#through the first antarctic night

[amundsenxcook]

from frederick cooks "through the first antarctic night"

[justwannabecat]

It was quiet. That suited Danny just fine. After all, he had endured enough to realize that noise often meant something was about to happen. Nowadays the only times he heard something that wasn’t caused by himself was if Cujo came to visit. The first time it happened, Danny was afraid he would have to fight again, but all they did was play for a while. The second time he welcomed it, same with every time thereafter.

He had plenty of time to stargaze. Nobody really visited the Antarctic, so it was perfect for him. Cold, quiet, and with no light pollution, so he could see every single star in the night sky. He could see the Southern Lights as they dance through the air, he could trace the paths of the planets as Earth rotates.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to explore. He wanted to see all there was to see, get lost in the endless cosmos, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know if his human half would survive that long without food. He didn’t want to find out.

Besides, Jazz was here. She was still on Earth, and as much as Danny wanted to leave, he couldn’t. Not while she was still here. Even if he couldn’t bring himself to visit her, to see the disappointment that would no doubt be clear in her eyes, he couldn’t completely abandon her.

As with every time he thought about Jazz, he briefly considered visiting her, but decided against it. If she really wanted to find him she could use the Boo-merang. The fact that it hadn’t happened yet was enough proof that his presence was unneeded.

Besides, why would he leave? He has a sick tower made out of unmeltable ice! It’s been furnished with things that, admittedly, he may have stolen, but only things that would have been destroyed soon anyways! He doesn’t cause any of the disasters that endanger so many pieces of furniture, but he’ll take advantage of it! You can only sleep on hard ice so many times before you realize how nice beds really are.

The point is, he doesn’t leave unless he has to. And since he’s furnished the place, he hasn’t had to leave once. It’s been like a slice of heaven- No ghosts to fight, no hunters to hide from, no insane billionaires who can’t decide whether to kill him or adopt him…

Danny looked up at the night sky again. He could see Acrux twinkling brightly overhead.

It was quiet.

———————————————

“I’ve got bad news and worse news.” Constantine announced at the next League meeting. “Bad news, beings from the Infinite Realms are, from this point forward, unable to be summoned. Wouldn’t be too bad if we weren’t trying to make peace negotiations with them, but we are, so it’s not great.”

Batman remained visibly impassive, though anyone who knew him could tell just how unsettled that made him. “And the worse news?”

Constantine sighed. “So… Before they blocked themselves off, I spoke to one of them. The Guardian of Time. He told me that, due to his perception of all time, he knew we would lose. Luckily he doesn’t want humanity to die, but he told me that Phantom ghost has a medallion in his chest that makes him immune to his abilities. As such, our one hope of survival could be anywhere by now. The only things he could tell us were that he’s probably not far from Earth, because he still has living relatives.”

Superman straightened up. “That doesn’t sound like it’s worse news. We know Phantom is near Earth and that he’s got relatives here. Surely he would go back to them, right?”

“Well. I didn’t really get to that part yet.” Constantine shifted uncomfortably. “You have to swear to not tell anyone who doesn’t already know. This is like people learning your civilian identities. If you ever try to use it against them, hell, even insinuate that you’re gonna use it, then they will kill you, and they won’t face punishment from their court because it’s technically self defense. Understand?”

Everyone readily agreed. After a second, Constantine continued.

“Phantom is Danny Fenton. He’s what the Guardian of Time called a Halfa, half ghost and half human. His parents are the ghost hunters who started this whole thing.”

Tag list: @random-dude12 @overtherose @osnii @profounddestinyrebel @currentlyalivebutmentlyd3ad @thatonegirl10 @learning-to-fly-on-my-own @epilepticnerd @alcorbearson @hoarder-of-gender @sirtin @oddessy @naluforever3 @litlecameron @skulld3mort-1fan @nogenderonlyfrogie @screamingtofillthevoid @the-church-grimm @malice-of-the-sunrise @jaytriesstuff @legowerewolf @akikkobara @apointlessbox @midigeria @kumoko-yokai @antmeisteronion @lizz-blizt @anonymousf28 @keegan-parker @sailor-goddess @rowanaway-fromthisbs @yjfk @screechingnoises @myfloweryrose @derpxp @adeniumdream @56thingsinaname @demiourgias @alice-hazelwood @mur-ururu @blue-avis @rosecinnamonbun @babbling-babull @yumeyoruppr @haron-ghost-10 @icedbluesoul @busterkeel @cat-in-a-fedora @sadpersonmadeoffruitpunch

[publicdomainreview]

Happy #WorldPenguinDay!

Images here from Frederick Cook’s Through the First Antarctic Night, 1898–1899, a remarkable journal recounting the highs and (many) lows of the Belgica expedition, including experiencing a night two months long: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/through-the-first-antarctic-night-1900

[moltengoldveins]

so we can all agree that the newest 2WEI song (take the crown) is the trailer song for an Antarctic Empires Emerald Duo pg14 movie where Techno is a gladiator who earned his freedom and has vowed to destroy the government that enslaved him and Philza is an old demigod banished to a solitary plane of existence for five decades after attempting to run a coup against the ruling class.

They meet on a battlefield, Techno having joined up as brute muscle and Phil having used some minor illusions to pass as a quirky avian and join the bombardment team. Combining some similar plot beats as Oceans 11 and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, they gather a specialized team of insurrectionists, anarchists, battle mages, and warriors to take down the imperium from the inside, eventually planning on restoring the nation to the democracy it was in Phil’s earliest memories. But will they manage it, or will their bloody pasts and violent present seat Technoblade on the throne as the Antarctic Emperor, with Philza as his right hand, the Angel of Death? (Spoiler, the second option. It’s the most controversial film finale decision of the decade.)

The movie is filmed in a style somewhere between Dune 1, the Prince of Egypt, and Topgun. (denis villeneuve is too busy and too expensive, but it’s clear they’re taking inspiration. Bold colors and lighting and a lot of shots of the sky, wildlife, architecture, or of characters’ hands.) It’s scored by an up and coming indie musician, working under the consultation of Ludwig Gorannson in his spare time as a pet project, though his association with the film doesn’t really come out until it Smashes the expected theatre income in the first two days of release and critics start Raving about it. Techno’s actor is nominated for an Oscar for one of the most compelling intricate portrayals of ptsd and platonic devotion in modern cinema, but doesn’t actually get the Oscar.

Tumblr is flooded with gif sets of Techno in the Obligatory No Armor After Gladiator Fight Scene and the Late Night Vibing With Phil In A Loose Poet Shirt scene (firelit, lots of closeups of his eyes, the film is obviously attempting to express his complex emotional state and his deep relationship with Phil, and is failing miserably at doing Anything but making him hot. The internet is ✨gay✨ about it, because when is the internet not?) Also most of the simps are calling Phil a dilf.

Fit MC is the fan-favorite side character, his four scenes and nine lines of dialogue are clipped and edited and giffed and memed into the dirt. (His armor and prosthetic, the makeup and costuming department say, were the hardest thing to do in the entire film, which is why he isn’t in too many shots.) Though, a close second is Niki, who is played by a woman built like a brick house who doesn’t wear sleeves, so…. Yeah. We all know what the response is there. The effects, including Phil’s wings, are almost entirely practical and the only real places it gets iffy is Steve, the giant war polar bear that’s pretty clearly clipping through a few snowbanks here and there. Nobody can agree on which characters are morally reprehensible.

