#feat. dmitri

[autisticidiot]

sorry if you're in the cinema watching kraven the hunter and hear screaming when dmitri comes on screen that's me

[dysfunctionalcreature]

feeling emotions about this parallel, Lovelace thinking about Hilbert in mini episode 3 Variations On A Theme, versus, Eiffel thinking about Hilbert in episode 46 Boléro

[sabinahahn]

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975)

Shostakovich’s contemporaries do not recall seeing him working, at least not in the traditional sense. The Russian composer was able to conceptualize a new work entirely in his head, and then write it down with extreme rapidity—if uninterrupted, he could average twenty or thirty pages of score a day, making virtually no corrections as he went.

But this feat was apparently preceded by hours or days of mental composition—during which he “appeared to be a man of great inner tensions,” the musicologist Alexei Ikonnikov observed, “with his continually moving, ‘speaking’ hands, which were never at rest.”

Shostakovich himself was afraid that perhaps he worked too fast. “I worry about the lightning speed with which I compose,” he confessed in a letter to a friend. Undoubtedly this is bad. One shouldn’t compose as quickly as I do. Composition is a serious process, and in the words of a ballerina friend of mine, “You can’t keep going at a gallop.” I compose with diabolical speed and can’t stop myself.… It is exhausting, rather unpleasant, and at the end of the day you lack any confidence in the result. But I can’t rid myself of the bad habit.

- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey

#dailyrituals #inktober #shostakovich @masoncurrey

[pascaloverx]

RAGE

Author's note: if you like this little sample of the fanfic idea, kraven x reader. Interact with the story, so I can see if I continue or not. this chapter includes mature content. minors do not interact!!!

Summary: You are secretly Dmitri Smerdyakov's bodyguard, though over time, you've developed a friendship with him. However, you share a complicated past with his brother, Sergei Kravinoff. Now that Sergei is back in town, who knows where this will lead you?

ONE THREE

TWO

“Dmitri!” you shout, chasing—yes, chasing—your best friend through the streets as he tries to flee from you. Ever since he witnessed you kill a man to protect him, it’s become painfully clear that you’re not just his best friend who happens to be a co-worker.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses—not now. If there’s even a way to justify what happened back there,” Dmitri replies breathlessly, his steps erratic as he stumbles through the empty street.

“I know it’s confusing, but I can explain,” you say, trying to catch up to him. That’s when you notice something wrong—two men moving toward Dmitri from opposite sides. He hasn’t noticed them yet, still too caught up in the spiral of panic.

Knowing how shaken he already is, you decide not to expose him to another violent scene—not if you can avoid it. It’ll have to be the hard way, but a safer one.

You grab his arm and swiftly pull him behind you, shielding him with your body. “What are you doing?” Dmitri asks, confused, but he doesn’t resist.

You glance toward the approaching men, then lean close to Dmitri’s neck. Your voice drops to a whisper. “I hope one day you’ll forgive me, мой дорогой друг,” you murmur against his skin—my dear friend.

Then, with practiced precision, you sink your fangs into his neck. A gift—or curse—of serpentine origin. The toxin you release isn’t lethal, but it’s strong enough to render him unconscious. Dmitri’s body goes limp in your arms, and you catch him before he hits the ground.

Carefully, you lay him down near the entrance of a closed café, propping him against the wall. The two men finally reach you. You rise to your feet slowly, gaze sharp, movements poised. They think you’re vulnerable, distracted by the body beside you. They have no idea who they’re dealing with. You ready yourself to strike.

One of them charges at you, attempting to knock you down. But the moment he touches you, your body reacts on instinct—inhuman, unyielding. You grab him with unnatural strength, delivering a swift punch, then another. He grunts, momentarily stunned, before lifting you off the ground and hurling you across the street. You brace yourself for the impact. But it never comes.

Instead, Sergei catches you mid-air, his body wrapping around yours like a heated shield in the dead of winter. His boots scrape against the pavement, the sheer strength of his frame absorbing the brunt of the force. It’s like colliding with steel wrapped in warmth.

“I’ll let you handle the one who threw you,” Sergei murmurs, his voice low, his smile more feral than reassuring. He’s clearly enjoying the chaos.

You nod, breathless but steady, and the two of you split, each charging at your assigned target. The men hesitate now. Maybe it’s Sergei’s predatory eyes, or the way his stance mirrors that of a lion about to feast.

“Come on, big guy,” you say, locking eyes with the one who tossed you. “I’ll go easy on you.” He rushes toward you again, this time armed with a dagger. He drives it into your abdomen—but when you don’t fall, don’t even flinch the way a human should, panic flashes across his face.

You slam your boot into his chest, sending him backward. Even with the blade lodged in your stomach, you advance. You yank it out, gritting your teeth at the pain—your wound bleeds, slower to heal than usual, but you're still standing. Without hesitation, you drive the dagger into his arm, forcing him to his knees with a scream. Then your fangs descend.

You sink them into his neck and inject your venom—silent, swift, and merciless. His body convulses violently, a tremor of agony before it stills. He collapses at your feet. You look up.

Sergei stands across from you, blood smeared across his mouth as he pulls his teeth from the neck of his own victim. The man falls to the ground with a dull thud, lifeless.

Your gazes meet across the carnage, both of you blood-soaked, breathing heavily. “Just like old times,” Sergei says with a bloodstained smile, his eyes gleaming like fire in the night.

You stare at Sergei in admiration—yes, just like the old days. The kind of chaos you two used to get into could fill volumes. And part of you aches to fall back into those familiar patterns, to celebrate survival the way you always did: tangled together, bodies hot from the thrill of the fight, blood still drying on your skin.

