly before reaching out a hand for a handshake. “Well it’s nice to meet you, I’m Midoriya.”

Your eyes blinked repeatedly, “Like... Midoriya Izuku?”

“Yeah.” he smiled. “I’m guessing you know me from UA’s sports festival?” he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

You hurriedly nodded, not wanting to create unwanted suspicion. It was strange to see what had once been a 2d drawing stand before you, and gosh was the human version of him so much cuter. 

“I’ve got to go to school now, it was nice meeting you...”

“Y/N.” you smiled, bowing slightly before waving as he ran towards the train.

“Bye Y/N!”

Watching his figure disappear, you realised the reality you had suddenly been thrown into, a fustrated sigh leaving you mouth as you quickly ran towards the exit. Your eyes blurred with tears as the calls you made to people in your world  refused to go through. 

You were stranded.

~~~

Sitting down at the table of a small cafe, you took a sip from your favourite drink as a snowstorm of questions running through your mind. The worldmaster? Alternate dimensions?

You had never once considered that the people in this world were actually alive and not just animated characters. And the worldmasters quirk had accidentally brought you, who was from your dimension, into theirs?

“So...? How do I leave?” you finally asked, deciding that even though you didn’t fully believe this guy, he was the only person knowing of the fact that you were not from here. 

“Well it’s simple actually.”

“Really?” you piped up, a smile gracing your features for the first time since you had stepped foot here.

“Yeah.” the worldmaster, Haru nodded, “Since this is like a book to you, you just need to talk to your favourite character.”

“Favourite character?” you racked through your brain to see who was your favourite, your smile and hope instantly shattering as the image of a man with a plague doctor’s mask entered your brain. 

“Yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen.” you sulked, burrowing your face into hands as the worldmaster looked at you puzzled. 

“Why is that? UA doesn’t have the highest security and pro heros are always happy to talk to their fans.”

“That’s not it.” you groaned, shaking your head before taking another simp. 

“Is it a civillain?”

You shook your head once again.

He sucked his teeth in before continuing. “A villain?”

You looked at him and nodded with a sigh. 

“Well that’s not the biggest problem either. LOV is all over the kids these days.”

You srunched your nose at him. “Ew, don’t say it like that. And it’s not them either.”

“Are you seriously going to leave me hanging?”

You glared at him, before speaking quickly. “It’s the bloody yakuza.” 

He looked at you, mouth open. “Your favourite character, in the whole of our world, is in the Shie Hassaikai.”

“Shut up.” you mumbled, hiding your face as you heard his cackles ring out through the entire shop, red spreading through your face as everyone’s attention turned to you two. “Shut up you’re so obnoxious.” 

He eventually died down, before continuing. “Well, there’s no such thing as impossible, I’ll try my best to help you, after all I’m the reason your in this mess.” he sighed.

“You’d better.” you seethed, pouting from the embarrassment. “And how come you’re not helping the heros if you know everything about the past, present and future in this world?”

“I would end up like my ancestor.” he explained. “Our family, as the world masters must remain completely unbiased. In this world we are simply civilians who are socially neutral.”

“Gee, sounds kinda boring.” you snickered, placing the empty cup down on the table. “So where am I staying?”

“That’s a good question.”

“Please tell me you have an answer.”

“Well let’s get you closer to the world of heros and villains first.”

“Um, I don’t have a quirk.”

“No worries. I’ll take care of it.”

“Wait no I don’t want a quirk, Overhaul doesn’t like them.”

“I can’t just manifest you a quirk.” he stated, rolling his eyes. “I mean I’ll get you to stay with one of them.” 

“What-”

~~~

You stood with your phone in hand, staring up at the dingy alleyway sign. “God I hate it here.” you muttered, wondering why the hell Haru had directed you to this musty highstreet bar. You knew you had to entually start earning money, as your mission at hand did not seem achievable in one day, but out of an entire city’s worth of jobs to apply for, the one he chose for you was... this?

You began to take a step forward before the door swung open suddenly, hitting you square in the face. Staggering a step back, your hands flew over your nose as blood slowly seeped out. 

“Shit.” someone yelled. You heard a thump to the ground and watched as he threw the trash bag onto the floor before grabbing your hands. “Hold on let me see.”

“It’s fine.” you grumbled, shaking his grip off before stepping to the side of the door to let him through. 

“Dabi.” someone screamed from inside the bar. “Hurry up and throw the trash away and get back in here.”

“Can’t you just wait a minute.” he shouted back. “Fuck um, I’ll be right back.”

