Topic: ~ Word of the Day ~

[TheSamm]

Chris pried back the synthetic flesh and felt a smooth plate of some unknown material. She had expected metal, but it was warmer and less rigid.

"Do you really not feel any pain from this?" Chris asked.

"None." Aurora assured her. "When you open me up, you'll need to hold the red button to put me into an automatic resting position. During this time I won't be conscious, so if you have any questions you should ask them now."

"How do I turn you back on?" Chris asked, sliding out the plate.

"Just hold the green button. In this quiet, you should be able to hear me leave the resting position." Chris took a moment to look over the interior panel.

"I think I know what to do. I'm going to turn you off now."

"You're not turning me off." Aurora clarified. "You're only putting me to sleep. Don't forget that there are certain things which can trigger me to wake up, so make certain this room is controlled."

"Got it." She said, placing her finger firmly on the red button. "Good night."

The gentle whirring of machinery in Elyse's body slowed. Chris felt a distinct sense of unease and reminded herself that this waa not much different from her regular work. She peered through the neck and spotted a small lever. With no instructions printed anywhere, she would have to resort to just trying things out. With two fingers, she reached in and pried back the lever. A loud noise, like the strumming of a chord, startled her and she leaned back. The skin and plastic exterior of Elyse's back receded, exposing a pipe-like spine with literally thousands of vermicular nerves extruding from it. The nerves were neatly arranged in layers and rows. Some of the strands were long and fine and would pass cleanly from the spine out to the skin; others would bifurcate into branches of variable lengths and widths and wrap around the others in groups, like a protective web.

The afflicted area was apparent; there were a couple of strands which hung loosely from the spine,their tips glowing a cool green. Chris donned a pair of protective gloves and pulled a pair of pliers from the toolkit. Tweezers would have been more appropriate, she lamented, but there was no choice but to improvise. Delicately, she lifted the little strands and searched for the red nodes they belonged to. The nodes were small like pinpricks and hard to see, but there was an pattern to the arrangement of the nerves so Chris could refer to the functional groups to get a general idea about where to look.

It was tedious work, but the body was doing part of it on its own; the red nodes, once located, drew the glowing tips to them like magnets. They conjoined seamlessly and that was that. There would be no way to know if she had done it right until she was finished.

When all of the connections were made, Chris sighed and reinspected the lever. It wasn't apparent how she was supposed to close up the back. By chance, she grasped Elyse's shoulder to try another angle. Again she was startled as the back began to close up on its own. As the skin returned to its natural position, Chris shuddered. She was unsure of why it was so uncomfortable for her to be around Elyse. Her body was a machine--something Chris was certainly familiar with--and yet, something about knowing that she was alive and that her organs existed somewhere inside of that body... It made her skin crawl.

The skin fell back into place, but it did not perfectly seal. Chris held the green button, and at the same time she held her breath,  listening. It felt like it was talking longer to wake Elyse than it had to put her to sleep and Chris began to worry that she'd done something incorrectly,  but then the familiar sounds returned and Elyse's eyes opened.

"Good morning." Chris greeted her, even though it had only be a few hours. "Can you move your legs now?"

Without a word,  Elyse looked at her and then down at her legs. She lifted the left one, and then the right. Chris sighed in relief.

[Theta Sigma]

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

lamster
noun LAM-ster

Definition
1 : a fugitive especially from the law

[corvusul86]

"Stay low," Shadowhawk murmured quietly.

"I am aware of our current situation," Syrinx hissed.

After a long pause to observe the motion of the police helicopter the two dashed forward, moving from cover to cover as they crossed the open field.  Eventually they hit the dirt, crouching in some bushes as it turned and began heading in their direction.  "Syr..." Shadowhawk murmured.

