#eight great danes

[ltwilliammowett]

Today we are travelling to the New World with the Kalmar Nyckel. A beautiful pinas with an eye-catching design and super cute ship's cats

Kalmar Nyckel, 2014

Her history here:

The original Kalmar Nyckel was one of the great ships of the American colonial era. Built in Amsterdam in 1627, Kalmar Nyckel was an ordinary Dutch Pinnace (Pinas) of about 300 tons and 100 feet on deck, just one of a couple thousand similar small warships and gun-armed merchantmen built by the Dutch in this period. 

In 1629, she was purchased by the Swedish Skeppskompaniet (Ship Company) with tax revenue from the strategic harbor town of Kalmar, on Sweden’s southeast coast, and renamed Kalmar Nyckel (“Key of Kalmar”). When not sailing on colonial voyages for the New Sweden Company, she served the Swedish Navy as an auxiliary warship until 1651. She was part of Gustav II Adolf’s famous invasion fleet at Peenemünde on the German coast of Pomerania in 1630, which marked Sweden’s entry into the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48). 

Swedish Admiralty records from 1634 list her as carrying a crew of 55 men and 12 six-pounder cannon – probably typical of her wartime strength. Toward the end of her career, she saw bloody action in Torstenson’s War against the Danes in 1645 and transported Swedish diplomats across the Baltic during the negotiations that led to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Kalmar Nyckel is best remembered today as a colonial ship for the New Sweden Company. She launched the colony of New Sweden in 1638 as Governor Peter Minuit’s flagship, bringing the colonists who established the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley – little Fort Christina, which would grow to become the city of Wilmington, Delaware. 

An exceptional ship with an extraordinary record of endurance, Kalmar Nyckel would make eight successful crossings of the Atlantic (four roundtrips between Gothenburg and Fort Christina from 1637 to 1644) more than any documented colonial ship of the era. Kalmar Nyckel was decommissioned from the Swedish Navy on June 19, 1651, by order of Queen Christina herself, and sold to a Dutch merchant living in Stockholm, Cornelis Roelofsen. An inspection by the Swedish Admiralty had determined that her aging condition would make her unsuitable for a fifth voyage across the Atlantic for the New Sweden Company. 

Her new owner, Roelofsen had Kalmar Nyckel – now called by her Dutch name, Kalmar Sleutel (“Sleutel” is Dutch for “Nyckel,” which both mean “Key” in English) refitted and up-gunned to 24 six-pounder cannons. She was anchored in Amsterdam harbor by April 22, 1652, just in time to be leased as a naval escort by the Dutch Navies, which were looking to acquire 150 warships in preparation for a looming war against the English. Kalmar Sleutel (Nyckel) soon joined 15 ships of the escort squadron that was guarding the Dutch herring fleet in the North Sea off the east coast of Scotland. On July 22, 1652, she would be sunk in the bloody Battle of Buchan Ness, gallantly defending the fishing fleet against a fleet of 66 English ships in the first engagement of what would be called the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654). 

Source

#naval history #naval artifacts #kalmar nyckel #17th century #advent calendar #day 15 #age of sail replica

[grison-in-space]

As much as our vision of the wolf had altered, just a few minutes after the tennis ball incident it shifted once again, thanks to Chase, our then-yearling blue heeler. We had two mild-mannered, beautifully behaved Labs. Then there was Chase. Heelers (officially known as Australian cattle dogs, not to be confused with Australian shepherds) can be, well, problematic. Engineered from wild dingoes mixed with livestock dogs just a century ago and recognized by the AKC in the 1960s, they’re a new breed, with plenty of variation. The most difficult examples wear their feral hearts on their sleeves without apology. No matter how close an average dog’s genetic ties to wolves, heelers, by dint of their dingo heritage, and just a few generations separating them from life in the wild, take it to another level. The official breed description includes the phrase “a suspicious glint in the eye,” and the AKC National Specialty show for Australian cattle dogs includes a contest in which dogs are judged for having the “most ancestral” physical traits—which leads to musings about inner, lupine remnants as well. Without doubt, many heelers are affable companions, and they’re a wonderful, dynamic breed. But throw a few too many of those ancestral traits into the mix and you get a dog with issues.

Chase was one of those—a work in progress on a good day, a train wreck on the worst. We’d worked on her from when we’d gotten her at eight weeks. Though hideously bright, quick to learn tricks and all sorts of complex behaviors (how many dogs do you know who, when asked “Who’s been good?” sit up on their haunches and raise a single paw, and on command, put their toys away one by one in a basket?), we hadn’t yet been able to corral her borderline-psychotic tendency to rush unknown dogs with a reactive, teeth-bared charge. In her mind, I’m sure she was defending us from impending onslaught. Any canine, from a Boston terrier to a Great Dane, that came too close would get the same bum’s rush. Chase, despite her blustery façade, usually ended up in abject retreat when the objects of her attack took exception—not that it stopped her the next time. Sure, she’d grow three-quarters out of it eventually, but keeping our miscreant teenage mutt leashed under those circumstances was a given. No self-respecting wolf could be expected to put up with her guff.

A Wolf Called Romeo (2014), Nick Jans.

I wasn't expecting a heeler to pop up in this book, and Jans' comments on Chase amuse the hell out of me: for one thing, those dingo crosses date back more accurately to the 1950s and were made by show breeders, and for another, the blustery asshole aggression displayed is almost certainly a consequence of the dogs' selection as cattle dogs, not anything that can be laid at the feet of the dingo. A dingo has more sense than that.

Nevertheless, even if Jans has uncritically accepted the historically dubious party line on heeler ancestry, his portrait of Chase is immediately recognizable. In the context of the book, she's about to slip her leash and charge the eponymous wolf Romeo, which the author correctly views as an incredibly dangerous accident for her: even another dog would be fairly justified in reacting incredibly poorly to her. Instead, the wolf pins her for a moment, then sends her racing back to her humans drenched in spit but perfectly unharmed.

I am reminded intensely of an instance in a dog park I saw as a child, in which my six month old pointer rushed a Rottweiler in a similar way, and I similarly went "ohno-ohno-ohno" and braced for the much larger dog to do my dog some fairly justified damage... and that dog simply hip-checked her and sent her spinning into the dust, confused and outraged. Better not to let that happen in the first place, and today I would certainly intervene well before that point, but I've never quite lost my profound gratitude for that dog's calm choice and grace under fire.

[shmaptainwrites]

[CH. 3] New Doctor on the Block

Chapter 3: Devil's Advocate

Pairings: Hawkeye Pierce x fem!Reader

Characters: Hawkeye Pierce, B.J. Hunnicutt, Sherman Potter, Radar O'Reilly

Summary: Reader is introduced to a side of Hawkeye she can get used to

Warnings: descriptions of death (a bit more of a personal one in the OR), angst

Note: Not gonna lie this is one of my favourite chapters and I'm not even sorry about it

Series Masterlist - NDotB Masterlist

“Where in the world did you get all these animals, Radar?” you chuckled as you held a guinea pig in your arms. 

“Oh you know, here and there,” he shrugged and fed the guinea pig in your arms a piece of lettuce. 

“Radar is an animal whisperer,” B.J. told you. “The Colonel’s horse was an injured horse from the cavalry and he insisted Hawkeye and I go out and stitch him up instead of having him put out of his misery.” 

“I imagine the sight of Pierce and B.J. trying to lasso a horse was comical,” you snickered at the thought of it and Radar joined in, knowing that B.J. had in fact attempted to lasso the horse so Pierce could sedate it but ended up lassoing Pierce instead.

“Oh, I just love animals,” you kissed the guinea pig’s head. “I had a dog when I was growing up in New Hampshire. A great dane, his name was Tiny,” 

B.J. gave you an incredulous scoff, “Tiny?” 

“My dad thought he was being funny, but in his defence, he was tiny when we got him. I was just a baby so I don’t remember much, but I grew up with that dog by my side. He was my best friend, protected me from everything and anything.” 

“Dogs are loyal companions,” B.J. agreed. 

“I’m more of a cat person,” Radar said. “We have sixteen back home.” 

“Sixteen?!” you looked at the boy in disbelief. 

“Yeah,” Radar chortled. “ I coughed up a hairball when they were giving me my army physical.” 

“Ew,” you grimaced. 

“You’re a trauma surgeon and that grosses you out?” B.J. teased you and you slapped his arm. 

Suddenly, Radar looked very alert before whispering, 

“Choppers,” 

And by this point, you and B.J. knew he was right, even if you couldn’t hear them yet. 

Just as Radar had suspected, helicopters were coming in left right and centre and before you knew it you were back in the OR operating with the other surgeons on your shift. 

You had operated on at least eight soldiers when you were about to prepare yourself to bring another. Your mask had gotten dirty so Klinger was rushing to get you another one, and when the one you had slipped off your head as you were walking out to the prep area you felt someone grab your arm tight. 