Within a few years, very few people outside a dedicated fan base have seen it and a few assume it’s made up like Goncharov. It’s also, for some ungodly reason, been labeled a Christmas film. (most of the plot happens in the ice and snow, hence ‘Antarctic Empire.’) I guess nothing says ‘Christmas spirit’ quite like ‘unmitigated violence, platonic yearning, and overthrowing oppressors.’

[tossawary]

Someone I know is watching the original ATLA while I'm in the next room, listening and looking in through the doorway every now and then. It is EXTREMELY horrifying-funny to view the first couple episodes (Zuko's arrival at the Southern Water Tribe) with an adult perspective on war, especially with greater knowledge of imperialist and colonialist wars.

(Warning for direct passing discussion of war-typical violence and death. Also, I wrote most of this post last night before I saw the first episode of the remake, so I've added a few extra thoughts about that.)

Also, this is a show for children, so pretty much all of the important actions are taken by our main characters, Aang and Katara and Sokka, who are children. That's how it goes. It's fine. From an adult perspective looking in on this cartoon, it's pretty weird that none of these adult Southern Water Tribe women, who presumably have been doing all of the hunting and fishing and warding off of dangerous animals (polar bear dogs) apparently have any opinions on what to do about a Fire Nation ship arriving. No one tries to run? No one picks up any hunting weapons? If the strategy is to present apparent harmlessness and hope the Fire Nation passes through with minimal damage (the last raid did just take Katara and Sokka's mother, though presumably many other people were injured and killed in the attack), Gran Gran should be dissuading Sokka from attacking first at all costs.

Playing harmless is extremely risky, of course. The raids (which have happened in living memory! Within the past ten years!) prove that the Fire Nation is willing to kidnap and kill women and children. As do the actions that left Aang the last airbender. And the men of this tribe are actively at war with the Fire Nation, so the "provoked" Fire Nation has a ready "excuse" to attack.

I don't think that the Southern Water Tribe women necessarily SHOULD have run for it (into the extremely hostile antarctic landscape???) or brandished weapons at the Fire Nation soldiers (could have provoked an extremely harsh response). I have no idea what the "right" or "intelligent" course of action is in this scenario. I don't really think there is a good course of action here. Anything could happen and anything could make everything worse. It's all bad. That's part of the problem of war.

I just think it's funny (due to the fact that this is a children's show where the rest of this tribe are not really going to be significant characters) how simplified everything is here, even for a show that does include the Southern Raids and the genocide of the Air Nomads, as the women in the background are not shown to be angry or vengeful or hysterical or divided about what to do here. They're scared for their lives, but... they're kind of part of the background, almost like props, rather than people with distinct personalities or agency (because the show wants to get out here quickly so our main characters can go on an adventure).

Rewatching this, a ship full of Fire Nation soldiers (apparently entirely men) coming across a village apparently consisting of only women and children is a nightmare scenario for this tribe. If I was listening to a history podcast about any war (not even a war that has already had MULTIPLE genocides) and someone said the phrase, "And then the imperialist soldiers found the defenseless camp of women and children," I would immediately be bracing myself for the worst possible following sentences about what the soldiers did next. The next sentence being, "And no one was killed or sexually assaulted," would be a SHOCK.

If it had been anyone other than Zuko and Iroh to find the Southern Water Tribe in that state, that probably would have been it for the tribe. Someone like Zhao might have ordered an attack to get rid of everyone just to be "efficient". Someone like Azula might have taken this small crowd of people hostage to use against Hakoda and the other Water Tribe warriors. (I don't think the Fire Nation knew just how bad things were for the Southern Water Tribe, even if they had probably decided that continuing to go after a reduced tribe living in the antarctic wasn't worth the further cost or danger (polar expeditions are so dangerous IRL and must also be costly for firebenders).) The men of this tribe could have come home to all of their wives and children dead, and that would have functionally been the end of the Southern Water Tribe.

EDIT: The live-action show felt pretty weird to me because they made the tribe look much bigger and Zuko's ship look much smaller. If they wanted to introduce some "girl power" realism, they could have had the women of the Southern Water Tribe grimly arming themselves and hiding their children, and making solid plans on when/if to fight back. But no, the show still left everything to Sokka, and kept the cartoony elements like children throwing rocks at soldiers, which in my opinion just don't work as well in live-action. Sokka looks older in this remake and is slightly more believable as an interim chieftain figure, but why doesn't he have a council of opinionated older women guiding him and arguing over the correct course of action??? Everything is kept so cartoonishly FLAT instead of being expanded in interesting ways.

[hareofhrair]

Edith Finch Timeline

So I'm still organizing my theories (honestly they're more like a list of unanswered questions than a coherent theory right now) but I think my timeline is pretty much complete now that I've had a chance to go back through the pet cemetery and add all those in.

I do some wild speculating about Odin here that has no canon basis, just spinning ideas.

Things to notice- Just how many deaths happen on or very near birthdays. Not always the birthday of the person who dies and not every time, but suspiciously often.

The pets almost seem to fill in the years when no one human died? Like everything in this game it's nothing definitive enough to base a solid theory on, but it is odd.

TIMELINE

1439 - Earliest possible beginning of the Finch Family Curse based on the Odin viewmaster reel, as this is 500 years prior to the invention of the first viewmaster.

1445 - If the Odin viewmaster is the Model E made in 1955 (which I think it is), this is the start of the curse instead. Not much is happening in Norway during this period, but Vlad the Impaler was at the top of his game this year?

~About 7 generations of Finches dying horribly happens here.~

1880 - Odin is born. At some point between now and his death he writes "The Mysteries of Death and the Thereafter" and "Joining the Great Majority" which both appear to be books about the afterlife.

1896 - Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration begins with the Belgian Antarctic Expedition and won't end till after WWI. Expeditions are marked by depression, starvation, insanity and scurvy. Many famous expeditions are made by Norwegian teams. Odin is 16.

1911 - A Norwegian expedition is first to reach the South Pole. The British Scott expedition chasing the same goal are lost. Odin is 31.

28 July 1914 - WWI begins, Odin is 34. Norway, "The Neutral Ally", remains neutral on the war but due to economic pressure from Britain commits its merchant marine fleet (one of the largest in the world) to Britain's service. Half the fleet is sunk and 2000 seamen are killed. If Odin was a sailor, he likely served. Alternatively, he may have been one of the wealthy merchants who profited greatly during the war. He clearly has a great deal of money to burn by 1937.

June 17 1915 - Sven is born.

April 8, 1917 - Edie is born.

1935 - At some point between now and Dec 1937, Edie and Sven marry and Sven takes Edith's last name.

1936 - Ingeborg and her newborn Johann Finch die in an unknown manner. Odin is 56, Edie is 19, Sven is 17.

Jan 7 1937 - Odin sets sail for Washington.

Dec 1937 - Arrival on Orcas Island, death of Odin at 57. Molly is born, on the boat? In the Old House? Sven and Edie build the cemetery, and then the house.

1938 - Churpy the budgie joins the family.

1939 - Invention of the viewmaster, earliest point the Odin story could have been recorded.

Sep 1939 - Sep 1945 - WWII. Sven was 24, and may have served or been drafted.

1940 - Burpy the house finch joins the family.

1941 - Churpy dies.

1947 - Christopher the goldfish joins the family.

Oct 31 1947 - Halloween Baby Barbara

Sometime between 1937 and 1947 - Molly's unnamed gerbil joins the family.

Dec 13 1947 - Molly dies of apparent poisoning after eating mistletoe berries, on or very near her 10th bday. She relates hallucinating having become several animals, most notably a cat. Christopher the fish dies shortly after. The fate of her unnamed gerbil is unrecorded, as none of the unattributed headstones are of the right age, but presumably it dies eventually.