"I'm on it," Syrinx said, closing her eyes.  The woman cross her arms over her body with her fingers extended, which glowed a dim green for a moment.  Sparkling motes of light, glimmering like fireflies in the dark drifted from her hands and covered both women for a moment, before they both faded into invisibility.  Neither moved for a long, long moment as the police helicopter passed overhead, before finally Syrinx sighed and relaxed.  "There, they've passed."

"Good," Shadowhawk said, rubbing her tired eyes for a moment before brushing her long brown hair over one shoulder.  "We need to keep moving before they get dogs out here."

Syrinx groaned.  "Ugh, I cannot believe that we have become lamsters, in our own city no less.  After all of the times we've saved the world, you would think that they would give us the benefit of the doubt."

Shadowhawk sighed.  "Do you regret what we did?"

"Never," Syrinx said sharply, grabbing Shadowhawk's hand.  "We did the right thing.  They will understand in time."

Shadowhawk smiled.  "Let's move."

[Majere Dreavan]

"I have a way out, If you're interested. " A voice came just before a hand bifurcated the bead curtain. It was a strong salient voice. It seemed odd that the speaker's visage personified neither of those things. The tall, thin man that passed through the oddly chthonic colored veil was at most vermicular. His squirmy limbs seemed to convey he was more prone to temporize than to challenge the agenda. Yet here he was, standing proud and firm in front of a woman, also imprisoned by the lascivious prince of the realm. And he was talking of escape. The woman's edacious habit had been the biggest draw to staying imprisoned. Her form had grown soft, and voluptuous from her captor's 'generosity'. The prince was a known cannibal, and the fattening up made her all the more for him, even if to others it made her look gauche.

"You want me to go out on the lam with you?" She sighed and shook her head, while the tall man scratched at his chin. "I've already turned down your advances in the past. You don't really think if we escape and become a couple of lamsters I'll suddenly find your form appealing?" She scoffed and waved him off. "The prince promised he'll keep me like this for some time in the future, I'm in a quite copacetic environment."

"Get eaten then." His retort came with a razor edge, as if he intended to stab her with it. "I'm quite 'copacetic' leaving you for him as well. Just making the offer." There was a rustle of beads as he left, She continued to nibble on her many gifted snacks and morsels.

{I had fun with these today}

[Pheal]

Okey, here goes nothing.

Schadenfreude was the first thing that came to Jim's mind when he look up at his friend, well no more a former friend given what he was just put through. Slowly he tried to stand up while listening to his friends garbled voice. Jim's pandemonic mind would not let him focus on the task at hand.

Suddenly there was this immense pain in his left arm while he was attempting to bifurcate the dead body that was laying in front of him, Jim noticed that there had been a gathering around him, he could sense the crowds élan as he gently lay the knife on the table.

Jim could not take it any more and fell to the floor when he saw the vermicular perforations in the dead body that was presented in front of him, while feeling like a lamster attempting to escape his torment he found his friend blocking the only way out.

This was the time he really knew that his friend was the definition of Shadenfreunde and that he would never be able to continue his studies as a butcher, not after this practical joke his friends played on him.

[Theta Sigma]

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

perfunctory
adjective per-FUNK-tuh-ree

Definition
1 :  characterized by routine or superficiality : mechanical
2 : lacking in interest or enthusiasm

[corvusul86]

The sky was full of smoke, broken up only when another great meteor crashed down from the heavens to explode with a flash of flames and molten rock on the crater pocked wilderness of basalt and blood.  The air was thick with the stench of boiling blood and brimstone, making Sir Borthys gag and choke for a moment as he tried to regain his bearings.  When he finally stopped vomiting long enough to take in his surroundings he began to desperately pull out his sword at the sight of what lay before him.

Crouching on a large boulder was a hideous creature.  Its squamous hide was the dark red of clotted blood, and it had blackened horns curling around either side of its lupine face.  The create glared at the remains of Borthys' lunch on the ground for a moment, before turning its glowing orbs onto the paladin.  "Name?" it rasped, the voice grating on the nerves like a knife scraping against bone.

