#described and transcribed in the replies

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

i think of this tweet every fucking time i watch this scene

[Video Description: A clip of two characters from the show “Dead Boy Detectives”, Charles and Edwin, walking through a forest and talking. After the clip is a screenshot of a tweet from “Might Guy” (@YOUTHBEAST) that says “why do so many guys want a girl that's "like one of the boys"??? just date one of ur boys u cowards.” //End VD.]

[TRANSCRIPT]:

- But Crystal is difficult. Wilful. Combative.

- (chuckles) Well, that sounds a lot like you, doesn’t it? Wait, maybe that’s why I like her so much! See? We’re figuring this out!

-[automated voice reading tweet] Why do so many guys want a girl that's ‘like one of the boys’? Just date one of your boys, you cowards.

[rjalker]

idk if anybody has said this to u yet but thank u for spreading awareness about how the public domain actually works, if i saw one more "you Have to call him willie and he HAS to be black and white" post i think id have a conniption fit

Thank you! It's very frustrating seeing all the fearmongering misinformation. I've been looking forward to this for the last year, but somehow I didn't realize that so many people had no idea what the Public Domain was at all...

I'm hoping people will actually put in the effort to do research and learn about these things so we don't have this problem every year, rather than everyone jumping on the "lets play attack dog for Disney's lawyers for free by screaming copyright infringement at every drawing of Mickey Mouse" bandwagon.

Like. It is baffling in the extreme how many people have instantly turned into corporate attack dogs over things that they do not in any way understand, but somehow they think they're being anticapitalist by doing so? They think they're being progressive by leaping to fearmonger and uphold Disney's stranglehold over the Public Domain by spreading fearmongering and misinformation that...literally didn't even exist before five days ago.

People now think that because Mickey Mouse is Public Domain, this somehow magically means it's literally illegal to draw Mickey Mouse in any way. It's confounding. And its just showing how deep the corporate propaganda runs. And I'm really really hoping people will start waking up and realizing how fucked up their reactions to this is and start actually learning about the Public Domain instead of immediately just spreading blatant misinformation about it that a five second google search will dispel.

I've now had to see four people proclaiming, with utmost self-righteous confidance, that celebrating the Public Domain, and celebrating that Mickey Mouse is Public Domain, is "corporate bootlicking for Disney" and "free advertising for Disney".

Because these people saw everyone saying not to give JK Rowling free advertising by continuing to celebrate her characters when the books have bigotry baked into them, and now think that they can just say the same thing about anything no matter what the context, even when they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.

Disney has done so much to destroy awareness of the Public Domain that people are now convinced that celebrating the Public Domain...is capitalistic greed. Really makes you wish werewolf transformations were in real life because god fucking damn do I want to maul some billionaires.

I am once again begging everyone, as a bare bones beginning, to their understanding of the Public Domain, to go watch this presentation by the Internet Archive from 2019 if you're able to. (Some of them have subtitles, some of them don't, I'm going to ask if they have a transcript)

Here's a relevant clip from video 14.

[ID: A short video clip of Joseph Gratz at the 2019 Internet Archive conference about the Public Domain, sitting in a yellow chair as he speaks, saying and gesturing along with his words: "That's the, uh, official, maybe impractical strategy. The unofficial, um, more practical strategy is...be bold! Right?" [applause] "If you're acting in good faith, people are not going, ah, most copyright holders are people of good faith, who do not want to go after people who are acting in good faith, who are not harming their legitimate economic interests. And so if you're doing something, even pretty boldly, that is, that you believe and have a basis to believe, uh, and a reasonable basis to believe is in the Public Domain, or is fair use -- going out and doing it is the way, um, is the way forward, rather than being endlessly afraid." His speech ends, there's a short pause, then more applause. End ID.]

[lektricfergus]

[image id: a screenshot of many tumblr replies, they read:

@lmaonade: "he should have got pregnant or something" @greenlabcoat: "yeah that other person is right he should have gotten pregnant" @penndragon: "yeah I agree he should've gotten pregnant" @i-like-cherry-3-14159: "blaming working class people for their manager's shitty safety violations? not a good look tsk tsk" @i-like-cherry-3-14159: "oh also agree he should've been pregnant". the word "pregnant" in the last reply is slightly cut off. /end id]

Noah from noah’s ark should be canceled because it’s not safe to have all those different animals close to each other

[haedalkoo]

Jimin's thoughts are 오밀조밀

Long time no see! Today I'm bringing over a cute conversation between i-kookminers and k-kkms on Twitter. The lovely @goldenhickeysandramen sent it my way yesterday, and we woke up to replies from korean jikookers explaining the cultural context behind JK's words in a w-live. I found it so cute I couldn't not bring it to your attention here.

The first post was made by someone curious about why korean fans found this JK clip so adorable.

The phrase OP was pointing out is the following (JK's 27/03/23 live, min 51:51):

확실히 이게 사람마다 생각하는 게 많이 달라. Certainly, the way every person thinks is very different. 지민 형의 생각이 약간 오밀조밀하는 거 같아. Jimin hyung's way of thinking is a bit meticulous. 오밀조밀하다기보다 엄청 뭐라해야 될까… Well, more than meticulous, how should I say it...

(he didn't finish his thoughts LOL he went on a tangent after this :'))

The word he used to describe Jimin's way of thinking is 오밀조밀 (/oh-mil-cho-mil/). This word is a little difficult to translate because it's a 고사성어 (故事成語), aka a 4-letter-idiom that typically comes from ancient Korean literature or history.

(Before the invention of hangeul, the korean alphabet we all know, Korean used Chinese characters (also known as hanja) to transcribe Korean words and sounds. The heritage of this tradition can be found in words like this, or in the use of hanja in newspapers. Let me know if you want to know more about this!)

오밀조밀 is made up of these 4 characters: 奧密稠密.

奧 means deep, 密 means tight or dense (fun fact, it's one of the two characters that makes up the word 'secret', so it also has the meaning of 'hidden'. Secret in korean is 비밀 /bimil/ or ひみつ /himitsu/ in japanese, 秘密) and 稠 also means thick or dense.

But what does this word actually mean? Why did Jungkook using it cause so much fuzz?

Like OP and other korean fans have said, it's used to describe tightly packed, or delicate and meticulous things.

When I first saw the clip, I agreed with JK. Jimin's extreme attention to detail and delicate and catious thinking, both as an artist and a person, can surely evoke this word. I'd only ever seen that word used to describe someone's facial features, in one of those highly specific and slightly funny ways that Koreans have to compliment someone's physical traits, but I didn't think twice about JK's choice of words.

However, cultural nuance is so important and it cracked the code for me. Here's an explanation:

As you can see, the word still holds that delicate and tight meaning, but it's not used for abstract things such as thoughts. If you look up the hanja dictionary, it describes "a refined and detailed appearance regarding craftsmanship and skill/a very meticulous and detailed appearance." Synonyms include words like 'cute' and 'pretty' (아기자기 is one of them, which means small and cute, baby-like. Isn't that the most Jimin word you've ever heard??).

Like I told @goldenhickeysandramen, nobody knows (or loves) Jimin better than JK. So, yeah, of course Jungkook thinks that Jimin is 오밀조밀, despite how unconventional it may sound. Even his thoughts are pretty to him. 🥺💖

[carigm]

The “Teaser”, mlvn rooftop convo, and Lord of the Rings parallel…

This is gonna be a long post, so grab some snacks y’all.

First of all, the teaser the Duffers shared at this Netflix shareholders event was basically all BTS stuff, and according to someone that was there, we have mostly seen all of it. The actual clips from the show they showed were so short that most people missed it. However, over those short clips it seems they played a voiceover of part of the mlvn rooftop convo. Notice how the Suffer Sisters are literally incapable of sharing anything new, and the only audio they disclosed is from the ONE scene that’s been leaked to death, and even transcribed multiple times with the help of AI. In any case, Netflix did not share this teaser with the masses, and it’s unlikely they ever will. Stranger Things is not going to the Super Bowl this year (yes you heard that right) and the Tudum Event isn’t until May. Our only hope before that would be them releasing something on Will’s birthday, but whether in March or May, I believe we’ll be getting a proper teaser by then.

