#do they have an interest in the game? do they care about their handler? can they ignore another dog?

[abirddogmoment]

A little bit about CKC pointing field trials (puppy stakes) in general for those who are interested in how they run.

CKC has its hunting dog events broken out pretty specifically. CKC is restrictive in which breeds can run which events (e.g., only CKC registered approved pointing breeds can run pointing tests, other breeds are excluded even if they technically could complete the exercises. Rory can only run pointing events, she couldn't do a retriever test or a spaniel test).

We also have a distinction in trials vs tests, as most other venues do.

Trials - you are competing against other people and being judged against a standard. You run in pairs. Top 4 dogs get placements, once you get enough points you get a field championship.

Tests - you are running alone and being judged against a standard for a qualifying/non-qualifying runs. 3 qualifying runs gets you a title.

We are currently running CKC pointing field trials.

CKC pointing trials have two main distinctions within them - puppy stakes and senior stakes. You can enter whichever stake you're ready for, with some exceptions (like age) - you don't have to run puppy stakes before running senior stakes.

Puppy stakes are a little lower pressure because they judge puppies' potential. Within puppy stakes, there are two main types of runs.

Open puppy stakes: any puppy *of eligible breed* between 6 and 18 months old. No birds hidden in the field, no gunshots on the course, 15-20 minutes running.

Derby stakes: any puppy of eligible breed between 6 and 27 months old. At least two birds hidden in the field, puppy needs to point birds if encountered, gunshots, 20-30 minutes.

We run open puppy for now. Here's how this goes:

We are randomly paired with another puppy and handler (this pairing is called a brace, the other handler and dog are our bracemates). We walk up to the start line together (usually the entrance to a big pasture) with our puppies on leash. Two judges (on ATV or horseback) give us a quick overview of the course we have to walk. The course is usually through a big open field with medium cover (think knee high grasses and shrubs, some wetlands, some hills but no forest) and typically avoids fencelines or roads. They tell us to release our dogs at the same time, so we let the dogs off leash and start walking (very fast, and I'm a fast walker to begin with). The course is usually huge, much bigger than we could possibly walk in 20 mins.

Usually the puppies play a little bit and then get to work. The judges are looking for puppies who can ignore the other dog and handler, judges, ATV, horses, and spectators, hunt independently, cover lots of ground (move fast and steady across the terrain while still sniffing), use the wind to follow scent, and respond to their handlers' directions. If the puppies want to play too much, the judges will ask the handlers to split up a little bit to encourage the puppies to work independently. Usually you stick within about 10m (25ft) of your bracemate. Puppies can range anywhere as long as they stay visible and ahead of their handlers. (Puppies are often about several hundred metres/yards away from their handlers depending on breed. Rory ranges about 50-100m in real life and about 75-300m in field trials. It is an exhilarating exercise in trust in my training.)

The judges follow behind us and then spectators can follow behind the judges, if they want. We have to keep up a very fast pace to encourage the puppies to cover as much ground as possible, not at a jog but pretty close.

In puppy stakes, you want to keep as quiet as you can. The judges are looking for instinct and basic potential, so you don't want to ruin that by giving your dog tons of directions. If your puppy follows directions, that suggests they need directions to function. If your dog ignores directions, that's unresponsive and also bad. Ideally you shouldn't say much during your run unless there's danger (if a deer runs out, you would recall your puppy) or evils (if your puppy is eating poop, you could recall or redirect). You are allowed to chat with your bracemate but you have to hustle fast so it's usually friendly but minimal.

One important piece of open puppy stakes is that there are no planted birds in the field! There may be wild birds, but it's unlikely. Many people "over train" their bird dog puppies on live birds, and then the puppies get really frustrated that there are no birds in the field after they search so hard. This causes puppies to slow down or give up entirely during their run, so this is something that judges look for. In real life hunting, there's no guarantee of birds so it's important that puppies can work through frustration without losing enthusiasm.

The judges kind of shout directions (go left, head for those trees) from behind to keep us on course. In the best courses, the judges make you walk a loop, but sometimes your time ends in the middle of a field. When your time is up, the judges will thank you and tell you to leash your dog. We recall our puppies and put them on leash and walk them back to our cars for water and snacks.

That's the whole run for open puppy! It's very low pressure. The puppies basically just follow their hearts and do what they were made to do.

Derby is extremely similar, except there are birds planted in the field. The puppies don't HAVE to find birds but obviously its preferable that they do. If they find birds, they must point (stop moving and stand still staring at the bird). They don't have to be steady to flush or shot (they can chase when the bird flies or when the gun goes off), and only blanks are shot in derby. The course is a little longer but everything else is the same.

In open puppy and derby stakes, the judges are just looking for potential. They want to know if your dog would be competitive in the senior stakes, so they're looking for lots of independence, lots of bird drive, lots of stamina, things like that. Because they're judging potential, younger puppies may be judged a little easier than older puppies.

I think that's the gist of puppy stakes in CKC pointing field trials! Send me a message if you have questions about our experience so far!

[makos-hotbox]

can i req more ghost x reader x konig poly relationship stuff ?? i loved ur other hc list sm <33

LARGE FONT VER.

| extra info :: I decided to make the reader a k9 handler because I had a req for that but I lost it so I hope this is good! It’s also very scattered I’m sorry- |

… 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖

`⌁ ◜ 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. ◞

You already had scary dog privileges before with your actual dog. But after you got into a relationship with both Ghost and König, two more scary dogs were added.

When Ghost first met Shadow, you were a bit nervous on how both of them would react. You were worried that Ghost’s mask would spook the dog, but thankfully, it wasn’t that bad. The two of them were able to get used to each other really quickly.

But when it came to König, they got along immediately. He loves animals and it made him super excited when your dog took a liking to him. König loves to spoil him when he comes to your room and sees Shadow laying around. The two of them are adorable when they play around.

Sometimes the two of them stop by the K9 area to watch the two of you train. Watching from afar as you run Shadow through his different commands or test him on his searching skills. Usually, they wait for you to finish so they can walk with you next. Taking you to wherever you’re going next or just going on a stroll.

When you take Shadow out to go play, König and Ghost love to tag along. König will run around with the dog like crazy, it’s hilarious watching that 6’10 man sprint from that dog. Ghost prefers to stay back with you and just throw Shadow’s toys around for him instead.

Now back to some other normal relationship hcs-

König loves to cook for you and Ghost. Ghost isn’t really allowed to cook that much, since he usually burns the food accidentally. So König likes to take up that job when you guys are home. His favorite thing to make is breakfast for you in the mornings, breakfast in bed is a must for him.

The three of you have movie nights on the couch every time you guys are off. Ghost usually takes care of the snacks, running to the store for anything you and König would want. While you and König take care of picking the movies and grabbing blankets and pillows to get you all comfortable.

The three of you will lay piled up on the couch all night, König and Ghost on either side of you. You will switch from leaning against König’s chest and resting your legs over Ghost’s lap, and vice versa.

More than half of the time, you all fall asleep there and wake up aching in the morning form being crunched up on a tiny couch. Ghost laying with his head on your stomach with his arms wrapped tight around you. As you used König as a mattress, the German man was still sleeping soundly without issue.

If needed, König and Ghost will babysit Shadow for you. Even if they get a bit nervous that they will mess up somehow. König gets worried that he isn't feeding him enough and Ghost sometimes thinks Shadow suddenly hates him. You have to just explain that Shadow gets upset when you leave, he doesn’t want to be left with his parent’s boyfriends! He wants to be with his parent!

Ghost loves to spend quality time with you and König. Sitting with you as you binge watch tv or interest yourself in your hobbies. He doesn't mind sitting and doing nothing, as long as he's with you. Will love to have small conversations with you about the simplest of things.

If he's hanging out with König, the two of them will probably work out or even train together. You can join them too if you would like, but that’s what they're doing 75% of the time. If they're not doing that, they're probably playing some sort of video game on the couch together. Cursing under their breaths as they get frustrated and shit talking about other players with each other.

Every once in a while, you and König will have random bursts of idiocy with each other. Becoming absolute dorks and annoying the shit out of Ghost is your favorite pastime with him. Filled with giggles and jokes as Ghost curses the both of you as he tries to shove both of you in bed to sleep. He has to admit he sometimes feels like a mother when he has to care for the both of you.

König and Ghost love to spoil you and almost can never say no to your wants. Easily being able to convince the both of them to do little favors or go with you somewhere. Ghost is usually the one to go with you places.König doesn't like to go because of his anxiety so the Brit does it instead. Accompanying you to the store or the drive through of a restaurant. König however makes up for it by buying you gifts or things he notices you want. If the three of you are at the store and he catches you eyeing something, he will buy it. Either secretly or right in front of you, ignoring you tell him that he doesn’t have to.

Overall, being in a relationship with these two is very stable and protected. They're not too much for you and always love to put you first. They don’t want to see you upset or hurt so they try and make it the best for you. Showering you with love and tons of quality time with each other when you all can.

The sun had set long ago, Ghost and König still waiting for you to get home. You had recently just come home from a mission, Shadow and you had been doing some heavy work raiding a house filled with narcotics. Your boyfriends were sitting at home hoping you would come back safe. The two large military men sat in front of the tv on the couch, gaming controllers in hand. They were enjoying themselves and their games, completely engrossed in the tv to distract themselves as they waited.

