#semi-ic

[chaosprinceundivided]

Literally Jaz'mahnn:

What did he do this time while he is just existing!?

[sunliteve]

hiyori's checklist of ruining constantine's image constantine accomplishments:

giving compliments ✔

hugging ✔

bloody mary cuddles ✔ (in my body, but it still counts!)

making tea together ✔

spontaneous evening walks ✔

birthday café date ✔

handmade birthday gift ✔ (stunning work!)

sharing family memories ✔

nagisa appreciation ✔

concert attendance ✔

real smile ✔ (!!)

hear him sing ✘ (?)

see his merman form [ ]

[something here was thoroughly scribbled out.] [ ]

receive generous praise (high priority!!) [ ]

[general-kalani]

@kaiju-crimson-storyandask's Deputy losing their mind over the amount of Joseph doubles.

Cobbs & Amos: ... I don't count do I-

[in-your-reflection]

I JUST REALIZED I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RATING THOSE POSTS ON A 1-10 SCALE FUCK

[der-karibisch-heyder]

Caribbean Coinage!

So on a whim I decided to look into the money of the time the Heyder family. Pieces of Eight, Doubloons, Guineas are all common and popular sorts of money in pirate fiction, but what the hell do they actually mean? More importantly, what value did they hold among the everyday people living in the time? Well here’s what I think I’ve worked out, feel free to correct any mistakes I’ve made in my reading...

(Pictured: reproduction Pieces of Eight)

First we’ve got Spanish coinage, which generally consists of the Real, the Peso, the Escudo, the Pistole, and the Onza. The Real was the base coin, and it along with the Peso were made of silver. A single Peso was worth eight Reales, hence the nickname of “Piece of Eight”. An Escudo was a gold coin, and it was worth two Pesos. The “doubloon” was an English slang term for any Spanish gold coin, but it is commonly assumed to have meant to be in referral to the Pistole coin, as the name derives from “double” - hence, a Double Escudo. Spanish coin was largely considered the most valuable and profitable coinage in the Caribbean as it was for a long time the only coin minted in the New World.

8 Reales = 1 Peso (Piece of Eight)

2 Pesos = 1 Escudo

2 Escudo = 1 Pistole (Doubloon)

8 Escudo = 1 Onza

(Pictured: 17th century English Shilling)

Next is the English currency, which fun fact, is the world’s oldest longest running form of currency in history. Anyway, the English coinage consists of the Farthing, the Half-Penny (Hay Penny), the Penny (plurally known as Pence), the Shilling, the Crown, the Pound, and the Guinea. The Pound and the Guinea were nominally equal, just the Pound was silver and the Guinea was gold. Because of this, when the value of gold relative to silver went up, the Guinea could be worth up to 20% more than a Pound, but for simplicity’s sake I’ll keep them equal here (by the time Devil’s Eye begins anyway, the Guinea had been legally fixed at around that value anyway). The Guinea was also the second coin to be minted in the New World, starting around the 1660s, and thus became the primary competitor to the Spanish coinage system.

2 Farthings = 1 Half-Penny

4 Farthings = 1 Penny

12 Pence = 1 Shilling

5 Shillings = 1 Crown

20 Shillings, or 4 Crowns = 1 Pound

Now what gets interesting is the intersection between the English and Spanish values. Per weight and volume of precious metals, a Pound Sterling was equivalent to one Peso. Thus, a Doubloon was quadruple the value of a Guinea, which is probably why it is specifically “Spanish Gold” that seems to hold so much value in nautical fiction over any other coinage. For the curious, it takes 24 Pence to equal a Spanish Reale.

(Pictured: Dutch Lion Dollar from 1660)

The only Dutch coinage I found much reading on during this time period for colonial trade was Lion Dollar. Intentionally designed for international trade it’s value fluctuated between four and five Shillings, so it’s roughly equal to an English Crown. The English liked to mockingly call these “dog dollars” due to the fact it featured not a monarch (for the Netherlands had none) but a lion printed on it. I don’t have much to add here, if anyone knows more about international Dutch coinage and trade during the 17th and 18th centuries I’d like to hear about it. And of course, with simple math, we can surmise that it takes four to five Lion Dollars to equal a Pound, and thus 16 to 20 of them to equal a Doubloon.

(Pictured: a Louis d’Or from 1640)

Lastly there’s the French currency, which I honestly have found conflicting or at least unclear sources on. Gold Louis, or Louis d’Ors, are the gold standard from the 1640s onwards, originally meant to be equal in value to the Spanish Escudo (Doubloon). Historically what really made them important is that they were among the first machine-minted coins ever made, resulting in their symmetrical roundness, making chipping their edges for shavings difficult to do undetected.

