#the question will remain unaswered

[persephonelikespomegranates]

Richard Papen, while freezing in a fucking mandolin boutique during the rigid winter of Vermont: California dreamin'... (California... dreamin'...) on such a winter's day...

[randomsts]

Saint Seiya Plotholes (part 1.)

although Saint seiya has many charms, there are also a large amount of plotholes as well. Here are some of them, which I had discussed with the people in the Saint Seiya Zone.

How did Cassios get so fast to the temple of Leo? (by HateTheSinNotTheSinner) While Seiya and his friends had to go aaaaaallll the way up those stairs and still has to run around in circles for quite a time in the Gemini temple, Cassios just popped up there during Seiya and Aiolia's fight. Well, here's our answer to it :

2. How did Kanon get to the throne room in Hades arc without passing every temple? (by Zeuse) I used to think that Athena was the one who took Kanon to the throne room since Poseidon Arc, but here are some funny answers.

Which brings us to another question....

3. Would it just be easier to climb over the temple instead of going through it? (by me)

Not exactly an answer but okay... 4. How did Aiolos managed to put in those traps in his temple when he was running away for Athena's life?

This doesn't really answer the question either...

5. and finally the question that shall remain unaswered...

Alright! I guess that wraps up for part 1! If you have any thoughts, please do share in the comments or reblog, and thankyou for reading!

[tequilaysangre]

DUEÑOS DEL PARAÍSO liveblogging - ep. 01 "Ignacio viola a Anastasia" - pt.1

With a title like that, i wonder where we're going /s

*DISCLAIMER* spoilers obviously (not that I think anyone actually cares, but anyway). TW for general violence, mature content etc etc IT'S A TELENOVELA ABOUT NARCOS, ofc it's not PG rated.

First thing first, the opening scene sets the tone: the lead (Anastasia) is underwater... freeing herself from ties...

and yes, there's a monologue:

"This is the world where I had to be born. I'm forced to survive where there's neither good nor bad, neither heroes nor villains. Here, whoever falters, loses. And I... I'm going to win."

BOOM! Bien dicho, Anastasia. The fake plants look fake though.

Cut to: a chopper. I repeat, a CHOPPER.

Unbelievable: they had the production money for a chopper but they couldn't get real-looking plants. (oh yeah, did I tell you it's set in the 1970's? An additional level of awesome, if you ask me).

Anyway. Enter the Bad Guys:

Are they the Federales, or what? IDK, but they've got big guns, and they're after Nataniel Cardona.

Meanwhile, Nataniel Cardona is throwing a big birthday party for his wife Anastasia.

There are flower arrangements! There's champagne! There's a mariachi band! A dude in all-black (Renato) is directing the security! Nataniel Cardona is obviously a drug lord.

I'm not saying it because he's loaded, or 'cause he's married to a much younger woman; I'm saying it 'cause he looks like this:

the three-piece white suit is quite dapper, let's give him that.

Anastasia is in white too. She's beautiful and beaming and everyone is having a good time. UNTIL. A mysterious woman appears:

Cue: ominous sound effect!! Murderous intent sparks from Anastasia's eyes!! She loses her shit, yells "I DON'T KNOW THIS WOMAN!!" and storms off. Who might she be?!

Ah yes, of course: she's her mother.

But Nataniel convinces Anastasia to at least talk to her estranged mom, Irene, because he's a good husband (drug lord thing aside).

Anastasia is taking NO SHIT though. How dare Irene show up after 20 years? Isn't she ashamed that she used to prostitute herself when Anastasia was a child? That she brought strangers into their home?

Something terrible happened then. I'm not gonna spell it out, but use your imagination. And she's, understandably, PISSED OFF.

if she was a snake she'd be spitting venom.

But joy is restored when Nataniel gifts her Cupo de Nieve: a fucking WHITE HORSE. What a rollercoaster!

It's short lived though: the Bad Guys are HERE!

(Nataniel calls frantically for Renato. Where the fuck are you, Renato? How did you miss the chopper, Renato? You kinda suck at your job, Renato.)

ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. The Bad Guys are shooting EVERYONE indiscriminately, men women and children (mmh I don't think they're the Federales). The mariachi band scatters. A guest falls dead into the garden's pond. A waiter gets yeeted onto the birthday cake. IT'S ABSOLUTE MADNESS.

a blur of falling corpses and exploding cake.

Nataniel's henchmen manage to take him out of there, while Renato protects Anastasia. Renato, we know where your priorities lie.

Also, he makes eye contact with the Main Bad Guy.

now kiss

Calling it now, they're gonna meet again.

Renato and Anastasia get to the pier (who doesn't have a pier?) where Nataniel is hopping onboard of his motorboat (who doesn't have a motorboat?)

...and I shit you not, he leaves WITHOUT HER.

"Señora, I'm not going to let anything happen to you". Nataniel, dude. You might as well have put her into his bed.

End of part 1 because, guys, this was only TWELVE MINUTES of it. The episode is 42 min long.

(one question remains still unaswered: what's been of Cupo de Nieve??)

[hymnsofthewhiskeybible-blog]

The Alternatives are Salty at Best

A genuine grievance…

A half-moon your only audience.

Howling expletives like a wounded

castaway on a deserted island.

You booked the trip,

but decided to exit at your own convenience,…

and now, here you are;

Dehydrated.

Disheveled.

Disconnected from outside influences.

Are you mad at the stars, or at the sky so vast and so expansive?

Upset that your questions remain unaswered, or that you haven’t found the right voice to proclaim your disdain?

The ocean roars like a thousand lions, untethered to the demands of a lucid mind. A simple momentary silence incapable of being captured.