When you turned you saw a boy, no older than seventeen/eighteen looking up at you with desperate eyes. 

“Mom?” he called. “Mom please don’t go,” 

B.J. was about to step in to break the bad news to the boy but you stopped him. You saw what he looked like when he got in, there was no chance he’d make it out of the OR alive. 

“It’s alright, I’m here,” you bent down and held one of his bleeding hands. 

“M-Mom I don’t wanna die, please m-mom, please,” he begged. 

“Shh, it’s alright, honey,” you whispered. “Everything’s going to be okay,” 

You were lying, so blatantly, but what were you supposed to do? 

The whole OR was silent, free of banter, all free eyes were on you, and all ears were listening to the conversation you were having with the dying soldier. 

The boy brought his hand up to hold your face and you used your free hand to hold him there. 

“I’m here, I’m not going anywhere,” you assured him. 

“M-m-mom, please,” he begged. 

“I’m right here, sweetheart. You’re so strong you know that. I’m so proud of you,” you paused to look for his dog tags, to say his name and that’s when you choked. “I-I’m so proud of you Grant.”

Grant reached his free hand into his pocket and shakily pulled out something, they must have missed it in pre-op, a photo and a letter. 

“I’m so s-s-sorry mama,” he apologized, tears streaming down his dirtied and bloodied cheeks. “I didn’t mean t-to hurt you.” 

You hadn’t noticed up until that point, but it seemed as though a few tears of your own had escaped and Grant attempted to wipe them from your face. 

“No, no, you don’t be sorry, darling,” you tried to put on your best smile, through the shock, the hurt you felt for this poor boy, for his family…for his mother. “I’ll be alright. I promise.”

“I-I-I love you,” his voice became worn out, quiet gasps with each word and you knew what was coming, but nothing could prepare you for how you’d feel after it.

The lump in your throat grew as you could feel his grip loosening, his hands slipping from yours, leaving a streak of blood on your cheek. You couldn’t move. You felt frozen in place, yet shaking. 

You heard B.J. call your name, but it was faint, distant in the background.

He called you again and you blinked a few times trying to snap out of it. 

“He’s gone, come here,” he pulled you away carefully and took the letter and photo from you so they could bring in the next body that needed to be operated on.

“Captain, go take ten,” the Colonel instructed and you blinked blankly before nodding and stepping out of the doors of the OR and out of the building for some fresh air. 

It started to hit you more out there, the cold night air against your skin sobering you up. 

A couple of moments after you had exited, your hands wrapped around your midsection, still trying to process what had just happened, you heard the door behind you swing open. 

You turned around to see who was there and when you came face-to-face with Pierce you just shook your head. 

“Pierce, just go away. I’m not in the mood,” you mumbled. 

“I think maybe just this time you should listen to me.”

“Pierce, I’m serious,” you turned to him with tears welling in your eyes. “Leave me alone.” 

He chuckled humourlessly and shook his head. 

“You don’t want to be alone right now,” he opened his arms. “Come here.” 

You shook your head and turned away from him. He called your name and you bit the inside of your cheek, knowing damn well he was right, and slowly turned and walked over to him until he wrapped his arms around you and your face was buried in his chest. 

You let out a strangled sob and he squeezed you tighter, making sure you knew he was there with you. 

“Th-That’s my s-s-son’s name,” you managed to get out. “And he c-called me mom and I-I-I-,” 

“Hey, hey, you’re okay, it’s gonna be fine.”

He said those same lies to you, the ones you told that poor boy in there, and you believed them. There was still a war raging outside, but you believed him, everything was going to be okay. It’s not like your husband was six feet under, and your kids were at home without their mother. Everything was going to be fine. 

After your tears became silent, he pulled you slightly away and took a damp cloth from his pocket. He must have grabbed it before coming outside. He carefully took your face in one hand, thumb and forefinger holding your chin up, so he could clean the blood mixed with dirt and tears off your cheeks. 

When he was finished he placed the cloth back in his pocket and used the heel of his palm to wipe away a few of your remaining tears. You weren’t sure what compelled you, but the feeling of his arms wrapped around you made your heart beat slower, your breathing even, and your mind almost clear, and you didn’t want that to go away just yet. 

So you wrapped your arms around his again and he let his chin rest on the top of your head while he soothingly rubbed your back. 

You stood there, just the two of you for a few seconds, or maybe it was a few minutes, in the silence of the night, and when you had no tears left to cry you felt empty. That meant it was time to get back to work. 

You pulled away from him and wiped your tears, apologizing for getting his shirt wet. 

“You ready?” 

You nodded. Another lie. 

“Me neither,” he said softly and you both turned to walk back into the OR. 

—

“And how the hell did this happen to you?” you sighed, slipping on a white coat and putting on gloves before examining the damage done to Pierce’s head. 

“Father Mulcahy organized a baseball tournament for the nurses; some of them are very strong but have no aim whatsoever.”

“If that nurse was a man that’d be a big turn-off,” you mumbled and Pierce cracked a smile at your joke. 

“I can assure you I am both strong and have good aim,” 

“We’ll, it’s too bad everything else about you is a turn-off. Now hold still,” you grabbed his head and looked at the cut. 

“Ow, ow, woman! Careful!” 

“Maybe you should get out of the nurses and Father's way when they’re playing baseball, that way you won’t need…” you counted in your head. “Four stitches.” 

“Glad I’m not in your place Hawkeye,” B.J. patted his back. 

“B.J., can you grab me a local anesthetic?” 

“You sure you don’t wanna make him sit and squirm?” he teased. 

“I’m tempted,” you eyed the dark-haired Captain. 

“Don’t even joke about that B.J.,” Hawkeye warned. 

B.J. got you the local anesthetic and you carefully injected it near the cut and waited a short minute before proceeding with the stitches. 

“Stop squirming, Pierce,” you chastised. 

“Sorry, it just feels so natural to do around you.”

You rolled your eyes, “Who hurt your Pierce, because every time I think you’re a decent guy you go and convince me otherwise.” 

“Her name’s Carley,” B.J. interjected. “Trust me, she messed him up good,”

“At least there’s a reason,” you sighed. 

“What happened to minding your own business,” Pierce looked at B.J. 

“Sorry, that’s my fault I taught him how to gossip,” you joked and Pierce eyed you and then B.J. like you were in on some plan together. “Okay, I’m almost done, got the bandages B.J.?” 

“Right here,” he placed them on the equipment table next to you and as soon as you tied off the last stitch you cut a piece of bandage to tape to his head. 

“Done?” Pierce asked. 

“Almost, B.J.,” you called the other surgeon and you both nodded before kissing the bandage. “There now you’re all set.” 

“Just as long as neither of you gave me some kind of infection.” 

Pierce grabbed his coat and hopped off the gurney, while you cleaned up. 

“Hey, thanks for stitching me up.” 

“No problem, no head-butting until it’s healed,” 

“What if it’s with a trained professional?” he asked. 

“A trained professional?” you raised a brow.

“Like you, considering you’re always butting heads with me,” 

“And what I suppose you want other parts of us to play whoopee too?” 

“Your words, not mine,” he winked and you scoffed, not believing you fell for that. “See you later, my tent, 7 pm?” 

“Nice try, Pierce. Better luck next time.” 

He gave you a lazy salute goodbye and you shook your head as he left the building. That man was one thing if not relentless. 

Tags: @montyfandomlove

#hawkeye pierce #hawkeye pierce x reader #mash #mashblr #mash fanfiction #hawkeye pierce fanfiction

[mariacallous]

There’s a well-established inverse relationship between a dog’s size and its expected lifespan. Bernese mountain dogs and Great Danes live just six to eight years, for example, while corgis can live up to 15 years and Chihuahuas up to two decades.

San Francisco biotech company Loyal wants to close that gap, and is developing an experimental drug to extend the lifespan and improve the quality of life of large and giant dog breeds. Today, the company announced that based on early data, the US Food and Drug Administration has determined that Loyal’s drug has a “reasonable expectation of effectiveness.” The company hasn’t yet shown that its drug actually extends lifespan, but the FDA decision signals the agency’s confidence in Loyal’s approach, and the drug will soon be tested in a bigger trial.

“Big dog owners want more time with their dogs,” says Loyal CEO Celine Halioua. “It’s really heartbreaking to people that they don’t live that long.” She argues that the wide variety in dog sizes isn’t natural, but a result of selective breeding by humans to create dogs with certain physical traits or that can perform specific tasks. On average, mixed-breed dogs live longer than their purebred counterparts.

So far, the FDA has not approved any drugs to expand the lifespan of animals—or humans, for that matter. “This is completely novel,” says Linda Rhodes, former CEO of pet biotech company Aratana Therapeutics and a consultant for Loyal. It’s difficult to study life-extension drugs in people, she says, because humans live relatively longer lives than other species. But starting with dogs—and the breeds with the shortest lives—could yield important clues. “The implication for other species, including humans, is pretty profound,” she says.

