#dividend kings

[themagicalghost]

The Dividend King feels like the Gaster equivilant of Corporate Clash

[rh0mbus0fruin]

Dividend king design this will definitely be in the game in update number poopfart trust me

[cathalbravecog]

only in the FROSTBITE realest ESTATE...! because i havent shared how fucked it is yet i dont think and Yes We Got A Pace Painting Texture Pack Thanks Molly

[ltwilliammowett]

The East India Company ships

The East and West India Company ships were not ship types in the usual sense. They were generic terms for a series of merchant ship types that travelled between Europe and the overseas colonies in the East and West. Common features of these ships were three masts, several cannons and a high bulwark to make it more difficult for attackers to board them. Their valuable cargo made the ships attractive targets, so they often travelled in convoys, accompanied by medium-armed merchant ships or frigates for protection. But let's go into more detail.

The East Indiaman 'Earl of Abergavenny', off Southsea, by Thomas Luny 1801

The ships of the East India Company were the ships of the English East India Company, a public limited company (shipowners at the early time of the East India Company contributed their ships to the company and received a certain share in the company in return. They received a proportionate share of the company's overall profits and received a dividend even if their own ship was lost, since the 18th century the company build their own ones as well.) which traded with Asia from 1600 to 1834. The company had a monopoly on trade with the East Indies, China and other regions, and its ships carried goods such as spices, tea, silk, cotton, porcelain and opium. The company also played an important role in the colonisation and administration of India and other territories.

East India Company ships at Deptford, by English School, c. 1660

The ships of the East India Company were known as East Indiamen or as Indiamen and were among the largest and most modern of their time. They were designed to withstand long voyages, carry heavy cargoes and defend themselves against pirates and enemy ships. They were also equipped with cannons and muskets and had a crew of sailors, soldiers, officers and passengers. Because of the need to carry heavy cannons, the hull of the East Indiamen - like most warships of the time - was much wider at the waterline than on the upper deck, so the guns on the upper deck were closer to the centreline to increase stability. This is known as a tumblehome. The ships usually had two complete decks for accommodation within the hull and a raised aft deck. The aft deck and the deck below were lit by galleries with square windows at the stern. To support the weight of the galleries, the hull lines were full towards the stern. As mentioned above, the ships were armed and painted to look like a warship and an attacker could not be sure if the embrasures were real or just painted, and some Indiamen carried a substantial armament.

Two views of an East Indiaman of the time of King William III, by Issac Sailmaker, 1685

The Royal Navy acquired several East Indiamen during the Napoleonic Wars and made them fourth rate ships (e.g. HMS Weymouth and HMS Madras), perpetuating the confusion of military ships with merchant vessels as prizes. In some cases, the East Indiamen successfully fended off attacks by the French. One of the most famous incidents occurred in 1804 when a fleet of East India ships and other merchant vessels under Commodore Nathaniel Dance successfully fought off a squadron commanded by Admiral Linois at the Battle of Pulo Aura in the Indian Ocean. And during this time, some of the ships were even travelling under the protection of a Letter of Marque, which allowed them to make their own prizes.

The East Indiaman 'Prince of Wales' disembarking troops off Gravesend, 1845, by John Lynn, 1845 or later - She was built by Green's of Blackwall in 1842 to a design known as that of the "Blackwall Frigates" - Indiamen with the single-decked appearance of frigates.

The ships of the India Companies were not only involved in trade, but also in exploration, diplomacy, warfare and scientific research. They visited many harbours and islands, built factories and forts, fought in battles and wars, negotiated treaties and alliances and collected samples and data. With the advent of the smaller and faster Blackwall Frigates in 1834 came the end of the great Indiamen as these small frigates sailed much faster.

[tobiasdrake]

Any thoughts on how Dragonball handles Death, narratively

To be honest, I find the status quo created by the Dragon Balls and their easy free resurrections to be interesting. The setting of Dragon Ball is a unique and creative place, and part of that is because the characters live in the knowledge of death's impermanence.

From the moment Goku first climbs Karin Tower and meets the God of Martial Arts, Dragon Ball has a strong spiritual side to it. This is not a grounded story of a guy living a life in a mundane but fantastical world. Son Goku, an adaptation of the Monkey King Sun Wukong, brushes elbows with gods and learns sacred arts of the heavens to carry him along on his journey.

As I've said before, there is no one correct way to write a plot. There are no universally good tropes to use or universally right interpretation to employ. Every story is a unique creature, and the elements that make up the story should be suited to what that story is trying to do.

I'm not saying that Dragon Ball's approach to character death is better or worse than other approaches; Rather, that it's unique, and that uniqueness makes it interesting and adds to its identity. The way Dragon Ball does things wouldn't work for other series, but it works for Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball is an individualistic story about the never-ending journey of self-improvement and personal development. It's about Goku coming into his own and growing up as a person and as a martial artist. The ultimate stakes of the story surround how Goku will grow and change and whether he will be able to prevail in this new predicament he's been placed into.

It's not about the world. It's about him and his emotional, physical, and spiritual journey.

With that in mind, Dragon Ball's relationship with death suits its story. Essentially, the stakes of any given Dragon Ball adventure are Winner-Take-All. If our heroes prevail, then all the damage is reversible. But if they fail, then all is lost.

This allows Dragon Ball to have its cake and eat it, with deaths that feel meaningful in the moment.

These deaths become motivating factors that drive the plot forward. But the tantalizing promise of revival is also a motivating factor that drives the plot forward.

While also building on the relationships between characters, which can then be followed up on when the character next returns from their grave.

The thing about Dragon Ball that sets it apart from other settings where death is often reversible is that Dragon Ball has a consistent mechanism for its reversal. One that the characters are fully aware of. This is precisely what makes its setting so distinctive, because it plays into the movement of the plot. Goku up there is going to meet God in order to bring resurrections back online.

The cast goes to Namek later on for the same reason. Piccolo's death means Kami dies means Shenron disappears from the Earth means no resurrections on the table for anyone Nappa and Vegeta killed; However, Krillin was paying the fuck attention during the battle and realizes that a slim hope exists for their friends.

The impetus for the entire Namek arc comes from the existence of resurrection as an option for the characters. Everything that happens on Namek is a quest to undo the damage Vegeta and Nappa inflicted.

This is the third time the possibility of resurrections has driven the plot. The second time was when Goku met God in Heaven. The first was when Goku went to war with Red Ribbon in the climax of their arc.

This is what I'm talking about when I say the stakes are Winner-Take-All. That characters can consistently return from death as long as conditions are right drives the plot forward at multiple points.

It also introduces new calculations into the decision-making of the cast themselves.

"Krillin, you've spent your 1-Up but I've still got mine so if one of us dies here then it should be me, not you." That's a choice Yamcha made, that would go on to pay dividends through this arc and the next.

"Can I come back to life if this goes bad Y/N?" is a real consideration that characters have to take into account when making their choices. Goku easily sacrifices himself to kill Raditz.