Before the Louis d’Or came to be, French money was sort of a disorganized mess. Compared to the rest of Europe, France was still using coins dating back to the middle ages and late antiquity, namely the Livre which was supposed to equal a pound of silver, the Sou, which 20 were the equivalent to one Livre, and the Denier, which 12 were the equivalent to one Sou. These values were kept when the Louis d’Or was minted, and brought into line to equal the following:

48 Livres = 1 Double Louis d’Or

24 Livres = 1 Louis d’Or

12 Livres = 1 Demi- Louis d’Or

6 Livres = 1 Louis d’Argent (Silver Coin)

20 Sou = 1 Livre

12 Denier = 1 Sou

Curiously, there was never minted a 1 Livre coin. Also, the Denier was minted in values of 3 and 6. The Livre was cancelled as an actual coin, but kept as a unit of measurement of value. The Sou was about the same value as an English Penny, and as stated earlier the intent of the Louis d’Or was to equal the Spanish Pistole in value.

It takes 192 Pence to equal a Pound, which is roughly the same as a Peso/Piece of Eight. It takes four Pesos to equal a Pistole, which is the commonly accepted value for a Doubloon. So it takes 768 Pence to equal a Doubloon.

But if 20 Sou equals a Livre, and a Louis d’Or is worth 24 Livre, that means a Louis d’Or is worth only 480 Sou... but the Sou was thought to be equal to the Penny. How come the Louis d’Or is worth almost double that much? Could it be it was the Denier that is worth as much as a Penny? In that case, a Louis d’Or would be worth as much as 5760 Pence! So I really have no idea what’s going on with the value of the Louis d’Or. It could be information is just incomplete or even as simple as contradictory, but regardless it is amusing that France felt obligated to make their national gold currency the most valuable of the lot.

So what all the fuss for this anyway? Well in Devil’s Eye, when the Heyder family comes to join the crew of Captain Hurley’s Barracuda, the ship is sorely lacking in remaining crew. She has her captain, the navigator, the cook and carpenter, and a doctor. Part of what led to their financial woes once they surrendered piracy? A diminished crew means no purser and no quartermaster. Ravyn may be strong willed and witty, but economical she is not - nor is the helmsman Amir, the cook and carpenter Singlung, or their doctor calling himself Tripoli.

Fortunately for them, the Heyders joining brings along a very well traveled and financially savvy man in Robert... so it falls to him to manage the Barracuda’s finances and supply logistics. His daughter Helen and son Jacob are adept assistants in the matter as well.

“With Captain Ravyn’s habits, it’s a pretty thankless job at that. For someone who wants all of the money ever, she’s pretty irresponsible at throwing it around without making sure the exchanges are right.”

“You know when you tell someone you don’t have the time or money to make something happen, and they tell you to make it happen anyway? That’s Captain Hurley.”

“It’s a uniquely Ravyn sort of headache. I don’t have to put up with that nonsense with La Demonia’s crew at least.”

[rusted-clocks]

Rusty glocks.

Ah, my own equivalent of Glock Anon.

[matrotas-muse-hub]

“Legends are Eternal.” (I had read your rules but my dumb brain somehow skipped over the password. XD)

RULES READ

"How about we make a few?"

[phoenixcatch7]

Lmao I'd love to see a fic where batman like. Doesn't talk at all. He just 'hn' and 'hrm's his way through the story like a Minecraft villager. All the bat kids understand him perfectly.

I actually know people irl who can do this, and I've done it myself during bad migraines, it's practically a second language, so I know it's totally possible to have full conversations between two speakers XD!

It'd be another degree of separation between Brucie Wayne, the ditzy, breathy playboy and batman, who used up all his vocal spoons for the day and now communicates solely through unintelligible grunts and sharp hand gestures when he doesn't need to talk to strangers.

Unfortunately, the best way to learn grunt speak is the same way most languages are learned, and there's no written word (outside of emoji, of course): immersion. And the justice league are no longer considered strangers.

This leads to:

Hal: which way do we go, spooky? Where's the tracker pointing?

B: *grunt*

Hal: what?

B: *insistent grunt*

Hal:..... Can we point?

B: *dour look* *slowly raises arm to point left down the street* *sharp, insistent grunt*

Hal, dryly: don't strain yourself.

-

Damian: greyson. I am calling because father has had an injury and is bed bound for tonight, however Alfred is downstairs and the rest are still on patrol. I am still in the early stages of learning father's intonations. Please translate.

Nightwing, eldest, regularly called for exactly this reason by just about everyone Bruce has ever spoken with since he was a kid, ranging from arkham guards to jl members: *heavy sigh* put him on.

Bruce: hrng...

Nightwing: He's telling you to close the curtains and keep the noise down, he's got a headache.