Loyal’s experimental drug is an injection designed to be given every three to six months by a veterinarian. The drug is meant to lower levels of a hormone called IGF-1, which is involved in growth and metabolism and has been linked to dog size. Large dogs have a genetic variant that leads to high levels of IGF-1 and small dogs have a different variant that results in lower levels.

Inhibiting this hormone has been shown to increase lifespan in worms, flies, and rodents. In humans, both very high and very low levels increase mortality risk, while a midrange is associated with the lowest mortality.

In early studies, Loyal dosed 130 research dogs with its investigational drug. Halioua says the company has shown that it can reduce IGF-1 levels in large dogs to those seen in medium-size dogs. Two dogs had loose stools for a day or two after receiving the injection, but beyond that, Halioua says, no major side effects have been observed.

To determine the drug’s effect on lifespan, the company is planning a bigger study that will start in 2024 or 2025, and enroll about 1,000 large and giant breed companion dogs that are at least 7 years old. Each will receive either the experimental drug or a placebo.

Halioua says the company aims to have its drug on the market by 2026. But first, Loyal still has to prove to the FDA—which regulates both human and veterinary medicines—that the injection is safe and that the drug can be reliably manufactured. At that point, the FDA can grant conditional approval, a temporary authorization that lasts five years and allows the drug to be sold by prescription. During that time, Loyal will collect effectiveness data and apply for full approval.

Loyal is also working on two other drugs: a pill version for large and giant dog breeds, and a pill for older dogs of all breeds.

Danika Bannasch, a veterinary geneticist at the University of California, Davis, who specializes in canine genetics, says that IGF-1 is only one factor thought to be associated with dog size and longevity. “As for targeting it, I think it’s a bit premature. We know that smaller breed dogs live longer than larger breed dogs, but we don’t know how much of that is due to the influence of IGF-1,” she says.

In a study published last month, Bannasch and her colleagues identified another possible driver of dog longevity, a gene called ERBB4. Studying more than 300 golden retrievers, they compared the DNA from blood samples of dogs that were still alive at 14 years of age to those that died before age 12. They found that dogs with certain variants of the gene survived longer—on average, 13.5 years compared to 11.6 years. Bannasch cautions that the work was conducted in only one breed and that it’s not known whether these variants are associated with longer life in other types of dogs.

The ERBB4 gene is the canine version of HER4, a human gene closely related to HER2, which is associated with cancer. Studying the canine gene could have implications for human health. Researchers are also testing new cancer treatments in dogs with the hope that these therapies could help people.

Giving an experimental drug to healthy dogs is different from treating sick dogs. Bannasch says Loyal’s drug will need to clear a high safety bar for owners to be comfortable giving it to their pets. She also thinks a drug would need to show more than a few months of life extension before people would want to buy it for their dogs. “As a pet owner, I think anything over a year would be great. I suspect people would be really interested in that,” she says.

Linda Rhodes says that humans owe it to dogs to make up for the genetic misfortunes they’ve inherited due to hundreds of years of breeding. “We’ve bred dogs to have problems because we want them to look or act a certain way,” she says. “It’s our responsibility to figure out how we can help.”

[hyungeniuzzz]

PROJECT KING (00)

SYNOPSIS don’t fall in love with your co-workers cousin, especially when she doesn’t want you, (she actually does she’s just won’t admit it)

CONTENTS no warnings!

NOTE this article is writing after the end of the formula 1 / 2 season but before christmas and the pjo premiere

DISCLAIMER i don’t own these pictures, i found all on pinterest! also the ocs faceclaim is sabrina carpenter but be free to image anyone you want!

charlie bushnell/fem. oc smau

series masterlist

The Spanish coastline is a far sight from dizzily London. Situated between a vineyard and a national park is the modern mansion, owned by eight-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez. The morning sunlight filters through the expansive windows, casting a warm glow over the living room. The owner himself is shuffling about in the kitchen, preparing a pot of tea. Despite the thirty-one year olds aggressive nature on the track it’s all smiles and laughter today. His short frame and relaxed personality is not at all what you’d expect from an athlete of his status but the multitude of trophies laid out about the house says all you need to know about Marc Márquez.

But today, the spotlight shift to another figure seated across from me - Xiomara, Marc’s goddaughter, who along with Marc’s father and brother also lives in the Spanish mansion. Xiomara is layed out comfortably on the pristine white sofa, feet tucked under her body, shoes nowhere to be found, and two dogs laid out with her, seemingly with the only goal of making Xiomara’s body disappear from my view. 

In an effort to ease into the interview I ask her about the two dogs; her face lights up like a child in a candy store, cleary a good question to start with.

The two dogs sat with her. Sniper the youngest of the two, I am told, is lying across her lap. He is barely a year old and apparently he’d normally be bouncing off the walls but he’d been taken on an extra long run to make sure he was on his best behaviour for today. 

The oldest, a four year old rescue is laid out by her feet. Aryton is probably the most intimidating dog I’ve come across. All black coat and the size of a lion he’s a cane corse, great dane mix with a missing ear and apparent hatred for anyone that gets in his personal space. He seems more like a docile house cat at Xiomara’s feet though, having no qualms about her fingers playing with his one remaining ear.

Casey Xiomara Márquez-Stoner, named after her illustrious father and another multiple time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner, stands as a testament to the legacy of motorsport that runs deep within her veins. Born into the tumultuous world of MotoGP in 2003, the roar of engines was as familiar as the lullabies sung by most parents. Xiomara's early years were spent amidst the whirlwind of the MotoGP circuit. Her father, Casey Stoner, was a force to be reckoned with on the track, but off it, he was a devoted single father (at the time a teen himself), navigating the complexities of parenthood while chasing his dreams of racing glory.

As Xiomara recounts her journey, her passion for the sport is palpable. "I don't think I could have been anything else, really," she reflects, her gaze steady and determined. "I don't think I know how to do anything else."

From her earliest days, Xiomara's destiny seemed intertwined with the roar of engines and the thrill of the racetrack. There are countless images of a baby Xiomara sat atop bikes that reach speeds over 300kmph (stationary of course) and being passed around by mechanics and strategists alike, but what was it exactly that drew Xiomara into the sport dominated entirely by men. A young girl with a wealthy and well connected dad surely could do anything in life,or even choose to do nothing at all, why decided to race. 

“Dad didn’t know how to raise a kid, there was only one thing he was certain he could do properly and that was race. So he bought me a mini bike when I was a toddler. I don’t think he meant for me to become a racing driver. Infact I know he didn’t, it was just the only thing he was confident in doing.” 

​While most parents would gawk at the idea of handing their young toddler a motorbike there are many images of Xiomara driving through the paddock on that very mini bike as her father prepared for a race.

But if Casey Stoner didn’t want his daughter racing, why did she start? “ that was all Marc,” she smiles fondly. “Marc was only ten when he become my godfather, heck he and my dad didn’t even know each other until an hour before I was born.” 

Now that much be a story. “Yeah, I mean my dad was only seventeen when I was born, he and my mum weren’t on good terms either, he knew he’d be raising me alone. He got the call mum was in labour an hour or so before the Moto3 Barcelona race started so he was very stressed out. He didn’t really know what to do in that moment  so he just run off the grid, grabbed the closest person to him, assuming it was a teammate, told them they were now the godfather and dragged them all the way to the hospital. It wasn’t until the he was at the reception that and the nurse asked who the other person was that he realised he’d kidnapped some random ten-year-old spanish boy.” Xiomara laughs eyes filtering to were Marc is in the kitchen.

​“Neither my dad or Marc are particularly smart. I still can’t believe Marc let some random forgiener drag him away from his parents. In the end it was good he was there though because the Doctor and Nurses didn’t speak much english and all the documentation was in spanish. Without Marc there he never would have been able to fill out my birth certificate. But anyway Marc ended up as my godfather but being only ten he didn’t quite have the parental instruct to protect me like my dad. Marc was starting to become a big thing in the motorsport world, I think he wanted to share the experience with me, so when dad bought me that first bike Marc took it very seriously. He was the one that would take me to compete in races in the early days without dad knowing. Dad always thought I was just going to support Marc at his own races.”

Her dad, who retired in 2012 aged just twenty-seven, now lives back in Australia with his parents on their family Cattle Station. The father-daughter pairing juggle their time between their own obligations in Europe and Australia respectively, trying to make frequent trips to visit each other.

Xiomara's upbringing was a delicate balance between the thrill of the racetrack and the sobering realities of the sport's dangers. Despite her father's initial reservations, Xiomara's passion for racing only intensified under Marc's mentorship. As Xiomara recounts her early years in the world of motorsport, it becomes evident that her bond with Marc goes beyond mere godfatherly duties. He was not just a mentor, but a confidant, a partner in crime, and, in many ways, a second father figure.

"Dad never discouraged me from racing," Xiomara reflects, her voice tinged with a mixture of nostalgia and reverence. "Though he made sure I knew the risks I was taking."