He's able to take us to visit the afterlife, meet Enma-Daio, and discover a great martial arts master in the heavens beyond life and death because of it.

All because he knows he's still got a revival on the docket, that he can trigger once he's ready to come home.

The Majin Buu arc takes the Winner-Take-All stakes to their absolute extreme with arguably the darkest moment in series history.

Majin Buu's been promised a great opponent to have a good fight with. In his new Super Buu state, he's impatient and wants his fight now. To buy time, Piccolo takes advantage of the fact that Shenron can revive the world to make Buu an offer: Finish exterminating humanity and then come back, and your opponent will be ready.

It's a bid for more time. It backfires in the most horrific way possible, when Super Buu uses this vantage in Heaven to fire Human Extinction Attack and kill all living humans at once.

What a fucking moment this is. Made possible by the reversible nature of all those billions of deaths - If, and only if, we can beat this guy. Winner takes all.

These are angles for the story that couldn't be explored without Shenron providing convenient resurrections. It's part and parcel of what the world of Dragon Ball even is, and a core component both in its storytelling and character decision-making.

Dragon Ball simply wouldn't be Dragon Ball without it.

[witheredoffherwitch]

The 'Cersei' quandary in Alicent's story:

The comparison between Alicent and Cersei is absolutely ludicrous! No doubt, I'm an Alicent fangirl, but all of y'all would R.I.P if this doe-eyed goddess had even a pinch of Cersei's deviousness. Let us not forget the same woman who was 'shooketh' by Larys killing his family to restore her father back on the small council - while the others just shrugged without lifting a finger for murder. This "reluctance to murder is not a weakness" warrior has been clashing against a faction that has sacrificed both civilians and nobility to marry someone who will yield beneficial political dividends. Despite the abuse and neglect inflicted by her husband, she still took care of him and mourned him in death. The animosity this character experiences is proof that you're not looking for a multi-faceted character that will add complexity to the story set in this civil war, but rather you want your own preferred characters to be further victimized so that their motives and actions appear more 'noble' and 'sacred' in the end.

Reading some of these analyses I actually hoped that we got an AU where Alicent was as ruthless! The one where she was so callous, she would do anything to meet her ends - like murdering anyone in her way or removing players whenever necessary. I wish she had the same deviousness as Cersei and could give it right back to her abusive husband. I wished she took lovers with no restraint while her bedazzled corpse of a king wasted away in his bed. As an added bonus, what if she took Cole as her lover - and maybe threw it in her husband's face once in a while? I wished they did it right on top of his Valyria model and maybe occasionally she'd say, "Perchance my grace would like to know how Ser Cole took me around this Valyrian freehold?" And for added satisfaction, I wished she contrived a more painful death for that old fuck… keep him intoxicated on the milk of poppy but anytime he was away from the brink of death or getting some relief, she would lower the dose and have the pain shoot through his bones again. Now that’s justice!

But no! You instead got a queen shackled with a sense of duty and sacrifice, her life dictated by men that surrounded her. All of those who stood by her side (or even the ones who opposed her) were all doomed to devastation. And amidst all this chaos, she was but a mere soul struggling to escape from the clutches of tragedy.

[indelen]

This is my reread of the Lockwood and Co. Books, organized by @blue-boxes-magic-and-tea, I'll make a general summary of several chapters and then post bits and pieces that jumped out at me.

Part III Chapters 13-16:

I like all the worldbuilding in these chapters, which we get subtly as we get introduced to this alternative London and how it functions day to day with The Problem in the background. Little things like fashion for silver and lavender, no computers or any tech past about the 70s, the economy collapsing because work days were so severely reduced, etc. The other thing that’s shown is how many corporations are really making a lot of money from The Problem and that the only changes the government ever enacts are those that are going to be good business for them. There’s a small bit in Chapter 13 about how running water wards off ghosts but only small wealthy areas of London got runnels put it. The rest rely on iron, which is an expensive commodity you have to constantly maintain and purchase more of. Water is free if, in the interest of public good you put the necessary infrastructure in from the start, it pays dividends in the long run. Iron rusts and is harder to upkeep and maintain, but it’s more providable and so magically the government chose to go with the latter and not the former option even through ghost lamps are less effective. I honestly love that this sort of detail is in a book for kids and teens and I like that the author gives this sort of detail to the young audiences. Especially in this day and age I feel like they would appreciate it.

Odds and Ends Side A:

There is significance in Rotwell’s symbol being a lion and Fittes symbol being a unicorn, because those two symbols are also on either side of the quartered shield that makes up the United Kingdom’s coat of arms. In heraldry they are called “supporters”. Irl the lion is the symbol of England and unicorn is a symbol of Scotland and this symbolism was adopted when James IV of Scotland inherited the throne from Elizabeth I in the 16th century and became King James I. So symbolically this shows how the agency system and the personal rivalries of the agency heads ripped the country apart with no real winner. Fittes is bigger. Rothwell is more popular. Fittes has the reputation. Rothwell has the PR. No one really wins. Children continue to die serving both.

And it's so sinister how agencies develop a “brand” and rally the kids they recruit around it. Kids are of course very susceptible to this, children latch easily to tribal behavior, they love that sense of belonging that comes with being in a clique. This is a manipulation tactic. If you make the kids feel special, give them a cool jacket, a symbol, a membership, a sense of belonging to a group, they will Other anyone not part of that group. They become easier to manipulate when you have their membership to hold over them. You can use them to spy on one another, to ostracize those who break ranks. George saw this in Fittes - he didn’t fit in there because the glamour of the Fittes brand didn’t ensnare him, it just made his more curious. So, he was pushed out.

The famous “catch in the voice” that launched a thousand Quillica ships. I’m kind of split about this. Yes, it seems like there is something there - Kipps speaks with a bitterness that seems to transcend regular dislike. You could argue that Kipps really does think Lockwood is dangerous on top of just thinking he’s a shit but this bit always did seem to telegraph a personal side to the animosity that goes beyond simple rivalry. My issue is, if there was something, why was it never was mentioned in later books? Even in moments where it would be suitable for the narrative. I sometimes wonder if this was an orphaned bit of plot, considered but abandoned by the author for one reason or another. Authors decide to edit out plot points all the time and I do wonder if some tie between Kipps and Jessica was considered early on but passed on because it made things a little too complicated.

George casually interrupts here and redirects the ire of a bully onto himself to protect a friend. Really the whole trio can be pretty verbally vicious but book George is by far the most likely to have a go at someone. This is an interesting difference between George Cubbins of the books and George Karim of the show. Karim is a far gentler soul, Cubbins goes for the jugular every time.

