#we're using all the adjectives today

[kaleidoscope1967eyes]

Dark Prince Luke Thoughts™:

Tagging: @stonegoldsxcrxt, @myevilmouse, @spacesurfing, @laserbrains, @ancient-stardust, @hansonveggieclub, @fandom-gal44, @starobi, @dailydragon08, @lex-the-flex, @rogue-kenobi, @princessxkenobi, @demigoddessqueens, @micheleamidalajedi, @lukefics, @xo-yucky-femcel-bunny-xo, @rogue-kenobi

Buckle up, this one's a long one!

Warnings: suggestive stuff at the end, but nothing descriptive

Your wedding was, to put it simply, extravagant. What else would you expect from the literal Crown Prince of the Galactic Empire?

Luke was initially against making the event of your marriage a spectacle for the entire galaxy to see; he would have preferred a small, private ceremony on Naboo with only your loved ones present.

Palpatine, however, had other plans. Not only would your wedding be a way to demonstrate the immense wealth of the Empire, it would also generate immense sympathy and support from the public.

Luke was without a doubt the galaxy's favorite bachelor--closely followed by the suave but scandalous Prince Han of Corellia--as well as the Empire's golden boy. By marrying a beloved member of the notoriously rebellious Alderaanian nobility, Luke would prove the unity of the galaxy under Imperial rule.

You and Luke were essentially engaged before you even had a chance to get to know each other. Palpatine had ordered for every eligible bachelorette from the galaxy's wealthiest and most powerful families to be presented to the young prince so he may choose a bride. Luke did not have a say in this, but he feared what would happen to the poor girls if he refused to take part, so he reluctantly agreed to it.

Choosing you was actually an act of rebellion. As a member of a lesser Alderaanian noble house, you were accompanying Leia as her aide, and neither of you truly wanted to be there. You weren't meant to be an option. When Luke held his hand out to you--not Leia, not any of the other princesses or heiresses, you--the galaxy stopped. This wasn't supposed to happen, but the look in his eyes told you it could.

Just because your marriage was arranged doesn't mean it was a loveless one--in fact, you were the power couple of the Empire. You were attracted to him the moment you first saw him in person, and you quickly fell for each other over the course of your wedding preparations.

Despite his mysterious exterior, he only ever treated you with kindness and respect--he was nothing like the entitled, spoiled prince you envisioned in your mind. You could tell there was light beneath the dark exterior the Empire forced upon him. He simultaneously respected your space while acknowledging your existence in a way that made you feel like you were more than just a 'lesser noblewoman.' And he was so, so, beautiful.

You were so genuine and real with him in a world where most people weren't. You didn't blindly worship or despise him--you treated him like a person, an equal. Because of this, he felt a strong desire to protect and cherish you, and as plans for the wedding were underway, he made sure you were treated like the beautiful, powerful princess you were meant to be.

You shuddered at the thought of just how much your outfit cost. Your hair was done up in elaborate braids decorated with pastel-colored flowers from your home planet. A tiara of pearls and diamonds encircling a corusca gem adorned the top of your head, and from it extended a veil of intricately woven Alderaanian lace. The dress itself was crafted from the galaxy's finest shimmershilk and embroidered with glimmering, crystal-encrusted designs. It hugged your figure beautifully, the skirt trailing elegantly behind you as you walked down the aisle.

Luke's outfit was equally as stunning: he wore a sleek black military uniform decorated with a crimson sash and various medals signifying his rank. A cape of cyrene silk draped across his shoulders, a reference to his Naboo heritage. As a final touch, a silver crown resembling rays of sunlight sat upon his head, reinforcing his almost deified status in the galaxy.

After over a year of planning, the time came for your wedding. It was the event of the century--every holonews station held countdowns to the day it would be broadcasted live. It felt like the entire galaxy was on the edge of its seat in anticipation.

The ceremony took place in the Senate Plaza as opposed to the Imperial Palace, as your marriage symbolized the unity of all nations, cultures, and planets under the influence of the Empire--even the rebellious ones.

Hundreds of thousands--if not millions--of spectators surrounded the venue, desperate to get even a glimpse of the royal couple. Security was tight due to fears of potential rebel interference. While there were handfuls of protestors in the crowd, nothing escalated beyond shouts of 'death to the Empire!'

As there had never been a royal wedding quite like yours in the recent history of the galaxy, there was no real precedent for how things were supposed to be, so the traditions you followed were amalgamations of ones from various cultures.

The two of you walked hand-in-hand down the aisle, followed by a procession of your family members and close friends: the Naberrie family behind Luke, and the Organa family behind you. Also present were Ahkelar and Arakhmil, his bodyguards; Sabé, his childhood governess; and Mon Mothma, your political mentor. The presence of your loved ones symbolized how your marriage would unite your two families--more importantly, assimilating them into the Imperial Family.

The premier Coruscanti philharmonic orchestra played a fusion of traditional Alderaanian and Naboo folk music as you made your way down the aisle, and onlookers cheered as they waved Imperial flags and showered you with flower petals.

When you reached the altar in front of the Senate Building, your entourage stopped to kneel behind you, and you and Luke turned to face each other, hands intertwined. The love in his eyes and gentle smile he gave you made your heart weep. Whatever your future as an Imperial Princess had in store, you would always find solace and comfort in him.

The officiant of the wedding ceremony was none other than the Emperor himself. You did your best to maintain your composure; his presence was absolutely sickening. Adjacent to him stood Darth Vader, the human incarnation of a shadow, if he truly even is human. Thankfully, you had your soon-to-be husband there to keep you focused and calm.

Palpatine began with a speech about the glory and righteousness of the Empire, how it brought together two people destined to rule the galaxy with the strength and power of their love. In typical Palpatine fashion, it was moving and captivating on the surface, but it was little more than thinly-veiled propaganda. His declarations of peace were merely metaphors for submission. The most obvious was how he spoke of a bride's devotion and duty to her husband, how she must remain obedient to him--a subtle but direct threat to the Alderaanians viewing the ceremony.

"Do you, Lady Y/N of Alderaan, pledge your life to Prince Luke of the Galactic Empire and take him to be your husband?"

"...I do."

"And do you, Prince Luke, Heir to House Palpatine and Crown Prince of the Galactic Empire, take Lady Y/N of Alderaan to be your bride?"

"I do."

Darth Vader stepped forward, presenting the rings that would cement your status within the Empire--by putting them on, you would exchange your freedom for limitless power. The rings had matching flamegems, glowing and pulsing with the heat of a miniature star. Taking your hand in his, Luke slipped the ring onto your finger, and you followed suite for him.

"May the two of you remain forever faithful to one another, and may you uphold the legacy of the Imperial Family with your benevolent leadership and a surfeit of children. With the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife, Prince and Princess Consort of the Galactic Empire."

Luke placed his hands on the side of your face, whispering 'I love you' and kissing you deeply. The crowed cheered even louder than they had before as you and Luke embraced each other.

The wedding ceremony was followed by an even more extravagant reception within the Senate Building. You and your new husband had changed into attire more suitable for engaging in the festivities: you wore a sultry evening gown with a plunging neckline and striking slit along the side, and Luke wore elegant, loose robes showing off his toned physique. It was near impossible for anyone to keep their eyes off you; you were without a doubt the most attractive couple the galaxy had ever known.

The party was filled with lively music, dancing, exquisite food and drink, and plenty of company. Prince Han was causing quite the riot. The two of you spent time socializing with your friends and families, but you also had many, many guests to greet and thank for attending. You met with dignitary after dignitary, spending more time making small talk with strangers than you did partying. In a rare instance of kindness, Vader insisted on taking over to let you enjoy the moment. The greetings stopped shortly after.

In spite of how reserved he usually was, Luke absolutely adored getting to show you off on the dance floor. You were his gorgeous bride, his beloved princess, his first and his only love--the one person he never had to worry about losing. The smile on your face and the sound of your laughter as he waltzed with you was enough to keep him happy for the rest of his life.

Representatives of every star system were responsible for presenting the royal couple with a wedding gift unique to the resources and cultures of their planets. Naboo had gifted a Guarlara mare and stallion named Veré and Set, whose names were taken from a famous folktale about eternal lovers. Aside from being exclusive symbols of nobility, Guarlaras mated for life and therefore represented true love; as you and Luke were avid lovers of animals, you were elated to receive such beautiful creatures.

Your adoptive aunt and uncle, Queen Breha and Viceroy Bail of Alderaan, presented you with a pair of droids who had served Padmé Amidala during the Clone Wars: R2-D2, an astromech droid, and C-3PO, a protocol droid. "They will serve you well on your new adventures as a married couple," Princess Leia told you. You understood what she meant--the droids were specially modified for untraceable, clandestine communication.

Much to your horror, Orn Free Taa of Ryloth presented you with an enslaved lethan twi'lek woman in what was to be the scandal of the century. You had no choice but to accept; not only would rejecting her create a rift between the economically important planet of Ryloth and the Empire, but it would have her thrown back into the treacherous slavery underworld. Luke ensured you and the woman, whose name was Yuna Dawani, that he would arrange to have her become a free and fully paid employee of the royal household.

The festivities lasted deep into the night, and by the end of it all, you were exhausted. However, that didn't stop you from enjoying your wedding night--as soon as you returned to your shared chambers, you relished in spending the rest of the night in each other's arms, passionately making love to one another.

[samoankpoper21]

JJK Men as Passenger Princesses

IMAGE CTTO!!

Summary: Their car is in the shop and have no means of getting around until you offer to be their personal uber driver for the day. It strikes them that they've never seen you behind the wheel before, always opting to pick you up. What kind of chaos will ensue?

A/N: In California there's an unspoken rule where a yellow light translates to green 🤣 Don't ask me why 🤣 Also I do not condone/endorse speeding or reckless driving but my dad swears I am a reckless driver 🥲 As always the reader is a chubby!/POC! reader~! Enjoy~!!

Gojo Satoru: "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiii babe," leaning over he pecks your cheek, rubbing his hands up and down the length of his thighs. He's giddy with anticipation: this is the first time he's ever seen you drive! "Got your seatbelt on?"

"Of course." Putting the car in drive you slowly peel away from his apartment complex easing into traffic as conversation ebbed and flowed like water. He hadn't realized how relaxed he was until you put your hand on his thigh smirking. Jokingly he peels your hand away from his thigh throwing it back to you. "Excuse me! I am not some hussy where you can easily put your hands where your please."

"Breh really?"

"Don't 'breh' me. I am a princess today." Giggling you ask, "Well princess what do you feel like eating? I'm starving."

"I don't know you pick."

"No because every time I pick you disagree with it so where do you want to eat?"

"Are YOU part of the menu?"

"I meant food babe sheesh."

"I can't help it if you're sitting there looking like the finest chocolate pudding I've ever seen."

"Ew what," you giggle. "We're going to In-N-Out that's final." With Target being the last stop you pull into his parking spot where Satoru was going to instruct you to pull in but you surprised him when you put the gear in reverse, one hand on the back of his headrest, the other on the wheel reversing perfectly into the designated area. Putting the car in park you look at him scowling and say, "Alright baby let's-"

"Who the fuck are you fucking besides me?"

"Excuse me?!"

"How did you learn how to reverse perfectly like that? Is it Nanami? He's the only one I know who reverses like that?"