There’s no warriors worth admiration in the fight for love. Only villains, cowards, and the disassociated

[starsandmoonsanddust]

Art

People don't make art. Art makes us. It is our becoming and our undoing, the very fibre of our being. It's inescapable even though it doesn't need to be. We willingly dive inside its waters, swimming without knowing our destination. Whatever questions we had remain unaswered, nothing made sense and it still doesn't, and yet the tangled chaos appears more familiar, more beautiful. Amidst the waves we finally breathe.

[readingforsanity]

Then She Was Gone | Lisa Jewell | Published 2017 | *SPOILERS*

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. 

She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. 

And then she was gone. 

Now, her mother Lauren Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. 

So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a cafe, no one is more surprised than Lauren at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she meets Floyd’s daughters - and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away. 

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unaswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Lauren anew. 

Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl. 

Laurel Mack had the perfect life, or so it seemed. Married to Paul, and mother to three children: Jake, Hanna and Ellie. Ellie, whom she described as her golden child. At 15, she is in the throes of teenage angst, but is still what her mother describes as perfect. 

When her boyfriend beats her in a math test, Ellie becomes engrossed in wanting to be better than him. Though they get along well, her intelligence is important to her and she requests a tutor. She is spoiled rotten, and knows that she will get what she wants despite her parents being unable to afford it. In the end, they hire at the suggestion of a neighbor, Noelle Donnelly. Noelle is mysterious and strange, with green eyes and red hair and moved to London from Ireland, where she had lived with her family. She has two older brothers and two young brothers, and a sister who had passed as a child due to cancer, along with parents who were loveable but not really. She begins tutoring Ellie in math, and soon Ellie gets back on track, and decides, after Noelle begins asking her strange questions, that she wants to end their tutoring relationship. 

A few weeks later, Ellie mysteriously disappears and isn’t heard from ever again. Laurel has spent the last 10 years wondering what happened to Ellie, spending time ensuring the police don’t lose track of the case but this fact is inevitable. After a break-in 4 years after her disappearance, the thought that she was a runaway is confirmed as money, a laptop, clothing and various other items of Ellie’s goes missing. Laurel begins to make peace with this, though she and Paul ultimately divorce, and life moves on. 

Laurel, now living in a flat and spends her days working part-time as a marketing coordinator, visiting her ill mother in a nursing home and cleaning her remaining daughter’s flat weekly, simply gets by on life. But, her life quickly changes for a variety of reasons. Some of Ellie’s remains are found quickly after the rucksack she had been carrying the day of her disappearance is located. The family buries her and begins to get some sort of closure. 

A few weeks later, Laurel is sitting in a cafe when she meets a handsome man named Floyd. He is an author of mathematics books, and has two children, Sara-Jade and Poppy, 21 years old and 9 years old respectively. They go on a date and their romance quickly blossoms. Laurel begins to get to know Poppy, and spending time with her. Deep inside, she knows something is amiss about Poppy - she is not your typical 9 year old child, and she has a striking resemblance to her deceased daughter. 

This fact doesn’t quite bother her until Sara-Jade makes a comment during a conversation: once when Poppy’s mother, Noelle, was around 8 months pregnant, SJ saw her naked by mistake and noticed a lack of a baby bump. Laurel says this could easily be that SJ had been young and wasn’t sure what she was looking at, but it eats away at her. She begins looking into Noelle Donnelly, who she remembers tutored Ellie 10 years ago. 

Laurel meets Noelle’s nephew Joshua, who is living in the flat that Noelle once occupied before her own disappearance. All of Noelle’s personal belongings remain in the house, and Josh even offers to show Laurel something strange that he and his brother, who lives with him, had found shortly after they moved in: a door that leads to the basement where several animal cages are left, along with a TV and a sofa bed. He says it was likely a guest bed, but it wasn’t used very often as Noelle was a bit of a loner. He also gives his grandmother’s phone number to Laurel, and she speaks with her to learn that Noelle was supposed to be returning to Ireland with Poppy, but never showed and they haven’t heard from her since and that she strongly suspects that her daughter is dead. 

It is around here that we come to learn what happened to Noelle. Noelle had met Floyd at a convention for maths, and she became obsessed with him. They lived in the same area, and after another chance meeting, their romance began. Though she was over 40 years old, she found herself pregnant, but at 10 weeks gestation, had suffered a miscarriage, and then another a few years later. Floyd is unsure of whether or not he wants to continue his relationship with Noelle, as she is unable to bear a child of her own. Noelle quickly finds herself tutoring Ellie, who she also becomes completely enamored with. Ellie has the perfect life and family, and is essentially a golden child. 

When Ellie is walking to the library, Noelle speaks with her and invites her back to her home. Noelle offers a drink laced with sleeping pills, and locks Ellie away in her basement. Within a few short months, Ellie is pregnant and carrying the child that Noelle is going to pass off as her own to Floyd in order to win him back. Things go smoothly, but the longer Ellie remains pregnant, the more Noelle changes compeltely: she stops doting on her, and feeds her foods high in sugar. When Poppy is born, she is kept with Ellie for two weeks and then Noelle takes her, leaving Ellie in the basemet unattended until she passes away. Noelle keeps her in the basement until the smell begins to become a problem, and then moves her up into the attic where she remained until Noelle disposed of them, some partially in plain sight to be found and the rest in the wasteland. 

