Word of the Day Challenge

[Chasing Dreams]

Had she heard correctly that the rumors that the client was going to choose a different company after all the due diligence she had put together her best marketing presentation for the client that was known to be tough as nails. She had gone above and beyond to show the client that she wasn’t trying to woo him with great ideas that would never reach fruition. No, she knew what she was doing and spent countless hours working to get to the position she currently held. It hadn’t been an easy task, but she had done the best she could. She pulled up her emails and scanned through them before she went to work to quash the rumor and prove to the client that choosing their marketing company was the best option he had especially because she believed in the product.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

hare
verb | HAIR


Definition

: to go swiftly : tear


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

You're most likely familiar with Aesop's fable about the speedy hare and the plodding tortoise. The hare may have lost that race due to a tactical error (stopping to take a nap before reaching the finish line), but the long-eared mammal's overall reputation for swiftness remains intact. It's no surprise, then, that hare is used as a verb meaning "to move quickly." The noun hare (which refers, in its most specific zoological sense, to a member of the genus Lepus, whose young are usually able to hop a few minutes after birth) is a very old word. It first appeared as hara in a Latin-Old English glossary around the year 700. The verb was in use by the end of the 19th century, and people have been "haring off" and "haring about" ever since.

[Peripherie]

Gotta run, gotta run, gotta run!

It was happening again. Another 'drill' turned out to be the end of her current home as she knew it. This was one of many enclaves that had fallen to the nightly fires and attacks. She had learned to pack light and never settle in too quickly. Each time she was welcomed to her 'forever home', there was only a brief peace before they came. And with the beating of large wings and the sulfur smell, came destruction. It made sleeping fully clothed in her tennis shoes a standard practice.

So when the air raid siren sounded and sleepy faces appeared to see what kind of 'practice' it would be this time, she was already haring her way towards a small kink in the chain-link fence. She hugged her pack close to her body as she squeezed through the hole and dashed into the night.

On to the next place. She should have just stayed on her own - at least maybe she wouldn't be part of such a large target. But there was something inside her that longed to have a place where she could lay claim and be around friends.

But it was not to be. When a familiar roar rang out across the cold night sky - she started to wonder. Maybe the beast was coming after her.

[Peripherie]

It wasn't something to be proud of, not really. In these days of fantastical horrors and mundane sadness, everyone had a job to do. He was just expertly skilled at one thing that everyone seemed to need at one time or another. It was a job no one had conceived of before the 'end' and he had only come to it by necessity. He had been an investment banker by trade before the crisp. A delightfully stressful and important job that was turned into an ultimately useless set of skills.

Now, he called himself an 'asher' and his reputation had spread to all of the surrounding enclaves. It was both a calling and a curse to be sure. No one actually cared to spend much time around him - mostly due to the smell of death and mourning. But he was also a source of comfort and safety. He would rid the streets and homes of all manner of dead things - from loved ones to rodents - and then remake the flesh of the passed into something that would protect the world. Burnt ash was as good a talisman as anything when the mythical beasts hunting you had a sharp sense of smell. His mix worked as something of an effective deodorant to boot - but he never truly sold it as such. That was too macabre, even for him.

He stayed up all hours, waiting for the whispered calls. His own sustenance depending on the misfortunes of others and his constant availability was necessary for an age when death was the only certainty. But he was required, needed, and in someway - that made him happy. 

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

reputation
noun | rep-yuh-TAY-shun


Definition

1 a : overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general

b : recognition by other people of some characteristic or ability

2 : a place in public esteem or regard : good name


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

For reputation, the attainment of lexical esteem begins in 14th-century Middle English in the character of reputacion, which is a borrowing of an Anglo-French word with meanings similar to the English word (referring to such things as celebrity, distinction, good name, or estimation of character). The Anglo-French is from Latin reputation-, reputatio, meaning "consideration," and ultimately from reputare, "to reckon up or to think over." That Latinate verb couples the well-known "again" prefix re- with the verb putare ("to reckon"). Renowned celebrities of the putare family are the verb repute ("to believe or consider"), the identical noun (synonymous with reputation), the adjectives reputable and reputed, and the adverb reputedly. Other putare cousins of notoriety are dispute, disreputable, imputation, and putative, along with their kin.