1948 - Burpy dies at 8.

April 25 1950 - Sam and Calvin are born.

Aug 26 1952 - Walter is born.

1952 - Lurpy the Cockatiel joins the family.

1955 - Viewmaster Model E released- If this is the one used for Odin's story, that puts the beginning of the curse at 1455.

1956 - Lucy the dog joins the family.

1959 - Bailey the (???) joins the family.

Oct 31 1960 - Barbara dies, allegedly murdered, on her 16th bday. Her boyfriend Rick disappears the same night. The version of her death shared in the game is notably extremely unreliable and raises numerous questions. Rick is seen in a leg cast using crutches. Walter is 8, Sam and Calvin are 10 and notably absent from reported events.

Sept 23 1961 - Calvin dies at 11 falling from a cliff. He is seen wearing a weathered and heavily autographed leg cast. His model shows him with a black eye and several cuts.

1962 - Zoe the (???) joins the family.

1963 - Lurpy dies at 11. (Cockatiels have a life expectancy of 20-25 years)

Aug 26 1964 - Sven dies on Walter's 12th bday, while making a dragon shaped slide. He's 49.

1968 - Walter enters the bunker. He's 16. Durpy the Dove joins the family.

May 7 1968 - Dawn is born.

1969 - Lucy the dog dies.

June 20 1969 - Gus is born.

1970 - Zoe dies

1971 - Purply the Budgie joins the family.

1974 - Coco the (???) joins the family.

Jan 12 1976 - Gregory is born

Dec 7 1977 - Kay files for divorce after arguing with Sam about the curse.

Dec 19 1977 - Gregory drowns in the bath a month before his 2nd bday

1978 - Shadow the cat joins the family.

1979 - Purply dies at 8.

1980 - Rob the Bearded Dragon joins the family. Bob the Snake joins the family.

1981 - Durpy dies at 13.

1982 - Oliver the rabbit joins the family.

Nov 8 1982 - Gus dies, crushed by debris from a storm during Sam's wedding to an unnamed woman.

July 16 1983 - Sam dies, kicked off a cliff by a deer. Dawn is 15.

1984 - Bob dies at 4.

1985 - Daisy the (???) joins the family.

1986-87 Dawn goes to India, meets Sanjay.

1988 - Shadow the cat dies.

Dec 27 1988 - Lewis is born. Furpy joins the family. Tucker the (???) joins the family

1989 - Oliver the rabbit dies.

1991 - Rob dies at 10. Furpy dies.

1992 - Zurpy the Owl joins the family.

May 19 1992 - Milton is born.

1993 - Charlie the cat joins the family. Daisy dies.

1994 - Durpy Jr the Dove joins the family.

1995 - Zurpy dies at 3. Schatzi the (???) joins the family.

Feb 14 1999 - Valentine's Baby Edith. Lowest tide in a thousand years allegedly allows Edie to access the Old House. At some point between now and Nov 2010, three unnamed gerbils join the family, and then die.

Feb 22 2002 - Sanjay dies in an earthquake, eight days after Edith's 3rd bday, Dawn and children return to Finch House. Dawn writes "To Teach and To Learn" at some point in the next few years. At some point between now and 2010, Dawn probably finds a stray cat and names it Molly.

Oct 23 2003 - Milton disappears.

Late 2003 to Early 2004 - Dawn searches for Milton, eventually gives up and seals the rooms for unknown reasons.

March 31 2005 - Walter leaves the bunker and dies, allegedly hit by a train. There are several strange inconsistencies surrounding the circumstances of his death.

2006 - Durpy Jr dies at 12.

2009 - Schatzi dies

Nov 21 2010 - Lewis dies of apparent suicide one month before his 22nd bday.

Nov 28 2010 - A week after Lewis's death, Dawn informs Edie they are leaving the house. After Edie attempts to give Edith a book containing a story about their family which Dawn violently rips away, Dawn flees the house with Edith immediately, leaving Edie and all her belongings behind.

(Molly the cat is not mentioned in regards to the move, so she may have died by this point, but she is not listed in the graveyard, so it's possible she was simply left behind. There is a taxidermy calico in Sam's room, but Sam was dead before Molly could reasonably have joined the family, so this is unlikely to be her. A cat is seen outside human Molly's room in 2016, which may prove she's still alive- but she'd be around 14 years old. An unlikely age for a cat abandoned outdoors for 7 years.)

Nov 29 2010 - Edie is found dead by nursing care workers, and may have killed herself by combining alcohol with her medication, intentionally or otherwise. She's 93, the only member of her family to live longer than her father, who died at 57.

Dec 5 2010 - The date on Edie's tombstone, a week after when she supposedly died.

May (around the 12-18th?) 2016 - Edith becomes pregnant.

Oct 12 2016 - Dawn dies of a chronic illness at 48. Edith is 16 and about 6 months pregnant.

Oct 13 - 19 2016 - Edith returns to the Finch House at 22 weeks pregnant.

Jan 18 2017 - Edith dies in childbirth a month before her 18th bday. Christopher is born (possibly named for Molly's goldfish?).

2027? - At some point in the future, a young Christopher returns to the house, which has changed since the last time it was seen. He is wearing a cast.

A note on unrecorded pets- There are additionally 5 (possibly 6?) unmarked pet graves in the cemetery. One of the blank stones presumably belongs to Rob the bearded dragon, who has a memorial in Edie's room but no gravestone. One is marked as a fish and another is a rabbit, with no names or dates. One is a knocked over and unreadable sign of the same kind used for the birds, indicating it may be an otherwise unrecorded bird. There is also a statue of a frog- the knocked over sign may instead refer to an unrecorded pet frog, or the frog statue might be a separate gravestone, or simply a decoration. This leaves one blank headstone with no indication of what might lie beneath it. Let's assume it's a mass grave for gerbils.

[areyougonnabe]

Explain the Scott/Shackleton/Wilson drama. Be as detailed as you’d like.

omfg. okay. well. here we go, it will be very long, but if you want even more detail, please check out the book i sourced most of this from, shackleton's forgotten expedition by beau riffenburgh!

EPISODE 1: THE DISCOVERY EXPEDITION

in 1901, ROBERT FALCON SCOTT leads the first major british expedition to the antarctic since 1839

hired onto this expedition: doctor and naturalist EDWARD "BILL" WILSON and merchant navy lieutenant ERNEST SHACKLETON

what you must know about bill wilson is that he was an absolute dreamboat and paragon who emitted some kind of insane pheromone which made every man he met debilitatingly obsessed with him. i'm not kidding

anyway shackleton and bill immediately hit it off. shackles would wake bill up when there was an especially beautiful sunrise that he could paint, they would read poetry together, and when the ship wintered over, they would spent hours every day together working on the expedition newspaper, the South Polar Times - shackleton as editor/writer and wilson as artist. 

less immediately than shackles and wilson's bond, scott and wilson were also growing closer. in the middle of winter, wilson wrote to his wife that "although Shackleton is still my best friend, the Captain and I understand one another better than anyone else on the ship, I think."

