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sideburndanny · 2 years

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Book Review

You know how nothing right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro says has any basis in fact, right? Well, there was one time he tried to write fiction on purpose — “tried” being the operative word. Back in 2016, Shapiro wrote True Allegiance, an embarrassing attempt at political intrigue so horrendously written it made My Immortal look like something by Aldous Huxley.

Let’s recap Ben Sha-P-Word’s book and see why he could never get work as a Hollywood writer:

The book opens with a quote calling Shapiro the new Ayn Rand. Not only was the quote from a review of a different Shapiro book, but it’s out of context; the rest of the sentence describes his writing as “hamfisted propaganda” that is “worse than you imagined.”

Our hero, Brett Hawthorne, is a buff, macho, aggressively white US army general who loves his white wife almost as much as he loves his job of killing terrorists. He’s so masculine that he survives a nuke none the worse for wear and says “Take a bullet for you” as a substitute for “I love you.” Other heroes include General Whitey’s token Black friend who dies once the story no longer needs him; Bubba Davis, a Texan oil tycoon running for office so he can get rid of regulations that cut into his profits; Officer O’Sullivan, a cop who kills a Black kid but feels bad about it (by which I mean “he’s afraid Black people will be mad at him,” not “he feels guilty for murdering a child”); and Soledad Ramirez, a cattle rancher who bombs buildings as revenge for the EPA cutting into her business (DIVERSITY WIN! The analogue to Cliven Bundy is a woman of color!)

The main villain, President Mark Prescott, is basically (the right-wing fantasy version of) Barack Obama but White; he’s an evil monster who pals around with terrorists and orders drone strikes on US soil to take out political enemies, but he’s also a feckless, bumbling coward who can’t do anything right. (Remember, the enemy is always too weak and too powerful at the same time!) Also, the narration implicitly compares his administration to Nazi Germany, because the Intellectual Dark Web loves them some projection!

All the Black characters have names like Levon Williams, Jim Crawford, and Kendrick Malone and they talk like 1970s Blaxploitation characters. Crawford is a sleazy huckster posing as a civil rights activist, Levon is a crack dealer who lucks his way into a position as Crawford’s right-hand man before killing him and taking control of his operation, and Kendrick is the 8-year-old Black kid that Officer O’Sullivan kills in cold blood, sparking civil rights protests across the country. Apparently, Levon and Crawford set Kendrick up to be killed and orchestrated the protests as a sinister plot to disempower US police, which apparently absolves Officer O’Sullivan of all blame even though Crawford’s plan only worked because Officer O’Sullivan was willing to murder a child. Also, Levon and Crawford plan to create an all-Black police force, which the novel explains would only be possible if police forces lowered their education standards and started hiring criminals.

Lest you think Black people are the only group Ben is racist against, worry not: Middle-Eastern countries are portrayed as interchangeable hellholes populated entirely by terrorists united in the goal of wiping the USA off the map, and of course their leader is named Mohammed. The terrorists get away with their plans because the coddled American SJWs are too afraid of being called racist to stop them.

And it wouldn’t be a right-wing novel without paranoid conspiracy-mongering; in addition to portraying the US President as being in bed with terrorists, showing BLM activists as child-sacrificing manipulators, and depicting the entire Middle East as a giant terrorist cel, it’s explained that environmentalist activists are being paid off by foreign oil companies in a scheme to make American oil unable to compete on a global scale, and the story ends with China leading Russia, Japan, Canada, and all of Europe in an invasion against the United States.

And just LOOK at this prose! “She felt tears welling in her own eyes.” “He could feel the threat before he felt it.” “Suddenly, O’Sullivan’s head filled with a sudden clarity.”

And of course, Shapiro is such a horrible debater that he repeatedly makes his own side look bad and gives the strawman villains totally valid points completely by accident. As TV Tropes pointed out:

In short, this book should tell you everything you need to know about who Ben Shapiro is and what he believes. The error we’ve committed as a species was believing for a moment that he ever had anything worthwhile to say.

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my-hyperfixation-trash-can · 3 years

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Hetalia’s Russia and DID/OSDD 1-b

Hey! So @autistic-hetalia your blog said you accept neurodiverse head canons and I thought maybe I could share this one with your blog!

I believe the Hetalia character of Russia has OSDD 1-b (Otherwise Specified Disociative Disorder or possibly DID, being Dissociative Identity Disorder) and this is why.

Just a note,

There is no such thing as an evil alter. Do not demonize people with DID or Other Dissociative Disorders! Those with this disorder are victims of Trauma and are likely to continue being victims of abusers, rarely do they become abusers!

Anyways, -cough cough- I’d love if anyone wants to add to this with more evidence!

1. Russia had a traumatic childhood

He is shown to have had abusive bosses who would punish him. He is threatened by one to invent steam power by the end of the week or be punished. Tartar Yoke mentioned by Lithuania as one of his bosses was also known for his cruelty. So the Authority figured in his youth were often cruel and held power over him.

His environment is cold and unforgiving much like an abusive home. Russia often describes his home as cold, quiet and lonely. He rarely found support from his land and often struggled to get by. The environment and home were harsh with little support. It is also implied he froze to death each Winter, and celebrated the year he didn’t.

This is on top of having to deal with other nations attacking him, making him feel helpless. Many nations “bullied” him in attempts to conquer him. He was mobed and pursed every day by Mongolia. That is exhausting to have everyone around you be a threat. (Lithuania and his sisters were the only nations kind to him in his youth) Early on, he learns that force and strength are what matters.

Next point tw sexual abuse and assault

He also felt a great deal of responsibility to care for his sisters. He was close to them, as they were experiencing similar issues and not violent to him. He had to be the strong one. Belarus and her unhealthy attachment to Russia depending on the age she started her behaviors may have also contributed to his trauma. All of the siblings have unhealthy attitudes towards boundaries with their bodies and the bodies of others, implying another type of abuse. Ukraine and Belarus took victim roles. Russia took on an abusers. Ukraine only ever suggests using her body to get what she wants as if never taught anything else, even as a child that’s what she knows. Belarus I don’t know where to begin, but her staring off is certainly dissociative like, paired with other trust issues. In a diary entry she is stated to have possibly messaged Ukraine’s breasts, once again showing more unhealthy boundaries with attachments to loved ones. Someone taught her that. And Russia, who internalized his abusers, acted out his abuse on others as implied with Lithuania looking distressed dressed as a maid and Russia holding a whip. In another non canon game Himaura worked on, Bulgaria in the bad ending is shown tied up and naked implied to be whipped by Russia as Russia says this is “tradition” or possibly more routine implying this is something he does often.

The idea with dissociative disorders is that the repetitive trauma that happens has to be too much for the mind of that individual child in comparison to the culture they’re raised in, and it conflicts with getting their needs met. And to the countries, all of them know Russia has had a life with far more conflicts in his youth than most, and a great deal of pain.

2. Russia has General Winter (GW for short)

General Winter manifests when Russia is being attacked by other nations in order to defend him, or to be a tormentor to Russia himself (such as freezing him to death each Winter).

This is oddly similar to what is known as a persecutor alter. These alters have the goal in mind to protect the host or body, but they’re a bit misguided in how to do that. They might take on the form of an abuser, or something outside the body, this turns into being an Introject. I’ll post a link to more info on DID/OSDD at the end of the post. The educational videos playlist will have a video on alter roles.

Russia’s bosses often abused him, and if he had an alter like this it would make sense that it would take the form of a general, someone in power who feels so much bigger and stronger than him. A boss who can push him around and make him behave in a way that will avoid further trauma from the real abusers. Winter the season, being another tormenting force of the environment, is another abuser, and it makes sense GW would take that into his identity. Russia feels helpless to it. It is also worth noting that other nations who also had to deal with Harsh winters do not have General Winter as an ally. He only protects Russia.

It would also explain why General Winter protects Russia from others attacking him. He took the ideologies of his abusers to heart, so GW pushes people away and treats them like threats. He feels strong by holding power and fear over others and force. If I can be stronger, no one can hurt me or would dare try, this is the mentality.

I believe GW can manifest as he does because Russia has magic. It’s canon that Russia can do magic or has a strange magic of his own, so whose to say GW can’t utilize it too. Perhaps even to let himself manifest sometimes in his spirit like form. This is more a headcanon or idea though.

Russia himself however is shown to be very passive with his bosses. These are people who hold power over him that he can’t really run away from or fight. So his response is to faun or freeze. This is basically stated in the comics (picture below.) and it’s often that alters have a specific role. Russia’s would be to people please those who he can’t fight. Making General Winter’s job to defend from attack.

3. Russia is shown to dissociate

When he is told to do an impossible amount of work, he just straight up loses himself in a fantasy immediately to escape the reality of the situation. There are other instances too, some in his childhood directly, but this was the most overt. This is from To your Hearts content, Russia!

4. Russia Is Inconsistent

There are times when Russia feels very different from moment to moment.

He goes from open about himself to swiftly sadistic and cold. He has moments of childish behavior to moments of maturity. These, when combined with the rest of my points, are worth noting. He both wants to hurt (possibly destroy) the others, but also be liked by them?

You can’t destroy people and have them like you.

The baltic Trio who lived a substantial amount of time with him still are confused by his unpredictable behavior. Each encounter The Baltic’s have with Russia is marked by a fear of what he might do. And not having certainty, thus they say things without knowing if it’s safe or not.

Even to Lithuania, (Whom Russia often shows Vulnerability to, in moments like bloody Sunday and Sharing his dreams in Outsourcing Sequel)living with Russia feels a strange theme park where he never knew what to expect. Lithuania has been shown to be great in strategy and games of wit, and a commendable leader with great people skills, yet he only has a general idea of Russia’s behavior? He is seen advising Prussia and Moldova that Russia likes it when people laugh or cry easily (This being predictable to Russia and thus easier to navigate social situations with) so it’s not like Lithuania isn’t paying attention. Russia shows moments of vulnerability and his thought process in panels like Bloody Sunday, which is quite telling as to what he believes are his responsibilities, and how the world works.

Now the real question is “why is he like this?”

He only understands the world from the point of view of someone who still lives in the abuse and knows no other options. He never had anyone teach or show him different. His world is ruled by who is the strongest, and if you can obey the strong you won’t get hurt or discarded. “We don’t want children who can’t play nice,” sounds like something an abuser told him frequently in his youth.

Russia just doesn’t have a support system due to his strained relationships with everyone. So he keeps relying on old defense mechanisms, hence letting General Winter step in when something threatens his sense of safety.

Nearly Every time (at least that’s what I noticed) Russia is emotionally vulnerable to someone, he suddenly changes to be sadistic or scary. It successfully pushes the person away and Reestablishes the fear of Russia in the individual, returning him to a state of being feared and alone where none of the other countries can hurt him. Examples below.

France talking to Russia after meetings and asking him personal questions would result in Russia ending the conversation by scaring him with a scsry remark and aura suddenly.

Russia Comforting China after Japan turns on him, he is kind and compassionate at first, but suddenly changes at the end.

The Baltic Trio never knows what to expect. He frequently uses fear and force to keep them.

This behavior seems directly contradictory to wanting friends and having a warm and lively home. So GW still reacts with a trauma response, and Russia reacts in line with his wishes of making friends and having others around him. The Use of force and intimidation is naturally the middle ground between their wishes. Russia believes everyone is his friends, and doesn’t see how his behavior is pushing people away. Other times he seems to want friends to like him back, like when he sent France an anonymously written letter to his radio show. However he has wishes that contradict.

Now, I think he sees friends as people he can keep near him that he enjoys the company of. (This doesn’t need to be mutual or involve trust, just force) but those wants directly contradict.

I think GW is passively influencing him with some of the behavior rather than switching out right, but either option still would have the same effects. Passive influence is when an alter is close to the front, or feels/thinks something strong enough that it affects the person at the front. Making them behave in a way that is ooc for them, but not the other who intentionally or unintentionally influenced them.

This would explain sudden shifts to a cruel threatening position with other nations, something that will most likely always be a threat GW needs to defend against. He is particularly cold and defensive with anyone that has a chance to hurt him, (or tries to look into his psyche) regardless of if they made a move to do so.

More on passive influence can be found in the sources at the bottom under educational playlist.

5. Misc. Points of knowledge

Russia’s character originally was meant to be a cry baby, and only when he drinks, has a complete switch in personality. Frankly I’m glad he was changed to the complex guy we have now. However I think this concept wasn’t fully lost.

His character song, Winter, seems to talk of him experiencing freezing to death each Winter. Further adding to his repetitive trauma.

It is not unheard of for nations to have disorders and conditions. Australia has ADHD, Prussia is Albino, Lithuania has severe anxiety (and possibly PTSD), so who is to say a nation like Russia can’t have a dissociative disorder?

It is stated in one of Russia’s character bios that “General Winter is always with him”, however where? I don’t physically see him, but perhaps we can’t because he’s sharing a body with Russia.

In summary

Russia dissociates under stress

Russia has repetitive traumas and an ongoing history of abuse all his life

Russia has inconsistent behavior and attachments

General Winter could certainly be a separate personality and functions exactly like an introject/persecutor alter would to their host.

Russia acts out and damages relationships, acting in inconsistent ways that might play out his own abuse, and/or reflect his desires to keep others near him.

As a note, I actually have DID, so this could be my projecting, but please don’t yell at me about how I made a “villain” have DID and feed into evil alters and split Stareotypes. I would only like to raise interest and provide an example of what a misrepresented disorder can look like. And the links below are there if you want to make your mind up for yourself and educate yourself if this inspires your portrayal of him! This isn’t meant to be insensitive, I’ve been working on this post for months to word it as sensitive as I could while also acknowledging Russia is still responsible for his and GW’s actions. Saying he has DID isn’t to excuse it, just explain it.