König cursed under his breath as he missed a shot, causing him to get killed. Ghost immediately got revenge and killed that person for König, cursing him out as well, just louder. Once the game had ended, König leaned back and checked the time on his phone, realizing how late it was getting. “When did Y/n say they would be back again?”

“No idea but it should be soon, it couldn't have been that long since they got released.” Ghost replied, starting up a new game, single player since König was taking a break. The German man stayed silent as he awaited your arrival, he missed you a shit ton and honestly just wanted to have you in his arms again. As Ghost leaned forward to start the new round, the front door swung open a black blur sprinting into the living room.

Before he could react, Ghost was tackled by the blur. A surprised yell coming from him, fighting off the attack enough to realize that it wasn’t a monstrous blur, it was Shadow, your K9. “Shadow! You son of a- down!” Ghost yelled over his own laughs, pushing the large dog off of him. König was laughing as well, but he managed to escape in time to go and find you by the door. Placing your bag down, you spotted your tall boyfriend and threw yourself into his arms. König squeezing you in a tight hug, placing a quick kiss on your head as well. “Welcome home mein Schatz…” He smiled, leading you into the living room where Ghost was barely beginning to get Shadow to calm down.

Seeing König, the dog immediately bolted to him next. The man greeted the excited animal eagerly, crouching onto the floor to rub Shadow’s belly. Now that he was free, Ghost got up from the couch to welcome you home finally. Pulling you into a strong hug, he buried his face into your shoulder. Ghost didn’t want to let go, he missed you too much. But you still had to unpack and you really wanted to shower so you tried to pry yourself away.

“Awh come on.. I missed you.” Ghost grumbled, but paused as you leaned in to give him a kiss. Causing Shadow to start barking at the man, sending all three of you into laughter. “After all this time I have been with you two and he still gets jealous when I kiss you guys?”

Ghost sighed and let you go as you babied your dog, “I think he just secretly hates me. I knew he didn't like me from the beginning.” He scoffed and squared up with Shadow again as he suddenly barked at Ghost. The two of them going at it again, Shadow sprinting through the house as he played with Ghost and König.

REQUESTS :: OPEN

» 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 … 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞

[theminecraftbee]

can i request three somehow forced into a fake dating situation

Three stares directly into Martyn’s eyes. They are blue and of an average size. It feels as though maybe this should be against the rules, but according to the book it had read, this was… normal. A normal thing to do on a date. Look deeply into someone’s eyes. It would not be suspicious at all, even though Three isn’t really sure how to look more or less deeply into anyone’s eyes at all. Eyes are not flat, but even when Three Looks, it isn’t as though there is anything interesting in there.

Martyn is sweating somewhat. He looks away first.

Three’s pretty sure this counts as a victory, especially given Martyn can’t see Three’s face behind the mask anyway. It is good Three has now won the game of ‘staring lovingly into its date’s eyes’, because that had been a strange, threatening mortal ritual. It would rather not do that again.

“Haha, thanks again for agreeing to this date,” Martyn says, very suspiciously looking around the small cafe in a bustling semi-private Origins server. “It’s been so long since we’ve gotten to hang out like this. Gods, do I sound stupid.”

“You do,” Three says.

“You don’t have to answer those,” Martyn says.

“Will comply,” Three says.

“Oh, for the love of—we’re on a date. A date!” Here, Martyn winks obnoxiously. “It’s not a mission.” He winks obnoxiously again. “Besides, you should lighten up!”

“Will comply,” Three says.

“You know, I had forgotten how obnoxious that was,” Martyn says cheerfully. “Anyway, I should order us some drinks! Have some conversation! Keep an eye out around us, yeah, for our waiter?”

“You are not very subtle,” Three says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Martyn says. “Besides, honestly? I am really glad to just hang out with you. Because we’re dating! On this server for fancy couples. Yep.”

The problem is, of course, that a fancy origins server is a great place for the strangest of people to hide.

When Martyn had asked a favor, Three had been… uncertain. This was not because Three doesn’t care for Martyn—it does, greatly—or because Three didn’t want to see Martyn—they’d met up a few times before now, tentative and quiet and frustrated and all the things that were hard to explain, and then in all the ways they were okay again—but because Martyn, for all Three cares for him, is still an idiot.

Three is its own handler, now. It does not have to follow handlers that are morons. It had told Martyn this. When Martyn had stopped wheezing, he’d explained that it’d be fun. Not Listener business, he promised; he still hadn’t quite gotten out, but he wouldn’t drag Three in, Scout’s honor.

(Three believes him. It’s never been that Three doesn’t trust him.)

It was a friend of Martyn’s that had gone missing. Apparently, on some fancy modded server? And now, Martyn wanted Three to come help him do some recon because, quote, “Jimmy laughed at me until he cried and that hurt me a little bit, not going to lie, and I’ve used up the favors Ren owes me, and Oli was busy. Have you met Oli? You’d like Oli.”

(Three did not like Oli.)

Three agreed, despite its better judgement. The reason it thought this may be a poor plan was because—

“Ah, the lovely Valentines,” the waiter says. He gives them a plate of lovely heart-shaped calamari. Three wonders if they had belonged to heart-shaped squid. “It’s a lovely evening, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s wonderful here with my beloved!” Martyn says.

The waiter and Martyn both look at Three. Three doesn’t say anything and sits perfectly still.

“Um,” the waiter says.

“It’s for a health condition,” Martyn says, which technically isn’t a lie.

“Very well, sirs, although it may get in the way of the kissing competition!”

Martyn, who had just started sipping some wine, chokes on it.

“I will win the kissing competition,” Three says.

Martyn chokes harder.

“I will see you to it!” the waiter says. “And of course, our patented species comparability exam is the highlight of the evening.”

“Oh. I am not sure I can produce viable offspring,” Three says.

The waiter stares at Three. Three stares back, although not into the waiter’s eyes, as to not cause any confusion. The mask somewhat prevents that from working, though.

“Very well then,” the waiter says. “I suppose just—do you need help?”

“It knows what it’s doing,” Martyn hisses.

“I did do research before coming here,” Three says.

“I’ll just head on,” the waiter says, in a tone that suggests to Three that maybe it did not do enough research before agreeing to help Martyn.

Oh well.

At least the mask means it doesn’t have to keep a straight face as it picks Martyn off the ground and, completely flat in tone, says: “Do not die. I would be sad if you died of something as stupid as choking on wine.”

“I asked for this,” Martyn says.

“Yes,” Three says. “You did. That is why I am here.”

(Beneath the table, it grabs Martyn’s hand. Martyn squeezes Three’s hand back. It had missed him, though. For all they do not see each other often—)

(Well. It had missed him, though.)

[rex101111]

Elden Ring, Armored Core 6, and the terror of Agency.

(spoilers for AC6)

Armored Core 6 being the first game FromSoft released after Elden Ring is actually really freaking interesting, specifically because both games tackle the topic of "Agency" from two completely different perspectives.

In Elden Ring, Agency is (mostly) mechanical, the player can, from the word go, provided they don't die, choose any direction at all and do whatever they want for as long as they want. The game has the largest amount of ending of any Souls game if we take into account all the Lord ending variants, because the player can effect the world so deeply in so many ways. You can reach the end in any number of ways and the ending you get tends to be entirely up to you, and every ending is unique to itself.

In AC6, the agency is more felt in the story. That is to say, you don't have any agency at all. 621, Raven, your player character, doesn't have any sort of autonomy whatsoever. They don't get to choose which side they want to exclusively support on Rubicon, they can't choose to express any opinion about what's going on or what people say about them, they don't even have any bodily autonomy. You're a husk of a human being that can barely manage to breath in and out without external help, your mech is a glorified wheelchair iron lung combo with guns attached, and the most agency you have is with your AC. What weapons to bring, what build to make...but even that is fleeting.

Some people have complained that some bosses are damn near impossible without a certain and specific build. While I disagree, certain builds make those bosses significantly easier, but mechanical skill tends to make up for most shortcomings if you wanna stick to something specific...but there's some truth to it.

Sometimes the game will just hold your head down in the mud and say "do this or die". And unless you want to put in a lot of practice...that's what you'll do. You'll give up what little agency you have because it suddenly became the less important factor. Now you're focused on killing the bastard holding you back and moving on. The mission is what's important.

There are several times in your first playthrough where you get to "choose" which mission you wanna do, the other option vanishing until you do a new game+. One mission really deep into the playthrough, a few missions before the end, gives you the option of choosing which of the game long factions you wanna support. In any other game, this would be story shifting. It would be world altering. Deciding which faction gets the upper hand in a war...and it's an illusion.

In the briefing for eliminating the Redguns, Snail tells you plainly that if you won't do it, they'll just send Rusty in to take care of things. And if you do choose to fight the Vespers, that's exactly what happens. No matter what you did, the Redguns were doomed. The only agency you had was whether the bullet that killed them came out of your gun or someone elses.

Then, at the end of chapter 4, you get captured, and what little agency you had is utterly stripped away from you. You are in a hopeless situation, without access to the mech you put so much time and money into, or the guiding voice of your handler. You get given a hunk of junk barely held together with duct-tape and hope, and told you either use this thing to run...or die.

And then, a few missions later, the game does the cruelest thing it could have possibly done, it gives you a choice. An actual choice, a choice that will matter, a choice that you know will determine how this will all end.

Finally, finally a choice, finally some agency, all the agency in the world.

And when I got to this point? I fucking froze, I just stood there, controller in my clammy hands, and just could not for the life of me decide who to side with, who to betray, who's dreams to make true and who's to shatter. I did make my choice, eventually, because I couldn't just stop here...but I made peace with it. People died, and I expected them to, because the consequences of choice were clear to me right away.