[Chasing Dreams]

There had been a lot of gossip about the man that was visiting the marketing agency. It was said he was scouting out which agency he wanted to work with. The problem that the top two people that worked there had was that the man had the reputation of being a sloth. The two knew that was going to be a problem because working with him would be like pulling teeth to make the deadlines that would be needed for the product that he was trying to sell. Neither understood how the man has built the company that he did.

[Chasing Dreams]

She had tried her best to hide from one of her friends that had a bear to deal with lately because of the promotion they received at work. She was happy for her friend, but that friend way too full of pride for themselves and tended to brag about their promotion in an annoying way. She knew it was one think to be proud of any accomplishment one had, but her friend was taking it way too far. Her friend went as far as to say that he was inimitable because no ones was as good as they were. She had finally spoken up and told him that he was beginning to turn into a jerk. Once she told him that, she had walked away and avoided with for the last two days in hopes that he’d get the wake up call and go back to his normal fun self.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

hoosegow
noun | HOOSS-gow


Definition

US, informal + humorous : jail


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

In Spanish, juzgado means "panel of judges, courtroom." The word is based on the Spanish past participle of juzgar, meaning "to judge," which itself was influenced by Latin judicare—a combination of jus, "right, law," and dicere,"to decide, say." When English speakers of the American West borrowed juzgado, they recorded it the way they heard it: hoosegow. They also associated the word specifically with the jail that was usually in the same building as a courthouse. Today, hoosegow has become slang for any place of confinement for lawbreakers.

[Peripherie]

It was a sadly humorous consequence, even he had to admit. Always considering himself something of a human anthropologist - being a dragon locked up in a mortal hoosegow should have been a tempting learning experience. Except that he was put there by his own counsel as an exiled punishment with the highest level of angst and irony.

His scales itched beneath his skin where he had been branded with dragon fire to forever be known, in a loose translation, as 'feckless flyer'. The burn was made worse by the fact his human nails were out of reach, shackled above his head.

He was found dumped outside the enclave walls, pockets stuffed with stolen goods from the last dragon raids. Now he had a dilemma - hold his tongue and be executed (and he knew it would take a good few tries with actually killing him) or live up to his new monicker and betray his kind with the truth.

[Sekah]

The feds call it the Panopticon, but the hoosegow ain't a pretty place by any damn term used for it. It's one of only a handful of prisons in the world that could contain a high-class demon. On account of that, it's damned crowded. You ain't been there, boy? Well you better hope you'll never be; it's in the City's basement. Have you been to the City yet?

The hell you haven't. Economists and sociologists are calling it the capital of our world, and it’s true what they say: the City is a gorgeous mess of us, of our dreams, our hopes, and our aspirations—or maybe not. The City’s always seemed to have a mind of its own. My point is, conflicts may seem far away—except when they’re dumped on your doorstep. That’s when you call in the cops . . . or the robbers.

Maybe you’re fleeing a conflict, kid, I don't know. Maybe you’re fleeing poverty. Maybe you and your demon are reaching out with hungry hands to grab the opportunities the City is famous for. In this world, all kids're are born with two souls—human and demon—and the City is all of us. Or none of us. Regardless, work on bettering yourself. You know what I mean: evolve your ascensions, learn new dominions, put that magic to work! Just don’t burn down the City. You’ll do fine.

[Note: Here's a little snippet of a worldbuilding project I kick around in my spare time! I'm a storyteller's cafe patron!]