People that attended the event reported that El has a voiceover line where she goes “they don’t get to write the ending, we do” and apparently a voiceover Mike line where he goes “we’ll finish this together” (I’m not sure if this was paraphrased or not). Immediately, we all realized that these lines sound pretty close to what Mike is allegedly saying to her during the rooftop scene. Many people in the fandom have taken the time to transcribe that scene, some with AI and some without, and although some things could be wrong here and there, the general idea of it seems pretty clear. I’m attaching an AI reading of the scene here, so I can point out where I think his dialogue might be from…

Around the 1.43 mark, the AI picked up “enjoying it, together”, however I think this is where the “we’ll finish it, together” line comes into play. If anything, this shows AI isn’t 100% accurate, and it does call into question some of these previous lines 😂…I think it’s possible that after this speech from Mike about stories, fantasy endings and heroes, El tries to follow his advice and be positive, and maybe she delivers the “they don’t get to write our ending, we do” line back to him. It’s unfortunate because obviously we can’t see her face in the video, but I think it makes sense she would reply with that because right after it seems like he says “of, course…” and then proceeds to seemingly add that the Party can have a happy ending, without all the fantasy elements he mentioned before.

I find it very interesting that he’s choosing to speak to her with this storytelling analogy, which at first I believed to be a D&D analogy, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like he’s talking about an actual story. And then the lord of the rings parallel hit me, specifically with this scene. If you’re not aware, Finn Wolfhard has mentioned lotr twice now when talking about season 5, and I personally think it’s possible that Mike is using lord of the rings here as a reference to describe the hero’s journey and relate it to what the party has been through. Think about it, he’s trying to cheer El up, who has been stuck in that fuckass radio station for a year, who’s probably extremely tired of everything she has been dealing with for years, and he just wants to offer her some consolation so she can keep going and fighting. Does that sound familiar?

Well my friends, if it does, that’s because it is a direct parallel to Frodo and Sam from Lord of the Rings. I’ve always thought Byler were insanely samfrodo coded (funny enough the last S4 Byler scene is almost identical to this scene too), but it seems the Duffers are paralleling mlvn to them here. In lotr, Frodo bears the biggest burden of the story, as he follows his hero’s journey to Mordor to defeat evil. Along the way, ofc, he becomes increasingly weary and hopeless, and it is up to Sam (his best friend) to cheer him up and provide him with strength to keep him going. How does Sam do this? Interestingly enough, he encourages Frodo by describing all the beautiful things that will come AFTER they have won, what they and their friends will be able to enjoy when they get back home. Basically everything Mike appears to be saying to El in this scene, fantasizing about the end of the battle. To make the parallels even crazier, while on his hero’s journey, Frodo has to remain in hiding because there are multiple forces looking for him, and we know that El is basically hiding away from the government.

Another thing I want to point out is that in lotr (spoilers I guess 😭) good does win in the end, and the main characters get to return back home. However, Frodo is so changed by the journey and all the things he encountered that he simply cannot stay with his friends. Instead, he leaves and goes to the Undying Lands, where he finds peace. He doesn’t die, but he also cannot stay in Middle Earth. Him and Sam have a beautiful goodbye scene and then Sam is left with the literal book of stories Frodo started, and is told by Frodo to “finish it”.

Make of that what you will…

[five-rivers]

Where's the post that explains how you create the names in the fic 'Ancestral'?

Unfortunately, I can't find it either! Either tumblr ate it or it was a reply on AO3 or something.

Which means that I'll have to just explain it here!

For most of the personal names, what I've done is pronounce them as if most of the vowels are half-swallowed and then transcribe that as best I can. What this looks like in writing is most of the vowels being replaced with 'y.'

Hence: Iris -> Irys, Madeline -> Madlyn (close family members will sometimes blur the Avlynyse and English pronunciations, which is why Matthew sometimes calls Maddie Madelin).

I treat 'j' a little differently.

Hence: Jasmine -> Yazmyn, James -> Ymaz, Joanna -> Yonna

Sometimes I'll instead roll back to an earlier pronunciation or spelling of a name.

Hence: George -> Georg (both 'g's hard)

Sometimes I will do both.

Hence: Lewis -> Louis -> Lwys

For surnames, I'll usually take some English word I feel describes the person adequately, maybe go back one etymological step, or find the equivalent in old/middle English, then do the same thing as I do with the personal names.

Hence: (of the) Cup -> cuppe -> Kyppe, doors -> dura, doru -> Dyrys

Sometimes, though, I'll give them a sort of place name. Myrynoe, the last name of the Speaker for the Assembly, is an old form of 'from Myrno,' the name of the second largest island.

I think that covers examples of all the name creation I've done so far, but I'm playing with the idea of converting 'foreign' names to Avlynyse pronunciation as well.

Hope this answers your question!

[aro-comics]

Aros In Relationships - Update Post

Oh god, everyone, it’s been SO long. I Just wanted to say (even if the bulk of my life updates soon here), that I’ve missed you all so so much, and I’m so glad I get to finally be able to share my work on these. It’s certainly been a long time coming.

But onto my personal note for this series - I’m really grateful that I’ve had the chance to transcribe their stories. Talking to these people, hearing their stories, their words … I can’t even describe how many times I couldn’t believe what I was hearing/reading, because everything they were saying felt so similar to something I would have said. I almost felt like they were reading out the thoughts and experiences in my own head!!

And I guess that’s why they call it a community – we do have a lot in common! But obviously, our experiences haven’t been identical on the romance front, and it was really nice to get to hear from other aromantic people about what this is like.

Image Descriptions:

Title Card: Cover Image. This Comic series is titled “Aromanticism and Romantic Relationships”. A subtitle underneath says that it is a collaborative sketch comic series. Four people are illustrated on the cover. On the far left is Arrow, a person with an undercut and wavy brown hair. Standing next to them is Lucien, who is wearing a hoodie and a collar with a pentagram charm. They have short brown hair and tan skin. Further to the right is Dot; she has pale skin with light freckles, long slightly curly brown hair in a high ponytail, and a grey hairband. On the very right is May, who has long curly brown hair, tan skin, and is wearing a maroon shirt with a striped dark jacket, and a necklace with a ring on it.

Slide 1: Celia  faces the reader, hand at the back of her neck. “Hey everyone – it’s been an eon (ok, like a year or so). I’ll explain more about where I’ve been on my tumblr, but for this series I thought I’d make an intro for what it’s all about.”

Slide 2: Celia continues,  “A while back, I was asked to make a comic about being in a romantic relationship as an aro person – Which, given the nature of my comics –I can’t really do, because I’ve never dated anyone.”

Slide 3: “Thankfully, some arospec people who had been in romantic relationships reached out – and were really kind in volunteering their time and personal stories to help me record their perspectives.” 

Celia sits at a table, typing away at her laptop while interviewing May. Celia says: “Wait – you too?” in surprise as she realizes she relates to the story May is telling her. They reply: “Yeah! And when…” as they continue their story. 

Slide 4: “And they’ve had *such* incredible patience for me these past two years I chipped away at these comics –” 

A scene from the two years it took to get this comic series out the door. This was during Celia’s completion of her university thesis project. She holds a draft in her hands, reading out to the participant that she calls on her phone, “On page 9, I wasn’t sure exactly what to draw… I could show the progress of what y’all did on the date?” 

They reply: “That works! The sketch is mostly accurate…”

In the background, references to upholstering a bench like padded chair, design sketches, and a poster with a map and circled possible apartment locations is depicted. 

Slides 5-6: The scene switches to a group shot with Celia and the participants. She stands with one hand on her hip and the other outstretched, gesturing to them. 

 “So, without further ado – please welcome May, Arrow, Dot, and Lucien!”

The four are sitting at a table with nameplates set in front of them. Arrow waves a hand at the reader, while Lucien has their arms folded and resting on the table. May and Dot both smile in a friendly manner at the reader. 

Celia continues, “You’ll be hearing from them over the course of this series – which I’ve adapted as long form comics like my “What is Love” comic over on my tumblr.”

Slide 7: “My process for these comics was highly collaborative. I worked together with these people as I wrote the script and drew the storyboard, because I want to be as authentic to their voices as possible. If they read a little different from my usual work – that’s because they are! And I hope you’ll enjoy getting the chance to hear from other Arospec folks' perspectives.”

Slide 7: “I’ll share each person’s comic with their cover page on Tumblr – the whole thing!” The cover page for May’s comic is shown, decorated with doodles of stars. It has the caption: “May – They/Them * Aro Demiace”

“And in parts with a collaborative IG account opened for each person’s comic.”