It's interesting that the big conflict of the middle of season 1, the infamous “asset” spat that produced so much delicious angst, pining and yearning (not to mention Six of Crows parallels) – does not really exist in the books. Lucy is fine with being seen an asset to the agency. Proud of it even. She doesn’t care about publicity, but she doesn’t mind it either. Her biggest issues later on actually stem from thinking she's being replaced or not being seen as valuable team member. Because in the books it’s made plain that the kids’ minds are so warped by society to view having Talent and being an agent as the best and most valuable thing about themselves. To the point that they often don’t know what to do with themselves if they have any downtime. It’s why the existential crisis of living long enough to lose your Talent comes as such a brutal knock to many. I can see why they added the “asset” drama into the show, it’s one of those small but crucial themes that would have been hard to put on screen. It takes literal books for Lucy to start seeing herself as an individual, to start casually mentioning having hobbies or wishing he had time to pursue certain interests outside of being an agent. In fact, the most times she puffs up her chest and talk about how great and important it is that she is one is in this book. In the later books this bravado recedes. And without getting too into spoiler territory other characters grapple with this as well. It’s a faint throughline, but it’s there. In the show they made her backstory be a catalyst for her realization that agencies use kids and discard them and her issue with simply being considered one “asset” of many in the agency meatgrinder is more pronounced. And I think with making Quill younger and making him go thought the process of losing his Talent on screen and making him Northern (this bit was pointed out by @womaninwinter to me, credit where it’s due) was done intentionally to draw parallels with Lucy and have them share a bond in Season 2 (IF WE GOT ONE NETFILX WHEN I CATCH YOU-). This sort of thing works better on screen. And of course, provides delicious angst since Lockwood would have gotten immediately jealous of any bond Lucy develops with anyone other than him. Not needed in the books, but fun on screen where you can watch Cameron Chapman’s big sad doe eyes track Ruby Stokes around the room like a compass needle besotted with the magnetic north.

The clever and fun thing about bits like this is that on first read you think this is all to do with the immediate plot but it’s actually laying of the ground work and foreshadowing to future books and the appearance of my precious horny sewer rat baby Skull in a jar.

It's really subtle but all the adults who work as first responders, such those who responded to the Sheen Road fire or the cops in Scotland Yard, already have some kind of body armor. Only the kids don’t. Only agents and nightwatch kids don’t. You’re telling me someone couldn’t scale down chainmail and make a lighter version for the kids? Sew some iron or silver thread into those uniforms? Fittes and Rotwell have an enormous amount of resources and pull. And yet they do nothing. Not even a little investment in safety of literal children. It’s all just so grim the more you think about it.

An enormous imposing building of the mighty Scotland Yard mythologized in a million stories and seen in a million tv shows, full of adults carrying important papers and making important decisions, full of adults in body armor … all guarded by two kids with sticks. It’s so vividly pathetic.

Please turn the cassette over to side B (see reblog for more)

[yikes-kachowski]

Hey Yikes! I hope you're doing well!

What's the world like by the time Sakari ascends to the throne?

Hello friend! This is long and detailed so, settle in, get some water, maybe a snack. I consulted my esteemed colleague and co-writer/lore master to make the most comprehensive post possible since I've got a lot of ideas. If you have any further questions you can ask either of us :)

Here goes:

They are primarily working through economic and parliamentary reform. While they’ve been slowly liberalizing and democratizing, officially getting a parliament eight years after the war, the Fire Nation under Fire Lord Zuko is still fundamentally an autocracy (Zuko will later be known as an ‘enlightened despot’ by future historians, as will King Kuei), a Parliament works to delegate certain tasks to, and field research. All laws and reforms are still ultimately up to the Fire Lord, though Zuko has been putting in place laws that have been slowly decreasing monarchic power and influence in the Fire Nation.

The Parliament (and other official positions) are appointed through an examination process, which is completely free, and open to anyone in the country who chooses to try it. The examinees are numbered, so there can be no bias when grading, or when they are brought to officials to be appointed into whatever roles they may qualify for. Local officials—like mayors—are elected, but there is rigorous oversight in the election process, because elections are still pretty new to the Fire Nation, and a lot of people don’t see the point in voting. The oversight is to try and mitigate local lords/landowners from pitting elections to be in their favor. Elections will expand under Sakari, though democratization is a decidedly slow process in the Fire Nation.

The Fire Nation has traditionally been a command economy, since the times of Fire Lord Yozor. Currently, they are trying to find a balance between privatization and socialization. Either way, the Fire Nation invests most of its resources into infrastructural development and social services. A big recent push has been outreaches to the Outer Islands, that have been traditionally overlooked by the monarchy, and tended to get far less funding than they needed, even under Zuko. Sakari is looking into simplifying they’re bureaucratic and bloated social service programs, and simplifying (some of them) into a universal basic income.

They’re also working on reforming their tax system into a far more simple land value tax. The dividends made with this system will be used for a universal basic income.

They are converting to a decimal monetary system, since they’re current system is incredibly complicated, and much harder to do international trade with.

Sakari will probably be remembered as having strong environmental protections, which will be somewhat of a roadblock to economic development in the industrial sphere, and for Cultural Demilitarization. Meaning, kids aren’t expected to go to military schools from the ages of 11 through 16.

True democratization won’t be implemented until the next Fire Lord.

And coronation sketches that I probably won't finish but never say never

[theradicalscrivener]

The Bay of Scherzo

Gosh. It's been a while sinze I've touched base with the Claves boys. After the events of Yuletide Balls, Scherzo has been more or less confined to the castle. His life a boring drudge of politics and social posturing. but the matters of court aren't neerly as exhausting as maintaining the spell that hides the Prince's "Big" secret.

(P.S. Ya boi's got Linktree and Bluesky now)

First Story || Previous Story || [Series Index] || Next Story (Coming Soon)

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                Prince Scherzo let out a long sigh as the last of his appointments left the grand hall. His father had insisted that Scherzo take a larger role in governing the country. As far as the rest of the nobility knew, Scher was being groomed to take over the role of king soon, but the truth was that Scher’s father was trying to keep him out of trouble. Between overseeing petty squabbles in the grand hall and studying magic with Maester Timpani, Scher very rarely had time to escape the confines of the castle. Not that he minded the magic lessons. Time with Tim was some of Scher’s favorite part of the week. Even the castle wasn’t so bad. Scher rarely saw his parents and other than making public appearances for the court, Scher was free to do whatever he pleased.

                “Is he gone yet…” Scher muttered to his new attendant.

                “Yes, sir. He should be safely out of range,” The red-haired enchanter replied. Rudd, the figure that stood at Scher’s side, was clad in nothing except for a small cloak that barely covered his shoulders and a pair of sandals. The enchanter’s body was inscribed from head to toe with glowing runes. Even the enchanter’s cock and balls were aglow with magic sigils, and thanks to Rudd’s experience with the notorious thief, there was Plenty of real estate to inscribe. As the enchanter stood stoically at the prince’s side, the enchanter’s massive nuts rested solidly on the floor in front of him. Either enormous nuts the size of a yard bag filled to the brim with clippings. His cock was similarly massive. The enormous shaft was almost as thick as his toned midriff and stretched several feet in front of him. The mage’s shaft was almost as long as he was tall! His constant training and practice had paid dividends since the events of the Yuletide ball. It had gotten so huge that it impeded his ability to walk. Fortunately, there were plenty of spells to aid with that. The runes on his body flashed, and his cock and balls began to hover inches above the stone floor of the great hall.