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

brusque
adjective | BRUSK


Definition

1 : markedly short and abrupt

2 : blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

We borrowed brusque from French in the 1600s. The French, in turn, had borrowed it from Italian, where it was spelled brusco and meant "tart." And the Italian term came from bruscus, the Medieval Latin name for butcher's-broom, a shrub whose bristly leaf-like twigs have long been used for making brooms. English speakers initially used brusque to refer to a tartness in wine, but the word soon came to denote a harsh and stiff manner, which is just what you might expect of a word bristling with associations to stiff, scratchy brooms.

[Norwegian One]

Branches slapped her in the face as she ran, stings of vibrant green across her cheeks as she darted amongst low-hanging limbs, trying to outpace her pursuers. Her four legs offered her tremendous speed, the kind which earned her kin their reputation of being near-uncatchable, and as she hared it through the thick forest it was hard to imagine that they would be able to keep up with her. And yet, they were. Their smaller equine mounts were shockingly fast in spite of their diminutive size, and what was worse was that they were able to weave between the trees just as nimbly as she did. Hot tears of frustration ran down her cheeks as her mind frantically worked to find an option, a way to lose her pursuers. She found none.

Instead, she burst into a clearing, the golden light of the sun from above momentarily blinding her. Her beloved sunlight proved to be her undoing, as for a vital few seconds she continued to run straight ahead, not seeing the trap until it was too late. They had cornered her. Just as she squinted against the glare of the sun, a loop of rope was thrown over her humanoid torso. In the next moment, her world went sideways, and she blacked out for a few seconds.

"Ey, careful! She break a leg, she's as good as worthless!" A brusque voice was shouting, loud and booming, originating from a large man riding into the clearing. He dismounted the small horse that looked almost comically small beneath him, though there was no mirth in this situation for her. At least not as the man stepped closer, with an ugly grin. "You're going to make us rich."

[Chasing Dreams]

The reporter could only stare at her computer because her latest assignment was borderline impossible as the person that she was tasked with interviewing wasn’t known by name. The person was known by the nickname, luminary, for all the charities that the person donated to and set up. The luminary had managed to remain anonymous for the six years they had made grand donations to several different charities and events that the person felt were important. The reporter knew no one knew the identity of the person was and though she knew she could do some digging, a part of her wanted to help keep the identity of the person hidden. The mystery was the best part to her and many others in the community that doing a story on tracking down the person was not something she wanted to do even if it meant losing her job.

[Peripherie]

In these times of dragons and lost souls, life was miserable and death was brusque. It lacked any kind of poetry at all.

Bang!

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

savvy
verb | SAV-ee


Definition

: to understand


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

While the noun savvy, meaning "practical know-how" (as in "her political savvy"), and the adjective use (as in "a savvy investor") are more common, the verb savvy is the oldest of the trio. (If you associate it with Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, you'll be pleased to know his use—as in, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"—is not anachronistic; the verb was the only savvy option extant in the movies' early 18th-century setting.) Current evidence dates the verb savvy to the late 17th century, when English speakers altered a word—sabi, meaning "know"—they were hearing in English-based creoles and pidgins (a pidgin is a simplified language or dialect that speakers of different languages use to communicate with one another; a creole is a language that evolves from a pidgin to become a native language for a speech community). Sabi has its roots in Portuguese sabe, meaning "he knows," and it ultimately comes from Latin sapere, meaning "to be wise."

[Chasing Dreams]

The only thing that her and Cam could think of was that Liam lost his mind because he was normally the straightlaced no-nonsense one of the three of them. The two that were doubled over in laughter as Liam was attempting to tackle different accents because he wanted woo the girl that he had been crushing on for months now. Liam was pretty hopeless in his attempts and was soon laughing with his best friends. “One thing is certain you are not going to impress Blair with your accents. Savvy?” Cam said in his best pirate accent that had them all cracking up again when they had almost gotten themselves out of control. “Since when did you pick up a pirate accent?” Liam managed to ask between laughing fits. “I binged the Pirates movies last night.” He said, as the three friends starting thinking about what Liam could do to woo the girl.