He fumbled past, picking up the trash and running down the street as you walked inside, not bothering to wait for him. 

“Hi.” you greeted, everyone to turn to you perplexed as you pinced your nose, your blood messibly wiped on your chin.

Shigaraki raised an eyebrow at you from behind his father’s hand as you stood there awkwardly. 

“Wow not even a greeting in return? Rude much.” you grumbled, before clearing your throught to hopefully get rid of some of your nerves. “Um, are you hiring?”

“What?”

“Like, do you have any vacancies in your staff so that little old me could possibly occupy?”

“I know what hiring means.”

“Yeah well iI’m sure it didn’t hurt to explain it to you again.” you muttered. 

“No, we are not hiring.” the purple mist behind the counter, whom you recognised to be Kurogiri, said. “Although miss are you alright there?”

“I don’t even know.” you rasped. “Why the fuck did Haru send me here if you guys aren’t even hiring?”

“Haru sent you here?” Shigarki perked up.

You nodded and he turned to look at Kurogiri, quietly exchanging words before looking back at you.

“You should’ve mentioned that to begin with. Alright you’re hired. ”

“Excuse me?”

“Little old you can occupy the vacancy in our staff.” he deadpanned.

You huffed out before grinning at him and throwing him a thumbs up. “Epic!”

You shuffled over to the counter, peering at Kurogiri eagerly. “So when do I start?”

“You can start by wiping the tables miss...”

“Y/N.”

“Right, miss Y/N.”

“Wipe your face before you start anything.” Shigaraki muttered, pointing over to a small door in the far corner of the room. 

“Will do.” 

Slipping into the bathroom, you pulled out your phone, him picking up a few rings in. “Haru I thought you said you weren’t biased, why the hell does the league act like they’re best friends with you.”

“I’m not biased if I’m friends with both sides?” he offers. 

“Backstabber.” you quipped, washing your face.

“You know what? Enjoy your home because you’re staying with the league now.”

“You did not.” you screeched, grabbing your phone from the side as you watched him hang up. “You’re so petty you know that?” you muttered, glaring at your reflection in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. 

“Right, who’s gonna show me my room?”

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 5

More info below:

Nizat 'Kvarosee:

Debuted in Halo: Silent Storm

Born August 23, 2470 on Suban - one of Sanghelios' moons - Nizat would join the Covenant military prior to the Human-Covenant war, claiming he had served around one hundred years before the war began in 2525 (sources seem contradictory on his age / service time). At the onset of the war, he was in command of the Pious Rampage and the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience, with the Minor Minister of Artifact Survey attached as a ceremonial magistrate. Tasked with the destruction of humanity, he would target numerous planets before March 2526, when he was contacted by the United Rebel Front for an alliance. While it was a divine order that humanity be wiped out, he nonetheless saw this as an opportunity to gain intel on more human worlds - especially as the human rebels informed him of and offered to help eliminate the Spartan-IIs. It had been Spartan-IIs that had destroyed two of his ships and they were now hoping to destroy the entirety of his fleet at Biko. Nizat would attack Biko with this in mind, but just as he was glassing the planet, Spartans that slipped away would destroy most of his fleet's supply convoy, stopping his fleet's advance in human space. Upon learning that the Spartans had obtained a Covenant star map, he correctly deduced that they would next target the Covenant supply world of Zhoist rather than the capital ship of High Charity. He would meet them there to hunt them down and stop their raid, with 'Szatulai being slain in the process. The Battle of Zhoist would end with the destruction of Zhoist's Ten Cities, the planet's Ring of Mighty Abundance, and the under-construction Hammer of Faith - all with the Spartans evading capture or demise, valuable intel on their abilities and armor becoming lost with further destruction across Nizat's fleet. The Minor Minister threatened Nizat over this defeat, resulting in his steward - Tam 'Lakosee - to kill him and Nizat to incinerate the body and lie to the Hierarchs about the cause of death to protect Tam.