                Once the cat was out of the bag about Tim’s new apprentice “Al”, it didn’t take long for people to piece together that Al was actually Prince Scherzo. On one hand, the prince pretending to be a common mage was a bit of a scandal, but Scher being named the sole apprentice to the eccentric young High Enchanter was something that could make a great story to tell the general populace. The prince secretly attending college was a much better cover story to explain the prince’s clandestine outings than the truth. If the people knew that the prince had been having a fling with one of the country’s most notorious criminals, there was no telling what the other nobles would say!

               The king was quick to step in and make some arrangements with the Arcanum so that Scher could continue his studies from the safety of the palace. This unfortunately meant that Scher’s visits to the campus were far rarer than they had been, but the plus side was that Scher was able to name his own assistant. It didn’t hurt that Scher’s friend from school was also top of his class. Rudd’s top marks made it easier for them to smooth things over with the King.

               Truth be told, the king hated Rudd’s lack of social graces, decorum, and most of all his lack of clothes, but the benefits of having him around outweighed the negatives. Not to mention that after the stunt Claves had pulled at the Arcanum, massive cocks became a sign of station for the casters in enrollment at the academy. Rudd’s colossal package was intimidating to those who came before the prince not just for the sheer size but for the magic power that it signified.

               Scher hopped up unceremoniously from his throne and stretched. He was similarly attired to his classmate and friend. Scher had a similar small cloak and sandals but was also clad in a small pair of briefs which protected his “modesty”. Truth be told, the briefs he wore were the key to a powerful magic that he had to maintain at all times while appearing in public. As much as huge hogs had become a mark of power among the Arcanum, they were less welcome among the aristocracy. Scherzo had to keep his true size (and his dealings with certain criminal elements) a secret from society at large.

               “I already put in a request to have all the guests and staff leave the gardens. We should have the place to ourselves by now,” Rudd said.

“I can’t wait to get out of this thing. It’s not only embarrassing but it’s exhausting as well!” Scher whined and gestured down towards his briefs. His briefs were little more than a thong which gripped the outline of his impressive looking cock. The briefs were enchanted with a powerful magic that the High Enchanter had developed to help the prince with his mobility issues, but it served double duty by hiding the prince’s true size from the king and other members of court. Truth be told, not even Scher knew how big he really was nowadays. It was so rare that he had time to really let loose. Even when asleep, he had attendants who worked tirelessly to maintain the spacetime compression magics that coursed through his skivvies.

               It had been days since he had last been able to peel them off. He needed to air out his junk and give it a good scrubbing. He had showered and used basic cleaning spells to wash as best he could through the fabric, but the nature of the compression magic made it incredibly difficult to do a solid scrubbing.

               Having to constantly maintain the magic meant that Scher was constantly in a state of exhaustion which didn’t help his mood nor his attention span, and today had been the worst it had been in ages. As noble and noble came before him to air their petty grievances it was all Scher could do to avoid throwing them out of the castle. Part of him was even tempted to drop all pretense and remove the spell holding his junk in just so he could get some relief.

                The difficulty Scher had been having weighed heavily on his mind. There was something gnawing at the back of his consciousness, and he wasn’t sure if it was fear or excitement. This spell required all his strength to maintain which wouldn’t be a big deal except that he could tell that he had gotten stronger over time. Maintaining powerful enchantments like this was a great way for someone to increase their magical power. It was like doing weight training for muscles. The problem was Scherzo was already the most powerful mage in the kingdom by a huge margin as was evidenced by the sheer size of his cock and balls. The nature of the curse that had gripped him and much of the kingdom was that his cock and balls grew in proportion to his magical power. As his power grew, so too did his package which meant that it took MORE power to maintain the enchantment to hide it, which meant that he was getting even more powerful! It was a perpetual feedback loop! It was ironic in a way that the king’s efforts to hide that Scher had such a massive cock was making it bigger and bigger and bigger with each passing day! The magic to hide his size was now so taxing that the palace had had to employ another three magi to maintain it while he slept! Fortunately, there was no shortage of interns from the Arcanum eager to work at the palace, and maintaining an enchantment didn’t require much knowledge about what the enchantment actually did. All they really knew was that they got to watch the prince, who was a renowned hottie, while he slept and maintain a powerful spell which, of course, caused their own powers to grow and grow. It had gotten to the point where students at the arcanum were eager to be selected for palace duty!

                Scher was starting to sweat as the duo made their way towards the large, double doors which lead out of the palace and into the palace grounds. His fatigue was incredible! Just how much power was he using to maintain this spell!?

                Rudd threw an arm over the prince’s shoulder to help Scher keep his balance. “We need to talk to the king about this. You need more time to recover. No one should have to maintain a spell this powerful for such a long period of time,” he said.

                “When has he ever listened to anything anyone else has said?” Scherzo said dejectedly.

                “Well, if he won’t listen to reason, maybe we should show him what you’ve been hiding?” Rudd said.

                “That would be hilarious. He’s probably have a heart attack right then and there!” Scherzo laughed.

                “And then you’d be free to make your own rules.” Rudd replied only half joking.

                Scherzo let out a long sigh of both exhaustion and exasperation. “If only there was some less drastic way to get him to listen,” he said.

                The pair made their way towards the palace grounds. Scherzo was too exhausted from the spell to be much for conversation so the only sound was the sound of their footfalls and the soft hum of the glowing runes on Rudd’s cock and balls as his package hovered in front of them.

                Past the great hall, past the garden, up the trail that led to the cliffside the duo marched. Soon, the pair reached their destination. The steep cliffs overlooking the ocean made the palace easily defendable, but tonight they were going to serve a different purpose.

                Scherzo plopped down on the edge of the cliff. His legs dangling over the abyss. His hand hovered over the small clasp on his hip. One flick of that, and his briefs would fall open, causing his cock and balls to spill out in all their glory.

                Rudd cocked an eyebrow as he watched the prince’s hesitation. “Is something wrong?” He asked.

                “It’s probably nothing, but… this week has been so exhausting. Like, more so than it should have been. I… wonder how much I have grown,” Scherzo said.

                “Are you afraid?” Rudd asked.

                “No… not exactly. I think… I think I’m excited, and that’s what worries me,” Scher said.

                “Oh. Is that all?” Rudd said. There was a huge, playful smirk on his face.

                “What’s that supposed to mean?” Scherzo yelped.

                “Do you want to make an event of it? Should I give you a drumroll? Maybe some lights?” Rudd teased.