[Peripherie]

To him, this world was easier. He was able to stretch and skin and indulge in a side of him that had been hidden in the 'modern mortal' environment. This was the easy time.

Back before the end, it took a savvy dragon to exist hidden in a human-dominated landscape. To hide and cower in his human form lest he becomes the next science experiment. It had been a blessing, really, when fire turned society to ash.

Sure, he missed some of the comforts like ramen bars and electric toothbrushes. Humans were good at things, and less good at embracing their dormant savage nature. He hoped that eventually, their mechanical instincts would be revived and could be put to work in deference to their fire-breathing Gods in this new world.

And he intended to reign.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

vendetta
noun | ven-DET-uh


Definition

1 : a feud between different clans or families : blood feud

2 : an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

Vendetta has been getting even in English since the 19th century, when it first was used to refer to feuds between different clans or families. It later extended in meaning to cover acts that are known to feature in feuds of all kinds. English speakers borrowed vendetta, spelling and all, from Italian, in which it means "revenge." It ultimately traces to the Latin verb vindicta, of the same meaning. That Latin word is also in the family tree of many other English terms related to getting even, including avenge, revenge, vengeance, vindicate, and vindictive.

[Peripherie]

He favored an enclave that had taken over a large underground base in the mountains. Fitting for military operations, it was one of the few places left around that was still able to generate independent electricity. And it had enough of an arsenal to weed out the bad dregs of what was left of humanity. Him - they hadn't been able to properly vet, so he would forgive that oversight.

Drinking cold liqueur and listening to human rock music was a perk that had, until now, kept him from his mission. But what had initially drawn him to this place, a quiet reprieve from violence and uncertainty, was now making him yawn. Boredom - it was a lackadaisical luxury that he would soon rid himself of.

There were beings to kill after all - both human and dragon. It was a long-standing vendetta that had spanned millennia. And the recent apocalypse had tipped the balance of power just enough that he may have an upper hand in ending the feud once and for all.

Downing his last glass of whiskey, he leaves his accommodations to raid the weapons cache.

The hunt begins.

[Chasing Dreams]

Her mind raced as she procrastinated on getting ready for the one event that she had dread for the last ten years and one that she had told herself there was no way she’d go. Just thinking about the old days, her uneasiness grew because they had been four years that she wished could completely forget yet as she sat on her screened in porch over-looking the lake, she glanced down at the ticket for her ten year high school reunion. She didn’t want to go to it because she could recall all the struggles and all the mean ones she had encountered. She knew it wasn’t all bad, but the bad had definitely out-weighed the good for the four years she had dealt with the people that would inevitably be at the reunion. There had been no denying that she had been ungainly in both appearance and in her ability to be a klutz. A soft smile appeared on her face as she knew she had grown out of the awkward phase of her life after she had left her hometown, but her ability to be a klutz stuck with her. Her sapphire eyes looked at the calm glassy water of the lake as she finished up her tea before forcing herself to take a deep breath so she could go get ready to head to the one place that she never thought she’d return to. Her mind couldn’t help but think about if anyone had truly changed or if the cruel ones were still cruel.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

fatuous
adjective | FATCH-oo-us


Definition

: complacently or inanely foolish : silly


Weekly Theme

Mythical Creatures


Did You Know?

"I am two fools, I know, / For loving, and for saying so / In whining Poetry," wrote John Donne, simultaneously confessing to both infatuation and fatuousness. As any love-struck fool can attest, infatuation can make buffoons of the best of us. So it should come as no surprise that the words fatuous and infatuation derive from the same Latin root, fatuus, which means "foolish." Both terms have been part of English since the 17th century. Infatuation followed the earlier verb infatuate, a fatuus descendant that once meant "to make foolish" but that now usually means "to inspire with a foolish love or admiration."

[Peripherie]

It could have been that his actions that fateful day had been quite fatuous - and that would be correct. As the world burned, he was quick to empty all of his bank accounts and protect only what mattered to him most, his money.