Noelle begins raising Poppy, and for four years, does so with Floyd, though Floyd does not invite Noelle back into his life as she hoped he would. When Poppy begins to show great disdain for Noelle, Floyd decides to step in. When he says that he wants Poppy to live with him permanently, and for Noelle to give up her maternal rights to the child, Noelle says that Poppy isn’t hers nor Floyd’s, and that she really is the child of Ellie, the girl who had gone missing, and an anonymous sperm donor she had contacted in order to purchase sperm he had been selling. In a fit of rage, Floyd attacks her and kills her, burying her body under the flower garden in his backyard and he continues to raise Poppy as his own. 

On Christmas Eve, Floyd invites Laurel to her home and now Laurel is aware that something is strongly amiss, and that Poppy belongs to Ellie, and is in fact her grandchild and not the daughter of the man she is seeing. He makes a video confession, informing her of everything he knows and that his intentions when they first met were not malicious, and that this was always his intention, and that their love affair simply was an added bonus, as he had fallen completely for her. He has decided that the best gift he can give Laurel is Poppy.

In the end, Laurel accepts Poppy wholheartedly, and is still dealing with struggling to accept what happened to Ellie, as she had always been so close but was never found. They attend Hanna’s wedding to Ellie’s old boyfriend, Theo, as they had reconnected and fell in love. Hanna adores Poppy, and Poppy adores Hanna, and their family is complete now that the piece of Ellie is back with her true family. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Then She Was Gone, is first and foremost, a mystery. Yet many questions are answered quite early on in the book. How soon did you guess what really happened to Ellie, and if you did, did it affect your enjoyment of the book? It took me a bit to realize that Floyd wasn’t involved with Ellie like I originally thought. Reading the synopsis, I thought Floyd was the one who had kidnapped Ellie and impregnated her, and then was raising their child together and her whereabouts were still unknown, or that she would be found alive being kept in a basement somewhere. However, when the book took over into Noelle’s perspective, I knew then what had happened, but still suspected Floyd. It wasn’t until her own confession that I realized he was just a poor scapegoat in everything she was doing, and I felt badly for him. 

2. In the prologue, it says “looking at it backward it was obvious all along.” Now that you’ve finished the novel, do you agree? What warning signs referred to in the prologue might Ellie have spotted if she’d been more aware? Oh yes, everything was painfully obvious from the beginning, with Noelle’s strange questions about what she was wanting out of life, etc. Noelle was obsessed with her but in the beginning, you didn’t really pick up on it until she made her own confession. 

3. Did you think Lisa Jewell’s portrayal of Laurel and her journey was realistic? Could you relate to the way she dealt with her grief, or did you find it alienating? I think her portrayal was pretty spot on, though I can’t say this from first hand experience. Both of my children are alive and well, and they’re not missing. But, I have seen the shells that people become after their children disappear, and more often than not, marriages end because one party is unsure of how to deal with it. This is what happened to Laurel and Paul. Paul was optimistic, and he did his duty, but he couldn’t remain in a relationship with Laurel because she essentially became such a different person after Ellie’s disappearance, that even her own children were skeptical of her existence. 

4. What was your impression of Poppy when she is first introduced? Did this change over the course of the book, and if so, how? Poppy is a strange child, and I realize now that she had a very strange upbringing. She was isolated, by being home-schooled and she was never given the chance to socialize with other children and when given that chance, she wasn’t sure how to act. I feel badly for this poor child, and I did at the beginning when she’s first introduced. I’m glad she came out of her shell at the end and is going to live a somewhat normal life. 

5. Then She Was Gone is divided into six parts. Why do you think Lisa structured the book this way? How would you catergorize each section - what makes it distinct from the other parts of the book? The first few parts are all from Laurel’s pespective, and what has happened since Ellie was taken. The last few parts are a mix of both Laurel and Noelle’s perspectives, as well as Ellie’s, and then eventually Floyd’s as well. I think this was important as we weren’t left wondering what actually happened to Ellie, we got to read what happened to her, and we got to see how Floyd had dealt with it as well. 

6. For much of the book, Laurel and her daughter Hanna have a fraught relationship as Laurel fails to let go of unfavorable comparisons between Hanna and Ellie. Do you think it’s normal to have a favorite child? How should parents handle these feelings if they arise? While I think it’s normal, it is unfair. I oftentimes find myself favoring my younger daughter over my older daughter. There is a 4 year age difference, and I spend much more time with my 1 year old as my oldest is in school for the majority of the day. Plus, I have the ability to be a stay at home parent as opposed to when my oldest was born I was working either part-time or full-time up until 2021 when her baby sister was born. And this brings me a lot of guilt. I love both of my children, equally, I can assure you. I have to constantly remind myself that my daughter is only 5 years old, nearly 6, and is still learning how to navigate this world just as much as I am still learning to navigate being a mother. 

7. Throughout the novel, Laurel has moments in which she feels something is not quite right, but often writes it off as paranoia as a result of losing her daughter. Have you ever written off your own concerns? How can you distinguish when you are being pessimistic, and when you should trust your intuition? Intuition should always be followed. I’m sure I’ve had times where I’ve written off concerns, specifically in my relationships with people. This is apparent when I felt that my husband, who I had been dating for two years at this point, had been seeing his ex-girlfriend behind my back. When she moved out of state, this ended, obviously, and our relationship continued. We eventually moved in together, and after 6 years, we got married. In between the time of our elopement and us planning a larger celebration, he confessed that he had still slept with her for the majority of the beginning of our relationship. This ate me alive, because intuitively, I knew that something was going on with them but I chose to ignore it because I loved him. He said if I wanted to end the relationship and marriage, that it was up to me as he had betrayed my trust for so long, but by this point, we had already been married for a few months, and were only a few months of celebrating that with our nearest and dearest, and it had been several years since anything else had happened. We no longer have contact with her, as this was my stipulation, that if she were to reach out to him that he please not have any contact with her because at that rate I’d be done, because it showed he wasn’t ever truly done with her. But, we’re going on 8 years married, and have two children. While I don’t recommend this approach to anyone, this is what worked best for me and our relationship. This won’t work for everyone. 