At this point Marc has finally made it to the living room with our tea, allowing for a short break in the conversation. He hands me a wonky mug, clearly handmade with the spanish words for 'best' and 'grandfather' written out messily, each letter a different colour. 

The coversation that passes between the two is soley in spanish, and admittedly my highschool spanish class is failing me. I don't understand what is being said but by Xiomara's waving arms and annoyed tone paired with Marc's amused smile and taunting voice I assumed it was a old gift to Marc's dad from Xiomara; and clearly, by the blush that was creeping up her face she was quite embarrased by it. Even so, when Marc hands her her own cup she responds with a small shake of her head and a soft 'gracias'.

Marc whistles and Sniper and Ayrton finally give Xiomara space and follow Marc outside, allowing Xiomara to stretch out her legs. In the past hour or so Xiomara has let me in and reencountered her childhood, racing motobikes and watching her dad win World Titles but it is not bikes that Xiomara now races. So I ask: "The switch from two wheels to four, hiw exactly did that happen? From what I understand you where quiet succesful on a bike why change it up?"

"I think I was fourteen and I had this massive crash during qualifying in Japan. I was hindsided of the bike and hit the tarmac, broke several ribs, punctured a lung, and shatterd my right arm. I don't even remeber how many surgeries I had now but it meant I was put on the sidelines for a long time. So it gave me alot of time to think.”

I have to ask, “did the crash scare you away from the sport?”

“No not really, I mean it was a scary experience for sure, but mainly because I didn’t know whether or not I would ever race again. I never planned on giving up the bikes.”

“It was during an award ceremony I was attending with my Dad that I decided to switch from bike to cars. We were sat with some pretty iconic drivers. Lewis Hamilton, Mick Doohan, Sebastion Vettel but I'd met them all before. There was only one women on  that table out of the ten or so on the table," Xiomara picks up her phone to show me the screen. On it is a picture of a young Xiomara and an older women I don't recognise. "The other women is Michelle Mouton, she completely changed the direction of my life."

Michelle Mouton, Xiomara explains, is a legendary figure in the world of motorsport. Known for her remarkable achievements in rally racing during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in Group B, a set of regulations that despite its short lifespan left an incredible mark on the sport. She is one of the few women to have made a significant impact in the male dominated sport, and whose story resonates deeply with individual like Xiomara.

Reflecting on that moment, Xiomara shared, “Meeting Michelle Mouton was a turning point for me. Seeing a woman excel in a male-dominated sport like rally racing was incredibly inspiring. It made me rethink my own path.” It was then that Xiomara made the decision to transition from two wheels to four, trading the adrenaline of motorcycle racing for the challenges of competitive driving.

“My encounter with Michelle Mouton made me realize that there were different avenues within motorsport where I could thrive,” Xiomara explained. “So, despite my love for motorcycles, I decided to pursue a new challenge in racing cars.”

In that moment, it became evident that Xiomara's journey was no longer just about following in her father's footsteps but also about carving her own path, fueled by the inspiration of those who had paved the way before her.

The next year Xiomara began karting, “it wasn’t the first time I’d ever driven a kart, not by a long shot. I’d regularly go to the local track and drive around it when I had time off between my races. A lot of the time I was driving with the likes of Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher and Dorianne Pin. Just a lot of the folk that ended up racing in f1.”

“My first year was a bit up and down, I would completely blitz the competition one weekend but the next I’d crash out every session. It was easy to see how inexperienced I was compared to the other drivers. But I had a lot of advantages that others didn’t as well. I had access to mentoring from the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton though my dad, even Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikonnen would occasionally give me pointers. My second year was miles better, and I ended up winning the world championship in Germany.”

Xiomara would move up to Italian Formula 4 the following year in 2020 as well as competing in the V8 supercars series in Australia, “by that point I had gotten into a bit of a groove, I managed to win a race in the V8s but open wheel driving was where I was successful. I won the Italian championship with a race to spare.”

The young woman spent a two year stint, competing in super formula in Japan (a nice return for her after having spent two years of her childhood in a japanese school) winning the championship in the second year before moving onto F2. Where she competed against the familiar names of Ollie Bearman, Théo Pourchaire, Ayumu Iwasa and fellow aussie and son of a MotoGP champion Jack Doohan. All drivers with connections to formula 1 teams and yet she completely dominated the season. Winning nine out of thirteen feature races, and standing on the podium for all but two of the rounds.

Now as, the year comes the the end and the Formula 1 season draws closer and closer, bystanders, including myself, can’t help but wonder if, like many of the F2 champions before her, Xiomara will get a seat in the premier class or will her gender leave her on the sidelines of the sport. 

word count 2.2 k

#project king #charlie bushnell #smau #fanfic #pjo #pjo tv show #formula 1 #motogp #casey stoner #marc marquez

[the-woild-is-y-erster]

hmmmit is two am but i just

i may not completely love my body and everything

but i want to be imperfect, i want to have crows feel and wrinkles, i want to have scars, i want to have freckles and blemishes and birth marks and weird divots and bumps on my skin, i want to not be ashamed of stuff like my chipped tooth and body hair or stretch marks, or the wrinkles already forming on my forehead and eyes, i want to love the patchy parts on my face and the scars on my scalp from peeling up pieces of it a few years ago when i was doing bad, i want to love the scars on my arms and thighs, i want to love my big hands and my small chest and my broad shoulders!!!!

i want to get old i want to live i want to do things i want to experience life!!!!!! maybe i'll get fat when i get old, that'll be cool!! or i'll lose a leg or something or an eye or get some more cool scars!!!! that's totally fine!!!!!! that's what it means to be human, and i have so much time but not that much at all, so why not just do whatever? dye my hair red, shave it off, get tattoos get pierced live in my body and like it!!!!!

being a perfect plastic doll is unrealistic. no one can truly be flawless, and that's what makes us cool. my scars, and my stretch marks, and my freckles and aggressive tan lines are proof of me living!! i exist, and they show that!! they show me falling off a scooter and breaking my nose when i was ten, and getting bitten by a great dane when i was twelve, and messing up my knees on a waterslide when i was eight and running head first into the corner of a wall when i was three and crawling under the table at the cheesecake factory when i was six and cutting my knee open to the bone somehow and making my elbow click when i bend it because i flew off the swings when i was four and i thought i broke it and getting my hands bitten by a squirrel last year and getting a staph infection on my leg a few years back!!!!!! my body is so fascinating and maybe i don't remember that all the time but it is!!!!

anyway. tl:dr your body (yes you!!) is SO fcking cool and unique and we may not love our bodies and that's okay, but you are so amazing and beautiful and ugly and weird and incredible!!!!!

#long post #body posititivity #i guess #okay beddie bye time for ez ya'll i am SLEEBY but ily all sm <33333

[byronxmarkusxchristiansen]

Out and About

Oh it had been a while since Markus had been out enjoying and exploring some of the delights the island had to offer. Certain stock and 'futures' were exceedingly lucrative. The money was flying in and even more in a matter of weeks. If he was right and usually he was he was looking at high seven figures low eight. Not bad for a quarter. He knew that he had a rather negative reputation, but that was more from his so called sister rather than his actions though perhaps a small amount that. Didn't matter as he had money and power so who really cared what others thought about him. He was sitting down at a nice cafe with his Great Dane Titan at his side as he leaned back in his chair sipping his iced coffee thinking about what to do with the rest of his day. Perhaps he would go find a slave to service him or anything else for that matter. @the-institute-starters

#Markus #theinstitutestarter

[eternitysoup]

Sitting in bed, watching Nami's Life on YouTube. There's something truly captivating about her shopping and cooking routines. The videos are tranquil and aesthetic. Today, she's preparing okonomiyaki, a dish I find absolutely delicious and a fantastic way to incorporate vegetables into my diet. I think that will be lunch today. I have more cleaning planned for the day, so I need to have ample energy to move around efficiently.

My knee hasn't been causing me any discomfort lately. Although it feels a bit stiff, the pain and swelling have subsided. I've noticed some peculiar bruises on my arms and legs over the past few days. I suspect they're a result of my wrestling matches with my 160-pound dog. Despite being 10, he possesses an impressive level of agility. This dog is the love of my life, and it saddens me to think about the inevitable day when he won't be by my side. Even my boyfriend acknowledges that the dog is my true love, becoming an inside joke between us.

He's a mix of Great Dane and Great Pyrenees, affectionately referred to as a Great Pyredane. According to Google, he falls under the category of a designer breed. We "acquired" him from a girl ten years ago when he was 3 months old. She had abandoned him when she moved out of her apartment, and we took it upon ourselves to rescue him. A year later, she showed up at our door to get him back, but I reminded her she told me I could keep him back in May. I made it clear that I had kept those messages as evidence, leaving her with little recourse in court. Nothing ever came of her attempt to reclaim him. It's worth noting that she never deserved this dog; he suffered from malnourishment and illness before we intervened. In fact, my boyfriend had to break into her apartment to rescue the dog, finding him locked in a bathroom without food and only a bathtub filled with soiled water. It took months of dedicated care to restore his health and reach a suitable body weight. When she showed up at our door a year later, hoping to take him back, he literally pissed himself. There was no way we would allow her to have him.