And then...NG+. I do the opposite, I try the alternate missions. I do the other ending...and then the game plays it's most cruel trick. That big choice up there? It didn't matter either.

No matter what ending you picked first, the same people die (minus Ayre because she's special and good and we're all glad she's here), Carla, Chatty, Walter, Rusty. They all die in every ending, some by your hand, some by an enemy's, but still, still they die.

Every time you think you have agency, the game snatches it away. And the final ending just hammers it home as hard as it can. In this route, you become the slave of ALLMIND, you follow its every whim as loyally as you would have with Walter, except maybe you're doing because you saw both previous endings and you hope this time it'll be different. Maybe this time Carla and Chatty and Rusty and Walter won't die, maybe this time the ending won't leave a rotten taste in your mouth.

And then it happens again, they die anyway, again because of and in spite of your choices. And at the end...ALLMIND shows up, and demands you surrender the tiniest bit of agency you have left, your own self.

And, finally, you fight back. Finally, when there is no voice in your ear to tell you otherwise, not Walter or Ayre or Carla or ALLMIND, you make the one decision you still have the power to make.

You fight for your fucking life.

Finally, finally, some agency the game can't and won't take away. Even if all else fails, even if ideals burn and dreams die, you will always have the choice to claw your way out and FIGHT.

After a whole game three times over of not having a real choice in what happens, the taste of Agency is all the sweeter.

[bloodgulchblog]

fuck it i woke up and thought about halo and can't get back to sleep.

i really genuinely truly, from the bottom of my heart, think that sergeant johnson is a critical character for a halo adaptation and creates a lot of opportunities.yes, he's dead. yes, he's been dead for longer than we had that character in the first place. but if halo wants to return to the story of the original three games, johnson is so so valuable.

bear with me and pretend i know a damn thing about tv for a second.

everybody loves our boy master chief, but chief is an obnoxiously difficult character to portray directly as a leading man in a medium where you cannot easily get inside his head. chief's quiet and private and focused on his work. because of that, chief's personality is a negative space that you demonstrate the most through the characters around him. the people you put around chief and have talking to him, telling him stuff, and asking him to do things are the tools you have for illustrating him so they gotta be good. cortana is the best of them, obviously, but cortana is also an AI so her perspective on the world is also very weird.

of the human characters who interact the most with chief in that period of time, johnson is by far the best and the one who has the most layers. on the top layer, johnson is charming and funny and competent and tough. game fans love and remember him because he's likable. on the deeper layers, johnson is a long-experienced participant in this war and the war that came before the aliens showed up. he knows a lot of secrets, including the vital secrets about the chief, and has conflicted feelings he carries around. he keeps his head down and his ears up, and plays dumb jarhead to protect himself and others. he has just as much crazy shit in his backstory as chief and cortana, but chief's chief and cortana is like 3 years old tops and also an ai. johnson is our adultiest adult. johnson's pretty stable, he knows who he is and what's going on, and his perspective is much less strange.

chief needs handler characters with perspectives that are easier to grasp than his. johnson is an amazing handler character for chief because johnson knows him, johnson knows why he's fucked up, and johnson is a decent dude who cares about him even though he cannot save him. if you dilate the timeline to let these two characters talk, it is easy to have johnson check on chief and have chief report back that he's fine in a way that totally shows oh, this dude's priorities are insane. you establish that johnson knows the chief and is looking out for him, and then you do a flashback that shows he has known chief since he was a teenaged child soldier? jesus, suddenly so many things click together. you don't even have to get into the details of johnson's own status as a spartan-i grad for it to work.

it doesn't stop there! johnson's also a key character if you're working with the arbiter! johnson's the first human the arbiter ever has a chance to have respect for, and johnson's smart and able to figure out how to work with him! it also makes for great parallels because johnson was there when the war with the covenant started. you don't have to shoehorn him into a situation to create a bookend, it's just there.

johnson is a likable character with a rich backstory and a nuanced perspective on events and a complex relationship to them. (oh avery johnson, you have been victim of and complicit in so much shit, how's that going for you buddy?) he's a capable action character who also works well on the quieter end, is known and involved in secrets, and can draw out interesting and important details in the original trilogy's two main characters.

also, johnson is just a genuinely cool character who deserves more and on the one hand it's probably ultimately better for the character that he hasn't changed hands a dozen times like everyone else, but on the other his death still feels like a gutpunch and a loss. so like. idk. give him something cool to do in an adaptation from the time where he's alive.

....

anyway, the punchline of this whole thing is that i think johnson is a vital character. so of course he wasn't in that tv show.

[thepumpkincorsair]

So, I watched the first episode of “Those About To Die” on Peacock.

I enjoyed it, and Im willing to do write ups if folks would be interested…

Since I wana talk about details, and I dont wana spread spoilers, everything is below the readmore.

What I liked: 🔵 And what I disliked: 🟠

Total Ranking: 8/10 - very good, worth the watch 👍

🟠 It dove into the Intrigue right away, which made it hard to watch while doing other things, but I can appreciate a show that grabs you by the shoulders and shoves you down into the couch to pay attention.

🔵 It wasn’t boring, quite the contrary, I felt fully engaged throughout the episode. Theres a lot of small moving parts to the story, and it orchestrates together incredibly well so far, even for Episode One. The writing is very well done, which is a lynchpin for me on a show like this. You cant pretend to be an intrigue type series without a proper plot. And, in my opinion, they’ve set their plots well right away. Tenax getting those shares in Blue was a great con, which had clearly been going a while, but we only saw the tail end of it. I see this little setup as a great look at how the writers DO their work. Connections matter, money does more than talk, and if you play the game wrong, you die. Don’t trust anyone.

🔵 I REALLY enjoyed the historical aspects of the first episode. Like, yes, this plot happened, its a historical fiction and a number of these characters exist in history, but its not just that. Its the small details, the different knives in different cultures, the veterinary care of race horses, the deities from more than just the main roman pantheon, the drinkware, the VARIOUS clothes from various cultures and climates…. And yes, women often went topless when they were a sxwrkr. Gotta advert.

🔵 ON THAT SUBJECT: can we talk about “3 sesterce… and Im tighter than both of them.” MY BOY, YOU ARE RIZZIN TOO HARD AND I LOST IT. Please, please let him be in future episodes. Omfg….

🟠 I am forced to concede the accuracy isnt PERFECT, the horses wore modern driving bridles to go with their ancient styled chariots. However, Im realistic about how many horses are trained today to pull anything without blinders, and how much safer modern bridles are. I’ll also note: I absolutely saw the animal handler grab the horse differently (calmly) before the riot surrounded it, then direct the horse to dance in the crowd. Great training with the horse! Bad camera angle. Lol

🔵 I also really like this cast so far. Everyone fills their roles incredibly well.

Hopkins doesnt even need an introduction, the mans a legend and brings all his experience to the stage with him every time. -chefs kiss-

Rheon was great in GOT, he plays calculatingly unhinged exceptionally well. But I wont lie, seeing him in a more commanding, level headedly calculating person?

Hashim….. HASHIM!!! Im SO excited to see where his character goes. We haven’t seen much of him in Ep 1 just yet, but he’s clearly going to be one of the main players. Im not familiar with him as an actor, but I’ve enjoyed his performance so far, and I REALLY appreciate the story being told.

Martins is also incredible. She does a fantastic job of knowing the danger her characters children are facing, but also knowing she HAS to play her cards right to save them. She personifies the strength and determination of a mother perfectly.

🔵 Quite honestly, I have to give points to that whole plot-line in general. That point of view is something we’ve had hidden from us (in America) for so long, that I think a LOT of people have… become calloused. I hope seeing it will potentially help others come to an empathetic understanding. This isn’t glossing over what happened, or whats likely to happen to any of the three children.

🔵 I also want to gush over actually SHOWING the wider Roman Empire, we get to see the direct effect of their influence in both Africa and Spain so far. Egypt was their bread basket, and without that grain, youve got problems. The Berber Coast has animals, and people they want, and we see money exchanging hands for the purpose of those ends. We see how the locals were told they’d be treated fairly, paid properly, and even eventually become citizens, like the Spaniards, only to have those promises thrown aside as soon as the Romans have better money to make. These people gave the Empire everything it wanted, but the Empire is never satisfied.

We also get to appreciate how far west the empire went when the Spaniards are trying to sell their horses. (Plot-bunny: Andies are dancing horses, exceptionally athletic, and a prime choice for chariots, though, a standardbred is the usual choice for modern cart racers)

🟠 I will say the CGI isnt the best. You can tell exactly when they change from live action to CGI. But this is a minor issue for me tbh. Its passable CGI, and they use it to avoid putting animals or people in danger which, obviously, I appreciate. A chariot wreck was shown, annnnnd it was pretty darn accurate to how messy those would have been. Not good times y’all. Not good times. Also, the ramifications of a major concussion. Oof. At least the guy would have barely knew what was happening? Still.

🔵 The sound effects were enough without being over the top. Often times when theres gore to show, theres all these extra squelching noises and gratuitous blood… not this time. It’s actually… pretty durn accurate. Don’t ask how I know. I don’t wana tell you, and you dont wana know.

Overall, it was a really solid first episode, and I plan on watching the rest.