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN

EPISODE 2: THE SOUTHERN JOURNEY

scott asked wilson if he would go with him on the planned sledge journey to reach the south pole. wilson is like omg :3333 yeah sure but we probably need three people. scott chose shackleton as their third, knowing that's who wilson also would have picked—because of wilson's friendship with him, but also because shackleton Really Really wanted to go. 

so! off they go!!!!!! they have dogs who they don't know how to drive and skis that they don't know how to use and not nearly enough rations which aren't nearly nutritious enough. lmao. this is gonna go great 

besties it does not go great. 

by the time the support party turned back and the trio continued on, they had become exhausted, impatient, and hungry. 

scott and shackleton began to grate against each other, the differences in their personalities coming to the fore: shackleton romantic and improvisatory, scott practical and deliberate. they came from vastly different worlds: shackleton from the merchant navy and scott from the royal navy, and had very different approaches to discipline and leadership.

at some point around then, an Incident occurred. what that Incident was is not clear: reports differ, but it's likely that a verbal argument was had, insults were thrown, and honor was wounded. 

despite that, the march had to continue. but things became even more difficult as the men began to show signs of physical deterioration. most importantly, shackleton was beginning to be undoubtedly affected by scurvy. 

they turned for home at 82º17'S, which was a furthest south record but still a disappointment to the men. 

trying to get back home before the winter weather arrived was A Bad Time. shackleton was getting worse, both scott and wilson were affected too, but shackleton was by far the weakest of the three, possibly not just due to scurvy but also pain and shortness of breath from the heart condition that would eventually kill him 20 years later. 

contrary to popular opinion he was not "pulled on the sledge all the way home" - he usually staggered along beside it, behind it, or pathfinding out in front of it while the other two men hauled. 

but, while shackleton was out of hearing, wilson and scott were able to talk between themselves. according to some interpretations, this is when they formed the bond of friendship that would last until their deaths. 

by the time they reached the final depot, shackleton seemed to have improved, but a blizzard hit and he worsened again. at one point wilson didn't think he would last the night: but he pulled through, recovering to the point that he could lead the way again as they made the final dash for the ship. 

anyway. after they get back. despite the fact that [lpoe shackles voice] THEY ALL HAD SCURVY, scott pulls an utter asshole power move and forcibly invalids shackleton home on the relief ship. he basically is like you can't sit with us. 

shackleton was nearly recovered! scott was doing worse than him at this point (1month after they got back) AND YET. reportedly scott said that "if he does not go back sick he will go back in disgrace." YIKES

and it's even worse if you know that scott pulled strings to get bill's poor medical record disregarded in order to get him approved for the expedition!!!!!!!!!

EPISODE 3: THE BREAKUP

ok this is probably the most complicated part so i will have to simplify it a bit. 

but basically after the indignity of getting yeeted from the discovery expedition, shackles made it his goal to lead his own expedition and get to the south pole without scott. 

as he began planning the expedition, it became clear that scott was ALSO planning another expedition south, to finish what he'd started.

the clash was immediate and also incredibly stupid. essentially, scott wanted shackleton to pinky promise that under no circumstances would his independent expedition make any use of McMurdo Sound, the Great Barrier, or any of the land previously explored and charted during the Discovery expedition, because scott perceived it as "his domain." 

and shackleton knew this was stupid so he was like "i mean lol maybe w/e" but scott could not abide by the idea that shackleton was trying to scoop him out of his rightful claim to the pole as some sort of revenge for invaliding him home. 

in order to make scott see sense, shackles passed along his response first to bill wilson. but this was a mistake, because bill was firmly on scott's side. he told shackleton that he'd better do as scott says and stay out of mcmurdo sound. and shackleton was like............ ok i'll just go a little bit to the east then. 

and bill was like THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH :))) and he and scott together were pushing for shackleton to give up rights to the entire "Ross Quarter" of antarctica. by this point bill had agreed to go south with scott on his planned expedition, but was still playing the mediator between him and shackles. 

anyway, together scott and wilson basically bullied shackleton into signing an agreement saying he would not go to the places that scott did not want him to go Unless He Absolutely Had To.

but guess what lol

he absolutely had to :))))

due to ice conditions, the Nimrod Expedition was forced to set up shop on Cape Evans, on Ross Island just a few miles north of where Discovery had wintered. 

and it's not that shackles was happy about this: he felt he was going back on his word. he wrote that "I felt each mile that I went to the west was a horror to me." 

EPISODE 4: AFTERMATH

despite shackleton having truly done his best to abide by his agreement with scott and wilson, the fact that he did end up reaching a new Furthest South—a mere 97 miles from the pole—from the region in which scott considered "his" was the final straw.

wilson and shackleton met when he returned and it seemed that their bond, so strong and close in the early days of the discovery expedition, had been sundered forever.

ok i have to post this whole quote bc its insane

"I wish to God you had done any mortal thing in the whole world rather than break the promise you had made... My opinion as you know was that you ought to have thrown up the whole show, that, you said was out of the question. But why in the name of fortune did you promise to do the second best thing, & then do the very worst!"

DUDE WTF??????

and then wilson goes on to write that he has "broken with [Shackleton] completely" and that he considers shackleton a "regular wrong'un" with "limited and rather low down ambitions" :///

meanwhile shackleton and scott had to go on being cordial to each other in public but definitely were known to dislike each other, coming to further minor blows about another planned shackleton expedition (which ended up being the Mawson expedition) 

and during the terra nova expedition scott, wilson, and the rest of the polar party followed shackleton's precise route across the barrier, up the beardmore glacier and the polar plateau towards the pole. scott obsessively compared shackleton's dates and distances to his own on the way south, determined to beat him and achieve those final 97 miles. 

which he did.

and then in March 1912 scott and wilson literally Die In Each Other's Arms. 

and shackleton was like . well what WAS shackleton like. GREAT QUESTION. WE DON'T KNOW :) bc he didn't talk about it. literally not a word!!!

IN CONCLUSION

scott and shackleton are sometimes depicted as straightforwardly rivals, which is sort of true, but the truth of the trio situation with bill at the heart of it all makes it so much more complicated and fascinating!!!!!! LONG LIVE THE TOXIC POLYCULE

[octoagentmiles]

@poisonedbasil

Gladly <3

First of all, Captain Barnacles:

He was born, and raised through the Polar Scout program with his twin sister Bianca. Through this program, he met Professor Natquik and Tracker (and possibly Boris the Narwhal).

At some point during his scout days, he met Professor Inkling, who had found himself trapped in the Arctic somehow, and had to be rescued by the cubs (including Barnacles).

Natquik was Barnacles’ mentor and father figure who was forced to leave the Arctic so he could do research in Antarctica. Tracker joined the Polar Scouts soon after he left, and he never made it back home. He was stuck in the Antarctic for at least 20 years, maybe longer.

When Barnacles was a cub, some ice cracked from underneath him and he got stuck in a very deep hole for a very long time, and he now has PTSD from the event.

Sometime after he graduated Scouts, he got a position on a ship called the MV Manitoba. It’s very likely (but not canon...... yet-) that he met Tweak on this ship.

The ship crashed, he returned home to the Arctic, reunited with Tracker, and trained him to run the Polar Emergency Post Station.

After that, he was asked by Professor Inkling to be Captain of the Octonauts.

Kwazii. This cat has so much story potential but I will say right now that a LOT of it is speculation/theory. MOST of what I'm about to say is canon though:

Kwazii is different from other pirates, and has been since he was little. Pirates are scary and mean, just like the legends, but Kwazii is kind and good.

Kwazii was born to a huge family of pirates. His grandfather, Calico Jack (aptly named after real life pirate “Calico Jack”), is one of the most famous pirates who ever lived, and they look a lot alike.

Calico Jack left his family/crew behind “in search of the Hidden City of Gold” (so he said), when Kwazii was just a little kitten.