Called back to High Charity, Nizat makes an attempt to explain where he went wrong and what other shipmasters could learn from these encounters - most notably identifying ONI as the most dangerous asset of humanity and proposing a plan to trick and destroy them. However, his plan is rejected, so he steals the bait he needs for his plan and flees in his ship. Reaching the planet Netherop / N'ba, he soon learns that the Fleet of Swift Justice is after him and intends to pin him between themselves and a hostile human fleet nearby, but he out-maneuvers them and lands on the planet's surface. He engages the forces on the planet, facing difficulty in getting the humans to "steal" his tracking bait, all while Silent Shadow assassins and the same Spartans that bested him before are at his back. Unfortunately, the Silent Shadow would catch up with him, but they would end up only stripping him of his armor and leaving him and those loyal to him marooned on the planet. Sometime after this, Nizat would christen himself as "Worldmaster", stalking the similarly stranded Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov and claiming to his men that she was a gift from the gods. Meanwhile, off-world, the Prophet of Truth would cover up the true events that occurred on Netherop and declared the area cursed so that none would attempt to rescue Nizat. Additionally, orbital mines would be deployed around the planet.

For the next 33 years, Nizat would wage war against Petrov's forces (for some reason in contradiction to his previous views on her), discovering Precursor technology and using it to create Sanctum Hide and the Divine Hand, as well as other supplies to keep his followers alive. Among these followers were now also the Silent Shadow Meduz 'Ra'ashai, sent behind to enforce Nizat's exile. Over time, Nizat would grow more and more fanatical, while everyone else save for Tam grew more disillusioned with him and the harsh Netherop life. During these three decades, Nizat would prevent to separate UNSC rescue missions and lose a number of his followers until they were down to six by 2559. Then, things would change as the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam arrived in search of a weapon to end Cortana's new tyranny - Spartan Vale following behind him. Nizat would spare Thel's landing team but not Vale's, before he realized the lack of fighting between them. He would create a tunnel to capture the two human civilians Vale brought with her, but only succeeded in taking one. On the journey back, Thel and his remaining stranded allies would catch up and attempt to negotiate. Nizat would first hear him out, only to react in denial that the Covenant was a lie and the galaxy had changed, launching into hostiles. However, a sudden explosion would make him realize that Vale had used the Arbiter as a diversion to sneak past him and reach the Divine Hand. After he believed he had dealt with the Arbiter, he would retreat to go deal with the invading humans, only to have his numbers reduced to just himself and Tam - 'Ra'ashai defecting to the Arbiter's side - and a mandible torn off. Tam would negotiate with Thel and Vale, helping them with the Divine Hand in exchange for mercy for Nizat, but this would quickly go sideways as the Banished and Forerunner ships arrived. As the Arbiter attempted to deal with his enemies, Tam would take hold of the weapon and cause all of the ships in orbit be destroyed, with some Banished surviving to pose a threat to everyone stranded. Nizat and Tam would be abandoned in their temple as the Divine Hand was taken from them, with it the "blessings" turning to ruin. However, Nizat would not come to find this out, as Tam decided to put his dear leader and friend out of his misery.

Rtas 'Vadum:

Debuted in Halo 2

Born on Sept. 21, 2487, Rtas would explore his keep's shoreline as a child - nearly dying at ten years old in one exploration gone wrong - and graduated with honors from a top war college. By Sept. 2554, he would serve as a commander to all the SpecOps units in the Fleet of Particular Justice. During the Battle of Installation 04, he and a team that included his second in command - Bero 'Kusovai - would be sent to investigate a possible human boarding on the agricultural support ship Infinite Succor. However, they would not find humans there, but the Flood parasite. While the outbreak would be contained, Rtas would be the sole survivor - and lost left mandibles in the process. Following this, he would be reassigned to to command all SpecOps from High Charity.

A little time would pass before Rtas would be assigned to lead a mission against a heretic faction, his former Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee joining them as the newly appointed Arbiter. An attack against the base of operations would ensue, only for Rtas to once again detect the stench of the Flood. Complicating things further was that the Heretic Leader locked himself behind an unbreakable barrier while a harsh storm was on the horizon. The Arbiter would volunteer to conduct a risky plan to draw out the Heretic Leader solo, with Rtas deciding to leave with him his blade as help. The two would not see each other again until later at High Charity, where Rtas argued with the Prophet of Truth over the changing of the Honor Guard and the Prophet undermining Rtas' attempt to save the Prophet of Regret. Another reunion would take place on Installation 05 - specifically the Quarantine Zone - where Rtas and his SpecOps forces would aid the Arbiter in reaching the Sacred Icon necessary to activate the Halo. However, following this mission, the Hierarchs would order the execution of all Sangheili, beginning the Great Schism. As civil war erupted, Rtas would reunite with Thel once again and assist him in reaching a Scarab to break into the ring's control room, although Rtas would then split to achieve another goal - taking control of the Shadow of Intent. Now leading the fledgling Fleet of Retribution, Rtas would conduct a campaign to quarantine and sterilize the Flood-infected High Charity and Halo, only for a single cruiser to escape and head to Earth.