Also shown is a screenshot of an account named arosinrelationships_may. The description of the account reads: “May’s comics as part of @aro_comics series posted here”

Celia signs off on the note ‘See you soon!’ and a heart.

[kiragecko]

@lordlyhour asked me for suggestions about how to get into linguistics. I'm too wordy to stuff all my thoughts into a reply, so here's a post!

Figure out what you're curious about and look into it casually. Don't take it too seriously. Linguistics is a huge field, and it can take a while to figure out which parts really resonate, so explore!

-

You want to understand more about how language changes and develops? I suggest looking up various words on Wiktionary, and clicking on various links in the "Etymology" section. Stop in the middle of thoughts to see if random words could be connected. Read through a page of words on Old-Engli . sh and see which ones you recognize. Look up a list of English prefixes and learn about where they come from and their subtleties of meaning.

Or look up Creoles and Pidgins! They are really cool, and also, because of the way they develop to bridge communication gaps, can work is interesting primers to a lot of concepts.

If you're interested in sounds, I suggest going to a site that shows an interactable IPA alphabet, and just listening to the various sounds and trying to interpret all the gobbledy-gook describing them. I mostly just use Wikipedia these days, but IPAChart is also pretty good, and there are a lot of other sites online with similar things.

Try to transcribe your own words in IPA. (You WILL be wrong, especially if you don't speak General American or a prestige British English dialect. Accept that and have fun doing it anyways!)

Watch some videos by Dr. Geoff Lindsey or Tom Scott's Language Files.

Find a bunch of pictures of your mouth and throat when forming various vowels. Read up on all the structures in your mouth/throat and how they affect sounds.

If you have fun getting thrown in the deep end, Index Diachronica has a lot of good info about historic sound changes, and PHOIBLE has a LOT of info about what sounds languages are actually likely to use, and how complex they can get. Neither is even slightly designed for newcomers, but it can be fun to play with stuff that only sort-of makes sense!

Conlangers (people who design artificial languages) also have a lot of good beginner resources! The Language Construction Kit covers all the basics in an interesting and accessible way.

Getting a book about historical linguistics from the public library can also be a great start. It will go over all the various things about language that can change, and give you a pretty good primer to the broader field while doing it. Also, you get to read about sound changes, and how sounds diverge as languages split from each other, and I LOVE that sort of thing! It's really really neat!

Also, look up the inflection systems of at least one language, because English's case system for nouns is pathetic, and our conjugation of verbs still leaves a lot to be desired. This leaves English speakers at a disadvantage when learning linguistics, because that stuff is kinda fundamental and instead we're heavily relying on word order.

I'm not nearly as interested in syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, but look into them enough to see if anything catches your eye.

-

If there's something that seems cool, look into it more. Read up on Latin, or Proto-Indo-European, or explore the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Look up the Indigenous languages in your area and try to learn how to actually pronounce the street names and other locations that everyone butchers. Listen to the people around you and notice the variations in dialect. Look at ALL the various meanings of 'for' or some other tiny particle, and try to understand the nuances. Whatever it is, dig in. If something is confusing, look into that. If something is distracting, note it for later, or let yourself get sidetracked.

There are fundamentals in linguistics. It helps to learn them at some point. But please have fun first! Then you'll get a better idea of which type of fundamentals you want to invest in. Because if you're interested in word change, you want to focus on very different things then if sounds systems intrigue you, or you want to understand what's happening in your brain.

[iridescentscarecrow]

trying hard to transcribe some very odd replies about barem from twt half of it is a joke but half of it is. important because i feel like. it's reaching somewhere. please shake me and ask me what's wrong i'd love to know myself! but anyway:

i am too out of it to offer any level of coherent thought about this chapter but who's the big tiddy milf with the irrepressibly cunty bone deep exhaustion in part 2 and why is it barem?

in an alternate world barem could be a good Dead Wife. please see my vision. barem is filed under both Bogeyman and Dead Wife in my brain and actually they're the same folder if you think about it. i could see him sprawling in a sunny field somewhere. uncanny valley grin fit for a Memory of some sort.

i think it's the irreconcilability of the dead wife with the rest of the plot, its carrying Meaning..... and barem, too. you burn away what the control devil always wanted and now has for the sake of what you think the control devil Means.

makima's dogs and the bloody birthed product of her search for intimacy -> nayuta and denji's relationship. and barem burns that away for HER? your heart belongs to and negates hers!

you transpose that chainsaw man fandom onto yourself but what do you want, really? your body under her control,,, actors and enactors blurring. the way denji and barem's hearts belong to makima and yet they see her in different ways, caught in different webs.

ummmm words that are just shapes in my brain. im experimenting with the category of dead wife to describe a thing. a. a barem. a persistent and futile ghost who drains the story's events into a nostalgia ridden horror. a ghost who contradicts and directs and fulfills... he's strangling nayuta and declaring his love for makima in the same breath. what's wrong with him!!! is he stupid??!

[lesmisletters-daily]

Details Concerning The Cheese-dairies Of Pontarlier

Les Mis Letters reading club explores one chapter of Les Misérables every day. Join us on Discord, Substack - or share your thoughts right here on tumblr - today's tag is #lm 1.2.4

Now, in order to convey an idea of what passed at that table, we cannot do better than to transcribe here a passage from one of Mademoiselle Baptistine’s letters to Madame Boischevron, wherein the conversation between the convict and the Bishop is described with ingenious minuteness.

“. . . This man paid no attention to any one. He ate with the voracity of a starving man. However, after supper he said:

“‘Monsieur le Curé of the good God, all this is far too good for me; but I must say that the carters who would not allow me to eat with them keep a better table than you do.’

“Between ourselves, the remark rather shocked me. My brother replied:—

“‘They are more fatigued than I.’

“‘No,’ returned the man, ‘they have more money. You are poor; I see that plainly. You cannot be even a curate. Are you really a curé? Ah, if the good God were but just, you certainly ought to be a curé!’

“‘The good God is more than just,’ said my brother.

“A moment later he added:—

“‘Monsieur Jean Valjean, is it to Pontarlier that you are going?’

“‘With my road marked out for me.’

“I think that is what the man said. Then he went on:—

“‘I must be on my way by daybreak to-morrow. Travelling is hard. If the nights are cold, the days are hot.’

“‘You are going to a good country,’ said my brother. ‘During the Revolution my family was ruined. I took refuge in Franche-Comté at first, and there I lived for some time by the toil of my hands. My will was good. I found plenty to occupy me. One has only to choose. There are paper mills, tanneries, distilleries, oil factories, watch factories on a large scale, steel mills, copper works, twenty iron foundries at least, four of which, situated at Lods, at Châtillon, at Audincourt, and at Beure, are tolerably large.’

“I think I am not mistaken in saying that those are the names which my brother mentioned. Then he interrupted himself and addressed me:—

“‘Have we not some relatives in those parts, my dear sister?’

“I replied,—

“‘We did have some; among others, M. de Lucenet, who was captain of the gates at Pontarlier under the old régime.’

“‘Yes,’ resumed my brother; ‘but in ’93, one had no longer any relatives, one had only one’s arms. I worked. They have, in the country of Pontarlier, whither you are going, Monsieur Valjean, a truly patriarchal and truly charming industry, my sister. It is their cheese-dairies, which they call <i>fruitières</i>.’

“Then my brother, while urging the man to eat, explained to him, with great minuteness, what these <i>fruitières</i> of Pontarlier were; that they were divided into two classes: the <i>big barns</i> which belong to the rich, and where there are forty or fifty cows which produce from seven to eight thousand cheeses each summer, and the <i>associated fruitières</i>, which belong to the poor; these are the peasants of mid-mountain, who hold their cows in common, and share the proceeds. ‘They engage the services of a cheese-maker, whom they call the <i>grurin</i>; the <i>grurin</i> receives the milk of the associates three times a day, and marks the quantity on a double tally. It is towards the end of April that the work of the cheese-dairies begins; it is towards the middle of June that the cheese-makers drive their cows to the mountains.’