Don’t erase his victims, but don’t erase that he also is one.

(This blog below was also really helpful, but this post covers a lot of Russia’s earlier trauma and his mentality)

https://ellawritesficssometimes.tumblr.com/post/175060886956

Research for DID and OSDD 1b below: (along with links to comics)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm56LzW0BA_P7-yL3rK7INZDDozTayJvJ

https://www.hetarchive.net/blog/tag/russia/

http://hetarchive.net/tag/russia/

http://www.hetarchive.net/blog/2013/10/11/blog-entry-1411/

https://hetalia.fandom.com/wiki/Russia

https://www.hetarchive.net/blog/2019/01/29/about-the-fact-that-russias-history-is-too-scary/

Below is for an example of dissociation:

http://www.hetarchive.net/blog/2019/02/28/to-your-hearts-content-russia/

https://youtu.be/ZV3ToVA5BqQ

youtube

https://did-research.org/origin/comorbid/dd/osdd_udd/index.html

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zashamalkin · 4 years

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Translation of Anna Kasterova’s live interview on 5/29/20.

Thanks to my amazing Gino Anon, the entire interview is translated below the cut. Final word count, btw, is 2405 so like, send big thanks their way. Holy shit!

youtube

Anna got sick few days before the interview. Not covid, just a cold, that later turned into otitis. It was very painful, but now she’s feeling way better, though she still has some trouble hearing with her left ear. They talk a bit about the weather in Miami (it’s been raining there for a few days, but it’s still pretty hot). Igor asks if they’re allowed to swim during the quarantine. Anna says that the 1/

beaches were recently open, but there are obviously rules about keeping the safe distance. “Is Zhenya a good swimmer?” “Yeah, he’s great. He’s spending a lot of time with Nikita, teaching him how to swim. More in the pool though, than in the ocean.” “How do you and Zhenya feel about the latest news in NHL?” “I think, the idea is pretty good. Everyone has been waiting on some news about this season. I asked Zhenya if he preferred for the season to be cancelled. He said, he wanted to finish it 2/

properly. This season has been great for him, he’s in a great shape. And even though he hasn’t been skating for 2 months, he’s still been training pretty hard, running, roller skating and he didn’t lose his shape.” She thinks everything is turning pretty good so far and it’s great that the teams will have a time for training camps and a chance to go to playoffs.“In your opinion, were the players mentally prepared to continue the season?” “I think, those, who genuinely want to go to playoffs, 3/

have been working very hard to be ready, when the time comes. But, for sure, there are some players, who spent more time relaxing, rather than training. A lot of teams are asking their players to come back and start training on the ice and not all of the players follow their instructions.” “What are the rules about practice right now? Are they allowed to train in groups or…?” “There are no details about it yet. It haven’t even been decided yet, what cities will be chosen as Hub cities. So far 4/

the coaches are asking players to stay in shape. They have video calls together, where they go through different footage every time. But, as far as I understand, the organization and the coaching staff are ready for the players to come back.” “How do the players feel about the new rules for playoffs this season?” “No negative feelings. They’ve been under a lot of mental pressure, not knowing anything about the season and the playoffs. Everything seems pretty logical and they’re very happy to 5/

get back on ice and to have a chance to fight for SC.” “Is there any inside information about what cities will be chosen as Hubs?” “No one knows anything for sure. But I know that they’re very carefully considering epidemiological situation in the cities and will choose the safest options. ” *I SUCK at translating hockey terminology from Russian to English, so I’m sorry if anything is incorrect.* “Do you think it would’ve been fairer to include the numbers of “play-in” (I have no idea what he 6/

means by “play-in”) as well as the Robin Rounds into the statistics of regular season? Because it would give the players, like Ovechkin and Panarin, and Malkin to gain more points.” “It’s a very difficult question. But I’m sure NHL and NHLPA have gone over all the possible scenarios and have chosen the best one.” “How has Geno been handling the quarantine?” “He’s been very calm and collected. He’s been doing great mentally, smiling and cracking jokes, and keeping us safe and happy.” “Why did 7/

your family (meaning Geno, Anna and Nikita) decide to do a covid testing in early April?” “I had a pneumonia in November and wanted to find out for myself, if it was covid-induced, if I had any antibodies for the virus. But all the testing came back negative. None of us had it.” “What books did you and Zhenya read during the quarantine?” “Zhenya likes to read fantasy books. He’s been reading “Quantum Warrior: The Future of the Mind” by John Kehoe.” “Does he read in English?” “No, in English 8/

he’s mostly watching TV shows.” “I was very impressed by the story, that after his 1st season in NHL, Zhenya hired Russian language and literature teacher.” “He’s had a lot of free time these past 2 months and he’s hired 2 tutors: English language tutor to work on his grammar and Russian language tutor. (*Sorry, I don’t know if I need to explain this, but Geno obviously knows how to speak Russian. What I think Anna means here, is that the pronunciation of the words in Russian changes depending9/

on where the person is from. Every region has its own accent. I think, what Geno is trying to do, is lose his Magnitogorsk accent and start to speak clearer Russian, like ppl in Moscow of St. Petersburg do.*) He has classes with his tutors Monday to Friday. I’m very happy for him.” One of Geno’s friends in Russia has been robbed recently. Igor is asking Anna, if they ever considered buying a gun, since it’s allowed in US. Anna says no, they feel safe and they live a good neighborhood. She 10/

doesn’t think it necessary or appropriate. They talk a bit about Ovi’s second child being born recently and if Geno and Anna are planning on having a second child any time soon. “Of course, we wouldn’t mind having another child. If it happens, we’ll be very happy. I would like to have a girl, though.” “What’s the best way to describe Zhenya’s and Ovechkin’s relationships today? Are they friends or rivals” “Both. And healthy rivalry is very important in order to reach their personal goals.” 11/

“When Caps and Pens play each other, is it possible for them to go have dinner after.” “No.” “What can you say about the relationships between Zhenya and Sidney Crosby? When we talked with Zhenya last year, he said very nice and kind things about him. Even though Zhenya is in Sid’s shadow a lot of the time.” “I can talk about it for hours. They push each other and make each other stronger. But they also can step in and do more than anyone, when the other is hurt and not playing. Off the ice, 12/

they are very good friends and they support each other. Have I ever thought about what his life would be like, if he was the only star player in a team? I think, he’d be the best player in the whole NHL. He’s very intelligent in terms of building a game, always plans 2-3 steps ahead. He’s very fearless in his game, very talented and vey multilateral player. He’s very unique. They won together THREE STANLEY CUPS! No one's saying Crosby is less talented. He’s an incredible player, he works very13/

hard every day. They are 2 number 1 players in this team. If Zhenya ever asked me if I’d like him to play in New York, f/e, I’d say, no. Pittsburgh is his city, his home. And management and coaching staff are also a very important part of team success. The relationship inside the team is very important. And Pens are the best in that, imo.” “You two watched Super Bowl at Sid’s place. What’s it like there?” “It’s a tradition. Every year Sid invites the team with their wifes/gfs/kids to watch 14/

Super Bowl. His gf Kathy does all the cooking. She’s a very geart person, very hospitable. *omg, this is the first time I hear any1 talking about Sid’s gf 😀, aww* Everyone on the team is very open, very kind, they are great guys. It’s the best thing about Pens. So we’re always happy to accept Sid’s invitation and we always have a great time.” “Do you want Nikita to become a hockey player?” “We’re not gonna push him to it. If it’s something he wants, sure. But I have big plans for his 15/

education. I’d like him to know 2 languages, (English) and Russian, especially grammar, not just being able to speak it freely. I’m studying with him and for an almost 4 yo he already knows quite a lot. And it’s always very hard for a child of a parent, who has achieved so much, to surpass that kind of success. And I don’t want my son to have this kind of pressure on him. I don’t want him to be known solely as “Malkin’s son”. For me it’s very important for him to get a good education and to 16/

choose his path in life.” “Talking about the tv series about Michael Jordan, would you like a bio series to be shot about Zhenya?” “I know he wants to act, in a tv series or in a movie. He talked about it many times. As for a biopic, of course I would like that. He has a huge success story. A man from a simple, working class family. It’s very expensive to play hockey. And he was so talented even in a young age, that his coaches would sometimes bring him a puck, or a stick, or a uniform, for 17/

free. Add to that a story about him finally getting to NHL.” “Zhenya said once in an interview, that you fight sometimes about him not being open enough w/ you, not sharing his problems etc. Has it changed during the quarantine?” “Everything’s been great during quarantine. During the season, he’s under a lot of pressure and always takes it hard if the team loses or if he doesn’t score. Right now he’s very calm and happy, and everything is great.” A question about a conflict around Geno having18/

a USA passport (a lot of people in Russia, his celebrity friends especially, weren’t happy with that, and judged him for that). What does Anna think about it? “He’s a patriot. He loves his country and his city. We were in a hopeless situation, when I needed to get all the documents ready ASAP, and we needed to get married, and him having a US passport would speed that up. You could say, he did it for me. On the other hand, America is his 2nd home. He spends here more time than in Russia. He’s19/

been working here for years. Why is that such a big problem? It’s not like he turned his back on Russia or anything.” Then she talked about Geno’s donation to families in Magnitogorsk, who suffered bc of explosion that happened there in December 2018, and how much he gives to his community in Russia, that ppl don’t know about, bc he prefers not to advertise it. Then Igor keeps asking political questions and Anna is getting more and more irritated by them. Geno publicly supported Putin’s 20/

reelection whenever that was, and interviewer is asking whether him having an American passport is appropriate, considering that he’s a part of Putin team? “Why is it inappropriate? America and Russia are not enemies. Yes, there are some unresolved political issues. They are 2 huge countries, of course they will always feel threatened by each other. But I don’t see any serious political confrontation. Maybe bc we’re in US right now. But Zhenya has a great respect for his president. *bleh, I 21/

don’t like Putin. I know, she has to say nice things about him, bc as long as Geno is a part of Team Russia and wants to have a life in Russia, they can’t be openly against him. But both Geno and Anna don’t strike me as ppl, who will support Putin’s ideals. Sorry for me butting in w/ my opinion*” Question about Geno’s new diet after 18-19 season. “He never drinks alcohol during season. He doesn’t eat potatoes anymore. It’s very hard to cook him a soup w/o any potatoes in it. No sweet things,22/

no gluten. Now before games, he eats gluten-free pasta.” “Is he very superstitious? Do you try to wean him off some of them?” “No, if it makes him feel comfortable, why would I do that?” She declined to name any of them, bc it’s a personal thing for Geno. “Do you put in any work in Zhenya’s image and style?” “I think so, a bit. His sense of style has become better, his taste in literature.” “Zhenya’s favorite music?” “Russian pop-music mostly.” Question about Geno’s gaming habits. Anna 23/

doesn’t try to control him or tell him not to play, bc for him these computer games are a way to relax. She doesn’t mind. It’s his personal time. He doesn’t have his computer in Miami, so he found another way to spend time – studying with his tutors. Question about Olympics. “Yes, he’d like to win a gold medal with Team Russia, when the time comes.” He doesn’t feel jealous about Datsyuk or Kovalchuk, who have an Olympic gold. “Do you think, Zhenya’s last hockey season before retirement will 24/

be in Magnitogorsk?” “Sure, I don’t see why not. He’s very grateful for everything Metallurg gave him and it would seem logical for him to come back there before retiring.” “What is Zhenya’s biggest motivation right now?” “He’s very self-critical (she means Geno’s words about his skills in 18-19 season). He always has a high bar for himself and je always tries to reach it.” Question about Geno reaching 1000 pts. “It was a very big moment for us and a big win for him. He was very inspired 25/

by it and it gave him a lot of self-confidence.” ‘Was Zhenya mad about not making NHL’s 100 players list?” “I was. I was very angry. But he knows his value and what he’s achieved as a player. But it was very strange for me.” “Who do you think Zhenya wil be after his career ends? And how will your life together change? Will you spend more time in Russia or in US?” “It’s a tough question. I imagine a house by the lake, in Russia, with kids and, later, grandkids. With a big fireplace. I think, 26/

after finishing his career, we’d like to travel a bit. But I don’t know. It’s something you should ask him.”

#Anna Kasterova #Evgeni Malkin #Gino Anon #You're a freaking saint omg #This thing is massive

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kiss-my-freckle · 3 years

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Tom vs Ressler.

Darkness vs light. Chaos vs calm. The washer vs the unicorn.

The past.

Ressler -

“And what I have now, instead of a version of him to hold onto - is a path to follow. A path that shows me how to grow up right - how to stay out of trouble - how to be good, like him.”

Tom -

“You stole the purse, Jacob. Like the credit cards and the Pontiac.”

Liz -

"Be good, little one." Masha Rostova took after her mother. She was not a criminal. She became one.

"With little to none of my presence or influence through the years, she has grown up to be Special Agent Elizabeth Keen."

Red -

Katarina Rostova was a KGB agent who worked FOR her country. She wasn't a criminal, she became one.

"Katarina was my protégé, or so I thought - until I learned that she had a life I didn’t know anything about - a cabal conspiring against Russia, her affair with Reddington."

Liz’s criminality.

Ressler supports Liz as an FBI agent.

"And if you run, what does that look like? If someone’s setting you up, you’re giving them exactly what they want. You can fight this, but if you’ve got to do it from inside the system."

Tom supports Liz as a criminal. “Deviant” is a turn-on for him.

