#i would be a GREAT town crier

[podcastwizard]

we needed to make an announcement to a room of people at work and my coworker was too nervous to do it so she asked me to do it and i was like "yeah i have no problem with making a declaration to a crowd" and she said "yeah i figured that about you." assigned town crier by coworker.

[inoreuct]

I've been loving your ZoSan drabbles, they honestly make my day. I do have a potential drabble request if you'd like: I feel like these two idiots tease each other mercilessly for the dumbest things, like an old married couple. It's almost a game for the rest of the crew to how long it takes them to turn the teasing into either flirting or kissing. It's peak entertainment for the crew

thank you so much??$4!;7:)3 I’M SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT and yes. absolutely. I FLEW TO MY DOCS TO WRITE THIS AND IT WAS SO FUN. the tension is through the roof; not even with the bickering but the teasing. it’s playful and easy and they’re more fond than they should be and is an insult really an insult if it’s said with a smile? anyway. enjoy 😽

“Oho! The world’s greatest swordsman can’t handle a kitchen knife!” Sanji has his hands propped on his hips, faux-flabbergasted and crowing like a town crier. Zoro looks about three seconds away from chopping him up with said kitchen knife instead of the carrots on the countertop. Usopp fears for the cook’s safety.

“Do you think we should… do something?” he turns and whispers gingerly, leaning across his mug of tea so that Nami can hear him from where she’s seated across the table. 

“Something like preventing a possible murder, or getting them to finally kiss? Because…” She takes a pointed slurp from her own mug, her amused gaze fixed on the way Zoro is now animatedly arguing back. “We could do both. Or neither. I’m entertained either way.”

Usopp turns back around, hiding his face in his drink as he eavesdrops shamelessly. He must have missed some conversation, because now Zoro’s sniping about Sanji’s hair, of all things. How they got so far from the original topic in such a short time? Usopp does not know. 

“Well, at least I don’t spend an hour rubbing conditioner on my head,” Zoro scoffs, and Sanji gasps like the swordsman had just cussed out his entire family three generations up and down.

“And that, my dear marimo, is why it looks like a lawn,” he declares with a prim sniff, flicking the tap on with a flourish. “An untrimmed lawn. That a dog ran all over.”

“Wh—”

“No, no,” he laments, scrubbing at a dish in the most melodramatic way Usopp has seen in his life. “A pack of dogs. And they shat all over it, too.”

Zoro puffs up like an angry cat, clearly winding up to verbally throw down, and Usopp turns around to find Nami smirking at him with her eyebrows raised as if to say, see what I mean?

“This is incredible,” he whisper-shouts, amazed.

I know, she mouths delightedly, eyes shining like golden coins.

“What are we talking about,” Luffy hisses, and Usopp damn near jumps out of his skin.

“Great Mother Ocean, when did you get here?!” he nearly squawks, pulling his volume down at the last second, just in time to hear a victorious “and that is why no crab in its right mind would ever want to eat you!” from Zoro. He doesn’t even bother to question it anymore.

Luffy shrugs, biting into an apple with a satisfying crunch. “Like two seconds ago. Are Zoro and Sanji fighting again?”

“More like flirting,” Nami laughs, gesturing with her chin. 

Usopp gives up on straining his neck and gets up to straddle the chair properly. The convo has somehow turned back to hair; Sanji has one hand plucking delicately at green strands, the other covered in soap.

“Keep talking shit about my brows and see if I will,” he says haughtily, and Usopp strains his ears for context as Zoro bares his teeth in a grin, his eye twitching.

“As if I want you to cut it. You’d probably make it all uneven.”

A dry ha! “That’d be an improvement.”

The sniper whips around wildly to look at Nami. Either he’s hearing things, or they sound almost… fond. The way their navigator’s sitting forward in her chair hints at the latter. Luffy bites into his apple again, mumbling, “Why haven’t they kissed yet?” 

Usopp explodes into a flurry of desperate hand movements, mouthing exactly! Exactly! so enthusiastically that his cheeks hurt. 

His captain smiles and then pauses, tilting his head. “Have they kissed yet?”

Usopp’s worldview shatters into shards that then start rearranging themselves because that is a very real possibility. Sanji and Zoro have been bickering ever since before the cook came aboard the Merry, but somewhere along the line it had turned to something more lighthearted, less I’m-gonna-gut-you-like-a-fish-and-have-your-entrails-for-breakfast and more you’re-so-damn-annoying-sit-down-and-let-me-help-you.

The three of them turn in unison to stare at how Sanji and Zoro are now nose to nose, Sanji peering down the scant half-inch he has above the swordsman in height with a smug smile and murmuring “—not what you were saying last week, marimo.”

Zoro tips his head, not backing down even as Sanji cooes at him and somehow, somehow, it doesn’t sound condescending. Usopp is losing his mind. “Never said that, curly-brow. You were the one who filled in the blanks.”

“You left blanks for me to fill in.”

“You’re delusional. There’s gas in your brain, that’s why your head’s so big.” 

“Oh, yeah?” the cook grins, lazy and bright, eyebrows going up as Zoro steps into his space. “What’re you gonna do about it?”

Zoro smirks and tilts his head back. “I don’t know. You tell me,” he murmurs, before pulling away and dropping a whole stack of dirty crockery into the sink. “Better get to washing, dish boy.”

Usopp’s eyes are bugging out of his head as Sanji yells and sprays Zoro with water from the pullout tap, sparking a whole new round of squabbling and ankle-kicking and wayward elbows.

“You’re seeing this, right?” he asks desperately, turning around in his seat and gripping the edge of the table. Gosh, he’s feeling light-headed. “I’m not going crazy?”

“Nope,” Nami sighs, popping the ‘p’. “Wanna bet?”

“On?” Luffy shuffles closer, grinning around his apple and she shrugs a shoulder, feigning disinterest. 

“How long it takes dumb and dumber to get their shit together.” 

Usopp really doesn’t know how much he’d be willing to put into this. The way that they fight’s more pigtail-pulling than anything, and that in and of itself is telling— Not to mention, again, how this has been going on for months. Sanji would give Zoro shit for being messy but then go to clean anyway, only to find Zoro’s things already packed. Zoro would snip at the cook for being rigid about dessert before dinner and then find a slice of sour raspberry tart on his bunk, way after teatime was over. Usopp had honestly thought they’d been doing it out of spite, but now…

Then again, with how repressed the both of them were? “…A hundred berry, one month,” he decides, and Nami wrinkles her nose.

“Stingy,” she complains, but she’s hiding a smile as she turns to their captain. “Luffy?”

The boy hums thoughtfully, twisting around. “Are you two kissing?” he yells, and Usopp’s heart fucking drops to the floorboards as the pair stares at them wide-eyed and bursts into protests.

“What— this idiot?”

“The hell? No! Why would you—”

“—on any planet would I ever—”

“Absolutely fucking not. His refined palate—”

“—His brains are in his biceps—”

“Okay,” Luffy says, shrugging as he finishes the last of his apple, core and all, and flings a singular seed into the tiny bin by the sink with startling precision. “Five hundred, two weeks.” 

Usopp can’t help it. He bursts into laughter, smacking his forehead into the tabletop as he clutches at his stomach and the twinge in his ribs. He can hear Sanji’s panicked shouts of “what? What were you betting on? Usopp, tell me now—” and Zoro growling, “Luffy, I swear if this is what I think it is—” and oh. 

The sniper grins into the table. Oho. Did that not imply that Zoro knew something was going on? He could be wrong, but— “Seven-fifty, one week.”

“A thousand!” Luffy counters immediately, and Usopp cackles helplessly because he knows that his captain’s just shouting out numbers now, Luffy doesn’t even have the money. 

“How about we spill the beans on what the hell we’re betting on, and I make us all a special dinner, hm?” Sanji pleads, and it’s honestly funny how hard he’s trying to find out. 

“Absolutely not,” Nami replies, her grin saccharine sweet. “A joint bet of one thousand, seven hundred and fifty berry for one week. Y’know,” she studies her cuticles, pursing her lips in an unbothered moue, “This is the one time that I’d be happy not to collect. Don’t let me down, hm?” She gets up and slides out the galley door, and they hear her laughing all the way down the hall. 

Zoro looks like he’s about to have a conniption. Sanji has his hands buried in his hair, looking up at the ceiling and turning around like he’s begging for a divine answer. Usopp and Luffy share a gleeful look.

This is going to be a marvellously interesting week.

fin.