Long since lost has been any contact with his family or children. He hoped they had made their way to safety, but it wasn't guaranteed. At first, he had kicked all the employees out of his tall tower office and stayed hoarded inside with his goods and his bills. The food and water had run out extremely fast and he was pushed back by looters into smaller and smaller sections of his high-rise apartment. Perhaps thinking he would have to jump with only his bags of cash to cushion his deathly fall - it had been an ironic miracle when the dragons attacked his particular city.

Thanking the greediest of gods, the vandals and survivalists left his smoldering spire and ran out into the expansive suburbs. Parched and starving, the ash calmed enough for him to venture out into the streets. Dragging a wagon full of the only thing that mattered - he moved from whatever shop fonts weren't still on fire to find something - anything to eat. Nothing - no scraps left that weren't rancid or burned. Even trying to chew on his precious paper currency wasn't satisfying.

The chill of night caused him to burn some of what he loved, a little more each night. It seemed even his riches would betray him and he would die, alone, poor - with only his guilt to fill his ledger.

[Peripherie]

She itched at the scab across her collarbone. It was a month since she had left and still the thing refused to heal. Painful and red in a way that she wished no cloth to ever touch the skin, but the shape and curl of the design had quickly become a mark that no one would ever want to be shown under the light of day. She had long used up whatever gauze and tape she had scrounged from the time before. So now it was just the scratchy drapings of her makeshift cloak. Each step a ripple through the fabric and a bite of shame down her spine.

It had been a commonplace sigil prior to the end. One that gave status to a large corporation that everyone had thought was leading the world towards good. As a mid-level manager, she had the crest adorning various items - polo shirts, her phone case, a laptop bag, her favorite hoodie, and other small knick-nacks. Of course, once the criminal nature of their pack with the before then-unknown-dragon species came to light, she had burned every piece.

Never one to mix with anything remotely evil or nefarious, it was still the very nature of opprobrium that she had once been in a supervisory role in that organization. So much hatred for the traitorous group was about that many enclaves had books and books of pictures of the various staff - her picture among them.

She had done her best to hide her features - shorter hair, different colorings, tattoos, and marks to hide her 'school girl' look from long ago. But the truth had finally caught up with her. And now here she was - branded and exiled. It was take a lot more than clairlol to hide this red, calloused stain now.

[Norwegian One]

Captivity had been Hell. Stowed away in a cage too small to move comfortably in, she had been forced to watch the humans day in and day out. How these slavers moved from location to location, hunting down exotic creatures like herself. But unlike most of the beasts they caught, she was clever enough to pay attention. She studied how they worked, where their tools and weapons were kept, how they slept and guarded at night. She kept protesting, of course, crying and begging for them to release her; mostly just to keep up appearances, to not sow any seeds of suspicion in her captors. But, admittedly, sometimes she just felt like screaming, crying, thrashing against the unfair bonds of her captivity.

Until, one night, when she felt confident in her knowledge of these cursed humans. With all her accrued experience and knowledge, and the savvy her mother had blessed her with, she would be free.

[Norwegian One]

She had lost count of the number of days since she had been caught at somewhere around 15, and the same number of nights had come and almost gone before she dared attempt her escape. Her studies of the men had served her well, and she had at last managed to isolate one of them. Her cheeks still burned with shame when she let her mind wander back to how she had seized the key, and the outrageous suggestion she had offered him in order to lure him into opening her cage. Just the thought of it! She shuddered softly, and gently eased the cage door shut, leaving the man unconscious on the floor.

Perhaps, one day, when she found herself far away from here and back with her clan, she would regret not pursuing revenge against these lowlife scum. She doubted her father or the other males of the clan would support a vendetta against slavers, even if they had captured a daughter of theirs. She could at least have killed the man in the cage, the one who had failed to see the deception hidden in her timid attempt at seduction, but she was no killer. She was merely a young woman, scared out of her mind, trying to move as quietly as her hooves could carry her in the dark of night, hoping to the Spirits above that no one would spot her.