                “Do you mock me? I am your prince?” Scherzo cried in mock protest.

                “You don’t have to act so uptight anymore. We’re by ourselves,” Rudd teased.

                “Why I never! Guards! Arrest that man,” Scherzo protested in a fake, nasally, foppish voice.

                “Oooh. I’m really in trouble, huh? I better do something to deserve it then, huh?” Rudd said playfully. Then, before Scherzo had a chance to react, he reached down and effortlessly flicked open the clasp that held up the waistband of Scherzo’s briefs.

                “Wai- wha-?” Scherzo sputtered, but it was too late. All he could do was watch in awe as his packaged spilled forth from the pocket dimension that had struggled to hold it.

                Even Rudd was speechless. Scherzo had grown even in just this past week, and he had grown A LOT! The prince’s cock continued to rapidly spill out from the dimensional tear, but there appeared to be now end in sight! Just the shaft was so thick that Rudd couldn’t even begin to process how long it would be once fully exposed. It was like staring out at an open field of exposed flesh.

                Scherzo balls crashed down with a splash. The sound of waves being sent careening from the point of impact caused the two friends to balk. The cliff was almost a hundred feet off the ground! Last week, Scherz’s balls hadn’t even reached the water, this week they hit and kept going! The meteoric strike of his sack hitting the sea sent tidal waves in all directions!

                The two friends stared out in awe at Scherzo’s new size. Scherzo’s balls were beyond massive! They used to not even touch the waters below, but now they crested higher than the cliffs! They rested solidly on the seabed below and still had over one hundred feet exposed! And much like an iceberg only the tip was exposed! This was no shallow beach. This was a sheer cliffside overlooking a deep, deep ocean.

                There were wards at the palace – magics that controlled the weather, magics that cast illusions over the palace grounds making it always appear idyllic and calm to the outside world. That’s the only reason Scherzo’s size had remained hidden so long. That was why he was able to let it all hang out when the palace was empty, but he had outgrown those wards. He had outgrown the illusions! His impossibly huge cock and balls had burst through the barricades and kept growing and growing. His dick was not just visible to the outside world, it was so huge that it was visible for miles around! His balls now filled much of the bay! His cock extended out impossibly far towards the horizon. Shipping vessels had been thrust aside by not just the waves of the impact of his balls but by the arrival of his World Serpent of a schlong! Scherzo couldn’t even fathom how huge he must be now. The only real point of reference he had was the bay itself and the shipping vessels which now circled his cock and balls. Each enormous freighter looked like an ant next to his cock. The entire capitol city of Sonata would have been eclipsed by his cock and balls had he not had the foresight to unleash it away from town.

                “No way…” the two friends said in unison as they stared out at the absolutely colossal cock that spread out before them.

                Scherzo’s mind was racing. How had he grown so much? Just last week, his shaft was only a few hundred feet long. It hung past his balls and rested into the sea below. Even then it was mind-blowingly massive, but now… Hundreds of feet felt like nothing. His enormous hose draped over his balls and rose far, far into the air. His shaft was so thick that he had to stare up at his like staring up at a mountain! His entire field of view was filled with cock and balls, but he needed to see more. He needed to see how he compared with the world around him.

                Scherzo floated forward. He didn’t have the glyphs to augment his powers like Rudd did, but he still had enough power to levitate his monolithic cock and balls enough that he could shift forward. He floated onto his nuts which caused his center of gravity to shift. His cock no longer draped over his nuts, and instead jutted out in front of him and went straight into the ocean. Even just this minor shift of his position caused massive waves to wash into the nearby port and send vessels scrambling to stay moored.

                Scherzo was now able to stare out past his balls and see just how long his cock truly was. The view was breathtaking. His cock extended out past the bay and into open waters. It was easily a half mile to the inlet, and his balls alone almost reached that far. His cock stretched out far, far beyond that.

                The image before him was dizzying. Again, Scherzo’s mind raced. How had he gotten so big in such a short period of time. True, he had been pushing himself beyond his limits every hour of every day for months now, and this week he had reached a breaking point where the exhaustion was forcing him to tap into reserves hitherto unheard of. He had heard of something like this. The greatest mages in ages long past had found a way to push past their limits and in that breaking point had unlocked greater potential. Legends told of the exponential growth possible. Countless mages had burned themselves up trying to reach that enhanced state, and Scherzo had been living in that state for a week! No wonder he was so tired! No wonder he had grown by an order of magnitude! He had to have doubled in size every day! Instead of hundreds of feet, he had reached thousands! His massive cock now stretched for miles.

                His mind was racing. There was no way he was going to keep this a secret. There was no magic powerful enough to mask his size. No enchantment powerful enough to make an entire populace forget what they saw. His balls alone were bigger than the entire city!

                Scherzo tried to fight it, but a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

                “Are… are you alright?” Rudd asked.

                “I doubt even the king can sweep this under the rug,” Scherzo said with a laugh.

                “I don’t think they even make rugs big enough,” Rudd agreed which caused Scherzo to laugh even louder.

                As Scherzo watched his cock expand exponentially, he had expected to be horrified, and he had expected to be mortified that his cover was so thoroughly blown. Now everyone in the capital knew how huge he was. Word would spread across the country by morning! This should be awful! But it wasn’t! If anything, it felt liberating! He no longer had to hide. Not only was his secret out, but who could even say anything about it? Even if the king wished to admonish him, Scherzo had visual proof that he was the most powerful caster alive – maybe even to ever live! Maester Timpani had previously been the owner of the “largest” cock and balls, and even he had capped out at little over ten feet. His cock was the size of a carriage! Scherz’s was the size of a county!

                As Scher laughed, he could feel not just the rush of exhilaration fill his body but his cock as well. His cock was getting bigger and thicker, and this time it wasn’t his power growing. He was getting harder and harder by the second. His cock raised up from the ocean. Water cascaded off of the immense shaft like waterfalls. The vacuum left by his cock lifting up caused all the water from miles around to rush in and fill the void causing ships to be carried along by the intense current.

                Scher was soon rock hard. He was harder than he had ever been in his life. He was bigger than he had ever been in his life. Hell, he was bigger than anyone had ever been! His massive rod reached up into the sky. Even angled forward as it was, the tip of his dick scraped the cloud cover. Beads of pre dripped from his massive cock. Each tiny bead was so huge that it could eclipse an entire freighter. Even the bigger ships on the sea paled in comparison to even the tiniest bead of pre of his enormous cock!

                Each salty bead splashed down causing massive waves to surge forth from the point of impact. Some part of Scher hoped that these vessels were strong enough to weather his storm. The Sonata ships were known around the world for their arcane enhanced stability and seaworthiness. They could weather the biggest, strongest hurricanes, but the world had never seen something like this.