"There is no clearing it up, alright? There is only leaving it behind."

Liz would rather be an FBI agent.

"But I won’t be an agent. I’ll be an asset like you."

Red would rather Liz be an FBI agent.

"Tom is calling to take you away, start a new life with a new identity. But if you run now, before clearing your name, there is no place you can go where they won’t find you. Face this now, fight it, and you’ll be free to make any choice you want."

Principles.

Ressler -

“My father died for his principles. If I compromise mine, it’ll be as if he died for nothing.” Tom -

"Principles are a bitch, man. I avoid them at all cost.”

Red -

“I'm loyal to principle, not country. And the first principle I'm loyal to is loyalty.”

The job.

Tom could never set aside his job for Liz. Shown more than enough times throughout the series. It’s the reason he’s dead.

"Tom is very good at what he does. It defines him. He can no sooner choose to stop than a great white shark can choose to stop swimming and eating. He will do what he does."

Ressler has shown he can more than enough times throughout the series. The point of his work with Red and the task force.

"But at least if he’s doing it for me, he won’t risk a double-cross, unlike with the vast majority of his prospective employers. Because unlike them, I genuinely care for him. Or rather you, and your daughter."

Honesty.

Ressler values honesty.

"But I’m pretty sure honesty really is the best policy."

Tom is dishonest.

"You’re attempting to build a life with a man who is fundamentally dishonest."

Liz prefers truth.

"That’s not how the truth works. You don’t get to pick and choose."

Red never lies to Liz is canon rule.

"I have never lied to you."

“Raymond Reddington.”

Ressler -

"The questions. The searching for answers. And the mystery. In the end, Liz - he’s just a man who loves you very much."

Tom -

"You’ve always seen my relationship with Elizabeth as a zero-sum game. You think what’s good for me is bad for her and what’s good for her is bad for me."

For Red, it's quite the opposite.

"They’re one and the same. They always have been. What we’ve done, we’ve done for her."

The normal life.

Ressler can offer her a normal life.

“At least you’ve got a dog. That’s one up on me.”

Tom promised her a normal life. A promise he couldn't fulfill.

"You’re gonna have a normal life, Liz. A family, kids, everything you always wanted."

Liz longs for a normal life. It's her Djinn fantasy.

"It’s been the same thing for as long as I can remember. I’m walking in a park with my husband. In between us is our little girl. I’m holding her hand in mine and I never let go."

Red had that life. Once, a long time ago.

"It may be hard for you to imagine, but I once had a relatively normal life - bills to pay, playdates, family, some friends, people to care about. Lost all that."

Red promised her that normal life.

"But if I’ve ever given you the impression that you won’t survive this, that you and your child aren’t going to have the simple life that I know you long for, I’m sorry. Because you are going to have that, Lizzy."

The entire point of current storyline.

From “You deserve a bigger life.” To “What a terrible waste of your life.”

I could keep going. But you get the point. Liz is more like Ressler than Tom. True love hit her doorstep in the pilot, and it wasn't because he was hired by Red to protect her. He protects her because he loves her. She's his Juliet.

#Anti-Tom Keen #Anti-Keen2

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ajbrooks-writes · 4 years

Text

WIP Re-Intro: For The Crown

Book One of the Blood Ties trilogy

Heyo! Exactly what it says on the tin. A new and improved For The Crown with special edition features and up-to-date info! Also now with an official trilogy title: Blood Ties. Incredibly accurate.

Book One: For The Crown

Two young shapeshifters uncover generations of blood crimes as they attempt to change their own destiny. Masquerading amidst power plays and fickle allys, the prince and the pretender learn the meaning of family in a tale of love, loss, and the cost of challenging the stars.

Elthian and Ryvaeryn are from very different worlds, tied together by a bloody past. They are each given a single chance to attain their goals, but to do so must navigate a court full of lies, a country full of secrets, and a foe determined to keep both in the past.

Basics

Stage: Complete Structural Overhaul Review

Estimated Length: 135k

Genre: New Adult high fantasy

Themes: found family, adventure, self-discovery, romance, challenging status quo, challenging destiny.

More info

Orphaned as an infant and raised by humans on the continent, Ryn has never known another shapeshifter. A bookbinder by trade, she masquerades as a scholar and runs to the island country of Mantha, where she meets our team, and her resolve is tested when she is discovered and has a choice: go home to safety or join the court and risk it all.

Growing up in the castle with his father, brother and best friend, Elthian has known he would be king since he was a child. A planner by passion, Elthian’s progressive ideas clash with his father’s traditional values, placing them increasingly at odds. When his father threatens to change his successor, Elthian must choose between sacrificing the crown for his values and work, or sacrificing his values for the crown and power.

Ryvaeryn and Elthian’s journeys intertwine as they work towards their goals. Among the trials of their individual paths, they realise their growing friendship might be more than that. Now they must weigh their loyalties and, when discovered, understand that one false step could tear them apart forever.

Read on to learn about some of the characters and the next two books! Also cool graphics.

Welcome to part two!

Characters

Protagonist. Age 29, lion shapeshifter. Idealistic, compassionate, creative, naive. Elthian has a rocky past, but has landed on his feet with a father he idolises, an older half-brother he loves unconditionally, and a best friend he could not do without. His brother’s protection has left him naive to their father’s nature, but kept him from losing that idealism and compassion their father is so blatantly missing. Elthian’s biggest struggle is his own self-doubt, but his brother’s line “There are some things in this world you just can’t change.” kickstarts his determination to do exactly that. I love my son, but not make it easy.

Protagonist. Age 26, tiger shapeshifter. Impulsive, defensive, determined, kind. Safe in seclusion with her long term girlfriend, Ryn gives it up to journey to Mantha and find others like her. She is quick to defend herself and slow to reason, and so desperately wants to know who she is and where she came from that she will risk everything to find answers. This is made difficult when she becomes to target of assassination. See her right eye pictures above? That may or may not emerge intact . I love her, and I forge her fortitude in fire.

Secondary. Age 30, wolf shapeshifter. Quiet, perceptive, loyal. Joal spent half his childhood as a crown ward, becoming Elthian’s best and most loyal friend. His official role is Royal Historian and Heritage Law Consultant, and he lives at the castle. He is the first to realise Ryn isn’t a scholar. Joal isn’t ‘in touch’ with his emotions, which quickly creates a rift between him and Ryn. Joal has the largest role in Blood Ties after Ryn and Elthian.

Secondary. Age 32, human. Optimistic, intuitive, honourable. Kalen is the ultimate best friend. He is a great hugger, great listener, and gentle soul. He left the army to pursue music, specifically the flute. Kalen is aro-ace, and his and Skye’s QPR is the most precious and pure dynamic I have ever seen. He becomes close friends with Ryn, we call him K, and I would die for him.

Tertiary. Age 35, lion shapeshifter. Discerning, protective, adventurous. Orrian paints himself as rebellious and unreliable, allowing him to pursue his interests in peace, and as a bonus giving his father frequent headaches. Orrian runs a shelter for homeless or orphaned boys and young men, mostly shapeshifters, and basically has a dozen adopted sons. He is also investigating his father, whom he loathes. Orrian has a much larger role in the next two books.

Tertiary. Age 21, crane shapeshifter. Shy, observant, attentive. Skye is very close with Kalen, and Ryn first meets her in a courtyard where Skye is playing violin. She struggles with anxiety and PTSD, and attempts to create a support network in this book, which unfortunately backfires. Skye’s role will change a lot over the trilogy as she develops and grows and discovers her strength.

Tertiary. Age 24. human. Sarcastic, charming, realist. Corri meets Ryn early in town, and they become friends quickly. She loves to have a good time, and encourages Ryn to do the same. If the cellars are stocked, right? Corri has a brief, secret fling with Joal in this book. She also frequently makes time to spend with the children at the castle - much better company than nobles.

Tertiary. Age 64, lion shapeshifter. Assertive, determined, commanding. Parthian rules with iron, currently with his third wife. He pushed Orrian to abdicate, and has spent the last decades grooming Elthian to be a more worthy successor. Parthian is struggling under the weight of (subjectively) poor past choices. His sons take more from him than they’d like.

Side. Age 34, human. Calming, authentic, passionate. Lowe and Ryn were together for three years, and lived together for most of that. She knows Ryn’s aspirations, fears and hopes and supports her move to Mantha. Lowe will have a larger role in the next two books, but will crop up a few times in this one, too.

Side. Age 9, shapeshifter. Shy, curious, adventurous. Pab is an orphan, and has lived at the castle her entire life. She is friends with Corri, and becomes a loyal friend of Ryn’s after a vandalism mishap. Pab will climb literally anything. She scales two storeys of old stone to break into Ryn’s room. Ryn and Pab’s bond strengthens over the trilogy, and we learn more about her family later on.

The World:

For The Crown takes place primarily in Mantha, an island country about the size of France. It has several smaller ilsands scattered around it., and across a strait is a mainland spanning an area close to that of Russia, which is where Ryn is from. Skye and Joal are from the North and South islands around Mantha respectively..During this book, the court travels around the country to various estates, under the guise of a ‘royal tour’, in which Parthian speaks to the leaders and the people and try to assure them that the monarchy has their best interest’s at heart. It gives Elthian the opportunity to find the progressive among them, and Ryn the opprtunity to explore different libraries and estates, including a ruined city, searching for answers.

Mantha is a feudal society originally settled by shapeshifters, which Parthian encourages, because they are easier to control. The continent, all humans, is meanwhile approaching an early industrial age; they have a direct democracy, with all the people having a voice. Mantha works with alchemy, whereas the continent works with technology. They have minimal overlap, but for trade and transport, things like air travel crosses their cultures.

This means I can have steampunk airships flying over my feudal farmland. The dream.

If you would like to know anything else about their culture, feel free to shoot an ask my way!

Rest of the trilogy:

For The King

After the bittersweet end to For The Crown, Ryn and Elthian try to recover the trust of the Manthan people as Elthian begins a shaky rule. But when the new king is kidnapped, it’s up to Ryn, Orrian, Kalen and Joal to race across the continent to save him, finding help from old friends along the way. Meanwhile, in a deep underground prison, Elthian meets new allies and foes as his captors attempt to break him, and he plans a daring escape or three. For The King is significantly darker, and ready to be drafted. You can read this wip intro here.

For The Country

Following a narrow escape, Ryn, Elthian, their new allies and remaining friends journey back to Mantha only to discover it has been overrun! With Elthian’s confidence shattered and Ryn struggling to stay afloat, For The Country has them and their team racing to rally their people against an approaching enemy while they battle fire, uprising, discord and disease. In the conclusion of this epic fantasy, everyone comes together for the battle that will decide Mantha’s future.

Final comments:

Can’t believe I managed, finally, to finish this intro.

I’m going to try and participate more in wip and OC related things, and post more about my story when life allows. I hope you enjoyed it, congrats on getting to the end, and have a great day!

For The Crown tag list:

@trigwrites @jessicacaseyauthor @mfackenthal @mushwrites @b-works-074 @gardeningourmet @apocalyvse @jcckwrites @writingisdivinetorture @purpleshadows1989 @thatwritergirlsblog @betwixtofficial @pen-in-hand @whynotwriting @bookish-actor @sunlight-and-starskies @jcckwrites @half-explored @watermelons-writings @purpleshadows1989 @crazycoffeemermaid @summerflowers

Blood Ties taglist:

@whisperswritings @stand-inthe-rain @fantasy-shadows @halrose @romanticatheart-posts @hopefulmoonobject @angelolytle @albarnesauthor @fantasy-penman @ofinscriptions @jynecca @venomouspen @k-nazario @raenawrites @s-n-o-w-p-i-e-r-c-e-r @the-starlight-chills @crazycoffeemermaid @ardawyn @bookish-actor @waterfallofinkandpages @the-writister @thewriteblrarchives

(if you would like to be added or removed from the Blood Ties tag list, please let me know. Also if I’ve missed anyone I’m really sorry, could you let me know please thank youx)

#for the crown #blood ties #blood ties for the crown #BT Orrian #BT Elthian #BT Corri #BT Skye #BT Ryvaeryn #BT Joal #BT Parthian #BT Kalen #BT Lowe #BT Pab #my wip #for the king #for the country #blood ties trilogy #wip intro #wip introduction

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atimefordragons · 4 years

Photo

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON, I SHALL PUNISH YOU! || EHS

☾♔; May 19, 2020 ☾♔; 2:19am ☾♔; sotd: Man of the World (Takanashi Yasuharu) ☾♔; cotd: Kuruma ☾♔; Elite Highschool ☾♔; Audition

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice!

𝐀 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 (𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎): Finally done, I'm soz for taking so long! I've just been Narutoing. He's my boy, dattebayo!