Apologies for the lengthy digression, but thinking of my dog's final days has me thinking about the start of them. It's evident that the universe had a hand in bringing us together. We randomly met the girl on Facebook when she invited us to smoke weed at her place the same week she got the dog. She asked us to babysit him for a few days when he was around eight months old, and then, about a month later, when he was roughly twelve weeks old, we found ourselves becoming his permanent caretakers. She had already abandoned him within such a short timeframe. It's disheartening to witness such cruelty, but I firmly believe that the universe guided him into our lives for a reason. He receives nothing but love and adoration here, living a life of indulgence befitting every beloved pet.

#journal #my blog #blog #life #my journal #my stuff #my post #sorry for being depressing #doggo #dog

[eternalowl]

Eternals incorrect quotes

Ikaris: Can I bother you for a second?

Thena: You're always bothering me, but go ahead.

Ikaris: That's greatly offensive to my people.

Phastos: College dropouts?

Thena: All in all, a 100% successful trip.

Sprite: But we lost Ikaris.

Thena: All in all, a 100% successful trip!

Sersi: Someone’s trying to break in. Call the cops!

Ajak: *loads shotgun* I got this.

Sersi: Last week you fell up the stairs, what do you meaN-

Phastos: And here we see Sersi and Dane in their natural habitat. Texting eachother variations of the word "garlic bread" to try to make eachother laugh.

Sersi: Gaelic bread.

Dane: Grueling brad.

Sersi: Ha ha, glamorous beans.

Kingo: I would do anything for money.

*later*

Kingo, covered in blood: THE STATEMENT STILL STANDS!

Ajak: I want a trip down memory lane.

Sersi: *proceeds to grab every warrior cats book she has and sets them in Ajak’s lap*

Sersi: I heard you needed these?

Ajak: YES! ALL OF THEM!

Kingo: Sersi is restricted to decaf for the rest of this adventure.

Ajak: Sersi is late again.

Phastos: How did this happen? I called her at 8 o’clock this morning and pretended it was 11.

Makkari: I printed up a fake schedule for her saying we were starting at 9 instead of noon.

Gilgamesh: I set her clock to say PM when it’s really AM.

Ajak: Oh boy. We may have overdone it.

*Sersi bursts through the door*

Sersi: WHAT TIME IS IT?

Thena: If I ever had a child, I imagine they would be a lot like you.

Ikaris: Aww, thanks—

Thena: Which is why I’m glad we can’t reproduce.

(THENA O U C H)

Sersi: Hey, Druig, are you free on Friday? Like around eight?

Druig: Yeah.

Sersi: And you, Makkari?

Makkari: Umm... yes?

Sersi: Great! Because I'm not. You two go out without me. Enjoy your date!

Druig: Did she just-

Sersi: Why are your tongues purple?

Druig: We had slushies. I had a blue one.

Makkari: I had a red one.

Sersi: oh.

Sersi:

Sersi: OH.

Kingo:

Kingo: You drank eachothers slushies?

Thena: I scare people a lot because I walk very softly and they don't hear me enter rooms. So when they turn around, I'm just kind of there and their fear fuels me.

Thena: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-

Gilgamesh: I wrote you a poem

Thena, already crying: You did?

Thena, setting down a card: Ace of spades.

Gilgamesh, pulling out an Uno card: +4.

Sersi, pulling out a Pokémon card: Jolteon, I choose you!

Ajak, trembling: What are we playing?!

#eternals #eternals thena #eternals incorrect quotes #drukkari #eternals druig #eternals makkari #eternals sersi #eternals ajak #thenamesh #eternals ikaris #eternals phastos #eternals kingo #eternals sprite #eternals gilgamesh #dane whitman #Ajak got a gun #Thena gradually breaking down Ikaris’s soul #everyone giving Sersi a mental breakdown over the time #I hate that I can vividly picture the one with Kingo #murdering for money #these tags are a new breed #THENA O U C H #I’m in love with the idea of Thena being a total softy when it comes to Gil

[endlessly-cursed]

My Founder's Era Book: A Living Dynasty

Synopsis: Henriette of Wessex is everything any girl of her era would want: she's beautiful, rich, as rich as the expensive clothes she wears, the cutlery she eats from, the food she consumes, the men that ask for her hand, and has the highest of the status... as a reward for her friendship with Queen Emma of Normandy. But one fateful feast changes everything: it reveals that she is indeed a witch and is called by a woman of the name Helga Hufflepuff to fight the 'Mage War'. Becoming during that night a runaway bride, she'll seek refuge in Helga's side... making history for both her family and England.

Part One: The Beggining of All

Prologue: Who Is She?

Chapter One: Runaway Bride

Chapter Two: An Unseen England

Chapter Three: The Great War

Chapter Four: Helga's Team

Chapter Five: Meeting the Monarch

Chapter Six: Bad Blood

Chapter Seven: The Battle of Mercia

Part Two: Makers of History

Chapter Eight: An Historical Supper

Chapter Nine: Hogwarts

Chapter Ten: When Home Calls

Chapter Eleven: The Queen Will See You Now

Chapter Twelve: The Danes

Final Part: Building A Dynasty

Chapter Thirteen: The Joust

Chapter Fourteen: The Death of King Æthelred

Chapter Fifteen: What Women Do Best

Chapter Sixteen: Matters of the Heart

Chapter Seventeen: The Choice

Chapter Eighteen: Family Above All

Chapter Nineteen: Bound to Fall in Love

Chapter Twenty: Thirty Years Old

Epilogue: Immortal She

Main Cast

Diane Kruger as Henriette of Wessex

Alexandra Dowling as Helga Hufflepuff

Laura Berlin as Queen Emma of Normandy

Anybody as Monarch Betwixt

Kerry Condon as Dorothea of Bristol

Alexander Dreymont as Frederick of Kent

Tagging the ones involved: @hphmmatthewluther @that-scouse-wizard

Tagging people who might be interested: @camillejeaneshphm @gaygryffindorgal @nicos-oc-hell @catohphm @lifeofkaze

#founder's era #founder's era fiction #oc: henriette of wessex #helga hufflepuff #betwixt the changeling #frederick of kent #fic intro #i'm warning y'all #i'm a slow writer #especially with other TWO fics ongoing

[lovelyfanatical]

I Get a Sugar Rush Whenever I'm With You - Chapter 8.3

Good evening fellow Drukkari stans, or whatever time it is for you! I come bearing another mini-chapter! If you've fallen behind and need to catch up, you can find all previous installments on my Table of Contents here. Druig is still trying to figure out what Sersi (and Makkari) is up to, but he's hoping Kingo will help him make some headway. Will he succeed? Find out now, in the next mini-chapter of Drukkari in the Great British Bake Off!

The delicate balance Druig was trying to maintain tipped heavily with the technical. While he'd suspected his previous win would be a fluke, coming in dead last the very next week was still a low blow. He did his best to get his moping out before dinner, as he'd have other things to think about. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one moping this week.

"Cheer up, Sersi. At least you made it to Week Eight," Kingo said, trying and failing to sound upbeat. Right on cue, he was hit by a flying crouton. "I haven't missed that."

You're making it sound like she's already lost, Makkari chided as he glared at her.

"There's always tomorrow," Gil added, sounding a little more reassuring than Kingo.

"Thanks, but I've definitely got my work cut out for me tomorrow," Sersi noted, wearing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"At least you didn't come in last," Druig muttered, earning a genuinely sympathetic smile from Sersi.

"So, this is what he's usually like?" Phastos asked.

"More or less, yes," Sersi confirmed.

"Okay, enough brooding! Fill me in on all the dinner gossip I've been missing!" Kingo interjected.

I already filled you in, so you haven't missed much! Makkari declared.

"Seriously? Wow, you really need me around to keep things interesting, don't you," he replied smugly, prompting Makkari to roll her eyes.

"So, you've told him about all our love lives?" Gil asked nonchalantly.

"I mean, she didn't go into as much detail as she could've, but yes," Kingo remarked. "You and Thena were pretty obvious, though, so I figured that out on my own."

"I'm not repeating my stories from last week," Phastos declared.

"That's fine, I'm more interested in drama between bakers. No offense."

"Offense taken."

"And I already know about Sersi and Dane, of course."

"Of course," Sersi responded before turning to Makkari and Druig. That reminds me we still haven't picked a time for drinks.

"Excuse me, just because you didn't say it out loud doesn't mean I didn't see that. What's this about drinks?" Kingo interjected. Druig's expression was unreadable, but Sersi and Makkari gave each other a slightly panicked look as the rest of the group waited expectantly. Wincing, Sersi spoke up first.

"I was just going to treat Makkari and Druig to drinks for helping me with Dane," she admitted. As they had feared, Kingo was not amused.