But the moment flickers away as you spot movement—fast, silent, and lethal. A third man appears behind Sergei, poised to strike.

“Sergei!” you shout, already moving. Without hesitation, you rip the dagger from the dead man’s arm and hurl it through the air. Sergei catches it with practiced ease and spins around, burying the blade deep into the attacker’s leg before the blow can land. The man stumbles with a cry, but Sergei is already on him.

A punch to the gut. Another to the head. The man crumples to the ground, groaning in pain. Sergei doesn’t even pause—he grabs him by the hair, yanking his head back so their eyes meet. His voice is thick, growling with menace as he demands, “Who sent you?”

The man’s lips tremble, his breathing ragged. “Aleksei Sytsevich… but you already knew that,” he sneers, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Then, with a smirk twisted in pain, he hisses in Russian, “Все, кого ты любишь, умрут.” ("Everyone you love will die.") And just like that, the life fades from his eyes. He dies smiling.

You’re dying to argue with Sergei, but right now, your priority is getting Dmitri somewhere safe—he’s clearly in danger.

“Let’s go before someone else shows up,” you mutter, glancing at Sergei, who seems to notice the anger simmering beneath your expression.

“I’ll carry him,” Sergei says, picking Dmitri up from the ground and slinging him over his shoulder as if his brother weighed nothing at all.

You both head straight to the parking lot to grab your car and leave. The drive is tense, silent. You go directly to Dmitri’s apartment. Sergei lays him gently on the bed as the effects of your bite slowly begin to wear off.

You start packing some clothes into a bag for Dmitri, preparing to get him out of there as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Sergei helps himself to a glass of whiskey in the living room, as if none of this chaos just happened.

You sigh—three times, in fact—frustrated by how nonchalant he seems.

“You can go ahead, I’m ready to be judged,” Sergei says the moment you step out of the bedroom, the bag in hand.

You can’t help but laugh a little. It’s strange how no matter how much time passes, you two always fall back into the same roles. He screws things up, and you’re the one who has to clean up the mess.

“Do I really need to say it? That once again, Sergei Kravinoff, you’ve put your brother in danger over some selfish impulse of yours?” you ask, standing across from him, your voice cold and stern.

He takes another sip of his drink before his eyes land back on you, steady and intense.

“You don’t need to say it,” he replies calmly. “But I know you will. You’re always so quick to throw blame before I even get a chance to explain myself.”

There’s a quiet fury building in him. You can see it in the way his jaw tightens, in how his eyes begin to lose their human warmth—something more feral starts to surface.

“It’s not worth starting this argument. You don’t change. You never will, in truth,” you state, moving across the room to get closer to Sergei. Confronting him won’t solve anything, but it might quiet the storm inside you, even if just a little.

He lets out a low growl as he downs another sip of whiskey, jaw clenched.

“You judge me like you're any different,” he mutters, voice coated in bitterness. “Look at us—we're standing in the same place we were years ago.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask, genuinely trying to make sense of what he’s implying.

“You’re trying to channel your anger at me for one mistake instead of facing the real problem,” Sergei says, his voice lower now, raspier, as if trying to maintain control—perhaps to win the argument by force of logic rather than rage. He points at you, not aggressively, but deliberately.

“You want someone to blame because it’s easier than admitting how bad things have gotten. But we don’t have time for that. Not with Aleksei moving like this.”

The tension between you two hangs heavy in the air, old wounds clashing with new threats. You can feel it—the danger isn't over, and neither is the history between you and Sergei.

“Aleksei is only making moves like this because you were incompetent enough to let him know he was being hunted,” you say, fully aware of how much Sergei despises being called incompetent—especially in two areas of his life: professional and sexual.

“Say that again,” he growls, his voice sharp, stepping closer with each word. You can already smell the whiskey on his breath, strong and intoxicating.

“You,” you say, stepping forward until there’s barely space between you. “Were utterly incompetent… letting the one you were meant to hunt become the beast stalking your every move.”

You hold his gaze, unflinching. “You failed, Sergei. And now we all bleed for it.”

His hand shoots out, wrapping firmly around your neck—not enough to hurt, but enough to show you just how serious this has become. Then he crashes his lips onto yours, kissing you with a hunger that burns like wildfire. You let yourself drown in it, in the heat of his mouth consuming yours as though tasting something forbidden and long craved. His tongue is fire—but you're more than ready to burn.

When his hands slide down to your waist and grip your ass with possessive force, you sink your teeth gently into his lower lip, drawing blood with a delicate precision. He pulls back abruptly, touching his lips and catching sight of the blood. He lets out a low hiss of pain—then returns to your lips with even more fervor, hungry, wild.

You take the opportunity to trail your nails down his chiseled chest, eliciting a low growl from deep within him. His hand grabs the back of your neck, pulling you tighter, and with one swift motion, he lifts you into his arms. Your legs wrap around his waist as he starts carrying you toward Dmitri’s guest room, lips never leaving yours.

“Sergei!” Dmitri’s voice suddenly cuts through the tension, calling out from the bedroom.

You and Sergei freeze, your breaths heavy, lips swollen, bodies still pressed together. You meet his eyes—neither of you really wanting to stop, but both knowing it’s best for now. “Go,” you whisper, pressing a softer kiss to his lips as he slowly lowers you to the ground. “I’ll finish packing his things.”

Sergei gives you a heated look, eyes still burning with unspoken promises. “You can be damn sure this isn’t over,” he murmurs against your lips, stealing one last kiss before heading off to Dmitri’s room.