☆──════ ⋆ ☽ ⋆ ☾ ⋆ ════──☆

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒

➤TITLE: S̶p̶o̶r̶t̶y̶ ̶S̶p̶i̶c̶e̶ The Sports Star ➤OC NAME: Katarina Văduva ➤AGE: 16 ➤BIRTHPLACE: Brăila, Romania ➤BIRTHDAY: December 31 ➤FACE CLAIM: Bruna Marquezine ➤USERNAME: @.dracarysbitch

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

➤LIKES: football (soccer, not the american one), eurovision (obvs), tennis, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, figure skating, anime, manga (loves shoujo, but would rather die than admit it), a song of ice and fire (of course), russian literature (tolstoy is a fav ofc), winter, blizards, snowstorms, fresh snow, sweet foods, video games (dragon age, assassin's creed, the witcher, until dawn, pokemon), sailor moon, pink, blue, stitch, disney (sleeping beauty is her fave, even though she doesn't really match her personality, it's more that her parents gave her away for her safety, and Kat used to imagine it was the same for herself when she was a kid), space, faberge eggs, sanrio (her favourites are Kuromi and Pandausa)

➤DISLIKES: sasuke uchiha (fucking bitch), supercilious people, the lodge (lol, grow up you fucking losers), shows that go on forever and never end (please, please just end), shows that have shit endings, game of thrones (fucking dumbfucks), americans, right-wing politics (it's so stupid, just grow a heart), religion (what a scam), being alone (either physically or with her thoughts, let's bury that shit), losing, being wrong, having to concede any ground on any matter whatsoever, not knowing things

➤HOBBIES: anything that is physical (fucking jocks, amirite?), she's loves going for jogs (can't relate - secretly naruto runs during night time jogs 'cause no one can see her being lame), and playing streetball, etc. watching anime, reading manga, ranting on the interwebs about her shows and books (in general she avoids the bigger internet drama 'cause it's stupid, but sometimes you gotta put a bitch in their place, 'CAUSE DAENERYS IS THE PRINCE THAT WAS PROMISED, FUCK YOU!), watching reruns of pro-games (can't relate, so boring)

➤STRENGTHS: determined, perseverant (is that even a word?), passionate, relentless, protective, observant, straightforward (usually ends up insulting people though, so it's more of a weakness tbh), goal-oriented, independent, self-reliant, has enough self-awareness to not go off on weeb/otaku interests in front of most people, but if it's like a "smart" anime, she'll discuss it (like Death Note, she's not gonna fucking admit to still loving Naruto at this age, shut up), diligent, loyal, a bad bitch (lol, not so much, but she likes being perceived as a strong girl who can and will stab you with her stiletto. the image only lasts for a few seconds, she more just comes off as rude).

➤WEAKNESSES: stubborn, very blunt, which tends to come off as brash and rude, though she's not always intending to be mean, despite that rude, blunt nature, she's also a bit tsundere, and struggles admitting her to deeper feelings. Gets flustered when complimented (outside of sports, there she's fine 'cause I'm the best bitches, or so she says), and she just can't admit it when she needs someone, whether it be a friend or romantic interest, especially if it's a romantic interest, 'cause she's also of the mind of who needs a boyfriend when there's food? while she's observant when it comes to changes in people's behaviour, she in general lacks the capacity to act well on her observations, and is awkward when trying to comfort someone or cheer them up. When it comes to her own feels, part from rage, annoyance, or "Jock Mode", she can barely admit to them, let alone discuss them with other. Speaking of "Jock Mode", she is competitive AF, somewhat dismissive (this usually only comes out in games, but she tends to ignore weaker opponents in search of stronger ones who pose a challenge). Also tends to display some arrogance in the sports she's most talented it, particularly volleyball. It's not quite a personality flaw, but she's weak for loving parents, or just a loving family in general (in life and when watching movies, it makes her fucking cry every time, which really puts a damper on her tough girl image, it's not usually a visible one, but she can't hide the longing in her face when she watches a parent and their child being a normal, happy family). Definitely has tunnel-vision, once she has a goal in sight, that's all she sees. Can even be paired down to dumb things, like C-grade trashy alien movies. She tends to notice only the aliens and revel in their destruction, while ignoring everything else, including the plot. Has plenty of issues; abandonment, trust, ptsd - none of which she is dealing with. She's just ignoring it and hopes it goes away once she becomes a cool, reliable adult™️ (lol, good luck that, adult life is a lie).

𝐁𝐈𝐎

➤SHORT BIO: Katarina is half-Brazillian, half-Russian, though she is under the assumption that she is Romanian, she is biological the daughter of Vasily Raevsky, a Russian Oligarch, and Xuxa Amalia Reis Moreno, a Brazilian businesswoman and all round bad bitch. For reasons unknown to her, Katarina was in effect abandoned at birth and placed in a Romanian orphanage in Brăila, which is also presumed to be her birthplace. Her birth certificate lists both parents as unknown, the orphanage named her. Having no parents or known family, and raised in an orphanage has given Kat many self-reliant skills, and allows her to live independently, but it has also left her with a deep sense of loneliness (not to mention PTSD 'cause Romanian Orphan life is a nightmare). She recognizes that much of her yearning is still childish fantasy, and often covers up that desire with her brash nature or jock hobbies.

Growing up in the orphanage was... not easy. The Brăila Home for Children was not the best, to say the least. Though it could've been worse (*shudders at the case of the Sighetu Marmației institution for disabled children* - do better Romania, oh my god). The orphanage was under and poorly staffed. They would often neglect and abuse the children, one year shaving every childs head so they all looked the same, and often chaining rowdy children to their beds. During Katarina's time, many of her fellow orphans died from minor illness or injuries such as cataracts or anemia, which were treated poorly or simply ignored, and a number also starved to death. Because of this, Katarina has a habit of hoarding food, and keeping snacks under her pillow. She also has difficulty sharing, and despises headboards that are railed(? the ones with gaps, idk what to call them).

When she was around eleven, the orphanage received ample anonymous donations, leading to much improvement, and the arrival of a new Director, Ileana Cojocaru, who, over time, earned the trust of Kat and her fellow orphans, and became something of a surrogate mother. Ileana did a nearly complete staff overturn (fun side note, some of the staff, especially those who harmed Kat have gone missing in the past few years, coincidence? no), as well as hiring accomplished childcare professionals from all over the world to help the children. It was Ileana who sparked Kat's, or rather Rina as Ileana called her, interest in sports, though Ileana was more into football herself, she encourage Kat to explore whatever she wanted, though particularly team sports so that Kat could foster dependent relations. Kat herself particularly enjoyed volleyball, joining a little league team and winning a number of competitions. Due to her skill both in setting and spiking, she usually plays in the Opposite Hitter position.

Katarina entered EHS in Highschool, on what she assumed to be the Elite's scholarship program, arranged by Ileana, who even said as such, though in truth, her entry and tuition are all being handled by an anonymous benefactor. This fact was revealed to Kat last summer after Ileana died (of p̶l̶o̶t̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ cancer), whose lawyer was put in charge of the bank accounts meant to pay for all of Kat's needs. The lawyer refused to divulge whom the anonymous benefactor is, citing a non-disclosure clause, though the need to discover who has given Kat a whole new mission in life.

➤FAMILY: On Katarina's part, she doesn't believe she has one, though she does consider Ileana to be her family, and has grown to care somewhat about her fellow orphans from the Brăila Home, while growing up they were rivals struggling to survive. Ileana's death devastated her, and she's dealing with it by straight up ignoring it. Lol, I'm not sad, my eyes are just glistening with the ghosts of my past.

Biologically, despite her complete lack of knowledge of it, Kat comes from rather a rather illustrious family. Her mother, Xuxa Amalia Reis Moreno, is a Brazilian Businesswoman, herself the daughter of a self-made millionaire, Xuxa is expanded the Moreno parent company, MC Inc., an oil and mineral company in origin, into numerous side ventures, owning and operating businesses ranging from restaurants to magazines and clothing lines. Her father meanwhile, Vasily Raevsky, is of the (former) noble House of Raevsky, now oligarchs in modern-day Russia, who virtually control Russia's diamond and precious stone industry, currently owning controlling shares of ALROSA, the largest diamond mining company in Russia, and accounting for 95% of the countries diamond production, as well as 27% of the global diamond extraction, and the House of Fabergé, which they purchased after the fall of the Soviet Union. If she remained in the care of either of her parents, her name would technically be Katarina Vasilyevna Moreno Raevskaya, which is a fun and utterly useless fact.

Her parents met at a rich people conference (idk, Davos or some shit like that) and engaged in a short lived affair. Her father was already married and could not accept her, and her mother had no interest in being a mother at all, let alone a single one, leading to them choosing to give her up in Romania, an arbitrary choice that fucked her up, lol.

Via her father, she has an elder brother, Viktor Vasilyevich Raevsky, who is in fact her anonymous benefactor. Viktor discovered her existence after Vasily had an accident and was close to death, so he confessed his sins and what not. Viktor eventually tracked her down and sought to improve her life. Though he wants to bring her into the family, he doesn't for the sake of his mother who cannot deal with the affair, though she refuses to divorce Vasily for appearances sake.

𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀

➤MOODBOARD: https://tinyurl.com/y8a2gjy8 ➤SCHOOL WARDROBE/AESTHETICS: https://tinyurl.com/ycodubrb ➤PLAYLIST: https://tinyurl.com/y6wwmp74

➤TOP 3 CHARACTER PICKS: the Sports Star, the Princess, The Rebel(de) <-- lol, see what I did there? I'm so funny.

#audition #doll set #urstyle #mine #elite highschool #katarina văduva

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luv-surveys · 4 years

Text

Put your music player on shuffle and list the first 10 songs.

hungarian march - hector berlioz

by your side (klischee remix) - klischee & tim freitag

memories (drinks bring back) - ajay stephens (cover)

lone digger - caravan palace

confident - demi lovato

rasputin - boney m.

second suite in f major, movement iv - gustav holst

slavonic fantasy - milan rericha

ma vlast, the moldau - bedrich smetana

cinnamon girl (club edit) - [dunkelbunt]

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Would you take anyone with you? i would spend a week in japan with my boyfriend, because i’ve always wanted to visit japan and tokyo and immerse myself in their culture -- it’s so fascinating!

What is your preferred writing implement? (eg. Blue pen, pencil, green pen) black pen.

Favorite month and why? i’m going to say may, because it’s pretty and warm and school is wrapping up (although maybe not this year...).

Do you have connections to any celebrities (even minor)? List them. nope.

Name 3 items you could pick up from where you are. my phone, my water bottle, and my lamp.

What brand logo is closest to you currently? asus.

Do you ever play board games or other non-computer games? Got any favorites? i occasionally play board games, mostly with my family or at my boyfriend’s house. my brother-in-law loves board games so we usually play one when we visit. my personal favorite board game is the game of life.

Name a musical artist you love that isn’t well known. caravan palace! i love electroswing and they’re top-tier. electroswing is a very underrated genre of music in my opinion.

Name a musical artist you love that is well known. i really like the beatles!

What is your desktop background currently? it’s my marching band section from my sophomore year at senior recognition.

Last person you talked to, and through what you talked to them? i last talked to my friend through discord.

First color name you can think of that isn’t in the rainbow? pink lol.

What timekeeping devices are in the room you are currently in? there’s my alarm clock, my phone, and my computer.

What kind of headphones do you use? i use apple earbuds and soundpal sonobass headphones.

What musical artists have you seen perform live? i’ve seen the trans-siberian orchestra perform live... and that’s it.

Does virginity matter to you? it does.

What gaming consoles do you or your family own? we own a nintendo 64, a supernintendo, a playstation, a wii, and a switch.

What pets do you have? i have a dog.

What’s the best job you’ve ever had? i’ve never had a job.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? still never had a job!

What magazines do you read, if any? i don’t read magazines anymore.

Inspiration behind your URL? it’s aesthetic and it’s about surveys. and i “luv” surveys.

Inspiration behind your blog title? i don’t have a blog.

Favorite item of clothing? probably my mom jeans, i always feel extra cute when i wear them.

Are you friends with any exes? nope.

Name at least one book you loved as a child. i loved little house on the prarie.

What’s your native language? If that language has distinct regional variations, which variation? (eg. AU English, US English) my native language is american english.

What email service do you use? i use gmail and outlook.

Is there anything hanging on the walls of the room you are currently in? there’s a calendar and posters from marching band and winter percussion.

What’s your favorite number, and why? i like 4. it’s just very simple and even.

Earliest moment in your life you can remember? standing at the window in my dining room and looking at my neighbor’s house. my mom came over and told me that a little girl lived there and i was going to meet her. she was my best friend for 10 years.

What did you have for dinner yesterday? we had chicken fingers, asparagus, and macaroni and cheese.

How often do you brush your teeth? twice daily.

What’s your favorite candy/chocolate? i like heath bars.

Have you had other blogs on Tumblr? Do you have any other blogs currently? yes, i had a blog where i would post “aesthetic” pictures in middle school, and then a studyblr.

If you were suddenly really hungry, what would you choose to eat? right now, i’d probably eat some cheez-its.

What fandoms would you consider yourself a part of? pokemon, legend of zelda, avatar the last airbender, harry potter, puella magi madoka magica. just look at the reddits i’ve joined haha.

If you could study anything, what would it be? music!

Do you use anything on your lips? (eg. Chapstick, gloss, balm, lipstick) yes, i use burt’s bees chapstick.

How would you describe your sense of humour? it’s sarcastic and spontaneous.

What things annoy you more than anything else? mean people, people who aren’t open-minded, dry hands.

What kind of position are you in at the moment? i’m cross-legged on my bed.

Do you wear much jewelry?

nope.

Who is the leader of your country, currently? Any other levels of government with leaders? (State, region, province, county, district, municipality, etc) our current leader is president trump. we have a state and local government but i don’t know the leaders of those.

What do you carry your money in? it’s in my purse.

Do you enjoy driving? Why or why not? it’s okay. i enjoy it but it’s stressful and i keep having nightmares where i’m a terrible driver haha.

Longest drive you have ever been on? we’ve driven about six hours i believe.

Furthest away from home you have ever been? when i went to russia.

How many times have you moved in your life? i’ve never moved.

What is on the floor of the room you’re currently in, not including furniture?

my trash can, my mirror, my hamper, pillows, music, my instruments, my music stand, and my backpack.

How many devices do you own which can access the internet? five.