8. There are four different perspectives shown in the book, but only Noelle and Floyd’s narration are in first person. Why do you think Lisa chose to write their chapters in first person, directly addressing other characters, while Laurel and Ellie’s chapters were told through third person? What effect did this have on you as you read? Noelle and Ellie are gone. They’re both dead, and we’re essentially reading this from “beyond the grave”. Laurel and Floyd are in the present. It shows their perspectives to the now as opposed to what had happened to Ellie in the past. 

9. Floyd and Noelle are both characters with some obsessive tendencies. What other similarities do they share, and in what ways are they different? Were you able to sympathize with either or both of them? Floyd and Noelle both became obsessive over two different Mack women. They sought them out, for different reasons. Floyd had the best intentions in mind: he wanted to return Poppy to the people who truly belonged to her. Noelle did so selfishly because she was a terrible person. 

10. In chapters from Ellie’s perspective, she repeatedly brings up the subject of blame, thinking of all the moments that led to what happened to her, and she she “should” have done differently, or what others could have done to save her. As you read, did you find yourself blaming characters for the unforeseen consequences of the choices they made? If so, in which situations? Not at all. Ellie was a child, and she has zero blame in anything that had happened to her. Despite her having reservations about Noelle from the beginning, Ellie couldn’t have foreseen what was going to happen to her, and in the end, she did what was told of her because she needed to survive. In the end, she did not survive but Ellie is still not to blame for any of it. 

11. At the end of the book, Laurel notes that she “hasn’t told Poppy the full truth” about everything that happened. Do you think she ever will? How would Poppy react to learning the secrets of her background? Poppy is only 9-10 years old during the present events. So, yes, I agree that not telling her is the best thing. But eventually, she is going to know what happened to Ellie, her mother. I’m sure there will be articles and things written about what really happened. And I think, as Poppy is quite a bit more mature than other children her age, she is going to take it well. She didn’t like Noelle to begin with, and she was well cared for after Noelle was killed by Floyd, and again after she is returned to her rightful family. Poppy will see that Ellie was an innocent victim, but she was the light that came from the tragedy of Ellie’s disappearance and death. 

[mademoiselless]

F l u x

"Still in love with the idea of loving you, it's a state of flux, and it's not enough."

It was actually your idea though, — the freaking "temporary break-up".

Your mind was a mess and the thought pops out of your mind all of a sudden. Sure you love him, of fucking course you really do, but some things lately were really getting out of hand.

"What do you mean?"

It was the fifth petty argument you two had in a span of a month and it started to get on your nerves. Lately, he's like being out of the loop, his patience short and distant. At some point, you've actually became paranoid and thought of what if he's being like this on purpose because he's falling out of love? What if, God forbid... he's cheating?

"I-I think it's best if we cool down for awhile."

Your words, you wanted to take them back as soon as you spill them. You saw how his face fell, furrowed brows started to part calmly as he sat on the couch, his breathing stills. At that time, he looks like he was contemplating, thinking.

"Okay."

Okay? Was that it? Were you that easy for him?

His face blank and emotionless as he stoods up, sighing and gathered his backpack on the floor. Hearing the front door shut, you fell on your knees and sobbed quietly.

The first couple of weeks without him was okay. No calls, no text. You got yourself busy for college and finally have some "me time" but at the end of each day, your mind couldn't help but to still wander about him. How was he? Is he doing well? Was he skipping dinner again?

At the college, every once in a while you'd passed by him at the hall and tried so hard not to steal glances on him only to fail misserably. He was with his friends, all happy and unbothered. You heart sank a bit yet you were glad he's better—but better without you.

Perhaps you were right. Spending some time away from each other will let you two reevaluate yourselves, and Jaehyun seems like he already did.

It's been a month since your partial break-up and for you, everything's like still hanging, unaswered and missing. School works already took its toll on you, deadlines here and there were constantly making you stressed, but at some point, let you supress the loneliness deep inside you and get yourself distracted from the idea of him.

You lie on your bed at night, letting tiredness thoroughly consumed you to sleep. You're slowly dozing off when you head knocks from the front door. Thinking it was just your neighbor Rose asking about some missed assignments, you opened it without a do and almost shut it close when you saw who actually it was.

"Hi."

Lesson, never ever open your doors without knowing who's on the other side, you might end up getting murdered.

"I'm here for something I forgot."

Liar. You've never seen any of his belongings since the last time he left your dorm a month ago but despite of being confused, you eventually let him in without saying anything. Unlike you, he seems good, fine, you guess, and of course still handsome as hell. Suddenly, the room smells like him all over again slightly making you feel giddy and dizzy.

"How are you?"

"Im fine. Just a little tired and sleepy. "

Trying to make everything short and simple, you replied not even sparing him a glance, just so he can go and you can finally sleep in peace but then it hit you. This might be his chance to officially break up with you.

You were about to turn back to your room when you heard him uttered your name for the first time in a while and you swore you almost broke down right there and there.

"Can we talk?"

You two really did end up talking, both of you sat at the either side of the couch comfortably but with a safe distance. He sat straight, back resting on the cushion while you were facing him, legs cross in an indian sit with a pillow on your lap. Apparently he's the one who did the talking the most while you just nodded. You were surprised by his actions, he talks like nothing happened, as if it was like just a normal routine with him were he talks about his day, his life at school. You really tried your best to remain composed in front of him, deep inside, you were actually still a mess. Leaning on your elbows, you plopped them a top the pillow and let your head rest on it as you listen to his deep baritone voice. You heard him chuckle to whatever he had mentioned about this one friend of him and you swore you felt your heart made a slight leap on your chest. You let him blab more as you pretend to listen attentively but in reality you're just staring on his perfect face like you have been hypnotized.