[youcouldmakealife]

SOTM: Gabe/Stephen; largesse (pt I)

For the prompt: Gabe and Stephen being sappy at SOME point

Feat. everybody's favourite: Soft Stephen Petersen (but don't you dare call him that to his face)

I'm going ahead and posting this a day before the poll even closes, because it was winning by a landslide and also, well, Passover. This thing decided to grow legs, as so many prompts do. The second half will be posted next week.

Stephen loves holidays.

It takes a long time for Gabe to figure that out — he's talking literal decades — because Stephen’s actually pretty good at hiding it. Or maybe it isn’t that he’s good at hiding it so much as it’s exactly what someone would expect from him. Stephen exudes ‘too cool for holidays’ energy.

But then, to be fair, Stephen exudes a lot of things that aren’t true. Like how he pretends to hate hugs, but that’s only true in limited circumstances: he dislikes hugs from strangers and distant acquaintances, that’s true, but he liked hockey hugs, and hugs from his family, even though he always scoffed before he got them, just so they wouldn’t get the right idea, and a good hug is often enough to get him out of a bad mood. The thing Stephen hates most about hugs is how much he doesn’t hate them.

He’s like that with a few things: he spent years pretending he couldn’t stand math, even as he was getting straight As in it, helping Gabe out with his homework, but never without muttering how pointless math was. He still pretends to hate his sisters, and groans when Dmitry and Oksana come over, even when he explicitly asked Gabe to invite them, and constantly pretends he isn’t absolutely delighted to find a kindred soul in Jared. Gabe can see right through all of that. Always has. But Stephen’s apparent holiday hatred managed to fool even him.

That is, until Stephen accidentally shows his hand when Passover arrives. Stephen’s been doing something or another for it for years, packing Gabe little lunch boxes so he has options on the road, even including uncharacteristically sweet little notes during one playoff run.

Gabe always figured it was because Stephen knew it was hard to be across the country from his family, especially when Passover fell at the same time as their birthdays, or the last stressful days of the season, or the even more stressful start of the postseason — it’s never been great timing. And as much as Stephen would like to deny it, he’s always been thoughtful about those kinds of things. Always been kind.

But this year it's different. Gabe’s Passover planning usually just extends to hitting up the kosher section at the grocery store to stock up on non-leavened alternatives, maybe head to the deli he likes to get some inferior version of something his mom would make if he’s feeling particularly homesick.

Stephen’s putting a little more effort in. For one, he's decided to cook. Relatedly, he's spending half his time on the phone with Gabe’s mom, it feels like — recipes can’t take that long to convey, no matter how chatty Gabe’s mom is — and shooing Gabe out of the kitchen with his traditional Passover lunch box, even though he isn’t on the road this year, and, thank fuck, it’s still the regular season this time. It’s rough, having to abstain from all of his favourite ways to carboload just in time for the postseason.

And then there's Seder. The fact they're having one, but also the fact they've got a guest list: a few of Stephen's university friends, a Jewish colleague of his who also lives across the country from his family, and Jared and Bryce, Dmitry and Oksana.

He spends Gabe doesn’t even know how much time and energy getting it together, brushing off most of Gabe’s offers to help. Gabe’s exhausted just doing his minor part and low-key worrying about Dmitry or Jared saying something to set Stephen off.

Everyone's shockingly well behaved, though, to the point where Gabe wonders what Stephen threatened them with. Something horrible, he’s sure. At the end of the night, everyone parts with leftovers, which Gabe is a little wistful about — he knows they kept a little of everything but it’s his favourite, and Stephen did good job with it, if not a Miriam job — and Gabe starts clearing the table, because Stephen looks like he’s hit his limit.

The kitchen is such a disaster Gabe doesn’t even know where to start — he didn’t think they had this many dishes. He doesn’t even recognise all of them. Gabe has never been more grateful to have a dishwasher. He only wishes they had two. Or three, even. Three would be good.

“I think that went okay,” Stephen says as Gabe starts rinsing the dirtiest of the dishes.

“It went great,” Gabe says. “What’s the occasion, anyway?”

“Passover,” Stephen says.

“Steve,” Gabe says.

“Oh, well,” Stephen says. “It’s important to you.”

But he’s flustered, and not just flustered in the way he gets whenever he has to admit he’s done something nice for someone.

That doesn’t typically apply to Gabe anyway. Stephen claims that it’s inherently selfish to do nice things for Gabe, because they’re a partnership, and helping his partner helps him. Gabe figures whatever helps Stephen sleep at night after doing embarrassing things like offering Gabe the last piece of pizza — obviously not during Passover — or telling him he likes his playoff beard when they both know it’s mid at best.

Though, Stephen actually seemed pretty into it, last year, to the point where Gabe was starting to think he might have a bit of a thing for the beard. So maybe that was selfish after all.

Gabe, equally selfishly, hopes they make it even further this year, just to test that theory.

"Well," Gabe says. "Thank you," and notices Stephen looks relieved that he's letting it go. Even grateful.

So of course that's when Gabe starts paying attention.