"I said we should go out for drinks together weeks ago! I helped with Dane, too. And you were just going to go without me!?" he ranted.

"Sorry, I didn't know you helped," Sersi said sheepishly.

Well, you didn't help that much, Makkari added.

"I helped enough to warrant an invitation!" Kingo insisted.

Much to Druig's confusion, a mildly pained look came over both Sersi and Makkari's faces. The rest of them had all lapsed into an awkward silence as they watched the conversation play out. Finally, Makkari gave Druig a quick look before she spoke.

Sersi, can Kingo come too?

"Always room for one more," Sersi answered. The two women looked at Kingo in anxious anticipation. He stared them down for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"I'll have to make room in my very busy schedule, but sure, I'd love to."

Druig swore he could see the tension leaving Makkari and Sersi's shoulders, but not entirely. The group collectively began picking at whatever food they had left before Phastos broke the silence.

"Well, Kingo, you do keep things lively."

"Told you," he replied proudly.

-

In all the excitement, Kingo had completely forgotten the ultimate reason he'd been invited to dinner. He'd also forgotten what time he needed to leave to sneak back to his hotel, and it was now quite late, a fact that only crossed his mind as they were leaving Sersi's room. Druig was about to volunteer his room when, much to his surprise, Makkari beat him to it.

You can take mine. I'll ask Sersi if I can share with her, she said. I just need to get a couple things first.

"Thanks, even if you didn't tell Sersi how useful I was in getting her and Dane together," he responded.

"We're very sorry, Kingo. We'll make sure we invite you to every outing for eternity," Druig deadpanned.

"That would be much appreciated. Goodnight." And with that he walked away.

Makkari turned back to Druig to bid him goodnight when he asked, Can we talk? Before you go to Sersi's?

She nodded before running after Kingo.

-

About ten minutes later, there was a knock on Druig's door. He opened it to find Makkari, now in pajamas. Before he could say anything, she was already pushing past him and into the room, so he shut the door behind her.

I'm sorry Kingo blew it, Makkari said when he turned back around.

That certainly didn't go the way we thought, but I wouldn't say he blew it completely, Druig answered carefully.

Really? How so? she asked.

I knew there was something odd about Sersi suddenly wanting to take us out for drinks. Tonight, she was very reluctant to invite Kingo, he observed.

I guess she was, Makkari said. She was avoiding eye contact.

You were as well, he pointed out.

Was I? I did ask Sersi to invite him, she continued, her face beginning to flush. Druig took a step toward her as he pushed on.

Makkari, you know what Sersi's planning, don't you?

She took a deep breath and finally looked him in the eye. Druig could see a flurry of emotions running through her mind. I might, she said meekly.

Why didn't you tell me? he asked in earnest.

It's a surprise, she answered, a hint of a smile on her face.

A surprise… for me?

Makkari nodded, her smile growing. An odd sensation that felt like a mixture of relief and anticipation washed over him.

And Kingo being there ruins it?

I've said too much. I can't tell you any more, she said firmly.

You mean you're still not going to tell me what it is? he said, eyebrows raising.

Nope. I'm sworn to secrecy.

Without another word, Druig took a few steps away and collapsed face first onto his bed like a petulant child. Just as he'd hoped, Makkari barked out a laugh. He suppressed a smile as he turned over to sign, Merciful Makkari, please put me out of my misery.

Dearest Druig, I'm afraid I can't do that, she answered, still giggling as she walked over to sit by him on the bed.

Why not?

I pinky promised.

Alright, I can see your hands are tied. This prompted another round of giggles from Makkari. Once she'd calmed down again, Druig asked, Is it at least a good surprise?

I hope so, she said thoughtfully. Okay, that's all I'm saying about it. No more questions.

Very well, he conceded with a sigh. What should we talk about, then?

How delicious Gil's pie was today?

That was an incredible pie. Must've been working on the recipe for ages.

They talked on and on, jumping from subject to subject with the ease of two people who'd known each other for years. Sometimes, Druig had to remind himself they'd only met a couple of months ago. While he fought it for as long as he could, Druig eventually felt himself drifting off into a restful sleep.

-

Leave it to Kingo to help by also completely messing things up 🤣 Anyway, hope you enjoyed this mini-installment!

Part 29

#lovelyfanatical shares #drukkari gbbo au #drukkari #druig x makkari #eternals #eternals fanfiction #kingo the drama king #hope you liked the fluff #because it's about to get real #not too real #but still #👀 👀 👀

[praeteritus-memories]

LAYER ONE: THE OUTSIDE.

name: Vlad Tepes the 3rd - Dracula - Alucard

eye color: Amber / Orange-ish red

hair style/color: Black, shoulder-length shaggy look but frequently changes his hair length

height: 6'7"

clothing style: Red coat, red sun hat and a Victorian-esque suit. It's unknown why, but he does prefer Victorian fashion over contemporary styles. Even if he has to, Alucard is never seen without wearing red red aside from releasing one his control restrictions.

best physical feature: His eyes.

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE.

your fears: He's already lived his greatest fears, but it's losing control and watching his loved ones die an agonizing death.

your guilty pleasure: He really loves modern rock music, given his story takes place in 1999, he specifically loves grunge.

your ambitions for the future: It was originally just to die at the hands of an ordinary human, but considering some circumstances, I think his ambition now is just whatever Integra's ambitions are.

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS.

your first thoughts waking up: "What a perfect moonlit night."

what you think about most: "I wonder...What would they think of a world like this?"

what you think about before bed: "Being out in the middle of the day is too troublesome..."

what you think your best quality is: "Me? My skills with a gun obviously."

WHAT’S BETTER?

single or group dates: Prefers single, he's kind of an introvert so crowds and groups just kinda irk him.

to be loved or respected: Both

beauty or brains: Brains, he loves a smart mind to debate with lol

dogs or cats: Dogs, specifically he loves larger dog breeds like Great danes and Newfoundlands.

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU…

lie:  "When don't I lie?"

believe in yourself: "Who doesn't?"

believe in love: "...I did. When you're as old as I am, an answer like that isn't so easy to come up with."

want someone: "I have everything I could ever need."

LAYER SIX: EVER BEEN…

been on stage: "No. I prefer to watch a stage."

done drugs: "Attempted out of curiosity, but they have no effect on me so it was ultimately a waste of time."

changed who you were to fit in: "What kind of pathetic person does that? Never, to change myself to the ridiculous idea of 'fitting in' is truly something only a mortal child could do."

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES.

favorite color: Red and wine-red.

favorite animal: Black dogs.

favorite movie: "Ah, Twilight, my favorite comedic film. Truly, human film hasn't made me laugh that much in a long time."

favorite game: "Chess."

LAYER EIGHT: AGE.

day your next birthday will be: "If my birth date is lost to time, it should stay that way."

how old will you be: "Does it matter? Simply another year older."

age you lost your virginity: "...I'm not going to disclose that."

does age matter: "Of course. I may be a monster, but I am not that kind of monster."

LAYER NINE: IN A PERSON.

best personality: "Anyone with a sharp tongue. It's boring if I can't have a battle of wits."

best eye color: "I don't think something so trivial matters."

best hair color: "The appearance of a woman doesn't matter to me, simply personality, so any outward appearance doesn't matter."

best thing to do with a partner: "Just to talk, about anything."

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE.

i love: "Bloody revenge."

i feel: "Bored of these questions."

i hide: "My innermost feelings."

i miss: "..." His son but he could never answer that-

i wish: "I hadn't given up my humanity so foolishly. Truly, I was a coward of a human man."

tagged by: @jade-snow

tagging: @devildukem @ofhardknoxxx @neverwavers @ofsgiathan @tricksheart and anyone else reading!!! c:

[momoiiiyume]

cuddling in the morning

bustafe au limbo x risa wc: 941

===

Birds could be heard chirping outside as the morning light hit her eyes, making them slowly open up. As she awakes, she realizes that this is not her room. It may look almost identical to her, but the picture frame of a great dane on the side table tells her otherwise.

She recalls last night that she went to Limbo's room to hang out for no particular reason. Limbo was working on a case, so she hung out in his room until he was done.

Eight hours later, she wakes up, but not in her room. When did she fall asleep? She turned her body over to see Limbo on the other side of the bed. He probably didn't want to wake her up and decided to sleep himself. A part of her did wish he could princess carry her back into her room, but he was probably too tired. Either way, this was fine.

He was sleeping soundly with his back facing her. She can see his chest rise up and then down. Soft and quiet snores can be heard from him. She let out a gentle smile at the sight. She leaned closer to kiss him on his cheek before heading to his en-suite. He won't mind her using it.

She just washed her face since her skincare and makeup products weren't in his bathroom. She'll have to get ready later. Standing in front of the mirror, she noticed a strange discoloration on her neck. Risa went closer to the mirror to inspect it; it looked like a hickey. Oh no. When did he do that? Her face flushed with embarrassment. Ugh, Limbo.