Is there is anything that is guaranteed to always make you happy? yes, sleep haha.

Is there anything that always makes you sad? watching titanic haha.

What programs do you currently have open? i have chrome open.

What do you associate the color red with? passion.

Last strong smell you can remember smelling? the vanilla mug cake i made earlier.

Last healthy thing you ate? dinner (which was chicken fingers, asparagus, and mac n cheese).

Do you drink tea or coffee, and how much per day? i do not.

What do you associate the color blue with? the ocean.

How long is the closest ruler you can find? it’s probably one foot.

What color pants/skirt/etc are you currently wearing? light blue.

When was the last time you drank water? about 30 minutes ago.

How often do you clear your browser history? maybe once a month.

Do you believe nude photos can be artistic, rather than erotic? yep.

Ever written fanfiction for anything? yes, i wrote neopets fanfiction when i was younger LOL.

Last formal event you attended? my awards for marching band.

If you had to move your birthday to another date, which one would you choose and why? i would choose mid january, because i’m tired of being the youngest in the grade! fall birthdays suck :(

Would you prefer to be at a beach or in the countryside? the beach.

Roughly how many people live in your town? about 15000.

Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? nope.

Favorite place to shop? Can be a certain store or a place where there are multiple stores a mall about 45 minutes away from my house.

Do you have a smartphone? What kind? If you don’t, do you want one? i have an iphone 8.

What is your favorite colour, and why? my favorite color is yellow, because it’s a happy bright color :)

How do you spell grey/gray? i spell it gray.

Go to your dashboard and describe the image shown in the radar section (below the “Find blogs” link) it’s a cat in a plant! :D

What difference is there between how many followers you have, and the number of blogs you follow? 51 lmaoo.

How many posts do you have? this is my 40th post.

How many posts have you liked? i’ve liked 21 posts.

Do you post mainly reblogs, or your own content? it’s mostly my own content, but i take the surveys from other accounts.

Do you track any tags? i don’t believe so.

What time is it currently? it’s 12:18am.

Is there anything you should be doing right now? sleeping, probably haha.

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phroyd · 6 years

Link

A new conspiracy theory called “The Storm” has taken the grimiest parts of the internet by, well, storm. Like Pizzagate, the Storm conspiracy features secret cabals, a child sex-trafficking ring led (in part) by the satanic Democratic Party, and of course, countless logical leaps and paranoid assumptions that fail to hold up under the slightest fact-based scrutiny. However, unlike Pizzagate, the Storm isn’t focused on a single block of shops in D.C., or John Podesta’s emails. It’s much, much bigger than that.

As most terrible things do, this story begins with a post on /pol/, a sub-board of the more-or-less-anonymous, anything-goes website 4chan. Over the last few years, /pol/ — which technically stands for “politically incorrect” — has slowly but surely become a top contender for the ever-coveted title of the most upsetting community online. It’s the sort of place where neo-Nazis and people who believe women shouldn’t have basic human rights used to meet before we started verifying them on Twitter and electing them to public office. And as of late, it’s expanded its ranks to include fringe members of all shapes and sizes.

On October 28, someone calling themselves Q began posting a series of cryptic messages in a /pol/ thread titled “Calm Before the Storm” (assumedly in reference to that creepy Trump quote from early October). Q claimed to be a high-level government insider with Q clearance (hence the name) tasked with posting intel drops — which he, for some reason, called “crumbs” — straight to 4chan in order to covertly inform the public about POTUS’s master plan to stage a countercoup against members of the deep state. It was, in short, absolutely insane. However, thanks to some rather forced coincidences — like Q kind of, sort of guessing that Trump would tweet the word “small” on Small Business Saturday, and this one time the internet decided that Q was “totally on Air Force One” because he posted a blurry picture of some islands while Trump was on his trip to Asia — and a whole heck of a lot of wishful thinking, people believed he was the real deal.

So he kept talking.

According to Q, Trump was never really involved with Russia, and isn’t actually under investigation by Mueller & Co. On the contrary, Q insists thatit’s actually Clinton and Obama who were corrupted by Putin (and are nowactually under investigation by Mueller) because they’re obviously just evil, money-hungry globalists who’ll do anything for the highest bidder. (Oh, yeah, and they’re also apparently into raping and killing children, though the crowd is split over whether this is because they’re satanists or just part of some weird blackmail scheme involving the CIA.) Q also claims that Trump, the genius that he is, figured all of this out way back when he was just a measly presidential candidate, and has been pretending to love Putin and/or be involved with Russia ever since as a way to force a third party to investigate these horrors — without drawing the attention of those evil Dems-who-must-not-be-named, of course — because he’s just that selfless of a leader.

In this fantasy world, all of the far right’s wildest dreams come true: Q promises that Clinton, Obama, Podesta, Abedin, and even McCain are all either arrested and wearing secret police-issued ankle monitors, or justabout to be indicted; that the Steele dossier is a total fabrication personally paid for by Clinton and Obama; and that the Las Vegas massacre was most definitely an inside job connected to the Saudi-Clinton cabal.

They believe all of this will be coming to a head any day now. That “The Storm” — of arrests, political turmoil, and Republican vindication — is coming. Though there have been some, uh, miscalculations as for exactly when.

For example, take this “crumb” left by Q on November 1:

Q Clearance Patriot

My fellow Americans, over the course of the next several days you will undoubtedly realize that we are taking back our great country (the land of the free) from the evil tyrants that wish to do us harm and destroy the last remaining refuge of shining light. On POTUS’ order, we have initiated certain fail-safes that shall safeguard the public from the primary fallout which is slated to occur 11.3 upon the arrest announcement of Mr. Podesta (actionable 11.4). Confirmation (to the public) of what is occurring will then be revealed and will not be openly accepted. Public riots are being organized in serious numbers in an effort to prevent the arrest and capture of more senior public officials. On POTUS’ order, a state of temporary military control will be actioned and special ops carried out. False leaks have been made to retain several within the confines of the United States to prevent extradition and special operator necessity. Rest assured, the safety and well-being of every man, woman, and child of this country is being exhausted in full. However, the atmosphere within the country will unfortunately be divided as so many have fallen for the corrupt and evil narrative that has long been broadcast. We will be initiating the Emergency Broadcast System (EMS) during this time in an effort to provide a direct message (avoiding the fake news) to all citizens. Organizations and/or people that wish to do us harm during this time will be met with swift fury – certain laws have been pre-lifted to provide our great military the necessary authority to handle and conduct these operations (at home and abroad).

POTUS will be well insulated/protected on AF1 and abroad (specific locations classified) while these operations are conducted due to the nature of the entrenchment. It is time to take back our country and make America great again. Let us salute and pray for the brave men and women in uniform who will undertake this assignment to bring forth peace, unity, and return power to the people.

It is our hope that this message reaches enough people to make a meaningful impact. We cannot yet telegraph this message through normal methods for reasons I’m sure everyone here can understand. Follow the questions from the previous thread(s) and remain calm, the primary targets are within DC and remain at the top (on both sides). The spill over in the streets will be quickly shut down. Look for more false flags — stay alert, be vigilant, and above all, please pray.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Love is patient, love is kind.”

God bless my fellow Americans.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but November has come and gone without the slightest hint of a Q-style military-backed Armageddon. Yet, this pretty glaring mistake doesn’t seem to have weakened anyone’s faith in Q. If anything, it’s brought more followers into the fold.

Over the last month and a half, the Storm has spread from the depths of 4chan and 8chan to Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter, where it’s found hundreds of thousands of devout followers. Some of the most popular explainer videos boast nearly 200,000 views, and the QAnon hashtag has gotten so popular, it’s honestly difficult to track. (I signed up for one of those freebie “Track Your Hashtag Now!” services and #QAnon hit the 2,000-post limit within four hours.) Some poor soul even took the time to write a 117-page book charting Q’s rise to power, which I’m guessing has been seen at least as many times as this very aggressive Imgur guide, which was at 137,000 views as of Sunday night.

It’s been a little over a year since Edgar Welch, military-style assault rifle in hand, walked into a D.C. pizza parlor, convinced it was part of a child sex-trafficking ring run by Hillary Clinton, and the internet hasn’t gotten better. If anything, it’s worse.

Sure, in the wake of Pizzagate’s brief encounter with reality, a lot of changes were made: Reddit shut down the conspiracy’s designated sub, Twitter suspended some of the movement’s most vocal supporters, and the whole thing was debunked time and time again by the press. But it’s more evident now than ever that this was merely a Band-Aid, not a cure. And now, here we are a year later with the same thing. Sure, it’s a bit bigger and a whole lot less focused, but at its core, it’s the same. What is there even left to try? We know that stopping the conversation doesn’t work. Neither do the facts. How can we even begin to argue with hundreds of thousands of people who choose to believe that a top government agent is speaking to them through 4chan, that Trump has been playing a game of 4-D mind chess this whole time, and that the Las Vegas massacre was an inside job? Is the next Edgar Welch already out there, scrolling through the Calm Before the Storm thread, and if so, is it even possible to stop him?

Phroyd

#conspiracy theories #pizzagate #the storm #4chan #alt-right #qanon

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scoutshonor56 · 4 years

Text

KWID DOH NO!

Our Kartoon Prezident

Well, as year #3 of this torn and frazzled, circle-the-wagons administration comes to a close, it’s time to look back and reflect on the Little King’s record thus far. After all, “some” say he’s the greatest president since Lincoln, maybe even better! Well, OK, he does anyway… Oh Little Donny, you are one for the history books, you’re certainly right about that!

In the short span of three years in office, due to your ego, stupidity, and gullibility, you’ve made our country a punchline and a bad joke to the rest of the free world. You’ve soured relations with pretty much all the major democratic nations of both hemispheres and it’s become abundantly obvious that you prefer the company of despots and dictators, because they curry your favor and feed your ego while playing you for a sucker and a clueless rube. You play international diplomacy not like a shrewd card shark, but someone who still gets confused when playing “Go Fish”.

While your own top advisors, the CIA, and our National Security team strongly suggested you throw in the 4 and the 7 and take two cards, you said, “But I asked them, and they said they got nothing – I’m betting it all on what I have!”

Did Putin rig the 2016 election? “I asked him, he said no…”

Does Kim Jong-un intend to stop his nuclear proliferation? “I asked him, he said yes…”

Did Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman order the killing, dismemberment and disappearance of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi? “I asked him, he said no…”

It’s just a theory of mine, but I suspect that you find the intricacies of democracy waaay too complicated; too much reading! Whereas in Russia and N. Korea, it pretty much boils down to “the supreme leader makes the rules, and if you don’t like it, tough shit.” – see? Simple is good!

Fuck it, what do my own hand-picked Intelligence team know anyways? They didn’t write my best seller, “Art of the Deal”! They lack my incredible business insight and my sharply honed negotiating skills; my intuitive judgement of character!

No argument there Mr. Prezident… well, except for the six former associates, cabinet appointees, and campaign advisors now spending their holiday in prison for a few minor offenses like tax evasion, campaign finance violations, lying to Congress under oath, lying to the FBI, conspiracy against the United States, obstruction of Congress, and witness tampering… oh, and your revolving door of high level appointees and cabinet members who pass through the White House like the line at a drive-thru McDonalds, or a frantic, rookie coach trying to stabilize his list of starting players as they drop one game after another on their way to another losing season.

As a matter of fact, you’ve had more turnovers during your first three years at the helm than any other previous first term president during their entire four-year term - many of them replaced multiple times!

Hey, I get it – shit happens when you’re a “stable genius” big-time finance wizard like yourself, who built a huge casino in New Jersey primarily financed with junk bonds, ran it into the ground, stiffed all the construction contractors and workers out of millions, and turned Atlantic City into a ghost town.

Oops, well, and there are those six bankruptcy filings while you were in the private sector… and the bogus Trump “University” scam that you quietly had to settle out of court before taking the oath of office to run the country, paying out $25 million to the students (dupes) who showed up one day only to find the front doors locked and a sign taped to the glass…

Oh, and the Trump “Charity” organization, which was recently sued by the New York Attorney General and found guilty of misuse of funds, funneling millions toward your election campaign and paying off business debts… oh, and the purchase of a huge $60K vanity portrait to hang in one of your exclusive country clubs. The “Charity” foundation was ordered liquidated and $2 million was dispersed among actual, non-affiliated charities… Whadda guy, am I right!? A true philanthropist, with a heart as pure and genuine as his hair!

Well, OK, but that’s all dollars under the bridge, now you’re in the BIG chair, running the whole show – how’s that federal deficit coming, the big hole in our national budget that in your 2016 campaign you promised to fill in eight years? Yikes! Lotta shoveling still needed there, better roll up the sleeves, put down the golf clubs and get to work; looks like the federal deficit for this past year surged 26% from 2018 to $985 billion, and the Congressional Budget Office projects it will top a record breaking $1 trillion next year, primarily due to your 2017 tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the rich and mega-rich.

Speaking of golf, let’s return again to 2016 and your campaign rhetoric:

“If I am president I'm not going to play much golf, because there's a lot of work to be done... Obama went golfing every day. 'Little Obama, go play golf every day.' He's played more than most PGA touring professionals play... I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf."

You leave me speechless. There are whoppers and then there are WHOPPERS! And we all know your whoppers are triple beef patty and cheese, hold all the green and tomato, extra bacon! This past weekend, down in Par-a-Lago, you teed up for your 251st game at – of course - one of your own exclusive resorts. Yup, the president of the United States owns twelve courses across the U.S., three in Europe, and one in the Middle East, with three others still under construction. You even wanted to hold the 2020 G7 Summit at your exclusive resort in Miami until your own party members quietly suggested, ahem, this might not go over too well with the rabble… could be seen as gratuitous and self-promoting.