[amalaabasu]

Guuuys I think I found the perfect song for Dmitry & Lane 😤 Die with a smile (Bruno Mars feat Lady gaga)

Lyrics:

"I, I just woke up from a dream

Where you and I had to say goodbye

And I don't know what it all means

But since I survived, I realized

Wherever you go, that's where I'll follow

Nobody's promised tomorrow

So I'ma love you every night like it's the last night

Like it's the last night

If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you

If the party was over and our time on Earth was through

I'd wanna hold you just for a while and die with a smile

If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you

Oh, lost, lost in the words that we scream

I don't even wanna do this anymore

'Cause you already know what you mean to me

And our love's the only war worth fighting for

Wherever you go, that's where I'll follow

Nobody's promised tomorrow

So I'ma love you every night like it's the last night

Like it's the last night

If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you

If the party was over and our time on Earth was through

I'd wanna hold you just for a while and die with a smile

If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you

Right next to you

Next to you

Right next to you

Oh-oh, oh"

Please tell me that this song isn't perfect for these two? 🥲

[luobinghaj]

incorrect tgcf feat. me, my fiancée, and my bestie. original screenshot under the cut

dmitri will use an image of My Own Face to side-eye me. truly the pinnacle of disrespect

[mariacallous]

At the end of 2022, Dmitry Medvedev—Russia’s former prime minister and the current deputy chairman of its Security Council—offered his predictions for the coming year. He warned that Europeans would suffer badly from Russia’s decision to curb natural gas exports to the European Union, suggesting that gas prices would jump to $5,000 per thousand cubic meters in 2023—around 50 times their prewar average. He probably assumed that that sky-high prices would translate into a windfall for Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom, which was still supplying several European countries via pipeline, ramping up exports of liquefied natural gas, and eyeing new deals with China. Perhaps Medvedev also hoped that Europeans would beg the Kremlin to send the gas flowing again.

It turns out that Medvedev might want to polish his crystal ball: Last year, European gas prices averaged a mere one-tenth of his number. And just this month, Gazprom posted a massive $6.8 billion loss for 2023, the first since 1999.

Gazprom’s losses demonstrate the extent to which the Kremlin’s decision to turn off the gas tap to Europe in 2022 has backfired. In 2023, European Union imports of Russian gas were at their lowest level since the early 1970s, with Russian supplies making up only 8 percent of EU gas imports, down from 40 percent in 2021. This has translated into vertiginous losses for Gazprom, with the firm’s revenues from foreign sales plunging by two-thirds in 2023.

Gazprom’s woes are very likely setting off alarm bells in Moscow: With no good options for the company to revive flagging gas sales, its losses could weigh on Russia’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine. This is especially ironic given the fact that EU sanctions do not target Russian gas exports; the damage to the Kremlin and its war effort is entirely self-inflicted.

The most immediate impact of Gazprom’s losses will be on Russian government revenues, a crucial metric to gauge Moscow’s ability to sustain its war against Ukraine. Poring over Gazprom’s latest financials paints a striking picture. Excluding dividends, Gazprom transferred at least $40 billion into Russian state coffers in 2022, either to the general government budget or the National Welfare Fund (NWF), Moscow’s sovereign wealth fund.

This is no small feat. Until last year, Gazprom alone provided about 10 percent of Russian federal budget revenues through customs and excise duties as well as profit taxes. (Oil receipts usually account for an additional 30 percent of budget revenues.) This flood of money now looks like distant history. In 2023, the company’s contribution to state coffers through customs and excise duties was slashed by four-fifths, and like many money-losing firms, it is due a tax refund from the Russian treasury.

For Moscow, this is bad news on several fronts. Because of rising military expenses, the country’s fiscal balance swung into deficit when Moscow invaded Ukraine. To help plug the gap, the Kremlin ordered Gazprom to pay a $500 million monthly levy to the state until 2025. Now that the company is posting losses, it is unclear how it will be able to afford this transfer. In addition, Gazprom’s contribution to the NWF will probably have to shrink. For the Kremlin, this could not come at a worst time: The NWF’s liquid holdings have already dropped by nearly $60 billion, around half of its prewar total, as Moscow drains its rainy-day fund to finance the war. Finally, Gazprom’s woes could prompt the firm to shrink its planned investments in gas fields and pipelines—a decision that would, in turn, hit Russian GDP growth.

As if this was not enough, a closer look at Gazprom’s newly released financials suggests that the worst may be yet to come, with three telltale signs that 2024 could be even more difficult than 2023.

First, Gazprom’s accounts receivable—a measure of money due to be paid by customers—are in free fall, suggesting that the firm’s revenue inflow is drying up. Second, accounts payable shot up by around 50 percent in 2023, hinting that Gazprom is struggling to pay its own bills to various suppliers. Finally, short-term borrowing nearly doubled last year as Russian state-owned banks were enlisted to support the former gas giant.

Whereas these figures come from Gazprom’s English-language financials, the company’s latest Russian-language update yields two additional surprises—both of which show that the firm’s situation has worsened even further since the beginning of the year.

First, short-term borrowing during the first three months of 2024 roughly doubled compared to the previous quarter. If Russian state-owned banks continue to cover Gazprom’s losses, the Russian financial sector could soon find itself in trouble. This begs a tricky question: With the NWF’s reserves dwindling and Moscow’s access to international capital markets shut down, who would pay a bailout bill? Second, Gazprom’s losses were almost five times greater in the first quarter of 2024 than in the same period of 2023, hinting that the firm may post an even bigger loss this year than it did in 2023.

Looking ahead, 2025 will be an especially tough year for Gazprom. The transit deal that protects gas shipments through Ukraine via pipeline to Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia will probably expire at the end of this year, further curbing what’s left of Gazprom’s exports to Europe. A quick glance at a map makes it clear that China is now the only remaining option for Russian pipeline gas.

Yet Beijing is not that interested: Last year, it bought just 23 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, a mere fraction of the 180 billion cubic meters that Moscow used to ship to Europe. Negotiations to build the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would boost gas shipments to China, have stalled. And in truth, China is not a like-for-like replacement for Gazprom’s lost European consumers. Beijing pays 20 percent less for Russian gas than the remaining EU customers, and the gap is predicted to widen to 28 percent through 2027.