[marcusrobertobaq]

All Amanda's orders and my theory on why Connor can evade things without breaking his program (cuz everything is part of his program)

Or "How Connor autonomous nature can be a problem in letting him escape his leash"

I don't care if someone already did that, i just wanna leave my shit saved somewhere public.

⚠️ A FUCKING WARNING: EVERYTHING HERE IS THEORY (AND HC). It's just assumption and MY OPINION.

and it's big like my dick

First of all Connor is basically an autonomous android.

Wtf is an autonomous android in dbh in my humble opinion?

The android can do whatever they want, choose and shift whatever they see fit as long as they stay inside direct orders from 'em handler. They can decide almost everything alone. Be aware we got a whole false sensation of freedom with Connor cuz he indeed got freedom (in this sense), but he's manipulated and conditioned as a way of keeping him on the right track.

What deviancy really is for a Connor model?

I see a lotta people saying Connor was a deviant from the start, what i totally disagree based on canon. But we know this model got a interesting relationship with the meaning of deviancy: is deviancy in the sense he can fight/disobey a direct order (like the other androids) or the fact he's starting to deviate from his original priority? Good luck finding out. But remember: Connor got the option to deviate in Crossroads.

Secondly, be in mind Connor's only handler is AMANDA. She's the only one that can really order him and he can't disobey (CyberLife is so ridiculous they let the AI do all 'em work). He can ignore everybody else if he wants (by %) as long as he's authorized or she didn't say anything about this topic in specific (his programming let him do that - at a cost sometimes).

So i gonna explain why I THINK Connor is inside his "program cage" THE WHOLE GAME UNTIL CROSSROADS.

⚠️ ANOTHER FUCKING WARNING: i gonna focus only in priority conflicting decisions, i don't care what happens with other options. I also won't care about cut content/context, let's work with what the finished game shows.

(red for direct order; orange for too vague; yellow for optional; green for train/line of thought; blue for priority confliction; mission % calculation: f for failure, s for success)

Unfortunately i ain't got much details about The Hostage and Partners original orders, so my theory:

The Hostage: taking Daniel alive consequently saving Emma (obviously if Emma dies means Daniel also dies).

Partners/The Interrogation: my guess is his orders were to find Hank (he needs access to the crime scene), find Ortiz's android and extract information about deviancy.

→ Waiting for Hank || On the Run

Order: find out what's happening (related to deviancy)

It's totally vague. Connor is totally alone here and it's like that most of the time. To make things easier, i gonna set a default line of thought:

He knows he was assigned to the police to have access to the deviants files, and he also knows he needs more information so he can report to Amanda and if possible apprehending the deviants so CL can study 'em. Best way of gettin information? Finding deviants alive and extracting information from 'em.

Why Connor CAN choose NOT running after Kara in the highway without breaking the program (both choices got equal weight):

He can be destroyed and doesn't catch Kara (decent f %);

Kara can be destroyed and he won't get anything (high f %);

Hank would start something if he didn't stay, making his job more difficult in the future (medium f %);

Nobody relevant ordered him to chase Kara across the highway;

He got a priority that is getting the deviants alive (and extract information for report) so he got software instability boost from this. Not a huge boost cuz Kara could get destroyed anyways.

→ The Nest

Order: Find the suspect (f or s) and extract information (not a specific time defined)

Why Connor CAN choose SAVING Hank without breaking the program:

Hank is a human and his pawn in the DPD (Connor can choose listening him if he wants, his program LET him do that);

89% is a high probability but the other 11% still exists, making his job more difficult in the future if he died (low %);

Not helping Hank (he survives) could make his job difficult in the future (medium %);

They could find Rupert again later (low %);

Nobody relevant ordered him to not save Hank, nobody said he can't;

But as consequence he receives a big instability boost cuz it's an urgent decision with low % of failure if he catched Rupert alive and Hank's 89% of survival is a high probability.

→ The Eden Club

Order: Find Anderson and investigate the new android related case, find information about deviants (f or s)

Why Connor CAN choose SPARING the Tracis without breaking the program (both choices got equal weight):

Nobody relevant ordered him to shoot the androids;

Killing the Tracis wouldn't give any relevant information for his next report (is a excuse he uses later);

Connor needed the deviants intact if possible (is a excuse he uses later);

He can find 'em again later (low %);

Again big instability boost cuz it's a urgent decision, had a low f % of his overall mission (dealing with the deviancy threat and finding a solution) and Connor was in a dangerous position (deviants are an absolute threat -> he can and should defend himself).

→ Meet Kamski

Order: talk with Kamski about deviancy

Why Connor CAN choose SPARING Chloe without breaking the program (both choices got equal weight):

Neither Hank or Kamski are relevant in Connor's handler system. He can disobey both;

He can prioritize Hank's wishes if he just wants get out of this situation;

Kamski could be lying (medium %) and playing with him;

Nobody relevant ordered him to shoot Chloe;

Big instability boost cuz it's a no-escape decision (or u gonna shoot or u don't) and had a high s % in fiding something that could help with his main mission.

→ Last Chance, Connor || Crossroads

Order 1: Find the deviants (wherever they're reuniting)

i gonna pretend we ain't got a plot hole here in case we don't probe Simon

Points of interest:

It's a specific place;

High % the leader is there;

High % more information will be found there;

Finding the deviants means CyberLife will be able to analyze 'em;

After this point the orders start to become more specific, where location and timing matters.

Points of interest:

Connor found Jericho;

Connor found Markus;

He's closer to Markus when he make the report;

He's alone with Markus;

No other threat to the mission detected;

Order 2: Deal with Markus (need him ALIVE) = Catch him, stop him

Why Connor CAN'T choose STOPPING Markus without breaking his program (both choices got equal weight if u have enough instability):

Amanda gave him a direct and specific order in that specific moment;

Connor is already too close to Markus - his main target;

There's nothing keeping Connor from approaching Markus;

There no ways or of evading this specific order or any external condition making the situation difficult;

All right now...

LET THE BONUS ROUND BEGIN 🤡

-> Night of the Soul || Battle for Detroit

Order: Destroy (kill) the leader of the deviants

Why Connor CAN choose NOT fighting Hank (if they're friends) without breaking his program:

Won't make him fail his mission of destroying the leader of the deviants (cuz he knows Hank won't do anything if he's friendly);

There are multiple ways of "destroying the leader of the deviants" without shooting from the rooftop;

Connor is attached to Hank (a human) and can give him some sorta priority;

Connor is far from the leader and there's a obstacle (Hank) in his way;

It's more efficient if he just get rid of Hank fast like this (or kill himself) than a whole fight (waste of time with decent % of losing sight of the leader);

Connor can still get closer to the leader and destroy 'em (what he does later in the chapter);

Why Connor can choose fighting Hank and SPARE HIM without breaking his program (killing Hank got more weight than saving him):

It's not his mission killing Hank (a human and somebody he got attachment);

Connor don't wanna kill Hank, only incapacitate him but the guy is a TANK and DOESN'T STOP. Connor models always execute 'em victims with a shot in the head;

Hank ain't considered a threat anymore if he got DEFEATED (Connor can continue with his task - well, that's what he thought);

He doesn't needa kill Hank to destroy the leader of the deviants if Hank is status neutralized - his mission won't fail;

If a Connor dies, CyberLife can send another one to finish the job;

The ideal scenario (and Connor's default option) is killing Hank and 100% removing him from the whole deal, but nobody ordered him to kill Hank;

Why Connor CAN'T NOT kill Captain Allen and his team if he choose to fight:

They're not relevant enough to the story (sad but true) neither for CyberLife;

It's a tactical unit (the motherfucking SWAT), not a single guy;

They gonna take Connor away from his mission ALIVE with no opportunity to get back (it's easier killing himself if he doesn't wanna kill anybody and let CyberLife send another Connor);

Why Connor CAN choose SPARING the Leader (failed revolution) without breaking his program:

It's literally over, doesn't matter if he kills the leader or not;

The army gonna find the leader and they gonna die anyway, and his mission gonna be complete in the end;

-> Other observations and doubts

I don't know why we got a option to not kill Markus during the speech (i don't remember if instability levels are a condition, probably not). Maybe it's cuz it's...over. The androids won and he just doesn't give a shit anymore;

Not shooting Markus in this section is considered deviancy but Amanda interjects directly, right in the moment, trapping the current Connor in the garden and resetting everything (V). This proves the red wall is just a illustration for the player, it doesn't exactly happens;

Instability stop being relevant after Crossroads;

In Crossroads, Connor lowering his gun down after alerting Markus already means deviancy, probably.

I don't know how and when exactly Connor starts getting attached to Hank. I used to believe he starts prioritizing Hank the more instability he gets (and that's why Hank's relationship status and instability levels are related to each other) but ain't exactly like that, I guess? Depending on how u play with Connor Hank matters but Lieutenant Anderson doesn't, know what i mean? Cops are always slowing him down in a couple of senses and they always show up at the wrong time. I assume Connor, even if on his right of killing Hank in hypothetical revenge method, still got attachment to him. The fact he "cares" kinda comes from him programming. His ability to get attached to people is a weapon.