[cherrythepuppet]

Corpse puppet [Part 12]

@sketchquill "This is gonna be good" -The war skeleton, Updates are very late due to me currently being grounded Apologies Folks

~

"Oh, my dear" Mother muttered as both her and Father looked out the car windows for their Child "Oh, it's almost dawn! Where could they be?!" Mother yelled

"(Y/n (L/n) elopes with corpse! Heartbroken Groom to wed wealthy newcomer!" The town crier yelled "Wealthy newcomer? lt cannot be..." Mother mumbled 

"Did he say corpse?" Father asked "Oh, don't be ridiculous! What corpse would marry our (Y/n)?" Mother said as the driver started violently coughing 

"Oh, Leo! Silence that blasted coughing!" Mother yelled as the driver, Leo, was coughing and holding their throat then they turned blue and fell off the stage coach before dying

~

Otto let out a meow as he held wally's bouquet of blue roses in his mouth and contiued walking to the bar with (Y/n) following closely behind

Otto set the bouquet down and (Y/n) picked it up as Otto had ran off, (Y/n) sighed as They entered the bar and could hear wally playing with the piano

(Y/n) watched in awe for a moment before sitting next to him "l...i think you dropped this" They said as they held out his bouquet "l'm sorry...l'm sorry l lied to you about wanting to see my parents...lt's just this whole day hasn't gone quite, well according to plan" (Y/n) told him

Wally didn't answear but he glared at (Y/n) who sighed and put his bouquet on a nearby table before playing a few piano keys 

They looked back at wally to see if he'd smile but he never did so just as (Y/n) was about to leave wally grinned and began playing a few piano keys as well

(Y/n) smiled as they contiued to play along and the two played together for a moment until wally's plush hand came off and twirled around (Y/n)'s arm and shoulder

(Y/n) chuckled and so did Wally as he grabbed his hand "Pardon my enthusiasm" he said "its okay...l like your enthusiasm" (Y/n) said

The two stared at each for a moment as once again it was like they've known each other forever just then-

"New arrival! New arrival!" Sally yelled as she violently smacked a bell with a bat and everyone in town began coming to the bar

"Lights up!" "Hurry up, boys!" "Drinks for everyone"  "Another pint, sir?" "No, no. Just a half" "lt is impossible to get good help anymore!"

Sally pushed through the crowd while dragging poppy with her "Welcoming committee, coming through! Coming through!" Sally yelled as she and poppy went up to the new arrival

"Welcome to the afterlife! My name is Sally Starlet and this is Poppy Partridge!" Sally exclaimed as poppy waved

(Y/n) stared at the new Comer before realizing "Leo!" They yelled as they ran towards the new arrival "Leo! How nice to see-" they paused 

Then (Y/n) realized that Leo's skin was blue "l'm so sorry..." (Y/n) mumbled "Oh, yeah. Actually, though, l feel great!" Leo said with a raspy voice

"Hurry up, boys! Can you not see the new arrival is parched?" Darling yelled behind the counter "Leo, l have to get back! They all must be worried sick!" (Y/n) yelled

"H-how is everyone?" they asked "Well, they're still wondering where you slipped off to Oh, and Mr Howdy..." Leo trailed off as they choose their words carefully

"Yes? Yes, how is he?" (Y/n) asked "Well, he's getting married this evening..." leo mumbled making (Y/n)'s eyes widened "What? Married to who?!" They asked

"Some newcomer, Lady Somebody-or-Other" Leo said with a shrug "But that's impossible!" (Y/n) yelled "Yeah, with you gone and all...l guess they didn't wanna waste the cake" Leo joked hoping it would make them laugh

"But how could he?" (Y/n) mumbled then they began to walk out of the bar "(Y/n)? Where are you going?" Wally asked as he watched them leave...

~

"Mr Howdy, we must leave for the church now" The maid told him "Yesterday l thought my wedding would be happy Now l feel like l'm caught in the tide, pulled out to sea" Howdy mumbled 

"The sea leads to many places, dearie Maybe you'll land somewhere better!" The maid said hoping to cheer him up

.

.

.

.

"With this candle, l will light your way in darkness. With this ring l ask you to be mine" Julie said as she put the ring on Howdy 

"l now pronounce you man and wife!" Pastor Kermit announced.....

[wannaeatramyeon]

i just saw that you are biased towards vasco tabasco as well 👀👀👀👀 i beg for anything, i have read all the fics on this app twice and im getting withdrawals from my bit tit himbo 😭

Tell me who isn't biased towards our baby Tabasco and I'll fight them!!

Ty for the ask! I just love Vasco so much. He's THE ride or die and has always treated little Daniel so kindly from the start.

He doesn't always get it right but he tries and he learns and his heart is in the right place 😭😭

I feel like there's just SO much I want to read and know about Vasco. HC, x reader, drabbles, novels. But here you go anon, take some wordvom instead

Vasco Headcannons

The Burn Knuckles said they started the gang just cos they like him. Vasco was probably just shouting about protecting people and being all pure then attracting all these macho dudes that were going down the wrong path. He has a sense of justice that is just... Irrefutable. The kind that kids have before they grow up and get cynical and corrupted and he reminds them of a simpler time.

Also he's strong af so if you don't want to die, you come around to his view pretty quickly.

Damon Goh the rubber ducky guy hid away his ducks until Vasco saw them one day and was like 'omg!! These are so cute!!' with his typical heart eyes and asked for one. Since then, Damon just unapologetically carries them around.

No idea Leonn Lee is a girl. Doesnt care if she is, Burn Knuckles membership is open to all.

Doesn't know there's a tool council, thought it was something for architect class. Never made the connection with the Tool nicknames either.

Unapologetic crier. You've seen his tears. Encourages Burn Knuckles to show their emotions. They hold therapy sessions like a confessional but apart from Jace - Vasco and the rest of the gang share 1 braincell so no good can come from this.

Makes friends everywhere he goes. We've seen Vasco make his own crew out of the Homeless, and that's just how he is. He's made friends with BEARS like cmon.

Not that great with names or faces though, and he's just a general clown so he doesn't actually remember a lot of people.

Has a rather childlike and innocent view of the world with justice and lookism. It used to be pretty black and white but he learns and is understanding of the shades of grey pretty quickly. Let's be real, if Vasco was leader of the world - we would all be a lot better off.

Toxic masculinity who? Gender roles what? Zero interest in subscribing to men can't do this or women shouldn't do that. Will be the best provider or househusband ever, whatever makes his partner happy!

Daniel or Jay busy or out of town? If Vasco is available, he will be looking after Enu or Jays puppies. This is absolutely non negotiable. He always gets first dibs.

Seen and heard enough about Vin Jin to think there's no redeeming features with this guy. Although Vasco might be the only person that thinks his rap is pretty good lol

Very little sense of self awareness and decorum around girls. Not really sure where he's going wrong until Jay spruced him up and his post-date download with Jace.

Says he's married to the Burn Knuckles and he's talked less about finding a partner since then. In all honesty he finds the dressing up and the flowery words exhausting. He just wants to find someone that loves him for him, BNC uniform and all :(

And this is the perfect segue into...

Vasco x Reader headcannons

Vasco is the ultimate friends to lover trope. He needs to get to know you first and your personality before he can begin to develops feelings for you. Your morals aligning with his is a must.

Doesn't think too hard on confessing if he likes you. He's a straight forward guy. Main obstacle is Jace giving him terrible advice based on trashy romcoms.

Only Jace (occasionally) or family call him Euntae. Will be so flustered if you do.

He is 100% innocent your honour!!! You likely need to take the initiative in the relationship. He's a romantic at heart but doesn't know how to express himself and is worried about being too foward. First hand hold? First embrace? First kiss? Gonna be all you.

Gets more relaxed the longer you date. Once he's more confident of your comfort levels and knowing that he can be himself around you, will initiate a lot more.

Not a huge fan of PDA but loves holding hands and holding you. It just feels right with you in his arms.

Vasco would naturally be the big spoon, but omg if you were the big spoon? He has never felt so protected and loved and will absolutely melt.

Huge fan of couples outfits. Not the cool ones, the cheesier the better. "If found return to Y/N" "I'm Y/N". And tbh Zack is sick with jealousy that him and Mira don't do that.

Still has an old fashioned sense of chivalry where he wouldn't want you to fight even if you could. After seeing you fight a few times though, he reluctantly let's you get on with things. Will try to step in where possible, but more that he doesn't want to see you get hurt.

Loves the novelty of classic dates at first, especially after seeing and reading about it all so much. Fancy 3 course meals, grabbing a coffee together.

After a while though, would prefer to just have more meaningful dates and take you to his favourite places. Even if it's that Fish Soup place lol, but you don't mind cos you can see how happy he is and being with Vasco is enough.

Expect good morning texts, good night video calls and everything in between! This man isn't afraid of the double or triple text. There's a lot of "I can't wait to see you!" and "I miss you!!" and just random ones like "I tried to buy milk but forgot my wallet lol"

As long as it's not against his morals, he will do A N Y T H I N G for you. Tired? Foot massage. Craving at 3am? Let me run right out. Prefer him clean shaven? Hold on I'll get the razor. He loves you so so much and it shows!