"Breh really?" 🤦🏽‍♀️

Kento Nanami: Nervous was the last adjective he would use to describe the nerves that were running through him at the moment. Anxious? Most accurate. He has never once been a passenger, always opting to give you the princess treatment regardless of his fatigue. "Come oooonnnn Nanamiiiiiiiii let me do this for you. It's the least I can do since you're always driving us around." Sighing in defeat he reluctantly agreed leading him to his current predicament; you zooming on the freeway as he gripped your door handle. Glancing over he watched your right hand on the wheel, the left propped up on the window sill holding your tilted head when it dawned on him that you were unaware of how fast you were actually going. This is how she normally drives?? Would he describe you as reckless? Slightly. No regards to anyone's life except your one? Leaning toward it. "Darling," he hisses out through gritted teeth.

"Yeah?"

"You do realize the speed limit is 65 right?"

"Yeah why?" Looking to your speedometer you gasp out, "Oh shit!" you were pulling 90 and not a cop car in sight. You sheepishly glance in his direction and say, "At least we didn't get pulled over."

Geto Suguru: Having the music low enough as to not disturb Nanako and Mimiko you and Suguru chatted quietly about all types of random topics. Being stuck in traffic always brought out the worst in every human and today was no exception. Bumper to bumper there was finally a break as the line of cars started flowing. "Finally." you huff out. As you pressed on the gas to accelerate a bit more a car cut in front of you jumping to the next lane over making you stomp on your brakes. "Mother-!"

"Babe the girls."

"That doesn't give him the right to drive like a maniac!"

"I'm just glad that we're all safe." At the top of your lungs you yell out while pointing at them, "You're lucky I have my kids in the car with me!"

"Babe the windows are rolled up." 🤦🏽‍♀️

Choso: "Babe is it alright if the kids come along?"

"Yuji, Megs, and Nobara?"

"Yes, they won't stop hounding me about watching you drive."

"Y'all need to chill" you laugh out speaking into the steering wheel. "Y'all make it seem like me driving is on the same level of the Mona Lisa."

"Well it kinda is."

"And who's fault is that? Every time I offer to meet you at whatever location you refuse saying and I quote, 'You're a princess and deserve to be treated like one.'"

"But you are."

"Cho," you squeal. "That's beside the point." Chuckling you couldn't help but blush at the deep timbre of his voice. "Well get the kids ready. I'm 5 minutes out."

"Ok. See you in a bit. Be safe."

"Always."

Pulling in front of the Itaodri house you found a lone, pale figure with a scar spreckled across his cheek surrounded by 2 overhype teens, one silently judging them. Rolling your window down youyell out, "Uber for Choso and co?"

"Here, here, here!" Yuji yells back. Parking the car you unlock the doors telling them to squeeze in the back, Choso sliding in beside you kissing your cheek. "Hi babe." the baritone in his voice making you internally shiver.

"Hi handsome. So where we off to?"

"Groceries, game stop for Megs, Target for Nobara, and maybe a gym store. Yuji wants some boxing gloves."

"Okay. But y'all better not judge me." Rolling her eyes Nobara asks, "Why would we judge you?" Offering her a sheepish grin while eyeing her in the rear view you answer, "I play my music real loud, sometimes have my own concerts and it's on shuffle." Dismissing your answer with a wave of her hand she retorts, "Please. Your shuffle can't be that bad."

"I listen to everything."

"Said by everyone." The drive to Target was approximately 20 minutes; within those 20 minutes your passengers went through a range of emotions: ready to fight (Set It Off - Lil Kayla), paying tribute to a late grandmother (Helena), felt like they were part of a rave (rampage), lost in translation twice (SKZ and a Samoan song), rapped along to Ice Cube, and finally belting out Keyshia Cole's Love. Parking the car you shut it off taking in your passengers. "Wow," Nobara breaks the silence. "You really do listen to everything." Laughing you look to Choso who quietly says, "You should sing to me more often."

Toji Fushiguro: "You're not gonna make it."

"Oh so you're doubting me now?"

"Look doll I've been driving longer than you have."

"Longer driving experience doesn't equate to greatness." You were doing 50MPH in a 35MPH trying to get to the green light before it turns yellow. The problem? You would need to make a wide left turn to continue about your ways. Stomping your foot on the gas the light turned yellow. "Y/N!" Toji hissed. Smirking you crossed the thresh hold while the light remained yellow; easing a bit you flicked the steering wheel to the left lifting off the throttle making the car careen smoothly into the lane. Quickly and simultaneously releasing the throttle and straightening the angle of your wheel you continued smooth sailing. A beat of silence passed before Toji huffed out, "That. was. FUCKING AWESOME! Where did you learn that babe?"

"Fuck you dawg you thought I wouldn't make it."

"Fuck babe that just turned me on so bad." Giggling you flick your head ahead. "There's an abandoned alleyway straight ahead. You can put that doubtful mouth to use."

"Yes ma'am."

Ryomen Sukuna: 3PM - 5PM on a weekday is practically the cursed time for anyone operating a vehicle: school buses fill the roads, drivers are trying to maneuver around other cars by any means necessary, taking short cuts or trying to wedge themselves into cramped spaces, horns blaring. Offering to take Sukuna to run his errands you now found yourself stuck bumper to bumper with rapper Mozzy playing in the background. You pressed on the gas inching forward a little when a tan colored mini coup cut you off, making you slam on your brakes and begin to fervently press your horn. Rolling down your window you yell out, "Don't know how to fucking signal asshole?! Use your fucking eyes next time!" You swerve into the left lane where you manage to pass the mini coup flipping the driver off in the process. Stunned Sukuna bellows out, "Remind me to never drive in front of you."

"Oh so you were thinking 'bout leaving huh? Because if you are I swear to god I will drive this car into incoming traffic and we both gon' be goners, how 'bout that?"

"Jesus chirst woman where did you even get that logic?! You're insane!"

"Okay and? You love my insane ass." Smirking he clasps your thigh squeezing it in agreement. "Damn straight I do."

©ALL WORKS BELONG TO SAMOANKPOPER21; ANY INFRINGEMENT OR PLAGIARISM WILL BE REPORTED!! DO NOT STEAL MY WORK!!

[infinite8revisions]

Marius de Romanus

This is gonna be a long 'en!

Warning: This post contains criticisms of Marius.

Warning: This post contains discussions of grooming and abuse.

Ahhh, Marius de Romanus! Everyone's favorite master of exposition! The harborer of "Those that must be kept" and one of the Ancients! Don't let his knowledge and aristocratic airs fool you! Marius is still...I want to say human...but let's go with...imperfect! Bro still gotta put his shoes on one at a time is my point. Let's break down some of his traits. I've got a few adjectives that I think fit pretty well.

Narcissistic, Pretentious, and Pedophilic.

I'll explain, but first, 3 things!

1. There aren't any official book-accurate portrayals of Marius (yet) so we're going to have to deal with the short dark haired Marius from the "Queen Of The Damned" movie (which portrayed his personality well imo). Honestly, I thought about using pics of Lucius Malfoy for a split second! I mean he's a pretty close fit! LMAO!!

"He was a tall fair creature whose yellow hair was almost white. He had hard blue eyes, and a delicate face, covered with a thin layer of blood and ash to make him look more human to the mortal eye....He had large hands but they were slender and the fingers were fine."-Thorne: Blood and Gold

Above: Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy.

2. Sorry in advance about all the quotes! It's just that Marius does a damn good job of making my points for me! I'm over here re-reading sections like-

3. Bit of a disclaimer here. Criticizing a character does NOT mean you don't like that character or the role they play in the story. I'm not sure why, but with Marius specifically, people can get a bit defensive about him. So this is the final warning: Not everything said in this post will be positive.

Now, where to begin with this man? Probably with the elephant in the room and the most severe of allegations. Pedophile.

Many people (including myself) call Marius a groomer. Sometimes there is pushback on this with people saying that while some of his relationships are viewed as inappropriate today, they were fine during the time. They also state that Marius is not a groomer, just someone who fell in love. I want to make it known that Marius himself admits to consciously grooming Amadeo (Armand).

"Never before had I wanted such a thing, to make a blood drinker for my own companionship, indeed to educate a mortal youth for this very purpose, and to groom him expertly that he might be the finest choice." Blood and Gold: Chapter 19

I debated on using the words pedophile, hebephile, and ephebophile when referring to Marius, but there's definitely a pattern. The fact is, when it comes to his romantic partners, his infatuation and lust for them frequently start around the ages 10-19. This is true of Amadeo, Lydia (Pandora), and Bianca. Let's take a look-

Above- Armand and Pandora: Queen Of The Damned (2002)

"Hebephilia is the sexual interest by adults in pubescent children who are in early adolescence, typically ages 11–15."

Marius claims that Amadeo was "no older than 15" when he rescues him, but I have to note that during their first sexual encounter soon after, Amadeo recounts that he "was too young for a wet pleasure" (The Vampire Armand: Chapter 3). This could still mean he was 15 and a later bloomer, but in general, it suggests (and I believe) he was probably younger.

Marius also insinuates that Amadeo was the only one of his boys with who he had a physical relationship, but I don't know how much I believe that. Especially considering he knew of the sexual play that went on between the boys at the palazzo.

Above: The Musicians Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) Italian 1597

"Pedophilia is defined as a sexual interest by adults in prepubescent children.(This word is often used as an overarching term for an adult who has attraction to anyone under legal age.)"

For Pandora, Marius asks her father for her betrothal when he is 25 and she is 10, and again when he is 30 and she is 15. Of course, they don't end up together until she is older, not because of him, but because her father forbade it.

"Now to the specific recollection. I was ten years old,..." "I can calculate that he was only twenty-five. But I’m not certain." "He lingered. “Goodbye, little Lydia,” he said. He then spoke under his breath to my Father, and I heard my Father say: “You are out of your mind!”My Father turned his back on Marius, who gave me a sad smile and disappeared. “What did he mean? What happened?” I asked my Father. “What’s the matter?” “Listen, Lydia,” said my Father. “Have you in all your readings come across the word ‘betrothed’?” “Yes, Father, of course.” “Well, that sort of wanderer and dreamer likes nothing better than to betroth himself to a young girl of ten because it means she is not old enough to marry and he has years of freedom, without the censure of the Emperor. They do it all the time.”" Pandora: Chapter 2

"Ephebophilia is the sexual interest by adults in pubescent mid-to-late adolescents typically ages 15-19."

Lastly, Bianca is kind of an exception. He meets her when she is 19ish (Blood and Gold: Chapter 18) and, by most cultural standards (then and now), technically an adult. He held a fascination with Bianca much like Amadeo, but she was too old and tainted for him to groom. Sounds harsh and unbelievable doesn't it? This is what Marius had to say

Note: Marius is talking out loud to himself here. He's speaking as if he is talking to Amadeo, but Amadeo is not there.

"Except she was already a young woman when I came upon her," I responded, "educated and forced into life, indeed a murderess; yes, indeed, a murderess, a child woman guilty of dreadful crimes. And you, you were a helpless child. I could mold you and change you, all of which I've done." Blood and Gold: Chapter 19

Sounds like a lot of those toxic podcasters doesn't he? You need someone pure, young, and naïve to turn into who you want. Because it's not about loving them for who they are, it's about creating a companion to serve your needs. If they ever stop meeting those needs, you can throw them away and try again. -_- That's a convo for another day.

Above: Painting by Sandro Botticelli whose artwork was the inspiration for Armand's appearance.

On to the claim of Narcissism: Marius has a severe need to be needed. This theme is present throughout his relationships, romantic and otherwise.