Without pipelines, raising exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the only remaining option for Moscow. However, Western policies make this easier said than done. Western export controls curb Russia’s access to the complex machinery needed to develop LNG terminals, such as equipment to chill the gas to negative160 degrees Celsius so that it can be shipped on specialized vessels. And Washington has recently imposed sanctions on a Singapore-based firm and two ships working on a Russian LNG project, signaling that it will similarly designate any entity willing to work in the sector. Finally, U.S. sanctions make it much harder for Russian firms to finance the development of new liquefaction facilities and the gas field designed to supply them. In December, Japanese firm Mitsui announced that it was pulling staff and reviewing options for its participation to Russia’s flagship Arctic LNG 2 project. As a result, the Russian operator announced last month that it was suspending operations of the project, which was originally slated to launch LNG shipments early this year.

Gazprom’s cheesy corporate slogan—“Dreams come true!”—does not ring so true anymore as Moscow’s former cash cow becomes a loss-making drain. Data from the International Energy Agency confirms the extent of the Kremlin’s miscalculation when it turned off the gas tap to Europe: The agency predicts that Russia’s share of global gas exports will fall to 15 percent by 2030—down from 30 percent before Moscow’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine.

This was probably predictable. It is hard to imagine how a gas exporter configured to serve European customers and reliant on Western technology could thrive after refusing to serve its main client—signaling to every other potential customer, including China, that it is an unreliable supplier. Corporate empires tend to rise and fall, and it looks like Gazprom will be no exception to the rule.

[salami-dono]

Meme time!! I replaced most of the images from the original. Dr. Jester comes from a strange mix of Archie, Sonic X and game canon. There are so many characters he hasn't met.

I think some of these relationships need more context.

Sonic - His loathsome nephew, potentially. (Prerequisite: Chuckster marriage. 😹) As for curiosity, he knew about Sonic and his extraordinary feats before facing him in battle. This curiosity came with a twinge of fear. He feared the kind of power it was said Sonic could tap into. He simply had to witness it firsthand! And he did.

Unbeknownst to him, he almost killed Sonic in their real first meeting by tossing him and Neon into a lake. Ah, almost.

Tails - Respects his skills as an engineer and his ability to outwit Eggman. Dr. Jester captured him the first time they met. He's Sonic's brother, so technically he should see him as family too. Loathsome nephew #2.

Shadow - Yes, Dr. Jester knew Shadow. Hypothetically, if Shadow came to Dr. Jester claiming to be Eggman's android, Dr. Jester would then respond by giving him a nice gash across the abdomen. Androids don't bleed. But Shadow died so that will never happen. (He doesn't know he's still alive.)

Rouge - Friendly rivalry. They met before the events of SA2. I very much wanted to mark Rouge as a friend but neither can trust the other. Dr. Jester expects betrayal. He still likes her. She has style. And guess what? They both love pretty rocks!

Charmy - A bee that looks like Kandy! And he's alive?! How curious!

Eggman - He feels every emotion for Eggman.

Sir Charles/Uncle Chuck - No notes, just Chuckster!

Dmitri - This relationship is intense but not romantic. I just really like the red circle. It's eye-catching. They're physically affectionate, which might sound odd considering Dmitri is only a cyborg head encased in a glass orb. He does have bionic tendrils though! I call this ship Jestri.

Metal Sonic - Never met. I'm very sad to admit that. Dr. Jester would tease Eggman about Metal Sonic looking like him. "He looks more like me so he must be my son."

Jules - Never met. Again, Chuckster (their relationship) would have to be serious before Chuck even considers introducing Dr. Jester to his beloved family.

E-123 Omega - Dr. Jester doesn't mind his quest for revenge, as long as Omega will allow him to step aside before he starts blasting Eggman's robots.

Chaos - In my own version of Sonic Adventure, Dr. Jester's Chaos (the one from his world) and the canon Chaos became one. A Chaos-Chaos. My Chaos had control of the body first and lost control by Chaos 4. One Chaos was driven by hatred, the other by fear. Dr. Jester wanted nothing to do with them. He skipped the final showdown.

Thank you for reading!

🦔💎🏳️‍🌈

I thought a little more about dear old Uncle Chuck...

In the Archie comics, there were these retcon events that introduced new continuities. In the Post-Super Genesis Wave timeline, Charles is no longer related to Sonic due to SEGA mandates--but he wasn't completely discarded.

I imagine Uncle Chuck would have no memory of Dr. Jester in the new continuity. There would be no Jules, or Dmitri. Dr. Jester would remember what was lost. I could torment myself and my OCs with this sadness. Call it the New Game+!

Nah, I won't do that. It's easier to play along with canon and rewrite some memories.

Dr. Jester cannot lose Charles. Do you understand?

[autisticidiot]

[dailycharacteroption]

Juggler (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by Dmitri Burmak on Artstation, featured in Magic the Gathering)

There are plenty of characters and options for them in rpgs that are based around agility and dexterity, about demonstrating incredible reflexes and hand-eye coordination, from acrobats to finesse combatants, but it’s sometimes easy to forget one of the best demonstrations of hand-eye coordination that we have, and that is juggling.

Perhaps it’s because it’s considered a small-time trick (until you see someone VERY good at it), or that it’s “Circus Fare” (and therefore, low art), but the art of keeping multiple objects in the air, often more than one has hands, is an impressive feat on its own.

While it doesn’t happen often, there are characters across fiction that utilize juggling as part of their skill set, and often add in the related art of weapon throwing to the mix. After all, the motion of juggling can draw the eye and leave a foe open when one of those juggled knives suddenly is delivered to their vital points.

It should come as no surprise, then, that an archetype for juggling showed up in the Extinction Curse Adventure Path, which among it’s other themes (troglodyte invasion, dinosaur attacks, Aroden’s legacy of causing problems for others) is also circus-themed! It only makes sense that this archetype would be among those that let the heroes use their skills in both adventuring and on the stage.