Rtas and parts of his fleet would follow it, joining the Battle of Voi in the process. Knowing more than anyone else the threat of the Flood spreading, he was prepared to glass all of Earth, but was talked into only glassing the portion of the continent the Flood had landed on. On his ship, he and other notable figures of the war would receive a message from Cortana warning that a Gravemind had taken over High Charity and was heading to Earth, with the Ark at the other side of Voi's portal being the only way to stop it. Rtas was eager to take his forces - alongside the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn - to go on the offensive against the Covenant and Flood at the Ark. His fleet would engage the Covenant in the skies, being confident despite being outnumbered three to one, declaring the iconic line: "Then it is an even fight." Unfortunately, while the battle was going well and Rtas prepared to destroy the Citadel, the Flood-infested High Charity appeared to knock his ship off course, temporarily taking it out of action. Once the threat of the Covenant activating the entire Halo Array was finished, Rtas would gather all the human and Sangheili forces and take them back to Earth, while the Arbiter, Master Chief, Sergeant Johnson, and 343 Guilty Spark stayed behind with the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn to finish off the Flood for good. Once the war was finally over, Rtas would return to Earth again to attend a memorial ceremony, although he would stay on his ship in orbit while the Arbiter attended in person. 

At some point later in the year 2553, Shadow of Intent would respond to a distress signal at Rahnelo. By this point, Rtas had recruited Bladmaster Vul 'Soran and Unggoy Ranger Stolt as his advisors, the former serving as his second in command. At Rahnelo, Rtas would learn of the existence of a Prelate intent on taking out the Sangheili and allow the female warrior Tul 'Juran to join in the hunt for him in defiance of tradition against female military service. They would pursue the Prelate to Duraan, only to fall into a trap and be boarded. After fending off the attack and capturing the Prelate, where he learned of greater plans forged by the Minister of Preparation as well as the Prelate's hatred of Rtas personally for supposedly causing the deaths of his family on High Charity. Rtas would still speak amicably with the Prelate, singing for him and theorizing that the Minister deceived the Prelate on when his family had died, sowing the seeds for the Prelate's later turn. Yet before that, when Rtas took a small team to confront the Minister and destroy his prototype Halo weapon, the Prelate would briefly betray them. This betrayal would be short-lived, as the Prelate would then sacrifice himself to take out both the Minister and the weapon while Rtas escaped alive. Once the mission was over, Rtas would speak with the Arbiter regarding changing the Swords of Sanghelios' restrictions on female enlistment due to Tul. Afterward, Rtas resolved to locate the survivors of the San'Shyuum species, in order to ensure the ones good-hearted like the Prelate would be treated fairly.

Shadow of Intent would be involved in a few events between the years of 2553 and 2558, including an operation against pirates in a Joint Occupation Zone and being stalked by three ONI prowlers that would then be destroyed under unclear circumstances. By Nov. 2559, Rtas would still be pursuing the San'Shyuum and therefore unable to assist the Arbiter in a trip to Netherop, but it is unclear if he was caught up in the Created conflict earlier and if his mission was known and allowed by Cortana.

[hutz224]

The question is: why?

It’s Monday morning in Malaga, Spain, and I’m recovering from what turned out to be a very challenging 10 km road race yesterday. Without knowing my result, I had jogged back to my apartment, feeling less than satisfied with the whole exercise and seriously questioning whether the expense and travel hassles were really worth it. The problem was that the back end of my race had been poor, and that was what was fresh in my memory.

But let’s wind the clock back a few days. The journey from my front door to my accommodation in Torremolinos took 36 hours, a marathon in itself. There were four flights and three stopovers, so any sleep was fleeting at best. Nonetheless I felt OK on arrival and enjoyed meeting Andrew Kohlrusch, a decathlete from Sydney, with whom I would share an apartment for four days.

My first full day in Spain was the day of the cross country races. It was hot, really hot, but thankfully the course in a local forest was almost entirely shaded. It was dry, dusty and stony underfoot, not quite meeting the WMA rules which specify that World Championship cross country courses must be 85% grass! But I don’t think it rains much in Torremolinos. There isn’t much grass to be seen anywhere, so that rule was always going to be breached.

I cruised in my race, even finding time to smile for the cameras. The standard at the front of the race was pretty high. Two incredibly fit looking Kenyan athletes lined up for the start, but the other runners were quick to point out to them that they were in a later (younger) race, thankfully for us old geezers. One of these runners was Samuel Ndereba, who boasts a 10 km PB of 28:01!