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

Hazrat Uthman is in the Rank of Muslims

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had not yet announced Islam openly to the public.

During this stage, Hazrat Abu Bakr was very enthusiastic and took immense efforts in explaining Islam to his close friends.

One day, he mentioned Islam in one of his conversations with Hazrat Uthman and took him to our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) presence.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH), whose bright face always had a smile, said to Hazrat Uthman, “Favor heaven, which is Allah’s beneficence. I was sent as a guide to you and all of the humanity!”

It was as if Hazrat Uthman had lost himself (but in reality, had found himself) in the face of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) simple, sincere, and miraculous words, as the testimony of faith spilled from his lips: “Ashhadu anlaa ilaaha illallaahu wa ashhadu anna muhammadar-rasulullah!” * Afterwards, he explained a dream that he had previously seen while returning from Damascus: He said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, during the time in which we were in between Muan and Zarqa sleeping, a town-crier shouted, “Oh those who are sleeping! Wake up! Ahmad (PBUH) has appeared in Mecca!” And we heard about you once we arrived in Mecca!” 

Torture

The joining of Hazrat Uthman, who possessed a gentle nature, good manners, modesty, and generosity, in the ranks of Muslims bothered the polytheists immensely. Individuals from his tribe strived to torment and oppress him. However, he stood up to every kind of anguish and torment and did not show the slightest deviation.

His uncle, Hakam bin Abu'l-As, would tie him with a rope to a pole and while beating him would say:

“So, you have forsaken your forefathers’ religion and have taken interest in a new religion? I swear I will not free you until you return to the religion of your forefathers.”

Hazrat Uthman, who was a model of fortitude, answered:

“By Allah, I will never leave the religion of reason and truth!”

He was left to face this torture and persecution for days on end. However, he did not make the slightest concession from his faith. At last, his uncle was humiliated in the face of Hazrat Uthman’s greatness and fortitude and was left with no other choice but to free him. 

Hazrat Uthman, who was of medium height, heavily built, tan skinned, and had a very handsome face and a thick beard, was a pure and upright person in nature. He forbade himself from drinking alcohol during the Age of Ignorance. He was one of the fortunate people who felt deep joy in spending his wealth for Allah’s sake. He was a hafiz (one who had memorized the Quran.) During the nights, he would finish reciting the entire Quran in his prayer (salah).

Hazrat Uthman, who was one of the ten companions who was given the good tidings of Paradise, was at the same time, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) son-in-law. Initially, he married our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) daughter Ruqiyyah, but when she passed away, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) made him marry his daughter, Umm Kulthum. For that reason, he had acquired the nickname, “Zinnurayn”, “Possessor of Two Lights.

[worldoshaking]

FFXIVWrite Day 16: Third-rate

‘You are an unexpected spectator here, my friend,’ said the Wandering Minstrel, settling into a chair and wiping his brow. ‘But gratifying, of course. And what is your opinion of my latest verse? Oh, a cup of tea. How kind.’ He poured himself a cup. 

Alainaux took a sip of his tea. The steam floated away on the breeze, like the leaves of yesterday, but his chair, reclining a yalm above the ground, was as immobile as the clouds. ’Your verse is trite as always,’ he said. ’It commits the most grievous atrocities of style and form. But its worst flaw is that you crowd too much into it; you are adamant in cramming an epic into every verse, and too preoccupied with telling the audience they must be impressed to have any room left to impress them.’

The Wandering Minstrel laughed, and took a sip of his tea in turn. ’Meanwhile your verse, my friend, is committed to saying nothing at all, to getting so lost in the intricacies of its own wit that it forgets it is a poem.’

‘There, you see?’ said Alainaux, regarding him with amusement. ‘Even that was a better poem than the one you just read. It’s verse, not a public announcement. If you have things to say, you’d best turn town crier, and declaim them in the square.’

The minister’s smile broadened. ‘As you did in Gridania the other night?’ He held up a beautifully illuminated manuscript. ‘I hear you are famous once again.’

On a misty evening, Alainaux had had an encounter with an earnest youth near Fullflower Comb. Finding him quite conversible, he had paused to speak the lines that came to him amidst the bright dew and the looming trees. 

He sighed. Evidently the youth had recalled the verse, and transcribed it, or spoken it to others. Such things had a way of happening to him; he was always encountering passing scholars, and illuminators, and merchants eager for new tales to tell on their travels. He travelled light and swift, but renown had a way of finding him; he was always hearing his own verse at inns and libraries and forums. He had even had to duel an apparition of his own writing on his visit to the Great Gubal Library. 

‘Officious travellers,’ he said. ‘’Twas a passing reflection, nothing more.’

The Wandering Minstrel’s smile was now definitely a smirk. ‘And do all passing reflections bear all the hallmarks of a learned poet’s style, set out with perfection and elegance? It would have been a perfect poem in the traditional style, if it weren’t for that flourish of sentiment to the end. Rather unlike you, that.’ 

‘And yet you identified it without a doubt as mine,’ said Alainaux. ‘I did not know you were such a dedicated scholar of my verse.’

‘Of course I did,’ said the Wandering Minstrel, without a trace of shame. ‘It was unmistakeably yours, from start to finish.’

‘What do you do when you aren’t composing atrocious verse, or admiring my flourishes of sentiment?’ Alainaux asked. 

The Wandering Minstrel inclined his head, amused. ‘Converse with great scholars and poets, evidently. Or heroes, should they happen to be passing.’

‘A rare occurrence, no doubt.’

‘Quite.’

[queenmarytudor]

Mary I's Fight For The Throne

10th July - Mary gains an earl

While riding to meet Mary at Kenninghall, Sir John Huddlestone comes across the younger son of the Earl of Sussex, who is "on his way to the Council in London with letters from his father". 1 He captures and takes him to Mary, who is "thoroughly delighted with this arrival, just as much at the return of Huddleston, whom she greatly valued, as at the capture of the letters which revealed her enemies' plans, but especially because she hoped to be able to win over the elder Henry to her cause through his son." 2

Hearing of his kidnapped son, the Earl of Sussex hastily arrives to Kenninghall, saying he "had been too ready to believe Northumberland's son Robert about the king's death. Now, on his honour, fully persuaded of the death of his sovereign, he gave his most bounden fealty to his sovereign queen in the customary form that he would uphold her cause in future." 3

Mary sends him back to his home, ordering him to raise his troops and return.

Meanwhile...

Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England and enters the Tower of London. Her train is carried by her mother, the Duchess of Suffolk, but "no one present showed any sign of rejoicing, and no one cried: “Long live the Queen!” except the herald who made the proclamation and a few archers who followed him." 4

Mary is publicly "declared unfitted for the Crown, as also the Lady Elizabeth. Both ladies were declared to be bastards; and it was stated that the Lady Mary might marry a foreigner and thus stir up trouble in the kingdom and introduce a foreign government, and also that as she was of the old religion she might seek to introduce popery" by town criers on street corners. 5

Gilbert Potter, a young man, is arrested for saying Mary is the rightful queen. 6

William Paget, Marquis of Winchester, brings the crown of England for Jane Grey to try on. A family row ensues between the Grey's and Dudley's when Jane says she "should be content to make my husband a duke, but would never consent to make him king. Which resolution of mine gave his mother (this my opinion being related to her) great cause for anger and disdain, so that she, being very angry with me, and greatly displeased, persuaded her son not to sleep with me any longer as he was wont to do, affirming to me moreover that he did not wish in any wise to be a duke, but a king." 7

Thomas Hungate arrives and delivers Mary's letter to the Privy Council who are "greatly astonished and troubled. The Duchesses of Suffolk and Northumberland, it is said, began to lament and weep." 8 Hungate is then arrested, with Northumberland telling him "I am truly sorry that it was your lot to be so immature and thus rashly to throw yourself away in this embassy." 9

The Privy Council send secretaries William Petre and William Cecil to the Imperial ambassadors to inform them of Edward's death. The ambassadors "pray the Council to remember my Lady Mary, cousin german to [Charles V], to receive her into their protection and shelter her; for princes had always esteemed that kinship was one of the most powerful instruments of peace and goodwill between countries." 10

Approximately on this day, bad weather forces 5 of the 6 ships sent from London into Orwell haven. 11 The Greyhound, manned by the Duke of Northumberland's servant Gilbert Grice, sails on to Lowestoft. 12

Sources:

1. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

2. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

3. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

4. Spanish State Papers, 10th July 1553

5. Spanish State Papers, 10th July 1553

6. Diary of Henry Machyn, July 1553

7. The History of Mary I, Queen of England, J Stone

8. Spanish State Papers, 11th July 1553

9. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

10. Spanish State Papers, 10th July 1553

11. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

12. The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I

[talenlee]

Speed of Words

Hey, how fast can you get a message to the nearest major settlement you don’t live in?