It’s also worth noting that this is also an archetype that made the jump from First to Second Edition, where it started out as a bard archetype, but is now available to all sorts of classes.

The base dedication for this archetype grants skill at performance and also the ability to juggle, allowing them to effectively have more items “in hand” than they have hands to hold them as long as they maintain it, though naturally they can tire out eventually. Also, most of the feats for this archetype also increase the total items they can keep aloft.

Another feat allows them to maintain their juggle as a free action, freeing them up to utilize these items with more of their normal actions.

Many also learn to add more items to their juggle at once, allowing them to replenish as they lose items much faster.

They can even catch falling items or thrown weapons that would miss them and add them to their juggle as well.

With a high lob, some can toss a juggled thrown weapon at an arc that surprises foes and leaves them open to it.

Some master jugglers can even reflexively throw one of their juggled items at targets at close range, punishing them for leaving themselves open.

If you’re planning on doing a thrown weapon build, this archetype is extremely tempting, allowing you to have your arsenal of thrown weaponry at your disposal without having to spend as many actions to draw them. As such, this works very well with bomb-focused alchemists, rogues, bards, swashbucklers, and even magi, though I’m sure most any class that wants to play with throwing weapons might find it useful. Alternatively, if you’re not going for thrown weapons, juggling could also be used to have multiple potions or other magic items ready at the same time.

While some may consider a few archetypes that are introduced in certain APs, including Extinction Curse to be awfully specific and gimmicky (Lumberjack? Really?), this archetype makes perfect sense for the adventure it’s introduced in, is general enough to be used by any dexterous performer, and even pays nice homage to the original version!

On the note of roleplay, consider reading up on how performers use not just their acts, but their behavior to establish showmanship and keep eyes on them. How does the character act on stage, or off the stage?

The circus is in town, and one of the performers is a hobgoblin juggler and clown named Progg. What most don’t know is that he was once a sergeant in the army of the hobgoblin nation of Vekus, where he retired due to an injury. However, the local authorities recognize him from the war, and wonder if old habits die hard. They might not wait long enough to prove he is a spy before they make their move.

What should have been a routine performance has turned to murder when a knife-catching trick turns deadly. A minor cut from catching one of the knives she used in her performance rapidly turned into a deadly complication due to poison on the blade… poison sourced from the selection of poisonous spear frogs that the carnival keeps on display in their menagerie.

A street performance turns into a deadly ambush when the party is ambushed by a group of mercenaries that double as street performers, with juggled and thrown knives, illusions that turn into very real hostile magic, and the like. After the party survives the attack, they have to figure out exactly who ordered the hit on them and why.

[tchaikovskym]

Rating random composers as I'm listening to their music just because I don't feel like sleeping.

Shostakovich: 10/10 he got the Slavic sadness, weather and politics in music. Love that.

Beethoven: 7/10. Pretty dramatic, and that's cool, but like there is room to stop being angry about gradually losing hearing as a composer.

Howard Shore: 9/10 pretty cool

Vivaldi: 9/10. Chill but with a fair flare for Big Dramatic Emotions. Love that

Wagner: 8/10. I think this German guy did his best and it was pretty great.

Tchaikovsky: 10/10. What a surprise! That's my pathetic Russian gay boy!! He got the feelings in his music and I feel them very much.

Dvorak: 7/10. There is nothing wrong with his music, I just keep forgetting it exists? It's actually great.

[timeguardians]

@greatrspnsibility

@timeguardians said: “at least let me clean the wound!” (Anya for Dmitri?)

❝ don't---don't want you to get those gloves dirty, your highness. ❞ he manages to grunt out, grimacing as he shifted to sit; he didn't want to touch her, lest he get a bloody handprint on her beautiful gown. ❝ i just wanted to get the last word in, before i left----sorry for interrupting. ❞ dmitri had to get up. had to find vlad. had to----get this bullet out of him. ❝ you got a medic, in here? ❞

_____________________

Abandoned by all she KNEW, by Dimitri and Vlad, Anya stands before stoney faced Gleb. The shadows do not soften his hatred warped features. Denial is all it would take to ascertain FREEDOM and yet, her quavering lips can not utter what the soldier demanded to hear. "I will ask once more. Once more only. Who are you?" He icily insisted. His pistol, though it shook, is drawn to the graces of her forehead. "I--" she feels her voice crumble as if it were day old bread. "I ---am--- Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia." She reiterates, drawing herself up to her full height.

Memories of that terrible cellar threaten to overwhelm and drown her. Haunted eyes flood with tears as she recalls the terrible chorus of screams that had suddenly drawn quiet. Her family was GONE.

All Anya can do when she first hears the bellow of the shot reverberating with a terrible twang about the room is FREEZE. The sound is followed by a sickening thud. A thud in Dimitri's direction. Shock curls up every vertebra of her spine as she turns. "DIMITRI!" His name rips from aching lungs. HE SHOULD HAVE NEVER COME BACK FOR HER!!!!! Didn't he know by now she was an albatross?!!! Everything, everyone she ever LOVED perished in ugly fashions.

The gun, Gleb's pistol, which had been levied at her head was no longer raised. Shame and guilt colored his cheeks before he stormed away, leaving her free to react. Shaky limbs rise and she flings herself in Dimitri's direction.

"THAT WAS SO STUPID!!!!" She chastizes harshly. As per usual, Anya steamrolls his desire for her to leave him be. The dress and gloves be DAMNED. Dimitri is ALL that ever mattered to her. He, alone, was her world.