Kwazii was abandoned by his family for being weak (kind, soft, etc.).

He chose to NOT be a pirate at one point in his life...

(This might be what caused his family to abandon him; ie. he made a big show one night about not wanting to be like them, and they were like “ok walk the plank then.” and he did.)

...but then RECHOSE to be a pirate again after learning about his grandfather.

He was a pirate of his own making for a while, with no crew,

Before getting found by Barnacles/The Octonauts and joining them.

All cats in this universe seem to be pirates, plus Kwazii wears an eyepatch and speaks generally very piratey, so despite being an Octonaut creatures are always afraid of him because they recognize him as a pirate--

and it’s very sad because all he wants to do is help but he keeps getting attacked-- [*sobs*]

Peso:

Lil guy was SO insecure in seasons 1-2+½.

He was very dependent on others, and always compared himself to his friends (mainly Barnacles and Kwazii).

He has a HUGE family, including a little brother, big brother (his name is Pogo but we haven’t met him yet, he’s mentioned in the blobfish episode), and one million cousins.

It’s possible that growing up around so many other penguins, that he did get compared to them quite a bit, and/or never fully got to shine. Which is why he’d get so flustered being in the spotlight in s1-2.

His dependency issues are interesting, because Peso gets his best character growth moments when he’s forced to be by himself. (Vampire Squid, Aggregate Anemones, Spookfish, CONE SNAIL, and more.)

He’s also the youngest and newest recruit on the Octopod, so that’s fun. He hasn’t been around for very long; we see him going through training in season 1, so he probably joined off-screen sometime right before the first episode.

Shellington:

We don’t know too much about Shellington, but we DO know that he is a sea otter who is allergic to urchins: meaning he literally cannot do the one thing sea otters are expected to do (eat urchins so they don’t destroy kelp forests) and y’know that’s gotta be pretty stressful.

He discovered the Vegimals himself, and named all of them. He incubated and hatched their eggs in his lab, and has been studying them ever since, and that’s how he picked up their language.

Dashi doesn’t have much going for her, not gonna lie. The most she’s ever gotten is in The Caves of Sac Actun, where they revealed she did cave diving with Ryla.

#SilvergategiveDashisomeloreplease2022

aaaaaaaand I can’t go too deep into Inkling or Tweak without significantly spoiling Season 5, but there is a little bit I can say about Tweak:

She grew up the in the Florida Everglades with her father, as a creature tracker and outdoorsy kid.

Somewhere along the line she started building gadgets and gizmos.

She then [REDACTED SPOILERS], and eventually (again, not canon yet-) joined the Manitoba crew where she met Barnacles.

She was the first ever official Octonaut, as she was there before they were even called "The Octonauts".

She built the first Octopod. It crashed; she built the second Octopod. She built all the gups.

and the rest that I could say about her is just theory and speculation 😅

AND I really wanna ramble about Calico Jack real quick: He has a VERY mysterious past—he is kind and good like Kwazii, but it's implied he wasn't always like that. He was hiding out in the Amazon River for almost 20 years, claiming he was "stuck", but was able to leave with ease the second he had a reason to. He's terrified of disappointing Kwazii, and Captain Barnacles too now that he's an Octo-Agent, and I just think that's really interesting. 👀👀

also not sure if it counts but in the books there were cities, towns, and kingdoms, so a lot of people like to imagine that there are still cities full of animal-people out there somewhere in the showverse. especially since there's multiple instances of the Octonauts picking up trash, including tires, grocery bags, etc., that's polluting the ocean that they say "was thrown away", Tweak mentioning "ordering parts" from somewhere, plus Dashi's side gig with "National Seaographic".

There's ALSO like,,, a whole Thing regarding the difference between animals and animal-people that's been sparked by Above and Beyond, because there's been a lot of non-anthro cats, bears, there was a picture of a bunny at one point, plus the entire Red Fox episode directly addressing the topic of animal instinct and the differences between arctic foxes (Natquik) and red foxes (new non-anthro character); but we don't know how far they're going to go with this.

and that's pretty much it???? i think???? if I think of more I'll let ya know lol <3

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 1/2/2024

it’s quite satisfying how the year started on a monday

listening

first song of the year: how could it be anything other than Sabata. this is the theme from the titular Sabata, i meant to pick the theme from Return of Sabata but im not mad about it.

-

reading

i read Tim Marchman’s Popping Tins newsletter (a newsletter about fish and seafood) less bc i enjoy locking Mack in the bathroom every time i want a tuna melt and more for the droll authorial voice. i have bought a tin of mackerel after reading some entries, and it was very good but much much richer than tuna.

What should I do with this can of krill meat?

after consulting the importer’s website:

This is accompanied by a photograph of the can featuring easily-discerned black eyes, which are nothing to be concerned about, according to the company that produces this can. The first question on its FAQ page is “What are the little black speckles in my can?” “No need to be concerned here!” the answer reads. “Your meat is not dirty, and you did not get a defected can. Our Antarctic Krill meat contains the most nutritious parts of the krill, which happen to include their eyes.

…

The risks here are clear: I could vomit when I open the can and see the nutritious black eyes staring at me; I could destroy the peace in my home by making it smell like sautéed and simmered krill; and/or I could ruin a perfectly delicious lunch by introducing nutritious eyes and hard bits of chitin.

i have no memory of how i found this newsletter.

i keep forgetting i have ten hoopla credits a month through my old library and i want to read more comics this year bc reading comics is fun. in the past in practice this means ive binged all ten credits over a weekend. this weekend i had time for exactly one.

The Riddler: Year One is an extremely direct tie-in to the movie and i think it’s neat they let the riddler’s actor paul dano go wild with his backstory and then turn it into a comic. it’s fun when actors get to do weird tie-in shit.

(non-sequential pages)

watching this forensic accountant’s brain crack and scramble like an egg as he struggles to really grasp the enormity of gotham corruption and why the city is such a dogshit miserable place to live in made me go “oh huh that was a pretty good writing decision in the movie”. not that the riddler was terribly stable to begin with but the despair and the unraveling were very effectively conveyed. this comic has a lot of fun with funky layouts (left) and an entire issue (right) is conspiracy board shit on top of accounting forms which is a neat artistic choice.

deeply depressing but an interesting new little window into the rpatz batman (god i hope we get more rpatz batman films) and fun to look at.

how i found this: trawling the popular comics page on hoopla

-

watching

this is the seventh year of starting a new-to-me classic black and white movie around 1030/11 PM New Year’s Eve and i am annoyed i didn’t like the movie that started this year but, according to the data, it’s been fifty-fifty so far.

previous years have featured: sunset boulevard, yojimbo, the thin man, it happened one night, bringing up baby, the big sleep, and now roman holiday (1953, dir. Wyler).

this is the platonic ideal of a classic movie. it’s not sterile but it’s so… unobjectionable. wholesome (derogatory) even. not particularly what i was looking for in a movie but, much like the gelato and champagne that pop up, it was kind of a sweet nothing. i don’t think anyone eats any real food this whole movie?

this is never a movie that feels rushed. it is two hours of watching beautiful people traipse around a beautiful city in beautiful edith head costumes. i would not say there is a lot of tension for the first hour and a half. however, imo, it does land its ending and for that i can forgive it a great deal. this is another beautiful movie that is simply not for me.