You know, it’s not everyone who can get elected to president of the United States even after tapes are uncovered of him saying ten years prior to running, “Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Damb! J.F.K., Bill Clinton, sit down you amateurs! You nervous, pimple-faced freshman at your first high school dance trying to cop a sweaty feel! Donny was putting it to a well-known porn star just a year after his third marriage and just months after the birth of their first child, Barron. His longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight federal crimes, including making illegal contributions to the Trump campaign on the same day he admitted cutting a $130,000 to said porn star (AKA Stormy Daniels) to buy her silence before the election.

“I did not have sex with that woman.” Oh, those were such innocent times, the ‘90’s! A little hanky-panky with an intern, a cum stained blue dress… To date, Trump has 25 allegations of sexual misconduct against him, and those are just the women who came forward.

I could go on and on… and on, but let’s stay with the big picture, the broad brush strokes for now, and start to bring this sordid summary to a close. So, you’re the champion of coal and the petrochemical industry, and the chief spokesperson for the nostalgic days of big, gas guzzling cars. You get a hard-on whenever you see a tank, sparking fantasies of military parades down our streets, you’re a climate change denier, think wind energy is produced by windmills that give you cancer, and are the Darth Vader to renewable energy in any shape or form. Your target list also includes endangered wildlife and protected federal land and you are quickly closing in on 100 rollbacks (95) of any current environmental regulations. You’ve essentially turned the EPA into a paper lion with missing teeth, a bunch of token federal workers down the hall who may as well show up whenever they feel like it, take long lunches, spend their days web surfing, and punch out around 3:00 for all the good they can do under your watch.

Wow, what an impressive resume! We haven’t even touched on the constant barrage of lies and fanciful fabrications that spill out of your mouth daily like food spray, the daily policy “briefings” conducted by Fox News, the obsessive tweeting, the complete blurring of truth and fact, the drastic rise of nationalistic, racist hate crimes over the last three years, the rambling conspiracy theories, the child-like pettiness and immaturity, the juvenile name calling and belittling, the paranoia, the preening and neediness of a textbook narcissistic sociopath…

And now, to cement your place in the annals of history you’ve graduated to being only the third sitting U.S. president to face an impeachment hearing - bravo Mr. Prezident, bravo! You sir are indeed one for the books! A true piece of work never before seen, or even imagined, in our 224 years of American politics, and I salute you!

You let him in the game America; you wanted him, you got him! I can’t wait for the next four seasons of everyone’s favorite reality show, “Little Donny’s Playhouse!”. And if his mentally blunt and rabid fans have anything to say about it, afterwards it will go into re-run syndication for years and years to come!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!

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star-nova · 5 years

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The Lives of the RiffRaff: Talia Santiago-Queen of the City

We Are the RiffRaff Rickie Johnson-The Art of War Vera Sherwood-Little Sister Kali Muburu-Hair Tracy Kwan-Vergil Franz Fawke-Hecklers James Weaver-The Preacher Mamoru Hayagawa-Three Weddings Charmain Dekker-Frankfort

In Tanager, I'm the garbage on the side of the road. In Frankfort, I'm the queen.

These three little country mice—fellow garbage bags, as far as Tanager is concerned—are damned lucky to have me on their side. If they'd dared to go into Frankfort on their own, the city would swallow them whole and then shit them back out. But because they're with me, they're the safest bitches around. They just don't know it yet.

Sweet little Sophia and Charmain huddle together like frightened mice in the far rear of the Subaru. Directly behind me, Ellia and Sophia's little sister Elsie act like it's gonna be an adventure rather than a horror, and it is. It's hard to believe that Elsie is the little sister, but she's younger than Sophia by three whole years. Elsie must have had to learn to toughen up early in order to compensate for her sister's glaring lack of balls.

Sophia asks, “Do you think we could get cajun food around here? Or maybe we can try pad thai? Soul food?”

“There should be nicer restaurants here than in Tanager,” Charmain assures her, “upscale bistros and things like that.” Well, no shit, Char! All Tanager has is a pizza bungalow, a corner deli, and a tavern full of mediocre-ass beer. Oh, and there was a hot dog truck you could probably get e. coli from. But here we are, heading out into the city, and all they can think about are restaurants?

“I hope there's a skating rink,” Elsie says.

I say, “It's summer, retard.”

“That's the best time for skating rinks, you dingus,” Charmain says. “Nobody wants to go to an ice rink in the dead of winter.” Dingus. She'd be pathetic if she wasn't so damned adorable.

“I was talking about a roller rink anyway,” says Elsie.

Ellia says, “It's got a lot of historic buildings.”

You could take the bumpkins out of the country, but you could never take the country out of the bumpkins. Oh well, let 'em exchange their twee little fantasies of roller rinks, bistros, and hundred-year-old buildings. My only concern was that I was back where I belonged, in my world where everyone knew me and everyone who didn't know me would get to, soon enough. This was my territory and I ruled it with an iron fist. The queen bitch of Frankfort is back.

My brothers owed me several favors, but I called them up and told them I was willing to let them all slide if they gave me just this one. Thankfully, they pulled through, and we had ourselves a flat.

The flat was not in the city proper, but in a little suburb tucked off to the side. It was quiet enough to appeal to my country girls, but close enough to the city to take advantage of it at every opportunity. It was all paid for, courtesy of my brothers, for the next two weeks, and it would be our home from now until July 1st.

“Talia, this is lovely,” Charmain said predictably when she saw the place. I just said, “Ain't it, though?” as I hauled my suitcase out of the van.

“It is,” Charmain said, “it's beautiful.” She sounded surprised, like she had expected me to hole them up in a drug den or some shit.

“You can thank my bros,” I told her. “You'll be meeting them later on.”

“Later on” came about an hour after we'd settled in and decided on who was sleeping where. There were three bedrooms, and I didn't mind sleeping on the couch so Charmain and Ellia could have their own; Sophia and Elsie would share the third. The girls were putting on eyeliner and doing their hair to go out into the city, because they didn't realize you didn't have to get dolled up to walk around Frankfort, when there was an unmistakable bang on the door. Sophia squeaked and froze up like a scared hamster, and it cracked me the hell up. The Four Santiago Brothers greeted us at the door in all their glory.

I'm not sure what the girls expected from my brothers, but what they got was one big, stocky Portuguese man, two tall, ripped ones, and one rail-thin one. The little one, Santino, had on a red button-down and skinny jeans. Luco, the oldest, was sporting a beat-up blue tee with cargos, and Monty and Ray had on wife-beaters and jeans in varying forms of distress.

I said, “Hey, shitheads,” and socked all four of them on the shoulder. They responded by socking me back, one after the other, first in my left shoulder then my right shoulder, my stomach, and finally my right eye. It wasn't hard enough to leave a mark or anything. It was how you showed love in the Santiago household.

Luco said, “Happy birthday, lil sis,” and tugged at my ponytail.

Monty said, “Now you an old bitch!” and I gave him a shove.

And then here came sweet little Charmain Dekker, with her fluffy brown curls and her daisy-print romper and the rose-colored lipstick she had on for no good reason at all. She went right up to the Santiago Four and said, “Hi, I'm Charmain, Talia's friend. It's very nice to finally meet you four.” She held out her hand. You don't hold out your hand to a Santiago unless you want them to snap it. But surprisingly, my bros each gave her hand a little shake. I nearly gagged when Monty took hold of her hand, kissed it, and said, “Well, bonjour, cherie!” He turned to me and said, “Damn, Tally, you didn't tell me your friend was cute!”

“I wasn't aware,” I told him. Not very many would call Charmain “cute.”

My bros introduced themselves to Ellia, Sophia, and Elsie. “Friends of Talia's,” Luco said, “are friends of ours. Round here, we look after our own.” Those girls were now the safest ladies in Frankfort.

After all the introductions were made, the boys told us to get our shit, we were going to see the Baroness.

“Who is that?” Sophia asked, sounding hella scared to hear the answer. The boys tittered at her anxiety. “She's just our auntie,” Ray told her, “that's all.”

To call Maven Whittaker, nee Santiago, “just our auntie” sounded incredibly disrespectful. She had always been “the Baroness” or “the Lady Maven” to us. My father's sister was the head of our district's branch of the Frankfort Police Department, and her power and influence had been a constant in this city for as long as we could remember. Somewhere in her early thirties, she managed to attract the attention of The Honorable Judge Andrew Whittaker of the Franklin County Courthouse, and her marriage to him was in equal parts for love and for alliances. The power that she had now that the head of the county justice system was in her bed every night was akin to that of Catherine the Great in 18th century Russia. She produced her first child soon after the wedding, and three years later along came her second, my cousins Larry and Stephanie Whittaker. The two of them grew up well aware of the power their parents had and the things that they were therefore allowed to get away with, and I made playmates of them whenever possible. Now, they both have guard jobs at the county jail.

The Lady Maven stood at a full six-foot-two—two inches taller than me and several inches taller than any of my brothers—and never carried any less than three forms of weaponry on her at any given time, sometimes concealed and sometimes right in the open. She was a Baroness in every sense of the word, and honestly, I wasn't sure that the girls were ready for her. But Charmain was the first to say, “I'd love to meet your aunt. Will we be meeting your other family too?”

“'Course you will,” Ray told her. “It's Talia's birthday and we're havin' a party.”

The girls hadn't wasted their hair and makeup after all; a visit to the Baroness' pristine palace was a hair-and-makeup affair for sure. I'm not the type to get dolled up, but still I changed out of my cutoffs and into some chinos and a hi-low. I left my worn-out combat boots on because they're all I ever wear.

The Baroness' palace echoed the splendor of both Judge Whittaker and the Baroness herself. Situated in upscale Frankfort, it housed the two of them, my cousins Larry and Stephanie, my father's brothers Jakob and Dale, and Jakob's wife Lydia. Tonight, in honor of the occasion, the mansion played host to much more than that; when we pulled up, the entire Santiago clan stood at the gates and at the door and the front yard, waiting for us.

The girls were stunned to silence when they saw the place. The palace and the surrounding mansions put the upscale abode of Florence and Pietro Frost, the richest of the RiffRaff, to shame. “Geez, Talia,” Ellia said as she took the whole thing in, “is your aunt an actual baroness?”

“I was thinking a princess,” Charmain said with a chuckle.

“She may as well be,” I told them.

“Is that really my girl there?” my father, Sheriff Carlo Santiago, said when he saw me step out of the Subaru. “Oh my gosh, I believe it is! But no, this can't be her; my girl's a scruffy little runt, and this...well, this is a beautiful Amazon of a woman!” He wrapped me up in his big old arms and hugged the hell out of me. “Thirty years old!” he cried out. “Thirty years old and my girl's a lady, a gorgeous lady!” The warmth of that hug and the giddy feeling of seeing my dad after three years only seeing him on FaceTime had some kind of power over me. I kissed his cheek, my one display of affection.

He released me and turned his attention to the girls. “Well, hello there,” he said jovially, like he was a member of the Brady Bunch. “It's nice to meet you ladies. Talia, you didn't tell me you kept such pretty company!”

Sophia turned rose-red, but Charmain held her hand out to him and said, “It's nice to meet you, sir.” She was so saccharine that it made me want to throw up in my mouth.

My father let out a tremendous laugh. “Sir?! Sweetheart, my name isn't Sir, it's Carlo.”

And then, beyond the throngs of other relatives that hadn't seen me in at least three years, the Baroness herself stood beside the Judge at the front door. She was dressed head-to-toe in uniform for no reason at all, except maybe to remind everyone of her power. You could kill a man in cold blood after taking everything from him, and if the Baroness found reason to believe it wasn't you that did it, then it wasn't you that did it and that was the end of that. On the contrary, you could be the cleanest and most innocent man alive, and the Baroness could find dirt on you that you didn't know you had, and magnify it until it was worth ten to twenty-five. She was a terrifying old bitch, and I respected no one like I respected her.

Maven Whittaker looked down the bridge of her nose at the four of us, but her smile was genuine. “Talia,” she said, “I missed the hell out of you.” She squeezed both of my hands. “Welcome home, my girl.”

I was home. After three years holed up in that shithole town, I was back where I belonged.

For me, city life is the natural order of things. I readjusted to it so quickly that it was as if I'd never left it behind.

The guys down at Clarke's Tavern welcomed me back with open arms. I started up one of our old poker games, and by my second day back in Frankfort I was walking away with three-hundred-fifty of the poor fuckers' dollars. My bros and I took it out dancing, and we took the girls with us.

At The Breeze bar and nightclub, the girls were acknowledged as “Talia's squad,” and they were given free drafts of ale, courtesy of Tony the bartender. Sophia eyed that draft with something like shame, and I could tell she was mentally fighting herself over whether she should shut up and accept the gift or tell Tony that she didn't drink. In the end, I grabbed it and downed it in one seamless gulp right before her eyes, and then proceeded to do the same to my own ale. “There,” I said, “now it didn't go to waste.” I slipped Tony a cool twenty-five.

To the surprise of everyone involved, those three were the stars of the club. They tore that floor right up, to the point where everyone else would move aside so that they could take center stage. Charmain learned the Jerk nine years too late, and Ellia executed a flawless one-two step. They danced with my bros and with the guys that sidled up to them, called them “cuties” and “beauties,” and asked for their names. When Mabel's “Don't Call Me Up” came on and Sophia pulled out a shuffle and a pop-lock with a finesse that I never in my life would have attributed to Sophia Bolshevik, I was sure that the city had transformed those three just the way that it needed to. I went ahead and let them own the night while Santino and I slipped into an alley to find a riot to start.