"Hey, are you still listening?"

"No."

It was a quick, straight answer to his question and you noticed how his pout and frown were slowly formed making you smile a bit. He never changed.

Temporary break-ups were somewhat made to give each other a breathing space and time to think but for some, they made it as a chance to escape. Turns out you have done the latter and now you're suffering from it.

He was still grumbling childishly when you reach for him oh so suddenly, his face in between your warm palms that he yearned the most. You mindlessly leaned down tilting his chin to let your lips meet. His eyes were round as saucer as you recall, taken a back from your sudden move but you didn't care. You kissed him slowly, taking his bottom lip in between yours. It took him some time before you felt him respond, gently, he pulled you closer, settling you in his lap with your legs on either side of him. For like a split second you pulled away to breathe but he chased your lips, deepening the kiss. His fingers wandered to your hips, tugging you down closer to his and you sighed unconciously through the kiss. You felt him card your hair in between his fingers, letting him feel and relish you, letting him take control. At that time, you felt yourself soaring again, you felt loved, you felt secured yet again.

Everything was overwhelming you, the emotions, the frustrations, the anger, the love. Suddenly you were so scared to lose him and you really hated yourself for only realizing it now. How can you become so stupid and reckless? You almost lose him.

Before anything could escalate further, Jaehyun pulls away, caressing your cheeks gently.

"Babe, why are you crying?"

You didn't even realize you were already shedding. He leans in again kissing your both tear-stained cheeks, making your eyes flutter close.

"Jae I'm so sorry-"

"Sshhh... Dont be."

There you rested yourself on top of him, savoring his warmth, scent and presence that you've been badly missing.

"I told you before that I forgot something in here, didn't I? "

"Yes. "

"This. I forgot this here." He points a finger to your chest.

"When we were apart I've been incomplete."

And so you were.

"You are the missing piece of me... "

"... and I left this here. I left my heart here with you."

"Still in love with the idea of loving you, it's a state of flux, I just keep holding on."

[jacobsvoice]

The “West Bank,” or Judea and Samaria?

A newcomer to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict might ask: What is the West Bank? Where is it? Where are Judea and Samaria? Are they on the same land? If so, why do they have different names? Does history provide answers?

According to the Biblical narrative, as far back as one can go in Jewish history, Judea defined the land south of Jerusalem and Samaria the land to the north. It was in Judea that Abraham purchased the Machpelah cave in Hebron, the first Jewish-owned property in the Promised Land, as the burial site for Sarah. In time, King David ruled from Hebron before relocating his throne to Jerusalem. Although Samaria, captured from the Canaanites, defined the northern Kingdom of Israel during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE, its place in Jewish history became less consequential over time.

Fast forward to 1917, during World War I, when British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour proclaimed support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” But according to the Churchill White Paper five years later, the Balfour Declaration did “not contemplate that Palestine as a whole should be converted into a Jewish National Home, but that such a Home should be founded ‘in Palestine.’” The unaswered question was: where was “Palestine”?

Geographical boundaries were drawn in 1922 when the League of Nations issued a Mandate recognizing “the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine” and “the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.” Jews were granted the legal right to “close settlement” west of the Jordan River. Land east of the river, identified as Trans-Jordan, was gifted to Hashemite Emir Abdullah, who ruled the territory for the next thirty years. “Palestinians,” who did not yet exist as a distinct people, were not mentioned.

Twenty-six years later, on May 14, 1948, the Jewish State of Israel was born and five Arab nations – Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq – launched a war to annihilate it. Israel survived, but its eastern boundary was significantly narrowed. Jordan’s newly conquered territory became known as its “West Bank.” Comprising Biblical Judea and Samaria, it included the Old City of Jerusalem, location of the First and Second Temples; and Hebron. The fledgling Jewish state was deprived of its holiest ancient sites and capitol cities.

Within two decades history was reversed. In the Six-Day War Israel retrieved its ancient land – Judea and Samaria - west of the Jordan River. Jordan’s “West Bank” now existed in memory only, although the label has continued to be applied by those – especially The New York Times – who demand that Israel return to its precarious, and history denying, pre-1967 boundaries. Otherwise it remains guilty of the illegal “occupation” of “Palestinian” land.

But demography and geography reinforce historical Jewish claims to this land. By now nearly five hundred thousand Israelis live in Judea and Samaria. Nearly sixty percent inhabit five settlement blocs comprising less than two percent of the land east of Israel’s pre-1967 border. Ironically, the smallest number (eight hundred) - live where Jewish historical claims are the oldest and deepest: Hebron.

International pressure has not deterred Israel from expanding the settler population. The tenacity of these despised Israelis fulfills the yearning of Jews to return to their Biblical homeland. That, after all, defines Zionism. Why, under any circumstances, should Israel relinquish it?

Amid the unrelenting criticism of Israel, especially in the United Nations, it is seldom noticed that Palestinians already have their own state east of the Jordan River, in Palestine. It is the Kingdom of Jordan, where they comprise more than half the population. There is no reason for Biblical Judea and Samaria to become another Palestinian state.

Jerold S. Auerbach is the author of twelve books, including Hebron Jews: Memory and Conflict in the Land of Israel (2009)

[leftenant-sinani]

A bit of supernatural stuff from my universe again

Long post incoming.