Saying Marius wants to be worshiped may be a bit much, but I'm gonna say it anyway. At first, I shied away from calling him a narcissist at all (because it's such a buzzword now), but when really thinking about it...yeh, he's pretentious and narcissistic. The things he does, even the (seemingly) altruistic things, always lead back to Marius the heart of it. He loves to be seen as the grand benefactor. We see this in the parties he threw in Rome, with the boys in Venice, with Pandora, Amadeo, Bianca, and even Lestat. That man is an egoist with the need to be in control.

Above: Marius and Lestat- Queen of The Damned (2002)

Looking at his relationships, most of them have required the other to be submissive or subservient to him. He needs the power dynamic of teacher/student, master/slave, father/child etc. If he doesn't have it, fights start and relationships fall apart. Once he feels truly challenged (not taunted or teased as Amadeo would do) he runs or abandons. The moment Pandora became his equal, he abandoned her. The moment Bianca scolded him, he told her to pack her things.

Yes he sees it, and he's totally jelly! Above: Akasha talking to the ancient ones: Queen Of The Damned (2002)

I mean she (calmly) told him about himself ONCE (which he agreed with but couldn't handle hearing from someone else), so he abandons her in a random castle! Of course, he didn't leave her for long, he always feels regret and wants to reconcile these relationships, and it's always too late.

Even among other vampires such as Mael and Avicus, Marius still played the role of the superior, the all-knowing, the hero. This is where we see more of his pretentious side. Truthfully, Marius didn't know too much more than either of them, but you wouldn't know it by talking to him. When he figures something out, he's fit to burst at being the exposition piece for everyone.

You know what? That's really not fair.

Reading that back I want to give Marius some grace. Given the times, his mortal life, and subsequent thrusting into vampirism, some of what I call "pretentious" is more so him just trying to help. People have always expected a lot from Marius, so it is only natural that he begins to give excessively. He loves to teach and that's not a bad thing. I mean the man was a chronicler and scholar before his "death"! To say that he played the role of the superior, the all-knowing, the hero isn't totally untrue, but it is slightly misleading. TO BE FAIR...people treat him that way. Mael and Avicus come to Marius for help. They ask him questions, and he tries to help and do what's right. They looked to him on their own, not because Marius wanted them to. Okay, I've convinced myself, I recant "pretentious." I think I just wanted a third word and it really doesn't fit.

Above: Marius- Queen of The Damned (2002)

On that note however, don't tell this man ANYTHING you don't want errbody else knowing! He's a bad secret keeper! If I had a dollar every time a Marius secret got out...I could get lunch at least! Like bruh, shush! Loose lips sink ships and you've sunken an entire fleet!

Back to him needing to be the superior in his relationships. An exception is The Scared Parents. He does bow down and worship them, but it's still consistent with what I've observed, that it comes back to him. When breaking down the (silent) relationship with Akasha and Enkil, I noted 2 main reasons for his dedication-

1. He doesn't want to die.

"How could I continue to harbor these beings who might menace it? But I didn't want to die. No, I have never really wanted to die. And so I did not destroy the King and the Queen. I continued to care for them, to shower them with the symbols of worship." Blood and Gold: Chapter 34

2. Say it with me now, HE NEEDS TO BE NEEDED.

In his mind, they need him, but realistically they don't. My mans gave himself the ultimate task. After Akasha asked for help he could have holed them up somewhere and f**ked off, maybe checking on them every 50 to 100 years (In fact, he does do that unintentionally at one point). I'm so sure they would have been alright, and if not they certainly could have called out to someone themselves.

Actually, if not for Marius and his need to be "useful", Akasha may have never woken and gone on her rampage. Think about it, he's the one who woke Lestat, he's the one who compulsively told him everything and took him to Akasha, and he bought her the TV that allowed her to hear Lestat's music and develop (some of) her extremist views.

Above: Lestat before and after drinking Akasha's blood for the first time-Queen of The Damned (2002)

TO BE FAIR (again), she is connected to every vampire, so even without Marius she could still see all and may have decided to get up at any time for any reason. However, in this reality, it's Marius and his friggin need to be needed.

Taking a closer look at his dysfunctional relationships, This is him talking to Pandora. Mind you, he hasn't seen her in more than a hundred years (because he took the parents and ghosted her after a fight). She created a fledgling (Arjun) to be her companion and protect her. He serves her with love and admiration, but upon first hearing of him, Marius IMMEDIATELY assumes she is being controlled and is a slave to him (projection much?). This is part of their conversation upon reuniting. He's horribly dismissive, controlling, and narcissistic.

(Pandora states) "Oh, you are so angry and it is so like our quarrels of old." "No, it's not!" I declared. "It's nothing like our quarrels of old because it's about nothing. Now I'm taking you from here. I'm taking you to my palace, and I shall deal with Arjun as best as I can afterwards." "You can't do such a thing," she said sharply. "Marius, I've been with him for hundreds of years. You think you can simply come between us?" "I want you, Pandora. I shall settle for nothing else. And if such a time comes that you want to leave me - ." "Yes, and what if it does come," she said angrily, "then what shall I do when there is no Arjun on account of you!" "....As soon as I had her in the carriage, I kissed her wantonly as mortals kiss and wanted to sink my teeth into her throat but she forbade it. "Let me have that intimacy!" I begged. "For the love of Heaven, Pandora, it's Marius who is speaking to you. Listen to me. Let us share blood and blood." "Oh, you are so violent in your temper," she said in a whisper. "Can't you guess what reduces me to this abominable weakness?" "No," I said. "I know only I love you with my whole heart. I've found you again and I'll do anything to keep you." Her eyes remained fixed on the palace. "Even give up the female companion," she asked, "who is inside this very house waiting for you?" I didn't answer. "I saw her at the ball," she said, her eyes glassy, her voice quivering. "I saw her and knew what she was, quite powerful, quite graceful. I never guessed she was your lover. But now I know that she is. I can hear her inside. I can hear her hopes and dreams and how they are pinned on you." "Stop it, Pandora. It isn't necessary that I give her up. We are not mortals! We can live together."

Oh! so SHE has to give up her fledgling and protector for you, but "it isn't necessary" for YOU to give up Bianca?

He does eventually say that he'll leave Bianca for her, but Pandora stands strong saying Marius hasn't changed and leaves with Arjun. Then Bianca (who heard everything) is like..."sooo you lied about the reason we came here AND you were ready to throw me away for the second time? But now that she's dumped you you'll stay right? NAH son!!"

Moving back to Marius' relationship with Amadeo. When I read his account of things vs. Marius', it made me hurt for Amadeo. Knowing that he was saved to be further used. To know he gave his complete and total love, devotion, and life to someone who merely saw him as a clean slate. To realize that Marius' obsession with Botticelli and painting played a role as well. Marius saw Amadeo's paintings in his mind before buying him and wished to have that talent at his disposal. To possess it the way he could not do with Botticelli.

"He had once been a painter, this bruised and young one. The face of Christ had been his work. He had once mixed the egg yolk and the pigment just as I mixed them." Blood and Gold:Chapter 18

"...he knew the magic of the color spread upon the wooden panel. He would remember; he would remember a time when he cared about nothing else." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

"As we sat down to supper, Riccardo explained that Amadeo could paint nothing. Indeed, Amadeo was afraid of the brushes and the pots of paint" Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

Marius tried to get Amadeo to remember, even though it was clear he couldn't and (to an extent) didn't want to remember. But that wasn't what Marius wanted, so he persisted despite that, pushing Amadeo again and again.

"Meanwhile, Amadeo recovered nothing of his memory. He could not paint, he could not touch the brushes. It was as if the colors, when raw, burnt his eyes." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

and again

"But I want you to remember," I said to him suddenly in his Russian tongue. It was a shock to him but he didn't understand it. "Amadeo," I said in the Venetian dialect, "think back to the time before you came here. Think back, Amadeo. What was your world then?" A flush came to his cheeks. He was miserable. It was as if I'd beaten him. Riccardo reached out for him with a consoling hand. "Master," he said, "it's too hard for him." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

and again

"Bundling him like a child I took him into a Venetian church to see the wondrous paintings of robust and natural figures that had been done in these last few years. But I could see now it was hopeless. His mind would never be opened, never truly changed. I brought him home, and laid him down on the pillows once more." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

"His had been a punitive world of austere devotion. Painting for him had been joyless. And indeed all of life itself in far-away Russia had been so rigorous that he could not give himself over to the pleasure that awaited him now at every turn. Beset by the memories, yet not understanding them, he was moving slowly towards death." -Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

then he finally admits it...to himself anyway.

Note: this is a party of the quote before. Marius is talking out loud to himself. Amadeo is not there.

"It's true, I thought you were a painter," I continued, "that you had the gift for painting, and I know that it's still in you, and that did sway me, too." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

It opens another conversation about the effects of grooming and fetishization on its victims, but I won't get into it here.

Now, I understand the relationship between Amadeo and Marius changed over time. While Marius' initial intentions were self-centeredness shrouded in mercy, he did grow to love Amadeo. So much so that he regularly fought with and frustrated himself over whether to turn him at all, knowing what hardships would lie ahead and not wanting to subject him to it...Nah! I can't give him a break here! I tried, but abuse is abuse regardless of whether it takes place in a shady cell below a brothel or in a beautiful palazzo while showering the victim with gifts. What was done was done, and it matters not whether Marius did things out of love or if Amadeo loved him. A willing victim is still a victim and I HATE it when people discount abuse and trauma simply because of its setting or the victim's participation. Don't even get me started Marius sending Amadeo to the brothels...

Amadeo/Armand never recovers from his abuse/trauma, that much is clear. Not the abuse he suffered in his homeland, with Marius, or with Santino's coven, and no one would expect him to. He went through a lot in his mortal life and he hadn't even reached 18 (in the books).

I intended to go on about Marius and how societal expectations and his mortal life play into his vampiric one, but this post is long enough and I KNOW it's going to cause me to jump to several other topics soooo to conclude...Marius got issues ya'll!

That's going to do it for this post. Marius is definitely one of the more controversial Vampires in the VC. At least of the ones who have biographies. I'd say Armand is a close second. Honesty, I might even put Armand above Marius if not for the grooming and child love. But again, that's a post for another day.

I you read this far, YOU THE GOAT!!

[ihavedonenothingright]

Captive Prince: Historical References and Naming Conventions

Hi all! I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I finally had some time (and an Ancient Greek dictionary), so I figured I'd give it a shot. I've always been fascinated by Pacat's worldbuilding, particularly the naming conventions, and as a classicist myself, I wanted to dissect them. So that's what this is. My focus is mainly going to be on Akielos since I don't have as in-depth a knowledge of French, but I'll go through some Veretian names too (je n'ai pas étudié le français depuis deux années, mais Arles… je voudrais parler d'Arles…)

I'm not approaching this with any kind of formal, academic structure, so if something wonky gets through, please let me know! And lastly, I have no idea how many of these are intentional on Pacat's part. This analysis is less about authorial intent and more about how the associations inherent in these names can lend to our interpretation of the work. I'll also be doing this analysis over a few different posts since there is a lot I want to cover. For post #1:

Country Names

This post will solely feature Vere and Akielos since that's already a lot, but I will tackle Patras et. al. later on. There's some very interesting stuff there that I would be remiss not to look at. Of our subjects for today, Vere is the simpler, and the one I am absolutely certain Pacat intended, so I'll start with it.