"I- I am Sir Borthys, Paladin of the Great Kingdom," he answered, trying to look imposing as he waved his sword around in what he thought was a menacing manner.

"Reason for visiting Hell?" the demon asked in a perfunctory tone while pulling out a large tome bound in human leather.

"W-what?" Borthys stammered.

The demon sighed.  "Why have you come to hell?  I need to record the purpose of your visit."

"To- to retrieve an artifact to save my kingdom?"

"Is that a question?" the demon asked as it flipped through the book, dipping his quill in a pot of blood as he did.

"No," Borthys said.  "I am here to retrieve an artifact to save my kingdom."

"Do you have a work visa?" the demon asked.

"Work visa?" Borthys asked.  "I'm trying to save thousands of lives!"

"Yes, but you're a paladin, correct?" the demon demanded, finally getting a little annoyed.

"Er... yes."

"And you're retrieving this artifact as part of a holy quest?"

"Yes!"

"Would you say that going on life saving holy missions is the job of a paladin?"

"I, um, I suppose."

"Then you need a worker's visa," the demon said.  "Have you applied for a proper visa?"

"No," Borthys said.  "I- I wasn't, um, I wasn't aware that I needed to."

The demon sighed, pulling out a stack of paperwork.  "Just because you run things by fiat in your kingdoms doesn't mean the rest of the multiverse does.  Here in hell, we ensure that everyone is treated equally via our code of laws operated by Hell's Bureaucracy.  If you want to get anything done, you need to follow the law."

"Oh, I... I assumed..."

"What, that we're a bunch of savages," the demon sniffed.  "That's very discriminatory.  Now, fill out those forms -- in triplicate -- and bring them back here, and I will hand off your case to the consulate."

"But... my kingdom..."

"Good day, sir," the demon said with a shark toothed grin.

"Good... good day."

[Rabukurafuto]

Queen Nakari sighed, rising from her perfumed sheets to stand before the window, overlooking her night-shrouded jungle kingdom. She knew she had to rest, but there was more, so much more, she could be doing to protect her people from the diavolo threat.

"My queen?"

Nakari turned to find one of the palace guards in the doorway, dark and muscular. Her eyes shown in the darkness.

"My queen, you—"

"'Need your sleep.' Yes, yes." Nakari made to approach her bed but didn't enter. She scowled, folding her powerful arms. "This is impossible. I have to be fighting along side my warriors. Sleep is for the weak!"

She waved her hand in a perfunctory manner.

"You won't be much use on the field without rest, my queen," spoke the guard. Her voice was firm, lacking fear. Nakari was taken aback.

"You speak so bluntly to your queen?" she asked, and laughed. "I like you."

"That's always been our way," the guard said. "You may be our leader, but our kingdom only works with the consent of all its people. You do yourself no good not listening to your people."

Nakari smiled wearily. "Indeed so. I'm proud that my people tend to be so wise."

The guard returned the smile. "Just be sure to keep your people safe, my queen, and that means conserving your strength!"

[Theta Sigma]

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

oppugn
verb uh-PYOON

Definition
1 : to fight against
2 : to call in question

[corvusul86]

"No, no, no no," she said adamantly.  "Never.  No way, no how.  Not in a thousand, million, billion years.  I completely and utterly repudiate the very premise of your position.  The fact that you even, for a moment, thought that it was, in any way, reasonable completely oppugns your judgement, or in fact, any reasonable hypothesis that you are, in fact, a sentient creature.  The very idea-"

"Okay!" I shouted.  "Okay!  Sheesh.  We won't get skim milk."

[Majere Dreavan]

To find a reason to Oppugn the people who oppress
is to find an opponent,  worthy of death.

-A couplet! I mispronounced it on purpose, if Eminem can do it so can I.

[Rabukurafuto]

The arcangela slammed the jeweled head of her golden rod upon the podium, eyes ablaze. "Do you oppugn my decision?" she demanded.