Over the following three days, I did a road trip to the Altequera Natural Area, which featured a walking trail through impressive limestone stacks, watched the Melbourne vs Geelong game live on my computer (which I enjoyed somewhat), and then switched accommodation to Malaga.

Day 5 (Sunday) was race day. It dawned cloudy and fairly cool, which was good, but the cloud cover was patchy and bound to clear quickly. I jogged to the main athletics stadium where the race would start and finish. All the men aged from 30 to 70 would go off at 9.00 am, while the men aged over 70 and all the women would start at 9.10 am. The start was on the track itself, which meant that the 460+ men in my race were jammed in like sardines for several long minutes after the officials had pushed all the runners back behind the start line. On a humid and increasingly warm morning, the resulting body contact was most unpleasant for everyone.

Thankfully from the gun the runners fanned out across the track and there was a clean start. I settled in at a good hard pace and soon found myself locked on the shoulder of a Polish rival. I know that he was in my race because each runner’s bibs showed their age group. I felt that the pace was about right for my  target of around 37 minutes, but I don’t look at my watch until 5 km. My judgment proved correct as I reached the milestone in 18:30.

Unfortunately from that point, the Pole began to get away and then an English 60+ runner passed me at around 6 km. It was getting much hotter as the cloud cover dissipated and the humidity seemed to rise. I was really finding it tough now. I concentrated on making sure that no other 60+ runners passed me, but a glance at my watch confirmed what I had feared was happening. My pace per km had slumped from 3:42 to the mid 3:50′s.

The stadium loomed ahead, thank goodness, but in a nasty twist, the course required us to go past it then do a full lap of the surrounding road. Finally we re-entered the stadium, did a full circuit of the track and finished. And when you are completely knackered, what’s the worse thing that could happen? Yep, some 60+ guy from Columbia tried to outsprint me in the last 30 metres. Well sorry fella, I might be stuffed but that ain’t gonna happen, and it didn’t. I later found out that although he had a race bib, he hadn’t entered the race, which was a trifle annoying, given the effort it had taken to beat him!

After the race, I tried to work out approximately where I’d placed by talking to the Pom who had overtaken me. It looked like sixth place was the best I could hope for, but I could well have missed out on the top ten, which had been another pre-race goal, given that on submitted times, I had been ranked around 15th fastest in the field.

Back at my apartment, I waited for the official results. Messages from home began arriving via Messenger, text and email, asking how I’d gone. Eventually they were posted on the championships website - sixth place, you beauty, my best ever placing in a World Championships. Suddenly I felt a whole lot better. Many congratulatory messages came from friends, which I loved receiving.

So the doubts which had surfaced on my jog home were banished and I look forward to my next race on Wednesday, which will be 5000m on the track. I had originally planned to do the half marathon next Sunday, but it is simply too hot and humid for this old runner coming straight from a Melbourne winter to endure 21.1 km of torture. It may even be too hot to run a decent 5000m, but at least I’ll only be out in the heat for a considerably shorter time.

And finally, to answer my own question: why? To quote Bruce Springsteen in his autobiography, there is still, after all these years “a furious fire in the hole that ... just ... don’t ... quit ... burning.” Hopefully it won’t go out for a while yet.

Until next time, long may you run (or, if you prefer, keep dancing in the dark).

[julcafetao]

1️⃣3️⃣🍀🗼 « ... Stays in Vegas... » 🎰 🇺🇸 - - @obj - #lasVegas #Paris #imready #focus #Vegas #nevada #byanymeans #theworldisyours #worldmasters #ttwd #onelove - - 📸 @alexandrelacharme (à Las Vegas Nevada)

[jarekwphoto]

Dziś Bartek i Adaś z niedawnej sesji jesiennej 🍃. Była świetna zabawa 😄 i są świetne zdjęcia 📷. ⠀ Dzięki i zapraszamy ponownie.⠀ Jarek Wasilewski Fotografia ⠀ Rezerwacje: jarekwphoto@gmail.com lub 500-600-050⠀ ⠀ #jarekzaparatem #sesjezdjeciowe #beautiful #happy #lodz #fotograflodz #jarekwfoto #jarekwphoto #lifestyle #portret #portrait #wasilewski #worldmaster #klub555 #sesjezdjeciowelodz #boy #autum #kid #newell #canon #sigma #naturallight https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp4JT-bAxUp/?igshid=4jheat8aawuh