~ Word of the Day ~

Started by Blythe, March 21, 2017, 01:41:05 PM

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Flower

Today's word of the day is....

musket
noun MUSS-kut

Definition
1 : a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry


persephone325

"I don't want to do this, but I have to pawn my great-great-grandfather's musket to help pay bills. I can't afford to be homeless."
This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck.
It always ends in a fight.
You pulled me from the river. Why?
I don't know.
"Don't dwell on those who hold you down. Instead, cherish those who helped you up."

ZephyrInk

I remember the musket that Alyin had. No, I remember the wall where he hung it. It had looked like the most important piece in the room and rightfully so. It had seen and done so much. He used to tell us tales of how he used to polish the barrel with the only kerchief that he had possessed ever since he had left home for war. In the dead of the night, when everyone else around the camp had fallen asleep and he was the only one awake, Alyin had braved the silence with sounds of the small cloth slipping and sliding over the piece. 

Lilias

Cheer up, kid. I know it feels like forever. Six years of study within these halls, and counting the days until your seventh year, when you can go forth and meet the creatures you’ve been studying. Trust me, you’re going to need every single day of study before you can meet them on their turf and walk away with your life.

Now, don’t roll your eyes at me. Weren’t you paying attention at orientation? You’re training to be an arbitrator, kid, not a hunter. It’s not a trapping party, where you just need to know the right season and the right tracks to follow. The Changing Breeds are complicated people, and if you don’t understand their societies, you won’t go far. They’re all as mercurial as their shifting forms, but all in different ways. Each Garou tribe is one wrong howl from all-out war with at least two others. The Bastet are eccentric on a good day, and getting them in a gathering is like herding their mundane counterparts. The Gurahl get into fights just for the heck of it. The Corax and the Nuwisha can’t go ten steps without pranking someone. Seeing a Mokolé in full battle form is enough to drive all you have learned out of your mind - a behemoth straight out of legend will do that. Need I go on?

You still don’t seem convinced. That’s all right. You’ll find out for yourself soon enough. Although the hardest lesson is likely to be keeping yourself benevolent, even when working with people who are not. That, kid, is the real challenge.
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.
~Wendell Berry

Double Os <> Double As (updated Feb 20) <> The Hoard <> 50 Tales 2024 <> The Lab <> ELLUIKI

Lilias

The guest was shown into the receiving room by an acolyte in a white robe, a girl about fifteen who kept her hood up and her eyes down the whole while, and did not respond to any of his attempts to engage her in conversation.

The room itself was round, windowless except for four arrowslit windows set just beneath the rafters; all dark at that hour of night, but the guest suspected they were precisely aligned with the four cardinal points. There was a low, round table with a hole cut out in the centre, where a brazier full of glowing embers wafted warmth and a scent of evergreen and citrus into the air. Piles of cushions were scattered around the table, and that was where the high priestess sat, stately and imposing in her crimson robes.

The guest sat down, noticing how the high priestess dismissed the girl with only a nod. ‘Reticent, is she?’ he observed.

The older woman gave a thin smile. ‘Hardly. But she went through her first change a few days ago, and someone died. She has to make amends before she can start her training and find her place in the pack.’

The guest shivered at the thought of splattered blood on the nameless girl’s white drapes, as much as at the high priestess’ nonchalant way of mentioning such an event. He wondered briefly if it was a good idea to be among such people--he would not call them ‘creatures’--right now, with the full moon only a couple of nights past.

‘You look rather desperate,’ she said blandly, ‘or you would not be here’.