                Rudd stood speechless beside his friend. His own cock had reached full mast in record time as he stared out at the dick that would dwarf even the eldest dragons. Rudd’s cock was huge in its own right. In the time he’d been serving as Scherzo’s attendant, the exertion of his duties and his rigorous training had seen him grow by leaps and bounds. Even soft, his cock was longer than he was tall, and he was much more a grower than a shower. Now that his rod was fully hard, it towered over him like an oak tree, and yet, it was hard to think of himself as huge while staring down a schlong that would rival mountains.

                Rudd was so overwhelmed by the sight that he let out a load moan and his cock gave a hard lurch. He was cumming without even laying a finger on his cock! He came again and again! Each spurt as large as the last! He could have filled a swimming pool with even just three spurts, but he continued to cum and cum again. His jizz splattering against the side of the prince’s impossibly huge balls. Scherzo’s nuts were so massive that Rudd’s massive spurts looked like little more than dribbles against his sack.

                The intensity of his climax was so much that Rudd found himself unable to stand. His legs felt weak and shaky. His head felt light and hazy. He began to fall backwards but was caught by a strange force that enveloped his body. Rudd was only vaguely aware of what was happening as he was carried like a ragdoll over the bay towards where the prince was perched atop his own cock and balls. As he floated closer, it became clear that the energy that was holding him was emanating from the prince!

                Scherzo looked over his shoulder pleadingly at his friend. He didn’t speak but he didn’t need to. The prince’s bare butt was raised into the air as if begging to be fucked. Rudd was only to happy to oblige.

                Despite the fact that Rudd’s cock was more than twice as tall as Scherzo was, the tip of his cock slid into the prince’s hungry hole. Rudd watched as Scherzo’s hips spread wider to accept a cock that was far thicker than his torso, but the prince’s body did not expand as much as Rudd had expected. If anything, it was as if his dick had slipped into a hole that was far larger than Scherzo’s hole body!

                The magic that Timpani had created! The spatial compression! Somehow Scherzo had turned his own body into a pocket dimension. His desire to be reamed was so intense that he made himself able to take any cock, no matter how huge.

                Rudd’s eyes glanced up towards the prince’s cock that now broke through the clouds… Well, almost any cock.

                Rudd wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Rudd dug his cock into the hilt into Scherzo’s ass. Even with the spatial magic condensing Rudd’s rod, Scherzo’s gut bulged out in front of him. Rudd could see the outline of his own cock against the prince’s gut, but that didn’t last long. Rudd hadn’t stopped cumming the entire time. As more and more jizz erupted from his cock deep into the prince’s seemingly impossibly accommodating body, Scherz’s gut begin to grow and grow with gallons upon gallons of jizz. Rudd was too lost in ecstasy to run the numbers. His cock only appeared a fraction of its true size while inside the price, and he had cum enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool. Scherz’s tummy was so full of condensed jizz that it bulged out in front of him like a giant beach ball. His gut was so huge that Scher couldn’t even wrap his arms around it while he nuzzled his face against his huge, sloshing, jizz-filled water balloon of a belly.

                Scherzo couldn’t think. All he could do was feel the indescribable pleasure that surged through his thousands of feet of fat cock. Each spurt of his colossal cock was so powerful that the very earth beneath him trembled. The sea churned. Even winds themselves were knocked aside. Scherzo’s cum shots tore through the clouds causing them to part. The formerly cloudy day was suddenly sunny which just made his enormous cock all the more visible for miles around.

                Scherzo came again and again and again. Each massive spurt arcing miles and miles into the open sea. The sea itself began to turn white and soupy from the sheer volume of cum sloshing around. The choppy waves caused the thousands of gallons of jizz to churn and froth. Seafoam mixed with semen turning the entire bay and the neighboring beaches into a white, hot bog of spunk.

                Scherzo had no idea how long he had been cumming, but eventually his exhaustion overtook him. His shots slowly tapered off and then stopped altogether. His colossal cock drooped and softened and came to a rest in the ocean.

                Rudd had long since collapsed. He now lay face up on the mountain that was the prince’s sack, staring into the sky and breathing heavily as he struggled to catch his breath enough to be able to even so much as stand. He was vaguely aware that a crowd had gathered. Countless guards and soldiers… as well as a stern figure that led the troops.

                The king stared out at the mess. The prince was resting face down against a massive cum-filled blimp of his own belly. Jizz oozed from the prince’s stretched out ass. The prince’s balls filled the entire bay, and his cock plugged the entire inlet with its sheer girth.

                Scherzo was only barely conscious. He was aware that there was a crowd gathered, but he was so overwhelmed by the afterglow that he couldn’t bring himself to care. He managed to glance over his shoulder and flash a groggy smirk at the king, but his attempt at smiling was interrupted when he coughed up a huge mouthful of cum.

                The king had an entourage of advisors at his side which all took turns whispering into his ears. The expression on the king’s face changed by the second. Shock. Horror. Surprise. Disgust. Curiosity. Acceptance. Suspicion. Understanding.

                The last advisor said their piece, bowed, and slunk back into the crowd. The king nodded and mulled it over for a moment. “Yes… I see…” He mused.

                “You’re in so much trouble…” Rudd murmured groggily.

                Scherzo was too euphoric to panic. He tried to chuckle but only managed to spit up another mouthful of cum.

                The king let out a long sigh, “I have half a mind to banish you for the damage you have caused,” he said sternly.

                There was a tense moment where the king waited and let his words sink in. The gathered crowd murmured. Hushed whispers rippled through the crowd.

                “… but my advisors are right. Your very existence is an incredible deterrent to our rival nations. Everyone can see your… aptitude… for miles around,” he said, pausing heavily on the word ‘aptitude’ to really let it sink in.

                After another tense pause, he spoke up again. “Even were I to order you expelled from the kingdom, we lack the ability to even… well… move you,” he said awkwardly.

                Another tense pause. More murmurs from the crowd. The king began to fidget. He glanced over his shoulder and looked to his advisors once more for guidance.

                The king cleared his throat and tried to sound imposing, but it was hard to do while looking at the scene that now filled the harbor. He instead turned around and addressed the crowd instead.

               “It was always my plan to abdicate soon. The royal family has long held a reputation of being a long line of powerful magi. When my son was accepted as a special pupil of the High Enchanter, I knew that he would continue that legacy, and we can… erm… see that he is… gifted…” The king muttered awkwardly.

               One of the advisors stepped forward to address the crowd since the king was clearly fumbling, “This is all something that will be handled at a later date. It seems imprudent to discuss these matters while the prince is still… uh… leaking…”

               Scherzo tried to give a nod of agreement but ended up spitting up another huge mouthful of cum instead. Realizing it was a lost cause and being too exhausted to fight it, Scherzo once again collapsed face down into his own cum-filled belly. He was so exhausted and overwhelmed by the afterglow that it was easy to ignore the crowd that had gathered. He instead let his mind wander to the sensations that overwhelmed his body. His body felt warm and tingly. He was so euphoric that even the tense scene with the king couldn’t make him feel any less giddy, and the lapping of waves against his cock was so relaxing, and there was something else too. A feeling of his nuts being cradled…

               …Cradled? Scherzo was still too dazed to focus, but something gnawed at the back of his mind. He still had room around his balls before, but now it felt like his balls filled the entire bay! His sack pressed up against the seawall on all sides! Had he grown even larger?