I bring this up because I’m about to talk about fantasy worldbuilding, okay? We’re about to get into the cool dork stuff in a minute, but before we get going we’re going to wind up talking about a bunch of real world communication stuff that you may not have examined unless you’re like me and hang out with cool academics talking about it.

First of all, when you think about the ramifications of communication speed in your world, you need to understand that communication technology includes a lot of things you may not even be thinking about. There are things like population density and language and number systems and – like it’s not just this linear flow that goes Town Crier -> Letter -> Telegram, Maybe -> Phone -> The Internet.

You and I, in the real world, are used to a lot of options for communication and used to them having a lot of flexibility. They’re all the byproduct of infrastructure and technology, but some of the technology that drives them isn’t what you or I would consider ‘high tech.’ Someone had to invent address and postal delivery systems, but that’s a system you can do with even the most modest kind of technology that can record information. You don’t even need a written language for a postal system, it’s just really good for scaling up. Scaling up is one of the big tricks here, because if you have to send a message and you can only say it aloud, then you’re dealing with a message that a person can memorise and share. A writing system lets you really densely stash information on transferrable objects that you can transport, which means one aspect for That is, you need to care about volume.

That’s not even taking into account the great interconnected communication matrix you and I are interfacing with now. I wrote this weeks ago and you’re reading it now and we are interfacing as a direct result of a type of communication system that runs through the oceans deep enough that only sharks can harm it. That’s pretty swanky as communication technology works, but it’s not ubiquitous and the technology that makes it up ranges from the actual physical objects and also the actual protocols, the rules that make it work. This is an impressive technology, but it doesn’t need the cables and electronics and all the things you’re familiar with as ‘the internet’ to work. Famously, you can run the IP technology over Carrier Pigeons. This is important because that technology is about ensuring reliability.

Okay, so sending a message to the nearest other settlement. In my case, that can be complicated by the question of ‘what’s the next place?’ I live in a suburb. It’s connected to another suburb that for legal reasons is a different place based on an arcane set of rules about where post offices got built. The next place over for me is a place that I can comfortably walk to. For me to take a message there, I can walk a little distance and bam, there I go, I’ve got a message to the nearby settlement. But you might live in a place that’s named after some dude and a hill or creek or bunker, and therefore the nearest place to you involves travelling to a gas station that is at least an hour’s walk away, and even that only counts as a settlement technically. There’s a concern there that’s about distance.

Okay, so speed of communication relates to the space, and it relates to the technologies for communication. Know what else is important? Precision of communication. How reliable can the information exchanged be? This is one of those things that ties into more language technology. A number system, for example, can allow for very precise communication of sorts, but if you remember your history stories about when English adopted Arabic numerals, Roman Numerals were a number system that had precision, but it was hard to consistently communicate or relate to. Mistakes got made because the number system was bad. This is also why Australia decimalised our currency, because the previous system, while consistent and precise, was hard to interact with in a way that meant people made mistakes and money got lost in tracking.

Alright, there, that’s our basic premises. Speed of communication relates to volume, reliability, distance and precision. And they’re not going to be equally distributed.

Now, for most worldbuilding, you can look to comparable examples for things, but you might find that transforms things away from ‘normal’ for you. If you’re a stickler for realistic representation of distance, for example, and your setting is something like, say, Napoleonic Europe, you might not like the way that a space like America gets one letter a year from the other side of the world. And that’s okay, we’re used to a lot of really messed up speeds for communication. Instant communication is pretty common nowadays…

But there’s also a whole bunch of ways that this technology can be tuned. You know that there was a series of mechanical semaphor signals across Europe? A culture could use bonfires and long-distance viewing techniques to do regular communication. A hilly nation could have a long-distance whistling technique for regular transmission of messages with something like a bullroarer, for example.

Once you involve magic things get extra complicated.

In traditional D&D, there’s a spell called Sending, which depending on edition allows for long-distance short message communication at an instant speed. Give that technology a reason to exist and you’ll wind up with businesses using it to do sendings regularly. If there’s any reason to exist – like, say, countries that do trade, or have reasons to care about what’s going on with each other’s military movements – then a sending network seems to be pretty much mandatory? Really early? Every day, standard messages, with codebooks of information to maximise the transmission? Like these are the things a state can do. Instant communication transforms things – when you can know what’s coming before it arrives and you don’t get surprised, you can start doing logistical planning for things like military and trade.

In a setting like Avatar: The Last Airbender, earthbenders kind of leapfrog the technological need for things like metal foundries and movable type; a bender can just make the plates for printing. They don’t have to last a long time, they just have to have reliable and predictable practice. This means that you can have printable, high-volume forms of communication, like books and other forms of disposable transmission. That’s not even accounting for the way that electricity such as lightning benders can wield could be used for telegraph style communication if anyone wants to make the infrastructure.

And the thing is this can cut both ways. A setting like Mass Effect is one where you have all the modern day technological instant communication and then a bunch more which was also really stupid and worse – like, texting is one of the most efficient ways to transmit information, but to be part of its game interface, Mass Effect instead makes everyone use audio logs so they can be broadcasted while you’re doing other things. See also Bioshock and System Shock, which again, turn to everyone talking into tape machines, and if enough people do that as general process, even though it’s a terrible way to do things like shop for things, then everyone’s going to do it.

What’s more, this isn’t all equally distributed. A community of grassland wanderers can be ‘next door’ comparatively speaking to a city full of people sending magical messages every day. One of those groups isn’t going to be as interconnected with other people over long distance but also, they’re probably not going to be vulnerable on that vector for things like misinformation or logistical failure. If you don’t care about the Suez Canal, you don’t care that Big Boat Got Stuck. Which means communication speed, the convenience and access to it creates new entanglements.

Consider then the list:

Volume

Reliability

Distance

Precision

Infrastructure

Entanglements

Each of these ideas presents questions that you can then examine in terms of communication speed, and what they do for your world.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[writernopal]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! 📝

What's something you've been excited about lately? A new WIP, a new idea, a fun character, some good angst, or maybe the break you're taking?

--@oh-no-another-idea <3

Cass! Its been a long time since I've answered an STS but I've got the spoons for it today so here we go!

So I've had severe Mariel brainrot which is great for obvious reasons, but it also made me remember a little detail I threw into AASOAF 1 that doesn't "resolve" until AASOAF 3 and as of yet, no one has pointed out the little seed I planted. Its kind of obscure so I'm not surprised no one's picked up on it yet, but it makes me excited so I'll explain it instead of waiting for someone to catch it hehe.

A long time ago I made a post about Lizardfolk names (here) which I've referenced a handful of times before (and is also in AASOAF 2's companion material). You don't need to read the whole thing, as this here is the most relevant bit for what I'm going to talk about:

The first or given name is chosen by the individual’s parents when they hatch. For nobility, this is also the name preceded by the title of ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ once they have completed their ikismal (rite of passage) ceremony. When used sans honorifics, it is the most intimate form of address, usually reserved for nuclear family, certain relatives, lovers, or spouses to demonstrate closeness. However, this is only permissible in private settings; public settings demand formality, even from those closest to that individual, else being referred to by first name only is considered disrespectful and usually meant as an insult.

So, at the beginning of AASOAF 1, Mariel asks for Axtapor's name and he tells her it's Oxlo (his surname). This is because:

A. he doesn't really trust her with his full name (he's a himbo but also a pirate so he's not dumb enough to walk around giving people his government name lol)

B. its how pirates in AASOAF (including the ship he serves on, the Angel's Lyre) refer to one another, so its kind of second nature to introduce himself that way. You'll notice in AASOAF 2 that Fay and Wilkes also call him Oxlo and nothing else, despite both being familiar with proper lizard custom.

C. because he knows its human custom to call others by their first names only once they learn them and that would feel inappropriate for him because Mariel's not close to him in any way at this point, therefore not allowed to call him by his first name.

This last point is HUGE because for the majority of AASOAF 1, he only knows Mariel as Miss Frere (and calls her such) until he hears a town crier say her full name. By the time this happens he Has Feelings for her so the next time they see each other, they have A Moment where he leans and whispers her first name into her ear. JUST THINKING ABOUT IT MAKES ME GO FERAL because its his way of telling her (even though she and the reader might not understand) that he wants to be close to her. That he wants to be (and in his mind) is ready to be someone worthy of calling her by her first name.

And then because he's a LITTLE SHIT who is Obsessed with her, he says her full name to her, KNOWING THAT SHE'S PROBABLY GONNA ASK FOR HIS FULL NAME AND CALL HIM BY HIS FIRST NAME FROM THEN ON BECAUSE THATS WHAT HUMANS DO.

And of course she does, so he drops this banger of a line on her:

“Axtapor Rehteus Oxlo of Ihama, First Mate of the Angel’s Lyre at yer command.” He said, bowing his head ever so slightly.