The Three Beholders ; Beholders, Watchers, Dark Lords, Time Turners or Judges. They have many names, but they most commonly known as Beholders or Watchers to some. The Beholders are strange entities, deemed as either deities or demons to those who know about them. Their whole existence in general is very subtle and there is little to no evidence that they actually exist. However, it is said that 1 out of 10 000 people can actually see one of them in their dreams. Those who did see them in their dreams often went insane as Beholders are entities who are not supposed to be seen for mere mortals, this strange fact is shared with Ancient Gods from the old Grudgewill folklore. A lot is known about Beholders, but most of it comes from unreliable sources as minds of insane men and women, not to mention there is still a tons of information about them to cover, which is not to this very day. It is said that those who did see them and did not went insane, are keeping it either in secret as they are in so-called 'Covenant of Soul' of one of the Beholders, or they are lying about it so they will get attention. The truth is always evident in most of the cases when it comes to the lying individuals. However, there are some cases that actually talked freely in case of the second Beholder and even had a lot of evidence. Beholders are being told about in many lights. Some say that they are deities who are supposed to be our saviours when the time is right for it. Some on the other hand say that they are demons of untold power, who are the to blame for all the wars, hatred, pain and other horrible things. And then there is the middle version, which talks about these beings as only watchers who turn the wheels of the universe or possibly more universes whenever they feel like it but with no intention of doing good nor evil, as their only interest is to watch our petty lives. Whichever version is correct is up to debate. Needless to say, that Divine Order permitted the worshipping of such beings, as the tales mostly include that they are many times more powerful than the Saint Trio... or even the demons from the official religions and folklore; That their power can shape the universes themselves. The tales talk about three Beholders, the names are often the same, sometimes different, but it is not confirmed that these entities have even names or forms they are described as: The first Beholder, often called as Os Taq, the Mad Lord. In some religions, he's being referred to as someone who was a close acquaintance of demon Azazel, even though they are very different from each other. According to the painting from the insane people who saw him in their dreams, his look is not very describable, but he is often imagined as shadow silhouette of a demon with horns, dark halo and with only visible orange eyes and mouth full of sharp teeth, in some paintings, a fire is coming out of both his eyes and mouth. From what the people said, his voice is sound like demonic echo which talks in very strange language - most probably some ancient one - which cannot be understood at first, but it will eventually translate itself in the person's head into so-called 'Shakespearean English' as the people call it. It's believed that he's the most common Beholder out of the three to meet in dreams, and is taking pleasure in making the weak-willed people go insane. However, this kind of rule applies to every Beholder, as weak-willed individuals simply cannot comprehend the sight of them. The strong-willed characters often have strange nightmares in row for few days if Os Taq shows up in their dreams. He does not choose almost any person to be his chosen one, but if he does, he must be very interested in them (or so it's said), and there's not any information at the moment about what kind of abilities and terms the person gets. The second Beholder, called as Wernatt, the Judge of the Fate, often called as simply Watcher instead of Beholder. (That's also the origin of this Watcher term for the rest of the Beholders) Wernatt is considered to be most interested in fates of the living beings, and he chooses his favourites he deem as most fascinating people, who could do many good - or bad - deeds, and of course, the person has to have strong will in general. Those are called Watcher's Chosen. He offers them great power that cannot be explained by any magical theory, and of course invincibility at the cost of watching them with full interest and making them go live a life in different dimension than the one the person was born in, and if the person fails to impress the Wernatt to a certain measure, they will be eventually killed in some way and their soul will be kept by the Watcher himself. It is said that he lets his chosen speak freely of his presence to let the other, whether it's to spread the fear or fascination is unknown, as the chosen ones do not have a single idea themselves. This Beholder is often described as a pitch black silhouette of a man with piercing green eyes, his voice slightly deep and monotonous as if it was coming from a man with no soul and his presence can be known by sudden drop in temperature and unpleasant feeling in general. If he shows up in dreams of weak-willed person, the result is insanity, of course. However, if it's some strong-willed person, he doesn't materialise personally, but he makes sure to make the dream to be surreal and leave you with an unforgettable experience, whether it's for good or bad. Third and last Beholder, the Hernez, the Harbinger. The most illusive Beholder out of them all, as not very much is known about this one. A certain religion talks about him as a creator of Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, but that isn't confirmed nor denied. He's being often associated with evil and soul, not to mention that some people believe he's also the father of most of the demons and evil beings on Abrados, but all of this is pure speculation. He's the most rare Beholder to be seen in dreams, however, in this case it's better that he doesn't, since people who saw him in their dreams, not only go insane, but in most cases, they end up with some very horrible illness and in extreme cases, the mere sight of him can make you die. In all cases, he takes the soul of every person that saw him in their dreams; it is not known why exactly. Same as Wernatt and Os Taq, he too chooses his chosen. They are far, FAR rarer than the Wernatt ones, but still more common than Os Taq's. Sadly, not much can be said about the abilities nor terms, besides the most probable fact that the chosen one is in Covenant of Soul; In theory, the chosen one receives powers and something extra in the exchange for the Hernez their soul after their death OR if they will break the rule of silence, but all of this is a simple theory and the only explanation why the chosen ones are so rare as well. How does the Hernez look, is not really exactly known as the opinions vary, but there are three most used version; First version is portraying Hernez as a tall, black shadow with a silver mask reminding a face. Second version is a human male with a head of the lion, and the last version is more similar to his brethren, pitch black silhouette of a demon with crimson red eyes and nothing else.There is a lot of minor versions as well, but it seems that Hernez doesn't really have any real form and probably is making himself look different for every human or certain amount of people. Certain religions claim about Hernez having direct connectivity to a demon called Pazuzu, the worst and most known demon from tales and legends, but then again, those are but only claims. The Beholders are fascinating beings, who most probably have the very power of turning the world instantly into utopia... or apocalypse. But what is their real goal? Are they meant to be the highest versions of gods? Are they truly entities that rule over not just one, but many other universes like ours? Do they enjoy seeing many civilizations fall and rise while they most probably have the control to end it all at once? Will they ever come down on Abrados in their real physical forms? So many questions, yet only few answers. But who knows... Maybe some questions should rather remain unaswered, as the truth might not be what we were looking for this whole time...