Vere

Disclaimer: I am in love with this choice. The word itself is actually a Classical Latin adverb derived from the adjective "vērus," meaning "true," and in Latin it's spelled "vērē" (though you will not see those macrons in extant texts, those are a modern pronunciation and differentiation aid). Vērē can be translated a handful of ways; often it's used for emphasis, and in that case it's usually translated as "indeed," but "truly," "rightly," "exactly," and "truthfully" all work in different contexts. Extrapolate vērus and its derivatives for around a thousand years and you get the Old French word "verai" (ouah c'est vrai !) which means, well, "true."

It's also close in spelling and pronunciation to the modern French "verre," which means "glass," which isn't entirely relevant, but is cool. It makes me think of shiny, fragile displays of opulence like the Galerie des Glaces in Versailles. 

The first reason I really like this name is that it calls back to Artes, the Roman-inspired kingdom that we're told once encompassed all of Vere and Akielos, while still fitting current Veretian (aka half-old-half-modern French) grammar and pronunciation. The second is, naturally, that it fits so well into the series' themes of truth, deception, and verisimilitude. The second we're introduced to Vere, and by extension Laurent, there's a subtle hint there that both he and his country are, at their core, more real, genuine, and truthful than Damen and Akielos. We're already building towards Damen's Kings Rising line, "I have never known a truer man." Even if you don't recognize the Latin, your brain will make the connection between Vere and verisimilitude later. It's perfect, 10/10 Pacat, could not have done it better.

And just for fun: a Latin example!

Commentarii de Bello Civili, 2:27. Latin and English available here. 

Hi, sive vere quam habuerant opinionem ad eum perferunt, sive etiam auribus Vari serviunt…

Loeb Translation: "Whether they convey to him the opinion that they really held, or whether they only flatter his ears…" (165)

Slightly more literal translation (by me): "Whether these ones truly convey to him the opinion as they held it, or rather are subservient to Varius' ears…"

Akielos

The name "Akielos" is a lot more… nebulous. I don't know if there is a Greek print of Captive Prince, but my guess is it would be spelled Άκιελος (modern Greek speakers please weigh in, I'm only a year or so into Ancient Greek so I haven't really touched accent marks). That doesn't map neatly to any modern or ancient greek word—at least that I know of. What is does remind me of is Ἀχιλῆος (Achileos) from Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilleus), aka, Achilles. They're so close that I actually realized lately I had unconsciously been pronouncing Akielos as "Akileos" for a while; and in fact, this makes the Veretian spelling "Achelos" make a bit more sense. English and French both use a hard "ch" to represent χ in Greek words; so I imagine, in universe, that the word might actually be spelled Άχιελος. It wouldn't even surprise me if this was the way Pacat originally wanted to spell it, but had to change it for ease of comprehension.

I did have some other interpretations of the name, but I think this is the strongest. Because in addition to the obvious association, the name Ἀχιλλεύς is thought to be derived from the words ἄχος, "distress/grief" and λαός, "people," making it either "the grief" or "grief of/to the people" depending on who you ask (you rely on cases for that sort of distinction in Greek and they're not exactly present here. iykyk).

I really like the idea of Akielos being associated with grief; we're first introduced to it as a country in mourning, and then later on, as the cause of grief in Delfeur. And then you have the association with Achilles, himself a prolific brother killer, who Pacat references later in 'The Fall of Inachtos,' our in-universe Iliad. Insane levels of grief on grief on grief. Plus, because it looks closer to the genitive form, I automatically associate it with the opening line of the Iliad:

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

menin aeide thea Peleiadeo Achileos

Sing, goddess, the anger of Achilles, Peleus' son

So we can throw a little rage into the equation. As a treat. 

Also important to note that the -os there is a masculine ending. It doesn't have the most bearing, but it does mean that if we want to be strictly accurate to Ancient (and modern!) Greek grammar, I have to throw a quick article in front of it, making our final "how do the Akielons spell Akielos?" answer: ὁ Άχιελος ("ho Achielos"). The ὁ here is equivalent to le in French, with the major distinction being that in French, you don't typically need an article in front of a proper noun, whereas you do in Greek.

That's it for today's analysis! See you guys next time around for Patras, Artes, and (maybe) Arles, Ios, and Delfeur/Delpha.

Part 2 >>

[pizzatowerepisodes]

"Just a small respite" Ep 4 Season 3

The episode opens with a hot summer midday Saturday. "Peppino Pizza" is full of people clients, Gustavo is at the counter gathering the orders and Peppino is in the kitchen working his ass off to make all the pizzas and bring them to the tables. We see how our main protagonist is visibly stressed, walking quickly out of the kitchen, giving the orders to the clients, re-entering the kitchen to put the remaining ingredients on the dough he left, put it in the oven, take out the other one he was cooking and then repeating all that over and over. Gustavo and Brick (the latter trying to sleep on a pillow in a corner of the kitchen, today it's not delivery day anyway) sometimes look with concern at their busy partner, getting more and more stressed for each new order he gets. At one point Peppino even trips down and almost drops a pizza on the ground.

Then, finally, it's 2:30 PM. The pizzeria is closed until 5:30 PM. Gustavo flips the sign on the door then he turns around to see Peppino busy cleaning the floor from the dirt the clients left. Gus decides to do something about his friend's health and talks with Peppino. He tells him that he shouldn't overdo and that he should have a small respite, but Peppino refuses, his eyes too focused on his task at hand than actually looking at Gus. Gustavo breaks Pep's attention by taking away his broom and pushing him to the door, telling him that he's not allowed to be inside his pizzeria/home until its closing time (8 PM) and that he will use this time to relax. Peppino refuses multiple times, who will make the pizzas for his clients? What if something goes wrong while he's absent?! But Gustavo reassures him that everything will be fine and that Brick take his place behind the counter (he puts on a small chef hat and gives a thumbs up to Pep like the good boy he is). After all, it's not the end of the world if you take a pause, right? Peppino now is outside, the door slams close behind him.

"... Now what?", was the first thought our bald Italian man made when he realises that he has no idea what to do in his free time. So he decided to walk to the city, hoping that maybe he could do something there. He goes to a luna park and tries the roller coaster, but it only got him a very heavy nausea. He goes to a pub, but quickly it becomes lousy as the people are watching an exciting football match. He goes to a cinema, but the movie he chose to see was pretty bad. Finally he tried to go to the beach and have a swim, but the sea creatures were pretty rough today. (While we see this montage we see a small cat following Pep with curiosity)

We cut back to "Peppino Pizza", it's 5:30 PM. Some people enter and order, Brick and Gustavo get to work, with Gus doing actually a great job at replacing Pep. Everything is going pretty smoothly... Until a privileged and rich couple of celeries decide to enter the pizzeria with a slam. They're really rude, ordering normally but then complain for the dumbest reasons (like the olives aren't positioned correctly, the tomato sauce isn't on the crust, there are no specific glasses they wanted to drink beer with, etc). And Gustavo is obligated to smile to hide his frustrations, those two pretentious clients are really testing his positivity and kindness. (In this section there's a recurring joke where the couple use continuously the adjective "celery-stic", with Gustavo replying, each time with more frustration, that this word doesn't exist)

Back to Peppino. We're still in the beach and our titular Italian man is sitting on the sand trying to remove the sea urchins from the soles of his feet. Pep groans and complain, he was supposed to be relaxed and instead he came out more stressed than before! What was he doing wrong?! Right when he was making that question the small cat that was following him gets closer, purring, rubbing their body on his legs and finally jumping on Pep's belly to rest. Peppino is too tired to handle this fur ball and just sighed. He looks at the cat, in a way he was feeling pretty envious. Lucky little guy, they don't have any responsibility whatsoever. They rest whenever they want. They're just happy as they are with the smallest things.

Maybe that's just what all he needed now. A moment of silence. No extreme things, no noise. Just... being here in the moment. Peppino closes his eyes and breathes slowly in... And out... He feels the grains of sand brushing his hands and legs. The sound of the seagulls chanting in the sky, the sea crashing his waves to the cliffs, his breathing becoming slower and relaxed. And the smell of the sea... He forgot how good it was. It reminded him of his sweet childhood days. Peppino reopens his eyes and looks at the cat, they were smelling his face with curiosity. Pep makes a smile (a genuine one this time) and plays with his little new friend. For the first time in a long while he feels really happy.

We cut back to Gustavo, it's 7 PM, the couple are laughing loudly, disturbing the other people in the pizzeria and making them go away, Gustavo and Brick are clearly annoyed and frustrated with this. Finally the celeries finish their dinner, but they're heading to the exit instead of going to the counter to pay up. Gustavo makes them notice that and the couple answer that they weren't satisfied with the meal. In fact, they wouldn't even give a cent as a tip to a mediocre restaurant. At this point Gustavo lost it. Brick remains behind the counter looking with fear as the midget, with his skin red with rage, gets closer to those excuses of civilized people. "Hey, the world is unfair and you have to get used to it!" says one of the celeries, "Y'know, you're not being very 'celery-stic' now", but before they could finish that sentence Gustavo grabs the couple by the necks with his bare hands.

Before we could know what happens next we cut to Peppino heading back to "Peppino Pizza" with the cat in his arms and commenting that it was a good idea to take a break. The sun is starting to set, but before Pep could reach the handle of the door the pretentious couple head out of the pizzeria, with their faces full of bruises and cracked teeth, walking away, laughing and saying nonsense delirious for the pain. Peppino look at those two weirdos with a confused face, for then noticing Gustavo busy cleaning the floor from the mess the clients left in a angry manner. Peppino asks what happened and Gustavo just replies that he had a really stressful day, with his eyes too focused on the task at hand (like Peppino did at the beginning of the episode). Both remain silent for a moment. Pep puts a hand on Gus's shoulder and asks if he wanted to talk about it. Gustavo looks at his partner, softening his look a little. He nods his head without saying anything.

Peppino and Gustavo sit down in one of the tables, calm music plays in the background. We see the two Italians talking but we don't hear their voices, but through their body language we can understand that they're talking about the crazy day they had, Gus even notices the little friend Pep made at the beach. The camera zooms out as our protagonists keep talking happily while Brick sleeps under the table. Everything slowly fades to black and the episode ends.

(The episode, even though it had some funny moments, wasn't well received when it first aired because of its calm tone instead of its usual fast pacing ones and the lack of other characters in the show like The Noise. But even with that there were fans who did like this episode, some even reported that it helped improve their mental health)

.

[highladyjane]

While we're waiting for the announcement, what's your guess for the title of the next acotar book?

Lol, you sneaky nonnie! I've seen this Ask all over my dash today yestereve (I fell asleep writing my response to this)😆 Thank you for letting me join in on the fun!

I've actually had a theory about this hiding somewhere in my drafts for a couple of months now, but I've been too lazy to dig into it because 1. Structured writing, and therefore theories, is not my forte 2. I'm a perfectionist but my mind's messy - so it's all a bit messy, 3. so I might sound like a loony... 4. and I'm too insecure about my thoughts at times to even post about what goes through it 😅

But since you Ask'd... Here's a "shorter" version of that draft, at least:

My theory is that Elain's book will have something to do with ✨️Vines✨️.

Like... A Court of ✨️🌿Golden Vines🌿✨️(which I'm leaning the most towards), ACO Twining Vines, ACO Tangled Vines, ACO Blooming Vines, ACO Shadows and Vines... etc. I'm still trying to figure out where to lay my theory 😅🤣

It may sound very Elucien or even Tamlain, but ✨️Vines✨️ are described as "a plant whose stem requires support and which climbs by tendrils or twining or creeps along the ground" which, if you read or search through the books, also hints and applies to the movement of Azriel's shadows in many instances... @wingedblooms absolutely brilliant post that I quite recently came upon, especially supports the 'Twining'... So I think it's the perfect title to confuse people about her endgame 😜

Anyways, to back up my guess/theory...