Let me break down why this line, despite being so plain makes me so fucking feral and why its such a big deal:

He says it when they're alone. This is huge because that means he wanted to be absolutely, 100% sure no one was going to overhear what his name is. This also sets up nicely for the theme of "alone together" that starts playing out in AASOAF 2.

He bows. Also huge because in the context of AASOAF, Lizardfolk enslave Humans. Bowing is a sign of respect, so for him to bow to her effectively means he's putting himself beneath the rank of slave. This is doubly significant because he grew up as a noble and she's just a farmer's daughter. This also ties in really nicely with themes of Power and Strength that take shape in AASOAF 2 and are realized more fully in AASOAF 3.

He says he's at her command. Again, this is huge because in the Holtep Empire (his homeland), women are treated as second class citizens and the men sort of just do their thing and drag them along behind. This also ties into a lot of the conversations/inner dialogue/behavior Axtapor exhibits in AASOAF 2.

This line, even though the reader and Mariel, may not know it, is Axtapor confessing his love for her. This is also me putting the band-aid on that I rip off at the end where, uh, things don't go his way LOL.

Anyway that was really long but it makes me insane when I think about it so there you go! There's a ton more stuff like that in AASOAF that I wish I could talk about or that someone would find but hey, even if no one finds it, at least I know its there.

[meikodenji]

i have this little headcanon/AU of Daryl.

A/N: small references of homoph0bi4, physical 4buse/Daryl’s back, implied suggestive (?) this is just my headcanon/AU. it’s actually all thought out but this is what i can scrape up for now. i’d like to write it one day ! IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS, JUST SCROLL AWAY. DNI IF YOU’RE JUST GONNA BE NEGATIVE, HATEFUL, ETC.

in this hc, he’s a gay man but has it under wraps and doesn’t talk about it. many think of him as a lone wolf (which he is, don’t get me wrong) and has never been romantically involved before. what many don’t know is that Daryl very much had only one person reach his heart. the person was a man named Dallas who he met when they both were teenagers (16/17), way back before the apocalypse. during that time, it’s already been years since Merle left for the army and their sister Madelyn left for college (she was kicked out and forbidden to see/visit Daryl by their deadbeat father).

Daryl and Dallas’s relationship unfolded with time, years. they were friends and then they had a deep talk, which ended in Daryl risking everything to confide in Dallas about his sexuality. you know how things were back then. Dallas’s reaction was the first time in Daryl’s life that he wasn’t met with a cold sneer or a strike of a damn belt. Dallas accepted him for who he was and made it known that he never saw Daryl as a lesser person. this eventually led to them holding hands.

slowly, their relationship became more romantic. stolen glances both in public and private. in secret, they held one another, kissed each other’s cheek, and then on the lips. they’d talk about anything and nothing, Daryl mostly listened since he loved to hear Dallas. Dallas equally adored Daryl. he’d always help Daryl look after himself, he just couldn’t help it. Daryl would often grunt about it but never shook Dallas off. can you imagine Dallas’s reaction to Daryl’s back ? he hugs him tight and cries for him, Daryl was never much of a crier (due to his deadbeat father Will).

they loved each other. it took Dallas a while to gather the courage to say those three words to Daryl. Daryl wanted to say it back because he knew he loved Dallas—but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Dallas understood perfectly why without Daryl even telling him, and he never held it against Daryl. Dallas can see how much Daryl cared for and loved him, and he was happy with that.

when Daryl was 19, he finally walked away from Will and the hell he had to live in for all his life. he and Dallas moved into a little apartment two towns away. they kept up appearances as roommates.

things were going great. when they first moved in, that was the first time they’ve done it in an actual bed. past times were on a worn out mattress in Dallas’s old shed (Dallas would tell to his folks that he and Daryl were gonna go hunting and excuse the long hunt with a white lie), on a blanket deep in the woods, or in Will’s beat up truck whenever Daryl took it. they held up quite a domestic life with each other, which ultimately contrasted what Daryl saw between his parents growing up.

they were happy.

and then Merle was discharged three years later. things changed for the couple the moment their telephone rang. Merle was able to reach them because Merle had talked to Dalls’s uncle who thought that Dallas must know about Daryl (they don’t know that Daryl was living with Dallas). Merle and the other man knew each other from drug dealing. Merle didn’t know who Dallas was, but thought he’d give it a try. a day or two later, Merle called again and Dallas gave the telephone to Daryl. after years of not talking due to circumstances, the brothers talk again. Merle wanted Daryl to accompany him like old times. Daryl said he’ll let him know.

things went from one to another, Daryl pondered for a long time. Merle wasn’t as open-minded about many things. Daryl remembers many times when Merle and some others would jump guys who they thought was gay and not “normal”. suddenly, Daryl remembers that Merle offered to drop by Dallas’s place to pick him up. Daryl looked around and it was undeniable that Daryl didn’t just crash here and there.

knowing how violent and ill thinking Merle could get, he never wanted to put Dallas in a terrible situation. Daryl loved him too much to let anything happen to him. but something else was clawing at the back his head, his loyalty to his older brother.

eventually, Daryl had to choose between his brother Merle and his beloved Dallas. Daryl knew that if he chose not to go back with Merle, Merle wouldn’t stop popping up again and there would be a constant danger for Dallas. he also knew that if he chose his brother, he wouldn’t be able to live knowing that the pursuit of his and Dallas’s dreams had gone one sided.

at age 22, Daryl leaves. he couldn’t even face Dallas when he said goodbye. he feared that he’d accidentally kiss Dallas dumb in front of Merle who waited in his old, stolen truck. Dallas watched the truck go down the road.

Daryl found himself pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes.

in the present time, Daryl and Carol sit next to each other near a makeshift fire. Daryl had confided in her about the love of his life.

for more than 20 years, Daryl lived without any real reason and even more regrets.

the biggest one: he never got to say “I love you” to Dallas.

[the-broken-truth]

Battle Born Scars - Altea Bellerose x MC

Summary: [MC] and Altea are in the Land of Eclaciel when the King and Queen request assistance with conflict on their borders. The Leader of a Large Bandit Camp declares on the nation and [MC] goes to the front lines to protect Altea's Homeland. Altea waits for her wife to return from battle with a heavy heart and when [MC] returns home with new scars, Altea stops at nothing to tend to her wife's wounds.

Broken: Hey, @deliciousgardenshepherdpeach - Here is your request, I hope you like it.

[The Lands of  Eclaciel - Altea's Bedchambers]

The amber-eyed wizard stood by the window, looking down at the streets of her homeland - people living their lives in ignorance and peace, not a care in the world; that's because the Eclacien Army was on the front lines to keep them, and their way of life safe...and with them at the moment was her beloved, her soulmate, her wife - [MC], Altea closed her eyes as she thought about how she and [MC] ended up here and [MC] was on the front lines keep her nation safe. A Messenger came with a letter bearing the seal of her family's house, the letter was a request for forces while stating that the Bandit Clan that had been plaguing their lands had declared war upon the people and their way of life. Lord Wolfson was quick to dedicate a small army to the Bellerose Family and had [MC] and Altea ride out the very next day. When the King and Queen saw Altea and [MC] arriving at the gates of the city, they breathed a sigh of relief before explaining everything that was going on - [MC] instantly offered to train the armies before they headed out for battle. After the armies were trained and the word from the scouts that the bandit armies were moving toward the city, [MC] rode out with the armies.

That was one week ago.

Altea was lonely for a while - her father and mother tried to tell her that her wife was going to be alright and her brother was trying to distract her by taking her out into the city but some people were talking about 'The Slayer of the Witch Queen' riding out into battle and that reminded Altea that she was alone for a while; she soon lost the spark to hang out with her brother and returned to her room to mope and wait for the love of her life to return to her. Altea's eyes shot open when her keen ears tuned into the words of the Town Crier and her heart fluttered with happiness.

"LADY [MC] AND HER FORCES HAVE RETURNED FROM BATTLE!" The town crier shouted as The Slayer of the Witch Queen rode into town with her forces behind her, the people parted to let them ride down the middle of the streets toward the castle - Altea's eyes watered as she watched the long-haired girl waving to the people as she turned to look up a the castle their eyes locked and Altea was quick to turn on her heel and ran down the stair, into the great hall and out of the castle door to meet her Mother and Father stood there before the army and [MC] kneeling before them with her sword stabbed in the ground - she looked at Altea and smiled at her as the pink-haired witch tackled [MC] to the ground with her arms wrapped around her armored waist.

"You've returned. My love, you have come back to me." Altea cried into [MC's] neck as she peppered kisses on her exposed skin as the knight sat up with her hands wrapped around her wife's waist.

[MC] stood up with her Altea in her arms - princess style - before looking at the king and queen, who told her that they would expect the report in the morning but it was time for her to spend some time with her wife. [MC] carried Altea to their room and placed her on the bed before starting to remove her armor to take a bath before going to bed when Altea reached out and placed her hand on [MC's] Back - where a cascade of scars painted her back - some weren't fully healed, some were old, other were still red from the blood leaking from the stitched wounds.