-

playing

have you ever wanted an open world rpg where you play as a shark? congrats, this was apparently free on epic a while back

Maneater has a tremendously fun prologue where you play as the soon-to-be-dead mother shark who is absolutely going to town on a crowded beach and destroying multiple spear-gun-wielding divers and multiple boats full of citizens exercising their second amendment rights. this prologue is an excellent choice by the game bc it locks the fun part (eating people) behind several hours of really grindy shit. i am not entertained by the grind of eating progressively larger muskellunge, avoiding alligators, and collecting license plates. the grind is EXCEPTIONALLY grindy, i put about three hours into it and have only gotten to level 5 (teen) and have only two mutations i can sink loot into (four types of loot gained from eating other fish. this is too many types imo). i am not anywhere near a recommended level to start fucking humans up. im also not super impressed with the open world aspects of it— there are not a lot of things to do, discover, or interact with in the first two areas.

this seems like a really fun game that clotheslined itself with a cripplingly slow upgrade cycle. im sure the mid and late game are hysterically fun, especially on stream. however i am not willing to put in the hours to get to the fun part when i could immediately be having fun in some other game.

-

making

a lot of profoundly uninteresting cleaning. after not being able to figure out why my office (where Phil [no longer in heat. for now] lives) still reeks of piss even after stealing a blacklight from a friend and cleaning with a blacklight, it is of course bc she has been pissing in secret places i didn’t think she could get to. upside down smile emoji. both the girls got their monthly flea goop yesterday and were deeply unhappy about it.

most of my plants died in the move and i am finally tackling the survivors. fan favorite giant snake plant (not pictured, tidied up and inside) did make it and pull through but is not happy about it. now that i have baby basil and baby dill sprouting in the kitchen i do need to do something with the balcony so they have somewhere to grow up study and strong.

also slammed that silly little blondeyes NFT thing up on the archive

[peachy-rambles]

Techza Time Travel AU -

In the OG timeline, Phil is like 18 and his parents push him to marry the Emperor of the Antarctic Empire.

But Phil is young and rash and rebellious. And he's heard all the rumors about how the Emperor is this old, beastly ugly man. How could his parents try to set him up with someone like that???

So instead he joins the imperial army of the opposing kingdom to the AE. He lives a good 20+ years or so, falls in love , etc and has a good time. Is a high ranking general or something.

Then the AE attacks and fucking wipes the floor with them. Phil doesn't even die in combat like he wants/expects but is instead killed by someone he trusts.

And when he wakes up, he's back in his 18 year old body on the day he was supposed to travel to the AE to marry the Emperor but instead he ran away. Considering he just got killed and betrayed, and is fully aware of the AE's military prowess, he decides not to run away this time. He'll go through with the marriage, even if he has to suffer being married to a beast.

But then Phil sees Techno for the first time and while his 18 year old self definitely wouldn't have been happy, Phil isn't 18 anymore. He's in his 40s and his standards have changed and Techno is meeting all of his standards.

Meanwhile, Techno, who was probably blackmailed or pressured into the marriage or something, goes to join Phil in their bedroom on their wedding night and is like "hey I know you were forced into this don't worry about anything, I won't do anything - where your clothes at."

----

(Fens wrote a snippet for this AU as well, which you can read here ^_^)

[pestozsauce]

Malevmay prompt 1 - leviathan

“His Leviathan”

As much as Geno liked to deny it, he truly did love Reaper. When Reaper had first begun to court Geno it had been surprising, and terrifying. For starters, when Geno was younger and his mother was alive, all the way back before he had his own coat and there was no evidence of his true species except for his webbed fingers hidden by gloves, he was told the story of the harbinger of death. Well, he was told the story of the seven leviathans, but the tale of the harbinger of death always stuck out to him.

The harbinger of death, otherwise known as Reaper, is the fourth oldest leviathan according to the legends. In his leviathan he’s described as a huge terrifying being, appearing ghostly to some, and maddening to others, though in his mer form he was a skeleton with the tail of an orca mer cloaked in a black cloak. Geno was told that if he had ever encountered him, especially while in the form of a seal, he would be dead as fast as he could blink. He supposes that was one of the things to keep him out of the sea for so long.

Though years later, when any family or friends Geno would’ve cared about were gone, he turned to the sea, and that’s when he first met Reaper. The Antarctic, the place his mother was from, had been a cold and harsh place to adjust to, but he was getting on well enough, he had even found himself a nice cave that was halfway in the water he could stay. So over all, things were going fine, and this was coming from someone who tended to be pessimistic.

He had met Reaper while he was out hunting, it wasn’t a very good hunting session, he hadn’t managed to catch a single thing, most likely having something to do with the herd of seals that had recently traveled and settled nearby. Anyway, he had just chased some type of fish into a small cave, but the slippery little bastard had escaped right as they both reached the end of the cave, there wasn’t enough room for geno to turn around swiftly and chase after it, so he had paused and groaned for a moment before deciding he would just go back home for the night and try again with hunting tomorrow.

He hadn’t expected much else out of the night, in fact he hoped that no other events would occur through the rest night, but no, when he had shimmied around in the crevice, he saw no one other than the harbinger of death peering at him with a hungry look in his eyes. At first glance he didn’t recognize him, he looked like a regular orca mer at first. The first warning sign had been the fact that the other had been a skeleton, skeletons were rare, very rare, he still remembers how shocked his mother had been that both himself and his brother had been born as healthy skeletons.

The next warning sign had been the mer’s empty sockets, and then his black cloak that stuck close to his body. The harbinger slowly turned his head to the side, peering at geno as if he was planning out his death, and perhaps he was. That thought caused Geno to press himself close to the back of the crevice, getting as far away from the harbinger as he could, even if he knew it was useless. The harbinger opened his mouth, presumably to speak, but Geno cut him off with a deep, guttural growl. The harbinger froze, and then he began to laugh as what appeared to be a blue blush spread across his face.

“Wh-what the fuck are you laughing for?” Geno had hissed out, trying not to sound scared in the face of what's rumored to be death.

The harbinger did not answer, continuing to laugh at his scared form. Geno could feel the anger begin to well, after his mom died he had been told he had begun to gain a short temper.

“Stop laughing or- or I’ll bite you,” Geno had stumbled over his words in an attempt at figuring out what to say.

His threat had the opposite effect as the harbinger had begun to laugh harder, and when he finally did stop laughing, he winked at him slyly and said, “well I wouldn't mind that,”

Geno huffed, and decided that if he was going to die here, he might as well go down fighting. While the harbinger was busy drooling over his body, Geno shot forward, wincing as his bones scraped against the sides of the crevice walls and drawing red bone marrow. He opened his extendible jaw wide and went in for his target, he would’ve reached the harbingers neck had he not had his hand up. But Geno had at least managed to clamp his jaw around the harbingers wrist, he bit down as hard as he could, not stopping even as the others marrow filled his mouth and he felt bone crunch beneath his teeth.

“Woah,” The harbinger spoke, oddly enough, there wasn’t much surprise in his voice, more so amusement, “Didn’t think you’d take me seriously there,”

Geno growled at him once more, mind racing at what to do next, of course he had soon decided on booking it out of there since the harbinger seemed more content to awkwardly stare at him then actually fight back. After he had let go of the harbinger he had pushed him back the turned around and swam for dear life in a random direction. It had taken hours to get home after, fear of encountering the harbinger and the fact that he had gotten lost both coming into play.