In the coming days, I settled back into my old life. Early every morning, before the girls were awake, my bros and I went out into the city and its surrounding suburbs with our crates of product hidden in the back of Luco's truck. For the past three years, everybody had to rely on shipments to get a Talia Santiago brew, and I missed the experience of street selling like a beached whale misses the ocean. Long-distance sales had none of the thrill of slinking along backroads and alleyways like secret agents, communicating in arbitrary code-words to keep our activities down low, and being directed to out-of-the-way shit-sties in Nowheresville in order to keep out of the watchful eyes of the populace. If we were caught or if somebody threatened to blow our cover, they would find themselves persuaded into silence by one of my blades or by the barrel of my 19X. If such incidents were reported, they would likely reach my father or even the Baroness, and then it was just like they never happened at all.

The girls were left to fend for themselves for most of the day, and they were just fine with that. They went off on their twee little adventures to museums and historic sites, took Instagram pictures of the city skyline and the capitol building, and romped through parks and shopping centers completely undisturbed by the general public. I met up with them at lunch and dinnertime and took them to places where they would be known as “Talia's ladies.” They soon learned that the mention of my name in the local establishments would inspire either fear or reverence in their patrons. Either way, everybody knew who I was, and if they didn't know me, they knew some other Santiago.

Yes, Frankfort had done just what I wanted it to. It had transformed us all from countryfied garbage into queens of the city. The curse of a shithole that saw us as nothing but rancid trash was broken the moment we stepped through the gates of the Baroness' mansion on our first day. The spell of the city took hold of us all, and we were RiffRaff no more.

#Fiction by Me #The Lives of the RiffRaff #writing #work in progress

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oldandannoyed-blog · 7 years

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Ava’s Demon Discourse: Sexual Content

Everyone’s got a fucking opinion about this shit and since everyone likes chipping in their two pennies I thought I’d chip in mine too.

Aging characters up to 18+ in fics and artwork can be a somewhat grey area; in artwork, there’s not always a clear way to distinguish the characters age aside from trying subtle methods such as maturing the facial features and body structure. Other than that, there’s no real way to know aside from the artist or author specifying that they have drawn or written the character as 18+.

I can understand that people may be uncomfortable about any provocative artwork or literature, whether it’s implied or blatant sexual content, especially since, canonically, the character (Ava) is currently aged at 15 and is considered a minor. Having said that, everyone seems to have a favourite fucking word that they love throwing around and that word is Paedophilia.

For a quick reference, here’s the definition of paedophilia via Wikipedia, because apparently no matter how many times people mention it, no one seems to remember what paedophilia actually fucking means;

Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, criteria for pedophilia extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13. A person who is diagnosed with pedophilia must be at least 16 years old, and at least five years older than the prepubescent child, for the attraction to be diagnosed as pedophilia.

The age gap, as I’m sure everyone knows by now because it’s all anyone mentions, is 3 years. So for starters, Ava and Odin’s (non-canon) relationship isn’t considered paedophilic to anyone except some select people on tumblr.

If that age gap makes you uncomfortable, fair enough. I’m not here to dictate how you feel. But while everyone runs around screaming pedo, what everyone seems to forget is that the age of consent is not the same around the globe, relationships like these do exist in reality, and also this comic is fiction.

The age of consent in America is (generally) 18. The age of consent in the UK (excluding Ireland, which is 17) is 16. So for us fuckers over here in jolly old England, Ava being 15 isn’t even that big a deal; she’s a year (barely that if the comic timeline and the characters birthdays are anything to go by) away from being of consensual age to have sex (also to get married with parents permission, buy a lottery ticket, drive a fucking moped, etc)

I’m not faulting you if your laws dictate that the legal age of consent is 18, that’s your shit. But if everyone could stop freaking out and calling everyone within range a pedo just because your laws differ from ours, that’d be pretty grand too.

Now that we’ve been reminded that Ava is, at least by the UK’s (and other European countries such as Spain, Russia, Norway, Ukraine, etc) standards, almost of consensual age, let’s have another reminder that in the real world, 15 y/o’s and 18 y/o’s sometimes date! Fuck me, when I went to school, a girl in my class (aged 15 at the time, funnily enough) was dating a 22 y/o.

I’m not saying that just because it can happen in reality makes it okay in fiction. But while everyone’s freaking out over here on tumblr, there are minors dating people older than them and it’s not an uncommon occurrence. It raises a few eyebrows sometimes but that usually depends on the age gap.

The difference is, in reality, if an adult (and when I say adult, I mean people aged 20+, 18 and 19 y/o’s are barely adults, they’re “young adults” at best) is dating a minor, it raises some concerns because there is a possibility that the adult in the relationship may be exploiting the minor in the relationship. Although this does not apply to every adult in such relationships, there is the risk that the adult has ulterior motives for dating a minor and that is something to be careful and wary of.

What everyone on here seems to forget, however, is that Ava’s Demon is a fictional sci-fi fantasy comic; none of it, not even the characters, are real. If Odin and Ava were to date in canon, the only risk of Odin having ulterior harmful motives towards Ava is if Michelle, the artist and author, decided to implement such themes within her work. Otherwise, there are no reasons to assume that he would take advantage of Ava, sexually or otherwise.

In all, if you are someone who is uncomfortable with the sexual content that seems to be growing more popular within the fandom, that’s fair enough, but just because you are uncomfortable doesn’t mean you get to clog up the tags stating how it makes you uncomfortable and tell everyone taking part in the sexual content that they’re paedophiles. It’s ridiculous, childish, and by this point it’s fucking annoying.

If you don’t want to see sexual content, block it. Click the padlock icon in the corner of the tags so it can hide the nsfw content for you. Block tumblr users who post/create nsfw content. Do whatever you want to do to keep the nsfw content away from you because you don’t want to see it.

You’re entitled to your opinion but I don’t want to see them the same way you don’t want to see porn in the tags, so stop fucking going off on one in the tags all the time.

#Ava's Demon #Avas Demon #flaming arrow #ad #avaodin #long post #rant #listen to anyone who has to see this long arse essay in the tags I am sorry because this shit is long #but also I'm tired of swallowing my fucking opinions when others don't

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hell-and-pepsi · 7 years

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what is a tagged can you eat it

I guess I was tagged by @ilwinsgarden ? That was a surprise, people don’t tag me in stuff too often, thank you very much!

Rules: Answer all the questions, then add one of your own, and tag as many people as there are questions

1) Coke or Pepsi? I never drank coke in my life. I tried Pepsi once so I guess Pepsi.

2) Disney or Dreamworks? I’d say Dreamworks, especially since my brother is a huge fan of How to Train your Dragon

3) Coffee or Tea? Tea, in all forms and quantities - from a cheap-arse tea bag put in a bucket of hot water to exquisite brands prepared by the rules of the Chinese traditional tea ceremonies

4) Books or movies? First read the book, then watch the movie based on it. Never vice versa (except if the book is really crappy compared to the movie)

5) Windows or mac? Windows! Also doors. Illuminators. Ceiling lights. Ventilation vents. If you can punch a hole through a wall, that’s nice too.

6) D.C. or Marvel? Not a fan of either.

7) Xbox or PlayStation? Never had neither of them.

8) Dragon age or mass effect? I never played neither of them and I don’t even have friends that played any of these :(

9) Night owl or early riser? Early riser. If you can manage to, which doesn’t happen to often to me unfortunately.

10) Cards or chess? I can barely play any card games, I don’t even know the names of the card suits in Russian (but I know them perfectly in English because Homestuck.) So chess, even though I haven’t played chess either in a very long time.

11) Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate any time.

12) Vans or converse? I don’t care much for fashion so either is fine

13) Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? Low Sorbian? Volapük? Or are those not weird language names?

14) Fluff or angst? Both. Both is good.

15) Beach or forest? Um. Have you looked at my username. Well, I guess you should just look at it again

16) Dogs or cats? Cats! Especially my cat, Sebastian. Though dogs are cool as well.

17) Clear skies or rain? Clear sky! I am basically a reverse vampire, I can’t live without a blue sky and a bright sun up above. Also, stars at night *_*

18) Cooking or eating out? I’m broke, so cooking.

19) Spicy or mild food? I like spicy. But honestly, it all depends on the ability of the cook. Mild food can be very tasty too if done right.

20) Halloween/Samhain or solstice/yule/Christmas? @ilwinsgarden while answering this question said that they don’t celebrate Hallowe’en in Czech Republic and I relate - we don’t celebrate it in Russia as well save for the occasional shop sell.

But here we go even more extreme - we don’t celebrate Christmas either! In the Soviet times the main winter celebration shifted to New Year’s Eve, and that’s what we celebrate mainly up to this day. Christmas is a religious holiday solely, and moreover, because Russia is mainly an Orthodox Christian country and not a Prothestantic/Catholic/Anglican one, we celebrate Christmas two weeks later than Catholics (January the 7th).

Actually, even putting cultural differences aside, I don’t like the themes of both holidays. The modern media has generalized and cheapened them so that Hallowe’en is merely pumpkin spice and costumes instead of being a spiritual day, and Christmas is merely presents and trees instead of an important Christian milestone. I guess I enjoy Christmas a little bit more.

21) Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? Uhhh, that’s a tough one! But I am actually often a little too cold (including today), so if I choose a little too hot perhaps it can cancel it out? :D

22) If you could have a superpower what would it be? There are so many choices! Super intellengence would be helpful. Teleportation would allow me to travel anywhere in the world for free. If I could create plant life or accelerate its speed of growth, I could end famine.

23) Animation or live action? Both have their perks. Currently I’m more invested in animation, but I would really like to explore live action movies and even create ones myself.

24) Paragon or renegade? Okay, so I learnt a new English word today! Paragon, huh. And as much as I love the sound of that word I choose renegade. I’m a rebel by nature.

25) Bath or shower? Showers are cooler and more eco-friendly, but when you’re tired all you want is a nice hot bath. So both once again, depending on your state.

26) Team Cap or team Ironman? Like I said above, I’m not a fan of Marvel.

27) Fantasy or sci-fi? Don’t make me choose like this! But when I was younger I definitely enjoyed sci-fi more, and I know there’s still a lot of classic authors for me to explore.

28) Do you have 3 or 4 favorite quotes if so what are they? Oh boy, you came for a treat. “Fears are caused by a lack of understanding. And in the world we live in, you have unlimited information out there. There’s no reason you should be afraid of anything” - Ethoslab, my most favourite Youtuber and Minecrafter ever. I don’t remember the exact episode, but I believe it was in his Let’s Play series around 390-410 ish, when he was building Sandy City.

“I mean, I know you want it to stay pleasant around here, but — there are so many things … that are so much better. Like silly, or sexy, or dangerous … or brave. And every one of those things is in you all the time, if you just have the guts to look for them.” - Bud Parker, from the movie Pleasantville. Go watch it. It’s a true piece of art. I watched it in my English class in detail and it was absolutely delightful and amazing and so, so true.

“I never let school interfere with my education.” - (incorrect, I think) Mark Twain. Sums my feeling about school perfectly.

“Every moment is the moment, and everything you lose, you lose forever.” - my teacher. He told us once to remember this saying very carefully, even if we don’t understand it fully, because there may come a time where it will be very, very true for us. It is one of those quotes that you do not memorize, but which memorizes you instead.

29) YouTube or Netflix? I don’t have a Netflix account and I don’t even know whether the site is available in my country. But I spend endless hours on Youtube.

30) Harry Potter or Percy Jackson? Look at my nickname and my avatar yet again... plus I never quite got into Percy Jackson. I think I only read one book. Its fans make cool fanart though, with many different ships.

31) When do you feel accomplished? When I do something that’s supposed to be “in my field” and I do excellent on it. Also, contrariwise, when I have to go through something I’m scared or unexperienced to do and perform well.

32) Star Wars or Star Trek? Okay, please don’t kill me for this, but I never watched a Star Wars movie in my life. I also didn’t watch Star Trek, but I relate to it a little bit more because I’m a fan of Doctor Who which is a show from the same time. Plus Star Trek is responsible for a lot of modern sci-fi tropes, its fans started the modern fanfiction culture (including the concept of shipping), and it’s a historical and innovative piece in general.

33) Paperback books or hardcover books? I don’t have a strong opinion of this, and I read books online mostly nowadays. In my experience, different kinds of books are more prone to being in a hardcover or in paperback. Both of those types can be very enjoyable.

34) Fantastic beasts or Cursed child? Seen/read neither. (I feel so ignorant while answering those... haven’t seen that, haven’t read that...) But from what I saw and heard, especially from my little brother, Cursed Child is a hectic fanfiction piece somehow gone canon (and Rowling had barely to do with it anyway) and Fantastic Beasts is, well, a fantastic piece of work. Also Americans got their own Potter movie. (like A Very Potter musical wasn’t enough)

35) Rock or pop music? My music taste is dictated by artist, not style. That being said, nowadays I have more favourites in pop than rock.

36) What is the most important thing in your life? Keeping close to my principles/morals. Expressing those principles and morals in one way or another, because I find it something important to show to other people. Trying to help the people I call my friends. Trying to make sense in this big mess of things we call the world.

37) Mountains or sea/ocean? Tough question again! But I guess I’ve been to the sea like, thrice in my life, and never been to the mountains, so sea/ocean.

38) How do you express yourself? Mostly in words and sometimes in action. But my ultimate goal is to create content through which I could successfully express my view of the world.