Elain's scent is of Jasmine (and Honey), which seems to be the bloom of the Night Court 👀, grows as climbing shrubs or ✨️vines✨️. But I'm feeling specifically strongly for the ✨Vines✨ because

Aaaaand because:

1. Ivy is a ✨vine✨ and Sarah has mentioned it in relation to Elain's book in an interview presented at the back of ACOFAS.

2. Nesta's drawer had flames🔥. Elain had...

🌿✨Twining Vines of flowers✨🌿

We often see the beautiful petals (Elain's softness & beauty), but we don't think about the strength, resilience, and foundation of the vines underneath and........ 👇

3. ✨️Vines✨️ symbolise:

Strength & hope & resilience = Elain's quiet strength.

Determination = Elain has shown determination to help in ways she can, but is yet to be given the chance to...

She also has shown a determined disregard and opposition to having a mate...

Connection = Goes well along with my guess on "Golden" or "Twining" Vines which are often used as adjectives in relation to bonds, threads, and even spells.

Also, Elain is an Archeron sister, Cauldron-blessed, and a Seer - connected to basically every plot and possible subplots in the books (The Cauldron ➡️ Ramiel in Illyria ➡️ Made Objects & People ➡️ The Middle & The Prison/Dusk Court ➡️ The Dread Trove ➡️ Koschei ➡️Vassa ➡️The Human Queens etc.🔁); not just for who she is and her Cauldron-given gifts and abilities, but also possibly through her LIs and family. She's the one sister left unexplored and it all leads back to her. She's basically at the beginning (She's the first sister mentioned by Feyre at the beginning of ACOTAR) and in the end (She's the last sister mentioned by Nesta at the end of ACOSF) of everything. So I don't know if that supports her book being next or last...

Life = the meaning of which also applies to her scent of Honey and "Golden" -the colour of (sun)light, honey, her eyes, her hair.

3. ✨️Vines✨️ are also mentioned/connected to the earthen powers described in CC3 that Sathia & Tristan Flynn + Bryce have, which I believe many has already theorised Elain to also have... I quite like those theories (can't remember exactly where I read them as of rn) and would like to believe that it's something the Cauldron has blessed her with since she's associated with gardening and life...

I also read somewhere in a biblical text (which I wasn't too keen to delve into tbh, so don't trust my word for it, but it's Googlable) where ✨️Golden Vine✨️was associated with Life, Rebirth, and Free Will... But if Elain turns out to be the next Messiah/Saviour/Prophet of Prythian, then it's quite perfect 🤷🏻‍♀️

So... that's sort of my take so far 🫣 Hope it makes sense to you, nonnie 😅

What's yours?

[dearchloe]

little learning time: adjectives

Welcome back, everyone! Are you sitting all comfy and cosy?

Today we're going to learn all about adjectives! Adjectives are really fun words. Do you know why? It's because adjectives are describing words! They describe a noun.

Can you remember what nouns are? That's right, they're things like objects or people or places! And adjectives have a super important job because they help us to know what those objects or people or places are like. If you're making up your own little stories, they can really help you to share the pretty pictures in your head with your grown ups and friends, and they make your sentences much more interesting!

If you say Lily sat on her bottom, we know what Lily is doing, don't we? But if we say Lily sat on her stinky bottom, we find out lots more about Lily's bottom with just one extra word! That extra word is the adjective.

Colours are almost always adjectives! So if you see a sentence like Katie's nappy is yellow, or Katie wears a green bib, you can pick out the adjectives straight away. The same is true about sizes - if we say that Katie did a big wee-wee in her little potty, you know that big and little are the adjectives, don't you? Which one do you think fits you better? Would your mummy agree?

But did you know that when we use more than one adjective to describe the same noun, we have to use them in a certain order? We can't say that Lily and Katie have a pink big dolls' house to play with. We have to say that it's a big pink dolls' house.

The adjective that goes first is any adjective that reflects an opinion! So if we wanted to say that Lily has an adorable nappy - and all little ones in nappies are adorable - the adjective adorable would come before any others we were using.

After that would be any adjectives talking about size! So if we carry on with the same example, we could say that Lily has an adorable big nappy.

Next are adjectives about other physical qualities. Can you think of any? Let's say that Lily has an adorable big thick nappy. They're always the best ones to put on little bottoms — less leaks to deal with!

Then we get to adjectives about shape! This time, we could add that Lily has an adorable big thick round nappy.

Next comes age! We can say that Lily has an adorable big thick round old nappy. Old nappies are yucky, aren't they? Or do you secretly quite like squishing around in yours? It's ok, I won't tell!

After that is colour! Shall we be sneaky and steal the same one we used earlier? I think we should. So now we know that Lily has an adorable big thick round old yellow nappy.

Now we get to origin! These are adjectives talking about where something comes from, and they often relate to specific countries. English or French or Chinese are some examples! But Lily's Mummy doesn't buy her nappies from France or China, does she? I think Lily has an adorable big thick round old yellow supermarket nappy.

Then we talk about materials, which means what something is made from. Nappies can be made from a few different things! Lily isn't in reusable nappies, though, because her Mummy thinks she wets too heavily. So Lily has an adorable big thick round old yellow supermarket plastic nappy.

Next comes type! If a noun comes in different varieties, this is where we specify which variety this particular noun belongs to. For example, eggs can be free-range or battery. Let's say that Lily has an adorable big thick round old yellow supermarket plastic newborn nappy.

And finally, last but not least, there's purpose! This tells you about what a noun is for, as in a frying pan or shopping trolley. But we all know what Lily's nappy is for, don't we? Just look at it! It's all yellow and soggy and saggy. It's working super hard at doing its job and keeping Lily's tinkles and stinkies all contained. And how do we know all that? Because we used adjectives!

Of course we don't use all those adjectives every time, do we? That would be silly, and all our sentences would be super long! But they follow the same order, whichever ones you use. Otherwise you'll find your sentences sound a little bit weird. If we say Katie has a yellow adorable old nappy, it doesn't feel right, does it?

Why don't you see if you can pick out two adjectives to add into each of the following sentences? Make sure you get them in the right order!

Katie has a bib.

Lily loves her bottle.

Katie and Lily share a nursery.

Katie likes Lily's dress.

Sometimes Katie reads books.

Lily always wears nappies.

Katie is allowed to wear pull ups.

Mummy bought Katie a potty.

Katie had an accident.

Lily likes her onesie.

Did Katie and Lily help you learn about adjectives? Why don't you share some of your sentences?

[stripedgrace]

chapter 6 sneak peek: Fig's plan

so I'm late to update. hoping to post soon, aiming for the end of august but yeah. this will is be late again. a few of the scenes are giving me a really hard time, scenes that need to happen to keep the chapter on track. so woohooo.

anyway, because of the delay, I figured I post a small sneak peek of what is to come, just to give all something to naw at while chipped away at the remaining parts.

enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of all the adjectives Fig could use to describe herself, trusting was not one of them.

Oh sure, once someone earned that trust, she’d do just about anything for them. But for most people? Unlike her friends, Fig was always suspicious first and loyal later.

Which made it very frustrating when she had a feeling she couldn't prove.

Sure, sure, Fig could admit that sometimes her aim was faulty. Kathilda and Ragh were proof enough. But most of the time, she was right on the money. Goldenrod, Penelope, and even Porter. Her instincts didn’t lie.

And while most of these strangers were perfectly fine, Fig knew a bad apple when she saw one. And that fucking gnome was nothing but rotten. Scanlan could pretend all he wanted, could convince everyone else otherwise, it didn't matter. Fig knew without a doubt that he’s bitter and cruel. An angry man who would kill Riz the moment he could get away with it. Her friends could think she was crazy, try to tell her “Oh it’s about the gun! They didn’t mean to attack us Fig! Don’t worry about it,” bullshit. Bullshit.

Fig knows better. She sees his intentions as clear as day. But she also knows how clever he is. How convincing he could be. If the only thing she had was her word, he would surely win. He already gained the upper hand, preemptively twisting the narrative to serve as his shield, leaving Fig scrambling to catch up.

The writing was already on the wall, nothing she did could change that. So, the only thing left to do is wait.

Because if they were really as alike as Fig thought they were, it was only a matter of time before Scanlan slipped up. And when he did, she’d be ready.

But for now, there were other matters at hand. Problems bigger than a racist gnome with a silver tongue.

Like how they were universes away from home, unsure of the possibility of ever returning. Like how they vanished in the middle of nowhere, trapped in a collapsing cave system, unable to reach out. Like how right before the circle activated, Fig swore she heard Ayda screaming her name. Ayda who might be trapped down there right now, looking for her, thinking Fig to be dead, becoming more and more stuck as she refuses to leave behind-

Fig digs her nails into her arm. Nope. She isn’t gonna think about that right now. Not when they’re in the midst of hunting basilisks, mentally arguing over strategy. She needed to focus.

Ayda would be fine. She had to be.

Stretching out her arms, Fig fakes a yawn, taking a careful look at adults behind them. As she thought, their expressions hadn’t changed, each intently watching. Vax, his look-alike, and the white man were all muttering quietly to each other, likely making alternate plans. Keyleth walked quietly alongside the Tall-guy and the two gnomes lagged at the very back. Occasionally, a comment would get just loud enough for her to make out.

“-ier not talkin-“

“-dy have a plan?”

“-bad feeling-“

She smirked and looked away. They really didn’t have a clue, did they?

Good. If they wanted to pull this off, they needed every advantage they could get.

Stealing her nerves, Fig flings herself back into the link, catching the tail end of Fabian’s thought.

‘-d then, they’ll charge Adaine’s illusion, and while their distracted, we will jump down, kill them an-.’

‘For last time, I didn’t prepare Major Image today, that’s not gonna work.’

‘And that’s still not gonna solve the problem of having to look at the basilisks.’ Gorgug adds. 

Riz sighs. ‘No matter which way we slice it, I think we're gonna need to look at them. If we want to get this done fast, we need to see where we're hitting.’

‘Yeah but turning into stone will do us no favors.’ Adaine argues.

‘Well Kristen has her staff. That'll do it.’ says Fabian.

Kristen groans. ‘That trick could only work twice, otherwise it's just me actually casting Greater Restoration, and I only have two 5th level slots.’

‘Unless we get help.’ states Gorgug.

Fig could hear Adaine roll her eyes. ‘We're not getting their help,’ she replies, ‘We can't. If we insinuate that we need help, all of this planning would be worthless. They would rub it in our faces and this ploy to show them that we’re capable would fall apart in an instant.’ 

Theres a pause before Riz sums it up best. ‘Okay then. We get four mistakes. Anymore and we're screwed.’

‘If I throw down Faerie Fire, it'll be easier to hit them.’ Fabian comments.

‘And some of my spells don't require direct sight.’ Adaine adds, ‘I could throw a Lightning Bolt and not have to worry about becoming stone.’

‘And you could incorrectly aim and hit one of us.’ retorts Kristen.

‘I mean maybe.’

‘I don't know.’ says Riz, ‘It's a solid start but it's not a guarantee. The best-case scenario would be to look at them and not have to worry about the effect at all.’

‘Could we blind them maybe?’ Gorgug asks. ‘You could do that right?’