-------------------------------

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[thebadchoicemachine]

Give Me One Good Reason Why I Shouldn't Punch Your Face In

I'm so underdressed - SAPHIRE KING

It would be way too rewarding - VIAL

Your fist is so pristine - MAIN MERFOLK OF SAI

The scheduled walloping isn't for another hour - BILL

My mom specifically instructed me to have a good day - KID

No one has yelled "World Star" yet

I'm going to see the Liberty Bell for the first time today and I want everything to be perfect - SAPHONITE

Judge said i'd go to jail if someone punched me in the face one more time

When you move in to punch me, I’m going to hold a bucket up in front of my face, and then your fist will just punch the inside of an empty bucket and you’ll look ridiculous - CUE

I took the oath never to get punched - SAPHONITE?

Wounding me emotionally would pay much higher dividends - DRAKE

My face is filled with boiling hot water that will shoot out everywhere if you hit me - KARL

I’ll open my mouth and swallow your whole arm - ALSO KARL?

This bullseye on my chin is not meant to be taken literally

I’d rather just do it myself

I'm the last of my species - ALEX

You’ll be late for supper - LARK

If you’re punching me, who is flying this plane?!

I’m 84-year-old Nobel Prize–winning author Toni Morrison, celebrated widely for my poetic, unsparing depictions of life in America - NAT CARRIE

My teeth are not yet ready to be harvested - KARL AGAIN.

@thecatchat some ideas

[thewordfortheday]

Anna never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying.Luke 2:37

Today let's look at the interesting character, Anna from the Bible. Married for only seven years, she spent the long years of her widowhood fasting and praying in the temple. A prophetess, she was one of the first to bear witness to Jesus.

As a young widow, she would have been the most vulnerable in the society. Perhaps she was lonely, I wonder whether she even had a child or a family to go back to. But all her devotion to her God paid a rich dividend when she saw the King Himself, as He was brought to the temple. All those years of waiting ended in her meeting the Messiah face to face. Are we devoted like Anna? Are we in anticipation of meeting our Saviour one day?

[accio-victuuri]

tomorrow, may 3rd is the last day of the “may day” holiday and i hope that btf remains on the #1 spot and will be the may day holiday champion. this holiday ( april 29 - may 3 ) is truly more of a golden week for tourism and not everyone will have the time to watch. may it pick up once they come back and more of em see the good reviews. having said that, i noticed today how people’s daily weibo account posted about btf. then CCTV 1 in the evening, reported about the may day films and only showed clips/mentioned btf. also the front page of beijing daily? btf.

part of the article that talks about btf :

Jing Runcheng said, "In terms of quality, "The King of the Sky" is best, it not only expresses the main theme, but also balances the needs of the audience. The rhythm of the film is good, not procrastinating, suitable for young audiences’ watching habits. There are laughs in the first half and tears in the middle. There is a burning point at the end, and various elements that mobilize the audience's emotions. The protagonist's growth arc is well done, the lead actor Wang Yibo brought traffic dividends to the film, and the performance also received approval. The special effects of the aircraft in the film is a breakthrough. It can be seen that director Liu Xiaoshi has a deep understanding of aircrafts.

One thing i was so nervous about when BTF was ( finally ) released was how it will be taken by the government and the air force community. So far, it all seems positive. Notice how their roadshows were private screening for military personnel too. As much as this is a movie for entertainment purposes, it also wants to send a message to the people & to the world. This was further explained in LX’s interview released today where he said,

Liu Xiaoshi believes that only by being close to the current group of test pilots, feeling, seeing, and observing can their stories be written well. "We must write the stories of the Chinese themselves. We cannot blindly imitate western movies. They ride motorcycles, and we ride motorcycles in the movies. Chinese soldiers don't do that; They go to bars, and we go too, and our troops don't like that. .” ( source )

Even in earlier interviews, LX was saying yibo was afraid to make a mistake in a “movie like this”. Yibo understood what as at stake in taking the lead role for a movie like BTF. One reason why there was virtually no training/filming leaks was they were at a secure base. and of course, he wants to give justice to the story of these men & women who protect their country.

My point is — Yibo does not shy away from projects that may be sensitive/ high stakes. or stories that no one has ever done before ( one & only for example is the first break dance themed movie in mainland china ). This is why I adore him. He does the exact opposite of what people think he should do. He could have easily chosen to do a straight up comedy movie or even a romance and call it a day. That could easily rake up some money, cause historically, movies in this may day season are of that genre and gets the top spot. But no. Even off season, he can pick traffic-star friendly themes and be done with it. Less strain for him. ( no shade to other actors but you all get the point ) No. He wants a challenge. I’m honestly in awe of what he’s been doing with his acting career and it’s a joy to be an audience for all of it. I’m excited where he takes us next 💕

[kanmom51]

I see the "Jimin gave Dior their highest stocks" argument circulating on Twitter and on Tumblr. Wanted to add my two cents: Stocks don't work that way. One single person being named brand ambassador won't influence stocks in a mega way. Not even our bestest, cuty-sexy-lovely It-boy.

Two things:

a) what influences stocks is quite complex and it's difficult to pin it down to just one factor and trying to determin what impact that one factor had b) Dior's stocks have been pretty good since September last year. And the rise in stock since Jimin was named brand ambassador wasn't that high. That's not because Jimin being brand ambassador wasn't impactful. Because it obviously was. But again, stocks are a bit more complicated than that. Also during times of crisis, luxury brands are always quite successful, since rich people usually aren't affected by those times of crisis. Sucks, but that's how it is

Still Jimin being brand ambassador is a highly successful move for both sides. Jimin holds a lot of brand power. He gets Dior a lot of recognition and gets people to shop Dior products. And of course since the new money is in Asia, naming a big asian celebrity as brand ambassador is a very clever move. And right now Jimin is one of the most famous celebrities. People can be pressed about that all day long. Won't stop the Jimin effect and won't stop people from running into Dior stores, lol (and maybe soon Tiffany stores?). And like clockwork, everyone shading Jimin for being lazy just dug their own graves. When I see people complaining about Jimin being lazy, it majorly pisses me of. But I also know I just need to sit back and wait for Jimin to do his thing. Chefs kiss.

Very well said. I completely agree.

Saying JM being announced ambassador for Dior has their stock at an all time high is so very simplistic and kinda wrong.

It is very possible that the announcement itself, on the day, caused a spike in the stock price, that would be a momentary influence, nothing more.