“The man recovered his animation as he ate. My brother made him drink that good Mauves wine, which he does not drink himself, because he says that wine is expensive. My brother imparted all these details with that easy gayety of his with which you are acquainted, interspersing his words with graceful attentions to me. He recurred frequently to that comfortable trade of <i>grurin</i>, as though he wished the man to understand, without advising him directly and harshly, that this would afford him a refuge. One thing struck me. This man was what I have told you. Well, neither during supper, nor during the entire evening, did my brother utter a single word, with the exception of a few words about Jesus when he entered, which could remind the man of what he was, nor of what my brother was. To all appearances, it was an occasion for preaching him a little sermon, and of impressing the Bishop on the convict, so that a mark of the passage might remain behind. This might have appeared to any one else who had this, unfortunate man in his hands to afford a chance to nourish his soul as well as his body, and to bestow upon him some reproach, seasoned with moralizing and advice, or a little commiseration, with an exhortation to conduct himself better in the future. My brother did not even ask him from what country he came, nor what was his history. For in his history there is a fault, and my brother seemed to avoid everything which could remind him of it. To such a point did he carry it, that at one time, when my brother was speaking of the mountaineers of Pontarlier, <i>who exercise a gentle labor near heaven, and who</i>, he added, <i>are happy because they are innocent</i>, he stopped short, fearing lest in this remark there might have escaped him something which might wound the man. By dint of reflection, I think I have comprehended what was passing in my brother’s heart. He was thinking, no doubt, that this man, whose name is Jean Valjean, had his misfortune only too vividly present in his mind; that the best thing was to divert him from it, and to make him believe, if only momentarily, that he was a person like any other, by treating him just in his ordinary way. Is not this indeed, to understand charity well? Is there not, dear Madame, something truly evangelical in this delicacy which abstains from sermon, from moralizing, from allusions? and is not the truest pity, when a man has a sore point, not to touch it at all? It has seemed to me that this might have been my brother’s private thought. In any case, what I can say is that, if he entertained all these ideas, he gave no sign of them; from beginning to end, even to me he was the same as he is every evening, and he supped with this Jean Valjean with the same air and in the same manner in which he would have supped with M. Gédéon le Prévost, or with the curate of the parish.

“Towards the end, when he had reached the figs, there came a knock at the door. It was Mother Gerbaud, with her little one in her arms. My brother kissed the child on the brow, and borrowed fifteen sous which I had about me to give to Mother Gerbaud. The man was not paying much heed to anything then. He was no longer talking, and he seemed very much fatigued. After poor old Gerbaud had taken her departure, my brother said grace; then he turned to the man and said to him, ‘You must be in great need of your bed.’ Madame Magloire cleared the table very promptly. I understood that we must retire, in order to allow this traveller to go to sleep, and we both went upstairs. Nevertheless, I sent Madame Magloire down a moment later, to carry to the man’s bed a goat skin from the Black Forest, which was in my room. The nights are frigid, and that keeps one warm. It is a pity that this skin is old; all the hair is falling out. My brother bought it while he was in Germany, at Tottlingen, near the sources of the Danube, as well as the little ivory-handled knife which I use at table.

“Madame Magloire returned immediately. We said our prayers in the drawing-room, where we hang up the linen, and then we each retired to our own chambers, without saying a word to each other.”

[fdelopera]

Welcome to the 6th installment of 15 Weeks of Phantom, where I post all 68 sections of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, as they were first printed in Le Gaulois newspaper 115 yeas ago.

In today’s installment, we have Part III of Chapter 2: “La Marguerite Nouvelle” (“The New Marguerite”), as well as Part I of Chapter 3: “Où pour la première fois, MM. Debienne et Poligny donnent, en secret, aux nouveaux directeurs de l’Opéra, MM. Armand Monchardin et Firmin Richard, la véritable et mystérieuse raison de leur départ de l’Académie nationale de musique” (“Where for the First Time, MM. Debienne and Poligny Secretly Give the New Managers of the Opera, MM. Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard, the True and Mysterious Reason for Their Departure from the National Academy of Music”).

This section was first printed on Thursday, 30 September 1909.

For anyone following along in David Coward's translation of the First Edition of Phantom of the Opera (either in paperback, or Kindle, or from another vendor -- the ISBN-13 is: 978-0199694570), the text starts at Christine's line, “Perhaps when I'm feeling a little better, if that's all right with you” in Chapter 2 and goes to, “In choosing the ideal valedictory programme they had been advised by everybody who was someone in the world of society and the arts who had now foregathered in the foyer of the corps de ballet” in Chapter 3.

In this section, there are some significant differences between the standard First Edition text and the Gaulois text. This includes several paragraphs' worth of description of why the old managers decided to leave the Opéra. There are some other minor but important passages in the Gaulois text that were omitted from the First Edition, which paint a fuller picture of the events in question:

1) In the Gaulois text, Christine has an extra line in Chapter 2: « Je vous remercie, docteur !… J’ai besoin de rester seule… Allez-vous-en tous ! je vous en prie… laissez-moi… Je suis très nerveuse ce soir… il ne faut pas me contrarier.»

Translation:

"I thank you, doctor!... I need to be alone... All of you go! I beg you ... leave me... I am quite on edge this evening ... you mustn’t argue with me."

2) In this Gaulois text, the following paragraph was added after Erik's line, “The angels wept tonight.” This added paragraph contributes to Leroux's pseudo-journalistic style, and also lets us know how Leroux's narrator found out about what Erik said to Christine after the gala — the conversation was part of what Raoul reported to Faure, the examining magistrate:

— Ton âme est bien belle, mon enfant, reprit la voix grave d'homme et je te remercie. Il n'y a point d'empereur qui ait reçu un pareil cadeau! Les anges ont pleuré ce soir. »

Ces phrases bizarres ont été plus tard rapportées textuellement à M. le juge d'instruction Faure par celui qui les entendit et je ne fais ici que transcrire les feuillets d'un interrogatoire judiciaire qui a été publié, lors de l'affaire de Chagny, dans toute la presse et dont j'ai trouvé une coupure du reste dans les papiers du Persan.

Translation:

“Your soul is very beautiful, my child,” replied the man’s deep voice, “and I thank you. No emperor has ever received such a gift! The angels wept tonight.”

This strange conversation was later related verbatim to the examining magistrate, M. Faure, by he who heard it, and here I have only transcribed the pages of a judicial examination which was published in all the newspapers at the time of the Chagny case, and of which moreover I found a clipping amongst the Persian's documents.

3) The Gaulois text contains the paragraph highlighted in red above, which was omitted from the First Edition. This paragraph describes some of the failures of the previous management run by Debienne and Poligny, which Erik learned about and used to blackmail M. Poligny into giving him 20,000 francs per month. This passage emphasizes that Debienne and Poligny had decided to quit their jobs as managers not only because Erik had made their lives untenable, but also because there had been a public scandal. Long story short, they were cooking the books. Erik happened to know more about this scandal than what was published in the papers, and so rather than risk him getting them into even more trouble, they gave into his blackmail, and then soon after decided to leave the Opéra altogether. I have provided a translation of this paragraph below:

Paris had not forgotten what these two men had done for it during several difficult years where it was not enough to give one's toil and life to a work for it to succeed, but where it was above all necessary, in a time which still suffered from all the hardships of the war, to make the greatest of sacrifices — that of money. On that occasion, M. Debienne showed himself to be so generous with his own fortune, and M. Poligny so profligate with that of others, that for several years the public could be deceived about the prosperity of that noble enterprise. Soon, unpleasant rumors circulated about the wisdom of an administration which, having been as extravagant as it was artistic, found it all the more difficult to make ends meet, as we still say in our vulgar speech. In high quarters, people were shocked; the government found cause to become alarmed, and the Government Commissioner had the audacity and imprudence — encouraged as he was by the Under Secretary of State for Fine Arts — to allude to a situation close to the Managers which was in short in no way desperate, thus regrettable words were exchanged, which made relations difficult between the offices of the National Academy and the Ministry. Each side made life miserable for the other, the "ladies" began to meddle in the affair, and life became intolerable. And above all, because of the substantial commitments made at the beginning of the administration, money became tight. The daily political newspapers became hostile and, making unflattering comparisons, never missed an opportunity to pine for the renowned previous management. In spite of the comforts which were otherwise lavished upon them, MM. Debienne and Poligny were quite disheartened when the flop of the ballet, Endymion, for which they had nevertheless made the greatest of sacrifices, appeared to make them beg for mercy. In fact, three months later, they relinquished their privileges and gave up their place to two figures friendly to the powers that be, MM. Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard.