‘I could,’ says Kristen, ‘But that's not gonna do much. It's not a problem if they see us, it's if we see them.’

Finally, Fig speaks, an idea growing in her mind, ‘I think Riz is right. If we don't look at them, we won't have to worry about the paralysis. But we're not going for the most optimal strategy right? We're trying to show off.

‘Yes?’ replies Riz.

Adaine lights up, ‘Oh do you have a plan. You sound like you have a plan. Please tell me you have a plan.’

‘Maybe?’ Fig lets her smile show as she pulls a small coin-like item from her bag. Flashing it at her friends, she asks, ‘Who here feels like putting on a performance?’

[smalife1234]

It's our 5th weekly smiles!!! Please enjoy the read

What made me smile this week?

Monday, 8/26/24 - today is our first day of school! After many months, today, we get a general idea of all the classes! In my first period, we had to introduce ourselves, what year we were in, and what we wanted to be when we grew up. Those types of questions, then we made a name tent, in which you put your name and then draw what you like on the front. I had fun with that, and it's due Friday. We then got a rundown of the class and then played a funny game of what came first. Chicken or the egg, we had to get up out of our seats, in my case, just be in my seat, lol. Then we had to be in different groups per question. There were about 4 or 5 questions, and we had fun with it. We then got introduced to the website we will be using! After that, I headed to the second period; in the second period, we had to create another name tent that had our name and three adjectives that describe our personality using some letters of our name. We then did a lab where we estimated what time Mrs Mauney put the ice cubes in the little beaker that had a dropper at the end. Our team did not get it right since she eliminated our answer choice, but other teams are very close! Plus, we got a free 100 anyway! Woo, tomorrow she Will be announcing which team got it right. May the best team win! I then headed to lunch as I had my first lunch! And I got a yummy salad with chicken, cheese, onions, and Italian dressing! It was very good and worth the wait. After lunch, I headed to third, where we got to learn all the rules of the class and then do a little fingerprint activity. It was a large fingerprint on a sheet of paper, and inside each ridge, you had to write information about yourself. It was pretty cool! Then, after that, we got a lab sheet that showed different stations of fun things/ scientific things, and it wasn't bad! I have all the parts of the microscope left! Then, in the fourth period, I got to be in class with my friend, and we sat the whole class laughing and learning. We did another name tent very simple, and then we made some sticky notes where we had to put what we wanted to learn from the class. Before that, we made a table of contents! It was fun, and now, at home, we're enjoying a warm bowl of potato soup! We experienced the Subway Surfers New World tour and unlocked Billy Bean! Which is always fun! Now we're headed to bed this whole day made me smile!

Tuesday, 8/27/24 - it's my three-month ALS anniversary!! Although I'm not excited about losing a whole percent of body strength! I am excited for what's to come and how far I've come within three months today in the morning we chilled on the game Subway Surfers and talked morning later on we went to the bus stop and talked about our second day of school and then we headed to school in the first period we did a bell ringer which was pretty difficult but I got it done! Then we did this honeycomb beehive activity where we had to connect different things based on their function but also match them with another thing it was tough but thankfully I got it done and then for the rest of class we worked on an assignment in which we had to pretend to be a physical therapist and write things down about a certain patient the patient is not real. Then we went to the second period and began to talk about the syllabus and class rules. Not long after, we got called for our senior meeting! We had a fun time hearing all that they said and the beautiful messages. We got longer-form videos and, sadly, only one tiny video! So we'll put that in the weekly smiles post! Then I came back to a syllabus scavenger hunt. I got to skip most of it and just do the sticker section, so that was fun. Then at lunch, I got to enjoy a yummy salad without cheese sadly but That's ok I had chicken and onions on my salad which was basic but yummy after lunch came the third period we finished up the rest of the lab and finished with it we then played a game of Myth or Fact that was fun! And then, in the fourth period, we did a speed dating thing that was also pretty fun, and then we just went home and chilled for the day! Today made me smile!

Wednesday, 8/28/24 - I woke up and then we took a pretty picture of a tree that was paired with the beautiful sun it was very pretty in the first period we worked on an assignment that we had to write a summary on our patients and wasn't hard and I got it done within thirty minutes we also talked about our struggles and things one girl shared she broke her femur during a car accident and couldn't walk for 3 months! And it happened last year so I hope she is doing well! In the second period, we worked on a density lab where we had to place metal in a graduated cylinder and water to measure its density or something like that! Soon after that, we just made notes! And then we went to third, where I just had yummy salad, except they gave me a whole chicken tender, lol, instead of chicken bites. Hey, I'm not complaining, just shocked 😳! Then, after that, we just worked on forensic work and got to see our first lab! It was pretty cool and fun to do! Then in the fourth period, we just chilled and worked on notes most of the class we chilled at home :) today made me smile!

Thursday, 8/29/24 - today, we just chilled in the morning. Sadly, I had to rush and edit a little video! In the first period, we just got new assignments so that was fun I completed them all in one day the rest of first period just went chill like normal then went to chemistry where we did a card separating activity between molecules and atoms we did some notes and found out that mr s mauney might be behaving her baby September 13th and she will give us an email stating whether or not shes had the baby I wish her all the best in her recovery! Soon after that we got to chill on our phones in third period we started talking about the rules and expectations in her class like a little worksheet type of paper then we took some notes on the temporal lob and other parts of the brain then she told us some story's on this day she said my brain had done something weird I imagined a snake in my dreams and i don't dream about snakes but apparently her husband who sleeps with a C-Pap his mask had kinda un-hooked and it made a hissing sound then another time is when they were very poor back then with there children they would change there kid on there kitchen countertop and in this particular moment the husband was changing the diaper and it wasn't just wet there was obviously poop and they had cloth diapers because they couldn't afford the disposable so not everything would gracefully stay in the diaper and a few minutes later there was some poop on the counter (not actually) but the husband perceived that but in reality it was just some cookie dough that dropped on the counter so she scooped it up with her finger and ate it he started gagging and said you just ate poop and she pointed to the oven meaning it was just some cookie dough that is all that we heard but it horrific yet funny! Then, in the fourth, we sat and chilled, doing a get-to-know-me/ personality poster. Sadly, Willams and Donny's computer was acting weird and kept saying ¨, please do not power off your device” because apparently, the computer was doing some type of critical update! But we went home and chilled, had some yummy mam witch, and were laughing, and listening to Instagram audios that night. Today made me smile!

Friday, 8/30/24 - this morning, I woke up at 6:00 Am, which is rare lol. I chilled and lay in my warm blankets! And then I got ready. As we were heading out the door, I remembered I had left all my jewelry, lol! And they had to help put on my bracelets, my ring, and my necklace, so it was a little bit hectic. We then chilled on the bus and tried to push our way through the entrance because, apparently, so many people wanted to be in the walkway! We chilled for a bit and then headed to class. Since I did not have any work to do in the first period, I just updated some long overdue descriptions, lol! And then I tried filling up my water bottle, but that took forever. It took like 3 minutes, lol! It was kinda funny yet gruesome to wait for my 30-z water bottle to fill up. Lol, I've been typing most of the class, just mainly working on description! Sadly Willam and donnys computer situation is not looking any better I see no progress and it still seems to be having its ¨critical update¨ gosh annoying computers then in the second period since Mrs. Mauney was out we chilled and had a sub I said Hi how are you and she said Hey how are you I said good I sat and chilled for a bit we got our name tents and a new student joined us and sat at our table he seemed pretty chill! We are now doing attendance, and the announcements had a weird cheer thing, which is weird because they never do that. It caught me off guard, lol. Then we worked on a very large paper assignment. It was about matters and things, but I finally got it done! And now I'm chilling here, drinking my water and typing my little heart away. The simplest of things make me smile! Now we're getting ready for yummy lunch! After that, we just chilled in Mrs Churches class and just hung out at home. We had a fun time, and big Donny can officially do thumbnails on his YouTube channel! “Donny & Sc injury” today made me smile!

Saturday, 8/31/24 - today, I woke up around 7:44 Am, waking up many hours before that, lol 12:00 Am and 3:00 a.m. I chilled the rest of that morning, then we chilled for a while in the afternoon, then Donny got to see nostalgic memories on an old phone! He thought it was very cool and so breathtaking to see all those old videos and photos! Then we went to Mack's house for a while! Which we haven't done in a while. We swam for a while! Then a horsefly came up and we were screaming and saying bitch at the fly! We were laughing, yet terrified James killed it, and we thought there was no more of them, and during the time of the first horsefly, we said, " What if another one comes back!” And sure enough, it fucking did, lol (sorry for the language; I usually keep this PG, but to be honest, this was scary as fuck. So I apologize for being overly dramatic in the cuss words!) But sure enough, it did come back. We kept Dunking underwater, lol, and we eventually gave up and went inside. Sadly, the pool day ended shortly, but we did get some McDonald's at the beginning of the trip, and it certainly made me smile. Sadly, Donny is having his major pacemaker surgery tonight at 11:00 Pm! So we have to stay up until 6:00 Am! Until he gets out of surgery, it will be the scariest wait of our life, and we will update you on further information into Sundays or this entry! Who knows, but keep reading. So far, it's 9:51 pm, so it's only a short 1 hour and 9 minutes away! We pray for Donny to make it out of this surgery in Good health! We love you so much, Donny! And we pray you make it out of this surgery! This is such a scary operation and we wish you all the best! - we will give you further updates as we get News! It is 10:50 P.m., and it's 10 minutes till Donny's surgery again. We wish him luck!!

Sunday, 9/1/24 - it's now 11:00 P.m., so it's quite not Sunday, but it's so close. Donny is now in surgery. He needs 6 hours and 59 minutes remaining.. we are beyond scared and hoping he survives the surgery. We love you, Donny; ok, it's now 8:07. thankfully, the nurses took great care of him, and he survived the surgery! He seems fine as of right now! And now we found out that Williams's eye swelled! Overnight, what is the week doing to all of us? we are getting haircuts and going to the mall today! At first, we went to the drug store for our parents to buy cigarettes. Then we went to Dollar Tree, and Mom got many things lol, but we got some vanilla cream cookies! Then we headed to Great Clips and got our haircut! It looks good and we're good with how it turned out! Then we went to the mall. Mom and Dad enjoyed their movie, and shortly after, we went to Five Below and bought some things! But the most important thing we bought was a new bag that was for overheating, and catheter storage since our old bag sucked. Lol, we already find the new bag beneficial! Then we bought a spray bottle for overheating/fake sweat 💦 since we cannot sweat. Promise, all the things we bought were not just for medical purposes lol! After that, we visited Claire's and saw a cute mushroom 🍄 plushie! Then we sat for a while, and now we're munching on our chips and sitting on a bench for a while! We are having fun so far! We soon arrived home and are now chilling getting everything unpacked and organized! We are definitely smiling! There was a bad storm, and it frightened us at how loud the lightning was! But we're ok now and we're chilling! But today was very busy but it certainly made me smile!

What made you smile this week?

Img desc #1: shows a honey bee hive activity filled with different organs and their functions. the goal is to match everything into a perfect shape.

Img desc #2: shows a beautiful picture of a tree standing tall as the beautiful grass gives off its beautiful hint of green, and the rising sun is seen in the distance.

Img desc #3: shows doc's lab work showing drawings of the metals

Img desc #4: shows docs salad at lunch with a huge chicken tender and chicken bites and onions.

Img desc #5: shows a picture of cheese fries with tons of bacon on the fries with plenty of containers of ranch!

Img desc #6: shows a card sorting activity on the doc's table.