Just like @guacamoli-avocadorado mentioned, the stock market and stock prices are much more complex than that. Many more influences, inside brand influences and outside world influences, other stock markets are at play here. For instance, a fall of the Wall Street stock market will influence other stock markets all around the world and stocks in those markets, even if they have zero to do with Wall Street will most likely take a hit.

I would like to add some more though.

Yes, stock prices are important to assess a company's worth, but at the end of the day, the success of a brand is not in it's stock prices.

It's in the profit it makes selling their products. Cost versus income, as simple as that. The more the brand is profitable, the more successful it is. The more profit there is to divide out as dividends to their shareholders, the happier the shareholders are in it's management.

Cost and profit.

And JM is a cost, probably a very big one, but he's also an unbelievable investment for Dior. The buying power JM holds is immense, not only in the Asian markets but add to that international Army.

I mean, just go online to see how many Army have been out on shopping sprees buying Dior products all because JM was announced as ambassador. Buying clothes he wore, bags he carried, make up he had on.

Now that's buying power, and that's also a good investment.

JM is a money maker, and that's why they snatched him, Mr. brand reputation king.

Talking about brand reputation rankings, JM no. 1 and JK no. 3 - when are we finally going to be hearing who snatched JK up, eh? I guess it's all about timing, cause we know these deals are months in the making. But it sure is coming.

Dior did more than good to land JM. Good business is what it was, and every JM hater out there, well, boo to you you idiots. JM is the king, case in point.

JM might have done that by mistake, but that's exactly what the haters deserve. Instead they got a little of the very famous JM/JK Karma.

And those sounds, the screechers calling JM lazy, those sounds were silenced. Boy's been working non stop, recording, filming, shooting, being cooed by Dior from the second the solo path was announced.

This same claimed lazy JM is in tip top shape, able to move his body, do things that no other member of BTS can, not even our super fit, Mr. boxing and exercising all the damn time Jungkook.

You aren't able to control your body like that by being lazy. And that's just the latest example.

JK has spoken about what a hard worker JM is, how he admires him for it. But you know, Jikook are scripted, so probably doesn't mean a thing, right?

Yoongi said it too, but again, he's BTS, it's all a falsehood they are trying to sell us.

Then how about Taeyang then? Is he part of the BH JM propaganda machine?

I think you all know my thoughts about it, right?

I'm just as pissed as you @guacamoli-avocadorado.

Hell, JM, as per usual, quietly, humbly, shows them all exactly who he is, what he's made of and what he's worth (if only we had access to that ambassadorship contract for Dior - my guess is a shit ton of money).

And folks, believe me when I say this is just the start.

Stream Vibe.

[pilferingapples]

Les Miserables and Money: terms and conditions

One more reference post for the night, because we're about to get into the very money-talk heavy part of the book, and it's useful to know terms and what they signify, socially. Everything below is severely Abridged For Tumblr from the David Bellos book The Novel of the Century:

...Hugo's characters rarely use the official names of the coins that they handle. The language of money in nineteenth century France was vastly more complicated than what it designated in monetary terms.

There were four different ways of naming money. The sets of words that people used for the coins they exchanged or kept in their purses reflected the class to which they belonged, and the kind of transaction they were engaged in...

Poor people counted in sous (a word meaning five centimes-P) , not in francs. The sous was not a coin, but a mental unit inherited from the past...

The middle classes used different words. For income received from dividends, interest, rents and stipends and for the capital values of property and land, they spoke in livres. These were exactly equivalent in francs, so they don't imply the mental agility needed to count out small change in sous. ..

The largest coin in circulation was worth five francs and had "5 francs" embossed on it. For people who reckoned in sous, its name was the piece de cent sous, the hundred sous coin. In transactions reckoned in livres-- when larger sums of money, or richer people, were involved--the five franc coin was called an écu.

Five francs, 100 sous, five livres, one écu, one louis (for the kings on the coin for centuries), are all the same thing.

The highest-value coin in circulation was the twenty-franc gold piece...called a napoléon. In 1815, Louis XVIII minted new twenty franc coins showing not the head of "the Usurper" but his own, and these obviously had to be called "louis" as well. But these new louis were worth foir times what an ecu...was worth... Only context and mental arithmetic can tell you whether what's at stake is a louis d'or, a golden one, or a silver louis worth a quarter of that.

[creator-indy]

I’m praying that the dividend king has a card motif cause that would be cool

[bleachbleachbleach]

This is going to start as a vent and then transition into me being honestly a little nuts about Bleach filler, but man, this morning I received the FROSTIEST AO3 comment, which was a pretty atrocious way to start a Tuesday. Because I was like, well, I didn't actually need any help feeling bad about myself, I'm good at that on my own, but thanks I guess!! Tuesday morning is just. So early in the day and so early in the week for that.

My traditional response to this is to write more, and put more words between me and whatever thing I wrote before, but today I had meetings scheduled from 7-10:30PM, which meant I'd have to wait until after that to do any running away. But then the meetings ran over, and now I actually just have to write a bunch of meeting-related emails (and this very important post LOL), so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

BUT. Sometime after 9:30 I started to lose my damn mind and ensconced part of myself in one of B3's beloved pastimes, Boring Bleach LARP, and it was a very good time, all is resolved

Because we were talking about political capital and what factors can compel someone to expend it and the general tendency to safeguard it above all else, and I was like, man, considering Hitsugaya appears to have basically no strategy around his political capital, he's doing very well! Because while I think Hitsugaya is successfully strategic in a lot of different avenues, I'd be hard pressed to be convinced that the kind of political capital development/maintenance I'm talking about is on that list. He is constantly involved in random nonsense that almost certainly have more potential political consequences than gains (no one cares if you mount a *successful* defense against the Bount, but it does matter if it goes very poorly and then requires everyone else to also have to get involved. See also: those dinosaur clone arrancar in the Advance Team filler, the amount of meaningless commuting he and Matsumoto did in Movie 1; transporting the King's Seal in Movie 2 (and literally everything else about that movie); running around Rukongai with the 11th in Movie 3; Hell Gate shenanigans in Movie 4; taking care of the 11th during the Bount Arc, etc.) The Gotei seems to have generally pretty low standards as far as what you can get away with and what your reputation can weather (unless Hollowfication is involved), but that is a whole lot of nonsense with no inherent payoff. The most motley resume, the results of most of which were poor to middling! No political strategist in their right mind would advise any of this. (Luckily this is not a job that is appears anyone has ever heard of in the Gotei.)

But basically everyone respects and trusts him! Not just to put in the time and do the work off on his own where they don't have to deal with it. Other captains are out here regularly taking orders from Hitsugaya in Bleach filler. I don't actually think we as an audience have ever witnessed a reason why they should, but they don't seem to have any reservations about it. I'd say it's because none of them have any concept of political strategy either but I think half of them actually do?? And yet. I feel like this is like the one thing Hitsugaya puts zero thought into and ends up reaping huge dividends from, at the same time as a lot of the things he actually works for are doing their damndest to not pay off. Just to spite him, probably.