4) Minor differences in punctuation.

Click here to see the entire edition of Le Gaulois from 30 September, 1909. This link brings you to page 3 of the newspaper — Le Fantôme is at the bottom of the page in the feuilleton section. Click on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to turn the pages of the newspaper, and click on the Zoom button at the bottom left to magnify the text.

[lgcmanager]

PERSONAL CHANNELS ( Q1 2025 )

SCHEDULE TYPE: N/A RESTRICTIONS: ACTORS AND MODELS ONLY

it’s becoming more and more common for public personalities to own personal youtube channels through which they can communicate with their fans. two idols within legacy entertainment ( BLAZing’s May and Haru’s YP ) own accounts themselves that focus on their respective passions and professional lives. through these channels, public personalities are able to display their personalities, interests and consolidate their images. with this in mind LGC Agency has decided to be the first LGC subsidiary to offer to all its artists the possibility of owning their personal youtube channel.

( note: if you want a general idea of how these personal channels go, here are some examples: example #1 / example #2 / example #3 )

ELIGIBILITY

ACTORS and MODELS who have been on their path for at least ONE TRIMESTER and have a minimum of +50 HOSTING or +50 VARIETY may own a personal youtube channel.

channels are personal and therefore have a single owner ( no grouping possible ). however, artists may invite OTHER LEGACY DEBUTED ARTIST/MODEL/ACTOR once per trimester.

before applying for a channel, please note that this is a long term commitment ( 3 months minimum ) and will require you to write a minimum of 2 solos during this period to keep the channel.

individuals who have lost their account for not meeting the minimum requirements or decided that they do not want to continue it will need to wait 3 trimesters before applying for a new youtube channel.

IC wise, artists under 200 notoriety will have one video per week posted on their channel, while artists over 200 notoriety will have one video every two weeks posted on theirs. LGC agency will be in charge of editing and publishing each video, although the editing style will be decided by the artists.

NEW RULE: with the personal channels growing over the past couple of months, all of the personal channel owners will be given the task during their free time to transcribe and add subtitles to their videos! this means that once their editor is done reviewing and compiling a video that meets both the agency and personal channel owner's expectations, they will give the episode to the personal channel owner to add in the subtitles. any muses who have AT LEAST 80 POINTS IN A LANGUAGE ASIDE FROM KOREAN will be adding the subtitles to their videos. if your muse has at least 80 or more points in multiple languages ( eg. korean, english, japanese, french ), then the episodes will be subbed in those languages.

REQUIREMENTS ( NEW )

as mentioned above, channel owners must write a MINIMUM of 2 SOLOS of 300 words+ each trimester to keep their channel.

read below for further details depending of the muse’s notoriety;

0-199 NOTORIETY

may write up to 3 solos of 300+ words each per trimester

may write one thread of four replies minimum per trimester with a guest. guests receive no reward.

each requirements will reward +6 POINTS IN HOSTING, VARIETY, ACTING, OR PERFORMANCE and +4 NOTORIETY.

200+ NOTORIETY

may write up to 2 solos of 300+ words each per trimester

may write one thread of four replies minimum per trimester with a guest. guests receive no reward.

each requirements will reward +6 POINTS IN HOSTING, VARIETY, ACTING, OR PERFORMANCE and +4 NOTORIETY.

APPLICATION FORM

you have until JANUARY 11, 2025 11:59PM EST to apply for a personal youtube channel for this trimester. submit the following form to the lgcmanager blog to apply:

muse name:

channel’s name:

concept: (please describe in a minimum of 50 words the concept of the channel. will it be vlogs or videos sitting down in front of the camera? will it be more career oriented, hobby (example: makeup, fashion, food, environment), variety like (going for various challenges, trying out new activities)? in other words, tell us in detail what will make the channel unique and at the muse’s image)

AIRING DATES FOR Q4 PERSONAL CHANNELS

in case you missed it, the schedules for when all of the episodes for those shows have been posted over here on the lgcmedia sheet. if you want to write a netizen article pertaining to the episode/show, you can use that as reference in terms of the timeline.

ic wise, since the personal channel owners post more episodes than the number of solos/threads written, here is a schedule as to what days the episodes are posted:

g'day, jino! - mondays

hi!han - tuesdays

jinseo’s communication center - wednesdays

sanghyun’s stories - fridays

seonny side up - wednesdays

the adventures of kim cherry - saturdays

videogomdori - thursdays

xander: off the runway - thursdays

RENEWAL UPDATES

the muses listed below are the ones who are eligible to continue their personal channel for another trimester:

0-199 NOTORIETY

hi!han - seunghyun

200+ NOTORIETY

g'day, jino! - moon jino

jinseo’s communication center - kim jinseo

seonny side up - baek seona

sanghyun’s stories - lim sanghyun

the adventures of kim cherry - kim cherry

videogomdori - lee hyunsoo

xander: off the runway - han jisoo

if you do not want to continue your personal channel, you will have a 3 trimester cooldown period before you can reapply again.

RENEWAL FORM

if you want to continue your personal channel for another term, please fill out the form below. you have until JANUARY 11, 2025 11:59PM EST to submit it to the lgcmanager blog:

muse name: I would like to renew my personal channel for another term.

once we’ve received all of the forms, we’ll create another post detailing the channels that have been accepted and the point forms for this gig. afterwards, you can start writing solos and threads!

[55ludovicoplace]

Highly recommend this article. It is literally. Everything is so much worse even than it already seemed. This is to the construction of the sub what the Smithsonian article was to Rush's personality. Like it just puts it all out there. This is beyond horrible. "Concern" really did not accurately describe it it's more like being tied to a chair helpless to stop a guy from attempting a rocket jump in front of you.

Parts that stood out to me the most: staff were in their 20s and even teens(!!!!!) being paid $15/hr (for where they were based, far below livable); PH Nargeolet, the "content expert" (tour guide), may well have been suicidal or at least ready to die; construction materials included zip ties; Rush thought it was okay that the hull crackled when pressurized; the former employee Lochridge was told to withdraw his whistleblower claim and pay the company for legal fees under threat of having his reputation ruined and being deported and was accused of 'orchestrating his own firing'; immediately after he left Rush went to a random accountant and asked her if she wanted to take over piloting the sub; the fucking moron thought he would be fine if the viewport started to fail because he would just see that it was failing, with his eyes, and drop weights, and that would be fine. Because that's how deep sea submersible safety works. Holy shit. Every paragraph is a new adventure into the most jokerous thing you think you've ever heard and then you read the next one and it's even worse.

I feel like calling this an 'accident' is really generous - I heard OceanGate get compared to ValuJet a bit ago but it's less that and more Action Park. ValuJet at least flew functional airplanes. This is the fucking perfectly circular water slide. You know. The sort of thing a child can tell at a glance is obviously going to kill someone. This is the child annihilating zipline that has a nearly 150 foot drop because it's designed by a group of people including zero engineers. The Titan was literally constructed to Christmas Bullet standards. For those unaware the Bullet was a very early model of "airplane" designed to have wings with no bracing which of course immediately peeled off and killed the pilot because that's why you make wings with bracing. It's a bit like going check out my super innovative skyscraper! It is innovative because it is built out of fucking papier-mâché! This is a great idea and you are all just not ready for it.

Really incredible quote from emails transcribed in the article:

He added that he was afraid of retaliation from Rush—“We both know he has influence and money”—but would share his assessment with McCallum, in private: “That sub is Not safe to dive.” “Do you think the sub could be made safe to dive, or is it a complete lemon?” McCallum replied. “You will get a lot of support from people in the industry . . . . everyone is watching and waiting and quietly shitting their pants.” “It’s a lemon.” “Oh dear,” McCallum replied. “Oh dear, oh dear.”

Everyone. Is watching and waiting. And quietly shitting their pants.

What a way to put it.

[the-damned-and-divine]

Satanic Rage

A phone rang three times before it was picked up.

"Hello," a female imp answered before reciting a much-practiced speech. "You've reached the office of Satan: King of Wrath, Commander of Legions, Lord of War and Destruction, the Biggest and Baddest Big Bad-Ass in ALL Creation..."

"...And for YOUR sake, this had better be impor--" she was cut-off by the hellborn on the other end of the line. When she realized how important this call was, she quickly scrawled the details down on her notepad.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait..." Satan's secretary pleaded over the phone. "Run that last part by me again?"