Damian, over the sound of footsteps and fabric rustling: it truly is just like another language.

N: nah, it's a lot of probability. I've known b for years, I can guess pretty well. There's a lot we can say. For example, that grunt actually carried a lot more meaning, I just trimmed it down.

Damian: truly?

N: yup! If I had to be pedantic, it actually meant 'I am in quite a lot of discomfort, the cause of which is my head, and I am struggling to manage it on my own. Please aid in my cause, my darling sons whom I love dearly -'

Damian: *muffled noise through the phone*

N: that'll be him telling us to shut up. But you can see why I asked you to close the curtains.

Damian: fascinating. I shall take this under advisement.

-

B, exhausted after a long day of board meetings as Brucie: *moody silence*

Gordon: Batman, how's it going?

B: *glower* *drawn out grunt*

Gordon: that bad, huh?

-

Supes, during a briefing: I believe it would be best if we attacked from the north, we've enough flying members to crest the mountains and ambush then that way - Batman?

B: *quiet grumble, with pointer fingers moving in semicircles*

Supes: ah, I see. You're right, we'd be too visible if the sun rose behind them*turns to see the other members standing behind him* what?

Flash, bowing at the waist, palms together over his head: teach me your ways, oh mighty bat-speaker.

[pokimoko]

The fact that Main-verse Ooo is as good and as kind as it is (relative to the other universes shown so far, at least, it's obviously not perfect) all because of the same character that starts off as the OG series' antagonist, the person we were made to see as the bad guy (albeit an often ineffectual one) for several seasons, is making me lose my mind.

Imagine finding out the guy you spent your childhood beating up and saving princesses from is in fact a driving catalyst behind you being able to exist, and not only exist but also live in a world that knows what kindness is. All because that man, the same man who you've witnessed do terrible things, once met a little girl and taught her how to be good.

Simon's story really shows us that even if you lose your way and forget how it is to be good yourself, the world keeps the memory for you. That act of love Simon showed Marcy by protecting her and seeing her as more than the monster she thought herself to be created ripples upon ripples, small at first but eventually enough to help give their wreckage of a world—a world that easily could have been forsaken, its goodness overlooked because of its inhospitable remains—a chance to grow into something beautiful. Because of those very same ripples Simon created, the people of Ooo grew up in a world where they know enough about kindness that they were able and willing to spare the 'bad guy' some, to see beyond the wreckage and allow him to grow too.

In saving Marceline, Simon helped to not only to save the world, but also himself.

[demimonde-semigoddess]

Tbh I think Ada is really underrated as Kitten Burst characters go.

[chaosprinceundivided]

Rulek's eye traced out in the unstable ripples of Doomkeep's Tzeentchian locus.

"I can see you, little soul."

[petermorwood]

A sundae for Sunday.

But this isn't ice-cream.

It's a carving (!) by Manfred Wild, using rock crystal and semi-precious stones, and I found it here when I was sourcing images for this post.

The website description is a single unbroken paragraph, so here's a more readable version.

The glass (is) formed from exceptionally high clarity rock crystal quartz with faceted citrine rondelles and 18 karat yellow gold banding. The various and colourful “flavours” of ice cream (are) carved from thulite for strawberry, beige jasper for mocha, aventurine quartz for mint, yellow calcite for orange, white quartz for vanilla and cappuccino jasper for chocolate. (All are) topped with a bright carnelian cherry, a wafer cookie of Kalahari jasper and white dolomite whipped cream. (This) generous portion (is) topped with a gold parasol accented in sections with translucent blue, green and purple enamel over guilloche.

Amaury Guichon should do one in sugar-glass and kinds of chocolate, if he hasn't already.

I'm also remembering the time, in Germany for a friend's wedding, we went into an Eiscafé in Speyer. We don't eat elaborate ice-cream very often, so when we do we like to catch up for lost time.

What we hadn't noticed was that the Kugel (scoop) measure in this café was rather larger than usual, so when our orders came out, they looked like - in fact were - these:

On the left, @dduane’s chocolate chip, mocha and double chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. On the right, my mint choc-chip, strawberry, salt-caramel, vanilla, mango and cream. We did splendid execution on both, but had dinner a couple of hours later than originally intended...

Neither was as long-lasting as the carved-crystal-and-minerals one, but the memory section of my Mind Palate confirms that they were infinitely more flavoursome.

Yum.

[general-kalani]

Voice usually: Small replies, usually leaves quite quickly.

Yin: Fucking breathes.

Voice: SO YOU CHOSE DEATH.

[snowbunnytrick]

i-i-i will break his jaw

[fisheito]

i told myself that yakuei only had one position then i proved myself (sorta) wrong

my fave face here:

[cinimuffin]

Trying to do some weekly winter mons