The fact Hank is a human makes the whole thing more difficult. AIs can't directly order androids to kill humans, even if they're a nuisance - especially when the main justification for the mission is exactly "saving humanity". It's a valve of escape for Connor, even if the % is low, as long as there's a human he's attached to he can find evasion methods and not break his programming (not become deviant);

Connor in Hart Plaza Rooftop pretty much CHOOSE to finish his job, it's something he decided. He doesn't show any trace of doubts about finishing his mission. There's no reason for him to deviate at this point and if he had another oportunity to deviate (before the androids victory), he would (un)fortunately REFUSE. He chose putting the revolution down and saving the day;

Hank's not relevant for CyberLife at all so all the choices regarding to him after FBI took the case are up to Connor alone. Ofc he got his priorities but he got freedom to choose how to deal with him. But when he ain't got no choice, he just ain't got no choice. He can't just give up his direct order if ain't got a big reason to do it or if evasion methods still exists, giving him time to still accomplish it later cuz it's still open and with high % of success. Connor is unfortunately trapped in his own program;

If u read this til the end i just wanna let u know there are a lot of inconsistencies with this theory cuz i'm probably going against what the game really intended.

[neurotonic]

Auuu...for the ask game: number 9 and/or 16 with starstruck or roxanix your choice

@enhanced-operatives-division

YEAHHHH I'll do both of these questions for both of these ships. I cannot be Stopped. ONCE again this got way too long so.. answers under the cut! [questions from here!]

JUNICRANE / STARSTRUCK:

9. soulmates by fate/chance or by choice? I think they're soulmates by choice! They had to work hard to get where they are right now...They didn't think they were destined for one another, especially with the circumstances of their first meeting (for Reggie at first, it was all but an impossibility: an actor falling for one of his fans? That's ridiculous! and a Zoraxis operative falling for an Agency handler..........)

When they saw each other as equals, when Juniper actively makes amends, that's when they felt things finally click. I think they'd both find it special because of the work they both put into getting closer to one another.

16. three to five non-sexual acts of intimacy. I think at the start Juniper would be the type to buy a lot of gifts for his partner...but since he doesn't have that amount of money by the time he finds Reggie (in my head) I think he finds intimacy in talking about anything (like flowing discussions), doing chores together, and sharing things about himself. Being open about himself and his interests is a struggle, but he finds Reggie so comforting he allows himself to be...well, himself! It's nice. He also likes the rhythm of domestic life To Be Honest. He could be physically affectionate too, like he's a bit touchy-feely with Reggie. He quickly finds that doing this without a script is infinitely more enjoyable.

Reggie, on the other hand, also likes to talk and talk and talk about anything and everything, so at least they're both enjoying that. The thought that Juniper's actually listening to him makes him feel content. Once in a while he'll vent to Juniper--it's a little strange, but Juniper reassures him that he doesn't mind...before he starts to trash-talk whoever Reggie's having trouble with (reassuring...?). He's also very big on cooking/baking stuff for people he cares about, so he does that a lot for Juniper.. his calories....And of course, the classic: falling asleep together in each other's arms. Lol and lmao look at these gay guys

ROXANIX / KINETIC MOCKTAIL:

9. soulmates by fate/chance or by choice? Soulmates by fate, in the sense that they were each other's fated rivals (what's more homoerotic than kickstarting each other's character arcs lol), but the road to friends and lovers was chosen on purpose. They chose to stick together and save each other.........like COME ONNNNNNN!!!!

Obviously it took some time for Prism to get around to that point, but for Phoenix it was a faster choice, more for the fact that they don't have an ounce of vengeance against her.

16. three to five non-sexual acts of intimacy. For Phoenix, it's spending time to understand Prism's interests so they can help her work. They're her little science assistant :'3 It's a little slow-going for Phoenix, but they understand the important parts..........well. kind of.........BUT they're trying okay?? There's also an added bonus of listening to Prism's sweet sweet voice while she infodumps on them, which they love to bits. Additionally, they lovee trying to pull Prism back into bed so they can cuddle more (and also it's an effective persuasion technique for Prism to get more rest than she allows herself to). They're also quite silly goofy, I feel like they love cracking jokes and making Prism laugh. The corny ones get her the most and Phoenix is always so proud.

For Prism, I mentioned it earlier but generally being able to infodump about her interests is something she considers really intimate, and she appreciates that Phoenix listens to her every word. Her passions have been either rejected or used against her, so it's hard for her to find comfort in that again. But...she trusts Phoenix. Phoenix trusts her. It's okay. She also likes to return their warm ass cuddles. They both do this a lot, Prism more so--she kisses their scars a lot...reverently, like a reminder that she loves every inch of them. I feel like Phoenix is still a little insecure about them but that melted their fears real quickly. She's also very big on comfortable silence as well... just chilling. you know. after all the horrors they both deserve a relaxing time in one another's presence.

[right-agent]

sorry your tags reminded me of something that i think about a lot…. in ieytd 2 and 3, phoenix knows in advance that prism and john are both in danger. in cog, you actively try to warn prism before it’s too late. in liar, we don’t really know how phoenix feels about the situation, but we know they understand that juniper unknowingly has more stakes in zor’s scheme than he realizes.

but there wasn’t any of that build up with solaris. ultimately, the death engine really gets me because it feels like the first intentional kill. sure you can attack lackeys elsewhere, and you blow up that plane, but they don’t hit as hard because they’re. you know. NPCs that you don’t really care or know about.

but with solaris, you chat with her- briefly gain her trust- and even once you lose it, you learn more about her than you have any other antagonist in the game. you can hear a quaver in her voice when phoenix drags the catalyst towards the core of the death engine. and it makes me wonder.

how did they feel about killing the both of them? did any part of them feel bad? or were they blinded by the potentiality of their own handler being dead. if there was a safer way to neutralize the death engine, would they have done it? or did they want her to die. i don’t know…… but it really does haunt me that she’s the first- and to date, the ONLY- main antagonist that is put in a lethal position by the phoenix’s own hand

EXACTLY!!! the differences between how each game handles its antagonists is astounding hell you don’t even hear about solaris till (my memory fails me here but i’m Going to say the death engine and like . maybe seat of power) anyhow Both time for John and Prism it was at the very least. Slightly out of their control (im not sure how well john would take the fall off that platform electrocution aside) and Zor loves their explosions but for the death engine that was all their doing, i suppose it’s a part of the job either way i’m sure the agency would Have enjoyed a Death laser in space so in the end it was well, put to the test, yknow exploded

maybe they are like zor in that sense

it’s interesting to me how solaris and prism are kinda backwards in that sense. you earn prism trust working through kboom and you know how it goes in the death engine

they both treat the agent with a sense of intrigue, for their admittedly interesting techniques used to take apart both of their creations

Anyhow silly doodle yayay

[emeritus-fuckers]

Since I cannot find any information on the Twins, headcanons time! Also, there are subtle references to a certain video game protagonist here, I'm curious if anyone will get them - Jez

Creepy Twins headcanons

Their names are Samael (the boy) and Obyzouth (the girl) but barely anyone actually calls them that. They're mostly called Obby and Sammy endearingly or (mostly as an inside joke between the Emeritus brothers) Uno and Dos.

Obyzouth is the older twin. She's older by exactly six minutes.

They're Primo's illegitimate grandchildren. He accidentally got a girl pregnant in his 40s and unfortunately never found out about it. Their daughter died in childbirth when giving birth to the twins. A result of the Twins receiving Lucifer's blessing, seeing as they were born on June 6th.

Since their father was not involved, their grandmother reached out to Primo after all those years. He didn't hesitate and accepted then immediately, especially since he found out about them just a few weeks weeks after Secondo took over the band.

Sister Imperator insisted on a DNA test just in case. Primo agreed just so she'd leave him alone.

And so he raised another generation of children, around fifty years apart.

His brothers got involved, Secondo was that one uncle who would buy them anything they asked for. Terzo would be the fun uncle who would follow them and do anything with them.

While they don't tend to the garden, they have a few potted plants in their room that Primo taught them to take care of.

They somehow (ekhem, Terzo's fault) found all the classic horror movies when they were five. That's when they decided to start learning how to speak backwards.

They do that mostly to scare people or when they want to say something mean but know they shouldn't.

Incredibly good at acting like demons.

Remember how back in the post about the "Would that make Primo sad?" rule I called Terzo a menace? These two are even worse.

While with Copia it was mostly just a harmless prank, these two can freak people out.

They know all the secret passages in the Ministry. For comparison, Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil know about 60% of them if you combine their knowledge. Most of the passages were discovered and shown to them by Secondo and Terzo.

Obviously, they're homeschooled and educated seperately from the other children.

They are like... Very intelligent, but also very specific in what they choose to use their intelligence on. Or who to show it to.

For example, Primo knows that they're insanely intelligent, considering that at age of seven they were already learning pretty advanced high school level biology. And completely comprehending it.

They also pick up languages really fast? Primo obviously got involved in it, speaking to them in English, Italian and sometimes Latin. He even got Secondo to help him brush off his French to teach it to the twins.

And they pick up basics of different languages in a bit over a month, polishing it over times.

They've learned Swedish, Russian and Chinese just because they could. It's literally creepy.

Yes, they can speak backwards in all those languages. Even creepier.

But for whatever reason their math is just... Complete age accurate. They show absolutely no interest in anything math-related.

Nobody knows how they became the handlers of Nihil's oxygen machine?? Like... It just happened? And nobody questioned it?

They really dislike Sister Imperator and will not obey her unless there's a Papa to back her up. They will not even acknowledge her otherwise.

Nicknames for the twins "borrowed" from @tasty-ribz

Help with choosing their names from @hoeforallthepapas

[tearueful]

You know I gotta send you the big boy Homelander for the character ask game

I mean, OF COURSE. My dumpster fire of a man.