"I don't care about the gloves," Anya clips, trying to shelve the worry against the rigid grooves of the roof of her mouth. Her hands briefly dip downwards to affectionately cradle his face before moving to probe the wound. "What last word? What could you have possibly left unsaid? Why -- why would you risk your life like that?"

She bites back the urge to be sarcastic. (which is NOT an easy feat). Instead, blurried eyes entreat of the other party goers. "SOMEONE, PLEASE--- HELP US!!!!!!" In a shakier voice, more full of dread, she adds. Send for the medic--"

@greatrspnsibility

[nosmokesport]

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford Set for September 12: A Clash for the Ages

Boxing’s biggest dream matchup is no longer just talk — it’s real, it’s signed, and it’s happening. On September 12, at Las Vegas’ iconic Allegiant Stadium, Canelo Alvarez will take on Terence Crawford in a super middleweight bout that has fans buzzing worldwide. This blockbuster showdown will pit two pound-for-pound stars against each other in what promises to be a historic moment for the sport.

Crawford Chasing Triple Undisputed Glory

Terence “Bud” Crawford has already cemented his name among boxing’s all-time greats, boasting an undefeated 41-0 record with 31 knockouts. But the Omaha native isn’t satisfied yet. After conquering divisions at lightweight, super lightweight, and welterweight — becoming the first male fighter in the four-belt era to unify two weight classes — Crawford now eyes the ultimate challenge: stepping up to 168 pounds to face Canelo. If he pulls it off, he will become the first man to be undisputed in three weight classes — a feat that would etch his name deep into boxing history books.

Canelo Alvarez: The King of 168 Pounds

On the other side of the ring, Canelo Alvarez stands as the reigning super middleweight king. With a staggering record of 63-2-2 and 39 knockouts, the Mexican superstar has already established himself as a modern legend. Despite a rare stumble against Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight in 2022, Alvarez has since gone on a tear, defending his belts and showcasing the relentless power and defense that have defined his career. Ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list, Canelo has one goal on September 12: remind the world why he’s the sport’s biggest star.

Allegiant Stadium: A First for Boxing

The venue itself adds to the historic weight of this clash. Allegiant Stadium — home to the Las Vegas Raiders — will host its first-ever boxing event. Since opening in 2020, the stadium has become synonymous with massive NFL games and megastar concerts, but Alvarez vs. Crawford will bring the roar of the fight crowd under its dome for the first time. Expect a packed house, an electric atmosphere, and a global audience tuning in for what’s sure to be an unforgettable night.

Powered by TKO Boxing: A New Promotional Force

This isn’t just another fight — it’s the launchpad for a new powerhouse in boxing promotion. TKO Boxing, a joint venture between Saudi sports mogul Turki Alalshikh and UFC president Dana White, is pulling the strings behind this massive event. Announced recently on Alalshikh’s social media, the new promotion aims to shake up boxing’s often sluggish matchmaking with high-impact, fan-focused events. While details about the broadcast partner remain under wraps, anticipation is already sky-high.

Stakes Higher Than Ever

What’s at stake? For Crawford, it’s a shot at history, legacy, and glory no fighter has ever touched. For Canelo, it’s a chance to silence the doubters and prove he’s still the sport’s top dog, capable of handling any challenge, even from a smaller but lightning-fast opponent. The clash of styles — Crawford’s slick speed and IQ vs. Alvarez’s brute force and tactical mastery — makes this matchup one of the most compelling in years.

With the undercard expected to feature top prospects and veterans alike, fans are in for an all-action night. And with Dana White’s involvement, don’t rule out some cross-sport surprises or promotional stunts.

Mark Your Calendars

Circle the date: Friday, September 12. Scheduling the bout on a Friday cleverly avoids competition with the UFC’s Saturday events and the opening weekend of college football, ensuring the eyes of the sports world are squarely on Alvarez vs. Crawford.

As training camps open, press conferences ignite, and predictions flood social media, one thing is clear — this isn’t just a fight; it’s an event that will define legacies.

When the lights come up at Allegiant Stadium and the bell rings, history will be waiting.

Source: Alvarez vs Crawford September 12

[cyberbenb]

As Ukraine, Russia agree to ceasefire at sea, Moscow's battered Black Sea Fleet is set to get a reprieve

The White House on March 25 announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea, returning the spotlight to a theater of battle that has been relatively quiet for more than a year.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, Ukrainian strikes against Russian ships, bridges, and even navy headquarters were a regular occurrence, and the neutering of the Black Sea Fleet has often been hailed as one of Ukraine’s greatest military feats during the full-scale war.

Although Ukraine’s coastal cities and ports still regularly come under Russian missile and drone attack, out at sea, Kyiv was able to carve out its own trade route after Russia pulled out of the U.N. and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2023.

The corridor has been a lifeline for Ukraine’s economy by allowing cargo vessels to sail safely by hugging the coastlines of Bulgaria and Romania while guided by the Ukrainian Navy.

The latest ceasefire agreement is missing crucial securities that Ukraine urgently needs, including protecting its ports from Russian attacks as well as opening up the blockaded Mykolaiv port.

After the ceasefire was announced, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Ukraine would consider it violated if Russia moved its warships outside of the eastern part of the Black Sea, as this would be regarded as a threat to national security.

“In this case, Ukraine will have the full right to exercise the right to self-defense,” Umerov said.

How Ukraine contained Russia’s Black Sea Fleet

After Ukraine reportedly lost all of its remaining surface vessels in the early months of the full-scale war, Russia was widely expected to have a free hand in the Black Sea.

But innovative tools such as Magura and Sea Baby naval drones and domestically made Neptune missiles turned the tide.