39) What’s the first book/film that really counted to you? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When I was little I never cried at books at movies. But there was something in chapter 34 (where Harry has learn the truth about himself and goes to the Forbidden Forest to be killed by Voldemort) that made me shed my very first tear. The name of the chapter was The Forest Again, so, well, you can see how big of an impact it was for me.

40) What’s your element (air, water, etc.)? I want to be the Avatar! :D But seriously, I can’t really choose. By my star sign, Leo, it’s fire.

41) If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Is “everywhere” an option?

42) If you had any job in the world, what would it be? A teacher in a school that is actually a good school. Not that those exist. Or a cartoon/anime/movie director/screenwriter.

43) If you were granted three wishes, what would they be? I guess all unlimited wishes hacks are banned, so:

1) World piece 2) Unlimited food to end world famine 3) Unlimited eco-friendly power source to end (most of) the world’s ecological problems.

44) If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pizza! Because you can put anything on a pizza.

45) What’s currently the most pressing issue on your mind, and what’s stopping you from fixing it? Is “everything” an option” [2]? But seriously, it’s probably my unpreparement for the uncoming exams and the search for my future career. The first one is caused by just lazyness and the boringness/objective unimportance of the exams, and the second time always takes time, naturally. So they are pressing, but at the same time I don’t worry too much at “failing” them.

46) What is your dream companion animal? A cat! Or a cool bird, like a jay or an oreole.

47) Raptors or songbirds? Raptor songbirds. Just imagine.

48) Do you think there is life on other planets in universe? “Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. “ Arthur C. Clarke sums my opinion on this pretty welI

Woah, that’s a lot of questions! It also took me a lot of time to answer them, it’s super late for me now. Here’s my question:

49: If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, what would be some of the things that you do?

And I can’t possibly tag 49 people, so here’s just some: @polyglotplatypus, @kuufox, @artisticprotector, @cultureklub, @crap-iccioso, @glannniglaepur, @stefan-stefansson, @moonpaw17, @klavierr, @antialiasis, @johannesviii and basically anyone else who wants to do this. And if you don’t want to do it, of course you’re not obliged in any way. @ilwinsgarden thank you so much for tagging me once again!

#this was much fun!#tagged #tag meme #ask meme #personal

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puntofijogossip-blog · 4 years

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Dinosaur books!

More dinosaur books. After I finished Jurassic Park, I started reading Crichton’s bio and realised he had written a sequel – The Lost World. While checking on Amazon, the search result also showed The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. I was so surprised and even more surprised when I read the outline and realised that Conan Doyle too wrote an adventure story with dinosaurs! What fun! So I ordered both. I loved both books and I can’t believe I was not even interested in dinosaurs for so long! Funny how things change over the years – a person’s character and a person’s love for dinosaurs :).

Due to the order in which I read these books, I saw a funny contrast. A book written in 1995 and then a book written in 1912. A book with Sarah Harding and then a book with Gladys Hungerton. Sarah is a brilliant, no-nonsense and fearless biologist. Gladys is a professor’s daughter wishing only to marry a famous man. I absolutely loved Sarah’s character and her actions in Crichton’s book and to read of Gladys after her, was a big shock. I cringed whenever I read Gladys’ dialogues in Conan Doyle’s book in the first chapter. However, I had to remind myself that this was a book written in 1912, women really didn’t have any freedom to go anywhere and do anything and it was Gladys’ bad luck that she was born in that century and was the woman she was. Plus, she was Conan Doyle’s version of a woman and not really his view of ALL the women then 🙂 ( at least I hope not). Still, it was jarring to me. Now that I’m done with the book, I actually feel sorry for Gladys – maybe she did have a great spirit of adventure and danger and seeking the unknown and risking your life for those moments that make you FEEL alive – except due to the society and her upbringing, it was twisted and it finally projected out as only a childish wish to marry a famous man who had the freedom to actually go out and see danger and adventure in his life. This was a good lesson for me to learn and appreciate, when I looked at both books together. Gladys words ( that made me dislike her at first, but now I just see a suppressed adventurer, wanting to live vicariously through the man in her life :(. ): "It is never a man that I should love, but always the glories he had won; for they would be reflected upon me. Think of Richard Burton! When I read his wife’s life of him I could so understand her love! And Lady Stanley! Did you ever read the wonderful last chapter of that book about her husband? These are the sort of men that a woman could worship with all her soul, and yet be the greater, not the less, on account of her love, honored by all the world as the inspirer of noble deeds."

"If I marry, I do want to marry a famous man!"

"There are heroisms all round us waiting to be done. It’s for men to do them, and for women to reserve their love as a reward for such men. Look at that young Frenchman who went up last week in a balloon. It was blowing a gale of wind; but because he was announced to go he insisted on starting. The wind blew him fifteen hundred miles in twenty-four hours, and he fell in the middle of Russia. That was the kind of man I mean. Think of the woman he loved, and how other women must have envied her! That’s what I should like to be,–envied for my man."

Sarah’s words ( totally loved this character): In the darkened trailer, Kelly was frightened, but she was reassured at the no-nonsense way Sarah talked about weapons. And Kelly was beginning to see that Sarah didn’t let anything stop her, she just went and did it. This whole attitude of not letting other people stop you, of believing that you could do what you wanted, was something she found herself imitating.

"That’s very good," Harding said. "I think these people owe you their lives." "Not really," Kelly said, with a little shrug. Sarah shot her a look. "All your life, other people will try to take your accomplishments away from you. Don’t you take it away from yourself."

Here are my favorite bits from The Lost World, Michael Crichton:

Malcolm’s reply was immediate: "What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There’s no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told -and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their ‘beliefs.’ The reason is that beliefs guide behavior, which has evolutionary importance among human beings. But at a time when our behavior may, well lead us to extinction, I see no reason to assume we have any awareness at all. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion. Next question."

Guitierrez shrugged. "I don’t know, but the whole attitude toward research has changed, Richard. It’s very noticeable here. Costa Rica has one of the richest ecologies in the world. Half a million species in twelve distinct environmental habitats. Five percent of all the species on the planet are represented here. This country has been a biological research center for years, and I can tell you, things have changed. In the old days, the people who came here were dedicated scientists with a passion to learn about something for its own sake-howler monkeys, or polistine wasps, or the sombrilla plant. These people had chosen their field because they cared about it. They certainly weren’t going to get rich. But now, everything in the biosphere is potentially valuable. Nobody knows where the next drug is coming from, so drug companies fund all sorts of research. Maybe a bird egg has a protein that makes it waterproof. Maybe a spider produces a peptide that inhibits blood clotting. Maybe the waxy surface of a fern contains a painkiller. It happens often enough that attitudes toward research have changed. People aren’t studying the natural world any more, they’re mining it. It’s a looter mentality. Anything new or unknown is automatically of interest, because it might have value. It might be worth a fortune."

These kids were smart, they were enthusiastic, and they were young enough so that the schools hadn’t destroyed all their interest in learning. They could still actually use their brains, which in Thorne’s view was a sure sign they hadn’t yet completed a formal education.

In the end, their differences came down to personalities. Malcolm considered Levine pedantic and fussy, preoccupied with petty details. Levine never saw the big picture. He never looked at the consequences of his actions. For his own part, Levine did not hesitate to call Malcolm imperious and detached, indifferent to details. "God is in the details," Levine once reminded him. "Maybe your God," Malcolm shot back. "Not mine. Mine is in the process."

"Now, if this picture makes sense, where does natural selection act? Does it act on the body, enlarging the brain? Does it act on the developmental sequence, pushing the kids out early? Does it act on social behavior, provoking cooperation and child-caring? Or does it act everywhere all at once – on bodies, on development, and on social behavior?" "Everywhere at once," Arby said.

She stood up. "You know about George Schaller?" "Sure. He studied pandas." "Right. Pandas, and before that, snow leopards and lions and gorillas. He’s the most important animal researcher in the twentieth century-and you know how he works?" Kelly shook her head. "Before he goes into the field, George reads everything that’s ever been written about the animal he’s going to study. Popular books, newspaper accounts, scientific papers, everything. Then he goes out and observes the animal for himself. And you know what he usually finds?" She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. "That nearly everything that’s been written or said is wrong. Like the gorilla. George studied mountain gorillas ten years before Diane Fossey ever thought of it. And he found that what was believed about gorillas was exaggerated, or misunderstood, or just plain fantasy – like the idea that you couldn’t take women on gorilla expeditions, because the gorillas would rape them, Wrong. Everything…just… wrong." Sarah finished tying her boots, and stood. "So, Kelly, even at your young age, there’s something you might as well learn now. All your life people will tell you things. And most of the time, probably ninety-five percent of the time, what they’ll tell you will be wrong." Kelly said nothing. She felt oddly disheartened to hear this. "It’s a fact of life," Sarah said. "Human beings are just stuffed full of misinformation. So it’s hard to know who to believe. I know how you feel."

" Do you realize the limits of our understanding? Mathematically, we can describe two things interacting, like two planets in space. Three things interacting – three planets in space – well, that becomes a problem. Four or five things interacting, we can’t really do it. And inside the cell, there’s one hundred thousand things interacting. You have to throw up your hands. It’s so complex – how is it even possible that life ever happens at all?"

"This idea that the whole world is wired together is mass death. Every biologist knows that small groups in isolation evolve fastest. You put a thousand birds on an ocean island and they’ll evolve very fast. You put ten thousand on a big continent, and their evolution slows down. Now, for our own species, evolution occurs mostly through our behavior. We innovate new behavior to adapt. And everybody on earth knows that innovation only occurs in small groups. Put three people on a committee and they may get something done. Ten people, and it gets harder. Thirty people, and nothing happens. Thirty million, it becomes impossible. That’s the effect of mass media – it keeps anything from happening. Mass media swamps diversity. It makes every place the same. Bangkok or Tokyo or London: there’s a McDonald’s on one corner, a Benneton on another, a Gap across the street. Regional differences vanish. All differences vanish. In a mass-media world, there’s less of everything except the top ten books, records, movies, ideas. People worry about losing species diversity in the rain forest. But what about intellectual diversity – our most necessary resource? That’s disappearing faster than trees. But we haven’t figured that out, so now we’re planning to put five billion people together in cyberspace. And it’ll freeze the entire species. Everything will stop dead in its tracks. Everyone will think the same thing at the same time. Global uniformity."

"Are you listening to all that?" Thorne said. "I wouldn’t take any of it too seriously. It’s just theories. Human beings can’t help making them, but the fact is that theories are just fantasies. And they change. When America was a new country, people believed in something called phlogiston. You know what that is? No? Well, it doesn’t matter, because it wasn’t real anyway. They also believed that four humors controlled behavior. And they believed that the earth was only a few thousand years old. Now we believe the earth is four billion years old, and we believe in photons and electrons, and we think human behavior is controlled by things like ego and self-esteem. We think those beliefs are more scientific and better." "Aren’t they?" Thorne shrugged. "They’re still just fantasies. They’re not real. Have you ever seen a self-esteem? Can you bring me one on a plate? How about a photon? Can you bring me one of those?" Kelly shook her head. "No, but…" "And you never will, because those things don’t exist. No matter how seriously people take them," Thorne said. "A hundred years from now, people will look back at us and laugh. They’ll say, ‘You know what people used to believe? They believed in photons and electrons. Can you imagine anything so silly?’ They’ll have a good laugh, because by then there will be newer and better fantasies."

Here are my favorite bits from The Lost World, Arthur Conan Doyle:

"South America is a place I love, and I think, if you take it right through from Darien to Fuego, it’s the grandest, richest, most wonderful bit of earth upon this planet. People don’t know it yet, and don’t realize what it may become. I’ve been up an’ down it from end to end, and had two dry seasons in those very parts, as I told you when I spoke of the war I made on the slave-dealers. Well, when I was up there I heard some yarns of the same kind–traditions of Indians and the like, but with somethin’ behind them, no doubt. The more you knew of that country, young fellah, the more you would understand that anythin’ was possible–anythin’! There are just some narrow water-lanes along which folk travel, and outside that it is all darkness. Now, down here in the Matto Grande"–he swept his cigar over a part of the map–"or up in this corner where three countries meet, nothin’ would surprise me. As that chap said to-night, there are fifty-thousand miles of water-way runnin’ through a forest that is very near the size of Europe. You and I could be as far away from each other as Scotland is from Constantinople, and yet each of us be in the same great Brazilian forest. Man has just made a track here and a scrape there in the maze. Why, the river rises and falls the best part of forty feet, and half the country is a morass that you can’t pass over. Why shouldn’t somethin’ new and wonderful lie in such a country? And why shouldn’t we be the men to find it out?"

With much labor we got our things up the steps, and then, looking back, took one last long survey of that strange land, soon I fear to be vulgarized, the prey of hunter and prospector, but to each of us a dreamland of glamour and romance, a land where we had dared much, suffered much, and learned much–our land, as we shall ever fondly call it. Along upon our left the neighboring caves each threw out its ruddy cheery firelight into the gloom. From the slope below us rose the voices of the Indians as they laughed and sang. Beyond was the long sweep of the woods, and in the center, shimmering vaguely through the gloom, was the great lake, the mother of strange monsters. Even as we looked a high whickering cry, the call of some weird animal, rang clear out of the darkness. It was the very voice of Maple White Land bidding us good-bye. We turned and plunged into the cave which led to home.

PS: I was dreaming that someone should write a story where Gladys and Sarah team up and go on a dinosaur adventure of their own. And I was really hoping someone would have written more of Lord John Roxton and Edward Malone’s new adventures…

Posted by solarisgirl on 2018-10-27 13:35:05

Tagged: , books , book , The Lost World , Crichton , Conan , Doyle , bed

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