"...Oh," she responded. "Oh, shit..."

"What's going--" another imp tried to ask before he was promptly shushed by the secretary.

"Okay, lemme give it to you straight: he is NOT gonna be happy about this. If whatever ring you're calling from suddenly starts experiencing ground tremors at or above a seven-point-five on the Richter Scale, you're gonna know exactly why."

"Are you absolutely sure that there is zero good news in relation to this, so as to soften the blow?.. The-There is NO upside to this? Not one SINGLE thing that could possibly alleviate Mr. Hellfire and Fury's legendarily bad temper?"

"...Well, RIP to those sorry bastards. Have a Satanic day! Buh-bye," the secretary hung up.

"...Sooo," the male imp cautiously inquired. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad--"

"Eight, easily," she replied before tearing the note out and handing it to him.

He had hoped she was being dramatic. But as he read what she had transcribed, he immediately understood that it was merely her "conservative" estimate on the level Satan's rage would reach upon receiving this report.

As much as he feared being the messenger of bad news, relaying information quickly was his most important job as Satan's personal assistant. Even if he was a casualty of Satan's violent rage, his family could live comfortably off of his "premature retirement package" for at least a decade. Bracing himself, he cracked open the door to the throne room and slipped inside.

"...Your Wrathfulness?" the impish personal assistant spoke up, nervously tip-toeing across the chamber.

"Sup, Steve?" the Sin of Wrath casually asked, still browsing the annual swimsuit edition of Bloodsports IllustratedTM---his copy being printed in this gigantic size so that he could read it like any other demon.

"...Urgent news from the mortal realm," Steve answered.

"How urgent?" Satan replied, lowering the magazine and locking eyes with his assistant.

"Very urgent..."

Satan groaned, rolling his four eyes in annoyance. He set his copy down on the arm of his throne, uncrossing his legs and giving his full attention to the imp.

"Okay, lay it on me," Satan beckoned. "What's the problem?"

"...It was recently discovered that Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia, Keeper of the Astral Grimoire, Observer of Ancient Rites--"

"What about him?" Satan interrupted, recognizing the individual being spoken of.

"He lent said grimoire to an unlicensed Hellion..."

"...Who?" Satan's tone deepened.

"A freelancer that sometimes eliminated targets for the Prince..."

"And why?"

Steve looked over his note. "T-That information hasn't been revealed to us, but--"

"But what?" Satan's baleful gaze narrowed.

"W-We were informed by his soon-to-be ex-wife and her brother, Marquis Andrealphus, that the freelancer is a..."

Satan leaned forward on his throne, expecting an immediate answer.

"...Paramour of his?" Steve stated with uncertainty, not sure what word (if any) was more accurate to describe the two demons' relationship.

Satan's grip tensed on his armrest, causing hairline cracks in the stonework. His lips formed a scowl, though his voice hadn't risen any higher.

"...Is that all?" the Sin inquired.

Steve gulped audibly, knowing that his next words would catapult Satan into a fit of rage. "...The freelancer and one of his associates were briefly detained by a private intelligence agency contracted by the United Sta--"

"THE FEDS CAUGHT THEM?!"

Satan's booming voice shook the chamber, nearly knocking the imp off his hooves. Recomposing himself, Steve continued.

"The rest of this company and the Prince himself liberated them, destroying the agency's base of operations in the process... However..."

If even for a half-second, Satan's mood had improved, that progress was quickly reversed. The cracking armrest shattered to pieces in his fist, but no shards flew towards Steve.

"...Video evidence and two survivors remained--"

Wrath had become incandescent with rage, throwing himself across the room and punching-out a wall. Steve reflexively dove into a fetal position, but was unharmed.

With torrents of flame venting from his nostrils, Satan turned back towards his assistant with barely contained restraint.

"...You're telling me a Goetic Prince trusted high-priority assignments normally reserved for the most elite veteran assassins---assignments crucial to our millennia-long plans for the corruption of Earth, the ideal staging ground for our imminent invasion of Heaven---and gave an irreplaceable tome of vast arcane knowledge taken from the Seraphim Vaults TO HIS FUCKBUDDY?!"

Steve merely nodded, seemingly accepting his doomed fate.

"AND THIS FUCKBUDDY GOT CAUGHT BY THE FEDS, WHO NOW HAVE EVIDENCE OF OUR COVERT OPERATIONS?!"

Steve nodded again, closing his eyes tight and waiting to be engulfed in pure hellfire. A deafening roar proceeded a wave of heat rushing past Steve, but he felt no burns. Once the heat dissipated, he poked his head up from the ground and saw what Satan had blasted instead: a mountain far over the horizon, bearing a gigantic black scorch-mark.

Satan's still-steaming hand clenched into a fist with veins swelling nearly to the point of bursting. In this state, Wrath's rage had nearly overtaken his powers of speech.

"When I find that pompous bird, I swear..."

"I will strangle him, make him choke on whatever excuse he thinks will work on me..."

"THEN RUTHLESSLY POUND HIS ASS THROUGH ALL SEVEN HELLS, INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE ENVY SEA, DOWN TO THE CORE OF THE EARTH, OUT THE OTHER SIDE AND INTO THE MOON!"

Not allowing any rebuttal, Satan flew towards Pride in a frenzy.

[duhdumb89]

A Forbidden Happiness | Chapter 15

De gui fei's confession sucked the air out of the room. The Empress's breath quickened.

"That is a heavy crime," said The Empress, "Have you told anyone about this?"

"No," replied De gui fei, "No one,"

That was good, then. If anyone else heard, they would assume De gui fei was showing signs of possession. De gui fei could be stern and overbearing, but murderous? That was unthinkable. Shen huang gui fei had been vying for more power year after year, but even then, The Empress hadn't gone far enough to think like this.

"De gui fei, if Shen huang gui fei was troubling you, you should've come to me instead of letting your feelings fester like this. Having these thoughts can harm your body," said The Empress.

"I know this. I've prayed. I've fasted. I've transcribed scriptures. My mother even sent me five blessed amulets, but the thought won't leave my mind," said De gui fei, "After what she did to Huabao and Huahuan, how can I live peacefully with that sort of woman?"

"What are you talking about?" Asked The Empress.

"The lewd paintings," De gui fei said, her eyes clouding with rage, "She helped Jiang gui ren with the plot to frame Xiang gui ren and damage you,"

At The Empress' confused face, De gui fei continued.

"The bamboo paper, Your Highness. It was huang gui fei's,"

"How could that be? Royal Mother ran out of those papers months before. Did she lend some to Shen huang gui fei?"

"She stole it from Dafuge. A few weeks ago, I went to pray in the early morning and bumped into Shen huang gui fei's A'Fang. The girl was so nervous and clumsy. She tried to cover the papers with scriptures, but I saw them. I assumed His Majesty told Shen huang gui fei to take from Dafuge and not make a scene. If I had known she took the papers to scheme with the reputation of Huabao and Huahuan on the line...I would've chopped her into pieces right there!"

"De gui fei!" The Empress scolded, "This behavior is unbecoming. The event is over. Huabao and Huahuan are safe and sound. Why are you still riled up like this?"

"Your Highness, these last years, I thought Shen huang gui fei was too proud and too arrogant but harmless. But knowing that she put our daughters' virtue in harm's way to suppress Xiang gui ren made it clear how far she'll go. I couldn't stop thinking, wasn't it strange how every woman that His Majesty favored is gone now?"

"His Majesty is monogamous. He favors all the women here at one point or another, you included. You're still here aren't you?" said The Empress.

"I'm not dead because I'm not a threat," said De gui fei, "Mu pin and Shu pin were different, they were your friends. The more His Majesty loved them, the more he loved you."

The Empress fiddled with the pearl and jade prayer beads in her hand. It was true. De gui fei and The Empress weren't friends. The Empress wasn't friends with anyone. She had no equals, no companions, only servants.  

"I care for you just as much, De gui fei," replied The Empress. She sighed. "Mu pin's death was tragic, but she had always been frail. Shu pin forgot her place and dealt with accordingly. If His Majesty didn't still favor her, she would be dead now,"

"His Majesty only spared her for Yiqiang's sake," replied De gui fei. 

Shu pin dug the knife deeper into her heart as she described the lurid affair between The Empress and Imperial Physician, Lou Ru. The same doctor whose marriage she arranged as a reward for diligently treating The Empress Dowager and The Emperor.