[oldphandomgamesblog]

Judge break

Challenges 4,7 and 9 will remain unscored until 3 hours from now, as I'm taking a break and i want to score them myself. Questions about these challenges more than likely will remain unaswered as well. Yani

[armini-man]

Wow, you might be onto something here. Many read the very first scene in ch 1 as Mikasa saying goodbye to Eren. But instead, there’re a girl in his dreams saying just “see you later”, while Mikasa’s voice is echoing in the sidelines, saying “Eren.” I always found this scene to be up to interpretation, so it’s very, very likely now that the mysterious girl was indeed the missing 9th shifter, which means Eren has 3 titans with himself. And the question is, who could that girl be?

It would be interesting if that mysterious girl was the 9th shifter, yeah. She'd have been in Eren all this time.But that raises the question of the 13 year time limit of a shifter's life. Does that start when they first transform? If Eren had never transformed would he have lived his life with this ability and never knew it? Does it reset everytime he gets a new shifter?But he didn't heal quickly as a child when he got into fights. Was it because he didn't transform until his father injected him and that's when his powers awaken?There's a lot still unaswered but if Eren does have the 9th shifter in him already and there are a total of 3 shifters, then it seems much more likely he's going to have to eat all remaining 6 shifters by story's end. At least, that's my theory.

[beautifulgoddamnsoul-blog]

THE OTHER GIRL.

I sit here. 02:00 AM After a drunk emotional talk with my friends about why MEN ARE TRASH. And Im trying to figure out just what i had gotten myself into to. A part of me is filled with rage because why on earth would i compromise my heart just to have him touch me and make me laugh. Why on earth am putting everything on the line😟.

I guess human man beings are genetically programmed to desire love. Embraces are as important to us as food and water. Perhaps that’s why when we find someone, the wrong someone; we’re often too blind to see it.

We feel it and yet we hide it away, write it off as an odd case of commitment phobia or just a hiccup in our new relationship, oblivious to the fact that were heading into a future of sleepless nights, constant worrying, and consistent phone checking. Even when every hidden fiber within us tells us to walk away, we stay.

Im recently experiencing something similar. We first met back in high school, different people from completely different worlds. We met on his birthday. We clicked. Had such a strong connection. Wow. I fell inlove so hard but i bounced back and totally ‘tried to forget’ him. See, alot happened. And i was too young to comprehend any of it so i gracefully..with a broken heart. Decided its all not worth my time. Little did i know that the decision 18 year old me took was by far the best regarding this situation. Staying away was the greatest thing i had done for myself.

Fast forward 6 years later. (we had communicated several times in between the years)and we meet again. This time he just left his teaching job to study again and I’m a writer amongst other things trying to figure out her calling.( i really dont know there i want to be)

We meet for drinks, talks and chill here and there, i had missed and forgiven him and before you know it we’re walking hand in hand. I’ve met his friends, spent everyday with him from the day we started talking. To someone on the outside, this looks like something every healthy couple would do, except we weren’t/ arent healthy—far from it.

One night everything took a turn. Texts and calls went unaswered and thats when i knew everything is about to reveal its self. I drank myself to sleep that night knowing im being played and yet i still wanted him to hold me. The morning after, all i had to do was open one of my social media accounts to get confirmation and i really didnt need to look far. Everything was there. And one thing that peirced my heart even more was the happiness on his face. It dawned on me that i would never be that girl for him. Id never get him to smile like that. And it took me seven years to actually grasp all that.

He is a guy that sucks at communicating, and I am the girl that needs it. He is physical,  I am emotional. He wants convenience; I wants something that sweeps me off my feet. It was a relationship doomed from the start; I was just too stubborn to see it. I find myself constantly asking for advice, yet I always hear the same thing over and over. Get out of there. Leave. My excuses remains the same. “He loves me, he always has. The problem is with her”. Im just not ready to admit the truth to myself. Ignorance at its finest.

Even when I have the courage to bring up the things that botheres me, somehow he challenges all my worries. “I’m just not a texter,” he’d say. “I prefer conversations face to face.” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that response. Its the dishonesty I feel behind it.

I don’t feel like Im in a relationship, yet he confirms that we are. He seems to know exactly what to say to get me to stay.

A few days ago i sat downvand I questioned whether or not he had treated me that way because he knew I would always be there for him; Had I been nothing but a convenience for him the entire time? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. My gut knew it wasn’t going to work from day one, but falling head over heels for him at first, I chose to ignore it.

I guess I just wanted so badly for things to work out I didn’t bother to think about how unhappy I was/ am. I chose to mask all hurt with a small smile and laughter.

Life can be confusing and cruel sometimes, but a fantasy can’t hide the truth, no matter how badly you want it to.

No one deserves to be pushed to sidelines, to feel like second best. If there’s something telling you to stay away, if even the smallest of your radars begin to go off, walk away. Leave knowing that you dodged a barrage of emotional bullets instead of realizing you had to fight to keep your head afloat to keep you from drowning. If someone wants to be in your life, you shouldn’t have to change anything about yourself to keep them.