Well. He had been told she was observant; she would not be in that position if she weren’t. ‘You could say that,’ he started. ‘I have a message, and you’re not going to like it any more than I do…’
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.
~Wendell Berry

Double Os <> Double As (updated Feb 20) <> The Hoard <> 50 Tales 2024 <> The Lab <> ELLUIKI

RampantDesires

"Part man and part beast.  One is cruel and often tempestuoussus, but I was young and foolish and mad for your grandfather.  I thought that my love could save him, break the curse like in all those fairy tales that I'm sure your mother still reads to you..." Jenny could taste the contempt in her grandmother's voice as she spoke of those beloved stories, but wisely the young girl held her tongue.  This tale was even better though, it was REAL.  She knew that there was some dark secret buried in their family history.  Something that the adults whispered about and told her she was too young to understand.  This was even more than she'd dared to dream though.  Werewolves.  Grandpa Elliot was a werewolf.  And her father.  And apparently her younger brother James, although he was still too young to shift. 

"That doesn't seem very fair Grandma.  I never met him, but everyone says grandpa was a great man, he built, well, all of this..." she gestured toward the high stone walls of the garden they sat in, beyond that the bailey where she could hear workers calling out to one another as they oversaw repairs to the eastern most section of the sprawling castle.  "Surely that means more than any curse or the bad things that the wolf did..."  an indelicate snort cut off whatever else she'd been about to say.

"Oh little girl.  Sweet little girl.  Did I ever say that the wolf was the monster?  No.  Wolves are noble, even elegant animals..." The younger woman's delicate blonde eyebrows knit together in confusion causing her grandmother to sigh and shake her head.  Perhaps they were right, she was too young for this conversation.  There was time enough later for her to learn that men were by far the greatest danger she would face out there in the world. 

They say best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most part, become much more the better for being a little bad...
Absences 11/10 ≈ BlindfoldsRequests ≈  On's and Offs
<THIS SPACE PRETTIFIED SOON>
Tentatively Open to a few more 1v1's but also come write with me in Grey Matters--->

Flower

Today's word of the day is....

Risorgimento
noun ree-zor-jih-MEN-toh

Definition
1 often capitalized : the 19th century movement for Italian political unity

2 : a time of renewal or renaissance : revival

Kit Cat

#1332
The musket fires to break the curfew
A rebellion wakes full of self-righteous virtue
No longer can the gloss of political veil
Prevent them from believing that they won’t prevail.

This tempestuous revolt has been boiling so long
What once was a few, have turned into a throng
Each longing for their Risorgimento to come today
And they will fight for it, come what may

Remec


"Now, it has come to my attention that a few of you have been showing signs of a rather tempestuous nature," the drill instructor announced to his latest squad of victims--well, potential members of the local militia, possibly--and glossed over each of them as he inspected their stance and uniforms while at attention. "Parade rest!" he barked at them and narrowed his eyes as they shifted position.

Sgt Murphy darted over to one of the young women and practically got in her face. "Cadet Kensington...I said Parade rest, not at ease. Show me you know the difference." He stepped back and watched her correct her position. "Much better, Kensington...Alright, all of you, set me up a line behind this cadet and let's go visit the armory and get you your muskets." Murphy sighed internally and mentally shook his head. Reduced to the guns of our forebearers...maybe we should add in training with cutlasses while we're at it.

He checked his watch. "Afterwards, you are free for the rest of the day. Don't forget to hit chow, and make sure you are back in the barracks by curfew."

The Green One

He sat in the dark, lit up a smoke and let his tempestuous thoughts take over.

Not available for new stories

Madam Striga

"She also firmly believed that the Inquisition, as the public dotingly called them, had created a Risorgimento of hatred towards magic users that otherwise might have died down naturally."

Hob

Today's word of the day is....

agog
adjective uh-GAHG

Definition
1 : full of intense interest or excitement : eager

Kit Cat

I often find myself agog
At the cuteness of my dog
A rather captivating blog
Or how simple can become a slog

Hob

Today's word of the day is....

pacify
verb PASS-uh-fye

Definition

1a : to allay the anger or agitation of : soothe

1b : appease, propitiate

2a : to restore to a tranquil state : settle

2b : to reduce to a submissive state : subdue


Madam Striga

QuoteEven more so was the expressively tired look on her face, and the soft grumble that escaped her lips as they passed a couple of guards in the entrance "Here we go again, E', I swear. They got us working our asses off this time, huh?" She grimaced, inviting a nearby to comment with a glance towards one of the men. All of this was a simple act, intended to pacify the guards.

persephone325

Today's word of the day is....

slimsy
adjective SLIM-zee

Definition
: flimsy, frail
This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck.
It always ends in a fight.
You pulled me from the river. Why?
I don't know.
"Don't dwell on those who hold you down. Instead, cherish those who helped you up."