Swallowing the bitterness on her tongue, The Empress said,"Shu pin, you're by side day and night like a good servant. You know Lou taiyi and I speak infrequently. How can you have the nerve to dirty His Majesty's ears with his nonsense?"

Shu pin glared up at her, the warmth gone from her eyes, "It's because I serve you diligently that I dare bring this to His Majesty's attention,"

The Empress had taken Shu pin under her wing when the girl stepped into the back palace. Being from Mongolian clans, the bond was instant. The Empress gladly let Shu pin call her 'jiejie'. Who would've known a few years later that the girl she whispered and giggled with would have no difficulty splashing dirty water *on her?

The Emperor sat beside her, eyes closed, and head pillowed on his fist. To the untrained eye, he was relaxed, maybe even bored.  But The Empress could see the anger roil through his body. On his other side was Shen huang gui fei, watching Shu pin's confession with wide eyes.

A woman, who identified herself as Lou Ru's maid, claimed that he had commissioned countless love tokens for The Empress over the years. Each one was smuggled into the house in the dead of night before going missing the next day when Lou Ru went to work at the Imperial Hospital. 

"I unpacked master's work bag one night and found a gold and red jade ring. When he saw me with it, he threatened to sell me if I spoke of it," said the maid.

Shu pin squared her shoulders, "Hasn't Her Highness worn a ring like that lately?"

The Emperor sighed, "Is that all? A ring that looks alike? You're willing to bet your life on that?"

"Your Majesty, why don't we call Lou taiyi and Lou furen here and see what they say?" Suggested Shen huang gui fei, "If they don't feel much like talking, we can send them both to the Office of Careful Punishment,"

"Huang gui fei is wise," said Shu pin, "I've already called them both here to speak before Your Majesty and Your Highnesses,"

"Your Majesty, Lou furen is pregnant now," whispered Zhang Wei,  "Will this interrogation be too harsh?"

"If Lou Ru committed such a grave crime while his wife is in a delicate way, then he is only to blame," said Shen huang gui fei.

"Bring a chair for Lou furen," ordered The Emperor.

Before her marriage, Lou furen was a hot house maid in the palace. When Lou Ru needed fresh herbs, she often attended to him. Her status wasn't lofty enough that marrying a physician was a step-down, so The Empress granted the marriage when Lou Ru asked this of her.

The husband and wife duo kneeled to greet them, their bodies stiff and tense. Lou Ru helped Lou furen to her feet and helped lower her into the chair. Lou furen cradled her hands around the modest bump of her belly.

"Lou Ru, I've troubled you to ask you a simple question. Are you having an affair with The Empress?" Asked The Emperor.

"I would not dare!" Replied Lou Ru, dropping back down to his knees.

Shu pin scoffed, "Is that so? What of this embroidery that was found in your workbag?"

A eunuch presented the cloth to The Emperor.

Shen huang gui fei hid her mouth behind her fan, "That..style of embroidery does seem familiar,"

It was more than familiar. It was an exact copy of an embroidered handkerchief that The Empress had finished years before. It had been missing for some time but The Empress assumed that had been thrown away. 

Lou furen rubbed her belly nervously, "Replying to Your Highness," she said "That's mine," 

"Lying to The Emperor is a crime that warrants death," said Shu pin.

Lou furen shook her head, "I'm not lying. Her Highness The Empress is the mother of the world and model to all women, so when I still worked in the palace...I took it. Only so I could copy it! Because Her Highness' work was so good. It took me many years to copy it well, so I gave it to my husband,"

Lou furen struggled down to her knees, "May Your Majesty forgive me,"

"Such a neat little story. I'm curious how you two will explain what your maid found under a floorboard in Lou Rou's study," said Shu pin.

A maid entered the room and presented a pure white dudou†. Pale white peonies blanketed the edges while a flaming Phoenix curled elegantly throughout the middle. Beautiful as it was, it was small. The Empress had been pregnant many times, and some of the weight was hard to shake. She was lucky that her face rarely gained weight and the flowing gowns she was so fond of, camouflaged any changes. 

"Phoenix and peonies?" Asked Shen huang gui fei, "Lou furen, are you saying this belongs to you?"

Lou furen nodded.

The Emperor sat straight up and curled his lip in disgust. Shu pin's face brightened.

"Zhang Wei," he called, "Send my word. Shu pin is devious, black-hearted, and committed the crime of slandering her master. Have her whipped 50 times and thrown into the cold palace,"

Shu pin paled and dropped to the ground.

"Your Majesty–I don't–" Shu pin struggled to get the words out as she was wrenched upright by a pair of eunuchs.

"Stuff her mouth. I won't hear any more of her nonsense,"

The Empress watched The Emperor's face as Shu pin was dragged away. He didn't bat an eye and quietly munched on the salted walnuts on the side table. Only days ago, he was discussing Shu pin's promotion. A strange heaviness settled in The Empress's stomach.

The maid Shu pin called as a witness, cowered when The Emperor turned to her.

"Lou furen, this maid's been your property for some time, so I'll send her back to you to deal with,"

Lou furen shook her head"Some time? I only bought her six months ago,"

With a nod, Lou Ru said, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to send her to The Office of Careful Punishment to see if anyone else is behind this,"

"You've always been prudent," said The Emperor, "Fine. Take her,"

In the end, Lou Rou was fined two months' salary for using symbols of the imperial family. When Lou Rou sent a message about needing a private audience, The Empress almost turned it down. A gut feeling made her order Shiyi to play sick so she could send for him. 

"Your Highness, I've got to speak the truth to you today," he said.

Lou Rou admitted to paying closer attention to The Empress if only to bring copies back home to his wife. However, he'd never be so blatant or disrespectful to have something like that dudou made. Lou furen had lied on the spot about it.

"It was all the work of that maid on behalf of Shu pin, then," The Empress concluded, "Where on earth did you find such a person?"

Lou Yanched sighed, "It's my incompetence. I knew furen would need help with the baby coming soon. A nearby family was moving out of the capital and selling some cheaply, so I took advantage. It was foolish,"

The bombshell comes shortly after The Empress sends a few people to investigate. The family that fled fell into a sudden fortune and often kept company with Shen huang gui fei's father.

"Didn't Shen huang gui fei order the interrogation to be so fierce that the maid died before they could even ask questions?" Asked De gui fei, "You didn't think that was strange?"

"The matter is over and done with," The Empress replied.

"And Mu pin? She–"

"That's enough! What's done is done!"

De gui fei pursed her lips and tucked her chin into her chest.

"I understand that you're afraid but, you can't think like this. Even if you managed to do this, could your spirit handle it?"

"I would learn to handle it," said De gui fei, her voice shaky. 

"Go back and rest. If anyone asks, say I scolded you for the way you spoke to Shen huang gui fei during our prayers," said The Empress

De gui fei nodded weakly before excusing herself.

The Empress leaned back in her chair and rested her chin in her hand. Truthfully, she didn't need anyone to point out the connection between Shen huang gui fei and Shu Pin and Mu pin's misfortunes. 

It had been some years since The Empress had kneeled before The Emperor like this. He had at least given her the dignity of clearing the rooms of servants before scolding her.

"We'll say Mu gui ren died of a blood deficiency. That way, no one can connect it back to you,"

The Emperor looked haggard and much older than his years. The Empress knew he had held Mu gui ren during her final moments last night, weeping quietly. 

"I thank you for Your Majesty's grace," she replied, "I'll never make this sort of mistake again,"

He stared down at her.

"So it was a mistake, then?"

The Empress didn't expect very much from The Emperor. They were more partners than lovers. Affection during the years could be counted on one hand, but at the very least, they trusted each other.

"Of course, it was a mistake, Your Majesty. I was ignorant about the herbs Mu gui ren was taking. I should've consulted with the Imperial Hospital before suggesting she take something else. I added the herb to my morning herbs and felt the benefits, so I tried to share it. I never meant for this to happen,"

"You're The Empress, not a doctor," he snapped, "Don't play pretend again," 

Later, but still too late, The Empress realized something. She hadn't been aware of the herbs Mu gui ren had been taking, but Shen huang gui fei was. She managed the prescription records, marking the costs and reporting it to The Empress. The conversation replayed in her head repeatedly that night until she realized something. Wasn't Shen huang gui fei the one who suggested that Mu gui ren  would benefit from those herbs?