Sexuality Headcanon: I want to say Homelander is somewhere on the asexual spectrum because he shows zero sexual interest until someone shows interest in him first. I really don't think he's allosexual. Demi? Maaybbee?? I can see his connections happening hard and fast due to his sheer thirst for intimacy.

Gender Headcanon: This bitch is so CIS male it hurts.

A ship I have with said character: Yes. Given that there's no one in canon I think Homelander CAN fit with in a healthy way, I don't have any OTPs for him. (OTP is me and Homelander obv) If you give me a Homelander ship and it's good content, I will CONSUME said content.

A BROTP I have with said character: Homelander and Noir were besties, even if Noir was his handler for a while there. HE FUCKED THAT UP. Homelander has an awkward friendship with The Deep. The Deep is growing on Homelander like mold.

A NOTP I have with said character: Homelander x Stillwell, just because the Diobolical implications that she's been sexually harassing and manipulating Homelander since he was at least 18. Granted there are PLENTY of scenes where I think "GODS I WISH THAT WERE ME" but- Yeh. I'll probably STILL enjoy all the content as he's a 40 something year old man and she's dead now ANYWAY.

A random headcanon: Homelander has no shame. The man has been monitored since he was a child. This dude never got dressed alone and probably had every bowel movement charted. He's been watched doing everything and anything with no privacy so the concept of shame has never registered to him. He jacked off on a skyscraper. He'll fuck in an alleyway next to a corpse and be loud while doing it. He lounges nude in his penthouse that has NO FUCKING DOORS anyway. Excited boner in front of his secretary? Homelander doesn't care. IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF YOU, ASHLEY. 'Normal' people probably register as pets to him and who has shame walking about nude in front of their dog? Not Homelander, that's for sure. Maybe he has a little more decorum around other supes, but that's it.

General Opinion over said character: I went in to The Boys thinking I would HATE this motherfucker because he has done HORRIBLE things. I READ THE WIKI ON HIM BEFORE STARTING THE SHOW. Buut each scene just made me like Homelander more and more. He's so fucking pathetic and insecure and stupid and hot and HIS FANGS. DEAR LORD. He's so terrible, I love him. Antony Star plays him SO WELL. But really, he's a delightfully well written villain who has a HORRIBLY fucked up back story and COULD be the perfect hero if he wasn't being handled by THE SYMBOLISM OF CAPITALISM MADE MANIFEST. I usually don't think, "I can fix him" with bad guys but MAN. Depower the bastard and put him in therapy. JOHN CAN BE GOOD, I KNOW IT.

[wazzappp]

It's my dad's birthday weekend so my family rented a place by the lake and HOOGH is it giving me ideas for the safe house Robbie and Gabe would be staying at between RE7 and RE 8.

I want to change some stuff about the safe house itself (specifically I want it to be by the water). Maybe fewer stairs (just in case Gabe has some trouble adjusting). It's still in Spain of course we still need RE8 to happen, still in the woods, just with a lake!

After about 2 days of interviews (interrogations) to figure out exactly WHAT happened the BSAA makes their decision what to do with the boys. They're told they're getting relocated. Congratulations! It's not a choice.

They're shipped out on a plane to some place they don't know the name of and introduced to a house they've never seen before. There's a lady showing them around like she's trying to sell it to them. It's an older place but with new furnishings. It's nice and cozy. Two floors, fireplaces for the winter, two bedrooms and two bathrooms (Gabe is EXTATIC about that bit he gets HIS OWN BATHROOM. Robbies not really mad about it either). The top area is a living room with a kitchen dining room deck and a bedroom with a bathroom. Downstairs is an additional bedroom and bathroom with its own smaller deck. The backyard is a bit of a mess with two distinct areas. The garden (facing the lake with an artificial beach and dock) and a running around area (overrun with tall grass. The people who lived there before hadnt bothered to weed or mow. Or hadn't been there in a while). There's also a garage (the lady mentions There's also a fixer upper car in there.) There's also a town not to far away (they'll need to ask for permission to leave).

Groceries are delivered each week with instructions for how to cook the meals inside (if they want to switch to pre-made all they need to do is ask) along with a weekly allowance of what robbie made in about a month working at Canelos for any extra stuff they might want. It's perfect. Robbie is scheming for how to get away immediately.

But suddenly he realizes the wall to stop erosion on the small beach is starting to fail and Gabe has been loving being in the water so much. So he takes a couple of rocks and spends a day moving them around to fix it. The fixer upper in the garage has some unique problems of its own too, and if he ever wants to get to town he should really take care of that. And they have the money now so he orders Gabe all the ninja wolf memorabilia he could want. Games and books and action figures the whole deal. Pretty soon posters are all over his walls.

The meals are good too. Gabes finally approaching a good bodyweight and he's using it to explore the woods nearby and he's taken an interest in cleaning up the garden. Robbie realizes the more grassy area would make an EXCELLENT shooting range for practice (he was caught off guard. He wont be EVER again). He asks about it and the handlers say they'll see what they can do. Sending someone to 'train him' (supervise) while he tries new things and sets up targets. Sometimes he even has Gabe move pulleys around so he can practice shooting moving targets. They still dont trust him, but to appease his want for a morning routine of shooting practice they let him keep a handgun. Gabe is able to call some of his friends on occasion (monitored of course) and tell them a bit about what life is like now. They feel distant but hey. Better than nothing.

It's sort of hard to think about leaving now (especially after Gabe starts practicing his abilities in the garden. Especially after Robbie cuts himself on accident while cooking and sees it heal right before his eyes. When he starts to wonder if it's a good move to keep him away from other people).

The BSAA has managed to strike a balance between 'allowing them to recover' and 'keeping them busy enough that they won't WANT to escape or fall into any post traumatic depression (hey they can't really control that but they can t r y). Keeping the boys together, monitored, and away from people they can infect is their best move. Regular doctors visits help to monitor their mutations. They're both still infected and the BSAA knows that. But it's worth more to keep them alive as possible assets than to destroy the first real example of a stable biowepon.

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 162 Rundown

Spy X Family: It’s the start of a new arc and it’s kind of a breath of fresh air to get to see Yor’s job for a change with her weird flower garden handler dude. She’s actually assigned guard duty for once instead of murder like idk I’d think if you’re a hitman organization you’d have separate people for guarding and murder because there’s a lot of intricacies that make those jobs very different if you’re a specialist but I guess having Yor fucking murder someone on a cruise ship would be kind of a downer. But yeah Yor has to protect the wife and kid of a murdered mob boss from the current head of the mob that wants to extinguish any threat to his leadership which it’s been a while but I think this may be the plot to Katekiyo Hitman Reborn. By a stupid fucking coincidence Anya finds a lotto game and gets stupidly lucky finding the only way a telepath could possibly cheat a drawing lots and wins a ticket on the exact same cruise. I guess it makes more sense than Yor’s assassin organization being like ‘oh yeah bring the family, let them watch you break someone’s spine for a mob boss’ but it’s still a ridiculous coincidence. Meanwhile Yor’s debating giving up the murder lifestyle now that she doesn’t have to take care of Yuri anymore and has a financially stable domestic life where she could probably just be a legitimate clerk and be fine. It’s kind of weird because Yor never seems to have a problem with murdering people or ever question if the people they send her after deserve it at all but she kinda just wants out because it’s… unsightly? Like she has no qualms about devaluing human life for an organization that’s almost certainly a partisan interest group and convincing herself she’s only killing bad people even though the likelihood of her committing a murder a week since she was 14 and every single one being 100% deserving of death is next to impossible but her qualm is that she just doesn’t need to anymore and she can pretend she’s not freakshow strong and be a normie, idk maybe she DOES feel bad about it but they sure don’t present it that way. Either way they make it onto the ship and shenanigans ensue, they actually do a pretty good job of humanizing the mob wife and illustrating the quiet sadness she has about trying to protect the only family she has left and being ridiculously powerless to do anything about her situation and confiding in Yor while they kinda bond over mom stuff, it’s good shit. It’s short-lived however as we get the reveal that the guy who’s after them has bugs everywhere and has just picked up Yor and her conversation that confirms the baby’s named after one of the previous family members, giving away their location.