Img desc #7: doc is seen in the swimming pool *moments before the dangerous horsefly lol* she is seen smiling with sunglasses. She is in a yellow floaty that's around her neck, and her Atrophied arms are floating about in the pool.

Img desc #8: shows the night sky with the sign Hardee's

Img desc #9: doc is seen near a bridge smiling while wearing a grey short-sleeved shirt, beige-colored shorts, and white shoes.

Img desc #10: Emmie is seen near an ocean. She is opening her mouth wide as she is shocked she is wearing sunglasses paired with a white short-sleeved shirt! And a black service dog is beside her

[thathusenfulhu]

woking day and night

we're at thai wok for lunch. it's an institution which i suspect still retains its original cutlery from the 90s, as well as furniture, even the tablemats. the wealthy owner of the restaurant is supposed to be, for the lack of a better phrase, frugal to a fault. some might dare say miserly.

'the problem with evil is that it's human,' i tell hasanfulhu.

'not natural?' asks hasanfulhu.

'nature is perhaps indiscriminate, indifferent,' i reply.

'but then how is evil born in us? are we taught to be evil?' asks hasanfulhu.

our chicken fried rice and cuttlefish salad arrive. hasanfulhu tries to scoop the rice out but spills half on to the table.

'studies say that some of us are more inclined to evil than others. like serial killers are said to lack empathy,' i say.

'doesn't that mean nature is to blame?' says hasanfulhu.

'hmm.' man has a point.

anyhow, even those who live under rocks would have felt the vibrations of the attacks on israel and palestine. those waves would have crept in. the big nations have unequivocally sided with israel. it's not surprising.

'meanwhile, gaza's gonna be blown up and annexed,' says hasanfulhu, little grains of rice spilling from his mouth. have i been thinking aloud?

'and the media tries to make it seem like the hamas attack is a freak event, not one that came out of decades of wanton oppression.'

'wanton oppression?' i ask him.

'did i use the wrong adjetive?'

'adjective,' i correct him. he's from gaafu dhaalu.

he chews for a moment.

'is hamas evil? is israel evil? does it even make sense to ask this of groups and countries?' he asks. he seems to be in an inquiring mood.

'ok, so. if terror is evil, agents of terror, whether individuals or groups or nations, are evil.' i say.

'but what IS terror, first of all?' he asks. he is a lawyer, and it is one of those questions that people tend to ask when they aren't thinking well.

'why aren't you asking me what evil means, firstly?' i say.

'oh, everyone knows evil,' he responds. 'here, the salad is pretty good today, have some.'

i have a taste and the cuttlefish is nice - like it hasn't been in the freezer for a month.

'terror,' my friend wants to go on. 'what do you think?'

'though a group is fairly clear, a nation is a problematic subject, it's fuzzy, you know?' i try to explain myself. 'i mean, a nation contains contradictions - but when you say israel is evil, you don't mean those citizens who're, let's say, just as outraged by the acts of a nation acting on their behalf. you just mean those responsible for the atrocities.'

hasanfulhu bobs his head in agreement.

i eat some rice - it tastes just as i remember it. that's the allure of thai wok.

'and by evil i also mean those individuals and groups that are intending to make a profit of this misery, by the buying and selling of stocks of oil companies let's say.'

'who's doing that?' asks hasanfulhu.

'people, like lawmakers in the states. i saw a tiktok.'

'is that where you get your news from?'

'i mean,' i say, trying to ignore this man’s snark. 'there are reasons why israel is the way it is. not justifications but reasons. like it has not just its own interests at heart but american interests, capitalist interests.'

'all right,' says hasanfulhu. 'maybe those interests might not even be israel's best interests.'

'yeah, exactly. like, the state of israel's function isn't to murder palestinians, that's the outcome of expansion and its reaction - israel wants to spread its boundaries and propagate and protect certain interests in a region that all of the world still values.'

'because of the oil, no?'

'yes. the oil. it's always the oil. even in this goddamned century.'

hasanfulhu calls a server to bring the bill.

'i'll get it,' he says.

as i wait for the transaction to go through, i think about the evil of this small state. it seems an anachronism in a world that has seen a martin luther king, a gandhi, a mandela. and yet it exists. it is ALLOWED to exist unaccounted for.

'you know what else is evil?' asks hasanfulhu.

'what?'

'this restaurant. 500 for a fried rice and salad. atrocious.'

'dear lord' i mutter, and we scurry down the stairs into the dusky warmth of an october afternoon.

[golmac]

Inform 7 Basics: fun with tables #4

(a link to a web-based IDE with the code discussed here is at the bottom of this post)

If you're just tuning in, we're recreating the functionality of a command in my game, Repeat the Ending: DIAGNOSE. It has three components. The first is a cycling bit of flavor text pulled from a table. The second is a bit of text that reflects a value assigned to the protagonist (also in a table). The third and final component is printed text that changes based on the player's score. The output looks like this:

>diagnose me My teeth hurt, but I don't think there's anything wrong with them. We just don't feel like ourselves unless something is hurting.

At the moment we are not empowered by any sort of entropic magic.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Today's post is about that third bit of text, "What the hell is wrong with me?" In the background, this specific text is printed because the score is two, which falls within the designated range for this text, 1-10. Now, in the game, this is done really badly, with massive "if... otherwise if..." statements covering possible combinations of score and player's "siphontype" (see previous posts if you need a refresher). I can't in good conscience use that code as an example. Here's a new take on the problem. First, let's do some definitions. Definitions in Inform assign adjectives to broad categories (kinds and so forth) that we can use comfortably in our code. For instance, instead of saying "if [some variable] is greater than one and [some variable] is less than five" again and again, we can say it once. Let's set up a variable that we can use to track the score, then do some definitions.

the total points is a number that varies. the total points is initially zero. definition: a number is abysmal if it is zero. [0] definition: a number is low if it is greater than zero and it is less than four. [1-3] definition: a number is average if it is greater than three and it is less than seven. [4-6] definition: a number is high if it is greater than six and it is less than ten. [7-9] definition: a number is perfect if it is ten. [10]

As you can see, a definition involves something broad (a number) that gets narrowed down with an "if" statement. These statements can't be complex. We're talking about one condition only. You might say: this is a lot of typing for something so simple. Sure, but we can avoid errors and readability issues by getting these definitions right the first time, then avoiding re-entering these conditions all over the place. We can do things like this:

to say the score assessment: if the total points is abysmal: say "This is unacceptable."; otherwise if the total points is low: say "This isn't going well."; otherwise if the total points is average: say "Things could be worse."; otherwise if the total points is high: say "This is an admirable playthrough."; otherwise if the total points is perfect: say "Outstanding! Truly remarkable."; otherwise: say "Oh, my. It seems Drew failed to account for this outcome.".

With this out of the way, we can finalize the command, and its a good deal more polished than what I came up with a year ago!

carry out diagnosing the player: say the offhanded remark; let the player's condition be the siphontype of the player; say diagstring corresponding to a siphontype of the player's condition in the table of diagnoses; say line break; say the score assessment.

Just to keep things interesting, let's randomize the score, just so that we can see all of the responses.

before diagnosing the player: now the total points is a random number from zero to ten.

That's everything for the DIAGNOSE command. Along the way, we talked about text in tables, text substitution, definitions, and even added a bit of randomness. As always, feel free to ask me anything about Inform 7, Repeat the Ending, or anything, really.

[snonkerdoodlefizzy221b]

Regarding Mick Mars earlier today I saw a magazine cover that was posted online (I think Nikki even posted it) that had Sixx and John 5 on the cover with something along the lines of “a much needed new wild era for crue” plus on the quote on the side that said “Mick didn’t want to be in the band anymore, we had no choice���.

Like, first of all you guys said there would be no more after 2015 but that was a huge lie. Plus Mick didn’t say he didn’t want to be in the band anymore, he never has said that up until he said he’d be fine with never talking to the guys again. He said that he’d be open to record new music (which they are doing with John 5) and/or a one off like they did the football thing. Mick is simply unable to tour the world anymore because he’s in constant pain! I saw them in Cleveland last year and as great as it was to see Mick he was in so much pain. I’m not afraid to say that Nikki has a very narcissistic and ableist attitude towards Mick.

Breaking news, honestly disappointing behavior from the Crüe!

The hypocrisy is just getting me. I agree with absolutely everything you said!

Also that last line--I'm assuming you used narcissistic as an adjective meaning self-centered. We're not diagnosing anybody with npd here, haha (I don't want to get cancelled). That seems like a valid argument, considering his generous, positive outlook to nearly everyone else around him. Thanks for saying that, it kinda cleared up my confusion around it

[xovvo]

English Wordsmithing Pt. 1: From PIE to Proto-Germanic

Ok, so intro post with the basics of PIE is done. Now we can actually get to making these words! Today, I'm feelin' like I want some good words for clergy/pagan priestly roles since pretty much all native English words for them have been Christianized.

There are a few PIE roots we could select (including *weh₂t-, which yielded Latin "vātēs" for an Oracle, prophetess, or seer, Odinn, and several words in English and other Germanic languages meaning "madness", "excitement", "singing", "rage", etc. It's a fun root, but not what I'm looking for right now. Maybe later.), but for this purpose, I want to explore *seh₂k-, which gave us Latin "sacer", "sanctus" and English "sacred" and English/French "saint". It has meanings of making or being holy, as well as making a pact---which is great! Perfect!

A note on Orthography: since my system can't render ḗ correctly, nor é̄, a long vowel bearing accent will be written as e̋.

Now we need to choose endings. I'm going to focus on endings that derive agent nouns from roots or verbs. The first that springs to mind is *-te̋r, which throws the stem into the ø grade. Because it derives nouns from adjectives, I could actually append this not just to the bare *seh₂k- root, but also the various infix-presents, and the factative and causative forms. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough yet with PIE word-formation, so I don't have a good idea of what happens when I need to adjust stress/ablaut on more than one syllable.

Wiktionary also claims that *-lós is also a suffix that derives agent nouns from roots/verbal nouns. Great, add it to the pile.

Lastly, I want to explore is actually three endings connected by ablaut. We have *-mén(s) > *-mën, *-mon(s) > *-mō, and *-mn̥. I'm tempted to think *-mn̥ is the original ending since *-mō is its collective/plural, and that was a common path for new words to get coined in PIE (and it's how we got the feminine gender in Post-Anatolian PIE!) and *-me̋n created in analogy, but I don't have data for that. It should be noted that *-mn̥ is neuter and both *-mō and *-me̋n are masculine. Also technically only *-me̋n and *-mō create agent nouns---but in Proto-Germanic two of the endings collapse together, and by the time we get to Old English, they're all the same ending.

as a bonus, I'm also including *seh₂klōys, which only has descendents in Anatolian languages and meant something like ‘custom, customary behavior, rule, law, requirement; rite, ceremony; privilege, right’, according to Dr. Kloekhorst, in his Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon which is great and I love it.

So, our candidate words are:

*sh₂kme̋n ~*séh₂kmō ~ *séh₂kmn̥

*sh₂klōs

*sh₂kte̋r

*seh₂klōys, for funsies

Now, the forms for the genitive and the plurals were distinct, so I'll be listing these words in tables with these four forms of the word (Nominative Singular, Nominative Plural, Genitive Singular, Genitive Plural). Because the oblique cases merge so fast (to the point where we go from PIE's fulll Nominative-Accusative-Genitive-Vocative-Ablative-Allative-Dative-Locative-Instrumental system to Old English's Nominative-Accusative-Genitive-Dative system that was already just a Nominative-Genitive system except for a few rare forms.) and I'm currently not looking to make new words out of oblique forms, we're good leaving them off.