But, when he had gotten home, there was a carcass in the middle of his home, an Antarctic fur seal which stunk of the harbinger. That wasn’t the last of the harbingers' gifts either, no matter how many times Geno tried finding new places to move, he always came home to a gift from the harbinger. It took him awhile to figure out he was being courted, and even longer to begin accepting the gifts and start talking to the harbinger. Reaper was much different from what Geno though he would be like, he was flirty and mischievous and liked to sneak touches or small kisses at Geno, but all it took was one flirty remark or heartfelt gift from Geno and Reaper was like putty in the selkies arms.

Though Geno had been getting used to ignoring his instincts telling him that Reaper would kill him, he almost ran and hid when he first saw Reaper's leviathan form. He had grown 10 times his size, making Geno barely the size of his hand. The white’s of his tail had turned a see-through teal, allowing him to see the skeleton inside, and his cloak hood seemed to completely hide his head from view, making his eyes glow white. But even as Geno shook as he stared up at his lover, the other simply scooped him up and laughed in that fond way that made Geno’s face red. And though Geno hadn’t, and would never, admit it to Reaper, it felt nice being cradled in his large hands, even if the other could crush him at any moment.

And that’s where he was now, cradled in his lover's hands. Reaper's body was halfway above the water so he could hold Geno up as they both gazed at the stars. He turned around and gazed behind him to where Reaper's head was resting on the ice below. He never could’ve expected to fall in love with a leviathan, and he never expected that same leviathan to fall in love back. In all honesty he had expected to be forcefully married by some sailor after getting his coat stolen, like his mother and most other selkies in tales he’s heard.

“You ok Gen?” Reapers asked in a whisper as his natural tone of voice was louder in his current form.

“Yeah Reaps, I’m just fine,” A soft smile came to his face, he truly did love the leviathan, his leviathan.

Credits:

Undertale - Toby fox

Leviathantale - Skumhu

Genos sans - LoverofPiggies (aka CrayonQueen)

Reaper sans - I couldn't find his creator :(

[amundsenxcook]

before and after pictures of members of the belgica expedition

[xviiper-rents-houses]

Chapter One. Metallic blood.

(Name) was already wide awake by the time the aircraft reached its destination. Startled awake by the hooded man in question.

He had merely tapped (Name) on the shoulder. That had been enough to shoot (pronoun) out of (pronoun) loose sleep.

The hooded man stumbled back in surprise, eyes widened. His hand shot up, almost to grab at his heart.

But, he quickly shot it down; perhaps self conscious about appearing "weak." (Name) stood up awkwardly, looking up at the male.

Glaciers found in the Antarctic seemed to swirl about inside, with captivating beauty. The sniper's hood provided darkness over them, almost haunting.

The stranger quirked his head to the right, signalling for (Name) to group up with the others. He followed behind (pronoun), frame hunched forward.

(Name)'s heart thundered with anticipation as the captain called out the close arrival to the location. Guns' safety were checked and any last mess was cleaned up.

When the hangar door creaked open, it was expected for the soldiers to jump out almost immediately. (Name) fastened (pronoun) gloved hands to the hanging rope and propelled downward.

The night sky was dark and foreboding. Swallowing a lump in (pronoun) throat,(Name) would watch the task force captain hand out orders.

(Pronoun) stood rigid in the group, placing input when needed. Once given instructions, (Name) was left to work with the icy-eyed man now known as König.

(Name) wasn't sure if he liked the idea of working with (pronoun). Maybe a friendly wave could help ease tensions? (Name) directed (pronoun) hand through the air, trying (pronoun) best to be inviting.

König simply blinked, staring down at (Name). It was awkward. “(Your response, ignore if you do not say anything).”Slowly, however, with index and middle finger pressed together, König returned the gesture in a small movement.

He walked forward, looking over his shoulder to be sure (Name) followed. Both disappeared into the hedge, swallowed by the grass blades.

A brisk pace would have to be made for a chance to set a plan. König crouched down in the grass, (Name) doing the same.

(Pronoun) pulled out (pronoun) binoculars. About ten yards was a base target. (Name) and König were tasked with removing assailents from the outside for safe access to the inside.

König waved for (Name) to follow him. (Pronoun) let out a brief sigh, trying to calm (pronoun) nerves.

It had come to (Name)'s attention that König used waves and points to direct what he wanted (pronoun) to do.

Albeit it was difficult to see what he was trying to communicate at times, (Name) would do (pronoun) absolute best. It poured rain in the area, soaking through (Name)'s clothes.

In the low light, (Name) could see König’s muscles well defined in detail. (Pronoun) did the best (pronoun) could to avoid looking at his immaculate physique.

Ahead, was a building. Multiple guards surrounding it. There was no doubt that there would have to be a fight to get inside.

(Name) swallowed a growing lump in (pronoun) throat. König made the first move. (Name) had no choice but to follow.

The terror ensued. Seeing a horde of soldiers easily overcome by one man alone. Precise punches and excellent lacerations made quick work of the enemy.

The exploding sound of guns filled the night. Fear choked (Name)'s throat. (Pronoun) felt horrible.

(Name) felt even worse when (pronoun) could only take out a few guards. One had approached (Name) and had managed to get the upper hand on (pronoun).

Fighting like a lion, (Name) felt humiliated when König had to stop what he was doing to simply snap the opponent’s neck right in front of (pronoun).

It was a silent warning. Get a hold of yourself and stay out of my way if you can’t pull your own weight. With a brief “thank you,” (Name) recovered quickly and followed König.

(Name) snatched one last glance at the dead body. With the targets neutralised, (Name) felt like now (pronoun) could finally do something right and be helpful.

Breathing a sigh of short relief, (Name) approached the door and began (pronoun) work on undoing the lock. There was no chance of a silent entrance anymore.

The heavy breathing over (Name)’s shoulder only made (pronoun) anxiety even worse. König stood impatiently, his bloodlust not quenched.

Gunshots resounded inside of the building, reminding König how much he was missing out on.

(Name) felt even worse now. Another screw up. (Pronoun) hands clammed with sweat induced nerves. König balled his fists, pulling in a breath and reaching for his gun.

He prepared to go inside. (Name) squinted (pronoun) eyes at a certain cranny in the lock. “Faster,” König demanded.

(Name) panicked, finally undoing the lock clumsily and jumping aside as the bulking soldier practically shoved past (pronoun).

(Name) was certain he had gotten very irritated with (pronoun). (Name) could only watch as the seasoned soldier moved smartly though the surroundings.

(Name) entered the building slowly and carefully, eyes flitting around the surroundings. It was damp and cold.

The air smelled musty. (Name)’s eyes watered at the stench in the building and how quick everything was happening.

Ahead, (Name) heard the groaning of a chair. Curiosity piqued, (Name) did a quick check of (pronoun) surroundings and proceeded forward.

In the chair, was a rather beaten up and gagged male. (Name) approached and snapped (pronoun) fingers in front of his face.

Bleary, tear-filled eyes gazed back at the shocked (ethnicity) (gender preference/orientation). His head lulled forward and (Name) had to catch him.

(Name) pulled (pronoun) blade out and cut the bonds. (Pronoun) kept sharp ears on (pronoun) surroundings, worrying about being attacked without warning.

(Name) managed to help the sickly male up by forcing much of his weight on (pronoun). The two sauntered over to a sheltered area, (Name) pulling out what (pronoun) had to help clean up some of the wounds.

Having a medical background was something (Name) was not the most proud of. (Pronoun) could have been anything else in life. It was both a blessing and a curse.

To save lives was something important to any human. But, the toll it took on the mind was the curse. Especially peer judgement. Sharp and cruel words said to jab at the worker themself.

Then the expectation to please everyone with your handiwork. To be the servant. (Pronoun) never wanted that stress. Yes, (Name) wanted to help people in (pronoun) life.