The opposing angela raised imploring hands. "Honored arcangela, even if Lucifela seeks our total destruction, to slaughter all the diavoli and demoni is out of the question! If word of this gets out then the demoni will flock to Lucifela even if she oppresses them, for slavery is preferable to extermination!"

"How noble of you to care for the wretches of Inferno," the arcangela sneered. "The multiverse will be a better place without the likes of them. Let them tremble before the pure flames of Paradiso reduces them to ash."

Silent, the angela withdrew. It would take something drastic to prevent a new war between Paradiso and Inferno...

[ZephyrInk]

"You simply cannot oppugn the captain! Keep your place, he would throw you into the waters if he ever heard you think those thoughts. Give the bread 'ere and go scrub 'em floors before you do any more damage to yer brain" the man called out.

She nodded fearfully at him before she took off her apron and set it aside, these pirates were not to be trifled with, she understood that now. Even so, her mind kept that thought alive, at the back of it. One day, she would fight them all, one by one, take back what was hers. She owed her father that much. With one sweeping glance at the cook, she smiled at the thought of starting it all with him, he had been the harshest of the crew.

Her dirty and torn boots clacked onto the wooden floor as she carried the pail of water and brush up to the deck.

[Theta Sigma]

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

waif
noun WAYF

Definition
1a : a piece of property found (as washed up by the sea) but unclaimed
1b : (plural) stolen goods thrown away by a thief in flight
2a : something found without an owner and especially by chance
2b: a stray person or animal; especially : a homeless child
2c: an extremely thin and usually young woman

[Rabukurafuto]

I saw the waif found the waif lying in the beach sand.

[corvusul86]

"Waif for sale!" the hawker shouted.  "Waif for sale!  Just found today!"

"Waif?" Andra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, ma'am," the vender said with a toothy grin, three of which glinted with gold.  "I've got all kinds of waif!  Need driftwood?  I'm your man!  Need some hot merchandise that happened to be found by enterprising individuals in an escape gone wrong?  We have it!  Or, if you're interested, we have plenty of lost children."

"What?!"

"Oh, don't worry, salvage laws let us sell anything that washes up on the beach," the merchant said, nodding happily.  "The prince is right good to us that way."

"That wasn't what I was upset about!" Andra replied.

"Oh, the stolen goods?" he asked.  "Well, if you're the one stolen from, then if you can prove it, by law I must return it.  So long as I didn't give money to the thief, then I can sell it on.  'Course, I have to inform you, so it becomes your business if the owner comes calling.  Still, quite a sale price, and I must admit, I'm not too good at records for sales, so you likely won't have the owner find you!"

"That's... that's pretty reprehensible, too, to be honest," Andra mumbled.  "But no, what I meant was, the child!  You sell children!"

"Oh, my, yes," he said, nodding happily.  "Perfectly legal, so long as the parents or owners don't come round and demand them back, and then you just have to return the youngin'.  Our prince is quite... well, I suppose he's good to us, even if he's not very good in general, if you get my meaning, ma'am."

"That's just... you know what, I think I'll be happier if I just leave and don't ask any further questions."

"Ah, yes, happens more often than you'd think," he agreed with a sage nod.  "If you ever need any kind of waif, just remember to come on down to the Waif Emporium!  I'm actually having a bit of fire sale, seeing as one of the lads knocked over a candle last week in their kennel, so if you want a deal on a slightly singed orphan, remember my stand!"

"Kennel!?!"

[Shores]

The waif drifted from heap to heap, searching among the rubbish for signs of her family. There was no sound, not even the crows made a noise. An aftershock hit the land again, and she let out a scream as a towering pile started falling.

[Theta Sigma]

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

alleviate
verb uh-LEE-vee-ayt

Definition
1 : relieve, lessen such as a : to make (something, such as suffering) more bearable
b : to partially remove or correct (something undesirable)

[corvusul86]

"This is a terrible idea," Hans growled, baring his fangs at the children.