"My love...your back," Altea said as she traced along the oldest-looking scar. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine, my love, I gained these scars by protecting the people I have come to know as my friends and comrades in battle. The oldest car was from an accident in the other world - I'm not really proud of who I got that scar." [MC] said as she looked at the ground as the memory of how she got that scar flowed through her mind.

"I missed you, ya know. For the week that you were gone, I was miserable and my family tried to make me feel better but I was so upset when people talked about you in the city and I worried for you every day." Altea said as she gently wrapped her arms around her wife's waist but was careful not to touch the wrapped wound.

"I am sorry that I have worried you, Altea, but I wanted to prove that I was worthy of you and your family's approval - after all, they are my parents-in-law." [MC] said as she turned and cupped Altea's face in her hands before leaning in and kissing the lips of the wizard.

Altea closed her eyes and enjoyed the taste of her wife's lips as she placed her hands on her chest, making sure to avoid the open scars and wounds. [MC] was the light in Altea's life - the reason she smiled in the mornings and throught the day. She wasn't going to let anything happen to her - the sooner they get back home, the better.

[fritextramole]

the devil divine

part 2 of a Blair Waldorf playlist - best heard in order

tracklist and quotes under the cut

Get What 'Cha Got And Go ~ Loretta Lynn

You think you're the greatest thing in this whole town Oh number one but everyone no one can put you down Every night you go downtown where the go-go's go

Pink Shoe Laces ~ Dodie Stevens

He takes me deep-sea fishing in a submarine We got to drive-in movies in a limousine He's got a whirly-birdy and a twelve-foot yacht Ah, but that's-a not all he's got Ae's got tan shoes with pink shoelaces A polka dot vest and man, oh, man

Fever ~ Peggy Lee

When you put your arms around me I get a fever that's so hard to bear You give me fever When you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight Fever! In the mornin', a-fever all through the night

Big Bad Handsome Man ~ Linda Carone

Got me where he wants me to be With his arms so wide, he pulls me in by his side He's the kind of guy that does it for me

Manhattan ~ BLOSSOM DEARIE

The great big city's a wondrous toy Made for a girl and boy We'll turn Manhattan Into an isle of joy

Idéalisation ~ Cosette

Je vais te faire araignéïser Pour que tu me prennes dans tes filets Je veux t'idéaliser ~ I will make you a spider So that you catch me in your web I want to idealize you

Treat Me Rough ~ Ella Fitzgerald

The cushy sheltered way of life was really no fun From now on, some manhandling must be done

I Belong To You ~ Caro Emerald

The afterglow that's down below Is when I see your smile And in your eyes, true love assigns Forever is a word that cries That I belong to you

Crazy He Calls Me ~ Billie Holiday

The difficult I'll do right now The impossible will take a little while I say I'll care forever And I mean forever

Tea For Two ~ BLOSSOM DEARIE

Just me for you And you for me alone Nobody near us To see us or hear us

You Belong To Me ~ Jo Stafford

Send me photographs and souvenirs Just remember When a dream appears You belong to me

Please Mr. Postman ~ The Marvelettes

I've been standin' here waitin' Mister Postman So patiently, for just a card, or just a letter Sayin' he's returnin' home to me

Washing Machine Heart ~ Mitski

Baby will you kiss me already and Toss your dirty shoes in my washing machine heart? Baby, bang it up inside Baby, though I've closed my eyes I know who you pretend I am

Jolene ~ Dolly Parton

You could have your choice of men But I could never love again He's the only one for me

Comme moi ~ Édith Piaf

Peut-être bien encore qu'elle entendra plus fort Son cœur battre et qu'alors Comme moi Elle voudra crier en entendant Monter, un pas dans l'escalier Comme moi ~ Maybe she will hear louder Her heart beating, and then Like me She will want to scream when she hears Going up, a step on the stairs Like me

Darn That Dream ~ Doris Day

Just to change the mood I'm in I'd welcome a nice old nightmare Darn that dream and bless it too Without that dream I never would have you But it haunts me and it won't come true

Maybe I Know ~ Leslie Gore

"He really loves me", that's all I can say Before my tears fall, I just walk away

Graveyard ~ Halsey

You look at me With eyes so dark, don't know how you even see You push right through me

Little White Lies ~ Ella Fitzgerald

The devil was in your heart But heaven was in your eyes The night that you told me those little white lies Who wouldn't believe those lips Whoever could doubt those eyes

I Can’t Stay Mad at You ~ Skeeter Davis

You can run around You can tell me lies But there's nothing I can do I'll never say goodbye 'Cause I can't stay mad at you

Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool ~ Connie Francis

I told myself it's best that I forget you Though I'm a fool, at least I know the score Yet darlin', I'd be twice as blue without you It hurts, but I'd come running back for more

Boys Like You ~ dodie

You thought you could charm me And, damn it, you're right So watch me fall for every damn stereotype

Une chanson brisée ~ Cœur De Pirate

Mais qu'importe, tu m'aimes, oui Ça justifie tous tes oublis Mais qu'importe, le temps joue Une chanson sur mes plaies qui s'entrouvrent ~ But whatever, you love me, yes It justifies all your oversights But whatever, time plays A song about my open wounds

I Just Couldn’t Stand It No More ~ Dinah Washington

My heart is aching, My heart is aching He don't know how much it is a breaking I need somebody, yes I need somebody To take my love and help me to forget him...

I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plans ~ Annie Ross, Gerry Mulligan Quartet

Before I knew where I was at I found myself upon the shelf, and that was that I tried to reach the moon but when I got there All that I could get was the air My feet are back upon the ground I've lost the one man I found,

Back To Black ~ Amy Winehouse

You went back to what you knew So far removed From all that we went through

Blue ~ Rebecca Black

Two years down the drain A whole life we had made It was ours for the taking

Une complainte dans le vent ~ Cœur De Pirate

Aux chaleurs oubliées À tes doigts longeant mes parures Tu m'aurais à l'usure Mais qu'importe les douleurs du présent Je ne suis plus la même, tu n'es plus un enfant ~ To forgotten warmth To your fingers along my finery You would wear me out But no matter the pains of the present I am no longer the same, you are no longer a child

You ~ The Pretty Reckless

I can't steal you, no Like you stole me

my tears ricochet ~ Taylor Swift

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe All the hell you gave me? 'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you 'Til my dying day

Le monopole de la douleur ~ Cœur De Pirate

Tu n'entends plus rien Que je m'exprime tout haut, tu n'y vois qu'une maudite fin Et les lignes des épopées de nos nuits racontent leurs histoires Mais j'en ai marre qu'on broie du noir Tu penses que tu es le seul à souffrir Qu'importe que je saigne aussi ~ You don't hear anything anymore That I express myself aloud, you see only a cursed end And the lines of the epics of our nights tell their stories But I'm sick of us brooding You think you're the only one to suffer It doesn't matter that I bleed too

L’etang ~ BLOSSOM DEARIE

Là, le ciel, pour quelques instants Garde encore de l'or dans ses yeux Une étoile brille au fond de l'étang Pour les amoureux ~ There, the sky, for a few moments Still got gold in her eyes A star shines at the bottom of the pond For lovers

La Nuit N’en Finit Plus ~ Petula Clark

Je voudrais partir au hasard Partir au loin quitter mes souvenirs ~ I would like to leave randomly Go far away leave my memories

Hey There ~ Rosemary Clooney

Better forget him, him with his nose in the air He has you dancin on a string Break it and he won't care

Hard Feelings/Loveless ~ Lorde

I light all the candles Cut flowers for all my rooms I care for myself the way I used to care about you

Heartstrings ~ Leighton Meester

Had to save my own self from all your evil games

Happier Than Ever ~ Billie Eilish

You call me again, drunk in your Benz Driving home under the influence You scared me to death, but I'm wasting my breath

Cry Me A River ~ Julie London

Remember, I remember all that you said Told me love was too plebeian Told me you were through with me and Now you say you love me Well, just to prove you do Come on and cry me a river, cry me a river I cried a river over you

Gonna Get Along Without You Now ~ Skeeter Davis

Got along without you before I met you Gonna get along without you now Gonna find somebody who is twice as cute 'Cause I didn't want you anyhow

Kill My Boyfriend ~ Natalia Kills

And boy I'm so committed, I'm so deep, there's no more digging There's only one thing I can do to solve this mess, come on I gotta kill my boyfriend yeah...

Hermit the Frog ~ MARINA

Well, I, I wanna tell you a secret You can take your double standard love and keep it I can't help the devil likes to make my heart a double bed And I can't help he sometimes like to come And rest his little head

OKAY OKAY ~ Alessia Cara

My best friend said to me, "I know just what we need A song of yours that we could feel ourselves to" I said it'd be a test, 'cause you know I'm always stressed Come to think of it, I guess I've never cared to She said, "You won't know if you never commit" So here's me convincing myself I'm the shit

[doubleddenden]

Decided to try something different with a schedule I make for my friends in a discord server I'm in.