Done with the bathroom, she returned to his room and looked at his bedside clock. Oh, it was almost time for him to get up. Turn the alarm off for today; she decides to be his alarm instead.

She climbs back up on the bed to crawl closer to him. "Limbo~ It's time to wake up. You'll be late for work." She says in his ear. He groaned, but he did not awake. She tries a more touchy approach and taps him on his shoulder. "Limbo, please wake up. You have work today."

"5 more minutes…" He manages to say in a raspy voice, but his eyes remain closed. She sighs. This was a first for her as he always woke up first. She never got the chance to wake him up.

Risa reaches for his face, unsure what she's doing, but suddenly, a hand grabs her waist and pulls her in. She finds herself in Limbo's arms. "L-Limbo!!" She yells in shock.

"Shh, let me sleep a bit more." He whispers to her before falling asleep. Risa is face to face with him, and his soft features are just too cute to resist, but this is not happening. Just then, Limbo pulls her more into him like she's a doll. While she appreciates the cuddles, she wants him to wake up and start the day with him. And also do her skincare routine.

While she's in her thoughts, she feels something against her legs. She gasped and moved her legs away from it. No way. As much as she loved every part of his body, she was not in the mood for anything right now. She just wants him to wake up.

She attempts to wiggle out of his grasp but forgets he's stronger. "Limbo, please wake up. You'll be late for work." She pleads to him as she keeps trying to wiggle out.

There was no response from him. She turned herself away from him and spotted her phone on the table. Managing to get out an arm, she reaches for it. She texts her friend, Sarah, for help.

Risa: hi good morning. i need help. im in limbo's room but he got me trapped D:

Sarah: omw 🫡

With help on the way, she puts her phone down and waits for Sarah to save her. Did his grip get tighter?

She heard footsteps not a second longer, and the door opened to reveal her saviour, holding an axe. Where did she get that?

"I'm here!" Sarah shouts and immediately heads to the bed, grabbing Limbo's arm to loosen it and freeing Risa. She falls from the bed, but it doesn't matter as she stands up. "Thanks, Sarah." She says.

"No problem; I was beginning to wonder where you were. You're usually the first one in the kitchen." Sarah giggles. "I saved your breakfast, and it's still nice and warm."

"Thanks, I can always count on you." She smiles. As the two talk, they hear a groaning from the bed. "Hm?" Limbo's eyes finally opened, and he sat up on the bed. He sees the two girls in the room as he was scratching his head. "What are you two doing here?" Did he not remember? Sarah laughs, "Nothing. Come on, wake up and let's eat breakfast!" Sarah heads out first. Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore she saw a glare coming from Sarah before she left the room. Risa awkwardly laughs, unsure how to respond. "I… tried to wake you up, but you couldn't."

"Ah, sorry for the trouble. I'm awake now." He gets up from the bed to go to her. He kisses her on the lips before a scheming smirk appears on his face. "I wanted to stay in bed longer with you, but that plan seems to fail. We can try again next time." He whispers in her ear and kissed it before heading to his en-suite. Risa remains frozen in place. He knew what he was doing…!

#drabbles #with limbo #bustafe au

[mariacallous]

When I was 12, I was hooked on James Bond, both Ian Fleming's elegantly pulpy novels and the cartoonish movies they spawned. One day, my friend's older brother, who went to Harvard, tossed a paperback onto my lap and said, "Here's the real thing, kid."

The book was The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, the 1963 thriller by John le Carre. I opened it expecting a racier version of what I found in 007 — you know, Asian thugs with steel-rimmed bowlers, gorgeous women as sweetly pliable as taffy. What I got was a dankly bitter tale of betrayal ending at the Berlin Wall. I hated it. It was just too sophisticated for the adolescent me.

You see, le Carre wasn't merely a better writer than Fleming, but a reaction against him. Where 007 fought amusingly acronymed groups like SPECTRE, le Carre conjured a Cold War hall of mirrors in which spy craft wasn't about knife fights and hot sex, but about gambits and machinations in which it was hard to tell the good guys from the bad.

His masterpiece was 1974's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy — not merely the greatest spy novel ever written, but the source of a 1979 BBC adaptation that's the greatest spy show ever made. In anticipation of a new film version that's coming out in a few weeks — the story, you see, is irresistible — the series has just been re-released on DVD, along with its sequel, Smiley's People. Watching again, I found it every bit as gripping as the first three times I watched it.

The great Alec Guinness stars as George Smiley, an honorable spy chief who's been ousted after a shakeup in British intelligence — known as The Circus. But once it becomes clear that there's a mole, or double agent, high up in The Circus, Smiley is brought back to catch him. He does this in the old school, pre-Google way, by sifting through papers and questioning anyone who might be involved, all in a style that's unsettlingly calm.

Bluntness isn't Smiley's thing. He's like the world's greatest poker player, all quiet observation, laconic dialogue and unreadable reactions. As played by Guinness, a master of the ambiguous smile, Smiley exudes a melancholy kindness that may not be kind, and a knowledge of human frailty that's profound — yet not profound enough to keep his own wife from cheating on him.

When le Carre first became famous, he was celebrated for being so realistic. Yet his fictional world is actually every bit as mythological as Fleming's. It's just subtler. In fact, Tinker, Tailor offers the seductive fantasy of entering a secret world, one imagined with alluring richness. We breathe a conspiratorial mental atmosphere in which Every Single Word might be important. And we encounter an oh-so-proper bureaucracy in which the deadliest snakes aren't the Soviets, but the colleagues slithering around your office. Here, even the most devout patriot will be sacrificed by his own side in the great chess game of Cold War politics.

Like millions of others, I can't get enough of this stuff, but for a while it all but vanished. You see, le Carre's brand of espionage tale was rooted in the Cold War, which offered the neatness of two opposed sides facing off. When communism collapsed, so did the contemporary spy novel. The West lacked a clearly defined enemy.

Happily for spy stories, though not for the world, it has one again in radical Islam. And almost predictably, we've begun seeing le Carre-tinged espionage stories — like Showtime's current series Homeland, in which Claire Danes plays a CIA agent who doesn't quite trust anyone, not even her own bosses, and PBS's Page Eight, starring the wonderful British actor Bill Nighy as a canny old spy who stumbles upon volatile knowledge he'd sooner not know.

I can recommend both. Yet truthfully, neither can rival Tinker, Tailor, an almost perfect fantasy for those of us less thrilled by shootouts or chases on jet-skis than by the exposure of what lies hidden. In fact, what makes le Carre's spy stories so primally gripping is that, at bottom, they're not actually about espionage. They're about secrets and lies and shifting identities — which is to say, they're a metaphor for our own daily lives. Except, of course, that Smiley's story is really, really exciting.

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

For ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble,’ Claire Danes and Jesse Eisenberg Say I Do

In “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” Claire Danes and Jesse Eisenberg play two halves of a splintered couple.Credit...Thea Traff for The New York Times

The actors share a doomed union in this new FX series. In a joint interview, they discuss their own marriages and how it felt to depict such a contentious one.

By Alexis Soloski

Nov. 4, 2022

Marriage, the actress Claire Danes insisted, means sacrificing certain freedoms.

“That’s one of the great gifts of it,” she said. “But sometimes that shoe feels a little snug. There are moments when you’re like, ‘Actually, I would go in a different direction here.’”

“For me, I’m just so happy to have a shoe on,” said Jesse Eisenberg, her work husband.

In “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” FX’s limited series adaptation of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s 2019 novel, Danes, 43, and Eisenberg, 39, star as Rachel and Toby Fleishman. Long married and recently separated, the Fleishmans — she’s a high-powered talent agent; he’s a hepatologist — inhabit the upper echelons of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The first two episodes arrive on Hulu on Nov. 17, with a new episode each Thursday for six more weeks. (Brodesser-Akner, who wrote seven of the eight episodes, is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine.)

On a recent afternoon, Danes (“Homeland,” “The Essex Serpent”) and Eisenberg (“The Social Network,” “When You Finish Saving the World”) met in an office at FX’s Manhattan headquarters with a “Fleishman”-like view of mid-rises and water towers. Danes is married to the actor Hugh Dancy, Eisenberg to the educator Anna Strout. But for about six months — despite having met only once more than a decade before, when Eisenberg was extremely high — they had to pretend to be married to each other in a show that shadows one union from early courtship to eventual implosion and beyond, tracing its breakdown with granular specificity and occasional double vision.

The novel argues that “beyond your point of view lies an abyss with a bubbling cauldron of fire, and that just beyond that abyss lies your spouse’s point of view.” And so the show stages some scenes from Rachel’s point of view and some from Toby’s. (The pilot was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, executive producers who are themselves married.)

How was it playing a couple locked in a cycle of neglect, reproach and retaliation? “Very comfortable actually,” Danes said, kicking off her Jimmy Choos. Eisenberg, on the opposite end of the sofa, agreed: “She’s the greatest.”