So! our initial tables are:

Image captions coming once I figure out how to trick screanreaders into pronouncing IPA

So, for the purposes of this post, I'll be following a roughly chronological order for the sound changes, but if you're following along at home, the chronological summary of sound changes can be found on page 152 of A Linguistic History of English, Volume I: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic by Don Ringe, but it's recommended that you definitely follow along by reading from section 3.2.1.

Now, Immediately, several sound changes are relevant to our words:

Syllabic resonants prepend an epenthic "u"

Word-final bimoric ("long") -ō lengthens to trimoric ("overlong") -ô

Word-initial laryngeals are dropped before consonants, laryngeals that precede a vowel color /e/ and /ē/ and are dropped, laryngeals that follow vowels lengthen them and color /e/ and /ē/ and are dropped, AND because neither Cogwill's nor Osthoff's law apply here, laryngeals between consonants are replaced by epenthic "ǝ"

Giving us:

Once again, this image uncaptioned until I can make a reader read it comprehensibly, I'm so sorry

At this point, the biggest changes we need to handle are Grimm's and Verner's Laws.

Grimm's Law shifts the "voiceless" series of consonants to voiceless fricatives ([ p, t, k ] > [ f, þ, x(orthographic "h") ]), "voiced" obstruents to voiceless obstruents ([ b, d, g ] > [ p, t, k ]), and "voiced-aspirated" obstruents to voiced obstruents (which also had voiced fricative allophones in many positions; [ bʰ, dʰ, gʰ ] > [ b, d, g ]). Now, clusters of obstruents block the shift such that only the first obstruent shifts. Which means for our purposed, only one consonant---the final "k" in the root is affected and nothing else.

Verner's Law and is more complicated. To quote Dr. Ringe in Section 3.2.4: """ After the PIE voiceless stops had become voiceless fricatives by Grimm’s Law, they became voiced by Verner’s Law if they were not word-initial and not adjacent to a voiceless sound and the last preceding syllable nucleus was unaccented; *s was also affected, and became voiced *z under the same conditions """

Also, really only affecting the genitive singular of *-ós: *-ósyo, is apocope, wwhich actually ends up chopped back to *-ós.

So now, at this crossroads we have:

At this point, stress moves to the initial syllable (so I will no longer be marking stress) which strengthens ǝ > a, and then two sequences of changes happen at the same time:

m > n at the end of words, then Vn > V̨ word-final /n/ is lost while nasalizing the preceeding vowel, and then ę̄ > ą̄

unstressed /e/ > /o/ before wC, unstressed /e/ > /i/ everywhere else

after this, the next two big changes happen before the Late contraction of vowels in hiatus wraps everything up:

ji > i, kicking off the general loss of j between vowels except the environments *ijV > *ijV and ǝjV > *jV

After stress moved to the initial syllable the low rounded back vowels unrounded: [ o, ō, ô ] > [ a, ā, â ], then after ę̄ > ą̄ and VjV > VV, the long low vowels re-rounded, regardless of nasalization: [ ā, â ] > [ ō, ô ]

The contraction of vowels in hiatus wraps everything up. For the most part, the contraction meant /o/ and /a/ got lengthened, capping at trimoric length.

So, our words are now in their Final Proto-Germanic state:

It's almost comprehensible to screen readers!

Right?

Well, not quite. Because we have to take into account he morphological changes that were made as native speakers remodeled declensions and shit to suit how they interpreted their language to work.

Here, it's just Nom. sing. "saglas" > "saglaz"

And also the leveling of sag- and merger of -mǫ̂ + -mō endings (with light remodelling.) Now we're ready to head into the next post where we cover the Intermediate stages between Proto-Germanic and Old English, with this set:

Soon, I promise

[filthforfriends]

Thoughts on Damiano sharing that "we're all clitoridian women" slogan? I'm not sure what the event he was attending was about, I guess something about female sexual pleasure, but the slogan is a big yikes and the fact that he chose to share this specifically gave me a huge ick. It sounds like a phrase straight out of the terf book.

I thought the same thing. When did we start bringing clits into transphobic rhetoric? Why the fuck is it giant and neon?? Also what??

Damiano was actually attending a panel Giorgia did for WeWorld Festival. Its a big event put on by an Italian humanitarian organization to address "gender-based violence, prevention, consent." After flipping through the WeWorld Onlus' insta story today, I found multiple posts that appear to be overtly trans-inclusive.

I feel like I’m really missing something. Art exhibits are a big part of WeWorld Festival and I'm almost positive that this sign is from a set that Claire Fontaine custom made for Dior Fall 2020. (That’s also how I know that these pieces have nothing to do with each other which makes the display confusing.) It is quite literally performative feminist art admist a humanitarian event.

I can tell you all this, but I cannot tell you what "clitordian" means. Its very likely derived from the clitoride, the Italian word for clitoris. The -ian suffix is often used to indicate place of origin. Example: Italy → Italian, Canada → Canadian, Brazil → Brazilian, Egypt → Egyptian. So it follows that clitordian is an adjective, referring to someone from the nation of clitoride (clitoris). What does that actually mean? Not the faintest idea.

I will say that Fontaine is anonymous, so they’re not there when the exhibit is installed. A French artist creating for a Italian designer in multisyllabic English is a lot of opportunities for meaning to get skewed. I don’t know if this was intended to be transphobic, but it certainly sounds like it. I really hope this is a culture or language barrier thing and no trans folks felt unwelcome because of that sign.

[rbadgalriri]

Last day of tour today! The end of something I never thought I'd see the beginning of. As I write this I'm trying to think of adjectives that could describe this experience but all I can really think of is the moment where we're behind the curtains and I see flashes like stars and your faces light up with the spotlights that go up when we sing the first note. I think of meeting all of you and being inspired by your smiles and your stories and leaving a mark that took minutes to imprint but will last a lifetime - thanks for having us and again thanks to everyone who came to our M&G and worst kept secret tour and anyone who showed us any love - you made up some of the best memories of my life, you have my heart 💗

[musicarenagh]

From Bars to Melodies: The Evolution of Devon Fouch's Style I promise you'll be entertained today by the most sizzling MC from the Chi-town firmly on the hip-hop scene. I'm talking right here about no one else but Devon Fouch who is a great rapper and comes with a new album 'Devotion On The Rocks' and it's simply. Listening to this song, you would most definitely want to hear the distinct voice of Cubanis, a feature artist that has left everyone talking. Teaming up magic as ever, Devon's authentic, lyrical flow wandering these sharp beats against Cubanis' insane and amazing vocals. It's one of the most up-to-date treasures in how music served as the storytelling device. When the music of "Existential" fills the air, you'll float away, and a moment later you'll be back at the place. The tunes are so lush and mesmerizing, they feel like a cinematic experience, and Devon uses adjectives to paint such rich pictures into the words, which is like a theatre scene. Besides, the fusion of Cubanis's raw passion with such kind of sound allows you to get music that affects you from the bottom of your heart. And all of a sudden, one is hit right from the heart - the love, the loyalty, the dedication, all the nines in one package. Yet here I am, utilizing so many words to speak!He's as lucky as anyone to have been there and he will tell it to you as it was. I've just met up with Devon Fouch here to get their inside scoop. We're into everything - the subject of the musical influences and his journey in the music world, the creative process behind the album, and what is coming in next, you name it. This is the VIP tour that every Devon Fouch devotee should attend. Listen to Existential below https://open.spotify.com/track/2ZH9mlKLcTqhPUlIhGLcJD Follow Devon Fouch on Facebook Twitter Spotify Soundcloud Youtube Instagram Tiktok What is your stage name? My stage name is Devon Fouch Is there a story behind your stage name? Really my stage name was built off inspiration, for example Kendrick Lamar middle name is Lamar. Drake is Aubrey’s middle name. So I went with the more authentic approach and not hide behind a character. Where do you find inspiration? I find inspiration from anything great. Also impact. impact plays a huge role in things that inspire me personally. What was the role of music in the early years of your life? The role for music in the early years of my life was more like coping. It also allowed me to get my thoughts out because I never really was the social butterfly so writing was just the best way for me to communicate my reasoning. It just came more natural. Are you from a musical or artistic family? Yes I have a lot of talent in my family. I’m not the first for sure. Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry? I would say Michael Jackson in my early years. Also Kanye West. Nas. There’s so many layers of that inspiration. How did you learn to sing/write/to play? Just practice. Studying people who were already good at it. I also just had a curiosity that kind of kept me digging deeper and deeper into the craft. But mainly practice and constantly learning. What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform? I believe my first concert was Fabolous. That was dope seeing someone I listened to lyrically do what he does best in person. How could you describe your music? I describe my music as timestamp E.Ps. One moment it would sound like one thing because that’s what I’m inspired to make in the moment. The other moment it could be a whole total one off from what I made the previous release so yeah, I would describe it as a timestamp. It’s my urge to always want to be different than staying in a box. [caption id="attachment_55317" align="alignnone" width="1440"] I describe my music as timestamp E.Ps.[/caption] Describe your creative process. It’s not a set in stone process because again it allows me to think and create outside a certain routine but the most consistent thing I can say is a certain level of freestyle being implemented in my craft.

It’s gets my creativity going in a way. What is your main inspiration? Main inspiration is impact. I would give it to inspiration and family for sure. I want to impact the culture and also take care of the people that I love. What musician do you admire most and why? I definitely admire Michael Jackson. He left such a great legacy. I remember when he passed away it didn’t feel real to me. I didn’t think he could die. Plus he had such a dope balance with social impact while keeping it entertaining. Very gifted. Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career? Yes, when I first started I was more of a bars only lyricist type of person. Then I evolved more into hooks, notes. I have more of this zoomed out or full court kind of awareness rather than just the bars and metaphors alone. Who do you see as your main competitor? Myself for sure. What are your interests outside of music? Family and books. I love to learn. If it wasn't a music career, what would you be doing? I would definitely say I love human nature and how much alike yet different we are from one another. Anything that’s hard to predict but has a sort methodical aspect to really. What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music? The balance between stepping up to the plate digitally while keeping the integrity of the music intake. I want to maintain the quality of my outputs while making sure it’s received. https://open.spotify.com/album/09YQYmwPMObu3EUdDzm8Ng If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be? I would say the monopoly that the Big 3 have on streaming platforms as far as editorial playlists. I believe they need a mandatory amount of independent unsigned artist like a percentage of these artist should be able to get on editorial playlist consistently. That’s just my opinion. Why did you choose this as the title of this project? Devotion On The Rocks is my collaborative project. It’s about love and it’s a tropical vacation on a project. It has a chill vibe but it’s love so yeah. It’s dope imagery. Existential is a single off that project and it’s inspired by the concept which is I can’t exist without the woman of my life. It’s just raw and it’s truth. What are your plans for the coming months? My plan is to focus on the marketing rollout within a set budget so the project is received well in its respected market. Do you have any artistic collaboration plans? I’m currently in constant Collaboration with Cubanis. A phenomenal Dance Hall master within his craft. That’s just where I’m at currently. Shout out to That New JT, also phenomenal. What message would you like to give to your fans? I want them to know how much I appreciate them and I value their support. They keep me going. I’m hoping my music is causing some kind of impact on their lives. That’s really what I want to do for them, because other artists have done that for me so, yeah I love them.