Going forward, I'll be posting my Toonami Schedules on my blog as well, and my DD ScheDDules too. That's just a little silly schedule I make.

Oh, the "meDDia" section is something I usually do when there's a rerun. In our server, I kinda have free reign over this part, so usually I'll look up a funny video that kinda fits the theming. This go around, since I'm feeling the love for DBZ again, I thought it'd be fun to try some fresh DB content we haven't gotten on the actual Toonami block. I decided to post ep 1 and 2 here since this is my first blog post of the schedule.

The graphic is definitely new for me. I found a font matching the Toonami font online, found the old Toonami emblem/logo, and from there I googled space pictures and did renders and edits in paint.net to get the result you see above. Thinking about changing the colors and doing a little more editing, but not too bad for my first attempt at one of these, right?

Some QA and disclaimers below:

"Why do this?"

I'm not really sure tbh. This kinda became my role in the server I'm in. I try to keep on top of the schedule and changes so everyone else can be informed or make other plans if they like. I wasn't the first to do this in my server, nor am I the only one able to do this, I just... I dunno, kinda did it so the others can catch a break? Life's tough and I like being relied on. I'm the schedule guy now

"Tf is the DD Schedule?"

Well, I am DD. The DD Schedule kinda started just as a little joke a year or two ago, again, I just kinda joke and shoot the shit. Some of my friends get upset with me if I forget or don't do the silly schedule, so I reckon if it makes them happy, I do it.

Sometimes it's good for recap. Sometimes not. Depends on the mood. It's just harmless fun and I like being silly.

"Why the inaccurate Japanese?"

Since Ninja Kamui is subbed, I basically just run my original Ninja Kamui bit through Deepl since I was told it is slightly more accurate than Google translate. No harm was meant if it comes off wrong. In other words, Sub is basically the same as Dub but slight differences.

"What are the numbers and projected end dates?"

Something different I decided to do with this schedule is to keep count of episodes and a possible end date for the season or series on Toonami. The Projected End Dates- PED- is subject to change for marathons that may happen. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're due for a Ninja Kamui marathon or 2 for when the series ends its current run, as they tend to do other originals.

"Why the graphics?"

Dunno, thought it'd be fun to try something different for a change. The schedule I post in our server is usually just text, so I figure this would spice things up.

"Why no time listed?"

Because I live in Central, some if my friends don't. Just assume the schedule starts as normal unless stated otherwise. For me that's 11:00pm central.

"Tf is Nart?"

It's Naruto, that's just my pet name for it.

Couple disclaimers

1. I am not a toonami employee. Just a fan. I have limited data per month and can't watch anime as much as I'd like, so Toonami is a great way for me to watch new things I haven't seen that I can't find on youtube or something.

2. I'm not a mod or admin of this server, more like a town crier or janitor.

If you have questions, feel free to message me and I'll answer whatever

3. Our server is a psuedo fan server, not official, and it's really more of a "whatever" server depending on the mood we're in, from Toonami to streamers to games and shows, etc. None of us are affiliated with Toonami in any official capacity and it's mostly us goofing off about whatever or watching Toonami on Saturdays. It is an 18+ server, fair warning- we try to keep that stuff in the designated channels, but *some* people are gremlins, so it can scare some off.

[maranull]

Books I read this year and quick thoughts about them cause last year when I did this I had fun remembering them.

Under the cut cause there are a bit too many.

~

Ratings are 100% subjective. Going by order I've read them, not rank or whatever. I'd generally rec everything above 3 stars.

~

Crier's War by Nina Varela

What if you were a human, the slave race under the ruling androids and you wanted to kill the "daughter" of the lord of your city, but she was actually nice. Gay and technically enemies to lovers..? Though only the human wants to kill the other. Just a pretty nice, enjoyable fantasy. 3/5

Iron Heart by Nina Varela

Sequel to Crier's War. Here it becomes less conflict between the main characters and more world-wide troubles. Consisted quality with the first book and it also has a scene where the main characters decide to pretend to be wives to trick their way into a mansion. Hilarity ensues, which was a great break from the world-wide conflict. 3/5

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

No notes needed, I think. As of writing this, this is the best essay I've ever read. Even though you can see its age at some points, I feel it's still very relevant. 4/5

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

In a remote mansion, a father and a daughter take on a sickly woman. At points it felt like I was reading a lesbian romance. Which is wild considering this is written by a man in the 19th century. Absolutely horrid ending. 2.75/5

Carmilla and Laura by SD Simper

What Carmilla could and should had been. Same premise, much, much better ending. 3.75/5

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen

Quindlen has this uncanny skill that makes me feel and almost miss teen years I never had or would I have (cause all her works are set in the US). This particular book was a very... I think good portrayal of not fitting in, and what you might be willing to do and sacrifice to do so. And then the growth that (hopefully) comes through such experiences. 4/5

Whipping Girl by Julia Serano

Not much to say. The description, twice, promised arguments that included her knowledge of biology. That wasn't the case. A fine book to read, but the rating I gave it reflects my annoyance with that description and its setting of wrong expectations. Pay more attention to the title in this one. 3/5

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Top tier vibes. An orc adventurer settles down and makes a coffee shop in a town that doesn't know what coffee is. Did not vibe with the climax or the romance (that felt shoehorned in) but overall a very enjoyable read. 3.5/5

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Giant alien sculptures appear all around the globe, and the world tries to understand what they are. The main character is one of the first that finds them. One of the most interesting premises I've read. And a very interesting book right up until the ending, which I really, really didn't like. Maybe book two fixes my problems with it, but it was too sudden and I was not in a good place to give it a try then. The rating might be too harsh, but it is what I felt right after finishing it. 2.75/5

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A pretty cool retelling of the Sleeping Beauty. A very hopeful book, even if the main character starts it by celebrating their last birthday. 3/5

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

I still think about this story sometimes. Absolutely insane how Le Quin managed to write something this short and this good. I found out more about myself from this story. I know me better through thinking about this story. It's just amazing, read it and think on it. 4/5

Short Stuff by Kate Fierro, Alysia Constantine, Jude Sierra, Julia Ember, Jen Sternick, Tom Wilinsky

A short LGBTQ+ stories collection. I was in a really bad place at the time of reading it, I barely remember anything. Though I do remember that some were really good though, while others were... pretty meh to even just... bad. Overall 3/5.

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

Praise be the dystopia that got me out of my reading slump! Really cool concept, I loved it. The magic and technology is also very well made. 3.25/5

The Druid's Call by E. K. Johnston

A book made to accompany the movie D&D: Honor Among Thieves and to expand on Doric's character. It's basically her whole backstory leading up to the movie events. I think there's nothing to say here, right? There is? Okay. I've watched, listened, read and played through maybe too many stories. Seen thousands upon thousands of characters. No one ever came close to how much I relate to Doric and her story. This book is the most accurate description of abandonment and trust issues I've ever read. It was also aware how something like that might heal, and how blind you might seem (or be) when carrying such baggage. Again, my thoughts are very subjective and biased, but this is one of the best books I've ever read. 5/5

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

I'm not writing a description for this. You know what it is. Dense writing and worldbuilding, but it so happens that I'm into that. :P 3.5/5

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

Not writing a description for this either. You're reading this on Tumblr, therefore you know the show. :P Some parts are better than the show, some are not. The kids' characters are much more well developed here, I think. Same with the Witch. Worth reading if you've seen the show, worth if you haven't. 3.5/5

A Different Kind of Us by Kelly Quindlen

At her first job, the main character finds out that her ex-best friend and first love works there as well. A fun, sad and more adult take on the type or stories Quindlen tends to write. A nice change to see adults struggle and work towards coming to terms with themselves and their relationships. 4/5 (Quindlen is one of my fav authors, I'm biased, shut up)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

A deadly heist, attempted by a skilled band of thieves and thugs that you will end up loving (the vast majority of them anyways). It had been a while since I've read YA fantasy before reading this, and it was a bit surreal feeling like a 15yo again. The book itself is really interesting, but the characters are not 16yo, I'm sorry. Still, they are really, really cool in their own unique ways. The magic system is a really good one as well. 3.5/5

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Sequel to Six of Crows. Great book and a damn good ending. I would kill for Inej and Jesper. 3.75/5

Say the Name: A Survivor's Tale in Prose and Poetry by Judith H. Sherman

This is a book that I believe everyone should read. It's not a fun or light read, but I think it should be in everyone's library. It describes the experiences of a 14yo Jewish girl (the author at the time) who was imprisoned in the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp during World War II. No other book, movie or documentary about that part of history has hit me more than this book. I think that when we're just seeing numbers, it's so easy for our mind to numb out the horror each individual experienced. The way Say the Name focuses on a single experience gets you away from numbers and statistics, and the focus on one person was, to me, so much more impactful. Read it. 4/5

