character motivation - Did Zabulon really love Alisa?

In the Day Watch novel by Sergei Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasilyev, at the end of Vitaly Rogoza part, we discover that

Zabulon sacrifices Alisa because he wanted to remove Igor Teplov.

Was his previously stated love real? Was he just using Alisa for the whole time?

Answer

I really doubt it - at best he might have loved her in a way you love your favourite tool. Great Dark and Light Ones have plans within plans and are not afraid to sacrifice their peers for own gain. Alisa is one such case:

The whole action of the Night Watch novel revolves around Svetlana's rise to power as a Great Light Enchantress and about Day Watch trying to prevent it. When the gambit with vampiress hunting for Egor and Svetlana's self-cast curse doesn't work, Zabulon starts his "Plan B":

He knows that Anton will be opposing Gesar's plan to use Svetlana as a "general in the war against Darkness" (because this would make the Anton-Svetlana relationship impossible), so he picks Alisa, and as the proof of his love, he gives her a powerful artifact allowing to steal life (and power) from unwilling victims. Now, after giving Anton a big speech about the dangers of the Chalk of Destiny, Zabulon puts Alisa in Anton's way, knowing that she won't be able to resist using the artifact and, in effect, getting arrested. And here is the little masterpiece:

If Alisa wouldn't believe that Zabulon loves her, she wouldn't call him.

If Anton wouldn't believe that Zabulon loves Alisa, he wouldn't accept the deal, to let the girl go in exchange for allowance to perform a powerful magical act (he well remembers the problems his last deal with Dark has caused).

This permission allows Anton to gather enough power to temporarily rival even Gesar and stop the Light plan to use Svetlana with the Chalk.

'I confirm the pledge made by Alisa.'

He seemed to be utterly serious. I swallowed. A promise like that from the head of the Day Watch . . .
'Never trust the Dark Ones.'
'Any intervention up to and including the second degree.'
'Are you that eager to avoid a scandal?' I asked. 'Or do you need her for something?'
A tremor ran across Zabulon's face.
'I need her. I love her.'
'I don't believe you.'
'As the head of the Moscow Day Watch I ask you, watchman Anton, to settle this matter amicably. It is possible, since my ward Alisa Donnikova had not yet caused any significant harm to humans. As compensation for her attempt' – Zabulon emphasised the last word – 'to perform a magical intervention of the third degree, the Day Watch will accept any Light intervention that you may perform up to and including the second degree. I do not ask for this agreement to remain secret. I do not impose any restrictions on your actions. I confirm that for the offence she has committed Day Watch agent Alisa will be severely punished. [...]

And the right to carry out a second-degree intervention that Zabulon had granted me so generously was a trap. There wasn't any doubt about that. He'd framed his own girlfriend, drawn the lines of probability together so that we'd meet and then handed me his deadly gift with a mournful expression on his face. I couldn't see far enough into the future to be sure the Good I did would never become Evil.

And when Anton starts to use his gathered power:

'Don't do that!' Gesar shouted. 'Don't you dare!'
In one swift movement he dashed across to shield Svetlana and Egor from me. As if that could stop the spell. There was nothing that could stop it now. [..]
Zabulon laughed quietly behind my back. [...]
smiled at Svetlana. And very slowly raised my palms with their fountain of rainbow light towards my own face.
'No!'
Zabulon's howl didn't cut through the roar of the hurricane, it completely drowned it. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The leader of the Dark Ones rushed towards me, but Gesar stepped out to meet him, and the Dark Magician stopped.

Immediately after this gambit, Alisa is discarded as a love interest: Zabulon who was lovingly touching Alisa's hair in front of Anton just to drag her brutally moments later) - that is until Zabulon needs her again, this time to remove Igor, who would guarantee that Nadya, a future Absolute Level Sorceress, would join the cause of Light. So Zabulon again uses Alisa: he gets her exhausted in a meaningless battle, feigns the love again, sends her to recover and meet Igor, who believing that Alisa was using him kills her in a duel and later commits suicide out of guilt.

Tl;dr

Zabulon was "in love" with Alisa when it was necessary for his plans, discarding her when she wasn't needed.

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?

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