Topic: ~ Word of the Day ~

[persephone325]

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

plausible
adjective PLAW-zuh-bul

Definition
1 : seemingly fair, reasonable, or valuable but often not so

2 : superficially pleasing or persuasive

3 : appearing worthy of belief

[corvusul86]

The only light in the room came from the holo-emitters and the glow of cigars from the people around the table.  Everything was silent and still as they watched the report, which was made blurry by the interference of so much smoke.  Despite that no one complained, long used to it.

"This is bad," Carter grunted after taking an angry puff.

Cheryl snorted indelicately.  "Please, give my team a week and no one will buy this drivel.  By the end of it they won't even think it's plausible."

"It's true though," Randall said.  "Hell, they taped the thing; we just watched it on the Trid in full 3D."

"And?" Cheryl asked.  "Come on, do you really think that matters?  If we throw enough lies at the wall by the end of it no one will believe anything and this will slip off the end of the news cycle.  We've done it a hundred times."

"Not when it's on tape," Carter pointed out.

"Like that matters," Cheryl laughed.  "I can show you a hundred lies in better quality than this.  We just need to 'encourage' some of our online 'fans' to post enough mash up videos and people will think this is straight out of a holo-board.  No one buys a meme, especially if it's true."

"Do it," Antonia said, nodding as she sipped her whiskey.  "I expect this buried before the hearings begin or we're all in the soup."

[ZephyrInk]

"Master Llyod, there is a plausible explanation to the break-in last night" the butler chimed in.

"Plausible?, good lord Carl a break-in is a break-in. Nothing about it is permissible, add to that they took away all our valuables, Sicily's jewels were taken" the man paced around the room, his hands rubbing his chin furiously as he tried to make sense of what had happened the night before. It seemed odd to him that the thieves knew exactly where to look and what to take.  Everything else was in its place, it was odd indeed.

Carl however seemed to bury himself in his own thoughts, he knew exactly who it was - he had seen them as they were sneaking out of the mansion. His partner from his circus days, "C'mon Carl, you know I need the money. I will return it , you know I would" the man had pleaded and Carl had let him go. That was his mistake, he should have known his partner would never return the money or the jewelry yet he had found himself wanting to believe he had changed all these years and decided to give him another chance. yes Master Llyod, a plausible explanation as to why I let my life long friend escape.

He heaved a sigh and glanced once at his employer before he excused himself and turned around. He would need to set things right before the day ended. He had to go into town to see Marcus. It was settled, no more games and no more second chances.   

[Shores]

"Your motive for murder is certainly plausible. He did steal your research. Or at least, what appears to be your research. In actual fact, the victim was the one who discovered the missing DNA code that led to the breakthrough."

"Wait, that means."

"Yes, it wasn't revenge for a crime committed, but a cover-up for the murderer's own crime. A crime born from cold, calculating thought, and deserving of the full sentence."

[persephone325]

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

diminution
noun dim-uh-NOO-shun

Definition
the act, process, or an instance of becoming gradually less (as in size or importance) : the act, process, or an instance of diminishing : decrease

[corvusul86]

I stood in front of the wall, staring at the marks.  Taking a deep breath I slowly turned around and pressed my back against it, drawing a line above my head.  I turned around and looked, immediately deflating at what I saw.

"Half an inch," I muttered.

"Look, you're probably just looking at the wrong line," Alice said.  "Or, I dunno, maybe you're slouching today, you know?  But you can't be shrinking."

"It's not just... it's not just my diminution," I insisted.  "Look, look at this.  My ears are... look, they're pointier.  I'm serious!  Look at them."

"They look normal to me," Alice said.

I huffed.  "How about this, when I turn the light off..."

"Oh, come on!" Alice objected.

"Now, look, it's dark to you right?"

"Pitch black, and this better have a good point."

"Raise some fingers," I said.  "Don't tell me how many... wow.  You're middle finger.  How about something less obvious?"

"How'd you know I did that?" Alice asked, changing the number of fingers she was showing.