If they are willing to get to know you, they will. Period. All the wrong people may step into your life, and each one will no doubt leave their own emotional scars, but when the right one comes? You’ll know. You’ll feel it. Im lucky enough to have a friend who has stuck by me even when I chose to ignore all her warnings. When I finally realized my mistake, she simply just let me be. And even thought im still seeing him now. I know she will still be there even though its a sip of tough love. Friends like these are so important to have in your life. Coming from a hopeless romantic who prefers books and writing to real people, this is hard to admit.

I can only say. Even though i know all this. Im human and im not ready to learn from my mistake. I still want him to hold me. Make love to me and falsely tell me he loves me. I crave that. More than i crave anything at this point but my advice is please be like my friend. Bare with your friends untill they wake up to reality even if you don’t agree, just be with them for every upsetting phone call and annoyed text. Your non-judgmental support might just be the reason they realize they could have something better.

We all need to learn for ourselves in order to truly grow. Even as much as we would like to save someone from the heartache they will no doubt experience, we need to take a step back, wait, and console them when they need it.

To the boys and or girls reading, realize what you have while you have it, because there’s nothing worse than finding out when it’s too late.

To my guy. You will need me. I will be someone’s entire world💙 trust! But for now. Im still here. Your other girl.

[incorvivadae]

sickles for claws

faceclaim: byun baekhyun

group: exo

age: 25

race: human

nationality: norwegian

current residence: south korea

job: diner owner; pizza place investor; demonic contract mediator; seance conductor; former urban explorer

name: byun rågnar santi

For the unsavory twist of his destiny, either his curiosity or his complete lack of a self-preservation instinct can be faulted, though his weakness for fluffy things can be added on the list just as easily.

It happened while he was exploring the woods in the next town over. He had just gotten his license and in celebration of that, decided to change things up a little bit and go searching for the old church rumoured to had been the only remaining thing of a small mountain village that just disappeared into thin air.

For an avid horror film lover, Rågnar lacked the skills he should’ve learned from them.

After hours of mindlessly wandering through the forest, he quite literally stumbled upon it; tripped over a rock jutting from the ground and fell not even 4 feet away from the side of it.

He was exhalted. The church was everything he had expected and more. Some planks were missing, most of the windows were shattered and the door was barely hanging on its hinges, swung back and forth by the wind.

Rågnar was close to having a hard-on.

He waited at the entrance for any signs of life; he would’ve hated to have a standoff with a squarter believing he desired to take over his turff.

Rågnar heard nothing so he entered.

The inside was even more satisfying. Shards of coloured glass littered the floor with darkness reigning with the exception of a few places where light flitered through the holes in the structure. Thankfully, other than the smell of something ancient, of rotten wood and mold nothing else assaulted his nose.

He leissurely explored the church, checked every nook and cranny, took pictures, drew conclusions and came up with answers to the questions he had.

It was just as he was preparing to leave that he heard the floor squeaking at the opposite end of where he was. Scared the life out of him, had him squeezing everything that could sabotage him in his body.

He should’ve minded his own business, honestly. He should’ve continued on his out of that place and back to his car but Rågnar was sure he hadn’t missed anything while exploring the place and his curiosity was hard to surpress.

And so, he turned right around and marched to where the sound came from. It was no squater and certainly no famished beast luring him into a trap, but when heard the meowing before he saw the one responsible for it so he’s not all that ashamed for getting startled out of his wits.

A peachy ball of fluff, tiny enough to fit in the palm of his hand and with the biggest roundest greenest eyes he’s ever seen that instantly made him weak in the knees and had him kneeling besides it, cooing to his heart’s content.

It didn’t take long for him to reach a decision and snuggle the kitten to his chest, bringing his shoulders forward as if to protect it from anything. He had already compiled an extensive list of names to give him by the time he reached his car. Rågnar thanked the Gods for the backpack he had left in the backseat for he would’ve been lost as to where to place his newly acquired friend before he reached his house.

Rågnar’s world flipped up and down and rotated and twisted and convulsed instead.

Everything stopped for no more than a moment and then everything was in flames and the smell of gasoline overpowered the pain shooting throughtout his body. Rågnar could barely move his fingers as he was becoming more and more frantic.

He thought about all of the things he shouldn’t have: his car insurrance, his father’s rage, his brother’s ridicule and the wellbeing of the kitten he brought a death sentence to instead of salvation.

It was silent; it was quiet and not even his bones cracking or the glass shattering further under the weight of his body could be heard any more. Rågnar wildly moved his eyes left and right trying to identify the cause of everything alive going mute in the world, expelling the thought of this being what death felt like from his mind.

His question didn’t remain hanging in the air nor left unaswered as the shadow of the approaching kitten was cast over him. It was staring him down, exilling the momentary happiness he felt upon seeing it and instead, replacing it with immeasurable dread, a need to flee immediately that he couldn’t explain until he looked it dead in the eyes and saw the destruction of the entire universereflected in them.

Human nature is strange, that, Rågnar learned that day when he damned himself for all eternity and stood up, dusted himself off and left behind the greatest tragedy the Byun family could’ve ever imagined.

You can’t make sense of it; Rågnar came to that conclusion as he watched his family mourn and bury whatever pieces was left of his body, all from deep in the shadows to the sound of purring and of a harsh tongue gliding across silken fur.

You can only accept it, yes, just as irrationally fast as a a fat man coming down a chimney bearing gifs, or death of flesh not being the end of an existence or a plane ticket to a country you’ve only been to thrice in your life.

Adapting means surviving and Rågnar excelled at just that — being a survivor.