––––

Prince Han didn't like The Empress Dowager. Call him petty, but he never felt the need to warm up to the woman who famously declared that it would be better to drown him in a well than let him tarnish the Imperial family's reputation. However, The Empress was sharing a meal with her, so Prince Han came so she could have someone on her side.

The Empress Dowager's beady eyes stared at him, "That bruise on your face is still ugly as ever. It's been a week now. Didn't you use the ointment I sent you?"

Of course not.

"Replying to Your Highness, My Lord has been applying it diligently day and night," said Sang'er.

Prince Han reached for a plate of osmanthus cake, but The Empress Dowager snatched it away.

"Enough of that already. You aren't a child,"

Prince Han locked eyes with The Empress across the table. By the quirk of her eyebrows, he knew that several plates of cakes would be sent to his rooms tonight.

"Royal mother, a few of your birthday gifts have already arrived," said The Empress, "Would you like to see them?"

"The light is better in the receiving room, come," said The Empress Dowager.

Prince Han frowned as The Empress placed her chopsticks back on her plate. The Empress Dowager had enough time to eat two plates of food. The Empress was so busy filling her cup dishing up morsels that she barely ate one. Prince Han stuffed two osmanthus cakes into his mouth when he was sure The Empress Dowager was out of eyesight. Only to wince in pain as the bruise on his cheek smarted.

Sang'er poured a cup of tea, "My Lord, if you won't use the ointment The Empress Dowager sent, could you please try not to aggravate your bruise any more?"

Prince Han washed down his treats and poked at the sort inside his mouth with his tongue. It had been some time since he'd taken a punch to the face. It was the first time that he'd ever taken a punch from a girl and a maid, no less.

He never thought much of the maids in the Forbidden City. They were The Emperor's property, so there was no point in Prince Han looking at what didn't have a chance of belonging to him. They were interchangeable, faceless things in assorted matching costumes.

Before their late-night encounter, Prince Han had only begun to recently consider Wei Jiayi as a person rather than a thing, due to his nieces' reverence of her. Now that he was recovered, he saw them less, but each time was the same. Wei shifu painted them something beautiful. Wei shifu helped them bind books. Wei shifu is so good at kicking the shuttlecock.

Wei shifu could throw a punch.

Prince Han dusted off his hands and followed The Empress into the receiving room. The Empress Dowager was inspecting a pile of gifts with a critical eye. She tsked at a jade sculpture of a peony, turning it to and fro.

"Such low quality," she said, tossing it back at Jerjer, "It's like they want to insult me,"

"Please don't fret, Royal Mother. A letter from my mother arrived today. Twelve fat-tailed sheep should be arriving for your birthday banquet. Cousin Omida said that a fleet of chefs is coming to prepare them for you," said The Empress.

"You've told the kitchens to ready themselves for hot pot?" The Empress Dowager asked. 

"Of course,"

The Empress Dowager returned to her gift, not bothering to give The Empress a thank you. Prince Han frowned. With her health, The Empress Dowager hadn't been able to travel to Mongolia and taste the cooking of her natal clan in quite some time. The Empress toiled to have 12 of those ugly sheep brought to The Empress Dowager's doorstep and she couldn't spare an ounce of gratitude. An unfilial thought crossed Prince Han's mind but snuffed it out. 

"Empress Dowager, Empress, Xiang gui ren's maid is here," a eunuch announced.

"Xiang gui ren? Why is she sending people to darken my doorstep?" Asked The Empress Dowager.

"Replying to Your Highness, Xiang gui ren has a gift for you,"

Prince Han watched as The Empress Dowager struggled to respond. The woman was a magpie; if there were something shiny and expensive, she wanted it. Unfortunately, that shiny new thing may be coming from a prostitute.

"Fine, bring her,"

What a coincidence the woman of the hour was the maid that Xiang gui ren sent to deliver The Empress' gift.

"This servant wishes Her Highness The Empress Dowager and Her Highness The Empress peace. This servant greets Prince Han," said Wei Jiayi

Prince Han didn't miss the way Jiayi's eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Rise," said The Empress Dowager, "What little thing has your mistress brought for me today?"

Jiayi bowed and held out the tray in her arms. Jerjer took  presented it to The Empress Dowager, who didn't look impressed.

"Full Branches?" The Empress read the title of the book aloud before flipping the page open.

The Empress Dowager's eyes widened.

"Fetch my spectacles. Quickly!"

The Empress went to The Empress Dowager's side. She gasped at the sight of the book.

A maid returned with The Empress Dowager's spectacles, and she wasted no time peering closely at each page.

"Prince Han, come look," beckoned The Empress.

With one look, Prince Han understood why The Empress and The Empress Dowager were so stunned. Each page had a perfect rendition of his nieces and nephews. There was Huabao, sitting daintily with a pipa in her lap, Yijian pulling a bow tight, and even Yiqiang, sitting in a study surrounded by books and scrolls. Each child had signed their portrait, except Huaguang.

The Empress looked at Jiayi, "You painted these, correct? I remember you had some talent for this,"

"Yes, Your Highness. Xiang gui ren knows that Your Highness is learned and your knowledge is vast. The only thing she could hope to give you to bring you joy for your birthday is portraits of the prince and princesses,"

"It's not too bad after all," replied The Empress Dowager with a nod, "Not a bad idea,"

"The Empress often speaks about your love for each prince and princess. My mistress felt like only this gift would be appropriate," replied Jiayi.

The Empress Dowager set her spectacles asides and closed the book, running her hand across the cover. She nodded to Jerjer, who stood before Jiayi and held out a tael of silver. Prince Han expected her to accept it immediately and thank The Empress Dowager for her grace. Instead, Jiayi shook her head.

"I don't dare accept this. Your Highness' happiness is more than enough," she replied.

"These new servants have a way with words, don't they?" The Empress Dowager said to Jerjer, "Return to Xiang gui ren, then,"

Jiayi backed away and left. Prince Han swore the girl made a point not to look at him on the way out. Wei Jiayi was really strange.

–––––––––––––––

*Spreading rumors †A traditional Chinese form of the bodice, originally worn as an undershirt

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[rjalker]

[ID: A screenshot of a reply by rjalker from August 26 2024, reading, "Before making the exact same tired ableist joke as hundreds if not thousands of other people on this post, maybe stop thinking of accessability tools as the punchline for y our ableist joke because you think lying to disabled people is funny.". End ID.]

Please copy this image description into your original reblog, or just delete the image and keep the text part of the ID for my reply. Adding undescribed images to a post that's already had an ID added is extremely rude and inaccessible.

If you are genuinely asking because you actually want to know, the answer is: All of the people reblogging this post and leaving replies insisting that the image description added above the haikubot is incorrect, because the original image is of an octopus, rather than a fox.

When the image is of a fox, climbing through a tiny fence. The person who added the image description did not describe the wrong image or lie to anyone.

Everyone who is insisting that it's an octopus is lying to people who need that image description.

It's fine (if obnoxiously uncreative) if you're making the joke normally, but there are literally pages and pages worth of people reblogging versions of this post that specifically have the image description, so they can specifically claim that it is wrong, and that the original image really shows an octopus instead of a fox.

They are lying to disabled people who rely on image descriptions, and treating it like a joke. They see an accessibility feature and have decided to make fun of it and the people who use it by lying about what is really in the image.

If you or anyone else is unaware, image descriptions are for people who are blind, have low vision, or have other problems with processing what they're looking at, like brain damage.

You can think of them as the equivalent for subtitles, but instead of transcribing what people are saying, they transcribe what there is to see.

Using image descriptions to lie about what an image really contains, or in this case with the thousands of uncreative bigots all dying to make the exact same tired joke, claiming that a correct image description is actually wrong, is lying to disabled people.

It's just plain old ableist bigotry. People are having fun lying to blind and other disabled people because they think it's funny and cool and all the other thousands of people in the notes are doing it already.

I'm taking the time to write out this response under the generous assumption that you're asking because you actually want to know.

If you're going to be one of those assholes who say "it's not that deep lol go touch grass" then please don't even repond just block me. I'm not in the mood to deal with more ableism.

TLDR: People are claiming that the image description is wrong even though it's not, because they think it's fun to lie to blind and other disabled people who don't have any other way of telling what's actually in the image. It's pure bigotry.

Octopuses can fit through any gap larger than their beak.