Ukraine celebrated its most successful “kill” when the missile cruiser Moskva, the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, sunk on April 14, 2022, after being struck by two Neptune missiles — marking Russia’s first flagship loss since the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.

Ukraine built on its successes, retaking key positions like the Snake Island off the coast of Odesa and, striking Russian naval facilities and docked vessels in Crimea with Western SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles.

A Ukrainian-made Neptune missile being fired on April 5, 2019. (Presidential Office of Ukraine)

One of the crowning achievements of this campaign was a devastating strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on March 22, 2023.

Throughout the all-out war, Ukraine claims to have destroyed or disabled around a third of 80 Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels, including the Rostov-on-Don Kilo-class submarine, Ropucha-class landing crafts, missile boats, and more. The General Staff says that 29 Russian vessels have been taken out of action as of February 2025.

“From the initial perception that the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy was the dominant force in the Black Sea and could do whatever it wants, (we came) to a situation where it is really a very limited factor,” Dmitry Gorenburg, a senior research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, told the Kyiv Independent.

Russian withdrawal from the Black Sea

To protect its remaining naval assets, in late 2024, Russia began to withdraw its naval forces from occupied Crimea eastward to the Novorossiysk port in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, further away from Ukraine’s reach.

“First, they (Russia) lost the ability… to threaten the coastline with amphibious landings in the first few months of the war. And then, the Russian Navy was gradually pushed farther and farther away from the coastline and eventually lost the ability to blockade the grain shipments,” Gorenburg said.

As Turkey does not allow Russia to send in reinforcements through the Turkish Straits in accordance with the Montreux Convention, Moscow is unable to replenish its losses. After a sustained Ukrainian campaign, it effectively lost its grip over the Black Sea, allowing Ukraine to resume vital trade lanes.

Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline in Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 2, 2022. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

However, the impact on Russia’s global naval power should not be overestimated. Russian fleets operate independently, and the Black Sea Fleet is considered secondary to the Northern or Pacific ones.

A blow against the Black Sea Fleet will not make Russia lose confidence in its Arctic naval assets, security expert Olga R. Chiriac told the Kyiv Independent.

“They’re very different in nature. The Black Sea fleet is more of a symbol, a prestige thing, versus the Arctic fleet,” Chiriac said.

But there is one region where the Russian Navy felt the sting of the Russia-Ukraine war — the Mediterranean Sea.

Other troubled seas

Turkey’s adherence to the Montreux Convention hurts Russia in two ways. Not only does it prevent any belligerent vessels from entering the Black Sea, but it also prevents them from leaving.

Due to its proximity, the Black Sea Fleet has been the logical resource base for Russian operations in the Mediterranean. Russia’s naval assets in the region are limited, usually around 10-11 ships, including support vessels, says Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Nevertheless, the presence allowed Moscow to project its influence in the Middle East and beyond and cast itself as a global power. Russia could better support its regional allies — by shipping arms, soldiers, and ammunition to Syria’s former dictator Bashar al-Assad through the so-called “Syria Express” of Ropucha-class ships, or by launching air strikes against Assad’s enemies.

The squadron has also been used to harass and gather intelligence on a much more powerful NATO presence in the Mediterranean.

After the outbreak of the full-scale war, maintaining and supporting the Mediterranean presence fell to vessels much further away, like those from the Baltic Sea Fleet, Kaushal says.

Russia took another major blow in the region when a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024 overthrew Assad. The new leadership reportedly terminated a lease agreement with Russia on Syria’s vital Tartus port, Moscow’s only foreign naval base, barring those in occupied Ukrainian territories.

Blocked passage through the Turkish Straits and the possible loss of the Tartus base only compound Russia’s existing challenges.

“The Russians recognized they didn’t have the industrial capacity to build… the sort of the larger vessels that were built during the Soviet era, things like the Kirov-class cruiser,” Kaushal said.

Satellite view of Tartus, a port city on the Mediterranean coast of western Syria. Imaged on Nov. 20, 2024. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)

“And so they invested much more in smaller vessels, frigates, and corvettes, which they armed very heavily with missiles,” the expert added, explaining that these green-water vessels are much more dependent on auxiliary facilities and vessels during long voyages.

Unlike the U.S., which is open to using private contractors to support its maritime operations, Russia constrains itself by relying only on its own infrastructure, according to Gorenburg.

There seem to be only a few alternatives to the Tartus base.

Libya appears to be Russia’s first choice. Moscow seeks to pivot its naval presence to territories controlled by Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar, a warlord whom Moscow supported during the country’s second civil war.

However, Haftar’s forces do not control key ports like Tripoli, meaning that the naval infrastructure Russia used in Tartus would have to be built from scratch, Kaushal points out.

A Russian deal with Sudan to establish a naval base in the war-torn country has also been presented as an alternative to Tartus. Still, the Red Sea base would be geographically distant, separated by the Suez Canal.

“So that combination of factors, having to deploy vessels to the Eastern Mediterranean from further away and potentially losing Tartus, will really strain the Russians' forced posture in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Kaushal concluded.

‘Not what Ukraine needs’ — Black Sea ceasefire favors Russia more than Ukraine, say experts

While the White House celebrates a ceasefire in the Black Sea after a 12-hour meeting in Riyadh, in Ukraine, the enthusiasm is muted. The agreement is missing crucial securities that Ukraine urgently needs, including protecting its ports from Russian attacks as well as opening up the blockaded Myko…

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell

[youcanthandelthetruth]

"Chamber Symphony in C minor", Op 110a, II. Allegro molto (Dmitri Shostakovich) & "Soul Button" (Swift Minds feat. Kara Square, Solee Remix)