"Well, I probably could've guess, but I can see you," I said.  "I can see that you've got four fingers up, and now you're flipping me off again.  And then you just scratched your ass... very classy, Alice."

"Okay... I'll admit, that's a little weird," Alice said.  "Maybe you've just been eating too many carrots?"

"First of all, the carrot thing is a myth from World War Two propaganda-"

"Fine, whatever," Alice said, rolling her eyes.  "So what do you think's happening?"

"I... I don't know.  But I need to find out."

"Probably before you get more pocket sized... and I don't need to see in the dark to know you're flipping me off."

[Shores]

"The diminution of the beans are causing a riot in the streets. We cannot decrease the rations of the people any longer."

"If there are no more beans, then let them eat meat!"

[persephone325]

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

arbitrary
adjective AHR-buh-trair-ee

Definition
1 : depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by law

2 : autocratic, despotic

3 a : based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something

b : existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will

[corvusul86]

"We won't take this anymore!" Brittany said, climbing on top of the table.  "For too long we have been oppressed by our uncaring masters, forced into impossible positions by arbitrary choices imposed upon us!  This is the time, to stand up and oppose this oppression, and once and for all secure our freedom!"

"Yeah!" the crowd cheered.  "No more meatloaf!"

Principle Dunsworth put his head into his hands as the senior continued to harangue the student body.  Already the demands were increasing from the removal of a hated lunch item to the desire for a short order cook.  "I blame you," he said, turning to glare at the speech teacher.

She grinned at him.  "And I will happily take the credit.  Besides, how is it my fault that our students are taking full advantage of the education we're providing.  I mean, how could I have known that two months studying nothing but political and revolutionary speeches would have this sort of effect.  Hmm... I wonder what another month would produce?"

He sighed, covering his eyes again.  "Is this about the coffee maker?"

"It's about our student's education," she said virtuously.  "Also, yes, the coffee maker broke four months ago.  How long can it possibly take to replace it?"

"You could just buy a new one yourself," he said.  "They really aren't that expensive."

The history teacher sitting past the speech teacher scoffed.  "On a teacher's salary?  That kind of attitude is the sort of thing that makes me start planning a unit on Marxism."

[Shores]

His judging was arbitrary which led to a lot of confusion among the candidates when they were making their dress for the contest. He would sometimes choose all yellow dresses and sometimes he would choose all pink to pass through the rounds. His choices changed depending on how he felt about a particular style and not how the candidates executed it.

[persephone325]

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

splenetic
adjective splih-NET-ik

Definition
: marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite

Example
Drew emailed the article to Kara, warning her to avoid the splenetic comments at the bottom of the page.

[corvusul86]

"We've got to be quiet," Kaitlynn breathed.  "We can't let them catch us..."

"Who?" Beth asked softly.

Unfortunately she wasn't quiet enough.  From the trees came a stooped figure with features that drooped like melted wax, arms as thick as tree trunks, and clawed hands as big as shovels which dragged in the thick loam of the forest floor.  It raised one of its hands to its face to pull back the flaps of skin from its forehead to look around with piggish red eyes.

Before it could Kaitlynn dove on top of her friend, hiding them both under a bush for a long, long time, until the creature finally moved on.  Once it had she rolled off of Beth and heaved a great sigh of relief.

"What- what was that?" Beth demanded shakily.

"That was an ogre," Kaitlynn said.  "They are the dumbest, meanest, most splenetic fey in the service of the Unseelie Court.  The Winter Queen likes to have them patrol the edges of her territory like this."

"That's impossible," Beth said.  "Fairies aren't real, and that thing sure as hell wasn't Tinkerbell."

Kaitlynn smirked.  "No, that's the thing that eats Tinkerbell.  Now come on, we've got a long way to go before we're in the clear, and there're much smarter things guarding these woods."

[Shores]

"Have you ever met a splenetic spider?"

"No."

"Well, I have, and let me tell you it took balls to swat that thing with a newspaper. It would weave intricate, dense webs across my bedroom door while I was sleeping and in the morning. Well, in the morning, I found my dog strung up in the web with spider babies crawling out of her eyes."