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

You meet a hot girl in your commute, but it turns out she's lost in time, stuck in the subway for eternity. What do you do? An absolute joy of a book. Main and side characters were all fantastic. It's a great story and top tier romance. One of the few books I loved so much that I went out of my way to grab a physical copy. It's better read while on the train by the way. It truly enhances the experience. 4.5/5

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Big themes of following expectations (your own and others) and depression. Not an easy read, and I think it would touch some people more than others. 3.5/5

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

A big cast, and many different stories that are all interconnected through various means. I think this is another book that should be read by everyone. 4/5

Love Beyond Body, Space & Time by Hope Nicholson with David A. Robertson, Cherie Dimaline, Gwen Benaway, Richard Van Camp, Mari Kurisato, Nathan Adler, Daniel Heath Justice, Darcie Little Badger, Cleo Keahna, Grace L. Dillon, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Another short stories collection. Some are amazing, some are meh and some I would had loved if they were more lengthy. A lovely collection overall. 3.25/5

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Started great, then kinda slowed down to a point that even though I thought I like his writing style, it became quite tiring to get through. Still a really good book. 3.25/5

Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn

A Witch haunts a city, taking a young man every generation or so. Our protagonist is the daughter of the current duke, and in deep depression. So when the Witch comes for her toll once more, she volunteers instead. Very atmospheric. But I think what won me over, is the characters and their interactions. There's this thing in fiction, where you make two characters have a fight, but they reconcile because they each can see the error of their ways and are willing to swallow their pride cause they care for each other. That is a "trope" that I will eat up every single time, and it is done greatly here. 4.25/5

~

And now I haven't touched a book for over a month... Here's hoping that I'll start reading again by January. :P

~

[maguayans]

AYE’S YEAR OF WRITING ‘22

Hi, hello! How have you been? I hope the season’s treating you well. It’s that time of the year again—to see how I ruled as a writer this year. (It’s already 2023, though. Happy New Year!)

GENERAL WORD COUNT: Forty-one thousand eight hundred plus words—pops confetti—across eleven stories! That’s not a lot compared to what I’ve written last year, but I’m pretty proud of it, especially because almost half of it was written within thirty days—thanks, Camp Nano.

If you happen to stumble upon my posts, you may know some of them: Lethal Bloods, Mariang Makiling, Red Complex, Crimson, Fair Waters, Maharlika, All in Favor, Say Aye, Red Cuts, Where the Poet Went to Die, Don’t Fall Asleep, and Tres.

Yeah…I don’t think jumping from one WIP to another is good…for me. But it’s fun!

WORKS IN PROGRESS: In addition to drafting the stories listed above, a few ideas came up and made it to my list of projects. It seems like I’d never run out of stories to write and talk about.

New WIP #1: Human x Deities — Once in a while the deities would come down from their heavenly, divine realm to visit the mundane (like tourists.) When they do, a human would accompany them (like a tourist guide). The story features the gods of Philippine Mythology, soulmates and reincarnations (I’m a huge sucker for it), shamans and glowing tattoos.

New WIP #2: Flea Market Isekai — MC enters a flea market at the wrong time and finds herself in the same market with a different crowd. The story features the wonderful creatures of Philippine Mythology.

There are also four new short stories. *eye emojis*

WORLDBUILDING: Maybe I didn’t surpass my word count last year because I was too immersed in ✨worldbuilding✨.

Tres. Following the decision to change the titles and revise the origins of the characters I immediately went to Tres’s worldbuilding — an island far, far away; isolated from the main population (which could mean a lot of things, but most importantly overlooked crimes, gore, and everything in between.) The island, San Angel, is modest and gorgeous, but like a multicolored amphibian in a rainforest, it is deadly. Lovely flowers grow by the earthen roads, and underneath lies the remains of those buried without tombstones.

Red Complex. The red strings universe is expanding. In addition to a novella called Red Cuts, there’s a short story collection featuring characters from the mundane and the Matchmaker’s realm.

The Morose Cat. There’s a mini worldbuilding series I call, The Uphill Town, introducing a town up the hill (where the story takes place) and what makes it so different…and magical. For one, there’s an abandoned shrine that cats always pass through, and where the veil between the mundane and the otherworldly fades.

Elementaliaverse. There are so many things I added recently to the project and the stories. Mainly: Mystique Heights, Fair Waters, and Maharlika.

Worldbuilding, my beloved.

WRITEBLR. I can confidently say I interacted with the community more in 2022, and it was so much fun! Hopefully, I could do the same and more this 2023, and participate in more writeblr events/activities. Speaking of which, here are two: 30 Days, 30 Lines Challenge (by blind-the-winds), and Trick or Treat Writeblr Halloween Event (by pluttskutt). Thank you so much for these!

BOOKS & READING. I read less than ten books, and I enjoyed them. I am open to random book recommendations in my inbox/messages. I'll continue reading reviews/posts about books—how I discovered The Great Library series. (A writeblr posted about how much they enjoyed reading the books, so I bought copies. They were on the third book then, If I remember correctly, and I wanted to reblog the post but I forget their handle.)

Crier’s War Duology, Nina Varela

House of Hollow, Krystal Sutherland

The Great Library (1-4), Rachel Caine

Intersections, B. Pigeon; Fell Marsh

MISCELLANEOUS/PERSONAL. We went on a trip for Christmas, and the funniest, most writer thing I did was buy a stick (an arnis stick, the vendor told me, though it seemed different), thinking it would help me write one of my WIPs. It was affordable, so I guess it was fine. ( A little Christmas gift for me, I told myself. But I did buy more than a stick from a gift shop. *laughs hysterically*)

INITIAL PLANS FOR 2023. Read at least twenty-five (25) books. // Finish at least one (1) draft. // Share two (2) short stories. 

I think...I’m going to be busy.

Thank you so much for reading! Enjoy the rest of the season. Stay warm and safe. Let’s hope 2023 will be kind and gentle. Cheers to more writing and reading and writeblr-ing!

If you have time, visit #ayearofwriting to see how other writers owned 2022!

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

Hazrat Uthman is in the Rank of Muslims

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had not yet announced Islam openly to the public.

During this stage, Hazrat Abu Bakr was very enthusiastic and took immense efforts in explaining Islam to his close friends.

One day, he mentioned Islam in one of his conversations with Hazrat Uthman and took him to our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) presence.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH), whose bright face always had a smile, said to Hazrat Uthman, “Favor heaven, which is Allah’s beneficence. I was sent as a guide to you and all of the humanity!”

It was as if Hazrat Uthman had lost himself (but in reality, had found himself) in the face of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) simple, sincere, and miraculous words, as the testimony of faith spilled from his lips: “Ashhadu anlaa ilaaha illallaahu wa ashhadu anna muhammadar-rasulullah!” * Afterwards, he explained a dream that he had previously seen while returning from Damascus: He said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, during the time in which we were in between Muan and Zarqa sleeping, a town-crier shouted, “Oh those who are sleeping! Wake up! Ahmad (PBUH) has appeared in Mecca!” And we heard about you once we arrived in Mecca!”

Torture

The joining of Hazrat Uthman, who possessed a gentle nature, good manners, modesty, and generosity, in the ranks of Muslims bothered the polytheists immensely. Individuals from his tribe strived to torment and oppress him. However, he stood up to every kind of anguish and torment and did not show the slightest deviation.

His uncle, Hakam bin Abu'l-As, would tie him with a rope to a pole and while beating him would say:

“So, you have forsaken your forefathers’ religion and have taken interest in a new religion? I swear I will not free you until you return to the religion of your forefathers.”

Hazrat Uthman, who was a model of fortitude, answered:

“By Allah, I will never leave the religion of reason and truth!”

He was left to face this torture and persecution for days on end. However, he did not make the slightest concession from his faith. At last, his uncle was humiliated in the face of Hazrat Uthman’s greatness and fortitude and was left with no other choice but to free him.

Hazrat Uthman, who was of medium height, heavily built, tan skinned, and had a very handsome face and a thick beard, was a pure and upright person in nature. He forbade himself from drinking alcohol during the Age of Ignorance. He was one of the fortunate people who felt deep joy in spending his wealth for Allah’s sake. He was a hafiz (one who had memorized the Quran.) During the nights, he would finish reciting the entire Quran in his prayer (salah).

Hazrat Uthman, who was one of the ten companions who was given the good tidings of Paradise, was at the same time, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) son-in-law. Initially, he married our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) daughter Ruqiyyah, but when she passed away, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) made him marry his daughter, Umm Kulthum. For that reason, he had acquired the nickname, “Zinnurayn”, “Possessor of Two Lights.