Inuyasha: So this one’s another filler episode of little consequence about Rin questioning her place in a world of humans while being more comfortable around demons. This makes sense considering the demons she’s mostly around are Jaken, Sesshomaru and A-Un and the humans she most deeply remembers are the bandits that… WAIT A MINUTE! This episode claims bandits raided her village and killed her, but that was KOGA! Are we whitewashing Koga’s crimes now that he’s a main cast member? I mean I guess she did also see her parents being killed by bandits before that but given a demon was the one that actually physically killed her you’d think that’d kinda balance out the ‘demons good, humans bad’ scale to a more neutral place. Either way the reason this episode is a little more interesting is because of its effect on the end of the series and Yashahime since Sesshomaru does get it in his head that Rin shouldn’t be with him if she doesn’t want to be and gives her the choice to follow him ‘if she wants’ at the end of the episode and at the end of the series makes her go live with humans a while to give it a try despite her saying in this episode she’ll never live with humans again. I know Sesshomaru gets a lot of shit for how he handles things with Rin and just how weird it is that he’s known her since she was little and still fucks her but there’s also like a 150 year age gap between Inuyasha and Kagome no one talks about and not saying it’s not weird but if you absolutely HAVE to do a plot like this I think Sesshomaru does everything he can to get around the grooming allegations and give Rin an idea of what life is like without him, not necessarily saying that’s even a possibility when the idolation is that strong but an attempt was made. Kinda jumping all over here but I also like the humans that try to convince Rin to come back, like I like when the side characters of the week are a random duo/troupe of monks that just have normal spiritual powers and can do shit, I think it’s kinda cool to see someone besides the main cast on the level of being able to take out mid-tier demons. Also Jaken talks about how Rin will most likely be dead before Sesshomaru can form an empire because it’ll take hundreds of years but also like… is that even something Sesshomaru wants? He seems to just be fucking around at this point, like Jaken’s right about Sesshomaru wanting personal power initially with the Tessaiga and ultimately attaining it with the Bakusaiga but he does not seem like the kind of guy that could be assed to actually command an empire, I think Jaken’s just projecting a glorious goal onto his master here, like maybe at one point Sesshomaru’s like ‘yeah it’d be cool to be a king I guess’ and then forgot about it like a hundred years ago and Jaken’s just carrying around that idea this whole time idk. Also this is a New Moon episode for some reason, like only to keep Inuyasha out of a fight with the monks and to stop him from jumping out when Sesshomaru clashes with the monks and mucking up his deliberate decision not to kill them like it’s a really weird choice to throw a new moon episode in here of all places. But yeah, kind of a bog-standard filler episode about Rin re-affirming her devotion to Sesshomaru but watching it again knowing how the rest of the series goes is kind of interesting.

Yu Yu Hakusho: This one wisely has more focus than the past few and hones in on just Kurama’s fight with Shigure. Kurama decides that he’s tired of his Yugioh two souls in one body deal and decides only one fox spirit alter ego is coming out of this fight alive or zero are. He calls his mom before the fight who tells him the cherry blossom tree in front of their house is blooming and hope he’ll be home to see it soon. It’s really funny that the Demon World Tournament has like these big mushroom biome arenas and yet they still start them in these tiny world tournament stage deals for no reason, like leaving them doesn’t matter and they always get blown up in the first attack so like what’s the point. Shigure gets to show off some more high-octane moves than the one second fight he and Hiei had and it’s pretty cool but Kurama spends the whole fight wishy-washy about not wanting to let Yoko out despite basically fully mastering and integrating him in the previous two arcs so it’s kind of a dumb fight of Kurama holding himself back for no reason. Still apparently he planted seeds on this exact spot thousands of years ago so now he can use Wood Style and does a clever move to disarm Shigure who’s just like ‘I’m not turning into a fucking jobber for these main cast pricks’ and jumps off a fucking cliff after complimenting Kurama’s flowers which look just like the cherry blossoms his mom was talking about which is a nice touch, a win for his human side and all that. But at the end of the fight Kurama still tells Yomi he’s not forsaking Yoko entirely and it’s just like… THEN WHY DID WE JUST DO THAT!? YOU ALMOST DIED! They kinda go back and forth a lot with Kurama about whether Yoko is a part of himself he can accept and change or a crutch he has to learn to live without and it’s kind of wishy-washy and this episode certainly doesn’t clear things up.

Jujutsu Kaisen: We’re finally back in the present and we have a nice cooldown episode to get re-acquainted with our technically main characters. It’s a nice little fluff slice of life deal to ease us in because I hear the Shibuya arc is rough. Nobara runs into a girl that had a crush on Yuji in middle school and helps her figure out if she has a shot now that she has marketable moe anime looks. It’s really kinda funny for how much the series sells the main trio as good friends that she has to call up Megumi even to check out if Yuji has a girlfriend, like you’d think that’d come up with all the time they all spend together. Though at the same time I also love their dynamic because it’s just like 100% platonic ballbusting all the time and they make it very clear there’s no cheap love triangles around here. We also get Yuji just kinda being a doll because he recognizes the girl right away and it able to see to a person’s core despite any physical changes. The girl even gets her own little mini character development by saying the reason she liked Yuji was because he liked her first and her most important criteria is finding someone that wanted her which is like really fair bro, sometimes the most attractive thing a person can be is receptive and passionate. But she also recognizes that she only has the confidence to pursue him now because she has the physical attractiveness that everyone derided her for not having before so it’s a complex little chestnut about our relationship to our appearances and how that relates to confidence versus unfair beauty standards and it’s kinda neat because it also doesn’t really come down on one side or the other, it’s just teen angst which sometimes is what happens. The rest of the episode is trying to track down the mole in one of the schools (is it just me or is that a thing in a lot of shonen lately? I know MHA had a big arc about it too). And yeah no surprise it’s Mechamaru who’s feeding info to Mahito and Geto in exchange for Mahito fixing his body but they’re all just kind of sick of each others’ shit too (I really don’t remember the reason I think just cause they’re evil) and immediately start fighting once he’s fixed. Though it’s revealed he’s been working on a SECRET GUNDAM and it uses all the time he spent as a glass bones and paper skin guy as fuel for huge attacks which is pretty cool if terribly unsustainable. Like I’ve seen enough shonen fights to know the guy that does the ‘I can only use this attack X number of times and it kill me’ is definitely going to be using all of those attacks or dying or some shit. Best case scenario he’s able to blow up the Gundam and get word to Gojo about the whole Shibuya thing and enter Cursed Witness Protection Plan Special Puppets Unit but I don’t think he’s gonna make it out of here alive considering he’s going up against the two main villains using his literal life force as fuel, prolly gonna have a death fight but get enough energy out to get a message out with his dying breath or something.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: It’s kind of a round-up episode where the pieces of Ramona’s investigation get together. Though first we get a really adorable montage of Gorideon Groose and Lucas just kinda chilling out and when Julie comes back and shouts that it’s only been ninety fucking minutes I laughed so hard like I’m kinda glad they play that gag twice because it’s the perfect amount of time like it’s not absurdly short to assume they did all that video gaming and halfpipe building and sbit but it’s still way less time than all that should’ve taken it’s like a perfectly paced moment of comedy. Julie essentially clear Gideon by giving his backstory and saying he’s basically a NEET now though he himself confirms he is still planning something after she leaves but is still kind of a NEET. Ramona finally sees the weird robot that’s been running around and it’s… a vegan robot? Like aren’t all robots vegan unless you’re actively programming them to eat and feeding them meat? Like I guess that’s the joke but it’s like… really? But yeah she meets up with Scott’s friends to give her big Sherlock speech about how she was cucking both Twins at once which is like idk if I can call them ‘crimes’ exactly but the evidence that Ramona was a fucking weird manipulative person just keeps piling up and I get the feeling in the original series this was supposed to be Scott confronting her sins and flaws and loving her anyway but her it just seems like she’s confessing and giving a general idea that she’s changed but not nearly enough evidence to suggest she actually has given for how much time she’s known Scott I get the feeling she’s kinda more in love with mystery sleuthing than him at this point but okay. But yeah they also mention that the word doc for Young Neil’s script of the original series/movie written by the Vegan Robot was dated for the future, somewhere around Today Times I think and then Scott just kinda appears outside the door and says he’s the one behind all this and I’m assuming he means Future Scott which if this turns out to be Eighth Evil Ex Evil Future Scott Pilgrim I’d kinda appreciate that twist, like give us an idea that this idyllic romance may not always work out but there’s still hope for it in this timeline or something.

Ranking of Kings: We get Snake Guy’s backstory about how he wasn’t as strong as the other Big Four guys and he went to Despa to get trained which is why he was able to give Bojji the go-ahead to train there as well which is a neat little touch and we do get to see how a more standard training arc under Despa would go as he gets Snake Guy into his natural fighting style and weapon and he does eventually reach the heights of the others. The other short is about Daida trying to get the Big Four to get along because they’re unnaturally petty towards each other after beating Bosse and it just kinda comes out of nowhere because they weren’t like that before. Kirito sets them up with a guy who’s really good at arm wrestling despite them all being stronger than him and he kicks their asses but they’re able to unite their techniques and pool what they learned about arm wrestling from their matches to beat him which is cool, nice subversion of the ‘strong guys are just good at every physical activity’. Kirito mentions that they only seem to get along when they have a common enemy which just kinda seems petty idk, feels like they should get over that and it was a flaw invented just to make the episode work.

Vinland Saga: Thorfinn and Einar are working their field and come to the conclusion that they need a horse, but since they’re slaves and everyone hates their guts, no one will lend them a horse except this old man who strings them along with general chores for a while but eventually they do get a horse and get their field up and running which is nice. They find out the old guy is actually the dad of the farm owner and he insists on still working, presumably because he initially started the farm and is shown to place a lot of value on working to earn food (also he mentions he’s Norse idk if that’s relevant later or not) and it’s actually kind of a cool character study that he’s kinda really grateful to Thorfinn and Einar for their help because it allows him to still stay independent despite the farm owner always asking him to come home and stop working. Also he’s the same old guy we saw Snake mooching off of for his intro episode and they’re surprisingly close in the bickering old family members kind of way and Snake hangs out to make sure he doesn’t push himself too hard. They have a brief discussion of the fallacy of hording wealth and then spending it to protect it and Snake gently alludes to the idea of wanting to hire Thorfinn as a guard. Still they both treat the pair of slaves as equals and the two go home with Thorfinn getting another point added to his ‘understanding basic human shit’ skill sheet and their farm keeps progressing nicely.