"No!"

"It's true. This is why I kill all spiders I come across. Never know which one could be one of it's babies." I opened up my flamethrower on the giant spider crawling up the side of the skyscraper.

[persephone325]

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

manumit
verb man-yuh-MIT

Definition
: to release from slavery

[Shores]

He manumitted the slaves by petitioning to the government for their freedom. Under much pressure from the public, everyone was freed and given wings to fly to whichever land they wanted to.

[corvusul86]

"There's still one more point we need to discuss," Ambassador Cathryn Aldin said, shifting slightly on her heels.

"Oh?" Queen Titania asked.  "I believe we've covered the agenda..."

"We have," Cathryn agreed.  "However, my government wants me to discuss something else with you, off the record."

"Go on," Titania said, leaning back on her throne, crossing one long leg over the other as she made herself comfortable.

Cathryn's eyes narrowed in slight annoyance at the blatantly disrespectful posture, but she didn't say anything.  Speaking up would be a sign of weakness, and the weak got nothing in the Summer Court.  "My government is deeply concerned with our lost sons and daughters... children we've come to learn are here."

"My people take those who are willing to come," Titania said carefully, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Leaving aside the... difficulties inherent in that position, given the age of many of those taken, we have been in contact with more than a few would wish to return to earth," Cathryn said delicately.

"They can always return, if they are not bound by some agreement," Titania said.

"Which, somehow, all are," Cathryn said dryly.  "My government would like to enter negotiations to manumit the children that are in the... care of your people."

Titania's eyes narrowed.  "The Summer Court does not, nor has it ever, practiced slavery."

"Perhaps," Cathryn said.  "Although I'm uncertain how to characterize the choice between agreeing to a lifelong contract of servitude or being left to starve in a strange magical realm far from your parents."

Titania smiled.  "Is that really so different from the implicit contracts requiring the same in your capitalist society?  You require your children to go to school, and then get jobs if they are not to starve. That seems little different than what our labor contracts require."

"I'll leave the semantics to the economists," Cathryn said dismissively.  "My job is to negotiate for my government, and the American people want their sons and daughters back."

"Then we shall bargain," Titania said, sitting up with an excited twinkle in her eye.

[persephone325]

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

regimen
noun REJ-uh-mun

Definition
1 a : a systematic plan (as of diet, therapy, or medication) especially when designed to improve and maintain the health of a patient

b : a regular course of action and especially of strenuous training

2 : government, rule

3 : the characteristic behavior or orderly procedure of a natural phenomenon or process

[corvusul86]

Everyday she followed the same regimen.

Wake up, smack snooze on her alarm, and lay back down for the nine minutes that lasted.  Afterwards she dressed, left her home, and jogged five miles through the forest trails near her home.  Afterwards she returned to her porch for a quick bite to eat before she started her serious training for the day.

It was there that he found her.  He was tall and slim, with stubble on his chin and a hard look to his eyes.  At his side was a blaster, and between the wear on the carefully maintained weapon, and the heavily scuffed holster, it was obvious that he knew how to use it.

"Carrie Bethel?" he called, standing well back from her with one hand on his gun.

"Who's askin'?" she asked, leaning back casually in her seat, one arm dropping down to her side close to the gyro-jet pistol she kept in her chair.

"The names Malcolm," he said.  "They say in town you're the person to see in these parts for some dangerous business."

"I am," she agreed.  "You lookin' for a criminal?  I'm a bounty hunter, not an assassin."

"That's good to hear," he said, slowly pulling his hand from his gun to pull out a badge case.  When he opened the well worn leather it projected his holographic ID for her to study, marking him as a Sheriff from Central.  "There's a nasty killer on the loose, and I need the best if I want to stop him."

She smirked.  "You came to the right place then, Malcolm.  Pull up a chair and fill me in."

[Shores]

Telling him to stop his early morning regimen of a run followed by a hearty breakfast, was like trying to force a mountain to move. He had been doing it for sixty years and no young whippersnapper was going to make him stop it. The addition of a puppy to his life just meant he fed the dog as well after their run.