Acenath hissed with laughter.  "Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud.  Besides, if our performance does anything to alleviate tensions, don't you think it's worth it?"

Hans snorted.  "We're lycanthropes putting on silly shows for children.  I feel like I'm in a damned petting zoo."

Acenath grinned.  "Oh?  I suppose that is somewhat apt, except in this case we asked them to come to us, and there's not such thing as weresheep."

Hans was about to respond when one of the children had the audacity to start climbing up his hairy leg.  He stared down in disbelief, and this was apparently sufficient approval to get a horde of children climbing all over him.  He looked up just in time to see camera's flashing.

"I am never going to get my dignity back," he moaned.

[Majere Dreavan]

To the author,

Thank you for including my journal entry in your collection. Hopefully my experience will help someone in the future. Better to think, that it will stop raining one day, and this will be entertainment. It's exciting picking up pen and paper again. I haven't done any writing short of the Suppliers requisitions for almost 3 years now. Why haven't I been writing? I've been working on getting this infernal ancient machine running! It's not really cthonic, nothing can be in this dismal, endless rain. It's not ancient either, to be fair. It's pretty modern, comparatively.

You see, I'm working on the loop in my town. It used to be one of the most popular metropolises in the world, according to the old records. It's pretty abandoned now. I've been working for 3 years, mostly on my own on the 3rd Ave El. It's been a tough job so far, lots of rust and dilapidated equipment. It's a good thing my grandfather was a mechanic and electrician before the rains started. Not sure why we use the plural, according to him before he died, it had been raining the same rain for 35 years. At least that's what dad told me, I was pretty young back then. So far in my life, it's been raining 46 years. We had hoped by now to see some diminution, but no go. If there is a god, he's got a serious case of schadenfreude.

I've gotten off subject, I fixed the 3rd Ave El. I got the lights on and a  bunch of volunteers. I was sure the suppliers thought this project would end up being `onerous for them. They've shown me different, using the train for all their Manhattan work. They bring in extra food and have been flacking us all around the city. We have the dryest rooms in town. I really hope I've alleviated some of the pain in my area, since we can't actually live inside the buildings. The constant rain as promoted mold growth, making it pretty difficult to live in. Mostly people with sloped roofs in housing areas got lucky. But there isn't any mold on my train. This is starting to read like an advertisement, I'm sorry.

I'll use my last moments to thank you again. It's really great that your keeping these journals of our most trying times.

[persephone325]

"Make sure you keep that leg elevated. It'll alleviate some of the pain you've been having." The nurse said before she left to get the doctor.

[Xandi]

His first kill in centuries began to alleviate his nerves about getting back into his former line of work. He smiled and thought to himself, 'I still got it.'

[Shores]

"If only there was a way to alleviate the suffering in his heart."

"The only way would be to resurrect his departed daughter. I know someone who might have a way."

"But that's falling into darkness ourselves!"

"Would you rather us or the kingdom fall?"

[Dys Astyr]

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

depredate
verb DEP-ruh-dayt

Definition
1 : to lay waste : plunder, ravage
2 : to engage in plunder

[corvusul86]

Even in the vast, airless void of space the Corsair ships screamed.  It was constant, maddening wail that could be heard echoing in the minds of people the moment they came within a million kilometers of the angular black craft.  That was also the range at which the Corsairs could somehow detect the presence of targets, and the moment they did they would change course to hunt down and depredate the innocent star farers or colonists that they would discover.

No one knew how it worked.  Some suspected that it was some kind of psychic phenomena which defied all scientific explanation.  Efforts to understand it, and its ability to ignore speed of light limitations, were complicated by the destruction of any vessel with a living person that came within the million kilometer threshold.  In the end, it was easier to mark known Corsair systems and space lanes on maps, and avoid them entirely.