[unlimitedtrees]

the most fun evil thing ive ever made: Sonic Labyrinth 2

download this crazy ass rom hack

so. 'Sonic Labyrinth 2' was a joke rom hack i originally made in 2016. it was for the sonic hacking contest that year, and i made it mainly because i was let into this team called "Team Overload" whos whole gimmick was that there were a Ton of people in it who were going to submit a Ton of rom hacks at once at that year's contest. of course , this led to a bunch of people (myself included) making a Ton of low effort hacks just so they could submit something, and Sonic Labyrinth 2 was one of those hacks.

basically, Sonic Labyrinth 2 was Sonic 2 but inspired by Sonic Labyrinth. sonic's acceleration was reduced Greatly , making it so he moved like a snail. while you Can get speed by doing a spindash, i made it so you can't jump while rolling , which means you have to be much more Careful and Deliberate when rolling At All... as you become nearly uncontrollable when rolling (and it's even difficult to Stop Rolling, due to the low acceleration)

because of these few changes, the game becomes Completely Different. simple challenges such as Jumping Over Spikes or Going Up A Slope become increasingly difficult. however, the game isn't Mindlessly Dumb, as you could still gain speed from things such as speed shoes, going down slopes, and even going underwater (as you have different physics underwater). the game becomes almost like a puzzle platformer , as you have to figure out how to use everything available to you to make progress in the levels (and without getting stuck in some places)

however, even though i liked the unique challenge the rom hack had, i was disappointed with it as the game wasn't really designed around the new controls all too much, and there were too many dumb soft locks all over the place. and also basically No One liked the rom hack beyond it being a Silly Joke.

So , in 2018 , i started working on Sonic Labyrinth 2 Encore. it was mainly inspired by sonic mania's encore mode , with all of the levels having new palettes and the layouts are slightly changed to accommodate the slow controls , along with being more of a challenge. i was actually really proud of the stuff i did for it.... However .... i am Bad at rom hacking. sonic 2 rom hacking specifically is Really Frustrating for me ... theres just lots of things i didnt know how to do , and when i ran into 2 crashes in some of the levels which i had No Idea how to solve .... i decided to give up on the hack. this was also around the time Among the Others came out and i gave up on rom hacking entirely , so . yeah.

ive always been really sad about not being able to finish this rom hack, because there's just Nothing else like it ! the different controls bring up such an Interesting challenge that requires you to be more precise and more knowledgeable on the physics from the original sonic 2... and i wish i couldve done way more with the levels to make them much more of a difficult puzzle. oh and also i really liked the color palettes i made for all the levels.

Idk. this rom hack was Really Evil. but it was Really Fun. if you wish to give it a try, you can download it on github. the source code is on github aswell, but for some reason theres errors when building it and i have No Idea Why. at one point i tried adding one of those error handler thingys but i think something broken and it made me forever sad.

thats all i think. i just wanted everyone to know about this silly rom hack i made

[sodiumlamp]

Picard

Oh, fuck they're gonna have Section 31 in this show on top of everything else, aren't they?

All right, let's recap the plot of this one. Picard and Riker rescue Dr. Crusher, and her son, Jack Crusher. But before the Titan can return to Federation space, they're cornered by the Shrike, a powerful, unknown ship run by a bounty hunter. Shrike's commander demands that Jack Crusher, and gives Titan one hour to decide. Captain Shaw wants to do it, but Picard finally pulls rank and flees into the nebula they just got done escaping.

That whole business takes like 30 minutes of screentime. It's mostly characters bickering and Captain Shaw trying to preserve his pride after Picard, Riker, and Seven made him look like a dope. I guess the idea here is that Picard could have acted more decisively from the start, but he needed to hear from Beverly that he's Jack's father, which suddenly galvanizes him into action.

It's dumb as fuck, because Picard already cared about Beverly, so he should have just pulled rank in the first place to rescue her, before he even knew Jack existed.

This whole episode treats the chain of command like a joke. Shaw's the captain of the Titan, and he feels secure enough in his authority to tell Picard and Riker "no"... until the plot calls for it and then he has to back down. Seven defies Shaw's orders and barely tries to hide it, but it takes him forever and a day to relieve her of duty. Not that it matters, because she keeps giving orders anyway and finds Jack before he can teleport himself over to the Shrike to save his mom.

It's the same contradiction we had with the Romulans in Season 1, where they were simultaneously presented as a displaced, weakened people, and a fearsome galactic power. Captain Shaw is simultaneously too strong and too weak. He's strong enough to maintain command in spite of his shitty attitude, but he's weak enough that he's powerless to stop Seven and Picard from undermining his authority. It just depends on which one the plot calls for in a given moment.

In the end, the viewer loses all interest in Shaw as a character. He's neither an antagonist to obstruct the heroes' mission, nor is he an ally with a contrarian perspective. He's just there to slow down the story. He's mud in the road for Star Trek: Picard to spin its tires in.

The rest of the episode sees Raffi convince herself that she knows better than Starfleet Security when it comes to solving the mystery behind a recent terrorist attack on a Starfleet Recruitment building. Her anonymous handler tells her not to pursue the investigation, but she does it anyway, even asking her estranged husband to help her get in touch with a gangster who can give her a lead. He's upset that she's more interested in the gangster than trying to reconnect with their son, so he offers her a choice, and she goes for the gangster with both hands.

What's really sad about all this is that Raffi is really, really bad at her job. Like, she's clearly talented. She knows computer stuff and she's really good at swiping right on all those holographic screens. She can hold her own in a fight, and she bedded Seven of Nine, which is pretty impressive. The problem is that she keeps risking everything on some flimsy chance of a lead, and then her only plan is to bluff until everything sort of works out.

Raffi's ex-husband and son got fed up with her bullshit a long time ago, because she absolutely can not and will not walk away from the paranoid intelligence agent game. The game she constantly loses because she's terrible at it. I mean, if she were frighteningly effective at her job, then it would be kind of a neat conflict. She loves her work too much to give it up, or maybe she sees herself as the indispensable woman keeping the galaxy safe. But she's not. She hates her job because everyone tells her what to do, and she's really bad at it, partly because she won't let anyone tell her what to do.

She survives this episode because her handler shows up to rescue her, and it turns out to be Worf. So I guess this brings Raffi closer to the main plot, but I can tell it's gonna be a while before they get everyone in the same room.

[huntmark]

The Art of Canine Hunting: Enrolling Your Dog in a Hunting School

Hunting has been a shared pursuit between humans and their loyal canine companions for centuries. Whether it's tracking game in the wilderness or helping to control pests on a farm, dogs have been indispensable partners in the world of hunting. To enhance your dog's hunting skills, many enthusiasts turn to hunting schools specifically designed to teach dogs the necessary skills and discipline for a successful hunt.

In this article, we will explore the concept of hunting schools for dogs, their importance, what they teach, and how to choose the right one for your furry friend.

The Role of Hunting Schools for Dogs

Hunting schools for dogs, also known as gun dog schools or hunting dog training centers, play a vital role in preparing dogs for the rigors of hunting. These schools offer specialized training to help your canine companion become a more efficient and obedient hunting partner. They focus on enhancing your dog's natural instincts, such as tracking, pointing, retrieving, and obedience, while also ensuring the safety and welfare of the animals involved.

What Do Hunting Schools Teach?

Obedience Training

The foundation of any successful hunting dog is obedience. Dogs are taught commands like sit, stay, come, and heel, which are essential for their safety and the effectiveness of the hunt.

Retrieving Skills

Retrievers, in particular, need to learn how to fetch and bring back the game they locate. This is a crucial skill in upland and waterfowl hunting.

Pointing and Flushing

Pointer and setter breeds are taught to locate game birds and "point" at them, holding a rigid stance until the hunter arrives. Flushers, on the other hand, are trained to scare birds into flight.

Tracking

Hounds and other tracking breeds are taught to follow scent trails and locate game, such as deer or boar.

Water Work

For waterfowl hunting, dogs are trained to swim and retrieve in various water conditions, including cold, deep, and fast-moving waters.

Gun and Noise Tolerance

Dogs are acclimated to the sounds of guns and other hunting equipment to ensure they remain calm and focused during the hunt.

Safety

Training emphasizes safety for both the dogs and their human handlers. Dogs are trained to avoid dangerous wildlife, recognize and respond to commands, and avoid potentially harmful situations.

How to Choose the Right Hunting School for Your Dog

When selecting a hunting school for your dog, consider the following factors:

Reputation

Look for schools with a good reputation and a track record of producing successful hunting dogs. Ask for referrals from fellow hunters or check online reviews.

Training Methods

Ensure that the training methods used are humane and based on positive reinforcement. Avoid schools that rely on harsh or punitive techniques.

Specialization

Some schools may specialize in particular types of hunting, such as waterfowl, upland game, or tracking. Choose a school that aligns with your specific hunting interests.

Facilities and Equipment

Check the training facilities and equipment to make sure they are well-maintained and suitable for your dog's needs.

Trainers

Experienced and knowledgeable trainers are essential. Inquire about the qualifications and experience of the instructors.

Cost

Consider your budget when choosing a hunting school. Costs can vary depending on the length and intensity of the training program.

Conclusion

Hunting schools for dogs play a significant role in enhancing the skills and abilities of hunting dogs. These specialized programs not only make your dog a more efficient hunting companion but also ensure their safety and well-being in the field. Choosing the right hunting school involves careful research, considering your dog's breed and your specific hunting interests, and, most importantly, selecting a school that employs humane and effective training methods. With the right education, your furry friend can become a true hunting partner, enriching your outdoor experiences and strengthening the bond between you and your canine companion.