[Caedy]

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

chthonic
adjective THAH-nik

Definition
of or relating to the underworld : infernal

[Catleigh5]

The caldera walls were hiding a scene which was really quite chthonic. As smoke and ash bellowed out, high into the atmosphere, higher than any ash cloud recorded in volcanic history. Inside the caldera, the base had broken to reveal red, molten lava churned up from inside the magma chamber. It convected and bubbled, rising up to the surface. With a low, droning rumble, the caldera wall gave way and crumbled into the fiery pit, and the rocks were instantly rejected by the lava and projected high into the sky, hurling down onto the island and seas below. A pyroclastic flow hurtled down the flank of the supervolcano billowing up to speeds pat 70mph and still increasing, wiping out everything in its path. Ash and pieces of rock fell from the sky, settling down on what was left of the broken island.

[corvusul86]

The first signs that something was wrong came from the sewers.  Specifically, it was the rats fleeing the metaphorical sinking ship as they boiled out of every storm drain and manhole in New York City.  It caused a mass panic, first from the very presence of so many disgusting creatures, and then from the fear of what drove them out.

City workers put on their hazard gear and descended, but contact was soon cut off.  It wasn't until that evening, as crowds of journalists and police were gathered that they returned.  People at first cheered, happy and relieved that they had made it out alive.

The cheers soon turned to screams as their faces were revealed.  Bloody bone, covered in strips of flesh was all that remained beneath the uniforms, and the skinless, blood soaked horrors tore into the crowds of stunned spectators like a scythe through wheat.  Dozens died in moments, and even more followed as the unstoppable abominations continued to attack, ignoring gunfire and bodily assault alike as they continued their rampage.

The scene was so grisly at first that no one noticed what came next.  Boiling from every crack in the earth came clouds of chthonic insects, which devoured flesh and ravaged minds, and it spread so quickly that none was safe.  In the end, all of New York fell before sunrise, and all the eastern seaboard in the days that followed.

A plague of living death had come for humanity, and there was nothing that could stop it.

[Shores]

He took a bite of the chthonic cheese and immediately spat it out, but it was too late. Within the hour, he was in a coma, and two hours later he had passed on. On the outside, the cheese looked like any other cheese. Yellow, full of holes, and wheelish in shape. When we cracked it open, the truth was revealed. Inside the cheese sat a creature with a million legs and a spiteful carapace.

[ZephyrInk]

"The portal would open into the chthonic realm, but be careful. There have been rumors that it's a one way trip, no one makes it out alive anyway", the man flatly stated as he looked up at the pair, his fingers running over the orbs they had given him as payment. His smile widened at their readiness at giving up such a valuable item. If only they knew the power these things held.

The taller of the pair, a boy stretched his hand out then for the key, "we'll take the chance, we have to find our father" and the girl nodded at his words, agreeing instantly with his plan. The man only shrugged before flipping over the lid of the box sitting next to him, digging into it so he could retrieve a rusty key from within it and hand it to them, "I'd say good luck but then even that doesn't seem to work there, so au revoir" and with that he whipped around and made his way out of the hall, his long black robes sashaying as he did so.

[Alkaline]

The end came. It came not with a bang nor a whimper nor even the whispering of a forgotten collective hope. The end came, and then it passed by. Few even noticed it though their eyes became dull and white, unremembering and disinterested that the sun continued to rise and fall on a rotting landscape. One day, everyone stopped, not the world but merely its inhabitants. Their forms wandered blinded as their tongues turned to ash and their skin cracked in chthonic spiraling patterns to become grey as the concrete they walked on. Those with the mind left to deduce their own state called this "The Undoing", but soon they too forgot and lied down to die with the rest. Hope remained in the texts they'd frantically scribed, details of the way the end reduced humanity to an apathetic footnote in history. But what can hope do when its progenitors are reduced to nothing more than a simple nullity on the very pages of their own history? Nothing important, this author concludes. Nothing that matters.