Jaclyn


She walked carefully from her flat toward the pub, so desperate for any company! She put on the best, slimsy dress she could afford, realizing full well the people at the bar would see her for what she was, just another unremarkable girl with nothing to live for.

ZephyrInk

With an arm stretched out, her focus remaining undeterred she willed her power, letting it course through every vein in her body. The storm had raged on and already the seas had downed five of those human bound ships. A sort of feral anger had seeped out of the syren, that in between the damage was the man she had deemed had been her only 'friend'. Coils of silver and blue wound around her outstretched limbs, as if in attempts to pacify nature's wrath. She knew her ability to calm the waters and the skies wouldn't help. That he was gone, but still she had to try - he would have wanted her to. She attempted to steady the flickering and slimsy power as she continued to visualize the canvas as a serene painting. Then she lowered her hands the moment the last of the waves died down and the grey clouds began to thin out. Her eyes scoured the fallen masts that floated on the surface and a with deep sigh, she then turned around and slipped back into the depths of the ocean, never to be seen again.

Remec




Katherine was such a slimsy girl,
That Franklin thought he'd give her a whirl,
He hoped she'd pacify,
His tendency to calcify,
His manners to the point of being a churl.

RampantDesires

Yesterday's word of the day was....

bereft
adjective bih-REFT

Definition
1 : deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something — usually used with of

2 : lacking something needed, wanted, or expected — used with of

3 : suffering the death of a loved one : bereaved

They say best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most part, become much more the better for being a little bad...
Absences 11/10 ≈ BlindfoldsRequests ≈  On's and Offs
<THIS SPACE PRETTIFIED SOON>
Tentatively Open to a few more 1v1's but also come write with me in Grey Matters--->

Flower

Today's word of the day is....

mufti
noun MUFF-tee

Definition
1 : ordinary dress as distinguished from that denoting an occupation or station; especially : civilian clothes when worn by a person in the armed forces

Madam Striga

#1346
QuoteTruly, it would not have surprised her. He had the look of a man accustomed to dressing well and thought that wearing a suit as mufti was the 'done thing'. It was like he wasn't even trying and still looked remarkably smart.

Beguile's Mistress

The night was quiet and barely lit by the glowing embers of the fires around which the soldiers slept. 

Groups of muskets with their bayoneted ends braced against each other formed conical shapes throughout the camp. Now and then a murmur or sound of snoring broke the peace as I tiptoed stealthily from one form to another looking for my quarry.  I had nearly given up the quest when I found the man I was looking for.  He was laying with his head propped on his rucksack and his arms crossed over his stomach. 

His chest rose and fell with the slow rhythm of a man deeply asleep and though he looked peaceful in slumber I knew him for the evil monster he was.  I was now the last of my family after this villain had murdered my mother and sisters.  I would have met the same fate but for the fact I had gone out to hunt for food before he arrived at the cabin in the woods my father had built when he and my mother were first married. 

Before I could change my mind I covered his nose and mouth with one small hand and centered the point of my thin-bladed knife against his heart.  His eyes opened and I pressed my weapon into his chest watching the confusion in his eyes turn to fear and then nothing as he died for me.

Flower

Today's word of the day is....

fungible
adjective FUN-juh-bul

Definition
1 : being of such a nature that one part or quantity may be replaced by another equal part or quantity in the satisfaction of an obligation

2 : interchangeable

3 : flexible

Jaclyn

#1349

  She took her basket into the forest in search of fungible ingredients to make her pizza all the better. The Morels were especially attractive this season, though the wild Portobello and Crimini were certainly not to be ignored. Morels she sauteed gently in butter and added those just before serving to give her pizzas a crowning touch.