But, sometimes, (Name) wished (pronoun) did not have the gifts that (pronoun) had. A few stray gunshots zoomed by (Name’s) head, casting a wave of sharp wind.

Wide (eye preference) optics gawked at the shining, swiftly spinning silver whizzing right on by. Everything moved in slow motion.

(Name) brought a shaking hand to (pronoun) cheek, gulping. Bright, red blood trickled glistened in the low lit room.

A tight grip of the stranger snapped (Name) out of (pronoun) thoughts. (Pronoun) pulled the man backward into (pronoun) chest, holding the significantly malnourished male in (pronoun) arms.

(Name) looked around wildly. A yell in the distance caught (Name)’s adrenaline heightened senses. (Name) began to question parts of (pronoun) sanity when (pronoun) saw König hit the ground hard.

(Name) leaned the hostage against a crate and made the move to help König. A gust of wind and a blast cracked in the night.

König convulsed, limbs flailing as he let out a cry. Crashing on top of him was assumed to be his assailant. Without thinking to use (pronoun) gun, (Name) launched (pronoun)self forward, barrelling into the opponent.

“Wretched whore-” (Name) threw a punch without warning, reeling (pronoun) non-dominant hand back for another.

The foe caught it, smirking. With a buck of his hips and a kick in the stomach, the adversary launched (Name) into the air, swinging (pronoun) to land on (pronoun) back.

(Name) yelped, coughing and out of breath. Quickly, (Name) pulled out (pronoun) knife. Blood splattered through the air and sprayed (Name).

Running out of fresh air, (Name) choked on the flood of gushing lifeline. (Name) rolled over, twisting the knife cruelly in the divot of the opponent’s throat.

(Name) wiped off (pronoun) face, coughing harshly. He was dead. (Name) stood up, staggering. (Pronoun) took deep ragged breaths.

“ (Call name), do you copy?” (Name) blinked, trying to grasp a handle of the situation (pronoun) was in.

Glinting in the distance was the rest of (Name)’s team, guns raised and moving about. Inspecting each corner and making their way to the trio.

(Pronoun) looked to the malnourished male laid against the wall. Bending down to do a quick inspection, (Name) breathed a sigh of relief to see him still alive.

(Name) stayed low to the ground, eyes flitting around. “ (Call name), do you copy?” Spurred into a reaction, (Name) pulled out (pronoun) communicator and replied.

Exasperated, (Name) caught (pronoun) breath as (pronoun) spoke. “Yes, yes I copy. Two of our own are down near the front entrance, waiting for arrival,” (Name) answered.

Looking down at the puddle of blood around (pronoun), (Name) took a deep breath and prepared to check over König.

(Name) watched as other members of (pronoun) task force moved to assist the hostage (pronoun) had leaned against the crate.

“König, are you with us?” (Name) asked as (pronoun) looked down at the winded male. He lifted his arm, groaning in pain.

With a quick movement, (Name) gently pushed his arm down. “Tell me where you were shot, and just stay still.”

“Right arm,” König obliged, groaning as he closed his eyes. Nodding in recognition, (Name) fished into (pronoun) bag to pull out a rope.

From (pronoun) surroundings, (Name) grabbed a stick. König watched (Name)’s every movement, eyes wide behind the veil of his sniper’s hood.

(Name) worked to create a makeshift tourniquet. (Pronoun) turned to König, making direct eye contact. König’s spectacles shifted away in what could be seen as shyness.

“You’re going to feel a tight pressure on your shoulder. I’m twisting this until it’s tight enough to cut off blood. You won’t lose anymore when I do this,” (Name) formally explained.

König’s cold eyes flashed into (Name)’s own doubt and curiosity flashing in them. (Name) offered a small smile, looking to (pronoun) work.

(Name) began (pronoun) work with the tool, cutting off the blood. A light hiss was heard as (Name) tightened the rope around his shoulder.

(Name) looked up to see other teammates approaching to help (pronoun) with lifting the mass of a man. (Name) gladly accepted, moving after with a quick pace.

Everyone got on the ship with a successful mission. (Name) moved to (pronoun) original corner in which (pronoun) sat in at the start of the mission.

(Pronoun) looked at the others sitting in their seats. (Name) blinked. With efficacious thoughts running in (pronoun) mind, (Name) tried to relax. The low hum, the scent of sweat and dried blood in the air.

What a wonderful end to (pronoun) day.

[publicdomainreview]

Happy #WorldPenguinDay!

Images here from Frederick Cook’s Through the First Antarctic Night, 1898–1899, a remarkable journal recounting the highs and (many) lows of the Belgica expedition, including experiencing a night two months long: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/through-the-first-antarctic-night-1900

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Friday....

SpaceTime 20231117 Series 26 Episode 138

First Dream Chaser space plane delivered to NASA

Sierra Nevada’s first operational Dream Chaser space plane has left its production facility in preparation for its first space flight early next year.

Infrared aurora discovered on Uranus

Astronomers have confirmed the presence of an infrared aurora on the cold, ice giant Uranus.

2023’s Antarctic Ozone Hole

The 2023 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size on September 21, according to annual satellite and balloon-based measurements made by NASA and NOAA.

The Science Report

Atrial fibrillation associated with a 45% higher risk of memory and other brain function decline.

More needs to be done to reduce the number of marine animals killed by ships.

Study shows older women who look after the sick and frail live longer.

Skeptics guide to ghosts and demons

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. Later, Gary became part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and was one of its first presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.  The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries-movedd]

Organism 46-B

Organism 46-B was an enormous 33ft (10m) long, 14-tentacled squid-like creature which lived in Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake located under two miles of ice beneath Vostok Station in the Antarctic. The animal had limbs that were animate and aggressive even after amputation, could release a toxin into the water to immobilize its prey from a distance of up to 150 feet, displayed an astonishing degree of shapeshifting, and showed a considerable degree of both hostility and intelligence.

Vostok Station, established by the Soviets in 1957, was discovered to have been sited atop a vast body of liquid water beneath the ice in 1974, which was subsequently named Lake Vostok after the station. After 30 years of ice core drilling, the research team finally breached through to the lake on the 5th of February 2012. This must have occurred sometime between then and the 30th November 2016 (when the story first broke), although exact dates have so far proven impossible to track down.

Dr. Anton Padalka claims to have been part of the first scientific expedition to explore the lake. “We encountered Organism 46-B on our first day. It disabled our radio - which we later learned, to our alarm, was intentional. It is also able to paralyze prey from a distance of up to 150 feet by releasing its venom into the water. Tragically my colleague and lifelong friend was killed this way."

Later, while diving in the lake, the group was attacked, the creature releasing its venom which took hold of one of them. The Organism then proceeded to kill and eat him. As Padalka stated "He tread water wearing a blissful smile as the organism approached him. We watched helplessly as it used its arms to tear off its head then popped its remains in its mouth. It was as if it had hypnotized him telepathically.”

Still, later, 46-B stalked the group, displaying its shapeshifting ability. "It shaped itself into the form of a human diver. We thought it was one of my colleagues swimming towards us in scuba gear. By the time the closest scientist had realized what it was, it had grabbed him and torn him to bits.”

Escaping the creature, a member of the team managed to lop off one of 46-B's tentacles, although the severed limb attacked the group again. "Later that night it slid across the ice bank and strangled her," stated Padalka.

After finally trapping the creature in a tank, the surviving members of the team brought it to the surface where they claim Russian officials seized the beast and told the international press that nothing had been found.