They had a terrific work marriage, Danes confirmed, while “depicting a very bad, unhealthy, unnatural one.”

In an hour’s chat, as the autumn light outside the window turned the city golden, the two actors discussed marriage, divorce and dodgeball. These are excerpts from the conversation.

Did you know each other before this?

JESSE EISENBERG We did.

CLAIRE DANES I didn’t remember.

EISENBERG It’s a funny story.

DANES Tell the story.

EISENBERG My [future] wife took me to some benefit thing in Brooklyn, probably 15 years ago. I was the most stoned I’ve ever been. I was just talking to this woman, and I’m like, “I’ve met my soul mate.” I ran over to Anna. I was like, “That woman is amazing.” She was like, “That’s Claire Danes, good luck.”

So you met once. Then suddenly here you are, married. This show is such an intimate appraisal of a marriage. Can anyone on the outside ever understand what goes on inside a marriage?

DANES I think the people in it barely understand, and it changes over time. It is an astonishing invention. It’s imperfect. But I personally don’t have a better model. I am attracted to it and fascinated by it and find it a very worthwhile pursuit. It’s a way to continue exploring who you are and where you are.

EISENBERG It’s also an attractive prospect for me. The alternative is not interesting or desirable. My wife and I have had probably the same dynamic for the many, many years we’ve been together, the same arguments and the same joys. The TV show presents that. Except that this is a doomed marriage.

DANES In my actual relationship, when we were met with a certain level of stress that we were ill equipped to cope with, we had to develop techniques and strategies and skills to become a better functioning couple. Our characters were not able to do that. They got swallowed by points on their continuum that were just too hard. And they didn’t have the self-awareness or the self-possession or the guts to be honest with each other. They just retreated further and further.

When you were preparing for these roles, did you sit down and map out what this relationship had been, what their history was?

DANES Not really. We had a few dinners with Taffy and the cast, which were valuable. And we had rehearsals, abbreviated but dense, which were really effective because of these exercises that Jon and Val offered us. Writing exercises, primarily, which was very annoying, because Jesse is an actual writer and an excellent one. I was like, this isn’t fair.

EISENBERG I thought iambic pentameter was appropriate!

DANES But it did provide a lot of insight. Then we played dodgeball. I was wearing clogs, which I don’t recommend.

What do you think Rachel and Toby saw in each other in the first place?

DANES They do, actually, really like each other. They have easy, happy chemistry. They probably share a sense of humor. And they did have similar values once upon a time. He was her first true friend ever. I don’t think she would have left him had he not insisted on it.

EISENBERG The thing that attracts you to the person is what’s different about them. But that’s also what becomes their undoing, because the chasm between my character’s value system and hers is too wide.

DANES Are your parents still together?

EISENBERG My parents are married.

DANES My parents, too. They’ve been married for 55 years or something like that? They met at 18. At RISD [Rhode Island School of Design]. And they’re still very in love.

So how was it being married to each other for the camera?

DANES Very joyful. I love working with Jesse. He’s very gifted and very present and profoundly, almost pathologically generous — truly, really. And just an amazingly playful partner. It was so much fun tearing into each other.

EISENBERG That felt right, too. It felt good.

DANES What’s extraordinary about the novel, and now this interpretation of it: It’s very comic, but it’s also quite raw and wrenching. Threading that needle is fun, but a challenge. Rachel was tough for me, because she was so intensely polished in some ways and so profoundly fractured in others. Figuring out how to coordinate that was the trick of it. There are episodes where we hear his account, then we get hers. We shot those scenes, one after the other — that was very strange. It was like an acting exercise. It’s a matter of degrees.

EISENBERG Exactly. She would be 10 percent more hateful, more stubborn. Then my character would be more aloof and unaware of her pain.

So these were small changes.

DANES But consequential.

Do you think you could be married to each other in real life?

EISENBERG When I met Claire at that benefit, I immediately ran over to tell my wife that yes, I could be married to that person.

DANES And he was right, in a way. A little prescient there.

Parts of the show are very light, very funny; other parts are more intense. Did you take any of that home with you?

DANES It’s funny: With “Homeland,” the character was so very other, so alien, it was easy to compartmentalize. I got a little cocky about it. This one was a lot closer, a lot more reminiscent. Playing a married person with kids, I was at greater risk of taking it home than I have been with other projects, which surprised me. I had a couple of fights with Hugh, and I was like, “Whoa, this is not to do with us.” So that was humbling. And mildly distressing. But once I became aware of it, it was fine.

EISENBERG I had the exact same thing. I would have these arguments that end with, “You’ve always done this,” which is how Toby accuses Rachel. You spend 12 hours a day having a certain very specific resentment. You take that home and the circumstances overlap enough to the point where you might accuse your loving, sweet partner of the same thing.

DANES But the appreciation for Hugh was also so heightened, because I was living in this hell. It was so painful and so terrifying, deeply destabilizing. We really do need relationships. We can’t really cope in isolation. It’s just not how we function. There’s something very moving about that.

EISENBERG As actors, you sometimes get to run these social experiments, playing a character that might overlap with you enough to give you a sense of what you would be like in these circumstances. This was a great example, because I’m quite similar to Toby.

DANES It’s a real privilege to be able to explore those particularly daunting, intimidating, scary zones, but in the land of make-believe. So relatively safely.

So did you perform the thought experiment of what life would be like if you were suddenly single?

DANES Very, very rarely. I don’t know. Doesn’t seem good.

EISENBERG I was just thinking about it because in terms of the show, he’s dating again. And he’s completely untethered. It didn’t feel tantalizing in any way — it felt exhausting and unsatisfying. I didn’t experience singleness in the modern era, where you’d be using technology to meet people. It increases both the options and paranoia.

DANES I would find that particularly intimidating. And unnerving. I don’t think I would do that very well.

SOURCE

#jesse eisenberg #claire danes #fleishman is in trouble #2022

[theunboundwriter]

The Prices We Pay Characters

Link to WIP Intro Here.

Kendyleigh // An immortal girl who struggles to find her place in the world. Just when she's thought she's found it, it's ripped away from her and all of the relationships she's built are destroyed in a single night. She finds herself on a quest to avenge the death of her only family, losing her sense of right and wrong along the way.

Jack // A young boy who meets Kendyleigh by pure luck, and their life of isolation comes to an end. They live happily together for five years, and the same day Jack turns eight, he loses his life in the crossfire caused by Kendyleigh's immortal secret being exposed. Now trying to navigate being a spirit, Jack aids Kendyleigh on her quest to avenge him, but he does not have the heart to tell her that he doesn't think it is a good idea.

Dane // One of Kendyleigh and Jack's earliest friends in the Kingdom of Highcalare. He easily gets into trouble... sometimes his morals are a little twisted.

Prince Barrett Daniel // The soon-to-be crowned prince of Highcalare. Aside from his father hunting down the immortal he befriended, Barrett is being forced into an arranged marriage with the Princess of Breyca to fortify the peace treaty between their two kingdoms.

Hesperus // A tax-evading potato farmer that lives just on the brink of the Kingdom of Highcalare. He's the first person Kendyleigh meets after her secret is exposed, and one of the few people to show her kindness without an ulterior motive.

Cassiopeia // A werewolf girl in hiding from her brother and his group of unhinged wolves. She meets Kendyleigh while she's on the run from the King and his army, and the two of them decide to go into hiding together, keeping each other company and sharing stories with one another so they don't forget their humanity.

Lyra // A child vampire that is only looking out for her friend.

Diantha // A kitchen witch that seeks revenge on the Kingdom of Highcalare, striking a deal with a demon to help aid her in her quest on evening the score with those who wronged her.

Raelle // The demon summoned by Diantha who pulls at strings from the safety of the shadows to manipulate the actions of the people around her.

King Lochlan // The King of Breyca, who is considering going to war with Highcalare on account that he is given a staff created by the Gods to assure his victory.

Haven and Forest // Twin "wanderers" who join Kendyleigh and her quest just because it sounds like fun and they've got nothing better to do.

Captain Circe // The Captain of The Amphitrite, a ship that is stolen by a ragtag group of kids while he is asleep below deck and finds himself waking up in the middle of the sea with a curious group.

Jasper // The mer whose curiosity got the best of him and he joins this strange group of sailors.

Alistair // The Great Nokory Fire Dragon posing as a human so that he won't have to be alone anymore.

Princess Arabella // The Princess of Breyca who is being sent off to marry a Prince she's never even met. She just hopes that Kendyleigh girl will hold up her end of the deal so that she can use the staff to destroy Highcalare from the inside and marry the girl she actually loves.

Linnea // Breyca's mage and the girl that Arabella actually loves.

#wip: the prices we pay #unbound time universe #wip intro #original character #fantasy character #ocs #my characters #fantasy fiction #fantasy wip #writeblr #writeblr community #fantasy oc #dragon oc #mer oc #fantasy whump #werewolf fic #vampire fiction